Escape from andromeda, p.16
Escape From Andromeda, page 16
part #1 of The Galactic Wars Series
"Is everyone alright?" Sara asked.
"The shuttles are but I still do not know about the soldiers," Leanna replied. Or their leaders, she silently added. The doors to docking port one opened and she pushed Sara to the front of the line of people. "Go, tell the admiral about the encrypted message we picked up."
She could see the woman wanted to argue, so, she shoved her toward the door. "Go, tell them about the message."
"Alright," Sara replied and rushed through the door.
Just as the last of the passengers were boarding shuttle two, the doors for shuttle three opened and people started rushing to get on board. Leanna stepped through the door for the first shuttle and hollered toward the Earthling pilot, Slutter.
“The admiral?”
“Alive. No injuries. We took the ship without a single shot being fired.”
She breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "How long?"
"Ten there, five to unload, and another fifteen to get back here and redock."
An hour to get everyone off the Oxsefatable. She didn't know why, but Leanna knew they were running out of time. She found Sara.
"Find the admiral as quickly as you can, Sara."
"I will," she replied.
As soon as the first two shuttles were off, Leanna rushed to the ships coms and called the bridge. "Any more messages?"
"No, lieutenant."
His words did not reassure her. "Tell Ukner to keep a close eye for any movement from those warships."
"Lieutenant," he replied.
“Vartg, vartg, vartg," she muttered.
The last of the shuttles docked and quickly loaded its passengers. Now there was nothing to do but wait and pray. In what seemed like forever, her handheld communicator crackled, announcing that they were back to pick up the next group of survivors and crew.
"Hurry, hurry," she urged. Time was running out.
Finally, the second group were gone and Leanna and the remaining fifteen people, or thirteen as Pax and Ukner were still on the bridge, waited in tense silence.
She walked over to the intercom and called up the bridge. "Any more messages?"
"No, Lieutenant," Pax replied.
"Can you see the Tratnox and the shuttles?"
Ukner replied, "We can now, they have been moving closer to us so this last trip should not take as long."
"Thank the gods," she said quietly. "As soon as you see the shuttles heading back towards us, get down here."
"Lieutenant," they both replied.
Eight minutes later, the intercom blared, "They are enroute and we are headed down."
She didn't bother to reply as she hoped they had already abandoned the bridge and were headed her way.
Two of the shuttles docked at almost the same time and their doors opened just as Pax ran through the door into the docking bay. Leanna was about to ask where Ukner was when Pax answered the unasked question.
"Ukner said he saw something and wanted to check it out. He will be right down."
"Go," she urged him. "I'll wait for Ukner with the last shuttle."
"Lieutenant," he replied and boarded the shuttle. Its doors were closing as Ukner came tearing into the docking bay, screaming at the top of his lungs.
"Warships! Warships! Coming from outside the solar system. They are headed straight for us and the Tratnox!"
"Vartg! Get on the shuttle!"
He raced passed her and she followed, slamming the button to seal the door as she did. "Go, go, go. There are warships headed our way. Warn the admiral and the other shuttle!"
Jac was going crazy. As the elected leader of their group, and more importantly, as Egrean Fleet Admiral Jartner, tasked with overseeing the transfer of the Tratnox’s crew, she had to remain onboard. Ironically, it was Commander Griffnox who suggested disembarking the detachment of soldiers while the Rescued and the Oxsefatable crew boarded the vessel.
Just as ironic, and somewhat suspicious, was that according to Griffnox, the majority of his own officers and crew would likely agree to join Jac in keeping the ship out of the hands of the Kyakans. As he had hand-picked them for this last trial run, Jac allowed him to determine who left with the soldiers and who stayed onboard the ship.
After drafting official looking orders to that effect, none of the officers or soldiers ordered to disembark questioned them. Hell, they accepted them with relief as no one wanted to be part of a dammed crew. Which was how most of them saw the final trial run of the Tratnox.
