Wrath of the Void Strider (11 page)

Takeo tilted his head slightly, his lips thin.  “None taken.”

“Plus, it’s a cakewalk.  The real point of this little outing is to give you both some field experience with the HERC’s.”

“What’s a HERC?” asked Takeo.

Taryn teased, “It’s a noise I make, usually after I’ve had way too much to drink.”

D’Arro scowled.

Wincing, Taryn said, “Sorry.”

Without responding, he approached one of the sleds and tapped it open, revealing the back half of an enclosable suit.  The front half remained attached to the top portion of the sled.  “Hostile Environment Reconnaissance and Combat.”  He gestured for Taryn to approach.  “Robot armor.  Why don’t you lie down in there and try it on for size.”

On the deck above, Zerki led Gavin along a brightly lit corridor.  They stopped at the command lift and boarded.  After a brief sensation of movement, the doors opened, and they stepped off.  “Captain is on the bridge,” Collins announced.  Seated at the helm, Krane raised his hand, acknowledging her presence.

“Thanks,” she replied.  Tapping Gavin’s shoulder, she gestured toward the jump rig.

“Right,” he said and walked to the dimly lit recess.

Collins vacated the captain’s rise, gesturing for Zerki to reclaim her perch.  “Ixion data’s ready to go.”

“Again, thanks,” she said and eased down onto her chair.  “You’re relieved.  Go get some sleep.”

He regarded her earnestly.  “Mind if I stick around for the jump?”

“It could take a while.”

He nodded resolutely.  “I’m aware of that.”  He glanced to Gavin.  “Might be bad luck to have anything but a woman sitting in that rig.  Could be an albatross.”

Zerki laughed warmly and shook her head.  “You lovingly nurture so many superstitions, it’s amazing you get anything done.”

Collins winked.  “Ship’s still flying.”

With a quiet chuckle, Zerki indicated the scanning station and the woman who was manning it.  “You can hang out over there.”

She joined Gavin in the darkened jump rig chamber.  “Lie down and concentrate on the overhead navigation display, like we did earlier.”  As Gavin settled, she secured wrist and ankle restraints.  “These are for your own protection.  First jumps can be a bit of a shock.”  She secured the headband.  “Most Navigators don’t need the restraints after four or five jumps.”  Zerki inspected the neural interface, and with a satisfied nod, she asked, “You ready?”

Puffing out his cheeks, Gavin paused a moment to hold her gaze.  With a determined nod, he said, “I am.”

Zerki smiled.  “Here we go,” and she switched on the cephalotronic.

·· • ··

Within the forward hangar, D’Arro instructed Taryn and Takeo in the use of their powered combat suits.  At his prompting, three security team members gathered round Takeo’s sled, explaining to him the finer points.  He listened intently, noting every menu, system and subsystem.

“How’s it feel?” asked D’Arro as he checked Taryn’s sled.

She felt the suit automatically adjust to her body, fitting snugly all around within moments.  “Good, I think.  It’s hard to say, since I’m just lying here.  Is there any way I can take this thing for a test drive?”

D’Arro shook his head.  “Nope, but there’s a training suit you two can take turns with as soon as the Navigator starts transmitting.”  He glanced toward a far corner where an armored suit hung limply from its moorings, its plates painted in gray primer.  “I wanted to make sure your gear was calibrated in case time becomes a problem.”

“How do you mean?” Takeo interjected.

“It ain’t likely,” D’Arro began, “but your friend could make this jump in half the normal time.”

Suddenly, alarms blared and warning lights flashed.  The starship groaned and creaked loudly, deeply.  Metal whined near the command module junction, and a recorded voice announced, “General Quarters!  All hands to jump stations!”

D’Arro swallowed hard.  “Or less.”

On the bridge, Krane scrambled to check the starship for jump readiness, and the whole of the
Sanguine Shadow
was alive with movement.  “What’s going on?” asked Valerie as she stumbled into the command room.  She glanced toward Gavin as he sat upright in the harness, his eyes wide.

“The PLA is firing,” Zerki huffed, and she shot a flustered glance toward her Navigator as she returned to her seat.

Valerie recoiled.  “That fast?”

Her captain nodded sternly.

“But he was only…”  She trailed off and regarded Gavin with undisguised awe.  “You were only in that thing for a minute!”  Her mouth fell slightly open.  “How?”

He gave her a pleading look.  “I don’t know!”

