“Captain? A word in private please?”
“Sure, thing, Major. Right this way.”
Captain Hopkins led the Major out of the maintenance bay and into a private office and closed the hatch, and then gave the wheel a spin.
“What’s up, Sir?”
“Captain, we do not need any more animosity on the flight deck. We’re about to start an all-out war with these Antarians. I know, I know what you’re gonna say...”
“Sir?”
“You’re gonna say that this ‘us versus them’ is partly my fault.”
“Well, Sir...”
“You don’t need to remind me of our past run in’s with the squids, but we have to put all that behind us and work together.”
“Yes, Sir. I totally understand, but he was accusing me of lying...”
“Captain! I never once heard the Chief accuse you of lying. He only said he never received a repair manifest.
He claims that his crew never received it.”
“My co-pilot says he gave it to him, Sir.”
“Well, they claim they did not get it. A simple solution would have been for you, Captain, to deliver the manifest yourself. That way you’ll know it’ll get done.”
“Yes, Sir. I’ll work harder at getting along with the deck hands, Sir.”
“That would be a good thing, Hopkins. We depend on those squids, as you call ‘em, to keep our birds in the air. The better relationship we have the better shape our birds will be in at take-off. Don’t forget that.”
“No, Sir, but you did start it. Talk was all over the ship.”
“Yes, it was. And I was wrong. I thought I was teasing the Chief, but now it’s blown all out of proportion. For safety sake, leave the animosity behind and let’s move forward.”
“Sorry, Sir. It’ll never happen again.”
“Good. Now,” Phillips said, motioning to a chair, “have a seat. I need to brief you on your mission. You and your crew will depart the Rock as soon as we jump into Lebencha’s energy stream.”
“Yes, Sir. I’m familiar with the mission parameters. When will the Rock be ready to jump?”
“Within the hour...well, as soon as the Chief has your thruster pack repaired.”
“Yes, Sir. I understand it’s gonna be a bit of a rough ride.”
“The turbulence within the energy stream is very severe. Launching is going to be tricky. You’re the best pilot we have for this rescue mission, and the Captain’s got a lot of confidence in you and your abilities.”
“Thank you, Sir. That means a lot.”
“Don’t let the Captain down. He’s put all his stock in your ability to land undetected. You’ll be taking our Eridonian along. We hope that she can help to locate our people and keep your ship from being detected.”
“What about the dampening field? Can Artemis overcome that?”
“We’re working on that. Looks like the Antarian telepathic dampening field is built based on the radioactive frequencies of a supernova. The Aga has a CAP out there right now searching for any debris from the Antarian ship we blew up. Then they’ll know exactly how to combat it.”
“Has anyone bothered to talk to Corporal Gill about that?”
“Harry? Why?”
“Well, he was part of Race’s crew. He was on that ship for a time. Maybe he knows what that thing looks like?”
Major Phillips raised his eyebrows, “No, but that’s about to change,” he said tapping his headset, “Lieutenant Henderson, Major Phillips, come in.”
“Yes, Major, what can I do for you?”
“Get word to Corporal Gill. Tell him to come down to the flight deck. I need to ask him some questions.”
“Right away, Sir.”
“Now,” Major Phillips began, “about that turbulence. We’re being told it’s going to be intense. It’ll take all your skills to hold her steady. You’ll have to take her out away from the Rock so you’ll not be caught in our jump wake when we leave. Once she jumps out, you can set your ship for an atmospheric jump. Land on the surface of Serintin and rescue our guys.”
“Sounds easy, Sir. But I’m sure...”
“I’m sure it won’t be any picnic. We have no idea what the landscape of Serintin is, or if you will actually land without being detected.”
“I understand, Sir.”
“This is not a milk run, Captain.”
“Yes, Sir. I fully appreciate the risk. I won’t let you down.”
“I know you won’t, and I agreed that you’re the best man for the mission.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
They were interrupted by the sound of someone pounding on the hatch. Captain Hopkins stood and turned the hatch wheel and swung the door open.
