by Brown, Ryk
“Go,” Tomon insisted. “I am finished.”
Her first instinct was to grab him and drag him to safety, but the man that had pretended to be her husband to maintain their cover on Ancot for the past two months was twice her weight.
“You know what must be done,” he gasped between labored breaths.
Jalea reached out, her hand touching his face. Tomon grabbed her wrist. “Were we successful?”
“Yes, Tomon. The power plant has been destroyed.”
Tomon swallowed hard. “I am ready.”
Jalea pulled out her knife and quickly slit his throat from ear to ear. His eyes widened in pain for a moment, after which his body went limp. She wiped the blood from her knife on his smoldering jacket, replaced it in the sheath on her belt, and ran off into the woods.
* * *
The interceptor shook violently, throwing Josh and Loki forward against their flight harnesses. Thankfully, a Corinari flight tech had overheard their complaints during their debrief and had improvised additional padding into the restraint system. While jumping from space into the atmosphere of a planet still felt like slamming into a brick wall, at least it no longer bruised their shoulders.
“Jump complete,” Loki reported.
“No shit,” Josh answered as he pitched the nose down. “Altitude: five hundred meters. Pitching down.”
“Spinning up jet turbines,” Loki reported.
“Passing four hundred,” Josh reported. The interceptor bounced and shook as it continued to drop, nose down, through the atmosphere of Ancot.
“Two seconds to turbine ignition,” Loki reported calmly. During their practice jumps into the atmosphere of Corinair, they had managed to jump in as low as five hundred meters and still have enough time to get their jet turbines to light before crashing into the ground. A quick tweak of the code by one of the Corinairan software engineers allowed the turbines to start more quickly. It had been suggested that an on board oxidant be added in order to light the turbines before the jump, but there had not been enough time to design, install, and test such a device. Loki had filed the idea on his ‘must do’ list for later.
“Passing three hundred,” Josh announced.
“Turbines on line,” Loki reported.
Josh brought the throttles up gradually, his thrust ports pointing primarily downward to provide the lift he was currently missing. “Twenty-five percent power. Passing two hundred.”
“Activating target acquisition system,” Loki reported. Despite the fact that Josh did not yet have full control over their aircraft and that they were still falling toward the surface of Ancot, Loki didn’t want to waste any time getting their missiles launched. The less time they had to skirt the surface, the better.
“Fifty percent power. Passing one fifty.”
“Target acquired.” Loki frowned. “I’m reading power surges at the target. I think they’re powering up their defensive turrets.”
“They don’t waste any time, do they? Seventy-five percent power. Passing one hundred.”
“Target acquired. Transferring targeting data to missiles,” Loki announced. Loki peeked outside through the canopy. The ground below was still coming up toward them, but he could feel the ship beginning to stabilize as sufficient lift began to develop under the jump interceptor’s lifting body.
“Full power. Dropping down to the deck,” Josh said. He pushed the nose down a bit more and brought the ship just above the ground. “Altitude: eight meters. Speed: eight hundred KPH.”
Loki checked his displays. Both missiles were ready, and on board targeting systems were locked on the reactor plant just outside the airfield that provided energy for both the airfield and the nearby garrison. “Missiles locked and ready. You’re cleared to fire.”
“Firing missiles,” Josh reported. He could feel the ship shudder slightly as the missile bay on the bottom of his interceptor slid open and dropped the first missile. The missile fell quickly away and immediately lit its own engine, speeding forward ahead of the interceptor a mere ten meters above the ground.
“One away,” Loki reported. “Missile track is good.”
A few seconds later, the second missile dropped from their missile bay, lit its engine, and also streaked forward away from them in pursuit of the first missile.
“Two away.” Loki reported as the missile bay closed.
A brilliant streak of reddish-orange light streaked over them no more than a meter away. Josh thought he could feel the heat of the succession of bolts of plasma energy that followed the first one. “They’re firing. Going lower.”
