Slipspace: Harbinger

by P. C. Haring

  Now squeeze.

  The trigger resisted his dwindling strength, until it gave way and delivered the last message he would ever send. Still set on its explosive rounds, the weapon opened up at point blank range. Foster did not hear the shrieks from the Ralgon. His ears were already ringing from the explosion. He did not feel the claw separate from Ralgon’s body. He only felt the hard thud of his movement suddenly stopping before everything went black.

  November 5, 2832

  10:35

  Remali Convoy - Recovery 2 Team

  THE EXPLOSIONS ECHOED throughout the decking. Aler didn’t have to see it to know Foster was giving them hell. He led his team forward and reached a junction to the adjacent sections. To his left, Foster’s team made their way through, the Colonel taking up the rear. He turned to clear the fallen debris, but the Ralgon behind him drew back and attacked, its claw impaling Foster’s chest and abdomen with a sickening crunch. Aler turned away, his stomach turning with the shock. When he turned back, Foster’s weapon was down in his hand and pointing back at the creature. The weapon erupted and another explosion rattled the deck. Aler dove for cover as the corridor collapsed on top of the Ralgon.

  He stayed down until the chaos passed, leaving smoke, dust and the smell of burnt flesh to curl his nose and send him into a coughing fit. Foster lay ahead of him, his legs pinned by the debris, the Ralgon’s claw still impaled through his chest. creature’s claw still impaled on his stomach.

  “Colonel!”

  One of the marines, Major Charten, according to his name badge and rank chevrons, turned and began his way back through the debris. Aler’s hand shot out, grabbing Charten’s arm, stopping him in his tracks. He turned back, enraged.

  “What are you doing, Charten?”

  The deck beneath them rocked, but their exchange continued undaunted.

  “Going after him!”

  He turned to step away again, but Aler’s grip held tight.

  “No, you’re not! We need to get out of here!”

  Charten pulled free.

  “I am not leaving him behind!”

  Aler made to stop him, but an explosion from behind knocked him off-balance. By the time he recovered, Charten was in the debris pile and out of reach.

  “We’re not waiting for you.”

  “You won’t have to!”

  Aler snarled with frustration. He looked to his men and the fire team formerly under Foster’s command. His hand rose above his head and he spun his finger around, signaling for the team to regroup.

  “We’re getting out of here.”

  They looked at him as if he were strange or talking to himself.

  “We have orders to evacuate now! I told him we weren’t waiting for him. Let’s go!”

  He moved out, and behind him he heard the boots of the two teams fall in. The decks rocked again as another creature burst through the wall. The combined fire of the eight assault rifles took it down in short order. A second creature followed, only to be shorn in half by Valeer’s energy weapon.

  “Good to see you, Lieutenant.”

  “And you, Valeer. Report your status.”

  The Remali gestured over his shoulder, to another junction. “We’re being overrun. This corridor is a main junction between our two cargo sections. We’re about to be flanked.”

  Aler looked around. They were coming from two sides. Behind him, the corridor led them to the landing deck where their transport waited. Reports indicated no Ralgon there.

  “Wire this junction with every explosive you have. You have one minute to create a choke point.”

  The shooters went to work, but did so slowly. Aler presumed they were buying time for Charten. He covered the two junctions for them, shifting from side to side, his patience dwindled to near nothing.

  Charten rejoined them. He had draped Foster’s body around his shoulders in a standard rescue carry. He glared at Aler without any other word as he passed, making for the transports.

  They finished placing their explosives and arming the detonators. Having seen Charten return, they all seemed to pick up the pace and work with a stronger resolve than before. They pulled back as the roar of the Ralgon grew louder. They retreated and emerged into the hangar. Across from them, another pair of teams emerged, led by Lieutenant Melor and Colonel Labonne. Marines on that side turned behind them and fired through the hatch while another Marine turned and aimed high before firing. Her shots went high and exploded into the framing above the entryway, collapsing the opening.

