by J Battle
'I would have liked to have a go at flying the ship.' He was making a poor attempt at not sulking.
'I've got the brains and the experience; it makes sense. That's why Andreas picked me. You've got...great hand-eye co-ordination. You always have had. That's why you're in charge of the actual fighting. That's the important bit; I'm just the bus driver.'
Nigel nodded and twiddled the joy-stick.
They were closing in on the orbit of Uranus, using the planet's great orb to shield them from the view of the enemy. Within the hour, the battle for the Solar System would begin, with the plan worked out on Angel's Kiss by its AI and Andreas giving the humans a quick advantage; hopefully.
The ship was flying itself, and there was nothing yet to shoot at, so the friends relaxed in their seats and sipped at coffee pouches.
'You know, I hope you don't mind me saying this,' said Jimmy, 'but, even though we're about to put our lives on the line, about to begin an actual battle for goodness sake, still, I have to say, things are much more relaxed when your sister's not around. No offence.'
Nigel nodded again. 'No offence taken, mate. I know just what you mean; she does seem to ramp up the tension in any situation, doesn't she?'
'Still, at least she's safe on Mars, for now.'
'Yeah, Andreas has her working on the fabricators, and she seems to be enjoying the responsibility.'
He tossed his spent pouch over his head and, bending backwards, watched it float across the flight-deck, much to Jimmy's annoyance.
'How did he get put in charge, anyway?'
'He's not in charge. It's the new Commodore. He’s just given him executive responsibility because of his close relationship with the AI, and because every naval officer went down with the first attack on the Hru-argh.'
'So, what does he do? The new Commodore.'
'Who knows? I think he said that he'd be focusing on the bigger picture; or some other such rubbish.' He caught Nigel’s wayward coffee pouch and slipped it into the rubbish receptacle, along with his own.
'Are you nervous?'
The question came out of the blue, in a quiet little voice.
'Nervous? Who, me? No, not in the least. Frightened out of my skin? Yeah, that's me.' Jimmy turned away and began to check his systems.
Nigel closed his eyes as the nominated time approached.
‘Almost time, mate,’ said Jimmy, softly.
Nigel sat forward and gripped the joy-stick in his right hand, his left hovering over the fire button and his eyes fixed on the screen. The cold arc of Uranus was dropping from view.
'Ready, mate?' he whispered.
Jimmy tightened his restraints and ran through a prayer in his head that he hadn't known he knew.
'Yeah. I guess I am.'
A low buzzer sounded and they heard the gentle inhalation as the shift engine built up to the requisite power level.
There was a clock in the top right corner of his screen, running down from thirty to zero. As it reached five, Nigel closed his eyes for a second. Then he was ready; with his great hand-eye co-ordination.
Jimmy watched him helplessly; he had nothing to do until the five-phased attack sequence was over. Everything was pre-programmed by the AI. Only when it was over and it was time to fall back to evaluate the effectiveness of the attack would he again take the controls.
The shift engine sighed, the screen flickered and they were suddenly amidst the enemy fleet.
Appearing to be less than one hundred meters from them was a large off white, yellowy sphere, dotted about with puce colored oval extrusions and random spike and vanes.
‘Don’t just look at it; shoot it!’ yelled Jimmy.
‘Just about there,’ said Nigel in an unbelievably calm voice. ‘There we go; see how you like that.’
He slammed his fist down on the red button and watched as something small, bright and fast covered the distance between the ships and then the enemy ship was no more; not even an explosion or a cloud of debris. Just zzupp and it was gone.
Nigel would have cheered and yelled, but the disappearance of the ship merely revealed the presence of another ship; a little further away and already turning towards them.
He listened for the sound of the shift engine, but it was still inhaling. There were seconds yet before it was powered up enough for the next shift. Seconds in which the new ship could bring its weapons to bear on him.
‘Shoot!’
Nigel pressed the button again and zzupp, they were alone.
Then the shift engine exhaled, and suddenly they weren’t.
This time Nigel needed no helpful advice from Jimmy; he fired instantly and the screen was clear again. As they watched the empty screen and listened to the gentle indrawn breath of the shift engine, they both had the same thought; at the very same time.
In unison, they turned to look at the opposite bulkhead; the side without a screen. What couldn’t they see? What was on the other side? What was even now preparing to fire on them?
Then the shift engine breathed out and they had more than enough to worry about before them on the screen. There were three ships; all visible; all suddenly aware of their presence; all zzupped with élan by our intrepid weapons officer.
When the sequence was complete and they’d shifted five times into danger, they shifted back to safety on the far side of Uranus from the action.
‘That was…,’ began Jimmy, finding himself at a loss for words.
‘That was awesome!’ yelled Nigel, by way of helping out his friend.
**********
‘May I report, Sir?’
Hy-Dehone thought that, for once, he might just say no; no report thank you very much, I’m far too busy composing an Eruphian echo poem and I really can’t be bothered.
‘I will accept your report.’ Was what he actually said.
‘We are under attack again, Sir. Twenty ships attacked without warning.’
‘Attacked?’
‘Destroyed, Sir.’
