Battleship Furiosa

by Michael G. Thomas

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Byotai Imperial Battleship 'Furiosa'

  Approaching Serpentis System Rift, Deadlands

  24 December 2472

  Nate waited patiently inside his fighter. It was a tiny cockpit, and though he didn't suffer from claustrophobia, he could see why it was a problem to many. There was barely room to move, other than twisting the neck or moving his arms, and even then the restraints held him in place. This was perhaps the single biggest difference between the simulator game of Star Crusader and that of the real world. It was always the physical stimulus that proved difficult to replicate. In the simulator there was no significant movement, apart from tactic feedback on the controls.

  This is nothing like the spheres.

  Nate smiled to himself as he recalled using one of the gyro-spheres sold by the CTC Corporation. These devices could actually roll and move to recreate some of the force and stresses of actual flight. None of that compared to the true reality of combat, though, and he could see that now. The excitement of flying a fighter quickly paled into insignificance next to the nervousness he felt when placing his body in mortal danger. This was no simulation, and a single bullet could end him as efficiently as an atomic warhead.

  This feels weird.

  It felt like so many missions before, but today it was different. The hangar deck was spacious and seemed so empty. Ten fighters was nothing for what the ship could handle, and compared to the great bulk of the battleship. Nate constantly felt apprehensive about what they could actually achieve. The armour and guns on this ship were designed to tear apart enemy capital ships, whereas his Lightning fighter carried a mixture of long and medium range missiles.

  Focus on your job.

  He checked the hardpoint indicators again, now starting to feel a little paranoid about the one pylon. Commander Higgins had identified the problem, but a detailed diagnostic confirmed it was a sensor failure, and the technicians had checked that the pylon itself was fully operational. The only way around the problem for now was to deactivate the sensors, and that left him feeling uncomfortable. Instead, he focussed his attention on the small metallic motif that Valdis had given him. It still sat in the palm of his hand, and as he examined it, he could see the reptilian creature grasping bladed weapons.

  The Sekieki?

  Nate had read about them, but so far he'd seen nothing that confirmed their existence. According to explorers and traders that had now visited many parts of the Byotai Empire, there was a world called Sovax, a place where great, untamed reptiles live. According to the stories, these creatures were a clade of bird-hipped animals directly related to the Byotai. There were even stories of the various tribal factions in the Tenth Quadrant using these beasts to carry equipment and as mounts for scouting parties.

  Incredible. I have to ask her about them.

  He leaned forward, only to find the harness clamped him firmly in place. For a second, he was tempted to release the unit, but the growing proximity to the Rift encouraged him otherwise. He placed the device in a small, enclosed storage unit on the side of the cockpit. At the same time, the transparent canopy darkened until it was completely black. Nate was unconcerned and looked to the left where the power level indicators were situated. Everything remained in the green, much to his relief.

  She is...very different.

  Things were moving fast for him, and though he'd always been interested in Cassandra, that now felt like it had all happened in a different time. Since coming to Relentless, everything had changed for him. He and his friends had gone from being kids playing videogames to young adults flying combat fighters. Jack had been killed, and all of them had been exposed to gunfire. They'd grown up quickly, and he was finding himself more likely to take chances and say what he thought, whereas in the past, he'd have kept quiet and waited for things to happen by themselves.

  Nate shook his head and then rubbed at his brow. There was just so much to think about. Even before all of this, there had been Cassandra. Although his friend, the two had never seemed to hit it off, and that had not been for his lack of trying. Following that had been the violent attack on the station that sent them fleeing in panic. That was the point at which his life had really changed, marked by meeting Valentine; the sure-footed Marine who had already shown him how childish Cassandra was in comparison.

  Like that's going to happen.

  The ship was a stressful place, filled with nervous people living on the edge. He'd had a few moments with her, but she seemed little interested in letting anything else happen, and he was beginning to think she just wanted another friend on board a ship with limited people. Whenever he tried to see her, she seemed to be busy with her Marine Corps colleagues. Then there was Valdis, the attractive and rather alluring alien who seemed quite taken by Nate.

  You're probably taking this completely the wrong way.

  He laughed to himself. It wouldn't be the first time he'd misread a situation, and these Byotai females were certainly not easy to fully understand. Yet as he thought about them all, he found it hard to shake off the image of Valdis. She was unlike any woman he'd met before, and combined many of the traits of Lieutenant Commander Holder and Private Valentine.

  Okay, that's enough.

  Nate shook his head and laughed to himself, before realising his intercom was set to transmit when he spoke.

  "Everything okay back there?" Lieutenant Commander Holder asked.

  "Yes, Sir. Just had a...shiver. Altering my climate control now."

  "Understood."

  Nate chuckled, but this time he kept his audio system deactivated to avoid another accident. The last thing he needed was for the rest of his fellow pilots to hear what he was saying or thinking. That could be a fate worse than death.

  Get your mind off girls, and on the job, you idiot!

  He knew what he had to do, and with a final shake of his head banished the thoughts of the tough and demure Valentine, or the exotic and very forward alien, Valdis.

