Lone Star Renegades (14 page)

The first unfortunate soldier to come into contact with him never knew what hit him. As Bubba
’
s thick left forearm came up, another automatic movement gleaned from countless practice hours on the field, the soldier was hit across his chest, elevated up and off the deck several feet, and plummeted hard against the bulkhead fifteen feet behind him. His body stayed where it hit, within the same identical-shaped indentation.

DiMaggio gave Collin a shove, saving him from a soldier
’
s weapon fire. DiMaggio moved like lightning, and was upon that same soldier in the blink of an eye. Finally Collin joined the fight as well, but his target was Primo. Fists clenched, Collin headed for the captain who, at this point, hadn
’
t made any aggressive movements.

“
Stop!
”

It was too late. Collin
’
s forward momentum jammed his shoulder directly into Primo. The impact struck the captain in his midsection and threw him ten feet away, skittering across the deck. Still conscious, he yelled again,
“
Everyone stop!
”

As fists poised in the air, energy rifles raised and ready to fire, everyone stopped where they stood. Primo held his injured ribs and spit blood.
“
No one move.
”

He slowly, painfully, got to his feet. Collin watched him grimace and, as he assessed the injured around him, Collin did the same. Both the soldier who
’
d lost his hand and Orman were dead. The smell of burnt fur still permeated the air. The soldier still buried within the back bulkhead was obviously dead, and four more lay unconscious on the deck. Bubba had multiple burn marks across his chest and upper thighs. Collin realized that he too had been shot, once in the upper arm and once on the back. The wounds stung but didn
’
t seem to be life-threatening.

The four still-standing soldiers maintained their weapons
’
aim on Collin, DiMaggio and Bubba.

As Captain Primo approached, Collin braced himself for whatever would be coming next. The man stood up as tall as his injuries would allow and was now face to face with Collin. Through bloodied teeth, the captain smiled.

“
You may be young
…
but you are warriors just the same.
”

Chapter 18

Sitting in the
Tyrant
’
s infirmary, Collin tensed as a medical technician,
or maybe a doctor?
swabbed at the burn marks on his back.

“
Just sit still
…
this is the last of them,
”
the older man with a white beard said. He sounded grumpy, almost angry, but his eyes betrayed humor and kindness.
“
Your wounds are superficial, which shouldn
’
t be possible
…
your physiology is quite remarkable.
”

Collin felt a slight tingle occurring on both earlobes. Touching his left ear with his fingertips, he felt where the doctor had pierced his earlobe; now a small device was inserted there, no larger than the size of a pinhead. He
’
d been told that once these were attached, he
’
d have no trouble understanding what was being said, as well as communicating to others. He
’
d also be able to remove the devices within a few days
—
the doctor didn
’
t explain how
—
but he
’
d soon be able to easily converse in their common language
Maisann
.

DiMaggio and Bubba were both being treated by other medical personnel off to his left, while Orman
’
s body lay prone on a table directly across from him.

“
Is Orman going to be all right?
”
Collin asked, surprised he was still alive.

“
You can call me Dr. Albergo, and yes, he
’
s fine
…
just unconscious.
”

Collin nodded and assessed the black bands now secured around his ankles and wrists. He saw Bubba and DiMaggio doing the same thing. The effect on his overall physiology was profound. He felt drained just lifting an arm.

Seeing his fatigue, Dr. Albergo said,
“
Your energy will return ... in time. Those are necessary to keep your muscle strength in check.
”

Collin was about to protest when he heard a familiar voice,
“
I
’
m fine
…”

“
Well, your ribs need attention; at least two or more are cracked,
”
a woman
’
s voice said from behind a bulkhead.

“
I
’
ll come back when time allows
…
I promise.
”
Captain Primo stepped from around the corner. He looked like crap. He swiped at a bead of perspiration over his brow as he headed directly for Collin.

“
You should be dead, you know. You all should
…
especially the furry one over there.
”

Collin shrugged, which he immediately regretted. Teenagers shrug. Spacecraft captains do or say something cool. Dr. Albergo nodded to the captain and left.

Bubba and DiMaggio, finished with their medical treatments, were now standing on either side of Captain Primo.

“
I need to get back to my people, my crew,
”
Collin said.

Primo pulled up a stool and sat down with a grimace.
“
As I said before, this is not an area of space you want to roam around in without protection.
”

“
We
’
ll manage.
”

The captain said,
“
You think? Well, let me tell you a little about the Kardon Guard. When it comes to vessels outside of the monarchy
’
s own
…
they shoot first and don
’
t bother asking questions later.
”

“
This Brotherhood of yours
…
who are you. What
’
s your deal?
”

Primo didn
’
t answer right away. He seemed to be thinking about something else, or perhaps he didn
’
t like the question.
“
The Brotherhood has been around as long as the monarchy. Only recently has friction arisen to the point the two ruling bodies had to separate. The balance of power has gone back and forth over the last few years. Where once my ancestors, the knights of the Brotherhood, protected the monarchy against the queen
’
s enemies, we now fight her Kardon Guard on a daily basis.
”

“
Why? What
’
s your
…
the Brotherhood
’
s beef with the monarchy about, anyway?
”

Primo exhaled, looking tired and reluctant to explain.

