by L. E. Thomas
“Hang on, sir. I’m on my way.”
Three pirates broke off from the main group and moved in behind Austin, but he stayed on Nubern’s attackers. Almost there.
Laser fire blasted away his rear shields. Austin flinched, but stayed trained on his target. He wouldn’t last much longer out here. Glancing at his sensors, he did a quick calculation. The fighters coming in on his six were too fast and his Trident was too low on energy to reach Nubern. It was only a matter of time. His mentor was in trouble. Still, Austin pressed on. He rolled to make himself a tougher target, but stayed focused on Nubern’s attacker, still waiting on his laser banks to charge.
A bolt crashed into his tail. Sparks shot from his dashboard. This is it, he thought. They’ve got me.
“Attention, Legion craft,” a voice crackled on the gamma wave. “This is Sun King 72, running Air Intercept Control for Carrier Strike Group one of the United States Navy. I have thirty-two Hornets standing by for offensive counter air with Grumbler 56 as lead. Do you require support?”
Austin stared at the controls. Did he hear that correctly?
“Roger, Sun King 72,” Nubern said, his voice rising in Austin’s ear. “This is Talon of the Galactic Legion. Your help is most appreciated.”
The pirates broke off their attack on the wounded Tridents. From the east, flying in tactical formation, soared thirty-two F-18 Hornets. Austin pulled back on the stick and watched the Tyral Pirates scream hard toward their new enemy.
“Talon, this is Grumbler 56, engaging the bandits at this time.”
The U.S. Navy pilots launched a series of missiles toward the Tyral Pirates, but the advanced scrambling equipment caused the missiles to drop radar lock. The white missile trails crossed the blue sky.
“Grumbler, this is Legion pilot Rock. Your missiles won’t lock. You’ll have to engage with guns.”
“Roger, Rock. We live for this.”
The modified pirate Tridents, apparently saving any remaining missiles for Atlantis, unleashed their lasers into the Hornets. An interplanetary dogfight erupted while Austin and Nubern caught their breath. The Hornets squared off against the pirate craft. Fireballs filled the sky with smoke and burning debris. The Hornets exploded too quickly, the more advanced pirate craft cutting through them like a hot knife through butter. Austin glanced up from his dashboard to see a Hornet blasting away at a Tyral fighter on its way to the ocean.
“Trying to link up with you at ten thousand feet,” Nubern said. “This baby only has so much more it can give me.”
“Be ready in a second, Talon,” Austin said, coaxing energy back into his shields after the direct hit on his tail. “We have to get back in there. Those boys aren’t going to last long.”
“They’re buying time for Atlantis.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The ship sailed between the asteroids, moving only by utilizing the maneuvering thrusters. Waylon had cut the main drive before they even entered the asteroid field. He wanted to sail as quiet as possible in an attempt to draw no attention to their movement. According to their stolen Tyral fighter, the main pirate base lurked somewhere in this field of floating rocks of the Zine System.
Of course, this also meant they could be under surveillance.
“Still nothing on sensors,” Josh whispered as if the pirates could hear him. “Where now?”
Waylon grumbled, his fingers disappearing into his beard. “I don’t want to break radio silence, yet.”
Waylon stood in the cramped bridge of the Barracudas’ smuggling transport vessel, Traveler, and moved over to study the local charts. After spending his training in the comforts and technology of the Legion Navy, Josh shook his head seeing Waylon leaning over a flickering monochrome screen to study the surrounding space. Four Barracuda fighters had slipped through a curve on the dark side of a nearby moon and awaited their orders to attack. Four fighters didn’t seem like much, so surprise would be crucial if they would find any success today. After serving as a scout ship, the Traveler would coordinate the attack and provide long-range missile support.
“Hmm,” Waylon shook his head. He pointed at three large clusters. “These seem to be the only rocks large enough to hold the size base we were held in. Don’t you think?”
Josh stood from the helm and stepped back to study the charts. Three massive asteroids, larger than some moons, floated in the same field.
