"Unorthodox, but effective," said Delta Ten, peering downward. "I have not seen this manoeuvre carried out before."
"It's a last resort," she admitted, ignoring the yells and thuds coming from behind her on the spiral stairs. "It leaves a great big smoking crater on the ground so it's illegal, it's hard on the engines and even harder on loose freight or passengers not secured." The rest of the crew staggered up the incline and strapped themselves in with difficulty as the ship was still climbing. "What took you so long," she smirked. "Ow!" She glared at Raan, who had thumped her arm. "What was that for?"
"I damn near broke my neck back there," he shouted over the noise from the engines. Starfire lowered the nose to bring the Grennig into a standard trajectory and the screaming from the engines died down to its usual deep growl.
"Stop wingeing and check for signs of fighter pursuit," said Starfire.
"I am," he said, baffled. "There's nothing. I don't get it."
"Would it have something to do with that big red glow over there?" said Erion, pointing out of the port windscreen.
"I planted several mines in the Galactic Police launch bay silo before I left," explained Delta Ten. "I thought it might hasten our escape if they were unable to launch their fighters."
"Making you a free machine was the best thing I ever did," said Erion. A human would have smiled, or blushed with pride, or acknowledged the comment in some way, but Del continued to look at his instrument panel.
"We have orbit confirmed." he said.
"Fighters on the long range scanners," called Raan.
"How many?" asked Starfire, worriedly.
"Too many for us to deal with," said Erion "and too far away. Your course is plotted and laid in, Lieutenant. Get us out of here." Starfire waved her hand across a sparkling crystal and the Grennig shot into hyperspace in a brilliant flash of colours and disappeared.
Chapter 19
"Normal space in ten seconds," stated Delta Ten from his science station.
"Hail Tranter as soon as we are out of hyperspace please, Raan," ordered Erion. "Get permission to dock."
"Let's hope he can refuel us," put in Starfire, "we're getting low."
Con Tranter was waiting to greet them at the entrance hatch of his space station. Hal and Tranter shook hands hard in the Terrellian fashion.
"I thought we'd seen the last of you, old friend," said Tranter.
"No such luck," Starfire brushed in between them heading towards Tranter's big lounge. "I'm gonna cook us up a great big three courser. The chow on that ship sucks! Tranter you have to fix those on board food dispensers! They must be set for Koobesics or Squids or something," her voice trailed off towards the main lounge. Raan and Erion reached Tranter and both shook his hand in the Terrellian fashion.
"Well done, you guys," Tranter motioned with his head towards Hal, who had just reached the lounge hatch. "He's an arrogant git, I know, but he's our arrogant git."
"Heard that…" said Hal's voice from down the corridor.
"Tran, did you find out anything about that transponder on Jemmi's hopper?" asked Raan suddenly.
"Naah, I totally destroyed it. They won't be able to find the Cantina from that."
"But they know where your base is and about your involvement with the Alliance," said Raan. "Could be you're not safe here."
"What would the Federation want with me?" he asked. "I'm just a space ship junker. I don't have anything they want."
"You know where the Cantina is," began Erion, "and you know all about the Alliance. They'd get it out of you somehow." Con Tranter was silent and looked down at the floor.
"Tranter?" Raan broke into his thoughts.
"Those transmissions… maybe Jemmi didn't send them. Maybe it was Rimek all along. Maybe she was innocent and I shot her for nothing."
"She tried to kill me and scratch out your eyes," pointed out Erion.
"Yeah, she could be a bit possessive at times," he admitted. "Doesn't mean she was a traitor though." He sighed for a moment, then visibly brightened. "We'll go and see Gant after dinner. He always knows what to do. Anyway, I can't see the Feds coming all the way out here just for me."
"Have you found out anything more about the New Federation?" asked Erion.
"Only that it's completely taken over everything. The G Police are everywhere. Local law has the option to join or get thrown out. Man, it's bad out there."
