The Phobos Transit Quilters Guild

Chapter 9 - Let's Dial Down the Suspense From Now On

[Cassy]

Outer space was like, really big. How would we find those missiles? At least Val had given us some place to look.

On the bridge, Eric took the pilot seat in front of a clear angled control panel, guiding the Ark Hope in an orderly search pattern. I sat beside him, leaving vacant two other chairs with associated control panels and the captain's seat behind us. We buckled in since the maneuvering thrusters produced only a tiny amount of artificial gravity. Only one other soul was aboard the colony ship meant to carry thousands — the mercenary I shot earlier. Before he woke up, we dragged him to the brig.

I operated the radar and visual scanners, but unfortunately, a missile platform might not be so easy to spot since weapon systems tend to be stealthy by design. A row of small window ports on the side walls provided unaided outside views, while a massive view screen spanning the curved front wall produced enhanced visuals. Depending on the ship's orientation, spectacular views of Mars filled the screen.

"Beautiful," I muttered in awe.

"I know, right?" Eric gushed. "Bet you didn't think I would take you on a sight-seeing cruise for our first date."

A chuckle passed my lips. "Oh, no. Searching for ballistic missiles doesn't count as a date. Neither did pirating the Ark Hope."

"Hmm," he said, while casting that boyish smirk that weakened my knees. "Will you let me make it up to you?"

"I'm counting on it."

"How about a few games of space pong later?"

"Sounds good to me." Actually, anything with Eric sounded good, excluding activities related to weapons of mass destruction. Good God, I'm falling for him.

A ping from the control panel interrupted the beginnings of a sensual fantasy. "Eric, I think we have something."

After glancing at my panel and extracting the radar-based coordinates, he adjusted the ship's course to intercept. I magnified the visual scanner and enhanced the brightness. The dark object, difficult to see against the infinite blackness, looked like six rockets attached in a straight row to a structural frame, which was fastened to a boxy satellite.

"That's it," Eric said. "A standard ship-based weapons platform, but stripped down and probably modified for remote operation. I sure would like to know how those guys got their hands on military equipment." Then his eyes lost their twinkle and his lips tightened. "Umm, Cassy... I hate to tell you this..."

My eyes widened as the realization took hold. "You're going to ask me to go out there?"

Eric cast his eyes to the side. "Umm, well, yeah. I'm piloting the ark in manual, and with only one fusion reactor on-line, she's sluggish. So I have to stay here."

"Couldn't we just ram it or something?"

"Well, that would be a last resort. But the ark is hard to steer, and we might not damage it enough to disable the missiles." His eyes came back to mine. "So, do you know how to use a personal thruster pack?"

"Yeah, I use them with mining claim bio-inspections." I replied, sighing. "Eric, I've already deactivated one nuke..." He tilted his head while those dreamy hazel eyes pleaded. I lowered my head into my hands as my gut twisted. "Oh my God, they've got nuclear warheads, don't they?"

"Probably. And Val thinks we don't have much time, so let's get you suited up."

I blew out a big breath, resigning to the inevitable. Actually, no way would I stand by with so many lives at stake. "Okay, fine. But you owe me big time."