Living in Freefall (Living on the Run Book 1) (19 page)

Sometime later, Jordon eased
Freefall
forward to move
further into the Saigus asteroid field. A few of the smaller stones bumped
against the hull and thumped as they went or just kind of rolled along the
ship’s surface to bounce or skip as
Freefall
pressed forward.

As if chilled his mom hugged herself, but Jordon didn’t know
whether it was the view from a portal or a real chill that made her shudder.
She glanced at her son and spoke with reluctance.

“I can’t decide whether the sound is soothing or unnerving.
The hollow thuds would relax me if not for a picture in my mind’s eye of us
getting crushed by one of these larger asteroids.”

Jordon wrapped an arm around his mom and rubbed her shoulder
as if to warm her. Every now and again a small stone would pass over the
porthole and like her it unnerved him as well. “The rocks don’t really hit the
ship, mom. The shields just transfer the vibrations through the hull—nothing
more.” But he knew that fact wouldn’t register with his mother.

Fairly soon they found their way to what the rebels called
Rhone, a huge asteroid the size of a small moon. Rhone in fact was simply a
giant hollow geode. Hidden within its open core was wonder. Jordon turned his
ship toward the opening and hailed the pilothouse for permission to enter.

A moment more and a space-tug came out to guide
Freefall
in. As the tug caught hold of
Freefall
with an energy towline,
Freefall
lurched and began to move forward toward the gate. Now, with his ship under the
control of the Rhone port authority Jordon was free for once to enjoy his mom’s
company without distraction. He took her to the forward lounge so they could
relax on the couch and watch the spectacle together. Josh and Race were still
at the ship’s stern. Nate was in his room studying. Quiet times like this were
all too rare to not exploit.

Just as the mammoth gate jaws started to open a glint of
light from within pierced the darkness. And when the ship was near enough, more
towlines projected from apertures around the gate to steady
Freefall
. Not
only did they keep the ship on track but they also pushed away every rogue
asteroid that happened by too close. As the mouth opened further bright light
poured out, illuminating the asteroids all around them.

Jordon and Mara quietly watched
Freefall
ease toward
Rhone, pass through the gate’s great maw, and enter its belly. Great metal block
teeth, each forty-feet-thick, forty-feet-high, forty-feet wide, and forty-feet
apart, defined the jaws which locked together when closed. Once clenched, the
metal mouth was impossible to force open or penetrate.

At this axis end of the asteroid there once existed a large,
natural opening. To close and secured it, engineers had built this massive,
metal gate. With the aid of tractor beams a ship as big as a Galleass—
the
largest-sized civilian space freighter
—can enter.

Like a geode the outside was spherical. The hollow inside,
however, was football shaped. The entrance sat at one end. Suspended in the
center, a large Cryodel light illuminated half the interior at any given time,
and rotated slowly to mimic day and night. It also generated enough heat to
make living here comfortable.

As the asteroid rolled gently, the centrifugal force created
a reasonable substitute for gravity on its inner wall. An added but unexpected
benefit created by the spin was that in doing so the natural crystals that
formed the city’s foundation produced energy, energy that could be tapped into,
channeled, and exploited. Because of all this, the self-sufficient inhabitants
lived relatively normal lives.

The inner wall of this hollow ball was lined primarily by
farmland. Sitting like a cluster of spikes, a huge city called Rhone comprised
of buildings of every size and shape sat to one side near the equator and housed
nearly fifty thousand souls. The tallest structures reached the asteroids
center were the docking towers laden with starship moorings for the many
spacecraft berthed here. Only permanent residents had their own docks. Everyone
else had to take what was given them. Some crystal clusters were huge and
protruded from the green fields here and there: purples, blues, reds, ambers,
and green, to name a few.

From the Kori family’s perspective everything encircling
them seemed to turn with the asteroid, and that would continue as they lined up
on the synthetic sun. The massive structure was held in place by energy bands
at the near end and a gargantuan axil shaft at the far end that extended to the
football’s distal point. As
Freefall
started to match the sun’s rotation
berthing docks on its backside became apparent.

As they moved further in, the cavern floor slowly fell away
from the ship to leave
Freefall
suspended well away from the gentle
rolling hills above and below.

Rhone wasn’t all buildings and concrete and crystals. Tall
trees and lush, green plants of every sort lined most of the streets.
Playgrounds and parks were plentiful. And a deep river meandered between
buildings and under bridges at the asteroid’s equator. Josh and Nate, who loved
to fish, later learned that the river was well stocked, tempting them to try
their luck with a rod and real.

The space-tug released them to the towlines of the port
official, which brought them the rest of the way to the sun and their dock.

“Hi there!”

Rachel and Josh looked up to see two air gliders floating
overhead near the ships stern. Though the rigid winged ultra-lights were
actually level with the ground below them, compared to
Freefall
they looked
as if they floating on their sides. A ten-year-old boy sat in the open cockpit
of one, and a girl a little older sat in the other. Both craned their necks to
see the platform duo. To Rachel the fliers looked like a great way to explore
the asteroid’s interior. One day soon she’d have to build one or two.

