Chaos Quarter (30 page)

Jake stormed forward. Cody launched himself at the cyborg, slamming a punch into the man’s face that would have put down a run-of-the-mill
homo sapien
. Jake’s head turned from the blow and then turned right back. The smile never left the cyborg’s face.

Cody swung again, Jake catching his arm mid-arc. His metal fingers clamped on it like a vice, shattering the bone underneath. His right arm shot forward, seizing hold of the ambassador’s throat. Jake lifted the ambassador off his feet. Not a mere foot or two, but clear over his head. His fingers closed on the ambassador’s throat, sickening
crack
s filling the air as cartilage collapsed under the pressure. Cody flailed helplessly for a few seconds and then went slack. The life drained from his eyes.

Jake dropped the Master to the floor. Rex dashed for the pilot’s station, shifting their course from the closing bioship. He accelerated hard, bringing them to the maximum available speed, only half of what it should have been.

“They’re going to be on us…” he grumbled.

“So…is he dead this time?” Jake asked.

Rex turned to look, only to see Second bolting from the room. She returned a moment later, carrying one of Rex’s shotguns.

“Do you know how to kill him—”

His answer was a loud roar and a burst of flame. Second, tears streaming from her eyes, unloaded round after round into the ambassador’s skull. A dozen twelve gauge rounds reduced it to a pulpy pink mess of splintered bone and shredded brain. The only thing left intact above his neck was the man’s jaw-bone.

“The brain has to die,” Second spoke, still trying to fire the empty weapon. “It doesn’t come back. He can be dead…”

Second slid to the floor, shaking. Jake stomped on the mess, just to be sure.

“Well,” Rex said. “That’s one down. Too bad the others are about to catch us.”

“
We are being hailed
,” informed the computer.

“Ignore it,” Rex said. Precious seconds ticked by.

A rail-gun round shot past their ship, accelerating into space ahead of them. A warning shot.

“
They are continuing to hail us
,” the computer spoke.

Chakrika walked into the bridge, supporting a limping Lucius. From down the hall, Rex could hear Quintus cry. He looked at his crew, thinking.

You’re not seriously going to do what you’re thinking of doing
, he heard his mind say. It was a long-shot, but probably the only one they had now. Hell, he’d survived one crazy jump already. Why not try another?

“Computer, can we generate enough power for an eleven-light-year jump?” he asked.

Jake’s head swirled around, fixing on him.

“
If we reduce non-essential functions, it is theoretically possible. There is a 47 percent chance it will burn out the reactor
,” the computer replied.

“Good old Dariel over-engineering,” Rex spoke.

“Huh?” Jake asked.

“Tech talk,” he said with a dismissive wave, turning to face the crew. “Chaki, take Lucius and Quintus to the medical bay. Jake, take this asshole’s corpse down there too. I’m restricting life support to that room.”

“I can—” Lucius began.

“You can’t even stand!” Rex barked and then softened. “And we couldn’t put up a fight even if we tried. Spend what time you have left with your son and Chakrika.”

Lucius looked ready to argue, but shut his mouth when Chakrika pulled on his forearm. He let her lead him down the hall.

Rex turned to Jake.

“I know you never asked for any of this…” Rex started.

“Knew what was coming when I asked for the ride,” Jake replied.

“I need you to go into the cargo bay; it’s breached so it's all vacuum now. Get two suits, one for me, one for Second,” Rex asked. “Then download the ship’s computer into yourself…uh,
again
.”

Jake cocked his head, the motion familiar yet odd as the heavy metal oval shifted.

“All of it?”

“Yes,” Rex replied. “You can survive indefinitely in a vacuum?”

“So long as my power cells hold up. A few weeks or so,” he spoke.

“Then once we jump, get off this ship,” Rex spoke.

“Whoa! I’m not gonna leave you guys—”

“You have to!” Rex asserted. “You have to tell them everything that has happened if we don’t survive! Get off the ship, send out a signal, and get yourself rescued.”

Jake crossed his metal arms, electroactive polymer fibers bulging against the alloy skin. They squeaked as they slid against each other.

“This isn’t right,” he grumbled.

