We were just getting up to leave, when suddenly Amanda went rigid. Her eyes glazed, she turned, and beckoned to me.
"Mission alert. We have to go to the hotel, pick up your laser bolts, and get to our ship as fast as possible."
I paid the bill for lunch, and we left as fast as I could limp, which was admittedly a reasonable speed. The spa the night before had definitely helped. We dashed into the suite. I grabbed all the charge packs, and the two laser bolts, and added them to my belt. We rushed straight out.
Nineteen
The Merc's Military Transport was at one of the external docking ports. The Colonel was waiting for us.
"You're up Hunter. We need to be moving right now. Get to the cockpit, and get us out of here."
I gulped.
"Follow me," said Amanda, and led the way for me.
It was a lot larger ship than I'd been on so far. I was soon lost, but somehow we ended up in the cockpit above the lock, at the front of the ship. I looked out the sides, and could see other ships docked next to us. I was going to have to back us out.
"Oh shit," I said softly.
I sat down in the pilot's seat, adjusted it, strapped in, and pulsed my overlays and preferences to the ship computer.
"Greetings Pilot. Whom do I have the pleasure of working with?" said a voice.
I looked around, but Amanda was gone.
"I'm the ship's AI. Call me Betty."
"Hi Betty. I'm Jonathon Hunter."
"You seem a bit young for a Pilot, if you don't mind me saying."
I didn't, I felt it.
"Only one available it seems."
"HUNTER, GET US MOVING!" floated in from the hatch behind me.
"What prep needs doing?" I asked Betty, feeling more than a little stupid.
"All done young sir, ready to disconnect from the station."
"What is the ship's name?" I asked.
"Moose."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"I hope you're not kidding me."
I didn't get a reply, so I opened a channel to the station.
"Sydney station from Moose, ready to undock," I said.
"Moose from Sydney station, permission granted, priority clearance to jump point granted."
"Sydney station from Moose, undocking this time."
"Moose from Sydney station, undock understood."
I put the channel on standby.
"Can you back us out of here?" I asked Betty. "If I do it, there'll probably be paint loss."
There was no reply. Unexpectedly, since I had no idea what to expect, there was a series of loud clunks from underneath me, and I practically wet myself. The docking clamps released. Power and water connections released. We were free and clear. The front thrusters fired gently, and the ship started moving backwards. Meter by meter we reversed, until at last we were well clear of the station, and any other ship.
"Manual control please."
The thrusters stopped, and for a moment we hung there in space. I twirled us to point towards the jump point, and pushed the thrust forward to the stops. We slowly gained speed. This wasn't a fighter, but all the same, it did have some legs. I looked for what else it had. The shielding seemed good, although I'd seen they were not much better than a fighter's shields. There were no weapons of any kind. The ship could run if it had warning, and enough time. But fighting was out of the question.
I brought up my HUD overlay. Instantly the HUD display sharpened, and some coloured ships stood out. I took some time to check out what I could see of the whole system. Down by the planet, there was a lot of civilian traffic, all in blue. Among them was an orange Bounty Hunter in orbit, not showing an active bounty hunt. He had six kills to his credit.
There was a light stream of ships coming and going between the planet and the station. None of them were military, mostly freighters of some kind. But several showed up light orange with minor bounties on their heads, which surprised me. The asteroid belt had ships dotted around, presumably miners, and a small station. I focused back towards the jump point. There was nothing between us.
Steps came up behind me, and I gingerly turned my head around to the right to see who. Colonel Smith stood there, looking at my HUD display.
"Your work?" she asked.
"Yes," I said, facing back forward, and reaching up with my right hand to rub my neck.
"Good work." Pause. "Sorry to shanghai you like that, but Alison and George got themselves into a situation. They need evac urgently."
"What's the plan?" I asked.
"Go through the jump point at full speed. On the other side, turn for the Melbourne jump point, and keep on going. Ignore the traffic lane, go direct. The engines were replaced in the repair, so they should be able to take the punishment. At the Melbourne jump point, go straight through at full speed again, and make a straight course down to the planet. Ignore the traffic lanes again, go the fastest direct course you can plot. I filed a priority flight plan, so don't even slacken off if someone challenges us. I want an orbit over the northern continent, but before we get that far, I'll have specific co-ordinates for you to orbit over."
"Yes sir," I replied.
"Did you notify the General by any chance?" Hells donkeys, I hadn't. "Don't worry about it, I did. There'll be a briefing after we jump into Nexus, so get us set, and then come on down to the briefing room."
I nodded, and she left.
"Did you get all the instructions?" I asked Betty.
"I did," she, it, said.
"Do I need to be here right now?"
"No, you can fly the ship from anywhere. I'm now linked to your PC, so you can talk to me with thoughts wherever you are."
"Good, I'll be back for the jump, but I need a toilet in a hurry."
A plan of the ship popped up on a side screen, and I noted a fresher just behind the cockpit, unstrapped, and went there. The one thing you should not do is pilot a ship with a full bladder, and stress seemed to have filled it pretty quickly. While I was there, I stripped off my outer clothes, and changed to my slinky red uniform. Back in my seat, I started viewing the displays, getting a feel for where things were.
