by J. N. Chaney
X-37 utilized the micro-fighter’s systems to communicate with Jelly. "X-37 for the Jellybird, what is your status?"
"Taking heavy damage." Tom’s voice was strained and he didn’t offer elaboration.
"I’m making a run at the Dark Lance," I told him and thought about how far short my plan had fallen. My intent was to board the flagship, slip past the guards, maybe fight the Archangels, and eliminate the vice admiral.
I’d been worried about the Archangels but never even reached them.
"It’s been nice knowing you, Reaper Cain," X-37 said.
"Nice timing, X. That was your best lame-ass attempt at a joke yet," I said, noticing that Elise had fallen in formation slightly behind and to my left.
"It is nice of you to say so, Reaper Cain."
Elise interrupted. "I’m not your wingman."
"Sure, kid," I said. Just keep those bastards off me while I make this run.”
"I have the same weapon," she said. "After you fire, peel off, and I’ll take a shot."
"No way," I said.
"Why not?" She sounded pissed.
"Because it about fried me when I tried it and I nearly ejected, which is how most of the test pilots died, according to X," I said, paraphrasing a bit.
"I’m taking a shot and you can’t stop me," she said, all attitude.
"I can give you a really dirty look when this is over," I said.
"X-37 is way funnier than you."
"That hurts, kid," I said then dove through the streams of point defense guns, rockets, and hastily deployed mines.
Elise held formation.
"Talk to me about a target, X," I said.
"My recommendation is the communication antennas on the prow of the ship," X-37 said. "They are the only piece of critical infrastructure that is even remotely vulnerable."
"Hey, I’m about to fire a super weapon," I said.
"It will have little effect against a ship this size," X-37 said. "However, your efforts have drawn the Union micro-fighters away from the Jellybird, allowing her to escape."
"Sweet," I said. "That’s all I wanted anyway—other than to board the Dark Lance and eliminate Nebs once and for all."
"If you survive this attack run, I will do everything in my power to assist you with that goal," X-37 promised.
20
Pushing the micro-fighter to the extreme edge of what I could endure, I rolled about five hundred times, dropped within inches of the deck, and weaved around the point defense currents that were too slow to hit me. Thoughts of walking on the similar surface of the Nightmare and losing Gunner flashed for about one second in my mind.
I jerked the ship sideways to avoid a communications antenna I hadn’t expected.
"Watch it," Elise bellowed. "Maybe I should take the lead before you get us both killed."
She sounded out of breath and less enthusiastic than when we began the run.
A cloud of flares erupted from the surface of the UFS Dark Lance, blinding me and sending my sensors into disarray. Elise screamed. X-37 rattled off advice.
I held my course and prayed I didn’t smash into something or get blown out of the void.
"Are you listening, Reaper Cain?" X-37 said much louder than normal. "There is a full squadron of micro-fighters behind you that are closing fast."
Something bumped the short wing of my fighter.
"Can you stop running into me, Reaper?" Elise snapped. "This is like playing video games with a kid."
"I suggest you flip the ship again and fire at your pursuers," X-37 said.
"No, X, that’s a bad idea. They have to be at least as blind as we are," I said. A heartbeat later, my theory proved true as we emerged from the storm of chaff flares. I saw something that looked like the communication antenna, but it was too far away.
"What are you doing, Reaper Cain?" X-37 asked.
"I’m looking for the signal relay for this ship’s AI," I said quickly. Time was running out. I saw the squad of micro-fighters racing up behind us on the tactical display.
Three possible locations popped up on my HUD, overlaying with the micro-fighter’s screens to show me where the AI’s signal relay might be located.
I picked one and was rewarded with a determined attempt to shoot me down.
"Firing the… whatever weapon," I shouted. White-hot energy danced all around my little ship.
Elise fired a second later and I saw what my attack must have looked like. The experimental limited-use weapon didn’t have enough mass to focus the beam. Most of it went forward, but there was a lot of backwash around the exterior of her fighter. The result was a lance of white death shooting forward and a bulbous trail dragging behind the ship like a man-made comet of pure fire.
