by Tom Jordan
“Stow it. Both of you,” Colonel Brand rumbled. He never had been one to put up with people’s shit. “Nolan, Gajdusek, start a patrol centered on Pyzik’s atmo entry point. Pyzik, go to ground and get ready in case I need you to launch.”
“Yes, sir,” everyone replied.
“Orders if we make contact, sir?” Gajdusek said. Bakhti liked her. She always had her shit together. She was glad Gajdusek was with her and Colonel Brand on this endeavor of theirs. She couldn’t say she felt that way about Nolan.
“They fired on Pyzik,” the colonel said. “There’s no security force out here. If you make contact, engage as hostile until they’re neutralized or they bug out. What’s your assessment of the enemy, Pyzik? Pirates?”
“No, sir. Bounty hunters,” Bakhti said. “They told me to stand down. I disabled them with an EMP and had to burn most of my ECMs and use my backup d-field capacitor to get away.” Bakhti doubted she’d ever be able to stop thinking of him as the colonel.
“Good thing for SOL-SEC upgrades on these civvie ships. Saved your sweet ass, Bakhti,” Nolan said. Bakhti set her lips in a tight line. Every time Nolan opened his mouth, he crapped out something stupid.
“Stow it, Nolan,” Gajdusek said. “Pyzik knows what she’s doing.”
“May I remind you all that you are a team now,” Colonel Brand said. “We are a team.” He didn’t raise his voice, but his iron will born of years of military command quashed the brewing argument. “We’re not SOL-SEC anymore. You gave that up when you joined me on this job. So cut your STAR-CAP hazing bullshit, Nolan.”
A pause. “Yes, sir. Sorry, Colonel, sir.”
“Some of them are well outfitted,” Bakhti continued, not intending to let Nolan’s attitude get in the way of their operation. “Sakharov One, Thorsen Mako, and some modified Matsumoto haulers.”
“Understood, Pyzik,” Colonel Brand said. That was as close as she’d get to a “thanks” or “good job.”
Bakhti’s console alerted her to a message. It was Nolan, via text: WHEN ARE YOU GONNA LET OUT THOSE BEAUTIFUL TITTIES FOR ME?
Bakhti tapped back a terse FUCK OFF.
“Do not forget our objective,” Brand continued. “This leg, we swap the crate from Nolan to Pyzik. We’ll wait for a reasonable window of time, engaging the enemy should they appear, make the swap, then proceed to the buyer’s drop. We’re all here to safeguard the transfer per our plan, so we’ve anticipated this interruption. This is no surprise.”
BET YOU’RE STILL NICE AND FIRM ALL OVER FROM BASIC, Nolan sent back, referring to pilot-training boot camp.
SUCK A BAG OF DICKS, FUCKFACE, Bakhti replied.
“Everyone stay sharp,” Colonel Brand said. “Take ’em out. Make it quick. That’s all for now.”
“Yes, sir!”
Chapter 9
Jade’s menu flashed ARRIVED - Balenos A. The planet outside the canopy looked like an evil marble of amber, gray, and crimson. Filthy-looking clouds stretched across it as though straining to cover its wounded surface. Three tiny moons were held in orbit, each one luminous thanks to the system’s star.
The computer showed that Marco’s ship had already arrived. A moment later, she spotted Audacity and Gliese Voyager as they warped into existence out of nothing.
“Okay,” Marco said. “Nothing on my radar. Tommy?”
“Mmm. Gimme a sec.”
Jade studied the data hovering in front of her. Balenos A had an abundance of volcanic activity, a hostile greenhouse atmosphere, and a total lack of valuable metals or gasses worthy of large-scale extraction. The planet was a deadly, unprofitable lump of rock, and was therefore a ghost town. It would have been an impressive sight to soak in—as infernal as the planet looked—if not for the circumstances of their visit.
“No contacts,” Tommy said. “This atmosphere is blocking everything I’ve got. Stormwulf is sure to be down there, though. His SFM trail and coolant leak both lead straight in.”
“Can we detect him once we pass through the atmosphere?” Marco said.
“Probable,” came Tommy’s reply.
“Okay. We’ll follow,” Marco said. “Saito with Freeborn. Tommy with me. Stay cool. We may be walking into a trap.”
