Blockade Runner (Privateer Tales Book 11) Read online

  BLOCKADE RUNNER

  JAMIE McFARLANE

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication / use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

  Cover Artwork: Elias T. Stern

  Copyright © 2016 Jamie McFarlane

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN: 1-943792-14-3

  ISBN-13: 978-1-943792-14-6

  CONTENTS

  PROLOGUE

  GHOST FLEET

  SENTINEL

  MORE THAN ONE WAY

  INTRUDER

  TALE OF TWO CITIES

  INVASION

  HONOR IN SACRIFICE

  IN THE MOMENT

  THE BLOCKADE

  INSPECTION

  MSHINDI’S PRIDE

  CLEANSING FIRE

  DON’T TOUCH THE CAT

  BREACH OF CONFIDENTIALITY

  IT’S A FAIR COURT

  NOT EVERYONE’S A FARMER

  SETTLERS

  BAZAAR

  BATTLESHIP GRAY

  WHAT A VIEW

  HEAD SWEATS

  SKITTERING HORDE

  SHIP SHAPE

  BUG GUTS

  GREASED LIGHTNING

  IT’S ALL IN THE CHILI

  DECOMPRESSION

  THAT OTHER PLACE

  LOSING THE WAR

  THE HUNT

  COUNTING LEGS

  TELL ME IT’S REAL

  CONTACT

  SPOILED SPINACH

  ACE IN THE HOLE

  EPILOGUE

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  CONTACT JAMIE

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  PROLOGUE

  A few prolific readers have kindly pointed out that - sometimes - between installments of Privateer Tales, they might forget the names of our heroes and their general physical characteristics. What follows isn’t a full list, but it's certainly the starting crew of Intrepid. By no means should you take this as a guarantee of their safety. I'm quite willing to say, however, as of the first chapter, each of the following are just as we left them in Give No Quarter. I've also included a few additional definitions to help jog your memory.

  I always enjoy interacting with my readers and sharing a little inside information about myself and the characters I create. When a new story is available or I'm otherwise inspired, I send out an email newsletter. If you are interested in joining my newsletter distribution, please visit fickledragon.com/keep-in-touch/ to sign up.

  On with the list of characters.

  Liam Hoffen – our hero. With straight black hair and blue eyes, Liam is a lanky one hundred seventy-five centimeters tall (which is a typical tall, thin spacer build). His parents are Silver and Pete Hoffen, who get their own short story in Big Pete. Our stories are mostly told from Liam’s perspective and he, therefore, needs the least introduction.

  Nick James – the quick-talking, always-thinking best friend who is usually five moves ahead of everyone and is the long-term planner of the team. At one hundred fifty-seven centimeters, Nick is the shortest human member of the crew. He, Tabby and Liam have been friends since they met in daycare on Colony-40 in Sol's main asteroid belt. The only time Nick has trouble forming complete sentences is around Marny Bertrand, who by his definition is the perfect woman. Nick’s only remaining family is a brother, Jack, who now lives on Lèger Nuage. They lost their mother during a Red Houzi pirate attack that destroyed their home in the now infamous Battle for Colony-40.

  Tabitha Masters – fierce warrior and loyal fiancé of our hero, Liam. Tabby lost most of her limbs when the battle cruiser on which she was training was attacked by the dreadnaught Bakunawa. She lives for the high adrenaline moments of life and engages those at one hundred percent. Tabby is a lithe, one-hundred sixty-eight-centimeter-tall bundle of impatience.

  Marny Bertrand – former Marine from Earth who served in the Great Amazonian War and now serves as guardian of the crew. Liam and Nick recruited Marny from her civilian post on the Ceres orbital station in Rookie Privateer. Marny is one-hundred eighty centimeters tall, heavily muscled and the self-appointed fitness coordinator – slash torturer - on the ship. Her strategic vigilance has safeguarded the crew through some rather unconventional escapades. She's also extraordinarily fond of Nick.

