Revelations: Judgment Day: Kingdom of Sand - Book 1

by R. E. Graham

  He changed his communication frequency to an open channel hoping that the Hydra’s crew would hear him loud and clear.

  "Alright, you're done. You have no engine. Play nice, and maybe this will turn out good for everyone."

  A laser turret on top of the ship twisted up and aimed at the raider.

  "Oh, slag!" Riko shouted as he pressed the pedal activating his jets to twist his body in a barrel roll. A stream of red lasers filled the space the WarMech just occupied.

  In a flash, Riko reactivated his plasma slingers and fired several globs into the turret destroying it instantly. The remains of the weapon melted for a moment before they cooled from the freezing temperature of space.

  “You bastards! Why I ought to…” the WarMech pilot snarled.

  “Steady, Riko,” Captain Tarvus said over the same open frequency as the Only Hope pulled up alongside the Hydra. The smaller luxury vessel was overshadowed by the transport ship as it moved into position.

  “Did you get hit?”

  "No, sir."

  “Good. We are about to board. If anything happens to us…” he paused purposefully for dramatic effect. “…blow it up.”

  “Aye, Captain,” Riko said as he maintained position in front of the Hydra.

  Mikhail looked over at the boarding team which consisted of four other raiders dressed head-to-toe in their space suits carrying standard Republic issued carbines. The boarding crew consisted of Jax Sims, who was the Only Hope’s system technician and overrider, Jaymes Denson and Rhonda Thrice which acted as riflemen on raids, and the new guy Lenny Tipso Jr.

  After a previous rifleman had been injured on a raid, Lenny had energetically volunteered to join the crew, for the hundredth time. Mikhail was not a fan of Lenny and his history, but the town's mayor was his father, and he urged the pirate captain to let him join them go on runs with them.

  While they were considered to be pirates, they still had to make use of mostly civilian gear. The suits were cycles old and a little bulky, but they got the job done. They had added some much-needed flair to the suits though, all cosmetic, of course, to help make them appear more intimidating. The thought was that if you look scarier then maybe you will get more cooperation, so no one had to die.

  The Captain pressed a button that extended the tunnel to the disabled Hydra. To allow personnel to enter and leave a ship easily while in space, a tube could magnetically connect to another vessel or docking station. Seeing as how it did not have artificial gravity the tube had interlocking rails on both sides along with a retractable metal walkway if the crew wore magnetic boots to walk safely. The tube shook slightly as it made contact with the other ship's hull.

  Jax first entered the tube followed by Jaymes. Rhonda went next with Lenny close behind her. Mikhail put his arm up in front of the young man and spoke directly to him through the radio.

  “I don’t want any trouble on this run Lenny. Last time your shoot’em up attitude almost got us killed.”

  “Aye, Captain. I will behave,” Lenny said as Mikhail lifted his arm and he entered the tube.

  From inside the helmet, the Captain shook his head.

  He’s not a bad kid, but I never should have let him join my crew.

  Captain Mikhail drew his boxy sidearm from its holster on his hip and caught up with the rest of the boarding party.

  Wanting to avoid further conflict, he contacted the other ship on the open frequency once more. “This is Captain Tarvus again. We are coming aboard. I want all of your crew and passengers to be on your knees on the bridge. Anyone not complying will be shot without hesitation. I don’t want anyone to get hurt, but we will not tolerate further aggression.”

  Using his magnetic boots, Jax walked right up to the blast door of the Hydra and attached a small handheld device. Once the connection was made a holographic screen above his left forearm appeared. Using his right hand, he "pulled" the screen in front of him and began to work. He launched a customized program that quickly scrolled through key codes until it finally hacked the door and another program that would access the condition of the ship.

  The overrider smiled to himself. “Captain, I’m in. They have the proper levels of oxygen. Some systems are offline but appear to be functional. These luxury models sure kick back on pretty quickly.”

  Mikhail signaled for Jaymes and Rhonda to take up positions on either side of the tube as Jax eased back behind them both.