“Oh, we’re definitely walking into a trap,” Henning said. “We should disengage.”
“Negative,” Marco said.
Jade’s stomach tightened. Marco’s tone bordered on intractable.
“Look, we’re in trouble if this guy’s got reinforcements,” Henning said. “I’m telling you right now. This is different than roughing up a lone scumbag like we normally do. Look at the fucking facts. You and Jade together could barely handle Stormwulf. It has an EMP generator. That’s military-grade equipment. Military grade. What are you gonna do if you get jumped by a team of ships like that?”
Jade found herself nodding with Henning’s assessment. She had assumed from Henning’s muscles, tattoos, and language that he was an aggressive hothead, but he was turning out to be cautious and pragmatic.
“I’m going to disagree,” Marco said forcefully. “I think he’s running scared and all his cards are on the table. If we can take him here, it’s an easy payday. If he happens to have backup, we split and rendezvous on the far side of one of the moons, say—” a pause, “—Balenos A Three. It’s metallic. It will interfere with their scanning and be a safe place to regroup.” Jade noticed Marco didn’t add “and retreat” to the end of the phrase. He was all-in, and she wasn’t sure whom to side with.
Henning cursed and slammed something in his cockpit. “God damnit, Marco! I’ve been shot at enough for one day. I’m on the edge of my retirement here. What are you gonna tell my girls if I go down in flames because you want to chase this rat into his hole?”
“Hey, that’s not on me, Freeborn. You know how this works. You’re free to leave anytime. So is Tommy. So is Saito.” His voice softened and grew eager, as though he was letting them in on a tantalizing secret. “But think it through for a sec. This guy’s a huge payday. Huge. The biggest we’ve seen yet. There may be a few surprises in our way, but we can deal with them as they come up, and we can bug out anytime. We’ve done fine so far. We just have to stay smart.”
“Yeah, we’ve done real fucking fine,” Henning muttered.
No one said anything for a moment, and Marco continued, “Take it or leave it, man.”
Jade couldn’t help wondering if she was going down the proverbial slippery slope. She’d just been in a real-life combat situation. For the second time in a few days. For nearly any pilot, that was totally unreasonable. What the hell was she doing?
On the other hand, she had no other funding. If she went back to hauling cargo, there were upkeep costs, docking fees, tolls, taxes, food, and of course, collections or lockdown actions would be taken once she missed ship payments. She was cutting it too close being a trader to turn back to that path. She’d lose her ship and her livelihood. This was the way forward to pay off Ghost so he was fully her own, and to gain the success she wanted out of life.
Jade thought for a moment and stared at Mosso. The memory of unwrapping him on her eighth birthday floated into her consciousness. What am I doing to that little girl? The one who hugged you close each night?
This proposed course of action was so wildly different than the cargo-hauling business plan she’d based her post-graduation life upon. Pursuing Stormwulf with intent to engage in combat was illegal. She was putting herself in danger and breaking the law to make money. Even if the plan succeeded, was the cost to her spirit too high? In the moment she couldn’t say that the team’s plan was wrong. Yet why did it feel like she was resorting to something against her nature? She felt a push, as though she was running against a typhoon.
Jade banished her concerns. Marco was right, she decided. They could overcome any obstacles that popped up and could finish what they’d already started if they just took things one step at a time. It had to be done. Maybe this wasn’t the life in space she’d pictured, but she
could take the money and open another business. Maybe modify Ghost and get involved with exobiology somehow, perhaps scanning and surveying alien worlds or carrying cargo for research teams like Tommy had during his internship.
Maybe it was the adrenaline or endorphins or whatever floating around in her system, but with her new resolve she felt ready to take on Stormwulf. This was the way.
“I’m in. I already put some holes in that ship. I think he’s limping away to hide and we can get him. I feel like Marco’s plan can work.”
“Tommy?” Marco asked. “Are you in?”
“I’m in, but we need to be cautious and ready to retreat, especially with Jade being green. Ah, no offense.”
“Right,” Jade said. “No offense.” She understood his meaning.
The line was silent for a while until Marco spoke up. “Freeborn, you in or out?”
“Shit,” Henning said. “I’ll feel responsible if I don’t come and one of you gets killed. But we bug out if this thing goes south.”
