by Ryan Krauter
She put the flashlight in her teeth to get both hands free and fumbled with the bottom of the panel that held the hatch controls. A second later, she heard a compliant 'click', and the panel swung open revealing a few boards, some wires, and a small lever. She pulled the lever from its upright position down towards her, which now blocked the panel from closing, and in the process heard a deep 'clunk' from inside the frame; the hatch's lock was released.
She pushed on the hatch, slowly sliding it sideways into the frame. After she had it about halfway open, there was enough room for her to squeeze through and she did exactly that. She was in the large ready room where Captain Sosus would conduct briefings for her squadron, but there was nobody in sight. She heard a loud noise, like a tool dropping on the armored decking, and her head spun towards the platform where the ready room adjoined the hangar itself. The fact that the pass-through doors were closed was possibly a good sign; it meant the hangar was ready to be used for combat operations.
Picking her way through the darkened room and walking across the operations platform, she saw a sight that gave her the faintest hope that things might still be alright. In the hangar, crew were running about in mad fashion, yelling requests and reports, flashlight beams cutting the gloom and highlighting areas of interest. She saw Captain Sosus at the same time that her own flashlight beam gave her away, and the CAG of Avenger's fighter craft jogged over to the ensign from where she had been directing the crew in the hangar.
"Ensign Lya Stryder, Captain," she said, snapping to attention as Cory passed through the hatch and stood on the ops platform with her. "I have a message from the captain."
Corinne Sosus nodded sagely and waited. "He says to launch everything you have and defend Avenger while we try to restart the ship."
"That's exactly what we're working on," Sosus replied with a determined look on her face. "Please tell the captain we'll start kicking ships out in a minute or two."
"Yes, ma'am," Stryder replied, and turned to begin the long trip back up to the bridge.
Captain Elco stood on the bridge staring at the empty holo generator at the front of the room. Perhaps if he simply willed it into existence, he could make an image spring forth from the projectors...
He heard a series of clicks behind him, then the thrum of equipment drawing power. He turned in excitement as the center overhead light ballasts flashed to life. It wasn't the whole system, but it was a heartening beginning. Among all the dark and lifeless consoles and screens, a single one lit up and started showing information once again.
It was Lieutenant Caho's Sensors station, and if he wanted any one bridge console to have power right now it was hers.
"What's going on out there, Lieutenant?" Elco asked quickly.
Lieutenant Caho spun her chair back into place and took in everything. "Just getting raw data for now; combat computer's still offline, but I can make out the inputs, just give me a sec-" Her eye widened and she turned to the helm officer.
"Jax! Turn us fifteen to starboard right away!"
The helm officer obeyed instantly, something about her tone enforcing a sense of urgency that made him bend right to his task.
Caho turned to Captain Elco, a hint of fear in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Captain! It's just that there's something out there right in front of us, something really big, and-"
"No harm done, Lieutenant," Elco assured her, "as long as we don't crash. And maybe you'll get my chair someday, too, but not for a while, ok?" he finished with a quick grin.
The inertial dampers were still offline, so they felt Avenger change course ever so slightly, the process taking much longer than normal since only maneuvering thrusters were available. Suddenly there was a dull thump that rocked the crew a bit in their seats. A few seconds of something scraping, digging into the outer hull followed, and then it ceased.
A bead of sweat rolled down Lieutenant Caho's temple now as she became completely immersed in her task. She studied passive sensor inputs, gravitic distortions, energy signatures and was even able to bring up a display showing where objects within the immense tractor field were blocking the sun's light and creating shadows. Her hands danced over the controls, and twice more she issued course changes, though this time they weren't so urgent and she was able to offer them as recommendations to Captain Elco and let him give the orders.
Suddenly, she saw several new contacts at once. Some were much closer than others, but they were all powered and maneuvering. "Oh damn," she muttered, and Elco heard. He took a few steps to get back to her station.
"What else is out there going wrong for us?" he asked her quietly.
She used her sleeve to wipe another bead of sweat off the bridge of her nose. While the ship was apparently getting power back, the environmentals were still offline, and without the fans and fresh air the bridge was starting to get warm and a little rank.
"More contacts, from two different directions," she replied distractedly. "I count three close abeam, no wait, make that four. They look like... Captain, they're ours. Looks like two Intruders and two Talons. Captain Sosus is getting her fighters outside!"
"Excellent," said Elco, relieved that something was going well. "What about the other one?"
"Looks like two, actually," she replied, the excitement gone from her voice. "I make them out as Priman cruisers." She turned to Captain Elco. "Two of them are following us inside the shipyard."
Halley was trying to figure out her next move. With the admission by First Officer Daemon about the real purpose behind the cargo pod exchange, she was now on the clock. She had to assume that most of the pirates didn't know the whole story, and that most were still just your garden variety villains engaged in the time honored tradition of theft and son-of-a-bitchery. But it wouldn't be long before the pod transfer was complete, and once that happened she doubted they'd have enough time to investigate every pod destined for the Callidor system without revealing to the entire crew what was going on and dealing with the resulting chaos and potential mutiny.
