Ricket (Star Watch Book 2) Page 16

  Ricket smiled. “Are you ready for the last batch from Beatrice?”

  “Yes. Go ahead and have her send it on … I’m ready.”

  Ricket sat down at his workbench, pushing his mind to think about the plan’s new direction. “Beatrice, what is the maximum distance out that objects stored within this MicroVault can be extracted to?”

  “Ninety-seven miles would be within safe parameters.”

  That response was not what Ricket hoped to hear. He asked another question. “Is it possible to initiate the Minian’s propulsion system while she’s still inside the MicroVault?”

  “No, there are safeguards within the vault that disallow such things from occurring.”

  Many of those safeguards, Ricket had observed earlier, were from the hacked code they’d taken from the disabled virtual pedestal in the mess. Truth was, there were probably justifiable reasons why such safeguards were built in. The thought of redesigning the code from scratch, only to find things should have been left as they were, did not seem prudent. So yes, they would be able to move the Minian from the MicroVault, out into the real world, but her drives would be shut down. And there was a distance limit—less than one hundred miles—that the ship could be projected out to. Ricket calculated the time it would take for the propulsion system to come up to speed from a cold start. The ship’s anti-matter drives offered a return to full operation fairly quickly … maybe thirty minutes. Ricket played out the scenario in his head: visualizing the ship suddenly appearing close to the Caldurian fleet in open space. It wasn’t a promising thought.

  “Beatrice, can you determine the location of the Parcical at this present moment?”

  “Not precisely, but based on known factors available to me, I estimate the Parcical is in a stationary orbit around the planet Alurian, within the Gracow CD1 planetary system.”

  Placing a mile-long vessel into space, without propulsion, was far too risky, especially with twelve Master Class warships nearby.

  “Beatrice, is the phase-shift system on board the Minian operational?” Again, her reply was not instantaneous.

  “No.”

  Ricket, expecting another lengthy involved explanation, guessed her no meant no. But a new idea began taking form in his head, and his heart rate nearly doubled. “Beatrice … what is the estimated distance to the surface of Alurian?”

  “Between seventy-eight miles and one hundred miles is the closest approximation I can make, without more data.”

  That would be calling it close, but his idea was looking promising. “One more question for now, Beatrice: Will the Minian maintain her ability to avoid detection, from both long- and short-range sensors, once she’s projected out from the MicroVault? Specifically, from the Caldurian fleet still in near orbit?”

  “Yes, the Minian’s shielding is still operational. Internal and external ship-wide functions, other than propulsion, are being powered by stored reserves.”

  So that was that. They would project the Minian onto the surface of the planet and hope they would not be visually spotted. At least, not before the ship’s propulsion system could be brought back online, or her phase-shift systems repaired. Either way, they needed to have a good bit of luck on their side.

  “Done!” Bristol said, looking pleased with himself. “What do we do now?”

  “I suppose our next step is to fetch Leon and Hanna. Are you ready to test out the terminal?”

  “I think so. Maybe we can first test it with something inanimate … like this,” Bristol said, holding up a coffee cup.

  “Good idea. Let’s give it a try,” Ricket said, getting to his feet.

  Bristol, still staring at the cup and looking lost in thought, said, “Ricket, within this miniaturized vault … there’s air; oxygen to breathe.”

  Ricket smiled. “This particular vault is probably just one of many others set up by Norwell. Like separate folders on a storage tab, this particular MicroVault was set up with certain modifiable, virtual characteristics, including a type of virtual atmosphere that could accommodate both humans and Caldurians; a virtual physical environment that allows for navigating within the virtual construct. It is a whole lot to think about, Bristol … perhaps too much for right now.”

  Bristol rose and hurried to the MicroVault terminal—across the corridor—with Ricket following close behind. Bristol stood at the pedestal, and entered a set combination of commands that would open a virtual portal. When it appeared, Bristol did a fist punch into the air. “Yes!”

