“It’s the kids, Gunny. And Nan. If Ot-Mul detected their whereabouts, he’s coming for them. He’s already got Dira.”
“Oh my God, Captain … I see them. There’s fifteen cruisers and one destroyer closing in on the convoy.”
Chapter 33
Boomer sat in between Mollie and Petty Officer Priscilla Miller. Across the aisle from them was Secretary of Defense Ben Walker. Boomer liked the old, somewhat gruff, government man. He was funny and didn’t treat her like a nine-, almost ten-year-old.
She was excited she’d soon see her mother again, but didn’t like the idea of leaving her dad up here in space. She felt it was her responsibility to watch over him. Sure, she was just a young kid, but she was resourceful—something her father once remarked was a most important factor when placed in a dangerous situation. She was more resourceful than anyone knew. She’d continued her close combat training. There was never a shortage of SEALs or other highly trained military people around on the Minian and The Lilly. Sometimes she’d had to tell a fib, here and there, to get them to work with her—saying the request came from her father, or her grandfather.
Boomer always knew she would make outer space her home. She loved the uncertainty space traveling provided, the mysteries of alien worlds, and the simple fact that space life was always a bit unsafe. But now more than usual she felt a little too vulnerable. Why had she agreed to leave Teardrop and Dewdrop behind? The two droids were rarely not at her and Mollie’s sides. But they’d both begun to have issues—technical problems. Ricket said it was a software thing … they’d be fine after he had a chance to work on them. So there they remained up on The Lilly’s Deck 4B in Ricket’s little workshop.
Boomer looked over to her sister. How could they possibly share the same DNA? Mollie couldn’t be more different. Sure, they were best friends, and constantly getting into trouble together—which was fun. But in the end, Mollie was much more like their mom. She even wore her hair in the same style—had similar mannerisms. Boomer took after her dad and wanted to grow up to captain her own ship someday—hopefully, The Lilly. She loved The Lilly … the ship was her home for close to two years and she couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. She knew her dad felt the same way, although he’d probably never admit it.
“Get your stuff together, girls. We’re almost there,” Priscilla said.
Boomer looked out the side observation window toward a distant cluster of white, bug-like, vessels. That would be her mother’s small armada of converted Craing warships. Excitement at seeing her mother again made her smile.
“I can’t wait to see Mom again,” Mollie said, grabbing up her backpack between her feet.
“How long will we stay on Earth?” Boomer asked, directing her question to Ben Walker.
“That’s not up to me, Boomer. At the very least, till things settle down up here and Ot-Mul and his forces are firmly dealt with.”
Boomer was well aware of the Allied worlds’ desperate situation with the Drac-Vin. The latter were probably going to win … that was the feeling most grown-ups held. She’d picked up on private, soft-spoken conversations and overheard meetings taking place in the adjoining ready room on the Minian. She felt she should be allowed to stay in space, be with her father and grandfather. Heck, Earth was no picnic ground either, with all those gross, zombie peovils running about everywhere.
“I’m staying with Mom. That’s all I know,” Mollie said to Secretary Walker and then directed her familiar, know-it-all smirk back at Boomer.
“Good!” Boomer replied.
Light poured in from the side observation windows as the Perilous entered the cruiser’s voluminous flight deck area. The shuttle settled softly onto the deck and immediately the rear hatch opened. The four passengers stood then—as did the three SEALs, their armed protection detail, seated at the back of the Perilous. They headed for the extended gangway.
Boomer was in the middle of the pack and tried to see around the adults. Something’s not right. She wasn’t exactly sure what—it was more a feeling than anything she could put her finger on. There was a lot of commotion below, on the deck, but from her limited perspective, all she saw were Craing. That by itself was not unusual. With all the merging of Craing and U.S. forces over the last few months, she’d seen many of the little aliens. But not exclusively Craing, like now … where were the humans? Where were the military personnel her mother had waiting for them? Where’s my mother?
“This isn’t right!” Boomer yelled. “It’s a trap!”
