Star Bridge (Space Rogue Book 4)

by Jay Toney

  I had one last question. "Where is the Game Master located."

  There wasn't one central location for the Game Master. It existed as a network, of every game center. It couldn't be shutdown without destroying every one of them. That could take years, which we didn't have time to spend here.

  I disconnected from the game center. The time I spent plugged in was just seconds, but it seemed like at least an hour had passed. Nugget and the girls were just coming back inside after taking the bodies out. "We cannot turn off the simulation from here," I explained what I learned from the Game Master to them.

  "There might be a way to limit the damage and keep it from spreading," Persephone said. "We can't turn off the games, but maybe we can damage the network enough to make the games boring to the contestants."

  Persephone faded out for a couple of minutes. "I am sorry, it took a lot of concentration to scan the planet. There are 53 satellite communication centers on the planet and 350 functioning satellites in orbit. If we destroy them, that will cripple their communications network."

  We headed back to our marauder, and the Persephone, armed with this new information. The people of this planet would be given a second chance at survival.

  "Jewel, open a communications channel to Red, and Beverly." Their images appeared side by side on our main viewscreen.

  "We cannot shut down the Game Master. It is networked through billions of game centers throughout the planet. Persephone has come up with a way to cripple it, by destroying its ability to communicate throughout the network. It is hoped that the remaining citizens will grow bored with the simulations and return to being productive citizens. We will need to destroy the satellite communications centers and the satellites in orbit. I am sending the data to you now."

  "I'm sure we can do it, I'll get to work on it right away," Red said. Beverly also acknowledged her readiness.

  "Nugget have the prisoners brought to the bridge,"

  "Right away Captain."

  The prisoners were led to the bridge, still in chains and leg irons. They were just in time to see the end of their games. Red and Beverly launched their Marauders and Keshian fighters, armed with percussion bombs and missiles. They would be targeting the communications centers. I explained to the kids what was happening, as they watched the Vengeance and the Valkyrie fire their energy weapons at the defenseless satellites.

  "You can't do that. It isn't how the game is played."

  "It isn't how you play the game. Your computer may have stopped to reset the game because it was losing. I haven't. I am going to finish the game. This is the last war game that will ever be played by your Game Master."

  They watched in horror as we destroyed the planets communications network. "Nugget, have the prisoners taken back to storage."

  "Captain, what are you going to do with the prisoners?" Persephone asked.

  "I promised them a life lesson for their part in the games, one that they won't forget. Maybe I can make good on that promise at our next stop. I still have the Gorians to deal with too."

  "Nugget set course for our next stop. Enter Hyperspace when ready." I escorted Amber and Jewel to our quarters. I still had the problem of baby fever to deal with. "Amber, Jewel, I couldn't help overhear the two of you talking about wanting to have a baby. Baby fever has been spreading throughout this ship. Nearly half of our female population is pregnant now. I think I understand your feelings, and if it is what you want... ."

  "Nathaniel, we were just talking about the possibility. We thought that maybe it would give you a reason to believe in yourself again. We're still enjoying life and aren't ready to have babies just yet unless that is what you want."

  "I think we should continue to practice for awhile longer. I wouldn't want to screw it up. When we've perfected our baby making technique, and we are ready, we can talk about it again."

  "Just how could you screw it up?"

  "Well, the last time I made fraternal twins, both a boy and a girl by accident. I don't want anything less than that from the two of you. In fact, I want two boys and two girls to start with, and more after that. I want us to have a big happy family someday."

  Persephone appeared in our cabin. She was sporting a huge baby bump. "I just wanted to see how it looked, I can't feel it of course." She lifted her blouse, exposing her belly and rubbed it. "I think I like it. How about you?" Baby fever struck again. The one I least expected to catch it was Persephone. If she kept popping in, my wives were bound to catch it from her. Even now they were admiring her belly, rubbing it, and feeling for a baby kick.

  "I think I felt the baby move."

  It wasn't real of course. She couldn't have gotten pregnant. She wasn't ... she was alive but she didn't have a real body. She was also part goddess, so I wasn't so sure. I was the only one with an emitter that could give her a corporeal body, and I didn't have anything to do with it. She merged with my body once, was that enough? I would have to wait and see.

  Bugs

  The Caprica System was very old. It was one of the earliest systems colonized by man when we fled our home world and the Alliance. We were getting close to Antares, where our search for the Star Bridge would begin. It had been a long time since Doc and I were there last. We were back in our old hunting grounds. It was here that we made our fortune. When we returned to Alliance territory, they took nearly everything we had, including almost all of our crew and friends. We were left with only a handful of crew, our ship, and little else.

  Since fleeing the Alliance, we were able to rebuild our fortune. However, our luck hadn't changed. We were being pursued by both the Alliance and the Crimson Tide.

  "Captain, there are traces of interstellar travel in the system. None of them recent."

  "Nugget proceed to Caprica prime."

  Caprica Prime was the third planet in the system. It didn't have a space station, or at least it didn't the last time we visited. It did have a space port we could land our shuttles at and trade for what we needed.

