Junkyard raiders, p.2
Junkyard Raiders, page 2
part #5 of Junkyard Pirate Series
By car, the World's Fair campus was at least forty minutes away, given the traffic. Flying in a direct line at nearly fifty miles an hour placed the team on the venue's outskirts within minutes.
"Security isn't gonna like us skipping the line," Darnell warned, establishing communications with AJ using Petey's help. "Should we stop in?"
"Hard to know if they've been compromised," AJ answered.
They'd visited the campus several times, checking out the greatest innovations from the participating nations. At the dead center of the fair, a wide area had been cordoned off. In the center sat the massive heavy-lift vehicle they'd flown back from the Xandarj system. The Vertical Extra Atmospheric Hauler, or VEAH for short, had originally been designed to move heavy loads from the surface of Xandarj into space. Hundreds of these ships were built as part of a huge operation to construct and lift a pair of massive space stations, Dralli and Illaden, into orbit. Once the stations were operational, the bulky vehicles became too costly to run and were left to rust in floating graveyards. As a junker, AJ had seen the value and rescued one of the old ships, scavenging parts from others to rebuild what was now named Big Max.
"We have the guard's attention," Lisa said. "He's aiming."
AJ didn't hesitate. His team was in the open and relatively unprotected, no match for the 5.56mm NATO rounds the guards would be firing. He tracked the weapons lock and opened fire with disabling energy bolts on the guard station below. Darnell joined him and the guards were momentarily disarmed, although the alarm had been raised.
"We gotta move," Darnell urged, pushing his rocket pack to accelerate. "We're attracting too much attention."
The sound of gunfire drew AJ's attention. To his right, a single security guard was on a knee, his assault-style rifle lining up with one of AJ's team. Not bothering to aim carefully, AJ fired a few rounds into the pavement near the guard, causing the curious crowd to erupt into chaos.
"So much for getting out of here cleanly," AJ said, grateful to see Big Max's fat nose sticking straight up into the air only a kilometer away.
"Take the top hatch," Lisa said. "Video showed that someone had placed a bar across the lower aft-airlock."
"Good call," AJ said. "Get Big D and Greybeard in first and fire those engines up. Everyone else, watch for security guards."
"Lisa, get your butt over here," Darnell said, countermanding. "You too, Jayne. I don't care if I do fly this beast. I'm not having the girls get shot while I'm cozy inside."
AJ sighed and scoped out the fleeing crowd, watching for danger. A group of security guards who looked to be a cut above the rest moved with efficiency toward Big Max. They were likely a fast-reaction force made necessary by the international nature of the event. That they carried heavier weaponry would quickly become a problem.
"We're in, AJ. You gotta move now!"
He dipped around the ship's backside and into the airlock just as heavy automatic fire pinged against Big Max's hull. He had barely closed the door when bullets closed on his position.
TWO
FRYING PAN MEET FIRE
"AJ, we're zero on fuel," Darnell called, his voice preternaturally calm over comms.
"Copy that," AJ said, grateful for Baird's thoughtfulness at handing him such a large volume of the rare and potent Fantastium. Rather than turning toward the bridge, he raced along the top deck and into the far aft elevator shaft. Choosing not to call the platform up to take him down gently, he dove into the sixty-foot-high shaft and used his rocket pack to arrest his fall. His momentum sent him crashing against the wall, but he just grunted and pulled his legs in so he could kick off again.
"I don't mean to push, but I've got sensor contact with a couple of F-35s lifting off from Abu Dhabi," Darnell added. "They're only four minutes out if they get on it."
"Not helping," AJ grunted as he landed with a thud in front of the engine room, pain rocketing up his legs.
Wrenching the steel handle downward, he rushed into the first engine compartment and scrabbled over the central beam to stand in front of the control center. He pulled one of Baird's vials of Fantastium from his belt and placed it into an awaiting, padded receptacle. Soft mechanical fingers encased the vial as a small articulated tube was injected through its top. A readout on the panel in front of him showed the purity of the Fantastium as being in the high ninetieth percentile.
"You should be good, Big D," AJ said, allowing his shoulders to slump as he rested against the engine's bulkhead.
