Alpha Dawn: Book one of the Teragene Chronicles

by Morgan R. R. Haze

  "If you don't mind getting messy with the rest of us then I would leave Echo with Gabriel. I don’t want the person who makes my food to smell like these two." Jason said, indicating Mark and Kendric. I couldn't fault his reasoning. If we had to deal with an unpleasant job at least we could look forward to a good dinner after some long showers.

  Everyone including Jason and me took longer than necessary to finish with lunch. By the way we were all behaving you would think that we were heading into battle, not going to work on a glorified greenhouse.

  Aria met us at the door to the 'green bay' with her arms full of overalls. I was swimming in mine, which had some interesting purple stains, but it was better than the alternative. "Mark, take the lead, you know what needs done." Jason instructed.

  "Let's work on clearing out any dead foliage and cutting back the over growth that is pressing against any structures." Mark was less poetic when dealing with unpleasant situations.

  We all set about our work with the determination of people that wanted to get a task completed as quickly as possible. The oxygen readings in this room had all been in the acceptable range, but as we cleared away layers of dead leaves, I altered the room’s code to alert us before it could ever get to this point again. Our search for a botanist was going to need to be made a higher priority. So I would ask the J's to keep an eye out for someone with those skills. Their contacts were both far reaching and varied.

  The stop at the Jakodi Station would be a needed holiday for everyone after this chore. I made a mental note to turn the crew’s attention to the happy distractions that they could look forward to finding there, once we all gathered for dinner. I wondered about the growth rate of these plants in our 'green bay', when there was such a lack of vegetation on the newer terraformed worlds like Talia.

  After Jason and I enjoyed helping remove all traces of swamp stench from each other in our shower, we were the last to get to the dining table. Gabriel and Echo were the only truly happy ones there. Even with the smell gone none of us were used to that kind of labor, so we would all be a bit sore in the coming days.

  Gabriel was thoughtful enough to exclude anything green from our menu. I doubted any of us could stomach eating something that reminded us of the smell that we had worked so hard to banish.

  "The space station that we are heading to is outside of the thirteen sectors. The station has always been policed by its own a security bot force. It's one of the few places where there are no slaves. Any Hybrids that you see there are free. The gatekeeper bots refuse access to any bounty hunters with active warrants on Hybrids, with the exception of violent fugitives. If anyone objectionable tries to gain access to the station, the security bots place a bounty on them, holding them in an airlock until they can be collected. It’s a hot spot for lazy bounty hunters. ‘Why go fishing, if someone has already caught them in a net for you.’” I smiled at Mark as I quoted the old saying from his home world. “So this should be a good time for us all to relax. Jakodi Station also has the largest drone arena battles and races held anywhere, as the original founders were the creators of the sport over four-hundred years ago. In fact, it's where most of the station's revenue comes from." I had highlighted what I thought would attract the crew to our destination, it seemed as though they all were at least intrigued by our next stop.

  "Everyone did such good work today that I think a bonus is in order." Jason added to lighten the mood, "As I understand it the station has also been nicknamed the ‘carnival’. It should be the perfect place to cut loose and have some fun for all of us."

  "This will be so exciting! Have any of you ever been to a carnival? We had the biggest celebrations for ours back home." Aria was almost giddy at the prospect.

  "I have seen the carnival on Fell. It was not something that I would have enjoyed, but this sounds very different. It will be novel to walk freely with others in attendance if nothing else." Natasha added.

  "There will be enough money in your bonus that you will be able to purchase new items if you wish." I told her. I knew that all of our new guests had arrived with little more than the clothes on their backs. I had given Bree the smaller items that I still had from Talia, but Natasha was harder to dress. Aria had given Natasha some apparel but even though they were closer in height their body shape was very different.

  "Oh. I didn't expect you to pay me. I thought we were working for our passage." Natasha responded.

