by John Walker
“Commander?” Agatha grabbed Adam’s attention and he turned to face her.
“What’ve you got, Ensign?”
“Response from the security officer,” Agatha replied. “He answered the challenge question properly and he gave us a number of pirates. He claims there are thirty-six aboard. There’s another part here…says he’s going to check something out. That’s all I’ve got from him so far.”
“Thank you.” Adam turned to Gray. “Seems we can trust him.”
Gray nodded. “Okay. Now we need to know where to bring our men. They can get in undetected but the hangar’s no good. The pirates will be there. They’ll have to cut their way in…”
“Maybe not, Sir,” Olly interjected. “The station has a variety of airlocks throughout for maintenance. I’m sure we can use one of those.”
“Good call. We just need to know which one is safe then.” Gray turned to Clea. “Any luck with the battleship?”
“Some…but not much.” Clea shrugged. “It’s going to be slower going than taking the station and I might add, I’m pretty sure we’re going to have to engage them at some point. Even if I get in, they’re going to have a minute to react and take action.”
“Understood.” Gray turned to Adam. “The fighters?”
“In position and ready to go.” Adam checked his reports. “All stations report ready for combat. Were you serious about the threat you gave to the pirates?”
“Mostly,” Gray said. “If they kill one hostage, they’ll be willing to kill more and we can’t sit around waiting for that to happen. Hopefully, we’ll get in there and take them down before it gets to such a desperate state. Of course, we’re getting close, right? They seem pretty rattled to me. Did you note the hesitation in the man’s voice when he said they’d kill hostages?”
Adam nodded. “This might’ve gone beyond what they had in mind.”
“I’m sure it has.” Gray grinned. “Which gives us a slight advantage. They’re not bloodthirsty butchers. Them exhibiting any humanity works for us.”
“Sir,” Agatha said, “I’ve got an update from Ander. He states that one of the pirates is attempting to sabotage the station. Apparently, the man attached some bombs to the delicate equipment in the reactor room. If they detonate, he believes the entire facility will be destroyed—the reactor will go and whatever Ulem is around will prove volatile as well.”
Adam cleared his throat and turned to Gray. “So much for your theory about the pirates not being bloodthirsty.”
“That was unexpected.” Gray sighed. “I wonder why they’d risk such a gamble. What do they have to gain from blowing the facility up?”
“To cover their tracks?” Adam offered. “But we know what they’re up to. It seems almost…I don’t know…spiteful. Unnecessary.”
“I agree.” Gray hummed, rubbing his chin. “I’d like to get a better idea of who we’re up against but these guys probably won’t have records, at least not under whatever names we might get from them. I guess we’re going to have to err on the side of them being murderous bastards but I really hoped they’d be more reasonable.”
“What do you want to do?” Adam asked.
“Agatha, find out from Ander where to land our men. We’ll clear it out and disarm the bombs as quickly as possible.” Gray turned to Adam. “Give Marshall these new details. He’ll want to know about the complication and I guarantee he won’t be happy. This kind of thing gives him heart burn.”
“I’m right there with him,” Adam said as he tapped the com. “Let’s just hope they can get this done in the time frame allotted.”
“They don’t have much choice,” Gray said. “Get them briefed.”
***
Rathe felt like the world around him was coming undone. Thantis missing, the loaders not even getting the Ulem aboard, people sucked out of airlocks, an Earth ship threatening to kill them all…what else could go wrong? He didn’t want to ask the question out loud for fear it would be answered.
Then it was.
“Rathe? This is Hannah, come in.”
He’d put Hannah in charge of the battleship while he was on the station. She proved to be a good ship officer and kept the men in line fairly well. Plus, she took to the systems quickly enough to know what to do when. Though they operated the vessel on the bare minimum number of people, she had it operating as efficiently as possible.
