“I’m glad you see it that way.” Mia murmured. “We’re coming up on Fleet Headquarters.” The screen shifted, and Kelsoe saw the remains of the headquarters building. Most of the four exterior walls, made of an incredibly tough metal plastic polymer, had survived, but the interior was hollowed out as if scooped away by some giant hand. Fleets of emergency vehicles stood ready to support the veritable swarm of white suited workers sifting through the still radioactive rubble. Several dozen deadly looking ground to space fighters sat on the parking ramp in front of the other building. “That’s what I’ll have to hit first.” Mia declared thoughtfully as she stood at Kelsoe’s side. “And then I’ll drop a few missiles on the taxiway, effectively cutting off the hangar from the runway. They will have a temporary fix ready in six or seven hours, but by that time the transport should be well away.” Kelsoe stared at the ranks of sleek delta-wing fighters, and said nothing. “I’ll try to kill as few as possible, but we have to stop those fighters, or they will tear the transport to pieces.”
Kelsoe bit a fingernail. “I know, but I don’t have to like it.” The saucer banked steeply and headed for space, dodging around hundreds of civilian and commercial vehicles.
One thousand miles long and eight hundred miles wide, the moon was roughly potato shaped. For the past three hundred years human engineers had labored to hollow the moon, and now it was a safe home to several hundred thousand residents, who thought of themselves as Lunatics. The moon itself stood at the center of a great web of structures that were the meat of the shipyard. Kelsoe leaned forward in her chair, unaware that Dashtra and G’Fleuf were doing the same.
“It appears that there are eighteen Fleet vessels in a holding orbit about the shipyard.” Mia said in a crisp voice. “Four more appear to be undergoing a major refit in the shipyard.” Drifting as they were, Kelsoe was able to see the small cloud of garbage and debris that floated about the moon.
“With all that clutter out there, they will never see our missiles.” Kelsoe whispered.
“You are quite correct. I…” Mia paused. “One moment.” The three corporeal crewmembers turned to stare at the distracted Mia. “Not all the garbage is so innocent.” She said in a surprised voice. “There are ninety two sensors planted in the garbage to detect just what we are planning to do.” She let out a low wicked chuckle. “I’ve inspected one of those sensors, which is like all the rest.” A red dot appeared on the lunar surface. “This is the receiving antenna for the sensors.” As they watched it, the antenna dissolved into several distinct parts, which slowly drifted off in different directions. “That should take care of that.” Mia injected in a satisfied voice. A cloud of ten foot long missiles drifted away from the Wyvern, propelled by small untraceable compressed gas thrusters. Soon the black bodied missiles were lost against the deeper black of space. “Our job is done for the moment.” The AI commented when the last missile had vanished. “We should withdraw to a safer distance. My sensors indicate that the transport and the frigate will enter Wecarro space in thirty minutes.”
“How quickly do you guess the Smith survivors will be able to load?” Kelsoe had to study her hands for several moments to find a spot on a fingernail that wasn’t gnawed to the quick.
“If Horatio was able to coordinate the effort, forty five minutes. If he wasn’t, perhaps as much as an hour and a half.”
Kelsoe groaned. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.” She observed in a sullen voice. “How did I ever get stuck with this job??”
“It was the only option open to you, my dear.” Mia said in a whisper. “It might not be a good choice, but it is the only one that will save the Smith family. I estimate that they would all have been dead within six months.”
“Is it always like this; to be stuck between the lesser of two evils? Whatever way I choose, someone will die.”
“I’m afraid so.” Came from Dashtra.
The Wyvern floated, a full light second from the lunar shipyard and waited. The three biologicals and the AI on the command deck said very little as they all watched the minutes and then seconds count down. “Now!” Mia said calmly. “The transport and the frigate have entered Wecarro airspace. For the moment, their IFF transponders are sufficing, and no alert has been sounded.” Kelsoe longed for a nail to chew. “It will take twenty minutes for them to reach the Smith compound, even with combat braking maneuvers.” Ten minutes passed. “An alert has finally been sounded, and I am commencing our end of the operation.” They stared at the moon. “Three… two… one. The moon and the shipyard disappeared in the white glare of two dozen exploding missiles. “The lunar forces and the planetside runway have been rendered inoperative. We should…” Mia stopped. “Captain, you have an incoming transmission from Entela Dosti of the Grazer.”
