We were twelve hours from mission start and were in the hangar testing the new weapons Justice had built. Like everything Justice did, the weapons worked flawlessly. Justice had the hangar door open, and we were broadside to several pieces of rocky asteroids. The pieces he had located for us to target ranged in size from basketball to refrigerator. The new munitions favored vacuum but worked well in atmosphere. We reduced the rocky debris to gravel and dust. We were having so much fun we burned through the three hundred rounds Justice had manufactured. There was no immediate need for the weapons so Justice would have plenty of time to make more ammo.
Justice closed up the hangar and we dropped the weapons off in the lab on our way to the galley for the last mission brief. We all decided it would be wise to wear the artifact armor instead of the Zaen suits. The artifact armor would draw a lot less attention than the Zaen battle armor. The crew decided to tone down their normal weapons load out. I wasn’t completely onboard with the idea but was overruled. The reason being a less hostile posture might potentially smooth any business transactions. Klutch would still carry the standard Tibor side arms along with his fighting knife. After mulling it over a while he decided to carry an additional set of the capacitive discharge weapons in shoulder holsters under his 699 cape. Coonts would carry the weapon we had recovered at the research station. He tucked it into a belt that would hold the weapon tight against his back concealing the fact he was armed. Tria said she didn’t need a weapon. I pointed out that it would be easier to explain the weapon than try to explain me. She decided that one of the recoded Tibor weapons wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all.
After a short rest period it was now time for the crew to launch. Coonts and Klutch were already in the transport loading the few items they felt were necessary for the trip. Tria was in the ready room collecting her artifact armor and weapon. I waited until she had collected her gear. She smiled when she saw me. “Commander you do not have to be concerned for my safety all will go well.” I was used to all not going so well but didn’t say so. “I wanted to say goodbye and be safe Tria.” She gave me a smile and embraced me. Without thinking I gave her a quick kiss on the lips. The look of shock on her face instantly embarrassed me. “I’m sorry Tria I don’t know what I was thinking. It is how the people of my world show they care for someone.” I tried to pull from her embrace but she would not let me go. “Please Nathan I would like you to do it again.” My cheeks felt like they were on fire but I obliged her. She released me and smiled warmly. “My father and I will return soon. Take care Nathan Myers, I want nothing to happen to you while I am gone.” My cheeks were finally starting to cool as I walked with Tria to the hangar. Klutch and Coonts were standing next to the hatch of the transport. I walked up to them and clasped each of their hands and shook them then gave each a quick hug around the shoulders. Tria was watching my every move. I guess she was wondering if I was going to kiss them. She gave me an even bigger smile when I did not. I addressed the three of them. “Stay safe and remember if things look wrong to you or you feel threatened we can always regroup and rethink our strategy. Think of your safety first and the mission second. I look forward to seeing you all back soon.” Justice came over our comms.
“I wish you well. The Commander and I will be standing by if you have need of us.”
The crew entered the transport and closed the hatch. They hadn’t even departed, and I already felt I would miss them. Justice opened the hangar doors and gently pushed them into the void. Justice would take the Legacy in close enough to the outpost so we could recover the crew if things didn’t work out. We held station for almost eighteen hours before Tria hailed us and gave the green light to start our part of the mission. Justice took us a good distance from the outpost and we transitioned to hyperspace. Our transit time would take over thirty three hours.
I went to the science lab and started messing with the new weapons. I took the sling from my shotgun and set it next to the new weapon. “Justice I think I would like this to hang from a sling that can be utilized with both sets of armor.” The Zaen battle suits were already becoming cluttered with weapons and existing equipment. I needed an attachment point that would not interfere with the other weapon systems on the suits. After studying the battle suit diagram Justice projected a hologram above the work table, I decided a spot over my right shoulder on the munitions back pack would be good placement. The most expedient attachment point turned out to be a maglock plate we used in our combat boots. It could be placed on the back edge of the ammo pack without obstructing my numerous other weapons. Justice would have to add thin strips of magnetic material to the weapons because hull alloys had no magnetic properties.
The penetrator slugs were an excellent piece of engineering but I really liked the buck shot loads Justice had enhanced. Because I grew up on Earth and was taught to share, my thinking was we should have a little something for everyone. Justice and I brain stormed it a little while. Justice used his marvelous processing cores, and I whined about what I wanted. It was soon decided it would not be problematic to add a ten pellet chamber in place of the penetrator. Justice installed a small explosive charge that would detonate once the shot chamber was clear of the barrel. The blast then sends the pellets toward the target in a tight pattern predetermined by the chamber design. Justice made sure it was failsafe by putting a contact trigger on the round in case the target was at point blank range and the propellant charge didn’t ignite. I moaned until Justice filled each pellet with the explosive compound from our battle suit weapons. After seeing the Scrun weapons with the wicked looking bayonets I wanted the same for our new weapons. Justice was unable to reproduce the Tibor fighting knife design with the materials we had available to us. We shelved the idea until we could come up with the proper materials.
