Tramp Wars: The Enemy

by Larry Roberts

  “This is Commander Collins of the Star Queen in the Mustang off your starboard side. Surrender or I will shoot you down.”

  “Go to hell.”

  “Mark they are headed for the air truck skyway below where they could get lost in the crowd. It could make it almost impossible for you to follow them or shoot them down if they reach it.”

  Slipping back behind it he shot up the power section some more. Even with smoke pouring out of the power section the boat did not slow down. “Something is strange about that boat Mickey?”

  “It is an air truck Mark with additions making it a combination Boat and Gravtruck.”

  Mark fired again aiming for the grav coils along the sides. Crabbing out again so he could knock several out along each side but as it continued to fly on he realized that without much of a load it did not need most of its coils. “Any suggestions Mickey?”

  “Just keep shooting out the coils until they have to land. But you are running out of time as we are coming up on the skyway fast.”

  “Can’t you just fallow it instead of shooting it down Mark? Isn’t there registration numbers on it someplace? Besides it has to land some place sometime.” Dian pleaded.

  The boat had drifted above and ahead of Mark as they talked. Taking Dian’s suggestion he closed up to study the back for numbers. The smoking engines with a section of the stern suddenly dropped off tumbling at the fighter. Mark dove under it as the smoking mass seemingly flew just over the cockpit canopy making both Dian and Mark try to duck as the fighter lurched. The boats engine pod knocking off a portion of the center engines cooling fin. Coming back up underneath Mark gave it a long burst across its belly trying to take out as many coils as he could while getting back at them for trying to kill Dian and him again. Knocking several big holes into the boats belly as the shells missed the thick heavy discs, punching big holes into the light hull.

  Having to dodge several large disc shaped coils that he had blown off the bottom changed his mind about that approach. With the large control fins and engine section gone from the boat the flat back end finely made it look obviously like all the other grav trucks they were coming up on.

  And then they entered the stream of trucks a thousand feet above the country side. Low enough to keep the grav coils of the trucks near the planets mass but high enough to be up out of obstacles and away from civilian air cars. The only thing Mark had going for him know was the fact that most of the trucks where hundreds of feet long with several trailers locked up behind the main power tractor (unlick ground trucks airtruck trailers were not articulated but fixed firmly to the back of the tractor or other trailers). With the 30 foot long orbital power section gone, the now short 50 foot long truck they had been battling was easy to pick out of the stream and fallow as it weaved its way through the throng of long trucks. But not wanting to lose it, Mark kept right on its tail as they passed the occasional short truck that did not look much different than the one they were chasing. If he lost sight of it for even a few seconds, it would be hard telling it from the growing number of other small trucks that kept joining the stream. So he kept close. A fairly easy thing to do with the much smaller fighter.

  Then the truck’s back hatch slid opened as Mark was crossing from one side to the other with his eyes on a nearby truck that was pulling up into the stream from a little town they were leaving behind. A laser cannon started firing at and hitting the fighter broadside. Raking Diane’s side of the cockpit. Dian tried to dodge turning her head away pushing her whole upper body up towered Mark as far as the tub would let her as pain suddenly seared across her face with a little short high pitched scream. Mark jerked the fighter around as his finger hit the trigger of the fighter's cannons without thinking or aiming. The hits from the trucks laser cannons knocking the fighter sideways as Mark's laser cannon pulses from only the guns on his side, stitched across the flat back bulkhead of the truck and into the laser cannon and up through the inside of the unarmored truck devastating most everyone inside the cargo compartment. Bodies and equipment fell out the back as well as the open side hatches as the laser bolts tore the guts out of the truck box knocking big holes into the back of the cab at the front. Dodging the gun as it fell out the back while kicking himself for forgetting that all trucks had hatches in the back and getting caught flat footed.

  Pulling up beside the truck again as he looked out his side of the canopy. Mark asked Mickey to reopen a channel. “That was stupid firing on a fighter that has you in his sights at point blank range. Now land that piece of junk before you crash. You are going to give me all the answers I want.”

