Take The Star Road (The Maxwell Saga) (28 page)

"You got that right!" De Bouff suddenly sounded much more cheerful. "I gotta hand it to you, Styles - you come up with some damn good ideas sometimes! Can you take care of business for us while I take Constandt, his prize and ours to meet our buyers?"

"Sure. Send 'em all over."

"I need bigger prize crews, so I can't spare any more guards. Will you have enough to take care of about eighty more prisoners?"

"I'll lock 'em all in one of this ship's cargo shuttles. Its load compartment will be big enough to hold all of 'em, easy. That way they won't be going anywhere, and I won't need any more guards to keep 'em under control. Say - send a nuclear demolition charge over, too, will ya? I'll put it in the machinery spaces of that cargo shuttle, then shove the whole thing out of the docking bay. When the charge goes off, it'll vaporize all the witnesses."

"Styles, you'll get a double bonus for this! That's a great idea! Even if something goes wrong with the demo charge, we're in deep space. The nearest inhabited planet's fourteen light years away, and a cargo shuttle can't hyper-jump; so the prisoners are still guaranteed to die out here, either through oxygen deprivation or starvation. We can't lose!

"I'll send them over in two or three batches, so my guards can handle 'em safely. Wait to jettison the shuttle until just before you jump, so you'll be light years away from it when it blows. No sense in risking damage to your ship."

"Will do, Boss."

Steve looked grimly at the Bosun. "Nice people, these pirates, aren't they?"

"I don't think! OK, we've got some planning to do. If possible, we'll wait until de Bouff's other ships have left before we make our move. If they see or hear that this ship's in trouble of some kind, they may fire on us, or send more boarders to help - and we can't cope with any more pirates than we've got already! On the other hand, if we have to move quickly for some reason, we may have to attack the pirates here while the other ships are still around. That'll mean we'll have to make a fast hyper-jump to get away from them before they can interfere; so we'll have to free the skipper and take the bridge right away, so he can use the navigation and control systems. Problem is, if they're going to load their prisoners onto a cargo shuttle, they may find us in the process. We can't have that. Any ideas?"

Steve thought rapidly. "If there was some way I could get out into the docking bay, I could disable the airlock on the other cargo shuttle, so they'll have no choice but to put the prisoners aboard this one. That way, if we can take out the pirates guarding them, we can try to take back the ship with their help."

"Good idea! Fleet spacers are all trained fighters, although not all of them keep up their training once they're aboard ship. They won't be any worse than the pirates, at any rate! Let me think for a moment."

The Bosun fell silent, cupping his chin in one hand, eyes far away. After a few moments he looked up. "I think I can record imagery from the ship's security camera in the docking bay. After I've captured a few minutes of it, I can set it up as a loop in the ship's systems, and feed it into the security circuits instead of the true image from the camera. That way you'll be able to manually open our airlock, get out into the docking bay, and do your stuff on the other shuttle without anyone seeing you."

Steve blinked in surprise. "How can you bypass the security systems? I thought that was impossible!"

"It is, unless you have command access to the ship's systems. I'm one of four who have it, along with the Captain, the First Mate and the Engineering Officer. The idea was that any one of us might have to take control of the systems in the event of something going catastrophically wrong. It's going to come in real handy now!"

"I'll say! Can you use it to do other things to help us take the ship back?"

"I've been thinking about that ever since this went down. I've got a couple of ideas. I'll record that imagery, then set it up so you can get out."

The Bosun busied himself at the console, asking Steve's assistance now and again to pass instructions through the cargo shuttle's interface with the ship. At last he sat back. "OK, I think that's done it. Cross your fingers. I'm cutting the docking bay camera out of the security system and substituting my looped imagery."

He pressed a button. The security display on the monitor flickered momentarily, then resumed its imagery of an empty, lifeless docking bay. Steve couldn't tell that he was no longer looking at a live camera feed.

"There you are. Go do your stuff, quick as you can!"

"I'm on my way!"

Steve raced from the pilot's console down to the airlock, picking up an emergency tool from the workbench in the machinery spaces as he passed. He used the internal manual handle to crank open the inner airlock door, crossed to the outer one, and did the same thing there. He put his head out of the airlock, looking and listening carefully. No alarms sounded, and he couldn't see or hear anyone nearby.

He crossed to the second cargo shuttle, inserted the emergency tool into a socket next to the outer airlock door, and cranked rapidly. The door slid back into the fuselage. He stepped inside, repeating the process on the inner door. The ship's systems would have reflected any use of the shuttle doors' electronic locks; but by opening them manually, he knew no warning would be displayed.

He hurried to the machinery spaces and took a multitool from a drawer. Returning to the airlock, he cranked the inner door closed, then used the multitool to disconnect the electronic circuits from the control rods of the locks on the outer door. Once the door was manually cranked closed from outside, its electronic controls would no longer be operational. The only way to open the airlock would be with an emergency tool like his - and there was no such tool in the docking bay. The pirates could get one from the Engineering Department if they wished, but he was willing to bet they wouldn't take the trouble to do so. Instead, they'd simply open the other shuttle's airlock and usher their prisoners inside. That would be much less effort.

He made his way back to the pilot's console. "I disabled the other shuttle's electronic lock, and secured our airlock behind me."

"Well done! Now, let's figure out how we're going to deal with the guards and free the prisoners."

"I did some thinking about that while I was working on the other shuttle. See that locker?" Steve pointed to a long horizontal locker beneath a row of smaller, upright units. "It's low to the floor, so you can't open it without bending down. We keep towing straps and other stuff in there - things we hardly ever use. We can push 'em to the back and slide in next to them. Unless a pirate opens it, then gets down on his hands and knees to peer inside, I doubt he'll see us. I can take the lock off the inside of the door and lube its hinges, so it'll swing open easily.

