“Incoming,” Nance said, a nervous strain in her voice for the first time. “Oh my God, they’re everywhere.”
“Get me a jump point!” Kim demanded.
“Use the satellites,” Ben said. “Slingshot around the planet.”
Kim was concentrating too hard to answer. They were just below the orbital plane of the satellites and there were hundreds of drones descending on their position. Kim turned hard to her right, skimming along the edge of Mersa Prime’s atmosphere. In the rear-facing camera, she saw several ball-shaped drones bounce off the atmosphere and take up the pursuit.
With a flex of her calves, she pressed one pedal forward and the other back, then pulled the joystick to her left, away from the planet. A huge weather satellite loomed up in their path.
“Look out!” Ben shouted.
Kim ignored him. From her seat, she could feel the entire ship, from its wing engines to the wide rear hatch. She let the ship drift a little, then turned back to the right, spinning around the satellite.
The drones angled to follow but couldn’t maneuver like the Echo. Instead, they smashed into the satellite. Kim thought she saw at least eight impacts before a flash of white light caused the camera to wink off.
“Drones impacting the satellite,” Nance said, her voice under control again and sounding as calm as ever. “She’s breaking up.”
“Looks like the others can’t keep up,” Ben said.
Kim saw the drones falling farther behind. She started to relax a little, but then she felt the danger of letting her guard down. The Imperium forces could have sent dozens of ships against them on the surface, but they didn’t. They could have simply bombed the hanger, but instead they gave the ship just enough space to get away. It was as if...
She gave the joystick a savage yank, sending the Echo on a wide turn, the engines at full burn trying desperately to reverse her momentum. From the horizon of the planet came hundreds more of the drones, flying in a tight formation. Kim tried to turn into space, but there were several satellites in their way, and the planet’s gravity was pulling them down, making the Echo feel slow and sluggish.
“What are you doing?” Ben asked.
“Contact,” Nance said. “Too many to count.”
“More drones,” Kim said, through clenched teeth. “It was a trap.”
An explosion showed the Imperium’s resolve. They let the swarm of drones smash into anything that got in their way, including the planet’s satellites.
“How can they do that?” Ben asked. “They’re destroying the planet’s satellite network.
“They obviously don’t care,” Nance said. “As long as they get us.”
“Not if I can help it,” Kim said, turning the ship around once more so that they were moving back toward the swarm of drones.
“Are you out of your mind?” Ben shouted.
Once more Kim ignored him. She had an idea, and if she could time it just right, they could get lucky and escape the Imperium’s trap. If not, then it didn’t really matter what they did. They were outnumbered a thousand to one, and that was just the drones. Kim was sure there were fighters waiting for them too.
“Nance, get us a jump point,” Ben snapped.
“On this heading?” Nance asked.
“Yes,” Kim said. “I got this.”
They were headed straight for a large surveillance satellite. The Echo was charging from one side, the drones from the other. Kim wished she had weapons on the ship. A few missiles or torpedoes would have made a world of difference, although she knew that sometimes pilots put too much stock in what their ship’s weapons could do and let their piloting skills slack. Kim took pride in what she could do in the air or in hard vacuum. No one had taught her to fly, it was just a natural instinct for her, an intuitive skill that she trusted completely. It had never let her down, and so even though every rational thought she had screamed for her to turn and run away from the swarm, she kept moving straight for it. Slowing down slightly, biding her time, waiting for just the right moment... The drones hit the surveillance satellite en masse. Dozens impacted against the large craft all at once. The satellite erupted in a ball of fire, sending a shock wave through the swarm.
Kim slammed the throttle forward, sending the Echo straight toward the ball of fire. She couldn’t help but hold her breath as the ship, her ship, sped through the fiery debris. The drones had been blasted apart, the shock wave opening a hole in their ranks for only a moment before the survivors moved closer together to form a complete phalanx that would block their path. But Kim was already through the gap and shooting away. She had used their heavy-handed tactics against them. Perhaps it was a gamble, but it paid off.
