HADRON Havoc

by Stephen Arseneault

  Fifteen minutes of attempts passed before two clicks were heard over the comm.

  Johnny sat up. “What was that?”

  Mace replied, “Could have been her comm. Jane? Are you out there? If so, do that again.”

  Now further sounds were heard. Johnny began to type away on the console in front of him.

  Mace asked, “What are you looking for?”

  Johnny replied, “If that was a comm there should be a location in the log. There… just over a kilometer from here.”

  Mace nodded. “Worth a shot. I’ll take us in close. There are four of those jetpacks. You and three others can feel around out there for her.”

  The shuttle was moved, the ramp lowered. Johnny and three volunteers maneuvered out into the abyss, feeling their way through the black emptiness of space for an invisible Human possibly floated unconscious nearby. Thirty minutes of searching revealed nothing. Two additional clicks came into the open comm.

  Mace searched the logs. “Johnny, twelve meters to the coordinates I’m sending. Move slow. We don’t want to bump her away.”

  “Please let this work. I need my… wait! I have her! I’m coming in!”

  Johnny and the others came aboard. The ramp was closed. The latch holding on Jane’s helmet was flipped, shutting her projector off.

  As Johnny gently removed her helmet, Jane opened her groggy eyes. “What… what are you doing here?”

  Johnny smiled. “I’m just being happy.”

  Chapter 24

  *

  Eighteen crews, including two Humans, had perished. Humphrey Mallot and Peter Fourier, two Canadians who had been faithful crewman from the beginning… were gone. A short memorial was held to honor the fifty-three who had given their lives for a free Earth and a hopefully one-day-reclaimed Divinia. All told, two hundred twelve ships were stolen; another twenty-six were damaged or destroyed.

  Jasper said, “We can do the plating at our facility on Hardy. We measured up. We can fit a dreadnought in our underground hangar. Only one at a time though.”

  Mace replied, “If you had the gatrellium, how long would it take you to convert a ship?”

  “We have the people who are capable, but those ships are big. Probably a month each. If we had the construction yards at Divinia we could turn out twenty per month.”

  Mace frowned. “So this is not something that will happen fast anyway. I’d say get started on the first one. We have enough gatrellium for that. If this raid on the UF fleet slows them down, we might just have time to go get more.”

  “Those Karthian storage facilities are heavily guarded now.”

  Mace nodded. “And we now have stealth ships. If we perform a raid similar to what we just did, even if they have fifty ships guarding the place, we can take them out.”

  Jasper said, “We did come across one of those facilities while we were rigging up the Karthian ships. They had cannons on floating platforms scattered around the facility, along with a couple dozen garrisoned ships. We took out the ships. We could also take out those guns.”

  Jenny chimed in: “Why not locate all the storage facilities first? We just went through and scanned all the UF colonies. We should do the same with the Karthians. After that, we only need to plan out enough raids to satisfy our needs. Or… we could hit them all at once and again take their whole stockpile. So long as we don’t tell Stark about it we might actually be able to keep it this time.”

  Mace slowly nodded. “If we do this, it also keeps that gatrellium out of the hands of the UF.”

  Jenny stood. “Well, we can sit here and talk about it or we can go gather intel.”

  Jasper said, “Little missy’s getting spunky, isn’t she?”

  Mace laughed. “You know I can’t answer questions like that.”

  The Royal Fortune was soon jumping into Karthian space.

  Mace said, “We need to go back to Earth and collect Doc and his team. I think leaving them there was foolish on our part. The United Front people have been marching all over that place looking for Karthians. All it would take is for one of them to stumble on that complex.”

  Jenny replied, “If we move them we again, we lose everything they’ve been working on. Last I talked to him he seemed confident they were only days or weeks away from a breakthrough. That weapon could change everything. No ship and no colony would be safe.”

  Mace frowned. “The wormhole generator has already taken any notion of safety away. If you have it you can jump five thousand ships to any colony out there. In minutes you could wipe that colony out. You can’t defend against something so immediate.”

