by C H Gideon
“I need to know now, Takal,” she said, “Can you fix this tub or not?”
“It’s going to take some time,” he came back.
Time they didn’t have.
“Screw it, then,” she told him. “You and Geroux get back here now! We’re getting off this ship.”
“What about the crew?” Maddox asked.
Jiya shrugged. She hadn’t thought that far ahead.
Captain Asya didn’t give her any more time, either.
The Valter’s crew pushed around the corner in a tight mass, looking like a Roman shield wall, bodies standing tall upfront and weapons poking out of every available cranny. They came down the hall at a brisk run.
Jiya swallowed hard. Even if she took out the lead crew members, the rest would be on them, and that’d be that.
But much like when she’d faced off against her father’s guards, she knew she wasn’t going to go out that easily.
Rather than yank a single screamer off the belt, she removed the whole thing and triggered the devices, hurtling the entire belt down the hall at the advancing enemy.
“Fire in the hole,” she shouted, having no clue exactly what to expect.
The screamers went off when they struck the ground, and the effect was instantaneous.
True to their name, the screamers did exactly that: scream loud enough to shake the great struts holding the once-impressive destroyer together.
The Valter’s crew shrieked in response to the wailing-harpy pitch of the screamers. They stumbled, dropping their weapons and clutching at their ears despite the helmets they wore.
Jiya gasped as the sound stabbed her in the skull even through the baffles Takal had installed, giving her an instant headache she figured would last a week or more. She could only imagine how bad it was for the Valter’s crew.
“You used all of them?” Takal asked, coming alongside her, his eyes narrowed in pain.
“I wasn’t supposed to?” Jiya asked.
He shook his head.
“Seems to have worked,” she muttered over the comm, although she was sure he could barely hear her.
She turned back to the Valter’s crew, who were scattered about the floor. Only a few of them still moved, the majority of them unconscious. As the screamers died out one by one, the rest of the crew stilled and flopped to the ground.
“I’m going to need a hearing aid,” Ka’nak shouted despite the devices having gone silent.
“Me too!” Maddox yelled, tapping the side of his helmet.
“What’s going on?” Comm asked. “All of the Valter’s crew are down. How’d that happen?”
“We, uh, stunned them,” Jiya shouted into the comm, also unable to talk at a normal volume.
“You don’t have to yell at me,” Comm complained.
“I really think I do,” she answered, still yelling. “Get us some bots down here fast,” she told Comm. “We’ve got twenty Loranian crew members who are going to need medical assistance.”
“You want to bring them aboard?” Reynolds asked, cutting in.
“You wanted a chance to make peace, right?” Jiya shouted. “Here it is.”
“Taking hostages wasn’t exactly what I intended,” he answered.
“Don’t think of them as hostages, then,” she replied. “Think of them as guests. Give them tea and cookies, and it’ll be okay.”
Reynolds growled. “Get back aboard,” he ordered. “We’re taking a beating here and can’t hold out much longer.”
“Yes, sir,” Jiya replied and waved the crew through the boarding tube after the bots arrived to haul away their guests.
“Score one for the good guys?” Ka’nak asked.
Jiya shrugged. “Guess we’ll see soon enough.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
On the bridge of the SD Reynolds, the crew gathered around the still unconscious Captain Asya. The rest of her people had been placed in Pod-docs, being healed but kept asleep until there was some resolution to the current crisis.
“Why are we still hugging this heap?” Tactical asked. “We need to let the Valter go and defend ourselves.”
“Gravitic shields are degrading quickly,” Helm announced. “We’re taking actual hull damage now,” he reported. “It isn’t much, but it’ll add up quickly.”
“Wake her up,” Reynolds told the crew, gesturing to Captain Asya.
Jiya went over and gave the captain a quick sternal rub. The captain grunted and bolted upright as Jiya stepped back.
“Wha-what?” the captain asked, clearly still reeling from the effects of the screamers. Dried blood was visible in her ears. “Who?”
