by Chris Burton
In many ways, the T5 class patrol ship was a scaled down version of an Alpha Cruiser. At seventy five meters long, she had four decks, a crew compliment of fifty and a full suite of armaments and high impact shielding. She even had her own Jump Ships. She was fast too, with SD5 her maximum cruising velocity. There was certainly enough room for a decent stroll, with the ships two hundred meter main corridor, running in an oval shape from the top at the fore next to the bridge, down both sides to the bottom aft and engineering.
Jake seldom took the opportunity to walk right round the ship and today he enjoyed the experience and took his time. Space travel could be very laborious and with the same views outside, as well as, inside day in day out, the simplest pleasures became very rewarding. Up to now, he just didn’t have the confidence to allow his XO and subordinate officers to spend too long without his support. He realized now, they were more than qualified while he wouldn’t take a back seat like his predecessor, he could still back off a little and allow his XO to assume some of his responsibilities.
The corridor was in the aft section of the ship and the cargo bay section was to his left. Jake stepped towards the automatic doors and as he entered, he realized he had come a very long way since the last time he set foot inside a ships flight deck. The part time CAG was in residence and Jake moved towards him.
At ease, Lieutenant. How is the flight deck?”
“Good, sir. Not a lot of activity, but everything is in its place. We haven’t taken a Jump Ship out for a few days though.”
Jake suddenly felt a yearning to be free and to take the Sabre out into free space for a quick spin. He pulled back from actually suggesting it, but the CAG was doing nothing to help Jake from moving on.
“We need to keep our guys, switched on and of course most Jump Ship pilots prefer to be out there rather than in here. You know that more than anyone, sir.”
“Thanks for reminding me. To be honest, I am trying to think of a good reason why I should not take the Sabre out. Can you think of one?”
“No sir. But I am sure the XO will!”
“Why don’t you schedule a series of competitive exercises for this afternoon? Both Jump Ships and then perhaps we can reschedule for similar flight training every forty-eight hours. Let’s make it more complicated; launch and return at high velocity. We will maintain our present speed and the Jump Ships can then catch us up. Put me down for first up this afternoon in the Sabre. I will deal with the XO.”
The CAG agreed and Jake continued his walk, stopping for a brief chat with the Chief in engineering and the odd conversation with crew members as he walked back up the corridor to top deck and the bridge. By the time he arrived, the XO was already on the war path.
“What’s this I hear about my CO leaving the ship for a high velocity catch up in a Jump Ship? That’s a bit risky for the ships commander.”
“Who like the rest of the crew, is trying to avoid going stir crazy. This will give us all something to talk about. We are in free space, John, with little or no risk. The landing will be a little harder than normal, but it will help harness the competitive spirit amongst the pilots.”
“You’re the commander.”
“Yes, John I am.”
* * * *
Two hours later, Jake Carter just taken his seat in the Sabre cockpit and was carrying out pre-flight. He was pleased to reacquaint himself with the Sabre 3 variant. It had been a while and he liked this version; it was less clinical than the Sabre 4, but still a formidable fighter ship.
“This is Sabre 1. We are good to go.”
“Affirmative. You have a clear exit. Make it so.”
Jake pushed forward on the throttle and the Sabre leapt forward, exiting from the short bay tube in a microsecond. Briefly in the wake of the patrol ships stellar drive exhaust portals; he lost power, before clearing the disturbance. He was in free space. He looked around. The Rapier had launched behind him and was already accelerating. Jake responded by transferring controls to his visor. He would out power the Rapier to the beacon point, turn and begin the chase back to the ship. They were required to travel away from the ship for the first five minutes or until the beacon point, specific to each Jump Ship was reached. Jake’s beacon was coming up fast. This was fantastic. He was back where he belonged, feeling the immense power and agility of the Jump Ship with every breath he took. The cerebral connection meant throttle and directional changes were instantaneous. He was connected…for the first time in nearly five months. Only this time it was legal and he wasn’t scrambling away from a perished Alpha cruiser. His first six months since graduation had been a phenomenal rollercoaster—as had the whole of the last year. It was good to be back where he belonged.
The beacon was coming up fast and Jake controlled his thoughts to ensure the smoothest possible turnaround. As he neared the beacon, he pulled the Sabre up into a loop, over his head, swiveling back to the level plain as he turned. He now had the patrol ship in front of him. He maxed out the power and waited as the light speed drive kicked in, before the Jump Ship accelerated to full velocity in just a few seconds. Adrenalin pumping, Jake forged forward. He was pulling further away from the Rapier, which just made the turn at its designated beacon.
The Sabre was starting to make an impact on the patrol ship lead. The balance of pilot to ship in perfect harmony. Jake looked back to check his Rapier opponent. Good he is well back. What the.! The Sabre rocked from side to side before Jake corrected the imbalance. Was that a cosmic disturbance? The sudden movement coinciding with a dark shadow creeping across the wing manifold. What the hell was that?
