Chapter 11

‘Inta does the Dallas’: Part 5

“So how long do you think the Grove will take to decide what you want to do?” June asked De’noke, as they lounged in the Toparian sitting room. Some of the Toparian Brothers were seated around the room, reading, while others had turned in for the night and went to nap in the grass of the Circle.

“Oh, I shouldn’t think our deliberations will take too long, maybe a few days. It seems to me that most of our minds have already been made up, but Bi’candra will need time to commune with the other Mothers. Though they are still in the ecstasy of their Seeding, most of them are nearing the end of it and their faculties will be returning to them. All but, Pi’natha, of course. She’s just entered her Seeding and won’t be able to form rational thoughts for some time. She and I spoke at length about it, so I can confidently present her views when the time comes.” De’noke broke into a foolish grin every time he mentioned her name, the blush on his cheeks betraying the fact he was sharing in a portion of her rapturous energy, however tangentially.

“So Inta, how did your friends at the lounge fair during the ‘Incident’? Have you checked on them recently?” De’noke asked, steering the conversation away from himself and the rising blush in his cheeks.

“I’m talking to them right now, and it seems they found all sorts of ways to entertain themselves holed up in the lounge. If you ask me, I think they make a cute thruple,” Inta chirped excitedly.

De’noke furrowed his brows in momentary confusion, then slapped his palm on his forehead. “Of course, you can be in more than one place at a time. For a moment, I even forgot you are currently Seeding with Pi’natha!” He laughed loudly at himself. “You truly are a remarkable person. I’d say one of a kind, but there seems to be three of you at the moment,” he chuckled.

She laughed along with him. “Close, but not quite. There’s only one of me, but I’m in three places at once, well four if you count everything I’m still managing on the Nestia. I’m an excellent multi-tasker.”

“Of course. One of a kind,” he said with a smile. “And I am lucky to have met you.”

Inta’s beaming smile suddenly soured, and her change of demeanor instantly worried the others.

“What’s the matter, Inta?” June asked in concern.

“I don’t know yet. Something has happened to Trixie, the other waitress. I’m investigating now.”

“Do you need help? We can get down to the Concourse in just a minute,” Will pressed, concern written on his face as he stood from the couch.

“No, Will. They left a note that said go alone, and I don’t want to risk them hurting Trixie. I’m also not going to put you in any more danger,” Inta said firmly.

They waited a few minutes, and then Inta sighed in relief. “Okay I got her, she’s safe and mostly unharmed. I’ve brought her to Della and Joe, they’ll be able to care for her.” A look of worry crossed her face. “They were after the Nestia, and I don’t think they were alone.”

Will was about to ask what Inta knew, when the entire room lurched, throwing them and anything loose across the room.

De’noke untangled his limbs from Ti’lame who had fallen on top of him, and got up from the floor. Scanning the room he asked, “Is everyone alright? Quick, someone needs to check on the Seeds and the Mothers!” Toparians scrambled to their feet and rushed out to check.

As the rest of them got to their feet, the lights went out and the emergency lighting came on. Then they heard the Captain’s public address whistle, followed by a voice that wasn’t the Captain’s. As the voice said he was in control of the ship, and that everyone was going to be sold off as slaves, a hush fell over the room. But in the poorly lit room, Inta’s eyes glowed bright blue, a fierce look of determination on her face. Will, June, and Ben looked at her and each other, feeling the heat of her rage.

Ben grinned. “Those assholes don’t know who they just pissed off.”

“Inta what can you tell is going on through comms and sensor sweeps?” Will asked, looking to gauge the situation.

“With most of the Dallas systems on lockdown, there’s only the point to point communications being broadcasted. Security is rallying and preparing for boarding action, and there’s a separate encrypted channel talking back and forth from the Bridge and Engineering. That must be where the hijackers are. I’m also picking up a lot of ships closing in on the Dallas.”

“How many?” Will asked tersely.

“At least a hundred warships, of various sizes. Enough to carry several thousand men,” Inta replied.

“Dallas’ heavy deck guns would cut them to ribbons though, right?” Ben asked.

“Shit,” June said with a sudden realization. “That’s why they took the Bridge and Engineering section. From those two locations, they could shut the defense systems down completely. The Dallas is a sitting duck.”