  The Queen Anne's Revenge was long gone, destroyed while fighting the Alliance. I doubted the people of Caprica Prime would remember Doc unless he called attention to himself. I was in my teens when I was here last. I've changed a lot since then, and so did the planet.

  "Captain, I'm receiving an automated distress signal from the planet."

  "Automated?"

  "It's a repeating signal. I am unable to raise anyone on the planet's surface."

  "On my last visit, this planet had a thriving economy. Doc and I raided it time and again."

  "It isn't thriving any longer, bio-signs show sparse human life sign readings," Amber added.

  I was curious as to what could have happened. The planets cities were densely populated, "Is there any indication of war, or outbreak of disease?"

  "As far as I can tell, there isn't. Its population is simply gone."

  "We will take a small team down to the surface to investigate. I'll need you on sensors. Nugget, your expertise may come in handy. Persephone will also join us, and the team."

  We boarded my Marauder and launched, heading towards the planet's surface. Amber ran her scans using the ships sensor arrays. They were not as powerful or as accurate as Persephone's sensors, but are proximity to the planet would give them more available data. I dove into the atmosphere. The ship's nose glowed red hot, and flames obscured my view. I circled the ship in a downward spiral, slowing our descent. I was treating the ship gently this time. I had no need for evasive tactics. The populace of this planet never defended themselves against our raids. I had no reason to believe they would do so now.

  "Captain, I'm picking up high energy readings and thermal activity to the southeast, bearing 142°, about
200 miles distant."

  I continued my descent, heading in the direction Amber gave me. The course took us over a large city. There was no air traffic or activity that we could detect on the ground. It was simply empty of its inhabitants.

  I was thinking about the city, not really paying attention to what was ahead of me. A large bright green object appeared in my peripheral vision. I banked to my right to avoid it. I was too late. Whatever it was got caught in my port engines turbine.

  The engine shut down, and we were heading down. One engine wasn't enough to keep us airborne. I needed a place to land fast. There was a small clearing ahead. With our altitude, we could just make it. We continued our descent, nearly at treetop level. I lowered our landing gear and cut the thrust on my starboard engine. Birds flew, and branches broke as we clipped the treetops.

  For a minute I didn't think we were going to make it. I was sure we were going to crash short of the clearing. The last few branches cleared my viewport, and we were over the clearing. I activated our repulserlift engine and reversed our thrust. It wasn't my best landing, but is was one we could walk away from.

  We got out to inspect the damage. It wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. The turbine blades were clogged with what looked like bug guts. The turbine would have to be cleaned out before we could attempt a restart.

  "Nathaniel, the energy readings are only a few miles distant. I'll clean this up, while you and Nugget investigate."

  That sounded like a good plan to me. I hated bugs of all types, especially spiders. The thought of picking out pieces of bug goo from the engine didn't exactly appeal to me. I could do it if I had to, but I would prefer to wait for a repair crew to be sent down to do it for me.

  Nugget, Persephone, and I headed in the direction Amber gave us. After about an hour of walking, we were back in the woods. We weren't far from the signal source, but the woods made travel much slower. We began to see bugs, large bugs. These bugs weren't native to this planet. The closer we got to the energy source, the more there were.

  So far they were ignoring us. Either they weren't hungry, or they didn't see us as a threat to them. We stopped at the edge of the woods. There were Skirax here. We stayed hidden in the bushes, watching them.

  The Skirax were large six-legged bugs, resembling a praying mantis. They had a large appetite and gorged themselves on warm-blooded animals. Humans were on the top of their list of desirable prey. They regularly hunted their prey and consumed them while still alive. They established a hive here and began terraforming the planet.

  "If there were a lot more of them, it would explain the lack of humans on this planet," Nugget advise me."

  "We need to get out of here before they discover us."

  We started back. Trying to be as quiet as possible. One of the flying creatures took interest in us and descended. It was a Skirax. Another one landed beside him. We ran, hoping they would lose interest in us, they didn't. They had the scent of prey, us, and chased after us. They moved faster than Nugget could possibly run. He and I turned, drawing our blasters, and fired. It took several shots to kill them. More Skirax were attracted by the noise, taking the places of their fallen comrades.

  "Nathaniel, carry Nugget. I'll slow them down. The only thing that would stop a Skirax from hunting, was a feeding frenzy. What Persephone was suggesting... ."

  "Hurry, I won't be able to keep them distracted for long."

  I picked Nugget up carrying him piggyback. My cybernetic limbs made it effortless. I ran heading back to the ship as fast as I could. I couldn't turn around to see what Persephone was doing, but Nugget could and did.

  Persephone walked towards the group of Skirax, offering herself to them. They tore into her, tearing her limbs off, and feeding on her. She squirmed on the ground keeping the bugs interested. The Skirax started feeding on her abdomen. I was glad I couldn't see it. Nugget's vivid description equaled my fears. Persephone was gone.

