Starfire at Traitors Gate

by Christine Westhead

  "I would recommend haste. I am picking up a small body of wasp fighters at extreme range heading this way."

  "I have them," snapped Hal as Starfire turned the huge ship towards Serrell in a graceful roll that had the autogyros straining. "Ten class six Wasp fighters."

  "I thought the fleet was supposed to be on the other side of this sector," muttered Starfire.

  "So did I," said Erion thoughtfully, unconsciously bit her lip. This was not part of the plan.

  "Full shields," said Raan. "They'll be in combat range in less than ten minutes.

  "Can we outrun them?" asked Erion.

  "Not in this bucket," he answered, without taking his eyes off the instruments in front of him. The ship rocked as it was hit from behind.

  "They're in firing range," said Raan.

  "No, really?" muttered Hal.

  "We can't take much more of that," warned Starfire, throwing a glare at the unabashed gunman. "The aft shield just lost thirty percent."

  "What the hell happened to the General's word?" asked Raan, fingers dancing over his controls.

  "Not now, Captain," answered Starfire. She threw the ship sideways and the port shield blazed as a near miss skimmed off it.

  "Del, take Raan's place as Co," snapped Erion. "Hal, you and Raan man the guns; I'll balance the outputs from navigation."

  "Transferring output controls to navigation, aye" stated Raan, calmly before rising from his seat. Starfire looked across at him, then quickly went back to piloting the ship. She suddenly saw what she, Nik, and many others had probably missed in Captain Raan of the Aurian Space Marines. He might play the fool for most of the time, but when the situation required it, he was cool and professional. They quickly moved to their stations as if they had been training together for years but their exhilaration melted away as Erion added, "Fire warning shots."

  "Warning shots?" snarled Hal in disbelief.

  "Yes," said Erion, curtly. "My father will order them to retreat. Aim to miss." The ship was hit by another jolt that nearly threw them from their seats.

  "Direct hit," said Del as if he were discussing the weather. "Aft port engine; the repair computers are on line."

  "What do you want, Lieutenant, speed or armour?" asked Erion. She peered down at the unfamiliar crystals on her console, working out which controls to use.

  "Try to shield and stabilise that port engine, Major, and give me all the speed you have."

  "All power to the port engine, aye," she answered automatically, dancing her hands across the coloured jewels to move the armour from the front of the freighter to the rear. Another jolt shook the ship.

  "We've loosing rear shields," said Starfire, worriedly. They were in an ordinary freighter. It wasn't expected to go into combat and it had the minimum legal requirement for shields and weapons. It performed well for its type, the General had seen to that, but it still felt sluggish and was slow to respond. "I must turn to protect that port engine."

  "If you do that, we'll go off course for Serrell," warned Raan, still peering into his firing grid.

  "We have to defend ourselves," said Hal, as another shot hit the rear of the freighter. His narrowed eyes squinted into the grid and he pressed the firing trigger, grimacing as his shot went deliberately wide.

  "No," snapped Erion.

  "But…" began Starfire.

  "I'm not discussing this with a committee, Lieutenant. I said fire warning shots."

  "Damn it, the ship's breaking up." she blurted. There was another jolt and the lights on Starfire's console flashed red. "The port engine's on fire, Major, I'm turning." The decision to mutiny was taken out of Starfire's hands as the aft scanner lit up in a flare of white light as one of the attacking ships exploded. All eyes turned to Hal.

  "Damn it, killer, I said aim to miss," snapped Erion. "They're our own people."

  "They're not my people," pointed out Hal, "and they're trying to blow us out of the sky. How's it going to look if we don't fire back?"

  "You just can't go around killing anyone that gets in your way," gritted Erion, her eyes still on the vid screen where pieces of the little fighter drifted slowly away from them.

  "It's been working for me just fine so far," answered Hal in a mocking drawl. Smoke was beginning to drift about the pilot compartment and Delta Ten left his station to use a small hand held extinguisher on the flames he could see.

  "They'll be on us in a less than a minute," snarled Hal. "Then we'll have no chance at all."

