by Frank Carey
"Yes, Captain. I understand," Nersa said.
Ange nodded and left them to move Silvestri to his new home
With Tobath's help, the Engineering team disconnected Silvestri while Nersa left to prepare the ship and her family for battle.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The League Battle Shuttle Sun Tzu raced through FTL space on a heading straight for the Halcyon home world. Inside, slowly regaining consciousness was Gloria, strapped to a seat and handcuffed. Slowly, she became aware of her surroundings, noticing first the smell of incense which filled the room.
"Did something die in here?" Gloria asked as she shook her head to clear the stench from her nostrils.
"Do not blaspheme, unbeliever," Genna said from the opposite side of the cabin where she had set up a makeshift altar. "You should be proud. Few off-worlders are given the privilege of experiencing the scent of sacred incense."
"How about you bless us by opening a window? I've found dead things that smelled less offensive than that shit."
"It pleases my god," Genna said as she started chanting.
"How do you know that? Did you ask him, her, or it?"
There was no reply forthcoming.
Damn zealots, Gloria thought as she tried working out of her restraints. Take a perfectly good idea like religion and turn it into a blood sport. Why is it people of all species require affirmation from a divine being before going-off on a killing spree?
"Genna, you seem like an intelligent woman. Why not stop the ship and we can talk about this over tea?" Gloria asked as she tried a more civilized route.
"They must all die," Genna said.
"Who? Who must die?"
"The Halcyons. They are the ones who must die."
"Why? What the hell did they do to you?"
"Their actions led to the death of fifty Tralaskans patriots at the hands of the inferior Martok. One of those fifty was my brother."
A vengeance-swearing zealot. Far worse, Gloria thought. Time to shut this down. I wonder if I'll have to do jail time for breaking secrecy. “Well, hell, why didn't you say something? Your brother and all his little friends are alive and well back at the Protector. This whole war thing was a ruse to draw out the..."
"You lie," Genna said as she smiled up to heaven.
Dammit! She's in some kind of rapture. "Not to rain on your parade, but we've got one ship," Gloria pointed out. "How do plan on killing a whole planet?"
"I've made a few improvements to our FTL drive. I plan to land and detonate the cores. The force of the explosion should be enough to split the planet in half."
"You do know you're insane, don't you?"
"I'm not insane. My family had me tested. I just have anger issues," Genna said still smiling.
Shit. I'm so screwed, Gloria thought as she looked around the cabin for a way out.
Genna's smile disappeared as she took the incense stick and plunged the hot tip into a bed of sand before picking up a book and returning to the Pilot's seat. She sat down and read from it while moving her body back and forth as she experienced religious fervor.
Gloria looked at the door leading to the Engine Room and tried to will the FTL drive to explode. She hung her head in defeat when nothing happened.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Nersa walked out of her room wearing a battle suit matching the ones being worn by her children. Someone had even found one that fit Arriska's lanky frame. Nersa looked at her brood with pride filling her heart. Just then, Tobath entered the room. "We're ready," he said as he stopped and admired them before ducking into his room.
When he returned he was wearing leather pants and a leather jacket befitting a Master Engineer of the League Merchant Navy.
"Arriska, with me in the cockpit. Stations," Nersa said. She entered the Cockpit and took the pilot's seat while Kaylon took copilot. Since Tobath would remain in the Engine Room, Arriska took his place at the Engineer's station.
In the cabin, Muusta activated the ship's weapons systems. A control chair and attached console rose from the deck at the center of the room. Arrayed around Muusta's station were Erik at Communications and Alby at Sensors. As they prepared to take off, the wall between the cabin and cockpit retracted into the floor, allowing for instant communications between crew members.
"Nersa to Protector. Permission to launch," she said as the ship hovered above the deck while its landing gear retracted. Out in front of the ship a marshaller guided them to the center of the deck. He gave them a thumbs-up and saluted before running to safety behind a barricade at the edge of the bay.