Petty Officer Miller was already moving, doing her best to corral Boomer and Mollie down the gangway. Their security detail, two in front and one behind, were bringing their multi-guns to bear, taking defensive stances. Secretary of Defense Ben Walker was in the process of crouching down when the first plasma blast hit his left eye. He was dead before his body tumbled off the gangway.
Instinctively, Boomer activated her SuitPac on her belt, then reached over and activated Mollie’s as well. Plasma fire was coming from virtually every direction. Snipers! They’d been in hiding, at key vantage points, all around the flight deck, just waiting to pick them off. One by one the three SEALs were targeted. Although they wore battle suits, the suits’ protective shielding couldn’t compensate, withstand the assault of the overwhelming barrage of hundreds of incoming plasma strikes simultaneously striking. All three toppled off the gangway. Petty Officer Miller, who still hadn’t activated her battle suit, was lying atop Mollie, covering her with her own body. She frantically looked for Boomer, desperate to protect her as well.
But Boomer was already on the move. Her last words to Mollie, via her NanoCom, were: “Activate Priscilla’s SuitPac. Reach behind you and—”
Her words caught in her throat. A swarm of armed Craing soldiers had surged around Petty Officer Miller and Mollie. A singular plasma blast, striking between the petty officer’s shoulders, ended her life.
Boomer, already sixty-five feet away, literally began running for her life. Up ahead was a small, somewhat hidden, stairwell. She knew the layout of the Craing light cruiser fairly well; she’d explored much of it before. Granted, she didn’t know it like she knew The Lilly or the Minian, but she’d easily been on a half-dozen or more of these disgusting, greasy ships over the past year. They always smelled of charred flesh—most surfaces coated with a thin layer of gunk. Her HUD clearly showed a small army of Craing in pursuit. Two other teams were approaching from outside the flight deck—one team from the deck above, the crew quarters area, and the other, from below. She tried to remember what was down there, but it wasn’t coming to her. She reached the stairwell, bypassing the hatchway, and ducked into a small dark alcove. This was one of the smaller, hidden secret areas she’d discovered in the past. The alcove turned into a dark and narrow passageway. Turning her helmet light on enabled her to pick up her pace. With a glance, she saw that Mollie’s life icon was still active; she was being moved to another area of the ship.
Boomer had hoped, prayed, Mollie would not be killed. She’d counted on that when she’d made her escape. Ot-Mul would want us as hostages. Well, Boomer wasn’t going to let that happen. This wasn’t her first rodeo. She’d get away from them and rescue her sister … is she my sister?
She reached the end of the passageway and found the metal rung ladder. She stopped to catch her breath. Looking up, she saw that the ladder reached high above her—intersecting multiple decks along the way. The light from her helmet cast illumination only part of the way up. The shaft reminded Boomer of a chimney—dark and cramped and scary. She noticed another set of life icons coming into view on her HUD. She’d changed the settings for those she was in contact with. The three-letter designation—one of the newer icons—simply read Mom.
Boomer started up the ladder and hoped she wouldn’t lose hold of the slippery rungs.
* * *
This wasn’t the first time Nan had occupied one of their small, eight-by-eight-foot holding cells. Here too sat a bucket in the corner, metal ba
rs, and the gagging smell of charred flesh. Years of smoke rising up from the Grand Sacellum—from the grilling caldrons below—permeated the air around her. She seemed to recall making a promise to herself to never ever be placed in this position again. She pictured Jason’s face and then his admonishment … How could you come here? How could you take such a risk?
Her hand reflexively went to her belly and the tiny life growing inside.
“Are you okay, Nan? Are you experiencing any pain?”
Nan shook her head and looked over at her neighbor in the cell adjacent. Dira was looking at her, concern in her eyes. Nan always considered her striking—beautiful—but seeing her now, in her formal attire, her shimmering robes and exotic makeup, she really was breathtaking. She didn’t blame Jason one iota for falling in love with this Jhardonian princess. Hell, she too could fall in love with her … and she didn’t think of women in that way.