  Jenny shook her head. “Then why are we doing any of this? If we can’t defend Earth, what does any of this matter?”

  “It matters because you can work to prevent such an attack. You hit the enemy before they can hit you. We just took out the Karthians��� ship production and two thirds of their fleet. With a little time we could have taken out all their ships. That’s when they���re no longer a threat. Same with the United Front. Take away their offensive capabilities and they would likely be peaceable neighbors.”

  Jenny sighed. “So we become the policemen of the galaxy?”

  Mace shrugged. “Maybe. You have a better solution?”

  Jenny smiled. “I’ll have to think on it.”

  The first gatrellium storage facility was as Jasper’s teams had last seen it. Sixty high-power rotary laser cannons sat on platforms surrounding the facility. Two freighters were parked at loading docks, one depositing unrefined ore, the other sitting idle, previously loading a cargo that would have been taken to a construction yard. Twenty-two Karthian cruisers sat in three formations surrounding the main storage structure.

  Mace said, “The Targarians could have this place cleared out in half an hour. If that facility holds as much as it looks like, we might be able to coat all two hundred of those captured dreadnoughts.”

  Jenny nodded. “I would agree. Almost seems too easy.”

  “I’m starting to think this stealth technology might be all we need to take back Earth and secure our futures. We almost annihilated the Karthians with sixty ships and their shuttles. We get another two hundred up and running, we could end any future Karthian threat in a matter of days.”

  Jenny reached over, taking Mace by the hand. “Maybe there are a few good picnics in our future.”

  Mace returned a smile. “Maybe.”

  A jump was made to a second site. It was a storage facility still under construction. A comm wormhole was opened to the Alpha site. Jasper’s team was already out and on the move, logging colonies and gathering intel on their makeup. Six hours later, all ships had returned to base.

  Jasper said, “Unless they have other colonies, we now have everything we need to know about them.”

  Mace passed on the data he and Jenny had collected. “What are the chances we could hit their fleet once more?”

  Jasper replied, “Chances are good. I just wouldn’t do it until we have the UF force weakened from where it is. Otherwise they would move right in on the Karthians.”

  “I’m starting to think that might be to our advantage. Let the UF finish off the remains of the Karthian Empire. After that we go after their ships in the same way.”

  Jasper crossed his arms and smiled. “We do that and suddenly we’re on top again. Earth would be free, and there wouldn’t be any immediate threats looming out there. Might give us a chance to build up a substantial defense. My people could go home to Divinia.”

  Mace replied, “Exactly what I was thinking. Let’s plan out our raids on the gatrellium storage. We take that prize and we leave the UF mostly empty-handed.”

  Johnny came into the room.

  Mace asked, “How’s Jane?”

  “She’s recovering… slowly. Tres was facing feet first toward the blast and it still knocked him cold. Jane was flat perpendicular to it. Space doesn’t have shockwaves, so you have to be close to the blast. Both were close enough to get their suits s
corched. Give her a week and I think she’ll be back at it. The kids are taking it harder than she is.”

  “How are those two doing school-wise?”

  Johnny took a deep breath. “They���re smart. Smarter than me anyway. Tres and Vanessa’s three are the same. They’re like tiny teenagers, but without all the confidence hangups of trying to fit in. And they���re growing fast. Already have the size of a seven-year-old and they aren’t even three. Zax is a whiz at physics. He’s been plowing through the college-level simulator courses for it. Visually, he can recognize patterns like nobody’s business. I keep wanting Doc to test their IQs, but I’m scared of what it will make me look like.”

  Mace laughed. “Maybe we should team him up with Doc and Mr. Klept to figure out their wormhole issue.”

  “I wouldn’t laugh. He might surprise you. Anyone gone back to check on Doc and the others?”

  Jasper nodded. “We have a scout there now. So far, no one has gone near the cave.”

  Mace said, “Jenny and I were just talking about this. I think we’re taking a big risk leaving them there. Jenny thinks we should give him the few more weeks he’s asking for. I say bring them out.”

