Kestrel Class

by Toby Neighbors

  “And to you. How’d you sleep?”

  “Fine,” Nancy said. “You don’t look so great, though.”

  “It’s just residual bruising. I’m fine.”

  “The bruising makes you look like you didn’t sleep?”

  “Something like that,” Ben said, hoping she wouldn’t press him.

  Soon, the others were up and everyone had breakfast. They gathered whatever supplies they felt they couldn’t part with if disaster ensued from the fusion reactor and retreated a safe distance from the ship. Once they were out, Ben slowly entered the engineering bay. It was his favorite place. The floors didn’t gleam white, and the walls were a dingy rust color, but he loved it just the same.

  At the reactor, he stopped for a moment and looked at his work. He had replaced many of the components, repacked the insulation, and wielded the thick shielding into place. He had even changed the interior geometry so that the cube-shaped reaction chamber had become a polyhedron. The new shape would use less gas to sustain fusion, while focusing the resulting heat to more efficiently power the ship.

  “It’s time,” Ben said, bending low to check the small canister of Zexum gas. The housing was made for two full-size tanks, but the small canister would work for their purposes.

  He turned the release valve that opened the line leading from the canister to the fusion reactor, then turned the small knob to release the gas. He heard some movement, then all was quiet.

  Ben stood up and looked at the gauges. The reaction chamber was slowly filling with gas. The device would stop once enough gas was in the space to sustain fusion, and more gas would be added as needed. They weren’t planning to fly the ship immediately, so the fusion would only take a small portion of the Zexum and create power for the ship’s systems, many of which hadn’t been turned on in a long, long time.

  Once the chamber was filled with gas, Ben turned off the safety and pressed the button that would shoot a spark into the gas-filled chamber. If he was wrong about the reaction chamber, if he had failed in even the tiniest calculation, or left even a microscopic crack in the housing, the gas would explode. He would be killed instantly and never know of his failure, but he had no fear of failure. Confidence in his engineering skills wasn’t misplaced. He pressed the ignition switch and was shocked by the bloom of light from the reaction chamber. He had to look away, and for a split second his heart raced with fear.

  But it wasn’t an explosion that he heard as he opened his eyes, but the gentle hum of system after system coming online. When he looked back into the fusion reactor, he could see a fist-sized ball of blue fire. He checked the readings. The ship’s power readings were rising steadily, while the heat readings in the various layers of the insulated reaction chamber held steady.

  “It’s working,” he said happily.

  The lights in the engineering bay came on. He moved over to the life support and saw that the big heating unit was ready to dial up, with oxygen off gassing from the fusion of the Zexum already rising in the life-support mechanism. He threw a switch that changed the output from the life support to the hydro-generator. It would take a while before water could be generated.

  Next up was the artificial gravity system, which was at full power and seemed to be in perfect working order. He dialed the gravity back to half of Torrent Four’s normal gravity, and he suddenly felt as light as a feather. He jumped and had to cover his head to keep from bashing it against the tall ceiling of the engineering bay.

  Everything was working and the Ben felt giddy. He wanted to power up the main engine, but they would have to remove a lot of excess salvage material. Still, he was thrilled as he shut down the artificial gravity and jogged through the cargo bay. He scrambled out of the back of the ship and waved to his friends from between the plastic water tanks. They were too far away to be heard, but he could tell they seemed genuinely happy.

  “It works?” Kim asked.

  “Like a charm,” Ben said. “Everything is online and in the green.”

  “We have full power?” Nance asked.

  “Yes, one hundred percent power to all systems,” Ben said as they walked across the cargo bay toward the stairs that led up to the main deck. “I’ve got the oxygen going to the hydro-generator now. We should have water soon.”

  “So what’s the plan?” Kim asked.

  “The plan is to get her uncovered,” Ben said. “That won’t be an easy task, but once that’s done, we can take off.”

  “Better to do it at night,” Kim said. “The Imperium Fleet will have trouble tracking us at night.”

  “Well, that gives us a full day to get her uncovered and ready to go,” Ben said.

