“A fitting name,” Terry stated as he pushed back from the table and stood. “We’ll see you off.”
Char looked at the others. “All of us,” she said, pointedly looking at Kaeden.
“But, my steak…” Kae pointed at the kitchen where Jenelope was on her way out with two plates. She stopped. Marcie looked longingly at her plate on which steamed a massive cut of beef.
“Really? Cory is going back to Earth and you two can only think of your stomachs.”
“It’s fine, Mom. I’ll say good-bye here and with Ted’s improvements to the frigate, we’ll probably be back before we leave. I expect to see myself coming through that door any moment now.”
On cue, everyone looked at the hatch. Cory laughed. Kae was closest and hugged her first. “Miss you already, sis.”
“I know you do. As long as you have your TV and those god-awful movies you like so much, you’ll be fine.”
“You should try them. You don’t know what you’re missing.”
She pushed him away so Marcie could move in for a hug. “If you find my half-brothers and half-sister, tell those fuckers they need to write more often. And use those words! Tell them specifically I called them ‘fuckers’.”
“I’m pretty sure I won’t tell them that, but if we find them, Ted will give them one of his boxes. They can call you so you can tell them yourself.”
“Tell them that I will!”
“Ted is going to make them call their mother first. After Felicity is done with them, you might want to go easy or they’ll never call any of you ever again.”
Marcie contemplated the idea. “You’re probably right. I have to admit that I don’t know them very well at all. We were already in San Francisco when they were born and raised. Little werewolves, my half-siblings. It would be nice to hang with them for a while. Maybe they can come back, if they want.”
Cory nodded. That would be up to Ted.
She waved at Jenelope and headed toward the corridor with Dokken at her side and Terry and Char close behind.
Keeg Station
The emergency decompression klaxons echoed within the cargo bay, vibrating everything that wasn’t welded to the hull. Flashing lights showed the stunned and semi-conscious.
The recruits had been asleep for exactly two hours. It was time. Kimber, Auburn, and Christina wore their shipsuits, hoods secure and positive air pressure intact. The main cargo door was cracked open and atmosphere was venting to space. Twenty-five recruits, twenty-five different reactions.
Only one looked to resolve the problem. Of the other twenty-four, eight were dutifully trying to get their shipsuits on and failing miserably. Six had run for it. Three toward the hatch leading to the station, which was automatically sealed during a decompression. They pounded on it helplessly. The other three were running in circles. The alien recruits hadn’t panicked, but they didn’t have shipsuits. They remained in their racks, trying to hold their breath.
Three recruits had been sleeping naked. Kimber groaned while Auburn shook his head.
Recruit K’Thrall, most capable of surviving a short time in space, had headed straight to the cargo door. He struggled against the wind as the air was being pulled through to space. The crack was miniscule, not enough to drain the compartment, but enough to get everyone’s attention. The Yollin activated the manual override and closed the main cargo door. The klaxons stopped screaming, and the lights stopped flashing, plunging the cargo bay back into darkness.
“Get your asses into formation!” Christina yelled. Kim and Auburn ran for the ad hoc billeting area and rousted people. One recruit had managed to get back into his bag and fall asleep. The naked people were still naked. Christina turned on the lights, flooding the cargo bay. The recruits blinked and covered their faces.
“Get in formation! Stop fucking around,” Kimber ordered.
K’Thrall smoothly moved to the front of the group. The squad leaders took their positions behind him, and the squads straggled in behind them.
Christina strolled in front of the formation.
“Excellent work, Recruit K’Thrall. You saved the platoon.”
“Thank you, Colonel,”
“Shut up,” she replied, slapping him on his carapace as she walked around him to stand before the second squad leader. “Why are you naked?”
“This is how I sleep, ma’am,” the recruit said with an attitude.
“On your face, Recruit,” she growled. He assumed the push-up position. “Did I say pushups? Get down!” She stomped on the middle of his back, driving him flat to the deck. “Now worm crawl to the bulkhead and back.”
