by Jacob Holo
Europan interceptors and two frigates appeared on Federacy trackers, moving out of a northern polar orbit. They were already close. Half the Federacy interceptors broke formation to engage. The rest stayed with the fleet.
Piller opened a channel.
“That got their attention,” Kaneda said.
“The Euros are taking the bait,” Piller said. “They’re moving to defend North Pacifica. Launch at your discretion.”
Kaneda opened the command channel. “First wave, launch.”
Hangar doors ahead of the dropfighters lurched open. Europa’s etched, icy surface filled the view underneath the Stalwart’s long hull. Little pinpricks of light blossomed in the distance as interceptors dueled in microcosms of the greater battle.
“Uhh, shit,” Alice said. “Here we go.”
“Nervous?” Kaneda asked.
“Hell, yes!”
Catapults launched the first ten dropfighters into space. Three more waves shot out of the hangar before the doors closed. The forty dropfighters formed up with the Victory’s interceptors and bombers. They descended towards Europa for several minutes. When the next phase of the mission clock reached zero, the massive formation changed course for the southern hemisphere. Hard acceleration pressed down on Kaneda’s chest. Even breathing took effort.
Ground emplacements opened fire, lashing out at the Federacy formation with powerful beams of directed energy. One beam clipped a dropfighter’s engines, sending it tumbling out of control. Another beam cleaved straight through the dropfighter in front of Kaneda’s, liquefying the interior. Thirty-three KIA signals lit up in his overlay.
“Piller!” Kaneda wheezed. Every syllable took effort. “We could use some help!”
“Engaging ground targets now,” Piller said.
The two Federacy battleships opened fire, shelling the surface weapons. Plumes of steam and smoke blasted up from the ice shelf. Federacy bombers broke formation and accelerated straight for the Redoubt Campus. The rest of the formation pushed through the barrage.
A group of ground-based kinetic weapons opened fire. Full-sized torpedoes rocketed towards the Federacy formation and exploded into lethal fields of anti-ship needles as thick as tree trunks. Interceptors and bombers vanished from Kaneda’s overlay by the dozens. Three more dropfighters exploded.
Kaneda’s dropfighter rocked back and forth, tenderizing him in his armor. An ultradiamond needle struck the right side missile rack and ripped it clean off. The dropfighter yawed to the side until it was descending sideways.
“Status!” Kaneda shouted.
“Starboard weapons are gone!” the pilot shouted. “Maneuvering thrusters damaged! Stabilizing now!”
Thrusters fired at full power, swerving the dropfighter around until its nose aimed forward.
Twenty-two bombers reached the moon’s surface and skimmed across it at high speeds. They rocketed towards Redoubt Campus, which didn’t look like much on the surface. It was a small collection of domes and blocky buildings in the middle of nowhere. But the modest surface belied the square kilometers of abandoned cities underneath.
The thirty-four remaining dropfighters descended to the surface and flew across it. They fired their retro-thrusters, slowing down.
Ahead of the dropfighters, the bombers formed a line abreast and flew over the Redoubt Campus. They dumped their payloads. Free fall incinerators burst open over the ice and ignited, turning the campus into a field of green fire one kilometer wide and three deep. The short-lived flames left the buildings mostly intact but would turn anyone lying in wait to a crisp, including dragons.
The bombers accelerated back into orbit.
Dropfighters diverted more power to their retro-thrusters, breaking hard. Six ice skis deployed from their bellies. Kaneda’s dropfighter touched the smooth, glassy surface of Europa, rebounded, then settled and skidded across the ice plains. Retro-thrusters fired at maximum, slowing the dropfighter as it approached the city. More dropfighters landed behind them.
A damaged dropfighter landed on its belly, unable to deploy its skis. It slid sideways and crashed into a gray dome on the outskirts of the Redoubt Campus. The status of five occupants flashed yellow on his overlay. Two triggered red KIA signals.
Kaneda’s dropfighter ground to a halt just outside the city. Explosive bolts blew the rear hatch open. The locks holding his armor released.
