The Blarmling Dilemma (Hearts in Orbit Book 1)
Page 20
Rigel couldn’t help himself. He bent down and planted a kiss at the base of her neck.
“You are, without a doubt, the most amazing woman I have ever met.”
Chapter 28
Phoebe felt the warmth rise up her neck from where Rigel kissed her. Molten heat pooled in her core. But the mission came first. There was more work to do before she could let passions overwhelm her. People’s lives still hung in the balance. She needed to do her part. Later, though, she promised herself she’d pounce on Rigel like a Timazein Fropcat.
Ahead, right where her spy droid had located it, a large plastoid-domed building rose above the jungle. On its roof, an interstellar communications display. This had to be the pirates’ original base camp, before they’d attacked Shirewood Castle. It was here they’d set up their com-link to space. The backtechers would have had no communications facilities to steal, so Phoebe knew they had to have set up their own. This location was far away from any populated areas, where a low-tech civilization would never find it.
Shielded from blaster fire from above, the only way to take it out would be from inside. It would probably have internal defenses as well, but at least they’d cleared a landing pad right at the front door, for their own use.
Phoebe parked the P-86 right in front of the doorway into the complex. “We’ll need to move quickly.”
She swiveled in the command chair and noted Rigel pulling the power cord from his blaster battery. It couldn’t have been fully charged in the short time it had been connected, but hopefully he wouldn’t need it at all.
“I did a scan. There are no life forms inside.” She wanted to reassure him.
“Doesn’t mean there aren’t traps or droids protecting that place.”
That made sense. She hadn’t thought beyond human guards. It didn’t matter anyway. Security or not, they needed to disable the pirates’ communications. “Good point, but we need to bring down that array before Ryan and his people attack the castle so the pirates can’t call in reinforcements from up above. They’ll have their hands full enough with what’s planetside. No telling how many ships the pirates have in orbit or close by.”
“Then the sooner we blow this array, the better.” Rigel nodded toward the building on the command display. “That door’s probably locked you know.”
The ship was parked close, and under the ray shielding, which primarily protected the dome and array from aerial attacks. Phoebe aimed the ship’s port side blaster at the door and fired. “Not anymore.” A smoldering hole in the wall was all that was left of the front doorway.
Phoebe opened the hatch, and let down the ramp. Shouldering the bag that had the explosives she turned to Rigel.
“Let’s go.”
Dust was still settling from the blast, but an eerie silence hung inside the building as Phoebe and Rigel entered the pirates’ communications base. Phoebe pulled one of the explosive packages from her satchel. “We should have enough explosive force here to reduce this building to dust. We just need to scatter these eight charges around and arm each packet.”
Rigel nodded. “Are they timed?”
“No.” Phoebe shook her head. “I can detonate them remotely from the ship. I thought that would be safer.” Phoebe wasn’t one to take a chance, when she didn’t have to. “We’ll blow it when we’re a safe distance away.”
What an amazing woman.
Rigel’s respect for Phoebe rose constantly. Her ability with technology bordered on the incredible. Then there was everything else about her. He’d known her such a short time. Still, he knew he would feel lost without her. Over the past days she’d become such a big part of his life.
Love was something Rigel had never considered. Now he couldn’t escape it. He loved her. It was that simple . . . and so incredibly complex.
But he pushed those thoughts aside. He had a building to blow up first.
The communications center was dome-shaped, hollow and three stories high. Catwalks and stairways ringed the inside allowing for access to the upper areas. A three-seat command console sat empty in the center of the plascrete pad on which the building had been built. Racks of bitronic and computational data routing devices hummed against the far wall. Even with Rigel’s limited technology knowledge, he recognized that this was more than just a communications tower.
Phoebe gasped. “This must be their data fortress.”
Rigel pointed to a row of titanium storage lockers. “Probably a secret storage facility as well. Taking this out could really cripple them.”
He drew his weapon and motioned Phoebe to follow him up the stairs. “We should plant some of the explosives up here to make sure we take out the array on the top.”
Phoebe nodded. “The place looks empty.”
“Looks,” was all he answered. Peace is only an illusion to cloud the next rising battle. The old adage rambled through Rigel’s mind.
Their footfalls echoed in the big chamber. Step by step they ascended the metal stairway. Dust kicked up as they rose higher in the dome. No one had been up here in a while. The pirates must have been quite comfortable in their new home at Shirewood Castle. They’d put everything here on remote access.
On the highest catwalk, a semicircle spanning half way round the top of the dome, Phoebe planted three of the explosive charges. They planted another two a bit lower on the other side of the building.
“We’ll scatter these last three around the base,” Phoebe said as they descended the stairway.
The soft whirr of Tendo servos would have been easy for anyone to ignore. Anyone, that is, that wasn’t brought up on one of the Theiler worlds. Laserbat Protectdroids had been a part of Rigel’s everyday life on the prison planet he’d grown up on, silently watching and recording everything the inhabitants did, allegedly to qualify them for advancement, but more often to verify misdeeds. It was, after all, a criminal population.