“Corporal Gill reporting as ordered, Sir,” Harry Gill said, standing at full attention.
“At ease, Corporal,” Major Phillips said. “Harry, I need to know if you have any information regarding your short stay on the Antarian ship.”
“Yes, Sir. I’ve already been debriefed, Sir.”
“I’m sure you were, but did anyone ask you about the telepathy inhibitor?”
“No, Sir. They removed that device from the ship.”
“They removed it?” the Major exclaimed.
“Yes, they installed it on Race’s ship so Malcom wouldn’t be able to use his mind tricks on them.”
Major Phillips tapped his headset once more, “Lieutenant Henderson, Major Phillips...I need the Captain, ASAP!”
“Yes, Sir. He’s standing right here.”
“This is Captain Fitz, what’s up Major?”
“Sir, I just spoke to Corporal Gill. He said they removed the device we’re looking for. You won’t find any of it in the debris field.”
Major Phillips heard Captain Fitz yelling orders through his headset, “have the Aga recall their search teams from the field. There is no debris to find. Seems they transferred that tech to Race’s ship before they left. Major Phillips, thank you for the follow up. How soon before Captain Hopkins’ ship will be ready to fly again?”
“The ship will be ready in a few minutes, Sir. I’ll go and check on the Chief’s progress.”
“Okay, great. We’re ready to jump up here just as soon as you give the go ahead on Captain Hopkins readiness.”
“Yes, Sir. I’ll contact you in a couple minutes, Phillips out.”
Captain Fitz handed the headset back to his communications officer, and turned to his CSC crew.
“Men, start securing all stations, Henderson, get word to all personnel to stow their gear and make ready for turbulence.”
“Aye, Sir.”
“Then patch me over to Admiral Gilmore.”
“Right away, Sir,” Henderson said, waving his arms at his staff.
Commander Jameson leaned over to Jed, “All stations reporting ready, Sir.”
“Sir, I’ve got the Admiral.”
“Captain Fitz, Sir. We’re nearly ready for our jump.”
“Very well, Captain. Break formation and get the Rocinante a safe distance from the fleet.”
“Aye, aye, Sir. We’ll start our clock as soon as Captain Hopkins completes his preflight checks. We are sending you our standby jump coordinates. That’s where we’ll wait the twelve hours, or the pickup signal.”
“Ahead full thrusters!” Jameson ordered. “Take us ten kilometers from the fleet.”
“You’ve got twelve hours from jump to make your pickup. Otherwise, if you don’t hear from them, you’re to jump back to the main fleet,” Admiral Gilmore instructed.
“Aye, aye, Sir.”
“I mean it, Fitz. Twelve hours after you arrive at your holding coordinates...and not a minute longer.”
“I got it, Admiral.”
“God-speed, Jed. Agamemnon out.”
“Thank you, Sir. This is the Rock signing off.”
“Sir,” Henderson said, covering his mic, “Captain Hopkins reports his ship and crew are ready.”
“Alright people,” Commander
Jameson shouted. “Look alive.”
“Holding position ten kilometers from the fleet, Sir,” Lieutenant Payne said from her helm station.
“Start the clock,” Jed ordered.
“The clock is running. Two minutes for Jump sequence,” Lieutenant Foster reported. “Spooling FTL drives.”
The noise of the engine whine gave off their familiar drone as they spun up, forcing the crew to shout.
“Sub light!” Jed ordered in cadence.
“Go!”
“NAV!”
“Go!”
“Tactical!”
“Go!”
“Jump resolution check!”
“We’re a go, Captain!”
“Generate negative energy densities!”
“Generating negative densities,” the engineering officer reported.
“FTL!”
“Jump drive is one-hundred percent spooled. Go!”
“The board is green, Captain!” Commander Jameson reported.
“Initiate jump!”
The Rocinante vanished from her position near the fleet. In the same instant, the Rock appeared at the programmed coordinates within the Lebencha energy stream.
The sudden, violent shaking of the ship from the energy stream surprised the crew.