  He moved to the open portal and, looking over at Ricket, tossed the cup forward and into the void beyond. Ricket moved over to the pedestal and adjusted it lower, befitting his own smaller stature, and quickly entered a flurry of commands. The wrap-around display came alive and after a bit of navigating, they found the cup—suspended in open white space. “There it is! It is now logged and placed within the virtual MicroVault catalogue,” Ricket said.

  “Cool. I guess it works. Can we now take a look for Leon and Hanna?”

  Ricket, getting more accustomed to the controls, applied the designated data for the location. Within a few seconds, they could see both prone bodies; they looked as if they were fast asleep.

  Ricket looked back toward Bristol and—right before his eyes—Bristol vanished. Ricket knew exactly what had happened. Back within the Parcical, Hobel had cut Bristol from virtual memory. The young man had been deleted!

  Chapter 24

  High Orbit Over Alurian, Gracow CD1 System

  Assailant, Bridge

  __________________________

  Visually, there was nothing there, but Jason could almost feel her presence. “No way to phase-shift in—”

  “Inside the vessel?” Orion asked, completing his sentence. “We have nothing definitive to pinpoint exactly where the Parcical is physically located. All I have is a guesstimate. You could end up caught—halfway inside and halfway outside the outer hull. And that vessel is so advanced, she may repel all phase-shift intrusions, anyway.”

  Jason continued to watch the fleet of Caldurian warships positioned in Alurian’s high orbit. He mentally weighed his options: He could attempt to phase-shift a probe, or several probes, to the spot where Gunny had seen the momentary glimmer and hope to get lucky. Once inside the Parcical’s hull, it would transmit the ship’s coordinates back … maybe. But then again, it could alert the entire Caldurian fleet that there was a cloaked vessel within their vicinity. Alerted, their advanced technology might zero-in on the Assailant’s position … and that would be the end of the game.

  “What in hell are they doing up here?” Jason asked out loud, staring at the display. “Somehow, it must relate to the Zip accelerator issues they’re having. But all inventors of that old technology probably died off when the planet was torched, years ago.”

  “Then it’s probably related to that subterranean city,” Orion said. “Maybe there are survivors … descendants?”

  “Could be.”

  “Captain, we’ve got movement from one of the Caldurian vessels,” McNeil said, gesturing toward the display.

  Sure enough, a small ship could be seen emerging from the ship’s flight bay.

  “Looks like a shuttle,” Jason said.

  “It is, Cap,” Orion said, “and it’s headed down to the surface.”

  For the first time in a long while, Jason felt like they might get a break. “Whatever you do, Gunny, don’t lose track of that shuttle.” He hailed Billy.

  “Go for Billy … what’s up, Cap?”

  “Put together a team, Billy—your five best men. We’re going to head down to the planet for a little reconnaissance. I’ll be in the barracks in two minutes.”

  “Gunny, ask the XO to come on duty. Transmit the surface coordinates to my HUD as soon as that shuttle lands, and I want to be kept up to date on anything happening with that fleet.”

  “You got it, Cap.”

  * * *

  Jason arrived in the Assailant’s cramped and somewhat smelly barrack quart
ers and was again reminded how much he missed the Minian. He found Billy and Rizzo waiting, along with two other Sharks he didn’t know. He was not happy to see the fifth team member.

  “What’s this?” he asked as he joined the group.

  “What do you mean what’s this? You wanted my best team of five … she’s proven better in battle than just about anyone else.”

  “She’s also eleven years old.”

  “You’re talking like I’m not standing right here, Dad.”

  “Boomer, stay out of this.”

  But Jason knew it was true. Looking at the small runt of a girl, he knew she was by far the most battle-savvy on the ship, with the possible exception of Billy and himself, and even then …

  “I brought you this,” Boomer said, holding out an enhancement shield. “Careful, this one’s not a trainer.”

  He noticed each team member had an open duffle bag lying on the deck by his feet; inside was a plasma sidearm, a multi-gun rifle, an enhancement shield, and miscellaneous supplies.

  “Listen to me, Boomer … I’m serious now. You follow my orders to the T. No going off and doing what you want. That’s how people get killed. Do you understand?”

