by Casey Lea
The Grace wailed, more breaches showed and the crew stared at Free, willing him to fix everything. It didn’t seem possible, but he had to try.
Light filled the nest again and then once more – the last visuals of the Risk and the Rising Dawn. After less than ten minutes of battle they were alone and vulnerable, as more pirate ships clawed their way onto the Grace. This was unlikely to end well, but it would end soon.
22
On the Run
The attacking fleet circled the Grace, searching for spots to land, until Free’s ship wore a second skin. Escape through that layer of pirates was impossible. Any shuttles that got through would be shot down instantly. The bombardment was constant, making every wall vibrate. He needed a plan and he needed it now.
“Sar,” Spense urged, just as understanding hit Free so hard it felt like a fist in the face.
“We’ve been doing this wrong, Spense. Making our ships ever larger was a mistake. We’ve only lost three ships, but that’s most of our fleet’s fire power gone.”
“Huge hub-ships are more efficient, sar.”
“Are they? What about redundancy and flexibility? They’re vital components in any battle and that’s why the pirates are swamping us. We need to change our approach. We evacuate. Now. In multiple small pods. Then we blow the ship.”
Spense gaped and Free almost laughed. His Senior wasn’t usually taken by surprise, but this was no time for levity.
“Sar,” Spense said. “I have to protest. What if the pirates take the Grace? Or kill the crew as we flee? And where are we going to find pods?”
“We’re going to board twenty of their ships and blast free in their escape capsules just before the Grace blows. They’re latched on like larval suckers and even if they see us go they’ll think we’re their own people. Their scans might detect it when our self-destruct activates, but they won’t be able to detach in time. We can destroy them, along with the Grace.”
“But to blow up the best ship in the fleet? We can’t do that.”
Free glanced at the changing holos filling the nest and raised a hand to silence his Senior. “If we don’t, the pirates will. Look at the ships out there. They’ve got enough vessels to finish us, engage the rest of the fleet and slip through to Blossom. We need to counter-attack now, but we can’t do that buried in an anthill.”
“You heard the Admiral,” Spense yelled, with no further protest. “Evacuate by wing. Data Senior chose some soft targets for us to board. Wing Leaders secure and distribute side arms. We want all the firepower we can carry. Move.”
Free pushed off from his seat, still gathering his thoughts. He’d never known anyone as capable as Senior Chen at expressing an opposing view, but then embracing his orders, whatever they were. It was fortunate Spense was on their side.
“Here you go, sar,” Spense said and offered Free the latest handheld plasma launcher.
Free accepted the sculpted black tube with one hand, but quickly added another. The solid weapon was only just portable, but certain-sure packed a punch. He’d lug it as far as he had to. There was no way he’d hang back while his strike teams did all the work. He kicked off from his seat and Spense joined him. They left the nest together and sailed down the link without looking back.
The nest crew surrounded them, breaking into wings, with each group of five adopting a diamond formation – one forward, one back, one on either side and one in the middle able to go up or down as required. They floated down the ship’s main passage together and more crew joined them as they went.
The constant attack continued and the link twisted around them, but still the Grace held.
Free accelerated, with Spense at his side, and they reached the front of the crowd where the Strike Wings were organizing. They looked sharp in glistening armor and each lugged a weapon larger than the one Free was hauling with him.
“Strike Leader,” Free called and one of the traveling figures fell back to join him.
“Sar,” Magreth Mashishanga said with a crisp salute. She tapped her helmet to turn the camouflage crystals clear and reveal dark brown eyes which regarded Free steadily. “Is there any way I can convince you to stay back from the frontline?” she asked.
“No.”
“I won’t waste my breath then. Orders?”
“Spense,” Free called and his Senior was there.
“Here, sar,” Spense said and a hologram appeared at his wrist. “These are the breached and nearly breached hull areas with enemy ships directly above them. We can blast straight into their bellies.”
