The Path of Andromeda (RFIX), Chapter 11

Spoiler alert: This is the first draft of the ninth book in the Reckless Faith series, now with the working title of The Path of Andromeda. You can start with the prologue here: https://devonai.wordpress.com/2024/10/17/reckless-faith-ix-prologue/

“I think that’s our signal.”

Richter nodded in response to John’s statement. In the cramped tunnel next to the hatch, he and his team had just felt a brief but intense series of vibrations throughout the superstructure of the Serpent. Ray returned his attention to his PDA, peering at the screen intently.

“The guards are moving off,” he said. “Yup, they’ve entered the concourse. Time to make our move.”

Earlier, they had managed to remove the cover from the power switch to the hatch, and free up some wiring. Richter, who was kneeling at the switch, twisted two wires together. He drew his hand back sharply, swearing, as a minor current shocked his fingers. The gears and levers slowly came to life, and the hatch slid open with all the grace of a rhinoceros. He poked his head through the hatch.

The causeway connecting the airlock to the concourse was well-lit, and he narrowed his eyes to look in each direction. To the left was a dead-end, and to the right he could see the backs of the guards that had moved off, as they were standing just outside the causeway door. They were thoroughly distracted by whatever was going on beyond there. Richter motioned for the others to follow, and carefully climbed through the hatch. The airlock to the Fortuna was directly across the causeway, so Richter directed Ray and John to follow him, for Vecky to stay by the hatch, and for Helena to stay in the tunnel.

“Play it cool,” said Richter. “Bailey, see if you can get that airlock open. Scherer, let’s talk to the guards. Follow my lead.”

The two men walked up to the guards. Out on the concourse, a chaotic scene was playing out. People were running around in a panic, shopkeepers were shuttering their stores, and vendors were wheeling their carts to parts unknown. A few armed men and women were also running back and forth. The guards were mildly startled by the arrival of Richter and John, but didn’t draw their pistols. They could see that both guards were wearing soft body armor under their jackets.

“What the hell is going on out there?” asked Richter.

“Where did you come from?” asked the first guard, a Caracali man with short-cropped hair.

“We’re boarding on the Fortuna. The commotion woke us up. Are we under attack?”

The second guard, an Eniphite woman, frowned. “We were told only Captain Sinfonietta was on board.”

John shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you. She offered us a good rate.”

“We’re not supposed to let anyone in or out of the Fortuna except her. Who let you in? How long have you been there?”

“Are we under attack, or not?” asked Richter.

“It certainly seems like it,” said the first guard. “Nobody knows anything yet.”

“Then we’re going to grab our belongings and come back here in case there’s an evacuation order.”

Richter glanced back at Ray. He had his PDA out and was holding it next to the airlock controls. Ray gave him a thumbs-down, and returned his attention to the PDA. Richter stepped back into the causeway, and John followed. The second guard looked back at the airlock.

“We can’t let you do that,” she said.” “You and your friends are going to have to… hey, what’s going on back there?”

Richter hit the switch, stepped back behind the wall, and drew his pistol. John did the same on his side. The door began to close. The first guard tried to block it with his body, but thought twice about it when Richter pointed his pistol at his face. The second guard drew her own pistol, and John shot her in the shoulder. Both guards stumbled back, and the door closed.

“Can you lock it?” asked John.

Richter examined the controls. “I don’t think so. There is an emergency release lever, though. Use your belt on the handles!”

There were two long vertical handles on each side of the door. John whipped off his belt, causing both his empty holster and a magazine pouch to fall on the floor. He put the belt around the handles, and tightened it as much as he could. Richter pulled the release lever, then did the same with his own belt. They collected their things from the floor and ran back to the airlock.

“That’s not going to hold them for long,” said John.

“I’ve interfaced with the controls,” began Ray, “and I’m running the hacking program. No luck yet.”

“Anybody got a portable welding torch they haven’t told us about yet?”

Helena crawled out of the tunnel, and stood up. “Did you have to kill someone?”

“I hope not.”

The door to the concourse began to rattle, then it was forced open about an inch. Shouts could be heard from the other side. Richter had a flash of insight.

“Kitsune,” he began, “do you still have those zip-ties I gave you in your ruck?”

Vecky raised her eyebrows. “Oh! Yes, I do.”

“Get over there and secure as many as you have to the door handles.”

“I’m on it.”

