Scrapyard Ship 7: Call to Battle (30 page)

“Can’t we simply ask the AI to commence a self-destruct procedure or something?”

“No, Captain … this is not a battle droid. No, the Caldurians did not include such a procedure for an entire ship. That would not coincide with their—”

“Whatever, Ricket! I don’t care … just tell me what to do!”

“Start turning them … all of them along that side. We’ll know when we’ve turned them enough.”

Jason watched Ricket turn the knobs in no particular order and did the same on his side.

He saw that the battle droid had penetrated down into Deck 2, and was rapidly moving toward Engineering.

“We have to get out of here, Ricket.”

“Not yet … it’s still not unstable enough.”

Jason kept turning the knobs. He reached over his head for yet another set of knobs and heard something on the far side of the bulkhead. “I think the droid’s here.”

They both listened. It was a whirling, whining sound—and it was getting louder. “What you are hearing is the reactor complaining … it’s very unhappy … we should leave the ship now, Captain.”

“We do that and the battle droid will just follow us out. Track us, until it finds us and kills us. Nope, that thing gets destroyed along with
The Lilly
. We just need to keep it occupied for a few more minutes.”

The AI was now repeating a new warning. “Alert, reactor containment is no longer stable … Alert, reactor containment is no longer stable …”

Jason was halfway back along the catwalk and running for the ladder when the battle droid crashed into Engineering above him.

He heard Ricket’s voice over his comms, “The droid can disrupt the auxiliary power going to the reactor … we need to get it out of Engineering!”

In a flash, Jason found himself and Ricket in the corridor outside Engineering, on Deck 1. “I thought you said not to phase-shift in here?”

Ricket didn’t answer, quickly running down the corridor. Jason had taken three steps when the Deck 2 bulkhead tore open behind him. He turned, taking three plasma strikes directly to his visor; blackened scorch marks made visibility pretty much non-existent. Worse, his HUD was gone. There’d be no way to phase-shift now. Plasma fire was still coming, from in front and behind. Ricket was firing back at the battle droid. In his two tightly gripped fists, Jason physically pried open his helmet’s visor—hell, if he couldn’t see he was as good as dead anyway.

With the battle droid far closer now than Jason expected, he leveled his multi-gun and fired. He aimed for the small gun-turret head and hoped to disrupt its ability to fire back. It wasn’t working. Jason felt his body racked with multiple white-hot plasma blasts. Pain enveloped his torso … his chest. All it would take now was one shot to his head and it would all be over. He began weaving—darting unpredictably, from side to side. Another blast caught him in the side … more pain … excruciating pain. He didn’t want to look down at his ravaged battle suit—afraid of what he’d see.

He continued to fire while progressing backward as quickly as his legs could take him. Where was Ricket’s weapon fire? With a quick glance over his shoulder he had his answer. Ricket was gone. Had he been shot? Was he hiding behind a hatchway, somewhere along the corridor? The battle droid was gaining on him. Its mirror-like blades spun, and at times Jason could almost make out his own reflection.

Jason stumbled and nearly fell. He needed to get off this corridor, out of the field of fire. He continued to fire at the battle droid … it was slowing, but still gaining.

A new noise eclipsed those coming from their weapons—the whirling-whining of the anti-matter reactor … Oh God … it was going to blow!

* * *

Dira and the others on board the
Perilous
stood at the starboard observation windows and watched
The Lilly.
The ship rescued twenty crewmembers and virtually every inch of the cabin was filled. Billy and Rizzo, outside the hull, had given up their seats so others could sit as they waited for the
Minian
to arrive. They kept giving assurances they had plenty of oxygen. Dira could see them suspended outside the
Perilous;
she’d almost be able to touch Billy, if it weren’t for the bulkhead. He turned and waved, as though able to read her mind. Her eyes moved back to
The Lilly,
feeling a deep sadness within her at the ship’s battered condition—her sleek black hull now pocked and cratered from weapon fire.
The Lilly
drifted lifelessly in space now and Dira wondered if she could, somehow, be brought back to her—

The explosion was immense. Spectacular. The flash was so brilliant that everything turned white, then blue, then, only the blackness of space remained.
The Lilly
was gone. Dira continued to stare at the spot where the ship had been only seconds earlier, and, standing there, she knew Jason was no longer alive. He was gone and she knew it without a single doubt.

