All eyes were on the display. Every seat was taken around the ready room table, leaving standing room only for as many others. Jason and the admiral wanted to get the officers and key personnel together one last time before The Lilly embarked for Craing space.
The video feed showed thousands upon thousands of Craing people assembling, marching, and, in some locations, skirmishing directly with military police. Hand-made protest banners and signs waved back and forth in the air.
Gaddy raised her hand.
“Go ahead, Gaddy,” the admiral said.
“We only have these few video clips from cities on Halimar, but this is also happening on the other Craing worlds. It’s just a matter of time before we’ll be seeing full out revolution.”
Sitting directly across the table from her, Jason watched Gaddy and saw the pride on her face. He asked, “So the next question is, what’s happening with the empirical government? Where’s the seat of power located now that the Emperor’s Palace has been obliterated? We find that location, we’ll find where the remaining high priest overlords are hiding … and perhaps, if we’re lucky, where the new acting-emperor—Ot-Mul—is hiding too.”
Billy, sitting next to Orion, spoke up: “What’s the plan once we enter Craing space, Cap?”
“More information is coming in from Halimar all the time. With the help of Gaddy’s friends, we think we’re closing in on several possible locations,” Jason told him.
“Would it be possible to directly assist the revolutionaries?” Gaddy asked.
“Possibly,” the admiral replied, “if it doesn’t interfere with our mission. Our biggest problem is one we’ve encountered before. According to the nearby Allarians in the Orange Corridor, although many thousands of Craing warships have left Craing space—undoubtedly to implement the Great Space directive—there are still too many warships present for us to approach any of the seven worlds.”
“Well … we no longer have Her Majesty. Going in cloaked certainly isn’t an option anymore,” Brian said, leaning against the back bulkhead.
“There is another option,” Ricket said.
Everyone turned to look at him.
“Don’t be shy, Ricket. What’s the option?” Jason coaxed.
“HAB 12.”
Groans emanated from around the room.
Gaddy shook her head. “Oh no … I don’t ever want to go back to that place again.”
Jason remembered the condition Gaddy had been in after her own long trek across that hostile landscape. Hell, he’d lost too many men during his own weeklong mission within HAB 12.
Ricket said, “Things are different now. The new battle suits are far more advanced. They’re much stronger, and with their integrated propulsion system the trip through would take no more than a day … maybe two.”
“Even so, I wouldn’t want our team stranded when we come out on Halimar … I’d want The Lilly nearby,” Jason said, contemplating. “I suppose she can remain in Allarian space.” Jason continued, “There’s seven planets and we still don’t know which one Ot-Mul is hiding out on. We’ll come out on Halimar … but without transportation … a ship, I still don’t see how this plan helps us.” Jason looked over to Ricket and shrugged.
Bristol, quiet until now, had grown more and more agitated in the last few minutes. “Look … we now have incredible manufacturing capabilities with the Minian’s phase-synthesizer, right? So, what’s the problem? Even if we have physical limitations on how we enter and leave HAB 12’s portals, and can’t directly phase-shift into the habitat … Big deal. Why can’t we just develop a new ship or shuttle that has a smaller, less than ten-foot circumference? It can be a barebones, basic design. It just needs to get us from point A to point B … right?”
All eyes turned back to Ricket. “He’s right. There may even be a small vessel design already loaded into the Minian’s manufacturing database.”
Jason contemplated the idea. “There are still some potential problems we need to think about. Will a shuttle small enough to fit through the port be big enough to bring a useful-sized team and several days worth of provisions? And let’s not forget about the dangers within the habitat itself. The ship would have to be somewhat battle-ready. We’d need to come up with a plan for what we’re going to do once we get to Halimar. There’s a lot to think about here, people … so let’s not get too ahead of ourselves.” Jason looked at the faces around the table. Their expressions said the same thing he was now thinking, they’d have to make it work. “How long will it take for you to determine—”
Ricket held up a hand, “I’m remotely accessing the database now, Captain. One moment, please.”
