Project Faith

Chapter 8

The ship exited the jump stream in the Raca system. Jumping into Drilli's space could be dangerous, but the crew of the Enigma was ready. With the stealth system online, they shouldn't be detected, but they were going to be cautious. Excluding Faith, this was the first time the any of the crew were in Drilli's space. They pasted several trade ships on their way to planet Alfr, the location of the factory the crew was ordered to destroy. Vlad brought the ship closer to its destination and noticed an alarming sight on his monitor.

"Lydia," Vlad called. "You might want to see this." Vlad put the image of a large ship patrolling the planet on the Jumbo. 

Faith recognized the class of ship. "That is a dreadnought!" 

"Simona," Lydia said. "What are the specs on that thing?"

"On it, ma'am," Simona replied, she ran a brief weapon scan on the ship. "It has six plasma cannons and two torpedo launchers, one beneath the stern and the bow. We are outgunned."

"No shit," Lydia said. She stood up from and chair. "Why is a dreadnought guarding a factory? That is a little overkill."

"Maybe it is guarding that giant shipyard that is orbiting the planet," Ezi pointed out. "Is there a base on the planet?"

"Can't tell until we get into orbit?" Simona said. "But with the information, we have now, this is a military facility, not a factory?"

"What was Amulius thinking?" Lydia collapsed in her chair. Thousands of ideas ran through her head. "We can't take this place down."

Faith studied the Jumbo, looking at the ship and the yard. "The only way we are going to take this base down is to take over the dreadnought."

"We're no match for that ship," Simona said to Faith. "Once we fire on it, they will blow us out of the stars."

"We're not going to fire on them," Faith explained. "We need to get aboard the ship."

"Then what?" Simona questioned. "There might be over three hundred Drilli on that ship. There is no way you can kill them all."

Faith looked at Lydia. "Just get me on the ship. I will take care of the rest."

All eyes were on Lydia. The crew waited for her to make a decision. What seemed like hours, only took a couple of seconds.

"Faith, Ezi, and Zain," Lydia said with a strong and confident voice. "Suit up and prepare for a walk. Vlad, take the ship and fly it right underneath the dreadnought as tight as you can. Right by the stern torpedo launchers. Stick to it like a tick. Just make sure that we don't get detected."

"Will do," Vlad said. He slowly moved to ship right under the belly of the dreadnought. He was about twenty meters from the hull.

"Very impressive, Vlad," Lydia said. "You are a better pilot than I give you credit for."

"Thank you, I think," Vlad replied.

"Simona, ran a quick detail scan the ship," Lydia ordered. "I need numbers." A detailed scan can only be done when a ship's screens or down.

"Yes, ma'am," Simona acknowledged. "Screens are down and only a skeleton crew of seventy-three aboard."

"The odds are getting better," Lydia smiled. "Now, we just have to find a way to get them aboard." She reviewed the scans of the ship, looking for any weakness. The airlock would be the normal way to board a ship, but that was out of the question. The ship was sealed tight, except for one area. "Torpedo tubes," she yelled out.

"Ma'am?" Simona said with a puzzled look on her face.

"We'll send the team through the torpedo tube," Lydia explained. "It is the least armored part of the ship. In most cases, there is only one door to bypass."