Johnny gave his approval. “There we have it. Henceforth, we shall be called the Rift.”
Chapter 22
*
Jeff stood in front of the display wall looking at an image. “A shuttle with eight transducers on front, two reactors inside. The dampener field, if going by the plasma charges they fired at us, should be more than enough to handle the Dauntless cannons. Only thing is, this would be a one-way ride. Two reactors would not offer enough field coverage for the whole ship. We pack them on the nose and go straight in. I have some ideas for beefing up the grappling as well.”
Johnny asked, “How many crew aboard it?”
“Four, tops. Five if three are Mawga or Kaachi.”
Johnny shook his head. “The Mawga or Kaachi going kind of defeats the purpose, doesn’t it? We’re going, Humans, because we’re big and intimidating.”
Jeff nodded. “That’s true. I would ask though, what if we have a special need for them? Maybe we need a small person for access into somewhere. I don’t think that would be you, Mr. Tretcher.”
Johnny sucked in his gut. “Hey, I’ve lost thirty pounds now. I’m getting there.”
Mace asked, “The structure of the dreadnought, do we know what that is? I mean, can we cut through that hull to get aboard? They aren’t gonna just open an airlock for us.”
Jeff turned to Gnaga for a response. “The hull armor is thin on the Dauntless-class vessel. I know this because they brag about not needing it due to their strong dampening field.”
Johnny laughed. “Why would you even give out that sort of information?”
Gnaga replied, “Because they are arrogant. They don’t fear attacks from anyone, because they know our weak cannons will not penetrate their shields… and that no one dare take a position against them.”
Jasper said, “That arrogance could definitely work to our favor. I say we march right up to ‘em, cut a hole in that ship, take it down and space the lot of ‘em.”
Jeff looked at Mace. “He’s right, you know. If the Dellus are as small as their admiral was, and as arrogant, and if they’re not used to actually fighting, it could be a cakewalk.”
Mace frowned. “Lot of ifs in there.”
Jeff nodded in agreement. The short briefing ended and the parties each moved back to their duties. Mace settled back in his chair in thought. Jenny Taub walked onto the bridge.
Mace smiled. “Miss Taub, you look to be moving around better.”
She returned a warm smile. “I still have the occasional twinge of pain. Nothing I can’t handle though.”
“What brings you up to the bridge?”
Jenny sat. “There’s been talk of a mission. Taking a shuttle in on a raid of one of those dreadnought ships. I’d like to pilot that shuttle.”
Mace replied, “We haven’t yet talked about who would go. And you’re still nursing those ribs.”
Jenny nodded. “The ribs are an issue right now, but they will heal. I have combat training. I finished first among the women in my training unit, and third overall. I have stamina. I can run just about forever. And I have the Expert Marksman badge.”
Mace smiled. “Seems we have a slew of marksmen aboard.”
“I know my duty station is monitoring those gravity drives, but that’s really just a one-person job. If they go down, there’s not much we can fix. So I’d like to add a few duties to my roster if possible. I’ve only flown those shuttles in the simulators, but the Mawga trainer told me I was the best he had seen. I want to contribute, Mace. I’m not one for just sitting around.”
Mace pulled an image of a shuttle up on his arm pad. “You have free time right now. If I was you, I’d go sit in one of those shuttles with it in sim-mode. Brush up on it. The Kaachi shuttles are slightly different. When we get down to the point of making decisions about who goes, I’ll put your name in the mix.”
Jenny smiled and nodded as she stood. “That’s all I ask.”
Mace said, “You leaving so soon?”
Jenny nodded. “I need time in those shuttles if I’m to be considered. No better time than the present to get started.”
Jenny left the bridge.
Johnny turned. “Looks like you found a female version of you.”
Mace shook his head. “She’s a lot smarter than I am. I tried for flight training when I first signed up. Washed out in the first week. Didn’t do much better on a second attempt a couple years later. From what she’s told me, she was tops in her class. And get this, she wanted to be a ground-pounder like me. I get the feeling she would have done well at it, too.”