Os’tryve came back into the sitting room, his worry written on his face. “The Seeds are okay for now, but their stasis pods only have backup power for about twelve hours. After that...” His words trailed off, and De’noke put a hand on his shoulder.

“We’ll think of something, Os’tryve. We won’t let anything happen to them,” Will reassured the Toparian.

Os’tryve smiled. “Pi’natha was wise to trust you all, it seems.” Though still worried, the panic in his voice was replaced by hope.

“The first thing that needs to happen is that the deck guns need to be brought back online,” June said. “The Dallas isn’t close enough to any planetary systems for help to arrive before this ship is completely overrun.”

“Most ships this size use a dual key interlock system for overrides, one given to the Captain and one to the First Mate,” Will explained. “Given that they’ve taken the bridge and were able to use the public address system, it’s a safe bet that they have the Captain’s key.”

“Which only leaves Thea’s,” Ben said, finishing the thought. “Inta, do you know where she is at the moment?”

“Funny you should ask, she just popped out of a conduit in the Maintenance hangar with about thirty men. Looks like they’re about to take back the Engineering section.” A confused look crossed her face. “Something’s weird, the pirates don’t know that they are there, but are evacuating the hangar. Oh God...” Inta eyes went wide in horror. “The pirates just blew the hangar doors ... spaced all of them.”

Frantic, Ben grabbed Inta by the shoulders. “Was Thea ... is she...” He couldn’t complete the sentence.

“No, she made it through to the hallway connector for Engineering, but she’s pinned down in a firefight with the pirates. She’s lost two men already.”

“Fuck! We gotta help her! Inta, give me a gun and send me to her location! Quick, before it’s too late!” Ben shouted frantically.

“Don’t worry Love, I’ll get her,” Inta said, soothing his panic.

Incoming fire was beginning to shred the cover that Thea’s team crouched behind, and two team members had already suffered for it. For every pirate at the far end of the corridor they killed, two more seemed to take their place, and she was getting desperate. Yelling to the remaining strike group, “There’s no way we’re going to survive this pinned down like this, they’re just going to keep picking us off one by one. Our only chance is to rush them.” They furrowed their brows, then nodded grimly. “Gentlemen, it’s been an honor serving with you,” Thea said, then began counting down with her finger.

Three. Two. Before she could signal to go, a silver form sprang from nowhere beside her and put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m going to get you all out of here,” she said as another identical silver girl appeared next to the men crouched on the opposite wall.

Inta took a laser blast to her bare shoulder, and she winced in pain but didn’t flinch. “Ready?” She asked.

“Yes! Get us the Fuck out of here!” Thea exclaimed.

“Okay, Hang on to your butt!” she said, then she seemed to melt and poured over Thea and the men crouched beside her. Inta’s other instance did the same, encapsulating the men on the other wall, then both shrank and disappeared into 4-D space.

Two silver blobs appeared in the middle of the Toparian sitting room and grew shoving people and furniture aside until they occupied a healthy portion of the middle of the room. They stopped growing and poured back into the shape of twin silver girls, revealing fourteen extremely disoriented people, who promptly and in unison, vomited all over the white shag carpeting.

Ben rushed to Thea’s side and helped her to a seat as Inta, the Toparians and the others helped the rest to get comfortable while waiting for the effects to wear off.

“Holy shit, that sucked!” One of the rescued strike team members complained loudly.

“Better that, than being a laser range target dummy,” said the man sitting next to him, giving him a swift punch to the shoulder.

Ben held Thea as he handed her a rag to wipe her mouth. “I don’t understand ... how did we end up here?” She asked, as her equilibrium slowly steadied.

“Fourth-dimensional travel is just one of the things that make Inta special,” Ben explained as he rubbed her back. “She stepped over there, grabbed you all, and brought you back here.” Thea reached out and took Inta’s hand, and squeezed it gently. “Thanks for that. You saved our skins back there.” Then she paused, a flash of inspiration striking. “Do you think you could do that again? Not to the same spot, mind you, but just behind them? We need to retake Engineering if we’re going to have any chance of repelling these pirates.”

“I could, but moving through 4-D space is hard on 3-D people. You’d probably be just as sick as this the next time,” Inta cautioned her.

