The beam struck the underbelly of the Dunrakee ship, and it lit up in a fit of fire, dropping chunks of armor and debris to the red sand.
It bucked back then recalibrated, somehow continuing its long ascent.
Ozzy’s com channel blared. Gragas was on the screen. “Keep under us. We’ll get you to the mountain.”
“Where did you get a star carrier?”
Gragas paused. “Let’s just say we’re borrowing it.”
Ozzy tilted his head, moving the craft even closer to the carrier’s belly. “You stole a star carrier with a Galactic Knight symbol on it?”
Gragas touched his gloved fingertips together. “Let’s just say we’re borrowing it for a long time.” The com channel turned off.
The damaged battleship moved out of Ozzy’s view and was covered by Gragas’s star carrier. The two Dunrakee battleships that split off were now coming back around, heading for Gragas’s ship.
The turrets on the battleships rotated and targeted the star carrier. Silver slugs blasted out from them, sending fiery streaks across the heavens.
A blue haze materialized and surrounded the Galactic Knight’s carrier. A deflector shield. The hot molten slugs impacted the shield, sending electricity soaring around the ship like sizzling lightning trying to find its way through.
The shield fazed in and out.
An electric bolt branched off the deflector shield and wrapped around the Miner. A zap went through the craft.
Ozzy’s holographic display flicked off, and his ship dipped. A jolt zipped through his control stick.
He quickly lifted his hands. “Holy…hot, hot,” he shouted, wiggling his hands in the air. The holodisplay blinked back on, and the Miner shuddered. Ozzy grabbed the stick, bringing the ship back under control.
The carrier veered left and headed for a battleship. Ozzy maintained his course under its belly.
The carrier’s bow lit up again, sending bursts of electricity through the sky and throwing another weapon blast toward the battleship.
The battleship turned, exposing its starboard side. The beam impacted, sending a terrifying screech into the firmament. The battleship’s gears whined, and Ozzy could hear the screech inside his cockpit.
Fire spewed outward, and a secondary explosion erupted through the battleship’s roof, dipping the large behemoth’s nose downward. Smoke trailed from its side. A second internal explosion ripped through its port, sending black smoke curling over the ship’s top edge and wafting toward the sun.
Armor fell in melted clumps, slamming into the sand below and throwing up small dust clouds at every concussion.
The battleship twisted in its flight. A large, rocky slope was coming into view, and the ship’s starboard met the slope with a terrifying crash, throwing shards of armor and debris across the crimson terrain.
The ship slid to a stop, its bow teetering over a cliff’s edge.
Gragas’s star cruiser pulled up, and Ozzy did the same.
A bang thumped against Ozzy’s door.
Ozzy turned and threw his hands up as if he was about to be attacked.
Another bang.
Was he being shot at? Or worse, was a Dunrakee with magnetic boots walking on the roof?
A third bang.
He nodded. Those were boots.
Shit.
Bang!
Ozzy brought up his side cam. Yep, a shadowed figure was indeed walking on his roof. It leaned over and slapped a round device on his flying rig then another and another.
Crap.
Were those bombs? Maybe the Dunrakee had a bomb strong enough to break through the Miner’s armor.
Ozzy put the Miner on autopilot and rushed over to his rifle. He pointed it at the door, walking cautiously toward the entrance.
He’d have to shoot the dumbass off the top of his ship. It wasn’t something on Ozzy’s bucket list, so to say he wasn’t too excited was an understatement.
He put his hand on the control panel next to the entrance, readying to press “open.”
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Oh, boy.” He opened his eyes and went to one knee. “Here goes nothing,” he said as he slapped the button. When the door opened, he held the edge of the doorway with one hand and leaned partially out of his craft, aiming his rifle with his other hand.
There was the culprit, leaning over, readying to slap a bomb on the side wall next to the Miner’s door.
Ozzy narrowed his eyes. “Bye, bubble-head.”
24
Enroute to Olympus Mons, Mars
The figure clung to the edge of the Miner and slapped a bomb on the side wall anyway.