Jake looked above and to the sides, but saw nothing. The ship had been affected by something and there was definitely a shadow. What was it? He was in the middle of deep space. The only thing that could have caused a shadow on the Sabre was another ship and the Rapier was well back. It would have needed something quite big to have rocked the Jump Ship at this velocity.
He looked back again. The Rapier had closed the gap a little. Time to throttle down and get this ship back on board. He could see the Patrol ship now. He would worry about what the disturbance was later.
At three meters at the widest point; the Sabre was small in comparison to the Rapier and the Hunter, but just as difficult to maneuver through a portal less than five meters wide. Jake approached to five hundred meters, bringing his speed to within a fraction of the Patrol Ships. At this velocity, you only got one shot; if he miss timed, the Jump Ship would end up impaled on the side of the Patrol ship or embedded within the side of the portal shoot. One chance to get it right. Jake needn’t have worried, he piloted the Sabre through the portal at exactly the right angle and seconds later the grab lines had him, bringing the Sabre to a complete stop at precisely the point he had launched fifteen minutes ago. Jake was home and safe and posted a fast time. The Rapier came in forty-five seconds behind.
* * * *
Two hours later Jake Carter was in the aft conference room with his XO. They watched the last of the Jump Ships come in. He was in a determined mood.
“I don’t care what it looks like John. There was definitely something out there and it was big. The flight data and the VT confirm turbulence and a distinct shadow and there was nothing else out there. I want to run a barium sweep.”
“It’s your ship. I just think if there is something, we are placing ourselves at risk if we slow to carry out a scan. We are only a small ship and if…”
“If we allow ourselves to be followed and the anomaly turns out to be a cloaked Kryl Cruiser, then it will blow the whole mission wide open. We have no choice. Take the Stellar Drive off-line and start the sweep, once the last Jump Ships are in.”
* * * *
The Barium Sweep capability was included within the Patrol ships systems as part of a package of anti-Kryl devices added before they left the fleet. The results had just come in.
“You have made your position quite clear John. But I agree. Bring the scanners in and prepare for Stellar Speed. Let’s get us back on course.
* * * *
The Tathos ship remained unseen. It was clear the Patrol ship would lead them to something bigger. Why else would such a small ship be out here in the middle of deep space? They were heading back to the Alpha Fleet that was certain.
Sorgan was in his sanctuary. He was thinking about his Queen. She was his lover and he should be with her, rather than chasing across an unknown galaxy in pursuit of an enemy fleet, who the Kryl had proven were powerless to defend themselves. He would return to the Queen as soon as the Alpha fleet was dealt with.
He too, was troubled by the Jump Ship incident. The small Alpha fighter had almost collided with the Tathos ship as she maneuvered to re-engage with her docking bay. It wasn’t the incident that concerned him. It was the occupant of the fighter. Jake Carter was known to him, as he was known to all senior Kryl. The killer of Navalion had been allowed to live by his Queen and now he was under her protection.
She had been quite specific. If you locate Jake Carter; leave him be. He will find his way back to me and then our joint fates will be determined. Sorgan shook his head in annoyance. If Jake Carter is to join the Queen again. I will be there to see that his fate is sealed.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Under Siege
The Kryl forces had broken through the outer perimeter doors and engaged with an SED battalion. The fighting was fierce, but the Kryl, who outnumbered their opponents two to one, were beginning to get the upper hand.
Major Dunwoody, the battalion commanding officer just moved his troopers to cover the central line as there was a risk the main bulkhead doors could come under pressure. Dunwoody was briefed to make a stand and to prevent an assault on the main doors. He would fight to the last man if he had to.
The latest squad moved into position and then edged forward into the Kryl line of fire, but under cover of the substantial structural pillars that supported the opening to the complex.
Dunwoody watched in despair as a confident and assured sortie ended badly. All seven men were vaporized with one brutal plasma charge, as soon as they entered the main corridor.
Dunwoody knew this area was critical. He needed to pack them forward and advance. He looked around; Lieutenant Awa was an intelligent soldier. He summoned her to his position.
“Lieutenant. That corridor is critical. They have some kind of large plasma relay, set up to automatically discharge on sight. We need to take it out. You need to get some men in there and disconnect it. Any ideas?
“We don’t want to just stick men in front of it; that would be suicidal. Maybe we should approach from the outside. I will need twenty men. Ten to take out the plasma array from the outside and ten to provide cover so we can get inside.”
“You still have to get through the main corridor. We will provide a diversion.”
* * * *
Lieutenant Awa and her troopers were in position waiting for the CO’s diversionary tactics to commence. The whole troop would attempt to pass the Kryl and head for the perimeter access door. From here they could approach the side corridor and take out the plasma array. The signal came and all twenty-one troopers moved forward. The command teams perfectly timed smoke generating smart charge allowed the first five troopers to make it right through to the perimeter exit. The next five were not so lucky. A second smart charge brought the next four of the troopers into the melee. They all made it through. The final four all cleared the Kryl division on the third attempt, but two more soldiers were lost at the exit door.