  “Perfectly.”

  He looked at Billy, who shrugged.

  Jason gave Boomer as stern a stare as he could conjure up, but she only smiled back. He initialized his battle suit.

  “Okay, I’ve just been updated with the coordinates for a Caldurian shuttle that has landed on the surface. We need to find out what they are doing down there, and hopefully acquire more information on the whereabouts of our missing crew members.”

  Billy initialized his battle suit, followed by Rizzo, Boomer, and the other two Sharks—Baldwin and Cramer. Next, everyone affixed their enhancement shields to their forearms. Jason felt a little strange following suit, since he barely knew how to use the thing.

  He said, “Gunny has a phase-shift drop location for us she believes is well hidden. Although it’s underground, there’s a lot of movement going on down there so we need to get going now. Everyone ready?” He counted five thumbs up. In a flash, he phase-shifted them away as an entire group from the Assailant.

  * * *

  Gunny’s drop location was not optimum. In fact, it was God-awful. She’d put them on top of a plateau about seventy-five feet from what looked to be a below-ground airstrip. Below them lay two long, parallel runways, which led at an upward angle to an opening on the surface. Hundreds of huge light fixtures, the size of minivans, hung down from chained cables. The vast space was more than a cavern—it was a completely hollowed-out section of the planet. Everything, including the rock and dirt, was orangey-red. Aircrafts of varying technology were parked at odd angles, and in no particular arrangement, at the opposite end of the runways from the distant opening—and there also sat the Caldurian shuttle.

  But what was positioned behind their backs was the problem. The control, or observation, tower loomed over them—two ginormous windows peered down at them like two wide-open eyes.

  Jason spun around in search of a better place to hide, then remembered their battle suits’ latest tech feature add-on: sixty seconds of cloaking capability. It took him another eight seconds to configure out the group settings before they all disappeared together. He waited for something to happen—like an army of Alurian soldiers bursting out from nearby buildings—but no such commotion took place. He watched as the HUD mission timer ticked past the thirty-second mark.

  “How about over there, Dad?”

  “Are you pointing at something, Boomer? I can’t see you … remember?”

  “Oh. Hide inside the shuttle. Looks like everyone’s coming out.”

  Jason watched as a group of Caldurians, dressed in official-looking dark blue uniforms, made their way out of the shuttle and onto the gangway.

  A hovercraft vehicle was making its way across the open rocky plateau. Jason watched it as it continued going past them—not seeming to be in a particular hurry.

  He turned back to the shuttle. The Caldurians were now off the ramp and the back hatch secured. At the two-second mark, Jason phase-shifted his team.

  Both Rizzo and Baldwin found themselves immersed within cabin seats. Their mass had displaced the seats, but they were awkwardly caught—their legs and arms sticking out of seat cushions and fabric, giving the appearance they were wearing the seats.

  Boomer offered Rizzo a hand, but he waved her away, opting instead to use the ka-bar knife he’d just released from the pocket compartment on his thigh.

  Jason’s attention was on the cockpit, where, startled with his mouth agape, sat the pilot. Before a scream or yell reached the Caldurian’s lips, Jason pulled his sidearm and shot him in the chest. The pilot slumped forward, onto the controls.

  “Um … Captain? I think you may want to see this,” Rizzo said, still looking out the shuttle’s starboard observation window. Jason moved into the small cockpit and peered through the forward observation window.

  “They’re disgusting,” Boomer said from behind them.

  She was right. They had to be some of the most bizarre-looking creatures he’d ever seen. The same group of Caldurians who’d left the shuttle now stood in a huddle with five others. Most likely Alurians, the strange beings stood in a group next to them. Jason assumed they would be humanoid, but they weren’t … not completely anyway.

  Primarily, they appeared to be some kind of insect. Like praying mantises, light green in color, they had human-ish arms and legs; their heads looked normal enough with the exception of two bulbous, baseball-size eyes jutting out from the top of their foreheads. They had a second pair of arms, which dangled below the others, with ugly pinchers in place of hands and fingers.

