One of the Ch’Tauk fighters popped as a plasma beam lanced through its hull. The other three scattered in an ordered formation, regrouping as they dropped out of the line of fire. The second group began to advance into the field of fire. Lee, Aztec and Merlin flew close under the hull of Terran Hope from port to starboard. He needed to give the other two cover, and underneath made the most sense in the sideways battle. Lee watched another of the Ch’Tauk fighters burst under Resolute’s guns.
“Flyboy, this is Jackal, moving into position to engage.”
Lee watched as the two Eagles moved away from the cruise ship and closer to Resolute’s spine. The two fighters were staying close, covering each other’s backs as the two Ch’Tauk raced around the battleship. The alien ships were coming up from under Resolute, beyond the guns’ ability to track. The Demons turned on their noses and faced back towards the Hope. Lee could see Jackal’s plan clearly. When the Ch’Tauk ships came up from under the battleship, he and his pilots would catch them in a crossfire. He nudged his ship further out from cover. He could see Hope’s shields glowing a faint blue as he moved close to the hull.
The two Ch’Tauk burst from under Resolute’s hull, firing at the cruise ship. Blue energy sparks flared as the plasma impacted and strengthened the shields. Lee goosed his drive and pushed out into the open space between the two ships. Firing in the kill zone would be complicated enough when he was trying to avoid friendly fire hits on Resolute. With the Ch’Tauk in an aggressive posture, the task would be even more dangerous.
“Demons, engage enemy ships at will,” Lee ordered.
Pulsed plasma began to fire at the enemy ship. The Demons had upgraded weapons and shields courtesy of the elves, but the narrow field of battle was complicating targeting. Jackal took immediate point and sped out into the fire zone, chasing the lead enemy ship. Aztec and Merlin sped out to catch the other. Lee and Baron stayed still, waiting to see who needed them most.
The Ch’Tauk were good. They were able to weave between the incoming fire with amazing speed. Lee had never seen a Ch’Tauk ship move that way. Their typical pattern involved brute force attacks that wore down an opponent and then blasted them out of existence. Subtlety was not in their repertoire. These ships, however, were displaying an almost uncanny ability to evade the pursuers at each turn. Jackal, easily the best pilot, was struggling to stay on the other ship as it flitted around the hull of Terran Hope. As it flew, it peppered the shields with plasma fire, testing the defensive energy for weaknesses. The strategy was beyond what he knew of his enemy. It looked familiar, though.
“Flyboy,” Aztec’s voice crackled over the comm. “Can you see ours? We lost him somewhere.”
Lee snapped himself out of his analysis. That kind of daydreaming was dangerous in battle and he needed to stay focused. He checked his scanners. There was no sign of the other ship. He spotted Aztec and Merlin flying a search pattern around Resolute. He pushed his ship out a little further into the battle, trying to expand his scanner range beyond the bulk of the cruise ship. There was a flare as his projectors absorbed energy from outside. Lee looked around and saw the other Ch’Tauk speed by. The ship had somehow managed to break away from the other two Demons and come around the mass of Terran Hope. The alien had used the metal hull and shields of the cruise ship to hide itself. Lee was impressed, but did not allow himself to be too dazzled. He kicked the engines up and flipped his nose down, standing the ship on the nose and accelerating.
The insectoid ship tore out of the plane of battle and into open space, arcing around towards the Vadne ship, still sitting away from the battle. Lee opened fire and scored a small hit on its stern. The Ch’Tauk wobbled but did not slow. It was now at its top speed and locked on to the Vadne. He was faster than the enemy fighter but wanted to zero in on his target before firing.
The Ch’Tauk ship began spitting plasma fire at the Vadne. Lee knew the Vadne ship would have shields raised and be able to defend against the attack. As the Ch’Tauk continued to pummel the felinoid ship, Lee could see weapons ports opening along the Vadne flank. He pulled back on his throttle again, wanting to get out of the way of what came next.
