And yet, Kim couldn’t imagine not being able to take to the sky. She had been born on the ground, like a lowly caterpillar, but had blossomed into a fiercely independent butterfly. Nothing could keep her down. She didn’t think she could accept the religious fervor that dictated every element’s life on Halpha Seven. Kim didn’t mind structure, but she had lived outside the normal rhythms of society too long to easily adapt to other people’s expectations again.
“Passing one hundred thousand feet,” Nance said as Kim flipped the ship around again. The blue of the sky was growing transparent, so it seemed more like a weak fog of blue than anything else.
“Do we have a jump point calculated?” Ben asked.
“As long as we don’t run into trouble,” Nance replied.
“A little trouble wouldn’t be so bad,” Kim said. “It makes things exciting.”
“Excitement is overrated,” Ben said.
“Speak for yourself, wrench boy.”
“Is it proper to speak to your captain that way?” Lieutenant Rena Liachov asked.
“Ha! Ben’s no captain. This is a free ship.”
“What is a free ship?” Rena asked.
“It’s a volunteer ship,” Ben said. “We’re partners, with equal shares in our success.”
“But surely someone is in charge,” the lieutenant said.
Kim brought the Echo up cautiously, just barely breaking through the atmosphere.
“Better get your mind in the game,” she snapped, “before we get spotted by an Imperium ship.”
“The skies above us are clear,” Nance said.
“Clear,” Magnum echoed.
“All clear,” Ben said. “Let’s make for the jump point.”
“I know how to do my job,” Kim said angrily.
She knew she was being rude, but her feelings were raw. And it wasn’t like she hadn’t noticed Lieutenant Rena Liachov making eyes at Ben. He was just dumb enough to fall in love with a fanatic. Everyone knew she only cared about her stupid war, except for Ben. It was only a matter of time, in Kim’s opinion, before she asked him to join her fight.
And while Kim’s own feelings for Ben were the biggest source of pain in her life, she was also afraid of what might happen when they reached the Briggs system. Just getting planetside would be hard enough, but if the lieutenant convinced Ben to take the Echo the extra mile, they might not make it out alive. It would be better to simply drop the freedom fighters on the next stop, wherever it was, and move on.
“I have movement,” Nance said.
“Where?” Kim asked.
“Coming around the planet. I’m not sure if it’s a ship or a satellite.”
“Let’s not wait around to find out,” Kim said as she pushed the throttle forward.
The Kestrel class ship shot forward like a laser blast, skipping through Halpha Seven’s orbit and into the free space beyond her gravitational pull.
“All systems are green,” Ben said. “Ready for hyperspace.”
“Almost there,” Kim said.
“Ten seconds,” Nance announced.
“Should we strap in or something?” Liachov asked.
“No need, just stay at your station,” Ben said.
“Here we go,” Kim said, imagining the jump to hyperspace causing the flirtatious lieutenant to go flying off the bridge and over the railing to the cargo deck below.
She hit the switch that engaged the hyperspace engines and time seemed to stretch. The stars elongated on the display, then swirled into the luminous morass of hyperspace. They made it with hardly a scare. Kim sat back in her pilot’s seat, happy that Ben couldn’t see the consternation on her face.
“How long until the next jump point?” Ben asked.
“Eight hours,” Nance said.
“Perfect. I need some sleep,” Ben said. “Maybe I’ll get a drink first. Care to join me, Lieutenant?”
Kim didn’t need to her hear the woman’s reply. And she didn’t turn her chair to watch them leave together. Tears filled her eyes. It was so typical to finally decide she wanted something, only to discover it wasn’t within her grasp to begin with. The Fleet Academy had been the same way. She had taken an aptitude test and been approved for flight training when she was a young teenager. But after sixteen months of classroom work in a dingy Imperium-funded training school, she was finally told that to take the entrance exam into the Fleet’s Academy on Perseus Major, she needed to be sponsored by a citizen in good standing, and nearly a thousand Imperium credits.
She left the training program without completing her studies because she knew it simply wasn’t possible to get sponsored. Kim didn’t know any Imperium citizens. Everyone was subjects, but only the wealthiest people with the right connections were approved as citizens. And only citizens could own starships, be granted a license for Zexum gas, and conduct trade across planets. There were other benefits as well, but none that Kim cared about. She would never get into the Academy, even though the dream still lingered. She enjoyed flying the Echo, especially when they engaged with Imperium Fleet ships. There was nothing quite as satisfying as showing the pompous Fleet just what their stupid, elitist policies had cost them. But in the back of her mind, she wondered what flying a fast attack ship was like. To be in the cockpit of the most advanced starships ever built was a dream that remained well out of reach.
Perhaps Ben, or more aptly, a love relationship, was also just a pipe dream. They had tried before and failed. Unfortunately, it seemed that her efforts to rekindle their feelings had fallen short. She needed to shake off the hurt of being rejected before it caused too much commotion. It wouldn’t take much for the wedge of resentment to drive the small crew apart. Kim didn’t want to leave the Echo, but if she couldn’t find a way to deal with her feelings, there might not be a better alternative.
“Kim, would you mind manning the bridge?” Nance asked.
