9


The Bold Freedom struggled, engines flaring like a row of miniature blue stars. The ship clawed its way clear of the comet’s trajectory. From an intergalactic viewpoint, the comet wasn’t fast. It took years to circumvent the system. There was only a problem when a ship was caught in its path with nothing stronger than course correction boosters. Basically, the BF had been operating on little more than steering jets for the last several weeks.
My crewmates cheered as we watched from the Jellybird.
“Your biometrics are confusing, Reaper Cain,” X-37 observed. “My analysis suggests that it would not be inappropriate for you to show your feelings. The situation seems to call for celebration.”
“I get it, X. Everyone’s having a ball.” It was impossible to tell my limited artificial intelligence what was bothering me. Sure, I was ecstatic to see thousands of innocent refugees escape certain death. I hadn’t been able to find Bug among these people, but I thought I would—and if not, that just meant he was in a better place. Or at least some Deadlands shithole where he would thrive with skills he had learned on Dreadmax.
The real problem was knowledge and experience. I was a Reaper plagued with Reaper thoughts. How long would it be before disaster struck? I could feel the Union stealth carriers hunting us. Nebs wasn’t a man who’d quit hunting his enemies.
“What are you so pissed off about?” Elise was almost laughing at me. “We’ve won. Compared to some of our other missions, this was easy.”
I ignored her. “X, what are your predictions for Nebs and the other two stealth carriers?”
Elise, Tom, and Locke went silent, still basking in the after-effects of their sudden happiness but also aware of what had to be coming next. Novasdaughter was still part of our conversation via her link on the Nightmare’s bridge. The comms were clearer than ever with Henshaw and Lady running things over there.
“By my analysis,” X-37 advised, “Nebs and his Union lackeys are overdue to arrive in this system. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if they were already preparing to kill us.”
I faced Locke and the others with a knowing look. “There you have it, my limited artificial intelligence at his cheerful optimistic best.”
“I aim to please,” X-37 said. “Would you prefer I fabricate less dire warnings in order to spare your human feelings?”
“No, X, you be you,” I said. “Just kick me in the balls every chance you get.”
“I am reestablishing our defensive patrol,” Novasdaughter said from the Nightmare.
“We should be able to maintain our stealth cloak without difficulty,” Henshaw added, his image off-screen.
Elise scanned the area for threats.
It wasn’t long before we were all working diligently, almost like we had done this before. I lowered the volume on the feed to the Bold Freedom’s bridge, where people were celebrating as though they were partying in the good parts of Roxo III before that place slid down the cosmic super drain.
“We are detecting two slip tunnel openings,” Elise advised.
“Confirmation,” Novasdaughter said. “Two large capital warships are emerging in standard Union formation. They seem to be the same class in basic weight displacement as the Nightmare.”
“Do you recognize them?” I asked.
“We should recognize them from their slipdrive codes, but they’ve been tampered with or wiped, it’s hard to be sure exactly what they did after we stole this ship. Whoever modified the stealth features on the other two did a good job,” Novasdaughter said, drawing on her operational experience in Neb’s stealth carrier group as a micro-fighter pilot.
“Understood,” I said.
“The dimensions and power readings match,” Novasdaughter advised.
I reviewed the data and disagreed. “They’re smaller. Why is that?”
“Nebs had a hand in planning and development. He won’t allow anyone to possess something more powerful than his own toys,” Novasdaughter said. “You should know that, Reaper.”
“Yeah, I get it. He’s a self-aggrandizing prick,” I said. Nebs’ ships appeared to us because we knew what to look for. It was more of the fact that the slip tunnel opened for no reason and then closed almost immediately. “X, can you project their vectors based on our prior encounters with this Union stealth carrier group?”
“I am working on that. As are Jelly and the rest of your crew. My recommendation is to keep our predictions separate until we are ready to compare them. Then we’ll see which is the best,” X-37 said.
“It’s not a competition, X.” I laughed and drew a cigar from a pocket.
“Plotting possible patrol vectors now,” X-37 advised. “Based on my knowledge of Vice Admiral Nebs, I estimate it won’t take long for him to close in around us. His two remaining stealth carriers will move into optimal positions and then launch micro-fighters.”
“That was my guess,” I said. “Novasdaughter, does that sound about right?”
She nodded from the pilot’s chair of the Nightmare. “I’m ready to upload my estimates for comparison. Your man Henshaw also looked over it but said nothing. He’s strange and I’m saying that while fully aware he is watching and listening to me.”
“I’m also ready,” Elise said.
I hit a button and sent all of them onto the main holo for comparison. There were some differences, most of them suggesting I was the odd man out.
We stared at the multiple course predictions, each illustrated in a different colored line.
“I guess the question is whether we are correct and Reaper Cain is wrong,” X-37 said. “There is the possibility that his devious nature gives him insights that each of us, human and machine, lack.”
“Thanks, X. You make me sound like a psycho,” I said.
“No comment,” X-37 said.
I noticed three shuttles launching from the Bold Freedom the moment it was clear of the comet’s wake and associated cosmic disturbance. “What are those junkers doing?”
