Boone patted him on the shoulder. “I’m getting there, too. Let’s get out of these suits. Jona, I need you to stay suited up. You’re going to push this device out and into the Wildfire. OK?”
Jona very seriously and quickly replied, “No, Boone. It’s the Intrepid. Because Terra is just like what Intrepid means!”
“OK! Ok! Fine, the Intrepid!” Boone laughed amid the stress and continuous drama of the mission. “Jona,” he added. “You make me laugh.”
Lincoln and Boone entered the cockpit, he took Terra’s seat and had Terra take Phia’s seat. Terra was glad that she was called upon to copilot.
“Lila? Confirm coordinates. Set for jump.”
Lila: “Coordinates complete; jump procedure ready.”
Boone manually hit the button and the Kenos jumped forward to a section of space not far from the Kori Dane and the Intrepid. He assumed the jump would not be noticed because it was a very short distance. They darted toward one another, Jona launched the device from the cargo bay of the Kenos and it drifted out toward the Intrepid. Pryce and Veil, wearing space suits, caught the slow moving device, removed the magnetic panels stowed under the device, planted them on the white piping of the device and attached it to the hull. The Intrepid now had jump capability. Jona waved at them from the opened ramp of the cargo bay and they waved back. Once they were all back in their cockpits, Boone made sure Pryce had all of the instructions to operate the device.
“OK,” Pryce uttered. “I’m ready for my first ever jump! See you soon, Terra? Boone?”
Through the hologram, they both answered, “See ya soon.”
Pryce hit the button and the Intrepid disappeared. Boone turned his chair around to face Lincoln, Phia, and Jona.
“Now, it’s our turn. We are going to pay a visit to this Ambulas. Terra, a holo-map, please?”
Lincoln gazed at him with disbelief. “With this ship? Really? C’mon, Boone. The Night Star can’t…”
“Why do you doubt me and my ship? Haven’t you read about us? She and I are perfect together.” Lincoln smirked. “You just watch, Lincoln. Now, are you in or out?” He nodded, yes.
Terra nodded also then projected a map of the Xeraxes system. “Uh!” she grunted. “I don’t see them. Boone, I want to contact the High Guard on Efferium.”
“Do it!”
While Terra received an update, the others planned their approach.
Boone said, “I need to approach her without notice. Granted, I think they saw what we just did – jumping through the constellation.”
Phia said, “Look at this, we are closer to the Gorledeon system than we are to the Xeraxes system. Can we jump from this outer planet, here,” she pointed, “and have Lila do several consecutive jumps? To get us on top of the Ambulas?”
Boone replied, “The Ambulas can target and fire its laser in a matter of a few seconds.” He looked at Lincoln and Jona.
Jona said, “Four seconds for me, Boone. If I see you coming, I can target you in two seconds and fire by the fourth second. Maybe quicker.”
They all nodded, Phia’s idea would not work.
Terra said, “The Ambulas took out half-a-dozen High Guard runners but there is some good news. The gunners are reporting they saw the Ambulas – visually, even though she was cloaked to all scans. So, you were right about that, Boone. How did you know about their deflecting capability?”
“I didn’t know. We have to find a route that will be hidden from her.” Everyone looked at the holo-map.
Jona suggested, “If we jump behind Xeraxes, then jump behind this dead planet, here, we can jump in right behind her. We can blast her engines. Right?”
Everyone seemed excited about the idea, except Boone. “Do you realize how big her stern is? Did you know she has seven engines circling her stern? Her stern is the size of the Karkavon Medical Building! Once we ‘jump in,’ we will have three seconds. That’s all! Three seconds! Three seconds to launch rockets, fire the phase cannons then we have to jump out of there. Everyone understand that? We can’t think we can just jump in and start blasting her and we win. ‘That’s’ not going to happen! She has lasers on her bow, stern, cannons on her port and starboard.”
Lincoln asked, “How did you find all of this out.”
Boone answered, “I did some research.”
“When? I didn’t see you do any?”
“Lincoln, later! She’s firing at the planet!”
Terra replied, “Boone, just two strikes so far. She’s just sitting there, now.”
