by Layla Stone
“Is it a big mine? What is he still doing there?” Pax asked.
“A little bigger than Cenlura, and you will find out when you get there.” Clalls answered.
“Clalls has reached out to that mine. It was closing. We have not been able to get a response since the initial conversation where we warned them about being attacked,” Rannn said.
The small, beaded lights on the wall turned red. Pax noticed, but it was Sci who spoke. “We are entering the atmosphere.”
Having a telepathic connection to the pilot was handy. Pax watched as the 817 shifted on the map in the middle of the table. It moved slowly and diagonally towards the pirate ship.
Sci added while taking a seat and belting in, “Sasha would like you to buckle up. If she has to take any evasive action, you will be tossed around on the floor.”
Good call. Pax had been there for Sasha’s flying maneuvers.
He took a seat and said, “Let me know when you get a lead on the pirates.”
Sci didn’t speak for another three minutes, then he sat up straighter, his head jerking slightly. “Hold on.”
The ship and Pax’s stomach took a dip, and he leaned his head back in the seat, trusting the hellcat to do what she did best.
The ship shook and then veered again.
Sci spoke between his teeth, “An-Kor is pissed. He had no idea that the Garna was so big. He thought he could take on a battleship or an attack freighter but he was not prepared for the star carrier.”
Ah, that made sense.
Sci’s hands moved, and Pax wondered if he was thinking or doing something else. “He has sixty-eight crew members. Fifteen are on the ship, and the rest are rounding up the mine workers.”
On the Minky screen, Rannn leaned in. “Did you just say mine workers?”
“Ula is a gold mine,” Clalls called out. “Are you saying that the captain’s picking up bodies and not any of the material.”
Sci’s hands were flat, but he moved them from side to side. This time, Pax was sure he was doing something he couldn’t see. Something to the pirate ship.
Sci wasn’t responding, so Pax decided to make it easier for the telepath. Ansel trusted the Cerebral, and so did Pax…kind of. Reaching behind his neck, he pulled at the cerebral blocker and winced at the pinch he encountered removing it.
Instantly, he saw a series of pictures. The inside of a ship. Faces of males manning the ship. Then he saw the crew in the mines and how they were being aided by the security guards to move out the workers.
He couldn’t hear what anyone was saying, but he could see that the security guards were shaking their phasers at the dirty and hunched-over workers, the lot of them moving single-file to exit. It made no sense that the mine’s security was working with the pirates. Pax tried to figure it out, but Sci answered his unasked question.
“The security guards are not Federation workers. They killed the commander of the mine and are working for the money An-Kor offered them.”
The luxury liner veered again.
“I remember the last time we went up against space pirates; you were able to stop the attack,” Pax said, watching Sasha get their ship closer to the ground.
“I plan to make it to the end of this…adventure, so I’m not trying to overtake too many minds. Instead, I’m trying to get the counts.”
“What counts?” Rannn asked from the screen.
Sci didn’t answer right away. “I’m counting how many people they stuffed into the various twenty-foot containers.”
Pax had to think about that comment for another second before he understood that Sci was talking about the workers. He was counting the minds of the workers. A number that was going to be in the hundreds, maybe even the thousands.
An eve cargo ship could hold over twenty thousand containers. Pax had looked it up after the Merimore was warned not to go to Brica.
If a single container was twenty feet, and you gave each person roughly two feet, you could easily fit eighty people inside each unit.
The ship jerked, and Sci released his buckles. The lights didn’t turn color, but the map showed that the ship was on the ground. Five miles away from the Merimore near a small hill big enough for them to hide behind.
“Why are we so far away from the Merimore?” Pax asked Sasha.
“I flew in low and traveled under any radar they might have. Figured you’d like to catch them unaware, Commander,” Sasha answered.
Sci held up a finger. “I’ve counted five hundred and eighty copper mine workers from the Ula mine. One hundred and thirty-two Absaloka coal mine workers are being boarded.”
