A Secret Quest Read online

  Hastings' time, on the other hand, was conspiring against him. Water still hadn't found a sure way to solve their dilemma. With almost two hours gone by since Anderson's warning, they were rapidly running out of options.

  There was one glimmer of hope, however, but it was faint and quite possibly dangerous. The chief thought he had found a temporary workaround for the star-drive. He figured out that the main problem lie within the star-drive's delicate temperature sensors. It was a critical piece of software. Any small fluctuations of the temperature within the reaction chambers and one could easily find themselves dealing with heat close to a star's corona. Such extremes were liable to cause a chain reaction within the star-drive's power systems and ignite a runaway reaction, taking the poor vessel with it.

  But Waters was certain that if he could hack the code somewhat and fool the sensors, then he could get the star-drive operational again. Of course it was risky and he'd have to make sure the temperature was monitored manually, but it could be done. It was his only option, really. The only other means of repair was to dry dock the vessel and have a work crew preform the needed repairs, and that wasn't currently feasible. Lambert had done his deed masterfully.

  “I'm going to reboot the engine in stages, one at a time.” Waters informed the colonel. “As each stage comes online, I'll run tests to make sure everything is good before I proceed further.”

  “How long with that take?” Hastings asked, somewhat impatiently.

  “About seventy minutes, Colonel.”

  “That's cutting it damn close. Do what you can to speed things up some. We need to shave at least ten minutes off that.”

  “I'll see what I can do. But I'm already rushing it. I'd prefer to have at least a couple of hours.” the chief replied.

  “We don't have a couple of hours, Chief.” Hastings retorted, stating the bleakly obvious.

  “I'm aware of that, Colonel. But if any of this doesn't work, there's a real chance the entire ship could explode.”

  “I have every confidence in you.” The colonel said as he turned to head out of the engine room. “I'm going to update the princess and councilman on our status. Keep me posted. I want to leave the instant we're able to.”

  There just wasn't any wiggle room. The colonel felt like he was being pressed from all directions. Sure, Dyamatti was the embodiment of the mission. She was the reason they were all here. But it was more because of what she was rather than who. It was up to Hastings, though, to make sure that they all got through the ordeal in one piece.

  He was at least happy to see that the princess hadn't strayed far from her ship. She and the councilman were still located in the docking area. That was about as big a relief as Hastings was going to get.

  Over on the other side of the docking ring, the colonel saw the two men loading what looked like scavenged pieces of junk onto their vessel. They appeared to be having a heated discussion over something, as the older man took one of the pieces and shook it at his son before he tossed it to the ground and stormed off back into the complex.

  “Father and son bonding time, I see.” Hastings muttered to himself before he proceeded to approach the princess.

  He found the princess to be in good spirits, which he thought was rather odd considering what was happening around them. Still, if a calm walk outside the ship helped to sooth her mood, then he was all for it. It would only make his job easier, and he needed all the help he could get right now. But as the colonel had been steadily realizing, good news rarely stays good for long.

  He approached the princess and her party, saying as he did, “Your Highness, I believe I have something good to report for once. Chief Waters has found a way to temporarily fix the ship.”

  “That is certainly good.” Dyamatti replied while a slight smile slid across her lips. “How long before we can leave?”

  “The chief is restarting the engine sequence as we speak. We'll be ready to leave within the hour.”

  “Please give Chief Waters my thanks. His skills have saved the day.” the princess offered.

  “I will Your...” Hastings tried to get out, but his words were interrupted by a low rumble that came from deep within the bowels of Dyamatti's ship.

  “Oh, no.” Hastings whispered aloud. “Please, no.”

  As if just to contradict the colonel and his wishes, a large ball of fire erupted from the gangplank that connected the ship to the station. It was soon followed by a billow of black smoke.

  Hastings eyes had barely begun to focus on the alarming sight, when there came a deafening explosion. The entire aft section of the ship disintegrated in a raging torrent of flames and debris. Rolling shards of fire began to consume the vessel from the back end.

  “Everyone get behind cover!” he shouted as his arms reached out to shield the princess from harm and guide her to safety.

  “Anderson! Do you read me? Anderson!” the colonel screamed into his comm, each plea more desperate than the last.

  There was static and some hissing sounds, but eventually a voice returned. It was Lieutenant Anderson's. “I'm here, sir.” she said, her voice filled with unease and fear. “Alarms are going off all over the ship. What's happening?”

  “Get everyone off the ship now! Do it now, Anderson!”

