Scrapyard Ship 7: Call to Battle (17 page)

“I cannot undo the damage you have done to your own body … the dishonor you bring upon our honorable lineage. What I can do is preserve what we do have … what the Queen symbolizes to her people. So you will stop with any more talk of immorality … things that are contrary to the Jhardon way of life. Is that understood?”

Dira opened her mouth to refute her father’s narrow-mindedness, but stopped. This was not the time. She left the map room without saying another word.

Chapter 24

Jason had taken over Bristol’s seat in the cockpit and was now reviewing their plan as it appeared on his virtual notepad. Much of Jason’s strategy hinged on Ot-Mul staying in touch with his forces as they exited the near end of the wormhole and into Allied space. Jason was fairly confident he also would be sending through the wormhole one of his four battle droids in that first batch of ships. The droid’s advanced Caldurian technology would be Ot-Mul’s eyes and ears, back in his command ship, and would also stymie thoughts of desertion from his warship commanders. The irony of the situation demanded the Allied forces keep that droid in one piece—at least long enough for it to communicate back to Ot-Mul that his Drac-Vin forces were being annihilated.

Gaddy, who’d made a full recovery after her stint in the medical bay, now assumed the popular position of standing between the two cockpit seats. Jason was only half listening to what they were saying.

Grimes switched to a logistical view on her display to show Allied space. “You see, Gaddy, the loop wormhole is approximately one light-year away from the nearest star system … which is here … the Jhardonian system.”

Jason looked up from his virtual notepad to see what Grimes was referring to.

“Although technically a part of what’s called the Alliance, Earth is approximately thirty light-years from Jhardon and about that same distance away from most other Allied systems, as well.”

“So how far away are Ot-Mul’s Drac-Vin right now?” Gaddy asked.

“They are still back here, at Alnitak, which is a triple star system; it’s within a zone people on Earth refer to as Orion’s Belt. It’s about seven hundred and sixty light-years away.” Grimes changed the display again, showing the Drac-Vin forces on a direct vector toward the loop wormhole; the
Starlight
and
Dreathlor
prison
barge
were on a thirty degree angle secondary vector—one that put them slightly farther away from the loop wormhole than Ot-Mul’s ships; and then the thirty or so warships in close pursuit behind
Dreathlor
.

“So we’re going to reach the wormhole after Ot-Mul?” Gaddy asked, looking confused. “I thought the plan was to get there beforehand, so we can close it down.”

This time Jason answered, “That’s no longer the plan. We’re still going to shut down the wormhole, but the idea is to coax Ot-Mul into going through it early on—separate him from the rest of his forces. Even the odds.”

“And, again, how are we shutting down this wormhole? I didn’t know that was even possible,” Gaddy added.

The answer came from Ricket, who was seated in the first row, directly behind the cockpit. “We’ll have to bring
Dreathlor
’s ion engines into an unstable state. Right before things go critical, we’ll put her at the opening of the wormhole.”

Gaddy turned toward the display, then back to Ricket. “I’m confused. With all Ot-Mul’s warships in a bottleneck at the wormhole, how do you plan on getting the prison barge into it too?”

Jason said, “We’re still working that out. As of right now, we’re hoping every ship just moves out of
Dreathlor
’s way. Undoubtedly, she’ll eventually come under fire. We’ll have an opportunity then to see just how impregnable that hull of hers really is.” Jason stood. “Here, take my seat, Gaddy. It’s time I checked in with the admiral.”

Jason stepped out of the way as Gaddy took his seat. “Ricket, let’s take a walk.”

Together, they made their way down the aisle. Most of the team was asleep.
Good, they’re
going to need their rest
, Jason thought. He had been able to catnap a little over the past few hours, but definitely felt a twinge of jealousy as he passed Traveler, sitting off by himself, snoring loudly enough to wake the dead.

Jason moved toward the same location on the
Starlight
’s stern as before, and brought out his virtual notebook. About forty minutes had passed—time to reconnect with the admiral. Jason began going through communication protocols to obtain an interstellar channel when Ricket put up a hand to stop him.

