by Henry Vogel
“You know Martin,” I said. “He’s hard to kill!”
Another laser blast flashed. That one hit so close the heat conducted by the rocky surface burned my hand. Bits of blasted rock pelted Martin and me, giving both of us new cuts and bruises.
“Heidi, please tell me you’re about to pull out of the docking bay and blow this pinnace out of the sky!” I called.
“I’m sorry, David, but the startup sequence still has-”
“Hang on, David! I’m coming to help!”
“Milo? What do you mean?”
Instead of zigging or zagging, I came to a complete halt. The next laser blast hit even closer than the one before it. This time, I lifted my hand off the ground before it could burn, but my toes got uncomfortably warm through my boots.
“He took the pinnace,” Heidi replied. “We assume he’s coming to pick you up.”
“You were all just sitting around in the ship hoping David and Callan weren’t going to get killed,” Milo said. “When I lived on the street, hoping never got me anything. And it’s not going to save my friends now!”
With each shot, the pirate gunner got closer and closer to burning Martin and me. No matter how random I tried to make my movements, some pattern must be emerging. Maybe I was too slow. Or maybe it was time for a complete change in evasion tactics. I pushed my upper body off the ground with my hand and pulled my legs up tight against my chest. When I was pointing a bit above the distant ridge I’d been trying to reach, I kicked hard off the surface of the asteroid. Martin and I arrowed toward the ridge, moving faster than I could swim across the ground. But now I was going in a straight line course — one I could not change for several seconds.
The move took the gunner by surprise. His next shot hit well to the left of where I had stopped, as if he had guessed I would head off in that direction. I would have gone that way, too.
“Milo,” Heidi called, “what are you planning to do?”
“I’m going to save the only people besides my sister who have ever cared about me.”
“We’re going to be fine, Milo,” I said.
“No, you’re not,” Milo said. “Not without help. I can see you and the pirate pinnace. The laser is already tracking your path.”
It looked like my gamble had only bought me a few more seconds of life.
“Callan, Megan,” I called. “I’m sorry.”
“No! You’re not dying if I can help it!” Milo shouted, drowning out the cries from Callan and Megan.
Milo’s pinnace sped past me, mere meters above my head. The pirate laser flashed but the pinnace blocked the shot.
“Take care of Kim for me,” Milo said.
The pirate pilot didn’t realize what Milo was doing until it was too late. Milo crashed his pinnace into the pirate ship and they both disintegrated in a ball of flame!
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
In the vacuum of space, the fiery explosion lasted less than a second, but it seemed as if it went on for years to me. The image seared into my brain as I passed over the ridge I’d hoped to hide behind. The image consumed my attention as I landed, instinctively cradling Martin to protect him from further injury. The image remained clear and horrible even as my vision blurred from the tears filling my eyes.
“No, Milo!” Callan wailed, far too late for Milo to hear her or heed her.
Megan’s quiet crying for Martin gave way to sobs as the loss of Milo and her dread for Martin overwhelmed her.
In a quiet, controlled voice, Rupor recited a prayer for the dead.
And the mild jolt of our landing caused Martin to moan in pain. He was alive!
“What’s going on?” Heidi called. “What happened to Milo?”
“Martin is alive, Megan. Concentrate on that. He’s alive!” I forced as much hope and joy as I could muster into my voice. I didn’t feel any of it — I didn’t feel anything, at the moment — but Megan and Callan needed something hopeful to cling to.
Megan’s sobs eased a bit. “A-alive? Are you sure?”
“Yes, Megan, I’m sure. I told you Martin was hard to kill.”
Rupor flowed straight from the prayer for the dead to a prayer for Martin to remain among the living.
“Is someone going to tell us what’s going on out there?” It was Laura this time. I’d forgotten Heidi was broadcasting to the whole ship.
“Milo is dead.” Callan was back in princess mode, using it as armor to protect herself from the pain. “He rammed the pirate pinnace, sacrificing himself so the rest of us could live.”