"I still think you ought to be careful," warned Raan. "That fraggin' trolley knows your co-ordinates and I'm guessing it was working for the New Federation."
"I'm already on it," grinned Tranter as they walked into his office. "I can move this station if I shift all these old wrecks aside and rig up some tow lines. I plan to leave the wrecks here and tow the station nearer the asteroid field. If I jiggle all the wrecks about, it'll look like I'm still there.
"If anybody else said that, I would say they were being ambitious," said Erion as they sat down at the large table in Tranter's lounge. "Being as it's you, I expect this all to happen next week!"
"You can mock, Major," Tranter made room for Raan as he sat beside them ready for their meal, "but my robots have already started to clear a path to move this station." Starfire carried a couple of plates from the food dispenser and placed them in front of Raan and Erion. The mouth watering aroma of tomato soup and warm, fresh bread rose up from the table as she went back for more. She returned with Hal, carrying his own and a bowl for Tranter and they all sat at the round table and prepared to eat.
"I am so going to enjoy this," grinned Starfire as she lifted a spoonful to her mouth. A pleasant little chime emitted from the communications console.
"It's the long range scanner," muttered Tranter. He rose from the table, walked towards a small screen on the console and peered into the grid. "Fraggin' hell! Looks like three cruisers and a fighter escort. Federation ships!"
"Told you so," put in Raan. Tranter snapped off the screen.
"They got here damn quick! They're not getting me without a fight."
"Can we get to the asteroid field?" asked Erion, glaring at Raan, who pretended to look sorry.
"Not before they get here," answered Tranter. He paced up and down in front of his computer consoles, pressing various buttons and setting the station defences. Finally he stood back with a satisfied sigh. "Look, I'm going to forty eight by thirty nine by twelve; you guys go fifty two by thirty nine by eighty eight. Maybe we can lead them away from the asteroid field before we take 'em on. If I don't get back here to disengage the self destruct, this place will blow in eighty minutes. It would not be a good idea to be anywhere near when that happens."
"Good luck, Tranter." Raan clapped him on the back as they made their way to the docking arms.
"See you on the other side," Tranter called out the standard greeting used by pilots before entering hyperspace. He winked at Erion, gave them a jaunty wave at the entrance to his umbilical and walked quickly from their sight.
"See you on the other side," murmured Erion to herself. She quickly gathered her wits. "Starfire, Hal, let's go!" There was a concerted rush for the exit hatch and they met Delta Ten, who was on his way towards them.
"Major, the long range sensors…"
"Way ahead of you, Del." They rushed back into the pilot section and took their places, ready for combat.
"Just for once I would like to have a day where I don't get shot at," grumbled Starfire from the pilot seat, her hands over the controls doing a very quick pre-flight check.
"How are we for fuel?" asked Erion.
"We have enough for a short jump one way," answered Raan, peering at the gauge. "But that will take us nowhere."
"We wouldn't have enough fuel for the jump back," began Starfire. "If they followed us, we'd be a sitting duck."
"What about combat?" put in Hal from his weapon's console.
"Yeah, enough for combat," she answered. "After that we either drift to the Cantina for a fill up or it won't really matter."
"Understood,"
said Erion, softly. "What's the status out there, Del?"
"Three battle cruisers and one escort comprising sixteen short range class six Wasp fighters." he answered. "At this rate of convergence, we will be in combat range in fifteen minutes and fifty two seconds."
"Right," said Erion. "We must keep them away from the asteroid field. It looks like we'll have to fight them from here. Take the other gunnery post, Captain. Delta Ten, take his place as co and then get Tranter on the com. Let's get some sort of strategy worked out."
"I am picking up communications from the battle cruiser," said Delta Ten from the co-pilot seat next to Starfire.
"Let's all hear it," instructed Erion. He upped the volume and the sneering tones of the new High Commander of the Aurian Federation filled the pilot section.
