Scrapyard Ship 3 Space Vengeance (32 page)

To everyone’s surprise, Traveler phase-shifted into the middle of the Craing fighters. Displaced by Traveler’s bulk, eight Craing ceased to exist.

“
Thanks, Traveler,” Rizzo said, now taking cover behind a console.

Billy and Jason had better results phase-shifting into a bunch of Craing than they did trying to pick them off one by one. But, eventually, they too ran out of phase-shift options.

Orion, finding something wrong with her multi-gun, flipped it around and swung it like a bat at the head of an attacking Craing. Jason put a couple of plasma bolts into the Craing’s helmet, dropping him at her feet. By the time Jason and his team had wiped out the majority of Craing, the rest were running from the bridge.

“
Now that’s the Craing I remember,” Billy said.

“
Captain, this bridge has taken too much damage,” Ricket said, getting up from his station.

Jason, just now able to assess the situation, was speechless for several seconds.

“
Holy shit,” Billy interjected.

The bridge was a shambles: any remaining consoles were nothing more than scorched scrap.

“
Were you able to get us back in command?” Jason asked Ricket.

“
The only thing I was able to do before my station was destroyed was to slave this Dreadnaught back to Dreadnaught One. From there, I should be able to finish what I started.”

The bridge was empty; no sign of Han Di or anyone else. Moving slowly, Traveler was a mess. Jason thought he’d be hard-pressed to find even one inch of unscorched hide anywhere on his body.

“
Hang in there, big guy; you’re definitely due for some time in a MediPod,” Jason said.

“
I am fine, Captain.”

Once again, they phase-shifted onto Dreadnaught One’s deserted bridge. Ricket went right to work, hacking the Craing security firewalls and then accessing the Meganaught’s executive-level systems.

“
Done, Captain,” Ricket said, taking a deep breath.

“
And we can bring on, or cluster, the Independence when she arrives?”

“
Yes, sir. But we’ll need to maintain control of this bridge. That is essential from this point on.”

“
Traveler, get yourself to Medical. Return in an hour with your best team of rhinos. As Ricket says, we can’t lose this bridge again.”

“
Yes, Captain.”

Traveler flipped-open his wristband, but Ricket stopped him, reaching a hand up to his.

“
The coordinates have already been uploaded to your device; just press the activate button.”

Traveler stood up tall and shifted away.

Chapter 45

Chapter 45

With the flight deck doors fully retracted, Jason and Billy stood on the deck’s platform looking out at the carnage. Jason brought up his virtual notepad and a multi-feed segmented view of the three Dreadnaughts’ bridges. Traveler and six other Greys and, surprisingly, two goliath Reds, were keeping sentry on the first Dreadnaught’s bridge. Similarly, the other two bridges had their own complement of rhino sentries. Additional sentries were set to cover revolving shifts outside the entrances of each bridge.

What concerned Jason the most, though, was the obstreperous nature of the situation on the main corridor. A thousand or so Serapins, plus pill bug creatures, and too many other vile species to count, were roaming the Meganaught unhindered. Since Jason had pulled back his troops, and without the Craing providing them their allotted daily meals, the varied creatures were turning on each other. It was utter mayhem out there and Jason felt partially responsible. At least before, as captives, they hadn’t been killing each other.

The Lilly was moving again, slowly making forward and aft revolutions of the corridor. Each of the sub-temperature energy cannons had been taken out during the ship’s first pass.

“
What do we do with them?” Billy queried.

Jason shrugged. “Killing combatants in the course of battle is one thing, but I’m not in the extermination business. What we need to do is get them back in their cages.”

“
Sounds like a good exercise for the ground troops aboard the Independence, once she gets here,” Billy added.

Jason had to smile before turning his attention back to the increasing noise behind them on the flight deck.

“
So what’s the plan, Cap?” Billy asked, taking an extended puff on his freshly lit cigar.

Jason had to yell over the noise: “Five fighters will resume their patrols of the corridor. Maintain order, and positively ensure any remaining Craing are kept far away from all three bridges. The Lilly will phase-shift to open space and use what Ricket figured out to instigate a wormhole to this location for the outpost fleet.”

“
So what’s the problem?”

“
The problem is finding open space. Even with our extended three thousand mile phase-shift capabilities, the fleet surrounding us is composed of more than two thousand warships. They have encircled the Meganaught. The secret’s out—they know we’re here; they just don’t quite know what to do with us. Eventually, they’ll have to attack. But our imminent problem is getting out to open space. The radius of the Craing fleet extends to fifty thousand miles.”

“
Just make multiple phase-shifts, what’s the problem?”

“
The problem is The Lilly can’t make fifteen or sixteen consecutive phase-shifts without stopping periodically to recharge. We do that, and we’ll be engaging the enemy in open space. Defeats our purpose.”

“
Where’s the Allied fleet in all this? I thought they’d be here by now.”

“
Close. Probably too close, and I’m sure they’ve been detected on the Craing’s long-range sensors. They’ve held up somewhere waiting for the outpost fleet to arrive for a unified attack.”

Jason looked down at his virtual notepad and the Rhino teams moving about the Dreadnaught bridge.

“
Why do I need open space?”

“
What do you mean?” Billy asked.

Jason gestured to the video feed. “Remember earlier, when Traveler phase-shifted into that group of Craing combatants?”

“
That was pretty foul. Really disgusting.”

“
One of the unique properties of phase-shifting is that the thing shifting takes space precedence, or ownership, over the space into which it phase-shifts. We’ve seen that time and time again. Whenever The Lilly, or even one of us, phase-shifts, we displace matter when we complete the shift.”

