“The drones tried to kill you as well. I should be thankful that you’ve saved me, but I’ve lost good men and women, and the drones have destroyed most of our food. We might be able to salvage some of it, but I doubt it will last us more than a month now.” A few tears ran down the man’s face, and it made the powdered rhodium on his cheeks clump.
“The forklift looks to be in working order. We should get the bin into the cave,” I said as I pointed at the machine.
“Yeah. Let’s try to salvage what we can,” Jatal looked back to the mouth of the cave as he spoke.
I heard shouting, and a moment later some fifty gunmen ran out of the opening in the mountain. One of the men was yelling Jatal’s name, and he skidded to a stop in front of us.
“Sir, radar is picking up troop movements from enemy ground forces.”
“They are heading here?” the blue eyed man asked.
“Yes, ETA is four minutes. Their ships have also engaged hyperdrives and pulled into orbit above us, they appear to be launching all of their air drones and fighter craft. They will be here in under a minute.”
“Damn it.” Jatal looked at the mostly destroyed bin of food, and I could see the agony written on his face.
“We’ll have to leave the supplies,” he said before he turned to us. “You can use our forklift. Grab the rhodium and get out of here. Thanks for trying to help us.”
“They are sending all of their drones and fighter craft down here? How do you know it is all of them?” I asked the man who reported to Jatal.
“We’ve got specs on their ships from relay interceptions,” the man said.
“They’ve been trying to find us for months. I was worried about this trade because they might discover one of our most important tunnels. It makes sense for them to send everything. Even if we blow our escape route, they will probably be able to catch us.” Jatal’s jaw hardened, and I recognized the look in his eyes.
He knew that he was about to die.
“I have a plan. Order your soldiers onto our ship,” I said.
“What? Why?” he asked.
“We’ll escape their forces, wrap around the moon, and then hit their ships,” I explained. “There isn’t much time. You can die, or you can come with us, and we’ll try to strike them where they are the most venerable.”
“Uhhh, Captain, I think that this is all kinds of suic--” Z started to say, but I looked at the blonde hacker, and her words caught in her throat.
Jatal stared into my eyes for a few seconds, then he nodded and his face split into a crazy smile before he turned to his men. “Change of plans, Children of Rah! We are jumping on this ship. We are going to take the war to them. Ready your weapons and prepare to raid!”
The purple cloaked men looked at each other for half a moment with confusion, but then we started running up the ramp, and they followed us.
“But, the rhodium,” Z moaned.
“It will be there when we get back. We need to get to the bridge and fly Persephone out of here,” I said to Z as we ran, then I turned to Jatal. “You and your men wait here. Find jumper seats and strap yourselves in. If this works, it will be a bumpy ride. If it doesn’t work, we are all going to die.”
“Understood,” the man said, and then he began shouting orders at his troops.
Eve, Z, and I continued our sprint to the bridge.
Chapter 12
Persephone’s alarms began screaming the second we stepped out of the elevator door on the bridge.
“I’ve got over sixty drones and a dozen or so fighter craft on a trajectory toward us!” Z screamed after she leapt into her chair.
“Get her off the ground and away,” I commanded as I strapped myself into the captain’s chair.
“Aye, Captain. Firing engines and lifting off,” Z said as she frantically drummed her fingers against her control keys.
The visual screen at the front of the bridge showed the horizon, and there were too many beeping red dots to count.
Persephone leapt off the ground like a pouncing cat, and she twisted around in the air to face away from the incoming attackers. The ship shook with the vibration of her herculean atmosphere engines and shot away from the red dots with an urgent sprint. The twisting movement and sudden thrust did all sorts of strange things to my stomach, and I hoped that the men down in the cargo hold had been able to get strapped into chairs in time.
“We’ve outpaced the drones, but some of the fighters are still following,” Z sounded surprisingly calm considering how quickly the purple landscape was moving below us.
“Just try to get as much space between us as you can,” I said.
