Overrun: Project Hideaway

  Parker initiated his own weapons system sequence and armed every rocket to fire. Barnes pulled in closer next to him. They were ten meters from the Hideaway’s landing bay and the long cylindrical tube attached to it from the frigate.

  The two small ships headed for the nose of the frigate and the area directly above the boarding tube connecting it to the Hideaway. Parker hoped this was the area housing the command center.

  Parker took in a deep breath. He kept the tip of his left wing tight to Barnes' ship. The front of the frigate flew straight at them quickly filling their cockpit windows. They were almost upon it. Their approach still seemed unnoticed.

  Parker readied all weapons to fire.

  "Let 'em loose," Parker said quietly into his transmitter. "Break left when they go, meet near mid-rear. We'll go after the command area again upon turnaround. We might get one more shot at them before they realize we're off the Hideaway and coming at them from out here."

  "Roger that," Barnes said into his ear.

  Two rockets broke loose and dropped from beneath his wing. Parker pressed two buttons on his control stick making his ship do the same.

  A total of four in all sped away from the two fighters. A bright orange fiery glow trailed after them. They drove straight into the nose of the unidentified ship and impacted directly over the boarding tube.

  One following the other, two found their mark near the top of the section attached to the Hideaway by the boarding tube. The two others simultaneously punched into its hull a little further to the right. The frigate jerked backwards to the left upon impact and then whipped back again to the right. Fire spewed across the boarding tube feeding off the oxygen and fuel being lost into space.

  The fire and destruction released by the rockets spit back at the small Defender ships causing the pilots to break formation and stray from their intended course. Barnes headed left around the boarding ship to avoid the explosions and debris while Parker veered hard down and right.

  The exploding hull of the large frigate cut sharply between their wings. Both Defenders ducked under its structure at the middle of the ship. Barnes brought his craft high and Parker continued his course low. Both struggled to find a path through the destruction that would allow them to turn around for another attack.

  Trying to bring his craft back around, a sudden hot flash of sickness coursed through Parker's body. It felt like he had swallowed the liquid fire that was spilling into space ahead of him.

  His last maneuver had taken him just far enough away from the vicinity detectors to activate the radiation caplets under the surface of his skin. He felt his eyes roll up in the back of his head and his stomach threaten to explode as the radiation was released into his bloodstream.

  Parker fought hard to maintain control of his ship and keep himself from passing out. Through a thick film of sweat and tears that instantly covered his eyes, he brought his ship back on course with the Hideaway halting the leak of radiation into his body.

  Parker gasped through his mask and tore it from his face. Barnes brought his ship up next to him.

  "We’ve got to go again," Parker said weakly into his transmitter before leaning to his side and vomiting across his control panel.

  The pain searing from his neck had subsided to a bearable piercing throb.

  "Careful of that hundred meters," Parker fought hard to speak. "Another one of those..."

  Before he could finish, Barnes’ ship wrenched hard to its side. Its nose turned upward away from the ship, and its tail bounced down along the frigate's hull. It then veered suddenly straight towards Parker’s ship nearly rupturing its hull with its wingtip.

  Parker broke hard right and away. His ship dipped dangerously close to the Hideaway’s hull to avoid the collision.

  "Barnes!"

  He was close enough to the cockpit window to see Barnes' left shoulder leaned up against its protective glass. He could also hear Barnes trying to say something across the transmitter.

  Both ships still flew at full attack speed toward the front of the frigate and the Hideaway.

  "Activating weapons," Barnes’ voice cut thinly through the static.

  His wing dipped again toward the frigate. His Defender stumbled and jerked in its flight as it brushed against the Hideaway’s surface. Its nose dipped hard forward almost crashing straight into the Hideaway’s hull.

  But at the last second Barnes managed to bring it back up and again straighten its course towards the frigate.

  "Fight it Barnes!” Parker screamed. “Fight it! Goddamn it! Keep it close to the ship!"

  Barnes's fighter still wobbled and dipped not yet recovering into a straight flight path.

  "…went too far as well.…"

  Return rockets and weapons fire bellowed at them from every area of the unidentified ship. Many at once and others in jagged waves shot from its surface. Their flaming tails propelled them straight towards the coming Defenders.

  Neither Defender craft changed its course. Both kept a straight path into the coming bombardment and the front of the frigate.

  The entire left rocket arsenal beneath Barnes' craft separated as one unit and sailed towards the front of the boarding ship. Parker banked his craft away from the most recent barrage of ship-to-ship fire. He kept it far enough away to avoid the destruction but close enough to the Hideaway’s surface to avoid reactivating the radiation caplets in his skin.

  Barnes didn’t pull away and continued to fly into the coming assault. One of the coming rockets clipped his tail. Another claimed his wing. His left side entirely on fire, Barnes’ Defender rushed towards the flaming structure of the boarding tube.

  A final gasp came across the ship-to-ship transmitters. And then it was gone.

  The small Defender ship transformed into a ball of hot yellow fire and rammed into the base of the boarding tube where it attached to the frigate. Its wreckage ripped through the tube causing it to curl in on itself. It exploded in one solid blast with what remained of the small Defender ship.