As we approached the jump point, which was showing on the HUD as a shaded cone of space, I asked Betty if she was triggering the jump. There was a quick "affirmative", and I sat back and waited.
"Jump in thirty seconds," I broadcast through the ship.
The ship ran into the shaded area, and we jumped. The effect was instantaneous, but felt as if it lasted longer. There were no side effects. There almost never were. Betty quickly put us on the fastest course to the Melbourne jump point. I checked for traffic. There was nothing near us.
The Nexus 618 system was uninhabited. In far out orbits were two gas giants. The rest of the system was made up of a series of asteroid rings. There was a mining base showing down in the third ring. No other traffic was visible. The thing which made Nexus 618 special, was the nine jump points scattered around its edges.
Nexus 618 was the hub of the Australian sector. Its jump points led to the Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, and Darwin systems. They all had at least one habitable planet and most had other smaller colonies. Beyond them were several other systems with colonies of some sort. There was also the jump point to Outback, which was technically part of the Australian sector, but which did not take part in the sector government. Did not take part in anything, actually. We did a little trade, but that was about it.
The last jump point was to the Bad Wolf system, an uninhabited system with only two jump points, linking the Australian sector with the Sci-Fi sector, and the rest of human space. It was named after the 'Wolf Comet', a planetoid on an erratic comet trajectory around the system, which included close flybys of both jump points.
I closed down the info boxes, and checked our course. We had several hours to the next jump point. The ship plan showed me the way to the briefing room, and I headed down.
Twenty
I w
as the last one in. Everyone looked at me.
"For those who haven't met him yet, this is Hunter, our temporary pilot. Introduce yourselves after."
The Colonel was all business.
"This is straight evac. Alison and George were on a routine advisory mission with a new client on Melbourne. All was fine until I received a priority request for evac. We don't know much at this point, other than there was an assassination attempt on the client, which our team stopped, and it seems to have triggered a building seizure action by an unknown group. At last report, our team and the client were withdrawing up the building under heavy fire. The building itself is dirt-side in Melbourne's capital city. Gravity there is point nine seven Earth normal, so shouldn't affect the mission. The location is prime office high-rise, so we aim for minimum collateral damage, and at all times be wary of uninvolved civilians in the line of fire, so check your targets before firing. We will evac from the roof."
She paused, looking around the room.
"The Melbourne government has no idea what is going on, and has not yet been able to contain the situation on the ground. We have priority clearance all the way in, with approval for whatever action we deem necessary to retrieve our team, and the client. We will bring out whoever is with the client if possible, but our team and the client are the priority. Hunter hasn't done a drop mission before, so someone help him through the drop ship prep." Drop ship? "Questions?" Silence. "We have several hours to the jump point, and then likely several more hours to the RV. Get ready people."
With that, she left.
Amanda threw me a smile, and followed her boss. The four I didn't know, came up and introduced themselves to me. Abigail was the Tech. Aline and Agatha were gunners. Alana was the Demolitions expert. There was a pattern developing, the penny wobbled a bit, but I couldn't see it. Which had to mean it was totally obvious. Abigail led me out.
"I accessed your HUD upgrade, nice work. Where did you learn to do that?" she asked.
"I didn't learn it. I've been playing with computers and software since I was little. Always had a certain aptitude for it, I guess you could say."
"Ever done any hacking?"
"No, not on the list of approved activities back home. We take that sort of thing seriously. Doesn't mean I wouldn't be interested, more a matter of no need before."
She nodded approval. I got the feeling she was the general computer, coms, and tech expert, by job, but was actually a proficient hacker. The latter was most likely her most useful asset for the team.
Down in the bowels of the ship, we entered a chamber with large doors on the floor. Above, suspended by a single pylon, was a Dropship about the same size as a heavy privateer. It was long and sleek, except for the bulbous belly area which was sealed by a large ramp. It had a turret on each side, each with two guns. At a glance, they looked like quick fire point defense lasers.
From the door to the chamber, we walked a narrow walkway across to the open door on the side of the ship, and went in. A single corridor led forward to the cockpit, perched right in the nose. A hatch was open next to us, and a downward ladder. The room below had seats along one side. Along the other side were a line of battle suits facing into the wall. The back wall looked like an armoury. The front wall was obviously the ramp. There was crash netting in several places. At the top of the ramp were gun positions but as yet, no guns. Between two of the seats on each side, were the control positions for the external turrets.
"Your job is to get the team on the ground in one piece. The underside is reinforced, so it can take a thumping, but don't make a habit of it, because it shakes up the team. Anything which distracts them going out, could be fatal. On the other hand, the team in one piece takes preference over the ship, but it would be better if you didn't let it get to that."
I nodded. We headed back up, then along to the cockpit. She pulsed me a coms upgrade.
"You'll need this. In combat, we link PC coms. Anything spoken is heard by everyone. There is also a covert mode so someone can do the same without speaking out loud. It has a limited range, but is more than adequate for most missions we do. There is a link from the Dropship to Moose, so I'll be in contact the same way from above you."
