Wings of Steele - Flight of Freedom (Book2) (14 page)

The comm chimed as the screen flicked to a live video. The face of a UFW officer appeared, an attractive young woman of about thirty, with smooth, short, raven black hair framing her face. Her shining black eyes blinked at him. “This is the 77...”

“Hello, I need to speak with Lieutenant Commander Ribundell, I am...”

“
Captain Jack Steele,” she said, finishing his sentence. “And I am Commander Renae Ribundell.”

“
Oh...” he wasn't expecting
that
.

Even though he masked it well, she caught the brief flash of surprise cross his face. “They didn't tell you I was a woman,” she smirked.

Jack smiled crookedly. “No they didn't.”

“
Does it matter to you...?”

He shook his head, “Absolutely not.”

“Good. I understand you have family in need of extraction from your home planet..? That's
highly
irregular - for
us
to get involved, I mean.”

Jack nodded, “Somebody
did
mention that, yes...”

“
So tell me what's going on Captain, I know we're going to Terra in the Terran system, but that's all I know... We are currently in route, best speed. We should hit orbit around Terra in forty-two hours.”

“
That's better than I had expected...”

Commander Ribundell nodded, “The 77 is a fast ship. Our disadvantage is that we have a very small bay and our shuttles are not suited for this assignment. We will need to take the 77 down to the surface, so I hope there is something we can use as a landing zone...”

Jack started typing in the Longitude and Latitude of his house on the coast, “These are the global coordinates; the location is along a wide beach on the coast so landing should not be an issue. But the area is crowded with residences so the best time will be at night.” He continued typing, “And this is the security code for my sister's comm unit...”

“
What's the situation there?”

Jack took a deep breath, “It's complicated, Commander. It's not really about my family; it's about me, about how I got out here and the circumstances surrounding the whole event.” He ran his fingers through his hair, “There are people there who want me and seem to be willing to use my family to get to me... they don't know I'm out here...”

“So there may be some hostiles...”

“
It's possible, though they might actually be government agents.”

“
Understood,” she replied, “we will of course do our best to avoid any conflict. But I will not hesitate to protect my people or my ship if we are challenged - that includes protecting members of your family.”

“
Thank you Commander.”

“
I will keep you apprised of our progress Captain,” Commander Renae Ribundell saluted, the screen winking out.

Jack checked his watch, he had three minutes left. He pulled up the security code for Lisa's comm and made it ready to broadcast. Pushing away from his desk he picked up his bottle of water and walked around to the holo-chart marking the present location of the UFW77. Fritz looked at him from the sofa, his head resting between his paws. “I really wish it was
us
going to pick them up,” he told the dog, whose tail wagged ever so slightly. Jack checked his watch, thirty seconds left.

Standing in front of the comm unit he hit the broadcast key, then paced, waiting for a signal connection.
C'mon, c'mon... answer...
He sipped his water nervously as he watched the connection timer hit two minutes. The floor rumbled as two Cyclone fighters were launched on patrol. That meant there would be patrol reports coming in from the returning flights. He picked his e-Pad off the holo-chart table and pulled up the notes paging through them, keeping an eye on the comm. On one of the reports he noticed a reference to an uncharted asteroid field that appeared so dense, it was unexplorable. The flight had requested a navigation buoy be placed for caution and Jack forwarded that one to the Admiral, he would know how to deal with it. At just over six minutes on the counter, the chime pinged on the comm, initiating a video. Steele swung around the desk and dropped into his chair just in time to see the video frame appear. The highly disrupted video was green and black, the comm-tablet's camera switching to night video settings. “Lisa, finally! You had me worried... what's with the darkness, the picture is horrible...”

“
I don't know what's going on Jack,” she whispered, “I'm really scared, it's like all the power's been cut or something...”

“
Is it really hot, or do you still have AC?”

“
No we still have air. But the computers are dead, the security camera system is down and the lights are out...” her eyes glowed bright green in the comm-tablet's night vision video. “So I don't even know if they're still here or not...”

“
You
did
remember to plug everything back in, right...?”

Her look of disdain was evident, “I'm not a fucking idiot...”

He smirked. “OK don't panic, do your flashlights work OK?”

She clicked one on, “Yes.”

“OK good. On your left, there is a metal breaker panel door, open it.”

“
OK.”

“
Flip the red ones marked
BB,
that'll put you on the battery backup system. Watch the gauges they'll tell you when it's charging, when it's pulling power and how much charge you have.”

“
They're all at the top in the green.”

“
Good that means they're full and you're charging too, what time is it?”

“
Nine-fifteen in the morning.”

“
OK, as long as it's a nice day outside you've got pretty much unlimited power for the room; just watch your consumption at night. With a little power conservation, the batteries can hold you for about forty-eight hours, without charging.”