“That’s the plan then. We’ve got twenty strike teams, so we break the rest of the crew into twenty groups. Each Strike Wing is responsible for getting its group into an enemy vessel and out the other side. I’ll set the destruct when we’re all in place. Organize your teams and allocate followers, Mashishanga.”
“Got it.” The Strike Leader spun away, pointing and assigning her soldiers. She moved among them calmly, slapping a shoulder here and bumping a fist there.
There was a murmur from the crew being organized into groups, although that was all. Everyone moved into place with quiet competence. Free took a shaky breath, but it was easy to find a smile. They deserved it and he wasn’t going to let his people down.
The teams were ready to go much sooner than Free expected. Time ran away as the pirate ships pounded at the Grace’s mighty hull and suddenly he was standing right under that armor and the attack was deafening. Patches of the fullerene above were glowing and it was too bright to look at. Perfect.
Free hoisted his weapon and it felt reassuringly heavy. “Is everyone ready?”
His com hummed with assent from each group, while Spense actually grinned. Free crouched down to slap the floor and silently ordered the ship to scan his DNA. A new heat made his fingers tingle as it complied and Spense copied his actions, ducking to let the Grace test him. Their vessel hummed acceptance and Free gave the self-destruct order. He could hardly hear his voice over the attack and only saw Spenser’s lips move when he added his own code. However, the ship’s sensors were still working and numbers appeared in the floor below him, counting down. It was time to commit.
Free lifted his weapon again and braced himself. He watched the bubbling puddle in the hull above, noticing each time it boiled harder and caught the rhythm of the shots being fired at it. He shot the blazing hull above.
Magreth fired too and their blasts hit the inside of the exoskeleton at the same time as another shot from the pirate outside. The combined attack was too much. A circle of the Grace vaporized and disappeared in a fog of hot droplets. Free fired again and his team joined in, pounding the hull of the enemy ship straddling the rent, until the attacker’s carbon skin sizzled and split.
“Go,” Free yelled and the Strike Wing went past him like plasma.
He launched himself upward on their heels and the heat still coming from the ruptured ships seared him as he shot through. He came up in the middle of a fire storm, but the pirates were unprepared for such an attack. Three of them were already down, while the final two had ducked into the link, which the Strike Wing quickly flanked. Free joined them and shot a scan dart round the edge of the dark tunnel. It showed two life forms retreating at speed.
“See to the rabbits,” Magreth ordered her team and the other four zipped into the link one at a time, keeping enough distance between them not to become a single target.
Free looked around the small nest, where Spense was already hacking into the main console. More of the Grace’s crew clambered into the pirate vessel and the Data Senior moved to help Spense. The remaining twenty huddled close, floating in a tight ball and waiting for orders. Free gave them.
“Find the escape pods and load up. We’ll launch once every ship we need is taken and under our control. Go. Magreth take point and get everyone there safe. We’ll follow when we’re done.”
“Aye, sar,” she agreed and jerked a finger at the link. The rest of the crew surged in that direction, us
ing multiple com pulses. It seemed Magreth was more frightening than any surviving pirates. She gave Free a precise salute and fired past her charges to sweep down the link ahead of them.
A com blast indicated that the pirates were making a stand, but it was followed by silence.
“Strike Leader?” Free and Spense asked together.
“Sorry, sars,” Magreth panted. “Took out one target, but the other got away. Along with a life pod.”
Dax cursed silently, but Free ignored the voice in his head. “How many capsules are left?”
“Six, sar. All standard triples.”
“We’ll have to squeeze. Make it work.”
Dax stopped his private tirade. Can we have Lt. Cozy in our pod?
“Not now,” Free said, ignoring Spense’s surprised look. “Everyone get loaded. How are the other teams going, Senior?”
Spense studied his com. “Seven, no eight ships secured. Two of those ready to eject escape pods.”
A roar cut through the conversation and rocked the nest around them. Free shook his head, but the ringing in his ears remained.
