“How drunk are you?” Mumlo managed to ask calmly. Bao hung his head, turned away, and Mumlo’s rage turned to pity. The first Officer recognized Human shame. “Drunk or not, you have to do this. You can do this. Come on.”
His massive, four-fingered hand clamped gently around Chanli’s upper arm. The engineer rose to his feet on rubbery legs.
“Let’s get you to engineering by way of medical.”
“Medical?” Chanli asked with uncertainty.
“I think the Doctor has something for Humans when they consume too much alcohol,” and Mumlo called for a crew member, any crew member, who was trained as a medic. With a skeleton crew, many had dual roles.
A female Human awaited them in the medical bay when Mumlo ducked his head to enter, Chanli in tow. The female Human wrinkled her nose at the sight and smell of the skinny, pale and rumpled engineer.
“What have you got for inebriated Humans?” Mumlo asked. The woman went to work without a word. She injected Chanli with a clear liquid from a traditional syringe, and kitted Chanli out with an oxygen bottle and mask.
“Not much can be done for drunks, even in this day and age,” the Junior Crew Member said with bald contempt. “But this should get him at least functional.” She shook her head and left the room in brisk fashion.
Mumlo dragged the errant engineer from the medical bay.
“Come on, Crewman Bao — Chanli, don’t let this defeat you. When this is all over, you and I will talk. You don’t have to live like this. I’ve seen this problem with Humans before. You get us out of this, like I know you can, and you and I will beat this thing together.”
Chanli said nothing, but the tears streaming down his face told Mumlo that he managed to find the right words. They paused at the doors to the engineering section. Mumlo seized Bao Chanli firmly by both shoulders that disappeared completely. Mumlo’s fingers rested on Chanli’s shoulder blades, and his palms covered most of the Human's chest. Bao looked up at him like a scolded child.
“Now you get in there and take command. We need you to get us moving. We need your best, and I know you have it, so show me,” and he turned Second Engineer Bao around and gave him a firm push through the door. Before the door closed, he added, “Because if you don’t, we’re all going to die.”
Back on the bridge, the crew finally found stable places. Display scrolls tacked, taped or magnetically fastened to nearly every flat surface flashed data and control icons of every conceivable stripe. A quick survey of the impromptu stations told Mumlo they were ready to go. It came none too soon.
“Captain!” Midge shouted, “We have an unscheduled shuttle launch!”
“Reggie!” Mumlo shouted in accusation.
“Sorry, Acting Captain,” Reggie said, with the emphasis on Mumlo’s rank. “No time to explain, Captain’s orders. The actual Captain, not the acting.”
“Yeah,” Mumlo growled in response. “I get it. Are we ready for the blink?”
“Yes, Acting Captain,” Reggie replied, with an odd mix of sarcasm and professionalism.
“Reggie! Set a course for new Detroit. Helm! Proceed with all haste at three-quarter C. Hit blinkpoint as soon as we exit the heliosphere.”
***
“Captain,” Reggie said with a professional tone that Drexler still found unnerving, “main ship reports fractional-C velocity. Second shuttle is launched as per your order. Enemy ship is still under travel preparation.”
Drexler was also shocked at his own reaction to his current situation. Never would he imagine himself a pirate, but a pirate his actions would make him. Drexler decided that his best chance of survival involved boarding and commandeering the Reptilian ship that threatened to destroy them. He was not sure where the inspiration came from, but he suspected it had something to do with the countless 20th and 21st century movies discovered in his childhood. Reggie never tired of showing him those movies, and Drexler never tired of watching them. None of the stories he saw as a child were ever stranger than life in space, so making plans based on their plots seemed a rational pursuit.
“Very good,” Drexler said. He forced calm into his voice with enough conviction to almost make himself believe his plan was sane and had some chance of success. As near as he could tell, Lieutenant Darzi and First Sergeant Kaur could not detect the deep well of cold fear that lay just below his cavalier facade. “Keep this shuttle at low velocity until the other shuttle catches up to us. Are we still below the detection threshold?”
“They should not see us. Intercepted traffic seems to indicate they don’t know where we are.”