The Vadne ship launched two small pellets. Each was no bigger than a marble, but contained an explosive charge triggered on impact. The pellets were fired at high speed by a magnetic rail system inside the ship. As the Ch’Tauk fighter sped closer to its prey, the first pellet smashed into its forward hull. By the time the trigger delay activated, the object was near the stern, having torn through the enemy ship. The second pellet struck the bow and detonated within a millisecond of the first. The two small explosions ripped the insect ship apart before the pilot even knew he had been hit.
Lee flipped his ship over and turned back to the battle. The frigates were engaging Resolute directly while the rest of the Demons were keeping the fighters busy. He found a target, a Ch’Tauk ship that was trailing Baron too closely, and slammed his throttle to full. Despite the modifications to the inertial control systems, Lee felt himself being pushed back into the couch. The projected view showed the Ch’Tauk ships grow rapidly as he sped past Terran Hope at best speed. He fell in behind the enemy in mere seconds and opened fire.
The Ch’Tauk ship juked left and right, trying to lose the new tail, but Lee kept firing. Baron picked his nose up hard, performing a nearly ninety-degree turn at full acceleration and moved out of the line of fire. Lee opened up on the target, peppering the armored hull with hits. The Ch’Tauk suddenly slowed to a stop, allowing Lee to hurtle past him. As Lee tried to compensate and turn, the enemy ship blasted his stern with plasma. The improved shields held, but Lee was stunned by the maneuver.
It was something he had done once, years ago, against the Ch’Tauk in battle. The move was not unique, but it was not one performed by many pilots due to the stresses it placed on the ship. He had never seen a Ch’Tauk pilot attempt it before. He shook off the surprise and turned his nose end over to face the oncoming enemy.
There was a flash of exploding gasses as Baron sprang from below. He had doubled back and opened his guns at the enemy ship. Lee searched his screen for a new target while flipping back over.
“Flyboy,” Kama Yu’s voice crackled over the comm. “You have new orders from command. You need to get back aboard your ship.”
“I’m a bit busy right now, Hope,” Lee responded. “We have uninvited guests, remember?”
“Let the cats take them, Flyboy. They are moving the fleet in to assist us,” Kama said in her steady voice. “We need you out of there more than we need you getting blown up. Get back to Big Mama as soon as possible for the M-Space conversion.”
“We can’t just leave you here,” Lee protested over the line as he saw the frigates moving closer. “We can take these guys out.”
“Negative, Flyboy,” Kama said. “Cap says get out of here now. Better get moving.”
“Acknowledged, Hope,” Lee said, switching to a different channel. “Demons, return to Mama. We are bugging out … so to speak.”
There was a chorus of moans from the radio as the pilots checked in. He did not want to leave the civilian ship any more than they did, but they had orders. He checked his scans to see the Vadne defense fleet moving in fast. They had more than enough firepower to take care of the Ch’Tauk. Sterling’s ship had already moved in and was punching holes in the alien capital ships.
“Resolute, can you open the bay doors for the kids?” Lee asked. “We need a clear path.”
“The Vadne fleet has already signaled their engagement. We are moving out of the battle zone and opening the doors.” Farthing’s voice was smooth across the radio, as though he were ordering a meal rather than fighting a battle. “Watch out for stray fire, but you are clear for landing.”
“Tell Booth to get us ready for conversion,” Lee ordered. “We’ve got a new course and a rendezvous to meet.”
“We are already processing the new orders, sir,” Farthing replied. “Engineering reports ready for M-Space c
onversion as soon as we close the hatches. I must add that he said it with many colorful words.”
Lee smiled in his helmet at the thought of his chief engineer. Like many of his kind, Roy Booth felt that the ship was actually his; the captain was put there to annoy him. Lee had to admit he felt a kinship with anyone who took his job seriously, but Booth was more explicitly vocal than most. He turned his attention back to the battle to see the Vadne firing their curious pellets into the Ch’Tauk ships. The bugs were not faring well against the larger felinoid ships.
