The Battle for the Ringed Planet

by Richard Edmond Johnson

Studying his Con Torian muttered, “Go to the basement and check out the cyborg she took out.”

  “Cyborg?” Kat raised her brows.

  “What are the Spacemasters for?” Torian motioned to the holo on his Con showing the two vessels approaching.

  “She’s being extracted to fleet. Some SIS guy up there is pissed.”

  “They always are.”

  “Torian? What are they doing?” Siiri inched close to him eyeing the marines suspiciously, especially Kat.

  “You’re getting a first class trip to the fleet.”

  “In space?” Her face went white.

  “Leave your stuff, Siiri.” Kat glanced at her Con and called for a squad to prep a landing spot in the university parking lot.

  “I’m not going without Torian.” Siiri folded her arms defiantly.

  “Intelligence only wants you.”

  Torian shrugged, “I was never any good with Intelligence …” then he frowned, “… wait, that …”

  “I have my orders …” Kat sighed.

  “Well change them. I’m not going without him.”

  Becoming irritated, “You’re coming or I’ll haul your …”

  Then Siiri pulled out Torian’s pistol from the holster, but left it pointing down, and repeated furiously, “I’m not going anywhere. We got your shield down and lost May. So I go with Torian or you can go play with your soldiers all by yourself!”

  Kat pointed at the girl, and was about to say something harsh, but then turned to Torian, “Talk to her!”

  Shrugging his shoulders, Torian turned to the blonde haired girl holding his pistol, “Siiri, I would love to go with you.” And she flashed him a weak smile.

  The platoon leader growled in frustration, “You’re no help.” She turned angrily away and spoke quietly on her Con, then seconds later her voice was raised, “Yes two! He’s fleet anyway, can’t you tell!”

  Torian rolled his eyes and glanced at Smitty the marine, the first who entered, “And I thought I was doing pretty good as a grunt.”

  “You did awesome, sir,” the grunt grinned.

  The black female officer turned back to Torian, “Fine, leave your stuff and let’s get going …” motioning to Smitty to lead the way and to Siiri, “… give me that pistol!”

  Siiri reluctantly gave Kat the weapon while Torian operated virtual screens on his Con and turned to Kat, “Sync up, the shield controls are in the basement with the dead cyborg, SIS will want to autopsy it. No recordings while the generator was up, I think we got all the sentry bots … and …” he hesitated and glanced at Siiri, “… there’s a dead Dragon marine down there, a good friend, a really good friend …”

  Handing the pistol to Smitty, Kat watched the data whirl by on her Con, “I understand.” Then as Torian slipped his Con into his web belt, Kat placed her hand on his shoulder, “You did all right.”

  “Don’t forget to thank her.” He glimpsed back at Siiri, and then as he exited winked at Smitty and the huge black neckless marine started out the door. Kat waited for Siiri and then followed.

  Outside it was pitch black in the middle of the night and a section of the parking lot had been cleared by the Spacemaster’s thrusters, blowing away old rusted hover cars like little plastic toys in the wind. One was landing while the other, a gunship, hovered. Enemy artillery was silent but a firestorm of explosions in the distance showed the awesome force of Starhawk aerial bombardment.

  “We won’t keep them down for long!” shouted the familiar voice of Sergeant Martin Keith as he and his squad with Corporal Wilder, Privates Evans, Collins, Nixon, and Walker securing the perimeter of the landing zone marked by flashing green strobe lights.

  Wilder grinned at Siiri as they all crouched down waiting for the Spacemaster to settle on the parking while the ramp was lowering, “Miss me?”

  “Oh every night,” she shot back.

  “I knew it.”

  This time there were no special forces soldiers when the ramp was down, just a couple of crew members in armoured utility suits and dark helmets with one motioning for the young blonde haired woman to come forward.

  Siiri, illuminated by the bright lights from the noisy vessel, looked pale, but Torian held her arm, “It’s a good thing you didn’t have anything to eat earlier.”

  “You’re so comforting.”

