Siege on Star Cruise 239

by Tripp Ellis

  “My dear, I always win. Drop the weapon now, or she dies. We played this game once before, and I don't care to play it again."

  Max hesitated.

  "I take it Surge is no longer with us?" Tobias asked curiously.

  "She's taking a little time to re-charge," Max said, unable to help herself.

  "Yuri, shoot the girl."

  "No!” Max shouted.

  She let the pistol dangle from her finger, hanging by the trigger guard. “I’m putting the weapon down.” She blurted the words, desperately. She knelt down and set the pistol on the deck, then stood up again.

  “Kick the weapon away,” Tobias commanded.

  Max complied, but didn’t kick it as far as Tobias would have liked.

  "Yuri, shoot the troublemaker.”

  Yuri pulled the barrel of his pistol away from Hannah's head and took aim at Max. His cold, dark eyes lined her up in his sights. His face was emotionless as he squeezed the trigger.

  Bang!

  Bang!

  Bang!

  Multiple gunshots rang out. Bullets snapped past Max as she dove for the deck.

  A small dot of crimson red appeared on Yuri’s shirt. It blossomed into the size of a flower, then a soccer ball.

  Yuri flopped to the deck.

  Hannah ran for cover underneath the dropship.

  Across the deck, Dale had shot Yuri just as the goon had pulled the trigger. Dale fired another shot, taking out Marco.

  Max scooped up her pistol and double tapped Tobias in the chest. He had a look of disbelief on his face. He staggered back and fell against the dropship, then slid to the deck. The bag containing Vanderbilt’s coveted object fell to the deck beside him.

  Hannah and Max ran to each other and embraced.

  "Are you okay, sweetie?"

  Hannah nodded.

  Max looked to see Dale emerge from behind a stack of supply crates.

  "Nice shooting," Max said.

  "The old man’s still got it," he said, proudly, with a sly grin.

  Max stuffed her pistol in her waistband and scooped up Marco’s assault rifle.

  "Stay here with Hannah."

  "Where you going?" Hannah asked.

  "I've got to make a course correction on the ship."

  Max raced out of compartment, heading toward the bridge. As she weaved through the corridors, she found Winston’s body on the deck, riddled with bullet holes. Tobias had shot the robot in the chest once he no longer needed his services.

  Max’s eyes filled with tears as she knelt beside the fallen robot. Her eyes glanced at the holes in his smart plastic. The injuries seemed to be limited to the torso. She hoped that his neural network hadn’t been damaged. But she didn’t have time to address his damage now.

  Max raced to the bridge and tried to access the navigation system, but the controls were non-responsive. She was locked out of the data screens and control terminals. Chad had secured the system. It couldn’t be accessed directly, or by remote. There was no way to alter course.

  Max peered out the windows into the cosmos. She could see the flickering lights of Andromeda Station ahead. They were on a collision course. There was no doubt about it. She had maybe 10 minutes until impact. If Max didn’t change course, this was going to be one of the biggest disasters in Galactic history.

  Max’s face tightened as she contemplated her options. But there weren't any options. There was only one way off the Celestial Voyager—the dropship. But there was only enough room for a few passengers. She couldn't leave the other 627 behind to die—not to mention the 20,000 board Andromeda station.

  34

  Dale looked at Max, perplexed, as she stormed back onto the flight deck. "Back so soon?"

  "Change of plans. I’m going to use the dropship to try to alter course.”

  “Do you have enough thrust for that?” Dale asked. “It would be like swimming up to an aircraft carrier and trying to push it.”

  “You got a better idea?”

  Dale shrugged.

  “You can come along, or you can stay here.”

  “I’ll stay here. My wife is in that cargo hold. I’m not leaving her.”

  “Wish me luck,” Max said.

  “I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed.”

  Max scooped up the bag containing Vanderbilt’s object and boarded the dropship with Hannah.

  Max sealed the hatch behind them and slipped into the pilot seat. Hannah buckled in next to her.

  The control panel came alive as Max powered up the ship. She pressed buttons and flicked switches, and the engines rumbled to life. After the pre-flight checks all came back normal, she engaged the vertical thrusters and lifted off the flight deck. She grabbed the controls and spun the vehicle around toward the exit. She engaged the thrusters and glided through the electromagnetic shield into the vastness of space.

  She banked the craft around and slowly nosed toward the Celestial Voyager. “Hang on, sweetie.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “We’re going to push.”

  She eased the bow against the hull. The slight impact thrust her forward against her safety harness. The clank rattled through the hull, quaking the ship. Max slowly throttled up, trying to push the massive ship off course, like a tugboat steering an oil tanker.

