“You’re the captain, not a counselor,” Kostelecky lowered her hands and faced Foster. “You can return to your duties.”
Foster hit a brick wall, correction, a steel wall. Kostelecky was always a brick wall to deal with. A meshed cup sat at the edge of Kostelecky’s desk, a single lollipop was inside, orange flavor too, Foster’s favorite.
She went to swipe it, Kostelecky’s hand was faster.
“You no touch!” Kostelecky yelled as she unwrapped the sugar filled treat and slipped it into her mouth. “The kids took the last ones; this one is for me after what I’ve had to put up with.”
“I’ll be sure to put lollipops on our list of supplies to pick up, once we reach the station,” Foster said drily.
“Please.”
Sickbay’s glass sliding doors slid open when Foster went leave. Nereid had stood ahead of them, staring blankly at the crowded survivors in the corridors. “These folks holdin’ ya up, Nereid?”
Nereid shook her head no. “I believe I recovered one of McDowell’s memories.”
“Well let’s enjoy that moment by not staring at these folks all creepy like.”
The two took a slow-moving stroll into the overcrowded corridors, attempting to reach the elevator at the far end. It gave Foster some time to remember Nereid’s situation, how she was in possession of memories that weren’t hers. Nereid had inherited memories from her father, Sylvester McDowell, a former member of the Carl Sagan’s crew, though he turned out to be an EISS agent sent to spy on them. McDowell, being a human born and raised on Earth, gave Nereid a brief glance as to what it was like to be human and experience freedom. Freedom was something that she had been denied her whole life until her liberation from the tyranny of Marduk, the former ruler of the Sirius system.
Nereid’s very existence always boggled Foster. Her species didn’t live long and so aged extremely rapidly. Nereid was two Earth years old yet had the body of a twenty-year-old woman. If that wasn’t weird enough, she was born and raised within a time dilation field, where time moved at a slower rate than the rest of the universe. From the prospective of Foster and those that never ventured into the time dilation field, Nereid was conceived, born, raised, and grew to the age she was, then escaped into the confines of the normal passage of time in a few short hours. Only Pierce could comprehend the experience, as he was held captive by her people within the time dilation field, losing two years of his life in the process.
“Yes, I remember now,” Nereid finally spoke. “There was a time when McDowell was a survivor like these people after the Hashmedai ravaged Earth.”
“I think this is the first new memory you’ve recovered from him since you’ve joined us.”
“The first new one I can remember,” Nereid said. “It is possible I unlocked the rest of his memories during our sixty-eight-year disappearance.”
Foster grimaced. “Only to lose it all when the Draconians wiped it out.”
“They can’t be blamed for that, if they felt it was the will of the Goddess.”
The will of the Goddess. Those words reminded Foster of another critical detail about Nereid. She was a devotee to Tiamat, and her faith in those beliefs was still strong. Tiamat being the suspected reason why the Draconians were invading the Milky Way, they worshipped her, and firmly believed all societies stole and defiled everything about Tiamat and worshipped Marduk, the Javnis Muodiry that killed her.
Once word got out about Nereid’s faith, many argued she would be a threat to the team and mission. Lucky for Nereid, Foster had the power to conduct the operation any way she saw fit. The way Foster saw it, Nereid was her ace in the hole, the one person that might be able to convince the leadership of the Draconians to stand down and negotiate peace.
Of course, if peace could not be achieved, then Nereid’s loyalty would be put to the test. Nereid could kill Foster with her mind and rip the ship apart from the inside out. It was a test Foster had no clue how to study for and pass. Only Tolukei did.
“Here’s hoping that new memory will bring you another step closer to feeling like a human,” Foster said.
“Indeed, it feels comforting that I’m back on my original path, the one I set on after we liberated Sirius.”
“And I asked you to help Pierce; be his assistant.”
“That didn’t go over very well,” Nereid looked away from Foster with a smile on her face. “Though, I admit, I was distracted, longing to learn more of my locked memories.”
