Jump Point: Kestrel Class Saga Book 2 Read online

  Jump Point

  Kestrel Class Saga Book 2

  by

  Toby Neighbors

  Jump Point (Kestrel Class Saga book 2)

  © 2019, Toby Neighbors

  Published by Mythic Adventure Publishing, LLC

  Idaho, USA

  All Rights Reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any print or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  Copy Editing by Ritchelle Buensuceso

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  Chapter 1

  “She’s ready,” the bay supervisor said, his gruff voice carrying over the cacophony of noise in the hanger.

  Ben walked around his beloved ship. The heat shield tiles were all scrubbed and gleaming. The dingy, transparent steel view ports had been polished, and her name, Modulus Echo, was painted in large letters on the side.

  “We replaced and updated all the exterior cameras,” the supervisor went on. “Checked the heat tiles. Ran diagnostics on all major systems. She’s in good shape.”

  “Thank you,” Ben said. “What about the weapons?”

  “You now have Mars Series laser-guided missiles. Six under each wing. And twin laser cannons on top of the wing engines. There was also room for fore and aft deflector shielding. It isn’t good against missiles, just laser fire, and it burns a considerable amount of energy. I suggest you add a secondary fusion reactor at some point just to power the weapons systems.”

  “I’m sure that’s good advice,” Ben said, hoping they never had to use the weapons.

  “I’d upgrade the computer system too,” the supervisor continued. “You’re bound to have lag with that old binary system.”

  “Did you mention that to Nance?”

  “I did,” the supervisor said, shaking his head. “She’d didn’t take too kindly to the suggestion.”

  “I’m not surprised,” Ben said. “Unfortunately, we used all our trade credit on the weapons. There’s nothing left for computers or another fusion reactor.”

  “Bring some more produce and we’ll make it happen,” the supervisor said with a smile. “I haven’t had real potatoes in years.”

  “For now, we can use the auxiliary power cells to operate the deflector shields,” Ben said. “And if we need them, I’ll reroute power to the weapons from other systems.”

  “The Kestrel class ships are versatile, but you’re better off having dedicated power supplies. If I run across a fusion reactor that will fit your ship, I’ll hang onto it.”

  “How often does that happen?” Ben asked.

  “To be honest, I’ve never seen one. The new reactors are constructed completely different. Your best bet is to salvage one.”

  “That’s what I thought,” Ben said. “But she’s ready to fly?”

  “Absolutely,” the supervisor said. “In fact, we’ll need to move her out of the hanger in the next hour or so. Better round up your crew. If we have to wait, there will be a fine. Our facility manager is a stickler about that kind of thing.”

  “I get it,” Ben said. “We’ll be ready. Thanks for all the hard work.”

  He hit the release switch, and the wide rear hatch opened with a hiss. Once the ramp was down, Ben walked back onto the Echo. He hadn’t realized how much he missed the old ship. For nearly a week, they had guest quarters on the Genovisi Shipyards main station. The facility was essentially a big space station, with long docking arms sprouting out in every direction. At the end of most of the arms were maintenance hangers like the one the Echo shared with half a dozen other small vessels.

  They had arrived at the shipyard shortly after escaping an ambush in the Mersa system. Ben had spent most of the week making repairs of his own to the damaged cooling system, while the dock workers did repair work to the exterior of the vessel. Ben didn’t mind the dock workers running tests on the ship’s systems, but he was intimately acquainted with the ship, having done all the repair and restoration that got her in flying shape after decades in the salvage yards of Torrent Four. And with his firsthand knowledge, he preferred to do any vital repairs himself.

  Nance had also stayed on board. She preferred the small ship to exploring new places, and had even stayed in her cabin the entire week. Ben knew she had worked tirelessly to upgrade the computer system and write new control programs for the weapons and shielding systems.

  Kim and Magnum had taken full advantage of being on the station. After trading their cargo of potatoes for credits with the Genovisi administrators, they had spent the week exploring the market and entertainment district of the large space station. Ben had done a few things with them. Kim insisted he try the Chembrew ale, which was served at all the establishments on the station. And he had gone with her to see a virtual reality drama about a runaway ship headed for a nearby star.

  He had spent most of his share of the credits on new tools, which he had already stored neatly in bins he had arranged in the storage closet of the engineering bay. Magnum had taken Nance’s share and traded for new tech, which was stashed in her cabin. The big man had spent his share of their profits on weapons and more ammunition reloading supplies. His cabin looked like the workshop for an antique firearms merchant.