“I’ve made the connection for you, Captain.” He tapped at a virtual icon on the notepad and Admiral Reynolds’s head and upper torso appeared before them.

“Ricket … you’re a sight for sore eyes, my friend.”

“Thank you, Admiral. It is good to see you, too.”

“Where are we at, Dad?” Jason asked.

“Not as far along as I planned to be. Our three Craing fleets are moving much slower than I hoped. We’re using both the
Minian
and
The Lilly
to generate interchange wormholes for them. Less than half, about twenty-five hundred ships, have arrived so far in Allied space.”

“So you’re there now?” Jason asked.

“Correct … As for bringing together our Allied friends … that’s not going so well, either. In fact, there’s more than a little hostility from them that we’re planning on battling Ot-Mul’s forces in their backyard. They feel they should have been part of our conversation, which they absolutely should have been.”

“So what’s your feeling? They going to help us or not?”

“I don’t know … I can’t force them to. All indications are they’re going to batten down the hatches and try to weather the attack without bringing undue attention to themselves.”

“This won’t work without their ships, Dad. We’ll need ten … hell, twenty thousand warships, minimum.”

“We still have some time. I haven’t given up yet. But what it gets down to is this: they’ll listen to one of their own worlds far more than they will an old admiral from Earth. Bringing Jhardon on board would go a long way toward influencing the other systems. I can reach—”

“No, I’ll do that. Just keep doing what you’re doing, Dad.”

Jason cut the connection and answered a hail from Grimes.

“Go ahead, Lieutenant.”

“Captain, the first of Ot-Mul’s fleet is closing in on the wormhole.”

“We still have time … he’ll need to stage his assets. He’s got some major work ahead of him before sending forth those warships. What’s our ETA?”

“Twenty minutes.”

“Keep me up to date.” He disconnected and turned to Ricket. “Can you get me an interstellar connection to Jhardon?”

Ricket, who’d taken over Jason’s virtual notebook midway through his conversation with the admiral, was currently busy doing something with it. Jason waited for him to finish. It always amazed Jason to watch Ricket at work. Even with the reversal from the
transformation of eternity
process changing him back from a cyborg into his natural Craing state of being, he was still chockfull of technology. More than once he’d added new internal nano-devices into his physiology. Perhaps he missed certain abilities he’d possessed as a cyborg? Or, more likely, he wanted the best of both worlds.

“Captain, I have made the connection. A representative is holding for you. I must prepare for my return to
Dreathlor
prison barge.” Ricket handed over Jason’s virtual notebook and headed off toward the bow of the ship.

Jason made the connection. While he formulated in his mind what he was going to say to Jhardon’s high command, Dira’s image appeared, bringing all thoughts of diplomacy and strategic angling to an abrupt stop.

Dira smiled briefly but quickly resumed her role as Princess Caparri. “What is it, Captain Reynolds? This is not a … good time. There are matters of state I’m attending to.”

“Sorry. I know you’re busy.” Jason let out a breath and did his best to ignore the fact that Dira looked spectacular. Even this digitized, holographic representation of her was having a profound effect on him. “By now you’ve learned of the imminent attack. Ot-Mul will be bringing his forces … all of them, through a loop wormhole, which is closer to Jhardon than to other Allied systems.”

“I’ve been briefed,” she said, her expression stern. “My people have suffered. That is, what’s left of them from the last time Ot-Mul attacked us. We’re a defeated, suffering society; what more could you possibly want from us at this point?”

She was right. Who was he to ask more from her people? Then reality set in.

“Dira—Princess Caparri, when close to two hundred thousand Drac-Vin warships start funneling through that wormhole, those forces will have one directive: To be the arrow—create a swath of destruction from Jhardon through all of your neighboring star systems. And then aim further, all the way to Earth, thirty light-years away. What once composed the Allied Worlds will exist no more. Understand this … none of us can hide from that reality. What Ot-Mul started months ago, he’s come back to finish … and your planet will be the first one ceasing to exist.”

Dira stared back, looking shocked, while her violet eyes continued to meet Jason’s stare in silence. She was clearly unsettled. She looked on the verge of tears. “How can you ask this? Ask for my people, who have lost so much, to be thrust into the middle of things again? It’s too much!”

