Ricket (Star Watch Book 2) Page 25

  “See what they have in the way of maintenance droids here that can get started on that.”

  Billy nodded and left the bridge.

  The bridge flashed white as Ricket and Omni Hobel appeared at the front of the bridge. Ricket stood still, whereas Omni Hobel lay sprawled on the deck … apparently dead.

  Jason was more than a little happy to see Ricket alive. In fact, he’d never been happier to see anyone. He was tempted to order him to go back to the Parcical and make his way back to the Sol system at once … to help Dira. But unfortunately, that would have to wait.

  Looking at Ricket, he thought there was something different about his appearance. He looked weird.

  “Hello, Captain, it is very good to see you again,” he said as he retracted his battle suit. Jason noticed he was wearing stained and soiled clothes.

  “Good to see you too, Ricket. How are the rest … Bristol, Leon, Hanna and Granger?”

  “All are fine, Captain.” Ricket gestured toward Omni Hobel’s still form on the deck. “I tried to tell you that Omni Hobel is dead.”

  “What happened to him?”

  “Granger killed him.”

  “Good. One less problem to deal with,” Jason said, knowing it was Hobel who had ordered the attack on Jefferson Station, in turn causing Dira’s horrific injuries. He only wished he could bring him back to life—long enough to shoot him again.

  Jason turned to Stanton. “As you can see, Hobel is dead. That would put you in charge of the fleet … correct?”

  Stanton, up on his feet, looked at the dead Omni on the deck. Stanton looked back to Jason and teetered his head back and forth, and side to side.

  “What the hell does that mean? Are you in charge or not?”

  “It’s not as easy as that, Captain. The command structure was determined before we left our home—an alternate realm within the multiverse. Safeguards were put in place to ensure we complete our mission: to bring back the Minian and … him,” Stanton said, gesturing toward Ricket. “Thus all the Mechnoids.”

  “I don’t understand,” Jason said.

  Omni Stanton smiled, then began to laugh uncontrollably.

  Jason, signaling for Rizzo to deposit the Omni into one of the secondary command chairs, turned in the command chair to face him, feeling his anger go hot. He leaned forward and slapped Stanton hard across the face.

  “Listen to me, you traitorous shit; thousands of good men and women are dead because of the Caldurians … and in no small part because of you. What I really would like to do is pull your arms and legs off, grind them up, and feed them to you … like dog food. So I suggest you take me very seriously.”

  Omni Stanton composed himself and sat straighter up in the chair. “What you don’t understand, Captain, is that I most certainly can issue the order for the other fleet captains to stand down. But those very same captains will have a dilemma on their hands: face off against you, or a Mechnoid that sees them as deviating from high command’s orders. There are eleven other Mechnoids—one on board each Master Class vessel. Understand, even Omni Hobel would not have been able to reassign the Mechnoid’s orders. That’s how high of an importance the Caldurian central command placed on this mission.”

  Jason was stunned. His mind flashed back to the recent battle against the Mechnoid here, costing the lives of sixty-seven Sharks. Sure, it now lay dead on Deck 3, but the cost had been extreme. Going up against eleven more of the things would be nearly impossible.

  “There’s no way to update their orders?”

  “We’ve been trying to figure out how to do that for weeks. Do you think I wanted to attack Jefferson Station?”

  “Captain … perhaps I can assist,” Ricket said.

  Jason hadn’t noticed that he’d moved to his side. Seeing him now, closer up, he was even more perplexed by Ricket’s looks—his altered cranium. “What’s left of the Mechnoid is down on Deck 3. Can you have a look at it? Perhaps look for potential weaknesses. We could be fired upon within seconds.”

  Ricket said, “I have the specs for the hybrid creature already contained within my memory banks, Captain. Beatrice is looking for a way to breach the Mechnoid’s core.”

  “Who is Beatrice?”

  “I installed The Lilly’s AI into my expanded nano-devices, Captain. It was necessary for our escape.”

  Jason stared at his small Craing friend in wonder. The bridge suddenly went quiet as Ricket, seeming deep in thought, stood very still, gazing up towards the wrap-around display. Thirty seconds later he looked back at Jason.

