Spinward Fringe Broadcast 14

by Randolph Lalonde

  "Hate fate," an audience member said firmly.

  "Hate fate," another echoed.

  "Begin," Wheeler said.

  Nigel braced himself, clamping down on the gag. It was ripped from his mouth, then pain started creeping up, like a hundred needles pushing into the ends of his fingers, following a path of bone and nerves to his wrist. Clamping his teeth shut so hard that he thought he'd crack them, he refused to scream as, for the first time in his life, he wanted to pull his hands free of his wrists. Agony crept up gradually, it felt like threads of artificial, foreign agony were pushing like razor wire to his wrist, then past, and he gave in, screaming and desperately pulling his arms.

  The same feeling overcame his feet in a surge. It was as though those hard wires of anguish were shoved through his soles, following the nerves until he wanted to kick his feet off, stomp them until they were freed from his body. The pain stopped at his ankles, a sensation of vicious threads trying to force themselves up against some resistance there. He knew it was all artificial, there was no blood, only his screams, the sight of his body writhing against the restraints. "Try to breathe, stay as calm as you can," Stephanie said through his subdermal communicator.

  Nigel's screams stopped as the sensation of the wires in his hands and feet slowly twisting began. His breath was caught in his throat, and he could hear his body rattling, twitching against the restraint frame. There was no imagining a worse pain than he felt before the twisting. The new agony was beyond comprehension, like the horrible tendrils of sensation following his nerves were trying to twist flesh and bone into each other as a feeling of growing tension and tearing overwhelmed his senses. Then it stopped and he was left panting.

  "Oh no, oh no, please no," Brennan was whispering like a desperate prayer.

  "Don't worry, Brennan; the former Councillor goes next," Wheeler said.

  Nigel couldn't see her, but he heard her body tense, test the restraints. There was no other sound for a long time, but when she screamed it wasn't like any cry he'd heard. It was raw, basic, more the function of a body that felt like it was being torn apart. There was anger in the crowd's eyes. This wasn't going the way Wheeler thought it would, unless he wanted a mob to rise up and overtake the platform.

  Listening to Mischa scream made him wish they would. The dread he felt at the pain returning made him pray they would. The sky shimmered, false daylight created by the shield around Haven Shore revealing the dark shadow of Kambis blocking Tamber from starlight. Then the shield failed completely, and the looming planet filled the sky. Its thick clouds mostly obscured the red, burning surface. The planet seemed so close that it tricked the eye into thinking that those rolling black clouds belonged to Tamber. When the red ground became visible between them, dim red light was cast, and some people got a feeling of vertigo as their minds were tricked into thinking that they were about to fall upwards to the hellish giant.

  He knew what happened. The robot he reprogrammed spread its software to enough of his fellow hover bots. They attacked the main shield generator in the eastern jungle, bringing the shield down. Haven Fleet was coming.

  "Start the final cycle on all of them, burn them out," Wheeler said.

  The pain returned, only this time the hundred needles pushing into his fingers and toes moved faster, pushing inward, redoubling his suffering as they progressed inward to his torso. He wished he could shed his limbs, shake off the steel needle wires that inflicted a kind of suffering that defeated every thought and hope.

  Eight

  Landing

  * * *

  If the situation he faced was an exercise in a qualification for Haven Fleet, Captain Agameg Price would fail. He would have made a choice that would possibly cost them the entire mission. He would avoid firing the Merciless' main guns at the last building finished on Haven Shore, the one they called The Shard. It stuck up like a spike of grey-black stone from a dark cliff.