“Hi yourself,” Rachel called up. “Those fliers look like loads
of fun.”

The girl pointed off to one side to a patch of land just now
enjoying the early morning synthetic sunrise. “That’s our farm. Come visit when
you have a chance. I’ll teach you.”

Rachel waved and smiled. “We’ll be sure to do that. My name
is Race by the way. This is Josh!”

The boy swung his blue, lightly powered glider in close to
Freefall’s
platform. “I’m Bobby,” he said.

The girl, about twelve, pulled up beside him in her red
craft. “I’m Sarah. Are you here to deliver?”

Josh shrugged. “A few supplies.”

“Those look like real Talons,” the girl said. “Whatcha doing
with ‘em?”

“They’re kits,” Rachel answered. “They only look like the
real thing though. These are nothing special.”

“Too bad,” said Bobby. “Those boom ‘n zoomers look like
they’d be real fun.”

Rachel shrugged, Josh smiled, and the two fliers turned away
and sailed off toward the city to join others already there. In the distance, taking
advantage of Rhone’s zero-gravity, several more gliders dotted the sky. She had
been away so long she almost forgot how great a place Rhone really was. Being
here made here a little jealous of Josh and Nate though. While she had only
visited from time to time, this is where the boys actually grew up. It may have
been just a home to some, but to her it was a must-visit vacation spot, a
five-star resort which just had to be experienced to be believed. Yet it was such
a guarded secret she could tell no one. She chuckled at that and turned back to
her work.

Soon
Freefall
came to a stop and opened both cargo
bay doors to offload the few badly needed supplies this place depended on.

Riley cursed. “Come on, you little twit. Cooperate!”

“Let me give you a hand with that,” said the mechanic, a
middle aged man called Harry. He took the ratchet from Riley, reset its torque
setting, and narrowed its aperture. “Try that.”

This time the self-sealing bolt loosened. “Thanks,” Riley
said. “You been here long?”

“Aboard
Long Bow
? No, not really. In fact I haven’t
been in the service long at all. Two years, or there abouts.”

“Like it?” Riley said, removing the cover plate to look
inside.

“It’s a job. Pay ain’t great, but the work’s steady.”

“What’d you do before? Blast! Look at that.”

Harry peered inside the metal box. “Looks good. I don’t see
anything wrong.”

“That’s just it. Everything is connected. Power should be
flowing freely, but the shields will not engage.” Riley sat back on his
haunches and tossed the ratchet back into the tool box. “I’ll need to talk to
Captain Kori. This stupid ship has me baffled. And where the blazes is Ericca?
She knows this ship better than I do.”

“Ericca? You mean Captain Archer?”

Riley sighed. “That’s her.” He looked into the opening once
more and jiggled a few items in it.

“Let me find out,” Harry said climbing wearily to his feet.
He stepped away and hit his com badge to talk to someone on the bridge.

Grinning to himself, Riley closed the junction box and
reattached the cover plate. He inserted the self-sealing bolt, which, once in
place, tightened on its own. He climbed to his feet and pressed his jaw-com.
“All set, sis,” he whispered into it.

“Understood,” Ericca replied.

Harry returned. “Bridge says she’s still with Hammond.
Something about strategizing, making plans, and such. You want to contact
Captain Kori? Com-unit on the wall over there should do you.”

“Thanks.” He went to the wall com and touched its screen.
“Bridge, this is Riley Archer. Can you connect me with Jordon Kori, please?”

“Yes sir.”

After a moment, he heard Jordon’s voice. “Yeah, Riley.
What’s up?”

“Got power. Connections seem good. But the shields won’t
actualize.”

“Understood, Riley. I’m tied up with these Talons at the
moment, but I’ll check the schematic soonest. Maybe some line got crossed.”

“Roger, Captain. I’m sure that’s it. A line must be crossed,
but I’m too bushed to deal with it now. If I don’t hit a bed soon I’ll fall
asleep on my feet. Ericca knows this ship better than I do, but Hammond still has
her tied up elsewhere. I imagine she’ll sleep there tonight.”

“Talk to you in the morning?”

“Sounds like a go. Maybe a good night’s sleep will give me
new perspective.”

“Roger, Riley. Good night. Captain Kori out.”

Riley closed the com and turned back to
Viper
. “We’ll
pick up where we left off in the morning, Harry. Maybe by then Captain Kori
will have it figured out for us.”

The wall-com chimed.

Riley touched its screen to open the line. A feminine voice
was at the other end. “Incoming call from Ericca Archer for Riley Archer.”

“Go ahead.”

Ericca’s voice came through. “Gunny, this is Dodger. I’ll be
spending the night here. I’ve been enlisted as a consultant.”

“Roger, Dodger. Understood. Tell ‘em you don’t work for free
though.”

“How’s the work on
Viper
going?”

