DarkStar Running (Living on the Run Book 2) (9 page)

“There’s no other way, Captain.”

“No, there isn’t.”

Stan studied the events on his screen. “
DarkStar
, get
that engine on line NOW.”

“Aye, sir. One moment please.”

“You have a plan, Lilia?”

“One’s formulating.”

“I’ve got nothing, girl. We better—”

“Got it!” she snapped. All business now, her actions were
decisive and steady. “Yeah. Ready the weapons.” But when she punched in the command
to create a
Sensory Shadow-ship
, nothing happened
.

“
Sorry, Captain Slone,”
DarkStar
said. “That
feature is currently offline.”

As
DarkStar’s
auto-mend systems continued with
repairs, the ship slowly picked up speed.

The Xebec, still a great distance from them, picked up
momentum as well, but still hadn’t made the jump to light. The first ship to do
so would hold the advantage over the other. Against the Xebec’s numerous guns,
speed would be
DarkStar’s
only plus.

Stan studied the power indicators and made a mental note of
the Xebec’s position. “
DarkStar
, give me rockets, and load the torpedo
chambers.”

“Aye, sir.”

Lilia seemed stressed. “
DarkStar
, are you close to
finishing repairs? We have a need for speed, girl. Give us something, will ya?”

In that instant, the ship lurched and jumped to light speed.

Lilia, at the helm, quickly formed a
Shadow-ship
, but
got nothing but a red, flashing,
offline
light for her troubles. The
damaged Slipband drive, even when pressed, gave her little better than light
speed.

“Come on, girl,” Lilia said. “Give me one fold, one lousy
little fold,
please
.”

Suddenly the ship jumped one-fold to double their velocity.

“Yes! Atta girl!” Lilia patted her console in appreciation,
then turned to Stan. “You’ve got to hit the Xebec before it hits us, Stan.
DarkStar
can’t take much more pounding.”

Hitting the Xebec without killing it could spell certain
doom. Because of
DarkStar’s
alterations, Lilia was as aware of the
danger as he.

As they went in, Lilia had to swing
DarkStar
wildly
to evade the Xebec’s guns and get in close enough to make each of her own shots
count. Even so, Stan still had to lock on to vital areas just to hurt the big,
heavily armored ship. He could run out everything he had along the Xebec’s
hindquarter and, if not careful, do little more than make it mad.

Stan glared and growled without saying a word. He had faced
one of these beasts before but hadn’t fared as well as he wanted. In his
previous encounter, the Xebec’s plating, a celamic-tricoen alloy, exceptional
in its ability to transfer zithion energy, had spread the charge over a larger
area to lessen the blow. The result; Stan and his men had barely escaped with
their lives.

Stan growled again. “This time around, let’s see how well
you handle rockets, punk.”

Time was critical, and the Xebec was the linchpin. Andrews’
ship would be lost to the Galleasses if too much time was spent on the Xebec.
But if hurrying caused Stan to fail in disabling the beast, those in Boyd’s
life pods would be at risk of enslavement.

The huge Xebec began to lay down heavy fire as
DarkStar
headed in. As she shot past it, one errant shot caught her flank to spin
DarkStar
out of control. Lilia fought to regain command as
DarkStar
swung around
hard, only to come to rest behind the Xebec.

As the huge ship started its turn to bring its guns to bear,
Stan spotted its one weakness—
every ship had one
—a choice target called
the
sweet spot.
For the Xebec,
this Xebec
, it was a vent below
and behind its bridge. Stan fired off three rockets in succession, and the
bright explosion, near enough to shake
DarkStar,
downed the shield and
hit the vent.

Before the Xebec could retaliate, Stan fired another round,
which tore away the Xebec’s conning tower in a blaze of twisted metal.

“Now let’s see how well you pilot that bucket of bolts
without a bridge, buddy boy.”

Lilia pulled hard about and headed for Andrews’ ship. “Good
shooting, Stan. One down. Now for the Galleasses.
DarkStar
, report!”

“I have minor damage throughout my frame and though drive
output is down twenty-five percent, I am effecting repairs. The life pods are
now safely away from the
Star Sword
.”

“Give me tactical,” Lilia said.

The 3-D hologram came up to show that the Galleasses had
gained on Andrews’ ship.
DarkStar
was far behind. “How long before the
pirates catch
Val Hilliard
?”

