Galactic Axia Adventure 1: Escape to Destiny (12 page)

Delmar watched the cargo master activate another screen that was hidden behind a safety panel. A set of crosshairs like the one he had seen on Mrs. Hassel’s old rifle appeared on the screen, along with a set of divergent coordinates. A red blip appeared on the screen that Delmar assumed was the location of the Red-tail ship.

Preston worked his fingers over the keyboard on the weapons console until he was satisfied he had the Red-tail ship locked into a good firing solution. With a quick press of a red button on the panel, Delmar heard the torpedo fire and watched it streak through space toward the enemy position.

In the meantime, the Red-tail had his sights set on a decent meal for a change. He figured the old freighter couldn’t be carrying much of a crew, but just one of the humans would last him a while. That is, if he could blow one out into space. Besides that, he had been spotted. The cluster commander would not be happy if he wasn’t able to put a transit tube in this sector just because a single scout ship couldn’t handle one old freighter.

The Red-tail saw the torpedo release from the freighter. By this time, he was only two hundred miles away from the Axia ship. He knew he had to act fast to avoid being hit.

The skipper, Preston, and Delmar watched the torpedo streak toward the Red-tail vessel. They saw the enemy ship twist and turn, trying it’s best to escape the incoming weapon. But it was no use. The torpedo was locked on. It was only a matter of seconds before the torpedo would find its mark. “Great shot, Preston!” the skipper shouted.

 “Just like the old days,” Preston answered.

The crew of the
Malibu
watched with elation as the torpedo closed in on its target. The Red-tail knew he had met his match. Then the torpedo struck the enemy vessel full broadside. Nothing. No explosion. No fireball. Nothing. The torpedo hit the Red-tail vessel and careened off into space. It was a dud.

“Uh-o,” Preston muttered. “I think we’re in trouble!”

“You have an obvious talent for understatement,” the skipper answered. “And we can’t outrun this guy, so you better come up with something fast.”

Delmar had an idea. “What if we jettison our cargo?” he asked. “That iron ore might confuse his sensors long enough for us to escape.”

“Drop the load?” Preston asked. “You tryin' to bankrupt us, boy?”

“Do it!” the skipper ordered. “Create a debris field and I’ll try to buy us some time.”

“Yes sir,” Preston answered. “Come on, boy!”

Preston lead the way out of the control room toward the cargo bay. What he saw when they got there did not make him happy. The cargo had shifted and broken loose from its bindings and was pressed against the cargo doors.

“Watch this.” Preston pushed Delmar into a small pressurized room at the back of the cargo bay. He reached overhead and threw a heavy switch that reminded Delmar of the electrical breaker switch in Mr. Hassel’s barn.

Suddenly, the cargo bay doors began to swing outward, followed by an ear-wrenching blast of air. The cargo in the hold blew violently out through the open hatch along with everything else that wasn’t bolted to the deck.

Preston closed the cargo hatch and waited for a minute while the cargo hold pressurized. “Come on,” he said, pushing Delmar ahead of him. Then they felt the ship lurch as something hit it hard from the port side. “Heat ray,” Preston said. “Must'a winged us.”

The two men ran the length of the vessel back to the control room, there to find the skipper still in his control chair trying to out-maneuver the Red-tail ship. Preston looked out the front portal and saw their cargo floating freely in space, miraculously coming between them and the Red-tail.

“You still messin' with that critter?” Preston asked. “I figured you’d have us home sippin' coolin' drinks and eatin’ apple pie by now.”

“I was just about to order a slice for you and the boy there,” the skipper answered. “But this guy just won’t let go.”

The three men on the bridge of the
Malibu
watched the Red-tail vessel close in on their position again. The debris field they had created wasn’t working and the enemy vessel was lining up for a clean shot at the old freighter.

Suddenly, the explosion of the enemy vessel lit up space. Unseen by either the Red-tail or the crew of the
Malibu
, an Axia heavy cruiser appeared out of nowhere and launched a devastating attack against the Red-tail ship. Two torpedoes struck the enemy vessel at the same time, scattering her atoms into open space. The last thought of the Red-tail invader had been that he wasn’t going to taste any human flesh this trip.

