Recollection: Age of Expansion - A Kurtherian Gambit Series (The Ghost Squadron Book 6)

by Sarah Noffke

  “I can tell you exactly where Verdok is,” the Saverus stated.

  Eddie lifted a curious eyebrow. “Don’t fuck with me, snake.”

  “My partner left me for dead. I think you should go after him so he can share a cell with me,” the Saverus said.

  “How will that benefit us?” Eddie asked.

  “He’ll have the newest lead on the Tangle Thief,” the Saverus explained. “Take him out and you’ll have one less obstacle to getting to the device before my council.”

  “How do you know where Verdok is?”

  “Because he was my partner,” she said.

  Eddie lowered the goggles, the image of Julianna not having the same effect on him now that the illusion was broken. “Fine, give me the coordinates.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Bridge, Ricky Bobby, Tangki System

  Eddie and Julianna stood on the bridge watching the view screen. “Gate into Alchon System has been created. We will jump on your command,” Ricky Bobby informed them.

  Julianna pulled her gaze away from the radar screen. “Verdok’s ship will be at these coordinates?” she asked Eddie for the fifth time. Trusting a Saverus wasn’t an easy thing to do, but not taking the information felt as foolish.

  Eddie chewed on the inside of his cheek, hesitation written in his eyes. “Yes, but according to the prisoner, he’s stationed in a dropship. Ricky Bobby can tear him ten new assholes.”

  Julianna nodded, but something felt off about this. Maybe it was venturing into a foreign system. They’d discussed gating on the far side of a distant moon and taking the Q-Ships to Verdok’s location, but the problem with that was the many asteroid belts that posed navigational challenges.

  Delaying the action, though, felt like inevitable defeat. Julianna eyed Eddie, a confirmation heavy in his gaze.

  “Ricky Bobby, jump now,” Julianna commanded.

  “Initiating sequence,” the AI confirmed. “Gating commencing in five, four, three, two…one.”

  Julianna’s head tightened, and her mouth felt instantly dry. Blackness. She thought she’d be used to it by now, but it wasn’t a natural experience for her, and the sensations were never the same when gating.

  “Jump complete,” Ricky Bobby said.

  “Report,” Julianna demanded, blinking at the radar, waiting for the system to come back online.

  “Cloaks are down,” Ricky Bobby stated. “There’s a radiation field in this system that’s knocked them out.”

  “Get Liesel on a fix, pronto,” Eddie said.

  On the radar, a battlecruiser twice the size of Ricky Bobby materialized.

  “Fuck!” Julianna jumped. “That’s no dropship.”

  Ships blinked into view on the radar all around Ricky Bobby.

  “We’ve dropped into a motherfucking fleet!” Eddie yelled.

  Around them on the bridge, the comms officers were typing furiously. One darted back and forth between stations, searching for intel on the sixteen ships that were now surrounding them.

  “Who are they?” Julianna asked.

  “I’m not finding any identification,” Ricky Bobby stated.

  “I’ve tried establishing a connection with the main ship, but there’s no answer,” one of the comms officers informed them.

  Eddie scratched his chin nervously. “Friendly ships usually reply.”

  “There’s no reason to jump to conclusions,” Julianna said.

  “A missile has been launched from the main ship,” Ricky Bobby said matter-of-factly.

  “Fuck!” Eddie yelled. “Can I jump to conclusions now?”

  “Can we jump?” Julianna asked.

  “Gate engines are still discharged. They need time to recharge,” Ricky Bobby reported.

  “Can we dodge it?” Eddie asked.

  “We can out-maneuver most of the fleet, except for the main battlecruiser,” Ricky Bobby stated.

  Julianna pressed her fingers to her mouth, thinking. “How are shields?”

  “They will hold against this missile, which will impact in fifteen seconds,” Ricky Bobby said.

  “How much more can we take?” Julianna asked.

  “If they launch nuclear weapons, we are done,” Ricky Bobby said.

  “Deploy Black Eagles,” Eddie ordered. “We need to put up a fight until engines are ready. How long will that take?”

  “Six minutes,” Ricky Bobby informed them.