Darnell's only acknowledgment was the deep vibration of Big Max's massive motors purring to life. Unloaded, Big Max would have no trouble quickly lifting through Earth's gravity, but she would be no match for the acceleration of an F-35. If the UAE decided to play it hard, Big Max was going to have a tough afternoon.
"Prepare for impact," Darnell called over comms.
"Are we being fired on?" AJ called back, pulling himself away from the bulkhead and starting back toward the elevator. The impact Darnell had warned about sent him toppling to the deck. "What in the hell!? That's no rocket."
"Astute as always," Darnell answered, chuckling.
Big Max swayed unexpectedly under AJ's feet as he picked himself up. "Oh, you did not …," AJ said, understanding dawning on him. "We have no idea if she'll survive this."
"Pick your poison, AJ. Those boys from Abu Dhabi were packing missiles," Darnell said.
AJ raced up the elevator shaft and back along the top deck, skidding to a stop as he entered the bridge. As he expected, Big Max's forward viewscreen was submerged in the frothy waters of the Persian Gulf.
"This is a horrible idea," Lisa said, her hands a death grip around the arms of one of the bridge chairs. "We are in a spaceship, not a submarine! We’ll sink!"
"AJ, is this safe?" Jayne asked.
"Theoretically, yes," AJ said. "Big Max is sealed against exterior infiltration. We wouldn't hold our atmosphere in space otherwise. The engines are field-based, so we shouldn't lose propulsion."
"I hear a but," Lisa said. "A big but."
He glanced at his best friend's wife. She was still wearing a bikini – one designed for a much younger woman. He found it distracting that she looked like a cross between the woman he'd known for fifty years and a supermodel. Lisa's raised eyebrow was all it took to put him back on the right track. "It's a push-pull kind of thing. Spaceships are designed to keep from exploding outwards in a vacuum. Water pushes in from the outside. We could have weak links in our hull."
"What can we do?" Jayne asked.
"At the moment, not a thing," he said. "Big D is right. If those F-35s go full-metal on us, they'll do damage that seawater could only dream about. We'll run diagnostics when things clear up."
Beverly appeared on the forward bulkhead holding an oversized wrench, wearing old coveralls and a hardhat. "The forward sensor bay is filling with water," she announced. "Also, the blackwater emergency vent was not well sealed. It's not exactly an emergency, but it's causing backflow in the bilge area."
AJ rolled his eyes and sighed. "Tell me you don't mean we've got poop to clean up."
"If you hurry down and close the hatch, you'll limit the volume," Beverly said. "If it's any consolation, the salt-water provides a flush that is ordinarily quite expensive at most modern spaceports."
"It's expensive for a reason. Nobody wants to muck with wastewater," AJ said, exasperated. "Why does this keep happening to me?"
"Maybe it's the universe's payment for bad lifestyle choices," Lisa quipped.
"You suck," he grumbled.
Jayne placed a placating hand on his arm. "Maybe you should change first. I believe we have a stack of disposable coveralls in the storeroom."
"Where did those come from?" AJ asked, his voice softening.
"I've noticed you get into messy situations from time to time," Jayne said. "I felt they were a good investment since they don't weigh much."
"I could kiss you," AJ said.
"Better get to it now," Lisa quipped. "Ain't gonna be much of that after you come back."
"Oh, you love this. Big D, what's the plan? Are we just lying low? I can't imagine we can make a run through the Strait of Hormuz safely."
"Looks like Iran's getting interested," he said. "I'm hoping these UAE boys lose interest. We need a ten-minute window to bust out past their altitude caps. Of course, Iran could decide to fire something else at us. Hope nobody wants to start a war today. Otherwise, this could get ugly."
"That seems to be our thing," AJ said. "I'll be in the bilge wading through poop if you need me."
"Copy that, big fella," Darnell said, chuckling.
AJ was grateful for Jayne's company as he hurried toward the storeroom she'd indicated. Dropping the backpack that still contained Baird’s mysterious communication equipment onto the storeroom floor, he pulled the disposable suit over his swimsuit trunks and rocket pack vest.
