Dynamic Patrol: Gel Squad! Episode II

Chapter 65: The Ship

"I hope he's okay," Cal said, thinking about Gauge as he disappeared from sensors, along with the drones. "Don't worry about him. He'll be fine," Maxion said, scrambling up to the helm as they approached the dockyard. It was a private facility and contained many personal ships: scout ships, medium-sized yachts, towing vessels, salvage ships, mining ships, shuttles, and anything else with thruster pods and a cockpit; it went on for miles. "Your mom owns all these ships?" Kipp asked in awe; even though she was trying to kill them, he had to admit... her fleet was impressive. "Not all of them. Some ships here are just taking up space for a price." 

"Where is it..?" Kai asked. "Something doesn't feel right... I mean, this ship is 100 kilometers long. We should've been able to see it by now." Kipp piggybacked, and Maxion remained silent; they still had a few minutes to go until they reached the coordinates prescribed. A1 was also in the front of the cockpit, scanning over and over again. "We are nearing the coordinates. Please adjust your position to a bearing of 181 mark 275 and slow to one-quarter impulse power." A1 stared eerily at Kai. For some strange reason, his stare felt much more present than D1's, making him uncomfortable. "Cam?" Kai asked for input. Cam nodded from his station, although Kai couldn't see it. "Do as he says," Cam confirmed. He could sense Kai's hesitance from across the room because he was sure they all felt the same. 

The ship moved slowly toward the coordinates. And there was no sign of this 'opus.' Anywhere. Maxion was starting to worry. He shook his head as they arrived at the coordinates. "A sensor buoy," Kipp observed first. He scoffed and smiled at the audacity. He performed his scans and wasn't surprised when the display called up the exact specs that A1 presented back at Larren's planet. The identical energy signatures, Kipp cackled at the display. "She lied. There is no ship worth trillions of onits. She just told us what we wanted to hear." Kipp continued. Cal was aggressive as he approached A1. "Why didn't you tell us, you bucket of bolts?!" Cal lifted the droid and shook it violently while the rest of the crew tried to stop him.

"Stop; he was just following his programming; he doesn't know any better!" Kipp screamed, trying to pull the robot out of Cal's hands; Cam assisted him while Maxion and Kai attempted to keep the ship's course steady. Cal's grip was solid, and he threatened to throw the robot across the room without mercy. "Stop, damn it!" Kai roared. He felt like he was trying to stop a pack of children from fighting during a long road trip, and he was the dad who couldn't focus on the road because the kids were fighting. "Cal, drop it," Kipp continued, and Cal finally gave up, letting it go. He snarled, kicked the console, and left a dent in it. "Hey!" Kipp hissed as he hugged A1 in his arms. He cared about saving the droid but didn't want his ship torn up. "Okay. So now what? We're out of fuel. There's no ship. And our people are dying now what?" Kai continued; he sounded panicked; the nearest space station was too far out of range now.

"We take one of those." Cam pointed out calmly. He thought the answer would've been the obvious answer, and since he was technically still leading the mission, the choice was his. Cam never really felt angry; he was more of a peaceful creature. However, having his time wasted by Maxion's mother spiked an unexpected sense of wanting to get revenge. If they would've left Maxion behind, they would've been tricked. "60,000 is a lot of people... Cam." Kipp started; his engineer's eye observed the entire yard; these ships weren't designed to carry 60,000; the largest one here could probably carry 6,000 or 16,000 if people are okay with having a roommate or two... maybe four."

"Good thing the Omeocoon enjoy being close to one another," D1 added. "I guess... we could use a mining ship. Your mother has plenty of those. They're usually haphazardly constructed, large ore holds can be converted into quarters, ore processing facilities can be done up in the same way, we can build medical wards and have additional storage. But that still doesn't solve the 60,000 people problem."

"One step at a time. Where's the mining ship." Cam asked calmly. Kipp returned to his console and then scanned for the ship. With a sigh, he dropped A1 and headed over to his console; he reported, "I found one. It's just over 2,000 meters long. D1, route the coordinates to the helm." Kipp instructed, and D1 silently made it so. 

"Got it, moving now," Kai confirmed; he tapped the console, and the ship swayed and traveled in the direction specified. Upon arriving, they saw it, its first appearance was... sharp. It had wings and spikes, not to mention a boxy, long hull. It was a bit purple, with some black undertones. 

"Not the friendliest looking thing." Cam started.

"It looks like a bird." Kipp mused, immediately amazed by the appearance.

"It's big." Kai raised his eyebrows. It would be a pain to handle, and since he was the only pilot, it was clear he'd be the one flying for a while.

"I have authorization codes. I will prepare the docking hatch." A1 added. Cal quirked an eyebrow at that. "Aren't you angry because I tried to kill you?" Cal didn't quite understand that A1 couldn't feel anger or hold a grudge. It was kind of cute: "I am programmed to assist my master." A1 mechanized monotonously. Just then, the crew saw a familiar face flying by. It was Gauge, he waved, and the entire crew aboard the Eclectus waved back. "Well... don't suppose you have room for one more?" Gauge asked, his voice cracking in over the speakers. Hearing him again after the brief moment he was out of contact was quite warming. "How are our friends the drones?" D1 inquired. "Well... they're lodged in a layer of liquid hydrogen and methane. Max, I think your mother might need to replace her toys."

"She'll need to replace a whole vessel. We'll be docking with that mining ship across the way. We'll meet you over there." Maxion ordered, and Gauge immediately shifted his position to head for the ship. The Eclectus did the same.