“Very good. Once the second shuttle reaches us, I want you to let them see it. I want you to make them think that shuttle is us. We are going to sneak up on them undetected while they are focused on the second craft.”
“Sir,” Reggie replied, “How do you expect to do that?”
“Yes,” First Sergeant Kaur said, arms akimbo, “I would also like to know how you expect this to work.”
“I see several possibilities,” Drexler said, standing with a smile. He brushed past the Sergeant, said, “Pardon me, Ma’am.”
In the rear of the shuttle, the chaos faded into a mortuary mood. Drexler concealed his revulsion at the Insectoid and Human vital fluids that mingled in a pool of crusting horror on the deck plates. Both Dewey and Sergeant Jones slept, but not peacefully. Their wounds meant a protracted and painful recovery. It didn’t take a doctor to understand that.
“Ethan is stable,” Samuel reported to Drexler. Until that moment, the Captain didn’t know the wounded Human's first name. “Dewey is in rough shape. He’s young, so he’ll recover, but that wound was severe. He should regenerate the wing on his own, but I can't help the process here. I need my med bay.”
“We will get you back to your station, Doctor.” Drexler said. “I have a plan to do that.”
“I heard,” Samuel replied, “but I was too busy to stop you. What you’re thinking of is crazy.”
“No less crazy than the Reptilians trying to kill us. We stumbled upon their plans for war. Our new friends here confirm that.” Drexler said, using the word “friends” with more heat than he intended. “As I see it, this is our only shot.”
“When do we do this?” Samuel asked, resigned to the fact.
“When do I do this,” Drexler replied. Samuel’s eyes went wide, but Drexler continued before the objection erupted. “I need you here to tend to the wounded. You may have more before this thing is done. On the flipside, if this thing fails, you need to escape. They can’t go after Fleetfoot I and the shuttle at the same time. I’m taking Gajrup and all but one of the BJP soldiers. I figure, between two people on the ship and Reggie, we will have a little backup if things go south.”
Samuel stood shaking his head, “You’ve never handled a rifle until today,” he said.
Drexler smiled, said, “How hard could it be?” and he picked up Ethan’s weapon. “You aim the pointy end at the thing you want to destroy, look down the long part, then pull the trigger, right?” To emphasize the point, he mimicked the shooting posture he displayed by the soldiers and aimed at a blank bulkhead. He knew enough to keep his finger outside the trigger guard.
“Squeeze the trigger,” Kaur chimed in. She placed her foot between Drexler's and kicked his feet apart. “Bend your knees slightly and press forward.” she commanded, pressing down on his shoulders. “Focus through the front sight to the target before you. The front sight needs to be blurry, the target is your focus.”
Drexler smiled at the vote of confidence, “You see? No problem,” he said, carefully setting the rifle to lean back against the makeshift medical table. “There’s just a couple things I need to know from you, Doctor.”
Samuel raised his eyebrows in question. Drexler asked, “How long can Reptilians survive without oxygen?”
“A lot longer than most humanoids, due to their amphibian ancestors.”
“How long does it take them to pass out for lack of oxygen?”
; “From what I’ve seen? About 20 minutes.”
“Damn, that’s a long time,” Drexler said, studying at the blank bulkhead. It seemed his plans evaporated there.
“I think I see where you’re going with this, Drexler,” Reggie said, and Drex was grateful he used his name again. It felt like old times. “I might have a solution.”
“Then you know what I want you to do.”
“Already on it. I have access to their subsystems, but not their main control systems. I can shut off their life support section by section and make it look like battle damage. If I time it right, the failed ship sections will force them to retreat into one section, where I will cut off their oxygen and put them to sleep.”
“Reggie, you magnificent bastard,” Drexler said, “That’s exactly what we need to happen. One more thing: do these rifles have non-lethal settings?”
“My scans indicate they do,” Reggie replied when nobody else did.
“Then, that’s what we will use. We don’t want to kill any Lizards unless we have to, is that clear?” A quick survey of the Human soldiers told him it was not. “Look, It’s a practical matter. The more Lizards we kill, the harder it will be to avoid more violence.”
