Andy grunted. “Pay more if the president and his cronies weren't pocketing a chunk of every transaction.”
“I wasn't aware of that. How long has that been going on for?”
“Oh, about as long as you've been alive. They used to pay double.”
I stopped in my tracks, mouth agape. “Double? Are you shitting me?”
“Afraid not. It's been decades. One day, the prices just got cut in half. Only explanation was processing fees.”
“Was it true?”
“Shit no,” he scoffed. “They shut down the main processing plant and only ran the three backups.”
I shook my head. “And no one did anything?”
“Sure, at first. Then people who were voicing their opinions started having accidents. Before long, was no one left brave enough. The last guy who died, Steve’s granddad, mind you, apparently committed suicide. By shooting himself in the back of the head. Four times.”
We started walking down a long stretch of corridor. “Holy shit. So they've been after Steve's family for quite a while.”
“Mmhmm,” Andy mumbled. “Three generations been targeted. Steve's the last.”
“But why? What keeps drawing them to the Millers like a plague?”
“Little known fact… Steve’s great-grandfather was president. He had strong opinions about helping the people. But a faction within the government thought controlling the wealth was more beneficial to the few in control. They assassinated him. Their family has been fighting for the people ever since.”
We arrived at the door Sami had specified. I keyed in the hacked code, and the door slid open. We quickly stepped inside. “I’ve never seen these kinds of systems. There’s so many synapse cables I have no clue where to even start.”
“Just look for the one that’s out of place. I’m sure the wire will be near where it plugs in. It’s just like a datacore on a ship. If you’re tinkering, you don’t want to have to work to undo a mistake.”
I searched the rows of patch panels until I came across a connector which was half unplugged. “I think I found it. This one is popped out a little.”
“All right, then do your thing. I’m gonna go keep watch.” Andy stepped out into the corridor. Almost immediately, I heard shouting and a rushed conversation. A patrol had caught Andy as he exited the comms room.
I quickly pulled out the processor module and set it among the wires. I took a spare length of synapse cable and plugged it into the patch panel. The free ends both went into the processor. That would both restore the main systems and bridge Sami into the heart of the network.
The shouting had moved out of earshot. I opened the door and peeked around the corner. I could see the guards, their backs to me, arguing with Andy. As casually as I could, I approached the group.
“Andy! Did you get lost again?”
“What? Oh! Nate! I was trying to find a place to take a piss, and these gents came along.”
The guard eyed me suspiciously; as if trying to place where he knew me from. “This old man with you?” he asked.
“Yessir. He gets lost sometimes. Forgets which way home is.”
“I see,” said the guard. “All right, keep a better eye on the old man. Can’t be having people walking into restricted areas whenever they happen to wander by…”
“Yessir. Thank you, sir. We’ll be on our way.”
The guards glared as I put my arm around Andy’s shoulders and guided him away like a long-lost relative.
“We gotta go,” I whispered. “I’m pretty sure the guard recognized me. I have to get off the ship.”
“You manage to pull off what you wanted in there?”
“Yeah. Just gotta get lost before anyone else notices me.” Behind us, I could make out the patter of combat boots on metal deck plating. Andy and I glanced at each other and then took off at a brisk jog.
“We won’t be able to outrun them for long,” he wheezed. Ahead of us, the fire control bulkheads began to close. “That your doing?”
“Probably Sami’s. Should buy us a little bit of time.” We cleared the bulkhead just as it closed, sealing off the corridor. Ahead of us, a small child I’d never seen held out a green jacket and cap. I slid to a stop in front of him.
“Here you go, mister. Put these on.”
“Thank you,” I said. I swapped the jacket and cap and the boy hid the orange clothing in his pack.
“Now the bad men won’t notice you. I gotta go now. Bye, mister! Bye, Uncle Andy!” The boy ran off down a side corridor.
“Cute kid,” I said.
“Yup. My sis knows how to raise them. Now, let’s get you out of here before someone gets wise to us.”
When I returned to the Gilmore, Sami was frantic. “You need to get back to the Grey Wolf as soon as possible. I detected the colonial military gathering within strike distance of the freighter.”
“Can’t you move it?” I asked.
“I already have. I’m preparing for an FTL jump as we speak. It will take a little while to charge up the FTL drive.”
I fired up the engines and blasted out of the docking bay. Two ships fell in behind me. “You think they were waiting to see who reacted?”
“Indeed. It would be a logical assumption.”
The ship shuddered. “I don’t know if we’re going to make it at this rate. They’re gaining on us, and we don’t exactly have weapons.”
“I have a suggestion. But it has consequences.”
“Can’t be worse than dying, can it?”
“I can disable the ship’s safety inhibitor system. We will be able to push the ship well beyond its design limitations. But…”
“It’s going to damage a lot of components.”
