Spinward Fringe Broadcast 5: Fracture

by Randolph Lalonde

  "A Caran Enterprises fleet has arrived, they're staking a claim on the station since our highest ranking officer is only a Forewoman, not even a real controller."

  "You couldn't have told us this a few minutes ago?" Victor replied at Bradley.

  "I'm sorry, I was-" he was interrupted as a flash of light flared through the wide porthole.

  "They just landed a focused nuclear strike against the Triton’s shields. Thank God it struck the opposite side," Ayan said as many of her companions stared in shock. "Run, the sooner we get to the Cold Reaver, the sooner we can try to blast our way out of here. We don't have much of a choice."

  "I'm getting a message from the Reaver now," Alaka said as they started running. "They say that someone is cutting through the hangar door from the outside. The metal is white hot and they've almost breached."

  "All right, tell them to stay tethered to something in case it opens to vacuum, and get the people we have in stasis bags ready to travel. No one takes more than their kit with them."

  Alaka relayed the message as quickly as he could. "Chief Vega wants to confirm; we're abandoning the Cold Reaver?"

  "I'm afraid so."

  Chapter 18

  Breaking Point

  The Clever Dream lowered itself into place over the squad, covering them with her main airlock. The embarkation collar sealed around the hole they were drilling through the large hangar door and the air began to pressurize. "How long?" Asked Jake.

  "Less than a minute. I'm just glad the ship is here so we don't open the space inside up to vacuum when we break through."

  "All our people are in vacsuits, that was never a worry." Captain Valance plugged into the small airlock interface panel and opened a channel to the Clever Dream's cockpit. "How is the Triton?"

  "Our live relay just went dead, but she was holding up just a few seconds ago. Oz kept them busy with negotiations as long as they could then they sent five destroyers. From what we could tell they managed to tear one to pieces, Ronin is keeping another very occupied," answered Lewis. "One more thing, it looks like the Palamo is starting a suicide run on the biggest of the Caran ships."

  "What kind of weaponry are they bringing to bear?"

  "Particle beams and self propelled torpedoes. Each of the vessels are heavily fortified, even the first Commander McPatrick managed to nearly disable is still firing."

  The fusion powered cutter burst through the hangar door and Jake watched as his squad removed the clamps securing the device in place and hauled it clear. The gravity between the Clever Dream and the station equalized, followed by the air pressure and the inner airlock door opened. He looked through the freshly cut hole and saw Ayan, Alaka, two squads and several other people rushing towards the Cold Reaver. Everyone from the drop ship had already realized that someone was cutting through to rescue them and they were tethered to the rear embarkation ramp of the Cold Reaver just in case the air was about to rush out the circular hole forming in the hangar door.

  "We don't have much time, come through in single file!" Jake ordered.

  Alaka remained closest to the main hall leading into the hangar, keeping watch with a canister in one hand and his beam cannon in the other. The armour plates of his vacsuit rose into place and sealed over his face.

  The group at the rear of the Cold Reaver were the first to climb through the hastily cut exit leading into the Clever Dream in single file. As the first group were through Jake stepped out and surveyed the situation. The crew and squads stationed on the Cold Reaver had done everything right. The majority of them had only taken their kits, a few had strapped on extra packs filled with food, medical supplies, extra power cells and survival gear. The weeks, and in some cases months of simulations the crew had undergone had paid off. For most of them it looked like they were quickly running through the motions. Even the technicians they'd brought moved as though they knew exactly what steps had to take place in order to evacuate to the Clever Dream.

  "Are you sure we have to leave her behind sir?" Stephanie asked as she was about to pass into the Clever Dream's airlock. "She's a solid ship."

  "As long as we have the Triton, that's just a glorified longboat," he answered flatly.

  "Aye," she nodded, moving on.

  Ayan's group put the mismatched station staffers first, and they eyed Captain Valance as they passed.

  Jake strode to meet Ayan half way, she held her rifle at the ready, walking backwards and looking towards the hall leading to the rest of the station. "They came out requesting asylum. Most are carrying medical gear, no weapons," she reported.

  "They have friends coming after them?" Jake asked.

  "There's a Forewoman here who wants to show she can control the station, I think they're undermining that."

  In a flash of light and sound gunfire erupted from the hallway at Alaka, who started walking backwards at an even pace. He fired several short streams of deadly energy from his beam cannon, cutting into the sides of the hallway and scorching bare cables tied against the walls.

  Ayan, Victor and a few other soldiers stepped forward and laid down cover fire with their pulse rifles so Alaka could turn and run. The shooting from the hallway ceased, and the tall nafalli took the opportunity to make a run for the makeshift exit. They withdrew in seconds, closing the airlock behind them.

  Jake hit the control panel's intercom button. "Time to go Lewis, I'm on my way to the cockpit."

  "I call it a bridge, for future reference. It may be small, but it has all the features one would expect on a proper starship, which I happen to be," Lewis replied over the speakers as Jake ran through the cargo area where the soldiers were settling in. Ayan was right behind him.