  Kim was the lone exception. She spent her money on new furnishings for her cabin. There were colorful tapestries hung on the metal bulkheads and thick rugs covering the floor
gratings. She purchased a thickly cushioned rotating chair that rocked, and a bright-red bed covering. Ben had seen her working to arrange all the new furnishings and accessories. All in all, the stop at the Shipyards had been a bit like being a child in a candy store. The potatoes the rebels on Mersa Prime had given to them were worth a small fortune, and even with most of the money spent on the Echo, there had been plenty left over for the crew to get personal items.

  They had even upgraded their on-ship supplies, getting hard-vacuum suits for each of the guest cabins and the entire crew. They had also upgraded their coms. Ben tapped the small button-sized device on his collar and activated the system.

  “Time to go,” he said, as he climbed the metal staircase up to the main deck of the ship.

  “We’re coming,” Kim grumbled.

  Magnum nearly tapped the device to indicate an affirmative response. Ben joined Nance on the bridge. She was staring at her bank of computer screens.

  “We good?” he asked her.

  “All systems are in the green,” Nancy Josslyn said.

  Ben gave his own console a few taps and brought up the fusion reactor, which was operating perfectly. It gave him a sense of satisfaction to know his repairs to that system were holding together so well. But a look at their Zexum supply wasn’t as encouraging. They had burned through three-quarters of their first tank. There was still plenty of the rare fuel to get them to their next destination, but he couldn’t help but feel acutely aware of the finite amount of fuel they possessed.

  A squawk from the ship’s old intercom system almost made Ben jump out of his seat. The noise was loud and jarring. Ben looked at Nance, who shrugged her shoulders. He pushed the intercom button and spoke.

  “Hello?”

  “Permission to come aboard,” said a familiar voice over the static-filled transmission.

  “Who is this?” Ben asked, almost afraid of the answer.

  “Holt, your old friend, of course. I have news.”

  “Come on in,” Ben said, standing up from his console and turning to Nance. “What do you think this is about?”

  The computer expert shrugged her shoulders. “We owe the Confederates another run.”

  Ben nodded. “And what do you bet Holt is here to collect?”

  “Not betting,” Nance said matter-of-factly.

  “I guess they really did survive the attack on the Bannyan system,” Ben said.

  “Or he used an escape pod,” Nance said. “Maybe he was captured by the Fleet and turned against the Confederacy.”

  “If he was, it happened fast,” Ben said, as Holt came up the stairs with his boots thumping on the metal stairs.

  “Bet you thought you’d never see me again,” Holt said.

  “Hoped is more the word I would use,” Ben said. “What are you doing here?”

  “I came looking for you,” Holt said. “We weren’t sure you made it past the Fleet during the attack.”

  “We did,” Ben said. “We got our passengers back to Mersa Prime too.”

  “I gathered that much,” Holt said. “The whole station is talking about the haul of potatoes you brought in.”

  “They were gifted to us by Tolliver,” Ben said. “Have you heard from them?”

  “No,” Holt said. “There isn’t much word from the Old Planets. Too much Imperium control.”

  Ben glanced at Nance, who he knew was listening to every word of the conversation, although it seemed as if her attention was only on her computer screens.

  “The Royal Imperium is using drones to keep the people on Mersa Prime drugged.”

  “What?”

  “Come with me,” Ben said.

  He led the way back down to the cargo bay where Kim and Magnum were just returning. They both looked startled when they saw Holt.

  “Confederates and cockroaches,” Kim said. “Both are hard to kill.”

  “Good to see you too, Beaudry,” Holt said. “Nice pillow.”

  Kim had a plush pillow under one arm, and a large sack of goods over her other shoulder.

  “I told you we should have kicked him out the air lock when we had a chance,” she complained.

  “I’m showing him the drone from Mersa Prime,” Ben said. “Then he’s going to tell us what he wants.”

  “My pleasure,” Holt said, deadpan.

  They all followed Ben into the engineering bay, to the storage room where Ben retrieved the drone. The pumpkin-sized device was smashed on one side and had been cut apart on the other. Ben laid the pieces out on a workbench.

  “There were hundreds of these in high orbit,” Ben explained, “above the satellite field around the planet.”

  “We came right out of hyperspace in the middle of the swarm,” Kim added.

  “This one crashed into the ship, and we were able to retrieve it,” Ben continued. “The group from Mersa Prime took it apart and found the drug.”

  “What drug?” Holt asked.

  “Cadence,” Ben said. “Are you familiar with it?”

