by Cary Caffrey
"Here goes nothing," Sigrid muttered as she eased the power up, lifting the craft off the ground.
The alarms shrieked out a hooting cacophony, and all around her she could see the CTF soldiers running toward her, raising their weapons.
"Uh-oh," Sigrid said. She blasted upward, bouncing into the ceiling-netting. "Whoops!" The controls were extremely sensitive. She throttled back, and promptly crashed back down to the floor. Soldiers and personnel dived out of the way, pointing and screaming up at her. "Sorry!" Sigrid called out.
More troops were pouring in through the main entrance; Sigrid wheeled the ship hard about, releasing the safeties on the missile pods mounted on the ship's side. She hit the trigger and watched four missiles arc out. The explosions ripped through the doors and into the corridor beyond, sending men and machinery flying in every direction. Switching to the chain gun mounted in the nose, Sigrid spun the ship in a circle, spraying the ground around her with a chattering burst of fire.
All the attention was focused on her. No one saw the four women at the far end running for the other drop ship. Once they were in, Sigrid aimed her ship at the hangar doors and unleashed another barrage of missiles. The high-yield warheads ripped the metal doors apart, the rush of escaping atmosphere whisking away what was left of them. It took all the drop ship's power to keep it from sailing out of the bay, out of control, but Sigrid's frantic adjustments held the craft in place. Once the turbulence had abated, she pushed the power forward, easing the craft out through the narrow opening, and out into space.
Sigrid slipped her headset on. "You with me?"
"I-firmative," Suko responded.
Sigrid breathed a sigh.
Now what? They were free of the base, but the drop ships were only designed for short hops. They'd never make it to the Relay, let alone have the power to push through it. At each stage, Sigrid had been thinking on her feet, moving from one obstacle to the next, but this one was different. How could she break the intrinsic laws of physics?
The answer lay ahead of her. Sigrid set a course toward the hulking troop carrier before her, still in orbit around the asteroid.
"Uh, Sigrid…" Suko's voice crackled over the com. "You're going toward that? Shouldn't we be going away?"
"I have an idea," Sigrid said. She pushed forward on the power, accelerating to maximum.
The commander of the carrier had different ideas; the giant ship opened up with all its armaments, firing wildly at her small drop ship.
"Maybe that wasn't such a good idea," she said, arcing her ship over, and out of the larger ship's weapons range. She had hoped to get much closer to the carrier, maybe even get aboard before they'd realized who was piloting the craft. But clearly, someone aboard the carrier was far more diligent in their duties than she'd expected.
"They're launching fighters!" Suko warned her.
"Shit." Her slow moving transport was no match for even one of them, and by her calculations they'd be on her in a matter of minutes. "Get clear, Suko. Run."
Sigrid rolled her ship over on its axis and accelerated toward the oncoming fighters.
"Sigrid! Don't you dare."
Sigrid quickly calculated the trajectories of the fighters, pushing her craft forward onto a collision course with the lead ship. She swept an arc across all their paths with the chain gun in the nose of the ship. It was desperate, but she knew the small slugs were still capable of holing the fighters—if she scored several lucky hits, if they failed to maneuver out of the path of her desperate attack.
With so many 'ifs' she wasn't expecting them to explode—which was what each of them did, in quick succession.
"What the…?"
The proximity alarm bleated a warning on the control console; Sigrid jerked the controls hard over, narrowly avoiding a collision with a ship that clipped across her path in a blur.
It was the Morrigan.
Sigrid heard Selene's voice over her comlink. "Just what kind of crazy stunt were you trying to pull?"
"Erm…well…" Sigrid replied, too stunned and elated to expand further.
"Get yourself clear, missy," Selene chided.
"Yes, ma'am!" Sigrid said, doing exactly that.
She watched on her screen as the Morrigan swung around in an easy curve toward the CTF troop transport. The bulky ship was firing all its thrusters, desperately trying to maneuver, but it was too big, too slow, built for hauling and not combat. The Morrigan raked it stem to stern with tens of thousands of rounds from its twin rail-guns and a full spread of torpedoes.
