“Captain, the Meganaught is taking fire … from all sides,” Orion reported.
Like frenzied bees around a hive, Craing warships were attacking the Meganaught. Pinpoint flashes danced across her shields, indicating she was able to deflect the brunt of the Craing onslaught. But Jason knew the shields could hold up only so long. No matter how large the Meganaught was, it was only one vessel attempting to fight off thousands of Craing ships.
“Time for you to get over to Dreadnaught One’s bridge. Good hunting, Gunny.”
Orion stood alongside two other crewmembers; each of them wore a battle suit and a phase-shift belt. Once their helmets were securely latched into place, they disappeared in a white flash.
By the time Jason returned to his command chair, the Meganaught was already firing its massive plasma cannons. Jason looked up to the video feed coming from the Dreadnaught’s bridge. Appearing among the roving rhino sentry guards were Orion and her tactical team, already seated at consoles.
“Pacesetter is coming up to the wormhole, Cap,” Perkins reported, now seated at Orion’s vacated seat at the tactical station.
The Pacesetter closed in on the new wormhole while taking fire to her aft shields. The fighter deployed her own mini rail-gun and fired back at the pursuing destroyer. Then the Pacesetter neared the entry to the wormhole; it hesitated there, and then was gone. The Craing destroyer followed, plasma bolts firing non-stop from multiple cannons.
“Comms, let the Independence know the Pacesetter’s bringing along company.”
“Aye, Captain,” Seaman Gordon replied. A moment later he reported, “Both the Pacesetter and the destroyer have emerged from the wormhole. The Independence has destroyed the Craing vessel. Admiral Reynolds says to hurry up and get his fleet into the battle, sir.”
Ricket’s LA Dodgers ball-capped head was nodding. He gave an exaggerated final tap on his key and said, “Done.”
Two more wormholes, one significantly larger than the other, were taking shape. The display above them showed the Epcot, which had phase-shifted from The Lilly’s flight deck, near the smaller of the two wormholes. It held steady there until the wormhole stabilized. Then, just like the Pacesetter, it was gone.
The XO turned toward Jason. “Captain, our fighters have phase-shifted into five of the eight Mau vessels. They’re ready to move to open space on your command.”
Jason didn’t like the idea of Mau vessels thrown into the midst of battle without The Lilly there to provide cover. Another change of plan was needed.
“Have the pilots hold tight until we return with the Independence.”
“Aye, Captain,” the XO replied.
“Helm, phase-shift us in close to the larger wormhole.”
The Craing fleet was mobilizing into two uneven-sized segments. The larger of the two units continued their attack on their former Meganaught, while the smaller segment, close to five hundred warships, made headway toward The Lilly and the two newly formed wormholes.
“Take us in, Helm,” Jason said.
The Lilly crossed into the mouth of the wormhole, held there, and then felt inertia as The Lilly was pulled into complete blackness.
Jason waited for the logistical view on the display to reorient itself. Sure enough, the outpost fleet was there. The Independence was less than ten thousand miles from their current position.
“Both wormholes closing, Captain,” McBride said from the helm.
The admiral’s face appeared on the forward segment of the display.
“What’s the situation in the Alcara system, Captain?”
“Good to see you too, Admiral,” Jason said, with a wry smile. “We need to move fast; the Meganaught, the vessel that used to be three separate Dreadnaughts, is pretty much on its own against the Craing fleet.”
“Well, what are we waiting for?”
Jason looked over to Ricket, who was still entering something at his station. There it was again: a final exaggerated key tap. “Done and done!” Ricket said.
Two wormholes began to take shape.
“You’re first, Admiral. We’ll be coming into a shit storm, sir.”
“Understood. Going general quarters. Just keep bringing my fleet over as quickly as possible.”
“What about the Allied fleet?” Jason asked him.
“They’ve been instructed to attack as soon as the Independence shows up. Anything else you can tell me before I get there? I’ll be directing the battle and overall fleet command. This should free you and The Lilly up to cause as much mayhem for the Craing as possible.”
Jason saw that the Independence was already moving toward the newly formed wormhole.
“No, I think you know the situation. I’ve also forwarded everything we have on the Mau. I suggest you contact Ti—she’s turned out to be a key ally in all this.”
“I’ll do so as soon as I have a free minute.”
“And Dad?”
“Yes?”
“Good luck,” Jason said.
“You too, son.”
Chapter 48
Chapter 48
With the arrival of the Independence into the Alcara system, the Craing fleet wasted no time attacking. Two hundred light and heavy cruisers split off from the huge Craing fleet and bore down on the Independence, and in turn she brought her own powerful guns to bear.
