Arriving at the docks, the gantry to our ship was blocked by enemies, just as Calegg had said. Our recent Veiletian recruits had already hit them hard and were making promising headway, as bodies slumped in rapid succession as a result of deadly surgical incisions. Havok and I couldn’t join them in their fight, or we’d probably end up killing them as well, which was to be avoided.
Those approaching from the street were only shooting selectively now, in fear of shooting their own men. When the occasional shot did come in, it was ineffective. Havok was up to the task of covering us all. Not that Calparr needed it. We put ourselves behind a wall of various boxes and crates on the dock: siege tactics. And then the real fun started.
Calparr was standing up, shooting carelessly into the increasing stream of bodies coming to apprehend us. Ember was demonstrating some sick telekinesis skills. Within a few seconds, cargo boxes were whizzing around the dock at a terrifying speed. I did some good work throwing the odd box about, hitting a few people here and there, but Ember was working with style. I chuckled as I saw one guy running away from a floating box. He tripped over, rolled a few times and just as he was getting back to his feet, Ember dropped a heavy crate on him. He was squished like a pancake, and blood exploded from under the box. That last bit wasn’t so funny, nonetheless it was effective.
The numbers were starting to drop, yet more still came. After about five minutes of carnage, I was relieved to hear the voice of a Veiletian next to me: “The way is clear to the ship, Captain.”
“Thanks,” I said to thin air, noticing the pile of corpses. These Veiletians were hot shit. I gave the call, “Come on, guys. Time to bounce.”
Ember hurled her two remaining crates at two different groups. Calparr started moving backwards, firing unrepentantly. Once we were all ready, we ran as one to the ship, the door dropping to give us all access.
As soon as it closed behind us, there were a few mild tremors, indicating the ship had started to move. I leaned against the door, grinning my ass off, glad to be back on the Uprising.
“Well, that was fun,” Ember said, smiling as well. “You guys are insane!”
“I second that,” I added, as the Veiletians began to materialize in the loading bay.
“Oh, shit. Some of you are injured,” I cried. Three were bleeding. On the plus side, I was glad to see all 11 recruits were here.
“It was in service. We are happy to have been of use to you, Captain.” The voice was that of the one who had spoken throughout our journey and fight; the same bright-red-haired Veiletian who had been ready to go immediately from the Veiletian enclave.
“Thank you for all of your help,” I replied, genuinely impressed with what they had achieved, and the dedication shown on the way.
Ember spoke before I could say anything more. “We’ll have time to talk later. For now, I'll take them all to the Medical Room. Shaun, you go and see Calegg. He could probably do with some moral support.”
“I will. But we’ve done the hard bit. Flying away should be a walk in the park.”
C12
When in Doubt, Delegate
It was no fucking walk in the park getting away from the Arus. It turns out the smuggler's moon had an array of impressive artillery to call upon. Also, fun fact: Torax can sweat. I’d previously thought it impossible, having never seen it before, but there were literal rivers running down Calegg’s head and face. He looked like he was carved from granite as he stood arched over his control panel flying the ship. Even so, we seemed to have coped relatively well, with other Torax gunners occasionally crying out that they had scored a hit.
There wasn’t much to say to the crew. We just had to get the fuck out of there as quickly and safely as possible. I patted Calegg on the back. “You're doing great, Calegg,” I said, then loudly spoke to the rest of the bridge crew. “You guys are doing great! Keep up the good work.”
I went into my office; I trusted them to get us out of there. My mind had now flipped to concern for Elyek. They were stuck on the moon that we were running away from at full speed. There was only one option I could think of, and that was to ask Astrid to pick up Elyek and the others. I fiddled with the comm on my desk a bit, bringing up a line to the Thoth. A crewmate I didn't know picked up the line, but thankfully was able to pass me through to Astrid.
“Hello, Shaun. Is everything okay?”
“Not really, Astrid. We’re fleeing from Arus with all speed. We’re probably gonna have to make a jump if we continue to be pursued.”
“Oh, I see. We’ll come and assist.”
“No. That's not what I need at the minute, we should be fine. However, we have another problem. Elyek and 11 new crewmates are still on the surface. They’re not in any danger, as far as I know, but we can't get to them. I’m hoping the Thoth won't be on anyone's radar yet, so can you pick them up?”
“Of course, Shaun. We’re just finishing up here. Rufus has found what we think is a fantastic contract, well paid. I’ll fill you in with the details later.”
“That's great, Astrid,” I said as the ship rocked violently. I just managed to keep my feet. “By the sounds of it, our escape is taking a turn for the worse. We’re going to need to jump. What's the direction of this contract?” I asked desperately.
“I’m not sure Shaun, I’ll just check,” Astrid said with concern.
“No wait. Just ask your pilot what coordinates the Thoth would use if
