by Gary Weston
Dorran panned out. ‘That ship is a couple of million miles out from the station.’
‘We can head it off?’
Dorran said, ‘If it maintains its course and direction and if we head this way here, we can take it out.’
Millet nodded. ‘I like your thinking, Captain. Intercept rather than chase. That’ll bring all the others after us.’
‘But if we take two ships after that lone ship, leaving the other two to come up from the rear of the pack…’
‘Or. We’ll keep them concentrating on two of us, leaving the station exposed.’
That wasn’t quite the spin Dorran was trying to put on the situation. Taking on fourteen enemy ships with just two of their own, didn’t rock his world. ‘I wasn’t planning on suicide, Sir.’
‘Neither was I, Captain Dorran. Set the course. Us and Williams. Mario and Stravinsky can hammer the station. Captain?’
Dorran sighed. He had been with the General for years, and respected and trusted his judgement totally. ‘Tell me you have something up your sleeves?’
‘Yep. My arms.’
Grim faced, Dorran nodded. ‘I’ll set the course. Let’s go catch a ship.’
Millet went to talk to the troops and called for order. ‘Listen up. One enemy ship has taken off from the station for some unknown reason. We intend to intercept it and destroy it.’ He got a cheer for that. ‘I agree, to take a ship of theirs out will give us all much satisfaction. However, the second that lone ship sees us, we’ll have up to fourteen other enemy ships after our hides. Fourteen against two.’
Armstrong piped up. ‘Two, Sir? We have four ships.’
‘Indeed we do, Shorty. The other two will be destroying the station while their fleet are distracted. With luck, we’ll create so much confusion, we can blast them all to hell.’
Joy Dainty spoke up. ‘General Millet, Sir. What if Tagg Raven and Captain Casey are on the station? If our ships are successful, we could be signing their death warrants.’
That had crossed Millet’s mind. ‘They could also be on one of the fourteen ships. There is no way of knowing. I’m sorry, Joy. We are heavily outnumbered as it is. We have to just go in and hit them hard with all we have. Agent Raven would do the same in my position. We’re going to take them on.’
There was a palpable buzz of anticipation throughout the four ships. A re-energised General Millet had divided his tiny fleet, heading off in two different directions. After the most basic of instructions, Millet ordered total ship to ship radio shut-down.
Mario Luppino, was in charge of the raid on the station. Timing was critical, waiting for the inevitable charge of the enemy ships after the two who, hopefully, had taken out one of theirs. The station was to be completely destroyed. Luppino had to curb his natural impetuousness, to avoid going in too soon. Captain Dorran had estimated the time to reach the lone enemy ship at thirty six hours, twenty-two minutes. Once the lone ship had been engaged, radio contact would be re-established, and Luppino would attack the station, and if possible after that, go help Millet, Williams and the others. These were the best of the DSI military division. They had to be. The human race depended on them.
Chapter 124
The “lumps” had already extended. Each of the eighty two lumps on the four females, had reached lengths of a foot long. The skin had stretched to the point of being translucent. The embryos were growing at a phenomenal rate, eager to be born, ready to grow. On their home planet, exactly at the same time, millions were similarly developing. In two days, the growths would break free, and within one year, would be fully young adults.
The solitary male watched over his family, his natural instincts to protect them as had been the way for millions of years. And soon, their kind would have more than one planet to populate. By using the puny humans, there were no limits to what they could do or where they would go.
Humans. Weak. So easy to manipulate and control. And so versatile. Slaves to serve their masters every need. That they had somehow developed spaceships to travel the stars, was quite unbelievable. And yet they had. They had the added advantage of being rather nutritious.
Over the years, everything that could be gleaned from their minds had been memorised and used to good advantage. Deep, secret things, lurking so far below the level of their consciousness, even the humans were unaware of them. Even forgotten arts, like sorcery, so long lost to them.