“It’s necessary,” Rex replied.

The cyborg looked ready to argue and then stopped. He sighed, nodded his head, and stomped out of the bridge.

“
We are still being hailed
,” the computer announced.

“Open the channel,” Rex replied.

Static crackled again. The voices of whoever, or
what
ever, was aboard the bioship filled the air. They tried to contact Flynn, over and over. Rex did not reply, taking advantage of the precious seconds his enemies took to think about why a channel had been opened, but no response came.

Jake returned with two suits and dropped them at the bridge. Before leaving he paused and stared at Second. She had retreated back to her spot on the wall, though she was no longer in the fetal position.

“Why not send her to the medical bay?” Jake asked.

“Second will not be recaptured by those scum,” Rex replied. “I will not allow it.”

Recognition of what this meant filled Jake’s eyes. The cyborg shook his head, resigned.

“Good luck, Rex,” he spoke, then left the room.

“…Cody, please respond, why have you changed direction? If you do not respond…”

Rex ignored his enemy. He walked over to Second, extending his hand. She grabbed it instinctively, letting herself be pulled to her feet. He stared into her eyes for a long moment, fighting the urge to hug her and apologize profusely for failing.

“Put on the suit,” he finally choked out. “I’ll be back.”

She nodded. Rex left the bridge, heading for his room. He went to his closet, retrieving two assault rifles. He paused for a moment, reflecting on the futility of what he was planning, and returned to the bridge.

Second had everything but the helmet on. Rex put the guns down and pulled his own suit on. He picked up Second’s helmet, sliding it onto the suit. It clicked on with a
hiss
. She picked up his helmet, ready to mimic the action. Rex motioned her to wait.

“Computer, as soon as my helmet is on, shut down life support to every room but the med-bay. I want power for all non-essential systems diverted to the jump drive.”

“
Understood
.”

“After we jump into Alshain, begin transmitting distress signals and the contents of your data-core to Troezen and the nearest Commonwealth military installation. If the reactor survives this, I want a course for Troezen plotted and all turrets on autofire. Keep firing until we run out of ammo.”

“
Understood
.”

Second snapped his helmet into place. The ship went dark as the lights went off, their energy diverted to the jump drive. Small running lights lined the consoles and stairs, allowing Rex to reach the pilot’s station. He motioned Second to the gunner's seat.

Rex spun a small dial on the forearm console of his suit and jacked it into his console. Second watched, then imitated the motion after Rex waved her on.

“Can you hear me, Second?” he asked.

“I can,” she replied.

“Good. Computer?”

“
Yes
.”

“Connect the bioship’s hails to my suit.”

Static crackled, followed by the effeminate voice of his enemy.

“…Cody, I repeat, please make—”

Rex’s mouth opened to speak and then closed. He was tempted to tell his pursuers where they could shove it. The perfect string of obscenities floated through his head, but he ignored it. Every second they hesitated, wondering if their “man” was alive, would be another he’d have to be rescued. Pushing aside the dramatic tell-off, he moved his fingers and slammed down on the red panel.

* * *

The ship vanished from sight, mere hundreds of miles away. Blair pulled the tendrils from his eyes and stormed from his command pod. Flynn followed moments later.

“Did you see the amount of space distorted by that jump?” Blair asked.

“Yes,” Flynn replied meekly.

“Can we match it in our damaged state?” Blair spoke.

“It is possible,” Flynn confirmed.

Blair took two deep breaths, beating down the anger inside. Moments ago they’d been set to save Cody’s life and return to the Hegemony with his kidnappers. A lesson would have been taught that all in the Quarter would heed. Anonymity would have been retained.

Gone.

“Follow their jump!” he shouted. The War-beast heard and began powering its jump drive.

“We are close to the Commonwealth,”Flynn spoke. “A jump that distorts that much space could put them within Commonwealth space.”

“I know,”Blair spoke.

“The Commonwealth is said to have more powerful ships than even the Europeans,”spoke Flynn. The fear in his voice was subtle, but there. “In our weakened state—”

“I know! But we have failed so far, and if we do not stop them now, they will reach safety,”said Blair. “So we follow that jump.”

