Chapter 21: The Utenrra

Martha and her new friends did not run into anyone as they made their way to the hangar deck. While the Union scientist would have never found anything on this alien ship. It was evident Geha did not have the same problems. She unerringly used elevators and corridors as if she had been raided on this Karthanian.

Geha said as they emerged from an elevator shaft. “I wonder where the rest of the crew is. I am sure there are more than the dead goons up in Command and Control.”

“There aren’t that many active minds, at least as far as I can detect and the ones alive have barricaded themselves in some kind of engine room. They seem to know Sister is lose and are very afraid of her.”

Sister growled. “With good reason, I am even afraid of myself.”

Geha had not slowed down, as they rushed through the corridor and towards a larger armored door. “We don’t have a prayer, sisters. The T Cruiser will detect us in that escape craft.” She sighed as she opened the large door with a punch against the door release. “At least we won’t be trapped Daiyee waiting for the first rape.”

Martha was certain, she did not want to know any more details regarding Geha’s aphorism. For all the horror and the terrible fate she had to suffer so far, she had been spared this worst of fates.

Even the word was not really used anymore anywhere within Union space. Yet, it was a dark and ugly specter that hung over the slave pens. It could happen at any time and to everyone.

There behind the opening door halves sat an ugly thing in a launch cradle.

Geha had already opened the small crafts rear access ramp. “It could be much better and much worse. It is genuine Union manufacture, quite old from the looks it.”

Sister was impressed. “You know so much about all these things. I think it is good I have not killed you.”

“I am older than I look, Sister. My family was captured by Dai almost 100 years ago, and I am raiding planets and other ships with our Dai masters, ever since I can walk. I think it’s a tad over eighty years now, that I do this.”

She advanced through the tiny cargo deck towards the flight deck and turned. “You wanted to kill me?”

“I am constantly fighting my own impulses not to kill you two.”

Martha swallowed. “And here I thought we are becoming friends.”

Sister glared at her with all four of her eyes. “I am not certain I can define friendship, as the word has no relation to any concept I can relate to, but I think it is something that keeps me from doing what I want to do.”

Geha had taken a seat behind a single forward-facing command console. Instead of a view screen, there was a nose cone viewport sliced in segments by riveted metal frames. “Everything looks good. We got fuel for about 100 lightyears. There are no command lockouts and the engines as old as they are, are genuine ISAHs and not the crappy Nuran enticers the Karthanian has.”

Sister took the other seat. “How about weapons?”

Geha laughed harshly. “Weapons? This is a Tullerman Dinghy. Seventy-eight human meters from nose to thrusters. You can buy one for about eighty thousand Union Credits.” Her hands flew over controls and sensors. Brought the systems alive with glowing lights, readouts and a chorus of electronic beeps and charms. “We got a single layer Mag Field Repulse Shield. Good enough to protect us from the occasional micro matter impact. It could not even protect us from the blast of a little Punch Burner.”

Sister crossed her arms. “I do not like this thing.”

Martha watched as the outer hangar doors opened. “How are you planning to escape the T-Cruiser?”

“If I had a plan to do that, I’d tell you. I just hope we can keep the Karthanian hull between us and a direct line of sight and thus weapons for as long as possible.”

While the arti gravs lifted the tiny ship of its cradle and pushed it through the now open hangar doors. Geha pointed at a bluish glowing readout screen. “We are accelerating at 34 klicks per second, meaning we reach the Quasi Threshold in just under three standard hours. The T Cruiser does the same in less than 11 minutes. We are screwed unless there is some kind of miracle.”

Before Martha could say anything, it hit her like a hammer. She dropped to her knees. She clearly heard it, her sons’ voice calling her.”

The complete darkness had lifted and he could make out a viewport looking into deep space. There was a truly monstrous red-skinned demonic creature approaching with an open maw full of razor teeth. It was clearly not his mind or anything his eyes were seeing. The mind he touched felt as familiar as his own and yet it was neither Partner not his own. He instantly knew whatever the Leedei did, worked. He had made contact with his mother. She was alive and in some kind of spaceship, about to attacked by a bright red demonic creature.

This realization, the storm of emotions. It broke whatever link or connection he had been able to make.

The next thing he saw was the bright light above the recliner and the obscured alien face of a Leedei.

He felt completely confused and disoriented.

He heard someone say. “It was successful, Roy made contact with his mother. She is indeed alive.”

As if a curtain was lifted from his mind. He reached for the helmet thing that was now lifting away from his head. “Quick, reconnect me!”

Someone spoke with concern in the voice. “He is not a well-trained talent and his HPI is just not enough. It might overstrain him and drain it beyond his capability to recover at all.”

The objection came from one of the Leedei, standing just outside the light cone. Roy recalled hearing the voice before, but could not associate a name. “Mother is in great danger! She is attacked by something demonic.”