“What was that?” he mouthed at Spense.
One of our Strike Teams lost its ride. The pirates fought back and that ship’s gone, his Senior thought back quite clearly and Free froze. Since when were humans telepaths?
Since we met the kres genome.
Spense raised a finger to point at the link and Free snapped his own thoughts into line, including those from Dax.
Spense nodded. The other target ships are boarded and taken. All remaining crew are good to go.
Let’s go then, Free replied carefully. A Senior with secrets was the last thing he needed right now. Especially one who’d been spying on his thoughts for years.
The link was dark around Free as he blasted along it and the acrid smell of burning ship made its way past his com filter. Smoke joined it and he had to use his fronds to find the escape pods. Once he would have waited to guide Spense, but it seemed that wasn’t necessary. The human was on his heels when he reached the closest capsule.
It was the only pod still open and Strike Leader Mashishanga was poised on its lip. She seized Free’s arm and threw him into the padded interior, thrusting Spense after him. They crowded close as she followed, but there were only three of them and there was enough space to let Free back away from Spense. He definitely needed some room.
“Launch,” he barked at his Senior, but didn’t look at the man.
His order was calmly repeated and the primitive pod launched without inertia damping. Free’s head thudded back against the padded wall of the small cylinder and Magreth had to brace herself with her arms on either side of him. She offered an apologetic smile and pulled back as soon as their acceleration eased.
He smiled absently back, but his attention was on Spenser Chen. The man had revealed himself. Who knew what he’d learned over the years with his hidden telepathy. Was he the traitor behind this attack?
Free slid down the wall until he could crouch against its cushioning and gain enough room to point his oversized blaster up at Chen.
“Admiral?” Magreth asked. Her own huge weapon was stuck, muzzle down, pointing at the floor. In the tight space there was no room for her to lift it, but she shifted it slightly to aim at Spenser’s feet.
The Senior studied them calmly. “If you shoot up our escape pod it won’t be a pod anymore and it won’t escape.”
Free held the gun steady, despite the swerving of the capsule. Still two minutes until the Grace exploded. More than enough time to deal with Spenser.
“Are you the traitor?”
“No.” Absolutely not. Truth/conviction/hurt
“Stay out of my head,” Free ordered.
Yeah, thought Dax, that’s my territory.
Spense gave a tight smile. “Apologies, Admiral. I’m committed to the Alliance and always have been. I was about to die on the Grace beside you. Don’t question my loyalty.”
“You’ve lied to me.”
Magreth pushed back into the padding until she could lift her blaster high enough to target Spenser’s groin. He gave her a wounded look and slowly raised his hands.
“I simply kept a secret that wasn’t mine to share. May I?” He turned very slowly and gripped each of his ears to pull them further out from his head. Nestled behind them, no longer than the lobes, were two tiny fronds. The pair of fluffy strands were dark brown and could easily have been mistaken for hair. The camouflage was excellent, even without the cover offered by Spenser’s ears.
Magreth gasped and Free hissed. The humans had started fooling around with kres genes. Didn’t they know what happened to the mermaridian when they did that? They created the Beserks. Free stared at Spense’s almond-shaped eyes, but they remained as dark as ever. No hint of battle rage there, but then there never had been.
“I’m not berserk, sar,” Spense said. “I’m the mainly-natural result of my parents’ hopes for me. Space is big and scary. They were trying to help.”
Dax stirred inside Free’s head. He’s telling the truth, Oh Admiral-one. Can’t you feel it?
Unfortunately Free could. He wasn’t happy though. “I don’t like the fronds’ length, or how they’re tucked away and hidden. It offers unfair advantage.”
Spense had the cheek to smile. “There’s no such thing, sar. There’s only advantage and everyone strives for that.”
Free frowned, but slumped on the floor and relaxed his grip on the blaster. He’d been holding it so hard his hands tingled. “Swear you weren’t involved in this attack.”