“Yes.”
“How bad?”
“I am uncertain. Likely, the engines will need to be overhauled. The power distribution system may or may not be able to handle the added stress. The reactor should survive but will need maintenance.”
“Hurting for choices. Do it.”
“Acknowledged. You may want to don your helmet.”
I fastened the helmet and felt the hiss of oxygen as the suit’s environmental and life support systems came online. The lights dimmed out entirely, and I watched as the power indicators to all nonessential systems blinked out one by one—including life support. The gravity went out as well.
I watched the speed indicator turn red. The ship began to shake and vibrate as we accelerated. Temperature warnings flashed across the console. But we were pulling away from our pursuers. The ship shuddered again.
“Evading fire. Brace for high-G maneuver.”
Before I could even grip the armrests, the ship spun. Outside the windows, the stars streaked in a corkscrew. I swallowed hard, attempting to keep my food down and my eyes open. The mining laser was fully charged. Sami must want me to do that again. The ship spun again. One of the pursuing ships centered itself in my targeting indicator. I released my death grip on the armrest and slammed the fire button.
The ship in my sights shuddered and drifted listlessly in space. “One down!” I shouted over the roar of the engines.
“Excellent. One more.”
We repeated the maneuver three more times. Reinforcements had joined. Or Sami was too busy to count properly. I wasn’t sure. We were skimming along the lunar surface, trying to avoid detection. The ground in front of us exploded, forcing Sami to veer off course. Then the fleet arrived in unison. Guns blazed.
Our speed kept us from being hit, but the engines wouldn’t last much longer. Three small ships moved in on our position. I managed to siphon one of them. The other two powered down and crashed into each other before plowing into a crater at maximum speed.
I looked up in time to see the Strider zip past. Seconds later, the Grey Wolf dropped out of FTL between us and the fleet. Sami guided the Gilmore into the docking bay and fired the reverse thrusters. We weren’t slowing down.
“Sami, we need more reverse thrust!”
“E
ngines at six hundred percent. There is no more thrust.”
We hit the deck plating with enough force to jar my brain. I woke up a few seconds later. The Gilmore rested against the far back wall of the docking bay. A path of destruction marked our slide from the bay door. The Strider set down on the second pad. Anne and Steve exited their ship and ran toward us.
I managed to unstrap myself and make my way to the hatch. The door slid open and I fell out of the ship. People were screaming at me, but I couldn’t hear them. My ears rang. Anne reached out and unclasped my helmet. She yelled, but I could barely make out her words.
“Bishop! Are you all right?” she yelled. I nodded.
“Ears ringing,” I said. Or yelled. I wasn’t sure. “Plug in the Strider to the network.” I grabbed my neural interface helmet from the Gilmore. On the way to the Strider, I noticed the engines. The thrust nozzles had completely melted. The bulkheads around them as well. I shook my head. That’s going to take a while to fix…
I ran to the Strider, and immediately, I connected with the ship. Its systems felt natural. Like home. There was no resistance. No lag time. No vertigo.
“Sami. It’s time for a fight.”
“Indeed.”
10
The colonial fleet floated between us and Colony Ship Two-Seven. I focused on the rail cannon and charged it to maximum as the Sentinel shrieked and protested.
To any casual observers on the other ships, or anyone watching from the colony, you'd be able to see yellow and blue lightning arcing up and down the twin-pronged emitter barrel assembly. They knew what was coming.
I opened a channel to the entire fleet as well as the colony. “Greetings. For those that don't know who I am, my name is Bishop Jones. I was born on this colony and have its well-being in mind and at heart as I stand off against our own colonial fleet.”
They tried blocking my signal so I boosted the power. “For too long, our leadership has fabricated lies and funded the pirates to maintain their stranglehold of power over us. Even now, they try to block me from reaching out to you.”
“I would like to play you a few passages from the personal journal of the previous captain of the Grey Wolf. Which may be interrupted by weapons fire from our own military, as they do not want you to hear my next transmission.”
The cruiser fired a warning shot across the nose of the Grey Wolf. I fired one of the mass drivers and set the warhead to detonate right before impact.
Anyone looking out the window would be seeing spots for the next few hours. As I played Captain Tolya’s journal to the entire colony, the ships powered their engines and closed on our ancient freighter.
I paused for a moment. “I will try to continue transmitting; however, our government is now attacking us in an effort to hide the truth from you. Don't take my word for it, look out your windows. If they had nothing to hide, would they be trying to silence us with deadly force?”
The cruiser opened fire, and the Grey Wolf shuddered. “Captain Rogers, I implore you, cease fire,” I said over the open comms. “Please don't make me fire the rail cannon at your ship. There is no reason for you and your crew to be destroyed.”
