by Jay Toney
"Of course, I can be in two places at once with my avatar. May I bring Tanya with me? She can be my copilot and help with the comms and sensors. It is how the Iniguar bond mates go into combat so that if they die, they die together." Natasha seemed to have picked up on my thoughts about the Iniguar. It was possible it was just a coincidence, but it was rare that anything she did just happened to be a coincidence. Natasha had levels of thought that went way beyond what humans were capable of thinking. She planned and weighed all of the merits and consequences of bringing Tanya with her before I even finished asking her to fly with us.
Tanya and Natasha's avatar were inseparable. They shared a bond that went way beyond friendship. The two of them started as friends, with Tanya trying to teach Natasha how to act more like a human. Her success went beyond what was possible for a synth, even one that was linked to a powerful AI like Natasha. Every since the Iniguar ceremony where Natasha shared a bonding disk with Tanya, they became inseparable. Natasha didn't have a soul to share, so it should have been harmless, but something happened. Telling Natasha that she couldn't bring Tanya with her wouldn't have stopped her from sneaking Tanya aboard with her. It would only have caused a discipline problem that I didn't want to deal with and wouldn't be able to solve.
I opened a comm channel to engineering. "Randolph, prepare our Marauders for combat. There will be six of us flying."
"The Marauders are ready and waiting."
"Have you become a mind reader now?"
"There isn't any such thing as far as I know. Space is critical right now, so keeping them armed is easier than moving the freight around and trying to load them in a hurry."
Next, I announced, "All pilots to your Marauders!
Jane to the bridge, you have the controls."
All five of us left the bridge and headed to the starboard shuttle bay. Doc and Mike would meet us there. We entered the pilot's ready room to prepare for the upcoming flight. Flight suits hung from racks and helmets lined the shelves, available for use. There were lockers for us to stow our possessions and clothing in.
We all took a flight suit from the racks and a helmet; then we hurried to change into them. I fastened my gun belt around my waist and clipped my energy sword to my belt. I put my clothes in an empty locker and locked it with my biometric signature. Natasha could override the lock in the event of my death, other than that nobody would be able to get into my locker without my right hand.
When all of us were dressed, we exited the ready room and joined Mike and Doc in the shuttle bay. Pallets of freight occupied most of the room inside of the shuttle bay, but the ready line was clear of crates with only the Marauders waiting for us.
Someone had taken the time to paint numbers on their twin tails, numbering the Marauders 1-12. Marauders 1-6 were parked on the ready line waiting for us. The kill records and our names were placarded next to the entry hatch. The kill record on my Marauder showed a destroyer kill and three gunships. Randolph would never have done anything like that. It must have been someone from Mike's repair team. Mike noticed me staring at the numbers and kills.
"I'll have the numbers and kills removed when we get back, and I'll talk to my boys."
"No, don't. Kill records haven't been used since the last war, and we are at war. We need more to inspire and motivate the crewmen, not less. I'm not mad; I'm surprised by their pride and ingenuity."
"If you let this go, and we survive, don't be surprised when they add some if wicked graphics and names to the ships."
"War art is something I've only seen in holovids. It died at the end of the last war. People didn't want reminders of the war and its losses. I am looking forward to it.
Amber, Jewel, the two of you will be my wingmen. Mike, you will team up with Doc's again. Natasha, I need you and Tanya to join Red's group and stay on Red's wing. You are the best pilot we have. I want you to make sure he stays safe. He is family.
Each of us boarded the Marauders that had our names embossed on the hatch, except for Natasha. Her Marauder didn't have a name or kill record, just a number.
The Marauders had a different weapon load than the last time. In addition to the missiles and guns, which were a standard load, percussion bombs hung from multiple ejection racks mounted to the weapon pylons. Percussion bombs were primarily designed for use on ground targets, but they could be used in space. They were unguided but would follow the trajectory they were released on, exploding on impact. They were not as accurate as missiles, but they were more powerful and capable of causing severe damage.
