Outstanding, Modulus Echo. Hold your position. We are inbound and will link up with your ship momentarily. Stand by.
“Affirmative, Dixie Storm,” Ben said over the ship’s radio. “Modulus Echo is standing by.”
“They’re coming aboard,” Kim said.
“Guns,” Magnum said.
“He’s right. We’ll hope for the best, plan for the worst,” Ben agreed. “Help me out of this space suit. I’ll meet the boarding party, you three spread out on the balcony. Don’t show your weapons, but keep them close.”
“Is it really possible that after all we’ve been through, they would just try to steal the ship?” Kim said.
“Anything is possible,” Ben said.
“Safety is an illusion,” Nance said.
Ben gave the assault rifle to Kim. Magnum returned from his room with his revolver stuffed into his belt with the handle facing his good arm.
“Nance, increase our gravity to normal levels,” Ben said. “And stand by the controls. If they’re hostile, shut it down.”
“What about you?”
“If they’re here to take the ship, just forget about me and take them out,” Ben said.
“Good luck,” Kim told him.
“Just don’t shoot me by accident,” Ben said.
Chapter 30
The Confederate ship came alongside the Echo and extended a docking tube. Ben watched as a single man in mismatched clothing came into the air lock with two large tanks clearly marked: Zexum. Ben felt a wave of relief, but he forced himself not to drop his guard. They would bring gas over even if they planned to take over the ship.
When the air lock cycled, the door slid open, and the man stepped out. He had on patched pant and a quilted coat that was made from scraps of fabric. Around the coat he wore a thick leather belt with a sleek-looking laser pistol in a holster on his right side and a large knife in a sheath on the other. His boots were tall and came up to his knees, and he wore a cap with a strange emblem on the front to keep his wild, unkempt hair out of his face.
“You got a dolly?” the man asked Ben.
“No, sorry.”
“Well, great. I guess we’ll have to manhandle these. I hope your engineering bay is close. These tanks are full and heavy as hell.”
“It’s not far. Let me help you clear the way for the rest of your party,” Ben said.
“I’m it,” the stranger said. “Call me Holt. I’ll be your liaison to the Confederacy.”
“Our what?” Ben asked, trying to sound casual so that his surprise didn’t show through.
“Look, you’ve got a ship and we need ships. No surprise there, but we aren’t just giving away Zexum for nothing. Two full tanks equal four runs. You follow me? You want to fly off to Neverland after that, be my guest, but as long as you’re burning our gas, you’ll run Confederate ops.”
“Okay,” Ben said, not sure what else to say.
“Once we get this gas squared away, I’ll take a tour of your ship, and we’ll figure out what you’re best suited to do for the cause,” Holt continued. “You have a crew?”
“Ben pointed up at the railing on the main deck. Magnum and Kim were in sight, Nance wasn’t.
“That’s Magnum, our security officer,” Ben said.
“He won’t be much help with a bum arm,” Holt declared.
“And that’s Kim Beaudry, our pilot.”
“Howdy,” Holt said.
“We can dial back the artificial gravity, if that would help move the tanks,” Ben said.
“Good idea,” Holt replied.
Ben used the com-link to notify Nance. Soon they all felt light and strong. The Zexum tanks were still heavy, but manageable. Ben showed Holt where the fusion reactor was. They uncoupled the small handheld canister of Zexum gas.
“You made it up here on that little thing?” Holt said with surprise.
“We got off-world pretty easily,” Ben said. “Fleet Security just had a couple of ground runners in the area. As soon as we got here, we shut down all unnecessary systems.”
“Sometimes things just work out,” Holt said. “There’s trouble in the Palay system. I guess it has our friends in the Imperium pretty busy these days.”
They connected the first Zexum tank and stored the second in a maintenance closet with a reinforced door. Then Ben gave Holt a quick tour of the engineering bay.
“You did all this work yourself?” Holt asked.
“Yes,” Ben said.
The Confederate man looked skeptical.