  Jason wondered what they were saying. Everyone seemed fairly cordial—considering what the Caldurians had done to their planet—turning their world into a burnt-out lifeless crouton.

  Billy, now at Jason’s side, also looked out the forward observation window. “Looks like some kind of a handoff.”

  That’s exactly what it was. Both the Caldurians and Alurians had something with them. Jason recognized the uniquely shaped, long equipment locker that rested on a nearby hover cart. It held a MediPod. Now he knew what the Caldurians were offering in trade, so what were the Alurians offering up?

  The answer to that, he saw, was whatever fit inside a container the size of a toaster that one of the Alurians was holding on to. But the handoff never happened. A ruckus started between an Alurian and one of the Caldurians. Heated words.

  “Somebody’s got his panties in a bunch,” Billy said.

  “I guess possessing a MediPod doesn’t hold the same significance it used to. But I sure would like to know what’s in the box that Alurian is holding on to. I suspect it’s the answer to our, and the Caldurians’, Zip accelerator problems.”

  “Isn’t that what they wanted Ricket for?” Billy asked.

  “Perhaps Ricket was their backup plan, in case something like this happened.”

  Suddenly, they saw more Alurians approaching from all sides … hundreds of them—one after another. Soon, countless insect-like armed creatures surrounded the group of bewildered Caldurians.

  “Should we help them?” Billy asked.

  “After what they did to Jefferson Station? No, I’d be more inclined to help the damn bugs. Wait here,” he said, smiling. Jason headed for the rear of the shuttle and disappeared from view mid-step. A second later, a bright flash indicated he had phase-shifted away.

  Jason landed on the opposite, far side of the shuttle—away from the mayhem. Now cloaked, he confidently strode back around the shuttle and made his way toward the Caldurians. They were still arguing over the little black box, but nervously watched as the army of bug people pointed weapons at them. There was something thrilling, Jason thought, about being so close to one’s enemy and being invisible. He saw the black box, a mere five feet before him, tightly gripped in the arms of the Alurian. Jason brought his own arms up, h
ands positioned just right to snatch the box from the bug man’s green arms, when one of the Caldurians suddenly stepped sideways, blocking his way.

  Jason had already burned through forty seconds of invisibility. Whatever move he was going to make, he needed to do it within the next twenty seconds. Why pussyfoot around? Jason burst forward, knocking a Caldurian to the ground and pushing another into a furious-looking Alurian. Getting both hands on the black box, he wrenched it free. Two bulbous eyes watched in shock as the small black box flew from his arms and floated away, seemingly on its own volition. In a flash, the box disappeared from sight.

  Several seconds after he flashed back into the shuttle, Jason turned visible.

  “That was classic, Cap,” Rizzo said. “They’ll be telling stories about the flying box for the next hundred years.”

  “Now back to the Assailant?” Billy asked.

  Jason nodded, but paused as he observed the situation outside. The five Caldurians were down to three—two decapitated, he suspected, by razor-sharp pinchers.

  Jason said, “Shit … shit, shit, shit!”

  “You want us to rescue them?”

  “I guess … and I think I’m going to take their shuttle, too.” Jason watched as his team, including Boomer, flashed away. He manhandled the dead Caldurian from the pilot’s seat and tossed his corpse in an open rear area of the cabin. Positioned behind the controls, Jason quickly got the shuttle’s drive revved up to speed, and felt its familiar vibration come up through the deck below his feet. He missed flying. Outside, new elements of bright purple were crisscrossing from many disruption waves. Boomer summersaulted into view, right in front of the nose of the shuttle. With quick, punch-like motions, she catapulted six or so Alurian bugs off their feet, sending them sprawling into the rocks. Well, Boomer, now you’re just showing off, he mused.

  Rizzo was the first one to arrive back in the cabin, his arms wrapped around a uniformed Caldurian officer. Next came Billy and his captive officer; then Baldwin, holding another. Cramer flashed into view, empty handed.