“Are those. . .?”
“Your old clothes, you don’t need them anymore now that you have the nano-armor.”
Kevin looked more closely at the shredded pile of clothes. Blue from his jeans, beige from his T-shirt, and a sort of white from his underwear. Next to go where his shoes that added black shredded fake leather bits to the pile growing on the ground around him.
Kevin jumped, startled, as the same robot from before stepped back into the room, aiming its palm toward the ground, a circular hole formed inside his palm and what was left of Kevin’s clothes were vacuumed into his hand.
“Neat,” said Kevin, pointing a finger at the robot. “I’m gonna call you Super Dyson.”
“It doesn’t have a name,” said Ziron.
The robot walked out again.
Kevin smiled. “He does now. But am I naked under here?
Ziron tilted his head slightly to the side. “Technically—I guess so.”
Kevin buried his face into his palms.
“What is it, Kevin? Are you in pain?”
Kevin let his palms forcefully slide down his face, revealing fiery anger in his eyes.
“What part of ‘this was my favorite shirt’ didn’t you get?” Kevin screamed.
“That’s how my invention works, I’m sorry. I should have asked you to remove your clothes first.”
“Yeah, I’d say you should have. How am I getting back on Earth now? Naked?”
“You have the nano-armor, look!” said Ziron pointing at Kevin’s shoulder.
In the heat of the tantrum about losing his precious Star Wars collector T-shirt he had worked an entire week to buy on eBay, Kevin hadn’t realized that his right shoulder was glowing orange and the pain was almost gone. Another thing he realized was that his body felt like it was at a perfectly cool temperature, just like he liked it as if he was being air-conditioned from within.
Kevin grabbed his shoulder and moved his arm in circles. He felt no pain.
“Wow—this thing’s wicked.”
The hovering cushion moved nearer to Kevin and soon Ziron’s face was uncomfortably close to Kevin’s. “I invented it, you know.”
“Heard you the first time,” said Kevin fanning the air in front of his face. “Speaking of inventions, do you know what a toothbrush is? You may want to use one, Zee.”
Ziron’s face retracted as his eyes blinked. “How rude!” But then the Sphynx breathed out, with his paw over his mouth, and took a large whiff that resulted in his eyes opening so wide that they almost doubled in size. “On the other hand…”
“When you’re done discovering that you have stinky breath, mind taking me to see Boomer.”
“I’ll do you one better.”
Ziron reactivated his holo-sphere control panel, input a couple of commands, and Boomer beamed into the room at Kevin’s feet. The Beagle jumped around for joy, bouncing on his hind legs at Kevin, and released a series of happy howls.
“It’s good to see you too, buddy,” said Kevin as he grabbed his dog and held him in his arms. Boomer licked his face multiple times.
Kevin noticed his best friend’s fur was clean and shiny.
“Did you wash him too?”
“Yeah, he really needed it.”
“Look who’s talking,” mumbled Kevin.
“What’s that?”
“Nothing—I guess I should thank you for saving us both.”
But then Boomer turned his head and started growling the moment he saw Ziron. The Sphynx arched his back and his fur raised, as did his tail.
“What’s with your pet?”
“Easy buddy,” said Kevin patting the Beagle affectionately. “Ziron’s a friend.”
Boomer looked at Kevin then at Ziron and back to Kevin before barking once.
“There. He got it.”
“That’s quite a limiting way of communicating; how the hell do you understand each other?”
“Don’t worry about that, we’re doing fine,” said Kevin as he gently put Boomer down on the ground and stroked his head. Boomer’s tail wagged playfully.
Kevin straightened himself, and his facial expression turned serious.
“Now, tell me about the Princess—” Kevin paused. “Kalliopy. How can we help?”
4
“What do you mean they never saw it coming?” inquired Kevin.
Ziron licked one of his paws and rubbed the top of his head. When he didn’t answer, Kevin lost his patience.
