by Jeff Walsh
“Computer, status?” Taam yelled out.
“A Central Core Delukxar battle class ship, Imperium, has dropped cloak fifty dranecs from engine bay five,” the ship's computer said. Its voice fuzzy and cutting out. “The Platnium IV's travel matrix has been destabilized and we are propulsion locked. A matter beam has been fixed on our location.”
Chapter 9
“We won't make it to the pods,” Bartl said. “The matter beam will have us in less than two minutes.”
Taam immediately began working a wrist unit on his left arm.
“Taam, don't you—” Bartl said.
A moment later, Anthony, Genny, and Bartl were in a small room facing a control console.
“That blatnard,” Bartl blurted out. “Sit down and strap in.”
“What's going on?” Genny asked. “Where are we? Where's Marcus?”
“Taam evac'd us to one of the escape pods using his mobile unit,” Bartl answered as he plopped down into the command chair of the pod. “Marcus is with Taam. Now do as I said, sit down and strap in. The Platmium is being matter locked and we have to decouple from the ship before it reaches us. So sit tight, escaping the Imperium's defense system won't be easy, or gentle.”
҉
“Where's Genny and Anthony?” Marcus blurted out. “What was that?”
“I've evac'd them to an escape pod,” Taam answered. He stepped around to the backside of Alvin and grabbed hold of a metal plate. He dug his fingers around the edge and yanked. The plating came free and Marcus watched as Taam withdrew a long black metallic bar. It had blue rectangles and squares scattered all over its surface.
“What is that?” Marcus asked.
“It's Alvin's memory core and operating system” Tamm responded. “Here,” he said as he tossed it to Marcus and began to press another series of buttons on his wrist unit. With a sudden flash of blue he and Marcus were now standing in an escape pod.
“Are Genny and Anthony okay?” Marcus asked.
“Yeah,” Taam answered. “Bartl'll get em to safety.” He took Alvin's core from Marcus and slid it into an open slot on the main console.
“You with me old friend?” Taam asked.
“I sure am Captain,” Alvin's voice came over the intercom. “Thanks for grabbing my core. I'm sorry I couldn't warn you of the Imperium sooner.”
“Don't worry about it,” Taam said. “Our Zorg hijacker must've been a little more adept with our system than we gave him credit for.”
“It does appear his bragging was somewhat warranted,” Alvin said. “I've cleared all the uploaded files of the virus; I'm operating at full core capacity once again.”
“Good to hear it,” Taam said.
“Why didn't you send me with them,” Marcus questioned as he stared blankly into space through the main display. “That's my wife. I need to be with my wife.”
Taam sat and strapped himself into the command chair, “Sit down. Strap in. This isn't going to be pleasant.”
“Oh geeze,” Marcus said. He sat and fumbled with the straps.
“Hit the square red button on the right side of your seat,” Taam said.
Marcus hit the button and the straps sprung to life. They crisscrossed over his chest and buckled in. Then another strap shot across his waist. He felt his head pull back into the head rest slightly, then all the straps went tight.
“Why did you send Genny and Anthony with Bartl?” He asked sternly.
“Bartl is the only one who can fly these things, besides me,” Taam answered. “I had to split you up; the pods only hold three.”
“You know what I mean,” Marcus responded.
“Breathe deep,” Taam said. “I'm decoupling the pod and punching it.” He slammed a dual lever forward and pulled back on the pod's control column.
Marcus felt the pod drop free from the Platnium IV. Engines roared to life from behind them. Space began to spin in front of them. The pod launched out. Taam pulled up and to the left. Their escape pod dropped into a spin. A moment later flashes of red began lighting up all around them.
“What's happening?” Marcus asked.
“We're being shot at,” Taam answered. “They're going to try and knock out our propulsion and matter lock us.”
“Matter lock us,” Marcus repeated. “What's that?” He felt his stomach turn.
