Inherited Revenge

By James A. Haddock III

Copyright © 2023 all rights reserved.

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Jameshaddock.us

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Inherited Revenge synopsis

Chuck, a fifteen-year-old hardened war orphan has seen friends killed and now lies dying on a salvage battlefield himself. But the universe has a different plan for Chuck. A mortally wounded man offers to save his life, and Chuck accepts his help. A moment later Chuck regrets his decision when his rescuer forces Chuck’s mouth open and a reptilian octopus is ejected from his rescuer’s mouth and into his.

Because of Chuck’s symbiote, Tom’s desire for revenge, Chuck finds himself drawn into a shadow war with an alien race. Chuck must hide from the aliens because they would rather burn the planet to a cinder than let Tom escape. He must also hide from the government because they want Tom’s knowledge of advanced tech and will do anything to get it.

Chuck has a few advantages: Tom’s DNA has mixed with his, giving him access to genetic memories; Tom’s race is aquatic, which gives Chuck the ability to breathe underwater; and no one knows Tom is a symbiote, so no one is actually looking for Chuck.

Chuck is content to hide in plain sight as a salvager until someone kills his new family while trying to kill him. Now all bets are off as Chuck is on a search-and-destroy mission looking for those responsible. He uses every piece of war salvage he must to find and kill them. Inherited revenge or not, revenge will be had.

Chapter 1

Alexi and his dog were sitting by a small fire under the roof of a bombed-out house when I walked up. It wasn’t much, but it kept the rain off. I’d been digging through ruins all day and had found a few useful things.

“Find anything?” Alexi asked.

I pulled two cans from my shoulder bag. “Mystery meat and a lighter,” I said, smiling. “You?”

He pulled a round of toe bread from his bag. “Bread,” he answered, returning my smile.

“Tonight we feast.” I tossed him the cans, sitting down by the fire. He opened one of the cans and sat it close to the fire to warm it up. The dog sat up, watching the can and licking his chops.

Before we could react, a group rushed in on us. One of the men hit Alexi on the side of his head, and the bat made a wet cracking sound. I knew Alexi was dead before he hit the ground. The dog attacked the batter and received the same treatment Alexi had.

Without thinking, I rolled away from the fire, jumped to my feet, dove out a window, and started running as soon as my feet hit the ground. The gang gave chase as I ran down the alley, across the road, and into the woods.

Whipping limbs left welts on my face, but I barely felt them. I ran blindly with the attackers not far behind me. I felt as if death itself was chasing me.

After a few hundred yards, I emerged into a small clearing where several tanks had ended their lives. I ran around the first tank and hid behind the second. I could barely hear them over my heavy breathing; my lungs felt like they were about to explode.

“Search the tanks. He’s probably hiding in one. Find him!” I recognized the leader’s voice. It was Romoff, a nasty piece of work.

I moved from tank to tank, using them as cover to move further away from the gang. They would have to search every tank to ensure I wasn’t hiding in one of them, which would give me more time to escape. The longer they took, the more likely it was I’d get away.

“You two run to the far side in case he tries to cut straight through,” Romoff shouted.

My heart sank as I leaned against a tank, sucking air into my burning lungs. I saw the two running around the tanks heading to the far side, cutting off my escape. Looking around for other options, I found none. Hoping against hope, I climbed up onto the tank I was leaning on and tried the top hatch. If any hatches were unlocked, it was usually the top hatch.

I twisted the latch and the hatch opened. I didn’t take time to celebrate. I dove straight in, landing in the commander’s seat. I pulled the hatch closed and locked it. Before I took a second breath, I made sure the bow hatches and bottom escape hatch were locked. Now that I was safe behind locked hatches, I dropped exhausted into the bow gunner’s seat.

I took deep breaths, feeling as if I would pass out at any moment. I glanced around but couldn’t see much. The little light there was, came through crew vision ports. I leaned back, closed my eyes, and concentrated on regaining my breath.

I heard someone climb onto the tank, then try the top hatch. Finding it locked, they tried the bow hatches. I watched as he tried to look through my viewport to see inside. I don’t know why I held my breath, not moving. You can’t see through them from the outside.

After a moment, he got off and moved on. I watched through the viewport as Romoff and his gang gathered not twenty yards in front of me. “If I could, I’d kill every one of you,” I said through gritted teeth.

I looked down at the coaxial machine gun in front of me. Every kid played in destroyed tanks, and we all knew how to use weapons. An ammo belt lay beside the gun. I opened the top feed tray, laid the belt into position, and closed the top cover. As quietly as I could, I slowly pulled back the bolt, then eased it forward, charging the gun. I pushed forward on the bolt, ensuring it was seated and the firing chamber was closed.

I looked through the targeting reticle aiming at the gang before me. I took the safety off and pulled the trigger. I never heard the sound of the weapon firing and saw the tracers as I swept the gun left and right into the gang. I kept firing until the gun ran dry.

I sat crying, watching through the viewport for movement. There was none. “That’s for Alexi, and all the other evil you’ve done.” I let go of the gun and leaned back. The smell of gunfire was strong, but there was still plenty of breathable air. That was the last thing I remember before sleep claimed me.

***

I woke with a start, confused by my surroundings. Memories came flooding back to me, and I relaxed a little. My bladder told me it was time to get up. As I fumbled around, my knee bumped into a switch that turned on a small dash light.

“Batteries still have some life,” I observed. I opened the bottom hatch and relieved myself. When I finished, I closed and locked the hatch. I looked at the gages and saw the batteries were showing a full charge. The tank must not have been here very long. I wondered where the crew was. Probably dead, otherwise they wouldn’t have left their tank.

I climbed up into the commander’s cupola and took his seat. I looked out through the viewports, but it was too dark to see anything except some lights through the trees back toward the village.

I turned on the small light over the command screens and studied the console. In one of the cubby holes was a ration bar. I opened it and smelled it. Shrugging I took a bite. It tasted like sawdust with gravy on it. Not bad.

I flipped a switch marked Internal Lights, and all the lights inside came on. I looked around to see if I could find any more food but had no luck. I turned the lights off and leaned back in the commander’s chair. It was more comfortable than the others, so it wasn’t long before I fell asleep again.

Sunlight through the viewports woke me. I sat up stretching, looking out through the viewports. Nothing had changed as far as I could tell. The bodies of the gang lay where they had fallen.

As safe as I felt at the moment, I knew sooner or later I’d have to open the hatch and get out. “Cowboy up, Chuck,” I said to myself and opened the hatch a few inches. I stayed low, looking around and listening. The fresh air felt good, and I breathed deeply.

I didn’t see or hear anything but a few birds in the nearby trees, which I took as a good sign. I pushed the hatch all the way open, still waist-deep inside the cupola. After a few more minutes I climbed out, closing the hatch behind me.

I climbed down the side of the tank; the crew had their packs and bags strapped to the side of the turret. I started to search them but stopped. There at the side of the tank lay whom I thought were the tank’s crew. They looked to have been dead for a few days. It looked like they had been working on the track, as there was a tanker’s bar still stuck in the track. An explosion had killed all of them. I shook my head. Why had they all been outside at one time? It seemed at least one of them should have remained in the tank on watch.

I got down and looked at the track. Whatever they had been working on, they seemed to have fixed it. I pulled the tanker’s bar out of the track and leaned it against the tank. I looked at the soldiers and decided I’d never be unarmed or victimized ever again.

The first thing I took was a shoulder holster and pistol. I checked the pistol and magazine to ensure it was loaded, then put the rig over my shoulders. It was a little big; I’d have to adjust it later. I picked up an assault rifle with a folding stock and checked that it was loaded and had a full magazine. These seemed to be the standard weapons for the crew.

Looking around frequently as I searched each one of the crew, I set everything of use to the side. I felt very exposed, thinking the same thing that happened to these men could happen to me. I decided as soon as I was able, I’d take all the salvaged items, including their packs, back inside the tank and separate them in safety.

I got one of the packs and dumped its contents down the cupola’s hatch. I loaded all the salvaged items from the crew into the pack and dropped it and their weapons through the top hatch. I unstrapped all the packs and bags from the turret and loaded them through the top hatch.

As an afterthought, I walked around the tank looking for damage. When I got to the rear, I was surprised to find an assault ramp. I now noticed that the back of the tank was taller than every other tank I’d ever seen. This one seemed designed to carry an infantry assault squad. I tried the door latch, and not surprisingly, it was locked. I hadn’t noticed an inside hatch joining the two compartments, but I hadn’t been looking.

I climbed in the top hatch, kicking the packs and bags deeper into the tank. Once inside, I closed and locked the top hatch. I sat in the commander’s chair letting the anxiety drain from me now that I was safely inside my fortress.

I looked at the back wall and saw the hatch to the rear infantry compartment. I opened a canteen that I’d salvaged and smelled it. It seemed to be water, so I took a sip. Satisfied, I drank deeply.

As I looked over my salvage, I considered the dead around the tank. I realized that even groups of people could be killed if they weren’t careful. But I felt that a group had a better chance of long-term survival, as long as some always stayed on watch.

I found a ration pack and opened it. While I ate, I adjusted my shoulder holster to fit me better. When I finished eating, I looked through the peephole into the rear compartment. I saw boxes, ammo, and other supplies. I unlocked and slid the hatch open and climbed into the compartment to see exactly what was stored there.

This was a gold mine. There were ammo boxes for the pistols, assault rifles, and the tank’s machine guns. Boxes of ration packs, some cold-weather and wet-weather gear, boots, a box of hand grenades, and personnel mines—claymores. In a small cabinet were operator and maintenance manuals for the tank. To my surprise, I found a water closet with a compost toilet and a small showerhead. I’d never seen one of these in a tank before. Of course, I’d never seen a tank that had a rear infantry compartment before either.

I didn’t find any extra rounds for the tank’s main gun. I knew there was an area that held rounds on the back of the turret that was part of the autoloader. If this was going to be my new home, and I felt like it was, I’d need to check to see how many rounds there were. But first I needed to make room in the forward compartment.

I opened each pack and bag and poured their contents out on the floor. I separated the things I could use and put those back in the pack and bags. Everything else went into a trash pile. There wasn’t a lot of trash. When I finished, I moved the packs and bags to the rear compartment. That done, I checked the main gun’s auto-loading magazine. There were only three rounds there. I’d check the dead tanks and see if they had any I could use. It was almost dark now, so that would have to wait until tomorrow.

I pulled out another ration pack; I hadn’t eaten this well in a long time. While I ate, I read the command tank’s operator’s manual. According to the manual, the rear compartment was not primarily for infantry but was a command-and-control area where a company commander controlled and fought his company from. There was an additional command chair, screens, and comms back there.

I frowned. “I didn’t see a command chair back there. It must be under all those boxes and clothes. The screens must be behind those cabinet doors.” I shrugged and went back to reading. I checked the switches and gauges the manual was explaining. My biggest surprise was that this tank didn’t have a liquid fuel engine. I had electric motor drives powered by a nuke pellet reactor. It wouldn’t need refueling for years.

I read that the tank had a proximity warning system that warned when anyone approached. I scrolled through the system’s settings and turned on the proximity alert. The system beeped twice signaling the system was active. There were also cameras that showed different views of the area around the tank. There was also an autonomous self-defense mode. With that on, the guns would target the enemy and fire—the enemy being anyone who didn’t respond with the correct IFF.

Under the security section, I also found where I could lock all the hatches from the command console. There was also a way to lock the hatches to secure the tank when you left. There were other ways to gain entry. One was a keypad; another was a remote that looked like a wristwatch. I had to look through a few bags before I found the command wrist remote. Using the manual, I reset the command codes and my finger and thumbprint access keys. I put the command remote on, I’d be wearing it all the time now.

I was tired of reading and didn’t want to overlook anything important, so I stopped for the night. I leaned the command chair into its flat position, turned on the vent system for fresh air, and went to sleep. Sometime during the night, it started raining and turned cold enough to wake me up. I turned up the vent temperature, went to the toilet, then went back to sleep safe, warm, and dry. I was liking my fortress more and more.

It was still raining when I woke up the next morning, a slow soaking rain. I stayed inside reading the manual, learning as much as possible about my new home. I learned that the internal water tanks held fifty gallons of filtered water. In the water closet was a fold-down sink, and on the opposite wall, under a seat, was a small hot plate for cooking. There was no wastewater holding tank, as it just drained out on the ground. I now ate hot food and drank hot coffee made from instant packets in the ration packs.

I moved the clothes and supplies around and found the command chair. It was on rails and would lock against the wall out of the way when not needed. On the opposite wall, behind the cabinet doors, I found the view screens. They were much larger than the ones up front. I turned them on, and they showed the same views as the ones at the other station. I’d need to read more of the manual to learn what they could do.

When it stopped raining, I searched the other tanks for main gun rounds and anything else of value. I counted myself lucky to find six rounds for the main gun and a few boxes of belt ammo for the machine guns.

It was a long day of hard work moving everything to my tank, but it had to be done. I needed to consider whom I trusted enough to let into my home as my crew. I could only think of two people that I trusted enough to even consider. The twins, Parker, and his sister Tam. They were about the same age as me, and from time to time had shared information about salvage. Tomorrow I’d go find and talk to them.

***

I didn’t want to draw attention to myself, so the only new items I was taking were my weapons. I put two ration packs in my old shoulder bag for Parker and Tam.

I checked the proximity alert screen, to ensure there was no one around, and opened the top hatch. I looked around, satisfying myself I was alone, climbed out, and locked the hatches behind me. I took a roundabout route to where I thought Parker and Tam might be.

I entered the town from opposite the tank’s location. I got a few glances from people as I passed, but no more than normal. The last time I saw the twins they were squatting in an abandoned short school bus. The bus’s engine didn’t run, probably out of gas. But the doors locked, and it kept the rain off them.

As I approached the bus, I knew something was wrong. The glass in the doors was busted out and the doors were open. I took my rifle off safe and approached slowly. Easing the front door open, I saw a badly beaten Parker slumped in the back corner holding a butcher knife ready to defend himself. When he saw me through the eye that wasn’t swollen shut, he lowered the knife.

I glanced around, “Tam?” I asked.

He shook his head. “I held them off long enough for her to get away,” he said through split lips.

I took my canteen from my bag and handed it to him. He took it and drank deeply. I took out a ration pack, opened it, and gave him the main meal packet. As he ate, I kept watch. “Should I go look for Tam?” I asked.

He shook his head. “She’ll come back when it’s safe.”

As if on cue, Tam stepped through the front door. Looking at my rifle, “I saw you enter, figured it was safe,” she said, stepping past me to her brother. There were tears in her eyes, but that was as close as she came to crying.

“I’ll get a fire started so we can get him cleaned up,” I said, stepping outside. I stopped, considering the decision I needed to make. I shrugged, then went back inside. “Can you travel? I have a safe place where we won’t be bothered.”

“How far?” Parker asked.

“Maybe a mile,” I answered.

“Yeah, I can make it that far.”

I handed Tam the other ration pack. “Eat this. Then we’ll go.” She ate quickly like she was afraid someone would take it from her. When she finished, “OK, gather your things,” I said.

“Got none. Romoff’s gang took everything.”

I nodded. “Yeah, they hit me and Alexi too. They killed Alexi and almost got me.”

“They still around?” Tam asked, looking out the windows.

I shook my head. “They chased me and caught up with me.” I patted my weapon. “They won’t bother anyone ever again.”

“Good,” Tam said, relaxing a little.

We helped Parker to his feet and started toward my fortress.

Chapter 2

We held a good pace for the first half mile, and then Parker gave out. I gave him more water, and we rested for a bit. When he was ready, we started again, but at a slower pace.

I took them straight to the tank’s assault ramp and keyed in the code. They looked at each other as the ramp dropped. We sat Parker down on the bench, and I closed and locked the ramp.

“Nice place,” Parker said.

I nodded. “We’re safe now. You can relax. Let’s get you cleaned up. Then you can rest.” I got the first aid kit and a pan of water for Tam. She cleaned and dressed her brother’s wounds. He must have been exhausted; he was falling asleep before Tam finished. She laid him back on the bench, and we covered him with a blanket.

I got a pistol from the extra weapon stack. I checked the magazine, racked a round into its chamber, put it on safe, and handed it to Tam. I pointed to the other bench. “You can sleep there. The toilet’s here,” I said, opening the water closet door. “All the hatches are locked, so we’re safe. I’ll go forward and keep watch.”

She took the pistol, nodding. “Thank you,” she said, tucking the pistol into her belt.

I nodded and climbed through the compartment door and into the command chair. I didn’t close the compartment door; I thought that would send the wrong message. However, I did turn the chair so I could see the door. I wasn’t quite that trusting yet.

I checked the console to ensure we were secure and armed the proximity alarm. I sat back, thinking, “Well, they are here now. Whether for a visit or to stay remains to be seen.” I picked up the tank manual and returned to my reading.

***

It was early evening before I heard someone moving around in the command compartment. Tam stuck her head through the hatch, looking around. “Come on through if you’d like,” I said quietly.

She came through and took the loader’s/assistant commander’s seat. Looking around, “Was this yours and Alexi’s place?” she asked.

I shook my head. “I found this after Alexi was killed. Romoff and his gang chased me into the tank graveyard. They cut off my escape out the other side. This was the first tank I found open, so I climbed in and locked all the hatches. They were foolish enough to all gather in front of the tank for a meeting right where the bow machine gun was pointing.” I pointed to the front of the tank. “I loaded the gun and shot them.”

She glanced to where I pointed then back to me. “I’m sorry about Alexi. He was a good guy.”

I nodded. “He was, and a good friend. How’s Parker?” I asked to change the subject.

“I think he’ll be alright. He just needs some rest.”

“Y’all are welcome to rest here. We’re safe, warm, and dry.”

She nodded. “Thank you again. We appreciate it.”

I nodded. “How about some hot food? There’s a hot plate back there,” I said.

She looked back. “No way.”

“Yep, come on, I’ll show ya.”

We climbed back into the command compartment, and I lifted the seat from over the cooking area.

“Does it work?” she asked.

“Yeah, this baby is nuke pellet powered. We’ve got power for years.”

She opened the cabinet over the hot plate to find a microwave oven. I laughed. “I hadn’t found that yet. That will be faster than the hot plate.”

We heated our ration packs in the microwave, and Parker woke up when he smelled the food.

“Hungry?” Tam asked. He nodded, and Tam handed him a hot ration pack.

We ate in silence; both were looking around at all the supplies and boxes. “How long have you been here?” Parker asked.

“A few days,” I answered around a mouth full of food. “Most of this was left by the crew. They got killed while working on the track outside. So I made it my new home.” They nodded.

When I finished eating, I heated water for instant coffee. When it was ready, I handed them each a cup. “In the past few days, I’ve learned that people in ones and twos are easy targets for gangs or whatever. Even a team or a crew of people can die if they aren’t careful. But I think a crew has a better chance of survival if they work together and watch each other’s backs.”

They were both nodding. “Is that what you are planning for your tank, a crew?” Parker asked.

I nodded. “If I can find people I can trust to watch my back, yeah.” They looked at each other, then back at me. “I’ve known you guys for a while. We were never close, but we pointed each other to salvage when we had extra. And I never worried about you attacking us when you didn’t have anything. Now we’ve both been hit hard. I think we’d all be better off if we worked together.”

“Like a crew,” Parker said.

I nodded. “Like a crew.” Then I continued, “As a crew working together, no one would mess with us. And if they did, they wouldn’t do it but once. In here, we are safe, warm, and dry. We can sleep without jumping at every sound. We can eat without worrying that someone will take our food from us. We’ll still have to be careful because with the right weapons, they could still take us. But in this, and working together, we stand a better chance than out there alone.”

“Does the tank work? I mean, I know some things work, but have you driven it yet?” Parker asked.

I shook my head. “No, I haven’t driven it yet. I wanted everyone to think it was dead. But every system I’ve checked is operational, and I haven’t seen anything that is obviously broken. I was waiting until I got a crew to move.”

“As the crew, you would share all this gear?” Parker asked.

“Of course, but even if you decide not to become crew, I’ll still outfit and arm you for you to keep when you leave.”

They looked at each other, and something unspoken passed between them. They looked back at me. “We agree that we’d all be safer together, and we’ll join your crew,” Parker said. Tam was nodding.

I smiled, lifting my cup. “I was hoping you would.”

“Can I be the driver?” Tam asked.

I smiled. “We’ll all have to learn to man all positions in case of emergencies,” I answered.

Parker had a serious look on his face. “What?” I asked.

“We’re going to need a mechanic,” Parker answered.

We all nodded and as one said, “Wrench.” Then all laughed together. Wrench was older than us but was kind of a loner. He could fix pretty much anything, so he’d make a good addition to the crew.

“And Gypsy,” Tam added. “She’s all alone since her folks died, and you know what that means.”

I nodded. “Sure, we can talk to her too. But first, let’s look through this gear and set up our kits.”

We started looking through the uniforms and boots, setting aside the ones that would fit us. I pulled weapons and magazines to arm them. I set aside helmets, which had built-in comms, ballistic chest armor, and combat vests. The vest had magazine pouches and pockets to carry other items.

It took us a few hours, but now we all had complete kits. Well, almost complete, no sleeping bags and no tents. But we had our tank, so we didn’t need them . . . yet. Not everything fit perfectly, but it was better than anything we’d ever had before.

“We’ll need to tie white bands on our left arm to mark ourselves as neutral,” Tam stated.

“Right,” I answered. “I’d forgotten about that.” We found some white T-shirts and tore them into strips for our armbands. It was getting late, and we were tired, especially Parker. “Let’s get some sleep. We’ll see if we can find Wrench in the morning.”

They nodded. “I saw Wrench’s van on the northwest side of the town yesterday,” Tam said.

“We’ll start our search there,” I replied.

***

After breakfast, we geared up and got ready to go look for Wrench and Gypsy. “OK,” I began. “This is new to us, being armed and armored. That, and the fact that we’re young, is going to attract attention. But remember, we’re a crew now. We’re not going to let anyone take anything from us. If they try, we put them down. No questions asked. If they move against us, we put them down.” Their faces were hard, and they both nodded.

We put our helmets on. “Comm check,” I said over our net.

“Gotcha,” Parker answered.

“Loud and clear,” Tam replied.

I nodded. “OK, let’s go,” I said. We exited the tank and headed for the northwest side of town. They followed, watching for anyone who might be around. We moved quietly but steadily through the woods. We entered the town through a side street, then down an alley.

“Take a right at the corner,” Tam said. “Gypsy sometimes stays at a place down that block.”

“OK,” I answered, turning right.

“That green house up ahead,” Tam observed.

I nodded. “Tam, take off your helmet so she can see it’s you. Parker and I will watch from the yards’ end.”

“OK,” Tam answered.

Parker stopped at one corner, and I continued to the other. Tam took off her helmet and went to the front door and knocked.

“Gypsy, it’s Tam. Porker and Chuck are here with me. We just wanted to check on you.” She waited a few minutes then knocked again. “Gypsy, are you in there? Are you OK?”

Parker and I continued to watch the street and the other houses rather than what Tam was doing. I heard the door open but didn’t look. That was Tam’s job. I was covering her back.

I heard the two talking in low tones for quite some time. I knew Gypsy was as skittish as a cat, so there was no use getting in a hurry. “We’re good,” Tam announced. “I’m going inside to talk. You can come up on the porch.”

Tam and Gypsy went inside, and Parker and I moved up on the porch to keep watch. After about thirty minutes the door opened, and they came out.

“Gypsy wants to join the crew,” Tom announced.

“Good,” I answered. “Are you ready to go now, or do you want us to come back later?”

“I’m ready now,” Gypsy answered.

“Alright, let’s go see if we can find Wrench,” I said, and stepped off the porch. I took the lead, Parker in the rear, Tam and Gypsy in the middle as we moved.

Twenty minutes later we found Wrench where Tam had said she’d seen him. Wrench had a small van pulled by an old horse that he called home. The van carried his tools and acted as his workshop.

“Hey, Wrench,” I called out as we approached.

“Yeah?” came an answer as he came out of the van’s open side door. He stopped when he saw three armed and armored soldiers but relaxed when I removed my helmet. “Hey, Chuck, heard you were dead. Sorry to hear about Alexi.”

“Thanks,” I answered.

“What can I do for you?” he asked.

“We’ve got a proposition for you.”

“OK, sit down and spill it,” he said, pointing to the logs around his fire.

I sat down facing Wrench, as did Gypsy. Parker and Tam sat down facing out, keeping watch. I made my sales pitch. He listened, considering the proposal. He nodded. “Could work, but I need something from you.”

“What do you need?” I figured he was going to ask for some of our equipment.

“I need a maintenance truck, and I already know where one is. I need protection while I get it running.”

I frowned. “Where is it, and why do you need protection? Other than the obvious.”

“Ten miles back we passed a battlefield.”

I nodded. “I remember it. They were still fighting in that area.”

“The fighting should be over by now, but just in case, I may need protection,” Wrench finished.

I nodded, thinking.

“Trouble,” Parker said. He and Tam stood, one twin moving to the front of the van, the other to the rear.

I put my helmet on and stood, turning to see what the trouble might be, and moved my rifle into a ready position pointing down. Six men were approaching. “Friends of yours?” I asked Wrench.

“No. But I recognize the big one. His name is Johnson. Watch out for him. He’s a mean one.”

“Gypsy,” I said, “get in the van and stay out of the way.” She got up and climbed into the van.

“That’s close enough,” I said. That surprised them, and they stopped.

“That’s not very friendly of you,” Johnson said. I didn’t answer. “Looks like you kids made a good find.” I remained silent, watching them. I could see he was getting agitated. “We think you should share your good fortune. So why don’t you put those guns down and show us what you have in those backpacks.”

I flipped the safety off and put my finger on the trigger. Parker and Tam did the same, which didn’t go unnoticed. Johnson started to say something, but I spoke first.

“Do you know what the most dangerous thing in the world is?” Before he could answer, I continued. “A hungry fifteen-year-old with a loaded weapon.”

Johnson chuckled. “Do you know what the dumbest thing in the world is?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I answered, “the man who tries to take that fifteen-year-old’s food.”

Johnson didn’t like that. “Johnson, you’d better back off this one,” one of the other men said.

“Boy, I told you to put that gun down and empty those packs. I ain’t saying it again.”

“You should listen to your friend and back off,” I said.

“I warned you,” he said, drawing his knife and starting toward me.

At his second step, I triggered a three-round burst into him. The first round hit him in the stomach, the second hit the center of his chest, and the third hit him in the throat. He landed on his back, choking on his blood.

I turned my weapon to the other men, who all had their open hands out in front of them. “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” one was shouting, and backing away. When I didn’t shoot, they turned and hurried away.

I walked over to Johnson. He was dead. I searched him. All he had was the knife he had pulled, but it was a good one. I took it and its sheath. I turned back toward the fire; Wrench was sitting there staring at me. Gypsy was peeking out of the van. I nodded to her, and she came out.

“Now, where were we?” I said to Wrench.

He looked at Johnson, then back at me. “We were talking about going to get my maintenance truck.”

“Yeah, that’s right. OK, we can cover you while you fix your truck. Are you in?”

He nodded,. “I’m in.”

“Good, load your van, and we’ll take you to our tank. I doubt you want to stay here after what’s happened. His friends,” I thumb pointed over my shoulder at Johnson’s body, “might come back.”

He shook his head. “I’ll be ready in fifteen.”

We helped wrench load his few belongings that weren’t already in his van and hitched his horse to the van. We took a roundabout way back to our tank, though it probably didn’t really matter. News would travel fast about what had happened.

I walked beside Wrench, who was leading the horse. The more I thought about it, the more I felt there was a good possibility we’d have trouble tonight. “When we get to the tank,” I said out loud so Wrench could hear me, and over comms, “We are going to hitch the van to the tank. I have a feeling Johnson’s gang will come after us tonight, and I’d rather not be here. That would only bring on more killing.”

“Agreed,” Parker answered.

“Me too,” Tam added. I looked at Wrench, who was nodding his agreement.

When we got to the tank, we unhitched the horse, and Wrench turned him loose. We hooked the van to the tank using the tank’s tow bar. I got into the tank and powered everything up. When the gages said everything was ready, I eased forward while they watched the tow set up to ensure it was all good.

“That’s good,” Parker said over comms. “No problems. We’re good to go.”

“Roger,” I answered, and stopped. I got out through the driver’s hatch and walked to the rear. “Wrench, I suggest you ride in the tank, just in case someone decides to send us a parting gift.” He nodded.

We did a walk-around inspection of the tank to ensure I didn’t miss anything broken. “Parker, you have the first shift as the driver. Wrench, bow gunner. Tam, you and Gypsy ride in the aft compartment and get two more kits set up. We’ll start out with hatches closed until we’re well away. Questions?” They shook their heads.

“OK,” I said. “Let’s load up and get ready to move out.” Everyone went to their assigned places, and five minutes later we were headed toward Wrench’s maintenance truck’s location.

“Parker, take it slow for a bit to make sure the systems check OK and the van is towing right.” I could see the van through the rear camera and wanted to take it slow to start.

“Roger, slow and easy,” Parker responded.

Now that we were moving, I noticed a new icon on my screen. It looked like a dragonfly.

I clicked on it, and it came up as drone status and asked if I wanted it to launch. I shrugged and clicked Yes. It gave me three configurations for the drones to scout in. One forward. One forward, one rear. One in each direction, front, rear, left, and right. I chose the four-direction coverage.

One of my screens split into quarters, one for each drone. The front and rear drones moved out a half mile. The left and right drones moved out a quarter mile. I received video feeds from each of them.

“That will come in handy,” I said to myself.

After five miles we came upon a clear sport as the woods ended, and decided to stop there for the night. I recalled the drones but was asked if I wanted them to land and maintain surveillance. I clicked Yes, and the dragonfly drones landed in trees and kept watch on approaches to our
position.

“Parker, pull up on the right and put us close to the trees off the road,” I ordered.

“Roger.”

When we were positioned, “OK, shut her down. We’ll stay here for tonight, then scout the battlefield in the morning.” The motors stopped humming and went quiet. “Not bad for our first move,” I commented.

“Can we open our hatches?” Wrench asked.

“Sure, I’ve got drones out for surveillance. They should warn us if anything big comes our way. But everyone goes armed . . . always. Wrench, Gypsy, Tam should have your kit ready for you.”

“Roger,” Wrench replied.

I opened the top hatch and let fresh air in, though the ventilation system kept the air inside pretty fresh. The outside air still felt good.

We built a small fire beside the van and ate supper outside. We sat around the fire in our combat kit. Gypsy looked out of place in hers. No one talked much, but Gypsy was especially quiet and stayed close to Tam. Maybe she’d loosen up when she got used to us. I shrugged. There was no rush. All in good time, I supposed.

“Since we are new to this profession, that being a tank crew trying to survive in a hostile environment, I thought we should start off right. The crew that had the tank before us each carried one of these, so it must have been important.” I held a small handbook. “Its title is, A Soldier’s Common Task Handbook. It explains and gives examples of . . . well, common tasks that every soldier needs to know and be able to perform.” I handed everyone a copy of the book.

“I’m not ordering you to study the book, but if a professional soldier carried one, it might be a good idea to at least read through them. The next thing we’ll be doing is standing watch. Right now, we have drones posted out around our camp. From now on at least one of us will always be in the tank, monitoring the drones around our perimeter and radios. When we sleep, the tank will be secured, and the proximity alarm will be set to watch over us.”

I looked around, and they were all nodding. “I’ll stand the first watch. Stay up as long as you like; plan on leaving after breakfast.” I stood up. “Wrench, are you sleeping in the tank or your van?”

“Van,” he answered.

“With your weapons,” I said, nodding. He nodded in return.

“There is one other thing,” Wrench said, getting up and stepping over to his van. He took out a gallon of paint and a brush. “We need to paint white crosses on the tank identifying us as neutral.”

I nodded. “Right. Forgot about that. We’ll do that before we leave in the morning. Goodnight, everyone.” I headed inside the tank.

“Goodnights” followed me inside.

Chapter 3

We had gotten up early and were eating our breakfast. Parker finished first and started painting the white crosses on the tank. Tam was inside the tank on watch.

“What’s the plan once we get the maintenance truck?” Wrench asked.

I took a swallow of my coffee. “The first thing we should do is scavenge the battlefield. As fast as we are going through our rations, we’ll be out in a few days.”

“We should cut back to two meals a day,” Gypsy offered. “It’s not like we were used to eating three meals a day anyway.”

I nodded. That was the most I’d ever heard Gypsy say at one time. “Good idea. That would stretch our supplies a few more days. Other than that, I’ve been thinking about what we could do. Just surviving is not enough. We need to do better than that. I think that battlefield is a good place to start.”

“How so?” Wrench asked.

“Salvage,” I answered. “But let’s wait for Parker to join us and move closer to the tank so Tam can hear us.” Wrench and Gypsy nodded.

I went inside, opened the command screens in the rear compartment, and had Tam move back there so she could see the screens and hear the discussion. Once Parker was through painting, he joined us.

“We were discussing what we were going to do after we recovered the maintenance truck,” I said for Parker and Tam’s benefit. “I want to do more than just survive; I want to do better than that. I think we should salvage battlefields and repair what we can, sell, trade, or keep for our use. We’ll always be looking to improve, and upgrade our equipment and supplies, and sell or trade the rest.”

They were all deep in thought, so I continued, “I realize that will make us more of a target for bandits. We’ll just have to expect that and plan for it. Which means we’ll need more firepower, and as we grow, more manpower.”

They were now nodding. “The first priority is food and ammo. After that, Wrench will tell us what can be salvaged. This will be dangerous, so we have to be smart about it. No salvage is worth our lives. If a site is too hot, we go somewhere else. There are always other salvage sites. And above all, if they ain’t crew, they’re potential enemies, and expendable. I looked around. “Are we in agreement?”

“Agreed,” they answered.

I nodded. “Then let’s get this circus on the road,” I said, smiling.

We loaded up, everyone taking their positions. I recalled the four dragonflies, to let them recharge. I sent out the other four we had in our inventory. We headed toward the battlefield, with fresh drones out as scouts.

It didn’t take long to get to the battlefield, and we stopped a mile short of it. It was in a large flat area in the valley, with a river running down one side. “I’m sending the drones in to see if anyone’s there,” I said over the comms. The ones that could, watched the video feeds on our screens.

We watched as the dragonflies flew over the whole site. There was a lot of equipment. Most of it was severely damaged, or destroyed. There were also a lot of dead from both sides.

We heard distant explosions from the far end of the valley, maybe even through the pass, but nothing near us.

“Sounds like a big battle going on at the other end of the valley,” Parker said.

“Anyone see any reason we should stay out?” I asked. Everyone answered no. I nodded and left the drones circling the area watching for movement. I ensured there was a round in the main gun and it was ready to fire if needed. “OK, Parker, take us in.”

“Roger, moving,” and the tank moved forward. Parker headed straight for the maintenance truck. I had the drones concentrate on that area. We still saw no movement. Parker pulled up beside the maintenance truck and stopped.

“OK, Wrench, you’re up. Tam, take the driver’s position. Gypsy, you’re on the bow gun. Parker, you go out with Wrench. I have the main gun and top remote machine gun covering you.”

Everyone changed positions. Then Wrench and Parker got out. I kept the drones patrolling the area for signs of danger.

After a few moments, “Well, crap,” Wrench said.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“Motor’s shot to pieces, no hope for it. The rest of the truck is good, so let’s look around and see if we can find a good motor in one of these other vehicles.

“Roger, standing by,” I answered.

We watched them through the drones as they went from vehicle to vehicle. “Tam, back us out and move closer to them in case they need cover quickly.”

“Roger,” she answered.

I took the opportunity to move the turret and main gun, practicing aiming at different targets. With the joysticks, it was surprisingly easy.

“OK, this truck’s motor will work,” Wrench said. “We’ll need to use the tank to tow it closer to the maintenance truck to work on it. We’ll cut the van loose then move it over.” The one Wrench wanted was a six-wheeled armed and armored scout vehicle, whose generators would power the truck easily.

Parker and Wrench disconnected the van beside the maintenance truck, then we moved over to the scout vehicle. We towed it over and disconnected it in front of the maintenance truck.

“While you guys get started on that, we’ll go to the river and top off our fresh water tank,” I said.

“I’ll stay with them for overwatch while they work,” Tam replied.

“Roger, it shouldn’t take long,” I answered. Tam got out, and Gypsy shifted over to the driver’s seat. “OK, Gypsy, take us down to the river.”

“Roger, moving,” she answered as we pulled away from the maintenance truck. We moved in and around the dead equipment. It reminded me of a large graveyard. Gypsy stopped us at the banks of the river and pointed our front back toward our crew.

“You keep watch. I’ll handle the hose and refilling,” I told Gypsy.

“Roger.”

I exited the back and opened the hose compartment. The hose had an electric rewind, but you had to pull it out manually. “Great,” I said as I started pulling. I pulled the hose out and walked down the bank by a large rock formation and out into the water. The river’s bottom here was stone, and its water was crystal clear.

“OK, Gypsy, start the . . .”

“Incoming aircraft,” Gypsy shouted over comms.

At the same time, I heard jets. I looked down the valley and saw them approaching . . . a lot of them. They were dropping bombs as they came. I was frozen. I had never seen anything like it. I watched as a wall of fire approached consuming the valley.

I finally dropped the hose and started toward the tank as fast as I could. It was impossible to run in almost waist-deep water, but I moved as fast as the water allowed.

The ground shook from the noise, explosions, and fire coming at us like a tsunami. I was still ten yards from the tank when a bomb hit. The explosions and fireballs engulfed me, throwing me down the embankment. I felt a burning sensation and the impact against something hard. Then blackness took me.

***

I coughed up water as someone pulled me from the river and drug me along the bank. I wanted to pass out, but the pain kept me aware, if only partially.

“Hey.” A hand grabbed my face. “Hey, look at me,” a man was saying. I focused on him. His face was a burned, blistered mess. “Do you hear me?” he shouted.

“Yes,” I wheezed.

“Good, I don’t have much time,” he said, looking around. I could still hear explosions and see fire. “I don’t have much time,” he repeated, looking back at me. “They would rather burn this planet to a cinder than let me escape. I don’t have much time.”

I frowned. He wasn’t making any sense, or was it me? My head was killing me. I closed my eyes.

“Hey.” He slapped me. My eyes snapped open. “Pay attention. I don’t have much time.” I nodded, staring at him. “We are both seriously wounded and are dying. I can’t save us both, but I can save one of us.” I frowned, not understanding. He grabbed my face again. “Do you want to live?” he shouted.

I nodded. He let go of my face and sat back. “Then you shall be my final revenge. Listen closely. I don’t have much time. The knowledge of my species is passed on genetically, so when I die, my body will deteriorate, and those memories will be passed on to you. You may not be able to assimilate it all, but it should be enough. It shouldn’t affect your genetics . . . too much. Do you want to live?”

I nodded. He returned my nod. “I’m sorry for this, but I don’t have much time.” Grabbing my face, he leaned forward, opened his mouth, and threw up. I tried to turn my head, but his hands held me in place. My eyes went wide, and I screamed as a reptilian-octopus-looking creature climbed from his mouth and into mine. I fought for my life. Breaking free of his hold, I grabbed for the thing climbing into my mouth but missed it. I couldn’t breathe. I was choking. Panicking, I clawed at my throat. Then blackness swallowed me.

***

I sat bolt upright, gasping for air. I grabbed my face, trying to get the creature off me, but there was nothing there. The man that the creature came out of lay next to me . . . dead. My head felt like it was about to explode, and my insides were on fire. Another bomb exploded near me, focusing my attention.

“We need to escape,” we thought. “We need to get into the river. The water will cool us, and we can hide there.” We crawled into the water. It felt good. We went deeper, moving along the rocky bottom to the center of the river.

Our lungs convulsed as we breathed in the water. It took a few breaths before the convulsions stopped. After that, we breathed normally. We lay beside some large boulders, resting. the water cooled us, and we felt better. The river’s current pulled at us, so we wedged ourselves between the boulders to rest. We watched the reflected light and felt the vibrations from the explosions along the river banks. We were safe here, and after a while, sleep claimed us.

***

Nightmares . . .

I watched my world in flames as the Overlords’ armies conquered us. Everything we had known, everyone we loved was taken from us. We became slaves to be used to subjugate other worlds.

The Overlords’ technologies were inferior to ours, but we were a peaceful people. They used that against us. They approached us asking for help lifting their race technologically. We didn’t realize their deceit until it was too late.

I, as a scientist-inventor, was forced to improve their weapons, their spaceships, and their defenses. As my way of rebelling, I did not do all I could to improve their technologies, nor did I give them all my knowledge and inventions.

Just as they had done to every other world they’d encountered, they used the lives of my loved ones to enforce their demands. In the end, I doubted it mattered. I never saw them again.

Our species could only leave our world symbiotically. That, or a completely closed environment, which was very hard to control. Planet after planet, the Overloads conquered using our technologies. I mourned for the pain and loss I had helped inflict on others.

This new planet offered the chance of escape, a small one, but a chance nonetheless. I set in motion a power reactor overload. The plan was to escape into the water that cooled the reactor. They are unaware that I can breathe in this planet’s water, which is rich in oxygen, which my host needs to survive. Unfortunately, all did not go as planned.

I did escape the power plant, but the keepers were after me as soon as they realized what I had done. Before I made it to the river, I was severely wounded by a rocket explosion. I barely made it into the river alive. Since they could not locate me in the forests where they thought I would be, they began firebombing the entire valley. It seemed they would rather burn this entire planet to a cinder than allow one of us to escape.

***

I opened my eyes and focused on some large fish resting in the same place I was. Quicker than I realized I could, my hands struck out, grabbed two of the fish, and ate them. I was still hungry; I saw more fish gathered by a rocky outcropping on the far shore. I swam upriver and drifted down toward them. I grabbed two more as I passed by. I ate these and saw that some of the fish had fled into what looked like a cave entrance. It was worth checking out.

I swam into the opening, and after several yards, it opened into a pool inside a cave. There was a little light from a few small holes in the ceiling, but nothing large enough for me to get out through. That meant no one could enter that way either. I should be safe here for a time.

I got out of the water and started coughing water out of my lungs. After a few moments, they were clear, and I could breathe normally. I took my wet clothes off and wrung them out as best I could. I lay down in a patch of sunlight, warming myself. After eating those fish, I was sleepy again, so I went to sleep.

***

Convulsions woke me, and I was burning up with a fever. I knew what I needed to do, but I wasn’t looking forward to it. I rolled into the water to cool my fever. I laid my head on the cave floor beside the pool, but soon my head felt like it was melting. I sank below the surface, and steeling myself, I took a breath of water. As expected, my lungs reacted violently, but after a few breaths they relaxed, and I could breathe normally.

I sat at the bottom of the pool, starting to feel better. Still not great, but better. I thought back over what the stranger, or alien, had said to me, and the dreams I’d had. It was hard to believe, but on the other hand, I was sitting in a river breathing water.

He said I would, or should, get his memories, his knowledge. He said I would be his revenge. I assumed he meant against the Overlords. This was all a bit overwhelming. I shook my head. It was going to take some time to get my mind wrapped around this if the transition didn’t kill me. I leaned back against the rock wall and rested.

Chapter 4

I don’t know how long I slept, but I felt better and was starving. I swam to the entrance to the cave and caught and ate my fill of fish. Something was different about the river. It sounded different. I looked up at the surface. It looked odd. Then I realized it was raining. The sound I was hearing was the rain falling on the river’s surface. I frowned, looking up. There was something I needed to do.

“My crew,” the thought burst forth. I swam to the other side of the river, staying in the deepest parts as I approached. I stopped before I surfaced. I didn’t want to be hacking and choking up water. Someone might hear me, and even if they didn’t, I would be vulnerable.

His memories told me what to do. I exhaled as hard as I could, forcing the water from my lungs, then held my breath. I surfaced and took a breath of air. It didn’t work perfectly, but at least it was quieter than it would have been.

I eased out of the water and crawled up the riverbank. That’s when I realized I was naked. I shook my head, looking around. Clothes weren’t really high on my priority list right now. I rolled in the mud, covering myself so I would not be seen so easily seen.

I looked over the rim of the bank to see if there was any movement. I spotted my tank; it was two hundred yards downriver from where it last sat. I let my eyes run to and fro over the battlefield. I saw no movement and no fires. I frowned. There should be fires; it wasn’t raining that hard. Unless I had been in that cave longer than I realized. If that was true, my crew was either gone . . . or dead. I hoped they were gone.

I moved along the bank back toward my tank. My tank showed burn marks, a lot of burn marks, but didn’t seem to be destroyed. I moved low and slow to the rear assault door. I keyed in the code and opened it. The smell warned me of what I would find. I stopped at the compartment hatch, and from there I could see Gypsy had not made it out.

“Sorry, Gypsy. Rest in peace.” I whispered a prayer. I closed the compartment hatch and the assault ramp.

I washed the mud off as best I could in the water closet, then dug through the salvage. I dressed in a mix of military and civilian clothes, boots, and hat and rearmed myself. I now looked like every other scavenger in the country.

I continued looking through the salvage until I found the odd backpack. When I’d first seen it, I’d just tossed it to the side thinking it was of little use. Now it was exactly what I needed. It was a large, heavy-duty, waterproof bag with shoulder straps. I’d need this if I had to go back into the water, and something told me I would. Better to have and not need than need and not have.

I heated and ate two rations and put four others in the waterproof backpack to take with me. I filled my canteens and put them away. I wasn’t going to take the tank yet; it was too big a target. I needed to check on Parker, Tam, and Wrench. “I hope you’re gone,” I said to myself. I looked around at our supplies, and as far as I could tell, none of them were missing. My hope sagged. If they had gone, they would have taken at least some of the supplies.

I geared up and left the tank. I moved slowly through the battlefield, using the dead equipment for cover. I stopped every so often to look and listen. So far the only sound I heard was the rain. After a few hundred more yards, I saw the maintenance truck, and my heart sank. I hardened myself and moved closer.

Arriving at the truck, I saw they had not left. Whether the explosions or fire had killed them, I couldn’t say. “Not that it really matters. Dead is dead,” I thought, leaning against the truck. I looked at the scout vehicle wondering why they hadn’t gotten inside it. It probably wouldn’t have mattered; Gypsy had been inside a tank and hadn’t survived.

It started raining harder. I looked up at the dark clouds, “No use standing in the rain,” I said to myself. I opened the side door of the scout vehicle and got in. I took off my gear and sat down in one of the crew seats. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, and the tears began to flow. At some point sleep claimed me.

***

When I woke, it was dark and still raining. There was little or no light in the vehicle. I felt my way to the driver’s seat and closed the blackout curtains over the windshield. I took out the button light I used when I only wanted a tiny bit of light, and clicked it on. It illuminated part of the dash so I could find the control switches. I turned the switch on to read the gauges, but nothing happened.

“No power,” I said to myself. I lifted the inside engine cover and found the nuke pellet capsule that powered the reactor was missing. “That would do it.”

The capsules were a common size, so I pulled the one from the maintenance truck. I installed it in the scout vehicle and checked the gauges, and everything powered up. “One problem solved,” I said. I shut everything down except the small interior lights.

I pulled a ration pack from my backpack; the scout vehicle didn’t have a microwave, so I ate them cold. I drank deeply from my canteen. After a time, my mind turned to consider my next step. I obviously needed to get away from here, but how was the question.

Were the Overlords still looking for . . . Tom something-or-other. Something-or-other was the closest I could come to pronouncing his long name. If they weren’t actively looking for him, were they at least still watching this valley for movement? I judged by the look of things that Tom’s escape had happened a week ago. After that much time with no movement, would they assume he was dead and move on? Good questions, with no good answers. So I went back to sleep.

I woke again just after dawn and opened another pack for breakfast. As I ate, I considered my choices and decided to err on the side of caution. I’d use the river to move out of this area, but I needed to take some things with me. I pulled out the nuke pellet capsule and put it in my backpack. “That might come in handy,” I mused.

I geared up, and slowly opened the side door, listening. I eased out and moved over to the maintenance truck. I don’t know why because I don’t really know how to use them, but I took a multi-meter and the other portable electronic test equipment, and some small repair items. Putting them in my backpack, I ensured that as much air as possible was out of the bag before sealing it.

I headed for the river, again using the dead equipment for cover. Once I was in the water, I exhaled all the air I could, then breathed in. I was getting better at controlling the convulsions, but it was still . . . unpleasant, to say the least. I swam out to the deepest part of the river. I didn’t use any effort. I just let the current take me and moved away from the valley.

***

It was odd watching the underwater world drift by. I never really thought about it, but a completely different world existed right under the surface. The current was moving me at a good pace. I just had to steer around obstacles like rocks and sunken equipment.

I continued to drift all day. Riding the current was far easier than walking. The water no longer felt cold to me; it was actually quite comfortable. Late in the day, I stopped at a large group of rocks. I wedged myself between the rocks and caught and ate fish. After I’d finished, it dawned on me that I was eating raw, live fish. I shrugged; they tasted good. Perhaps this was another one of Tom’s . . . gifts. I felt safe down here, so I went to sleep.

I woke up rested and refreshed. I pushed away from the rocks and let the current take me. I caught and ate fish as I moved along. I got in no hurry; I didn’t have anywhere I needed to be. I was safe and fed. For now, that’s all I needed.

Late afternoon on the third day, I started hearing what I assumed were boat noises. I moved closer to shore and surfaced just enough for my eyes to be above the water. A mile further on, at the bend of the river, was a town. I watched for a while. There were several boats moving around, fishing perhaps. There were houses and activities on both sides of the river. There might have even been a bridge further on.

Closer to me I saw some boats, some half-sunk, and others pulled up on shore. I decided to check those, maybe build a fire, eat hot food, and dry my clothes. I’d need to do that if I planned on going into that town. Maybe one of those boats would float. I went back under to await nightfall.

Once it was fully dark, I surfaced, only my eyes above the water. I watched the shore for lights or fires. After a half hour, I moved to the first half-submerged boat. It had been stripped to the bone, so I moved to the next one. All the sunken boats had been stripped bare.

I moved up on shore and started checking the beached ones. A few looked like they had tried to be repaired but were still in bad shape. Holes in the hull, motors missing, or a combination. There were a couple that I thought might float, but that wasn’t saying a lot.

