Infiltration: Chapter Five Scene Three

 

 This week, Captain Nako responds to a distress call and finds the crisped remains of a spyship shuttle.

** * *

KalquorianEmpire space, near the border of the Bi’is kingdom

DramokNako, captain of the marauder-class vessel he’d been given command of a mereweek before, felt guilty.

Heabsolutely loved his new ship.

Themarauder was faster than his old decommissioned raider-class craft had been. Ahell of a lot more dangerous too, thanks to its expanded weapons array. Thearrowhead-shaped vessel was the deadliest piece of flying destruction he’d hadthe pleasure of commanding. The sheer mayhem such a vessel could visit on anenemy was enough to keep him aroused like a teenager. It had done so, as amatter of fact, as his Matara clanmate Piper would attest.

Themarauder was a dark mistress, its possibilities exciting him despite the facthe’d be using it to guard a lifeless moon slated for terraforming. Hisfantasies of using his ship to rip Tragooms to shreds were unlikely to happen.

Nevertheless,he could dream.

Hisinsides squirmed to think of his former ship. Nako’s raider had seen its shareof battles and served him well over its many years. Now it sat in a salvage yard,waiting to be disassembled, it parts melted and reformed as something else. Theold warhorse had done its duty, but Nako hated the notion he’d abandoned it.

“MaybeRD-1202’s metal will become the hull of a marauder or destroyer,” Piper hadsaid, trying to cheer him up when she’d caught him looking at a vid of hisformer ship. “It could be it’ll fly and battle again as another class.”

Hewas grateful for her understanding of his unusual lapse into sentimentality.More grateful she’d kept the knowledge to herself. Nako was categorized as aDramok, and he certainly possessed the leadership trait in spades, but the Nobekhalf of his personality would have died of shame to be caught romanticizing ahunk of fighting metal.

Whata hunk RD-1202 had been, though.

Sappinesspaled when it came to the new ship winning his fierce heart. The marauder wasso advanced beyond the raider, Nako suspected it could possibly fly itself. Theprogramming was damned near intuitive, and the weapons systems almost as lethalas a destroyer. The ability to phase and ambush an enemy might have struck Nakoas a bit cowardly, but the idea of coming out of nowhere in the midst of anenemy squadron and evening the odds before they knew what hit them?

Heatfilled his groin. He barely managed to keep from lustful growling as he stoodon his ship’s bridge.

Aroundhim on the triangular-shaped bridge, his crew muttered amongst themselves asthey kept an eye on their instruments. There was no reason to reprimand themfor their casualness. It was merely a flight from the marauder’s former orbitaround Earth II to a dead rock of a moon on the other end of Kalquorian Empirespace. They were less than a day’s flight to their destination, next to theBi’is’ kingdom’s border. With Bi’is an impotent shadow of its former self, therush was on to colonize and create colonies near what had once beenintermittent battlegrounds.

Guardinga lifeless moon as it was terraformed for the next two or three years washardly an assignment worthy of a decorated captain and crew. It was certainlybeneath the status of the empire’s latest state-of-the-art fighting vessel. Nakofound no angst beyond a slight sense of disappointment he wasn’t on his way tokick someone’s deserving ass.

HisImdiko Ulof was part of the terraforming crew, a dream they’d once thoughtimpossible for him to realize. Better still, their Matara accompanied them.Having her aboard a fighting vessel would have been unfeasible had theassignment been dangerous, especially since they were trying for a child.

Nakowas willing to set aside the aggressive urges of his warrior heart for clan andfamily. Becoming a father filled him with sentimental warmth that he’d ratherdie than have anyone beyond his clanmates aware of. Had he been told five yearsprior he’d be more excited about a baby than blasting the empire’s enemies tobits, he’d have laughed in their faces…just before punching them senseless.

Hisweapons commander and Nobek clanmate Terig, who stood at a computer podium acouple feet from his right, spoke. “Captain, sensors are detecting anintermittent signal fifty degrees from our route. Artificial source.”

“Intermittent?Could it be a distress call?”

“Itmatches the parameters. I’m boosting our reception to verify.” Terig’s bearddidn’t hide his frown as he concentrated. “It is a Kalquorian craft, too smallto be so far from port. Subcommander, get a configuration and see if you canpinpoint where its home vessel is.”

Hissecond’s fingers flew over a second weapons console. “Standard shuttle fortransporting away teams from a larger vessel. I detect no other craft in thearea it might belong—” Nobek Lon stopped talking, blinking at his readouts.

“Subcommander?”Nako and Terig both barked in concert.

“Apologies.It’s…Captain, the shuttle is phased.”

Nakoand Terig exchanged glances. “I’m unaware of any marauders besides ours this distancefrom Earth and Kalquor. We wouldn’t necessarily know if a spyship is stationednearby,” the captain noted.

“There’snothing in the vicinity to spy on,” Terig said. “The closest inhabited areasare Laro Station and Bi’is, each more than three days’ travel in oppositedirections.”

“Navigation,can you tell which direction the shuttle is moving from?”

Thenavigation officer muttered to his computer, then answered. “It appears to bedrifting from the Bi’is border, sir.”

“Drifting?”

“Nominalpower signature,” Terig confirmed, bringing up multiple holographic screensover his station. “Our readings indicate a power signature adequate for backuplife support and little else.”

“I’mpicking up no sign of a ship in this quadrant besides ourselves, phased orotherwise,” Subcommander Lon reported.

