Scrapyard Ship (19 page)

“Make no mistake, Craing. This vessel has one captain and one captain only—and that’s me. Jason looked over to Orion and Ricket and nodded. Unceremoniously, the medallions from the other officers were removed and placed around Orion’s and Ricket’s neck. “Ricket, these Craing crewmembers are going to take us on a little tour. By the time we’re through, you’re going to know everything you need to know in order to fly this vessel into orbit and beyond.

“Yes, sir. Although I probably do not need the tour to be able to do that,” Ricket said, now returning a blank stare back at the Craing crewmembers.

“Humor me. Let’s start with the bridge,” Jason replied, as they headed off toward the forward section of the Craing vessel. Jason was hailed by Lieutenant Commander Perkins. “Go for Captain.”

“Captain, I have Admiral Crawford—hold.”

“Captain Reynolds. This is Admiral Crawford. Is this a good time to get a status report?”

“Yes, in fact it is, Admiral. The Craing ship is ours. The Craing crew has been taken into custody—unfortunately, we still need to figure out what to do with them. Right now, I’m aboard their ship and we’ll be taking command of it shortly.”

“What exactly are your intensions with that ship, Captain? Needless to say, we’d like to get our hands on her—their technology just may save this planet,” she said, sounding somewhat desperate.

“Here’s my problem, Admiral. And it’s the same one my father faced. I have no idea who I can trust. It’s evident the Craing have infiltrated into high levels of the government and military. The Army is compromised. Just this morning I took two bullets from a team of Army Rangers, both of whom were Craing-human hybrids. I’ve been thinking about this dilemma and I’m afraid if this is going to work, a new branch of service needs to be formed from scratch. It will be an outpost of the United Planetary Alliance. No one gets in without being fully vetted and tested. Anyone who joins up will be on extended loan from their corresponding service branch, but will not report to the U.S. military, our government, or any other chain of command.” Jason knew what he was proposing was a lot to chew on; in fact, much of it had only gelled now that he was speaking with the admiral.

“Captain, that is simply preposterous! What makes you think—”

Jason cut her off. “And one more thing, Admiral. I trust you. And I’d like you to lead this outpost. Think about it and please talk to Secretary of Defense Walker. He’s another one I trust. We’re in serious need of military support—men, women, and logistical support. As of right now, we have two well-equipped interstellar vessels. There are three more in Earth orbit that I’ll need to bring under my control, if we are going to stand up to the approaching Craing fleet.”

“I am, for no better word—speechless, Captain. I’ll contact Secretary Walker and get back to you.” Jason had thrown a lot on her plate and he only hoped he hadn’t scared her off. One thing was for sure, he would need help from those who had already proven their honesty, grit, and courage.

The Craing bridge wasn’t much different from the rest of the ship—dirty and a strange combination of highly-advanced technology and almost 19
th
Century mechanical machinery. Ricket had taken the lead and was moving about the bridge, accessing their systems via touchscreen keyboards, not unlike what 21
st
Century Earth used. As Jason stood back and watched Ricket do his magic, he watched the Craing officers and their resigned, almost calm demeanors. “You, the one who was captain of this ship. Why no resistance? Why have you made it so easy for us to take this vessel?”

The Craing officer looked up at Jason and didn’t respond at first. Eventually, he straightened up and held Jason’s stare. “In four hundred years no one has ever breeched and boarded a Craing vessel. It was immediately evident that your technology was far superior to ours. We have disgraced our heritage—we have allowed our Overlords, the eaters of the conquest, to be taken prisoner. Death will be our only reward now. All we ask is that you make it swift and as painless as possible.”

“That might not be possible. You see, one of those prisoners you had locked up in those cages, way up there on the ninth deck, well, she’s very special to me. And the thought that you would have carved her up to be eaten by your—what did you call them? Your Overlords? Well, I think I need to ensure you’ll stay alive for a very long time.”

“It is a great honor to be presented to the
eaters of the conquest
. I do not understand your anger.”

Jason hadn’t intended to shoot the little captain. But he really had no choice. Like the pirates on the Christina, sometimes the Universe is just better off without the riffraff. Jason raised his pulse rifle, squeezed the trigger, and watched the Craing’s body catapult across the bridge. Fortunately, for the Craing officer, the rifle was set to stun.

