Scrapyard Ship 4 Realms of Time

Realms of Time

A SCRAPYARD SHIP NOVEL

Written By

Mark Wayne McGinnis

Preface

Here’s where we left things off in the previous book (Space Vengeance):

…
Keeping to his promise, Captain Jason Reynolds takes The Lilly to Allied space and returns the rhino-warriors to their home world. Jason quickly discovers the Craing fleet, of fifteen hundred warships, has returned, with the intention of destroying everything that remains of the Allied worlds.

…
A possible new Caldurian ally, Granger, offers up new and advanced wormhole travel technology to the Earth Outpost, for the United Planetary Alliance (EOUPA) fleet—but at what price?

…
Nan and Mollie are back on Earth and trying to make something of their scrapyard living conditions. With the help of an advanced drone Mollie has named Teardrop, Nan constructs a remarkable prefab home, with all the bells and whistles.

…
Captain Stalls is still causing mayhem and taking his fleet of pirate ships, as well as his cloaked, weaponized, luxury liner, Her Majesty, to Earth. He’s looking for some payback with Captain Reynolds and destroying Jason’s home planet will be top on his list. But first he must find Nan, and make her his own.

…
Having had his fleet decimated before, Admiral Reynolds is looking for some retribution of his own. Now, with hundreds of recently commandeered Craing warships, as well as the remnants of the Allied fleet, and, of course, The Lilly, a ferocious battle with the Craing fleet ensues. The very survival of the Allied worlds is at stake. Things are looking promising for the Allied forces until the Caldurian, Granger, arrives, with a highly advanced vessel, named the Minian. When the ship enters the fight, on the wrong side of things, The Lilly pursues her back to Earth space.

…
Brian and Betty (and a being called the hopper) have just escaped from an embattled, and adrift, space freighter in a small craft, called a bin lift.

…
Captain Stall’s pirate fleet arrives in Earth’s solar system but does not fare well against Earth’s remaining EOUPA, and the Craing’s warship forces. Stalls escapes by the skin of his teeth, in a shuttle. With the information he had earlier tortured out of Brian, Jason’s brother, Stalls finds Jason’s home, in San Bernardino, CA.

…
Nan and Mollie barely have a chance to enjoy their newly built home, when Stalls makes his appearance. In the end, the home’s security measures aren’t defensible against Stalls’ ship. But Nan and Mollie didn’t give in without a desperate fight. Near death himself, Stalls shoots Nan in the head. It was only with Mollie’s help that Mollie, and mortally wounded Nan, were able to escape out the back of the house. Stalls, barely conscious, had Nan in his gun sights—if he couldn’t have her, no one would.

…
Apparently, there’s no easy way to land a freighter bin lift craft. Brian’s indiscriminate crash, landing on top of Nan’s newly constructed home, and Captain Stall’s head, was indeed timely.

Chapter 1

“
What the hell is it doing?”

“
Circling, sir,” Perkins replied, now standing beside Jason.

“
We’re being hailed, Captain. It’s the Minian,” Perkins said.

Jason didn’t respond as he continued to stare at the Caldurian vessel on the overhead display.

“
What’s our damage?” Jason asked, looking about The Lilly’s fully staffed bridge. Ricket was moving between several stations, Gunny Orion was on tactical, and McBride was at the helm and looking back for further instructions.

Perkins, the only one who had been thrown to the deck, stood and turned his attention to his virtual notepad. “No fatalities; a broken wrist in Engineering. No outer hull breaches. Miscellaneous minor damage to all decks. Repair drones have been dispatched.”

“
That ship just took The Lilly’s shields down in what, two plasma strikes?” Jason queried out loud. Hell, if they hadn’t phase-shifted into the Independence when they did, they would have been destroyed.

Now, as The Lilly hovered within the Dreadnaught’s main corridor, Jason had an uneasy feeling. Something told him the Minian had no intention of destroying The Lilly, but could have quite easily.

The battle raged on in open space. Under the direction of his father, Admiral Perry Reynolds, and the combined forces of EOUPA and Allied fleets, along with the addition of nearly four hundred Mau warships which felt her pull had become recent allies, they were now getting the upper hand on the Craing. Until recently, the Craing’s two thousand strong fleet was considered unstoppable, indestructible. But no longer. Less than eight hundred of their enemy’s ships remained, and Jason expected the Craing’s forthcoming surrender within moments. That is, if the Minian, with its highly advanced Caldurian weaponry, stayed the hell out of this battle.

“
Captain, we’re being—”

Jason cut Seaman Gordon off. “I know, the Minian—”

“
No, sir. It’s the admiral.”

Jason, nodding his assent, pointed to the display.

“
What in God’s name is going on?” His father’s voice filled the bridge. “We’re detecting massive energy spikes coming off that foreign ship.”

“
We’re fine, in case you’re interested, Admiral,” Jason voiced back sarcastically. He instantly regretted his quick retort. Definitely an offense, if he were still in the Navy.

The admiral let it pass with only a mild reprimand. “We know you’re fine, that’s what sensors are for. Tell me about that ship.”

“
It’s the Minian. The limited information we have is it’s a new Caldurian vessel. Travels the multiverse as easily as we do our own solar system. They’ve been hailing us for the last few minutes.”

