by Ryk Brown
Vladimir came running up to Jessica, stopping to help the frightened Casbon woman she had just saved. “Are you alright?” The woman nodded, albeit with some uncertainty.
“You are violent people,” Aristaeus exclaimed as he came jogging up to join them, assault rifle in hand.
“Sometimes violence is necessary,” Vladimir replied.
“Thank God, or I’d be out of a job,” Jessica commented.
Six more jump flashes appeared to the east, low on the horizon, followed a few seconds later by claps of thunder.
“What’s over there?” she asked, pointing toward the flashes.
“The east storage buildings,” Aristaeus replied. “But I do not know what is stored in them.”
“Precious metals,” the Casbon woman told them. “Gold, Platinum, Aramenium.”
“Aramenium?” Vladimir asked. “You produce Aramenium here?”
“Yes,” the woman replied. “My husband works in the Aramenium refinery. It is one of our most valuable ores. We sell it only to the Perzans. The Ahka have yet to discover its existence on Casbon.”
“If the Ahka find that Aramenium, they will stop at nothing to obtain it,” Aristaeus warned. “All of it. They will return in force, if necessary.”
“What the hell is Aramenium?” Jessica asked.
“It is difficult to explain,” Vladimir replied. “It is very rare and can store incredible amounts of energy. That is why it is so valuable.”
“Then we have to stop them,” Jessica decided.
“With this?” Vladimir asked, holding up his rifle.
“How far away are the east storage buildings?” Jessica asked the woman.
“Twenty, maybe thirty kilometers?”
“We need a vehicle,” Jessica declared, looking around. “Something fast.”
“Our vehicles are not fast,” the Casbon woman warned. “They just go.”
“By the time you get there, it will be too late,” Aristaeus warned. “Even if you prevent them from making off with the Aramenium, they will know it is there.”
Jessica looked around again, spotting the first ship she had forced to land. “That’s our ride!” she decided, breaking immediately into a run.
“Gospadee, wait!” Vladimir yelled, taking off after her.
“Who are those people?” the Casbon woman wondered as she watched Jessica and Vladimir run toward one of the Ahka ships.
“It’s a long story,” Aristaeus replied.
“They’re crazy.”
“Quite.”
Vladimir ran after Jessica calling for her to wait, but she paid no attention. She reached the ramp of the ship and ran inside, turning to her left and stepping over two dead Ahka to get to the cockpit. “Damn!” she cursed, grabbing the dead pilot and yanking him out of his seat. “I guess I shouldn’t have killed you.”
“What are you doing?” Vladimir yelled when he entered the ship.
“Get these bodies out of here while I figure out how to start this thing up,” Jessica demanded as she plopped the dead pilot on the deck and returned to take his seat in the cockpit.
“Do you even know how to fly this thing?”
“This thing, not really.”
“Do you know how to fly anything?”
“I’ve had a few lessons,” she replied as she scanned the console, trying to figure out how to turn on the engines.
“A few?” Vladimir challenged as he dragged the pilot’s body out of the hatch, dumping him alongside the other two, onto the ground next to the ship.
“Jesus, what the hell kind of writing is this?” Jessica yelled. “It looks like a bunch of worms!”
“Let me look,” Vladimir insisted, climbing into the copilot’s seat. “Engines are engines, and systems are systems. They all work in much the same…” He suddenly stopped, staring at the unfamiliar console.
“What?” Jessica asked.
“You are correct,” Vladimir said, “their writing does look like worms.”
* * *
“Casbon is very small colony on rim of Ilyan Gamaze,” Sosi told Nathan and the others gathered in the Seiiki’s galley. “It has some industry, and has small city, but still needs trade with Ilyan’s core worlds to survive.”
“What do they trade?” Nathan asked.
“Ores; precious metals…their world is blessed with resources. Thanks to jump drive, Casbon now trade with other worlds, not just of Ilyan.”
“Then why do they need fighters?” Corporal Vasya wondered.
“Apparently, one of their neighbors isn’t doing as well,” Nathan replied as he put his dirty plate into the dishwasher.
“Ahka,” Sosi said. “Very bad. They kill, they steal, they kidnap women. They take what they want, and not care who they hurt.”
“I thought this Ilyan was some sort of empire, or something,” the corporal said. “Why don’t they do something about the Ahka?”
“Ahka outside Ilyan…barely,” Sosi explained. “Casbon inside…barely. Ilyan Protectorate only have three, maybe four jump ships, and many worlds to protect. Bigger worlds. Worlds with more money and power than Casbon. And Casbon leave Ilyan core because Casbon not like ways of Ilyan. So, Ilyan not care about Casbon…not much anyway.”
“The Casbon are buying the fighters so they can defend themselves,” Nathan added.
“Do they have any pilots?” Specialist Brill asked.
“Nope,” Nathan replied. “Apparently, they don’t even have any ships. No transports or anything. They depend on the ships of their trading partners. Pretty common for smaller worlds that haven’t reached full industrialization yet.”