She hated being left behind yet understood why she had had to stay. Because not only was she overseeing the transfer of personnel, she was the most experienced pilot on the ship. Actually, until the Oxsefatable’s pilot arrived, she was currently the only pilot on the Tratnox. So, Jac was once again the de facto pilot of the ship she was on.
And if worrying about the transfer of all the people wasn't enough, she had to deal with two very angry Egreans. Both were giving her periodical disdainful glances. Roxen and Furtnorex might eventually forgive Jac for her silence on the forthcoming fate of their planet. On the other hand, she suspected that it would take a lot longer to forgive Leanna for not telling them sooner. Especially Roxen, because the two of them had been lovers for nearly a year. Off-and-on, according to Leanna. Yet Jac could tell from the way he had reacted to the news that he felt betrayed.
The doors to the lift whooshed open to the angry voice of a woman.
"I told you to get out of my way. I have an urgent message for Admiral Morgan from Lieutenant Leanna."
One of the newly trained, Egrean soldiers from the Oxsefatable was standing defiantly in front of the slightly shorter woman yet seemed diminished by her regal bearing. "Only officers are allowed on the bridge, dommy."
The woman's spine went rigid, and she appeared to grow a foot taller. "My name is Lady Sara Campbell. I do not know who this…this Dommy is for which you speak of, but I can assure you, my good man, that is not me!"
The crewman's back was to Jac, yet she saw him stand taller, too. "No Frozen are allowed on the –"
"Crewman!" Jac snarled. Jac well remembered the prejudice she had endured at the hands of most of the Egreans. They saw all off-worlders from undeveloped planets as inferiors and not worthy of their respect.
He twisted to address her while holding his hand out to keep Sara where she was. "Ad—"
He never finished his address to her as Lady Sara Campbell, nineteenth century proper English lady, belted him in the side of his head, nearly knocking him out. She lifted the hem of her skirt and daintily skirted around the prostrate man.
"Admiral Morgan, I have an urgent message from Lieutenant Leanna."
Jac was trying to not laugh at the indignant expression on the downed Egrean's face. "What is it, Lady Sara?"
"They detected something they called an…an encrypted message, coming from our ship or this one."
"What!" Jac cried, instantly sobered by the message.
Sara misunderstood and repeated, "They heard something they called an encrypted message. The man who heard it, said it had to come from here or from the Oxsefatable."
Jac jerked around to face the communications officer, "Lieutenant Zard?"
He was very young, for an Egrean, and obviously overwhelmed by all that was going on. "Checking, Admiral, checking." He flipped through a number of things on his control panel and looked back at her. "Nothing, Admiral. I'm not seeing any unusual communications at this time."
"Captain Griffnox?" Jac asked.
"It could have come from Danglex Two. Just routine communications that the communications officer of the Oxsefatable mistook as an encrypted message."
"How likely is that?" she questioned.
He shrugged. "I do not know the crew of the Oxsefatable. So, I do not know how competent they are at their jobs."
She reviewed what she knew of the officers left behind. Pax was filling in as the Oxsefatable's communications officer. She worried her lip for a second before turning back to the Tratnox's communication officer.
"Zard, monitor for any communications from this area."
"Admiral," he replied.
Laterno, the Tratnox's Operations and Tracking officer, called out, "The last two shuttles are docking with the cargo vessel, Commander Griffnox."
"Pilot, set our course for Pintnran System." There was urgency in Griffnox's voice despite his earlier reassurance.
"Aye, aye, Captain," Jac replied distractedly.
"Commander or Commander First Class Griffnox. I am not the captain of this ship. And what is this, 'aye, aye' thing?"
"Earthling for yes," Roxen replied.
Jac ignored the distain she heard in his voice and addressed Griffnox's comment. "Commander, you are the closest thing we have to a ship's captain. And knowing this group as I do now, I can assure you that you are, indeed, the new captain of the Tratnox."
The man peered at her in the same way Roxen and Furtnorex had been. He was about to argue, and she was coming up with a retort when the speaker barked to life.
