To Clan and Conquer (Clan Beginnings) (20 page)

When Lidon finally stopped the animal shriek and recovered the part of his brain that thought straight, he discovered the other two men stood on either side of him.  They too stared up at the rapidly dwindling vehicles.

Degorsk asked, “Would someone please tell me why the captain has gone insane?”

Lidon glowered.  “Because he’s a jealous bastard.  He’s taking cheap shots against you two because I left him.”

The anger was too much to contain, forcing Lidon to pace like a caged beast around his companions.  “He’s not fucking up your careers over this.  I’ll file complaints.  I’ll take it to the Imperial Commander if I have to.  He’s not getting away with it!” he ranted.

“I should hope so.  You’re pretty amazing in bed, but even your cock isn’t worth my rank.”

Lidon turned his hectic glare on Degorsk.  The Imdiko’s eyes widened and he paled.  “Okay, I take it back.  Your cock is worth my rank.”

Tranis growled at him through clenched teeth.  “Degorsk,
shut up
.”  He looked to Lidon.  “We’ll all file complaints and have a board of inquiry take on the situation.  In the meantime, we’ll carry out our orders so Piras can’t have anyone find fault with that.”

Looking despondent, Degorsk said, “I don’t have any orders.  Except to tell you two jokes.”  At their stares, he threw his hands out in frustration.  “That’s what the captain said.  ‘Stay here and keep your friends Commander Tranis and Weapons Commander Lidon amused with your wonderful wit.’  I will admit, he didn’t sound terribly sincere about the wonderfulness of my wit.”

Finally getting over the worst of his rage, Lidon saw the fearful uncertainty underlying Degorsk’s ridiculous act.  Remorse filled his heart.  He’d only wanted to be with the doctor, to make him his lifelong companion.  He’d never intended to make his life unbearable.

He put his hand on Degorsk’s shoulder.  “I’m sorry I’ve caused problems for you, my Imdiko.”

The doctor gave him a lopsided smile and shrugged.  “I don’t blame you.”  He pretended to brighten.  “Unless the guilt will get me something nice.  A week’s vacation on Dantovon perhaps?  A few days in one of Ler’s brothels with a pretty locked in a suspension field might make up for some—”

Lidon’s growl cut him off.  The Nobek had been in a Dantovonian playroom a time or two.  The abrupt vision of putting a few sex toys to use on Degorsk had an immediate effect on him.  He was suddenly very, very hard.

Tranis rolled his eyes and shook his head.  “Degorsk, you know better than to arouse a pissed-off Nobek.  Are you trying to get hurt?”

Degorsk’s voice was barely above a whisper, and he stood very still under the weight of Lidon’s gaze.  “I’m shutting up now.  Captain’s orders be damned.”

Lidon recovered a measure of his equanimity.  “See?  Piras was wrong about you.  Sometimes you do show a little sense.”

Tranis took a deep breath.  “Let’s get over to the docks.  I want to see what we can do to keep these colonists alive if the destroyer fails to stop whatever is coming.”

Lidon grabbed Degorsk’s wrist and yanked the reluctant Imdiko along as he followed Tranis.  He was ready to do his job, but he couldn’t quite shake the idea of Degorsk caught helpless in a suspension field, unable to move as Lidon took out his aggressive lust on him.

It was a slightly better fantasy than the one of beating the fuck out of Piras.

* * * *

Tranis strode purposefully into the hangar with Lidon and Degorsk right behind him.  He wouldn’t admit it, but he was grateful to Degorsk for the bit of amusement he had afforded him.  The Imdiko curing Lidon’s fury by getting the fierce Nobek aroused had allowed Tranis to get control of his own anger.  The Imdiko’s humor had a good use after all.  The first officer was all business now, ready to take what little command he had over the situation.

Governor Artmak was overseeing the furiously working colonists and Tranis’ small group of security left behind by Piras.  He noted their entrance and ran up to them.  “The shuttles will be cramped, but everyone will fit in, including your team.  We can be ready to evacuate in six hours.”

