Scum of the Universe (Fire and Rust Book 7)

by Anthony James

“I will show them.” Tonstin lifted an arm and made a shooing motion. “You will leave.”

  “Anything you need. Anything. Ask and I’ll do what I can.”

  The Fangrin didn’t reply and she slipped away into the crowds. Stone recognized one other person – Research Lead Trinidad Crane. The rest were no more than faces – people who lived and died in the ULAF, no doubt working wonders in their departments during the years of their service. And now here on the Defiant they might just save humanity. Yet Stone knew only two amongst them.

  Too many names. I can’t learn them all.

  “I’ve requested those power cubes, sir,” said Dyer. “Have you seen what you came to see?”

  Stone had come expecting to observe a couple of hundred people doing their best and that’s exactly what he’d found. “I think so. Let’s get back to the bridge.”

  Two hours passed and Stone felt the onset of tiredness. He thought about ignoring it and then changed his mind – this wasn’t the time to pretend he was immune to the physical limitations of his body.

  “Dr Austin, do you have anything to combat tiredness? A drug that won’t leave me with such confidence that I end up taking risks?”

  She looked tired herself but managed a smile. “Such a drug doesn’t exist. With alertness comes the natural optimism of the human spirit.”

  “Hearing you say that makes me feel better, Doctor.”

  Dr Austin produced a tiny container made from blue plastic. She gave it a shake, producing the familiar rattle of hard-coated tablets.

  “One of these,” she said, opening the lid and tilting the container. A lone tablet dropped into her palm and she offered it to Stone.

  “Thank you, Doctor,” he said, reaching for a nearby cup of water to wash it down.

  “How are you?” she asked, looking strangely uncomfortable. “I feel like my patient is mended and will no longer need my attention.”

  “It doesn’t have to be that way,” he said, the words tumbling out before his brain could intervene.

  Before Dr Austin could respond, Lieutenant Dowd called for Stone’s attention.

  “Sir, it’s Indriss-Zar-005.”

  The news was unwelcome in more ways than one.

  “What does he want?”

  “To talk, sir.”

  “Put him on the speakers.”

  Dr Austin stepped away, while Captain Dyer and Commander Blackwood came to take her place.

  “What do you want?” demanded Stone, knowing full well what the answer would be.

  “I have examined your military data,” said the Ragger. “Much of your equipment is obsolete and of no interest to me or my species.”

  “We’ll keep it, then.”

  “No, human. We will take what is our due. I have returned an amended version of the data, indicating what now belongs to the Raggers. Some assets you may keep, some must be destroyed.”

  “That is for discussion.”

  “We are not discussing, human filth. I am dictating and you are obeying.”

  “How old are you, Ragger?” asked Stone.

  The alien seemed caught off guard by the question. “Old enough to have seen empires bigger than yours crumble and fall.”

  “Then you’ll have seen enough in this long life of yours to know exactly what happens when you push too far.”

  “I have told you what the fate of humanity will be, should you attempt anything foolish.”

  “And I’m telling you what your fate will be, Ragger. I will target your spaceship with everything I have and will not stop until you are killed. I will ignore everything else until your dead body is sucked into the void. And damn the consequences.”

  “I cannot deal with such stupidity!” said Indriss-Zar-005 with naked, undisguised anger.

  “You said we were not dealing, Ragger. You said you were dictating. Now I am telling you what will happen if you continue. Your species may emerge the victors, but I promise you won’t be around to witness it.”

  “Very well, human. I give you two hours to examine the amended list of your assets. I warn you there is very little leeway and the Hantisar ships will not be negotiated.”

  “Two hours,” said Stone.

  The channel went quiet and he stood for a moment, gauging how he felt about the conversation. He was calm.

