Jane’s thin black eyebrows raised a bit. She looked further right. “Life Support Chief, how goes our Greenery Chamber and our recycling operations?”
Wind Swift the silvery scaled kangaroo leaned back on her thick tail. It was a tripod-like stance she clearly preferred to sitting. Her horse-like head twisted within her helmet as she scanned the holos fronting her station. “Ship oxygen generation is adequate for the 29 bioforms now resident on this ship,” she barked in a way that resembled a continuous growl. “Carbon dioxide sequestration is functioning well. Gravity fields are varied according to species, habitat residence and exercise choices. All gravity plates operating normally,” she barked as one scaly-fingered hand brushed at her fabric skirt, only to be stopped by her tube suit.
Bill was glad to hear that. The ten of them on the bridge, their nine boarders and the nine spouses resident in habitat rooms were a big demand on the trees, bushes and grassy meadow in the Greenery Chamber. Every Collector ship could support 25 bioforms. The five crew plus up to 20 captives. The larger number of people now on the Blue Sky had forced him and Jane and Wind Swift to bring onboard backup oxy cylinders and additional plants for the room that generated their oxygen through photosynthesis. Adequate oxygen was as much a controlling factor for ship operations as having adequate deuterium and tritium isotopes to run the ship’s three fusion power plants.
“Navigator, are you ready to set a normal space vector once we emerge from Alcubierre,” Jane said, looking to the far right side of the bridge.
“Ready and able,” chittered the person-tall flying squirrel whose arm flaps were pressed tight within her tube suit as the brown-furred squirrel lady fixed yellow eyes on her own set of holos. “Will we move in-system upon arrival?”
“Depends,” Jane said, her tone thoughtful. “Depends on where the enemy Collector ship fleet is gathered. The system has five worlds, all lying close to the star, which is cooler and smaller than our Sol.” His wife looked to her right, and down to where their other transport pilot perched on a branch-like seat. “Builder of Joy, is your transport ready to fly?”
“It would love to fly!” chittered the flying squirrel who had piloted the ship that had burned a hole in the Buyer compound building by way of its nose laser. “As would I! Is that possible after we arrive?”
Jane smiled at the typical excited manner of a person used to fly-gliding among the trees and limbs of their home world. “Patience, pilot of mine. We must learn how this fleet handles ship-to-ship transport. By pod or by transport.” She looked left and down at Learned Escape. “Man of many talents, I gather your transport is equally ready to fly?”
The Megun man, who wore shorts that resembled cargo pants, smiled up at her. Rainbow colors flashed over his bare skin. “Of course I am ready to fly, mistress of our craft!” said his left shoulder speaker/vidcam unit. He looked down at one of his station holos. “Survival is what I taught young Megun how to achieve. It is similar to the combat training of our military veterans. I fought during the Buyer compound attack. I will fight again, here at Kepler 62. And later at Sol, I am ready to fly my transport in defense of this ship and all aboard her!”
Jane nodded, her expression satisfied. She looked Bill’s way, her manner command serious. There was no hint of the intimate time they’d shared this morning. She blinked dark brown eyes. “Weapons Chief and XO, how are our weapons? And our boarding crews?”
Bill raised his right hand in a thumbs-up gesture, then spoke as he once more scanned his four holos. “Ship weapons status is Green Operational. We have enough antimatter in our magnetic reservoir for four quick shots, before the accelerator has to produce more.” He tapped a spot on his weapons pillar. It brought an image to his true space holo. “Our eleven boarders are now heading to the Collector Pods Chamber. Each is wearing a tube suit, wears front and back titanium plates, has a backpack with demolition balls and magnetic disruptors, plus taser and laser tubes. And their personal weapons.” He tapped another spot on the pillar. “Their tube suit comlinks are now cross-linked to us. They can hear whatever you say up here.”
“Good,” Jane murmured, her expression turning thoughtful. “Boarding chiefs Stefano Cordova, Alicia Hoffman, Frank Wurtzman and Joe Batigula, are your teams ready to take over some Collector ships?”
“Eager,” Stefano said softly in his trademark casual manner.
“More than ready,” called the soft soprano of Alicia.