The admiral stared at his son with an incredulous expression. “So answer the damn hail and let me know what they want.” The display segment showing the admiral’s face disappeared.

“
Go ahead and acknowledge the hail from the Minian, Seaman.”

Not totally surprising Jason, Granger’s smiling face appeared on a new segment.

Jason nodded toward Orion as she entered the bridge, returning from Dreadnaught One. Together, four recently clustered Dreadnaughts composed the ten-mile-long Meganaught. She took her seat at the tactical station.

“
Jason,” Granger said, “I do hope you and your crew have not been harmed.”

“
No, no harm at all. Although I would like to know why you fired on our vessel.”

“
I am but a low-level emissary. That was not my doing. Let’s just say it was a cautionary signal from my superiors. A warning, if you will, concerning your recent use of wormhole travel.”

“
Wormhole travel that you went out of your way to provide to us?”

“
Regrettably, that was a mistake. A decision intended to level the playing field against the Craing has brought you within reach of advanced technologies for which your society simply is not ready.”

“
You want to put the genie back in the bottle? I’m not sure that’s possible. We have our own relationship with the interchange.”

“
I’m sorry, Jason, the decision has already been made. Although we cannot stop you from contacting the interchange directly, we can make it unpleasant enough for you that doing so won’t be worth it.”

“
What is it you’re really afraid of, Granger? I know when someone’s bullshitting me. We’re no threat to you, with or without the ability to travel throughout the universe.”

Granger’s eyes shifted to someone off screen and then came back to Jason. His smile was gone and he was clearly agitated.

“
We are not a violent people. But we are not opposed to taking steps that will ensure the security of our society.”

“
From what you’ve told me, your society no longer inhabits our same space and time. Why would—”

Jason stopped himself mid-sentence. He knew why. “The multiverse. This technology also allows us to move within the multiverse, doesn’t it? You don’t want us moving into your neighborhood.”

Granger stared back but held his tongue. Again, he looked off screen—he spoke guardedly to someone near him.

“
I’m sorry, Jason. Please just do as you’re asked; don’t tempt fate.”

About to reply, Jason was startled to see another segment added to the overhead display. It was of Earth.

“
No doubt, Jason, you are viewing twenty-first century Earth on your display?”

Jason nodded; the seriousness of the situation was elevating to a new level. What were the Caldurians willing to do to make their point? Wipe humanity from the planet? Destroy Earth?

“
Captain, a new wormhole is spooling,” Orion said.

Jason wasn’t going to sit back and watch their home world face annihilation right before their eyes. He turned his attention to Ricket, sitting at his station toward the front of the bridge. Jason caught his eye and Ricket nodded his head.

A second wormhole began to form, just as the Minian disappeared into the first one.

“
Helm, phase-shift us to that wormhole!” Jason barked.

Less than ten seconds behind the Minian, The Lilly was back in Earth space.

“
Cap, the Minian is three thousand miles off our stern,” Orion reported.

“
On screen.”

“
Detecting energy spikes. Not sure what. She’s firing, sir. Five missiles headed toward Earth.”

“
Can you take them out?”

Orion shook her head. “No time, Captain.”

Jason watched as the five projectiles continued on a singular trajectory and then, as they suddenly separated apart, changed to five individual courses.

“
Not missiles, Captain,” Ricket said, moving to another station. “More like drones. Drones being fed an incredible amount of data. One minute to contact, sir.”

“
Where?”

“
Multiple continents: Asia, Africa, Europe, South America, and North America, Cap,” Orion interjected.

Jason looked from the feed of Earth to the view of the Caldurian ship.

“
Gunny, any weaknesses you’ve been able to detect on the Minian?”

“
No way—not a one. It’s The Lilly on steroids, Cap. She’s as close to indestructible as—”

“
Helm, phase-shift The Lilly directly into the bridge of the Minian.”

McBride nervously glanced back at Jason.

“
Now, Ensign. Do it now!”

Chapter 2

After a bone-jarring phase-shift into the forward section of the Minian, everything went black. Anyone standing now lay on the floor unconscious. Those who were seated found themselves on the floor as well. Jason tried to rise, but thought better of it when spikes of pain shot through the back of his head. Where are the emergency lights?

“
Captain, are you all right?” Jason recognized Orion’s voice. She sounded scared.

“
I’m alive, Gunny. What’s your status?”

“
I’m OK, I think.”

Jason heard people begin to move around. A few moans and several expletives. Orion was at his side. In the blackness, he felt her hands moving around his body, checking him out for injuries. When she reached the back of his head, her hands moved with more care.

“
Cap, you have blood on the back of your head. A gash, two or three inches in length.”

Dizzy, Jason tried to sit up and felt a wave of nausea engulf him. “Thank you, Gunny. Check on the others. And see if you can get some lights going.”

The Lilly shook, seemed to fall or slide for several moments, and then resettled at a different angle. Wherever they’d landed, presumably somewhere inside the Minian, the location was unstable.

Jason leaned forward and touched the back of his head. It felt sticky and, sure enough, he felt an open gash, easily an inch wide and several inches long. It throbbed, but the bleeding seemed to have slowed to a trickle.