"How is that related to what we're doing?" I asked.
"You say you regret not understanding the peril you placed your family in, yet you knew it would place your crew in danger. There was some level of danger you were willing to assume. Your entire crew took less than ten minutes to come to a unanimous decision and you spent most of that time talking about unrelated issues," he said.
"You were listening?"
"We were, but only for the purpose of research. We would not have shared your conversation with Master Anino," he said.
"It was intuition," I said. "We made that decision because we believed we would be successful and the need was great."
"You had very few details on what you were getting into. How were you able to come to that decision?"
"Conflict isn't something you can calculate and know you'll be successful," I said. "It changes too quickly. You simply have to do what is right at the time and make necessary adjustments as things change. It's more about having core principals, one of which is to value life. Perhaps another is to surround yourself with people who can be trusted. Sorry, other sentients who can be trusted."
Jonathan smiled. It wasn't a big warm smile, but it wasn't a bad smile, overall. "You honor us by including us in that list. We want to know why you would do this, having only known us for such a short period of time."
"You do have a lot of questions, don't you?" I asked.
"Yes."
"My dad had a saying – trust a person by their actions, not their words."
"You two are looking pretty cozy over here," Marny said. We must have been out of the thick of things if she was up and walking around. "I'm headed for coffee, would either of you like a cup?"
"I'll have one. Do you need an extra hand?" I asked.
"I think I can manage, Cap," she said.
Jonathan and I continued to talk. He had a lot of basic questions and I didn't think he was even close to the bottom of the list when Ada finally announced that we would be docking in a few minutes.
"Thank you for the talk, Captain," Jonathan said. "We'd enjoy talking again."
"You should join us for poker. We like to talk philosophically when we play. It's even better if we're drinking, although you might get more honesty than you're expecting," I said.
"And now, we have many more questions. We look forward to playing poker with you," he said and got up.
I walked over to where Nick was quietly talking with Marny.
"Any signs of Belirand?"
"Yes. There's a Corvette called Lawbringer orbiting the platform," Marny pointed to a long, narrow warship sitting five hundred kilometers off the platform.
"Man, those are gorgeous lines," I said.
"Like a snake, Cap. She has more firepower than Fist of Justice and runs as fast as we do. Her only downside is she's short on armor," she said.
"Then they'll be sending her after us," I said.
"Good bet," Nick said.
"Cap, grab Tabby and a blaster rifle, I don't want that ramp open otherwise," Marny said.
"Copy that," I said.
"On it," Tabby acknowledged.
The three of us made our way down to the hold, stopping first in the new armory where we picked up blaster rifles. We found Jonathan standing patiently next to the exit hatch.
"We'll meet you at the cargo ramp once it's open," I said, in passing.
"That won't be necessary. The stevedore bots are fully automated and I need to run up to Master Anino's office before we leave again," he said. "I will be back shortly."
"Would you like an escort?"
"No. Ms. Chen has restored communications and the Belirand agents aboard the platform will not be able to intercept me," he said.
"Wait." I stopped in my tracks. "There are Belirand agents on the platform?"
"Yes. Eight in total. I've provided Master James with a link to the station's security. He should be updating you shortly," he said.
I heard Marny next to me, contacting Nick. A moment later my combat HUD popped up. Two red dots showed in a room adjacent to the platform.
"I'd feel more comfortable if you were accompanied," I said.
"We won't have difficulty bypassing the Belirand agents. They will most likely be focused on you and the loading bay," he said.
"Understood."
I followed Marny and Tabby through the aft pressure barrier into the hold and we jogged through the narrow aisle of food crates.
"We're down," Ada's voice announced over our comms.
"Nick, we're showing the bay is empty. Copy?" Marny asked.
"Copy, Marny," Nick answered.
My HUD marked the spot in the bay where I was to set up and take cover. It designated the space I was to monitor and lock down. I could see two other fire lanes that Marny and Tabby would be covering.
"Ready," I said.
