by John Walker
“David! Pull up!” Meagan shouted, jamming her throttle forward and firing some warning shots. “Now!”
David complied without question but he moved too late. The pirate craft cut directly into his side, tearing a huge chunk out of his fighter as it flew through. “I’m bailing out!” David’s com filled with static as he punched out, his pod bolting away from his ship as it exploded in an oval, red blast.
“David!” Mick shouted. “You okay? Can you read me?”
“Focus,” Meagan replied, working hard to keep emotion out of her voice. “We’ll worry about him when we’re not in trouble. Shelly, form up on us and let’s play this by the numbers. If we don’t stay sharp, they’ll do the same thing to us.”
“On my way,” Shelly said.
Meagan redirected, forming on the tail of the guy who just took David out of the fight. He maneuvered well but there was a distinct lack of discipline. These pilots weren’t at all conservative. Every motion they made, every time they course corrected, it was extreme…as if they weren’t entirely familiar with the ships.
The targeting computer made lightning quick calculations to catch his motions and locked on in only a few seconds. Meagan pulled the trigger, adjusting slightly to lead him. The first blasts missed and just as he thought to make a dramatic course change, the next three caught him right on the cockpit.
His ship became a fiery ball so fast he couldn’t have ejected and Meagan climbed to avoid the debris.
“That’s two,” she muttered. “Mick, how’re you doing?”
“Playing tag with these two bastards.”
She glanced out to the left and saw them flying in great loops, occasionally taking potshots at one another. Shelly faced off with the last one, spinning her ship in a move that would’ve killed a pilot if they were in a lesser craft, one with poor dampeners. The pirate nearly rammed her but her top thrusters took her just below him.
Shelly used her thrusters to turn in place and fired while spinning, eyeballing the shots. One clipped the engine of the pirate and the others missed but it was a good blow. It hampered the maneuvering abilities of the fighter and he started back toward the station. “Oh no you don’t,” Shelly called. “I’m not letting you run after all that.”
“If you can’t get him fast then don’t give chase,” Meagan said as she turned to help Mick. He managed to take one of them out while she was paying attention to Shelly but the other one got a good lock on him. Mick tried to juke to the right but two blasts caught him in the side, flaring his shields.
“Whoa!” Mick shouted. “They overloaded my defenses! Crap! What are they firing?”
“Are you okay?” Meagan tried to get in behind the guy but he dove, trying to lead her away. She gave chase. “Mick, report!”
“I’m having my computer shut down my defensive matrix for a second while it recalibrates. Whatever he hit me with was like…I don’t know, it tried to make my shield generator explode. Nasty tactic!”
“Not as nasty as this.” Meagan fired in front of the pirate and he turned to the right. She did it again, driving him away from the station. Finally, she aimed to the left and dumb fired (leaving the guidance disengaged) one of her last missiles. Then, as it flew from her ship, she took a couple shots at the fighter again, getting him to veer toward her projectile.
He tried to avoid it, firing his countermeasure but it ignored them. He must’ve thought it was leaving him alone so he started to bank, getting ready to re-engage. That’s when she remotely triggered the guidance system. The missile pulled up and connected with the bottom of his ship, knocking the shields out and sending him into a wild spin.
She closed on him, firing with her pulse cannons. Without shields, the ship was torn apart, the core popping a second later.
“One left to go. Shelly? You okay?”
“I’ve almost got him…” Shelly replied. “Come on, you ass. Just get in my sites already.”
“Let him go,” Mick said. “He’s almost back at the facility.”
“Sir, I’ve almost got him. Five more seconds.”
“Make them fast…”
Meagan watched, moving to catch up just in case. Shelly fired a few times but the pirate didn’t respond. He was full throttle, trying desperately to escape…or so they thought. Shelly accelerated to catch up and that’s when he dropped his power and spun on her, engaging full throttle. They were going to play a game of chicken.
“Don’t get in on that!” Meagan shouted. “He won’t veer!”