“
Yeah, we know that,” Billy said, making a face that said well, that’s obvious.

“
I’m just saying we can phase-shift into space anywhere. Any Craing warship that happens to be in the way will be destroyed.”

“
So what are we waiting for?”

* * *

It was time for battle, the most important battle of his life. Jason wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page. The captain’s ready room was filled to capacity. Traveler, too large for a standard chair, stood off to the side. Ricket, to Jason’s left, looked stronger and more confident in his new body than ever before. He also looked younger, less frail. The others—Orion, Perkins, Billy, Chief Horris, and the rest of the command team—didn’t look quite as sure of themselves. Looking around the table, he missed seeing Nan there, and having Mollie nearby. He wondered what they were doing at that particular moment, back home safe in San Bernardino. His eyes stopped on Dira, who looked tired but, as always, lovely. He wished they had had more time to cultivate their burgeoning relationship. Would it ever be possible to someday do so? How many at the table would still be alive in the hours ahead? He looked across the table again at Dira and gave her a quick wink. He brought his mind back to the present moment.

“
So, in review, let’s go over it one more time,” Jason said. “As agreed to by Admiral Reynolds, the Independence will be the first warship to come over. That will be The Lilly’s first order of business once a viable wormhole has been produced. Soon after that, the Pacesetter and the Epcot shuttle will introduce smaller wormholes and bring back two warships per cycle. Over the past hour we’ve been maneuvering the Meganaught, attempting to reposition her to the outer fringe of the Craing fleet, with the overall intention of surrounding the Craing once the EOUPA and Allied fleets arrive. Any questions?”

No one spoke up, then Orion nervously cleared her throat. “Can we do this? I mean, can we actually win, Cap? It just seems so overwhelmingly lopsided.”

All eyes were on Jason. He knew they needed him to be a positive voice: assuring them with ultra-conviction, that, yes, they really did have a chance to succeed in the upcoming battle. A battle fought not only to ensure their own survival, but the survival of their home worlds, their loved ones.

“
You give me your all today, each and every one of you, and we’ll hammer a stake in the hearts of the Craing. Today is the day we drive them from Allied space, the day they realize their empire is vulnerable. Yes, Gunny, we can—and we will—win, if you all do your jobs.”

Jason stood and, one by one, looked at each of them. “We all may not survive the day. Sadly, some of us will fall in the coming battle. So look to one another … do so right now. You’re fighting for each other—fighting to ensure that the warriors next to you will survive the day. Will you fight for them? Will you help bring them back to this table?”

The room went still and quiet. They looked to one another. Dira reached out and grabbed the chief’s hand on her right, and Billy’s on her left. In turn, Billy and the chief did the same with those next to them, and it continued around the table. Jason sat down, joined hands with those next to him and completed the circle. Traveler stepped forward and placed a heavy hand on Jason’s shoulder. No one spoke. No one needed to.

Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Mollie froze, her heart ready to leap out of her chest. The noisy gunfire had stopped. What had happened to her mother? Biting her lip and fighting back tears, Mollie slowly, quietly, crawled from the great room toward the kitchen and the smaller adjoining family room. Ever so carefully, Mollie peered around the corner. The bad man’s legs lay sprawled before her, a mere two or three feet away. Not moving. Was he dead?

She inched forward, now able to look further into the family room. The bad man, the one her mother called Stalls, was on his back and had been shot; big black spots, some oozing blood, covered his entire body. Stalls’ eyes were closed. He looked dead.

Mollie’s eyes went to her mother, her body in a heap next to Stalls. Her forehead had a black mark on it. Keeping her voice low, Mollie said, “Mom… Mommy?”

Movement. Stalls’ eyelids opened and he looked at the ceiling. Mollie froze, and stopped breathing. His chest rose and a groan came from his lips. His head turned and he looked at her mother. Slowly, he reached a hand out and touched her arm. Mollie felt something she had never felt before. Certainly not to this degree. Hatred. She wanted to kill him. Kill the person who had taken her mother’s life.

What was that? Mollie was afraid to hope. There it was again. Her mother’s eyes fluttered. Not opened but fluttered. Stalls kept trying to get up on one elbow, but he was having trouble. Mollie, ever so carefully, crawled backwards out of sight. Feeling safe for the moment, she considered her options. There was no way around it. She had to kill him.

But the rustling whisper from her slightest movement seemed to be amplified. She didn’t think he was aware of her presence in the house. That was one thing in her favor, she thought. Again, she moved her arm and carefully withdrew the small energy pistol from its holster on her hip. It made a noise as it cleared the rim of the holster. He had to have heard that, she thought, now becoming still again. She leaned sideways and watched his legs. No quick rush to see what was around the corner. No, he definitely hadn’t heard her. Mollie looked down at the energy weapon. It was similar to the one Orion had showed her how to use. But not exactly the same. This one had a trigger. There were several other small knobs, and a slider-switch-thingy near the barrel. Do I have to do anything with those? Mollie wondered.

Stalls moved again and, after several tries, made it to his feet. He was making a lot of noise, groaning and moving around. Mollie felt confident that she could safely get to her feet as well. She brought the energy pistol forward, steadying it with her other hand, just as Orion had taught her. Peering around the corner, Mollie saw Stalls crouching at her mother’s side. He was gently touching her face, moving her hair off her forehead and inspecting her head wound. Again, the anger welled up inside her. Mollie brought up the pistol and aimed it at Stalls’ head.