"Path should be here to see this," I said.
"He would appreciate the beauty of it," X-37 concurred.
"Split up, Elise. Let’s try to rally behind our pursuers," I said.
"Copy," Elise replied.
The Union pilots came at us like a squad of Reapers on a purge mission. Kinetic projectiles peppered my underpowered shields, piercing my wings. I watched in horror as one twisted from hundreds of impacts. If there had been atmosphere, it would have torn free immediately.
"Hey, X. How does the pilot ejection option work?" I grunted as I fought a hard turn. The really crappy thing about fighting in space was that there was no gravity, until you created the effect with impossibly hard turns, ridiculous acceleration, and sudden decelerations.
"The ship will basically come apart all around you leaving only the cockpit and oxygen tanks for seventy-two hours—if you don’t talk too much or panic," X-37 informed me.
"That’s what the manual says?" I asked, firing at one of my fast moving enemies.
"Yes, Reaper Cain," X-37 said. "If you choose that option, there is a good chance they won’t be able to see more than a recovery beacon. They are moving fast and should be approaching the limits of their fuel supply, as are you and Elise."
"I hate flying," I muttered.
"Your feelings are irrelevant, Reaper Cain," X-37 said. "You must eject now."
Sometimes X-37 was right. I located the necessary button and punched it. The micro-fighter peeled away from me, exploding in all directions as the life pod / cockpit tumbled through the void.
"Are you well, Reaper Cain?" X-37 asked.
"Fantastic," I said. "Check on Elise. Can you stop me from puking?"
“Vomit will recycle or be vented from your helmet.”
"You are in rare form today, X. Stop messing around and help a Reaper out," I said.
"Your stomach should feel better in eleven seconds," X-37 said. "You may also feel a bit sleepy as your hormonal secretions balance out."
"Great, thanks. I feel better already," I said as everything went dark.
When I came to, there was a giant looming over me with a star field behind him.
"Breathe in calm, exhale fear," Path said.
The heavy-duty extravehicular activity suit was armored more than I remembered. Several tools rested around the waist area and on his back. The sword saint looked ready to repair about anything, which made me think the HD EVA was better suited for Tom, our resident fix-it guy.
"Thanks, Path. Good to see you," I said. "Are we going to die?"
"Not at this precise moment. The Union fighters have been recalled to the Dark Lance. The Jellybird is behind us in stealth mode. You should be able to see it," Path said.
"What the hell, I can see it," I said.
"Stealth mode is mostly a sensor game. It is possible for the naked eye to see it if the lighting is correct. The scavenger planet is currently reflecting enough light from this system’s star to throw a silhouette our direction," Path said. "I’m attaching a tow cable to your life pod so I can search for Elise and bring you both into the Jellybird."
"Sounds like a great idea," I said, feeling as exhausted as I had for years.
Path pulled me around until we found Elise unconscious in th
e ejected cockpit of her micro-fighter. The module didn’t look much smaller than the original craft.
"How are her vitals, X?"
"She’s doing well. Would you like me to wake her?" X-37 asked.
"Let’s wait until we’re on the Jellybird," I decided. "Path, take us home."
"As you wish, Reaper," Path replied.
The trip was a lot longer than I would have liked. Every minute felt like ten. Path encouraged me to relax and rest, maybe even take a nap, but I couldn’t shut down my brain. The enforced sleep after my fighter was destroyed had ruined any chance of me closing my eyes now.
"We picked up a kid named Bug," I said. "I told Elise she has to train him on sensors."
"Would you like me also to train him?" Path asked.
"You read my mind," I said.
We continued in silence and arrived in the relative safety of the Jellybird’s landing bay.
"It is good to have you back, Captain," Jelly said. "Are you done with flying toys?"
"Now that you mention it, yeah. Those things are a good way to get killed," I answered.