But, the history of the humans revealed their warlike nature. Thousands of years of waging wars on each other, meant only one thing. For their Masters to be free to roam the galaxy, spreading their kind, albeit confined in the hated but necessary tanks when out in space, would mean at least partial elimination of the humans.
The healthiest of them would be kept and bred for slaves. They would create the new green oceans, vast, wonderful oceans. Others would be farmed for food. And the beauty of it all was that they would be controlling themselves, dependent on the drugs.
The male was looking forward to the future, the freedom taken for granted, undeserved and often abused by the humans. His many offspring were twitching, eager for life, eager to grow and expand their own kind, throughout the galaxy. It was almost time.
Chapter 125
It was almost time. Millet’s and Williams’ ships were on track to intercept the lone enemy ship. Hour after hour, countless thousands of miles, racing through the deepest space, a rendezvous with destiny ahead of them. Each ship had two laser cannons, able to swivel in an arc, between them covering three hundred and fifty-six of the three hundred and sixty degrees around them.
Both shooters had actual combat experience, taking out enemy ships, drones and processing facilities. And yet, no sooner one had been shut down or even destroyed, another would spring up to take its place. Always the head of the enemy organisation had eluded them. But they had confined their search to planets, not realising that the controlling minds were using a space station which could be moved across the stars, whenever a DSI ship was about to accidentally stumble upon it, or a human slave spy had informed them that they were in danger of being discovered.
But the secret was out. And here it was, the space station, just a blip on a green screen. Mario Luppino itched to be creating mayhem, getting one back for the human race. He was in position. A few thousand more miles, even with the maintained radio silence, they would be in very real danger of being discovered and the opportunity would be lost. One call from the General and Luppino would show everyone the true meaning of unleashing hell.
Luppino checked the time. Less than two more hours to wait.
* * *
Millet didn’t even risk using internal radio, choosing instead to see the shooters at their posts.
Mary Farmer was a favourite of his. Nineteen and had already clocked up a dozen kills. As expected, he found her at the cannon, waiting patiently for the word.
‘Shooter Farmer. Feeling ok?’
‘Ready for action, Sir.’
Millet said, ‘You were born ready, Farmer. I still can’t believe how you shot that drone out of the sky the way you did. Amazing shooting.’
‘Thank you, Sir. I find it best if I don’t over think it. Just become one with the cannon and let the training take over.’
Millet grinned at the feisty young woman’s ball-busting attitude. ‘You have some stiff competition with Gaganjot Singh. Then I suppose you would have, when her name means light of the sky. Did you know her grandmother Aasa was a top shooter?’
Farmer Bristled. ‘I believe she has mentioned that. About a thousand times.’
Millet knew only too well what great friends the girls were, despite their competitive edge. ‘Mary. I’ve told you a million times about exaggerating. Actually. Between you and I, I bet on you. I reckon that’s where the smart money’s going. If you need a toilet break, I suggest you go now. Might be a little too busy in an hour or so.’
‘I’m good, Sir.’
‘Ok. Good luck, Shooter Farmer.’
Millet went to
see Singh. ‘Shooter Singh. How are you feeling?’
‘Pretty relaxed about it, Sir. I just want to do my family proud.’
Millet said, ‘I’m sure they’re already very proud of you, and rightly so. I still reckon the way you raised that drixolate facility to ashes in what, three minutes…?’
‘Two and a half, Sir.’
‘Two and a half minutes. Wow. I had a beer with your father last week. Told him what an exceptional officer we have in you.’
‘Thank you, Sir.’
‘Mind you, I hear there’s a lot of the betting money going on Mary at the moment.’
Singh’s face screwed up. ‘Is that right? You must be paying them too much if they can throw it away like that.’
‘You think you’ll take that ship out before Mary?’
‘You just put your money on me, Sir. That’s all I’m saying.’
‘I already have.’
‘Did you know my grandmother Aasa Singh was a shooter?’
Millet raised an eyebrow of surprise. ‘She was? I never knew that. Being brilliant shooters must run in your family. Well. Good luck, Gaganjot.’
