Chapter 14
Tommy finally felt his heartrate dropping to something that might be considered semi-normal. While he’d initiated at least some of the fight—well, at least one round of being shot at, at least—he didn’t know he could really get comfortable with this kind of thing.
“You get used to it,” Harley quipped as if reading his mind.
“What?” he asked, unsure if he’d heard the first officer correctly.
“The stress of being shot at like that? After a while, you kind of get used to it.”
Tommy sighed. “God, I hope not.”
Harley grinned for a moment. “Same here.”
“Why?” Cody asked. For some reason, he wasn’t getting the shakes. It was like he’d been in as many scraped as Harley had.
“Because,” Tommy replied, “it would mean we’re being shot at a whole lot more than I’d really want to be.”
The engineer nodded his understanding, then turned his attention to the rounds now embedded into the bulkhead.
“How bad?” Tommy asked.
“Meh,” Cody answered. “Not too bad. This is pretty dense stuff, and it doesn’t look like anything got too deep. Still, I’d rather we get some filler when we touch down next just to be safe.”
Tommy nodded his agreement. “Yeah, I’d rather not find one of us plugging a hole the hard way,” he quipped. “I’m headed to the bridge. Let’s stay armed until we hit the gate. Understood?”
Everyone acknowledged the order, though he suspected it had been superfluous. Things hadn’t gone that smoothly this whole trip, so to expect it to do so now would be stupid.
His crew may be a lot of things, but stupid wasn’t one of them.
As he made his way toward the bridge, he marveled at their escape thus far. Pure skill on the part of his crew…okay, skill and a healthy dose of luck.
Stepping onto the bridge, he asked, “How’s my sky?”
“All clear, for the moment, Captain,” Adele replied, her voice relaxed.
Tommy smiled and said as he sat, “That’s what I like to hear.”
He relaxed into the seat, something he’d been without for far longer than he wanted to admit. They’d managed to pick one up on Ararat when they were last there thanks to working with Dianne.
That thought reminded him of the data chip residing in his pocket.
Standing, he said, “Give me a yell if anything changes. I need to get this chip to Michelle for a look-see.”
The pilot nodded, not turning to look at him. As usual. It’s not like there was much out here in the black that required that level of focus, especially with a sensor suite parked a deck below her, but it was fine. She was in her own world, much like Michelle was with computers.
He stepped off the bridge and into the passageway.
Navigating the short distance between the bridge and the computer section was a simple matter. Necessity required them to be close to one another. After all, astrogation was actually automated due to the difficulty for anyone to correctly keep up with where a planet would be in orbit around a sun a few hundred lightyears away.
Tommy knocked on the hatch, then opened it without waiting for an answer.
Michelle sat at her console, her elbows resting on the desk and her hands holding her head.
“You okay?” he asked.
She sat up and finally nodded.
“I’m sorry,” he said. He meant it. While Michelle was his age, he viewed her as a little sister, partially because of her size, but also because she seemed so naïve regarding the world. You’d think a few years in prison would have knocked that out of her, but no.
Now he had her involved in shootouts and wrestling with professional criminals.
He needed to have his head examined.
“It is alright. I simply must deal with it,” she replied, her bravado clearly forced. She was shaken, and it was clear she wasn’t alright by any stretch of the imagination.
“We’ll talk later, okay?” he asked.
She nodded.
“Anyway,” he said, trying to shift the conversation, “I need you to take a look at what’s on here. I want to know everything, alright?” As he finished, he fished the data chip out of his pocket and handed it to her.
Michelle’s demeanor seemed to pick up a bit, thrilled to have a task involving her technical prowess.
He was glad to see it. Frankly, she was starting to worry him.
** ** **
Tommy sat in his seat on the bridge and tried to relax a bit. They hadn’t gotten that far away from Armstead, but either pursuit would come or it wouldn’t. Either way, they would be clear of the orbitals in a few minutes, which made it free space until they reached the gate.
The upside of free space was that this was EDC controlled. The Earth Defense Command felt they had jurisdiction pretty much anywhere humans settled and all points in between. Armstead’s independence serves as a major thorn in their side, but they respected it regardless.
However, Tommy hoped that should the worst happen…
BING!
Tommy sighed. He really needed to stop thinking about how bad things weren’t going to happen. It was like that’s all God was waiting for before dropping him into the crap all over again.
He looked at the scope and saw something big heading his way. Something really big. It wasn’t a couple fighters this time.
The computer was already searching for a match. In theory, every known vessel class was in the databanks and updated every time they got close to a data hub as needed, but whether it really happened or not was another matter entirely.
It took a few minutes, but another “bing” centered Tommy’s wandering thoughts nicely.
He punched the display and read the information. A Defiant Class cruiser weighing in at a whole bunch more than Sabercat…plus, she was armed.
Tommy sighed. “Why us?” he asked the universe in general, then hit the button that sounded general quarters throughout the boat.
“You’re seeing this, right?” he asked Adele, but he knew she had also looked up the information.
