She peered at him, her mouth a thin line. “This hasn’t anything to do with that stupid dare I took to zipline backwards down Mount Errigal on New Ireland, has it? I was only thirteen at the time, had managed to sneak some home brewed cider at our cousin Sheila’s wedding, and deny all responsibility for anything I may or may not have said or done.”
“Nope, that wasn’t it,” Grady said, then downed a swing of synth-coffee. “Besides, I don’t remember half of what I said or did at that wedding, either. I was on the verge of deciding to train as a navy pilot, dad and I weren’t on speaking terms, and I was drowning my sorrows.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Chalmers’s lips curl into a knowing smile. Before the archeologist had the chance to ask him to elaborate, he rushed on, the words tumbling from his lips, “It was the encounter you and Zoe had with the larger stealth ship while the professor and I were on Yerconam.”
Tara uncrossed her arms. “Ah, now I get it. You’re talking about our deception, when we planted space mines on an escape pod during our attempt to lure the pursuing enemy ship into a trap and take it out.”
She grinned and clicked her fingers. “Yeah, I see where you’re going with this, Bro. We resupplied at New Heb while the fusion drive was being repaired and took on a full inventory of munitions, including more mines.”
She rubbed her fingers across her brow. “Your variation on our plan might work, I guess. But it’s still kinda risky, and then some. I wish we’d had more time to test fly the stealth insertion craft before deploying it in actual combat, work out any potential kinks.”
“If I may add, Captain,” Mal cut in. “You’ll recall the stealth engine on the vessel that tried to capture us while you were in another parallel universe had its limitations. It draws an inordinate amount of energy in order to power the cloak and needs to recycle at periodic intervals, temporarily de-cloaking and making the craft vulnerable to detection.”
Tara nodded, saying, “We didn’t have time to figure out how often the insertion ship’s stealth engine recycles. What if it happens while you’re planting the mines on the Gany’s hull?”
Grady placed the mug on the desk at his elbow and offered her a broad grin. “Then I guess we’ll find out if I’m as good a pilot as I think I am.”
He raised his hand when both women went to object. “Trust me, I’m not planning to die today. But we have to do everything possible to help the rebels stop the imperial task force from reaching New Heb. Dangerous or not, this is our best shot.”
Grady stepped across the threshold into Adventurer’s medbay, his movements slow and careful, in part so as not to make any noise and also because his leg continued to ache. The lighting was dimmed, and it took a moment for his eyes to adjust and make out Hawthorne seated at a desk against the wall. The doctor looked bone weary. “How’s she doing?”
Hawthorne motioned to the alcove at the back of the room, where a darkened room housed a small, compact ward. “Under sedation. The surgery proceeded as well as might be expected, given the gravity of her injuries.”
Grady’s pulse raced, and he swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. “Will she make it?” he whispered.
The physician paused and met his gaze. “Uncertain.” His tone was grave as he continued. “If there had been more time, and her wounds weren’t so serious, it would have been preferable to transfer her to New Heb’s more fully equipped hospital before we left to join the fray.”
He pushed his palms against his eyes and sighed. “But she was in no condition to be moved, and we dared not delay our departure. I did the best job possible with the facilities at my disposal on board. Now all we can do is wait. The next few hours will be critical.”
“What are her chances?”
“Fifty-fifty, at best. Sorry, Captain, but I wish I had better news for you, especially on the eve of battle.”
“You did all you could, Doc. No one could ask for more,” Grady said. “Zoe’s tough, a fighter. She’ll pull through.” He looked away and added in a low voice, “She has to.”
“Mal said much the same thing,” Hawthorne declared. “It feels like he’s looking over my shoulder, observing my every move as I treat her.”
“Zoe is his favorite Amazonian,” Grady said with a chuckle. “He knows she won’t go down without a fight, even when she’s unconscious.” He cocked his head. “Isn’t that right, digital buddy?”
