“I guess we don’t need to ask what happened.” Syracuse stared at the billows of smoke rising from the chimera ship.
“How’s the opposition?” Lindsay asked.
“Good news and bad news,” Irons started. “Good news is, the activator works. Took me right to Jupiter. Bad news is, there’s opposition. A whole mess of it.”
“At least we took one out.” Durham forced a smile.
“Took out more than one. They got a few LAVs that don’t work so good anymore. And at least one tank.”
“You took down a tank in that thing?” Durham pointed back toward the Wartech-Catter ship.
“Funny little advantage hard light projections make.”
“Ok, so what’s the plan?” Syracuse asked.
“To start, I think the eleven year theory is garbage. Catters look like they’re ready for a fight.”
“You think they expect us?” Lindsay asked.
“If they didn’t before, they do now. They were running formations that have probably tightened up since my jaunt. Only one way I can see getting around any of that business. We’re gonna have to wormhole in-planet.”
* * *
The crew stood on the bridge going over the various ways porting in-planet could go wrong.
“Seems like the biggest concern is running into something once we get there.” Syracuse stood, leaning against the back of his seat.
“It’s worse than that,” Hannah said. “We could literally wormhole inside another ship.”
“Then how have the Catters been able to get in-planet?” Irons asked.
“A better working knowledge of the activators? Maybe just dumb luck?”
“Jupiter’s a big planet.”
“Yes but—”
“We slipstream in,” Lindsay interrupted. “That’s the only way to knock something away if we open right in front of a ship.”
“Doesn’t solve the whole literal porting into said ship,” Durham added.
“This ain’t the biggest problem we’ve dealt with,” Irons said. “And, frankly, being this close, it’s one I’m willing to bet against. There were a whole mess of Catters around Jupiter. Odds are good we’ll find the least amount of resistance in-planet. We just have to make a rough guess on where the Catters and the rest of Earth Fleet are in-planet.”
Everyone looked at Hannah, expecting her to already be running the variables and numbers.
Hannah shrugged. “Without being able to see inside of Jupiter, there’s no way I can even guess at that.”
“Come on,” Irons said. “Gimme something.”
Hannah took a deep breath and sighed before walking to her console.
She put up a large image of Jupiter on the main screen. “Ok, here’s the planet. How many enemy aircraft would you say there were, Captain?”
“More than a hundred.”
She entered in a few commands and the display screen lit up with little specs all around the planet. “I assume they were across all axes?”
“X’s and Y’s across the board.”
“How did you get out of that?” Durham asked.
Hannah programmed all one hundred simulated Catter vessels to swarm around the planet.
“What are we looking at, Hannah?” Syracuse asked.
“Jupiter is heavily guarded. They’re playing it safe. This is their plan B in case we figure out they’re not on the homeworld. Now that we’ve played our hand, they know their plan B is the right one. They’re going to be on alert now. For us, it’s safe to assume they’ve even called for reinforcements. Whether those come from the homeworld or from more ships inside of Jupiter, it doesn’t matter. If we wormhole in open space, they’re going to be on us.”
Hannah punched in a few more commands and the image of the planet zoomed in. The image of Jupiter’s interior was hazy, almost fluid-like.
“The pressure inside the planet is really high,” Hannah went on. “Fortunately modern ships and even ships as old as the Lucky Liberty can handle it. If that’s true then so can the Catter ships. The idea is that the rest of the fleet is inside of Jupiter. Now we know that can’t mean dead center of the planet. That core is practically solid and the pressure there is far too great. Which means that they’re closer to the surface. Where exactly is the question.”
“As fast as we can fly, it couldn’t take that long to figure out.” Durham said.
Hannah shook her head. “We’d burn out the engines and the regulator trying to fly at that speed inside of Jupiter. Remember how long it still took on Earth? It would be longer on Jupiter. The best option is to wormhole in as close as we can to the fleet.”
“Except that we don’t know where they are,” Syracuse said. “And it’s a big planet.”
“Zoom out.” Lindsay stepped toward the display screen.
Hannah pulled the image back to the surrounding Catter fleet.
“There had to be a higher concentration somewhere.” Lindsay analyzed the image. “Somewhere they definitely didn’t want anyone getting through.”
“Kinda hard to notice that sort of thing in the middle of a fight,” Irons said.
“Without a visual, all we can do is guess,” Hannah said. “And I would hate to be wrong once in-planet.”
“Not to mention the anumber of Catter ships in-planet,” Syracuse added.
Durham slowly stepped toward the display screen. “I’d hide under the storm.”
“Are you crazy?” Hannah said, gesturing toward the image of Jupiter. “That thing is bigger than Earth. The wind shears at its edge measure at over four-hundred miles an hour.” She turned to Irons. “No offense, Captain, but even your piloting skills aren’t that good.”
“I didn’t say in it,” Durham told her. “I said under it. Look, they’ve got a pretty good defense lined up. Ships in space. Probably ships in-planet but between the two is that big storm. Anyone crazy enough to fly through their blockade still has to deal with that thing. The biggest condensed natural defense in our solar system. Three days? We never had that. But we do have their wormhole tech.” Durham tapped his finger on the red eye of Jupiter. “And I’ll bet all my gambling debts the fleet is under that storm.”