“Well, it don’t matter how you got her. She’ll fly and that’s all that matters.”
They went upstairs, and Ben introduced Holt to the others. He shook hands and looked around the bridge.
“Crew quarters in both wings,” Ben explained. “Crew lounge on this side. Sick bay on the other.”
“And upstairs?” Holt asked.
“Guest quarters, the galley, and the observation deck.”
“Fine,” he said, pulling at his heavy coat. “It’s warm in here.”
“Life support keeps us at seventy degrees,” Nance said. “Perhaps you would be more comfortable without such a heavy coat.”
“Space is cold,” he replied. “You get used to it. How many spare cabins do you have?”
“Six,” Ben said. “Five not counting yours.”
He ignored the look from Kim. Explanations would have to come later, he thought.
“Better show me,” Holt said.
Ben led the way, but Kim followed the two men to the upper deck. He inspected the galley, their food supply, and the guest cabins, which had been outfitted with blankets, pillows, and furniture from the wrecked vessels around them.
“Seems a bit posh,” Holt said skeptically. “I haven’t seen a ship this well put together since I left the Fleet.”
“We did a lot of work while we were waiting on you,” Kim said.
Ben recognized the antagonistic tone in her voice, but if Holt did, he ignored it.
“Here’s how things stand,” Holt said. “All Confederate operations go through me. You’ve got a lot to prove before we let down our guard.”
“Who says we’re looking to join the Confederacy?” Kim asked.
“That’s the word we got,” Holt shot back. “You needed gas and came knocking on our door.”
“We’re grateful to have it,” Ben said. “There’s no problem on our end. We’ll put in the work.”
“Like I said,” Holt continued, “the jobs come through me. I’ll make the final call about what we’re doing.”
“It’s our ship,” Kim said. “Our necks on the line.”
“How you carry out the missions is your business,” Holt said. “Just don’t expect to have a face-to-face with Confederacy leaders. That’s not how things work.”
“We’re not with the Fleet,” Ben said. “We’re just looking for honest work off the radar so to speak.”
“Not a lot of honest work in space,” Holt said. “That don’t mean it ain’t justified.”
“So what now?” Kim asked.
“I’ll give the go-ahead and the Dixie Storm will shove off. It’s best if we give them some time before we depart. No need to give away the fact that we meet up here when the Confederacy has business in the Torrent system.”
“Fine,” Ben said. “I’ll get you set up on the bridge.”
They went back down to the main deck and Holt donned a headset, while Ben huddled up with Nance, Kim, and Magnum.
“He’s coming with us?” Nance asked.
“That’s part of the deal,” Ben said. “Did you get a reading on the Zexum?”
“Yes,” Nance said. “We’ve got enough for a month of space travel, including hyperspace jumps.”
“Sweet,” Kim said.
“And there’s another tank in storage,” Ben said. “I’ll check it, but it was heavy. It’s full of something.”
“So how long are we stuck with this guy?” Kim said.
“He said we owe the Con
federacy four runs. Two per tank of Zexum gas,” Ben explained.
“That doesn’t seem so bad,” Nance said.
“Depending on what he expects us to do,” Kim added.
“For now, we’ll cooperate. We’ve got room and plenty of food,” Ben said. “Let’s play nice and learn as much as we can.”
“Just to clarify, we aren’t joining the Confederacy, are we?” Kim asked.
“No,” Ben said. “We’re independent contractors.”
Magnum nodded approvingly.
Holt finished his private conversation and approached the group.
“There’s a load of transparent steel alloy that just got nabbed from the Royal Imperium’s depot near Capital City,” Holt said with pride. “Our first run will be to pick it up planetside, and run the blockade.”
“Where to?” Ben asked.
“Bannyan Seven. And we need to be in the dirt in three hours.”
“You want us to go back to Torrent Four?” Kim asked.
“This ship is a hybrid, right? You can go atmo, so that’s the biggest need. Get the alloy, make the run, and you’re a quarter of the way done repaying your debt.”