“How the hell do they expect to defend themselves then?” the corporal wondered.
“Sugali fighters are pretty easy to fly,” Nathan told him. “But fly them well, and fight effectively with them; that’s a different matter.”
“They’re going to lose a lot of ships and pilots in the beginning,” Vasya commented. “Maybe all of them, depending on how many ships these Ahka have.”
“Not many,” Sosi insisted. “They not use more than eight ships. Mostly six. But they now attack more. Maybe every six seven days, I think.”
“Cap’n?” Josh called over comm-sets.
“Yeah,” Nathan replied.
“We’re two jumps out. Want us to hold the last jump until you’re up here?”
“Negative, I’ll be there in a second,” Nathan told him. “Corporal, you two man the gun turrets, just in case. Dalen, you suit up and man the bay gun.”
“Yes, sir,” Corporal Vasya replied as he and Specialist Brill exited the galley and headed aft.
“I’m on it, Cap’n,” Dalen added, following the Ghatazhak out.
“What I to do?” Sosi wondered.
“I don’t suppose Casbon has any kind of approach control,” Nathan said.
“I think, no.”
“Then stay here,” Nathan instructed, heading forward.
“Very well,” Sosi agreed as he continued eating. “Sosi stay here.”
Nathan made his way around the forward lift fan housing, and was about to start up the ladder, when the ship suddenly shook violently and lurched to one side.
“Shit!” Josh yelled from the cockpit.
“All hands! Man your guns!” Loki called over comm-sets. “We’re under attack!”
Nathan regained his balance and quickly ascended the short ladder up to the Seiiki’s cockpit, hollering, “Report!” as he reached the top.
“I thought you said they didn’t have any ships!” Josh yelled back at Nathan.
“We were attacked as soon as we came out of the jump, sir,” Loki explained. “Small ships, about the size of a Reaper.” The Seiiki rocked again as a ship co
ming toward them fired, striking her forward shields. “No comms, no warning, they just turned and opened fire.”
“Is someone going to fire back?” Josh yelled as he jinked the ship to the left to avoid incoming fire.
“Powering up now!” Corporal Vasya reported over comm-sets.
Nathan quickly leaned over to the side console, patching his comm-set into the exterior comms array, and selected every known comm-channel. “This is the Seiiki. We are here on business. Break off your attack, or we will be forced to defend ourselves.”
The ship rocked again as three more energy blasts slammed into their port shields.
“That answers that,” Nathan decided.
“I’m powered up!” Vasya reported. “Are we clear to fire?”
“Weapons free!” Nathan ordered. “Keep those bastards off of us!”
“You got it!” Corporal Vasya replied as he swung his weapon to port and opened fire on the ship, tracking from port to starboard. He moved the gun quickly from left to right, firing constantly. The target blew apart, spreading pieces along the doomed ship’s path of flight. “Hell yeah!” the corporal cried out, looking toward the starboard gun turret. “Now these are guns!”
“How many targets?” Nathan asked Loki.
“I’m tracking four near us, and another six on the surface.”
“So much for ‘they never attack with more than eight’,” Nathan mumbled as the ship rocked from another weapons impact on their shields.
“You’ve got one coming under!” Specialist Brill told Corporal Vasya. “I couldn’t get a line on him!”
“Josh! Roll to port!” Vasya instructed.
“Negative!” Loki warned. “Those ships have aft-facing cannons, and our port shield is down to thirty percent.”
“Sorry, Vasya,” Josh replied.
“Get me a clear jump line so I can plot an escape jump,” Loki suggested.
“Negative,” Nathan countermanded. “Vlad and Jess are down there. Plot a jump to attack the six ships on the surface.”
“Captain, we ain’t a gunship,” Josh reminded him.
“We are now,” Nathan replied.
“For all we know, Vlad and Jess are sheltered someplace safe,” Loki said, turning to look at Nathan. “If these guys are just raiders, they’ll take what they came for and be on their way.”
“Jessica…sheltered someplace safe?” Nathan replied.
Loki turned back around toward his console. “Plotting the attack jump, now.”
* * *
“Nothing is happening!” Jessica exclaimed. “It’s like it’s dead, or something!”
“I think it is,” Vladimir agreed.
“What?” Jessica looked at him. “It was working five minutes ago!”
“Maybe the pilot locked the systems out before he died?”
“No way,” Jessica insisted. “What do you think all that is!” she added, pointing at the blood and gray matter splattered all over the front window on her side.
“It could be bio-locked,” Vladimir suggested, “so that only an Ahka pilot can operate it.” Vladimir looked past Jessica at the blown-out section of the console to her left. “It could also be that big hole in the panel over there.”
Jessica looked at the hole, then at Vladimir again.
“I thought you Ghatazhak never missed.”
