“The Surge.”
“Oh, OK,” he said while studying the images. “But my mind is thinking… shields that could… shadow… hmm. I know the battlecruisers can shadow by deploying a large foil reflector behind them.”
“They said it wasn’t any such thing. It ‘disappeared.’ They said.”
“Hmm, a cloaking mechanism. Wish I’d thought of that.” He continued to search images as he muttered. Boone listened to him think out loud. “It didn’t disappear, it couldn’t possibly go dark and continue to fly, it simply stopped emitting electrical and ship signatures, somehow prevented incoming signals to bounce off of it. Hmm. Space, unlike water, has the ability to consume signals at times and… the Ambulas must be able to absorb the signals and scans and prevent them from rebounding. Hmm, ingenious. Ah! I found an image. Boone, I’m enlarging this image to see what it’s got for propulsion.”
Boone waited and struggled to keep calm. He had to have some answers.
“OK, this ship has four additional proton pulse engines mounted on the four corners of its stern. A total of seven engines, Boone. That answers that question. Now, cloaking, hmm. I’m gonna have to go and experiment with some scans and see what devices are capable of consuming scans, signal, things like that. Sorry. I don’t know what to tell you. I’ll work on it.”
“So, our scans are not bouncing back, right? The scans are being collected by something?”
“Exactly. You will always be able to visibly see her but you know how difficult it is to watch a ship travel in space. No visual device can keep up with a moving ship unless it’s at a great distance. All the ship has to do is move out of view for even a moment and boom, it’s gone. It’s not like a flying rock or a comet.”
“I know. Got it. When can I call you back?”
“You won’t. You’ll get a call from an old friend that needs a ride. Charry. OK?”
“OK, Charry. Thanks.”
Boone ended the transmission and quickly turned his cockpit chair around to see who was there. He saw no one. He darted to the stairwell and listened intently for the pitter-patter of shoes. None were heard. He leaned back against a cold metal bulkhead and sighed a sigh of relief.
…
Lorin stood outside the door with her father. Inside, there were five guardsmen standing behind the prisoner who sat impatiently at a table with his hands and feet fastened within magnetic cuffs. Five more stood behind the two empty chairs across from the table.
Lorin inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, trying to calm her emotions. Her father glanced at Tanner, who thought this interrogation would profit nothing. But, he was wrong about the last interrogation Lorin did, so he gave her the benefit of the doubt.
Lorin struggled. She recalled that dreadful night she and her father sneaked out of the royal estate. “I never saw Luweena. How did she know we were leaving to look for Meka? For Zay'Geis? Hmm, she must have intercepted my communiqué from the facility.” She recalled looking at the man from a short distance. He stood at the end of the ramp of a starship called, the Night Star. He wore a hooded coat, a blaster on his hip, no smile, peering eyes. She recalled, “My father made a mistake calling this… Boone Nova. He looks like a… shady character.” Jok and Lorin slowly approached as not to draw attention to themselves and their secret rendezvous. They were close enough to shake hands. “Father looks surprised! Boone has his hand on his gun! Something’s wrong!”
The man was big and bald-headed with a round face and a small mouth. He said, “Look behind you.” They did and another man was standing there, gun drawn but hidden. “Get on board. Or you both will die. Right here and now,” the man smiled. The man led them up into the cargo bay. The man stood over the body of Boone Nova.
“See him?” Lorin and Jok gasped, the cargo ramp closed and sounded a loud thud. They shuddered. They were closed in. “You might be next.”
“Lorin?” Jok asked a distant-faced daughter. Her mind returned to the task at hand.
“I’m fine, Father,” she managed a derisive smile as her memory of that night was interrupted. Her emotions were rising.
Tanner opened the door and they saw the man inside the room, the man that stood over a dead Boone Nova, she thought. He had no expression on his face. Jok and Lorin sat down. Tanner stood at the prime’s side.
Tanner said, “Don’t speak, as I know you have questions. Like, why are you here? Yes, we asked you if you had any crimes toward any peoples to confess. Yes, you accepted your fifty days. That’s all changed.”