  “OK you win I am landing but I can’t see how the hell you are still flying that piece of junk after all the hits you have taken. We should have earned that bounty on you easily with one hit and I know we hit you several times just now. I can‘t believe you are still flying that piece of junk.”

  The truck started to descend slowing down as it wobbled unsteadily. The man Mark had seen before with the bloody arm walked back up to grab the overhead hand rail by the open hatch again to steady himself as the truck lurched back and forth.

  “What bounty and from who and why?”

  “You really don’t know do you boy.” The man shook his head sadly as he stared in disbelief at the fighter flying beside the truck. “You screwed up a lot of big plans for a lot of people across half a hundred planets that had been in place for decades. Exposing things you should not even have been nosing into. But that isn’t even the main reason you and your ship is doomed. Don’t you remember?” Turning his head to the side as he frowned. “You really don’t know do you?”

  Mark could see the man as he talked. “Really don’t know what?”

  “What happened twenty years ago? Why that monster is out to get your ship now that he knows your ship is still alive and to make things worse now after 21 years, you have gotten in his way and fucked things up beyond belief and he is going to make you and everyone you know and love wish they were never born when he gets his hands on them.”

  “Who? Damn it! Who?”

  “You really don’t know?”

  “I wouldn’t be asking you if I did know. Now tell me his name and what the hell I could have done 21 years ago that is so important? What the Hell is going on here?” Mark crabbed the nose of the fighter around to point at the truck again.

  “Ok boy just don’t shoot alright. His name is Bla….” The truck blew up into a flaming ball of expanding junk knocking the fighter across the Skyway barely missing several big long haul trucks headed in the opposite direction. Getting control as he dropped under the Skyway, Mark watched as the remaining pieces of truck slowly fell into the farm land below. The bigger pieces and heavy coils sending up puffs of dust and dirt as they impacted the soft plowed earth in the rapidly darkening dusk with the big red sun behind them having set a half hour before in this area.

  Circling the wreckage as he descended, Mark had to dodge a tethered coned hat with a bright light shining down from it sitting some 500 feet above the field below. As he dropped down below the reflective shade covering the top, he had to squint to keep the bright light from blinding him as it hit him in the eyes, lighting up the inside of the cockpit. The white light looked so strange after the red sun. Mark suddenly realized that was why he could see the impact of the truck parts so easily even though the sun had already set. All the fields for miles were lit up like day as far as he could see by little lights hanging up at the end of the grav cables. Small flashing warning marker lights shined from the top of each of thousands of cone shaped lamps arrayed across the plain with his eyes finally low enough to the ground to notice them. The warning lights designed not to be seen unless you were low enough for the lights to be a problem. Preventing them from confusing anyone at higher altitudes that could not possibly hit them. Looking back down at the truck parts he could not help wondering what just happened.

  “He just blew up. Mark! I didn’t push the button or anything else but they still just ble
w up." Dian said. "Why did it just blow up Mark?” Mark turned around at Dian's strange sounding voice. Looking over at her, Mark could see her clearly in the bright light (something that was not easy shortly before in the glume of the darkening sky) leaning against the tub her head against the side towered him. Her face white and in pain as she started crying as she continued to talk. “The guy was just standing there talking to us and you turned toward him and he just blew up. No! You fired and murdered him and everyone else on the boat simply because he wasn’t answering your questions fast enough!” Dian just sat there angled across the tub repeating that he had killed the people on the truck over and over again. The pain in her face sweating beads down her face as she looked at him. “Mark, I am no better. I pushed the button to kill those people in the other boats.” She stared at the big red Training button in the middle of the console sitting in front of her eyes as she sat sideways in her seat. "I lifted the cover and pushed the red button like you told me to and killed those people Mark.” She starred at the big red Training Simulator button with the clear cover over it in the center console and started crying. "You just blew them up. He was talking to us and you just blew him up.” Wringing her hands together. “We just blew them all up because I pushed the button Mark.” Her hand played with the big red button and its cover as she cried. I helped you Murder all those people.”

