by Randal Sloan
The alien ship vanished in a gigantic explosion.
The second com drone was destroyed with the alien ship, so the last thing the alien council would know was that the new ship didn't work. They would have to reconsider their plans once again. If the aliens had had any imagination, they would have wondered just who kept thwarting them. Instead they continued their slow, logic-based course.
Unfortunately, all was not well for the home team. The alien beam struck the Relentless dead on. The main transfer module couldn't handle the load anymore, blowing itself up in a barely contained explosion. If the alien ship hadn't exploded at that same instant, the Relentless would have been completely unprotected and at the mercy of that beam. As it was, Relentless survived, although three of her four reactors scrammed.
With the power to the hyperdrives gone, Relentless did a crash dive out of hyperspace from the delta band. With no shields to protect her, the outer hull was ravaged by the energies of raw hyperspace, twisting missile ports right off the ship and crushing the launch bays into pulp. More than one missile launch crew stared in horror at open hyperspace, but somehow most of them survived, their emergency suits enough to protect them for that tiny fraction of a second. Mentally, their recovery would take much longer than physically; man was just not made to look at raw hyperspace.
On the Katarina, when used for the first time in live action, with the ship at full power and stealth mode at full, they discovered their modified reactor control system was still not robust enough, once more scramming their reactors and putting them in the dark.
For a few moments of agonizing uncertainty, no one would know if the others had survived, nor if the alien ship was destroyed.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Picking up the Pieces
Jarra had power because she was in the Medical bay and they were fed by the single reactor remaining active. That was by design; Medical, life support, the ship's gravity generator, all the most important non-combat systems ran off that reactor and it was the most protected of them all.
Unfortunately, she'd lost her connection to the bridge, and by extension to the Katarina. She was terrified something had happened to her friends on the bridge and her team on their ship. Here she was stuck in medical. If there'd been any way she could do something about it, she would have. Between her injuries and the issues with the nanites, she wasn't going anywhere.
I've got to believe everyone is safe, that alien ship is destroyed, and the Katarina is alright. After all, we're still here...
Finally, just as Jarra was about to start pulling medical equipment off and trying to find her way to her friends despite the obstacles, she got a call from Jason from his location on the bridge.
"We just got coms back up so I knew you'd want to be in the loop. I'm calling Katarina as we speak."
"Good news and bad news," he said as they waited for Katarina to answer. "That ship is destroyed, but the Relentless took a battering. It was a close thing, but your plan worked."
Finally, Katarina answered. Jarra listened as Jason talked to them. When their conversation ended, he came back on with her.
"Thank you," Jarra told him. "I needed that. I really felt everyone had to be alright, and the alien ship had to be destroyed or we'd be done for by now. I know it was hard on everyone having to follow my plan, but I really think it was the only way. We had to convince the aliens their new ship wouldn't work without tipping our hand that we have the edge in technology now. I just didn't expect it to be such a close thing."
Jason had understood the reason for her plan, even if he hadn't liked it. He knew what else she wanted to know, so he passed it on quickly. "We were able to confirm that they only got the one com drone off before we lost power."
"How bad is the damage to the Relentless?"
"Engineering is telling me that they'll have the main transfer module replaced and the reactors back up shortly. We'll even be able to keep our enhanced shields. They think they've figured out why the module failed. No, most of the real damage came as we crashed down out of hyperspace. Probably forty-five percent of the missile ports have been destroyed and will have to be repaired; the launch bays are much worse and we only have one operational at the present.
"It would have been much worse if that last beam they fired had lasted even a fraction of a second longer. Katarina saved us, that's for sure."
"She's a good ship," Jarra smiled, "who's having to do without their leader. I desperately wish I could be there with them."
"It's not all bad. I'll come visit you as soon as I can get freed up here. I suspect you're going to be busy when your cousin gets here in a couple of hours."
Jarra's smile grew bigger. "I'd like that, really like that."
#
Katarina finally had the power back on after a quick restart of their reactors. Admittedly, the team had a little practice at it by now. They'd spent several tense moments, to the point Sasha was about to order a drone sent out, but at last they heard from the Relentless.
"Katarina, this is Relentless. Please respond."
"Katarina here. Are you guys alright?"
"Lieutenant Commander Jason here. Yes, we're a little shook up and we have a lot of external damage due to our hyperspace crash, but we're mostly in one piece. The Princess has been asking about you guys."
"Yes, we had another reactor scram but we're otherwise good. We should be able to start moving your way shortly."
"Not sure if we have anywhere to put you. I'll have to get back to you on that. All of our landing bays have been compromised. Dauntless will be here in a couple of hours. We may possibly send you there."
As soon as everything was stable, Sasha got them moving toward the Relentless. Somehow she had a feeling everything was not finished yet.
#
The second call Jason made was to the Dauntless, which was now on their sensors. Jason was not looking forward to it and he deliberately left the Princess out of that call. He had to tell Prince John just how close to a disaster their effort had been.
"Dauntless, this is the Relentless. I need to speak with the Crown Prince."