From his vantage point up on the catwalk, Rigel watched five Laserbats, in their spheroid fast-movement form, silently roll across the plascrete floor below. Rigel identified them as the newer, X10 models. Similar in design, but much more dangerous than the droids he’d grown up with.
Where the pirates got their hands on government-only issue, next-gen droids was anybody’s guess, though Rigel suspected a certain red-headed galactic marshal had something to do with it.
“Trouble,” he whispered, just loud enough for Phoebe to hear. “Follow my lead. We have to look like we belong here.”
Two of the droids took up position in front of the hole in the wall that used to be the front doorway of the building, unballing and rising silently on mechanical legs to assume their more humanoid profile. There’d be no getting past them without being interrogated. The Protectdroids had speed and weaponry designed to disable or kill. Rigel doubted he’d be able to even get off a shot before they took him down.
They also had the newest, hyper-fast logic circuitry, allowing them to ascertain if the speaker was lying with 97% accuracy. Eye movement, pulse rates, sweat . . . the Protectdroids could monitor it all in real time. If Rigel had been alone, he’d have taken that 3% chance and tried to bluff his way out, but he was pretty sure Phoebe would never pass the test.
Still, the droids couldn’t read minds.
Phoebe came to his side after activating her explosive charge. “Phat photons.”
Rigel took a deep breath, then looked Phoebe deeply in the eyes. Everything depended on her following his lead without question. He put his finger to her lips and she cocked her head in question. Rigel nodded slowly, then raised his voice.
“Too bad about that doorway, but Captain le Piere said he’d send someone around to fix it. He wanted these new sensors in place as soon as possible. Those backtechers are up to something.” Phoebe’s eyes widened, but she nodded. The explosive charges were innocuous enough t
o not be recognizable by the droids as dangerous . . . yet. It would take a few minutes for the droid’s probes to analyze the packages.
Rigel quickly descended the stairway. They didn’t have much time. “Let’s get these last three placed around the bottom. And don’t worry, Captain le Piere gave me the stand-down code for the Protectdroids.”
The other three droids had positioned themselves around the dome’s perimeter. He led Phoebe right next to the one on the east wall. “Position one here,” he told her.
The droid’s metallic voice was completely emotionless when it spoke. “If you have the stand-down code, present it.”
Rigel patted his shirt and pants, as if looking for a note. “Just have to find it.” He forced a smile and a chuckle.” If forced to venture a guess, Rigel would bet the droids were programmed to kill intruders. He was playing with fire.
Phoebe finished arming the charge and Rigel hurried her along. “One here.” He pointed ahead just to the side of another droid. The Laserbats were heavily armored. Planting the explosives right by the droids would double their chances of taking them out, as long as the droids didn’t move.
“And here.” He indicated a position by the third interior droid. Phoebe armed the explosives and he hustled her toward the final two droids by the doorway. Standing to the side of the blasted opening, against the wall, Rigel pulled Phoebe behind him and faced the Laserbat.
“Present the stand-down code now, human, or you will be eliminated.” Rigel knew the droid’s blaster was already locked on him.
“Yes, yes. I have it right here.” But the time for bluffing was over. Laserbats couldn’t read minds . . . but Blarmlings could.
Oolo, I hope you’ve been monitoring me. Do it now.
His ship’s blaster was still aimed at the doorway. All the Blarmling had to do was press the fire button.
With a resounding explosion, the phase bolt lit the chamber, disintegrating the two droids guarding the doorway. “Run,” Rigel urged Phoebe. “Get to the ship and blow the building.”
Rigel tumbled to the side as he drew his blaster and shot toward the closest droid. Return fire from the Laserbats sizzled the air just above him. He heard Phoebe’s urgent footsteps pounding the ground outside. She’d made it.
He’d been pretty sure the droids would concentrate their fire on him at first, he was the larger, more logical target, and also the one with the gun. He’d identified himself to their programming as the leader. It was why he’d cautioned Phoebe to silence. Now that she was outside, she’d be safe.
He tumbled behind a packing crate for cover. He just needed to give her time to get to the ship and detonate the explosives.
The packing crate vibrated with the impacts of the Laserbat’s blaster beams. He fired blindly back at them over the top and around the edge. It didn’t matter if he hit. He just needed to keep them busy.
Oolo, fire another blast through the doorway just before Phoebe sets off the detonator.
He wanted to be sure things were ready before making his move to escape.
The building rumbled once again as the phase beam rocketed through the opening. Rigel executed a back flip and roll toward the doorway. A resounding blast rocked the building. Rigel continued rolling until he was outside the crumbling structure, then leapt to his feet and sprinted toward The Blarmlings’ Hope.
With a silent prayer of thanks to the galactic Gods, Rigel pounded up the ramp and into the ship.
“Let’s get out of here.”