  "Okay, Ironclads, your break is over," said Lieutenant Commander Holder, "It's time to move to the upper deck and to ready for launch. Standby."

  Nate licked his lips as the plinth beneath shuddered. It was a subtle movement, but after sitting stationary for so long, it was actually a pleasant change to know he was moving from the secondary deck and to the combat deck. The elevator system pushed his fighter up from the deck in relatively little time. It took a number of seconds to reach the ceiling, and as he moved through the short tunnel, the hangar deck vanished from view.

  Here we go again.

  For just a few seconds it was all darkness, but as the feeling of weightlessness arrived, so did the lights from the upper deck. It was the first time he'd seen it since they first arrived. One by one, the elevator units stopped and then moved back into the ship, leaving them in the marked zones.

  "All looking good, pilots. According to Commander Higgins, we are fifteen minutes from the Rift. That gives us time to acclimatize the fighters."

  Nate's brow tightened as he listened. It was a common problem when taking a craft into different levels of gravitational force, and the stress could cause all sorts of problems to the mechanics of a fighter. A minute on the top deck would mean both he and his fighter would be completely ready for combat.

  "Okay, let's run through our checks one more time."

  Nate reached ahead and activated his computer system. One by one his systems flicked on. The internal computer system, helmet overlay, and navigation system all showed as operational.

  "Power up your engines, thrusters at zero."

  He activated his engines and relaxed at seeing the green lights. He looked to his left where the four interceptors were waiting. It felt like the Star Crusader videogame once more, and he started to relax until spotting the myriad of small gun turrets. As before, they rotated slowly, constantly checking for signs of danger. It brought back the reality of what they were about to do.

  This is for real, Nate. Get yourself ready for
it.

  * * *

  A gentle tremor spread through the battleship as her engines roared with power. Long tendrils of flame shot out as she moved ever closer to the Serpentis Rift. Far behind the ship were the rest of the Allied fleet, and Admiral Churchill and Prince Kratha. Commander Higgins watched the ever-shrinking image of his comrades as they moved from the safety of the fleet, and on to their own special mission.

  "Ten seconds," said General Honorius.

  All eyes turned to the virtual windows installed along the front of the bridge. The pulsing ripples of the Rift moved quickly towards them. There was no space station or control unit nearby, and that could only mean this was a stabilised Spacebridge, one no longer requiring management or maintenance, like the majority of those inside the former Byotai Empire.

  "This is it," said General Honorius, "All crew standby. We have no idea what is waiting for us on the other side. We must be ready for anything!"

  The interior lights of the bridge changed to a dull red, in much the same way the lights on Alliance ships worked. Commander Higgins smiled as he watched the same routines carried out by an entirely different species. They had evolved differently, yet there remained much commonality between them, especially in how they commanded their ships. He was just thankful that as part of the military alliance with the Byotai, he'd already been exposed to their computer and control systems.

  Don't let there be a fleet on the other side!

  Commander Higgins held his breath as they punched through the flashing lights and on into the new system, light years away. They were travelling so fast that the transition from one side to the other occurred in little more than a fraction of a second. A pulse of light marked the transition, and then they were through. He half expected to find an entire Star Empire fleet arrayed for battle and with their gun ports open.

  We made it.

  Commander Higgins exhaled with relief. He'd checked up on the details for the Serpentis System since arriving on the ship. It was nothing particularly special, with a white-blue star that bathed the system in a cool, depressing light. What had caught his eyes was that the system contained just three planets, all of which sounded dreadful. Two were completely uninhabitable, Serpentis I a molten rock, and Serpentis III a frozen block of ice. The second planet was something else, though, and he was fascinated to see what had happened since Alliance explorers had been allowed to visit it a decade earlier.

  What about the others?

  He looked back to make sure the Vipers had also made it through. For a second, he thought something had gone wrong, and then they were there, travelling in a wide formation, their elegant wings extended to bathe in the solar winds. It was difficult to gauge their scale, but he knew from the computer that they were about the same size as the Alliance destroyers, and intended to form much of the same function. That might be because their designs had been created based on experience learnt at Alliance shipyards.

  "Excellent," said the General, "Give me a full tactical assessment of the system."

  Commander Higgins glanced at the central display and the mapping data. With each passing second, it filled out with the star at the top. He exhaled slowly upon realising they were alone.

  "General."

  The voice came from one of the many senior officers. This one was almost as old and scarred as the General, and could only be the second-in-command. He paused for a second until the name came to him. There were many great and famous officers in the Byotai military, but one in particular stood out among the rest, a warrior of such skill that many Alliance officers knew his name.

  Captain Krammer.

  The Byotai was one of the many Byotai captains to have stayed on since the Biomech War, and had seen a meteoric rise until reaching his current position aboard Furiosa. Just looking across at the titanic officers sent a chill up his back. He'd never expected to stand in the presence of such powerful figures. The Captain pointed to the star and then a number of waypoints. As with Honorius, he knew few human words, and it fell to the translator to allow Commander Higgins any chance of understanding what was happening.