  Debris hurtled back through the short space separating the two larger ships and tore into the Hideaway landing bay. Whole chunks of ship and flaming metal ripped away. Debris, rubble and parts of the frigate not protected by the airlock of the ship were sucked out into space from where the boarding tube had just been attached.

  And then it was dark. The vacuum of space quickly consumed the flames.

  "Barnes!!" Parker screamed pulling his fighter over the wreckage and skimming the surface of the Hideaway. He twisted his control stick back and forth to avoid the destruction blasting about the surrounding space.

  Parker took his Defender to the end of the Hideaway where he then pulled its nose away from the ship and circled back.

  Two giant black shredded holes gaped at the ends of both ships. Debris from the boarding tube floated nearby. The Hideaway was finally free from the hold of the unidentified boarders.

  It was only then that Parker saw the fast approaching form of a second large ship. And the violent blasts of flame roaring from its hull.

  Another heavy explosion swatted at the back of Parker's craft knocking him further out into space away from the Hideaway. Parker gritted his teeth and fought to keep his ship from leaving the safe zone and activating the vicinity detectors.

  Parker piloted his Defender just above the surface of the Hideaway hull trying to avoid being overcome by the explosions and fires.

  He could feel the force of the blasts run along the hull of his ship making it groan and gasp and threatening to cave it in.

  Parker flew the Defender towards the cargo area housing the Beam Cannon Hardware at the rearmost section of the Hideaway. It was the only section of the ship untouched by the inside battle or the outside onslaught of the exploding frigate. He brought his Defender past and circled back to the tentacles leading from the ship ports.

  He lined his craft under the fingerlike protrusions and released the controls to the automatic pilot system for the final hookup. The port clamp mad
e a loud sucking noise when it secured its seal over the top of his ship and the cockpit window directly above his head.

  He pulled his helmet from his face and hit the exit release lever near his left ear. Stale air from the tube hissed into the cockpit. Carefully, he pulled his wounded body from his seat and freed his screaming legs from beneath the small ship's command consoles.

  He reached over his head for the rungs stretching through space and the thin tube leading back to the main hull of the Hideaway.

  Using mostly his arms, he hauled himself up the ladder and out of the craft. His hands held the weight of his body briefly until his swinging legs found a hold across the last rung at its base.

  He stopped to catch his breath for a second and leaned against the ladder’s cool metal. Thick red blood seeped from his wound and stained the wall to his side. Sweat rolled from his face as he looked up at the door separating him and the main ship.

  With solemn determination, he made his arms continue to pull himself up. When he reached the top, he threw open the door and let his body fall into the horizontal section leading back to the ship. He crawled across the narrow passage trying to ignore the pain in his battered body and hit the switch that lifted the entrance door to re-access the Hideaway.

  When it hissed quietly open, Parker leaned forward. He tumbled from the porthole and crashed into the boarding cabin. For many long moments, he remained where he fell sprawled in a sweat and blood-stained heap across the floor.

  When some of the shock and pain had finally passed, he pressed his arms against the deck and forced his body to again stand up.

  Carefully, he stuck his head into the hallway and looked towards the tube Barnes had used to board his own ship. An assault rifle laid at its base on the floor.

  Parker bent down to pick it up and clicked open its chamber. Seeing it already half-loaded, he cocked it ready to fire. He reached down again to the floor and picked up the few handfuls of ammunition shells Barnes must have thrown from his pocket before crawling through the port.

  Parker slowly filled the ammunition chamber while looking towards the porthole from which he had recently come.

  Smoke still hung in the air, and dust with jagged bits of debris still laid scattered across the floor. A giant metal safety door had come down and blocked one of the passages. Its release sensors were most likely triggered by damage caused by the concussion grenades. Or it might have been dropped by the ship's main automatic command when the hull had been breached by the explosion of Barnes' ship. When the atmosphere shield had been broken. When the emptiness of space threatened to destroy the Hideaway.

  It didn’t really matter what made it fall. He hit its activation control and sent it back into the ceiling.

  Parker ducked under before it was completely up and limped down the corridor. He held the assault rifle ahead of him. His shoulders were unsteady and sweat dripped across his eyes. He readied himself at every turn to again meet up with the men that had invaded his ship.

  For the moment no one was in sight. The passageways were strangely quiet as Parker made his way silently through.

  Chapter 25

  RadCom grabbed the last rung of the ladder and swung his legs onto the command level of the Hideaway. Red lights flashed in short intervals. The loud wail of sirens had finally stopped. The corridor he stepped into was empty.

  RadCom pulled his sidearm from its holster and walked carefully down the center of the passageway. His arms stretched rigidly outward. His weapon pointed directly ahead.

  He made his way down several meters of corridor and came to the open door of the cockpit. Just inside he could see the two empty pilot seats and the view of the shadow of the moon just outside the command window.

  Bright flashes from explosions outside the ship and blinking switches along the control panels broke the gloom. RadCom turned around to make sure he was still the only one on the command level.

