She chuckled and smiled. “I know what you’re going to say,” she said as she sniffled. “I said I would rather shoot you in the back and tie you up than trust you.”
“So, you remember.” Boone looked into her bright blue eyes; his look turned into a gaze. “I’m lying in bed, my arm is in a vice, my mom comes up on the hologram and you… you took away my conversation with my mom! And I haven’t spoken to her is years! You just, Phia, you just barge in and take over! See?” he asked.
Phia replied with a half-hearted smirk and nod of her head.
“You interrupted my conversation with Commander J'Dar, then you interrupted my conversation with Lincoln, with Lorin, with… should I go on? I don’t want to hurt you, truthfully, Phia, but I’m very upset right now!”
As Phia watched him she studied his eyes and face. His dark brown hair was a tangled mess, he was becoming emotional, and she noticed his eyes starting to tear.
“It’s not just you but there are some things I’m going through right now and I’m having a hard time. My heart breaks…” he uttered as his voice cracked, “that I couldn’t talk to my mom.” She noticed his tear; he quickly hid it. “I apologize to you for yelling at you but right now, I’m not in a good place. I will talk about Kova,” he sighed, wiped his tear and his nose then cleared his throat, “later. But you just have to trust me. I’m innocent and now, I’m doomed. Cursed even.”
She grimaced, “Don’t say that.”
“It’s true. Nothing is going right. I just want you to stop. That’s all I ask right now. And, believe me.”
“I will. I do believe you! But before all of this, in my defense, I didn’t know you. Yes. I know you, now. I trust you, now. And I’m sorry, now. But I didn’t know you and all I knew is that you were wanted. I’m sorry if that…”
“Yes, I’m wanted but they are wrong and I am right. That’s the difference. You are following orders that are a lie, Phia. This is my whole point.”
Phia’s eyes widened. She started to understand. “I wish you would have explained that! And I very much want you to explain it all to me, now!” She quickly flipped her hair behind her and wiped at a tear. “If you would…”
“Uh-uh! Phia, you’re doing it again.” He smiled. “You’re barging in, breaking down my door. I can’t talk about it right now. I’ve got to keep my mind on this mission! OK?” She nodded and started a small smile. “I can’t even think straight right now! And please listen to me, I’m not ready. I’m just not ready.” He blew out a fast and loud sigh. He eyes were getting moist again. She was glued to his round baby face and his light brown eyes. “If I say another word about this, I promise, I’m gonna jump us into deep space, you can take the Night Star, and I’ll take my shuttle and leave.” His eyes were very moist and he became very concerned. “I’d be gone. I can’t handle it, Phia. OK? Please?”
Her small smile faded away. “OK. I understand. Now, is not the time! I didn’t realize how much it all bothered you. Kova and you, Boone, have consumed my thoughts. I also can’t stop thinking about it and I really wish I had some answers because… because I want to find the truth. I’m sorry. I’ll stop.”
“Huh,” he muttered. “I’ve been searching for the truth for years. I haven’t found it.”
She pushed herself forward and stood up. She looked at him wondering what else she could say to help. Boone pushed himself up and stood next to her.
He said, “Look. I can’t tell you why but I can’t handle all of this stress. I still have things on my mind from the last mission and I really need to get away and think for a while. But, I can’t. Because everybody wants something from me right now and I hate it. Also, Phia, I have a problem with my anger. I know about it and I’m trying to deal with it.”
He watched her to see her reaction. She smirked and nodded. “OK. I understand.”
“I didn’t mean to yell at you and make you cry but I’m so angry right now, I feel like breaking something!”
“I know,” she smiled and chuckled to patronize him. “Me, too.” He nodded. She asked, “Are you just angry with me? Because I will apologize again if I…”
“No, Phia, I’m angry because,” Boone thought about his last mission, the Axeons, Lorin’s panic attacks, and the dead family. The dead children. “I’m in a bad place right now. I can’t talk about it.”
He walked past her and slid the door open. He glanced at her as she watched him. She was in a stupor – trying to remember what he did on Isoter. He headed for the cockpit.