  “Apparently, Captain, the Mechnoids are highly advanced from a technical aspect. Reissuing it new orders is not possible. Their orders have been hard-wired into place to avoid exactly what we are trying to do. They will protect their assigned ships to the death. Nothing will make them leave their … post, for lack of a better word, and they will die protecting it.”

  “We found that out,” Rizzo said.

  “And you should also know that there are other Mechnoids, operating under different orders, here within the galaxy,” Ricket said.

  “So what’s the answer?” Jason asked.

  Ricket had the beginnings of a smile. “It is almost too simple, Captain.”

  Jason raised his brows. “Well?”

  “Each hybrid was given orders: protect their designated Master Class ship, as well as ensure its captain and crew followed certain, pre-determined, orders. Orders, such as the one given that resulted in what happened, I heard, to Jefferson Station. Other orders included finding and acquiring the Minian.”

  Omni Stanton said, “He’s right. Caldurian high command has taken no chances. The mission of this fleet was of the highest priority. The Omnis, both myself and Omni Hobel, faced dire consequences for not following high-command directives. More than one ship’s Omni has ended up in one of those things’ bellies. Until recently, I was only this vessel’s XO.”

  “Cap, the Caldurian fleet is changing formation,” Orion said.

  Omni Stanton stood and hurried over to Orion. He looked at the board and turned back to Jason. “They are moving into a standard Lazmoth formation. They are preparing to attack us now.”

  If that wasn’t enough of an emergency situation, Jason was receiving an incoming, high priority hail from his father. He ignored it—would listen to the recorded message later. He could only handle one dire emergency at a time.

  “So you say you have an answer, Ricket? Now would be a good time to share it.”

  “I have figured out how to give one singular Master Class vessel eleven different name designations.”

  Jason shook his head, his frustration growing. “Explain. Why would you want to give one vessel eleven names?”

  “We cannot change the Mechnoids’ hard-wired orders … their directives. The Mechnoids are assigned to one—a specific—vessel. The mistake made by the Caldurians was that the Mechnoids are assigned to the ship’s name, not the actual vessel itself. Knowing that, we can hack each of the ships’ cores and change every ship’s designation … its name. We can now change all eleven ships’ name designations.”

  “So what? I’m still not getting it.”

  “We will take all eleven ship designations and assign them to just one of the ships. One ship will have eleven different name designations,” Ricket said.

  “What will the Mechnoids do when they discover the ship they are on suddenly has a different name than the one assigned to it?” Orion asked.

  “The Mechnoids are all equipped with the capability to phase-shift. I believe, once it realizes it is no longer on its assigned ship, the one with its pre-designated name, each Mechnoid will phase-shift … immediately, to the ship that does have that name designation,” Ricket replied.

  “So let me get this straight: You’ll simply change the name of the Quantum Lark so she’ll be given, instead, all eleven of these Master Class ships’ names?”

  “Yes. I am ready to do that now.”

  “And then … ?” Jason asked.


  “Then all eleven Mechnoids will phase-shift onto the Quantum Lark,” Ricket said.

  Everyone just stared at Ricket—still not getting it.

  “Within a matter of seconds, all the Mechnoids will be together in one place. But we … everyone on board, will have left. Be away from here. You could fire on the Quantum Lark, destroy her, along with all the Mechnoids.”

  Jason’s face went from confusion to a broad smile. He reached over, grabbed Ricket’s odd shaped head, and kissed him on the cheek. “You truly are a genius, Ricket!”

  Ricket looked uncomfortable with the compliment and the kiss.

  “Listen up, everyone, I don’t know if Ricket’s plan is going to work, but it’s the only one we’ve got right now. A lot has to happen in a very short amount of time.” Jason looked at Orion. “Gunny, I want everyone on board the Quantum Lark to phase-shift over to the Minian … like immediately!” He then looked over to the Caldurian at the comms station: “Who are you?”

  “I am Darlain,” she answered.