  "Today was above and beyond what I would normally ask of my crew. You worked right alongside of us. That means I’ll give you the same bonus that I give to them." Jason plainly explained. I noticed that he finished talking while making eye contact with Damian. Damian had arrived at the 'green bay' not long after we had started working. He had gotten straight to work without a word. But now I wondered if Damian had felt that we were taking advantage of them while they were on board, because he seemed genuinely surprised at being paid for the work that he had done.

  "We don't know how long you folks will be with us. We will contact the Coalition from Jakodi Station, as all of the traffic there will make it harder to trace communications. While you are with us I will treat you as crew." Jason must have noticed Damian’s surprised reaction as I had, because he felt the need to drive that point home.

  "Thank you Captain," was the reply from the younger brother, Kendric.

  The Waylay in Route to Jakodi Station -Day 358- Peter Singer

  Even though we were all finished with our meal, we continued to talk about our upcoming stop, until an alert sounded over the ship's comm. Jason and Ell made a dash for the bridge. Mark and Aria exchanged glances and then headed towards their work stations. Gabriel started to pick things up and told us we needed to either help get things secured or head to our quarters until we were told that it was safe to leave.

  Willow collected Echo and asked Bree, who had been enjoying her first meal outside of the med suite, and Natasha if they would like to join her; they agreed and swiftly followed her out of the dining room. That left Damian, Kendric and I with Gabriel.

  "What was that alarm? I haven't heard it before?" I asked him Gabriel as Damian and Kendric proceeded to follow Gabriel's example and clean up the remnants from the meal.

  "We are receiving a distress signal. But it could very likely be a pirate’s lure. Jason won't disregard it like most others would because it could be someone who is in real distress. He can't turn his back if there is something he could do to help." Gabriel said.

  "Why would he risk his ship and the lives of his crew if it's unlikely to be a true distress call?" Damian asked.

  "Before Jason was a bounty hunter, he was military. The things he had to do as a soldier still haunt him. There isn't one of his crew that don't owe him a debt, but Jason feels that he needs to atone for the things he was made to do as a teenager. All of us understand that he is trying to right the wrongs of his past. After what he has done for us, we will gladly help him atone." Gabriel solemnly said; it almost sounded like a vow that he had made.

  "Should I be preparing the med suite?" I asked.

  "Jason will let us know before anything more happens," was Gabriel’s calm reply.

  "What did he save you from?" Damian bluntly asked Gabriel.

  All Gabriel replied was, "As I explained before... myself," as he went about his work.

  I headed up to the bridge to see if Jason had decided what he was going to do. I could hear Ell’s voice, "It's a large, antiquated Galley class freighter. It’s identified as the Annabel Lee, registered to a Captain Miranda. It’s not much to go on, but there are numerous life signs. I can't get anything more from here, but they are dead in the water. Either they are really in a bad way or they disabled all of their systems, including life support for an ambush."

  "Can you tell if their airlock is rigged?" Jason asked Ell.

  "I can't sense anything but I would use the smaller port airlock. If there are any nasty surprises I can more easily control the damage. We could also telescope out the airlock tunnel
like Neil did to give us more leeway. We don't have to open our side before we know who we are dealing with." Ell told Jason.

  "Sounds good; we can partly open the hatch if that's the only way to talk to them." Jason agreed.

  "Where do you want me?" I asked, now that it sounded like they had a plan.

  "Stay close. Get your gear. We may have people that need medical treatment on that ship or we may be in for a fire fight." Jason told me, and then he turned back to Ell saying, "You stay here and keep trying to find out where they came from, but keep an eye out for any changes with their ship. My gut is telling me that this is a trap, but I have to make sure. If nothing else we’ll keep them from taking advantage of the next kind hearted crew to come along.

  The Waylay Encounter with the Annabel Lee -Day 358- Jason Singer

  "Take a comm unit. I'm pulling up the schematics for the Annabel Lee now." Ell said, and then turned and made eye contact with me. "Stay safe."

