Chapter 8
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The ramp-way opened and I walked down the steps, enabling my gravity boots as I went. When I stepped onto the hull of the Jasmire, I had the strange sensation of flying. There was no wind or atmosphere, but the slow motion of the stars surrounding us offered the visual of movement.
I reached down to the access panel, and with a few taps on a keyboard, I had the code entered. The port opened, and a container full of debris exited and quickly fell back away from the ship. At a hundred kilometers distance, the debris container ignited, vaporizing its contents.
I swung myself around to the inside as the outer port door closed behind me. The port opened onto a set of tracks that led down to a debris packaging room where a new disposable container had moved into place. I moved to the access hatch that opened out to a hallway, leading out to the main docking bay. After entering the code, I slowly opened the door.
As I stepped out onto the hallway deck plating, Garrett said over the comm, “I’ve tapped into the Jasmire’s video system. I’m setting the feeds going back to the bridge on a loop, which should allow you to move about freely, from a monitoring perspective, anyway. I'll monitor the true feeds and let you know if anyone is coming your way.”
When I reached the end of the hallway, I peered around the corner into the docking bay area.
“I see two guards,” Garrett said. “They're next to the hallway that heads toward the bridge. On the other side are the crewmen from the destroyer.”
“That's what I see as well. The hallway back to the cargo bays is thirty meters from my position. I'll need a diversion.”
As I peered around the corner for a second time, I caught the eye of a crewman sitting on the floor. I raised my hand slowly, putting a glove finger in front of my face mask. The crewman nodded. I pointed at myself and then across at the hallway I needed to reach. I then gestured toward the Igari guards. The crewman again nodded. I then gave a countdown from three to two to one.
The crewman whispered to several of the men around him and then stood and began to stomp his feet. The guards moved toward him in response, gesturing for him to sit back down. Two men sitting beside him stood and began to stomp as well. I took the opportunity to run the thirty meters to the other hall. As I reached an out-of-view position, the small riot subsided and the crewmen sat back down.
I quietly moved down the two hundred meters of hallway until I reached the turn that held the bay door. “Garrett, do you have access to the door monitors?”
Garrett replied, “I don't. That's why we had to use the bilge port to begin with. What do you need to open?”
I looked through the view portal into the sealed cargo bay. “I left Joni in the bay with the cesium. If she is still in there, we'll have to open the door to get her out.”
Garrett looked over the video feeds. “We have another problem. There are eight more guards coming down from the bridge. Things might get a little unsettled in that docking bay for a bit. If they hang out, your chances of another diversion working are going to go way down. Somebody will be watching their backs.”
I said, “How long before they arrive?”
Garrett replied, “I give you two minutes, three tops. That bridge is eighteen decks up, and the bay is a good distance from the bridge.”
I punched in the code and opened the door. An alert went off on the bridge.
Garrett came back on the comm. “OK, looks like the squad leader just got a signal from the bridge officers. They are picking up the pace.”
I ran through the cargo bay with my audio on full. “Joni! If you are in here, make yourself known!”
At the far end of the bay, in a darkened corner, a figure was standing on a high container, waving their arms.
I opened a comm to her last known channel. “Joni, come down! We have to get out of here fast. We only have another minute before the Igari will be all over us!”
In a surprising move, Jonias Salton jumped the six meters down to the deck and rolled out into a full run.
As I turned and we made our way back toward the docking bay, Garrett said, “You have just under a minute.”
I waved my arms for the crewman, and another diversion began. We sprinted the thirty meters to the bilge room hallway unseen.
As I typed in the passcode on the hatch door, I said, “We're almost done.”
The door did not open. I tried a second and a third time only to find it still locked.
Garrett said, “I have another alarm. This time it’s on the door in front of you. They must have locked out the codes when that other door came open.”
We were stuck. I pulled the blaster Garrett had given me and headed back toward the end of the hall.
After peeking around the corner, I said, “We need a way out of here, Garrett. I can’t defend this position for more than a minute.”
Garrett replied, “Working on it.”
With time running out, I signaled the crewman for the third time. As he stood and began to stomp his feet, the Igari guards again moved toward him, gesturing for him to sit down. In a move that was out of character for my normal subdued nature, I stepped out and fired two blaster bolts into the backs of the Igari guards. The captured crewman stopped and stared for several seconds before reaching for the blasters that remained on the ground with the body parts of the two dead Igari.
I ran out and yelled, “Cover that hallway! There are at least eight guards coming down from the bridge!”
The two crewmen with the blasters sprinted to the elevator doors. When the doors opened, the Igari were caught in a deadly crossfire by surprise. The crewmen yelled, and a dozen of their comrades raced down the hall, laying claim to the newly liberated weapons.
I spoke over the comm to Garrett. “Get us out of here! The Humans are attempting to retake the ship.”
Garrett yelled over the comm, “Get back in the hallway by the bilge. A shuttle is about to come through that gravity wall, and it’s guaranteed to be loaded with troops!”