Ozzy felt the trigger against his gloved finger and pulled. A hot, sizzling blast left the muzzle and shot toward the intruder.
The guy moved out of the way, disappearing out of view. Ozzy’s shot was too high.
“You gotta be kidding me,” exclaimed Ozzy.
Ozzy backed into the craft but kept his finger on the trigger. The thin atmospheric breeze pressed against his space suit, and he focused his aim on the open doorway.
He had to think of a better plan and figure out how to get the charges off of his ship. If he didn’t, they’d detonate, potentially sending this bird crashing to the ground.
He took a step forward.
The Dunrakee swung through the entryway like an Eagle after its prey. Ozzy pulled the trigger just as the guy’s boots slammed into his rifle barrel, flinging the rifle behind Ozzy and against the wall.
Ozzy fell back and tumbled on his side. He crawled around and reached for his rifle.
It moved and flew past his outstretched hands heading toward the open door.
Ozzy’s eyes widened. “What the—”
He turned.
The Dunrakee caught his rifle and stood in front of him, his body shadowed by the light streaming in through the doorway. He tipped his head and slapped the “close” button on the panel. “Hi, Ozzy.”
Ozzy slumped against the wall. “You about gave me a heart attack.”
Gragas walked toward Ozzy, his cape moving back and forth with every step. His helmet and mask glowed, along with his suit battle armor. He must have just polished them. He extended his hand, helping Ozzy up.
“You tried to kill me, my friend.”
Ozzy stood and slapped Gragas’s shoulder. “I thought you were setting detonation charges on my ship.”
“Those are graviton shield imbibes.”
Ozzy glanced at his rifle in Gragas’s hand. “How did you get my rifle to fly through the air like that?” It couldn’t be magic. There was no such thing.
A loud metallic sound came from Gragas’s glove, unsuctioning from the rifle. “Targeting magnets. I can magnetize my gloves, point my hand to a metal object, and it will fly into my hand. The trick is the aim. If I’m off an inch, I’ll miss, and nothing will happen.”
The Miner jostled. Ozzy spun around and rushed to the cockpit seat. “Why didn’t you let me know you were going to put on those graviton shield imbibe-thingies?”
“Your com line malfunctioned when the kickback from the deflector shields hit you.”
Ozzy checked his com line. He punched in his ex-wife’s com channel.
Static.
He dialed again.
Static.
“Dammit.”
Gragas took a seat in the copilot’s chair, pointing northeast. “Break off from my star cruiser and head that way.”
Ozzy shook his head, grasping the control stick tighter. “Hell no. I can’t get past the battleships without getting vaporized.”
“My carrier is a diversion for you. It’s heading away from Olympus Mons. The battleships will follow. So, please, go that way.” Gragas continued pointing.
Ozzy checked his map. They were indeed heading away from the mountain. “Alright, I’m trusting you on this one.”
“You better because I’m breaking every code in the Galactic Knight’s book by being in this ship with you.”
; Ozzy pulled his control stick to the right, moving out from under the star carrier and away from the battle. He patched in the coordinates to Olympus Mons for the second time on his holodisplay, programming the craft’s route on the quickest trajectory. “What possible codes are you breaking? Helping friends?”
“A Galactic Knight’s job is to protect the innocent from genocidal races, much like my own Dunrakee race. I’m not supposed to help a race find an ancient artifact that can destroy worlds.”
“The Ark of the Concordant.”
“Exactly. But we’ll keep that between you and me.”
Ozzy thumbed over his shoulder. “You mean, between you, me, and your entire Galactic Knight’s crew.” Ozzy pushed the control stick forward to descend and used the ground to camouflage the Miner the best he could.
“Then after I help you retrieve it, we’ll see if we can make a Galactic Knight out of you.”
Ozzy shook his head. Is that why Gragas was really helping him? He’d never join such an organization or any organization for that matter. He’s not the following type. “Wow, you’re in desperate need of recruits if you want me.”
