Frontier's Reach: A Space Opera Adventure (Frontiers Book 1)

by Robert C. James

  She didn’t know whether her father believed that or not, but regardless, it was reassuring. “I guess even David beat Goliath.”

  Kevin pressed in a series of commands on the helm. “I’m getting out of here. That should buy us a little more time.”

  He kicked the Argo’s thrusters to maximum and proceeded toward the opposite side of Psi-Aion. While they’d have a head start, at the speed the Seekers moved at sublight, it wouldn’t be long before the small cargo ship was run down.

  Seeker Weapon Ship

  There was something both wondrous and frightening about the sphere sitting on its pedestal. Jason contemplated the energy the Seekers were hoping to generate and what they’d do with it once it was harnessed. While he’d second-guessed his plan several times since leaving the Argo, seeing Kione being led from the ancient relic in that near-death state he was in, was all the proof he needed that the Seekers couldn’t be trusted using the sphere for their own means.

  He peered up at the catwalk where the trio of Marines and Althaus had fanned out, appearing as inconspicuous as possible, while around on the lower level, Tai, Marquez, and Tyler had gone to all the doors, sealing them shut away from the keen eyes of the soldiers doing their patrols.

  Out of the corner of his eye past the technicians, the pair of guards near Kione stepped away from him and back toward the sphere. While it wasn’t part of the plan, Jason strolled up to him to check his condition. “We’re going to get you out soon, buddy.”

  The alien didn’t respond, standing like a zombie, with his head slumped and his eyes shut.

  Tyler approached his brother. “The doors are sealed. Everyone has taken their positions.”

  “Good. We should do the same.” Jason took one last look at Kione, remembering the promise he’d given him earlier, and walked into position.

  With the exits blocked from the inside, they only had so many soldiers to contend with. The technicians weren’t armed and likely would pose little threat.

  Jason peered up at the catwalk once more. Althaus gave him a casual wave signifying they were ready. He raised his hand and gave the signal.

  Then all hell broke loose.

  Weapon fire rained down from above and the soldiers near Kione fell first.

  The other Seekers were swift in response, ducking for cover behind the workstations. They launched an attack toward Althaus and the Marines, while Tyler and Jason blazed away, knocking four of the soldiers out in quick succession.

  Another group of Seekers rushed them, firing in their direction, but Marquez and Tai joined the action in the nick of time, shooting from the opposite side of the chamber. The four on the catwalk also resumed with clear shots.

  With the last of the soldiers falling, the technicians around the workstations all glanced at one another. They turned their attention to Jason and the others and unholstered hidden sidearms from behind their backs, pointing them in every direction.

  Aw, crap! I knew this was too easy.

  Forty-Three

  Cargo Ship Argo

  Kevin frowned at the lack of help they were getting from the scanners since fleeing to the opposite side of Psi-Aion. He knew it’d happen, but it didn’t make him feel any better losing contact with the Seeker ship that was hot on their tail.

  He wiped his brow and peered over at his daughter. If Alyssa was feeling the same fear as he, she wasn’t showing it. She’d grown up to be a strong woman. One he was immensely proud of.

  “What?” she asked, catching him staring at her.

  “Nothing.” Kevin remembered the day she was born as if it were yesterday. The small baby he held in his arms for the first time had changed his life forever. He just hoped she had the opportunity to grow up a little more.

  An alert sounded and Alyssa pointed at the operations console. “It’s the Seeker ship.”

  “ETA?” he asked her.

  “Now!”

  Without warning, the Seekers fired.

  Kevin ran his hands over the helm and maneuvered the Argo sharply to port. The viewport lit up with the sight of a green energy bolt whizzing by the hull by mere meters.

  Seeker Weapon Ship

  While the Earth-Centauri War had been over for more than four years, the last few days had given Susan far too many reminders of the dreaded conflict.

