Expeditions of the Mantis

by Jim Henderson

  Ximon knew the last wasn’t quite true because he’d heard her snoring. She, Doyle, and he all had bunks right next to each other.

  A few minutes to 7, a speaker chimed loudly and announced, “Briefing in 10.”

  The briefing room was just the mess with all the chairs turned to the largest wall where curtains were moved to reveal a large monitor. A few of the group mumbled and grumbled as Graves came to the front of the room. He had an attractive, sharply-dressed woman and an old man in tow.

  Graves, “Listen up, morons, so you’re less likely to die. Manx, give them their assignments.”

  The old man came up to the screen in an old scout coat and ratty jeans. He hit something on his tablet and the list of assignments came up on the screen. The Mantis’ assignment, at least, was the same. Manx briefly read them off, essentially a mass of abbreviations and numbers.

  Then he went on, “The freighter Bosephus should be exiting jump between 1015 and 1045. He’ll queue you in order of arrival or cargo loading. Pay attention to the queue and do it by the numbers. When tagged, dock quickly but safely. Then, make sure you get a good manifest! We’ve had too many screw ups in both docking and cargo tracking. Remember, there are people dying down there if you don’t get them the supplies they need to survive. You’ll each send an encrypted arrival signal as you enter atmo at Jajerus and another as you leave it. Questions?”

  No one spoke, but a few grumbled.

  Graves yelled from his seat, “Yarvin, Intel.”

  The young woman, looking sharp in a proper scout uniform, got up and straightened her coat as she hit a few things on her tablet. The display showed a stylized view of the Jaje system from their location to the sun. As she hit buttons, several colored areas appeared.

  “In the last 7 days since the completion of the last run we’ve gotten reports of enemy vessels in these rough areas. Overall activity level is about standard, but there was a clash between the KRN destroyer Dauntless and a 10 Kingdom’s frigate in this area. The Dauntless seriously damaged the frigate but was driven off when a squadron of enemy fighters appeared. We’ve also seen some enemy freighters here, here, and here – they’re doing what we are. There are some random patrols, both sides, going on. Sell your cover identity – it might work.”

  She hit a key and some blue areas appeared, “You’ll note Republic Naval vessels active in these locations. They are patrolling key areas, NOT escorting us. Do not enter those areas on the way in or you’ll definitely be flagged as Republic. You have the duress freq. Duress word is Templar. Only use it if you’re under heavy attack and can’t avoid it. Once those vessels respond, all the enemy’s defenses will light up.”

  She hit a key and the screen changed to a projection map of Jajerus’ planetary geography with multiple colored lines and areas. She then went through a list of areas and nations, some on the Republic side, some on the other side. It was easy to see why things were complicated – there weren’t just two countries on Jajerus, there were a bunch in various alliances. She explained a few key offensives of one side or the other which, apparently, produced an overall status quo. Then she ran through the areas they’d be delivering to, giving activity level, ship and aircraft activity, etc.

  On the Mantis’ area she said, “17 has seen substantial movement on both sides on the ground, including some aerial attacks on allied positions. No ship activity has been noted, but human intelligence sources suggest that the enemy has received some shipments of new atmospheric fighters to replace losses they’ve sustained in ships and fighters. The missile threat remains substantial, including the anti-ship missile (ASM) Broadsword. Its active radar seeking, with some heat seeking. Recommended electronic countermeasures have been provided to you and your ships. Supplement that with flares as necessary. There are reports of the neutron nuclear-tipped ASM Poleaxe, but these are given little credibility.”

  Ximon glanced at Elsbeth as this went on. Her eyes were wide, and she paid rapt attention.

  Yarvin concluded, “Besides required data bursts, maintain radio silence unless you’re going down – they’re listening and responding.”

  Graves got up, “Thank you. Any questions?”

  No one spoke so he continued, “Ok, wheels up by 0900. No one late, no one stupid, no one dumping their cargo. All of you get your asses and your ships back here when done. We hope to have good news for you. Dismissed.”

  They all got up as Graves strode from the room.

  Elsbeth said in an excited whisper, “Holy crap, Ximon. Sounds like we’re going on a suicide mission.”