He lifted to his elbows and knees and gingerly started to make his way forward. Some of the other recruits snickered.
“STOP!” she yelled. Christina kneeled next to the naked man. “I said worm crawl, not low crawl. Stay down and get going.”
“But the non-skid surface,” the man whined.
Christina planted her boot on his back and pressed until he was flat. “Move!”
He pulled himself forward, one agonized centimeter at a time. She lifted her foot and looked at the platoon. They were frozen, statue-like. No one wanted to incur her wrath.
Kimber stepped into the breech. “Do we let a teammate struggle alone?” she asked conversationally.
“No, ma’am!” one recruited shouted and instantly deflated when he realized that he was the only one.
“Well then, what in the fuck are you waiting for?” Kimber asked, looking at the recruit.
“Ma’am?” he wondered.
“You low-life, shit-sucking no-loads have about three seconds to get on your faces and worm your way to the bulkhead before I start throwing bodies around.”
The platoon became a mad scramble as they fell to the deck and started wriggling.
Christina winced at their exuberance. “STOP!” she ordered. “Get back in formation before you tear your shipsuits, or something less important.”
She glared at the naked man whose red face and scratched body told his tale. He wasn’t laughing any longer. The two other naked recruits, one man and one woman, breathed a sigh of relief at avoiding the self-imposed pain of sand-papering their bodies.
Kimber addressed the group. “What did we learn tonight, boys and girls?”
No one answered. K’Thrall turned his head to look down the platoon. When he turned back, he raised his hand. Kim pointed to him.
“If you want to be a warrior, you need to be ready to make war, no matter when, no matter where.”
“Dammit, K’Thrall! You’re stealing my thunder.” Kim started to walk toward the platoon. “Bring it in.”
The recruits formed a half-circle around her. Christina and Auburn joined them.
“What he said is the most profound thing you will hear over the next month. I want you to commit that to your pea-brains. Everything you learn, and everything you do, will go to that basic concept. A warrior must be ready, willing, and able to fight. No matter what. Now get back in your racks. Morning will be here before you know it. And get some damn clothes on!”
CHAPTER SEVEN
The War Axe
Cory hesitated as she looked at the name emblazoned on the side of the frigate. They’d even included a graphic of a chariot in the shape of a spaceship, with Ramses, larger than life, holding reins that led to a nosecone with flames dancing back past the ship/chariot. She reached as high as she could to pat it. She whispered words that no one could hear and turned back.
Her eyes glowed blue and sparkled from within the Chariot’s shadow. She waved at her parents, who smiled and waved back. Dokken panted by her side. Cory grabbed a handful of the German Shepherd’s neck hair and together, they headed for the short stairs leading into the ship.
I’ll take care of her, Dokken told Terry Henry.
I know you will, buddy. I’m going to miss you. Terry screwed up his face in concentration as he used his chip.
Me, too, but we’ll be back. I put my faith in Ted and this ship to carry us where
we need to go.
“Son of a mother…” Terry stopped before he crossed the cursing line.
Char canted her head to look at him. “What did Dokken tell you?”
“Something like, all hail Ted,” he replied.
The speakers within the hangar bay energized with trumpets blaring, followed by harps running up and down the musical scales. A chorus sang, “All. Hail. Ted!” The voices dragged the last word out for an annoyingly long time.
Terry and Char waited patiently. Ted reached out the hatch and waved, followed by the weretigers. The three squeezed back inside and the hatch closed.
“Smedley,” Terry said calmly through gritted teeth. He clenched his fists until the veins stood out through his shipsuit. “If you ever do that again, I will dismantle you and jettison you from the nearest airlock.”
“Fine,” came the short answer.
Terry and Char moved to the side of the hangar to allow the large ship to move out. The frigate took up most of the empty space within the bay. It didn’t attempt to turn around, but backed through the forcefield and into space. Terry and Char both waved again, wondering if anyone would see.