“Tractor beam,” Taam said. “Think tractor beam, but it locks everything in place. The ship's movement, our movement, everything gets locked down. But matter locks are slow. A ship the size of the Platnuim takes two, two and a half minutes, to completely lock. A ship this small, a matter beam'll freeze us before we can even react.”
“Are Genny and Anthony okay?” Marcus asked.
“I have them on display,” Taam answered. They're out in front of us by eight dranecs. They're taking fire.”
“Please be okay. Please be okay.” Marcus muttered to himself.
“Bartl's one of the best pilots in the galaxy,” Taam said. “So it's not them that you should be worried about.”
“Please don't let us die. Please don't let us die,” Marcus began to mutter.
“That's more like it,” Taam said.
҉
“Wow,” Bartl blurted out. “Their targeting systems are top notch.”
“Where are Marcus and Taam?” Genny asked.
“Don't worry,” Bartl answered. “Taam made it out before the matter lock reached the pods. He's about eight dranecs behind us. I'm running the Imperium's sensors wild. At the moment we seem to be the primary target.”
“You're enjoying this,” Anthony stated. “Aren't you?”
“I'm definitely not hating it,” Bartl said emphatically.
“He's crazy,” Anthony said to Genny. “He's certifiably crazy.”
“Kids,” Bartl said to Genny and Anthony. “I've been outrunning gunner ships since before your planet learned the wheel. Taam's a good pilot, but against a gunner ship, I'm better. We fly crazy, draw their fire, and hopefully we'll all make it out of this.”
A red flash lit up the inside of the pod as it shook slightly.
Bartl let out a laugh, “That one almost hit us.”
Genny and Anthony looked at each other sideways.
“I'm telling you,” Bartl said with excitement. “This ship has one heck of a targeting system. I might actually need to try something new.”
“Are Marcus and Taam going to be okay?” Genny asked.
“Should be,” Bartl responded.
A much brighter purple blast lit up their pod and the entire thing shook violently this time.
“Those dirty plooks,” Bartl blurted out. “They're not playing around.”
“What was that?” Anthony asked.
“No more matter blasts,” Bartl answered. “They've deployed pulse cannons. They can't catch us so I guess the next best option is to blow one of us up.”
“You can keep that from happening,” Anthony said. “Right?”
“Yup.” Bartl responded quickly then paused and said, “That's not the problem.”
“There's a problem?” Anthony said with panic in his voice.
“Yeah,” Bartl responded. He jerked hard on the control column. “They've stopped firing on us.”
“That's good,” Genny said. “Why is that a problem?”
“They're focusing on Taam,” Bartl said.
҉
“Sons of a bunch of flurtnads,” Taam blurted out.
“What?” Marcus asked. “Is Genny okay?”
“Yup,” Taam answered as he put the pod into a dive. He pulled hard and to the right. Three bright purple explosions rang out all around them. Their pod shook hard.
“Captain,” Alvin said. “I'm adjusting engine power to match your defensive maneuvers. But they're predicting our movements despite my efforts. I suggest a different approach.”
“I'm working on it Alvin,” Taam responded.
“They've ceased their fire of matter locks,” Alvin said.
“Thank goodness,”
Taam said.
“They have however, switched to pulse cannons,” Alvin said.
“Blatnard,” Taam blurted out.
҉
“Why?” Genny yelled. “Why are they focusing on them? I thought you said we'd draw their fire.”
“We're out of range,” Bartl said. “We can punch it now and be gone.”
“You're leaving them?” Anthony yelled out.
“You can't!” Genny screamed. “That's my husband.”
“I need you two to trust me,” Bartl said.
Genny closed her eyes. Her breathing was short.
Anthony looked to her, “Gens?”
“I do,” she said. “We do.”
“I may be a better pilot,” Bartl said. “But if someone is getting caught, it better be us. My days of intrusion and extraction are far behind me. We'll just hope Taam and your dear hubby can grab us before it's too late.”
Bartl pulled hard on the control column. The pod spun and climbed upward. A few moments later the bottom of the Imperium came into view. Bartl pressed a button on the main console.
