by Ryk Brown
“Nathan!” Josh called over comms.
“Get them the fuck out of here, Haddix!” Nathan barked as he continued sending an endless stream of plasma bolts toward the advancing enemy.
“Ten seconds!” Ensign Weston warned.
Lieutenant Haddix stared out the window as the Falcon swooped in, fired its weapons, and then disappeared into the explosion.
“They’re firing!” the ensign announced.
The Reaper’s starboard shields flashed with the incoming fire, and the ship shook violently. The lieutenant glanced down at the tactical display, seeing no icons of any kind. No red triangles, no green ones. Not even one for the Falcon.
“We gotta go, Lieutenant!”
Lieutenant Haddix said nothing as he gunned his engines, pitched up, and pressed the jump button.
* * *
Cameron stood patiently as Reaper Six rolled out of the transfer airlock and into the Aurora’s main hangar bay. No communications had been received from the Reaper on her approach, but they had detected significant battle damage to the ship.
The Reaper’s port hatch slid open, and Josh stepped out. He turned around to help Deliza and Naralena down, then Loki hopped out to join them. The four of them walked over to Cameron, all looking considerably worse for the wear.
“Naralena,” Cameron said, surprised to see her. “I wasn’t expecting you. I am happy to see you, though.”
“Me, too,” Naralena replied somberly. “I only wish it were under better circumstances.”
Cameron looked past them, noticing that Lieutenant Haddix and Ensign Weston were also climbing down out of the Reaper. She looked at Josh.
“I’m sorry, Cam,” Josh replied. “We lost all three of them…even the Falcon.”
“What?”
“The captain and Jess went back to try to save Corporal Amund,” Loki explained. “The Falcon tried to help them, but…” Loki paused a moment. “They flew into their own ordnance detonation, and didn’t come back out.”
“But, the Falcon is here,” Cameron said.
“What?” Josh said, shocked.
“She’s rolling out of airlock four behind you.”
Josh and the others turned around as the Falcon pulled out of airlock four and rolled into the main hangar bay. The ship was scorched, with black scarring all across her underside and extensive plasma damage to her hull from nose to tail. There were even pieces of her port wing missing.
The ship pulled to a stop, not three meters away from them, and the main weapons bay door in its belly slowly opened, allowing three Ghatazhak soldiers to fall out onto the deck below.
Cameron and the others watched as the three soldiers, all of whom had similar signs of battle damage, crawled out from under the Falcon and rose to their feet, removing their helmets.
The first helmet to come off was no surprise, as it was the smaller of the three soldiers. Jessica’s long, brown hair, wet and matted as it was, fell about her scuffed body armor.
Corporal Amund’s helmet was next, and he, too, looked similarly spent.
Finally, Nathan’s helmet came off, and he was all smiles.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“Jump complete,” Isa announced from Shenza One’s back seat. “We are in the Shinxo arrival corridor, five light hours from base.”
“It’s good to be home,” Tariq remarked over comms from Shenza Two.
“We’re not home yet,” Vol reminded him.
“Anybody know if they rescued everyone?” Tham asked from Shenza Three.
“I was monitoring their comms,” Jova said from Shenza Two. “They were boarding the Reaper when we received the order to withdraw and return, but they did not say how many survivors there were.”
“Well, we all made it back,” Alayna pointed out from Shenza Four.
“Alayna,” Vol scolded.
“You know what I mean.”
“Eight hours of jumping, followed by eight minutes of combat, and then another eight hours to get back,” Tariq complained. “My ass is killing me.”
“Mine, too,” Alayna agreed.
“Seriously, Vol,” Tham added, “if we’re going to fly such long missions, we need to get more comfortable seats.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Vol promised. “To be honest, my backside has seen better days.”
“What we need is a squadron massage therapist,” Tariq said, half-joking.
“Oh, I know just who we should get!” Tham said. “There’s a place on Hino and Paramin…”
“KUMI!” Gento barked.
“That’s her!” Tham agreed.
“Gentlemen, need I remind you that there is a lady among us?” Vol scolded.
“There is? Where?” Tariq joked.
“I heard that,” Alayna warned.
“Uh, Vol?” Isa called from behind.
Vol immediately noticed the change in his weapons officer’s tone of voice. “What is it?”
“I’m picking up jump flashes. One four seven by one five. Three, four, six… Six contacts, big ones……” Isa’s voice suddenly became deadly serious. “Dusahn warships… Two heavy cruisers, four frigates… Shit… Eight more! All gunships! That’s fourteen contacts, and they’re heading straight for the core!”
“Tariq, Alayna, stealth jump ahead and alert Command,” Vol ordered. “Then stealth jump back and meet us at…” Vol quickly scanned his tactical display, “tac-point dokati seven five for stealth intercept.”
“Shenza Two copies,” Tariq replied.
“Don’t start the party without us,” Alayna added just before both ships disappeared.
“Tham, on me,” Vol instructed, turning to the tac-point.
