Ricket (Star Watch Book 2) Read online

  Granger didn’t answer.

  “Do you feel any kind of brotherly bond with him?” Bristol asked.

  “You mean like you did with Stalls?” Hanna asked Bristol—her brows raised. He ignored her.

  “Sometimes. A clone tends to look for connections—what non-clones possess that they don’t. Find some kind of familial bonds, that sort of thing,” Granger added.

  “Aren’t we wasting precious time here?” Bristol asked.

  Granger answered the question: “You want to know if Omni Hobel would have sentimental feelings toward me? If so, then perhaps use that to our advantage?”

  “It is something to consider,” Ricket said.

  The Minian suddenly shook violently, which coincided with a thunderous noise from directly above.

  Leon was on his feet. “We’re out of time. What are we going to do?”

  All eyes turned to Ricket, as he hailed Captain Reynolds. He had an idea, but it would be the captain’s ultimate decision, since their comms were functioning again.

  “This isn’t a good time, Ricket. We’re trying to take this ship.”

  Ricket spoke fast. “We are being attacked by the Parcical, Captain. I would like to go on the offensive.”

  There was a pause as Ricket waited for a reply. “I trust you, Ricket … just don’t screw it up. I should be able to talk more in an hour or so.” The connection ended.

  Ricket was well aware that they needed to do something now, not in an hour, or two. He turned toward the others. “We need to storm the Parcical.”

  No one said anything for several beats, until Bristol said, “You’re crazy. We just escaped from that hell hole.”

  As another loud crack shook the ship, this time something shifted above them—noticeable through the wrap-around display.

  “We’d need an army … it’s just us,” Bristol said.

  “We have an army. And we have something even better—the element of surprise,” Ricket replied, with the beginnings of a smile.

  They still weren’t getting it, so Ricket continued, “We have Traveler and his army, remember? We also have the MicroVault terminal that Bristol and I built. If I am not mistaken, I believe I can use it to get us back into the Parcical.”

  Ricket pointed to Bristol. “Please come with me. Leon, contact Traveler and ask him if he and twenty of his best warriors would like to help us. If so, have him join us in the Minian’s corridor, outside the MicroVault terminal, as soon as possible. And have him bring Norwell along.”

  “I’m on it,” Leon said.

  “And Leon … if we do not take control of the Parcical, if we are unsuccessful, then get in touch with Captain Reynolds for further orders.”

  Ricket and Bristol flashed away.

  * * *

  Ricket phase-shifted both of them into his workshop. Bristol, rushing to the same terminal he’d worked at previously, said, “Phase-shifting’s not an option, you know. Not with the level of tech on the Parcical. And that MicroVault storage area is gone. You knew that it was being deleted even as we were escaping. So that can’t be our doorway in.”

  “You are correct, Bristol. We must work fast. What I am hoping to achieve is a direct connection between both MicroVault terminals.”

  “I don’t think that’s possible; not with our limited amount of technical specs on the Parcical.”

  Ricket, seated at his own terminal, was already accessing the MicroVault program. Bristol, joining him at his side, watched the code flash by at an impossible-to-read rate.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I am having Beatrice set up a new virtual terminal interface, based on the stored data within my expanded memory banks. A tremendous amount of information—actually, much of the workings of the Parcical—is stored there. Far more than I, personally, have been able to access and review. But now, with Beatrice’s help, that too can be scanned in the background.”

  Bristol stared at Ricket, as if seeing him in a whole new light. He shook his head in amazement.

  Ricket brought up a second virtual window. “Here you can see that the Minian’s AI is now tracking the precise coordinates of the plasma fire being directed toward the surface—towards us. While the Parcical is invisible, cloaked, the plasma energy pulses are visible. Once the AI takes into account the rapidly-moving Caldurian ship, the rotation of Dramicus 9 on her axis, and things like that, with the basic physical layout of the Parcical already stored in my memory and factored in, we should be set.”