“Uh, you sure you want to do that, Josh?” Loki asked.
“Better than melting our helmets.”
Loki peeked outside at the ground rushing beneath them. He gulped and immediately decided that it was a bad idea to look outside.
“How are those missile tracks doing?” Josh asked.
“Missile one impact in five seconds. Missile two in ten.”
“Let’s hope those Corinari techs programmed those things correctly,” Josh said as the plasma bolts continued to stream over their heads.
The first missile angled downward just before it reached the power transfer lines that ran from the reactor plant to the airfield and its plasma cannon turrets. It plowed into the ground a second later, driving under the lines before it finally exploded. Dirt, rocks, and pieces of the power transfer lines erupted upward and downrange from the point of impact, showering the area with debris.
“Holy shit!” Josh exclaimed. The bolts of red-orange plasma streaking over their heads suddenly disappeared, and Josh noticed that all the lights on the airfield flickered out.
“Target one destroyed,” Loki reported. A feeling of satisfaction swept over him. However, he wasn’t sure if it was because they had destroyed their first target, or if it was because the deadly plasma energy bolts had stopped streaking closely over their heads. “Missile two impact in four seconds.”
The second missile suddenly began to climb, turning sharply upward until it was almost vertical. Its engines automatically throttled as it arced over, going into a dive. The missile’s engines came back up to full power, and the missile slammed into the hardened bunker that contained the primary reactor plant for both bases. The missile’s special casing allowed it to plow through the layers of the bunker with ease, finally exploding within the bunker.
“Impact,” Loki reported.
“Hell yeah!” Josh exclaimed as he witnessed the second explosion.
“Second target destroyed,” Loki announced.
“Buzzing the airfield,” Josh stated.
“You can pull up a little first.”
“Killjoy.”
Loki looked out the window to his right as they began to climb slightly. He could see the cloud of smoke and fire erupting from Ancot city’s main power facility, followed by the lights of the city also going dark. “Looks like Jalea’s team was successful.”
“There are fighters rolling out down there,” Josh reported as they streaked over the airbase.
Loki looked down at his radar. “I’ve got six fighters rolling out. Estimate they’ll be in the air in fifteen seconds.”
“Let’s give them something to chase,” Josh suggested as he rolled the interceptor over onto its left side and began to turn hard to port.
“Aurora, Falcon one,” Loki reported over the comms. “Phase one complete; targets destroyed. Both facilities are dark. Proceeding to phase two.”
Josh looked through the canopy ahead of them as he flew back over the airfield. “Three are already up. They’re turning to engage us.”
“Climb, Josh,” Loki insisted. “We’re not fighter jocks, you know.”
“No argument there, my friend,” Josh agreed as he pulled back on his flight control stick and brought the throttles back up to full power. The nose of the interceptor pulled up sharply as the force of their jet turbines pushed them back into their seats. “Headed for orbit.”
“Jump compl
ete,” the Aurora’s navigator, Mister Riley, reported. “We’re in position over Ancot.”
“CIC reports phase one complete,” Naralena announced. “Both facilities are dark.”
“Targets locked,” Jessica reported from the Aurora’s tactical station.
“Fire missiles,” Nathan ordered.
“Missiles away,” Jessica reported as she pressed the firing button.
Nathan watched the forward view screen as four missiles streaked away from them on their way to the targets, the next four comm-sats along their orbit over Ancot.
“Fifteen seconds to first missile impact,” Jessica reported.
“Give me the tactical display,” Nathan requested.
Without a word, a rectangle containing the tactical display superimposed itself over the exterior view of space currently being displayed on the main view screen that wrapped around and above the forward half of the bridge. Nathan watched as the four missile tracks grew in length on their way to their respective targets. In order to capture the comm-drones, they would have to prevent the Ta’Akar forces below from sending out any messages, such as launch orders or self-destruct commands. Nathan knew that, even with the comm-sats down, the garrison could still send a signal to the comm-drone platform from the surface. However, it would be another ten minutes until the rotation of Ancot would allow them to send a direct signal.
