by J. N. Chaney
"You owe me—" Elise said, her words cut off as Locke and Horvath flashed through the hatch, Locke streaming blood from his EVA pants leg and Horvath tangled in anti-personnel razor wire. A civilian EVA suit, lacking armor, would have been ruined by the diabolical attack.
The four of us slammed into the far wall, which wasn’t that far away because the AI’s signal relay station wasn't exactly designed for hosting a large party.
5
Twisting my hips like a martial arts ground fighter and pushing off the deck with one hand allowed me to get my feet under me but required me to shove aside my friends from Wallach. Elise was quicker, finding her own place in the cramped room before I dumped her from the pile. Our bulky EVA suits weren’t helping us get clear of each other.
Horvath groaned in pain. Locke methodically tightened a tourniquet built into his suit’s left leg. Once he attended to his own injury, he checked Horvath from head to toe—twice.
"Is everyone all right?" I wished they would hurry and get their game faces back on.
"We’ll manage," Locke answered.
"Except for Gunner," Horvath added, a hard note of anger and resentment in his voice.
"We’ll recover his body," I promised.
"How are we going to do that?" Horvath winced as Locke untangled him from the razor wire.
"Our gear has IR beacons. Once we regain control of the ship, it should be a straightforward process," I said, never having taken part in a void recovery. X-37 would help—assuming we succeeded in our current mission.
"That isn’t reassuring," Horvath muttered, then stopped talking when Locke gave him a warning look.
Elise helped me unpack the power restriction device from the backpack of my EVA, basically a regulator Tom had shown me how to modify. If it worked, things would be a lot easier for us on the trip back to the interior of the Nightmare.
The device was a flexible ring with input and output slots. I set it up as Elise handed me cables from my pack.
We searched the room, locating the central feature of this relay station. A locked console had been set flush to the floor.
"How do we open it?" Elise asked. Neither Locke nor Horvath had any tips on how to activate the console.
I snapped out the Reaper blade from my cybernetic arm and started prying it open.
Elise laughed nervously. "I guess that might work."
"It’s a one time solution, but I don’t see coming to this place often," I said. "Tom, I hope you’re right."
He said nothing.
"I think Tom is being blocked from communicating with us," Elise said. "Let’s do this."
Grabbing the signal relay, I pulled it even farther from its housing. Elise bent the restriction device around its base and began connecting wires. LED lights appeared a heartbeat later.
"X, can you see what we’re doing?" I asked.
No response.
"Tom?" I asked.
Elise was right. My engineer friend either couldn’t or wouldn’t respond.
"Everything is hooked up just like Tom told us before we lost contact," Elise said. "It should be working."
I nodded. "It might take a while. Locke, how are you and Horvath doing?"
"I’ve sealed the holes in his suit and cut free the anti-personnel wire," Locke said. "The AI of this ship has a wicked set of self-defense tools in its arsenal."
"Hopefully, we only have to do this once," I said. "X, can you read me?"
"Loud and clear, Reaper Cain," X-37 said for all of us to hear.
We cheered and bumped fists.
"Good to have you back, X," I said, laughing with relief.
"You are behaving as though I died and returned from the dead, which I should remind you is impossible," X-37 said. "There are two other signal relays that will need to be addressed if I am to operate at maximum efficiency while we are on this vessel, but shutting down this signal relay has forced Necron to retreat farther into its internal security mechanisms."
"Understood," I said. "We have a wounded man and lots of damaged gear. Can you help us get back to the airlock? We’ll also need to recover a KIA as soon as possible."
X-37 allowed a beep into the comm system, a scarcely noticeable alert for anyone not listening for it. "I’m running a scan. The ship’s security systems are showing no energy being diverted to the anti-personnel guns."
"Good." I checked Horvath’s EVA suit, then inspected Elise and Locke. As a group, we’d been roughed up but would make it back inside the Nightmare.