“As you wish,”Flynn acquiesced, still sounding unconvinced. Blair wished he could say that he had full confidence in the order, but could not. What choice did he have though? Their quarry could not be allowed to reveal what they knew. They could not be allowed to show Cody’s body to the universe, to confirm what so many primitives whispered about behind closed doors. Too much was at stake. If the anonymity of the Hegemony was to be maintained much would have to be risked.

Even death,
he though. He found it a bit ironic, given that they had started this mission hoping to prevent permanent death in Cody. But he was getting ahead of himself. Odds were that wherever their prey jumped to, even if in Commonwealth space, they would be unable to get help before the War-beast overtook them. Then he just had to keep away from the local primitives long enough for his jump drive to recharge. If the Commonwealth were to glimpse his ship in their space it would be bad, but manageable. Space was full of rumors of the Hegemony, and he had no doubt any fleeting visual glimpse would become just another rumor. But if they actually got their hands of Cody, on undeniable tangible proof...then the rumors wouldn’t be rumors anymore.

“Jump drive is charged and ready,”spoke Flynn. Blair nodded at the words, then sighed and spoke to the War-beast.

“Jump.”

Do not stop or compromise; fight and fight until they die.

-Official ‘Unofficial’ motto of the Commonwealth Marine Corps

Alarm klaxons blared as
Long Haul
reentered normal space. Screens blinked and flashed, a burst of power suddenly surging through the machines. They went black, flickered a bit, and died.

Quiet seconds passed by, the sound of Second’s panicked breathing over the open band the only sound. Lights flickered back on, dimmer than usual. Half of the computers remained off.

Forty-seven percent just became one hundred
, Rex fumed to himself.

“How bad is it?” Rex said in his suit, knowing the answer before the words left his mouth.

“
The main reactor is non-functional. Engines are off-line
,” the answer came.

“Are you transmitting?” Rex asked.

“
Yes. Current power usage will exhaust the emergency cells in sixty-two hours
,” the computer informed him.

He doubted they’d make it more than two. It had always been a long-shot.
If
the fastest ship-class in the Commonwealth fleet happened to be within one hundred million or so miles of
Long Haul
, then it would take just under two hours for them to reach him at high speed. Troezen, the nearest planet according to his computer’s records on its orbital path, was two hundred million miles away. No other worlds, even dead worlds or asteroids, were any closer. They were scattered across the system, mostly on its opposite side.

By now the system’s surveillance drones would have detected him and would be sending messages to any nearby installation. Somebody would receive word that he had entered the system before the bioship blasted them to hell, but wouldn’t have nearly enough time to send a rescue.

Rex wasn’t particularly religious, but felt a strange urge to find Lucius’s bible and get his God on the line.

“This is…Commonwealth?” Second asked, her voice clear over the suit-radio.

Rex nodded and remembered he was in a suit.

“Yes,” he replied.

“It looks the same,” Second said innocently.

“It certainly does…” Rex muttered, staring at the blackness.

“I do not want to vomit,” Second spoke.

He tried to cock his head and give her an odd look, but the suit got in the way.

“OK…that’s good,” he assured her.

“Earlier, when the ambassador had taken control of the ship, my stomach felt rock hard. Like it was sinking and I wanted to vomit.”

“That was fear again,” he explained.

“I do not feel it now. I should, right? Soon the War-beast will be in range…yet all I feel is…uh…”

“Describe it Second,” Rex spoke.

“Unbalanced? How can I be unbalanced when I’m sitting?”

Rex laughed to himself, saying, “Don’t worry, Second, I feel ‘unbalanced’ too.”

They sat silently for a minute.

“Is my name Second?”

“Have anything better in mind?”

“I…I don’t know…”

“Then I guess your name is Second,” Rex spoke. “Until you find something better.”

They went back to silence. Faced with what seemed an inevitable death, his mind did what anybody’s would. It began asking “big questions” that could never really be answered.

What all of this meant topped the bunch. He’d picked up strays across the Chaos Quarter, crossed hundreds of light-years, fought off a horde of enemies, only to fail on his own doorstep.
Fail
. The word ran through his mind, again and again.