Tranis looked over the operation, shaking his head at the disorganization of it.  People were bumping into each other, loading, unloading, and reloading the vehicles in a mass of confusion.  “Make it three.”

Artmak’s brows knit together.  “Three hours?”

“The defense station is seven hours away, and it went silent nearly an hour ago.  Three hours is the minimum amount of time it will take the shuttles to get to an orbiting distance most sensors can’t detect.”

The governor protested, “That’s not nearly enough time.  Besides, if an attack comes we have the underground storage units.”

Lidon watched the colonists load shuttles with a critical eye.  He shook his head.  “The units are a better option than being on the surface when a battle drone arrives, but I wouldn’t trust my people’s lives to them.  Everyone needs to evacuate.”

Tranis spied one shuttle sitting in a corner, the one no one was bothering to pack.  The oblong-shaped craft looked older than the rest, and it had taken some damage to judge from the crimped metal hull.

He said, “Three hours, Governor.  That’s all I can give you.  Meanwhile, I’ll take a look at your damaged shuttle and see if it can be made to fly in that amount of time.  We may be stuck in orbit for hours.” 
Or days, if Piras doesn’t come back and we have to wait on the fleet to rescue us
, he thought dismally.  “The extra space will be most welcome, especially with my Nobek crew.  They don’t do well in tight spaces.”

Artmak didn’t look happy but he conceded to Tranis.  “All right, three hours.  I’ll let our foremen know.”

He hurried off.  Tranis scowled at the confusion surrounding him.  Even a small colony on the supposedly safest border of the Empire should be better rehearsed for emergency evacuation.  It looked like the men were trying to bring half the colony onto the shuttles with them.

Lidon shook his head, and Tranis looked to see what the Nobek was glaring at.  The medical crew had arrived with large pieces of machinery.

Lidon asked, “Do they really need all of that, Degorsk?”

The doctor snorted.  “They’re proud of their state-of-the-art toys.  I’ll talk to them and get them to pare it down to the bare essentials.  Get a boat ready for the ocean of tears about to be spilled.”  He dashed off.

Lidon looked to Tranis.  “I’ll see to security, make sure everything is kept on schedule.  We’ll get this group organized.”

Tranis nodded.  “Good.  When you’re ready, join me at that busted shuttle.”

They separated.  Tranis hurried to the dented shuttle and looked it over.

He frowned as he inspected the damage.  On the surface, it didn’t seem like there was enough to keep the vehicle grounded.  Though used mainly for planet-based transportation, Kalquorian shuttles were made to withstand the stresses of entering planet atmospheres, as well as a few blasts from enemy craft.  This one wasn’t pretty by any means, but he didn’t see any real reason why it shouldn’t fly.

Tranis ducked beneath it and opened the engine compartment.  “There’s your problem,” he growled, looking at the machinery.  The crash had apparently knocked a few things out of kilter.  It required some re-wiring and a few parts replaced.  Some components were corroded as well.  Half an hour’s work would have it up and running again, unless something in the cockpit had been damaged.  A quick look assured him that nothing in the command controls looked out of place.

Tranis quickly got to work.  As disorganized as the colonists were at packing to evacuate, they at least kept their maintenance and repair area in good shape.  He easily found the wires and components he needed, everything but one modulator for the solar cell feeds.  However, there were plenty of pieces that made it possible for him to mock up a temporary solution, one that would get the craft into orbit and back onto the ground.  It was a simple fix, all the way around.

After making every adjustment he could see needed to be done, Tranis started the shuttle up and grinned to hear only a slight, intermittent chop marring its steady hum.  Lovely.  He shut it down again and went back to the underside of the vehicle.

He closed up the engine compartment and opened the hatch next to it.  He’d decided it would be a good idea to check on the defense buffering system, just in case it would be needed.  One eyebrow raised as he noted it was quite a bit more than what he had expected to find.

Tranis stepped out from beneath the shuttle and looked down the bay.  Lidon and his team had organized things much better, he saw.  Now people were moving with clear purpose.  Degorsk had the medical teams under his thumb as well, overseeing things with patient control.