  Johnny stood. “I agree. No sense in them staying until they get caught. We can pack and move that lab out here.”

  Jasper said, “If we want to do this, I suggest we do it now. If we hit the gatrellium stores, things may heat up back on Earth.”

  Mace asked, “Why?”

  “Because the Karthians are going to think it’s the UF. Regardless if we show Harpoonians, they probably think they work for the UF anyway. Once we hit those stores we risk reprisals against the UF. And where are the UF right now? Sitting at Earth.”

  Mace said, “Then maybe we don’t hit the gatrellium just yet. Might be better to take out more UF ships. And this time we just take them out and don’t try to steal them. I say we rig up all the non-Vendetta ships and then assault the Vendattas while setting off all the others. If we pulled that off, they would be down to a few hundred ships at most. After that, we turn around and do the same to the Karthians. Neither will attack with that small a fleet.”

  Jasper scowled. “You forget the UF only brought a quarter of their ships to begin with. They can resupply at will.”

  Johnny edged into the conversation. “Maybe we hit the UF construction yards. We know where they are. After that we start eliminating ships.”

  Mace leaned back in a chair with a disgusted look.

  Johnny asked, “What’s wrong?”

  Mace winced. “Too much. For some reason I had it in my head that we might be on the upswing with dealing with these two species. We really took the hammer to the Karthians. Now we have the UF breathing down our necks.”

  Jasper said, “And Stark’s the one making deals with them. We get rid of that turd and maybe this situation wouldn’t stink so bad.”

  Johnny chuckled. “I think we may be trying to take on too much at once. Let’s identify our top priority and focus our efforts on that first.”

  Jenny added, “What he just said. Let’s not waste time over-planning. The battlefield here is fluid. Let’s try to focus our fight on goals we can accomplish one at a time.”

  Mace sat tapping his fingers on the conference table before him. “It’s my opinion that we hit the gatrellium first. Take it away from the Karthians and it keeps them from staging an attack. With the UF… we prevent future attacks. I have to wonder if they are waiting to reinforce because they are short on gatrellium.”

  Johnny said, “No way to really know, is there?”

  “Might be. We have two hundred of their ships. Might be a good time to have the Targarians go through their ship logs for intel purposes. We might already have the answer to what we’re wondering about here.”

  Jasper opened a comm. “Lieutenant, I want teams ripping through the logs on those captured ships. See what you can find out about the status of gatrellium in the UF. Anything related to stockpiles or lack thereof. And if you find where they are mining it, let me know that as well.”

  The comm closed. “Logs are being inspected. And I’m up for any of these suggestions so long as we’re doing something. Count my vote as a yes to all.”

  Johnny nodded. “Gatrellium.”

  Jenny followed. “Gatrellium.”

  The other members of the senior staff concurred. Before any other efforts were undertaken, the gatrellium stores of the Karthians would be hit for a second time.

  Shuttles were prepared and teams selected. The planet Hardy with its underground hangar would be the storage site for the stolen element. An hour later the operation was underway.

  The Royal Fortune pulled alongside a cannon station that guarded the first of the storage facilities. Mace and Johnny were dropped off as the shuttle proceeded to the next closest unit. Six Human teams soon occupied as many cannon stations. A gravity wall separated an external platform from the surrounding void of space; two blast doors led inside. The door to the control room was locked, while a door to the crew quarters remained open.

  Johnny whispered, “I’m getting a thick armor plating on this door. Gonna take five minutes to cut through.”

  Mace said, “What choice do we have? If we wait we might be here for twelve hours. We have no idea how often they change shifts.”

  “Let’s check the crew quarters,” said Johnny. “Maybe an opportunity will present itself.”

  Seconds later, the two Humans stood looking down at a Karthian sleeping in his bunk. Mace made his plasma cutter glow brightly against a metal post, setting his blanket on fire. The crewman awoke to the smell of smoke and the sight of flames. Jumping to his feet, he quickly extinguished the blaze.