  Even with the monetary lull in the action, the four teams wasted no time in converging where the transport and the two Gryphon fighter escort vessels had landed. As the marines and recovery teams loaded into the larger craft, Aler, Valeer, Labonne, and Melor came together in the space between the three ships.

  “Is everyone out?” Aler asked.

  Labonne nodded.

  “My team is all accounted for. We got through mostly unscathed. It sounded like your team took the worst of it.”

  Aler offered a silent nod.

  “Are you all accounted for? I don’t see Foster.”

  Aler motioned to his left, where medics were working to secure Foster’s body onto a gurney and wheel it up the ramp to the transport.

  “We don’t have time to mourn now,” Valeer said. “We’re going to be overrun if we don’t get out of here soon and your ships will need time to spin up.”

  “I’ve already got that under control.” Aler turned to Charten. “Major, do me a favor?”

  “Sir?”

  “Burn them.”

  November 5, 2832

  10:40

  Remali Convoy - Flight Hangar

  LABONNE VAULTED into her cockpit and sealed the canopy as the deck rocked under the explosion set off by Aler’s demolition team. Smoke and fire blew out the hatch and the corridor. Hopefully that would seal the Ralgon off long enough for them to get off the deck. The engines spun to the yellow line and she punched the igniter. She stretched her neck, feeling lucky that her duties as shuttle pilot between the ship and the convoy had ended a few hours ago. As her engines warmed up, the launch controller finished uploading the latest tactical data into her ship’s computers. She took note as the EM launchers set about the walls of the deck spun up.

  “Gryphon strike lead logging in,” she reported into her comm.

  The engines took and spun up to full power as she brought the systems online.

  “Gryphon strike lead, this is Flight. You are logged.”

  Labonne clicked her comm line open. “Acknowledged, Flight. Gryphon strike leader is go in three, two...one.”

  She thrust the throttle forward and pointed her nose to the exit. The launch would not be as fast as a scramble off the Mjöllnir’s flight deck and its EM launchers. But it would be enough and she burst into space, her wingman close behind. She came about and formed up on the transport as it emerged and they turned for the Mjöllnir. Existing deployment put two ships on each of the sixteen convoy vessels. According to the telemetry downloading to her from the Mjöllnir, twenty-five of the thirty-two had launched, making their way behind the protective cover of the fighter screen. Labonne turned to her secondary display and checked as the transponder codes registered the incoming friendlies and changed their status from ‘pending’ to ‘en-route’ and then to ‘secure’ once the each had landed.

  One of the freighters moved. Had it? The movement of her own fighter and the relative movement of the freighter obscured the perspective. She re-tuned her sensors forward. Yes. She widened the radius to encompass the entire convoy. Results came back, and Labonne shot to her communications.

  “Mjöllnir, Gryphon strike lead! The convoy’s engines have powered up.” She turned back to her display and confirmed her readings. “They are on a collision course heading straight for you!”

  Two more dropships emerged from the convoy, leaving five unaccounted for.

  “Confirmed, Gryphon Strike. You are authorized to engage. Disabling fire onl
y.”

  She ignored protocol, giving no response. Instead, she switched frequencies to the rest of her wing.

  “All wings, engage the convoy. Disable them, but do not destroy, we still have transports out there.”

  The Gryphons broke formation, re-grouping on their smaller deployment, each breaking for a different freighter. Labonne threw her ship into a hard U-turn and sighted her target.

  “Gryphon Strike, this is Valeer.”

  “Get off the line Colonel! You’re interfering with combat operations.”

  “I’m sending you coordinates. Hit these points on the freighters and you’ll disable them easily.”

  Her display flickered with the new information highlighting three points on a schematic of one of the freighters. The data appeared sound.

  “Green light. All Gryphons engage as directed!”

  She rolled her fighter as she advanced, more for show than anything else, and opened up as the point came into range. The targeted site exploded in a ball of fire, and the ship’s engines flickered as power fluctuated. She rotated her ship to maintain her facing direction, but her proximity alarm blasted in her cockpit. She changed directions and broke off.