"This is High Commander Roland, President of the Aurian Council and the New Federation of Planets. Identify yourself."
"Con Tranter, Commercial Trader. What do you want?"
"Con Tranter, I have reason to believe that you have murdered an employee of the Galactic Police and you are harbouring wanted criminals and traitors. I have come to arrest you and take you to Auria for trial."
"How the hell do they know about Jemmi and us?" asked Raan.
"That conniving trolley must have told them," answered Starfire.
"Listen!" broke in Erion. Tranter was on the air.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"I had hoped you would take that line with me, Con Tranter," Roland's voice dripped with contempt, "now I can blast you out of the sky with a clear conscience."
"You sound like you think it's gonna be easy," snarled Tranter.
"You haven't a chance, half breed. Give yourself up, denounce your rebel friends and I might let you live."
"You can go to hell, Roland." Tranter snapped off the link and static filled the pilot section.
"Well that sure told him," muttered Starfire. "How do we play it?"
"There's three battle cruisers out there," murmured Hal, "and sixteen Wasp fighters. I'd say it doesn't really matter how we play it, we'll be dead soon."
"That's what we want to hear, Hal," smirked Raan. "Positive thinking!"
"Follow Tranter, Lieutenant," ordered Erion. Starfire turned the graceful ship onto a new heading, straight into the path of three battle cruisers and the fast approaching fighters.
"They'll have the Grennig on their screens now," she warned.
"This is High Commander Roland to unidentified corvette. State your name and purpose." They all looked at Erion who made a throat cutting gesture. Static greeted Roland's words and he spoke again. "Unidentified ship, you will answer or prepare to be destroyed." Thirty seconds passed. "Very well, you have made your choice."
"The fighters are headed this way," called Hal, peering into his firing grid. His fingers caressed the gun controls, waiting for the little ships to get near enough to fire on.
"They have to pass Tranter first," said Raan. He looked into the weapon's grid where he could see the stylised image of Tranter's ship weaving and dodging. The Rebel was faster than anything in space, but apart from enemy fighters spiralling away in its backwash, there didn't seem to be any other damage. Raan looked back at the others. "He hasn't fired a shot, he's letting them through. What's he up to?"
"He has bigger fish to fry," said Hal, softly.
"You can't mean those cruisers?" spluttered Starfire, aghast.
"No!" snapped Erion. She switched on the com link and said urgently, "Tranter, what are you doing?"
"Erion, don't worry your pretty head about me. Look after your crew. I'll see you on the other side. I got a plan."
"It's Major Dubois." yelled Roland. "The Terrell traitors are on that ship. Destroy it! Kill them all." He was fairly screaming in his anger. Starfire looked across at Erion.
"I think we may have overplayed our hand a tad by letting the bad guys know who we are."
"Too late now," said Hal flatly as the first of the fighters reached them. He blew it out of the sky and Raan took out another.
"And then there were fourteen," said Raan, coldly.
"Del, time to go dark," snapped Erion. The door to the crew compartment slid shut and there was a slight hiss as it pressurised. Apart from the medicentre, all non essential systems on the Grennig shut down and Erion watched the power reserves from the engines go up slightly. It would be her job to monitor and channel the power from the engines to the shields, thrusters and guns. She hovered her hands over the crystals in front of her like a concert pianist getting ready to play. The Grennig wasn't an old commercial freighter like the Madillion. This ship was rigged for war and its crew were determined to take as many of the enemy with them before they were overwhelmed.
"Listen!" snapped Starfire, who was still patched in to the communications. She kept one eye on her controls as she turned the graceful ship away from most of the laser fire coming their way. Hal and Raan were busy at the gun consoles but Erion, her face tense, kept tuning in the conversation so they could hear it above the loud bangs of laser strikes on their shields.
"We'll soon be in range of those cruisers," warned Raan, still squinting into the firing grid in front of him.