“That’s our best shot.” Josh did a mental calculation. “These two would take hours to reach using thrusters.”
“We don’t want to risk detection.” Waylon glanced at him, propping his knee up on the edge of the control board. “What if the entire pirate force is home?”
Josh swallowed. “We would be in trouble, then.” He thought of the ships he had seen during their time on the asteroid base. “Let’s head for the closest rock.”
Josh sat back at the helm and eased forward on the thrusters. After a moment, he pulled back, allowing the inertia to take him through. Rocks spun around the ship, bouncing off the hull without incident. The rattling sound of rocks hitting the hull sounded like light hail on a tin roof. The ship moved forward at a crawl. Josh kept an eye on the sensors, seeing nothing but asteroids.
“I went a little faster the last time I was in an asteroid field,” he said.
Waylon sighed. “Really? How’s that?”
Josh gazed into nothing. “My best friend was with me. It was called Rockshot.”
“Rockshot? Huh?”
“It’s training,” Josh said, staring at the largest rock in the distance. “It’s a timed race through an asteroid field.”
Waylon snorted. “And this is what you call work?”
Josh exhaled and shook his head. “Yes, it’s work. It was one of the best days, the last of the good days. I left for home right after that.”
When Josh did not continue, Waylon remained silent.
“So,” Josh said, wanting to change the subject, “why don’t the Tyral Pirates ever use warships?”
Waylon shrugged. “Too valuable, I expect. You can strip apart a warship and sell it. Your people could live off that payday for months. Warships also take personnel and personnel costs money.”
Josh leaned back, watching the space around the ship.
Twenty minutes passed before Josh flashed the thrusters lightly to correct course. Their destination loomed ahead behind another cluster of rocks.
“I want to thank you again for doing this,” Josh said softly. “You’re risking a lot, and you didn’t have to.”
“My family’s been operating Quadrant Eight for two generations.” Waylon’s jaw muscles clenched. “We’ve always had competition. That’s the smuggling business. Lately, though, it’s been different. Something’s changed.”
Josh eyed him. “Legion pressure?”
“Nah, nothing like that,” he said. “You guys cause your own problems for us. Trade regulations and such, but these Tyral Pirates … they were small at first, nothing more than pesky insects. Recently, around the time Scrappy was born, they had weaponry most of us could only dream of. At first, we thought they’d scored a big raid on a military convoy and enjoyed the ride. But it didn’t stop.”
He swallowed, his eyes meeting Josh’s.
“We couldn’t stop them. They had advanced weapons we’d never seen ‘cept with the Legion, and we would run or submit when you guys showed up. These pirates, they were relentless. They pursued without mercy, killed without care.” He paused, gazing into space. “They killed my brother.”
Josh shook his head. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”
“It doesn’t matter. I only tell you now to let you know your gratitude is unnecessary.” A hint of a smile crept across his face. “I would have done this job for free.”
“You expecting a pay day?”
Waylon stared into the distance. “I am expecting to find a bit of plunder, yes, but the revenge is a nice bonus.”
Josh nodded. “Where do you think the pirates got this techn
ology?”
“Someone with money and resources. Either government or something beyond me.” Waylon crossed his arms. “Does it really matter?”
Josh thought for a moment. “I suppose not.”
The tracking sensor squealed. The lights grew red.
“All stop,” Waylon said. “Shut her down. Make like the void.”
Josh killed the sensors, shutting down all power but the life support. Something had been triggered. He peered through the floating rubble.
Far in the distance, starlight reflected off something metallic.
“There,” he whispered. “See it?”
Waylon grunted. “I do.”
He studied the monitor. Josh peered over his shoulder and shook his head. The flickering monochrome seemed designed to induce nausea. Josh turned back to space and looked at the largest asteroid directly ahead. Perhaps Dax Rodon hadn’t gathered his forces for the attack on the unsuspecting dark world. Perhaps they had arrived in time to stop them before they had time to prepare.