  Mark reached across the console between them and tried to squeeze her hand. “Dian it is not your fault…..”

  “Don’t touch me! You murderer. It is your fault I killed all those people.” Jerking her hands away from Marks grasp as she tried to move away but could not, letting out a scream before flopping back down with her head laying over the center console again looking at the big red button. Pain wracking her face as she continued to moan. Then a minute later as her pain seemed to subside. "I killed all those people.” and she started crying again. “I want to go home Mark. My butt hurts and I just want to go home and I just blew them all up. I am a murderer just like you.”

  "Yes Dian just sit back and relax. We will be home soon." He tried to push her back into her seat. Again she let out a short scream and stayed at the strange angle with her butt against the outside of the tub and her head laying on the edge of the console toward Mark. “Mickey what is wrong with her?”

  I do not know Mark. She seems to be stable but in pain and I do not know why. The Tub is preventing me from scanning her body below her chest directly with what little resources I have not trying to keep the fighter in the air with all the damage it has suffered. We need to get back to the Star Queen as soon as possible.”

  Pulling the fighter up into a shallow climb, he flew up past the light pods and up through the Skyway as he started to head home. Planning on waiting until they were well above the Skyway before putting on some speed. Trying to figure out how he would go about finding that other truck boat that had shot at him. They were less than a thousand feet above the Skyway when 4 X-wing fighters flashed over them at several times the speed of sound, sending the Mustang tumbling towered the ground again and the trucks below from the explosive heavy sonic double shockwaves each of the four fighters created going several times the speed of sound so low in the atmosphere. Finally getting control Mark started climbing again.

  “Star Queen fighter. This is Captain Myers. You will stand down immediately and climb to angles 20 at 5,000 feet a minute and take up a heading of 94 degrees and 600 knots. We will be escorting you back to Planetary Defense command for the investigation. Any deviation or hostile actions and we will shoot you down is that clear.”

  “Yes Captain Myers. This is Commander Collins of the Star Queen. I will comply. It is a shame you did not show up 10 minutes ago. I have a casualty, my medical officer Ensign Abraham is going strange on me and seems to be in pain and going into shock. I do not know why.” Mark started fighting the controls trying to make the fighter climb even at 2,000 feet per minute in the general direction of the coarse he was told to take. “Please have someone there that can help her. Aaaa, and I don’t think I can do 600 knots at 20,000 feet. I don’t seem to want to climb very well and each time I get above 300 knots I start losing control.”

  Two fighters pulled up next to Mark. One on each side. “Cancel that order Commander, I did not know your ship was as damaged as it is. Level off here and maintain 300 knots. We have an emergency strip not far from here we can land at and wait for help. Do you wish to land there?”

  “No thank you Captain. I seem to still have control and my ensign is stable but needs help as soon as possible. We will go to your main base.”

  “Mark.” said Mickey. “I am having increased difficulty maintaining fighter stability with all the damage we have received and the continued wakes from the fighters. While Dian's vital signs are stable she is weakening. It may be a good idea to put us down now.”

  “We need to get as close to home as we can before we let them take us Mickey. Less likely to get lost in the shuffle and for the ship to find us not to mention it could take hours for help to arriver for Dian here whatever is wrong with her. What we should do anyway is call home no matter how much I dread that. ”

  The four fighters that streaked by earlier flew over Mark and his escorts at a fairly slow speed and then took up station at the compass points a couple miles from them. “Commander, can you state the nature of your weapons officer's injuries please.”

  “I am not sure how to explain Captain. She is just a medical officer along for the ride when we were ambushed. Godstar this is supposed to be a civilized planet." Mark took a breath and continued. "She had to shoot down 3 attacking boats while they were shooting at us with close up’s of the bodies free falling when we flew through the wreckage and on the attack screen and then we watched the last one blow up not more than 50 feet from us while the guy in the hatch was surrendering. Oh and she screamed when we got hit this last time and then spent several minutes babbling when the boat blew up and now she is just sitting there in a strange sideways position catatonic.”

