Starmen (Starmen (Space Opera Series) Book 1)

by J. M. Hagan

"We have to do something!"

  But when they reached command and looked out the window, two dozen ships were already converging on his world. The news was broadcasting footage from the air above the Hall of Justice. There was gunfire on the streets. Police and innocents lay dead. The soldiers laying siege to the hall were wearing power armour that absorbed the hail of gunfire coming at them, and using heavy repeaters to blow apart armoured vehicles.

  The police response had been incredibly fast. But the terrorists were shredding bodies and metal in a rapid hail of pulse-weapon fire. Four of them came out from the Hall with Amataius in tow.

  The ships in orbit dove toward the surface. A huge explosion was seen on the surface of the planet. One of the ships had crashed down into the heart of the city.

  Warning lights were going off at coms. Venec rushed over. "Europa, re-activate," he commanded, and she came back online as he activated the screen.

  EMERGENCY HAIL

  ACCEPTED

  CONNECTING...

  "This is, Commander Venec Omodo."

  "Commander," cried a voice in response. "I am calling on behalf of the PDF. Are your licensed weapons operational and fully accounted for?"

  "Yes," Venec hurried to reply. In adherence to Federation law, everything his ship was capable of had been documented, so far as the weapons were concerned.

  "Then, this is a call to arms. All civilian ships bearing arms are to assist in the defence of the home world."

  "Of course. And, just so you know, one of them tried to seize my ship. We took care of her."

  "Affirmative, Commander. Taking note. Please proceed to the planet, post-haste."

  "Roger that."

  TRANSMISSION TERMINATED

  Venec hurried to his position, and Cane went to his.

  "Like I said before, I've never been in a combat situation," he said, sweat trickled his brow.

  "Well, my friend, today is your day." Venec buckled up, then looked back over his shoulder. "You listen to me – you’ll be fine."

  "Okay," said Cane, strapping himself in. Venec took them ahead at speed.

  "Commander, how is it you seem so battle-ready?"

  Venec gave a prideful smirk. "My grandfather – the guy who built Europa – he was a Starman, like his son after him. My Dad made me train, day and night. The day I was supposed to head out to the academy, I finally plucked up the courage to tell him that being a Deputy wasn't what I wanted for my life."

  Cane was checking the current state of his drones. They were all fully-armed and in excellent condition. "You ever regret that decision?"

  "Maybe," he said, taking out another cigar. He lit it, blew smoke. "One thing I don't regret is the training. Cane, we're not going to help defend the planet."

  Cane's brow inched higher. "We're not?"

  "No. We're going to make sure, Amataius, doesn't escape," he revealed, and Cane made sense of it at once.

  "The PDF is doing their job...they're worrying about the planet."

  "Exactly. They don't care if, Amataius, gets away; catching him again won't be their job. Their only concern right now is to minimize civilian casualties – I’ll wager that, Amataius, is counting on that!”

  "I don't want him to escape, Venec, but going after him would be suicide. Everyone knows his ship is well equipped. From the readings I got earlier, our shields aren't half as strong as his, according to these comparisons. He has more guns, and..."

  "Say, you handled yourself well back there," he complimented him suddenly.

  Cane smirked. "Thank you." Very smooth, Commander. But you are right…

  *

  She awoke with a fuzzy head. Siena’s eyes widened as she instantly recalled her predicament. They hadn’t tied her up. Their alarm had been so great, they left her there unattended.

  She hurried to take out her PDP and check the time. Roughly a few minutes had passed. She got to her feet with resolve, shirked the urge to wait and recover. Her hand used the wall for balance as she moved away from command.

  They could be back for her any second. They had her weapons, too, and there was no way she could take either of them without something deadly in her hands.

  Siena checked the rooms nearby, and decided, when she found a room adorned with paintings, and better furnished than her room, that it must have been the Commander’s personal quarters.

  A guy like that is bound to have something for defence in his room. Siena searched his storage compartments. She pulled out some clothes and tossed them aside. At the bottom, there was a thin metal baton.

