Billy and Rizzo had switched over to the same micro-missile setting Jason introduced them to, and had fairly good results. The trick was catching a sloth with its mouth open—amid a roar was good.

  Brian’s hopper had slowed down as well, only attacking a sloth when it became perilously close to Brian. Another thing Jason noticed was the hopper, at least until this point, hadn’t directly engaged a Serapin. According to Jason’s HUD, the four beasts still living were on their same level and not moving, near the bottom section of Engineering.

  It was just the five of them—Jason, Brian, Billy, Rizzo, and the hopper. The plan was to enter Engineering from two entrances and catch the beasts in a cross fire. Their primary concern was to avoid damage to equipment and the Minian’s drives.

  Jason, Brian and the hopper took position at the starboard entrance and waited for Billy and Rizzo to get in position at the port entrance. There was another entrance mid-ship, but it was completely blocked off by two dead sloths, lying atop one another.

  “We’re in position, Cap.” Billy’s voice came over their open channel into Jason’s NanoCom.

  “Careful what you shoot at, everyone. Let’s go.” Jason and Brian entered the large equipment-filled compartment, side by side. Located there were the fronts of the Minian’s massive two drive systems. Each drive protruded into Engineering. Looking like fronts of Goodyear blimps, they filled the rear bulkhead, reaching high above, into multiple decks. But what stood in front of the drives had Jason most concerned: it was the last remaining sloth, standing tall. Three Serapins moved around it, as if on patrol.

  “They’re guarding him,” Brian commented.

  Before Jason could respond, the Serapins charged. Maybe it was fatigue, too many hours without sleep, or overconfidence by Jason and his team, but they were caught totally off guard.

  Two of the Serapins sprang toward Jason and Brian and before Jason could react, his multi-gun was knocked from his hands and came to rest twenty feet away. One second he was standing and the next he lay pinned to the deck. The Serapin’s jaw snapped: whipping strings of saliva flew into the air—some splashing across Jason’s visor. Visibility would have been a problem, but when the Serapin’s jaws completely engulfed the front of his helmet that became the least of his concerns. As Jason looked into the beast’s throat, he thanked his lucky stars he was wearing one of the new battle suits. The Serapin began flailing its head back and forth like a puppy with a new toy, attempting to rip his head from his shoulders. He’d witnessed the power of the suit’s micro-servos in the past, but they were useless if the human was inactive. His two arms were completely immobile, bearing the weight of the beast’s legs, and a thousand pounds of mass straddled across his chest.

  Jason was exhausted, his reserves spent. All he could do was watch the numerous virtual HUD readouts hover before his eyes. A new flashing warning message appeared:

  Helmet Seal Breach – Imminent!

  Jason realized the Serapin might just get his way and tear his head off after all. The Serapin moved on top of him, as if trying to get better leverage with the whole head-ripping-off action thing. But it was enough. Jason slipped one arm forward and up against his own ribcage. The suit’s integrated plasma weapon, along the inside of his wrist, was still facing his own body, but it was also close to the Serapin’s abdomen. Jason gave it one more try—forcing his arm to move. It budged an inch … and then another. He fired, and kept on firing until the Serapin released his helmet from its jaws and screeched out in agony. Then Jason’s other arm became free and he was able to fire that wrist’s integrated plasma weapon as well. The Serapin was trying to get away, but the plasma fire must have damaged its spine—paralyzing it below the waist. It died suddenly, its own weight pulling it backwards onto the deck.

  Freed from the beast’s oppressive weight, Jason rose into a sitting position. He looked down and saw he was covered in the Serapin’s blood and shit and God knows what else.

  “Jason! Do you mind? A little help here!”

  He turned to see Brian lying beneath another Serapin. Both arms were pinned beneath its weight, as Jason’s had been moments before. On the other side of Brian was the hopper. He was alive, but barely, his tail severed clean off. The third Serapin lay dead, eight feet away, its chest an open gory mess.

  From across the Engineering department, Jason saw the last sloth lying prone on the deck plates. Billy and Rizzo began walking in his direction.

  Billy said, “Looks like you guys had all the fun with the Serapins.”

  Jason didn’t answer, only motioned for his friend to give Brian a hand getting out from under the dead Serapin. Too exhausted to get up, Jason scooted back and leaned against a bulkhead. Once extricated, Brian joined him followed soon by Billy and then Rizzo.

  “You got an extra one of those? Jason asked, gesturing toward the stogy hanging from Billy’s lips.

  “Just so happens I do.” Billy retrieved three more of his Gurkha-brand cigars from somewhere in his battle suit, and passed them out. One by one Billy leaned in and lit them.

  Rizzo leaned forward and eyed Jason, “Hey Cap?”