“First target destroyed,” Jessica reported. “Second missile impact in five seconds.”
Nathan continued to watch the tactical display as the second missile closed in on the next comm-sat in line. He knew that, with each comm-sat they destroyed, they were buying Tug and Dumar a few more minutes with which to attempt to override the comm platform’s security systems and take control of all the comm-drones stored there.
“Second target destroyed,” Jessica reported. “Still no signs of defensive measures.”
“Seems odd, doesn’t it?” Nathan wondered. “No defenses for such a crucial piece of infrastructure?”
“I guess Tug wasn’t kidding when he said the empire was secure in its dominance of this system.”
“I guess not.”
“Target three destroyed,” Jessica reported.
“Captain, I have multiple contacts coming up from the surface of Ancot,” Ensign Yosef reported. “Total of seven tracks. Transferring to tactical.”
“First one is Josh and Loki,” Jessica reported. “The other six are Takaran fighters.”
“The airfield is coming into range on the horizon, Captain,” Ensign Yosef reported. “I show six more fighters launching.”
“That’s twelve,” Nathan observed.
“Fourth target destroyed,” Jessica reported. “Next available target in four minutes.”
“Where are the first six fighters headed?” Nathan asked.
“First six are following Falcon one,” Jessica reported. “They’re headed right for us.”
“And the other six?”
“Too early to tell,” Ensign Yosef advised. “They’ve only just launched and haven’t come to a new heading yet.”
“They’ve got to see us up here by now,” Jessica stated.
“The fighters that are chasing Josh and Loki might,” Nathan agreed, “but their base is in the dark.”
“If those shuttles jump in too soon, the second wave of fighters will turn back and tear them apart,” Jessica warned.
“Let’s hope they don’t jump the gun,” Nathan said grimly.
“Jump complete,” the shuttle’s copilot announced. Tug opened his eyes and raised his protective visor. In order to save time, the shuttle had jumped with the rear loading hatch opened and the cargo ramp deployed.
“I see it,” Tug announced. They had jumped in close to the Savoy comm-drone platform parked at Ancot’s second gravity point. The balance of gravitational forces at this particular spot in space allowed the platform to maintain its position in relation to both Ancot and the Savoy star with minimal resource expenditure.
In order to avoid being fired upon by the comm platform’s automated defensive systems, they had to jump in relatively close. Regardless, they were still at least fifty meters from the platform.
“Exiting the ship,” Tug stated as he and Dumar broke into a sloppy jog along the cargo ramp toward the comm-drone platform floating in the distance. Despite the lower artificial gravity being generated by the shuttle’s rear cargo ramp, the weight of the EVA suits made running about as clumsy an exercise as Tug could ever remember. It took them only five bounding strides to reach the end of the ramp, from which they both leapt into the inky blackness of space beyond, sending themselves hurling toward the comm-drone platform. “We are aloft.”
Travon was floating beside and slightly ahead of Tug as they coasted toward the comm-drone platform when he noticed movement. “Jumper one, Dumar. Their defensive systems are powering up. One of their gun turrets is rotating to take aim. You must jump immediately.”
“Not until you reach the platform,” the copilot insisted over the comms. “We’re still too close to you, and we have no idea what effect a jump in such close proximity will have on you.”
“You have only seconds before the turret fires,” Tug warned. “Jump now! That’s an order!”
The turret continued rotation outward as Tug and Dumar continued coasting toward the platform. Tug could only assume that the platform’s defensive system either did not see them because they were too small or did not interpret them as a direct threat. Then again, as the turret was taking aim directly between himself and Dumar, it could very well be targeting them.
The turret stopped its rotation and adjusted the angle of its twin barrels. A moment later, it opened fire, sending amber bursts of energy spewing forth, the brilliant bolts of energy streaking between them. There was a flash of light from behind them, causing them both to instinctively close their eyes. The turret fired a total of four times before ceasing its attack and rotating back into its safe position.
