HADRON Havoc

by Stephen Arseneault

  Mace laughed. “Well, bring all of it you can. We’re likely to need it.”

  The shuttle moved into Earth space through a micro-wormhole. A short ride saw the United Front fleet come into view. Minutes later, the shuttle was parked in an open docking bay. Jane and Tres were the first team out. Fifteen minutes after, the Royal Fortune set down in the bay of a Vendetta class dreadnought. Mace Hardy and Fatso Geerok dropped to the deck from a partially opened ramp. This time, no pick-up had been scheduled. The Human and his Mawga teammate would be riding that ship out of Earth’s solar system… if all went well.

  Mace felt around for Fatso. “You’re gonna have to keep your hand on my shoulder so we don’t get separated.”

  Geerok whispered back. “That might be a problem. I can barely reach your shoulder. I know the way to the bridge. Perhaps it would be better if you follow me. Once we’re there I’ll follow your lead.”

  Mace let out a long breath. “OK. Just stay out of everyone’s way and try to remember you have a trailer following you. If space is tight, try to wait until it’s clear enough for us both.”

  “I’ll do my best. When I feel your hand on my shoulder… OK, here we go.”

  The admiral moved with surprising speed. Twice, Mace had to squeeze between UF crewmen where little room was left. They reached the main deck of the dreadnought’s bridge after four minutes of fast-paced walking.

  Mace pulled Geerok over to an empty section, whispering, “When you see me appear as a Wrathian, you do the same. If anyone makes a sudden move, blast them. Hopefully we can take control without firing a shot. I should be showing up over there behind the captain. I suggest you hunker down here behind this console, but keep your vision of the room clear.”

  Geerok replied, “You mean an image of the Geldidians, right? The name Miss Taub came up with? If so, will do.”

  Mace answered. “Sorry, Geldidians. When you see my image, enable yours.”

  Geerok grumbled, “I hope this works. That serpent-headed image scares me.”

  “It’ll work. Just do as I say and we’ll be out in free space in less than a minute.”

  Chapter 23

  *

  Mace moved into position behind the captain, placing the tip of his blaster at the back of the captain’s head just as his projected image became visible.

  Speaking through his translator, he said, “Captain, your ship is now under my command. You are now prisoners of the Geldidian Empire.

  Geerok appeared behind a console with his weapon raised. “Collective.”

  Mace asked, “What?”

  Geerok replied, “The Geldidian Collective. Empire was the old name.”

  Mace returned an unhappy expression. “The Geldidian Collective now controls this ship. Cooperate fully and you will be returned to your homes. Resist and it will mean immediate death.”

  The captain slowly nodded. “We will cooperate. What is it you want?”

  “As I said, this ship now belongs to the Collective. Have your navigator enter the following coordinates into your wormhole drive.”

  The captain shook his head, “We don’t have a wormhole drive.”

  A moment of terror ripped through Mace’s mind.

  Geerok said, “Yes you do. Now, as he said, cooperate or die. And when I say that I mean you specifically. Any tricks or attempts at deception and you will be the first to go.”

  The captain turned toward his navigator. “Lieutenant Commander Lefui, enter the coordinates as given. Make the jump as directed.”

  The nav officer replied, “I’m sorry, sir, our formation… we’re too close to the other ships to jump.”

  The captain returned an angered look. “Then take us out to clear space.”

  Mace added as he poked the captain in the back of the head. “Good move. Take us to those coordinates, and hurry.”

  Two UF crewmen walked onto the bridge from the outer hall. One attempted to draw his sidearm and Fatso Geerok took aim and squeezed the trigger on his blaster. An energy bolt hit the crewman’s torso, expanding rapidly outward, taking the second crewman with him.

  Geerok quickly glanced around the room. “Anyone else want some of that?”

  No further movement. The UF warship, named the Armitesson, slowly moved away from the other ships in the formation.

  A comm hail came in on a main channel. “Captain Hergla, why are you moving from formation? No order has been given for such.”

  Seconds later, a dozen other ships broke out.

  The captain replied, “Just stretching my legs, Admiral.”