Standing alone in the small ready room, she took the opportunity to look around. She reminded herself that it was not his actual room. For some reason, she found herself wanting to take a look at how he kept his room, what it looked like, what personal items he had, and who this Boone Nova, space drifter, junk dealer, space transporter really was. She knew he was a loner and she began to realize he was also hurting. She surmised a terrible pain must be at the root of his intense anger. It was something she wanted to fix.
“Terra,” Boone asked as Terra and Lincoln chatted. “How long till the debris field?”
She checked and answered, “six hours.”
Boone nodded, “Good. Why don’t you two get a few hours rest? I want everybody to be at their best when we get there.”
Terra nodded, she and Lincoln left the cockpit seats, and Boone sat down. Phia was standing in the cockpit entrance. She wanted to invite herself in and she also wanted to ask him if he needed her help. She thought it best to leave him alone. She followed Terra and Lincoln down to the second deck.
Lincoln stopped halfway down the corridor to the bunk rooms. Terra and Phia looked at him and wondered why he stopped. Then they heard Jona snoring. Chuckles and giggles broke out. Lincoln entered his room and Terra went into the galley. Phia followed.
Chapter 23
“Mace,” Gunner said in a monotone voice. “I don’t like this.” Gunner was studying the NAV hologram with a ship 2.9 hours behind him. There was also a third ship an hour behind it.
“Hmm,” Mace uttered. “I see. They’re gonna see us leave the corridor. I’m contacting Pryce.” Gunner opened a channel.
“What’s up?” Kola asked as Pryce sat next to him in the pilot’s seat of the Intrepid.
Gunner replied, “Sir, I mean, Kola, these two ships will see us leave the corridor.”
Pryce answered, “I know. They just passed those cargo ships and gunners an hour ago. I thought they were with them. They must be headed to O'bipherion.”
Kola saw their signatures, “One is a small luxury shuttle; the other is a small transport shuttle – Stellar Class. Hmm, those are fast, though.”
Chopak, sitting behind Mace and Gunner, asked, “What do mean, boss, by ‘hmm, those are fast?’”
Pryce glanced at a concerned Kola. Pryce answered, “I see a problem – the Class II liner should have overtaken that shuttle, and us, over an hour ago. Why are they traveling so slowly?”
“Yeah,” Kola belted. “They haven’t. It’s just weird.”
Mace replied, “Yeah, weird. I don’t like weird! Do we need to call Boone?”
“No,” Pryce answered. “We stick to our plan. We have three times the firepower than either of them, whatever they’re doing. I say we make our turn now.”
Everyone on both ships responded with nods of their heads. The Kori Dane and Intrepid made a 270° turn to port. They headed directly for the debris field which was almost half-a-day away.
…
“Ready, Captain,” Ms. Ellswood replied as Captain Eisen sat in his captain’s chair. Commander J'Dar sat in one of the lower command chairs awaiting the initial laser test. “We are 81.2 million miles from Eusebia.”
Eusebia was one of a dozen planets orbiting O'bipherion.
“Are you absolutely positive there are no activities taking place there? No science vessels, no cargo ships passing through?”
“No activities, Sir. I’m certain.”
“Mr. Tellan, what are you going to target?
Enlarge the object, please.”
“Aye, Sir. I’ve picked out a good-sized chunk of an asteroid – one out of dozens. It’s approximately the size of the Ambulas, Sir.” He enlarged the hologram containing the asteroid.
The captain nodded, “Proceed with the laser test.”
…
She asked again, only more anxiously than she had minutes ago. Braxton was getting nervous, standing behind Halene and Juvas. He was watching over their stations. Aderian, sitting close by, gazed at her and wondered how she had become so ruthless, brutal, and inhumane. His disbelief caught her attention. He remained silent.
“We are eighteen minutes from maximum potential, Ma’am,” Das replied with a guilty smirk.
She wanted to get into position now and Das could not oblige. If he pushed the ship any faster it would no doubt lose much of its cloaking ability. He sheepishly glanced at her. Her gaze was cold and determined.
