Chaos: The Mackenzie (Mac) Steele Series, #3

By Frank DeCaire

Mac and his crew chase down an enemy stealth craft and stumble onto an Arcnal supply depot on the other side of the DMZ. Can Mac and his crew determine the purpose of this station before the Arcnals spring their trap?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Frank DeCaire
• Release date: Jun 26, 2021
• ISBN: 9798223561286

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

The sound of cards shuffling interrupted Mac’s thoughts. Lieutenant Yagi leaned back in her seat with her deck in hand. This mission is boring.

Mac smiled at her before staring out the windshields, observing the stars and thinking about past missions. LT dealt a hand of solitaire on her console. She flipped through cards, lining them up in columns of sorted numbers and suits. Within minutes, she traversed her deck of free cards without placing a new card. She huffed, collected the cards, put them back on the deck, and shuffled them with little enthusiasm. She dealt another hand on the console.

Mac leaned over the armrest of his seat. Would you prefer we track down an Arcnal carrier and mix it up with them?

That sounds interesting. She looked at Mac and smiled. I know just the carrier we should track down.

I don’t think our friend General Soplak would give us the chance to escape this time.

You think he’s still pissed at us?

Oh yeah. You can count on it.

Mac read the electronic orders out loud as he sat in the captain’s chair. The Douglas H. Fox is ordered to patrol sector one-one-seven. Entry of the demilitarized zone is unauthorized.

LT sighed. Are you looking for a loophole in our orders?

Mac smiled. Yup.

We’ve patrolled this area every six months since I can remember. There’s nothing out here. No Arcnals. No crazy psycho brain-sucking aliens. No ship swallowing black holes. Just boring, empty space.

Mac leaned back in the captain’s chair. His smile evaporated as he nodded. Yup.

A crunching sound began. Mac turned toward the sensors console and saw Koto. Eating crackers. Crumbs were falling on the console and the deck around the two-mouthed creature. Mac thought maybe he should make the bridge off limits for eating. Nah. The crumbs were more of an irritant than a danger. Perhaps I could tackle this problem from a different direction.

You know, said Mac. Those things can make you fat.

Themoins don’t have many fat cells, sir, said Koto. You’re looking at one of the fattest Themoin in our society.

LT turned and scanned Koto up and down. You’re so lucky. I run three miles a day to keep from turning into a balloon.

Mac turned to face the forward windshields. The crunching sound resumed.

That’s making me hungry, said Shen.

Mac turned his head slightly and saw Koto hold the box of crackers toward Shen. Shen reached in and grabbed a hand-full of the square food and dropped a couple of broken pieces on the deck. He set his pile of crackers on the corner of his console and picked up the crumbs he dropped and tossed them in the bin. The vacuum sound of the suction system engaged, collecting the crumbs where they were safe from floating around if there was a gravity generator failure.

Now the crunching sound doubled in frequency. Mac closed his eyes.

I want to have a word with you, sir, said a voice Mac did not want to hear.

Mac sighed. What is it now, doc? Mac rubbed his eyes and didn’t turn to see the doctor who seemed to appear on the bridge without making a sound.

The body scanner in medical is not connected to power yet, said Ensign West. Then there is the lack of proper nano-bot treatments and basic supplies like bandages.

File a report, said Mac. I’ll contact the shipyard when we return and get everything up to snuff.

Mac never turned to see the doc. Footsteps echoed as Ensign West stomped off the bridge and descended the ladder to the main deck. Mac pinched the bridge of his nose.

Contact! said Koto.

Mac bolted upright in his seat. What do you see?

LT quickly collected her cards. Shen crammed the remaining stack of crackers into his mouth and brushed the crumbs off his console. Koto was still holding the box of crackers as he flipped switches and analyzed the signal he was receiving.

Looks like a possible cloaked ship, sir, said Koto.

Mac looked at LT. Battle stations! The klaxon blared. Where’s the target?

Dead ahead. It’s giving off that frequency cloaked Arcnal ships emit when they are uncloaking.

Mac stared straight out the windshield and saw nothing. He squinted as hard as he could, but the stars in the background were thin, leaving a vast area of blackness giving no clue of a cloaked ship moving in front.

There! said LT. She stared directly forward. When Mac looked again, he could see an Arcnal attack ship uncloaking directly in front of them. Then it faded and disappeared from view.

I’m picking up the signal again, said Koto.

The alien ship faded back into view and disappeared again. Mac watched as the ship faded back and forth.

Maybe their cloaking mechanism has a malfunction, said Mac. Shen, set an intercept course, full speed ahead.