The room stayed quiet while Ricket continued to stare blankly up at the ceiling. He nodded to himself and then brought his attention back to Jason. “I’ve found three vessel designs that could serve our purpose. Each one fits the proper circumference footprints, while still providing advanced Caldurian technology.” Ricket looked over to Bristol. “Excellent suggestion, Bristol.”
Bristol looked surprised by Ricket’s kind acknowledgment, but didn’t say anything.
“The new ship needs to accommodate a ten-person team and have acceptable weapons and phase-shift capabilities,” Jason added.
“In that case, there is only one design fitting that criteria, Captain. I will need to make several design modifications prior to the phase-synthesizer going to work manufacturing the vessel.”
“How long before we have a ship?” the admiral asked.
“Four hours, Admiral,” Ricket answered.
Admiral Reynolds nodded, then cleared his throat. “The other aspect of this meeting is to bring everyone current on what’s happening on Earth.” He looked over to Jason with raised eyebrows.
“I’ve been in contact with Nan, who’s currently en route to Cheyenne Mountain, in Colorado. The surface of the planet is completely infested with molt weevils. Millions if not billions of people have already been cocooned. But it’s possible many of those people are still alive … put in some form of suspended animation. We suspect to be used as food stores later on.”
“That’s horrible!” Dira said, sitting at Jason’s right. “I mean … good, they may still be alive, but horrible they’re being preserved, only to be eaten later.”
“Can’t we do anything to help them down there?” Chief Horris asked.
“We’ve asked ourselves that same question numerous times, Chief,” the admiral responded. “Certainly, if we didn’t have five thousand Craing warships closing in on us we’d be back on Earth eradicating those things. But we’ve decided our best first course of action is keeping the Craing at bay … defending Earth from here in space.”
“Won’t we need The Lilly here, alongside the Minian, for that fight?” Perkins asked.
Jason and his father exchanged glances. “We’ve gone back and forth with this more times than you can imagine, XO. If necessary, The Lilly can call up an interchange wormhole and return back here fairly quickly.”
Jason collected his thoughts as he looked at the faces around the room. “I’m sure it’s not lost on any of you that right now we have a unique opportunity to bring down the Craing Empire. For over a year it’s been a hopeless, daunting endeavor. I have to be honest, when I saw those tens of thousands of Craing warships awaiting deployment just days ago, from right there in Craing space … I’d nearly given up hope. Figured it would only be a matter of time before Earth, too, succumbed to the Craing’s might. But things have changed over the last few days. We’ve destroyed a Vanguard fleet of dreadnaughts thought to be indestructible. Subsequently, the acting Craing emperor has fled back to the Craing worlds … and we’ve seen the amazing video feeds for ourselves: the Craing populace demanding real change. No longer will they sit idly by while their government continues to slaughter other worlds across the universe. Right now, we need to stop Ot-Mul’s Great Space initiative. Yes, we have to defend Earth. But defending the worlds within this sector of space is no less important. So
we’ll need to at least try to do both simultaneously.”
The admiral stood up. “That’s it, everyone. We all have jobs to do … let’s get cracking.”
Everyone stood and the room started to empty out.
“Cap, who do you want me to pull together for our team?” Billy asked.
“Yeah, I was going to talk to you about that: you and several SEALs. Make sure we have Rizzo, Ricket, Gaddy, and myself. Oh … and Jackson too, our Delta Forces guy. Check with Ricket and ensure there’s adequate room for all of us on this new streamlined ship he’s conjuring up.”
“Not Traveler?”
“Not until I talk to him. He and his kind have paid a heavy price over the past year. I’ll let you know.”
“I’m coming too,” Dira interjected.