  He pressed a red key on his holoscreen, and the blast door hissed loudly as it began to open. Tarvus and the other two raiders from the boarding team made their way through the tube, their boots clanging loudly as each step attached and then disconnected awkwardly. The constant motion made you appear as if you were walking through knee-high water.

  Rhonda and Lenny entered the Hydra and began to clear the rooms of the ship while Jaymes remained back with the others.

  “Jax, do you have the layout of this model of Hydra?”

  “Yes Captain, I do.”

  The Captain motioned with his helmeted head, “Then please show us the way.”

  Jax pulled up the map on his holoscreen and then “flung” it to Jaymes. The other raider took point, his carbine at the ready. Jax and the pirate captain followed two steps behind.

  Immediately Mikhail knew the passengers of the ship were extremely wealthy. Every single cushion and seat he passed was of the highest quality leather, amazing stonework was in places that just was not necessary on a spacecraft, and the floors were polished marble. The thing that made him stop though was the sight of a massive golden dragon chasing its own tail mounted above a holo fireplace.

  “Well would you look at that,” the Captain said as he admired the sculpture. He shook himself from his gaze and continued towards the bridge.

  “Riko, don’t blow this ship up, these people must be loaded…”

  “Captain?”

  "Oh, nothing. We are heading to the bridge now," Tarvus said as Jaymes and Jax stopped just outside of their destination. The rifleman automatically took a position to the left, Mikhail on the right, and Jax remotely opened the bridge.

  The door slid into the wall to reveal a well-dressed man, beautiful and prim, yet mature woman, and a cute little girl, all on their knees with their hands raised. Tears ran down their faces. Long ago Mikhail had become hardened by his dark deeds from crying and wasn’t even slightly impacted by the sight.

  Jaymes took a few steps in to secure the room while Jax moved past the group and began connecting to the Hydra’s flight plan.

  Mikhail stood in front of the quivering group as they sobbed. He made sure to not remove his helmet so that it was impossible for them to read his own face.

  “Hi there. I’m Captain Tarvus,” he said through the external speakers of his suit. “First, I just want to say, what a beautiful ship you have here. I mean, it is absolutely gorgeous.” Putting a gloved finger into the air, the Captain continued, “Now I understand why you tried to run. I get it. But did you have to try and shoot at my WarMech? That wasn’t necessary. Anyway, is this all of your crew?”

  Trying to stop from losing himself to his emotions the surrendered man said, “Yes, this is everyone left.”

  “Left?” the Captain asked.

  The woman began to cry loudly as she bent over to the floor wailing.

  “What did I say?” Mikhail asked the man.

  Jax called out. “Captain, they left Paradiso twelve rotations ago. They were headed for the planet Starspin. Log says four passengers were onboard.”

  “Oh, does it?” the Captain asked as he looked down at the grieving man suspiciously. “I told you I wanted all of you on the bridge or they would be killed on the spot.”

  As he placed his arms around his weeping wife, the man looked back up at the pirate. “My son…” tears built up in his eyes. “…my son was the one who used the turret.”

  “So, where is he?”

  “He’s…dead.”

  “Oh…you are all a family, aren’t you?”
<
br />   The father nodded as his face was pointed towards the floor. “This was just supposed to be a vacation…”

  Instantly Tarvus felt compassion fighting within himself for the surviving members of this family before him. All he would allow himself to say was, “I’m sorry.”

  The mother began to cry out louder, and Mikhail didn't interrupt her. He looked up at the other raiders to read their composure. They were like statues, they didn't move an inch, and their blackened faceplates didn't reveal any of their internal thoughts. His own mind fought between what he knew should be done, and what needed to be. This was always the part he hated. While he would never confess it to any of his crew, he knew that it never got easier.

  Cutting his external speakers, Tarvus opened a private channel to the Only Hope. “Nina, I want to speak with Riko.”

  "Yes, Captain?" Riko said a few seconds later.

  “I want you to check out the damage to the engine. See if it looks like we can repair it, or if it is a total loss.”

