by S. E. Smith
Josh focused on bringing the shuttle into alignment. The section was very narrow and would leave little room for error. Seeing it up close, he could understand why the original engineers decided it wouldn’t be a factor since only the boxy service shuttles could fit in the tight, rectangular section. Josh was thankful for the training he had received back in Houston as he fired the thrusters. A part of him wished that Ash was here. His friend was a pro at doing this. As it was, Josh knew that it would take all of his skills to maneuver them safely to the connecting hatch.
“Cassa, bring the weapons in,” Josh ordered, lightly touching the controls as they drew closer to the underbelly of the Battle Cruiser.
“Done,” Cassa replied.
Several minutes later, the shuttle gently bumped against the chute connection. Josh could hear Cassa sealing the tube between the two spaceships. He quickly unstrapped and gave the order for the modified Fighter Bot to stand ready for a rapid departure.
Josh rose from the pilot’s seat once the shuttle was transferred to the Fighter Bot. He quickly exited the cabin and strode back to where Cassa was waiting for him near the top access hatch. She gave him a calm, reassuring smile.
“Stay close to me,” he ordered in a husky voice. “If things take a turn for the worse, get back to the shuttle and get out of here.”
She nodded and stepped to the side. “We need to get to the access panel on E214. It is four levels up. This will take us up two levels before we have to work our way to the next levels. Fortunately, this is not a main section of the ship. If we are lucky, there will be very few personnel along the way.”
Josh ran his fingers across her cheek. “You are ignoring my instructions,” he murmured.
Cassa shook her head. “No, I’m not. I’m just choosing to believe that nothing will go wrong. I won’t leave you behind, Josh. We have a mission. I want to focus on completing it without thinking about what could happen. If I thought about it, I wouldn’t be able to do what needs to be done,” she softly admitted.
For a moment, déjà vu struck him as his father’s haunting words swept through him. Drawing in a deep breath, he brushed a kiss across Cassa’s lips. She was right, of course. He had never let the dangers of a mission stop him before. Once again, he felt that swift flood of fear run through him at the thought of something happening to her. He quickly locked it away.
“Have I told you lately how much I love you?” He murmured before stepping back. “Stay close.”
“I will,” she promised.
Josh climbed up the ladder and pressed the release for the hatch. It slid back to reveal the bottom access into the Battle Cruiser. He reached down when he felt Cassa’s hand and took the small device that Bantu had given them. Placing it against the outer control panel, he pressed the screen. It lit up with dancing patterns, scrolling in dizzying speed before a series of symbols appeared and the lock on the hatch disengaged.
“We’re in,” Josh murmured, handing the device back to Cassa.
“Bantu is a genius,” Cassa replied, climbing up the ladder behind him. “The Legion has no idea what he is capable of.”
“I hope they never find out,” Josh retorted, pulling himself up through the narrow access tunnel.
He reached down and helped Cassa up. Releasing her hand, he started down the path he had memorized from the blueprint that Bantu had pulled up from the database he had stored when he deserted. Turning left, he came to the end where the panel opened into the first main corridor.
The low hum of the ship echoed around them. Deciding he had no choice but to chance discovery, he pushed against the release on the panel. It silently slid open. Josh glanced back and forth and motioned for Cassa to follow him. So far, so good. Now, if only the rest of the mission turned out as smoothly.
*.*.*
“I thought you said this would work,” Pack hissed to Bantu.
“It will, I just need more time,” Bantu muttered, staring at the screen. “This isn’t something you can rush, Pack. If I screw up, I could blow the whole damn ship up!”
Pack turned to look at Bantu with an expression of disbelief. He blinked several times as it slowly sunk in. Drawing in a deep breath, he leaned down to stare at his friend.
“Are you saying you can program the ship to self-destruct?” Pack asked in a calm voice.
Bantu scowled. “Of course I can,” he snapped. “Each ship has a self-destruct sequence! It is part of the safety protocol.”