Aye, sir.

The whining noise from the fusion drives grew in intensity. The vibration from the engines driving the ship translated through the deck.

He’s running, said Koto. Arcnal ship has changed course for LDN 11529.

The alien ship was heading for a dark nebula. There’s something I should know about navigating through Nebulas. What was it they told us in school?

I wonder how ionized gas will affect his stealth technology, said LT.

That was it! Hydrogen gas and dust particles. It might give us an advantage. The stealth craft would be visible to the Fox’s sensors.

That nebula is going to knock out our sensors, said Koto.

So much for the advantage. Mac thought about the visibility of the enemy craft. We’ll have to use Mark-1 eyeballs.

I’ll put him on the infrared scope, said LT. Hopefully, the ionized gas will knock out his cloak, or he’ll leave a visible heat signature.

Mac continued to watch the alien ship cloak and uncloak. A glow around the vehicle formed from the ionized proto-star’s gas reacting with the Arcnal ship.

Looks like the target is diving toward the proto-star, said Koto. He might attempt a fly-by to increase his velocity and lose us.

Mac decided this would probably be the most excitement they’ll encounter on the mission. Shen, set a course to match.

I’m detecting ionization on the hull, said Koto. Sensors are not working.

Mac squinted as he kept his eyes locked on the target. I can still see the little bugger. He concentrated on the little orange glowing bubble. Inside the bubble was a craft losing its ability to cloak. Mac smiled. Teo! Can we take a shot at him?

The bridge grew silent. Teo had been in pilot school for the past month and is expected to be assigned to a carrier when she graduates.

Sorry, I mean Yin, said Mac.

Yin flipped a button while watching his console. Negative, sir. We’re accelerating too fast. Our ship might catch up to our own warheads and end up shooting ourselves.

Very well. Mac wanted to ask about missiles, but he remembered the missiles needed radar to track a target.

LT selected the telescope but left the magnification wide. Possible aspect change in target. Target has cut his engines, and it looks like he’s rotating in place.

All stop! said Mac.

Helm answering, all stop.

Now we can shoot him, sir! said Yin.

Mac turned to face Yin. Open fire.

Blind firing on target, sir. Yin activated the front two turrets and fired kinetic darts from four cannons at one time. The first volley flew past the Arcnal ship while he adjusted the direction of his cannon fire. The Arcnal ship lined up with the Fox and began firing its plasma cannon. The Fox shuddered.

We’re taking hits, said LT. Logs are showing minor damage to the bow.

The forward cannons fired again, and particles splashed away from the tiny craft. The plasma bolts ceased.

Mac squinted to see if he could see the damage they caused. Cease fire. I think it’s dead.

The alien craft tumbled in space. Then it stabilized, and the engines glowed.

Mac couldn’t believe how lucky the little ship was. He’s powering up his engines.

Before Yin could hit the fire button, the Arcnal ship accelerated directly toward them and slipped behind the Fox.

Shen, slow us down, said Mac.

Rotating ship, sir, said Shen. The maneuvering thrusters pulsed for a few seconds to rotate the ship to face the opposite direction. The Fox was a sluggish beast, and Mac unconsciously drummed his fingers on the armrests of his seat. When the ship was close to pointing the opposite direction, the opposite maneuvering thrusters engaged and stopped the rotation. Shen pushed up the throttle controls, and the mains slowed the ship.

LT manipulated a joystick control to scan the sky with the telescope. I can’t see the Arcnal ship.

Anything on scanners? said Mac.

Scanners are still inoperable, said Koto.

Any chance we can reacquire the target? said Mac.

Not in this soup, sir, said Koto.

Let’s see if we can catch him as he exits the nebula, said Mac. Shen, accelerate around the proto-star and get us out of this nebula before that ship.

Aye, sir. The ship rotated to face the proto-star. Shen pushed the throttle up to the full position. The crew could feel some of the effect of acceleration even though the Fox had built-in inertial dampening. We will exit from the nebula in just over an hour, sir.

Very well, said Mac. Stand down from battle stations. I’m going to the mess hall to get some coffee.

Mac descended several decks to reach the port side main passageway. When he entered the mess hall, Chief Smalley was at the station dispensing coffee into his Zero-G safe cup.

I hate to bring you bad news, sir, said Chief Smalley.

Out with it, chief, said Mac. Mac connected the refill hole in the top of his container with the coffee machine. Only one level of darkness worked on the machine. Extra bold. Mac pressed the touchscreen, where it showed the forty-two flavors of cream he could select from. All out. He skipped to sugar and saw only two choices left. Plain or none. After a brief sigh, he selected none and hit the finish button. The machine hummed as it ground coffee beans. At least the machine hasn’t run out of coffee beans.

