Greeley rubbed his chin, then looked at George, who was as cool as ice. “Yeah, we’re okay, thanks for askin’.”
“But more importantly, Captain, what’s the next move? The BG have the lower level, and our only escape, sealed off,” said George.
“We need a ship to escape, with or without the drive,” said Katy.
Jolo turned to the two remaining engineers. “Can you seal off this level?”
“We are Federation engineers. We don’t take orders from pirates and thieves.” At this, Greeley just shook his head, started to bring Betsy up, but Jolo held out his hand.
Jolo looked at the engineer, read his name and rank from the patch on his coverall. “Okay, McCarty, I guess you’ll be taking orders from the black bastards that killed your shipmate?” Everyone looked over at the still, lifeless body of the engineer, a glossy circle of red on the floor around him.
“I can seal us off,” said the other engineer. “I’m Crowely. The black bastards killed my father on Vegas near the end of the war.”
“They’ll send you off to a work planet!” yelled McCarty. “Those aren’t just rumors.”
“I’d rather die killing those bastards,” said Crowely. He picked up the spanner near the jump drive and hurled it at the BG warrior crumpled on the floor. The wrench bounced off the alacyte armor and spun across the floor.
“We’re wasting time,” said Katy.
Jolo looked at Crowely. “Are you in?”
He nodded.
Jolo turned to McCarty. “As it stands now, they’re probably going to send you to a prison planet or kill you for just being near me. You are expendable. If you are in, stay and help. If not, run to an upper level and plead your case.”
McCarty stared down at his boots.
“Boys. Gotta go,” said Katy, she was pulling on Jolo’s arm. McCarty looked up at Jolo and nodded.
“Crowely, seal off this level,” said Jolo. “McCarty, reconnect the jump drive. George, you and Greeley guard the entrance.”
“How can we escape if we don’t have a ship?” said Katy.
“We got a ship,” said Jolo. “We’re taking this one.”
Leviathan
Iris, in Federation Space
“What’s the status?” said Jolo.
“The Fed still thinks engineering is in lockdown repairing air filters. The BG will wonder where their scouts went soon enough. The commotion caused by the Emperor and the President’s visit is giving us a little cover, but it won’t last,” said George.
“We have to clear the bridge and block out the BG and the Fed marine teams from getting to us.”
“Can we force an evacuation?” said Katy.
Jolo searched his computer for all possible toxins that would cause a Fed ship evacuation, but most called for chemicals either not on board the Corsair or not in enough quantity.
“How about a fire?” said Katy.
“No. We’d have to run some kind of accelerant through the vent system and even if we got it to work we run the risk of destroying the ship,” said McCarty.
“George, what do you think?” said Jolo. George had been quiet up to this point.
“If we had a week to prepare and were able to sneak 1/2 a ton of supplies on board undetected, then we’d have a 27.2% chance of evacuating the ship.”
“How about right now, with no time and no supplies?” said Katy.
George just shrugged and shook his head. And the triumph of defeating the two BG had suddenly faded and now the cold reality of the situation hit them.
“Fine by me,” yelled Greeley from his position at the entrance. “They’ll be singin’ songs about me and Betsy.”
Jolo yelled to McCarty, “Jump drive ready?”
“It’s ready,” he said.
“Great, how fast can you shut it down, then turn it back on?”
“Takes a minute or so.”
“Okay, shut it down now, and be ready to fire it up on my command.”
“Crowely, can you control the doors on this ship?”
“You mean, from the control board?”
“No, I mean from the lowest level possible. Overriding the computer.”
“I suppose so, I’d have to break into a relay box behind the engine and it’d be guesswork at first, but I think it can be done.”
“Okay. Seal off the bridge, the armory and any Marine teams that are still roaming the ship.”
“George, I need you to do a little recon. Locate any Marine teams and report their location so Crowely can seal them off.” Jolo grabbed one of the BG energy staffs off the ground and cut George’s sleeve where his arm was missing. “We want to make it look like you’ve been attacked,” said Jolo. The sleeve was burned and it looked like George’s arm had been severed in battle.