"So much for the flight of the Reaper," Elise said, her voice still deep from sleep. "Could have been an action holo, except that the Reaper was definitely a secondary character—the wingman of the real star.”
"Forget about it, kid," I said. "I was never your wingman."
"You should have been," she murmured.
"We’re on the way to the bridge, Jelly. What’s the status of the Dark Lance?" I asked.
"She is most likely deploying a wave of micro-fighters after downtime for maintenance," Jelly said. "She is also scanning for us like we owe her a million credits."
"Can we hide?" I still felt my exhaustion from the ordeal. Hunger was rearing its ugly head as well.
"There are a few options now that the scavenger settlements are stabilizing after the bombardment. I have charted the trajectory of most of the debris that is large enough to cause us damage," Jelly said.
"Pick what you think is best and let’s get out of sight," I said.
"Right away, Captain," Jelly responded.
I spent half an hour in my cabin, smoking a cigar and sipping whiskey as I put myself back together. I’d forgotten about a lighter I stashed some time ago and dug it out from under my bunk to nurse the cigar to life. The temptation to hit the rack and sleep for five days was strong, but I’d resisted the feeling many times.
By the time I arrived at the bridge, Elise was steering us into the hull of a derelict ship larger than anything I’d ever seen. We flew over the surface for what felt like an hour, then dipped through a tear in the exterior.
Elise piloted smoothly.
"You think you’re a hotshot pilot now, better than Jelly for this sort of thing?" I asked.
"Don’t be a jerk, Reaper," she said, keeping her concentration on what she was doing.
"Why is she piloting, X?" I asked in a low voice.
"I can still hear you, Reaper," Elise mumbled.
"Your hearing is freakish," I returned, annoyed with myself for forgetting who I was dealing with,
"Says the freak," Elise shot back.
"Whatever," I said. "Can someone answer my question?"
"Jelly, Tom, and Bug are working on repairs," X-37 explained.
"Now? While we are flying into an unstable hulk of a ship with a design that none of us have ever seen?" I watched each section of the vessel as we passed.
"Locke has awoken from a well-deserved sleep," X-37 said. "Med bay reports suggest he has a fractured fibula and a sprained ankle."
"Ouch. Can he fight if we need him?" I asked.
"My analysis of his injuries and character traits suggests that he will fight if needed," X-37 confirmed. "It is unlikely he will mention the injury. Properly fitting armor will allow him to continue longer than he should.”
"Cain for Locke, how are you doing?" I asked.
"Locke for Cain, I’m a little banged up. Do you need me on the bridge or can I debrief Horvath and Decker on the last twenty-four hours?" he asked. "They performed well, but I want to tweak a few procedural things."
"I just have one question," I said. "We’re flying into the hulk of an old ship. Can you pull up the view on a terminal and tell me if it looks familiar."
A few moments passed.
"This was an Alon ship," Locke answered simply.
"Tell me more, Locke. Your president mentioned the Alon and I know they are enemies of your people," I said.
"They control a system near our own. It is the only slip tunnel either of our people dare to use. We’ve been fighting them for hundreds of years," he said.
"Why?" I asked.
"Good question." He sounded too tired to explain the military history of his people over a commlink. "They want what is ours. It’s a blood feud."
"This is a huge ship," I remarked.
"We have been steadily losing the war for generations. Their system has greater resources and their population grows without slowing," he said.
"All right, thanks. Debrief your people. Let me know what you need," I said. "Speaking of tactical debriefings, did we do anything to the Dark Lance?"
"The flagship is floundering," X-37 said. "I cannot determine if that is a result of your micro-fighter attack or other damage sustained since entering this system."
I nodded. "This place is hard on ships.”
"Agreed. The only ship to escape damage has been the Lady Faith because she is still parked inside the Nightmare."
"Put Novasdaughter or Henshaw on the line," I said.
"Right away, Reaper Cain," X-37 said.