One of the rescued men chimed in. “We’re all seasoned fighter pilots, you surprised us, is all. We carry stim patches that suppress disorientation for when we’re in the Defenders, I’d bet that it’d get us through it able to act on the other side.”

Fire lit up in Thea’s eyes and they darted back and forth, as she began to formulate a plan. “Their main advantage now is that they can secure the choke points in the ship. We would need a force three times our size to take it, conventionally. But, if we can drop in anywhere we want, them holding the choke point becomes an advantage for us. Inta, how well can the Nestia’s sensors read what’s going on in the Dallas?”

“Now that many of the systems have been shut down, I can see what’s happening everywhere,” Inta said confidently.

Perfect. We’ll need a team to retake Engineering, One to take the Bridge, and someone will need to rally the remaining flight crews to get out there and take the fight to the armada. If we can re-enable the Titan deck guns from Engineering and restart the launch systems, we can stem the flow of pirates onto the Dallas. It’ll be a tough fight, but I think we can pull it off.” Thea looked around the room and the desperate defeated looks on their faces were replaced with ones of hope and determination.

The sounds of commotion out in the hallway penetrated the walls of the Toparian sitting room, and while they all looked at each other, Will got up and ran to the door. Opening it a crack, He saw a crew of thugs kicking the door into the converted accommodations next to theirs.

“Inta we’re going to need our weapons. Bring over enough for everyone,” Will said softly shutting the door. She nodded, went over to a table, and placed her palms on it. A silver sheen spilled out beneath them, covering the entire table, then grew lumpy, mounding up over the middle. The silver flowed back into her hands, uncovering several dozen rifles and side arms.

“They’re going door to door looking for someone,” Will said, strapping on the belt and holster for a side arm, Ben and June rushing over to do the same.

“That would be me, I’m betting,” Thea said, checking her rifle over. “They need my key to disable the lockout. This ship is worth a lot, and they won’t have time to pick it clean if they remain in this spot. The navy will have heard the automated SOS and be here in a day or so. They’ll want to move it somewhere secure.”

“We need to hurry,” De’noke said in a worried tone. “The Chilopodian Delegation is in those living quarters. They won’t stand a chance if the pirates decide to kill them.”

Not wasting a moment, the Nestia crew, along with Thea and her men rushed out into the hallway and down to the door of the neighboring living quarters where angry shouting could be heard. They were there in a blink, and through the kicked-open door, they could see a large centipede lying immediately in the doorway, dark green ichor dripping out of scorched holes punched in its carapace from laser fire. When standing it would have been three feet tall, and about five long, but now it could only lie there struggling for breath.

Seven men, weapons drawn, were backing a dozen more of the Chilopodian against the far wall with their backs to the open door.

“Last chance, where’s the Dallas Commander? Where is she!?” One of the pirates yelled.

From a box screwed into the chitin on the back of its head, a lythe, feminine voice said in a soft, almost sing-song voice, “Sir, we do not know where she is, please spare us!”

Having heard enough, Will fired on the man threatening the unarmed Chilopodian, the gravitic laser hit him directly in the back of the head, atomizing it completely, explosively spraying what was his head all over his cohorts. Before they could spin completely around to face off against this new threat, a rain of red and purple beams peppered the pirates, dropping them before they could get off another shot.

June rushed over to the Chilopodian crouched quivering against the wall and asked, “Is everyone alright?”

The Chilopodian that had begged for their lives, spoke in its synthetic feminine voice, “Please, the Overseer...” waving an antenna at the fallen centipede by the door.

“Med kit, now!” Thea barked and rushed over to the fallen Chilopodian. One of the men rushed over and handed a small box to her. Opening it, she took out a large tube full of gray material, opened and squeezed the contents directly onto the gaping wounds of the centipede. It hissed and its body shivered as the goop first bubbled, then set like a hard resin. Thea treated the other two wounds similarly, then took out a large syringe filled with a faint orange liquid, and jabbed it in between two chitin plates. Squeezing the plunger, the Chilopoda immediately relaxed, and its breathing became slow and steady.

“The worst is over,” Thea told the other Chilopodian. “Can you take Overseer Sumarna and make her comfortable?”