We’re going to have to shut down the aft fusion drive in about thirty minutes. By my calculations, if we don’t shut it down, it’ll overload and we’ll lose the whole ship. Looks like the fire in engineering from last week did more damage than we thought.

Mac disconnected the hose to his cup and closed the port to prevent leakage. Wait until the last minute. We need all the thrust we can get. Don’t be surprised if I ask you guys to push the forward fusion plant into the red zone.

Very well, said Chief Smalley.

Mac watched Chief Smalley waddle toward the aft engineering space. He wished they had spent more time in port to inspect the fusion drive after the fire. The shortage of ships available to patrol the DMZ made time in port a luxury that the Elia fleet could ill afford.

Mac took a sip of his exceedingly hot coffee before heading toward the bridge. I wonder if one fusion drive will be enough.

When Mac walked onto the bridge, he saw LT staring out one of the forward windshields.

See anything yet? said Mac.

LT didn’t turn her head to answer. Sorry, sir. Just thought I might get lucky.

Engineering says they need to shut down the aft fusion drive in... Mac looked at his timepiece. About ten minutes.

LT sighed. Swell.

Mac sipped his coffee. Shen, cut power to the aft plant. Ramp up the forward plant to just under the red line.

Aye, sir.

Mac sat in his chair and docked his coffee cup with the snap-in device built into the armrest. Mac’s mind wandered to an article he read about the new ships with their built-in coffee warming circuits. Those sailors are soft.

We are clear of the nebula, said Koto.

Helm. Take us out about one hundred klicks and turn us around so we can scan for the Arcnal stealth ship.

Aye, sir, said Shen.

The Fox continued to accelerate until Shen measured one hundred kilometers. Then he shut down the engines and turned the ship using maneuvering thrusters. The reddish-colored nebula filled the forward windshields.

Koto shoved a handful of crackers into one of his mouths while talking with the other. I’m detecting the signal again. Mac smiled. Koto’s race didn’t have to talk with their mouth full.

Good, he’s coming out, said Mac.

I’m sorry, sir, but that is incorrect.

What?

The Arcnal stealth ship is already three hundred kilometers away from the nebula. According to the computer estimates, he exited before us.

Let’s go get him!

Aye, sir, said Shen.

The general quarters alarm blared as LT hit the button to make sure the crew were ready for combat.

The maneuvering thrusters engaged at the same time that Shen throttled the main engines. The Fox was back in pursuit of the enemy craft.

How long before we can catch him? said Mac.

Koto set his box of crackers beside his console. He adjusted the settings and took a measurement. I’m sorry, sir. We can’t catch him with one engine. Then Koto dialed his sensors out to plot where the Arcnal craft was heading. Looks like he’s headed straight for the DMZ.

Mac pounded his fist on the arm of his seat. I can’t believe we’re one fusion plant short of catching this guy. Continue the chase. Let’s see where he goes.

Aye, sir, said Shen.

The Arcnal ship continued to shrink in size as it accelerated away from the Fox. Perhaps the illegal ship would suffer an engine malfunction, allowing them to catch up to it.

We are entering the DMZ, sir, said Koto. If we cross into Arcnal space.

Don’t lecture me on entering Arcnal space. Mac instantly regretted losing his cool on the bridge.

Aye, sir.

There was a long silence while the crew continued to track the Arcnal ship. Mac knew he was skating on thin ice. He should give up and turn around. Maybe the Arcnal ship would shut down its engines just before entering Arcnal space. Mac could nail him before he radios for help.

I am picking up a large object dead ahead, said Koto. It appears to be another ship. Koto adjusted the controls on his console. Scratch that. It’s too big to be a ship.

LT switched on the telescope and scanned the sky in front of them. She lined up the engines of the Arcnal stealth ship with her cross-hairs and pressed the button to lock onto and track the target. The Arcnal ship was constantly uncloaked now.

Within minutes, the telescope screen showed an object on the far side of the alien ship they were tracking. Something very large, like a space station.

We will enter Arcnal space in five minutes, said Koto.

Very well, said Mac.

Sensors indicate there is an Arcnal destroyer docked on the station and is firing missiles, said Koto.

Shen, turn us around, said Mac. Enable flak.

Aye, sir, said Yin.

Mac smiled. At least we didn’t enter Arcnal space.

CHAPTER 2

Mac crouched low as he worked his way down the dark passage. His hand became numb from clutching the pistol grip on his rifle so hard. He was alone and couldn’t remember how he got here. A situation that made little sense. He stopped and shook his head.