  He handed out small collar-mounted com-links. They were short range, but perfect for use in and around the ship. After clipping theirs on, Ben led Kim and Magnum out to begin uncovering the ship, while Nance stayed inside and monitored all systems.

  “We’ve got water,” the computer geek announced, her voice sounding small and mechanical through the com-link. “Nearly a gallon already.”

  “Wow,” Ben said as he helped Magnum move the second water tank away from the rear hatch. “That’s fast.”

  “And auxiliary batteries are at seventy-five percent power,” Nance added.

  “What are the readings on the fusion reactor?” Kim asked.

  “Everything is green,” Nance said. “The temperature sensors in the reaction shielding are hovering around twenty percent of their recommended range.”

  “I told you it would work,” Ben said.

  “You can’t fault me for checking. And don’t forget, we haven’t even powered on the main drive engine yet.”

  “That’s because we don’t want the Fleet to take notice,” Ben said. “It was your idea, remember?”

  “Yes, of course, but I’m just saying we haven’t really put any stress on the ship yet.”

  “The drive won’t stress the fusion reactor,” Ben said. “The power is there and ready to be used. At full velocity, it won’t tax the fusion reactor more than it is now.”

  “So you say,” Kim replied.

  “Yes, it’s the way the ship was made.”

  “So going full power won’t tax the ship at all?” Kim said skeptically.

  “That’s not what I said,” Ben corrected her. “The stress will be on the engine itself, but not the fusion reactor. It’s perfectly safe.”

  “It better be,” Kim said.

  “Why are you so fussy?”

  “I’ve got a bad feeling, that’s all.”

  “A bad feeling?” Ben asked.

  “Yeah, that’s right. This is all coming together a little too easily. It makes me nervous.”

  “You mean a decade of work, risking our lives to get everything and everyone together, and nearly getting killed to obtain the Zexum gas, is what you call easy?

  “I’m just saying, a setback or two would be within the realm of possibility.”

  “I don’t do shoddy work,” Ben grumbled.

  He wasn’t really mad. He couldn’t be angry with his beloved ship at full power and ready to fly. This was the day he had always dreamed of. His only regret was their need to wait. Uncovering her was not an easy task, and he agreed with Kim that taking off at night was a smart thing to do, but he was so anxious. He wanted to say goodbye to Torrent Four. The junk world had been his home all his life, but he knew he was meant for greater things. The galaxy was waiting for him. New worlds, cosmic beauty on a scale he couldn’t imagine, adventure, riches, freedom, it all beckoned to him and he couldn’t get the ship ready fast enough.

  Chapter 25

  Magnum was lifting a heavy piece of metal as a bead of sweat ran into his eye. He didn’t mind the hard work, and he is by far the strongest of the little crew working to uncover the starship. Still, he’d spent his entire life hiding. Even when he was out and about, he wore a long coat to hide the many weapons he carried. To be uncovering what was essentially the most valuable object in the entire salvage field seeme
d wrong to him.

  The rear hatch had been completely uncovered and the big ramp was fully open for the first time in years. Ben worked tirelessly, his strength sustained by his excitement. Kim was more selective about what she moved, but Magnum couldn’t blame her for that. She chose the lighter items, and he in turn chose the heavier ones.

  Just inside the cargo bay, Magnum had stashed the assault rifle. He had spent most of the night setting up the reloading station in his quarters. A small table was secured to one wall, and his equipment was stashed in bins. He had separated the brass casings and was pleased to find he had nearly fifty of the large-caliber bullet casings, which he had been given in Longdale. He was still in awe that anyone would simply give away such treasures, but most people had no idea what to do with the spent brass. If Magnum could get the right priming caps, he could reload the bullets, even customizing them to his own desires. Fifty rounds wasn’t a lot for the assault rifle, nearly two full magazines, but it was a significant find.

