“We’re fine,” answered Jeremy as he held on to Kelsey. Letting her go, he looked her over and noticed with relief that she looked unharmed. A little thin, but otherwise she looked okay. “We haven’t been allowed to leave our quarters since the takeover.”
“Us either,” commented Angela as she looked over with obvious distaste at Rafferty.
“Sit down!” Rafferty ordered with a scowl on his face. He didn’t like the way Kelsey had jumped up and hugged Jeremy. This was something he would have to mention to Barr later.
The three cadets sat down, with Kelsey sitting next to Jeremy and Kevin next to Angela. All four wondered what was going on. Why had they been brought to the officer’s mess?
“Enjoy yourselves for now,” Rafferty commented snidely as one of the guards brought over a tray of freshly made sandwiches and tea. “It might be a while before we allow you out of your cages again.”
“We’d better eat,” spoke Jeremy, reaching for a sandwich and keeping a wary eye on Rafferty. He didn’t know what was going on, and he was even more surprised that they were being allowed to eat a decent meal.
The girls nodded, reaching for sandwiches. Jeremy could see by the way the two girls were eating that they seemed to be extremely hungry. He wondered if food was being withheld from them. What kind of game were Barr and Rafferty playing with the two girls?
“These are better than what we normally get,” Kevin spoke quietly as he reached for a second sandwich.
“Much better,” Angela agreed as she swallowed the last bite of her ham sandwich and reached for another.
Jeremy’s eyes were suddenly drawn to the open doorway as Maher stepped in. What does he want, Jeremy wondered? His eyes focused on the former executive officer with distaste. He knew that, under this man’s orders, a lot of good people had died. People he had known and became friends with.
Maher walked over to the table and looked down at the four cadets. “As you know, the New Horizon is now under my command. We have another sixty days to go before we reach the destination I have chosen to establish our colony. You two girls are being kept alive for obvious reasons; we will need all the females on this ship to help expand our population once we reach our new world. As for you, Cadet Strong and your friend Cadet Walters, there is no real reason to keep you alive. We are far out of range of any possibility of your father ever finding us.”
Jeremy felt an icy hand grip his heart. Looking over at Kevin, Jeremy could see that Kevin’s face had turned extremely pale. Forcing himself to look up, he gazed at Maher. “What do you want?”
Maher allowed a fleeting smile to cross his face. “It’s very simple, Cadet Strong; I want the four of you back in the Command Center. You have all been trained to operate the various Command Center stations and at the moment, we are slightly shorthanded in that department. If the four of you agree to return and obey my orders, I will spare you and Cadet Walters from being executed. If not, then consider this your final meal.”
“You wouldn’t dare harm them,” Angela broke in, her face in shock at hearing Maher’s words. “Admiral Strong would kill you when he catches up to you.”
“I have already killed a number of people on this ship who stood in my way, what’s a few more?” responded Maher, looking unconcerned. ‘Besides, Admiral Strong will never be able to find us. You can kiss Earth and your former lives goodbye. You will never be going back!”
Angela looked over at Kelsey and said nothing. It was hard to imagine she would never see her family or friends back on Earth again. The reality of that was starting to set in. She could feel her hands start to tremble as she realized what might be in store for Kelsey and her.
Jeremy was silent as he looked over at Kevin. He knew they had no choice. It would also at least get them out of their quarters and around more of the crew. It might also give them an opportunity to speak to Lieutenant Nelson. “Okay, we will do it,” Jeremy said in an even voice. “But Barr and Rafferty have to leave the girls alone.”
Maher laughed derisively and glanced over knowingly at the two girls. “For now that’s acceptable, but once we reach our destination the girls are on their own.”
Jeremy nodded. He knew that, for now, there was nothing else they could do.
-
Katie had been watching over the small viewscreen in the shuttle. She had been excited and relieved to see Jeremy and Kelsey brought into the officer’s mess. They both looked okay but a little thin. It was a shame that the surveillance cameras throughout the ship, except those in the Command Center, didn’t allow sound. She really wanted to hear Jeremy or Kelsey’s voice.
