Modulus Echo

by Toby Neighbors

  The human looked frightened. “No-nothing,” he stammered. “It-it-it’s a t-tra-training facility on a tiny little planet called Yelsin Prime. It’s too close to the system star. Only the extreme poles are habitable.”

  “Training facility?” Grubat said. “Training for what?”

  “I-I-I don’t na-na-know.”

  Grubat backhanded Godfred hard enough to knock the fat human off his feet. Blood gushed from the prisoner’s nose, and he was crying again, but Grubat ignored him. He would know what was waiting in the Yelsin system soon enough. Grubat was certain that Hassik would parade whatever he found there under the disgraced chieftain’s tendrils. It would be the last mistake Yarl Hassik ever made.

  Chapter 47

  “Will it work?” General Pershing asked.

  Ben couldn’t be certain. He frowned as he spoke.

  “It should, but I can’t test it until we leave the station,” Ben explained. “I ran some tests on the wave generators. They all different from what we had before. They work, but how they function with the flux shield will have to be determined.”

  “Fine, we are ready to leave, are we not?” Pershing pressed.

  “Soon,” Ben said. “I’m changing the Zexum tank.”

  Pershing’s eyes narrowed, but she didn’t speak again. Ben was sure she didn’t believe him, but he didn’t need a lot of time. He could pull his designs and notes together on the shield and send them to Len Webb in between loading a new tank of Zexum.

  He hurried back down to the engineering bay. The new wave generators were laid out on his workbench. He would need to change some of the ratios to ensure that the shield that would swirl around the ship wouldn’t be too large or too powerful. But that could wait until they were underway. They would surely be in the system for at least an hour before jumping into hyperspace. That was more than enough time for Ben to make whatever adjustments he needed to make and get the shield up and running. Assuming the newly acquired wave generators were in good working condition.

  “I guess that’s it,” Kim said as she came out of the recreation area followed by Duke Simeon.

  “I appreciate the tour,” the royal said.

  Ben felt a twinge of jealousy until he saw Kim roll her eyes at him.

  “General Pershing’s ready to leave,” Ben said. “I’m sure you’re needed on the bridge.”

  “Well that figures,” Kim said. “The duke was offering to buy us a meal off the ship.”

  “For everyone, of course,” Duke Simeon said.

  “Sorry,” Ben replied, even though he wasn’t really sorry. He didn’t like the way the duke was looking at Kim. He knew the stories about the royal family. They were a hedonistic group, especially the younger men. The stories of their private relationships were told and retold on every media outlet, even the anti-establishment sites.

  “We’ll head upstairs,” Kim said.

  “I’ll be there as soon as I change the Zexum tanks,” Ben explained.

  Changing the tanks required using the hoist system in the engineering bay. Ben pulled the deck plate up and checked the tank’s built-in display. The Zexum was down to just thirty percent. It was enough to get them safely back to the Yelsin system, but Ben didn’t like arriving anywhere on an empty tank. If they ran into trouble, changing the Zexum tank might not be possible.

  Moving over to the fusion reactor, he shut the power system down, switching the ship over to her auxiliary batteries to keep the other systems running. Then he wrapped the harness system around the five-foot-tall tank and disconnected the fittings.

  “Need a hand?” Corporal Dial asked as he meandered into the engineering bay.

  Ben jumped at the sound of the soldier’s voice, then leaned against his workbench.

  “You frightened me,” Ben said. “I’m not used to so many people being on the ship.”

  “It’s a pretty sweet set up for a small crew,” Dial said. “Still larger than any military vessel I’ve been on, as far as crew quarters and that sort of thing are concerned.”

  The corporal was back in his fatigues. He was friendly, which made him difficult to understand from Ben’s point of view. The young engineer didn’t know whether he could trust Dial or not.

  “Well, I can do this without help,” Ben said. “But I wouldn’t mind a little. I still need to send a message while we’re locked onto the station.”

  “Sending the shield designs?” Dial asked.

