Star Watch (24 page)

“Ready?”

“Ready,” Ricket replied.

Jason, though well aware the
Pacesetter
’s AI was more than capable to fly the little space fighter with little or no assistance from the pilot, nevertheless preferred a hands-on manual mode. He was also aware that at this stage of interstellar flight, pilots were never really flying on their own … human reaction time was far too slow, too inaccurate. Although the pilot’s hand movements on the controls were followed, they’d been anticipated by the AI, along with thousands of other, best-guess decision scenarios, where the AI actually made all the intricate, necessary micro-adjustments to fulfill the pilot’s commands. Safeguards were in place where the AI could override a pilot’s faulty, or dangerous, decision making … but most of those safeguards were deactivated by Jason early on, as his skill at the controls heightened, and his
need
for
riskier
maneuvers increased.

Jason heard the fighter’s powerful drive start whirling at a higher pitch as he brought the
Pacesetter
up off the flight deck. He punched the controls forward and the fighter rocketed out, beneath the
Minian
’s expansive flight bay archway, into open space. He immediately went through a series of forward and backward loops, sideways turns, and various combat maneuvers he’d been thinking about since the last time he’d been behind the controls. As his excitement elevated, Jason became more and more aware of the AI’s voice in his ear, letting him know that he had deviated from the prescribed flight plan. Reluctantly, he slowed the
Pacesetter
down, straightened out her trajectory, and returned to the plotted course.

“You all right up there, Ricket?”

“I’m fine, Captain. That was quite invigorating.”

“I guess I needed to get it out of my system. Okay, we’re coming to our first phase-shift coordinates in ten seconds.”

Jason waited for the telltale phase-shift flash. It came and in that same instant, they were propelled thousands of miles closer to their destination. The flash came again, and then again, and then again. With each phase-shift, Jason watched as their physical perspective, in relation to the Blues’ solar system, was altered. Jason halted the automatic, preset phase-shift program, and peered out through the canopy.

“Captain, Sahhrain warships are present here, within this system.”

Jason saw that the bulk of activity, hundreds of ships, was still within the nearby Dacci system. But Ricket was right
—
no fewer than thirty Sahhrain vessels were near.

“Let’s get a little closer,” Jason said. He configured the
Pacesetter
for another phase-shift, one that would place them fairly near Harpaign.

Flash.

Jason involuntarily clenched his teeth. “Crap!” He’d maneuvered the
Pacesetter
within two phase-shifts of the planet, but far too close to three Sahhrain warships.
And
that’s what happens when you manually override an AI.

“Can you confirm we’re not showing up on their close-range scans?”

Ricket didn’t answer for several moments. “What’s probably a more important question, Captain … is why didn’t these three vessels show up on the
Minian
’s or the
Pacesetter
’s long-range scans?”

“That is a good question,” Jason said. “Odd-looking ships … can’t say I’ve ever seen anything like them,” he added, using his HUD to magnify one of the warships. It was battleship gray and comprised of five pyramid-shaped superstructures, each connected to a pentagon- shaped center hub. In a sense, the ship appeared star-shaped.

“Captain … these warships are not of Sahhrain design. But from the communications chatter I’m picking up, they are, indeed, now Sahhrain fleet vessels. Probably absconded … much the way the
Assailant
was.”

“Speaking of which … any sign of her?”

“The
Minian
hasn’t picked up her signature within any of the planetary systems here, Captain. But these vessels are large … large enough to bring the
Assailant
on board … hide her from detection.”

“And there’s no way of knowing how many of those … snowflake-looking ships … there are?”

“That is incorrect, Captain. I have altered both the
Minian
’s and the
Pacesetter
’s sensor databases to include the three vessels’ unique, variable-spectrum Teclar waves … ingenious as the process was that hid them, we’ll now be able to detect all these vessels.”

Jason was only partially listening to Ricket. His attention was on the holographic display and the light-blue icon now blinking. Below the icon was a single word:
Assailant
.

“Are you seeing what I’m seeing, Ricket?”

“Yes, Captain. I suspect we’ll be making another course change?”

