Swords Above the Stars

by Roman Zlotnikov

  Then Tera cast her vote. “Let them give us the information on the holocube.”

  It was a reasonable thing to do. Now the holocube showed an image, taken only by the sensors of the battleship, but Unpleasant Surprise as the leader of the squadron received images given by all the sensors from the ships in the squadron. Don Krushinka nodded quietly, turned away for a moment, and snapped furiously at something on the other screen. Everyone froze, not daring to distract the commander, but after half a minute he nodded in satisfaction and turned back to them.

  “Hey, Lucky, do you have any ideas that we should know about?”

  Yv’s skin felt the surprised looks of the officers. Only Sandra and Tera looked on calmly. They had grown accustomed to the fact that the commander of the fleet himself could easily ask a question of a simple member of the boarding party, if he believed that he could give some sensible advice. Yv shrugged thoughtfully.

  “So, you say the monster ship hasn’t been seen anywhere?”

  Don Krushinka nodded, looking at him with interest.

  “Yes, and it is possible that there are several of them. However, almost all of the ships have been identified, so these overgrown ships may well be hanging around on the sidelines, less than an hour away. The sensors and analytical contours are now so clogged with data that the chances of detecting them at a distance are virtually nil.”

  “Maybe they’re simply looking for us? It is unlikely they are aware that you are now in command of the squadron.”

  Don Krushinka shrugged.

  “That could be so. We still have almost a third of the fleet hidden behind a reflection field, so it is possible that they are waiting for the appearance of the one designated to be the flagship. Although in such circumstances, the Scarlet Princes would already have moved to the attack. It looks like we were right. They are not here, and the group is likely to be under the command of one of the representatives of the Castes, close to the Princes.”

  One of the officers could not help herself and blurted out. “Are they Kazgarot?”

  At this point, the admiral turned back to some side screens, and Yv answered the question.

  “The Kazgarot are a lower caste, not warriors. Closer to the princes is a caste of intellectuals. They do not fight in battle themselves and consider battle as a variant of some complicated game. None of them have ever been seen fighting firsthand. They assess situations and make decisions on the basis of a mathematical treatment of averages.” Yv paused, running his eyes over the surprised faces. “The Scarlet Princes made certain that their soldiers did not have a high intellect and those that have gone far along the path of the development of intelligence, were completely devoid of certain instincts that promote survival.”

  Yv paused, quite taken aback by how smoothly he had explained it all. At this point Don Krushinka turned back to them.

  “I beg your pardon, but things are getting hot around here. So how about some new ideas, Lucky?”

  “What if we remove the reflection field?” Yv murmured.

  Don Krushinka thought about it, then frowned angrily.

  “What if there are a few of them?”

  “Even one would be enough for us at the moment, so it would pay to have something in reserve, say, a few assault ships?”

  Don Krushinka grinned.

  “Agreed. Be ready in forty minutes.”

  Yv nodded and turned to his console, ignoring the questioning glances directed at him, and started to check the weapons control system. He knew that soon, all hell would break loose, and he wanted to meet it head-on.

  Don Krushinka disconnected from the communication channel with the flagship and quickly scanned the panorama of the battle. The battle had broken down into two dozen major events, and most of the odds were on their side. Even Shantorin’s squadron had managed to reach a fifty-fifty stalemate, but now she particularly needed some help.

  Indeed, it was too early to rejoice. A battle in space takes hours, and on such a scale, perhaps even days. Also, before the monster ship that Lame Rhino’s team had discovered was neutralized, the scales could still swing the other way.

  Even after its destruction, given that the remnants of The Enemy fleet could escape under the protection of the weapons batteries of the planetary mortars on Outpost, and the fact that they had long ago been equipped with seven-barreled beam cannons, it would be sinful to doubt that the task of making landfall was no less difficult than winning the current battle.

  That was why Don Krushinka had kept back almost half of the noble dons’ forces. He was waiting for the monster ship to reveal itself. It was pointless to expect that they could do serious major damage to the monster ship during a firefight.

  However, when it came to a boarding party, he still had plenty of faith in the dons. Yv’s idea gave him a chance to lure out the monster ship, where they could give it several surprises. Don Krushinka quickly gave the necessary orders, then switched the channel to the Blasco Ninyas. When Stubborn Bull’s face came on screen, he immediately took the bull by the horns, so to speak.

  “Look, Bull, now this big fool is hiding in the shadows and you will play the role of bait ...”

  Stubborn Bull nodded and turned to Beer Keg who as usual was looming at the back of the command chair, but Don Krushinka snapped angrily. “Keep still, I haven’t finished yet!”

  Stubborn Bull hastily pretended to give his full attention.

  “Hopefully,” continued Don Krushinka, “this monster will take the bait. It is possible that there are more than one of them. Your task is to move to purple vector and hide behind the battleship’s force fields, waiting for the release of The Enemy’s boarding parties. I need as few of them as possible to reach the battleship, but you will not join in the action until the battleship’s weapons batteries have been completely suppressed.

  Stubborn Bull nodded, then asked.

  “What happens if there are several monster ships?”

