“Already done.”
“I'm going to make full burn back, see if we can't get everything we've got on its way here.”
“Ronin, I know every instinct you have is telling you that is the right thing to do, but you can't. The only reason why you're not fighting off fifty fighters and dodging long range weaponry is because they're watching that buoy you lodged, trying to crack our codes and track back to your ship.”
“And here I thought I was being all careful and sneaky using half a dozen deactivated buoys to relay my comms.”
“Half a dozen? That’s why I’ve been seeing worm holes pop open. That’s kinda genius, Ronin,” Ashley congratulated with a big smile. It was the second conversation she’d ever had with him, and for the second time she was impressed.
“It just means that it’ll take them minutes to track this instead of seconds,” Jason interrupted. “Ronin, you have to go back and tell the Captain what's happened, but any help he can send will come too late. There's an Overlord coming. It’ll be here in about two days if the communications I've intercepted are right.”
The colour drained from Minh's face; “Is there anything I can do right now?”
“Get back as fast as you can. Tell the Carthans that the Triton is coming and we'll need help.”
“Will do. Heading out right now. Good luck Jason, be the brain we all know you are and get to Tamber safe. Hang in there Ash, I’ll see you on Tamber. Slick and I scanned some nice beaches on our way out, I’ll make sure there’s a drink with an umbrella in it waiting for you.”
“How’d you know I was a beach bunny?”
“Crewcast,” Ronin smiled.
“Can we hit pause on this courtship for just a little while so I can get back to saving the ship, please?” Jason said in a withering tone.
“Righto, on my way out.”
Ashley couldn’t help but snicker as the transmission terminated.
Larry shook his head with a disapproving expression.
“What? If we can’t have a teensy laugh, we’d all just snap.” She said cheerily, bouncing Zoe in her lap. “Right baby?” she asked her.
The toddler slipped to the floor and started running around the table sweetly singing; “roo roo rooooo.”
“That is the most random thing I’ve ever seen,” Larry remarked, wide eyed. “And annoying.”
“She’s excited, and probably learning to talk. Just let her go, she’ll tire herself out soon.” She said as she finished plotting their first wormhole jump. Without hesitation she moved on to setting up the second.
“Say ‘Larry.’” he requested as Zoe stopped in front of his chair.
She turned around and started making her way back around at a march, singing; “loo loo looooo,” instead.
“Well, at that rate she’ll be able to say her own name by new years,” Larry grumbled.
“Say ‘Ashley’,” Ashley invited sweetly.
“Allee!” Zoe shouted back.
“See? It’s all in the way you ask, isn’t it hon?”
“Oh God, I hope Jason’s plan kicks in soon,” Larry groaned.
Chapter 31
“You've done some good work here, Major,” Congratulated Commander DeHansen as he arrived at the bottom of the bridge ramp way. “We're still fighting in a few compartments but we have control of most of the ship.” He was broad in the middle, and had a toothy grin. This was a potential political victory for him with Command, being the last remaining boarding Captain.
“We lost a lot of good people. Has Command gotten control of the lower decks on the main carrier?”
Commander DeHansen's smile soured at the mention of the counter incursion. “They took four lower decks and stopped. We don't know what they're up to but it won't matter for long. Reinforcements are en-route.”
“Good. The sooner they clear that up, the sooner we'll have a sonic sensor package on deck. If Command equipped us all with them, we would have never been blind sided by these cloak suits.”
“I doubt that would have made all the difference considering how expensive these scanners are.”
“I could tell you the names of the people I lost today because we were sent in without a full kit.”
DeHansen straightened his uniform and cleared his throat. Cumberland was imposing, and all of his men were staring. “I'll pass the recommendation up in my report. In the meantime, assemble four teams to sweep the command deck of the Triton and seal it off. I don't want to lose ground while our techs begin rebuilding these terminals and linking into the ship controls.”
“I have an issue with that order, sir.” Private Baram said as she aimed her sidearm levelly at Cumberland's head.
A thought occurred to him then, he'd never seen her without her helmet. “I should have verified idents,” Major Cumberland grumbled.
“Major! What's going on?” DeHansen demanded.
“I think one of theirs mixed in with my team when we regrouped on the upper deck. You're surrounded, you know. No where to run.”
“If your people don't lower their arms and surrender immediately, a comrade of mine will fire all of this ship's torpedo ports. The vessels on our port and starboard side will be destroyed.”
“Along with a good part of this vessel,” Major Cumberland tested. Everyone could hear him, all the boarding teams, Command, and anyone else wearing a communicator. The Command channel was abuzz already, there was no point in silencing the infiltrator, the damage was done. With decks on one of their own ships out of their control, parts of the Triton still sealed off and a potentially devastating threat, morale would sink like a stone.
“I do not have the switch. Kill me, and you accomplish nothing. Disarm yourselves and surrender.”
“I don't think so, lady. There's no power in your torpedo rooms, we verified,” Commander DeHansen objected. “You put that down and come quietly. You might end up in a cell instead of an early grave.”
“Commander McPatrick, are you still there?” asked the stranger.
“This is Command. Commander DeHansen; please be aware that most of the torpedo rooms on that ship are powering up. You are not authorized to surrender. Negotiate with the representative,” Major Cumberland overheard through his communicator.
“I'm plenty alive, good to hear your voice Agameg,” replied the tall, fair haired man from the hallway behind them.
“Some kind of automatic stasis, right?” asked Cumberland, shaking his head. “Should have finished you off properly.”
“Put 'em down everyone. We're taking our ship however we can and you have a lot more to lose,” Oz said as he slowly entered the room with his hands up. There was a glint in his eye Cumberland didn’t like one bit.
Major Cumberland nodded; “Listen to him. We're finished here,” he ordered the soldiers on the bridge.
“Belay that! We have the high ground aboard this ship and it came at great expense!” Commander DeHansen countered. “Commander McPatrick, I can promise a fair trial for you and all your people if you surrender immediately. Haven't enough people died here?”
“Trust me, we don't want to launch all our torpedoes at close range, but if you and your people don't leave us be, I won't have much of a choice. Our people are out of the areas that will be damage anyway, why do you think you’ve been able to take the port and starboard sides with less opposition? Oh, and you can call me Oz.”
“It's time to let this one go, DeHansen.” Major Cumberland agreed. “A few thousand people on those destroyers will thank us when they find out what they were about to do here.” He unclipped his rifle and slowly placed it on the deck at his feet.
A number of the other soldiers started following his example.
“I haven't been ordered to authorize a surrender, Major,” Commander DeHansen turned to the soldier next to him and ordered; “If he puts his sidearm down, shoot him.”
“Command hasn't seen everything I have. The people on this ship will do anything to keep it from being captured, fight down to the last man. We haven't even seen what's at the core of the structure,” Cumberland said calmly as he drew his sidearm.