by Piers Platt
“What are you doing?” Vina yelled.
The female lifted her head to strike again, but suddenly paused. Falken gritted his teeth and tugged, and with a metallic groan, the bar slid up, and then tumbled to the ground. Falken stepped back, and the door swung open. The dragon inside half-hopped, half-flew out – its left hind leg appeared to be injured from the crash. It ignored Falken and Vina and landed beside the female, nuzzling against her flank. The huge female covered the smaller dragon with one wing, shielding it against her side.
“She’s its mother,” Vina breathed.
Falken nodded. “That was my guess.”
The big female remained focused on them, but made no move to attack.
“Come on,” Falken said. “I’m not sure how long whatever goodwill we just earned is going to last.”
They started back toward the pod, giving the two dragons a wide berth. The mother followed their progress with her head, tracking them as they moved, but stayed where she was. When another dragon landed near Falken and Vina, the female hissed at it suddenly, and the new arrival scampered back into the air, leaving Falken and Vina alone. Then the female wrapped her offspring carefully in her talons and lifted off. Falken and Vina stopped walking, holding their breath as they watched her take off. But she ignored them, and flew instead toward the far side of the aerie.
For a brief moment, the path back to the funicular was clear. Then Falken saw a pair of dragons land on the platform. Another dragon landed on the roof of the escape pod behind them, and Vina shrank back as two more dragons began to hop up the slope of the crater, climbing toward them.
“Falken …,” Vina whispered, the panic plain in her voice.
“I know,” he said.
He glanced at the escape pod, then the funicular, but they were surrounded.
“On three, we make a run for the cage. I’ll try to close the door behind us,” Falken said.
“Okay,” Vina agreed, squeezing his hand.
“One,” Falken said. The dragons on the platform jumped into the air, gliding toward them.
“Two …”
Suddenly, a piercing siren rang out across the aerie, and the Liberty Belle roared over the lip of the crater. Falken saw the encircling dragons screech in anger and pain, and beat a hasty retreat into the air.
“Go!” he yelled at Vina, seeing the ship’s ramp drop open just above them. Brondi and Raynard stood on the ramp, beckoning them inside.
“Come on!” Brondi yelled.
They sprinted up the gravel-strewn slope, and leapt toward the ramp – Brondi grabbed Vina by the hand and pulled her inside. Falken hauled himself up into the ship, and risked a quick glance over his shoulder – the air was once again filled with dragons, enraged by the sudden intrusion and piercing noise of the siren. Then the ship turned away, and the ramp slid shut.
He lay on his back for a moment, just catching his breath. When he rolled over, he saw Vina on her knees, shaking with relief while Brondi rubbed her back. Falken pulled off his oxygen mask and stood up. Vina stood too, with help from Brondi. She reached into her pocket and pulled the master key out, holding it out to Falken.
“Can we please get out of here now?” she asked.
“Absolutely,” Falken said.
Chapter 35
Falken and Vina stepped onto the Liberty Belle’s bridge, with Raynard hobbling behind them, mop handle tucked under his arm for support. They found Captain Muir in the ship’s pilot seat, eyes glued to the forward viewport. Falken saw the crater of the aerie slip away below them, as Muir took the ship into a steep climb.
“Hull damage,” the ship’s computer reported. “Multiple life forms detected on the ship’s exterior. Take remedial action immediately.”
“Tell me you got the key,” Muir said.
“We got it,” Falken told her.
“Good. Plug it in at the captain’s station, right behind me,” Muir said.
Falken leaned over and slid the key into its slot.
“There we go,” Muir said, with relief. She poured power into the main engines, and Falken felt them accelerate upwards. Muir pushed her control stick over to one side, and the ship went into a tight spiral, spinning as it climbed. On her computer terminal, several red icons disappeared off a diagram of the hull. “That’ll shake ‘em off. Go home, dragons.”
“Are we clear?” Raynard asked.
“We are now,” Muir said, arresting the ship’s spin. “Falken, hop into my station and pull up the sensor monitoring suite.”