I must be dreaming.

He continued walking until he reached the end of the passage. The passageway opened into a large, round room. The only light available came from the small flashlight attached to the front of his rifle. The ceiling seemed to extend beyond the blackness above. Suddenly he felt the telltale sign of an Arcnal stunning field. He scanned around to see where it was coming from, but he could see nothing in the abyss. The stun field grew in intensity. Mac’s rifle slipped out of his sweaty hands and clanked on the stone floor.

Mac put his hands to his temples. He pressed as hard as he could, but his head felt like it would split at any moment. His legs buckled, and he was lying on his back as a face appeared out of the darkness, hovering over him.

General Soplak.

Mac snapped to a sitting position. His eyes, now awake, shook off the nightmare he encountered. He felt around and realized he was lying in a pool of sweat.

Nikki stirred. Nightmare again?

It’s okay. Go back to sleep.

She flicked on the nightstand light and sat up on her elbows. Same dream?

Mac rubbed the knot in his neck. Same dream.

You should make an appointment with the doc.

Yeah. Sure. Doctor West.

Nikki stared at Mac. He wished he could take a pill and bring the nightmares to an end. Mac contemplated something he had been seriously thinking over the past week. Maybe it’s time to think about retirement.

Nikki rolled her eyes. Yeah. That’ll be the day. You and I both know you can’t retire.

Mac wasn’t sure she was wrong. Frankly, he had not convinced himself retirement was an option. It could happen. I could fill out the paperwork and submit it tomorrow morning.

What would you do if you retired? How will we pay the bills?

Mac smiled. I could tend bar at the local Tiki bar. The speed at which that career choice popped into his mind scared him a little.

Nikki lowered herself back onto her pillow. I’ll believe it when I see it. She switched off the light and rolled over to sleep on her side.

Mac slunk back into his side of the bed. He laid on his back with the covers half off, hoping the sweat would dry out faster. What can he do? Perhaps the dreams would run their course and end. Next time, he vowed to take the punishment from General Soplak and see how far the dream goes.

Mac’s mind wondered into the subject of retirement. He was too young to retire and do nothing. Was he too old to change careers? Maybe not.

He laid awake until the sun came up.

CHAPTER 3

Good morning, Admiral! said Ernie. Admiral Ebsworth glanced at the emaciated body of the tiny man. His skin was sickeningly pale.

Ernie, she said with no passion.

I have a theory, he said. You wanna hear it? He danced around her like an energetic puppy.

Admiral Ebsworth continued walking toward the cafeteria. At least that’s what the inmates called it. She rolled her eyes and sighed. Do I have to?

You see, I have all this time while I’m in sleep. My brain doesn’t actually sleep, but I can’t move my body. So, I have a lot of time to think about things. His enormous grin exposed his crooked teeth. You wanna hear my theory?

Admiral Ebsworth stopped walking and folded her arms. Out with it.

I think they’re trying to fatten us up. He nodded. Admiral Ebsworth stared at him in disbelief. She half-expected him to blurt out something more, but he just stood there grinning.

That’s it? Your big theory?

Yup.

Well, it doesn’t appear to be working on you. She continued her stroll to the exciting destination to be served today’s fine cuisine.

That’s because I’m smart. You don’t see me eating a full serving. I endure the hunger to stay skinny. That way they’ll never select me.

Admiral Ebsworth stopped again. So, Mr. Genius. Why are they fattening us up?

The thin man stopped and concentrated. He put a finger to his lips and started chewing on the nail. I haven’t figured that part out yet.

Maybe they’re going to eat us, said Admiral Ebsworth. She said it with a surprised look on her face to see if Ernie would jump back.

Ernie looked at her in disbelief. He stared for a minute, and Admiral Ebsworth thought he was stuck in an endless loop of thought. Nah. I don’t think that’s it. Maybe they’re planning to put us in hibernation for a long trip. Then they’ll bring us out of hibernation and we’ll be skinny. Ernie continued to bite his fingernail. He shook his head. That doesn’t really add up either.

Well. Until you figure it out, I’m going to eat. I’m starving.

She got into line and grabbed a bowl. The line moved along quickly. Food came in one variety and it came in a white pasty substance with the consistency of oatmeal. There wasn’t much smell or flavor to it. Admiral Ebsworth suspected it contained the minimum chemicals needed to nourish the human body. What she really wanted was a cheeseburger or a thick, juicy steak.

She stepped up to the machine and the white paste poured into the bowl she held in place. She looked to her side