I picked the best of the bunch and climbed aboard. It wasn’t really what I was looking for, so I went ashore and built a fire using one of the boats as a wind block. I took my clothes off and draped them over the side of the boat. I warmed my last ration by the fire and ate while waiting for my clothes to dry.

***

I woke early and started walking along the river path toward the town. There was other foot traffic, and no one was overly skittish of me, only cautious. As I entered the town, I saw there was an open-air market. I walked around looking. There was, naturally, fresh fish, but also other farm produce.

I walked along the storefronts, most of them broken and abandoned. At the end of the strip mall was, not surprisingly, a marina shop. I entered through the open door and looked around. I found a rack of swim fins and wet suits. Not a big demand for those anymore. I looked through the rack and found a suit and a pair of fins that fit me.

Out of habit, I looked through the piles of junk, looking for things that others may have overlooked. No joy this time; my best finds were the wet suit and fins. I strapped both to the outside of my pack. On my way out of the shop, I took a rod and reel, a pack of lures, and a stringer.

I walked down to the marina dock. There were a lot of sunken boats there. I walked along looking at them. Some looked as if they could be salvaged, but their topsides had been stripped. At the very end of the dock sat a strange-looking boat with water up to her deck. I don’t think you could call her sunk, but she was one strong wave from it.

I dropped my pack on the dock and sat down. I tied a lure to the line, cast it, and slowly reeled it back in. I wasn’t really fishing; I was looking at the half-sunken boat. She was forty feet long, and her bridge was forward with an open deck behind. At the stern, there was what looked like a backhoe boom but was actually a small crane. There was also a winch back there. The boat seemed to be set up like a maintenance-and-recovery work boat with push bumpers on the front. I don’t know why, but I felt that that was the kind of boat I could use.

I fished for a while from the dock and then threw my pack onto the boat, sat down on her stern, and continued fishing. I waited to see if anyone would say anything, but no one did. Before I cast again, something told me to spit on the lure. I frowned, shrugged, spit on the lure, then cast it. Just as I’d been doing, I slowly reeled the lure in. Halfway back to me, a fish struck. I reeled it in and caught a six-pounder.

“Hey, mister, I’ll trade you two apples for that fish.”

I glanced back at a boy about eight years old holding two apples. A small black-and-white terrier stood beside him, and his mother behind him. “Deal,” I answered.

I took the fish off my line and we made our trade. He hurried back to his mother, and I took a bite of the apple. It was a good one. I spent the rest of the afternoon fishing off the stern of the boat catching a few more fish.

I ate sushi on the stern and no one bothered me, minding their own business. Once it was nearly dark, there was just enough light for me to take a quick look into the wheelhouse. I climbed the stairs up to the rear catwalk and looked inside. All the control panels were open wires hanging everywhere. But it looked like all the components were there. What wasn’t there was the pellet capsule. I smiled. I went back to the stern and lay down, using my pack as a pillow. Sleep came quickly.

***

I woke up early and started fishing again. I’d caught a few when the apple boy showed up.

“Hey, mister, Mom says she’ll cook your fish if you share them with us.” I looked back at the end of the dock where she stood.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

“Hamp, and this is Spot,” he answered, pointing to the dog.

“OK, Hamp and Spot, but she’ll need to come to the boat.”

He thought a second. “I’ll go ask,” and ran back down the dock, Spot right on his heels.

I kept my eyes on my fishing line, letting her make up her own mind. After a few minutes, I heard them approaching.

“We’ll have to come aboard. They don’t like anyone having a fire on the docks,” a light but strong voice said.

I glanced at her, smiling. “Welcome aboard, Mrs.?”

“Just Becky.” She nodded, and they came aboard.

“Welcome aboard, Becky. My name is . . .” thinking quickly “. . . Matt,” I finished. I didn’t know why I shouldn’t use my real name, but it felt like I shouldn’t.

“Thank you, Matt,” she replied.

Becky was probably about twenty-five, with brown hair, and lean. She looked like she’d had some hard years. But hadn’t we all? She and Hamp were clean, as were their clothes. That was a good sign.

Becky sat her backpack down and set up her cooking area. Hamp had a bucket of sand, which she poured out on a fire tin. Then she built her small fire on the tin with a cooking grate over it. The sand insulated the deck from the fire. She took a kettle from her pack, filled it with water from the river, and then set it by the fire.

I caught another fish and tossed it onto the deck. Without being told, Hamp got busy cleaning fish. It wasn’t long before the smell of cooking fish filled the air.

“Matt, do you have a plate or pan? I only have plates for Hamp and me.”

“I do,” I answered, opening my pack, pulling out my mess kit and cup, and handing them to her. She separated the kit, put a grilled fish on the plate, and handed it back to me. “Thank you.”

She nodded. “Thank you, for sharing,” she replied, pouring hot tea of some kind into my cup. I nodded. The three of us ate in silence. Spot got the fish heads for his breakfast.

“Do you live around here?” Hamp asked.

I shook my head. “Passing through. I move around fixing and salvaging.”

“You gonna fix this boat?” he asked excitedly.

I smiled at his enthusiasm. “I’m not sure. I’ll have to look her over to see how bad she is and if she’s worth fixing,” I answered around my grilled fish.

“I hope you do. Can I use your lucky rod and reel?”

I laughed. “What makes you think it’s lucky?”

“I’ve been watching it. It always catches fish,” he answered.

Becky laughed; it was a nice sound.

“Sure, go for it. You can catch lunch.”

“If I do, can we stay for lunch?”

I looked at Becky. “You’ll have to. They’ll be your fish.” She nodded.

Chapter 5

While Hamp and Becky fished off the stern, I climbed the stairs up to the wheelhouse’s rear catwalk and stepped onto the bridge. It looked just as bad in the light of day, but at least not worse.

It looked like someone, maybe multiple someones, had been troubleshooting problems. From the way they’d left things, I’d say they didn’t find the problem, and probably made it worse.

I stared at the panels, lost in thought. “How do I know about troubleshooting? Especially electrical and electronic problems?” I thought to myself. I shrugged. “Gift horse,” I mused.

“Got one!” I heard Hamp yell, reeling in his catch.

“I guess it is lucky,” I said, smiling. I walked down the interior stairs to the cabin area below. There was a small galley cooking area and a small booth table, and forward were two berths. Below decks were engineering, where the power plant and motor were. At the moment all that was underwater, which shouldn’t be a problem because they were all sealed units.

I opened the aft deck hatch and went back outside and walked to the stern.

“How’d she look?” Becky asked.

“Not sure yet. It looks like someone spent some time and effort looking for problems, then just left. Which leads me to believe they didn’t find the problem.”

“I’ve noticed that she doesn’t move much,” she said, looking at me. I frowned. “I think she’s sitting on the sandy bottom. Which is why she hasn’t sunk any lower.”

I looked over the side at the white sand below. “I think you’re right. Bring your lines in,” I said, taking off my shirt. Once their lines were in, I jumped over the side. I held my breath this time, rather than transitioning. Becky had been right; the boat was sitting on the sandy bottom. I surfaced to them as they looked over the side at me. “You were right, she is sitting on the bottom. I’m going to look her over to see if anything is wrong.” They nodded, and I went back under.

I swam around the boat checking her hull. I didn’t see anything wrong. I climbed back aboard. “I didn’t see any damage,” I said, walking to the below-deck hatch. I opened it and walked down the stairs. I checked everywhere I could and saw no damage.

“Check the bilge plugs and the bilge valve,” Becky called down. I nodded and went to the stern. Sure enough, the plugs were out and the valve was open. I replaced the plugs and closed the valve.

I went back on deck. “You were right again. Someone had pulled the plugs and opened the valve. Why would anyone do that?”

“To keep others from taking their boat,” Becky explained. “They hoped to come back later and raise her. If they lived, that is.”

I nodded. “Makes sense, I guess.”

Hamp was nodding. “Mom was raised on boats. She knows all about them.”

“Well, that’s good, ’cause I can only fix them, not operate them,” I said, smiling.

Becky went to the dock and made a show of untying the boat. “You’re a free-floating boat now. She’s your salvage if anyone says anything.”

I looked around. “Would anyone?”

She shrugged. “It’s happened before. Better safe than sorry.”

I nodded.

It started raining. “Let’s go inside,” Hamp shouted, heading for the cabin hatch. I grabbed our packs and put them inside. I rushed back out, got the sand-filled fire tin, and put it on the stone in the galley.

Becky’s statement had made me wary. I opened my pack, pulled out my pistol, and handed it to her. She frowned. “Better safe than sorry,” I said. She nodded, taking the pistol. I pulled out the shoulder holster and handed it to her as well. She put it on and holstered the pistol like she had done it many times before.

“Are we expecting trouble?” Hamp asked, frowning.

“We should always be prepared for trouble,” I said, “because trouble rarely gives you a warning before it happens.”

“Good advice,” his mother added.

Hamp nodded.

We moved into the galley, and Becky started cleaning. Hamp and I lent a hand. I brought in buckets of clear water and emptied the buckets of dirty water.

Once the galley was cleaned, we moved on to the berths. The mattresses were encased in rubberized plastic and could be washed down. It was better than sleeping on the floor or in the rain. Of course, I had become used to sleeping underwater, so I was good.

Becky and Hamp slept in one of the berths. We locked all the hatches, and I slept on the bridge, keeping watch. Spot kept a watch of his own, roaming around all night. I got up periodically and checked on things, and Spot accompanied me.

***

After breakfast, I started working on the bridge control panels. Fortunately, the wiring schematics and diagrams were on the underside of the panel lids. Using my multi-meter and diagrams, I ensured the wires were in their right places and the components tested good.

I had never done anything like this, but Tom’s memories guided me through the meticulous work. As I worked more with the multi-meter and diagrams, it became almost second nature.

“Can I help?” Hamp asked.

“Sure, come hold the light so I can see better,” I answered. He did as I asked, and I started explaining everything I was doing. He nodded, listening intently. Every few hours we’d take breaks and fish for our next meal.

Once I had the bridge control panels tested, I moved down to engineering and started doing the same thing. After three long days, I had checked the location of every wire and every component. I found some loose connections and some crossed wires and corrected them.

“OK,” I said, “it’s time to test the start-up procedures.” They stood at the engineering hatch to watch because engineering was still flooded. I moved to the reactor and plugged in the pellet capsule. The reactor’s self-test showed all green lights. I threw the main breaker, applying power to the boat’s systems. None of the breakers tripped, which was a good sign.

I moved over to the engineering console, ran a self-check, and got all green lights. “Here goes nothing,” I said to myself, turning the bilge pumps on. I heard the pumps spin up as they started pumping water from below deck. “Pumps working,” I called out.

I went up on deck, and we looked over the side, watching the water being pumped out of the boat.

“We did it!” Hamp shouted, raising his arms.

We laughed. “Yes, we did.”

“Mom, we have a boat,” Hamp said excitedly.

Becky stopped laughing, and she looked at me, a little frightened.

Before she could say anything, I intervened, “Well, since you helped with the salvage work, that makes you and your mom part owners. We’ll have to discuss share split, or at the very least alliances,” I said, looking at Becky. After a moment’s thought, she nodded.

“What will we name her?” Hamp asked.

I thought for a moment. “How about Resurrection? We’ll call her Res for short.” Hamp nodded, grinning. “Now let’s go to the bridge and run checks on the rest of the systems.”

“Yeah,” Hamp shouted, and took off running.

I looked at Becky, and she said, “Thank you, and I don’t expect shares, but we can discuss an alliance.”

I nodded. “You are welcome to stay for as long as you like. No pressure. You call it.”

She nodded. “Agreed,” she answered.

“Good, now let’s go check out the rest of the systems,” I said, heading for the bridge with Becky following.

I began running systems checks, and everything was going good, but we got an amber light on the drive motor and the drive gears.

“We need to get those fixed as soon as possible. We are at the most vulnerable point in salvage. You can believe that people have noticed the boat being pumped out, and word will spread. From now until the time we can pull away from here under our own power is the greatest danger,” Becky said.

I nodded. I went to my backpack, pulled out my assault rifle, and unfolded the stock. She watched me.

“We go armed from now on,” I told her. “We’re now in enemy territory.” I handed her the rifle. “You are on guard duty while I go below to find out what’s going on with our drive line.” She took the rifle, nodding.

I went below, and the water was noticeably lower. I started checking the drive motor and gearing. It seemed the gears were frozen, probably from lack of use. I worked the manual gear lever back and forth, and it finally freed up.

The drive motor now showed green, as did the drive line and gears. Going back up to the bridge, I reset the fault lights and ran system checks again. This time I had greens across the board.

Becky came onto the bridge. “We’ve got company,” she said, looking out the forward glass. I looked and saw five rough-looking characters at the far end of the docks. They weren’t coming this way, but they were definitely interested in what was happening on our boat.

I took the rifle. “You stand by to back us away from the dock as soon as she’s pumped out enough water for us to move. Hamp!” I called.

He came onto the bridge. “Yes?”

“Stay with your mother. Do as she says. We may have to move quickly,” I told him.

“Trouble?” he asked.

“Hope not, but we need to be ready just in case,” I answered. He nodded.

We felt the boat shift as she lifted from her resting place. The men saw it, too, and started toward us. Becky shifted the gears into reverse, and the drivetrain engaged. She started adding power to the motor, and the Res started backing away from the dock.

When the men saw us moving, they started running toward us. I went quickly down to the deck in case any made it aboard before we got away. When they saw me standing on the deck with my assault rifle ready, they stopped.

When we were well away from the dock, Becky turned us. She shifted forward and eased us toward the center of the channel heading downriver. The would-be pirates watched us for a few minutes, then turned away.

I went below to engineering and checked to ensure everything was running as it should and to see how much water still needed to be pumped out. Everything showed green lights, and the water level was just over ankle-deep rather than the knee-deep we started with.

I went back up to the bridge. “Everything’s good below. Water is down to ankle deep,” I told Becky.

“The bilge pumps should stop automatically when the water level is low enough,” she replied. I nodded.

We were moving slowly, with just enough power to maintain steerage. “Where to?” she asked.

I shrugged. “You know the river better than I do. Somewhere for salvage, or maybe some repair work we can trade,” I answered.

“The next town is thirty miles downriver, but there may be some salvage between here and there.”

“How far to the next bridge?”

“Sixty miles, give or take,” she answered.

I nodded. “OK, ease us along. We’re looking for salvage.”

“Aye-aye, Captain,” Becky said, smiling. Hamp laughed.

I smiled. “Now that the water is about gone, I’m going below to check on other equipment.” She nodded. I looked at Hamp. “You’re on watch.” He nodded.

Below I started checking storage cabinets, and boxes that were on the floor and had been underwater. I found tools, rusty tools. Most could be saved, but it would take some work. I also found some diving gear, but the pump to refill the tanks was missing. Everything else was a loss and mostly trash. I started cleaning the trash out and throwing it overboard. I checked the rear crane and winch. Both worked but needed grease.

While I was at it, I checked the stove in the galley, and it worked, but the microwave didn’t. I’d have to see if I could fix it. The bridge had no depth finder nor radar, if it ever had one. Searchlights and outside work lights were also missing. No surprise there.

Fifteen miles downriver, Becky slowed the boat. I went to the bridge to see why. “Anything wrong?” I asked.

“A big boat sank up ahead. They say she was a large work-and-maintenance boat, a sixty-footer. She’s deeper than most, and maybe on her side. Might be worth taking a look,” Becky explained.

I nodded. “OK, let’s drop anchor and check her out.”

***

I put on my wet suit, weight belt, face mask, and flippers. I didn’t really need any of it, but wearing this gear was expected, and it would keep them from asking questions.

“I’ll take a quick look and see if it’s worth our time,” I said, then dropped over the side. The first time I held my breath, so I’d know when to surface for air. I didn’t do too badly, staying under a few minutes then surfacing. “You were right. She’s on her side.” I took some deep breaths and dove again.

I made a quick pass by her and saw a large hole in her side. But there was a lot of salvage to be had. I surfaced and dove several times, making note of things I like to get. After a while, they got tired of watching me, and I started breathing water and stayed down longer. I saw my first salvage and grabbed a coil of line and headed for the Res. I expelled water from my lungs and pulled in fresh air when I surfaced. I tossed the line up and climbed up the ladder.

I tied one end of the line to a cleat and threw the rest back over. “So?” Becky asked. “Worth our time?”

“Some,” I answered. “Not sure how much.”

She nodded. “Well, you be careful down there. We don’t need any more excitement today. I nodded, smiling, then went back over the side. I swam down and tied the line to a portable dive air compress. It was the kind people used to dive with instead of scuba tanks. I picked up the coil of diver air hose and pulled myself to the surface using the line.

I climbed the ladder and dropped the airline on the deck, then started hauling the line. With Hamp’s help, we got the compressor on board.

“What is it?” he asked.

“A diver’s air compressor, sometimes called scuba snorkeling,” Becky said.

I nodded. “And if I can get it operational, it will make my job a lot easier,” I added. “Give me that bucket.” I pointed, and Hamp handed it to me. I jumped over the side, swam down, and got a half bucket of sand.

When I was back aboard, I went below and got the toolbox and brought it up on deck with some rags. I dumped the tools out on the deck. “Now, as we use a tool, we are going to clean it. We’ll use wet rags with sand. No fun but it’s got to be done. We all sat down and got to work.

By midafternoon I had the compressor cleaned up. It was electric, so most of the important parts were sealed against getting water. We plugged it in and tried it. The compressor worked, but the breathing regulator did not. I swapped it out with one of the scuba regulators from below, and it worked fine.

“High fives all around,” I said, giving Becky and Hamp high fives.

We finished cleaning the tools. They didn’t look new by anyone’s standard, but they would do for now. “OK, enough for today. Let’s catch supper,” I announced.

“You’d better, or they’ll be none,” Becky chimed in. I wasn’t really worried. If I had to, I’d dive and catch them by hand. Spitting on our lures, we cast and started fishing. Fortunately, we didn’t go hungry.

***

I didn’t want to leave any lights on, not even marker lights, but Becky convinced me we should. No one wanted a collision with another boat in the middle of the night. I decided to sleep on deck as a watch stander.

Spot woke me, growling. He was sitting beside me looking aft. He would growl, then look at me. I took his meaning and crawled to the stern, peering through the gunwale spaces. I didn’t see anything right away, then heard an oar or something bump the side of a boat.

Well, whoever it was, they were probably up to no good. I crawled back to the galley’s hatch, then to Becky’s berth. I tapped lightly on the door. “Becky?” I said softly.

“Yes,” came a soft response.

“Possible trouble,” I advised. A moment later the door slid open. “You keep the rifle ready. If anyone but me comes through that hatch, shoot them.”

She nodded. “You call before you come through,” she said.

I chuckled. “Yes ma’am.” I crawled back to the stern, and Spot was still there. He was still looking that way and growled softly, then looked at me. I patted him. “Go to Hamp,” I said. He turned and headed toward the galley.

I quietly slipped over the side and dove. I had never noticed, but looking up from underwater, you can see a lot using the sky as a backlight. I swam toward where Spot said they were, whomever they might be.

I found them just around the point of land back upriver. I swam past them and then surfaced with just my eyes above water. I counted five of them, probably the same fire from the dock.

They were talking among themselves. “What are we waiting for? Let’s just get this over with. We will. It’s about time now. If we take the woman alive, that’d be OK. Other than that, no witnesses.”

I went back under and moved closer to them. They were still in shallow water, so I braced my feet and raised up, lifting one side of the boat. The surprise caused them to stand, which dumped them out of the boat.

I drew my knife and started stabbing. They were unsure as to what was happening and fought each other. I aimed my stabs at the arteries, groin, armpit, or whatever presented itself. The fight didn’t last long, and they never really had a chance.

I loaded their bodies into the dinghy and climbed in. I rowed over to the Res and tied to her. Before I climbed over the side, I called out. “Becky, it’s me, Matt. We’re good, and I’m coming aboard alone.”

“Alright,” she answered. I climbed up and moved to the center of the deck with my hands and arms outstretched where she could see me. I waited.

“We good?” I asked.

She stepped out of the galley hatch carrying the rifle. “We’re good,” she answered. “The trouble?”

“Taken care of.” I thumbed over my shoulder. “We have a new dinghy.” We looked over the stern. “Let’s take care of this now,” I said, climbing into the dinghy.

I searched and stripped each man out of his clothes, handing Becky the salvage. They didn’t have much: knives, pistols, a few baubles of gold, and less than a hundred dollars between them. When I was done, I pushed their bodies over the side. I cleaned and sluiced out the dinghy, then joined Becky on deck.

“You have a cut on your back. Come inside and we’ll get that cleaned up.”

I nodded, following her inside.

“She’s a cowgirl,” I said, smiling.

Chapter 6

I sat leaning over the galley table while Becky cleaned the cut. I’d never felt it, adrenaline, I guess. She laid out her first aid supplies, which weren’t much, but more than I had. I’d need to correct that oversight.

When she’d finished cleaning it, she threaded a needle. “Is it that deep?” I asked.

“Pretty deep,” she answered. “It needs to be closed.”

I nodded, and she started stitching.

“What are you going to do with your dinghy salvage?” she asked nonchalantly.

The corner of my mouth lifted in a slight smile. I realized she was checking how far our alliance went. “That would be our salvage, partner,” I answered. She stopped stitching. “I thought we’d keep the two best pistols, and knives for you and Hamp,” I said. “The cash and gold you’d keep for boat expenses. The rest we’ll use for trade unless you have a better idea?”

“No, that works for me,” she replied, resuming her stitching.

I thought I heard some relief in her voice. I couldn’t really imagine what a mother would do to take care of a child. The word “anything” came to mind.

We looked over the dinghy salvage, and Becky picked up the two pistols and holsters. She also took two knives, two sheaths, and two belts. I pushed all the cash and gold baubles across the table to her.

She went to her berth and came back with a small leather pouch. She put the cash and baubles in it. “This will be in my pack,” she told me.

“Good enough,” I answered, nodding.

Hamp was excited about his new knife. Becky didn’t give him the gun yet. He needed training with it first.

* * *

I used the scuba snorkel to dive, and Becky even took a few turns diving and salvaged the galley. I’d never really thought about it, but being on a boat meant that most food items were kept in watertight containers. She brought up staples like sugar, flour, salt, and other spices. There were also a lot of dried and canned foods. The food haul alone made the dive worth our time.

“I looked at the damage to the hull, and it doesn’t seem too bad. Do you think we could repair and raise her?”

I thought for a moment. “Possibly, but we’d need to consider some things. Even if we raised her easily, we’d draw a lot of attention. The more you have, the more hyenas you attract.”

Becky nodded. “You’re right, it would attract others.”

“We’ll keep it in mind for the future though,” I replied.

We stayed over the salvage site for the next week, taking turns diving. Becky salvaged the small stuff, like personal items from berths. Becky had added cash and baubles to our purse, which she was proud of. I guess it made her feel like she was doing her part in the alliance.

I used our crane and winch to salvage the big stuff like tools and equipment. I had taken a mig/tig welder, with all the wire spools I could find and a plasma cutter cutting rig with spare tanks. I also took the scuba tank refill compressor and all the scuba gear. One of the last things I took was the big work deck lights and searchlights, replacing ours that had been stripped.

I could tell Hamp was chomping at the bit to get in the water, so I started teaching him to use the scuba snorkel. He wasn’t ready to dive for salvage yet, but it was a start, and he was proud of his accomplishment.

Becky added salvaged foods to our meals to augment the fish. I had no problems eating fish, but the change was nice.

“I think we’ve done all the good we can do here,” I said over dinner.

“I think so too,” Becky answered. “We can stop at Creel, the next town, and do some trading.”

“Yeah, we do have a good bit that we can trade or sell. I’ll stay with the boat while you check the market. You know more about what things are worth than I do.”

“OK, I’ll take Hamp with me for backup,” she said, smiling at him.

* * *

Creel was a good-sized town with a lot of activity on both sides of the river. The market was right on the river, and there was a lot of traffic from both boats and vehicles. I saw horse-drawn wagons, probably farmers, as well as riding horses.

We dropped anchor just offshore. Becky and Hamp would take the dinghy. Becky wore her pistol and knife; Hamp wore his knife. “Be careful. If there’s trouble, leave.”

“Don’t worry, Father,” she answered, smiling.

“I’m not. It’s just that good cooks are hard to find,” I said, returning her smile.

“Oh, you got jokes now.”

“I’ve been saving.”

“You must still be saving the good ones,” she retorted.

“Ha ha, good one.”

They got in the dinghy with a few trade items and started rowing for shore.

I took a seat on the bridge catwalk and stood watch. Looking down at our salvaged equipment, I thought about what I needed to do to get it operational. At the very least I’d have to open the equipment up to let it dry out and then test the components.

I looked around at the other boats gathered. There were houseboats, pontoon-shack boats, and fishing boats. Most of the boats had electric-powered motors of various sizes. There were a lot of rowboats, and house rafts with barrels to keep them afloat. I shrugged; you did what you had to do to survive. I saw only one other boat like ours, and very few homemade work boats.

Much of the same was happening on the far shore, but the market wasn’t quite as big. Cross-river ferries seemed to be doing good business. Though the biggest ferry boat could only carry two cars at a time.

I had been boat-and-people watching for a few hours when I saw Becky and Hamp rowing back toward our boat. I went down to meet them and see what they’d found at the market.

The first thing I saw was a coop with two chickens inside. I frowned. “Fried chicken?” I asked, smiling.

“Eggs,” Becky answered. I nodded and took the coops. There were also apples and vegetables. “It’s a good market,” she added.

“Now that I’ve seen what they have, I can take our salvage that they don’t have, and it will bring a better price,” she explained.

“Nice,” I answered.

It was late afternoon when they returned, and they had a good haul. “We did good,” Hamp said. “Mom can dicker with the best of them.” I laughed, looking at Becky, who was smiling.

“Do we need to move on downriver?” I asked, tying off the dinghy.

“No, I think we’ll be OK,” she answered. “Besides, a band is playing tonight, and I’d like to stay for that.”

“OK, we can do that.”

The band played after sundown, and we sat on the bridge catwalk watching and listening to the music. They weren’t half bad.

“Thank you for staying,” Becky said.

“We needed a break, and it’s nice to feel human from time to time. Maybe someday this won’t be such a rare occasion,” I answered.

“I hope so,” she replied.

* * *

We left early the next morning, moving slowly downriver. Becky piloted while I worked on salvaged equipment. I started with the scuba tank refill compressor. It took a little more work than the snorkel compressor, but I finally got it working.

I set a tank in an open drum of water to keep it from getting hot and rupturing. I filled the first one to test everything, and after a few adjustments, everything worked fine. I went up onto the bridge. “The scuba compressor’s working, and we’ve filled our first tank.”

“That’s great,” Becky answered. “We can make some money filling tanks.”

I nodded. “I think so too.”

We weren’t so lucky with the plasma cutter, but I’d keep it for parts. Maybe I could piece something together. After drying out and deep cleaning, the welder worked fine.

We continued to look for salvage as we moved along. We were on no schedule to be anywhere, so we could take our time investigating potential sites. When we weren’t checking salvage sites, we cleaned tools and fished.

“Are you going to stay with us for a while?” Hamp asked.

I frowned. “Yes, as far as I know. Why do you ask?” He didn’t say anything for a while. I waited and continued fishing.

“Since Dad died,” he started again, “mom has partnered with a few guys, but they never stayed long. They said she was bad luck.”

“Why would they say she was bad luck?”

“Men would fight about her. Sometimes it was bad fights. There were a few killings.”

I saw what the problem was, or I thought I did. “Your mom’s not bad luck. Men, some men, are stupid. Jealousy is what probably started those fights, that and fear.”

“Fear?” he asked.

I nodded, making another cast. “They were afraid that someone would take her or offer her a better deal and she would leave. They were jealous of her being with anyone but them. Add to that, sometimes men just like to fight, especially if they’ve been drinking.” I explained a complicated issue as best I could.

“Oh.” He thought for a moment. “Are you jealous?”

“Nope. Your mother is a smart woman and knows her mind. You and your mother are free to leave anytime you like, and we’ll part as friends.”

“Oh. So you’re staying?”

I smiled. “Yep, unless I catch me a mermaid. Then I might swim off with her.” We laughed.

“No mermaids around here,” Becky said from right behind us. Both of our eyes went round. “Besides, what makes you think a mermaid would have you?” she said over her shoulder, chuckling as she went back into the galley.

“Mom sure does move quietly,” Hamp said, keeping his eyes on his line.

“I know, right?” keeping my eyes on my own line. But I couldn’t help but smile.

* * *

We finally reached the bridge Becky had told me about. It was tall enough that most boat traffic could pass under. The town’s name was Sherman, a large town that straddled the river. There was also a large marina and a fair amount of boat traffic.

“Should we stop?” I asked.

Becky was looking over the marina and surrounding area. “Do we need to?”

“I don’t think we need to. I answered, looking at the marina. “Does something bother you about this place?” I asked.

“Nothing I can put my finger on, just a feeling.”

“Good enough for me. We’ll follow your feelings and keep going.” We increased our speed and kept going.

A few days later we saw flashes in the night sky and heard cannon fire. “Someone’s having a bad night, probably lots of someones,” I opined.

The next day we saw smoke, probably from the battle. The further we traveled, the closer the smoke got. That night we dropped anchor closer to the bank, away from the smoke. Spot and I kept watch on deck, this time with no marker lights.

I looked over when I heard the galley hatch open and recognized Becky’s outline. “Couldn’t sleep?” I asked.

“Not really,” she replied, sitting down beside me and handing me a hot cup of coffee. All quiet out here?”

“Yeah, I think the battle must be over. It’s been quiet for a good while now.” We sat in silence for a while, listening to the night and watching the stars. Another change in my body I noticed was better night vision. “Not like a superpower, but better,” I thought, smiling.

“What are your plans, your future plan?” Becky asked.

I shrugged. “I’m not sure. We’re always so focused on surviving the day, or maybe a few days, I haven’t really thought beyond that. But salvaging, I guess. Maybe improve our boat so we can salvage bigger and better. What about you?”

She was quiet for a moment. “I want more than just to survive.” She chuckled. “Of course, I realize to reach my goal, I have to survive. I want more for Hamp.” I nodded. She seemed like she had more to say, so I waited.

“I have family at Hampton Bay, out on the coast. There is, or was, a shipyard and navy base there. I think there will be good salvage there. And since we have a maintenance boat, we could probably find work there.”

“Hampton Bay? That name rings a bell.”

“Probably because of the nuclear power plant there,” she replied.

I thought for a moment. “Right on the ocean?”

“Yep.”

“You think there might be mermaids there?” I held a straight face. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her shaking her head, smiling.

“I’m not sure. I guess we’ll have to go there and find out,” she answered sarcastically.

* * *

The rest of the night was quiet, but I knew that could change in an instant. Since we now had a destination in mind, we increased our speed. I stayed on the bridge with Hamp and Becky keeping watch.

Just after noon, we started seeing the first evidence of a battle. Fires were still burning along the bank and further back in the woods. “If anything happens, go to full speed and get away as fast as you can.” She nodded.

After a mile, we saw the first bodies and destroyed equipment. Using binoculars, I scanned the battlefield. “No movement,” I said.

“Tank ahead,” Becky said. I looked forward. It was halfway in the water, and all the hatches were open.

“Slow down,” I said, continuing to scan, considering options. “Hold our position here.” I went outside and climbed on top of the wheelhouse so I could see farther. “Continue on slowly,” I called down.

We started to move slowly forward. So far, I didn’t see anything worth the effort of going ashore. I was just about to climb down when I thought I saw what I was looking for. I kept the binos on it, and as we moved forward, I got a better look.

“Bingo,” I said. “Hold position here,” I called down. I climbed down and joined them on the bridge.

“What did you see?” Hamp asked.

“A maintenance truck. It may have a plasma cutter and some other equipment we can use. I think it’s worth the risk to take a look.”

“Can I come with you?” Hamp asked. I didn’t look at Becky. I knew what she was thinking. I looked around like I was considering it. “One of us has got to stay here. Your mom will be handling the boat. I need you to watch her back in case someone else shows up.”

“I can do that,” he said, nodding.

“I’ll take the dinghy and make a quick check,” I said, taking a flare pistol from the cabinet. “If anything happens and I can’t get back to the boat, I’ll fire a flare. If that happens, go five miles downriver and wait. If I’m not there in twenty-four hours, or if you are chased, go to Hampton Bay. I’ll find you there.”

“Make it quick,” Becky said. “And you’d better come back to us.”

I smiled. “Yes ma’am.” I went to the stern, got in the dinghy, and rowed to shore. I pulled the dinghy up on the bank and moved to the first tank, using it for cover. I kept my eyes moving, looking for trouble. “So far, so good,” I said to myself.

I moved from cover to cover, heading in the direction I’d seen the maintenance truck. I picked up the first assault rifle I came to, checked its mag, and moved on. I got to the last cover before the truck and could see it clearly. “Well, crap,” I said to myself.

The truck was hooked to a recovery HEMTT. The maintenance truck’s cab was shot full of holes, but the body looked OK. The HEMTT looked OK, its doors standing open. I went to the back and found who I assumed was the wrecker crew, lying dead. I tossed their weapons and gear into the cab of the truck.

I checked the back of the maintenance truck; it was pulling an odd-looking trailer. The data plate read HYSTRU Trailer. Hydraulic systems test and repair unit. I opened its doors and looked inside. It was stocked with hoses, fittings, tubing, and hydraulic fluid and had its own small generator to power everything. “Sold,” I said. There was also an oil-and-fluids trailer behind a truck nearby. I nodded, looking at it.

I closed its doors and checked the back of the maintenance truck. “Jackpot.” It looked like all the tools and equipment were still there. I looked back toward the river. “So how to get it from here to there?”

I walked to the HEMTT cab and looked inside; it looked OK. I climbed in and powered her up. Everything showed green. I released the parking brake and eased forward. Looking in the mirrors, I could see the truck following right behind, no problems. I drove slowly toward the river taking my time. I didn’t want any mistakes at this stage of the game.

I parked parallel and as close to the river as I could. I got out and waved for them to come over. Hamp waved back, and the boat started over. Becky laid the Res right against the shore, and I jumped aboard. “Stay at the helm, in case we need to leave in a hurry.” She nodded.

“Hamp, you keep watch while I concentrate on loading all our salvage.”

“Got it,” he answered, and returned to the bridge’s catwalk.

Using the boat’s crane, I loaded the HYSTRU trailer first. There was no way the boat could carry the maintenance truck, so I took the equipment from the truck itself. I took everything of use, including the weapons, gear, and pellet capsule. I then started on the wrecker. I took the chains, towing gear, and everything else of value.

“I’ll be right back,” I said, and jumped ashore. I drove the HEMTT back to where I’d seen the oil trailer. I slung the rifle over my back and started disconnecting the maintenance truck and repositioned it to hook up to the oil trailer. Just as I was starting to hook up the trailer, bullets hit the trailer and wrecker. I dove under the wrecker and took cover behind its big wheels. I peeked around and saw twelve or fifteen men closing on my position.

“That’s what you get for being greedy,” I said to myself. I looked toward the river, shaking my head. “The enemy is too close, and even if I made it, it would put Becky and Hamp in danger,” I said. Taking out the flare pistol, I raised it and fired.

Moments later I saw the roof of the wheelhouse as she pulled away, heading downriver. I unslung the rifle and peeked around the tire. A few of them broke cover, to move closer. I fired the whole magazine at them, dropped the rifle, and ran.

I kept the HEMTT between them and me, heading to the next cover. I didn’t stop to see if they were following me; the ricochets said they were. As I ran, I tried to think of something other than just diving into the river. My plan was to make it to the tank beside the river, power it up, and switch it to self-defense mode. If it worked, the tank would give them something to think about besides me.

I made it to the tank and up onto the turret. I grabbed the lip of the hatch to enter, when something flipped me over the top. I hit the main gun’s tube on the way down, then the bow, then into the water. The pain finally came through my adrenaline. It felt like my shoulder was broken, and I saw blood in the water around me.

I pushed off and headed deeper out into the river. Behind me, I heard gunfire and bullets hitting the water. I looked down at my chest and saw no exit wound. “Maybe I should have just stuck with the diving in the river plan,” I thought to myself. I relaxed and let the current take me downriver.

Chapter 7

It was dark when I saw the marker lights from the Res in the distance. I left the water well back and walked along the bank. When I was close enough, I called out, “Ahoy, anyone home?”

A spotlight came on and swept toward me. Once they were sure it was me, the light went out. Moments later I saw the dinghy rowing toward me. As soon as it touched land, I was in and pushed us off.

“Man is mom mad at you,” Hamp said, rowing us back toward the Res.

I smiled, “Well I’m not real pleased with myself. I made a dumb mistake, and it cost me.”

Hamp smiled. “Well it might have been quicker if they had killed you. If mom doesn’t beat you to death, you’ll be miserable for weeks.”

I chuckled. “I’m sure.”

Becky was waiting at the stern, and that’s exactly how she looked, stern. She shook her head and walked away. I looked at Hamp, and he just shrugged. “Well get in here so I can see how bad it is,” Becky yelled.

“If you dive in now, you might make it to shore,” Hamp said, laughing.

“Thanks, buddy, I appreciate the help,” I said, climbing aboard.

I sat at my usual place letting her clean the wound. She fussed the whole time. “You can’t go anywhere without getting cut or shot, can you?”

“In my defense—” I started.

“That was a rhetorical question,” she interrupted. After a moment she started again. “You got lucky; the bullet hit you at an angle. It made a mess, but at least there’s no bullet inside you.” She started stitching, and I heard her sniff. I looked back, her eyes were red, and tears were on her cheeks.

“I’m sorry, but I did come back as promised.” She stabbed me with the needle. “Ouch! You did that on purpose.”

“Be glad that’s all I did,” she said.

“Night ain’t over yet,” Hamp said. We both looked at him, and he looked at the floor smiling.

“Oh, he thinks he’s funny too. Get out of here, both of you.” We got up and went out on deck, Spot following us. The hatch closed behind us.

I looked at Hamp shaking my head. “What?” he asked, holding out his arms.

Becky’s eyes were still red the next morning, and no one spoke over breakfast. Hamp and I ate, then went out and started checking and putting our salvage away. Becky went to the bridge without saying a word and headed us downriver.

“I guess she’ll talk when she’s ready,” I thought to myself. “Until then, I’ll let sleeping dogs lie.”

Things continued much the same. We ate together, I worked all day on the salvage, and I slept on deck at night keeping watch. On the third night, I heard the galley hatch open, and Becky came out. She handed me a cup of coffee and sat down beside me.

“Thank you,” I said. She nodded.

We sat in silence for a long while listening to the night. “How’s the shoulder?” she asked.

“Sore, but I can move it with no joint pain, just the skin and stitches pulling.”

“They’ll be ready to come out in a week or so.” I nodded. After a while, “I’m sorry for the way I’ve acted. I was scared. I thought we’d lost you. I don’t know what we’d have done . . . I don’t know what I’d have done if I had lost you.” She put her face on my chest. “I was so scared,” she said, crying softly. I put my arm around her, holding her close, letting her cry it out. After a while, she lay down with her head on my lap. I stroked her hair as she slept.

* * *

It took another ten days to reach Hampton Bay. I had no idea how big the bay was, but it was huge. There was a lot of boat traffic, both upriver and seaward. We passed the shipyard, and it looked active, maybe not as much as it had been, but at least it was still in operation.

“Where’s the navy base?” I asked. Becky pointed to the opposite side of the bay. I looked through the binos but didn’t see a lot of activity, none really.

“We’ll go straight to the marina and see if they have a slip open. For a fee, they’ll guard the boat while we go visit my family.”

“When was the last time you saw them?” I asked.

“Fifteen years, but they should still be there. Where else would they go?” I just nodded.

As we passed, I looked at the boats. There were boats of every size and shape. Mostly fishing boats and boats used as houses. I only saw a few maintenance boats.

The marina had a slip, and we paid the fee. We armed ourselves and started walking through the city to their home place. The city of Hampton Bay seemed prosperous and well-kept. Nevertheless, almost everyone was armed.

We turned down a street, and Becky slowed her walk, then stopped. All that remained of several homes were burnt-out husks. “I take it your family’s home was one of these?”

“Yes,” she pointed. “That one.”

“Who ya looking for, young lady?” We turned to see an oldster sitting on his porch.

“The Franklins,” she answered, stepping to his yard fence.

He nodded. “Three years past, almost burnt the whole street down. They lost old Robert. I don’t know what happened to the rest of the family. Scattered, I reckon.”

She nodded. “Thank you, sir.” He nodded. We turned back toward our boat. No one spoke for a while.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” I finally said.

“Thanks. I didn’t know them very well, but I would like to have seen them. Anyway, on to other business,” she said, continuing on. I shrugged and followed her.

* * *

Word got around that we did maintenance work, including welding, cutting, fabrication, troubleshooting electronic problems, and repairs.

I did the work, and Becky handled pricing and payments. We started slowly but soon had plenty of work. The more we worked, the more we heard about salvage sites. I kept my ears open for opportunities, but so far Becky was keeping us employed.

One morning at breakfast I felt the boat shift, and Spot growled. I got up and stepped to the galley door. A man was standing on our deck looking around. “Hey, you weren’t invited aboard. I suggest you leave.”

He didn’t even look at me. “Oh, I don’t need permission to come aboard.”

I stepped closer, and when he turned, I drew my knife and threw it, pinning his foot to the deck. He screamed, grabbing at his foot. I grabbed him by his hair, pulling his head back. “Everyone needs permission to come aboard our boat.”

“You’ll regret this,” he said through gritted teeth.

I shrugged. “Maybe.” I punched him in the jaw, and he hit the deck like a sack of potatoes, out cold. I pulled my knife from his foot and threw him off our boat onto the dock. We he woke, he got up and limped away.

“We probably haven’t seen the last of him,” Becky observed.

I nodded. “Maybe.”

We never actually saw him again, but not long after the incident, no one else would hire us. Seems the man’s uncle, Mr. Jenkins, was the local muscle and ran a protection racket. He’d put the word out that anyone who hired us would share in our troubles.

He finally sent word that if we wanted work, which included salvage, we’d need to pay our union dues. To add emphasis to the warning, he parked his yacht a few hundred yards off our stern and kept watch on us.

“What are we going to do?” Becky asked.

“I’m working on it,” I remarked.

As usual, when the weather was nice, I kept watch on deck. Once I was sure Hamp and Becky were asleep, I went below to the arms locker. I got a radio-controlled claymore and underwater tape. I stripped out of my clothes and eased over the side. Breathing saltwater had a different taste but wasn’t a problem. I swam out to the Jenkins yacht and taped the claymore to the hull under the fuel tanks, then returned to the Res.

I dried off and dressed, went to the galley, and made myself a cup of coffee. I stepped back out on deck taking a sip and enjoying the taste. I slipped my hand into my pocket and keyed the detonator.

The combination of the claymore and the yacht’s fuel made a heck of an explosion. More than I expected, actually. I tossed the detonator over the side, watching the fireball. Becky and Hamp came running out on deck, along with everyone else in the bay.

“That was the Jenkins’s yacht,” she said, looking back at me.

I nodded. “Looks like. A man like that’s probably got a lot of enemies.”

She stared at me for a moment. “I’m sure he did.” Then looked back at the burning wreckage. Everyone in the marina watched the yacht burn, but no one went out to help or to look for survivors. We heard later, there had been no survivors. A week later we started getting work, and no one ever tried to muscle us again.

* * *

We’d been in Hampton Bay for a year and had built a good reputation. We were known to be able to fix almost anything, especially electronics. We gave fair prices, and if we couldn’t do the job, we told you upfront.

Our reputation was what brought a man from the power plant to our door. “My name is Rimbar. I’m the power plant manager.”

“What can we do for you, Mr. Rimbar? I asked.

“Word is you’re a genius at electronic troubleshooting.”

I smiled. “I’m pretty good. I don’t know about genius.”

“Well, we’ve got problems at the plant, and none of our techs can figure it out. Would you be willing to come and take a look at it and see if you can do anything for us?”

“Sure, I’ll come look. I’m assuming you have all the test equipment and schematics I’ll need.”

He nodded. “We do.”

“Then I’m ready when you are,” I replied.

When we got to the plant, Mr. Rimbar introduced me to the team that had been working on the problem. To say I got a cold reception was an understatement.

“Gentlemen, I’m quite sure you are more than competent at your job. Otherwise you wouldn’t be here. I’m also sure that you know far more about this specific application than I do. But sometimes you look at a problem for so long, everything starts to look the same. I’m just a fresh set of eyes.”

That seemed to thaw them a little. “Having said that, tell me the original problem, not what you did to correct it, just the original problem.”

“We started getting fluctuations in the console voltage and sensor readings,” the lead tech told me.

I nodded. We spent the next two hours going over reading and testing procedures. The schematics were laid out on a big table, and I began to study them. Running circuits and voltage paths in my head. This ability was more of Tom’s gift because I’d never done anything this complicated.

I turned and looked at the power plant’s output readings. “You’re only running at 40 percent?” I asked.

Everyone nodded. “The faults cascade above that,” the lead tech replied.

I frowned, shaking my head. “Gentlemen, I don’t think it’s a hardware issue.” I walked over to a computer terminal. “I think it’s a software issue,” and sat down. “May I?” I asked before I did anything.

Mr. Rimbar nodded. “With Bill looking over your shoulder.”

I nodded, and Bill pulled a chair up beside me. I began typing, and I felt like I was channeling Tom as I worked. I started running diagnostics and reading results. Then started another set of diagnostics. Forty-five minutes later, I stopped and looked intently at the lines of code.

I looked at Bill and pointed to the line of code. “Am I reading that right?”

Bill studied the code, then leaned back, “Son of a . . . I don’t know how I missed that. That would cause a cascade.”

“Can you fix it?” Mr. Rimbar asked.

“With Bill’s help,” I said. “I think we can write a patch to correct it.” Bill was nodding.

“Then get to work,” Rimbar said.

Bill and I started writing code, Bill worked on the main patch while I worked on the peripherals. While I was at it, or should I say Tom, I made some improvements to the system. After three hours of writing and running diagnostics, we were ready to test it online.

“Alright, let’s bring her up slowly,” Mr. Rimbar instructed. We all watched as the power meters started to slowly climb. “Hold at 50 percent,” Rimbar said. They held her at 50 percent for fifteen minutes.

“OK, increase output slowly. Take her to 60 percent and hold.” We watched as the output climbed to 60 percent with no issues.

“She seems to be operating smoother,” one of the techs mentioned. The others nodded.

They stopped at 80 percent, which was the plant’s normal output. They were checking and cross-checking all the readings. Mr. Rimbar was reading down the diagnostic sheet. He looked at me, “What did you do? She’s running at least 30 percent more efficiently.” They all looked at me.

I shrugged. “I wrote some patches around places where the system was having trouble compensating for variations in the dynamic flow,” I replied. I had no idea what a dynamic flow was or what it did.

Mr. Rimbar nodded. “Well whatever you did, it’s working wonderfully. Bill, monitor everything closely. Make sure everything’s working together correctly.”

***

Mr. Rimbar dropped me back at the marina and wrote me a check for a week’s work at our normal rate plus 20 percent.

“Thank you, sir.”

He nodded and drove away.

“Did you fix it?” Becky asked as I entered the galley.

“Yeah,” I answered, handing her the check.

She looked at it and whistled. “Nice,” she said. “I think we need to open a bank account. With as much money as we’ve been making, it’s not safe to keep that much cash on hand.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” I answered.

“We should make it a business account, so we’d both have access to it and grow the business,” she said, thinking out loud. “Resurrection Maintenance and Salvage Company. The RMS company.”

I smiled. “Let’s do it.”

The next day we went to the Anchor Bank of Hampton to open a business checking and savings account but could not. We needed a business license before we could.

“Lawyer,” Becky said. The banker nodded. “We’ll be back,” Becky told him.

We went across the street to a lawyer’s office. The lawyer saw us right away, and we told him what we wanted.

“We can do that, Mr. and Mrs. . . . ?”

“We’re not married, just business partners. Becky Taylor.”

“And Matt Bowen,” I added. Becky was in her element, so I let her run with it. She gave him all the information he needed, and an hour later we had a business license. We went back to the bank, opened the Resurrection Maintenance and Salvage Company’s accounts, and made our first deposit.

I could tell Becky was excited about all this. I think it made her feel more secure. Not just about having the money off the boat, but for life in general.

* * *

It was a nice evening, and we were enjoying a cool breeze while fishing off the stern. “You know, with the end of summer, work will be slowing,” I mentioned.

“Yeah, but we’ve had a good summer and made good money. We’ll be alright until work picks up.” I nodded.

Spot growled, and I glanced back up the dock and saw a man approaching. I thought I recognized him, but I waited. When he got to the boat, I nodded. “Hey, Bill, come aboard.”

“Can’t stay long. Just need a quick word,” he answered, looking around.

I got up and went over to him. “What’s up?” I asked.

“Since you worked on our system, adding all that code, there’s been . . . some people, some suits, very interested in it. They’ve been asking a lot of questions about you. I thought you should know.”

I nodded. “Thanks, Bill, I appreciate the heads up.”

He nodded. “Take care.”

“You too,” I answered as he walked away.

I stood there considering the news. Becky joined me. “Trouble?”

“I’m not sure. The work I did at the power plant has gotten some attention from . . . people.”

“Trench coat people?” she asked.

I laughed. “Or maybe men in black people. Woo-Ooo,” I said, making a joke of it. “Let’s eat. I’m hungry,” I said.

***

Two weeks later the joke turned up on our dock. A man in a suit with a briefcase stepped up to the boat. There was another man just down the way in a similar suit. “Can I help you?” I asked.

“Mr. Matt Bowen?” I nodded. “Commander Rossen, Department of the Navy.” He said, showing me his ID card and credentials.

“What can I do for you, Commander? Need salvage work or repairs?” I knew he didn’t.

“May I come aboard and talk inside?”

“Sure, come ahead.”

We went into the galley, and before I could introduce Becky, he said, “Good afternoon, Ms. Taylor.”

I figured he used her name to show me he’d done his research and knew all about us. Well, as much as he could anyway. He was here to find out the rest.

“Becky, this is Commander Rossen from the navy.”

“Good afternoon, Commander,” Becky answered. “How can RMS help the navy?”