“Jumper one, Tug. Do you copy?” Tug could not see behind him, and he had no time to turn around as he and Dumar were rapidly approaching the platform. “Jumper one!”
“Get ready,” Dumar warned. He was the first to hit. There rate of approach was more severe than he had realized. He struck the side of the platform hard, nearly knocking the wind out of him. His tool pouch broke free from his torso, bouncing off the side of the platform. He grabbed onto the side of the platform, scrambling to find something to hold onto as his body toppled over, heading over the top of the platform. As he slid along the upper side, he finally managed to seize some conduit, stopping his forward motion. His tool pouch, however, continued onward over the top of the platform and out into space.
Tug was the next to hit, toppling over in similar fashion. He was surprised they had not impacted the platform directly in its side, as upon their exit from the shuttle, it appeared that they were on course for her midsection. He too reached out, attempting to grab onto something, anything, but his body twisted as he toppled, and he found himself facing away from the platform as he passed over the top. Just as he was sure he was going to tumble off into space, his motion stopped with a sudden jerk.
“Gotcha!” Dumar grunted. There was a brief pause as Dumar steadied himself, afraid to do anything but hold onto his friend with all his might until his forward momentum had subsided. “Twist to your right,” Dumar ordered. “Reach out and grab my shoulder with your right hand!”
Tug struggled to twist to his right as instructed, his right arm straining and flailing about as he tried to find his friend’s shoulder. After several attempts, he finally grabbed hold and twisted himself around to face Dumar, who pulled him down toward the platform. Tug swung his feet down under him, placed them firmly onto the platform’s sidewall, and activated his mag-boots.
“That was close,” Tug sighed. “Thank you.”
“I was reaching for your tools,” Dumar joked. “Mine are gone.”
Tug looked back to where the shuttle had
been only a minute ago. He scanned the area visually from side to side and up and down. “No signs of debris. They must have jumped away just in time.”
“We must begin immediately,” Dumar reminded him. “Time is short.”
“Tug looked at the mission clock displayed inside the upper left corner of his visor. “We have less than ten minutes before the rotation of Ancot will bring the garrison into line of sight with this platform,” Tug added as he began to make his way along the top of the platform toward its opposite end.
“How did we end up so off target?” Dumar wondered. “When we jumped, I was certain we were headed toward the center of the platform.”
“Perhaps the shuttle’s close proximity jump caused a change in our trajectory.”
“Is that even possible?”
“I do not know,” Tug admitted as they continued along the top of the platform. “There is so much about this jump drive that even the people of Earth do not yet understand.”
“Tug, Jumper one. We are two light minutes out from you. Standing by just outside the platform’s defensive perimeter. Comm-lag is two minutes. Let us know when you are ready for pickup.”
“I guess that answers that question,” Dumar said.
“Jumper one, Tug. We have made it to the platform and are making our way forward to the interface console. Will advise.”
Lieutenant Commander Toral’s shuttle jumped in just outside the rear of the Ancot garrison, no more than thirty meters above the surface. As the small shuttle had no weapons, as soon as she came out of her jump, she immediately spun around to face her aft end toward the garrison, dropping her rear cargo ramp down so the troops in the rear of the cargo compartment could fire on the turrets. As the shuttle slid backward toward the garrison, two of the Corinari troops stepped out onto the cargo ramp which, in its current position, served as a platform of sorts. Two more troopers grabbed them from behind to ensure they would not tumble off the ramp as it bounced and swayed on the shuttle’s approach to the garrison. The two men raised their launchers and simultaneously unleashed a pair of missiles at the turrets. The missiles closed the distance on the targets in short order, the turrets exploding and sending debris in all directions. The turrets had never made a move, as they had no power being fed to them. Perhaps they never would have moved. Perhaps the garrison commander had never felt the need for additional power sources for the base’s primary defensive systems. Either way, the Corinari had no intention of finding out.