Star Watch (35 page)

Jason changed his HUD munitions menu from plasma gun setting to tracking micro-missiles. Unlike conventional weapons, multi-guns were tied into the
Minian
’s phase-synthesizer. Even here within the habitat, his multi-gun was constantly fed a wide variety of JIT manufactured munitions, which were continually phase-shifted in. As long as he remained there, and ready to pull the trigger, he would never run out of ammo. He aimed at the tight cluster of drones above him, firing off ten micro-missiles, and watched as they shot toward their intended targets. Soon splitting off, each had tracked its selected quarry. Right off the bat, four missiles were destroyed by drones, while another six drones, focusing on the missiles targeting them, destroyed them in explosive balls of fire. Other drones now changed their targets, tracking missiles instead.

It looked like the Sharks may have been getting the upper hand on the drones. But there’d been a price to pay. According to Jason’s HUD, they’d already lost over one hundred Sharks. Jason changed back to a heavy plasma gun setting and aimed toward three approaching low-flying drones and fired. Prior to being hit, they’d fired too—nearly simultaneously—and he took two plasma bolts to the chest. As the three drones exploded, he was bowled over, knocked flat on his back. Traveler was at his side and offered him an outstretched hand. Jason took it, pulling himself up to his feet.

His suit power levels were down, showing fifty percent, and his shields weren’t back to full strength either. He’d have to stay out of the line of fire for a while.

Orion was hailing him. “Go for Captain.”

“Just checking in. We’re basically still mopping up, Cap.”

“Status of the enemy?”

“They’ve backed off … no longer engaging Star Watch warships. But they’re still not answering hails and won’t let us approach their damaged ships. Won’t even let us rescue their wounded.”

“We can’t force them to accept our help.” Jason, back to firing micro-missiles, unleashed seven more into the sky. “Keep me up to date if anything changes.”

“Copy that, Cap.”

Jason heard Billy’s voice over the open channel. “Warriors coming through the portal. Holy shit … these guys are really trucking!”

Jason used his HUD optics to zoom in on the portal and the stream of attacking warriors. The drones entered the habitat in an organized, single-file manner, while the Sahhrain entered six or seven abreast, and at a much faster rate. He saw the telltale strobes of violet light emanating from their enhancement shields and marveled at the warriors’ speed as they flew into HAB 170. Already several hundred had emerged. At the front of the formation was a stout-looking human, wearing a silver breastplate and holding a long thick spear. That would be Hanna’s husband, Commander Douville … Ridert …
Okay
,
so
w
here’s Lord Shakrim?
Jason wondered
.

Chapter 50

Dacci System

The
Minian
, Flight Bay

_________________

Hanna found Leon in the flight bay, beneath the forward landing strut of the
SpaceRunner
. The ship was beautiful, back to its former, bright mirror-like finish, with fresh gray accents. Leon stood about midway on the strut, and was reaching with both hands to the outer hull.

“That doesn’t look so good,” Hanna said, pointing to a twenty-inch gash in the hull.

“Temporary patch … this is the last of them. Nothing like a bunch of attacking drones to ruin a perfectly good starship.” Leon stepped down, and could see that Hanna was carrying a duffle over one shoulder. “Going somewhere?”

“A little birdie told me you were preparing to head out … weren’t you at least going to say goodbye?”

“Um … I’m not real good with goodbyes. Not so sure my presence would be missed here, anyway.” He caught a flash of irritation cross her face, then disappear.

“Look … do you think I can hitch a ride?”

“With me?”

She smiled at that. “Yes, with you. There’s nothing for me here.”

“Well, where do you want me to take you … back to Trom?”

Hanna continued staring at him with attitude.

“Okay … not Trom.”

The shake of her head was nearly imperceptible. She shrugged and chewed the inside of her cheek. Leon, never witnessing any degree of vulnerability in her before, totally knew it was an act. “Knock off the lost puppy routine, Hanna … I’m not buying it. If you want a ride to parts unknown then just say so.”

Her demeanor changed to one of quick indignation. “Hey … it doesn’t mean you and I …” she used her index finger to point back and forth between them.

“Don’t be ridiculous … you’re hardly my type,” Leon replied back with a sneer.

She tucked long strands of blond hair behind her ears and made a face, conveying
fuck you
without actually saying the words.