Several centipedes came over to the stricken Overseer, lifted her onto one of their backs, carried her to a soft depression set into the floor, and gently laid her down. After making sure their Overseer was resting comfortably, one of the centipedes came back over to the group.

“I am Tendana, the Overseer’s Second. Thank you so much for helping us. We were preoccupied, caring for our young when they kicked the door in; they wouldn’t have found us quite so easy to deal with if they hadn’t taken us by surprise.” Tendana’s voice from the centipede’s translator was soft and flowed like water, but there was iron determination behind it.

“The pirates are all over the Dallas and if we don’t drive them off, what happened to your Overseer will seem mild in comparison. We’re about to counterattack, so when we leave, barricade your door, and don’t open it for anyone,” Thea told the Chilopodian.

“If you are fighting back, we will help. We are a formidable species, Commander. We can not allow you to take the risk of defending this ship alone.” Tendana’s face was expressionless, but the fire in its voice was plain to hear.

“Thank you,” Thea said, “We’ll need all the help we can get.” Tendana scurried on its many legs back to the other delegation members and chittered amongst themselves for a moment, then it came back over followed by half a dozen other centipedes.

“We will come with you to discuss the plan of attack while the others ... dispose of the bodies,” Tendana said. Thea knew their species was carnivorous, and decided she didn’t need to know how they planned on disposing of the pirates.

“Okay, come back to the Toparian’s quarters with us and we will figure it out,” Thea said gratefully.

They quickly convened their hasty war council, their diminutive numbers bolstered by the Chilopodians, eager for retribution.

The Toparians, Chilopodians, and the Nestia crew formed a circle around Thea as she laid out their objectives.

“If this is going to work, we need to maintain the element of surprise and strike simultaneously in Engineering and on the Bridge. Once we have engineering, getting the launch systems operational will be key,” Thea said.

“I’ll lead the group taking back the Bridge,” Will volunteered.

“I and several Brothers will go with you,” De’noke offered, putting a reassuring hand on Will’s shoulder.

“I think I should head to Engineering,” Ben declared, “who knows what additional interlocks the pirates may have introduced. Someone may need to figure it out on the fly.”

“We will assist in the assault on Engineering,” Tendana, the Chilopodian spokesperson added. “We can easily move through conduits and tight spaces and are also very good with systems.”

“You’ll need my key, then,” Thea said, pulling the chain off from around her neck, handing it to Ben.

He held her hand holding the offered key in his two hands, and looked into her eyes. “Why not you? It’s your key and your passcode will need to be entered into the system in order for this to work.”

“We’ll need every available pilot for the Defenders,” she said, “and I didn’t earn my commission from behind a desk.” Thea pressed the key into Ben’s hands, smiled briefly, then let go. “Memorize this: Alpha-Tango-Lima-195487-Zed. My passcode will activate the key’s decryption functions.” Ben recited the key back to her. “Good, you should be all set then.”

Thea retrieved the first aid kit, and rummaged through it for a moment, then handed out little foil-wrapped packets to everyone. “These are the strongest anti-nausea patches we have. These should blunt the effects felt when Inta moves us to where we need to be.”

Everyone tore open the packets, rolled up their sleeves, and applied them to their upper arms. Then weapons were checked and they were ready to go. “Okay folks, anything we missed before we pull the trigger?” Thea asked the assembled group.

“Oh, Shit! What about the passengers? They’ve been sweeping the cabins and herding them down to the Concourse. As soon as it starts going sideways for them, they’re likely to start killing people,” June said in alarm.

That paused everyone. “I don’t know how we can deal with that,” Thea admitted. “They probably have a few hundred pirates guarding several thousand people down there. We just don’t have the numbers.” The silence was thick as no one wanted to speak the ugly truth that a lot of those passengers were not going to survive.

Inta broke the silence, “Leave that to me. I’ve grown a lot stronger in the last few days, thanks to Pi’natha.” The group was at first shocked when she told them what she had in mind, then as she explained her plan, they all grinned.

“That could work,” Thea said, “You’ll have to time it perfectly with our assault. Can you handle that?”

“Please,” Inta said, with attitude. “I’m the galaxy’s best multi-tasker,” she smirked.