Gasps and cries sounded over the comm as Callan’s words hit home.
“We will have time for our grief later, after we’re away from this God-forsaken rock.” Callan’s voice grew stronger as she spoke. “But I will not allow Milo’s death to be in vain! We will leave this place. We will bring these pirates to justice. And we will make Quint and Chapman pay for all they have done!”
“This is all my fault!” Heidi’s cry was full of anger and sorrow. “If I hadn’t married-”
“There’s no time for that, Heidi,” Callan cut in. “I understand why you blame yourself. I blame myself for Milo’s death, as well. But none of us can afford the luxury of guilt or self-pity. Can you put those feelings aside and handle communications for me?”
“Yes.” There was a sniffle after the word, but Heidi’s voice was firm again.
“Good. David, do you think it’s safe to move Martin?”
I gave Martin a very fast check over. His worst injuries appeared to be burns. If we got him to a modern medical bay — like the one on the Aashla’s Hope — his wounds weren’t life threatening. “Yes, he can be moved.”
“Good. You’re closer to the docking bay, so we’ll come to you. We won’t be as fast as you, but we’ll get there.”
“As you wish, Callan. Permission to search for the rest of Martin’s team?”
“Of course, David. We’ll call when we reach Martin.”
Ten minutes later, we were all together behind the ridge. There was no sign of the pirates who’d been on the surface chasing us. Maybe they were scared off after the loss of their pinnace. They left us alone, which was all I cared about. I’d found the bodies of the sergeant and one of the other marines. A third marine still lived, though with worse burns than Martin. I remembered the fourth man flying off into space and resigned myself to never finding his body.
With Harris carrying the wounded marine, we swam to the docking bay entrance. I slid carefully up to the spaceship entrance to the bay and peered inside. Hundreds of pirates milled about under the watchful eye of Quint. Chapman stood just behind Quint. But I spotted something else that made my blood run cold.
Without the crew of the Aashla’s Hope realizing it, the pirates had fastened docking clamps to the landing gear. The ship and all aboard her were trapped in the docking bay!
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
“Aashla’s Hope, the pirates have locked you in place with docking clamps,” I said.
“Oh.” Laura’s single-word exhalation carried more feeling, more frustration, and more defeat than the loudest, most profane rant imaginable.
“David, most of us were raised with airships rather than starships,” Callan said. “Please explain what you’re talking about.”
“Docking clamps are a safety device designed to hold a ship in place during repairs. They’re like the ones holding the pinnace-” My voice broke, my vision blurred, and once again I saw the awful explosion which had taken the life of a young man I loved like the little brother I never had. Knowing this was not the time to mourn Milo, I took control of my voice. “In a large, immobile bay like this one, docking clamps allow engineers to perform engine test burns at high thrust without worrying about balancing thrust vectors.”
There was silence for a few seconds before Megan said, “So, the clamps keep the ship from moving no matter how hard you run the engines?”
“Right. That’s what I said.”
“No, darling, that’s what you mean
t,” Callan said. “Megan, thank you for the translation.”
“Now that we all understand the situation,” Laura said, “what are we going to do about it?”
“Once the ship is fully...online? Is that the right word?” Rupor asked.
“Yes, Rupor.”
“Good. Once the ship is online, why not use the ship’s laser batteries to burn all the pirates in the docking bay? Then we can release the clamps and be on our way.”
It was a reasonable question from someone unfamiliar with ship-mounted laser batteries, but I could imagine Laura’s mouth working as her brain tried to find just the right words to convey her horror at the thought. I jumped in to answer before she found her voice.
“Rupor, firing the lasers in such a confined space would be deadly to all of us. The reflected heat, alone, would melt the ship’s skin. And rock blasted from the docking bay walls would only have one place to go — back on the ship.”
“What he said,” Laura confirmed.