  Nicolas crouched opposite her, behind one of the several workstations, under heavy fire. At the adjacent station, she aimed toward an open target and fired. Nicolas gave her a casual nod in thanks and he raised his hand and counted down.

  Three… Two… One…

  They both pulled out from their positions and launched a barrage each.

  Their attackers fell to the deck and Susan rushed over to him.

  “Just like old times,” he said to her.

  “Too much so.” She darted her eyes from one firefight to the other. “Over there!”

  Nicolas followed her vision toward the Cassidy brothers being pinned down on the opposite side of the chamber. “It’s up to us.” He peered at the catwalk where the Marines and Althaus were also taking heavy fire. “If we can get to the Cassidys and take those soldiers out, we can consolidate from there.”

  Susan gazed farther beyond to another bank of computers. “We could take cover at those workstations and catch them in a crossfire.”

  Nicolas nodded. “Works for me. I’ll take the right. You take the left.”

  Susan put a hand on his. “We don’t die today.”

  He squeezed her hand back. “We don’t die today.”

  On the opposite side of the catwalk, the Marines had been immobilized by heavy fire from below. Whenever Conrad poked his head out to get a shot away, the Seekers immediately pinned him down as well.

  “This isn’t working out how you expected, is it?”

  Conrad glanced behind him to where he’d hogtied Christian Nash. There was an overconfidence about him that really pissed Conrad off.

  And I thought the kid irritated me.

  “You know you could just untie these ropes and free me. Why die a meaningless death?”

  “Don’t you ever shut up?” Conrad aimed his weapon over the edge, but again failed to get a blast away.

  “You won’t win. You realize that, right?”

  Conrad rushed over to Nash and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, pushing him hard against the deck. “The kid told me not to kill you, but the two of us never got on that well. So you know what? If you do die, I figure it’s no skin off my neck. Shut your mouth, or I’ll throw you over.”

  Before Nash responded, the Marines on the opposite side of the catwalk started firing again. Conrad let go of Nash and peered over the edge. Tai and Marquez had taken out the attacking Seekers. The pair yanked off their helmets to identify who they were and rushed toward the last few soldiers left shooting at Tyler and the kid.

  Conrad turned to Nash to boast. But instead of the forlorn figure he expected to see, the traitor just smiled. “What?”

  “Oh, nothing,” Nash said. “I just think it’s funny you believe once you’ve taken out my men this will be all over. You may have sealed the doors, but they won’t stay closed forever. When they reopen, hundreds of soldiers will be waiting to come through.”

  Conrad lifted his weapon and aimed it at Nash. There wasn’t even so much as a hint of fear in the man’s eyes. He was telling the truth. Conrad drew back his gun and pointed it over the catwalk where he recommenced firing on the remaining Seekers at the bottom of the chamber.

  The shooting stopped and Jason and Tyler stared each other with raised eyebrows. It was either a very good sign or a very bad one. Jason peeked over the conduit they’d taken refuge behind to find Marquez and Tai standing over a pile of Seeker bodies.

  Tai broke off and went to Kione’s side. “Can you hear me?” she said to him.

  The alien’s eyes fluttered.

  “Are you with us?” Jason asked, coming to his aid as well.

  Kione twitched, and his eyes opened. “You came back
for me?”

  “I told you I would.”

  The Marines joined them from the catwalk, and Althaus followed, dragging Nash along like a dog on a leash.

  Jason took his friend by the collar. “What the hell have you done to him?”

  A thin grin appeared on Nash’s face. “What was necessary.”

  “This was necessary?”

  Althaus stepped forward. “While this little soap opera is fun and all, if what this bastard says is true, we’ll need to figure out how to keep those doors sealed. Otherwise we’re all dead meat.”

  Cargo Ship Argo

  Javier Petit was as far from the Tokyo Institute of Advanced Sciences as humanly possible. On a run-down old cargo ship at the edge of the frontier, three hundred light-years away, he couldn’t have been any more out of his comfort zone.