  The admiral began to curse at his subordinate, getting in several choice words before the comm was cut off.

  The nav officer said, “Fifteen seconds to jump, Captain.”

  Mace pressed further with the tip of his blaster. “Order all crewmen to hold their current position. That will save any others from the same fate as those two.”

  The captain nodded as he opened a comm to the rest of the ship. “This is your captain. You will note that we are underway. I’m ordering all personnel to hold your positions. I repeat, hold your position until you receive further orders over this comm.”

  The comm closed.

  Mace nodded. “Well done.”

  A portal opened and the Armitesson slipped through.

  Mace followed with a second set of coordinates. “Have your nav plug these in, but don’t initiate until I say we’re ready.”

  The captain replied, “What will become of us?”

  “You cooperate and you get to go home. It’s that simple. We’ll be keeping your ship.”

  The captain frowned. “They will find you.”

  Mace leaned in, with the head of his snake looking menacing. My people are already spread throughout your empire, Captain. If I were you, I’d be worried about my home and my family. This ship is but a tool of war. Those who prescribe to a vision of peace have no need of such. Are the Kohamians a warring species, Captain? Or are you peace-loving and cooperative?”

  Four additional UF warships jumped to the same space, followed by an older Karthian freighter.

  Mace said, “Now, Captain, you will give the order for your entire crew to peacefully proceed to the docking bay. A shuttle will be used to ferry you over to the waiting freighter. That freighter will then be directed toward your colony at Canto. From there, you will be reunited with your brethren. However, should anyone decide they can gain the upper hand, and if they fail, you and your entire crew will be spaced. Are we clear on that?”

  The captain nodded. “We’re clear. You will have my cooperation.”

  Mace replied, “Good. Now for a reiteration. Should any of your crew attempt to hide aboard this vessel and be discovered, again we will space you and the remainder of your crew. So give the order for all to proceed to the docking bay and to offer no resistance.”

  The captain opened a general comm, delivering the message as it had been provided. Forty minutes later the final shuttle moved across to the freighter.

  Mace said, “Mr. Geerok, scan this ship for bios. Should just be the two of us.”

  As Geerok fiddled with his sensor array, a comm came in from Johnny. “How you looking over there?”

  Mace replied, “Good. We just moved the last of the crew to the freighter. You?”

  “We have two more loads. Any trouble?”

  “Geerok fried two crewmen who stumbled onto the bridge. We’ll have a mess to clean up here, but it otherwise went smoothly.”

  Johnny asked, “You sure everything is OK? You look a little nervous.”

  “I think we made a mistake with this single jump. We should have moved again before transferring anyone.”

  Johnny half smiled. “It looks to have worked out OK. We’ll be gone in a couple minutes.”

  Geerok yelled, “We have hideaways! Two dozen down on deck five! And wormholes are opening!”

  Mace growled as he opened a comm. “Crap. Mistake number one. Anyone who can jump, do so! If you can’t, then abandon
the ship. Take a position on the hull just to stay out of the way until they are ready to jump these ships away from here.”

  The first UF ship through the portal took aim at the Karthian freighter. A heavy microwave burst tore through its weak hull, incinerating all those who were aboard. Geerok followed Mace as he ran toward the gravity wall of the docking bay. As Mace arrived, he turned to find Geerok was no longer behind him.

  “Geerok? Where are you?”

  “Taking care of the hideaways.”

  Mace yelled, “Get your ass up here! We have to go!”

  Blaster fire could be heard echoing from a nearby hall. Mace stepped toward the gravity wall before turning back with a scowl on his face. A short run found two dozen dead Kohamian crewmen.

  Fatso Geerok uncloaked. “You know how to fire a microwave cannon?”

  Mace replied, “They’ll be boarding any second. We have to go.”

  Geerok shook his head. “I came to get this ship. I’m not leaving without it.”

  Mace followed as the portly Mawga admiral ran back to the bridge, and to a weapons console.

  Geerok sat in a chair. “Microwave ring is fully powered. All we have to do is aim and push a button.”