“I’m sorry to have brought you aboard under such difficult circumstances,” Maddox told her, taking the lead since Reynolds looked like a murderous metallic skeleton, “but we need to make it clear that we are not your enemy.”
The ship trembled as the fleet continued its barrage.
“Shields down to thirty percent,” Helm warned.
“I’m…where?”
“You’re aboard the SD Reynolds, Captain,” Maddox continued, “And I’m sorry, but we don’t have time to catch you up on everything. Your fleet’s continuing assault is going to force us to make a decision we don’t want to make.”
Captain Asya clambered to her feet, swaying unsteadily. Jiya stayed close to steady her, remaining wary. Ka’nak also stood nearby.
“I don’t understand,” she said, finally appearing to gather her wits. “Why am I here?”
“Because your ship was dying,” Reynolds said, stepping in, his impatience clearly getting the better of him. “It was struck down accidentally, and it was clear your fleet prioritized our defeat over your safety. We couldn’t let you die for our mistake.”
“But the Thra’kal scout ship…”
“Was a mistake, as I tried to tell you earlier,” Reynolds replied. “We had believed it to be a Kurtherian ship and meant it no harm.”
“We’re not some invading force,” Jiya added. “We’re on a mission to find Kurtherians, gather intel on them alone, and make alliances. Believe it or not, we come in peace.”
Captain Asya frowned. “Tell that to my crew and my ship.”
“Your ship was an accident,” Reynolds told her. “You flew into a missile meant to disable another of your craft, not take you out.”
“As for your crew,” Jiya said, “they are alive and well in stasis. They’re all fine.”
“If we had meant to kill you, we would have done it from the get-go,” Maddox told her. “We have weapons aboard this ship that would scorch holes in your planet.”
“But we held back,” Reynolds offered. “Even now,” he gestured to the viewscreen and an image of the SD Reynolds hovering in space, still connected to the Valter, appeared. “We’re taking a beating because we don’t want to hurt your people.”
“We boarded your craft to rescue it,” Jiya said. “The only reason we stunned you was because there was no way you’d believe us in time to get you off that wreck before someone died.”
Captain Asya spun in a slow circle, looking at the crew and the ship around her. “You kidnapped us to prove your peaceful nature?”
The screen altered and a readout of the Valter’s condition appeared alongside its image. It was clear from the data that the ship was dead in space, life support and all systems fried.
“You could fake that,” the captain argued.
“We could, but do you feel that shudder?” Reynolds asked. “That’s your fleet pounding us while we sit here with our thumbs up our asses, holding back our true potential. We don’t want to fight you, and we’re not here to invade, but we’re going to have to fight back very soon. Now or never, Captain.”
“Give us a chance to prove our capabilities. Show you that we could have wiped your fleet out from the start but didn’t,” Jiya said. “Your life is as much at risk here as ours are, Captain,” she explained. “If nothing else, call a pause to the battle so we can ship you back to your people. Wh
atever happens, we don’t want you or your crew hurt.”
Captain Asya growled and glared at the viewscreen showing her ship’s stats. She stood there rigid for a moment, then she turned around and nodded at Jiya. “Can you open a channel?” She offered up a specific frequency.
“We’re connected,” Comm said a moment later, and the viewscreen shifted to an image of a man in a Loranian uniform.
“This is a restricted channel—” the man started, and saw the captain. “Captain Asya? Are you being held hostage?”
She sighed and shook her head. “Not exactly, Commander Ast.”
“What is this, then?” he asked.
“This alien craft continues to proclaim its peaceful intentions, sir,” she replied. “They claim they have no interest in invading our space and seek an alliance with us, and suggest they have been holding back this entire time,” she told the commander. “If we continue to attack them, however, they say they will be forced to defend themselves to the full extent of their capabilities. Which, according to them, is more than the Loranian fleet can withstand.”