  Ada Chen – ever-optimistic adventurer and expert pilot. Ada was first introduced in Parley when Liam and crew rescued her from a lifeboat. Her mother, Adela, had ejected the pod from her tug, Baux-201, after it was attacked by pirates. She's a one-hundred sixty-three-centimeter-tall, ebony-skinned beauty and a certified bachelorette. Ada’s first love is her crew and her second love is sailing into the deep dark.

  Jonathan – a collective of fourteen-hundred, thirty-eight sentient beings. They - communicating as Jonathan - were initially introduced in A Matter of Honor when the crew bumped into Thomas Phillipe Anino. Jonathan is intensely curious about the human condition, specifically how this unlikely race has the capacity to combine skill, chance, and morality to achieve a greater result.

  Jester Ripples – the newest member of Intrepid’s crew. Very little is known about the Norigans, a semi-humanoid race. Jester Ripples’ skin appears to be the consistency of a frog, but is composed of extremely fine hairs. Norigans are tri-fingered humanoids with a mouth that resembles a frog’s and big black eyes mounted atop their skulls. Jester Ripples has brilliant red streaks embedded in yellow bands that start at his nostrils and flare out around his eye sockets.

  Thomas Phillipe Anino – enigmatic inventor of Aninonium, the fuel that allows ships to enter fold-space. He helped Belirand send exploration vessels into other galaxies, which the company later abandoned. Looking to right that wrong, Anino sought out the crew of Intrepid to track down and rescue the abandoned colonies. He also has the capacity to transfer his consciousness from one body to the next; a secret he guards jealously. His last appearance was as a teen-aged youth.

  Quantum Communication Crystals – Crystals that work outside of understood physics. The most important property of these crystals is that two halves of the same crystal will vibrate synchronously, even over galactic distances. Their most common use is in extraordinarily expensive communication devices.

  Belirand – Earth-based corporation that implemented Anino's TransLoc gate systems between inhabitable human-settled solar systems. Belirand is also responsible for launching and abandoning a hundred missions to the far reaches of the universe utilizing Anino's technology. When you hear the saying about how absolute power corrupts absolutely, Belirand Corporation should come to mind.

  Sol – the solar system where Earth and Mars reside. There are a few references to Sol governments, which I'll list here. Mars Protectorate is the sole government of the planet Mars and its moons. North America is the combined land of Canada, United States and Mexico and is a single government simply known as North America. The Peoples Democracy of China is essentially the same China we see today although with their own form of well-ordered democracy. I also commonly reference a group of nations NaGEK, which are the North Americans, Europeans and Koreans. Finally, there are many other un-mentioned earth governments.

 
GHOST FLEET

  A body floated past Intrepid’s bow, bumping silently along the pitched surface of the armored glass window until it finally ricocheted into space at an oblique angle.

  "What in Jupiter's name?" I asked as external cameras displayed two more bodies being plowed from Intrepid’s path.

  "I'm picking up multiple near-space objects," Ada Chen, our pilot, announced with no more emphasis than if she were asking for an update on O-2 reserves. Adjust delta-z to zero with debris field on my mark. Three, two, one, engage, she instructed the ship's AI.

  Unnecessarily, I gripped the arms of the captain’s chair and braced for the wall of force that would hold us in place as inertial dampers attempted to overcome the force of Intrepid’s four powerful aft-mounted engines.

  Display debris field on primary holo. My face deformed momentarily as gravity and inertial systems adjusted. The ever-listening AI communicated my command to the ship and started enhancing video inputs from the sensor strips that ran the length of the hull.

  "Belay that," Marny Bertrand ordered. "Lock on ship bearing twenty degrees to starboard, fifteen degrees declination at six hundred kilometers."