  00:18:13:09

  “Let’s take a look at that list,” he said.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  The Ragger demands were as onerous as Stone expected. The Unity League was to hand over every Hantisar warship along with all operational carriers and heavy cruisers. A few light cruisers, chosen seemingly at random, were to be destroyed, whilst ongoing construction work was to cease and the part-fitted hulls turned into scrap. That wasn’t all.

  “We’re to completely disband our ground forces,” said Dyer. “I’d laugh if they weren’t serious.”

  “And we’re to allow Ragger monitoring equipment to be installed in all of our comms hubs,” said Stone.

  “They want to subjugate us, and this is how it happens,” said Blackwood.

  “Submit or die.” Stone agreed. “Lieutenant Swain, are you still in communication with my teams on Earth?”

  “Yes, sir. Everything that comes to the Defiant is sent to them without delay, including audio and transcripts of your conversation with the enemy and the other officers in the fleet.” Swain sounded disappointed that Stone felt the need to ask, but some things couldn’t be left to chance for the want of a quick reminder.

  “Fleet Admiral, we have to agree to this,” said Dyer.

  “I know.” Stone found himself watching the clock with ever-greater frequency. “I don’t think we can stall long enough.”

  00:16:25:22

  “If the weapons team produce a working prototype death pulse generator, how long to fix it up to the Raider, sir?” asked Commander Blackwood.

  “Last estimate was an hour,” said Stone. “Two gravity chains on each wing should be enough to hold the prototype in place. The Raider’s propulsion was uprated when we fitted its stealth module. Even considering the extra draw from running stealth, it should be up to the task.”

  “None of this is going to work if we’re forced to hand over the Defiant, sir.”

  “In that case, I’ll have to make sure we hang onto this carrier for a little while longer.”

  “Could we move the weapons lab elsewhere?” asked Dyer. “Shift the main works onto a heavy transport or something?”

  “Not a chance.”

  With ten minutes of the promised two hours remaining, Indriss-Zar-005 came onto the comms. Stone was ready for him.

  “My flagship, the ULS Defiant, will not be surrendered.”

  “I warned you the scope for change was limited, human. We will take the carrier.”

  “Defiant is the name given to the flagship of every new generation,” Stone lied. “It represents the pride of humanity and once the people know what you have done, they will rise against you.”

  “It matters little. We will kill any who disobey our commands.”

  “Why make it difficult for yourselves?”

  A soft laugh. “You assume we do not enjoy giving the punishment.”

  This was an obstacle Stone expected. He took a deep breath and continued. “Who will assist you in the fight against the Sekar if everyone is dead?”

  “We need no assistance. Once I have finished with your pitiful fleet and your pitiful planet, I will return to my own world, where genetic renewal will rid me of disease, extend my life and provide immunity to the Sekar life drain.”

  “What if something happened to your main research facility and the advances you plan to take advantage of were no longer available?” asked Stone, hoping the news hadn’t come to this part of the Ragger fleet yet.

  “Speak plainly!”

  “Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that your facility on Hul-J5 was struck by several high-yield explosive devices, heating everything to a million degrees Fahrenheit and leaving
nothing but ashes and smoke?”

  “Even were you telling the truth, we replicate the data between our planets. What is lost will be available elsewhere.”

  “The data will be available. A purpose-built facility capable of a trial-and-error growth program to find a genetic code which is immune to the Sekar? If I were a gambling man, I would bet that such a facility would require years to create.” Stone lowered his voice menacingly. “Suddenly, your confidence might be shaken. What do you think, Ragger? Perhaps you will need soldiers who really are immune to the Sekar.”

  “You do not have immunity.”

  “As you wish.”

  “In your desperation, you peddle lies in the hope of gaining an advantage where none is to be had.”

  “For the price of a single carrier, you can eliminate doubt.”

  Stone could imagine the Ragger’s mind turning.

  “One carrier. You will accept a monitoring team of my officers onto your bridge.”

  It wasn’t the perfect outcome which Stone wanted, but he could feel this was the best the Ragger was going to offer. “An unarmed crew of eight to monitor, not to command,” he said.

