Soldiers of Fortune (5 page)

              "You got it, Captain," Twingo's disembodied voice came across the bridge. "It'll be a bit; that short hop almost discharged the emitter coils completely."

              "Understood, just do your best," Jason answered. He swung the ship onto the indicated course that Kage had provided and nudged the engines up to fifty percent power for five seconds before chopping the throttle and then shutting the engines down altogether. He was hoping the heat bloom from the short burn wouldn't be detected. Now they were just an inert piece of space junk floating towards the closer of the two asteroid belts in the Corran System. With any luck, the ships involved in the blockade would think their slip-space jump was completely out of the system and not come ranging out looking for them. It was a gamble, but once in open space the advantage would have shifted to the larger warships as the smaller
Phoenix
would have been hard pressed to keep their big guns at bay.

              "Captain?" The shaky voice had emanated from the forward part of the bridge.

              "Yes, Senator?"

              "Would it be possible for me to take my family and sit down someplace comfortable? They've been through a lot and it seems everything up here is well in hand," Senator Vongaard asked respectfully, seeming overwhelmed by the events of the previous few hours.

              "Of course. Doc?"

              "Sir, if you'd please follow me I'll show you and your family to our galley and lounge area. It isn't much, but you can get something to drink and sit in a comfortable chair," Doc said as he rose from his seat, indicating towards the bridge exit with a flourish. The four Corranians filed out and Doc turned to follow, giving Jason a sideways smile as he did. Jason smiled as well; it was a rush to cheat certain death yet again.
The crew is really coming together.

             
He got up out of the pilot's seat and made his way over to the sensor station Doc had only recently vacated to scan the surrounding space. While the passive sensors weren't great, it was better than nothing at all.

              "I'm going to get something to eat," Crusher announced and stood to leave the bridge.

              "Put your toys away first," Jason said, referring to the weaponry still hanging from various locations on the hulking warrior. Crusher gave him an unfriendly glare before clomping off the bridge towards the armory.

              "You love pushing his buttons," Kage said, shaking his head with a smile.

              "It's good for him," Jason replied. "With other people on board he'll eat in the armory anyway. He's still a little self-conscious about that." Crusher's diet tended to be rather bland; a simple lean protein and some sort of fiber or leafy green vegetable, often the same thing every day for weeks on end. But the shape of his blunted muzzle, coupled with his oversized teeth, made for some interesting noises and the occasional food projectile. He had grown comfortable around the rest of Omega Force, but when others were on board he either ate in his room or in the armory. While it was mildly amusing to see such a ferocious person be shy about something as mundane as eating, it also reminded him that the big guy was actually fairly sensitive under that terrifying exterior. "So... what do we think?"

              "About the mission?" Kage asked.

              "Yep."

              "It went pretty well once we were on the ground. We seem to have gotten away clean. Well... so far at least," the smaller alien said. "Lucky?"

              "It could have gone better, in my opinion," the battlesynth said, still standing by the bridge entrance.

              "Care to elaborate?" Jason asked.

              "It was unnecessarily complicated. The ruse with the CIS vehicle and you dressing as an agent... we could have simply snuck through the forest, infiltrated through the back wall, and been out before the Senator was noticed missing," Lucky said. The longer he spent around his friends, the more comfortable he was offering an opinion the others may not like. It was something that Jason encouraged at every opportunity.

              "Fair enough..." Jason began.

              "We didn't know the back would be unguarded," Kage interrupted. The van had been his idea so he felt compelled to defend it. "Our intel stated there were regular patrols of the property and surrounding area."

              "True," Lucky conceded, "but as Captain Burke is fond of saying: 'No plan survives first contact.' We should have sent the twins to scout the area first and then adjusted our strategy accordingly. The confrontation with the CIS agents at the house led to our detection and pursuit."

              "I'd say you're both right," Jason said. In truth, he was happy neither had brought up the fact he had almost crashed the ship again during atmospheric entry. "But I think ultimately Lucky is the most correct, we need to stop getting so locked into one plan or idea that we fail to see a better way when it presents itself. We'll go through a full debrief later. Once we're in slip-space we're going to have a few days to go over the missteps. Kage, you've got the bridge, I'm going to go stow my gear and grab a quick bite. I'll come back up in a few to relieve you so you can do the same."

              "Thanks, Captain," Kage answered. "I'll be here." Jason turned to walk off the bridge, patting Lucky fondly on the shoulder on his way out.

             
As he suspected, Crusher was in the armory with an empty tray from the galley when he entered. The big warrior was sitting on one of the benches fiddling with a small plasma sidearm. "Nice job out there tonight," Jason said as he walked in through the door.

              "Thank you, Captain. It wasn't all that difficult," he said modestly.

              "Not for you, maybe. I don't have your training or background," Jason said as he made his weapons safe and began putting them away on their appropriate racks.

              "You sell yourself short. You were a good soldier when I met you, and you've gotten quite a bit better over the last year. Your body is almost strong enough that we can begin some serious hand-to-hand combat training, if you're interested," Crusher said. In truth, the prospect made Jason more than a little nervous. He was nowhere near a match for the warrior's strength and ability despite his recent upgrades.

              "I appreciate the offer," he said neutrally. "I may take you up on that during the longer slip-space flights." He stood up and headed towards the door, "You about done in here?"