  A short walk had him pounding on the control room door. “Very funny, Sachra! I could have been burned.”

  As the control room door opened, a plasma rifle blast sent Karthian body parts flying in every direction. Once inside, a second blast ended the life of the third crewman. Johnny turned, grabbing the arm of the stunned and confused Karthian standing beside him, shoving him out through the gravity wall. The crewman flailed for several seconds before the shock of the cold and the lack of air pressure began to take its toll. Fluids oozed from his eyes, ears, nose and mouth as his body slowly turned end over end.

  Johnny stepped into the control room. “That was grisly, but not what I expected.”

  “What’d you expect to have happen?”

  Johnny shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe to see him bloat up or something?”

  Mace laughed. “You watched too many B-movies. Lack of pressure makes the fluids ooze out of every orifice and the extreme cold makes that fluid freeze. Not pleasant either way, I’m sure.”

  “So what do we do to this thing?”

  After disabling his holo-projector, Mace raised his plasma rifle, blasting the two command consoles in the room. “I would think that should do it. How much time we got before a pick-up?”

  “Six minutes. Wanna check out the crew quarters?”

  Mace shrugged. “Sure.”

  As Johnny walked toward the room, a laser bolt impacted his right shoulder. Flames shot out as the battlesuit material turned bright red. A plasma round from Mace ended the life of the attacker. Mace shoved Johnny over to the gravity wall, pushing the smoldering shoulder out into the cold beyond. The bright glow faded quickly.

  Johnny winced in pain as he flipped up his faceshield. “This is not good.”

  Mace looked over his shoulder. “Can’t take off that suit until we have you aboard. You’re just gonna have to tough this one out.”

  Johnny grabbed Mace’s arm with his good hand. “Shove me back out into the cold. We still have some heat going on. Wow. That is intense.”

  Mace complied, holding his friend out in the cold for most of a minute. “We should have known to check when we saw two of them in the control room. That was a rookie mistake on my part. I’ve done this too many times to not follow through.”

  Johnny scrunched
up his face. “Gah! Feels like a blade just sliced off part of my arm.”

  “Probably gonna leave a mark.”

  Johnny chuckled, then grimaced. “Oh… that hurts! Please don’t make me laugh!”

  The shuttle arrived for a pickup at its scheduled time.

  Mace helped Johnny aboard. “We need to get him back to a medic at Alpha. Took a laser pulse to the shoulder.”

  Jenny nodded. “On our way. We can pick up the others on the next time rotation.”

  The shuttle settled on the deck and the ramp lowered. Two Targarian medical techs were waiting at the bottom. Johnny was helped toward the infirmary as Mace walked back up the ramp.

  “He’s away. You can take us back,” Mace said to Jenny.

  When the Royal Fortune returned, the rest of the crew was collected. At the first sign of something being wrong, the twenty-six Karthian cruisers standing watch were eliminated. At the same time, the wormhole generator for the comm system of the facility was taken out. In the ten minutes that followed, the last of the cannon stations went offline.

  Jasper’s people moved onto the storage facility, where the crews were rounded up and marched into a storage chamber. The two freighters at the facility were loaded with refined ore and sent through a wormhole to Hardy. The raiding ships were moved to the next facility. Five hours later, they returned from their mission.

  Mace made his way to the infirmary where Johnny was lying on his side in a bed. “How’s it look?”

  Johnny frowned. “Third degree. If I hold still, it doesn’t hurt… much. Gonna need a skin graft. But hey, on a high note, I’ll finally be rid of that half heart tattoo I got in college. Not really the way I had envisioned it happening though. Got most of the outside of my upper arm. What was left of my shirt was melted into the skin. A nasty sight.”

  “How long they think you’ll be laid up for?”

  Johnny grimaced. “At least three weeks. The Targarians have a machine that can grow replacement skin. They said the graft can happen in as little as three days. They’ve been applying a substance they say should speed things up. Of course, the skin patch might come out looking milky white like they do, but I don’t plan on doing any fashion modeling, so I don’t much care.”