Stars in the Sand Read Free Page B

Cooper, I want you up here to pick a docking airlock,” Barbara’s voice echoed through the overhead speakers. He looked over at Nelyubov, who shrugged with a smile.
     “ You’re the expert, Corporal. We might as well use you while you are here.”
    He walked into the cabin, sliding down into the couch, a frown on his face. Barbara looked at him, shaking her head.
     “ That bad?”
     “ I just hope none of them gets killed as a result of their ignorance.”
     “ This whole plan is a bit on the desperate side.” She patted her hip, and Cooper saw the unmistakable bulge of a holster, “Don’t worry, I’ll be going along too. I’ve fired a gun in anger before.”
     “ I hope so.” He peered forward at the console, looking over the view of the freighter as the sensors gained resolution. “Where do you want us to go in?”
     “ Our goal is the hendecaspace drive, right?” he said. “As near as possible to their engineering deck.”
     “ We’re not trying anything clever, set up a decoy or anything like that, then?”
     “ The cleverer the plan, the more likely it is to get everyone killed. We’re better off going with something that is likely to work, especially as we only have a matter of minutes to carry it out.”
     “ You’re the expert, Gabe.”
     “ Are we going to be the first ones in?”
     Barbara glanced down at her scanner, then looked back up at him, “We are if I’ve got anything to do about it. Hang on, I’m going to set us up for turnover.”
     As the shuttle turned around, the engines briefly pulsing off as the shuttle pivoted around on its thrusters, Cooper felt his stomach churn. He reached down for the pistol, feeling the weight in his good hand, then placed it back in the holster. Ten minutes to contact. Ten minutes to worry about what they were about to encounter. Ten minutes too many.

    Chapter 3
     
     Orlova stood by the shuttle airlock, bracing for the docking, a rifle held in one hand, her other hovering over the hatch controls. The autopilot was handling the final few seconds of the docking, homing them in to the airlocks Cooper had selected. She allowed herself a quick smile, noting that despite the best efforts of Spaceman Bradley, her shuttle was going to dock first, if only by a handful of seconds.
     “ Brace yourselves,” she said to the waiting, nervous throng behind her. All her hopes were for an easy victory here. At her back was a gaggle of eager amateurs, none of whom had fired a weapon since basic training, and her only consolation was that her opposition was likely facing the same problem. One quick glance at her watch – there were only seven and a half minutes for her to take the drive room and prevent the Ourobor o s from jumping out of the system, or Alamo would be forced to fire its missile salvo.
     With a near-crash, the shuttle slammed into the side of the freighter, the docking clamps locking into place, sirens sounding to warn of a collision. The hull was intact, but it had been a close thing – the pilot must have tried to swat them away with the bulk of his ship at the last minute. Taking a deep breath, she slammed the hatch control and, without looking, swung through the airlock, catapulting herself into the corridor, rifle out and ready to fire.
     Waiting for her in the freighter were a couple of confused-looking crewmen, and she snapped a couple of shots in their direction, pushing herself away down the corridor. Neither even threatened to get near their targets, but they dived dramatically out of the way into cover; the bullets harmlessly smash ing into the hull.
     “ Come on!” she yelled through the hatch, and her troops piled out into the corridor, spreading around into a loose clump. Seeing that they were outnumbered, the two freighter crewmen pushed away, a salvo of wild shots chasing them as they retreated.
     “ Fire discipline!” Orlova said. “Don’t waste your shots, and only shoot if you have a