“I have to get to the bridge,” Jake said, noticing that Minh-Chu was distracted.
“Can I take her with me?” Minh-Chu asked, knowing what the answer would be.
“The Revenge needs her lead helmswoman,” Jake said.
“That’s a ‘no’ then,” Minh-Chu said.
“That’s a ‘no,’” Jake replied.
“What are we saying no to?” Ashley asked, joining Minh-Chu, who put his arm around her waist.
“Long range field trips for bridge staff,” Jake replied. “I’ll see you up there,” he told Ashley. “Good hunting, Minh.”
“Thanks, you too,” Minh-Chu said.
Ashley waited until Jake turned around before turning and giving him a warm kiss. She had a lush, soft way with her lips, as though the smooch was about being a little closer, enjoying the sensations of the moment. They parted at the sound of an elevator door opening and she stepped back a little. “I just found out you’ll be gone for a few days.”
“A long range scouting run,” Minh-Chu replied. “The Pursuers are going further than anyone else, then making a couple jumps to test the faster than light systems on this thing before heading for the rendezvous point. It’s a sight-seeing run.”
“Unless you find trouble or get sent right back out,” Ashley said. “I heard this ship can go for nine months without restocking.”
“We’ll be back before you know it,” Minh-Chu said, immediately getting a bad feeling as he said it. “It’ll be fine.”
“Wish I was going with,” she said.
“Hey, we knew there would be times like this,” Minh-Chu whispered, gently pulling her closer.
The gunnery and repair crew of three walked by with duffel bags and tools slung over their shoulders. Two of them smiled at the couple, while the third – a young stocky man who reminded Minh of Frost – averted his eyes. Hot Chow, Carnie, Sticky, and a few other members of Minh-Chu’s wing were already aboard making preparations.
“I just have a bad feeling,” Ashley said. “Be careful, ‘kay?”
“I’ll do a full systems check before we leave, and wear two vacsuits at all times,” Minh-Chu said.
She squeezed in closer to him. Minh-Chu stroked her back comfortingly for several moments before she sighed. That was what made leaving hard. Being out of touch with his fighter wing wasn’t ideal either, but he had subordinates who could manage things while he was gone and they needed that experience badly. Leaving Ashley behind to worry about him was much worse.
Ashley stole a brief peck on the lips and composed herself a little. “I have to get back to the bridge, they could only give me a few minutes.”
“Your shift is over in about an hour, right?” Minh-Chu asked, noticing the beginning of bags under her eyes.
“Yeah, I might stay there until all the scouts from the Triton are away though,” she said.
“Well, get some sleep. Don’t worry about us on the Pursuer, we’ll just be jumping around out there, cloaked the whole time. Slinking around like a shadow.”
“Careful, though, ‘kay?” she said, worry in her expression.
“For sure,” Minh-Chu replied.
“Love you.”
“Love you too.” He squeezed her hand once then let go, and he watched her walk away. He didn’t stop watching until she was in the elevator.
Minh-Chu picked up his duffel bag and walked up the boarding ramp. The trio of skitters that had assigned themselves to take care of his Uriel fighter were on top – three oval domes protecting a sophisticated computer, tiny instruments and several mechanical arms. “Welcome aboard, Grease Monkeys,” he said. When Finn gets here, you’ll be taking orders from him. I think he’ll need you.”
One of the skitters’ domes flashed green as it brought an arm up to clink against the front of its metal shield in a salute, then the other two followed his example. “Let’s get aboard and take a look around, just don’t dismantle or try to fix anything yet.” The trio jumped off his bag and ran up the ramp ahead of him.
He didn’t bother getting settled into the captain’s quarters, which looked more like what it was – a well-furnished escape pod. A quick inspection of the ship revealed that the munitions and heavy attack module that filled most of the second deck of the ship contained another small bunk area for nine people – enough to man the guns and the rest of the attack systems on the ship.