"Warships, warships, warships! Unknown number of warships approaching from outside the solar system." The warning came from one of the Oxsefatable’s shuttles and not the Operations' Officer on Tratnox's bridge.
"Laterno!" Griffnox yelled.
The very young and inexperienced operations and tracking officer cried back, "Stand by, Commander. I've been monitoring the warships in orbit around—vartg." He whirled around, and if possible, his white complexion was paler. "Warships, Commander. They just dropped out of Fold one hundred zortices outside the solar system. And they are headed straight for us, Commander, and are closing at battle speed."
"How many?" Jac yelled at the same time Griffnox called for Battle Stations.
He regarded his screen and hollered out, "Three, Admiral. No, now there are four, now five, now seven warships." He looked up. "Admiral, three of the ships are Kyakan warships."
"Son-of-a-bitch! How long?"
"Five minutes," Laterno called out. He leaned toward the screen and corrected, "The lead ship is veering off and headed toward Danglex."
Griffnox speculated, "They are moving into position to cut off any escape route."
"How long until the others reach us, Laterno?"
"Six or seven minutes, Admiral."
"Captain, I am told that this ship has some of the most powerful weapons in the Egrean Fleet. Is that so?"
"It is, Admiral. But fending off seven warships while landing shuttles is not a good idea as we cannot engage the shields during landing operations. It would be better if we abandon the last two shuttles and make our fight out there," he said and pointed toward the advancing ships.
Sara, who had moved to a position behind her, grasped her shoulder in panic.
"No! We leave no one behind. Do what you can until we have recovered the last of the shuttles.”
"Admiral. Tratmor, engage our shields as soon as those shuttles are within the shield zone."
"Captain!" Laterno yelled. "The lead ships are firing!"
"Brace, brace, brace!" Griffnox hollered.
No one moved as they waited to be hit.
"Captain, they are not firing on us, they are firing at the last two shuttles."
"No!" Jac screamed and stared at the viewscreen as a number of missiles and phaser blasts streaked toward the Oxsefatable and the two shuttles.
In an instant, the Oxsefatable imploded and then exploded as both missiles and phaser fire hit it. The blast was so intense that it obscured the viewscreen for several seconds. Sara screamed and tried to move so she could see the screen better. Jac had to push her aside so she had a clear view of the devastation.
"The shuttles? The shuttles? Were they hit?" she asked as calmly as she could.
"Stand by," Laterno replied. "Stand by. The screen is still –"
Horror filled his eyes. "One of the shuttles was hit and is coming apart. The other took a hit but is still moving towards us."
"Shit!" She yelled. "Captain, fire at those ships. Keep them from destroying that shuttle." She glanced at Sara. "You told me that you volunteered at the Veteran's hospital in London."
She nodded, tight-lipped.
"Go, they may need medical attention when they land," Jac ordered.
"Right, Admiral," she replied and took off running toward the lift.
Jac examined her screen. "Tratmor, target the lead ship and fire!"
"Firing," the officer called back.
Laterno called out at the same time, "Shuttle is within the zone, shields are up, Captain."
"Roxen," Griffnox barked.
"On it, Captain," he replied and took off running.
He turned to Jac. "They told me you are the best vartgin pilot they have ever seen. Were they correct?"
"I can fly," she replied.
He nodded. "Find us a route past those ships."
"Aye, aye, Captain,” She examined the display of the solar system and the ships within it. "Captain, I've got one, but you are not going to like it."
"Why?" he asked.
"It will take us back into the solar system and past Egrean."
"That route will take us right past all the warships in orbit around Egrean and Danglex?" he said.
She shrugged. "At the moment, they are not moving or shooting at us. If we can get through the solar system before they realize what we are doing, we can go to Fold as soon as we reach the other end of the system."
His jaw tightened. "Plot it, pilot."
"Aye, aye, Captain."
"Captain, Admiral, two of the ships are moving to block that route," Laterno warned.
"How long?" Jac asked.
"Two, three minutes tops."
"The shuttle?" She asked.
"Landing now," Tratmor advised.