“Axia heavy cruiser
Sanora
calling independent freighter
Malibu
,” a voice said from the comm speaker. “This is Captain Michael T. Roseburg speaking. Do you require medical assistance?”

Delmar looked at the skipper, then back at Preston. “You’re the comm operator,” the skipper said to Delmar. “Answer the man.”

“Yes sir,” Delmar replied, smiling at his sudden promotion. He crossed the control room to the comm panel and sat down in the comm chair.

“Independent freighter
Malibu
calling the
Sanora,”
he said. “Negative on the medical assistance. But where, where did you come from?”

“You boys looked like you could use some help,” answered Captain Roseburg.

“But how did you know we were here?”

“Because you sent out an emergency distress signal.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right,” Delmar answered. It seemed like so long ago since he had sent out the distress signal that he had forgotten he’d done it.

Preston and the skipper laughed at Delmar’s lapse of memory. The skipper crossed the bridge to the comm panel and took the mic from Delmar’s hand.

“This is Captain Arthur Norellen of the independent freighter
Malibu
,” he said into the mic. Delmar realized at that moment this was the first time he’d actually heard the skipper’s name. He had just called him Skipper since leaving Erdinata, and come to think of it, so had Preston. “We sure appreciate you pulling our fat from the fire, Captain Roseburg.”

“Nothing to it,” Roseburg answered. “But from the looks of your ship, you’re going to need some serious repairs. You have damage on both quarters of your aft port panel, and it looks like your drive system may have taken a hit. Where are you bound?”

“Next stop is Mica,” Norellen answered.

“Do you require an escort?”

“No sir, I think we can make it. I’ve got a stout ship and a good crew. We’ll make it.”

“Roger,” Roseburg answered. “Then if you don’t need us any longer, we’ll sweep the area for any more Red-tails.”

“Thanks again for your help,” Norellen said into the mic.

“Anytime,” Roseburg answered. “Always happy to fry a Red-tail.”

Delmar watched the giant cruiser vector away from them.
Wow!
he thought.
Wouldn’t that be something?

Preston clapped Delmar on the shoulder, and then poured the young man a cup of coffee. “Well, boy,” he said. “Since we ain’t got no cargo left, you might as well just stay here on the bridge and try to learn somethin'.”

“You mean it, sir?”

“Sure he does,” the skipper replied. “Soon as you get that knot on your head fixed up some, you can come over here and I’ll show you how to drive this old boat.”

∞∞∞

After two weeks out from Erdinata, the
Malibu
was preparing to make planet fall at Mica when the skipper came into the cargo bay and pulled Preston aside. Delmar noticed they kept looking at him and he began to fear the authorities had found him. After a whispered conversation, the skipper left and Preston called over to Delmar. “Go put your things away. Skipper wants to see you in his cabin.”

Delmar stored his scrub brush and pail in a storage locker and walked slowly along the corridor to the captain’s cabin, certain the authorities would be waiting to take him into custody once they landed on the planet below.

“Come in,” the skipper’s rough voice resounded through the door. Delmar entered the small cabin and closed the door behind him. Trembling, he stood silent for a moment until the captain motioned for him to sit in a chair opposite his own.

“How’s that cut on your forehead, son?” the skipper asked. “Cook taking care of it alright?”

“Yes sir,” Delmar answered. He reached up and stroked the tender wound. He was sure it was going to leave a scar, but he had a feeling the injury wasn’t really what the skipper wanted to talk about.

“Good,” the skipper said, leaning forward. “Delmar, I want to talk with you.” Delmar’s fear must have shown on his face. The captain leaned back in his chair and smiled at the young man.

“Relax, you’re not in trouble. And you’re still safe, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Delmar relaxed a little but still felt apprehensive.

“The reason I had Preston send you down is I think it’s time you and I discuss what your plans are once we reach Mica.”

Delmar was taken aback by the captain’s comment. He had grown so accustomed to life aboard ship that he’d forgotten there could be anything else. To think about possible changes when they made planet-fall reintroduced uncertainty into his life.

“I hadn’t really thought much about it, sir,” Delmar finally answered.

“Well, you better,” replied the skipper. “Once we unload, we’re going to have to put the ship in for some extensive repairs and I’m not going to need extra crew.”