“No massage today, I guess,” Tham replied, turning with him.
* * *
“This stuff is amazing,” Abby said as she studied the readings on the view screen.
“How so?” her assistant, Deka, asked.
“Initial testing shows less than three percent transmission loss and oscillations are almost undetectable, even at maximum line distances.”
“So, that means?”
“I’m sorry,” Abby said, feeling somewhat embarrassed. “I keep forgetting that many of our terminologies are unfamiliar to you.”
“That’s alright,” Deka assured her. “I’m honored to be working with the inventor of the jump drive.”
“I didn’t invent the jump drive,” Abby corrected.
“You are too modest, Doctor Sorenson. You worked side by side with your father, for more than a decade, to make the jump drive a reality, did you not?”
“Yes…”
“Then you deserve as much credit as your father does.”
“He didn’t invent it either,” Abby insisted.
“All science and technology is built upon the work of those who came before us,” Deka told her. “It still takes hard work to make it happen.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Abby admitted. “I’ve just never been comfortable with all the notoriety. My father was the same way.”
“Most true scientists are,” Deka said. “They live for the discovery, not for the fame that it brings.” Deka stared at the view screen. “So, what do these results mean?”
Abby smiled. “They mean we will be able to greatly increase the range and accuracy of the jump drive.”
“That’s wonderful!” Deka congratulated. “By how much?”
“Based on these initial tests, at least ten, maybe twenty times the current range. Perhaps even further, once we are able to solve the gravitational warping effects of large-scale ZPEDs.”
“Didn’t the Avendahl use such devices?” Deka wondered.
“Yes, but not to power their jump drives directly,” Abby explained. “They used
them to quickly recharge the energy banks for their jump drive, but had to take them down to almost zero output, barely enough to keep them from shutting down completely, before they could jump.”
“But, there are ships using ZPEDs that directly feed their jump drives.”
“Yes, but their output, while enough to power repeated short-range jumps, is not enough to create gravitational warping.”
“Interesting…” Deka observed.
Suddenly the doors to the lab burst open, and Abby’s security team charged in.
“We must go,” one of the men told her.
“What is it?” Abby asked, her eyes wide.
“The Rogen system is about to be attacked, Doctor,” the man explained. “We have to get you to safety.”
“What about my family?” she asked as she rose to follow them out.
“They are being evacuated as we speak,” the man assured her.
“Wait!” Abby objected. “My research!”
“There is no time, Doctor!” the man objected. “We must go, now!”
“NO!” Abby insisted, turning back to her terminal. “It will just take a second.” She tapped several keys and watched the screen for a moment. “There, everything has been backed up to the data vault,” she said, again turning to follow them out. “Let’s go, Deka.”
“We cannot bring her along,” the man warned.
“The hell we can’t,” Abby argued.
“I will be fine, Doctor. I will go to the shelter with everyone else.”
Abby followed the men out, looking back over her shoulder at Deka, hoping it wouldn’t be the last time she saw her.
* * *
“Two and Four are back,” Isa reported from the back seat of Shenza One.
“Miss us?” Tariq asked.
“Terribly,” Vol replied sarcastically.
“We brought friends,” Alayna reported.
Vol looked around as Gunyoki fighters began jumping in all around them. “How many?”
“Looks like the ready flight,” Isa replied. “Eight added, twelve total.”
“Welcome Gunyoki,” Vol called over comms. “This is Leader. Time to defend our home.”
“Transmitting intercept coordinates to all elements,” Isa announced.
Vol glanced at his tactical display one last time. The data on the Dusahn ships was at least three minutes old. If they were still there, he and his fellow Gunyoki were about to challenge a vastly superior force. If they were not there, his world was already under attack.
Vol took a deep breath. “Time to go to work, people.”
* * *
“How did he die?” Nathan asked Josh.
“Amund didn’t tell you?”
“He lost comms just before we were picked up,” Nathan explained. “Did…did he suffer?”
Josh started to tear up. “He was on the cargo deck gun, Cap’n,” Josh began somberly. “We had just taken off, we didn’t have enough power to jump yet…we were being chased…”
Loki noticed his friend struggling and took over for him. “We lost our aft shields.”
“He died bravely and with honor,” Corporal Amund assured Nathan. “I am proud to have fought by his side, just as I am proud to have fought alongside all of you,” the corporal added, looking at the others.
“I’m sorry, Cap’n,” Josh said, his voice wavering. “It’s my fault. He was my responsibility.”
Nathan stepped forward, still wearing General Telles’s combat armor, and put his hands on either side of Josh’s head. “You did nothing wrong, Josh,” he told him, looking straight into his eyes. “You were in command. You made the decisions necessary to save as many as possible. That’s all anyone can ask of you. If anyone is to blame, it’s me. I should have sent him home from the start.” Nathan ducked down slightly, trying to get Josh to look him in the eyes. “Let me carry this guilt, Josh.”
Josh nodded, and Nathan pulled him in tight, putting his arms around him.