"Melete, up is go. Good hunting and Godspeed," Launch Control said over the radio.
"Thank you, Protector. See you soon," Nersa said. "Kaylon, launch!"
"Aye, ma'am. Launch," Kaylon said while reaching over and pushing the ventral thruster levers forward, propelling the Melete upward through the atmo field and into space. Once clear of the ship, they set an intercept course and activated the Melete's massive real-space engines. With the Protector disappearing into the distance, the Melete reached minimum transfer speed. Kaylon pushed a lever forward, sending the real-space engines to idle while the FTL engines pulled them from real-space into FTL space where they could move at many times light-speed. She pushed the lever past its standard setting until it was at maximum power.
"Captain, power is at max, on course for intercept with the LBS Sun Tzu. ETA thirty minutes."
"Thank you, Kaylon. It's been a while since I piloted the Melete. Arriska, status please."
"Captain, all systems in the green. NAVComp is functioning normally. All weapons and defensive systems are on standby."
"Very good, battle stations," she said
Klaxons sounded followed by metal shutters rising to cover all view screens and ports. The forward view was replaced with vid images with tactical overlays. Belts emerged from their seats, strapping the occupants in. Lighting went from white to red as comm and sensors increased their sensitivity ten-fold. Muusta threw a switch which extended the gun emplacements while activating battle shields and stealth fields, making the ship invisible from the outside. In less than one minute, the ship was rigged for battle.
"Captain, all stations are at battle stations."
"Excellent. Now we wait and hope we're in time," Nersa said as the freighter flew on to destiny.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Aboard the Sun Tzu, Genna prepared to exact her revenge on the unsuspecting inhabitants of Halcyon. Seeing they were about to arrive, she made a call, saying, "It's done," before killing the connection.
"Little premature there, don't you think?" Gloria said in an attempt at shaking Genna's resolve. "You know that Capt. Thurgood called ahead and warned them, don't you?"
"It doesn't matter. This ship is built for combat on Tralaska. I only need to detonate the engines near the planet to exact my revenge."
Gloria looked over at the builder's plaque on the wall and saw it had been built at the Newport News facilities on Earth. Now I can add delusional to the list, she thought.
A bell rang indicating decant from FTL space in two minutes. Genna took the ship to battle stations while activating shields and the automated fire system. Gloria could only watch helplessly as Genna prepared to kill untold numbers of sentients in an act of senseless revenge.
As the screens cleared, they found themselves surrounded by small warships of an unknown design. They hung off the port and starboard as if waiting for something to happen. Before the automatic defensive system could fire on them, warning shots bracketed them from aft as the radio crackled to life. Genna activated the rear cameras and saw the Melete flying no more than one hundred feet off the Sun Tzu's stern.
"This is the League Transport Vessel Melete, Captain Nersa in command. I order you to heave-to and prepare to be boarded. If you do not comply I am authorized to fire for effect."
"You wouldn't dare. You'll kill Gloria," Genna responded.
"She knows what's at stake here, and there is t
he question of if she can die."
Shocked at the response, Genna looked at Gloria who looked back with a smile and a shrug.
Panicked, Genna overrode the fire control system and swung the guns at Melete before opening fire on the transport.
###
"I think you scared her, Mom," Kaylon said as she evaded rounds coming at them.
"Distance from planet?" Nersa ordered.
"We are ten minutes from atmo, ma'am," Alby replied.
"Tobath, what's the Sun Tzu's armament?" Nersa asked Tobath over the intercom.
"Similar to ours. Quad slug throwers mounted dorsally and ventrally. Dual throwers port and starboard. She's got twin blasters forward and nothing aft. Genna didn't have time to load missiles or bombs, so she can't do much damage against a city."
"What the hell does she have planned?" Nersa wondered out loud as they approached the planet.
Erik chimed in. "Mother, she has the ship itself. She could ram the planet while moving into FTL. She could detonate the real-space engines while over the city. She could overload the FTL core while inside the planet's gravimetric field."