Johnny smirked, “Gotta love a woman who has no fear. Other than her size, I think Jane would have kicked ass at that, too.”
Mace smiled. “Well, now she has a size advantage. And I haven’t said anything yet, but I was thinking three out of the four on that shuttle should be you, Jane and me. I was leaning toward Jeff as he would be good for interpreting the controls and systems on that ship, but now I’m thinking he’s too valuable to put in harm’s way.”
Johnny asked, “How about Jordan Crawford?”
Mace shook his head. “I want him here in command.”
Johnny said, “You know, the Brits and the Germans are going to complain. They will want in on such a raid.”
Mace sat back. “That’s why I was thinking of taking two shuttles. We should at least prepare for that anyway. What if when we catch up to them there are two of those Dauntless-class dreadnoughts? We can’t just take out one of them.”
Liam turned from his console. “I would like to throw in my hat, Mr. Hardy.”
Mace winced. “We need you here, Mr. Hobbs. You fly this ship way better than any of us. We can’t give that up. I would, however, like you to be involved in picking who makes up the second team. Same thing goes for Mr. Mallot on that sensor console. He knows it. We need him right here. But I’d like his input on who should go.”
Jasper walked onto the bridge. “What we talking about?”
Johnny replied, “Who would go on the raids against the Dellus ship.”
Jasper sat. “You know I’m the first to volunteer for that, right?”
Mace nodded. “I had considered that. There will be limited space. We only have room for four.”
Jasper nodded. “You, me, Johnny and Jane. That’s the team Dellus nightmares would be made of.”
Johnny laughed. “You? If it wasn’t for that exosuit you’d be crinkled up in a chair somewhere.”
Jasper scowled. “Yeah, but with it I’m more spry than the three hundred pound ape-man. And a lot smarter.”
Johnny shrugged. “Ape-man has a lot more shooting experience than the old fart. Just saying.”
Mace held up a hand. “Before we get another war started, Jasper, you understand we have to take those who are most qualified for this type of action, right? You’ve shown yourself to have excellent decision-making abilities while under pressure, which is a plus, but we have to send out those who we feel are best suited for this job. We’re considering a second shuttle. If that happens, you’d be in the running for that.”
Over the two weeks that followed, a shuttle was gutted, two full-size reactors installed, and eight transducers mounted on the leading edges.
Mace walked though the doorway, turning back toward Jeff. “Wow, how were you able to cram all this in here?”
Jeff replied, “Thank Heeb and Hooba for that. They redesigned that cockpit to fit four. And all the environmentals have been removed. There’s a power feed for our suits, but they’ll have to produce their own oxygen. No heaters. No restrooms or seats. They tore out practically everything inside except for the nav console. We managed to squeeze in a couple thousand rounds of ammo. But it’s in sacks that we squeezed into every nook and cranny. Gnaga suggested we create a backpack to add to one of the exosuits. Once aboard the Dellus ship, someone would have to pass the spare rounds through to be put in the backpack.”
Mace said, “I only see a single chair.”
&
nbsp; Jeff nodded. “All there was room for. The pilot sits. The rest of you stand. I can’t imagine that would be for long, so it shouldn’t be a concern. We talked about expanding this section back here outward, but nobody thought our construction would offer enough structural integrity. You’ll be taking plasma pulses to the nose. There will be residual spill-around to the sides. We didn’t think it worth the risk. If we’re happy with this when we’re all done, we can get started on the second.”
Mace replied, “The amount of work you’ve done in such a short time is impressive.”
Jeff glanced back at the shuttle bay. “The teams we have working on all this are sharp and committed. I would have loved to work with this team on prior projects. Every one of them, including me, has been fully immersed in this effort.”
Mace smiled. “It shows.”
Mace turned to walk down the ramp as Jenny Taub walked up. “Looks to be almost ready.”
Mace replied, “We should be able to take it out for flight testing in a couple days. I can’t believe they were able to squeeze these reactors in like they did.”