  Beatrice was speaking. “Ricket, I have configured a new virtual interface between the two terminals. The Minian’s AI has completed its tasks as well, and I am ready to attempt a link between both terminals.”

  Ricket said to Bristol, “Can you check on Traveler? See if he is coming.”

  Bristol stood. With two fingers up to his ear, he walked out into the corridor. The Minian was now rocking almost violently. The Parcical had found them and was concentrating her plasma weapons directly at her. It was only a matter of time before the Minian’s shields weakened and fell.

  Bristol was back. “On their way.”

  “Good, we should ready the terminal.” Ricket climbed down from his seat and scurried out of the workshop, going across the corridor into the MicroVault terminal. He reached the pedestal in three strides and went about synchronizing and bringing forth a new virtual portal. He glanced up and saw the portal was indeed there, exactly where it was supposed to be. This portal was designed slightly differently from the type previously used—moving people and objects between ship and MicroVault storage areas. This was a ship-to-ship—terminal-to-terminal—portal. That being the case, he now looked directly into the matching portal within the Parcical’s own MicroVault terminal. He hoped nobody was there, standing nearby, to notice a new portal suddenly appear.

  Ricket looked up as the deck began to shake and the noise reached a new thunderous level. He realized it was the combined footfalls of at least twenty rhino-warriors, hurrying their way down the corridor.

  “Do you want me to come with you?” Bristol asked, getting out of the way as the first of the rhinos entered the compartment.

  “No, Bristol, stay here and help Leon and Hanna. I have asked Granger to accompany me.”

  Bristol, looking somewhat relieved, shrugged and left.

  What moments earlier seemed to be a large compartment quickly became tight quarters. Traveler was at Ricket’s side, huffing and snorting. Ricket recognized the sounds the rhino-warrior made when he was either excited or impatient, and right now he suspected it was some of both. Norwell, too, had been brought along, and was firmly clutched—in the grasp of one of the twenty-plus rhinos clustered within the compartment. Granger, looking less than enthusiastic, was the last one to arrive.

  Ricket said, “We need to move fast. In fact, right now. I also suggest, if not done so already, that everyone initialize their battle suits.”

  Chapter 36

  High Orbit Over Alurian, Gracow CD1 System

  Quantum Lark, Deck 23 Main Corridor

  __________________________

  Jason used the main corridor, outside of Medical, as a pre-mission staging area. Jackson and his team were holding in place, back in the flight bay, while both Billy and Rizzo, and their teams, had already phase-shifted to lower decks down.

  With Boomer and Orion at his side, and his team of fifty Sharks spread out—some right behind them, some covering the less-wide, parallel corridors on their same deck—they moved out and headed toward the bow of the Quantum Lark.

  Jason no sooner took his first steps down the main corridor than Ricket hailed him. He listened to him briefly and decided to let Ricket manage whatever he was planning on his own. He trusted Ricket. It would take Jason far too long to catch up, come up to speed, on past events and still remain an effective, decisive leader in the here and now. He only hoped his decision wouldn’t come back and bite him in the ass later. He briefly thought of his father, and what he might be doing, in the next system ove
r. He doubted the U.S. fleet had engaged Captain Oz yet, but truthfully, he wasn’t certain of that. Just as he had to trust Ricket, he needed to trust his father, who, in all reality, was a far better tactician than himself in making the best situational command decisions. He made a mental note to reach out to him as soon as possible and get an update.

  Jason, listening to the multiple open channels, was already hearing sounds of the first combat confrontations on the lower decks, engaging Billy’s team. Each team leader had standing orders to try to take opposing combatants into custody, but deadly force was to be met with deadly force. From the sounds of things, spontaneous eruptions of plasma fire, there wouldn’t be many Caldurians transported to the ship’s brig.

  Although numerous passageways and corridors transect a ship a mile long and many hundreds of feet wide, Jason’s team focused on the four primary corridors, running the length of the vessel. They also avoided using DeckPorts, since they could still be under the influence of the ship’s AI, and under the control of the Caldurians.

