Hunting Grounds
Chapter 13
Rosie was still working on it hours or what felt like days later. The days were so long here that keeping track of just how long they'd been here in total, let alone on this ship, was difficult. Still, he needed to get some rest. Real sleep would be great but they just couldn't afford that. Not on this planet and especially not in this ship.
Rick was down to wearing just his shorts and Kate was down to wearing just her shirt. Walking into the bedroom area he saw she was on the bottom bunk. She had told him she hadn't found any clean sheets to replace the bottom bunk sheet. So instead she had stripped the upper bunk and put that sheet on the lower bunk.
Rick came closer to her; she was asleep. It looked like a nice deep sleep. He envied her. With no chairs in the main room it was hard to stay on their feet for hours on end. He also saw that her shirt was all bunched up around her waist. She must have been moving a little while she slept. Since she was on her back it left her core exposed to his view.
She was so lovely and so sexy, and he loved the taste of her. So he had an idea of waking her up. He was pretty sure she was going to love it.
[_] /\ [_]
Kate was standing in front of Rosie still wearing just her shirt and nothing else. Her main weapon was something Rick had insisted that she keep really close so it was leaning up against something next to her.
She had woken up to find Rick with his head planted firmly between her legs. Three orgasms later and she was a very happy woman and just knew she was still smiling wide. Waking up like that was something she could look forward to if she got the chance.
"How's it coming, Rosie? The longer we stay here the more dangerous it might become." Kate didn't really want to pressure her but she so needed to hurry it up.
"I believe I have all of their language figured out. Right now I am searching their main computer to understand how each major system works. I do not want to overload a system and force us into a complete shutdown."
"That's great! Keep it up, Rosie. I have another question. How is your power holding up?" She was running on the battery that was in the unit itself.
"Allow me to have one more hour and I might have an answer to that. I need to make sure the power can be converted to my unit," Rosie cautioned her. "I may have the same problem when we reach your planet."
"You mean like power in the States and power in Europe," Kate said. "I think I understand. You might need a power converter. If you can find a list of items that might be in storage somewhere on this ship that will help you, let me know and show me what it looks like, and I'll find it for you."
"Give me about an hour and I will know better." Rosie got back to work.
That left Kate with what to do while Rick slept. The inside space was only just so big and there wasn't anywhere to sit down. "Don't these guys believe in chairs?" It was forcing her to always pick up her weapon and pace around the ship till she stopped to search one of the consoles. She still didn't understand what any of them said and they both knew they were betting their lives on Rosie.
[_] /\ [_]
Kate was opening cabinets she hadn't even really seen and it took Rosie to point them out to her. She was looking for a part that Rosie needed.
Once she had found it she had a cabinet full of tools also open and was using what Rosie told her to use. "I'm not going to get electrocuted, am I?" Kate questioned her.
"Do not touch both wires at the same time and you will be fine."
"Right." She had to disconnect it. Connect it to this device and then use new wires to connect it to that same spot. "What does this do again?" Kate was trying to be careful.
It had taken a little work just to get the panel off without getting pissed off and ripping it off and possibly cutting her hand open.
"It is a power converter. The panel you see on top is a wireless charging system. Just set me on the panel and I can always keep my battery charged. Once you complete this task you can go wake Rick. I believe I am ready to explain how to control this ship and enter FTL for the trip to Earth."
"YES! It's about damn time. I so want off this planet and go home." Kate kept working and finally picked up Rosie and put her on the plate so she could charge her battery. "Is it working?" Had she done something wrong? Found the wrong device? The device was defective and not working?
"My battery is charging perfectly. You can close up and go wake Rick." Rosie was pleased. She didn't want to die either and this was her best chance as well.
[_] /\ [_]
Kate was in the bedroom and looked down at the sleeping Rick. She could feel her heart reaching out to him. Her brain was trying to tell her heart to shut the hell up. But it was too little too late. "Rick?" He needed to wake up. It was time to go home.
Kate decided to kiss him to get him to wake up. She wasn't sure this was working either till suddenly his hands were holding her head and he was kissing her back.
While she wanted to just keep kissing him she had something to tell him so she broke from the kiss. "Rosie says she's ready to leave," Kate whispered into his lips.
But Rick's mind wasn't yet fully awake and mostly he wanted to keep kissing her.
"Leave?" It was starting to sink in. Kate was standing again. "LEAVE!" He sat up instantly and hit his head on the bottom side of the bunk above him. "OW!" Rick rubbed his aching head.
"Let's get the fuck out of here." Rick got out of bed and when he stood up he was in front of Kate. He couldn't resist taking her into his arms and really kissing her.
Kate couldn't help herself, either. She kissed him back and wrapped her arms around him.
[_] /\ [_]
"What have you got, Rosie?" They were both standing in front of Rosie's new location.
"Two things to begin. First, this ship's FTL only works when outside of a gravity well. Meaning we need to exit the system we are in first before entering FTL. Then when we exit FTL we need to exit just outside of the next system and fly into it to reach your planet."
"That's good yet sounds like the bad news. So what's the good news?" Rick asked her.