“This is Bartl Heezarian. I have the passengers you're hunting. Initiate docking procedures and cease fire on our other pod. We'll come quietly. Cease fire on the other pod.”
“Bartl Heezarian,” a voice came over their comm system. “This is the Imperium. Enter remote code Alpha Hat 01-9V into your ships nav unit and allow us to take control of your vessel.”
“Cease fire,” Bartl responded, “or I'll drain our light drive and punch it. It'll scatter our remains across half this galaxy, but the hole I'll leave in your pretty ship will be devastating.”
“Your threats are empty Bartl,” the voice said. “You're in an escape pod. You wouldn't even scratch us, let alone breach our hull. We've scanned both pods. You have no weapons, no threats, so we have no problems. Hand over remote control or we blow up Taam and the other.”
“Kids these days,” Bartl turned and said to Genny and Anthony. “They can't even do a proper scan.” He turned back to the intercom, “Extrapolate our trajectory. If you know how to do your job, you'll see that your main engine core is directly in front of us. Now run a metallurgical scan. In a moment you'll see we aren't riding around in your everyday escape pods. I mean c'mon, this is Bartl and Taam Heezarian you're dealing with. These suckers are made of star forged dirillium plating. You'd need spacial slip torpedoes to take us out. Not exactly Core standard issue weaponry, so we'll take our chances.”
Bartl turned to Genny and Anthony again, he shook his head and pointed at his display. “This guy to has to be new.”
“I can still hear you,” The intercom voice said.
“Yeah, I know,” Bartl said, sounding agitated. “Maybe next time you'll do your job. In any case, now that you're properly informed, would you care to run through the scenario where I pop light and you try and survive.”
The comm remained silent for a few moments.
“Pulse cannons have been taken offline. Enter the codes. Imperium out.”
“As soon as the other pod is out of range,” Bartl responded. “You'll have us...kid.” Bartl said condescendingly as he flipped the comm off.
Chapter 10
Taam watched on screen as the other escape pod slowed and began drifting toward the Imperium.
“Bartl,” he gritted through his teeth. “Alvin give me an exact distance to the other pod.”
“We're 12.356 dranecs sitting at a Z axis of 38°,” Alvin responded.
“Bring the light drive online,” Taam said. He worked the controls of the pod for a moment and stood. “Plot a course that'll pass us within 5.14 dranecs of the other pod as you head toward that destination.”
“What are you doing?” Marcus blurted out. “You can't leave them.”
Taam ignored him. He turned and pressed a button on his wrist band.
Marcus watched as Taam's clothing appeared to break up into tiny squares which then flipped end for end. In less than a second his clothing transformed itself into a black and silver vac-suit. With another press of a button a helmet, with a reflective face shield, wrapped itself around his head. Taam stepped around Marcus, walked to the back of the pod and crouched.
Marcus craned his neck and turned to watch Taam. His seat restraints made it difficult.
“What are you doing? Do I need to get up? I don't have one of those fancy suits.”
Just then Marcus' clothing burst into a small puff of smoke that dissipated quickly. He was now wearing a vac-suit similar to Taam, only a dark blue color and no helmet.
“Oh geeze,” Marcus blurted out. Panic running through his voice.
Taam reached down and pressed another button on his wrist band.
“Listen,” Taam's voice came over the escape pod's intercom. “Alvin is going to get you out of here; he's taking you someplace safe. Worst case scenario, it'll be you two for a short time, a couple days at most. This pod has a Psy Net; you're a smart guy so use it sparingly and carefully.”
Marcus mashed the red button on his chair, “Let me go,” he said. “Where are you going? Please. Don't leave.”
He felt the pod start to vibrate slightly.
“Light drive online and fully charged captain,” Alvin said. “Course set.”
“Hit it,” Taam said.
Marcus turned and watched as the stars and various lights displayed across the ship's screen streaked. A dizzying sensation washed over him. He could barely breathe. Then, as fast as it had come it was gone. The lights streaking across the screen slowed and returned to little white dots.