“Whythe hell would someone broadcast a distress call when damned few can pick up aphased craft? Unless the spyship it came from is close, those on board can’texpect to be found.”

“Maybewhoever’s on board doesn’t realize they’re still phased. Or they have no ideathey drifted far from their home ship. If sensors are dead, the shuttle’s maincomputer might have failed to detect the additional drain.” Terig’s fingerscontinued to fly over his console.

“Whichmeans they’ll lose life support sooner than they realize. I wonder how longthey’ve been waiting for rescue. Com, try to contact them.”

Secondslater, the com officer said, “Attempts to hail them have received no answer,Captain. They may have no com ability due to the lack of power.”

“Iwas afraid of that.” Nako spoke to his navigator. “Can you backtrack theirtrail, maybe figure out where they lost power? There has to be an ion trailfrom what little energy they’re emitting.”

“Workingon it, Captain. If they’ve been drifting for longer than a couple of days, itcould take some time.”

Nakoeyed his Nobek. “Which leaves us one question.”

Terignodded. “Do we answer the distress call. If a spyship’s out here beyond sensorrange, High Command doesn’t necessarily want anyone else to know of itspresence.”

“I’mbetting it has something to do with keeping tabs on Bi’is.” Nako thought ofAdmiral Piras and his clanmates. Nobek Kila captained a spyship. Because theirlives were in danger following Kalquor’s civil war, they’d disappeared soonafter the end of hostilities. Nako had often wondered if they’d ended up on asecret detail at Bi’is. It would have kept them from sight and safer than ifthey’d returned to the home planet.

Whatif something had happened to the heroic clan reviled by many of their own kind?His stomach curdled to think of them in trouble, especially their innocent andbrilliant Matara.

“Helm,set a course for the shuttle, full speed. Terig, watch for its home ship. If itappears, we’ll keep our distance. Otherwise, we’ll take the shuttle on boardand try to determine what’s going on. Com, inform Fleet High Command what we’redoing…see if you can send an encrypted message to Admiral Tranis. InformMedical we might be taking on injured people.”

“Onehour until we intercept the shuttle, Captain.”

“Ourcom will be received at Fleet Headquarters at approximately the same time.”

 

Theywere still fifteen minutes from reaching the stricken vessel when Terig’sbearded face turned to Nako. “I have a visual on the shuttle, Captain.”

Theflat control in his tone betrayed something was amiss. “Bring it up on mainvid, Weapons Commander.”

Itwas immediately obvious why Terig had adopted his most official voice. Thewedge-shaped shuttle had taken massive damage to its hull. Its usual silveryexterior was blackened. Panels hung askew, revealing framework and the charredremains of electronics. Nako marveled the battered craft had power at all. Itseemed impossible a crew could be alive, but someone had set off the distresssignal.

“Motherof All,” someone muttered.

“It’snot battle damage,” Terig said, glancing back and forth from his readouts tothe image on the vid. “The craft was in close quarters to a plasma explosion.As close to the center of a major blast as possible and yet not get blown up.”

“Whydo I have the suspicion we won’t come across its home ship?”

“Agood guess. It might have been leaving the bay when the ship was destroyed. Bymy estimate, it would have cleared it by no more than a few meters.”

“Canyou detect its markings under the residue? Can we determine which ship it was?”Nako had no idea what Kila’s ship’s call numbers had been, but Fleet Commandwould know.

“Checking.Got it. S-S-nine-two-eight-S.” Terig’s gaze met his again.

Aspyship’s shuttle. Kila, Piras, was it yours? What the hell happened to thehome ship?

“Comingin grabbing range, Captain,” the helmsman said.

“Geta field around it and haul it in. Carefully.” The damned thing might fall topieces the instant it was introduced to the shuttle bay’s gravity field.“Medical team to shuttle bay. Terig, let’s see if there’s someone alive togreet.”

Nakoand Terig left the bridge. Not at a run, because the shuttle wouldn’t beat themto the bay, but they moved quickly anyway. It was impossible not to, with dreadnipping at their heels.

* * * *

The alien force dubbed the Darks has grabbed control of keypositions on Kalquor and the Galactic Council of Planets. Other leaders arestill unaware of the threat among them. The galaxy is wide open for destruction by an unfathomable enemy.

Former emperor Nobek Yuder has suspicions, but due torestrictions placed on him after his prison sentence, he can only stand by andwatch helplessly. A renegade Royal Councilman has designs to bring him back tothe political arena, but doing so could destabilize the Kalquorian Empire,leaving it vulnerable to invasion.

Meanwhile, one man on the brink of death, the only man whocan detect the nearly invisible Darks, is pulled from a lifeless shuttle byCaptains Kila and Nako. His incredible story tells them they’re in a raceagainst time to save not only the empire but the whole galaxy…but are theyalready too late?

On Earth II, Governor Stacy Nichol’s relationship with ClanRihep continues to grow. So does the danger, as opponents make deadly movesagainst her and the orbiting Kalquorian station where the clan lives. NobekKuran is determined to keep his clanmates and would-be lifemate safe, but howcan he stop a faceless enemy?

Relationships, old and new, are strained to the breakingpoint at a time when Earthers and Kalquorians need each other more than ever.The Darks are closing in, and no one is ready to oppose them.

Releasing November 3. Pre-order now at Amazon, Amazon UK, Nook, Smashwords, Kobo, Apple, and print.