Lea tapped on his shoulder and he froze halfway through the second hatch. He could hear sounds behind him as the rest of the squad hurried across the connecting corridor. There was a clang and the outer hatch was closed.
Lea tapped again.
Stan stepped through the inner hatch, he was in the ship itself. He could smell blood from somewhere but there was no evidence of anyone. At the end of this corridor there was a T junction. They had entered through the port side of the ship so turning left would take them to the bridge and right to the engine room.
Stan stepped into the corridor turning right, his finger wary on the trigger. Lea turned left. The two stood back to back for a long moment.
“No sign of anyone Sergeant.” Stan murmured into his mic.
A second Peace Officer stepped forward to take Lea’s place and she turned to join Stan as he moved towards the engine room. The lieutenant turned left towards the bridge, Lea noticed that he had a pistol in his hand. Another two Peace Officers joined the back of the queue. The sergeant turned right to join Stan.
*
“Pilot, confirm that you have moved to a safe distance.” Hammond said.
He waited for the confirmation before moving forward. The noises behind him, of the half squad moving towards the engine room, faded. He moved forward with his half squad towards the bridge. They paused outside a series of four doors.
“The two doors on the left side contain atmosphere, the other two do not.” A Peace Officer whispered.
“Double check on the screen for each of them.” Hammond said.
He watched as the Peace Officer typed in a command on the screen. The program reran quickly and the light flashed green again.
“Open it.” Hammond said.
The officer burst into the room, scanning the room quickly with his rifle. When he confirmed that the room was secure, Hammond glanced into it. It looked to be a standard stateroom, perhaps a little larger than the one he shared with Captain Stone but certainly a lot messier. There was no one in the stateroom, dead or otherwise.
“Try the next one.”
The second stateroom was a lot larger than the first. The furniture was well used and comfortable. Surprisingly it was made from real wood. There were several folders on the desk and a diary in the top drawer. One of the Peace Officers searched the cupboard but confirmed it was only full of clothes. The bed was untidy.
Hammond picked up the diary. He replaced his handgun in his holster and started to leaf through the pages. Most of the entries described cargo routes and talked about which were the best targets. He dropped the diary in his pocket to study later. With luck it might reveal the location of where the pirate came from or if they had been targeted for any reason.
“Lieutenant.” One of the Peace Officers called. “The two staterooms opposite are both open to space.”
Hammond nodded and joined the officers in the corridors. He cocked his ear. In the distance behind him, towards the engine room, he could hear the sound of guns firing. He keyed his comms.
“We have encountered some resistance Lieutenant.” The sergeant said. His voice was calm and reassuring. “We should be able to deal with it without too much problem.”
*
Stan stepped into the corridor again, sweeping his gauss rifle from one side to the other in a smooth movement. The pirates had caught them off-guard. He and Lea had stepped into the second of the two small holds to check if there were any signs of pirates. They had heard the sound of gunshots and had returned quickly to the corridor.
The hatch at the end of the corridor, which led to the engine room, opened again and several shots rang out. One Peace Officer was already dead and the sergeant was wounded. Lea dragged the sergeant into the small hold and bandaged his wounds.
Stan waited for Lea in the corridor and together they moved slowly towards the hatch. The hatch opened slightly and Stan saw the blunt end of a semi-automatic rifle. He opened fire. The gauss rifle made a buzzing sound as the subsonic bullets spat from the rifle. They rattled off the hatch and the hatch slammed shut.
Stan raced to the hatch and caught the wheel as it started to turn to lock. He braced himself and waited for Lea to arrive beside him. She signalled that she was ready.
Stan threw himself backwards, his weight pulling the hatch open. The surprised face of a pirate appeared as he was dragged through the hatch. Lea’s bullets threw him backward out of sight.
Stan glanced cautiously into the engine room. It was empty. There was a hatch in the floor leading to what Stan assumed was the jump drive. This time it was Lea’s turn to grab the hatch and Stan’s turn to stand ready.
Stan signalled. Lea spun the wheel and pulled upwards. The hatch did not budge. Lea checked that the hatch was unlocked and tried again. Still nothing. Stan joined her and together they pulled at the hatch. The hatch seemed to move slightly as they strained upwards but didn’t open.
“Wait a moment.” Lea said.
She checked the screen on the hatch. It was showing green. She ran the program but nothing happened.
“Perhaps the screen is broken.” Lea said. “There might not be an atmosphere below.”
Stan nodded. He spun the wheel to the closed position then jammed a spanner into the wheel ensuring the hatch was locked closed.
“Just in case someone is downstairs and playing with us.” Stan said.
*
It was Hammond’s fault. He knew they had made a mistake as they stepped across the kitchen area.
