Embrace the Passion: Pets in Space 3

by Smith, S. E.

  “So, what’s the plan? You know how to beat the net thing, right?”

  * * *

  Kraye went with Caro to the cargo bay to bid the Pinyains and the Erinaceines farewell. The habitat was quieter with the stream of water turned off. Neither species required a water habitat. The small channel where the water had cycled had been moved to the side and secured with special restraints.

  Faxton and his female were not in sight though the one called Dr. Dauwn was in the clutches of the Pinyains when they entered. He did not appear to mind. When the two bear-like creatures released him and rushed them, he rose and straightened his clothing.

  One bear tumbled against Kraye, almost knocking him to the ground.

  “Are we there yet?”

  Caro’s gaze met his over their heads and his heart gave a strange lurch, as if it had moved in his chest. He did not know if he could trust his sense that something had changed between them. It seemed as if her eyes probed his, asked him something. He must get it right or—he did not know what might happen, just that it mattered to get it right.

  Caro’s caticorn nudged the leg not being clutched. When he looked down, he nodded toward Caro, the look in his eyes very aware.

  “Caro.” The name escaped his closed throat. It was only the second time he’d used her name since she gave him permission to do so.

  Her head tipped to one side, and he realized she knew this, that she had noticed.

  “I am glad I am here.” Releasing the words lightened the heaviness in his chest, eased his breathing, though his heart felt as if it pounded as hard as if he were in a battle. There were more words he wished to speak to her, but this was a start. A good start, he realized, as a smile bloomed on her face.

  The movement of the creatures made her stagger as the other demanded, “Are we there yet?”

  She glanced at Kraye once more before kneeling to face the creature.

  “We’re almost there.”

  He sensed the words meant more than a destination for their passengers, or perhaps it was that he hoped that her words meant more.

  * * *

  It had been easier than she expected to turn control of the Emissary over to Kraye for the drop into normal space. She was a pilot, but not a combat pilot, no matter how many practice sims she’d gone through. And she hadn’t made sergeant by not using her resources to their best effect.

  That didn’t make it easy to be in the second seat when her people’s lives were on the line.

  She activated her comm. “Bull, are you a go for shuttle launch?”

  “We are a go, Sergeant City.”

  He might have to always sound calm, but it was reassuring at the moment. If anyone could get the Pinyains and the Erinaceines safely home, he was the man, or the robot. She just hoped they had a ship to return to when he finished his part.

  Their other passengers were strapped down. City had briefed the Harparian, who left no doubt she was not pleased. Boy, was there no doubt. City had offered to let her use one of the other shuttles as a hide while they worked things out. To her credit, she’d refused. Or she’d figured out that being stranded by herself in a shuttle wasn’t optimum either.

  It had started to sink into Faxton and his team that things were about to get hot. He’d probably had a very different picture of how this mission would play out. Reality bites sometimes. She’d thought it, but she didn’t say it. Instead she offered them a shuttle hideout, too, with a bit of Rita at the controls. He’d hesitated longer than the bird before refusing. Maybe he’d been a diplomat so long, he couldn’t do expression, but he nailed sober.

  “Counting down to normal space reentry,” she said, broadcasting ship wide. “Brace for bumpy.”

  She didn’t tell Bull to do anything. He’d know what to do faster than she could think it, let alone say it.

  The bridge was silent. No music. Rita’s sentient presence was on the shuttle with Bull and Rocky. She couldn’t hear her breathing because her heart was thumping too hard as adrenalin began to bleed into her system.

  Her body registered the change as the ship dropped into normal space. The stretch in one direction, then the other. The snap back to normal until Kraye applied the speed brakes. Bumpy got super-sized as he tried to slow enough for the shuttle to launch.

  Sensors flashed and blared all over her board.

  “I’m guessing those are caused by the sensor net,” she said, her hands moving on the controls as she nudged the system to give them an update on system threats.

  “Very many sensor nets. Someone has invested much in capturing this ship,” Kraye said, almost absently.

  He had gone into what City called his robot mode. No expression, gaze hyper-alert. He was a dang good ship driver, too. They’d discussed pre-programmed evasive maneuvers, but Bull made the case for trusting Kraye’s instincts, well, he’d suggested it and since he was the super soldier, that was the same as making the case.

  The Najer had a special program for confusing sensor nets that this ship did not have. So Bull had rigged up something that would broadcast code that wouldn’t stop it but would give it a headache—and hopefully enough time for them to get cloaked before anyone got a lock on them.

  Her heads up display began to update. One, two, four, five bogeys. It could have been worse. She must have said this out loud.

  “They split their forces in case we changed our plans and set course for Teuhhopse instead of coming here,” Kraye said, his tone as flat as Bull’s.

  “We’ve got two close enough to shoot at us.” And she couldn’t put her shields up until the shuttle was launched and was far enough away. Somehow she managed to watch their forward speed drop, and the countdown clock for the shuttle launch. “They have launched something at us.”