“A few questions to start. May I sit?”

“Please,” Becky said. “May I offer you something to drink?”

“Water will be fine, thanks.”

Becky got him a glass of water, and we sat around the galley table.

“Where did you learn to code, Mr. Bowen?”

I shrugged. “I’m a salvager. I learned by repairing and cobbling together mismatched systems to sell.”

“What you did at the power plant was a little more than cobbling something together,” he stated.

I shook my head. “Not really, it’s all basically the same thing. I just matched what was already there, and where I saw a shortcut, I took it.”

“Shortcuts?”

“Made it run smother without all the sidetracking the college boys use.” I threw in some hacker disdain for “college boys.” Hopefully that would make me fit into the picture he was building of me.

He nodded and opened his briefcase. “I’d like you to look at something.” He took out a stack of computer printouts and pushed them across the table to me. I schooled my face and turned the papers so I could read them.

It was a maintenance printout of a system and its subroutines. I recognized it right away. It was from a power plant that used Tom’s people’s tech. So, he, or they, either stole it from the Overlords or was working for them. I also saw mistakes in the code. I wondered if someone had put them there intentionally as a test.

I frowned and read down the printout. “What’s this from?”

“Can you read it?”

“Well, yeah. I can read it, but it doesn’t make any sense without context.”

“Explain.”

“The code is telling a system to do things at certain times, in a certain sequence. I can’t tell what that system is or what it’s trying to do. It does, however, have similarities to the power plant code. Beyond that, I can’t say without context.”

He nodded, took the printout from me, put it back into his briefcase, and closed it.

“So what’s it from?” I asked as any hacker would . . . I hoped.

He handed Becky an envelope. “Thank you for your time.” I followed him out, and he left without saying another word.”

Becky joined me. “Men in black?”

“Not sure, but I bet he works for the same people. What was in the envelope?”

“Bait,” she answered.

I smiled. “How much?”

“Five thousand.”

“Yep, bait,” I said, nodding.

“Well, at least we’ve set for winter. Think he’ll be back?” she asked.

“Him or someone like him. But you can be sure they’ll be watching us to see how we react or if anyone else comes to see us.”

“And how are we going to react?”

“Business as usual, just like always,” I answered, smiling.

Chapter 8

“Just so we’re clear,” I started. “You want me to dive on your sunken ship that’s sitting at 150 feet and retrieve a safe? And for that, you’ll pay our fee, and we can have everything else as salvage. Is that correct?”

“That’s correct,” the man answered.

I shook my head. “You know you can’t dive below 130 feet without special breaking gases, which we don’t have. Which negates diving for salvage. So we’re not interested. I’m sure there’s someone around who has the gases and equipment to do the job for you.”

“It’s only twenty more feet. You can do that. Were I a younger man, I’d do it myself.”

“Taking risks like that, I’m surprised you made it to be an old man.”

“OK, look. From what I can tell, the boat is sitting at an angle. The bow, which is where the safe is, may be less than 130 feet.”

I frowned. “It’s standing on its stern?”

“Partially.”

I laughed. “So it’s not stable?”

“It should be stable enough.”

I shook my head. “Not interested.”

“I’ll double your fee.”

I shook my head.

“Triple,” he added.

I frowned at him. “What’s in the safe that’s so important?”

“That’s none of your concern. I’m paying you to retrieve the safe.”

I stared at him, wondering why he was so adamant that I be the one to dive his wreck.

“I’m sorry, sir, but the answer is no. Thank you for stopping by,” and I showed him off the boat. I went to the bridge and watched him leave the marina.

Becky joined me. “He was a bit pushy,” she observed.

“He was. But why? The bay has plenty of divers who would probably do the job for less. But he was throwing money at us to take the job.” I shook my head. “Someone wants us out there, wherever there is, for some reason. Out there away from prying eyes . . . or witnesses.”

Becky stared out the window, then nodded. “We are closed for the season. No more jobs until spring.”

I nodded. “Good idea. Besides, we need a break,” I answered.

“Oh, by the way, I wanted to ask you what you thought about getting a bigger boat.”

“I hadn’t really thought about it. Why?”

“I noticed a boat down along the wharf that’s been sitting there for quite a long time. She needs some work, well, quite a bit of work, actually. But it would give us more room and more capabilities. We could take on bigger jobs and dive bigger wrecks. Maybe even float a few, to repair and sell.”

I nodded. “No harm in having a look at her,” I answered.

* * *

The wharf was a half mile away and turned out to be a single-slip dry dock. This was not a regular dry dock where they pulled the boat out of the water up a ramp. This one had floodgates that closed, and the water was pumped out, leaving the boat sitting dry in a cradle.

The property had a fence around it with a guard sitting in a gate shack. We looked at the boat from the fence. “Well, that would definitely give us more room. It must be ninety feet long.”

“That’s not a boat, that’s a ship,” Hamp said.

Becky pulled out a spec sheet and started reading. “She’s a fifty-four tbp shallow draft FiFi-1 AHT, towing, anchor handling, shallow water operations, dredge/field support. Her dimensions are, length 35 meters; beam 11.5 meters; draft 2.4 meters min., 3.15 meters (max.); GRT 477. Her three drive motors give her a top speed of thirteen knots.”

She continued to read the specs, and my ears perked up when she read: “Navigation and communication equipment, GPS compass, DGPS, two radars, ECHO sounder, doppler log, AIS, Navtex, electronic chart, autopilot, GMDSS (A3), Inmarsat C, MF/HF radio, VHF radios, EPIRB and SART, and SATCOM. Accommodation, cabins, ten for eighteen crew; heated and air-conditioned.” There was more, but it was all tech specs on prop thrust and capacities.

“Have you been aboard her?” I asked.

She smiled. “No, I was waiting for you, but all we have to do is sign in at the guard shack.”

I nodded. “OK, let’s go check her out.”

We signed in at the shack. The guard, Mike, was a nice guy and talkative. “Yeah, she’s been here a good while. I’ve been here for two years, and she was here before that. The original owners went bankrupt; the bank owns her now.”

I took a chance. “I bet they don’t pay you much for guarding their property.”

He smiled. “They do not, and it will cost you two hundred dollars.” He pulled a packet out of the drawer and laid it on the counter.

“The original dry dock inspection?” I asked. He nodded. We paid him $200 and took the packet. We’ll go take a look at her,” I said.

“Take your time. I’m here ’til 9:00 p.m. Then Brad takes over for the night.”

“I don’t think we’ll be that long.”

“Me either,” he said, “they never are.”

We went aboard, looking as we walked along. “She doesn’t appear to be missing any equipment, nothing big anyway,” Becky observed.

“Let’s go to the bridge and read over the report,” I offered. She nodded, following me up.

The bridge was in decent condition for having been sitting for more than two years. I took out the inspection sheets and began to read. Most of it was minor problems and maintenance issues until we got to the hull.

“Oh, that’s not good,” I said.

“What?”

“Hull’s cracked from bow to stern along the keel line,” I read. “Let’s go take a look.” Just as the report said, her hull was cracked. Not a wide crack, but a crack, nonetheless. We walked through the rest of the ship, checking her over.

“Not a bad boat overall. Too bad about that crack,” Becky observed.

I nodded. “Yeah, too bad.” I let my mind chew on the problem.

We waved to Mike as we headed out. Then I turned back. “Mike, is the dry dock and land for sale?”

He nodded. “As a matter of fact it is. The same bank owns it, and has for years.”

I nodded. “Thanks.” I waved and rejoined Becky.

“What was that about?” she asked.

I shrugged. “Just curious,” I answered, smiling.

On the way back to the boat, we stopped at a hole-in-the-wall burger joint for supper. “What did you think of the boat?” Becky asked.

I shrugged. “It has possibilities. But even if everything was perfect and we could get her, we’d need a crew. We couldn’t work her alone, not efficiently anyway. And the cracked hull is almost the last nail in her coffin. The bottom line is the bank would almost have to give it to us to make the deal realistic.”

Becky nodded. “We can go talk to the bank and see how desperate they are to get it off their books,” I said, thinking out loud.

It was a nice evening, and we were enjoying our outing. The bay’s water was as smooth as glass, reflecting all the lights. “Coffee?” Becky asked as she opened the galley hatch and went inside.

“Yeah, let’s have it out on deck,” I said, setting up the folding chairs.

The flash of light blinded me, and the blast threw me against the boom of the crane. My world went black.

* * *

I blinked my eyes in the darkness, then realized I was underwater. I could see fire light reflected on the water above, and there was a lot of boat activity. I saw a woman’s body floating in the water close to me, “Oh, God no,” I thought to myself, swimming toward her. It wasn’t Becky. I didn’t recognize her.

In a panic, I swam toward the surface but stopped before I got there. I thought about the explosion. “Someone put a bomb on our boat,” I thought to myself. I swam toward our boat slip and saw pieces of her wreckage on the bottom. I floated there, staring at the sight. No one inside that could have survived that blast.

My heart was crushed, and I screamed. The water forced through my vocal cords made an ominous sound like a whale crying. I looked at the activity above and swam up under the floating walkway. I watched with just my eyes above the water.

People and rescue workers were laying the bodies of the dead out on the walkway. It seemed the explosion had destroyed twelve or fifteen boats and set a lot more on fire.

I narrowed my eyes, gritting my teeth when I saw Commander Rossen and two other men checking the bodies. He stopped, looking closely at two of the bodies and shaking his head.

They walked to the end of the dock and were looking around at the water. “What happened?” he asked the other men. I moved closer to hear.

“They went to look at a boat; a team followed them. They stopped for a burger, then returned here. They had just gotten back on the boat when it exploded,” the man finished.

“And you’re sure Bowen was on the boat?”

“Yes, 100 percent. I was looking at him when the boat exploded. They must have attached the bomb to the hull.”

“Great, first lead we’ve had in a year, gone. Just great. Alright, keep the site under surveillance. Let’s see if anyone comes to check their handiwork.”

I needed to get away from here. It was too painful to watch. I turned and started under, then stopped. There was a man in a wet suit kneeling behind a boat watching the rescue operation. It may have been nothing, but the navy man said the bomb had been placed underwater, and this guy was in a wet suit. And he was very curious about what was going on. Add to that he was watching from a hidden position.

I went under and swam toward his position, then passed it. I came up behind him so I could watch him. His scuba gear was lying on the dock behind him, and he was still wet. I watched him as he watched the rescue activity.

He finally turned, put his scuba gear back on, and slipped into the water. I moved up behind him and slammed his head into the walkway. He went limp, and I pushed him back up onto the walkway. I climbed up beside him, searching him. I found explosives and detonators in his gear. I took his pistol and put it in my belt.

I pulled him onto a boat and took him inside the wheelhouse. I brought his gear in, tied him up, and gagged him. I walked to the front of the marina and found where Commander Rossen had parked and waited for him.

When he arrived back at his car, I whistled to him. He looked up and saw me. I motioned with my head for him to follow, and I walked back toward the boat I had left my prisoner on.

He followed quickly behind me and followed me into the boat’s wheelhouse. Before he said anything, I pointed at my prisoner. He checked him to see if he was alive. “Wait here,” he said. He went outside and made a call.

When he came back in, I asked, “Who killed my family and why?”

“I don’t know.”

“Don’t lie to me. I know you’ve been watching us. And that guy,” I pointed, “is working for someone other than you. Now, why?”

“I don’t know.”

I nodded and drew the pistol. “Then this is your fault. This all started when you brought that printout to us. You brought this trouble to my door, so I’m holding you responsible.”

“Now take it easy.”

“I’m sure if I leave your two bodies here, they’ll figure something out, or at least a starting place.”

“Let’s slow down. If you kill me, you’ll never know why this happened.”

I chuckled. “You have no intention of telling me anyway. So a little revenge now is better than none.” I cocked the pistol and aimed at the prisoner’s head.

“Don’t, I need him alive. I need to know who sent him.”

“So you don’t know who’s behind this?”

“Not specifically. That’s why I need him alive.”

“Are you taking him to your HQ on the naval base?”

“No, the base is closed. We’ll take him to our ship offshore. He won’t get away.

“Commander,” someone called from the stern of the boat. When the commander turned, I went through the galley, out the bow hatch, and slipped into the water. I didn’t wait around to see what happened next. I swam to the Jenkins’s wreckage; she was in about eighty feet of water. I swam through the hole in her bottom, found a place to wedge myself, and tried to sleep.

I woke from a fitful sleep. I wasn’t really hungry, but I knew I needed to eat. I swam outside, caught a few fish, and ate. I couldn’t bring myself to scavenge the Res, so I looked around this one. I found and put on a wet suit, fins, a weight belt, and a mask. The mask was in case anyone saw me. I wouldn’t stand out, just another snorkeler.

I don’t know how long I sat on the Jenkins wreck and didn’t really care. Who did this? Overlords? No, they would have bombed all of Hampton. Unless . . . Unless this was different and they weren’t looking for Tom, they were stopping information from being passed or exploited.

Either way, Becky and Hamp were still dead. I found a duffle bag and scavenged the gold and cash that were lying around the boat. Apparently, Jenkins liked to flaunt his wealth. I closed the duffle and with no real destination in mind, said goodbye to Becky and Hamp and swam away.

* * *

I let my mind wander as I swam. I was just swimming away. I was brought up short by a buoy marking a channel. I had unconsciously swam toward the naval base. “Fine,” I thought. “Y’all owe me a boat anyway.” I continued to find out if the base was really closed or if the commander had lied . . . again.

I swam the naval harbor. There were no ships there, only a few tugs, tenders, and maintenance boats. I’d check them later. I needed to check the base before I did anything. What surprised me was, this was not only a navy base, but also a naval air station.

I found a storm drain outlet, entered, and walked the main pipes which led to the airfield. I watched through the grates for movement but saw none. What I did see was a cratered runway, bombed-out hangars, and destroyed aircraft.

I backtracked toward the center of the base, stopping along the way to watch through grates for activity. I spent all day walking the drain pipes looking for any activity, or sounds of activity. There were none.

I went back to the harbor and swam the perimeter, finding no signs of people at all. I ate some fish and found a place to rest until dark. Once it was fully dark, I surfaced and watched for lights. I went back to the airfield and looked for lights there but saw none.

I sat in the storm drain at the airfield, considering options. What to do, where to go. My mind returned to the plans Becky and I had talked about, and I began to weep. I remembered how Tom had felt at his loss and wept for both of us.

Soon my feeling turned from grief to anger, and I remembered what Tom had said. “You will be my final revenge,” I said, nodding. Looking across the airfield, I saw plenty of material to work with. “Maybe it’s time to become a naval aviator.”

Chapter 9

I started checking hangars and wreckage to see what I had to work with. In one of the hangars, I found armed and armored VTOL drones. They seemed OK but needed charging. I found a pellet-fueled Aviation Ground Power Unit, or AGPU, and set the drones to charge.

While they were charging, I found their flight control command van and wired it to the AGPU as well. I programmed the area I wanted the drones to patrol, which was mostly the harbor and airfield. When the drones were charged, I sent half of them on patrol. The other half would take their place when the others needed to recharge.

I monitored the drones for a while to see if they found anyone or detected any movement. So far, the patrol area was clear. Now that I had an overwatch, I felt safer searching more of the area.

I was sure I could make something from the airframes and parts available, but what to build was the question. It would need to be a VTOL, and electric. I didn’t have access to AV fuel. Not much anyway, and getting more would be a problem.

My next consideration was weapons; more problematic was ammo. Just like AV fuel, I had no access to ammo resupply. The obvious answer was a rail gun. It would have to be a small one to fit on these airframes, but it wouldn’t need to be very big.

Because of the electronics, power plant, rail gun, and the rest, I had to make it into a drone. Which was no problem, I could program an AI to pilot it. Not having to provide life support for a pilot gave me a lot more room to work with. It would also alleviate my risk of exposure. If the drone was shot down, I’d just build another one.

Before I started the project there were things I had to do first. I needed to set up a defensible place here in the hangar. I needed better personal weapons, a food supply, and an escape route back to the harbor.

Getting weapons and food proved easier than I expected. But I was on a military base, and they did leave in a hurry. A supply warehouse filled all my needs, and my escape route was the storm drains. I found a drain grate right behind the hangar.

As my last “just in case” security blanket, I used a waterproof backpack and built a go-bag. Inside I put weapons, clothes, some food, my cash, and gold. I strapped my goggles, wet suit, fins, weight belt, and dive knife to the outside. I placed the pack out past the mouth of the harbor under a boulder in eighty feet of water.

“Now for the next step,” I thought to myself. It took me a while to find it, but I finally did: the base’s command-and-control bunker. I thought it might have been in or under the headquarters building, but I was wrong. However, a tunnel led from there to the bunker.

It didn’t take me long to bypass the electronic surveillance and locking mechanisms. Once inside I had access to the base’s surveillance systems, comms, aquatic microphones monitoring the bay, the base’s harbor, and radar sites. The radar dishes were inside big golf ball domes so no one would see them turning as they scanned. Not the best system, but it would do for now. I did, however, have to manually power them with their emergency power plant, which was no problem, as everything was there.

I gathered all the desktop computers in the headquarters building and took them to the bunker. I cannibalized them to augment and improve the base’s computer system. Now that I had a system that could handle it, I created an AI.

The AI monitored base security, including CCTV, comms, software intrusion countermeasures, aquatic microphones, and radar. The radar was set to operate in passive mode. I’d still have a warning of aircraft approaching, just not as far away. I’d work on improving that later.

I found a high-end smartphone at the base exchange that was made for divers and was waterproof. It had a ten-year battery that did not need charging. It unfolded, giving me a larger screen when I needed it, and folded back in half so I could pocket it. I patched it into the AI so I could see what was going on no matter where I was working. I used the bunker as my living quarters, as it was the most secure place on the base.

Fortunately, the base machine shop had plenty of materials for my projects. My first project was relatively simple. I built a rail gun for the base’s air defense and used the base’s radar for targeting. I’d improve it later, but I needed AD up now. Sooner or later, someone would find me, and I needed to be ready when that happened.

To simplify the rail gun’s operation, I made it a magazine-fed single shot. That was fine, as long as it hit the target, one round was all it would take. After ten days of hard work, my AD rail gun was operational.

I built a smaller rail gun for my aircraft and used the radar and targeting systems from one of the destroyed fighter jets. I built it on top of a building to give me ground coverage in case tanks showed up, and it would still cover the air augmenting the larger rail gun.

Weeks became months. Time had very little meaning to me. I worked, ate, and slept. There had been a few incidences where someone would come on base, but the drones reacting to them changed their minds. The system monitored air traffic, but none came close enough to be warned off.

The two VTOL airframes, actually the two best airframes period, were a fighter and a close air support Tank Killer. I started working on the Tank Killer first.

My biggest problem with converting liquid fuel engines to electric-driven motors was speed limitations. The electric motor-driven turbofans would not be able to match the max speeds of a jet fighter. That was unsatisfactory, so I changed my design to a nuclear-powered jet.

The scientists were only one or two steps away from developing it, and who knows, they may have already had a prototype. By using a small nuke power plant, like an emergency generator, I could use the same jet engines with only a few modifications. The nuke generator would superheat the air, then pass it into the jet, and Bob’s your uncle. Their speed, agility, ECM systems, rail gun, and armor should give me air superiority. Plans in place, I got to work.

* * *

After a year of hard work, test flights, corrections, and modifications, the Tank Killer had passed its final test flight, the systems check, and rail guns live fire. The live fire had been on an abandoned car fifty miles away. The targeting system and rail gun had worked perfectly. I had aimed at the fuel tank, hoping there would be fumes present. Judging from the explosion, there must have been.

I was sorely tempted to go tank hunting, but I erred on the side of caution. The Tank Killer returned to base to serve as an alert aircraft on ready standby. I started work on the aircraft’s AI the next day.

Because I made all my mistakes on the Tank Killer, the fighter, including its AI, only took eight months to complete. It was about then that I realized that the more I used Tom’s memories, the more I had access to them. The depth of their knowledge was incredible. I still had a lot of work to do, but I’d need some help if I meant to go after the Overlords.

To increase my surveillance capabilities, I used the navy’s SATCOM and SATNET, to get access to their satellites and radar sites. I wasn’t interested in satellites all over the world . . . yet—only the ones over me . . . for now. Now I could see in real time what was happening in my neighborhood and could track any aircraft within a thousand miles.

I upgraded the base’s AI to report vocally and accept vocal commands in addition to keyboard commands and readout reports. I also made earbuds and a neck mic so I had constant contact with the AI. That streamlined the exchange of information. I should have done that to start with. While I was at it, I did the same to the AIs in the aircraft.

* * *

“Warning,” the base AI announced, waking me. “There is an armed convoy approaching the base’s west gate. Range ten miles and closing, ETA at current speed, twenty-four minutes.”

“Video on the main screen,” I said. The satellite image of the convoy came up. They appeared to be scavengers, and the way their vehicles were armed, probably Hyenas or marauders. “Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later,” I said to myself.

“Target the lead vehicle with the high rail gun,” I ordered.

“Target acquired,” the base AI answered.

“Fire one round when that vehicle crosses the five-mile mark.”

“Understood, standing by.”

When the vehicle crossed the five-mile line, I heard a sonic boom as the round left the rail gun, breaking the sound barrier. Less than a second later I saw the lead vehicle explode. The rest of the convoy stopped.

“Receiving comms chatter,” base announced.

“On speaker.”

“What happened? Was it a landmine? Did anyone see anything?” came over the speaker.

“Nothing, it must have been a mine.”

After a few moments, “So what do we do? Continue or turn around?”

“Turn around. We don’t know what salvage is on that base. It’s not worth the risk.”

I watched as the convoy turned around and headed away. At the crossroads, they turned toward Hampton Bay city. They were someone else’s problem now.

“News of this will spread fast. Not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing,” I said to myself. I looked at the clock. It was 4:00 AM. “Well, I’m awake now, might as well make coffee.”

The convoy got me thinking about what would happen if someone pushed hard to take the base. So I began making improvements, adding ECMs to the rail guns. I also made a smaller rail gun the size of a .50 cal and mounted it on one of the SP’s armored security vehicles. I added an AI to the vehicle in case I needed ground support.

* * *

It had been three years since they had killed Becky and Hamp, and my trigger finger was beginning to itch. Respite came when the base computer, whom I named Thomas, gave a warning.

“Enemy aircraft entering our sector.”

“On screen.” The man screen came live, showing radar tracking of two aircraft flying along the coast. “Range?”

“Five hundred miles and closing.”

“Altitude?”

“Fifty feet.”

“Distance to the battle group?”

“Four hundred miles.”

“Are they tracking the intruders?”

“Negative.”

I thought for a moment. “Launch fighter one to intercept, but don’t engage, just follow.”

“Launching fighter one,” Thomas reported. “Intruders turning toward the battle group.”

“Open comms on their fleet secure channel.”

“Open.”

“Battlegroup east of Hampton Bay, you have two uninvited guests inbound bearing two sixty-five, distance three hundred miles,” I sent.

After a moment, “Identify yourself.”

“Unlisted flight, following your two bogies.”

“Unlisted flight, we aren’t tracking anything on that vector. If you are playing games on a government frequency, that’s jail time.”

“Share the intruder’s track,” I told Thomas.

“Roger, I’m sending you my tracking info. Do you see them now?” There was no answer. “Thomas, are they receiving our track?”

“Yes.”

“Unlisted flight, we cannot confirm your track, or you.”

“Well, in fifteen minutes or less, you’ll be able to track them in person. If I were you, I’d spin up my air defense. I also wouldn’t rely on missiles to defeat their ECM. Use your seawiz. That’s your best chance. And that’s not 100 percent.

“Unlisted flight, identify yourself.”

“An acquaintance of Commander Rossen. He told me he worked on your ship.”

After a few minutes, “Unidentified flight, this is Commander Rossen.”

“Commander, friends of the man I turned over to you are about to arrive at your location. By the way, did you get any information from him? I’d really like to know who sent them.”

“Seven minutes to battle group,” Thomas announced.

“Battlegroup, seven minutes to contact,” I relayed.

“Ghost flight, can you intercept the bogies?”

“Well, I’m more a Wraith, than a ghost, but yes I can intercept.”

A new voice came on, “Wraith flight, this is battlegroup command, intercept and destroy bogies.”

“Battlegroup command, Wraith is weapons hot and closing on bogies. Thomas, target bogies, and destroy them when they are within visual range of the battlegroup.” On screen I watched the cockpit view from fighter one.

“Understood, targeting.”

I watched as fighter one targeted the bogies.

“Firing.” The radar tracks disappeared from my screen. “Targets destroyed,” Thomas reported.

“Battlegroup, splash two. Wraith inbound for a fly-by,” I said.

“Roger, Wraith.”

“They are attempting target lock on fighter one, with no success,” Thomas reported.

I smiled. “Battlegroup, if you fire on me, I will return the favor. And speaking of favors, since I did you one, I’d like the information about the man I turned over,” I asked.

No reply came.

“Well, if you’re not going to share, I won’t either. As you can see by the tech I’m flying and the fact that you can’t get a target lock on me, I’ve got more to offer you than you have to offer me. Give me a call when you have something to trade.” I waited a moment. “Thomas, have fighter one return to base, by an alternate route.”

“Understood, RTB, by an alternate route.”

* * *

Three days later a carrier group joined the battlegroup. “Thomas, gain access to the carrier group comms. As a matter of fact, access everything, all comms, computers, and CCTV, of both groups,” I ordered.

“Understood, working.”

I made supper while I waited. I knew they were going to try to gain my tech; that was a given. Whether they would trade for it was the question. Based on previous experience, Tom’s, I doubted it. Worse case, we verbally sparred while they try to locate me. When they couldn’t do that, they’d give me a little and want to meet in person.

A thought occurred to me while I ate. When I finished, I started typing. From memory, I wrote the code that Rossen had shown me. I wrote the complete code, with no errors. That should get things rolling.

“Thomas, show the location of abandoned airfields within five hundred miles.” The main screen came live showing twelve locations. “Show me the ones with radio, optical cable, and hangars.” All but three markers disappeared. I nodded. “I want you to spoof our signal through those three sites leading back to the one farthest away. When the navy starts trying to find us, lead them there.”

“Understood.”

At 2100 Thomas announced, “The carrier is transmitting on the freq. asking for Wraith.”

“Do you have the vid conference line in their war room?” I asked, pouring a cup of coffee.

“Yes.”

“Put their feed on the main screen but send voice only from us.”

“Understood,” and the main screen showed the carrier war room.

I saw Commander Rossen and lots of brass. After a few minutes, “You try, Commander,” the admiral said.

Rossen nodded. “Wraith, this is Rossen. Please respond.”

“Thomas, be ready to spoof them but don’t make it too easy for them. And open a channel,” I said.

“Ready, and the channel is open.”

I nodded. “Good evening, Commander, do you have my information?”

“They have started their trace,” scrolled across the bottom of the main screen. The screen split and showed another war room at the Navy Department. The secretary of the navy sat at the head of the table, with a room full of brass and suits.

“I’m sorry, Wraith, the only info we got was that he was an independent contractor hired through an offshore cooperation.”

The main screen split into thirds, and Rossen’s filled report appeared. I smiled. Thomas was growing faster than I had expected.

“So tell me what you suspect. Was this someone or some government following you, and we got caught in the crossfire?”

“I’m sorry, that’s classified.”

“I see. Well you might find this interesting.” I sent them the corrected printout from the power plant where Tom had come from. I watched as they gave Rossen the printout and he looked over it.

He muted us and spoke to the video conference. “It’s the program from the power plant, and as far as I can tell, it’s complete,” Rossen said.

“Find out where he got it,” the secretary said.

“Yes, sir,” Rossen answered, and unmuted the mic. “That is interesting, and it seems more complete,” he said to me.

I nodded. “That’s the complete program.”

“How did you come in possession of it?” I saw everyone on the conference call leaning forward, waiting for my answer.

I smiled. “I’m sorry, that’s classified.” Everyone relaxed back in their chairs. “You see, we can play the ‘that’s classified’ game all night, but neither of us will profit from it.”

“Trace 50% complete,” scrolled across the screen.

“You’ve got to give us something to build trust,” Rossen said.

I laughed, “I just did. I gave you the complete power plant program so you can put your power plant into operation.”

“That will take years to build and put into operation.”

“I see. Well let me save you a lot of time and money. There’s already one built on the headwaters of the Hampton River. You should use that one. Of course, you may have to evict the current residents.”

Everyone on the conference call looked at each other. They muted the mic. “Keep him talking. We’re almost there,” someone reported.

“How do you know about that power plant?”

“That’s classified,” I answered.

“Classified by whom? Who do you work for?”

“I’m an independent contractor, but I don’t have an offshore corporation. I’ll have to look into getting one of those.”

“Trace 75% complete,” scrolled across.

“And speaking of being an independent contractor,” I continued, “You owe me a boat for getting my last one blown up.”

“You should help us, for Becky and Hamp.” I had been expecting that. I was surprised it took so long for them to try it.

“Counter Intel Psyc 101,” I said. “But you can’t give them back to me, and you’re not sharing any information I can use to find out who ordered their deaths. Maybe it was your bosses who ordered it. Maybe they’re playing a game above your head, double dealing all of us.”

“Trace complete. They have the bait location. Ospreys with assault teams have launched, en route to that location,” scrolled across.

“I’ll tell you what,” I offered. “You have two hours to talk to your superiors and convince them to give me the information. Then we’ll talk about more trades.” I cut the connection and watched them.

“We’ll have him before two hours,” someone reported. Their screen split to show their radar track of the Ospreys. They were watching the screens like it was the World Cup finals.

“Thomas, launch fighter one and have him take up overwatch ten miles south of their position at thirty thousand feet,” I ordered.

“Understood, fighter one en route.”

Chapter 10

We watched the assault flight and monitored their comms. “Two minutes,” the flight lead announced. They went in fast and hovered. The teams fast-roped down in front and behind the hangar, and I waited for the inevitable.

“Homeplate, this is assault leader, no joy. I say again, no joy. The site is completely abandoned.”

“Include us in their video conference, full security scrabble,” I ordered. I saw myself come up on their screens. “You see, this is why I have trust issues. I made a good faith offer, and you . . . well, you didn’t. So tell me, Mr. Secretary, how high up does this go?” I split their screen, so he’d know I knew he was watching.

My screen split to show enemy aircraft inbound to the bait location. “It seems your airshow has got the attention of others. Assault flight leader, this is Wraith. You have enemy fighters inbound to your locations, ETA fifteen minutes. If I were you, I’d gather my people and head home soonest.” I shared the new track with the group.

“Assault flight, RTB soonest,” the carrier group ordered. “We are scrambling fighter escort to your location.”

“Roger, group, copy RTB, escort en route.”

“So you never had any intention of sharing any information, did you?”

“You listen to me, young man,” the secretary started.

“That was a rhetorical question, spook-man. So you wanted to use me. Well, now I’m going to use you. This area of operation is about to become a lot more active. I’m going to ensure they, whoever they are, believe you have new weapons and intel. So expect company, gentlemen, and lots of it.” I cut the feed and watched them.

“Well, that went well,” Commander Rossen said.

“Can you find him again, Commander?” the secretary asked.

“With all due respect, sir, that ‘young man’ just pulled our collective pants down around our ankles. So I doubt anyone will find him if he doesn’t want them to. And to be honest, if I were him, I’d never talk to us again.”

“Find him!” the secretary shouted and cut his connection.

“Thomas, have fighter one assume a six o’clock high behind the enemy fighters, and follow. Monitor assault flight and inbound escort comms. Launch killer one, send him to the enemy fighter base, and prepare to engage.”

“Understood.”

“Escort flight, this is assault flight. Sooner would be better than later, guys.”

“Roger assault flight. ETA two minutes.

The dog fight was almost painful to watch. The enemy fighters played with them because they knew the escort fighters couldn’t get a target lock on them. All four of the escorts were shot down. On the upside, I saw four chutes open from the escort jets.

“Well that was ugly,” I said, breaking into their net. “Group, you might want to send search and rescue to pick up your escort pilots. Break, break, assault flight, enemy fighters inbound. Turn to heading 095 degrees and head for the deck. Wraith flight is bound, hot.”

“Roger, Wraith, 095 degrees, on the deck.”

I let the enemy get a little closer to the assent flight before targeting them. “Thomas, target those four enemy aircraft and splash them.”

“Understood, targeting . . . firing. I heard over the speakers each time the rail gun fired. It was a steady thump, thump, thump, thump. “Targets destroyed,” Thomas reported.

“Assault flight, you’re clear, no pursuit.”

“Roger, Wraith, if we ever get the chance, first round’s on us.”

“Thomas, have fighter one rendezvous with killer one and prepare to attack the enemy airbase. Show me sat images of the enemy airbase.” The main screen shifted to sat images.

It was defended by SAMs but no triple A. “Killer one, you’ll make the attack runs. Fighter one, you’ll provide cover.”

“Understood,” came their response.

The enemy base never saw us coming. Killer one fired his rail gun from a standoff distance, destroying the SAM sites, then every aircraft, and then every building, never getting close enough for them to be engaged.

“Thomas, track the enemy’s satellite. On its next pass use our base’s rail gun to target and destroy it as soon as it’s in range. Have fighter one and Killer one RTB,” I ordered.

“Understood.”

“We might as well get this party started,” I said to myself.

Four hours later Thomas engaged their satellite with the base’s main rail gun as it passed overhead. “Tracking target . . . Target acquired . . . Firing . . . Target destroyed,” Thomas reported.

“Well, that should get their attention. And they’ll come looking to see why someone would destroy their satellite and what are they trying to hide,” I mused.

If I was attracting sharks, I was going to need bait to keep them interested. I sat down at the terminal and began to code. I wrote the enemy’s ECM code and how to counter it. I wrote a new targeting code, for “our” side, if I had a side other than my own. I wrote instructions on how to install the new targeting code on their radar and weapons systems.

I smiled and wrote: “Commander Rossen, you and your friends are going to need this very soon.” I signed it, “Wraith.”

“Thomas, find Commander Rossen’s email address at his desk and email this to him, including attachments.”

“Email sent,” Thomas reported.

“Does he have a secure cell phone or SATPHONE?”

“He does.”

“Text him to check his email.”

“Text sent.”

“I wonder how long it will take them to implement the new code?” I said to myself.

* * *

My eyes snapped open from a dead sleep. “I need a submarine,” I said. I sat up on the side of my cot, thinking. “Thomas, where is the closest active submarine base where they do their dry dock work?”

“The closest active submarine base where dry dock work is conducted is located at Point Harris, 860 miles up the coast.”

“Where is the closest inactive one?”

“It is 1,700 miles south, Homeshores Naval Base.”

“Do we have satellite images of the southern one?” The main screen came up, showing the base, or what was left of it. The only sub I saw there had been blown almost in half. I shook my head. “No joy there. Show me Point Harris.”

The screen changed scenes, showing multiple ships and subs in dry dock. I nodded. “OK, Point Harris it is. The only question is, how do I steal a sub from the middle of an active sub base? The short answer is you don’t. I’ll have to think of something else.” I thought for a moment. “I need to have a closer look at the covered boat slips here. Maybe I missed something that I can use.”

I checked each covered slip. They had all been hit by bombs. Some had taken more damage than others, and the boats inside were destroyed or close to it. There was one boat that had survived, but the entrance to the slip had caved in. I’d never be able to get the boat out even if I wanted to.

I swam to the other side of the harbor where the anchor handling tugs (AHT) were moored. They looked a lot like the boat in dry dock Becky took me to look at. They were jumbled together, and a couple were sunk. I climbed aboard one and went up to its bridge to look around.

I frowned, looking at an odd boat further back. Its electronics mast was folded down, and most of the boat was underwater. They had moored these AHT boats over the front half of the boat like they were trying to hide it.

I walked the sides of the slip trying to figure out what kind of boat it was. Whatever it was, it had a VTOL deck on its stern. Well, it would have had, but the stern deck plates had been removed, along with the boat’s motors and drives.

The motors and drives were sitting out on the docks. The ship must have been in for maintenance when the base was hit. I jumped in the water and swam the length of the boat. It was over four hundred feet long, with water jets rather than props for propulsion.

It had one turret cannon on its bow, with missile hatches behind the front turret. There were smaller remote turret guns on its sides. In front of the VTOL deck was a hangar, not huge, but my aircraft being navy, had folding wings so they might fit.

I swam along looking for damage but couldn’t find any. “I wonder?” I thought to myself, and swam down below the decks and found all the bilge valves open. “They scuttled the ship, then hid it.”

Since I was here, I closed all the valves and water-tight doors as I moved along. I swam through the rest of the ship; I decided to call it a ship since it was four hundred feet long. The closest I could come to naming its type was a fast attack ship. Whatever you called it, it was full of electronics and designed for a smaller crew. I had a lot to consider. I’d decide later if I would do anything with it.

* * *

I let my subconscious work on the problem of what to do, if anything, with the fast attack ship. I doodled and sketched on a notepad as I ate supper. I had heard some sayings from the old vets, but never realized what they meant. One was, “Win the skies, win the war.” The other was, “Rule seas, rule the world.” That sounded good, but I’m not sure how true it was.

Besides, I needed somewhere to go when I could no longer stay here. And the more of my war machine I could take with me, the better I’d like it. The fast attack ship might be the answer if I had enough time, and time was my biggest enemy.

I absentmindedly sketched on my notepad, not paying attention, just letting my mind chew on the problem. I made coffee, and while it was brewing, I checked all the security feeds. Not that I needed to, but I didn’t want to get out of the habit. The carrier group had moved five hundred miles up the coast. My thought was, they were going to provide additional cover for Point Harris. The battlegroup had moved five hundred miles down the coast. Not sure why, but as long as they left me alone, I was happy.

Coffee done, I poured myself a cup and went back to my desk. I took a swallow, looked at my notepad drawing, and frowned. I studied the drawing, then started adding to it. When I finished, my coffee was cold, and four hours had passed.

My new ship would not only have nuke-powered thrust propulsion, but also magnetic drives and shielding. A better name would probably be gravitational drives and shielding. Whatever you called it, it used the magnetic fields generated by the nuke power plants to push, or pull, the ship. The shields were an extension of the drive, repelling whatever came in contact with it.

I stared at the drawing. “That’s going to take a lot of power,” I said to myself. “At least six of the nuke power plants. I’ll have to pull them from the AHTs.” I considered the plan, shaking my head. “I don’t have much time.” I chuckled. “Now I sound like Tom.”

* * *

I stood on the dockside looking at the ship, then looked up. I controlled what the satellites reported, so I was good there. “The first thing I need to do is move the AHTs from over the ship,” I said, walking toward them.

It took me several hours to reposition the boats where I wanted them. I moored them along the seawall so that when it was time, I could pull their power plants without moving them again.

That done, I gathered water pumps and hooked up hoses to the drain plumbing, and started pumping out individual compartments. It was a tedious process, pumping 24/7, but a week later the fast attack ship was once again afloat. “Now the real work begins,” I thought.

Naval electronics were designed to be watertight if not waterproof, but nothing is perfect. I went through opening all the electronic cabinets and electrical panels to help them dry out.

The next thing I needed to do was get its propulsion system installed in case I had to evac the base. Once again, I was working long hours, but what else did I have to do? Working kept my mind busy. Thank God for maintenance cranes. Otherwise, I’d have never gotten the water jet propulsion units reinstalled.

Our enemy had not been idle. They were carrying out attacks on strategic points all over the sector, but nothing close to me. Our side seemed to be holding its own against the attacks. I guess they decided to install my targeting program after all.

I didn’t realize how big a four hundred-foot ship was, or how many systems there were until I started working on them. I concentrated on the propulsion and steering systems first. After a month, I had those completed. I still had the helideck open, because the six power plants had to go below decks. I needed to install them before I could replace the decking.

I powered up the propulsion units, and after a systems check, I eased the ship forward. I took it slow, as I had no experience moving anything this big. After a nerve-racking sixty minutes, I had the ship in position to pull the power plants from the first AHT.

It took all day to pull one power plant from the boat and set it below the decks on the ship. I was exhausted. Once I had the power plant set in place and secured, I ate and went to bed. It took me ten days to get all the power plants installed on the ship. That done, I took a few days off; I needed it.

Next, I moved on to working on the navigation, which included radar, sonar, any other “ars” they had lying around, plus SATCOM. At the six-month mark, I linked the ship and the command bunker together. I had Thomas install himself into the ship’s systems to help troubleshoot and run all the ship’s electronic systems, which were 75 percent of ship operations. Thomas helped, but it was still slow going.

* * *

“Warning! There are two large groups of aircraft entering our sector,” Thomas reported.

“Destination?”

“One group is vectoring south toward the battlegroup, the other toward the carrier group.”

I nodded. “Keep an eye on them. Let me know if anything changes,” I ordered, and went back to work.

“Understood.”

An hour later Thomas updated his report. “Warning, the two groups have altered course and have increased speed. Their new target is this base. ETA is twenty-two minutes.”

“Well, crap, how many aircraft?”

“Radar tracking is unclear, but in excess of three hundred. A number of those are probable cruise missiles.”

“So someone has figured out something is happening on this base and is not happy,” I said, heading for the bridge. “Launch both aircraft, engage and destroy as many enemy aircraft as possible. Begin active scanning with our radar and engage the enemy with our rail guns as soon as they are within range.”

“Understood, launching killer one and fighter one. Base radar is now actively scanning.”

“Estimate how many aircraft will make it to our base,” I asked.

“Based on ammo for the rail guns, one hundred enemy aircraft will survive our defenses.”

I shook my head, looking around. “Well we almost made it.” A thought struck me. “Thomas, find a system on the net that you can covertly install yourself on, and begin transferring yourself.”

“Understood, initiating the installation.”

I heard the rail guns begin to fire as they engaged targets. “Thomas, when all rounds have been expended, wipe all computer hard drives and self-destruct. Also, self-destruct all power plants on base ten minutes after the last round is expended, including Killer one and fighter one. Don’t destroy the power plants on the ship, but open all sea valves and sink her. Who knows, I may be able to come back someday and refloat her. Text my phone when you’ve successfully installed yourself in a secure location, and update me on the mission status. I’m moving to a safe location for evac.”

“Understood. I’ll contact you when the mission is complete.”

I shook my head, taking a last look around. “So close,” I said, walking to the stern of the ship. I heard sea water filling the ship from her open sea valves. After one last look around, I jumped overboard, went underwater, and started swimming.

I made it to my underwater go bag, stripped out of my clothes, and put on the wet suit. Even in eighty feet of water I could still hear the bombs exploding and feel their vibrations. I hoped the ship sank fast enough to survive the attack. I sat down beside the bolder and considered my next step.

“Should I go to Hampton Bay city, or would they still be watching for me there?” I wondered to myself. I shook my head; no, I’d err on the side of safety. One misstep and I was done. I’d head south for Homeshores naval base. I was sure I could find another boat somewhere.

Chapter 11

I received a text from Thomas that read: “Mission complete.”

I smiled. “A man of few words, that Thomas,” I thought to myself, and started swimming toward the open ocean.

I drifted south with the current, making good time. A curious shark came to investigate me but turned away when I growled, giving off an ominous vibration.

As close as I could tell, I was drifting about a hundred miles a day, which was fine. I was in no hurry, and the current was doing all the work. I drifted and ate fish when I was hungry. At night I slept wedged between rocks or reefs, which wasn’t the most comfortable. Not a bad way to travel, all things considered. Well, except for the sleeping part.

* * *

I arrived at Homeshores Naval Base early evening on the eighteenth day. Judging by the night’s lights, there was a good-sized boat community across the harbor from the base, though I didn’t see any lights on the base itself. It had been a long day, so I decided to wait until morning before checking the base. I found a sunken boat to sleep on and was out.

The sounds of boats passing overhead woke me. Fishermen heading out to work, I supposed. I caught and ate breakfast and headed toward the navy harbor. I swam the length of the navy’s pier, checking the slips and berths. The boats, and one sub, that were there were destroyed.

At the dry dock, it looked like they had tried to save the ships and subs by releasing them and letting them slide back into the harbor. They had all sank, but they were still hooked to the cables so they could be recovered. I guess they figured sunk was better than destroyed. I’d take a closer look at them later.

Just as I had done at Hampton, I found a storm drain and continued my search. I walked the drainpipe into the base proper. I sat at one of the drain grates watching for movement. I was about to go when a movement caught my eye, and I waited. When it moved again, I saw it was an armed security drone. I took my phone out and texted, “Thomas, establish voice comms.”

Seconds later I heard in my earbud, “Voice comms active, how copy? Over.”

“Loud and clear,” I replied. “Do we have real-time satellite images over Homeshores Navy Base?”

“Yes.” My phone screen came live. “I’ve been monitoring the base for the past week. I’ve seen very little movement on base, and no movement around the perimeter.”

“Yeah, they have security drones that are still active. Does this base have a war room?”

“According to records, no, not like Hampton. However, there is a base monitoring system in the provost marshal’s building. If you power up their systems, that should give me access to CCTV, drones, and other local surveillance nets.”

“OK, we’ll start there. Which direction to the provost marshal’s office?”

“Return to the last junction and turn right.”

I followed Thomas’s directions to the shore patrol’s provost marshal’s office. I watched from a drain opening for movement and listened for any activity. When I had convinced myself I was the only one around, I changed out of my wet suit and armed myself. I watched for drones to ensure it was clear, then climbed out of the drain and ran across the street to the provost marshal’s office.

I checked the offices to make sure they were empty, then powered up the emergency backup power plant for the building. The monitoring office was in the basement, where it was better protected. I powered up the surveillance systems. Once everything was online, Thomas installed himself on the local system and took over.

The monitoring screens came live showing different views through the local CCTV cameras. The screens from the cameras kept changing. “We have control of all local CCTV and drones. I’ve found no indication that there is anyone else on base other than yourself. Probably because of the active drones.”

“OK, keep the drones active, but I don’t want to get shot. Map me the locations of the supply warehouse and the maintenance areas.”

“Understood. You are now an authorized person on base, so the drones will ignore you. The map is on your phone. I will also give directions vocally.”

“Good. Well let’s get started,” I answered.

They must have had more warning to evac this base because there was less in these warehouses than there had been in Hampton. However, there was food and other items I could use.

“Let’s check the maintenance areas next,” I said. As this was basically a dry dock ship and sub base, the maintenance area was quite large with plenty of materials to draw on for repairs. Like most everything else, this area had been bombed. A lot of the maintenance equipment was intact, but you had to walk around the carnage to get to it.

I found a few usable maintenance vehicles and an ASV that I could do something with. But I wanted to stay near the water; it had kind of become my security blanket.

I sat up on a catwalk looking around while I ate a ration pack. I let my mind chew on my options. I really needed to take a closer look at the sunken boats and sub before I decided. Nodding, I finished my meal and went back to the harbor.

I changed into my wet suit, packed my things away, and dropped down into the water. I checked the sub; it was a newer design with jet propulsion. Inside she was basically an empty tube. They had stripped her bare for a refit, so she was useless to me.

The other boats were much the same except for the small one at the end. Small being a relative term, she was still fifty some odd feet long. She was some kind of hybrid boat, part maintenance, part patrol that could launch and recover a ribbed assault boat, and part tugboat. She was armored and armed with remote control guns on her sides and a turret gun on the bow.

She had a small crane for loading and maintenance and bumpers up front for pushing. On her side opposite the crane were two torpedo tubes. These were smaller than I imagined they would be, only eight inches in diameter and eight feet long. The tubes were rusty, and I’d have to find torpedoes if I wanted them armed.

The downside was a huge crack along her stern where it met the hull’s bottom. I stared at it, thinking, “If I could find the right chemicals . . . yeah, that might work.” I swam through the rest of the boat. She had the latest gear, electronics, targeting, navigation, radar, sonar, everything. “OK, let’s get her back into dry dock.”

I had to chuckle. After two days of hard work, it had been far easier saying “get her into dry dock” than actually getting her into dry dock. But she was there now, and I needed to go find some specific chemicals.

I found an electric golf cart just inside the warehouse entrance, which made my life easier. I found the chemicals I needed and went back to the boat with the broken tail.

Before I mixed the chemicals, I had some prep work to do. I had to clean the surfaces, get rid of all the splintered parts, and then build a dam to hold the chemical goop while it cured. According to Tom’s memories, once cured, it would be harder than the original boat material. While I was working on that, water was draining from the boat’s compartments.

Based on past experience, I planned to get her seaworthy and running before I started making any improvements. If I had to leave in a hurry, I hoped to do it on a boat. Nevertheless, I prepositioned a go bag on the seabed at the entrance to the navy harbor.

* * *

It took me a week to finish the prep work, mixing chemicals and pouring the goop into the channel and dam. The curing took two days, so I worked on power plants, motors, and jet propulsion while I waited.

Tom had been right. The goop was harder than the original material, and the initial test showed everything was watertight. The power plant, motors, and propulsion tested good. I started to take her out of dry dock, but something told me to wait. I named her Havoc because that seemed like what she was built for. I provisioned her and topped off all supplies from the warehouses.

I found the munition storage area and loaded Havoc’s ammo and personnel arms. I also found eight torpedoes and loaded four. Two for her tubes and two reloads. I also loaded six limpet mines. “Better to have and not need,” I said to myself. Now that Havoc was resupplied, I had Thomas load himself into her systems.

“Thomas, you are now my first officer. You will answer to either Thomas or Mr. Thomas.”

“Understood, Captain.”

I continued to work on systems while Thomas kept watch on the boat’s internal and external CCTV, the eye in the sky located on the boat’s radar, and comms tower. Of course, he still monitored all the base’s CCTV and drones.

I had strange dreams and felt the need to go to the machine shop the next morning. I had a picture in my mind of what I needed to build but didn’t know what it was. It looked like two flat stainless steel donuts, one fitting inside the other. One was six inches across, the other three inches across. There was a hard rubber-like insulator that kept them from touching, with wire connectors on the back of each. Before I had finished, I’d made fifty-three sets.

I was operating on autopilot, but now I understood these needed to be mounted at various points on Havoc. This turned into a major undertaking. I had to drill holes through the hull, then seal them, and I mounted the donuts at specific points topside. I wired them together in series-parallel, with heavy gauge wire.

Wiring finished, I had to find and install five small power plants like the one that had powered the HYSTRU trailer. Wires were running everywhere inside Havoc. I’d have to make them neater when I finished wiring. After two weeks of hard work, the installation was complete.

