Spinebreakers

by Mitch Michaelson

  Renosha looked at Cyrus hard. “You have learned from Steo. He resists killing too.”

  “I took the lee with me onto the Scorpion. They didn’t bother searching me. I installed them into their computers.”

  “What do they do, man?”

  Cyrus hesitated. “I thought Steo would make this decision.”

  Renosha sighed. “You were bred to be a leader.”

  “So guess what, I’m not! I’m not anything I was supposed to be!”

  “You have a choice before you. The lives of many people depend on it, the lives of your friends included. Your choice is what your convictions are. No one can make you the man you are.”

  Renosha left the holobridge.

  The Fire Scorpion suddenly closed the gap and fired missiles. Before Hawking could hack them, they exploded and showered the Eye of Orion.

  “Shields at 42%.”

  “They can do this until the stars go dark,” Glaikis said.

  Yuina said, “Basically so can we. It looks grim but anytime we want, we can flee to the planet and take cover in the atmosphere.”

  “They could detonate nuclear missiles above us, Pilot Yuina,” Hawking said.

  “Then come up with options!” she yelled in frustration.

  Cyrus walked into the bridge. He had no swagger. “I’ll help.”

  “Really?” Yuina asked.

  “Yuina!” Glaikis admonished her. “Cyrus, what do you want to do?”

  “I think I need Hawking.”

  “I am here, sir. How may I assist?”

  Cyrus showed him some diagrams.

  “That will only require a signal, sir. Shall I broadcast it?”

  He nodded. “Yuina, just be ready.”

  “The signal has been broadcast,” Hawking said. “The destroyer will lose speed in one minute, twelve seconds.”

  “How is that going to happen?” Yuina asked.

  “I took some of Steo’s viruses when I left. I installed them on their computers. One will stop their engines and release their graviton energy.”

  “They’re going to come to a dead stop!” Yuina said excitedly.

  Cyrus said, “Do we want to give them another chance?”

  “Seriously? Are we voting? I say no!”

  Renosha said flatly, “That may not be wise.”

  Glaikis said, “I can’t go along with more talk. It’s time for the Fire Scorpion to face its fate.”

  They saw on the front panel: the Fire Scorpion slowed down, then came to a dead halt. Yuina came about. She had a determined look in her eye. Both ships were near the colossal bioark.

  The Eye of Orion lined up on the destroyer. Yuina punched her console and let fly with a solid projectile from the kinetic cannon, Spike. Then she unleashed bursts from the rotary cannon. She accelerated and flew at the Fire Scorpion.

  The large, solid projectile hit the aft and tore the tail off. The massive piece of machinery spiraled away, trailing sparks. Then tens of thousands of bullets plunged into the destroyer.

  “That went right through their defenses! What other viruses did you install?” Glaikis asked.

  “One that dropped their shields, I think,” Cyrus said.

  Yuina maintained course toward the ship.

  Hawking warned, “Pilot Yuina, no collision is advisable.”

  She focused on her goal. As they got close enough to see the ship on the front panel – not just a dot but the actual red-and-black skin – she hit the rotary cannon and held the button down. A constant stream of bullets hit the ship and cut through it.

  “Configuring the forward shield into a V-shape!” Hawking said. “Brace for impact!”

  The Eye of Orion’s forward shields hit the Fire Scorpion along the seam, cracked it and burst it apart. Bits of the destroyer flew away in all directions. Lights flared and gases erupted in brief explosions.

  The bridge crew of the Eye of Orion lurched forward with the intense force.

  The bridge crew of the Fire Scorpion were trying to bring their shields back up when munitions exploded and killed them all.

  “Shields down!” Hawking said loudly.

  Hundreds of Fire Scorpion crewmen and mercenaries died instantly. Others choked in the vacuum.

  Yuina slowed the Eye of Orion and brought it to a halt. The remains of the Fire Scorpion floated away into cold-space.

  CHAPTER 26

  Drawn In

  “What losses have we sustained?”

  “Lord Muuk, some of our men served aboard the destroyed vessels. We lost 1,693 brave spirits in the battle.”

