by C H Gideon
A moment later, it cleared the wreckage and came about, shields still flickering.
“Did that work?” Reynolds asked, the entirety of the bridge holding their breaths and awaiting the answer. If the first half of the plan had worked, the second half would have to be executed with equal zeal.
Xyxl remained quiet for a moment, and it felt as if it dragged on forever. His voice was over-loud when he finally spoke.
“Yes,” was all he said.
Reynolds grinned and bared his teeth.
“Beam me up, Scotty!” he shouted.
And then he was gone.
Chapter Twenty
Reynolds appeared on the bridge of the Xzzt and immediately began to examine himself.
A moment later, he confirmed he was still in one piece.
“Oh, thank Bethany Anne,” he declared.
He hadn’t believed they could pull it off, but there he was, standing on the enemy ship, staring wide-eyed at the alien technology arrayed around him.
It looked ominous in the darkness.
It took a millisecond to register that he’d actually made it, but he knew he was on the clock.
Time was running out.
“I’m in,” he announced over the comm.
Muted cheers greeted him.
“Might want to hurry it up, Captain Ahab,” Tactical told him. “There’s a whale of a ship coming our way, and I’m all out of harpoons.”
Reynolds pulled out his weapon and turned to the nearest console, unleashing a barrage of energy blasts into the stations on the Gulg superdreadnought’s bridge.
Although Xyxl had told him which systems were the most valuable and vulnerable, it had been decided that strolling across the deck looking for individual consoles, especially given how alien they looked, wouldn’t be an effective use of his time.
From the Pod circling above the asteroid field, Ka’nak had suggested a more effective solution, true to his nature.
“Blow it all the fuck up,” the Melowi had said.
Reynolds had come there to do just that.
The AI fired energy blast after energy blast into the ship’s consoles, holding his weapon in one hand and spinning in a slow circle. As he did, he tossed grenades at the farthest sections of the bridge where the resulting explosions wouldn’t strike him directly.
Between lobbing grenades, he swapped power packs on his rifle and went back to work, blasting anything and everything in front of him.
“I knew I should have been the one to go,” Jiya joked. “I’d have taken that thing out by now.”
Reynolds kept on blasting.
As much fun as it was, the task wasn’t easy. Fully powered, the Gulg ship would use its considerable resources to repair and reroute the systems he was destroying.
And while he’d believed Xyxl when he’d told him that, seeing it firsthand was something entirely different.
As if the ship were a field of weeds, the panels undulated and writhed, moving of their own volition in an effort to reconstitute themselves. The consoles shifted from side to side and inched across the deck and walls, circuits reordering and making new connections.
Within seconds, the ceiling and deck of the ship were covered in glistening vines that sparkled like living conductors.
Reynolds stared at them in amazed awe as the systems raced to stay ahead of the damage he was doing to them.
For a moment he didn’t think he could keep up, but the grenades nudged the odds in his favor.
He wished he’d been able to bring a few pucks to help the process along.
He’d originally wanted to be transported to the engine room of the ship, thinking he could have taken the ship out much quicker that way, but Xyxl had convinced him not to go there.
While eliminating one of the engines would ensure that the superdreadnought was destroyed, the blast would also end up killing Reynolds, leaving him no time to escape the ship before it went up.
So there he was, raining hell down on the bridge of the Gulg SD Xzzt instead.
It was damn satisfying. It had been a long time since he could just cut loose and not give a shit about collateral damage.
Well, at least not directly.
The Reynolds was still in the path of the superdreadnought he was trying to tear up from the inside.
“Engines are flaring out,” Jiya reported. “Keep going. You’re doing it.”
“Of course I am,” he muttered, grinning while he unloaded another round into the deck and shifted across to spray the ceiling.
Takal cut in, “The code is falling apart on your end, Reynolds. I’m working to take control.”
“Of what?” Reynolds asked. “There isn’t anything left.”
The bridge was a war zone.
The Xzzt had already suffered massive damage to its control systems despite its efforts to repair the harm. The ship was on a one-way trip to the junkyard.
Explosions flared around him, flames going out before they could ignite. The lack of atmosphere kept the fire in check.
Sparks danced across the ruined consoles he had shredded with his arsenal like lightning storms crackling on the horizon. The viewscreen was black and shattered, and Reynolds had no clue how close he was to his ship.
He gritted his teeth and prepared for impact every second as he continued to wreak havoc on the controls of the enemy ship.
“She’s veering off,” Ria shouted. “Finally.”
The last was said with a breathy sigh.
More cheers sounded behind her.
“She’s not quite dead yet, though,” Takal warned. “Whoever’s in control behind the scenes isn’t giving up so easily.”
“What do you mean?” Reynolds asked.
“You’re passing us now, so there’s no way for the ship to hurt us any longer with its weapon systems down, but they’re steering it toward Muultar. I can see the AI plugging in the planet’s coordinates, trying to input them before they lose control.”
“Can you change its course?” Reynolds questioned.
“Working on it,” was the inventor’s reply, followed by a loud huff over the comm.
“I’m going to take that as a no,” Reynolds said.