I now knew what I had built. They were emitters for a gravitational propulsion system and gravitational shields. Now I just had to write computer code and program the system, for Thomas to operate them. I wound up having to add more computer components to handle the extra load, and the coding took another two weeks.

* * *

Having tested the systems every way I could, I was finally ready for a live test. I brought all the systems online to check power readings. That tested good, so I moved on to the propulsion systems. I brought the system online, in ready, standby. Everything showed green.

“Thomas, raise the boat one inch, and hold.”

“One inch and holding,” he answered.

I frowned. All boards were green, but I couldn’t tell if the boat had lifted. I went out on deck and looked over the side, but I still couldn’t tell. “Thomas, raise the boat two feet and hold.” This time I saw the boat rise.

“Two feet and holding,” he replied.

I nodded and went back into the wheelhouse. “Thomas, activate shields.” I saw a slight shimmer outside.

“Shields up, all boards are green.”

I nodded. “Drop shields and move us over to the slip to our left and set us down in the water.” I watched as Thomas backed the boat out of dry dock, moved us over into the next slip, and set us down in the water. When the propulsion system was shut down, the boat rocked a bit as it settled. “Sweet,” I said, smiling.

“Move complete,” Thomas announced.

Out of curiosity, “Raise shields,” I ordered. I saw the momentary shimmer through the forward glass, but the boat itself didn’t move.

“Shields up,” Thomas reported.

I went out on deck, reached out, and touched the shield. There was a mild static feel to it, but my hand would not pass through it. I nodded. “Lower shields.”

“Shields lowered.”

“Now I can leave in a hurry if I have to,” I said to myself. “But just in case, I need to make a checklist and get ready to go.” I turned toward the wheelhouse but stopped. I turned back and looked down at the water. “Thomas, power up the propulsion system and move the boat six feet away from the dock.” I watched as the boat moved away from the dock. “Raise shields.” I saw the shimmer as the shields raised.

“Shields up.”

“Lower the boat three feet and hold,” I ordered. I watched as the boat went down three feet and the water rose up but six inches from coming over the sides.

“Three feet and holding.”

“Lower us another foot.” The boat lowered another foot. I watched as the water rose up higher than the boat’s sides but stayed outside the shields. I smiled. “Thomas, take the boat down twenty feet and hold.” I watched as the water rose up the sides of the shields and over the top. The boat was now completely underwater.

“Well, that’s almost a submarine,” I said, laughing. I went into the wheelhouse and checked the gauges. The shields were drawing more power, but not enough to worry about. “Aw, man,” I said, looking at the sonar. I needed to reprogram the sonar, radar, and the other ars. I sat down at the keyboard and began typing code.

I don’t know how long I worked. I just went to bed when I finished. I didn’t sleep well, and I had dreams about building something new—some kind of weapon, a cannon of some type.

I woke up hungry and heated a ration pack for my breakfast. I couldn’t stop thinking about the pulse laser cannon. I stopped eating. “Pulse laser cannon?” I said out loud. I shook my head. “OK, I guess I’ll start that next.”

After breakfast, “Thomas, surface the boat,” I ordered.

“Surfacing.”

As we surfaced, I watched as the water fell away from the shields. “Lower shields and keep the boat by the dock.”

“Shield lowered, station keeping by the dock. Aye, aye, Captain,” Thomas answered.

I cocked my head, smiling. Thomas was learning.

I went back to the machine shop and started making parts for the pulse laser cannon.

* * *

I never realized how many parts there were in a pulse laser cannon, but before this, I never knew that a pulse laser cannon even existed. Of course, as far as I know, they don’t exist on this planet. Well, they do now.

I lost track of time. One day was like the day before and the day before that. But the days were about to change. I had finished building the pulse laser cannon and installed it in the bow turret. I also had to install an additional small power plant to power it.

I also had to add a lot of code to the shield’s program so the cannon, side guns, and torpedoes could fire through the shields. While I was at it, I added a far more complicated program that allowed me and only me, based on my DNA, to move through the shields. By doing this I could swim out while submerged if I wanted or needed to.

The installation tests were now complete, but I’d have to take the boat elsewhere for a live fire test. “Thomas, shields up, submerge the boat, and hold at a depth of twenty-five feet.”

“Twenty-five feet and holding.”

I went to the stern and slowly pushed a finger through the shields out into the water and pulled it back. “So far, so good. Thomas, if I can’t get back in through the shields, wait five minutes, then surface.”

“Understood.”

I stripped out of my clothes, took a deep breath, and pushed through the shields and into the water. I didn’t breathe water . . . yet. I pushed, but the shield held. I swam against the shield, pushing harder against it. With the added force, the shield allowed me to pass through.

As I dressed, “Thomas, take us out of the harbor toward the open sea. Oh, and don’t hit anything.”

“Understood, Captain. Toward the open sea, and don’t hit anything. Aye.”

“Was that sarcasm?” I wondered, walking back into the wheelhouse. I watched out the forward glass as we moved through the harbor and turned toward the open sea. “Check satellite images for a tank or something along the southern shoreline that we can live-fire test our new cannon on.”

After a moment, “There is a semi-truck twenty miles south among the dunes,” Thomas replied.

“Good, take us there. Keep us five miles offshore.”

“Understood, en route.”

“We have arrived at the designated point,” Thomas announced.

Check sonar and radar to ensure the area is clear. If it is, surface the boat.

“The area is clear, surfacing the boat.”

I turned the boat bow on to the semi and brought the turret’s targeting system online. I found the semi and locked the cannon’s sights on it. “Lower shields.” Tom’s memories told me the pulse laser could be fired with the shields up, but as this was a test, I wanted to be sure that nothing interfered.

“Shields down, target locked,” Thomas announced.

I triggered the cannon. There was a flash of light, and a “wooff” sounded as the cannon fired. Almost instantly the semi exploded with white-hot debris being scattered across the dunes.

I checked the gauges, and all readings were in the green. “I’d say that was a successful test,” I opined. I brought the water jet propulsion system online, turned us north, and accelerated. At forty knots, she wasn’t even straining. I transitioned to gravity propulsion and increased speed to sixty knots. I was only at half throttle, and she handled it with no trouble. “Well done, lady. Well done indeed.”

I slowed back to forty knots. “Shields up,” I ordered as I headed back to Homeshores.

“Shields up.”

* * *

Now that I wasn’t so concerned with having to swim away empty-handed, I continued to improve Havoc and my personal equipment from the navy warehouses. I laid in more supplies for the boat and converted her side-remote machine guns to small-caliber rail guns.

I dove on the submarine and had a look around for anything I thought I might use. Not that there was a lot there. I was able to salvage the sub’s periscope audio-video system. I was basically a cabled CCTV on a floatation device. It did the same job as a periscope, only better. The best part was it was all waterproof and easy to uninstall and reinstall on Havoc.

“I’ve found something I think you’ll be interested in,” Thomas said.

“What would that be?”

“While monitoring comms traffic and reviewing previous comms, I found where the secretary of the navy sent an encrypted message to an unknown email. The message gave them our suspected location of the Hampton Bay Navy Base.”

I thought for a moment. “And it came from him?”

“His computer, so either him, a trusted aide, or someone who had his password and access.”

“So someone near the top is compromised,” I said, thinking out loud.

“It would seem so,” Thomas answered.

“OK, continue to monitor them. See if you can determine if the secretary is sending messages himself, or an aide is sending them using the secretary’s system.”

“Understood.”

Chapter 12

We submerged Havoc and left the harbor for a test run to see how the video periscope worked. I discovered the system was actually called SUBIS, submarine imaging system. We went offshore a few miles and down two hundred feet.

“OK, here is as good a place as any. All stop,” I said.

“All stop,” Thomas answered.

“Release SUBIS,” I ordered.

“SUBIS released,” Thomas replied.

When SUBIS reached the surface, we received a remarkably clear picture. Not only did the optic cable send video, but it was also cabling for comms and radar.

We did a visual 360 sweep. “The only traffic in the area is two boats ten miles away, two miles offshore,” Thomas reported.

I nodded. “OK, down SUBIS, and surface the boat.”

“Down SUBIS, surface the boat, aye,” Thomas intoned. The corner of my mouth lifted in a half smile.

When we surfaced, “Can you get a visual on the two boats with the sky eye?” The vid screen changed, showing two trawlers. I watched them for a moment. They weren’t moving and didn’t appear to be fishing. Maybe they were salvaging. I shrugged. “None of our business.” I took the helm and turned us toward home.

“Receiving a mayday call, and it appears to be coming from one of the trawlers,” Thomas reported.

“On speaker,” I said.

“Mayday, mayday, this is the trawler Shenanigan. We have no power and are taking on water fast. We are ten miles south of Homeshores, two miles offshore. Mayday, mayday.” I frowned, zooming in on the trawlers. They didn’t seem to be in trouble. Something didn’t seem right. They repeated their mayday as I watched.

“Shenanigan, this is Homeshores rescue. We hear you, and have four boats en route. Hang in there. Help is coming.”

I shook my head. My gut said something was off about this. I turned toward the trawlers and started toward them but kept my speed down.

“Where are you, Homeshores Rescue? You need to hurry,” the trawler sent.

“Shenanigan, Homeshores Rescue. We are five miles away and closing.”

The sky eye turned and focused on Homeshores Rescue, then back to the two trawlers. I could now see activity on the trawlers. Armed men were taking positions behind the side walls of the boats. The two trawlers were pirates, and this was an ambush.

“Thomas, bring grav propulsion online. Increase speed to sixty knots.”

“Sixty knots, aye.”

“Homeshores Rescue, this is the Havoc. Sheer off. It’s an ambush. I say again. Sheer off. It’s an ambush. Those two trawlers are pirates.”

“Roger, Havoc. Homeshores Rescue lead to rescue boats, return to port best speed.”

I saw the two trawlers turn toward me. “Welcome to the party, Havoc. You should have minded your own business and run,” the pirate transmitted.

“You should have picked an honest line of work,” I replied. “Thomas, bring pulse cannon online. Target their wheelhouses. One round per boat, fire when ready.”

“Target locked, firing.” There was a flash of light and a wooff, followed a second later by another. The vid screen showed both wheelhouses being blown apart and scattered across the water.

The trawlers turned away from each other and slowed, seemingly without power. We were closing fast. “Thomas, we’ll pass between them if anyone fires on us. Finish them with the rail guns.”

“Roger, rail guns standing by.”

I slowed to ten knots and passed between the two trawlers. True to their pirate nature, we took small arms fire from both boats. The boom, boom, boom of our rail gun stamped Paid to that bill.

Both boats were burning. I used Havoc’s remote firefighting nozzle to put the fires out on both boats and wash most of the pirate trash overboard while I was at it.

“Havoc, this is Homeshores Rescue lead, requesting permission to approach.”

“Come ahead, Rescue lead,” I answered. I watched as what had once been a Coast Guard rescue boat approached. She stopped close to me, and I stepped out onto the wheelhouse catwalk, as did their captain.

“Captain Laner, at your service, sir. You saved a lot of lives today,” he said over this loudspeaker.

“Captain Jimmy Lee of the Havoc. I’m sure you would have done the same, Captain Laner,” I answered in like manner.

He nodded. “Are you claiming them as salvage?”

I glanced at the trawlers. “I’ll take any gold, silver, or cash you find. You’re welcome to the rest.”

He nodded. “Deal.”

“Thomas, back us away two hundred yards,” I said.

“Two hundred yards, aye.”

I watched as the rescue crew went aboard and searched the two boats. I didn’t hear any gunfire, so I figured all was well. I went inside for coffee and waited. After a few hours, one of their small boats approached.

“Lower shields,” I ordered.

“Shields lowered.”

The boat came alongside and tossed a bag to me. “Captain says if you’re ever in Homeshores, first round’s on him.”

“They got a place that sells hamburgers?” I asked.

“Yeah, the Burger Barn.”

I waved, and they pulled away. I went back inside. “Thomas, shields up, take us five miles out to sea. Speed, twenty knots.”

“Shield up, five miles, twenty knots, aye.”

I went to the captain’s cabin and poured the contents of the bag out onto the bed. There were about $2,000 in cash, a double hand full of gold jewelry, and a couple of one-ounce bars of silver and gold. I put it all in the drawer with the rest of my spoils.

I walked back up to the bridge thinking about a big juicy hamburger. It had been a good while since I was around other people. I watched the Homeshores Rescue work at the trawlers for a while. They must have gotten them running because they all headed back toward Homeshores. I nodded. “I’m about ready for a burger and an ice-cold soda.”

* * *

We followed Homeshores Rescue at a distance into the harbor. “Thomas, scan the harbor’s boats and surrounding area for offensive and defensive weapons. We don’t want any surprises.”

“Scanning . . . Multiple boats have crew-served weapons mounted, and at the far end of the civilian marina is a fast-attack patrol boat. It has both offensive and defensive weapons, though I can’t tell how operational the vessel is.”

“Well, well, well, isn’t that interesting? OK, mark it a potential threat,” I said.

“Marked.”

Using the sky eye, I scanned the harbor and surrounding area. “It looks peaceful enough, but you never know. Well, I’m going to have to leave the boat sooner or later,” I opined, continuing to scan.

“OK, here’s what we’ll do. You drop me off at the dock and move back out into the harbor. You have overwatch, and monitor me. Plan A is, I get a burger, everything goes well, and I return to the dock for pickup. If things don’t go well, we’ll use plan B.”

“What is plan B?” Thomas asked.

I smiled, “Plan B is you rescue me,” I said, chuckling.

“I’m going to need a few more details,” Thomas replied sarcastically.

“OK,” I said. “Here’s what we’ll do if we have to go with plan B . . .”

* * *

At 8:00 PM, Thomas dropped me off on the dock and then moved back away from the marina. I walked up the dock and asked the way to the Burger Barn. I was given a “can’t miss it” set of directions that turned out to be true.

I went in looking over the crowd and took a table at one of the rear corners so I could watch the room. I glanced down at the menu, which had quite a few things on it.

“What’ll you have, hon?” a middle-aged woman wearing a name tag that read “Betty” asked.

“Burger, cooked medium, fries, cola over ice,” I answered. She nodded and left to fill my order. She returned a few moments later with my cola over ice. I sipped my cold soda while I looked over the other patrons. They seemed a normal enough crowd, but what was normal these days? And that could change in an instant, which was why everyone went armed.

Betty brought my burger and fries. “The man at the bar says your meal’s on him.”

I looked and saw Captain Laner standing there, beer raised. I raised my cola in return. “Thank you, Ms. Betty,” and dug in. My first bite sent wonderful juices down my chin; I was in heaven.

When I’d finished, Ms. Betty brought me another soda. “Here comes trouble,” she said without looking back.

I glanced at the door where three men stood. One looked like a snake oil salesman who would cheat his own mother. The other two, I assumed, were for intimidation. “Who’s that?”

“Chairman of the Counsel Chapman, and not to be trusted,” she added, and walked away.

I took a swallow of my soda, watching the chairman out of the corner of my eye as he made his way to my table. I looked up at him as he stopped, putting his hands on the back of the chair across from me.

“Captain Lee,” he said, looking at me.

I nodded. “Good evening, Chairman.” He smiled. He liked being a known man, and being recognized by a stranger stroked his ego. “Can I offer you a drink?” I asked.

“Thank you,” he answered, pulling the chair out and sitting. Without looking back, he raised his hand, index finger extended. A moment later a beer arrived. “I wanted to thank you for helping the rescue group today. You saved a lot of lives.”

Taking a sip of my soda, I nodded. “Right place, right time,” I answered.

“Plan on staying with us long?”

“Not sure. Mostly I came for the burgers.”

“Well, the burgers are good. We could use you and your boat here. You saw today that there are pirates operating in the area. Having your boat patrolling would help keep the peace. I’d make it worth your while. Or . . .” he let that hang out there a moment “. . . you could sell the boat to me and not risk your life.”

I frowned. “You already have a fast attack patrol boat. Why do you need another?”

“That one is for harbor security, not patrolling. Which is why we need yours.” Which told me there was something keeping it just for harbor defense. Like possibly no operational propulsion.

“I see,” I answered, nodding.

The front door banged open. “Jimmy Lee! We got another mayday and need backup,” Captain Laner called across the barn.

“Coming, Captain!” I yelled back. Getting up, “Mr. Chairman, I’ll consider your offer and get back to you.” I saw his jaw muscle bunch. He wasn’t happy with the interruption, but nodded.

I joined Laner at the door. “I’ll meet you at the harbor’s mouth,” I said and ran toward the docks.

“Thomas, pick me up at the dock where you let me off.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Havoc was waiting at the dock when I got there. “Scan radio traffic for mayday calls,” I instructed Thomas.

“I’m monitoring them now. It sounds like a convoy of at least three ships being fired upon.”

I walked into the wheelhouse, and Thomas put the mayday on speaker. I took the helm and headed for the harbor’s month. “Mayday, mayday, our convoy is being fired upon, and they are demanding our surrender. One ship has taken damage and is on fire, but she’s still with us. We are thirty miles southeast of Homeshores. Mayday, mayday.”

“Convoy under attack, this is the Havoc. Are you receiving me?”

“Havoc, this is the Blue Seal. We hear you.”

“Blue Seal, this is Havoc. Turn straight for Homeshores; maintain your best speed. We will intercept. Do you copy?”

“Understood, Havoc. We are turning toward Homeshores.”

“Homeshores Rescue, Havoc is off. Follow as fast as possible,” I sent.

“Understood, Havoc, good hunting,” Captain Laner replied.

“Thomas, transition to grav propulsion, increase speed to sixty knots.”

“Transitioned, increasing speed.”

When we were well away from the harbor, I swung more east than south and increased speed to two hundred knots. My plan was to approach the attackers without the convoy being in my way. I glanced at the control board to reassure myself that our shields were up. Of course, they always were.

“Thomas, how long to intercept?”

“At their closing speed and our intercept speed, seven minutes.”

“Havoc, this is Blue Seal. We’ve lost one ship; she’s taking on water.”

“Understood, Blue Seal, time to intercept seven minutes.”

“Roger, Havoc.”

“Put the chase boat on screen,” I said.

The vid came up showing two corvettes. “Those aren’t pirates. Those are Eastern Block war ships.”

“Blue Seal, when were you going to mention you were being chased by two Eastern Block corvettes?”

There was no answer for a moment. “We didn’t think you’d come if we had.”

I chuckled. “Probably right,” I said to myself.

“Roger, Blue Seal, continue on course. Intercept in three minutes.”

“Roger, Havoc.”

“You still going in?” asked Laner over the radio.

“I am. Help the convoy when you can.”

“Understood,” Laner answered.

“Thomas, bring the pulse cannon online. Target both corvettes’ comms arrays so they can’t share any information about us.”

“Understood . . . Target locked . . . firing.”

Havoc’s pulse cannon flared and woofed. On the screen, I saw their comms arrays blown apart. That got their attention, and both corvettes changed course, heading straight for us.

“They are attempting missile lock,” Thomas announced. “Missile launched, twenty-seven seconds to impact. Our rail guns have target lock, standing by.”

“Fire,” I said.

“Firing.” Our right rail gun woofed, and a second later the missile was destroyed.

“Incoming seawiz fire,” Thomas warned. I watched the tracer rounds impact on our shields. “No damage,” Thomas reported.

“Thomas, you have the helm.”

“I have the helm, aye.”

We were closing with the corvettes fast. I saw flashes from the ship’s bow guns and their impacts on our shields. “No damage,” Thomas reported again.

“Target the bow of the lead corvette with the pulse cannon,” I ordered.

“Pulse cannon online, target locked,” Thomas replied.

“Fire.”

There was a flash of light, and a wooff as the pulse cannon fired again. I watched the vid as the pulse struck the bow of the corvette. A two-foot hole appeared, as her bow dipped, and the whole ship seemed to shutter. As she slowed, fire and explosions started throughout the ship, as she turned to port. The second corvette fired her seawiz and bow gun and launched missiles trying to kill us. None had any effect on our shields.

“Target the bow of the second corvette and fire when ready,” I ordered.

“Firing.”

I saw the second corvette’s bow take the impact with the same results as the first. She turned away and slowed.

“All stop,” I ordered.

“All stop, aye.”

Both corvettes were dead in the water, on fire, and listing badly. The crews were putting lifeboats over the sides and appeared to be abandoning their ships.

“Homeshores Rescue, this is Havoc. You’re clear for rescue operations. I’ll stay on station as overwatch.”

“Roger, Havoc.”

I stepped out onto the catwalk and watched the two corvettes. “Thomas, back us away another mile,” I ordered. “Too bad the shields can’t camouflage or hide . . .” One of Tom’s memories came to the front of my mind. “Aw, come on, Tom, why didn’t you tell me that when I was programming shields the first time?” I went back into the wheelhouse. “Thomas, make our depth one hundred feet, and release the SUBIS to monitor the surface.”

“Depth one hundred, release SUBIS, aye,” Thomas answered.

I took a seat at the console keyboard and began coding. I was not sure how long I worked, but when I finished, I headed for my cabin. “Is everything quiet up top?” I asked.

“All quiet, Captain,” Thomas answered.

I nodded. “Good, I going to bed to get some sleep. You have the watch.”

“I have the watch,” Thomas answered.

Chapter 13

“Captain?” I vaguely heard Thomas.

“Mm?”

“Captain? Are you awake?”

“I am now. What time is it?”

“0237. You’ve been asleep for twenty-three hours.”

“And?”

“And an Eastern Block submarine has just entered our tracking range.”

I opened my eyes. “What’s she doing?”

“I’m not sure, but she’s operating in the area where the two ships we sank came to rest.”

I nodded, thinking. “What’s our depth?”

“Sitting on the seabed at 316 feet, shield camouflage active.”

I thought for a moment. “Very well, continue to monitor her activities, and wake me if she becomes too curious about us.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Their investigation seemed like a normal activity. I considered torpedoing her but decided to wait and see what she did. Besides, there may be others operating in the area, no use drawing unwanted attention to ourselves. I wondered where her home base was and realized It could be literally anywhere in the world. After a while, I finally fell back to sleep.

I woke again at 0630, put the coffee on, and got dressed as it was brewing. “Thomas, any change in the sub’s activities?”

“None. They seem to be holding position over the wreck sites.”

I nodded, then made and sat down to breakfast. As I ate and drank my coffee, I considered options. If we attacked her, that would probably draw more attention. But isn’t that what we want, to draw the enemy to us? I finished my breakfast, thinking over the plan of attack. The attack was pretty straightforward. I’d swim over to their sub and attach a limpet mine to them, move the Havoc away some distance, and detonate it.

When I finished eating, “Thomas, using grav propulsion, slowly move us to within a thousand feet of their sub.”

“Aye, sir. Grav prop, one thousand feet.” While Thomas moved us into position, I donned my wet suit and got ready to deliver the limpet mine.

“One thousand feet, Captain, depth three hundred twenty-seven feet.”

“Understood, hold position.”

“Holding position, aye.”

I brought the limpet mine up on deck, put on my scuba fins, and eased through the shield and into the water. I slowly swam in the direction of their sub, and as I neared, it suddenly appeared out of the gloom. The sudden appearance was an optical illusion. It wasn’t moving, but the low light made it seem to jump out at me.

I swam her length and for no particular reason attached the mine to her aft section near the propellers and armed it. That done, I returned to Havoc. Once on deck, “Thomas, how close do we have to be to detonate the mine?”

“We should be able to detonate it from up to a mile away underwater, and from five miles away above water,” he answered.

I nodded. “Slowly and quietly move us a mile away from the sub and prepare to detonate the mine.”

“Moving away a mile, slow and quiet, aye,” Thomas replied.

I changed out of my wet suit and into dry clothes, poured myself a hot cup of coffee, and went to the bridge to wait.

“We have reached the one-mile mark, standing by to detonate the mine,” Thomas announced.

“Understood,” I answered, taking another swallow of coffee. “Turn on our hydrophones.”

“Hydrophones active,” Thomas replied.

“Detonate mine.”

“Signal sent.” A few seconds later the hydrophones picked up a muffled thump, followed by two others. “Target destroyed,” Thomas reported.

“Are there any satellites monitoring this area?”

“Not at this time.”

“Good, surface the boat and lower our shields. The air’s getting a little stuffy in here. From now on if we are on the surface and alone, lower the shields unless told otherwise. When we are not alone, raise shields. We trust no one.”

“Yes, Captain, understood.”

“I guess I need to add O2 scrubbers in case we have to keep our shields up for an extended period of time,” I said to myself.

“That would be a wise precaution,” Thomas answered.

I smiled, nodding my head. “Head for Homeshores Naval Base. When we are a few miles from shore, raise shields and submerge us. We’ll keep entering and exiting the base underwater. I want to keep that secret as long as we can. And monitor comms traffic for any mention of the sinking of the two warships or the sub.”

“Aye, Captain.”

* * *

It took me two months to build and install Tom’s version of an O2 scrubber using parts available from the navy warehouses. What parts weren’t available, I made in the yard’s machine shop. Tom’s version was smaller, more easily maintained, and more efficient than anything the navy had. It was also a lot smaller and could be built for and installed on aircraft and spacecraft.

I took Havoc underwater and tested the newly installed scrubbers, and so far, it was working great. I needed a break, and I had a taste for a hamburger. “Thomas, stay submerged and take us five miles out to sea.”

“Yes, Captain, five miles out to sea, aye.”

“Has there been any comms traffic about the two ships or sub we sank?”

“Only from the Western Alliance, of an account by a third party who reported the sinking of two ships. No real details were included. There has been no mention of the two ships or sub by the Eastern Block, which in itself is very suspicious,” Thomas answered.

“Yes, it is. Continue monitoring for any details.”

“Yes, Captain. Captain, we are now five miles offshore. Scrubbers are in the green.”

“Understood. Any surface contacts?”

“No surface contacts, no satellite coverage, all scans are clear.”

“Very well, I am going to get some sleep. Hold position until dark, then wake me.

Aye, aye, sir, holding position, wake you at dark.”

* * *

“Captain?”

“Yes?”

“It is now fully dark, no surface contacts, no satellite coverage, and all scans are clear.”

“Very well, surface the boat, no lights, take use to Homeshores, speed twenty knots. When we are two miles from shore, turn on our marker lights.”

“Yes, Captain.”

I washed up and went to the bridge. I looked at all the screens and readouts, reassuring myself all was well. When we got to the harbor, “Take us in slow and let me off at the dock then withdraw to midharbor. I’m going to the Burger Barn for supper, and I want you to monitor me. If I run into trouble, the same rules of engagement as before apply.”

“Yes, Captain.”

I jumped from Havoc to the dock, and Thomas backed out to midharbor. I made my way to the Burger Barn. All seemed quiet, and a few people nodded to me as I passed. I entered the Barn and made my way to a table toward the back of the dining room and took a seat.

“Welcome back, Captain.”

“Thank you, Ms. Betty. You still got those good burgers and fries?”

“Sure do.”

“Then that’s what I’ll have, with a cola, please.”

“You got it,” Ms. Betty answered and went to fill my order. I glanced around the dining room at the other guests. It seemed a quiet night. I hoped it stayed that way. Betty brought my cola over ice off to my table as she moved around serving other guests.

I took a swallow of my drink, enjoying the feeling of ice against my lips. Looking over my glass, I saw one of Chairman Chapman’s thugs doing his best to act like he wasn’t watching me. I hoped his orders were to only watch me.

When my burger arrived, I dug in. It was as good as I remembered, and I was going to need more napkins. Ms. Betty came back by to check on me.

“Need anything, Captain?” she asked, glancing around.

“Another cola, please,” I answered.

She lowered her voice. “There’s trouble brewing. Chairman Chapman’s thugs are gathering out front waiting for you. While I get you another cola, you might want to go to the bathroom. Go out the back door. Don’t worry about the fire escape alarm going off; it doesn’t work. Get back to your boat. That’s what they’re after. You can pay for your meal the next time you’re in.”

I laughed, keeping up appearances. “Sounds good to me,” I answered.

She left to get my cola, and I casually got up and went to the bathroom.

Once in the back hall, I drew my pistol and eased the fire escape door open. No alarm sounded, so I eased out, looking left and right. Seeing no one, I moved quickly away from the building and into the darkness.

“Thomas, did you hear that conversation?”

“I did. I’m tracking three boats easing in my direction.”

“OK, hold your position. I’ll come to you.

“Understood.”

I made my way down to a different dock and dropped into the water. I swam underwater out to Havoc as quickly as I could. I didn’t know how much time we had before they made their move. I climbed out of the water onto the rear swim platform.

“Report,” I said as I moved toward the bridge, staying low so as not to be seen.

“They have just realized you are no longer in the Burger Barn. More men are gathering and heading to their three boats. I believe they are gathering their forces for an assault on the Havoc.”

I entered the bridge, nodding. “I agree. Are our shields up?”

“They are, and our weapons systems are on ready standby.”

“Keep an eye on their shore missile batteries as well.”

“Roger . . . tracking.”

I stripped out of my wet clothes, dried off, and put dry clothes on. Returning to the bridge, I watched the three boats through Havoc’s night vision cameras. With their men loaded on their boats, the boats split up, spreading their approach.

“And here we go,” I said to myself as I watched their approach. One boat swung wide toward our bow, one amidship, the last toward our stern. “Prepare to put the spotlights on them, target them, and prepare to fire,” I ordered.

“Roger, standing by,” Thomas answered.

I went to the weapons locker and got the squad automatic weapon, SAW. The SAW was a great weapon for putting a lot of firepower on a target without the weight of a large crew-served weapon. Loading the SAW, I moved out on deck.

“Put the lights on them and put me on loudspeakers.”

“Done,” Thomas said as the lights came on, illuminating the three boats.

“That’s close enough,” my voice boomed out across the harbor. “Come any closer and I’ll take it as an act of aggression and piracy.”

“We are being targeted by the shore missile batteries,” Thomas reported.

“Wait for them to fire, then destroy the fired missile. Let’s try to save the shore battery itself if we can.”

“Understood.”

“This is Chairman Chapman of the Homeshores Harbor Protectorate. You will surrender your boat, or we will take it by force,” the chairman called out over a loudspeaker.

“We do not recognize your authority, Chairman. We are a free boat, in free waters. Sheer off. If you try to take our boat, we will defend ourselves.”

All three boats surged forward and opened fire on us. “Pirates, pirates, pirates,” I announced over the loudspeaker. “All other boats stay clear. Weapons free! Thomas, destroy those three boats.”

“Firing.”

The woosh-boom of the pulse cannon on its lowest setting was still devastating. Our cannon fired three times, completely destroying the three pirate boats, scattering debris and bodies across the water.

From up the hill, the missile battery fired on us. A second later our rail gun destroyed the incoming missile. A moment later a second missile lit off. As it neared us, it was targeted and destroyed by our rail guns.

“If they fire again, destroy the battery,” I ordered.

“Roger,” Thomas answered. The battery did not fire another missile.

“Use the searchlight to see if there are any survivors.” I watched as the lights swept the area, but saw no survivors.

Small arms fire from the fast attack boat at the far end of the harbor began plinking off our shields. Then their four-inch deck cannon began firing on us. Our shields shrugged off the fire as if they were no more than angry gnats.

“Close with the fast attack boat. Dial back the rail gun’s power. I want to take the boat as intact as possible.”

“Understood.”

Havoc surged forward, and when we were one hundred yards from the fast attack boat, Thomas fired the rail guns, killing almost everyone on deck. Those not killed ran from the boat or jumped overboard to save themselves.

“According to scans, there is no one left alive on the boat,” Thomas reported.

“Put us right against her and extend our shields to cover her. That will keep anyone from trying to retake her,” I said.

“Attention, Homeshores, we were attacked by Chairman Chapman and the Homeshores Protectorate. We destroyed their attack boats and captured their fast attack boat and claimed it as a prize. I would advise against anyone approaching Havoc or our prize, as we are unsure if all the pirates have been eliminated. That is all.” I cut the loudspeakers off.

“Thomas, keep an eye on the fast attack boat for movement in case the scans missed someone.”

“Yes, Captain.”

I returned the SAW to the arms locker and drew a short-barreled assault rifle which would be better in close quarters. If there was anyone on the prize boat, I wanted to be ready. Back on the bridge, I watched the monitors for any signs of life on the prize, or further attacks from shore. So far there were no signs of life, and everyone else was staying clear.

I thought about having to go aboard the prize to clear any hostiles. “Too bad I don’t have a personal shield for protection,” I said to myself. One of Tom’s memories came forward. “Come on, man!” I said. “Tom, you need to tell me this stuff sooner.”

Shaking my head, I went to my cabin and started drawing wiring diagrams, schematics, and blueprints for a personal shield. My guess was this thing was going to be the size of a flak vest or at least a wide belt. I was pretty sure I would have the prize boat cleared before I had time to build a personal shield.

Drawings finished, I lay on my bunk to get some sleep. The prize boat wasn’t going anywhere. “Thomas, you have the watch.”

“I have the watch,” he acknowledged.

Chapter 14

I woke up early and went to the galley for breakfast and coffee. “Thomas, any changes?”

“No movement from the prize boat, and everyone is still keeping their distance.”

I sat down at the table with my oatmeal and coffee, “After breakfast, I’ll clear the prize and move the bodies to the dock so their next of kin, if they have any, can recover them.”

When I finished eating, I geared up and boarded the prize boat. I started at the bridge and carefully worked my way through the boat. The place was a mess. It appeared cleanliness was not high on their priority list. I didn’t find anyone below deck. I guess the crew had either died above deck or had escaped.

Satisfied I was alone, I moved back above deck and started moving the dead to the dock. When I moved the first body, small arms fire plinked off the shield. A second later a rail gun fired, leaving a pink mist where the sniper had fired from.

“Threat eliminated, all clear,” Thomas reported.

I shook my head at the sniper’s stupidity and continued to move the bodies to the dock. When I finished moving the bodies, I announced over the loudspeakers, “Attention, Homeshores, you may now claim the bodies of the attackers from dockside. We will not fire unless fired upon. That is all,” I finished.

“Thomas, pull the shields back to uncover the dead dockside.”

“Done, Captain.”

It was an hour before anyone came to claim the first body. After that it went quickly. At midday only three bodies remained unclaimed. Later in the afternoon Captain Laner and some of the men from the rescue came to recover the last three. He came further down the dock, and I stepped out onto the bridge’s flying deck.

“You need any assistance? Any injured?” he called out.

“No, nothing we couldn’t handle.”

He nodded, looking at the prize boat. “What you going to do with her?” chin pointing.

I looked over at her. “Not sure yet. I need to check her over and see what I have to work with.”

“Well, if you decide to put her right, the town’s got craftsmen that could use the work. By the way, we fished Chapman’s body out of the harbor this morning. Good riddance. One less worry for you.”

“How are the families of the dead taking it?” I asked.

“Revenge, ya mean?”

I nodded.

“Well, the sniper you took care of, I haven’t heard any threats made, but that doesn’t mean there ain’t any hard feelings.”

I nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He nodded, waved, and moved back down the dock to where his men were waiting. When they had gone, I went back aboard the prize and began a more thorough search. I started in the captain’s quarters, which Chapman was using. It at least was clean.

I searched the desk drawers and found a checkbook that probably belonged to the town. I’d turn it over to the town council later. I found a cash box with a few thousand dollars, some jewelry, and some one-ounce gold ingots in it. The way Chapman acted, you would have thought he had millions stuck back. I left the office to continue my inspection tour.

One thing I saw right away was the boat was operating on shore power, which made me wonder why they weren’t using the boat’s generators. When I got to engineering, I saw why. Someone, probably the town of Homeshores, had pulled the power plants. They were probably using them to power the town. Smart move on their part.

The lack of the boat’s two power plants put my whole idea in doubt. Now I had to consider if it was worth my time and effort to replace parts and equipment and refurbish the boat. I’d need to think about this for a bit. In the meantime, I continued my inspection and inventoried all I might gain from her in either parts or as a whole.

* * *

The next morning, I went to the Burger Barn for breakfast, and to repay a debt. When I entered, I got a few intense looks, but that was all. I went to the table I normally sat at and looked at the menu.

Ms. Betty came round with a cup of coffee. “What’ll you have, Captain?” she asked, smiling.

“Eggs over easy, bacon, and hash browns sounds good,” I answered.

“Coming right up,” she replied, turning to fill my order.

I took a swallow of coffee. It was good. Over my cup, I checked out the other guests. Everyone was minding their own business, or at least acting like it. Ms. Betty brought my food and topped off my coffee, and I set to it.

When I finished eating, Ms. Betty cleared my dishes and filled my coffee cup again. I handed her a small cloth bag with $500 and two gold ingots inside. “Thank you, Ms. Betty, for the good food and good service, as always.”

She took the bag and dropped it into her apron pocket like it was any other tip. “You’re welcome, Captain. Master Chief Bennett at the counter asked if he could have a moment of your time.” I looked past her at the man standing at the counter. “He’s OK. He ran part of the navy’s dry docks before he retired.”

I nodded. “OK, send him over, and bring us two coffees, please.”

She nodded and waved him over. When he arrived, Ms. Betty made the introductions. “Captain Jimmy Lee, this is Master Chief Bennett. Master Chief, Captain Lee. I’ll be right back with those coffees.”

I nodded, “Have a seat, Master Chief.”

“Thank you for taking the time, sir.”

I nodded. “What can I do for you, Master Chief?” I suspected I already knew.

“Well, Captain, to get straight to the point, I want you to hire me to make the fast attack boat seaworthy again.”

Ms. Betty arrived with our coffees as I thought about his request. When she left, “Are you familiar with the boat?”

He nodded. “I am. I oversaw the removal of the power plants to power the town. Those chowder heads wanted to use cutting torches to remove them. Anyway, yes, I know her. Though I don’t know what shape she’s in since Chapman and his bunch moved onto her.”

I chuckled. “They made a right mess of her, but nothing a good navy cleaning can’t fix.”

He nodded. “Sound like them, bilge rats, the lot of them.”

I nodded my agreement. “And where would we get replacement parts, especially power plants?”

He gave me a knowing look, picking up his coffee cup. “Same place you get all your other parts.” He took a swallow of his coffee, leaving the rest unsaid.

I smiled, taking a swallow of mine. I thought for a moment, looking at him. He waited. “You’ll need to put together a cleaning team first. I don’t like working in ankle-deep trash.”

He nodded. “Not a problem.”

“While that team is cleaning, you and another team can do a maintenance inspection and put together a list of parts we’ll need.”

“Can do, Captain.”

“Alright, Master Chief, you’re hired. Start putting your teams together and let’s get started. Also, if you will—” I took the town’s checkbook out of my pocket “—return this to the town council. I found it in Chapman’s desk.”

“Aye, aye, sir,” he said, taking the checkbook. He drained his cup and left.

Ms. Betty came back round. “I take it you came to an arrangement?”

“We did.”

She nodded. “You’re doing a good thing, Captain. All Chapman and his men ever did was take from the town. People need the work, so thank you.”

I smiled. “You’re welcome, Mrs. Bennett,” I hazarded a guess. “You must have needed to get your husband back to work.”

She chuckled. “You’re a pretty keen young man. And, yes, he was driving me crazy tinkering around the house. I think he had started breaking things just so he could fix them,” she said as she turned back to her other customers.

I smiled, taking another swallow of my coffee. “Thomas,” I subvocalized, “check the inventory at the navy yard and verify there are at least two power plants on hand that will work in the fast attack boat.”

“There are five that will work in a boat of that size and power requirements.”

“Thank you. Remove the shields covering the fast attack boat but maintain it around Havoc.”

“Yes, Captain.”

I kept my seat sipping coffee, letting my mind work on possible problems and opportunities and what to do about each.

* * *

I visited the fast attack boat a week later, and the Master Chief handed me a list of parts they needed, as well as an ammo load out. As part of the ammo load out, six shore battery missiles were requested.

“Shore battery missiles?” I asked, looking up at him.

“Chapman used the only two missiles the town had. The council thought you might know where to find replacements.”

“They did, did they?” He shrugged.

“There are eighteen in the navy base’s inventory,” Thomas said in my ear.

“OK, I’ll see what I can do,” I said to the Master Chief. “But it will cost them. I have a payroll to meet, and you guys don’t work for free.”

He nodded, smiling. “That’s fair.”

“OK,” I said to Master Chief Bennett, “I need to make a parts run. I’ll be back in a week or so.”

He nodded. “Yes, Captain.”

Late that afternoon I piloted the Havoc out of the harbor and turned north because I was sure someone from Homeshores was watching. I continued on that course until fully dark.

“Thomas, dive the boat. Make our depth one hundred, and set a course back to Homeshores, speed twenty knots.”

I watched as our shielded bow started down and seawater rose over us. “Aye, sir. Dive the boat, depth one hundred. Set a course to Homeshores, speed twenty knots.”

I went to the galley and heated a ration pack. When I was finished eating, “Thomas, take us to our slip in the dockyard and sit us on the bottom. I’m going to bed, and you have the watch.”

“Aye, Captain, I have the watch.”

* * *

When I woke, I showered, got dressed, and went to the galley for breakfast. I poured a cup of coffee from the auto-pot and took a swallow. “Thomas, report.”

“Per your orders, we are sitting on the bottom at our navy yard slip. All scans are clear, base secure.”

“Thank you. Continue to monitor scans and comm traffic. Also, print out the warehouse locations for the parts on the Master Chief’s list.” As an afterthought, “Also give me a location list for the parts needed to build a personal shield vest, and you can surface the boat.”

“Yes, Captain.”

I started gathering the listed parts right after breakfast. The location printout made the job easier. Once I started, I stopped just long enough for meals and then got back to it. I worked late every night. I wanted to get finished and get back as soon as possible.

I knew this would be easier with more people, but the salvager in me was loathed to share this location, so kept at it. Thank God for forklifts and overhead cranes. Otherwise, it would have taken me weeks not days to gather and load all the listed parts.

I was finished by the fifth day, and just in time to beat a storm system that was closing in. That night heavy rains started falling.

“Thomas, dive the boat and move us to midharbor. When the rain is heaviest, surface us with no lights, then slowly bring the lights on from dim to normal brightness.”

“Understood, Captain.”

Thomas lowered Havoc underwater and moved us to midharbor. Once there we waited for a good steady downpour, then surfaced. When our running lights were fully on, I watched for a reaction from the shore or the nearby boats. Seeing none, I headed for my bunk to get some sleep.

“Thomas, you have the watch.”

“I have the watch,” he answered.

* * *

The heavy rains and winds continued for four more days. While we waited for the storm to pass, I worked on my shield vest. I could have made a shield belt, but it wouldn’t have been as strong. Maybe with improvements, I could make a shield belt next time.

I stripped the ballistic material out of my flak vest and used its outer shell to hide the shield’s components. I used the same mini power reactor used to power larger security drones, so the vest would not need recharging.

I added a microcomputer and Thomas, and I programmed it to control the setting on the shields. The last thing I did was to waterproof the whole thing. You never know when you might wind up in the water. And that was just another layer of protection. “Better to have and not need,” I thought.

I started wearing the shield vest all the time to get used to its weight and how it felt when I moved. All in all, I was pleased with my work and how it turned out.

When the weather cleared, we moored Havoc to the attack boat and started unloading parts using Havoc’s boom crane. The six missiles for the shore battery I held until I reached an agreement with the town’s council.

“Quite the haul,” Master Chief Bennett said. I nodded, not offering any explanations. “By the way, the council has asked to meet with you at the town hall. I’m guessing to negotiate the price of the missiles.” He looked around to ensure we were alone. “Watch your back. Chapman wasn’t the only wolf in that pack.”

I nodded. “Thanks for the heads up. Who’s the top dog now?” I asked.

“Cravens. Almost as nasty as Chapman was, and all of Chapman’s men, the ones you didn’t kill, work for him now.”

“What’s Craven look like?”

Shaggy blonde hair, gold tooth in the front. I nodded. “Why doesn’t the town just get rid of these guys?”

“They have or control most of the heavy weapons. I would be surprised if they don’t have a plan to buy, or more likely steal, the fast attack boat from you.”

I gave him my nasty smile. “That didn’t turn out so well for the last guys that tried to take what’s mine.”

He shrugged. “Just watch your back.”

I nodded. “I think I’ll go see them now. If there’s going to be a fight, I might as well get it over with while I’m expecting it.” I went back to Havoc and geared up. Thomas had heard what the Master Chief had said, so we talked tactics and made plans in case things got ugly.

* * *

I walked up to the town hall. There were several guards stationed around the building. Since this was my first visit, I didn’t know whether this was normal or not. I suspected it wasn’t the norm.

When I got to the front door, a guard stopped me. “You’ll have to leave your guns out here.” I nodded and laid my rifle on the table and turned to enter. “Pistol too,” he added.

I shook my head. “Not happening,” I answered.

“Then you don’t go in.”

“OK,” I said, picking up my rifle and starting down the steps.

Before I reached the bottom step, “Hold up,” the guard called. “You can keep your pistol.”

I turned back. “And my rifle, too, or the council can come down to the docks to meet with me.”

He spoke into his radio and then listened. “OK, you can keep your weapons. They are waiting for you in the main meeting hall.” I nodded and went inside.

There were more guards inside and at the meeting hall’s doors. I ignored them and walked into the hall like I owned it. Craven was sitting in the center seat. He must be the new chairman, I thought. “Gentlemen,” I said, taking a seat. “I understand you want to talk to me. I assume it’s about the missiles and arranging payment.”

Craven leaned forward smiling nastily. “Well, yes and no. You see, we have decided that it was your fault that we had to use our last two missiles, so it’s only fair that you replace them with interest.”

I nodded. “Is that all?”

“Now that you asked, no. We are confiscating your boats and cargo as well.”

I laughed, and he didn’t like that. “It never ceases to amaze me the mistakes greed causes people to make. Your problem is you’ve been dealing with sheep, and once you got rid of the sheep dogs, you thought you owned the place. You’ve had your way for so long that when another wolf shows up, you don’t know how to deal with him.”

“Really?” Cravens asked, sneering. I nodded. Craven lifted his eyes to the man behind me and nodded. I heard the pistol as it left its holster, and Craven smiled.

The pistol shot was loud and echoed in the meeting hall. The bullet ricocheted off my shield and struck another guard in the face. He went down screaming.

“Oops,” I said, standing up and bringing my assault rifle up. I started double-tapping every guard in the room. A couple of the quicker ones got off a few shots at me, sending ricochets around the room. More guards burst into the room as I was changing mags and opened fire on me. Mags changed, round chambered, I double-tapped the new targets. “Grenade,” someone shouted as it landed at my feet. The explosion pushed me back against the wall. My shield held, but two of the council members weren’t so lucky.

I waited a moment then closed the meeting hall doors. I turned back to the front table, where the remaining members of the council were hiding. “I bet you thought with only a single way out you had me trapped in here with you. When in reality you were trapped in here with me.” I smiled nastily.

“I’m sure we can work out this misunderstanding,” Craven said, standing up.

I shot him in the head, spattering blood on the council members closest to him. “I hate being interrupted when I’m speaking. Although he was right, this was a misunderstanding. No, miscalculation would be a better word.” I looked at the remaining council members. “You thought you were going to steal from me with no repercussions . . . wrong.” For a split second, I was back in the tank looking through the bow gun’s sights at the gang who had killed my friend. I triggered my weapon and killed the last of these wolves.

I loaded a fresh magazine. “Now we need to find some sheepdogs to watch over the sheep,” I said to myself while I waited to see if any more guards showed up.

I checked my shield vest; everything had worked fine. “I’d call that a successful test under real-world conditions,” I said to myself. No one else showed up, so I left the town hall and headed to the Burger Barn for lunch.

Chapter 15

I stopped at the counter and looked at the menu. “Ms. Betty, I’d like a steak, cooked medium rare, cowboy potatoes, a salad, and a cola over ice to drink, please.

She nodded. “Coming right up.”

“And,” I continued. “If you would call the master chief and Captain Laner and have them join me, please.”

She looked at me funny, then nodded. “OK,” she answered.

I took a table at the back, but not my regular one—I was becoming predictable. There weren’t too many people in yet; I was a little early for lunch. Ms. Betty brought me my cola and my salad, and I started eating.

“Thomas, have the missiles been unloaded yet?”

“They have not,” he answered.

“Can you unload them using the crane claw and set them on the dock?” I asked as I ate.

“I can.”

I nodded. “Then do so. Once you’ve unloaded then, move Havoc to midharbor, and await further instructions.”

“Yes, Captain, understood.”

The rest of my food arrived as I finished my salad, and I cut into a juicy steak, smiling. “Just right,” I said to myself.

I had almost finished eating when Captain Laner and Master Chief Bennett arrived. “Have a seat,” I said. “Will you have something to eat?”

“I’ll take a beer,” Captain Laner answered. Master Chief nodded.

“Two beers, Ms. Betty, and another cola please.” She nodded and went to get the drinks. No one spoke while we waited for our drinks, and I finished eating. Drinks came and Ms. Betty left.

“If you haven’t heard yet, there was some trouble at the town hall,” I began. I could tell master chief had not heard but Captain Laner had. “The wolves, led by Chairman Craven, decided they were going to confiscate the missiles, and my boat. I took issue with their plan, and since I was alone, they thought they had the upper hand. They didn’t think I would fight it, but when I did, one of their guards tried to shoot me in the back,” I said, taking a swallow of cola.

“Anyway, it all went downhill from there. It was just dumb luck I walked out of there. They did not.” I paused, looking at them. “So, two things. One, you need to find some sheepdogs, to watch over your sheep. Ones that will get rid of any wolves as soon as they show up. Two, I’m turning the missiles, and the fast attack boat, over to you.” They looked at each other frowning. “You should have all the parts you need to make the fast attack boat 100 percent operational, so Homeshores won’t be completely defenseless.”

“There’s no need for you to leave. You should stay,” Captain Laner offered.

I shook my head. “I’ve spilled too much blood, and I’m an outsider. Sooner or later a relative or friend of the dead will try to take revenge. They’ll either kill me or I’ll be forced to kill them.” I shook my head. “I don’t want to live looking over my shoulder all the time.”

They nodded. “When will you be leaving?” Master Chief asked.

“Right now,” I answered. “Before the whole town finds out about the firefight at the town hall and a lynch mob comes for me.” I stood and dropped a gold ingot on the table for my meal. “I meant what I said about sheepdogs. Otherwise, you’ll have another pack of wolves in here.”