“I’m sure you would,” Irons said, staring at the red storm. “Still…If you’re right, it’s not a bad strategy on their part. How far down does that storm go?”
“It’s fairly high in the atmosphere,” Hannah answered. “That doesn’t mean we won’t be affected by it.”
“Take a guess.”
“I’d say we’re safe at about three-fourths of a mile under it.”
“We’ll aim for a mile and a half.”
“Captain,” Lindsay said. “That storm is larger than Earth. That makes the recon area planet sized.”
“I got a feeling we won’t have long to search. If Durham’s plan is correct.” Irons walked to the Captain’s seat and took the wheel.
Durham stepped back. “My plan?”
“That’s how you get strategies named after you, kid.” Syracuse winked at Durham and moved to take his seat.
“First things first,” Irons said. “Say bye to Mars, kiddos.”
* * *
Lifting off of Mars was far easier than lifting off of Earth. The Slipstream Regulator blasted small but deep holes in the red dirt as the Lucky Liberty blasted upward, moving swiftly through the light gravity.
* * *
“Captain,” Hannah said. ”I’ve set a coordinate for the wormhole exit side. We’ll have to go in quickly in case there are enemy ships on the other side.”
“Soon as that portal opens.” Syracuse turned to Irons. “They’ll know we’re coming.”
“Fingers crossed we get time to gauge our surroundings,” Irons said.
* * *
The Lucky Liberty took little time in breaking free from the pull of Mars. Once out of the planet’s gravity well, its thrusters made short controlled bursts, putting the ship in a stationary orbit well above the red planet.
* * *
/> “Open the door, Specialist Xuyen,” Irons ordered.
“Aye, Captain.“ Hannah stepped to the display screen and held out a Wormhole Activator. She pushed the activation button and a black and purple portal blinked open on the display screen. “Portal is open sir.”
“Copy that.” Irons used reverse thrusters to back the ship away from the wormhole.
“She’s gonna feel heavy once in-planet, sir,” Hannah warned.
“Yes, she is.” Irons hit the forward thrust and narrowed the Slipstream Regulator.
The Lucky Liberty shot forward straight for the wormhole.
* * *
Not even halfway out of the other side of the wormhole and the Bull Head of the Lucky Liberty plowed right into a Catter tank cruising by their wormhole exit. The ship slammed into the front of the enemy vessel, spinning it out of their way.
* * *
“Didn’t see that coming so soon.” Durham braced himself on his console.
“Lucky it didn’t happen in that ship,” Hannah reminded him.
“Good thing it happened at all. Slowed us down enough to save the engines.” Irons gripped the wheel. “No more luck.” It’s all skill from here on out.”
Lindsay dropped her AR visor and immediately started firing the main gun at oncoming LAVs.
* * *
The auto turrets took care of a few other LAVs while the ship ducked under another tank that was trying to block their path.
The Lucky Liberty pulled back up, blasting away at enemy fighters that buzzed her upper deck. The LAVs that got too close were blown out of the sky with relative ease. The high pressures and strong winds of Jupiter made flying difficult for the Earth vessel and Catter vessels alike. Strong wind gusts buffeted the giant battle cruiser. They were closer to the storm than they’d planned. Still, the distance was safe enough to fly in. Luckily they were in a heavier, wingless ship. The LAVs, while holding their own, were having to drastically course correct in the wind which made the enemy ships trying to stay on a straight path easier and more predictable targets.
* * *
“Good shooting, Brooks,” Irons said.
“Good plan, Durham,” Syracuse added. “Resistance is this heavy, our fleet should be around here.”
“There!” Hannah shouted.
Irons took a good look at the screen. The Earth vessels were hard to miss amongst the Catter tanks. They were still too new looking, as if they’d never seen a battle.
“They’re still in the tractor beams, sir,” Hannah said.
“Take those tanks out,” Irons pointed forward.
He steered the ship to put one of the tanks in Lindsay’s sights.
“Port bow!” Durham yelled.
“What is that?” Syracuse asked.
The fortresses were obvious. It was the massive ship firing them that caught them all off guard.
“That thing’s as big as a city!” Durham shouted as he spotted the immense vessel. “I’m getting readings that—”
“That’s gotta be J’s flagship,” Syracuse suggested.
“We can classify it later!” Irons shouted.
“If there is a later,” Durham said.
“Shut that talk. We free the rest of the fleet then we can move in on whatever that thing is.”
Lindsay pulled the trigger on the main cannon and sent bullets screaming toward a tank that was holding one of the Earth Fleet ships in its tractor beam.
* * *
The larger bullets ripped into the tank’s bow, punching holes into it and tearing the metal apart. One explosion led to another and the Earth ship was freed from the tractor beam.
The newly released Earth ship flew straight for the Lucky Liberty.