  “Yes, si...” were the only sounds she was able to make before she and the rest of the ship was vaporized in an explosion that dwarfed the first. Balls of flame shot out into the darkness of space and streams of burning plasma blasted out into the void.

  “No!” Hastings cried out.

  He was hoping and begging that what had just witnessed was some sort of twisted nightmare. Inside the docking area, alarms rang out with ear-piercing screams and lock down fields formed over the damaged parts of the docking platform, sealing the precious inside from the cold black of space. He was at least thankful the colony's power reserves could still provide that, though he may not have realized it at the time.

  After taking a few moments to collect himself, the colonel straightened up and attempted to regain his composure. Catastrophe or not, there was still work to be done. His mission was far from over.

  “Is everyone alright?” he asked.

  “Yes, sir. I think we are.” came Zelinski's reply.

  “Good, now turn off those damn alarms.”

  “Yes, colonel.”

  The princess' lithe gate glided her over to the Colonel. Usually her face held little trace of emotion. At least not around the Colonel. She was a famous royal, after all. Whatever feelings she held inside, Hastings was not privy to witness them. This time, though, was a rare exception. There was a definite look of shock and amazement on her face as she asked, “what just happened to my ship, Colonel?”

  “It looks like Waters wasn't as successful as we hoped, Your Highness.” was his regrettable answer. “Evidently, the star-drive couldn't take the extra heat and exploded, taking the entire ship with it.”

  Most of the time, Hastings was able to bull rush any problems with his will alone. If he didn't acknowledge anything other than success, then failure was out of the question entirely. He refused to allow it. But sometimes even his will was forced to cave and bend to the will of things more powerful than he. The princess understood this. Hastings had rarely failed her, and when he did, it was never due to incompetence.

  “Very well, Colonel.” she said. “That does leave us in a rather precarious predicament, however. Do you have any ideas how to solve it?”

  “I do have an idea, as a matter of fact, Your Highness. But I'll have to get back to you on how realistic it is. Right now we have to get this area locked down. The Galutians will be here very soon.”

  “I'll leave you and your men to it, then.”

  After the immediate area had been secured, the colonel took stock of the situation. There were fourteen of them left, he counted. Fortunately the princess and councilman were outside the ship when disaster struck, which was a unique bit of luck that Hastings feared they would never replicate. Howev
er, of the fifty or so souls that began this voyage, only a handful of them remained. And what was worse, in a short time the raiders were going to make their appearance.

  But all wasn't lost. Perhaps there was a way to use the tragedy to his advantage, Hastings thought. When the Gallutians arrived, they would clearly see that something had happened to the princess' ship. Their scanners would be able to pick up any residual effects and debris. Perhaps they would reason that all aboard the ship had perished when it exploded and simply leave. Although if they did scan the area, they would easily be able to pick out the life forms on the colony.

  If that was the case, then they could simply pummel the hapless derelict without ever having to leave their ships. The princess and her party would be helpless targets awaiting their destruction. Unless, that is, the raiders orders were to take the princess alive. In that case, Hastings and his men stood a fighting chance, albeit not much of one.

  With focused precision, the colonel ordered his remaining men into various strategic positions. They didn't have any heavy weapons, but what they did have should be sufficient against any raiders who tried to take the princess by force. He was determined to have his soldiers ready for the fight of their lives if need be.

  Ever since the raiders first appeared, the Alpheenians had their power and strength whittled down bit by bit. Now this was all that was left. Perhaps that was their game from the start. Whatever the case was, Hastings didn't have the chance to contemplate it. Time had run out.

  “The raiders are here, colonel!” He heard one of his men shout. And sure enough, looking out the long sheets of clear enlar that guarded the docking ring, several small skirmisher ships were reappearing back into normal space. This was it.

  Chapter V

  The only real plan Hastings had, other than just squeezing off shots at any raiders they saw, was to convince the owners of the other vessel to let the princess and her party use it. If he was persuasive enough, the colonel could convince the two men before the raiders had completely figured out what was going on. Time was critical because if they were able to make a swift escape, then their chances of outrunning the Galutians to the border increased dramatically. The longer they tarried, however, the greater the chance that the other ship would be damaged or destroyed outright. Hastings knew that once the raiders saw it, the small ship would be a prime target.

  “Wait here and be ready for anything.” he said before darted across the docking in the direction of the young man at the other end.

  “You there!” he hollered out at Dash. “We are in need of your services.”

  Dash, who had been watching the entire scene play out, replied back, “I saw your ship explode. That was unreal! What happened to it?”

  “That's not important right now. Princess Dyamatti needs your help, civilian.”