  I let Nugget down when we reached the clearing. We still had about an hours walk. The two of us were far enough away from the bugs that we wouldn't be seen.

  "That was simply disgusting," Persephone said reappearing. "I won't do that again."

  I had forgotten that Persephone, was a hologram for a minute. When she was with us, she was in corporeal form. She was so lifelike, it was hard to believe otherwise.

  "Being eaten wasn't painful. But the thoughts that those insects had while consuming me was gross. All they thought about was drinking my warm blood, and chewing on my tasty tidbits. Imagine me, being considered as finger food."

  Her complaints weren't important. What was, was her being back with us. We made rapid progress crossing the clearing to my ship. Amber had done a good job of clearing the bug guts from the engine. I just hoped it was enough to get it started.

  "Nathaniel, while all of you were away, I received a distress call from the city we flew over. A spotter saw our ship fly over the city. A group of survivors took a chance by calling us. They need our help."

  Anyone still left alive would need our help. This planet was lost. The Skirax came here looking for food and they intend on staying here. We saw one hive nest and terraforming equipment. There were undoubtedly several more hives and terraforming plants. It wouldn't be long before this planet was uninhabitable by humans. No planet ever escaped Skirax occupation.

  In time they would seek another solar system to conquer. We could nuke the planet from orbit, but with our few ships, we didn't have the number of nuclear warheads necessary to destroy every Skirax hive. Attacking them would just cause them to spawn, spreading them to every nearby system.

  We boarded my Marauder. I crossed my fingers and said a quick prayer. We needed every bit of help we could get. I ran a quick diagnostics. The diagnostics still showed contaminants in the left engine. It was expected. Amber wouldn't be able to reach in and get everything out. The engine would have to be flushed out when we got back.

  The right engine started, without any problems. The left was slow, turning over. There was still bug goo clogging the turbine. It reached,40% RPM, and I fed it fuel and fired the igniters. The engine slowly built up speed. The exhaust gas temperature, (EGT), was well into the red zone before the engine started. Black smoke poured from the engine while the remaining bug guts cooked in the combustion chamber. It was sluggish but running.

  We took off heading for the city. I kept our altitude low, to decrease the chances of being seen by the bugs.

  "The survivors will meet us at the spaceport," Amber said. "I don't know how many there are. They were able to hide, using the basement below the main terminal, as a shelter. They have been forced to scavenge for food at night when the bugs are less active."

  We landed. It was quiet, no one was at the spaceport to greet us.

  "They won't come out of hiding until after its dark. Too many of their people have been killed by the bugs. When it gets dark the bugs will seek the safety of their hives. The survivors will find us then."

  We waited. Shortly after nightfall, I saw movement and lights in the main terminal. It wasn't long before our ship was surrounded by people. There weren't as many as I hoped. Their numbers only reached a little over 300.

  It was a lot more than I could take with me, but we had more shuttles and fighters to Protect them.

  "Persephone, have the fleet send down transport shuttles and Viper escorts to bring these people to my ship. Let Doc and Miranda know that they will have patients coming. Inform Lauren that she has another group of refugees to house, clothe and feed." I opened the hatch to address the crowd:

  "May I have your attention. I can only transport 30 people on my shuttle. More shuttles are on the way. We will be taking everyone to my ship. Only bring what you can carry. We will prov
ide all of you with clothing, food, cabins, and medical care."

  The crowd cheered. Surprisingly, they didn't panic and try to rush on board. Families with children were first to board. The women and children fastened themselves into every available seat. The men sat on the floor bracing themselves as best they could. When we were full, I closed and sealed the hatch.

  The engines started much easier this time. Most of the goo had been sent through the engine burning up. I could see the streaks of fire, that were our shuttles and their escorts coming in for a landing. I took off, heading to the Persephone, my home. Doc, Miranda, and Lauren were in the shuttle bay, waiting to greet our new passengers. Lauren gave a speech, similar to the one I had given her people.

  Lauren divided the refugees into three groups. The first went with Doc and Miranda, for medical examinations. The second group was led by a Keshian. He took his group to get clothing and essential supplies. The last group was taken to get a meal, probably the first decent meal that they had in awhile.

  The groups of refugees would be rotated, eventually ending up back here with Lauren. She would be assigning cabins to the refugees. After they had rested for a couple of days, she would begin the interview process and be assigning them their duties.

  As soon as all of the refugees were aboard, I began researching the local systems. If I remembered correctly there was a neighboring system to Caprica. Doc's journal was lost with the destruction of the Queen Anne's Revenge. My memory of this sector was sketchy at best. When I was here last, all my thoughts were about visiting the lovely ladies at each port we visited. I didn't bother keeping any personal records.

  There it was, the Midas System. It was only two light years away. It would be a very short trip in hyperspace. The Midas system was colonized about the same time the Caprica system was. Midas II was a hot desert world, with little surface water. Its economy was built on its mining.

  The planet had an abundant supply of metals and gems. Doc and I raided it several times. It was always a good source of wealth. We wouldn't be raiding it this time. I had other business to attend there.