Long Shot

by Christopher Williams

  This time Russell and Jessica insisted on hanging around, and they stood just outside the cockpit with their heads poking in.

  “What is it?” Aaron asked. He stood up and leaned over her shoulder to try and see.

  “Not sure. It’s some sort of power source.” She began focusing her scans on the area. “It seems to be space junk, but it’s still got power.”

  “Mean anything to you?” Aaron asked Kyle.

  “No,” Kyle answered shaking his head, “but I only know about a very small portion of my father’s business.”

  Aaron made a quick decision. “Okay. Adam, move us in closer.”

  It turned out that Susan’s guess of space junk was pretty apt. As the Sharon drew close, they got a better visual on their welcoming party. It appeared to be a warship, or at least half of one.

  The computer in Aaron’s head supplied the type, an old Relleides destroyer. It had evidently seen some action and come out on the losing end. It was also obvious that the fight had taken place a long time ago.

  Susan continued her scanning as they drew closer. “Amazing,” she said, the awe in her voice was unmistakable. “Half the destroyer’s gone, but the scans say there are some habitable areas in the ship.”

  “What?” Aaron asked, puzzled.

  “Yeah, it seems they found half of a destroyer and managed to get it working.”

  “Working?” Russell repeated doubtfully.

  “Well, the engines are gone, but they have two, maybe three, of the gun batteries online,” Susan replied. “I can’t imagine that they moved the ship here; they must have located the wreck and partially repaired it right where it’s at.” She paused and then looked back over her shoulder. “They’ve been scanning us too, and they could have taken us out at any time.”

  Just then, the comm beeped.

  “Incoming message,” Susan called out, “audio only.”

  Aaron sighed, he was appreciative of the need for caution, but he so wanted to get this cargo unloaded and get started on his new life. “On speaker.”

  “Unidentified freighter, state your business.”

  Aaron slumped, resigned to yet more of this complicated spy nonsense. He glanced at Adam, who was busy trying not to smile. Aaron waved at him to respond.

  “Unidentified wreck, our business is none of yours.”

  “Do you have the prize cargo?”

  Adam grinned. “Wouldn’t have come here if we didn’t.”

  “Put him on.”

  Adam turned in his seat and motioned at Kyle, who just stared back wide-eyed. Adam motioned for him again and Kyle moved closer to the Comm station.

  “Hello,” he said cautiously.

  “Did everything go according to plan?” the voice asked.

  “Probably not, but we’re here,” Kyle answered. “What now?”

  “Coordinates are on the way,” the voice replied.

  “Wait a minute!” Aaron said, pushing Kyle out of the way. “How much more of this crap do we have to endure?”

  “They’ve cut off communications,” Susan said, and then she added, “and those gun batteries are now tracking us.”

  Aaron slumped back into one of the empty seats. “Where are the coordinates to?”

  Susan keyed the coordinates into the computer and after a moment it beeped. She leaned in closer for a better look. “It’s a system that’s roughly two days from here. The computer says it’s uninhabited and out of the normal space routes. It’s called Bareemi.”

  Aaron sighed. “Plot a course.” He glanced over at Kyle. “I sure hope this is the final destination.”

  Kyle only shrugged.

  They arrived at the Bareemi system in just under two days. The system was made up of an unremarkable yellow dwarf star and six planets. The two outermost planets were gas giants, while the three innermost planets had no atmosphere. The fourth planet, however, was in the habitable zone and had an oxygen nitrogen atmosphere. The gravity also appeared to be roughly normal.

  Even though Morgan’s people could have been waiting for them on a moon or even one of the three inner planets, Aaron guessed the fourth planet as the best bet. He gave orders for Adam to take them in, nice and slow. His guess was confirmed approximately an hour later, when a communication signal reached them from the small planet.

  “Unidentified freighter, proceed along your current path. Landing coordinates will be provided when you reach orbit.”