  Ben wasn’t sure what the general would think of Ben sharing his designs and notes with the Brimex engineers. But they were his to do with as he wanted, and Dial already knew he had made a deal with the corporation, so he saw no value in denying it.

  “Yeah,” Ben said. “As a matter of fact, I am.”

  “Smart move,” Dial said. “You can’t survive long without a side hustle.”

  Ben activated the controls for the harness lift and began hoisting the depleted tank up from its spot under the engineering bay deck.

  “This one goes to that storage compartment,” Ben pointed. “If you can move it over for me, I’ll help you get the next one in a minute.”

  “Sure,” Dial said.

  Ben brought up his computer system and typed a quick message to Len Webb. After attaching his designs and notes about the flux shield, he sent it along to the businessman. There would be no way to know if the Brimex Corporation was cheating them of their tiny share of the profits, but Ben hoped he lived long enough to see some kind of return.

  “How long have you been doing this?” Dial asked.

  “What? Running the Echo?”

  “Yeah, I mean, how does a person get their own ship at your age? No offense, but you don’t seem like trust fund kids.”

  “We aren’t,” Ben said. “I built her, or at least refitted her from scrap. We grew up on Torrent Four. I found the ship mostly intact under a mound of garbage in the salvage fields. I rebuilt her systems, got her powered up and back in the air.”

  “It’s a pretty sweet gig,” Dial said. “Go where you want, when you want. I could get used to that.”

  “How long are you in the service?” Ben asked.

  “Three more years, if I don’t re-enlist. I send most of my payback home to help my folks.”

  “That’s generous,” Ben said.

  “Well, they feed and clothe us, so I don’t need much money. We don’t get a lot of free time in Spec Ops either. I could have saved it all and had a tidy little nest egg, but I sleep better knowing the rest of my family has enough to eat with the money I send.”

  “Where are you from?”

  “Hermes, it’s a lunar colony in the Olympiad system. There are six moons circling a gas giant that acts as a kind of second sun.”

  “Sounds nice,” Ben said.

  “It’s not. The Imperium has some big factories there and uses the off-gassing to help build up the atmosphere. It’s back-breaking work with deplorable living conditions. People think my joining up with the Imperium military was this noble thing, but I just had to get out of that system, you know?”

  “I do know,” Ben said. “I felt the same way growing up.”

  “And you made it,” Corporal Dial said. “That gives a grunt like me some hope.”

  They settled the new tank of Zexum gas down into place. Ben thought about what the Special Forces corporal was saying. It didn’t take much to see the Royal Imperium from a different point of view, but the system didn’t work for everyone. He supposed there would always be poverty and hardship in some parts of the galaxy, but he felt that the government wasn’t really helping people the way they proclaimed.

  “When you get out, look us up. We can always use a capable man,” Ben said. “And like you said, we’ve got the room.”

  “You mean that?” Dial asked.

  “Sure,” Ben said.

  “I’ll take you up on it,” the corporal threatened.

  “Just make sure you live long enough to do that,” Ben said.

  “Yeah, you too. Don’t let the
general make heroes out of you.”

  “You’ve met Kim, right?” Ben said. “There’s no chance of that.”

  They laughed and then Ben powered the fusion reactor back on. He tapped his com-link button.

  “We’re all good down here,” Ben said. “You can take us out whenever you’re ready.”

  “It’s about time,” Kim said. “You’re getting slow in your old age.”

  “I’ll contact Brimex Space Control,” Nance said.

  “General, do you need me to help with Holt?” Ben asked.

  “Negative. Your priority is the shield.”

  “Okay,” Ben said.

  “You know that pisses her off to no end, right?”

  “What does?” Ben asked.

  “You not using military protocol when you talk to her.”

  “I didn’t know that,” Ben replied with a chuckle.

  “Keep it up,” Dial said. “There aren’t too many things that make her squirm. The guys in my squad have a pool going on how long she makes it before she snaps.”