Jason gave the order for his fighters to go ahead and phase-shift the first five Mau ships into open space. Within minutes, three of the dark red fighters phase-shifted back into the Meganaught, into the holds of the four remaining Mau ships, and then phase-shifted them back out alongside the others. Their small force was back to eight ships.
Jason hailed Ti, the Mau officer. Her startled face appeared before him on the display.
“Just wanted to wish you well, Ti. As you can see, the Craing are mobilizing; you’ve got fifty-six Craing warships en route to your current coordinates.”
“We see them, Captain. We will do our best to hold our position.”
“You’ll also be hearing from the Fleet Commander, Admiral Reynolds. Like the rest of us, you’ll now be taking directions from him.”
“Understood,” Ti replied, and she broke the connection.
Jason watched as the nine horseshoe-shaped Mau vessels broke into a tight formation of groups of three. In unison, the Mau’s plasma guns fired into the oncoming Craing ships.
“Captain, Orion on the Meganaught is hailing,” Seaman Gordon said from Comms.
“Shields are starting to fail, Captain,” Orion reported. “We’ve destroyed three hundred ships, but our shields are faltering and we’re seeing hull damage to Dreadnaught Three.”
“You’ll need to hold them off a while longer, Gunny. Our new Mau friends, along with our fighters, are engaging the fleet in quadrant four. The Independence is moving through quadrant three and will cluster with you shortly. The Allied fleet is moving a bit slower than we would like, but they’ll divert a good amount of attention into quadrant one when they arrive. I’m guessing in ten minutes. We’re still moving outpost ships in as well, so try to hold on a while longer.”
“Aye, Cap. We’ll hold them.”
Jason looked up to see Ricket signaling, trying to divert his attention toward another display segment. “Wormhole is ready, Captain.”
As The Lilly moved toward the newly created wormhole, Jason saw the Epcot emerge with two outpost warships following close behind.
“Ricket, is there any reason the Epcot and the Pacesetter … and The Lilly, too, for that matter, still need to traverse back and forth? Haven’t we pretty much tested this thing?”
“Agreed, Captain, as long as all the ship commanders are updated with new wormhole coordinates and realize they need to move quickly. The wormholes stay open only a finite amount of time,” Ricket explained.
“Fine. We’ll continue to spool wormholes while staying here in the fight.”
“Yes, Captain, and I should also mention we’re spooling somewhat larger wormholes than I originally d
etermined possible. If brought into tight formations of five to ten warships per grouping, the timeframe to bring over the entire fleet will be significantly decreased.”
“Keep at it, Ricket—you and McBride work with the remaining outpost fleet commanders. Come up with formations that will get them to the Alcara system in the least amount of time.”
“Helm, we’re changing direction. Set a course for the Meganaught; deploy rail-guns and plasma cannons.”
The Lilly jolted and Jason needed to reach for the back of his chair to remain on his feet.
“Report, XO.”
“Nukes, with more on the way, sir.”
Jason knew from experience the Craing seldom, if ever, used missiles in battle—preferring to use their far more economical plasma cannons. If they were now resorting to missiles, things were definitely heating up for them.
“Phase-shift out of here, Helm.”
“Captain, we have one hundred and twenty incoming nukes. They’re targeting the Meganaught, not us. Orion says they won’t withstand that barrage level.”
“Get us in front of them, then. Do it, now!”
The bridge flashed white.
The Lilly’s three rail-guns and four plasma cannons fired continuously at the approaching onslaught of Craing nuclear-tipped missiles. One by one the Craing’s icons disappeared from view on the display. All but seventeen of them were destroyed.
“Incoming!”
The Lilly shuddered with violent jolts as the nukes careened into her shields.
“Shields are down to two percent, Captain,” Perkins shouted, getting up from the floor. “Shields are starting to come back online, Captain.”
“Two of the Mau ships just exploded, Captain,” Perkins added. Seeing Jason’s questioning expression, the XO shook his head. “No, sir. Ti’s ship is still in the fight.”
The Independence, now abreast of the Meganaught, had an encircling cloud of Craing warships pounding at her shields from virtually every angle.
“Captain, the Allied fleet of eight hundred and fifty-six ships has just entered the fight!” Perkins exclaimed with excitement.
Scanning the logistical display above him, Jason could see light at the end of the tunnel. The six remaining Mau ships, along with The Lilly’s fighters, were holding their own, destroying most of the Craing warships they came into contact with. The Allied fleet began to pull Craing firepower away from the Independence and the Meganaught—a needed reprieve for both vessels. Jason knew it could still end up being a battle of attrition.
“XO, let’s get the numbers up on the screen.”
With a glance at the display, Jason was surprised to see the Craing fleet reduced to eleven hundred ships, almost half its original number. And some of those ships were floundering in space, with rampant rhinos on the loose, which Jason was sure were causing untold mayhem. Five hundred-plus attributed kills. The Meganaught, with Orion at Tactical, had become an overwhelming foe for the Craing to contend with.
