Mercury's Bane: Book One of the Earth Dawning Series

by Nick Webb

  But if one of those bullets pierced the hull in the cargo hold, they were screwed.

  Details.

  “Their docking umbilical is latching on to the cargo hold hatch. You’ll be wanting to get your girl out of there now.”

  “Roger that,” said Pike, and he pointed down the corridor with two fingers. They passed the crew quarters, and the galley, descended the steel steps to the lower level, and they were there, in front of the cargo hold.

  The doors were shut. Pike fingered the switch to open them.

  They didn’t budge.

  “Ry?” said Pike, nervously. “Ry, what’s up? The doors aren’t opening.”

  Muttered Russian vulgarities drifted over the comm as Rychenkov fiddled with his controls in the cockpit. “Piece of … Pike, we’ve been locked out.”

  “How? Telestines?” He urgently punched the switch over and over again, hoping it was just a loose electrical contact.

  “Looks like it. They’re broadcasting something. Jamming us. Wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve tapped in somehow and locked us out of our own cargo hold. They must really want that girl.”

  Pike grit his teeth and forced himself to think. “Well they’re not getting her.” He looked all around for something to pry the door open. He toyed with the idea of shooting the locking mechanism. Something, anything, to get him through that door and get Dawn out of there.

  The ship shook and he heard a clang reverberate through the metal walls. He knew what that meant.

  “They’ve engaged their umbilical with our hatch. They’ll be through any—”

  Rychenkov didn’t even need to finish. They could hear through the thick cargo bay doors that something was happening. A screech as the outer hatch opened. Footsteps.

  And then all hell broke loose.

  Gunfire erupted from several guns at once—at least, that’s what it sounded like to Pike’s ears. He heard the eerie, guttural sounds of Telestines shouting. Crashes, followed by solid thuds.

  Pike banged on the door, and swiveled his rifle down to the locking mechanism. “Stand back,” he said to the other two men. They took cover behind the corner of the turn in the hallway, and he unloaded five rounds into the lock.

  The doors remained shut.

  The storm of gunfire, along with the accompanying crashing and yelling, continued unabated, even as Pike cupped a hand over his mouth and shouted through the seam of the doors. “DAWN! DAWN!”

  “Pike, what the hell is going on down there?” shouted Rychenkov over the comm.

  One final crash, the sound of dozens of pieces of metal scattering over a metal deck, one final gunshot, then silence.

  “I … I have no idea,” said Pike.

  The silence was almost worse than the earlier cacophony of gunfire and crashes. He started to fear the worst, and slowly raised his rifle, leveling it at the doors. James and Charlie followed suit.

  “Pike, I’ve regained control. Whatever was jamming us and interfering with our systems is … gone, apparently. Opening the doors now.”

  “Roger that,” muttered Pike, peering down the length of the rifle’s barrel, ready to drop anything that leaped out past the doors when they opened.

  The locking mechanism disengaged, and, slowly, the doors pulled apart.

  Pike’s finger twitched on the trigger. A flutter of movement beyond the door….

  The girl stood there. Dawn. A trace of blood, in stark contrast to her skin, streaked down her cheek from her forehead. He wasn’t sure if it was hers, or….

  In the cargo bay behind her, on the floor, lay the bodies of six … no, eight Telestines. Soldiers, by the looks of them. All either bleeding profusely, some with limbs at odd angles. And the bay was a wreck.

  He lowered his rifle. “Dawn?”

  Her face contorted, as if she were either in great pain, or unsure about something, but then she gave a solemn nod.

  “You … you did all that?”

  Another brief nod.

  She collapsed.

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Venus, 49 kilometers above surface

  Tang Estate, New Zurich

  “All right.” Walker shot a look at the clock in the corner and shook her head. “We have three fleets and ... about ten minutes to plan the most important battle any of us will ever be in.”

  Great.

  “I don’t see any problems.” King’s eyes were shadowed, but her smile was genuine. “You’re the queen of crazy maneuvers. Go with your gut.”

  “And you make sure I don’t leave my flanks open.” Walker stared at Delaney and King in turn and waited until they both nodded. “Okay. We have Nhean’s fleet, which is eight carriers with sixty-four fighters apiece, sixteen destroyers, and three smaller ships that do … something, he wasn’t entirely clear on that, we’re just supposed to get them near the Telestine carriers and let them do their thing. Signal jamming or some such.”