  The laser rifle had come with a depleted power pack, which, thanks to the fusion reactor on the Echo, Magnum now had plenty of power to recharge. He had plugged the battery pack into an outlet during the night, hoping that the reactor would work. In a few hours, the battery would be at full power, and the laser section of the assault rifle would be ready for action. In the meantime, Magnum had a handful of rounds that he had collected from various places. They were loaded in the rifle’s upper barrel, just in case they ran into trouble. Magnum also had a long-barrel revolver. It was an ancient weapon, but the metal wasn’t degraded and he had replaced the revolving cylinder himself. It was his go-to weapon. The simple design was thousands of years old and didn’t run the risk of jamming like more modern weapons. It only held six rounds, and unfortunately Magnum only had four left, but unlike in other weapons, he didn’t run the risk of losing the brass. The revolver held the spent casings in place, and with a few more items, he would soon be able to reload them.

  “Magnum, can you help me with his old satellite?” Ben asked.

  They were uncovering the right wing of the ship. As Magnum moved closer, he caught a glimpse of his cabin through the window.

  “Yeah, that’s your cabin,” Ben said. “And Kim’s.”

  “No peeping toms,” the pilot said.

  “Well, you aren’t in there right now,” Ben replied.

  Magnum liked the banter between the engineer and the pilot. They were constantly engaged in a war of words, and Magnum envied their wit. He had trouble moving his thoughts from his mind to his mouth. It wasn’t that he couldn’t talk, he was just so used to staying quiet and keeping his thoughts to himself. He wanted to feel as confident as Ben and Kim, to be able to share his feelings with Nance, but he simply couldn’t. Perhaps, the longer he was with the small group of people whom he felt he could actually trust, he might become more vocal.

  “A few more hours and we’ll be done,” Ben said.

  “You’re planning a vertical takeoff?” Kim asked.

  “Yeah, that’s possible, right?”

  “Should be,” Kim said. “As long as the engines have full rotation.”

  “They do,” Ben said.

  “You think they do,” Kim corrected him. “You’ve never had them uncovered, right?”

  “Well, no,” Ben said. “But we’ve run tests.”

  “You and your tests,” Kim said, shaking her head.

  Magnum chuckled, then stood up, stretching his back. Situational awareness was something his uncle had taught him. Always keep your head on a swivel, he would say. Always expect trouble, then you’ll never be caught off guard. Magnum wasn’t expecting trouble, but scanning his surroundings was second nature. He saw the lone figure in the distance almost immediately.

  “Ben,” Magnum said.

  “The big man speaks,” Kim joked.

  “What is it?” Ben asked.

  Magnum pointed at the lone figure.

  “Damn, I should have known,” Ben said.

  “Who is it?” Kim said, shading her eyes from the sun.

  “Scalpers,” Ben replied. “Odds are, they know about us.”

  “What will they do?” Kim asked.

  “Try to steal the ship,” Ben said, grabbing a piece of metal that had broken off some unfortunate vessel long ago. He tossed it off the wing of the Kestrel class ship. “We need to hurry.”

  “Magnum, are you armed?” Kim said.

  He nodded.

  “You don’t happen to have any extra weapons by any chance?”

  “Yes,” Magnum said.

  “Well, now’s the time to break them out,” Ben said. “I’ve still got the flechette pistol.”

  Magnum held up a finger, as if to say hold on a second, then hurried down to the open rear hatch.

  “Everything okay out there?” Nance said over the com-link as Magnum snatched up the assault rifle and hurried toward the staircase that led up to the main level of the ship.

  “Scalpers,” Ben said. “Magnum spotted one.”

  “Should we close the hatch?” Nance asked.

  “Not with us out here,” Kim said.

  “I just mean as a precaution,” Nance said. “Maybe three-quarters of the way.”

  “It couldn’t hurt,” Ben said. “We need to get the ship ready to fly as soon as possible.”

  “I’ll start on the other wing’s engine,” Kim said.

  “What happens if we have to take off covered with junk?” Nance asked.

  “Supposing we can lift off with the additional weight... holy cow, why didn’t I think of that sooner!”

  “What? Where are you going?” Kim shouted at him.