  "There's no traffic, and the navigation beacon at Serpentis II is still broadcasting."

  The General uttered a guttural sound and then pointed to a shape near the second planet. It looked like a moon, but the schematic quickly increased in size to show something he'd never seen before.

  "Since the insurrection, we have lost contact with many systems, even out here in the Deadlands."

  As his hands moved, a blue outline appeared around the orbital facility. It flashed as each section was drawn in greater detail, and increasing its size and complexity.

  "Make contact with the garrison at the Super-Max Correctional Facility. It would be helpful to confirm their allegiance, and their status."

  Another officer, this time a younger looking male Byotai, signalled to the General.

  "Sir. I've already received an un-encoded broadcast from the Super-Max Facility, and it is...unexpected."

  "Well?"

  Commander Higgins strained his ears as he tried to identify key words before the translator could do its job. Luckily for him, the officers and crew spoke slowly and clearly enough for the device to do its job, else his task aboard the battleship would have been made almost impossible.

  "General. The message is from the group calling themselves the People's Militia. I believe they may be related to the group we have met before."

  Before the translator could even finish, the aged leader made an irritated clicking sound from the back of his throat. He shook his head and then uttered something very close an angry shout.

  "The message says they have liberated their comrades and burnt the entire facility."

  General Honorius again snorted with derision. He then walked towards the unit and examined it carefully. As he reached out, the model shifted about so that he could view it from different angles.

  "I see. In that case, encode a reconnaissance drone and prepare it for launch. We will leave one behind to perform a full, localised assessment for our records."

  Captain Krammer pointed to the facility, in particular, the long docking arms that extended out into space. The unusual design gave it a shape much like the body of the mythical Kraken.

  "General. If anybody remains, we will have to act. We cannot leave people behind, whether friendly or hostile. We will need to send troops down there. It could be a ruse."

  The aged warrior snorted.

  "Perhaps you are correct, Captain. But what is left behind does not concern me today. We have neither the time, nor the capability to make a difference. That is a fight for another day."

  He lifted his nose and opened his mouth, cooling his body for a few moments.

  "Now, how much further is it to the Karnak Rift? We have to reach Makos, and fast. I cannot afford to waste a minute more than necessary here. Who knows what danger Makos is in?"

  The General closed his eyes, and then tilted his head towards Commander Higgins.

  "Until we have mobilised all of our forces, including the contingent commanded by Makos, we must rely upon the goodwill of our allies."

  He turned his eyes briefly towards Commander Higgins and then back to the central display. One of the senior officers brought up the waypoints in the star system and pointed to their final destination. The planet showed as bright blue on the unit, while the planets followed their usual elliptical orbits around the star.

  "Just over three million kilometres past Serpentis II. We came out of the Rift in a position much closer than expected. We will pass the orbital Super-Max Facility over Serpentis II within twenty-four minutes, and then use its gravitational pull of the planet to assist our acceleration to the Rift."

  Commander Higgins was known among his officers for his keen mental arithmetic, and he quickly performed a number of calculations in his head. Part of officer training in the Alliance military was navigation and engineering, and one of the key subjects shared between these was mathemat
ics. Every single officer was expected to be able to navigate by the stars, and to perform fuel and distance calculations on paper. It was an odd, somewhat archaic way of training, but there were many occasions where the ability to solve both simple and complex mathematical problems with limited access to electronic machines and computers.

  "That's almost ten hours if we're pulling single-g acceleration."

  The General looked at him and chuckled.

  "Commander. Our newest ships are much, much faster."

  Commander Higgins rose from his console and walked into the centre of the bridge. Both he and the General looked at the formation of four ships, and their course near the star.

  "We will be there in...four point three hours."

  Commander Higgins' eyebrows lifted in surprise.

  "You're serious? That means altering our acceleration when we reach the planet to slingshot and then maintaining five-g for just over four hours. Is that even possible?"

  The General nodded.

  "Yes, it is possible, but only with our newest ships. That is why only the four of us are here. Any more and we would be slowed...like an anchor pulled behind a sea ship. Yes?"

  Commander Higgins nodded politely at the reference. It meant little to most people, but one thing it did was to let him know that the Byotai had done his homework. There were many that considered the Byotai to be aloof and little interested in the world of humanity. But as the Commander looked about this ship, he could already see changes that had been made in the last few years. The Byotai might seem conservative and isolationist, but he'd seen them adapt to changes quicker than most.

  Yeah, they make changes all right.

  Much of the battleship was ancient, but a great deal of the bridge had been updated in the last refit, and there were even Alliance influenced changes, the most significant the central display system used on board Liberty Class Destroyers. The Byotai had been quite taken with the elegance, and the ability for it to be shared among multiple officers. They had borrowed the idea, and then updated it with their own tech to produce what he now saw at the heart of the bridge. It was an effective system, and as a convenient consequence made his own job aboard the alien ship much easier. He heard something to his right and twisted about to listen more carefully.