  Next to it was a picture of a younger Venec, with a woman in his arms. She had beautiful blonde hair that was in the curled style that had been popular back when Siena was a child. Modern haircuts tended to be short and neat.

  She had deep silver eyes, a pearly smile. She looks kinda like Mom…

  Siena gave herself a shake. She had to keep her focus. She took up the baton and flicked it to the side. It shot out, got a few inches bigger. Her hand felt a button on the side. When pressed, a blue current sailed along the weapon. A shock-baton – perfect!

  Her PDP granted her access to the ship’s systems from the pathways she set-up earlier; Europa would’ve locked her out the moment she betrayed the crew. But it would take a while, even for an A.I., to purge the bad code Siena placed in her system.

  As she hid on the lower deck, she used her hacking program to gain access to the com array and requested a channel to Black Dawn, sending forth her ID code. A moment later, her father answered.

  “Who is this?”

  He didn’t recognise my ID code? Siena almost choked. “Father…it’s Siena.”

  “What do you want?” he asked bluntly.

  Even now, when she was in the process of laying down her life for him, Amataius didn’t treat her differently from anyone else.

  Several of her half-brothers, and half-sisters, had been through the training with her. They grew up together in his facility, schooled in the ways of a spy. She had been training for this mission for years. Her father’s grand plan…

  “My assignment was a cruiser. It’s well armed.”

  “Good,” he said approvingly. “Attack my pursuers.”

  “I can’t…”

  “Well, why not?” he chortled. “You passed advanced flight. I checked the results of every candidate myself.”

  He was right, she had passed, although, her score had been marginal on the final test. “Father, I didn’t succeed in capturing the ship.”

  “Did they suspect you?”

  “No…I,” she tightened up, her head dropping meekly as she anticipated his scorn. “They took my gun, and knocked me unconscious briefly.”

  “Stupid girl,” he blared. “You must take after your mother.”

  Like you even remember who she is. Siena’s lips thinned. Her head lifted. “I didn’t call for a lecture. I need advice. How should I proceed?”

  “You aren’t restrained?”

  “No. I have full access to the ship.”

  “Well, what are you waiting for? Take out the engines immediately!”

  “Yes, father,” she said. “When I do, please send a fighter to collect me. I can be at the airlock within forty seconds of cutting the engines.”

  “Just do as you have been told,” he snapped coldly. “Cut transmission…”

  Siena couldn’t believe it. He’s just going to abandon me? Taken aback, she paled. That would guarantee my capture, and a life-time prison sentence on a correctional colony. Her heart had dropped so far down she thought it might never rise again.

  *

  "Something tells me you're a natural," said Venec, blowing smoke as he continued flying toward their fleeing target. "Keep being brave. I know this isn’t your planet. But we have an obligation to help. Agreed?”

  He had no intention of disputing that. People weren’t statistics to Cane. All the more reason for him to pursue his solitude. “Agreed, Commander.”

  Waves of fighters jumped into the
system. They were Vipers, ships the military themselves used, as they were so effective in close range, and the moment they arrived they began attacking the PDF fighters.

  Europa counted eighty hostile ships.

  “Cane…maybe you were right,” Venec admitted, with growing fear. “This is an attack.”

  PDF forces broke away from their engagements with the freighters and cruisers on planetary approach that had been seized by agents like Siena, and they hurried to attack the Viper fleet flanking their forces.

  As it fled, Venec noticed that Black Dawn was arming a cannon that had been concealed in the underbelly. Scans relayed that his target had locked on the planet.

  “Europa, identify that weapon.”

  Scanning…

  “My database has no information on this weapon.”

  Venec diverted power from the rear shields and relayed it to the engines – the resulting exponential boost in speed closed the gap.

  He noticed on his scanners that several small fighters had locked onto Europa. They broke away from the battle against the PDF interceptors and gave chase. Amataius must have caught on that he was coming for him.

  They reached optimal range, and Venec fired his most powerful weapon – Europa’s forward disruptor cannon. It was built to take down shields.

