“Are you coming?” She said annoyance on her face as I sat back—shocked. She sighed pulling her hair back as she realized she was the centre of attention in the mess, and that all of the leaders of the Free Fleet including myself were sitting at the table.
“Oh, umm.” She looked, scared, tired and embarrassed, so much so I thought she might cry.
“My bad.” I said with a reassuring smile.
“Do you want some food first and then you can tow me off to get the old sucker stuck back on?”
“I umm…” Her confidence gone now.
“Clear a seat for the young miss?”
“Abigail.” She supplied.
“Abigail, now dig in there’s more than enough.” I grinned as the others moved to make room. She stepped up to the open place timidly as one by one the others began introducing themselves and we were quickly back to talking, eating and joking.
“Looks like you won’t need that hook I was building.” Eddie said with a sigh as I caught his grin.
“Well if I lose it or the other one again I’ll be sure to try it out. Though looking forward to having the old one back in place, feels damn strange without it.”
Chapter I need to find a new hiding place
She found me on the observation deck I’d been up for a few weeks now and still hadn’t seen her. I was looking at the asteroid that was to become the shipyard. While the observatory looked as if it was looking out onto direct space it was like the bridge on the warships. I was actually looking at multiple vie screens attached to sensors on Parnmal’s exterior through two hundred metres of rock. The view screens sensed when I was focusing on something and zoomed in on it. It had taken a few times to get used to it, but now I was using it to study the asteroid that was to become my shipyard. I watched, mesmerized as shuttles moved materials from the station to the rock, while an army of drones were setting the ground work and putting together the basic structures of the first extractors and processing facility.
The processing facility was going to be made from a smaller asteroid. Three corvettes had been requisitioned to pull it close to the station as gun crews used it for target practice—their powerful weapons carving it into shape. The processing facility would take a month to be ready, but it would be able to move from asteroid to asteroid processing materials instead of having to build a new processor each time.
Extractors where very easy things to make and a production line was in the works that would be able to pump out hundreds of them a week from the size of garbage can to that of a double decker bus. For now we were fixing any broken extractors we could find, or blast smaller asteroids apart. I swore I’d never seen the gun chiefs and their crews so happy.
All of these materials were taken to ships with processing facilities or into the station. We had a steady trickle of raw metals but the processing facilities were the biggest issue, they weren’t big enough to process everything we brought in.
I was going to have to slow the target practice until the processing facility was operational, and then quickly build more of them. I turned my mind to other thoughts of the mass of production happening around Parnmal.
Felix was in the full swing of things with three asteroids already picked out within our defensive field of fire for processing and using as parts of our space dock. Monk was working with him as he was quickly assuming command of the station. He’d been doing the rounds without his armour, he liked being in it as me and Cheerleader did, but it was better to appear out of armour once in a while. He’d seem to have taken up residency within the gunnery rim, his wife Caroline running things in command. I’d only met her briefly but she had a good head on her shoulders, and she was forcing Monk to take control. We’d had a few talks and she’d made it clear how she was going to get Monk into the Commanders seat of the station, by asking or forcing. I grinned at the thought as I felt the floor thumping as a Mecha approached.
I like Monk had been out of my armour more to look more at ease, now that ease turned to anxiousness as I was acutely aware of the lack of armour and servo assisted power at my disposal. The thumps through the floor telling me Yasu wasn’t similarly unarmoured—made me feel as if she wasn’t so trusting.
I turned my view to some other asteroids being dragged in; I’d heard rumours that Monk was already planning to expand the massive station by lumping more asteroids to the existing structure. Again I hadn’t talked to him about it waiting for him to come to me.
He needed to know I had confidence in him to do the job I’d given him and I was happy to get the work of Parnmal station off of my plate.
Eddie was whipping up a storm in engineering, now with the slow trickle of raw materials from our mining exploits he was able to get the Resilient back up to fighting trim. It had revealed the Kuruvians competitive streak as crews raced to bring their ships back to life. Most of them were still running by way of a liberal coating of space tape and spit it seemed, though the new parts were having a slow but constant effect.
Even with the haphazard way the pirates had run and used the Resilient it was one of the better ships and would only need a further week till it was acceptable to Eddie to take her out. Some of the other ships wouldn’t be cleared until they’d spent some time in the dock. On one of the destroyers the captain had run the engines so far past maximum they had needed to be ripped out and reinstalled. Another battle cruiser had split support struts that could mean the ship collapsing if it entered or exited a wormhole.
I was commander of fifty two ships. All of which needed extensive repairs in one way or another. Eight of them couldn’t move in their current condition. Five needed to be in a shipyard for massive overhauling, so much fixing that more than one Kuruvian had asked they be scrapped and cannibalized for other ships, I was close to giving them the three worst but only in immediate need, otherwise they would be the last to be fixed.
