by Ryk Brown
As the numerous technicians began disconnecting the equipment-maneuvering pods from the base of the plasma cannon turret, the lead technician looked around the bay. Shortly, the bay would be pressurized, and his people could begin installation of the weapon.
* * *
“Any idea what they’re doing down there?” Josh asked from the front seat of the Falcon’s cockpit.
“Not a clue,” Loki answered. “I haven’t been able to see anything since the Aurora moved in over the top of the Celestia. She’s inverted—I know that much—and she’s really close to the Celestia as well, maybe fifty meters.”
“Whatever they’re doing, I hope they finish soon,” Josh said. “I’m getting bored.”
“You’ve been complaining for weeks about wanting to get back in the cockpit, and now you’re complaining about being bored?”
“I wanted to get back to flying,” Josh said, “not hovering over the pole of a gas giant for days on end.”
“It’s only been a few hours, Josh,” Loki said. “Besides, you’d better get used to long, boring flights. I suspect most of them are going to be recon flights from now on.”
“I need some excitement, some challenges. Instead, I’m staring at swirling gas clouds. Hell, flying the Aurora was more exciting than this,” Josh exclaimed.
Loki ignored him as he continued to monitor his sensor displays.
“You could always take a turn monitoring the sensors,” Loki mumbled.
“At least you got to go on an adventure back on Tanna.”
“Yeah, that was loads of fun,” Loki replied, “especially the space jump part.”
“Exactly! That’s what I’m talking about. You got to space jump! How cool was that? The most exciting thing I’ve done lately is crash the flight simulator just for the hell of it.”
“You don’t want to space jump, Josh. Trust me on this.”
“I have this overwhelming urge to open up the throttles and do a fast lap around this big ball of gas. Maybe dodge a few moons at high speed just to see how she feels again.”
Josh waited nearly a minute for a response from Loki, but it did not come. “That was your cue, Loki. You’re supposed to talk me out of doing stupid things, remember?”
Loki continued ignoring him as he studied his sensor display more closely.
“Are you even listening to me, Loki?” Josh turned around the best he could in his flight seat to look back over his shoulder at Loki who was sitting behind him. Loki was staring intently at his displays. His brow was furrowed and concern showed on his face. “What’s wrong?”
“Uh, I think you might get that excitement you’re craving, and sooner than you thought.” Loki activated the Falcon’s laser comm-array, locking it onto the Aurora’s position over Metis. “Aurora, Falcon. Flash traffic.”
CHAPTER THREE
“Two contacts,” Loki reported over the comms. “Tactical database puts them as Jung gunships. They just dropped out of FTL. Transmitting sensor telemetry to you now.”
“Tell them to stay on station and keep feeding us their sensor telemetry,” Nathan ordered as he came out of his ready room to the port side of the comm station.
“Yes, sir,” Naralena answered.
“Receiving the Falcon’s sensor telemetry,” Mister Randeen reported from the tactical station. “Putting it up on the main view screen.”
Nathan watched the main view screen as he passed the tactical station on his way forward. The computer-enhanced images of the two targets appeared in separate windows on either side of the tracking window. Nathan recognized the configurations of the ships, as the Aurora had faced such ships before. Nathan felt a surge of confidence. They had faced far more dangerous ships over the past months and with far less firepower than they currently possessed. “Those are gunships, all right.” Nathan turned back toward tactical, a slight smile on his face. “How long until they get line of sight on us?”
“Based on their rate of deceleration and angle of approach, twenty minutes, sir.”
“How did they get so close?” Nathan wondered.
“The Falcon reported they dropped out of FTL less than a minute ago,” Mister Randeen said. “Their trajectory shows they came from Earth, so that was one short FTL run.”
“I didn’t think they made interplanetary FTL hops,” Nathan stated.
“Perhaps they normally don’t.”
“Sound general quarters,” Nathan ordered.
“General quarters, aye,” Mister Randeen answered.
