Chasing the Stars (43 page)

This was so damned unfair, to get so close to escaping Mazon territory only to be ambushed at the last moment. What had been a lifetime to sort out my problems had turned into a mere matter of minutes. The promise of all the time in the world had been broken.

‘How soon before we encounter them?’ asked Vee with a calm I could only envy.

I checked my panel. ‘Nineteen minutes.’

‘How soon before they determine our exact location?’

‘At our current speed, less than six minutes,’ I replied.

‘Orders, Captain?’ said Anjuli.

‘Put the ship on silent red alert,’ said Vee.

‘Captain?’ Mum moved to stand beside Vee.

‘I have a plan, Commander, but you’re not going to like it,’ said Vee.

‘Does it beat dying?’ asked Mum drily.

‘Depends on your point of view,’ Vee replied.

‘Let’s hear it.’

‘There are a number of escape pods on board. I suggest we use them.’

‘You want to abandon ship?’ Mum frowned.

‘No. I want to put your . . . our dead in the escape pods,’ Vee replied. ‘And we rig each one with false life-sign readings so the Mazon will think exactly as you did, that we’re abandoning ship and individually making for the wormhole. They’ll assume that’s the plan because the escape pods are so small, they make for a much harder moving target.’

‘A harder target but not impossible,’ Mum pointed out. ‘And the closer the escape pods get to the Mazon ships, the easier they’ll be to destroy.’

‘That’s what I’m counting on,’ said Vee. ‘Because the escape pods won’t only be rigged with false life-signs.’

Pause.

‘You want to rig each pod with explosives,’ Mum realized.

Vee nodded. ‘If we’re lucky, the pods will detonate close enough to the Mazon ships to do some serious damage and we can make a run for the wormhole whilst the Mazon are repairing their ships.’

‘Sounds like a plan,’ said Mum. ‘Why don’t you look happier about it?’

Mum was right. Vee was looking troubled.

‘For this to work, the escape pods can’t be detonated until they are within striking distance of the Mazon ships,’ said Vee. ‘If even one of the pods is destroyed before then, the resultant force of the explosion will alert the Mazon to what we’re up to and the plan will fail. It means that each escape pod will have to be controlled from our ship. They can’t travel on a predictable trajectory. It has to look like each is under the control of its occupant.’

‘I can use the computer to plot a course for each one,’ said Anjuli.

‘Plotting a course won’t do it. We need to remotely fly all four simultaneously and make all the micro adjustments necessary when the Mazon open fire on them,’ Vee said.

‘Can you do that, Anjuli?’ asked Mum.

Anjuli shook her head. ‘I can’t fly four escape pods all at once. That’s not humanly possible.’

‘Nathan?’ Mum queried.

I shook my head.

‘It can’t be done.’ Mum echoed what I was thinking.

‘Aidan can do it,’ Vee said quietly.

My blood ran cold. Was she seriously suggesting we allow that killing machine back on the bridge?

‘Your call, Commander,’ Vee said to Mum.

Mum looked around the bridge. ‘Sam, get him up here,’ she said.

‘Mum, you can’t be serious,’ I protested.

Mum scowled at me. ‘Are you questioning my orders, Nathan?’

Slowly I shook my head. ‘No, Commander.’

Sam issued the command to the guards outside Aidan’s detention cell to bring him up to the bridge. Then he put a work detail on filling the escape pods with those who had been killed and packing plasma explosives around each body. Time was of the essence. Less than a minute later, Aidan was standing beside me at the navigation panel flanked by Erica carrying a pulser rifle even though she had to know that they were useless against him.

Aidan looked at me pointedly. For two credits I would’ve gladly kicked his arse. What was I talking about? I’d gladly kick his arse for free. Instead I reluctantly relinquished my seat. Vee walked over to him as he sat down and squatted down beside him, looking into his eyes.

‘Aidan, the Mazon are between us and the wormhole. It’s vital that we make it past the Mazon ships. We’re going to launch four escape pods which are packed with bodies and explosives,’ said Vee.

‘Why do they contain bodies?’ asked Aidan.

‘In case the Mazon scan the pods. Their instruments need to detect people in those pods. I want you to manoeuvre the pods towards the two Mazon battle cruisers – two towards one, the other two towards the second ship. When they’re close enough, the Mazon will destroy the pods and the resulting explosions should disable their ships for long enough for us to make a break for the wormhole. D’you understand?’

‘Of course . . . sis,’ said Aidan evenly.

I didn’t miss the way Vee flinched.

‘Sam, are the escape pods ready?’ asked Vee.

‘Yes, Captain,’ Sam replied. ‘They’ll be launched on your mark.’

‘Nathan, how soon before the Mazon know our position?’

‘Ninety seconds,’ I replied.

‘Nathan, if this doesn’t work, I need you to plot our own escape route. We’ll need to head away from the wormhole at maximum speed,’ said Vee.

‘My assessment is that the Mazon won’t move too far away from their current position. They know we need to travel through the wormhole so they’ll play a waiting game,’ said Mum.

‘I agree, Commander,’ Vee told Mum.

‘Nathan, launch the escape pods eight seconds after the Mazon start coming towards us,’ Vee ordered. ‘Aidan, the moment the pods are launched, I want you to take over their flight, OK? Make it seem like they’re heading for the wormhole but are inadvertently travelling too close to the Mazon ships. They must not under any circumstances be destroyed before they reach the Mazon ships.’

‘Understood,’ said Aidan, his hands poised on the controls.