“Okay. When you’re ready Inta,” Thea said, as everyone assembled readied themselves for action.

Inta smiled devilishly.

Artona charged down the corridor behind her clan in a hail of laser fire, their mighty Urarc roars reverberating off the walls. Tiron the alpha fell, then another, and then they were among their enemy, rending flesh and tearing limbs from torsos. More laser fire, then silence. Her brother Artio, sat dying, slumped against the wall. His last words haunted her. “Sister...”

“Pss. Wake up. Wake up.” A tiny voice called her back from the dream. Artona lay on her side, hands and ankles bound with heavy steel cuffs, restricting her ability to move, her snout pressed against the floor in a puddle where she had been drooling. She ached all over, but her wounds had been dressed, however poorly, so that she was no longer bleeding. Dried blood still matted her fur, though it was unclear exactly how much of it was hers, or her enemy’s.

Laying there, cuffed and wounded, her pride suffered the worst of all. There was no honor in capture.

“Hey, are you awake?” The small voice said again, seemingly close to her face. Managing to open one eye that had been sealed shut with caked blood, she saw a one-inch tall, silver girl in a sundress, pressing one finger to her lips.

“We don’t have very much time, so listen closely,” the tiny silver figure said. “We’re about to retake the Dallas, but if you and I don’t do something, a lot of these people,” the tiny silver girl waved her arm, gesturing to the herded passengers, “are going to be killed. You’re an Urarc, right?”

Artona nodded subtly. “Good. I hope your race’s reputation as the Galaxy’s best fighters is true. I need you to sit up, and take a look around at the other passengers. Identify anyone who looks like they’d be good in a fight.” Confused and still a little woozy, she nodded. As she struggled to sit up, the little silver figure jumped up onto her chest and stuffed herself in Artona’s furry cleavage.

“Hey, what are you doing!” Artona complained in a low hiss.

“I need to stay hidden and see what you see. Stop whining and point out the fighters.”

Artona bristled at the accusation that she was whining, but let it drop. Now was not the time for pride, not that she had any honor left to be prideful about. After struggling to a seated position without drawing the attention of the pirates guarding the captives, she scanned the passengers attempting to spot the dangerous ones.

“Over to the left, do you see those three, two men and a woman?” Artona asked. A little, silver head nodded. “Watch their eyes. Those three are constantly scanning the area but never looking in the same direction as the other two. Clearly, they must have been on a fire squad together at some point. And just behind them and to the right. The man with the thick neck and broad shoulders. See how he seems like a tense spring, ready to strike the moment it presents itself? Over to the right. Do you see that woman...”

Artona continued for another five minutes, pointing out the little details that gave these potential allies away. Having relayed all that she could see to the tiny silver girl wedged in her bosom, she asked, “Now what do you think you’ll be able to do against three hundred guards?”

“I can take care of about a third of them; that’s what I need you and all the folk you just pointed out for. I’m going to cut you all loose, arm you, and when I give the signal, you’re going to fight like hell.” As the little silver pixy spoke, Artona’s eyes wandered to the passengers she just pointed out. They were all looking down at something, listening intently. Then she saw small glimpses of silver near each of them.

“I’m going to cut your bonds, but you must pretend to remain bound for this to work. Can you do that?” The tiny silver girl asked.

“Who are you?” Artona asked, now deeply curious.

“A friend. Well?” The small figure in her cleavage asked.

“Yes, I will wait for your signal,” Artona reply. The tiny silver figure grabbed handfuls of fur and crawled out from between her breasts.

“Perfect. Hang on a second,” she said, slipping behind her back. Artona felt the bindings release from each other, but the metal bands remained around her wrists. She held them in place and felt a metal coin drop into her right hand. “Hang on to that, no matter what.” Then the tiny figure ran down her leg to the bindings on her ankle. She laid her small hands at the point where the two cuffs met, and a small band of silver encircled it. The silver shrank and disappeared taking a section of the binding with it, freeing her legs to move.

“Remember, wait for my signal. When it’s time, I’ll replace that coin with a gun, then it’s up to you and the others,” the tiny figure said.

“Do me one more favor, Pixy,” Artona demanded.

“What’s that?” the little figure asked.

