The Voyage Home

by D. J. Holmes

  “Damage control team has just reached engineering bay,” one of Draxler’s cronies reported. “They’re saying there’s massive damage to reactors three through five. The other two are completely gone. Chief Engineer Biggins is dead, along with most of his team.”

  “Damn,” Draxler swore. “How are we going to get this bucket of bolts moving again without him? Can we redirect emergency power to the impulse engines or the jump drive?”

  “I’m not sure,” the crew member replied. “I have no expertise in that area. We won’t know what power relays have been blown out until we do a full survey of the ship.”

  “Right, that’s it,” Draxler said, sounding both angry and fearful. “Anyone on the bridge who is not already involved in damage control get out of here and assign yourself to one of the damage control teams. We need to get this ship moving as soon as possible.”

  Not wanting to find out just how much pain Draxler was willing to send through her collar given the mood he was in, Sarah jumped to her feet and fled the bridge. As she made her way towards the damage control team she had been assigned to, Sarah encountered more carnage. She came across several dead crew members and more than one section of the ship that had been distorted beyond recognition by the force of the blast that had twisted Lady Luck’s innards. At one point, she turned a corner and found herself staring out into space. The only thing between her and the certain death the cold hard vacuum of space would bring, was the emergency force field that had come down over the Lady Luck’s damaged sections. Quickly, she retreated, if one of Lady Luck’s emergency power capacitors overloaded and the force field failed, she would be sucked out into space in a second.

  Despite a constant fear that the Elder ship would regain power and come to finish them off, Sarah did all she could to help the injured crew members she came across and to aid in fixing whatever damage she was able to. Though outwardly it looked like she was fully focused on doing the tasks her damage control team were assigned to, inwardly Sarah was replaying the battle over and over again in her head. How did we survive? She asked herself again and again.

  *

  Two hours later, Sarah’s fear of being destroyed had diminished. If the Elder ship hadn’t returned by now she figured they wouldn’t be coming back at all.

  Draxler had ordered all surviving crew members to gather in Lady Luck’s shuttle bay. As Sarah stepped into the large hangar she was surprised by just how few of Draxler’s crew were there. Over sixty aliens from various races had been on board Lady Luck at the beginning of the attack on the convoy. Now less than twenty stood milling around. When Draxler stepped into the shuttle bay, they all looked towards him.

  “Things are not good,” Draxler said. “Lady Luck has had it. She has had a good run, but unless we can get her back to a repair yard she’s not going to be taking any more prizes.”

  “Then what do we do?” one of the pirates complained. “You can bet your ass there will be more Elder warships on their way here.”

  “Of that I’m quite sure,” Draxler said with a nod. “Luckily, I have a plan,” he added as he broke into a smile.

  Perhaps his smile appeared reassuring to some of the crew. Sarah couldn’t help but feel intimidated. Nevertheless, having come to know Draxler over the last couple of years, she knew he was trying to ease the tension among his remaining crew members.

  “What is it?” another pirate barked impatiently.

  “We’re all going to get aboard our shuttle here,” Draxler said as he patted the shuttle he was standing beside. “Then we’re going to head over to that stricken Elder ship and see if we can’t commandeer it.”

  Before Draxler could say anything more a series of groans erupted from some of the crew members. “You can’t be serious,” one of the pirates said, putting words to everyone’s thoughts. “If there are any Elders left alive over there they’ll kill us for sure. And even if we could take control of one of their ships, no one knows how to fly it. Worse, they’ll be sure to track us down.”

  “Perhaps,” Draxler said cautiously as he judged the mood of his crew. “Though I don’t see that we have any other option. We can’t stay on Lady Luck, we’re sure to be caught if we do. The Elder frigate at least gives us a chance. Besides, look on the bright side. Even if we take the frigate for just a few hours, we will go down in history. The first people to ever defeat an Elder warship.”

  “What about one of the freighters we disabled?” One of the pirates asked. “Couldn’t we try and commandeer one of them. Or salvage the parts we need?”

  “It wouldn’t work,” Draxler explained. “We destroyed their reactors. There is no way they are space worthy. The other freighters are no doubt long gone by now as well. The Elder frigate is our only hope.”

  “I for one am not getting onto that cursed ship,” one of the pirates shouted. “I’ve followed you through thick and thin Draxler, but I’m not following you there.”

  “Suit yourself,” Angrave said as he stepped up beside Draxler. “The Captain hasn’t seen us wrong yet and I’m going with him.”

  Sarah wasn’t the least bit surprised. Angrave was Draxler’s right-hand man. Where Draxler was the brains behind Lady Luck had in her raids, Angrave was the one who recruited and looked after Draxler’s crew. They were of the same species and Sarah guessed they had both committed some crime or another that had forced them to flee their homeworld and turn to a life of piracy. The way they got on suggested they had been friends long before they had taken up piracy.

  “I’m not going to force anyone to come with me,” Draxler said. “This is a decision for each of you to make. Those of you who choose to stay are welcome to Lady Luck. For those of you who choose to follow me, the possibilities could be endless.”