“All I’m asking for is for you to reach out to the neighboring Allied worlds.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you, Dira. They’ll listen to you … you’re one of them. Tell them it’s now or never—to get every one of their space-faring ships headed toward that wormhole immediately. They need to move fast … right now!”

She nodded, her eyes losing focus as she contemplated what was needed of her. She nodded again quickly, regaining her composure. “I’ll do this for you, Jason.” There was no smile—no kindness in her tone. She turned, walked away quickly and then she was gone—the connection cut.

Chapter 25

Jason made his way to the front of the ship and found Ricket and Bristol sitting together, reviewing the prison barge schematics. Billy and Sergeant Jackson stood behind their seats, looking over their shoulders. Before joining their impromptu meeting, Jason looked into the cockpit. Grimes looked tired. She’d need to be relieved soon.

“Want me to relieve you for a while?”

“Maybe in a few … I’m tracking some new movement behind us.”

Jason moved into the cockpit and sat next to her. “Show me.”

He hadn’t expected to see the armada of thirty ships so near. “They’ve closed in on us.”

“I’ve had my eye on them. But it’s only been in the last minute or two that they’ve really kicked into high gear. They’re outpacing us now … nearly twice our speed.”

“How long?”

“They’ll be upon us within four minutes.”

Jason turned back toward the crew compartment. “Guys, anything we can do to get the prison barge moving faster?”

Both Ricket and Bristol looked up. Ricket said, “No, Captain … if anything, she’s slowing down.”

“Why’s that?”

“We’ve been pushing her ion engines at near maximum for over two hours. I’d guess it’s an internal safety function, caused by overheating. Although we’ll need to capitalize on that same function later on, right now it’s a problem.”

What was also a problem was the
Starlight
, sitting in open space with thirty warships poised to overtake her. Not to mention that battle droid—the icon for which, at that moment, Jason had lost sight of on the display.

“This is crazy! It’s time we phase-shift into the prison barge. Ricket, find us a suitable location there and forward the coordinates to Lieutenant Grimes.”

The words had no sooner left his lips when a series of intensely bright energy bolts struck the
Starlight
. A cacophony of thunderously loud sounds filled the interior of the small ship.
Boom Boom Boom
poundings, as one plasma strike after another relentlessly struck her.

Jason reached for something to hold on to, while Billy and Jackson, standing behind him, were thrown to the deck. An alarm blared from the console and Grimes, teeth clenched, spewed a series of curse words Jason never would have guessed were in her vocabulary.

“It’s the damn droid!” Grimes yelled over the noise.

Jason got a glimpse of it through the forward observation window—and then it was gone.

“It’s coming around to take out our propulsion. Shields are failing!”

“Can you get a lock on it?”

Grimes was busy maneuvering the little ship—not taking her eyes off the console for even a second. She steered the ship through a rapid series of maneuvers that threw Jason from side to side, then forward and backward, to the point he wondered if he would throw up from space sickness.

The
Starlight
began returning fire and the concussive pounding to her shields lessened somewhat.

“Ricket, can you get us out of here?”

“Working on it …”

Jason looked up to see the battle droid sitting less than seventy-five yards away—directly in front of them. “What’s it doing?”

“My sensors tell me the thing’s switching to micro-missiles,” Ricket replied, standing now to Jason’s left.

“Incoming!” Grimes yelled.

The bright white flash was the last thing Jason saw before everything changed.

Several long moments passed before he realized he was still in one piece; that it had only been the ship phase-shifting to
somewhere
else and not the life-ending strike of a micro missile. They were now within
Dreathlor prison barge
. Collectively, he heard the rest of the team around him let out their breaths. Slowly, one by one, the
Starlight
’s console and cabin lights came back online. Grimes was still gripping her controls and looking intently forward, through the observation window. Jason placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. “Hey … you okay?”

“Yeah. That was intense.” She pointed out the window. “Where are we?”

Jason followed her gaze and smiled, “That’s right, you weren’t with us. What you’re looking at are thousands of holding cells.”