"Target those two ships and fire. Captain, you target the Werriton and fire at the same time. Hopefully they'll think the scuttled salvage ship was us and will give us the needed second we will need to get away."
"Admiral," they both said.
They all anxiously waited until Laterno hollered, "Target locked!"
"Fire!" Jac yelled and counted to one and punched the sub-light accelerator button. A bright light enveloped them as the abandoned super cargo ship exploded. They jumped into motion and two more lesser bright lights flashed as the two ships attempting to block them took direct hits to their engines.
The Tratnox jerked to the right and again to the left as two shots from the warships hit them.
"Laterno?” Jac barked.
"Two hits, Admiral. One to our loading bay, one to the fighter deck. No serious damage."
"Injuries?"
"Unknown, Admiral. I will check."
"No!" she commanded. "I need you to keep an eye on the ships chasing us. Captain, keep an eye on the warships around Egrean. I need to know if any of them get underway and move to block us."
"Admiral," they both replied.
She didn't know who they lost in the shuttle that exploded but hoped, prayed it wasn't Leanna.
"Approaching Egrean, Admiral, and no movement from the ships orbiting there," Griffnox advised.
She nodded. "I am going to light-speed as soon as we pass Egrean," she replied.
"Not advised," Griffnox warned. "It is not safe to use light drive within a solar system."
"No choice, Captain. We need to get as far away from those warships as we can."
"We could slam into –"
"I am well aware of the dangers, Captain Griffnox. I have plotted a path that will keep us clear of any celestial or Egrean-made objects."
"There are a lot of them," he remarked.
"Noted and tracked, Captain," she said, trying to reassure him and herself.
"They're firing," Laterno warned.
"Stand by, stand by, stand…" They passed Egrean and she hit the Light-speed button. "Jumping, now!"
The ship jerked violently and jumped to light-speed ten. "Four minutes to Fold. Laterno, advise the crew and passengers to prepare for jump to Fold Speed. Captain Griffnox, you and Tratmor keep those damn warships off our ass for four more minutes."
"Admiral," they all replied.
From her research, Jac knew the danger of going to Fold too close to planets or other objects: they tended to get caught in the Fold Bubble as well. Even parts of a planet's atmosphere. Consequently, no one jumped to Fold Speed while within a solar system or near other objects, including other spaceships.
"Clear of all planetary and solar bodies," Laterno ticked off.
"Stand by," Jac responded. "Fold in five—four—three—two—jump!"
"I detected one other Fold Bubble forming before we jumped, Admiral," Laterno warned.
"Changing course," she replied.
The danger to changing course while in Fold was making the bubble unsteady and destroying the ship. It was highly recommended to not make the maneuver.
"Slow and steady, slow and steady," she chanted.
According to the computer, it was the only way to do it, if a pilot was crazy enough to try to change course inside a bubble. Thankfully, she only needed to make very, very small change in course to achieve a huge change in direction.
"On course," she finally announced.
Jac, and she was sure, the rest of the bridge crew sighed with relief.
"Please don't do that again," Captain Griffnox said.
She forced as much positivity into her voice as she could. "I'll try. Laterno, any sign of pursuit?"
He flipped through a number of screens on his console. "None, Admiral.”
"Captain Griffnox, permission to set the controls to auto-pilot."
"Granted. Volernorex, relieve the admiral," Griffnox ordered.
"Captain," he replied and walked over to Jac. "Admiral, I relieve you."
"I stand relieved. The ship is yours." Jac got up from the control console and nearly collapsed. When she regained her balance, she glanced at Roxen and Griffnox. "We need to see who we lost,” she swallowed, “and how much damage was done to our ship.”
"Lieutenant Laterno, the bridge is yours," Griffnox ordered.
"Captain," the man replied.
Jac glanced at the young Operations and Tracking officer. He was trying to be confident but couldn’t quite hide his anxiety at being left in control of the ship. Everyone had to stand their first watch alone, she reminded herself and concentrated on what needed to be done.
