Artifact: Rise Of Mankind Book 6

by John Walker

  Meagan’s brows lifted. “Cautiously? Any suggestions on how that works, sir?”

  “Be wary of the surroundings. Have half your wing hang back as back up in the event that it has escorts. Nail it though, Pointer. This might save us a lot of grief.”

  “We’re on it.” Meagan switched over to communicate with the rest of her ships. “Got us a new mission, everyone. We’re going after an HVT leaving the planet’s surface. I want Five through Eight to provide security as I take two through four in on an attack run. If they have escorts, deal with them. Any questions?”

  “If it’s just a shuttle, why the caution?” Squadron Leader Mick Tauran, Panther Two, asked. “Wouldn’t we read any escorts?”

  “They might have something else up their sleeve,” Meagan replied. “Command feels like these guys are pretty nasty customers so let’s give them some respect and make sure we do all this right. You all ready?”

  The different ships sounded an affirmative.

  “Alright, follow my lead and we’ll get this done.”

  Meagan accelerated to full throttle, adjusting course to meet the coordinates sent by Giant Control. Turning to her scanner, she scowled at the single blip showing up ahead of her. Something felt off about the situation but she couldn’t put her finger on what. What else could be out there that they should worry about?

  She upped the sensitivity of the computer, pressing it to find even smaller items than ships. It would take longer to receive the results but they had several minutes before they’d engage the enemy. Three minutes of constant flight later, the results came back. There was some kind of debris between them and their quarry but not natural, like space dust or rocks.

  Meagan sent the information back to the Behemoth, requesting an immediate analysis but she already didn’t want to fly through whatever it was. They didn’t look like mines but the technology they were faced with differed dramatically from what they built on Earth. It may not even be from an alliance foundry.

  A few moments passed and she started to get nervous. Should I have us fall back until we get confirmation? The enemy shuttle had to have them on scans already. They weren’t exactly being subtle but any delay might give their target a chance to get some defenses going. If they didn’t already.

  An urgent message came to her from the Behemoth and she engaged the com. “This is Tech Officer Percy Daul. I’ve received your request and you should avoid what you’ve seen at all costs! It’s some kind of magnetic dust. When it makes contact with your shields, it should ignore them, hitting the hull of your vessel. The offset of heat will allow it to chew through and expose key systems…effectively destroying your ship.”

  “Christ!” Meagan sent a quick message to Panther Wing to fall back and she climbed, redirecting her course back the way they came. “Is there any way to counter the stuff? What about long term? No one’s going to want to encounter it out here.”

  “Readings indicate that it’s got a shelf life. The moment it entered the vacuum it began to deteriorate and should be completely gone in the next half hour. I’d guess it lasts roughly three hours based on the rate of decay.” Percy paused. “Yes, my math plays out. It looks like there’s a lane of the stuff leading from the moon toward the surface of the planet.”

  They must’ve let it out while they flew by but how would they deploy it without risking their own ship? Academic now.

  “Can you get me a map around it?”

  “Working on it, Ma’am.”

  Meagan cursed and cut in Giant Control. “Sir, we’ve got a problem.” She sent the data over. “We’re looking for a safe way around this mess but keep the Behemoth out of it too. Might not be as catastrophic but it could still cause some serious damage.”

  “Roger that, Panther One. Looks like you might have some other problems to deal with anyway.”

  Meagan glanced at her scanner and cursed again. A group of fighters showed up, rounding the moon to avoid their own booby trap. She pulled up a quick schematic, noting they looked an awful lot like the sleek design used by the alliance ships. They’d lost their silvery exterior in favor of a dark blue that made them harder to see.

  Eight ships closed on an intercept course, even numbers. For a change, Meagan thought. I don’t remember the last time we weren’t outnumbered in a fight. I wonder if this is an indication of how good they are…or do they simply have limited resources?

  “Panther wring, we have incoming fighters closing on our starboard. Break formation, stick with your wingman and engage. Repeat, engage but stay away from the trap. I’m marking it on your sensors now so give it a wide berth at all costs.”