“Ah,” Rupor mused. “Remind me to study up on these modern weapons after we’re done dealing with this pirate rabble.”
“I wish I had his confidence,” someone murmured over the comm.
“Come now, people,” Rupor said. “This is a puzzler, certainly, but we have as fine a collection of people as I have ever had the pleasure to serve with! There is a solution. We will find it.”
“At the very worst, we can just sit tight until the navy sends a task force,” someone said. “They’re bound to have gotten that messenger drone by now.”
“No, I’m afraid we can’t just wait,” Laura’s husband spoke up. “These pirates hit planetary settlements as well as shipping. They’ve got mobile laser batteries which can be fired in the docking bay. Quint has probably already sent for them.”
The comm was silent again as everyone digested this latest news.
“Use shaped explosive charges to blow the ship free.” The voice was weak and rasping.
“Martin!” Megan cried. “You’re awake!”
“Indeed, dear heart,” Martin gasped. “I’ve been awake for a minute or so, but couldn’t quite find my voice until just now.”
“I’m glad you’re speaking again, my friend,” I said, “but your suggestion won’t work. Anyone leaving the ship to place explosives on the docking clamps would be an easy target for the pirates.”
“I’m disappointed in you, David. Don’t you claim to have watched every adventure vid in existence?” Martin replied. “Haven’t you seen Star Ranger and the Space Pirates?”
“I said I watched the good vids, Martin.”
“You’re insulting a classic, Wonder Boy!”
“Would you boys quit arguing about vids and enlighten the rest of us?” Callan demanded.
“Star Ranger faced just this situation in that vid. His solution can be our solution.” Martin paused, perhaps to gather strength or perhaps for dramatic effect. “We don’t blow the docking clamps. We blow the landing gear it’s clamped to!”
CHAPTER SIXTY
There was another silence as everyone considered Martin’s idea. The crew had access to the landing gear without getting out of the ship. And flying without landing gear was a lot better than not flying with landing gear! I couldn’t find any obvious flaws.
“Laura, you’re our engineer. What do you think?” I asked.
“Well, we’re going to be in for one heck of a jolt when the ship drops two meters to the deck after we blow the landing gear,” she said, “but the ship can take it. Give me a minute to check the specs for the landing struts.”
“I might be able to keep the ship from dropping to the floor,” Nist offered. “We can bring the repulsers online just before the explosives go off. If we time it right, the repulser’s hum won’t alert the pirates and the ship won’t hit the floor.”
“Good idea, Nist. Figure out what you’ll need to do to pull it off,” I said. “And Martin? Not a bad suggestion for an old man!”
“I attribute my brilliance to a misspent youth and a weakness for Star Ranger adventures. So, did I miss anything while I was out?”
“I’ll tell him,” Megan said.
I watched her turn off both of their comms and lean in close so their atmosphere shields overlapped. Seconds later, Martin’s face screwed up in pain which had nothing to do with the burns covering his body. Despite those burns, he pulled Megan into a hug with one arm and reached the other out to clasp Callan’s hand. A moment later, he thumbed on his comm.
“I’m sorry, David.” Martin’s voice was quiet, the emotion he felt over Milo’s death evident.
“I know, Martin. We all are.”
Laura chose that moment to check back in.
“David, I’ve checked the specs for the landing gear and Martin’s idea will work. We’ll need a shaped charge attached to the right spot on each of the six struts.”
“I sense a ‘but’ in that explanation, Laura,” I said.
“You’re right. The weak spot in the landing struts is about a foot below the well the gear retracts into after liftoff.”
“Will you have to leave the ship to place the charges?” I asked.
“No, we can get into the well and place the charges without leaving the ship,” Laura replied, “but if any of the pirates notice what we’re doing, it won’t be hard for them to stop us.”
“It sounds like we need to make sure the pirates aren’t paying any attention to the ship while you’re placing the charges,” I said.