“Flyboy to Big Mama,” Lee said. “We’re coming home.”
Lee switched his scanner back to passive mode and swept in towards the aging battleship. He could see the bay doors standing open for him against the darkness of the hull plating. Aztec was there already, settling into his space. Lee’s pad was on the other side. In between the two ships was an open space where Alice’s ship would have been. He had declined to take on another pilot after her apparent death. As he slowed and entered the bay, he glanced back at the painted circle on the deck. A sudden realization about the tactics used by the Ch’Tauk almost made him drop the ship down hard.
The Ch’Tauk were flying exactly like Alice.
11
Earth – Wyoming
Henry moved with extreme care over the rough gravel. The cliff edge was iced over and each step seemed to make more of the cliff crumble away. He held tightly to the rock wall to keep his balance. The comforting weight of rope connected him to Emma on one side and Hastings on his left. The team had been travelling for days and was near the border between Wyoming and Montana. According to the drawn map that Jack had given them, they should be closing in on the target installation.
“Emma?” Henry called back. “Are you okay?”
She had listened to him planning out the missions and choosing the teams during the first night and had stayed with him throughout the following day. The woman who had practically thrown herself at him in her quarters had been replaced by a serious minded companion that he was growing to love. She looked back at him from behind climbing glasses and tried to show a smile.
“I’m cold, wet and hungry, Henry,” Emma replied. “Otherwise, I am just fine. Watch what you are doing up there. The road looks slippery.”
Henry turned back to face their direction. The path they were following had once been a road paved through the mountainside. Years of neglect after the invention of skimmers and rockslides had made it unusable for anything but the most intrepid climber. Ahead of Henry, Hastings had the technology skills they would need to activate the signal.
“Ben, everything look okay?” Henry called out.
“The road widens up ahead. It looks okay, but I wouldn’t go running any races out there.”
Hastings was an anomaly among the other people from the facility. He had not been on Earth when the Ch’Tauk invaded but had been flying a garbage run in-system towards the sun. When he returned from his flight, the planet had already been invaded and the bulk of the Ch’Tauk fleet had already left. He managed to enter the upper atmosphere before the cab section of his transport was shot down by a set of fighters. Hastings, who spoke with a thick Boston accent, had ejected from the little hauler and landed in Yellowstone preserve. Jack Cole had found him alone and shivering about a year later, nearly dead from exposure and malnutrition. He had recovered and proven to be a fairly good technician with the older systems at the installation.
“Let’s get up there and test it before we start up,” Henry replied, gripping the edge of the rock for support. “I think it’s night anyway, so it might be a good place to rest. Even if it’s crumbling around the edges, it’s bound to be better than this place.”
“Ayup,” replied Hastings. “I hear ya.”
The thin strip of broken asphalt they had been climbing along was nearly gone. Each step seemed to make more of the cliff edge crumble under their feet. It was the safest path, though, according to their directions. They could not see far in the near darkness of the eternally gray sky. Their clothes and equipment were covered in the same gray sludge that seemed to fall constantly from the sky now. Henry wondered how high they would have to go before the stuff thinned out.
“Henry!” Emma yelled as the road gave way beneath her feet. She swung down on the safety line, banging her body into the edge of the sheer cliff face.
Henry gripped the stone even tighter as the safety line snapped taut. He heard Hastings yell back to him, but the rope was cutting away at his breath. He gasped in a lungful of air and tried to keep his feet on the slick road.
“Emma!” Henry cried out. “I can’t hold you much longer. Can you get any rock under your feet?”
“Henry!” Emma cried back in a near panic. “I can’t stop swinging. The cliff is too slick. Henry, please don’t let me fall!”
Henry Moore tried to push his gloved fingers into the rock face. If he could have, he would have broken his own fingers to keep anything from happening to Emma. He let out a howl as he pressed his hands hard into the narrow crags. He bent his legs slightly and pushed himself up. The motion seemed to slow the swinging and keep her from falling. Hastings was calling him from somewhere nearby, but Henry could not bear to open his eyes to look. Images of his wife and his little girl flashed in front of his eyes — an airlock opened and their bodies were blown into space. He would not suffer that again even if it meant he would die here too.
