Existential Threat: Chapter 8 Part 1 of 2 (Patreon)

Chapter 8:

09/07/2242

Ramirez sat upon the bridge of his destroyer, actually inside of it, not sheathed in the net. The screens worked, outputting information, lighting the room.

The lights had been set to a light blue glow, easing the headache that pounding at the back of his head and pushed through between his brow.

“All shipments have reached the warpgates sir,” Yori said.

He looked over the screens, each showing a different system, a different marker for a ship holding, entering or exiting the busy warpgates that connected the Federation.

Ramirez tapped on his personal screens, entering passwords and information, he let out a breath, studying the maps once again.

“Let them face what they have reaped, the Federation no longer deserves to spread through the cosmos,” He pressed the button on his screen.

***

“Automatic flight systems engaged,” the system said as the warpgate’s controllers took over the Onyx Desert medium freighter’s flight controls

“Thank you computer,” Idorr shifted in his chair, stretching out and sighing.

“Don’t fall asleep in the pilot seat again,” Oria said from her seat behind and to the right at her navigation station.

“I ain’t never done that,” Idorr grumbled, turning against his harness to look back, to see her sly grin and raised eyebrow.

“Just didn’t want this to be the first time. I can already hear you snoring through your bed’s shutters. Shouldn’t you know better living on a freighter most your life?”

He rolled his eyes with a sigh and sat back. “Just another year and I’ll be able to get my own hauler.” Flipping through screens, more as something to do.

“Ah we’re not that bad,” Oria chuckled.

“Its good I know most of the enforcers on the station’s we’ve gone to, else you’d all be stuck in drunk tanks across the arm,” Thankful he was facing away as a grin broke out on his face.

“Thank you get out of jail card,” Oria snorted.

“More lively here than on my parents freighter that’s for sure.”

“Like to keep things interesting.”

“Like continuous runs between planets and stations. You’d think the Federation would have a better back up to keep all their ships and stations supplied.”

“They’re paying a good rate, the company likes it, I like it, hell the crew like the bonuses too.”

“You mean those slackers nursing off their latest hangover?”

“Can’t all metabolize alcohol like you, you sure you didn’t come out drinking?”

“Nope, just drank enough engine cleaner and told it was real alcohol that I prefer something that tastes good over just what gets me face first in the decking.” Idorr shuddered and shook his head. “You only need to throw up in your helmet to never want to do it again.”

“Urgh, well thank you for that image. We’re half-what the-!” The freighter shook. “Container blow out! Several of them!”

Idorr grabbed the flight controls, forgetting that they were under the warp-gates control as tubes shot out from the containers.

He’d never seen anything like it in the real, but on the net he loved to play warship simulators. “Missiles!”

He hit the alert button, smacked his harness tossed the cover off of the ship-wide broadcast system.

“Get to your bunks and suit up!” He growled, fighting the last clip on his harness as he pushed out of the chair. Company piece of crap. Oria kicked off and flung herself for the rooms. Idorr pulled on his mask, sealing it to his coveralls. Following her, but staying locked to the ground. Those in the mess grabbing some calories to aid their recovery scrambled for their bunks.

The freighters bucked.

Oria smashed into the roof, anything not secure was thrown free, he heard the metal creak and whine under the decking.

Rounds punched through the bridge, leaving trails as air dragged him backwards, he grabbed the railing, hauling himself forward. A burst cut through the walkway ahead. Zena and Aia went slack. His mind shaking, trying to process the little that remained, their blood and bodies pulled out by the weapon’s entry holes.

Oria locked to the ceiling and ran for the bunks.

Idorr ran after her, pulling on the padded railings and hand-holds.

The ship slapped to the side, he grabbed Oria as she came free from the roof. He slammed into  the wall next to the mess, hissing, he saw the door to the living room.

Rounds thudded through the living areas behind him, cutting through the wall beside him, he looked through the still burning hole, down into the engineering spaces.

He pushed Oria on, she moved drunkenly. Blood on the inside of her soft-cap.

“Come on!” He yelled, they were probably in vacuum by now he pulled her, feeling the tell-tale looseness of his coveralls as he guided her forward. Several bunks were missing, she staggered in. He grabbed a medical box next to the doorway and pushed her into his bunk, flipping the cover he’d always imagined doing as a kid. The ship lurched, he wrapped around Oria as they slammed into the bottom of the bunk above with enough force to make Idorr blink away light spots. He grabbed the medical kit as it tried to fly away.