Pax took in those numbers and realized that the mission was changing to a rescue instead of a dash and grab.
Sci also added, “I’m staying here to protect Sasha. I will keep you up to date mind-to-mind.”
It was protocol to leave at least one man behind to guard the ship. Sci may or may not know that. Still, Pax added, “Stay here so that we can keep the captain up-to-date, as well.”
“Was planning on it.”
“I’ll have one of my team watch the ramp to guard the ship.”
Sci tapped his head. “I know.”
Pax rushed out of the room and headed to the ramp where the rest of his team was already filing out. They were rushing out before he’d had a chance to tell them the plan.
The plan to attack the Merimore or the fact that the security guards were working with the pirates. Pax’s frustration was nearing rage until he pulled the phaser from his pants’ pocket and noticed that the team was in defensive positions, not doing anything but textbook protocol.
Huh. Then he noticed Shady pointing, and the cyborgs readjusting their positions. So, Shady was back to leading the team.
A missile left the ship, shooting upwards. An explosion ensued when it connected to an offensive warhead coming from the same direction as the Merimore.
Looked like Sasha wasn’t as undetected as she figured.
Moving quicker down the ramp, Pax called, “Shaaaaady. Get over here.” She moved quickly and promptly. “It might have been smarter to get a plan of attack while we were still inside the ship where I didn’t have to scream out the plan,” he said loudly as the next counter missile took off.
Shady nodded. “Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.”
“We have five miles”—he pointed with his hand—“that way to the Merimore. They are gathering mine workers, and the pirates are working with the mine’s security team. They killed the mine’s commander.”
Finally, Pax saw an emotion. Her eyebrows furrowed. “What?” But he didn’t hear it as much as he saw her mouth move.
Figures. She was young and inexperienced. He looked at his team and saw a Yunkin looking at him. He looked scared. Pax pointed at him, knowing that having him on the attack team could get someone killed. “You! Come here.”
Once the young oaf half-jogged and half-ran to Pax, Pax wondered if he was making a mistake in leaving the boy here. “What’s your name?”
“Oz.”
“How old are you?”
“Sixty-two.”
Pax whistled. He was way too young to be in the Federation. The average age of Yunkins coming from the academy was seventy-five. But he didn’t have time to get into that. He’d already set his plan into motion. “You’re staying here to guard the ship.”
Oz looked at Shady.
Shady said beside him, “I already assigned that duty to Morb.”
Pax felt it this time. The heat in his chest and the tightness in his hands. He grabbed the female by the front of her grey deployment jacket that would keep her warm in the cold or cool in the heat. “Who is in charge, Shady?”
“You are.”
“That’s right. I am. And if you make one more decision without putting it to me first, I swear I will personally write your transfer papers to serve the rest of your time on Marnak.”
Her eyes widened.
“Do yo
u understand me?”
She nodded. He let go of her jacket and bellowed out, “Oz, on the ship, send out Morb.” Then he addressed everyone else. “Everyone else will follow me.” Instantly, he saw a map of the terrain in his head and saw the blue line that led from their spot and around the mountain towards the Merimore. The image was from Sci. He smiled inwardly, happy that at least one team member was doing their job.
Pax followed the blue line, holding his phaser to his chest as he ran. Behind him, he knew Shady followed closely. After her, he didn’t know.
***
They ran for the first two miles, then the map in Pax’s mind disappeared, and he saw a red lightbulb in his mind instead. “Find cover,” Pax said as he crouched down behind a weathered old shack.
“Why are we waiting here? I don’t detect any life forms.”
Shady.
As Pax was thinking of a not-so-nice response, there was an explosion in front of them. The dwelling took the brunt of the hit, but Pax and Shady and two others were still knocked over.
“How did you know about that?” Shady asked, pushing herself up from the ground and shaking the debris from her hair.
“Sci can read minds. Not sure how you forgot that.” Then Pax tapped the side of his head where the cerebral blocker should be. “I’m linked with someone who pretty much knows what’s going to happen before it does.”
