They had picked a freighter on the opposite side of the sunken door. Rialte had chosen it as it was one of the biggest and had a first landing payload in the hold, containing everything the first landers would need to set up the beginnings of a colony.
The ship was fitted out to house twenty engineers for the first few weeks and contained comfortable hammocks and plenty of food and water that could last Ed’s small group months. They set up a permanent watch in the darkened gloom of the cockpit to notify the others if anything changed outside and lined the small area they were in with heat-absorbing blankets to reduce their thermal signature.
The three engineers removed their uncomfortable EVA suits and stored them ready to go, just in case.
Ed noticed Andy had gone quiet for a while, which normally meant he was pondering something.
‘Are you plotting?’ he asked.
‘Is there any way for us to hardwire a connection to Hope?’ said Andy. ‘Using the ship’s own wiring loom?’
Ed glanced across at Tocc, who’d been listening and gave him her best questioning look.
‘All the ships in here are still hardwired to the power supply until just before use,’ she said. ‘But it’s only like a trickle charger. I checked the readout in the cockpit earlier and the supply is showing ninety-six percent. After all this time, it probably won’t get any better than that.’
‘But would Hope detect a communication signal pulsing around the power supplies?’ Andy asked.
‘It’s certainly something I’ve never considered,’ said Tocc.
‘Nor me,’ said Kwin, overhearing the suggestion. ‘But Hope does have a lot more scope since her reboot with some of your technology.’
‘It’s worth a shot,’ said Ed, giving Andy the thumbs up. ‘I’ll give you a hand.’
They went through to the cockpit where Rialte was on watch and explained the idea.
‘That’s the communication console there,’ Rialte said, pointing at a small panel next to the pilot’s leaning post. ‘You’ve just walked past a tool store in the corridor there on the right.’
Tocc joined them and reminded Andy he’d need some form of transformer in the line as the communications system ran on a lot less juice and would instantly burn out if connected direct.
It took the joint effort about two hours to design and rig the connection. Finally Rialte sat back on the pilot’s post and slipped on one of the communication mics.
‘What shall I say to her?’ she asked, glancing round.
‘Just see if it works first,’ said Andy.
‘It does,’ said Hope over the cockpit speakers, making them all jump. ‘I’ve been looking for you guys and what the hell is that thing stuck on top of me?’
‘We were hoping you could tell us that,’ said Rialte.
‘I don’t know, this stupid damping field coming from it is buggering about with everything. Did you know it fired on me? And now navigation has gone haywire as it’s trying to tell me we’re over a hundred thousand light years away from Callamet.’
Ed looked at Rialte and Tocc. They both nodded back, acknowledging he’d been right.
‘Hope, have you got any buoys on board?’ asked Andy.
‘I have.’
‘Are they programmable? And could you launch one without being detected?’
‘Yes, guv.’
‘What’s that for?’ asked Tocc.
‘If whoever they are have been embedding or hiding their jump destinations,’ said Ed, ‘then our ship won’t know where to look for us.’
‘Ah, I get it,’ said Rialte. ‘If they draw a line through Callamet and the buoy, it’ll give them a direction to search along?’
‘You’ve got it,’ said Andy.
‘What would you like me to transmit?’ asked Hope.
‘This way for horrible lager,’ said Andy, getting a chuckle from Ed.
‘Are you sure?’
‘Oh yes,’ said Ed, still grinning. ‘There’ll be no mistaking who left that message.’
‘And it’s similar to the one she left us that time in Andromeda,’ said Andy.
‘Make sure it doesn’t begin transmitting until we’re well clear, Hope,’ said Ed.
‘Top sausage,’ she said, causing the Callametans to mutter amongst themselves.
‘No prizes for guessing whose data files she downloaded,’ said Andy, shaking his head.
‘What’s a top sausage?’ asked Kwin, staggering into the cockpit and rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
‘When this is over, we’ll have a barbecue and I’ll show you,’ said Andy.
‘I don’t know what that is either,’ she said. ‘I’m hoping it’s somethin––’
‘We’ve got company,’ interrupted Pol, ducking down out of sight.
The others all dropped low in the cockpit and peeked out the front screen. Ed could see two Callametans strolling through the lines of ships on the other side of the sunken hangar door.
The dull lighting in the hangar dimmed again as another jump was initiated.