  “We will offer prayers for our virtuous warriors. Their sacrifice will never be in vain. How many able ships do we have?”

  Muuk received a battle report. The Fire Scorpion and Eye of Orion were engaged in a deathmatch. Most of the ships in the fleet had been badly damaged, others disabled. Planetside there were pirate ships also capable of movement.

  “Lord Muuk, if we leave now we can have seven ships with us. They aren’t near us now, but they could be brought in within a few hours.”

  “Begin gathering energy for FTL flight,” Lord Muuk said. “Awaken all our family and friends and let them witness this true crusade. We are free!”

  Everyone picked themselves up and checked the status of the ship. Shields regenerated slowly and were at 2%.

  Yuina looked up at the coppery wall-like sides of the AndroVault. “What do we do about that?”

  Hawking said, “There are two million people aboard the AndroVault. They have limited weaponry by our standards.”

  Glaikis said, “The head of the snake has been cut off.”

  “I want to speak for Steo. He’s out of it, so I think that’s fair,” Cyrus said.

  “Go ahead, Cyrus,” Renosha said.

  “Our mission was to get Dr. Spierk and Admiral Slaught. That was it. We accomplished that and a lot more. Steo didn’t want to go on a killing spree.”

  Glaikis eyed Yuina. The tirrian said, “I just wanted to hear ‘we won’.”

  “Setting course for home – the Tarium spiral arm,” Glaikis said.

  There was a moment of silence in the AndroVault’s control room. They had just learned the Fire Scorpion was obliterated.

  Erps, the Reminder of the Dead, said, “Councilor Ulay, his officers and his ship are gone. Most of his fleet is gone. We honor their sacrifice.”

  Doib, the Reminder of Soldiers, said, “Our remaining ships are prepared to leave. The destroyer Scrag is on the other side of the system but has answered that they wish to join us. All of our systems are functional.”

  “The Eye of Orion is gathering energy, Lord Muuk.”

  Doib said, “We don’t have time for the Scrag to return and fight for us. It was not as powerful as the Fire Scorpion, so I doubt it would survive against the enemy ship.”

  “There are things we must do for ourselves. It is time for us to take our place in history,” Lord Muuk said loudly. Kinch, Reminder of Obedience, turned on a microphone for the whole ship to hear.

  “Councilor Ulay found us and woke us. He brought us out of darkness, out of the graveyard! He knew the risks being on our side, yet was persecuted for it. You should know that in the end he was killed for his beliefs. We grieve for our ally Councilor Ulay. He was a man who believed in a strong humanity, an exceptional humanity!

  Councilor Ulay, friend of the AndroVault, was a flawed man, and perhaps some of the Old Ways were lost to him. This was through no fault of his own; in our eyes he is a martyr! His signal was strong! His path was bright! For him, for Councilor Ulay, we will find the paradise planet Ino! The Exceptionalists will live again!”

  People cried and cheered across the ship. Even mercenaries once in the admiral’s employ got caught up in it. They were invited to join the movement and offered positions, which they accepted. A few that didn’t were disposed of. Lord Muuk made sure the acceptance rate appeared to be 100%.

  “Is the enemy ship within range?”

  “Yes, Lord.” />
  “They shouldn’t have underestimated ancient technology.”

  “What was that?” Glaikis said. The ship had lurched.

  “It wasn’t me,” Yuina said.

  “No weapons fire either,” Cyrus said, glancing at a console.

  Hawking said, “We are in the pull of the generation ship’s tractor beam. They are pulling us toward them.”

  Yuina said, “What? You said that can’t be done! That’s impossible!”

  “The AndroVault is a colossal ship, far beyond any registered vessel. Its graviton engines are the largest ever built by man,” Hawking said. “Its tractor beam is more powerful than ours by several orders of magnitude.”

  “Well it’s dragging us closer! I can’t stop it, we’re too small!”

  Glaikis said, “What could they possibly do? They have a few missile bays but they’re of no danger to us.”

  Renosha said, “I wonder why they are doing this. It can’t be good.”

  The front panel showed the copper side of the AndroVault getting closer. Then plates slid away, and barrels appeared.