“Must have been a ricochet,” Jessica insisted. A thunderous clap shook their ship, although there was no jump flash. Jessica looked at Vladimir again, just as a larger ship streaked over them, only thirty meters off the surface. “Fuck!” Jessica exclaimed as they both ducked instinctively.
Vladimir laughed with joy, pointing at the ship that had just buzzed over them as it sped away toward the east storage buildings. “It’s the Seiiki!”
* * *
“Seiiki! Nash! How do you copy?”
“Jess! Is that you?” Nathan called over his comm-set.
“Holy crap, Nathan! How the hell did you find us?”
“Long story,” Nathan replied. “What’s your sit-rep?”
“We’re good. There are six Ahka raiders about to break into the east storage buildings.”
“Yeah, we’ll be on them in thirty seconds.”
“You cannot let them enter those buildings! Understood?”
“Understood.”
“Nathan!” Vladimir called. “Do not shoot the buildings!”
“Why?” Nathan wondered.
“Trust me on this!”
“Copy. Josh, pitch us up to get a better attack angle.”
“Pitching up,” Josh replied, pulling the Seiiki’s nose up slightly.
“Loki, you take the forward belly turrets. I’ll take the aft ones.”
“Got it,” Loki replied, “but three more raiders just jumped in behind us. Five clicks, slightly to port.”
“I can swing it around in a hover, so our main turrets can deal with the inbounds,” Josh suggested. “That should give you guys a pretty good shot at the ground targets, as well.”
“Works for me,” Nathan agreed as he took control of the Seiiki’s aft belly turrets. “Gunners, three bandits coming in from behind. Five clicks. We’ll swing around into a hover to attack ground targets and give you a good firing line. Fuck those ships up!”
“Our pleasure,” Corporal Vasya replied.
“Here we go,” Josh announced, pushing the Seiiki’s nose back down into an attack dive. His targeting system identified the six ships on the surface, just north of the storage buildings. “Boots on the ground,” he reported. “They’re just deboarding now.” One of the targeting reticles around the ships on the screen turned green, and Josh pressed the firing button on his flight control stick, sending a stream of plasma blasts toward it. The ship exploded, sending chunks of its burning hull flying in all directions. One of the pieces struck the ship next to it, causing its starboard landing gear to snap. The ship’s starboard engine immediately began smoking, and then caught fire, exploding a second later. “That’s two!” Josh declared, “and with one shot!” he added as he leveled off about twenty meters above the surface, sliding into a hovering position to one side of the Ahka ships and the armed men now raising their weapons to open fire on the Seiiki. He spun the hovering ship around, bringing the nose to point toward the three raiders who were coming up from behind them. “Those ground pounders are firing,” he warned.
“Oh, no you don’t,” Nathan mumbled as he activated the aft turrets and opened fire on the men on the ground. “Target the ships, Loki,” Nathan ordered as he continued firing, “I’ve got the guys on the ground with guns.”
“I’m on it,” Loki replied.
“One and a half clicks and closing!” Josh warned their gunners. “At our twelve and just above!”
“I’ve got the one on the left!” Corporal Vasya announced, lining up his turret, locking onto the approaching raider, and opening fire.
“I’ve got the one on the right,” Specialist Brill added, also opening fire.
“And I’ve got the one in the middle,” Josh added as the ship gently pitched up and turned slightly to port.
Corporal Vasya held his turret steady as he pounded the approaching ship. Within a few seconds, the ship’s forward shields failed, and the plasma bolts tore into the target’s hull, splitting it open and setting off explosions inside. The target broke apart, falling to the ground below. “ONE DOWN!” the corporal shouted triumphantly as he swung his gun toward the middle raider.
“Middle target is down!” Josh bragged, ceasing fire as he continued to balance the Seiiki in a hover over the engagement area.
“I got another one on the ground!” Loki announced.
“The last two are trying to take off,” Josh warned.
�
�Block them!” Nathan ordered.
“I thought you’d never ask,” Josh replied, manipulating his flight controls to slide the Seiiki over and descend slightly, blocking the enemy ships’ attempt to lift off.
“Keep pounding them, Loki,” Nathan instructed.
“I never stopped!”
“More ground pounders running up from behind us!” Dalen warned over comm-sets.
“Where the hell did they come from?” Nathan wondered.
“Beats the hell outta me!” Dalen replied. “Oh, shit! They’re firing!”
“Well, fire back!” Nathan ordered.
“No shit!” Dalen exclaimed as he swung the ceiling-mounted, double-barreled cannon out into the middle of the open cargo bay and took aim. Plasma bolts bounced off their aft shields, causing them to flash reddish-orange with each impact. Dalen flinched at the first few impacts, but then settled in behind his weapon and took aim, firing continuously. He swept the weapon back and forth, and up and down, spraying the area behind and below them with narrow bolts of plasma energy. “Damn!” he exclaimed as he continued firing. “Now I know why Marcus likes this gun so much!”