Terry’s hand brushed against skin and he recoiled. Ankh stood next to them.
“How long have you been there?”
“The whole time,” the Crenellian replied. Terry was sure he hadn’t been, but Ankh wasn’t prone to lying. Terry decided it was best to let it go.
He turned to Char and his heart stopped. Tears streamed from her purple eyes, streaking down her face and dripping onto the front of her shipsuit. She didn’t attempt to stop them. He did the only thing he could—hugged her and waited.
Ankh walked across the hangar bay and started digging into a delivery canister. It was different than the others wedged into the back.
The frigate had dropped it off, and Ankh was digging into it, which meant that it held special items from R2D2, the Queen’s research and development section, customized by Ted.
Terry wanted to support his wife, but he also wanted to see if there any new additions to his unit’s arsenal. Char gripped his waist and rested her head on his chest. There was no end in sight. Terry started to breathe faster and shallower. He tore his eyes from the Crenellian and looked through the hangar doors where Ramses’ Chariot angled away from them. A gate formed and the ship shot through it like a lightning bolt. With a blinding flash, the ship and the gate were gone.
“Was it supposed to do that?” he asked.
Char looked up at him, her eyes red and puffy. He caressed the side of her face. His breathing slowed and he forgot about Ankh.
Until the Crenellian started hammering on a piece of metal.
“Go. You know you want to.”
“But you need me,” Terry said as his eyes darted to the canister.
“I appreciate that you are being supportive. I’m going to go to our quarters and lay down. Maybe watch The Sound of Music or something.”
Terry smiled and pulled her to him, kissing her slowly. They delayed going their own way until the time was right. Char headed for the hatch leading to the interior of the War Axe. She stopped before going in to see that Terry was still watching her.
“It’s Ted, of course that ship is going to have some pizzazz,” she said over her shoulder.
Terry laughed as Char disappeared into the ship.
Now, let’s see what kind of goodies we have.
Sheri’s Pride, Spires Harbor
“What are we going to do with that stuff?” Shonna asked. The Harborian Destroyer’s weapon systems had been removed and were floating free in space. In addition to the EMP weapon, the ship had a variety of guns and small missiles. It hadn’t used any of its kinetic weapons against the War Axe. The Bad Company hadn’t thought the ship had them and were surprised to find that it was heavily armed.
It was lightly armored, which they weren’t surprised by. Ten didn’t care about the human crew. If they were ejected into space, the evil AI could continue to fight the ship, that was, it could keep the ship engaged in combat. It needed the human crew to make repairs, but the AI was willing to sacrifice them and the ship to further its goals.
“Why didn’t Ten attack us with the entire fleet at Alchon Prime?” Merrit asked.
“I think the original purpose was to eradicate all life on the planet and then recover it, probably for mineral extraction or who knows what. Maybe Ten wanted more subjects to torture.”
“I’m glad we kicked that thing’s ass,” Merrit stated.
“Ted kicked that thing’s ass. And Ankh. Some of us just blew things up.” Shonna looked away. As an engineer, she had an affinity for profound explosions.
“And most righteously so, I may add. When do you think that thing will be ready to take to the asteroid belt?”
“A couple days. There’s already an unmanned fleet out there, but when we take Iracitus, then we’ll get a good look at how big we can make this project.”
“Iracitus? The ship has a name already? I always thought we’d call it something simple, like Merrit’s Awesome Mining Ship for Studs like Merrit.”
Shonna didn’t rise to the bait. “Iracitus is one of Plato’s stepchildren.”
“The ship already has an AI? How do we rate?”
“Maybe it’s because Ted has little faith in us or maybe it’s because Felicity asked. She wants this to be the biggest shipyard in the known universe,” Shonna replied.
“A bit ambitious, but I like it. Who wants to do something half-assed? If we have an AI and then add in some minions… Oh, yeah. I like where this is going.”