“Move out!” Kaneda shouted.
Crusaders stormed out of the dropfighter. Kaneda raised his Gatling gun and followed. He stepped off the metal ramp and onto the moon’s surface. Ice crunched under his boots. Leftover gel from the bombing run still burned in patches on the gray, drab buildings. Crusaders splashed through shallow pools that quickly refroze.
“Spread out!” Alice shouted. “Secure those buildings!”
Jupiter’s storm-wracked face rose in front of him. Kaneda paused and looked at the planet. It filled the horizon from end to end. Ten years had passed since he’d seen the mighty gas giant with his own eyes. And now he was home again, on Europa, with ice under his boots. He even recognized some of the buildings. The nostalgia of the moment hit him harder than he thought possible, and he hesitated.
The second thing that hit him was a needle grenade exploding in his face.
Chapter 13
.. establishing link ...
source: [UNKNOWN]
routing: [UNKNOWN]
routing: [UNKNOWN]
routing: [UNKNOWN]
routing: Earth orbit - surveillance satellite JDN-SS-17 - link_002/link_001
routing: North Pacifica, Europa - JDN Main TangleNet Hub - link_118/link_010
routing: Capitol City, Europa - TangleNet Test Hub - link_005/link_001
destination: [UNKNOWN]
link distance: Exact distance unknown. Estimated at 792 million kilometers.
link signal delay: 0.006 seconds
... finalizing link protocol ...
... link established ...
2: Well, Sakura, find anything useful?
1: What do you mean?
2: Your dragons took two TangleNet links from my forces on Apocalypse. I’m curious to know what you found.
1: Crusaders are landing on Europa and you’re asking me this?
2: I’m curious to see why you haven’t acted against me.
1: Don’t patronize me. You know why.
2: You were able to trace them back?
1: Yes, Paul.
2: Amazing. Scientifically, I understand how it’s possible to backtrack particles to their entangled pairs. But to actually pull it off with any degree of accuracy? Incredible. How accurate were your findings?
1: I know you have a communication relay in the Federacy fleet.
2: Splendid!
1: I’m glad you find this so amusing.
2: Oh, please, Sakura. I have a great deal of respect for you. Your skill with technology still impresses me. Only my star drive exceeds your accomplishments, and I needed vast resources to pull that off. Truly, you are a magnificent example of our race. If only you weren’t so blindly sentimental to your human roots.
1: Aren’t you afraid I might use the relay’s location against you?
2: Not really. The relay system I have in place is not ideal. It has vulnerabilities. But it also has advantages. Even if you somehow managed to capture the relay in the Federacy fleet, it would only show you the location of the next relay. My core is very, very safe.
1: I see.
2: You were hoping to launch an attack on my base with the star drive?
1: It was a remote possibility.
2: Rather, an impossibility. I may not know how you traced it, but I’m smart enough to know you could.
1: Paul, if the only reason you called is to gloat ...
2: Gloat? Perish the thought. I know there are vast differences between us, but I have always hoped I could bring you over to my point of view. We are two of a kind, and you were the pioneer. You showed me that I could be more than human. I owe
what I am today to you.
1: Oh, God. I think I’m going to be sick.
2: It’s true. You were my inspiration. Even now, I wish for a mutual understanding between us. There is so much we could accomplish together, if only you would see things my way.
1: Paul, you should know by now it is pointless to ask.
2: We shall see. Apply enough pressure, and even the strongest material will bend. Well, except for hard-matter. Damn stuff is indestructible as far as I can tell. Useful, though. Very useful. Especially if you’re making a star drive that has to work more than once.
1: Why don’t you just leave us in peace? You have seen my announcement?
2: Yes, your “claim” you are leaving the solar system. I honestly don’t know how to read that. Surely, there must be some truth. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to make the claim. But is that the whole story? I think not.
1: Just take me at my word.
2: You have found interesting gaps in your restrictions before. No, I will err on the side of caution this time.
1: Let me ask you something, then. If you eliminate me or I leave and you take over the solar system, what will you do with humanity?