Awa quickly rearranged the remaining troopers with seven and herself going forward back through the entrance and into the side corridor. The plan worked well with no shots fired against them as they entered. She reached the plasma array seconds later and two troopers joined her, one produced a tool kit. Awa had a new plan. If she could somehow turn the array against the Kryl, this could give them a huge advantage.
The Munitions expert set to work. He was trained to work on Kryl weaponry and had a good grasp of the mechanics and how to interpret the alien symbology on the key pad. He soon had control of the plasma array.
“Robinson, Kitty move back down to the entrance and kick up a stink. Make them think the battle is going in here…and then get out of the way.”
The two troopers moved into position and began to fire off rounds of indiscriminate blaster fire. The result was instantaneous. The Kryl advanced into the small corridor. Both troopers made it back behind the array before the munitions expert engaged the weapon. Seconds later the plasma array started to flash.
* * * *
Dunwoody now had the upper hand. He had control of the small corridor and with the plasma array on their side. The remaining Kryl were effectively trapped within the main corridor. It was just a case of picking them off one by one. The war had stagnated, because of the peace treaty which should never have been signed. He and his soldiers waited a long time to give the Kryl something back and right now revenge was the word of the day.
* * * *
Koenig just heard the good news.
“Excellent and the main doors never even came under threat.”
“We may have won this battle, Thomas but the Kryl will send a bigger force next time. Dunwoody will not hold them off unless we boost his fire power.”
“Yes, Jonas I know. At least now we are getting some payback. We do need to ensure the facility remains impregnable. I think it is time we looked at the battle droids.”
“Getting them here could be an issue”
“Find a way…and make sure all the civilians in here are moved behind the central doors. I think this battle will last a long time. The longer we hold off, the more Kryl we kill. We need to keep this facility strong and operable until the contingency fleet deploys the radiation.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Crisis Talks
President Roslyn had called together an emergency all party meeting to discuss the rioting. It was just one month until the next batch HSL people were selected and the profile had risen dramatically. Riots had broken out in several key northern cities and their impact had spread across the world. Scores of protestors and security personnel were killed. In many cases, the center of the great cities lay in ruins. This was Armageddon for a completely different reason.
“This is ridiculous. We know what the problem is; we know how to stop it and that we don’t have any choice. The people will not stand for another round of killing.” Rohan Mikoslavic was in full swing.”We are effectively back at war, with Alpha now engaging the Kryl in Arizona. This list must not go ahead.”
“We may not have much choice. Anyway, the Kryl think we have breached the agreement. They will shortly fall on top of us like a ton of bricks.” The intervention came from Dominic Siedler, the leader of the ECG upper house. Politically he was closer to Roslyn than Mikoslavic, but the events of the last few months were almost beyond politics.
“The agreement has not been breached. The Kryl have no proof we have assembled a new fleet. The relatively minor skirmish in Arizona is not proof of anything. The HSL will go ahead as planned.”
“Then what is the point of this meeting? I don’t think you are in touch with reality Tom. If we allow the list to be, generated and worse still, send more of our citizens to their deaths, there will be civil war. These riots are already becoming organized. They will try to take over the government and what then?”
“We are hanging on a thread gentlemen. I suggest we wait for the rain predicted this evening. It will be heavy and it will disperse the majority of the crowds. We will pick up the rest and bring them in.”
Mikoslavic
had seen enough.”Let’s be clear. If the lists are generated I will force a confidence vote. You will be out of power and we will not populate the lists.”
Thomas Roslyn sighed. His presidency had come to this. He was forced into a corner. He knew he must now evoke a state of marshal law and emergency government powers, allowing him to stay in power for a period of six weeks, without the need to address the senate. In essence they could not touch him. This was against his best political judgment, but he had no choice.
“I am sorry but the list will be populated and distributed. I am evoking emergency powers to get us through this period of uncertainty. I wanted you to gain an understanding of the position; but it seems you cannot comprehend the bigger picture. This meeting is over gentlemen.”
Mikoslavic stood up to protest but it was too late. Roslyn already left the room.
“The guy is crazy.”
“We are powerless for the next six weeks. Whatever he says, goes.”
* * * *
The revolt in London quickly gathered momentum. Now large swathes of the central city were off-limits; a circular security caldron now covered the entire area. Those inside were subject to curfew regulations, with stop and search, powers to arrest and try on the spot and the use of firearms with deadly force authorized.
In London alone, fifteen hundred people had been killed in the last six nights and today promised to be worse. A crowd of rioters were gathering along Regent Street as it intersected with Oxford Street. The crowd were mostly quiet, with a feint murmur of dissatisfaction beginning to build up. There was no rioting; but the security patrols continued to close in on the crowd to control them in one place.
The crowd started to look up when they noticed the hum of the Kryl Cruisers ion drive. It came in fast directly from the Kryl Fleet in orbit. Its commander intent on one thing. To prevent the crowd from rioting once and for all. Now directly above them, he gave the order.