He scanned the asteroids.
Still no patrols.
Arrogant, he thought, very arrogant.
“It’s a fighter alright,” Waylon said after a moment. “Heading below our destination. I can’t get a reading.”
“Jamming?”
“I don’t know,” he said, shaking his head. “Transponder’s just blank like there’s nothing there.”
“Do you have a ship type?”
“From this distance, it looks like a Trident.”
Josh blinked. “A Trident?”
“Looks like it.”
He squinted. What would a Trident be doing out here? A lone scout mission?
He shook his head. Command would never have allowed something like that. But why then? Perhaps the Legion intelligence had finally found the location of the pirate base. Maybe the Tyral Pirate threat would soon be over.
“Oh, wait!” Waylon said. “Ah! I lost the signal.”
“What did it say?”
“For a moment, I saw the transponder flicker a Legion signal. I froze the image, but only had it for a second. It’s very blurred.”
Josh stood up from the helm and moved behind Waylon. “Let me see.”
Waylon nodded and turned to allow Josh to lean over. He peered into the old screen. The transponder code certainly matched a Legion fighter. He scrolled through the secret code and paused.
“I know this ship,” Josh whispered.
“What?” Waylon asked.
Josh stood straight and glared back at their destination. “This ship was stationed on Tarton’s Junction. It belonged to a Captain Rolling.”
“Friend of yours?”
“Comrade.” Josh remembered Austin speaking highly of Captain Rolling, an Earth pilot also recruited by the Legion to serve in the navy. But Josh had never had the chance to fly with him. “They must have taken him like they took me, but they got his ship.”
“This is it,” Waylon inhaled, slapping Josh on the shoulder. “We are in the right place.”
Josh sat back at the controls, his face flushed red. He gripped the stick and clenched his teeth.
“You okay?” Waylon asked, typing into the comm station.
“Why?” Josh said. “I’m prepping for engine start up.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
Josh thought of another Legion pilot being killed by these pirates. “Let’s just make things right today, huh?”
“You got it.” Waylon nodded. He continued punching keys from behind Josh. “I’ve signaled our friends to move in slowly. If anything shows its face out there, we’ll lock a missile and take it out. These guys have got to have a patrol.”
“I agree. If they don’t, they’re even dumber than I thought.”
The four Barracuda fighters, older models Josh had only read about in his studies, emerged from the dark side of the moon four thousand micro units away. They swept into the asteroid field, dodging the rocks with the skill of veteran pilots. Power levels remained low, so low they would avoid most sensor sweeps unless the pirates searched the exact point in space of the fighter.
Josh warmed the engines. “We’re ready if needed.”
“Scanning the large rock,” Waylon whispered. “The stolen Trident is still headed straight for it. I’m ready to get a lock if needed.”
The Barracuda fighters soared in two pairs. One pair made their way above the rock while the other made straight for the lone fighter.
“Three-thousand MUs away,” Josh said, keeping his eyes on his HUD. “Two-thousand.”
“Is this guy blind?”
“Let’s hope so.” Josh verified the range between the Barracudas and the Trident fighter. “One-thousand.”
Light flashed from the Trident, the fighter spinning around to face the incoming Barracudas.
“This is it!” Waylon yelled so loud Josh jumped. “I’ve got a missile lock.”
“Firing!”
Josh squeezed the trigger. The thrust of the outgoing missile sent their ship spinning on its axis. Using the thrusters, Josh brought the nose back on the stolen Trident. The missile soared. To the prey, the missile must have come out of nowhere.
Without waiting to see the missile strike, Josh fired up the engines.
“Moving into support position.”
“Got it,” Waylon said, pulling a lever at his station. “Loading another missile.”
Something from the rock caught his eye. Josh sighed. “Two more fighters coming from the rock. Here we go.”
“Missile loaded,” Waylon said. “Searching for a lock.”
