When they arrived at coordinates Rudy provided, they ditched the smoking hovercraft and walked towards a clearing as the Osprey roared in overhead. She circled as her landing gear unfolded, then lowered to the ground.
“Bax, get our last guests aboard!” Jax shouted as the Osprey’s landing gear sunk into the dirt. The boarding ramp dropped and unfolded. Jax didn’t wait for Naomi or the other aid workers. He ran up the ramp and took the stairs two at a time to get to the flight deck and get the Osprey ready to depart.
As the last of the aid workers moved up the ramp, Baxter turned his head. Incoming, he beamed to Skip.
“Captain, we have incoming hostiles. Three hovercraft that look like they are equipped with anti-aircraft weaponry,” Skip announced.
Jax was working the controls and glanced at one of the overhead monitors. He slapped the intercom button. “Hold on. This is gonna get bumpy.” From two decks below, he heard the whine of the board ramp retracting. He powered up the lift thrusters and urged the ship into the sky, just high enough that the belly mounted particle beam could be brought to bear.
The ship rocked as anti-aircraft rounds slammed into the hull. “Uh, we’re not invincible. Those rounds are meant for aircraft, but a hit in the same place will puncture the hull,” Skip warned.
“Then return fire,” Jax said as he began to power up the main engines, pushing the Osprey towards the oncoming hovercraft, fast.
From somewhere deep inside the ship, a powerful whine rose, then faded. A deep purple beam of light lanced out from under the ship and carved a jagged line through all three hovercraft. There was barely enough of the vehicles left to explode or catch fire. Jax grinned, pushing the throttle control forward as he pulled the flight stick back towards his chair. The Osprey roared as she climbed higher and higher.
“We’re being hailed,” Rudy announced.
Before Jax could say anything, the beep from the speakers overhead announced that Rudy had accepted the comm request. “Hello? Is this the ship that just departed? I’m Governor Trellum, the legally elected governor of Mariposa. I’m asking for asylum aboard your ship!” When Jax didn’t reply, the frantic man continued, “I’m in the command bunker, and my men tell me they can get me to the roof of the Palace, if you return. Hello?”
Jax looked over his shoulder at Rudy, then said to the ceiling, “Sorry, Governor. We’re pretty full and already burning for orbit. I’m sure you’re not a completely horrible person, and that the election wasn’t at all rigged by our Imperial friends, but, well, no.” He slammed his hand on a control off to the side of his station, closing the channel.
He looked at Rudy again. “Thanks, I needed to feel like a dick today.” The droid made his shrugging motion. Jax glared then said. “Skip, once we’re free of the gravity well, go ahead and get us going toward the ReliefCorp station.”
“Will do,” the ship replied, Jax’s flight console going dark as the SI took over.
Jax motioned to Rudy. “Come on, you’re gonna be Isaac for this little cruise.” He didn’t wait, heading down the stairs.
“Who’s Isaac?” Rudy asked as he rolled to the stairs, sliding into the open center channel of the spiral stairwell.
The Osprey’s lounge appeared to have been taken over by Mr. Chen and his camp management team. Jax walked to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water, turning to Chen, then Naomi. “I thought you all were going to stay in the hold unless you had to use the head.” He looked over to the door to the only restroom on the small ship. The door was closed. “Is this is the bathroom line?”
Chen shook his head. “It’s not. We needed a place to work. It’s pretty crowded down there.”
Jax looked at the assorted faces, then sighed and headed for his quarters. “We’ll be at your corporate station in a few days. You’ll have to work out a schedule for sleeping and such.” He pointed towards a bulkhead. “Only the two guest berths. Both are double bunks.” Rudy had parked near the large entertainment screen. Jax pointed at the droid. “If you need anything, talk to Rudy.”