His last stop was the cockpit, where Carnie was performing an exhaustive systems check. They were two hours into the checklist when Chief Finn opened the cockpit door behind them. “Hi guys, I’m aboard for this mission,” he told them. “Nothing but the best for the Revenge’s only Pursuer.”
“Good to have you, Chief,” Carnie replied. “We’re just about to start the system load tests, your timing couldn’t be better.”
“Good to see you, Finn,” Minh-Chu said.
“They’re also sending me in with our final mission update from the Triton,” Finn said. “We’re going to be out there for at least nine days. We’re scouting a couple promising spots Freeground Fleet just reported to navigation.”
Minh-Chu nodded, not surprised. “Thanks for the head’s up. My updated mission brief is probably on its way.”
“They’re putting the package together,” Finn said, nodding his agreement. “I’ve never been part of an exploration mission like this, I don’t think anyone aboard has.”
“It’s a scouting mission,” Minh-Chu said. “I only wish it was about exploring, but we’re really just running around the nebula snapping high resolution scans and bugging out to the next site. I just hope the Revenge doesn’t get into any big trouble while we’re out there.”
“They’re doing what we are, scouting around, aren’t they? How much trouble could they get into?” Finn asked. Minh-Chu only had to look at him for a moment before he nodded. “Right, forget I asked.”
“Ready to start the load tests?” Carnie asked.
“Just give me a couple minutes to get down there. If we both get on this we’ll probably be finished in twenty minutes.”
The moment the cockpit closed Carnie let loose with his first question. The young man would probably fill the entire trip with them, which was one of the things Minh-Chu liked most about him. “You don’t seem excited about this, what’s up?”
“The Revenge is a young ship, with an unsteady crew, and I’m supposed to be flying a new Wing of pilots from its hangars. I’m leaving too much uncertainty behind,” he replied.
“But you’re going along with it.”
“We all have to follow orders,” Minh-Chu replied, nearly balking at the sound of his own cynicism. “I think this is all we can do to earn Freeground Fleet’s trust right now though, and it’s the most useful thing.”
“Man, between you and I, I don’t even know if that big station is going to be there when we try to meet back up with them. I mean, every moment they’re sitting there sending messages to each other their transmission noise radius gets bigger, it’s like they don’t care if someone millions of klicks away hears them talking.”
“I think that’s their biggest problem,” Minh-Chu said. “Until someone intercepts Freeground Alpha and shows them what could happen if the Order catches the station, I don’t think the politicians aboard that thing will understand how dangerous the situation they’re in really is. We can’t do anything about that though,” Minh-Chu said. “So we’re doing the most helpful thing. I just wish we were doing it in three proven Uriel fighters instead of this untested bird. You can test systems in advance all you like, but wear and tear really shows the mettle of a ship.”
“Didn’t you volunteer?” Carnie asked with a quiet chuckle.
“Sure, but I pictured us going out in Uriel Fighters, at least at first, for the shorter runs. I didn’t think we’d be skipping right to the exciting part. Now that we’re prepping, I have to admit I’m looking forward to seeing what, or maybe even who, we find out there.”
“Now you’re talkin’,” Carnie replied.
The simplified cockpit – most of the controls were switches, sticks and old style screens that would work with backup power or practically no power at all – started to look like something entirely different. The computers and software on the ship was more basic but highly efficient, and there were blocks to artificial intelligence interference so none of them would run on the hardware at all. Someone in Triton Fleet saw the potential for artificial intelligences to cause more trouble in the future, and that was evident in the ship’s design.
The efficiency of everything he’d seen on his way in and the modular nature of the ship was a clear reflection of how the small Triton Fleet had to operate. Minh-Chu acknowledged that the ship lacked character, but that was something vessels found over time, and he was being handed a blank slate. “Well, if we’re going to be out there for nine days, we’re going to have to rename this boat,” he said. “Pursuer III just doesn’t seem like a legendary ship.”