“Put it on.”
Entela’s pale face appeared on the screen. “We have begun boarding the transport, Captain Smith, but I’ve received a rather angry query from Captain Severin Pihl, of the Destroyer Indefatigable. “He wants me to cease and desist, and turn myself over to him for arrest. I can’t fight a destroyer with my little Grazer.”
Kelsoe glanced over at Mia, who with bright eyes gave her an emphatic nod. “We’ll take care of it.” Kelsoe said in a flat voice. “Where are they coming from?”
“The destroyer was leveling the remainder of the Smith residence before they came here.” Entela said in a small voice. “Good luck Captain.”
“Thank you Entela. Hustle Horatio along as much as you can.”
“Can do. Grazer out.”
Kelso glared at the view screen as the world of Wecarro rushed at them. “Damn!”
Severin Pihl was a florid faced man with heavy jowls and thinning black hair which he combed over the top of his head in a vain attempt to hide the fact. When Mia tapped into his transmission to the small frigate, he was shouting.
“…are you insane woman?” He roared at Entela. “How dare you stand against me? I have the entire might of the Empire at my back and you have, what, a little frigate armed with popguns and a defenseless transport?” He looked down his nose and sneered. “I don’t even have to raise my shields, I have so little fear from you. You couldn’t chip my paint with your weapons!”
Kelsoe glanced to Mia. “No shields.” She pointed out. “Stupid. Try not kill them all, Mia.”
The AI’s smile was coldly calculating. “I’m just waiting for a few more moments. Let them get over Isla del Diablo and then… Now!” A series of flashes walked down the destroyer’s hull, culminating in a larger explosion in the rear quarter. The entire great warship shuddered and began to fall, trailing a greasy plume of smoke. On the screen Severin Pihl’s voice had taken on a different note, and Kelsoe could see smoke in the air of his bridge.
“What do you mean we’re going down?” The captain shrieked. “Call for help, call the Fleet at once” He stood listening for a moment. “What do you mean com is out. I…” The screen sparkled with static and died. Kelsoe watched the destroyer plow a long furrow in the dry dusty ground, the nose coming to rest at the edge of the jungle five miles from where the Grazer and the Terranen sat.
“Holy shit!!” Entela Dosti shouted over the com, her green eyes flashing. “What did you do?”
Kelsoe smiled at the older woman’s enthusiasm. “Mia took out their com and their main drives, leaving them just enough to break their fall—somewhat.”
“Mia?”
Mia stepped into view of the view screen camera, beside Kelsoe, and smiled. “Hello, Entela.” She said in a calm unperturbed voice.
“Mia is the AI for the Wyvern.” Kelsoe explained.
Entela’s mouth worked soundlessly for a moment. “AI?” She gave Kelsoe a pointed look. “You have a very interesting ship there, Captain.”
Kelsoe grinned. “You don’t know the half of it.” She returned. “Have a safe trip back, Entela. We’ll be around for a little while at least.”
Catching the note of dismissal, the red-haired woman gave her a small respectf
ul bow. “As you wish, Captain. Grazer out.”
The Wyvern circled the pick-up site as the transport loaded. Many of the Smiths, Kelsoed noted in dismay, had to be carried aboard on stretchers or floaters, but an hour after their landing, the main ramp of the Terranen was slowly folding itself back into the huge ship. The Frigate Grazer, circling at a much lower altitude was more than sufficient to discourage the forays of the planetary defense fighters. Finally the transport lifted off, followed a few seconds later by the frigate.
“Captain.” There was a note of concern in Mia’s voice. “I am picking up energy readings from the shipyard. It seems that a heavy cruiser is beginning to power up. She might be a little much for us to handle.”
Kelsoe chewed her lip and thought furiously. “She’s still in the shipyard?”
“Yes, Captain.”
Kelsoe smiled. “There are lots of cranes and gantries in the shipyard, aren’t there?”