“Alright, I’m increasing engine speed and pulling out of the atmosphere. That might lose them,” she said.
“They will let us go. They are only concerned with the Children of Rah. I believe they made an agreement with Cynthia so she could have our ship,” Eve said.
“Eh, you are right. The fighters have turned around. Looks like they are swarming on the cave where we were parked. I bet they think Cynthia’s men are flying Persephone,” Z said with a dry chuckle.
The display on the front of the bridge began to turn a dark orange color, and Persephone shook. It only took us a few moments to clear the atmosphere, and Z turned us so that the purple gas giant was filling the right side of the screen. The left was open space, and five circles of red appeared. Text began to scroll down the side of the display, and I studied the data Persephone's scanners revealed.
Mini-Carrier Class Transporter: CAR-874-3343
Manufactured by: SpacePort Designs: Waxcom 12 - A ii
Branding: Alloprize Incorporated Fleet 1
Hyperdrive: SPD- 47893. 80 hours to 1 light year.
Warpdrive: No
Foldingdrive: No
Length: 300 meters
Minimum Crew: 100
Estimated fighter craft: 30
Estimated drone payload: 200
Heavy plasma cannons: 44
Light plasma guns: 60
Laser arrays: 12
Destroyer Class Jumper: DJ-776-3454
Manufactured by: SpacePort Designs: Waxcom 12 - C iii
Branding: Alloprize Incorporated Fleet 1
Hyperdrive: SPA- 3000. 50 hours to 1 light year.
Warpdrive: No
Foldingdrive: No
Length: 140 meters
Minimum Crew: 50
Estimated fighter craft: 10
Estimated drone payload: 80
Heavy plasma cannons: 20
Light plasma guns: 30
Laser arrays: 4
Destroyer Class Jumper: DJ-776-3876
Manufactured by: SpacePort Designs: Waxcom 12 - C iii
Branding: Alloprize Incorporated Fleet 1
Hyperdrive: SPA- 3000. 50 hours to 1 light year.
Warpdrive: No
Foldingdrive: No
Length: 140 meters
Minimum Crew: 50
Estimated fighter craft: 10
Estimated drone payload: 80
Heavy plasma cannons: 20
Light plasma guns: 30
Laser arrays: 4
Frigate Class Transporter: VO-8324-3252B
Manufactured by: Voring Industries: Centra Beta
Branding: Alloprize Incorporated Fleet 1
Hyperdrive: FF- Core. 60 hours to 1 light year.
Warpdrive: No
Foldingdrive: No
Length: 110 meters
Minimum Crew: 24
Estimated fighter craft: 2
Estimated drone payload: 20
Heavy plasma cannons: 8
Light plasma guns: 4
Laser arrays: 4
Frigate Class Hauler: TX-768-BART
Manufactured by: Taxtile Refurbishing: TeckBecon Station #45 in Gratar Five
Branding: Alloprize Incorporated Fleet 1
Hyperdrive: FTX- Mobile. 62 hours to 1 light year.
Warpdrive: No
Foldingdrive: No
Length: 100 meters
Minimum Crew: 20
Estimated fighter craft: 0
Estimated drone payload: 8
Heavy plasma cannons: 2
Light plasma guns: 2
Laser arrays: 1
“I think Jatal’s math is right,” Z said after the information scrolled down the left side of our display screen. “They have way more drones and craft out than they should be able to carry. I’m estimating that they don’t have anything left on board those ships.”
“Good. We are going to approach,” I said.
“Uhh. You sure? I mean. I know I’ve been doing okay flying, but those are five warships, and even if they don’t have drones, I’m guessing they will have hands on their plasma cannon controls.”
“They aren’t going to shoot us,” I said, and I noticed Eve smile. She must read my thoughts to understand my plan.
“What do you--”
“We are going to attach to the carrier, cut into the hull, and board.”
Z turned around in her chair and looked at me. Her blue eyes were the widest I’ve seen them yet, and her mouth hung open.