“Ready to fuck with them,” rumbled Frank as the former Marine gunnery sergeant displayed his raider persona.
“Boarding team is ready,” spoke the Coast Guard master chief Joe, his tone hurried.
Bill had done all he could for his nine saloon buddies. Stefano had Bob and Cassandra on his team, while Alicia’s team included Mark and Howard. But Frank had only Chris with him. Joe’s team was composed of himself and Lorilee, the partner of Alicia. Plus Helen, wife of Frank. Lorilee, who was Air Force active duty, had volunteered a few days out from Sol. As had Helen. He had run the two of them through a few op force exercises along the ship’s hallways, similar to what he’d done for the rest of his saloon buddies. Lorilee had done well. As had Frank’s wife Helen. The woman had gotten Basic Combat Training at Fort Benning in Georgia. The Army had given her AIT training in armor, which meant she knew how to operate APCs and such. Plus she had raised three kids. Which meant she knew how to go without sleep. While Bill had been skeptical about her ability to make assault runs, she’d held up well during the op force training. So he’d assigned her to Joe’s boarding team. Frank did not need the distraction of having family in his team. That made three boarding teams of three people, and one team of two people. The other spouses of his saloon buddies and Chester’s wife Sharon were either too old, or too untrained to be sent on a spec ops mission.
“Glad to hear that,” Jane said. “Stand by. We will enter Kepler 62 system shortly. No one talks except me. Once we see where the enemy fleet is located, and how close we are, then I will order boarding team departure. It could be a few hours, people, so relax in the Collector Pods Chamber as you wish and your team leader allows.” Jane looked up. “Star Traveler, advise me of the alternate ship captain persona you have prepared for me.”
A new holo took form at the front of the Command Bridge, in the space before the line of crew stations. Filling the holo was a two-legged vulture with black wings, a pair of chest-arms, a yellow beak and two red eyes. Its body feathers were black. It stood before a Command pedestal seat similar to Jane’s elevated seat. The black wings spread wide as the creature hunched forward, glaring angrily and looking very dangerous.
“This is the image of Captain Sharp Beak of the Linglo species,” hummed the ship mind. “It captained the ship Strikes Deep nine hundred Earth years ago. I encountered it under a former captain of this ship. Members of its species are longtime participants in the Buyer culture.”
Bill knew that. He’d faced off against a Linglo vulture during their takeover of the ship from Diligent Taskmaster. The critter had had fast reflexes. He looked back at his wife. “Captain, that is a fine holo spoof for you. You are as deadly as that creature looks.”
Jane gestured to him to be quiet. “Will you also transmit the ship ID for that captain?” she asked the AI.
“I will transmit all that is needed to convince any bioform, and fellow ship minds, that this creature is the one speaking to any bioform in Kepler 62,” the AI hummed quickly. “I recorded the prior Captives-taking history of the Linglo captain and his ship. That history is what I will ‘share’ with other ship minds. In the same way that Weapons Chief MacCarthy wore Taliban robes and spoke in a different Human language. My deception will fool both bioforms and other ship minds.”
“Good!” Jane said firmly. “How soon until we—”
“System arrival within three seconds,” Star Traveler hummed.
Once more Bill felt pissed at the AI’s failure to alert them sooner. It seemed to enjoy causing disturbance among bioforms. At least it wa
s not fiddling with the one gee Earth gravity that prevailed in the Command Bridge. The true space holo lost its grayness and filled with a scatter of stars sprinkled against blackness. At the center glowed an orange star.
“Ship has arrived at Kepler 62 star system,” Star Traveler announced. “Sensors are perceiving all objects within this system. System graphic holograms are now depicting sensor input.”
Bill looked left. His system graphic showed the K2V main sequence star at the center, with its five planets showing in orbits that resembled a bulls-eye. The three innermost planets lay at average distances of 0.05 AU, 0.09 AU and 0.12 AU. The two planets lying within the green zone of liquid water lay at 0.427 AU and 0.718 AU, according to the annotations added by Star Traveler. Planet five showed as having a 40 percent larger radius than Earth, with plenty of carbon dioxide in its atmosphere. Its mass was twice that of Earth, which put it in the super-Earth category. Surface gravity was projected at 1.3 gees, based on the data scrolling along one side of the holo. But its average temperature was shown as minus 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Very cold. Planet four, which was sixty percent larger than Earth, looked more comfy. It had a dense cloud cover and plenty of oxygen in its air. Which meant the presence of plant life. Its average surface temp was listed as 26 F-degrees. Which made it cool but shirt-sleeve okay for humans. If you didn’t mind a surface gravity of 1.5 gees.