  The problem with The Shard was that collaborators were there all the time. These were Tamber citizens who were working with the Order of Eden forces, and Agameg believed those people deserved to be tried by the law individually, not put in danger by their association. That was not the opinion of the Admiralty. Even the most moderate voices; Admiral Ayan Anderson and Admiral Unlo Kulsh agreed that the collaborators were acceptable casualties because of their proximity to Order of Eden soldiers. When the evacuation sirens sounded, collaborators would have to make a choice; whether to stay and assist the Order of Eden in the defence, or to run to the Everin Building and be evacuated. Agameg expected that many collaborators wouldn't be able to get away in time even if they wanted to abandon their Order masters. Those were the ones who he had sympathy for. The ones who would be too far from the Everin Building, Founder Square, or who would be shot in the back as soon as the Order of Eden forces realized that the collaborators wanted to abandon them.

  It wasn't his decision to make. The orders were clear. The Shard would be the Merciless' primary target. A look at his tactical system showed that Lieutenant Commander Huun, his trusted tactical officer, already had it locked in as a future target.

  The shield around Tamber started to go down right above Haven Shore. It wasn't a failure, it was exactly what Stephanie promised; a deactivation from within using the bots they were able to reprogram. This was a victory already; the Haven Fleet software was in control of the shield system again. It came up on his Master Display, even he could raise and lower sections if he liked. "That's the signal," Agameg said.

  "The Rassaaga reports ready," Liara reported from communications.

  "Lieutenant Commander Huun, begin launching our hunter mines." At Captain Agameg's order, the punters aboard the Merciless began launching mines the size of heavy starfighters. They each had a beam weapon for disabling shields, a rack of micro-missiles and over a ton of explosives inside a shaping bell to direct the force of an explosion in one direction. They would cloak behind the Merciless and the Rassaaga, wait for large enemy ships, and when one came along, it would blast the vessel with its beam, counter smaller attackers with its missiles, then thrust towards its prey. The explosive would go off once the beam was expended or if the mine was about to be disabled. The Merciless and Rassaaga were leaving hundreds behind, enough to slow any Order of Eden capitol ship down or destroy it, especially since the final explosion every mine had on offer was made to breach hulls and send heavy armour shrapnel through the decks. They were horrifying instruments of destruction, and Agameg was happy to know that they would self-destruct at the end of the day if the mines didn't find an enemy to assault.

  "Are our jump coordinates set?" Agameg asked.

  "Yes, auto-updating every quarter millisecond," Ashley reported. "Bringing us up to approach speed."

  It seemed like they were moving so slow, but that was relative to the darkened green and blue moon below. Four hundred and twenty kilometres an hour was nothing in space, normally, but in an atmosphere, it was a reasonable velocity for one of the most important steps in their plan. "Ronin, are you in position?"

  "We are, clinging to the hull like barnacles," he replied, his face appearing on screen. Through the image he had from Ronin's cockpit window Agameg could see every fighter and shuttle they had for rescuing the human population affixed in neat rows down the length of one of the Merciless' sides. He could imagine over a hundred nervous pilots waiting for them to enter the atmosphere.

  The situation was the same on the Rassaaga's hull, as they waited to jump into Tamber's atmosphere, ready to take on the less risky part of the mission; rescuing the isolated and ignored Nafalli on Tamber. "Good hunting, everyone," Agameg said. He turned his attention to communications. "Signal the Rassaaga; they jump as soon as we do."

  "Aye, Captain," Liara replied.

  "Ready?" he said, looking to Finn, who was at his right, managing Engineering.

  "Quad drives are charged and everyone not throwing themselves off the ship is ready to take evacuees. I wish we had more time for drills, though
."

  "I'm sure they'll do well," Agameg said.

  "I hope so," Finn nodded.

  "There it is, the evacuation alarms are sounding on Haven Shore and the main Nafalli settlements," Stephanie said, her head and shoulders appearing in a shaky hologram beside Agameg. "Our people will either be in Founder Square or the Everin Building. If everything goes well, there won't be many stragglers."

  "Tactical, are our mines away?" Agameg asked.

  "Three more seconds, Captain," Lieutenant Commander Huun replied, stroking the top of his snout as he watched his station. "They are away. The Rassaaga's mines are away. No signs of detection from Order ships."