“You could say that. Most souls want peace in the galaxy but are too afraid or too busy actually to do anything about bringing that peace. A few souls, like me, have a passion for stopping malevolent races from taking ultimate control of the galaxy. You’re one of those passionate beings as well.”
If Ozzy were in the middle of sipping a drink, he would have spit it out. “The hell I am. I’m good with sitting around in peace and quiet, like the majority of the souls in the galaxy.” Ozzy steered around a hill and over an ancient lake bed. He checked his radar. Not a single Dunrakee ship was following him.
These Galactic Knights were good at distractions.
“Firsoff City is up ahead.” Ozzy pointed at a domed town cresting the horizon. “It’s the last city before Outlaw Zone 5 and the rest of the unknown wild west.”
The Miner shuddered. “What the…” The flight console beeped, and the holodisplay brought up the fuel cell gauge. It was empty.
Ozzy squeezed the armrest. “Again? I just bought a new booster.”
“You didn’t check the charge?” Gragas inquired.
Ozzy ignored the question. There had to be a short somewhere. The ship puttered and jostled. The engines shut off.
Shit.
“Hold on. We’re gliding into Firsoff. We’ll land next to the dome and make repairs there.”
Gragas nodded. “Understood.” He got up and walked toward the door.
“What are you doing?”
Gragas cocked his head to the side and opened the door. “I’m not so sure about your landing. I’ll meet you at Firsoff’s entryway.”
Gragas put his hands together and gave a curt bow. He turned and jumped out of the ship.
25
Firsoff City, Mars
The craft vibrated. Ozzy looked at the altitude indicator and his airspeed. He was gliding in fast. Too fast.
He turned on his exterior wall cams. Gragas was gliding on his own to the ground, the back of his suit somehow had extended wings about ten meters on either side of him.
Ozzy switched cams to forward view. This was going to be a bumpy landing. He just hoped the craft stayed upright. If it didn’t, he could kiss the Hover-5 Renegade Booster goodbye.
He moved the ship to the right and then leveled her out. He swiped the screen, quickly adjusting the pitch, and lifted the Flying Miner’s squared nose.
He bit his lower lip. A few more seconds and he’d be sliding across the Mars sand. “Always my dumb, frickin’ luck.”
He checked to see if his restraints were on. They were and hugged his suit tightly. “Here we go.”
Firsoff City’s dome was ahead. If he landed right, he’d be on the side of the dome near the entry flyway.
If he didn’t land correctly, he’d be upside down and half buried in the sand but still next to the city.
Either way, he’d make it out fine. His craft, however, may not.
The ship hit the ground and bounced. Ozzy bucked forward then lurched back, slamming into the seat.
The Miner vibrated and bounced again, chopping up and down against the rippled sand.
Kawooosh!
Ozzy jerked forward, and the Miner came to a quick halt.
Ozzy slapped his hands together. “That’s how you crash land.” He was becoming a master at it.
He unstrapped and headed to the door, which opened when he pressed the control panel.
Hopping onto the red sand, he gathered himself and stretched under the sun’s rays. In the distance, past the red rocks, a dirt devil spun across the land, spinning debris and rock into the air.
Footsteps carried to Ozzy’s external helmet auditory speakers, and he turned. Gragas came walking around the Miner, his wings folded and slipped into the back of his suit. How they fit, Ozzy didn’t know, and he didn’t care to ask at the moment.
Gragas halted and leaned up against the ship. “Nice landing.”
Ozzy nodded. “I know.”
Kaclink!
Ozzy strolled around to the back of the Miner, placing his hands on his hips. He took a breath. “Damn techbots.” Bots didn’t put things together like they used to. “That’s going to cost me a pretty auric.”
Gragas slapped his hand on Ozzy’s shoulder. “Yes. It will.”
The H-5 Renegade Booster had broken off and was lying on the ground.
Ozzy glanced back at Gragas. “You have any auric credits on you?”
“Nope.”
“Of course not.”
They were stuck.