We were getting ready to drop back into normal space time just outside of system 2456. I had just come off of an extended sleep period and was still a little groggy when we made the transition.
“Commander I have an unidentified vessel in the lower atmosphere of the gas giant the research station orbits. There is a high probability it is attempting to mask its presence. The vessel was detected with our enhanced sensor systems. Negations systems are operating at maximum efficiency and cloaking capability is optimized.” I was now wide awake and wondering who would be trying to hide and why.
“No one had any idea the Legacy would come back here any time soon. Only the scientist had that information. I am getting a bad feeling about this Justice.”
“Roger Commander. There is a sixty two percent probability our exit from interdimensional space and the propagation waves have been detected.”
“Do you have any return data on the target Justice?”
“Negative Commander, the dense atmospheric conditions are distorting much of my return information.”
“I guess there is always the possibility it might have been one of the scientist from Rak’s or Arn’s clans. They could have turned on us as soon as we left. I thought the size of our bribes would have bought their silence it looks like I was wrong. Where is the station?”
“Just over the horizon from the target Commander.”
“Let’s swing around the other side of this gas ball and see what we find.”
“Commander I am now picking up shield emanations from the target and they are consistent with previously recorded data on Galactic Union warships.”
“You mean from Eiger’s ship!”
“Correct Commander, but the target return data suggests a smaller vessel. I still lack detailed information but I can confirm it is not a Galactic Union battleship. The classification would be consistent with a small frigate or possibly a large gunship.”
“Have they spotted us?”
“Negative Commander they are turning back towards the research station. I believe it is now a certainty they have detected our transition emanations. We have completed our orbit and I am now detecting three additional vessels docked with the station.”
“Can you identify them Justice?”
“One is a Grawl transport and the other two are unidentified. They appear to be large shuttles Commander. The target ship is slowing and I speculate they are waiting to see if a ship will approach the station.”
“Is there a chance they will be able to detect us?”
“The closer our approach to the station the greater the risk. If the target sweeps us with a military grade full spectrum scan, I do not believe the negation system can completely conceal our presence. If I bring our shields online, they will be able to actively target us.”
“Back us away slowly Justice. I think this is some kind of trap. I don’t like the idea it was laid for us. If we send an encrypted message to Xul will we be detected?”
“I suggest we move out away from the station and send the message. We will be undetectable until we broadcast. Once you send the signal, I will relocate the Legacy to the opposite side of the gas giant and bring us behind the target ship. We should know their intentions soon after we broadcast.”
“All right Justice do it, I don’t want to mess around with these guys. If they detect us and attack do what you must to protect the Legacy.”
“Roger that Commander. Discreet access codes entered and comms are active.
“I’ve got an idea Justice, I want you to take a single sheet of artifact 2762 and get ready to jettison it out the cargo hold door. When I send the message you dump the 2762. Then vacate the area at maximum acceleration.”
“Excellent idea Commander, I can delay the signal to allow the artifact to be detected at the same time as the broadcast. We will capitalize on their passive sensor lag to clear the area.”
“If they make a high speed run at our decoy and don’t attack, I want you to take us to the back side of the station so it will shield us while we take a closer look.
“I am ready for you to broadcast Commander.”
“Overmaster, I request permission to dock.”
Justice dumped the artifact 2762 out of the cargo hold and made a high speed dive for the gas giant. It didn’t take the bogey but a couple of seconds to react.
“The target is launching sub light missiles Commander, missile count holding at six. I am detecting full spectrum military scan emanations. We will be over the gas giant’s horizon in eleven seconds. I now detect multiple high yield anti-matter detonations. There is high probability the target ship’s Captain will realize his error and will prepare for retaliation.”
“Let’s don’t keep him waiting Justice. Give the target a full shot from our energy weapons and one full yield anti-matter missile then take us around the gas giant in close to the station if possible.”
I watched in fascination as Justice superimposed the target on the view dome of the bridge. We rapidly closed to optimal weapons range. The display dome blinked in unison to our weapons firing. The yellow circle around the red target triangle began blinking. A thin white line representing our missile intersected with the target. The yellow circle disappeared from the target and the red triangle started blinking.
“Commander our main weapon systems brought down the targets shields and allowed the anti-matter missile partial penetration of the ships defenses before detonation. The targets hull has been breached and is leaking atmosphere. I still detect several active point defense systems and the ship appears to be drifting. The station will be between us and the target in thirty seven seconds. Forward missile tube has been reloaded and all weapons are in standby mode awaiting orders.”
“Let’s hail them and see if they are ready to call it quits.”
“Multi lingual program is active and comms are ready to broadcast Commander.”
“Deactivate your weapons systems and do not attempt to bring your shields back online or you will be destroyed.”
“Commander I am detecting heavily encrypted communications between the target ship and the research station. It is not possible to determine the proper decryption key at this time.”