  The four Hughes & Kessler engines whined as Max revved them up. The dropship rumbled and shook, rattling the bulkhead. The full force of the dropship pushed against the Celestial Voyager. But Max wasn’t sure it was doing any good. They were barreling toward Andromeda Station at a blistering pace, and it didn’t look like she had budged the cruise ship an inch.

  Worry creased her face. A thin mist of sweat formed in the small of her back. Her stomach was aflutter with nervous energy. It seemed like an impossible scenario.

  Max pushed the dropship against the hull until the last possible second. The station was coming up to greet them like a freight train in the night.

  Impact was imminent.

  Max had a few more seconds to get the dropship up out of harms way.

  She throttled down the engines and used the navigational thrusters to push away from the Celestial Voyager. She reversed, then spun the craft around and throttled up, blasting away, narrowly missing the communications tower atop Andromeda Station.

  She cleared the structure by inches. All she could do now was sit back and watch.

  The massive cruise ship was an unstoppable force. The starboard edge of the ship scraped along the side of Andromeda Station. Max had managed to nudge the massive craft just enough to clear the station.

  Barely.

  The squeal of metal on metal rumbled through the Celestial Voyager as the two objects slid past each other. The decks quaked, and the bulkheads creaked and groaned, but both vessels remained intact.

  Max breathed a sigh of relief, and a soft smile tugged at her split lips. “That was close.”

  “I’ll say,” Hannah replied.

  The Celestial Voyager continued on its trajectory, heading into deep space. There wasn’t another object to collide with for another thousand light-years.

  Max activated the comm system and contacted the CPPA. It didn’t take long for CPPA vessels to swarm the Celestial Voyager.

  Max landed on the flight deck along with several CPPA dropships. Tactical response teams spilled onto the deck, clad in armor, weapons in the firing position. They advanced through the corridors and secured the ship. The terrorists that were guarding the hostages in the cargo bay were taken completely off guard and surrendered without putting up a fight.

  Max surveyed the cargo hold. She clutched Vanderbilt’s bag with the object inside. Hannah stood at her side. Max’s eyes found Dylan in the crowd of hostages. She rushed to him and gave him a big hug. She held on a little longer than a casual embrace.

  “What’s that for?” Dylan asked, surprised by the sudden display of affection.

  Max broke from her embrace and stepped back, trying to act casual. “Nothing. I’m
just… glad you’re okay.”

  Dylan eyed her suspiciously. “You’re not getting emotional on me, are you?”

  Max scowled at him, playfully. “No. Of course not.” Max quickly changed the subject. “I’d like you to meet Hannah. Hannah this is my… friend… Dylan.”

  Dylan shook the girl’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  “It’s nice to meet you too.” Hannah’s inquisitive eyes darted between Dylan and Max. “Are you sure you guys aren’t more than just friends?”

  Dylan smiled. “The kid’s perceptive.”

  Max looked away, blushing. Her blue eyes caught sight of Dale embracing his wife. The two were overjoyed to be reunited. Max’s gaze found Dylan’s again. The two stared at each other for a long, awkward moment. Max started to say something, then Dylan cut her off with a kiss. Their lips melted into one another, but the pain from Max’s split lip got in the way before things became too heated.

  Max pulled away, hesitantly. “What was that about?”

  Dylan smiled. “Nothing. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

  Hannah rolled her eyes. “Definitely more than just friends.”

  Declan Vanderbilt recognized the bag Max was holding from across the compartment. Marco had been gracious us enough to let him live and had returned him to the cargo bay. He stepped up to Max and introduced himself. "I believe that is my bag."

  Max handed it to him. He unzipped it and gazed inside. A blue glow illuminated his face, and his eyes glimmered with relief. He zipped the bag up. "Thank you. You will be rewarded handsomely. An associate of mine will be in touch to make arrangements." He strolled away without another word.

  “You should probably let the med techs check you out,” Dylan said, looking over Max’s mangled face. “You’re looking a little…”

  Max arched a defensive eyebrow at him.

  “I mean, you look…” Dylan fumbled for words, “great. But, a little… like you got in a fight with a grizzly bear and lost.” He cringed as he said it.

  Max scowled at him again. “I don’t lose fights.”

  “Well, I’m certainly not going to argue with you.”

  “I’m fine,” Max said. “It’s Winston I’m worried about.”

  A concerned look washed over Dylan’s face. Max led him through the corridors to Winston’s broken body.

  Sadness filled Dylan’s eyes. “I’m sure he can be fixed.”

  “I hope so,” Max replied.