  “Assault ships are already on their way to you, so try not to accomplish the impossible. Lucky is behind the weapons control monitor on the battleship, and there are more than enough Space Marines on board. If the monster ship surfaces, as soon as the assault ships have finished with it, I’ll send two dozen corvettes from the reserve to aid the battleship.”

  “What happens if they just destroy the flagship with their weapons?”

  Don Krushinka shook his head.

  “Hardly likely. If that was the case, then why are they still hiding? It could well be they want to put together a strong squadron and use the monster ship as a ‘roaming bully.’ Only the Caste close to the Princes could even think of such a plan. So, such reticence means one thing—an ambush for the purpose of boarding.”

  “What if ...?”

  Don Krushinka gritted his teeth and in a strangled voice said. “Then God help you all.”

  They were silent. Don Krushinka gave a chilly shrug.

  “OK, let’s hope for the best. I already gave the command to the corvettes. There are enough of them to chew up and spit out a boarding party for ten monster ships.”

  If he exaggerated, then it was only slightly. When Stubborn Bull disappeared from the screen, Don Krushinka took a deep breath and switched to the flagship. There before him was Sandra’s face. He hesitated for a moment, then he said suddenly in a small voice. “Everything is ready, you can begin.”

  Don Krushinka fell silent. He suddenly felt as if he had just delivered a death sentence to everybody on board the battleship.

  Yv watched on tensely from the edge of the battle swirling around in space, as, one after another, new points flashed up on his monitor. There were seven of them. The approaching ships were twenty minutes’ flight away from them, and the battleship’s sensors had already indicated the possibility of failure.

  “It is being very careful, just like last time,” said Sandra mockingly.

  But Yv suddenly shuddered, then slowly turned to the others, licked his lips, and said. “It is not being carefu
l.”

  Sandra snapped and whirled on him.

  “What did you say?”

  Yv raised his hands, spread his fingers out, then put them on the keyboard. Taking a deep breath, he repeated. “It is not being careful. There are seven of them.”

  “Seven of what?”

  “These ships.”

  When Sandra realized what he had said, she quickly moved on to the link with Don Krushinka.

  “Whiskered One, we have a problem.”

  “Have you detected it?” asked Don Krushinka tensely.

  Sandra shook her head. “Not what we were looking for.”

  Don Krushinka anxiously looked away, apparently at the panoramic screen.

  “Do you think that there are a few of them?” He peered closer. “Maybe, but while they are protected by reflection fields, we can’t accurately identify who is who and how many monster ships will attack you.”

  Sandra shook her head.

  “Lucky says there are seven of them. I’m already convinced that we should believe him.”

  Don Krushinka turned pale and nervously twitched towards the console, but then turned around.

  “Withdraw to the second squadron with immediate effect.”

  Sandra stared for a few moments at the shimmering expanse on the holocube, then shook her head violently.

  “No. We cannot retreat to the second squadron. If we bring these fat boys along with us then the second squadron won’t stand a chance, and the entire flank will be lost.”

  Don Krushinka looked at her with horrified eyes. Sandra smiled sweetly at him.

  “You were expecting something like this, my Whiskered One. So, you go off and win the battle, and we’ll try to survive.”

  “But Tera ...”

  Sandra started and, without turning her head, said dryly. “I’ll look after her.”

  Don Krushinka looked imploringly at her, then his face twisted into a pained expression, and he waved his hand and disappeared from the screen.

  Sandra turned and glanced at the pale faces of the officers and noticed Tera’s tight lips and Yv’s serene face. He sat there paying no attention to anyone, his narrowed eyes staring at the images of the oncoming ships as they grew larger on the screen, and he frantically typed something on the remote management weapons control console, occasionally glancing at the columns of numbers and symbols galloping quickly along the edges of the monitor.

  “Any ideas, Lucky?” Sandra suddenly asked him timidly.

  He paused for a moment, turned to her, grinning, and said. “I think,” he emphasized the words, “that we will be no less a surprise for them than they are for us.” Yv paused again and threw a quizzical look at the approaching death. “I am used to trusting my feelings, especially in recent times.” He gave a predatory smile, as if remembering something funny and scary at the same time. “Yes, in recent times ...

  Everyone in the cabin felt a ray of hope.

  5

  Seven monster ships were moving towards the battleship in a reconstructed order of battle, which resembled a crystalline structure. The battleship had long been within the effective range of their weapons, but they still did not open fire.

  Tera suddenly felt the hair on the back of her neck crawl, and she shivered from the chills that swept over her. An unpleasant little thought flashed through her mind. If she wasn’t so stubborn, she could have been far away from here.

  When Sandra found out that Tera intended to lead the combined fleet herself, she seriously lost her temper.

  “You know what, my dear, if you do not trust me or think I’m a just a crazy old woman who has lost her mind, then I will return to my manor house immediately.” She gave her a venomous look. “But if you trust me on this short path, and you want to deal with cleaning up your affairs at home yourself, then perhaps this will be your most sensible move in recent times!”

  Sandra turned, and stamping the heels of her boots, she paced around the room from corner to corner. Tera was silent, and her aunt, who was becoming even more incensed, continued her monologue to the accompaniment of the noise from her boots.