Tranis saw the man he needed right away, standing at the next shuttle closest over.  Apparently, Artmak had taken cues from Lidon and Degorsk, keeping things under his supervision moving at a determined pace.

Tranis called out, “Governor!”

Artmak jerked a look over his shoulder and trotted over.  “Yes, Commander?  You know, now that Commander Lidon has given us direction, I think we’ll be able to meet your three-hour timetable with no problem.”

“Excellent.”  Tranis indicated the vehicle he’d been working on.  “This shuttle.  Was it ever employed on our borders with Bi’is space?”

Artmak looked it over.  “You know, I believe it was.  My acquisitions administrator would know for sure.  It is an older model.”

“It had salt corrosion.  We have a couple of mining colonies on moons with large oceans on that border.  It would help if I knew for sure.”

“I’ll check for you.”  He spoke into his portable com.  “Osnib, where did you get the heavy-class shuttle from?”

After a little back and forth, Tranis had the confirmation he sought.  He sent Artmak back to his duties with gratitude.

The shuttle’s defensive buffer was graded for Class III attacks because of the occasional hostilities Kalquor encountered with the Bi’isils.  Tranis’ thoughts churned with excitement, and he hurried to the bay’s stores of components.

He thought he had everything he needed for the crazy idea that had sprung to mind the moment he’d gotten a look into the buffering system.  He wasn’t an absolute expert in weapons operations, but he had the man who was.

The first officer hurried back to the shuttle, opening up his com as he went.  “Commander Tranis to Commander Lidon.”

“Lidon here, sir.”

“If you’re not too busy, I need you to have a look at this shuttle.  I need a second opinion as well as another pair of hands.”

“On my way.”

Tranis rounded the shuttle and saw Lidon moving across the bay floor.  As the Nobek trotted towards him, the brace making him move awkwardly, Tranis tried to contain his excitement.  More than anything, he wanted to prove to Piras he’d made a mistake in leaving the young first officer behind.  He thought with Lidon’s help, he might be able to make that happen.

The Nobek reached him in a matter of moments.  “What’s wrong, Commander?”

Tranis jerked his chin towards the shuttle.  “I’ve got an idea.  This old shuttle was originally outfitted for assignment on the Bi’is border.  It’s got enhanced defenses.”

Lidon tilted his head and folded his arms over his chest.  “I’m listening.”

“If we configure the buffering system with the colony’s orbiting defense shields, tie it in, then route the plasma blast banks into the whole system—”

Lidon’s eyes went wide.  “Any attack on the defense grid would result in a strengthening of the weapon and feeding it back onto the attacker.”  The weapons commander ran to look at the buffering mechanics of the vehicle.

Tranis hurried to his side.  “Will it work?”

He waited as Lidon studied the workings of the system, his heart hammering.  Finally, the Nobek turned to him.  A fierce grin spread over his face.  “If this shuttle were any older, it wouldn’t because of the upgraded system ties.  This hunk of scrap is just recent enough to link in with the colony defense satellites.  You do realize we’ll have to manually pilot it into position, don’t you?”

“I figured.”  Tranis cocked an eyebrow.  “We?  It only takes one pilot.”

Lidon’s eyes narrowed.  “Don’t even think of ordering me to evacuate with the others, because I won’t.  My career is already fucked up enough by Piras without adding a charge of insubordination to the list.”

Tranis had to laugh.  “I’m glad to have you, Lidon.  Shall we get to work putting this mess together?”

“By all means.”

It was easier said than done.  Nearly the entire defensive shielding array had to be pulled from the shuttle, parts replaced, the system reconfigured.  They knelt on the bay floor, sweating as their efforts made the heat climb.  After a few minutes Lidon stripped off the top of his formsuit.  Tranis snorted, thinking that while the Nobek looked good he also looked unprofessional.  Five minutes later he was barechested too.  It was just too damned hot.

“My, my.  Aren’t you two a sight?”

The pair looked up from their work to see Degorsk standing nearby, openly leering at the way perspiration gleamed off their skin.

Tranis shook his head but grinned as he wrestled with attaching a reluctant component.  “Like what you see, Doctor?”