The Black of Space, page 27
part #8 of Steven Gordon Series
He laughed, ‘I would love to see that. We have had nothing like that for thousands of years. I enjoy a bit of history Ambassador; I have seen pictures. One of the hardest things to do was to break the monopoly of the energy companies. It caused so much conflict back in its day. It took imperial edicts and laws to stop them. Those in power, those with money and power, are not prepared to give it up lightly. Your troubles are just beginning.’
‘You do not fill me with enthusiasm sir.’
The Emperor laughed, ‘I don’t suppose I do. Every home here has its own power source. A day’s sunlight is enough to power a home for a month. The power companies now make their money from selling technology, the batteries to store the power, the coatings that are sprayed onto the houses to collect that energy, the converters, that sort of thing. We could of course sell you all of this, but without the knowledge to develop or maintain it, or the materials to produce it…’
‘I understand sir. We aren’t there yet.’
‘What a quandary you have given us. Some are ready to sell ships to your people if they have the money.’
‘There are plenty who have the money, but none who could pilot or maintain such a vessel.’
‘No one at all?’
‘No one. Right now there are thousands of people being trained up, but all are part of the military. They will eventually filter down and join civilian life. At home our aircraft are sub-sonic and fly on fossil fuels.’
The Emperor thought that was hilarious, and it took him a while to gain his composure.
‘I would really love to see one of those.’ He nodded to the two men behind him, ‘Your weapons are also chemical based. In some ways that isn’t a bad thing.’ He thought things over for a moment, ‘I really need to talk to the other leaders of the Empire.’ His eyes swept up and he looked over Howe and Beaver. ‘I would like to ask you one thing: I am aware that the man who rejected my beautiful daughter’s hand in marriage isn’t here. May I ask where he is?’
Steven rubbed his temples, the pain in his head had been getting steadily worse. He closed an eye.
‘Right now he is about to start a war with your people.’
‘Excuse me?’
Steven tried to stand, but his legs gave way. Komoru cried out in alarm. Barely a second later there was a familiar hissing noise and a terrified scream came from the shadows.
chapter 52
Charlie rolled onto his back in relief. It had taken over an hour for word to reach the massive fleet that had been circumnavigating the planet below.
‘Man they are bloody slow.’
His answer was a grunt. A second later pieces of plastic flew over his nose. Charlie snapped upright. Lewis was smashing the tablet he had been working on into fragments.
‘What the hell Lewis?’
‘Useless junk,’ Lewis grunted. His eyes were badly bloodshot when he looked at Charlie. ‘Man I got de sore head.’
Charlie opened his mind and was flooded. He cut it off.
‘Babes, what the hell is going on?’
‘What do you mean Charlie?’
‘How many of the crew have bad headaches?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Why not?’
‘I don’t know. Steven had one earlier.’
‘Patch me through to Ico.’
‘He is listening.’
‘Ico, how many of your crew are suffering from headaches?’
‘None that I am aware of Charlie.’
‘Start scanning the area for outside interference.’
‘I will ask permission from the acting Captain.’
‘Who is it?’
‘Sato.’
‘Patch me through.’
Sato came on, ‘Yes Charlie?’
‘Any of your guys showing signs of headaches?’
‘No, nothing, we are all fine.’
‘We aren’t. Half the crew seems immobile here, including Babes. She isn’t working properly. Start scanning the local area for anything you can find.’
At that, Charlie just happened to look out the window. The fleet was moving away steadily. Two ships however, of a different configuration to the warships, had remained stationary. ‘No scratch that Sato, scan those two ships that aren’t moving.’
Charlie helped Lewis out of the observation pod and made his way to the bridge.
‘Charlie, they seem to be using scanners on Babes.’
‘It isn’t directed at you.’
‘No.’
‘Get your shields up.’
‘Alright.’
Ico wasn’t so sure it would work, ‘I don’t know if it will be effective Charlie. It is a very strong signal, not one we are used to.’
‘It will work, or it will once I reach the bridge. I will tune Babes’ shields to the same frequency as mine. I am completely unaffected.’
‘I understand Charlie.’
Charlie was passing members of the crew sitting on the floor nursing their heads. ‘Sato, I have no idea what these people are up to, but I want you to get a couple of boarding parties ready. My guys look goosed.’
‘Is that wise Charlie?’
‘No, but it is a lot wiser than letting them get away with it.’
Sato hesitated a moment, ‘Alright. I am on it.’
The bridge crew looked lethargic. Sid seemed asleep at his station, Buzz had slid halfway down in the big chair. He only seemed to half notice Charlie, who made his way to the security station. His fingers flew over the console. A few seconds later the figures around him began to revive a little.
Buzz sat up, ‘What the hell is going on?’
Charlie answered him, ‘We have two ships off our port quarter. They are bombarding Babes with beams. She has lost thirty per cent of her capabilities. We are almost crippled. Red Alert, action stations.’
‘Oh shit, Stevie is going to kill me.’
Babes had been trying to speak to Steven. ‘Charlie, something is wrong with Steven.’
‘Can you scan the area Babes?’