"This ship is advanced. I have never seen anything like it. It has a powerful energy shield that molds itself to about one of your feet measurements above the hull all the way around."
"NO WAY! We have a force field?" Kate was thinking Star Trek.
"It makes sense. Space dust at the speeds we will need to travel at would hole us instantly," Rick remarked.
"Our ship had an energy shield as well just for that reason. However, it is nowhere near as powerful as this one. Second, this ship also has a method for it to travel undetected or nearly undetected."
"WE HAVE A CLOAKING DEVICE, TOO?" All of a sudden Kate loved this ship.
"That helps explain how the ship landed on Earth and then kidnapped us without being seen. Just how did these humanoids get to us and kidnap us and not be spotted? I mean these males are big and ugly. A child could spot them." Rick was thinking let alone him, Kate, or any trained military personnel.
"They have a similar unit on their left arm. It, in turn, is attached to the device at their shoulder that is then attached to the fishnet covering most of their body."
"So to make it work we need the thing on their arm, shoulder, and this fishnet?" Rick had initially thinking of going back outside and chopping off his left arm to get this device.
"Correct. This device is used to control not just this system, but it also is used to control the face mask they wear. They can use it to change from seeing in infra-red to seeing in ultraviolet, and other visual adjustments. This same device also holds a small nuclear device that they can set to overload."
"Bloody hell!" Rick wasn't sure he wanted one of them now.
"They can blow themselves up? How stupid is that?" Kate was thinking they were not only ugly but dumb as fuck.
Rick stood there and tried to think this through. "So they have the ability to see in several spectrums to overcome the target being hidden. They can hide themselves and also have a powerful weapon on their shoulder that will shoot where their laser points like the ones we have.
"Then say they're critically wounded. They can't allow their technology to fall into our hands so they blow themselves up to prevent this. That or an act of revenge. They lose but still kill the person that bested them. I think I hate these guys even more now." Rick was positive he didn't want one.
"Rosie, can you tell us how we get out of here?" Kate inquired.
"I need to teach you what panels to touch and when. To accomplish this I need you to power the ship down and practice what to touch and when as I teach you. Much like my ship I have no direct control over this ship. Only you two can pilot this ship. Just do what I tell you and we can leave," Rosie told them. "First, move me to the panel just behind the glass. That area has the controls we will need to fly this ship. As well as power down all the systems so that what you touch while I teach you will cause nothing to happen."
"Dry runs so we don't do something stupid. I like it." Rick picked her up and moved her over to that panel. Next, he pressed the panels as she told them, showed them, and suddenly they were in the dark until the emergency lighting came on.
They then spent hours with each of them learning something. Kate was going to handle the shield and cloaking device while Rick handled the power requirements, accessing the navigation computer, and setting a course and at what speed.
[_] /\ [_]
"Are we ready?" Rosie questioned them. She had taught them what each needed to know. They had finally gotten it right six times in a row.
Kate restated her job. "I think so. Rick applies power and gets us into the air. I turn on the force field the second we're off the ground. I apply additional power to the force field depending on what I see while scanning what's out in space, such as an alien spaceship."
It was Rick's turn to go over his job. "I apply power to get us off the ground. Rotate the pods to get us out into space. Apply even more power if we encounter a spaceship and run for the edge of the system. If there's a ship we go into FTL in the wrong direction to throw them off track. Exit FTL and set a new course for Earth and reenter FTL. Drop out of FTL and enter the SOL system and head for Earth."
Kate spoke up and went over her next job. "Once we enter Earth's atmosphere I change from force field to cloaking device so we vanish from radar. And I find a place to land so we can hide the ship."
"Then I land us without destroying the ship." Rick was thinking that was the hard part. "So what if someone shoots at us?"
"Our race should not be here so only the same race that was on this ship should be out there. You simply do not respond to their communications and run for it. Fire your weapons to intercept their missiles until you can enter FTL."
"And hope I apply enough power to the force field if we do get hit. Plus not lose power or we're dead," Kate said.
"Take your places and let us go to Earth. I am interested in seeing this planet. Even if you are not as advanced as either my race or this one." Rosie knew she was going backward in technology but that was alright. It meant she was top of the line for a change.
"Did she just insult us?" Kate looked at Rick.
"She definitely insulted us," Rick confirmed. "Let's get off this damn planet." He looked his position over yet again and recalled what he was supposed to press and in what order.
"Yes, please. I hate this place." Kate was more than ready.
[_] /\ [_]
They had just made it into orbit when they heard a beeping sound. "What's that noise?" They hadn't talked about noises.
"There is a contact on the scanner. Another ship is in orbit on the far side of the moon."
"I knew it! I just knew it. A Goddamn mother ship," Rick cursed. His worst-case scenario was coming to pass. "If we can see them they can see us. We need to get out of here. Edge of the system as fast as possible."
"Do I increase power to the shields?" Kate asked.
"Not yet, I think," Rick responded and sped up after setting a course for the edge of the system that meant going around the gas giant they had been circling.
They had a new beeping sound. "Now what?" Kate looked over her half but didn't see any red lights or alarms.
"We are receiving a signal."
"They want to talk. Do we answer them?" Kate inquired. "It might delay them."
