Wings of Steele - Destination Unknown (Book 1) (56 page)

“
Hold
on!” Jack turned and ran over to examine the outside of the
failed pod that had been moved to the side of the flight line.
Followed closely by Brian, Jack grabbed one of the mechanics and
pulled him close. “See any reason for this thing to have
failed..?”

The
mechanic shook his head. “Uh, no, sir... there's no damage to
the outside that I can see. Sometimes they get hit with something,
damage the systems, but this one's totally intact...” He
shrugged, “it might have been faulty off the the manufacturing
line...”

“
Really?”

The
mechanic shrugged again. “Well, I've never
heard
of it happening, they're supposed to be pretty bulletproof - but
nothing's impossible...”

Brian
leaned in, “What're you thinking, Jack?”

“
Dunno
Bri, something just doesn't seem right.” He turned back to the
mechanic. “Can these things be tampered with..?”

“
Sure,
any system can be altered - but why would someone do that to a life
pod though?”

Jack
shook his head, “I don't know... yet.” He turned to head
to the waiting shuttle and stopped in his tracks, turning back to
the mechanic. “Test it, disassemble it... see if you can find
out why it failed...”

“
Yes,
sir...” he scratched his head, “but I'll need help...”

“
Then
get help,” called Jack as he headed off to the waiting
shuttle, Brian in full stride behind him. There were five other
crewmen with Trigoss as the two pilots hustled up the boarding
ramp.. "Shove off," called Jack as he sealed the door.

"Ok,
hold on, boys." Trigoss eased the shuttle off the deck and
accelerated
smoothly, clearing the bay door at almost twice the normal launch
speed. "Nnyyerrooommm!" Trigoss made airplane noises.
"Flew shuttles and airbuses," he called over his shoulder,
"for three years before I started on the Princess Hedonist."

Jack
was gripping the armrest like he had claws, "Uh huh..." he
grunted,
trying to be nonchalant.

Weaving
expertly through the floating wreckage, Trigoss brought the
shuttle
to a stop at the stern of the Velorian freighter. Arming the Gatling
gun, he thumbed off the safety and aimed at the outer edges of the
door. He squeezed the trigger. Without any shields to protect it,
Trigoss succeeded in blowing the loading bay door off its tracks in
less than a minute without damaging anything in the bay. Using the
mechanical arms and crabbing the shuttle sideways, the shuttle crew
was able to pull the door free and casting it adrift, completely
cleared the entry to the bay.

Trigoss
engaged the engines and idled carefully forward through the
doorway
into the darkened cargo bay. He flipped the switches illuminating
the shuttle's floodlights. Jack was watching over the engineer's
shoulder. "Holy shit..." he breathed. "Wall to wall
fighters..." He pointed to a row of four burly, brutish-looking
assault craft. "What are those?"

"Those
are the Zulu gunships," answered Walrick. Brian whistled low
and
quiet. "You said it," added the Velorian. "They are
some of the most devastating birds in the air. The only drawback is,
they require a four man crew for battle."

"Set
us down, Chief," said Jack. "Let's get this show on the
road."

"Right."
Trigoss maneuvered the shuttle, again crabbing it sideways
to allow room to get the fighters off the deck and out of the bay.
The shuttle touched down with a thump. Donning their helmets, the
men helped each other seal their suits. After they closed their
visors and flipped on their personal life support systems, they
checked for leaks. Finding none, Jack released the shuttle door with
a hiss of outward rushing air.

"Walrick,
which ones have fuel?"

"They
all have plenty to get back to your cruiser, Captain."

"Ok,
let's go!" Steele turned to Trigoss as he disappeared in the
darkness,
his hand-light shining ahead of him. "See if you can find parts
for these birds, ok?" The engineer waved and kept going. One of
the crewmen stayed with the pilots to help them board and take off
in the darkness.

The
Lancia fighters were fast looking, graceful craft, smaller and
lighter
than the Warthogs. Jack admired the lines as he climbed into the
cockpit. He illuminated the dash with his hand-light and searched
for the systems switches. "Ah," he mumbled, flipping the
switch which lit the panels. "Ok... let's see now..." he
commented, surveying the dash and electronics layout.
Going
through the pre-flight in his head, Jack activated the
switches
as he went along. Engines warming, all systems running including
atmosphere, he pulled the canopy lever. It dropped silently in the
zero atmosphere of the bay. Once sealed in and the cockpit
pressurized, the visor in his helmet opened automatically. Jack
connected his comm and power leads.. "Bri, Walrick, you guys
ready?"

"Ready."
Brian switched on his Lancia's anti-grav system. Jack and Walrick
did
the same. Guiding the three Lancia fighters with hand-lights, a
ground crewman coached the three fighters in a 180 degree turn and
headed them toward the star filled sky. Flipping on their landing
lights, the three pilots taxied the Lancias down the runway.
Coasting out into space, they switched off anti-grav, retracted
landing gear and ignited their engines.

Jack
looked over the armament screen, four Pulse Laser cannons, (two
on
each wing) and a Mercury Gatling gun in the nose. Plus seven hard
points for missiles or accessories. He was pleased and impressed.
"How's
it looking out there, Pappy?"

"So
far, so good, Skipper. You on your way back?"

"Yep.
And thanks to Walrick, we're moving three at a time."