  Sarah knew the offer didn’t apply to her or Divar. They would be going wherever Draxler ordered them. A part of her wanted to demand Draxler let her stay nonetheless. Who knew what horrors awaited them on an Elder ship? If even half the stories about the aliens were true, there would be nothing pleasant there. Still, Sarah believed Draxler. If he was planning to abandon Lady Luck, then there really was no hope left for the ship. The Elder warship was their only chance.

  As the gathered pirates separated into two groups, Sarah stepped towards Draxler. When Draxler saw her, he nodded and motioned for her to come to his side. Reluctantly, Sarah stepped closer to him. She had to fight not to shiver as he reached out and placed a pincer on her shoulder. “You’re definitely not getting out of my sight,” Draxler said. “Divar, come here, you’re not getting away so easy either.”

  Divar suddenly appeared from behind a crate. It had been resting against one of the walls in the shuttle bay and it looked like Divar had hoped Draxler would forget about him. When his eyes locked on Sarah’s he shrugged. Sarah understood, you can’t blame a guy for trying. It had been a long shot, Draxler was hardly going to forget his two most important slaves, even at a time like this.

  “Let’s load up,” Draxler said once it was clear who was coming with him. In total twelve pirates, Draxler, Sarah and Divar were in the group standing beside the shuttle. When two other slaves who had survived the battle stepped forward Draxler raised one of his six legs and pointed a claw towards them. “You two stay here, I don’t need any more mouths to feed.”

  As both of the slaves stopped midway towards Draxler, Sarah wasn’t sure if she saw fear or relief on their faces. Though she had spent nearly two years on Lady Luck, she still wasn’t close to knowing what all the facial expressions of each race meant. In this instance, she guessed it was a bit of both.

  “Angrave has already packed up the shuttle with everything we need,” Draxler said as he turned back to his new crew. “Let’s get on board.”

  Deciding she didn’t want to be left behind, Sarah turned to get into the shuttle. She grabbed one of Divar’s arms and dragged him with her. If she had to board a damaged Elder warship with a ruthless pirate, she wasn’t going to do it alone.

  Once they were all o
n board, Angrave shut the shuttle’s boarding ramp. He then made his way to the pilot seat. “I think I’ll handle this mission,” he said to Sarah. Sarah didn’t look at his face, she and Angrave had never seen eye to eye. Ever since she had replaced him as Lady Luck’s pilot, he had gone out of his way to make her life miserable. She had learnt it was best not to antagonize him.

  As the shuttle’s engines hummed to life, Sarah made her way to one of the passenger seats, sat down and strapped herself in. Divar followed her and sat down beside her. “I can’t believe we managed to score a hit on an Elder warship,” he whispered to her.

  “Nor can I,” she whispered back. “It all happened so fast, I can barely remember what we did.”

  “Hardly we,” Divar said. “I was just along for the ride, you were the one who lined us up on that frigate time and time again. Where did you learn to fly like that?”

  “Nowhere,” Sarah replied, confused. “I’ve been a slave all my life, I’ve hardly been taught anything.”

  “Well, you are a hell of a natural,” Divar said. “I’m just glad you are here. We’d all be dead without you.”

  Both slaves ceased whispering as Draxler shuffled over beside them. To Sarah’s discomfort, he sat in the free seat beside her. After strapping himself in he leaned in and whispered into her ear, “Don’t think I don’t know what you did. You’ve been holding back your skills all this time. I’ve never seen anyone fly a ship like that before. If we get out of this, I’m not going to go so easy on you. I will expect much greater things in the future.”

  Sarah didn’t bother trying to deny it. She knew she had been holding back to prevent Draxler being too successful in his raids. As she realized what Draxler’s words meant, her shoulders slumped. She could no longer help those who fell under Draxler’s guns. Now she would have to fight with all her abilities or Draxler would torture her unceasingly. Maybe we’ll all die on the Elder ship, Sarah thought with a glimmer of hope.

  “We’re coming up on the Elder frigate,” Angrave said, bringing Sarah’s thoughts back to the present. Despite the fact she hated flying for Draxler, she longed to be connected to the shuttle’s helmet interface so that she could see what was going on around her. To her relief, Draxler pulled out a portable view screen that he had connected to the shuttle’s computer. On it she could watch as the shuttle approached the stricken frigate.

  Carefully, though far slower than Sarah would have, Angrave matched the frigate’s velocity and roll. Then he brought the shuttle closer and closer to the large hole one of Divar’s hypervelocity missiles had blown into the frigate’s side. “There’s no sign of a force field,” Angrave said, sounding confused.

  “This is almost too easy,” Draxler replied. “Suit up in your vac suits,” he said louder to the rest of his crew. “Angrave, turn the shuttle around and orientate the rear shuttle door towards the damaged section of the cruiser. We’ll jump across and see if we can find a way into the rest of the ship.”

  As they had flown towards the frigate Sarah had thought their situation couldn’t get any more terrifying. She had been wrong. Having spent most of her adult life on a planet’s surface, the space flight she had taken with her mistress when she had been captured by Draxler had been her first time in space since she had been taken from the slave markets of Kashal. Going back into space had scared her, being attacked by Draxler’s pirates hadn’t helped things. The last two years had eased her discomfort somewhat. Though in all that time, she had never carried out any extra vehicular missions. To her, even the thought of jumping from one starship to another was the very definition of madness.