"What about the safety interlocks?" Nersa asked.
"I've hacked Space Command's personnel database. Genna is a top-rated engineer. She's more than capable of removing all safety interlocks. Hell, she probably has already jacked the engines for maximum effect. We should assume the Sun Tzu is a flying bomb," Tobath replied over the intercom.
"Suggestions?"
"I'm coming up," Tobath replied. A moment later, he ran up from engineering and knelt between the two pilot stations. He tapped the center information display which brought up a three-view of the Sun Tzu. He pointed at a spot at the back of the ship. "There was a repair order issued for this ship after the Protector went rogue, so they probably don't know about it yet. A sub-processor node was mounted here, but it's too close to the hull. The repair order was for moving the node deeper into the body."
"How does that help us?" Kaylon asked.
"This sub-processor controls the emergency descent system. Like the FTL drive system, the four real-space engines and their fuel cells are mounted on a sled that can be ejected in the event of catastrophic damage. If this occurs in atmo, the ship will automatically land."
"You're saying we can force them to land?"
"Yes. One properly placed round here," he said, zooming in on a small spot at the back of the ship nestled between the two lower motors, "would do the trick."
"What about the FTL Drive?"
"It automatically scrams. It will take Genna at least thirty minutes to reset the system. Once scrammed, it’s basically inert until the reset finishes."
"Muusta, are you getting all this?" Nersa asked her Weapons Officer.
"Yes, ma'am, and I hear a 'but' coming," the big Storen said from his weapons chair.
"The sweet spot is six inches in diameter and the node is nestled between two fuel cells. You miss one inch to the left or right and the ship will explode, killing Gloria and her Captor instantly."
Muusta placed his hands palm up about six inches apart. "No problem, brother. Plenty of room."
"What about shields?" Arriska asked. "Won't they stop bullets?"
"Yes, but we have a small window where the shield generators remodulate for atmo. This occurs for two seconds after initial reentry. There'll be a shimmer just prior to the two second window. Brother, you get one shot!"
"Doable it is," Muusta said as he cracked his knuckles.
"Kaylon, time to atmo?" Nessa asked.
"One minute, Mother."
"Stations. Muusta, good shooting."
"Always," he said as he adjusted fire control settings.
Tobath headed back to the Engine Room, touching hands with Arriska as he passed. With fifteen seconds left, Kaylon moved the Melete into position directly aft of the Sun Tzu to give her brother the best chance for making the shot. Unfortunately, it also meant they were getting the brunt of the barrage unleashed by Genna. Like the Sun Tzu, the Melete also had a two second shield reset which would occur after Sun Tzu's and before they could cause an emergency descent to occur. This small period of time was when they were in the most danger.
"Erik, open a link with Sun Tzu," Nersa said.
"Yes, ma'am... Link open."
"Genna, this is Capt. Nersa of the Musae. Why have you taken my friend hostage and threatened the people on the planet below? What do you hope to gain?"
"To avenge the deaths of my brother and the other Tralaskans at the hands of the Martok."
"But no one died," Arriska said as the others watched in shock. "Genna, this is Princess Arriska of the Martok. You have my word it was all a ruse to force the Halcyons to reveal themselves." Nersa looked over at Kaylon who was holding up three fingers.
"You lie, Martok. I saw them die."
"So did I, Genna. I stood there in front of the window and watched the shots pass through their bodies, but it was a trick, a holographic projection. No one died. Your brother and his friends are alive and well aboard the Protector."
The gunfire from the Sun Tzu stopped.
"You are trying to trick me. They are dead, and their deaths must be avenged."
"They live I tell you. If you go through with your plans then all those innocent people on the planet below will die for no reason!"
"No!"
Kaylon signaled Muusta. He made a minute adjustment to the weapons, then fired. The single round passed through the shields just as they came back to full power before hitting the hull at exactly the right point. A slug of molten metal passed through the thin hull plate before obliterating the sub-processor and initiating an emergency descent.