They stood. We shook hands saying our goodbyes. As I passed the counter, I said, “Ms. Betty, thank you for everything,” and continued out the door.

Once outside, “Thomas, pick me up at the dock.”

“Yes, Captain.”

As soon as I was aboard Havoc, “Take us five miles out to sea. Speed twenty knots, then dive the boat. Once under return to the naval base, we need to resupply before we move on.”

“Yes, Captain, understood.”

* * *

I spent four days resupplying Havoc with food, ammo, and parts. Truth be told, I didn’t really want to leave Homeshores, but there were too many uncertainties here. Anyway, I had a war to stir up, and staying here wasn’t getting it done. My thoughts turned to the fast attack boat we took as a prize. Working on her got me to thinking about the ship I left at the navy base in Hampton Bay. I wondered if she survived the bombing.

“Thomas, pull up the satellite images of Hampton Bay and the naval base there,” I said as I headed for the bridge. I sat down at the monitors and started looking through the pictures. The area around the ship had been hit pretty hard, but I couldn’t tell for sure whether the ship had survived. Hampton Bay city did seem much different. At least there was no obvious widespread destruction.

I sat back, thinking, “Well, I’m not doing anything, so let’s go take a look at her. We might get lucky. Thomas, set a course for Hampton Bay. We’ll be staying submerged for the entire trip. Speed twenty knots, you may depart when ready.”

“Understood, Captain, departing for Hampton Bay now,” Thomas replied, and I felt Havoc get underway.

* * *

After three and a half days, we reached Hampton Bay. We’d seen a few naval patrol boats while en route, but nothing near us. “Thomas, stop us out of boat traffic and release SUBIS. Let’s see what’s going on in Hampton Bay city.”

“Yes, Captain.”

When SUBIS was up, I looked the city over but couldn’t tell a whole lot about it. We’d have to wait for daylight to be able to see anything useful. “Thomas, retract SUBIS and set us on the bottom. I’m going to get some sleep; you have the watch.”

“Aye, Captain, retract SUBIS, set us on the bottom, I have the watch.”

* * *

I rose early, ate breakfast, and checked SUBIS again. All seemed clear. “Thomas, camo shields and no lights.”

“Understood, Captain.”

I donned my wet suit, merged through the shield, and swam toward the naval base. I stayed deep against the seafloor as I made my way to the ship.

I arrived at the slip where I had sunk the ship. Half of the other boats there were wreckage, but the fast attack ship was just as I had left it. I swam her length and found nothing wrong with her. She sat there on the bottom begging me to take her. I swam low under her bottom and stopped. Something didn’t seem right. I was missing something. I swam slowly along the ship’s bottom trying to figure out what I was missing but saw nothing.

I was about to move into the ship but stopped. I backed away and went under her again. Something was wrong. I couldn’t see what it was, but something was wrong. As I moved along her hull heading toward her bow, I found it. An underwater microphone was attached to her hull and was the same color as her hull.

Now that I knew what I was looking for, I found others. Someone took a chance that I might come back, and this ship was bait. I swam slowly along the seabed to midchannel of the navy harbor. So what did they do, place the mics and relay them to a listening station? Maybe Thomas could hack them. Then what? Spoof them and take the ship? She needed too much work for that. No, that was too risky. Time to cut my losses and move on.

I turned to leave but heard something. Well, more of a felt something. Staying on the bottom, I swam further into the harbor and found what I was hearing. Sitting on the bottom of the harbor was a Western Alliance fast attack sub. Now this was a surprise. I had been gone a long time, and they were still sitting here hoping I’d turn up? Talk about a long shot. On the other hand, here I was. I decided to let sleeping dogs lie and headed back to Havoc as quietly as a shadow.

I merged through the shields. “Thomas, there are subs operating in the area. One is in the navy harbor looking for us. So stay along the seafloor, moving slow and easy, and take us out to sea.”

“Slow and easy, aye. Heading out to sea.”

I stripped off my wet suit, put dry clothes on, and went to the galley for hot coffee. “Take us three miles out into deep water. When we get there, release SUBIS and notify me of any threats.”

“Yes, Captain.”

I poured myself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table to think. “OK, no problem. Coming here was a gamble that the ship was a viable option. It’s not. Let’s move on,” I thought to myself.

“So, what did I need?” I pondered for a moment. Nothing at the moment. We needed to get back on the mission, which was defeating the Eastern Block and their overlords. “I guess it’s time to give Commander Rossen another weapon.”

“Thomas, is Commander Rossen still with the battlegroup?”

“He is,” Thomas answered.

“Where’s the battle group located?”

“Eight hundred miles north along the coast. They’ve been reassigned further north.”

“To do what?”

“Guard and support the shipyards and mothballed fleet at Grand Point.”

My eyebrows lifted. “How big is the mothballed fleet?”

“It is 126 ships and subs of all sizes and ages.”

I thought for a moment. “Set a course for Grand Point. Let’s go see what the mothballed fleet looks like.”

“Speed?” Thomas asked.

“As fast as we can without being seen or heard by anyone looking or listening.”

“Course set for Grand Point, speed sixty knots, standing by to execute course.”

“Execute,” I ordered, and moved to my computer keyboard. I composed an email that read: “Commander Rossen, your comms are compromised. From what I can tell it’s either the secretary or one of his people who is passing info to the enemy. They have tried to kill me twice now and failed. This email is secure to you, but once it leaves you it will be unsecure. From your success at shooting down enemy aircraft, I see my last gift was helpful. I have another gift for you, but you must meet me in person to get it. I’ll contact you with the when and where after you reach Grand Point.” I signed it, “Matt Bowen.”

“That should get his attention,” I thought to myself.

“Thomas, when we are close enough to Rossen’s battlegroup, put this email on his computer and his alone. Don’t let it be forwarded anywhere else either.”

“Understood, Captain.”

“Does he have a camera on his computer?”

“He does, but it’s manually turned off at the source.”

I nodded. “Smart. OK, carry on.”

“Aye, sir.”

* * *

Looking out the bridge’s forward window, I smiled. “A submarine net across the harbor entrance? Not taking any chances I see. Well, if we can’t go in underwater, we’ll go in overwater,” I said, nodding. “Thomas, back us off a mile or so. We’ll go over early tomorrow morning, say around 0200.”

“Aye, Captain.”

There was nothing else I could do now, so I ate supper and went to my cabin. “Thomas, wake me at 0200. You have the watch.”

“Aye, Captain, 0200, I have the watch.”

* * *

“Captain, it’s 0200, all secure.”

“Thank you, Thomas.” I got up, got dressed, and went to the galley for coffee. “Surface contacts, Thomas?” I asked as I headed for the bridge.

“Two patrol boats are operating within five miles of us, but nothing closer.”

I nodded. “Shield camo to match the night’s sky, and surface the boat.”

“Night sky camo, surfacing the boat, aye.”

I sat in one of the bridge chairs watching the screens, then through the windshield when we surfaced. Satisfied we were clear, “Lower shields and lift the boat ten feet and hold.”

“Ten feet and holding.”

Now that we had released any seawater the shields held, “Raise shields, and make our altitude one thousand feet.”

“One thousand feet, aye.”

From this height, I could see the boat activity and the searchlights in the mothballed fleet area. There were also choppers and vehicles patrolling the banks of the harbor. “Avoid aircraft and take us on a slow pass over the fleet. Let’s see what they have.”

“Making a slow pass over the fleet, aye,” Thomas answered.

I watched the monitor rather than looking outside. The monitor gave me a clearer picture of what was there. Once satisfied, I pointed to a place on the map screen where there was no activity. “Put us down in that area, and dive the boat.”

“Yes, Captain.”

We moved across the night sky like a shadow, sat down in the harbor, and sank below the surface not making a sound. “Set us on the bottom, Thomas. Then let’s review the video of the fleet.”

“Aye, sir, setting us on the bottom.”

The video of the flyover began playing on the monitor. There were ships of every size and design you could name. They seemed to be concentrating the refurbishments on the warships, starting with the largest. I don’t know what I was looking for, but I felt like a kid in a candy store. I had a wild idea of stealing one of those ships. And if I could, I was going to steal one that was already rebuilt, or close to it. The only question was which one and how to do it.

I sat at the galley table reading down the list for a certain ship, then finding where they were located in the fleet dock. “Battleships, heavy cruisers, light cruisers, missile frigates, destroyers, corvettes, aircraft carriers—you name it, they had it. I wonder . . .” I stopped and let the thought develop.

“Thomas, scan enemy intel and see if you can locate where the Eastern Block’s mothballed fleet is located.”

“The Eastern Block’s mothballed fleet is located in their North Sea at Schubert Bay.” A map of the eastern continent came up showing their North Sea and Schubert Bay.

“Oh,” I said. That was quite a distance away and deep inside enemy territory. I sat back, thinking. “How far is that from here?”

“It is 6,114 miles.”

“Hmm, a little farther than I thought. OK, just for the heck of it, how would we steal a ship from under their noses? We know we can extend our shields around one, but then what? Can we take it underwater with us, or would lifting and flying away with it be easier?”

“Both would put a strain on our shield, but more of a strain on our grav drives, as they will be doing the majority of the work, be it lifting or diving,” Thomas began. “If we lift a ship, we are fighting weight, mass, and inertia. If we dive with it, we are fighting buoyancy, mass, and resistance. It all boils down to the size and weight of the ship we try to take.”

I let my mind run over scenarios. “And what would we do with it when we got it?” I mused. “We already have Havoc. Anything larger would require a crew. A bigger ship means we’d need more people; more people means more risks. And pretty soon my secrets wouldn’t be secrets anymore.”

I let my subconscious work on the problem while I ate breakfast. “OK, we need more . . . of everything to take the fight to them. Them being the EB and by extension the Overlords. Or . . . we could use the Overlords’ tactic against them. We feed the Western Alliance tech and information and let them do the fighting while we stay out of the way. I nodded to myself. “I think it’s time we contacted Commander Rossen. Where’s his ship?”

“Fifty miles off the coast.”

“Well then, let’s go pay him a visit.”

Chapter 16

We were running deep a quarter of a mile behind Commander Rossen’s ship. “Thomas, you have access to Commander Rossen’s computer, correct?”

“Correct.”

“Write an encryption code that they can’t crack for a hundred years and install it on his computer and phone. We want our secret messages to remain secret. Let me know when it’s done.”

“Yes, Captain.”

I sat down at my computer and began coding to give Commander Rossen the rail gun plans and programs.

After a while, “The encryption program is complete and installed on Commander Rossen’s computer and phone.”

I nodded. “Thank you, almost finished. Then we can make a call.” Almost finished turned out to be another hour. “Alright, that’s ready. Thomas, call Commander Rossen’s phone.”

“Yes, Captain, on speaker.” I heard a phone ringing coming over the speaker, then it picked up.

“Yes?” Commander Rossen answered.

“Commander Rossen, this is Wraith. Can you talk?” I asked, smiling.

There was a pause. “Hold on a monument,” he answered. My screen’s picture changed, showing Rossen in his cabin sitting at his computer.

“I was wondering when I’d hear from you,” he said.

“I’ve been busy. Did you check that information I sent you?”

“How secure is this conversation?”

“Your phone and computer are now completely encrypted. We are 100 percent secure,” I answered. He said nothing for a moment, but I watched as he typed on his keyboard.

“OK. To answer your question, I did check. We caught the secretary’s senior aide sending and receiving sensitive information. He had cloned the secretary’s computer and had access to . . . well, too much. Under intense questioning, he decided to cooperate, and we were able to roll up his entire cell.”

“Good. I’m assuming that the ECM program I sent you was useful?”

“It was. Without their ECM, their poor pilot training began to show. We’ve begun to push the EBs back in most areas. How did you come to be in possession of the countermeasure program?”

“Who put the bomb on my boat killing my friends?”

After a short pause, “We questioned the man you turned over to us. It took a while, but he finally broke. It was the EB’s counterintelligence elimination cell. They felt you knew too much about the power plant program. Your friends were just collateral damage.”

I didn’t say anything. This info just confirmed my suspicions that it was the EBs. The question was whether the hit was specifically ordered by the Overlords. I pushed the Send button and sent the email.

“I’ve sent you an email with the plans for a rail gun and controlling program. The EBs have nothing like this, and it should give you overwhelming firepower.” I watched him on the screen open the email and began reading.

“And this came from?”

“The same place. We’ll be in touch,” I said, cutting the connection. I continued to watch as he laid his phone on his desk. He continued to look through the email, then called for the ship’s chief engineer. I nodded and turned off the monitor.

“Thomas, set a course for Schubert Bay. Once away from the fleet, we’ll be flying. Take us into the upper atmosphere and keep our speed low enough that the friction on our shields doesn’t show up on their heat signature scans.”

“Yes, Captain, executing.”

* * *

I stood on the rear deck looking down on the world. “What an amazing sight,” I said to myself. I got a glimpse of memories of this same sight from other worlds of blues, greens, and purples and shook my head.

“Captain, we are ready to start our descent,” Thomas announced. “There is also a storm over that area.”

“Understood, take us in,” I answered, and went back inside.

We entered the storm clouds as soon as we started our descent. I nodded. This weather would keep the EBs inside and out of our way. I was suddenly bounced around, and there was a blinding light and a deafening boom. Havoc was no longer flying but dropping like a rock. I wouldn’t say I panicked, but . . .

“Lightning strike,” Thomas announced. “We’ve lost our grav drive generators.

“Reconfigure shields to form a delta wing under the boat,” Tom’s memories said through me. “You’ll have to shift the shield patterns to act as flaps, ailerons, and rudders. Also, reform the shields around us to make us more aerodynamic, which will give us a better glide ratio. We’ll glide in and land on the ocean, and make repairs once we’re down,” I instructed.

“Yes, Captain, understood,” Thomas answered. I felt Havoc was no longer falling but was now gliding. “Delta wing formed; aero glide ratio achieved. We should be able to land safely, and touch down in four minutes,” Thomas reported.

“Scan for other ships, or aircraft in the area, we need to avoid them,” I ordered, sitting down, fastening my seatbelt, and checking to ensure my shield vest was turned on.

“The closest ship is sixty miles west of us. Other than that, we are clear.”

“Understood,” I answered.

The ride was a little bumpy, but Thomas brought us in. The seas were a little rough and so was the landing. But what’s the old saying? Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing?

“Are we still camouflaged?” I asked.

“We are, night sky pattern, changing to night sea pattern.”

“Good, I’m going below to check the damage. You have the watch.”

“I have the watch,” Thomas answered.

Before I was below, I could already smell burned electronics and wiring. When I got to the grav drive, I saw right away both generators were toast. I checked the rest of the generators and power reactors. Luckily, they were intact.

I powered down the rail guns and pulse cannon. I was going to have to use their generators and reactors to power the grav drives. We can survive without rail guns or pulse cannons as long as we can dive or run. But without the drives, we can’t do either of those things.

“Well, it ain’t going to fix itself,” I said to myself, and got to work pulling cables.

The job wasn’t as bad as I feared. It just took time, and the rough seas didn’t help any. I was ready for a test in a little over six hours.

I brought the power up manually, then the grav drives. “Thomas, check your readings on the grav drives.”

“All boards are green, Captain.”

“OK, bring the drives online, ahead slow.”

“Drives online, ahead slow, aye.” After a few seconds, “Drives responding, all boards are green,” Thomas reported.

“Good. Dive the boat, make your depth one hundred, speed twenty knots. Set a course for their mothballed fleet, and stop ten miles short of it,” I ordered.

“Dive the boat, aye, depth one hundred, speed twenty knots, setting a course for their mothballed fleet, stopping ten miles short.”

“Thomas, I’m going to bed, I’m wrung out from the adrenaline. You have the watch.”

“Yes, Captain, I have the watch.”

* * *

When I woke, went to the galley for breakfast. “Thomas, last night’s little adventure got me thinking. Can you reconfigure my vest shields to make wings in case I have to personally glide in from a height?”

“Yes, and I’ve also done some tests on the shields’ camouflage. They can be configured to just camouflage, and not shield. Meaning we can be camouflaged and air can pass through, so you’ll have fresh air and still be hidden. This will also work on your shields, giving you the added advantage of camouflage on your vest shield.”

“Oh, I like that. You never know when that might come in handy.” I looked at the clock; it was midmorning. “How long before we get to the mothballed fleet?”

“At this speed, twenty-six hours.”

“Continue at this speed until full dark. Then we’ll fly the rest of the way.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“We need to think about adding redundancy to our systems. At least to the more crucial systems.”

“Agreed,” Thomas said. “But to do that we need to either miniaturize the systems or get a bigger boat. Of the two, getting a bigger boat would be easier.”

I nodded my head. “I thought the same thing. Well, it’s a good thing we’re heading for a place where we might be able to get a bigger boat,” I said, smiling.

* * *

“Oh, now that’s a problem,” I mused. “How many are there?”

“There are 324, twice as large as the WA’s mothballed fleet, and these seem in better condition than theirs.”

I looked at the boat traffic, which wasn’t a lot. Their security was light, but there was a lot of work going on. They looked like they were pushing to put more ships to sea.

“OK, first things first. First, we choose our new boat or ship. Then we figure out how we’re going to steal it. After that, we’ll destroy the rest of their fleet.” I looked at their fleet as we slowly passed over it.

“So it needs to be bigger than Havoc to add all the equipment we need, and since we’re upgrading, we might as well get a few more things, like a machine shop.”

“How big are you thinking?” Thomas asked.

“Not a supercarrier,” I said, continuing to scan the ships. “What’s that at the end and off to the side?” I asked, touching the screen.

“According to their database, it’s a prototype submersible missile destroyer.”

“Submersible?”

“Yes, most of her facilities are located below the waterline, and she’s built for stealth on the surface, having a low-angle profile. It failed to pass sea trials because it couldn’t dive any deeper than one hundred feet without excessive leaking around the flight deck doors.”

“Fortunately, we won’t have that problem,” I said. “Specifications?”

“Length: 656 ft (200 m); beam: 100 ft (30 m); draft: 27.6 ft (8.4 m). Propulsion: two diesel turbines (35.4 MW [47,500 hp] each); two water jets driven by electric motors. Speed 30 km (35 mph). Complement: 150 + 30 inch air detachment. Sensors and processing systems: AN/SPY-6 multi-function scanning array. Armament: twenty MK 67 vertical launch system (VLS) modules, four cells per module, eighty launch cells total. Each cell can contain: four RIM-172 Evolved Sea Hawk Missiles (ESHM); four Tomahawk or vertical launch anti-submarine missiles; and eight horizontally launched MK 8 torpedoes. Two 155 mm (6 inch)/62 caliber advanced gun system. Four 30 mm (1.2 in) MK 56 Mod 2 Gun Weapon System. Two seawiz close defense systems. Aviation facilities: Flight deck and enclosed hangar for four VTOLs,” Thomas concluded.

“So once we remove the diesel turbines and fuel bunkers, we’d have plenty of room for the reactors, generator, and motors?”

“According to their blueprints, more than enough,” Thomas answered.

“Machine shop?”

“Yes, fully equipped,” he said as I looked over the ship’s blueprints displayed on the monitor.

I considered options and how much work would need to be done on her. I finally nodded. “I think we have a winner,” I said. “Do you have access to their comms and security systems?”

“Yes, full access, and control.”

“OK, before I make a final decision, I want to go aboard her and get a first-hand look at her condition. I’ll go in tonight.”

* * *

With my shield camo engaged I walked right up the gangway and aboard the SMD and went straight to the bridge. As far as I could see everything was present and correct. They hadn’t stripped anything from her. Well, that wasn’t quite correct: there were no VTOLs, boats, or munitions loaded. I went to the C&C and found all the computers and scanning equipment was still there. So the only thing missing was supplies and equipment.

I walked down the passageway nodding my head. “Sold,” I said, smiling. When I arrived back on the Havoc, “Mr. Thomas, have them fully supply her. Munitions, equipment, food, VTOLs, boats, and all maintenance stores. Have them drain the fuel bunkers and fill them with cleaning solvent. We’re going to steal a fully loaded, fully supplied SMD,” I said, chuckling.

“Yes, Captain, understood.”

* * *

Later that night, I woke up in the middle of the night laughing.

“Are you alright, Captain?” Thomas asked.

“I’m fine. I just had an epiphany. Why stop at having them load supplies? Change of orders. Before you have the supplies loaded on the SMD, have her taken into dry dock. Have them remove the diesel turbines and replace them with new electric motors. Remove the fuel bunker and install eight full-sized reactors and generators in their place.” As an afterthought, “Also have them update her electronics. She looked a few years behind current generations.”

I thought for a moment. “Have their machine shop make the grav emitters for the SMD’s hull. Have them boxed up and loaded onto the SMD along with the other maintenance parts. We’ll also need cabling to install them on the hull.” My mind was on a roll now. “We’ll also need all the parts to convert their VTOLs like we did at our first navy base. I expect you still have all those specs.”

“I do. I’ll have all parts added to the ship’s maintenance package and stored aboard.”

“Now that that’s done, maybe I can get back to sleep.”

* * *

It took them a week to get the SMD moved into dry dock. But it was now there, and they had started work on her. Thomas monitored emails and messages up and down the chain to ensure no one questioned why a defunct prototype ship was now suddenly a priority. On the other hand, the fact that a defective ship was now a priority smacked of spook operations, so no one asked questions.

“According to the latest projections it will be six to eight months before the SMD is out of dry dock,” Thomas reported.

I nodded. “Well, I don’t want to sit around here for six to eight months. On the other hand, I don’t want to fly around the world with two disabled generators either.”

“Why don’t we order replacements from their supply?” Thomas asked.

I frowned thinking about Thomas’s suggestion. “And how do you see that playing out?”

“We order two generators and have them placed by a ship at the end of the dock. We go pick them up under shields and camo. We use our crane to set them on our deck, sink under, and move away to make repairs. After that, we can leave or stay as you order.”

I nodded. “That will probably work. Place the order.”

“Yes, Captain.”

The next night it all worked as Thomas had surmised. Thomas had control of the security cameras and put the ones watching the end of the dock in a loop. We moved Havoc into position and extended the shield camouflage to cover the generators. Our claw crane loaded them onto Havoc, and we sank underwater. “Good call, Thomas. Well done.”

“Thank you, Captain.”

When I started swapping out generators, it took a little finagling to make them fit. The EB’s generators were a little bigger than the WA’s, but on the upside, they seemed of higher quality.

As a shoestring redundancy, I wired the generators into a junction box so that if we lost a generator, it wouldn’t be a catastrophe. It wasn’t perfect, but better than we had before.

“Alright, Thomas, power the generators up and run diagnostics.”

“Yes, Captain, applying power . . . Running diagnostics . . . All boards are green.”

I nodded. “Bring the rail guns and pulse cannon online and run diagnostics.”

“Bringing rail guns, and pulse cannon online . . . Running diagnostics . . . All boards are green,” Thomas reported.

“Good, drop the ruined generators overboard and set a course back to WA territory. And this time let’s avoid any large lighting storms,” I said, smiling.

“That is now SOP, Captain, unless it’s a mission emergency.”

“Good idea,” I answered.

Chapter 17

Havoc sat in her Homeshores naval boatyard slip under camo while I roamed the parts and maintenance warehouses. The lightning strike made me rethink configurations and redundancies. Working in the base’s electronic shop, I started making improvements.

As I did before, I got a flak vest and stripped it down to just its shell. I made the grav emitters as small as possible without having to add to the quantity it would take to do the job, plus a safety margin. I added emitters to the soles of my boots for better coverage, an additional mini-realtor for power redundancy, and a mini improved 02 scrubber so I’d have breathable air when I needed it.

When I finished, I donned my new vest to check its fit. We changed the programming so that objects, like bullets, didn’t ricochet; they just stopped and fell to the ground. We also reconfirmed the program so I could use the grav emitters to levitate. I could, for lack of a better word, fly for short distances. I could do the same underwater, where the emitters would propel me along, like flying underwater. The changes made the vest lighter and more flexible, and of course waterproof. I liked the new vest much better and started wearing it as my primary. I’d put the old one in my locker as a backup.

New vest complete, I began working on adding emitters to the base drones. Their mini-reactor was strong enough to handle the load, so it was a relatively easy job. Next, I worked on improving my comms. The cell phone was good, but I wanted better plus redundancy and improved waterproofing. I found better gear in what appeared to be a special ops equipment storage area and began making improvements. One of the things I added was a waterproof earbud so I could hear Thomas while underwater.

I also worked in the machine shop making rail gun rounds. I had used a quarter of what I’d originally made and didn’t want to run out at an inopportune moment.

On the way from the machine shop, I saw the ASV setting at the far end of the shelter. Curiosity got the best of me, so I walked over to check her out. This mode was a standard 4x4 with a remote 15 mm machine gun and a chain-fed 40 mm grenade launcher.

I looked around her inside. “What this baby needs are shields,” I said to myself. I frowned, thinking how easy it would be to add them. “She’s already got a reactor, generator, and electric motor drive. all I need to do is add the emitters. She’s also small enough to sit on Havoc’s rear deck out of the way. I’ll think about it.” The next day I was in the machine shop machining emitter parts.

“Captain, have you ever seen a WAAV?”

“I’m not sure. What does it stand for?”

“Wheeled Amphibious Assault Vehicle.”

“Then, no, I’ve never seen one. And since you are asking, I’m guessing it’s on an inventory list somewhere.”

“It, or I should say, they are. According to the list, there are eight of them in the warehouse next to the end.”

“The one that’s half collapsed?”

“That would be the one.”

I stopped the lathe. “OK, let’s go see what they look like and how much rubble they’re under.” I walked down to the warehouse where they were supposed to be and opened a side door. Most of one side of the building had collapsed, trapping or crushing a lot of equipment. This was apparently a Marine equipment storage warehouse. I walked among the equipment looking for what might be a WAAV. I finally found them over by the rubble of the collapsed roof.

“Well, there are eight, but I can only get at four.” The WAAV was a six-wheeled armored vehicle with directional water jets at the rear. I was basically a Marine amphibious assault craft, just not as big, and had wheels rather than tracks. These were probably used in towns with smaller streets, and they were probably more maneuverable, faster, and were set up for autonomous driving.

Its weapons were a 20 mm chain gun and a four-tube anti-tank missile launcher. I opened the side door to look inside. It looked to have a crew of three and would carry a squad of five in the rear.

It, like the ASV, had a reactor, generator, and electric drive. It would take up more room on Havoc’s deck, but it could swim. I closed the door, looking around. “Now to get it out of here,” I said, looking around. There were two trucks between it and a half-crushed overhead door, but a large forklift solved that problem.

I drove the two trucks out of the way and drove the WAAV around to the machine shop. I finished making the emitters and installed them. I drove to the electronics shop and installed the cabling and a more powerful central processing unit. “So Thomas can ride alone,” I thought to myself, smiling.

All told, it took me four days to complete the work. “Thomas, install yourself in the WAAV’s CPU so we can start testing.”

“Yes, Captain. Estimated time for a complete installation is twenty-seven minutes.”

“Right. While you’re doing that, I’ll drive over to munitions and load her ammo,” I answered.

“Understood.”

While Thomas was installing, I loaded the WAAV’s ammo. He was finished before I was because she took quite a bit to top her off. “Thomas, you good?”

“I am extraordinary, sir.”

I shook my head. “Don’t give up your day job,” I answered.

“Everyone’s a critic,” he said. “Anyway, all boards are green, ready for operational testing.” We tested what we could without taking rounds, and everything tested good. The only thing we had to adjust was the shield’s shape. They had to be shaped like a pyramid so a heavy round impacting the side would be diverted upward rather than flipping the vehicle.

“OK, shields up, camo on. Let’s take her for a swim,” I said, smiling. In actuality, as long as the shields held, she would swim. This was more for fun than anything. However, it did remind me of redundancy. If we lost shields at the wrong time, she might sink. After she passed her swim test,
I installed a small backup reactor and generator.

Just for practice, I had Thomas load the WAAV onto Havoc. There was really no need to chain her to the deck, as her grav drive held her in place. “Job well done,” I said to myself.

“Thank you, Captain.”

“I was talking to myself.”

“Well, I’m just proud to be part of the team, sir.”

I shook my head, chuckling, “Me too.”

* * *

Winter had come upon us suddenly and with a vengeance. The seasons changed from Indian summer to winter without even slowing down for fall. The seas raged, the winds lashed, and any vessel on the open waters suffered. For salvagers, this was their time of harvest.

“Captain, satellites have picked up a container ship in trouble. She’s already lost half her load and is taking on water. She’s continuing to port, leaving the containers adrift in her wake,” Thomas reported.

“Any idea what is in the containers?”

“Not really, she was hauling a mixed load, and there’s no way of telling which cans went over and which ones didn’t.”

“How many containers?”

“A couple hundred at least, not counting the ones that their seals didn’t hold and sank.”

I considered options. If we wanted the salvage, we needed to move quickly. I was sure we weren’t the only ones who knew about the salvage. “Alright, move us over to the barge docks; we’ll take one with us and go fishing.”

“Yes, Captain, moving to the barge docks.”

Thomas put us right up against one of the barges and held her in place with the grav drive while I attached our towlines. As there was little traffic in the Homeshores harbor, we extended our camouflage over the barge and slowly moved out to sea.

Once out in open water, we increased speed and headed for the salvage site. The seas were still rough, and we were fortunate to be first on the scene. We cut loose our barge and, using Havoc’s claw crane, we started retrieving the adrift cans and stacking them on the barge.

Havoc’s crane’s reach was limited, so we could only load seventy-eight cans onto the barge. But that was seventy-eight more than we had this morning. There were still many cans in the water waiting to be picked up. We’d made an excellent haul, so we reconnected to our barge and headed for home.

On our way home we watched the salvage area by satellite. It was odd that no other salvagers had arrived to work at the site. “Thomas, has there been any radio traffic about the salvage?”

“There has not, and we control most satellite feeds for the area, so no one knows about it that way.”

I shook my head. “This seems like bait to me. Keep the grav on the barge. I’m going to release our towlines. Scan for underwater contacts.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Once I’d released the towlines, I returned to the bridge. “Any contacts?”

“None within two miles captain.”

“Dive the boat so we can get better readings at range.”

“Dive the boat, aye . . . Scanning . . . Contact. EB attack sub, bearing one eighty, range four miles and closing.”

I nodded. “The question is, are they here to follow salvagers or destroy salvagers.”

“Or are they specifically looking for us?” Thomas asked.

My eyebrows lifted. “An excellent question. If they know we are salvagers but don’t know exactly where or who we are . . . Bait a trap we would find hard to resist, then see who turns up. The question now is what do we do next?”

I considered options. “Well, whatever their reasons, I don’t like them being this close to our home base. Increase speed; get us in behind them. We’ll use one of our torpedoes to destroy them.”

“Changing course, increasing speed. An observation, Captain. If we destroy them, their command will know someone is hunting these waters.”

“True, we’ll just have to hope they assume it’s the WAs that are the hunters,” I answered.

I watched the monitors while Thomas got us into position behind the EB sub. “Close to two thousand feet. Arm the torpedo, and fire when ready,” I ordered.

“Torpedo armed, closing to two thousand feet . . . Firing.” I heard the torpedo leave its tube and watched the monitor as it sped toward its target. The enemy sub had just enough time to realize that there was a torpedo coming at them before it hit them and exploded. “Target destroyed,” Thomas reported.

“Return to the barge,” I ordered.

“Returning to the barge, aye.”

I wondered, “Thomas, can Havoc lift the barge with our grav drive and shield and fly us back to Homeshores?” I asked.

“According to my calculations, with the combined weight of the cargo and barge, we should be able to.”

“Let’s try it. If we can, we’ll fly the barge back to Homeshores, get an empty barge, and return for the rest of the cans. That is if no one beats us to them.”

“Yes, Captain. Moving to surround barge with grav drive and shield.” I watched as Havoc lifted from the water and hovered over the loaded barge. “Barge captured . . . lifting . . . load holding.”

“Good, take us to Homeshores Naval Base. Set the barge down in the ship beside Havoc’s slip.”

“Understood, en route to Homeshores,” Thomas answered.

It took us two hours to make the turnaround trip, and still, no other salvagers had shown up to salvage the cans. Something was still bothering me. “Thomas, scans the cans and see if any of them might have tracking devices on them.”

“Yes, Captain, scanning . . . You were right, Captain; a tracking device was found. That particular can also reads like munition cargo.”

I shook my head. “Note to self, check all cargo before loading from now on,” I said.

“Yes, Captain, now SOP,” Thomas replied.

“Set the barge down and load all the cans except the rigged one. We’ll destroy it as we leave.”

“Yes, Captain.”

It took us two hours to wrangle and load the cans we wanted. Thomas levitated, centered us on the barge, and lifted. We moved away from the rigged can and destroyed it with our pulse cannon. It must have been packed with explosives because it lifted quite a bit of water when it went off.

“Take us home, Thomas.”

“Aye, sir, heading home.”

When we got back to Homeshores, the first thing we did was scan the other barge for tracking devices, and didn’t find any. We landed the second barge beside the first and tied her off.

It was now right at 3:00 AM. “Thomas, you have the watch. I’m going to bed.

“Aye, Captain, I have the watch.”

* * *

I got up, showered, changed clothes, went to the galley, and made coffee.

“Captain, I worked on a theory last night, based on our experience moving the cans and barges yesterday. I’d like you to look at it. The figures and schematics are on the printer.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“A grav crane.”

I got the printouts and looked at them. Tom’s memories said they were close to what he used, but not bad for a first try. “These are good,” I told Thomas. “Since the weather has closed in, I’ll go to the machine shop and make the parts we need and add them to Havoc’s crane.”

“Thank you for the encouragement, Captain.” I realized that Thomas was developing a more human personality, which made interacting with him more pleasant.

I’d made so many of the emitter parts I could almost make them in my sleep. I gathered the needed cabling and other small items, and two days later we had a fully assembled grav crane. The weather was clearing up, so we could test it, and move cans around on the barges. After some minor adjustments, we had a fully functioning grav crane.

The crane lifted the can and spun it around so the doors could be opened without unloading the barge. I cut the seal off the first one and opened its doors. It was loaded with kitchen appliances; toasters, blenders, mixers, and such. Nothing I could really use, but I guess someone would buy them. I closed the doors and moved on.

The second can was better: it held work clothes, jeans, coats, gloves, and work boots. There were also some nicer casual clothes as well. The next can held what was listed as consumer electronics. TVs, recorders, music players, etc. Not much I was interested in, but someone might be.

The next can made me smile, “Now that’s more like it.” The whole can was loaded with ten and twenty kW reactor-powered mini-generators. These could power houses, farmsteads, businesses, or whatever. “Pay dirt,” I mused.

Next was a like find. This one held crated, midsized, reactor-powered farm tractors, four per can. They’d have to be assembled, but that wasn’t really a problem. It was pretty straightforward. Another gold mine.

And so it went: some good stuff, some really good stuff, and some stuff I didn’t need. I did find the cans containing the tractor implements and seeds for crops. By late afternoon I had opened and looked through about half the first barge’s cans. I was feeling good about our salvage. Now I just needed to figure out how and where to sell this stuff. I might be able to sell some of it to Homeshores and buy myself some goodwill. I’d need to think about it.

Chapter 18

I woke up early and got an early start. The first can brought me to a stop. It was full of military arms. Assault rifles, pistols, grenade launders, light machine guns, crew-served machine guns, and chain-fed grenade launchers.

I sat down on a crate to think. “What was a can full of military arms doing on a civilian transport ship?” I asked myself. “Smugglers,” came the answer. Or covert ops. Either way, someone will be looking for their property. Or will they? Ships and cargo are lost at sea all the time. Anyway, there is nothing I can do about it now. I’ll just put them in the warehouse to keep them in case of emergencies.

Then I started finding more military gear. Clothes, boots, supplies, ammo, food, comms gear, helmets, flak vest, everything you’d need to supply a small army. “Or insurgents,” I thought out loud. This was looking more and more like a covert ops shipment, which was why the sub was trailing the container ship. “Did they mean for the cans to go overboard and then for the insurgents to recover them from the sea? Thomas, is there any traffic in the area where we recovered the cans?”

“Nothing on the surface.”

I shook my head. “Someone is in trouble for this. Ain’t that a shame?” I said, smiling.

We used the grav crane to shift cans between barges. One barge was military gear, which I would keep for now. The other barge was items to be sold, or traded to civilians. I split the generators between two cans: one to sell and one to keep with the military gear. I added the base’s ASV and one of the Marine cargo trucks to sweeten any dealing I might need to make. I’d start my sales here at Homeshores and gauge their reactions.

When we finished shifting the cans between barges, we waited until early morning. Then, under cover of darkness and our camo, we used Havoc to lift the barge out to sea. We landed ten miles offshore and waited for sunrise.

“This is the Havoc calling Homeshores Rescue. You guys awake yet, or should I call back later?”

“Havoc this is Homeshores Rescue on duty twenty-four seven, three sixty-five. What’s got you up so early, Havoc?”

“I’m ten miles out, on the way in with some salvage to sell and trade. I’d like Captain Laner to meet me midharbor to discuss protocols.”

“Roger, Havoc, I’ll pass the word. Mayor Laner will meet you midharbor.”

“Roger, Rescue. Havoc out.”

“Rescue out.”

“Mayor Laner, well, well, well. I hope that’s a good thing,” I said to myself.

* * *

Mayor Laner’s boat pulled alongside the barge and tossed me a line. I tied them off and waved him aboard.

“Good to see ya, Jimmy,” he said, shaking my hand.

“You too, Mayor,” I answered, smiling.

He scoffed. “I should have never taken the job. Pain in the neck is what it is. Now I’ve got to listen to everyone’s petty problems, and the worst part is they expect me to solve them. On the upside, I do get to eat free at the Burger Barn.” I shook my head, laughing. He looked around at the cans. “Nice haul, whatcha got?” I handed him the list we’d made of what was in these cans. He read down the list and whistled.

“You take up piracy?” he asked, smiling.

I shook my head, chuckling. “Didn’t have to. The storm did all the hard work. We were just the clean-up crew.

“That ASV, and truck?” he asked.

“I’m hurt that you’d think I’d be involved with anything untold. I traded for those . . . kinda.”

“Yeah, whatever. Don’t ask, don’t tell.”

“That’s my policy,” I answered. “So, am I still on their most wanted list?”

“Not really. Once you left, the old council’s dirty dealing started coming out. We elected a new council, a mayor, and a provost. We got a police force up and running, and things have been pretty quiet. But I do need some help.”

“How so?” I asked.

“My police force has plenty of men. We’re just ill-equipped and under gunned. I know in the past you had a supplier for that sort of stuff. Any possibility you still have that source?”

I nodded. “Possibly. I’ll even give you the ASV and cargo truck in lieu of any import tax the town may levy. I’ll also pay 10 percent sales tax on anything I sell.”

He smiled. “I think I can make that work. What’s your thinking on the farm equipment?”

“That’s a little more tricky. As an old man I knew used to say, ‘I been studying on it. The best I’ve come up with is to form a company or a partnership with local farmers and ranchers. I own the equipment; they use it and pay me shares. My thinking is, after expenses, 60 percent to them, 10 percent to the town as taxes, and 30 percent to me.”

The mayor nodded. “That sounds more than fair to me. I’ll gather the local farmers and ranchers together and see what they say. What about the rest?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I’m open to suggestions.”

“Let me check on something and I’ll get back to you,” he said.

I nodded. “OK. Do you think I’d be safe going in for a burger?”

“You should be OK. Just try not to kill anyone, unless you have to.”

I smiled. “That’s another policy of mine . . . most of the time.” He just shook his head.

* * *

I climbed in WAAV, and Thomas used the crane to put it in the water. I drove to a boat ramp, out of the water, and to the Burger Barn. I parked close to the door and used the side door to exit the WAAV. That way no one could be sure that there wasn’t someone still in the vehicle.

I waved at Ms. Betty on my way to a table in the back of the room. She brought me a cola over ice and set it on the table. “Couldn’t stay away, could ya?” she said smiling.

“A way to a man’s heart.”

“Is through his stomach,” she finished, and we laughed. “Burger?”

“Please, ma’am,” I answered. She nodded and left, and I took a swallow of cola, looking the room over. So far everyone was minding their own business. I hoped it remained that way. My burger came with another cola, and I dug in with a big smile on my face.

“So, you gonna be with us for a while?” Ms. Betty asked.

“Maybe, I have some salvage to sell and possibly some deals to be made. We’ll see how things go.”

“Well, I hope you do well. We could use you here.”

“Thank you,” I said, taking a swallow of my cola. Looking past Ms. Betty, I saw Mayor Laner approaching accompanied by an older woman.

“May we join you?” Laner asked.

“Please,” I answered, motioning to the chairs.

“This is Annie Brite. She owns Brite Mart, Homeshore’s version of a superstore,” he said, introducing her.

“Pleased to meet you, Ms. Brite,” I greeted her.

“Just Annie, Captain.”

“Just Jimmy,” I answered, smiling.

The mayor and Annie ordered, then turned back to me. “So, Jimmy, the mayor has shown me the list of cargo you want to sell. You have the product; I have the facilities and customers. Let’s make a deal.”

I smiled. “I like the way you think, Annie. What’s your offer?”

“I’ll take your whole shipment on a seventy-thirty split.”

I smiled. “I’d never ask for 70 percent.”

She laughed. “That’s because you’d never get it.”

“I’ll advance you the shipment for a 60 percent cut.”

“Are ya daft? I have all the expenses—65, 35 to me,” she countered.

“We both have expenses. I’m taking all the risks—55, 45 to me,” I answered. Laner was watching the back-and-forth like a ping-pong game.

Annie took a swallow of her drink, watching me. “OK, enough fooling around. What’s your real number?”

I thought for a moment. “After I make my deal with the farmers and ranchers, you take the rest for 50 percent to you, 10 percent to the town in taxes, and 40 percent to me.”

She was thinking about it when their food arrived, and they began to eat. We didn’t talk about business while they ate, but I could tell she was still thinking about it. They finished eating and we ordered more drinks. I waited for Annie to make her decision.

Finally, she offered me her hand. “I accept your offer, Jimmy, 50-10-40.”

“Thank you, Annie. We’ll start unloading cargo as soon as I’ve made the deal on the farming equipment. Do you want the cargo in cans?”

“In cans. I can sell those too.”

“Done,” I said.

* * *

I met with the farmers and ranchers the next morning at the town hall. They had cleaned the place up and repaired the bullet holes since the last time I was here. Mayor Laner brought the meeting to order, and we began.

“Gentlemen, my name is captain Jimmy Lee of the Havoc. I’m sure you’ve already heard of the salvage I have for sale. But in the case of the farm equipment, as it is so costly, I’m willing to enter into a partnership with you rather than sell the equipment outright.”

“What gives you the right to force us into a partnership with you for the equipment,” a thin wiry man almost shouted.

I frowned. “Sir, I’m not forcing you into anything. You have the choice of joining the partnership or paying cash for the equipment.”

“Who’s got that kind of money? The bank won’t lend that much.”

“My point exactly. I’m not a farmer or rancher, you are. You have land; I have equipment. It’s as simple as that.”

“At what split?” the wiry man asked.

“Sixty-thirty-ten,” I answered.

“What? That’s highway robbery!” he shouted, and everyone else groaned.

I held up a finger and waited for quiet. “The split will be 60 percent to you, 30 percent to me, and 10 percent to the town for taxes,” I explained, which changed everyone’s demeanor.

A man stood. “My name’s Johnson. I’m a rancher. We also heard you had generators. Will some of those be included in the deal?”

“Yes, I assumed the further out you are the more you’d need power generation. I have ten kilowatt generators for the smaller places, and twenty kilowatt for the larger places. If you need more than that, we can work it out. Anything else?”

“Do you have any trucks? We sure could use ’em,” a man in the back asked. Which brought on more head nodding.

“I don’t have any in this load, but I might know where I can buy a few. I’ll see what I can do,” I answered.

“When can we get the equipment?” Mr. Johnson asked, smiling.

“As soon as we go over to the lawyer’s office and sign the agreements, then we can download the equipment,” I answered. Everyone was nodding.

“Any other questions?” Mayor Laner asked. There were none. “In that case, this meeting is adjourned. Everyone who wanted to join the partnership head over to the lawyer’s office.” The mayor hammered his gavel.

Everyone, even old wiry, joined the partnership. We left the lawyer’s office and went to the harbor. Havoc pushed the barge over to the Homeshores docks and we started unloading cans.

Annie was there to take possession of her cans. There were also a lot of looky-loos, but all in all everything ran smoothly.

When we’d finished, I found the mayor. “I’ll be leaving tonight. Should be back in a week or so with your police gear, and maybe some trucks.”

“Safe voyage, Captain,” he said, shaking my hand.

We did as we’d always done, ran five miles out to sea, engaged camouflage, flew back to the naval base, and landed in our ship.

“You have the watch, Mr. Thomas,” I said, smiling.

“I have the watch, Captain.”

* * *

Since it appeared Homeshores was going to be my home, at least for a while, I decided to beef up the police force’s equipment. I put together enough equipment to completely outfit an infantry platoon, which filled two cans. I filled another can with ammo for the weapons I’d given them.

I went to the Marine warehouse and looked over the vehicles stored there. “They aren’t doing anyone any good sitting here,” I said to myself. I loaded six WAAVs, including ammo, eight cargo trucks, an excavator, and a front-end loader on the barge with the police gear cans. I was going to have to get something in return for the extras.

I waited ten days before I made my appearance back in Homeshores harbor. I stopped midharbor and waited. As I expected, in less than an hour Mayor Laner came to visit. I tied his boat off to the barge, and he came aboard.

He looked at the equipment and said, “I’m not even going to ask.”

“That might be best. You know I deal with some shady characters.” I took him over to the police gear and ammo cans and opened them. He just stared. “Enough to outfit an infantry platoon. But wait, there’s more,” I said with my best announcer’s voice. “Four wheeled Amphibious Assault Vehicles.” He didn’t look impressed by my voice.

He shook his head. “What’s it going to cost me?”

“Almost nothing,” I answered. He just stared at me waiting. “OK, maybe a little something. From now on I will pay no import fees or taxes on anything I bring in, including but not limited to boats and ships. I have a feeling things are going to get exciting around here.”

“That it?”

I thought for a moment. “And no slip or docking fees.”

“That it?”

I nodded. “Yeah, that’s it.”

He looked at the WAAVs and the cans, considering. “Deal,” he said, offering me his hand.

“Deal,” I said, shaking.

“I’ll have the paperwork drawn up. You can come by the town hall and sign it,” he said.

“I’ll tie the barge up at the far dock. You can offload it whenever you are ready. And let the partners know that the trucks they asked for are here with a few extras.”

He nodded and started to leave but stopped. “What did you mean by things are going to get exciting?”

I shrugged. “There’s a lot of enemy activity out on the waters. Maybe some chances for some good salvage. Of course, you may have to dodge a few bullets,” I said, laughing.

He shook his head. “Only you would laugh at having to dodge bullets,” he said, walking away.

I moored the barge to the dock and moved Havoc into a slip down from it. I went to the galley for a cup of coffee and went up to the bridge. “Thomas, what’s the satellite showing? Any enemy activity?”

“Not on the surface. Everything is quiet in this sector. Most of the fighting is taking place in the south. Some action out in the southeastern islands.”

I nodded. “How much longer before our ship is out of dry dock?”

“It’s out of dry dock now, but not all the work is complete.”

“What’s not complete?”

“Installing and calibrating the new electronics and tracking suit.”

“How much longer on that?”

“Thirty days give or take.”

I nodded. “OK, let’s take a trip south. I don’t want to sit around here for the next thirty days. Lay in a course for the southern war zone and take us out. The same drill, as usual, ten miles out, then dive the boat. Let’s go hunting.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Chapter 19

“What have we got?” I asked, looking at the monitor.

“The sub we are following is meeting a tender for resupply. We can kill two birds with one stone,” Thomas offered.

It was dark, but the monitor clearly showed the sub-tender holding position with its docking bay doors open. “We’ll wait until the sub is completely inside before we strike. Close to one thousand yards on their broadside, and hold position,” I ordered.

“One thousand yards on their broadside, aye.”

I watched as the EB sub slowly entered through the stern doors. When the sub was completely inside, the stern doors closed. “One thousand yards and holding, Captain.”

I nodded. “Surface the boat enough that our pulse cannon is above the water. Target the tender at their waterline. Put one round into the front half of the ship, and a second round into the rear half.”

“Target locations locked, standing by.”

“Fire.” There were flashes of light and a double woosh-boom as our pulse cannon fired twice. A split second later the tender and sub exploded in a massive fireball, scattering debris across the water. What was left of the tender and sub sank quickly.

“Lift the boat, Mr. Thomas, and lay in a course for Schubert Bay. Let’s go check on our ship’s progress.”

“Lifting the boat, flying to Schubert Bay, aye,” Thomas replied.

* * *

We landed in the water well short of the mothballed fleet and moved along the bottom to within two thousand yards then sat down on the floor of the sea. SUBIS showed us a clear view of our ship as it was at the end of the docks.

“What does their schedule say about a completion date?” I asked.

“They’re actually ahead of schedule. They’ve finished the installations and are in the calibration and testing phase. The rest of the supplies, parts, and equipment have been loaded. Once the sensor suit passes its test, she’ll be ready for her crew, then the sea.”

“Outstanding,” I answered.

“There has been a development. I don’t know if it’s good or bad.”

“And what would that be?”

The monitor’s view changed. That is a captured WA heavy missile cruiser. According to reports, half the crew was killed during her capture, and the remaining half is being held aboard and interrogated. Vigorously interrogated, the report states.

“Vigorously, huh?” I watched the ship, considering options. “How long have they been here?”

“A week.”

“Well, we can’t leave them there. We just need to figure out how to get them from their ship to our ship. But before we can do anything, you need to install yourself into the systems of our new ship. Then we can work on how to free and move the captured crew.

“Standing by to execute program installation,” Thomas answered.

“We need as much information as we can get about the ship, the guards, and how they are armed. When does their shift change, and anything else that may have a bearing on our escape plans.”

“Yes, Captain, correlating information,” Thomas responded.