‘No Charlie, I’m sorry.’
‘Sato, are you listening in?’
‘Yes, scanning the area now.’
Lewis walked in, belting on his personal weapons. He came to stand by Charlie. His eyes were still bloodshot, and he looked pissed.
Sato got back to him, ‘Charlie, there is someone using a device down there. It is emitting the same kind of beam and I think it is aimed at Captain Gordon.’
‘On the count of five Sato, beam Lewis right down beside that guy.’
‘Roger.’
‘Lewis, get down there and take care of it.’
A huge paw slapped Charlie on the shoulder and a millisecond later it dissolved.
‘I think they realise they have been rumbled Charlie; they are preparing to leave.’
But Charlie was well ahead of him, ‘Patch through control of your guns to me Sato.’
‘Done.’
‘Get ready to assault. Secure the bridges and weld the damn doors shut.’
‘On your order Charlie.’
Two thin beams of light streaked out from both ships. They cut through the vessels’ skins in a surgical strike that rendered the engines inoperative. They slewed out of control.
‘Go Sato.’
‘On their way.’
Buzz tried to stand, ‘What the hell is happening Charlie?’
‘Try and get your head in the game Buzz. We were attacked by those two ships. Get as close to them as you can. We need stealth mode and faster than light speed. Get to it.’
‘Damn it, right man.’
Charlie talked to Ico and his gear appeared at his side. He strapped it on. Charlie looked around. ‘Sato, these guys are totally goosed, can you send over your spare shift to get this ship up and running?’
‘Already getting themselves together Charlie.’
‘Awesome, now beam me aboard that ship on the right.’
A few seconds later, Charlie arrived on a bridge filled with gun smoke. There were a couple of bodies lying around. A second look told him none were dead. His eyes quickly scanned the room. The majority of the crew were made up of lizard-like creatures. To him they looked like something out of the old TV series ‘V’. Charlie walked up to the nearest and punched him so hard in the face that he flew across the room. The creature hit a wall and slid down unconscious, blood pouring from what Charlie suspected was a nose. The attitudes of the others changed drastically.
He went over to a console and looked it over. It was locked. He waggled a finger at one who looked almost Human.
‘Put your hand on here,’ Charlie ordered.
He stepped back, ‘No.’
‘It doesn’t have to be attached to the rest of your body son. I just need your hand.’
His repeated no was accompanied by a scream of agony. Charlie picked the severed hand up off the floor and placed it against the pad. He quickly searched its data banks for the information they had gleaned from the ship. Satisfied, he deleted all the data, then took his emergency escape tool through the terminal. He caught a stray thought and disappeared, re-appearing in an isolated part of the ship. He ripped open a panel and ripped a large box from inside it. He then repeated the process on the second ship.
‘Sato, get everyone back to the ships. Lock onto the hardware I have in my hands and take it on board your ship, then send me down to the surface.’
‘Can I ask what you have done Charlie?’
‘I have destroyed their local memory and stolen their hard drives.’
‘Will we be able to access it later.’
‘Play later Sato.’
‘Roger that.’
The devices vanished from his grip and he appeared on the surface next to Lewis, whose eyes weren’t as red as they had been. In one massive fist he held the half-conscious body of an alien species Charlie didn’t recognise, but who was wearing the same uniform as they had been on the ship. He also had an arm missing. Lewis held a device in his other hand.
‘Make sure you take that with you Lewis. You can dump the body though.’
The figure dropped to the ground. Charlie crossed to where Komoru was kneeling beside Steven with his head on her lap. Tears were beginning to form.
‘Get him to Ico, Sato and I will take care of things.’
After a silent order the pair disappeared. Charlie turned on a figure standing by the fountain.
‘Did you have anything to do with this?’
‘I don’t know what you are talking about.’
‘Liar.’
‘Who are you to call me a liar?’
‘I am the man who holds your life in his hands.’
‘You are the one, the one who refused my daughter’s hand in marriage. It is a shame.’
‘You almost killed my friend, and our ship. What were you after?’
‘I don’t know what you are talking about.’
‘Did you kill the previous Ambassador just to lure us here?’
‘Again, I have no idea what you are talking about, we would never do anything so crass.’
Charlie stepped closer, ‘Did Merro never warn you about my abilities?’
‘To what are you referring?’
‘My ability to detect lies. You are lying. Let me guess: you quickly realised that we have a superior technology, one far superior to the Federation’s or yours. Like many before you, you thought you could steal it. So you assassinated the Ambassador and insisted that we were sent as a replacement. You have been trying to scan our ships. When that didn’t work, you tried to disable one of them and her Captain. I bet you were really looking forward to the post-mortem. Had you thought up some ridiculous disease to blame our demise on? What a shame, our people could have become great friends. You have your life, thank your son and our friendship for that.’
As Charlie stepped away his eyes detected forms rapidly approaching, all were armed.
‘We need to go guys.’
A moment later they vanished.
Grand Emperor Terri Macdoe slapped a teapot with his hands. It sailed through the air, smashing off the wall. There was a feminine scream.
His temples throbbed, ‘Lady Aurora Malinci, what are you doing here?’
