"Yes, sir." Richards stood, strode halfway across the bridge then stopped and turned back at Price. "You sure you can handle the jumps?"
"Shouldn't be a problem. Just don't press the first two commands."
Richards nodded. Seemed like the girl had picked it up quickly. He'd half expected to have to be present for the first few jumps before being able to leave. Lights flickered as he entered the hallway, the result of the massive power drain from the anomaly siphoning energy from the ship. He wondered how long it would take before the ship could make another jump.
He noticed a commotion four doors down the hall. Three men wearing what looked to be standard issue marine uniforms rushed across the corridor. A member of the night shift stepped into the hall. The communications officer, Mureil if he remembered right. He tried to get her attention, but before he could the marines leaped into action. The lead man pulled out a vibroknife and stabbed her in the back while another man covered her mouth to keep her from screaming in pain.
She struggled against her attackers for a few seconds until her body went limp, giving up the fight. The duo lowered her to the ground where they rifled through her pockets. It didn't take a genius to know what they were looking for. Keycard access to the bridge for the rest of the traitorous marines.
Shit. I have to get back and warn the captain. But how?
He leaned forward, risking a glance both ways to see if it was clear. Down one side the two men were long gone, Mureil's body the only evidence they were still close.
The other side was clear. Richards took in a deep breath before putting everything he had into a full-on sprint, wanting to reach the bridge before they reached him. While Muriel had access to the bridge, his card allowed access to engineering as well which made him more valuable to anyone taking the ship.
Three doors down the hall, one short of his destination, he tripped over something jutting out of the doorway. His body came to a stop against the wall, jarring his spine from the impact. Painfully, he pushed himself onto his knees when something slammed into the back of his head, turning his world dark.
Chapter Fifty-Three
Lebrea Sector
Bridge, NECS Endeavor
Tired and out of breath, Tegan reached the access hallway leading to the bridge. "We slow down from here. Use the doorways as cover. We don't want to make any stupid mistakes now."
The pilot nodded, hefted his weapon and aimed it down the hall. "Go," he whispered.
Tegan nodded, then took off at a sprint. Once she reached the first doorway, she slid to the side using the threshold as cover. Once she was in position, the pilot followed suit, joining her at the other end of the hall.
The pair worked their way down the hallway one room at a time until they were a few meters from the adjoining hallway. This was the spot that worried her most, knowing the marines could be waiting for them with an ambush of their own.
"What do you think?" he asked.
"We go together," she whispered. "Once we reach the hall, you cover the left, and I'll get the right. If you see any of our mystery men, don't hesitate to pull the trigger. They won't hesitate to kill you."
"Got it."
She took a deep breath before using her fingers to count back from three. She released the number one, and they took off at a sprint, each stopping mere feet from the hall.
Holding her personal blaster out in front of her, she swung into the hall before sweeping the weapon side to side. Her eyes and weapon stopped on the body resting on the floor. The body was stripped of most of his possessions, leaving only the man's underclothes behind. Worst of all he looked familiar, like someone she knew. Without getting closer, she couldn't tell for sure.
She risked pulling her eyes from the body long enough to glance back at the pilot who was doing the same. On the ground, mere feet from the pilot was another body. Unlike the first, this one rested in a pool of blood. She didn't need to ask to know the figure was dead.
"One down my way," she whispered. "Not in as bad of shape."
He nodded, and they repeated the maneuver, hopping down the hall a room at a time. Every time they moved closer the body looked more and more familiar. Then a few doors away she realized who it was.
Her heart sank to see Richards laying there. She hoped they hadn't done anything to him. If they had…
"He's breathing," the pilot said once he reached the door across from her. "Faint, but it's there."
Tegan looked closer and noticed his short, shallow breaths. A sense of relief washed over her, and she exhaled.
They made the short sprint in what felt like seconds, but in reality was a minute as the adrenaline coursed through Tegan's body artificially speeding up time. Once there she rested her blaster on the ground and examined Richard's body. Other than a few scratches where his attackers ripped the clothes off his form, he looked unharmed. She ran her hand along his hairline, stopping when her fingers brushed against a large bump just behind his ear.
"Easy," Richards said weakly. "That hurts."
"You're OK," she said, failing to hide her surprise.
"Other than a splitting headache, I suppose." With Tegan's help, Richards sat up against the wall.
"What happened?"
"Not sure. The last thing I remember was being sent to talk to Vaughn about disconnecting the anomaly once we catch the scavenger. Something about communications being shot."
Tegan glanced back to the pilot. "Guess that explains why our comm didn't work."
"We activated the communications block when we activated the device." Richards attempted to stand, but a wave of dizziness washed over him halfway there. Tegan swooped in and caught him before he fell.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"I need to get to Vaughn. He's the only one I know capable of disabling the anomaly."
"No, you need to rest. You aren't any use to anyone if you pass out before you get there." Tegan wrapped one of Richards' arms around her neck while the other pilot moved in and did the same. "We're taking you back to the bridge. Once it's secure, we'll head to Vaughn and deliver your message."