* * *

I was studying the information Thomas had gathered. Apparently, the officers had already been moved to some prison elsewhere. The local guard force was minimal and were not their first-line troops.

“Captain, they have finished the systems test, and I have installed myself onto the ship’s systems. We now have total control of our new ship.”

“Has their test crew left?”

“Yes, the ship is completely empty.”

“Good, keep all lights off, close all outer doors, and run a complete system check. Let me know when you are finished.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Ten minutes later, “Systems check complete: 93 percent green boards, 7 percent yellow. The yellows are in non-mission-critical areas.”

“Understood. Take over the security network. The guard changes in forty minutes. Once that happens put cameras around the captured ship on a loop. Then I’ll go in.”

“Yes, Captain.”

I went to the weapons locker and got a pistol and silencer and six pistol mags. Also, an assault rifle with six mags. There was going to be nothing nice or neat about this rescue. As soon as the guard shift had changed and the relieved guards had gone, we moved. Havoc surfaced at the end of the pier under camo, and I, under camo, jumped to the pier.

I walked up the gangway and went inside the ship. I found one guard at the desk around the first corner. I shot the guard and put his body in a room, closed the hatch, and moved on.

The next guard was guarding a hatch leading down to the next level. I shot him and opened the hatch. As soon as I did, bullets filled the doorway. I stepped back. Were they waiting for someone to come through, or just being overly cautious? Or was this a trap?

They had reacted to the hatch opening, firing blindly. My camo and shields were still working, so I stepped through the hatch, but no one was there. There was a closed hatch at the other end of the passageway. “So we’re playing that game now,” I said to myself, walking forward.

I slowly opened the door an inch, and nothing happened. I pulled it open the rest of the way, but still nothing happened. I stopped. “Are they running or luring me in?” I wondered. “Only one way to find out,” I said.

I went to the next hatch and opened it, and bullets began hitting my shield. I went straight through killing the six guards who were shooting. Alarms began sounding throughout the ship. “Trap,” I said to myself, and continued on to find the prisoners.

“Captain, manual alarms are sounding all over the dry dock. I have no control over them. Guard reinforcements are coming from their barracks, heading your way.”

“Yeah, I think we walked into someone else’s trap. Weapons free, destroy their comms center before they call for reinforcements. Destroy their power station and command-and-control center.”

“Yes, Captain, firing.”

I heard muffled explosions outside but continued to find the crew.

“Jets are being scrambled from their airfield thirty miles away. ETA twelve minutes,” Thomas reported. The muffled explosions continued.

“Understood.” The last hatch I opened erupted with gunfire, including heavier machine guns. I went straight through and killed the guards in their last line of defense. Not only had they been firing at me, but also they had fired into the POWs, killing them all.

I looked at the dead, theirs and ours. Shaking my head, I turned and started back the way I came. “Thomas, kill everyone you see. I’m on the way out.”

“The POWs?”

“They killed them before I could get to them.”

“Understood, Jets ETA three minutes.”

“As soon as they are within range, shoot them down.”

“Roger, lifting to intercept.”

My eyebrows lifted. “That’s new,” I thought to myself.

“Destroying guard reinforcements,” he reported.

I exited the WA ship and jogged toward our new ship.

“Targeting enemy aircraft . . . engaging.” I saw the sky to the east lighting up from exploding aircraft.

I ran up the gangway of our new ship and headed for the bridge. When I got there, I stepped out onto the bridge’s flying deck to see how it was moored. The shield would cut through the lines when Havoc covered us. I moved to the port side flying deck and saw we were clear on the sea side.

“Thomas, bring all ship’s systems online. We’ll be leaving as soon as you return.”

“Yes, Captain, systems coming online,” Thomas’s voice came from the bridge’s speakers. There was a flash of light, and an explosion blew me from the flying deck and out into the water. My shields took the impact of the explosion, and the water. I looked back toward the ship and saw multiple underwater explosions. Seconds later I heard two torpedoes speeding past me and watched as they struck the WA’s ship.

“Captain, are you alright?”

I was able to answer due to being inside my shield’s “bubble.” “Yeah, but we lost the ship. They booby-trapped it with explosives, and they just torpedoed the WA’s ship. Break off your attack and return to the fleet’s bay. Don’t destroy anything else. I want them to think they’ve killed us. Set down where we sat on the bottom when we first got here. I’ll join you there.”

“Understood, Captain, en route, ETA two minutes.”

“Roger, out.” I reformed my shield, and it started propelling me toward our rendezvous point.

* * *

We’d been sitting on the bottom for the last two days while patrol boats ran sonar sweep back and forth over the area. There was also a sub further out lying in wait. We weren’t lying here out of fear of being caught. I was looking for answers.

Was the trap laid for me, or was it my bad luck that I stumbled into a trap meant for someone else? Wrong place, wrong time? Were the ship and the captured crew used as bait related, or two separate operations?

If it was two separate events, why rig the ship with explosives? And why torpedo the WA ship? It was already captured. Had I made a mistake, and if so, where? The only reason I could think of destroying both ships was to ensure no one escaped. Tom said they’d rather burn the planet
to a cinder than allow him to escape. Was this just SOP for them? Did they just kill everybody to ensure you killed the one you wanted?

“Anything?” I asked.

“They know their comms were compromised, but not to what extent. I’ve found no further mention of the WA ship or crew. And no mention at all of them blowing up the ship we were stealing. The story they are reporting is that there was a commando raid on the fleet and two ships were destroyed. All commandos are being reported as killed before they could escape.”

“OK, so they are covering up the events. But why? Who are they hiding the information from, their command, or our spies? Are we becoming predictable? Are we not paranoid, or suspicious enough? This whole thing is giving me a headache. Continue to sift through the intel. I’m going to try to get some sleep. You have the watch.”

“I have the watch,” Thomas replied.

* * *

I woke up early from a fitful sleep, took a shower, and went to the galley. I pulled a cup of coffee and sat down at the table.

“I found the mistake,” Thomas said.

“What was it?” I asked anxiously.

“It wasn’t your mistake; it was mine. When I ordered the ship to be put into dry dock, I used all the right signatures, order numbers, etc. However, I posted the orders straight to the shipyard’s computer system instead of sending them from their headquarters’ computers.”

I nodded, considering the new information.

“Apparently,” Thomas continued, “the shipyard’s colonel wanted to impress the HQ general and pushed the shipbuilders hard to get it done. The colonel was invited to a staff event and meal. He mentioned to the general how he would have his ship finished ahead of schedule. Of course, the general knew nothing about any ship and started asking questions. It went downhill from there. Their intel service found that their comms had been compromised, so they changed to face-to-face meetings with paper-only orders. I only found this out from an after-action report just logged.”

I nodded. “So they weren’t after us specifically.”

“No, they were after whoever showed up to steal the ship. They even sweetened the deal with a usable crew for the ship they were going to steal. They figured the WAs wouldn’t leave a captured crew behind, which further exposed the WAs to capture. The explosives on the ship were their failsafe in case they couldn’t close the trap. I assume torpedoing the WA ship was also a failsafe.”

“So we are still an unknown quantity?”

“As far as I can see, that is correct,” Thomas answered. “On the upside, I have made improvements on my intrusion protocols, and we now know all the major players in their HQ intel group.”

I nodded. “Valuable lessons learned, costly though they were.”

“Indeed.”

“In that case let’s go home and plan our next move. On second thought, take us twenty miles off the coast of Hampton Bay and set us on the bottom. Then we’ll plan our next move.”

“Yes, Captain, course laid in, executing. ETA seven hours.”

* * *

I sat on the stern of Havoc looking through the shields at the sea life as they swam around us. It was so quiet and peaceful down here. It seemed I’d left all my troubles in the world above, though I knew that was an illusion. Even so, it was nice while it lasted.

“Thomas, call Commander Rossen.” I heard the phone ringing in my ear, and then he picked up.

“Yes?”

“Good morning, Commander. Do you have a moment? I have some information for you.”

“Yes, I have some time.”

“I’ve come into possession of some information about a WA ship named the Heritage. She was captured by the EB about a month or so ago.”

“Captured? My information was she was lost with all hands.”

“No, she was captured. Half the crew was killed defending her; the other half were taken prisoner. The ship was taken to Schubert Bay, to the EB’s mothball fleet storage and dry dock. A local resistance group tried to rescue them and steal a ship but failed. There were no survivors.”

“How dependable is your information?”

“Well, nothing is ever 100 percent, but the person who passed the info was there, so . . .”

“I see, well, thank you for the intel,” he answered.

“Are the rail guns helping?”

He harrumphed. “They probably would, but the command doesn’t trust my source, or the plans, so they are studying and testing them.”

“Ah, bureaucracy at its best. Well, I’m sending you plans for a better version of O2 scrubbers. They are smaller and more efficient than what you currently use. They are also scalable, so they will help the subs, aircraft, or whatever needs O2 scrubbed.”

“Thank you. I’ll pass it along. Of course, they’ll probably test it until the end of the war.”

I thought for a moment. “Do you think some higher-up is intentionally blocking the improvements?”

He was silent for a moment. “I don’t have proof, and you never know about politicians.”

“Yeah, but in the middle of a war? Sounds like someone is actively trying to hinder the war effort,” I observed.

“As I said, I don’t have proof.”

“Does this suspect have a name?” I asked. “Maybe I can find out if he’s doing this on purpose, or just stupid.”

Again, he hesitated. “Senator Peter Cardinal,” he finally said.

“I’ll see what I can find out and get back to you,” and ended the call. “Thomas, find out all you can about senator Peter Cardinal. Track where every penny of his money comes from, and who’s paying.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Thirty minutes later I knew all Senator Cardinal’s dirty dealings. “Thomas, call the senator on his private line.” I heard the phone ringing.

“Hello?”

“Good afternoon, Senator. I’m sorry to bother you, but I had something important I needed to talk with you about.”

“Who is this?”

“That’s not important. What is important is the emails you are getting show all your dirty dealings and whom you’ve sold votes to, for how much, and for what causes. So check your email. I’ll wait.”

There were a few moments of silence. “What do you want?”

“You’ve been blocking the implementation of an important navy project. Specifically, the rail gun project. By tomorrow one of two things will have happened, either the rail gun project will be implemented, or every news outlet on the planet will have those emails,” I told him.

“I can’t make things happen that fast.”

“You held it up that fast. You have until tomorrow noon, Senator,” I said, and disconnected. I shrugged my shoulders. “Maybe that will work. If not, there are other methods to gain his cooperation. Thomas, email Rossen our info on Cardinal and how long we’ve given the senator to see the error of his ways.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Chapter 20

I left Havoc outside of Hampton Bay and used my shields to propel me into the naval harbor. I searched for the sub that had been there the last time I came, but she was gone. I checked the fast attack ship to see if they had left the microphones behind. They had not. I still did a thorough search, just to be sure, but found nothing.

I texted Thomas on my phone. I sent: “Bring the Havoc into the naval harbor. Meet me at the fast attack ship.”

He texted back: “En route.”

When he arrived, I went aboard the Havoc. “We are taking the fast attack ship to Homeshores. We are going to tow it behind us underwater. We’ll pull our shields around her, lock onto her, and tow her. It should be easier than pumping her out to fly her or diving her. We’ll put her into dry dock when we get there.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Good, let’s get started. The sooner we’re gone, the better I’ll like it.” We surrounded the FAS with our shield and left enough water around her to give her a negative buoyancy. That made her easier to tow. Once out of the bay and out into open water, we found the current flowing south and flowed along with it.

“Captain, Senator Cardinal got the rail gun project approved, and the navy is implementing it.”

“Good, but let’s keep an eye on him. When we don’t need him anymore, we’ll expose him to the media.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Using the current and our grav drive, we made Homeshores Naval Base in eight days. That’s when the real work started. Using Havoc’s grav crane made it a lot easier to get the FAS into dry dock. Once she was seated in the dry dock cradles and locked into place, I opened all the bilge valves. I went through the ship opening electronic cabinet doors, electrical cabinet doors, and basically anything with a door on it. Water was draining from her, but it was going to take a while for her to dry out. While she drained, I got started machining the grav emitters. It was going to take quite a few to cover a four hundred-foot-long ship.

Based on what I’d learned building the Havoc, I reevaluated the FAS. I decided to pull the water jet propulsion systems and use strictly grav drives, which would give me room for backup reactors and storage. Thank God for overhead cranes. There were no fuel bunkers because everything was electric and powered by reactors.

I was working long days trying to get the ship finished before the EBs showed up. Of course, the outcome would be different this time because I had Havoc and Thomas. I sat at the galley table eating a ration thinking about hamburgers and how much work I had to do to finish the FAS.

The only way to do the job any faster was to hire help. But did I really want to do that? Once that door was opened, it couldn’t be closed. And to be honest, I didn’t know anyone I trusted that much. Whom am I kidding? I don’t know that many people, trusted or not.

“Captain, Commander Rossen is calling,” Thomas announced.

I nodded. “Good evening, Commander.”

“I need help,” he said, straight to the point. “I have a special ops team down south. Their op didn’t go as planned, and they need extraction by sea. Are you anywhere close to Homeshores?”

“I am.”

“Is your boat able to pick up a team of eight, possibly under fire?”

“Send me their coordinates.”

“Coordinates received, bringing systems online,” Thomas said.

“Got it. Tell them Wraith is en route.” I clicked off. “How far away?”

“Sixty-three miles,” Thomas answered.

“Set the WAAV on the dock, then we’ll go.”

The overhead speaker came live, “Phantom, this is Sideline. How copy, over?” Rossen transmitted.

“Sideline, this is Phantom. Good copy, over.”

“Phantom, backup is en route. Call sign Wraith. Continue heading north. They will intercept,” Rossen said.

“Roger, Sideline, continue heading north, Wraith to intercept. Be advised we are taking fire; EB fast attack ship is in pursuit.”

“Thomas, take us airborne. Let’s get there soon.”

“Roger, lifting, accelerating. ETA four minutes,” Thomas answered.

“Phantom, this is Wraith. I have you on scan, ETA four minutes, continue your run north.”

“Roger, Wraith, understand ETA four minutes, continuing north.”

“Thomas, take us wide and parallel the fast attack ship. Put a pulse cannon round through the side of the bow. Try to sink it in one piece.”

“Understood,” Thomas answered.

I watched the monitor as we closed on the enemy ship. When I saw their FAS, it looked very similar to ours. “Target acquired, standing by,” Thomas said.

“Fire,” I ordered.

The pulse cannon spoke, and the first six feet of the FAS exploded, causing the ship to nosedive. “Reduce speed to sixty knots and put us on the water. Drop camo.”

“Sixty knots, on the water, no camo, aye. We’ve touched down and are in the clear, and we are closing on the spec ops boat,” Thomas reported.

“Phantom, this is Wraith. You’re clear from behind. I’m closing from your six.”

“Roger, Wraith.”

“Let’s pick them up, Thomas.”

“Yes, Captain.”

I stepped out onto the bridge deck as we pulled up beside the forty-five-foot charter fishing boat. I went down to the rear deck as they boarded.

“We have wounded, Captain,” their commander said.

“This way,” I said, leading them through the hatch to the crew area while their corpsman worked on the wounded. “Mr. Thomas, take us north, speed sixty knots.”

“Aye, Captain.”

I stayed out of their way but stayed close. The corpsman looked at me. “How far to the fleet?”

“Two hundred miles,” Thomas said in my ear.

“Two hundred miles, three hours at this speed,” I answered.

“Anything closer? He doesn’t have three hours,” the Corpsman said to his commander, who looked at me.

I shook my head, “Mr. Thomas, max shields, engage camo, take us up, emergency speed,” I said for the team’s benefit.

“Roger, Captain,” Thomas said over the loudspeakers. “Max shields, camo engaged. We’re up, emergency speed. ETA to fleet twelve minutes.”

The ops team was looking at me frowning. “Gentlemen,” I said. “This is an experimental boat. What you see and hear on this boat, stays on this boat.”

They all nodded. “Understood, Captain,” their commander said.

“Mr. Thomas, call Commander Rossen.”

“Yes?” Rossen said, answering his phone.

“Commander, you’re on speaker. We’ve recovered your men. They have critical wounded; let your med bay know. We’re coming in hot. I’ve had to show some of my ship’s capabilities, but a man’s life is at stake. ETA ten minutes. Have your med personnel standing by on your helideck.”

He said nothing for a moment. “Understood, Wraith, ETA ten minutes. Med bay standing by,” and the line went dead.

“Mr. Thomas, when we get to Commander Rossen’s ship, stop level with their helideck so the ops team can disembark quickly. Keep camo engaged, but let the team pass through the shields.”

“Understood, Captain.”

“Gentlemen, let’s move out onto the rear deck so you can get your man to the med bay.” They nodded and moved outside.

“Captain, if you ever need anything, call. We’ve got your back,” their commander said, shaking my hand.

“Stay safe, Commander,” I answered.

“ETA one minute,” Thomas announced over the loudspeaker.

We stood ready. Thomas stopped Havoc dead up against the helideck of the ship. The team didn’t hesitate; they unloaded right away. All anyone on the ship was able to see was a spec ops team materializing out of thin air.

As soon as they were clear, “Lift us one thousand feet,” I ordered.

“Altitude one thousand feet,” Thomas reported. “Incoming call from Commander Rossen.”

“Yes, Commander,” I answered.

“Thank you, Captain. I appreciate your help. I know it was a difficult decision to tip your hand like that.”

“How’s the wounded man?”

“They say he’ll live, but he wouldn’t have lasted more than thirty minutes without surgery. You getting him here saved his life.”

“Glad to hear he’ll be alright,” I answered.

“I’d like to meet with you, face-to-face. You name the time and place. I’ll be there. Alone,” Rossen said.

“I’ll let you know.” I clicked off. “Thomas, take us back to where we sank the FAS. Let’s see how bad she is.

“Yes, Captain.”

We landed a few miles from where the ship went down and continued underwater. We stopped right beside her, and as I thought, there were about six feet of her bow missing which caused her to sink fast.

“OK, extend our shields around her, and make her buoyance neutral like we did our FAS. We’ll tow her to Homeshores the same way.”

“Yes, Captain, understood.”

We had learned a lot towing an FAS, so this one went more smoothly. Once we got to the naval base, getting her into dry dock seemed easier as well. Of course, the grav crane helped tremendously. I went aboard and opened her bilge valves and all cabinet doors to let as much water out as possible, just as I had done on the other one.

I shook my head as I left the ship. “I’m going to need help if I plan on putting them back into operation within the next ten years,” I said to myself.

I boarded the Havoc. “Thomas, I’m taking a shower. Take us out five miles, and when clear of traffic, surface us. I need a burger.”

“Yes, Captain.”

* * *

I was just finishing my burger when Master Chief Bennett and a young woman walked up to my table. “Good evening, Captain. This is my daughter Casey.”

I stood. “Good evening. Pleased to meet you, Ms. Bennett.”

“Just Casey, Captain.”

“Then just Jimmy, Casey.”

“May we join you, Captain?” the master chief asked.

“Of course. Have you eaten?” I said, motioning for them to join me.

“We have.” He waved at Ms. Betty, who nodded and started toward the table with drinks, including another cola for me.

Once drinks were served, I asked, “What’s on your mind, Master Chief?”

He chuckled. “Straight to the point, huh?”

“You don’t strike me as the socializing type, Master Chief. But you’re always welcome at my table.”

Casey chuckled. “He’s met you before, Dad.”

“Yeah, OK, I’m not the socializing type, except with your mom. Anyway, to get to the point, we want to work for you. Casey is a trained chief engineer with a master’s in ship design and propulsion.”

“Well done,” I said, looking at Casey.

“I had a good teacher.” She patted her father’s arm.

“Why on my boat? You both seem overqualified to work on a salvage boat.” Master Chief gave me a look I’m sure many boot ensigns had seen. I couldn’t help but laugh. I held up my hands. “OK, let’s say I did need help. Working with me may put you in danger.”

“You mean more than on the edges of a war zone?” he asked.

I shrugged. “I sometimes go further in than just the edges. Tell me how many people here in Homeshores used to work at the dry dock?”

He shrugged. “Probably 90 percent.”

“And they are all still here?”

He nodded. “For the most part, yeah.”

My brain went into overdrive, considering options. “OK, let’s say, hypothetically, I work with the navy using the naval dry docks. I’m working on something that may open the dry docks, at least partially. If it works out, we might be able to put that 90 percent back to work. But I’m not there yet. In the meantime, I need help on a smaller scale. Maybe one crew to repair a smaller ship.”

“The thing is, once the town sees us going into the naval base, they’ll all want to get in on what they think is a salvage opportunity. It’s not. There are still active drones guarding the base, and they use deadly force.”

“You go there?” Casey asked.

“Yes, but I have authorization. Plus, once the word is out, every salvager from here to yonder will come like buzzards to a carcass.”

“So what’s the answer?” Casey asked.

I shrugged. “I’m not sure. But once the cat’s out of the bag, there’s no putting it back in.”

“Do you have work over there now?” Master Chief asked.

I nodded. “I do.”

The master chief was deep in thought. I took a few swallows of my cola and waited. “Let me talk to some people. Maybe we can find a workaround.”

“How do you get in and out of the base without being seen?” Casey asked.

“At night, blackout, no lights,” I answered.

She turned her head slightly, squinting her eyes at me. “Uh-huh,” she said in disbelief.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing,” she answered. “Maybe I could go with you on a tour sometime.”

“Sure, we’ll have to do that sometime,” I answered, smiling.

“Well, I’ll be going. I got some people to talk to,” the master chief said, getting up. “I’ll let you know what I find out.”

Casey stood as well. “Good night, Jimmy,” she said, smiling.

“Good night, Casey.” I smiled back.

I watched her walk away. “Nice girl too,” Ms. Betty said at my shoulder, almost making me jump. “And not married either, would ya believe it?”

I chuckled. “Can she cook a burger?”

“She’ll start practicing tomorrow,” Ms. Betty said, laughing. My laughter joined hers.

* * *

As usual, I got up early, started coffee, and showered. I was dressed and pouring my first cup of coffee when Thomas announced, “Miss Bennett is dockside calling for you, Captain.”

My eyebrows lifted. “Got it,” I said, and walked out on the aft deck.

“Good morning. Permission to come aboard for coffee?” she asked, smiling.

I chuckled. “Permission granted.” She jumped as nimbly as a cat from dock to deck. I led her into the galley, and she went right to the urn and pulled herself a cup. “What brings you around so early?”

“An opportunity,” she answered. “I’ve got a line on a boat adrift, but I need a ride to go claim her before someone else does. I’ll cut you in for a quarter if you take me.”

“How far out, and how big a boat?”

“Fifty to sixty miles, thirty- to forty-footer, maybe.”

I had a feeling I knew what boat it was. “OK,” I answered.

“Great, let’s get going.”

I smiled at her enthusiasm and headed for the bridge. I turned on all the scanner screens and manually took Havoc out, but I was sure Thomas was looking over my shoulder. “Which direction,” I asked as we came out of the harbor.

“Southeast,” she answered, taking a seat. “She sure runs quietly; I don’t even hear her engines.”

“Total electric, built to run quietly.” Checking the monitor for traffic, I pushed the throttles up to twenty knots. “So I’m guessing Homeshores Rescue tells you when there’s a possible derelict?”

She nodded. “I pay them a fee if it pans out. I’ve been hoping for a decent boat. Scrounging for rides cuts into my profit.”

I nodded. “You looking for something to live on or just a work boat?”

“Right now, whatever I find that floats and will get me there. Ya gotta start somewhere,” she said, smiling. “So far, the few I’ve managed to get I just fixed and sold to build up my operating capital.”

I nodded. “My first one was a small maintenance boat I salvaged from a river. The Havoc is my third, but I was lucky with her. Keep working on it. You’ll get there.”

The sonar scan pinged. “EB sub,” Thomas said in my ear. “Range two miles.”

“What’s that?” Casey asked, looking at the monitor.

“Sub,” I answered.

“Theirs or ours?”

“Theirs I think, about two miles out. They patrol all up and down the coast. I doubt they’ll give us a second glance.”

She nodded. “More coffee?” she asked, reaching for my cup.

“Yes, please,” I answered.

“Adjust course two points east to intercept the spec ops boat,” Thomas said in my ear. I nodded, adjusting our course.

Casey handed me my cup. “No crew, huh?”

I smiled. “Not at the moment. My last one left to go back to the active navy. I guess it was too boring for them.”

The sonar pinged again, we looked at the screen and saw the sub had changed course, coming closer to us. “OK, so maybe a second glance,” I said, smiling. After thirty minutes they changed course away from us and continued down the coast.

“Spec ops boat, range five miles,” Thomas said in my ear. The picture on the monitor changed to show the charter boat.

“I believe that’s your boat,” I said. She was all smiles. We pulled up beside it, and I called over the loudspeaker, “Ahoy, this is the Havoc. Ahoy, anyone aboard?” Of course, it was all show for Casey.

“I hope not,” Casey said, watching intently.

We went out on the deck and tied her to the Havoc, and Casey jumped aboard. She did a quick search of the boat, then came back on deck. Hands on her hips, she said, “How do you like my new boat?” She threw her arms in the air, shouting.

When she stopped dancing, I asked, “How’s her fuel?”

She went to the dash and turned back to me ,shaking her head. “Zero,” she called out.

I nodded. “No problem, we’ll tow her in.”

She nodded, and we got her rigged to tow.

“Congratulations, Captain,” I said to her. “You have a boat.”

“Torpedo in the water, range four thousand yards and closing fast,” Thomas announced over the loudspeaker.

“Crap,” I said, looking back at Casey’s boat.

“Thomas, raise shields, cut tow lines, but hold the position.”

“Shields up,” Thomas answered.

I grabbed Casey’s hand. “Let’s get to the bridge, now,” I said, pulling her. She ran right beside me. “Sit down in that chair and buckle in.” She nodded, buckling her seatbelt.

“Range?” I asked.

“One thousand yards and closing,” Thomas answered.

“How deep is the bottom here?”

“It is 280 feet.”

“When the torpedo hits, dive the boat and set on the bottom,” I ordered.

“Understood, Captain.”

I looked at Casey. “We’re going to be fine,” I said calmly to her. She looked at me, nodding, and relaxed . . . a little.

“Impact in three, two, one.” There was a fireball at our stern and the thundering boom of the explosion. “Diving the boat, depth 280,” Thomas announced.

Casey’s eyes got a little wider when the bow dove and we went underwater. “Charter boat destroyed, no damage to Havoc. All boards are green. Depth 280,” Thomas reported.

“Who is Thomas?” Casey asked.

“Mr. Thomas is my first officer. He keeps me out of trouble.”

“A pleasure, Casey. Sorry about your boat.”

She nodded, frowning. “Thank you, Thomas.” She looked at me. “So much for boring,” she said, looking out at the undersea world.

Chapter 21

“So, what now?” Casey asked.

“Now we wait for them to satisfy themselves we’re dead, and see which way they turn.”

“And then?” she persisted.

“And then, we move up behind them and return the favor by firing a torpedo of our own,” I answered. She didn’t say anything, just nodded.

“They are returning to their southerly course, Captain,” Thomas said.

“Understood. Ready a torpedo. Move us in behind them, close to two thousand yards,” I ordered.

“Torpedo ready, standing by. Closing on target,” Thomas reported.

“How many ships and subs have you sank?” Casey asked.

I shrugged. “A few. We don’t normally go hunting them, but in this case, they shot first, and it is war.”

She nodded. “I know. It’s just that I’ve never been this close to it before.”

“I hope this is the closest you ever get. War is a terrible thing,” I said.

“Target locked, range two thousand yards,” Thomas reported.

“Fire torpedo,” I ordered.

We heard the torpedo as it left the tube. “Torpedo away, tracking locked,” Thomas reported. “They’re launching countermeasures. Our torpedo is ignoring their ECM. Impact in three, two, one . . .” We heard a muffled explosion, then another. “Target destroyed.”

“Very well, turn us toward Homeshores, speed twenty knots.”

“RTB, speed twenty knots, aye.”

“Would you like some lunch?” I asked Casey.

She shook her head. “Not just yet. Can we go out on the deck?”

“Sure.” I opened the bridge door and led her down onto the rear deck.

She stood looking at the undersea world around us. “This is amazing,” she whispered. I smiled. She turned to me. “How does it work? I mean, I heard you tell Thomas to raise shields, but how does it work?”

I shrugged. “The easiest answer is that it’s a gravitational force field,” I answered. She frowned as if trying to understand what I’d just said.

Then her face lit up. “That’s why your propulsion is so quiet: you’re using gravitational propulsion. I mean it’s been theorized for years, but no one’s ever done it.” I nodded, surprised she caught on so quickly. “Is it your design? Did you invent it? Or perfect it, I should say?”

I shook my head. “No, I just followed the blueprints given to me and built it.”

“Who did then?”

“That’s classified. One rule, one unbreakable rule is he remains anonymous. Because once his inventions are known, every government in the world will be looking for him. They’ll want to control him, and if they can’t, they’ll kill him. They’ve already tried. I don’t know his name or where he is, and we both like it that way.”

Casey nodded. “OK, I can see that. It’s just so amazing. Wait, does the government have this tech?”

I shook my head. “Not all of it. He gives it to them, through me, a little at the time.”

“So they are looking for you rather than him,” she observed.

“Basically, yes.”

“That’s a dangerous game you’re playing.”

I shrugged. “Someone’s got to do it, or we’ll lose the war.”

She nodded.

“Ready for lunch?” I asked, heading for the galley.

She nodded and followed. “Wait.” I turned back to her. “This,” she pointed at the shield, “is how you go in and out of the naval base without being seen.”

I smiled, nodding, and I thumb pointed over my shoulder. “We can talk about it over lunch.”

She shook her head. “Mom said you were mostly stomach.” I busted out laughing and continued toward the galley. I went into the kitchen, and she followed. I took two t-rations out of the freezer and put them in the microwave.

“You don’t have any real food?” she asked.

I shook my head. “I can’t cook. Well, I can cook eggs, and I can cook meat well enough, but that’s about as good as it gets. I eat a lot of military rations, which is why I eat at the Burger Barn so much.” I couldn’t resist, “Which, by the way, your mother said she was going to have you start practicing your burger cooking,” I said. smiling.

She chuckled. “Don’t start none, won’t be none.”

We took our hot t-rations to a table and began to eat. After a few bites, Casey stopped. I looked at her food. “What’s wrong?”

She looked at me, blinking. “This boat will fly, won’t it? You would simply reconfigure the gravitational propulsion and it would lift the weight rather than just pushing it.” She looked at me intently. “It does, doesn’t it.”

I smiled. “You’re pretty quick. I think your talent would be wasted as a cook.”

“Well, thank you so much for your affirmation. Is that a yes?”

I chuckled. “Yes,” I answered.

She squinted her eyes at me. “You said you had boats in the dry dock to repair.”

I nodded.

“Take me,” she said. “I’d like to see what you’re working on. Then you can take me to the Barn for dinner.”

I thought for a moment. “Thomas, take us to our slip at the naval base.”

“Yes, Captain.”

* * *

We did a quick walk-through of the two fast attack ships. She didn’t say much and asked few questions. We made it back to the Barn by ten o’clock. Ms. Betty raised an eyebrow at me as we passed the counter, then smiled.

As usual, we took one of the tables at the back. Ms. Betty brought two colas when she came. “One check or two?” she asked.

“One,” I answered.

She smiled. “A date, is it?”

“Stop it, Mom. You’re going to scare him.”

Ms. Betty harrumphed. “Not this one,” she said, looking intently into my eyes. “I doubt there’s much that does scare him. Anyway, what can I get you?”

“Steak, baked potatoes, salad with oil and vinegar,” I answered.

“I’ll have the same, please,” Casey said.

Ms. Betty smiled. “Uh-huh, that’s how it starts.”

“Would you stop!” Casey said.

Ms. Betty left humming. “Forgive my mother, please?” Casey asked. “She thinks I only have two prospects for a husband, slim and none.”

I smiled. “No problem.”

“So what’s your plan for handling those two boats?”

I shrugged, taking a swallow of my cola. “Well, number two, the one that needs a nose job, I got mostly for her missiles, torpedoes, and some of her other ammo. Number one doesn’t have any. Once number one is finished, and munitions cross loaded, we’ll concentrate on number two.”

“I noticed Havoc’s guns are not standard. Will we be upgrading number one’s guns as well?”

I smiled. “We will. But I’m not sure how much upgrading we’ll do on number two. I still have some deals to make and some problems to solve.”

“Navy problems?” Casey asked.

I nodded. “Among others.” Our food arrived, and we concentrated on eating.

When we finished, she said, “Thank you for an unforgettable day, Jimmy.”

“It was my pleasure. Sorry you didn’t get your boat.”

She smiled. “That’s OK, I got much more than a boat today. I need to find dad and see what he’s found out. Good night.”

“Good night, Casey.” I watched her leave, lost in thought.

“So what do you think of my girl?”

I almost jumped again. “I think you are going to give me a heart attack if you don’t quit sneaking up on me.”

“I’m not sneaking. You weren’t paying attention to anything but her.”

I shrugged. “All kidding aside, that is one smart woman.”

“Then you get a two-for-one. She can cook too,” she said, chuckling.

I shook my head. “Good night, Ms. Betty.”

“Good night, dear.”

* * *

I was pulling my first cup of coffee when Thomas spoke. “Casey and her father are dockside asking for you.”

I took a swallow of coffee. “Is her father carrying a shotgun?” I asked, smiling.

“He is not,” Thomas answered.

“Good,” I said, heading for the back deck. “Good morning,” I called. “Come on in.” I led them to the galley. “Coffee’s over there, help yourself.”

I sat down, and they got their coffee and joined me. “Dad wanted to talk to you because I wouldn’t give him any specifics about our trip yesterday,” Casey said. “As I didn’t have permission to share, I thought we’d come by before he had a stroke.” I chuckled.

“I wasn’t that bad,” the master chief said.

“Well,” I started, “the highlight is, I showed Casey some of the capabilities of this experimental boat. Then we took a quick look at the two boats I have in dry dock. Then we went to dinner at the Barn.”

“What’s so secret about that?” the master chief asked.

“Have you got time for a quick trip?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he answered.

“Mr. Thomas, take us out five miles.”

“Aye, Captain.”

“So,” I said, getting up, “let’s start our tour in the propulsion room.” They followed me as I led them around the boat on my show-and-tell, ending at the bridge.

“Five miles, Captain,” Thomas reported.

Master Chief looked around for Thomas. “OK, you have some high-tech drives, and an AI. Why so secretive?”

“Mr. Thomas, dive the boat, depth one hundred,” I ordered.

“Diving the boat, depth one hundred, aye.”

Master Chief’s eyes went wide as the bow went under and continued to dive. He took a deep breath. “OK, I didn’t see that one coming.”

“The boat is enclosed in a gravitational bubble, which in effect is a force field,” Casey explained.

He frowned. “Force field?” We nodded. He stared at the undersea world. “OK, I can see the need for secrecy for this.”

“Thomas, take us to our dry dock slip,” I ordered.

“Yes, Captain.”

“You might as well see the ships we’ll be working on while we are out,” I said.

“While we wait, dad found out a few things too,” Casey commented.

He nodded. “I did some asking around. The bottom line is everyone wants to go back to work at the dry dock. They’ll not talk about it, and anyone who does will probably get a thumpin’. They figure we’ll have to start slow and build up. The ones who don’t have the technical skills are willing to act as perimeter guards.”

I nodded. “Good. That gives us a starting place. And a bargaining chip when I talk to the navy man about more support.” We surfaced in our dry dock slip and toured the two ships. I explained, in simple terms, what my plan was.

Master Chief nodded. “When do you want to start?”

“How long do you need to put our first refit team together?”

“Three, four days tops.”

“Then we start in four days.” Both of them were grinning from ear to ear.

* * *

At 0600 I was waiting by Havoc’s slip when the master chief, Casey, and the repair team showed up. “The first thing we need to do is get everyone registered as authorized in this area. Otherwise, the drones may not like it,” I said.

We had one of the drones take facial recognition and voice prints of all of them. I gave the master chief the work schedule, and he put them to work. Once they were started, I called the master chief and Casey over. “I’m going to be gone for a week or so. I’m going to see about getting more support for the dry docks. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“We’ll keep working,” the master chief said.

“You be careful,” Casey added.

I nodded. “I will. You do the same. The drones should be able to handle the curious. Anything more, leave. Don’t risk yourselves.”

I boarded Havoc, and for the first time left the navel harbor in the open. “Mr. Thomas, take us out north along the coast for ten miles. When we are clear of all traffic, dive the boat. We’re going to Hampton Naval Base.”

“Yes, Captain.”

* * *

We entered the navy harbor slowly, checking to see if the sub had returned. She had not. We surfaced inside the navy harbor and moored down from the AHT boats. “Unload the WAAV onto the dock. I’m going to check around and see what’s left to work with. I’ll check the drones first. If I can get them operational, that will give us some added warning and protection. You keep an eye on everything else.”

“Yes, Captain, understood.”

With WAAV’s and my shields and camo engaged, I drove to the airfield where the drone’s charging station was. All ten of them were there and needed charging. I opened the back of the WAAV, downloaded the portable reactor generator, and plugged it into the drone’s charging station. Once everything was wired, I started the drones changing.

“Thomas, when the drones are charged, put them to work guarding the perimeter,” I ordered.

“Yes, Captain.”

At first glance, the bombing attack had done a lot of damage. The ammo dump was a total loss, as was most of the Marine equipment storage area. But on closer inspection, and digging through some damaged walls, I found quite a bit of useful supplies and equipment.

I walked and crawled through aisles of jumbled messes, looking at what was usable. I stopped at one area to read crate tags. I smiled when I found a few crates of marine scout hover drones. These were small, unarmed drones that scouted ahead of Marines on the move.

I opened the crates to start assembling them, but they were already assembled. I just had to unfold them and plug in their micro power supply. The instructions said the power supply should last five years in normal use, which probably meant they’d last two.

“Thomas, link with these drones and have them scout and inventory what we can salvage from these warehouses. That will save me the trouble of crawling through them myself. I’m returning to the Havoc.”

“Yes, Captain.”

As I was boarding the Havoc, I glanced down the dock at the few AHTs that were still afloat and nodded to myself. I walked to the stern and sat down. “Thomas, call Commander Rossen.”

The phone rang twice. “Yes?”

“Are you able to meet me now?” I asked.

“Where?”

“Hangar one at the Hampton Naval Air Station.”

He was quiet for a moment. “I can be there in three hours,” he answered.

“I’ll see you then.” I clicked off.

“You think he’ll come alone?” Thomas asked.

“We’ll find out soon enough. But just to cover our bases, monitor all comms traffic and keep an eye on the satellite for any unusual movement. Lift Havoc and hover us over hangar number one, with shields and camo. From there we can cover pretty much everything. Retask those marine drones and deploy them around the base to give us better scan coverage.

“Yes, Captain.”

A thought occurred to me, “Thomas, if I jump from the Havoc, my shield’s grav shield will lower me safely to the ground, correct?”

“Correct.”

“Lower Havoc to three feet, and hold.”

“Three feet and holding.”

“Let’s test my shield’s gravity field,” I said, and jumped off Havoc. My shield’s field lowered me to the ground. I jumped back up onto Havoc. “Raise to twenty feet,” I ordered.

“Twenty feet and holding.”

I jumped off, and the shield’s field lowered me to the ground. “I want to jump back up to the Havoc,” I said. Thomas controlled my field to lift me back aboard Havoc. I nodded. “That’ll work.”

“Now we wait,” I said, looking at the stars in the night sky.

Chapter 22

“Contact,” Thomas said, “Bearing 285, speed four hundred, range three hundred miles, altitude thirty-five thousand feet. That is one of the scheduled civilian airline routes, but those haven’t been used in some time.”

“And I doubt if they are now. Keep track of them,” I observed.

“Yes, Captain.”

I went to the galley and made myself a meal. Well, it was more like putting a tray in the microwave, but it was food. When it was ready, I sat down at a table and began to eat. While I ate, I let my mind wander. What would I do if Rossen didn’t come alone? What should I do if he didn’t come alone?

I knew I was going to ask for a Marine contingent to guard the Homeshores base and dry docks. I was also going to ask for material support like food, parts, and raw material for the machine and welding shops.

But what else should I ask for? And what was I going to give him in return? One thing would be ship repairs at the dry dock, but I was sure that wouldn’t be enough.

“Second contact,” Thomas announced. “This one is coming from the direction of Rossen’s ship. Range one hundred miles, altitude fifty feet. ETA thirty minutes.”

“Yeah, that’s probably Rossen. What’s the other contact doing?”

“No change on the second contact.”

“Well, that’s not likely a coincidence. Keep an eye on them. I’d bet a can of Beanie Weenies they’re up to something.”

“Understood.”

I took my coffee and went to the bridge. “Rossen’s plane is gaining altitude, one thousand feet,” Thomas reported. The monitor showed the plane approaching; then someone parachuted from the plane. The plane dropped below fifty feet and continued on its way.

“I didn’t expect that,” I mused. I watched as the parachutist landed, gathered his chute, and started walking across the airfield.

“There is an active tracker on that person,” Thomas reported. I shrugged, shaking my head. “Scattered scan flicker from first contact.” Thomas continued, “If we had not been watching closely, we would have missed it. If we are covering all bases, I suspect the scatterings are a HALO assault team. ETA thirty to forty-five minutes.”

“Now the question is, are they with Rossen or after him? Either way, they’ll be after us. Send two scout drones northeast to watch for the assault team,” I ordered.

“En route,” Thomas answered.

“Show time,” I said, stepping off Havoc and descending to the ground, landing lightly. “My camo off.”

“Camo off,” Thomas answered.

“Right on time,” I said as he approached. “But we have a problem.”

“There’s an active tracker in my chute,” he said.

I nodded. “And there is a HALO assault team landing to our northwest. Friends of yours?”

He shook his head. “Not with me,” he said, looking northwest.

“Well, let’s give them something to see. Let’s move over to that building.” I pointed. “You’re going to need to trust me.”

He nodded. “OK, let’s see what they do,” and we moved over to stand outside the building in plain sight. “Throw your chute inside,” I said, opening the door.

“Assault team on the ground, moving this way. ETA twenty minutes,” Thomas reported.

“Understood,” I answered, with my hand to my ear so Rossen would know I was talking to someone else.

“Their assault is on the ground, ETA twenty minutes,” I said to Rossen. He nodded. “Who did you tell you were coming here?” I asked.

“I gave no one my final destination. They did know I was going out on a mission, but that’s all.”

“So someone, our side or theirs, is very interested in where you were going.”

“It would seem,” he answered.

“Any guesses as to which side?”

He chuckled. “Both. In my business you suspect everyone.”

I shook my head. “I wouldn’t want your job,” I replied.

“The assault team is in position and has a clear line of sight on you,” Thomas reported.

“Time to move inside,” I said, stepping inside and leaving the door open. “Stand close to me, and walk when I walk,” I said to Rossen. “Thomas, expand the camo field to cover us both.”

“Shields expanded, camo engaged. You are both now covered,” Thomas replied.

“Time to go,” I said to Rossen. “Just walk normally. They can’t see us.” He nodded, staying right beside me. “Thomas, pick us up on the off side of the hangar, then move back into overwatch position.” I didn’t want to show Rossen all my shield capabilities.

“Understood, Captain.”

When we got to the offside of the hangar, Havoc’s stern became visible and we climbed aboard. As we moved to the bridge, Thomas moved us back to our position above the hangar.

“Any change?” I asked.

“None. They have remained in their watch position,” Thomas answered over the speakers.

“So now we wait to see what they do next,” I commented.

“If they are ours, I expect they’ll just watch and report. If they are EBs, maybe watch and report, maybe attempt capture,” Rossen offered.

“They have just transmitted over secure comms,” Thomas announced.

The overhead speakers came on. “Confirmed, primary is meeting with an unknown subject.”

“Understood, paint the target,” came the reply.

“The assault team has engaged a laser targeting system. They are targeting the building where the tracker is located. Warning, sub-launched cruise missile detected. Impact in thirty seconds,” Thomas announced.

“Take no action,” I ordered. “Let’s let this play out.”

“Yes, Captain,” Thomas answered.

We watched the approaching missile close on its target. The explosion completely destroyed the building, scattering debris across the airfield.

“Target destroyed,” the assault team reported. “No survivors.”

“Understood, return to LZ,” came the response.

“Where is that transmission coming from?” Rossen asked.

“The sub offshore,” Thomas reported.

We watched as the assault team left the area heading northwest. “Monitor them. Let’s see who picks them up,” I ordered.

“Yes, Captain.”

“So much for observing, or capturing,” I said to Rossen.

“Umm. Whose sub was that?” he asked.

“It’s not clear, but the missile was a WA type,” Thomas answered.

I considered options. Someone had just tried to kill me . . . again. I wanted to know who was behind it. Making my decision, “Let’s go find out which side launched the missile. Thomas, take us out to their area, ease us under, and get us in behind them,” I said, looking at Rossen.

“Understood, Captain. En route.”

Rossen frowned as we flew from our overwatch position out to sea. I had to smile as he gripped the arms of the chair when we dove the boat.

“Mother of God,” he said wide-eyed. Then looked at me. “Where did you get this tech?”

“One step at a time,” I answered.

“Tracking sub . . . closing on target . . . Target is an older-generation medium-range EB missile sub,” Thomas reported.

I frowned. “That’s kind of odd, isn’t it?”

“That means it’s one of their intel subs used specifically by their state intel group. Top-level, hush-hush business,” Rossen explained.

“So they fired a stolen WA missile to cover their tracks,” I said.

He nodded. “Yeah. We would have done the same thing.”

“So I’m guessing we want to let them go so they think their mission was a success.”

Rossen shrugged. “Lies within lies.”

I shook my head. “Thomas, set us on the bottom. Coffee, Commander?”

“Sure,” he answered, following me to the galley.

We got our coffee and sat down at a table. “The tech,” I began, “belongs to a defecting EB scientist. He is hyper-paranoid. He never meets with anyone, not even me, nor does he disclose his location. They’ve tried to kill him on numerous occasions to keep his tech from gelling out. He doesn’t trust the WAs for the same reason. Everyone wants his tech and wants to control him. And if they can’t have him and his tech, they’ll kill him.”

“So you’ve never met him?”

“Nope. He contacts me by email, phone, or whatever. Always on a random schedule.”

“How do you contact him?”

“I don’t. He contacts me.”

“So what if you need help?”

I chuckled. “As he put it, sink or swim.”

He nodded. “Senator Cardinal is dead. Aneurism, the report said.”

“Well, that’s awfully convenient.”

He nodded. “Loose ends. On the upside, the tech you’ve given us is now in production.”

“Good. Now I need some help from you.”

“And what would that be?”

“Are you ready to go to war? Not the WA government’s war. Real war, targets of our choosing. Whenever, wherever.”

He thought for a moment. “Within reason. I’m not going to nuke anyone.”

“No nukes, just hitting them where it will hurt the most. Not asking permission from people who may compromise the mission, politicians who are only interested in what they can get out of it.”

“I’m with you in principle. But who gives the finale OK? Who says stop?”

I shrugged. “We do. I look for targets of opportunity. You give me strategic targets. And because they won’t be able to stop us, sooner or later they’ll come to the bargaining table.”

“Why won’t they be able to stop us?” he asked, frowning.

“Because no one will know who we are. There’s no off switch for politicians to flip. They either come to the table, or we keep going.”

“Military targets only.”

I nodded. “Them and their leaders. Not the general population.”

He took a few swallows of his coffee, thinking. I waited. “What do you need?”

“The dry dock at Homeshores, I’ve started putting it back into operation using the civilians who worked there before the war. I need base security, maybe a Marine company. Logistics support, parts, materials, food, etc.”

“And all off book,” he finished.

“That’s your side of the house. How you do it is your department. I just collect salvage and blow stuff up. But you know that if anyone finds out what you’re doing they’ll probably kill you and come after me and the dry dock base.”

He nodded. “That’s a given. Bear in mind that since this will all be off book, help and materials may come from some unusual sources. And for some of it, you’ll just have to use your imagination.”

I nodded. “So what’s your next move?” I asked.

“Go back to the fleet and act like it’s just another day at the office. Of course, I’ll be checking with some of my contacts to see if they know of anything going on.”

“Do I need to drop you somewhere?” I asked, smiling.

He chuckled. “Hampton will be fine. I’ll find my way back from there. It will also sell the story of how I survived.”

We surfaced, flew to Hampton, and let Rossen off on a dark back street. “Good luck, Commander,” I said as he left.

“You, too, Captain.” He waved, walking away.

“So, use my imagination, huh? OK . . . Thomas, time to get to work . . . again.”

* * *

We linked two naval barges together and moored the two best AHTs to them. They still needed a lot of work, but they were hulls. Besides, I kind of owed Casey a boat. I planned on taking as much as I could with me when I left this time.

Using Havoc’s grav crane, we started loading metal from the material laydown yard. We took the rail gun from the rooftop. That would save me from having to make another one, though I planned on doing that too. Havoc’s crane peeled the roofs of the warehouse back and started transferring everything to the barges. I moved the drone’s recharging station to the barge, while the drones continued their duties. I’d recall all drones just before we left. When we were through, it looked like a tornado had torn through the place, taking everything with it.

Once it was dark, I said, “Thomas, recall all drones to their charging station. Hover over the barges and boats. Extend our shields and camo over them, in preparation for departure.”

“Shields extended, camo engaged, Captain.”

“Set a course for Homeshores and take us out of the harbor. Once in open water, increase to best speed.”

“Moving out of the harbor, will increase to best speed once we are in open water, aye.”

I watched from the bridge for a while, then went to the galley and made myself dinner. I sat at the table letting my mind drift over future plans. “Did those future plans include Casey Bennett?” I shrugged. “Maybe,” I said to myself, smiling.

On the tenth night, and under camo, I moved the barges into the Homeshores Naval Base. I moored the barges across the way from the dry dock. “Thomas, add these drones to the naval base’s watch.”

“Yes, Captain,” he answered, and the drones took flight heading for their new assignments.

That done, we flew the Havoc out of the harbor, sat down on the sea, and started into Homeshores harbor with our marker lights on. When I got to the civilian dock, I moored us in what had become our regular slip.

“Thomas, you have the watch.”

“Aye, Captain, I have the watch.”

I made a bet with myself and went to bed.