“He needs a little more to be believable,” said Katy, looking over at the red spot where the dead engineer had been.
So Crowely began manually opening and closing doors so that George, the wounded waiter, could make it up a level and begin his search.
“What are you doing?” said Katy.
“If we can’t get the Feds out, we’ll just take them with us. Most of the civilians have been escorted off the ship anyway, so all we have to do is jump out,” said Jolo.
“How do we do that?” said Katy.
Just then the comm light lit up. “It’s from the bridge,” she said. Jolo nodded.
“Engineering, this is Commander Falkowski. What’s going on down there? The President’s ship just arrived and the Emperor is already sending crews for pre-inspection.”
Jolo motioned McCarty over. “Buy us some time.”
“This is McCarty in engineering, Sir. We are having some difficulty getting the new filtration system online. But we should be good to go soon.”
“Son, don’t yank my chain, the readings from this end are fine. I’m sending a security detail down there. And why is the jump drive offline? I can’t have any issues with the President coming. Enough trouble just getting everyone off this monstrosity on short notice. One more thing, be advised, there was a report of an attack on a service staff who claims it was Jolo Vargas.”
“Roger that, Sir. We’ll be done soon. The jump drive is offline as a precaution while we reset the filtration system.”
“That don’t sound like protocol.” There was a long pause. “Okay, you have ten minutes. Get it done, Son, or I’m sending down the sec detail.”
McCarty took a deep breath.
“Okay, we got engineering for another ten minutes. George is doing his job.”
“One little problem,” said Katy. “Can’t fly this thing unless you got the access codes and Falkowski ain’t gonna give them up.”
“Bring him down and I’ll start winging him until he squeals,” yelled Greeley from his spot near the door.
“No, he’s gotta want to give them to us,” said Jolo. He took a deep breath and assessed the situation. He looked at Katy, always there at his side. He held her hand and looked her in the eye. “I could give myself up and you could go hide.” He watched her face for any hesitation.
“No. I’m no Fed. And I couldn’t live with myself. I want to be here with you and the team.”
“Okay. But it’s about to get a little dark. We can’t go back from here.”
“I’m in,” she said.
“Okay, here goes,” said Jolo. “I need you on the comm.”
Then he turned to Greeley. “Greeley,” he yelled across the floor of the engineering wing and pointed at the dead BG on the first ring of the heat riser, “cut the worm out of the chestplate.”
Greeley’s eyes lit up. “Ahh, yes. A little biological experimentation!”
Then Jolo turned towards the engine compartment, “Crowely,” he yelled, “seal the doors to the bridge, and any marine teams that George found.”
“Roger that. It’ll be a few minutes,” came a muffled reply from behind the engine.
“You got two minutes,” said Jolo.
Then he got on George�
��s comm. “Come home, George,” he said.
“McCarty, when I get the codes, can you jump us out from here?”
“Uh, yes sir, but the calculations won’t be perfect.”
“That’s fine. I need three random jumps that’ll put us closer to Vellosian space, then we’ll head straight for the BG home worlds. Make sure the first three are random, so they’ll have difficulty following. I want to be clear of any BG or Fed ships by the third jump. Also, the third jump point needs to have a human habitable atmosphere. We’ll need to offload some guests.” Then he turned to Katy, “get me the bridge on the horn.”
Soon Commander Falkowski was there on the screen. “What’s this about? Who are you?”
“I’m Jolo Vargas.”
The gray haired commander took a deep breath. “So the rumors were true. I know you. You fought well. And for what it’s worth I did not agree with their treatment of you.” He signaled to one of his crew, then turned back to the camera. Jolo looked over at Crowely and the engineer nodded, the doors were sealed. “So you are the thorn in my side that’s got everyone in a stir? You picked a bad time what with the President and the BG here.”
