Wandering Engineer 6: Pirates Bane (11 page)

“Lieutenant, do you have any doubt that we can bust out of that
brig at any time of our choosing?”

“No.”

“Knowing our capabilities? We can take the ship but
only
from the inside. I
want
that ship. No offense Phoenix, but I want it.
Bad. And I mean to take the ship. But to do it and run her, we need support.
Which means crew.”

“I... see. Admiral, this plan is, insane. Even for you.”

“If it's crazy and it works it's not crazy,” the Admiral replied.
He ignored the doubt the AI expressed. The AI was playing devil's advocate
after all. He did have a point; the plan was right up there with some bad
Hollywood drama. It was true though. He was horribly vulnerable right now. But
if he was on the inside, there wasn't a weapon on board that could harm him.
They'd have to blow their own ship out from under everyone to get him. And with
his shields, he might survive it. Might. He wasn't ready to test that. He added
locating and defusing the ship's scuttling charges to his mental list. Finally
he dumped the plan into a file and threw it up on the main board for all four
AI to read it.

“Now see? That's what I'm talking about,” Sprite said, shoving
Defender a rapid-fire text message saying, “I told you so.”

“We'll get this done.”

“What if they recognize you? You haven't exactly been keeping a
low profile Admiral,” Defender warned him. He sent back a text to Sprite,
agreeing with her. That shocked the other AI into silence.

“Then we'll have to do something about my face so I won't be
recognized also my body, suit, the works, same for the ship and gear. Get a
list going,” Irons replied. “Work the problem don't be the problem. You are a
security AI; I want you to take it from the other side. Crack them like an
egg.”

“Aye aye sir,” Defender replied.

“Think of it as an infiltration job Defender. We're getting in.
Nothing they've got can stand up to us once we're on their ship,” Sprite
replied.

“I understand the mission. I am however going on the log
protesting the violation of standing orders.”

“So noted. Get to work.”

“Aye aye Admiral. What first?”

“Okay, remember what we practiced you three?” Irons asked.

“You're not serious sir,” Sprite
said. She was now nervous about what he had in mind. There
wasn't a lot of time to debate it though. Time ticked down like a cascading
waterfall.

Proteus's avatar swayed and pulsed in dismay. “It's not tested Admiral.
I...”

“No time like the present. And we have no time. Do it. Start with
my face and body.”

“What about your voice? They may have recordings Admiral.”

“That next,” the Admiral said, feeling nanites in his skin go to
work. It felt like ants all over his skin until his nerves were cut and the
nanites went to work, morphing his face.

Irons had Sprite and Proteus use the nanites to alter his
appearance. They changed his face, hair, removed his beard, changed his build
slightly, altered his eye color, and altered his voice box.

“Proteus, stock up on nanites and power. Do that now, material as
well. We'll need to get as much power in me as possible, plus nanites. We're
going to need them,” the Admiral said, flexing his jaw. He touched it with both
hands gingerly. The AI had disconnected his nerves to work the changes, but it
still stung. It felt like sunburn, a bad one. It could be psychosomatic. He
didn't have time to wallow in it though. He turned with new eyes. He looked at
his hands. Even the pigmentation in his skin had been changed, he was now
Caucasian, almost albino in appearance, definitely a spacer.

“Sprite, work on a back story for me and Phoenix. Something
plausible.”

“Gotcha.”

“Proteus...”

“Power reserves at ninety point four percent Admiral. You need to
plug in. Or at least get close to an outlet. I can use nanites to form a line.”

“Bucket brigade. Gotcha,” the Admiral replied, unconsciously
echoing Sprite. “Phoenix, any robots up?”

“One Admiral.”

“Use it to sanitize my things. Everything.”

“Sprite and I are on the software. Admiral, you do realize I
should be deleted.”

“We'll see if you can get away with playing possum. Throw up a
firewall, several. The usual viruses we've encountered should bog them down.
Toss in a directory from hell and a corrupted search engine.”

“Oh lovely,” Phoenix replied.

“Work on the suit,” the Admiral said. “Use material from my
wardrobe,” he said, charging into his quarters.

“Admiral...”

“Just do it!” He ordered. “If they notice the missing arm...”

“They'll wonder why. Got it,” Proteus replied, going to work. The Admiral
noted nanites streaming out from his HUD. Slowly the coverall dissolved and a
sheathing formed over his arm.

“Admiral, the cubs?” Sprite asked in concern.

The Admiral winced internally but realized he was helpless. He'd
have to accept whatever came next. “They'll have to take their chances. We can't
put them into stasis.”

“No,” Sprite replied. There was just enough reserve energy to keep
a trickle charge going in the life support in the room he was in. Gravity was
slowly ebbing as the force emitters spun down.

“Try to get them to hide. Maybe we'll get lucky,” the Admiral
said, turning away. He had more important things to focus on. The cubs and if
they lived or died in the next few hours wasn't up to him.

The Admiral dived into his quarters, throwing everything with
military markings into a pile. Memory chips, tablets, military equipment he had
been tinkering with, anything he could he threw in the pile. “Destroy this,”
Irons growled, pointing a finger at the pile.

“Understood,” Proteus replied, sending out a spray of nanites. The
items dissolved in seconds. “I am collecting material for possible future use.”

“Good.”

When that task was completed his day overall under his space suit
was sanitized of military markings and covered in stains. Also the AI did their
best to sanitize the ship's records and destroy any questionable materials with
the maid robots.

A few of the robots worked, but a couple robots were unsuccessful.
One couldn't get into the small cargo bay. The hatch was blocked by debris.

He had been tempted to fight, just get on the shuttle, get it to
the ship... but no, they could stand off indefinitely if needed, or if he tried
to board manually, standoff and shoot at him. No, mutiny from within was
increasingly the only survivable option.