  Eddie gave Julianna a worried stare. “Those are going to be the longest fucking six minutes of my life.”

  “I’m not sure how this is possible,” one of the comms officers said over the commotion. Everyone on the bridge was hustling, surfing through intel.

  Fletcher ran over to the officer’s workstation. He squinted at the screen.

  “What is it?” Julianna asked.

  “Battlecruiser has deployed single flyers,” Ricky Bobby interjected.

  Fletcher jerked his head up. “She’s found a connection between one of the ships in the fleet, and one from a backlogged database.”

  “Get to the point,” Eddie demanded, his tone urgent.

  “This particular ship was created on the planet of Savern,” Fletcher stated.

  “Are you implying…?” Julianna’s heart was pounding hard in her chest.

  The cold look in Fletcher’s eyes answered her question before his voice did. “We might have jumped into the Saverus’s fleet.”

  ~~~

  “That damn bitch!” Eddie yelled. This is my fault; I shouldn’t have trusted the prisoner.

  “I can confirm that the ship in question was produced on Savern,” Ricky Bobby stated. “The other ships have no identification, but I’m running a scan for a connection between the weapons and Savern, as well as trying to establish contact with them.”

  “The Saverus have been hiding for centuries,” Julianna reasoned. “Of course they wouldn’t want their ships to identify them.”

  “Ricky Bobby,” Eddie began. “In your communication to the fleet, tell them we have one of their own aboard, and that we will release her to them if they cease fire.”

  “Sending communication now,” Ricky Bobby confirmed.

  “Carnivore here,” Lars said over the comms. “These guys aren’t playing around. They are hitting us with everything they have.”

  Eddie scanned the radar. “Damn, they have a lot of flyers. We’re going to be overwhelmed in no time.”

  “Can you identify their supply ship?” Julianna asked.

  “Yes,” Ricky Bobby said simply.

  “Deploy missiles,” Julianna ordered. “Take it the fuck out. They need to know that we mean business.”

  “Good thinking,” Eddie said.

  “Ricky Bobby, have you heard a reply regarding exchanging the hostage?” Julianna asked.

  “Negative,” Ricky Bobby answered. “The communication went through, but they aren’t responding.”

  “I’ll take that as a ‘no’, then,” Julianna said.

  “How are we going to hold them off?” Eddie asked.

  Julianna drew in a breath. “One of us needs to get out there in the Q-Ship. A cloaked ship can offer the protection Ricky Bobby needs.”

  Eddie was running for the exit before Julianna finished her sentence.

  ~~~

  Lars rolled out of the trajectory of enemy fire. These bastards are aggressive. Their single flyers were covered in chrome, and kept blinding him with a strange glare as they passed.

  “I’ve got two fuckers on my tail I can’t shake,” Lone Wolf called out over the comm.

  Lars glanced at the radar, which was covered in a mess of dots. He’d never been in the thick of a fleet like this. “Carnivore coming to the rescue.”

  Redirecting, Lars slid his ship between two of the chrome flyers before they could block his path. He caught sight of Lone Wolf and the two enemies trailing him; his squadmate was right, they were expert flyers, not giving him a breath of space. For whatever reason, though, they weren’t firing.

 
; Lars locked onto one, waiting until he’d closed the distance before firing. The chrome ship sparkled, momentarily playing with his vision. Suddenly, the two ships trailing Lone Wolf shifted, morphing into Black Eagles.

  “MY GOD!” Lars yelled.

  “What the fuck?” Lone Wolf gasped.

  “What’s going on?” Julianna asked over the comm.