  Orion was using her virtual notebook, over six hovering displays placed before her. As tactical officer, she would keep Jason keyed-in to everything going on—both within the ship, as well as outside, in local space.

  Jason listened as he and his team of fifty moved forward with rapid efficiency, clearing compartments—one after another. It was far from an ideal situation when either side could phase-shift virtually anywhere, at any time. Thus far, the few Caldurians on board the ship were doing their best to avoid confrontations. Gunny, monitoring everything, could see if combatants suddenly appeared, moving in behind them. At that point, Jackson and his team would be deployed. One thing Jason was curious about was the lack of apparent usage of any remaining security droids. If their roles had been reversed—Jason defending the ship, with control over the ship’s AI—he would have already deployed the droids to multiple decks. Why Omni Stanton hadn’t done so was one mystery he was curious to uncover.

  “Cap, Rizzo’s yet to come across any combatants. His team has cleared three decks. Billy’s team has encountered light resistance, but no droids. They’ve cleared two decks.”

  Jason looked at Orion’s top-most logistical display, which showed his own team’s methodical progression. They’d made good progress and were a tad more than halfway to the bridge, which, eventually, they would walk right into on this same level.

  “I’m seeing the Caldurian fleet starting to move, Cap. Seems the Quantum Lark may be sacrificed for the good, or security, of the rest of the fleet.”

  “All the more reason we need to move things along here,” Jason said, taking in the logistical representation of local space on one of Orion’s hovering displays. Looking back up at the top display, he saw more than two hundred small blue icons spread out on various decks throughout the ship. All were his people. Any red and yellow icons showing were almost exclusively in front of them and on the same deck.

  “They’re making a stand there,” he said, gesturing to the far end of the corridor, where movement could now be detected, still a hundred feet before them.

  “Enough of this.” Jason turned around, facing those on his team he could see, and spoke over the open channel: “On my signal, we’re moving forward … to the bridge.” He turned to Orion and said, “Phase-shift us in stages and try not to put us on top of each other.” He smiled at her. “You hang back, but place our group up close and personal to the bridge.”

  Jason raised his multi-gun and the ten Sharks behind him followed suit. Boomer raised her enhancement shield and nodded, letting her father know she too was ready. They phase-shifted away.

  * * *

  They flashed into view, about one hundred feet from the captain’s quarters. To the left and right were virtual hatchways, leading into other officers’ quarters; two hundred feet ahead lay access to the bridge. Between them and the bridge were the remaining Caldurians—armed with their own version of a multi-gun. They wore light blue battle suits, which gave them a somewhat friendly, unthreatening appearance. Between the Caldurian combatants and Jason’s team was only a span of fifty feet and, so far, no one had fired.

  Jason heard Orion’s voice on the open channel. “Cap?”

  “What do you have, Gunny?”

  “Remember that big cloaked thing I’ve been trying to track?”

  “I remember.”

  “Well, I think I’ve found it. It’s thirty feet in front of you … and it’s moving … right toward you.”

  Boomer was already on the move—her shield coming up, while bright violet distortion waves shot forward. Jason fired his multi-gun and within seconds the rest of the team was firing as well.

  Jason noticed several things right off the bat: First of all, none of their weapon-fire was reaching the Caldurians, located at the far end of the corridor. Second, the Caldurians weren’t returning fire. And lastly, Boomer’s distortion waves were having a visual effect on whatever was standing there in front of them. It was still cloaked, but they could now see an outline around the thing that differentiated it from its surroundings.

  Jason slung his multi-gun over his shoulder and switched over to using his own enhancement shield. Now, as both Jason and Boomer’s distortion waves bombarded the thing in front of them, a clearer outline of it was becoming apparent. And, just as suddenly, Jason felt a cold chill run down his spine. He wanted to yell retreat … get back, but the words didn’t come out fast enough. The creature was already on the move.