  Dial left the engineering bay, and Ben sat down at his workbench. He was all for fun and games, but the fate of the galaxy lay before them. How the Special Forces operators did their jobs with levity was beyond him. And the last thing he wanted was for General Pershing to snap. Like or not, they needed her. He would have to be more attentive to the general’s needs. There was no sense in making her dislike him any more than she already did. And the idea of General Pershing snapping was more than a little frightening.

  Chapter 48

  Kim enjoyed the many places they stopped on their journeys. Getting off the ship and seeing new things made her happy, but nothing brought her as much joy as flying the Modulus Echo. Even in space, where flying felt more like a simulation than actual flight, there was a sense of freedom and purpose that filled her when she took control of the ship.

  On her console screens, Kim saw that they were sent drifting forward by a slight thruster boost from the station that was part of their decoupling procedures from the dock. Kim feathered the main drive controls, allowing them to slowly gain speed as they moved away from the huge space station. The dock was on the periphery of the installation, and there was no danger of crashing into anything, but caution always made sense. There were other ships moving into and out of the dock, and Kim wouldn’t dream of doing anything that might hurt the ship.

  “We’re clear of the Brimex Station,” Nance said. “Plotting a jump point for the Yelsin system.”

  “Excellent,” General Pershing said. “Mr. Holt, have you heard from your Confederates?”

  Kim heard the slightest trace of disdain in the general’s use of the word Confederates. It was amusing to Kim to see the general squirm a little. Having the queen and Duke Simeon on board the Echo was uncomfortable to Kim, and she didn’t mind Pershing getting a taste of her own medicine.

  “Not yet,” Holt said stiffly. “But your message has been sent to our leaders. It won’t be long. Until then, my ships will accompany you to the Yelsin Station.”

  “You have ships?” Kim asked.

  “I have a small force at my disposal,” Holt replied. “You didn’t think I’d come here alone, did you.”

  “I had no idea what you might do,” Kim said. “Logic and reason aren’t your strong points.”

  “And tact isn’t yours,” General Pershing said. “Holt is our guest and will be afforded the proper respect while on this vessel.”

  Kim wanted to point out that it wasn’t her vessel, and she shouldn’t be making proclamations about what they would and wouldn’t do, but Ben had made a deal with the general. Just because Kim wouldn’t have given up control of the Echo didn’t necessarily mean it was the wrong move. And she was willing to back Ben’s play. Being a team player wasn’t her default setting, but she could change. Leaving the Echo and her crewmates when they had been on Torrent Four was the biggest mistake of her life, and not just because things hadn’t gone well for her. They were the closest thing to family she had, and although she didn’t always acknowledge how important that was to her, when she had been alone on Torrent Four, the void leaving them created in her was undeniable. She would never make that mistake again, and she would always support Ben, Nance, and Magnum. Even the old professor was growing on her, and Kim had come to realize that having their backs wasn’t a weakness on her part.

  “Where are these ships?” General Pershing asked Holt, who was lingering near Ben’s console.

  Kim didn’t like the Confederate being behind her, and she didn’t like anyone encroaching on what she thought of as Ben’s space. But the young engineer was downstairs working on the flux shield and Holt was on the bridge. Ben’s console was the only open position, and while Holt hadn’t sat down in Ben’s seat yet, it was only a matter of time.

  “They’re’ hidden in the shadow of the station’s solar sail,” Holt said.

  “Have them form up on our position,” General Pershing said. “Nance can send them our telemetry once we have coms protocol established. I need each of the ships on our plot with vessel names and the names of their commanders.”

  “Why do you need their names?” Holt asked. He wasn’t even trying to hide his suspicion.

  “In case we encounter the enemy, I would need to relay orders,” General Pershing said. “I won’t have your ships attacking at will.”

  “I don’t think my people will take kindly to being ordered around by an Imperium officer,” Holt replied.