  Ximon, “No, just a very exciting one.”

  She rolled her eyes, “Sure. I’m really beginning to regret this.” She pointed at Ximon and Doyle, “You two better keep us from getting dead. Can we get back to Mantis now?”

  They suited up, grabbed their gear and went out to Mantis. Raiza met them with coffee, “Good morning, Captain. Good morning Elsbeth, Doyle. I believe we’re all ready here.”

  Ximon, “Thank you Raiza. We’ll be taking off at 0845. Please join me on the bridge.”

  Then to everyone, “Starting pre-flight checks. Check your areas and systems. Take off at 0845. Ensure you’re strapped in.”

  When he sat down on the bridge, he said, “Mantis, how are we looking?”

  Mantis, “Good morning, captain. I have completed general diagnostics. All systems are showing green at this time. The timing and route you designated are laid in.”

  Doyle had joined Ximon on the bridge and ran checks on all the offensive and defensive systems. After a few minutes he reported, “Captain, weapon systems all check – lasers, chaff throwers, flares, and auto cannon.”

  Shortly thereafter, Elsbeth reported, “Ximon, engines are humming fine. Ready to go. Remember, no getting us dead.”

  Ximon, “Not planning on it. Make sure that you and Peter are strapped for takeoff.”

  At about 0830, Ximon made a general announcement, “Ok, crew. We’ll be taking off at 0845 and headed for rendezvous. That should be low key and then we’ll take on cargo there. Elsbeth, you and Peter will manage that. Ensure a good inventory. Then, it’s about 32 hours to Jajerus with a 2G burn for a few hours, followed by a long coast, then a short, hard deceleration burn. We’ll be sling-shotting around Jaje 5 to get a little speed boost. That’ll also change our track so we’re not coming direct from the rendezvous point. We’ll enter atmosphere hot and steep, headed for the allied base. During the first 20 hours of the flight, we can stagger coverage unless something comes up, but the last 12 hours is everyone on station. Hopefully this all goes much more quietly than the warnings would have us expect.”

  They got clearance when requested and used maneuvering jets to leave the area of the crater and headed for rendezvous. They were one of the first ships off. Enroute they were signaled that the freighter had exited its jump and was ready for offload. Mantis was designated to take cargo first.

  The freighter was a fairly good sized one, probably about 5,000 tons. Ximon docked cargo bays with the freighter as directed and the freighter’s team started transferring the cargo. Elsbeth observed and helped keep track, while Peter simultaneously moved boxes and scanned them.

  After about 25 minutes, Elsbeth reported, “Ximon, cargo transfer complete. We’ve got 62 containers, 29 tons, all designated for us, Caravel, and section 17. All manifests transferred.”

  Ximon, “Roger, as soon as I see the hatch sealed, I’ll undock.”

  They pulled away without incident and then started their burn. They were doing a 2G burn so there was definitely pressure, but it wasn’t too bad and didn’t prevent careful moving around.

  As they burned, Ximon noted all the other ships splitting off. They were all on the same general path, but some spread out consciously and they were all further scattered as their different speeds led to slightly different planetary positions. Ximon saw all the other ships fade in the distance. They were essentially all alone heading in.

  Elsbeth signaled him, “Ximon
, Peter and I are heading to my Cabin. I’ll be back on in a few hours. I ain’t dying a virgin.”

  Ximon couldn’t resist, “No chance of that.”

  Elsbeth replied coyly, “I meant today.”

  Ximon said, “Roger. You kids have fun.” He thought Elsbeth had a pretty good idea.

  After a few minutes Ximon turned the bridge over to Doyle and Mantis, with direction to call him if anything new was detected. He took Raiza’s hand and asked her to join him. After some quality time, Ximon took a brief nap, a shower, and returned to the bridge. By this time, it was lunchtime so Raiza prepared lunch and brought Ximon and Doyle some. Ximon told Doyle to take a break, so he took his lunch with him and headed for his quarters.

  Raiza then rejoined Ximon on the bridge, sitting on Ximon’s lap when he suggested it. She somehow arranged things so much of her weight wasn’t on Ximon. She simply leaned her head on his shoulder, stroked his neck, and hummed since she knew he enjoyed that.