Boone said, “I think we will only get a handful of blasts at her. I think we need to blast her bridge. The engines? Maybe we can take out one or two of them then bolt out of there? But that’s not going to cut it.”
Everyone was perplexed. Boone was right and they had a problem.
“Uh, hello? Anyone there?”
“Mace?” Terra asked as she opened the COM.”
“I’m still here, Boone. Waiting for orders. Pryce just left and I know what you’re thinking. I’m not going home. I want to go with you. Whatever you’re thinking? I’m in!”
Terra quickly brought Mace, Gunner, and Chopak up to speed. He reminded them he had a laser.
Boone said, “I can’t jump with you! How?”
Mace answered, “Boone, a tow cable! Tow me when you jump!”
Lincoln said, “Too risky. We have no idea what will happen.”
Mace replied, “We will both jump together. That’s what will happen. Boone! Say it! Say it now!”
“And I suppose you will want to separate once we get there?”
“Yes,” he answered.
“And how will you escape? We won’t have time to reconnect and jump away together!”
Mace frowned and grimaced. He stared at Boone with dejection.
“Mace,” Phia said. “How far is your laser effective in space? Can you target her from a moon, for example?”
Everyone looked at Phia. She momentarily cowered until Boone smiled.
“Mace! Hook up now. Get into position. Terra, let out the tow cable. We will jump toward Xeraxes, then jump to that moon that is on the other side of Efferium, and from there we will jump behind this moon,” Boone pointed into the holo-map. “That is where Mace will be and we will circle around the other side of the moon and stay clear of Mace’s beam. Mace can hit her from there.”
“I get it,” Terra added. “If she turns, we can jump and target her bridge.”
Lincoln said, “Yes, then we all back off.”
“Definitely,” Boone said. “I want to live to fight another day. Phia, great idea!”
Phia smiled as she had never smiled before during the mission. She was overjoyed to receive Boone’s praise. “Phia, during this attack, I have one very important job for you.”
Phia nodded and Boone explained as everyone watched him. While Terra extracted the tow cable and Mace hooked up, Boone showed Phia a panel in which she could launch a small magnetic orb to tag the Ambulas and track her. Phia would launch two of them.
Chapter 25
Rena snapped again, “I want that COM to the star lab working! Now! Why isn’t it working?”
A maintenance worker tried to explain. The COM link to the star lab was broken and retrofitting was needed to reestablish it. Rena had someone run a hand-held COM device to her and hoped it would work inside the steel walls of the ships. It was very ineffective.
Qwi’mae sent another runner down to the bridge. She had several young fast volunteers waiting in the star lab just to send information to the queen. The runner had to navigate down a ladder fourteen decks, run through a corridor 425 feet long to get to the forward section of the ship then go up seven stories by using an elevator. Each trip took about seven minutes.
The runner came to Rena, “The Kenos just made a jump through space!” he shouted. “Qwi’mae said, ’41,000,000 miles in two seconds flat! The Kenos is with two other ships, the Wildfire, an intergalactic runner, and a Sono Class II Jet Star! Mace Starling’s ship!
’”
“The Kori Dane? I hate that ship as well. Tell her we will be leaving here in a few minutes. Project where they will be, so we can intercept them. Go!” The runner ran back to the star lab. Rena blared, “Juvas, inform Janek and Jak. Tell them where the Night Star is.”
…
“Commander!” Jamisen exclaimed as he jumped to his feet in amazement.
Captain Eisen asked, “Don’t you mean me? Captain? Mr. Jamisen?”
Jamisen turned toward Commander J'Dar. His face was pale and saddened. “No, Sir. The Ambulas has attacked Nepa’pa. Three towers, four large buildings, and a handful of other structures were just fired upon with a laser – from space. Sir, the Ambulas just killed thousands.”
The captain and the commander stood in horror. They immediately asked for real-time footage via holograms. Ms. Ellswood accommodated them. They watch the feed in awe. Shock and terror overtook the bridge.
“Sir,” Ms. Ellswood exclaimed. “Sorry to make things worse but something is happening outside the O'bipherion-Xeraxes corridor.”
“Where?” Captain Eisen asked as he and the commander approached and stood behind her.