Fifteen of the most able were on patrol with Cheerleader as of yesterday one commanded by Turek who was learning rather quickly what he needed to as a Captain. Parnmal was the centre of seven wormhole accessible systems So Cheerleader and her group were to go out three or so systems, cataloguing everything and then return reporting in before going out again. Cheerleader was in complete control of her fleet. If she thought diverting course was best she could. We needed information on the surrounding area and this was the best way to do it. It would be weeks until they returned and I was already feeling their loss.
Another twelve ships made up my personal fleet as the remaining twelve were found to have more problems than even their own engineering crews knew of as they were finally able to inspect their ships fully. All of them needed a month in a dock at least, most looking like three months.
I might have a fleet but it was beaten bashed and barely staying afloat in most cases—but still it was mine.
“It is quite a feat.” She said as I continued to look out at the work going on around Parnmal as I tried to hide my tensed muscles. I hadn’t seen her since I’d woken up without an arm, a month and a half ago. I’d kept her busy with training those that had wished to remain commandos side by side with the Sarenmenti Special Forces and those that had been cleared of charges from the second group of human Mechas. There had been teething issues which my veterans had quickly put an end to. Beginning and ending with a daylong simulation of the fight for the station which had left the new humans and the Sarenmenti looking at my veteran Commandos with the respect they deserved. I’d dropped into as many classes as I could. Mostly to keep my skills up, choosing times she wouldn’t be around.
Otherwise I’d been working on plans, putting out fires and attending trials. It had been a horrible process going through all of the crimes perpetrated by the humans that had been trained after my own people. We’d found out more information about them.
I still felt bile in my throat as I thought of some of the charges that had been laid the pictures and video that had backed up the accusation. It was horrible to see how humans without rules other th
an to attack another group of the same species or get pain treatment acted against one another. I shook my head as I realized Yasu was glowering at me for not answering her.
“Yes it is.” I said keeping my back to her an itch between my shoulder blades as I wanted to do nothing more than turn around and see if she had a weapon pointed at me.
“I heard that Bregend the one that broke your ribs in a fight was acquitted of his crimes and was offered a position on one of the battle cruisers?”
“Yes, and?”
“Why do you let your enemy live and give them a powerful weapon they can use against you?” Clear anger and annoyance in her voice, I turned—exasperated and annoyed.
“They are willing to learn and put himself after his people deserves to be awarded, not shoved away and shunned. We need to help our people grow to their full potential. Someone that isn’t in the position that they are good and productive at isn’t helpful, and could be overall detrimental to our progress.”
“Valid.” She said as she looked out at space less than a metre away. “Why did you try to kill me when we attacked the station, do you despise me that much?” She said coldly her eyes like the space I’d just been looking at meeting mine as I flinched.
“Tried to kill you?” I asked shock on my face as I studied her.
“You fired a plasma rifle at me then tossed it where I’d been causing the power cell to explode and began slashing into the Mechas that hadn’t been killed by you two first attacks.”
I thought back to the bloody melee as I saw one suit turning and looking at me and the reinforcements pausing and staring. I brought my plasma rifle up letting an angry burst go in the faceplate of the pirate behind them burning through their armour I kept spraying killing any pirate within reach throwing my weapon before I got close grabbing the sword still over my shoulder my left missing forearm turned plasmid sword leading into the fight as I brought my other sword down in a slash killing another pirate outright. The one behind them was already bringing their sword down at my head. I interposed my left arm catching the blade with the remaining armour of the exoskeleton turning the blade which cut a burning slash through my face instead of through my brain. I felt the exoskeleton tug and then free as they cut off the remainder of my exoskeleton cutting off my hand still in my gauntlet and the sword attached with space tape.
Enraged I brought my right sword up before they could recover causing them to stumble back bleeding from a gash in their main body cavity. I walked backwards telling my people to do the same as I called for the remaining pirates surrender. I shook my head clearing the memory as I looked to Yasu.
“I saved your life. The pirate behind you was lined up for a killing blow until I piled plasma into their face then the ones behind them and I just kept going.”
“Then why do you avoid me?” She said, completely disregarding what I said her eyes still cold.
“I don’t want to annoy you, or get into these petty fights.” I sighed as I sat in a nearby chair feeling the weight of what I was doing on my shoulders.
“If you are going to kill me please do it now, I don’t want to have to watch out for assassins if I don’t need to. I have enough things to deal with without having that one on my plate as well.” I said wearily looking at her as she turned to me.
“Do not worry I won’t be the one to put a blade between your ribs.” Her body stiff.