  “Darlain, phase-shift over to the Minian. As soon as the Mechnoids start phase-shifting onto the Quantum Lark, you’ll hail each of the other ships’ captains … their Omnis. Let them know what we’re doing and that they are to let loose … have everything they’ve got aimed at this ship, the Quantum Lark.”

  “When should they fire?” she asked.

  “As soon as they see the Minian start firing. That will be their signal. Someone give her a SuitPac device.” Rizzo retracted his battle suit, giving her his own small SuitPac device. Darlain looked at it with a confused expression; apparently, SuitPac technology wasn’t utilized on this ship.

  Orion took the SuitPac from her, clipped it to Darlain’s belt, and compressed the two inset buttons. Within two seconds, Darlain was standing within a battle suit.

  Jason turned to Ricket. “Who’s manning the Minian’s bridge?”

  “Bristol. Granger is on the Parcical. Hanna and Leon are on the SpaceRunner.”

  “Let them all know what’s happening and to expect Darlain.”

  “Yes, Captain.” Ricket immediately put two fingers to his ear and made his NanoCom hail.

  Jason noticed that Orion was also on her NanoCom, undoubtedly directing everyone off the ship. He turned back to Darlain and gave her a forced smile. Giving her a thumbs-up signal, he used his HUD to remotely phase-shift her onto the Minian’s bridge, using the coordinates Orion sent him.

  Jason turned to Omni Stanton. “You … I want you also on the Minian’s bridge, helping Darlain. The other eleven captains may require you to backup what she’s asking them to do.” He pulled the SuitPac device free of Ricket’s belt and placed it on Stanton’s belt. As soon as the suit initialized, Jason phase-shifted him to the Minian.

  “Incoming!” Orion yelled.

  Jason looked up to the logistical feed on the display. Missiles. Hundreds of them. Shit! “Who’s firing? ETA?”

  Orion shot back, “All of them … first impact’s coming in forty-six seconds.”

  That’ll at least make Darlain’s job easier, Jason thought. “Okay, Ricket … go ahead and change over all the ships’ name designations to the Quantum Lark. Right now!”

  Ricket nodded and quickly turned away, two fingers up to his ear.

  “Gunny, what’s the status of the Quantum Lark’s crew and our Sharks?”

  Barking off orders herself, Orion lowered her fingers from her ear and faced Jason. “Except for a few stragglers, all are back on the Min—”

  Her words were cut short as several bright flashes simultaneously occurred—one in the corridor, right outside the bridge; another, close by, at the front of the bridge. A highly compressed Mechnoid stood where Omni Hobel’s body had lain, just seconds earlier. Three heads, their jaws open wide, moved lightning fast toward a few fear-paralyzed crewmembers. They were rapidly plucked up, one after another, from the two forward consoles. Their terrified screams filled the confined space.

  “Fifteen seconds, Cap!” Orion hurriedly backed away from a newly arrived Mechnoid.

  Jason glanced up at the display and saw the icons of quickly approaching missiles. “It’s time to go!”

  Rizzo reached for his SuitPac device, then remembered he’d given it to Darlain. Orion grabbed on to his arm and, together, they flashed away.

  Jason could see three terrified crewmembers huddled together, as well as Ricket, who no longer had a SuitPac device on his belt.

  The Mechnoid from the corridor was now squeezing its way into the bridge, its three heads jutting around, looking for new prey. Its bloated belly showed the outline of several beings, still moving around and frantically trying to escape their horrific, deathly, confine.

  Jason grabbed Ricket up with one arm, and took ahold of the sole remaining Caldurian crewmember with his other. The other two were quickly seized and were now finding their tortuous way down the expandable necks of the on-the-move, fast-approaching, Mechnoid.

  Jason phase-shifted the three of them away.

  Chapter 40

  High Orbit Over Alurian, Gracow CD1 System

  Minian, Bridge

  __________________________

  As Jason flashed onto the Minian’s bridge he released his hold on Ricket and the Caldurian crewmember. He hurried over to the bridge’s command chair and placed his full attention on the overhead display. The Minian’s spatial location was such that he could clearly see several other vessels, including the Quantum Lark. The ship was being bombarded—from a constant barrage of missiles, as well as from massive amounts of plasma fire. It surprised him that the ship had survived the assault so long. He looked around and then over to his right, noting Orion was back on tactical. Darlain and Omni Stanton were seated at the comms station, both fully engaged in conversations—undoubtedly with other ship commanders. Bristol was at the engineering console, doing something or other.