Falken climbed into the seat and tapped on the screen, accessing the ship’s sensors. “Scan for the Starfarer?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Muir agreed. “We’re gonna need about three minutes to get clear of the planet’s gravity well before we can leap to FTL.”
Through the viewport ahead, the sleek, gray forms of the drone patrol screen accelerated out of the Liberty Belle’s flight path, barely visible in the night sky. Then the last wisps of clouds disappeared, and the sky turned a deep, inky black, the stars shining brightly as they passed out of the planet’s atmosphere.
“Behind us!” Falken yelled.
“Shit,” Muir said, jerking the joystick to the left. They heard the rattle of sharp impacts on the hull.
“Long range radio antenna disabled,” the ship’s computer reported. “Engine number seven is now operating at fifty percent capacity.”
“I know, I know,” Muir told it, tersely. “They must have been idling just outside the ionosphere, waiting for us to come up.”
“Still on our tail,” Falken said.
Muir threw the ship through a looping roll, and a line of glowing tracers flashed past the viewport, followed by several more impacts on the hull. The ship’s computer listed damage to several other systems.
“I thought this thing was armored?” Raynard asked.
“It is,” Muir said.
“It’s not warship armor,” Falken told Raynard. “It’s just extra plating to keep the dragons off the sensitive stuff.”
“It’s the only reason we’re not already dead,” Muir grunted, grimacing as she plunged the ship into a steep dive, then roared through a tight turn.
Another salvo battered the hull, with the sound of hail on a tin roof. At Falken’s station, an alarm began hooting. “Pinhole hull breach,” he reported.
“Okay,” Muir said. “Can’t do much about it right now.” She glanced down at her computer briefly. “Still two minutes ‘til we can leap. Shit.”
“We’re not going to make it,” Falken observed.
*
Captain Auresh watched through the Starfarer’s viewport as the Liberty Belle slid through another evasive maneuver.
“That extra hull plating is protecting them, sir,” one of his crewmen reported.
“I’m aware,” Auresh said. “Keep firing. Aim for the engine banks.”
“Why not just finish them with a missile?” Cadellium asked him.
“Because missiles are expensive,” Auresh said. “Bullets are cheap. And this way, we get to savor the moment a bit. They’re not going anywhere.”
Auresh punched a command into his computer terminal, and a schematic showing Olympus appeared, with icons for the two ships above the planet. Auresh tapped the screen. “And after we’re done with the Liberty Belle, we’ll go take care of the life rafts from the other tourist ship. No witnesses,” he told Cadellium.
“Good,” Cadellium grunted. “Then at least one aspect of this operation will have gone to plan.”
“Got ‘em!” a crewmember called out. “Direct hit on the engines. They’re just limping along now, sir.”
Auresh looked up to see the Starfarer fly through a small cloud of debris that had been blasted off the Liberty Belle. Only one of the resupply ship’s engines remained fully lit – as he watched, the others flickered off, sputtering out.
“Pick a point on their hull and concentrate your fire there,” Auresh ordered. “And be ready to take out any life rafts they deplo
y.”
Suddenly, a massive super-freighter appeared just beyond the Liberty Belle, jerking out of faster-than-light travel.
“Who the hell is that?” Auresh asked.
*
“Who the hell is that?” Falken asked, over the bridge’s ringing alarm bells.
“No clue,” Muir said, frowning. “Whoever they are, they picked the worst possible time to visit Olympus. The Starfarer’s gonna have to take them out now, too.”
Through the viewport, they saw the huge ship’s bow split apart, swinging open to reveal a yawning cargo bay, and a smaller ship in the shadows within. Muir gasped.
“Jiyake, you magnificent bitch,” she said.
*
Commander Jiyake saw the Liberty Belle turn aside, moving out of the Extremis’ flight path. Beyond the resupply ship, the Starfarer hung in space, its white hull bright against the dark backdrop of Olympus.
“Take us in, Chief,” Jiyake ordered.
“Aye, aye,” Risley replied.
The cutter roared out of the super-freighter’s cargo bay, barreling down on the Starfarer.