“I just now confirmed this, Sir. I saw the Kenos Verisian.”
“What!” J’Dar screamed. “Jamisen, get Mr. Donaker up here. Immediately! And Zayne, too!”
Ellswood continued, “Uh, Sir, the Kenos made a ‘jump.’ It traveled 41,000,000 miles in exactly two seconds! It is with the Wildfire and the Kori Dane. I’ve been so busy, I had to backtrack the feed several minutes to find out where they went. I’ve caught up to real time, Sir, and they are sitting in dead space. Sir, I’m sorry! I have my hands full! Too full!”
Captain Eisen asked, “Ms. Ellswood, please keep a close watch on all three ships and the Ambulas. With all of this cloaking and jumping and who knows what else, we won’t be able to monitor anything anymore.”
“Aye, Sir. I understand, Sir.”
Commander J'Dar asked, “Ellswood? Do we need to set up another NAV station?”
She turned toward him and answered, “Yes, Sir. I think I would like to exclusively focus on the Ambulas. Someone else needs to focus on the Kenos which can jump anywhere anytime, Sir!”
J’Dar blared, “Nova still has the device! He better give it up! He said he would! Keep your eyes on that Night Star!”
The captain and the commander sat down and continued to glue their attention to the holograms and the bridge crew. It became very busy and interesting and even horrific for them all.
Ms. Ellswood momentarily turned away from the captain to peek at her monitor in case the ships moved or the Ambulas made an appearance. She glanced at the monitor then at the captain then at Commander J'Dar then at the monitor again.
Captain Eisen said, “We will set up two more NAV stations.” He looked at another bridge crew member and she quickly called for two more navigators.
Suddenly Ms. Ellswood jumped to her feet. She stood stunned as she held both arms in the air as if she were shocked by something.
Once again, the captain and the commander jumped to their feet again.
“What is it?” Commander J'Dar asked.
She turned toward them and said, “The Wildfire! It’s here!” She gaped a gape with a smile slowly overtaking her expression. “The teleportation device! It’s here! The Kenos must have given it to the Wildfire. That’s how they jumped!” She checked her monitor again. “They are 3,000 miles off our port bow.” She looked at Mr. Grainer.
Mr. Grainer replied, “I have them on screen. I’m adjusting course,” he turned his chair toward the captain, “with your permission, Sir.”
“Yes!” he exclaimed. “I want that thing on board and I want them to report to me, immediately.
Commander J'Dar smiled at the good news. The teleportation device was finally being brought to him. Then his smile diminished when he realized Boone was not with it.
…
Qwi’mae sent another runner and notified the queen that the Wildfire had left the system. She was monitoring the Kenos. Rena was preoccupied with moving the Ambulas’ orbit in order to hide from the oncoming High Guard space gunners.
One lone intergalactic runner was weaving from port to starboard, avoiding the Ambulas’ laser while making a run at her. Rena suspected they wanted to destroy her cloaking ability. It was a long and tedious battle and the Ambulas seemed victorious as the intergalactic runner appeared to be searching and orbiting Efferium. It was hunting while the Ambulas was waiting for an opportunity to destroy it. Four other intergalactic runners joined it and began searching.
The runner reached the queen with information but she forbid him to speak. He had to wait until the intergalactic runners were destroyed. Her cloaking ability was of the utmost importance to her at the moment.
…
Boone disappeared from the scans of the Sim-Sa Gale and the Ambulas. Both battlecruisers, the Ambulas and the Sim-Sa Gale, thought Boone had bolted from the battle. Qwi’mae sent another message to the queen regarding Boone’s disappearance while the Sim-Sa Gale ordered Pryce and Kola be brought to the bridge.
Boone and Mace lay hidden behind a small moon circling the planet Efferium. Lila’s preprogrammed jump sequence worked flawlessly. It made a total of three jumps and ended in a perfect hidden position. Phia was ecstatic concerning her role in the decision.
Mace detached from the Kenos and quickly sped to the other side of the moon and landed on its surface behind a large mountain. The large mountain would adequately hide the Kori Dane from the Ambulas. Mace would hover slightly above the horizon to initiate his laser strike upon the Ambulas.