Commander Ast chuckled. “How magnanimous. And all we have to do is not destroy them?” He shook his head, scoffing.
“Release the Valter,” Reynolds said over the comm, speaking so no one but the crew could hear him. “This guy isn’t going to give us the opportunity to provide an example, so we need to take it.”
“It’s loose,” Helm replied. “Nudging it with boosters.”
“What’s that?” Commander Ast asked someone standing behind him. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the viewscreen, clearly seeing the Valter moving away from the SD Reynolds. “What are you doing, alien?”
“Proving a point,” Reynolds answered, motioning to Tactical.
Tactical didn’t hesitate, firing one of the railguns into the floating husk of the Valter.
The blast tore through the ship with ruthless efficiency, tearing its hull open as though it were made of paper. The ship exploded, a quick flash filling the screen and then vanishing. Debris and wreckage floated away from where the Valter had been.
Captain Asya gasped.
“That is only one of the many similar weapons we have aboard our ship, Commander,” Reynolds warned. “I promise you, this is a fight you cannot win.”
“Please don’t force us to hurt anyone,” Jiya added.
The commander stared wide-eyed through the viewscreen, swallowing hard as he contemplated his options.
“I believe them, sir,” Captain Asya told her superior. “They could have killed my crew and me or left us to die in space, but they didn’t. They risked their lives to board and bring us onto their ship before life support gave out.” She glanced at Jiya and the others. “Why would they do that if they meant to invade us?”
“To gather intel,” Commander Ast suggested.
Asya shook her head. “They never once approached the bridge, sir. Never asked us questions or anything.” She raised her hands in the air, showing she wasn’t bound. “I’m on their bridge, sir, and I’m not restrained in any way. While I have no doubt they could subdue me before I did any damage, they have no clue as to my capabilities. They don’t know the threat I pose, and yet here I am.”
Commander Ast grunted, taking in the information. After what seemed forever, he raised a hand. “Cease fire,” he ordered, and the fleet immediately complied, the shuddering impacts of fire no longer crashing into the Reynolds’ shields.
The crew let out a collective sigh as damage control raced into action.
“Thank you, Commander,” Reynolds told the man. “I understand your concern, us appearing out of nowhere in your system. We had expected the opportunity to hail you properly, but that’s clearly not how things worked out. Still, we hope to parlay with you and put all this behind us.”
Commander Ast nodded. “I offer no certainties as to the measure of our talks, Captain…Reynolds, is it?”
Reynolds nodded.
“But if you return the Valter’s crew and captain without harm, I assure you that we will sit down and have a dialogue, however it might turn out.”
“That’s all I ask, Commander,” Reynolds replied. “Thank you.” He motioned to Captain Asya. “We’ll provide a shuttle for the captain and her crew to return to your flagship immediately.”
“I’ll await their arrival forthwith. I’ll be in touch with directions to the meeting location soon,” Commander Ast said, cutting the connection.
“I’ll take her to the hangar bay,” Jiya said, gesturing for the captain to follow her.
Captain Asya acknowledged Jiya but turned to Reynolds. “Could you have really wiped out my entire fleet?”
He paused for a moment, then nodded. “It would have been far easier than I like to admit,” he told her. “I’m glad we could come to terms before anyone was hurt.”
Asya stood there staring at Reynolds, seeming to contemplate something before finally accepting Reynolds at his word.
“Speak with you soon, Captain Reynolds,” she said, walking off with Jiya and Ka’nak, the bridge door closing behind them.
“You think this Commander Ast will stay true to his word?” XO asked.
Reynolds shrugged. “If he doesn’t, all bets are off. We can’t afford to take another beating like that. New SOP: we enter these systems closer to the edge of the heliosphere and assess the situation before traipsing down the gravity well.”
“So, stay ready?” Maddox asked.
“Exactly,” Reynolds answered. “Once the captain and her crew are back with their fleet, we prepare for the worst.”