“Yes, Captain,” she replied. “What do you want me to do?”
“Full burn until we break clear of the orbitals and reach free space, and let me know if they hail us.”
Adele nodded and punched the throttle.
Behind, the Armsteadean ship continued to gain on them. It was bigger, faster, and a whole lot of mean in a single package, but running was the only chance they had.
Tommy’s scope showed when they were free of the orbitals. They only had a few minutes left before breaking free, and thankfully the cruiser hadn’t started shooting at them. Yet.
He hit the button on the intercom and warned the crew of what was going on. Before finishing, he added, “Get our passengers secured and their cabins locked down, then stand by.”
Time stretched. The few minutes until they broke clear of the orbitals, and therefore out of the jurisdiction of Armstead’s government, took about an hour and a half in Tommy’s mind. You’d think he’d be getting used to this effect, but not so much.
Finally, the icon for Sabercat crossed the imaginary line that marked free space and Tommy breathed freely. They were free.
Or were they?
The cruiser had to have known they had left the orbitals, but they were still burning hard toward them.
“Adele, alter course. Nothing major, but enough that they’ll have to adjust to intercept,” he ordered.
It was possible that this was just coincidence. It wasn’t likely, but he wanted to make sure before he sparked off what could be an intergalactic incident.
Sure enough, the cruiser adjusted course to intercept.
Tommy began searching for help, which shouldn’t be too hard. Each gate facility broadcast all EDC ships in the system, keeping it constantly updated. The assumption was that anyone on a classified mission was omitted, of course, but he didn’t care about any ships like that just now.
There
were plenty of ships that could render aid in theory, but all were too far away. The cruiser would catch them long before that. It didn’t matter, he had to do something.
He studied the plot on his scope, trying to figure out who was closest. Due to the three-dimensional nature of space, it was often difficult to simply look and figure out who was closest. After a few minutes, he picked the candidate that would best serve.
Initiating the quancom, he said, “Regulus¸ this is Sabercat, come in Regulus.”
After a moment, “Sabercat, this is Regulus, go ahead.”
“Regulus, Sabercat. We are being pursued by an Armsteadean cruiser. We have left their orbitals. We have also altered course to get out of their way, but they initiated a course correction that still places them on an intercept. Please advise, over.”
More tense moments as he waited for a reply.
** ** **
“Captain?” called out Radio Tech Second Class Gonzales. “I’ve got a civilian transport that may need assistance.”
Commander Colton Walker swaggered over toward the radio tech. For the Texan, it was the only way he knew how to walk, after all. “So, what’s their problem?” he asked.
“Their boat is being pursued by an Armsteadean cruiser. They say they’ve altered course, but the cruiser adjusted to maintain intercept. They want us to advise.”
Walker considered. He was sure his destroyer could take an Armsteadean cruiser if he had to, of course. He also knew he could call in a lot more throw weight if he needed to. However, it would also cause the kind of incident where, if he were wrong, would ruin his career.
Of course, Walker wasn’t one to back down from a fight either.
“His story check out?” he asked in his Texas drawl as he turned his attention to the nearest LIDAR operator, Lidar Operator Spaceman Cooper, if he remembered correctly.
Cooper nodded. “I took the liberty of checking the LIDAR replay, sir,” he said, using the unofficial term for LIDAR information stored on the system’s drive, “and the plot that appears to be Sabercat did just what she said, and the cruiser adjusted.”
“What do we have on Sabercat?” Walker asked, though he’s pretty much made up his mind to join in. Armstead got control over their orbitals, and what was defined as their orbitals was far too liberal so far as the EDC was concerned, but Sabercat was beyond that. They should have broken off.
The LIDAR operator punched a few buttons to call up the relevant information. “Sir,” he began, “she’s a Harrison Class transport, flagged North American Alliance and under the command of Tommy Reilly.”
That name was one Walker hadn’t heard in a while. Could it be the same person?
“Call up a pic,” Walker ordered.
Cooper obeyed, flashing up Tommy’s photo on the screen.
“Son of a…”
“Sir?” Cooper asked.
“Nothing. Gonzo?” he asked, turning back to the radio tech who had been with him for years, enough so the skipper felt comfortable throwing around a nickname. “Get me the Sabercat.”
** ** **
The com screen winked open when the connection with Regulus materialized. The face on the other side was one Tommy recognized, and now he wondered if that was a good thing or not.
“Tommy Reilly,” Colton Walker said with a wry grin, “I always knew you’d end up with your rear in a crack.”
“Captain,” Tommy replied ruefully, “sure does look like you were right. I could use a little help. For an old frat brother?”
Walker laughed. “Yeah, brother, we’re coming, but only because we’d be coming for anyone.”
“I’m fine with that,” Tommy admitted. “Your ETA?”
“Well, that’s a cause for concern. We’ll come at full burn for as long as we can to get there, but it still looks like they’ll catch you before we can get there. We’re trying to call them off now. Unfortunately, they’re ignoring our hails.”