“Orion, have these other Craing clean-up this mess. Ricket, continue with the ship-wide tour and ensure that we can get her into orbit as soon as possible. Be prepared to teach the rest of us how to fly this thing.”

Ricket looked over at the unconscious Craing captain and then back to Jason. “What about damage to this vessel? We can’t very well go into orbit like this.” Ricket then went back to what he was doing. Jason looked over at the Craing crewmembers and raised his eyebrows. They returned the gesture and nodded their heads in unison.

“We’ll fix, we have many parts and can patch the hull. We fix everything,” the Craing officer said. Jason thought he might be the same Craing who’d worn the silver medallion.

“Good. Let’s get to it then. And we’ll need to have the weapons systems repaired as well.” Jason looked over at Orion and said, “Have Billy send-up several SEALs to watch over them. No Craing goes unescorted. But with their help maybe we can get this tin can up and running faster than if we’re left to do it ourselves.” Jason left the bridge without saying another word.

Chapter 14

Jason had Ricket deploy the vessel’s gangway. He returned to the lower deck of the Craing ship and stood there, looking out at the rustic Chihuahuan. The Craing Overloads were now assembled by the right front landing strut. The other Craing crewmembers were held farther back where there was some semblance of shade. SEAL sentries kept weapons pointed in their direction. Jason heard them before he saw them. The
thump thump thump
of four large Chinook helicopters. There was an incoming hail from his XO.

“Go for Captain.”

“We have our Top Gun pilots arriving now, as well as another one hundred fresh SEALs. Looks like Admiral Crawford really came through for us. And it could be in just the nick of time. Those three Craing Cruisers that left have now reentered Earth’s orbit—I imagine they’re wondering what happened to their other ship.”

“Keep your eye on those ships and let me know if there are any developments. Where’d you set down?” Jason asked, looking off toward the horizon.

“Don’t worry, it’s safe to phase-shift back now.” Within several moments, The Lilly appeared twenty meters off the bow of the Craing ship. Startled, Jason thought to himself that Perkins was having way too much fun phase-shifting all over the place.

As Jason descended the Craing ship’s ramp, The Lilly’s forward and aft gangways descended. He saw his officers, including Lieutenant Perkins, Chief Engineer Horris, and Dira. Ricket and Orion were still on the Craing ship—they had a lot of clean-up work to do. Jason met up with his crew and they all turned to watch men and equipment pouring out of the Chinooks. Billy and his teams acted as the welcoming committee and it became obvious that many had served together previously. He never tired of watching the open jaws and double takes of career-hardened military men when they first set eyes on The Lilly, not to mention the larger Craing ship. Dira eyed Jason and smiled. “I checked on your wife—she’s doing fine.”

“She’s my ex-wife, but thank you just the same.” Jason wondered why he felt the need to clarify his marital status to Dira, and realized this situation could get complicated. The ten Top Gun pilots were approaching. He’d thought SEALs had a certain over-confidence, but these Navy pilots brought a whole new meaning to the word swagger. Dressed in their standard drab green flight suits and carrying their helmets under their arms, the eight men and two women came to attention in front of Jason and his crew and saluted.

“Welcome. I’m Captain Reynolds, he said,” returning their salutes. “Who’s the leader of this group?” He closely watched their faces. They were all lieutenants according to the rank on their flight suits. Without hesitation, the shortest of the men stepped forward and saluted again. A flicker of irritation was apparent on the other pilots’ faces.

“That would be me, sir. Lieutenant Craig Wilson. Not only completed the U.S. Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program, but achieved Top Gun status, above and beyond the others in my group.”

“So what makes you their leader, Lieutenant Wilson?” Jason asked, amused.

“Because I stepped up, sir. I always step up.”

“How do you feel about flying in space in a craft we know very little about and without an instructor?” For the first time Jason noticed a hesitancy in the pilot’s confidence. Jason smiled and addressed all the pilots. “We do have a certain amount of training, something called HyperLearning. You’ll go to sleep in a coffin-like box and wake up knowing things you don’t recall learning. Dira here is our Medical doctor and will help you get situated and start your HyperLearning sessions over the next few hours. Any questions? Good, dismissed.”