“Missile launch detected,” a crewman reported. “Make that two.”
“Countermeasures,” Jiyake said.
A small drone rocketed out of the Extremis’ hull, firing flares repeatedly. The first missile altered course, arcing away from the Colonial Guard ship, homing in on the drone. It detonated harmlessly several hundred yards away from the ship.
The second missile continued toward the Extremis, but as it closed with the larger ship, a missile defense system activated automatically, targeting the missile with a steady stream of bullets. The missile exploded a moment later; Jiyake heard shrapnel rattle against the ship’s armor.
“Did that hit us?” Detective Adnan asked, standing next to Jiyake’s seat.
“No,” she assured him. “Just scraped a little paint off the hull. Grab on to that hand hold over your head,” she told him. “The ride may get a little bumpy.”
“Ah. Right,” Adnan said, hastily following her advice.
The Starfarer fired a salvo of cannon shells, and then turned hard onto its starboard side, accelerating suddenly.
“They’re breaking off,” Risley reported, ignoring the cannon shells, which the Extremis’ armor absorbed easily. “Just changed course.”
“Heading for deep space,” Jiyake mused.
“Probably aiming to make a leap out of the system,” Chief Risley guessed.
“Trying to,” Jiyake said. “All ahead flank. Follow their new course. Weapons, I want that ship intact. Don’t get trigger happy on me, or I will have your ass.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the weapons officer replied.
“Armament first, then propulsion,” the commander said.
Down on the forward hull, the ship’s main battery swiveled on its turret, taking aim at the fleeing ship. The cutter’s lights dimmed momentarily, and Jiyake caught the briefest glimpse of a faint line of green laser extending out from the weapon’s barrel. The Starfarer’s hull glowed red-hot where the laser touched it, and a series of explosions erupted from an internal bay.
“Missiles are knocked out,” the weapons officer reported. “Must have had a few more in the racks, those look like sympathetic detonations.”
The Extremis’ lights dipped twice more, in rapid succession, and Jiyake saw pieces of glowing debris fly off the Starfarer. The weapons officer zoomed in on his visual sensors, inspecting the damage.
“… and that’s taken care of the cannons.”
“Enlarge on the main screen,” Jiyake said.
“She’s off-gassing,” Chief Risley noted, seeing a white plume flowing from the Starfarer’s side. “That last hit opened up her hull.”
“They’re shutting down their engines, ma’am,” the weapons officer said. “You still want me to target them?”
“No,” Jiyake decided. “They’re not going to be able to leap with a hole like that in their hull.” Just like we couldn’t, she thought, with some satisfaction. “Open a hailing channel.”
“Ready, ma’am.”
“Starfarer, Starfarer, this is CGS Extremis. Power down all non-essential ship functions and prepare to be boarded, over.” She covered the microphone and turned to Chief Risley. “Boarding team?”
“Standing by, port-side hatch, ma’am. They’re looking forward to a bit of a fight, if I’m not mistaken.”
Jiyake cocked an eyebrow. “We’ll see.” Through the viewport, the Starfarer had begun to spin slowly in place, driven by the hull leak. Then Jiyake saw some kind of foam expand out of the inside of the Starfarer’s breach – the atmosphere stopped leaking out a moment later. The commander keyed the radio microphone again. “Starfarer, this is CGS Extremis. You have one minute to respond or we will assume that you remain hostile, and we will open fire again, over.”
The radio stayed silent.
“Will you really shoot them again?” Detective Adnan asked.
“No,” Jiyake said. “But this will tell us what to expect when the boarding team goes in. If they respond, we can simply dock and walk on board to arrest them. If they don’t respond … well, the team has some rather unpleasant tactics they can use to subdue the crew in that scenario.”
“Don’t respond, don’t respond …,” Chief Risley muttered, crossing his fingers.
“Ten more seconds,” Jiyake said, watching the clock at her station.
“This is the Starfarer,” a harried voice said. “All systems powered down. Board when ready. We surrender.”
“Aw, man,” Chief Risley said.
Jiyake allowed herself a smile – the first in a long while.
