Scrapyard Ship 3 Space Vengeance (22 page)

Traveler looked uneasy. “I cannot hold them back … their first obligation is to their mates. I, too, have a similar responsibility.”

Jason began to walk in the direction of their new camp, and Billy and Traveler hurried to catch up. Over the last few months, Jason had come to know most of Traveler’s Grey rhinos and there was mutual respect between them. As much as he’d like to permit them to return to their homes, he needed their help one last time. As they entered the camp, the rhinos moved into a circle around them.

“
I’m going to make this short. Traveler tells me you want to return to your homes, your families. That was not our agreement. Our agreement stated that you must first help us defend against the Craing fleet, and only then would you return home. But if returning home is that important to you, you may now leave. Thank you for your help. Good luck.” With that, Jason turned to leave.

Traveler stood up tall, hands on hips. “We thank you. We have been proud to fight at your side, Captain.”

Jason stopped and looked up at his friend. “Don’t thank me, thank the Reds. I’m on my way over to them now.” With that said, Jason continued walking away.

“
Why would we thank the Reds?” Traveler called after him.

Jason stopped and turned to face the rhino leader. “From what I understand they have agreed to fight at our side, fight the Craing. You can thank them yourself, because they’ll be protecting your homes, your mates and offspring, while you cower under your mud domes. By the size of them, they’re probably better in battle anyway. Goodbye. Stay safe, my friend.”

Jason quickly turned away before any of them saw his smile.

Traveler looked to his warriors, then back toward Jason, who was walking quickly toward the Red rhino camp. Arguing began and loud voices broke out amongst them. Rustling Leaves was the first one to chase after Jason, then others rushed to follow.

“
We cannot allow the Reds to fight on our behalf, Captain,” Traveler bellowed, also hurrying after them.

Once again, Jason turned to see that half the rhino-warriors were following behind him. The rest were still arguing among themselves. He needed all of them.

Raising his voice so all would hear, Jason asked, “Just curious. How will your mates feel about the Reds fighting on their behalf? Perhaps next time, instead of running from them, they’ll be welcoming them into their domes.”

Traveler quickly caught up and huffed angrily at Jason’s side. “I know what you are doing, Captain. I do not believe the Reds have agreed to fight against the Craing. They certainly have not agreed to defend Trumach.”

“
Do you want to take that chance? I suggest, Traveler, before I make it over to their camp that you and your warriors return to The Lilly. Let the Reds see that you are preparing for battle.”

The snorting increased. Traveler slowed and finally directed his rhinos in the direction of The Lilly. Glancing at Jason, he snorted several more times and followed the last of the rhinos into the ship.

Billy, who’d maintained some distance, once again walked by Jason’s side.

“
You’re a sly Diablo, mi amigo,” he said.

“
It worked, didn’t it? Now let’s see if it’ll work twice.” They headed off to find the leader of the Reds.

Chapter 32

Chapter 32

“
Yes, as you just witnessed, the Greys are now on board my ship, readying themselves to fight for the freedom of the rhinos, not only on Trumach, but Mangus as well.”

Jason stood before their leader: a Red rhino named Hangs to Ground. He easily stood eleven feet tall and towered over Jason. Around his hips he wore a belt with a variety of trophy skulls that dangled and clanked together as he moved. At least one of the skulls looked to be human. As Jason spoke, the large beast began to pace back and forth, listening to what Jason had to say. Jason’s attention was drawn to the Red rhino’s maleness, which, in fact, was so conspicuously large that it did at times touch the ground as he walked.

Jason continued. “Traveler said something to the effect that the Greys will be triumphant against the Craing in battle. Later, the Greys will return home proud, for they will have protected their mates, offspring, and the weaker ones of their kind.”

Just like with the Greys earlier, the other Reds had crowded around and looked on as their leader took in that information. Their response was no less dramatic. A chorus of loud huffs and snorts, along with bursts of steamy snot, filled the air. They yelled and conveyed their indignation toward their leader. Obviously the thought of Greys fighting on their behalf was unacceptable.

In the end, the Reds took even less convincing than the Greys. Hangs to Ground and his Red teammates agreed to join forces with Jason in fighting the Craing and, by doing so, in defending their home world and all rhinos.

The rest was up to Jason: how to configure the logistics of transporting over two thousand-plus Red rhinos into an area with enough space. It would be a tight fit. They would have to be split up and squeezed into the holds of the three Mau vessels.

* * *

Jason looked around the ready room at his fellow officers and key personnel. This would be their last chance to meet as a group before going into battle. Ricket, the last to join them, climbed up on his seat and the meeting got underway.

“
The Craing fleet will enter this sector within the next two hours. Long-range scans indicate they’re coming in force. They’ve lost ten warships and they’re absolutely going to seek our blood. I say good, let them come. Let’s finish this.”

Billy said, “It seems to me our biggest obstacle will be troop movement, logistics, getting our assault teams where they need to be.”

Perkins addressed Billy’s comment: “We’ll be relying heavily on The Lilly, as well as the shuttles and their ability to phase-shift. Our own teams can phase-shift individually or as groups and should be prepared for doing that on a moment’s notice.”

Dira sat directly across from Jason and her eyes rarely left his. She looked small and withdrawn. As the Craing approached them, her home world was once again in jeopardy. She was obviously worried.

“
Captain, would it be possible to snare us several more medical techs? I have a feeling we’re going to get overwhelmed in Medical,” Dira asked.

“
If you have an idea of who you want, go ahead and work with the XO to make the necessary transfers.”