  “Should I stay here?” she asked hopefully.

  “Certainly not,” Draxler chuckled as he showed Sarah his teeth. “If something bad is going to happen to me out there, I want you to be right beside me. You’re not getting out of this so easy.”

  Suppressing a sigh, Sarah unbuckled herself and moved towards the back of the shuttle where the vac suits were stored. After searching through some of them she found one that looked like it would fit her. It was too big and the suit had four arms, but it would at least protect her from the cold vacuum of space.

  Angrave lowered the shuttle’s rear ramp soon as she signaled that she was in her suit. As space came into view, Sarah felt more at ease. As she peered beyond the Elder frigate she realized that jumping into space wouldn’t be too dissimilar to putting on the interface helmet.

  “Move out,” Draxler ordered. Hesitantly one, then two and then three pirates jumped off the shuttle and thrust themselves towards the frigate. Angrave had brought the shuttle to within thirty meters of the frigate and it only took the pirates a handful of seconds to cross the distance. As they slammed into the damaged sections of the frigate they grabbed onto whatever they could to stop themselves from banging off the frigate’s hull and bouncing back into space. Each one had a laser blaster slung over their shoulders and as soon as they locked the magnetic plating in their boots onto the frigate’s hull, they whipped their laser blasters out, ready for trouble.

  As the next wave of pirates jumped across the gap to the frigate, Sarah took a moment to survey the alien ship. It was like nothing she’d ever seen before, beautiful almost. Its long angular lines were disrupted by hundreds and possibly even thousands of pimples that spiraled round and round the ship in a mesmerizing pattern. Whatever the ship was armored in, it gave off a faint silver tint that almost sparkled as starlight from distant systems reflected off it. The only mar to the ship’s beauty was the large hole one of Lady Luck’s missiles had ripped into its side.

  A faint movement caught Sarah’s eyes. As she looked more closely, she was shocked to see the edges of the hole in the ship were shrinking. The ship is repairing itself, but how?

  “Eh... Draxler,” Sarah said. “Have you looked at the edge of the ship? Look what it’s doing.”

  “Elder technology,” Draxler said, sounding just as awed as Sarah felt. “I’ve heard rumors of such things. We need to move fast.”

  Instead of waiting for Sarah to jump towards the Elder ship, Draxler picked her up and threw her across the gap. For a couple of seconds, sheer panic gripped Sarah as she lost all sense of gravity and spatial awareness. Then the Elder frigate loomed large in front of her. Desperately she reached out and grabbed onto a piece of wreckage protruding from what had once been a bulkhead. Pulling herself into the broken innards of the frigate, she shoved her feet against a wall and activated her gravity plates. With a clink, her feet latched onto the metallic surface. Closing her eyes, Sarah took a series of deep breaths to try and still her racing heart. You made it, you made it, she repeated to herself.

  Chapter 4

  Clunks to her left and right alerted Sarah to the fact that Divar and Draxler had landed on either side of her. Looking around, she guessed they were standing in what had once been a large circular room. More than half of the room was missing as it had been blown out into space. As her gaze swept over what was left of the room, she spotted what she was looking for. “This way,” she said over the COM channel to Divar and Draxler. “I think.”

  Pushing Sarah to the side, Draxler made his way towards the doorway she had pointed to. Just before he walked through it, he pulled himself up short and took out a portable scanner. Gazing more closely at the door, Sarah saw what had caught Draxler’s attention. There was a faint shimmer across the doorway.

  “Strange,” Draxler said. “It looks like a force field and some of the readings I’m getting from it suggest it is, but it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”

  Reaching behind his vac suit Draxler pulled something out of the utility belt. With a flick of his claw he threw the small metallic object at the door. When it hit the force field Sarah expected it to bounce back towards them. Clearly the force field was in place to seal off the damaged sections of the Elder frigate and prevent the whole ship from depressurizing. Instead, the object flew right through the force field, sending a ripple of small waves through it.


  “A one-way force field,” Draxler said in awe. “Who would have thought of such a thing?”

  “I’ll bet there’ll be more surprises inside,” Divar suggested.

  Sarah nodded, she had no doubt he was correct.

  “Hizar, Qualeck, get over here,” Draxler ordered after stepping back from the force field. “This is our entry point, you two lead the way, the rest of us will be right behind you.”

  As Hizar and Qualeck eagerly moved towards the doorway. Sarah wasn’t sure if they were foolish or just obedient. If the Elders had designed a one-way force field it was probably to let any repair teams working on a ship’s hull easily re-enter the ship. If this was the case, it was highly likely the force field was still designed to keep out intruders. It could just as easily disintegrate the two pirates as let them onto the ship.

  Nevertheless, both pirates moved forward with their laser blasters raised. Without even stopping to see what would happen to the ends of their rifles, both forced their way through the doorway. When they got to the other side, they turned around and waved to Draxler. Seeing they were unharmed, he motioned for the rest of his crew to head through.