  She tracked the incoming. “It’s going to miss—did they fire a warning shot at us?”

  “Bull theorized they wished to capture this ship.”

  Which was all well and good if they didn’t accidentally hit the shuttle. It was going to be close, but Bull could see the same data she could. Time seemed to stretch and slow even though the tick of seconds did not change on her console. The warning round passed close enough to rock the ship, or that might be caused by the shuttle—

  “Shuttle is away.” This time the countdown was shorter, but it felt like they were all in slow motion as she waited for, then activated shields and cloak.

  They’d bounced tactical ideas off each other, everything from a full stop, low systems to a balls-to-the-wall, move-and-shoot, keep them off guard strategy. Though City personally liked the more aggressive approach, she hadn’t been sent here to start a war, even if that war might be with friends of the spider they’d stepped on.

  The factor they couldn’t predict was how well this unknown enemy could track them. They’d counted on the cloak before and found out the spider had had Garradian sensors. This ship was the last and best—but that didn’t mean every system was shiny. If even one of the bogey’s could “see” through their cloak, they were hosed.

  So they’d decided on a fox and the hounds strategy, designed to determine how much the enemy could see. The system had a few smaller planetary bodies and anomalies they hoped to use to mix things up. All they needed was to know how good the enemy could sniff and to not get shot.

  In addition to the comet drive, the ship was equipped with a regular jump drive, similar to the ones the Project Enterprise ships used. These drives could make smaller jumps—which also left a trackable energy signature—but some of the smaller bodies and rocks had magnetospheres they could use to confuse their sensors.

  “Initiating the first jump,” Kraye said.

  “I’ll keep an eye on the hounds,” City murmured.

  * * *

  The warning shot made the shuttle rock as it passed them, nudging them off course. The deliberate miss confirmed OxeroidR’s assessment that the goal was capture. What was not clear was who or what was the priority target? How much information had been passed on? Th
e Testudinians had known the ships passengers, but would not have known much about the Emissary’s capabilities. Had they known he was on board?

  It was often the case that they became the priority target once it was known he or his other ship mates were around.

  He made the course adjustment even as his internal systems continued analyzing the external threat profile. He was capable of flying this ship, asking questions, and feeling concern for the Emissary without impacting his effectiveness. He was also unable to escape his internal assessment of their chances. His programming gave them below even odds. Oddly enough, he was more optimistic than his programming. Kraye was a good pilot for a human and the sergeant had a pleasingly devious mind. And he was, as the sergeant would say it, pretty badass.

  “How are we doing?” Rocky asked. He was strapped in the co-pilot’s seat for the flight, though OxeroidR was not certain how well the harness would secure his small body.

  OxeroidR missed having him on his shoulder even though his robot body could not feel him there.

  “We are not being targeted by any of the hostile ships as yet.”

  Then we will prepare for ground interdiction.

  Rita did not sound overly concerned. Her words were for Rocky. Their processors had already exchanged data on a possible problem before they’d boarded the shuttle.

  “But they can’t see us,” Rocky protested.

  “As we pass through atmosphere, it is possible we will become partially visible to some tracking systems.”

  And we don’t know what systems they have.

  Systems that could track them could have been provided by the hostile forces as payment for letting them attempt to intercept the Emissary in their system.

  OxeroidR activated the shuttle’s communication systems. “We will be entering the planet’s atmosphere. The ride may become uncomfortable.”

  The Pinyains and the Erinaceines had been carefully secured for the ride, but he wished to keep them informed. It was, as he knew, challenging to be cut off from the information stream. Their former masters had done this, not aware that it was torture for the beings they considered mere machines.

  When do you anticipate a problem?

  “When we are entering the atmosphere or soon after. It will be harder for us to adjust course at entry acceleration.”

  I am detecting surface weapons coming online.

  * * *

  Kraye might have felt a measure of relief when they reached the magnetosphere without taking any hits. It had taken time for the enemy to register—track?—their movement and react. And it had taken more time for him to see their reaction. While a battle was never a good option, if it could be avoided, navigating was more optimal in atmosphere than out where thrust and counter thrust had to be calculated. It also took longer for a change in momentum once thrust had been deployed.

  They’d had a plan, but the movement of the enemy had already forced them to change tactics.

  Caro, who became even more strategic under attack, had been proposing—and sometimes—discarding ideas, even as she kept him informed about enemy movement. Some he’d had to disprove, but others showed promise. He particularly liked the one where they activated the phase cloak and slipped inside one of the smaller planetary bodies orbiting the larger planet and watched the hunt.

  The only problem with this plan was that it did not have an option for retrieving the shuttle. If their enemies were clever—and he had already seen signs they were both clever and dangerous—they could fall back, forming a screen between them and the planet, forcing them into a confrontation if they wanted to rendezvous with the shuttle. They’d seen the shuttle. They would know its purpose. If the ground forces did not take it down, then it represented their last, best chance to capture them all.