  They swapped out again a couple times over the next few hours. They saw distant blips, but nothing close to them and heard no traffic targeted at them. Then it was “all hands on station” for the final (12 hour) run in. Ximon sat, almost unblinking, in the captain’s chair. Doyle was ready to control all weapons from seat #2. Raiza sat behind Ximon in seat #3, monitoring displays controlled by Mantis. Elsbeth sat at the main monitoring station in Engineering, with Peter seated stoically nearby.

  They could hear a Republic Navy patrol craft interrogating ships nearing its space. Likewise, they heard a 10 Kingdom’s corvette interrogating ships nearing another area.

  About 9 hours out, they were queried from someone identified as Jajerus Control. It wasn’t clear which faction they worked for, but Ximon responded with their cover name and neutral transponder and destination. This was repeated a few times over a couple hours, sometimes from controls/stations with different names. As they neared Jajerus, they detected quite a bit of orbital debris – satellites, a largely destroyed station, and other junk. They also noted a few other ships entering or exiting atmosphere at range, some of them seemingly peacefully.

  Ximon directed the crew, “Ensure you’re strapped in. We’re going to do a hard flip-and-burn.”

  A few seconds later Ximon flipped the ship 180 degrees and started maximum burn to quickly decelerate. The crew all felt the varying G forces and were crushed into their seats.

  As they slowed, Mantis was signaled by several ground sites. Ximon just kept repeating the cover data and neutral destination.

  Eventually a site calling itself, ‘Jajerus Free Control’ contacted them, “Caravel, you are in an exclusionary zone. Stand to and prepare to be boarded.”

  No other ships were in the immediate vicinity and he noted no orbital weapons, but Mantis detected a vessel at long range coming over the planetary horizon toward them. Ximon ignored them and told the crew, “Didn’t want to talk to them anyway. We’re going in hot.”

  Then he flipped the ship about again and started a fast descent into the atmosphere. G forces from other directions assailed the crew as they descended fast.

  Mantis kept up a running tally, “Hull temperature is rising markedly, 90 degrees to safety threshold.”

  Mantis also displayed the projected course to the destination landing pad.

  Ximon sent the encrypted signal, letting the local friendlies know of his approach.

  He got a reply back, “Sending escort.” It wasn’t clear what that would imply, but it couldn’t hurt.

  As they continued descending, the shooting started. First, they noted 3 small surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) racing toward them. They weren’t big enough to do major damage but it was alarming. Mantis outran them as she continued to lose speed and altitude. As they descended farther, the sky filled with anti-aircraft artillery (AAA). Most of it was far away, but some explosions were close enough that they shook the ship.

  Then Ximon noted a half dozen fighters heading for them from the right and they were gaining ground. They were flagged as likely hostiles, which was confirmed when one of them fired an anti-ship missile at them. All the fighters continued to close.

  Ximon shouted, “Mantis, electronic counter-measures (ECM). Doyle prepare flares and get ready on the SDAC. Evading.”

  “Roger, captain. I’ll try the laser too though it will be badly attenuated.”

  Mantis reported, “So far the ECM hasn’t diverted the missile.”

  Another of the fighters fired an ASM just before Mantis’ flares pulled the first off course.

  Mantis reported, “Additional craft Northeast.”

  Ximon noted 2 more fighters coming from the direction of their destination. These showed as friendly and confirmed via encrypted signals.

  Ximon noted, “We have some friends.”

  Doyle was firing steadily now, but evasive maneuvers by both Mantis and fighters made hitting them hard.

  The four fighters that hadn’t launched missiles now each fired 2 smaller air-to-air missiles (AAM).

  Doyle finally hit one fighter with the laser, causing it to break apart and tumble to earth.

  The friendly fighters all fired AAMs at the enemy fighters as they neared.

  Mantis tried ECM on the incoming ASM, but again to no avail. It also didn’t fall for the flares Doyle deployed, but he hit it at the last minute with the auto-cannon.

  Unfortunately, by this time, the enemy fighters were also firing their auto-cannons. Though small, the hits could do some damage and the staccato on the hull was very disquieting.