  The near-misses of weapon fire from the Seeker ship echoed throughout the hull, making him wonder just how long he’d survive. The Argo banked from port and then to starboard. The extreme g-forces pushed Javier from one side of the cargo bay to the other. Their attackers had been relentless in their assault. Luckily the pilot on the Argo’s bridge was up for the challenge.

  “Professor Petit, are you ready down there?” Kevin Rycroft asked him, over the ship’s intercom.

  All the tritonium tanks were in position at the stern of the cargo bay while he’d strapped the rest of the cargo down at the bow. It was just a matter of getting out of the way.

  “Almost,” he said, grabbing the bulkhead as another blast rocked the ship from side to side. He stepped on the elevator and ascended to B Deck. With a prod at the controls, he sealed the level below.

  “Ready!” he yelled.

  He resumed his rise and made it onto the bridge in time to see the pyrotechnics show.

  “Cargo Bay open!” Alyssa said, toggling a switch on the operations console.

  Javier walked over to the systems station and viewed the monitor before him. The rear airlock of the Argo opened, and the decompression blew the tritonium tanks out toward the Seeker ship. While it was Jason Cassidy’s idea to use them as mines, it was his expertise that allowed them to be armed. With a small container of plasma injected into each tank, on contact they would create a mighty detonation.

  While the jury-rigged tritonium tanks drifted ever closer to their target, he kept a keen eye on the scanners, hoping they’d be far enough from the shock wave after detonation so it wouldn’t take them up too.

  A blinding light lit up the bridge and one after another, the mines made contact with the Seeker ship.

  “Now that’s what I call fireworks!” Alyssa said with a smile.

  The explosions filled the viewport while the Argo continued to race away. The deck shook beneath them and Javier gripped the console, bracing himself for the worst. He turned to Rycroft who clung to the helm like a man possessed. The ship lurched forward and rumbled.

  Soon the shaking subsided, and their ride smoothed out. Javier’s calculations had been correct.

  “Did we get them?” Rycroft asked, unlatching himself from the helm.

  Javier didn’t answer at first. There was no clear sight because of all the interference from the radiation. Then it cleared.

  He didn’t say anything at first, wondering how it was possible.

  “Professor?”

  “Negative,” he said. “The bogey survived.”

  Forty-Four

  Seeker Weapon Ship

  While the exterior of the sphere appeared cold and sterile, its interior was the complete opposite. Jason stepped inside and gazed around in wonder. The curved lines of its shape were nowhere to be seen, while white vapor floated throughout, creating the illusion it was much larger on the inside than the outside.

  Captain Marquez and Tyler strolled in beside him. “Unbelievable!” his brother said.

  “It’s as if we’re walking on a cloud.” Jason waved away the surrounding mist. He shifted his head out of the way as a long, silvery tendril whizzed past him from one side to the other to join its many friends that appeared and reappeared around them.

  “Is it me, or is this thing breathing?” Tyler asked. “Could it be alive?”

  Jason didn’t know how to answer that, but couldn’t help but feel a gentle thrum around them. “Perhaps it’s life, but unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.”

  They walked up what felt like a ramp toward a bright white light, but beneath their feet was nothing but mist. At the center, the trio shielded their eyes from the intense glare.

  “What do you think it is?” Marquez said.

  Against his better judgment, Jason moved toward it and put out his hand. A white flash surrounded him and everyone around him disappeared.

  When his vision adjusted, the inside of the sphere was gone. Instead, he was back on the Argo. B Deck to be precise. But the perspective was all wrong. He stared down at his hands to find they belonged to a child. His clothes had printed patterns of teddy bears on them, which he remembered were his pajamas he wore as a kid.

  He hurried to the bathroom and jumped onto the washbasin. In the reflection a two-year-old boy stared back at him.

  “Hey, why aren’t you in bed?”

  He turned, unable to answer the man by the door.

  It’s been so long…

  His father, Benjamin Cassidy crossed his arms with a crooked smirk on his face.

