by Taylor Smith
Andy turned completely around to face her with a raised brow. “You can see through all that gunk?”
Haley shrugged. “It’s mostly background static from the flares but I’d rather keep an eye on everything.”
Andy laughed and shrugged. “If you can see through all of it, be my guest” he said and turned back around. “All right, Cade. Take us to Stormcall.” He depressed a button on his command chair and said, “Mornin’ Finn. How’s it looking down there?”
Hubert Finnegan’s voice came over the speakers clearly. “Well she didn’t fall apart during transit so that’s good. Looks like everything was fixed to some degree by the yard monkeys back home, but I have a lot of tweaking to do. Tell Cade not to fly her into a rock.”
“No promises, Finn. Bridge out.” Andy finished and turned to Cade. “You heard our esteemed engineer.”
“No rocks, Aye,” Cade said as he brought the mains up to full and followed the flight plan he’d chosen. There were several instances along the way that an asteroid or piece of debris could creep up on him, but nothing should come too close as they make their way to the station. The solar flares were what bothered him the most. If the data he was seeing was wrong by even a kilometer, the Reaper would fry. Cade realized he’d had enough of burning things in his life and knew to stay as far away from them as possible.
He deftly flew the Reaper through the storm and once again he was happy to have both arms for the job. He watched his course carefully and avoided several large chunks that emerged onto their path. Cade didn’t know much about sewing, but he’d heard his mother mention threading needles several times during delicate tasks and smiled at the memory.
“Cade! Hard to port!” came Haley’s sudden cry.
He didn’t even think, he just banked the Reaper to port, spun into a quick dive and then came back around to his previous course. If he deviated too much, he’d fly them straight into a portion of space thick with solar flares. “What’s going on?”
“Missile launch! Missed! No contacts yet!” Haley said as she frantically worked the tactical station.
Andy slapped a control on his chair and the battle station claxon roared. “Run out the guns!”
Cade ignored the clanks and screeches of the ship preparing itself for battle as he waited poised for another evasive order from Haley. With the filters he’d engaged on his station, he couldn’t see what Haley saw to avoid it, but if he disabled it, he would surely fly them straight into the madness of Storm System.
Andy turned and said, “Find him, Ms. Marks!”
“He’s somewhere on our starboard side. There’s just too much interference to get a viable lock,” she replied. “Maybe –, Cade! Evasive!
Cade was waiting, and reacted instantly by bringing the nose of the ship up and into a spiraling climb. Half a kilometer from some of the nastier flares, he flipped the ship over and began working his way back toward their original course. “There’s only so much room here!”
“Miss! Missile guidance is suffering here. I don’t know how they’re even targeting us.” Haley was using multiple screens trying to find their attacker and after another few tense seconds she shouted excitedly, “I have lock! Brawling range!”
“Fire beams and artillery!” Andy ordered.
The low bass hums of the main beam cannons being fired echoed through the ship along with the repeating thumps of shells unloading toward the unknown assailant. The bridge lights dimmed slightly until the cannons silenced.
Haley shook her head, “I think it’s a solid hit. Damn it’s like tracking a fly in a tornado out there. We need to be closer.”
“Cade, circle us around. Let’s see if we can get a clearer picture of whoever this is,” Andy said.
“Aye, coming about,” Cade answered and brought the ship into a tight turn.
“I see it,” Haley finally said. “The closer we get, the clearer the picture. I don’t recognize the hull. It’s drifting now. I’m not reading any power, one life sign though.”
“Only one.” Andy sat quietly for a moment then nodded seeming to make up his mind. “Cade, have a go at those grapples.”
Cade smiled. “With pleasure.” He’d wanted so badly to use the Reaper’s grapple system ever since Andy had shown them off. He hoped he could handle them as he activated the ships implant pairing system. Data suddenly flashed across his field of view feeding him information on course, environment and several sections that were blank, awaiting information on his target and the grapples.
