by Jo Carey
She quickly, but quietly, got up, grabbed her sword and gun and followed him to a hiding place behind a stack of boxes.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
"Hang on," Capt. Mosk said as the ship slid upwards, bringing the landing gear into contact with the underside of the Marauder ship. There was a loud thump as the ship lurched. This was followed by a whine as the gear's steel talons grabbed onto the alien hull.
"Set. Going to red," Solange said as she switched the cabin lights to dim red to save their night vision. "Hard seal on docking collar. We have integrity. Opening hatch."
The main dorsal lock in the middle of the cabin's ceiling slid open to reveal a second hatch on the underside of the alien hull. A pair of ladders dropped down and landed on the deck. First one up was Relay followed by Wren who kept watch through her weapons sight. "Accessing locking system," Relay said as lights flashed on the door. There was an audible click and the door opened inward revealing a black interior. Relay grabbed his weapon and scanned one side of the opening with his IR sight while Wren scanned the other.
"Clear!" she yelled.
"Doc?"
The physician used her high-precision medical scanner to check the space for life signs. Finding nothing she yelled, "Clear!"
"Proceed," Sarge ordered. Wren and Relay quickly climbed up into the opening followed by the others with John, Ciara, and Keelan bringing up the rear. Once inside, they sealed the hatch and brought out glow-sticks, which they cracked and threw around them.
Saint scanned the ship's systems. "Power is down, lights are down... But environmental is nominal. The engines are fine. Wait one... Sarge, someone has set several of the systems into a self-diagnostics mode."
The Sarge took the scanpad and pressed the display. "Damn, I don't know who did this, but I like them. Tenga, way out?"
"Sarge, we got a corridor," Tenga said, pointing ahead.
"Wren, point; Nickle bring up the rear. The rest with me. Scanners up. Move," Sarge said. As she left the room, Nickel dropped a coded locater beacon near the hatch.
About one hundred meters in, Wren raised her fist, bringing them to an abrupt halt. "Sarge, about ten hostiles approaching, all Tralaskan and all armed."
"Probably trying to figure out the power failure. We need someplace to hold up until they pass."
"Sarge, got a storeroom," Wren said, pointing down a side hall, "at least that's what the datapad translates it as. Indeterminate heat signatures and possible life signs."
"I can do a lot better with indeterminate than heavily armed. Wren, get us there. Tenga, you and Saint open it and check it and then the rest follow. Relay, you and Nickle bring up the rear. Move out."
Tenga and Saint made short work of the lock. They looked inside and saw it was clear, so they pushed John and Ciara in first before the rest followed. They could hear the Tralaskans move past just as they closed and locked the door.
"That was close," Doc said as she wiped a brow with a tentacle.
"It's closer than you think," John said. Something in his voice caused Ciara to spin around and shine a light on him, revealing a pair of tall aliens, one with a large knife against John's neck. No one moved.
"Sarge, what now?" Doc said as she raised all of her tentacles. "We mean you no harm."
"Doc, you're scaring them," Saint said as she pulled down a tentacle.
"Sorry."
"Perhaps I can help?" Keelan said as he moved into view. The two aliens hissed while the male aimed his gun at the Erdexi. "Perhaps not," he said as he moved back out of sight.
Ciara raised her hands and said, "We mean you no harm." Her universal translator translated the concept into every language in its memory bank before speaking each out loud while monitoring the two Marauders’ life signs. It stopped when one of them spoke.
"How do you know our language?" the one holding the knife to John's neck said.
Before Ciara could respond, Keelan walked out from behind Sarge and started speaking to the two in Erdexi. A heated conversation ensued, one the UT could not keep up with. Finally, the one holding the knife lowered it while Keelan sat down on a crate.
"Impossible," he said in Standard. "Their story is impossible."
"What story?"
"The one holding the knife is Princess Arriska, Heir Apparent to the Throne of Martok--the people we've known for thousands of years as Marauders. They call themselves the Martok. The other is her consort, Tobath. They said the Erdexi and the Martok shared this space for thousands of years before my people drove their people out. The Marauder attack a hundred thousand years ago was in retaliation for that forced diaspora."
"Is that why you can understand them?"
"Yes. According to the history books of my people, no communication ever occurred between the Marauders and the Erdexi. They flew in, destroyed our worlds, and then left. We never saw them or talked to them."
"Could they be lying?" John asked.
"No, I do not lie," Arriska said as the UTs translated. "This space belonged to both our people, yet this Erdexi knows nothing of this part of our history. Why?"
"I don't know," Keelan said as he got up and straightened his tunic. "None of this makes sense."
Ciara looked at the two Martok and said, "My name is Ciara Devlin. My team is here to stop the beings who have taken your ship. They're members of our League of Planetary Systems, but what they have done is illegal. Can you tell us anything about these raiders?"
Tobath walked over to a portable terminal and plugged it into the wall. "I think we may be able to see what happened on the bridge when the raiders took the ship," he said as he accessed the Bridge autolog system. They watched as Vreen had his talk with the Martok Captain. When it finished, Tobath disconnected from the network while everyone stared at Keelan.