Boone opened a channel and they conspired. “This is going to be tricky, Mace.”
“I’ll say! Remember those two ships that seemed to be following us? They are! Well, they turned and headed toward the debris field. Now they are heading back toward Xeraxes. What’s the plan?”
Boone looked at everyone and answered, “We are definitely jumping next to her and blasting her. But, we will only have… Jona? What do you think? I think about five seconds.”
Lincoln jumped up and ordered, “Boone! If we had an intergalactic runner, we could jump over there and keep blasting her until she breaks in half! Remember what she did to the Trek? And what she’s doing now? What is wrong with you? I thought you were a fighter!”
Terra stood up to oppose him, “Sir! Lincoln! I don’t think you realize what we’re going up against!”
“Stop!” Boone uttered.
He waved both of his hands and motioned for them to sit down. Mace and his crew were glued to what was happening on the Night Star through the hologram. They also wanted to go in and blast her to pieces.
“Look, Lincoln. And all of you over there with Mace. I want to blast her to shreds. I do! Really! But it will never happen. In case you didn’t know, that ship is an old and decommissioned Galaxy Class 4 Starliner. It’s a fast and very long and wide ship. It used to house ‘colonies of people!’ A thousand years ago! This ship is over a hundred stories tall and more than 1000 feet long! It’s got lasers on the bow, lasers on the stern, seven engines, rockets are mounted on the sides of its hull and I guarantee you, people sitting with their fingers on the firing buttons! I’m telling you, I am going to live through this day. That is my mission. If I can stop her, I will. But, we will only have a handful of seconds to do something.”
Lincoln sunk into his seat, “You’ve really done some INTEL. Where… never mind. OK. So, what can we do in four seconds?”
Boone turned his chair around and had Terra launch an orb. It shot out of the ship and gave them the exact position of the planets, moons, and the Ambulas. They also saw the five High Guard intergalactic runners searching for her.
“Look,” Boone said as he zoomed in. “See her?”
They all studied the enormous size of the Ambulas as it lay between them and the planet – the planet in the backdrop showed the Ambulas as a large black blot. Tracking in orbit were five unsuspecti
ng intergalactic runners and a small squadron of High Guard space gunners.
Phia asked, “They don’t see her?”
“No. She’s cloaked,” Terra said.
Boone added, “She is not invisible but she can redirect scans somehow. Probably by using some type of mounted deflector. I’m thinking we should reappear right here on top of her aft section,” Boone selected the position he wanted Lila to send them, “and then I’ll fly toward her bow. Terra will keep her hand on the phase cannons. Maybe we can cut her open like a dead fish. I think we should focus on her bridge, if I can find it.” Boone then set the coordinates for his exit. Lila was ready to do the jump.
Jona said, “I want to just blast her engines, Boone. Won’t that blow her up?”
Mace said, “No. We don’t have the time to fly to each engine. There are lasers back there, too. Boone, I want to target as many engines I can from my position. You jet in and do what you can. Time’s wasting!”
“I know, but I want all of us to live through this.” Boone glanced at Terra and Phia. They nodded. “Mace, after five seconds, I’m leaving. I’ll come back. OK? You won’t be alone too long.”
“Uh, that’s good because those other two ships are a couple of hours away. They are definitely headed here.”
“OK. Here’s the plan,” Boone explained. “Phia, you are going to launch two trackers.” He pointed to a panel. “See the control?” She nodded. “As soon as you see us arrive, send out one. Four seconds later, send out the second.”
Phia nodded, “Got it.”
Boone uttered, “I wish I had a bomb. Terra, you will handle the phase cannons and Lincoln, there is a panel next to you. Do you see rockets?”
“Oh, boy, do I see rockets. I pin the target then launch?”
“No. You can’t pin anything. They don’t have that capability.”
Jona sat in the last seat behind them and frowned. He was staring at the metal deck flooring. Terra saw it and noticed. She got up and walked over to him. She comforted her left arm with her right hand. When Jona saw her black boots in front of him, he looked up at her.
BOONE NOVA AND THEPIRATE QUEEN Page 25