“Position report!” Commander Jameson ordered.
“We’re inside the Lebencha energy stream,” Lieutenant Foster fought to report from his navigation console, holding on with all he had.
“Hopkins, prepare to launch! NAV, reset jump coordinates and start the clock!”
“Aye, aye, Sir!” Foster acknowledged.
“Hopkins, here,” Jed heard over the CSC speakers, “We’re away and outside the Rock’s jump zone. You are clear to jump!”
“Chief!” Jed shouted over his comm link, “Secure the deck for jump!”
“The launch doors are secured, Sir! We’re ready...get us out of here, this energy stream is tearing her apart!”
“Understood, Chief...Jameson!” Jed shouted, “commence jump sequence.”
Aye, Sir,” Jameson answered, “With pleasure! Sub light!”
“Go!”
“NAV!”
“Go!”
“Tactical!”
“Go!”
“Jump resolution check!”
“We’re a go, Captain!”
“Generate negative energy densities!”
“Generating negative densities,” the engineer station reported.
“FTL!”
“Jump drive is a go!”
“The board is green, Captain!” Commander Jameson reported.
“Initiate jump!”
Just as fast as the Rocinante jumped into the energy stream, she jumped to their hold coordinates.
As abruptly as it began, the shaking suddenly stopped.
“Secure from jump stations!” Jameson ordered.
“Confirm position!” Jed added.
“Confirmed, Sir. We’re at our programmed coordinates.”
“Okay, set the clock for twelve hours...Major Phillips, get your first CAP launched and begin patrolling this sector for hostiles.”
“Yes, Sir! The Chief is prepping the launch bay. I’ll have our fighters up in two minutes, Sir.”
“Excellent work people, but the hard work is just beginning,” the Captain said. “Begin diagnostics of all our primary systems and dispatch repair teams!”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
________________________
Rescue Team
Lebencha Energy Stream
________________________
“I can’t hold her much more!” Hopkins, yelled to his co-pilot Lieutenant Mike Parker. The two men worked as a team to fight the massive turbulence within the energy field
“It’s that damn thruster pack, isn’t it, Captain?” Lieutenant Parker asked.
“Not the pack itself, but more like the control mod!”
“She’s drifting close to the edge of the stream!”
“Compensating with inertial dampeners...they’re maxed out too, Cap’.”
The rescue ship was tossed about like a rag doll. Although the Marines were cinched tight to their seats, they still suffered a brutal beating as the ship lurched in one direction, then another.
“Sir,” Parker reported, “The Rock, she’s jumped away. We’re clear.”
“Set atmospheric jump coordinates!”
“Coordinates set!” Parker shouted, “We can’t stay much longer...getting red lights on the panel. Structural failure imminent!”
“Artemis!” Hopkins yelled, “Do you have a fix on our guys?”
“I am attempting to make contact with Malcom. So far, I don’t have a good fix, but I have input the general area they are at on the surface.”
“How close?”
“Might be five kilometers or so! Near the energy collector station. There’s a castle that we think is the Emperor’s palace. That’s where they’re keeping them.”
“Parker, adjust your coordinates to Artemis’ information. We’ll set it down near the collector. The energy spill over should keep us hidden.”
“Yes,” Artemis agreed, “That’s the best place to be!”
“Coordinates adjusted and set! Captain, we have to go now!”
“Start the clock...”
“There’s no time to do a system check, Sir. We’re losing it! We have to go now!”
“Hold on everyone!” Captain Hopkins instructed, “Jump!”
The rescue ship vanished from the Lebencha energy stream and appeared in a low altitude flight path heading toward a mountain.
“Pull up! Pull up!” Parker yelled, coming out of the short daze from the jump.
Captain Hopkins pulled back on the controls with Parker. The ship’s nose pitched up, clearing the mountain peak by a few feet.
“Set ‘err down over there,” Hopkins pointed to a field covered with what looked like tall grass.
“Slowing now...” Parker reported, “Lowering landing skids.”