  He arrived on the bridge as the Clever Dream skimmed along the hull of the massive station, weaving between the lattice work and docking arms. Lieutenant Garrison got out of the pilot's seat and invited Jake to sit down. "Not like Lewis let me fly much anyway," he said with a smile. "I'll go help get the wounded into recovery chambers."

  "Good idea. You're trained?"

  "Lewis insisted since this is my third time on his bridge."

  "All right, keep me informed on their condition."

  Ayan took the secondary control seat and brought up the tactical and copilot's screens.

  "All right Lewis, get us clear of the station so we can communicate with the Triton," Jake ordered mildly.

  "As you wish. Would you like to take the controls?"

  "Not right now, just keep us clear of danger. Have you managed to get your cloaking systems back on line?"

  "There was no time to finish connecting the secondary field generator to my computer systems before I was called to this retrieval mission."

  "Could we do it right now?" Ayan asked.

  "Hello Ayan. No, I'm afraid not. My shields would have to be down."

  "All right, I promise I'll get to it as soon as I can."

  "Personally? Well, I'm honoured."

  "Triton to Clever Dream," addressed one of the communications officers through the communications systems.

  "Clever Dream here. We have everyone. Ready to land," Jake's breath caught in his throat as the Triton came up on his tactical display. The energy readings on their shields were dangerously low and they were open to space on the aft dorsal section, right below the gunnery deck. Several of the gunnery turrets were seized due to heat damage and their far port side had a through and through breach that effected six decks.

  "Change of plans Captain. I'm laser linking rendezvous coordinates to you," Oz said as the coordinates came up on the computer. "We're taking too much damage to take you on, we'll meet you there."

  "This is Ronin. My squadron is following you, Clever Dream. We'll hitch through your wormhole. We're coming up on your six."

  Jake took the controls and nodded. "You're going to have to play navigator Lewis," he said.

  His answer came like a shiver. The ship computer and Lewis connected to him through the link systems in his hands, a capability Jake ha
dn't used extensively since Pandem. In fact, he had made a point not to unless he was trying to access the biological regeneration abilities he'd discovered when Ayan had been shot. "I'm sorry, I wasn't aware how surprising this sensation would be to you. I often shared this link with Alice."

  "I'm sorry she couldn't be here," Jake replied aloud.

  "She made a point to say goodbye before she left. I miss her, but don't worry, she'll live on in another form." Lewis sent Jake a mental picture of a workable course that would lead them through the debris and enemy fighters.

  Ayan watched as Jake worked the controls with easy precision. It looked like he was staring at something very far away. "Are you all right Jacob?" she asked quietly.

  "I'm fine. Work the weaponry controls."

  The console in front of her reconfigured, her seat slid into place, and she was surrounded by holographic images and targeting controls. Minh and the rest of his squad had moved in to a flanking position behind and fired at the single seat fighters that threatened to close in from their port side.

  There was another group coming in to position, threatening to block their path with a line of deadly weapons' fire. To Ayan's amazement, the tactical controls were configured exactly the same as she'd find on any Freeground starship, and she got to work.

  Her fingers twitched from one holographic representation to another, marking targets for the fighters behind and for the Clever Dream's missile banks. The weapons suite on the ship began to fire, sending cluster missiles that burst into searing high speed flack, other missiles that honed in on one target and accelerated through them at incredible speeds and firing the ship's main guns. The Clever Dream was a dangerous vessel, a long range gunship made to accommodate a boarding crew. Few mercenaries could afford one, however, so it was sometimes seen in the hangars of wealthy collectors. She never thought she'd have the opportunity to operate one in any respect, especially from the weapons console.

  Even with her energy systems switched from high powered Xetima to a more dependable mass reactor system built across the ship, the Clever Dream was still capable of exerting incredible force.

  The shields were taking several hits from the fighters, but bearing it well, especially since most of the fighters were distracted by Minh-Chu's squadron following behind. They remained in position, pivoting the bodies of their Uriel and Ramiel starfighters and unleashing the full force of their weaponry on anything that threatened to get in their way.

  At long last they broke through the obscuring field into regular space.

  Ayan breathed a sigh of relief as Minh's entire squadron made it through the field, and then gasped at what she saw on the secondary tactical display as it populated. There were three massive destroyers flanking another base ship. Each of the escorting ships were over nine hundred meters long, with a density reading that equalled the Triton. She overlaid the Triton’s last known course. "The Triton will be caught off guard by that group of destroyers, we have to-"

  "I see it, we're looping back inside," Jake interrupted mechanically.

  Ayan nodded and switched all available power to the forward shields. As an extra safety measure and a warning to the fighters emerging from the field she opened fire with all the Clever Dream's weapons, hoping that the burst would frighten vessels they couldn't detect out of their way.

  Her hopes were partially fulfilled. One of the larger fighters glanced off their shields, sending the Clever Dream slightly off course. "We're too late." Jake said quietly. "They're crossing through the field. We have to go and hope they meet us at the rendezvous," Jake informed her.

  It was true, they had come back just in time to see the Triton’s aft section cross through into normal space, her shields were already taking extreme damage from the beating they were taking from the other side. Ayan balanced the energy distribution across the ship's shields and resumed fire on the fighters trying to follow them as they flipped end over end and blasted the engines at full thrust, reversing course through the obscuring barrier protecting Ossimi station.