I took Joni by the arm as I turned to yell at the remaining crewmen. “Take cover! A shuttle is about to come through there with more troops!”
The crewmen began to scatter, with two running in our direction. I pulled Joni around the corner just as the shuttle came into view. As it settled, the ramp-way lowered and the first of forty-eight Igari stormed out onto the deck. A fierce storm of blaster fire erupted from the hallway to the elevators. A flurry of ion bolts was returned by the Igari as they spread out on the deck around the shuttle. Two blaster repeaters, the weapons of the shuttle, were then turned toward the hallway, with several bursts of rapid fire sent screaming down toward the elevators. The two crewmen that had joined our position huddled behind us.
As I turned back to check on Joni, an ion bolt exploded on the wall behind us. Shrapnel was sent flying, injuring one of the two crewmen.
I pointed. “Get down the hall and lie low!”
I turned back and fired two bolts out around the corner in the direction of the shuttle.
Garrett said, “Whoa! Nice shots!”
“I couldn’t see what I was shooting at, just blind luck.”
An ion bolt impacted the floor just in front of us. Another hit the wall across from us as the Igari began to spread out their formation.
I yelled, “Garrett! Get us out of here!”
Garrett replied, “Turn your ass around and get to the end of that space! I’m coming in!”
I turned toward Joni and ran for the back of the hall. The Jess came sliding through the gravity wall with her twin cannons blazing. The shuttle was quickly disarmed and half of the two dozen soldiers surrounding it killed. Two additional blasts took out another three soldiers on the ground, and a third blast rolled up the shuttle ramp-way, taking out the remaining Igari aboard.
The Human crewmen stormed out of the elevator hall, catching the remaining Igari in a bad position. Thirty seconds after Garrett’s arrival, the fighting had come to an end.
Joni and I ran across the deck toward the Jess.
I followed. “What were you doing out there that took so long?”
Garrett replied, “I came in behind the escort ship and took out her port engine. That shuttle emerged as she dropped back. I would imagine she can catch back up with a few repairs. So, we need to get out of here as soon as we can.”
I looked around at the destruction that had just occurred. The two crewmen, one injured, slowly moved out of the hallway behind us.
As we reached the extended ramp-way of the Jess, I stopped Joni. “Go up and wait. I’m going to assist the Humans. If they can take this ship, they can return home.”
As I sprinted away from the Jess, Garrett came on the comm. “Tell me you aren’t doing what I think you are doing.”
I replied, “I can’t just leave these men. We have to at least give them a chance.”
By the time I reached the bridge, the fighting was over. The remaining Igari had fought to the death, and control of the Jasmire had been returned to the Humans. The ship’s course was adjusted to take it toward the closest colony.
I spoke with the officer in charge. “Lieutenant, I'm going to need a favor from you.”
The lieutenant replied, “Whatever you ask, sir. We're in your debt.”
“I need you to erase the data recorders and have your men all tell the same story of what happened here. You're going to report that your men overpowered the guards and retook this ship, and we caught up after the fighting was over. I don’t want any word of us instigating the fight; we were only here afterward.”
The lieutenant gave a confused look.
“I have an important client with me, and it's in all our best interests that she not be involved. Just stick to that script, Lieutenant, and we'll all come out of this like heroes.”
“Sir, at this point, these men won’t have issue with anything you want us to do. We owe you our lives. Consider your request as already granted.”
I thanked the lieutenant and returned to the Jess. Joni was sitting in a chair, while Garrett had locked himself in his sleeping quarters.
“What's going on?” Joni asked. “The pilot of this ship, he locked himself in his quarters and he won’t speak.”
“I’ll fill you in on the way back to the Daunte.”
As we lifted off the deck and taxied toward the gravity wall, the lieutenant came over the comm. “Just wanted to thank you again for your efforts, Mr. Beutcher. We should be at Hanton Downs Colony in two days. The authorities can take this ship from there.”
“Thanks, Lieutenant, the drive of your men is what made this all possible to begin with. You were met with an overwhelming force and managed to come out of this with your cargo intact. We lost a lot of men today, but that comes with the line of duty we're all in. The best we can do for everyone is to continue on.”
I landed the Jess on the rogue moon beside the Daunte. A transfer of Raptor was made and the ramp-way closed.
After lifting off, I turned to Joni. “You're straight on the story, right?”
Joni replied, “Yes. The pirates attacked; we pursued and caught up after the action was over. I was never in harm’s way, and I'm the one that insisted we follow. All the bases are covered if everyone sticks to their stories.”
“We have to consider what happened. If your father believes this job to be even mildly dangerous, he'll pull you back close. All your schooling efforts will have been wasted.”
Joni nodded. “I know. I’m just a little frustrated right now at thinking about everything that just happened. All that action, and I was only witness to a couple minutes of it. I pulled my blaster, but I never got off a shot.”
“Well, I’m hoping what we did back there was the right thing.”
Joni pulled her head back as if shocked at my response. “What? Why would you say that?”