  “Then it is done. I will send the team at once. You will transmit the coordinates of your vessel and allow them to dock.”

  “It will happen when the handover is complete. I wish to liaise with my officers without the stench of rotting meat drifting over my shoulder.”

  “How else am I to know you are telling the truth about your fleet, human?” asked Indriss-Zar-005 in mock surprise. “I require my own officers on your ship, in order that they might observe your battle network.”

  Stone gritted his teeth. If he was to accept the monitoring team, he wanted it to happen with as much delay as possible.

  “I cannot accept their immediate arrival.”

  “You have something to hide.”

  “We are at war!”

  “To the contrary. You have surrendered, but do not yet understand the reality of your situation.”

  “No monitoring team until after the handover.”

  “I will not be swayed, human.”

  Stone exchanged glances with Commander Blackwood. He muted the comms. “Think we can keep that weapons lab secret?”

  “Depends how curious the monitoring team is, sir. The hardest part will come when the Raider enters the secondary bay.”

  A flick of a switch took the comms off mute.

  “Four hours. Then your monitoring team can dock. Anything less than four hours and we will shoot them down.”

  Indriss-Zar-005 gave a theatrical sigh. “Are your lives truly governed so much by the passing of time? I grant you four hours. Broadcast your coordinates and I will send the shuttle. Once my team arrives, you will not obstruct their search for details on your local fleet. When they are finished, the handover will begin. If I detect subterfuge, I will blanket New Destiny in fire, human.”

  The channel went dead.

  “The presence of a monitoring team is going to make our lives real difficult, sir,” said Blackwood. “Worst of all, they might spot the Juniper exiting lightspeed and the Raider has to make it from there to here.”

  “We could pilot the Defiant away from the Juniper’s expected arrival place,” said Dyer. “If we do so before we broadcast our coordinates, the Raggers will never know.”

  “Except the Juniper will automatically join the battle network,” said Blackwood. “And then the monitoring team will see it.”

  Stone scratched his chin and felt the stubble he’d not had time to shave. “Unless we tell the enemy beforehand. They know about the Juniper from our asset data, so we make it clear it’s due in.”

  “We could invent a reason why our bay doors need to open as well. Maybe the Juniper needs to send a couple of Vipers over for repair or return one of our shuttles.”

  With a sudden energy, Stone clapped his hands together once. “Let’s make it happen,” he said.

  His thoughts were interrupted by some other unwelcome news. “Sir, the Sekar rift is expanding again,” said Lieutenant Roden. “It’s gone from three thousand klicks length to four thousand in the last five minutes. Its height has increased by twenty percent.”

  “Is it still growing?” asked Stone. This was some extra crap he didn’t want to deal with.

  “No sir – it grew and then stopped. Seems like the edges are...flexing.”

  “Something wants to come through, Lieutenant.”

  “Would that be good or bad, sir? What with the Raggers being unaware of the rift?”

  “We think they’re unaware of it.” Stone straightened. “The enemy of our enemy is definitely not our friend. Keep an eye on it, Lieutenant. Anything changes, speak with me immediately.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Stone rubbed his face again. The Raggers were bad enough alone and now this. Once again, he considered telling Indriss-Zar-005 about the rift. He doubted the enemy fleet would leave once they heard the news, but it was possible that their commanding officer might take his capital ship elsewhere and leave the bulk of his forces behind to incinerate New Destiny.

  It was time for a change of scenery.

  “Captain Dyer, we’re going to see how Tonstin is getting along,” he said. “None of this will matter if they can’t get that death pulse generator working.”

  The two of them left the bridge.

  00:16:12:47

  The security squads were waiting outside and, the same as last time, one squad of eight went in front and another followed behind. It felt good to stretch his legs and Stone hadn’t yet fully come to terms with his miraculous recovery. He forced a cough and experienced no pain whatsoever.

  They entered a long corridor which linked to the main airlifts.