  A bright blue ball of energy surged and crashed against Black Dawn. Then he fired his heavy repeaters and pulse cannons simultaneously, forcing Amataius to withdraw and manoeuvre away.

  Cane gasped. “Commander, I think you just saved a lot of lives!”

  “Thank God.” The Commander swept a hand across his gleaming brow and took a breath. “This fight is winnable. Trust me. I've been up against better and won. Don't underestimate this ship."

  Venec waved his cigar at him. Warning lights flashed. An alarm sounded.

  "God damn piece of…"

  Venec slammed his fist down, as they began decelerating.

  "What the hell is wrong now, Europa?" he asked, sounding defeated.

  Checking...

  “It's, Siena. She's awake, and she's sabotaging the ship."

  They matched eyes in surprise. "But...I saw what you done to her," insisted Cane, stumped. "She should be out cold for hours."

  "Never count on anything," snapped Venec angrily. "Europa, what damage has she done? Where is she now?"

  "Deck-E. She's disconnected some circuits, and is currently beating components with a metal baton taken from your quarters, Commander.”

  "Crude, but effective," said Cane.

  "Shit," cried Venec. “We’ve got a fighter closing in.”

  The Commander spun Europa 180, and locked his target. The viper came shooting for them, its repeaters firing, and the bullets pelted their shields. Venec powered up the forward cannon. A bright blue light formed and then shot out, encapsulating the viper, and taking down its shields.

  Venec grit his teeth, firing Europa’s heavy repeaters, and the small fighter was obliterated. Cane thankfully wiped sweat from his brow.

  “Okay. Time to deal with, Siena,” Venec groaned, getting out of his chair.

  Raising an open palm, Cane stopped him. "Stay here, Commander. I will deal with this."

  There was no way he was ready to pilot Europa, a ship unfamiliar to him, into combat. Cane realised he would serve them better if he was the one to stop her.

  Venec eyed him a moment to test his resolve. Then he handed over the gun. "Okay. You ever use one of these?"

  "No," said Cane, refusing it. "I am trained in CQC. I don't need a weapon."

  "Yeah?" Venec's eyes got thin, he put his head back to escape some of the smoke from his cigar that was blinding him, then shoved the weapon into his chest. "Take it anyway. Point and shoot."

  With reluctance, he relented. Just as he was about to leave, Venec handed him a small earpiece taken from the cabinet in the wall. "Put this in," he said.

  Cane placed the communication device in his ear.

  “Take the lift to Deck-E. We’re against the clock here,” warned Venec. “You can reach the engine room in less than a minute if you hurry. Now, go!”

  3

  Cane negotiated his way carefully along the narrow corridors of Deck-E. As he came into the engine room, he saw the magnificent piece of technology had been powered down. He activated his com.

  “Venec, I’ve reached the engine room,” he whispered. “No sign of, Siena. Can, Europa, locate her with the internal sensors?”

  The Commander answered quickly. “She’s not in the engine room anymore, Cane. Europa, has located her. She’s still on Deck-E, close to your position. Manually reactivate the engines before you move on.”

  Cane hurried to the control panel that was dented and shooting sparks from busted components. “Venec – she really done a number on this,” he said, worried.

  “Don’t worry about it. That’s just the power distributor. We’ll repair it later. The engines are fine. We need to switch to reserve power. There’s a compartment on the bottom right. Open it.”

  Cane’s eyes found it, and he hurried to pry it open. He examined inside, seeing a red handled lever.

  “Pump the handle,” Venec instructed.

  Cane did, with effort, and after the third pump, the engines spooled. A bright white light filled the room. Then came a rumble like thunder. The light shifted to a gentle blue as bright rings formed to pass through the funnel, and the deft hum of the engines that he was used to hearing had returned.

  “Good job,” said Venec, and Cane was jolted. “We’re on the move again.”

  “Excellent.”

  “All you’ve gotta do now is track her down. Time isn’t on our side. You have approximately three minutes before we’re in combat.”

  Taking a breath, Cane wiped sweat from his brow. It was getting hotter in here already, now that the engines had been reactivated.