“Okay. Good man,” Marco said. “New approach this time. I’m maneuverable and I have countermeasures. I’m going in first. It’ll draw any fire. You three follow after two minutes.”
Henning sputtered, “That’s not a good—”
“Stow it. Two minutes. Be ready.”
“Your word, Marco,” Henning said. “I need your word that we bug out if we’re in over our head.”
“We won’t be. But if it helps you feel better, fine, we’ll back out if it’s not going our way.”
Jade felt obligated to speak up with some encouraging sentiments. “Guys, Stormwulf was turning pretty sharp before. What me and Henning did worked out, so maybe hang back until the point man distracts him. He can’t fight two or four of us at once.”
“Good analysis, Saito,” Marco said.
Jade beamed. “Thank you, Barreda!” She heard Tommy snicker.
“Stay sharp,” Marco said. On Jade’s map Rebel Star’s floating, triangular wedge blasted outward and away from the other three. The team waited the designated two minutes before proceeding.
“Preparing for atmo entry,” Jade said.
Tommy acknowledged while Jade set her computer to calculate an orbital course and prep for atmospheric entry. She didn’t want to follow Tommy’s flight path all the way in, preferring to give him space to make his own entry and to avoid a potential collision in the low-visibility atmosphere.
“It’s best if we spread out a few klicks,” Tommy said. “Just to avoid hitting each other and for space to get our bearings once we punch through.”
“Already on it,” Jade said. She looked to her stuffed sloth, speaking privately. “Hopefully this is it, Mosso. I’m ready to get paid and take a vacation. What do you think? Coffee? Baths? Coffee in the bath?”
Jade followed the holographic arc projected on her canopy and retained manual control of the ship, rather than handing control over to the autopilot generally used for planetfall. She felt tense, on edge, and staying mindful of the atmospheric entry would give her something to keep her hands and feet occupied and her mind sharp.
Jade looked around her cockpit as she descended. The planet filled nearly her entire view and space was only visible beyond the arc of the planet’s horizon as a thin slice. She angled in and presented Ghost’s underside as she sank into the atmosphere. Within minutes, a fiery corona limned the ship’s contours. Vibrations shuddered through the hull as the first atmospheric gases buffeted the heat shielding.
Farther down to starboard, Henning's ship was a bright fireball streaking toward Balenos A. The computer confirmed what she already knew and identified the fireball as VESSEL: AUDACITY, PILOT: H. FREEBORN. She checked on Tommy, who’d made entry on the other side of Henning. Her view of him faded as the sky changed from the blackness of space to a moody, enveloping gray. She peered through the opaque cloud cover, doing her best to breathe evenly, half expecting Stormwulf to appear with a surprise attack.
After minutes of dark-gray limbo, Tommy’s voice crackled across the radio channel. “—ee—ot—ships.”
Jade was yanked out of her reverie and sat up as straight as her harness allowed.“Henning, did you get that? Tommy, repeat.” Nothing. “Tommy, repeat.”
She looked down at her maps and holomenus. All the readouts were garbled—the atmospheric composition was screwing with everything. For the moment, she was flying blind. All she could see was the impenetrable gray vise of clouds pressing around her ship. She wrung the flight stick and throttle and chewed her lip.
Static and fragments of conversation filtered through the channel. Jade’s heart pounded, and the seconds seemed to stretch into an eternity.
Marco’s voice. “—hit. God da—it. I’m engag—. Hold it to—ther, Tommy.”
Tommy’s voice was full of panic. “They’re all ov—r m—”
The gray atmosphere lightened and Jade’s computer alerted her that heat levels were rising. She goosed the throttle and boosted downward out of the thick layers of the atmosphere.
“Tommy! Tommy! Marco! I’m through!”
She looked down at her holos and saw her readings and map were again functional. “I’m coming! Hang on! Henning, are you—”
Tommy’s frantic voice interrupted. “I have two of ’em firing on me! Marco, where the hell—there’s a third coming in! Fuck, fuck, fuck!”
“Firing,” Marco’s voice stated coolly. “Steady, Tommy.”
A pulse of electronic distortion blasted in Jade’s ear.
“I’m hit! I’m hit!” Tommy yelled.
“Henning!” Jade shouted.