“Yes there are.” The AI replied slowly. “Where are you going with this, Kelsoe?”
“Even the biggest cruiser wouldn’t be able to launch with broken cranes and gantries lying across it, would they?” She gave Mia an ingenuous look.
Mia glared at the young woman. “Not for several hours, Captain.” In the view screen the stars blurred as the Wyvern suddenly accelerated at flank speed for the moon. “The cruiser’s drives are reaching maneuvering levels.”
Kelsoe sighed. “Then I suggest that you do something about it, Mia.”
The heavy cruiser was nearly a mile long, and bristled with missile ports and energy cannon turrets. In the screen Mia could see the long clear boarding tubes being retracted in preparation for launch. She blinked as something sun-bright flashed at the base of one crane, and then another. The massive crane twisted sideways, and slowly collapsed over the hull of the cruiser, effectively pinning it to the shipyard. Kelsoe could see a thin streamer of escaping air where one of the massive girders from the crane had pierced the hull of the cruiser. “Take out the sensors on her very nose, Mia.”
“Yes Captain.” Kelsoe could see the great ship tremble as the explosion neatly fused her bow antennas and sensors into so much useless slag.
“Have the Grazer and the Terranen made their jump to supra-light yet?”
Mia was silent for only a few seconds. “Yes Captain, and in the direction we agreed on earlier. They will make two other jumps before they finally head for Charybdis.”
“Were they followed?”
“No Captain.” There was an odd note in Mia’s voice. “You would think that the fearsome humans were afraid of us, or perhaps they have just learned their lesson.” There was a long pause, and it was G’Fleuf who broke the silence.
“You know, you have the upper hand at the moment.” He began. “If you cared to, you could crush this coup-de-ta in one stroke.”
Kelsoe stared down at Wecarro, a chill hand seeming to squeeze her heart. “Could I?” She asked softly. “I know nothing about running an Empire. I agree that I could seize control, but I couldn’t keep it without establishing a military dictatorship and setting up my own government with my own loyal Admirals in charge. What would I have accomplished? I would be assassinated within a year.”
“So, you and the Smith family will hide on Charybdis like rats in the dark?”
The small Drugud was being particularly offensive, and Kelsoe clenched her jaws until they hurt. “Eventually I would like to relocate the entire family to a suitable planet far from here. In order to do that, they have to survive NOW!” She hissed. “Even if they have to hide like rats in a dark hole.” She could feel the heat on her cheeks.
“Thank you.” G’Fleuf hummed softly.
“What?” The young woman frowned.
“You have been playing things too close to your chest, Kelsoe.” The tinny speaker around G’Fleuf’s neck chirped. “We are your friends, and co-conspirators, and we will all hang just as surely as you if we are caught.” Beside him Dashtra turned pale. “We have a right to know what is happening.” He glanced up at the view screen. “Just like we have a right to know what you are planning on doing now.”
Kelsoe couldn’t help but laugh. “If Mia and I have figured things right, by the time we get back to Task Force Seven it will be within a few days of engaging the Vonuborg Armada again, except this time with the assistance of the rest of the Imperial Fleet. With our unique abilities, we should be able to damage the flagship again, and sow some confusion among the enemy.”
“You remember what Lieutenant Rehn said about endangering yourself?”
“I do.” Kelsoe said in a low voice. “But my own survival is moot, if everyone else that I care about is dead.” To that G’Fleuf said nothing as the saucer banked away from Wecarro, and headed for the deep comforting black of space.
Chapter 10
MEETINGS AND RENDEVOUS’
Since it wasn’t more than a day out of their way, Kelsoe asked Mia to take the saucer on a low pass over Charybdis. Kelsoe stared at the view screen in horror, and behind her she heard Dashtra gasp. “Where is everyone?” Below them the crater where the huge alien ship that they had been using for a base and home was gone, as were any signs of human habitation. In the center of the crater rested the shattered remains of a small, totally unremarkable freighter. To Kelsoe it felt as if she’d been gut-punched, and she sat and stared, her mind empty but for hurt. Beside her Mia was frowning, and the saucer slowed, coming to a stationary hover two miles above the former base.