“And I won’t have to.” Shelly fired three times and banked. Her blasts connected with the nose of the fighter and the shields flared but he didn’t go down. Instead, he pulled up after her, trying to catch her engines with his nose. He barely missed, by mere meters if not less. Meagan let out a sigh of relief.
“Stop messing around, Shelly. Get back here.”
“He’s engaged,” Shelly said. “He’s not fleeing anymore.”
“We’re almost there,” Mick said. “Lure him back our way and we’ll catch him in a crossfire.”
“On it.”
Meagan watched, feeling helpless as Shelly played a dangerous game of evasion with the enemy fighter. She got a few good firing arcs but the guy managed to dodge them each time. When finally they got in range, he seemed to realize the tables had turned and he was dramatically outnumbered.
He pulled a turn and burn, accelerating fast even without one of his engines fully intact. The three of them closed in on different sides, Shelly in the back, Mick on the right and Meagan pulling in on the left. They all fired and there was nowhere to really go. Several shots littered his back and top, taking him out.
“David, can you read me?” Meagan called out. “Come in.”
“I…read you…” The com went back to static. Must be too much damage.
“Giant Control, I need search and rescue to pull in a pod,” Meagan replied. “Please respond.”
“This is Giant Control, who’s down?”
“Panther Three’s ship was destroyed but we took out the five.” Meagan checked her scan before continuing. “Scope is clear. We are returning to cover the Alliance ship but need backup.”
“You’ll have it in five. Deploying search and rescue now. Good work.”
Yeah, feels great. Lost another ship. This is getting to be an expensive run at some damn pirates.
***
Rathe checked his firearm before slapping Jordan on the shoulder. “We have to get the hell out of here, man. And not through the front door. They’re coming.”
“Yeah, I know.” Jordan grabbed his own gun and they went through the maintenance chute, down a ladder and into a corridor leading away. “I think I know where this goes.”
“Great, it better not be a dead end.”
“The other option was definitely that. Those marines would’ve blown us away.” Jordan hurried down the hall, hustling into a sprint. “We have to get back to the ship and get the hell out of here. Do you want to find Thantis?”
“Screw that guy,” Rathe cursed. “God knows what he was doing down there but it was not helping us out!”
“If he gets out of this, I’m going to take him out.” Jordan checked his tablet. “Okay, I’ve got the layout of this level. If we keep going in this direction, we should get back to our ship. Then we can jump out of this hellhole before the Earth ship catches us.”
“We’ve lost too damn much on this venture,” Rathe lamented. “I can’t believe it!”
“Hey, if we survive that’ll make it okay,” Jordan said. “Look on the bright side.”
“It’s hard to turn a frown upside down on this one…but you’re right. Let’s just put this place far behind us.”
***
The door to the command center was locked. Hoffner turned to Ander. “Can you get us in there? Security clearance or something?”
Ander stepped forward. “I believe so. Allow me.”
He tapped on the console, entering a code. It didn’t seem to work.
“Um…” Ander tried another…and another. The light remained red. “They couldn’t have changed it…could they?”
“Problem?” Hoffner asked. “We’re in a bit of a hurry.”
“Oh! Wait!” Ander shook his head. “Sorry, we changed the overrides recently. I forgot. Here we go.”
Ander entered another code and the light went from red to green. “Unlocked!”
“Okay,” Hoffner said, gesturing to two of the marines. “You two are on point. Ander opens the door, I’ll toss the grenade. When it pops, you two clear the room on one, ready?”
“Ready!” The two shouted, lifting their rifles. Hoffner prepped the grenade and nodded to Ander. The security guard tapped the panel. The door slid to the side. The grenade sailed into the room, bounced off something metallic and popped. A flash brightened the room, the marines called out one then burst inside.
A moment later, they shouted again, this time “clear!”
“Not good,” Hoffner said to Ander. “Seems they’ve abandoned their post.”