I reviewed ship logs and searched the debris fields for signs of the scavengers, but they had disappeared. The planet looked as dead as ever, forcing me to wonder if Rejon had made it there in the stolen shuttle.
"Novasdaughter for Cain, do you read me?" The Union micro-fighter turned stealth carrier executive officer asked.
"I’m here. Can you move closer to the Dark Lance?" I asked. "It’s about time for an epic showdown."
"Our previous attempts have fallen short," X-37 added.
"Thanks, X. Not really necessary, but thanks," I said.
"I’ll do what I can," Novasdaughter said. "The Nightmare is beat to hell and Necron blames me."
"Ship AIs, you can’t live with them, can’t live without them," I said.
"Very true, Reaper," Novasdaughter said. "There is another problem."
"Great, I love new problems," I said.
"I don’t think we can sneak up on the Dark Lance," she advised. "Nebs is a control freak. His personal LAIs maintain keys to every ship in his carrier group. Henshaw has been modulating our stealth protocols, but this has limits. If we can sneak up on the Dark Lance, and that’s a big if, we will only be able to do it once."
"Work on it," I said. "Keep me informed. And get some rest."
"I will when I can," Novasdaughter said.
"Captain," Jelly said.
"What’s up, Jelly?" I asked, hoping it wasn’t more bad news.
"Our repairs are as complete as I can make them without proper facilities and several weeks of time," Jelly said. "But that is not what is up."
"You’re killing me, Jelly. Spit it out," I said.
"I have no desire to kill you, Captain." Jelly sounded somewhat put out. "I scanned the hulk we are hiding within and discovered something important. During my scans of scavenger vessels we have encountered, and their logs, I learned a great deal about the ship immobilization cannons, or SIC, as they call them."
"Did you find one in here?" I asked.
"No, Captain. I learned why they are restricted to the planet. The SIC is actually five separate components that direct their energies into a cone that is refocused then aimed at the intended target. It is a tight beam EMP, otherwise known as an electromagnetic pulse," Jelly explained.
"EMPs don’t work. Every ship in the Union has shields and backup for that type of attack," I said.
"The
scavenger version modulates. I haven’t found anything in the Union that is prepared for this type of immobilization device. It will not take them long to develop a counter measure, but for now, it is a very powerful tool we should have in our arsenal," Jelly said.
"What does this have to do with our hiding place?"
"I have located critical components that the scavengers need to operate the SIC units in space," Jelly reported.
"This is an Alon hulk," I said. "There shouldn’t be scavenger tech here."
"Think about it, Captain. This vessel was obviously attacked by the scavengers—probably when they had an actual fleet to go with their SIC devices," Jelly said.
"And after they stormed this monstrosity, they tried to use it or take it apart and left something here," I said.
"The components are small networking computers with very specific transmission frequencies and shielding against their own EMP function. If we could deliver them to Rejon’s people, the ships could operate in the void and be much more effective against the Union," Jelly said.
"How is that different from what they are doing on the surface of that planet?" I asked.
X-37 jumped into the conversation. "The SIC is disabling their own ships every time they fire. If they tried that in the void, they would be vulnerable to counter attack or even suffer a catastrophic cascade of failed ship systems."
I grimaced. "Yeah, I guess that would suck.”
"You have a way with understatement, Reaper Cain," X-37 said.
"Shall we recover the components and deliver them to Rejon’s people?" Jelly asked. "I believe Horvath and Carrie Decker can handle it."
"Do we have time for this?" I didn’t know if I liked the idea.
"I’ll cancel all of your appointments," X-37 offered.
"What has gotten into you, X?" I asked. "Never mind. I’m just wrapping my head around this development. Is it worth the risk? What’s in it for us?"
"The scavengers would be more likely to help us fight the Union if we could help them realize the dream of their entire people," X-37 reasoned.
"You’re making a lot of assumptions," I said.
"I have more data than you do," X-37 said. "My guesses are better."