The engines roared, rumbling Josh’s chair. He watched the Barracudas fire on the stolen Trident. According to his sensors, the missile he fired fried the Trident’s shields. A moment later, the Trident exploded from a Barracuda laser shot.
“Nice job,” Josh said under his breath. “What else we got?”
“Two more coming out of the nest,” Waylon said, “but that’s it.”
“Can’t be,” Josh said. “Run it again.”
“Checking.” He grumbled. “Just did. We outnumber them.”
Josh’s gut twisted. “That’s not right.”
“What’s not right about it? Attack!”
The Traveler shot forward at top speed. The four fighters clashed with the two Tyral Pirate fighters, the lasers illuminating the dark asteroid field. The fighters battled amidst the rocks, dodging lasers and asteroids.
“Rist, Matta, break hard for point two-five,” Waylon said. “Make like you’re breaking for it. Tima, Geo, sweep in and take them out.”
Two Barracuda craft broke off from the fur ball and headed away from the asteroid. Josh watched their landing lights blink in the darkness. His eyes flicked back to the main rock, wondering when the rest of the pirate patrol would launch. Laser bolts tracked the fleeing Barracudas, vaporizing asteroids. The pirates pursued as planned. Tima and Geo stayed on their tails, lasers spitting across the black.
“Head for the base,” Waylon said. “If this is all the patrol they got, I’m not giving them time to realize their mistake.”
“Got it.”
Josh pressed for the base as the dogfight raged in the distance. He stared at their destination, ignoring the battle as best as he could. A Barracuda took a direct laser hit, spinning away from the battle and bouncing off the asteroids like a pinball. The other three locked into combat with the pirates, continuing the deadly dance. A moment later, lethal Barracuda fire ensured the two pirate craft twirled and burned like embers. One pirate fighter, a plume of gas erupting from his engine, limped back toward the rock. It disappeared into a crater, leaving the Barracudas in possession of the space around the massive asteroid.
“That’s it!” Waylon clapped his hands together.
“For now.”
“Let’s land and make sure they don’t get the chance to launch a counterattack,” Waylon said. “Let’s find out if this is really the base where they held us.”
“Heading in now.” Josh adjusted course, following the trail of the damaged fighter. “Might want the guys ready downstairs in case of a welcome party.”
“I’m heading down now.” Waylon turned, but hesitated. “You got this?”
Josh waved him off. “I got this. Go.”
Waylon grinned, his teeth shining in the midst of the red beard, and marched off the bridge. In the cargo bay of the Traveler, a light transport, four of the beefy Barracudas waited with the best weapons the smuggling group could afford. Josh snorted at the thought. Or rather, the best weapons they could pick off derelict spacecraft located throughout Quadrant Eight. This boarding party had been Waylon’s idea in the event the Tyral Pirates left a welcoming crew of their own. Having less experience with the pirates and with Quadrant Eight in general, Josh deferred to Waylon’s expertise.
“Flanking your position now,” Rist grumbled as the fighters surrounded the transport.
“Copy,” Josh said.
Even over the gamma wave, Rist’s disgust for this mission—and for Josh in particular—came through loud and clear. Josh knew Rist’s attitude came from years of dealings with the Legion, and tried his best to let it go. Still, the man’s voice bothered Josh like nails on a chalkboard. If Waylon trusted him, Josh had no choice.
The transport lined up with the slow rotation of the asteroid, providing Josh’s first glimpse of their destination as the faint starlight flickered. The light revealed a hangar bay large enough to house a burning wreck of the fighter they just shot down and a freighter stripped of half its hull. Another smaller secondary entrance to the hangar revealed stars and the asteroid field a few hundred yards away from their current entrance. Nothing moved in the hangar bay except for the flickering flames of the crashed fighter. As the Traveler passed through the energy shield protecting the hangar from the void beyond, Josh scanned the area for anything familiar. Was this the same place they had been held for so long? After all, a rock is a rock.
His eyes fell upon the back of the hangar just to the right of the secondary entrance, and he jolted back.