Marny palmed the loading ramp and it lowered slowly, small puffs of atmo escaping as the hold's pressure equalized with the bay.
"Tangos on the move," Marny said.
I wasn't surprised, since the agents had been monitoring the docking bay from inside. My heart started hammering in my chest as the excitement of combat grabbed me. A third and fourth red dot showed in the adjacent hallway and I recognized the four-man stack on the doorway.
"Go, go, go," Marny said as the ramp descended sufficiently for us to disembark.
Adrenaline hit my bloodstream and I raced for my position, sliding to a stop behind a stack of crates.
Identify contents of crate. I requested.
It took longer than I'd expected for my AI to reply, which led me to believe it had to reach out to Jonathan for permission.
"Polymer based plumbing fittings," the AI replied.
So much for deflecting blaster bolts. I took a knee to steady my shooting and present a smaller target.
"They're breaching," Marny said.
The barrel of the lead Belirand agent's blaster scanned the room.
"I'm fragging the door," I said.
"You ready to draw first blood, Cap?"
"Roger that," I said.
"On my mark, three… two…" Marny started counting me down.
I pulled a frag grenade from the side of my blaster rifle. It expanded to fit in my hand and as Marny's count hit zero, I stood and threw it. After playing pod-ball all my life, I was disappointed by my throw. It landed short and skipped into the opening. I'd planned to bounce it off the open door, back into the hallway.
I watched as the red dots scrambled to escape as the frag grenade exploded short of its target.
"Nick, we need to get those stevedores moving," I said.
"On it," Nick said and five bots lifted from the floor and moved crates into the hold.
"Marny, I have turret control," Mom announced. "Add me to tactical."
"Aye, Mrs. H.," Marny replied.
In all, three turrets activated and swung around, pointing at the bulkhead where the invading Belirand agents had holed up.
"Liam, that Corvette is awake and she's steaming around the platform to line up on us," Ada said.
"Jonathan, tell me this platform has defenses," I said.
"It has sufficient structural integrity to withstand a Corvette's attack for a sufficient amount of time," he replied. "I've completed my task and am on my way back. Unfortunately, I've run into a problem. The second Belirand team has done the unexpected and we appear to be trapped."
"Mom, I need you to keep that first team pinned down," I said. "Marny, find a route to Jonathan."
"I've got 'em," Mom said. "I'm in communication with them now. I just need to establish a pecking order, wait one."
A single shot from the aft blaster on the top of Hotspur ripped through the atmo of the docking bay. I'd never been on the outside of the ship when one of her guns had been fired, at least not with atmosphere between us. The round tore through the top of the bulkhead above the position of the first team and I suspected it hadn't stopped at that point.
"They'
re stationary, you're clear," she said.
"Cap, Tabby, on me," Marny said. "Jonathan, I need you to move to location alpha. We'll meet you there. We move now."
Tabby and I formed up on Marny as she took off at a jog. As she did, our HUDs started updating. I knew that the cognitive load of planning an extraction was too much for Marny to also be effective on point, so I accelerated around her. I felt a reassuring pat on my shoulder as she acknowledged my adjustment.
We serpentined our way to an elevator bank and stepped onto the waiting car. Ordinarily, we'd avoid elevators, but Marny must have been confident we had sufficient control of the platform.
The station was rocked by an explosion outside of the bay and I realized that Lawbringer had started its attack.
"We're loaded, Liam," Ada's voice cut in.
"Close ramp and move to the aft section of the bay. There's an exit we'll have to enhance," Marny said. "But don't tip our hand yet."
The elevator stopped a floor above where Jonathan was trapped. He was still moving, but the Belirand agents were moving in concert to keep him cut off from an exit.
"Are you going to pull a Bakunawa?" I asked.
"Aye, Cap," Marny replied. "Tabby, breaching charge, pattern on floor."
The room we entered showed three outlines on the floor. I pulled my final explosive charge from the stock of my blaster rifle and configured it for breaching, placing it on one of the outlines.