“Does that mean we’ve won?” Ander asked. “That we’ve got the station?”
“Pretty close.” Hoffner walked inside, surveying the area. “Lock this place down. I want two men to stay with Ander. The rest of you, we’re going to disarm those bombs. You can open the doors down there now, right?”
Ander nodded. “Yes, sir. Let me just get logged in.” He moved to a terminal. “I’ll have it ready by the time you get down there.”
“Okay.” Hoffner turned to the men who cleared the room. “You two are with him. Stay sharp. Whoever abandoned this place might come back and if they do, don’t mess around. Your rules of engagement stay the same. Shoot to kill.”
“Yes, sir!”
Hoffner headed for the door. “Don’t disappoint us, Ander. That’s not a good place to get stuck in the open down there and God knows how zealous these criminal pricks want to be.”
***
Sander Vincent ducked beside an open door as someone fired at them, energy blasts sailing through the door. A pile of metal crates provided some makeshift cover for the criminals. “Stand down!” He shouted. “You bastards don’t have anywhere to go so give it up!”
“Don’t think they care, LT.” One of his sergeants said over the com just as he took a couple shots. “I think they’re only getting out of here feet first.”
Someone screamed down the hall, a man followed by another person calling out, “retreat! Get to the hangar!”
Wow, these guys… Sander crouched and peered around the corner with his gun leading the way. A pirate made a break for it and was followed by three others. The marines opened fire, putting them down before they made it thirty paces. No drop ship for you.
Sander rushed down the way with two men close behind. They hurried up to the cover and vaulted over, clearing the next room. The three bodies were sprawled on the deck, blood splattered on the walls. Someone pounded on a door just up to the left, shouting for help. Their cries were muffled but the intent was unmistakable.
“Crew?” Sander turned to one of his men.
“No clue…should we chance it?”
“Who’s there?” Sander shouted. “Announce yourself!”
“I am Anthar Un’Cian! I command this vessel! Who are you?”
“Lieutenant Sander Vincent of the USS Behemoth. We’ve taken this ship back from the pirates. Where’s the rest of your crew?”
“They’re locked in their quarters all around you! Let us out and we can help take the ship back!”
“I’m pretty sure the pirates have left,” Sander replied. He examined the console and noticed they simply locked it from the outside. He clicked it to open it up and two of the marines aimed their weapons in anticipation. As the door slid to the side, a kielan man lifted his hands over his head. His blue-white hair was wild and his clothes were disheveled.
“Please don’t shoot!”
“Lower your weapons.” Sander waved his hand. “Anthar, you need to get your people back to the bridge and whatever other stations are required.”
“What’s going on?”
“Your vessel was used to take over a mining facility,” Sander replied. “Now there are bombs planted in the place and if we can’t get them disarmed…well, they might cause this ship a lot of damage.”
“Alright, young man.” Un’Cian stepped out into the hallway. “Help me get these doors open and we’ll get underway as soon as we can.”
“There may be more pirates,” Sander replied. “We’re going to clear a path for you to the bridge. Follow us when you can.”
Un’Cian nodded. “Alright, good hunting and thank you again. I appreciate this more than you know.”
Sander contacted the Behemoth. “This is Lieutenant Vincent. We’ve freed the crew and they’ll be heading up to the bridge in a moment to take control. We’re clearing a path for them. Expected time to total control, less than ten minutes.”
“Very good,” Marshall replied. “Keep me informed of any road blocks.”
They rounded a corner, weapons lifted. Blaster fire opened up, nearly taking Sander’s head off. He dropped to the ground and rolled toward the nearest door. Reaching up, he slapped the panel and moved inside the room. Another marine joined him but the third man lay dead on the ground, his head blackened from the energy blast.
“No! Damn it!” Sander leaned out and opened fire, catching one of the pirates in the face. Blood misted out, spreading over the wall. Another stood, preparing to aim but Sander put one in his chest and one in his face. “Anyone else? Come on out!”