“Are you fucking cra--”
“They won’t shoot because they don’t want to destroy their fleet’s only carrier. They can’t peel us off because they don’t have drones or fighters, and they might not target us immediately because they think we are Jayhee’s crew,” I explained. “We’ll board, and they will try to hole up on the bridge until their drones can get back.”
“Yeah, so how are you going to get in there before the drones return? It’s not like you…” Her voice trailed off, and she sighed when she filled in the blanks of my plan.
“Yep, you are coming with us,” I said after horror crossed her face.
“Who’s going to fly the ship?” she asked as she rolled her eyes. “Wait, don’t answer that. We are just going to leave her parked on the exterior while we all storm their carrier. They will be too busy defending to try to raid us.”
“Huh, I was going to ask Eve to stay on board, but you’ve made a good point. We can all probably go,” I growled at the hacker. “Begin your approach.”
“Aye, Captain,” Z said with a groan. “Engaging thrusters, we’ll be there in forty-five seconds.”
“That gives me half a minute to figure out how to use the boarding tube, meet me on the bridge once you’ve attached yourself to the--”
“I’ve got an incoming communication from the carrier,” Z interrupted me.
“Let’s hear it, no display,” I said.
“Persephone, why are you accelerating toward us?” A man’s voice came over our speakers.
“Positioning for our hyperdrive.” I tried to make my voice sound smoother than it normally did when I was in my half-tiger form. “We’ll be out of your hair in a few seconds.”
“Negative, Persephone. Turn around and go about your business. You’ve filled your end of our deal, so you should leave. You have ten seconds to comply.”
“We’ll need…” I paused as I looked at Z. She mouthed the word ‘thirty’, and I cleared my throat, “thirty seconds to get in position. Thanks for understanding. I hope you blast the fuck out of those miners.”
“If you aren’t out of our hair in thirty, I’ll fire. You’ve been warned, Persephone. Don’t try me.” The man’s voice growled with annoyance, and I saw the termination signal flash across the corner of the screen.
“That was rude, it’s like he expects us to attack him or something,” Z chuckled as she angled Persephone through the empty space between one of the frigates and the carrier.
“I’ll head down to the bay. Meet me there,” I said as I turned from the two women.
Then I ran to my room to get my shotgun and the drums of solid slug ammo. I had hit the button for the elevator when I ran past it, and the car was waiting for me as soon as I returned from my room. I took it down, sprinted through the hallway toward the hold, and motioned for Jatal and his men to follow me to the corner where our boarding tube was positioned.
“Have you ever raided a ship before?” I asked the men as I grabbed the cutting controls for the tube. The device was standard equipment on most vessels, and it only took me a second to figure out how to turn it on.
“No. Most of us have spent our lives on the moon,” Jatal admitted. The men standing with him carried the expression of hopelessness on their faces, so I was going to have to turn them around real quick.
“Look, men,” I growled. “This is going to be hard, but not impossible. I’ve spent most my life as a marine in Jupiter’s Navy. Think of the hallways of the ship like the tunnels of your home. There are only going to be a handful of enemies. Once we take their ship we can wreak havoc on their other vessels. Their carrier has forty-four heavy plasma cannons. If we focus our fire, we can take out the other four ships in a few minutes, and they won’t be able to mount much of a counterattack.” As I spoke, I turned on the laser cutters and stared at the screen of the tube. I caught the last three meters of descent, and then Persephone made a slight shudder as she pushed against the bulkhead of the much larger ship.
“Who has grenades on them?” I asked the men because I saw a few of them had them attached to their belts. They all raised their hands, and I gave them a nod.
“I’ll take the point. You all follow me,” I ordered, and they all gave another nod. The men smelled less of fear after my words, and I guessed they would start to perform as soon as they saw what I would do to the first group of soldiers on the enemy ship.