  *

  Europa was impressive, by any standard, for her manoeuvring capabilities. But Black Dawn was a heavily armoured ship, built for combat. Venec doubted if Europa could take it in a straight-up fight. His resolve shirked him of doubt quickly, though.

  This is fate. It has to be, he thought, as adrenaline surged through him. His thirst for revenge spurred him as they neared their target – Black Dawn was closing on the Gateway.

  “Contacting registered vessel Europa,” cried a voice over the com. “Come in, Europa!”

  “This is, Commander Venec. Who is this?”

  “General Kalisz, of the Planetary Defence Force! We've taken note of your heading. We agree that stopping, Amataius, is of paramount importance." Finally! "He must not be allowed to escape."

  Venec manoeuvred the ship from the path of an in-coming missile. It flew by the underside of his ship as he manoeuvred to avoid it. He deployed decoys from a compartment along Europa’s underbelly and the missile sharply flew at them. It disappeared from his readings a second later.

  “Don’t worry, General, he’s not getting away from me!”

  Luciana, I won’t let him get away!

  “Range – optimal,” said Europa. His targeting sensors locked on Black Dawn.

  Black Dawn swerved as Europa’s cannons blanketed its path with fire. Venec pulled back the stick, shooting high above before he corrected his aim. Then he darted toward him, firing the pulse cannons attached beneath the ship’s wings. His foe’s shields took a pummelling.

  "Black Dawn’s shields are down to 30%."

  He hadn’t done nearly enough damage. At this rate, Amataius would get away; he had almost reached the Gateway.

  “Europa, we need a new plan!”

  “Agreed,” the ship complied. “I suggest targeting the Gateway itself."

  That gave him pause. It connected his world to the rest of the galaxies, and had existed for thousands of years. Without it, the trip to Federation space would take months. People would be cut off; trade would come to a staggering halt; his planet would know poverty for the first time in centuries.

  “Are you kid
ding?” Venec fired the forward disruptor cannon, and an electrical storm surged across Black Dawn’s shields. “We couldn't destroy that gateway – it connects us to the rest of the galaxies!"

  "We wouldn't need to destroy it completely. Concentrated fire from our pulse beams should be enough to destabilise the wormhole, if we target the Gateway's power source."

  "You sure the gate will be intact?"

  "It will require repairs. But it will still be, mostly, intact."

  Venec, feeling proud of his A.I.’s service, grinned wide. “Sounds like an acceptable risk to me.”

  He flicked on his com. “Cane, what’s your status?”

  *

  “I have followed, Siena, to the TDS core. She must have more mischief in store for us,” Cane replied, in a worried whisper.

  He was in the doorway, just about to proceed when the Commander called.

  “In that case, stop her immediately. Be careful.”

  “Yes, Commander.”

  The TDS core was in a room with lots of pipes and conduits. As he stepped inside, he called out, “Siena, I know you’re here…come out. I’m armed with your pistol.”

  A loud spark sounded.

  The lights flashed off in the room to a sound of failing power. It would’ve been a smart move on her part, if Cane hadn’t been from Adanis.

  Cane’s eyes attuned to darkness quite well, not that she knew that. The moment the lights went out, he stopped, lowered himself, looked around with his eyes adjusting to the dark quickly.

  Only an assassin would use darkness like this. He took out the gun he hadn’t thought to use until now. The girl was armed with a deadly weapon, and she had every intention of using it. Now, they were of like mind.

  “Siena,” he whispered, “if you try to harm me, I will not hesitate…”

  “Then don’t get in my way,” she whispered, from somewhere nearby. Cane’s head turned to the noise. He saw an outline in the pitch black about ten feet away.

  Cane moved, quick and silent, and stilled his breath as he came around on her flank. Siena moved out from her cover and proceeded to where he had been before, gripping tensely to her metal baton. He could smell her sweat, hear the distress on her quiet breath.

  He aimed the gun at the back of her head. The slightest sound was made as he put his finger to the trigger – Siena whirled around, striking with her baton, and struck his forearm. Sparks shot off the floor as he dropped his gun and it went off.