“
Captain,” Orion asked, looking more serious than Jason had ever seen her, “can we beat them? There’s so few of us and so many if them.”

“
Look, everyone, I’m not going to sugarcoat this. We’re in for a hell of a battle. Yes, we’ll be outnumbered again. Maybe even two to one. But considering how we’ve managed to beat far worse odds in the past, I’m hopeful. Think about it: the Earth’s outpost fleet has a rebuilt Dreadnaught. Our Alliance fleet, on top of the advantage of The Lilly and the two new Mau warships, has the addition of one thousand Red rhino warriors. Let’s just take it one day at a time.” Jason wished he’d been able to paint a brighter picture, but who would he be kidding? The situation was dire. Most if not all of them weren’t going to make it. The odds were just too stacked against them.

One by one the officers and section heads nodded, then went about discussing their responsibilities for the upcoming battle. By the end of the meeting they all knew what was expected of them and their respective teams. Jason looked around the room, letting his eyes rest on Ricket.

“
You’ve kept yourself scarce the last few days, Ricket. Anything you want to add? Any updates?”

Ricket didn’t answer for a moment, then said, “No, captain, nothing new to report.”

Surprised, Jason dismissed everyone else but asked Ricket to stay behind.

“
What the hell’s going on with you, Ricket? Are you still a member of this team, or not?”

Ricket had removed his baseball cap and, childlike, was fiddling with it in his lap. Something was very wrong and it was affecting his duties. Jason knew he desperately wanted to transform himself, break away from the confines of his two hundred-year-old mechanized form.

“
I apologize, Captain. I’m afraid there is something wrong with me.”

“
Yeah, I see that.”

“
It is debilitating.”

“
Obviously.”

“
What does one do when enveloped in sadness, consumed by it, but the tears can never come?”

“
Where have you been the last week? What were you doing?”

“
Thinking.”

“
I don’t think we can, I can, defeat the Craing without you being one hundred percent present. You know how I count on you.”

“
Yes, Captain. Again, I’m sorry.”

“
How long would the procedure take?”

Ricket looked up. What resembled a glimmer of hope spread across his mechanical features.

“
No more than an hour in the new MediPod. But the mortality rate is still fifty-fifty.”

“
You’re no good to me like this, to anyone. If it’s truly what you want, then go. Let’s go right now and get you whole again.”

“
Thank you, Captain.” Ricket replaced the baseball cap onto his head and Jason stood and waited for him to crawl down from his chair. Together, they left the ready room and headed to Medical.

Something wasn’t adding up for Jason. “How is it this procedure, which seems to be incredibly complex, only takes an hour, while Rizzo has been recovering in a MediPod for over a day?”

Entering Medical, Ricket stopped and looked up at Jason.

“
What is considered my consciousness—memories, feelings, emotions—will be put into stasis. Temporarily stored. That is the most difficult aspect. This cyborg body will be destroyed in the process, eliminated. Based on my own original DNA, and with the help of billions of nanites, a completely new body will be formed. So there’s nothing to repair or heal. That process would take significantly longer.”

Dira, as if she’d been expecting them, stood at the side of the largest of the MediPods, its clamshell top already open. Seeing her concerned face brought the full seriousness of the situation to bear for Jason. A tear rolled down her cheek, which she quickly brushed away. A pained smile crossed her face as she helped Ricket climb up into the overly large compartment.

A lump the size of a grapefruit filled Jason’s throat. Things were happening too fast. Perhaps he should stop it now, before things went too far.

Again, childlike, Ricket looked up from the MediPod. He’d removed his baseball cap and held it out toward Jason.

“
Will you keep this for me, Captain?” Ricket asked.

“
Sure. You’ll know where to find me when you get out of this thing,” Jason said with a reassuring smile.

The MediPod began to close. Ricket shut his eyes as if going to sleep, which Jason knew wasn’t the case. Cyborgs never sleep.

The clamshell top shut with an audible sucking thump. Through one of the MediPod’s small windows Ricket’s face was visible, illuminated by a dim light.

Dira touched Jason’s hand. “Ricket’s been coming here for days. Sometimes I’d find him where I’d left him the night before—programming this thing, making last minute updates. You wanted to know where Ricket’s been? He’s been right here.”

Chapter 33

Chapter 33

“
Captain, the outpost fleet will be making their transition to Allied space in fifteen seconds,” Perkins reported.

“
And the Craing?”

“
They’ll be within weapons’ distance in about forty-five minutes.”

Jason sat back in the command chair and watched the display in silence. Everything came down to this moment and he hoped they were ready. The first part of their plan was a simple one: keep the Craing fleet occupied here while the EOUPA and Allied fleets converged on their flank, a mere ten light years away. The second part of the plan would be based on previous confrontations. Offensively, again, they’d be taking the battle right into the Craing fleet, striking their deadly Dreadnaughts from within, with both SEALs and rhinos. The Lilly would be constantly maneuvering, dropping off troops and moving into hotspots, as needed. Both shuttles had phase-shift capability. Their newer, larger Caldurian shuttle, recently renamed the Epcot, was currently loaded up with rhino-warriors; the remaining original shuttle, named Oracle, was packed with Billy’s SEALs. Both shuttles would drop off and pick up troops on a continual basis. With phase-shift parameters now expanded to three thousand miles, The Lilly and the shuttles would have far-reaching capabilities. The two Mau vessels, which Jason simply referred to as Mau One and Mau Two, were currently packed with two thousand Red rhinos. Each Mau ship had set aside extra hold space out of which the shuttles would phase-shift.