“Indeed, Captain,” said the AI, his tone somber. “Had I hands and digits, I would be crossing my fingers right now. And, perhaps, praying to every deity I can imagine.”
Grady nodded and turned to Hawthorne. “I’ll be in the cockpit. Please keep me updated on how she’s doing.”
“You can count on it,” said the doctor, waving to the area where Zoe slept. “We are all rooting for her.”
35
The formation of rebel fighters and bombers—with Adventurer in the vanguard—dropped out of FTL forty thousand kilometers from a scene of mayhem, confusion, and death. Too far away to pick out individual ships, even with the primary viewscreen on max zoom, Grady and Tara could only gape at the streaks of crimson energy that flashed against the starfield, as the two fleets maneuvered, each seeking the most advantageous position against the other.
Grady eyed the tactical holo as it populated with a confusion of red and green icons, reams of combat data streaming down the side. Battle had been well and truly joined, he realized, with the outcome still in the balance. The green icons, rebel ships, were outnumbered, but there were far more of them than he’d expected. Kotov had been successful in calling in support from outlying rebel positions. But would it be enough?
“Mal,” he said with a quick flick of his gaze to the ceiling. “Scan for Captain Lorcan’s armed freighter, Freedom Defender, and open an encrypted channel, audio and vid.”
“Contact made,” said the AI, for once speaking in a neutral tone, the gravity of the peril facing the rebellion perhaps persuading him to eschew his more fanciful tones.
“Welcome to the jamboree, Jack,” came a familiar voice, foregoing normal military communication protocol, as Phil Lorcan’s face materialized in an overlay atop the wraparound screen. He looked exhausted, his hair mussed, the bags prominent under his eyes. “We’ll have to make this quick. Long-range scans show more imperial vessels inbound, including the Ganymede.”
“Understood,” Grady said. “I’m relieved to see you’re still with us.”
“Nearly wasn’t,” came the rueful reply. “It was a ruse, an ambush.”
“What happened?”
“The missing scout ship had been captured by imperials,” Phil said, his usual breezy attitude subdued. “They removed the fighter’s emergency beacon and planted it on a remote, uninhabited planetoid, transmitting a distress call on a continuous loop. When I led my squadron there to rescue the stranded pilot—or so I thought—we came under attack. I called for reinforcements, so did the enemy, and we found ourselves in a full-scale engagement against superior numbers. We lost some fine pilots today, and might lose even more, before the outcome is decided.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Grady said. “Things got kinda dicey on New Heb, too, as I presume you’ve been told?”
Phil’s voice grew even more grim. “Yeah, I received a situation update. Cassandra had us all fooled. Who knows what might have happened to New Heb if you hadn’t taken her out, along with her closest co-conspirators? Thanks for that, by the way. The imperials were jamming our comms for a while, and by the time we re-established contact, we weren’t able to disengage and return to help, much as I wanted to.” He paused and added in a raw whisper, “Rosie will be sorely missed.”
“You have my sympathies,” Grady said. “I didn’t have a chance to get to know her, but she seemed to be formed from the same impressive mold as the Rosie from my reality. An inspiring leader and a kind, caring person. Her death is a severe loss.”
Phil nodded his head, looked away for a moment, then met Grady’s gaze and asked in a tone suggesting he almost dreaded to hear the answer, “What’s Zoe’s condition? I understand she suffered a serious wound trying to save Rosie.”
“She did. We managed to bring her back to Adventurer during the fighting. We’re lucky to have a full doctor aboard. The procedure went well enough, and she’s stable, but not yet out of danger.” Grady paused, his grip on the control stick tightening, his lips thinning. “Zoe is one resilient woman. She and I have survived some rough scrapes together. If anyone can pull through, it’s her.”
Phil sighed, pushing his hand through his hair. “Fingers crossed. My thanks to you and your crew for everything you did to prevent the imperial takeover of New Heb. Losing the station would have been catastrophic for the rebellion in this region and overall.”
