Icarus (Interstellar Cargo Book 1) (29 page)

Thanks, bro.

There would be no time to curse their situation or assess Lin’s health. It was with some irony that Rig was tending to the one person in the infirmary who could clear up his bad case of ocular shackles
.
It was up to Cole, CAIN, and Emmerich to face Goliath with their trusty sling.

“Have they hailed us yet?” Cole asked, breathless. He jumped into his chair, awaiting a response. There were no fighters pouring out from the ship. Yet.

“Nothing,” Emmerich said. She had yet to even look at Cole since he had come back to the bridge.

CAIN said.

“Get us out of here!” Cole shouted, knowing exactly what was about to happen. “They’re not here for Rig; they’re here to burn us to a cinder! Put the dish between us and them. They might have all the firepower, but we at least have speed and maneuverability on our side.”

The ICV-71’s engines exploded to life and made for the opposite side of the satellite station.

“Should’ve taken out that Terraport...” Emmerich mumbled, still staring at the viewport screen.

“Woulda, coulda, shoulda,” Cole countered. “I’m more interested in buying us some time so we can jump to somewhere else.”

“And what?” Emmerich demanded, finally facing him. “So they can follow us there as well?” She shook her head vehemently. “Jettison that filthy criminal in sick bay, and maybe we’ll stand a chance.”

Hard to dispute her logic,
Cole thought. Regardless, he was not about to torpedo a living soul into space for the chance to secure an escape. Not after what Rig had already done for the group since escaping the debt colony.

“No, he stays. We’ll just have to hope Doc is alright and makes another eye potion for him.”

“Even with the dish so close to us?” Cole asked. “Shit! We must’ve really pissed these guys off. Hurry up, Cain.”

The ship made a sharp turn close to the edge of the giant satellite dish. So close, in fact, Cole thought their wing would surely clip the station. Amazingly, they did clear the obstacle, though the universe spun on screen as they fell into a barrel roll just as several lasers flashed by. An instant later, they had the protection of the dish, short-lived though it would be.

“Wow!” Cole shouted, gripping the arms of his chair. “That was
way
too close. They’re starting out with the small guns, so that means they’re executing some form of precaution in front of UniSys. I’m sure Terracom will get a firm reprimand after we’re toast.”

“
Woo, awesome!
” Cole said. He clapped loudly, startling Emmerich. “I was really hoping it wouldn’t be this easy to escape.”

CAIN explained.

“Even with our stealth and cloaking?”

“
Rig!
” Emmerich shouted. “They have a firm lock on us because of
him
.”

“Oh, yeah...” Cole brought his hand to his stubbly jaw line in thought as the ICV-71 hovered motionless behind the dish. “Cain. Can you set a course somewhere behind that cruiser?”

“No time for logic. We can only hope those fighters will back off if we engage that dreadnought.”

Emmerich looked like she was about to scream bloody murder. Cole shrugged apologetically. “What choice do we have? We’re dead either way. We might as well add one more page to our shining legacy before we get burned to a crisp.”

For the first time since coming to blows with the former inspector, they finally saw eye to eye on something. Emmerich offered a nearly imperceptible nod.

Cole took a calming breath and faced the console. “Plot the course, Cain. Don’t matter where. I’ll do the rest.”

CAIN said.

“I know. Just—”

“
What?
” both Cole and Emmerich shouted.

Cole was delirious with understanding. “Because UniSys still doesn’t know we’re
here
!” He pounded the butt of his fist into the console. “They’re responding to the hail of laser blasts and approaching fighters.
Yes!
”

“Move, Musgrave!” Emmerich ordered. “This is no time to pat yourself on the back. It won’t be long before Terracom and UniSys come to a realization over this dispute. We need to be gone before then.”

“Always business with you,” Cole said, laughing. He grabbed the controls. “Let’s make a break for it!”

As he spoke, the ensuing battle crested all around the satellite dish in a blaze of rockets, laser blasts, and ship debris. Terracom’s infamous Kobold-2s and the equally deadly UniSys Ion Rifters were engaged in a fast dogfight. There would be no single direction they could travel to evade their pursuers. Even if UniSys was to halt the affront, Terracom would simply unleash the remainder of its fighter fleet to see the crew of the ICV-71 decimated. Attack first, explain later. Regardless of the outcome, the fault would never be with Terracom.

Path of least resistance,
Cole thought. “We need an escort.”

“Excuse me?” Emmerich asked. “How do you propose we do that?”

“Watch and learn.” Cole shared his most mischievous grin. “Cain. Send a distress call to the UniSys mainframe and request protection for our safe passage.” He held up a hand to silence Emmerich. “Do your best to mimic this ship’s hull to that of an official AMBER motorcade vessel. Make sure they understand we are prominent figures being illegally tracked by Terracom. Override any questioning authority if you must.”

Emmerich watched Cole sit back, and she frowned. “Care to take a nap while we wait to die?”

Cole smiled. “No sense in drawing any unnecessary attention to ourselves. We are important dignitaries, after all. Besides, they’re too busy beating each other’s brains in to—”

A new squadron of Kobold-2 fighters streaked past to join the Terracom cause. They ignored the confrontation with UniSys and headed straight for the ICV-71. Cole was already guiding the ship toward the nearest cluster of UniSys fighters when the multiple targets warning sounded. He left behind two magnetic depth charges in his wake. He detonated them shortly out of range of impact. The three Kobolds closest to them took the unexpected blast, and they went dark and powerless. The remaining fighters broke off before they met a similar end.