“Mister Chiles, how long will it take to move us behind Metis?”
“A few minutes at the most, sir,” Mister Chiles answered from the helm.
“Plot the maneuver and stand by.” Nathan turned aft. “Contact the Celestia. Tell them they have fifteen minutes to evacuate.”
“Aye, sir.”
“Connect me with the Falcon.”
“Connection open.”
“Falcon, Aurora Actual,” Nathan called over his comm-set.
“Aurora Actual, Falcon. Go ahead, sir,” Loki answered.
“In about sixteen minutes, we’re going to go behind Metis. I’ll need you to tell us when the nearest gunship is almost at her maximum gun range.”
“Understood, sir.”
“Kill your telemetry for now. Only call when you have something to report. Keep your emissions low and stay stealthy. We don’t want them to detect you.”
“Yes, sir,” Loki answered.
“Telemetry lost,” Mister Randeen reported.
“Connect me with the Celestia,” Nathan ordered as the images being transmitted from the Falcon disappeared from the main view screen.
“How much propellant do you have?” Nathan asked over the comms.
“Stand by one,” Cameron answered as she moved to the navigator’s chair on the Celestia’s bridge and checked the displays. “Not even one percent capacity, sir.”
“I don’t suppose that’s enough to get you anywhere.”
“It’ll get us off of Metis,” Cameron answered as she punched commands into the Celestia’s navigation computer, “but I’m afraid that’s about all it will do.”
“I don’t suppose another ten minutes of propellant transfer will make a difference.”
“Not really,” Cameron answered. “It might give us enough to accelerate into a higher orbit or maybe reach another moon. We wouldn’t have enough propellant left to set her down again though, especially if the next moon is larger than Metis.” Cameron waited for a response before speaking. “Any ideas, sir?”
Another moment passed before Nathan responded. “There are only two gunships at the moment, but I don’t want to take any chances, not after they used their FTL drives to get out here in such a hurry. For all we know, there could be more ships about to come out of FTL at any moment. Better if you and your people clear out of there for now.”
“We’ve still got a shuttle attached to the forward airlock,” Cameron reminded him. “We could wait and…”
“That’s an order, Commander.”
“Yes, sir,” Cameron answered. She sighed. “I was hoping this wouldn’t be the shortest command in EDF history,” she said to her executive officer, Lieutenant Commander Kovacic. “All right, people. We’ve been ordered to evacuate. Report to the port personnel airlock and board the shuttle.”
“Move it! Move it!” Marcus hollered from the entrance to the rescue tunnel. “We have five minutes before they cut us free! Anyone left in that tube is gonna be flopping around in space like a big worm!”
Technicians stepped into the midship maintenance airlock one by one. Each crewman entered and ascended the ladder up through the Celestia’s three-meter-thick hull, passing through the rescue tunnel’s connection ring on the other side. Once through the ring, th
ey found themselves out of the pull of the Celestia’s artificial gravity. They pushed off hard from the inner edge of the ring, propelling themselves upward into the two-meter-wide tunnel.
“Pull yourselves along with the rope and don’t bunch up!” Marcus ordered. “If you don’t make it through before the iris closes on the other end, get your ass back down here ASAP, or you might find yourself floating in space with your eyes bugging out and your blood boiling! That’s bound to make each and every one of you uglier than you already are!”
Ensign Tillardi passed by the senior chief on his way to the airlock.
“Hey,” Marcus said, grabbing Tilly by the shoulder, “you’re this bucket’s acting Cheng, right?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Did everyone make it out of your section?”
“Yes, Senior Chief. I checked all the aft sections on the way forward.”
“Did you report to the bridge that engineering was clear?”
“Yes, before I headed forward.”
“Then why the hell didn’t they tell me?” Marcus complained. “Goddamn it!” Marcus tapped his comm-set. “Bridge, midship airlock. Have all teams checked out yet?”