“Hey! Are you even listening to me?” Kevin insisted, his tone rising.
“Yes, yes, sorry, I get distracted when I feel filth on my fur. I’ll have to recheck the bio filtering function of the transporters.”
“Are you saying that we brought filth with us? Well, guess whose fault it was that I had to run for my life in the middle of the night through trees and mud?”
“I can’t, Kevin. I saved your life, I didn’t put it in jeopardy in the first place, even though I can see how your primitive mind would jump to such conclusions.”
Kevin’s eyebrows furrowed. “Primitive? If I’m primitive then what the hell do you need me for? Just send me back to my planet.”
“I could do that, but the Kregan will send more agents to grab you—at best.”
“And at worst?”
“I think we can safely assume that elimination isn’t out of the question, wouldn’t you agree?”
Kevin had to admit that his encounter with the Kregan operative didn’t feel like he was interested in taking Kevin alive. Even though he had thoroughly enjoyed saving the Arcadians when only his mind had been connected to a remote body, the risks felt lower obviously, but things were different now. Still, Kevin would not give his father any more reasons to call him a quitter, even if that meant he would need to risk his life at every turn.
Without Ziron, Kevin knew he probably would have perished back on Earth.
“Okay, so going back to Earth will serve no purpose. Can we get back to the attack that resulted in Kalliopy’s abduction?”
“The enemy hit the brand new ship with an EMP-based weapon. The shields should have deflected such a tactic, but obviously they found a way around it. All escort ships, as well as fighter patrols, were disabled in one swift move.”
“Which means they either had help from the inside or discovered how to circumvent your shield technology.”
Ziron hissed. “Nonsense! This tech is impregnable. I designed these shields myself.”
“You obviously did a bang-up job!”
Kevin could tell from Ziron’s face that he wasn’t amused. “But you must be right. If it were perfect, they wouldn’t have captured her.”
“That’s okay, don’t beat yourself up. I’m sure you thought your tech was adequate. I certainly was impressed by the nano-blaster you sent with the probe, I hope you have more.”
Ziron purred. “That’s nice of you to say. But if we’re being honest, my inventions aren’t always the most—how should I say this: reliable, even if I tell myself otherwise.”
Well, shit happens.
Ziron made a dubious face and then blinked his eyes rapidly. “Ah, interesting saying, I guess it does.”
“I thought you couldn’t read my direct thoughts?”
“Oh, now that you have on the nano-armor, I can access your brain directly.”
“Swell, now you can read my mind,” said Kevin pointing at Ziron, “This isn’t my favorite invention of yours. It’s a little creepy you accessing my brain or whatnot. Quite honestly, I’m not sure I’m very comfortable with the whole thing.”
Ziron extended his claws and scratched one of his ears. “I wouldn’t be if the roles were reversed, I suppose, but I’m just accessing live data so I can better interact with you. I don’t care about what you do at night when you think everyone’s asleep.”
Kevin’s neck and cheeks glowed red. “You didn’t just go there.”
“I’m an excellent secret keeper, don’t worry.” Ziron winked.
Kevin buried
his face into his palms. But before his mind could go into overdrive of paranoid thoughts on the subject the ship rocked heavily.
“Shit!” uttered Ziron. “They found us.”
“Who? The Kregan?”
“Who else?”
Ziron entered a couple of commands on his spherical holo-interface, and the wall behind him turned into a giant screen, showing space and a ship whose design Kevin recognized immediately.
“I need you to interface with Mira 2.0 now!”
“How do I do that?”
“Close your eyes and think of her.”
“What?”
“Just trust me.”
Kevin closed his eyes and thought of Mira.
Mira? Can you hear me?
Five by five, Kevin, it’s good to hear your voice again.
We talked earlier, remember?
The ship shuddered and rocked once more, harder this time.
That was a separate instance of my AI matrix. A copy if you will. But we don’t have time to catch up I’m afraid, shields are already down to seventy percent. Are you authorizing me for AI-pilot partnership?