"We can rig up a monitor inside, so we can watch what's going on through an improvised feed from the shuttle's internal cameras. They're in the load compartment, the crew compartment and the machinery spaces, so we'll always know where the guards are. We can also run a link to the command console, so we can listen to radio conversations between the ships."

Cardle scratched his chin dubiously. "What if the guards stand close to that locker? We may not be able to open its hatch without hitting their legs."

"True, but what's the alternative? All the other lockers and hiding places are easier to search. They'll find us too easily if they look around."

"You have a point. If worst comes to worst, we'll have to have our stabbing spears and knives ready, and try to deal with the guards as we slide out."

Steve nodded. "Another thing. We can disconnect the feed from the shuttle's cameras to the ship's systems. They haven't used it since they took over, so they may think it's been inoperative all along. That way they won't be able to monitor inside this bird, and they won't see us take over from their guards."

The Bosun slapped his thigh approvingly. "We'll do it. I can also make vid loops of the present security camera images of the ship's main passageway and other vital spaces. If I splice those loops into the system just before we make our move, they won't see a bunch of former prisoners running around and start wondering what the hell's going on. All right, we've got a lot to do, and very little time before those prisoners get here. Let's get to work!"

###

The tramp of many feet approached the locker once more. Steve and the Bosun peered at the small display unit they'd set up. A thin cable led from it through a hole in the locker's rear panel, and from there to a hastily-rigged connection beneath the pilot's console. They watched as the last group of prisoners was escorted into the load compartment, menaced by the muzzles of bead carbines in the hands of a dozen pirates.

"Siddown over there with them others an' shaddup!" the leader snarled. The prisoners obeyed wordlessly as he turned to one of the pirates who'd captured
Cabot
. "That's all of 'em. We gotta move. Boss's ready to jump as soon as we get back."

"We can handle it from here," the other assured him. He lowered his voice, so Steve and the Bosun had to strain to hear his words, their ears pressed to the loosely-closed locker door. "Didja bring that demo charge?"

"It's in the docking bay. Timer's only good for an hour, so don't set it until you've loaded it aboard this boat and are ready to eject it, you hear me?"

"You betcha!" He raised his voice again. "Don't have too much of a good time while you're selling those other prizes. Bring back some good booze for the rest of us!"

The other guffawed coarsely. "I'll spend my money on warm, willin'
wimmen
, not booze! You can always rig up a still in Engineering if you run out o' rotgut!" He waved to his followers. "Come on, let's go!"

They clumped out of the cargo compartment. Steve and the Bosun watched through their connection to the ship's systems as the pirates boarded their cutter. Its airlock door closed, and a few moments later they heard the faint vibration through the hull as the docking arms were withdrawn.

"All right, you lot," the pirate in charge announced harshly to the prisoners - about eighty of them, as far as Steve could judge from the small display. "Keep your mouths shut and don't make a fuss, and you'll be OK. I'm leaving four guards here, with orders to shoot any troublemakers on sight. Don't tempt 'em!" He turned and followed the others out of the shuttle.

"They've behaved 'emselves so far," the pirate in charge of the four guards observed idly. "I reckon we can relax. Anything to entertain us in here?"

"I found a coffee-maker in the pilot's compartment," another offered.

"Coffee? I ain't had a decent cup o' java since we took this ship! Rich, you keep an eye on this lot while we brew it. I'll send someone to spell you in a few."

"OK, but save some for me! Don't drink it all yourselves!"

Joshing each other cheerfully, three of the four pirates left the load bay and entered the crew compartment. The door automatically slid closed behind them.

The remaining pirate paced back and forth in front of the line of lockers, watching the prisoners on the far side of the load compartment. Steve and the Bosun watched him on their display unit. There were at least ten meters between him and the nearest prisoners, enough to give him a feeling of security, Steve thought.

"What now?" he whispered.

"We probably won't get a better chance. He's closer to you than to me. Can you wait until he turns round, then lift the door, slide out and stab up at his thigh with your spear? Remember what I told you about blood vessels. If you get the blade deep into the inside of his thigh, high up near the groin, you'll take out his femoral artery. He'll bleed out in thirty seconds."

"What if he screams?"

"We'll have to risk it. The closed door between here and the crew compartment may muffle the sound, if it's not too loud. I'll jump out and grab his carbine, then we'll go after those three. Even if they hear something, they've got to come through that doorway one by one. We'll have a good chance to take 'em all out."

"And if they come out shooting?"

"That's a chance we have to take. If we don't move now, we'll die anyway when they jettison this bird with a nuke aboard to keep us company!"

"I hear you." Steve took a deep breath, trying to still the butterflies in his stomach and stop the trembling in his limbs.

"Maxwell?"

"Yes, Bosun?"

Cardle's voice was warm. "Just in case, I wanted to tell you that you touched a nerve when you told me last year I'd been a sort of father to you. I never had any children of my own - at least, I don't think I did!" - they shared a laugh - "but if I'd had a son, I'd have wanted him to be like you. You're a fine man and a fine spacer, Steve. I've been proud to know you."

Steve choked up a little as he wriggled around and offered his hand. "Thanks, Vince." He allowed himself to use the Bosun's name for the first time in his life. "Here's hoping we'll have many more good times together when this is over."

"Sure - but if we don't, at least we've had what we've had. No-one can take that away."

"Yeah."

The Bosun gripped his hand more tightly. "One more thing. If I go down,
don't stop fighting!
Like Shakespeare said, we all owe God a death, sooner or later. Our job is to release the prisoners and help 'em take back this ship.
Nothing else matters
- not even our own survival, because if we fail, we'll die along with everyone else in here. Got it?"