‘I was with Princess Florina, Your Highness.’ She looked around, ‘Where is she?’
He shook his head, ‘She was never here. Leave.’ She bowed hurriedly and almost ran. Guards rushed onto the scene. He pressed a button on his communicator.
‘They have discovered us, surround those two ships.’ He listened to the voice in his earpiece. ‘What do you mean the fleet was withdrawn? Who ordered it?’ He sighed, ‘Idiots! Send someone to detain them. Order a couple of squadrons back.’
He paced back and forth for a good ten minutes before flying into a rage. The ships had got clean away. He ordered a thorough search before leaving to tell the others in person that their plan had failed.
Chapter 53
Charlie was aware that time was of the essence, ‘What is happening Sato?’
‘Babes can go into stealth mode, but for now only has sub-light speed.’
‘Then we need somewhere to hide. This whole thing was a huge setup to get the Builder ships into the Empire’s hands.’
‘No shit!’
His eyes flicked over the three men, ‘Stations gentlemen. Colonel, would you like to take command of the ship?’
‘I am only half aware of what is happening Charlie. Carry on please.’
‘Lewis, can you stay for a while? We need you here.’
‘Sure man. We uh… got another problem.’
‘What?’ It was then he noticed the hands digging into Lewis’s shoulders, and the red splotches of blood soaking through his uniform. A small head popped out from behind his shoulder. Charlie was stunned.
‘How the hell did you get here? Ico, beam her back to the surface.’
‘Wait, please. I know somewhere you can hide.’
Charlie felt a wave of anger wash through him for two reasons. Firstly she was right, secondly she would come in handy as a hostage. It was a situation that Charlie hated immediately.
‘Colonel, escort her to the bridge.’
They rushed towards the bridge. Florina was almost blinded. The deck beneath her feet shivered and disappeared. She had seen it before so wasn’t frightened, but she was disorientated.
Lewis picked her up and carried her like a teddy bear under his arm the rest of the way.
Buzz got up from his chair as they arrived. He looked terrible.
‘Got word Stevie is OK, but take over man. I feel like shit.’
‘Go rest Buzz, we will need you on your feet as soon as possible.’ He turned, ‘Florina, where is this place we can hide?’
‘On the third world.’ Lewis put her down. ‘There is a region there that is famous for its electrical and magnetic storms. For centuries it was where everyone attacked them from.’
Howe interjected, ‘You just told us everyone knows about it, it will be the first place they look.’
‘Normally yes, but they don’t yet know that you know about it.’
Charlie thought it over, ‘She has a point Colonel. Where is the nearest asteroid field from here Florina?’
‘At sub-light, a few days I think.’
‘That is where I would look for us.’
‘And it is heavily populated.’
Charlie looked straight at Howe, ‘I would take a chance on the Princess’s first choice. We won’t be able to stay long, but Ico says we need to replenish a lot of materials. If there are strong magnetics down there it could be a good choice. It’s up to you though. I will go with your decision.’
Howe smiled and regarded the Princess, ‘If you think she is playing it straight.’
‘She is.’
‘Let’s do it Charlie.’
Charlie looked over the unfamiliar bridge crew, ‘Follow Ico to the third planet. Try to keep up.’
They acknowledged him and turned to their work.
Long range visuals showed that they had escaped before they could be surrounded. The screens showed traffic coming and going. A swarm of destroyers arrived at the planet behind them. They soon began a complicated search pattern. It wasn’t long before they increased the size of the pattern. More ships arrived and spread out in two different directions. Some went to light speed and shot past them. The crew calculated their trajectories. Some were headed for the asteroid belt while others were taking a direct line back to Federation space.
‘Sato, can you prepare a communications probe? Get in front of those search ships and launch it. Tell home what is happening, what the Empire have done and tried to do. Send it in clear, don’t use code, I want them to know exactly what we have told them. I want them to think it is us and we are heading for home. Stay long enough to make sure they have taken the bait then have the probe self-destruct.’
‘You mean you want them to think the probe is us.’
‘Of course I do. They won’t know what is in the signal at first, but they will hear it and be able to track it. Be quick in case they have contingency plans.’
‘On it.’
Ico streaked away at faster than light speed. It took them a couple of hours to get far enough in front of the search ships to send the probe onwards undetected. Sato waited until the imperial ships pass before he ordered the probe to transmit. The signal was immediately picked up by the pursuing ships. They increased speed. Other ships were called in from lots of different vectors. Sato sat for half an hour watching their signals bounce back and forth through the black, until he was satisfied the probe had done its job. It was time to go back and find Babes.
They were approaching the third planet as they picked up her beacon. What would normally have taken Babes minutes had taken hours. There was a great sense of relief on both ships. At Charlie’s request, Sato made planet fall first to do a reconnaissance. There were signs of recent activity in the vicinity of the great storms.
Sato’s pilot looked dubious, ‘Are you sure you want to take us down there sir?’
Sato wasn’t too sure himself, but he shook his head, ‘We don’t have a choice, take us down. Once we are in, turn on all of our sensors, we may have to guide the other ship down.’