Jenny stopped at the top of the ramp. “Wow. Calling it a tight fit doesn’t do it justice.”
“Ribs still healing?”
Jenny nodded. “Almost back to normal. And I’ve been working out hard in an attempt to get ready for this. Hasn’t been a problem, so I feel like I’m ready to go.”
“Liam has been telling me about your simulator runs. He says he has full confidence you can fly this as well as or better than anyone. I’m thinking you’ve earned your spot on the first crew, but that will be up to a vote by our council.”
Jenny replied, “Yeah, I’m surprised it took you this long to put together a leadership group. Not that you haven’t done fantastic up until now yourself, but it helps to have a consensus when planning big projects like this.”
Mace nodded. “I still think all this is crazy. I mean, we’re Humans. We go to the store, we watch TV, we poop. Assaulting a megaship with a shuttlecraft? That’s just nuts.”
Jenny laughed. “And yet we’re getting ready to do it. And we’re all excited about that. I can’t tell you how many nights I’ve lain awake in the last two weeks, picturing in my mind how all this will go down.”
Mace smiled. “And what did you picture? Were we successful?”
Jenny returned a smile. “Every time.”
Jane walked up with a grin.
Mace asked, “What?”
Jane shrugged. “Nothing. I’m just having a happy moment.”
Jenny asked, “Have they been able to piece together any structural data for the big ship? Any idea what the insides look like?”
Jane nodded. “We have data from our encounter. Unfortunately no hi-res scans were done. We’re just piecing together what we have from the active sensors. I think we have three docking bays identified. Other than that, we don’t have a clue.”
Mace added, “I’m sure it’s like any other vessel. Hallways and rooms… and more hallways and rooms. We can do a deep scan as we come in. That should tell us where we’ll want to go.”
Jane asked, “Have you decided on the fourth yet?”
Mace replied, “Jenny here is a leading candidate. She has the piloting skills for the shuttle and the combat training for once we’re aboard. And she happens to be an expert marksman.”
Jane grinned. “Really? You and I will have to get together for a talk.”
Jenny replied, “I’ve heard about your prowess with both a rifle and handgun. I look forward to that discussion.”
Jenny turned to head back down the ramp. “Now, if you could excuse me, I have more time to spend in the simulators.”
Tres walked into the bay with Vanessa holding his hand. “How’s it coming?”
Mace replied, “Getting close. How are you two doing? I hardly see you anymore.”
Tres replied, “Three months and we’ll be parents. So far she hasn’t really had any difficulties. And Doc says it’s three girls.”
Mace laughed. “Sounds like you’re gonna have your hands full.”
Vanessa rubbed her belly. With any luck, they’ll all be like Miss Jane. Kind, caring, hardworking and fearless.”
Jane laughed. “Hey, I’ve got plenty of fears. I just don’t have the luxury of letting those fears control me.”
Mace said, “I’ve been meaning to stop in to see you when I’m in the mess hall. Thanks for all the work you’ve been doing. I can go in there and have a bite and relax. One of the few times I have where I’m not all twisted up about something.”
Tres replied, “Can’t say I ever thought I’d be running a cafe of sorts on an interstellar warship.”
Mace laughed. “Yeah. Well I can’t say I ever envisioned commanding one. Either way, I appreciate the work you’ve done and I know everyone else does, too. Having the beverage-of-the-day has been a huge hit. Variety with our diets is one thing we’ve all been missing.”
Tres nodded. “I’d kill for pizza right now.”
Mace sighed. “Yeah. I could go for few slices myself.”
Tres gestured toward the shuttle. “When do you think it will be ready?”
“I hope to be taking it out in a couple days. I want to make at least a dozen practice runs coming in toward this ship before even thinking of going against one of those behemoths. If it all checks out, we might just do it again to a second shuttle. I wouldn’t mind having two teams ready to go when the time comes.”
Tres asked, “Who are you putting on the other team?”
“You interested?”
“Absolutely not. I’d rather stay back here with the pregnant women.”