“Calculating a hyperspace jump,” Nance said, and Kim heard the smile in her voice.
“Kim,” Ben said. “I... I don’t know what to say.”
“Tell me tomorrow,” Kim said. “I don’t think we’re finished with his fight yet.”
As if she were a prophet, four Imperium fighters came racing around the edge of the planet.
“Contacts,” Nance said.
“I see them,” Kim replied.
She angled up, trying to keep some of the satellites between their ship and the approaching fighters.
“They’re separating,” Nance said.
“What about that jump point?” Ben asked.
“Still calculating,” Nance said. “We need more time.”
“We may not have it,” Kim said.
A flash of high-energy lasers vaporized the satellite, and Kim corkscrewed around the debris. More lasers lanced across their flank, and if Kim hadn’t rotated the ship, her portside wing would have been destroyed.
They shot past the Echo and began the slow work of turning their ships. Kim kept pushing them forward, using the planet’s gravity to increase their speed.
“Ben, can you do your little trick with engines again?” Kim asked.
“I completely forgot,” he said, his hands suddenly flying over his console’s control panel.
She shouldn’t have felt the sudden surge of power in the ship’s main drive engine, but she swore she could. Their speed was continuing to increase, the fast-attack fighters were out of sight behind them, but she knew they would catch up soon.
“There’s the Fleet station,” Nance said, pointing at the display screen.
“And more fighters,” Kim said. “Coming in fast.”
“How can she pick them up before the radar?” Ben asked.
Nance had no answer, and neither did Kim. She felt the danger, like a pilot’s sixth sense. There was a trio of fighters streaking toward them in a tight formation. And although she couldn’t see them, she felt the ships coming up from behind.
“I have to break off,” Kim said.
“I’ll calculate the jump point,” Nance said.
“No, leave it. I’ll just have to get as close as I can.”
“Is that safe?” Ben asked.
“Safer than staying here,” Kim said.
She waited a few more seconds, knowing she was in range of the fighters’ laser cannons. Still, if she turned too soon, they could follow her, and perhaps even target the Echo. A spark of light showed on the lead fighter. It might have been the sun reflecting off the fast-attack vessel, or some tiny bit of space debris being incinerated as it contacted the ship’s shield. But Kim didn’t wait to find out.
She pushed her heels down, rotated the ball control of the main drive, and pulled her joystick back. The ship was suddenly released from the planet’s gravity, like a wad of paper being propelled by a rubber band, the Echo jumped away from the planet. Laser fire erupted from the fighters, lancing through empty space. The trio of enemy ships separated, doing their best to angle out toward her, but Kim kept moving away from the planet, and consequently away from their jump point.
“We’re too far out,” Nance said. “I have to recalculate.”
“No!” Kim insisted. “Trust me. I can make it back. I just have to get past
these stupid fighters.”
It took several long seconds, but the Imperium ships shot past the Modulus Echo. They were once more out of danger, but Kim knew it was a temporary reprieve. She pressed her toes forward, rotating the wing engines again, and twisted the ball, before pushing the joystick forward to turn the ship back toward the planet, back toward danger.
“You can’t get back,” Nance said. “We’ll be off the jump point by miles.”
“We don’t have a choice,” Kim said.
“Contact,” Nance said, a note of frustration in voice. “Four ships, bearing one, eight, seven.”
“Told you,” Kim said.
“What’s that mean?” Ben said.
“It means we take our chances in hyperspace,” Kim said. “In three, two, one.”
She hit the button to engage the main drive. A capital ship came sliding into view from the edge of the planet. And then there was nothing but the mottled glow of hyperspace. They had survived the flight from Mersa Prime, but would they survive the jump through hyperspace? The die was cast, Kim thought. All they could do was wait and see.