  I inserted the comm into my ear, and then leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss. "I love you too." I told her, and then headed off of the bridge. "Ell, have Aria and Mark meet me in the docking bay." I told her.

  "Done," was her reply that came through the comm in my ear a moment later.

  As I came down into the mess, Gabriel, Damian, and Kendric were the only ones left there.

  "What's the plan Captain?" Gabe asked.

  "We will connect with the freighter by using the smaller port side airlock. Aria, Mark and I will check things out. I would feel better if you three stood guard at the airlock. We’re still outside of what should be pirate space, but my gut doesn’t like it." I told them. I knew Gabriel wanted to stay as far away from violence as possible, but I trusted him to protect the ship and everyone on it.

  "We will stand guard with you." Damian answered for both himself and his brother. Gabriel nodded his head yes once and headed for the door.

  When we arrived at the docking bay Mark and Aria were waiting for us with an assortment of weaponry. Mark handed me the blast rifle that I preferred for non-lethal combat. Both he and Aria had a matching one slung across their backs. Mark had his double shoulder holster on. He was armed with what I knew to be lethal solid round pistols, much like my sidearm that I had never been able to give up wearing, even after so many years of being out of the Service Program. Aria had two visible solid round guns, a number of knives, and who knows what else stashed away on her person. She handed me a combat knife in a thigh sheath to complete the tools of my trade.

  Aria gestured to the rest of the weapons laid out and told the others "Pick your poison." She then picked up what must be one of her newest contraptions. It looked like a cross between a compressed gas canister and a fire extinguisher. "This baby is all mine!" She continued gleefully.

  "What surprises should I expect from that one?" I asked Aria.

  "It's the suppression foam I have been working on." She replied, with her smile getting even bigger somehow.

  I looked to Kendric and asked, "Are we close enough for you to get a feel for the people on the other ship?" His brother Damian stiffened at my question but Kendric paid him no mind, so I followed his lead.

  "I'm just getting a vague impression of fear and anxiety." Kendric seemed to consider for a moment and then continued, "There are too many of them and they are too far away to get anything clearer than that. I do feel that some of them are Hybrids though."

  "Unfortunately that doesn't help much. In this part of space it could be Hybrids that are being held as slaves or they could be pirates themselves." I told him.

  With that warning I made for the airlock, my team following close behind me.

  "How's it looking Ell?" I asked through my earpiece once we reached the airlock hatch.

  "I have a complete seal, and I found the manufacturers override code for the Annabel Lee’s airlock. No change from the freighter so far. I'm scanning but all life signs seem to be in its cargo hold for now." Her voice came through my earpiece. She gave me the code and I opened my airlock. After we were through the hatch and into the tunnel, I ordered Gabriel, "Close the hatch down enough to give you cover. I want you to seal it at the first sign of any trouble. There are plenty of ways for us to get back without risking my baby in the process."

  I entered the override code into the data pad; the airlock must have a backup power supply, because the Annabel Lee’s airlock slowly opened on its own without us needing to use any force but stopped with just enough space for us to slip through the opening one at a time. I took point, with Mark in the center, and Aria bringing up the rear. As soon as we had cleared the airlock Ell's voice came through my earpiece, "There is movement on the hull of the Annabel Lee, coming towards the airlock but I'm still not picking up any life signs other than the ones in the cargo hold. I'm not getting any electronic signatures from the source of the movement either." Her voice was filled with frustration.

  As she finished speaking, I was startled when a humanoid form landed on the outside of the telescoped tunnel which was connecting the two ships.

  I called back to Gabriel on the Waylay, “Seal the hatch!” as we tried to seal the Annabel Lee’s.

  The figure was joined by another, and they proceeded to use a plasma torch to cut into the tunnel. The Waylay's hatch smoothly closed but the Annabel Lee’s hatch moved a few inches and then stalled. Both Mark and I tried to manually close the two sides of the hatch, before we could be sucked into the vacuum of space.