“I swear it, sar.”
Spenser left it at that, making no attempt to project his feelings, but held Free’s gaze without flinching.
Free supposed he had to accept that. Throughout his career Spense had been nothing but loyal and obedient. Free had no evidence to arrest the man, but at least he wasn’t naively trusting him the way he had Gull. He’d measured his new Senior’s words against his deeds and they matched so far. All Free had against him was the fact that he was suspiciously nice – too good to be true, just like Gull.
A giant roared and shook their pod, throwing it away to tumble through space. The three of them collided, hitting weapons and flesh and softer walls. Free had a confused minute of being shaken like a doll, before the capsule corrected itself to a less extreme sway. His vision returned and he was twisted over Magreth and under Spense.
It seemed the Grace was gone. And his head hurt.
“Sar,” croaked Spense, “we took out half the pirate fleet. Every leech that was on our ship, but the rest have reached Blossom.”
His mind passed on an image he’d somehow plucked from the Fleet data stream. Could the man do no wrong? Free grunted and they untangled themselves in silence. He felt sudden panic. What about the rest of the crew?
“Everyone’s alive, sar,” Spense offered. “Some injuries, but nothing critical. Nice plan. What do you want to do now?”
“Let’s get to Blossom. Fast as we can.”
“Course already laid in, sar,” Magreth said. “I figured they’d need us. I set all the pods on the same track.”
“Good,” said Free, finding a smile. “Nice work, SL. If you’ll excuse me, I need to think.”
Free huddled in a corner of the pod and closed his eyes.
This is no time for a sleep, old man, Dax chimed in, but quieted when Free hushed him.
There had to be a way out of this. A way to defeat a surprise attack by a numerically superior foe who had already destroyed most of the defenders’ fleet. Drak. This was bad and with a traitor still active it would certain-sure get worse. Every defense they had was compromised, so it was his job to find something else. Anything else.
23
Unshielded
The landing on Blossom was rough and Free tumbled into his companions again. There was a jarring moment of disjointed swearing and pain, before the pod bounced to a halt. He lay in the darkness of the drained capsule and someone was breathi
ng hard in his ear. Neither of his companions spoke as they unwound their limbs and found their feet. The pod was on its side, so they had to crouch while Magreth dug into the padding, searching for the manual hatch release.
“Opening,” she warned and leaned into the lever.
It groaned and gave with a shriek. An entire side of the hatch popped off. Free squinted against sunlight, while the familiar scent of flowers told him the capsule had made it to Blossom. He swung himself out and his two crew-members followed.
Free paused to catch his balance when he landed in a mound of loamy dirt. The pod had left a series of furrows across a field, before stopping in an explosion of earth and berry bushes. An angry farmer might come looking for them sometime, but probably not today.
A whine rose to a banshee howl and Free ducked beside the pod while something streaked across the sky above. It hit the planet’s shield and disintegrated. Flames lapped at the atmosphere and more missiles followed. Fresh explosions of orange and red bloomed above the planet, but Free didn’t stay to watch. He checked his com to get his bearings and loped off toward Centria.
The others joined him and he accelerated until the world around them was a creamy blur. Free kept his pace steady enough to maintain, but added full com power which hurtled him across the landscape. He reached a pipe feed to the capital in minutes and halted beside translucent tentacles of plastic that spread through the landscape.
“Where to, Admiral?” Magreth asked and Free made his decisions.
“You first, Strike Leader. I want you to use all your com power. Everything you’ve got plus the strength of your body. Keep going till you have to crawl. I want you guarding the shield generator as quick as you can. Don’t let anyone near it and I mean anyone. I’ll follow, but I’ve got to go slower and liaise with what’s left of the Fleet. Understood?”
Magreth nodded and turned away without a word. She pressed a palm to the soft skin of the public transport conduit, which glowed and parted in response. She slid through the growing gap, which sealed behind her and her shadow rocketed away toward the city.