Chapter 45
Magnum didn’t like being strapped to the metal bench beside the rear hatch during the wild escape from Mersa Prime, but he knew there was nothing he could do on the bridge. His presence would not keep them from dying, but he did long to see Nancy one more time.
He was thinking of her when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. A dark flash between the rows of potato crates that filled the cargo hold. Something, or someone, was in the ship, he was certain he hadn’t imagined it. But he didn’t release the safety harness. The artificial gravity generator made it seem as if the ship wasn’t moving, but Magnum knew that if it failed, even for a second, he could be thrown into a bulkhead with deadly force.
He checked his rifle. The assault weapon’s upper barrel fired old-fashioned projectiles and was completely out of ammunition. The lower barrel fired deadly laser blasts, but the power supply was low. He set the rifle aside and drew his revolver. The old pistol was still his favorite. There was something primal about the weapon. It had six rounds, more than enough to deal with whatever was on the ship.
“We’re in hyperspace,” Ben said over the com-link. “You okay down there, Magnum?”
“Fine,” he replied through tight lips that hardly moved.
“How are the potatoes?” Kim asked.
Magnum pressed the safety release on his harness and stood up. He could see over the pallets of produce, which only rose up to his abdomen. The cargo bay appeared empty. He moved slowly between the rows. They had nine pallets of potatoes, three rows of three, each clamped to the deck, the wooden crates stacked together and held down with cargo straps.
The earthy scent of the potatoes was strangely enticing. It didn’t make him hungry, but it did make the Echo feel oddly more homey. Magnum’s time on the ship had felt like a luxurious retreat, far away from the danger and monotony of his life on Torrent Four. And he’d grown to feel very protective of his shipmates, which made switching off the com-link without replying to Kim’s question feel wrong. Still, he didn’t need the com-link squawking as he stalked whatever was onboard the ship.
His entire life, Magnum had felt the presence of danger. It was one of the reasons he had trusted Ben. The uncanny engineer had no sense of guile or malice about him. He was like a laser beam, focused on his goal of getting the Echo flying. Kim was more reckless, cynical, and guarded, but nothing about her seemed threatening. And Nance, Magnum thought of her as his even though they hadn’t really talked about their relationship. That was fine with Magnum; he didn’t feel the need to label it, or even define it. All he cared about was being close to her. Nance had a way of looking at him that made him feel vulnerable and yet he longed for it. To be seen for what and who he was, without judgment, without the need to control or exploit him was incredibly rare. It made him long to be close to her, to protect her at all costs. And whatever was in the ship was obviously a threat that needed to be dealt with before it could hurt the woman he loved or his new friends.
Magnum moved past the potatoes and into the engineering bay. Once more he saw the flash of movement, just a dark shadow out of the corner of his eye. It had slipped around the water plant and moved toward the recreation area. Magnum hurried after the fleeting shadow, slowing before poking his head through the narrow door that led to the recreation space.
The room was dark. Magnum bent low, keeping his pistol held ready, and reached up the wall with his free hand to turn on the lights. The sudden brightness forced him to blink several times. There was a squeak as the heavy punching bag rotated a little, but no sign of the stowaway. Magnum moved past the entertainment console and hurried around the gaming table to get a better angle on the exercise space. Everything seemed to be in place, and there was nowhere for a person to hide, but the heavy bag was swinging slightly. Someone had certainly bumped it. With the artificial gravity engaged, the bag wouldn’t move even if the ship flipped upside down.
He hurried through the room toward the wider door on the far side. Stepping carefully over the yoga mats and angling around the zero-gravity workout machine that utilized rubber bands and bendable rods to create resistance even when gravity couldn’t be established. The door leading back into the engineering bay was larger, made specifically for moving big objects like the exercise equipment through.