“
Can
’
t you just resolve your differences, maybe rule together? Maybe you can put your hatred aside and
—”

“
I never said I hated the queen,
”
Primo said back, irritated.
“
You
’
re young and na
ï
ve, Commander Frost. There are far too many things you are unaware of that I don
’
t have the time or inclination to explain. Leave it to say there are fundamental differences between the two of us. The Brotherhood is about the joint-rule of independent planetary states
…
the monarchy is all about one rule governing
…
the queen
’
s rule.
”

“
You said she was revered, thought of as a goddess? If the people like her, love her, maybe that
’
s good enough.
”

“
Yes, they do love her. But they don
’
t love the often-cruel monarchy
’
s
Council of Elders
and they certainly don
’
t love the lack of personal freedom and independence that
’
s now placed on all who live within Notares space. It
’
s a dichotomy, but that
’
s simply life here.
”

Collin didn
’
t see how any of this concerned him, or his people back on the
Turd
. What he really needed was to get home
—
to whatever was left of Earth in the aftermath of that sim rover collector ship
’
s assault on the planet.

“
Captain Primo, we just want to get back home. Can you help us do that?
”

“
Yes, that I can do. But the price for that will be one year of service to the Brotherhood.
”

“
Are you crazy? We
’
re not giving you a whole year of our lives
…
that
’
s totally ludicrous!
”

“
You need to settle down, and I mean right now!
”
The captain
’
s steady gaze did not falter from Collin
’
s face.

Collin
’
s lips hardened into a tight, straight line. In a lowered tone he said,
“
Service? What kind of service?
”

“
Brotherhood forces have taken terrible losses in recent years. We
’
ve sustained devastating military setbacks. Our numbers are waning. Simply put, we need able-bodied combatants to go up against the Kardon Guard. Your crew will be properly trained: integrated into our fleets, our armies.
”

Collin was already shaking his head.
“
No fucking way. If
—
and it
’
s a big if
—
we go along with this year-of-service-thing, we stay together. And how do I know you
’
ll keep your end of the bargain?
”

Primo thought about that for a moment, then said,
“
There
’
s a Rolm portal here in Notares space. It
’
s how you arrived here. With the right equipment installed on your vessel, and a specific input code, you can travel back to the sector of your own home world. Every three months, I
’
ll provide four digits of the sixteen digit code. You
’
ll know the digits are valid, since entering even one incorrect digit results in an error message.
”

“
There
’
s two problems with that,
”
Collin responded.
“
One, how would I know the code you provide will take us where you say it will
…
and the final four digits
…
those could be totally bogus.
”

Primo raised his eyebrows.
“
You make good points. The portal interface updates as you enter the digits
…
the more digits entered, the more specific the interface is to the location where the exiting portal will be. By the end of the twelfth digit entered, you
’
ll have narrowed the field of exit portals down to a dozen or so within the sector of your home world. But understand, if you don
’
t exit through the one closest to Earth, your trip home will be many months, if not years. So
…
there will be a level of mutual trust required for this to work.
”

Collin thought about that and the simple fact that he
…
that they
’
d
…
all
be giving up a year of their lives stuck here. What were their odds of even surviving out the year? What did any of them know about interstellar wars? When it came down to it, would they be able to fight
…
to kill others in battle as part of the captain
’
s deal? He didn
’
t know the answers but didn
’
t see any alternatives, either.

“
The
Turd
is not a combat vessel
…
it
’
s like
…
really hard to maneuver.
”

“
That
’
s because the AI
’
s fried. Nobody flies manually unless it
’
s an emergency. A new, highly-advanced AI can be added to your ship.
”

“
Wouldn
’
t it be better just to give us a new ship?
”

“
First of all, we don
’
t have extra ships just lying around to hand out. Second, that ship of yours is unique
…
the hull
’
s dense molecular structure would be nearly impervious to Kardon Guard weapons.
”
Primo continued to stare at Collin and then at Bubba and DiMaggio.
“
I propose we retrofit your ship
…
it will take us a least four weeks at Nero Station
…
maybe as many as six.
”

“
What would you do to it?
”
DiMaggio asked.

“
Quite a bit. By the time we
’
re done, it
’
ll be three times its present size. New, more powerful, and reactive anti-matter drives will be installed into parallel-mounted side structures; weaponry will be added
…
you won
’
t recognize the ship when it
’
s done. It may not be pretty, but it
’
ll be a highly effective combat vessel.
”

“
What do we do in the meantime?
”
Collin asked.