"I know," answered Erion. "Del, get ready to balance the engine outputs. We're going to have to do some fast manoeuvres."
"Con Tranter," Roland was speaking again, "that girl friend of yours was a Federation agent. She reported everything back to us you know; everything." Silence greeted his words.
"We will be in strike range of the battle cruisers in two minutes," called Del. Hal and Raan shot the same fighter as it crossed their path and it disintegrated in front of the Grennig in a silent multi-coloured flash. Starfire pushed the nose of the Grennig down to fly under the debris and there were several small impacts on the top of the hull where the shielding was strongest to protect the flight crew.
"Of course, she didn't start out that way," Roland's sneering voice carried gleefully on. "We had to use our mind turning machine to, let us say, persuade her to betray you." Two more fighters were dispatched by Hal and Raan but the impacts on the Grennig were becoming more violent. They all knew without having to be told that their shields were failing in the constant onslaught. Erion watched her monitors, worriedly. She knew the engines could not maintain the shields, keep up combat speed and charge the guns all at once. Something would have to give and in battle, it was usually the shields that were sacrificed.
"I think she truly loved you until we had finished with her," Roland's sneering tones continued. "There is a very fine line between love and hate which we just had to tweak in our direction. And of course by the time Commissioner Rimek had finished crawling through her little brain, she would have done anything for us."
"Del, keep those engines balanced as much as you can," snapped Erion. "Starfire, what do you need, speed or armour?"
"Speed," she called, eyes on her tactical heads up display.
"Right, answered Erion, fingers dancing over the glass crystals on her console. "I'm transferring power from the rear shields to the guns and front shields. Try to keep facing them."
"Understood," she answered, tight lipped and angry as she listened to the gloating tones of Roland.
"She sent us a fine recording of your, shall we say, last intimate moments? It has been greatly appreciated by our troops. I could beam it to your console if you would like a last memento of her?" A snarl was the only answer and Starfire gasped out,
"No, Tranter!"
"Fraggin' hell, look at him go!" called Raan, looking down into his firing grid. Tranter's little ship hurtled forward, straight at the massive cruisers. The sleek black craft shot like an arrow between the enemy fighters, weaving and dodging their laser fire with ease. The Rebel slowed to an immediate stop and self destructed in a massive ball of fire as it was midway between two of the cruisers. The black sky erupted in a silent blaze of colour and massive chunks of debris hurtled outward in all directions. The nearest cruiser was
destroyed completely and the other, struck by burning debris, rolled across the heavens to end up drifting in space, its port side rippling with ongoing explosions. The shock wave hit the remaining cruiser, which spun end over end, its gyros strained beyond breaking point, clipping one of the little fighters and causing it to explode. The cruiser slowly righted itself and, listing heavily on its starboard side and nose down, moved erratically out of range. If Tranter had been there to hear it, the panic stricken voice that called desperately to his remaining troops would not have gladdened his heart, for it was Roland. Tranter missed the man he wanted to kill the most.
"All fighters regroup and attack that corvette. I must be protected. Call in reinforcements!" All but Hal and Delta Ten on board the Grennig were stunned by Tranter's sacrifice. Delta Ten continued to monitor all systems as if nothing had happened but Hal took advantage of the momentary shock and carnage that ensued and methodically picked his way through the remaining fighters. Three more exploded without knowing what hit them and one was seriously damaged in the twelve seconds that it took for space to settle down.
"Keep firing! Move it all of you!" he snapped.
"You cold hearted bastard!" cried Erion. "Tranter was your friend!"
"Then don't let his sacrifice be in vain," snarled Hal. His grey eyes glittered like polished granite and Erion realised she had wronged the man, but now was not the time for apologies.
"The front shields are failing," warned Delta Ten who was calmly at the co-pilot station.
"We're almost in range of that damaged cruiser," said Raan, "The state it's in, we might be able to finish it off if we can get near enough."
Starfire at Traitors Gate Page 24