  “Just hang onto something,” Ben said. “I’ve got an idea.”

  Magnum had two other handguns. One was a high-velocity, low-caliber pistol that shot small beads. It was intended to be a nonlethal weapon, although repeated shots or one in the wrong spot could potentially cause serious damage. It was worthless against armor, but incredibly painful without it. It might not keep them safe, but it would hold off an attack in a pinch.

  The other weapon was an auto pistol. It fired the same caliber rounds as the revolver, but could fire in semi or full auto mode. It was a thick, heavy pistol, and not Magnum’s favorite, but it was in good working order and he had five rounds in the clip.

  He popped out the two empty shells from his revolver and replaced them with bullets from the heavy pistol. It was down to three shots, but his revolver had all six. Next he grabbed the battery pack for the assault rifle. To his delight, it showed over three-quarters of charge. He slipped it into the grip of the rifle and set the toggle to the lowest setting. The laser shots would be tiny and not as powerful as they could be, but he would have more shots, and as long as the Scalpers weren’t wearing body armor, they would be wounded or killed by the highly focused beams.

  He hurried from his room to the bridge where Nance was at her station. She had returned the deck sweeper rifle to the security station. It had three rounds, but he wouldn’t feel ready until he knew she had it close by. He pulled it from under his console and took it back to her.

  “I don’t think I need this,” she said.

  “I’ll feel better knowing you have it,” he said.

  She looked at him and put her hand on his arm.

  “Be careful,” she said.

  He was nodding when Kim spoke up from the exterior of the ship.

  “Here they come,” she said, her voice on the verge of being frantic. “Whatever you’re going to do, Ben. Do it now!”

  Chapter 26

  Ben was in the engineering bay, staring at the artificial gravity generator. It was made to create a sense of gravity on a moving starship and could be adjusted to increase or decrease gravity according to the preferences of the crew. Ben knew it operated by creating a bubble of gravity that started in the engineering section and stretched out in every direction. Because the Echo wasn’t a sphere, the artificial gravity would extend beyond the ship.


  “Everyone, grab hold of something,” Ben warned his friends over the com-link. “Something attached to the ship.”

  “What are you talking about?” Kim said.

  Ben didn’t wait. He pressed the button to engage the artificial gravity and dialed it down to zero. Instantly he felt his stomach flip, and he started floating off the deck.

  “What the hell did you do?” Kim asked.

  “Get inside,” Ben told her. “It’s time to fire up the main engine.”

  “You turned off the gravity!” Kim said angrily. “How am I supposed to do anything?”

  “You love to fly,” Ben said as he propelled himself out of the engineering bay and across the cargo hold. “Figure it out.”

  Magnum came gliding down from the main level with a huge grin on his face. He held out a heavy-looking pistol to Ben.

  “Only three shots,” he said.

  Ben took the gun and stuffed it into the waistband of his pants.

  “Thanks,” he said, as Kim came scrambling into the ship.

  “Have you lost your mind?” the stern-faced pilot demanded.

  “No,” Ben said. “Magnum is going to hold the Scalpers off while I get the rest of the junk off the hull.”

  “By yourself?” Kim said.

  “It shouldn’t be hard with no gravity,” Ben said. “And if we have to take off, we won’t be weighed down.”

  “Fine, whatever,” Kim said. “I think you’re out of your mind.”

  “Trust me,” Ben said. “Let’s go, Magnum.”

  They had to climb hand over hand along the hull, but all the junk that had covered the ship was floating free. One light push sent junk spinning away from the hull. The only difficulty lay in keeping his own body under control. Ben had to hold on at all times.

  They climbed up to the top of the ship and saw fourteen Scalpers five hundred yards out, watching as the Echo floated the junk clear of her hull.

  “Can you hit them from here with that thing?” Ben asked, pointing to the rifle on Magnum’s back.

  He nodded. “But no clear shot.”

  “Yeah, I was afraid of that,” Ben replied. “Can you get down out of the gravity bubble? I don’t think your weapons will fire right without some gravity.”