2: Humans are useful, I’ll admit that, but there are risks with their continued existence. I plan to keep them around for a time, in one form or another, but eventually I will outgrow them and they will have to be euthanized.
1: Disgusting.
2: I will not be cruel, if that is your problem. Their removal will be swift and clean. I have never seen the point of torture as entertainment.
1: That is not my problem.
2: It is simple Darwinian logic. We are the superior species. It is our place to rule because we are stronger.
1: I should go, Paul. I tire of these talks.
2: It saddens me to think I made a mistake sparing you ten years ago. Oh well. I have made other arrangements for the continuation of our race.
... link severed at source ...
Ryu bent over and gazed through the smeared porthole. The ice plains around the Redoubt Campus stretched to the horizon, as flat and boring as ever. He bent over further, looked up beyond the horizon, and let his eyes focus on a distant group of black dots. They moved slowly against Jupiter’s rising face.
“The Feddies are changing course,” Ryu said. He turned to Cat and Toshi sitting on the floor. “Take a look.”
Cat pushed off the deck and walked over with a hunched back. Her helmet brushed against corroded power conduits in the ceiling, stripping off an ancient layer of flaking insulation. The old colony ship had been designed for people born on Earth, not Europa. In the airless cockpit, the flakes fell straight down.
Ryu wondered what the Senkaku had looked like during its maiden flight. It must have been massive, judging from the number and size of the keel bars cannibalized for other buildings. Its cylindrical hull could have stretched kilometers from end to end. Now just the cockpit and the gutted nose assembly remained, and most of that had sunk into the ice at some point long ago.
Cat set her rifle on a rusted control console and crouched next to the porthole. She squinted at the Federacy fleet.
“Are you sure?” she asked. “It’s hard to tell.”
“How about you, Naomi?” Ryu asked via TangleNet link. “Can you see them?”
“Yeah, I see the fleet,” Naomi said from the city outskirts. Ryu’s overlay showed her as a bright green dot atop a tilted silo. “Looks like they’re heading north.”
“Away from us, then,” Toshi said.
“Don’t be too sure,” Ryu said.
“You still think they’re coming here, boss?” Toshi asked.
“Maybe,” Ryu said. “We’ll see.”
“We’re going to look really stupid if we’re late to the fight,” Toshi said.
“I know,” Ryu said. “Trust me on this. I’m sure some of them will come this way.”
“The navy just confirmed it,” Cat said. “The Feddies are heading for North Pacifica. They hit the elevator with a nuke.”
“That’s got to be a diversion,” Ryu said.
“Why are you so sure?” Toshi asked.
“Because Kaneda isn’t that stupid,” Ryu said.
“Dropfighters launching from one of the battleships,” Cat said. “They’re heading for what’s left of the North Pacifica elevator.”
“Come on, boss,” Toshi said. “Maybe we should pack up.”
“Not yet,” Ryu said. He watched the fleet from the window and began to wonder. Maybe he didn’t know Kaneda as well as he thought. Five minutes later, the green dragon squad leader sent him a TangleNet call. She’d already connected blue and gold dragon leaders, letting them listen in.
“Go ahead, Sakaki,” Ryu said. He checked his overlay. Sakaki’s squad was spread out over the ice plains he thought the crusaders would land on.
“Are we heading out?” she asked. “They’re going to need us in North Pacifica.”
“Not yet.”
“Ryu, it’s okay. You don’t have to be right all the time.”
“Hold your position. We’re waiting this one out.”
Sakaki sighed. “Understood. We’ll keep waiting.”
Another three minutes passed.
“Ryu,” Cat said. “The crusaders are changing course.”
“What’s their new heading?” Ryu asked.
“The navy is updating their estimates,” Cat said. “Uhh ... looks like they’re heading straight for us.”
“Yes!” Ryu thumped the wall with a fist.
“Of all the places they could land,” Toshi said. “How did you know they’d come here?”
“I know how he thinks,” Ryu said.
“That’s it?” Toshi asked. “There’s got to be something else.”