"I can suit up if you need help," Jayne said, looking at him with expectation.
"You'd do that?" he asked.
She kissed him lightly on the forehead. "We're a team, AJ. If you need my help, I'll be there."
"That's about the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me," he replied, "but no, the poop water will be icky. As long as it's not too deep and I keep my mouth closed, I'll be fine."
She followed AJ to the bilge but stopped short of entering the mostly clear salt water that had filled the space to three feet in depth. With Beverly's help, AJ located a secondary manual valve that would stop further water invasion. Unfortunately, removing several hundred gallons of sea water now mixed with contents from the bilge wasn't as easy.
"Doesn't look too bad," Jayne offered as he slogged beneath the low ceiling to an opening that would give him access to the deck above.
At that moment, the ship lurched to the side, sending a wave of water over his head to crash against the slotted deck above. The force of the wave pushed him off his feet and his body dipped under the roiling liquid.
"AJ!"
He came up spluttering and cussing as he spat water from his mouth. "Dammit! Did you hit something, Darnell?"
"UAE fired a missile. It exploded above us," Darnell called back. "I'm gonna take her down to twenty meters."
"That's a lot of water, Big D," AJ said.
"Would you rather the missiles?"
"No."
For the next two hours, their cat-and-mouse game continued, although no more missiles were fired. Finally, they were fifty miles from UAE's coastline. Aside from Darnell, the others had changed into normal clothing and watched as they plowed through the salty sea like an awkward submarine.
"Want to risk it?" Darnell asked. "I'd say there's a better than fair chance Iran and Russia have birds in the air nearby."
"What's the alternative? Do we try to squeeze through Hormuz? US Navy can't be that far away," AJ said. "I say we make a run for it."
"I wish our sensors weren't so jacked up from the water," Darnell said.
"Whatever you do, don't stop once you get going. This old girl can take a swipe or two. Let's get everyone in vac-suits."
"Yeah, that makes sense," Darnell said. "My swimming suit is starting to chafe."
"That's way too much information," AJ said.
"What? It's true."
"Go get changed already," AJ said. "I'll hold down the fort."
Having already changed to a vac-suit, Jayne stayed on the bridge with AJ and waited for Darnell and Lisa to leave before speaking. "What are we doing, AJ? We can't run from the Tok Primacy."
"If they wanted us dead, we'd already be dead," he said. "Don't you remember when they jumped in and grabbed us from being destroyed by that first Korgul ship when we initially met? We were no match for them. If they came at us like that again, we'd be in no better shape. Instead, they tell the US Government to lock us away and then they further stir the pot with our enemies to make sure we never show our heads."
"Do you think they knew we'd run?"
"It had to cross their minds," AJ said.
"Cross whose minds?" Darnell asked as he reentered the bridge.
"That was fast," AJ said.
"Not much to takin' off a pair of old swim trunks," he said. "Might be worth putting on a lap restraint. Hard to tell how much of a jolt we'll take if someone gets a missile on us."
AJ made sure Jayne and Lisa were strapped in and then secured himself to a chair. "Let's do this."
"Hold onto your butts," Darnell said, pulling on a pair of levers.
Big Max rotated slowly, the green glow above them growing brighter as the heavy vessel pushed up through the thick saltwater. They burst from the ocean's surface like a massive whale breaching. Unlike a whale, Big Max continued its extraction from the sea, shedding thousands of gallons it had lifted on its back in a stormy spray.
"Oh, hell," Darnell said. "We've got contact at eighty miles out. They'll be on us in three minutes. We'll barely be at thirty thousand feet."
"F-35s?" AJ asked, swiping at a screen in front of him. With Beverly's help, he dialed in on the approaching warplanes. "Russian MiG-31s coming down from Iran."
"They're sure a long way from home," Darnell said.
AJ grabbed the controls of Big Max's sole energy weapon. An old laser that used excessive energy. It was their only defense. "BB, give me a clear line here."
"You can't shoot at the Russians," Jayne protested. "You'll start an international incident."
"I'd bet good money that's an Iranian crew," AJ said. "Doesn't matter because they're trying to gain a radar lock on us. We're not playing games here and I'm not waiting for them to take the first shot."