  “Status, Gunny?”

  “We have everyone from the Quantum Lark, all those that survived, here on the Minian.”

  “And the Mechnoids?”

  “Impossible to actually see them with our scans, with their cloaking capability,” she said. “We saw two of them on the bridge and there were reports of no less than five others from our Sharks, just prior to them leaving the ship.”

  Omni Stanton held up a hand and said, “All fleet Omnis have reported that their vessels are free, one hundred percent free, of Mechnoids.”

  As if on cue, the Quantum Lark exploded into a bright yellow ball of fire that quickly dissipated in the vacuum of space.

  Jason heard a high-priority NanoCom hail and he again ignored it. He stood and approached Omni Stanton. “I want the other eleven ships, all of them, to surrender their command over to me immediately. Get on the horn and tell them to be prepared to be boarded.”

  Stanton looked unsure how to respond to that. “I’ll try, but … I have to tell you, they still outnumber you. They—”

  “Just do it,” Jason told him. He hailed Billy.

  “Go for Billy.”

  “What’s our Sharks situation?”

  “We still have close to a hundred on the Minian and another three hundred are still back on the Assailant.”

  “Be ready to deploy assault teams to eleven ships.”

  “At once?”

  “All at once,” Jason said, cutting the connection. He turned back toward Stanton, who told him, “The answer’s no, Captain. They appreciate the extrication of the Mechnoids, but … there’s no way.”

  “Cap … the Caldurian fleet are charging their weapons again,” Orion said.

  Jason felt something pulling on his sleeve and looked down. “What is it, Ricket?”

  “I suggest you and I phase-shift over to the Parcical.”

  “Now … while eleven enemy vessels are charging weapons?”

  “Trust me, Captain.”

  Jason spun around, remembering his XO, Perkins, was commanding the Assailant. He looked at Orion. “You have the bridge, Gunny, and some
body please give Ricket a SuitPac.”

  * * *

  After a brief NanoCom conversation with Granger, instructing him to have the Parcical’s shields temporarily lowered, Ricket and Jason phase-shifted directly into the smaller vessel’s bridge. Immediately, Jason was taken aback by the ship’s ultra-modern-looking interior. Without exception, with its clean lines and muted, almost glowing, bulkheads and consoles, she was the most beautiful ship he’d ever seen. Whereas the Minian had a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree, 3D overhead display, this ship possessed both an upper and a lower wrap-around, three-hundred-and-sixty-degree, 3D display. The bridge appeared to be floating in a blue-tinted bubble that seemed to offer unhindered visuals all around them.

  But his admiration was quickly quelled, with the sight of blood and a large severed hand lying on the deck—one so big that it must have belonged to a rhino-warrior.

  Granger, seated at a console, looked up and acknowledged Jason’s presence.

  Ricket moved quickly to an adjacent station and rapidly went to work. A minute later, apparently finished with what he was doing, he looked over to Jason. “Captain, this ship … the Parcical, is highly advanced. More so than even her previous captain was aware of. I believe the only way we will avoid a horrific space battle between this many warships will be through a definitive show of force. You must destroy one of the Caldurian vessels. We have mere seconds to do this, Captain.”

  “You’re asking me to arbitrarily just murder untold numbers of Caldurian crewmembers, without trying, at least, to further negotiate?”

  Granger cut in, “Ricket is right, Captain. These Omnis are unaccustomed to ever surrendering. Caldurian technology has given them an inflated sense of superiority. No. They most definitely will calculate the odds and destroy the Minian, along with other opposing ships. They’re charging their weapons at this very moment to do just that.”

  Jason stared at the wrap-around bubble display and thought about what Granger’d said. He suddenly turned back to Ricket: “I remember one of their ships is manned exclusively by bad-ass droids. No Caldurian crewmembers. I know that because I mistakenly dropped in and witnessed it for myself.”