The ground started to give way under Henry’s booted feet. He felt the pull of gravity with the certainty of death to follow. As his fingers slipped from the gray stone wall, another hand grabbed his. Hastings had managed to get close enough, had braced his legs against a short outcropping of granite, and was hauling Henry towards the edge. Henry’s fingers were numb from the exertions, but he managed to reach the granite rock. And pull. With one pull, Hastings had managed to get him close enough to find purchase on the mountain road. The rope cut into him deeply through the thick parka he wore, but he did not notice.
As he pulled himself up, Hastings held him under the arms. Henry braced himself against the same small outcropping of rock and pulled at the rope. He could still hear Emma screaming as she bounced against the cliff. The resistance on the rope began to slacken and he realized that he hadn’t been breathing. Stars danced in his eyes, but he pulled against the rope with everything he had left. There was a grinding sound from the granite outcrop as a single dark hand reached over the edge of the road and found purchase against Henry’s boot. Emma had lost her own glove in the fall somewhere, but her jacket was still intact. He continued to pull as the rest of her arm and then her beautiful face appeared over the edge.
Ben reached over Henry and grabbed the front of her coat. He pulled her up and over the edge while Henry brought the rope up. Hastings fell back, releasing Emma to Henry. The three fell backwards in a heap against the strip of roadbed. Emma was the first to start laughing and was soon followed by Ben and then Henry. The release of energy lasted for nearly a minute as the three struggled to breathe. Henry could not stop his arms from shaking. Whether it was from the cold or the exertions he could not tell. He was aware of only the weight of Emma against him as she settled back into his arms. It was not the time but he did not care.
“Are you okay, dear?” he asked, not thinking about propriety. “I couldn’t lose you.”
“You old fool,” she said, turning around to face him. “You can’t get rid of me that easily. I’m carrying your wallet, remember?”
Henry laughed a great barking sound. He had given Emma the packet with his military identification and a few pictures when they had first started the trek. They had needed to swim a thick, sludgy river, and his clothing was not proof against the water. They had travelled miles before he had remembered to ask for it back, but she had refused. She wanted to have something of his and that was it for now. She had said it was so he would need her, but he needed her anyway. It had just taken time for him to admit it.
“If you two are about done, I
think we better get up the road a bit,” Hastings said, brushing off the gray mud and walking ahead. “This road doesn’t look much better than the last patch, but at least it’s wider.”
Emma scrambled up and over Henry and stood. She was bruised but still able to take her feet. Henry rolled back and stood up. His legs felt as if he had been pulling a battleship; he needed a few moments to steady his gait. Emma was there, under his arm, to help him move farther up the road. Hastings had been right. The road widened and now formed a flat surface that seemed made to camp on. Ben was already on his knees, shimmying closer to the edge to look over.
“This whole section ain’t falling away,” he said, looking back to Henry. “It’s weird, the cliff looked nearly pristine. It ain’t fallen away one bit here.”
Henry pressed Emma away. He knelt down and crawled to the edge of the cliff. Hastings was right. The cliff below this section of asphalt looked nearly perfect as it fell straight down beneath him. The rocky surface did not seem to have any of the familiar gray sludge attached to it either. A peculiar brown orange stain ran from just under where Henry laid down at the front edge of the stone wall. Henry reached down and brushed his fingers against the discoloration. Instead of smooth stone, he felt a pitted surface that seemed somehow wrong. He pulled his hand back up and removed his glove. Reaching back down, he scraped the strange stain with his fingernail. The bumpy surface came away under his scraping and he pulled the shaving up to his face. With his other hand, Henry pulled the edge of his jacket away from his face and gently tasted the reddish flakes on his fingertips.
Resolute Victory (The War for Terra) Page 9