“Haley, I still can’t see him,” Cade said as he moved the ship slowly through space. A sudden influx of data flew across his field of view and the small ship appeared on his nav screen. “Got it now, thanks. Keep it coming. If you break that link while I’m engaged with the grapples, bad things will happen.”
He grinned at her nervous laugh, applied that information to his current course and moved along an intercept route that took him dangerously close to the edge of their protected lane. He knew that was why it was so hard to track them, being so close to the clutter of Storm System it had confused the ships sensors.
“Lining us up,” he said and rolled the Reaper over to center the two crosshairs on the starboard side of their prey. “Ready for grapple.”
“Fire grapple,” Andy said. “Ms. Marks, watch them closely. If that ship powers back up I want to know.”
“Aye sir,” she replied. “It looks like a small cargo ship of some sort. Not very big.”
“What’s a cargo ship doing armed with a missile bay?” Cade wondered aloud as he fired the grapples. Their resounding thumps echoed through the bridge. As the claws of both grapples dug in, the readings at Cade’s station began resolving. He applied just the right amount of force to gain control of the small ship and stop its uncontrolled spin. “Got it. It’s not moving. Can I shock it anyway?” he said with hope that Andy would allow him this small desire to hit their attacker with dual EMPs.
“Just be ready to,” Andy said with a grin. “Ms. Hulbert, hail that ship.”
“No response,” Criss said after a few seconds.
“Ok we do this the hard way. Ms. Hulbert, it’s your bridge,” Andy said then turned to Cade. “Let’s go knock on this bastard’s door.”
Cade grinned and was surprised to find he was more anxious to get on board that ship than he was scared. It was a mystery to solve. A small pirate operation that picked the wrong mark perhaps? Whatever it was, it would be exciting. “Ready when you are.”
***
Andy opened the airlock to reveal the tube. It was much like Cade remembered on the Grim Shoals but wider. He quickly forced memories of the ill-fated ship out of his mind as events seemed eerily similar. He needed to stay focused.
They’d gathered two others to watch the outer hatch of the small cargo ship while Cade and Andy went in. It was such a small ship that Andy didn’t think they needed more than himself and Cade, so he opted to double that estimate to be safe. Since they were operating with such a small crew for this mission anyway, they didn’t have a lot of people to call on.
Cade unlocked the small armory next to the airlock and handed out rifles. He caught himself thinking about his last boarding action from the Grim Shoals and the sword that still hung at his belt. He definitely felt safer in one respect as he hefted the heavy assault rifle and checked its ammunition. “Comm check,” he asked through his suit’s comm system.
“Check,” came the multiple responses, including Criss on the bridge.
“Cade and I first, then Crane and Whitmore,” Andy instructed everyone at the airlock. “When we pry that sucker open be sure you’re all against the sides of the tube. Don’t be in any line of fire if the pilot is crazy enough to start shooting.”
“If we find any goods,” Whitmore said with a hopeful look, “do we get a cut?”
Andy shrugged. “We’re a little off mission here, but of course.”
That seemed to satiate both Whitmore and Crane as they smiled widely and looked at each other excitedly. Cad
e thought he caught a small roll of Andy’s eyes as he turned around and hit the gravity controls.
He felt the normal twisting of his stomach and fought to settle it down as he lifted off the floor. He took deep breaths and forced himself to relax, then noticed Andy as he placed his feet on the back wall and pushed off toward the tube. He leaned over to look and watched as Andy flew down the very middle of the structure. His nervousness returned. He’d never done that, but as he found the other two in the airlock were waiting for him to go, he had no choice.
Cade slung the rifle over his shoulder, oriented himself and pushed off. His aim wasn’t as good as Andy’s and as he drifted down the tube he had to grab a rung every now and then to correct his path. Finally, he grabbed a handhold near Andy to stop his momentum next to the cargo ship’s airlock and righted himself. “That was different.”
Andy nodded and looked over Cade’s shoulder. The others were on their way. “Everyone up against the side of the tube.”
Andy waited until all four of them were armed and ready, then slapped the airlock controls.
A burst of air escaped along with several odd bits of debris, startling them all. Boxes and a pile of clothes flew outward from the hatch and zoomed toward the Reaper.