  “Let’s take the stairs,” said Stone.

  “Sir?” asked Dyer.

  “It’s a minute longer, Captain and it feels good to draw the air into my lungs.”

  The soldiers turned left, heading for one of the stairwells and Stone went after. He was familiar with the interior of the ship and saw the opening for the steps ahead. A sound came to him – a muffled crack that was out of place amongst the engine hum and the flexing metal. It came again straight after and the front two soldiers staggered.

  “Hostiles!” shouted Corporal Axwell.

  He went down too, under a hail of incoming gunfire. Stone dropped instinctively into a crouch and heard the nearby discharge of a Gilner. He turned awkwardly, his sight blocked by the squad behind. More gunfire came and another soldier went down with a grunt and jet of blood. Stone reached for a fallen Gilner and dragged it towards him.

  A gap formed in the forward squad and through it, Stone saw nothing but empty corridor. He swore to himself. It seemed like the Raggers which came aboard at Indul-975D hadn’t all been killed after all.

  The gunfire rose to a crescendo and Stone wished he’d stayed on the bridge.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Fleet Admiral Stone had never thought of himself a lucky man. All things considered, he reckoned that luck was just the universe doing its thing and that some people were at one end of the spectrum and experienced mostly positive outcomes, whilst others were obliged to constantly look upwards in case a piano came tumbling out of a window at the precise moment they were walking by. In the scheme of things, Stone believed that he fell in the middle of the two extremes and that hard work, alloyed with a natural skillset that he couldn’t be blamed for possessing, were responsible for his success.

  When the death pulse prototype went off, he was left with the unavoidable conclusion that he would have to reassess his opinion.

  In the midst of the flying bullets and the dying soldiers, a buzzing, droning pressure swept through the Defiant’s interior. The pressure increased, becoming painful to bear. It didn’t stop and Stone clenched his teeth against the agony.

  As quickly as it came, the death pulse faded. Stone’s head felt like it was full of steel golf balls, but he managed to raise it. The
corridor was empty like before and one of the soldiers fired a burst of automatic gunfire towards the stairwell.

  “Hold,” croaked Stone.

  “Sir, we need to get you out of here!”

  “I don’t think that’s necessary anymore, but you go secure that stairwell.”

  The soldier stumbled away, leaving Stone and Dyer amongst the injured living and the dead.

  “Has someone called for backup?” asked Dyer, checking Stone for bullet holes.

  “Backup’s on the way, sir,” said a voice from nearby. “Come with me.”

  Stone allowed the soldiers to lead him to a room nearby, where they sealed the door and ordered the bridge to place a security lock on it.

  “There’s a medical team inbound, sir,” said one of the soldiers – a woman Stone didn’t recognize.

  “I’m fine.” Stone’s heart was pounding and adrenaline coursed through his veins, magnifying the effects of the stim tablet he took earlier. He calmed his breathing and pulled out his pocket communicator. Seconds later, he was speaking to Tonstin.

  “Did you test the death pulse generator?” he asked.

  “Yes. We believe the test went well and we are studying the output from the monitoring tools.”

  “Did you issue a warning beforehand?” asked Stone. In the circumstances, he didn’t care one way or another, but thought he might as well go through the motions of acting like a thousand protocols had been breached.

  The Fangrin didn’t seem too concerned. “We did not anticipate the pulse energy levels would be so much above expectations.”

  “I think it worked.”

  “We will not know that until we have some living Sekar or Ragger subjects upon which to test it.”

  “I think you just killed those living subjects. My escort and I were under attack from Raggers on the Defiant. I believe the death pulse killed them.”

  “That would be interesting. Have the bodies sent here at once.”

  Stone was so relieved to have survived that he didn’t even think to chastise the Fangrin for her lack of respect towards his position.

  “We should stay here, sir,” said Dyer, once he saw that Stone was itching to get on. “Let the security teams finish their sweep.”