“Captain, we are attached to the bottom of the carrier, but we are like a tick on the bottom of a pinky toe. This thing’s only twice the size of us, and these other fuckers are aiming their guns,” Z said over my transponder.
“Understood. You come down. Eve will stay and fly away if they fire on us.”
“Aye, Captain,” both women said.
Then I turned my attention to cutting through the bulkhead with the lasers.
Persephone’s boarding tube was about four meters wide, but while these tools usually had only a laser or two at the end to cut into other vessels, our strange ship had six. The monitor projected a cutting pattern on the area below where I wanted to slice, and as soon as I hit the ‘confirm’ button, the automated system went to work.
Z arrived only twenty seconds after I’d spoken with her, and the tool had finished attaching itself to the carrier’s metal exterior moments before. We were ready to board, and I slid out from behind the control terminal of the cutter and gestured for the purple cloaked men to follow me.
“What happens if Eve has to run?” Z hissed at me through panting breaths.
“Then we’ll stay on the carrier,” I answered as I walked to the edge of the tube. It descended at about a twenty degree angle. It had steps and areas to climb on the side for angled breaches like this, but I was just going to slide down, fall out of the hole, and start killing people.
“Won’t the hole you just made eject us all out to space?
“It will if we don’t move quick enough,” I said as I jumped down the chute.
I wasn’t at quite a steep enough angle to slide down the side of the tunnel, so I ran the ten or so meters and then flip-dropped the next five to the floor of the enemy carrier. The gravity tech of Persephone stopped pulling me once I reached the end of the chute, and the enemy carriers’ took control while I was in mid-fall. It meant that I’d only actually fallen a few meters out of Persephone’s tube before the other ship carefully set me on the floor.
I had drilled into one of the corners of what looked to be the rear hold, but this part appeared to be sectioned off as some sort of spare parts storage.
“Clear!” I shouted up, or maybe down was the correct term, and the men above me began to jump into the room.
Z was the fourth one down, and I motioned for her to stand in the middle of the pack of armed men. The blonde hacker nodded at my order, moved back a few steps, and then held her rifle at the ready. There was a door exitin
g the storage room, and I kicked it open before I leaned out.
There was no one in the main hold.
No ships, no drones, no servicemen. The area was a massive open space some eighty meters long and thirty meters wide, and the only evidence of use were the dirty oil stains that dotted the metal floor.
I had no idea where the bridge was, but we entered at the bottom of the ship, and they tended to be positioned near the middle of vessels for maximum protection. We’d need to find an elevator or at least a terminal Z could hack into.
“Let’s go. Keep your eyes open for drones,” I whispered to the group of men behind me. Then I pointed at the far side of the hold and started to run. There wasn’t anything we could use for cover, and I was a bit worried about making the dash across the open space, but we were short on time.
I also guessed that Z had been right in her calculations, and there weren’t many troops on the ship. If there had been, their marines would have been attacking us as soon as we left the boarding tube. Hell, they should have shot Persephone down as soon as we danced between their ships. They hadn’t though, and it was probably because they didn’t have enough bodies to man the guns.
What a bunch of arrogant fucks.
“Auto turret!” one of the men shouted, and we turned to the side as a light plasma cannon popped from the ground. Our guns sang in unison, and the hunk of weapon was blown into a thousand bits of molten metal. The appearance of the cannon, and the lack of any other turret, further confirmed my belief that there was probably just a skeleton crew up on the bridge. There might have only been three or four people flying this massive ship.
The purple cloaked men around me seemed to relax as soon as the turret was taken out, but they tensed again when I ordered them to keep moving.
We finally made it to one of the hold’s exit doors, but the light above the door was glowing red, and it didn’t budge when my kick made a dent in the metal.
“I’m on it!” Z shouted before I could issue the order, and the woman pushed through the purple cloaked freedom fighters so that she could stand next to me.
“How long will it take?” I asked as she connected the wire from her skull to the door keypad.
Space Witch: A Paranormal Space Opera Adventure (Star Justice Book 2) Page 10