"Impossible!" Keelan said
"What? That this Vreen guy knows about the part of your history you missed?" John asked.
"No, that he exists."
"Who, Vreen?" Ciara asked, very confused.
Keelan looked at them and thought for a moment before answering. "At this juncture, all I can tell you is I will do everything in my power to help you stop that...person on the screen. I can assure you no one from Rhanna had anything to do with any of this."
"Not from Rhanna? I thought all modern Erdexi were from Rhanna," the Sarge said.
"They are."
"But Vreen isn't from Rhanna?" John asked.
"No, he is not. Princess, on my life I swear no member of my race had anything to do with this. I gladly offer my life as proof," he said as he handed her his gun.
Arriska took it and held it while looking him in the eye. A moment later she handed it back, satisfied he was telling the truth.
"Director, if I may," the Sarge said. "Our mission has not changed. We must find out what the hell the hijackers' have planned and either delay them until Protector gets here or stop them. As for this new information, I have to say that I don't like it one bit."
Ciara looked over at John and saw him staring at a blank wall. He once told her that staring at blank walls helped his mind formulate answers to complex problems. "John, what's on your mind?"
"A feeling. Something isn't right here. We have an Erdexi who's not an Erdexi advising a group of rebel Tralaskans who hijacked a Martok ship in orbit around an old Erdexi weapons laboratory. I'm missing something. Tobath, did you and Arriska notice anything unusual happening after the raiders took the ship?”
"Yes, we did," he said as she plugged in the terminal and brought up the video showing the small ship in the dorsal landing bay. "They brought this aboard shortly after arriving.”
"Is that..."
"Hell Spawn Three," he said as he looked at a missing piece of his past. "That explains the robbery at the Cube. Forensics thought it had the operating system for HS2, which was identical to the one used by HS3. HS3's was probably damaged during the battle, so Narnn either had to re-write it from memory or reload it from a copy."
"And that stuf
f their loading on board?" Ciara asked?
"The computer identifies it as a nerve agent," Arriska said.
The Sarge looked up at John and said, "I remember reading about this thing. It was not one of the League's finer moments. You had a part in it?"
"Sort of," John said as Ciara put her hand on his arm. "It's possible that part of my soul is driving that thing," he said as Ciara gave the rest of them a quick recounting of the events of fifteen years ago.
"Damn," was all the Sarge could say. "What do you think the Rebirth people have in mind?"
"Assuming the control anima is intact, they can use the stolen code to replace whatever was lost in the Torsan battle. Once repaired, that little ship could deliver the payload anywhere. Anybody have any idea what kind of nerve agent is being loaded on board?"
"It's from weapons depot on the surface," Keelan said. "According to the ancient records we decoded with the help of Dr. Blyst, it was a weapon of last resort. That much will wipe out a planet and make it uninhabitable for several centuries. There is no record of an antidote."
“How do you know all this?” Ciara asked.
“I have an eidetic memory. I carry the complete inventory of the depot and lab in my memory. Some of the weapons down there are abominations.”
“Why didn’t you just destroy them?” John asked.
“The same reason why your people didn’t destroy the Hell Spawn weapons. Some day we might need them.”
“Point taken.” John kept staring at the screen. He looked up at the two Martok and asked, "Who else is aboard this ship, princess?"
"This is a learning ship for the children of the High Born of Martok. Many of them are royalty."
"What happens if any of you kids get killed or hurt?" Ciara asked.
"Knowing my mother, war will be declared against the raider's planet with the intent of subjugation and punishment," Arriska said.
"Which means the League will be dragged into it," John noted. “A war of that magnitude would weaken both sides considerably."
"Giving Rebirth an opening to take over," Ciara said.
"What about the Martok. They would be weakened as well, but Rebirth wouldn't have any interest in them."
"Vreen might," Keelan said as he looked up. "I think he may be part of a group who would love to enslave the Martok. I wish I could say more, but I don't have enough information. In my humble opinion, we must stop this insanity now before this part of space is thrown into chaos."
Ciara looked at her friend and said, "John, can you program HS3 to fly into the planet, destroying it and the lab in the process?"
"Sure, if I have the exact coordinates..."
Keelan handed him a piece of paper and said, "these are the exact coordinates along with stand-down codes for any defensive systems which may still be active. If this HS3 has an FTL drive, may I suggest you activate it? An impact at a fraction of the speed of light will obliterate the lab."
Everyone stopped and looked at him. "Weren't you supposed to protect the lab?" the Sarge asked.
"Sergeant Rostock, my people have existed on Rhanna for a thousand centuries without war. I really would like to keep it that way. If I'm not mistaken, the Martok and the Erdexi of Rhanna were never enemies, and I am going to do everything I can to put things right."
"Sarge," Ciara said as she made a decision, "we need to take this ship away from the raiders. I need a plan."
"Yes, ma'am," he said. "Princess, where are they keeping the rest of the passengers?"
Tobath walked over to the terminal and activated it. He pressed some keys and showed it to Arriska. "Forward meeting room. Minimal bridge crew. No Martok found anywhere else."