He heard the sound of stealthy footsteps behind him and assumed it was one of his Peace Officers. Then the pirate grabbed him and placed a large knife at his throat. He knew he was in trouble.
The pirate could only have come from one of the staterooms, perhaps there was a hidden compartment in one of them.
“Take it easy.” Hammond said, as much to himself as to the pirate. “If everyone takes it easy, no one will get hurt.”
Hammond had five Peace Officers with him. They were spread out around the kitchen. One continued to watch the hatch to the bridge and also to the hydroponics compartment.
The knife jabbed into Hammond’s neck as one of the Peace Officers started to move forward. At Hammond’s intake of breath he froze.
“Don’t you move.” The pirate snarled. He dragged Hammond slowly backwards. “I’ll kill him I will. I’ll kill him.”
“What do you want?” Hammond asked.
They were back in the corridor slowly moving back towards the staterooms. Hammond keyed his comms.
“What do you want?” Hammond said. “You can’t get far. Our pinnace is no longer docked to this ship and won’t return until the ship is cleared.”
“I don’t want to die.” The pirate said. “The jump engines are gone and the ship will drift here until the oxygen runs out. I want off this ship.”
“We will tell the authorities the coordinates of where this ship is.” Hammond said.
He felt slowly towards his holster, he had holstered his handgun earlier. But the pirate felt the movement and jabbed him in the neck again. Hammond felt a trickle of blood flowing down his neck.
Three of the Peace Officers followed them into the corridor. Their weapons were trained on the pirate but they did not have a clear shot as the lieutenant was being held as hostage.
“Wait.” Hammond said. “Everyone just stop. You three officers, place your weapons on the ground.”
The Peace Officers objected but Hammond repeated his order. The pirate stopped moving away from the bridge at this sudden compliance.
“I’ll need permission from the Captain of our ship for this.” Hammond said. He could feel the cold steel against his throat and had to force his words out. “What if I guarantee you safe passage to the planet of your choice?”
Behind him Hammond could hear a grunt then a sigh. The knife against his throat suddenly relaxed. He pushed against the knife hand and spun away. Lea was standing with a bloody knife in her hand. The pirate slid to the ground, his t
hroat gaped red.
“Sorry Lieutenant.” Lea said. “I had to move slowly otherwise he would have heard me.”
“Not a problem Lea.” Hammond said.
He sank to his knees beside the dead pirate. He was a young boy, barely into his teens. He wore a uniform with a strange yellow and red insignia. Hammond searched the body. The boy had a music plug in one ear, the other had a communicator. One of the pockets had a wallet. Hammond put it in his pocket. He would search the imperial database later to confirm of the boy had a criminal record.
Lea helped him up. The other three Peace Officers had already returned to the kitchen.
“Are you alright?” Lea asked softly.
“I’m fine.” Hammond said.
He was surprised that his voice was not trembling. He nodded to Lea who stepped back to allow the Lieutenant to precede her.
“The bridge does have an atmosphere Lieutenant.” One of the Peace Officers said. “The hatch is jammed from the inside however. I think there might be people in there.”
“Jam it from this side as well and place a guard on it.” Hammond said. “The hydroponics compartment, has that been cleared?”
“Yes sir.”
Hammond keyed his comms.
“The ship has been cleared. You are free to return with the engineer.”
“I will be a few minutes.” The pilot said.
*
“We have been given the go ahead to return to the pirate ship.” The pilot said over her shoulder.
Even though they had pulled away from the pirate ship, the pinnace had continued to spin at the same rate so it was easier for the pilot to approach this time. Rawlins watched her deft hand at the controls. The best pilots used minimal thrust corrections to manoeuvre when docking with the space station or with another spaceship. This was a good pilot.
“That was really well done.” Rawlins said. “Can I ask why have you joined us on this passage? With your skill you could be a pilot for a big cruise ship. Why are you here?”
“I’m a woman.” The pilot said. “There are very few jobs as a pilot that people will trust to a woman.”
There was a clunk outside as they came to a gentle rest against the pirate ship.
“We have a soft seal.” The pilot said.
The pilot stood and raised the handle next to the hatch. She returned to her seat and pressed a button on her console. There was a quiet hiss.
“We have hard seal and the connecting corridor is pressurised.” The pilot said. “One moment and I’ll get the Lieutenant to confirm the all clear.”
She keyed the comms and the lieutenant confirmed it was clear at their side.
Rawlins checked the door screen which confirmed that the pressure in the corridor outside equalled the pressure in the pinnace. Then he opened the door and hurried across the corridor. The outer door of the pirate ship was closed, but opened at his touch.
Rawlins heard the lieutenant instruct the pilot to ease away from the pirate’s ship again. He did not want to take any risks.
