The Ghost Fleet

by Trevor Wyatt

  I look her up and down while saying, “You have no idea what I want”

  She stands up ever so slowly and my response is a stony hardness between my legs.

  “I know exactly what you want,” she says in a whisper.

  Biting down on my lips helps me keep my hands in check, because all I want to do is to shoot up to my feet and grab her…all of her.

  She pulls out a sheet of paper from her pants’ pocket and hands it to me. I take the paper and our skins touch for the first time. Sparks light my brain up.

  “You’ll find me there,” she says. “Enjoy the meal.”

  I watch her enter the aircar with the agent and fly off into the night. I stick the paper into my pocket and feast on the roasted meat and milk. I need all the strength I can get to convince my crew mate of this venture, even though I’m the only one benefitting.

  “You what?” screams Garret Summons, his eyes swimming with disgust. “For that…”

  “Just plot the damn course, Garret,” I say, my voice low and subdued. I am sitting in the captain’s chair on the bridge of the Corvette. I rub my forehead, which is moist with the tension of my planned mission.

  Garret turns to plot the course in. Then he engages the engine and we begin to lift off the ground.

  I knead my temples, my eyes focused on the screen as we break out of the atmosphere and the thrusters kick in.

  “How long till we get to the asteroid belt?” I ask.

  “On FTL 3, we will get there in two hours,” Garret replies.

  Alex, my other friend, is silent by his station. I can feel his eyes boring holes in my face. Since I told them my plan, Alex hasn’t said anything. I fear what he will say.

  When I weigh the high likelihood of failure and death with the possibility of success and a night with No One, all I see is her soft skin, her sweet voice, and those curves on her.

  “Have you even told the rest?” Alex asks. His voice is so full of disdain and indignation that I shiver in my seat.

  We have two more crew members, one of which works in engineering, while the other is in charge of the cargo. I have failed to mention this plan to them for fear that they would all gang up on me and discharge me from my duties as captain. I wouldn’t put anything past space pirates.

  I shift in my seat and clear my throat again. “Of course, I did,” I lie.

  I tap the comm unit on the arm of my chair.

  “Cargo,” comes Sibiu’s voice.

  “Hey, prepare a suit,” I say. “I’m going outside.”

  “Copy that, captain.”

  “I still don’t think this is a good idea,” Garret says. “We paid our dues. We bombed that Sonali ship. That devilish commander has no right demanding this of us.”

  Alex heaves a deep sigh. “Captain, what did she promise you?”

  I note his distinctive use of the word ‘you’. He’s setting a trap for me, I realize, because if I admit to having been promised something then they’d all know that I only have myself at heart and not the whole crew as a captain should.

  “Not me,” I lie again. “She’s promised us nothing. She’s just a friend seeking our help…”

  “Friend?” spits Garret. He’s getting more physical by the moment.

  “Those guys are the enemy, Jeremy,” he says. “The Terran Armada would not bat an eyelid when putting us in jail. That blood thirsty captain they call the Avenger of the Mariner would not even think twice to blow us out of the sky. And you call them friend?”

  He looks away back to his screen, shaking his head in unbelief.

  “I can’t believe you just agreed,” Garret says.

  “So you just decided to help?” asks Alex.

  I stand to my feet. “Look, I’ve made my decision. I made a promise and I intend to keep it. I will not discuss this further. If I don’t make it alive, at least you guys get to keep the ship and do whatever the fuck you like. As for this mission, it’s settled.”

  I walk out of the bridge and take the elevator to the residential deck. I spend the remaining time in my quarters, worrying about the mission and fantasizing about No One. When it is time, I get a message from Garret.

  “We are orbiting the dark side of the planet, boss,” Garret says in my ears. “We have detected signs of life and activity on the asteroid. It appears the lady was correct. We are subtly correcting our course so we can drop you off at a spot that’s not too far from the installation.”

  “Roger,” I say. “One more thing. Are there any scanners or satellites?”