  "Stand clear!" Aria demanded.

  We both knew that tone, and fell back quickly, as she started to spray the opening with the suppression foam she was so excited about earlier. My last glimpse of the figures was of them getting ready to kick in the weakened portion of the tunnel. Aria finished spraying the foam to secure the airlock of the Annabel Lee, and then took a step forward and knocked on it. It gave a remarkably metallic sound.

  "Maybe I should rethink this. It may not be as non-lethal of an option as I thought." She quickly mused to herself.

  "Get to the engine room and get the Annabel Lee online! We have mor..." Ell's voice cut out mid-word, and my comm crackled, signaling that it had been cut on the Waylay's side.

  "Let's get this beast running! It sounds like we are in for a real fight!" I ordered, moving in the direction Ell had pointed me in earlier.

  The Waylay Encounter with the Annabel Lee -Day Day 358- Ell Singer

  The Waylay was hit by an EMP blast. I must have blacked out. I came too but was disoriented, with a ringing in my ears. The emergency lights were illuminating the bridge with an amber glow. The comms were down, so Jason and the others were on their own for now. I knew he had trusted me to keep the Waylay safe, but we had been blindsided.

  Our girl was pretty but she was a lot tougher than she looked. The Waylay's backup power had already kicked in and began running her through her start up process. Now I needed to do my part. I closed my eyes, reaching out into data streams, and found the new ship that had hit us.

  It was a decommissioned Berserker class sloop of war, which had been the fastest interceptor of its time.

  They must have disengaged their star drive, dropping into normal space far enough away from us not to set off our proximity alarms. It hadn't hit us with a full force blast, like they had the Annabel Lee. I couldn't help but smile as I treated the hostile ship to its own medicine. I locked them out of all of their control systems and left them dead in the water. They could wait until I had finished with the nasty surprises that they had left on the Waylays hull.

  The Waylay's defenses were the first thing to come back online, and just in time. The attackers, who had breached the tunnel connecting the Waylay to the Annabel Lee, had now reached our airlock and were trying to cut into the hatch between them and our crew... so I sent an electric shock through the airlock door on the tunnel side, then ejected the tunnel from the Waylay. The force of the ejection was enough to shatter the tunnel. The attackers who had been in the tunnel were now unconscious and floating in space
... if they had survived the electric shock from the skin of our ship, but that was highly unlikely.

  As the rest of our functions came back online I started scanning the Annabel Lee once again for life signs. Three figures were moving in formation towards the engine room, and it appeared that there were two unconscious people left behind them. As soon as the comms were back online I gave a situation report to Jason as calmly as I could.

  "I took care of those pesky barnacles from the tunnel. Their friends that blindsided me on the Berserker class sloop of war are contained for the time being. They tried to hijack us. How's it going on your end?" I asked Jason.

  Jason's voice came back in a whisper, "These guys are Hybrids that have extremely good night vision, it's hard to tell but they must be Dark Hybrids. If it wasn't for Aria's night vision goggles the last two would have taken us out."

  "It looks like you have a straight shot to the engine room, but I couldn't pick up the Hybrids who attacked you with our sensors, so be careful. There's no guarantee that there aren't any more like the Hybrids you've already encountered on board." I warned him.

  "Understood," was his brief reply which came across the comm. When Jason was in a combat situation he would revert to his military training.

  I remained vigilant in scanning the ship for any movement or even a flicker of a life sign. I detected nothing, until Jason was approaching the engine room. "Something is possibly coming up from behind you. Try to get the engine room cleared and lock yourselves in until you have the ship back online. I think that the Hybrids could be communicating empathically so they may know that their ship is on lockdown. They may be getting desperate." I told him.

  "On your left!" I heard Aria's sharp warning to Jason and Mark. The sound of their blaster fire, fast breathing and the scuffling sound of their feet was all I could hear for a few moments. The scanner only fully picked up a fourth life sign after the attacker had been rendered unconscious.