  “Citizen.” Dash corrected. “Da and me are both citizens. He served in the IDF.”

  There was a rather large difference between citizens and civilians in the Empire. It was a title you had to earn and came with respect and several perks. Not the least of which was the ability to vote in imperial elections.

  “Pardon me...citizen.” Hastings apologized. But he was actually quite happy to learn that this young man was a citizen. It meant that there was a greater chance he would concerned with imperial affairs and hopefully more willing to get involved in them. “We urgently request the use of your vessel.”

  “I'll have to ask Da. He went back into the complex.”

  “Call him on the comm. We need to get moving right away.”

  “I'll do that, but he ain't gonna be happy.” Dash replied, turning to walk back up the ramp to his ship.

  But just as the young man was about to inform his father of Dyamatti's need, the raiders moved to attack. Of the five ships that Hastings could see, four of them broke off and began to strafe the facility. The pit of his stomach clenched tightly. If they were attacking the station, then that usually meant they weren't after prisoners. Except, the raiders didn't appear to be headed toward the docking ring. Instead, they were racing to the back end of the colony, where the settlement was located.

  Balls of unstable plasma burst from their weapons and arced across the darkness. Each impact pummeled the hapless facility; sending off fragments of torn and twisted enlar and metal. The entire asteroid rumbled from the vibrations of the blasts.

  From behind, the colonel heard a terrified scream. “Da!” Dash shouted.

  The young man rushed out of his vessel when he saw the raiders attack. Hastings barely managed to stop him before he was able to rush off to the depths of the complex. Dash struggled against Hastings' grip, trying desperately to break free.

  “My da's back there! They're gonna kill him!” Dash cried.

  “Do be a fool!” Hastings shot back. “You'll get yourself killed.”

  The enlar plating beneath their feet shook violently as a large portion of the settlement erupted into a white-hot ball of death. The colonel feared that the entire docking area would come apart from the force of the blast. Debris rocketed past the clear windows surrounding the outer ring as force fields activated once more. This time sealing off the docking area from the rest of the facility.

  “Da!” Dash screamed as loud as he could.

  “He's gone! There's nothing you can do for him now.” the colonel shot back. “Help the princess! Help the Empire!”

  “I won't leave my Da back there!”

  “You can't help him now. But you can help save a lot of other people.”

  While Hastings was pleading with Dash, the four raiders had circled around and were docking with the colony. It made perfect sense. They were after prisoners. Well, at least one prisoner. The rest were expendable. If Hastings wasn't otherwise occupied, he would have marveled at the brilliance of the raider's plan. By eliminating most of the settlement area, the raiders had not only sealed the princess' group in a confined area, but had also destroyed the colony's environmental systems. Before long, there wouldn't be enough atmosphere to be able to put up any type of fight whatsoever. The princess would be forced to surrender herself. Either that, or suffocate.

  The four ports opened and twelve men came charging in. By now, Hastings had seen what was happening and knew what the raider's ploy was. All they had to do was play for time. By engaging the soldiers, they were burning precious ticks of the clock. And with each tick, there was even less air to breath.

  The ring became bathed in the light of energy weapons being fired, as the two sides battled the other; each from behind the meager safety of improvised cover. Minor explosions popped off here and there as blasts began to get nearer their marks.

  “Please!” Hastings pleaded once again. “None of us has much time!”

  The dark realization of his father finally began to creep over the young man. Rip was truly gone. There was no way to save him. At least Dash might be able to make some good come out of it.

  “Get everyone on board.” he replied, suddenly appearing a great deal more calm, although it was probably more due to him shutting down emotionally than anything else. “Do it quickly before I change my mind.”

  That was all the colonel needed to hear. He mustered every last ounce of speed he could and raced back across the docking area towards the others. It never even occurred to him that he might get hit by a stray shot, or that one of the raiders might actually draw a bead on him. He had to get Dyamatti on that ship and he needed to do it fast. Getting himself killed would have to wait until later. He just didn't have time for it.

  “Wurtin, you and Zelinski lay down cover fire.” He ordered sternly. “The rest of you head toward the ship. I want a rolling formation. Two at a time.”

  While the two men did as commanded and unleashed a fury of fire at their would-be attackers, another two men who were furthest away quickly darted in the direction of the small ship. After some twenty meters, they abruptly stopped and dove down behind a small pile of empty metal crates that had been left behind Cycles ago
. They once again drew their weapons and began to fire from the safety of their position. In effect, they established a new point of cover fire. Then two more men rushed over to join them.