Delmar didn’t answer. He assumed after their encounter with the Red-tail and his performance at the communications console, he would automatically stay on as a member of the
Malibu’s
crew.

“You’re a hard worker, Delmar, so you won’t have trouble finding work.”

The prospect that his tenure on the ship was definitely going to end shocked the boy and his face telegraphed it. “But I thought I’d stay on, especially after our run-in with the Red-tail.”

“Don’t worry, son. You did real well,” the skipper said. “I’ll arrange some leads for you with a few friends of mine when we reach Mica. There’s always a need for good workers. Of course, don’t be looking for a berth as a comm operator. Those jobs are already filled.”

Delmar pushed slowly up out of the chair and turned to leave but the skipper stopped him. “You understand that I can’t afford to keep you on, don’t you, son?” he asked. “When we dropped our cargo, we lost our shipping fee. And it’s going to be a long, expensive stay on Mica to get his old tub back into space.”

“Uh... yes sir. I understand, sir.” Delmar answered. “And thanks again for helping me when I needed it.”

“No problem,” answered the skipper. “I shipped out when I was a kid too. Just one thing though, Delmar.”

“Yes sir?”

“When you get to port, be careful,” the skipper advised. “There are all sorts of people in spaceports. Most are legitimate and you’ll find a good berth with them. However, others are pirates and use strong-arm tactics to recruit young men such as you. They’ll take you on as crew and you’ll never be heard from again.”

“Pirates, sir?” Delmar asked. “In the Axia?”

“They’re Galactic Axia citizens, most of them,” answered the skipper. “But mostly they’re old independent spacers that have no loyalty either way. They trade in whatever commodity they can, even human flesh.”

“Slavery, Skipper?” Delmar asked, astonished.

“More like groceries,” the skipper answered. “They sell human flesh to anyone or anything that will buy it.”

The thought of an uncertain future on a strange planet scared the boy, and he didn’t want to run into any pirates. “Thank you, sir.”

The skipper nodded at him and then returned to his books. He had to figure out how to make up for the load he had lost fighting the Red-tail.

Delmar let himself out and returned to the cargo bay and retrieved his bucket and brush and continued scrubbing, his mind again filled with terrifying images of uncertainty.

∞∞∞

The mood in the Hassel farmhouse was glum as the three adults sat in silence. Pushing aside his near-empty coffee cup, Mike leaned back in his chair and looked at the couple.

“So that’s the whole of it,” he said sadly. “Except for minor signs, we’ve found no trace of the boy anywhere since they brought back the stuff from the cave.”

Robert just looked at him for a moment and then his face brightened with an idea. “If we haven’t found Delmar, then obviously he’s alive.” He paused and took a sip of lukewarm coffee. He couldn’t imagine where on the planet the boy could be hiding that even a planet-wide alert hadn’t been able to find him. They’d even checked with his old unit, the 653
^rd
, at Jasper Station to see if Delmar had approached them for help.

“An old space investigator once told me that if you eliminate all the possibilities, whatever is left, regardless how unlikely, must be the answer.”

He took another sip of coffee. “If we eliminate all the possibilities of him being on Erdinata, there remains only one other place he can be.”

“Space!” exclaimed Agnes, finishing her husband’s thought.

“We covered the space fields as a matter of routine, so if he’s out there, someone had to help him,” Mike replied. “We know it wasn’t any of the fleet, or I would have heard.”

“That leaves only the independent freighters and passenger ships,” Agnes said.

“We know it couldn’t be a passenger ship since Delmar had no money, that is unless he stowed away, which I doubt,” Robert said. “He must have shipped out on a freighter.”

“It’s been over two weeks. There are a lot of ships to check up on,” Mike said. “I’ll get some people on it.”

With that, they all rose and the couple saw Mike to his ground car and watched it disappear into a cloud of dust. Robert looked up into the star-studded night. Two weeks was a long head-start when traveling through space. He knew there were hundreds of planets within easy reach of a freighter, especially an independent that didn’t have a set routine.

“It’s going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

Chapter Nine

At that moment, the needle in question had just descended the ramp of the
Malibu
and was headed through the gate off the field. He carried a small duffel bag in his right hand that contained everything he owned. In his left hand was a short list of people the skipper had recommended for Delmar to see.