  It took them another three hours to achieve orbit. The planet was primarily covered with water and there were only two continents; a large one in the southern hemisphere, and a smaller one in the northern hemisphere. Numerous small islands were scattered through the blue-green oceans. There was only one moon and it was quite large. The moon’s diameter was nearly thirty-five percent that of the planet.

  This time there wasn’t an audio transmission, instead, the computer beeped letting them know a message was waiting.

  “It’s the landing coordinates,” Susan called out after inspecting the message. She plotted the coordinates on the planet’s surface and then said, “It’s not either of the continents. They’re having us land on an island.”

  Aaron nodded. “Good, get us down there.”

  They were tracked the whole way down. Mobile defensive batteries, both missiles and large plasma cannons, followed their progress. Adam was careful not to make any sudden changes to their course. He took them down slowly and carefully, skillfully setting the Sharon down on the landing platform.

  Within moments of touching down, Aaron popped the hatch and the landing ramp descended. Each of his group carried a plasmic in their pockets, but he hoped it wouldn’t be needed. They were hopelessly outgunned and a shootout would mean their deaths.

  Aaron needn’t have worried. A grinning Charles Morgan waited for them at the bottom of the ramp.

  Chapter 31

  They spent almost another month on the small uninhabited planet. The first order of business was to get rid of the prisoners. Morgan’s people went about this with a careful precision. They first filled the prisoner’s cell with a sleeping gas and then carried the unconscious prisoner to one of Morgan’s ships, where they were transitioned to a new cell. He had eight such ships with him and in a matter of days, all eight ships had taken off for a distant part of this sector of space. Morgan’s people would use the information that Aaron and Susan had obtained to give the prisoners a new ID and a small amount of money. After that, they were on their own.

  The six prisoners who had signed on with Aaron’s group were let out of their cells and allowed to help, and there was plenty for them to do. The Lattimore Solarflare, that Morgan was giving to them, had been completely gutted and rebuilt, but there was still plenty to get done before they called it quits with Morgan’s people.

  Aaron felt a feeling of peace as he stared up at his new ship; it was rather like coming home after a long journey. The ship was magnificent. The early morning light glinted off of her hull and he ran his eyes from tip of the bow to the very stern.

  The Solarflare’s front section was the bridge and crew living area, while the rear of the ship was for cargo and engineering. The two sections were connected by a narrower segment. This particular arrangement had been necessitated by the ship’s engines. The original engines had been some of the most powerful of their era, but this power came at a cost; the engines were unsafe for long exposure and hence the crew quarters had been placed as far from the engines as possible. In addition, extensive shielding had been placed all around the engines, effectively sealing them off from the crew.

  As part of Morgan’s refit, the original engines had been completely removed, not that they still worked, and replaced with three Tate Mark IV engines. Each of the new engines were more powerful and drastically smaller than the original engines. The original engines had taken up nearly a third of the rear of the ship, but the new engines were ten feet in diameter and fourteen feet high.

  The original power plant, which was both massive and
obsolete, had also been removed. Three brand new power plants had been installed, each one more than twice as powerful as the original.

  In a stroke of genius, Morgan had left the original engine shielding in place and added two concealed doors. The doors allowed entry into the original engine room, which was now mostly vacant. The new engines and power plants occupied a tiny section of the floor space and Morgan had intended the rest of the space to be used for smuggling. It was perfect; to any customs official or inspector, the engine room was sealed off and inaccessible.

  The weapons and defenses of the Solarflare had also been greatly increased. The shield generators had been replaced with a military version that Morgan had built for the Lagashian Empire. A military-grade sensor and jamming package had been added, as had six concealed anti-missile batteries.

  Four manual plasma gun turrets had been added to the rear section; two on the top of the ship and the remaining two below. In addition, there were a total of two computer-controlled gun batteries and four retractable ship-to-ship missile launchers.

  By far and away the most powerful weapon the ship carried was the main gun off of an old C-21 Scout cruiser. The gun was in a hidden compartment on the top of the ship. The compartment doors could be opened and the gun raised for firing.