  Dylan knelt down beside the lifeless robot. He pried off Winston’s chest plate to get a better look at the damage underneath. He grimaced at what he saw.

  “How bad do you think it is?” Max asked.

  “His power cell is fried. There’s a possibility his neural network could have been overloaded from the power surge, but we won’t know until we can find an alternate power supply.”

  Dylan scooped him up and carried Winston to the flight deck. He approached a med tech who was playing a video game on his phone.

  "I treat people, not robots,” the tech said in monotone, not looking up from his mobile device.

  "We need to run a diagnostic on his neural network,” Dylan said.

  The EMT ignored him. He couldn’t be bothered.

  Dylan flashed his badge. "FCIS!” Dylan’s tone was uncompromising.

  The EMT changed his tune. “I can take a look. But androids aren’t my specialty. They usually don’t get themselves shot.”

  “You ever treat a cyborg before?” Dylan asked.

  “Sure. Who hasn’t?”

  “Well, how much different can it be?”

  The EMT shrugged and led them up the ramp of the emergency vehicle.

  Dylan set Winston’s body on a hover gurney in the center of the bay. The EMT scanned Winston’s torso with his mobile device. A 3D image of Winston’s internals appeared on the screen. Two slugs were still buried deep within Winston's components. The third had passed through completely.

  The EMT transferred the scan to the central computer which analyzed Winston's injuries, referencing the original manufacturer's schematics. Winston had several aftermarket modifications, so his internal components were significantly different than a stock model.

  “Like I said," the EMT muttered, "this really isn’t my area. But he’s sustained pretty serious trauma to his power regulator, the coupler, and several PCBs. The good news is his neural network looks intact.”

  Max breathed a sigh of relief.

  “I can run a line into his auxiliary power port, but I wouldn’t leave him plugged in for too long.”

  Max grimaced. "Give it a shot."

  The EMT connected Winston to the power supply. Sparks emitted from his torso, then his eyes lit up and flickered to life. Winston lifted his head and looked down at his exposed chest. His arms flailed about, but he couldn't move anything below his waist. A look of panic washed over his face. "Oh dear! Am I dead? I look dead. What happened?"

  Max smiled, relieved that the robot still had a consciousness. "You're not dead."

  “Are you sure?”

  “Pretty sure.”

  "Well, that's a relief. I think. But I can't seem to move my legs."

  "Don't worry,” Max assured him. “We’ll get you all fixed up. You will be as good as new in no time."

  "He's running a little hot, lady,” the EMT cautioned. “I’ve got to unplug him, unless you want him to fry."

  Max took Winston's hand. "It's gonna be okay. We’ll bring you back in no time."

  “Do hurry.” Winston looked terrified.

  Max nodded to the EMT and he disconnected the power. The glow of Winston's eyes faded, and his arms flopped to the gurney, motionless.

  Dylan scooped Winston up and carried him out of the EMT’s vehicle and down the ramp to the flight deck. Max and Hannah followed behind.

  A CPPA agent greeted them, holding Felix. “We found him in one of the passenger compartments. His collar ID’d you as the owner,” he said, handing the furry cat to Max.

  “Thank you!” Max cradled Felix close and kissed his head. After she had loved on the feline enough, her eyes flicked to Dylan. “You know, I was thinking…"

  “That could be dangerous,” Dylan joked.

  Max’s eyes narrowed at him. She cleared her throat in dramatic fashion. “As I was saying… Since this vacation got cut short, perhaps we could all go on another one together?"

  Dylan looked at her for a long moment. He had never seen Max look vulnerable before. Her eyes clung to him, waiting for an answer.

  "I'd like that,” Dylan said.

  Max smiled and put her arm around Hannah and Dylan. She kept smiling, even though it hurt with the bruises on her face. "No more adventures for a while."

  “No more adventures,” Dylan repeated.

  “I agree,” Hannah said.

  Almost the instant Max uttered the words, her mobile rang. She slipped the thin piece of smart glass from her pocket looked at the display. It was an unknown caller.

  She stared at the screen for a long moment, not wanting to answer, but curiosity got the best of her. She finally swiped the screen and took the call. The face of her nemesis, Silas Rage, appeared on the screen. "I hear you're looking for me. I think it's time we meet."

  Thank You!

  I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please consider reviewing the book on Amazon—a simple “Loved it,” or, “Hated it,” would be appreciated.

  —Tripp

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  I'm just a geek who loves sci-fi and horror. I was abducted by aliens and forced to travel the galaxy as the official biographer of an evil galactic ruler. This is where I learned to hone my craft. Fortunately, I escaped and made my way back to Earth, and now I write about my adventures. I hope you enjoy!

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