  Two of the incoming AAMs were fooled by Mantis’ ECM or Doyle’s flares, but the other two hit. They weren’t really sized to substantially damage to a ship either, but they certainly had an impact and could cause some damage or get a lucky hit.

  About this time, the enemy fighters scattered as the friendlies dove after them. At least one more enemy fighter was shot down.

  Ximon, “Damage report.”

  Elsbeth reported, “Minor hull damage, no breaches, but don’t keep this up.”

  Mantis reported, “Captain, I’m getting some errors on long-range scanners that might indicate damage to the array.”

  As the sky cleared of danger, Ximon continued to the landing strip and gratefully landed.

  He ordered, “Doyle, keep on those weapons for now. Elsbeth, we received a signal from the locals, they’re sending cargo loaders out. Open the cargo doors and be prepared to assist in off-loading.”

  They sat on a large flat area of packed dirt. A dozen or so air vehicles, in various states of repair, sat far down the pad, while a variety of vehicles were scattered around. Several security vehicles accompanied some trucks, a pallet loader, and forklifts toward Mantis.

  Ximon went down the ramp with Raiza to meet Barukko Bazufis, the point of contract his secure communications had told him to expect. Like most of the locals starting the offloading process, Barukko was a Canid.

  Canids: A minority population within the Republic, canids are bipedal humanoids descended from canine stock. Many humans describe them as resembling large, upright dogs with far more manipulative hands.

  Barukko was large, almost 2m tall, greyish black in color, and wore some kind of local uniform and a side-arm. He shook Ximon’s hand heartily and spoke gruffly, “We continue the fight and thank the Republic for its support. I feel toward your crew for the dangers you have faced.”

  Ximon, “It’s good to meet you. I’m glad we can help. Can I thank you for the fighters that came up to assist?”

  “Yes, they were ready, and I dispatched them when we exchanged signals. They are brave, as are you.”

  “Well, thank you. They helped to scatter the enemy so we could come in and land.”

  The cargo handling team worked smoothly with Elsbeth and Peter’s supervision and assistance. They quickly offloaded the full pallets and crates, didn’t stray elsewhere on the Mantis, and were careful enough not to run into Mantis with forklifts, pallet jacks, or the like. Ximon noticed several of the l
oaders hug Elsbeth. She blanched at first, but then embraced them back. Ximon would have sworn that he saw her scratch the ears or pat the head of one of them. He hoped that didn’t come across as condescending.

  Ximon got up on top of Mantis and inspected for potential damage. There were numerous superficial divots, but nothing substantial. There was a small chunk missing out of the sensor array that would account for Mantis’ error detection, but it shouldn’t have a big impact.

  He got back down as the cargo team was starting to pull away.

  He asked Barukko, “Any recommendations for departure?”

  “Yes, captain, take a heading of 135. That will give you the most room to climb in our space and then you’ll cross over into Delluva space – they are neutral and do not guard it aggressively. But, be ready.”

  “Thank you and good luck. We’d better go.”

  Just before Ximon was about to go up the ramp, Barukko motioned a smaller Canid forward and presented Ximon with a small, flat box, “Thank you, friend. I regret we cannot provide more hospitality.”

  Ximon took the box appreciatively and said, “Thanks again.”

  Ximon headed up the ramp and started pre-flight while he had Elsbeth ensure the cargo bay was fully sealed up.

  Doyle reported, “Captain, there are friendly AAA batteries and missiles around this field actively scanning the air space above. I’m detecting intermittent aircraft activity approximately 100 km off to the North and South.”

  “Ok, our job is to get back in space in one piece. Be ready on every system.”

  Just then two fighter aircraft took off from the far end of the pad and headed toward the 135 heading he’d been given – apparently, they were trying to help clear the way.

  Ximon took off, climbing as fast as he reasonably could. They quickly passed friendly space and the friendly fighters broke off but Mantis was at about 10 km altitude by then. They noted some aircraft activity in the distance, but nothing approached. As they crossed over the nearest enemy region, they were at over 20 km and going fast. A group of 8-10 fighters raced toward Mantis but couldn’t catch her and soon broke off.