  One of the X-wing fighters pulled up as it turned upside down and flew over the top of Mark’s Tri-wing for a few seconds. The pilot shaking his head as helooked down inside the cockpit, then turned back over as it took up position off to the side again, carefully keeping its wake away from the damaged fighter. “Yes Commander I have seen that many times on hardened combat officers in the war. The fact that the Ensign is a medical officer is understandable. We have great head doctors and will take good care of the ensign. But I am worried about all the damage on the weapon's officer's side of the fighter and what looks like a direct hit on her armored tub. The fact that it does not look like either of you are in battle suits is troubling. Especially how she is sitting. She may….”

  “Captain Myers I need to call home and let the ship know what is going on.”

  “Yes Commander as long as we can monitor the call. We will have medics standing by when we land. I would suggest that you open up the first aid kit in the console between the seats and take out the red injector and hit it against your Ensigns upper arm. Then take the green module and place it preferably on any bare skin you can find other than her hands. Though the meatier it is the better. Don't be afraid to cut the suit if you can but if you can't, just slap it over the suit on her chest and it will do the rest.”

  “Thanks. Ah what is the red stick for?”

  "A little cocktail to keep her alive until you land, as is the green module." Make your call after you finish doing both of those."

  Mark did as he was instructed. Even with Mickey doing most of the flying he still could not take his attention away from the stick for more than a few seconds at a time. Finally taking a deep breath with Dian seaming to be breathing better, Mark turned his attention to making the call he did not want to make. “Mickey patch me into the ship please. I guise we might as well go to the top and get it over with. Call Captain Cook please.”

  “Star Queen, Ensign Weaver, officer of the deck. How may I help you?”

>   “Ensign Weaver, this is Commander Collins, I need to talk to the Captain please.”

  “Commander, you sure put that reporter in her place Sir. The Captain has been hitting the bulk heads since then and...” Mark could hear someone in the back ground talking to the ensign for a second. “Yes sir, Commander, the Captain is waiting to talk to you. I am transferring you now sir.”

  Mark felt his stomach drop as the shadow of doom came over him. Maybe it was a good thing he was headed for the Defense Command base. At least there the Captain could not do him in until she had a chance to cool down. At least it sounded like he did not have to explain where he had been or why. Evidentially the Captain already knew.

  “Mr. Collins!” Came the Captains overly calm voice. “It seems you have survived re-entry on your little test flight. What do I owe the honor of this call? You are headed back to the ship are you not? Or is this a call to tell me you are taking the ship’s only fighter on another detour Commander? Did you hear about some beach resort on the south coast to test water landings or a ski resort in the arctic for cold whether tests?”

  “Sir…Sorry sir…. but it is some resort I never herd of at the Planetary Defense Command Base outside the city. It seems we ran into some trouble with bandits on re-entry and the fighter boys at defense command, a Captain Myers has extended me a special invite to visit there little resort sir. The Mustang is pretty badly shot up anyway and Ensign Abraham is hurt somehow, from shock I think. Maybe she hit her head? I don’t know sir. Captain Myers has offered to have help waiting for the ensign when we arrive at the base sir.”

  “Bandits? Ah. Very well Commander, you will co-operate with the authorities fully without saying anything or making a statement until our lawyers meets with you is that under stood.”

  “Yes Sir Captain, I will say nothing without our lawyer.”

  “Captain Cook. This is Captain Myers. Command has done a preliminary review of the battle records down loaded from your FB-35 and I have been ordered to escort Commander Collins to the Star Queen. Any charges will be dealt with at a later date but we anticipate no charges being filed. A security and medical detachment has been dispatched to the port to render any aid you wish to accept sir. We are roughly two hours out from your location. Captain Myers out.”