I sat back in my chair, crossing my arms. “These people, it seems mostly the Igari, are not happy with your uncle’s rule. The decisions being made by the ruling families are having far-reaching effects on the everyday citizen. People’s lives, the lives of their families, their sustenance and survival, are all in jeopardy. Most can only be pushed just so far before they begin to push back. If your family doesn’t begin to make wholesale changes, this is all only going to get worse.”
“I’ve heard rumblings, but most are too scared to say anything around me. I appreciate the fact you speak out like you do. I’m not involved in the family’s politics, but I do see some of the results. That attack—I was not prepared for anything like that. I felt like a coward just hiding away in that cargo hold.”
I placed my hand on her shoulder. “Very few people will naturally act in those situations. Most have to go through extensive training, such as military drills, in order to know what to do. Others gain that knowledge through experience.”
“You weren’t in the military, were you?”
I shook my head. “No, but I'm old, and with age comes stubbornness. You just develop an attitude where you aren’t going to take crap from anyone, and that spills over into your decision making. Sometimes that’s a good thing, and sometimes not so much.”
“You seemed like you knew exactly what you were doing out there.”
“Believe me when I say I'm winging it. The captain took me off doing inspections of Motlin ships because I am not tolerant of those in power taking advantage of the system. I think the Motlin Corporation has a lot of smuggling going on, and their crews are taking advantage of the company name, expecting to be conveniently overlooked when contraband is found. That hard-nosed trait used to be sought after; now it’s a hindrance to your career.”
Joni smiled. “Well, if it’s all the same to you, Mr. Beutcher, it’s one of the things I admire in someone. What do you have if you don’t have principles?”
“Unfortunately, you have what we are living with today.”
Joni changed the subject. “Why won’t you tell me who it was that helped us out back there? Whose ship was that? I’m guessing it was a bodyguard my father has watching over me.”
“Some questions are better left unanswered. Just know that it’s the reason we're both sitting here right now. While that assault wasn’t because of you, had word gotten out you were taken during it, it would have spelled more trouble for your family.”
Upon arrival at SS5, the captain was waiting on the deck of Bay-17. “Where have you been? Why did you not follow protocol?”
“Miss Salton just filed a full report. Just after our arrival, the freighter and its escort ship were attacked. It was Igari pirates. They overwhelmed the destroyer, capturing it and its crew. They took possession of the Jasmire and left. Miss Salton insisted that we follow and assist. I tried to tell her we were not prepared to do anything, as our equipment is for inspection and not war. She, however, insisted, so we pursued.”
The captain rubbed the hair on the sides of his head. “Are you nuts? We can’t let her chase pirates out there! What if she had been captured!”
I shook my head. “She wasn’t captured, Captain. We did our best to keep our distance. The crewmen of the escort managed to overthrow their captors, and the Jasmire should be pulling into the Hanton Downs colony anytime now.”
The captain replied, “Hanton Downs? That's a long way from where you were supposed to be.”
I laughed. “I think you're letting yourself get too worked up. Miss Salton is here, she's safe, and the Jasmire is back in the hands of the Motlin Corporation crews. If you read your report, you'll find that we were never in any real danger. I’m starting to worry about you, Captain. If you're worried about the Saltons, I believe they will be pleased with how all this turned out.”
As I began to walk past Paq Wendell, he reached out and grabbed my arm. “Is that blood? On your back right here. That looks like dried blood.”
I looked over my shoulder. “Hmm. We did board the Jasmire after she was retaken. Perhaps I got that from one of the crew.”
“Something does
n’t pass the smell test here, Beutcher. You're too calm about all this. I will find out what happened, and when I do, I'm going to be on you like—”
I placed my hand on his shoulder. “There you go again, Captain; you're all wrapped up in drama. Are you having hormone problems?”
Paq Wendell scowled. “Hormone problems? I'll—”
Joni Salton emerged from the Daunte. “Hey, Captain, did you hear? The Jasmire got hijacked.”
The captain’s tone changed. “Yes, Miss Salton, so Knog tells me. It looks like everything worked out OK for you, though.”
Joni nodded as she walked past the smiling captain. “I would have to say it was a great learning experience, Captain. Mr. Beutcher kept me safe, and I got to see the whole thing. How many of your detectives can say they were witness to a cesium ore hauler being captured by pirates?”
The captain continued his forced smile as Joni moved away. “I’m glad we could give you the positive experience, Miss Salton!”
Paq Wendell turned back to face me, poking his finger into my chest. “I’ve known you long enough to know that I'm not getting the whole truth here, Beutcher. Just hope the Chief doesn’t get wind of anything that doesn't line up with that report.”
I smiled. “I don’t think the Chief will take any issue with Miss Salton’s report, Captain. You might see if you can find a way to relax; you’ve been a bit too stressed lately.”
As I walked away, the captain stared. I was certain our next inspections would be close to the station, if not just outside. It would not be the best training mix for Joni, but the alternative would be nothing at all.