Chapter 36
Falken checked that Vina’s safety line was securely tethered to the Liberty Belle’s deck, and then gave her a thumbs up, holding his gloved hand up in front of her space suit helmet.
“You’re good,” he told her.
“Okay,” she said.
Falken pressed a button on his space suit’s wristpad. “Drop the ramp, Captain,” he radioed.
The ramp slid open on cue, the upper atmosphere of Olympus below. The planet’s curved surface was neatly bisected by the sun’s light – half of it stood shining, gray and green with white clouds, while the other side stood dark and foreboding in the shadow of night. Beyond the open ramp, two circular life rafts floated, spinning slowly – Falken could see Adrenaline Junkies stenciled in black paint along the side of each of them.
He turned and took hold of the double joysticks mounted into the wall, and watched as the cargo arm unfolded from the ceiling, swinging smoothly out into space. Then he extended the arm, opening its grasping claws.
“We’re slipping away a bit,” he told Muir, over the radio.
“Sorry,” she said. “Tough maintaining relative position with only one engine running.”
“Reverse a hair,” Falken told her. “There.”
The nearest raft drifted into range, and Falken managed to trap it with the arm on his first attempt. He reeled it in, carefully holding it close over the floor of the bay.
“Stand back,” he told Vina. “It’s gonna drop when I release it, since the artificial gravity’s on in here.”
He checked to make sure she was clear, and then let the raft drop to the deck.
“Okay, strap them down,” Falken said.
He turned and pushed the cargo arm back out of the ramp, and after a moment, caught the second raft. A minute later, it sat on the deck next to the first raft, and Vina bent down beside it, hooking it to tie-down points in the floor.
“Got ‘em both, Muir,” Falken said. “We’re ready to repressurize back here.”
“Nice,” she said. “Be down in a second.”
Falken watched the ramp close again, then unhooked his safety tether and crossed over to the nearest raft. Inside, he saw Quiss and a handful of tourists, waving and smiling. He waved back. There was a loud hiss of air, and the lights in the bay switched from red to green. Falken popped
the collar on his space suit and lifted the helmet off.
“It’s safe,” he told Vina, and bent to help her begin climbing out of her own suit.
Quiss stepped out of his life raft’s hatch.
“Hey, Quiss,” Falken said, pulling Vina’s helmet off. “Good to see you again.”
“Same.” Quiss gripped Falken’s free hand and then leaned in, slapping him on the back. “You look like you’ve been through hell, mate.”
“It’s been a long day,” Falken admitted.
“No shit,” Quiss said. “Sorry again about Greban.”
“Thanks,” Falken said.
Hylie appeared a moment later, as their guests began to spill out into the bay. She smiled at Falken. “Thanks for hauling us in,” she said, walking over and patting him on the shoulder. “How are you?”
“Alive,” Falken said.
“Yeah,” she said. “That’s an accomplishment, today.”
Muir hurried down the steps into the bay, and jogged over to the group.
“Is anyone hurt?” she asked. “Anyone need medical attention?”
Hylie turned. “Uh, no,” she said. “We’re all fine, thanks.”
“Okay,” Muir said. “Well, you can all head back to the same cabins you flew in on for now. And there’s food in the cafeteria. We’re gonna be here over Olympus for a couple more hours, I think, but we’ll be heading back to Harrison’s Waypoint soon.”
Hylie gave Falken a quick hug, and then she and Quiss followed their guests up the stairs. Falken, alone with Vina once more, took a deep breath, then let it out.
“Come on,” he said, lifting their helmets in his arms. “Let’s go put these suits away.”
*
Commander Jiyake and Detective Adnan watched as the boarding team hauled the surviving crew of the Starfarer to their feet. Amidst several other crew, Jiyake saw Captain Auresh, one arm in a sling, glaring at her – he stood beside an older man with a pony tail, who she recognized from her web searches as Cadellium, the investor. Cadellium avoided her gaze, staring at the wall in silence. Then her crew marched the prisoners out of the ship’s cargo bay and through the docking tube into the Extremis.