This time it was Pack’s turned to scowl. How the hell was blowing up your own ship a part of the safety protocol? It opened up a whole new idiom in the word vulnerability for the Battle Cruisers!
“Why didn’t you tell us that before?” Pack demanded in a low voice.
“What? Why would I want to blow up the ship when I am on it?” Bantu asked in a puzzled tone. “It isn’t like it gives you a lot of time to evacuate. Everyone is supposed to do that before the commander starts the countdown.”
“Where did you learn about this?” Pack hissed.
“There aren’t a lot of challenges involved in just programming Service Bots all day, every day, you know. I was bored! I spent ten years doing nothing else. It was fun seeing what else I could do. I discovered the coding when I hacked into Commander Meagoes files about a year after I was taken,” Bantu replied.
“Did you hack into General Landais’ files?” Pack pressed, squatting down next to the bank of servers that Bantu was working on.
Pack watched Bantu nervously swallow. “No, he does all of his own encrypting. I saw what he did to those that tried stuff on his ship. It wasn’t pretty,” Bantu muttered. “Getting sucked out into space is not how I wanted to end up.”
““Bantu, this is better than shutting down the shields. This would cripple the attack forces. Can you hack in and get the code for the self-destruct for these two ships?” Pack asked.
“Yes… Yes, I think so,” Bantu stuttered. “It may take a little while.”
“Try. I’ll notify Josh and Cassa,” Pack said.
Bantu nodded and accessed the encrypted file he had programmed several years before. He wasn’t even sure it would still work. He had tried it on each ship up until his last assignment. One of the other programmers had told him how General Landais once discovered that someone was trying to hack into his personal files. He had found the person and ejected them out into space, making sure it was broadcast to the entire crew. The ninety seconds it took for the man to die was ninety seconds longer than Bantu wanted to watch on the recorded transmission. He had spent the first six months on board having nightmares of being cast out into space.
Pack stood up and stepped away from the bank of servers. He glanced around the corner to make sure the door was still sealed before he pressed the code to contact Josh and Cassa. He wasn’t sure if it would work this deep inside the ship, he could only hope that it did and that they hadn’t been captured.
“Go ahead,” Josh said in a barely audible voice.
“Bantu may have a way to access a self-destruct sequence programmed into the ship's computer,” Pack responded, glancing back at Bantu who nodded and gave him a thumbs up signal. “Correction, he has a program that can open it."
“Can Cassa access it?” Josh asked in a harsh tone.
Pack turned and looked at Bantu. “Can Cassa access the file?” He asked.
“Yes,” Bantu replied with a sharp nod. “Let me talk to her.”
“He wants to talk to Cassa,” Pack said.
“Tell me what to do, Bantu,” Cassa’s soft voice asked.
Bantu glanced at Pack and turned his back to him. “Go to file CLB1. The password is CassalovesBantu,” he muttered, shooting a fierce glare at Pack when he snorted. “Upload the file. It will search for the ship’s self-destruct program and match it with the commander’s code. You’ll have to manually input the sequence three times before it will activate. They really should have used a voice activation as well. It would have helped a little.”
“We�
��ll be sure to recommend that to the next Legion ship’s commander before we blow his ship up,” Josh retorted dryly.
Pack grinned when he saw Bantu grimace after he realized that Josh was listening in. If they survived this, he would have to try to introduce Bantu to a few other women. It was clear that Cassa was no longer available.
“Listen, once you find the sequence, you only have a minute to type the self-destruct numbers in. If you don’t, an alarm will trigger unless you type in the words cancel command. I almost got caught the first time I did it.”
“I’ve got it,” Cassa replied in a soft voice. “It is searching.”
“Bantu, we’ve got company,” Pack whispered when he heard the sound of the door opening.
“Three times, Cassa,” Bantu muttered urgently. “Oh, and you’ll only have fifteen minutes to get out!”
Pack heard Bantu’s muffled curse when he cut the communications between them. He nodded to Bantu to continue with what he was doing. Slipping around the other side, he went in search of their visitor.