  Lars twisted his ship around. All of the chrome ships had disappeared, and he was in a sea of Black Eagles.

  ~~~

  “Are you fucking with me?” Julianna pressed her head into her hand.

  “All the enemy ships have morphed into Black Eagles,” Lars repeated.

  “Ricky Bobby, is there any way to distinguish our own on the radar?” Julianna asked.

  “Of course. Each Black Eagle is chipped and ready to squawk in combat mode four, but it will take me a moment to remotely activate their systems,” Ricky Bobby said.

  “Black Beard, are you out there?” Julianna asked, hoping that Eddie hadn’t launched the Q-Ship. She realized her idea had been a bad one.

  There was a pause.

  “Yes, Strong Arm, flying into position,” Eddie finally reported.

  Julianna let out a hot breath. “No ships can return to Ricky Bobby until you’re actively squawking mode four.”

  “Why would I want to return before having a little fun?” Eddie asked, his voice light from his joy of flying.

  “You aren’t out there yet, are you, Black Beard?” Lars asked over the comm.

  “Oh, fuck,” Eddie said in a hush. “Their ships can shapeshift.”

  “It would appear,” Julianna said dryly. I am going to strangle that damn Saverus in the brig if we survive this.

  “Another missile has been launched and is headed straight for the bow,” Ricky Bobby said.

  “Can you maneuver to avoid it?” Julianna asked.

  “I can divert it for up to ten seconds,” he replied.

  “I’m on it,” Eddie chimed in. “That missile is mine.”

  ~~~

  The sea of Black Eagles, most of them not belonging to Ghost Squadron, was a trip to see. However, that wasn’t Eddie’s present concern.

  He locked his controls onto the missile that had missed the bow of Ricky Bobby.

  The missile swerved, turning around to make another attempt.

  “Oh, no you don’t!” Eddie yelled, initiating his own attack, a single canon.

  He banked the Q-Ship hard to the side to avoid the blast impacts from enemy ships.

  Ricky Bobby would take damage, but not as much as it would if the missile had hit directly.

  “They’ve fired two more missiles,” Julianna reported over the comm.

  “Fuck these guys,” Eddie said, tumbling the ship down and around, making a quick turn.

  “Missiles headed for starboard. Can you intercept?” Julianna asked.

  Eddie blinked at the new sight in front of him, unsure for a moment exactly what he was seeing.

  “Black Beard?” Julianna barked.

  “Yeah, I’m here,” Eddie said, momentarily dumbstruck.

  “Can you take out the missiles?”

  “If I can figure out which ship is Ricky Bobby,” Eddie stated.