Vecky unlimbered her backpack, and retrieved the black nylon straps. She ran over to the door, and set to work wrapping them around the handles. In an instant, someone shoved the muzzle of a rifle through the gap, and fired. The round grazed her left forearm, sailed down the causeway, and caromed off of the back wall. She fell back, landed on her butt, and looked at wound. Richter and John ran forward, making sure to keep themselves clear of the opening, and slammed the door shut again. Working together, they tightened up several zip-ties and retightened the belts before turning their attention to Vecky.

Richter whipped off his backpack, and grabbed his first aid kit. “How’s it going, Bailey?”

“It still says, ‘interfacing with system’,” he shouted.

Richter got out a compression bandage, and applied it to the ragged laceration. He got Vecky to her feet, and moved back to the others.

“How bad is it?” Helena asked Vecky.

“I think it nicked a tendon,” she replied. “It hurts like hell. I feel like I’m going to pass out.”

“Take slow, deep breaths,” said Richter. “Sit back down if you need to.”

Ray pumped his fist into the air. “Got it!”

The outer airlock door, an unusual aperture design, slid open from the center. The team rushed inside, crowding the small space. Ray easily opened the identical interior door with a single press of the controls, then closed the outer door. He then used his PDA to secure it.

“It’s locked,” he began, “but I have no idea if someone with command authority can override it.”

“Then let’s hope Captain Sinfonietta isn’t paying attention,” said Helena.

John said, “Either way, we’d better hurry. Okay, Helena, you said we need to get to the port-side airlock. Lead the way.”

__________

In the area around the Flying Serpent, a chaotic scene was unfolding. From the bridge of the Reckless Faith, they watched as all four working ships from each corner of the Serpent detached and arranged themselves in a staggered diamond formation around the body of the massive complex, with the two ships that had launched from the aft taking care to navigate around the field of fresh debris that had formed.

Kyrie, Cane, and Malthus had joined the rest of the crew; the first man had taken a seat at the weapons console, with the other two occupying the jump seats at the rear of the bridge. Their ears still ringing from the noise of firing both the plasma cannon and the GAU 8 at the same time, they watched as Dana guided the Faith toward the port side of the Fortuna. The large freighter had been painted yellow and blue at some point, though the colors had been almost completely blasted away, presumedly from entering and breaking atmo for years, revealing bare metal.

“Our team is in place,” began Friday, “and all four ships are running their sensors at full blast. No sign that they’ve spotted us so far.”

“The Antares has just arrived!” announced Eva.

“Excellent,” replied Ari. “Tell them to hold fast at a thousand klicks and monitor the situation.”

“Wilco. Oh, we’re also receiving a message from one of the ships, wide band broadcast, audio only.”

“Let’s hear it.”

An unknown voice, translated from Caracali, began speaking. “Unknown vessel, we know you’re here to retrieve your people, and we know exactly which ship they’re on. Normally we would allow you to pick them up, especially to avoid further violence, but within their group, they harbor a fugitive. We cannot allow that person to leave. Instruct your people to turn her over to us, then you may retrieve them in peace. Though we may not be able to see you, we will know if any of the airlocks or emergency hatches on that ship are used. If that happens, and we don’t have our fugitive, then we’ll be forced to destroy the ship.”

“They can’t be serious,” said Cane. “The Fortuna is the largest repository of drinking water for the entire Serpent. They just spent days refilling them after Helena sabotaged them. That’s how they found us on Ibnal’saffar, they were there to…”

“We’ll hear the whole story soon enough,” said Ari, interrupting him. “Suffice it to say that they’re bluffing?”

“Probably, yes.”

“Okay. Eva, relay what we just heard to our team.”

Eva nodded. “On it.”

“Should we reply?” asked Dana.

Ari shook her head. “Not yet. Cane, is this Helena person really a fugitive?”

“Yes,” he said. “She killed the captain of the Kestrel, the ship that just sent that message.”

“And our people are protecting her for a good reason?”

“Yes, she was the only one who could gain access to an SRC device, and send the message that brought you here. In exchange, she wants to go to Ibnal’saffar. She upheld her end of the bargain, and we’re trying to uphold ours.”

“Understood.”

Kyrie said, “Here’s what I think we should do. They don’t know the Antares is here, too. So let’s have them rescue our team while we open a channel and stall for time. If any of their ships actually do make a move against the Fortuna, then we’ll pick a fight.”