“Yeah, I’m here. What’s going on? Please don’t give me bad news…”
“‘Fraid I have to. Our sensors are buggered but we have visual that the Earth ship launched fighters. They haven’t engaged but I’d say we’re close to having to deal with them.”
“Damn it!” Rathe slapped the console. “They think they can just sneak around and get ready to attack us?”
“Probably. I’m pretty sure that’s their whole point. Get us before we can do the hostages, right?”
“I’m not killing hostages,” Rathe muttered. “But I think we can give them a little taste of some drones.”
Jordan perked up at that. “Whoa, what’re you talking about?”
“Attacking the Earth fighters with some drones,” Rathe said. “It’ll distract them.”
“For how long, man? Then what? They’re going to come down on us with some serious wrath! We can’t take them if they direct all their attention on us.”
“I beg to differ,” Hannah said. “I’ve got the weapons hot on this thing. Let us blow them out of the sky. Then we’ll have all the time in the world to get the Ulem. And I’d love to know what’s taking you guys so damn long.”
“We’ve got all kinds of complications,” Rathe said. “But we’re working them out. Jordan, do you honestly think they can’t take the Earth ship?”
“I mean…I guess I can’t say for certain they can’t…” Jordan sighed. “It just seems pretty damn risky. If we were loading our stuff, I’d say go for it. But until we get those automated loaders up.”
“What even happened to them?” Hannah asked. “Why were they down?”
“The bastards must’ve sabotaged them when we got here,” Rathe said. “Thantis said they have special codes to start them up and he was trying to boot them back up. When he left, he went down to have a direct connection to make it faster.”
“Find him then,” Hannah said. “And I’m going to deal with our guest.”
“Don’t screw up, Hannah. If we lose that ship, we’re screwed.”
“We won’t. Believe me.” The line went dead.
“I hope she knows what she’s doing,” Jordan said. “For all our sakes.”
“Definitely…” Rathe rubbed his eyes. We don’t have time for all this nonsense.
***
Clea continued trying to hack the Alliance vessel, working through every code in the database. None of them worked so she resorted to alterations, tapping into the universal code to randomize her attempts. Whoever messed with the computer systems either really knew what they were doing or luckily destroyed the security setup.
Regardless, if began to frustrate her when suddenly the Alliance ship opened up and drones spilled out. She checked her scans and confirmed they were on their way toward the Behemoth.
“Captain,” Clea tried to keep her tone calm but a slight tremor snuck in, “I believe we’re being attacked.”
“Confirmed!” Olly shouted. “Drones incoming!”
“Damn it,” Adam grunted. “Revente, your pilots need to move! We’ve got drones incoming.”
Gray scowled. “I’m shocked they attacked but while they are, get those marines moving. By the time they get there, hopefully we’ll have a place for them to dock.”
Agatha tapped away at her station and spoke up. “Ander has sent us coordinates. I’m providing them to the drop ship now.”
“Good.” Gray looked up at the view screen. “Let’s make short work of those drones then we can bring those shields down. I hope you’ll be ready to hack their computers soon, Clea. We’re going to need to shut them off quickly.”
/>
“I’m working on it.” Clea redoubled her efforts, frantically going through every program she had. Olly’s work helped but only a little. She understood Alliance security better than most but it had changed quite a bit since she began working with the humans. Now, the gap between her knowledge and the present day caught up to her.
Maybe I’m going about this the wrong way. It’s not Alliance security I should be attacking but low grade protocols. Something from the black market or even civilian sector. Those could be tricky compared to the military because they didn’t have access to the same encryption. It’s worth a try.
Clea tapped into a different database, one with every known non-military security protocol attached. She let the scan run and willed it to hurry. Combat was about to begin and it might not last long. As Gray said, her window may be a small one and if she had any hope of taking the Alliance ship intact, she needed to break in the moment the shields dropped.
***
Wing Commander Meagan Pointer leaned back in her seat and stared through the top of her canopy at the distant stars. They’d launched nearly fifteen minutes early and their engines sat on idle while they waited for orders. The pirates out there didn’t bother her so much as the waiting. Pilots in general hated the long wait times.