  “Listen,” Kat glanced around quickly, “be strong up there, like you were down here. SIS …” she hesitated, “…they don’t play by the rules.” The marine officer showed genuine concern.

  “You too,” Torian answered for Siiri, and glanced at Sergeant Keith “I don’t envy the ground fight for the city.” Then he and the girl dashed to the ramp of the Spacemaster and a crewman took each by the arm. Inside there were two rows of seats and Siiri remembered her first time in what seemed like ages ago. Torian helped her with the T-bar and straps and the crewmen checked them before taking seats near the rear ramp and signaling the pilot through their helmet Comms.

  “How come they get to wear those suits and we don’t?” Siiri shouted over the whining of the thrusters as the vessel lifted off.

  “It’s only a short trip.” He then muttered, “I hope.”

  She clutched her stomach as the Spacemaster gained altitude and gripped Torian’s hand in nervousness. A holo appeared in the center of the passenger cabin depicting the dark city below and then wisps of clouds from the night sky. Siiri did not feel as sick as she did last time and watched Torian as he turned to stare out the porthole behind them. Glancing where he was looking she was awed by the multiple moons that brightened up the darkness. It was difficult to tell when they were leaving atmosphere and entering space, but the holo was helpful showing their trajectory with a yellow line.

  Then, forgetting any feeling of ill comfort, she pointed out the window, “Torian! The rings!”

  “Aye! They’re beautiful!” clustered in a line of spherical crystals, all different colors; they wound around Selunia like a rainbow. Most of the crystals were smooth and round, but some were icy chunks and small debris forming trails between the larger pieces. Suddenly Siiri’s countenance grew serious and she frowned, then her eyes grew round.

  Torian noticed her change of expression and squeezed her hand, “Are you all right, Siiri?”

  The girl’s face look pale and when their eyes met he knew there was something, “What is it?”

  “I can’t tell you here.” Her voice was elevated and she turned away to watch the rings again. Torian peered out the window to see if he could detect what she saw.

  Moments later, they were out of the atmosphere and in space. Siiri looked at Torian in alarm as her hair floated and her body lifted out of her seat held only by the straps and T bar, “What’s going on?”

  “No gravity.”

  “Oh that doesn’t feel good …” she clutched her stomach, “Is it like this on the big star ships?”

  “No, they have artificial gravity. Well, in most parts.”

  “Where are they?” she watched the holo.

  “Coming up,” the crewman closest to them pointed as a three dimensional image of a long cylindrical object began to appear. She glanced out the window and spotted it in space, grey and blue, with a flat triangular super structure in the middle on top, and two large turrets each of three long plasma canons on the upper and lower bow and the same on the stern, four turrets in all, with twelve giant guns. Smaller turrets of shorter double guns surrounded the superstructure and underneath. The bow consisted of an array of disks while the stern the huge ion engines and tunnel drives. Near the front on the side illuminated lettering read:

  --

  “C.S.S. Europa”

  --

  “The same class as the Callisto, but the Europa is the flagship of the 4th fleet, with Admiral Bennion in command.” Torian commented.

  “The one with all the daughters?”

  “Aye.” He chortled.

  As other ships came into view, almost a dozen, Siiri pointed, “Torian! That one is on
fire!” he peered out and sure enough a battle cruiser similar to the Europa was surrounded by Spacemasters spraying a white cloudy mist while a red glow emitted from her engine nacelles.

  “The C.S.S. Titan, ma’am, she took heavy damage along with a couple of others during the battle. The debris you see around her is what’s left of the Imperium fleet.” The crewman reported.

  “So we won?” she glanced at the man.

  “We believe we neutralized all their space assets.”

  As the Spacemaster approached the Europa, Siiri’s eyes widened and she forgot all about her queasy stomach from the weightlessness, “Torian, it’s magnificent, all that power! Where are we going?”