  The enemy ships came into visual range and broke, mirroring Panther wing’s tactic of smaller groups of two. Meagan and Mick pulled up, altering course meet their targets. She increased power to her forward shields, anticipating an attack and she wasn’t disappointed. As soon as the enemy leveled out and faced them, they opened fire.

  “Break down and I’ll go left,” Meagan said. “We’ll see if we can’t get around to their six.”

  Mick fired a couple shots before complying and the fact the enemy didn’t even twitch made Meagan’s stomach sink. They don’t give a crap about being hit. She banked hard to the left and hit the afterburner. Either their shields are incredible or they have nerves of steel. Possibly both.

  The enemy dove, spinning as they moved to make for harder targets. Mick got around behind one of them and started firing but the enemy pilot moved so erratically, he didn’t score a single hit. “My computer can’t even target that!” He shouted. “How can their dampeners handle all that maneuvering?”

  “No idea.” Meagan struggled to even get her target in front of her. As they performed an aerial dance, she knew something had to change up. Panther couldn’t match this type of flying so they had to come up with something else. A series of energy blasts flew past her cockpit and she engaged the forward thrusters, slowing down.

  The enemy very nearly clipped her as he raced by and she tried taking a few shots. Unfortunately, he twisted away, avoiding her attack. She launched a missile and let that chase him around for a moment, buying herself a little time to breathe. “These guys are intense, Mick. We need some options. Thoughts?”

  “I’m a little busy for thinking!” She glanced at her sensors and even in the cold screen, she could see the drama of that battle. The two vessels looped around one another, nearly colliding in their efforts to get a viable firing solution. It looked like two birds at play more than combat and the flying was pure ballet.

  The strain in Mick’s voice proved he couldn’t keep it up forever though. Their inertial dampeners weren’t designed for so many breakneck maneuvers. Meagan’s ship whined as she performed a particularly wild left and right motion to shake her pursuer and get away from him. The pressure working at her body reminded her of her training days.

  “Giant control, this is Panther One, we’re faced with heavy opposition from fighters with more maneuverability,” Meagan called out. “We’re looking for options but these guys are able to pull off some serious moves.”

  “I’m seeing it,” Giant control replied. “Your guy was able to shoot down his own missile by spinning in place.”

  “I was a little too busy to notice how bad ass he was,” Meagan said. “Suggestions?”

  “We’re getting closer and can give you a hand momentarily. They won’t be able to handle our turrets.” Giant control paused. “ETA…three minutes.”

  Christ, Revente! You know better than that. We won’t last another minute and a half at this rate.

  “Roger that,” Meagan grunted, spinning once again to avoid another shot. She checked her distance to Mick and altered course, closing in on him and his enemy. Setting shields to double rear, she made a breakneck run for her wingman. “Screw this, Mick. When I give you the command, hit your afterburners and take a straight line.”

  “Um…what?”

  “Just…trust me, okay?”

  “This is like p
eople who have to fall in those therapy sessions and trust some dude’s behind them to ensure they don’t hit the floor, right?” Mick hesitated, groaning from another heavy maneuver. “Don’t let me hit the ground, Pointer!”

  “This might be our only chance with these guys.” Meagan flew as erratically as she could manage, but allowed her opponent to take the enviable position of being behind her. His firing solution would come up soon so she didn’t have a lot of time to try her plan. As she closed on Mick and his fighter, she called out. “Go! Now! Full speed up!”

  Mick complied, cursing under his breath as he did it. As predicted, his enemy started flying after him. Meagan let the computer help with the leading and she depressed the trigger. A volley of shots caught the enemy full on the port side. The first two shots made the shields flare but the next three caught actual metal. He spun away, readings indicating he’d lost engine power and would be drifting shortly.

  Still, he took quite a beating. I’m shocked he survived that at all!

  “Good job!” Mick shouted.