“Okay, but we have to plan this out,” Ben said. “We aren’t going in blind.”
“So,” Holt said, “what do you want to know?”
Chapter 31
“This feels a little insane,” Kim said, not caring who heard her.
Holt had taken a seat at the comms console and seemed oblivious to her criticism.
“We have good cloud cover,” Ben said. “It’s possible that the Fleet doesn’t even know we’re here.”
“Just because we are cloaked visually doesn’t mean that won’t pick us up on radar,” Kim insisted. “Tell me your people have that load of steel alloy ready to load up as soon as we kiss dirt.”
“They’ll be there,” Holt said, as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
He’s testing us, Kim thought. She hated the arrogant Confederate already. The very idea of going back into atmosphere was vexing enough, but doing it to pick a load of stolen metals was outrageous. It made sense that the only resource left on Torrent Four was the abundance of recyclable metals, but Kim wasn’t a fan of making the Royal Imperium look bad. She feared that someone would recognize and mark the ship, making their task of finding work and staying off the Imperium’s radar even more difficult.
“The southern reaches are a barren wasteland,” Ben said. “No one will be looking there.”
“Or maybe we’ll stand out like a flower in the salvage fields,” Kim said.
“Ground temperature should only be a few degrees below freezing,” Nance stated.
“We all have our jobs,” Ben added. “We get in, move the cargo, and get out.”
“It’s all fun and games until the lasers start raining down from the sky,” Kim said.
The weather wasn’t bad, just a very low, very thick cloud ceiling. They would drop out of the clouds just a thousand feet above the deck.
“Any sign of our contact?” Kim asked.
“No movement,” Nance said. “They must already be there.”
“Or be incredibly late,” Kim said. “Once we’re on the ground, we’re sitting ducks.”
“They’ll be there,” Holt said so casually he sounded bored.
“Passing twenty-five hundred feet,” Kim said. “Slowing to direct descent speed. You can move to the cargo bay, Ben. And take your new friend, he gets on my nerves.”
Ben, Magnum, and Holt left the bridge without a word. Ben and Holt would help move the cargo, while Magnum would be on overwatch from the back of the ship. His wound was far from healed, but he could fire the laser rifle one handed if need be.
“Get ready with those exterior cameras,” Kim said. “We’ll be passing through the cloud cover any second.”
“Wide angles fore and aft on the main screen now,” Nance said.
“How’s the reactor?” Kim asked.
She had the ship moving downward slowly, fighting gravity as the ship seemed to hover in the sky. The engines were roaring, but the ship seemed light and agile.
“All systems in the green,” Nance said.
“Dropping below a thousand feet,” Kim said.
“I see something,” Nance added, their voice carried to the cargo bay via their com-links. “It might be a vessel.”
“It might be,” Kim said. “How can you make out anything on the ground? It’s so white, I’d swear we were still in the clouds.”
“There,” Nance said. “Come around on heading 2-2-7. We’re about a mile off course.”
“That’s not surprising,” Holt remarked.
“I’m right on the coordinates you gave us,” Kim snarled. “Coming around on heading 2-2-7.”
“I see orange smoke,” Nance said. “That’s our contact.”
“Whose idea was it to pop smoke? The Security Force will see us a mile away,” Kim said.
She brought the ship in quickly and set it down gently on the frozen ground. They were on the southern reaches, only a thousand miles from the south pole itself. The ground was frozen, and snow was blowing on the wind. It wasn’t quite whiteout conditions, but Kim felt that conditions were worsening. Taking off with ten tons of stolen steel alloy in a storm would be difficult.
“Opening the rear hatch,” Ben said.
“Radar shows no other ships in the quadrant,” Nance said.
Kim kept the ship’s engines running, but dialed up the cargo bay’s surveillance camera feed to keep an eye on what was happening. Even from the bridge, she could hear the sputtering of refurbished engines. A few seconds later, an old-fashioned ATV rolled up the Echo’s ramp. It was pushing a sled filled with sheets of glassy metal.
“One down,” Ben said. “Nine to go.”