“The shields won’t engage. I’m stymied. Captain Kori says a
line may have been crossed.
Viper
isn’t going anywhere tonight. I’ll
pick it back up in the morning.”

“Understood. Talk to you later, then.”

“Get some sleep, sis. There’s always tomorrow. Riley out.”

“Good night. Dodger out.”

“Dodger?” Hammond asked.

“My call sign,” Ericca said. She stepped back from the bars,
returned to the cot, and languidly drew a leg up to her chin. Resting an elbow
on her raised knee, she rubbed her forehead. “If I didn’t use it, he’d get
suspicious. Then he’d try something stupid. I don’t want that. I want him left
alone. Understood?”

“I understand. Your efforts won’t go unrewarded.”

“Or unpunished. Archer stays out of this altogether. You get
Viper
. And I get my brother back unharmed.”

“You did well, Miss Archer. I see no reason to include Riley
in our dispute.”

She dropped her hand from her face to glower at him. “Uh uh.
You don’t get
that
liberty. You don’t have the right to call my brother
by his first name. Not you,
fasech
.”

“Name calling, Miss Archer? Considering your current
circumstances, do you think that’s wise?”

“You are hardly the injured party here, Hambone. The points
against you are quickly piling up. And name calling is hardly just recompense
when compared to what you’ve done to me. And I have a long memory so don’t
threaten me or my brother again.”

“You just continue cooperating and I promise no harm will
come to you or your brother.”

“Your word means very little at this point, Hamfat.”

“Defiant to the end, hmm.” He took and released a heavy
sigh. “Very well.” With that he turned from her cell and walked away.

Jordon glanced up and caught Josh’s forced smile. “You
ready, son? You seem worried.”

“You take Pigship A, sir, and I’ll take Pigship B. Is that
alright?”

“Uh, yeah, sure. Umm, Pigship?”

“Rachel decided those names were as appropriate as any.”

Jordon laughed as he dropped his eyes to Nate who stood
beside him. He patted the boy’s shoulder. “You have the con, son. You should be
safe enough here in Rhone. But should this battle go sideways, I’ll trust you
to get
Freefall
, my mom, and Rachel to safety.”

Nate forced a brave smile. “Yes, sir, Capt. Kori. I know
this is just a practice run, but you be safe out there.”

Jordon sighed, climbed up the side of his Talon and slid
down into the seat. Josh followed suit by getting into the other ship. Quickly
familiarizing himself with the controls Jordon ran through a mental checklist.
He was glad that, though Rachel was a technical genius, his daughter kept the
controls simple. He fired up the engines and lifted off, leaving
Freefall
behind for the first time in a long time. “Stay put, my old friend. We’ll be
back to attend to you soon enough.”

Turning his mind toward the battle ahead, Jordon, with Josh at
his side, headed out through Rhone’s gate and entered the asteroids. After a time,
they left the ring’s inner curve, circumvented the Saigus sun, and re-entered
the asteroids there. Deeper in they passed the buoy they had earlier attached
the tracking-jell to. The Confederate tracking-jell was an interesting
substance. Except for a slight sheen, it was nearly invisible to the eye. It
was a simple matter using a putty knife to scrape it off
Freefall
and
smear it on the buoy. The buoy was then placed in the middle of an open area
surrounded by asteroids. Each asteroid would attach to the ones nearest it by
Zero-point energy projectors once they were activated. This was the Talon trap.
Once the Confed Talons entered the open area, a ball-shaped web would activate.
The trap would close. The Talons would be captured.

“So Nate’s idea really had merit, huh?” Josh said into his
headset.

“It did. Should work as expected,” Jordon said as he focused
on the task before them.

“Captain, you lead. I’ll fly as your wingman.”

“Roger, Josh. Stick with me, boy.”

Josh twisted in his seat to peek back between his headrest
and canopy. Several rebel ships, attached to a few asteroids, were barely
visible. “Captain, I hope this works.”

It occurred to Jordon that he didn’t need a fancy flyboy
right now. He needed a master tactician. Luckily that person sat in the Talon
next to his.

“Josh, I’m releasing lead to you.”

“But Captain, I’m not a seasoned pilot like you. I’m nowhere
near as good.”

“You don’t have to be, son. Just see everything around you
as a great big 3-D technical schematic and put your ship where it’ll be of most
use. Don’t even think about it. Just go by instinct.”

“Yes, sir,” Josh said. Though reluctant he took the lead.

Jordon looked to his left. Suddenly Josh swung hard over. Jordon,
in Pigship A, stayed glued to him as if a part of Joshua’s ship,
sort of
.
He bounced a bit but Jordon thought he did incredibly well. It had been ages
since he had flown anything hands-on, and that craft was only a shuttle.
There’d be no shaking him . . .
the prefect wingman
. He
grinned to himself. He still had the knack.

Jordon ran his fingers through his hair. Yeah, right. Who
was he kidding? In his gut, he knew better.