  "Perfect. Helm," Agameg said, looking to the front of the bridge. "The order is given. Jump."

  Tamber, it's surface dark, shadowed by lazily drifting clouds disappeared from the main display at the front of the bridge. An instant later there was nothing but black sky. The Merciless jostled just enough for everyone to be shaken in their seats for a moment. They were directly over Haven Shore. "Helm; begin our roll. Tactical; destroy the Shard building from the top down. I remind you to use beam weapons only until the shields are down, then switch to cannons. Do not fire at the foundations. Prioritize platforms and launch areas then hollow that structure out." The response from both stations came back; "Aye, Captain."

  They were twenty-one thousand metres up; their shields were down to thirty-five percent thanks to the sudden change around the ship - going from the void to an atmosphere in less than a tenth of a second - but they were recharging rapidly. It was a moment of quiet that almost matched being back under water. All but a handful of people below were stunned at the appearance of the Merciless above the island. Just shy of a kilometre long, the ship cast a narrowing shadow as it rolled onto its side, firing every thruster it had to stay in position. "You are clear, Ronin. Launch," Agameg said.

  "Thanks for the lift, Merciless Actual," Ronin replied, his fighter already taking off then dropping down, across the Merciless' hull towards the surface. The tactical system showed over a hundred fighters and shuttles doing the same. It was an incredible sight, not quite a perfect, coordinated aerial ballet, but close enough to look like a school of fish, the fattest and slowest at the back.

  "Admiral, it's your turn. Good hunting," Agameg said through his link to the main landing bay.

  * * *

  "Thank you, Captain, jumping when the doors finish opening." There were times when Jonas Valent used to let himself daydream about all the things a space adventurer could do. Flying with a jetpack on his back, the wind whistling past as he was skipping across the sky to his next bold adventure. Rushing a field of villainous enemy soldiers with armoured companions. They almost always won the day, and when they didn't, it was only so his imaginary daydream friends could have an even more dramatic victory later.

  The memory of those daydreams was passed on to Jacob Valent, who was reminded of them as he stood in the main landing bay of the Merciless, watching the doors slide open to reveal Haven Shore below them. The lights glittered in the darkness, a small illuminated spot in a vast, black ocean. A thick beam drew a line between the ship and the Shard. Nothing Jonas imagined was as amazing or as risky as what they were about to do.

  Jake took his first running step towards the open door before he gave the order. "Launch! Activate personal shields, your cloaking systems, and fly down at maximum velocity! Just don't forget to slow down in time!" he cried. His soldiers were rushing before he finished his instructions.

  His barrier thrusters fired, turning him into a man-shaped blue fireball, shields were up, the cloaking systems activated. Starfighters and shuttles were already on their way. The heads up display in his helmet was almost exactly what you'd expect to see in a fighter cockpit, helping him aim between a Uriel and a thick bodied combat shuttle. To his right he saw Remmy run the length of a Clever Class corvette's hull, its nose pointed towards the ground, then re-engage his thrusters. Only two of the heavily armoured soldiers collided with a ship on their way through, and they recovered quickly. They had to, because the ships were about to start slowing down even more.

  Then they were past them, closing to an altitude of nine thousand metres. "Accelerate for three more seconds then get ready to slow down. Make sure your thrusters are set to auto-fire. Mark your targets, make sure you come down firing."

  "The Order is charging anti-air weapons," Remmy said as the red indicators started popping up on everyone's tactical maps.

  "Everyone de-cloak and scatter. Send auxiliary power to your shields," Jake ordered. "We need to give them as many targets as possible so they spread their fire out. Protect the shuttles."