  “You fire the cannons. I’ll work the nav. Maybe I can jump us out of here.”

  A comm came in from the closest UF controlled ship. “Armitesson, we are coming aboard. What is your status?”

  Mace flipped his projector to show an image of Leonis Kontin. “They’re eating us alive! Help us!”

  A confused captain replied, “Who’s eating you? We only show two bios on the ship?”

  Mace froze his comm. “Geerok! Enable your bio inhibitor and go stealth!”

  Seconds later the Mawga admiral disappeared.

  Mace enabled his comm. “They just ate him! Hurry!”

  The comm was closed.

  Mace said, “Geerok, they should be sending a shuttle. Try to catch it as it’s coming out of the docking bay. Hit it with whatever you’ve got!”

  Jump coordinates were entered and a wormhole initiated. A heavy microwave beam emerged from the port cannon, incinerating a UF shuttle as it came through a gravity wall into free space. The beam followed the shuttle into the docking bay, setting off explosions that tore the United Front warship almost in half. A wormhole opened and the Armitesson slid through.

  Mace followed with a second jump to a new location just as two wormholes began to open around them. A third jump secured their getaway. A fourth took them to their final destination… in orbit around a planetless star.

  Sixty-five other dreadnoughts showed. Mace opened a comm. “Have we for sure lost anyone?”

  A Targarian captain replied, “Mr. Hardy, two ships in our group were taking fire. The king was aboard one of them. Do we go back?”

  Mace slowly shook his head. “We don’t have the crews needed for that. Everyone had their instructions. Get off the ships, let the Kohamians take them back if that’s what it takes to survive. We’ll give them an hour to clear out and then we’ll go back to see if anyone is left floating out there.”

  Another eighteen wormholes opened with ships coming through. All but two were piloted by Targarian crews.

  A comm opened. “This is Johnny. Who we missing?”

  Liam Hobbs replied, “Hobbs here. Can’t say on Mueller and Mallot. Their ships were there and they had unloaded their crews. We left while we had the chance.”

  Mace replied, “We’re missing a lot. And, Mr. Hobbs, you did the right thing. We fouled up with our planning. Should have made a second jump before dumping those crews.”

  Eighty six wormholes opened with more ships coming through.

  Mace said, “Report in.”

  Mueller replied, “We managed to jump away. Mr. Mallot was in a firefight with two UF cruisers. Looked like he was getting the best of them.”

  Jordan Crawford said, “We lost two ships. Can’t say who they were. Miz Tretcher made it in. We’re matching the comm logs to the ship nav logs right now. Will know in a moment if either one was her.”

  Johnny said, “I’m heading to Alpha to get the shuttle. I’m going back.”

  Mace replied, “Hold on. I’ll go with you. Mr. Crawford, we’ll be coming back here. Have the ship ID���s ready for us as to where she opened her last comm from.”

  The two United Front dreadnoughts jumped to Alpha Centauri. A transfer was made to the waiting Royal Fortune and a jump back to near the space where Jane’s original jump had gone. A short ride had the shuttle within sensor range.

  Jenny said, “Two UF ships are still there. Lots of floating debris. We’ll have to get closer to know if there are any bios that are not on one of those two ships.”

  Mace replied, “We’ll be close enough in two minutes.”

  The sensors returned what was expected. No bio-signatures outside the two remaining UF ships.

  Johnny stood, walking toward the shuttle ramp. “Take me in. I want aboard one of those ships.”

  Mace shook his head. “Not until we have reason to put you on one.”

  Johnny replied, “We have to bring her back.”

  Mace nodded. “We’ll do all we can. You know that. But let’s be smart about what we do. That ship to the left… the registration shows as one of the ones we grabbed. If she’s aboard it still, we’ll find her.”

  Johnny paced the floor. “She has to be on there, Mace. I need her.”

  Mace looked over the sensor data. “OK, we have two dozen bios on that ship on the left. I’m seeing four groups of six. If she’s on there, she’s cloaked. I’ll ease us into the bay.”

  The dreadnought on the left fired its weapons, ripping two wide holes into the side of the other. No fire was returned.”