At that, he saw a Yunkin stare at him. Next to the Yunkin was a Grach. A dark-skinned and dark-haired humanoid race. Graches had a unique mating habit in that they had addictive chemicals in their saliva and sperm. Males were far more potent than females, and it was well known that they didn’t have many bed partners because experiencing a Grach withdrawal bordered on unbearable: body shakes, aches, and hallucinations.
With that kind of reputation, the Graches didn’t mate much outside of their own race. Most were afraid to even blitz with one.
Both the Yunkin and Grach looked at Pax and then reached behind their heads and pulled off their blockers.
The Grach said, “I see a red lightbulb.” He sounded confused.
The red light changed, and the map showed up again, the blue line shifting slightly.
The Yunkin smiled. “This is cool. I can see what’s in front of us without looking. And this makes everything easier with a laid-out path.”
Another Yunkin reached behind his neck and pulled off his blocker. He smiled, too. “Oh, yeah, this is much better.”
The rest, minus the cyborgs who didn’t have blockers, pulled off their blockers, too. Pax looked at Shady, who clearly looked left out. “Stay behind me or the men without blockers. We lead the way.”
The cyborg female closed her mouth petulantly but nodded once.
“On three,” Pax said, and they resumed their run toward the Merimore.
***
Pax led the way, flanked by three Yunkin. As they neared the ship, the Yunkins took their places next to him. Shady pushed her way in, and the eight Grach and two Hettens pulled in, as well.
All tried to talk at once as Sci started sending pictures of the guards to them, but Pax and the males were a little overloaded with the sudden onslaught of visuals. Sci was telling them where all the security guards were—their own transport ship to take them off-world--the mine workers in cages inside the Merimore, and An-Kor’s crew.
One that just so happened to employ two Krants—a race with thick skin that was as hard as a tree and didn’t feel phaser fire.
“Sci,” Pax said out loud, knowing the Cerebral would be able to pick up his thoughts while his team heard his orders. “I want one group going after the security guards, one group protecting the mine workers, and the rest going up against An-Kor and his crew.”
One of the Yunkins said, “I can lead these two to take care of the security guards. And I have some piloting lessons so I can take their ship too when we’re done.”
Pax already liked the chap. “What’s your name?”
“Hors.”
“Sci, give them the leads they’ll need.”
Hors smiled along with the other two Yunkins. “We got our map. See you back on the Garna.”
Pax looked at the rest of his crew. He pointed at the two Hettens. “You two, take five cyborgs to rescue the mine workers. There are a lot of them being walked from several points in the mine so—"
The Hettens smiled. “We got our map, sir.” Just as Pax was about to ask their names, one pointed at himself. “I’m Jeru.”
The other said, “I’m Grit.”
Both males touched a few cyborgs, and five followed them from their spot in the direction of the mines.
“And then there were thirty-eight,” Pax said, looking at the last of the crew, hoping they were good fighters because they would be breaching the ship.
“There are two Krants on board,” one Grach said, moving closer to Pax.
“I saw, I can take one,” Pax said nonchalantly.
“I can take the other,” Shady said from beside him.
Pax peered down at the female in disbelief. She raised her chin. “If you don’t believe me, just wait and watch, sir.”
“Calm down, hellhound, I didn’t say I didn’t believe you.” He didn’t, but he liked her moxie. Mentally, he told Sci to tell the Grach to keep an eye on her.
The message was received with all eight pairs of eyes nodded.
Pax inwardly smiled at how brilliant it was to have a Cerebral on his team. The force multiplier was off the charts.
“All right, first one to the captain’s chair gets a bottle of whiskey,” Pax said, trusting that after this mission, they would stop at a port planet so he could hand out the reward.
***
His team turned into attack hounds. As Pax ran, he noticed that there was no longer a map in his mind but people’s faces and where they were on the ship. His team ran a zigzag route as they approached the ramp.