“Easy, now...gently...not too hard,” Hopkins kept checking the readings. This was no time to slack off.
The rescue ship hit the ground hard, bounced up, and then hit the ground again.
“I said gently!”
“That was as gentle as I could make it, Sir,” Parker let out the breath he held during the landing.
“Switch all systems to hibernation mode. We don’t need them picking up any of our electronics.”
“Aye, aye, Captain,” Parker acknowledged, “Should we scan the area first?”
“Passive only. We can’t risk the Antarians detecting our scans. It looks like we came in unnoticed.
“It was the gravity,” Parker said, unbuckling his harness. “Didn’t expect a heavier gravity this much heavier than Earth’s. That’s why we struck on the hard side.”
“We got breathable air out there, so let’s conserve ours and open this hatch.”
One of the Marine sergeants unstrapped and cranked the hatch open. He took in a large breath of fresh air and then blew it out all at once.
“Ahhh, that’s so nice,” Sergeant Fletcher sighed, “Been cooped up breathing scrubber air for way too long. Even though it’s an alien planet...”
“Moon,” Artemis corrected.
“...even though it’s an alien moon, there’s nothin’ better than fresh air!” Then he climbed through the hatch onto the short wing, and then dropped the two feet to the ground. “Heavy gravity! Lovin’ it!”
“Why’s that?” Hopkins asked.
“You kiddin’ me? I’m gonna be so buff when we get back to Earth!”
“Okay, everyone, stay focused. Parker, you stay onboard and check out the systems. See if they put any spare parts in any of the holds. The rest of you, move outside.”
The rest exited the rescue ship, each jumping off the short wing to the ground.
“This gravity is at least a third stronger than Earth,” Parker noticed.
“And as a result, fatig
ue will set in quicker until we’re acclimated.”
“Fletcher,” Hopkins ordered, drawing his finger at the tree line in the distance, “you, Moriah, and Killmocher set up a perimeter.” He pointed in a different direction for each name, “I want you each to separate to cover more ground. Keep in constant comm link with VOX active.”
“What about the Antarian’s scanning these radios?”
“Negative,” Artemis motioned with her hands, “They do not have the same type of radio equipment. They won’t detect our radio signatures...engine and other electronics, yes. In time they will find the ship if we use our systems too much.”
“Well,” Hopkins smiled, “Finally some good news.”
“Okay,” Fletcher nodded. He grabbed the machine gun from his shoulder, clicked off the safety, and primed a round into the chamber. “Fan out, I’ll go straight. Mariah, you break left. Killmocher, you go right toward that rock outcropping.”
“Aye, aye, Sarg.”
“Aye, aye, Boss.”
The two other Sergeants acknowledged Fletcher’s orders and trotted out from the ship, weapons at the ready.
Parker joined Hopkins on the wing, “Sir, we’ve got a problem.”
“Lieutenant?”
“The starboard thruster control module is shot. It burned up the rest of the way on that jump.”
“Did you find any replacement modules?”
“Not yet, but there’s more bins to go through. Just wanted to let you know we’re not taking off anytime real soon.”
“Nice.” Hopkins grimaced. “Help me check out the rest of the exterior. Then we’ll both go in and have a look. We’ll cover more if we team up.”
“Aye, aye.”
Hopkins and Parker examined the ship’s exterior while Fletcher arrived at the edge of what seemed to be the Serintin equivalent of a forest.
The Sergeant traversed several meters within the tree line, “Moriah, Killmocher, come in. I made it to the edge. Report.”
Fletcher listened to static for a brief moment before he heard a voice, “Killmocher. I read you. I’m traversing the edge of the trees and moving toward the outcrop. Stand by.”
“Moriah reporting in. I’m heading due South. The energy collector is up ahead, visible through a thinning of the forest. I’m about thirty meters from the main building. Don’t ya think that’s a little close?”
“Negative, Sergeant,” Fletcher answered, “They’re not expecting us, so they’re not lookin’. Besides, our intel is that these are unmanned stations, everything’s automated.”
Warlords Saga Page 17