“Seems you aren’t the only one wanting to hitch a ride with me.”

“Yeah? Who else?” she asked, surprised.

“The mecher … Trommy5.”

She nodded again. “Maybe we can change its name … Trommy5 is beyond lame.”

Leon gestured toward the gangway: “Go ahead and stow your gear. We should be ready to depart within the next few minutes.”

* * *

Ricket guesstimated he had about thirty-five minutes before his bodily functions completely shut down. Lungs, kidneys, and heart were failing, all showing signs of terminal distress. He wasn’t giving up yet, but forthcoming assistance from the
Minian
did not look promising. In that moment, time was not his friend, and there wasn’t much he could personally do to keep himself alive. Everything from his neck down was paralyzed. About all he could do was swallow, force air into his lungs, and move his eyes about. Theoretically, he could phase-shift somewhere, but where? Physics made phase-shifts possible when inside a habitat, but only within that given habitat’s perimeters—not elsewhere beyond an access portal. He brought up his HUD’s environmental settings and boosted his oxygen intake to its maximum setting.

Ricket watched as the first stream of drones, followed closely by Sahhrain warriors, moved past him and over to the HAB 7 threshold. There was something odd about it, though. Out of his peripheral vision he could see the portal. He could see into the
Minian
’s Zoo. But as warriors and drones rushed past, clearing the threshold, he couldn’t actually see them within its corridor. Next came Lord Shakrim, and his twenty-five Chosen Spears—they were the only ones still within HAB 7. But they held back—apparently opting not to follow behind the other forces. Had Shakrim suspected something? Ricket, watching them, wasn’t sure. They didn’t cross over, and he didn’t know where the Sahhrain leader and his warriors went. Perhaps close by? Just out of sight of his upside-down position, at the bottom of a two-thousand-year-old wall?

Ricket strained the muscles of his eyes, catching some movement within the Zoo. At first, he thought it might be sunlight, reflecting off the window—but then he recognized the unmistakable form of a female … it was Dira! She moved closer to the portal window and placed her open palms on it. She shouldn’t be able to do that, not with an open portal. Or was it? Then it made sense to him. The portal was a bridge to some place else … probably to another habitat. Clever. Although, apparently, it hadn’t fooled Shakrim for long.

Dira lowered her body, becoming more visible to him. He could see her trying to talk to him. Normally, that wouldn’t be a problem; NanoCom communications worked fine into most habitats—but not this one. Too much interference. Dira was now trying something else—entering something onto her virtual notebook. He saw her pull at the virtual corners of the hovering display, turn it around, then hold it up to the portal window. Ricket read what she had typed in:

I KNOW YOU ARE ALIVE. HANG IN THERE!

One more bodily function was working—his tear ducts. He blinked away the blur and permitted himself to feel encouraged. But the upbeat emotion lasted only a fleeting moment. If she knew he was still alive, then perhaps Lord Shakrim did, too … he needed a way into the
Minian
and was waiting, perhaps, for someone to remove the bridge and open the Zoo to HAB 7.

Ricket’s heart rate was increasing and he desperately tried to think of a way to warn her … to stop anyone from opening that portal. He looked at the timer on his HUD and realized his time was quickly running out. He had twenty-seven minutes to live.

* * *

Dira, Rizzo, and Bristol stood in the Zoo corridor in front of the HAB 7 portal window.

“Can’t you leave this one alone and add a second portal into the habitat?” she said to Bristol.

“Perhaps in time … but we don’t have a lot of that going around right now. Best to ask that guy.”

Dira saw Granger off in the distance and waved at the tall Caldurian to hurry up—move it—as he ambled down the Zoo corridor. He picked up his pace and joined them at the portal window. Once he’d caught his breath he saw Ricket’s upside down, crumpled form within the habitat.

“How do you know he’s not dead? He looks dead to me,” Granger said.

“He’s not … and could you sound any more detached, Granger?” Dira asked with a furrowed brow.

“I care about Ricket. You know I do … but look at him.”

“I’m a doctor. You haven’t noticed what I have. Look at Ricket … these newer battle suits conform to the body. They give and take, and become almost a second skin. Though it’s almost imperceptible, if you look long enough you’ll see his chest is moving. Air is moving in and out of his lungs. That typically does not happen when you’re dead.”