Ander’s interest mounted. He gaped. “What?”
“Oh, he speaks!” Jok exclaimed. “Tell me, how do you feel, now? Now, that the tables have turned on you. You held one gun on me! Now, I hold ten guns on you! What is your name?”
Ander remained silent.
Lorin said, “I am not going to chide with you. You will be rewarded for what you did to me and Boone Nova. You are very fortunate we are not dumping you among a pack of yapha beasts on Cede-Phereon! We will do to you, what we have done to Kwelling and Luweena!” Ander was shocked as he recalled the incident. “They are,” Ander listened intently. He never expected to hear what happened after he was captured at the Karkavon Medical Center. “They are gone. They will ‘never been seen’ by another person again.”
Jok added, “They also will never ‘see’ another person again. They are in total isolation. Cut off! Cut off from the universe as you know it!”
Lorin placed a gentle hand on her father’s shoulder, to console him. She gazed at Ander. “May I have your name? Please?” she asked.
Ander was shocked by the fact a conversation was taking place. It was highly unusual for the High Guard. He muttered, “Ander Indrayel.”
Lorin nodded, “Ander. I have a choice for you because we are no longer treating insurrectionists like our general population. You will receive ‘special’ treatment.”
“Special? What is that? Isolation? I’d love that! It’s the only way I will live.”
Lorin nodded, “So, you do want to live?”
She began to read the minute fluctuations of his face, arms, hands, and every part of his bodily expressions. She studied his breathing and listened intently to the fluctuations in his voice. He was terrified.
“Yes! Even if it is in isolation.”
“Isolation is the worst possible punishment besides torture. You will never see a person again.”
“Huh? Impossible.”
“You will be in a cell on a dead moon, planet or ship. A machine will bring you your food. You will not have any windows or devices. Isolation, Ander. Isolated from everything you know.”
“You can’t do that. That’s… that’s inhumane. A person would lose his mind.”
Jok nodded, “Yes. Very sad. Isn’t it? And that is the cost an insurrectionist must pay. Lorin,” Jok said. “He will not cooperate. Call for the stasis pod.”
“What? Stasis pod? Why?”
Lorin answered, “Because you will wake up in your new home. Your cell. We are taking you away, now. Unless?”
“And if I tell you something, where will I be sent? A normal cell? With people?”
“Yes,” Lorin said. “And Ander, we know you work for the queen.”
Again, Ander was shaken at the revelation. He gaped. “How?”
“We intercepted her communiqués, her people, her spies, and her plans for the Ambulas. We know about your compounds, your Nano-device, and we have Kwelling, Luweena, and Office Brock. Sabin, Galen, and Willa are all dead. We are mounting lasers on all of our battlecruisers and will be hunting the queen and her Ambulas by this time tomorrow. Ander, she has lost and so have you. You are going to pay for what you did to Boone. Understand?”
“I can’t tell you anything. They will see to it I am dead. Sooner than later. Or, the queen will rescue me like she promises. It’s too risky?”
Lorin asked, “Is her base in the Gorledeon system?” Ander gave her a completely blank look. “It isn’t. Are there more spies within our High Guar
d?” Ander revealed a very slight frown and sigh. “Yes. There are. This is your last chance, Ander. If you don’t cooperate, we will call for the stasis pod. Now, tell me about this queen.”
Chapter 21
Janek and Rowe lifted off from the shipyard in a different ship they had arrived in. Aderian’s tracker was now, null and void. They were in a Stellar Class II transport shuttle. Steller Class II’s were very plain shuttles and could accommodate long trips. They were not very spacious but they also were not cramped, especially with two people. They were also very common shuttles as there were thousands of them roaming the planets and corridors of the constellation.
Janek wanted to blend in with the traffic coming and going within the Xeraxes-O'bipherion corridor and go unnoticed. His problem was the Ambulas. It had caused a huge lull in traffic. But since it suddenly disappeared nearly half-a-day ago, traffic started up again and ships were slowly and bravely venturing out again and leaving Xeraxes. Janek and Rowe were among them.