Leaning back in the pilot’s seat, Katie thought about her current deplorable situation. She really missed her parents. Her mother would be frantic over Katie’s continued absence. It had been a serious mistake to sneak aboard the New Horizon, Katie now realized. However, she also knew that she might be Jeremy and Kelsey’s only real hope of escaping. From what she had seen over the viewscreen in the past two months, she guessed that nearly a quarter of the crew were now actively supporting Major Maher.
Getting up, she walked the few steps back into the shuttle’s main compartment. Getting a bottle of water out of a storage compartment, she sat down and looked speculatively at her computer. The program she had been working on was finally complete. All she needed now was for the New Horizon to come close enough to a habitable world so she could set her plan into motion. If everything worked out right, she might just be able to work out an escape.
-
Colonel Sheen gazed down at the latest reports. There had still been no sign of the New Horizon. “It’s as if they’ve vanished,” she said with a frown, looking over at Richard. He was standing next to her in the Command Center, reading the various reports as she did.
“They could have changed directions, we could have passed them, or they could still be ahead of us,” responded Richard, feeling the anxiety. Everyone was worried about what would happen if the New Horizon stumbled across a Hocklyn controlled world or ship.
“We have to find them before the Hocklyns do!” Amanda said, passionately. “Our entire future civilization depends on it. All the information the Hocklyns will need to find Earth is in that ship’s navigation computer and on their star maps.”
Getting up, Amanda walked over to the large holographic plotting table. Pressing a few buttons, a view of the surrounding stars appeared above the table. The four light cruisers were spread out in a circle fifty light years from the WarStorm. Fifty light years beyond them, there were twenty scout ships. Only the New Tellus remained with the WarStorm.
“We have an area of space two hundred light years across covered with our ships,” spoke Amanda, gazing intently at the holographic image and wondering if there were anything else she could do. “If they are even close to their estimated course, we should intercept any message sent from that ship.”
“If the two Federation officers on the New Horizon can get to the FTL transmitter and send a message,” Richard reminded her. “For all we know, they both could have been killed in the hijacking.”
“Let’s hope not,” said Amanda, feeling her heart pounding at that worrisome thought. “If they were killed, then we might not be able to find the New Horizon before they stumble into the Hocklyns.” That was Amanda’s biggest fear. The Hocklyns couldn’t be allowed to discover the location of Earth. If they did, then the future for the human race was over.
Richard was quiet as he knew that Amanda was right. He understood his wife was extremely worried about the New Horizon and what could happen if the Hocklyns found the ship before they did. Everything that Admiral Streth had worked for could be lost if the Hocklyns learned of Earth’s location prematurely. Amanda wasn’t sleeping well at nights, and several times he had woken up in the middle of the night to find her missing from their bed. Getting up, he had found her sitting at her desk poring over star maps. Letting out a deep breath, Richard knew that all they could do was hope.
-
<
br /> Jeremy looked pensively around the Command Center. Kelsey was at Navigation, Angela at Communications, and Kevin was at the ship’s sensor console. Jeremy was standing at the plotting table waiting for Major Maher’s next order. Letting out a deep breath, he thought about the last several weeks since they had been allowed to return to the Command Center. Only once had he seen Lieutenant Nelson, and that had been only briefly. Nelson had said hello as they passed in one of the corridors. One thing that Jeremy had taken note of was how heavily guarded Nelson was. From the reports that he had heard, Nelson always had two heavily armed guards with him wherever he went. No wonder the lieutenant had not been able to do anything about the hijacking.
“Lieutenant Strong, commence the next jump,” ordered Maher, looking over at Jeremy.
“Are the coordinates in the navigation computer?” Jeremy asked Kelsey over his mini-com. At least since they had returned to the Command Center, Kevin and he had been allowed to eat with the girls. He also knew that Kelsey and Lieutenant Nelson were the only two that Maher trusted to plot the jumps. Jeremy suspected that had played a big part in why they had been allowed back into the Command Center.
“They’re in,” affirmed Kelsey, looking back at Jeremy with a weak smile. “The jump will be 10.2 light years.”