  Mace said, “All four teams are heading toward the bridge.”

  Johnny clenched his fists. “That has to be her. Get me on that ship!”

  Mace took a deep breath. We can’t risk going in if they’re exchanging fire. Getting ourselves killed won’t help her.”

  Mace quickly sat back in his chair.

  Johnny asked, “What is it?”

  “I matched up the ship IDs. That wasn’t her dreadnought. But we need to bring whoever that is back.”

  Johnny looked up at the ceiling. “What am I gonna do, Mace?”

  “You’re gonna get it together until we know something for certain. I need you here with me.”

  A second set of microwave beams emerged from the dreadnought on the left. Interior explosions found their way to the outer hull. A single cannon on the damaged ship returned fire, taking out the forward cannon of the other ship. A third volley, this time from three of the four remaining port cannons, shredded the decks that included the bridge. The heavily damaged ship began a slow roll.

  Johnny said, “Take us in. That other ship is disabled.”

  Mace reached for the throttle. A heavy microwave beam emerged from the slowly tumbling ship, cutting through the lower aft section that held the powerful new fusion reactor. A forward cannon fired a return beam, effectively sawing the heavily damaged ship in half, explosions sending the remaining ends spinning end over end as further concussions ripped it apart.

  The dreadnought on the left went white hot as the third quarter of the ship turned into a glowing fireball. The reactor containment had failed and the hydrogen store had been breached. Intense flames shot through the forward decks, leaving nothing but a blackened, burned-out shell of a hull. Whoever had fired the weapon was gone.

  Johnny collapsed into a sitting position on the floor. Mace stood, moving over and pulling him to his feet. A short stumbly walk had Johnny sitting in the copilot’s chair.

  Johnny leaned forward on the console. “I can’t believe it. This isn’t happening.”

  Mace said, “She may still be on another ship. That was not hers.”

  Johnny drew a long breath. “How do we find her? Even if we go back to their fleet, she’ll have to reveal herself for us to know she’s there.”


  Mace placed his hand on Johnny’s shoulder. “As I said before, we’ll do whatever it takes.”

  Mace opened a general comm. If anyone is out there, you need to check in. We can pick you up. This area is clear.”

  The comm lit up with connections. Six Targarians and two Humans responded. The Humans were from Jordan Crawford teams.

  As they were being collected, Mace sent out another broadcast. “This is Hardy. If you’re out there, accept our comm. If you can’t, disable your stealth, let us find your bio.”

  A single bio signature appeared several seconds later. It was Tres Dowda. The ramp lowered and Johnny pulled him aboard. His helmet was gently removed. Evidence of flash-burns covered his suit.

  Johnny asked, “Was Jane with you?”

  Tres nodded. “We were too close to that explosion. My comm is gone. I’m sure I was out for several seconds. Jane was holding my hand just before that.”

  Johnny took a deep breath. “We can’t leave. She may be out there.”

  Mace replied, “We don’t have a way to tell. With the stealth enabled, she could float for a month without us finding her. I’m apprehensive about moving from where we are. If we hit her we could kill her.”

  Johnny asked, “What do we do?”

  Mace replied, “The only thing we can do. We wait, broadcast and listen.”

  Mace opened a wormhole comm back to the Alpha site. “We picked up nine. I’m passing through their names. We got Tres. He’s shaken up but OK. Jane is still missing.”

  Johnny said, “There has to be a way to detect her.”

  Mace shook his head. “Short of making physical contact, we don’t have a way.”

  “Then give me one of those Targarian jetpacks. I’ll go out and feel around every inch of this space if I have to.”

  Mace frowned. “Not gonna work. You don’t have enough lifetimes to make even a small dent in that job. We best just wait and keep broadcasting.”

  A wormhole opened not far from their position and a United Front dreadnought came through. After ten minutes of observance, and with no evidence of bios, the dreadnought returned to wherever it had come from.

  Mace flipped on the mic. “Jane��� if you’re out there, come back. If you can’t, we need you to disable your stealth. Help us to find you.”