“That’s good I have enough blades to look for.” I grumbled my hand naturally gravitating to the holster on my thigh as I felt the comfortable weight there.
“What blades? You are surrounded by loyal followers?”
“I’m just waiting for one of them to renounce me as commander of this free fleet which is nothing more in reality than that name. Sure I have In Sook running patrols but who knows what that’ll bring, it’ll be four months till she’s finished all of the wormhole points if everything goes to plan and she doesn’t find something. I could lose fifteen ships on that gamble, as well as one of my handful of trusted people.”
“Handful?”
“We’ve had this talk before Yasu I’m a paranoid man, be it by my upbringing or by my gaming. I trust people to do what’s in their best interest. My hope is that their interests match with my own. I trust you to get back stone warrior and help to get home so you can see your father again and return to training. That plus the fact of your word as a warrior makes me feel safe you won’t place a blade in my back. Yet—hopefully it’ll be after my work is done.”
With that I stood and walked to the hatchway.
“Where are you going?”
“To bed.”
“I thought you didn’t need sleep.”
“The drugs only keep me awake for a week and a half at a time before I need a few hours of downtime.”
“It might be those drugs that are stopping you see the truth. You’re no longer the insular gamer. Your a leader that trusts his people as they trust you. You might have an inner group, but you’ve made everyone in the Free Fleet your family. I’ve seen the way you care for them.”
An alert sounded on my upgraded implants, Min Hae had found the blueprints for more advanced implants. So far we just had internal communications with the doctors, medics, some of Felix’s development team and Min Hae’s expanding intelligence department working out the other implants. I’d quickly gotten myself upgraded and removed the conforming headset.
“Extractor twelve held in onboard storage has exploded.” A monotone voice said as I swore.
“Guess I’m not sleeping again.” I said as I grabbed another injector from my pocket.
Yasu watched me as I dumped the wake-up drug into my system I shook myself as the sleepiness went away and everything became clearer.
“I just don’t want to see anyone have to go through what we did. I feel responsible for them.” I growled as I reflected on my words. Shaking my head, I had other things to do.
“We’ll talk later.” I said, not catching Yasu’s cynical look as I ran out of the observatory to deal with the latest issue.
It looked like our trickle of materials was going to be cut drastically again.
Jeremiah his wife and two other teams of my protection detail fell in around me armed to the teeth and ready for anything.
****
She stood there still looking out of the observatory, using the massive floor to roof view screen to bring up the recordings in the hallway James had tried to kill her. Slowly she played the video watching both his face and her looking away for a second as she watched herself freeze and a moment of panic as a sword destined for her kidneys came closer.
A wave of plasma hit the attacker forcing them back as they writhed in a burning mass before the plasma heated the pirate’s Mecha enough killing them.
By this time James had killed three more with the weapon and a fourth by throwing the rifle. His blades slashed into the pirates as she watched herself now ready her weapon to plunge into him.
“Idiot.” She said to herself bawling her hands into fists as she sat down in a chair hitting her thighs. “He was trying to save you not kill you, you Baka.” She said to herself as she hit her legs again. Her thigh clanging as armour met armour. The Sato sisters jumped into the room at the sound.
“Mistress?”
“It’s nothing, you may go back outside.” She said as she hid the emotions playing across her face by continuing to look at the view screen wall. The Sato sisters bowed walking outside the hatch, closing it partly behind them.
She thought of his arrogance, the way he exuded confidence and how different he’d been in here. Accepting she’d kill him at some time and not caring, just hopeful his work would be completed and someone better than himself would take over. She didn’t know who else could take over.
There was no one like him. Yet he didn’t care if he lived or died she could see, he only cared that the members of Mecha Tail and now that the Free Fleet survived. With this decision he had isolated himself, leaving him completely alone with th
e burden of thousands of lives resting on him.
This fact hit her like a train, she needed James Cook to live, the Free fleet did, the entire human race did and how many other possible races. He was on a quest to save any species that needed help. Without him it would come crumbling down. Didn’t he realize this?
Instead of looking after himself he was working himself to the nub using hardly tested drugs to stay functioning and taking the minimum downtime between doses to clear it before the next one. Hell she’d just seen him take two times the dose after the suggested time of wakefulness.
She returned to her quarters not seeing anything as she was lost in her angry thoughts of his own self-loathing. She sat on her bed looking at the massive luxurious quarters she’d been given. They were the old station commander’s and would befit a king. Yet was he here with his wife as he should be?
No he was hidden in some hole. She’d heard about swinger groups in which the husband and wife stayed so in name but dated and coupled outside of their relationship. The Sato sisters had highlighted the similarities of a normal swinging couple and the way that James acted to her.
The Recruitment: Rise of the Free Fleet Page 40