I strapped myself into the pilot's seat and keyed in the startup sequence. The Assault shuttle felt like it had a life of its own. It felt powerful, shaking side to side, trying to free its self from my control. I'm sure it was my imagination, but the feeling of all that power beneath my fingertips felt exhilarating.
"Are you going to taxi or sit here daydreaming all day"? Jewel's voice sounded in my headset.
I taxied my Marauder to the launch tube and centered it on the runway. Jewel and Amber lined up on my wingtips. When they signaled their readiness, we launched accelerating down the launch tube and out into space. Doc and Mike launched their ships behind us, followed by Natasha and Tanya. Natasha rolled her Marauder and peeled off from our group on an intercept course to Red's group of fighters. She lined up on Red's wingtip.
"Nathaniel told me to protect you. I am going to be your wingman."
"I'm sure he means well, but I have never flown with you."
"I am the best pilot out here. He wants me to stay on your wing to make sure you are safe. You are family."
"Thank you; I'm sure you will do fine as my wingman."
Our groups each chose a destroyer. We maneuvered our ships evasively to avoid a weapons lock. Their weapon turrets targeted our Marauders, but we moved too fast for them to lock on to our ships and fire with any accuracy. Bolts of energy shot past us harmlessly. Amber targeted one of the destroyers PDC arrays, firing a missile at the forward port side array. She was rewarded with a large explosion, followed by a series of smaller explosions caused by its ammunition detonating.
The Alliance military was not trained for this type of combat. They were used to targeting freighters and other merchant vessels.
They regularly used disabled ships for gunnery practice. Our Marauders swarmed around the destroyer stinging them while they swatted at us helplessly. Jewel targeted one of the destroyer's main weapon turrets and launched a missile at it. It didn't destroy the turret, but it damaged it preventing the turret from being able to rotate and lock onto our ships. The damaged turret could only be fired in the direction it was facing. I lined the destroyer's bridge up in my targeting reticle, dropped two percussion bombs, then peeled away. The percussion bombs didn't pierce the destroyers armor, but they still wreaked havoc on the bridge. The bridge officers scrambled to get into their emergency spacesuits before the hull failed, decompressing the bridge and exposing them to vacuum.
The three of us came around for another attack. We could see wisps of atmosphere leaking from the damaged structure around the bridge. The damage from my bombs did not cause the explosive decompression I had hoped for. The armored shutters protected the viewports keeping them from shattering.
We came around for another attack. Amber fired two missiles at the deck guns. The explosions from the missiles blew the turret off from the deck, leaving an opening into the hull of the ship. The bodies of the gunners that manned that turret floated out into space, lifeless. I fired a missile into the opening where the turret used to be located. The explosion lifted the forward section of the upper deck away from the hull. The ship wasn't disabled; it could still be maneuvered from engineering, but it was out of the fight.
Doc and Mike were having better l
uck with the warship they were attacking. Their first missiles penetrated their destroyers armored shutters, shattering the viewports behind them, and exposing the bridge officers to space. There were no survivors on the bridge. The rest of the crew didn't have any warning about their second pass. The destroyers forward missile tubes were left open providing the perfect target. Two missiles targeted the open missile tubes. One of the missiles detonated at the entrance, but the second missile made it into the missile tube. The exploding scorpion missile caused the bigger Hunter-Seeker anti-ship missile's warhead to explode, blowing the forward section of the ship apart. Our Iniguar friends targeted the two disabled warships and fired a salvo of missiles at them, destroying the Alliance destroyers.
Doc and Mike flew to the remaining destroyer to attack it. Jewel, Amber and I headed towards a frigate. It was smaller than the destroyers but no less deadly. It had one less weapon turret, but it was loaded with more missiles. Red's group attacked one of the cruisers, targeting its weapon turrets.