  “That’s the only way this works,” Pershing said. Kim heard the faintest trace of disdain in the general’s voice. “Our resources are limited, as you well know. We have to work in concert to conserve what we have. I need to know the names of each ship, her class, armaments, and the name of her commanding officer. In short, I have to know everything about them. This isn’t a half-baked effort to gain intel on your rebellion. It’s war, and you will follow my orders or there will be consequences.”

  “You’re threatening me?” Holt said. “That’s rich. You come begging for our help, then you tell us how we’re going to act. Like we’re beneath you or something.”

  “I’m telling you how we will act, because in battle, there must be clear lines of command. Otherwise, it’s nothing but chaos and waste. Do you want to see your ships lost, sir? Do you wish to put your own people in harm’s way because your ego can’t stand the thought of a trained, experienced commander giving you orders?”

  “You think we don’t have experience?” Holt sneered. “Sweetheart, I’ve been doing this dance at least as long as you.”

  Kim almost laughed out loud. She couldn’t imagine that anyone had ever called General Pershing sweetheart before.

  “It isn’t a dance, and we don’t need guerilla tactics to fight an enemy in space. We need order, clear fields of fire, tactical maneuvers, and discipline. That is what I bring to the table, sir. Now get your ships here, and stop running your mouth. If you can’t do that, I’m more than capable of shutting it for you.”

  Kim couldn’t help herself. She turned in her chair and looked at Holt. His face was red with anger, but he leaned over Ben’s console and sent a quick message.

  “Jump point is up,” Nance said. “Ready to send it to the Confederate vessels.”

  “Roger that,” General Pershing said. “Let’s identify those ships and give them time to form up behind us, Kim.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Kim said. “I’m in no hurry.”

  “Georgia volunteers,” Holt said into the ship’s communication system. “Form up behind the Modulus Echo. Transponders on. Set your communications to this frequency and report in.”

  “I have ships on radar,” Nance said. “Nine vessels.”

  “Size?” Pershing asked.

  “They look to be Cutters, maybe,” Nance said. “They’re all older ships. None are military standard.”

  “I expected as much,” Pershing said.

  “Don’t worry, General,” Holt said. “We can hold our own. They m
ay not be standard, but I can guarantee that each one is packing plenty of firepower.”

  “Radar, designate each of the new ships Bravo one through nine.”

  “Yes, General,” Nance said.

  Kim noticed that Pershing had referred to Nance by her job, rather than by name. Maybe it was a slip on the general’s part, or maybe she was trying to create a more military air on the Echo. Either way, Kim didn’t care for it. They weren’t soldiers, and they hadn’t signed on to be nameless cogs in Pershing’s war.

  The com-link system that the crew of the Echo used was separate from the ship’s main communication system. It was a short-range, personal communication arrangement, and alerted them with a short chirp before transmitting when the system hadn’t been activated for a while. Kim heard the small device that was pinned to the collar of her jumpsuit beep, then Ben’s voice sounded as if he were standing right beside her. Just the way he talked gave her a thrill at the strangest times, she thought, as a little shiver raced through her body.

  “General, I’m ready to give the shield a test,” Ben said.

  “Alright,” Pershing said. “You’re clear. Holt, order your volunteers to keep a three-kilometer distance between us.”

  “Sure,” Holt said.

  “Bravo One,” Nance said. “Transponder is reading as the Chattahoochee.”

  “Quaint,” Pershing said.

  “Her captain is Jaxon, and they’ve got military-grade laser cannons,” Holt said.

  Kim watched her plot. The Brimex Station was behind them, and there were a few other ships in the area, but her attention was on the line of ships moving toward them. The blips on her screen each had the letter B and a number beside it.

  “Bravo Two,” Nance continued, “is the Red Cloud.”

  “She’s only got a single pilot on board,” Holt said. “Her name is Wingfoot. Light weapons only, but she’s the fastest ship in the group.”

  On the com-link, Ben reported in.

  “The shield is spinning up,” Ben said. “Stand by for test one.”

  “How long will this take?” Pershing asked on the com-link.

  “Not long if it works,” Ben said.