“How about the Persuader? You know, with the pulse cannons and capture capabilities?” Carnie offered.
Minh-Chu laughed at the proposal, it was a little campy, even by his standards. “Keep trying, we’ll have some time on our hands.”
Chapter 5
The Scouting Mission
Double shifts were wearing on the Revenge crew. One of the few exceptions was Agameg Price, who could often stay awake for days without losing focus. It was a quality of the Issyrian race, and every once in a while Jacob Valent found himself envying the highly capable Chief Engineer.
A small hologram of the bridge on the table in his quarters kept him up to date on what was going on while Jake looked through the information Freeground Fleet had sent them. There was little to no navigational data for the area the Triton and Revenge were going to be scouting in. “We’ll be ready to move to our launch site in five minutes, Jake,” Oz said as a hologram of his head and shoulders appeared to his right.
“Good hunting, Oz,” Jake replied. “The Revenge will meet you at the rendezvous in three days.”
“Between you and I, I can’t believe we’re doing this for Freeground. They haven’t changed. I’m glad the Fleet might be a different story, we could get them home in a couple weeks,” Oz said. “But that station will take months.”
“I’m sure those politicians don’t represent the general thoughts of the people trapped aboard the station. I bet most of them just want to find somewhere safe to start over. We stand a better chance of doing that on Haven Shore.”
“How did they respond when your team suggested abandoning the station?”
“That’s not happening, not while they’re in charge,” Jake replied with a sigh. “Not that we have the room.”
“We’ve done the math,” Oz said. “The Triton and all the other ships with hangars and life support that can sustain a lot of passengers could take a hundred and twelve thousand, but we’re talking about displacing entire fighter squadrons, filling small cargo ships that are heavily damaged, and reducing the combat effectiveness of Freeground Fleet in doing so.”
“Not an option,” Jake said. He couldn’t help but think about the reality of the Order of Eden fleet. The data they’d captured on it so far verified that there were thousands of ships, hundreds of them most likely already inside the Iron Head nebula or moving quickly towards it. The Freeground Fleet would be caught eventually – that’s what the odds told him – and then they would have to fight. If every one of their ships were clogged with refugees, reaction speeds and overall effectiveness would be badly affected. On the other hand, Freeground Alpha was a large, damaged station. Slow, obvious, throwing off signals that sensors could pick up from millions of kilometres away. At least it had armour and heavy weapons but Jake knew that the station couldn’t hold out for as long as it would take to recharge their jump drive. If it could be protected all the way through the nebula before the enemy could create an effective scanning perimeter on the other side, Freeground could become a benefit to the Rega Gain system.
“What’s on your mind, Jake?” Oz asked. “I can see the wheels turning.”
“Freeground Alpha complicates everything we’re doing here. It’s big, obvious, and there is no way we can help it move any faster than it can on its own. Unless it can start making multiple jumps a day, it’s going to get caught.”
“Everyone on the Triton agrees. Tell me you’re pulling a solution together.”
Jake took a moment to think about their problem. A signal from the bridge told him that they were ready to jump into trans-dimensional space. There had to be a way to create a trans-dimensional portal large enough for the station. What they knew of the new systems’ limits told them that a trans-dimensional conduit that size would collapse soon after its creation without more power than they could provide. Their current plan, to guide Freeground Alpha and the Freeground Fleet into denser sections of the Iron Head Nebula was their best hope, but the odds were against them making it even that far. “I know I’m on the edge of a solution,” Jake said. “I’m just not there yet.”
“Talk it through, let’s get something figured out right now, before we start scouting,” Oz encouraged.
Ayan entered the quarters. “Finn wasn’t happy with his new assignment,” she said. “But he’ll have time to work on the Dimension Drive software while he’s out there scouting. What are we working on here?”
“The solution to the Freeground Alpha problem,” Oz said. “Jake has something, it’s just lodged in his brain, I was just about to pick up a crowbar and give him a hand.”