  "How long till we're in range with Serrell?" Erion glared at Hal then turned her attention to Starfire.

  "Too long, Major," answered Starfire. "We won't make it before those fighters surround us. We'll have no choice but to surrender if they reach us." Erion thought for a moment, then said quietly,

  "Do what you're best at, Mr. Hal, but try to disable if you can." The gunman nodded and began to fire at the approaching ships. One lost a wing, but the pilot was able to eject and another received a glancing blow that knocked out his engine. Raan had to admit that the Terrellian was good. Their freighter was only equipped with standard cannon, effective against class four or five pirate raiders but the attacking Wasps were military spec, class six fighters. They were much faster than raiders and were already just inside Madillion's defence range. Raan knew he didn't have the skill to guarantee a disable shot at that distance, so he aimed wide. Although they were supposed to be mutinying, he could not bring himself to fire on people who might have been his friends.

  While Hal was methodically picking off the opposition one by one, Starfire headed for Serrell as fast as the ship would go. It was hard to manoeuvre as the port engine spluttered and jerked. She should by rights have shut it down, but it made them a harder target to hit. Hal shot the wing from another fighter another, causing it to spiral away and hit another ship. They both exploded into smithereens, the sparkling debris quickly fading to nothing. Erion, knowing this was not the gunman's intention, winced but held her tongue. Then she heard her father's voice on the com link.

  "Listen," she ordered, turning up the volume so they could all hear.

  "I gave my word to these outlaws that they would not be pursued until I returned to Terrell. You will withdraw at once. They are on fire and badly damaged. They have nowhere to go, except crash on Serrell."

  "That doesn't sound very reassuring," began Starfire, still fighting to keep the craft on an even keel. Erion turned round in her swivel chair from the navigation console and called to Del.

  "Status please."

  "The fighters are withdrawing Major."

  "Good," she sighed. "Well that's something. Starfire, can we make it to Serrell?" Starfire shrugged.

  "Fifty-fifty, Major."

  "Can you be more specific?"

  "That is the only answer I can give you at this time, Major. Just let me get on with my job." Erion opened her mouth to reply then thought better of it. Starfire, who knew she was in the wrong, tried to make light of the matter. "Well, what's she going to do, have me shot?"

  "Cut it Star," warned Raan and she was instantly silent.

  "She has got a point though," put in Hal.

  "Who asked you to butt in, killer?" snapped Erion. "We decided before we left that I was to be in command."

  "You decided," corrected Hal, "I don't remember anyone asking me."

  "That's what you get for missing staff meetings," put in Raan. "But let's wait until we land on Serrell before we talk it out. The crash when we hit dirt might make the question irrelevant."

  "Don't be so defeatist, Captain," said Starfire. "I've never failed you yet."

  "This is our first mission together," he pointed out.

  "Well, this is just great!" muttered Hal. Starfire threw him a grin then her expression hardened. "Better get strapped in tight. We're going to hit that shield soon."

  "Now we'll see if my father's plan worked or not," said Erion.

  "I can't see anything on the scanner," began Raan, grinning with excitement. "The shield is
down."

  "Then we're safe," Erion breathed a sigh of relief.

  "We've still got to land this bucket," snarled Raan. He left the gunnery console to sit next to Starfire, leaning forward to make minute adjustments to the controls. "I think we'll be in for a bumpy ride." He glanced at Starfire, who pulled a 'who knows?' face.

  "Any advance on maybe?" called Erion from behind them.

  "Yeah," answered Starfire. "We've gone down to maybe not!"

  "I thought you were supposed to be a Pilot Five." sighed Hal from the weapons section.

  "Do I tell you how to kill people, bounty hunter?" asked Starfire. "No! So you let me land this thing and if I kill us all then you can criticise." Erion was amazed. She had been brought up by her father to have an open mind and did not think she was prejudiced about Terrellians. True, she had never actually met any before and could not work out if these two were joking or not. Aurian Marine Officers were on the whole, a serious lot and Erion thought she would ask Raan later. Then again he was a little strange and she decided to wait and try to work it out for herself. Still, Captain Raan was right; the time to discuss it would be if they landed…. After they landed, she mentally corrected herself.