"Ma'am, three teams: Wren, John, and Relay will take out the HS3. I, Keelan, Saint, and Tobath take the bridge while you, Doc, Arriska and Tenga take the conference room. We need to wait for Protector to run interference with our friends outside. Timing is critical."
"I like it. Can you get a message to Cuutoh letting them know what's going on? I want them to break protocol and rendezvous with Protector early. We need to get this done now."
"Aye, ma'am. Saint, Relay, front and center!" he barked.
"John, are you going to be alright with this," Ciara asked as she took him aside.
"Yeah. It's a simple reprogram job."
She walked up to him, grabbed his jacket and pulled him down to her." When has anything ever been simple?”
He smiled and nodded.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Ciara stood next to John and watched him check his gear. She looked at his hands and saw how they were precise in their movements as his weapon nearly disassembled and reassembled itself. She looked to see if anyone was looking their way before going hunter. She looked deep inside him and saw his soul; the hole left by Narnn's theft, and believed he was a good man caught in a tough situation. No evil, no demons, just guilt and self-doubt. She reverted and found him staring at her.
"You okay? The eyeball thing is scary, though the fangs are really cool."
"I'm fine," she said as she looked in a shiny surface to make sure the fangs went back to normal.
"See anything out of the ordinary in there?"
Startled, she found herself at a loss for words. "You know about that?"
"Just what I read on the InterWeb, and you know how reliable that is. What'd you see?"
"No demons or monsters, if that's what you mean. Just what I thought I would see, namely you."
"Just me. God, I wish I could believe I didn't kill all those people. You should have seen me before the accident: full of piss and vinegar, ready to change the world for riches and fame. Now..."
"You want to save everyone. That's why you build what you build. Rescue bots and travel suits for the Orta. God forbid one of those balls of flame get cold. I was going to save this for your birthday, but I need to tell you this now. We were running an audit the other day when I saw how many suits have been built based on our designs. Fifteen million suits are using licensed Cube designs. I was floored. Since changing our direction we've been responsible for umpteen thousands of jobs, but what really struck me was the breakdown based on usage. What is the most prevalent use of our designs; I should say your designs?"
"Either mining or military/security."
She made a very unpleasant buzzer sound. "Wrong answer. Rescue operations. I did an analysis and found that your suit designs were directly responsible for saving one point two-three million lives since you started working here. Remember Tennosh?"
"Who could forget half a planet blown away by a malfunctioning drive unit?"
"Sixty-five percent of the survivors pulled from the rubble have you to thank. OffSec sent every snake and lizard-form they could find including all the prototypes. They went out and found teenage video game freaks to drive them. You, young man, were responsible for saving thousands, yet I never saw your name mentioned once. Why is that?"
"I told them not to, because I was just doing my job."
"Yet you recommended both Gloria and Serena for medals, which they got."
John sighed deeply, "Okay, point taken. Thank you."
"You're welcome. I think Sarge is giving us the hairy eyeball," she said as she gave him a peck on the cheek before bringing her weapon to the ready-carry position. Shaking his head, he followed suit. They were ready.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Letta sat in the lounge while Solange monitored the radio in case the team needed something, like an emergency extraction, though that had never happened in all the years the two of them worked with Rostock and his people. These types of ops were quiet, restful, get in-get out affairs, so Letta kicked back and read her book while enjoying a well-earned cup of Earl Grey tea, hot. Just as she took a sip, the alarms sounded.
"A Priority one message is coming in from the team, report attached. We are ordered to bug out, send the report and join-up with the Protector ASAP," Solange yelled.
"Confirm," Letta said as she strapped in and fired-
up the Cuutoh's drive systems.
"Confirmed and countersigned by Saint. Captain, we have a serious problem," Solange said as she strapped in and began preflight.
"Damn skippy it's serious. Where are we with preflight?"
"Just finished."
"Release claws," she ordered, all serious now, her book and tea forgotten on the table in the lounge.
"Claws released, gear up, stealth field to full power. Heading, Captain?"
“One-one-eight by thirty-two. Take us out of the system at half-speed. Once we're past the inner asteroid field I want that message sent Eyes-Only to the Protector's current position and to the Cube."
"Aye Captain. We'll be clear and in position to send in about five minutes."
"Very good. Once the messages are away, set an intercept course with Protector, best possible speed."
"Aye, aye, Captain," Solange said as she prepared to jump to FTL space.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Arriska dragged Tobath out of sight from the others. She hugged him as if she was never going to see him again. "We don't have to do this, you know. We can hide until it's over," she suggested.
"You, Princess Arriska, Heir to the Throne of Martok, hide from a fight with a bunch of honorless hijackers and pirates? Your great grandmother, Queen Saaltora, would weep in her grave if she heard that."
"Why don't you like my mother?"
"Your mother is the finest Queen we have ever had. She's also the most ruthless. She and I go way back, and our history is such that if she knew who I was, she would have my head on the wall."
"Who are you?"
"There was once a simple engineer who kept things running in your palace. One day a high-born took offense at the palace's ambient temperature, so your mother had the engineer, his wife, and his daughter executed for offending the aristocrat. Somehow, she missed the engineer's son. That son spent years planning to kill the Queen's only daughter as revenge for the death of his family.