“It’s right here in this star system … I’m not letting that ship out of my sight. Hold on while I set new phase-shift coordinates.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Chapter 34

Dacci System

The
Pacesetter
, Open Space

_________________

“Captain, I have determined the vessels are of Parlek Orion origin.”

“Parlek Orion?”

“Not from this galaxy. Only recently, actually right before the end of the war, the planetary system was conquered by the Craing. It seems the Sahhrain have since taken ownership of their fleet.”

“In another galaxy? How the hell would that be possible?” Jason peered into the forward section of the
Pacesetter
’s cockpit, where Ricket sat. A full minute elapsed before an answer came back.

“Captain, the Sahhrain are utilizing the local Loop wormhole … from my estimate, this wormhole, the one here in nearby Dacci space, has its outpoint near the Parlek Orion Empire … I’m sorry, Captain, I did not have this information available for you before.”

Jason let that set in. That changed everything. It went well beyond the purview of Star Watch. No longer a simple matter of policing a localized uprising … the situation had elevated, becoming instead an interstellar threat that would require the might of the full Allied forces.

Jason spent the next few minutes on comms, speaking with his XO back on the
Minian
. Perkins was instructed to send a formal correspondence back to Jefferson Station, one that would provide the pertinent information and convey the now-elevated threat level of their situation. Jason wondered who was the ultimate decision-maker at command, now that his father was gone.

“Captain, on the far side of Harpaign is another Parlek Orion vessel. It is positioned exactly where the
Assailant
is being held.”

Jason stared at his own console display. “I see a ship icon there … but there’s no indication it’s one of the Parlek Orion vessels.”

“With my internal nano-devices, the vessel’s unique signature is unmistakable,” Ricket added.

Jason again peered into the forward cockpit …
just
how much new tech has Ricket added into that little head of his?

“One more thing, Captain.”

“Go on.”

“The admiral’s life-icon, albeit critically faint, is there too.”

Jason immediately considered bringing in a rescue team. He called up a new flight path overlay layer onto the display. He tried several different scenarios, utilizing the absolute longest phase-shifts possible, from the
Minian
to their current position. He then calculated the time necessary for the assault team to be assembled and dispatched: Forty minutes, plus or minus.

“Can you guesstimate the admiral’s condition … how much time he has?”

“Not accurately, Captain. I’ve been working on that and my best-guess prognosis would be …” Ricket went quiet.

“Spit it out, Ricket!”

“Minutes. Mere minutes. He’s dying, Captain. I am very sorry.”

Jason was already looking at new overlays—ones that would bring the
Pacesetter
to the far side of Harpaign and to the alien vessel. “Ricket, contact the
Minian
… have Billy assemble an assault team and ensure they’re dispatched in the next few minutes. Ensure, too, that Dira is part of their team.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Flash.

“Perhaps we should wait for the assault team, Captain.”

Flash. Flash.

After the third phase-shift Jason answered, “You’ve done the calculations … you know as well as I do that my father won’t survive in the amount of time it’ll take Billy and his team to arrive here.”

“We’ll just have to be extra stealthy …”

* * *

Boomer was thrown off-guard, taking a distortion wave directly to her stomach. Doubled over, she was brought down to her knees. Tears came to her eyes, blurring her vision. Sensing, more than seeing, she assessed their movements—they were readying for another attack. She straightened and kept moving. She could now use her shield in ways others hadn’t, coming to rely on it like she relied on her own limbs. It was now a part of her …
it was
her
. The shield, with its three curved sides, was basically triangular, its curved edges approximately one inch thick. It was the shield’s three-sided edging that Boomer first became interested in—had explored—realizing their unique design, potentially, made the shield capable of yielding so much more. Each of the three one-inch edges was independently accessible and varied from the other two. Understanding their dynamics made all the difference, when it came down to why Boomer was now capable of doing things with the shield that even Prince Aahil Aqeel could not do.

The prince was here, among four other Tahli warriors—each a
Kahill Callan
master. They moved with lighting-fast speed—sometimes coming together in a combined attack—other times, singularly.