"We don't speak their language so when we answer in English they'll know." Rick didn't want to do that.
"Can Rosie answer them?" Kate was desperately trying to think of a way to delay them coming after them.
"I can read their language. I do not speak it yet." Rosie's reply killed Kate's idea.
"Pray they're not faster than we are." Rick continued adding more power to the point where he was almost at 100%. "We just need to get out of this system. Except we're going the wrong way to get to Earth."
"So go into FTL for a while, drop out and change course, and go back into FTL. Maybe that will throw them off our trail," Kate suggested.
"Pretty, sexy, and smart." Rick leaned across to kiss her cheek. That made Kate grin a little.
Kate was curious and asked, "Exactly how big is the other ship?"
She watched as Rick brought it up on a screen but neither of them could read what it said.
"It is eight times our size," Rosie said.
"I have a big mouth." Kate needed to learn not to ask questions she didn't want answers to.
"Still trying to contact us." Rick heard the beeping again and saw the same light flashing.
"Good. As long as they don't come after us." Kate was happy for that.
"They're moving." Rick could see that the ship had changed course. "Looks like they're coming after us."
"SHIT!" That was not what Kate needed to hear. "Are we going to make it?" They had a head start but were they fast enough to escape?
"Don't know yet. I'm going to push the engines to 100%. Just keep praying." Rick did just that. Both, in fact.
Neither of them could take their eyes off the screen as they flew toward the edge of the system while watching this other ship trying to catch up to them.
"DAMN IT! They're catching up." Even Kate could see it. "Can I add power to the force field now?" She didn't want to get shot and killed. They had gotten off that damn planet and didn't want to die.
"Give it a few minutes yet," Rick told her and they both watched the screen to see how fast this other ship was catching up to them. "Bigger typically means more powerful."
"Don't we have weapons?" Kate asked. If they got shot at so shoot back.
"Against a ship that size? We might scratch them and that's all." Rick didn't think their little ship would do anything at all to that ship. "Maybe 105%?" He added a little more power to the engines and immediately heard a new beeping sound. He ignored it for now.
"They're going to know it's us, aren't they? Meaning blow us to hell before we escape." Kate could just see it.
"We didn't answer them. We're going as fast as we can away from them. So yeah, we've stolen a ship from them and are trying to escape. Next comes the bad part. Do they know where we're going? Are only humans from Earth on this planet or is there something else?" Rick didn't know.
"When can we go into FTL?" Kate wanted out of here.
"We need to reach this line here." Rick used the tip of his finger on the screen to show her. "The second we touch it we are out of here."
That gave Kate something to watch. Them, that line, and the ship that was chasing them.
"I need to drop power to 90%. I think I've overloaded the engines as much as I dare." Rick reduced power to the engines and they slowed down a little.
"I'm not asking this time. I'm adding power to the force field." Kate was worried and added power to 100%.
"Look at the power graph now." Rick pointed at it.
Kate looked at it. "WOW!" They had barely touched the power till now. And there was practically nothing left. Their little ship was running at nearly 100% power consumption.
"Next question, when are we in their weapons range?" Rick was betting they would shoot at them to stop them even if it meant losing a ship.
Sadly they both found out soon just when weapons range was. "What's that?" Kate saw something leave the dot that was the ship chasing them. "No, don't tell me." Even she could guess.
"Grab hold of something." Rick held on to what he could in an attempt to remain standing at least.
Whatever either of them grabbed hold of it didn't help. They were both thrown to the floor along with Rosie.
Rick snatched Rosie off the floor and he and Kate both stood up to look at their controls. He checked their power output that was now down to about half of what it had been. Kate was looking at the graph that was her force field.
"Half of my force field is gone! Are we still moving?" Just one missile had done that to them. That ship was way more powerful than they were.
That had Rick looking at his engines graph. "Reduce power to the force field. We need it for the engines. We're almost at the line." He was glad that she didn't question him or fight back; she simply did it.
"We're at the line. Here we go." Rick pressed the correct panels followed by still more panels and suddenly the view out their little row of windows changed drastically. "We're in FTL," Rick told her. Kate rejoiced since to her way of thinking they were saved.
"Holy Shit!" Rick saw where they were now and just as fast he took them out of FTL. "Look, we were here and now we are here." He put his finger on each location.
"Seriously?" Even Kate could see that they were a long way away. "I thought it would take longer."
"Me, too," Rick agreed; he changed course, took them back into FTL for a few seconds, and then took them back out again. Since his normal engines to get them through space were almost out of power, they were barely moving till Rick selected a new course and entered FTL again.
"What are you doing?" Rick wasn't taking them home like they had agreed.
"Trying to make sure we don't have a tail. Make it look like we don't know where we're going." Rick suddenly he had a thought. "Rosie, does this ship have a transponder? Are we sending out a signal telling everyone where we are?" He knew airlines had planes that had transponders so airports with radar could trace where they go.
"One moment." Rosie needed to search to see if she could find one. "We do. I need you to press the panels I show you to turn it off." If she could Rosie would kick herself for not thinking of that before now.
He pressed the panels indicated, changed course yet again, and entered FTL. This time they really did vanish.