  Two shots connected with her rear but shields held. They dropped to forty percent. “Shit! Mick, get this guy off me!” She banked left and climbed at the same time then pressed the stick forward to avoid another blast. Her opponent kept on her firing again. This time, he scored a solid hit to the top of her ship, knocking her down to environmental shields.

  “Mick!”

  “I’m on it!” He fired several times, driving the enemy away from Meagan long enough for her to level out and disengage. Mick continued to harass the guy, buying her a moment to perform some emergency recharge and repairs. The shields came back up a moment later but the percentages climbed slowly back toward fifty. “Need some help here, Meagan!”

  “I’m on it!” An explosion off to their starboard made them both check sensors. An enemy went down but so did one of theirs, through collision it seemed. “Damn it! Really? These guys are ramming people now? Be careful. Ours might get just as desperate!”

  Meagan closed in, taking the guy’s rear even as he continued to fly on Mick’s. Her computer started acquiring the target but she had to take some shots just to distract him, to buy Mick time to maneuver. Her first three blasts missed but it had the desired effect of making her opponent twitch. Oh, now you care about being hit, huh?

  The enemy hit their afterburners then, their engines went dark. Meagan frowned as she saw the thrusters on the side of the ship engage. “Holy shit!” She slammed the landing thrusters just as he spun in place, taking a shot at her the same way the other guy took out her missile. The shots went under her, so close she swore she could feel the vibration of energy through her feet.

  The computer got a lock and she held the trigger down, letting out a full stream of constant firepower directly into the top of his vessel. The shields were chewed away and this one exploded in a great purple bubble. “Scratch two…”

  Meagan turned to her scanner and noted they were down two ships and the enemy had lost four. Good odds from a military perspective considering their enhanced vessels but God, I hope our people ejected. “Mick, let’s get in there and engage.”

  “I’m on it.” Mick formed up with her and they plunged into the fight, six against four. The odds worked in their favor but their opponents were still going to be a total pain to target or take down. Another Panther ship took catastrophic damage but was able to limp away from the fight with the help of some backup. That took them down from six to four, even odds again.

  “Get them back to the ship,” Meagan called. “We’ll distract them.”

  The fight continued, ships getting way too close for Meagan’s comfort. The Orion’s Light guys seemed perfectly willing to play chicken and they never flinched from it, even when the Behemoth ships started shooting at them. The total disregard for their lives made them like fighting especially intelligent drones.

  A flashback to their first brawl near Earth came to mind but Meagan shook it off, getting her head back in the fight. She watched as Panther Seven took a blast to their starboard and were knocked off course. A second ship riddled it with blaster fire and she watched the escape pod blast out seconds before the pulse drive went up.

  Dear God, these guys are amazing!

  Meagan noted they were now down to three versus four. Panther One, Two and Five remained. The Behemoth was less than a minute away but even sixty seconds would be too long to survive against their enemies. Especially now that the odds had shifted. They needed to either break and run for the Behemoth and hope the turrets did their work or finish the fight for good or ill.

  Lieutenant Leslie Eddings, Panther Five, spoke up, “Panther One, I’ve got an idea. Break back toward the Behemoth. I’ll draw the enemies away.”

  “That’s not a plan, Panther Five,” Meagan said, narrowly avoiding a collision. “Fall back with us and let the Behemoth take these guys.”

  “They’re just going to harass the Behemoth, Ma’am. I guarantee it. I worked with the fire crews aboard the ship and even with the AI, they’re going to have a hard time catching these guys. They may be gnats but I think they’re going to have their hands full with the capital ship at this rate. Please, I’ve got this.”

  “I’d love to know what you’re planning on doing.”

  “Using their tactics against them.” Leslie sounded like she was grinning. “Trust me, I’ve got this one.”

  “You won’t make it a thousand meters before they tear you up!” Mick called.

  “Ah, c’mon,” Leslie replied. “Have a little faith, sir. Trust me.”