  "I read you Clever Dream. You'll be creating a wormhole as soon as you emerge," Minh replied over the communicator. "Everything all right Captain? You sound a little... different."

  "He's sharing a direct link with the ship. I think it has to do with the framework system." Ayan told Minh.

  "I really have to look into getting a neural link."

  "Jason had one, he had to get rid of it to save his marriage."

  "Ah, then maybe I'll talk to him first. Good shooting Sunspot."

  Ayan couldn't help but smile at the old call sign. It was chosen on a whim when she was in the academy and it stuck because of her size and temper. She'd managed to bring her temper under control since, and she had stopped seeing the use of the nickname as a derogatory comment on her size years before. Too many friends had called her Sunspot over the years for it to have any negative connotation.

  They broke through the field and Ayan could hear the power systems hum as they shunted energy towards the wormhole generator. The entry point formed and Ayan began broadcasting the entry point location to the fighters over an encrypted channel. She watched as Ronin's Ramiel fighter, followed by his thirteen squadron mates entered the barely visible end of the wormhole and accelerated away so quickly it was almost as though they disappeared. The Clever Dream was the last to enter, and either Lewis or Jake, she wasn't sure which, shunted most of the energy from the shields to the engines.

  The entry point to the wormhole travelled along after them like a three kilometre wake as they accelerated through compressed space, making it impossible for anyone to follow.

  The information streaming to Captain Valance through his connection with Lewis was amazing. He could see all the fighters in perfect line formation, centred in the wormhole with their controls slaved to the leader's, Minh's fighter. All their vital statistics said that they were at rest, and there were sporadic communications passing between them.

  "I can't believe we didn't lose anyone," commented Finger.

  "With every successful mission the likelihood that we lose anyone, or even a ship will lessen," replied Slick, who had been reassigned as Ronin's wing man.

  "Even so, we buy our minutes with our decisions. Not one second comes free. I'm proud to fly with all of you," Ronin added. Jake was enjoying having him back.

  Amidst the flow of data came something Jacob did not expect, an emotion. Lewis was glad Ronin had joined the crew of the Triton, and he expressed it emotionally. The feeling was strange, inexplicably different from any human feeling. Even still, there was only one way to comprehend the expression, and that was as a mild happy one at the presence of Ronin and after the experience of that emotion passed Jake realized that Lewis felt the same way about Ayan and himself being aboard. Lewis actually enjoyed having people on board the Clever Dream, even the people who were busy setting up fold out cots and partitions in the main cargo hold. Lewis had already informed them that they would be in transit for at least ten hours. Stephanie had given the order to rest and tend to the few minor injuries they had.

  "Jake, there's an urgent message here from the Triton," Ayan interrupted, placing a hand on his arm.

  Jacob released his light grip on the flight controls. There was no reason for him to worry about them, they had been locked since they entered the wormhole. "I didn't see it in the computer."

  "You really were in there, weren't you?" Ayan asked him, her big blue eyes looking into his warily. "How is it?"

  "Jason was right, Lewis's personality has balanced out. He seems stable, positive."

  "I don't know about that. The time stamp on this transmission is from before we entered the wormhole but the comm system didn't deliver it until now."

  "I'm sorry, I didn't think you wanted to be distracted," Lewis explained.

  "That's not your call to make Lewis. You might be the governing AI aboard, but we need access to all incoming information, we'll tell you when we need you to sort through it for us."

&nb
sp; "I'll keep that in mind."

  Jake's expression darkened, he looked up to the cockpit canopy as though Lewis was somehow installed there instead of deeper inside the ship, it was a common reflex. "Don't keep it in mind, call it gospel. Keeping information intended for your command crew is a malfunction. If it can't be corrected we'll have to remove your program."

  "Yes sir," Lewis barked.

  "What's worse? A murderous Holocaust AI or one who knows how to push your buttons?" Jake grumbled as he reached over and activated the playback.

  It was a report generated by Jason's communications terminal. Ayan and Jake recognized the format immediately. The Caran Enterprise destroyers had signalled their intent on executing the Galactic Warrant issued for the Triton. The warrant itself was hundreds of pages long, but the sections Jason had highlighted indicated that Regent Galactic had prompted the investigation that resulted in the issuance of the warrant itself. The cause for the warrant was exactly what they expected, but they were surprised at the absence of Sol Defence's or the Earth fleet's involvement in the issuance of the warrant.

  The remaining technologies from the Triton were to be delivered to Order of Eden forces immediately after capture. "Well, that's one thing we don't have to worry about in this. The Sol Defence Fleet isn't trying to get their ship back yet," Jake said as he sat back in the pilot's seat.

  Ayan worked the console, looking for anything else in the message. There was nothing. One of her golden curls had gotten free of her hood and swung against her cheek as she looked over the holographic display again. She looked beyond worried.

  Jake mentally ordered the glove of his vacsuit to retract, it was as effortless as instinct, and reached out to stroke her cheek. That was a reflex too, brought up by how close the console seating brought them together and his concern for her.