"There is one thing, Reaper Cain," X-37 said. "I must point out that the best way for me to remain outside of Necron’s influence would be to leave the ship.”
"I know, X. I’ve thought about that more than once, but I need you to help me keep control of the Nightmare. The crew has been a huge pain in the ass," I said.
"They are resistive of change. I understand, Reaper Cain," X-37 said. "You are the better alternative between you and Nebs. My analysis suggests a significant number of crew persons will follow you in time."
"How much time?" I asked.
"Undetermined," X-37 said.
"Guess." I was curious. My limited artificial intelligence was normally right about most things and couldn’t lie.
"Between zero and ninety-nine years," X-37 answered.
"Very helpful," I muttered.
"Sarcasm detected," X-37 said.
"It’s good to have you back, X," I took Horvath from Locke and carried him, telling the Chief Squad Leader of General Karn’s army to tend to his own damaged gear and try not to die.
Elise was giddy with the excitement of success. She moved with more grace than seemed possible in an EVA unit. "This is much nicer walking. I’m not complaining, but please never swing me through the anti-personnel shield again.
"Wasn’t my idea, but I agree we shouldn’t ever do it again," I said, my eyes on the airlock that would admit us.
"X, can you tell me if the beacon on Gunner’s EVA armories is still active?" I asked as soon as I was back on the bridge with Elise, Novasdaughter, and Locke. Horvath loitered near the rear of the bridge, waiting to see what we were doing about his friend’s body.
"Scanning now," X-37 said.
"You shouldn’t have promised him a view of the recovery," I whispered to Elise.
"I know! It just popped out. Give me a break. He saw his friend get killed," she replied, keeping her back to Horvath.
"He’s a soldier," I said.
"Duh. I figured that out. Aren’t you a freaking genius," Elise said. "Can you give me a break?"
"How are we doing, X?" I asked, verbally disengaging from Elise.
"This would be faster without having to work around Necron. Lieutenant Novasdaughter has been very helpful. You should express your appreciation to her," X-37 said for everyone to hear.
"Don’t," Amii Novasdaughter said.
"Wasn’t going to," I said without thinking, still annoyed at Elise.
"He’s a jerk like that," Elise said.
Novasdaughter wasn’t amused. "He is our commanding officer. Constant praise would only slow me down. A job well done is my reward."
"Well, isn’t she special," Elise muttered.
I wouldn’t have heard her without my augmented hearing and my completely accurate assumption she would make a crack like that. Her attitude was a pain in the ass, but, in an odd way, it reassured me she was in the game. When she started saying please and thank you and quit snapping snarky comments, I’d get worried.
"I have located the man from Wallach called Gunner. His EVA suit is transmitting a distress beacon, but I am reading no life signs," X-37 said.
I glanced toward Horvath, not knowing what to expect. The man lowered his chin to his chest and said nothing. His knuckles were white where he gripped his hands together. I wasn’t sure if he was praying or just trying not to break his own fingers.
Locke stood by his soldier, talking in a low voice.
Moving toward them, I realized there wasn’t a
nything I could say to make this better.
Horvath looked at me.
"I’m sorry about Gunner," I said simply.
Horvath held my gaze then looked at his clenched hands, realizing how hard he was gripping them together, and let go. "Volunteering was his idea. I told him it wouldn’t end well. Thanks for your condolences. It would mean a lot to his family if we recover his body for a proper ceremony."
"We can do that," I said. "I’m not sure how long it will take."
"Good enough, sir. Thank you," Horvath said.
"Get some sleep, Horvath," Locke said. "That’s an order."
"Yes, sir."
I waited until he was gone. "X, don’t let me forget to recover Gunner."
"I’ve placed body recovery on our agenda and set a reminder to get this done as soon as possible," X-37 said. "We are approaching the Bold Freedom. Would you like me to hail the ship?"
"Absolutely," I said, taking my place near the captain's chair, not ready to sit in the thing that reminded me of Nebs and his god complex.
