Galaxy Rangers: "Time Bomb"
Chapter 10
"We should be out of range of Tortuna's tracking stations,
Shane," Daisy said. Gooseman nodded, and switched on the subspace
radio. In a moment, Commander Walsh's face appeared on the small
viewscreen.
"Ranger Gooseman!" He said, somewhat surprised. He glanced down
at the panel. "This isn't a BETA registered transmitter! Where ARE
you?"
"On our way to the Queen's Graveyard, sir," Goose told him. "I'm
using a borrowed ship. We were unable to use Ranger Two. Have you heard
from Zack and Niko?"
"We just heard about the Queen's ultimatum a few minutes ago,
Ranger Gooseman. Rangers Foxx and Niko are on their way to rescue Doc
now. Do you want their coordinates?"
"Damn!" Goose slammed his fist down on the console. "Commander,
the message the Queen sent is a trap! I can't say more over the radio,
but I have reason to believe that she has discovered a weakness in our
implants. You have to call back Ranger One now!"
Walsh stared at the screen for a moment, then turned away. He
barked some orders to one of the officers behind him. After a few
moments, an answer came back. From the look on his face, it was not
good news.
"About five minutes after Zack reported that they were on their
way, we lost contact with Ranger One. At first, we thought it was a
malfunction. We've been trying to re-establish contact, but nothing
seems to work."
"Damn," Goose said again. "It's too much of a coincidence,
Commander. The Queen's agents must have sabotaged the communications
on Ranger One. We'll have to try and get there first."
"I believe that the Queen has set the... trap... to be triggered
by Ranger One's engines, when it comes out of hyperspace." Buzzwang
was sitting in the seat behind Goose, and leaned forward so that Walsh
could see him. "We should be safe, in this ship. This ship also has
jamming capabilities, so we may be able to get into the Queen's
Psychocrypt without being detected."
Goose nodded his agreement. "Send me the information on where
they were when you lost contact..."
Walsh uploaded the data, as Goose continued. "One more thing,
Commander. Don't let ANYONE know about this conversation. Most
particularly Senator Wheiner. And keep an eye on him... I will explain
once we're all safe."
The Commander nodded. "Understood, Goose. Be careful." The screen
went black.
Zozo leaned forward for a better look, as Goose studied the output
on the viewscreen. "They're on their way?" He asked. He, Eve, and Buzz
had taken the back seat, while Daisy, of course, was at the controls.
"Yeah. According to this, Ranger One will be about an hour behind
us all the way. We're closer to the Queen's Graveyard that they are,
but that still doesn't buy us much time."
"Can't we intercept them?" Zozo asked.
Daisy shook her head. "Not in Hyperspace. We'd need a Hyperdredge,
or something like that, to net a ship in Hyperspace. I do have a couple
of warning beacons, though. Maybe we could drop one in Ranger One's
path..."
"If Walsh can't get through on the radio, they wouldn't be able to
pick up a subspace beacon. The Queen's made sure we can't contact them
through NORMAL channels."
"Maybe this can help." Zozo brought the second device out of his
pocket. "It seems like Killbane had a backup. Maybe we can drop IT in
their path. Careful with it, though, we don't want to set it off..."
"You're not kidding," Goose muttered, as he took the little hand
held unit. He held it gingerly as he studied it.
"That is not the same type of device," Buzzwang said. He leaned
forward, as Zozo had, while Goose turned the small object over in
his hand. "I do not believe that is even a transmitter." Buzz held
out his palm. "May I see it?"
Gooseman handed him the unit. "No, this isn't a transmitter at
all. It's a bioelectric field generator. It isn't anything like the
device that activated your implant."
"Are you sure?" Goose asked.
"Yes. Just to be safe, though, I could activate it for a few
milliseconds, to test its effect..."
"I dunno," Zozo cut in, but Goose held up a hand.
"No. We need to know all we can about what Kilbane was up to. Try
it."
Buzzwang activated the device, then touched it to Goose's arm.
There was a flash of light, but nothing else. Buzz studied the device
for a moment more. Then, suddenly, he held it up, excitedly.
"Of course! I know what this is!" He turned a control on the
device, then placed it on Goose's arm. He then pressed the switch on
the top of the device. There was a whine of power, and Goose's badge
flashed, as he suddenly morphed - into Eve!
"HEY!" Gooseman protested. Even his voice had transformed. Eve
herself burst out laughing, as did Daisy, while Buzzwang quickly
pressed the button again. Goose returned to his normal form.
"Sorry, Ranger Gooseman," Buzz said. "Clearly, this is how
Kilbane was able to impersonate both you and Eve Wheiner. When I
activated it the first time, it was set for your body form, which is
why nothing appeared to happen."
"All right, all right, no harm done." Goose scowled at Eve and
Daisy, who were still giggling. "This doesn't help us, though."
"Not true," Buzzwang noted. "Did you notice that your badge
activated?"
"Yeah, it did, at that," Zozo agreed.
"The energy used by this device is far inferior to the power used
by your implant. But it may still be enough to give you one more
charge. According to the schematics on the Senator's disk, the
implants always retain a small charge, even when exhausted. Otherwise,
you could defend yourself from the self-destruct signal, simply by
using up all your charges."