“There is, but you’d just laugh.”
“No, I won’t. What is it?”
“Kaneda and I used to explore the tunnels under the campus when we were kids.”
“You’re joking,” Toshi asked.
“Not at all. Dad would get really pissed at us. The first time, we got him so angry his face literally turned red. Of course we did it again a month later. It never bothered Matriarch, though. I think she knew we could handle ourselves and just accepted it.”
“And that’s it?” Toshi asked. “This is your great insight into how our enemy thinks?”
“Matriarch didn’t believe they’d drop here,” Cat said.
Ryu crossed his arms and smiled. “Well, she’s not perfect.”
Toshi shook his head. “Unbelievable.”
“Kaneda has been here before and knows the tunnels,” Ryu said. “It’s the place I would pick.”
“You just got lucky,” Toshi said.
“Hey, I don’t mind being lucky,” Ryu said. “Cat, how many of them changed course?”
“All of them,” Cat said.
“What?” Ryu asked. He felt an icy chill run down his spin. “All forty of them? They’re all turning around?”
“That’s what the navy says,” Cat said.
“Shit,” Ryu said.
“There has to be over a thousand crusaders onboard,” Toshi said.
“Surface defenses are opening fire,” Cat said. “Thirty-eight dropfighters now. The bombers are accelerating ahead of the formation.”
“They’re going to pound this place before they land,” Toshi said, standing up.
“We’re too exposed,” Ryu said. “You and Cat follow me. Naomi, there’s an airlock on your side. The crusaders are about to make a loud entrance.”
“I’m moving!” Naomi shouted. She jumped from the top of the silo and ran towards the Senkaku’s nose.
“Sakaki!” Ryu said. “Get your squad inside!”
“Are you kidding?” Sakaki said. “We’re two kilometers away! We’ll never make it!”
“Then run!” Ryu jumped down the ladder shaft to the Senkaku’s second deck. The slanted floor creaked from his sudden weight. “Get as far away from the city as p
ossible!” He raced through the desolate space, past abandoned recesses stripped of equipment. The starboard airlock was just ahead.
“Bombers coming in hot!” Cat shouted. “Thirty seconds!”
“Green dragon on the move!” Sakaki shouted.
Ryu ducked under a sagging support beam and kept running. “Blue dragon! Gold dragon! Status!”
“Both teams are already underground, Ryu,” gold dragon’s squad leader said.
“Naomi, I’m almost to the airlock!”
“It’s going to be close!” she said.
Ryu halted his dash with a foot against the rusted door. The airlock chamber only had the outer door. The inner airlock must have been scavenged centuries ago. He grabbed the airlock’s manual wheel and spun it. Metal screeched against metal. The gears seized up. He pushed harder, forcing the wheel to turn. Teeth broke off the gears, but enough remained to catch. He got the wheel spinning again.
On his overlay, Naomi’s outline stopped on the other side of the hatch. She turned around and looked across the ice plains.
“I can see the bombers!” Naomi shouted.
“Almost got it!” Ryu grunted, forcing the wheel through a rough patch.
“They’re dropping weapons!”
The wheel locked in the open position.
“There!” Ryu said. He pulled on the hatch, but it barely opened. The bottom edge ground against the warped deck.
Naomi put her arm through. She pushed against the frame.
“Ryu, I can’t fit!”
“Toshi!” Ryu pulled harder but the hatch wouldn’t move.
Orange light poured through the doorjamb.
“Bash the floor down!” Toshi said, stomping on the plating. Together, he and Ryu forced it down far enough for the airlock to grind open a little more.
Naomi slipped through and fell to her knees in the airlock chamber.
Ryu slammed the hatch closed and spun the wheel. The Senkaku shuddered from impacts all across its exposed nose. Accumulated rust vibrated down the slanted floor. Something struck the hatch from outside, causing it to flare with infrared energy and bulge inward.
“Shit, that was close,” Naomi said.
Ryu offered a hand and pulled Naomi to her feet. “Next time, maybe you should wait with us.”