“The code is too fragmented now,” Takal replied. “The system is too damaged to make any fine adjustments.”
“Then don’t even try,” Reynolds told the old man. “Can you set the self-destruct?”
“Now’s probably a good time to get out of there,” Xyxl said over the channel. “With the ship so badly damaged, the self-destruct mechanism will take less time to arm.”
“I’m ready when you are,” Reynolds told the alien.
He then felt a tingle of energy pass over him, and the bridge of the Gulg ship disappeared into blackness.
Reynolds appeared on the bridge of the Reynolds, comforted by the sight of it.
“It’s good to be home,” he said, handing his weapons to Maddox. “That was fun.”
He turned around and glanced at the viewscreen, seeing the Xzzt streaking into the blackness of space on its way toward Muultar.
And then it wasn’t.
The ship went up in a sudden burst of energy, which turned into a storm of debris and glistening wreckage as the Gulg superdreadnought devoured itself.
“Pretty,” Jiya said, grinning.
Reynolds turned to Xyxl. “Sorry,” he told the alien. “It seems like all we do is blow up your ships, huh?”
“In this particular case, it was for the best, or all of us would be dead,” he replied.
Reynolds nodded, realizing he stood alone at the front of the bridge.
“Where are all of your crew?” he asked.
“They have congregated in a room on one of the other decks,” Xyxl told him. “Your people generously gave them a sanctuary where they would not have to watch the last of our ships being destroyed.”
Reynolds grimaced. “You know you didn’t have to stick around and watch either, right?”
Xyxl shrugged, still
imitating the humanoid form. “This is my mission,” he stated. “It is my place to witness its greatest and worst moments.”
“Where does this one rank?” Reynolds wondered.
“Firmly at the top of the worst.” He laughed. “Through no fault but my own, my mission is now concluded. We no longer have the means to carry it out.”
Reynolds strode across the bridge and set a hand on the alien’s shoulder. The energy tingled and ran up the AI’s seemingly real arm. “That’s not true. We’re still here fighting against the Cult of Phraim-‘Eh, and you’re right here alongside us. We won’t stop until this is over.”
“Thank you, Reynolds,” Xyxl replied, smiling.
His transparent skin made it look awkward, but Reynolds took it in the manner it was intended.
Reynolds returned to his seat after shooing Jiya out of it.
“See, I told you everything would work out fine,” he told her.
Jiya laughed, shaking her head. “Yup, that’s how history will tell it, too.” She grabbed her own chair, plopping into it with a grunt. “The mouthy first officer was against the plan the whole time, and the heroic captain charged into the breach.”
“Sounds about right,” Reynolds joked, winking at Jiya.
“Too bad we’re not finished,” Maddox said.
Reynolds nodded. They’d managed to take out the biggest threat to them and Muultar for the moment, but the cult still rampaged across the planet, and the Gulg shuttle was still running amok.
“Anyone have eyes on that shuttle?” Reynolds asked.
“We’re still chasing it, but that damn stunt with the asteroid field is making it hard as hell,” Asya reported back. “We had to dodge all that debris you guys stirred up out here. It’s still going, and I suspect there will be a major renovation of the entire field by the time all the energy fades.”
Reynolds sighed. If they didn’t catch that shuttle, he knew damn well they would end up dealing with it or the next generation of its technology. The cult surely wouldn’t hesitate to put the device into action again.
“Stay on it, but watch your six,” he told them, realizing he wasn’t sure if they had destroyed all of the mining ships that had been launched to intercept the Pods. “We have any other ships in the area?” he asked his crew.
“One of the mining craft escaped the asteroid field, but it looks as if it’s damaged. It’s floundering,” XO reported. “Doesn’t appear to be a threat to the Pods.”
“I’m more worried about us,” Reynolds joked.
Kind of.
The SD Reynolds was so badly damaged that Reynolds worried a space wind might blow apart what was left of it, yet he had to return to Muultar and help the emperor and his council. Having abandoned the planet to return to the Reynolds, he wasn’t sure if the emperor was still alive.
“Report,” he transmitted over the comm to the Pods hovering over Ulf.
“There are some issues...” L’Eliana intoned.
Chapter Twenty-One
Asya gritted her teeth as the Gulg shuttle pulled farther and farther ahead, shooting past the outer orbit of Muultar after having pressed hard to reach the planet once clear of the distant asteroid field.
The Pod whined as she pressed it to one hundred percent power to keep from losing the enemy ship. It didn’t help that she had a full crew of people with her, including a captured empress-to-be.
Helm was doing better than she was.
The two Pods he controlled streaked ahead of her, engines flaring brightly as he too struggled to catch the quicker Gulg shuttle.
“That ship is fast and light,” Helm complained over the comm. “I’m barely keeping up with it.”
Asya nodded in agreement. She was able to keep tracking the stolen ship on her scanners thanks to the fact that the pilot hadn’t turned off the communication tether. That not only slowed the ship down—though not by much—but it also allowed the crew to pick it up on scanners, since it essentially disabled its cloaking device with regards to them.
The shuttle circled the planet for the second time.
“I’m thinking of splitting off one of my Pods to circle back in case it comes around a third time,” Helm suggested.