Burning chunks of the carrier broke off amid several explosions as the ship started venting atmosphere from its compartments. The coup de gras was delivered as the rail guns reached the stern of the ship and tore apart the main engines. One moment Sigrid was looking at a ship, the next it became a grenade of debris and wreckage exploding outward; she was forced to employ some fancy maneuvering to avoid the hail of shrapnel.
"Thanks, Selene," Sigrid said, blowing a deep sigh.
"Our pleasure—Stay there. We'll swing back around and pick you up."
Within minutes, both drop ships had docked and transferred to the Morrigan. Sigrid stared in amazement at the interior of her ship; it was so incredibly crowded. Every centimeter was jam-packed with the young girls from Alcyone, along with her crew and friends. Sigrid weaved quickly and carefully through the swell of bodies as she made her way to the bridge.
Suko was already there—waiting. She swept Sigrid into her arms, smothering her with a long, deep kiss. "Don't you ever try that again."
"Never. I promise."
"Glad to have you back in one piece," Selene said over her shoulder.
"What's the status?"
"Other than the stealth system, we're fully functional and clear to maneuver. I've got us on a wide trajectory back to the Warp Relay. That should keep us clear of those destroyers."
"What about the other ships?" Sigrid asked.
Selene shook her head. "They're moving to cut us off, but they're still too far out. They committed all their ships to the attack on the Scorpii forces. I don't think they were expecting us to be in the mix."
"Well, that's something, I suppose. Very well. Take us to the Relay." Sigrid leaned over her and keyed a series of numbers into the navigational array. "I want you to warp to these coordinates."
Selene studied the numbers and frowned at Sigrid. "Uh—begging your pardon, but those…those don't go anywhere."
Suko squeezed her arm. "Sigrid?"
"There's no Relay listed in the database there," Selene explained. "If we go there, if there's no Relay, there's no way back."
Sigrid felt the familiar doubt growing inside her again. Would Hitomi lie? Is this why she left—to trap them? No. She couldn't believe that. Whatever Sigrid thought of Kimura, she trusted Lady Hitomi. She was one of them.
"That's the heading, Ms. Tseng. That's where we're going."
Selene let out a breath and shrugged. "Okie dokie."
Sigrid caught Suko's stare as she held her hand. "It's all right. I know what I'm doing."
She hoped.
It took three days for them to reach the Relay—more than enough time for doubt to creep further into Sigrid's thoughts. Where was Hitomi sending them? And what would they find on the other side?
Sigrid spent most of her time caring for the young girls. She warmed to the actions of Cherry and Honey, who took to caring for all the girls, making sure that each of them got enough to eat, even working a schedule so they could all make use of the ship's limited bathroom facilities.
As they closed on the Relay, there was little more to do than wait. The crippled CTF destroyers, ever present on their tail, were drifting further and further behind. When time allowed, Sigrid visited Karen in the cramped infirmary; she was recuperating well, and in good spirits. In engineering, Rodney and Christian continued to wrestle with Hitomi's stealth system, but neither of them were able to figure the thing out. As far as Rodney was concerned, the whole thing wa
s voodoo.
Sigrid was having a rare moment to herself in the ship's head, when she felt someone pushing the door open.
"Occupied!" she cried, alarmed and covering herself. Her one-piece outfit was down around her ankles—it clearly hadn't been designed with latrines in mind, she thought. The door pushed open and Suko slipped in.
Sigrid laughed her relief. "I thought it was one of the little ones again. They certainly ask a lot of questions."
Suko closed the door and grinned. "Bloody ankle-biters."
Sigrid flushed the loo and stood up, struggling to pull her suit up in the cramped space of the head. Her eyes fell on Suko; she'd forgone the grey coverall and now wore a pair of Sigrid's shorts and a T-Shirt. The shirt was clearly too small, leaving a portion of her midriff exposed, and the shorts, were a little snug; Sigrid couldn't help but admire how the outfit highlighted her long, slender form in a much more flattering fashion than the awful prison garb had.
Suko's hands fell self-consciously over the clingy clothes. "They're a little tight, I know."