“I understand,” Darzi said. “Non-lethal settings unless absolutely necessary. That’s an order.”
“This is the dumbest, craziest thing I’ve ever heard.” Samuel said, shaking his head in disbelief. “What if they suit up when they see all these critical failures? So many other things will go wrong, I can’t decide which one to bring up first.”
“That’s not for you to worry about,” Drexler snapped. “Your job is to stay here, tend the wounded and prepare for casualties.” Samuel glared back, a red hue of anger appeared beneath the rich brown skin of his cheeks.
“Don’t worry, Doctor,” Reggie said, “I won’t give them much time to get to safety gear, and if they do, they will be surprised to find it non-functional.”
“Gajrup,” Drexler said, turning to his engineer, who stood wide-eyed and incredulous. “I need you on your best game here. Once Reggie hacks their command systems, I’ll need you to manage that ship.”
“Yes,” Reggie chimed in, “I need you onboard to hack the final systems. It’s the only way. Their encryption can’t be defeated, so we will need to land in a cargo bay, take their main systems offline, and replace it with me, that is, this shuttle.”
“If we do that,” Gajrup said, “There is no turning back. This shuttle will no longer be viable once the systems are integrated.”
“So you understand the plan, then,” Drexler replied, his eyes boring deeply into Gajrup’s. The Engineer nodded his head gravely.
“Just remember, and this is key,” Drexler said, turning his face to each crew member in turn. “The less damage we do, the more chances we have when this thing is done.”
“I don’t know how you figure we have any chance if this thing gets done.” Kaur snapped. “What do you plan to do with the Lizards once they’re unconscious, negotiate with the Empire? I say we leave their oxygen off and jettison the bodies.”
Lieutenant Darzi took a deep breath and exercised restraint, “Sergeant,” she began in a firm tone, “I understand your feeling on this, but we are not executioners. We are soldiers of the BJP, no matter what. We may be disavowed, but that is no reason for us to abandon the principles we swore an oath to uphold. We do not kill without good reason. If the Lizards offer no immediate threat, they live. End of story.”
Kaur glared with open frustration at her Commander. The other two soldiers studied the interaction with great interest. It appeared to Drexler that their little command structure was breaking down. This was welcome news to his own authority, and he aimed to take full advantage of the growing vacuum.
“We all know what we have to do.” Drexler said, checking each face.
“That’s great,” Reggie said, “Because this is about to go down in the next ten minutes.”
The unmanned shuttle loomed shockingly large on the monitor screen.
“We’re going to crash!” Sergeant Kaur shouted on seeing how close the shuttle came. Another voice replied, belonging to Reggie. There were now two complete copies of Reggie’s AI out in space.
“I’m a much better pilot than that, First Sergeant,” Reggie 2 said.
“Yes, we are,” Reggie 1 replied to his duplicate AI.
“This is getting confusing,” Gajrup said.
“Getting?” Drexler replied. Gajrup couldn’t help but return the wry smile on his Captain’s face. He chuckled in spite of himself. Drexler clapped him on the shoulder.
“Come on Gajrup, It’s time for us to repay Dewey and Ethan for saving our asses,” then, turning to the rest, Drexler shouted a statement in the form of a question. “Are you ready!”
“Yes!” Kaur replied.
“Are you good and ready!” Drexler shouted this time.
“Yes!” the rest of the crew shouted back, even Tara and Huey.
Everyone picked up a weapon as the two shuttles gained speed. Reggie kept both close enough to appear as one sensor reading as they approached the enemy craft from the other side of the planet. Drexler and Gajrup sealed themselves back inside the combat EV suits. Reggie piped in the mission statistics on their heads-up displays. They were close.
20
Abhay ordered the skimmer pilot to head due south over the continental sea at mach seven. After a full hour of flight, he ordered the pilot to hold a meter above the water. He opened both gullwing doors and let in the salty breeze. This inland sea was almost as large as the Atlantic Ocean of old earth. It was the perfect place to get away. The Senator leaned over the door sill and watched at the whitecaps whipped up by a breeze that almost managed to drive away the hum of the magnetic repulsors that kept the skimmer hovering.