“I want you to see what they’ve done. And then I want you to give me this ship.”
The commander laughed. “Captain Vargas, the Corsair is a little rich, don’t you think? They wronged you, but why don’t you just come with me and we’ll demand due process.”
“Due process? You mean a work planet. They don’t want me or what I represent. The BG are not your friends. Here’s what they do.” He had Katy replay the video of the BG warrior killing the engineer. “This is what they think of you,” Jolo said.
The commander’s face went cold. “It was a random event. A rogue soldier. We’ll take care of it.”
“We already did,” said Jolo, the camera focusing on the dead BG on the floor.
“Give me the codes,” said Jolo.
“You’re crazy. I’m sending a team down there now.” And then one of his officers whispered in his ear and he shook his head in anger. “They’ll be down momentarily. Closing the doors won’t hold them out.”
“Give me the codes, Commander, or the BG are going to attack this ship.”
“They wouldn’t dare. The war is over, and you are nothing more than a pirate,” said the commander.
Jolo had Katy turn off the commander’s mic but kept his video and audio on.
Then he got Katy to open a channel to the Emperor’s ship.
“Who are you?” said a BG warrior on screen.
“Jolo Vargas. Tell the Emperor I have a present for him.”
“The Emperor does not speak to pirates and enemies of the Alliance.”
Jolo held up the dead worm. It was heavier than he expected, about two feet long, thick on one end with a circular row of teeth and a tapered tail. There were no eyes that he could see.
The BG warrior screamed “Desecration! Defilers will be destroyed!” And then the Emperor appeared on the screen.
“I will take you all and feed you to my children. You will all die!”
Jolo held up the worm, moved its tail with his thumb so the BG would think it was alive.
“It yet lives!” screamed the Emperor.
And then Jolo threw it on the floor and shot it with the Colt.
“Now I’m going to kill you!” screamed Jolo. The Emperor leaned into the camera, made a fist with his shiny alacyte fingers, and cursed him in his native worm tongue. Katy cut the video.
“Katy, get the BG boats on screen,” said Jolo. Sure enough, the BG cruisers went into attack position with total disregard for the civilian boats, still making their way out.
Katy turned the commander’s mic back on. “Well, you’ve done it now. You fool!” he screamed. He was gesturing wildly off camera, his face red.
“The BG are going to destroy the Corsair. They want me dead.”
“The Federation President is here and will board soon. They will not fire upon the Corsair.”
“Really?” said Jolo. “The President wants me dead just as bad as the Emperor. Do you think they care about an old commander and his crew on a shiny party boat? They’ll spin it and say you and your crew died heroically defeating the synth gone rogue: Jolo Vargas.”
“They wouldn’t dare.”
“Check your screen, Commander. The BG boats are in position, even with civilian boats nearby. They’ll take us all out. Do you want civilian deaths on your head?”
“Captain!” Greeley yelled, “we got company!” The loud BOOM of Greeley’s shotgun echoed off the walls of the engineering section as the commander’s security detail finally made it down to engineering.
“Use the bangers. Don’t kill any Feds,” yelled Jolo. Greeley rolled two of the special explosives down the hall and the noise and shock stunned the marine team. George pushed the crumpled door further into the entrance for cover, then threw another banger down the hall. Several energy blasts made it through the entrance burning holes in the far wall.
Jolo ran over to the screen to check on the BG boats. They were all in position, the Emperor’s ship just outside a semi-circle of Cruisers. Then he ran back to the doorway, shot a marine in the leg who’d made it half-way down the hall, then ran back to the screen.
Just then the whole ship shook and the lights went red.
“Commander,” Jolo yelled into the comm. “They’re firing on your boat.”
“Those cocky bastards,” he said, shaking his head. “Warning shot, nothing more.”
“Captain,” said Katy, “look!” Suddenly the two large Fed Defenders were gone. The two big blue dots on the screen had disappeared. Then the four gunboats vanished off the board one by one.