“If you want to give it another shot, he could use a hand in the labs right now with the intel he recovered.”
“Pierce requires my assistance? I thought Scholar Odelea was providing that.”
“Pierce is the one that got the data, and the lead science officer, Odelea, can translate the Draconian text, and as for you . . . you got your insight on your religious beliefs about Tiamat. It could help.”
Nereid nodded and faced Foster with a newfound determination. “I could do that, after my head has regained its strength.”
It was a relief for Foster to hear Nereid say those words. Having her becoming close to the ship’s crew and form unbreakable bonds, may be the one thing that could deter Nereid from siding with Draconians, in the name of Tiamat.
16 Peiun
Burning Pirate Ship
Asteroid Belt, Morutrin system
October 14, 2118, 22:02 SST (Sol Standard Time)
Nobody questioned Peiun’s choice to lead the assault team that was seconds away from boarding the disabled and burning pirate ship. To humans, and Radiance to a degree, the captain leaving the ship during a time like this was viewed as reckless. To the Hashmedai, it was viewed as being bold, fearless, and heroic.
Why sit on the captain’s chair all day yelling orders, sending others to potential threats, when you could be a part of it? Captains that walked away from risks were rewarded with increased respect from their crew, and other captains and admirals within the Imperial fleet. Besides, this was his mission, one hand-delivered to him by the empress. To order others to finish it for him would be dishonorable.
The transport that Peiun rode on shot away from the Rezeki’s Rage’s docking bay on a course to the drifting pirate ship. There were four people inside, including himself, Saubassa a guardian, and Selnyi and Xiun, two of the strongest warriors aboard their ship.
Peiun’s HNI sent him a confirmation message that the combat EVA suit he slipped into was working correctly. The HNIs of his three escorts sent similar confirmation messages. Given the instability of the ship, there was a high chance new hull breaches could form. Their suits, however, should protect them. Then there were the raging plasma fires and choking smoke it created. It would be hard to ask questions if he was busy coughing and dying, then again, if there was anyone alive, they’d have a tough time replying. That was a problem for later.
The transport slowed and maneuvered carefully, latching onto the pirate ship’s airlock. Not an easy task when dealing with a ship spinning uncontrollably, but Saubassa pulled it off, and gave Peiun a nod. It was time to go.
The transport’s doors opened, the airlock doors to the ship, however, remained closed. They needed a key to enter, Selnyi and Xiun were that. The two fierce warriors stood shoulder to should, brandishing their two-handed plasma swords as they charged on with green flowing light. They created red lines of molten metal into the airlock door as they guided their blades in a circular motion. Peiun did the honors, kicking his way in from the newly created hole.
Once aboard, he double-checked the time displayed via his HNI, they had a minute left before the closest pirate group in the area would receive sensor data about their arrival, thus triggering the fifteen-minute countdown.
Saubassa took point. It was his job as a guardian to do so. His arm-mounted plasma shield rose up, while his one-handed plasma sword flared on. He charged into the flaming and smoke-filled corridors, hissing loudly, displaying his fangs, drawing all projectile fire discharged by the magnetic pistols and rifles the surviving
pirates were armed with. The pirates were Radiance exiles, mostly Aryile, though there were a few Javnis and Linl in the mix. Selnyi and Xiun stood behind Saubassa and allowed their furious battle cry to be heard. Not that the pirates could hear it, their EVA suits would drown it until they allowed it to transmit sounds externally.
The formation they entered was a standard attack pattern. Guardians remained at the front and used a small tractor beam built-in to their swords to pull enemies out of cover, delivering them to the warriors behind, or dealing with them themselves. It was their choice.
The Hashmedai never had a gunpowder age, unlike humans and Aryile. And so, warfare had always revolved around cutting your enemies down with swords, and using shields wielded by knights for defense. Even when the Hashmedai entered the atomic age, their training and discipline still focused on the art of swinging a sword. Ranged attacks were a strange concept, and often considered to be the act of a coward.