  Intrepid had just dropped into a system we would later learn was named Mhina. We were ten thousand kilometers out from the origin of a long-lost quantum communication crystal signal. The crystal had been transmitting white noise for over a hundred and fifty stan-years, something our crew had agreed to investigate at the request of Thomas Phillippe Anino.

  "All hands, prepare for combat maneuvers," Ada announced. As pilot, her announcement would shut down non-essential systems and ready our weapons. She was also warning the crew that she would do whatever was necessary to keep Intrepid intact, mainly keeping O2 on the inside and vacuum on the out.

  We'd learned the hard way that in the vastness of space, evil lurked. What couldn't catch you was less likely to decide your fate.

  "Hold on, Ada," I said.

  "I don't like it, Liam." Ada had never taken to calling me Captain, which suited me just fine. I still remembered watching pirates murder her mother, Adela, when we were within a few frustrating minutes of being able to help. I'd promised Adela we'd look after her daughter, but the reverse was more often the case.

  "Jonathan, are you picking up any power readings?"

  "Negative, Captain," Jonathan announced. "Our mid-range sensors register forty-two derelict ships. Sending to secondary holo."

  I nodded as Jonathan's data unpacked onto the holographic display to the left of the captain's chair. The closest ship, the one that had prompted Marny's concern, was eerily oriented, as if directly focused on Intrepid. Mesmerized, I watched as our sensor data started to tell the tale of an epic space battle, long since resolved.

  "There are bodies everywhere," Tabby mused. Her workstation was on the starboard side of the bridge, giving her quick access to the hatch and the bumblebee fighters strapped beneath the ship.

  I purposely ignored the smaller, humanoid blips as they resolved on the display. It was possible that a clever and well prepared individual could cause trouble for our one-hundred-twenty-meter frigate. That threat, however, was eclipsed by the damage potential of the six ships within a few thousand kilometers of our position, a group that included two battle-cruisers. They outweighed and, if active, outgunned us considerably. In all, Ada had good reason to be concerned.

  "Nick, what do you make of this?" I asked.

  "The Belirand mission's comm crystal is emanating from this ship." Nick illuminated the largest vessel, roughly in the center of the field of battle. The ship’s design was similar to those of both North American and Mars Protectorate - a heavily armored, rounded rectangle with massive engines on one end and pointy looking weapons on the other.

  "Jonathan, do you recognize the make of these ships?"

  "Not directly," he replied. "Analysis of the corpses and ship designs indicate a single civilization. Captain, we've determined the events of this battle occurred one-hundred forty-two stan-years in the past."

  "That's eighteen years after Belirand abandoned this mission," Nick added.

  "They’ve just been sitting here like this for a century and a half?" Tabby asked, disbelief evident in her tone. "Who would leave their dead behind like this and why are they outside the ships?"

  I had no answer for her. "Take us in slowly, Ada."

  "This will be ugly." Ada adjusted course and accelerated toward the center of the long-ago decided battle and the location of the comm crystal. "There's no avoiding the bodies."

  We watched in silence as Ada negotiated around the largest groups congregated near the derelict ships, only occasionally making contact. Even at relative speeds in the low thousands of meters per second, the impact was devastating to the frozen remains, causing them to break apart upon contact, often shattering into an icy mist.

  "Marny, what's your analysis on what took this ship down?" I asked.

  "Readings show kinetic strikes consistent with Kroerak technology," she replied. "The armor shows penetrations consistent with their lances. That mid-grade steel is a poor match for Kroerak technology."

  The lance weapon Marny referred to was a devastatingly simple technology which the hostile alien species used to great advantage. The lances varied in size based on the type of ship that carried them, but the delivery mechanism was always the same - throw sharp, pointy sticks at the highest possible velocity and in great numbers. We referred to the attack simply as a wave, as the lances were often ejected in wide, difficult to dodge fusillades.

  "Liam, we awoke something on the ship," Ada announced. "We're receiving a communication. It's definitely not Standard Galactic."

  "Wrong galaxy," Tabby quipped as Ada put the comm on the bridge speakers.