“What do you think about these drones?” Squadron Leader Mick Tauran asked. He tended to fly on her wing and acted as her second in command. “I hear that’s their primary fighter craft.”
“I kind of doubt they’re as good as the ones from the Tam’Dral,” Meagan replied. She referred to their engagement in Earth space against the defense systems of a refugee ship. Those had been controlled by computers. “I guess there’s a chance they might be unpredictable if people are at the helm.”
“The maneuverability always worries me,” Mick replied. “We can’t pull those Gs.”
“Won’t matter. We have solid countermeasures and if we can cut the signal from pilot to craft, they drift. Easy lock & blow.”
“That sounded dirty.”
Meagan rolled her eyes. “Only to you, Mick.”
“This is Giant One,” Revente’s voice crackled through the speakers. “We have drones incoming. You are ordered to engage, repeat…engage however, do not get too close to the Alliance battleship. It may open fire.”
“Don’t have to tell us twice.” Meagan stretched her shoulders and grabbed her flight stick. “You heard the man, Panther Wing. Let’s down some toy robots.”
They departed in a loose formation, each ship far enough apart to give the drones some space. Meagan read about pirate tactics and they occasionally didn’t mind sacrificing one of their ships to take out a piloted vessel. If one of their ships blew next to another, it could cause some serious collateral damage.
Radar picked up the enemy vehicles at extreme range. They were moving erratically, as if trying to foul up sensors. Meagan sent out a ping for an exact count but the computer brought back mixed results. She cursed under her breath. This might make for a long fight, especially since they had to be mindful of their surroundings.
Suddenly, one of the drones flew past them at extreme speed, little more than a blur on Meagan’s right.
“Did you see that?” Meagan asked.
“Yeah, it didn’t show up on my scans…” Mick replied.
“Nor mine,” Panther Seven, Lieutenant Richard Martin, added. “It’s circling around.”
“Panthers Seven and Eight, engage that thing,” Meagan ordered. “The rest of you break up into twos and prepare for a real fight. Tiger Wing is our back up so if you need some support, head back to the Behemoth. Time to go to work.”
Meagan and Mick pulled away from the others. She climbed, he dove and they approached the swarm of drones. Maybe this’ll be easier than I thought. She pulled the trigger for her pulse cannons, sending out bolts of light hammering into the tiny ships. A number of bulb explosions light up the sky then went dark.
An alarm went off in her cockpit as a torrent of blaster fire riddled her aft shields. Okay, maybe not as easy as I thought.
“I see it,” Mick said. “Deploy your countermeasures and I’ll take it out.”
Meagan flipped a switch and two micro transmitters dropped from the bottom of her ship. When they hit vacuum, they sent out a strong burst signal, interrupting the sensors, and controls, of the pursuing drone. As it drifted in a straight line, Mick blew it out of the sky and formed up beside her.
“Where’d that thing come from?” Meagan asked but there was no time to find out. Another five of them started hammering at her shields and she jammed her throttle forward. The sudden increase in speed pressed her into her seat and she still didn’t put any appreciable distance between her and the unmanned attackers.
“They’re all over us!” Panther Five shouted out, Lieutenant Leslie Eddings. “Tiger Wing, we need some help over here!”
“Engaging,” someone on Tiger Wing called out but Meagan didn’t recognize their voice. She had to concentrate on evasive maneuvers, trying to out fly the agile little bastards behind her. A thought crossed her mind but she really didn’t like the odds of it. Still, considering Mick had his own problems it might be her best chance.
Meagan maneuvered toward the largest concentration of drones and once again buried her throttle. As she rocketed toward them, she began a countdown to contact. More blasts hammered her shields but they held, at least for the moment. When she had visual on the drones, she pulled up and hit the brakes. Her safety straps bit into her skin and the inertial dampeners whined loudly.