No, she had to fix this before they reached their destination if there was any way for her to salvage the mission. Which meant she needed to identify the explosive-filled pods and rid the Solar Venturer of its pirate infestation. What she really needed was Web, but he and the captain still weren't back from his cabin, which was starting to seem like a whole other sort of trouble.
She was caught off guard when her data pad vibrated twice. Not expecting any sort of call or notifications, she covertly checked the screen and saw a plain text message from Web. Much more going on than thought, he began. Captain in neck deep with third party, need to meet at our rendezvous. Took out two pirates, things will turn to sheifah soon.
Leave it to Web to help keep things interesting, she thought as she surveyed the room. They were down to a single pirate at each access hatch now, and she realized it was time to act as if their lives depended on it.
"I have a plan, but you may not like it," Halley said to Daemon. "If you don't, I don't care. Just stick close." They walked near the hatch on the port side of the compartment and stopped when the human pirate at the door wearing the scarred EVA suit parts started to brandish his rifle at them.
"Excuse me, Mr. Pirate," Halley said, trying her best to sound meek and scared. "First Officer Daemon wants me to open up the food locker and hand out some ration packs. Is it okay if we go into the galley?"
"I want some first," the grizzled man replied, eyeing up Halley and the FO in a way that made it fairly obvious what was on his mind. Maybe she could use that. "It's in a storage locker in the back of the galley," she continued, painting a picture of seclusion that would tempt him if his mind was headed down the dark path she seemed to notice on his eyes.
"I'll go with you," he said, eyes lighting up with everything Halley had come to expect of him since she'd made her assessment a few seconds ago. He turned to Daemon and pointed a finger in her face, so close she had to tilt her head back to avoid contact. "I'll just be a minute; anyone leaves here, I
'll kill you first before I go finish them. Clear?"
Daemon nodded, then looked worriedly at Halley, who just nodded and tried to not appear too eager to get this piece of human garbage alone.
"It's this way," Halley assured the man, and they disappeared through the hatch into the galley spaces. She caught a glimpse of the pirate on the other side of the compartment grimacing at her and the man following, and felt assured that the intent was clear. Nobody would expect this man back for a little while.
They walked into a closed storage locker, and Halley turned around as soon as she heard the hatch close. He locked it with a twisted grin and before she knew it he had his right hand on her throat, pushing her forcefully against the wall. She grabbed his hand with her left and struck his face with her own right hand, then brought her own left elbow over his arm and created an arm-bar as she spun as hard as she could to her right. The maneuver forced him to lean forward and he hit the hard metal bulkhead face-first; she followed with a vicious chop to the back of the neck. He went to the ground, groaning softly as he lapsed into unconsciousness. She ran to a shelf and grabbed a handheld package-sealing device, then returned to the pirate and bound his legs and hands around a support column. Then she ran it over his mouth, gagging him that way. His nose wasn't broken, or breathing might have been impossible in that situation. She felt no pity for him either way as she grabbed his rifle.
As quietly as she could, she crept back out of the locker and set the rifle on the ground where there were boxes of ration-pack meals ready to use. She hefted two boxes and brought them to the galley/mess hall pass-through. "Ration meals, everyone," she called out in a neutral voice, and the two dozen or so crew in the mess hall immediately headed for the counter.
Using the swelling crowd as a distraction, she retrieved the rifle and headed to the hatch leading back into the galley. She saw First Officer Daemon standing by the hatch, shifting weight back and forth from one foot to the other. Halley walked out slowly, rifle held low against her leg as she backed towards the hatch. "
When I move, you do the same," Halley commanded to Daemon, whose eyes went wide as saucers when she saw Halley's newly-acquired rifle. Halley simply grinned, and it seemed to unsettle the first officer a bit. Good.
Halley waited for her moment, then saw it. With the milling crowd hovering around the serving counter, the other pirate's view of the hatch they were standing by was blocked. Halley reached back with her free hand, smacked the release tab and the door slid into the frame. She spun out into the hall, bringing the rifle up in a practiced move in case there were any unexpected patrols in the area. Daemon followed her.
"We'll have some time before the other guard gets jealous of the one who followed me," she said softly to the FO. "That gives us a few minutes before anyone notices we're gone. Let's get moving; we're going to find a place to access the computer functions of this ship and track those cargo pods. All the obvious places are either occupied or probably locked out, but I have another idea. You know that cargo loadmaster who's new to the ship?"
Daemon just nodded as she kept within a step behind Halley as she fast-walked through the corridors, rifle to her shoulder and pointed downrange. "Name's Barazian, I think. Pretty good with the computers, if I remember. Maybe that's why they took him with the captain before."
"My thoughts exactly. Guy like that will have some of his own tech in his quarters; I guarantee it." Halley was leading Daemon into the cover identities she and Web had created. Even though they needed to meet up, if she had the FO believing it was a coincidence, they could quite possibly deal with the pirates without blowing their cover. To do that, she still had to meet Web, and now that she had the FO believing he was an expert hacker it wouldn't be a stretch to want to gain access to his quarters. It would just be a pleasant surprise that Web would be there when they arrived.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Web, by the same token, was trying his best to buy Halley some time before having to decide on a course of action. Captain Two-Swords was jittery but not suspicious; that would change the longer they stayed put in Web’s quarters.