Nan and the kids screamed. Someone was asking Grimes if she could read life signs … maybe Jason and Ricket had phase-shifted out in time. Maybe they were still alive. Bristol, sitting next to Grimes in the cockpit, violently shook his head, “No, no, no! Goddamnit! I would be able to detect them on sensors. Look at the fucking display … you see any new life-icons? No … nothing, nothing, nothing!”

Dira wasn’t listening, not really. She didn’t need to. She already knew he was gone … he wasn’t there. Tears blurred her vision. As the same realization reached her heart she wondered if it would keep beating. Did she want it to? She turned her head and saw Nan holding her baby in her arms. Mollie and Boomer were melded into her … their arms encircling one another. They were all weeping.

Chapter 45

The
Minian
arrived within the hour. Admiral Reynolds was notified beforehand that
The Lilly
had been destroyed. Lieutenant Grimes told him that there were no indications that his son Jason, or Ricket, had made it out in time. Grimes, obviously emotional, conveyed her regrets; how she’d loved serving aboard
The Lilly
… reporting to Captain Reynolds. She would miss him.

The admiral expected to see something … perhaps a scattering of debris floating in space—something tangible. But there was nothing. For four days now, they’d gone through the motions—short- and long-range bio-sensor scans—multiple vessel searches conducted around the clock.

For the admiral, Jason’s loss was immeasurably hard. Why now, when the war was finally over? Why now, when Jason had so much to live for?

The admiral was physically, mentally, and emotionally spent. But he wasn’t given an opportunity to wallow in despair—far too much to do. Maybe that was a blessing. The
Minian
’s ready room was in a constant flurry of activity. No sooner would one crisis arise, be dealt with, than another would take its place. Currently, he was dealing with tens of thousands of Drac-Vin Craing and other species—alien crewmembers no longer having a home to return to. They were basically refugees. The admiral was finding most of the Allied worlds unreceptive toward their plight; not understanding why they couldn’t, or wouldn’t, just return home to Terplin, or Halimar, or some other Craing world. Some would … others, for one reason or another, could not.

At the moment, Nan Reynolds was sitting across the table from him. She looked tired and, understandably, the usual fire in her eyes was gone. She was signing a stack of virtual memorandums and directives. As the still-acting president of the United States, she needed to return to Earth immediately.

She looked up from her work and offered him a weak smile. “You need to take a break. Get some rest before you fall over, Perry.”

“I will, I promise.”

“I have a favor to ask you.”

“Anything,” the admiral replied.

“I’m taking Mollie back with me today. But Boomer … she says she needs to stay. Won’t leave here … not yet, anyway.”

“That’s understandable, Nan. She’s been through a lot. I think staying here, at least for a while, will allow her to stay connected, somehow, with Jason.”

“Then you’ll let her stay?”

“Of course. In some ways it will make it easier for me, too.”

With that, Nan stood, collected her virtual notebook, and came around the table. She gave the admiral a long hug. He felt raw emotion again pull his heartstrings. She stepped back and looked into his eyes. “What will you do now?”

“There’s an old ’49 F150 I started restoring … I suppose it’s time I finish it.”

Nan smiled. “That sounds like a fine idea. Good for you.” She waved bye and left the ready room.

The admiral didn’t want to spend another second alone in the ready room. He had more goodbyes to say anyway. He left the captain’s quarters and headed down the corridor toward Medical. He’d made this same walk on
The Lilly
a thousand times. Although the
Minian
’s proportions were of a far greater scale, the two ships were really quite similar. He’d miss
The Lilly
; probably more than he could now realize. He’d also miss Ricket. To him, the two were practically the same … inseparable … in his thoughts.

He arrived at Medical as Dira was preparing to leave. She was talking to two other medical techs, probably giving them some last-minute insights on working with the advanced Caldurian medical equipment. The technicians looked overwhelmed.