  “If you think that the kingdom can survive another mutiny you should use your stubborn head a little ...When you finally come to an understanding...”

  Sandra finally broke down, stopped, and, turning abruptly to Tera, yelled. “Why in the name of Adam are you still silent?”

  “I’m waiting for my highly honored mentor to stop for a second and give me a chance to open my mouth.” She shrugged.

  Sandra threw up her hands in exasperation and defiantly flopped into a chair, folding her arms across her chest. Tera grinned at her.

  “I want to ask you a question. What happens when the fleet and the guard are out there,” and she indicated upwards with her head, “and I am stuck with the peers who are ready to blow my brains out because I brought a crowd of wild peasant men to our holy and unblemished kingdom? The same peers who wish to hear nothing about what is going on somewhere in the borderlands.”

  Sandra gave her a fierce look and muttered under her breath. “Maybe some but not all.”

  She did not deign to speak more clearly, but Tera knew her better.

  “Well, imagine what will happen if the fleet and the guard are destroyed?”

  Sandra gritted her teeth and leaned back in her chair. Tera grinned again, this time sadly, and sang a few verses of the ‘Ballad of a girl the size of a little finger.’

  “Get up, there’s no time to grieve,

  What happened can’t be changed.

  It’s time for you to be a hero,

  Save all that you believe in...”

  Now, when the magnified images of the monster ships had already filled the side screens, Sandra, apparently, also remembered this conversation from the past. She turned to Tera with a pale face and breaking into a whisper said, “It seems that soon your dream will come true, you girl the size of a little finger.” Sandra turned to the screens and barked at Yv who was feverishly hammering on the keyboard. “Well, what are we waiting for, young man? Do you want them to turn us into atoms with their first volley?”

  Yv said nothing, just shook his head, and continued typing something with wild speed on the console. Then suddenly he snapped back, shouted something unintelligible, clicked on a pair of toggle switches, and leaned back in his chair. For a few seconds he looked contemptuously at the images of ships on the screen then started singing without any musical talent.

  “It’s a long way to Tipperary, it’s a long way to go ...” and he pressed the button to open fire.

  The next moment the light in the control room cabin suddenly went out, the screens dimmed, and the battleship reared from an unprecedented recoil. Cups of coffee, face powder, personal bags, and makeup bags all flew to the floor. Someone screamed in fright, then the ship froze. During the confusion Sandra gripped the arms of the command chair, gasping frantically, and wheezed in a suddenly shrunken voice. “What did you do, you moron?”

  Yv, all this time continued to sing parts of songs, still without any musical ability. He paused for a second, pointing to one of the screens, and roared enthusiastically. “I got it!”

  At once everybody turned to the screen on which a giant fireball was swelling up. The brightness of the flash of the explosion was far more than the human eye could stand. Silence hung over the control room for a few seconds, then Yv roared again, and the same thing that had happened was repeated. When the screen came to life again, everyone saw a second fireball and an ecstatic cry swept through the control room. The next moment the battleship trembled from salvos from the massive weapons batteries on board the monster ships, and Yv, cursing through clenched teeth, frantically banged on the keyboard, quickly changing the configuration of the force field. Even this fierce bombardment did not temper the enthusiasm of the team. On the screen, flickering from surges in the electrical power supply, Don Krushinka’s dazed face appeared.

  “Sandra, how were you able to take them? They have a seventh l
evel category force field!”

  Sandra looked at Yv questioningly, who flicked a toggle switch with a grin, and turned to the screen. Brazenly staring at the admiral, he made a flippant gesture and said, trying to overcome the roar of weapons strikes against the rattling battleship. “They’ve got a three-multiple peak power supply in storage. Well, I threw it at the main weapons batteries, using it as a shunt for the antenna cables of the reflection fields.”

  Don Krushinka contemplated his words for a moment, then his color changed.

  “But does that mean that you ...”

  Yv nodded and grinned.

  “Exactly. Frankly, I was surprised that the guns didn’t blow up at the first volley, but now we just do not have any main weapons fire left, or reflection fields either.

  After Yv spoke a tense silence fell over the control room. Yv turned and gave everybody a cheerful look.

  “What’s your problem? If we had given them a hundred volleys at standard power, do you think that we would have got a better result?”

  He nodded at the two empty screens where, not so long ago, images of the monster ships could be seen. Everyone’s eyes involuntarily turned in this direction. Then Sandra looked at Yv and shivering, she said. “Perhaps you’re right, but somehow I don’t feel comfortable ... almost like I am naked ...”

  Yv chuckled.

  “Well, why feel naked. Now we will give them something more to think about ....” and he flipped a toggle switch. The floor beneath their feet began to shudder barely noticeably, and only then did everyone realize that the battleship was no longer shaking from the incoming volleys. The monster ships had ceased firing. Sandra quickly turned to the screen. It was covered with tiny flashes from approaching boarding crafts that flared a few at a time. Yv opened up with heavy fire from the turrets of the universal caliber weapons, which densely covered the surface of the hull. Yv momentarily pulled away from the console and pointed at an indicator panel.