Boomer cartwheeled left, using the shield’s three edges independently, to push and pull her spinning movements away from a newly assembled two-man attack. Violet distortion waves filled the space where she’d previously been only milliseconds earlier. Her cartwheel morphed into a running forward flip that put her near the base of a large tree. Her leading foot’s next step landed high up on the tree’s trunk, and instinctively she angled her shield down in such a way that she could continue running straight up the side of the great towering redwood.

Branches burst into sawdust around Boomer, as countless distortion waves shot up at her from below.
Crap! Where do I go from here?
At thirty feet up, her shield no longer pushing back against the ground and propelling her upwards, her ascent began to slow. Two distortion waves hit her at the same time—one hitting her in the buttocks, the other in her upper back. With only simple nomad’s garments on for protection, the pain … like white-hot lightning bolts … paralyzed her. She fell ten feet, landing across one of the few remaining, lower-level, horizontal branches. The slam to her chest forced all the air from her lungs. She tried to gasp but couldn’t—still paralyzed from too many distortion wave strikes.

The sounds heard earlier in the forest were now still as Boomer lay face down, straddling the tree branch. She felt the bark’s roughness on her hands and left cheek; the coolness of it. She slowly regained the ability to breathe again. Before she could fully fathom what the cracking, splintering sounds were, she was already falling to the ground.

Boomer fell, landing face down atop the same broken branch. Exhausted, and wondering if she’d broken something important, she stared at the accumulation of pine needles all around where she lay. What her father didn’t know was that these gifted nomads could travel between the Zoo habitats, as well as other places, other realms, with relative ease. They had purposely picked this dark and remote forest to continue her training.

Five sets of legs were standing nearby, and she wondered if she would ever be good enough … capable enough, to do what these nomads kept asking of her. She didn’t want to keep disappointing them—disappointing Aahil.

“Get up, Boomer.”

“I can’t.”

“Get up now … you cannot quit.”

“I’m too tired. I don’t want to do this anymore. I want to go home.”

Boomer heard a female’s voice, several steps back behind the others, say, “She’s too young … too immature. We should let her return to her ship.”

Boomer recognized Capri’s voice. She knew what she was trying to do. What was the word … manip? … manipulate her. It wasn’t going to work. She’d given all she had and she just wasn’t good enough. If she were, she wouldn’t be lying facedown on the ground.

“I have a gift for you, Boomer. You may not want it now, though … since you’ve quit.”

Boomer tried to focus on Aahil’s particular set of legs. “What is it?”

“It’s two thousand years old and derived from a material found in only one small place in the galaxy.”

Boomer lifted her cheek off the ground and peered up at Aahil. He was holding out a wooden box, cradled in his two hands.

“Is it in that box, or is it the box itself?”

“It’s in the box.”

Boomer sat up and crossed her legs. “Can I see it?”

“Will there be any more talk about giving up?”

“Probably.”

Aahil and the others laughed out loud at that. “Then you still know how important you are … to what we’re trying to accomplish?”

“Of course I do.”

Aahil knelt down and set the large box on her lap. “Open it.”

Boomer rubbed at the scrape on her cheek and looked down at the intricately engraved wooden box. There were scenes of a battle carved into it. Strange men with spears and shields and words she couldn’t read. She opened the box.

“Grace it before you touch it, then do so again afterwards,” Aahil said.

Boomer removed her own shield from her wrist and looked up to Aahil. She saw the tension in his face … tension, and something else. Some sadness showing there, too? “This was yours, wasn’t it?”

“I suspect I was merely meant to hold on to it until you were ready.”

“Shalla ka la rohlm.” She placed her hand on the faintly blue-hued metal. Abruptly, she took in a breath as the shield’s electric charge coursed through her palm and up her arm. “Shalla ka la rohlm.”

It was bigger than her training shield; she now traced the shield’s engraved surface with her fingertips, while physically and mentally exploring its essence. It was alive and as she connected with it … delved deeper into it—it too, reached back … exploring deep into her own inner consciousness.