Dira turned toward the admiral as he approached.

“You heading out soon?” he asked.

“In a few. A part of me wants to stay. Actually, a big part.”

“How you really holding up, Dira. You going to be okay?”

“I don’t know. I miss him. It’s funny … sometimes I think I can hear his voice in my head. Is that weird?”

“No, not at all. What will you do now?”

“With my father gone … I have responsibilities back on Jhardon. My home world is grieving the loss of their king.”

“We’ll miss you … I’ll miss you.”

“Thank you, Admiral. I hope we can keep in contact … would that be okay?”

“I insist on it,” he said, as the two embraced in a final goodbye.

* * *

Boomer’s tears were long since dry. What remained was a combination of resentment and anger. She’d just come from saying goodbye to her mother and Mollie, who were returning to Earth. Her mother had pleaded with her one more time to return home with them. Let her help her through this difficult time. But Boomer didn’t want to be coddled. That was the very last thing she wanted. Now, as she walked the
Minian
’s corridors alone, she could think, could try to understand what had happened.
How long have I been walking
?
Twenty minutes, a half hour
? She stopped at an intersection of two identical-looking corridors.
Where the heck am I?
As similar as this ship seemed to
The Lilly
, it was also very, very different. At nearly a mile long, there were sections—complete decks—she was unfamiliar with. Some decks were closed off—no one allowed access to them. Her father reprimanded her once for exploring a closed deck that contained Caldurian laboratories and was some kind of bio-hazard area. A part of Boomer smiled. Exploring was the one thing she enjoyed doing more than anything else. Here on the
Minian
she’d have weeks, if not months, of exploring ahead of her. And there’d be no off-limits now.

“Are you lost?”

Boomer spun around to see the odd Caldurian man standing off to her right.

“Hello, Granger. No, I’m not lost. Not exactly. I just haven’t been in this particular part of the ship before.”

“I see.” Granger continued to stare at Boomer, then gave her a warm smile. “You know, there are sections on this amazing vessel I think you’d be interested in seeing. I could show you—”

“I … um … prefer to be alone. But thank you anyway.”

“I understand. There are areas that are unsafe for a little girl. I wouldn’t want to see you get hurt. May I make some suggestions?”

She thought about that for a moment. She was kinda lost. A few suggestions couldn’t hurt. “Okay, can you show me, after all?”

Granger smiled and looked upward, as if he were thinking. “Let me see … You’ve already, of course, visited Medical, the bridge, the armory, and firing range … probably the habitats—”

“What?”

“The armory, the firing range—”

“No! You said something about … habitats?”

“Yes. Like on
The Lilly
… but far larger; a much more comprehensive collection of habitats. There is a habitat that has Magnasium Cluk-Cluks you will love. And, of course, all the HABs you were familiar with on
The Lilly
are here—”

“Just take me … Now!”

Chapter 46

Four days, seven hours, and ten minutes earlier.

Jason’s multi-gun died, its power pack completely drained. In the distance, on the looming battle droid’s far side, Jason saw his pack lying on the deck. Somehow he’d dropped it. Fortunately, the droid was no longer firing back at him. Its turret head was blackened from countless plasma strikes, but the droid’s ability to move seemed unaffected. It was now coming directly for him. Jason, limping, turned and ran as best he could down Deck 3’s long corridor.
Where the hell is Ricket?
At this point, there was only one place he could possibly escape to—right there, on the left up ahead … the Zoo.

Jason turned left at the entrance to the Zoo and saw it was completely trashed. Obviously, the battle droid had already been here, prior to finding them in Engineering.
Damn!
He’d stopped paying attention to the droid’s whereabouts on his HUD when he was turning those damn knobs.

The Zoo was practically unrecognizable. The habitat portals—windows to other places, other worlds—were gone … destroyed. Large sections of shredded bulkhead material were strewn around the deck—blocking his progression further into the Zoo.

Jason manhandled a large piece of metal out of his way, off to the side; then, he crawled under another section. Lighting fixtures above him hung precariously down from the ceiling, swinging back and forth like a pendulum.