  He had left the rest of his crew in the landing bay to pick through the rubble left by the concussion grenades. He hoped they would find at least one of the pilots buried beneath the destruction. Alive or dead, they needed one of them to operate the ship controls.

  Having one of the pilots alive would make the process that much easier. But it wasn’t necessary. As long as they found a body and the hands were intact. It was all that was necessary to defeat the signaturization process and bring the Hideaway back to Earth.

  Satisfied no one was coming up on him from behind, RadCom stepped carefully into the small cabin. Gripped tightly within the palms of his fist, he pointed his weapon in first. He ducked beneath the low entryway and followed his outstretched arms inside.

  The ship command controls appeared to be online and fully functioning. Lights flashed and monitor screens were lit. This was not the sleeping ship they planned on boarding.

  Looking through the command window at the moon, RadCom slowly slid his weapon back into the holster hanging at his knee. He reached down and pushed an equipment monitor hovering over the left pilot seat back to its resting place in the terminal. He stooped down and maneuvered his long legs into the small pilot seat being careful not to touch anything possibly affected by the signaturization process.

  He looked around and cautiously tried to determine what he could touch. He found the small screen of the holovid. With his heart in his throat, he tapped lightly at the controls.

  The screen glowed blue as it slowly came on. He adjusted its frequency to hail his own ship. Soon the image of the frigate’s command center slowly came into view. The captain stood at its center with his back to the transmitter. He was the only one in the room.

  RadCom let out his breath. He had been in the cockpit for about five minutes and so far was still alive and in contact with his ship. The sound of his exhale traveled through the holovid and brought the captain’s attention around.

  "RadCom," the captain said turning. He walked quickly from the monitors and controls he had been hovering across towards the holovid transmitter.

  "I’m in the cockpit," RadCom reported slowly. "The remainder of the boarding crew is still in the landing bay. We haven’t found any signs of the pilots. Not since we used the grenades."

  "The pilots are alive," the captain said his face perplexed. "Two smaller crafts have broken from the main ship and are on a run for us now. Bring your men in from the landing bay and have them ready to take the pilots if they return."

  "Sir?" RadCom started.

  "I'm bringing weapons systems fully online now," the captain said leaning away from the holovid to eye up the command console at his side. "We’ll have range on them soon.”

  “Captain, what about…?”

  “We have to defend ourselves against their attack."

  The captain stepped awkwardly to his other side trying to operate the controls at another command station.

  RadCom felt a small wave of panic gnaw at his senses as he looked at the amount of blood streaked across the left side of the captain’s uniform. Another patch stretched from his forehead, down his left ear and to the end of his neck. It was dry and starting to crust.

  It was fairly evident it was not his own.

  "We have three dead already," the captain said turning back to the screen. "Send as many back here as you can. I don’t have enough left onboard to defend against a ship-to-ship attack. What’s left of this crew is working or dying down in the medical ward. Get those people here now."

  "Yes, Captain."

  "I want you to stay there and get the ship ready to move...," the captain's voice cut off. Two flashes of reflected metal streaked across the cockpit window of the Hideaway towards the frigate. Fire glowed at their rear.

  "Ships incoming," RadCom said slowly.

  He pulled at the comlink strapped to his wrist and pressed it hurriedly to his lips.

  "Boarding Team. Boarding Team. Stop the search and return to the frigate. Repeat. Stop the search and return. The pilots are off the main ship and bringing one-man fighters in on attack
runs. They are capable and positioning themselves to fire. All personnel are to return to defend against their assault."

  RadCom pressed his forehead against the clear turbo glass of the cockpit window to get a better look at the two small ships.

  He watched them speed toward the front of the Hideaway. And the rockets drop from their undersides. Preceding trails of brilliant yellow light, the rockets impacted across the frigate’s hull near the tube connecting the two ships.

  "Get across there now!" RadCom screamed into his intercom. "Get across and seal the bays. Do it goddamn now!"

  He watched in horror as the explorer frigate recoiled against the rocket blasts. The boarding tube stretched and jerked between the two ships. The force of the explosions against the frigate threatened to yank the tube from its seal across the Hideaway.

  The two fighters streaked away and readied themselves for another run.

  On the holovid, the frigate’s command center was in ruin. The captain limped across the room from where the blast had thrown him. He supported his left arm awkwardly with his right. Flame licked from various terminals. Exposed wires dangled from the ceiling with their sparking tips spitting towards the ground.

  The captain stepped through what was left of the command center to the holovid transmitter. Fresh blood covered his chest and face. This time coming from the wounds of his own body.

  "RadCom," he said wheezing and standing in front of the transmitter. His command seat had been ripped from the floor and laid in flames just to his side. "RadCom, you have to disable their ships and bring them in. Kill their power. Whatever you can do. There has to be something. And get your men over here. We can't handle a ship-to-ship attack with this size crew."

  "Men are on their way back, sir," RadCom quickly replied.

  He reached into his gear and pulled out two rectangular devices both the size of a balled fist. One had a small monitor screen at its center. RadCom pulled two cables from each and jabbed them into the cockpit terminals in front of him.

  He then took in a deep breath realizing what he had just done. Slowly, he pulled his hand back.