  Chapter 37

  High Orbit Over Dramicus 9, Gracow CD1 System

  Parcical, MicroVault Terminal

  __________________________

  Ricket exited the portal within the Parcical at a full run and quickly stepped aside—letting Traveler and twenty rhino-warriors, their heavy hammers in hand, thunder by and out of the MicroVault terminal compartment. Ricket watched as the last one disappeared behind a virtual bulkhead, wondering if he should have given Traveler some kind of direction. Certainly, Captain Reynolds would have designated some kind of plan.

  An ear-splitting klaxon sounded all around; clearly their presence was now detected. Of course, detected! Ricket thought, with twenty rhino-warriors running amuck inside the ship.

  Ricket turned to see Granger and Norwell standing at his side. Although Granger was wearing a battle suit, Norwell was not. “What do you say we go and talk to Omni Hobel?” Ricket queried them.

  Behind his visor, Granger looked even less enthusiastic than he had before, but he gave a slight nod just the same. Ricket rechecked his settings, put a hand on Norwell, and phase-shifted all three at once.

  * * *

  Flashing onto the Parcical’s bridge, Ricket immediately flinched. Loud noises were coming from all around. It seemed several rhinos found their way into the compartment, meeting armed Caldurians who fired their weapons at them. Two rhinos lay still on the deck, while no less than eight Caldurians, all with substantial head trauma, also lay strewn around the deck.

  Omni Hobel was backed into a corner, his arms raised to protect his face. Before him, hammer raised high, was a rhino-warrior Ricket didn’t know personally.

  “Stop!” Ricket yelled.

  The hammer, already descending, was diverted just enough to miss the Omni’s head and careen, instead, into a bulkhead. Being virtual, the damage was really more a blurring of lines than an actual bashed-in dent.

  The rhino snorted angrily, as if Ricket had deprived him of something special, which probably was true.

  “Thank you,” Ricket said. “I need to speak with the Omni alone. And please … apprehend—don’t kill—the others, if at all possible.”

  As the rhino stormed by him and out of the bridge, Ricket was certain that his words had fallen on deaf ears. He turned to Omni Hobel, who was straightening his still perfectly clean white uniform.

  Hobel looked at Ricket, then at Norwell, and finally to Granger. “How have you entered this vessel? Phase-shifting on board is impossible; breaching this ship is impossibl
e!”

  Norwell answered his question: “You have underestimated the Craing man, Omni Hobel. He used our own technology against us. He used the MicroVault terminal to access the ship.”

  Ricket watched their exchange, seeing indignant rage brewing on the Omni’s face, and a resigned, tired expression on Norwell’s. He realized the older Caldurian scientist was not doing well; in fact, he looked frail and ready to keel over.

  Granger took a step closer to Hobel and their eyes met. Hobel was the first to speak. “How can you do this to your own people … to your …” he let his words fall silent.

  “To one within your own clone group?” Granger asked, finishing his sentence.

  Hobel said, “Stand with us now, with me, your brother.”

  “It was you, wasn’t it?” Granger asked.

  Hobel’s expression turned defiant.

  “It was you who gave the order to destroy the space station, Jefferson Station,” Granger said, a statement more than a question.

  “That station was insignificant in importance, compared to what is at stake for our people … for your people, Granger. I would destroy a thousand space stations to ensure the survival of our kind.”

  Ricket watched as Granger listened, then slowly raised his arms toward Hobel. Confused at first, the Omni tentatively smiled and stepped forward toward his clone-brother’s open arms. But it wasn’t a hug Granger was proposing. He simultaneously fired two bright red energy bolts from his integrated wrist-mounted plasma weapons. Apparently, Granger had set the power level to maximum. Hit in the chest, Hobel’s already lifeless body was catapulted across the bridge compartment and into the far wall. Again, the suddenly disrupted virtual bulkhead only fluttered, staying somewhat blurred.

  Granger lowered his arms and continued to stare at the Omni’s lifeless body. Ricket reached a hand out to Granger. “I’m sorry.”

  “I didn’t know him … not really. As Bristol would say, he was an asshole and deserved what he got.”