“He was my friend,” Josh cried as he hugged his captain.
“Mine, too,” Nathan whispered. “And I’ll miss him greatly.”
An alarm klaxon sounded, echoing through the Aurora’s main hangar bay. “General quarters, general quarters,” Ensign deBanco called over the loudspeakers. “All hands man your battle stations. This is not a drill.”
“XO, Tactical,” Lieutenant Commander Vidmar called over Cameron’s comm-set.
“Go for XO,” Cameron replied.
“Flash traffic from Rogen Defense Command. Dusahn warships have been detected on the outer edge of the system. Gunyoki are moving to intercept.”
“Understood,” Cameron replied. “Prepare to jump back to the Rogen system. We’re on our way.”
“Comms, Captain,” Nathan called over his comm-set. “Patch me through to Striker One.”
“Aye, sir,” the ensign replied, “one moment.”
Nathan immediately began moving toward the forward exit, with Cameron and Jessica following.
“What do we do?” Josh asked, wiping his tears.
Nathan turned around and walked backwards. “Look behind you.”
Josh and Loki both turned around, spotting the Sugali fighter at the back of the bay.
“That’s yours now,” Nathan added.
Josh wanted to smile, but he was still upset about the loss of his friend. He looked at Loki. “You game?”
Loki looked back at Josh. “Always.”
“The Aurora just went to general quarters,” Lieutenant Kraska reported from Striker One’s right seat.
“Striker One, Aurora,” Ensign deBanco called over comms.
“Aurora, Striker One, Nash,” Robert replied.
“Standby for Aurora Actual, sir.”
“Set general quarters, Sasha,” Robert told his copilot.
“Nash, Scott,” Nathan called.
“Go ahead.”
“Dusahn warships have been spotted inside the Rogen system, and I’m pretty sure they’re not looking for a liberty port.”
“What’s the plan?” Robert asked.
“I’m sending the Strikers in first to engage them; feel them out.”
“You think they’re holding some ships back in reserve?”
“Wouldn’t you?” Nathan replied. “No heroics, Robert, just harass the hell out of them.”
“We can do that,” Robert replied. “Just don’t wait too long.”
* * *
“Jump complete,” Isa reported from Shenza One’s backseat. “Their shields are up, and we’re being targeted.”
“All known comms channels and frequencies,” Vol instructed.
“You’re live across the spectrum.”
“Attention Dusahn vessels, this is Commander Kaguchi of the Rogen Defense Force. You are ordered to lower your shields and power down your weapons systems, and to immediately exit the Rogen system, or you will be fired upon.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet they’re shaking in their boots,” Tham joked.
“They’re firing,” Isa warned just as the first of a series of plasma bolts lit up their forward shields.
“Leader to all Shenzas, weapons hot, maximum force, intercept pattern shiza two…break, break, break.” On the last break, Vol pressed the jump button on his flight control stick, jumping ahead to less than a kilometer outside the lead cruiser’s forward shields. The other three ships in his group jumped, as well, and all of them opened fire with their main plasma torpedo cannons on the front of their engine nacelles.
“Three small contacts from the lead ship,” Isa reported. “All three just jumped. Same course.”
“Missiles, please,” Vol instructed.
“Buster pattern, launching,” Isa replied.
The remainder of the missiles in both pods streaked away, their guidance systems lining them up to hit the same point on the enemy target’s shields.
Vol didn’t wait to see the results, immediately turning to his escape heading and executing his next jump. In the few seconds since the first shot had been fired by the lead Dusahn warship, his forward shields had already taken a dozen direct hits and had been drained by more than fifty percent. The Dusahn had no intention of playing games with them. They were here for one reason: to destroy Rakuen and Neramese.
* * *
“Shouldn’t we be wearing flight suits?” Loki suggested as they climbed up into the Sugali fighter’s cockpit.
“We didn’t have any last time we flew this thing,” Josh pointed out as he dropped down into the front seat. He looked around, refreshing his memory from his prior flight experience. “This thing is so damned cool, it hurts,” he exclaimed as he fired up the ship’s main reactor.
“I still think we need flight suits.”
“Next flight, I promise,” Josh told him. “You good?” he asked as he fired up the fighter’s main propulsion.
“If you mean, am I inside, then yes.”
“Aurora Flight…” Josh suddenly stopped. “What do we call ourselves?” he asked Loki.
“Sugali One?”
“Naw, that sucks.”
“Unit calling Aurora Flight Ops, repeat.”
“Uh, this is Josh Hayes in the Sugali fighter,” Josh replied. “I’m not sure what to call ourselves.”
“Okay, I’m loving this,” Loki remarked as he powered up his console, “Josh Hayes, at a loss for words.”
“No designator has been given,” the flight controller stated. “Your choice.”
“Hmm.” Josh thought for a moment. “What do you think of Talon, Loki?”
“That was the designator used by the Corinari fighters.”
“Okay, what other birds of prey can you think of?”
“Jenno bats?” Loki suggested.
“That’s dumb.”