“The problem,” began Eva, “is that we’re still outnumbered, and any one of their ships can destroy the Fortuna before we can stop them.”

“Damn it.”

“A stalemate, then?” asked Dana. “Come on, there’s gotta be another option.”

“Maybe we can figure out a way to spoof their sensor readings,” said Cane. “Make it look to them like the airlock is still secured even while we’re using it.”

“Maybe,” began Ari, “but we’ll have to figure out how to defeat the dampening field that’s in place first, and all of that will take time. We have to assume that their people are actively trying to gain access to the Fortuna. Our team can’t hold their position forever. How about a trade? Is there anything that we can give the Serpentites that would be more valuable to them than Helena?”

“All they want to do, as far as we were able to learn, is travel slowly between the stars and be left alone.”

“What about replication technology?” asked Friday.

Kyrie said, “From talking to some of the residents, stopping at various planets in the Andromeda constellation to barter for resources is part of the charm of this place. It’s worth asking, though.”

“We could offer them a railgun design,” said Cane. “Given the length of the main body of the Serpent, a railgun that long could punch a hole in a god damn moon.”

“Let’s do both,” said Dana. “Start a conversation, offer them technology, and in the meantime, Ari and Friday can start researching how to circumvent the dampening field and spoof their sensors. Heck get the entire crew of the Antares to work the problem, too.”

Eva said, “Look, everyone, I know we always look for a win-win for every problem, but we should also consider that the only way we may be able to get our people back without the risk of disaster is to give up Helena.”

Ari nodded. “That’s true. That will be our Plan C. Are there any other objections? No? Then let’s get started. Friday, open a channel to the Kestrel, audio only.”

“You’re live,” said Friday.

“This is the independent vessel Reckless Faith, requesting immediate parley.”

A female voice could be heard in response. “This is Lieutenant Ember, commander of the Kestrel. I think I’ve already made the situation clear enough for you. Direct your people to hand over Helena Cygnet; only then will we allow them to leave.”

Ari rested her chin in her hand, thinking carefully about her next words. “You’ve already seen the power of our ship. We’d like to avoid further violence; however, a deal was struck between our people and Miss Cygnet. We’re obligated to honor it. So, as an alternative, we’d like to offer you advanced technology that could either better the quality of life for your residents, or, enhance your defensive capabilities. Or both.”

“How much have you learned about our society from the people you plucked from the Fortuna?”

“Enough. We understand the seriousness of Cygnet’s crimes. But in our line of work, a deal is a deal. That doesn’t mean we can’t offer you something in exchange.”

There was a pause before Ember replied. “What did you have in mind?”

“We have reliable replication technology that can be used for resources and consumables. The source material need only be waste, scrap, or ideally, element 82. If you’re adept enough, you can even use it to repair machinery or systems without lifting a finger.”

“Our community has subsisted just fine for the last hundred years without it. No thanks. Anything else?”

“We are also offering plans for a railgun device that, when installed on the main body of the Serpent, will be undefeatable by any known spacecraft design, providing the ultimate in self-defense capability. Perhaps, in your travels, you have become aware of the resurgence of the Rakhar Empire not far from here, and the handful of large-scale battles that have resulted from their expansion. Now is the time for everyone in the quadrant to be investing in weaponry, and you’d be foolish to pass on this opportunity.”

“You’d have to allow our technicians to review the schematics first.”

“Of course. We only ask one thing in return. Allow us to communicate freely with our people on the Fortuna. It would be a shame if there was a firefight on board for lack of understanding.”

Ember scoffed. “Don’t push your luck, Reckless Faith. Send the schematics to the data frequency to follow, then wait for our decision. Kestrel out.”

“They sent a frequency, then terminated the call,” said Friday.

“Nice try, Ari,” said Eva. “So? Shall we follow through?”

“I don’t see why not,” replied Dana.

“Fine, then,” said Ari. “Friday, transmit every file we have on railgun systems, including footage of them in action. Then you and I will devote our attention to the other problem at hand.”

“No problem,” she said. “Compiling data now.”

Ari turned to the others. “I’m going to be busy. Please don’t bother me or Friday unless it’s urgent, okay?”

Dana smiled. “Don’t worry, we meat-bags can handle everything else. Do your thing.”

Continue reading: https://devonai.wordpress.com/2025/11/04/the-path-of-andromeda-rfix-chapter-12/