It was only a few seconds until the Prince came on the call. "Relentless, we've been trying to reach you. Our scanners indicate you're alone except for the Katarina, so I assume you were successful in stopping the alien ship. However, the sensors also tell me your shields are down and your ship appears to show damage. Please provide an immediate update. How is my cousin?"
"Yes, Your Highness," Jason replied. So far at least he wasn't yelling. "Jarra is well, still complaining about being stuck in sick bay. As for the rest, you already know that Katarina's crew modified our shields to allow us to withstand the attack from that alien beam weapon. The modification worked but the main transfer power module couldn't handle the higher frequencies the mod produced and began to fail. We were able to concentrate our missiles enough to knock their shields down somewhat and over time, if the shields had been stable, we'd have been able to prevail."
"Obviously, your shields did fail since we can detect they are down. Just what happened? Why didn't Katarina destroy them with their beam to start with?"
Jason swallowed. Now came the hard part. "Our dear Princess insisted we could not reveal Katarina's capabilities just yet or it would have a very bad near future result. The whole thing was planned out so that it would appear we defeated them on our own but instead we led them to Katarina's hiding place within the Badlands. Obviously, it didn't go exactly as planned but our final outcome was the same."
Prince John just stared at him for a moment. He knew his cousin very well and he knew he couldn't blame those who were swept away by her strong sense of duty. He just wished she didn't push it so far. He didn't want to know, but he had to ask.
"Just how close was it? How bad is your damage?"
"It was down to a fraction of a second. Katarina fired her beam just a tiny fraction of a second ahead of the aliens. We were fortunate that they were able to destroy the alien ship wi
th a single shot. The alien attack struck our ship enough to blow the main power transfer module, taking out our shields and knocking us out of hyperspace. Without that fractional time difference, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation."
Prince John turned quite pale at hearing that. He was now worried about how he was going to explain it to his uncle. It would have to be the truth, nothing else would do, but he dreaded the response.
"And the Katarina?"
"They still haven't gotten their systems stable enough when firing their beam. It scrammed their reactors again. But Your Highness, in the after action view from the battle, that beam of theirs burned through the alien's shields like they weren't there and totally destroyed the ship with the one shot. When they get it perfected, it's going to be a weapon of tremendous value to the Empire."
Prince John nodded. "I just wish she didn't place herself at such risk."
Jason nodded. "That makes two of us. But, Your Highness, I expect she's only waiting for you to get here to spring the next one on us. I'm going down to sick bay to try to distract her till then, but after that, it's going to be up to you."
It was John's turn to swallow nervously. "If your ship wasn't so much at risk, I think we'd develop engine trouble, but you're right. I'll just have to face it and try to at least slow her down."
He smiled at Jason. "Best you hurry down there and see what you can do about that distraction thing."
Jason smiled back. He was really looking forward to doing that. It had been a awhile since he'd spent any real quality time with Jarra. "I'll do my best, Your Highness, I promise."
#
Jarra had been working on her meditation, trying to get a handle on the change to her nanites, when suddenly it was like something clicked. She knew that somehow the modified nanites had integrated themselves in with her existing nanites. It was like the new nanites supplied the pieces the old nanites had been missing. She wouldn't know until she could get out into a workout room to try the combined effect, but it felt right.
She was also going stir crazy, stuck in the medical bay. She was just about to start calling for someone to get her out of there when Jason came in the door. Looking into his eyes, she forgot about the rest of it, especially when he gave her a hello kiss.
Jason leaned back enough to whisper, "I gave everyone strict orders to not disturb us unless the galaxy needed saving again, and even then it'd better be as the last resort. We probably have an hour until your cousin gets here."
He smiled at her. "I think I need that and much more Jarra time."
Jarra just nodded. She couldn't help having a few tears in her eyes. "I really need a lot of Jason time. I was thinking more on the lines of a century or so myself."
Jarra smiled at his reaction. "Having one's life hang so close in the balance really helps to bring things in perspective. I know we've only just begun to get to know one another, but I have a strong feeling about us."
Jason's heart skipped a couple of beats. "I've loved you since before I met you, so you already know how I feel about you. It's only grown stronger since I've known you." He took her hand in his. "I can't wait to get to know you better."
Fortunately for the galaxy, they did get their hour alone undisturbed. Of course, for the two of them, that hour passed much too quickly. Jarra did heal a little more in her heart and soul.
#
Crown Prince John's signal that he had arrived at their location ended the alone time for Jarra and Jason. He wasted no time catching a shuttle to come across to their ship, although he instructed his shuttle pilot to fly around the Relentless a couple of times so that he could look at the damage before landing in the only working landing bay.
Relentless had repaired their main landing bay enough to land Prince John's shuttle and the Katarina, which had arrived just before him. The Prince quickly joined the Katarina's small crew as they made their way to the Admiral's suite on the super-dreadnought. Jarra had just moved in there right before their arrival. The doctor overseeing the Princess hadn't wanted to release her, but even he could see she was healing unusually fast. Finally after strongly admonishing her to take it easy, he agreed to her move.