“I’m fine. Just aggravated at myself. I shouldn’t have come. I just …”
“You don’t have to explain,” Dira said.
“You should sit … do not exert yourself,” came the deep voice of King Caparri. He’d been so quiet; Nan had forgotten he was being held in the holding cell next to hers to the right.
Nan leaned against the bars, which actually helped. She smiled at the king and brought her attention back to Dira on her left. “I just felt so isolated. I needed to see the kids.”
“And Jason,” Dira added.
This was still uneven territory for the two women. Another complication: she was pregnant with Jason’s baby. But she wasn’t going to make light of it. “Dira … I will always love Jason. He will always be a part of my life … even if that’s solely because we’ll share three kids. He’s made it clear to me where his heart lies, what he wants. He wants you. I pushed him away so many times in the past. It was never fair. And then, when this pregnancy occurred, well, it just happened. You two still hadn’t taken your relationship to the next level … it just happened. But I don’t regret it and I’m hoping you can get over it.” Nan looked over to Dira and saw that she was smiling.
“I’m glad to hear you say that, Nan. What Jason and I have is special. But you’d be surprised at how … what’s the best word—innocent—it still is. We haven’t actually …”
Nan held up her palms in mock surrender and laughed, “I don’t need to know the details. But I’m happy for you and Jason. It will be so wonderful if you, if we survive long enough …” Nan’s voice broke and her eyes welled up with tears. Everything was such a mess. Such a damnable mess. Before she could say another word, she heard the mechanical sound of the lift ascending, followed by a clanging as the gate lifted. Four Craing were dragging someone. In the dark, it was hard to tell.
“Mollie? Oh my God … is that you, Mollie?”
Chapter 34
Boomer waited for a grouping of eight Craing soldiers to move past her, then continued down the corridor. For goodness sakes, how many of the little buggers are there? Once she’d climbed free of the chimney-like shaft and onto the current deck, she began keeping her eyes open for new places to hide. At least she had a clear destination. She’d been watching her HUD and Mollie’s life icon joined her mother’s and Dira’s. She knew exactly where they were; they’d been taken to the holding cells. Minutes earlier, she’d contacted her father and told him what had transpired—their abduction, and that both Secretary Ben Walker and Petty Officer Miller had been shot and killed. He said he was on his way, telling her to stay put, hidden, until he got there; he made her promise not to try anything foolish on her own.
Boomer actually considered doing as he’d instructed, but then reason set in—the what ifs took over. What if her mother, sister, and Dira were tortured … or worse, killed, before her father could get there? What if her father never arrived … No, Boomer was here, now, and her father wasn’t. She couldn’t just hide; she had to do something.
In the past, Mollie and Boomer weren’t allowed to use their SuitPacs unless there was an emergency. That was stupid, because now she was unfamiliar with all its functionality. It wasn’t something she’d been able to sneak in trying out, either—the second she’d initiated the suit, it was detected by The Lilly’s or the Minian’s AI. So here she was, clueless on how to phase-shift. She’d forgotten what HUD menu or submenu to access. But Boomer wasn’t about to give up—she’d … what did they call it? Oh yeah, she’d multitask. She’d walk, run, hide … and, along the way, figure out the stupid HUD menu system.
* * *
“Oh my God, Mollie, are you okay?”
“I’m okay—” Mollie answered groggily, just coming around. “Boomer … she’s …”
Two of the four Craing soldiers held Mollie securely in their grasp. The third soldier gestured for Nan to step backward as he unlocked the cell door.
“She’s okay, Mollie. She contacted me via NanoCom.” At least, she had been ten minutes ago, Nan thought. She’d told Boomer to stay hidden. Not to try to rescue them. Apparently, Jason told her the same thing. The good news was he was en route—he and his team would get them out of here.
They threw Mollie into the cell and she staggered into her mother’s arms. Angered, Nan rushed the closing door, directing a kick at the closest Craing. She connected solidly to his stomach, driving him backward onto the catwalk. Startled, the other three jumped back. That was all King Caparri needed to make his move. He reached through the bars, his arms outstretched. Two necks were caught in strangleholds, by thick forearms and strong biceps. Two simultaneous cracks indicated both Craing soldiers were now dead. The king let their limp bodies drop down to the catwalk.