“Well, yes, a distraction would help.” Weary sarcasm tinged Laura’s voice. “I suppose I could open the ship’s airlock, point to the other side of the docking bay, and shout ‘Oh my God! What is that?’ But I don’t really think that will work, David.”
“It might work if she was naked,” Martin said.
“It’s going to take my teams at least a minute to place the charges,” Laura said. “Maybe Callan could hold their attention that long. I know I couldn’t.”
“No one is getting naked in front of the pirates, least of all my wife!” I said. “How long will it take to prepare the charges?”
“They’re ready now. Pirates keep plenty of explosives on hand to blow the airlocks of ships they’re attacking.”
“Good enough. Arm a squad of marines with laser rifles and get them to the ship’s airlock,” I said. “I expect I’m going to need some covering fire.”
“You’re planning something dangerous, David,” Callan said. “What is it?”
“I’m going to walk into the docking bay and arrest Quint and Chapman.”
“That’s not dangerous, David,” Martin said, “that’s suicidal!”
“Listen to Martin and don’t do this!” Callan pleaded. “It’s bad enough that Milo is gone. Don’t make it worse by sacrificing yourself, too!”
“My soon-to-be ex-husband isn’t worth it,” Heidi added, her voice quiet but forceful. “Cowards like him and snakes like Quint aren’t worth your life, David.”
“I am not planning on dying, people,” I said. “But I am also not planning on letting those responsible for so much death — Milo’s and countless others across the galaxy — escape justice. I owe this to all the dead whose souls cry out for a reckoning. By God, I am David Rice, Scout First Class of the Terran Exploration Corps. It is my duty to follow this through.”
“Aw hell, you had to go and drag duty into it, didn’t you?” Martin muttered. “Could someone loan me a sword?”
“What?” Megan cried. “Don’t be stupid, Martin, you’re half covered in burns! You can’t be thinking of joining in this madness!”
“He can and he is, Megan,” Callan said. “There is no talking to David once he starts going on about a Scout’s duty. I can only assume the Scout Academy inflicted the same madness on Martin.”
“You are quite correct, Your Highness,” Martin said. “I managed to forget that madness for a long time — until your husband reminded me of who I had been and who I could be again. Where David leads, I will follow.�
�
“As will I,” Rupor said.
“You’re all mad!” Heidi cried.
“Mad we may be, Heidi,” Rupor replied, “but ours is the glorious madness of honor, of oath, and of duty. It is the madness of men. It is this madness which draws the love of the best and brightest women the galaxy has to offer. And it is this madness which will bring down that most loathsome pirate, Captain Quint.”
“If only...” Heidi whispered. I doubt she meant it to be heard, but it fell into the silence which followed Rupor’s speech.
In the most gentle voice I’d ever heard Rupor use, he said, “You do yourself a disservice, Heidi. You are not responsible for your husband’s actions.”
“But I’m the one who fell in love with a coward instead of one of you mad warriors! How can that not be my fault? How can I ever show my face around any of you again?”
“Perhaps you had to marry Chapman so you could meet your rightful madman,” Rupor said. In a lighter tone, he added, “Have you ever considered just how beautiful you would look in Tartegian black and gold?”
A collective gasp sounded over the comm before Laura’s husband asked, “Am I imagining things, or did Rupor just propose to Heidi?”
“Rupor of Tarteg,” Heidi said, her voice more full of life than it had been since we reached the pirate base, “you had better survive this mad scheme of David’s and make your intentions clear in person. Do you understand me?”
“Of course, my dear,” Rupor said. His voice was even, but he wore the biggest grin I’d ever seen on his face. “It should be easy enough. After all, there are three of us!”
“Begging the prince’s pardon, but he has miscounted,” the marine commander said, “There are one hundred and sixty-three of us. The men are already gathering at the airlocks, ready to sally forth on Captain Rice’s command.”
“One hundred and sixty-four,” Harris said.
“I appreciate your fervor, Harris,” I said, “but you will stay here and guard the women.”