Luckily for Jak and Nell, they were camped out on a distant ridge overlooking the shipyard. They spotted Janek leaving and slowly followed.
…
Rena and Aderian reached the Ambulas and her first order of business was to dispatch a ship to Xeraxes. She sent a message to Isoter and a ship quickly headed toward Xeraxes. Its sole mission was to deliver a message. A message for the Court of Primes.
Her very next task was of utmost importance to her. She quickly summoned her most experienced navigator, an attractive middle-aged woman named, Qwi’mae. Qwi’mae was assigned to an old NAV station positioned on top of the ship near its mid-section. The station was called the Star Lab because it was covered with a durable glass dome, exposed to the blackness of space and a host of starts.
The Ambulas was originally a massive colony transport vessel and the star lab was used extensively in its journey from a distant sector of the galaxy. From there the view was spectacular and very intriguing as well because the exposed view allowed the technician to see the constellation and galaxy in real time and provide a stellar perspective to what they were examining.
Qwi’mae entered the long-ago abandoned lab with a few other volunteers. They quickly began powering up essential systems, NAV systems, as her mission was very precise – map out and study every single ship travelling through the fifteen solar systems, give special attention to the ships coming and going from the seven habitable systems, log every ships designation – hundreds of thousands of them, and find the Night Star.
…
The Kori Dane and the Intrepid were twelve hours from the Xeraxes system when they received a communiqué from the Kenos Verisian. Mace and Pryce were relieved to hear from Boone. All three ships came to a complete stop and established data bursts to determine their exact location. Once that was accomplished, a hologram was opened so all three ships could talk openly and directly to one another without anyone else listening. Terra, Phia, Jona, and Lincoln were seated in the cockpit with Boone.
Mace blurted, “It’s about time! I can’t take this suspense, Boone!” Everyone on the Kori Dane and the Intrepid echoed Mace’s frustration. “Where are we going? To the ranch house on Isoter? Or did you say just the edge of the system?” he asked.
“No, everyone. I’m sorry. You will all be mad at me for this but it is all part of my plan. I’m going after the device without you.”
Boone carefully watched them as they received the news. They did not look happy about it.
Pryce nodded, though a smirk was on his face. “Boone? Explain our part in this. Please?”
“I am. Remember the debris field?” Pryce nodded and understood.
Mace asked, “Debris field? What?”
Pryce replied, “I’ll show you, buddy.”
Boone continued, “OK, you all need to go to it and meet me there. This is only because the Ambulas is nowhere to be found right now. Right? You haven’t seen it or suspected where it might be? That’s crucial.”
Kola answered, “I’ve been monitoring every communication between here and Xeraxes and even the Gorledeon system. All of our outposts are monitoring and we have 300 space gunners searching. There are a dozen intergalactic runners spread out in both systems, coordinating the search. No one has seen or heard anything.”
Boone sunk deep into his chair and contemplated the news.
Pryce said, “Boone? You look disappointed. I think that is great news. It’s not?”
Jona said, “Pryce, that thing could be sitting on top of you right now and not be noticed. We need to know where it is. Right, Boone?”
“Yes, Jona.” Boone glanced at Lincoln then at Mace and Pryce. “Any idea’s as to how we can find out if it’s ‘right on top of us?’ Because she might know your ships, Mace, Pryce. Follow?”
They nodded.
Terra suggested, “Well, she is not out here. And we know she went toward the Gorledeon system. Maybe her base is out there.”
Boone said, “It doesn’t matter, guys. At least we know the Ambulas is not in the corridor. I was hoping she would make an appearance and you two would keep her busy while I you-know-what. Now, that’s out. Turn around. Head back toward me and after Lincoln and I retrieve the device, we’ll all head for the Sim-Sa Gale.” Everyone nodded, agreeing with the plan. “Unless…”
Mace asked, “Unless what? You want us to find the Ambulas?”
Pryce looked at Kola and Kola nodded to agree. “Boone, we like that idea.”