  “Transition event! Slipspace transition event! We’ve got incoming!”

  This report came from her wingman, but Labonne did not have to check her data. Instinct took over. She turned back to her display as the ship came through. It was not the Leviathan, but it might as well have been. Another alarm went off, indicating the presence of multiple smaller signatures. She knew immediately. These fighters, and their home-ship, now registering as a Ralgon light cruiser form, were coming to the rescue of their brethren infesting the disabled freighters.

  “All Gryphons, she’s launching fighter and minion forms! Regroup and prepare defensive screen!”

  The enemy bore down, but the Gryphons held their screen formation and opened fire. Ralgon were cut to ribbons while the Gryphons sustained only minor damage in return. The remaining Ralgon blew past the line, as her pilots darted out of the way to avoid collision. Before she could order pursuit, her screen updated, indicating all transports were now en route, with the first few in docking procedures on board Mjöllnir.

  Her decision did not change, only her approach.

  “All Gryphons, these little fish are getting away. Pursue and clean them up before that whale gets here!”

  Specific responses remained minimal; her pilots were too busy maneuvering. For her part, Labonne threw the ship’s throttle to full and gave chase. The Gryphons engaged, but the Ralgon did not seem to respond. Instead, they allowed themselves to be destroyed. As the advancing Ralgon reached the convoy, they broke formation. Some vectored for the transport ships while others took up an escort position around the convoy freighters.

  “All Gryphons, shut down the convoy and make sure the transports get home!”

  Again, Labonne’s proximity alarm went off, telling her the cruiser was closing in.

  “Gryphon Strike Lead, Mjöllnir- we’ve got a whale bearing down on us! We’re going to need the big guns!”

  November 5, 2832

  10:45

  Mjöllnir - OpCom

  CODY AMADO NARROWED his eyes as he scrutinized the scenario playing out before him. The heavy freighters of the Remali convoy had broken off their collision course, outmaneuvered the remaining dropships and cut them off from the Mjöllnir. At least Aler, Foster, and Valeer were on board. They had been on one of the first transports and would be wasting no time in making their way to OpCom.

  The Ralgon light cruiser appeared on the outer edge of the Mjöllnir’s sensor grid, its fighter phalanx advancing in front of their mother ship. Labonne’s flight turned to engage as the dropships maneuvered to break through the freighter blockade.

  “Move us in closer, I want coverage on those freighters. Defensive fire only!”

  “Aye, aye, Captain!”

  Amado turned as Aler entered OpCom, Valeer right behind him. Foster was missing, probably seeing to the injured in his unit.

  “Gryphon Strike Lead, Mjöllnir- we’ve got a whale bearing down on us! We’re going to need the big guns!”

  Amado’s head rose at that request as Labonne’s voice rang out over the loudspeakers. His hand shot to the headset. “Roger that, Gryphon Strike Lead. We’re on our way.”

  “Pilot! Alter our vector and bring the engines up to half,” Cassie ordered.

  Cody returned his attention to the central display and watched. As the Mjöllnir maneuvered, the smaller, faster freighters counter-maneuvered, cutting them off from the cruiser. Slow though they were, they were still faster than the Mjöllnir, with less mass to manipulate. He needed them out of the way, but as they had no weapons of their own, the he could not take them out without being the aggressor.

  Aler and Melor had taken their stations. Valeer stepped up to the display Normally, it might have been presumptuous, but in this moment, the Remali presented more of a solution than a problem.

  “Valeer, I need your authorization to attack.”

  “Captain?”

  “Colonel, those freighters are likely under Ralgon control as they are cutting me off from defending our assets and engaging the cruiser. If I attack your ships without provocation or permission, I risk war with your people. I can defend this ship from an enemy attack, but as your freighters are unarmed, they won’t attack. Instead they’ll waylay us, and we’ll lose our fighters.”