She looked at the beautiful lush planet with hatred. Its bright blue oceans and dark green land masses were a spectacular sight as white clouds danced over it.
She did not despise the planet because of any of its features but for the handful of High Guard outposts that protected it. Her message to the Court of Primes would be more comprehensible in a few short minutes.
“Halene? Status?” she asked.
“Ma’am, all five turrets are charged. May I remind you, Ma’am, the longer they stay charged, the more they will drain our power and…”
“And I know, Halene. I know the risk regarding our cloak. In a few minutes,” she exclaimed with indignation, “we will not be using our cloak!”
The entire bridge crew gasped at the thought. If the Ambulas were uncloaked and firing upon the planet, hordes of High Guard runners would be dispatched. Aderian continued to gaze at her and wonder how far she would really go.
“Das,” the queen asked. “I want the ship pointing directly at the city. We are not to be in parallel. Do you understand? Halene, you will target directly ahead. You will not have to adjust to target it. We will maintain a better defensive posture with this maneuver. Whatever ships come at us from the planet, we will adjust the turrets. Understand?”
Das, Halene, and Braxton nodded, fully understanding the maneuver. The ship would not orbit the planet and fire down upon it from above but rather fly directly toward it from a distance and fire upon it from a position outside its orbital path. It was a very calculated and wise maneuver.
“Brax? Are we close enough?” Braxton looked at her and nodded his head. “Good. Halene, on my mark.”
…
Captain Eisen left his chair, anticipating the newly mounted forward laser would devastate the 1000 foot-long asteroid. That was the approximate size of the Ambulas.
“Mr. Grainer, are we in position?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Mr. Tellan. Fire!”
Mr. Tellan fired the laser as the Sim-Sa Gale sat 81.2 million miles from the asteroid. The heavy-duty focused laser lit up and fired a beam, several very fast blinking lights burst out of a recessed turret – similar to the Ambulas. The burst landed dead-center of the asteroid as planned.
The beam quickly burrowed into the surface of the rock, burning and heating rock, minerals, and elements contained within it. As it burrowed deeper, the elements became intensely hot, expanding rapidly, and exploded as if a bomb within its surface would explode. The crew cheered as an explosion occurred. The asteroid became large chunks of rock and quickly scattered in every direction.
Captain Eisen, overjoyed with the results, quickly changed his demeanor. He walked toward his command chair, glanced at a smiling Commander J'Dar, and sat down.
He roared, “Ms. Ellswood!”
Sensing his mood and understanding the implications of the successful laser test, she roared back with a smile, “Sir!”
He replied with a smirk, “Set a course! For Xeraxes! Destination… the Ambulas!”
The bridge crew cheered and many clapped their hands. The Sim-Sa Gale turned about and headed into the O'bipherion-Xeraxes corridor.
…
Das had the Ambulas pointed directly at the planet, Efferium as it slowly rotated. Their window of success was beginning to open and they would only have a handful of seconds to lock onto their target, particularly, the city of Nepa’pa – the planet’s capital. Halene readied her WEAPS station and Juvas studied his NAV station keeping an eye out for High Guard space runners and the speedy intergalactic runners.
Rena stepped out of her command chair, took a few steps closer to Halene, and sighed. She uttered with a calm and cold voice, “Hear me, now, Court of Primes. I speak.” She paused. “Halene… fire.”
The Ambulas emitted five high-powered focused beams. The five beams melted into one another and sped toward the surface.
In the city below, the bright sunny day was uncharacteristically interrupted by a tremendous boom as a powerful cackle pierced from above and penetrated buildings and structures below. The intense beam bore through the atmosphere at such an incredible speed, molecules were heated beyond measure, vaporized, and echoed an unnatural deafening thunder and clatter.
As the city’s residents gazed above, they witnessed many long streams of white vapors – evidence that something terrible had cut through the sky.
Several towering buildings shook as their foundations were devastated. Crowds ran as the buildings tumbled to the ground. Fires and hysteria broke out as crowds and ships flying overhead headed for cover.
Another tremendous boom, another strike, another ground-shaking clamor brought down more buildings and filled the air with an unbreathable mist. The destruction was more than she expected.