He answered with a volley of missiles, but the turrets shut them down. “Just because I don't want to resort to violence doesn't mean I won't. Stand. Down. Captain.”
“We don't negotiate with terrorists,” replied Captain Rogers. “Stand down and face trial.”
“No,” I said. “I'm not leaving until the people know what our government has done for the last century. They have a right to know. If you had any honor, you would be supporting our cause.”
“You are terrorists and enemies of the state.” Captain Rogers puffed his chest out on his video transmission, trying to look intimidating. “If you will not surrender, we will destroy you.”
“If that's the way it's gotta be.”
“It is.”
“You disappoint me, Captain. So be it. I recommend evasive maneuvers.” I targeted the unoccupied hangar of his cruiser. And fired. The rail round streaked through the distance separating the two ships in the blink of an eye.
It smashed into the side of the [big ship], causing massive explosions along the port side. Secondary explosions burst from the bottom of the ship. Lights flickered out and then back on across the hull.
The fleet moved in on us, and the Grey Wolf shuddered under the combined firepower of the colonial fleet. I opened up with the turrets, forcing several of the ships to break off. The remaining ships pushed on toward us.
I fired the three mass drivers and pushed them back. “Stand down or be destroyed,” I said. “I'm done playing games.”
“We will not stand down,” said Captain Rogers.
“Then the blood of your entire fleet is on your hands.” I charged the rail cannon and the mass drivers. “Anyone who stands in our way will be obliterated.”
The Alexander’s engines fired, spewing out a cloud of bright blue plasma. “Don't throw your lives away, Captain Rogers. You've seen the footage. Don't be a fool.”
The ship veered toward us, accelerating on a collision course. “Fine,” I said. “Have it your way…” I fired the rail cannon and pierced the ship. The Alexander shuddered as its bulkheads collapsed in on themselves around the engineering section. Then the FTL drive detonated. The shockwave rocked the Grey Wolf from several kilometers away.
“FTL drive detonation confirmed,” said Steve over the comms. “Probably should have avoided that.”
“Too late now,” I said. “Let's just hope the Qhonox don't take notice.” I knew as I said it that we had just opened Pandora's box.
I felt the strange disturbance in the air before it happened. The lights dimmed, and the hairs on my arms stood up. A strange ship, in a design I'd never seen before, suddenly dropped out of light speed between us and the remainder of the colonial fleet.
“We have company,” said Anne. “Somehow I don't think they're friendly, either.”
“Incoming message,” said Sami. “All frequencies.”
BEGIN TRANSMISSION:
“It has been ordained by the Gods that no lesser space-faring race may travel at Sun-speed. Make peace with your Creator, for your destruction is at hand.”
END TRANSMISSION.
THE END
The adventure continues in Bishop’s Redemption, Book 3 of The Bishop Archives!
A note from the author…
Thank you for reading my book. This was quite fun to write and I’m happy to be able to finally share it with you.
If you would be so kind as to take a moment and leave a review, I would be extremely grateful. Reviews are the only real way for new, self-published authors to be seen on Amazon, so your positive comments will help immensely.
Feel free to visit my website to sign up for the mailing list to receive updates on upcoming releases, as well as receiving our “starter library”, a collection of prequel novellas for each series, when they become available.
Jeremy Fabiano
About the Author
I.T. hero by day, father, husband, and godling by night.
Jeremy Fabiano is an emerging author of several exciting genres which include: LitRPG, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Post Apocalyptic, Medieval Post Apocalyptic and Non-Fiction.
Join him as he descends into the depths of his imagination, bringing you the exciting adventures he discovers along the way.
Jeremy Fabiano read his first fantasy book at fourteen years old. An old ratty copy of “The Hobbit.” Tolkien forever dominated his imagination as he fell prey to every RPG game out there.
At sixteen, a friend from school introduced him to his first multiplayer RPG: A M.U.D. or multi-user dungeon. This ancient construct required the player to use a terminal program to connect to a remote text-based system. No pictures. No animations. It paved the way to being enthralled by World of Warcraft, where he saved the world countless times over the span of half of a decade.
In mid-2018, he reached out to several authors
seeking advice. Shayne Silvers was among the first to respond. He encouraged and inspired Jeremy to work harder than he ever had before. Shortly after, M. D. Massey also gave some much-needed advice, eliciting even more changes in the aspiring author.
By the end of 2018, he had teamed up with T.M. Edwards and co-authored “Roger”, a book in Edwards’ “Tales Of Courage From Beyond The Apocalypse” series. This would be the first of many books published by Jeremy Fabiano.
He plans fifteen books in the 2019 year, and fifty+ over the next three years.
Keep reading. Keep learning.
Never be afraid to reach for your dreams.
Jeremy Fabiano
To get in touch:
www.jeremyfabianoauthor.com
www.amazon.com/author/jeremyfabiano
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