“What are you thinking?” Ayan asked.
“The problem provides its own answer,” Jake said. “It’s got to be that easy.”
“All the way back to officer training,” Ayan said, sitting down beside him. “So, what’s the problem you’re focusing on?”
“I’m looking at all of them at this point, one of them has to have our solution. We can’t help Freeground Alpha move faster unless we find a safe harbour and supplies so they can make repairs. It’ll be days at best before we find anything that suits us, and that’s if we get lucky,” Jake said.
“We don’t have enough room in our ships to evacuate it either,” Oz said.
“And the wormhole type it can make is very noisy, easy to map,” Ayan added.
“So we use that to our advantage?” Oz asked. “Okay, never mind, that won’t work.”
“Wait,” Jake said. “It will. We can send ships a great distance with our Dimension Drives, and those trans-dimensional routes are undetectable. What would take Freeground Alpha weeks or months to travel would take smaller ships days, a couple weeks at the slowest.”
“So we could get Freeground Fleet out of here, but-“
“Hold on,” Jake said. “What if we take Freeground Alpha to a planet that can sustain life, drop everyone off there, then send it on to a hiding place with the people who won’t leave. We’d be able to ferry the civilians out of the Iron Head Nebula using the D-Drives and they can finish the journey to the Rega Gain system using their wormhole systems.”
“What happens to Freeground Alpha while that’s going on?” Ayan asked.
“I’m sorry, this is cold,” Jake warned. “But it continues on. The people on that station matter, not the thing itself. If it makes it, Haven Shore can deal with it, but I don’t think it’s going to make it through the Nebula, even if we all work our asses off and risk everything.”
“The administration for Freeground Alpha won’t allow their citizens to leave,” Oz said. “I keep hearing that from Freeground Fleet captains.”
“Then we need to put Freeground Alpha in position near a planet that can take their civilian population before we force this solution on them. Politics will get everyone aboard killed. There’s no room for their pride or ignorance.”
“Then we have to find a civilian leader who agrees with you, Jake,” Ayan said. “I’d go, but I need to be here to continue working on the Dimension Drive, developing software that can take advantage of the
technology and make it safer to operate.”
“Liara,” Oz said. “I trust her implicitly, and she has the experience. She needs some backup though.”
“Remmy Sands, he knows Freeground and has ranger training. I’m sure there are a couple people he trusts aboard too, so a small group? Four?” Jake asked.
“Yes, and let’s be clear,” Oz said. “We’re putting a group together to stay aboard Freeground Alpha so they can get a better look at the population, find civilian leaders, maybe even find a few who agree that it should be abandoned if another way to the Rega Gain system is found.”
“That’s her mission,” Jake said.
“You realize that Remmy may be as much of a problem as he is an asset, right?”
“How they treat him will tell us a lot about Freeground.”
“Yes,” Ayan said. “Meanwhile, we’re going to have to scout for a suitable planet fast.”
“The only options I’m aware of already are too far off to be useful. They’re smuggler’s posts and ports run by non-humans, so I can’t help but wonder if that’s the most common kind of settlement in the nebula,” Jake said. “Finding anything else would be better, that kind of situation will cost us.”
“That bad, huh?” Oz asked.
“The only businesses that thrive in those places are the ones you want to hide from civilization,” Jake said. “Worse than bad. We’d be making difficult promises and trading important equipment.”
“Then our scouts had better turn something up in the next week,” Oz said. “With the wide net we’re casting, they should.”
“Here’s hoping. We’ll get Liara and her team together.”
“All right, Jake, Ayan. It’s time for the Triton to show Freeground what Dimension Drive travel looks like. We’re going to start sending our scouts off, then head out. Good hunting, Jake.”
“We’ll be twenty minutes behind you, good hunting, Oz,” Jake replied.
Jake sighed and sat back. “At least we have a plan B now. Something that might work.”
Spinward Fringe Broadcast 10 Page 6