* * *
“Thanks for the save,” a voice came over the Lucky Liberty’s bridge radio. “This is Roy Allen. Captain of the—”
“Allen?” Irons asked with a slight irritation in his voice.
“Captain Irons?” Roy laughed. It was an arrogant sound. “I don’t know how you got here but I sure am glad for it.”
“I’m glad you’re glad. Now help us with the others.”
“Here’s the plan. You’re going to—”
“You ain’t giving me orders, Allen.”
“I’m field commander while—”
“You got caught. And after everything I’ve been through to save your sorry—”
“Can we argue about this later, Captains?” Syracuse broke in. “Let’s just save the rest of the fleet.”
“Copy that,” Allen said.
* * *
Both Earth ships broke off from each other and concentrated their firepower on the other tanks holding fleet ships prisoner.
Roy’s ship didn’t have to rely on a Slipstream Regulator to navigate the planet. Its anti-gravity engines made getting around inside the gravity heavy Jupiter almost no different than getting around in the void of space. The Lucky Liberty felt like a giant stone, though. The only thing it did better under these circumstances was free other fleet ships faster then Roy’s could. As an offensive battleship, it was superior. The main cannon was more powerful and the auto turrets meant hitting enemy ships was easier.
With each Earth ship freed, the tide was turning against the Catters.
* * *
“It’s working!” Durham celebrated.
“Don’t count your chickens,” Irons said as he plowed into a tank, knocking it into another one. “We ain’t won yet.”
“Sir, I’m running low on ammo,” Lindsay said.
“Use it up if you gotta.” Irons steered the ship to face the largest vessel in the planet.
“Boss,” Durham said, staring wide-eyed at the monster flagship. “We can’t take that thing on.”
“That’s where J is. Guaranteed.”
Lindsay pulled the trigger, firing at the flagship even as. Catter tanks rose up from the top of the flagship to join the fight.
“That thing’s sending reinforcements,” Lindsay said.
“It ain’t the only one.” Irons looked at one of the smaller screens on the display screen.
Purple lights were opening up in-planet all over the place. One of the Earth ships streaked by to take out a tank before it could fully exit a portal.
“There’s too many of them,” Allen said over the radio. “We need to fall back and—”
“We ain’t falling back!” Irons shouted. “This is the front. We end this here or Earth—”
A wormhole suddenly opened on the bridge right behind Irons.
Hannah turned just in time to see a large pair of arms reach out and grab Irons from behind. “Captain!”
Alarmed, everyone else turned to see the hissing face of the Catter warrior before it pulled a shocked Irons into the portal.
Durham drew his gun but the wormhole blinked out before he could get a shot off.
Twenty-Nine
Face to Face
Irons was tossed out of the wormhole exit. He rolled to a stop on the floor in time to see his kidnapper step through, the portal closing behind it. He shifted his gaze to the extravagant floor and instantly recognized the Silvranium lining. His eyes followed it to a set of gold steps that led to a dark but polished throne made of what looked like obsidian.
He caught something moving up on his sides. Judging by his surroundings, there was no reason to look quickly. He took his time watching the Catter warriors that surrounded him.
“Welcome,” a feminine voice said. The sound of it had a slight allure but hinted at something sinister. “I congratulate you on making it this far.”
Irons slowly stood to his feet and looked around, taking in the large room. Gold columns stood at the four corners of the room, each with a royal banner hanging from it. The material of the banners shimmered like satin. Irons figured that the entire room was probably worth more than Stevens could make in ten years. And there it was for all to see— a perfect example of royal arrogance.
“I guess your slaves gotta work overtime to k
eep this place sparkle clean,” Irons said as he finally let his eyes fall on the Catter sitting on the throne. She was thinner than the warriors he’d been fighting with. More lithe. She wore no armor, only a purple and black silk robe. Her eyes were the most striking feature. They were a translucent green and gave her a disarmingly menacing look.
“I am—“
“Ju’ T-Leen,” Irons interrupted. “I know.”
Ju’ T-Leen bared her sharp teeth, hissing at the sound of a human butchering the pronunciation of her name.
“Back on Earth,” Irons went on. “We just call you J.”
J snarled at the dishonorable insult of shortening her identity. The fur on the backs of her warriors stood up. They were ready for the attack order at such an offense.
She quickly softened her demeanor. There was no reason for anger at this one outnumbered human. “At least you have the courtesy of trying,” she said. “Many would fear even that.”
Irons narrowed his eye. “I don’t got time for fear.”
“Bold words from one in your position.”
“Yeah, well.” Irons looked at the four warriors around him. “I’ve had a rough couple of days.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. Shooting down your ships and your soldiers makes for tiring work.”
J’s hands gripped the arm rests of her throne. Her claws chipped away flecks from it.
Irons smiled. He could see his taunt was getting to her. “I gotta hand it to you, though. Giving us three days to make it to your home planet? Nice con. I woulda made it one day.” He shrugged his shoulders. “No way we could make it that far in three, anyway. So why not just make it even more impossible.”
“Yet here you stand.” J rose from her throne. “Despite my…con.” She stepped down to the polished floor. Her royal garb slid across the floor.
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