When the Radiance Union made first contact with the Hashmedai and taught them how to harness the power of plasma, the Hashmedai sought to imbue their swords with them, rather than rely on plasma rifles. The sole reason why the Hashmedai used plasma as a means of a ranged attack existed for three reasons. One, you can’t attach a giant sword onto a spaceship and expect to win battles. Two, it was a means of identifying weak warriors as they were given plasma rifles and pistols to use. Three, Radiance and their rifles had a higher rate of victory against Hashmedai during zero-g fights, and so those weak warriors were sent and sacrificed to fight them, while the strong sword-swinging ones stood back and waited.
What played out before Peiun eyes—while he removed his plasma sword out from the chest of a pirate, that refused to answer his questions—was thousands of years of sword and shield combat skills, passed down the generations into the four that beheaded, impaled, or decapitated pirates with as little as one swing. The pirates not wearing combat armor or personal shields made it that much easier.
“Captain, we have movement with the other pirate ships,” Alesyna’s voice played within his helmet’s speakers.
“Are they on course to us?” Peiun asked.
“Yes, you have fifteen minutes now,” Alesyna transmitted. “I suggest you not be onboard when that time comes.”
“How many ships?”
“Four for now, but it will only be a matter of time before the rest knows.”
And how many that rest was, was unknown and would remain that way until she entered a deep ESP trance. Or they arrived unexpectedly, either way he needed to finish up.
Peiun’s assault group strode past flames and smoke, entering what looked like the ship’s galley, where most of the surviving crew hid, as the fires had not spread to it yet. The pirates inside were mostly unarmed. Those that were armed lost their hands and the pistols they were wrapped around, screaming as the blood splatter trickled onto the floor.
The pirates gave Peiun their undivided attention. He ordered his warriors to force them to their knees as he drew his plasma sword, circling around them. “You,” Peiun said, pointing to one of the pirates. “I have some questions to ask.”
The pirate remained silent, looking up at Peiun with its Aryile lizard-like eyes. Peiun spoke again, this time speaking in English. Nothing. “I grow tired of this. Someone speak, or I will slit all your throats, one by one.”
There was still no answer. He placed his blade to the neck of the Aryile, and went to make the fatal cut—
“Wait,” a voice called out to him, in English at that.
Peiun threw the pirate to the floor after ordering Saubassa to find and grab the man that offered to speak. The man looked Linl, though he was most likely human as he spoke English very well. He wore white coveralls drenched in grease stains and burn marks.
“Finally, someone that can speak,” Peiun said to the man brought before him.
“Look man, they promised me a few extra credits if I kept their weapons working,” the man said.
“I have some questions to ask you.”
“Shoot, uh, just not me.”
“Why did these pirates suddenly attack these mines?”
“Because they’re pirates?”
“These platforms have been around for years, most likely because they had protection. Where is it?”
The man’s body vibrated and trembled. Sweat began to roll down his forehead. “Mercenaries were protecting them.”
“Where are they now?”
“I’m not sure,” said the man. “I heard there was a falling out between the pirate alliances in this sector and the merc teams. They used to work together and watched each other’s backs from rivals, and the mercs had all these platforms under their protection.”
“Is that why there are no ships defending them?”
“Yeah, man, the pirates knew if they raided these miners, they’d get sacked by the mercs, so they left them alone and told other pirate groups to do the same. But, like I said, they’re not friends anymore, one of the pirates attacked and killed most of the mercs at their base, and in turn their alliance fell apart.”
“Where is this base?”
The man guided Peiun’s team to a computer terminal in a nearby corridor. From there he fingered the display and brought up, on its cracked and aged screen, a map of the belt and the location of hidden bases. Peiun eyed the display closely and hoped his HNI got a good recording of the data. There was no time to fiddle around looking for a data crystal to copy it.
“I think that’s it,” the man said. “Again, I’m just a wrench here.”
Peiun nodded. “I thank you for your information, mister . . .”
“Just call me, Moe.”