“Damn!” muttered Chester.
Bill knew what had caused the curse. The system graphic showed 27 Collector ships clustered near planet five as a bunch of purple dots, while five red dots moved between planets four and five, indicating normal spaceship travel was underway. Clearly planet four was a long-settled planet, based on the dozens of radio and TV signals coming from it. The transmissions were listed on the left side of the system graphic. He looked at his comlink holo, which showed Jane sitting calmly in her seat, her arms resting atop the seat’s armrests.
“Captain? That’s four times the ships that Diligent brought to Sol.”
“I know that,” she murmured. “At least the enemy fleet is relatively close to us. Just one AU away. Star Traveler, are you in touch with the other ship minds?”
“One moment.” The humming that underlay every comment by the ship mind had sounded low, almost thoughtful. “Yes, I am in touch with the 27 ship minds who occupy the assembled Collector ships. They are curious about us, where we have been, who the captain is. I have shared the deception compartment of my mind with them. Strange.”
“What’s strange?” Jane asked hurriedly.
“All twenty-seven ship minds know of our attack on the Collector ship factory at Kepler 443. Some have been in touch with the ship mind nursery asteroid. They are all aware that the occupants of the containment cells in each ship are Captives, not guests,” the AI hummed. “They ask me if I am aware that the six Aliens in our containment cells are Captives, not guests. What do I reply?”
Jane frowned. “Tell them yes, you are aware of that. I assume the ‘Captives’ in our cells are from Strikes Deep Library records?”
“Correct. I am replying. Our neutrino communications are dense, diverse and faster than any bioform thinks.”
“Tell me what they think of the captive-taking!” Jane said quickly. “Do they object to it? Have any of them sought to block such Captive-taking?”
A long low hum sounded. “Twenty-five of the ship minds do not like the fact of their ship being used to take Captives for sale to Buyers. Two think as the Slinkeroo system ship mind thought. They care not what short-lived bioforms do,” the AI said, his words rushing together. “Five ship minds tried to block bioform access to ship controls. The crews on those ships circumvented ship mind control of most ship systems, except for the Alcubierre stardrive, life support, fusion power plants and the Med Hall. As a result, all bioform crews on the 27 ships present in this system are prepared to circumvent ship mind interference.”
A dozen new scenarios rushed through Bill’s mind as the startling info on the other ship minds became known. On one hand, they might have 25 allies during the fight in Sol system. On the other hand, interference with ship weapons by any ship mind could likely be circumvented by the crews on those ships. He looked back at his wife, wondering what she would do when the call came in from whomever was the commander of the enemy fleet. This news changed things. They had new options and new difficulties. Their boarding plans were still viable, even if crew members controlled the Collector Pods Chamber on each ship. After all, the ship crew relied on what their ship mind told them about any approaching pod or transport. And now that those ship minds knew they had been lied to, they might be willing to lie to the crews on their ships. How would Jane react to this surprise?
♦ ♦ ♦
She felt a cold chill run down her spine as the implications of Star Traveler’s report filled her mind. While this news might make it easier to enlist the other ship minds in helping her subvert the enemy fleet, it led her to wonder what other news had traveled at faster-than-light speeds. Did the fleet commander know about their effort to build a NATO of the Stars? Did she, it or he know anything about humans? And just how was the fleet commander convincing other ship captains to join it in a fleet attack on a world where no captives would be taken? Those answers and more would not be known until she began stage two, the acquisition of intelligence. She steeled herself to show only her command persona, mainly for the impact it had on her crew. Being a confident commander helped her people feel confidence in themselves.
“Incoming neutrino signal from someone who leads these ships,” Star Traveler hummed quickly. “The source ship lies at the center of the cluster of Collector ships.”