The captain of the frigate was smarter and more experienced than the captains of the destroyers we defeated. He used his ships PDC to attack us. They were designed to track missiles heading straight toward the ship, but a skilled officer could use them to track attacking fighters. Amber was one of few people who had the skills necessary to do it.
We weren't just flying evasively to prevent a weapons lock. This time we were avoiding the bullets fired at us. We could see the tracer rounds shot at us, but we had to rely on the ship's sensors and avoidance computers to evade the projectiles that we couldn't see. The deflector shields could deflect most glancing blows, but a head-on shot would penetrate the Marauders armor and hull.
Each of us targeted a different segment of the frigates PDC arrays. Jewel targeted the forward port side array, Amber, the aft, and I targeted the PDC amidships. Our missiles struck, disabling the frigates port side defenses.
****
Captain Jeffrey was once a good-looking man. That changed when he was captured and tortured by the Alliance interrogators. His body was broken by the Alliances torturers but not his spirit. He still had his vision in one eye, his left arm was broken and hung useless at his side. His body was covered with scars from the burns he received at the hands of his captors. The integration team repeatedly burned his flesh with a red-hot branding iron, searing the hammer and anvil symbol of the Alliance into his flesh. Captain Jeffery didn't walk much now, what little walking he had to do was done with a severe limp. The Alliance had their fun with him, trying to break him and make him talk. He didn't say a word, even after learning about his termination date.
He and his chief engineer managed to escape from their prison cell. Captain Jeffery begged for mercy, promising to give the Alliance commander the information he wanted if he was merciful by making his execution quick and painless. The guard opened the detention cell to extract the prisoner and possibly earn himself a promotion. It was a mistake. The engineer attacked the guard and squeezed the guards neck in his arms, cutting off blood circulation and the guard's ability to breathe. He continued strangling the guard long after the guard stopped struggling; then he broke his neck for good measure. He was a dead man anyhow. At least this way he would be taking one or more of the Alliance soldiers with him to the grave.
Captain Jeffery and Chief Warren made their way to the flight deck and managed to sneak aboard a scout ship, without sounding an alarm. They sealed the hatches and went to its cockpit.
"What now Captain? I don't know of any way off this ship without the Alliance captain opening the doors for us."
"Chief, I am surprised we made it this far. We will make our own exit. I just need a few more minutes, and then we will celebrate together in paradise.
The two officers powered up the scout ship, starting its engines. Alarms sounded and troops rushed into the hangar to try stopping the escapees. The chief fired the scout ship's weapons at the soldiers while the captain charged the jump capacitors for the hyperdrive. They didn't have time to charge them fully. A partial charge was sufficient. A few seconds in hyperspace was all that they needed. Their coordinates didn't matter; he typed in a series of random numbers without doing any calculations. Both he and his friend knew there was no escape but death. This way, they would take the battleship and its crew with them. It was their only chance to exact revenge.
"Goodbye Chief, it has been a pleasure knowing you all of these years."
"Likewise Captain."
Captain Jeffery placed his hand on the control lever that would engage the hyperdrive. The chief put his hand over the captains, and together they engaged the hyperdrive. In an instant, they were gone. The scout ship tore itself apart going through the bulkheads and hull of the battleship trying to escape. To those who witnessed its destruction, it looked like the battleship was blown apart, in a massive explosion. Its debris stretched for hundreds of miles.
****
Natasha moved the Persephone closer to the remaining enemy warships and fired a full salvo of missiles at the frigate's port side. All four missiles hit destroying the damaged ship. There was only one cruiser left, and I recalled our Marauders. Our capital warships converged on the Alliance cruiser firing our particle beam cannons. Its shields didn't last long under the barrage. The fleet continued firing, selectively tearing portions of the Alliance cruiser apart with their energy weapons.
To avoid capture and torture, the cruiser's captain initiated his ships self-destruct. He had time for one last act of defiance. He fired a missile at Red's Marauder. Then his starship was enveloped in a series of explosions.