Chapter 29
Phoebe surveyed the field in front of Shirewood Castle. Starship wreckage was scattered far and wide, but there wasn’t a usable component in sight, let alone a working warp core.
“Phat photons.”
She never dreamed the arrows would pack that much punch. These ships’ hulls had been titanium.
Ryan, Mirin, Tucker, and many others stood in silent reverence in front of Phoebe, Rigel, and Oolo. Lart had elected to stay on the ship, curled up on the cell bunk. Phoebe knew the Blarmling was fighting his own battle.
“Sorry, Phoebe.” Ryan refused to meet her eyes. “Le Piere somehow managed to escape in the one ship we left untouched for you.”
And so in one fell swoop both her main plan and her backup plan went down the drain. She had no ship with warp capabilities to use to return the Blarmlings to their home world, and no pirate captain to turn in for ransom to buy a warp core.
“You did so much for us and we failed you.” Ryan’s contrition was sincere, but it didn’t help the situation any.
Phoebe was devastated, but did her best to hide it. “We’ll just have to make our way to Tanis Yarba and acquire a warp core there.” She was still determined to get the Blarmlings home before Lart gave birth. They still had a few days . . . she hoped.
She couldn’t fault the backtechers’ leader. “You had your own people to worry about. You won your castle and your planet back, and now you have the power to hold it until a real galactic marshal shows up to protect you.”
Rigel shook Ryan’s hand. “We’ll send word of your plight to the galactic security center as soon as we land on Tanis Yarba.”
Mirin hugged Phoebe. “Be well my friend. We will never forget what you did for us.”
The warmth of the hug helped, but there was no time to enjoy it. Phoebe pulled away. “We have to go. There isn’t much time left for my little friends.”
They left the backtechers and entered The Blarmlings’ Hope. Rigel took the command chair as Phoebe made her way into the cell. She sat on the bunk and gently stroked the fur on Lart’s head and neck. “Hold on a bit longer. We’re going to get you home.”
There had to be a way to save the babies. There just had to be.
A cold chill knotted her gut. There was a way . . . and damn it, it was probably the only way.
Rigel blasted off the planet’s surface and set the course for Tanis Yarba. There might still be a pirate blockade around the planet, and he prepared to fight his way through it. With le Piere still on the loose, anything was possible. But more than likely the pirate captain would go deep into hiding for a while, which would leave this sector free of him for the time being.
A flashing light on the control panel indicated an incoming message. Rigel scanned for other ships in the area but found the source of the broadcast was a com beacon, drifting in orbit. He hit the receive button.
“Round one goes to you, Antares.” It was le Piere’s voice. The pirate must have left the message on his way out of the sector. “But this isn’t over. You will regret the day we crossed paths.”
Rigel sighed. I already do.
“And tell Phoebe Callista I’m not done with her either. My reach is long.”
Rigel felt Phoebe’s hand on the back of his chair. “I heard. Is that the pirate?”
He brought up the bounty display for Djon le Piere. The pirate captain had some very nasty charges pending. His bounty stood at over a million galactic credits. Rigel sighed. What he could have done with that type of reward . . .
“I’m lost, Phoebe. I don’t know what we’re going to do. We have to get Lart back to Blarm soon. There’s just not enough time, even if I could find work on Tanis Yarba.”
Phoebe hugged his neck from behind the command chair. “There’s a way.”
Don’t say it Phoebe. Don’t even think it. She’d already given so much.
“You have to turn me in for the reward. Use it to fix your ship, and get the Blarmlings home.”
“I can’t accept that. There has to be another way.” Rigel’s mind spun at the thought. “I could steal a ship . . . well, borrow it really. I’d bring it back.”
Phoebe sighed and rubbed his shoulders. The contact felt good . . . comforting. “You’re talking about breaking the law. You don’t do that . . . I do.”
She kissed his cheek. “Look, I knew there’d be a price to pay when I started this. Even if there was another way, it doesn’t matter. I need to plead this case eventually in a court of law. U.R.T. will just send more trappers, capture more Blarmlings. They’re people, not animals, and the galaxy has to acknowledge that.”
He looked her in the eyes. “What if you end up on a Theiler world? You have no idea . . . the galaxy has no idea how hard it is to work your way off the system. They’ve been told one year of good behavior moves you to the next world. It doesn’t really work like that. It takes subterfuge, greased palms, and downright groveling. It took my mom twenty years just to move up one planet, and I don’t even want to think about what she had to do.”
Phoebe took a deep breath. He could see she was considering his words. He released her, and she turned, pacing to a porthole and gazing out at the stars. Long moments she stood, just looking out at space. Then she drew in another deep breath. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not going to live my life as a fugitive. I set this in motion, and I intend to see it through, even if I have to spend the rest of my life on Theiler 12.”
A chill shot through his gut, just picturing what the prison worlds would do to her. She moved back into his arms and he hugged her, breathing in her essence.