‘Bring it on, Sir.’
Chapter 126
It was the shooter on the lone ship that reacted first, but had fired too soon, the laser missing by miles.
Millet sat with the pilots. ‘Keep your calm. Hold your fire until you have a clear shot. Dorran. We have their attention.’
‘Their fleet is coming after us. Two ships have been left behind.’
‘Radio Luppino.’
‘Captain Luppino. Engage the enemy.’
‘My pleasure,’ came the reply.
It was better than they could have hoped for. Luppino, commanding two ships, the other with a highly experienced pilot called Stravinsky, should be more than a match for two enemy ships and only twelve were racing to the assistance of the lone runners’ ship.
Dorran said, ‘They’ve chickened out, Sir. Trying to escape.’
‘Heading to join the fleet,’ said Millet. ‘Full speed. Shooters. Whenever you’re ready.’
‘We have to catch them before they have the chance to join the fleet,’ said Dorran, squeezing every last drop of speed out of his ship.
‘We’re gaining on it,’ said Millet. ‘Shooters.’
Four shooters, two on each ship, were shooting at an enemy speeding away from them, which was nothing more than a speck on their screens. The distance was closing, but so was the distance between the lone ship and the fleet.
‘We’ve wounded it, Sir. Still has some speed, though.’
‘Shooters. Fire at will.’
* * *
Captain Mario Luppino had held back until the fleet had gone. Two ships remained, one on one. Or it would have been, had the station itself been unarmed. It had one laser cannon to defend itself, as well as the two ships for backup. He called Len Stravinsky on ship two.
‘Len. You hold back but follow me in. I’ll head the ships out of your way. You take out the station laser.’
‘Got that, Mario.’
Luppino had his shooters engage the enemy ships, at the same time heading towards the fleet.
‘Come on, my lovelies. Come with Mario.’ Only one ship did, leaving the other to defend the station. Mario suddenly turned his ship around, heading straight to the enemy ship and the station. ‘Now would be good, shooters.’
Both shooters hit the enemy square on and it became a ball of flames for the split second before the vacuum of space extinguished it.
‘One down, one to go,’ said Mario.
Stravinsky was being fired on by two cannons, the ship and the station. In danger of being caught between deadly crossfire, he barrel-rolled back away from the station, chasing the ship. Millet was still after the damaged lone ship, which had lost speed. Their cannon was still taking pot-shots at them. He knew his shooters were as one with their cannon, instinct taking over. As the laser fire from the damaged ship traced a line above them, four shooters all claimed the hit that blew the damaged enemy out of the fight.
‘Hey,’ snapped Millet. ‘Let’s argue who got the kill later, ok? We got a pack heading right for us.’
Stravinsky knew that Luppino would soon be caught between the ship chasing him and the fleet. As much as he wanted to take out the cannon on the station, he was at full speed after the ship. They had to act fast.
‘Shooters!’ His reply was the lasers taking out the ship. ‘Nice work. Keep it up.’
Stravinsky turned the ship around, with still one more to take out before he could hit the station.
Chapter 127
The robot was far more than a dumb, mechanical man. He was linked to the communication centre of the station, and through him, the Masters knew everything that was going on. The robot stood before the tank, the male staring at him, their minds as one. The male could see the battle raging in space, the hated DSI battling the runners’ ships. The odds were very much still in the runners favour, but the DSI were good. Should any of the DSI ships break through the defences and hit the station, it would be a serious threat to the Masters.
There was still one contingency plan. That involved getting the timing right. Too soon and they risked being destroyed by the DSI. Too late, and it would be the same conclusion. The male looked at the four females, sleeping at the bottom of the tank, their whole bodies given up to the developing embryos. The females would not live once the young had been born, their job done. He would be the one responsible for the young ones, until they were adult. It was the way of things. This was not his first time, and he knew that the embryos were close to separation, leaving the female bodies to die.