  King gave a low whistle.

  “Now, here’s the first complication. He says whatever we do, we can’t take down the flagship.”

  “What?” King’s voice rose.

  “That’s what I said. He’s going to attempt to use the Dawning and, he believes—hopefully correctly—that the flagship directs many of the other ships remotely. It sounds like an awful lot of their system works on networks.” She held up her hands. “He’s the expert, not me, and he says don’t take down the flagship.”

  “You’re taking that rather well,” Delaney observed.

  “I’m trying to focus on the part where it’s an interesting puzzle, not on the part where things I don’t understand could kill me.” Walker squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and shook her head to clear it. “So who’s in charge of the Exile Fleet, who’s in charge of our Mercury fleet, and who’s in charge of the Venus fleet?”

  “I’ll take the Exile Fleet.” Delaney cracked his fingers and gave a tired grin. “Can’t teach an old dog new tricks, right? I know these ships. I know what they can do. I’ll do what I can with that.”

  “Good.”

  “I’ll take the Mercury fleet.” King was staring at the read-outs.

  Walker nodded. That made sense; King had been the most involved recently in testing their new fighters. She knew those pilots by name and she’d seen the maneuvers they could do.

  “Anyway,” King shrugged, “seems like commanding a new fancy fleet is a dream job for any admiral.”

  All of them chuckled. It was a weak joke—not really a joke at all—but they’d take any humor they could get right now.

  “So what’s the plan, boss?” Delaney dragged a chair over and sat. He looked weary, Walker thought, but he caught her looking and gave a smile.

  She considered for a moment, and then began to tear the printouts into pieces, placing them into position on the solar system map on the console’s screen.

  “Here’s the Telestine fleet. They’ll be coming past us in about three hours, so it’s a race to Mercury, but for now we’re still closer. I’ll split Nhean’s fleet into three groups, with one of those fancy jamming ships in each. King, you’ll go ahead with a skeleton crew on a few of Nhean’s fast shuttles, get to Mercury first, retrieve the ships there, and get them up and running as fast as possible. I’ve already sent them an FTL transmission warning them of your arrival, but you’ll only have about two hours. Delaney, burn as hard as you can around the planet clockwise and come at them in retrograde orbit. Hammer and anvil—we’re going to smash them between the two of us ... more or less.”

  “I liked that plan until the ‘more or less.’” Delaney leaned forward to look.

  “We don’t want to get caught in one another’s crossfire, so here’s what we’re going to do. The Venus fleet and the Exile Fleet will both sink below the Telestine fleet. That way, we’re both firing up in opposite directions, and the Telestines have to reorient their battle while staying in the crossfire, all while dealing with King and the Mercury fleet coming out of nowhere from the surface.” She picked up the
piece of paper representing the Telestine fleet and held it over the other two, to demonstrate. “Psychological, too. People protect the bellies of their ships more than they need to if there’s a threat—and no one seems to fight in the lower hemisphere.” It was one similarity between humans and Telestines that she was finally getting to make use of.

  Delaney frowned. “They’re going to go lower in orbit to compensate. Do we really want to draw them closer to the rolling cities?”

  “It’s a chance we’ll have to take,” said Walker. She hoped it was a risk worth taking—they’d spent an immense amount of resources building those shipyards.

  “All right.” King cradled her elbows. “What about me?”

  “You’re shooting straight up from the surface, right underneath them when their orbit passes over you, and after Delaney has made his first retrograde pass. By the time he’s had a chance to swing the Exile Fleet back around, you’ll be in the clear, holding station above the Telestine fleet, while I cover you.” She moved more bits of paper into position.

  King nodded decisively. “Those pilots have been training for this for weeks; the fighters got up and running a while back, and the carrier captains have been overseeing fighter formations and running simulations themselves.”

  “Good.” Walker tried to match the woman’s excitement. “But King, whatever happens, the shipyards must survive. Protect them at all costs. The future of humanity lies on Mercury.”

  “Admiral.” Nhean’s aide, Parees, hovered in the doorway. He bowed his head courteously. “It’s time to go.”