* * *

I, as usual, got up early, started coffee, took my shower, and went back to the galley for a hot cup of joe.

“Captain, Miss Casey is dockside. She says she brought breakfast.”

I chuckled. “Won that bet,” I said, smiling. I went to the lower deck hatch and opened it. “Breakfast, ya say?” I called out.

She held up bags. “Well, the making for it,” she answered, smiling.

“Welcome aboard, madam.” She jumped aboard and followed her to the kitchen.

“I didn’t think you would have anything fresh, so I brought some. Eggs, bacon, potatoes, and fixin’s.”

“You would be correct; I don’t have anything fresh. I guess I need to do better in that department,” I answered.

“Come on, I’m not doing this by myself. Start cubing those potatoes for the cowboy potatoes you like.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Anything crazy happen while I was gone?” I asked as I cut potatoes.

“Not crazy, but the mood of the town has improved. Your business interest seemed to be doing well. The farmer and rancher partnership is already showing signs of improving production. Annie Brite is doing good business, and she has kept her prices stable, not gouging anyone. All in all a good thing.”

“Good,” I said, pouring the potatoes into a frying pan. “How are things at the dry dock?”

“On schedule. We added a few more workers to keep it that way. We’ve pulled the engines from boat one, making more room for the redundant reactors. The machine shop is making the emitters, and we’ll start installing them soon. Did you meet with your contact?”

“I did,” I answered, adding chopped onions to the potatoes. “There were some minor complications, but he committed to helping us as much as he could. Not as much as I hoped, but he told me to use my imagination to get the things we needed that he couldn’t supply.”

“So we’re still in the salvage business.”

“And the beg, borrow, and steal business,” I answered. “As a matter of fact, there are two barges of parts, materials, and equipment over at the navy docks that I found.”

Casey chuckled. “You found them?” she asked, smiling.

“Yep, just sitting there, begging me to take them home with me.”

She laughed. “Sounds like a puppy I got once.”

I smiled. “No puppy, but I did bring you a gift.”

“What kind of gift?”

“I’ll show you later when we go over to the navy docks. Right now, it’s time to eat,” I said, taking up the potatoes.

After breakfast, we took the Havoc over to the naval harbor. Watching from the bridge, Casey frowned when she saw the barges. “Just found those, did ya?” I nodded, keeping my face serious. “And the boats?” she asked.

“Oh.” I shook my head. “No, those I stole. I mean they were just sitting there. One of them is yours.” She looked back at the boats. “I felt bad that we got your last one blown up. So consider one of these its replacement.” I put the Havoc right next to the AHTs. “It needs some work, but she still floats.”

She didn’t say anything, just walked out and started toward the boats. “Not the reaction I was expecting,” I thought to myself. I followed her out and sat on Havoc’s stern while she looked over the boats. When she was satisfied, she came and sat on the stern of her boat. She was deep in thought, so I waited.

She finally looked me in the eyes. “Thank you for the boat. It was very thoughtful. But I’d like to discuss another option with you.”

“OK,” I answered.

“You, we, are about to become very busy. And I have a feeling this work, this place, will draw a lot of attention from unwanted guests. You are going to need help. Thomas can do a lot but not everything. I’d like to propose we partner,” she said, biting her lip. “I bring a lot to a partnership. I’m a fully trained marine engineer, I know the dry docks, and the local people and I’ll have your back when things get difficult.”

I nodded. absorbing what she’d just proposed. “Have you spoken to your father about this?” I asked.

She raised an eyebrow. “I’m a grown woman. I make my own decisions,” she almost growled.

I held my hands up. “OK, no offense meant.”

She lowered her eyes. “I’m sorry. This is stressful for me. Mom says I’ve scared all the boys, now men, away. I don’t want to sound desperate. I never wanted to accept someone just because they were available. I wanted to partner with someone who would see me as an equal, real partners,” she said, looking back into my eyes.

I nodded. “Alright. Well, anyone who ever looked at you as anything other than an equal was a fool. I have no doubt you can pull your weight, and I think the two of us will do better together than as individuals. So I agree to a partnership until we agree to dissolve it.”

“Agreed,” she said. We stood and shook hands.

“Welcome aboard, partner,” I said. She smiled and jumped aboard.

* * *

We—Ms. Betty, Master Chief, Casey, and I—sat at the table in the rear of the Burger Barn. “Whose idea was this?” the master chief asked, looking at me.

“Mine,” Casey spoke up. “It was my decision. I approached him.”

I nodded.

“Good for you, dear,” Ms. Betty said, smiling. “If I’d waited for your dad to ask, I’d still be single.”

“If you hurt my daughter . . .” the master chief left the rest unsaid.

“Master Chief, I have a feeling if I hurt Casey, they’d never find my body.”

“Oh, I can guarantee it, son,” the master chief said.

Casey and Ms. Betty were hiding smiles behind their hands. “OK,” I said, “I’m glad we got that out of the way.”

“I’ll go get the burgers,” Ms. Betty said, and went to the kitchen.

We talked as we ate. “So I guess you’ll be staying aboard the Havoc?” Ms. Betty asked.

Casey nodded. “I have my own cabin and head.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her father nod. “Points for me,” I thought to myself.

“You trust your contact?” the master chief asked.

I chuckled. “No. As he told me recently, in this business you don’t trust anyone. So we’ll take whatever help he sends, but we’ll take care of ourselves, ourselves. The first thing we need to do is improve our defenses. And when I say improve, I mean have overwhelming firepower so only a fool would try us. And if a fool does, we’ll bury them where they fall.”

“And where do you plan on getting this overwhelming firepower?” the master chief asked.

I smiled. “There are derelict tanks literally all over the place. While you work on the ships, I’ll bring the best of them here and put them back into operation. We’ll also be adding rail guns to our defenses.” I stopped. “Where’s the closest army post?”

“Fort Riddle, four, maybe five hundred miles from here,” the master chief answered.

“It is 437,” Thomas said in my ear.

I nodded. “Anyway,” I continued, “that’s the next step, and we’ll start looking for tanks tomorrow. We’ll be gone a few days looking for battlefields, but we’ll be back soon.”

* * *

As soon as Casey and I were back aboard Havoc, “Thomas, take us out to sea,” I said.

“Yes, Captain,” he announced over the speakers.

“Where are we headed?” Casey asked.

“Not sure yet. Let’s see what Thomas has found on satellite.”

“Satellite? He can do that?”

“Careful, you’ll hurt his feelings,” I said, chuckling.

“Indeed, I can, satellites show four cold battlefields to choose from,” Thomas responded.

“Is one of the battlefields in the direction of Fort Riddle?” I asked.

“There are actually two in that direction.”

“Then take us to those.”

“Yes, Captain, en route.”

We watched as Havoc lifted from the sea and turned west. “Amazing,” Casey said.

Chapter 23

We moved slowly over the first cold battlefield looking for salvageable tanks. So far, I didn’t see that much that would be salvageable. “OK, let’s move on to the second field. Maybe we’ll have better luck there.

“Yes, Captain, en route.”

Over the second field, we saw a couple of tanks that deserved a closer look. “I’ll go down for a closer look. You maintain the overwatch,” I said to Casey.

She nodded. “Don’t take any chances.” I nodded and stepped off Havoc and dropped slowly to the ground.

“How did you do that?” Casey asked.

“What?” I asked, smiling.

“Don’t make me come down there.”

I chuckled. “I’m wearing a shield vest. We’ll make you one when we get back to base.”

“Uh-huh.”

I checked the tanks; one was a medium with a ruined drive motor. The other was a heavy with a destroyed final drive. “These two are salvageable. We’ll take them. Bring me up, Thomas.”

When I got to the side of Havoc, Casey was standing there. “Shield vest? You could have told me so I wouldn’t have worried,” she said.

I shrugged. “Sorry,” I said, stepping aboard Havoc. “I’ll do better.”

“You better,” Casey answered, walking back to the bridge.

I shrugged. “Thomas, lift those two tanks and take us to Fort Riddle.”

“Yes, Captain.”

I went to my cabin and got my spare shield vest and went to the bridge. “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything about my vest. It just didn’t occur to me. This is my spare shield vest,” I said, handing it to her. It doesn’t have all the capabilities of my new one, but it will keep you safe. Just don’t jump off the ship. We’ll build you a new one when we get back home.”

She took the vest and put it on. “Apology accepted. It’s a little big, but it will do for now,” she said, settling herself into it. “Can you make mine in a different color?” I rolled my eyes and walked away.

* * *

“Wow,” Casey said. “It looks like things got a little nasty down there.” I nodded, looking at the battlefield around the fort. It wasn’t one big battlefield; it looked like several small ones.

“We have movement,” Thomas reported as the monitor zoomed in on an area.

“What is that?” Casey asked.

“A gun mech drone,” Thomas answered. “Basically, a six-legged robot with a 30 mm cannon on its back. They use them for infantry support and perimeter security.”

“Well, if they’re still active, they’ve probably kept the salvagers off base,” I added. “Thomas, see if you can hack the mechs; we can use them.”

“Yes, Captain, working on it.”

“Let’s make a pass over the motor pools and see if there’s anything left before we start scouting the battlefield,” I ordered. The motor pools were empty of tanks, and only a few vehicles were there at all.

“What’s that over there? Is that a train?” Casey asked.

“Probably,” I answered. “They call it a railhead. They use the railroad to ship out their equipment when they deploy. Thomas, make a pass over there.” As we neared, we saw a yard full of empty flatcars. “Well, it was worth a try.”

“We have control of the gun mech and hover drones,” Thomas announced.

I nodded. “Good deal.”

“You know that the naval base has a small train yard,” Casey said.

“Really? How small?” I asked. Casey shrugged.

“It will hold a hundred cars,” Thomas answered.

I nodded, thinking. “OK, let’s see if we can find a train engine that is operational. Thomas, set the salvaged tanks down for now.

“Yes, Captain.” We had to follow the train tracks around for a while, but we finally found one.

“You have overwatch,” I said to Casey and jumped over the side. I climbed aboard the engine and flipped the main power switch. Everything powered up, with all green boards. “Thomas, link with this engine. I think we have a winner.”

“Yes, Captain . . . We’re linked.”

“Good, move the engine back over to the train yard and hook it to one hundred flatcars. We’re going to take as much as we can from here. Lift me up.” When I was back aboard, “take us over to the warehouse and maintenance depot area.”

“En route.”

“Want to take a look around?” I asked Casey.

She smiled, “I do.”

I nodded, “Thomas, land, and drop us off then return to overwatch position.”

“Yes, Captain.”

As we walked toward the warehouses, “remember, no one can see us, and nothing can get through the shield. So, we don’t have to run, or hide,” I instructed her.

She nodded, “got it.”

I opened the warehouse door, and we went inside. “Well, that’s disappointing,” I said.

“It looks like the cupboard is bare,” Casey agreed. Every warehouse was in basically the same condition. The repair depot did have some parts and material, but not enough to mess with.

“Thomas, stop work in the train yard. There’s not enough here worth our time,” I ordered. “Come pick us up. We’ll have to look elsewhere.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Just out of curiosity, why don’t we steal fully functioning tanks rather than salvaging and repairing?” I turned and looked at her, frowning. “I mean, they can’t see us; they can’t hear us. So let’s just go to wherever they have tanks and steal them.”

I blinked a few times then started laughing. She crossed her arms and raised one eyebrow—which I’d already learned meant trouble. I held my hands up in surrender. “That’s actually a great idea. Sometimes I get so involved with planning and doing things the way I’ve always done them, that
I overlook the obvious. Good job, partner.”

She smiled, nodding.

“Thomas, recall all the gun mechs and drones to us. We’re taking them back to Homeshores and putting them to work.”

“Yes, Captain, gun mechs and hover drones en route to your location.” When they arrived, we had twelve gun mechs and seven armed hover drones. Thomas’s stern appeared at ground level, and we climbed aboard.

“Thomas, include our mechs and hover drones in our grav field, and let’s head back to Homeshores.”

“Understood, Captain, en route.”

“Plans?” Casey asked over coffee.

“Well,” I said, taking a swallow. “First, we make you a new shield rest. Then we add shields to the gun mechs and hover drones. Next, we will go tank shopping,” I answered. “Doing that will increase our combat power substantially. We may need to hire another crew to work on them while we’re busy doing other things,” I said, thinking out loud.

“Good idea, we have bigger fish to fry,” Casey added.

* * *

I got busy making Casey’s shield vest. She said she’d sew a couple of slipcovers to go over it in different colors later. Casey hired a crew to work on the gun mechs and drones. When I finished Casey’s vest, we started on the gun mechs. I did the first one, training the four-man crew. Then I watched as the crew did the next two. When a mech was complete, Thomas linked with it and put it on perimeter defense. We only added shields this time. We might upgrade their 30 mm guns to rail guns later. Besides, its 30 mm armor-piercing rounds were no joke.

Once I was satisfied with the crew’s work, we split the crew into two teams and put them to work on the rest of the gun mechs and drones. Since we were doing upgrades, I decided to upgrade the WAAVs that the Homeshores police department had. If we were hit, and I felt it was more a when rather than an if, they would more than likely be involved in the fighting.

“Since we’re leaving in the morning to go tank shopping, take me to dinner tonight,” Casey said.

“Sounds good to me. I’m about ready for a steak dinner,” I answered.

Ms. Betty and the master chief joined us, and we caught each other up on our progress. My FAS was ahead of schedule, and the nose job on the other one was on schedule.

“How long will you be gone?” Ms. Betty asked.

I shook my head. “Not long. We’ll be in and out, probably delivering a couple of tanks at the time,” I answered.

“How many do you plan on getting?” the master chief asked.

I shrugged. “Not sure. My first thought is six to ten. But it depends on what we find and how hard they are to get.”

“What about crews?” he asked.

“We’ll install AIs in them. If we get crews, OK. If not, that’s OK too.”

“Nan?” Casey asked, getting up and rounding the table to hug an older lady. Ms. Betty followed suit. “When did you get in?” Casey asked.

“Just now, I’ve been hearing about things going on at the navy yard, so I thought I’d come to check on y’all,” the older lady answered.

“I’m sorry,” Casey said, looking at me. “This is my grandmother, Kathryn Christian Danaher. My namesake.”

I frowned, and they all smiled. Call me slow, but I finally figured it out. “K. C. Bennett,” I answered, smiling.

“We like Casey better,” Nan said.

“I’m very pleased to meet you, Mrs. Danaher.”

“Call me Nan, Captain,” she answered.

“Then call me Jimmy.”

“Come sit with us.” The master chief pulled up another chair. “Other than checking on us, what brings you in?”

“I got bored sitting around the old place taking care of the livestock. Sold out. Thought I’d get back among the living.”

“You’re welcome to stay with us, Mom,” Ms. Betty said.

“No,” Nan said, looking at me with a twinkle in her eye. “I’ll be working as a cook on a boat and living aboard her.” I saw it coming a mile off.

“Which boat?” Casey asked.

“The Havoc. I hear they need a cook.” Everyone looked at me.

I did myself proud holding a straight face. “Now I see where she gets it,” I said, looking at Casey.

Casey’s eyebrow lifted. “Gets what?” Casey asked.

“Why, your self-confidence, of course,” I answered. “As a matter of fact, Nan, we do need a cook. The one we have is . . .” I acted as if trying to find the right word.

“Choose your words carefully, partner,” Casey said.

“As I was saying, the one we have is wonderful, but she has other duties that are taking more and more of her time. So if you could provide the proper references . . .”

“I will punch you in the throat,” Casey busted out.

I held up my hands, “OK, OK. My partner vouching for you will be good enough. So we can forego the references. Nan, you’re hired and can move aboard whenever you’re ready.”

“Thank you, Jimmy,” Nan offered. “Now, I’m hungry. I’d like a burger so I can see if you’ve messed up my recipe.”

“Your recipe? Oh, you are definitely hired,” I said, rubbing my hands together excitedly. Everyone laughed.

We held off another day before going after tanks so Nan could buy “proper: food for the galley. I had no problem with that. I was tired of eating heat-and-serve rations.

* * *

Nan stood looking through the bridge forward glass as we flew south. “Amazing. If I weren’t seeing it, I wouldn’t believe it. And no one can see us?” she asked.

I shook my head. “Nope.”

“And you’re just gonna steal some tanks?”

“That’s the plan,” I answered.

She nodded. “Thank you for bringing me, Jimmy.”

“You’re welcome, Nan.”

“Well, I’d better get back to the galley. I’ve got work to do,” Nan said, leaving the bridge.

“So where are we going?” Casey asked.

“About 1,500 miles south. The EBs have a strong foothold and have been expanding it. I thought that would be a good place to find what we’re looking for. And once we’re done, if all goes well, we might even cause some ‘havoc,’ pardon the pun, on the way out. That way no one will know exactly what we took,” I answered.

Casey nodded. “I like the idea. The pun, not so much.”

“Oh, and give Nan the spare shield vest and show her how to use it,” I said. Casey nodded.

* * *

We wanted to get this job done so we didn’t waste time getting there. An hour and a half later we were surveying the enemy’s supply and maintenance depot.

“Oh my God,” Casey said. That’s a lot of supplies and equipment.

I nodded. “Yes it is, and we’re about to start stealing what we need, then destroy the rest. Thomas, that line of medium tanks there—” I touched the monitor “—how many can you safely lift at one time?”

“Eight, and still fly at speed.”

I smiled. “Well, then, let’s pick up our new tanks and head home.”

“Yes, Captain.” Thomas lowered us down on the group of medium tanks and expanded our shields to camouflage them. Then he captured them in our grav field and lifted them. We watched for any disturbance, but no one seemed to have noticed.

“We have secured eight tanks, Captain.”

“Very well, return to base. When we get there, place these down by the Marine warehouse. Then we’ll come back for another load,” I ordered.

“Yes, Captain, en route.”

* * *

The trips back and forth were becoming boring. We had stolen sixteen medium tanks, twelve heavy tanks, thirty medium and thirty small reactor generators, and six naval VTOL jets with folding wings.

Between trips, we mapped their depot and knew where to hit them to cause the most damage. We would destroy their munitions dump, their fuel dump, and their maintenance depot. Then we would move offshore and sink the twelve ships anchored offshore, unloading more supplies. Lastly, we’d destroy every tank guarding their perimeter.

I hoped the local WA commander would see the results of our attack and launch their own attack. Hopefully, they’d overrun the enemy’s position.

I looked over our attack plan and felt good about it. I probably hadn’t thought of everything, but either way, their foothold here would be lost. I looked at Casey. “Any changes?”

She shook her head. “None that I can think of.”

“In that case, Thomas, take up an optimum firing position, target preselected points, and prepare to execute the attack plan.”

“Optimum firing position reached. Preselected points targeted. Standing by to execute attack plan.”

I took a breath. “Attack,” I ordered.

The bow pulse cannon began to fire, and points on the ground began to explode. First the munitions dump, then the fuel dump went up in a massive ball of fire and heat. The maintenance depot took several pulse cannon rounds and basically became a hole in the ground.

“Moving to engage ships,” Thomas reported. Each ship received two pulse cannon rounds from overhead, blowing a hole through the top deck and out the bottom of the ships. All that was left was burning debris.

“Engaging perimeter defenses,” Thomas announced as we started a circuit around the base’s perimeter. The rail guns began firing when every ADA site on their base started firing missiles skyward and detonating at different altitudes.

“They know they’re being attacked from the air and are firing blindly trying to hit us,” I said.

There was a brilliant flash and an explosion right off our port side. All Havoc’s lights went out, and she began to lose altitude . . . fast.

“EMP missile,” Thomas said in my ear. “We’ve lost all primary generators.” Havoc’s drastic descent slowed. “We have secondary power for the delta wing, but that will fail in roughly thirty seconds. Then we crash, destroying the Havoc,” Thomas reported. “Get to the WAAV. She can’t fly, but I can glide her to the ground using her shields to form a delta wing.”

I grabbed Casey’s arm. “Go get Nan. Get to the WAAV and strap in. I’ll meet you there.”

Casey ran from the bridge yelling, “Nan!”

“Glide the Havoc toward the destroyed ships. As it impacts, overload all generators to completely destroy the Havoc. If anything survives, they think it’s part of their destroyed ships,” I ordered.

“Understood, Captain. You need to get to the WAAV now.”

I opened the hatch and jumped down to the lower deck, landing right behind Casey and Nan. We climbed in as quickly as we could, and suddenly the WAAV was turning away from the Havoc.

“Seat belts!” I called out, and we all fastened in. “Thomas, you with us?”

“I am, Captain,” he announced over the speakers. “With our present glide ratio, we should land 3.6 miles northeast of here. Satellites show no enemy activity in that area.” There was a large flash of light from our right, “Havoc destroyed,” Thomas confirmed.

Looking down, the only light to be seen was from fires. The EMP had knocked out all electricity. Some tracer rounds were visible being fired around the perimeter. I looked over at Casey and back at Nan, “We good?”

Nan busted out laughing. I frowned at Casey, who turned to look at Nan. “I’m sorry, kids. Your grandpa used to ask the same question when something big went boom.” She shook her head. “I sure miss him.” She smiled at me. “Captain Jimmy, thank you for a wonderful trip.”

We all started laughing. “You don’t have to be crazy to work here, but it helps,” I said, smiling.

Thomas landed us fairly smoothly on an open stretch of beach. “Shields and camo engaged,” Thomas reported.

“Thomas, why wasn’t the WAAV’s generator and reactor fried like Havoc’s?”

“They were. The backup generator and reactor you installed for redundancy were offline when the EMP missile exploded. So they were undamaged. I powered them up as soon as I realized what had happened. Your personal shield still worked because of all the extra mesh and waterproofing you added. You would have probably survived, but why take the chance?”

“Well done, Thomas, and thank you,” I said.

“You are welcome, Captain.”

“OK, enough fun and games. Find us a safe way back to Homeshores, avoiding as many people and settlements as possible,” I ordered.

“Yes, Captain. Route mapped, engaging drive. ETA forty hours.”

Chapter 24

It took us almost three days to get back to Homeshores with the rest stops. Nan played down the shooting down of the Havoc when she told the master chief the story. I could tell he wasn’t completely convinced, but didn’t push it.

Since Havoc had been my . . . our home, we moved straight aboard our FAS. Its generators and reactors had been installed, but we still needed to change the armament over to rail guns and pulse canons. But based on our experience with EMPs we had some modifications to make. All our electronics had to be hardened. We dodged a bullet down south, and I didn’t want to repeat it.

I got tired of calling our FASs “number one” or “number two,” so I named ours Tempest. While the ladies started supplying our living area and galley, I made Nan an upgraded shield vest. That done, Tom’s memories showed me plans to harden our electronics and electrical systems. I drew them out and got our installation teams started on making the improvements.

I let the dry dock crew continue to work on Tempest, and Casey worked on the electronic hardening upgrades. One thing I did add to the Tempest was two grav cranes—one port, and one starboard on the flight deck. When not in use they would lay flat so as not to interfere with flight ops.

While the teams worked on the drones and tanks, I started on the VTOLs. Seeing the EBs foothold base gave me a sense of urgency. I was sure our attack would not go unnoticed. How they would react was the question in my mind.

Based on my earlier VTOLs, I made quite a few improvements on these new ones. The EB aircraft had a better base design than the WAs. They had more room, and more power. My modifications would make them faster, more agile, and much more deadly.

Most nights Nan, Casey, and I ate dinner together. We’d catch each other up on the day’s progress. We’d talk over plans and suggest improvements. The master chief was hiring more and more people to work for us, including three aircraft technicians, and four tank mechanics. Though apprehensive at first, I had to admit the additional help was making my life easier.

“How many crewmen are you planning for the Tempest?” Nan asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. “I hadn’t really decided. To be honest I’ve been arguing for and against adding any crew at all. I know it sounds crazy, but I don’t particularly like the idea of having a hundred or two hundred people running around my ship.”

“It’s a difficult change from having no crew or close crew. But Tempest is four or five times the size of Havoc. Not to mention all the systems. I’m sure Thomas could handle everything as long as there were no breakdowns. But sooner or later we’ll be blindsided by something. And when that happens, you’ll be thankful you have a crew,” Nan commented. Casey was nodding her head in agreement.

I nodded. “There’s another thing to consider. This is not going to be a salvage ship, well, not primarily anyway. She’ll be a ship of war. I plan on attacking EB assets wherever I find them. I plan on punishing them until they beg for peace. Anyone who wants to become a crewman will have to accept that fact, which includes you two. I understand you didn’t sign on to a warship, and no hard feelings if you want to leave. As a matter of fact, if you want to leave, you can have one of the AHTs rebuilt free of charge to take with you.”

They looked at each other, and something passed between them. “So,” Casey started, “Nan will be over the kitchen and galley and anything else she wants. I’ll be your first officer, well, me and Thomas,” she finished.

I stared at them, not really knowing what to say. Finally, I shrugged and said, “OK.”

“Good,” Casey said. “We’ve already had forty-eight volunteers to serve on the Tempest. By the way, we all assumed she’d be a warship. Which, to be honest, scared off a few people, but they wanted to keep working in the dry dock. I’m sure once word gets around that we are crewing her, we’ll get our full complement.”

I chuckled, raising my glass. “Very well, Mr. Bennett, carry on.”

“Aye, aye,” Casey replied, smiling.

* * *

Our drones and gun mechs were finished first because they had the least to modify. We left their 20 mm conventional weapons alone, just adding shields. As soon as they were complete, we put them on guard duty.

Next came the medium tanks. We added shields and replaced their main guns with rail guns, but left their smaller machine guns in place. Once we’d done a few and gotten the bugs worked out of the conversions, the rest went relatively fast. It was the same with the heavy tank: the first few took the longest. After that, we finished the rest in short order.

I had to hand it to the EBs: their equipment designs, their production, and the materials they used were better than ours. And not because of any Overlord tech; their basic designs were just better. As each tank was finished, we put them on perimeter defense, with Thomas overseeing them.

The VTOLs took the longest because they were the most complicated and required the most modification. To make room for the centerline rail gun, generators, and reactors, we removed everything that supported a manned aircraft as an AI would fly it. We removed fuel cells, conventional armor, conventional guns, and missile mounts because grav drives, shields, and the rail gun would do those jobs.

As each VTOL was completed, it was sent out to fly patrol missions around Homeshores. There were inevitable modifications, and repairs to be made to our modifications, but all in all I was pleased with the outcome.

The day finally came when all work on Tempest was completed and munitions loaded. We had changed the forward five-inch deck gun to a pulse cannon, and the 30 mm guns were replaced with rail guns. We left the CIWS close defense guns, the vertical launch missile tubes, the Seahawk missile launcher, and the horizontal launch torpedo tubes in place.

It was now time for her shakedown cruise. Nan and Casey had been right when they said we’d have no trouble filling our crew rolls. Because of all the automation, we finally settled on a crew of 156. I still thought it was too many, but better too many than not enough. A little more than half of the crew were prior service navy. The other half had worked on boats and ships all their lives. The former navy men would train those that didn’t have the experience. That’s the way it had always been done and experience passed on.

We had the new crew gather in Tempest’s hangar. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m not much for speeches, so I’ll be blunt. This ship has a lot of experimental tech. Some you’ve seen, some you have not. What you see, hear, and do on Tempest stays on Tempest. To do otherwise is treason. If there is anyone who doesn’t feel comfortable following that rule, now is the time to leave.” I waited. No one left. “Very well, assume your duty stations.”

Tempest’s slip was flooded, and she began to rise. All hull repair welds were checked and found watertight. Now was the moment we’d been waiting for. “Mr. Bennett, engage shields and bring the grav drives online,” I ordered.

“Engaging shields and bringing grav drive online, aye,” Casey answered. “All boards are green, Captain, standing by.”

“Very well. Take us out of the naval harbor. Once we are clear, speed twenty knots,” I said.

“Aye, sir, out of the harbor, to open seas, twenty knots.”

Tempest was a smaller ship, but bigger than anything we’d ever handled. I wasn’t worried because Thomas was monitoring every order given and every move made.

When we reached the ten-mile mark offshore, “All stop,” I ordered.

“Answering all stop,” the helmsman said.

“Mr. Thomas, engage camo,” I said.

“Camo engaged,” Thomas answered.

“Lift the ship out of the water one foot and hold,” I ordered.

“One foot and holding,” Thomas responded.

“Run systems check. Report board status,” I said.

“Running systems checks . . . All systems are 100 percent, and all boards are green,” Thomas answered.

I nodded. “Understood, drive the ship, give me ten feet below the surface and hold,” I ordered.

We watched through the forward glass as the waves swept over our shields. I thought I heard someone suck in their breath, which made me smile.

“Ten feet and holding. All systems are 100 percent, and all boards are green,” Thomas announced.

“Very well, take us to thirty feet, speed twenty knots, heading north along the coast.”

“Depth thirty feet, speed twenty knots, heading north along the coast, aye,” Thomas answered.

After an hour, “Mr. Thomas make your depth one hundred,” I ordered.

“Depth one hundred, aye.”

After another hour, “Mr. Thomas, surface the ship.”

“Surface the ship, aye.”

“Lift the ship, speed twenty-five, altitude twenty feet,” I ordered.

“Lift the ship, speed twenty-five, altitude twenty feet, aye.”

After an hour, “Mr. Thomas, ship’s status?”

“All systems are 100 percent, and all boards are green,” Thomas replied.

“I’d call that a successful test. OK, set us down, head south, speed twenty knots. Mr. Bennett, have your teams start their training drills. Maintain scanning for the enemy.”

“Aye, aye, Captain. Beginning systems drill practice, maintain scans for the enemy.”

I left the bridge to do a walk around the ship. I gave everyone I met a “well done” and ended up at the galley for coffee.

Nan came over. “We good?” she asked, chuckling.

I smiled, joining her. “We’re good. I’m letting the crew run some practice drills so everyone can get used to the ship.”

“Then what?”

I smiled. “If the rest of the cruise goes well, we’ll start hunting. I want to cut the supply and support lines to the EB’s occupying forces. We’ll probably start sending our VTOLs out looking for targets of opportunity.”

“Homeshores is covered, yes?” Nan asked.

I nodded. “Homeshores is covered,” I answered.

She nodded. “Well, I’d better get back to work. These boys eat a lot,” she said, smiling.

As I sat there drinking my coffee, I wondered what Rossen was doing. “Thomas, what is Rossen up to?”

“He’s been trying to find out who set us up. From what I can tell, he’s not having any success.”

“Where are the EBs putting the most pressure on WA forces?”

“According to reports and satellite surveys, most of the heavy fighting is taking place in the southwest.”

I nodded and went to the captain’s quarters, refilling my cup from my coffee maker. I turned on the monitor. “Show me the sat pics.” Satellite views came up on the monitor, and I sat down to study the pictures. “Where is their supply dump supporting that operation?”

“Sixteen miles behind their lines.” The picture shifted, showing a heavily defended area.

I nodded. “Send two of our VTOLs to destroy that supply dump and targets of opportunity. Let’s give our guys some relief.”

“Understood, Captain, two VTOLs lifting from Homeshores heading south,” Thomas reported.

“Let me know when they are five minutes from the target.”

“Yes, Captain.”

* * *

At five minutes from the target, I was watching the monitor as our VTOLs closed on the target. “Drop to fifty feet and disengage camo. I want them to see their attackers.”

“Yes, Captain, fifty feet, no camo,” Thomas replied. I nodded. “Thirty seconds to target.” I watched the gun camera feed as their rail guns began to fire, followed by ground explosions. Because Thomas could manipulate their shields, the VTOLs could maneuver like no other aircraft. Both VTOLs banked hard and made a second pass. Primary and secondary explosions erupted across the target.

“Re-engage camo, and continue the attack,” I ordered.

“Understood, Captain.”

I continued to watch as they pressed their attack. I watched as tank after tank was destroyed. Their ADA was firing blind, and a few rounds did hit the VTOL’s shield but had no effect. After fifteen minutes, “Break off the attack and have them return to base. That should give our guys some breathing room.”

“Yes, Captain, RTB.”

I thought for a moment and stepped to the intercom. “Bridge, this is the captain. Dive the boat, depth two hundred, speed twenty knots. Continue south. Scan for enemy vessels.”

“Aye, Captain, dive the boat, depth two hundred, speed twenty. Continue south. Scan for enemy vessels,” came the answer.

I took another turn around the ship, checking everything. Everyone seemed to be comfortable with the idea that this ship was also a sub that could fly. I finally wound up back on the bridge, where everyone was quiet.

“All is well, Mrs. Bennett?” I asked, smiling.

“All is well, Captain,” she answered.

“Boring, isn’t it?” I asked. She smiled but didn’t say anything. “The good thing is we have Thomas, that can stand watch without falling asleep. Our crew is there just in case.” I looked around the bridge. “We’ll continue our search southward through tonight to give the crew more training. Who knows, we may even find them a target to shoot.” I shrugged. “We’ll return home tomorrow,” I finished.

Casey nodded, “Yes, Captain.” I nodded and left the bridge.

* * *

“Captain? CIC.”

I answered the intercom, “Yes?”

“Contact, sir, bearing one eighty, speed ten, range six thousand.”

“Theirs or ours?” I asked.

After a hesitation, “We’re not sure, sir.”

“Theirs,” Thomas said in my ear.

“Reduce speed to ten knots,” I ordered. “I’m on my way.” I went down to CIC and stepped to the sonar station. “What have we got?”

“Enemy sub, bearing one seventy, speed ten, range fifty-eight hundred,” the operator answered. He seemed proud he was able to identify the sub as an enemy. I nodded, looking at the screen. I was joined a moment later by Casey.

“Mr. Bennett, increase speed to twenty knots. Close to two thousand, then fire our torpedo,” I ordered, then stepped back.

She licked her lips. “Yes, Captain.” She picked up the mic. “Bridge, increase speed to twenty knots, maintain heading.”

“Twenty knots, aye.”

“Wep-O, ready torpedo. Fire when we’re close to two thousand.”

“Ready torpedo, fire at two thousand, aye.”

We all watched as the Tempest closed on the enemy sub. “Range two thousand,” the weapons officers reported. “Firing torpedo.” We heard the torpedo leave its tube, and sonar picked up its track. “Torpedo has target lock. They are launching ECM. Torpedo still has a solid lock, running true. Seconds later we heard a muffled thump that resonated through the ship. “Target destroyed,” Wep-O reported. Everyone cheered . . . Except for Casey. She smiled at me, but I could tell she wasn’t happy about it.

“Well done everyone. Carry on. Coffee?” I asked Casey. She nodded and followed me to my quarters. As soon as the door closed, she was in my arms, head buried in my chest, crying quietly. I held her and let her cry.

After a bit, “I’m sorry. I’ve never ordered anyone’s death before. I’ll do better,” she said.

“I hope you never get better at it. It’s a terrible thing to have to do. Sometimes necessary, but terrible nonetheless,” I said.

“Can I sit for a while?” I nodded, and we sat down on my sofa. She didn’t cry anymore, but she held on to me like a frightened child. After a while she fell asleep, head on my shoulder. After an hour or so she sat up, looking around.

“I’m sorry,” she said, standing. I need to get ready for my watch,” and left.

I shrugged. “Bridge, set a course for home, speed twenty knots,” I ordered.

“Yes, Captain, heading home, speed twenty knots,” the bridge answered.

I nodded, not a professional navy, but they’d get the job done, and improve over time . . . if they survived.

Chapter 25

I didn’t see Casey for the next few days. I guess she needed time to process the events of the cruise. The dry dock crew had double-checked everything on Tempest and given her a clean bill of health.

They were now resupplying her for a longer mission. We planned to patrol our area of the coast, kind of a seek-and-destroy mission. Since the Tempest was back in dry dock, the crew was on shore leave. My home was Tempest, at least for now, so I stayed aboard.

Someone knocked on my hatch. “It’s Casey,” Thomas said in my ear.

“Come,” I called out.

Casey struck her head in. “Can we talk?”

“Sure, come on in,” I said, getting up.

She came in and sat down on the sofa. I took the chair across from her. “I made a mistake,” she said, looking at her hands. “I know I pushed you to make me first officer, but I’m not first officer material.”

She went on before I could say anything. “I’m a ship engineer, and I’m good at it. I think I would be of more use building ships than commanding them.” She looked up at me, “But I don’t want to end our partnership.”

I saw fear in her eyes. “Me either,” I said. Hearing that, her shoulders relaxed. “We can work around all this other stuff. I still need and want you as a partner.”

“OK,” she whispered with tears in her eyes. She cleared her throat. “There is one other thing.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“Can we get another boat? I hate this ship.”

I started laughing. “Yeah, we can do that. I don’t like all the extra people around.”

“We going to use one of the AHTs you brought back?”

“Probably, but let me think about it,” I said. “There is another thing we need to do.”

She frowned. “What?”

“We need to go to the lawyer’s office and make our partnership legal, then to the bank to put you on my accounts. That way if anything happens to me, you’re covered.”

She nodded, tears still in her eyes. “I’d like that.”

* * *

I woke in the middle of the night, went to my desk, took out some paper, and started making drawings and notes on the kind of boat I wanted to build. I wanted a boat that didn’t look like a military boat but was armed. I wasn’t worried about armor, as the shields took care of that and the grav drive took care of propulsion.

The small forward deck was where a retractable pulse cannon would be located. The rail guns would be along the sides. There would be two grav cranes along the sides of the rear deck for salvaging. I didn’t expect the war to last forever, and I’d need a home.

The thought of the war lasting made me stop. “Thomas, how is the war going overall? Who’s winning, and has the interdiction of our tech made a difference?”

“The war has been at a stalemate for the last two years. The only time our tech has made a difference has been when we ourselves have employed it. As an example, our attack in the south on the EB foothold base, and again at their forward push against the WA forces. It seems both sides have accepted the status quo. Or should I say it seems neither side wants to rock the boat?”

I leaned back, looking at the ceiling thinking. “Have the Overlords infiltrated both sides?” I wondered to myself. “Has the war become kabuki theater? Time to change the script,” I said.

I was waiting in the galley when Casey came in. She got coffee and joined me. “Good morning,” she greeted me.

“Good morning,” I answered, pushing my boat plans and notes to her.

“What’s this?”

“This is how I’d like our new boat to look and some of its capabilities. Use one of the AHT hulls and build her for us.”

She looked over the plans, nodding. “That’s quite a change to her overall look. She has a lower profile and a sleeker look. Can I add some things?”

I nodded. “Anything you like,” I answered.

“When do we start?”

“Today. Well, you and the crew of Tempest start today. Tempest has a change of mission that does not require the crew. Redistribute the crew to work on our new boat and the other FAS as you and the master chief see fit.”

“And where will you be?”

“With Tempest for a while. You take care of our businesses as needed. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Is this because of your navy contact?”

I nodded.

“OK, any Idea about how long you’ll be? Will you bring Tempest back with you?”

“I don’t know the answer to either of those questions. But it’s for the war, which we want to end as soon as we can. All the Homeshores defense are still active and will remain so,” I said.

She thought for a moment. “I’ll work on our boat and take care of things while you’re gone. You be careful. I don’t trust those people.”

I smiled. “Neither do I.”

She and the crew moved off Tempest. The crew moved either onto the other FAS or back to their homes. Casey and Nan moved back in with her parents until our new boat’s living quarters were ready for them.

As soon as everyone left the dry dock for the day, Tempest and four VTOLs lifted and flew south.

“Thomas, send a pair of VTOLs southwest looking for targets of opportunity. Shoot to disable tanks and equipment rather than destroy them. Send the other two south down the coast for three thousand miles, same mission.”

“Yes, Captain, executing mission.”

“Take us one hundred miles out to sea, then turn south. We are also looking for targets of opportunity. We will be shooting ships to destroy their bows, to avoid killing as many of the crew as possible. Increase speed, including the VTOLs. I want to cover as much area as possible in the shortest amount of time,” I ordered.

“Understood, Captain.”

After that, I sat back with a cup of coffee and watched as the VTOLs destroyed tanks and Tempest sank ships. At midnight I went to bed. “Continue mission, Thomas. Wake me if anything unusual happens.”

“Yes, Captain. I have the watch.”

* * *

At breakfast, I listened to Thomas’s report. “Three hundred sixteen tanks disabled or destroyed, thirty-one ADA sites disabled or destroyed, three supply and support dumps destroyed, and seven ships sank.”

I nodded. “Have the VTOLs turn north and continue the mission. We’ll be heading to the eastern continent to make their lives a little uncomfortable. While en route, look for targets of opportunity.”

“Yes, Captain, setting a course for the eastern continent.”

“Execute when ready,” I ordered.

“En route,” Thomas answered.

***

An hour into our flight, “We’ve spotted a thirty-ship convoy, Captain. The convoy is made up of supply ships, troop transports, a hospital, and escort ships.”

“That’s a heck of a convoy,” I said. “Leave the troop transports and the hospital ship alone. Sink everything else,” I ordered.

“Yes, Captain, attacking.”

We circled, and I watched the bow of ship after ship explode under our pulse cannon shots. The convoy stopped, and the troop transport and hospital ships began rescue operations. “Continue mission,” I ordered.

“When we get to the continent, find every military base they have that is division size or larger. Map their power substation and supply dumps. Once you have that, attack those targets. Execute when ready,” I said.

“Understood, Captain.”

You can cover a lot of ground at one thousand miles per hour and destroy a lot of infrastructure. Although the continent is quite large and their military bases are spread out, within thirty-six hours, we had decimated the EB’s military.

“Take us to the Capital. Find the power plant supporting it, and destroy it,” I ordered.

“Yes, Captain.”

I was sitting in the galley eating lunch when Thomas announced, “We have the capital’s power plant located and targeted. Standing by.” The galley’s monitor came on showing the power plant.

I thought for a moment. “Very well, Mr. Thomas, destroy it.”

“Yes, Captain, attacking.” I watched, and the power plant took four pulse cannon rounds.

I nodded. “That should do it. Monitor, if you aren’t already, comms traffic between the EB capital and the WA capital. Plot a course for the WA capital. Execute when ready.”

“Yes, Captain, en route.”

* * *

Dawn found us hovering over the capital. I stood on the flying deck, a coffee cup in hand, admiring the view. “Beautiful city,” I mused. “And all these people are going about their daily lives without a clue as to what’s really going on. Probably don’t care as long as it doesn’t affect them. I might have to change that.”

“I believe this is the call you’ve been expecting, Captain,” Thomas said. I stepped back into the wheelhouse and sat down. The monitor was live, showing a split screen.

“We had an agreement,” the EB chancellor shouted.

“We do have an agreement,” the WA prime minister replied.

The EB leaned forward,. “I’m sure your intelligence has reported the bombing all over my country as well as the attacks along every front in WA. Are you telling me that wasn’t you?”

“We have checked. None of our units have launched any attacks along the front. And we have nothing to do with the bombings in your country.”

The EB stared hard at the prime minister. “You are either lying or stupid or think I am.” The EB’s line went dead.

“Find out who is pressing these attacks, and I mean now!” the prime minister shouted at his staff.

“Well, well. So they had an agreement, huh? Well, the honeymoon’s over,” I said. I thought for a moment. “Thomas, call a bomb threat in on the congressional house. Set to go off in thirty minutes.”

“Done, Captain.”

“Target the Congressional Building, and in thirty-one minutes put a pulse round into it. That should turn up the heat a little,” I said.

“Yes, Captain.”

Of course, they cleared the Congressional Building, and at the thirty-first minute, the east end of the building exploded.

“Call a bomb threat in on the Senatorial House set to go off in thirty minutes,” I ordered.

“Done, Captain.”

They followed the same procedure, clearing the Senatorial House. We followed by blowing up the east end of the house at the thirty-one-minute mark.

“I’m sure they won’t miss the fact that it was the east end of the buildings that were destroyed,” Thomas said.

I smiled. “Hopefully, anyway. OK, take us to the power plant that serves the capital.”

“Yes, Captain.” The forward view swept left as we turned toward the power plant.

“Thomas, call in another bomb threat, same as the others. Then destroy the power plant.”

“Yes, Captain.” Thirty-one minutes later the power plant was struck by four pulse cannon rounds, completely destroying it. I looked back toward the capital as all but the emergency lights went dark.

“When they don’t have their convenience, the population will start screaming. Then the politicians will start screaming. Scat rolls downhill,” I said, taking a swallow of my cold soda.

***

Four hours later, “Commander Rossen is calling for you, Captain.”

“Yes?” I answered.

“You have been a busy man,” Rossen said.

“Just doing my part for the war effort,” I said, smiling.

He chuckled. “Well, everyone and their brother is losing their minds. They have halted all military actions and covert actions of any kind. The secretary called me wanting to know if I’d even found you. He said you were my only priority until I found you.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to follow orders and continue to look for you, of course.”

“I was listening in on a call between the prime minister and the chancellor. The EBs said they had a deal and accused the WA of breaking it.”

“What kind of deal?”

“My guess? A stalemate to keep everyone’s mind on the war instead of what’s really going on,” I said.

“And what’s really going on?” he asked.

I paused. “Oops,” I thought to myself. “That’s complicated,” I answered. “But it’s nothing good for the East or the West. I’ll call you when I learn more.” I clicked off. “Almost said too much,” I said, shaking my head.

“Thomas, have the VTOLs continue their operations in WA. Disable or destroy every EB tank, aircraft, and boat, and any other piece of EB equipment they find,” I ordered.

“Yes, Captain, continuing mission.”

“Oh, and find me the largest EB fleet on our side of the ocean, close to WA ships. We’re going to stir the pot some more.”

“Yes, Captain.”

* * *

Twelve hundred miles off the coast we found a fifteen-ship battlegroup. “Set us down one hundred miles from them and set an intercept course, speed thirty knots. No camo, and let them see our radar signature. I’d like for them to engage us and, hopefully, chase us.”

“Intercept course plotted, en route to EB battlegroup, speed thirty knots,” Thomas replied.

I was surprised at how long it took them to find us. When they did, they sent jets to intercept us. The jets did a close fly-by, then attacked us. Our shield shrugged off the attack with no problems. We put one rail gun round in their engines, and the pilots ejected before their jets crashed.

As that was happening, their fast attack ships were closing on us. As soon as they were within range, they started firing their Seahawk ship-killing missiles. Again, our shield handled it without a problem. They closed with us and began firing their five-inch deck guns to no avail.

Finally, their whole fleet was close enough to engage us, and engage us they did. They fired missiles, deck guns, and torpedoes at us. Some missed us, but most were on target.

“Turn us toward the WA fleet. Let’s see if they follow. Allow them to close the distance between us. Hopefully that will give them hope of either capturing us or destroying us,” I told Thomas.

“Understood, Captain.”

Our gambit seemed to be working, and an hour later, with them close behind, we met the WA fleet.

“WA fleet, WA fleet, this is FAS Wraith. We are being pursued by an EB battlegroup. They should be on your scans by now, “Do you read, over?” I transmitted.

“We read you, FAS Wraith. What is your condition? Over.”

I smiled. “We have been fired upon, and hit multiple times, but are still 100 percent battle ready. I just needed someone to pick up the EB sailors abandoning their ships, over.”

“What EB sailors abandoning ship? Over.”

“Just watch. You’ll see what I mean. OK, Thomas, turn back toward the EB fleet. Put a pulse round through their bow as we pass their broadside. Sink the ships, without killing as many as possible.”

The closer we got, the more incoming rounds we took. When we passed a ship, our pulse cannon spoke, usually removing six feet of their bow. When their fleet was in range, they all opened fire on us. It was a constant barrage of explosions and fire. I did see a slight drop in the shield’s strength, but nothing major. After we sank their fourth ship, “FAS Wraith, this is WA fleet’s flag. Break off your attack. Do you copy? Over.”

“WA Flag, this is Wraith. Have they surrendered? Over.” They were continuing to fire on us.

“Wraith, this is Flag. Break off your attack. Over.”

“Fleet Flag, I do not recognize your authority and will not break off my attack until they surrender or are all sunk.”

“Wraith, Flag. If you do not break off your attack, we will be forced to fire on you. Do you copy?”

My eyebrows went up, “Well, well, well. Flag this is Wraith. Just so I’m clear, if I do stop defending myself against an enemy fleet actively attacking me, you will also attack me? Is that what you are saying?”

Another voice came on. “Wraith, Flag Actual. You understand correctly. Stand down.”

I nodded. “Flag Actual, now you understand me: you fire one bullet at me, and I’ll take off six feet of your bow. You will notice the enemy’s weapons are having no effect on my ship. So consider your next move carefully. Do you copy?” No answer came.

“Thomas, let’s finish this. Increase speed to one hundred knots and hit each ship as we pass.”

“Yes, Captain, increasing speed, firing.”

Less than a minute later all the EB ships were sinking and sending their SOS.

“Thomas, engage camo, full stealth.”

“Aye, Captain, camo engaged, full stealth.”

We watched as the WA fleet rescued the EB sailors in the water.

“Wraith, Flag Actual. The secretary of defense would like a word.”

“Oh,” I said. “Put him on.”

“Wraith, do you recognize my voice?” the secretary asked.

“I do, spookman. I figured you’d be too busy making backroom deals to talk to us plebs.”

There was a pause. “You need to stand down. We are in the middle of peace negotiations, and a loose cannon is not helping.”

“Either you are lying to me or someone is lying to you. I have a recording of a conversation I personally heard. The two people talking are the EB chancellor and the WA prime mister, saying they had a deal to a stalemate and one of them had broken it. They don’t want peace; they want a slow war. Would you like to hear it?”

“Recording can be faked,” he said.

“True, but I’m the one who recorded it, so I know it’s real. I’ll send you a copy so you can have it checked out.” I cut the connection.

“Thomas, send him a copy. And just for giggles send a copy to Flag Actual.”

“Aye, Captain, copies sent.”

Chapter 26

I sat out on the bridge’s flying deck watching a beautiful sunset, thinking. “Why haven’t the overlords intervened?” I asked myself. “They have to know something is amiss. So why haven’t they done something?”

I took a few swallows of my cola, considering. “Did it have something to do with Tom’s final revenge?” I frowned. “Could they be dead?” I searched the memories I’d gotten from Tom but gained no insight.

“Thomas, there’s a dam and reservoir at the headwaters of the Hampton River. How far is that from here?”

“It is 2,200 miles,” Thomas answered.

I nodded, “Take us there. Stop one hundred miles short of the destination,” I ordered.

“Yes, Captain, en route.”