  “Watch, the hanger bay is underneath.” The entrance consisted of enormous double doors angled up slightly in a large box protruding from the bottom of the battle cruiser. Small gun turrets surrounded the hangar bay and entrance. As the doors slid open, the Spacemaster halted directly under and its thrusters maneuvered the rectangular craft up until they were inside the belly of the giant starship. Siiri saw a deck with nimble Starhawks, a few Spacemasters, and a couple of other vessels she recognized as Hawkeyes, all neatly parked with crewmen standing around between them watching their big vessel slowly float into a parking spot marked by glowing yellow lines. It touched down gently with a bump and the big hangar doors began to close.

  “A Moon Class battle cruiser can hold 25 smaller ships in its bay, a squadron of Starhawks, 6 Spacemasters, and 3 Hawkeyes.” Torian watched her expression of wonder.

  The ramp opened up and the two crewmen unfastened their belts and one strode down while the other went to help the two passengers with their harnesses. Torian already had his T bar up over his head and Siiri was trying to copy the young man when he and the crewman helped her. Once free, she stood up reaching for his hand steadying her footing.

  “How do you feel?” Torian peered into her eyes.

  “A little queasy but excited.”

  “The artificial gravity is a little weaker than Selunia, so you’ll feel lighter on your feet.”

  “Take me dancing then.”

  “They have Zero G dance halls back home; just remember to wear shorts under your dress.”

  “Can’t wait.”

  The crewman led them to a set of stairs at the rear of the bay and double doors that slide open to an observation room with a view of the entire hangar. Inside waiting were several men, two armed with rifles in navy flight suits wearing amour and helmets, and the others in regulation uniforms, except for one in a white button up shirt with rolled up sleeves and a green and black patterned tie. One of the men in uniform sported short white hair graying at the roots and wary grey eyes wrinkled at the sides. His navy uniform had a chest full of ribbons and a thick gold band on each sleeve near the cuff with a single silver star in center.

  Torian and the crewman immediately saluted the man with the silver star centered in the thick gold band and he casually returned one and then glanced at the girl, “Welcome aboard the Europa, miss, I am Admiral Martin Bennion, Commander of the 4th fleet.”

  The man with the white shirt and tie growled, “Colonel Shilling should be court-martialed for putting her in harms way!” Siiri moved closer to Torian nervously watching the angry man.

  The admiral turned to another uniformed man, a junior officer, “See that she gets to the Sick Bay.”

  “I’m not going anywhere without Torian.” Siiri stood defiant.

  “It’s Siiri, right?” The older man had warm eyes and when she hesitated he continued, “Our medical staff is going to examine you. I understand you and this young officer have been through a lot, but you’re safe here.”

  The junior officer, a man with dark eyes and a thin brown moustache motioned to Torian, “Lieutenant McCallum, if you link your Con, you have your orders and accommodations. I trust having served on two other Moon class cruisers you know the way to the officer’s quarters?”

  “Yes…” Torian’s voice trailed, then he glanced at Siiri, “I’ll go with you to Sick Bay.”

  “She will be going under escort, and won’t be allowed visitors!” the man with the shirt and tie with toned muscular arms motioned for the two heavily armed soldiers to step forward.

  Torian stepped in front of the man, “She’s not a prisoner! Who the Hell are you?”

  “My name is Agent Kavan Tass of the SIS, and you’ll do as you’re told!”

  “Easy!” the admiral sighed, “Lieutenant, she is going to remain under observation for the night. It would be better for you to get some rest and then you can visit her in the morning.”

  “He will not …” Tass began but a look from the admiral cut him off.

  Torian nodded, and then turned to the girl and pulled her close, “I’ll come by in the morning.”

  She put her arms around his neck, brought her cheek next to his, and whispered, “I’m getting scared.”

  Gently he whispered back, “Don’t be. This admiral is the best there is. His word is good.”

  In parting she gazed into his eyes, “I’ll be waiting.”

  “Escort her.” The SIS agent with slicked back jet-black hair beckoned to the two soldiers. They both walked up on either side of Siiri and she peered back sadly at Torian as they led her out a door on the other side of the room.

  “Off you go, Lieutenant.” The Admiral dismissed Torian, who saluted and then exited the room through the same door after Siiri had left.