Rena gazed at the several holograms spread across her bridge, each one revealing the depth of her hatred. Her eyes widened at the destruction, her mouth gaped, and she gasped. She looked at Aderian, wondering what his reaction would be. He sat in his chair, elbows on his knees, and his face buried in his hands in disgust. He quickly stood up. She saw his face reddened as never before. His eyes were moist, his mouth was opened yet no words. He didn’t look at her once. He turned and left the bridge in despair.
Rena took a step toward him, to follow but she was interrupted.
“Ma’am,” Juvas exclaimed. “High Guard space gunners. Three minutes out! Cloak?”
She turned and looked at the holograms, “No. Halene, take out a few of them. Please? If they don’t retreat, I’ll consider cloaking.”
Juvas reminded her, “Ma’am, if they reach orbit they will be able to get a visual on us.”
“So,” she answered sarcastically. “Shoot them! I want them to feel the horror, Juvas. There is absolutely nothing they can do.”
Suddenly, she noticed a young man standing next to her. She shuddered, drew her hand-held laser, raised her knee and launched into him with both hands firmly on the hand laser. He fell to the deck and she kneeled on top of him. Everyone on the bridge jumped to their feet. She pushed the beam of the laser close to his neck.
“Don’t ever sneak up on me again,” she whispered. “Don’t you know that?”
“Yes, Ma’am,” he quivered. “I have an urgent message, though. From, from Qwi’mae.”
She got up and holstered her hand laser. She helped him up and pointed for him to lead the way. She said, “Brax, you’re in charge. Take out as many High Guard ships as you can. I’ll be right back.”
Brax nodded and took the chair. He frowned at the holograms depicting the burning rubble, fires, and smoke that billowed from the city of Nepa’pa. A handful of High Guard space runners were slowly rising through the atmosphere, approaching low orbit.
Rena burst through the doors of the star lab, “What is it? I hope it is worth the long walk, I’m very busy!”
Qwi’mae smiled and pointed to a wall-sized hologram of the O'bipherion-Xeraxes corridor.
“Queen, here is Janek, here is Jak and Nell, this ship here,” she said as she pointed to a small cargo ship called the Kenos Verisi
an, “left the corridor hours ago and is headed for, I have no idea. It’s heading takes it between Axeon and Abdom center. This other ship, a High Guard intergalactic runner called, the Wildfire, is now leaving the corridor and heading to a spot where this cargo ship and the runner will meet.”
Rena quickly sat down next to her, “The Kenos Verisian? Huh! That’s the Night Star! That’s Nova! How long until they meet?”
“In one hour.”
…
Meanwhile, on the planet Ta’Jeon, in the Peridius system - the 4th system, Merrick did his best to quickly transform his covert pirate base into a guise of business production.
Merrick was five feet tall and in his late fifties. His short dark hair and blemished face, blemished with cracks and crevices, make him look very intimidating. He was very slow to speak and quick to act. He had both of his compounds, the very compounds Boone Nova and the Night Star destroyed a month ago, rebuilt and converted into a corporation that would pass for building and retrofitting navigational systems. He knew the High Guard was coming to investigate. He was happy that they delayed.
His compounds on the planet Ta’Jeon, after all, were indeed communications hubs for the queen and communicated to her compounds and outposts in the western section of the constellation. Merrick, after nearly completing the disguise for the compounds finally turned his attention to another very pressing matter. A matter of extreme concern. He first and foremost wanted revenge for what Boone and the Night Star did. Secondly, he wanted his son-in-law, Ander Indrayel, returned to his daughter.
His plan would not only free him but excite the queen as well. Ander would, no doubt, have vital information concerning his temporary incarceration.
Merrick summoned his most experienced soldier – a man also in his late fifties with great experience in hand-to-hand fighting, understanding keen strategies in battle, and able to outwit opponents with his wisdom alone, most times. He was, at one time, an elite soldier in the Peridian Defenders Corps – a corps also done away with when the High Guard was initially instituted. The man’s name was, Co’Dak.
BOONE NOVA AND THEPIRATE QUEEN Page 23