  What he wanted to do was draw the enemy away from the planet—an enemy who would not wish to be drawn away. Emissary would have to present a tempting enough target to get all of them to abandon their picket line.

  “They are barking around us,” Caro said, sounding satisfied. “Just like hounds on the scent.”

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her tapping a finger on her lips. If they survived this, he would be brave. He would find a way to taste those lips.

  “Of course, they also know where we are, which was not the plan.”

  Kraye gave a philosophical shrug. “It is what it is.”

  “Yeah, but I want it to be the is that I want it to be.” She shot him a quick grin. “They won’t be easy to shift. We need them to think that what they see is real without getting real if you know what I mean.”

  He blinked. She’d said the same thing in a variety of ways, but this might be the one that made his mind hurt the most.

  “What about that nebula? Can we do anything with that?”

  “It will not provide as much cover as a magnetosphere.”

  She stiffened. “What about a probe? Could we send one toward the nebula when we know the shuttle is heading back our way?” She zoomed in on the nebula. “It’s not as far out as I’d like, but nothing really is. Don’t you hate when all the spatial things hang together?”

  He blinked again. “Yes.” He was not certain what he agreed to, but he believed it would improve his chances for kissing if he agreed with her when he could.

  “I wish we had Rita for this. Well, we’ll see what I can do, won’t we?”

  * * *

  The ground defenses launched on the edge of too late. It was all OxeroidR needed. The missiles passed over them as he dropped the shuttle down to the tree line. He knew he could pilot the shuttle in extreme conditions. He was not certain the shuttle could handle that level of extreme.

  “A positive outcome is not certain,” he told Rocky.

  The small creature seemed to relax in the seat. “It is what it is.”

  If he had had a mouth, he would have smiled.

  As his processors made minute course changes to avoid sudden obstacles, his sentient self wondered —not for the first time—what Rocky saw, why he had become his friend. He was more than a pet. Unlike the sergeant’s caticorn, Rocky was a sentient being who could have gone home, had he desired it. While he—or his other crew mates—could not articulate the compulsion they felt to return these species to their homes, Rocky alone seemed to understand.

  “Are you prepared, Rita?” he asked, as they closed on the coordinates their passengers had given them. He did not have to ask this, or discover if she were scanning for additional threats. She would be doing all she could, just as he was. The actual drop off should not be difficult. Even his processors could not produce a reason for their passengers to betray them, but he could not discount the possibility.

  I am ready. There was a pause, then just ahead of the sensor alarms, she added, a weapon has locked onto us.

  His processors located a series of canyons that might serve him if they could reach them in time. And if the shuttle could handle the braking and then bank it would require to enter it. He kicked up the speed, edging even closer to the ground.

  “I thank you for being my friends,” he said, the countdown to impact and the turn perilously close together.

  * * *

  “The shuttle is being tracked by a heat seeker,” City said. If they lost Bull, their chances of finishing the mission and getting back to Garradian space dropped pretty close to zero. If might also cause the scary eagle to lose confidence. It was hard not to ponder those claws. If she decided to take over and try to make a better deal for herself, none of them would be able to stop her.

  The hounds sniffing around their patch of magnetosphere had launched various non-lethal weapons at them, creating some instability that could, as Kraye had pointed out, result in a negative outcome for them. The turbulence was also making their human passengers airsick. Space sick? If there’d been time, City might have barfed up something.

  “There is some kind of energy building in that bigger ship,” she told Kraye.

  Kraye, whose expression of
robotic calm had not altered, shot her readings a quick look.

  “That is concerning,” he said. “They are trying to disrupt the magnetic field. This could also disrupt our engines. We will have to leave whether the shuttle is ready to rendezvous or not.”

  And when they did, the bogeys would know what to do to flush them out if they tried to use one of the other magnetospheres.

  “I think my probe is ready to fire.” Lucky for her the programming was already in the system and Rita had left enough of herself behind to help introduce a glitch in the programming so that the cloak would appear to be failing. The harder part was getting the glitch-glimpses to look like a ship and not a probe. If she were inclined to panic, all she had to do was remind herself that even if it worked, they were probably hosed.

  * * *

  The shuttle held together, though it put out many warnings indicating it was not happy. The narrow canyons required the attention of many of OxeroidR’s processors and the heat seeker had climbed, found them and was trying to reacquire.

  I am deploying our counter measures. Our LZ is in thirty clicks.

  His processors automatically translated this into a distance he could understand. He activated the comm. “Prepare to disembark. We won’t have long on the ground.”

  It was as well the Testudinians were already gone. Had they been betrayed or the betrayers? It troubled him that they might have delivered them back into captivity.

  He began to slow the shuttle, braking slowly at first, but as the numbers ran down, he upped the reverse thrust.

  There is no sign of other pursuit. No life signs in the LZ.

  The shuttle whined in protest, but stopped and dropped down. He activated the back hatch and the comms at the same time.

  “We are there.”