"So what do we do?" asked the captain. "I assumed that since you needed a hardwired terminal to access the manifests in the first place, you'd need another one to delete them. Do we just go back to my quarters?"
"No," replied Web. "That's a point of interest to the pirates now. They know your safe is in there, and they'll be watching it. We need to find another access point, maybe in the cargo center now that the computers are carrying out the pod releases automatically."
That's when Web heard the lightest of taps on the outer hatch. His hand went to the gun in his rear waistband, and he had it out and pointed at the door before the shaky captain could raise his own.
"Don't just shoot anything that comes through there," Web cautioned. "In fact, take your finger off the trigger and rest it on the slide above the trigger guard, ok?"
The captain grudgingly obeyed, and Web slid to the hatch. He hoped it was Halley out there, but wasn't going to take any chances.
He waited for the hatch to release and slide open, then held his gun up to the head of the first person to enter. It was Halley.
"You'll want to stop right there, lady," he said, trying to not break into a big stupid grin at the sight of her. "I've got the drop on you."
"You sure?" she asked innocently, then gestured with her eyes downward. Her rifle was held up just high enough that the barrel pointed right at Web's privates. "Let's not do anything silly."
"As long as you're not here on behalf of the pirates, you're our new friends."
"Agreed." Halley lowered her weapon and gestured with her chin for Daemon to enter. She and Captain Two-Swords exchanged surprised looks as the hatch closed behind Halley.
"Captain!"
"First Officer Daemon!"
They quickly approached each other, neither having the slightest idea of the other's affiliations.
Web and Halley took the opportunity to strike up a quick conversation, though they knew the freighter's top two crewmembers would be listening.
"So," Web began, "you're the cute girl from Engineering the guys have been talking about."
Halley gave him the eye. "And you're the cargo guy my department told me to avoid. What was your name? Barbarian?"
"Barazian," Web said proudly. "And you should give me a chance."
"We'll see." Halley looked around at Web's quarters, a place she hadn't been able to visit while aboard. She looked at the captain and first officer while doing her survey, and saw they were deep in conversation about something or other. "How many did you take out?" she asked Web.
"Two," he replied with a sheepish look, "but the first was really sad. I'd call it more like one. How about you?"
"Only one, but he got a hand on my throat before my setup was ready."
"I'll bet he regretted that."
"Let's call Round One even between us. I still think I'll take down more than you," she challenged.
"Then let's start with the pirate in charge," Web continued. "I have him stashed in the bathroom of a vacant crew quarters. If they've been swapping in cargo pods, he should know which ones were filled with explosives. Maybe we can figure out a way to keep their two escorts from blowing us up as well."
"Provided he knows anything," said Halley guardedly. "He’s probably just in charge of the boarding party."
"Let's find out."
"What's the plan?"
"We're going to a decontamination chamber in the cargo control center, and we'll need the pirate to come with us."
"What about these two?" Halley asked. "Do they both know they're supplying the resistance on the surface?"
Web just stared at her, mouth hanging open. "Two-Swords is a collaborator. He's been handing off information and supplies to the Primans at their ports of call. Daemon is with a resistance movement?"
"What the hell," Halley muttered. "People are such a pain in the ass. Yeah, she's admitted that some of these pods
were filled with goodies for the resistance on the surface. But at least one or two of these pirates is in on it as well. A few of these pods were probably identified by the resistance as ripe for the picking, and as payment for the information the pirates do them a favor while they're taking what they want from this ship; they know some of the pods are destined for the surface to resupply the resistance and so leave those alone, while some of the pods they took are going to get swapped back aboard filled with explosives. The pirates get a few containers of goodies and head off on their merry way. Meanwhile, the ship completes her run to the net port of call not knowing they have some pods aboard filled with evil little surprises inside. They go down to their delivery points and then explode."
"That's why all the feeds from the cargo areas are out," Web realized. "We won't know which ones are filled with bombs or even which ones they took in the first place."
"And if we hadn't intervened, Venturer would have just picked up where they left off before the hijacking, gone to the Callidor system, and offloaded her pods. I wonder how many are for Callidor."
"I moved at least twenty since I got aboard," Web replied. "We could just jettison everything bound for Callidor."
"Then you and I wouldn't have a ride to the surface since there would be nothing to deliver. No, we need to figure this out if we can."
"Captain's going to keep his mouth shut," Web assured her, "and in return I don't tell the crew about his collaborator agenda. What about Daemon?"
"She seemed pretty ashamed when I confronted her about the collateral damage. She thinks she's pretty tough from a distance, but this close to the action she's having a little trouble thinking like a revolutionary."
The forward section of the cargo deck had two decontamination chambers which were nothing more than sealed rooms that were part of the external airlocks. The reason was that if any sort of hazardous material or contamination escaped a cargo pod, the crew could hide safely inside and enter lock-down with their own food and air supply, or also use it as a decontamination chamber where they could be treated for various forms of illness or contagion.