  “Our tractor beams are pulling them. They struggle but soon they will be within range.”

  “With enough power, you can do anything,” Lord Muuk said. “This will be for the sake of the virtuous dead, and for the children who died in the nursery!”

  The crewman said, “Lord Muuk, they fired on the AndroVault but once. They could have fired now, but didn’t. Is it possible that was an accident?”

  Kinch, the Reminder of Obedience, hobbled over to him and snatched his shoulder. “How dare you? You saw the purple-skinned alien that leads that ship. They tried to infect us with a deadly disease! You saw them kill our men and in their wanton destruction, kill our blessed young. How dare you?!”

  The crewman cowered.

  Limax, the Reminder of Contribution, said, “Know your place, crewman! We cannot treat facts as unfortunate! The enemy is before us. It has killed thousands of our people and for the safety of all, we must destroy it now! There is no other choice!”

  The crewman said, “I apologize, Reminders. Thank you. I am tractor beam operator, and I contribute.”

  They waited in tense silence. When the Eye of Orion drew close enough Lord Muuk said, “Fire laser batteries!”

  “Small, short-range lasers!” Glaikis said.

  “There look like a lot of them!” Yuina said.

  Hawking said, “They were a primitive defense against old-style missiles. They would normally be of no danger to the Eye of Orion. However at such short range with our shields so weakened, they pose a grave threat.”

  “Shields aren’t coming up fast enough! They’re firing!” Glaikis said.

  Dozens of bright lances crossed the short distance between the AndroVault and the Eye of Orion. It took nine hits to knock down the weakened shields. The rest scorched the armor plating of the little ship.

  Yuina wiggled the ship and pushed the engines to the maximum. They stopped getting closer to the big ship. She tried to spin the rotary cannon but it was melted.

  The top fins, part of the sensor array, curled under the blistering heat of the lasers.

  Yuina rotated toward the AndroVault.

  “I can’t miss at this range.”

  “Yuina don’t! Our shields are down! If you open the front bay to fire the kinetic cannon and a laser hits inside, we’ll be blown to bits! Use some sense!” Glaikis yelled.

  “Then what do I do?”

  Suddenly the lasers stopped.

  “Put all power to the tractor beam,” Lord Muuk said.

  They dragged the little ship closer.

  “There’s no use. We don’t have the power to get away,” Yuina lamented.

  “Open a channel to the fleet,” Lord Muuk said.

  “Open, Lord.”

  “Our holy mission for the paradise planet Ino begins anew! We will continue Councilor Ulay’s work! Prepare for flight!”

  At his signal, the crewman turned off the communication.

  “Fire the electromagnetic pulse.”

  “Yes, Lord.”

  In space and on their screens, nothing seemed to happen. Then the Eye of Orion stopped moving. Its energy signature dropped and lights went out. No sign of life came from the little ship.

  “Electromagnetic pulse fired, Lord. The enemy vessel was hit, full force.”

  “Discard the wreck.”

  They reversed the tractor beam and shoved the Eye of Orion away.

  Lord Muuk said, “Prepare for the journey. The target destination remains the same.”

  Then he took Kinch aside. “The tractor beam operator’s loyalty is in question. Perhaps the new discipline robots could be put to good use. Kinch, see to that will you?”

  CHAPTER 27

  Critical Thinking

  Five figures floated in the bridge, occasionally bumping into the walls. The internal gravity was off.

  Glaikis woke up first. She kicked away from the wall. “Ah by Tiberius my arm hurts.”

  The EMP had shut down many of the ship’s systems. The tractor beam’s push had spun them through the solar system, and they blacked out from the g-forces.

  She noticed Hawking was dark. His normal red and white lights were off. Renosha was upside down, his robes torn and an arm pointing backward. His eyes weren’t lit up either. Yuina had slipped out of her chair and hung like a ragdoll, her platinum-and-blue hair floating in all directions. Cyrus was near the ceiling, also unconscious.

  Glaikis pressed a button on her wrist. Her comfort harness allowed her to control her weight. She turned it up, settling her feet to the ground. She moved to Cyrus and pulled his arm to get him down from the ceiling.