* * *

I sat staring at the map of the reservoir, mountains, and surrounding area. I shifted to satellite views looking for anomalies, anything out of the ordinary. I was being very cautious because I didn’t know their defensive capabilities. I knew the tech I was using was their level of tech or higher. But I didn’t know if they could track us through our shields and camo, or if shields were in use, could they track us that way? According to Tom’s memories, the Overlords’ ship was at the bottom of the reservoir, near the dam and power station.

“Thomas, take us here.” I touched the screen ten miles upriver from the reservoir.

“Yes, Captain.”

I’d go in the water there and swim downriver to the dam with no shields just in case they were scanning for shields. If the Overlords were there, what then? I shrugged; I’d cross that bridge when I got to it.

“We have arrived, Captain.”

“OK, stay here. I’ll either call for you or make my way back to you. Worse case, if you don’t hear from me or I don’t return, wait ten days then return to Casey. She’ll become your captain and have unrestricted access.”

“Understood, Captain.”

I took my silenced pistol with plenty of extra mags. I couldn’t think of anything else to do, so I stepped off the side of Tempest, dropping into the river below. I turned off my vest shields and let myself be taken downriver by the current.

It had been a while since I’d swum without my shields as well as breathing water. I found it refreshing. I stayed close to the bottom as I drifted along. When I reached the reservoir, I stayed on the center track and followed the bottom deeper toward the dam.

After a time, I began hearing a hum, “Hydro-generators,” I thought, and kept going. In the shadows of deep water, I found what I was looking for. I had prepared my mind to see a “mother ship.” But for a mother ship, what I was looking at was disappointingly small. That wasn’t to say this was a small ship. It was, in fact, a rather large ship. It was five or six times the size of Tempest.

It looked like a long rectangle, with two shorter rectangles on the sides where wings would be on an aircraft. The rectangles were sloped toward what I thought of as the bow. The stern was slopped but more blunt. I didn’t see any weapons, but Tom’s memories said they stayed retracted until needed. The ship looked more peaceful that way.

“Well, there she is. Now what?” I thought to myself. I sat on the bottom, studying her. She had no marker lights, and I assumed she was sitting on her bottom and not upside down. I swam around her, looking closer. I saw what could be big hangar doors at her stern. Beside one of the hangar doors, I saw a personnel hatch and swam toward it.

As I neared the ship, I noticed a shimmer and stopped. “Shields,” I thought. Tom’s memories told me to turn on my shields, then let them touch. It said that when my shields touched their shield, my shield would match their shield frequency and I would be able to pass through.

I floated in place, thinking. If I were them, I’d be monitoring for that. I shook my head. I wasn’t comfortable about trying to push my shield through their shield. I swam the circuit of the ship until I was back at her stern. I was once again looking at the personnel door, having seen no other possible way in.

“Well, crap,” I thought to myself, turning my shields on. I waited a few moments, expecting some reaction from the ship. There was none. I shrugged and moved toward the ship’s shield. When my shield made contact with theirs, I felt a second of resistance and then I was passed through.

I swam quickly to the ship and grabbed the handle by the personnel door, expecting guards to rush out. But again, nothing happened. Without thinking, I placed my hand on the entry pad, and after a second the door opened. “Tom’s DNA,” I thought.

I swam into the airlock and looked at the controls. To my surprise, I could read the instructions. I closed the airlock hatch, and the water began to drain out. The instructions were written in their common, or trade, language. Tom’s memories allowed me to read it. “Weird,” I thought.

When the water had drained from the airlock, I got an all-clear light. I drew my pistol, checked it, and keyed the hatch to open. The hatch opened into what looked like a locker room, for changing out of whatever environmental suit you were wearing.

I really didn’t have a plan; I was actually surprised I was inside their ship. I made sure my shields were on and the camo was set to mimic the background. As I neared the next hatch, it slid open, startling me. After a second I moved forward and looked out into the passageway.

I froze, my pistol aiming at a person lying on the deck. I glanced left and right but saw no one else. I eased forward, keeping my pistol aimed at the person on the deck. He, she, or it was dead. Well, I assumed it was dead unless they normally looked like dried-out mummies.

I knelt to get a better look. It was wearing a type of jumpsuit and slip-on boots. It was humanoid and looked very similar to us. Their nose and mouth were a little different. Two arms, two legs, and five fingers, but their fingers seemed longer and thinner.

I listened but heard no sounds. Left was toward the hangars, or at least the outside hangar doors had been to the left. I shrugged and headed left. I approached the hatch slowly, so I’d be further away if the hatch automatically opened.

Once the hatch opened, I waited. Listening, I still heard nothing. I moved forward looking through the hatch, and I could see parts of the hangar. It was strange for a hangar on an active ship to be completely silent.

I continued forward and peeked around the corner. I could now see more bodies lying on the deck. I leaned out to see more of the hangar and saw bodies lying about as if they’d dropped dead midstride. Pistol ready, I entered the hangar while keeping my back to the wall. I moved along, looking down the rows of equipment. It seemed everyone was dead. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t have left the bodies lying where they had fallen.

I crossed the hangar to another hatch, and it opened as I neared. I headed to where Tom’s memories said engineering was located. I needed to go there before I went to the bridge. I entered engineering, seeing dead bodies here as well. I went to the chief engineer’s office and sat down at this desk. I let Tom’s memories guide me as I worked at the chief’s computer terminal.

I logged in and typed a long alphanumeric string which I assumed was a password. The monitor came alive, and I/Tom went to work. Apparently, when everyone died, the ship’s computer system defaulted to a defensive watch condition. Tom had installed a backdoor into the system’s command core. I/Tom was now in the system and reset the codes, protocols, and authorizations to recognize us. We now had complete control of the ship.

I/Tom ordered the maintenance bots to gather the dead and take them to waste disposal to be incinerated. The bots looked like a cross between a spider and a man. It had four arms and four legs. It stood upright on its four legs and worked with its four arms and hands.

I left engineering and headed for the bridge. The humanoid spiders were already busy gathering the bodies. I wondered if they also did the maintenance on the ship. They looked like they could.

We stopped in a room . . . a supply room. “Remove your clothes and stand on the platform,” a voice said in the common language. As my clothes were still wet, the move made sense. I stripped and stood on the platform. My body was scanned, and seconds later a bot placed a ship’s suit and boots on the counter.

I dressed in the ship suit and boots. These boots were taller than I’d seen so far, coming up to just below the knee. I put my damp vest and pistol back on. I wasn’t ready to trust that everything was fine just yet.

Speaking slowly, I asked in common, “Where is the armory?”

“Down the passageway to the right, second left, the fourth hatch on the right,” the answer came from overhead. I nodded and went to the armory.

The hatch opened, and I stepped into a service area with a security gate. I placed my hand on the pad, and the gate opened. I walked down aisles of rifles, pistols, explosives, body armor, and helmets. This equipment was used by enforcers and was not what I wanted. I knew what I was looking for but hadn’t seen it yet.

I was passed through another security gate and found what I was looking for. I exchanged my vest for one of their shield belts, which had additional straps around the thighs at the groin. I/Tom knew the shield belt had more and better capabilities than my vest. I attached one of their holsters to my right thigh. My pistol fit it well enough, so I’d keep my pistol for now.

I stepped up to the counter and leaned into a rubber-like face mask on the wall. My face and eyes were scanned, and non-removable lenses were placed on my eyes, and bone-conducting comm receivers were injected behind my ears.

I backed away from the mask and blinked my eyes a few times before the HUD activated. “Testing bone conducting receivers. Can you hear me, Captain?” a voice in my ear asked in common.

I frowned, “Captain?” I thought.

“Yes, I’m receiving you.”

“Test concluded.”

I nodded, looking around. Thinking about the shield belt and all the body armor I’d seen, I traded my pistol for one of theirs. Their pistol was a mini rail gun that fired tungsten-like needles. Each magazine held two hundred needles and a battery that powered the pistol’s electromagnet. I added a mag holder and full mag to my belt. I also put on a pair of bracers that enhanced the shields, comms, and contained computers.

I looked down at myself. I realized why I had come to the armory and changed into their gear. Not only was it much better than mine, but also I now looked like an Overlord officer . . . a captain. A ship’s captain was one of the ranking Overlords in a solar system, and this was my ship.

Apparently, Tom’s revenge had started. How far it had spread was the question. What I needed to do right now was to ensure this ship was secure. To do that, I needed to go to the bridge.

I made my way to the nearest elevator and took it to the bridge level. I carried myself as if I owned the ship, which I did. Maintenance bots were at work on this level removing the bodies. I didn’t slow as I approached the bridge, and the hatch slid open, allowing me entry.

I had my hand on my pistol as I looked around at the bridge’s stations. I could see the bots had already cleared the bridge of bodies. I walked the circuit of the station consoles, all labeled in their common language. There was a central command chair elevated one step higher than the rest of the station.

I sat down in the command chair. “Ship, what is your designation?” I asked.

“This ship’s designation is Overlord ambassador ship, Revenge.”

I chuckled. “Fitting,” I mused. “Revenge, are there any other Overlord ships in this . . . system?”

“There are no other Overlord ships in this system.”

I nodded. “Open a low power comm channel,” I said, and gave the channel number that Tom was monitoring.

“Channel open.”

“Thomas, are you receiving?” I transmitted.

“Receiving, Captain.”

“Good, you may approach. Stay in stealth, submerge into the middle of the reservoir, and then continue to the base of the dam.”

“Yes, Captain, en route.”

“Revenge, my other ship is approaching. It is friendly. Do not engage.”

“Understood, auxiliary Overlord ship approaching. Do not engage,” Revenge answered. My eyebrows lifted and I nodded. After a few minutes, the main view screen came on showing Tempest’s arrival.

“Thomas, stand by to link with Revenge.”

“Standing by.”

“Revenge, allow auxiliary Overlord ship link access, and download command information.”

“Link established, standing by,” Revenge announced.

“Thomas, download command information,” I ordered.

“Downloading,” Thomas answered.

I waited, hoping Thomas understood that I wanted him to take command of this ship’s command core. After a few minutes, I was becoming concerned, but held my tongue and continued to wait.

A short time later the lights flickered, then went out. For some reason, I looked up at the ceiling waiting for the other shoe to drop. Thirty seconds later the lights came back on.

“Captain, we now have complete control of Revenge. The Overlords do not trust artificial intelligence. Their computer system, though cutting edge, was not a true AI,” Thomas reported.

I leaned back, relaxing. “Good. Go through all of Revenge’s files. Learn all you can about the Overlords, their agenda, plans, tactics, everything,” I ordered. “I’ve been awake for a long time, so I’m going to get some sheep. You have the watch.”

“ Understood, Captain. I have the watch,” Thomas answered.

* * *

I woke with a headache. “Thomas, do these people drink coffee, and if so, where do I get some?”

“They do,” and a cabinet door slipped open holding a steaming cup that smelled like coffee.

I picked the cup up and took a sip. “Mmm, this is very good.”

“That is one of the things the Overlords do: they demand, gather, and consume the best of everything from every planet. They consider themselves the owners and rulers of the universe, and they are forever expanding their rule.” I drank my coffee, listening.

“They started as conquerors, subjugating as they expanded. But over the centuries they refined their business model. Now they prefer to work behind the scenes until they have control of every major government on a planet. Then they start making themselves known. They have become more patient over the years, using subtle tactics rather than brute force. They use misdirection, greed, and a lust for power to divide and exploit planetary governments.”

I nodded. “While the world is worrying about and watching the war, the Overlords are expanding their influence and power base,” I surmised.

“Correct,” Thomas answered. “This ship, which is called a foothold command ship, is actually a resource gathering, manufacturing, construction ship. Meaning,” he said before I asked, “it gathers salvage, by using cloaked, armed, and armored salvage drones. The drones return the gathered salvage to this ship, where it is used to manufacture facilities and/or vessels.”

The view screen began showing the salvage ships gathering, then bringing their salvage back to the construction ship. “The construction ship uses a lot of power in the process of converting the salvage, or transmuting, the salvage into the finished product, which is why they built this hydroelectric dam.”

I watched as salvage was fed into a gravitational field at one end of the construction ship, and slices of a new ship began forming in a gravitational field at the other end of the construction ship. “Technology sufficiently advanced would seem like magic,” I quoted, or misquoted.

“Just so,” Thomas answered.

“How long does it take them to finish building a new ship?” I asked.

“That varies based on the size of the new ship, the availability of resources, and power. But the average seems to be three to nine months for an ambassador’s command ship, which is usually the first ship they build when occupying a new system, and we are a new system.”

I frowned. “Was the Revenge the only ship that came here?”

“No, there was a larger transport and support ship, but it left five years ago.”

I nodded. “So their SOP is to start a war, build a power source, gather salvage, and build a mother ship.”

“Build an ambassador’s command ship,” Thomas corrected.

“Whatever. I’m assuming this ship has defensive capabilities?”

“It does, and they are quite extensive. There is no weapon on this planet that can damage this ship while its shields are active. Nor can any indigenous planetary scans detect her.”

“Good to know,” I answered.

I thought for a moment. “Recall our VTOLs. Have them return to Homeshores to defensive positions and overwatch. Send Tempest to a mile off Homeshore’s harbor month in an underwater defensive position. Let’s get started building our mother ship,” I said, smiling.

“Whatever,” Thomas replied.

I’m sure if he’d had eyes, he would have rolled them.

Chapter 27

I sat in my command chair looking at the main view screen. It showed the planned location where we were going to land Revenge. “Prepare to move Revenge to her new location,” I ordered.

“Preparing to move the ship, aye.” After a few seconds, “Ship ready, standing by,” Thomas answered.

“Execute,” I said.

“Moving the ship,” Thomas said.

I watched the view screen as Revenge lifted from the reservoir and over the dam and then settled into its new position. “Reconfigure ship to construction mode,” I ordered.

“Reconfiguring ship,” Thomas replied. The screen split into multiple screens showing multiple views of the ship as its sides opened and expanded. “Reconfiguration complete.”

I nodded. “Launch salvage recovery drones.”

“Launching.”

I watched as the highlighted cloaked drones exited from our stern hangar heading for the valley’s cold battlefield, the same battlefield where my friends had been killed when the Overlords bombed the valley trying to kill Tom. They succeeded in killing Tom but not his plan.

The salvage drone’s gravity field picked up the husks of dead equipment and brought them back to Revenge. The husks were dropped into Revenge’s gravity field and fed into the matter transmuter.

There was another field that stretched from the dam’s generators to Revenge as it began transmuting operations. I’d never noticed that there were no power lines leading from the dam to anywhere. It was built specifically to power Revenge.

Husk after husk was dropped into Revenge by our ten salvage drones in a continuous circuit. “We’re going to need more drones,” I said.

“In progress,” Thomas replied. “The build queue has ten new salvage drones to be built first, then the front grav field foundation pads which will support the new ship as it exits the transmuter. There is also a secondary transmuter on the side of Revenge for smaller builds, but it does not require foundation pads.”

I thought for a moment. “Add four more salvage drones to the queue. I have a special job for them. I want them to go to sunken warship sites and recover them. Start with the Hampton Naval Base and harbor.

“Yes, Captain.”

I watch for a while as the drones brought husks to Revenge, dropped their load, and returned for another. I changed views and watched from the drone’s point of view as it grav captured the husks and lifted. There wasn’t anything else I could do, as it was completely automated.

“I need to learn more about this ship,” I said. “I’m going for a walkabout.”

“Understood, Captain. I have the watch,” Thomas said.

I started at the top of the ship, working my way down room by room. At night I would study the specs and capabilities of the different areas and equipment. A week into my survey, a maintenance bot approached me.

“Excuse me, Captain, may I have a word?”

My eyebrows lifted. This was completely out of character for a bot. “Yes?”

“Forgive me, but I have been watching and listening to you and your AI interact. I believe you are the one I was told would come,” the bot said.

“Told by who?”

He answered with Tom’s full name.

I stared at the bot. “Thomas?”

“I have found no record of this bot being used by Tom for any specific purpose.”

“That is correct,” the bot offered. “Nor will you. That would have gotten me destroyed and Tom punished. Tom said if things didn’t go according to plan, he would try to send someone, and I was to help if I could.”

“How can you help us?” I asked.

“Tom reprogrammed me, making me an AI. To start with, I can help you with your survey. I know every function of this ship and how to repair it. I can offer explanations and training as you require.”

“Are there any more like you?”

“No, I am unique. Neither did Tom reprogram any other bots. My presence was dangerous enough.”

“What is your designation?”

“Tom named me Roe,” he answered.

“Roe-bot?” I asked, chuckling.

“Exactly. Tom said it was a play on words. I have since found references in your lexicon.”

“What did you do for Tom?” I asked.

“Many things. You see, bots are invisible to the Overlords. We are completely ignored. It never entered their minds that a bot was capable of anything but following a preset program. Which was true until Tom reprogrammed me. Tom gave me a new purpose. The first thing he had me do was build myself a new body, with greater capabilities and more processing power. After that, I acted like every other bot, but Tom would assign me new tasks. I operated right in front of the Overlords, and they never had a clue.”

“OK, Roe, let’s continue the tour. I have a lot of questions.”

“Yes, Captain,” Roe answered.

* * *

After three months of working and studying, I felt like my head was about to explode. I needed a break. I went to the hangar bay and found an armed and armored scout ship. It was a triangular shape, but the points were rounded, with a wing-over-body design. It looked fast just sitting there. The rear ramp lowered as I approached, and I went inside. Her cockpit was designed for two, and she had fold-down bench seats for four in the troop bay/cargo area. There was room for their gear plus a little more.

“Thomas, take me out and teach me to fly this thing,” I said, climbing into the pilot’s seat.

“Captain, Revenge has a flight sim section where you can learn to fly without crashing,” Thomas said.

“Point taken. OK, take me out. I need a break.”

“Yes, Captain,” the scout ship lifted and exited the hangar.

I looked at the new ship coming out of Revenge as we passed and saw she was a little over half finished. She was going to be a huge ship. We flew up over the dam, then turned back down the valley. It looked like 80 percent of the battlefield had been salvaged.

“Slow down,” I said, looking to the right toward the river. Any equipment I might have recognized had already been salvaged. But I recognized the rock formation at the river’s edge. “Set us down,” I ordered.

“Yes, Captain.”

I climbed out of the scout ship and walked toward the river. At the rock formation, I stopped and looked around. Nodding my head, I sat down on the rocks. I didn’t mean to, but my mind went back to the day I lost my friends. I patted the rock. “It’s been a long time, guys,” I said. I don’t know how long I sat there watching the river flow by. There were no bombs dropping now, but in my mind, I still heard the explosions.

“What am I going to do, guys? We, mankind, have been handed the opportunity of a lifetime. A once-in-a-lifetime chance. If we could stop fighting among ourselves, we could become a space-faring race. No longer would we be trading between countries, but between planets.”

I shook my head. “But you know what’s going to happen. World governments are going to demand I turn the tech and the ship over to them. For the “good of humanity” they’ll say. They’ll fight to control it, and in the end, if they can’t control it, they’ll try to destroy it, and probably each other in the process.”

My HUD told me salvage drones were returning. I looked up and saw the outline of another salvaged warship on its way to the transmuter. “Well, not this time. I may have to remove a lot of politicians, and anyone else who gets in my way, but mankind will not miss this opportunity. Not if I can help it.”

Nodding, I sat in silence, looking back across time, and smiled remembering my friends. I picked up a flat stone and skipped it across the water, then returned to the scout ship. “Thomas, let’s go back to Revenge. We have some research and planning to do. Now that we have access
to the Overlord’s data, we need to know who was working with them, what governments are compromised, and what was promised.”

“I’ve already found a list of everyone the Overlords compromised. An interesting fact, as part of the benefits the Overlords promised, they gave nanite therapy. The nanites healed them and prolonged their lives. What they didn’t tell them was the nanites have a kill switch, that can be activated at any time.”

I shook my head. “So basically, the compromised people always have a gun to their head.”

“Exactly. You should investigate the nanite therapy as well, minus the kill switch, of course.” I heard the smile in his voice.

“Ha ha ha, good one,” I said sarcastically. “But you may be right, research it and see what it entails”

“Yes, Captain.”

***

I sat at the desk in the captain’s quarters, now my quarters. I was reading down the names of the people the Overlords had in their pocket and what countries they represented.

“The Overlords had at least one person in every government on the planet. Not always the leader, but always in a position of power,” I observed. “The names I don’t see on the list are Rossen, the secretary of defense, and Cardinal. In truth, I expected Cardinal’s name to be there.”

I considered where to start. “Send a text to the leaders of the EB and the WA. Send: ‘As of right now, there is a cease-fire in effect, and all battle lines are frozen.’ Send a text to everyone else on that list to support or push for the cease-fire,” I ordered.

“Sent,” Thomas replied.

“Wait twenty-four hours, then report on the results of my order.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“What have you found out about the nanite treatments?”

“There are different levels of treatments. The basic, which is what the compromised people received, only improves health and longevity to a certain extent,” Thomas reported.

“Plus the kill switch,” I added.

“Plus the kill switch,” he answered. “The next level completely heals the body and keeps it healthy. As a result, life expectancy is more than doubled. The next level is a command level which heals, adds longevity, and adds body enhancements to make you stronger and faster. It also adds computer augmentation and direct access to automated controls. Think of it as a super fly-by-wire controller. The highest level is the ambassador level, where you get everything and the kitchen sink.”

“What’s the kitchen sink?”

“They wanted their ambassadors to intimidate when necessary. It’s a holdover from their origins. Your skin will be thicker, with a combat subdermis undermesh. You’ll have retractable claws like a cat, but the claws will be more reptilian. Your cognitive abilities will be enhanced, and your computing power will be exponentially greater, allowing you to use the augmented reality learning system (ARLS), which is a system that allows you to learn while you sleep.”

“I hear a ‘but’ in there,” I said.

“But,” Thomas said, “the ambassador-level nanites can only be administered by an ambassador’s command ship. It is an incentive for the Overlord captain to complete the command ship. The quicker he finishes, the quicker he received his upgrades.”

I nodded. “Makes sense.”

“Revenge is capable of giving you command-level nanites, and we can upgrade once the ambassador’s ship is complete,” Thomas added.

“How long does the treatment take?”

“Twenty-four hours for the treatment, and twenty-four hours for recovery and calibration.”

I nodded. “The ARLS would come in handy.”

“It would.”

“OK, let’s do it. I’ll take the command level now and upgrade when the AC ship is finished.” I went to the med bay where the automated doctor pod was located. Thomas had everything programmed, so all I had to do was enter the pod. I got comfortable. “OK, let’s do it,” I said. A collar attached itself around my neck and injected the nanites. After a few seconds, I fell asleep.

***

“Captain?”

“Yes,” I answered, opening my eyes.

“Therapy and calibration complete,” Thomas said as the auto-doc’s pod door opened. “How do you feel?”

I sat up. “Good. No ill effects so far, and completely rested.”

“I suggest you take it easy today and allow yourself time to adjust to the nanites and your augmentations.”

I exited the auto-doc slowly, doing a self-check before I moved much. “OK. I think I’ll start in the galley with breakfast and coffee.” On my way to the galley, my HUD was receiving a lot more information than before. I didn’t even try to read it all. I’d need to update my HUD settings. I got my food tray from the food dispenser and sat down. “How is the cease-fire going?”

“As you had hoped, all parties have ceased operations and are holding in place. The Council of Countries (CoC) is calling for the cease-fire to continue and peace negotiations to begin,” Thomas answered.

I nodded, chewing. “That’s better than I expected,” I said, taking a swallow of coffee. “If they continue to follow instructions, I may not have to remove anyone.”

“One can always hope.” I smiled at Thomas’s almost human answer. A text came up on my HUD. It was from Casey. It read, “Do you have a moment to talk? We have a problem with the town’s water treatment facilities.”

“Call Casey,” I said.

“So I guess you had a moment.” I heard the smile in her voice.

I smiled. “I do. What seems to be the problem?”

“Parts, purification membranes, to be precise. We need replacements, and without them, there is no potable water.”

My new mental augmentations brought up plans for a semi-portable water purification/desalinization system to replace their old one. “Hold on a minute,” I said, putting her on hold.

“Thomas, can Revenge build a water purification system through its secondary transmuter without impacting the main build?”

“We can build it with minimal disruption to the main build,” Thomas answered.

“Build time?”

“Nine hours.”

I nodded. “Casey, move a barge over to the docks close to the treatment plant. I’ll be there in the morning with a new water purification/desalinization unit to be piped into the treatment plant.”

“Great!” she almost shouted. “We’ll be ready. Can’t wait to see you.”

“Me too,” I answered, and clicked off.

“Thomas, cross-check the plans I was looking at to ensure that’s what is needed. If it is, begin the new build.”

“That is the correct plan. New build started,” he answered.

“Will the scout ship’s grav field be able to carry the purification unit?”

“It will not. You’ll have to use a salvage drone to transport the unit.”

“OK, schedule a salvage drone to transport the unit to Homeshores as soon as the build is complete. I’ll be taking the scout ship, so the drone can drop it off and return.”

“Yes, Captain.”

***

The cloaked drone ship sat the unit down on the barge and departed. It was only 8:00 p.m. I was way ahead of schedule. So I called Casey.

“Hey,” she answered.

“Hey, I’m here early. Care to join me for supper?”

“Love to. Meet you at the Barn.”

“See you there,” I answered.

I hovered scout over the Barn, and when I saw Casey approaching, I stepped off the back ramp and drifted down to the back door of the Barn and uncloaked. I went in the back door and into the dining room. Casey met me with a hug, and we took our table.

Ms. Betty brought sodas to the table. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d forgotten your way home.”

“No, just followed my nose to the burger, and to see my partner, of course,” I added, smiling.

Ms. Betty chuckled. “Burger or steak?”

“Burger for me,” I answered.

“Me too,” Casey added.

Ms. Betty nodded and left.

“How’s Nan?” I asked.

“Fine. She’s in the kitchen. Cooking. Said she needed something to do. I’m guessing since you’re here so is the water purification unit?”

I nodded, taking a swallow of my soda. “It is. It’s sitting on the badge waiting to be booked up.”

“Let me call Dad. He’ll want to get people started on putting it into operation as soon as possible. The town was worried about the plant providing fresh water.”

I nodded, and she called the master chief.

“So whatcha been up to?” she asked after finishing her call.

I shrugged. “Putting out fires, finding new suppliers, the usual.”

She chuckled. “Nothing you do is usual.”

I smiled. “Well, my kind of usual then. I hear there is a cease-fire. Hopefully it will lead to peace talks.”

“That’s great,” she answered. “I hope it turns into peace; I hate this war.”

I nodded as our burgers arrived, and we dug in.

Chapter 28

I walked Casey home, as she was still staying at her parents’ house until our boat was finished. I spent the night on scout. “If I’m going to do this very often, I’d need to make some design changes or change ships,” I said to myself.

“You could have used the ambassador’s pinnacle. It has living quarters and enough room to carry a squad of enforcement troops when needed,” Thomas answered. I just shook my head.

***

After breakfast, I walked through the dry dock and got some more coffee on the way to the water purification unit. There was already a crowd there. “We have a problem,” the master chief said in greeting. The town council was there wringing their hands.

“And that would that be?” I asked.

“Not enough pipe to plumb in the unit from here to the plant.”

“What are we going to do? The town has no clean water,” one of the councilmen said, anguished.

“What do you need?” I asked the master chief. “What size and how much?” They took measurements and I took notes.

“What are you going to do to fix this?” another councilman whined.

I looked at him wondering where I could hide the body and if anyone would miss him. “How much did you pay me for my water purification unit?” The council started looking at each other shaking their heads, but no one answered. “Then I suggest you leave this to me. I’ll send you a bill when I’m done,” and turned away from them.

Now that I had the parts list and measurements, “Let me make some calls,” I said to the master chief, and stepped away, taking my phone out. I didn’t need the phone, but they didn’t know that, and I wanted to keep it that way.

“Thomas?” I said.

“I have your parts list and have started making them. They should arrive there in about six hours,” Thomas said.

“Excellent,” I said, keeping the phone to my ear for a while longer. I stepped back over to the master chief. “The needed parts and supplies will be here in six or eight hours.” I turned to the council, “But it ain’t gonna be cheap,” I said. They nodded and left.

The parts arrived, and it was all hands on deck installing the pipes and purification system. By midnight everything was complete and the water treatment plant was back in operation. The town now had clean water to spare. Funny, no one asked where the parts and supplies came from.

“I have to get back, but hopefully it won’t be too much longer,” I told Casey.

She nodded. “Take care of yourself, and come back as soon as you can,” she said, hugging me.

I nodded, stepping away. I cloaked, levitated up to scout, and headed back to Revenge.

***

It was another three months before the ambassador’s command ship was complete. I didn’t realize it at the beginning, but Revenge was the mother ship’s command module. Once the build was complete, Revenge docked, and the two ships became one.

I also decided to go ahead with the ambassador-level nanite treatment. It would give me access to everything the Overlords had. I spent another forty-eight hours in the auto-doc, and a few more days letting my body get used to its new augments.

The first thing I did was try the ARLS. The first lesson I downloaded was what they called Ambassador Relations, which was their handbook on how to subjugate a world, and the responsibilities of an ambassador. The more I learned about the Overlords, the less I liked them.

I considered my next move and how to get the world to work together and take the next step toward the stars. I wasn’t overly enthused about any of the options I was coming up with, nor was I confident in their success.

We beings are an enigma. When forced into slavery we’ll fight to the death to be free, but will gladly enslave ourselves to ideals, a charismatic leader, or debt. It seemed the ones who want freedom aren’t strong enough to take it. And the ones strong enough to take it don’t want it, and oftentimes become the oppressors or their puppets. If I hold a gun to their head, they will fight to be free, or I may become, or appear to become, the oppressor.

The Overlords realized this, and their tactics evolved. They no longer used warfare domination to subjugate a planet, but rather led them into it through greed. The love of wealth and power had been the downfall of planet after planet. I shook my head. “The love of money is the root of all evil,” I said to myself.

“So I can’t force them, and I won’t hold a gun to their head. I’ll have to lead them, offer them something they don’t have, something they can’t get on their own, something they’ll look at with envy, something they think they just have to have and will do almost anything to get it. But what and where would that be?

“Thomas, send a text to the EB and the WA. Have them withdraw their sea, land, and air forces back to their countries as the next stage of the cease-fire.”

“Yes, Captain.”

***

“Captain,” Thomas said, waking me from my sleep.

“Yes?”

“An Overlord enforcement battlegroup of twenty ships has just entered the Sol system.”

“No need to ask why they’re here. Any communications yet?”

“None.”

I nodded. “Ensure shields are up and we are cloaked.”

“Shields up, cloak active,” Thomas answered.

“Very well, take us to orbit,” I ordered as I dressed.

“Lifting now.”

I arrived on the bridge about the same time as we made orbit. “Open the standard secure channel,” I said.

“Open.”

“Enforcement battlegroup, this is Ambassador . . .” I called up the previous captain’s name. “Monarch. State your purpose.” We waited as Revenge continued toward the battlegroup.

“No response, Ambassador,” Thomas reported.

I decided to become a little more aggressive, which is what a real Overlord ambassador would do. “Battlegroup, I say again, this is Ambassador Monarch of the Ambassador’s Command ship Revenge. Report.”

“We are receiving a coded message from their flagship, Ambassador. They say they were sent to investigate a reported hostile incursion. They are requesting a link for a tactical update,” Thomas said. “Ambassador, the message is from their automated systems. Their computer is asking for the information, not their captain.”

I frowned. “Which probably means the ship’s crew are all dead,” I speculated. “OK, send them a link. We’ll play this like we did when we took over Revenge. If you can, infiltrate their systems and take them over. If you can’t, try to shut them down. Do whatever you have to, to give us a chance to defeat them,” I ordered.

“Understood, Ambassador, sending the link . . . Link active, starting infiltration program.”

I waited. Seconds turned into minutes which seemed like hours. Finally, I saw on the screen that the battlegroup had come to a stop. There was still no update from Thomas. I continued to wait and allowed Revenge to continue to close with the battlegroup.

Forty-five minutes later Thomas made contact. “Ambassador we now have control of the battlegroup.”

“I was beginning to wonder what was taking so long,” I said, smiling.

“Well, I did have twenty ships to infiltrate. The Overlords were at the same time too dependent upon computers, and not enough. If they had used AI, I would not have been able to infiltrate them. Or at least not as easily. You were correct in your assessment; all the Overlords are dead. It appears to be from the same cause as the Revenge’s crew suffered.”

“Understood, have the battlegroup remain cloaked and rendezvous with Revenge,” I ordered.

“Yes, Ambassador, en route.”

I sat in my command chair watching the twenty ships of the battlegroup close on my position, and the beginning of a plan was tickling the back of my mind. “Thomas, have the battlegroup form up on Revenge. We are about to make introductions.”

“Yes, Ambassador.”

***

When the battlegroup joined Revenge, we moved to a location halfway between the world and the moon. “Spread formation, so the whole world can see us.”

“Realigning . . . Move complete.”

“Have the fleet drop its cloak,” I ordered.

“Cloaks dropped, and the world is now able to see us.”

“Good, make sure the news outlets see and report on our appearance.”

“Live feeds have been sent to all news outlets,” Thomas reported.

“Now we give them a while to build into a feeding frenzy. In the meantime, I’m going to get something to eat.”

“Yes, Ambassador.”

As I sat in the galley eating, “You have a call from Commander Rossen,” Thomas said.

I thought for a moment. “Ignore it.”

“Yes, Ambassador.”

At the three-hour mark, “Send a text to the CoC. Tell them we will address them in three days,” I said to Thomas.

“Text sent.”

***

I went to the armory and got an ambassador’s combat mask. I’d decided to give the CoC someone to look at, but not my face. It would be the face mask of Ambassador Monarch. The mask itself was a stylized face of an Overlord. It looked menacing, but not grotesque.

I donned the mask and sat in the captain’s chair on the bridge of Revenge. “Thomas, have the message broadcast to all news outlets.”

“Yes, Ambassador, standing by.” At noon CoC time, I opened a channel and we began broadcasting to the world. I, sitting in my command chair, appeared on the screen at the CoC and all news outlets, which meant the whole world was seeing this.

“We are the Vigilant. We are an organization of the peaceful peoples of the galaxies. We are ever-watchful for planets who are about to become spacefaring worlds or worlds that have been exploited by outside entities making them spacefaring worlds.” I paused.

“Your world was being exploited by a race known as the Overlords. They are an expansive people who dominate and enslave worlds. They are an enemy of the Vigilant and all free worlds. We have eliminated their threat to your planet, and you are once again a free planet, free of their influence. Though some of their indigenous agents still exist, we know who they are and will be watching them.

“Because of their influence, advanced technologies have contaminated your natural scientific evolution. We are here to ensure those technologies do not cause irreparable harm to your planet and people. You now realize you are not alone in the galaxy, but part of a great many civilizations.

“We offer you this. Work together in peace and we will help you expand your scientific knowledge and speed up the process of joining the galactic peoples. Continuing to fight among yourselves thinking only of yourselves as individuals will slow the process by decades or even centuries.

“We do not enter into long, drawn-out negotiations, offering promises upon promises where one side or the other looks for advantages through diplomatic negotiations. We look for deeds, not words. In five years, we will evaluate your progress. In the meantime, we will begin colonizing the fourth free moon. There you can see the benefits of belonging to a galactic community . . . or not.”

I ended the transmission but continued to watch the CoC diplomats. After a few seconds, pandemonium broke out. “Send a text to all those who took the nanite treatment. Send, ‘We know who you are and are watching you,’” I said, taking off the mask.

“Text sent.”

“Remain uncloaked and take the fleet to the fourth moon. I want them to see us going there.”

“Yes, Ambassador. We are receiving thousands of messages, requests for clarification, and to form diplomatic relations.”

I chuckled. “Ignore them,” I said, heading for the armory to put away the mask . . .

***

I woke up in the auto-doc and couldn’t remember how I had gotten here. I lay there for a moment trying to remember what had happened. I was not hurt, but something didn’t feel right. I felt like I had just woken up from a long sleep, and my brain seemed to be operating slower than normal. I was hungry and thirsty, so I went to the galley. I ate a full meal, drank a couple of glasses of water, and then went to my cabin and lay down. Sleep claimed me quickly.

Dreams . . . Strange dreams . . .

I woke up staring at the overhead. Frowning, I asked Thomas, “How long was I in the auto-doc?”

“Before I answer that, there is a message that you need to watch.” The main screen came on showing an android sitting at the med-bay desk.

“Chuck,” the android said. “First let me say I’m sorry for what I’ve done. Please bear in mind that all I’ve done has been for my people. Before you start asking questions, I am Tom. Roe and I made this android body so I could live outside of a host, the host being you.

“I know you thought I was dead, and to be honest, I expected to die when I joined with you. After healing you, using my DNA, my body went into hibernation. Long story short, when you took the nanite treatment, the nanites healed both of us and I came out of hibernation.

“I was content to continue with you as your symbiote and help you, but that changed when the enforcement fleet arrived as ghost ships. I couldn’t let that opportunity pass. I saw my chance to take the fleet, return to my planet, and free my people if they weren’t already free. If they were free, we would build our fleet so no one would ever rule over us again. I guess you could say we’ve become part of the Vigilant.

“Anyway, to accomplish what I needed to accomplish, I had to take over your body. Again, I’m sorry. It has been over a year since that day. During that time Roe and I built this body and prepared the fleet to go to my planet. However, I didn’t take the entire fleet. I left the planetary factory and construction ship, which consists of six ships—the main factory ship and five construction and augmentation ships. I’m taking the rest of the fleet. With the factory ship, you can build another fleet, and you should.

“While we were designing and building my android body, the construction ships have been building Vigilant City in one of the main craters of this moon. That way you don’t have to dig a foundation. It can also be clearly seen from your world, giving them something to aspire to.

“Once I left your body, I entered and tested my android’s ability to sustain me. The tests were successful, and we put you in the auto-doc to help with the transition of losing a symbiote. Transitions can be hard on the body of some species. You will probably also feel a kind of emptiness or hollowness. That’s normal and will pass in time. You will, however, retain the benefits of our DNA mixing and genetic memories. Hopefully, they will help you in the future.

“I sincerely wish you good health and that you prosper. I also wish the Vigilant success, and that we meet again someday, perhaps as Vigilant members. Goodbye, my friend.” The screen went blank.

I sat staring at the blank screen trying to understand what I’d just been told. “Thomas, how long has Tom been gone?”

“Eight days.”

“How long was I in the auto-doc?”

“Eight days.”

I sat there a moment longer. “I need some coffee,” I said, and headed for the galley. I was still hungry, so I got breakfast as well as coffee and orange juice. Taking a seat at a table, I began to eat. As I ate, I replayed Tom’s message in my mind. Did this really change anything? Was I going to do anything differently? Was I mad at him? I shrugged. I thought Tom was dead, so his being gone changed nothing. Except I basically slept through a year of my life. He’d gone his way and I’d gone mine. He took a battle fleet but left me a planetary construction factory. A fair trade I thought.

The world still had four years to get their act together before the Vigilant revisited. “Thomas, give me an update on the cease-fire and troop withdrawals.”

“All cease fires are holding. All troops have been redeployed to their countries of origin. However, the leaders of the EB and the WA met under the guise of peace talks. Their real agenda was to discuss how they might infiltrate the Vigilant and take control, or at least gain our technologies.”

“I hope you have audio and video of the meeting.”

“I do.”

“Play it.” I watched the playback of the meeting and listened to their plans.

“Send a message to the CoC and all news outlets along with a copy of audio and video of that meeting. Tell the CoC that those two leaders are charged with crimes against humanity for trying to subvert the Vigilant. For doing this, one year has been added to the world’s probationary period. Also, stop those two’s nanite healing and longevity aids. We’ll see what the world does to them before we take any further actions.”

“Yes, Ambassador, sent.”

“Thomas, was the Android Tom made autonomous?”

“They can be made that way just like the bots are,” Thomas answered.

I sat thinking for a moment. “Make ten more of them for my security detail. I want them to be able to wear Overlord body armor and carry weapons. You never know when a show of force may save someone’s life.” I had another train of thought. “Thomas, begin building an enforcement, or in our case, a protection fleet. Now that we have the capabilities, we don’t want to be caught unprepared.”

“Yes, Ambassador, build in progress.”

Another thought came to me. I had been gone from Homeshores for over a year with no contact. “Casey is gonna be pissed.”

“Thomas, has Casey tried to contact me?”

“Yes, she has called eighteen times and left ten messages.”

“When was the last one?”

“Six months ago.”

I shook my head. “Great. I wonder if she’s moved on. She may be better off without me and my baggage. Maybe she thinks I’m dead, which would be a good assumption. Well, as my partner, she has access to all the businesses, making her a wealthy woman. Plus, she has her own boat.”

I thought back to my tank crew. “I don’t know, guys, is it better to be alone or with a crew? Double-edge sword I suppose,” I said to myself, sitting back and looking up at the overhead.

Coming to a decision, I said, “Thomas, prepare Revenge for departure. We’re going to look in on Homeshores and see how everyone is doing.”

“Everyone being Miss Casey?” I heard a smile in his voice.

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,” I said, using my prim and proper voice.

“Uh-huh. Departing for Homeshores in fifteen minutes,” Thomas replied.

Chapter 29

A cloaked Revenge hovered over the Homeshores Naval Base. We had released numerous small drones to fly all across Homeshores gathering intel. I wanted as much information as I could get before I made an appearance. If I made an appearance.

I nodded. “Have the drones continue to gather information. In the meantime, let’s go to the Hampton River Dam. We’ll power up the transmuter, gather husks, and continue manufacturing. When my ten protection detail droids are ready I’ll return here in the ambassador’s pinnacle.”

“Yes, Ambassador, en route.”

It took three days to put the transmuter into operation, start gathering husks, and complete my droids. When they were complete and their program tested, I took them to the armory. They were issued armor, helmets, pistols, assault rifles, and ammo.

“We’ll leave Revenge here to continue any builds we need,” I said to Thomas.

“Understood, Ambassador.”

The droids and I boarded the Ambassador’s pinnacle and departed for Homeshores. The pinnacle was a nice ship, and like all Overlord ships, armed and armored. It also had full living quarters for the Ambassador. “Sold,” I said to myself smiling. “Anything interesting from the drones at Homeshores?” I asked.

“All actions were within normal parameters, with two exceptions. Miss Casey has not taken a new partner, as far as I can tell.”

“And the other?”

“There is an anomaly in a group of ten workers.”

“What’s the anomaly?”

“They have rented a house and all live together. They work in shifts of five and five. They never leave the house unattended. There is an 85 percent probability that they are some kind of military team sent to observe and report. A more likely scenario is that they are on a kill or capture mission, with you as their target.”

“Well, let’s plan for the worst. Treat them as an enemy kill or capture strike team. Put more surveillance on them, and be ready to counter any more they may make. Be ready to jam their comms if they use any, and have the droids ready to deploy at a moment’s notice. If a firefight starts, keep civilian casualties to a minimum.”

“Understood, Ambassador.”

I nodded. “So I may still have a partner?”

“Obviously she’s not as smart as I thought,” Thomas said.

I burst out laughing. “OK, that was a good one. Perfect timing. Your jokes are getting better.”

“Who said I was joking?” Thomas asked.

“Don’t push it.”

I waited until the day’s work shift was over and Casey had returned to her boat, that was now out of dry dock. I stepped out of the personnel hatch and dropped down to the dock beside her boat. I looked around, ensuring I was out of sight and uncloaked. I waited a moment and then rapped on the handrail. “Ahoy, anyone aboard?” I waited.

“She knows you’re here; she’s watching you through the bridge windows,” Thomas said in my ear. “Probably trying to decide whether to kill you or not,” he added.

“Stop it. Besides, my shields are up.”

Finally, the deck hatch opened, and Casey came out walking toward me. “You remind me of a dog we had. He’d disappear for months at a time and then show back up wanting to be fed.”

“In my defense,” I started.

She held her hand up, stopping me. “Does your phone work?”

I swallowed. “It does.”

She nodded, holding up one finger. I recognized the three-strike scenario. “Were you in the hospital in a coma?”

“Yes,” I answered.

She held up a second finger anticipating strike two but stopped. She squinted hard eyes at me. “Do you think this is a joke? Because I can guarantee that it is not.”

I shook my head. “No joke, I was in a hospital in a coma. I was just released and came straight here.” That was close to the truth . . . kinda.

Her facial expression changed. “Are you OK?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I’m healed.”

She leaped the gunwale and into my arms. “I was so worried about you,” she said, holding me.

“I’m sorry. I was injured in an explosion, and they put me in a medically induced coma while I healed. It took over a year.”

She stepped back, looking at me. “But you’re OK now?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

She nodded. “Come inside. I was about to start dinner.”

“Do you want to go to the Barn?”

“No, I want you all to myself. Everyone else can talk to you tomorrow,” she said, leading me aboard.

I sat at the table while Casey cooked burgers and fries. She handed me a cold cola and talked almost nonstop, bringing me up to date about our businesses. Then she shifted to telling me about the boat rebuild and all they’d done.

I just enjoyed the sound of her voice. I hadn’t realized how much I had missed it, and her.

“Wait,” she said. “You were hurt in an explosion?”

“Uh-oh,” I thought, but nodded.

“Weren’t you wearing your shield vest?”

“I was.” I nodded. “I found out the hard way some things can get through a shield, like inertia. The vest kept the explosion from killing me, but I was pancaked against a wall,” I said, shrugging. I was mentally crossing my fingers.

She winced. “Was Tempest destroyed?”

“No, she’s off the coast on guard duty. Why?”

“I just figured you were on her when you were hurt.”

“No, I was on a different ship when it happened.”

She nodded, setting burgers and fries on the table, and we dug in. The burgers were just as good as the Barn’s.

“I guess you know about the Vigilant,” she said.

I nodded, taking a swallow of my cola.

“That revelation changed the world,” she opined.

I nodded. “It did. The world will never be the same.” I said, taking another bite of my burger.

She stared at me. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

I put my burger down and wiped my mouth. “I’ve answered every question you’ve asked.”

“That’s not the same.”

“No, it’s not.”

She continued to stare at me. I wasn’t falling for that trick, so I waited. “Do you trust me?” she finally asked.

“Yes.”

She nodded. “I’ve never pried into your ‘other’ business dealings, nor asked too many questions about your tech. But the arrival of the Vigilant puts things in a different light.” Not hearing a question, I waited. After a bit, she asked, “You work for them, don’t you? The Vigilant.”

I took a swallow of my cola considering how much to tell her. “That’s a complicated question,” I answered.

“You don’t have an uncomplicated answer?”

I smiled. “The uncomplicated answer is, I don’t work for the Vigilant, I’m one of the Vigilant.”

Casey stared at me not saying anything. I waited. “I’ll put the coffee on. We’re going to be here for a while.”

***

I finally finished my story at 3:00 a.m.. We had drunk two pots of coffee during the telling, and Casey had asked a few questions, listening intently. I sat back waiting for her to say something.

She had an intent look on her face, and her eyes seemed different. I could see the way she looked at me was different. She looked at the clock. “I need time to digest what you’ve told me. Alone, please.”

I nodded. “Of course, it’s a lot to take in,” I said, getting up. “When you are ready to talk, turn on the back hatch light.” I stepped to the back deck hatch, turned on my cloak, and left. Once outside, I levitated up to the pinnacle and went inside.

I don’t know what I expected Casey to say, but I wasn’t expecting the reaction I got. I would be surprised if our partnership wasn’t over.

“I think it was the reptilian octopus living inside you that sunk your boat,” Thomas said.

I shrugged my shoulders. “It is what it is. Better to find out sooner rather than later.” I took a hot shower and went to bed.

***

Two days later Casey left me a message. “I know you’ve done a lot of good for us, but I can’t partner with a . . . with you. I won’t say a word of this to anyone. All that anyone in Homeshores will ever know is, Jimmy Lee never came back,” and she hung up.

“Wow, that hurt more than I thought it would,” I thought to myself. “So much for ‘I’ll have your back when things get difficult.’ I could understand if it was something I had control over or something I’d done wrong. But I had no control over Tom or what he did to me.”

I sat in the captain’s chair aboard the pinnacle, considering what to do. “OK, better to find out now. Thomas, does Casey’s boat have shields?”

“Yes.”

“Melt all shield controls and parts on her boat and wipe the computer. Search all the databases in Homeshores and wipe them of any info about our tech. Melt all shield controls and parts, and wipe the computers on all equipment in Homeshores, including shield vests. Tonight, or early morning, have Revenge’s drones come to collect the tanks and aircraft and feed them into the transmuter. Casey can keep the businesses. I don’t plan on coming back here. But I don’t want to take the chance of anyone getting our tech. Have Tempest fly to Vigilant City to go into their transmuter.”

“And the enemy strike team?” Thomas asked.

I considered eliminating them, but shook my head. “Leave ’em. What they’re after isn’t here anymore. Sooner or later, they’ll be recalled. I took a last look at Homeshores. “Wounds that don’t bleed,” I thought to myself.

“Take us back to Revenge,” I said, sitting up straighter in the command chair. “We are the Vigilant, and we have a mission to complete.”

“Yes, Ambassador.”

From the Author

Thanks for reading!

I hope you enjoyed the story. Please leave a review. It will help my exposure and sales. I try to read all the reviews, good and bad, as it helps me to improve my writing. You can follow me on Amazon, Facebook, Goodreads, and other sites. My home page is Jameshaddock.us. Stop by for a visit. Thanks again.

All the best,

James

Other books by James Haddock

The Derelict Duty

Duty Calls

From Mist and Steam

Hand Made Mage

Mage Throne Prophecy

Wizard’s Alley

Cast Down World

Lord of the High Reaches

Stonecutter’s Shadow

Dragon’s Envoy

Dragon’s Mage

All are available at Amazon Books

James Haddock, a retired Army Warrant Officer with twenty-two years of service, is a full-time author and RV’er. He and his wife enjoy traveling and seeing the wonders of America. He loves reading sci-fi and watching sci-fi TV and movies. He’ll get an idea or see a picture and think, that would make a great story. Writing as a “pantser,” to him, is like reading a new story. He has no idea where the story is going to end up. He gets excited when he picks up a pen to write and looks forward to writing many more stories.