“Those sneaky bastards.” Mia murmured, and Kelsoe turned to stare at the grinning hologram. “They didn’t go anywhere, Kelsoe. They are still there. It appears that the bottom of the crater was filled with debris deep enough to cover the alien ship they are using as the Den. Then a small layer of metallic ore was spread over that to block sensors, and finally the unexceptional wreck was added on top, like garnish on a fine dish.” The point of view zoomed up to include nearby mountains, and Mia highlighted a long canyon. “If you look very carefully you can see crews preparing this spot for the Smith transport. It appears that they plan on using it as a hangar for the other ships as well.” Red outlines of the various ships began to appear on the floor of the canyon. “They will probably use a cover to conceal the base of the canyon from visible and sensor observation.” There was a note of admiration in Mia’s voice. The ship banked and accelerated as it headed for the surface. “Look down there.” The view zoomed in, and Kelsoe could see the small Fleet freighter resting beside a much bigger wrecked cargo freighter. Figures in suits were literally swarming over the larger ship, and as they closed Kelsoe could see cranes and hoists covering the ship like a family of hungry spiders.
“It looks like they are repairing the crashed freighter.” Kelsoe muttered. “I thought she was too badly damaged to do much with but tear apart for salvage.”
“It’s obvious that her back isn’t broken,” Mia replied, “and her drives are repairable. If my sensors are giving me the right data, I believe they are using parts of the crashed Lunare Queen to repair the freighter.”
Kelsoe frowned, and then her eyes went wide. “Oh my gods!” She exclaimed, jumping to her feet. “I still have bags of expensive hyper-electronic circuits and a jump initiator from the Queen sitting in a box in the back of my room on this very ship. Set us down there, please.”
Mia shook her head, but the saucer descended smoothly until it kissed the dusty surface of the moon. Wearing her clear EVA suit, and pulling her well-loaded sled behind her, Kelsoe walked down the descended ramp and turned to face the small crowd of Marines who had come to meet her. A wide-shouldered man in the bulky Marine EVA suit came forward, and did an awkward salute.
“I am Sergeant Major Todor Nakov, and we’ve heard all about you, Ma’am. What can I do for you?”
Behind the clear face of his helmet Kelsoe could see his lined and brown face. She waved at the piled sled. “It’s what I can do for you, Sergeant Major. Prior to your arrival I used to work here.” She waved her ha
nd at the moon in general. “I removed these from the Queen myself. They may be of some use to you.”
Behind the Sergeant Major several men were edging closer, and one of them exclaimed; “Holy shit! We’ve been looking for that initiator. We were thinking that whoever took it out did a really slick job, but…” Through his clear helmet Kelsoe could see him look up and redden. “Uhhh.” He stammered. The Sergeant Major was struggling not to laugh.
“With you permission Ma’am.” Kelsoe nodded, and the Sergeant Major jerked his thumb. “Get this stuff where we need it.” The cart and its precious cargo disappeared in a small cloud of dust. “What else can I do for you?” The Sergeant asked, giving her a thin smile.
“You might let the powers know that the transport and the frigate have completed their mission, and are headed back. They should be here in ten days.”
“You won’t tell them yourself?” He frowned.
“There is a Fleet battle imminent, Sergeant Major. We may just be able to help turn the odds in our favor.”
The grizzled man stood there for several long moments, staring at the slim young woman in front of him before he gave her a slow salute, his expression grave. “Yes Ma’am, but you be careful. You are…precious to us, Primus.”
Kelsoe swallowed, and returned his salute. “I will do my best, Sergeant Major.”
The man began to turn away, and then stopped and turned back. “If you would do me a favor, Primus.”
She smiled at his awkwardness. “If I can.”
“Please tell Admiral Bacheva’s assistant, Lieutenant Petor Nakov, that his brother Todor is well.” He looked down at the dusty soil. “He worries about me; says I’m too impulsive.” He barked a short laugh.
“I will probably see the Admiral within the week,” Kelsoe replied, smiling, “and I’ll be sure to tell her myself.”
“Thank you, Ma’am.”
“May I have my sled back please? I may need it in the future.”
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