  When both Siiri and Torian were gone, the agent turned to the Admiral, “I have a special shield placed around her examining room, and there she’ll stay under heavy guard.”

  “She’s just a young girl, no older than my own daughter.”

  “You don’t have my clearance, and I know what she can do.”

  “This is my vessel; anything you do to her meets my approval first.”

  The other man rounded on the admiral, “She is my prisoner, and I will interrogate her the way I feel best. After all, she’s not a citizen.”

  “If there is any bad business with her, I’ll put you off this ship in a life pod, understand?”

  His eyes narrowed, “Don’t interfere in my work.”

  “I meant what I said. Lieutenant-Commander Dubois is my medical officer and he’ll monitor everything you do to her.”

  “No harm will come to her, physically, anyway.”

  “No harm period!”

  “And get rid of her friend, I want him off ship while I am working with her.”

  “He’s short; it would be grossly unfair to put him on a deep space mission with only a few days left on his tour.”

  “If you want to win this war, admiral, let me do my job! Get rid of him!” and with that Tass stormed to the exit.

  The metal hallways were narrow and every few meters a hatchway sealed the sections in an emergency. Torian knew the class of ship inside out and made his way to the quartermasters to change his uniform. The officer in charge was asleep in his quarters somewhere, but for simple orders there was a computer terminal and small chute underneath. With his Con, which had been Siiri’s, but now registered with him, he transferred his DNA tag and linked to the QM terminal with his profile specifications for a flight suit, including his rank insignia, decorations, and new unit patches assigned to the Europa. A moment later a box appeared in the chute below with a new folded flight suit with a packet of insignia patches, socks, boots, underwear and a utility belt with a hygiene kit. Since no one was around, he changed quickly in the hallway and put his old marine combat fatigues and webbing in the box back into the chute.

  On the way to the officer’s quarters, he stopped in the washroom and studied himself in the mirror, “Look at you!” Tristan came up from behind, “All those ribbons and a commission!”

  Torian began to brush his teeth, “I was wondering if you were still around, we could have shared a room in officer’s territory.”

  “They couldn’t handle the two of us together in the same quarters!”

  �
�Well, that’s all done with. I’m short, going home.” He splashed his face.

  “With her?”

  The chocolate haired young man stared at his blue-skinned friend, “Yeah.”

  “Good. She is right for you.”

  “You surprise me, Tristan, a monogamous relationship?”

  “I said she was right for you, not me.”

  “Even as an apparation, you haven’t changed.”

  Down the narrow dimly lit hall, more like a metal tube with titanium spars, he checked the door numbers for his assigned room. When he reached the door, he opened it with his Con sending his DNA tag for a pass code and the heavy door slide open noiselessly. Officer’s quarters consisted of a tiny room with two beds on either side with lockers between. As soon as he entered the light on his side of the room snapped on, brightening up most of the room.

  In the other bed a figure with a mess of red hair moaned and rolled over shading her pretty face blinking her eyes open, “Who the Hell are you?”

  “You’re roommate.” Sarcastically he snorted and stripped off his flight suit to his shorts pulling back the navy blue comforter on his bed.

  The red headed woman checked her wall clock, “It’s 13:44 in the morning.”

  “Sorry, lights out.” Torian commanded and the room went dark.

  --

  Siiri, led to the Sick Bay, observed a crowded room full of wounded soldiers moaning and reaching out in pain. Medics worked feverishly operating and bandaging up screaming patients while blood and brunt flesh littered the floor. She wanted to wretch, but her escort pulled her away into another section with a small sterile windowed room and a single gurney in the middle.

  “Agent Tass told us to lock you in and wait,” one of the soldiers motioned towards the room.

  “Am I supposed to sleep in there?” she looked a little bewildered.

  “Wait for the SIS agent,” the other soldier gave her a gentle push and when she was inside the room a transteel door slide closed and there was a slight flicker as a shield activated. Surveying the room, she was crestfallen to discover it was nothing more than a cell, with all equipment removed except for the steel bed on wheels, with a plain mattress cover by a sheet.