“Give me a BIG gun.” Artona gave her a large, grin full of sharp teeth. The tiny woman smiled back and nodded, then shrank away to nothing.

They waited in the Toparian sitting room for fifteen minutes while Inta did what she could to prepare the defense for the passengers already taken captive down in the Concourse. She hardly moved, looking deep in thought, then finally announced, “Okey-dokey, I think we’re ready.”

Two more instances of the silver girl stepped out of 4-D space, each stepping close to one of the three teams.

“Remember, we are severely outnumbered and are relying on the element of surprise,” Thea said, giving them a final briefing. “If things go bad, call for Inta and she’ll get you out of there. Good Luck everyone.” Thea checked her gun, looked at June and the pilots standing next to her, and then around the room. Every face wore a look of fierce determination.

Just as the three instances of Inta huddled close to each group, ready to carry them to their targets, all three gasped out loud, and one exclaimed, “You’ve got to be kidding me, a giant claw?!”

Standing on the bridge of his command ship, the Victoria Gloriosa, Cortez watched impatiently as his portside batteries pummeled maintenance hangar doors until there was nothing left but a gaping hole, exposing the interior. Through the twisted metal wreckage of the doors, he finally laid eyes on the prize that had thus far eluded him.

The Gleaming white hull was unmistakable, and the shape of the craft exactly matched that of the mystery craft he had seen in the video footage recovered from that isolated system inside the nebula. He had watched the footage a hundred times on a loop, the image of the ship etched itself into his mind.

“Signal the Behemoth, and have them ready the recovery claw. Move us out of the way.” He commanded the bridge crew. With the Dallas’ deck guns silent, his armada maneuvered lazily, taking their time repositioning. As the Victoria Gloriosa slowly motored towards the aft sections of the Dallas, the Behemoth, Cortez’s Carrier, moved into position.

The Behemoth crept into the position that Cortez’s ship had just left, and then small maneuvering thrusters fired in uneven succession aligning its hangar bay with that of the Dallas. The heavy doors on the Behemoth opened, revealing an enormous, if crude-looking claw, covered in flaking yellow paint.

Red warning lights flashed in the hangar of the Behemoth as a crane extended the claw toward its intended target. The claw reached in through the shattered maintenance hangar doors, and hovered over the gleaming white vessel, then lowered over the top of it. Fully surrounding the Nestia, the claw’s teeth closed around it, and with a mighty tug, tore the Nestia from the mag-locks securing it to the deck. The crane retracted the claw, pulling the Nestia into the belly of the Behemoth, and as he watched the hangar doors close and the Behemoth slowly pull away from the Dallas, Cortez stood on his bridges, grinning wickedly with his victory.

“Shit, change of plans,” Will said hurriedly. “June, you need to get back to the Nestia and help Inta free the ship. Thea, you’ll have to do with one less pilot.”

“We’ll make do,” she said stoicly.

“Nothing changes for the rest of us. Do your jobs, stay safe.” Will smiled at the rag-tag group assembled, then nodded to Inta. Each group huddled close to make it easier for Inta to envelope them as she melted and poured herself over top of them. The bracer on June’s arm grew and silver rolled up her arm and covered her body. Soon there were four blobs of silver that shrank and disappeared into 4-D space.

June’s silver over-skin retracted and she found herself standing on the bridge of the Nestia. Being pulled through 4-D space was still miserable, but now manageable thanks to Thea’s anti-nausea medication. She hurried to the navigational controls. “Inta, are you ready to take over power core control from the ad-hoc computer? We’re going to need all the power you can give us.”

“After this last month aboard the Dallas, I’m stronger now than I have been in a millennia. I can give you a lot more than the last time we dealt with these guys,” Inta said over June’s earpiece.

Down in the Nestia’s engineering bay, the consoles surrounding the spherical power core, turned on, one by one, each displaying various aspects of the status of the power core. A green light on the computer that had served them faithfully in running the core turned red, indicating it was no longer in charge.

“I have control of the core,” Inta announced. “Ramping up power now.”

The blue aurora light waving lazily in the core, became more energetic as the shimmering darkness at the heart of the power core grew, and the thrumming lump of dark matter in the center expanded. Power level readings on the consoles rose and the low thrum of the power core became a hearty rumble.