Krane offered, “He transmitted an instant read with perfect fidelity.  The
Shadow
’s aligning the particle fog as fast as she’s processing the data.”  He glanced to the right half of his console.  “Actually, I could use some help with these diagnostics, if you got a moment.”

“Of course,” Valerie replied, and she hurried to Krane’s side.

Collins approached the captain.  “Can’t we stop it?”

Zerki shook her head.  “Impossible.  As soon as the system gets a complete read, it fires.  It’s a safety precaution.”  She tapped the last item on her list, and she rubbed her eyes.  “Of course, the system was designed around your typical Navigator.”  With a dry laugh, she looked to Gavin.  “Clearly, he’s not typical.”

“Clearly,” Collins affirmed.

A grave British man’s recorded voice declared across all decks, “Turn away from any windows or external airlocks.  Do not look directly at the lasers as they are firing.  Entanglement induction commencing in five… four… three… two… one.”  A flash of blinding light lit up every one of the
Sanguine Shadow
’s decks, nearly all of her chambers and bays, and just as quickly, the searing brilliance was gone.  “Entanglement induction complete.”

“We’re in Ixion space,” Krane announced.

Zerki stood up and scanned the view ahead of her.  “Whereabouts?”

After a moment, her pilot replied, “At the inside edge of the outer debris ring.”

“Status report?”

“All hands accounted for,” he answered after a moment.  “No damage to report.  A perfect jump, Captain.”

With a nod, she leaned forward over her comm and tapped the forward hangar’s channel.  “D’Arro, get your team ready.  You’re disgorging in five minutes.”

“Aye, Captain,” came his response, and he released the comm button.  Puffing out his cheeks, he stretched his arms and back as he approached his sled.  “You heard the captain!  Everyone, saddle up!”

“But we’re not ready!” Taryn protested from within her sled.

“Trust the equipment,” D’Arro replied.  “Follow orders and stay close, and we’ll all get back here in one piece.”  He settled into his armored suit, and the sled closed over him, locking in place.  One by one, the rest of his team did the same.  A countdown timer appeared upon his suit’s internal display.  “You rookies try not to throw up.”

Takeo breathed as evenly as he could manage.  “Right,” he exhaled.

Mechanical arms moved the sleds into position as klaxons trumpeted and warning lights spun.  The hangar bay depressurized, and its doors drew open slowly, revealing the mottled abyss.  Taryn gritted her teeth as the countdown reached zero, and her sled’s rockets fired.  “Oh,
shit
,” she breathed, and she was launched out into space.

“Scanning station, report,” said Zerki.

“I’m reading a Turii-class cruiser, Captain,” a young woman answered.  “Three thousand clicks out and closing on our position.  It’s an ellogon transponder frequency.”

Zerki smiled shrewdly.  “The
Imperium
.  Main screen, if you please.”  The display at the front of the bridge shifted, the stars changed position, and the cruiser came into view.  It dwarfed the
Sanguine Shadow
and had the look of a massive piston that had been tipped on its back.  Colossal engines sprang from the flanks, mounted on adjustable sponsons, and a three-cannon turret sat atop the main deck, embedded under the bridge tower.  Smaller turrets and massive counterweights sprang from the starship’s hull.  Its bow sloped down, giving it the look of a capsized cargo ship.  A gnarled ram prow jutted forth.

Valerie strained to see.  “Are those handrails on the main deck?”

“It appears so,” answered Zerki.  “Perhaps the ellogons enjoy a bit of fresh air from time to time.”

She quietly laughed and shook her head.  “Perhaps.”

They watched as the ellogon warship drew near.

“Incoming transmission,” a young man announced.

“Put him through,” replied Zerki.  A close-up of the ellogon captain instantly replaced the image of the Turii-class cruiser.  “Merchant Prince Lodoxol, son of Perymdak.”

“Greetings, Captain Ibarra and interested stakeholders,” said the merchant prince, slowly and with minimal inflection.  His skin was supple, the brown of rich river mud, and his eyes were entirely black.  A long snout extended from his face, and two prominent tusks protruded from the top of his mouth.  Gold and silver jewelry adorned his tusks and teardrop, backswept ears.  “You’re very early, Captain, and that’s almost as rude as being very late,
eh hm
.  Almost.”

She answered, “Greetings to you, mighty and well-envied Merchant Prince.  I have your payment.”