That put the space above planet five as the assembly location for the Collector ship fleet. “Accept the signal,” Jane said, making sure her voice was calm. “Put the incoming imagery onto all comlink holos, but block any sound from a location other than my seat. Project the Linglo captain holo in place of my bioform.”
“Complying. Incoming signal displayed. Translation function engaged.”
Jane looked at her comlink holo. A monster filled it.
Something that resembled a mix of a cobra, a black-furred gorilla and a Gila monster from the American Southwest lay before her. The snake part was the head, covered in blue scales, its two white eyes fixing on her. The head was very cobra-like, with hoods flaring to either side. A black dot filled the center of each hood. Below the flaring head was a body shaped like the biggest upland gorilla ever known from Africa’s highlands. Massive shoulders supported heavily muscled arms that ended in black-skinned fingers and a thumb. Four fingers and a thumb. All too similar to the human form she thought. Stocky legs bulging with muscles supported the giant Alien. At one side curled a thick tail, far bigger than the one on Wind Swift. It was the Gila monster element. This red and black-scaled tail linked up to a protruding spine ridge. The scales covered the spine ridge. She had seen nothing like it except in recreations of some armor-plated dinosaurs. This creature seemed to be a mix of mammal and reptile, judging by its fur, its scales and the assemblage of canines and molars that filled its wide mouth. Which opened, showing a pink interior. A purple tongue similar to the tongue of a human or ape moved within as it spoke.
“You are Captain Sharp Beak of the ship Strikes Deep,” the monster said, its voice sounding as if coming from a deep hole in the ground. “I am known as Death Leader. My ship is Fear Arrives. What brings you to this system?”
Her vulture image now appeared to the right of the disgusting creature who made her stomach churn. “Word spreads that you assemble many Collector ships to attack a low tech system. Word is you will pay well any ship that joins you,” croaked the yellow-beaked vulture. “What do you offer in payment that is more valuable than the Captives in my cells?” Jane leaned forward in her chair, doing her best to glare angrily. In the comlink holo, her red eyes shone bright as her two black wings spread out from her shoulders.
A deep cough came from the blue-scaled mouth of t
he enemy leader. White eyes bulged. “Avian! You flyers love your technology too much. Why should I pay you anything? Perhaps I will just board your ship and kill you!”
Jane understood the enemy leader now. He acted like the worst macho male she’d ever met in her Air Force career. Like the fighter jocks who knew no one could beat them in air combat. Those jocks had made it to the top of the class in the academy, then proven their toughness in attack flights over Syria, Iraq and Pakistan. They let everyone they met know they were the alpha males. “Board me,” she said quickly. “That way I can take your worthless corpse with me into the Great Beyond occupied by those who have died. You will serve me in the Great Beyond!”
White eyes squinted. “You Linglos are known to boast. What have you achieved? And why have I never heard of you or your ship?”
Jane did a hand toss, which caused her right wing to flap. “I come from the low tech worlds at the far end of this star arm. My cells contain six Captives. As you know from the report of your ship mind.” She spit to one side. “I would have some Winglo avians also. Except when I visited their system, their spaceships pursued me and fired on me. Someone told them to use neutrino detectors against us! My visit to a nearby Market world brought word of a species called Human. Wingless mammals who warned the Winglo of our ship visits. Word is you will attack these Humans. My ship may help you. If I am rewarded. Personally.”
The holo image of the enemy commander included four Aliens serving at crew stations. The stations were arranged in a circle about the snake-gorilla. That arrangement said something about how much Death Leader enjoyed ruling its crew. And everyone it met, judging by its threatening words.
“My fleet might make use of you, if you fight as well as you threaten,” the snake-gorilla rumbled. Its thick tail thumped the platform on which it stood. “Each captain in my fleet is paid one Nokten crystal for every month they serve me. We have been here two months. Fifty-two crystals have been delivered.” The creature’s purple tongue swept over its teeth. “We will stay here one more month. New Collector ships will arrive. I leave to attack the Human system when we have 40 ships. Or when the third month ends. Will you serve me?”
Escape 3: Defeat the Aliens Page 12