Sigrid winked. "I hope that's not a knock at my size."
"Not at all. I'm quite fond of your sizes."
Sigrid tilted her head up, standing slightly on her toes, putting her face close to Suko's. "You know, I've been wondering how to get you alone, all this time. I never considered the head."
"Well, don't get any ideas now. I only came in to tell you they need you on the bridge."
Sigrid ignored her, pressing up against her and kissing her with such a passion that it took them both by surprise.
But when Sigrid's hands slid under her shirt, Suko pulled back, taking a deep breath. "Wow. I…can't believe I'm saying this…but they really do need you."
Sigrid straightened, surprised. "What—really?"
Suko pointed at the door. "Selene says we're almost at the Relay. You better get up there." She laughed. "Sorry."
Sigrid zipped her suit up the rest of the way and quickly straightened her hair. "Oh, you are seriously trying to get me in trouble."
"Me! I only came in to deliver the news. You know what they say—don't kiss the messenger."
"I think that's kill. We'll finish this later."
"I'll hold you to that."
Slipping as casually as possible out of the head, and carefully negotiating the girls sitting in the hall outside, Sigrid led Suko by the hand toward the bridge.
Selene and Christian looked over their shoulders as they came in.
"Glad you finally found her," Selene said with a smirk. "I was about to send the search party."
"Sorry," Sigrid said taking her seat in the command chair, with Suko at her side.
Selene had already sent the navigational commands to the Relay; Sigrid watched the towering halo-like structure as it turned on its axis, powering up and aligning itself.
"We're set," Selene said. "You sure about these coordinates?"
"I'm sure," Sigrid said; but her palms were sweaty, and she knew that Suko could feel the doubt in her. And there was one thing she needed to take care of—something she'd been thinking of since they'd left the base. "Lieutenant Lopez, do we still have any of those mines?"
Christian nodded. "Just the one."
"Very well. I want you to set it for a two-minute delay. I want you to launch it before we drop."
Christian swallowed and nodded. "Yes, ma'am."
Suko squeezed her hand, looked at her intently. "Sigrid? Are you sure about this?"
"I'm not letting any of them come after us. I'm through being hunted. Whatever they started—it ends here."
Selene chuckled. "Daedalus won't be very happy with you."
"They can send me a bill."
"Thirty-seconds to drop," Selene said.
Sigrid signaled to Christian and nodded. "Drop the mine, Lieutenant."
"Yes, ma'am."
They could hear the distant thunk of the mine dropping from the mounting rack in the stern. The ship was closing fast on the Relay, accelerating forward, making its final course corrections. They passed quickly through the warp field and the stars became needles of light; then came the familiar long, white flash, followed by the glittering of the stars as they coalesced again before them.
The huddle of observers gasped as they gazed through the viewport, craning their necks to look more closely. Warp jumps were always performed outside of stellar systems, both incoming and outgoing. The risk of even the slightest gravitational anomalies, or collisions with debris, let alone planetary bodies, was far too great to attempt within the confines of a solar system. But the Morrigan had emerged from warp space directly in the orbit of a massive gas giant surrounded by countless moons, several of them much larger than Earth. Sigrid knew it was a miracle that they hadn't suffered a collision, or been pulled off-course. And then she had a horrible thought—perhaps they had.
"Dear God," Selene said.
"Where the hell are we?" Christian asked.
Selene's hands flew over the navigational controls, scanning quickly for any indication of their location. "Pegasi—it's Pegasi."
"Uh-oh…" Christian said, peering closely at his own monitors. "There's…there's no Relay…"
Sigrid felt the knot in her stomach again. If there was no Relay…why did Hitomi tell us to come here? Frantically, Sigrid checked and double-checked the coordinates, but they were correct. They were exactly where Hitomi had told them go. To go through all this…
"I trusted her…"
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Medea
With no sign of a Warp Relay, Sigrid's focus shifted away from Hitomi and why she'd directed them there, to the simple matter of survival. They wouldn't survive for long on the small scout vessel. The environmental controls were already being pushed beyond their limits and soon the food stores would run out.