“Decompression,” Andy muttered unhappily. “That’s not good if –“.
A garbled scream across their suit comms cut him off. Whitmore thrashed about, tearing at a large gash in his suit. The fabric was trying to seal itself but it was too large a tear. Andy jumped across the tube and grabbed hold of him, trying to pull the small roll of tape out of the man’s pant pocket when blaster fire erupted all around them.
Cade ducked, trying to find out where it was coming from and saw the small lump of clothes shooting at them as it floated down the tube toward the Reaper. He immediately rounded on it and fired, unloading his entire clip into the bundle. When he finally stopped, he realized that blood was floating away from the clothes and legs and arms slowly sprawled outward. A sword floated lazily away from the dead man now as well.
“Reaper to boarding team,” came Criss’s frantic voice over the comm. “Report please. What’s happening?”
“Bastard was hiding in his laundry,” Cade said in wonder, then turned back to Andy and the others. Crane was crouched down in a fetal position holding onto a rung with both hands, his eyes closed and his rifle floating in front of him. Whitmore and Andy floated on the other side of the tube. Neither was moving.
Cade pulled on a rung to boost him forward toward the hatch and slapped the door controls when he reached them. The cargo ship’s hatch slid shut. “Bridge, I need medical here!” he shouted as he turned Andy’s floating body over to see his eyes were closed. He looked his suit over to see several small black marks on his side. “Andy’s been shot and it looks like Whitmore’s suit was cut pretty bad.”
“Use the hooks!” came Criss’s frantic reply.
“What hook? What are you talking about?” he said, losing his composure in panic.
“Bottom of the tube! Hook Andy on and yell the number!”
Cade looked down to find several clasps attached to lines that ran into the floor of the tube. He grabbed a hook and read the number printed on the side. “Four!” he yelled, then he clipped it to Andy’s suit. The floor of the tube suddenly bucked as the line was freed and Andy was yanked at an amazing speed back toward the Reaper.
He realized at once that it was an emergency rescue cable and quickly attached another to Crane’s suit. “Two!” he shouted into his suit comms and the man was jerked back to the ship in the same fashion as Andy. “What happens now?” Cade asked.
Criss responded quickly, her voice shaky. “The airlock has them and is pressurizing now. The doc is there. Finish the job.”
Cade blinked. “Finish the job?” he asked in an incredulous tone. “You’re crazy!” His breathing and heartbeat was too fast and he knew it. “You’re crazy!” Visions of being in the Grim Shoals airlock broke into his forethoughts, and he felt his heart pounding even harder. Every time he got into a suit something terrible happened and he couldn’t help but feel trapped in a nightmare that wouldn’t end. “You’re crazy!”
Criss was yelling at him through his comms but her cries went unanswered.
Chapter 18
Hearing Cade repeat himself and the tone of his voice drove a new type of fear into Haley’s heart. “I’m going down there,” she said and jumped from her seat to leave the bridge.
“The hell you are!” Criss said, turning around in her seat.
Haley jerked short of the exit and swung around to face her. “Ok. You go down there and leave me, an Allied Fleet Officer, in command of the Reaper.”
Criss seemed to mull it over for a moment then scowled. “Go.”
She turned back and ran as fast as she could toward the main airlock. When she finally arrived she grabbed a suit from the locker and sealed it as quickly as possible. The suit was still running through its checklist when she killed the gravity, slammed the airlock controls and opened the outer hatch.
“Your suit!” came Criss’s cry over her comms.
“Is fine!” she said and worriedly checked the indicator. Green bars were now appearing as the self-diagnostic ran. Still she couldn’t wait for that as she planted her feet on the wall and shoved as hard as she could.
She launched from the Reaper and barreled down the tube. The structure’s ribs and handholds whizzed by at incredible speeds. She glanced once more at her HUD and found the suit was fully operational. Thankful that she didn’t make a deadly choice in suits, she held out her hand and hit each rung as it passed to slow her speed.