“Well then, Moe,” he said gesturing to the warriors. “You are coming with us, just in case your information doesn’t produce the results I seek. I hope you understand.”
Peiun was back on the bridge of the Rezeki’s Rage, free of the confines of the EVA suit, and sitting in his captain’s chair Alesyna offered back to him. He checked the time projected to him via his HNI, the backup pirate ships were minutes away.
“Shall I take us out of the belt, Captain?” Nadevina asked.
“No,” Peiun said, and sent her the images he recorded off the cracked computer screen on the pirate ship. “Take us to those coordinates.”
“That will keep us within the belt,” Nadevina said.
“And if we leave I doubt these pirates will allow us to penetrate this deep again,” Peiun said. “This is our only chance, we must take it.”
Nadevina returned to the helm, and keyed in the new course. “Understood, Captain, taking us there now.”
Maneuvering thrusters tilted the Rezeki’s Rage to the correct angle. Sub light speeds sent them on their way, leaving behind the wreckage of one pirate ship and a second one with its fires still not under control. Minutes into their sub light journey, Alesyna’s ESP detected the four pirate ships, stop, and alter course to chase.
Two minutes after that, twelve other ships appeared, all on an intercept course with the Rezeki’s Rage. The likelihood of any of the two groups of ships catching them were rare, they all moved at the same speed and the Rezeki’s Rage was ahead. But once the Rezeki’s Rage dropped out of sub light to approach the base? They’d have a minute at best before they came under fire. Four ships, plus another twelve . . . there was no way they could survive, despite the technology and psionic advantages the Rezeki’s Rage had over them
Peiun’s next plan needed to be quick and decisive.
17 Pierce
XSV Johannes Kepler
Approaching Amicitia Station 14, Arietis system
October 14, 2118, 22:03 SST (Sol Standard Time)
Doctor Travis Pierce took his eyes off the holographic screen he spent the last two hours trying to make sense of. Two hours that should have been spent in his quarters, having spent the entire day working. He gave his tired face a hearty rub as he sat at his computer within the Kepler’s lab. And what a lab it was.
His corner of the lab was neat, tidy, free of clutter and unnecessary objects, with the exception of his empty coffee mug resting next to his computer. Odelea’s corner, however, was a mess with floating holographic notes, many of which blocked the one and only window in the lab, he really liked the view the window gave. Apple cores were piled in one corner, spent stim packs in another, and no Aryile girl in sight.
At least clean up after yourself when you leave, even if it’s only for a moment! Pierce sighed after that thought, for he never would have imagined such an attractive, prim, and proper ladylike woman such as Odelea, to be such a scatterbrained and disorganized person. He turned away from her workspace, and returned to the screen he was looking at, and the messy shorthand notes Odelea had left him, all written in the Radiance language.
He felt a soft hand touch his shoulder, Nereid’s hand. He forgot she arrived to help him and Odelea make sense of the data he recorded from the Draconian construct from the surface of Jacobus. He also had forgotten what her touch felt like. Memories of being held captive by her when they first met came back to his head, and when her breasts became exposed, thanks to the loose-fitting robe she wore.
Pierce’s face turned a shade red.
“Are you okay?” Nereid asked him.
“Uh, yeah, I’m fine.” He was not fine, the sudden growth within his trousers was proof of that. “Just tired of looking at this screen.”
Nereid faced him, giving him a curious stare, her face looking dry and pale, more so than normal. “Your face is red, are you sure?”
“Yes, but you, are you okay?” Pierce said, though he knew very well what was happening to her. “Hopefully the crowds in the halls haven’t slowed Odelea down. I’m sure she’ll be back soon with your water.”
“It was my fault for not requesting it from Doctor Kostelecky,” Nereid softly spoke. “She still isn’t versed on the needs of my species.”
“There was a lot for Kostelecky to take in up until now. It’s only now she’s had the chance to catch up on the new discoveries since the Carl Sagan arrived in Sirius, including the unique needs of your species.”
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