“15 minutes.”
DarkStar
said.

“And what’s our ETA?”

“At present, 22 minutes, Captain Slone.”

“Calculate
Val Hilliard’s
least survival time.”

“Roger, Captain. Three minutes, if the two Galleasses use
full fire power.”

“We’re going to be too late.”

Stan swung around to face her. “No, we’re not. We’ve got
more time than that. The pirates want to get paid, and their paycheck is aboard
Val Hilliard
.”

“Roger that, Stan. Level-A Stealth, please, so they don’t
detect our approach.”

“Negative, Captain. We
do
want them to see us. We
need to draw fire away from
Val Hilliard
to give him breathing room.”

Uneasy, Lilia shifted in her seat. Her dependence on Stealth
was understandable, but this wasn’t the time to use it.

“Lilia, I know
DarkStar
can’t take many more blows,
but if we’re to give Andrews a fighting chance, we must separate those ships.
Stealth mode uses too much energy, which only leaves me with rockets. If those
Galleasses have
ARCMs
, then rockets will be useless.”

A long sigh spoke of Lilia’s reluctance. “All right. If
we’re going in fully visible, Stan, we’ll need to do some fancy flying. Want to
take the helm?”

“If you can handle the guns, sure.”

At Lilia’s nod Stan tabbed his console to transfer the
gunnery display to her control and the helm to his.

As they neared the Galleasses sensor range, difficult
decisions made Lilia grip her console hard. “Stan,
Prize
, at 180 feet,
will hardly be seen as much of a threat. Only half the size of a Corsair and a
third the size of a mammoth Galleass . . . well . . .”

“I see. If both ships ignore us and focus their guns on
Andrews, they could convince him to give up his precious cargo.”

“That won’t do at all,” Lilia said. “Gov. Chact is all
that’s keeping them alive. To give him up would mean enslavement . . .
or
death
. . . for the crew
of
Val Hilliard
.”

Stan stared at his scanner for a second. Then a sly grin
curled his lips. “Since they can’t see us at this distance,
DarkStar
,
cloak yourself with the Xebec’s energy readings;
Level
-
B
Stealth,
please. And make this bridge match the Xebec’s when com-lines are open.”

“Roger, Captain Archer.”

Lilia shot a startled scowl at Stan. “I don’t see where
you’re going with this.”

“While you’re at it,
DarkStar,
turn Lilia into Capt.
Boyd’s double.”

“What? Uh, uh.
No way
.” Lilia said.

“You can pull this off. I just hope Andrews doesn’t blow
your cover.”

“Well, I’ll try, but you better have a plan B.” Lilia took a
deep breath, and closed her eyes to mentally get into character. “Okay
DarkStar
,
when we’re in
Val Hilliard’s
sensor range, open a com-line. And I do
mean
wide open
so the pirates and all can listen.”

“Roger, Captain Slone. Coming into sensor range in T-minus
30 seconds.” The next moment,
DarkStar
hailed
Val Hilliard
and
the screen lit up with the image of Capt. Andrews.

Andrews’ calm expression covered a mix of hope, relief, and
frustration, but didn’t hide the surprise in his voice. “Captain Boyd, you’ve
captured the Xebec?”

“Roger, Cap. I’m sorry for the delay, but the Xebec’s crew
did resist her capture.”

Andrews thought quickly, pulled his watch from his pocket,
glanced at it, and raised an eyebrow toward the image of Boyd.

“Yes, sir,” she said as though reading his mind, “I got
cocky and allowed them to put up a fight. But sir, I shall not be so lax with
these Galleasses. Or did you wish to take these two apart yourself?”

Andrews glanced again at his pocket watch, and then looked
at her sternly. “I have enough notches on my belt, Captain Boyd. This is your
chance to build your reputation, so have at them. There are only
two
, so
I’ll give you five minutes to take them down. And
Captain . . .”

“Yes, sir?”

“. . . prisoners, please. Dead men make lousy
slaves.”

Lilia let her lips form a sinister grin. “Aye, Captain
Andrews. Boyd out.” With that, the screen went black.

“Well played, Lilia!” Stan was warm and positive. “Andrews
caught on quickly, too . . . for an amateur. Now let’s see if it
worked.”