"Jonathan, hold back," Marny instructed. "Strike team take cover."
We retreated and hunkered down, keeping our armored backs to the blast. A moment later, she blew the charges.
"Tabby, in the hole, help Jonathan up," Marny ordered.
Without hesitation, Tabby turned and jumped into the hole. The enemy team had been alerted by the explosion and converged on our location, only a floor below.
"Liam, the bay is taking quite a bit of damage. They've already blown the atmo," Ada said.
"Hang tight, Ada, we're almost clear," I said.
I knelt and aimed down the hallway of the floor below as Jonathan reached Tabby's location. She didn't hesitate, grabbed him and tossed him easily up into Marny's open arms. Even before Jonathan was standing on the floor next to us, Tabby had leapt back up to our level. That was my girl.
"Retreat," Marny said. "Package in third location."
I turned and ran down the hallway, Marny close on my tail. Tabby and Jonathan were slow to follow.
"Move, Jonny! We're oscar mike!" Tabby said.
The open elevator greeted us and I raced in, spun around and dropped to my knee, aiming down the hallway. Marny stacked up behind me, standing over my shoulder. We fired past Tabby and Jonathan as the lead Belirand pursuer came into view. None too gently, Tabby pushed Jonathan to the side to clear our firing lane and had to help keep him from falling as he collided with the wall.
"Down," Marny said as Tabby and Jonathan joined us in the elevator car.
Tabby pushed Jonathan to the floor and covered him as Marny also lowered herself. The elevator started dropping as blaster fire ripped into the car through the doors.
"Ada, make an exit," I said. "We're coming in hot."
"Roger that, Liam."
We exited the elevator into the docking bay which barely resembled what we'd left only a few minutes previously. Lawbringer hadn't breached the bay completely but the damage it had caused to the platform was immense. We snaked our way through collapsed bulkheads, fallen pipes, and live wires, finally arriving at Hotspur which had started firing repeatedly at the too small exit on the opposite side of the bay from where we'd entered and where Lawbringer sat broadside to the platform.
I couldn't have been happier when we made it through the pressure barrier that covered the exit hatch.
"Ada, we're in." I pulled the armored hatch closed behind us.
I stopped only momentarily in the armory as I pushed my blaster rifle into its rack on the way to the bridge.
I passed Mom, next to Nick and focused on opening the exit.
"Ada, give me my aft blaster," Mom said.
I wasn't initially sure what she was saying, but it became obvious as Ada spun Hotspur around. The thwump of our aft blaster fired, followed by a second, similar thwump. I looked over Mom's shoulder and saw that she'd dumped our entire battery into the two shots, although the battery was refilling. Ada must have one of the engines generating additional energy to refill them.
"It's open," Nick said.
Ada didn't hesitate and backed Hotspur out through the hole as Mom continued to fire the top and bottom blasters at the ragged opening.
Tabby had jumped into the second pilot's chair and was bringing up flight status.
"All hands, combat burn in three… two…," Ada announced.
I grinned at the unusual configuration of my bridge. Mom had taken Marny's spot as gunner and Ada was expertly threading us through the wreckage of Anino's once pristine platform. The only spot left for Marny and me was the couch.
I looked at her as I took a seat, just as Hotspur jumped to a hundred ten percent of safe operation. Marny winced as she pulled her hand back from her shoulder.
"Are you hit?"
"Just a flesh wound," she said.
"Let me see," I said.
Her glove was bloody, but the armored vac-suit had already knitted the fabric back together.
"Let's get out of here first, Cap," she said.
"Fold-space in one minute," Nick said.
I pulled up a tactical view of Hotspur, Lawbringer and the platform. One minute seemed like a lifetime as Lawbringer curved beneath the platform in pursuit.
"Missiles en route," Nick announced.
Mom brought Hotspur's guns to bear on the flight of missiles tracking us. One spectacularly exploded, but there was no way she'd get them all.
Just then, the universe turned upside down and reality smeared in my vision. I couldn't have been happier.