Elise took her place at the sensor and communications console and worked with X-37 and Novasdaughter to contact the Bold Freedom’s crew. There were some issues because of interference from the comet and other debris scattered through the system.
I studied the main holo, watching an enhanced view of the ship and the comet moving toward it. The slow but inevitable collision course was painful to watch. I couldn’t imagine being on the old freighter and wondering if help was coming.
"What’s the problem?" I asked.
"Every part of the Bold Freedom was retrofitted from the available salvage on Dreadmax. I’m amazed they made it this far." Elise worked through computations, her hands flashing over the luminous keyboard.
"Where did you find this girl?" Novasdaughter asked me softly.
"I can hear you." Elise didn’t look up from her work.
Novasdaughter flinched as though she were surprised Elise heard her.
Locke watched with interest but said nothing. I thought he was wondering about Elise as well.
"Just tell them the story," Elise said. "I should have the BF on the holo in less than a minute."
"Union scientists experimented on her," I said. "That might explain why she learns so fast and heals even faster, or it might just be her nature."
"Maybe it’s both," Novasdaughter suggested.
I pulled a cigar from a utility pocket.
"Nebs had very strict rules about smoking on the ship, and never on the bridge," Novasdaughter stated.
I offered a second cigar to her, well aware it was bad form. She considered it, then shook her head. I offered one to Locke and Horvath, realizing that my generosity was going to get expensive if I wasn’t careful.
"You and your cigars," Locke said. "I still remember the scandal you caused by smoking in front of the president. Another time, perhaps. We also have rules in the Wallach fleet about smoking on the bridge of a capital warship."
I grunted and nursed one of the Wallach Presidentials to life. The memory made me smile again. Being a Reaper wasn’t all bad. What other career would allow me to kill people who annoyed me and meet others who gave me good cigars. Basically, I was living the good life.
Except for the part where megalomaniacal psychopaths like Nebs came after me with a Union fleet and an army of super soldiers.
"Stand by for the captain of the Bold Freedom," Elise said.
A gray-haired man with dignified goatee and sideburns appeared on the screen. He seemed more surprised than relieved to see us.
"I’m Captain Max Slipdriver of the Bold Freedom. Please identify yourself and your intentions," the man said. The view distorted every few seconds but was clear enough for us to communicate.
"I’m Halek Cain. We heard your distress call and brought fuel for your ship," I said. "Please tell me that isn’t your real name."
The man laughed, causing me to like him more each second.
"My crew came up with the name. It’s marginally better than Max Slandonsky," the captain said.
Elise and I laughed. Novasdaughter maintained a hard, professional demeanor, as did Locke. Horvath was far enough back from the holo screen for his reaction not to matter.
"Sounds like you have a crew with a sense of humor. Nice of them to pick the name of a fictional outlaw for you. How are they at flying that hunk of junk you salvaged from Dreadmax?" I asked.
"How do you know where we came from?" Slipdriver-Slandonsky asked.
"I was on Dreadmax at the end. Check with your people. They’ll confirm I’m the one who brought you the slip drive regulator from the core of Dreadmax."
The captain grew serious for several seconds. "Then it seems you’re making a habit of rescuing us. Without more fuel, we’ll be caught in the wake of the comet if not hit directly. We’re trying to stay ahead of it but lack the fuel needed to achieve sufficient speed for an escape, much less travel by slip space."
"What happened here? Why are there so many destroyed ships?" I asked.
"There was a battle long before we arrived. I don't have all the details but would love to discuss my theories once we’re out of harm's way," Captain Slipdriver said. "Can you get the fuel to us?"
"I’ll need to transfer to the Jellybird," I said.
"Good ship," Slipdriver said. "So you’re that guy, the man who claimed to be a Reaper."
"Never mind that," I said. "Can you do me a favor and find a kid named Bug?"