He stepped toward the door, just as the ship dropped out of hyperspace. He felt the stretch of time, like he was forced into slow motion for just a split second that somehow felt much longer. He was considering turning on his com-link and warning the others that someone was on the ship with them, when gravity suddenly disappeared. Without trying, Magnum rose up into the air. He tried to catch hold of the door but needed both hands. Grabbing the top of the doorjamb with one hand only caused his lower body to begin rotating upward. Forced to holster his pistol, Magnum finally got his body under control. There was no need to alert the others. They had to be aware of what was happening with the failure of the artificial gravity.
It took longer than Magnum wanted to get his feet back on the ground and his body secured, but he immediately drew his weapon and stepped through the door.
“Don’t move or you’re dead.”
Chapter 46
“Oh!” Ben shouted as they came out of hyperspace. The bridge was suddenly flooded with light, and Ben was forced to close his eyes and turn away from the displays. He felt the cameras shut off as alarms began to sound.
“Sorry, my bad,” Kim said calmly. Ben knew things were dire if Kim wasn’t her usual, salty self.
“Heat warnings across the board,” Nance said quickly.
Ben checked the fusion reactor, which was still in the green. The ship’s internal systems seemed unaffected by coming out of hyperspace so close to a star.
“I’ve got this,” Kim said.
Ben saw the main drive’s temperature beginning to rise, and everything was making sense. Kim had missed the jump point. Fortunately, they had come out of hyperspace near the star and not in the middle of it. He knew they were still in danger, though. Stars not only were hot but also generated incredibly strong gravitational fields.
“Can we escape?” Ben asked, fearing the answer.
“For sure,” Kim said.
“Heat shield is at eighty percent,” Nance said. “We lost most of the exterior cameras.”
“I said I was sorry!” Kim snapped.
“It’s okay,” Ben interjected. “We can replace cameras. Just get us moving away from that star.”
“Already on it,” Kim replied.
“We should be okay,” Nance said. “The main drive is creating enough thrust to break free of the star’s gravity.”
“See, I told you,” Kim said, and then the gravity suddenly disappeared. “What happened? I didn’t do that.”
“I’m checking on it,” Ben said, thankful that his straps were holding him in place. His hands raced over the controls
of his console. The gravity had been shut off. He tried to dial it back up, but the art grav genny wasn’t responding.
“It’s been cut off at the source,” Ben said.
“Isn’t Magnum still down there?” Kim asked.
“He didn’t do this,” Nance said, with just the slightest trace of a tremor in her voice.
“I’ll find out,” Ben said, releasing his safety straps and pushing off from the console.
“Watch your six, Ben,” Kim called out after him.
The bridge was nothing more than a raised platform that was open in the rear to the common area that led to the railing overlooking the cargo bay. Ben checked his laser pistol, which still showed nearly fifty-percent of the battery life remaining.
He grabbed the railing and spun in a slow arc that sent him gliding down to the cargo bay. He landed on his feet and took hold of one of the crates of potatoes to steady himself. The move knocked the lid free from another crate. It, along with ten pounds of potatoes, drifted upward in the lack of gravity.
Ben had no time or concern for the produce. It was money to him and his crew, but that meant nothing if they were dead. He pushed himself toward the engineering bay just in time to see Magnum come through the door from the recreation area. The last thing Ben wanted was to hurt Magnum. Nothing seemed to be making sense. Magnum had saved their lives so many times. His courage on Mersa Prime was the stuff of legends, and yet someone had manually shut off the artificial gravity.
That alone might have been explained away, but Magnum had stopped responding to their coms. Perhaps the big man had snapped. Perhaps he was struggling from something Ben was unaware of. They didn’t really know much about him. Everything he had told them about himself and his past could have been lies. In fact, he might even be working for the Royal Imperium. Perhaps he was a spy, Ben thought. It would certainly explain how the Fleet had found them in the Bannyan system. And how the Security Force had found them on Mersa Prime.
Ben tried to think if he could remember seeing Magnum actually kill any of the security officers attacking the hanger. He had certainly fired plenty of ammo, but was it all a show?
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