The Pegasi system held several earth-type planets, three of them in orbit around the gas-giant that loomed so close to them.
"This can't be a coincidence," Sigrid said. "Hitomi must have known we could survive here."
"Survive? But we're prisoners," Suko said, bleakness in her voice. "Is this just to get rid of us?"
"I don't know."
After studying the options, they picked the planet that promised to be the most hospitable. From what they could tell, it was a veritable paradise, lush and green, with a mild, temperate climate. It was largely covered in blue oceans, but there were several sizable islands dotting its surface.
"Incredible," Christian said. "I've…I've never seen anything like it."
Sigrid took a deep breath. "Take us in, Selene. I suppose we should go investigate. It appears this is our new home."
Selene nodded silently, angling the ship down and breaking through the wispy atmosphere.
Suko gave Sigrid's hand a squeeze as they cast their eyes over the blue oceans. "It'll be okay," she said, looking bravely at Sigrid.
"Where do you want to set down?" Selene asked.
"Anywhere—pick your favorite—pilot's discretion."
Selene chuckled and nodded. "How about somewhere hot? I think we could all use a nice relaxing vacation on a beach somewhere."
"Not too hot," Christian said. "I burn easily."
The easy banter relieved some of Sigrid's stress; she felt responsible for them all being trapped here. No, she was responsible.
Her mood lightened further when Karen joined them on the bridge, easing gingerly into one of the empty seats. "Where are we?" she asked.
Sigrid couldn't bring herself to answer.
Christian spoke up. "We're at Pegasi."
"Pegasi!" Karen said. "But there's no Relay at Pegasi." Karen looked at all of them, at the grim look on their faces. She sank back in her seat. "Oh."
"Uh…wait a minute," Selene said. "I think I found our island."
Sigrid sat up straighter. "Where?"
Selene swiveled around in her seat, eyes wide with excitement. "There!" she said, pointing out the window.
Sigrid leaned f
orward and stared at the sight before her. There, down below, on one of the larger islands, was a settlement of sorts. It was small—only a few buildings, but it was definitely a settlement. "There are people!"
"I know!" Selene exclaimed.
"Who—what?" Suko asked.
The com squawked for their attention, causing them all to jump. Christian leapt for the button to open the channel, but Sigrid beat him to it. "Hello?"
"Hello, yourself," Lady Hitomi Kimura said. "Welcome to Medea. What took you so long?"
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
New Home
June 21, 2348
Lady Hitomi Kimura stared up into the sky at Medea's newest satellite. Construction on the new Warp Relay was nearly complete, and the 400 meter-wide structure could clearly be seen through the pair of binoculars she carried. She watched for a few minutes as the Daedalus crews began maneuvering the last of the sections into position before handing the binoculars back to the man at her side.
"Thank you, Joffrey," she said. "Just think. In a few more days, you'll be free of this place. Although I can't imagine why you'd be in such a rush to leave." Hitomi looked down the beach at the group of girls cavorting in the shallow surf, while others languished on the shore under the warm sun.
Joffrey grunted, not letting his eyes linger.
"Why, Joffrey, I do believe you're blushing."
"Perhaps you might arrange for some bathing costumes for the girls…"
Hitomi let out a sympathetic laugh at the man's discomfort. His name was Joffrey Deschamps, CEO of the Daedalus Corporation. Hitomi had always found him handsome, in a rather dashing sort of way. She didn't think he looked at all out of place in the paradisiacal setting, standing there, barefoot on the soft, sandy beach. She knew that he was not at all happy having to be there, but Hitomi hadn't given him much choice.
It had taken time, but she had finally repaired the message Sigrid had found, and the message had revealed a great deal. What they had found turned out not to be a letter, but a file detailing all of Daedalus' payments to the Dalair Mercenary Group. Daedalus had been behind the attempt on the Agatsuma. They had forged the Permit for Seizure, and worse, they had taken bribes to divulge information on traffic through the relay system. It was an understatement to say that the Federated Corporations would not be at all pleased with Daedalus—should they find out.