“Sure. No problem,” Kim said, discretely swiping at the tears on her cheeks.
“Thank you,” Nance said.
Kim nodded but didn’t speak. A moment later, a big hand settled on her shoulder. Kim looked up to see Magnum looking down at her.
“I’ll be back in a few hours,” he said.
“Okay,” she replied.
He nodded, and Kim felt a sense of understanding in the gesture. Magnum was a man of few words, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t smart. In fact, Kim sometimes wondered if he wasn’t the smartest person on the ship.
Magnum left her there and Kim checked the ship’s systems. There really wasn’t anything else to be done once the ship was launched into hyperspace. She often thought of it like throwing a dart. A person could aim and make a good throw, but once that dart left their hand, there was no way to alter its course. It flew straight and true until it hit the board, or in many cases, missed the board. The same was true with a starship. The jump point could be calculated and the pilot could get as close as possible to the jump point, but once the hyperspace engines were engaged, the course couldn’t be altered. They would pop out into space once the trip was completed, and until then all the crew could do was wait and watch.
Perhaps, Kim thought, her relationship with Ben was the same way. She had made her feelings known to him. The dart had been launched, and it would run its course no matter what. All she could do was wait to see what he did with the information. He could return her affection or ignore her. Either way, they would come to a resolution. She just hoped she could live with it once the final result was revealed.
Chapter 13
After a quick drink, Ben went to his cabin and slept for six hours. When he woke up, he felt better. After successfully making a delivery for Brimex, he was beginning to believe they could make a life for themselves among the stars. Perhaps they might even find a bit of riches along the way.
But in the back of his mind, fear was constantly whispering, reminding him of what Holt had told them about delivering the freedom fighters to Brigton. The Briggs system was dangerous, and even wit
h their new weapons systems, Ben worried that they might not survive. If that was the case, why even attempt it? Rena and her squad of fighters would never rest until they were home again, but maybe it would be acceptable to drop them at a busy port world where they could find another ship willing to take the risk.
“You look like a man with a lot on his mind,” Rena said as she walked down the stairs from the upper deck.
As Ben approached the Bridge he glanced toward the pilot’s seat. Kim wasn’t there. The truth was he enjoyed Rena’s attention. Her attitude had changed noticeably since leaving Brimex Station. She was flirtatious, which Ben found flattering, even if he knew there was no real chance for a future with her. And, if he was being honest, he didn’t really want one. What he wanted was to mend things with Kim. He wasn’t sure how things had gone so far off track, but he had woken up with the desire to mend things with his pilot and oldest friend.
“Always,” Ben said. “Did you get some rest?”
“I did. I was just heading down to get in a quick workout. Care to join me?”
“I need to take care of a few things before we come out of hyperspace,” Ben said. “I should have time for a bite once we make the jump toward the Knoxx system.”
“You know, those who spend half an hour in physical exercise a few days a week have been proven to have better cognitive function,” Rena said. “I could show you a few exercises if you like.”
“Maybe another time,” Ben said.
As if on cue, the door to Kim’s private quarters opened. She looked up, saw Ben next to Rena, and then turned toward the bridge. To Ben, it felt like a pivotal moment, only what she saw wasn’t an accurate reflection of how he felt.
“Sure, just let me know,” Rena said, putting a hand on his arm. “I’ll see you in a bit.”
She turned and started off down the stairs to the lower deck. Ben felt a weight of guilt and responsibility pressing down on him, as if someone had suddenly cranked up the artificial gravity.
“Almost time to drop out of hyperspace,” Nance said, coming up behind Ben.
“Yeah,” Ben said.
Nance looked happy and rested. She had been spending less time at her computer console and more time with Magnum, which Ben guessed was good for her. She was a small person, with a pleasant face and a mass of wild brown hair, which she kept pinned back away from her face. To see her smiling made Ben feel better about the future. Surely if Nance was happy, he could mend things with Kim. Their future was bright, and he didn’t want anything to dampen it.
“How is everything?” Ben said as he slipped into his chair.
“All systems are in the green,” Kim said. “We’ll be dropping out of hyperspace in ten minutes.”
“Is there any reason to run diagnostics?” Ben asked.
“Negative,” Nance said. “I ran a complete system update and checked every system while we were in Brimex Station.”
“Have we activated the deflector shields or tested the lasers yet?”
“Negative,” Magnum replied.
“Why don’t we do that while the nav computer generates our next jump?” Ben said. “I’ve got some junk in Engineering that we can bundle together and throw out the air lock. I’d like to see how much the shields and lasers drain our power supply.”
“Fine by me,” Kim said. “I wouldn’t mind blowing something up.”
“I’ll get the computer ready,” Nance said.
“Alright, I’ll get the gear together,” Ben said. “Let me know when we drop out of hyperspace and I’ll jettison something to target.”
He left his station and hurried down the stairs. In the engineering bay, he opened the storage closet and started gathering old parts that were no longer useful. He wanted something roughly half his body size to use as a target. It would be much smaller than an enemy ship, but it wouldn’t run away from them either. Perhaps more importantly, it wouldn’t shoot back.
