Too Old To Die, page 25
“I… believe you.” Lyra nodded. “Maybe we should worry about ourselves for now, huh? If this thing’s low on fuel, we might be in trouble.” I can’t believe I didn’t get the information from those computers! Goddamn it! The whole point of coming here lost… and my ship’s been destroyed!
The only thing worse was the fact they were flying around with the law. Undoubtedly, that lady intends to arrest me.
“Come on, then.” Driver moved over to the controls. He engaged the artificial gravity. The crate he kicked fell to the floor with a clatter. He took off his helmet and marched into the other room. “I’d like to have a word with the others. Find out what the next move is considering the information I’ve got.”
Oh good, this will turn into some military fiasco. And I’ll get to spend time in a brig. Not even a proper prison. Lyra followed. I guess we can at least say we’re alive. That’s something. But the next step is figuring out how to remain free. We’ve got time. Maybe not much, but enough to sell my way out of confinement.
***
Gareth let out a deep breath as he popped his helmet off. He turned to his daughter with a smile. “That was some serious flying. I… don’t even know what to say about everything I’ve seen here. You’re amazing. You know that? Truly, I’m really impressed.” He extended her hand to her.
Chelsea did a double take when she saw him. “Uh… dad? What… the hell… happened to you? Your hair. Your face… what is this?”
“Me,” Keppler said, “you can thank me for all of that. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to save a man’s life apparently. Again.” He stormed off the bridge.
“You’ll get used to him,” Gareth said, “he’s an odd one, but competent. Made the medical serum we use for healing wounds.”
“And he… gave you a facelift?” Chelsea shrugged. “You look twenty years younger. Probably thirty years!”
“I feel it too. I can explain it all later. We can talk through what happened with Earth… why I’m here. I’m sorry it took so long to see you. To talk to you. But right now, we have a lot to do if we want to do right by our home. We need your help getting in touch with the JTF. They… aren’t super happy with me after the last time.”
“Yeah, I remember your outburst with the captain.” Chelsea sighed. “Come on, dad.” She disengaged the safety belt. “Nothing else will bother us out here for now. We can at least go talk to the others. Find out what they were doing here. Maybe it’ll help us with your problem too.”
They headed down to the infirmary. Lyra, Barty, and Driver stood outside. Keppler worked inside.
“Any word yet?” Gareth asked.
“He’s going to be okay,” Lyra replied, “just not sure what that means or how long we have to wait.”
“Alright,” Chelsea took a step closer to the pirate, “what were you doing here? What did you want so bad?”
“Data,” Lyra replied, “for a treasure hunt. Something the military seemed to forget about.”
“That’s what she said,” Barty confirmed. “We weren’t here to hurt anyone. Just needed gas and some information.”
“What treasure?” Chelsea asked. “Be specific.”
“I can’t.” Lyra shrugged. “We only know it’s a secret base. It could have anything. Weapons, data, resources… whatever it is, we’ll be claiming salvager’s rights. Especially since our ship got obliterated back there.”
“You’re a fucking criminal!” Chelsea shouted, “you think you have any rights? I should be arresting you right now!”
“Slow down,” Gareth said, “seriously. How do you know about this facility? Where is it?”
“I don’t know!” Lyra gestured to the infirmary. “Zed was going to grab the data but I doubt he managed it since he was too busy consorting with the cop! We need that information to find out which system military vessels went to from this fuel depot. I figured we could determine the location through that.”
“Clever.” Gareth hummed. “If we had the regional maps and some of the routes, she might be on to something. I know this sector. That information may come in handy.”
“You’re siding with her?” Chelsea asked. “Seriously?”
“No, I’m siding with the possibility we might find something the JTF or Korla or whatever fleet we have left might be able to use against the Veldon. They hit Earth hard, kid. I’m talking bombarded the shit out of the surface. I don’t even know if anyone survived. But I do know they came after Keppler.”
“What?” Chelsea frowned. “Why?”
“His research. What he did to me. And if they wanted that, they may go after something like what she’s talking about.”
“There’s something else,” Driver said, “the ambassador had encrypted data from intelligence agents. We don’t know what they tried to tell us because the Veldon hit us the day we got it. But it might provide some insight as to why this is happening. We kind of think someone betrayed us.”
Gareth asked, “She couldn’t decrypt it?”
“Tools were left at the agency.” Driver shrugged.
“Zed can do it,” Barty said. “When he’s on his feet, I guarantee he can do it.”
“Great.” Gareth turned to Chelsea. “So it seems these criminals are going to be helping us for the time being. As a commander of the Earth Defense Force, I’m temporarily expunging their records. Pull your weight, help us get that information, and you won’t be arrested this time. Call it a gift.”
“And what?” Lyra asked. “Give everything we find to you?”
Gareth replied, “I think you’ll find survival is worth a lot more than money.”
“Barely,” Lyra muttered.
“Come on,” Barty nudged her, “this is the kind of thing we always wanted.”
“You maybe. I don’t…” Lyra sighed. “Fine. Whatever. I’m in.” She looked at Chelsea. “As long as she can keep from freaking out on me for ten minutes.”
“Stay in line,” Chelsea said, “and we won’t have a problem.”
“Guys…” Zed moaned out the word. “I… got it… everything. Data… just before… the explosion…”
Keppler said, “I’m putting him out. He needs time to recover. Probably several hours at the very least.”
“Wait!” Lyra called, “what data? All of it? Does he have the maps? The nav information? Ask him!”
“He’s already out,” Keppler replied. “And if you talk to me like that again, young lady, I’ll put you right beside him! Get out of my infirmary! I’m busy.” He closed the door and locked it.
“That old bastard!” Lyra turned to Barty. “You know what that means? It may not have been a total waste of time after all! We might have all the information we need! This is fantastic news!”
“It is,” Gareth agreed. “Everyone get that gear off. Let’s find some chow and get some downtime. When that man wakes up, he’ll be the one to tell us our next destination. We’re on a path to save humanity, people. Whatever reason you’re here, whatever compels you, keep that in mind. Together, we’re going to save a culture.”
Or die trying, Gareth kept that part to himself. He saw in their faces they already knew.
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A massive sphere appears near Earth, defying all attempts to communicate or understand its purpose. Power outages plague key cities and military bases, causing wide spread panic and chaos. Only the Space Agency seems to have a grasp on the situation but with all their combined resources, they’re baffled.
Captain Warren Miller races to join his colleagues in the Agency headquarters, hoping to convince his superiors to launch their latest space craft, the battlecruiser Leviathan, which may be able to defy this intruder. In the absence of communication, he hopes a little intimidation might bring about a conversation.
But then smaller objects descend upon the Earth, grabbing up people from all over the globe. Captain Miller never makes it back to base, forcing the Agency to scramble for a response. With the weight of an expectant world beating down on them and the alien threat looming above, they have no choice but to engage the enemy or simply witness history in the making.
John Walker, Too Old To Die