  “Do it.” Meagan cursed herself for authorizing whatever crazy plan Leslie came up with. “Just make it back.”

  “I’m on it.” Leslie spun in place, firing several times at the enemy before darting off, heading straight for the moon where their vessel was.

  Meagan read on her scanners that the Panther Five reactor began to super heat, essentially building up toward a self destruct. She’s turning herself into a bomb. Yes, that probably will get their attention. If she could possibly get close enough to the enemy capital ship, that would do some decent damage to it. Plus, they have no idea if we’re willing to throw our lives away for a cause or not.

  And sure enough, the enemies broke from Panthers One and Two and rushed off after her, pushing to full speed.

  Leslie turned out to be far more wily than Meagan anticipated, juking away from the attacks and keeping just ahead of them. She would’ve been a difficult target for anyone to hit and she seemed to learn a few things from her opponents, taking a page from their book as she pushed her dampeners to the absolute limit.

  Meagan checked Leslie’s course and frowned. Wait, she’s not heading for the capital ship. Dear God, she’s going for the weird trap! “Um…Leslie, what’re you doing?”

  “Faith, ma’am.” Leslie’s voice sounded strained and she pushed a little harder. A few blasts caught her in the rear but her shields held.

  “This is crazy!” Mick shouted. “You shouldn’t have authorized that!”

  Meagan wanted to agree but the ruse pulled the enemies away from them and off toward their capital ship. It gave them a chance to get back to the Behemoth and they’d be able to save the others with search and rescue unhindered by fighter attacks. But Mick was probably right. Whatever Leslie had in mind seemed pretty crazy.

  “And here’s where faith plays a part,” Leslie said, kicking in the afterburners even as the reactor continued to superheat. She ejected, launching far off into space while her fighter continued forward like a missile, plunging directly into the field of magnetic dust they’d scanned earlier.

  The first two enemy fighters went right after her, plunging through the stuff instantly. The next couple tried to pull up but they were too close. The stuff seemed to reach out for them, clinging to their hulls and chewing right through the shields. A few moments passed where Meagan figured their tech officer overestimated the damage the substance might do but then it began to happen.

  Her sc
anners showed their hulls began to disintegrate, large chunks disappearing in an instant. Leslie’s fighter exploded, taking one of the partially dissolved crafts with her. The others had their engines falter and die. They drifted, their internal systems corroding into dust until even the cockpits were impacted and the pilots within were subjected to the vacuum of space.

  Life signs extinguished a moment later and the ships dropped off her sensors.

  “That’s one way to do it,” Meagan muttered. “Lord, Leslie. You’d better be okay. I want to beat your ass for that stunt.”

  “Kind of cool,” Mick said. “But insane…”

  “Search and rescue, this is Panther One,” Meagan radioed to the Behemoth. “We’re going to need some crews out here to pick up some downed pilots. I have a feeling we’re going to want to get out of here in a hurry so you’d better launch on the double. I don’t want to lose anyone today if we can help it.”

  ***

  Gray watched as the moon drew closer. They would have visual on the enemy ship in less than five minutes. Weapons were armed, they were ready to throw down and he fully intended to unleash everything they had on these guys. Whatever happened in the next ten minutes would determine if they succeeded at their mission have to continue the chase.

  A message appeared on his computer screen from Durant. Communication satellite is ready to deploy. I’ll coordinate with the coms officer to get a message out to alliance command immediately. I’m also at the shield station now and ready to manipulate the power. I should be able to keep us going regardless of what weapons they toss at us.

  Adam cursed beside him, catching Gray’s attention. “Our pilots encountered pretty heavy resistance. They didn’t get the shuttle and it’s been allowed to dock on the capital ship.”

  Gray frowned, but nodded. “Unfortunately, but not surprising. Their commander’s good, Adam. It would’ve been nice to get whoever that was before they got there but he didn’t get this far by making stupid mistakes.” He turned to Agatha. “After you send the message to the alliance, hail these people and let’s see if they want to talk this time.”