Of course. He and Walker may have been frat brothers, but they didn’t actually like each other. Like so many other people, responsibility for that dislike rested solely on Tommy. However, Walker had always had a decent grasp of right and wrong, so he doubted the EDC skipper—who was always called captain, regardless of their actual rank—would do anything but his best.
“I understand,” he replied. “What are you thinking?”
“They mean to board you,” he answered matter-of-factly. “You’re armed?”
“Small arms. No shipboard stuff, per EDC regs,” he answered. The EDC didn’t allow armed ships, but they did allow armed crews. Too many ships disappearing at the hands of pirates only to turn up in some black-market ship sale fixed at least that bit of stupidity.
“Good. If you can hold ‘em…”
Tommy nodded. “We will.”
“Get some, brother. Get some and we’ll be a-coming for the cleanup.”
The connection winked out, leaving Tommy sitting on the bridge with only Adele and his thoughts for company, and the pilot was like a statue.
According to the system, he had an hour to prepare a greeting. Looked like he needed a bit of help.
Chapter 15
“Well,” Harley said, looking at the work they’d done, “We’re as ready as we can be.”
They’d determined that the Armstead Marines would most likely breech in the cargo bay, since it would serve as less of a choke point for the boarders. Choke points, areas where the passage would only permit one or two people to enter, would work against the attacker’s superior numbers.
By coming in through the bay, however, it would give them a larger section of the ship to control initially. It would also give them a place to set up a forward command center for the Marine commander, as well as provide a place to treat any wounded.
Not that they were ignoring the docking hatch, mind you, but the fact that only one person could pass through that hatch at a time—the epitome of a choke point—made too many more defensive measures superfluous.
Tommy had already ordered Adele to adjust course toward Regulus, hoping to either cut the distance between Sabercat and the EDC destroyer or maybe scare off the cruiser. So far, the cruiser wasn’t particularly intimidated, apparently confident they could board, complete their business, and be gone before Regulus could get there.
“Alright,” he said, looking at the crew. Mary and Dianne were secured in their cabins, which was probably the safest place for them to be, while Adele was staying in the cockpit. “Let’s go over the plan so everyone knows what’s going on.”
He looked to his hacker, her terrified expression made it clear that she was no looking forward to this. “Michelle, you keep your weapon ready, but I need you on your console,” he said.
Her expression relaxed, the fear flooding from her, but she still looked bothered. “You do not need me to help fight?”
“Doctrine for boarding ops,” Harley answered, “calls for the ship’s techs to seize control of all internal computer systems, giving them control of atmo, gravity, everything.”
Tommy nodded and added, “That means your place in this fight is to make sure they can’t do any of that. If they do, they have yet another edge. That’s one thing they don’t need.”
She nodded at that, now seeming almost serene. This was her kind of fight, not what had happened at the spaceport earlier. Yes, the situation called for every gun they could manage, but he didn’t like putting her in that position. Some people weren’t meant for a scrap, and she was one.
“Cody, Harley and I will be greeting our guests. Let’s lock down engineering. Cody, can’t you rig something up that’ll delay them from deciding to breach the door?”
The engineer nodded. “Yeah, I think I can swing something.”
“Okay, then do that as soon as we break, then take the docking hatch. Once they breach, we can adjust.”
Cody nodded.
Tommy took a long moment and a deep breath. What was coming next wasn’t going to be fun. “Everyone, this is going to be a
tough deal. We’ve been shot at plenty over the last couple of months, but nothing like this. Based on the size of this ship, we’re looking at two platoons of Marines. Against the three of us shooters, Adele’s piloting, and Michelle’s computer sorcery.
“Now, we don’t have to kill them all or anything, just hold them, but even then, the stakes are high. Some of us might not make it,” he said, immediately feeling stupid for the cheesy, B-vid line. “But either way, I want to say it’s been a pleasure. I wanted this crew to become a family. We’re not there, not yet, but that’s how I look at you all. My family.”
He let those words sink in for a moment, then finished, “And no one screws around with my family. Let’s go get some.”
** ** **
Michelle expected she’d be the first to get into the fight. After all, hacking attempts don’t require nearly as close a proximity as guns.
She was right.
They’d already tried to come in via some systems that were typically low security, a common enough approach. Unfortunately for them, there were no such things as “low security” systems on this boat. Not anymore.
Long ago, she’d thought of every way she could hack Sabercat’s systems, then defended it. Even so, there was no guarantee that it would be enough. That’s why she had scripts set to monitor the load on the ship. Anytime someone even tried to log onto the system, her computer would track it down and flash an alert.
Most of the time, this created a mild annoyance for her. After all, the crew had a tendency to log into the system for various reasons. Whether it was that oaf Cody and his pornographic vids or the captain working, people wanted into the system on a daily basis, which resulted in a notification for her.
Right now, however, there should be silence. Adele didn’t access the computer while sailing, and Dianne had been told to stay off. The new woman, Mary, didn’t have access yet. The men of the crew were preoccupied with being ready to start shooting at people.
Hostile Territory Page 11