I gathered she stayed behind topside.
"Do your ship prep now, and I'll set up some simulations for you."
I pulsed the flight computer with my ship overlays and preferences, and tested the controls. The check list for prep took a little time, but was straightforward.
Next came simulations. My first experience of a drop was a recording of a previous mission, and it scared me silly. It was not called a drop incorrectly. The doors opened, the grav seal on the pylon turned off, and the Dropship literally dropped out of the bottom of the ship, and continued falling into the atmosphere of a planet, and it wasn't until it was through, control was taken up again. Although control seemed to be a loose description. Only a few hundred meters up from the ground, the ship suddenly began to defy gravity, and suddenly it was on the ground, with the ramp already down, without so much as a solid thump. The return trip was just a straight boost into orbit, letting the AI dock the Dropship back inside its hanger bay.
"Your turn to try one," said Abigail.
A few minutes later, the Dropship was on the ground all right, spread thinly across it in little pieces. Abigail laughed at me.
"Sorry," she said, "that wasn't fair. Most drop pilots get extensive training before even getting into a ship. Try it again, and this time pull out a lot earlier. Better we take a few minutes longer to get there, than end there permanently. On the other hand, don't pull up too early, or you make us a target to be taken out before we can land. Run it as many times as you need."
By the time Betty reminded me of the impending jump, I was soaked in sweat, and mentally and physically exhausted. But I'd got us down in one piece on the last three tries. I headed back to the cockpit of Moose.
The jump into Melbourne system was just the same as the last jump. I gave the crew a warning of the jump, and we went through hot. I put us on a direct course for the planet.
"What's the fastest course to get us planet side?" I asked Betty.
She showed me a curving course. It started us offline to the planet but cut fifteen minutes off the time. I shifted us around, and locked it in.
"Hunter, why aren't we pointed at the planet?" came up from below.
"Faster course this way. ETA ninety minutes," I yelled back.
I sat back, and tried to relax, but it wasn't working. I went in to the fresher, and washed the sweat off my face and neck. A scared face looked back at me in the mirror. I was so far outside my comfort zone with this, it was a wonder I wasn't freaking out. I went back to the cockpit, and tried meditating.
You've been ignoring this. You've been ignoring your spiritual work.
Yes, I had. I'd killed five times, and not done the release work it demanded.
Betty brought me out of the meditation.
"Co-ordinates confirmed, adjusting course plot."
I headed back down to the briefing room looking for Amanda. I found BA instead. She was cleaning a huge gun. I looked at it.
"Pulse rifle," she said.
"I wanted to ask a few questions, if you have a moment."
"Shoot."
"How effective are these suits?"
"You mean, how much fire can they protect you from?" I nodded. "They'll take a number of shots from a handgun without problem, as long as you're not getting hit rapidly and repeatedly. After a while, the suit will lose cohesion, and a shot will take you out. They will take a shot from one of these babies as well, but only one at a time, and you better make sure it's a long time between them. Those of us heading out will be wearing armoured suits. You shouldn't have to leave the cockpit, so you'll have the Dropship acting as armour for you."
"Who's going out?"
"I am, Amanda, and Aleesha. Aline and Agatha will be running the turrets. The Colonel and Alana will be on the door guns as soon as the
ramp goes down. Abigail stays here, so she can access everything we might need."
"Thanks."
She nodded.
The briefing room filled up. I looked around. This was a group of professional soldiers, elite troops. What the hell was I doing here with them?
"No change in the data people. Suit up, and take your positions."
Everyone left, but the Colonel turned to me.
"Hunter, stay in the cockpit until our orbital position is confirmed. I want us directly above that building. When we're there, run for the Dropship, and prepare to drop on my mark. Unless I give you other instructions, you stay in the Dropship cockpit ready to move it at a moment's notice. With luck, they'll be waiting on the roof for us, and it's a quick grab and run. If not, the situation becomes fluid, and we play it as it comes at us."
"Sir," I responded.
We both left in different directions. On the way back, I stopped at a fresher, emptied my bladder, and washed my face again.
I still looked like a scared kid.
Twenty One
Back in the cockpit, I strapped in, and studied the HUD, checking on all ship activity around the planet. All of it was civilian, and there were no threats. I double checked our orbit point, and it was clear.
I'd seen a lot of flat screens and hollo's of missions like this. I knew much of the mission speak, but who knew if it was what was actually used, or just entertainment? I guess I'd find out. They'd either understand me, or they wouldn't. Bit late now to find out your pilot spoke another language, but you get what you get when you take who is available with zero notice. I chuckled silently to myself.
"Combat Coms is now active, everyone check in."
Abigail through the PC. I waited until last, and said my name like the others.
"Two minutes to orbit," I said.
It seemed like the expected thing to say at that point.
The planet was huge in the view screen now, blotting out the stars. I dragged my gaze away, and concentrated on Betty's course. We dropped into orbit precisely in position. Quick correction thrusters, and we were in parking orbit.
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