Our lives resting in his hands? Well, that didn’t sit well with me at all. I was going to make sure I kept both eyes on everything he did when those escape pods launched. I didn’t trust that android as far as I could throw him.

Thanks to him, I’d lost Vee.

As if reading my thoughts, Aidan turned to me – and smiled.

If our survival hadn’t depended on him, I would’ve gladly taken a pulser to the base of his metallic skull where it would do the most good.

I knew from my time on Callisto that hatred didn’t do any good. It ate away at you like acid until very little that was still human was left.

But when it came to Aidan – and his sister – I’d happily make an exception.

Well, it was a good try.

The escape pods travelled at speed towards the Mazon ships. I watched their progress on the bridge’s viewscreen. The Mazon were fast advancing just as I knew they would. One of the Mazon ships was approximately two kilometres ahead of the other one and it was that one which targeted the nearest escape pods. Only the Mazon ship did its job a little too well. Three, instead of two, of the escape pods closest to it exploded. The Mazon ship immediately listed to starboard, dead in space. However one escape pod wasn’t enough to put the other Mazon ship out of action. And it was forewarned. Two directed energy blasts later and the remaining escape pod had been destroyed before it got anywhere near close enough to do damage to the second Mazon ship.

We couldn’t fully retreat and go back the way we’d come because there were more Mazon ships behind us. We couldn’t go forward as the second Mazon battle cruiser was now between us and the wormhole, waiting for us to make our move. The first Mazon ship wasn’t the only one that was dead in space. We were between a rock and a hard place and I could see only one way out – and only then if I moved fast.

I pulled off my command bracelets and handed them to the commander.

‘Commander, you’re in charge. Make sure you get your people safely to Mendela Prime. Once I’m on board the landing craft, I’ll hand over command of this ship to you.’

‘What d’you mean? What’re you going to do?’ asked the commander sharply.

‘I’m going to disable that other Mazon ship by using the landing craft to ram it. If I time this right, with enough speed and momentum I should be able to get right through their hull and reach their engine core. The moment you see an opening, just head for the wormhole and don’t look back.’ I was already heading for the door.

‘WAIT!’ Nathan’s voice behind me stopped me in my tracks.

I turned. He was on his feet, staring at me.

‘Vee, hang on.’ The commander walked over to me. ‘D’you know what you’re doing?’

I nodded. ‘Of course. I’m going to manoeuvre the landing craft until I get close enough to the Mazon ship ahead of us and then I’m going to aim straight for their engine core. I’m a good pilot, Commander. Actually, I’m a great pilot! I can do this.’

‘It’s suicide,’ said the commander.

I smiled, feeling strangely at peace. ‘It’s my life and my choice. Like I said, the moment I cripple them, head for the wormhole.’

I turned to head for the door.

‘Vee . . .?’ Nathan called after me.

I took one last look at him – an expression of regret and remorse and love and longing. I took one last look at him to create a memory for myself, a memory to last me a lifetime. Maybe one day he’d be able to think of me without loathing.

Time to go.

‘Vee, I have another idea,’ said the commander. ‘And I want you to agree to it.’

Puzzled, I said, ‘There is no plan B. This is your only shot at escaping.’

‘I’m not proposing that we change the play,’ said the commander. ‘Just the player.’

And she turned to give my brother a significant look.

I am so full of shit.

Vee was ready to sacrifice her life for the rest of us and with each step she took to leave the bridge, fearful panic shredded my insides. She was going to give her life so the rest of us would have a chance and all I could think was that I was going to lose her. For good. I couldn’t let that happened and yet I was frozen on the spot and the words I wanted to say were lodged somewhere in my throat and wouldn’t budge.

Mum saved my life.

If Vee didn’t agree to Mum’s idea, I knew what would happen. Vee would give her life to save ours – and I would die inside without her.

‘You expect me to send my brother to his death?’ Vee argued, horrified.

‘Vee, listen to me. No one doubts your bravery but your brother’s reflexes are far sharper and faster than yours so he’ll be better able to make all the micro adjustments required to evade the Mazon weapons fire before ramming their engine core. He stands a better chance of completing this mission successfully and we both know it.’

‘I can do this,’ Vee insisted. ‘I’ve flown in and out of tighter spots before.’

‘I don’t doubt it, but this is a one-shot deal. If you fail, this ship doesn’t stand a chance. For your plan to have the best chance of succeeding, it needs Aidan. You’re only human.’

Vee wasn’t the only one to start at that last comment.

Only human . . .

‘You’re asking me to send my brother to his death,’ said Vee after a pause. ‘I won’t do it. I can’t.’

Mum took hold of Vee’s hands and looked her in the eye. ‘Vee, as a captain sometimes you have to ask others to make sacrifices. Sometimes the ultimate sacrifice. Your primary concern has to be the welfare of this ship and the needs of the many.’

‘That’s why
I’m
prepared to do this,’ said Vee. ‘I won’t be responsible for any more deaths.’

‘An effective leader needs to be able to make the hard decisions,’ said Mum.

‘And I am. I’m not suicidal, Commander, but my brother is of more use to you than I could ever be,’ Vee argued. ‘You need him.’

‘No, we need you. You haven’t let us down so far and I won’t let you start now.’

‘Let you down? Are you serious? I altered Aidan’s programming and look what happened because of it. How can you say I haven’t let you down?’ Vee’s derision was entirely directed at herself.

‘If it wasn’t for you, we’d all be dead,’ said Mum. ‘You need to remember that. Now we don’t have time to argue about this. You need to order your brother to fly the landing craft into the Mazon ship’s core. He’s our only hope. We’re all dead otherwise.’