  “I’ve heard of it,” the Confederate said. “They use it to make convicts less violent.”

  “Tolliver and his friends believe the Imperium is spraying the drug into the atmosphere,” Kim said.

  “We saw a group of the drones go into the atmosphere right when Tolliver had instructed us that the government contractors manning the satellite feeds change shift,” Ben said. “When the next shift changed, we followed another swarm through a gap in the satellites.”

  “So they go in and spray Cadence into the atmosphere?” Holt asked. “Why?”

  “The drug bonds with rain molecules,” Ben said, “and infects the water supply.”

  “Good God, they’ve gone too far this time,” Holt said. “They’re actually drugging citizens.”

  “And the resistance network on Mersa Prime is compromised,” Kim added. “The base where we sat the Echo down was attacked by Security Force agents before we took off. One even got on board our ship.”

  “Lucky you survived,” Holt said suspiciously.

  “We are lucky,” Ben said. “If not for Magnum, we’d have been captured or killed.”

  “So you say,” Holt said.

  “You think we’re traitors?” Kim said, aghast. “That’s rich coming from you.”

  Holt held up a hand, “I’m just saying bad luck seems to follow your ship around.”

  Kim lunged forward, but Ben pulled her back. Holt looked like he was ready for a fight, but acted calmly. His eyes flickered to Magnum, giving away the fact that he was actually frightened. It was sensible, Ben thought. Magnum was a force to be reckoned with, and while there was no doubt that Holt had a weapon close at hand, it was no guarantee that could stop Magnum from breaking the Confederate’s neck.

  “Let’s just relax,” Ben said. “We’re not loyalists and we’re not rebels. We don’t have a side to betray.”

  “So how do you account for the fact that the Imperium always seems to show up when you’re around?”

  “I don’t know,” Ben said.

  “And you always manage to escape unscathed.”

  “That’s not true,” Ben said, fighting the anger he felt over Holt’s accusations. “We almost died getting off Mersa Prime, and that stowaway blasted our cooling system. We nearly lost the Echo before we could get away.”

  “Just ask the grease monkeys here,” Kim snarled. “They did the repairs. They know how much heat damage we took.”

  “How am I supposed to trust you?” Holt asked.

  “I don’t think you are,” Ben said. “We certainly don’t trust you. Now, we’ve done our part. Take the drone back to your friends, and tell them what’s happening on Mersa Prime.”

  “I’m here to give you your next assignment,” Holt said.

  “We don’t work for you,” Kim snapped.

  “You owe us one more run,” Holt said. “That was the deal.”

  “Let me throw him off the ship, Ben,” Kim said. “Please?”

  “You can try it if
you want to,” Holt said to Kim, but looked past her to where Magnum loomed near the artificial gravity generator.

  “No one is getting thrown off the ship,” Ben said. “We owe the Confederacy a run and we’ll make it. There’s no need to burn bridges. What have you got?”

  “Ever heard of Brimex Solar Systems?” Holt asked.

  “They make power converters,” Ben said, “solar energy panels, things like that.”

  “Lancet AR,” Magnum said, speaking up for the first time.

  “The big man is smarter than the rest of you combined,” Holt said. “They make the solar stuff, but it’s really a cover for their arms manufacturing. The Lancet assault rifle is their bread and butter, but they also make pistols, high explosives, laser guidance systems, you name it. Their facility is in the Skopes system. There’s nothing else there, just twin stars and the Brimex complex. We have a squad of guerrilla fighters there that need transport, along with a shipment of arms, to the Briggs system.”

  “Sounds dangerous,” Ben said.

  “It is,” Holt said. “Brigton is the third planet, and it’s under heavy blockade. The only way into the system is to make a jump close enough to the star that if you’re spotted, you’ll look like just another solar flare.”

  “Great,” Kim said. “That doesn’t sound suicidal at all.”

  Holt ignored her. “As soon as you’re in the system, you cut all power. Go dark and drift in past the Imperium ships.”

  “No way,” Kim said. “Dumbest idea ever.”

  “We’ve been doing this a long time,” Holt said. “The Fleet is dependent on their tech, and their sensors are looking for power signatures. If you do it right, you’ll come into the system looking like a solar flare, then drift right past the blockade before dropping into atmo.”

  “Where we’ll be immediately spotted,” Kim said.

  “The rebels hold most of the planet’s surface area. You should be able to make a rapid descent and get on the ground before the Imperium can scramble a response team. You drop the fighters and their gear, collect a load of bio-circuitry, then get out of the system.”