‘Did we detect the presence of their ships at any time before, during or after this attack?’
‘No ships were detected, Sir.’
‘The sensor stations surrounding the fleet? No alarms were triggered?’
‘No, Sir. There is one further piece of data you should be aware of, Sir. We didn’t detect any ships because they appear to be hitting us with rocks.’
‘Rocks!’
‘May I add new information to my report, Sir?’ He looked as if he would much rather leave the bridge immediately; his sub-dubs were certainly getting a workout.
‘Go on, officer.’
‘The attack has escalated, Sir. We’ve lost another seventy-five ships in the short time we’ve been speaking. Make that one hundred and twenty seven ships, Sir. We are getting reports of attacks from ships now, Sir.’
‘Well, I suppose that’s a little better than rocks.’ Sighed the old Commodore.
‘Sir, if I can be allowed to make a comment, Sir?’
The Commodore looked down at his second in command and rippled his wattles. He could see what was coming; he’d had the thought himself.
‘Yes, comments are as always welcome.’
‘Given that we seem to have no defense against the enemy; that we can’t even see them. Given that they seem to have access to advanced technology and that we are unable to ascertain their capabilities. Given that they destroyed the force that was intended to subdue the fifth planet of Tau Ceti without revealing themselves to us. Given what they are doing to us even now. Well, Sir, I think you see what the evidence suggests, Sir.’
‘Do not hesitate; say the words and commit yourself.’
‘I think, Sir, that…’ He lowered his head a little, seeking the courage to say the words and risk his own reputation and the wrath of his superior. ‘I think we should class them as The Denied and take our fleet home. They seem to qualify, Sir, with their unknown technology and, well, you know…Sir.’
The commodore glared down at him, hardly believing t
hat he’d spoken the words. He himself had allowed the idea to blossom in his own mind for a brief moment, and then he’d pushed it to one side. It was tempting, but it was too soon.
‘Instruct the fleet to implement Escallatorian shielding immediately. We can’t afford to lose so many ships when we can’t even see anyone to shoot back at.’
‘But, Sir…’
‘There is no need to explain the basics to me, officer! I fully understand that whilst they are protected by their shields, they won’t be able to fire their weapons at the enemy. I hardly see that it will make any difference to our current offensive performance, do you, officer?’
‘No, Sir,’ replied his second in command in a subdued tone. It didn’t seem the right time to bring up the drain on a ship’s power sources demanded by the Escallatorian shield. If they weren’t very careful, they could end up with an enormous fleet, possibly the largest ever assembled, without the power to fight or flee, and with no shields.
He was sure that his superior was fully aware of that danger and that he would implement plans to prevent that from happening.
Well, he was sort of sure.
Chapter 54
When it came, it came with a flash of light, a shaking of the ground and a wind that lifted them all from the rocky surface and tossed them back down again.
Dan rolled, his head protected by his arms, grunting and groaning as he came to a halt at the bottom of a slight depression. He lay still for a moment, catching his breath.
Then he realized that there was no-one else with him. Where was everyone?
He sat up and rolled easily to his feet, and then he walked up the gentle slope and spun around, looking for them. Even in the dim twilight he could see that he was alone. He started off southwards, following their original direction, thinking that, being so much lighter, the Evinesse might have been carried further by the wind.
He almost missed the first dully glowing strand, hidden by a rock. When he bent to touch it, he saw another; then another. They were scattered across the landscape, single strands that had once been his friends but were now…still alive. They were getting brighter; as he watched they became as bright as they’d been underground, and they started wriggling towards each other.
He slumped to the ground as they began to reform. Within minutes he was surrounded by them; whole and healthy and ready to carry on.
‘AS WE SAY DANROBINSON, WE ARE VERY HARD TO HURT. WE PREVAIL AND WE SHALL PREVAIL, AS SHALL OUR FRIENDS BELOW. WHEN WE ARE ATTACKED WE DISASSEMBLE AND BECOME TOO NUMEROUS TO HARM, AND WE CARRY OUR FRIENDS WITH US, AS DO THEY US.’
Dan stared up at Ardeenallwys for a moment, then he shook his head and got back to his feet. Was it possible that those who stayed behind could have survived the effects of the explosion? Were they even now wriggling their single ways through the devastated caverns, seeking out any surviving enemies?
It was a hope, but no more. His friends had survived the wind but, those underground, how could they possibly survive the destruction that must have been wrought below? With the rock falls and the inevitable flooding? And the Hru-argh must still have ships above; they’d be back for sure. So his original plan still held.
‘Let’s go,’ he said, ‘we‘ve a long way to go.’
He set off again, his pace slightly reduced, with the line of aliens behind him.
If he’d had any way of knowing what was happening in high orbit on the other side of the planet, he might have reconsidered his options. But the explosion that destroyed the last of the Hru-argh ships when its inquisitive captain opened the first of his eggs was hidden from his view on the other side of the planet.
They travelled non-stop for three days; neither the Evinesse nor the enhanced human seemed to require rest; they just kept on trotting along the rough, inhospitable land.
Early in the morning of the third day, they came to the top of a low ridge. The only way down was by a narrow path that wandered back and forward across the slope.