"When the device activated your bio-defences, your implant
activated on its own, much the same as when the Mindnet device
activated Niko's charge. If I can cause the device to expend ALL of
its charge into your body, it should impart a charge to your implant -
at least enough to allow that residual charge to be used..."
The android studied it for a moment. "But there may be some
discomfort..."
"Don't worry about that. That one charge may be the one chance we
have. Do it."
Buzzwang flipped the device over, and opened up its back. He then
pulled out a small component and twisted a piece of wire in its place.
Closing the cover, he adjusted the control, then placed the device
once again on Goose's arm. He pressed the button.
Goose winced, as a stream of yellow energy flowed up his arm, and
into his badge. There was a faint crackling noise, and the musical
sound of his implant powering up. Then the light faded.
Goose rubbed his arm. "There's no way of knowing if it truly
worked, Ranger Gooseman." Buzz told him. "You won't know until you
activate your implant, and if you do that, the charge is gone."
"Then we'll just have to hope..." Goose glanced out the window,
at the red unreality of Hyperspace, flashing past them. "Like Daisy
said, Hyperspace is a big place. Our only chance is to get to the
Psychocrypt, and make sure the Queen doesn't send that self-destruct
signal..."
* * * * *
Doc pulled himself painfully to his feet. His body still ached
from the shock that had knocked him out, but the room was empty now.
Apparently, the Queen had left to take care of other business, after
making her broadcast to lure Zack and Niko here.
Blinking his eyes to clear away the last of the spots, Doc looked
around at the room outside his prison tube. The tube, of course, was
made of a clear, but tough material, so he could see out, but not get
out. He could see his CDU sitting on a table next to the big console
where the Queen had displayed the image of Ranger One. His badge sat
right next to it, and next to both of them was the disk!
Doc sighed. He had his suspicions about what was on the disk. It
was clear that the Queen felt that the signal she was about to send was
fatal, and from the clues he'd collected so far, he had no reason to
doubt that. Doc only hoped that Buzzwang had managed to figure it out,
as well.
"Come on, my Gooseman..." Doc said aloud. "You an' Buzz are the
only chance we've got."
He fell silent as he looked down at his uniform. The Queen had
been smart enough to take his badge, and with it, his powers. If he
was going to get out of this, it was going to have to be on his own,
using his wits.
The hacker smiled. Nothing new about that. He felt around on the
floor, finding a seam in the deck plate under his feet. He lifted it
out, revealing the emitter that had delivered him the electric shock
before. Crouching in the tube, he began to fiddle with the wiring.
Chapter 10
"We should be out of range of Tortuna's tracking stations,
Shane," Daisy said. Gooseman nodded, and switched on the subspace
radio. In a moment, Commander Walsh's face appeared on the small
viewscreen.
"Ranger Gooseman!" He said, somewhat surprised. He glanced down
at the panel. "This isn't a BETA registered transmitter! Where ARE
you?"
"On our way to the Queen's Graveyard, sir," Goose told him. "I'm
using a borrowed ship. We were unable to use Ranger Two. Have you heard
from Zack and Niko?"
"We just heard about the Queen's ultimatum a few minutes ago,
Ranger Gooseman. Rangers Foxx and Niko are on their way to rescue Doc
now. Do you want their coordinates?"
"Damn!" Goose slammed his fist down on the console. "Commander,
the message the Queen sent is a trap! I can't say more over the radio,
but I have reason to believe that she has discovered a weakness in our
implants. You have to call back Ranger One now!"
Walsh stared at the screen for a moment, then turned away. He
barked some orders to one of the officers behind him. After a few
moments, an answer came back. From the look on his face, it was not
good news.
"About five minutes after Zack reported that they were on their
way, we lost contact with Ranger One. At first, we thought it was a
malfunction. We've been trying to re-establish contact, but nothing
seems to work."
"Damn," Goose said again. "It's too much of a coincidence,
Commander. The Queen's agents must have sabotaged the communications
on Ranger One. We'll have to try and get there first."
"I believe that the Queen has set the... trap... to be triggered
by Ranger One's engines, when it comes out of hyperspace." Buzzwang
was sitting in the seat behind Goose, and leaned forward so that Walsh
could see him. "We should be safe, in this ship. This ship also has
jamming capabilities, so we may be able to get into the Queen's
Psychocrypt without being detected."
Goose nodded his agreement. "Send me the information on where
they were when you lost contact..."
Walsh uploaded the data, as Goose continued. "One more thing,
Commander. Don't let ANYONE know about this conversation. Most
particularly Senator Wheiner. And keep an eye on him... I will explain
once we're all safe."
The Commander nodded. "Understood, Goose. Be careful." The screen
went black.
Zozo leaned forward for a better look, as Goose studied the output
on the viewscreen. "They're on their way?" He asked. He, Eve, and Buzz
had taken the back seat, while Daisy, of course, was at the controls.
"Yeah. According to this, Ranger One will be about an hour behind
us all the way. We're closer to the Queen's Graveyard that they are,
but that still doesn't buy us much time."
"Can't we intercept them?" Zozo asked.