"Cool...
how many are in there anyway?"

"Believe
it or not, more than we can carry," boasted Brian.

"
Wow!
What a break, huh?" Paul slapped his knee in jubilation. "Are
they
nice?"

"Real
nice..." Jack inhaled the sweet smell of a new machine. It was
crisp
like a new car. "Only three miles on the odometer too..."
he joked.

"Brand
new huh?" Mike rubbed his hands together. "Man, I can't
wait to
fly
one of those babies."

The
Lancias rounded the stern of the Freedom and simultaneously
fired
their breaking jets. "Gear down," said Jack, "engines
off, anti-grav on... Ok tower, line us up, we're comin' in hot, we
got a schedule to keep."

The
landing lights flashed on and the tower lined up their V
formation.
The Lancias came in fast and braked hard, bouncing solidly on the
deck. The pilots popped their canopies early as they slowed to a
reasonable taxiing speed, swinging off the runway. Unbuckling as
they taxied, the three pilots shut the systems down before they had
completely stopped. The Lancias slid momentarily on their skid
plates and the pilots jumped to the deck without ladders. "Let's
go!" exclaimed Jack. They sprinted to a waiting shuttle and
closed the hatch. "Go ahead, Ensign," prompted Jack.

Myomerr
glanced over her shoulder. "Yes, sir." The shuttle lifted
off
and
accelerated from the flight bay.

■ ■ ■

The
cargo bay of the Velorian freighter was fairly well lit when
Jack,
Brian and Walrick returned. Myomerr maneuvered around and slid up in
front of the first shuttle and killed the systems. Closing their
visors, they exited the work craft. Myomerr opened the cargo door
for loading, then headed for the loaded craft to fly it back to the
Freedom. The three men headed for more Lancias.

Two
crewmen were loading the last parcels of cargo off an anti-grav
pallette
into the stern of the first workcraft. "It's all ready,
Ensign," commented one. Myomerr checked the cargo and its
stability before she readied the shuttle for takeoff. Finding
everything acceptable, she lifted off shortly after the Lancias.

The
landing on the Freedom was a carbon copy of the one before it
with
the exception of the loaded shuttle taxiing in afterwards. Knowing
they could not return to the Velorian freighter until this shuttle
had been emptied, the three pilots dismounted their Lancias at a
leisurely pace.

Empty
anti-grav palettes were lined up behind the shuttle as deck
crew hustled to unload the cargo. Jack, Brian and Walrick, walked
to, and stood outside the shuttle, waiting for the crews to finish
unloading. Jack had given some thought to lending a hand, but it was
obvious the crews had a rhythm and he didn't want to interfere with
their performance.

"
All
hands to battle stations! All hands to battle stations!
"
Suddenly, lights everywhere flashed red and the alarm klaxons
sounded throughout the ship.

Jack
grabbed a headset off a passing lineman, palming the earpiece
against his ear. "This is the Captain, what's happening,
bridge?"

“
A
signal from Commander Smiley,” said Walt, “hold on I'll
route him to you...”

"We
got company, Jack..." Paul's transmission was full of static.

"How
many?"

"Three,"
came the answer, "looks like small, medium and large, on
the
edge of our grid."

“
Fighters?”

“
You
wish,” replied Paul. “The small one looks to be about
the size of the Freedom...”

"Ok,"
called Jack, "stay put for now, I'll get back to you." He
saw
the
last loaded palette leaving the back of the shuttle. Tossing the
headset back to the lineman, Jack turned to the pilots. "Let's
go, everybody in..."

"Where
are we going in this thing?" demanded Walrick.

"To
help our people finish over there," yelled Brian. "Now,
get
in!"

Jack
and Brian took the cockpit seats, Myomerr and Walrick sat
behind
them. "Ready?" Jack was already powering up. The shuttle
whistled through the bay and out the door. "Tower..."

"Go
ahead Captain."

"Ready
three of the Lancias, I want them fueled, armed and ready to
launch
when we return." The tower acknowledged. "Bridge..."

"Yes,
Captain..."

“
Walt,
make sure all the gun batteries are fully charged. Plot a
course
straight away from the freighter which keeps
it
directly between us and the pirates."

"That
will deviate us from the gate we're headed to, Jack."

"That's
Ok, Walt, I have an idea." Jack jinked hard as he entered the
field
of debris. "Trigoss, you almost ready to go?"

"Almost...
I had one of the boys warm up three more craft for you,
they're
ready to go."

"I
don't know if we have time for that Chief." Jack swung hard to
avoid
a hefty piece of scrap. The bay door yawned close ahead.

"It'd
be a shame to leave them behind..."

Jack
could see them all at the stern of the shuttle in the bay,
loading
cargo as fast as they could. It was almost full. He passed through
the doorway and braked hard, setting the craft down next to the
first. Jack left the systems on. Walrick was at the door, he pulled
on the release handle. "Wait!" Brian yanked his arm away.
"Put your visor down, turn on your suit..."

"Sorry..."
Walrick felt foolish, his zeal had gotten the better
of
him.

"Warthog
Leader to Shuttle Two..."

Jack
stayed to answer Paul while Brian and the Velorian pilot exited
the
craft to help Trigoss finish up. "Go ahead, Pappy."