“Better make sure it’s secure,” Kim said.
“I’m on it,” Ben said. “How’s the radar looking?”
“The board is clear,” Nance said.
The ATV reversed and went after another load. Kim changed the feed from the cargo bay camera to the ship’s exterior camera. She flipped through them until she saw Holt. He was standing close to a man with a thick beard and goggles over his eyes. The two were talking in the shelter the Echo provided from the wind.
Moving the cargo took almost twenty minutes. They had eight pallets loaded and secured as the ninth rolled up the ramp to the cargo bay.
“I have bogeys,” Nance announced. “They’re twenty miles out and moving south.”
“How fast?” Ben asked.
“They’re searching for us,” Nance said. “I’m picking up Fleet Security transponders.”
“Keep loading!” Holt said.
“Nine pallets is better than none,” Kim warned.
“We have time,” Holt insisted.
“They haven’t spotted us yet,” Nance said.
“Shut down the engines,” Holt suggested. “Maybe we can hide in the storm.”
“Screw that!” Kim snarled. “As soon as your cargo is onboard, we are gone. With or without you.”
“Here comes the last load,” Ben said.
Kim switched her monitor feed back to the cargo bay. Ben and Magnum were leaning out the rear hatch, straining to see through the snow.
“Bogeys are changing course,” Nance said. “They spotted us.”
“Move that cargo, Ben!”
The ATV rolled up fast and slammed the final pallet into the others. Magnum was standing by the hatch and hit the close button as soon as the ATV rolled off. He hurried over to help Ben secure the final load with magnetic clamps. Kim wanted to curse when she saw Holt slip inside the Echo just before the rear hatch closed.
“Ben?”
“Go, go!” he shouted.
Kim had just put her hand on the throttle when an explosion rocked the ship.
“The Security Force fired on us,” Nance said.
Kim didn’t respond with words, instead she pushed the throttle straight to the stops. The
Kestrel class ship shot up like a rocket and barely avoided a missile that would have blown her to bits. The rocket hit the ground at an angle and skipped almost a hundred feet before detonating.
“These guys mean business,” Kim said. “I hope you’re hanging onto something.”
“Why can’t I get their missiles on radar?” Nance said. “They’re coming up fast, Kim.”
With a jerk of the throttle, the Echo slowed its ascent. Kim tilted the pedals to rotate the wing engines, then pushed the joystick forward. The ship raced ahead, with Kim giving her more and more power. She lifted her right foot and pressed down with her left flipping the ship on her side to make a wicked fast turn.
A blur shot past the ship and was barely picked up by the exterior cameras. Nance gave a frightened yelp, but Kim was already diving down under the twin attack craft. They were sleek, triangular vessels made for air-to-air combat.
“We need guns on this bird!” Kim shouted.
She pulled back on the joystick and leveled the Echo, producing a fast climb. She pushed the throttle as far as it would go until the entire ship was rattling from the strain. The engines were roaring as they shot up into the clouds.
“Tell me they don’t have radar on those missiles,” Kim said.
“They can’t,” Nance said. “Otherwise, I would have picked them up on radar.”
“If they’re firing by sight, we should be safe,” Kim said.
“They’re trying to catch up,” Nance said. “Both ships are lining up behind us.”
Kim guessed that the Fleet Security pilots were using radar to fire blind, hoping to get lucky. She had no choice but to level off and change directions. The instrument panel on the old ship was built into her console, but she couldn’t see anything from the exterior cameras anyway. She watched her direction changing every few seconds. Sometimes she even dipped down, before racing back up. The g-forces were difficult to contend with, but she feared getting hit by the Security Force missiles if she didn’t keep up evasive tactics.
The altimeter showed her at one hundred and forty thousand feet and climbing. She knew the Security Force vessels couldn’t chase her into the stratosphere, but she worried there were spacecraft in orbit just waiting to blast her into a ball of fire.
“They’re turning back,” Nance said. “They’re breaking off.”
Kestrel Class Page 15