              "I don't think the Senator's family is comfortable around me. I'll probably stay here for a while longer."

              "Suit yourself. But this is your home; you're free to go where you want and any passengers we take on will need to adjust to that. Or not. That's their business, but don't feel that you have to skulk around the ship on their account." Jason walked out of the armory without another word. He almost stopped to talk to Twingo in the engineering bay, but the steady stream of profanity coming from the general vicinity of the slip-reactor dissuaded him. Instead, he made his way to the galley to grab a sandwich to go and relieve Kage so the code slicer could get something to eat and unwind a bit.

             
He was lounging in the pilot's seat when Senator Vongaard entered the bridge, pausing slightly as Lucky turned to him. While the gesture looked harmless, Jason knew the synth was scanning the Senator for weapons. Both he and Crusher took internal security very seriously, and when they were carrying passengers they were doubly cautious. "Captain Burke, now that the...excitement... is somewhat concluded, I would like to again offer you my thanks. I must confess, I'm shocked that my own people would send a hit squad to eliminate me and my family," Vongaard said sadly as he sat slowly in one of the sensor station seats.

              "Don't mention it, Senator. After all, we're being well paid for this," Jason said.

              "Forgive me, but you don't strike me as your average, run of the mill mercenaries."

              "Oh?"

              "No. For one, our mutual friend wouldn't have hired you. For another, you spared every CIS agent you encountered during the rescue when it would have been in your best interests to simply kill them," Vongaard concluded. "Your team operates more like a military unit than a random group of guns for hire." Jason took the statement as the compliment it was intended.

              "No, Senator," he said, "we don't kill indiscriminately. The agents were misguided, but not evil. However, if we had arrived a bit later and they had already been attempting to carry out their orders... things would have gone differently. Orders or no, every man is responsible for his own actions and the consequences or rewards they may bring."

              "Quite right," Vongaard conceded. "So... the make-up of Omega Force seems to be quite unique. You look like a Corranian, but I know that you're not. Not only that, you have a Galvetic warrior, which is extremely rare, and a real battlesynth, an even more rare species. How is it such an eclectic group formed and travels together like you do?"

              "Lucky, care to explain it to the Senator?" Jason asked his friend.

              "It is not all that difficult, Senator Vongaard. We did not so much 'form' as we rescued each other, each from their own form of captivity. Captain Burke pulled us out of lives that held torture and certain death, and now we wish to continue that work for all who need it," Lucky said softly. The synth was rarely so introspective, but Jason couldn't fault his logic. Before Vongaard could answer, the rest of his family entered the bridge, led by Doc.

              "Ah! Come here my dears, let me introduce you properly to the Captain," Vongaard said expansively. His little brood huddled around him and looked at Jason while keeping a wary eye on Lucky. "Captain, may I introduce my beautiful wife, Saffreena. My eldest daughter, Calleeá. And lastly my youngest angel, Seleste." The women of the Vongaard family smiled shyly at Jason, seeming to have dropped some of their early indignation for being rushed from their home in the middle of the night.

              "Ladies," Jason said with a nod of his head, "welcome aboard the
Phoenix
. She's not the most luxurious thing in the sky, but she'll keep you safe until we reach our destination. We’re currently drifting unpowered towards your inner asteroid belt to avoid detection from the blockade ships in orbit over your planet. So far, it's working. As soon as the slip-drive is fully online, we'll mesh out of the Corran System and be on our way. Doc will see to your comfort. I'm sure you all must be tired after your ordeal." Doc looked up and gave Jason an unfriendly look as he was volunteered for chaperone duty again.

              "Of course, Captain," Vongaard said smoothly. "We'll leave you to your task." With a half bow he led his family off the bridge, trailed by Doc. The youngest daughter, Seleste, smiled shyly at Lucky and offered a little wave. The big synth winked one of his eyes at her, eliciting a delighted giggle before she was through the hatchway. Jason smiled to himself and shook his head.

             
As Kage was walking back onto the bridge, Twingo's voice broke over the intercom, "Jason, the slip-drive is now fully active. Emitter coils are charged and the reactor is capable of sustained output. I'll be in the galley if you need me."

              "Thanks, bud. I appreciate it," Jason said. 

              "My ass is on this tub too..." Twingo's voice trailed off as he continued to mumble out of range of the audio pick-up in engineering. Jason rolled his eyes before turning to Kage.

              "So the million credit question is: do we continue to try and drift through the asteroid belt or do we just mesh out of here and be done with it?" he asked. Kage took a moment to weigh both options before speaking.

              "Waiting to get into the belt would shield our slip signature somewhat, but if we just jump now we may still be undetected. And we can always do a series of dummy jumps to throw anyone off like we usually do."

              "We're flying completely blind out here with the active sensors shut down, there could be a cruiser bearing down on us and we'd never know it until it was too late," Jason said. "We're out of here. Plot out first jump and then get me three dummy jumps before we come onto our final course." A "dummy jump" was a short slip-space jump followed by another, and usually another, in order to throw any potential pursuers off their trail. The energy released in initiating a slip-space field saturated surrounding space to the point that a tracking ship's sensors would be hard pressed to ferret them out. On the last dummy jump Jason liked to send out the damage control bots to inspect the exterior of the ship for any active trackers that may have been placed on the hull.