Daisy shook her head. "Not in Hyperspace. We'd need a Hyperdredge,
or something like that, to net a ship in Hyperspace. I do have a couple
of warning beacons, though. Maybe we could drop one in Ranger One's
path..."
"If Walsh can't get through on the radio, they wouldn't be able to
pick up a subspace beacon. The Queen's made sure we can't contact them
through NORMAL channels."
"Maybe this can help." Zozo brought the second device out of his
pocket. "It seems like Killbane had a backup. Maybe we can drop IT in
their path. Careful with it, though, we don't want to set it off..."
"You're not kidding," Goose muttered, as he took the little hand
held unit. He held it gingerly as he studied it.
"That is not the same type of device," Buzzwang said. He leaned
forward, as Zozo had, while Goose turned the small object over in
his hand. "I do not believe that is even a transmitter." Buzz held
out his palm. "May I see it?"
Gooseman handed him the unit. "No, this isn't a transmitter at
all. It's a bioelectric field generator. It isn't anything like the
device that activated your implant."
"Are you sure?" Goose asked.
"Yes. Just to be safe, though, I could activate it for a few
milliseconds, to test its effect..."
"I dunno," Zozo cut in, but Goose held up a hand.
"No. We need to know all we can about what Kilbane was up to. Try
it."
Buzzwang activated the device, then touched it to Goose's arm.
There was a flash of light, but nothing else. Buzz studied the device
for a moment more. Then, suddenly, he held it up, excitedly.
"Of course! I know what this is!" He turned a control on the
device, then placed it on Goose's arm. He then pressed the switch on
the top of the device. There was a whine of power, and Goose's badge
flashed, as he suddenly morphed - into Eve!
"HEY!" Gooseman protested. Even his voice had transformed. Eve
herself burst out laughing, as did Daisy, while Buzzwang quickly
pressed the button again. Goose returned to his normal form.
"Sorry, Ranger Gooseman," Buzz said. "Clearly, this is how
Kilbane was able to impersonate both you and Eve Wheiner. When I
activated it the first time, it was set for your body form, which is
why nothing appeared to happen."
"All right, all right, no harm done." Goose scowled at Eve and
Daisy, who were still giggling. "This doesn't help us, though."
"Not true," Buzzwang noted. "Did you notice that your badge
activated?"
"Yeah, it did, at that," Zozo agreed.
"The energy used by this device is far inferior to the power used
by your implant. But it may still be enough to give you one more
charge. According to the schematics on the Senator's disk, the
implants always retain a small charge, even when exhausted. Otherwise,
you could defend yourself from the self-destruct signal, simply by
using up all your charges."
"When the device activated your bio-defences, your implant
activated on its own, much the same as when the Mindnet device
activated Niko's charge. If I can cause the device to expend ALL of
its charge into your body, it should impart a charge to your implant -
at least enough to allow that residual charge to be used..."
The android studied it for a moment. "But there may be some
discomfort..."
"Don't worry about that. That one charge may be the one chance we
have. Do it."
Buzzwang flipped the device over, and opened up its back. He then
pulled out a small component and twisted a piece of wire in its place.
Closing the cover, he adjusted the control, then placed the device
once again on Goose's arm. He pressed the button.
Goose winced, as a stream of yellow energy flowed up his arm, and
into his badge. There was a faint crackling noise, and the musical
sound of his implant powering up. Then the light faded.
Goose rubbed his arm. "There's no way of knowing if it truly
worked, Ranger Gooseman." Buzz told him. "You won't know until you
activate your implant, and if you do that, the charge is gone."
"Then we'll just have to hope..." Goose glanced out the window,
at the red unreality of Hyperspace, flashing past them. "Like Daisy
said, Hyperspace is a big place. Our only chance is to get to the
Psychocrypt, and make sure the Queen doesn't send that self-destruct
signal..."
* * * * *
Doc pulled himself painfully to his feet. His body still ached
from the shock that had knocked him out, but the room was empty now.
Apparently, the Queen had left to take care of other business, after
making her broadcast to lure Zack and Niko here.
Blinking his eyes to clear away the last of the spots, Doc looked
around at the room outside his prison tube. The tube, of course, was
made of a clear, but tough material, so he could see out, but not get
out. He could see his CDU sitting on a table next to the big console
where the Queen had displayed the image of Ranger One. His badge sat
right next to it, and next to both of them was the disk!
Doc sighed. He had his suspicions about what was on the disk. It
was clear that the Queen felt that the signal she was about to send was
fatal, and from the clues he'd collected so far, he had no reason to
doubt that. Doc only hoped that Buzzwang had managed to figure it out,
as well.
"Come on, my Gooseman..." Doc said aloud. "You an' Buzz are the
only chance we've got."
He fell silent as he looked down at his uniform. The Queen had
been smart enough to take his badge, and with it, his powers. If he
was going to get out of this, it was going to have to be on his own,
using his wits.
The hacker smiled. Nothing new about that. He felt around on the
floor, finding a seam in the deck plate under his feet. He lifted it
out, revealing the emitter that had delivered him the electric shock
before. Crouching in the tube, he began to fiddle with the wiring.