Chapter 27
Cassa briefly glanced up to see Josh looking down the narrow corridor in the ship’s server room. Returning her attention to the running program, her fingers were flying over her tablet as she went ahead and sent the command to disable the shields just in case she couldn’t activate the self-destruct sequence. She drew in a swift breath before she looked up at him again and grinned.
“I’ve got it,” she informed him with a triumphant look.
“I never had a doubt,” Josh replied with a wink.
Cassa glanced back down at her tablet and quickly accessed the file, matching it to the commander’s file. Once she had it, she typed in the passcode three times before she changed the commander’s password so that he couldn’t access his files and cancel the command. She quickly disconnected the cable between her computer and the server and rose to her feet.
“It’s done,” she said. “Contact Hutu and tell him the shield is down.”
“Won’t the Legion know?” Josh asked with a frown.
Cassa shook her head. “I told you, Bantu is a genius. They won’t know until the first blast hits,” she said.
Both of them started when an alarm sounded and the ship’s on board computer spoke. “Warning – Self-destruct sequence has been activated. All personnel must immediately evacuate. Warning, self-destruct sequence has been activated.”
“We have fifteen minutes,” Cassa whispered, her eyes wide as she realized the program worked.
“Time to leave,” Josh replied grimly, turning on his heel.
They were almost to the door when it opened. He didn’t pause. Raising his arm, he fired two shots with his pistol. Grabbing Cassa’s hand, he began running.
They barely paused as they shot through the doorway from the server room into the corridor. Fortunately, the corridor was empty. Josh released Cassa’s hand and turned right, heading back they way they had come.
They took off down the long, curved corridor at a fast run. Both of them kept their weapons drawn and ready. They quickly slipped into the access tunnel that would take them two levels down. There they would have to use the main corridors again to reach the access tunnel to the shuttle.
“Hold up,” Josh whispered, holding his hand out to stop Cassa from going any further.
Several soldiers ran down the corridor. Josh and Cassa pressed back against one of the metal beams. Once the men passed them, they ducked around it and begun running again. They were almost to the end when eight more soldiers came around the corner. For a moment, everyone stood frozen before chaos exploded.
“Halt!” One of the men yelled, lifting his arm.
Josh raised his arm, but Cassa had already fired. Laser fire exploded around them, forcing them back into the recess of one of the doorways. Three of the men collapsed. Josh jerked back when a rain of hot fire exploded around him.
“Nine minutes,” Cassa called in frustration. “I refuse to be blown up!”
Cassa reached for the Staff at her waist and pulled it free. Extending it, she drew in a deep breath and stepped out into the corridor. She ignored Josh’s sharp curse and waited. It didn’t take long before one of the soldiers leaned out and fired at her. Cassa countered, absorbing the shot with the end of the Staff and sending it back at the man. A small, sizzling hole opened up in the center of the man’s forehead.
“What the….! When were you going to tell me that the Staff could do that?” Josh growled, sliding his pistol back into the holster at his side and pulling his Staff free.
“It was going to be your next lesson,” Cassa responded, catching another charge and sending it ricocheting around the corner. A second later, another body fell forward. “We… don’t… have… time… for… this!” She bit out as she stepped forward.
“No shit!” Josh muttered, watching in amazement as she took out another soldier.
By the time they reached the corner, the remaining two soldiers were in fast retreat. Glancing at each other, Cassa and Josh took off behind them. They slid to a stop halfway down the third corridor in front of the access chute panel.
“Come on,” Josh muttered as it slowly rose.
Once it was far enough up to squeeze through, he motioned for Cassa to go ahead of him. She jumped through the narrow space, grabbing the ladder. Holding on, she hooked her feet on the outer railing and let gravity take control of her descent.
“Phantom One, engage the engines, prepare for emergency departure,” Josh shouted, following Cassa’s move.
“CLB4, open the hatch!” Cassa ordered in a breathless voice, landing nimbly on the roof of the shuttle. “Three minutes,” she said, waiting for the hatch to open.