The detonation drew the attention of nearby Rifters, who gladly intercepted the pursuing Kobolds. Cole held his breath as the UniSys ships zipped by without incident. He had no time to acknowledge his fluttering heart, for his opening presented itself. Escort or not, he drove the ship to its limit in direction of open space.

“Cain, I suggest you adjust whatever coordinates you’re plotting, because...oh,
shit!
”

As if anticipating their course of action, the Terracom dreadnought stormed into their path as they were leaving the confines of the satellite station. So close was the battlecruiser, that it blotted out the majority of stars. Cole jerked the yoke hard to avoid a collision, though his maneuver led them directly into a mass of Kobold-2s pouring from the side of the gargantuan ship. Several of the fighters took evasive action to avoid the ICV-71, though a couple collided with each other instead. Cole bore down on the brief explosion, taking the chance their own ship would survive scattering debris. The risk paid off as chunks and bits of twisted metal deflected harmlessly off the smooth, streamlined hull.

CAIN announced as Cole traversed along the anterior of the dreadnought to avoid any cannons.

“Son of a
bitch!
” Cole shouted. “Talk about some seriously unwanted déjà vu. I hope those escorts know what they’re getting themselves into.”

The ICV-71 dove, spun, rose, rolled, and raced along all sides of the dreadnought, to no avail. The Kobolds continued to gain ground. The space dance managed to keep the fighter’s weapons at bay, though Cole knew his luck was on the verge of running out. And it was at the point of imminent destruction that the majority of their tails were suddenly vaporized. The force of the unknown explosion nearly pushed them directly into the belly of the dreadnought.

“That came from the satellite station,” Emmerich said, stunned.

CAIN said.

“Um, apology accepted?” Cole muttered, still shaken by the close call.
Ally against ally,
he thought. He could almost smell the match of war being struck.

The few remaining Kobolds kept a respectful distance after the attack, though they continued their pursuit. They were met with a barrage of auto cannon fire from behind, and they scattered, one disintegrating from too much damage.

CAIN announced.

Cole could have sworn he detected pride in the AI’s words. “
Right
on time,” he said with a sizable helping of sarcasm. He could see two Rifters quickly approaching to sidle up with them. He immediately led the trio away from the dreadnought, steering clear of the main engines thrust. His tiny window of escape had finally presented itself, though he knew Terracom would mount a fierce retaliation. With any luck, the ICV-71 would already be wherever it was going.

CAIN said, opening a small window on the viewport screen. A pilot appeared with a UniSys patch on his shoulder.

“Our deepest apologies for arriving so late,” the young man said. “Is President Jensen safe?”

Cole covered his guffaw by faking a cough and placing his hand over his mouth. Emmerich’s grin forced him to “cough” a bit longer.
Way to be subtle, Cain.
“Madam President is safe. We thank you for your
timely
assistance.”

“Had we known you were being pursued by those Terracom bastards, we would’ve come sooner.”

“We were hoping to slip by unnoticed,” Cole said, more interested in the new squadron of Kobold-2s gathering behind them. There was no sign of a Rifter backup. It was time for him to test just how loyal UniSys was to an AMBER president.

“Pilot,” Cole began in his most authoritative voice. “Our mission is of great import, and President Jensen
must
make the jump if the entire System is to evade the coming war.”

“War?” The pilot spoke the words as though they were foreign.

“Yes. War.” He flinched when Emmerich reached across and punched him in his tricep.
Hope he didn’t see that.
“Make sure those fighters never reach us.”

The pilot nodded, his expression grim. “Consider it done. We’ll protect you. Good luck averting the war.” The window housing the pilot’s face went dark. Cole knew what Emmerich was going to say before she said it.

“You just sent those poor fools to their deaths.”

Predictable, but no less painful.
“What do you want, an apology? Lots of ‘fools’ seem to be throwing away their lives for us these days.” He clenched the yoke so hard he thought it might snap from the base. The rush of anger was sudden and violent. “And since when did you start caring about anyone other than yourself?”

The cutting remark caught Emmerich off guard, her response frozen on her tongue.

“
This
is how it is now,” Cole continued as he guided the ship closer to the jump point. “
This
is who we are—criminals. The System’s most wanted. We’ve got no friends, and everyone is our enemy. We either live in the shadows, or die in the light.” He blinked back the sudden tears. “There’s no going back to the way things were.”

“Dammit!” Cole punched the console, hoping CAIN suffered some form of pain from the blow. He exhaled until he felt he might pass out. “What’s the ETA on our jump?”

was CAIN’s response.

“Shit!” Cole looked up to see the indicators pointing to at least five projectiles quickly closing the gap between them. “Time to go, Cain. Are we clear to jump?”

“Open it anyway.”

“We’re going to be dead in less than fifteen seconds, Cain,” Cole argued, the tension seeping into his voice as he watched the approach of his demise. “Open it.”

“
Do it now!
” The two second pause for the AI’s answer felt an eternity.

The dark matter processor pierced the whole of spacetime and created the synthesized wormhole directly in front of the ICV-71. The ship shot into the safety of the tunnel toward an unknown destination. The opening’s collapse delayed, allowing the possibility of pursuit.

And that was exactly what happened.

The wormhole closed just as one of the missiles followed them in.