One Krant was at the bottom.
Shady was the fastest. She sprinted towards the beast and dropped her phaser that oddly fell a half a foot before it retracted to her like it had been drawn by a magnet. Then Shady’s arms turned into short swords.
“Ten keleps that’s rulomin metal,” one of the Graches said.
“Unbreakable metal, meet impenetrable skin,” another Grach said.
Pax moved in and watched Shady’s first leap at the beast. He held a phaser right to her chest and fired.
She crossed the swords, took the hit on the metal, and fell back, twisting and spinning on the ground until she sliced off his right foot.
Pax saw the picture of a man pointing a phaser at Shady’s head in his mind. Turning quickly and taking aim, he shot the pirate in the head and then kept walking. He pulled Shady’s phaser off her back. “You don’t look like you need this,” he said, and then was able to use both phasers to make his way up the ship’s ramp.
He had to fall back a few times to avoid being hit, but he made it up unscathed. Inside, he used the reinforced walls for cover. Several cyborgs filtered out on the other side of the wall, those from Jeru and Grit’s team. They continued to move down the way, and Pax lost sight of them as he moved into the large docking bay, heading straight for the Krant.
Pax found the male headed down between two large containers. From inside, Pax could hear the kidnapped miners’ screams. Pirate scumbags.
Pax locked eyes with the nine-foot-tall alien. The Krant saw him and smirked at the double phasers Pax held. “You do know those things don’t work, right?”
Pax dropped them to the floor and cracked his neck, something he’d done before every fight in the Angny arenas. “I heard they could be ticklish. Death by tickle sounded fitting.” He also liked to piss off his competitors.
“You know what’ll be fitting, Demon? Your head on my trophy wall.”
Pax loosened his shoulders and lifted his hands to his face. “That sounds unsanitary. My head is uninterested.”
The Krant
threw a right hook, followed by a left and charged. Pax parried both blows, then grabbed the beast by the stomach and jerked him to the ground, letting the momentum tip the male over.
The Krant fell on his side and kicked Pax in the ribs. Pax took the hit, felt the air rush out. He held his breath, waiting for his lungs to get straight so he could inhale properly. But he remained where he was, not moving from the vulnerable spot he found himself in.
The Krant kicked out again. Pax felt his air rush back, and he inhaled as he twisted at the hip and jabbed the male’s knee from the side. It felt like hitting a rock, but it was necessary pain for the damage he wanted to cause.
Pax backed up, and the dusty tan alien followed, albeit with a slight limp. “How’s your knee, sweetheart?”
The male scowled. “How’s the ribs?”
“How are your ribs? Correct grammar, sweets. Otherwise, it sounds like you’re asking me about food,” Pax said arrogantly. As he suspected, the jab pissed his challenger off. Pax had backed up all the way into what looked like an office, and he saw the beast rushing forward. He glimpsed a pair of manacles on the ground and knew he was in luck. He dove for them, avoiding the hit from the Krant, and grabbed the large cuffs.
The only problem now was that he was in the back of the office with the exit on the other side of the Krant, an opponent that was already getting up. Pax figured that he had one way to get out, and that was to take another hit. So, he waited.
The Krant waited.
Pax moved the manacles by their thick chain and looped them around his neck to hang from either side.
“Aren’t you going to try and get out?”
Pax touched his chest. “Me? Oh, no, I’ve got you right where I want you, big boy.”
Confusion marred the dusty-skinned alien’s face. Then he turned to the exit, and Pax made a split decision to use the knife in his boot. He threw it directly into the male’s right eye.
It hit its mark, and the wail was not only heard but also felt. Pax had heard something similar before. He hated it when it was an innocent bystander. But at the moment, the male was his enemy. He rushed to the beast’s side and secured both of his hands that were quickly becoming coated with blood. Then he jumped over the fallen male and slammed the door shut. He ran to his phasers and pointed them both at the lock that took a retinal scan to open and shut.