Marcus exhaled and breathed heavily attempting to catch his breath.
“What was that?” He aired out.
“We used a light drive to escape the Imperium's range,” Alvin said. “The escape pod's mass dampeners aren't as sophisticated as the Platnium's.”
“What?” Marcus blurted out.
“In terms you may better understand,” Alvin responded. “We just flew away at nearly ten times the speed of light. The Imperium will not be able to pursue, however, I do not believe that was ever their intention.”
The restraints on Marcus's seat released and he jumped to his feet. He turned and saw that Taam was no longer on-board.
“He left us?” Marcus asked.
“I assure you he did so because it was needed,” Alvin answered. “But worry not my new friend, I'll do everything I can to look after you.”
“Alvin,” Marcus said. His voice was quiet and weak. “You don't even have a body.”
҉
“Listen you two,” Bartl said. He turned to face them both. “This is about to get very serious.”
“Oh,” Anthony responded. “Unlike the space rat, weapons hijacking, and the space SWAT team that tried to kill us?”
“They weren't trying to kill you,” Bartl said. “They would've killed Taam and I. They wanted to kidnap you.”
“Oh yeah,” Anthony said. “My mistake.”
“Will you two stop,” Genny said.
“Sorry,” Anthony said.
“As I was saying,” Bartl continued. “ We're about to be questioned and I'm not sure what angle they're going to play. They may separate us. They may keeps us together and play up a whole friendly demeanor. They may force you to watch as they torture me. There are about a hundred different ways they do this. But what you two need to know is this: they need you.”
Genny looked to Anthony.
“Because they need you,” Bartl continued. “Play that strength. Keep that idea in your head. Know it. No matter what they say or threaten to do, they need you, alive.”
Bartl turned and flicked a couple switches.
Genny and Anthony watched as large doors across the bottom of the Imperium slid open. Their pod slowly drew closer and closer.
“There's one other thing I want you to remember,” Bartl said. “And this is almost as important as the other.”
Anthony and Genny were listening intently.
“Taam's coming
for you.”
The three remained quiet as their pod made its way into the Imperium docking bay. They could hear, just outside the pod, the bay doors shut.
A high pitched hiss rang through the air.
“And we're in,” Bartl said.
“Wonderful,” Anthony muttered.
“Bartl and guests,” a voice came over the pods intercom. “If you'd be so kind as to unseal the door, I've arranged for us all to meet within the High Counsel Chamber so that we might have a little discussion.”
“Sir Halen,” Bartl replied. “When did you step from the Central Core onto a ship?”
“Oh Bartl,” Sir Halen said. “I do occasionally get away from my desk. Especially when my personal touch has been requested. But let us cease with the intercom, it's so impersonal.”
“Unseal the doors.” Sir Halen finished. His initial friendly tone now stern and cold.
Bartl pressed a button and disabled the intercom. He then spun and looked to Genny and Anthony.
“You two ready?” He asked.
They both nodded.
He flicked a switch and their seat belts and straps clicked and came free. With another punch of a button the pod's door unsealed. It shifted in place and moved outward. Slowly it raised revealing a dozen armed soldiers. Each were wearing light gray vac-suits and visors covering their eyes.
Genny noted that this group looked similar to the crew that had boarded the Platnuim earlier.
With shock rifles raised and ready, two soldiers stepped forward. The two entered the escape pod and made a visual sweep of the interior. Once satisfied, one dropped his rifle and allowed it to hang from a strap slung over his shoulder. He pulled free a device that was clipped to his belt. He stroked his finger across the face of it and a thin white light streaked out. Genny and Anthony saw that the line of light stretched from the ceiling, across the front of the pod, and down to the floor. Slowly the light moved around the perimeter of the pod then vanished.
“All clear,” the soldier said. His voice somewhat robotic.
The other soldier looked to Anthony and Genny; he gestured with his rifle for the two to stand and step out of the pod.