“I’ll get Takal and the rest of the crew working on restoring the shields and repairing the damage we took,” Maddox said, triggering his comm and speaking into it.
Reynolds nodded and leaned back in his seat, watching the viewscreen. A few minutes later, the Pod carrying Captain Asya and her crew departed the hangar bay on its way back to the Loranian fleet.
They watched it go, each thinking their own thoughts about what would come next.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Once Captain Asya and her people had been returned safely to their people, Commander Ast did as promised and arranged a meeting between the Loranian government and Reynolds’ crew.
The SD Reynolds settled into orbit over Loran with the Loranian fleet arrayed around it. Maddox, Takal, and Geroux remained behind to oversee repairs along with the AI personalities, just in case the commander went back on his word of safe passage.
On the planet, Jiya was surprised by how much the meeting location reminded her of her father’s compound. They had been directed to a similar area, set a distance outside the nearby bustling city.
“Guess they don’t want us near their people,” Jiya muttered as they exited the shuttle, which had been led to the landing area by an automated system.
“Maybe it’s they who don’t want to be near anyone,” Reynolds suggested, glancing around.
“This place is pretty sparse,” Ka’nak commented, tightening his grip on the butt of the weapon at his hip. He was nearly invincible in hand-to-hand combat, but this was a different kind of engagement. “You might be right.”
“As long as we get what we came for, I don’t care if we have the meeting in a broom closet,” Reynolds told them.
The Loranian entourage met them on the tarmac, Captain Asya surprisingly at their head. At her back were a half-dozen soldiers, their weapons holstered.
“Hello again,” she said, offering a slight bow.
“Thank you for having us,” Jiya replied, smiling. Whatever happened, she wanted to put her best foot forward after the clusterfuck that had been Dal’las Tri.
Asya returned the smile. “Come this way.” She waved them on, the rest of the congregation closing around the party.
Jiya felt the tension of the Loranian guards around her, but nothing made her feel threatened. They were simply being cautious, and she was okay with that. After the demonstration with the Valter, she knew the Loranian
s were wary of the hell that would rain down on their heads should they deviate from their guarantee of safety.
Jiya and Ka’nak had dressed in the battle armor Takal had adjusted for them, so the vibe they gave off was definitely one to consider.
Reynolds had insisted they show off in their meeting. They’d made the mistake of letting Jiya’s father get the drop on them, and he didn’t want that to happen again.
Jiya was just fine with that.
They followed Captain Asya to a small meeting room buried deep inside the compound. More soldiers met them at the door, and Jiya caught the eyes of each and every one, offering a friendly greeting as they passed.
It doesn’t hurt to grease the wheels of the men who might be ordered to kill us soon, she thought with a chuckle.
A long table was situated at the back of the room on a short dais. It made it so the occupants looked down on the visitors. Commander Ast sat at the table alongside five other people, three women and two men.
While the commander remained in his military garb, the rest of the representatives wore long purple robes with sleeves that nearly covered their hands. They sat poised, hands clasped as Reynolds and the crew approached. Only the commander narrowed his eyes at their arrival.
Captain Asya ushered them to seats arranged in front of the dais. Reynolds and the crew sat without saying a word.
“Welcome to Loran,” the woman seated at the center of the table announced. “I am Zal’a Gom, President of Loran.” She motioned to the woman to her right, then the man at the end of the table. “This is Artan Sie and Golan Tor,” she continued, then gestured to her left. “You, of course, know Commander Ast, and the last of our parliament here is Nor Kan.”
“Pleasure to meet you all,” Reynolds said as he stood to acknowledge the gathering.
“Please, sit,” Zal’a told him.
Reynolds complied, and Jiya bit back a grin at the obvious psychological efforts being made to show up the crew. She wondered if Reynolds would play along or cut straight to the chase.
“We are told you seek information,” Zal’a went on. “That you are not here in a military capacity.”