  Valeer turned to face him straight on. “Captain Amado, I, Colonel Valeer of the Remali Confederate Defense fleet and personal attaché to General Rashar, authorize you to open fire against our freighters at your discretion.”

  “Commander Amado, make a note in the ship’s log.”

  She keyed a sequence into a console at her seated station. “So noted, Captain.”

  He turned back to the display. The freighters had maneuvered into a tighter formation: five of them blocked the Mjöllnir’s path directly ahead and another three flanked on either side,

  “Then, Mr. Aler, punch a hole in this line.”

  Aler said nothing, but Amado watched his response on the display. The Mjöllnir’s forward rail positions opened up in a field of fire spanning a 120-degree forward arc. Two of the five freighters erupted in a ball of fire almost immediately. The remaining three took only minor damage. The destruction of the two in front caused collateral damage to the remaining ships; a problem amplified by the fact that the only things protecting them from direct fire had just exploded. The three did not last much longer.

  The remaining freighters tried to tighten their flank maneuver, but were chewed up by the Mjöllnir’s port and starboard rail positions. The battleship passed between the explosions, paying them no further attention.

  With the convoy all but destroyed, the remaining ships scattered. For their part, Labonne’s fighters and the transports broke off any engagement, making straight for their base. By the time they were recovered, the Cruiser had moved into weapons range. The Mjöllnir gave the first introductions.

  The six main cannons fired on the Ralgon cruiser, each striking home. But where they should have inflicted significant damage, the cruiser took the hits with only minor damage.

  “Re-charge and fire again. All rail positions concentrate fire forward.” He turned to Cassie. “Looks like they upgraded their defenses.”

  The cruiser responded to the Mjöllnir’s greeting in kind, firing spike-like projectiles that implanted into the Mjöllnir’s hull. He knew from experience the impact would crack the spikes and release corrosive gas and acid to start eating away at the hull. It was hard to tell from the holo, but if this cruiser form had lived long enough to mature, there might be more coming their way. A half second later, he got his answer as an arc of electricity erupted from the Ralgon. It shot through the gas contrail left by the projectile, and into the spike, which exploded as soon as the arc hit it. The deck beneath them bucked. Had it not been for the steady hand of Valeer, Amado would have fallen.
The deck rocked again, overloading power nodes and shorting out consoles.

  “Hull breach! Decks eight through twelve, sections thirty-three through forty! We’ve sealed off the affected areas, no significant decompression, but there were four people stationed in that section.”

  Cody’s eyes widened. That hole was far bigger than anything they should have been able to deliver in one volley. Had the spike hit a power distribution node and caused a chain reaction? There was no other way it could have done so much damage.

  The primary cannons fired again, all trained on the same points where the rail guns had focused. The strategy appeared to work as the combined fire against the weakened point breached the Ralgon’s carapace. Amado allowed himself a triumphant smile, though he would not let it show to anyone else.

  The deck rocked again, echoing with another series of small scale overloads and shorts as more spikes exploded.

  “Heavy damage to the Gryphon flight deck,” Cassie reported.

  “Do we have everyone aboard?”

  “All Gryphons are below decks. Minor casualties to the squadron!”

  Amado nodded. “Shut down the deck.”

  He needed to get around the cruiser and disable its propulsion, but the Ralgon countered the Mjöllnir’s maneuvers. The fighters were in, the transports were in. With the damage to the flight deck, Gryphon squadron could not re-deploy and what few Ralgon fighters were still out there were covering the retreat of the remaining freighters. The freighters...

  He turned to Melor. “Can you hack the freighters’ guidance programs?”

  She frowned for a moment. She was not making the connection, but understanding was unnecessary, execution was.

  “Yes, Captain, I think we can.”

  “Then do it, Lieutenant.”

  Melor’s attention returned to her console as she began work. Amado turned to Valeer. “You, go help her!”

  The Remali stepped away, stumbling as another volley rocked the battleship. Amado ordered return fire, capitalizing on the previous damage dealt. The strike-for-strike exchange continued, with the cruiser dealing more damage than it took.