Dira yelled as she saw what was about to happen. “No!”
But her screams had no effect on the two remaining Craing. Both soldiers raised their weapons and fired into King Caparri’s holding cell. The blasts were sufficient to catapult him backward, into the rear of the cell. He remained standing for several moments, as if suspended, but then slowly slid down to the deck where he lay motionless.
“Father! Oh my god … Father!” Dira continued to scream … pleading for the king to say something … to show her he was still alive.
The Craing soldiers sneered at the captives and headed back toward the lift, dragging the corpses of the two dead soldiers behind them.
Nan, in the cell closest to the fallen king, moved to the bars separating them. “King Caparri!” She reached an arm through the bars and was able, barely, to touch his face. Dira continued to cry out from the cell on the opposite side.
Mollie joined Nan’s side and in a soft, almost whispered, voice asked, “King Caparri?”
His eyes opened. “Dira … you need to stop that relentless screeching. I’m not dead, but hearing you howl is making me wish I were.” He slowly turned his head in his daughter’s direction and gave her a weak smile. He then turned his gaze toward Nan and Mollie. “You must be Mollie? I’ve heard much about you. You and your sister are brave little girls. Like my own Dira, you don’t shy away from a fight.”
Mollie smiled at that. “We’re not actually sisters, you know. Boomer and me.”
“I do know that. But I suspect you are, in most ways … now, let me rest.” With that, the king drifted into unconsciousness.
Nan turned back to Dira, who was leaning against the bars of her cell. “He’s breathing … I think he was just stunned.”
Dira took in a tight breath and nodded. A faint smile crossed her lips. “I thought I’d lost him.”
* * *
Boomer had the distinct feeling they’d figured out how to track her movements. Four separate groups were closing in on her position from four separate directions. She hurried along a corridor while flipping through one wrong HUD menu after another. Where is it! Each time she thought she’d figured it out, she discovered it was just another dead end. She cursed her father for keeping her in the dark about the workings of the battle suit. Wait … this might be it. She followed the prompts and a new menu came up … she found
it! Now she needed to figure out the coordinates of where it was she wanted to go. She glanced at the life icons approaching her position and quickly turned down an intersecting corridor.
The plasma blast struck her visor, propelling her backward and onto the deck. Unhurt, she clamored to her feet and saw the approaching army of Craing men rushing toward her. With a fast check of her HUD, she saw there were just as many coming up behind her. She was trapped.
She knew the suits had plasma weapons integrated at both wrists. In fact, she’d passed through the menus for those several times by mistake. She needed to bring the weapons into a ready state … so they could be accessed from the primary HUD screen at all times. Now, where was that setting? More plasma blasts were hitting her battle suit, nearly knocking her off her feet again. As the Craing soldiers converged on her, front and back, she quickly spun around, not wanting them to get close enough to grab her. There were now sixteen Craing soldiers surrounding her. All were armed and yelling for her to stand still and raise her hands. It was only then that she noticed she’d found the weapons menu. She toggled the activation prompt. The integrated plasma weapon’s icon was now added to her primary HUD screen. She straightened her arms out and fired. The kickback on her shoulders was enough to spin her body—which was a good thing, because it allowed her to rotate like a top while continuing to fire at the soldiers. One by one they went down. She had no idea what strength setting she’d put on the wrist weapons, but it seemed to be effective. Charred black holes appeared in the chest, arms, and faces of the Craing soldiers. When they fell to the deck they didn’t get back up. With a moment’s more practice, Boomer felt in control and could use her wrist-mounted weapons with fairly accurate results. The last of the Craing soldiers had given up and were now running down the corridor. She let them go. She wasn’t about to shoot them in the back. There’d be nothing sporting about that.
Scrapyard Ship 7: Call to Battle Page 18