The path was blocked by a slender figure dressed in nothing but glowing bands.
‘Hi there,’ she said. ‘You know you can be seen for miles with these glowing aliens?’
‘I like your outfit,’ said Dan, as he went to hug her.
Helen placed her hand on his chest. ‘Listen to me,’ she said softly, ‘you deserve some sort of explanation.’
‘OK; let’s walk and talk.’
Together they walked, a little separate from their companions, and Helen told him everything; about the diamonds and the killing, about her period of madness as she found herself covered in glowing bands, and how she came to terms with them.
At the end of that day, they came to the edge of a deep rift valley that twisted and turned as far as the eye could see.
As Dan and Helen paused to take in the scenery, Ardeenallwys joined them.
‘IS THIS TO BE OUR NEW HOME, DANROBINSON? IT IS NOT WHAT WE ARE USED TO, BUT WE SHALL ADAPT. UNTIL IT IS TIME FOR US TO RETURN AND TAKE UP THE STRUGGLE.’
Just below them, the ground sloped gently towards the distant valley floor, but on either side, the walls appeared almost vertical, as they towered over the narrow green valley.
Dan was about to start the last leg of their journey when there was a snuffling noise behind a jumble of rocks to his right.
He smiled. ‘Hi there,’ he called.
A little green lizard like creature stepped into view, his stumpy tail held at a right angle to his body.
‘So, Mr. Robinson, you were a successful recipient of our generous offer.’
‘I guess the answer is yes, Sublan. We’ve come to join you in your new home.’ He looked down at the grass a few hundred meters below and, a little further down, honest to goodness trees. ‘I like what you’ve done with the place.’
*********
‘Ready?’
‘Yep.’ He twiddled his joy-stick and leant closer to his screen.
‘OK. We’re going in again for another sequence. 'Starting…now!’
The curve of Uranus disappeared from view and Nigel jerked in his seat, looking for his next target. But all he could see was the steady glare of distant stars; there was nothing to hit.
‘Jimmy…’
‘I can see.’
‘What do we do?’
Jimmy didn’t reply; he merely listened as the shift engine drew its breath.
‘We...’
The engine breathed out gently, but the view didn’t change.
‘Something’s wrong, Jimmy.’
‘I know, we should abort but there isn’t an abort option.’
‘What’s happening? Are we facing the wrong way? Are they right behind us?’
Before Jimmy could answer, the ship shifted again, with the same results.
‘Sequence aborted,’ the ship’s speaker announced.
‘How did you do that?’
‘I didn’t. Angel’s Kiss must have realized that something was wrong.’
They were back on the other side of Uranus, feeling a little less exposed.
‘Well, at least they didn’t shoot at us while we were looking for a target that wasn’t there.’
‘If they weren’t there, they couldn’t have shot at us,’ said Jimmy automatically as he tried to work out what had gone wrong.
‘Please pay attention.’ It was hardly a necessary instruction from the AI.
‘The enemy have shielded themselves in some way so that we cannot actively locate them, but we will run the sequence again as we have a record of the location and course of each ship prior to the shielding. If they have not modified their course subsequently, then we may still be able to destroy more of their ships. You will need to adjust the firing rate on your weapons to scatter-gun mode as precise targeting will not be possible. Sequence to start in thirty-five seconds.’
‘Is it sending us back where we’ve already been?’
‘It appears so,’ replied Jimmy.
‘To an enemy that we can’t see, but can still see us?’
‘Get ready to fire.’
‘That might know we are…’
The shift engine sighed.
‘Fire!’
Nigel closed his mouth and pressed the fire button, jiggling his joy-stick so that his munitions were scattered across the whole of his screen.
They shifted and he repeated the process, again and again, until the sequence was complete and they were back on the safe side of Uranus.
‘Did we hit anything?’ asked Nigel.
‘Who knows? At least no-one hit us.’
‘So, what happens next?’
‘Another sequence, I suppose.’
Jimmy checked his screen. ‘Maybe not; maybe not. We used seventy-five percent of our ammunition in that sequence. We don’t have enough left to repeat; not unless we can return to single shot firing. We’ll have to wait until we can get more supplies.’
‘Stand down, everyone. It is time for you to take a well-earned rest whilst the results of your action are considered. Everyone will be shifted back to Mars orbit for a little R & R.’
‘Now that sounds like a good idea,’ said Nigel, stretching out his arms and arching his back.
Jimmy nodded his agreement to the idea. He didn’t want to mention his worry that they couldn’t go on like this; that eventually their luck would turn.
Chapter 55
‘Permission to report, Sir.’
The Commodore was tempted to rip his head off, just to stop the litany of bad news; but he was a professional, so he restrained himself.
'Permission given,' e grunted.
'The attack has been renewed; eighty-five ships lost.'
'So the shields are ineffective?'
'Apparently so, Sir.'
'How long before the drain on power becomes a problem?'
'Another twenty hours and there will be some degradation in our capabilities.'
'Options?'
His second in command hesitated. 'Two, Sir.'
'And they are?'
'Drop the shields and use the complete fleet to find and engage the enemy, or...'