By bad luck one suit in the laundry was overlooked.

Once he was certain he had taken things as far as he could, the Admiral
went to the tiny engineering compartment and got to work on restoring the
fusion reactor.

“Shuttle inbound, it is circling... I think they noticed the bay
is too small.”

“Class of shuttle?” the Admiral asked.

“Skyhawk,” Sprite said curtly. The Admiral grimaced in annoyance.
It was a fine thing, being boarded by pirates who had a captured Navy vessel
and were using a captured military shuttle.

“Time?” He felt a bump. “Never mind,” he growled, knowing that was
a hard dock.

“They are having trouble getting in. Should I help them?” Phoenix
asked.

“No. And shut up. Mute. Go into observer mode. Don't help them at
all,” the Admiral said, voice dropping into a guttural growl. He banged on a
few things.

Sprite thought he was getting his frustration out, but he was
really just passing time and trying to get into the role of a frustrated
spacer. Which he was.

He could hear footfalls and stamping feet as the ship, his ship,
was boarded. He fought the impulse to fight them off as the pirates swarmed his
interior, first heading to the bridge. He watched through micro cameras Proteus
had fashioned and left behind.

There were a dozen pirates, all in military or civilian police
armored skinsuits. They had their weapons drawn. It was a motley assortment of
weapons, most of them short ranged sawed off shotguns or pulsers. He shook his
head. All of the boarders were human. Apparently skulls were a favorite
decoration, that and black. They certainly looked the part of pirates.

When two of them came to the hatch he swore, banging on the
casing. He'd done what he could, but it would take fuel and a restart to get
the fusion reactor back online. He didn't have the time to do it.

“You! Freeze!” a voice snarled behind him. He froze. “Hands in the
air!”

Slowly he set the wrench down and raised his hands. Defender
itched to bring shields up but he overruled the AI grimly. This would either
work or not.

“Where are the others?” the same voice demanded curtly.

“I'm it,” Irons said, turning slightly to look over his shoulder.
“I'm a...”

“Shut it!” the voice said and he felt a rifle butt slam between
his shoulder blades. He oofed and went down, rebounding off the casing.
Instinctively his hands caught himself.

“I said Hands up!” the voice snarled, hitting him again. Irons
felt himself being clubbed to the deck, and then handcuffed. He was kicked a
few times and then the pirate stopped.

“Control, got one. Repeat one.”

The Admiral felt encrypted radio signals going out from the pirate,
and then another set return. His enhanced hearing caught the order to keep him
quiet. Before he could say anything rigger tape was ripped and then spread over
his mouth. The tape was wrapped around his head and then ripped off. A second
strip went over his eyes and around his head.

He laid there for a long fifteen minutes, wondering if he had done
the right thing, but knowing he had no choice now. He had to accept it and work
on the way out.

He was hauled to feet and dragged out of the compartment. Despite
the tape his sensors allowed him to see the pirates going over his ship as he
was dragged out. They were smashing the plants, tossing things around. Bedding
was flying. He could hear fabric ripping. Unfamiliar voices were all around
him. His head turned, cataloging them, but for now not processing them for more
than threat value. He'd let Sprite and Defender look for intelligence clues
later.

“Admiral, the threat of you being spaced is very real here,” she
said, voicing her concern. She highlighted a discussion two of the pirates were
having. “And oh, by the way, the identity is confirmed, they are Horathians,”
she said, sounding disgusted.

Instead he was hauled to the shuttle lock with guards all around.

“Where are the others”? A voice snarled. He felt someone slap his
head and then rip at the tape. He was kicked in the genitals and doubled over
in pain. Proteus had to stand down, he needed to keep it real and so the wounds
were left untreated.

The Admiral gasped for air. It had been a long time since he had
felt pain on that level. He had gotten soft, gotten used to the AI
disconnecting his nerves and instantly repairing the damage.

“Hurts doesn't it?” Sprite asked. “Just hang in there,” she said,
sounding concerned as he breathed hard. He took a ragged breath, shoulders
slumping. His hands formed fists as he tried to temper his anger. He'd get his
revenge... soon.

“I said, where are the others?” the voice said, backhanding him.
He spat. Leaning to one side. A hand roughly righted him. “You want to breath
you'll answer the question!” the voice snarled.

“Well, maybe if you gave the man time to answer he would
sergeant,” a dry female voice said. The voice was ugly, he could tell. She
wasn't much of a looker on his HUD either, a pear shaped woman with a pistol on
either shoulder.

The Admiral felt blood drooling from his lips and spat. He groaned
a bit, drifting. The microgravity and injuries were playing hell with his
stomach.

He could hear and see the pirates smashing things. Some were
malicious some were just methodically searching.

“Ma'am? There is no one else.”

“How can that be?” the woman asked, turning to the new voice.

“I don't know ma'am. Are they out on the hull?”

“Like the ones that tried that two months ago? Do you think they
are that stupid?” she asked thoughtfully.

“I don't know ma'am.”

“We'll, go find out then! And get someone to get power back on
here!” she said, waving a hand.

“Hey! Look what I found!” a fresh voice said. The Admiral scowled
bleakly as he heard a cat squall. Blindly he looked around, using his other
senses to see the bastard hold up the cat by her tail. The cat swung about,
trying to get free or grab something.

“Oh it's a lively one! Want a piñata?” he asked, waving the cat to
another pirate.

“No, but I'll settle for a boxing bag,” the guy laughed, punching
at the cat. The cat clawed at his gloves, making him swear.

“Don't breach your suit or I'll breach you Hemorrhoid,” the woman
growled, looking over her shoulder to the two. “Take your toy and play with it
somewhere else,” she growled.