As she neared the cargo ship, she could see one crewman floating freely on one side of the tube, and a small bundle of a suit crouched on the other. She finally came to a stop next to the man named Crane and grabbed ahold of him. “Let go!” she shouted over her comms and looked back at Cade who still floated lifeless. Crane would not let go of the rail or even open his eyes to look at her.
She shook her head and moved to Cade. “Cade?” She turned him over and found his eyes open and a look of pure terror on his face. His mouth was moving but his eyes seemed locked in a point of space she couldn’t see. She tapped the small display on his chest and found his suit was fine. He hadn’t been shot so she moved back to Crane and did the same.
“Crane. You’re fine. Let go of the rail,” she tried to say in a soft tone, but he didn’t respond. Crane’s suit was fine as well, so she pressed a sequence into the panel to knock him out. It flashed green several times and his face along as his grip on the rail loosened.
“Hook seven!” she shouted and watched Crane fly back toward the Reaper, then turned back to Cade.
“Hey,” Haley said with a soft smile as she touched the visor of her suit to Cade’s. “Cade,” she repeated. Her worry increased when he didn’t look at her. She could tell he was alive, but he seemed gone. “Cade, please,” she said on the verge of tears. She took a deep breath and said in her most commanding voice, “Cade I’ll hook you right now and finish this myself. I swear it. Look at me!”
His eyes finally focused on her.
“There you are,” she said and let loose a nervous laugh, anxiety pouring away. She was sure he’d been shot and didn’t know it and was slowly dying in the tube. She wondered if it was a reaction from the attack on the Grim Shoals. She hoped not, as she would be responsible for yet another damage in his life. “Are you ok?” She asked.
He seemed to wake up from a long dream. He looked at her quietly for a very long time and then began blinking rapidly as if finally coming to his senses. “You’re crazy,” he finally said with a tired grin.
Haley laughed and nodded. “Yeah. But so are you,” she said, finally able to relax a little.
Cade looked around. “Where’s Andy?”
“He’s fine. Doc has him now. You saved him. You got the shooter too.” She said as softly as she could to try and keep him calm. She noticed his discomfor
t at being so close, so she let go and backed away a few feet. “You good to go?”
Cade groped blindly for a moment in the weightlessness then finally took hold of a rung and straightened himself. “I’m fine,” he said looking around. “Where’s Crane?”
“I hooked him. He’s back on the ship.” she said and hefted her rifle. She decided not to tell him that she had to override his suit and knock him unconscious to get him to let go of the rail. “Ready to finish this?”
Cade nodded, grabbed his rifle that still floated nearby and moved toward the airlock. At least she’d woken him up. Another few minutes and she would have hooked him as well and would have had to board the cargo ship alone. Still, she’d keep a close eye on him.
“I’ve verified there are no more life signs on board, but there may be traps,” Haley said as he floated toward the cargo ship’s hatch. Cade seemed fine. She’d seen it a couple times at the academy. Something would come up during a walk outside and a fellow cadet would just stall out. She’d watched the instructors get them moving again and that was one of the tactics they’d used. She also chose it to be a little closer to Cade, still unsure what it was that drove her toward him. It was becoming quite the annoyance.
“Opening hatch,” Cade said and hit the panel.
The door slid smoothly open but this time there was no burst of air or flying garbage. She followed him cautiously inside the small dark airlock and activated the light on her helmet just as Cade did.
“What are you seeing,” came Criss’s voice.
“It’s a mess,” Cade responded. “Looks like the decompression threw everything around. There’s no power, no gravity and all the systems are cold.”
They floated deeper into the ship, passing several unpowered computer stations as they went. They finally reached a door that seemed to lead to the bridge of the small hauler. Cade grabbed the manual handhold and yanked. It protested for a moment, but finally gave in and slid wide enough that they could pass through.
“This is a hodgepodge,” Haley said as she floated into the very small bridge with Cade. There was only one chair snugged up to a console in the front. The rest of the room was taken up by hastily wired control systems that she couldn’t make heads or tails of yet.