Rawlins followed one of the Peace Officers to the engine room. Rivan followed him carrying a tool bag. The engine room was surprisingly clean. Rawlins somehow expected the engine to be built from the engines of a dozen different ships or perhaps covered with so much crud or old oil that it would be impossible to see if the engine parts were good enough to salvage. This engine room was clean, as if it had been steam cleaned on a weekly basis.
“What’s wrong with the engine that it has stopped working?” Rivan asked.
“Probably nothing wrong with the engine itself.” Rawlins replied. “You saw the damage on the starboard side as we approached? Likely as not the damage has been to the control points which run through the ship. If this was a proper naval frigate the control points would be hidden deep within the ship’s hull behind layers of heavy armour. But civilian ships have the control points near the surface of the ship so they can be easily fixed if there are any problems.”
“Will this ship ever move again?”
“Not once I’ve stripped the engine.” Rawlins replied. “If I had been given a credit for every engine I’ve ever stripped I would have bought my own ship by now.”
“What do you want me to do?” Rivan asked.
“This is the valve for the primary coolant. I want you to get some large containers and remove the fluid from the coolant chamber and from the secondary coolant chamber. Get them loaded on the pinnace. Get some of the soldier boys to help you. Meanwhile, I need to remove the condensers from the engine. Tell me when you’re done and I’ll get you to do something else.”
Rawlins watched in satisfaction as Rivan immediately commandeered two of the Peace Officers to help him search for containers. He then uncoupled each of the condensers.
“Can I ask a question?”
Rawlins had crawled under the engine to release the last of the condensers. It was proving tricky because of how the connections were laid out so it was awkward turning the spanner. It wasn’t Rivan. He slid away from the engine to see it was Lea, the female Peace Officer.
“Yeah?”
“We didn’t need the main engine to jump into hyperspace, so why are we stripping this one?” Lea asked. “We could instead fix it at the space station at the planet Jewel.”
Rawlins scratched his nose, leaving an oily streak.
“That’s a good question and one that I wish was easy to answer.” Rawlins replied. “Simmons does not want us to enter the Jewel solar system with a broken ship. He felt that it would not look good from a negotiating point of view to appear weak. The Captain happens to agree with him.”
“I suppose that makes sense.” Lea said. “How long are you likely to be?”
“Another five or ten minutes.” Rawlins said. “Can you arrange for the first three condensers to be loaded on the pinnace? I’ll have the last one ready shortly.”
Rawlins continued to work on the condenser for another few minutes until he felt it begin to loosen. He replaced his spanner in the tool bag and undid the condenser, dragging it free from the engine.
“Take this to the pinnace as well.” Rawlins said. “I just need to do one last thing.”
As the Peace Officers left, carrying the heavy condenser, Rawlins removed the panel from a different machine.
“Pass me the hammer.” Rawlins said.
Rivan opened the tool bag and lifted out a heavy hammer.
“What’s this for?” Rivan asked
“This panel holds the heating elements for this ship.” Rawlins replied. He started to hammer carefully at the components hidden on the machine. “It regulates the heat in the ship. Without it, the inside of the ship will be as cold as the outside.”
“But by destroying it, you’re killing them all.” Rivan said.
“Pirates are the biggest scum in the universe.” Rawlins said. “I would be tempted to destroy the carbon dioxide scrubbers instead and let them suffocate, but that would be too quick.”
Rivan stared at the engineer in horror.
“That’s it done. Let’s go.” Rawlins said. “We don’t want to be left behind in this coffin.”
Chapter Fourteen
“Welcome back.” Captain Roger Stone said.
Seána Mercer smiled her thanks and slipped into her seat, swinging the console into place once she was settled. The lieutenant had followed her to the bridge but hesitated at the door.
“A moment of your time Captain.” Hammond said.
“You have the conn.” Stone informed the pilot. “Can you plot a fresh course to the planet Jewel.”
“Aye Captain.”
Stone got up and joined the lieutenant.
“Congratulations, by the way, on how well your officers conducted themselves.” Stone said.
“Thank you Captain, however I did lose one man so it’s going to be hard on the men.” Hammond said. “Rawlins has successfully salvaged the parts he needs to repair our ship. The one question I wanted to ask was regarding what he did at the
end. He freely admitted to James Rivan that he deliberately damaged the heating elements on the pirate ship. As a Peace Officer I know it’s not my jurisdiction but morally I’m trying to understand it.”
Stone hesitated. He caught the lieutenant by the elbow and steered him towards the door.
“It might be better if we discuss this in our cabin.” Stone said.
Once in the cabin, Stone poured two drinks. He gravely saluted the lieutenant with his drink, then sat down.
“I’ve been friends with Rawlins for over twenty years.” Stone said. “He is a big man and, hides a big heart. He is one of the kindest and gentlest men I know, unless you get his temper up.”
Piece of Nicias: A Sci-Fi Novel Page 9