SORTIE
"That was a gorgeous bit of sailing, Ada," I said. The adrenaline leaving my body made me feel almost giddy. "And Mom, I thought you were a pilot. You handled those guns like a pro."
"Don't you forget it," Ada said as she slapped Tabby's outstretched hand for a high-five.
"I only hit one of those missiles, and just so you know, the remaining three would have opened this girl up just as easily as four," Mom said although she was smiling.
"Any day you knock down a missile with a blaster is a good day, Mrs. H.," Marny said.
"Just doing my part."
"Would you mind if I asked a question?" Jonathan said. He wasn't riding the post-combat high the rest of us were.
"Certainly, Jonny Boy," Tabby said.
"Make that two. First, what is the meaning of 'pull a Bakunawa?'"
"It's an inside pod-ball reference," Marny said. "Bakunawa was the name of a Red Houzi dreadnaught we captured. Oddly enough, the particular maneuver Liam referred to ended up being unsuccessful."
"It wasn't unsuccessful," I said. "It just required adaptation."
"Not to mention, one of your old girlfriends to bail your ass out," Tabby said.
"Xie Mie-su was never my girlfriend," I said. "And, I was just as surprised as anyone when she opened the door to the Bakunawa's bridge. Jonathan, the maneuver on the dreadnaught was simply where we blew our way through a top deck and dropped down onto our target below."
"Thank you. We'd never confirmed that your crew was indeed the same that captured Bakunawa," he said.
"What's your second question?" I asked.
"It is for Ms. Masters. Under heightened emotional moments, you change our name to Jonny. Why do you do this?" he asked.
I gulped and asked, "Does it bother you?"
"No. Our observations have been that nicknames are assigned in human cultures as a sign of acceptance into a social group," he said.
"I love how you bring the awkward, Jonny Boy," Tabby said. "And yeah, I'd say you're part of the team. You looked out for me and mine. How does th
at make you feel?"
"We don't feel emotions in the same way you do, but I must say that we are very pleased with how recent events transpired," he said.
"Anyone else need a drink?" I asked. "And I think someone needs a med-patch. Right, Marny?"
"Fresh beers are in the reefer," Marny said. "I'll get a med-patch."
"Sit. I can carry beer and med-patches," I said.
"I'll join you, Captain," Jonathan said.
The two of us descended to the berth deck and I was surprised to see Jonathan head aft as I turned forward toward the galley. I mentally shrugged. I could easily carry the beers. I rummaged for a few minutes in the galley and found a bag of salty corn chips and finally stuffed a couple of med-patches into my belt.
Jonathan arrived back at the lift at the same time I did carrying the ancient katana we'd last seen on Curie along with a stack of packages.
"What'cha have there?" I asked.
"We'd like to present this all at once, if you don't mind," he said.
"Not at all," I said as we rose up into the bridge.
Tabby met us at the back and took a few beers from me and the bag of chips.
"Off with your shirt," I said to Marny.
She smiled, shaking her head. "You've a dirty mind, Cap."
"Purely for the sake of crew health," I said.
She gingerly pulled the armored vac-suit down. I had to help peel it away from her shoulder where the suit had injected clotting medicine on her wound. I couldn't help but notice that her suit liner had been burned back, exposing more of her chest than I was expecting.
"Would you like me to ask someone else to help?" I asked, turning away. While I found her muscular physique attractive, I wasn't about to overstep the bounds of our friendship.
"No," she said in a stage whisper. "I'm enjoying the show more than you are. Your face is bright red."
I wiped her shoulder clean and decided she'd have to clean the rest when she had some privacy.
"Frak, how many times have you repaired this shoulder?" I asked, as I uncovered old scars.
"Hard to tell," she replied. "Some of those we got together, though."
I placed the thicker of the two med-patches over the damage.
"That should do it." I handed her one of the beers I'd put on the table.
A Matter of Honor (Privateer Tales Book 9) Page 27