He fought with the controls, but the MiGs were so far off he couldn't hold his aim. He found it ironic that if they were in space, he wouldn't have any trouble at all with the shot, given the relatively short distance between them. That there was an ocean of atmosphere between them changed everything. The effectiveness of a direct hit with the energy weapon would be significantly reduced.
"What are you waiting for?" Darnell asked. "They're almost on us."
"Losing your edge there, big boy?" AJ asked. "Kind of reminds me of when you had me leaning out of a chopper, gliding across the treetops. But you had nerves of steel back then."
"Never had my wife aboard either," Darnell said.
"Oh, nut up and stop treating me like I'm made of porcelain," Lisa said. "This isn't the first fight I've been in and it won't be the last. Get your head in the game."
"Damn, girl," AJ said, chuckling. "Get 'em!"
"Shut your sorry face, Albert Jenkins," Lisa snapped.
"BB, put some Creedence Clearwater Revival on the PA and turn it up loud. I gotta get my pilot out of his head here," AJ said. "Start with Fortunate Son." Soon the bridge was filled with the sounds of the 1960s rock group and AJ noticed with appreciation that Darnell's head bobbed along with the beat. "There yah go."
"Oh, yeah," Darnell said. "Let's do this."
AJ gritted his teeth and swung the lumbering weapon toward the approaching ships. "BB, send them a message that we're gonna zap them with our ray gun if they get any closer. Send it in Russian, Chinese and Iranian."
"I believe you mean Persian," Beverly said.
"My mistake," AJ said unconvincingly as he squeezed off his first shot, which sailed over the top of the lead jet by at least a thousand feet. "Damn, this is gonna be harder than I thought."
"The US Navy is hailing us," Beverly said.
He harrumphed. "We seriously don't need them on our tails. How close is the fleet?"
"One hundred twenty miles east northeast," she answered.
"Okay, put 'em on," AJ said.
"Big Max, this is the USS Nimitz. We're currently tracking you on our radar with multiple hostiles inbound. What's your sitrep?"
"USS Nimitz, we've got kind of a crap show going on up here," he replied. "We were under threat back in the UAE and are just trying to leave town without making too much of a fuss."
"Copy that, Big Max," the radio operator said. "My captain requests that you stand down with your energy weapon and let us take care of your visitors. We have a Carrier Air Wing one-hundred-forty seconds from your position."
AJ cut his eyes to Darnell, who nodded furiously. "USS Nimitz, we're stowing the light show and will cease hostilities."
"Much appreciated."
AJ's screen showed a group of eight fighters tearing across the sky, heading directly at what looked to be the point of intercept with the incoming MiGs.
Darnell nodded appreciatively as the US jets overtook their position and raced to confront the provocative MiGs. "They're not messing around."
AJ wasn't particularly surprised when the MiGs turned back for Iran, although they waited until the last moment to do so.
"Big Max, it looks like you have fair seas ahead. The captain would like to pass on his regards. On behalf of his boss and the crew of the Nimitz, we wish you safe travels."
"Relay our gratitude for the assist," AJ said.
"His boss?" Jayne asked.
"Unless he was talking about POTUS, it's SecNav," Darnell said.
"Why are they suddenly so chummy?" Lisa asked. "I thought Baird said we were persona non grata."
"I can't imagine POTUS liked the Tok telling him to lock away people he'd called heroes," Jayne said.
"We might have worn out our welcome, though," Darnell said.
"So, what now?" Lisa asked. "Go back to Xandarj and resume our salvage business? There are worse things. I'm glad we kept the galley stocked up. This would be the world's shortest spaceflight otherwise."
"I'd do that," AJ said. "Maybe see about getting Jayne back into the Dralli Academic Society for her studies. Think they'd take you?"
"Of course," she said. "I told them of my mission to return to Earth. They're waiting on my report of the efficacy of the various therapies and cures, along with preliminary data."
AJ unclipped his belt. "Any chance there's beer in the galley? Anyone want anything?"
"AJ, I think we have a problem," Darnell said.