  “Magnificent,” Aaron murmured quietly.

  “I told you that you wouldn’t be disappointed.”

  Aaron turned to see Charles Morgan standing a few feet behind him. He grinned at the older man. “You were right.” Aaron shook his head. “I’m in awe of what you’ve done to her.”

  “I’m very good at what I do,” Morgan replied. “Every ship I refit like this is better than the last.”

  Surprised, Aaron asked, “Surely you don’t have all of your smuggling ships like this?”

  Morgan stepped closer and shook his head. “No, precious few as a matter of fact. Most of my smuggling ships are your standard ships with a bit of hidden compartments and high performance engines.” He motioned at the Solarflare. “I have a few,” he paused for the briefest of moments, “special ships, similar to this. They are used for only the most dangerous of jobs.”

  Aaron nodded and looked back at the ship. He still couldn’t believe it was his.

  Morgan cleared his throat after a moment’s silence. “Are you sure about these prisoners you’re taking on?”

  Sighing deeply, Aaron shook his head. “No, but they’re the best of the bunch and I trust my instincts to tell me if there’s a problem.”

  “Well, I agree that the engineer Magnus is a find; my people tell me he’s worth his weight in gold.”

  “Don’t try and hire him away from me,” Aaron said, grinning.

  Morgan returned the grin. “The thought had crossed my mind, but I owe you far too much to repay you like that.”

  “Good,” Aaron replied. He focused his gaze on Morgan; the man’s demeanor seemed unusually serious. He decided against asking straight out what was bothering Morgan, instead he asked, “What are your thoughts on the others?”

  “Well, that young girl, Molly, is a sweetheart. She probably shouldn’t be on a smuggling ship, though.”

  “I agree,” Aaron said, “but you try telling that to Susan.”

  “The older woman, Yvette, is nice enough, but I get the feeling she would just as soon cut my throat as look at me.”

  Aaron grunted noncommittally.

  “The last three that really worry me,” Morgan continued. “The alien is downright scary, but that’s just his appearance; he seems friendly enough.”

  Knowing what was coming, Aaron prodded the man along. “And Eric and Thomas?”

  “Those two are two very tough men. I’m assuming they’ve had a rough life, but they could very easily turn on you.”

  Aaron nodded in agreement. “I’m aware of the possibility, and I’ll keep my eye on them.” He waited a moment but Morgan didn’t speak. “Is that all? Are you just worried about our health?”

  “No,” Morgan admitted slowly, “my concerns lie along a different path.”

  “Care to share?”

  Morgan exhaled deeply and said, “Kyle has expressed an interest in going with you.”

  Aaron stared. Of all the things that Morgan could have said at that moment, Kyle wanting to join his crew would have been about his last guess. Finally he asked, “And what are your thoughts about that?”

  “To be honest, I’m not very happy with it, but I agreed to let him ask you.”

  “You did?” Aaron said in surprise and then a new thought crept in. “Is that why you’re here now? Are you asking me to say no to him?”

  Morgan shook his head. “No, I wouldn’t do that. He likes your group and I think he sees it as something like a family,” Morgan paused for a moment. “I haven’t been the warmest of fathers but, let’s face it, I didn’t even know he existed until he was grown. I think he likes the feeling of being with a small group of people who he knows he can trust.”

  “Well, if it’s up to me, then he can come along,” Aaron said after a moment. “His skills will come in handy.”

  Morgan sighed deeply. “I thought as much, but I want to ask a few things of you.”

  Aaron’s eyes narrowed at Morgan’s words. “Such as?”

  “Well, if you and my son having a falling out, I’d rather you buy him a ticket to come back to me, as opposed to flushing him out the airlock.”

  Aaron grinned. “Okay, I promise not to kill your son.”

  Morgan smiled in return. “Thank you. I would also appreciate it if you watched his back. He’s intelligent enough, but in some of the places you’re going to go, his smarts won’t keep him alive.”