I am.
I’ll observe your tactics and intervene only in case you’re incapacitated or dead. Neuronal link now complete and operational.
Yeah…ok. I’ve missed you too—I guess. Can I reopen my eyes?
Only if you want to, I can project holographic instruments both inside the ship and inside your mind.
Kevin reopened his eyes, and a holographic war center appeared superimposed in his field of view. It gave him all the tactical information he needed, as well as a HUD that allowed him to keep an eye on the ship’s vitals and access to all the weapons with a single push of his mind.
There was only one enemy ship on their tail, but it looked significantly bigger than the Osiris. It took Kevin a few seconds to reacquaint himself with the neuronal link, but soon he got the hang of it, and the Osiris roared to life as he powered sub-light engines to seventy percent in an attempt to create distance with the pursuing Kregan destroyer.
Alright, there’s nothing to it, Kevin said to himself to bolster his confidence, even though he was acutely aware of his quickly rising anxiety levels. This didn’t feel the same as last time, as this time around, if he messed up, both he and Boomer could die. That worried him.
May I suggest you don’t focus on your own demise right now? inquired Mira. That won’t help you fight any better.
Easier said than done, you’re a machine, you probably have backups of your consciousness in other places. I’m, for the lack of a better word, unique.
Would it make you feel better if I backed up your consciousness? Or disabled some of your emotional pathways?
What? You can disable my fear?
Not completely, but I can help you manage it with software, yes.
Kevin thought about it but then a torpedo slammed into the shields, and the lights inside the bridge flickered wildly for a second.
No, not yet anyway. I think fear could be a great motivator in this case. But thanks, Mira.
Of course, Captain.
He missed hearing Mira call him that. But the captain needed to command his ship and not let himself become distracted, so in the end, Kevin did close his eyes and was surprised that every overlaid element in his field of view remained active.
“Why aren’t you firing back?” inquired a worried Ziron.
“On it. I do suggest you strap in though.”
“You aren’t strapped in either!”
“Well, I haven’t seen many chairs around.”
“Just think of a chair and sit.”
“What?”
“For crying out loud, just do it!”
Kevin did as he was told and was surprised when his bottom hit what felt like the seat of a chair. His eyes flew open, and he had a hard time believing what he saw: A beautiful and comfortable beige, leather chair with controls at the end of the armrest.
Holy crap, am I sitting on Jean-Luc Picard’s captain’s chair?
“Did my mind do this?” he asked Ziron.
“With the help of your nano-armor, yes. The nano-armor will help you construct anything you think of. I see you’ve created this one based on fond memories from a show you enjoyed.”
You can say that again.
Boomer barked nearby, and Kevin thought of a way to secure his pet. A couple of leathery bands looped around the Beagle and secured him to the bottom of the chair. Boomer yelped in fear.
“It’s okay, buddy, these will keep you safe.”
Boomer barked twice.
Kevin had to admit that the level of technology he witnessed today alone was far beyond anything he thought would even be possible. It was enthralling, but awe would have to wait, he had a Kregan destroyer to deal with first.
5
The Kregan destroyer came about for another volley of laser fire and torpedoes. Kevin banked the ship at the last moment in order to avoid the full brunt of the torpedo spread and managed to dodge sixty percent of them. The multiple collisions rocked the ship and lowered the shields to forty percent.
Boomer growled and barked several times, straining against the leather straps.
Kevin was where he wanted to be now regarding position. A quick simulation ran in his mind while maneuvering the Osiris and showed him that its shields should be able to sustain grazing the shields of the Kregan destroyer.
It was time to put this theory to the test, and Kevin changed his heading to position the Osiris face to face with the enemy ship. The ship vibrated, and the shields lowered another twenty percent.
“Are you nuts? Are you trying to get us killed?” Ziron complained.
“Let me fight my way!”
As if echoing his master, Boomer barked and growled at Ziron.