  Riko throttled up and adjusted his position to the back of the Hydra and inspected the destruction.

  “Yeah Captain, it looks like a total loss. Only exterior damage though. Maybe the inside parts are still good.”

  “Thanks,” Tarvus said as he cut the channel and switched his external speakers back on.

  Rhonda and Lenny returned from inspecting the rest of the ship and rejoined with the other raiders. “Ship is clear Captain,” the riflewoman said through her radio. “We found what was left of the turret. Looks like someone may have been inside but we couldn’t tell. The blast door was sealed from the lack of pressure.”

  Just as Tarvus opened his mouth to speak Jax abruptly cut in. “Captain, we have bad news. It seems this ship has an echo beacon on it. We probably have an hour before this ship is overrun by Republic troopers.”

  “An echo beacon? Who are you people? What are your jobs?” Tarvus asked with a mix of surprise and anger.

  The family held each other while they still wept over the death they had suffered.

  Knowing time was short, Mikhail needed answers quickly. He took a step forward and aimed his pistol at the father. “What. Is. Your. Job?”

  The man held his hands up again. His face, however, was in defiance. "I am just a timekeeper at the capitol on Paradiso."

  “No way, you couldn’t possibly afford this ship! Who is she?” he pointed the firearm at the wife.

  She turned her head towards Tarvus, her makeup ruined from all the tears, and almost spat at the pirate when she said, “I am Hildra Servius, senator for Paradiso.”

  Mikhail's stomach dropped. While the Republic somewhat looked the other way when pirates would raid other less important colonies or worlds, raiders attacking planets like Paradiso brought the heat down, hard. Especially if a member of any planetary government such as a senator was harmed. If nothing else, it was widely known that attacks against government officials brought the hammer of the Republic's fury.

  Obviously shaken by the revelation, Jax said, “Captain, we really need to leave.”

  The Senator stood up as her knees shook in fear and anguish. “I will see to it personally that your crew and all of your people will be hunted down to the edge of the ‘verse for what you have done to my boy.”

  Mikhail took a step back as the woman continued bitterly. “There is nowhere you can run, nowhere you can hide that will save you from what is coming!”

  While most of the raiders were fixated on the Senator, Lenny watched the distraught husband cradling his daughter. The man reached into his coat pocket.

  “Gun!” the young rifleman shouted.

  The Senator looked around confused as the young rifleman aimed and fired his rifle at the husband, hitting the daughter as well. Seeing as how he didn’t have a solid footing, Lenny fell backward from the kick of his weapon and accidentally fired a burst that shot the Senator in the stomach.

  Mikhail and the other raiders stood motionless for several heartbeats as a large pool of blood swirled together on the bridge.

  Don’t just stand there. Get your butt movin’!

  The Captain forced himself to kick it into gear while he tried to calm his breathing. He looked to his overrider. “Jax, do you have the equipment and inventory log of the items brought on board?”

  No response. He just stared at the pool of blood building on the floor.

  “Jax!”

  The pirate shook himself from his fixation. “Uh…yes, Captain?”

  “I need you to get everyone to work getting everything valuable off this ship right now! We are leaving in thirty minutes. Go.”

  “Yessir!” Jax said as he and Jaymes scrambled off the bridge and got to work.

  Mikhail clenched his jaw as he looked down at the dead family.

  This one is going in my nightmares…

  Rhonda lowered her weapon to the deck beneath her and took several steps forward. She just stared at the dead family.

  “What have you done?” she asked the youngest pirate when she turned back around.

  Lenny pulled himself up and was still spunky. “I just saved your fraggin’ life!”

  Rhonda was just about to shout at the young pirate when Mikhail cut in. “Drop it you two. We have a lot of work to do, and not a lot of time to do it.”

  The Captain keyed his radio back to his transport, “Nina, we have an echo beacon here. We are going to grab what we need quickly and then leave before we blow this ship up.”

  “What happened to the crew?”

  “They’re gone. Be ready.”