“Commander, they’re hanging you out to dry,” said Jolo.
There was a long pause. Then the Corsair started shaking again, multiple ion cannon blasts from either side rocked the big ship, the shields starting to fail.
“Captain, shields can’t hold,” yelled McCarty.
A few seconds later there was a horrible grinding, tearing sound as one of the BG ion cannons broke through the shield and bore into the alacyte fuselage of the Corsair. McCarty ran to a screen on the wall and monitored the damage.
“They’re gunning for level III. Hope everyone got out.”
“Captain?”
“The President’s ship is still there. He wants you, not me or my crew.” But just as soon as he said those words, the last blue dots on Katy’s screen, the Presidential carrier and her escorts, vanished. Only the BG and the Corsair remained in Iris.
“Connect the jump drive!” screamed the commander. “This is my ship and they will feel her full potential. I’ll kill all the bastards!”
The giant ship rocked again, shock ripples coursing through her core as five ion cannons blasted the outer shell, slowly eating their way to the most heavily defended sections: the bridge and engineering.
“They’re gonna blow us up if they cut into engineering and hit the engines, Captain!” yelled McCarty. “This is suicide.”
Jolo stared at the commander. He was a man being torn in half with anger and emotion. His face was red and his eyes watery and full of anger. Another blast rocked the ship and he fell to the floor. Finally he stood again and screamed into the comm, “Damn you, Vargas!”
A few seconds later Katy screamed: “Captain, I have the codes!”
Jolo entered the codes and McCarty’s calculations and instantly the drive came online and the ship suddenly turned and started powering up for the jump. The smaller BG ships continued hammering the giant ship as her engines wound up. “How long?” Katy yelled over to McCarty.
“A few seconds,” he said.
Meanwhile the marine team had stopped firing, finally aware of the situation, and everyone waited.
“Fire on level III!” yelled Crowely. And just then one of the logic arrays closest to the outer hull blew, knocking George and Greeley to the floor.
And just as the BG had finally
broken through the outer hull on level III, sucking the fire, rich Corinthian leather couches from Sagos, the chandeliers, hand made from core world glass, and everything else not riveted to the walls, out into space; the Emperor’s laughter echoing over the comm; the drives engaged. And the Federation ship Leviathan, ion cannon scars crisscrossing her alacyte fuselage, a hole in her side, jumped out of Iris into the unknown. Only the third-class engineer named McCarty, who’d met the commander face-to-face just once at a Federation formal, knew exactly where they were headed.
Falkowski
Four Jumps Outside Grana Space
Jolo dropped off most of Commander Falkowski’s crew on Natek, a small planet of humanoid air-breathers, four jumps out. The old commander could have made things difficult—he didn’t have control of the ship, but he did have 148 crew members plus a fully-armed 28 man security detail. Most were green recruits that had never even gotten a sniff of the war, had never been out of Fed space. Only a few, like the commander, who captained a Defender during the war, had seen action. But even with Jolo overriding the computer, gaining near total control of the big boat, the old man could have fought him, sending waves of marines in battle gear into a heavily defended hallway to die until they finally broke through.
But watching the Fed ships turn and run as the black worms trained their guns on his boat had hurt him worse than any battle wound, had burned a hole in his heart, had thrown everything into question. He’d given the better part of his adult life to the Federation only to have them throw it back in his face. His wife was gone and he had no kids. They couldn’t take anything from him. Couldn’t manipulate him by threatening to send his children to a work planet. So once the gray-haired Fed man had calmed down and Jolo had outlined his plan, to attack a Grana outpost and take out as many BG as he could, the commander agreed to allow his crew to go. But he had one condition: that he would remain as commander.
Jolo agreed once Falkowski promised to help carry out the plan. The fact was, Jolo needed him. Someone had to command the Leviathan, to draw the attention of the BG while Jolo snuck down in the Argossy to the surface, down to the large building near the green pool, down to Jaylen.
The Lost Gunboat Captain Page 17