"The bridge? What happened to the bridge?"
"Maybe nothing," she admitted. "But those men who attacked you were likely headed that way. Just want to make sure everything is fine before going back down."
She explained how the marines had gotten free as they carried him to the bridge. Mentioning the jump sickness as the primary cause so she could at least warn the commander about the repercussions of taking such a jump without warning the crew. It meant communications had to be working on the ship. But still, it was worth the time to mention.
Once they got close to the bridge, Tegan pulled out her datachip and held it up to the scanner. The device buzzed angrily at her attempt and flashed red. Figuring it was a mistake, she scanned her card again and got the same result.
"What the hell is going on?"
Richards shrugged. "Maybe the jump also fried the computers. Have your datapad handy?"
Tegan pulled out the device and handed it to him. Pulling a wire free from the wall, he attached the datapad to the terminal. Within moments he'd found the source of the problem.
"Looks like the anomaly blocked off access to the bridge. Ironically, it uses the same encryption I found on the Providence. Guess that means we need to transfer this information to fleet, saying we're able to recover a few of the ships." Once the door opened, he pressed a few more buttons on the pad before handing it back to her. "This should get you into any locked rooms. Just in case."
She smiled as she took the device. "You got it from here?"
"Yeah. I'll be fine." Richards barely made it two steps before he collapsed to the floor in a heap, the sound alerting the bridge crew to their presence.
"Richards? What the hell is going on?" Bremerton demanded.
Tegan moved to help the engineer to his feet. "I'll explain."
Chapter Fifty-Four
Lebrea Sector
Bridge, NECS Ende
avor
"You can explain in a minute. For now, I suggest you take a seat. We're about to perform another jump."
Tegan's stomach lurched at the thought of another jump. After the first, she wasn't in the mood to try it again. How many of these damned jumps are we going to do before we're done? She hoped it wasn't more than a few though she had her doubts.
She helped Richards to his station and strapped him in before taking a seat in Wilson's terminal and doing the same. Seconds later, Commander Bremerton gave the order to engage the drive.
This time the effect hit her like a punch to the gut, doubling her over against her restraints. Thankfully, she'd disgorged everything in the hallway after the last jump, though the constant dry heaving was as unpleasant.
The rest of the bridge crew was doing the same though some were doing better than others. Most notably Commander Bremerton who sat upright, even as his face suggested he was fighting the sickness as well. To the man's credit, he gave the crew a few minutes before issuing commands.
"Ensign Price, what is our current location and heading."
Price keyed in the commands on her terminal, bringing up the information on Bremerton's console. "Seems this jump wasn't as accurate as before."
"How so, Ensign?"
"Our current trajectory is taking us in a path to skirt the edge of the New Earth sector. Unless I can reconfigure the course, we'll miss New Earth entirely."
"Midshipman Ritter, what's the current location of the enemy scavenger?"
"Current location is unchanged from the last check. Saying they don't jump again and we had full thrust, they're only a few hours away."
Bremerton beamed. "So you're telling me the anomaly is allowing us to make longer jumps than the scavenger?"
She keyed the information into her terminal. Cross checking the last two jumps of both ships. "Looks that way, Commander."
"Finally, we're getting somewhere. While the anomaly builds up a charge, I suggest we clean up this mess. Ensign McRee, if you would please signal maintenance and have them send a crew immediately."
"Won't work, Commander," Tegan said, unfastening her restraints. "That's why I'm here. All communication on the ship is disabled."
"All communications? Even text based?"
Tegan nodded. "We tried that too. Nothing is passing through the system."
"And I suppose there's nothing we can do to fix that." Bremerton stood up and glanced over to Richards, noticing for the first time the man was only wearing his undergarments. "What the hell happened to him?"
"Attacked down the hall. Another one of the staff was too. She didn't make it." Tegan explained the situation to Bremerton, going over the story twice to make sure there weren't any holes.
"Then that's on me," he said, somberly. "Though to be fair, I didn't expect the effects of the jumps to be so severe."
"I don't think anyone did." Her most of all.
"This changes everything. Normally I'd order Richards down to help get communications working, but it seems he's in no condition to move."
Richards groaned as he leaned forward to get to his feet. "I'll be fine."
"No, Lieutenant you won't. You need to stay here and rest. Lieutenants Bradley and Wilson can handle it in your place. I'm sure they can stop off at the sickbay annex on their way down and have someone come up to take a look at your head."
The pair nodded and made their way to the door.
"I know you two will want to get to engineering in a hurry, but I urge you to take your time. The only way any of this matters is if you make it there in one piece. Keep your blasters out and heads on a swivel."
As they entered the threshold, the pilot who'd accompanied Tegan to the bridge moved to join them. She stopped him with an outstretched hand. "You should stay here in case they come back. Our job doesn't matter if they take the bridge while we're gone."
The pilot nodded before assuming his position just inside the door.
"You ready for this?" she asked as she entered the hall.