  “Yeah, Rizzo.”

  “Are we going to win this thing?

  Jason took a long draw of his cigar, and blew out three consecutive smoke rings. “You know Rizzo, I think we just might.”

  Jason watched Brian, sitting directly next to the curled up hopper, giving him several pats on his head. “He going to be alright?”

  “Yeah, I think the tail will grow back.”

  * * *

  The Minian’s bridge had a skeleton crew that included Jason, Ricket, Bristol, Granger, and the latter’s around the clock guard, Sergeant Toby Jackson. Since The Lilly was still parked within the Minian’s hold, and the bulk of his bridge crew was now down on her bridge, Jason had the communications officer, Seaman Gordon, keep a channel open, allowing him to maintain command of both vessels.

  Within several minutes, The Lilly’s depleted propulsion system had recharged sufficiently to begin the maneuvering of the Minian to open space. Jason grabbed a catnap, once Allarian space was determined to be clear of Craing, and the crew had ensured there were no more beasts lurking in the corridors. Earlier, Jason spent several minutes speaking with the Allarian captain, the one they called Chromite, and offered him a MediPod device from the Minian. It was the least he could do for their assistance—assistance that had, most probably, saved their lives. Transport of a MediPod onto one of the Allarian vessels took over an hour. Ricket spent another hour explaining the process they’d need to use in reverting other Allarian bodiless brains back into fully-restored, functioning bodies, such as they’d done for Chromite and Silicate. It would take a while, perhaps even years, but eventually they could rebuild their civilization and regain some form of normalcy in their lives.

  “XO, status of the other convoy ships?”

  “The remaining six cruisers are waiting for your command, Captain.”

  “Seaman Gordon, request a wormhole from the interchange. XO, prepare to leave the Orange Corridor.”

  There was a collective sigh of relief when the now-familiar space anomaly distortion occurred two thousand miles off the Minian’s bow. Once the wormhole had expanded to its full size and stabilized, Jason gave the order to proceed forward at sub-light speed.

  The Minian was first to enter the wormhole, followed by the rest of the small convoy. A fraction of a second later, they exited from the wormhole’s other mouth and entered the Sol system.

  “Captain we’re receiving multiple hails. The admiral is waiting to speak with you.”

  “Put him on screen, Seaman Gordon.”

  Jason was surprised to see his father wasn’t alone. Nan was at his side and, like his father, looked frazzled.

  Nan spoke first. “Oh, thank goodness you’re alive! Jason, the Craing are here.”

  “Earth?”

  “Not yet, but they’ve entered the solar system. They’re holding up near Saturn. Is that right, Admiral?”

  “Yes,” the admiral replied. “Look, I’m not sure what they are doing or why they’re waiting there, but we need you back in Earth’s orbit right away. What’s the condition of the Minian?”

  “She’s better than she was when moored at the Ion Station, now being operational. But she took a terrible beating leaving Craing space.”

  “Can she defend Earth? We need those big guns of hers if we’re going to have any chance at all of holding off the Craing fleet.”

  “Hell, she needs several months in dry-dock. That’s what she needs. Hold on … Ricket, is there anything you can do short term to bring her back to life?”

  Ricket replied, “I’d need a day, preferably two.”

  “You heard that?” Jason asked.

  “I heard. We may not have that long … but who knows?”

  “The Lilly is another thing; she’ll be there within the hour. But I don’t think I should bring the Minian anywhere near Earth, including the moon station. We’ll need to keep her hidden until she can do us some good.” Jason thought for several beats. “I’ll take her to last year’s battle wreckage site, left from the Craing fleet. It’s actually not far from where we currently are. Truth is, she should blend in perfectly with the other wrecks in that area. I’ll leave a heavy cruiser there, too, and Ricket, Granger … and the kid, Bristol.”

  “Tell them the fate of the world lies in their hands,” the admiral said.

  Jason nodded and brought his attention back to Nan. “We’ll be back soon. Boomer will be ecstatic to see you. You and I can talk then, okay?”

  Nan nodded. “Oh, you can count on it,” she said with a warm smile.

  Their faces disappeared from the overhead display. Jason stood and looked at Ricket. “It doesn’t have to be perfect, Ricket. Weapons, shields, the ability to phase-shift would be very nice … those are your priorities for the Minian.”

  Ricket said, “We’ll get as much done as we can, although I would suggest you have realistic expectations, Captain. The ship has been badly damaged … and, let’s not forget, all the key components pilfered from her recently, by the Craing.”

  “Sergeant, your duty, watching over Granger, is more important than ever. Don’t let him out of your sight.”

  “Yes, sir. You can count on me.”