“I’m here, mate! I’m with you! Go!”
Jade smashed her throttle forward. It slammed her into the seat, but the discomfort of high-g acceleration was dwarfed by the hammering of her heart.
Tommy!
Chapter 10
The force of the ship’s thrusters vibrated the entire cockpit with a teeth-rattling thrum. The sudden acceleration forced dust from behind the console in the places Jade couldn’t reach while cleaning. The roar of the thrusters was full and intense now that the ship was in the planet’s atmosphere. However, none of it mattered compared to Jade’s panic over Tommy’s welfare.
Lightning sliced out of the cloud cover and cut through the dull, smoggy air, its afterimages glowing bright in her vision. The bolts were frequent, coming from above the canopy’s top edge and lancing down to the ground. Jade rolled to port, making a visual survey. The white-hot lightning struck the cracked surface of the planet far below, throwing up lava sprays and chunks of rock from the fiery rivers that cut the surface.
If there was ever a place created out of someone’s nightmares, this planet was it.
Henning’s ship boosted past on Jade’s starboard side. Its engines trailed long streaks—something to do with the planet’s atmospheric composition—as the ship overtook hers with ease. Air compressed visibly at Audacity’s bow and expanded behind, casting off a ring of atmosphere as it went supersonic. The same effect happened around Ghost too, and she heard the explosive sound of the sonic boom as her holos flashed a notice reading SUPERSONIC VELOCITY. She didn’t bother checking her speed, being too focused scanning for Tommy’s ship, or the hostile ones.
“Weapons ready, mate,” Henning said. “We fire on sight, scare them off, and we run. I told fucking Marco this would happen.”
“Understood,” was all she could say. Whether her team ran or not, the only thing she could focus on now was saving Tommy from the trouble he was in. She felt the fatigue of their prior engagement and chase, but did her best to renew her mental grip and steel herself for the task before them.
Jade’s body vibrated in tune with the trembling from Ghost’s roaring thrusters. “Marco, what’s your status?” she asked, nudging her stick to stay in formation with Henning. “We’ll be with you in—” she checked her display, “—two minutes, fifty seconds.”
Marco whispered a curse under his breath. “Trying to help Tommy. He’s been hi
t. Can’t talk. Get over here now.”
The seconds counted by with agonizing sluggishness. Henning continued to blast ahead and increase his lead over Jade, who nudged her throttle to try and keep up. It remained lodged as far forward as it could go, but she wiggled the mechanism and pushed against the stops, as though she’d find some additional millimeter of space and gain more speed.
Ships materialized out of the hazy air ahead. They flew in a tangle, circling each other, angling for lines of attack. Some vessels dipped in and out of cloud cover, and their hulls gleamed with the fiery orange glow emanating from the lava cracks scarring the planet’s surface far below.
Jade set up a targeting HUD that overlaid each ship with a visual marker to distinguish between her allies and the others. She cycled through the ships in range until she spotted Gliese Voyager, Tommy’s ship. She breathed a sharp inhale as she saw it trailing a thin stream of smoke.
“We’re coming, Tommy! I’m coming!” Jade said. She reduced her throttle, doing her best to arrive at the battle at a slow-enough velocity to intercept the enemy ships.
Jade felt the flight compensator applying reverse thrust. The sensations here in-atmosphere were so different than those in space, and every adjustment of the ship pushed her into her seat or safety harness in one direction or another. Her atmospheric flights in the past had been limited to standard orbital insertions and landing on pads.
“What’s our plan, Henning?” she asked.
“How about shoot the fucking bad guys!” he snapped.
She muted the comm channel, her eyebrows bunching together.
“Okay then.” She racked her brain, then decided on a course of action.
“Hold on, Mosso!”
Jade pushed the flight stick forward. Her muscles clenched and her stomach jumped as she lurched into a nauseating dive. Her back and shoulders compressed into the seat. The rocky surface of the planet filled her cockpit view.
Ghost blasted through the gloomy air until Jade was underneath Tommy, Marco, and the three enemy ships. Jade took a quick glance to confirm her weapons were deployed before easing the stick back. She pointed the ship’s nose upward, approaching the tangle from below. Her computer displayed a g-force warning, and Ghost of Jupiter shuddered as she pushed toward the clouds.