“We’re just waiting on word from you, Senior Chief,” Commander Taylor answered over the comms. “Has Ensign Tillardi made it to you yet?”
“Yes, sir. He’s standing right next to me.”
“Then you’re clear to evac, Senior Chief. Close the hatch on your way out.”
“What about you, sir?”
“We’ll be on our way to the evac shuttle in a few minutes,” Cameron told him. “We’ll see you on the Aurora.”
“Yes, sir,” Marcus answered, tapping his comm-set again to disconnect the call. “Why are you standing around, Ensign?” Marcus asked Ensign Tillardi. “Get your ass up that ladder!”
The Aurora’s bridge lighting was tinted red, indicating that the ship was at general quarters. Nathan paced nervously across the back of the Aurora’s bridge in front of the comm station. “How much time is left?”
“Three minutes until we need to detach and start our move,” Mister Randeen reported.
Nathan stopped pacing and turned toward Naralena at the comm station. “Do we still have people in the rescue tunnel?”
“One moment,” Naralena answered. “Thirty-nine have made it back through the tunnel,” she reported a moment later. “Eleven are still making their way through the tunnel. Senior Chief Taggart reported he was the last one entering the tunnel about a minute ago.”
“What about the bridge crew?”
“The command deck evac shuttle is departing the Celestia now,” Mister Randeen reported from the tactical station. “They should be on our deck in ninety seconds.”
“Not a moment too soon,” Nathan said under his breath.
Mister Randeen turned around to face the captain. “Sir, it takes at least two to three minutes to travel through that tunnel, even with no one in front of you. With ten others in front of you…”
Nathan sighed. “Naralena, please remind the senior chief that time is short.”
“Don’t bunch up, damn it!” Marcus yelled up the tunnel as he pulled himself along with the center guide rope. The long, two-meter-wide tunnel swayed and shuddered as crewmen traveling its length in hurried fashion brushed up against its reinforced fabric sides.
“Senior Chief, captain says to hurry up,” Naralena called over the comms. “You’re down to two minutes.”
“For crying out loud!” Marcus grumbled as he continued pulling himself along as quickly as possible. “What the hell does she think I’m doing?” Marcus suddenly felt something strike his head. “What the…?” He stopped and looked up the tunnel. Ensign Tillardi had lost his grip on the center rope and had toppled into the side of the tunnel, causing it to shift sharply to one side. The ensign’s head had caught one of the tunnel’s support ribs, causing him to spin around and kick the senior chief in the side of the head. “What the hell’s the matter with you?” Marcus hollered.
“My jacket is caught!” Tilly replied as he tugged to try to free his jacket from the support rib.
“Stop yanking on it, you dumbass! You’ll tear the tunnel open!”
“But I’m stuck!”
“Take the damned thing off, you idiot!” Marcus yelled.
Ensign Tillardi did as he was instructed, slipping off his jacket, then continued up the tunnel.
“We have nobody in front of us now, so move your ass, kid!”
“Flash traffic!” Naralena announced. “Falcon reports the targets are splitting. Target One is accelerating.”
“ETA on the accelerating target?” Nathan asked.
“One moment,” Mister Randeen answered.
“Falcon reports target one has gone into FTL!” Naralena added.
“Contact!” Mister Navashee reported from the sensor station. “Two hundred thousand kilometers and closing. Transferring track to tactical.”
“It’s a Jung gunship!” Mister Randeen reported. “It has to be target one.”
Nathan couldn’t believe what had just happened. “How is that possible? FTL is in a straight line…”
“Target one will have gun range on us in one minute!” Mister Randeen reported.
“Disconnect the ERT!” Nathan ordered.
“Closing tunnel iris,” Mister Randeen reported.
“Captain,” Naralena warned, “there are still two men in the tunnel!”
“Tell them to head back,” Nathan ordered.
“Disconnecting tunnel. We’re free to maneuver.”
“Helm! Topside thrusters! Get us clear of that tunnel, then bring our nose to target and accelerate!”