“Almost makes me want to take a swim,” Abhay said. His bodyguards exchanged worried glances.
“Why are we here?” Malik put forth bluntly.
“We probably beat their surveillance this far out. We need to talk, and besides, I love the sea.”
“I’m listening,” Malik replied. Jabir and Madhuk remained silent.
“With any luck, I can hold on to my Senate seat, but my military career is likely over,” Abhay said, hanging further over the sea. “That means one of you, or all, will have to step up.”
“None of us have the rank,” Jabir said, finally breaking his silence.
“Rank is not everything,” Abhay replied.
“Oh no? Did you not grow up under BJP rule?” Jabir lashed back.
With that, Abhay turned to face Jabir. It was as if he saw his old friend for the first time. The man had never spoken to Abhay so frankly.
“How long have you been holding on to this resentment?” Abhay asked.
“Since birth,” Jabir said, his face splitting into a wide grin. White teeth formed a Cheshire Cat portrait, but his eyes were hard. “You forget; my family has been Untouchable for a thousand years. I’m the first of my line to rise this high.”
“So you don’t want to jeopardize your family name,” Abhay said, looking away.
“Of course not. Would you judge me for that?”
Abhay snapped back to face Jabir, “Never believe that! I just confirm where you stand. You have an equal duty to your family. You are my loyal friend.”
“You mean your loyal servant,” Jabir replied.
“Of course, you are my Servant.” Soon, I will be yours. This is Karma, nothing more. We all have our roles to play.”
Madhuk remained disturbingly silent. His eyes passed across the distressed faces of his friends and colleagues. “You all outrank me,” Madhuk said.
Abhay shook his head as if waking from a daydream. “What does that have to do with anything? Soon I will have no rank, if this thing plays out like it should.”
“And I never married,” Madhuk added.
“Have you bumped your head?” Malik asked him.
“Far from it. My head is clear.
I have always pursued duty. Where it is my duty to serve, I serve. Where it is to follow, I follow. If I am called upon to lead, I lead.”
“Nobody here doubts your honor,” Abhay said.
“Of course,” Madhuk replied. “I know this.”
“So then, what are you getting at?” Malik demanded.
“I’m saying that I want nothing else. You all do. You want your careers, your family names, and you want them all to be sources of honor. You have achieved all that I cannot. I know I’ll never have a family. If I’ve proved anything to myself in this life, it is that I can do only one thing.”
“And what is that,” Abhay asked, truly perplexed.
“Whatever you ask of me, because I trust you. I believe in you. I believe in us. We have a single purpose. This war must be stopped at any cost, and if we can’t, we must win it at any cost. I am willing to pay, because I can. I can do this where you all cannot.”
The skimmer cabin grew silent and the lapping waves seemed far away. Abhay cast his eyes out across the water to calmer seas where he found the thin, gray line of the horizon. Beyond that line, a war approached. Every man on the skimmer understood that their world was not ready. How could they be, after six centuries of peace? Of the many billions of Humans across the galaxy, few understood war.
***
Two solid days of travel brought the Reptilian Alpha Ship to the edge of a thick heliosphere. Sslolg ordered the transition to blinkpoint well before the safe limit of particle density. First officer Gholss relayed the order to blink with heedless confidence born from his newly discovered lust for victory. That lust was evident to Sslolg in word, deed and physical presence. Alpha Commander Sslolg tasted the violence wafting from his First Officer’s skin. The heady flavor elevated Gholss from a potential meal to a true partner. Sslolg had his first victory even before engaging in battle. The first officer who he previously considered a weakling suddenly rose to be a worthy officer and rival.
“This!” Sslolg bellowed from the Alpha Commander’s platform at the center of the bustling bridge, “This is how Reptilians run a ship! We go to battle today! I smell no fear, only passion for victory! Today you make me proud! Today you give pride to all our people!”
Fleetfoot Interstellar: Fleetfoot Interstellar Series, Book 1 Page 17