“I think we’re better off sticking together. I don’t know what else is out here. Why the hell is he circling the planet?” she asked no one in particular.
“No idea,” Helm replied. “What are the odds that this ship is automated in a different way than the other Gulg ships? Maybe it’s on a route.”
“Who knows?” Asya replied. “With its shield and that tether on, I can’t get a clear read if anyone is inside, especially not from here.”
“Perhaps we should ask the alien?”
“Good idea. Hey, Xyxl,” Asya called over the comm.
Comm put the alien on. “Yes?”
“Is your shuttle automated?” Asya asked.
“It can be,” he answered, “but the tether must be receiving from another ship capable of controlling it, and my command ship was the only one able to do so in that manner. Well, discounting the hacked signal, of course.”
“Of course.” Asya sighed.
The scanners showed that the shuttle was broadcasting, not receiving, which made her think it wasn’t automated at the moment.
That meant a live being was watching the systems and could see the cloaked Pods behind it just like the Gulg could. It wasn’t just running to run.
There’ll be no sneaking up on this guy, she thought.
But there had to be another way to get to the ship since it continued to circle the planet as if it was waiting for something before it left the system…
Asya realized what it was doing.
“Watch out, Helm!” she shouted over the channel. “You’ve got incoming.”
As the shuttle darted through the planet’s orbit, two more of the mining craft rose out of the atmosphere and started toward Helm’s Pods on attack vectors.
A third mining ship rose a few seconds later.
“He’s scraping the planet for more ships to throw in our way,” Asya informed Helm. “He’s flying a grid around the planet, sweeping the populated areas in hopes of hooking ships he can snatch up and take over.”
“I see it,” Helm answered. “Tricksy bastard.”
Helm initiated evasive maneuvers and dodged the lead ship, veering off at the last second and leaving the second Pod zipping in behind the first.
The pilot of the mining ship realized what he’d done at the last second, but by then it was too late.
Helm blasted the ship broadside, blowing it apart before the pilot could compensate and slip away.
The Federation Pod shot through the wreckage and burst out the other side, the glittery remains of the mining ship trailing in its wake.
Asya swooped down and launched a barrage of cannon fire at one of the mining ships, tearing up its hull and sending it tumbling into space and spilling atmosphere.
Four more ships rose from the planet as Asya shot past the last remaining one the shuttle had drawn on the last run around Muultar.
Helm circled back with his first Pod and engaged the nearest ship before it could go after Asya.
“Do these dirt-grubber ships even have weapons?” Asya asked. “I’m not seeing anything on the scanners.”
“They have drilling systems, so don’t let them get too close to you,” the AI personality answered.
“If they’re close enough to use that shit, they’re close enough to ram me.” Asya laughed. “I’m not playing that game with them.”
Three more ships darted up from the planet as the shuttle made another pass.
“How many of these do the Muultu have?” Asya feinted right, then veered left sharply, dipping immediately after to lose one of the clumsier drilling ships.
An alert beeped in Asya’s ear as the SD Reynolds limped into orbit around Muultar.
The Gate shimmered closed a few seconds later, and Asya swallowed hard when she saw the shape the great sup
erdreadnought was in.
She’d known it had taken a beating but seeing it made her physically ill.
“Holy shit!” she muttered over the open channel. “You guys run face-first into a damn neutron star?”
“Feels like it,” Reynolds replied. “I see you’ve got company.”
“Yeah, that dumbass shuttle is dredging the planet for muck to throw at us,” Asya remarked.
Helm double-teamed another of the mining ships, blowing it away by coming at it from both sides. It tried to dodge, but there was nowhere to go, twin Pods zipping past the exploding carcass in an X.
The Pod rattled as a mining ship collided with the back quadrant of Asya’s ship.
“Son of bitch,” she cursed, whipping the Pod around and chasing after the mining ship.
She blasted a hole in its stern a few moments later and sent it hurtling toward the planet’s upper atmosphere, where it turned into a fireball on reentry.
“Don’t get caught up with the mining ships,” Reynolds warned. “You need to take that damn shuttle out or he’ll just keep finding ships to throw at you.”
“If I could catch the little fucker, I would,” Asya argued, “but that ship is too fast for these Pods, even without a full complement of passengers.”
“Another reason to be careful and not lose sight of our goal,” Reynolds told her. “I don’t want to lose any of you playing this cat-and-mouse game.”
“Roger that!” Asya replied.
She wondered what the hell she could do to change the momentum of the chase.
As things were, they would never catch the shuttle.
“I think I’ve got something,” Geroux called from the back, waving a small computer around.
The young tech waited until the ship leveled off, then she raced to the front and secured herself in the seat beside Asya.
“What is it?” Asya asked, barely able to give the computer more than a quick once-over.
“These guys…” she aimed a thumb at the aliens huddled in the back of the ship, “used it to send a message to a ship just like that one.” She tapped the viewscreen, pointing out the elusive Gulg shuttle.
Asya shrugged, then focused on the controls as she dodged an incoming mining ship and shot past it. “And?” she asked. “What are you getting at?”