  "Weapon systems remain off-line." Marny answered the question I was about to ask.

  Communication from the alien ship was clearly speech, but nothing I'd ever heard before. The syllables came quickly with exaggerated lisps, hissing, and what could best be described as yowling. Some of the phonemes, however, sounded human.

  "Remarkable," Jonathan observed.

  "Why is that remarkable?" I asked.

  "As you know, the range of wave forms is infinite. Yet this species, just like most other species we've had incidental contact with, communicate in the narrow band between eighty-five and three hundred hertz," he said. "Couple that with similar linguistic structures and it is commonality where there should be none."

  "Can you understand what's being said?" I asked.

  "He's saying it's weird we can hear it at all," Tabby explained, to which I rolled my eyes. I'd already figured that out, but knew she was needling me all the same.

  "While a direct translation isn't possible, we believe the message is a warning, demanding we keep our distance," he replied.

  "What's our best way in, Marny?" I asked. While I found Jonathan's observations interesting, I doubted we'd run into any of the ship's original inhabitants and have direct need for translation.

  "Cap, the main airlock is well armored and there's no reason to believe the ship holds atmo," Marny said. "Our best entry point is a breach just forward of the main engines. Something bigger than a Kroerak lance punched a hole in her there. It looks to be the disabling blow, probably took out her systems all at once."

  "We'll mount a boarding party with Marny, Tabby, and me," I said. "Once we've secured the bridge, we'll bring Jester Ripples over to see about interfacing with their systems. I’d like to get Jonathan and his horde online. Our primary objective is to find that comm crystal and figure out what it's doing on an alien ship. Since there's a threat of Kroerak - and we know they can hibernate - we're going to make this quick."

  Ada looked around the bridge. "Speaking of, where is Jester Ripples?"

  "In our quarters," Tabby answered. "He's still having trouble with transition."

  The small alien had bonded with Tabby and me. While we drew the line at letting him sleep with us, he was sneaky about joining
us for naps, especially when our bridge shifts were split. His retreat to our cabin during transition made sense, especially considering how it affected his gastro-intestinal system. And just so we're clear, Norigans might be cute, but they're the last beings you want to share a room with when their system is upset.

  "We'll load heavy." Marny stepped from her position at the gunnery station, ceding it to Nick.

  With Belirand no longer on our tail, we'd scaled back our crew. I preferred traveling light to the hassles that came with managing a large group. With Jester Ripples' help, we'd upgraded the auto tracking software on the turrets. While computer targeting wasn't as flexible as a team of professional gunners, one person could mount an effective defense.

  "I'll meet you in the armory," I said to Tabby and Marny as we made our way aft. "I'm going to check on Jester Ripples."

  "Aye, Cap. We'll get your loadout ready," Marny replied.

  I palmed open the door to my quarters and Filbert, the cat we'd recently recovered from Lèger Nuage, squirted out into the passage. I looked across at the pathetic blue-green alien lying on the bed. Large black eyes blinked slowly, acknowledging my presence, just as the sound of air escaping the internal confines of the small alien's digestive tract greeted me. I smiled wryly as I lifted my friend from the sheets, trying to ignore the bitter smell. My eyes watered involuntarily. Whatever the fumes were, they would give butyric acid a run for its money.

  "Feeling any better?" I asked.

  "Considerably, Liam Hoffen." Jester Ripples wrapped an arm around my shoulder and grasped my vac suit with his warm, tri-digit hand, locking spindly legs around my waist.

  I rubbed the fine yellow fur that looked deceptively like amphibian skin, encircling his large eye sockets. The gesture was something Jester had taught me was comforting to Norigans and he trilled his tongue in appreciation.

  "You might want to head up to the bridge and see what's going on," I said. "Tabby, Marny, and I are going to visit an abandoned ship. Once it's clear, we'd like you to help Jonathan interface with the electronics."