Terra jumped out of her seat and shouted, “No! Pryce! Mace! That’s the dumbest thing you could do! It’s too dangerous! Listen, guys,” she pleaded as she tried to contain her concern. “I think 312 High Guard ships are enough to search. They don’t need you. What can you add?” Terra glared at Lincoln. “Sir? Tell them!”
Lincoln said, “I agree. I’d love to search for her but what can you two do that those 300 ships can’t do? I say we need you to stay with us.”
Phia interrupted the scheming, “Boone, once we have the device, can’t we use it to go wherever we want to?” Boone smirked and tried not to smile.
Pryce saw it. He asked, “Boone, do you want to explain ‘all’ of the plan? I can see that you’re holding out on us. I think we should know what you’re up to. Stop being so secretive.”
Mace added, “Are you hiding stuff from us because the High Guard is with us?”
Everyone on all three ships were looking at Boone. He was hiding his plan - waiting for the Ambulas to make an appearance.
Boone answered, “Yes.” Then everyone glared at him and sighed. They were not happy about his secrecy. “I’ll confess. I really wanted the Ambulas to show up.” He watched everyone to see their reaction. “I am ordered to get the device and bring it back.”
Lincoln said, “I know how you feel. You want to get some revenge on the Ambulas. I know I do.”
Everyone agreed with a grunt, some with a nod of their head. Boone said, “No, I don’t want revenge, I want to stop her from what she will do next! The queen and her Ambulas are nothing but a death machine right now. If we leave here, take the device with us, and she shows up and starts attacking someone, well…”
Lincoln answered, “Then we lost out on a great opportunity to do something about it.”
“Yes!” Boone answered. “Exactly. But, I’ve got to follow orders.”
Terra said, “Boone? Really? You really want to follow orders?”
“Uh, yes. Why do you ask?”
“Ha,” she laughed. “Boone Nova follows orders. Isn’t that a headline?”
“My father followed every order given him,” he said with a stern glare. “He may not have taught me much but I envied him for that. So, yes! I follow orders.”
Everyone was shocked as Boone explained his dilemma. They couldn’t comprehend his adherence to orders after knowing about his recent activities. Lincoln, Phia, and Terra realized they didn’t know much about Boone Nova after all.
Terra asked, “If we deliver the device, can’t the Sim-Sa Gale stop t
he Ambulas by using it?”
Kola answered, “I would think, Terra, the Gale would need quite a bit of time to incorporate the device, test it…”
“Right,” Boone added. “You can’t just start using it like I did with the Night Star. We are giving it to a battlecruiser. They will need time to learn how to use it. See my problem?”
Phia suggested, “Why not get the device and just hang around for a little while. We’d still be doing our job? Right? Won’t we need to test it?”
Boone looked at the young officer, now dressed in a pair of dark blue pants, a light brown shirt, and ankle-high black High Guard boots. She looked nothing like the investigator she was and Boone felt relieved that someone voiced his plan for him. She was the last one in the group he expected to come up with that idea – his only idea.
Boone looked at her and smiled. It’s exactly what he wanted and he needed everyone to decide that option for him. Boone was thinking ahead and he wanted to prevent Commander J'Dar, the High Guard or the Court of Primes from blaming him for changing the mission parameters.
Everyone agreed with Phia. Phia was thrilled. They would all start heading for the debris field, retrieve the device, test it once again, and hope the Ambulas would make another appearance.
Boone said, “Mace, Pryce, we can’t head toward the debris field from where we are. I am six hours from the spot in the corridor I want to exit from. You are almost a day. If you started heading toward the debris field now, someone might notice.”
Pryce said, “I get it. If we left the corridor now, heading toward a particular spot in dead space, someone will wonder why a ship is headed out there and want to know what’s going on.”
Boone answered, “Yes. Most wouldn’t even care what you’re doing but she is watching. I know it! I can feel it and the Ambulas if fast. If she saw you leave Xeraxes and head there now, she could suspect something and catch up to you. Also, you need to watch out for a laser strike. Follow me?”
BOONE NOVA AND THEPIRATE QUEEN Page 21