"As ready as I'm going to be."
Wilson looked out of place holding his portable blaster, which is how she assumed she looked when she first held hers. A few hours later she almost felt like a seasoned pro. She had the nagging feeling they all would be before it was over.
Chapter Fifty-Five
Unknown Space
Scavenger
The marines in the front of the group charged into the waiting Klyptons, tackling them to the ground in a way that would've made most linebackers jealous. Within moments it was clear they were outmatched as the aliens tossed them off and to the side. Before they could pounce on the marines, the second set of men rushed the room. This batch focused on the weapons lining the room and not the aliens.
One alien, an unusually large and brutish Klypton made for the nearest marine. He wrapped his thick, meaty hands around the man's throat and lifted him two foot in the air. He reared back for a vicious punch that never found its mark as its head exploded in a spray of blood and gore.
"Gun the bastards down," Walker shouted. "If they aren't human, they're the enemy. We don't need to bring back any live ones this time."
Before the two remaining Klyptons could mount an attack, a spray of weapon fire ripped into them. Blood and gore covered the walls as the automatic fire of the weapons tore them apart.
After a moment the guns silenced, leaving behind three alien corpses.
"One room down," Walker said, strolling into the room. "Distribute the weapons evenly and destroy the rest. I don't want to chance them hitting us from behind."
"Not sure that's a good idea, Sarge. Their weapons pack quite a punch."
Walker smiled. "Help yourself marine, just make sure we don't leave any toys around for the bad guys."
Wellard limped into the room and stopped by Walker. "You sure that's wise? We don't have a clue how their technology works. Might be better off destroying it now."
"Looks dead simple, Captain. Flip the switch, aim, and fire. Those ugly bastards are too dumb for anything more sophisticated."
"Captain Wellard is right. If you are taking a weapon, you sure as shit better know how to use it. We don't have enough friendlies left to risk killing each other."
The marines grumbled their disapproval, but to their credit returned the weapons to the pile. All except one, Corporal Murphy, the biggest marine of the bunch. He held up the serrated end of one of the Klypton clubs and grinned. "Bet this puppy can do some damage."
Walker grunted his approval. "Form up and move out. Talbot, see that the rest of this stash doesn't survive our exit."
"Gotcha, Sarge," Talbot replied.
The marines filtered into the hall two at a time until the room was clear, leaving only Talbot behind. After a moment the tech-savvy marine joined Walker and Wellard in the back of the group, wide grin on his face.
"Want the honors, Sarge?" Talbot asked, offering Walker the detonator.
"All you son. Enjoy."
A series of loud pops rang through the hall as the series of explosives Talbot had set went off, destroying anything left in the room. As the final explosion rang out, Talbot placed the detonator in one of his belt pouches before pulling his blaster off his back.
The group of men worked their way through the bowels of the scavenger, searching every room they passed as they made their way to the bridge. Where they found resistance the snuffed it out quickly, without a sound where possible, to avoid alerting more aliens to their plans.
"I'm starting to feel like we got them all," Talbot said, gun trained to the rear covering their backs.
"You'd imagine a ship this size can only hold so many of them before getting cramped," Walker replied. "Still, I expect we have one nasty fight left ahead of us. Best to keep your mind clear and ready for it."
Wellard nodded. "I'd be shocked if the bridge wasn't better protected than their shuttle bay. Especially since they have to know they didn't neutralize the threat."
"Looks like we're abou
t to find out." Walker pointed to the closed door at the end of the hall with the word "bridge" painted on it in dark red lettering.
"Door is locked, Sarge," Murphy said through the comm, from his position in the front of the group. "Send Talbot up to hack the terminal."
"Negative, Murphy. Set explosive charges on the door. We want the element of surprise."
"You ain't gotta tell me twice," Murphy said, cackling. "Move back behind cover. This will be loud."
Wellard ducked off in the doorway of a nearby room. He held his personal blaster at the ready waiting for the command to strike. The rest of the marines did the same. Talbot joined Wellard in his room while Walker took up a position across the hall. Murphy was the last to take cover, doing so after setting and arming the final charge.
"Fire in the hole," Murphy said.
An ear-piercing explosion ripped through the hallway, sending flames and debris soaring through the hall at speeds fast enough to kill anyone caught in its wake. It was replaced by a thick yellow smoke that hung in the air, making it difficult to see more than a few feet in any direction.
Wellard leaped to action as gunfire erupted down the hall, jolts of pain from his injured leg causing him to limp as he ran. Walker soon joined him, maintaining the captain's pace as the men stormed through the broken door and onto the bridge.
Blood and sickly alien gore covered the room from a pair of Klypton guards unfortunate enough to be standing guard by the door. Two members of the bridge crew lay dead against their terminals, victims of shrapnel to the backs of their head. The marines held the remaining crew at gunpoint, all human from the looks.
"The show is over. This ship is now in the capable hands of the NEC."
Infamy (The Mythrar War Book 2) Page 18