She sat erect, in her chair. Her fingers, tapping a nervous
rhythm on the armrest, were the only sign of the tension she bore.

“Somebody
do
something!” she said.

“Hey! Hey!” Stan cheered. “We’re getting a response. One
Galleass is cutting and heading for high ground.”

“Really?” Lilia sounded like a child who had just aced a
test she had no time to study for.

Stan chuckled at the surprised glee lighting her face.
Despite the apparent danger, she clearly enjoyed the excitement. As Stan’s
smile grew he carefully considered her enthusiasm. “Now tell me you weren’t
great.”

Wide-eyed, Lilia couldn’t hide her grin, nor did she try. “I
was awesome!”

DarkStar’s
soft voice filled the bridge. “We are
being hailed by Capt. Andrews.”

Lilia squared her shoulders. “Open the com.”

With a stern expression, Captain Andrews appeared on the
screen. “Change of plans, Captain Boyd. Go after the runner, and I’ll use the
device on this straggler myself,” he said, having guessed the deceptive game
Boyd was playing; inventing a mysterious weapon himself.

“Captain Andrews, you’re spoiling my fun. I was looking
forward to my first triple capture, but by your command, sir. Boyd out.” With
that the screen again went black.

Val Hilliard
slowed to a stop and turned on its
pursuer.

Finding itself now alone and sandwiched between two menacing
ships, the remaining Galleass panicked and frantically veered to speed off in a
different direction.

Once the Galleass was beyond scanner range, Stan dropped the
Xebec’s energy readings. Andrews brought his ship back to
Prize
, and
together the two returned to
Star Sword
, Boyd, and her crew. Nothing was
left but the life-pods and metal debris.

“Looks like vultures will feast tonight, Lilia. I’m just
glad it won’t be on us.”

“I’ve met my share of Salvage Jacks at the tavern, Stan.
Unlike pirates, they’re nice people, hardworking, decent folk, really. They’re
just looking to clean up space debris, especially if they can make a profit
from what they salvage.”

Prize
turned toward Praxis to escort the brigantine
back to its home. Along the way, Stan and Lilia couldn’t help but notice the
deafening silence. Andrews made no gesture of gratitude whatsoever, not that
doing so was required, but considering all they’d just gone through . . .
it was a bit odd.

As Praxis came into view, and at seeing no other trap to
contend with, Stan and Lilia turned
DarkStar
back toward Providence.

“We’re being hailed,”
DarkStar
said.

“Do you think we’ll get that
thank you
after all?” Stan
said.

“Somehow I doubt it, Stan.
DarkStar
, open the com,
please.”

Captains Andrews and Boyd came on the screen. “Mr.
Farnsworth, that’s some ship you have there.
Prize
is a remarkable
craft.”

“Not really, Captain. Prize is just a common boat with high
dollar tech. You can get similar upgrades for your ship on Parandi.”

“We could use a Captain and crew of your abilities,” Andrews
added, “to help us bring Praxis back on the right path.”

Stan forced a polite smile. “What do you expect of me and my
ship, Captain? Your government’s corrupt. Take care of that, and things will
change.”

Andrews winced. Apparently Stan’s words, catching him off
guard, struck a raw nerve. “We could simply seize your ship, Farnsworth. As I
see it, the necessities of a whole planet outweigh your individual needs a
thousand times over.”

“I think that’s an absurd argument for thievery, Captain,
which makes my point. You need to change your own thinking about such matters
before anything else.” The screen went black.
DarkStar
increased to half
sub-light.

The ship jolted. “Sir, they’ve fired on us,”
DarkStar
said.

Stan brought
Prize
to a complete stop and turned to
the screen in expectation. “You know what, Lilia? I’m thinking Praxis might be
a good place to stop for the night.”

“Really? I’m not certain that’s such a bright idea.”

“Trust me. You’ll see.”

“We are being hailed, sir,” alerted
DarkStar.

“Put’em on.”

When the screen came up, Stan sighed in clear
disappointment. “Is this how you repay a kindness, Andrews; with treachery
instead of a thank you? So you’re a pirate after all, are you?”

Andrews’ face was pinched in a harsh scowl. “You will alter
course to Praxis,
Trog
. I’ve stated my case, and I will not debate it
with the likes of you.” The com-line closed.