Jason felt her shoulder press into his own when she tried to maneuver out of the way as more crewmembers moved to leave the ready room. Their eyes met and Jason felt a near-overwhelming desire to protect her—keep her from the near-certain harm that HAB 12 will inflict. He admonished himself—this is why on board relationships were such a bad idea. “Okay … Dira too. Work it out and get me a finalized list as soon as possible. We leave within the hour.”
Chapter 29
They moved the 797F out to the middle of the fairway, well away from any overhanging trees. Nan didn’t like how Gus was looking and insisted they set up camp for the night. While Gus and Cindy, who wasn’t feeling well, stretched out on the couch, Reese, Nan, Mollie and Calvin got busy organizing the stacks of equipment and supplies in the truck bed.
Nan had never camped a day in her life. It wasn’t something she’d even remotely wanted to do. Setting up the new Colman two-burner propane stove was becoming a problem. She swore under her breath as she dug through the box for instructions.
“Just give it to me.”
“You’re supposed to be sleeping!”
“With you making all that racket?” Gus grabbed the box away from her and had the stove assembled, along with its small propane bottle, and secured within minutes. He tested both burners, making sure Nan watched as he partially turned the knobs, electronically igniting one burner and then the other. But Nan’s eyes were on Gus—he was still wheezing, his breathing even more labored than earlier.
“I could have figured it out on my own,” Nan said.
“Uh huh. Where’s Reese?” Gus asked.
“Adding more grease. Seems plowing through buildings and driving through tall shrubs wiped much of it off the truck.”
“He’s down below? Like on the ground?” Gus asked, looking concerned.
“The drones are keeping the molt weevils away. It seemed safe enough,” Nan said, but sounded somewhat less sure now.
“What’s venison?” Mollie asked, approaching from the other side of the truck bed. She and Calvin each held several big baggies, with packages inside them wrapped in brown paper. Mollie held one up to show Nan the handwritten letters across one of the bags.
“You’re definitely not from around here,” Gus said. He took one of the bags from Calvin and held it up. “This is God’s gift to mankind. This will add a little sunshine to a bleak day.”
Nan rolled her eyes. “It’s just frozen deer meat, kids.”
Mollie made an overdramatic expression of disbelief. “You mean like deer as in Bambi?”
Nan wasn’t sure if she was putting on a show for her new friend, Calvin, or just being her typical self.
“You shot it yourself?” she asked Gus with a furrowed brow.
The question seemed to make Gus all the more pleased with himself. “A moving target from over one hundred yards out … yes, damn right I shot it myself!”
Nan handed Mollie a large metal pot. “Why don’t you two fill this up with water from the portable reservoir.” She watched the kids run off and stood up. “I’ll see what else you have hiding in that refrigerator that will go with the Bambi meat. If you’re not going back to sleep, maybe you can fire up one of those generators and get us some light. And get the refrigerators powered back up, too. By the feel of that half-frozen meat, things could start spoiling.”
Gus gave a half-hearted salute. “I’m on it, boss.” He too got to his feet and said, “I think you’ll find some frozen vegetables, and maybe some frozen biscuits in there too. Probably buried back behind the bear meat.”
Nan checked on Cindy, who hadn’t felt well since extracted from her cocoon. She was curled into a ball. Trying not to disturb her, Nan spread a blanket over her. The night was warm but Cindy looked as if she was cold. Nan placed the back of a hand on her forehead. She’s got a raging fever! Nan tucked the blanket in around her and wondered if it was the result of being cocooned. Was it only a matter of time before Mollie and she got sick also? No—their internal nanites would protect them. She’d have to keep a close eye on Calvin, though.
* * *
Their late-night dinner turned out surprisingly well. They’d defrosted the bags of meat, veggies and biscuits in the pot of boiling water and then Gus took over, using two frying pans. Gus had one of the generators going, now droning away at the back of the truck bed. Three electric lanterns provided enough light to see what was what. With the exception of Cindy, they were seated in a circle, plates propped on their laps.
Mollie was hesitant to try the venison, but when she saw Calvin enjoying his portion, she went ahead and tried a small bite.