He gave the robot instructions. The robot turned away from the tank, opened the door and walked out of the room.
In a small, bare, overcrowded room, nineteen humans had been forgotten about as the runners were busy fighting to protect the station. The humans were in various stages of dying as their internal organs decomposed. They had not received the drixolate which would have kept them alive. They had no idea what had happened to those that had been taken from the room. Perhaps they were the chosen ones, selected to serve as slaves to the Masters. Perhaps they were the lucky ones.
To those rolling on the floor in agony, it was too late even to care. They had no idea what was going on, only that a slow and certain death awaited them.
Chapter 128
‘We’ve been hit,’ said Dorran.
‘Pressure?’ Millet asked.
‘Holding. One of our cannon’s been hit.’
‘Damn. Singh?’
‘Here, Sir.’
‘Farmer?’ No reply. ‘Farmer. Talk to me, damn it.’ Nothing.
Dorran shook his head. ‘She’s gone, Sir.’
‘Get me in there,’ growled Singh. There was only one way a shooter could honour a fallen shooter. To kill the ones who had done the killing.
‘Straight through the middle of them, Dorran,’ ordered Millet.
Two ships, one with a shooter down, were taking the fleet head on, and a very angry Gaganjot Singh was determined to do just that. She channelled her energy into taking revenge for her best friend. The leading two enemy ships paid the price and disintegrated on either side of her. The second DSI ship under Williams’ command, took out two more runners’ ships and rendered another useless. Then the DSI ship was destroyed, with the loss of those on board. This left Millet’s ship, with one shooter down, surrounded by the enemy.
‘Evasive action,’ bellowed Millet. ‘Singh. Keep shooting.’
Singh fired a barrage of shots directly into the plasma exhausts of an enemy ship as Dorran veered off on a course to get them away from the fleet. Mario Luppino’s shooter took out one more ship, before following Millet.
‘Sir,’ said Dorran. ‘The enemy ships. They’re taking off.’
‘Back to the station?’
‘No. Look.’
The remains of the fleet were indeed going their separate ways, no longer willing to kil
l more of their own kind. They had supplies of the drug that would keep them alive. They had broken free from the Masters.
‘Finally,’ said Millet. ‘They realised whose side they should be on. The station, Dorran.’
Stravinsky could see victory in sight and called his shooters. ‘Just take out that cannon. Nothing else.’
The single cannon was all that stood in the way of taking over the station. Stravinsky took his ship at speed, dodging a hail of laser fire, his own shooters pinpointing the enemy cannon. His ship took a hit in the same split second that the station cannon was destroyed. The pressure had gone on his ship, and they were spinning out of control, and the explosion lit up the heavens for one full second and it was gone.
Two battered DSI ships were all that remained.
Dorran took a deep breath and said, ‘Shall we destroy the station, Sir?’
‘No. They’ll have very little resistance on the station. There’s a possibility Raven and Casey are alive on there. We’ll dock and board the station.’
Chapter 129
The robot sat at the controls. Only he could. This had been purpose built for his bulk and frame. From his chest, the extension whirred out and slotted into the mating fitting on the panel. That was it. He was now in control. He was ready to go, but the Master’s mind linked with his. The females were giving birth. The flight had to be delayed until that was over. No disturbance of the birthing could be risked. The robot sat impassively at the controls, waiting for the order to take the section of the space station that was a ship, designed to take the Masters and the tank at speed from the space station in an emergency.
The male looked on as one by one, the undeveloped young broke away from the females that had given them life. From where they had broken away, the blood of the females leaked into the green liquid. It was to be the first feed of the young.
Instinctively, they latched onto the torn flesh, drinking the blood from the dying females. Then it became a feeding frenzy as they turned on the corpses, ripping the flesh and devouring it. The male watched on, no emotional attachment to the dead. This was just nature, nothing else. Until all the young had broken free and eaten, they were too vulnerable and precious to disturb in their birth.