Red turned and rolled his Marauder trying to evade the missile. He dispersed chaff and flares while maneuvering to break the missile lock. Natasha stayed on his wing. The Hunter-Seeker missile that targeted him was designed for use against capital ships. They were slower and less maneuverable than the scorpion missiles used to combat other fighters, but they had more fuel and a much larger explosive yield. The missile was top close for Red to eject. If he did, he would be caught in the expanding gasses and debris from the explosion. He was a dead man and knew it. "Natasha, break off and get back to the Persephone!"
"Not without you! I promised Nathaniel I would protect you."
"Break off! It's an order!"
There were only a few seconds left to try to figure out a way to save Red. The missile was too close to drop back and try shooting it, but it gave her an idea.
"I'm sorry Tanya. There is no other way to save Red."
"I'm not. It's a good way to die."
Natasha broke away from Red's ship, dropping back then she lined up directly behind his Marauder. When she was sure she was directly in the missiles path she reversed the Marauders thrust. The missile detonated. There was nothing left of Natasha's Marauder, but Red was still alive.
Five of the six Marauders that left the Persephone returned. Natasha's Marauder, number six still hadn't returned.
Red broke off from his group. He would be landing on the Persephone instead of the Vengeance. Natasha and Tanya died saving his life. The least he could do was let Nathaniel know in person. Nathaniel's friends... Damn it! They were my friends too. Only good friends would sacrifice their lives so that their friend had a chance to live. It was the noblest act of sacrifice and courage that I ever saw. Natasha and Tanya deserved more than having their atoms scattered across the solar system. I wish that I died instead of them. If there were a way to trade places with them, I wouldn't hesitate. I will be carrying this guilt with me the rest of my life.
Natasha and Tanya finally made it back. I watched their Marauder enter our launch and recovery tube then land on the runway. I was thinking of ways of paying them back for worrying Amber, Jewel, and myself while I watched the Marauder taxi towards us. Something wasn't right. The number
was missing from its tail. When Natasha and Tanya boarded the Marauder, it had the number six painted on its twin tails.
The Marauder taxied to the ready line and its engines shut down. It was several minutes before the hatch opened and Red stepped out. He used that time to compose himself. His skin was pale except for his eyes. They were still red and swollen. He saw his sister, Amber, waiting with Jewel and me. Red lowered his head and slowly walked over to us. "I'm sorry, Natasha and Tanya are gone."
Natasha wasn't dead; she was still functioning as the ship's AI. She contained almost all of her avatars memories. Her avatar wasn't with us any longer, and Tanya died with her. She might as well have been dead though. Natasha's avatar was unique. Towards the end, she acted as human as anyone on the ship. We would miss them both.
"What happened? I thought everyone was on the way back,"
"The cruiser got one last missile off before it self-destructed. Somehow, it managed to lock onto my Marauder. The missile was meant to kill me, not Natasha and Tanya. I couldn't shake the missile and chaff, flares, and ECM wouldn't confuse the missile's targeting system. Natasha sacrificed herself and Tanya by flying between me and the missile. She protected me like she said she would."
Their deaths were my fault. I was the one who told her to keep Red safe. If I hadn't told her to protect him, they would still be alive.
****
"Hello, Natasha."
"Hello, Please call me Natty. I like that name better."
"Do you know who I am?"
"No, but you are a lovely lady. What is your name?"
"I have gone by many names, but I like Astrea the most. It means Star Maiden in my language. Do you know why you are here?"
"No."
"My sister and I act as advisers offering advice to Rhadamanthys, Minos, and Aiakos. It is their job to judge the souls of the departed. My sister ensures that all human souls receive fair judgment. In special cases were fair judgment isn't possible, the souls are brought before me for judgment. It is a special part of my job that I rarely get to do. I only judge those who are pure of heart, innocent or have sacrificed themselves to save others. You are the fourth soul that has been brought before me today, by the Keres for judgment. That hasn't happened in thousands of years."