  “No,” Garret says. “I guess they don’t want to be found. Mounting satellites and scanners in a base that’s supposed to be secret will defeat that purpose.”

  “Right.”

  I grab the suitcase, leave my quarters, and head on to the entrance bay. Sibiu is standing near to the far right, where there’s a small elevator hatch. He’s holding parts of a mechanical suit with a bubble head. Sibiu helps me climb into the suit and seals it up. Then he powers up the machine and it is immediately pressurized. I feel pure oxygen flush into the bubble head. The view screen has indicators showing the amount of oxygen I have, my rate of consumption, how long I have before it’s expended, the battery life of my suit and so on.

  I walk into the hatch and activate the controls. Once the hatch is sealed from the entrance bay, I push the up button. The elevator ascends up until I am outside the ship and on its hull. The hatch opens up. I step out, my magnetized boots holding me firmly to the hall.

  “Landing in a bit, Jeremy,” a voice says in my ears. “Hang in there.”

  It’s like I am hovering above a dark barren land with a dark brown sand stone formation. Spreading across my vision are the ruins of the asteroid. Ahead, however, I see a small settlement of dishes and buildings with masts. It’s about ten minutes run from my location.

  The Corvette touches down seconds later. I leap off the hall and land with a jerk on the sandy ground. I bounce up two yards into the air before settling on the ground.

  “Careful boss,” Alex says. “Gravity here is really tricky.”

  “Roger,” I reply. “Stay put. I’ll be back in twenty minutes.”

  “That’s if you’re not cut and blown to pieces,” Garret says. I cut the channel and begin in a light jog towards the settlement of buildings and equipment. As I get closer, I realize that there are five small buildings arranged on the edges of an imaginary pentagon. In the middle of this arrangement is a cluster of equipment including masts and dishes. The collection twinkles with lights. I notice about three patrol guards moving around.

  On the other side of the settlement is a power plant—a small, boxy machine that sucks atoms out of the atmosphere and generates power.

  I sneak all the way around to get to the power plant. The moment I place the suitcase on the metal body of the thrumming power plant, it sticks by magnetism. I tap the power button and set the timer to five minutes. Then I start the countdown.

  “Halt!” roars a voice by me.

  I don’t bother to look back. I jump to my feet and push against the power plant, twist, and leap towards the voice. The guard gets two shots off, both of which fly harmlessly away from me. I slam into his body, knocking the wind out of him. I didn’t wait to continue. I made a mad jog for the ship.

  Laser shots zip past me. I take a zigzag path towards the ship, trying not to be killed as well as trying not to be within range of the blast. I know that because the power plant uses nuclear fission, the whole asteroid was going to explode when the bomb goes off.

  “Open the main hatch!” I yell into the comms.

  Half a minute later, I get a reply. “Opening. What’s your status?”

  “I’m being pursued!” I shout. “Get ready to leave!”

  I see the hatch opening from afar. I crane my neck to look behind. Four guards are hot on my tail. They are catching up as they make bolder leaps into the air. I don’t want to take the chance of leaping and leaping out of the atmosphere. However, when I am within
range, I leap towards the open hatch, fist first.

  “Lock hatch!” I yell as I slam it the ground of the entrance bay. I rolled away as laser fire scorches the floor where I previously laid. I feel the ship vibrate as Garret lifts us up, then a jerk, and we are headed away from the asteroid.

  While Sibiu is helping me out of the suit, the call comes in from Garret that the asteroid has gone up in a mighty explosion.

  I am standing in the middle of a large, plush sitting room in a hotel by the sea. It’s dark outside and I can see this because the sliding doors to the verandah is open. The flimsy curtain dances in the moonlight stroking the portion of the sitting room close to the door.

  The light in the room is dimmed. There is a small bar to my right, where No One mixes a drink for both of us. When she is done, she comes to me and hands me a cup.

  I take the cup in my hand, but I never take my eyes off her. She’s a wonder to behold. She’s scantily clad in a red dress that leaves nothing to the imagination. She has a light makeup on and her hair is tied back in a bun. Her eyes are ablaze with desire, and I wonder if she wants me as badly as I want her.