"Name doesn't ring an alarm. I will look into it, but there are a lot of unregistered stowaways since we left. A bunch of the street kids from Dreadmax left every time we stopped for supplies. That’s been a while now, dozens of slip tunnels ago," Captain Slipdriver said.
"I understand," I said.
Inside, all I felt was gnawing worry.
6
X-37 whispered hints and reminders in my ears, just like old times. It was like he thought he was actually being helpful. I studied the captain of the Bold Freedom and wondered if I should trust the man despite how much I liked him. He seemed almost too happy to be in charge of a ship full of people about to die.
“With Jelly’s help, I’ve done an analysis of the anomalies in the sector," X-37 said. "The debris is obviously from a battle, but there are other things that don't fit."
"Tell it to me straight, X," I said.
"It seems there is a civilization among the wreckage," X-37 replied.
"What?" Before my limited artificial intelligence responded, I addressed Captain Slipdriver. "Tell me about the people living in the wreckage of the ships."
The captain crossed his arms and leaned back in his ragged-looking chair. "I was wondering how long it would take you to ask about them. They’re scavengers, been here for who knows how long. We ran into several varieties, the worst of which remind me of the gangs of Dreadmax or the cannibals below the decks of that place. The cannibal scavengers aren’t as dangerous because they don't normally have the skills to pilot the shuttles. Of the ones who fly between ships, most of them behave pretty much as you would expect. I want to say they're helpful and altruistic, but it's a barter system. When we have something they want, I make sure they bring us something we want."
"Interesting. Will they interfere with the refueling?" The idea of being raided by space pirates wasn't exciting. Any of the ships, from the Nightmare to the Jellybird to the Lady Faith would be good prizes for people stranded here.
"I can't make any promises. There are many classes of scavengers, but they all follow a similar type of law. Probably nothing codified and most likely based on the survival of the fittest. That any of them have survived this long is amazing," Captain Max Slipdriver said. “There should be two planets capable of sustaining life in the system, but they seem to have been ravaged by wars.”
I reviewed what I had learned, looking to my bridge crew, small as it was, to see if they had questions.
"How did you get stuck in the path of the comet?" Elise asked. The expression on Nov
asdaughter’s face suggested she had been about to ask a similar question.
The captain of the Bold Freedom exhaled for a long moment. He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, clearly worried about the question he’d been asking himself for a long time.
"We planned on following a rumor to a place with a civilization beyond the control of the Union. This system seemed to be full of resources and we couldn't pass it up. When we found the wreckage, we thought we had struck gold. We can always use salvaged material. We're experts at it. The comet was a known quantity. We got tied up on a complicated salvage operation and there were some accidents. Things just went downhill from there until we lost too much fuel. We can maneuver and navigate in system, but the main engines of this thing are very inefficient. Even if we can get free of the path of the comet and its wake, I'm not sure how far we can go without understanding where all these slip tunnels this far beyond Union space will lead us."
"We might be able to help you with that," I said. "Let's get your ship refueled and on your way before we talk more."
I waited several seconds until I understood that my communication with Captain Slipdriver had concluded. A new silence filled the bridge. Elise and Novasdaughter held my gaze, keeping to their own thoughts. I wasn't sure, but I suspected Novasdaughter might be rubbing off on Elise. The teenager was slowly learning the habit of thinking before she spoke—amazing but true.
Locke appeared contemplative as he studied a close-up view of the wreckage via one of the workstations on the bridge. Horvath edged closer and stood behind him, arms crossed, also studying the ruined ships.
"What caused this, Locke?" I asked.
He frowned, his gaze still on the images on his holo display. "Some ship designs are familiar. Over the last few centuries, we sent out expeditions from Wallach to explore new systems. We've always known we couldn't stay on Wallach forever. Some of our explorers must have met their fate here."
I switched my attention to Horvath. The man was obviously exhausted and heartsick—and grew slightly wide-eyed when he realized I was including him in this conversation. "I don't know anything about star travel. I'm just a soldier."