“We’re not getting any minions.” Shonna put her fists on her hips while giving Merrit the hairy eyeball.
“Of course we get minions. What good is being in charge if there’s no one to be in charge of?”
“We will have co-workers. All of them male. I’ll pick them out, so you don’t have to sully yourself.” Shonna smiled and returned to watching the progress on their ship.
“Wait a minute…”
Ramses’ Chariot, Unknown Space
“I’m sorry to report that we didn’t hit our target coordinates. Something pulled us off course,” Plato reported to those on the bridge. The silence of the AI running through petaflops of calculations weighed heavily in the air. Cory, Joseph, and Petricia stood at the back of the bridge and watched the main screen. There were only three positions—the captain’s chair, systems, and navigation—but only the captain’s seat was occupied.
Bundin remained in the corridor, because it was too narrow for him to get through the hatch and onto the bridge.
Ted clenched his fists. His eyes remained unfocused while his mind worked closely with Plato to troubleshoot the issue and rectify the problem.
Cory tensed. She’d expected to see Earth and instead, the screen showed a series of flashing lights against an unknown starfield. Joseph draped an arm over her shoulder. Dokken stood against her leg on the other side.
“Relax. We have two of the greatest minds ever working on the problem. We’ll be home in no time,” he said softly.
“Home,” Petricia pondered aloud. “I don’t think of Earth as home. Not anymore. This seems so much more comfortable to me.”
“A spaceship?” Cory wondered.
“Yes. I feel at peace while on a spaceship.” Earth had not been kind to her, and she didn’t miss it. As long as she was with Joseph and had her feet on a metal deck, she was right at home.
“Incoming,” Plato reported calmly over the ship’s speakers. “Shields are active and should hold against the first barrage.”
“First barrage? What the hell is going on?” Joseph demanded.
“We appear to be in the middle of an alien fleet. They have not welcomed our arrival.”
Ramses’ Chariot began a series of maneuvers. The passengers watched the starfield twist and turn until the frigate’s nose was pointed at a small fleet of ships.
“Ted?” Joseph said, voice rising in alarm. Joseph had
been born and raised in the age of horse and wagon. He never shared his fear of getting blown to bits in the vastness of deep space.
“Please put your hoods up,” Plato said cordially. Instantly, the humans responded, even Ted. Terry and Micky had drilled that emergency action into them until they could perform the routine in their sleep.
Which was exactly how emergency procedures were meant to be implemented.
The hoods sealed, the gloves wrapped around hands, and the bubbles filled with air.
“Ted?” Joseph repeated.
“We will cloak and maneuver in three, two, one.” The ship jinked sideways and then turned back toward the enemy vessels. The alien fleet had increased their plasma fire into the location where Ramses’ Chariot had been. Two missiles arced away from the biggest ship and raced past the Chariot.
Plato accelerated into the middle of the alien formation and stopped, holding position between the two largest ships.
“Plato?” Joseph asked, giving up on Ted.
“We cannot use our shields while cloaked, so it is imperative not to get hit by either energy or kinetic weapons. They are already changing their pattern of fire to blanket the area. The safest place to be is behind them.”
“And they can’t see us, not with their sensors or their eyeballs?” Cory wondered.
“Neither,” Plato responded.
“What are we doing now?” Joseph asked.
“Calculations are almost complete. The gate engine is recharged. Through the next gate, we’ll be in orbit around Earth.”
“What happened? How did we get here?”
“An unfortunate intersection between gates and the Etheric. We’re better now,” Plato said confidently.
“I don’t feel better,” Cory admitted. “I feel sick to my stomach.”
Joseph pulled her close. Dokken stuffed his hairy dog head into her hand. She ruffled his ears.
“Any idea who these aliens are?” Bundin asked. Joseph turned to look at the blue stalk-head and his four eyes. Joseph fancied himself an old English gentleman, so he didn’t comment.
“We are collecting a great deal of data now. After we’ve gated out of here, we’ll analyze the information.”
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