HADRON Emergent Read online

  Jenny replied, “All I know is I’ve turned three times now and they’ve turned with me each time.”

  Mace pulled up a camera image from the outer hull. “Jump us out of here!”

  Jenny shook her head as she turned the shuttle hard to port. “Can’t do it. We’re in too close to the planet!”

  Jasper came over the come. “They’ve sniffed us out! The UF ships are attacking us, including our Collins. They took out thirty-two of the captured dreadnoughts straight away. And I’ve lost a dozen of my own!”

  Mace said, “Something’s wrong here. They aren’t attacking the Karthians!”

  Malcom Stark opened a comm. “Mr. Hardy, I take it by now you have an understanding of what’s going on?”

  Jasper yelled, “We’re being crushed! I’m ordering a full retreat! We’re down half our ships! This was a trap! That snake Stark just played us again!”

  Mace connected to Stark’s channel. “You think you strengthen your position by weakening us?”

  Stark nodded. “Precisely. You are all too predictable, Mr. Hardy. Now, it is still possible for us to come to an understanding here. You turn over all the gatrellium stolen from the Karthians… and we cease hostilities against you. Give me your word that it will be returned and all this mayhem ends with the press of a button.”

  Jasper yelled, “Get out while you can, Mr. Hardy!”

  The comm to Jasper closed.

  Johnny asked, “Did we just lose him, or was that the wormhole cutting that off?”

  Mace shook his head. “We won’t know until we can get out of here ourselves.”

  Jenny moved the shuttle to within a few meters of one of the Karthian stations, skimming its surface as she attempted to put distance between the Royal Fortune and her pursuers.

  A heavy microwave beam delivered a glancing blow, knocking out several of the inertial dampening field transducers as the shuttle screamed away from the cover of the station.

  Jenny punched in the coordinates for a wormhole. “Let’s hope that didn’t damage our gatrellium hull!”

  The micro-wormhole opened with the Royal Fortune beginning to slip inside. At the same moment, a second microwave beam struck the tail of the shuttle.

  Chapter 2

  *

  Smoke filled the cabin as the environmental unit at the rear of the shuttle took damage and the wormhole device shut down.

  Jenny yelled, “Hull is damaged! Generator is offline! We can’t jump!”

  An incoming wormhole opened in close proximity. Jenny turned hard right, heading for the opening. The pursuing UF dreadnought never had a chance to fire. The shuttle raced past and through the full-size wormhole as it closed.

  Jenny turned the shuttle again, this time away from the fighting. A dreadnought came in pursuit, but was not gaining ground. The Royal Fortune was steered toward the Moon. As it approached, the veteran pilot took the small ship in at a shallow angle down close to the surface, using the gravitational force of the Moon for a slingshot maneuver, and emerged on the other side at a slightly faster speed than its pursuer.

  Jenny said, “That’s all the edge we’ll get. If they have anything faster they have us.”

  Several microwave beams came in their direction. Jenny was able to steer away from each. The dreadnought slowly fell back.

  Jenny yelled, “They’re opening a wormhole in front of us! Trying to cut us off!”

  Again the pilot steered the shuttle into the opening. As the Royal Fortune disappeared into one side, the dreadnought came out the other. The result was a shuttle that was speeding away in the opposite direction. Seconds later the dreadnought broke off pursuit to return to the main battle.

  Jenny looked at Mace. “What do we do now? We can’t jump without a wormhole. And even if we get that generator back online, we can’t go through a micro-wormhole with a damaged hull.”

  Jane stepped forward. “Do we still have anything at Enceladus or Proteus?”

  Johnny said, “Wait… do you think the repair dock we left for Stark is still out here? I know that was a long while back. You think he kept it going?”

  “We did leave a few supplies on Enceladus,” said Mace. “That dock is on the way. Jenny, set coordinates to its last known location. If it’s not there we continue to the old base at Enceladus.”

  A four-hour ride found the repair station right where they had left it. After docking and going aboard, the hard truth about the facility was discovered.