  He was on the back end of the fleet, and every large ship had shifted, taking on the appearance of Ricky Bobby.

  ~~~

  “How is that possible?” Julianna asked, scanning the radar. There was no distinction between her ships and those of the Saverus fleet.

  “Should I question the prisoner?” Fletcher asked.

  Julianna shook her head. “That bitch isn’t telling us anything useful.”

  “Shields won’t hold much longer,” Ricky Bobby said.

  “Position the ship so that the next missile hits the brig,” she commanded. “I want that fucking Saverus to feel the attacks of her own kind. If this ship is going down, she’s getting taken out first.”

  “We’re trapped out here!” Lars yelled over the comm. “We can only shoot at the ones shooting at us, which means we’re constantly on the defense.”

  “Ricky Bobby, when will the transponders be active?” Julianna asked.

  “I’m uploading an update now,” Ricky Bobby said. “Give me ten seconds.”

  “And the gate engine?”

  She hated that they were so vulnerable. How did we get into this?

  “It is almost completely charged. One-minute remaining,” Ricky Bobby answered.

  The ship rocked, and Fletcher stumbled forward into the radar screen.

  Julianna tightened her eyes on the radar as it blinked twice. A moment later, the monochrome scan was replaced with blue and red dots. There were significantly more red ones, and they had the larger ships.

  “Radar updated,” Julianna called over the comm. “All of you, return now!”

  “Roger that, Strong Arm,” Eddie said, his tone heavy.

  Fletcher leaned in closer to the radar. “I’ll make sure none of the Saverus get in.”

  “Good, one infestation, and we will be fucking screwed,” Julianna said.

  Ricky Bobby took another blow, making the lights flicker and then go out completely. The generator kicked on immediately, bathing the bridge in soft blue light.

  “Gate engines delayed due to system outage,” Ricky Bobby said.

  Julianna gripped the table until her knuckles turned white. “We’re fucking sitting ducks.”

  “Should we deploy more missiles?” Fletcher asked.

  Julianna shook her head. “It will only drain our systems. We need to jump. There’s no winning this battle.”

  She hated having to run, but knowing when an enemy had you beat was crucial. It was always better to survive to fight another day, especially in the face of such overwhelming odds. If they got out of this, they could return to deliver the Saverus their own asses. With proper strategizing, Julianna was sure Ricky Bobby could take them out; it was being dropped unprepared into a giant fleet, that had been their shortcoming.

  “Gate engines charged and ready to go,” Ricky Bobby said.

  “Black Eagles? Black Beard? Are you back?” Julianna asked over the comm.

  “I’m the last,” Eddie said. “Landing now.”

  “Ricky Bobby, jump now!” Julianna ordered.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Lower Deck, Ricky Bobby, Tangki System

  Steam billowed from the rafters overhead. Three crew members were fighting an electrical fire at the end of the corridor. Loud banging echoed from inside the walls of the ship. Ricky Bobby was in chaos.

  “Diagnostics report the ship is at forty-three percent,” Liesel said, scrolling through the results.

  “Fuck, we took a huge hit,” Eddie said, sliding his hand through his hair.

  “Well guess who else is going to?” Julianna said, staring around at the aftermath of the attack.

  “Later. Most importantly, we need cloaks online,” Eddie stated.

  Liesel widened her eyes before looking up. “Shields are also down.”

  “Okay, second most important,” Eddied corrected. “We need those shields back up immediately.”

  “I doubt the Saverus followed,” Julianna stated.

  Eddie nodded. “I agree, but I’d feel more comfortable if we were prepared for another attack.”

  “How is the new weapon coming along?” Julianna asked.

  Liesel swiped through several screens before replying, “It’s almost complete, but I’m going to have to put it on hold.”

  Eddie gave a low whistle. “That would have obliterated them.”

  “Put the project on Hatch’s plate,” Julianna said. “We need a weapon in case we have another run-in with the Saverus; nothing we have right now will defeat them.”

  Eddie looked at her with a skeptical reluctance. “I don’t think you would have authorized using that weapon when there were other options at our disposal.”

  “We were the ones nearly disposed of, so don’t be so sure.”

  Julianna
was mad. No, she was fucking livid. They hadn’t stood a chance against the Saverus; their ships could shapeshift. It made her realize exactly how powerful this alien race could be.

  “How about you take this hostility out on our prisoner?” Eddie asked, leading her down the corridor.

  Julianna was about to answer when Ricky Bobby cut her off. “I’ve found the dog named Harley.”

  “What? Where?” Julianna’s pulse quickened.

  “He’s not far from here,” the AI assured her. “I was right; he was in the cargo bay. It appears that he burrowed into one of the vent tunnels.”

  Julianna let out a weighty breath. “Dumb dog was intent on finding that damn ferret.”

  “It would appear,” Eddie said with a laugh.

  “Where is he now?” the commander asked. I’m going to ignore him for a week for pulling this stunt.

  “He’s in the vent tunnel, down this corridor on the right,” Ricky Bobby said.

  Julianna hurried in the given direction. The damn dog is probably cowering in the tunnel, knowing he’s about to get chewed out.

  “The section of the vent where Harley is located suffered one of the biggest impacts during the battle,” Ricky Bobby said.

  Julianna slowed. Paused. Turned to read the apprehension on Eddie’s face. “What? What does that mean?”

  “Is he alive?” Eddie asked tensely, watching Jules.

  “I believe so,” Ricky Bobby replied, “but he’s not moving. The vent where he’s located appears to have been crushed.”

  “Fuck!” Julianna yelled, running. “We have to get him out.”

  Eddie was on her heels. “How are we going to do that?”

  Julianna pulled the grate up off the vent. She kneeled, peering into the fifteen-by-fifteen-inch space. Without hesitating, Julianna slithered into the tunnel.

  “Are you crazy?” Eddie asked, crouching on the ground beside her.

  “No, I’m problem solving!” The metal tunnel was cold and smelled of mold and dust.

  “You’re going to get stuck in there!” Eddie yelled.

  “Are you calling me fat?”