CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE #2
“Docking complete,” the voice said, a few minutes later. “Move out.”
In a neat, orderly row, the soldiers nearest the exit undid their harnesses and moved awkwardly along the hallway, making use of magnetic boots to remain attached to the floor. The larger ships had artificial gravity rotors, but this one was too small to be able to make use of one.
We headed for the passenger deck, filing into the seats – more comfortable than the ones on the shuttle, but still fairly utilitarian – and we all did up our harnesses.
“Welcome aboard, folks,” the captain announced. “Please watch the screens for updates on our progress towards the cargo freighter and visuals of the battle in front of us. Please maintain brace positions, as we may be making sharp and sudden movements.”
I reached up and pulled the brace cushions built into the seat around the sides of my head.
That would prevent me firstly from injuring my neck, and secondly from cracking my head against Jai’s head, beside me.
I saw Bryce had taken a seat on Jai’s other side, and I nodded to him.
He gave me a look that seemed to say ‘Hell of a day,” and then sat back in his seat, huffing out a breath.
I felt the seat press into my back as we headed out of orbit and towards the battle.
The smaller fighters would be well ahead of us, not having had to slow down for an extra docking, like we had.
There were a series of screens attached to the ceiling down the centre of the room, and I focused on the closest one, taking a minute or two to make sense of the various pinpoints of light.
There was a cluster of them all around the freighter, moving too fast for me to get a clear picture of what was going on.
The only thing I could see for certain was that the fighting was fierce, and that the pirates had come prepared.
They had four large ships, plus a myriad of smaller ones – most likely drones, rather than manual vessels.
“Pirates have boarded the freighter,” the captain announced abruptly. “Prepare for evasive manoeuvres followed by rapid docking. Activate respirators; air pressure on the freighter is not guaranteed.”
I pulled my hood over my head and the face mask up to connect to the edges of it.
The respirators had a solid six hours of air available, thanks to an ingenious series of chemical reactions carried out in small fibres all through the suit’s weave.
A scrolling list of details on the visor informed me of the ambient temperature, air pressure and oxygen content of the air in the room around me.
It also had a countdown of how much air was still available in the suit.
My gut lurched as the ship suddenly swerved sideways, then accelerated hard.
A burst of adrenaline got my heart racing, but at the same time, a smile of satisfaction tugged at my lips.
For all the danger, this was the part of being a soldier that I loved the most. We were heading into an unknown number of risks, life-or-death challenges and situations that would require intense focus as well as innovative solutions.
The thrill of being forced to think on my feet was exhilarating and the fear of something going horrifically wrong kept me grounded in a way little else could.
“Docking procedure initiated,” the captain informed us.
“Standby.” The ship shuddered, then a loud clang sounded through the hull.
A whirring noise meant that we were being pulling into the freighter’s docking bay by their mechanical arm.
I sat up in my seat, hand on the release catch of my harness, ready to move the instant we got the all-clear.
We’d have about thirty seconds for the entire team to be off the ship and through the airlock, before the assault ship would be ejecting from the freighter and heading back into battle.
Around me, everyone else was in the same position, the younger ones looking a little green around the gills, the older ones steady and focused.
A few more clangs sounded, and the ship shuddered.
“Move out,” came the sharp order from the pilot, and we were out of our seats in an instant.
Those closest to the door activated the quick release, and then we were streaming into the airlock, magnetic boots keeping us steady on the floor.
We crowded in close, the forty of us only just able to fit inside.
The door hissed closed behind us, and a moment later, the whole room jolted.
We felt the inertia of the ship’s gravitational rotors capture our weight and thrust it into sync with the ship’s rotation.
“Weapons out,” the man nearest the door said – Major Tolvorez, a Wasop with an impressive service record, as well as a reputation for being a bit of a dick.
“Secure the storage rooms and we can use that as a base to access the rest of the ship. Team one, go left, team two, go right, the rest of you, up the centre.”
There was a lot of fidgeting and jostling as everyone drew their weapons, the job made difficult due to the tight quarters. I pressed my shoulder up against Jai’s, giving him a silent nod as we both braced ourselves to move, guns pointed at the ceiling as we waited for the doors to open.
The pressure gauge above the door changed from red to orange to green, and then the doors slid open.
We moved in a coordinated rush, every soldier here having taken part in dozens of drills very much like this.
We knew where our teammates were going to move, we knew how to stay out of the way of the people behind us, and we knew how to cover each other if we came under immediate fire.
Soldiers spilled out of the airlock, spread out, seeking cover and scanning the room for any sign of danger – not just people shooting at us, but any nasty surprises they might have left for us to find, like pressure mines or flash grenades.
Since we were exiting into the storage rooms, there was plenty of cover for us.
But that also meant plenty of hiding spaces for the pirates.
We hadn’t yet been told what species they were, so there were a wide range of possibilities for both the types of weapons we might be facing, and the physical capabilities of each species.
Jai and I moved slowly, staying together, making our way up one aisle, while Bryce and Lieutenant Carver headed up the adjacent aisle.
We checked every nook and cranny, using not just our eyes, but the heat sensors on our comms as well.
Bryce and I met at the far end of the aisle, and I saw the quizzical expression on his face through his visor. “Nothing,” he said, via our comm link, and I nodded. At the end of the adjacent aisles, the other teams were coming up with the same result.
“Where are they all?” Bryce asked, looking around warily.
“Team one checking in,” a voice announced, via the comm channel. “We’re clear.”
“Team two clear,” someone else reported.
“The room seems to be clear,” Bryce said to the entire group. “Which is weird. They must have known we were coming. Why would they just let us board the ship with no resistance?”
“I suppose we’re going to have to open that hatch and find out,” Major Tolvorez said.
There were two main doors out of the storage area, a large one for moving heavy crates, and a smaller one for pedestrians.
He headed for the pedestrian entrance first, no doubt wanting to assess the danger out in the hall before we exposed ourselves too much.
Bryce was right behind him as he sidled up to the door, with me, Jai and Carver lingering not far behind Bryce.
Tolvorez braced himself, then hit the door release… and I could see the change in his stance that indicated a degree of surprise as nothing happened. He hit the release again. Same result.
There was a manual lever to open the door, for access in case the power was cut for any reason, so he tried that next.
He released the catch and pulled the lever…
only for nothing to happen once again. He pulled harder on the lever, then braced his whole weight against it, though it refused to budge a single inch.
“So that’s why there’s no one in here,” I said, as the pieces clicked together. “They knew we’d come in this way, so they sealed the exit. I’d bet the cargo entrance is sealed up the same way.”
With a resigned look, Tolvorez headed over, trying both the electronic lock and the manual release, to no effect.
“There’s a faint heat imprint down the centre of the door,” Jai reported, having activated his comm to scan the area. “So my guess would be that they’ve welded it shut.”
That was just brilliant. We’d eagerly and willingly just walked into what amounted to a giant dead end.