He covered the hallway. “Get him in here.” His companion dragged their fallen into the room and checked him out. “Is he…”
“Yes, sir. He’s gone.”
“Sons of bitches.” Sander scowled and stepped out, aiming as he walked. His fellow followed and the others entered the hallway as well. They marched down to the two dead men and checked the area before clearing the elevator. “We need to get up to the bridge but we’ll have to use the ladders.”
He checked the schematics and popped the maintenance hatch. Their destination was two floors up. He took the lead, climbing up. The others fell in behind him and they hurried up to the second landing. The door opened into a maintenance passage that circled the bridge. Various access points were closed up but the control center of the entire ship was just on the other side.
They stacked up on one of them and Sander did the honors. When they entered, filing in with their weapons and shouts to surrender, they found a lone man with his hands held high. A pirate screaming that he gave up. They discovered that his foot was cuffed to the helm. Sander approached.
“Why’d they leave you here?”
“I told them they were crazy for trying to blow the ship up,” he replied. “I don’t want to die, guys just…can you please arrest me?”
Sander considered blowing him away for a few moments but finally lowered his gun. “Take this jack ass into custody. The others will be here any moment and we can finally go home.” He paused. “Hey, buddy, where’s your other ship?”
“I have no idea,” the pirate replied. “We got here and they went somewhere near the station.”
“Worth a try.” Sander went to the communication station and dialed in the Behemoth. “Behemoth, this is Lieutenant Vincent. We have control of the bridge and the crew is on their way.”
“I’ll release the computer when they arrive,” Clea replied. “Excellent work, Lieutenant. Thank you for saving that ship.”
“Yeah, no problem, Behemoth.” Sander turned and leaned against the console. If he hadn’t been wearing the helmet, he would’ve wiped his brow. Seriously, I think I’ve set the stage for missions. None of them can be this stressful going forward…
…and I just cursed myself. Good job, Vincent. Good job.
Chapter 9
Olly scanned every bit of the station but the pirate ship somehow eluded him. By the time he finished, he wanted to check his equipment to ensure it
was all still working properly. How could they possibly hide such a massive craft? It had to be a freighter. They intended to take Ulem away, enough to make this whole gamble worth it.
He ran a quick diagnostic but it came back fine. A possibility crossed his mind. Maybe they already left. It could’ve happened after their last communication attempt or even when the Behemoth attacked the Alliance ship. Either way, there were plenty of distractions going on…of course, he was convinced he’d have detected a jump.
Looking back over the logs, he didn’t find any unusual energy readings from the facility. No, it was there somewhere but they did a damn good job of hiding it. The Ulem must’ve masked them somehow. Did they already have a lot on board? He tried searching for a large concentration of the mineral only to feel like an idiot.
It’s a mine, there’s plenty all over the place.
Olly refused to admit defeat. Now that the Aguna Spear was back under friendly control, he reached out to their tech officer. The man was just getting his bearings but he provided access to their scans. The combined force of both ships might be able to break through whatever interference hid that ship.
The readings came back without good news.
Damn it!
Olly leaned back in his chair and considered the situation. I’m going about this the wrong way. I know! A probe. If I can’t find it with scans, maybe a visual search will turn it up. He turned in his seat. “Captain, permission to launch an unmanned probe. I’d like to use it to search for the pirate vessel.”
“Can’t find it with scans, huh?”
Olly shook his head. “No, I’d like to move to visual search.”
“Granted. Let me know what you find.”
Olly fired off the probe and took control from his station. The thing proved more maneuverable than he remembered and it took nearly a minute to get the hang of flying one again. He clicked on the recorder and flew it around the facility, starting at the top, circling it then moving downward.
The station was huge and it looked like it would take a while. He set a course with a proximity warning of three hundred meters then turned on the autopilot. Once it finished, he could play back the visuals it sent and use a shape detector to find the ship. Until then, he shifted his focus to checking the area in the event they left.