Reese watched her expression and asked, “Well … what do you think?”
Mollie continued to chew but looked ready to spit it out any second. She swallowed and shrugged. “It’s okay, I guess.”
Nan took a bite and thought the same thing. It was just okay. Not terrible—but gamey. Distant sounds of plasma fire became so common Nan had stopped hearing them. But when a shadow moved in front of one of the lanterns, she nearly jumped out of her skin. A hand touched her shoulder as Cindy sat down between her and Calvin.
Nan put a hand over her own heart. “You gave me a start there, Cindy. It’s good to see you up and around. You feeling better?”
Cindy saw everyone looking at her. “Um … I think so. I’m hungry … that must mean something.”
Gus was already up and fixing her a plate. “Maybe I’ll start with just veggies and a roll. Don’t want to push things,” Cindy told him.
Gus looked a bit disappointed. He removed the meat from her plate before handing it to her.
Teardrop appeared from the top of the truck bed and lowered down near the group.
“What is it, Teardrop?” Nan asked.
“There are additional cocoons, Nan Reynolds.”
Nan put up a hand to keep Mollie from saying anything.
“Cocoons? … Where?”
“As directed, we have repositioned cocoons that potentially lie within the vehicle’s forward trajectory.”
Nan stood and crossed over to the front of the truck bed. By the time she’d climbed halfway up the rope ladder she saw what Teardrop was referring to: eight cocoons, in two rows of four, were lined up below, near the front left tire.
Nan climbed the rest of the way up and crouched low on the overhang. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw hundreds of molt weevil carcasses spread across the fairway. Not only had she gotten used to the sound of plasma fire, she’d gotten used to the smell of burnt flesh. Her stomach churned and she had just enough time to make it to the overhang edge before throwing up.
Reese crouched down beside her and put a hand on her back. “Careful, that’s a long drop.”
Nan sat back and accepted a handkerchief from the DOD special agent. She took it and wiped the corners of her mouth. “What should we do?” she asked him, gesturing toward the cocoons below.
“Probably should do what we said we would. Free them. But this will have to be the end of doing so for now. There could be hundreds more ahead in our path.”
“I don’t know … Seeing Cindy’s reaction. Her being sick made me realize the molt weevils may have done something additional
. Infected all of them with something. We need to think about how this could affect others down the road … all of mankind.”
“There’s no way to know, at this point. But you and Mollie seem fine.”
“We’re not typical. We’ve both been imbued with protective nanites.”
Reese raised his eyebrows skeptically.
“It’s a long story but take it from me, both Mollie and I have alien technology coursing through our veins, and there’s virtually no chance either of us will get sick … ever.”
“You’re serious. Where do I sign up for a bit of that?”
Nan didn’t answer, only continued to stare down at the cocoons. “Let’s keep an eye on Cindy overnight. If she’s still fine by morning when we head out again, we can free those eight.”
“Works for me,” he said.
Nan wondered at what point Reese had stopped being in charge and she had taken over. She wondered if that was what she wanted? What would be best for the group? But after what she’d been through the last year—captured by the Craing twice; confronting aliens and pirates, she had far more experience fighting aliens than either Reese or Gus, so yeah, she needed to be in charge.
Nan handed Reese back his handkerchief. “Let’s all try to get some sleep. I have a feeling tomorrow’s going to be an eventful day.”
Chapter 30
“Well … I told you we had a problem, Cap.”
Jason and Billy stood side by side in the Zoo corridor looking through the portal window of HAB 12.
“After all this time, no one’s taken the initiative to move that damn thing?”
“Like who, specifically, would that be? Someone who isn’t particularly bothered by Serapin Terplins, I suppose.”
“Have I mentioned you’re a smart ass?”
“On more than one occasion,” Billy replied.
Jason shook his head and huffed.
“You can tell Gaddy to move it … she was the one who parked it there.”
The Great Space (Scrapyard Ship Book 6) Page 15