"Break away, break away, break away," Nersa said as the Sun Tzu's real-space engines cut-off. Kaylon hit the retro thrusters, forcing the Melete to pull away from the Sun Tzu. As the Melete's crew watched, a series of charges went off along the rear of the ship, freeing the real-space engines to disconnect from the hull and tumble away before several small rockets ignited, taking the aft assembly into orbit.
The crippled Sun Tzu fired thrusters as it entered an emergency landing posture. The gun emplacements retracted as shutters covered the view ports.
"She's going down. Emergency beacons activated and log buoy has launched," Alby reported.
"Heading?"
"Three hundred five degrees magnetic. Scanners show a population center on that course," Alby replied. "I'm getting neutrino emissions consistent with fusion power generation, and I'm reading many life signs.”
"Time to landing?"
"Two minutes, Captain," Kaylon said. "I estimate the LZ will be about two clicks from the city perimeter."
"Erik, hail the city."
"Yes, ma'am. No response on any channel."
"Dammit. Send them our log from the time of launch. Send it unencrypted and in the clear."
"Yes, ma'am... Still no response."
"Prepare for landing. Tobath, I want you and Alby to secure the Sun Tzu's FTL Drive the moment we have access. We still have an angry Tralaskan. Kaylon, you're going to have to talk her down."
"Why me?"
"You happen to be the closest thing we have to a Tralaskan deity. I need you in full-on Tyen mode, daughter."
"This is the part of my culture I hate," Kaylon said as she prepared the ship for landing.
###
"No!" Genna screamed into the microphone. She reached over to reactivate the guns when the ship lurched as the Master Alarm klaxon sounded signaling something bad had happened. In moments the lights went out and were replaced by the red glow of emergency lighting. Shutters covered external windows as the ship lurched again. Genna fought with the controls to no avail. The computer had taken over.
Preoccupied with trying to regain control, Genna didn't notice Gloria picking the locks on her handcuffs with a paper clip from a stack of papers that had slid by in the fracas. Gloria sat and waited for an opportunity to make use of her new-found freedom.
&
nbsp; The Sun Tzu activated retro thrusters and extended spoilers as it attempted to safely land as close to what it considered an inhabited area as possible without landing on top of it. The ship rolled and yawed as it adjusted course and altitude using thrusters only. Seeing she could not regain control, Genna tried to make her way back to the Engine room to rig the FTL core to explode, but the ship's erratic motion made it difficult to reach what remained of the aft section. A violent jink to port caused Genna to move close to where Gloria sat. Seeing her chance, Gloria jumped up and swung a haymaker punch straight into the Tralaskan's left jaw. Even though the impact numbed Gloria's arm, Genna only shook her head while rubbing her jaw.
Shit! Gloria thought while backing away from Genna, who advanced on her with eyes full of unbridled anger.
"That was a mistake," Genna said as Gloria looked for a bazooka or perhaps a ball bat to use against the enraged Tralaskan.
Forgetting about the FTL drive, Genna reached across the gap separating them, grabbing Gloria by the throat and lifting the smaller Elf off the floor while squeezing the very life from her. Gloria struggle and kicked, but nothing she did could break Genna's grip. Just as she was about to pass out, the ship came to an abrupt stop, throwing the two of them into the forward bulkhead. Mercifully, Gloria passed out.
###
Gloria looked down from the roof of the building near which a crowd of others of her kind protested the induction of recruits into the Marine Corps. Across the street, a dozen of her kind queued up to board a transport to the training facility far from where they stood. She could see her parents standing there, her mother crying at the thought of her son leaving to go off and maybe get shot.
Gloria recognized this place and time. In the crowd of protesters, she saw a younger version of herself carrying a protest sign while across the street she saw her twin brother boarding the transport.
"Royce," she said. "What the hell was I thinking?"