  Jane looked on with a scowl. “I can’t believe Stark just abandoned them like this. This is horrendous.”

  Hundreds of mummified bodies lay about. Their already thin Mawga frames showed hard evidence of starvation. Malcom Stark, for whatever reason, had left the two thousand inhabitants to die.

  Johnny logged into a console. “The last entry was about two years ago, long after we left it. He at least kept them going for a while.”

  Mace said, “Could be they were casualties of the Karthians coming in. Stark lost his fleet. Would have had no way to resupply them.”

  Johnny replied, “Actually, the last entry date lines up with that time. Not that Stark wouldn’t have done something like this anyway, just not this time.”

  “Looks like we still have power,” said Jenny.

  Liam Hobbs stepped forward. “Mr. Hardy. Perhaps we should leave a crew here to see if this station is useful while someone goes to Enceladus.”

  Mace nodded. “Good idea, Mr. Hobbs. Take the shuttle, we’ll look around and see what capabilities we have. Oh… and bring back as much food as you can stuff in the cabin. Those nutrient bars should still be good.”

  Jenny said, “That’s about six hours out. Try not to be too long. I don’t fancy ending up like these poor Mawga.”

  The Royal Fortune departed with six of the crew. Mace, Jenny, Johnny and Jane began a tour of the station.

  Johnny said, “Do we want to start moving these bodies out of here?”

  Mace replied, “There’s probably two thousand of them. Would take us days to even make a dent. Let’s focus on seeing if we can make use of this dock.”

  The next several hours were spent checking systems. All were operational. Jane and Jenny sat at a console, looking for tutorials on how to make the best use of the station’s resources while Mace and Johnny scouted a machine shop.

  Johnny said, “Presses, lathes, a stamping machine, cutting and welding tools. If we can’t make repairs using all this, it has to be a fault of our own.”

  “We’ll make it work,” said Mace. “If anything, we only need to get that wormhole generator running. We can comm for help with that.”

  Jenny opened a comm. “We think we found the controls for an automated bot that could do our plating work. Which brings up a new problem. What if we don’t have the gatrellium to make any patches?”

  Mace replied, “If it comes to it, we make a run back to Earth. If Stark hasn’t taken it over, we might even be able to hide out in the cave.”

  Jane replied, “No way he would leave that place intact.”

  Mace shook his head. “I wouldn’t say that. Stark likes having options. That’s probably one reason this repair dock is still sitting out here. No one else knows about that cave. He might even be making use of it right now.”

  Jenny pulled up an image of the automated bot. “Our stealth was compromised. That place isn’t exactly hidden anymore.”

  Johnny jumped into the conversation. “We don’t know how they were able to sense us. Could be our ships being in motion or putting out some other signature. That cave might not have the same issue. At the moment we can’t say one way or the other.”

  Mace held up a hand. “We’re not heading there right now, anyway. Let’s try to keep our focus on making use of this place.”

  The Royal Fortune returned after fourteen hours. The foursome met the shuttle in the docking bay.

  Liam Hobbs was first down the ramp. “We have enough food to last us here for months. Probably enough buried back there for a year or
two.”

  Mace said, “Let’s get it unloaded and then get this ship back around into the dock. That will give us fast access to all the tools or parts we might need.”

  Liam replied, “Everything is in the packing crates. One-man carries. Where would you like them?”

  Mace pointed. “Just over against that wall is fine.”

  The shuttle was moved into a work bay and the gravity wall closed behind it. When the space had filled with air, the access doors unsealed and the group entered.

  Mace walked around to the back of the shuttle. “Wow. I count five transducers that just melted. Not sure how we didn’t have a hull breach from that.”

  Johnny said, “We could pull that plating, but we don’t have anything to replace it with.”

  Mace replied, “Not sure I want to open her up like that. Might not get that hull sealed back properly. I’d rather we just try to cover it over.”

  Jane came over the comm. “We have three transducers still sitting in stock. I typed a question into the repair system computer and it came back with recommended positioning. We don’t have enough gatrellium in our store to make into a plate to patch that burned area. I say we just slap on the transducers and focus on the wormhole generator.”