  She takes a sip of her wine, her eyes penetrating mine. “We are so good together,” she says in a whisper, drawing closer to me until I begin to feel the warmth of her body. I can also smell desire oozing out of her pores. My head begins to spin.

  “Join Armada Intelligence,” she says in a voice that stirs me down south. “You can keep the ship and use your space pirate your cover, but I want you working with me.”

  “I’ll do anything for you,” I hear myself say. Some part of me raises an objection, but it’s as weak as a fly buzzing by a man.

  “Swear it to me,” she says as her ample, round breasts touch my chest.

  I grab her waist and pull her in stronger until I begin to feel her hardened nipples against my chest.

  “I swear on my life,” I say. It does feel good to say it. I know I may regret this decision later, but right here, right now it feels good to give myself to her.

  She kisses me softly at first. It’s like my whole brain comes alive with sparks. My hands stiffen around her body as I kiss her back. Our clothes come off next before we make it to the ground.

  She’s beneath me when I break for air. We are both panting. I can tell from the way she looks at me that she wants me as bad as I want her. It almost makes me smile, which is the last thing I do before sliding into her and my mind explodes with passion.

  Part III

  Phantom

  I’m in the hidden compartment of my small corvette, looking over some of the contraband ale I’m smuggling along the border when I hear the deafening wail and see the blinding flashes of the sirens. I can feel my heart jog up to the base of my throat as I hurry up and out of the small room and bolt to the secret entrance. I dash into the elevator and ride it up to the bridge.

  “What the heck is going on,” I scream as I take my position at the captain’s chair. The lights are flashing more rapidly and more intensely in the bridge than anywhere else in the ship. The small view screen, which is pretty much our window into the cold, hard space beyond the polycarbonate plating of our hull, shows nothing but deep space.

  “Long range scanners just detected a Union ship headed our way,” says my navigator. He’s a muscular, dark-skinned man with a nose piercing and the kind of face you don’t want to meet in some dark alley world.

  “What the hell?” I say. “How long before they get to us?”

  This time it’s the weapons officer and my number one, Alex, who answers. He has a shocked look on his face and he hangs his shoulders in that defeated way I am all too familiar with. “Not long, Jeremy.”

  I have warned Garret several times not to use my first name so casually, especially when we are in front of the crew. I’m ticked by his continued insistence on disobeying my instructions, but I don’t have time to deal with that now. My heart is pounding away, because I know we are doomed.

  I have two options. I can attempt to run or I can attempt to stand my ground and be boarded. I trust my cargo is hidden well enough and there is nothing onboard and in open view to give the impression that I’m carrying any contraband. However, I’m not sure why the ship is headed toward us. It could be that they have prior information about our run. Maybe, they were tipped off before by the same people to whom we plan selling the cargo. In my line of work, I know well not to trust anyone, especially those who buy from us. If I attempt to run, there is a big chance that we’ll be caught. My ship isn’t exactly the fastest ship in the galaxy, nor is it the kind to outrun a Union Cruiser that is specifically built for speed.

  “What do you want to do, boss?” my navigator, Garret Summers, says. Even though he speaks in a measured tone, I can see it in his eyes that he is terrified beyond measure.

  I glance at Garret. “Where’s the nearest asteroid field?”

  Garret hunches over his workstation and performs the calculation. He looks up at me with a hopeful smile and says, “About zero point zero one light years ahead. We can be there in about fifteen minutes, but we have to engage the FTL now.”

  “If we make it to the asteroid field, we can easily navigate our way through to the other side,” says Alex. “I doubt the Union Cruiser would pursue us any further. They certainly wouldn’t be entering the field with us.”

  It is in situations like this that a true captain proves his worth. If I try to run and I’m caught, there will be hell to pay.