“One of them is heading our way,” Elise noted. “The other two appear to be heading for debris fields. I am hailing the BF now.”
I waited until Slipdriver was in view. “We have hostile warships in this system. Now isn’t the time for joyriding or celebration. What are those three ships doing?”
The tone of the bridge crew on the Bold Freedom changed. There was still far too much noise, but they seemed hard at work to decipher what the slip openings meant for their continued survival.
Captain Slipdriver-Slandonsky talked as he typed. “One shuttle is heading for you—a gift of appreciation since you’re short of shuttles. The other two are responding to distress calls we haven’t been able to handle until now. There’s a very low chance of survivability for the people who asked for our assistance, but we must do what we can.”
“Recall your ships,” I said.
Slipdriver nodded. “I’m afraid you’re right. I don’t know what you got us into, but this smells like a Union trap. And I’ve been in a few of them.”
Both stealth carriers popped into view where Elise and the others predicted they would be. I shoved aside my pride. I’d been plain wrong. Missiles ripped free of the stealth carriers then arced toward the Bold Freedom and each of the three shuttles.
“Activate shields, Slipdriver,” I barked. His holo feed blinked out, but not before I heard warning klaxons and then saw the ship taking evasive maneuvers. It was like watching a giant sea creature lumber out of the shallows in search of deeper water.
The three shuttles turned and headed off at different angles.
“They’ll never make it,” Novasdaughter said.
I didn’t argue with her, and neither did Elise. The missiles moved at four or five times the speed of the shuttles and were gaining fast.
“Jelly, hail the Union stealth carriers,” I ordered.
“They’ve dropped back into stealth mode after firing. I cannot advise this course of action. It will reveal our position beyond any doubt,” Jelly said, her voice stern.
“Jelly, I have to do something right now!”
“My analysis suggests that there is no direct action you can take, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said.
“Fuck it! I’ll just have to use my words, won’t I?” I snapped at my limited artificial intelligence and anyone who cared to listen.
“Are you sure, Captain?” Jelly asked. “Your record for diplomacy is spotty.”
The bridge went so silent that I thought I could hear the cold darkness of space causing the hull to creak around us. I’d been told during my training that this was a trick of the mind and was impossible. And yet here we were, listening to the most ominous sounds imaginable while traveling the void.
“Open a channel. Everyone work on our escape and evasion options. This will get nasty. We’ll make a run for it as soon as we drop back into stealth mode,” I said.
“I am hailing the UFS Dark Lance now,” Jelly advised.
“Halek Cain,” came a deep, gruff voice I recognized.
“What’s up, Nebs?” I knew my disrespectful tone would infuriate the man.
To my surprise, he held himself in check, clenching his fist rather than punch something. “You really do have a death wish, don’t you?” he asked. “I will give you one chance to surrender. At this point in our relationship, that is a mere formality. We both know how this will go.”
I stretched out the moment as long as possible, stalling for time. The slightest mistake would end badly for everyone. I needed time to think, and this was one of those moments where self-restraint was probably the best course.
We had already lost three shuttles. I saw Elise gesturing that the Bold Freedom was heading toward safety, using whatever debris they could read for cover. It was difficult not to stare at the holo displays. I thought the ship could make it into a debris field, where it had a chance to hide or at least slow pursuit, but I couldn’t be sure. There was a real chance the two stealth carriers would destroy it.
“I’ve been shot, stabbed, burned, and left for dead so many times, it’s hard for me to keep all the details straight,” I said. “So if you’re going to threaten me, save your breath.”
Nebs stared into the holo view. “Surely you understand things are different this time. I had a long, interesting talk with my advisers about your strange connection with these murderous traitors. They hijacked that monstrosity of a junk hauler, betrayed the Union and now you’re here to help them escape the consequences of their actions.”
“The people on that ship are innocent,” I insisted.
“Let’s agree to disagree,” he said. “My records show every one of them is guilty of a capital crime.”
I snapped my next response. “Like the children born on Dreadmax? I bet you didn’t factor them in. Or maybe you did, you sick son-of-a-bitch.”
“Listen, Cain. You’re pissing me off. Surrender now and I’ll only punish you, your X-37 unit, and the girl,” he said.
“No deal. What the hell is wrong with you? That’s your idea of negotiating?”
“Then everyone dies,” Nebs said. “The only question is when and how. You could’ve stopped this. You might’ve saved thousands of lives, but you’re just a murdering assassin after all.”
“You started the Reaper Corps. You made me what I am. And that’s going to cost you,” I said, then reached forward to end the call.
“I ordered the hit on your father. Felt good about it. He was another traitor to the Union,” Nebs said, leaning into the holo view. “Just another coward who wouldn’t follow orders.”
My blood ran cold.
“Surrender now and I’ll tell you where we put your mother,” Nebs promised.
Elise slammed both fists on her workstation, vaulting to her feet to shout at the man. “I’ll kill you myself, you worthless piece of—“
I terminated the conversation with Nebs before Elise could spin up into a rage-inspired fury and do something even I would consider reckless.