“Stop!” A voice echoed from above them.
Cassa glanced up and stared at the face of a soldier looking down at her. Raising her Staff, she fired a bolt from the end. The man rocked back in surprise before he started to fall.
“Oh!” She hissed in surprise when Josh cursed again and grabbed her.
He dropped her through the opening before swinging down behind her. He closed the circular access a split second before the body hit the closed hatch with a nauseating thump. Cassa turned and rushed toward the cockpit. She stumbled, almost falling, when the shuttled disconnected from the Battle Cruiser. She would have flown upward if Josh hadn’t wrapped his arm around her waist and held her down using some of the piping along the walls.
Cassa released a soft groan that was drowned by the screeching of metal against metal as the shuttle did a free fall from the narrow confines. Once free, Josh released her and turned.
Cassa slid into the seat next to him as he took control of the shuttle. Pushing the small transport as fast as he could, he knew there was no way they could put enough distance between them and the massive time bomb before it exploded.
“Maximum shields,” Josh ordered. “Strap in.”
“Base, this is Phantom One requesting all Gallant fighters to clear the area,” Cassa said in an urgent voice. “Base….”
“Josh, we’re clear!” Pack said. “You’ve got to put more distance between you.”
“I know that!” Josh growled, just as a brilliant light lit up the darkness. “Aw, shit.”
Josh tugged at the harness and barely snapped it closed when the first wave from the explosion hit them. In his peripheral vision, he saw the swarms of Legion fighters and shuttles that were pouring out of the Battle Cruiser caught in the same wave. He saw several collide with each other and explode.
His head turned and he reached for Cassa. Her hand grasped his for a brief second before they were thrown forward with enough force to make his vision dance with dark spots. Those spots grew when the second wave hit. The power flickered before going out.
At least it shut the alarms up, Josh thought as his head fell forward and his eyelids closed.
Chapter 28
“Josh! Dude, wake up! Hey, man, are you still alive?” A familiar voice was asking.
The
corner of Josh’s mouth twitched. He had never really wondered if there was a heaven or hell, at least not in the past twenty plus years, but now he wondered if there just might be. He should have known that Ash would end up next to him.
A frown creased his brow and he forced his eyelids to open. He winced when the bright light struck his pupils, increasing the ache in his head. Lifting a hand to push it away, he was surprised when he encountered warm skin and thick muscles.
“Turn… off… the… damn… spotlight,” Josh finally forced out in a husky voice. “Cassa….”
“She’s okay. Kella, is with her,” the voice said. “Damn, but you are a sight for sore eyes.”
Josh groaned and forced his eyes open. Ash’s grinning face was just a few inches from his. A painful scowl darkened Josh’s face as he stared up at his best friend.
“I swear if you kiss me, I’ll knock the shit out of you,” Josh threatened.
Ash’s loud laughter echoed through the cockpit of the shuttle. Josh winced when Ash bent forward and wrapped his arm around his shoulders to help him sit up. Josh grunted and rested his arms on his knees, breathing deeply through his nose while he waited for the world to stop spinning.
“You know, I could almost do it,” Ash muttered, twisting around to sit down next to Josh.
Josh slowly lifted his head and stared at Ash’s dark face. There was a new scar above his left eye, probably from when the Gliese 581 went through the gate and Ash’s face connected with the control console. He was dressed in a tan colored shirt and dark brown trousers. They were almost the same color as his skin. A pair of matching dark brown boots and vest finished off his outfit.
“The only thing you’re missing is the hat and you could be Harrison Ford… with one hell-of a tan, that is,” Josh muttered with a slight smile. “What could you almost do?”
Ash leaned back and drew his knees up. “Kiss you,” he admitted. “I thought I was the only one alive.”
Josh saw the smile fade from Ash’s eyes as he looked around the damaged shuttle. His gaze rose to the front window and he frowned. Instead of being in space, he saw that his and Cassa’s ruined shuttle was inside of another ship.