Roy remembered the name of the Leedei close to the recliner, a small data sphere was floating next to him. He put all urgency he could muster into his voice. “Avnak, Sir can you please turn that machine of yours back on?”

The Leedei scientist seemed reluctant. “Roy, yes the system works, but it takes much more out of you than we anticipated.”

A second Leedei stepped into the light. “His mind is familiar to me. I will add my abilities to his.”

Someone else was objecting, warning of the unusual drain, but Knunging simply stepped closer and put his spidery hand on Roy’s arm.

Then he heard Tanya’s voice. “I am not a Psion expert, but Partner is connected to Roy and I think that animal has more psion resources than a hundred Saresii Dolls combined.”

Roy felt thankful for her argument. He simply reached out to Partner and while the Fury Beast did not understand the details or what Roy wanted him to do he was eager to help.

Knunging gave the other Leedei a hand sign. “The girl was right, Roy receives an incredible amount of psionic support from that creature.”

The helmet bubble was lowered again. He heard Avnak with an urgent voice instructing him. “Roy, whatever you do try to keep calm. Emotions are also amplified, you still can get hurt!”

The voice faded away as he again took that non-corporeal ride down that black funnel. This time however Partner did not fade into the distance. Roy could clearly feel his friend. He again tried to block everything out and concentrated on the images of his mother. It wasn’t how he had seen her last, not as a scientist or a stylish woman, but how a child remembered his mother. It was an organic, deep and warm image. No matter how much Martha had distanced herself from being a mother to Roy. He knew she cared for him when he was a baby. He once again called for her. “Mom, it is me, Roy.”

Sister had rushed to Martha as she saw the human collapse. “Are we under Ripper rays?”

Geha kept a worried eye on the rudimentary scanner and clearly detected the Kermac T Cruiser.”

“No, I would be affected too, besides even our weak shields will protect us from Neuro Ripper effects.”

Sister once again fought her urge to lash out and kill that human woman. She was human and alive and that was enough motivation for Sister’s bestial core instincts to make her tremble in blood lust. Sister really focused and tried to ignore her impulses, the human woman had given her a name and she was not prey. She was somehow sick or wounded.

“What is with you?”

Martha was not unconscious and looked up with the wildest, most confused expression in her face. “Roy!”

“What is a Roy/”

Martha was just about to get up when it hit her again. “Mom, where are you?”

Hot and cold flashes ravaged through her body and mind as she forced her eyes close.”Roy!”

“Mother, I am on Sares, using a Leedei device. You are sending me dreams.”

All she could think of was her son’s name again. “It is really you!”

“Where are you, mother?”

“I am in Union space and we are about to be attacked by a Kermac warship.”

She felt his mind getting more distant and weaker. She clearly sensed her own psionic abilities draining fast. “I am losing you, Roy...”

Then the connection was lost. Martha had a pounding headache and found herself held by the terrifying woman. “My son! I just had telepathic contact with my son.”

Geha interrupted.” We will be captured soon. The T Cruiser is approaching and I think they will use their tractors.”

They could not see the actual approach, as there was no light source out there to illuminate the approaching ship and it was still too far for human eyes.

Yet Martha was certain she had seen a bluish flash beyond the viewport transparent material.

Geha had seen it too. “Something with an ISAH drive just dropped out of Quasi.”

Lieutenant Khaspero of the Union Police had just dropped out of Quasi space, to investigate a rather unusual signature on his scanner. The long-range detectors on Milarok planet kept detecting sporadic but regular space traffic activity in this otherwise empty space, eighty-one lightyears to the closest system. Scanner contacts that did not respond to identification requests or transmitted any transponder codes.

He had been sent to Milarok for that purpose, to investigate. Most likely nothing noteworthy he was certain until moments ago. This region of space was also known as the Union’s backyard. It was about as distant as one could be from the border regions to any even just potential hostile. Khaspero was a male Diechsen and member of the very first true lizard species that joined the Union all the way back in 2618 OTT.

Khaspero, like all Diechsen, was a Union citizen, integrated for so long that Union culture and Diechsen culture were pretty much the same. He had served his 22 months as a Union Law enforcement intern and had never looked back. After his mandatory Union service was over, he signed up for Police academy and planned on a nice lifelong career, just as his father and his mother.

He suspected to find someone dealing with Tox or running something restricted without the proper license.

Most cases Union Police investigated in these parts were local dirtside crime, and yes there was still organized crime and all that, but the Union was a very lawful society. Less than one percent of the population ever even considered breaking the law.

Officers like him assigned to traffic and trans system traffic control had the easiest duty. Checking on the proper shipmaster licenses for example., as no ship capable of FTL travel was allowed to be operated without a person holding a civilian shipmaster license.