  “What’s going on?” a woman’s voice echoed from outside the door.

  My god…

  Jason’s pregnant mother, Janice, walked in and shook her head playfully, with a sparkle in her eye. “Jason Benjamin Cassidy, you should be asleep!”

  Another flash surrounded him, and his arm was nearly pulled from its socket. Tyler grabbed him and Jason returned to the familiar interior of the sphere.

  “What happened?” Jason asked.

  “I was about to ask you the same thing,” Tyler said. “One minute you walked toward that light, and the next you froze. You weren’t responsive for several seconds.”

  Jason glanced back at the radiance. “I was with Mom and Dad.”

  “Huh?”

  “We’ve solved the problem!”

  They all hurried out of the sphere to the sound of Tai’s voice and down to one of the workstations where she, Althaus and Kione had been going to work. The Marines had untied Nash but kept their weapons trained on him.

  “Kione and Mister Althaus have tapped into the ship’s computers. We have a solution to our door issue.” Tai stopped and turned to Marquez. “You may not like it, though. I know I don’t.”

  “I’m listening.”

  She pointed down at the holographic monitor on the console. “These appear to be airlocks. If we open them all at the same time—”

  “What are you suggesting?” Tyler gasped. “Spacing them?”

  “The Seekers will stop at nothing until they come in and retake the sphere,” Kione said bluntly. “They’re programmed to obey orders. That includes killing you and anyone who gets in their way.”

  “There must be hundreds of them.”

  “Thousands actually.”

  Jason stepped toward Marquez. “We can’t let this sphere fall back into their hands.”

  Marquez’s hardened eyes stared at Althaus. “Do it.”

  He nodded, and with Kione’s help they punched in the command. The clanging sounds of airlocks opening and closing were all they had to confirm the deaths of the remaining Seekers on the ship. Jason shuddered at the thought of the people inside those suits. They were just like Nash—there against their will.

  “It’s done,” Tai said, as everyone bowed their heads.

  Althaus broke up the respectful silence. “I’ve knocked out the jamming field interfering with our communications.”

  Tyler activated his commband. “Argo, come in. This is Tyler.”

  “This is the Argo,” Kevin replied.

  “What’s your situation?”

  “Not great. The Seeker ship was on our tail before we de
tonated the tritonium mines. It slowed them down but we didn’t destroy them.”

  “All of that tritonium? That should’ve blown up a small moon.”

  “We’ve got away, but they’re back in pursuit.”

  Before Tyler could say anything, Jason walked over to Kione. “Is this vessel flight worthy yet?”

  “It hasn’t even begun trials,” Nash scoffed.

  “Is it?” Jason ignored his friend.

  Kione nodded. “I believe so.”

  “We need to help the Argo.”

  Kione and Althaus conferred and ran their hands over the controls. After a few moments, the ship rumbled beneath their feet.

  Tai’s eyebrows raised at the readings. “We’re moving.”

  “Hold on, Kevin, we’re coming,” Jason said over the commlink.

  “I just hope we’re still here when you arrive.”

  Cargo Ship Argo

  “They’re on our tail again.” Alyssa glanced over to her father at the helm. “They’ll be in targeting range in two minutes.”

  “Then it’s time to pull a rabbit out of the hat.” Kevin considered the viewport while the Argo rounded the sunlit side of the planet. “Perhaps we can confuse them.”

  He turned to Alyssa. “Can we take another pounding in that atmosphere?”

  “What are you suggesting?”

  “An old trick I learned years ago. We used to skim planetary atmospheres at high speeds erratically to create shadows. To a pursuing ship, it appears as if we’re multiple bogeys at once.”

  Petit eyed him incredulously. “And that worked?”

  “I’m still here, aren’t I?”

  Alyssa bit her lip. “If you think that’s our only option—”

  “I do.”

  Alyssa nodded. “All right.”

  Kevin turned and locked in a course. He breathed in and punched the thrusters, sending the Argo toward the atmosphere.