  Yellow and red charged rounds sizzled through the air from the ground. The fighters above the armoured soldiers fired back, creating pops of flame far below. Jake's thrusters cut out, it was time to fall, to slowly turn his body so his feet pointed at the ground, and he did so as calmly as he could. Despite his rapidly pounding heart, he managed to do it. A few needed help from micro-gyros and stabilization thrusters, but he was able to reorient himself in silence. The last of the anti-air weapons fired, sending their deadly fireworks up, striking a few of his soldiers, burning out one of their shield systems, then they stopped. Where there were once deadly guns there were molten, flaming heaps thanks to the fighters and shuttle gunners above the soldiers. They were slowing their descents, would land in less than a minute, but the suits would get down there first.

  A timer ran beside his altimeter, telling him when his thrusters would activate, reducing the speed of his fall. It seemed so slow compared how fast he was approaching the ground. A moment ago, he could look far across the horizon, see a wisp of dark cloud to his left or right, but he could only see the dark, hard surface below then, a few thousand metres later. It was difficult to resist activating his barrier thrusters early. There was a good chance that he'd survive a full-on impact, the suits were designed to take a massive hit on planets with much higher gravity, but dampeners could fail. Medical recovery devices could fail too, if he hit hard enough. Jacob could go from being a perfectly fit soldier to an unrecognizable pile of splattered meat in an instant.

  A chuckle bubbled up from his throat. A can of minced Jake. He thought to himself before he refocused. The smile remained as he watched red dots appear on his tactical system. The counter finished its slow progression to zero and the barrier thrusters under the slats of his suit fired, slowing him down. He raised his rifle, firing at one of the soldiers taking pot shots at them from below. He'd come down right where he wanted, technically in a place where he could command from the middle. On top of the base of Ayan's statue, in the centre of Founder Square. His guided rounds found their mark, bursting violently as they came into contact with the first soldier in his sights, one of the platform guards.

  The rifle jostled against his shoulder as he rattled the next three round burst off, blasting another, then another. The fire and concussive force from explosive shells began to roar in the distance, crushing and splitting the top of The Shard thanks to a barrage from the Merciless far above.

  Shuttles started setting down as quickly as they could, retro fields flashing blue as they lowered around the massive crowd gathered in Founder Square. Two Order of Eden Soldiers in light armour tried to grab Jake as he touched down, his feet planting firm. He punched one in the chest, heard a wet crunch, then elbowed the other, denting his assailant's helmet. The strength augmentation in his suit was set to auto-adjust, turning way up if he was defending himself from a foe. A control box was abandoned by its attendant. He was in a long green white coat that flicked up as he retreated in fear. Remmy blasted the controls as his feet settled onto the platform and the three people strapped to the restraint frame stopped twitching. Jake targeted the attendant's legs and blasted a knee apart with a single shot. They would take him captive if they had time, or if he didn't bleed out.

  "Cover the civilians!" Jake shouted. His words were carried to every soldier touching
down in or near the square. "Kill every Order combatant you see!" Those were the priorities.

  "You know how to make an entrance, Jake," Frost said as he joined him on the platform. He set a woman in a vacsuit down beside him and she got to work undoing the three prisoners' restraints right away despite her wobbly legs.

  "Good to see you," he said, handing Frost his spare rifle. "Any idea where I can find Wheeler?"

  Nine

  The Fortitude of Our Allies

  * * *

  The bridge of the Sunspire still had the look of a relic. It was designed when military vessels had hulls that were metres thick. It's ergranian skin was built in two layers made to protect its crew while they hurled thousands of tons of kinetic death with heavy railgun cannons.

  That hull was successful, but it had been upgraded with yet another skin on top and an enhancement to its living hull making it smarter, harder, but still smooth and graceful looking. Everything from the reactors to the weaponry were made new, using technology that took Jessica Rice more time and work to understand. It knocked her confidence down several pegs, not in command, but in technical competence. As she looked around at the bridge crew, checked the holographic tactical display in front of her command seat one more time, she was happy she made an effort to correct that shortcoming. That confidence was back with a vengeance. Understanding the technology built into the warrior wonder that the Sunspire had become was important, it was key to knowing what the ship was capable of, and it took weeks and many late nights, but she finally had a full grasp of that.