“How nice,
eh hm
.”  He leaned out of view briefly and muttered something in his native tongue before returning to view.  “I’ll come over on my shuttle to collect the payment in person.”  Unceremoniously, he cut the feed, and the external view of his starship returned to the screen.

Valerie reported, “He’s bringing over his personal guard.”  She looked toward Gavin.  “He suspects something special was behind our early arrival.”

“Damn it,” Zerki muttered.  “Are you certain?”

She nodded in response.  “He’s definitely got his guard with him, though I’m not sure it has anything to do with his suspicions.  I don’t sense that they’re connected.”

Wearing a troubled expression, the captain whispered, “Why would he be sending over his guard?”

·· • ··

Adrift amidst countless tons of debris, D’Arro watched a large shuttle ease into view from the forward portion of the
Imperium
.  Its rear thrusters fired, and it moved swiftly into motion, closing on the
Sanguine Shadow
.  At length, he exhaled evenly and said into his comm, “Everyone’s towing something?”

His team responded affirmatively.

“Alright everyone, push the tether button and form up on me.”

Their boosters fired, and all the sleds moved close.  Together, they took the shape of a crude cylinder.

“I’m setting the entry point,” D’Arro explained.  “In just a little bit, we’ll be launching at that cruiser’s aft storage area.  As soon as we hit, release your tow cables.  It’ll be jarring when it happens, so be ready for it.”

As soon as Lodoxol’s shuttle was no more than a bright mote against the starry vast, D’Arro urged the sleds into motion.  Moving as one, they bore down on the cruiser’s aft section, just below the main thrusters.  Each tiny vessel towed a large piece of debris, which slammed into the hull at the moment of impact.  Tow cables released, and a clutter of space junk drifted away from the point of collision.  Deeply embedded into the starship’s hull, the sleds’ automated systems activated cutting lasers, and within moments, a massive octagonal slab of metal dropped into the cluttered storage bay.  Atmosphere puffed out from the wounded starship, and the sleds clamshelled open to disgorge their passengers.

Her heart racing, Taryn clamored through the breach, alongside D’Arro.  They were immediately joined by Takeo and the others.  Their armor was black, and they wore their starship’s name in white letters on each of their left shoulders.  Surnames had been emblazoned on the right shoulders, although at least Taryn’s and Takeo’s were currently inaccurate.  “Your last name is Cray?” asked Taryn.

“Yes.  Try to stay off comms,” D’Arro answered.  Quickly, he scaled the inner hull and sprayed sealant all along the edge of the opening before dropping back to the deck.  A thin, foamy film stretched across the gap, closing it off within seconds, and the bay soon pressurized.  He nodded and pointed toward the bulkhead, prompting his team to fall in behind him.  He opened the door and took a moment to get his bearings from the data display inside his helmet.  “Beta Team, engine room is that way.”  He extended his right arm.  “Meet back here in five.  Do
not
be late.  Alpha Team, with me.”

Takeo clapped Taryn’s armored shoulder.  “Good luck,” he said and hurried after three others as they made their way to the engine room.

“This way,” said D’Arro.  “Stay close, rookie.  We’re disabling fire control and meeting the others back at the breach.  We might run into a repair crew coming down to check out that hole we made.  Use kid gloves; ellogons usually put their slaves on repair duty, and no one needs to die.  If Captain’s right about this guy trying to make a play for the
Shadow
, most everyone else is going to be on standby, awaiting boarding orders.”

Taryn asked, “What if the captain’s wrong?”

One of her squad mates dryly laughed, “Then that would be a first.”

The corridor they followed teed into a wider passage.  Up ahead on the right, at the end of a steel corridor, the bulkhead leading to fire control stood closed.  Warning placards dressed the nearby doorway, written in the Ellogon alphabet.  A tiny window in the top of the bulkhead door offered a view into the room beyond.

Switching his suit to stealth mode, D’Arro silently approached and peered into the chamber.  Inside, he spotted a dozen royal guards and an older statesman, dressed in extravagant red-and-gold finery.  The stately ellogon hunched over the weapons systems display.  A targeting reticle hovered over the
Sanguine Shadow
’s main thrusters, her engines outlined in red.  “He’s preparing to fire,” D’Arro breathed.  Looking to his fellows, he tapped open the door, much to the surprise of the ellogons present.

The well-dressed statesman, however, wickedly grinned and brandished a plasma pistol.