Kevin redirected power from life support and artificial gravity but not before thinking seatbelt. A metallic belt looped around the top of his shoulders, however, Ziron was left floating in the bridge knocking against the ship’s interior.
The Sphynx hissed. “I’m starting to regret saving your life.”
Kevin ignored the blue cat and unleashed all laser batteries and torpedoes, hoping the power boost to the shields would protect the Osiris from the destroyer exploding near their ship.
The result was devastating. Multiple explosions appeared on the surface of the Kregan destroyer, and its shields flickered and died within seconds.
Sparks flew inside the bridge as an alarm blared. Their own shields were critically low, but the alarm resounded because of an overload of the weapon’s systems, disabling the Osiris’ offensive capabilities in the middle of the fight.
“I told you, you’re going to get us all killed,” said Ziron, holding on for dear life to a nearby piece of equipment.
“Well, at least I won’t have to hear your incessant complaining anymore.”
“How rude.”
“Shut up, let me focus if you want to keep breathing.”
Kevin ignored the resulting Sphynx’s spit-hiss.
He had to admit that his strategy had been bold, and in this case, he had been too cocky for his own good. The Osiris clearly wasn’t as strong as the previous ship he had remote piloted with his mind. He longed for the Thalamos. Nevertheless, he needed to get them out of this predicament.
“Mira, any other weapon online?” said Kevin, not realizing he was speaking out loud.
“Only the multiphasic quantum torpedo prototype I’m afraid,” Mira replied.
“That’s not ready for use!” protested Ziron.
“Well, today it is,” Kevin answered dismissively.
I’m only gonna have one shot at this, better not waste it.
Kevin analyzed the sensors and his eyes focused on the star of the system. A bright orange sun that seemed significantly larger than the one from his own solar system.
“Mira, can you locate the Kregan engine’s weak spot now that their shields are down?”
A hologram of the enemy
ship appeared in front of Kevin’s field of view and rotated momentarily, then stopped when a portion of the hull painted itself in red.
“Thank you, dear.”
“You’re perfectly welcome, Kevin,” Mira cooed.
Here goes nothing.
Kevin redirected all weapons power to the shields while delivering nano-bots to the weapons in order to repair them. He had no doubt that this battle could be over before that happened though. But better safe than sorry, and he needed to think two or even three moves ahead if they intended to survive this battle.
Then came the crazy part of the plan. Kevin locked onto the destroyer with the Osiris tractor beam, and the moment the lock was confirmed, he activated a micro-hyperspace jump toward the sun. The moment the jump ended, the viewport filled with an intense and burning bright yellow light, nearly blinding Kevin on the spot.
“Deploying shading coating,” said Mira.
“I’m blind!” screamed Ziron. “You’re a menace, Kevin!”
Was he? In all fairness, Kevin could have clued him in on his plan, but he had been forced to swiftly react to the failure of his first maneuver. He’ll have plenty of time to apologize later for his rush tactics. If they survived.
Kevin blinked a few times as his vision slowly returned. He locked the prototype torpedo onto the spot Mira showed him earlier.
Another alarmed blared, and the bridge filled with red hues.
“Forty seconds to structural integrity failure. The Osiris can’t take this much heat with our current shield levels,” said Mira.
Hopefully, the Kregan ship would sustain even more damage with their shields down, but its armor was much stronger than the Osiris’ armor, so Kevin had to make sure he finished them off. With a brief subconscious prayer, he fired the multiphasic torpedo.
The torpedo veered madly and started doing loops.
“What the hell? What—What’s happening?” Kevin’s voice stuttered with fear.
“I told you the weapon’s not ready for deployment, I never got the guidance system working properly,” answered Ziron.
“A little heads-up would have been nice.”
“You’re not seriously blaming me for this? I told you it wasn’t ready, you decided to use it anyway, and now we’re all going to die!”
Across the Galactic Pond - Box Set: The Complete FAR BEYOND Space Opera Series Page 7