Not that it was hard or expensive to get one. His biggest case so to speak happened only about a month ago, when he intercepted a Meteor freighter bound from New Sweden on its way to the Yutoo system.

Sure, shipmasters operating spaceships designated for passenger transport had to complete a more comprehensive test and evaluation and needed to refresh it every ten standard years. But even the basic license of a freighter operator expired after ten standard years and needed to be renewed.

Union law did not restrict much in terms of what kind of wares could be traded or transported and for those things with restrictions in place, permits could easily be obtained. Only about a month ago he had his biggest case so to speak. This aforementioned Meteor freighter on his way from New Sweden to Twilight, moon with a load of mostly ocean sourced food products and operated by a small but reputable freight company crossed his patrol path and he checked the shipmaster’s license. The license of the seasoned skipper needed to be renewed. Khaspero issued a no fee warning and requested a proactive confirmation of the renewal once the freighter had made planetfall.

In other words, it was about as boring and routine as something could get. The Diechsen didn’t mind, he was known to be a good, laid back officer.

What now appeared on his scanners however made his nostril scales flare close, in an old ingrained reaction to danger his kind displayed when a pre-civilization Diechsen splashed into a body of water to escape whatever scared it.

There on his scanners was a genuine Kermac warship. Even though the Union was at war with the Galactic Council and the Kermac, he wondered how they managed to infiltrate Union space so deeply.

He operated a well-maintained Crown Victoria Intersystem - Police Interceptor. It was a formidable all-around short distance spaceship, just a little bigger than the average D-30. It had good shields, but neither the Plutonium slug accelerator nor the Paralysator and Tech Stop projectors would do him much good against an enemy warship of this size.

The Kermac wasn’t alone. There was a Karthanian armed trader with a jettisoned core, dead in space. His sensors also identified a small, ugly Tullerman.

The Tullerman or more likely its passengers were the intended target of the Kermac.

This was way beyond the scope of a Union Police officer, but this was an apparent Pirate or criminal action perpetrated by Union enemies.

He did have one tremendous advantage, however. His cruiser was, of course, GalNet enabled and his Computronic connected him to UPWACOM, the command center of the Union Fleet for the sector. NELSON the highly intelligent Fleet AI received his report, sector alert was raised,

He opened all com channels.”This is Union Federal Police, calling hostile parties. “ Cease all hostilities, power down all weapons and propulsion systems.

Whoever was in charge of the T Cruiser responded. “What are you going to do, little Union Policeman? That thing you fly is laughable and we will destroy you. Eradicate all traces.”

True to the unseen speaker, the T Cruiser changed course to intercept the police cruiser. “What I am going to do? I have already done so. I raised sector alert and the fleet is on its way.”

Khaspero was not suicidal, there was nothing he could do but to retreat and wait for the kind of back-up only the Big Boys of the Navy could provide., but there was a situation unfolding that involved the Tullerman.

It was quite obvious, the pathetic Dinghy was trying to escape. Sentient beings were in greatest peril, and there was nothing he could do to stop a T Cruiser.

His police cruiser had another advantage. It was very fast and thus presented a very difficult target to hit and it was apparent the Kermac in the enemy warship were determined to destroy him.

The T-Cruiser was within firing range and opened up with Line Blaster Cannons, each pulse carried enough energy to reduce his cruiser to nuclear ashes, but the targeting sensors had a difficult time to lock on, as the Kermac fired at maximum range.

As a true lizard, he could not really sweat, but he was perfectly capable of feeling fear. While everything in him urged him to accelerate as fast as he could away from that Kermac war machine, he tried to think of a way to help.

He listened to GalNet and he was told the USS Resolute and the USS Eugen were red-lining their engines to come as fast as possible. Two mighty Union Battleships, bristling with weapons, filled with eager Wolfcraft fighter pilots. Each completely reversing the current disparity to Union favor. Not even twenty T-Cruisers could dent a single Union Battleship, however, these giants of Union-might were still over ten hours away.

No one really suspected enemy warships so deep in Union territory. Almost 50,000 lightyears to the closest Kermac system.

The front lines bristled with sensor arrays, dense patrol patterns. General wisdom held, that not as much as a single particle of micro matter could come that far without being detected measured, classified and identified.

Oh, of course, everyone including Khaspero knew there was a war declared. A war against their perhaps most dangerous ad formidable enemy indeed. But everyone saw the Kermac and all the Galactic Council forces as second rate adversary at best.

Union technology was far ahead, officially an entire Tech level.

The Union Lizard being, however, didn’t think of them as too far behind right now, as another Line blast pulse missed his little craft by the proverbial inch.

While there were no shock waves or anything like that in the vacuum of space. The blast pulse was close enough to make his excellent shields flicker.

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