“Target the aft section of the ship Justice.”
“Acknowledged Commander, the target ship is now acknowledging your hail and will comply with your orders. They are no longer masking their communications and the translation is coming back as the Murlak dialect.”
“The last time we encountered any Murlak in a Union ship, it was Eiger and his band of pirates. I don’t like the implications of what is going on here. We need to find out what has happened on the station.”
“Commander, one of the shuttles has just brought its power plant on line and I believe it is making ready to depart the station. I now detect a shield emanation from the shuttle.”
“Bring us right over the shuttle Justice and target it. Can you bring down its shields without destroying it?”
“Affirmative Commander the shuttle’s shields are incapable of deflecting continuous rail gun fire.”
“Hit them with a couple of rounds then let me broadcast in the open.”
“Acknowledged Commander, localized communications are available.”
Justice hit the shuttle with rail cannon fire. The yellow circle around the shuttle faded and then returned to normal. I called out to them. “If you attempt to leave the station, you will be destroyed!”
“They are complying Commander. Their shields have dropped and the power plant is shutting down. I am detecting more encrypted communications with the Union frigate.”
“I want to talk to the station Justice.”
“Comms are active Commander.”
“I want to speak with Overmaster Xul at once! If you test my patience, I will destroy the Union ship!”
“Commander I am receiving voice comms with embedded video. I will put it up on your screen as a one way communication.”
I looked up at the screen and the image of a Murlak appeared. “I am Overlord Yagess. Xul is no longer in charge of this facility. Identify yourself so we might better communicate.” I was getting a very bad feeling something not to my liking had taken place at the facility. “Justice, target the station.” The Murlak suddenly looked to the side and his furry face changed expression. The Murlak turned quickly back. “Our response to your intrusion into a restricted zone was not unreasonable. If you identify yourself, I am sure we can work out a profitable conclusion to our simple misunderstanding.”
“COMMANDER! The Union frigate just launched a hyperspace communication buoy!
“Can you shoot it down Justice?”
“Negative Commander the Union ship is between us and the buoy. I have lost the contact signal on the buoy and now picking up a transition distortion wave. The Union frigate is powering its star drives and getting underway. They have partially restored their aft shields and are accelerating for open space. I surmise they are attempting to transition!”
“TAKE THEM OUT JUSTICE!” My view screen blinked and then again. The red triangle disappeared from the screen but several small red lines were rapidly moving towards our position from the destroyed frigate’s last location.
“Snapshot missile launch Commander! The Legacy has yet to be acquired but the missiles will attain lock if we remain stationary at this position. Missile count is twelve.”
The sub light missiles became twelve individual red lines moving at incredible speed right at the Legacy. “Can you shoot them down?”
“Affirmative Commander.”
The view dome blinked from the white out effect of all our energy weapons firing at the same time. The swiftly approaching red lines started vanishing. I breathed a sigh of relief when all the missiles were destroyed. “Justice, scan the shuttles and tell me if they are occupied?”
“The shuttles and the Grawl transport have been vacated Commander. Our rail gun fire has prompted an evacuation of the area.”
“Destroy the shuttles and leave the transport. I need my armor up and ready with a full weapons load out. If you have enough ammunition for the new weapons, I will take one with me.”
“Commander you cannot go into the research statio
n alone! There is a…………. “
“JUSTICE! Please don’t give me a probability for my demise. Help me get ready and wish me luck! I have to find out what happened to the Grawl scientist that helped us. I will not leave without knowing if they have been harmed.”
“Commander I will not be able to communicate or track your progress once you are out of the shuttle docking arm. Our last visit revealed extensive scan and communication shielding throughout the facility.”
“If the Murlak in charge has harmed the scientist, you will not have any trouble tracking me. Just monitor the station for the hell I will unleash on them. I’m sure you know the Murlak were calling for help when they launched the communication buoy. The clock is ticking so please let’s just get this done.”
“Roger Commander,”
31
I ran to the ready room and saw several of Justice’s extruded arms working on my armor. The needle rail gun was already attached to the left arm of the suit just behind the muzzle of the armors primary weapon. My new double barrel weapon was being attached to the right side of the ammo pack on its magnetic clip. I dumped my smart cloth on the floor and was putting on my suit liner when I glanced up and noticed my armor was sporting a new paint job. There was a monstrous looking skeleton on the front of the armor. The helmet was finished out with an equally monstrous fanged deaths head with horns. It looked like the eyeholes were glowing red. Justice obviously took my hell comment to heart. This must be the A.I.s attempt at psychological warfare. I’m not sure what the aliens were going to think when they saw my new getup but I was sure it would not be conducive to good bladder control. I stepped into my armor as it tightly squeezed my body with the now familiar fitting process. Looking into my helmet visor as it switched to an exterior view of the dock arm I stared in mute fascination. Both of the shuttles seemed to disassemble into massive clouds of debris.
First of my Kind Page 42