Where’s the hull? Where’s the ship?

He slammed the escape button as the fear filled him, looking out into space, containers tumbling free as half of the command center was just gone.

The shutters slammed shut around the bunk Straps locked him and Oria in place as the pod shot out, trying to push his head through his feet.

He hissed out breaths, clenching as he did so. Impacts jarred and dinged his pod, the acceleration stopped he coughed and breathed, focusing on his breaths a calming blue chem light activated. His roof mounted screen came to life, low-res and limited power draining.

“The, waz that?” Oria asked, muffled in her helmet.

“I dunno, the containers went and then there were missiles coming out of them?” Air was good, water topped off, some reaction mass left incase they needed to manouver, beacon was going.

He sucked in a breath at the sensor screen.

Onyx Desert was a wreck, her command pyramid was missing chunks from ship killing missiles. Containers had been flung everywhere, the super-structure cracked, some beams still holding onto their payload.

Engines flickered, the rear of the ship a twisted mess.

Missiles slammed into the ship, breaking it apart into three sections, flinging containers away. Others crashed into the warpgate, tracers lancing through space in an attempt to destroy them. Catching some, hitting other ships in the cross-fire or beyond the missiles.

A missile slammed into the main body of the wrapgate, following its brethren.

The section’s lights stuttered as it was broken free, the missile leaving a glittering space of dust where it had been attached.

Reactor’s lay open to vacuum, command areas gutted. The warpgate coming apart in slow motion as the last missiles struck their targets or were cut down.

Federation warships were moving in the area, several ships had been caught in the cross-fire transmitting distress signals.

Oria moved in his arms as he felt the medical pack next to his leg.

“Let me take a look at that head wound.” He pulled the pack up and sat up, tilting his head and working in the zero gravity.

***

Brad, Foster, Dana, Fin, Adeline, Ichika, Mitch, Minnie, Fin and Stuart sat in the net-based conference room.

“What is Ramirez’s end goal?” Brad asked.

“Revenge?” Ichika shrugged.

“So there is no way to stop him?”

“They’ve been jumping into small lagrange points in uninhabited systems, or out in the dark, making it much harder to pin down where exactly they jumped to. We’re launching sensor missiles to read the old light from their wormholes and trail them back. The trail has gone cold each time. It will work eventually but it is a time consuming exercise,” Dana said.

“If they’re getting help, no one is talking, I understand. Most of those that have been affected by pirates think its only right that the Federation get what they’re owed. Opinion is changing now that ships were fired at on the warpgates and freighters were used as missile trojans. Mostly against the Federation though,” Fin said.

“The freighter crews have been arrested by the Federation and we’re not getting anything out of them. I was wondering if we could get Wei Li involved to help them?” Adeline asked.

“Sally, send a request to Wei Li and her firm, ask them if they might be the defense counsel for the freighter crews,” Brad said.

“We need to watch out how this looks though,” Stuart held up his hand.

Brad cocked his head to the side.

“If we’re defending the Freighter crews and there are already a lot of people thinking that we’re silently backing Ramirez, it starts to look messy. Starts to look like we’re actually supporting him. We’ve had to issue the statement repeatedly that he stole from us. If we defend those freighter crews, then it might actually make them a bigger target by the Federation, someone within their grasp they can attack.”

“So what do we do?” Brad asked.

“We try to support them through back channels, but that is not our fight. We said that we were not going to put our foot into other people’s shit like the other Factions. We focus on what we have to deal with. Increased aggression and possible retaliation from the Federation. The fact they have factories now.”

“You’re right Stuart,” Brad tilted his head in acknowledgement, facing the others. “What might the Federation do?”

“Further sanctions against us,” Adeline shrugged. “They’re not really doing anything to affect us.”

“Push for the AI cut off,” Fin said.

“Launch a full attack,” Dana said.

Brad’s stomach sank. “You really think so?”

“The warp gates are the core of their economy, they take years to build for anyone but us. They have two that will be done in the next six to nine months. Not only are the warpgates a huge part of their economy, it is the backbone of their supply lines. Everything in their systems is going to start to get scarce. Freighters with jump-drives shipping prices have shot up, nearly four times what it is in other systems. Luxury goods will disappear as basics come to the fore. They have the ability to wage war, in a month?” Dana shrugged. “Those Freighters might need warship protection to make sure they get where they need to go. Any parts they don’t have stored up is going to be hell to build. The military supply arm might even get co-opted to assist in moving supplies.”

Adeline nodded in complete agreement.