Two of the drones slammed into their buddies, exploding in a spectacular display. This caused a small chain reaction and she splashed at least four more for a grand total of six. It helped alleviate the immediate pressure but there were plenty more where that came from. All around her, the pilots fought off the attack. As her confidence began to build, she saw one of their own ships explode.
Oh God…who was that?
“Panther Wing, report in!” Meagan cried out, entering a spin and diving to void another torrent of fire. Her mind threatened to drift to the pilot they may have lost but she fought hard to keep her focus on flying. People’s voices filled her speakers, each of her people finally sounding off.
Tiger Wing…that’s awful. Damn it!
“I’ve got two…” Mick called out. “Never mind, they’re done.”
“Missiles away,” Panther three shouted. “Direct hits!”
“I have an idea,” Panther Four, Flight Lieutenant Shelly Brown said. “Instead of fighting these drones, let’s take out their ability to control them on the alliance ship.”
“Yeah, how’re they flying anyway?” Mick asked. “I thought we took down all sensor contact.”
“These things don’t rely on sensors,” Meagan replied. “They don’t care about the satellite malfunction and they’ve got their own guidance systems. But we were given orders to avoid the Alliance ship.”
“We could be fighting these things for an hour or more,” Shelly said. “And who’s to say we won’t lose more pilots?”
Meagan fired a rocket and destroyed a drone, dove under the explosion and kicked her com over to command. “Giant Control, this is Panther One requesting permission to attack the Alliance battleship and destroy their ability to control their drones.”
“Permission…” Giant control hesitated. “One moment.”
“Now’s not the time for holding,” Meagan said, diving again as one of the drones attempted to suicide into her. “We’re having some trouble out here and need to do something drastic.”
“Just hold on, Panther One, I’m getting clearance.”
Hurry the hell up! Meagan bit the words back and focused on staying alive. She tapped into her computer and had it start analyzing the battleship to find where the drone control was located. It might not be possible to take it out with the shields up but then again, they had some decent ordinance. The only thing they really had to do was nudge the thing, not even totally destroy i
t.
A little disruption would go a long way.
“How do you plan on taking it out, Panther One?” Giant Control asked. She explained they would use missiles when they got close enough and disrupt the signal. “You have permission to try but you’d better be damn careful. They have cannons on those things and they’re good at homing in on targets if you know what I’m saying.”
“Roger that,” Meagan replied. “Panther Four, you got your wish. We’re going in. Panthers Two and Three, you’re with us. The rest of you remain behind and keep these things busy. We want as few targets around their ship as possible.”
The four ships sped off, leaving behind the action. A couple of drones gave chase but the other members of Panther Wing made short work of them, giving Meagan’s small team a chance to get into position.
Meagan’s computer continued to scan the vessel and she really started to feel some pressure. If they didn’t have a target before they got in range, they’d be screwed. No amount of prayer would save them from those cannons and flying around the battleship without a target would pretty much be suicide.
Finally, at extreme range, her computer found the source of the drone signal and painted the target on her HUD. She transmitted it to her other pilots. “That’s what we have to hit…looks like they installed it near the top decks. Shouldn’t be too bad…they’re running shields on defensive but not full power. We might get lucky.”
An alert sounded in her cockpit, warning her that the cannons went live on the ship. How’d they see us so quickly? Must be the corona from our thrusters…but I didn’t anticipate they’d be so on it. Blasts from the ship filled the sky, giving them one more thing to dodge. As they hurtled toward their target, the extra challenge made it all the trickier.
“I’ve been hit!” Panther Three, Flight Lieutenant David Benning, called out through the com. “That cannon went right through my shields…I’ve lost my right maneuvering thruster.”
“Get out of there!” Mick shouted. “Pull back and get to a safe distance!”
“I’m…” David paused. “Damn it, I have to bail out. The pulse engines on an over drive.”