  He woke up, startled. “Pain. So this is pain. I don’t like it.”

  “You really are new, aren’t you dear?” She pulled him down so he could grab a console.

  Glaikis moved to Yuina next. Fortunately the tirrian was breathing, too. Glaikis used the strap across Yuina’s shoulder to get her into the pilot’s chair. Then she turned the ship’s internal gravity up to normal, slowly so that the robots tapped the floor with soft clinks. Yuina sagged into her chair. Cyrus knelt on the floor.

  Together, Cyrus and Glaikis brought systems back up. A quick scan showed no activity in the solar system. The AndroVault and other ships had left. Yuina woke a few minutes later.

  “Can you fly?” Glaikis asked.

  “Yeah,” Yuina said with a croak. “Barely.” She took the ship into the atmosphere of the planet, Insolent Stray.

  “Safe and sound for now.” Glaikis sat down and bowed her head. “We did nothing though. They left for their next attack.”

  Several hours earlier, Cyrus had brought Steo to his quarters and given him over to Governor. Steo was in intense pain, drifting in and out of consciousness. Governor treated him well.

  He woke several times. Governor prevented him from getting out of bed. Instead, Governor narrated.

  “Yes, Admiral Slaught is dead. Cyrus left him; he’s with us now. Does this hurt?”

  “We have exited the generation ship, sir. The Fire Scorpion is in pursuit. That’s all you need to know. Now lie back while I dress these abrasions.”

  “No sir, don’t get up. I have finished cleaning the blood, applied bandages and administered medicine. Hmmm? The Fire Scorpion is alone. You will be happy to know that your applications prevent missiles from hitting us.”

  “Oh, you are awake sir. The pain medication seems to be helping? Good news, sir. I am delighted to report that the Fire Scorpion is destroyed. Now rest.”

  Later, Steo woke up on the floor next to the bed. He grabbed his bunk and pulled himself up. The ship must have lost internal gravity and then regained it. Governor lay on the floor, his lights out. Steo had a foreboding feeling.

  His lips were cracked and his eye was puffy. The broken fingernail was bandaged and his ribs were wrapped. He fumbled for the puncture in his back but couldn’t reach it. Deep in his chest he felt some pai
n and tightness, but no more than that. The drugs must have muted the pain, he thought.

  The drugs that Governor used regrew damaged tissues. Since they increased metabolism, Steo felt hot. He grabbed a high-energy drink to feed the regeneration.

  Then he straightened Governor up. He’d never seen the robot on the floor before. His old friend looked sad, shut off like that. Steo guessed whatever attack had disabled the gravity must have shorted the robot. He couldn’t do much for Governor right now. Odds were he would be fine once he was restarted. Whatever caused it filled him with unease, though.

  The last thing Governor had told him was that the Fire Scorpion was destroyed. With the death of Admiral Slaught, that should be a good thing. Instead, all he felt was a dreadful sense of failure.

  Deeply worried, he got up, limped to his table and turned on his lee. The life support systems showed everyone alive and conscious. His ship was torn and melted though. It looked mutilated beyond recognition. It was a crushing sight.

  He replayed the last recorded message. “Our holy mission for the paradise planet Ino begins anew! We will continue Councilor Ulay’s work! Prepare for flight!”

  Steo felt an icy chill run down his spine. He brought up the local space map and saw the AndroVault was gone. The horrifying realization struck him like a bullet: killing Slaught and destroying the Fire Scorpion had done nothing.

  Battered and beaten, Steo slumped into his bunk. Every step he had taken along this course had been for naught. His friends were injured and Tully dead. The robots were damaged, and the ship was wounded from stem to stern. The crew came to his mind. He could practically sense their feelings.

  Glaikis’s anger and need for revenge wasn’t resolved by killing Slaught. She was more lonely than ever and worried that the other crewmembers could do fine without her.

  Yuina wanted direction and hadn’t found it. She needed a framework to operate in, like a family. Somehow Steo knew Yuina felt deep down that her mother would be disappointed.

  Cyrus still didn’t have a place in the galaxy. He was adrift like an abandoned space wreck.