“Helm, activate the FTL drive and commence jump,” Jeremy ordered.
Instantly in front of the New Horizon, a blue-white vortex of swirling light formed. The helm officer maneuvered the ship into it, and the New Horizon jumped into hyperspace.
Jeremy felt the ship make the transition and, looking over at Kelsey, saw the pale look on her face. Even after all of these jumps, she still felt queasy each time the ship entered and left hyperspace. He was beginning to doubt if she would ever get used to it.
For over an hour, the ship remained in hyperspace. Occasionally Major Maher would contact Engineering and ask about the heat buildup in the core. Jeremy knew that the core had been modified. He also knew from overhearing several of the ship’s engineers talk that the core was beginning to fail. The ship had not been designed to make the lengthy jumps that Maher was insisting on. The engineers had begged him repeatedly to reduce the jumps to six light years or less to reduce the strain on the drive core, but Maher had stubbornly refused to lessen the length of the jumps.
Listening closely over his mini-com, Jeremy could hear Maher even now talking to one of the ship’s engineers.
“I don’t care what it takes, you keep that core functioning,” Maher threatened, his voice rising in anger. “If it fails I will personally push the button on the airlock sending you out into space.”
“Yes, sir,” the engineer stammered. “We will do everything we can.”
“See to it,” Maher spoke. He turned to glare at Jeremy. “Your father should have constructed a better ship. If this ship fails before we reach our destination, I will turn you over to Lieutenant Barr. He is still highly upset that I allowed you back into the Command Center as it is.”
“I’m sure the ship will make it,” replied Jeremy, attempting to placate Maher. The man seemed to have an extremely short temper. “The engineers will keep the drive core functioning.”
“They better,” warned Maher, turning his attention back to the command console.
-
Katie waited pensively for the New Horizon to drop out of hyperspace. Being alone for such a long time with no one to talk to was starting to get on her nerves. She really missed the long talks with Ariel and even those with her mother. This lengthy time alone had made her realize just how big a pain she had been to those she loved and at times had taken for granted.
For several weeks now she had been ready to implement her plan, all she needed was a habitable world to escape to. However, each time the New Horizon completed a jump, the ship did a minimum amount of scans and then, as soon as the drive core cooled down sufficiently, jumped again. Katie was beginning to fear that her escape attempt might have to wait until they arrived at their eventual destination. She was also deeply concerned that, at some point in time, someone would come into the flight bay to check on the shuttles. On several occasions, members of the ship’s crew had come into the flight bay for quick inspections, but they hadn’t done anything more than glance at the shuttles and go on.
Katie stood up and stretched. Walking back into the main cabin, she pulled down one of the small bunks on the wall and lay down. It was becoming increasingly difficult to fall asleep. If the New Horizon didn’t reach its destination soon, Katie didn’t know what she would do. Closing her eyes, she thought about Jeremy and Kelsey. She would really like to talk to either of them.
-
More time passed, and Jeremy fell back into a normal routine in the Command Center. Days passed by, and the days became weeks. They were making fewer jumps each day as the engineers were beginning to have some serious cooling problems with the drive core. On the last jump, it had taken nearly six hours for the core to cool back down, and Major Maher had been livid. He had left Jeremy in charge of the Command Center, informing the two armed guards that were always present to keep on eye him. Maher had then marched down to Engineering to speak to the ship’s engineers. Jeremy wasn’t sure what happened in Engineering, but when Maher returned, his face was dark and covered with a scowl.
Walking over to the plotting table, Maher almost shoved Jeremy out of the way. He entered some commands and called up a detailed star map of their current location. Carefully examining the map, he chose three G type stars similar in size and age to Earth’s sun.
“Ensign Grainger,” he grated out. “Come over here!”
Kelsey stood up and walked over to the plotting table, not sure what Maher could want.
Pointing to the three stars he had chosen, he said, “Plot jump coordinates to this first star here. Thanks to those incompetent engineers, our drive core is about to fail. We will search all three of these stars for a habitable world to settle.”