  “Yessir,” the communication tech said somberly as the channel went silent.

  Rhonda stormed off, and Lenny just stood there for a moment.

  “Do whatever she tells you,” Mikhail said with a low growl.

  Lenny scoffed then shuffled off. The Captain walked over to the father and holstered his sidearm. Bending down the Captain used his gloved hand to search the dead man as he looked for a gun.

  Nothing. What in the void did that boy see? Don’t tell me his stupidity got these people killed!

  Mikhail stood back up and forced his thoughts to the back of his mind. Right now, he had work to do if they were going to try and cover their tracks.

  Within a half hour, the Only Hope’s boarding crew had secured crates of food, a small supply of medicine and some rare valuables.

  Jax was heading for the tube with his arms full of electronics equipment from the bridge. Mikhail was following behind carrying a box full of other supplies. “It’s too bad we didn’t have more time,” he said as he stopped in front of the golden dragon statue.

  He set the box down and reached up. The statue was anchored, but not enough to keep him from ripping the sculpture from the paneling. Mikhail smiled to himself, tucked the heavy ornamental piece under his arm and grabbed the box.

  When he got halfway through the tube, he said, "Riko."

  "Yes, Captain?"

  “I rigged the powercell in the engine room to run hot. Once the Only Hope pulls away from the Hydra, I want you to blast the rear of the ship apart.”

  “Roger that,” Riko said as he moved his Goblin to a safer distance and took aim.

  Mikhail handed Jaymes the loot he had left the luxury shuttle with and closed the door behind him. He pushed a button on a console near the entrance to retract the tube from the other ship.

  “We’re clear Nina. Move us away from the ship, Riko is going to blow it up,” the Captain said as he took the dried blood covered gloves off of his suit.

  There was a moment of hesitation before Nina responded. “Aye Captain.”

  The Only Hope moved clear of the pending blast radius. Nina, Hernando, and Joker looked on as Riko fired a long stream of plasma into the stern of the luxury vessel. A bright light shone from the right side of the backend of the ship as the powercell went critical and exploded.

  Riko and his Goblin throttled up and boosted for the Only Hope.

  Down below in the cargo h
old of the pirate ship Mikhail removed the last piece of his suit. He organized it back into his cubby along the wall. Looking around he saw Jax and Rhonda going over and creating an inventory of everything they hauled off.

  Feeling emotions build up in his mind the Captain stomped up to Lenny as he sat on a bench inspecting a gold sculpture he had taken. The larger man reached down and lifted his crewmember off the bench and slammed him into a wall beside him.

  “You little bastard, tell me exactly what you thought you saw back on the bridge!”

  All of the blood in Lenny’s face drained as he became consumed by fear. His feet dangled in the air.

  “I…I…thought the guy was reaching for a gun.”

  Mikhail's eyes raged intensely. "You thought, or you saw? There is a big difference!"

  The other members of the boarding party stood slowly as they watched the enraged captain interrogate the newest raider.

  "He…he reached into his jacket, and I thought I saw a gun," Lenny said as he trembled, suspended in the air.

  “I searched him after the shooting and do you know what I found?”

  The young pirate dared not answer. It took all of his strength he could muster to even look the Captain in the eyes.

  “Nothing. He had nothing in his pocket. There was no gun on any of them!”

  "I'm so…sorry, Captain."

  "Sorry?! Your actions directly got three people killed today. You can't possibly understand the hell storm that the Republic is gonna send after us. We are all wanted now!" Captain Mikhail released Lenny in the air, and he fell to the ground in a heap against the wall.

  As his rage flowed through his body, Mikhail pointed angrily at the quivering raider. “Once we get back you are no longer welcome on my ship. You are ground crew permanently.”

  Lenny’s shoulders slumped in despair. “Please no Captain, I…I can’t be ground crew.”

  Tarvus shook his head in disgust and stormed off. The other members of the boarding party nervously went back to work.

  Once out of view, Mikhail headed for the restroom and locked the door behind him. His right-hand shook and his heart began to feel very sore.