  “Unnamed corvette with hull number XZY876TY,” came a female and authoritative voice over their intercom. “This is TUS Phantom. You are currently in Union territory. Stand down and prepare to be boarded. I repeat. Stand down and prepare to be boarded.”

  I tap the button on the captain’s chair that connects me to Bob in engineering. “Bob, hold on to something. We are about to engage the FTL.”

  “Roger that,” comes the reply.

  I turn to my navigator. “Get us to the asteroid field!”

  He doesn’t speak. He only smiles and returns his attention to his station. The ship begins to vibrate and a sharp, high pitched whine erupts into existence. A split second later, the space around the ship begins to fold in on itself as we jumped into FTL speed. Our faster than light travel doesn’t last so long and we drop out with the screams of the warning system.

  I realize we are nowhere near the asteroid field, and I can still see the cruiser. It is within range now.

  “What the hell!” I yell at Garret.

  Garret’s hands were frantic all over the controls. He glances at me, his eyes revealing how screwed we are. “They have a tractor beam locked on us.”

  “Evasive maneuvers, then!” I say, like it’s going to change anything.

  Garret replies, “They’ve locked on us, sir! We can’t go anywhere.”

  I tap the button to engineering. “Bob. We need an emergency jump into FTL.”

  Bob’s voice comes across the intercom, flat as usual. “That’s not going to happen, Jeremy. The drives are down. I’ll need at least an hour to fix them.”

  I frown. I glance at my two-man bridge crew, while keeping my hands on the button to engineering so Bob can hear our conversation. “What are our options?”

  “Well, we’re not being dragged into the cruiser, so maybe they just want to talk,” Alex offers. He has his eyes on the view screen. I can now see the shadow of a huge ship over us. My chest knots with dread. If they find what I carry in my cargo, I am probably going to get a life sentence at best and an execution at worst.

  “Bob, start working on the FTL,” I say. “Get ready to jump on my command when it’s ready.”

  “Aye, sir,” he replies.

  “Also, tell Sibiu to make sure the hidden compartment remains hidden,” I say.

  “Aye, captain.”

  I heave a deep sigh, take a relaxed posture on my chair, and say to Alex. “Open a channel to the ship.”

  Alex’s hands flies over his work station. He then gives me the s
ign to start speaking.

  “Union Starship Phantom, this is Jeremy Black, Captain of The White Silk. We apologize for earlier. We encountered some problems with our FTL drive that caused it to malfunction. Please, can you state the reason for this arrest?”

  I pause and wait for some response. It comes one full minute later as our view screen fills up with the image of the huge and stunning bridge of the Phantom. It is not this view, however, that catches my attention. It is the view of the painfully attractive, suggestively-dressed young lady that stands to address me.

  She stands at attention like she’s military. She’s wearing a blue, tightly fitted jump suit that highlights her curvaceous form. Her brunette hair is tied back in a bun and her long neck terminates at a bulgy chest. I can’t help but wander down to her cleavage as a bit of it is revealed by the dipping neckline of her uniform.

  In spite of my indulgence, the woman maintains a steely gaze. She says in a terminal and incredibly cold voice, “Prepare to be boarded.” Then the image vanishes and is replaced by the image of the starship against the backdrop of space.

  I look from Alex to Garret. They’re both scared. I jump out of my sit and scramble for the elevator. I take the elevator down to where the cargo is being kept. Adjacent to the cargo hold is the entrance bay, through which the Union troops will board the ship. I meet Sibiu who is coming out of the small, secret hatch in the middle of the cargo hold. I curse our luck that we don’t have so much physical cargo in our cargo hold. It is going to make the secret hatch a lot easier to find, if the troops don’t already know what they are looking for.

  I help the small man out and seal the secret hatch close. Then together we move some of the crates and boxes around in a seemingly random manner. If I concentrate them right above the secret hatch, this is probably where the troops will look first.

  Even before we are finished I feel the ship vibrate as we are docked with the cruiser.

  I glance at Sibiu. “Stay here and make it look like you’re taking stock. Act like everything is okay.”