“Excellent! I can open the portal … temporarily remove the bridge over to HAB 170.”

“No. That’s not an option. I’ve already talked to the captain. Lord Shakrim, and some of his personal guard, never crossed over into HAB 170. He may be in there, just waiting for us to provide him access.”

“That does create a problem. I don’t see how we can help him, then. And being a doctor, you must know the poor fellow has very little time before …”

Dira held up a hand. “Don’t say it.” Frustrated, she crossed her arms over her chest and stared into the habitat. “If only there were another way in.”

The Caldurian, also gazing into the habitat, shrugged. “There’s always more than one way in. I mean, there’s the portal down on the planet … you know, the way they got in there in the first place. But …”

Dira spun and looked up at Granger. “Wait … say that again!”

* * *

Leon filled and patched the last of the holes in the
SpaceRunner
’s hull—at least to the point it would hold up temporarily, until repaired by a professional. He collected his supplies—a bucket full of tools, and a satchel holding power tools—and headed up the gangway.

“Wait! Leon, wait!”

He turned to see the pretty violet-skinned doctor running into the flight bay with Bristol and Rizzo close behind.

“Dira? What is it?”

“You can’t leave yet.”

“Okay … what’s going on? What’s wrong?”

“I need your ship … I need you to take me down to the planet.”

“No way. I’ve been on that planet. I just finished patching about twenty plasma burn craters in my ship’s hull,” he told her as he continued up the ramp.

“It’s Ricket. He’s in HAB 7, and he’s dying.”

Leon stopped and looked down at Dira.

She shook her head and stopped him from asking the obvious question. “No … we can’t get to him from the Zoo … that portal is a bridge to another habitat right now and if we open it to the Zoo Lord Shakrim will be able to get aboard the
Minian
.”

Bristol, looking dissatisfied, was looking up at Leon’s makeshift patchwork on the hull, while Rizzo, who had recovered from his ordeal with Lord Shakrim without a scrape, stood staring back at him with his hands on his hips.

“We need to save Ricket … He’s one of our own.”

“So Shakrim’s a part of this mix? Now it’s definitely no thanks. Have you seen what that maniac can do with that little shield weapon of his? Well I have, so I think I’ll pass.”

“Please. Please, Leon … Ricket’s dying.”

He again hesitated and appraised Dira, then Rizzo, then Bristol, who were standing at the bottom of the gangway. Dira’s eyes were pleading.

“Shit … shit, shit, shit! Get in … and hurry up!”

Chapter 51

Dacci System

The
SpaceRunner
,
Minian
Flight Bay

_________________

Boomer tried not to move in the total darkness, but something was jabbing her in the back. She reached around and felt the long handle of a broom. She had disengaged her battle suit once she’d phase-shifted into the small space. Perhaps doing so was a bad idea? She felt the spaceship moving and the familiar, elevator-drop feeling in the pit of her stomach—they were off the ground.

Earlier, she had looked for Dira in Medical, as her father had suggested, and learned from a med-tech she and Rizzo were down at the Zoo. She found Dira, Rizzo and Granger in front of HAB 7, and listened to their conversation about Ricket’s dire situation. They were planning to go down to the planet and enter the habitat from another side.

“I want to go,” Boomer had said.

“That’s not an option,” Dira told her. “Your father would skin me alive.”

Rizzo nodded in agreement.

“Look … you want to be useful, go tell Bristol he has to meet us in the flight bay. I’ve already talked to him on comms, but he needs more convincing. Can you do that?”

She’d had just enough time to get to Bristol’s quarters and guilt him into helping Dira with her plan to rescue Ricket. Then she needed to get back to her own quarters, grab her enhancement shield, and phase-shift into the
SpaceRunner
’s hidden compartment. She knew she’d probably catch hell for phase-shifting within the
Minian
, but this was too important. She tried to remember the saying her father used on numerous occasions. Oh yeah …
sometimes
the end justifies the means.

* * *

Jason couldn’t help thinking about his father and how—once again—the admiral would be disappointed by his son’s recent actions. He looked around the embattled habitat. There were thousands, on both sides, now engaged in battle. Instead of finding a way to manage the situation, following the set directives of Star Watch, he’d done just the opposite: incurring more fighting … more dying … more war.