Mace chuckled. “Understandable. I was thinking one of the Brits, one of the Germans, and Jasper has been bugging me constantly about it. I tell you, ever since he got that exosuit, he’s been raring to go with just about anything we’ve done. And don’t let him know I said this, but he’s been extremely effective at whatever he’s taken on. I only say not to tell because I don’t want him lauding it all over Johnny. The two of them get on each other enough as it is.”
Tres nodded. “Your secret’s my secret. And hey, poke your head in the kitchen to say hello sometime.”
Mace asked, “What’s the beverage-of-the-day today?”
Tres replied, “I call it tumbleweed. It’s a mix of three of the Kaachi spices they use on meat. One’s tangy, one’s hot, and one’s sweet. I actually think it’s one of the better ones we’ve come up with. Kind of tough when your only flavorings are left over from the prior species. We could seriously use a run to Earth to pick up some real spice. I long for the taste of cinnamon.”
Mace nodded. “You and me both.”
Tres left the bay. Mace went for a slow walk around the shuttle with Jane.
“Are we doing the right thing?”
Jane replied, “You’re kidding, right? We have to do this. It’s like our only shot at returning home now. I don’t know about you, but I like my planet. I like walking on the ground. And I could seriously use a good sleep in a featherbed. I think that’s what I miss most about our house. I want a real bed to sleep in. These Kaachi bunks are a bit too firm for me.”
Mace stopped, looking up at the nose of the shuttle with its eight welded-on transducers. “Every day I think about all the things we took for granted. With just a little effort, you could have a decent life, a roof over your head, a personal car. You ate and drank just about whatever you wanted. And went wherever you wanted, when you wanted. Even with as miserable as I sometimes made mine out to be, it was a far sight better than what we have here.”
Jane put her hand on Mace’s shoulder. “I think you just outlined why we’re fighting. Even though we’ll probably never get things back to where we had them, we’re more than willing to fight for the chance.”
Chapter 23
*
Jenny Taub was selected as the pilot and fourth member of Raider Crew 1. The shuttle was launched and sped out to seventy-five million ki
lometers distance. The crew aboard the Rogers was readied and the first staged attack begun. As an added effort of practice, Hans Mueller was given the green light to fire low power plasma rounds at the incoming shuttle. Jenny’s job would be to avoid as many of them as she could.
The first raid lasted twelve minutes, the second fourteen. The plasma impacts were measured and passed to Jeff, David, Maala Heeb, and Jelog Hooba. The dissipation by the dampening field showed it would hold against the Dellus cannons, with a modest level of protection to spare.
After the fifth attack, the second phase of the assault was put into practice. The shuttle pulled alongside the Rogers. Mace and Jane were the first out of the rampway door with plasma cutters, tearing into a piece of hull plate that had been welded in place for practice. By the fifth attempt, a hole had been cut through after only thirty-seven seconds. When attempt number twelve was complete, the practice missions were deemed a success. Sixteen days later, Raider Crew 2 was equipped, practiced, and ready to move.
Mace walked the hall toward the bridge with Jeff right behind. “Mr. Hardy, everything we have says this is a go. We’re ready. The dampening field should be sufficient to stave off those cannons. The cutting times for both teams are excellent. And the crews we picked are ready to charge ahead.”
Mace replied, “The battlefield has a way of throwing your plans out of whack. I’m not saying we don’t go, I’m just saying that a lot can happen when people start firing on you.”
Jeff shook his head. “I don’t know what else there could be? We’ve simulated hits from every angle. The shuttles can take it.”
Mace stopped. “And if there’s a second ship?”
Jeff shrugged, “Then we don’t go. We’ll know right when we get in sensor range. If it looks different than what we planned, we abort and go home.”
Mace thought for a moment. “You’re probably right, Jeff. I tend to get cautious right before going into a fight. I’ve been in enough of them to know things sometimes go wrong. The enemy doesn’t always react the way you think they will.”
The two men walked onto the bridge.
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