Dira stepped forward and shook each of their hands and they proceeded off as a group toward the ship. One by one, the Chinooks lifted off and headed toward the horizon. Chief Engineer Horris stood with his hands in his pockets, which only accentuated his bulging belly. “You like screwing with them,” he said, more of a statement than a question.

Jason nodded and smiled, then pointed to the insect-like Craing vessel, like a wide green grasshopper ready to hop away. “What do you know about Craing propulsion drive systems?”

“They’re very similar to most of the Alliance Drive systems. So I guess quite a bit. Why?” Chief Horris asked, looking at Jason with a slight scowl.

“Because that big green tin can over there has recently joined our fleet. Now you’re engineering chief for her as well as The Lilly. Obviously you can’t be in two places at once. You’ll need someone you can count on to watch over the Craing ship’s engineering. Let me know before we lift off who that will be.”

Chief Horris frowned, nodded, and shuffled back toward The Lilly. Jason was about to return to the ship himself when another helicopter made an approach and landed, this time a smaller Apache. He knew who it was right away. Wearing navy blue and grey camo’s, Admiral Crawford headed straight for him. With short red hair and fair skin, he guessed she was approaching fifty, but she was an attractive woman in her own right.

“Captain Reynolds, I presume?” she asked, all business.

“Yes, Admiral," Jason said, saluting. "An unexpected visit. For what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Drop the dumb-ass act, Captain. You know perfectly well why I'm here." He saw that the admiral had kept a smile on her face, which was a good sign. “I’ve come to see things for myself. With three more Craing vessels buzzing around in orbit, your ship, ships—are more than just strategic, they’re essential.”

“No offense, Ma’am, but I’ll need to confirm you’re human before I can let you onboard either ship.”

The admiral, somewhat nonplussed, pushed out her ample chest while looking down, and then back up again at Jason, with a slight smile on her face. “Son, you’re not going to find anyone more human than me, but do what you have to do.”

Jason hailed Ricket and waited for him to come back on NanoCom’s.

“Go for Ricket.”

“I need your assistance outside the Craing vessel.”

“I’m very busy, Captain. I’ll be done here—”

Jason cut him off, frustrated. “Just get down here; you can return to what you’re doing in a few minutes.”

“Aye, sir,” Ricket replied.

Jason proceeded to give the admiral an outside tour of both ships. Similar to what McBride had done for him several days ago when he’d first been introduced to The Lilly and her crew. Admiral Crawford listened intently and asked intelligent questions. He knew, having been in her same position, that she must be feeling overwhelmed. Jason intentionally did not warn the admiral about Ricket—being something more than alien, but also machine. She showed no reaction whatsoever when Ricket approached. Although she did look over to Jason with a quick glance—letting him know she knew his game.

“Admiral Crawford, I’d like to introduce you to Ricket, our Science Officer.”

“Good afternoon, Admiral Crawford, nice to meet you,” Ricket said, shaking her outstretched hand. Ricket immediately looked up at Jason and nodded his head, seemingly bored with this same routine. “She’s as human as you are, Captain. You do know there’s now an automated way to do this—yes?”

“Thank you, but I’m fine doing things this way, at least for now, Ricket.”

The small mechanical alien shrugged. “Yes, sir. If there’s nothing else, I’d like to return to the Craing vessel to complete my tasks.”

“Thank you, Ricket.” Jason then turned back to the admiral. “Before you board, Admiral, I need to know if you’re coming on board as a U.S. Navy officer, or as a member of the United Planetary Alliance? As I mentioned, we need to create an outpost here on Earth, one that is separate from the influences of government and military persuasions.”

“And these two ships will come under my authority in that position?”

“No. The Craing ship will, and perhaps others shortly. But The Lilly is, and will remain, an independent asset.”

The admiral nodded, her expression indicating she wasn’t completely satisfied by Jason’s answer. “That little
greet and meet
with Ricket—he vetted me, didn’t he?”

Jason nodded. “Yes, as he did the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which is why General Peter Bickerdick of the U.S. Air Force is now held in a brig somewhere in Washington.”