Jeremy was silent as he gazed at Kelsey. Their journey was almost over. When they reached Maher’s new world, what would that mean for the crew of the New Horizon that hadn’t as of yet sided with Maher? More than that, Jeremy wondered what it might mean for Kelsey, Angela, Kevin, and him.
Later, the four of them were in the officer’s mess eating under guard. They had made the first jump and the system had not possessed any planets in the liquid water zone. This had infuriated Maher, he had ordered the cadets out and called Lieutenant Nelson to the Command Center.
“What’s going to happen to us?” asked Angela deeply concerned and frightened that their journey might nearly be over. Several times recently, Ensign Rafferty had commented snidely that she would be his when they finally arrived at their new world. Angela had already decided that she would rather die than submit to Rafferty.
“I don’t know,” Jeremy responded. He tried to think of what his father would do in this situation. His dad was one of the bravest men he knew. He had to be after what he had faced upon first finding the Avenger. One thing he knew about his dad; he would never give up, no matter what the odds. “We just need to play it by ear, and if we get an opportunity to escape, we need to take it.”
“That means we may have to wait until we get down to the planet Maher intends to colonize,” spoke Kevin, knowing that might be their only hope of survival and keeping the four of them safe and together.” Living on a new planet with very few supplies might be nearly impossible. But it would be significantly better than submitting to Maher’s group and their plans.
“Barr and Rafferty just walked in,” warned Kelsey, seeing the two enter the officer’s mess. “Be careful what you say.”
“Hello, daddy’s boy,” Barr spoke arrogantly, striding over to stand next to Jeremy. “I hear our trip is about over. That means in a few more days, you’re all mine. Should I shoot you, or just blow you out of one of the airlocks?”
Jeremy said nothing; he just took another bite of his food. Right now, Barr held the upper hand. With the a
rmed guards watching, there was nothing Jeremy could do. Sometimes he felt so powerless due to the situation he was in. He would like nothing better than to stand up and knock that smug look off Barr’s face.
“You shouldn’t say things like that, Matt,” Kelsey spoke, her face flushed red with anger. She hated when Matt came in and threatened Jeremy as he did at every opportunity.
Barr hesitated for a moment as he looked thoughtfully at Kelsey, and then spoke. “We might be able to work out an agreement if you want daddy’s boy here to live.”
“What sort of agreement?” Kelsey asked, already suspecting where Barr was going with this.
“It’s really quite simple,” Barr said with a conniving grin. “When we reach the planet, you’re going to live with me and Angela with Rafferty. If the two of you agree to that, then Jeremy and Kevin might live a little longer. There will be a lot of hard work to be done once we arrive at our destination, and I might be able to find something for them to do. What do the two of you say?”
“Forget it, Barr,” Jeremy spoke, his eyes rising and locking unflinchingly with Matt’s eyes. “I would rather die than see you humiliate either of the girls.”
Barr laughed. He patted the pistol at his waist. “It really doesn’t matter,” he said taking a step back. “The girls will be ours anyway, and it’s only a short matter of time before Major Maher turns you and Kevin over to me. Enjoy your meal; there probably won’t be too many more of them.”
Barr turned and gestured to Rafferty, they left the officer’s mess without saying anything else.
“What are we going to do, Jeremy?” asked Kevin, worriedly. He knew their time was getting very short.
“Be ready,” replied Jeremy, thinking feverishly about possibilities. He knew their options were extremely limited. “If we see an opportunity, we need to seize it.”
-
Katie had watched the entire exchange from the cockpit of the shuttle. She had just gotten up from her bed to go to the bathroom and had checked the viewscreen out of curiosity. Seeing Jeremy and Kelsey in the officer’s mess had drawn her instant attention. From the way that Kelsey and Jeremy had looked at the other two cadets, it was obvious there was some bad blood there. It was something she had noticed increasingly over the last several months. There was no doubt in Katie’s mind that she had to be ready to launch her rescue and escape attempt at a moments notice.
Moon Wreck: Fleet Academy (The Slaver Wars) Page 23