Master Sergeant Dobbins and a couple of his men had taken up their duty posts so it was quite a happy reunion when everyone gathered in her quarters. Absent, of course, were the two members of the Marine squad still in the medical rejuvenation tanks where they would be for several more weeks while their replacement legs were grown. The Master Sergeant assured everyone that he and his men were keeping a close eye on them.
Jarra had Jynks arrange a small intimate dinner and she let herself just enjoy the time while they were all together. Although she'd finally convinced the doctor to let her out of sick bay, he'd insisted she remain connected to at least some of the equipment. Jarra knew he was right, so she took what she was offered. At least she was out of that room.
She really enjoyed the level of freedom she had. Smartly, Jynks had her and Jason together, as well as John and Sasha. It didn't take long for the topic of conversation to drift to the technologies Katarina had developed and where they were going with it.
"Now that we know the fix for the main transfer module, it will be easy to adapt our ships to move up to the delta band of hyperspace at a minimum," Gabo was explaining, still a little miffed that he had missed the issue with the transfer module. He smiled at John.
"Just think. With this technology you should be able to cross from one end of the Galactic Empire to the other in a couple of days, where it would have taken several days in the past."
Jarra couldn't resist. She had to say it, although somehow she suspected she'd regret it later. Something in her future. "Gabo, you're forgetting the Galactic Empire now includes Borjon and all the space along their galactic arm. Even using the delta band, you're talking weeks. Now, if your tests in the epsilon or possibly zeta band work out, we can perhaps cut that to a couple of weeks."
Gabo opened his mouth and then closed it. "You're right. I guess we'll just have to keep working on it."
A ping on Jarra's implants interrupted her thoughts on the subject. The link to the Emperor is ready, Your Highness.
Suddenly, Jarra was more than a little nervous. She knew she'd done what she had to do, but she wasn't sure that her uncle would see it that way. She gave John one of her most endearing smiles.
"Will you please initiate the call for us, John?" she asked.
"I will, but it's not going to do you a lot of good," John murmured.
"Just like old times," he went on when he saw the looks the others gave him. "We quite often got into trouble because of one of her schemes and then she'd try to pawn it off on me. He always did see right through us."
Jarra nodded. "Guess that's why he's the Emperor."
The others smiled at their byplay. "Bet there's a story or two there," Jason commented.
"Stories that you'll never know," Jarra told him with a smile of her own. "I've always had a propensity to get into trouble, although it's more like trouble just seems to find me."
"That's the truth," Emperor James Grayson Von Hasson answered before anyone else could speak. Apparently the connection had just gone through.
Everyone but Jarra and John dropped to a knee to face their Emperor.
"I thank you for your service," James intoned. "Please rise."
"Now, I believe we were talking about dear Jarra's ability to find trouble. I'm glad to see that you're well, dear niece. I was more than a little worried about you."
"I'm sorry," Jarra told him. She pointed to some of the medical equipment that still adorned her. "This time has been a little worse than the others, plus dealing with it all has been tough on me up here." She pointed to her head.
She smiled at Jason. "Jason has been a big help to me, in more ways than one."
James smiled at him. "Yes, I've been hearing quite a lot about you two. My congratulations and condolences, son. Your father asked me to let you know how much he's been think
ing of you and how proud he is of you for what all you've accomplished so far."
He smiled at the group. "You hang around with little Jarra, you can't help but do great things. So I expect I'll see much more from all of you."
He turned back to Jarra. "Now that the Admiral's dead and his alien ship destroyed, what do you plan to do next?" He was planning to suggest she return home for a visit, but he never got a chance to say it.
Jarra smiled at him, using the most innocent smile she could manage. "Why that's easy. We're going after the pirates."
CHAPTER TWENTY
Pirate Hunting
Everyone stared in shock at Jarra. Even the Emperor for once was struck dumb. Jarra didn't let them think on it very long.
"Surely you know we can't leave them out here. Even without the Admiral, they are a danger to our shipping and their crews."
Emperor James was the first to understand. "You're right, little Jarra, but it's not going to be easy. They've obviously had help, both from the Admiral and from the aliens. Knowing their base is somewhere in the Badlands only makes it worse and I suspect it is well fortified."
"I know, Uncle Jimmy," Jarra replied. Only Jarra got away with calling him that, but she'd let the first little Jarra go by, so she had to yank his chain to pull him back now or it'd get worse. He knew what she was telling him too. She saw it in his eyes. She was right about what they had to do.
"It's not going to be easy, but we have to do it. But don't worry, I have a plan."
Everyone groaned, including the Emperor. Jarra wanted to let it hurt her feelings, but she couldn't. After all, they probably were right.
#
Jarra's plan wasn't that complicated as far as the steps involved, although even she had to admit pulling it off wasn't going to be easy. The first step required the conversion of all the Imperial ships that could support the modifications to their shields and hyperdrive systems to allow them to navigate the Badlands. Only the super-dreadnoughts and cruisers could handle the load on their reactors and that meant Gabo and Galen had to go to each ship to complete the required work. Sara at least had her part down to an AI update she sent over with them.