  Mace said, “You managed a fix on one of those last time. Want to give it a look?”

  Jane nodded. “Be there in a sec.”

  Mace walked up the shuttle ramp with Johnny following.

  Johnny said, “It wasn’t even getting power before. Maybe restoring that is all we need.”

  Mace removed an access panel to the power feed. “Fried. That must be where all the smoke came from.”

  Jane came up from behind. “Help me with this panel over here. That feed runs directly into this one. Definitely got hot.”

  Mace pulled on the panel slide. The handle snapped off in his hand.

  “Gonna have to cut it out.”

  Jane pointed. “Go out there and see if you can find us a saw. And no plasma cutters, I don’t want to damage anything behind there further.”

  Mace returned after a short search. “Small blade on this but I assume you’re only cutting us access?”

  Jane nodded. “Perfect.”

  The blade spun when Jane pulled a trigger. Forty seconds later the central portion of the panel cover fell to the floor.

  “Go get me something with a handle and a hook. We’re gonna grab the rest of that panel and pull it out.”

  Mace returned several minutes later. “Here. Let me.”

  A heavy heave dislodged the remaining metal, almost sending Mace backward into the wall as it broke free.

  Jane chuckled. “Easy there, Hoss. Don’t need any injuries.”

  After a quick look over the power interface, she said, “I think we’re OK. Some heat damage, but it looks like that junction back there took the brunt of it. We repair that feed and we might just be back in business. Johnny, I need you to be my tool boy. Mace, go have a picnic or something. We’ve got this covered.”

  Mace stepped back. “I am a bit hungry, now that you mention it.”

  A short walk had Mace standing behind Jenny as she looked over a console display. “You hungry?”

  Jenny nodded. “Yep. I placed an order for a bot to attach the new transducers. Gonna be a half hour before we get status back.”

  Mace laughed. “A half hour? Jasper’s people could have that done in ten minutes.”

  Jenny smiled. “They could. The bots on here are slow. Better than anything we ever had on Earth, but far from lightning fast. Your offer of dinner… you have a spot picked out?”

  Mace nodded. “Over by the gravity wall. We can dine on a couple nutrient bars while looking out at the starlight.”

  Jenny laughed. “Aren’t you the romantic one!”

  Mace nodded. “I’m the best date you’ll have on this entire station.”

  A short walk had the two veterans sitting on the deck by the transparent wall. A bright red crescent-shaped view of Mars was the brightest nearby object. Mace sat, freeing the latches on his helmet before lifting it off.

  A horrified look came over his face as he squinched it up. “Ugh! Wait… don’t take that off! The smell in here is awful!”

  Jenny laughed at the amusing sight. “I take it our Mawga friends aren’t very fresh?”

  Mace pulled his helmet back on, latching it in place. “You got that right. Come on… filters… do your work.”

  Jenny stood, holding out a hand. “Come on, let’s find a room with no bodies. We can set the environment in there to filter out any smell.”

  Mace accepted the outstretched offer. The romantic picnic was moved to a nearly empty storeroom. The door was shut and sealed, and the environmental controls set to clean the air. Five minutes after entering, Mace bravely removed his helmet, taking in a whiff.

  “Wow. Huge difference. A little musty but not bad.”

  Jenny followed, setting her helmet down on the deck. “I’ve smelled worse.”

  Mace pushed two crates together. They sat and Mace pulled nutrient bars from a satchel.

  Mace held two out.

  “Would you like three-year-old processed complex fiber or three-year-old processed complex fiber?”

  Jenny took a bar. “I think I’ll try the perfectly aged one this time.”

  Mace laughed as he glanced around at the storeroom. “Not much to look at in here. Romantic-wise, I mean.”

  Jenny smiled. “Fine dining… a quiet space… doesn’t smell of corpse. I think you’re doing pretty well.”

  Bites of the nutrient bars were taken as chewing smiles were exchanged.

  Johnny opened the door. “I think we got it working.”

  Jenny dropped her food bar as she reached for her helmet with a contorted face. “Gah! That is disgusting!”