Lisa turned on the security system computer, its monitor and a light, the comm-tablet's video camera adjusting to color, flicking on Jack's screen. “That's better,” he prompted. “Now, as you know, I can't get to you...”

“Yeah, and...”

“
And I've made arrangements for someone to get you out of there.”

“
Who'd you call?”

“
Mom and dad.”

“
Really?” her head snapped around to look at the comm screen.

“
No dumbass,” he chided, “it's not like I have a phone and can call them from
out here...”

Nina's face appeared on the screen, popping in from the side, “and just where is
out here
, Jack?”

Lisa pushed her out of the way, “Stop it. Who's coming Jack...?” She was pretty certain she knew the answer to the question.

“There's a ship coming to pick you up. I don't see that we have any other options.”

Lisa's stomach flip-flopped, “Oh God...”

“They'll be there within about forty eight hours, but they'll wait and come in at night. They have your comm number and will contact you when it's time.”

“
Oh God...” Lisa felt flushed.

“
But I thought you liked it out here, thought it was cool,” queried Jack.

“
Well yeah... but I wanted to decide for myself.”

Nina's face appeared on the screen, popping in from the side again, “OK, please tell me where
out here
is...” There were tears in her eyes and she looked scared.

Jack sighed, there was no easy way to say it, “In space...” he wasn't sure if she'd believe him or not.

There was silence and Nina didn't move or speak, her eyes making that deer in the headlights look. She pointed at the ceiling. “
Out there,
out there...?”

Jack nodded, “Yes. Like in the movies.”

Nina blinked, then nothing. “On a ship?”

Jack nodded again, not being able to read her reaction. “On a ship. But only because it beats
floating
through space in your
underwear
.”

Nina blinked again, then turning to Lisa, punched her in the arm hard enough to topple her over. It was a good thing they were both sitting on the floor. “You bitch! Why didn't you fucking
tell me?”
Lisa, who righted herself, stared at Nina blankly rubbing her arm. Nina, visibly excited, bounced up and down, “This is
fucking awesome!”

Lisa frowned, “You
like
this idea? You
want
to go?”

Nina's mouth went crooked, “You mean why would I want to leave this
glamorous life
of cleaning rich people's houses, scrubbing their toilets and picking up after their brats?
That
life?” She rubbed her hands together, “Fuck it, let's go, I'm ready!”

“
Wasn't expecting that,” replied Jack, “so, good then...”

“
No, not good then,” injected Lisa, “what about mom and dad?”

“
Once the ship contacts you, you'll have at least an hour. Go online and write them an email. Then call them right before you leave. It won't matter by that time if the men in black know you're there, it'll be too late.”

“
What about the house, our stuff?”

“
Lock it up. No matter what, they'll get in if they want to. I'm guessing after you're gone they'll only come back one more time.” He leaned back, “Oh, and remember to bring the comm-tablet with you.”

“
Will we be back?”

“
Sure. Tell mom and dad we'll be back, but don't say when. I guarantee someone will be listening to the call and reading the email. Between you and me, I'm hoping we'll be back by Christmas.”

“
What about me?” asked Nina, “I want to tell my sister.”

“
Don't tell her where you're going, just that you'll be traveling for a while. Be careful how much you tell her, it could put her in danger.”

Nina nodded, smiling, “OK.”

“They're back again”, announced Lisa, pointing at the security monitor. “Two SUVs pulled up out front.”

“
OK,” reminded Jack, “same drill, turn off, unplug and stay quiet. Turn your comm on about every twelve hours and check for messages. Don't dial out.”

“
Wait! Who will be the one calling?”

“
Me or Commander Renae Ribundell of the UFW77.”

“
A woman?”

“
Yep. Bye for now...” He punched the button and ended the comm.

CHAPTER SEVEN

BALYENNE SYSTEM, RAEFER STATION:
RECUPERATION AND REVENGE

FreeRanger Commander T. B. Yafuscko,
Tibby
to his friends, sat along the windows of the station's lounge overlooking the navigation channel in and out of the facility, his leg propped up on an adjoining chair and a drink in his hand. Raefer Station wasn't pretty like many others, it wasn't designed by a station architect for style or grace, it was a hodge-podge of pieces, forms and shapes fitted together like some odd puzzle of Tinker Toys, Erector Set pieces and Lego blocks that grew and expanded over time. No it wasn't pretty, you couldn't even call it handsome, but it was functional. And it wasn't without its creature comforts; booze, women, gambling, some interesting black market stuff to be had. For most people it was a way station, a place to recover, repair or refuel and resupply. The mechanics were good, the service was decent and the accommodations were acceptable. But for Tibby and what was left of his crew, it was just a place to be stranded. He watched out the window as the FreeRanger destroyer DD36 pulled away from the station, having deposited him and his shipmates there. He took a drink of the clear liquid that had such a bite he winced a little.