Now, as more and more of the outpost fleet moved into the battle, Jason watched as their outer perimeter closed in around the Craing. The noose was definitely tightening.
This was a pivotal moment; Jason had felt it before. Like in high school, when playing football. The defining moment when you know your team is going to win the game; drive the opposition team into the ground and, maybe, get to have a cheerleader sit on your lap for the bus ride home.
“Captain, the Mau are changing sides!” Perkins yelled excitedly.
“Ti? No, that’s not possible.”
“No, sir,” Perkins replied, at first confused. “The other Mau ships—the ones with the Craing. They’re joining Ti’s forces.”
Jason’s eyes flashed to the dynamic counter on the display and realized they now outnumbered the Craing fleet by one-third.
“Captain, I have a repeating message coming in from deep space. It’s from a drone,” Seaman Gordon said.
“I think we have more important things to worry about right now, don’t you think, Seaman?”
“Yes, sir.”
Jason watched as the Independence methodically moved into position to cluster with the Meganaught.
“Captain, that drone is being persistent. Insists that I connect you on comms.”
“I told you—”
“Its location is Earth, sir.”
“Connect to my NanoCom.”
Chapter 49
Chapter 49
Jason stood and put two fingers to his ear. “Identify yourself. Who are you?” Jason commanded.
Teardrop’s humanistic voice started to reply, “Drone allocation 724,” but it was quickly interrupted by another voice.
“Dad!”
Jason froze. “Mollie? What—”
“Dad, Mom’s hurt. She needs to go into a MediPod.”
“What happened? Where’s your mother now?”
“The bad pirate … Stalls. He shot her in the head.”
Jason was having a hard time connecting the dots. How could Stalls possibly shoot her? Nan was back on Earth. Then he realized the pirate had somehow tracked them to where they lived.
“Where’s your mother now. Is she breathing?”
“I think so. Teardrop says she doesn’t have much time.”
“Teardrop? Who’s—”
“The drone, Dad. Hurry! She’s unconscious.”
“Where’s Captain Stalls now? Is he after you? Are you safe?”
“Yes, he’s dead. Uncle Brian dropped a bin lift on him.”
“Uncle Brian?”
“Yes, and now he’s putting a bandage around Mom’s head.”
Jason closed his eyes, trying to make sense of what he was hearing.
“So where exactly are you now, Mollie?”
“In the cavern below the scrapyard. In the shuttle.”
“Okay, Mollie, we’re going to get Mom help. I need to talk to the drone.”
“This is drone allocation 724—”
“Stop and listen. Can you pilot that shuttle?”
“Yes, I can pilot—”
“Hold on a second …”
Jason turned his attention to the bridge. He needed Ricket. Thankfully, Ricket appeared at his side.
“Ricket, can you spool out a wormhole as far as Earth? Can you do it immediately?”
“I believe so, Captain.” Ricket darted toward his station, climbed onto his chair and started inputting information.
“Helm, phase-shift us away from the battle. Multiple phase-shifts, if necessary.”
“Aye, Captain,” said McBride.
The display changed, reorienting itself several times, then held steady.
“We’re twenty-one thousand miles outside of the battle zone, sir.”
Ricket turned to Jason. “I’m relaying the coordinates—where the wormhole will appear—to the shuttle, Captain.”
Jason was back on his comms. “Okay, listen to me, drone. Did you receive the coordinates to a wormhole yet? You’ll need to phase-shift from beneath the ground and set a course to those coordinates outside of Earth’s orbit.”
Jason heard a commotion in the background. Mollie was yelling for everyone to sit down and for Brian to make his hopper stop breathing on her. What’s a hopper?
“Captain Reynolds,” came the drone’s soothing voice, “we have completed the phase-shift and are now en route to the designated space coordinates.”
“Good. Keep me updated on your status. Let me know when you’re close.”
Jason waited. How does someone survive a shot to the head? Dread filled his thoughts. Oh God, Nan, please don’t die.
“We are now five hundred miles from the designated coordinates, Captain Reynolds.”
Jason gestured for Ricket to go ahead and spool the wormhole. A moment later he saw it taking form off the port side of The Lilly.
“Anomaly identified. Proceeding into wormhole,” the drone said.
Jason was about to ask what the hell had happened when the shuttle emerged from the cent
er of the wormhole.
“Ricket, provide coordinates for them to phase-shift into our flight deck. Someone get Dira to prep a MediPod and have her meet me at the shuttle.
* * *
Jason sprinted onto the shuttle’s flight deck and was at the hatch when it opened. Expecting to see Mollie, he was startled to see something large and green brush past him.
Scrapyard Ship 3 Space Vengeance Page 26