  "We're in range," Raan's voice cut into her thoughts.

  "Try a distress call," ordered Erion.

  "It's already on automatic," answered Starfire. "No response."

  "Take her down anyway." she said.

  "We haven't any choice in the matter, Major," began Raan, grimly. "We fly or we fall."

  "Get me a soft landing site," called Starfire. Erion busied herself at the navi-com and punched in some co-ordinates. Starfire saw them come up on her heads up display and adjusted their trajectory. Raan was right, it was a bumpy ride. The turbulence in the atmosphere didn't help matters either and Starfire and Raan had their hands full just keeping the damaged craft on an even keel.

  "Breaking thrusters," ordered Starfire.

  "Malfunction," called Raan. "No brakes."

  "Back up systems?" asked Starfire, hopefully.

  "Malfunction. No back up."

  "Right then," grinned Starfire, wickedly. "I'll have to alter our trajectory to slow us down. Time to see if all that simulator training paid off." Erion had guided them to a part of the planet that seemed mainly composed of soft, black sand and Starfire eased the big ship down, skimming the higher dunes. They dropped a little lower and the ship's belly hit the ground and bounced up again, throwing them about in their seats like rag dolls. They were slowing down, but another element had entered the game. Acrid smoke was rising from the controls, most of which showed red warning lights. Darker, thick smoke was creeping in through the hatchway and Starfire knew she must set the craft down before they went up like torch.

  She altered their line of descent and they hit the black, sandy dunes harder. The ship jumped three times, skidded, jumped again and then slewed across the sand, nose-dived into a sandy hill and came to an abrupt halt. Starfire and Raan threw every switch non-op, the screaming engines died down to a gentle whine and they all sat for a few seconds in blissful silence. Delta Ten held an extinguisher and was making use of it when all the lights went out. There was much swearing and muttering until the red emergency lighting came on. The pilot section took on the hues of black shadows and scarlet reflections in the smoky darkness. Starfire released the pilot seat harness and rubbed her hands together with a smug grin.

  "Another happy landing."

  "Hardly a landing," corrected Raan. "More like a controlled crash."

  "Well done anyway, you two," said Erion, pulling a piece of smouldering cladding from her long wig.

  "Credit where it's due. If you hadn't found us this piece of desert, we'd be a big hole in the ground," countered Starfire.

  "Is everybody in one piece?" asked Raan. There were nods all round. Smoke drifted about the dark crew compartment and Erion, wrinkling her nose at the acrid smell of burnt wiring, looked towards Starfire.

  "When did you raise the blast shield?" Starfire checked the controls in front of her and looked up, worriedly.

  "I didn't."

  "Then why can't we see outside? Delta Ten, what's going on?"

  "The ship has sustained sixty percent structural and electrical damage. The sand has put out the fire in the port aft engine and the auto foam has extinguished the fires inside."

  "Yes, we all know that," said Raan. Delta Ten continued.

  "The repair computers are damaged and off line, the air purifier is damaged and we are buried beneath the sand."

  "What?" snapped Starfire.

  "Augment," corrected Erion.

  "The pilot section is totally buried beneath the sand, Major. The aft exit hatch is jammed, and the air purifier is working at thirty percent only."

  "You mean we're trapped here?" asked Starfire.

  "How long have we got?" asked Hal, getting to the point. As a logical thinking machine, Delta Ten should not have been able to answer that question, but since he had been in the company of humans, he had worked out for himself that they rarely said what they meant. He relayed the last few sentences spoken and used his logic circuits to predict what their next statement would be. He therefore deduced that the question pertained to the length of time the humans had before their air ran out and they ceased to function.

  "If the present circumstances do not change," he said calmly, "the oxygen will run out in three point four nine hours.

  Chapter 5

  Everyone began speaking at once and Erion held up her hand and waited for silence to descend.

  "Suggestions please, Del."

  "Assuming that the General's theory is correct and there is sentient life on this planet, I suggest we contact the Serrellians and ask for their assistance."