26
Firsoff City, Mars
Ozzy pounded on the window of the guard station for the fifth time. “Look, we will buy a new craft while we’re in there. Just let us in.”
The guard shook his head. “Firsoff City is at capacity.”
“Can’t you see we need help? We’ll freeze out here.”
The guard glanced at Ozzy’s ship and back at Ozzy. “I can write you up for negligent piloting.”
Ozzy raised his hands in the air and then dropped them by his sides. He glanced at Gragas. “What do we do?”
Gragas dipped his head.
Ozzy blinked, awaiting a better response. “That’s it? That’s all you got for me?”
Gragas shrugged.
“No trespassing, sirs. I’ll arrest you if you stay any longer,” said the guard.
Ozzy kicked the ground. “What does at capacity mean?”
He had never heard of the term when it came to city space.
“It means that no rebel archaeologists can use our city to rest up and head into the Outlawed Zones anymore. That’s what that means.”
“I’m not a rebel archaeologist,” Ozzy lied.
The guard stepped back, pressed a few buttons on his holopad, and the glass that circled the guard’s station turned black, hiding the guard from view.
Ozzy put his hands together and leaned back, eyeing the sky and wanting to scream.
“They probably have your face and other faces of rebel archaeologists plastered on every corner in that city,” explained Gragas.
It was probably true. It would explain how the guard knew Ozzy was a forbidden archaeologist. At least they weren’t trying to arrest him. They probably wanted Ozzy as far away from them as possible, but it wasn’t like he’d shoot up the place or anything.
Ozzy huffed his dissatisfaction and walked toward the Flying Miner.
“Where are you going?” Gragas asked.
“I’m getting back into the Miner and waiting until it recharges. I’ll see if I can repair the booster when I warm up.”
“Alright. Understandable. But, again, I can do something that I’m not supposed to do.”
Ozzy spun around, hope shining in his eyes. “Do what?”
Gragas tapped his mask then held his finger over his external ear speakers, obviously listening to something.
He dropped
his arm by his side and nodded. “Good. We have a nice flying vehicle on the way, and it’s not one of mine, so I’m not breaking any additional codes.”
“Then whose is it?”
Gragas shook his head. “We don’t know, but it’s a friendly. It has Jonas Moon’s insignia on it.”
A ball of light lit the horizon accompanied by a rumbling. The ball grew bigger, changing from a light to a dark shadow. Whatever it was, and whoever it was, was coming in fast.
The more he watched, the more it came into view. It was indeed one of Jonas’s crafts. It had a long wingspan, like all Martian craft, and an almond-shaped torso. They were sleek starfighters, better than most Marine and MMP ships.
The craft came in closer, burning its belly thrusters and slowing itself down.
It floated above them briefly and then descended, pushing up sand into the breeze. Ozzy and Gragas moved out of the way as it landed.
They watched as the cabin door opened, and out came a woman in an EVA suit. Ozzy’s helmet mic crackled.
“You crashed another ship?”
Ozzy grinned but then grimaced a moment later. This was starting to look bad. How many ships had he killed since he’d known this woman?
Jozi pointed behind her, motioning at her ship. “Jonas let me borrow one of his S-6 Hawks. It’s fast and will get us to Olympus Mons in no time.” She paused, looking Ozzy up and down. “Get your rifle and the capsule. We leave immediately.”
27
Firsoff city, Mars
Jozi was at the helm with Ozzy relegated to the copilot’s seat. She powered on the Hawk, and it vibrated and purred like a kitten.
“Let’s hope we don’t need a mole digger or an S-99 Flying Miner to find the Ark,” said Ozzy.
“Maybe we’ll get lucky,” responded Gragas, shifting in his seat. He was in the cabin inspecting one of his many sharp, pointy weapons attached to his battle suit. “It’s going to be dangerous.”
Ozzy pursed his lips. “The trip to the Ark?”
Mars Colony Chronicles (Books 1 - 5): A Space Opera Box Set Adventure Page 35