  Before leaving the Minian’s bridge, Jason spoke through the open channel: “Ensign McBride, set a course for the battle debris at the edge of the solar system. XO, with the exception of the Determined, have the convoy immediately depart for Earth. We’ll join them soon on The Lilly, once we’ve dropped off the Minian. Inform the Determined she’ll be staying behind, with the Minian.”

  “Aye, Captain. The Cutlass is making repairs; minor damage from their skirmish with the dreadnaught. They’ve asked permission to rejoin the convoy in Earth’s orbit within the hour.”

  “That will be fine,” Jason replied, taking one more glance around the Minian’s bridge as he was leaving.

  Chapter 47

  At a distance of about three thousand miles, he knew the sudden appearance of a wormhole meant only one thing. Incoming ships. Captain Stalls ordered all three of his refurbished Craing cruisers to shut down and bring their power signatures as close to zero as possible. He wondered if that would be enough, if they would still be detected. It was a fluke. He'd arrived at the precise time the spatial anomaly occurred.

  After leaving the battlefield wreckage behind hours earlier, Stalls had moved his small fleet into an area of open space and was preparing for the long trip back to his home planet. Once there, he'd find the Rangoon and fellow pirate, Crank Bonilla. With the addition of these Craing warships he'd be able to rebuild a truly formidable fleet. Only then would he return, to once again face Captain Reynolds, and take back the most beautiful, the most perfect, woman he'd ever encountered. Nan would be his. He'd already resolved himself to the simple fact he'd need to be patient. That it all would take time.

  The first of the warships to arrive was a gargantuan Caldurian ship. It looked battle-worn, with some areas of the hull scorched, and other sections completely open to space. Less than a minute later, six white Craing cruisers followed and were now parked in a loose formation, in relatively nearby space.

  “Captain, we're picking up inter-ship communications between the Allied ships,” Rup-Lor said.

  Stalls looked over at Rup-Lor, and a small, skinny Craing crewmember sitting at the comms panel. “You can do that?”

  The skinny Craing nodded and smiled, showing a mouthful of gray, crooked teeth. He said, “Someone named Dad on the Caldurian vessel is talking to a Boomer on one of the smaller cruisers.”

  Stalls' heart rate increased twofold. Honestly, could his luck be this good? “Let me hear it! Hurry up!”

  Sure enough, it was Captain Reynolds's daughter's voice:

  “Why's everyone … all the soldiers … leaving the ship?”

  “They're transferring to another cruiser.”

  “So we're stuck here alone, on this old smelly barge?”

  “Temporarily. Come on, it will only be another hour or so, Boomer. I think you can wait that long.”

  “Why can't I come back with you?”

  “Just be patient. Petty Officer Miller isn't keen on your being on board The Lilly. Look, they'll have the repairs done to the Cutlass in no time and you'll be headed home. Mom is waiting for you. She can't wait to see you.”

  “Okay, okay.”

  Stalls stood up and began to pace the width of the bridge. His mind was reeling … this changes everything …

  “Captain, the ships are departing.”

  Stalls watched the display as the large Caldurian ship, along with one of the Craing cruisers, headed off in one direction, while three other cruisers headed off in another direction. That left, singly, the light cruiser Cutlass sitting alone in space.

  “Wake up our ships! Battle stations! Charge weapons and target that ship's drives.”

  Captain Stalls stood with his hands on his hips in deep thought. “Rup-Lor, help me round up a boarding party …”

  Stalls continued to watch the lone vessel. I warned you, Reynolds. Soon I'll have your daughter and you'll give me what I want.

  To be continued …

  Thank you for reading Craing Dominion. If you enjoyed this book and would like to see the series continue, please leave a review on Amazon.com - it really helps! To be notified of the soon-to-be released next Scrapyard Ship book, The Great Space, contact markwaynemcginnis@gmail.com, Subject Line: The Great Space List._

  Other books by Mark Wayne McGinnis:

  Scrapyard Ship

  (Scrapyard Ship series, Book 1)

  HAB 12

  (Scrapyard Ship series, Book 2)

  Space Vengeance

  (Scrapyard Ship series, Book 3)

  Realms of Time

  (Scrapyard Ship series, Book 4)

  Craing Dominion

  (Scrapyard Ship series, Book 5)

  Mad Powers

  (Tapped In series, Book 1)

  Copyright © 2014 by Mark Wayne McGinnis All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Edited by:

  Lura Lee Genz

  Mia Manns

  Avenstar Productions

  ISBN: 978-0-9903314-6-9

  www.markwaynemcginnis.com

 

 

  Mark Wayne McGinnis, Craing Dominion (Scrapyard Ship Book 5)

 

 

  Thank you for reading books on GrayCity.Net
Share this book with friends