  "Is that all you can come up with?" asked Raan.

  "It is the first thing we should do." stated the robot. "With the ship buried and the air purifier damaged, you must do as little as possible to conserve your oxygen supply. I do not need oxygen and I will endeavour to repair the purifier myself."

  "While we just sit around conserving air," put in Hal.

  "I know it is often infuriating," began Erion, "but Del is never wrong."

  "Well he's wrong about contacting the Serrellians," growled Raan. "The com link is out."

  "That's just great!" snapped Starfire as she leaned over Raan's shoulder to verify his statement. "He's right; no com link."

  "What do we do now tin brains?" asked Starfire. The robot did not know she was referring to him and it was Raan who answered.

  "I say we try and get to the rear hold and see if we can dig out the Space suits. They have their own recycle units. It would give us more time."

  "Is the way clear, Del?" asked Erion.

  "The rear hold is directly underneath the damaged engine." Delta Ten hovered his hand across a panel of crystals as he spoke, communicating directly with the ship's computers. "The hold has been damaged by the fire, although the repair computers have put it out. If the suits are there, they may be too damaged to be of use."

  "The top hatch then?" suggested Hal.

  "According to the hull sensors, most of the forward section is buried under at least six feet of sand. The crew emergency hatch release mechanism is damaged and the pressure on the outside would be too great for me to open it manually. Even if it was possible to open the hatch, the sand would pour into the ship and fill it before any air could enter."

  "There must be something we can do!" blurted Raan.

  "Well I'm going to change out of this ridiculous outfit for a start," said Erion, flinging the wig into a corner. "If we're going to be dug up by a team of archaeologists in three hundred years time, I want to be looking my best." She fluffed out her copper hair and it settled around her head in a thick bob that suited her aristocratic face. She unconsciously stroked her fringe so that it settled in a well cut point just above her nose and glared at Captain Raan, who smiled at her approvingly.

  "What?" she snapped. />
  "I say fly us out," put in Starfire. She had been quietly checking the engine status computers and had wanted to be sure before she spoke.

  "You're crazy," said Raan, tearing his gaze away from Erion's features.

  "Can you do it?" asked Hal, getting to the point.

  "It's possible theoretically. We have thrust capability with the starboard engine but there's really only one way to find out," she answered, looking around her at all the amazed faces. "Del, supposing you can't fix the air purifier, what other choices do we have?"

  "None," answered the robot.

  "Look, I've checked with the computers and it looks like the engines will fire. They won't give us much lift, but maybe I can jiggle it about a bit and force us up and out. The braking thrusters have malfunctioned so I can't push us back out the way we came in so…" Starfire hesitated,

  "Well?" three voices asked in unison.

  "This ship has two propulsion systems. Once in orbit, the fusion accelerator cuts in."

  "Well, we all know that," began Raan, and then suddenly stopped as the same thought occurred to him.

  "For the lift off thrust," continued Starfire, "there are chemical rockets and they need…"

  "Oxygen." snarled Hal.

  "If we're going to do it, it'll have to be soon," warned Starfire. "I'll need to channel most of our remaining supply to the starboard aft engine to get it to fire."

  "Do it then," ordered Erion. Command came naturally to her and she made the decision quite easily, but to her own amazement, she added, "everyone agreed?"

  "Sure," said Hal,

  "I hope you know what you're doing," muttered Raan.

  "It's too late for that now Captain," said Starfire, her final checks completed. "Get strapped in. Raan, give me a five down for primary ignition." Raan pressed a sequence of buttons on the co pilot's console and began to count.

  "Five… four… three…" an ear piercing wail began, accompanied by a soft computerised female voice which said,

  "Warning! You have activated primary igniters without sufficient fuel for take off."

  "Override the failsafe," snapped Starfire. She channelled their reserves of oxygen into the mixer tanks at the back of the ship, keeping an anxious eye on the faulty fuel gauge. It stayed resolutely on reserve and she instinctively knew it wasn't lying this time. They really were low on fuel.