“Firing topside thrusters,” Mister Chiles reported from the helm.
“Flight, Captain! Launch a shuttle to recover those two men as soon as they get back aboard the Celestia!” Nathan ordered into his comm-set. “Tactical, power up the plasma torpedoes and prepare to fire!”
“Son of a bitch!” Marcus swore as the tunnel broke free from the Aurora and swung wildly to one side.
“They left without us!” Tilly exclaimed in shock. “Damn it! How could he do that to us?”
“If the captain cut us free, he had a damn good reason to do it!” Marcus declared as he spun around in the tunnel. “Those Jung ships must be closer than we thought!” Marcus began pulling himself back down the tunnel toward the Celestia. “We’ve gotta get back to the Celestia! If a single, stray rail gun round pierces this thing, we’re fucked!”
“Why is the tunnel moving so much?” Tilly asked.
“Must be the Aurora’s thruster wash!”
“Senior Chief!” Naralena called over Marcus’s comm-set. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, sure,” Marcus answered as he pulled himself along the center rope. “I’m just fucking great! How about you, sugar?”
“How many of you are still in the tunnel?”
“Just me and Ensign Dumbass… I mean, Tillardi.”
“Jung ship came out of FTL. They’ll have weapons range in thirty seconds,” Naralena warned. “Get back to the Celestia as fast as you can. The captain has launched a shuttle to pick you up.”
“Give him a big kiss for me,” Marcus exclaimed as he pulled himself along as quickly as possible.
“Contact the Falcon,” Nathan ordered. “Verify that this isn’t a third target come to crash the party.”
“Target one is firing her rail guns!” Mister Randeen announced.
“Second contact!” Mister Navashee reported.
Enemy rail gun rounds walked across the top of the Aurora’s forward section, sending reverberations throughout the ship. Nathan felt the vibrations in the deck beneath his feet. “That’s the light stuff. They’re feeling
us out. They may have orders to take us alive.”
“Target is maneuvering hard, Captain,” Mister Randeen reported from tactical. “Erratic zigzag pattern. Varying her orbital inclination as well. She may be trying to keep us from getting a clean shot with our plasma torpedoes.”
“That would explain why she’s using her smaller guns,” Nathan realized. “If I remember correctly from our first encounter with them, their larger rail guns don’t track as quickly. Open fire with all forward rail guns, Mister Randeen. Drop the quads out the bottom and prepare them to fire on the target as we pass.”
“Opening fire with all forward rail guns, aye. Dropping the quads out the bottom.”
“Mister Chiles,” Nathan said, turning forward. “Roll us over and show her our belly as we pass. As soon as she passes our quads, pitch up so our topside comes to face the target quickly as we turn back toward Metis.”
“Aye, sir.”
“Mister Randeen, that target may make a run on the Celestia. If we have to chase her back toward Metis, be careful that we don’t inadvertently pound our own ship with rail gun fire.”
Pushed aside by the Aurora’s thruster wash as she departed, the unconnected end of the sixty-meter-long rescue tunnel swung over and fell slowly toward the Celestia, assisted by the weak gravity of Metis. The tunnel began to lay down across the Celestia’s hull as it twisted and turned like a gigantic worm.
“We’re almost there!” Marcus yelled. The tunnel wall slammed into him as the tunnel itself began shifting to the right. Marcus noticed the curve in the tunnel ahead of him and felt himself starting to fall. “Oh, shit! Turn around! Feet first!” he hollered. Marcus spun clumsily around, finally ending up in a feet first fall down the two-meter-wide rescue tunnel. He bounced off the sides of the tunnel wall again and again as he continued to fall. The tunnel seemed to be moving to his left. Before he knew it, his feet hit the curve in the tunnel wall, and he crumpled against the left side of the tunnel. Ensign Tillardi landed next to him as the entire tunnel fell to one side, and they both found themselves lying on their backs against what was now the tunnel floor.