  This also seemed a reasonable request. “I’ll do my best, but when he goes out into a strange city, there’s precious little I’ll be able to do.”

  “I know, but please try. Oh, I hope it goes without saying that if you ever needed money to get him out of trouble, please contact me.”

  “Of course,” Aaron agreed.

  Morgan opened his mouth to speak again, but he closed it momentarily; his eyes focusing on something behind Aaron.

  Aaron turned to see Kyle approaching them. The programmer was watching them warily. “Good morning,” Aaron called out.

  “Good morning,” Kyle said, coming to a stop in front of the two men. His eyes flicked towards his father and Morgan took the hint.

  “Well, I’ll leave you to it,” Morgan said, and then moved off towards the galley.

  Kyle waited a few moments, letting his father get out of earshot. As soon as Morgan disappeared around a corner, Kyle turned to face Aaron. “What did he want?”

  Aaron smiled. He could tell that Kyle was thinking along the same lines that he had considered earlier; he was worried that his father was sabotaging his chances of getting aboard the Solarflare. “He was telling me that you want to come along with us.”

  Kyle nodded and then waited for a moment. “Anything else? Did he ask you to say no?”

  Aaron shook his head. “No, but that was my first thought too.” He looked Kyle up and down. “Why in the world would you want to go along on this ship?”

  “Well,” Kyle began slowly, “I’m tired of working for my father and I liked working with your group. I think I could be of use to you.”

  “Probably,” Aaron replied, “but it won’t be near as nice as it was working for your father.”

  Kyle shrugged. “I know, but I still would like the opportunity.” He hurriedly added, “I can be of great use to you. I’m and expert on the FireSpark computer that runs the engines.”

  Most ships only had one power plant but the Solarflare had three. Any of those three reactors were capable of powering the engines, or the weapons systems, or some combination thereof. The trick then became to manage which power plant was doing what; that was where the FireSpark supercomputer came in.

  “You know it’s not a glamorous life, right?”

  Kyle nodded. “Give me a chance and you won’t re
gret it.”

  “Alright, then,” Aaron said.

  “Full share,” Kyle said immediately.

  Aaron couldn’t help it, he laughed. Must run in the family, he thought.

  Finally the day arrived for them to depart this little miserable world. Morgan’s people said their goodbyes and shook the hands of Aaron’s crew, except for Molly. The old gnarly mechanics and engineers got a little misty-eyed over the young girl, and she got a hug from nearly everyone. When he had enough, Aaron led the way aboard their new ship.

  Molly, Yvette, Eric, Thomas, and Grady headed to a small crew lounge. The lounge was a small room meant for recreation, but the chairs were bolted to the floor and would support them during takeoff.

  Terry and Kyle headed aft to the engine room. There was an engineering console on the bridge, but Terry said he preferred to be close to the engines.

  Aaron, Susan, Adam, Russell, and Jessica all headed to the bridge. Technically, Jessica had no reason to be on the bridge and could just as easily have joined the others in the lounge, but she preferred being with them.

  They took their places and quickly began checking the systems one final time. They had already ran these system checks more times than they cared to think about, but this was the one that really mattered.

  One by one the lights went green. When the last light flicked from red to green, Susan turned and smiled at Aaron. “Captain, we are ready for takeoff.”

  Aaron nodded once and then spoke to Adam. “Mr. Campbell, take us up.”

  The takeoff was rather anti-climatic. The ship functioned exactly as they had hoped and they soon broke free of the planet’s gravity.

  “At out current speed, four hours until we reach the Hasan point,” Susan called out.

  “Well, we’re not in a rush,” Aaron said.

  Jessica and Russell made to get up and leave the bridge, but Aaron stopped them. “We need a good name for the ship,” he said simply.

  “A name?” Russell repeated blankly.

  “Yes,” Aaron replied, “something fitting of our new home.”