He was wrapping the old gear with duct tape to hold it together when the storage door closed behind him. Ben turned around as fear shot through his body like a jolt of lightning. He half expected to be locked inside the storage compartment while the freedom fighters took over his ship.
Instead, he found Rena leaning against the door. She was wearing her usual tactical pants and boots, but only with a tank top and no jacket and or weapons. Sweat glistened on her shoulders and arms in the dim light of the storage compartment’s single light.
“I didn’t think we’d ever have a chance to be alone,” she said.
“It’s tight quarters sometimes,” Ben said, feeling uneasy.
“Not everywhere,” Rena said, stepping closer. “You have an entire room all to yourself. Why not invite me in for a visit?”
She reached out, taking hold of his upper arms. Her body was so close he could feel the heat radiating from her. Ben was surprised by how strongly he suddenly wanted to talk to Kim.
“Where I’m from there’s no guarantee that something horrible might happen,” Rena said. “So most people don’t hesitate to make good things happen. When we see something we want, we tend to go right after it.”
“I see that,” Ben said. “But I don’t think it’s a good idea for us—”
She reached up and put a finger across his lips, cutting him off before he could finish his objection.
“Who’s it going to hurt if we have a little fun?”
At that moment Ben knew exactly whom. Kim would be hurt, and her pain would cause him pain. In fact, it might become a wedge between them that split the entire crew apart, causing them all pain. Rena could have her fun and then leave it all behind. For her, it would just be a pleasant memory. For Ben, it would be a decision he would have to live with the rest of his life.
She leaned forward, obviously trying to kiss him, but Ben pushed her back. Rena’s eyes opened wide in surprise.
“You don’t want me?” she said.
“What I want is to avoid doing something that would tear my crew apart,” he said, lifting the makeshift target and holding it between them.
“Because of the pilot? She doesn’t even respect you.”
“We have a history,” Ben said. “You don’t know her.”
“I know the type,” Rena said. “You’re better off without her. I’m sure there are a lot of pilots who could fly this vessel and perhaps not spoil your happiness at the same time.”
“One minute,” Nance said over the com-link.
Ben tapped the button-sized device on his collar. “Roger that.”
“You’re sure that you wouldn’t be happier spending time with me?” Rena said. “I think we would make a good fit. We can keep it a secret, if you want. The pilot never has to know.”
“I can’t,” Ben said. “I care about Kim, and I’ll never do anything that might hurt her. Besides, she’s more than just a pilot. She’s the best pilot, and my friend. I’m sorry, Rena. You have my friendship, but I’m not interested in anything else.”
“Your loss,” Rena said, straightening her shoulders. “I knew you had no honor, but I had no idea you were such a coward.”
She turned and pushed open the door. Ben watched her storm away, then stepped to the doorway and looked around. The engineering bay was empty. Not that he had expected anyone to see him, but he feared someone might get the wrong impression if they saw the two of them coming out of the compartment together.
“Ten seconds,” Nance announced.
“Thanks,” Ben said. “I’m heading to the air lock now.”
He was halfway across the cargo bay when he felt the familiar stretch of time. One step suddenly felt as if he were moving in slow motion. The sensation passed and Nance announced that they were out of hyperspace.
Ben opened the air lock door but looked over his shoulder before stepping inside. He didn’t want Rena shutting the door behind him again. Getting locked in a storage room was embarrassing. Getting stuck in an air lock was deadly. Fortunately, there was no one in the hanger. He placed the junk that
would be their target inside the air lock and closed the door. It only took a moment for the air lock to evacuate ninety percent of the air inside, and when the outer door slid open, the junk was sucked out by the sudden hard vacuum. Ben watched it twirl through space for a second, then pulled the lever to reverse the air lock’s cycle. The outer door closed, and atmo was pumped into the chamber until it was equal with the rest of the ship.
Ben headed back toward the bridge. As he bounded up the stairs, Kim turned the ship in a loop so that they were facing the spinning bundle of junk. It was well past the reach of the Echo’s running lights, and they were too far from any star for ambient light to reveal the target. But they all knew it was out there in the darkness.
“Are we ready?” Ben asked as he returned to his seat.
“I’m always ready,” Kim said, her voice somehow softer than normal.
“Affirmative,” Magnum said.
“I’ll watch overall systems if you want to focus on the fusion reactor,” Nance suggested.
“Alright,” Ben said. “I’m ready. Let’s fire up the deflectors.”
On his console screen, Ben had a list of the temperature readings from the fusion reactor housing, as well as an overall gauge of the fusion’s consumption rate of the Zexum gas. On a secondary screen, he had power output in percentages to the various other systems.
“Deflector screens are up,” Magnum said.
Ben saw an immediate increase in the heat readings around the fusion reactor, and the consumption rate doubled. Normally, the reactor produced a surplus of energy that could be drawn on by the ship’s main drive to produce speed and give the ship superb agility for a vessel their size. But with the shields on, the surplus was used up and the available power was diminished by nearly twenty percent.
“They aren’t very efficient,” Nance said.
“No, they aren’t,” Ben said.
“As long as they don’t interfere with the ship’s engines,” Kim said.
Jump Point: Kestrel Class Saga Book 2 Page 8