  Mace calmly picked up his helmet, latching it in place. “Thanks for the invasion of privacy, Mr. Picnic Crasher.”

  Johnny laughed. “Just don’t tell Jane I interrupted again. She’s been harassing me about the last one with you two in the field.”

  A quick walk was made back to the shuttle. Jane was looking over the controls on the console.

  Mace asked, “Verdict?”

  “So far, everything checks out,” said Jane. “We’ll have to put a little distance between us and this station to try it.”

  Mace gestured toward the ramp. “Bring it up and let’s give it a shot.”

  The shuttle taxied out to free space. The wormhole generator was engaged. A micro-wormhole opened to the Gellos colony.

  Mace connected a comm. “This is Hardy. Can anyone hear me?”

  Jasper replied: “You made it! Where are you?”

  “We’re holed up at the old repair dock we turned over to Stark a few years ago. It’s still in the same place but all the crewmen are dead. Starved to death. How bad were our losses at Earth?”

  Jasper scowled. “Out of two hundred twelve dreadnoughts, only one is left. As to my ships, counting the Cave we only have eleven that are still flyable. And only five shuttles. They nearly wiped us out.”

  Mace sighed. “We had no choice. Their ruse of attacking the Karthian planet was something we could not have foreseen—Stark at his best, or worst, however you want to look at it. What I don’t get is how Stark convinced them to do it… the Karthians, I mean. They had to leave that planet virtually unguarded.”

  “Guess we won’t know that unless Stark decides to tell us. And I don’t plan on getting close enough for that to happen until I’m close enough where I can snap his neck.”

  Mace said, “Just make sure you invite us all to that party. And we’re gonna need a full wormhole opened to here. Our plating’s been damaged.”

  Jasper gave a command via his arm pad. Seconds later a portal opened fifty kilometers from their position. Jenny piloted through to the Gellos colony, and the group was soon inside the protected halls of their underground fortress.

  Jasper was waiting on the deck as the others came do
wn the ramp. “You all made it. Good. I’ll get my people working on that hull.”

  Mace put his hand on Jasper’s shoulder as they turned toward the living quarters. “We’ll recover from this. We always do.”

  Jasper frowned. “Lost a lot of good people out there. What a backstabbing snake!”

  Mace nodded. “I finally have to agree with you. That’s the first time he’s attacked us directly.”

  A comm came in to Jasper: “Sire, we have an evaluation of the current situation.”

  Jasper nodded. “Spit it out.”

  The Targarian captain said, “We visited the Karthian planet. The Humans were still fighting on the ground with the Karthian soldiers. The fight itself is 70 percent over with the Humans clearly annihilating any resistance. It will be over in a matter of hours.”

  Jasper asked, “And Earth?”

  The captain replied, “When our ships fled, the United Front turned their wrath on the Karthians there as well. I would place their losses at 90 percent, with the remainder surrendering. Our scout says the Karthian crews are being spaced and the ships preserved.”

  Mace asked, “What about the UF losses?”

  “The UF lost six hundred twenty ships. Defeating those stations was costly. However, just over a thousand ships remain. They brought in the bulk of their fleet.”

  “Good,” said Jasper. “That’s six hundred less we have to kill.”

  Mace replied, “This means the Karthians are finished. They threw everything they had at this.”

  Jasper asked, “Anything else?”

  The captain looked over his shoulder and back. “That is all we have at this time, Your Highness.”

  Jasper nodded. “Keep me informed.”

  Mace said, “I guess we need to assemble everyone to plan our next move.”

  Jasper huffed. “Planning isn’t needed. My team and I will be heading out to kill every UF ship we can. Just give us a few days to patch up our ships.”

  Mace winced, “You aren’t exactly stealth anymore.”

  Jasper shrugged. “Just a minor detail we’ll have to figure out. If anything, we’ll just prey on lone cargo vessels.”

  Mace frowned. “Just keep in mind what Stark just said. They’ll be looking for you to come. That lone freighter might just have a nuke sitting on it waiting to take you out.”