‘They must have entered through the same door as us, coming from that direction,’ said Ed. ‘Do you recognise any of them?’
‘No,’ said Rialte. ‘The uniform they’re wearing is strange to us and not from this ship.’
‘What about you, Pol?’ asked Ed. ‘Are they from Callamet?’
‘I don’t think so,’ she said. ‘I’ve never seen uniforms like that before.’
Three more appeared and they all stopped and conversed, pointing at the doorway in the floor. They all turned to look behind them as a Mogul strode into view.
‘Oh shit,’ said Andy. ‘None of them have just come out of hibernation, they’re all a healthy weight.’
‘That ship is a Mogul ship,’ said Ed. ‘That’s all we bloody need.’
‘That’s not a Mogul,’ said Kwin. ‘That’s a Blend. They’re who we’re all running from.’
‘They’re all enslavers and killers,’ said Tocc.
‘We know,’ said Ed, grimacing. ‘We’ve had dealings with them before.’
‘How did they find us?’ said Rialte.
‘The cuckoo’s sent out a signal,’ said Andy. ‘If that ship’s full of ’em, we’re in the––’
He was interrupted by all their weapons issuing a quiet beep.
‘They’ve turned off the damping field,’ said Pol.
‘Hmm,’ mumbled Ed. ‘Hope, can you operate your arrays now?’
‘No worries, mate.’
‘Can you show us where we are on the holonav in here and make sure it can’t be seen from outside?’
A hologram of a busy planet materialised in front of them. Hundreds of ships milled around a large planet in a twin star system.
‘How big is that planet?’ said Andy. ‘It’s massive.’
‘Eight times bigger than Callamet,’ said Hope. ‘Seventy-nine percent ocean, average temperature thirty-seven degrees.’
‘No wonder the Moguls like it,’ said Ed.
‘Oh no,’ said Rialte, pointing to a weird-shaped space station. ‘Those are the remains of the other colony ships.’
‘Bastards have bolted them all together to form a floating platform,’ said Tocc, the emotion clear in her voice. ‘Not one of us escaped.’
The three engineers slumped back dejectedly and stared into space. Ed could see the tears in Kwin’s eyes.
‘Where are we, Hope?’ asked Andy. ‘In relation to Callamet?’
The map panned back and just kept going until finally two red dots glowed in different arms of the galaxy.
‘Holy crap,’ said Ed. ‘We’re in the Cygnus arm.’
‘That’s over a hundred and forty thousand light years from Callamet,’ exclaimed Andy, his eyes widening.
‘It’s in Blend space,’ said Tocc. ‘Beyond where we originated.’
‘They must have developed a super jump drive to have got this far so quick,’ said Ed. ‘It would take us over a week to get this far and that’s if we really stood on the gas.’
‘They’ve done it in a day,’ said Andy. ‘That’s hugely impressive.’
Ed closed his eyes and felt around with his DOVI. He infiltrated the ship above them, found the field generator and disabled it, then searched for the main jump drive. It took up a large area of the rear of the starship and was individually shielded with its own generator.
‘Can’t get near it, eh?’ said Andy. ‘I know, I already tried.’
‘Hope, are you there?’ asked Ed.
‘Ready and willing.’
‘If you’re ever able to penetrate their jump drive system, make a data file of everything you find and send it to Cleo next time you’re chatting, please,’ said Ed.
‘Nessun problema,’ she said.
‘We seem to be in Italy now,’ said Ed.
‘These guys’ll never forgive us,’ said Andy, getting glances from Rialte and Tocc.
‘For what?’ they said together.
‘Turning your computer into a wisecracking plonker,’ said Andy, laughing.
‘At least she’s a bit more fun now,’ said Kwin, the sober glares from Rialte and Tocc now coming in her direction.
‘I can’t understand a bloody word she says these days,’ said Tocc.
‘You never could,’ said Kwin, chuckling in the strange squeaky Callametan way. Pol joined in and before long all four Callametans were squealing away together.
Ed and Andy exchanged a glance.
‘Sounds like feeding time at the guinea pig café,’ whispered Andy.
That set Ed and Andy off on a fit of the giggles for a few seconds, until all six of them instantly shut up as the unmistakable sound of the outer airlock door opening reached the cockpit.