  “Thank you.” Walker looked at her commanders. Her two most trusted officers. “Any last questions?”

  “None.” King smiled.

  “Good. Delaney?”

  Delaney was staring at the map. His eyes were distant and sad.

  Something was up with him. Walker turned to meet King’s eyes. “Head out now with your people. See you at Mercury.” She nodded to the aide. “Tell Mr. Tang I’ll be there presently.”

  She waited until they were both gone before she looked over at Delaney.

  “What is it?”

  “I have a request.” He pushed himself up, and she saw in a flash how much he had been hiding from her. It had been ten long years since they first joined forces in the Rebellion, and he hadn’t been a young man even then. “But first....” He hesitated, and held out his arms.

  She went to hug him without question, burying her face in his shoulder and blinking away unexpected emotion.

  “I am so proud of you,” he said, into her hair. “I always wanted children. Never got around to it; never found a woman I liked as much as my ships, I guess. But if I’d had a daughter, I like to think she’d have turned out like you.”

  Walker closed her eyes. She could feel a tear threaten to break free from an eyelid. “Thank you for everything.” Her voice was a whisper.

  “I am so proud of you,” he said again. He took her by the shoulders and gave a chuckle. “Aw hell, don’t cry. I’ve been a pain in the ass for the past few months and you know it.”

  “Uh-huh.” Walker gave a watery chuckle and wiped at her eyes. She almost felt shame at having let down her emotional guard, but then she noticed his eyes were red too. “It’s just....”

  “That we aren’t all going to make it out of this.” His voice was suddenly grave.

  She stilled.

  “That’s my request,” he said quietly. “If you have to throw someone into the breech, someone to hold the door, or stand as a last defense while everyone else escapes to safety, Walker ... it should be me.”

  “No.” Her denial was instant. “The leader sacrifices themselves first. That’s the rule. The captain goes down with her ship.”

  “Damned stupid rule if so.” His voice was sharp. “You’ve a mind for this, Admiral, a better one than I do, and better than King. You know today isn’t the end unless we all go to the grave, and I’m not going to plan on that. I’m planning on you staying alive to take out the rest of the Telestines, right? My endgame is Earth, and you on it.”

  It was a good point, and one she knew. And still: “I can’t just sacrifice you.”

  “Can’t you?” She saw him force himself to gentleness. “Not all of these ships are going to make it out,” he said again. “If someone’s gotta die, it should be the old man. You’re young. King’s young. I’m an old fart. Use me. Make me your shield when it comes down to the end.”

  She closed her eyes. “That’s why you took the Exile Fleet. The old ships.”

  “That, and it suits me.” He was smiling, she could tell even without looking. “We’re both a bit unpredictable, a bit broken. But we’ve both got a bit more in us than anyone’s expecting. Walker—Admiral—say you’ll do what you have to, when it comes to it. You’ll know the moment when it comes. Don’t hesitate. That’s why I’m saying my goodbyes now.”

  Grief threatened to swamp her, and she heard her own voice distantly. “But you’ll never get to see Earth again.”

  “Already seen it.” He pulled her close for another hug and squeezed tight, almost crushing her. “You and King should get to see it too before you die, huh?” His voice dropped to a whisper, “And Walker ... it’s beautiful. Like nothing you’ve ever seen.” He craned to kiss her forehead. “Go. I don’t want you to see an old man cry. I’ll never forgive myself.”

  She nodded; she didn’t trust herself to speak. But at the doorway, when she looked back, she could see that he knew everything she wanted to say. She nodded again, and left.

  Parees showed her to the shuttle that would take her to the Venus fleet’s flagship. And from there, Mercury. And battle.

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Halfway between Earth and Venus

  Freighter Agamemnon

  Dawn was ok. Rattled, shaken, and unable to tell them why—Pike could only assume it was because she’d expended so much energy fighting off the Telestines. Though how she’d done it … didn’t make any sense.

  Who was this person? Was she a person?

  They’d sedated her, along with everyone else on the ship, in preparation for a hard fifteen g burn, since there was still another formation of Telestine ships out from Earth on their tails, and they had to beat them to Venus. The inertial dampeners might keep them alive, but at that unthinkable acceleration, they’d be spinning and retching and vomiting just a minute into the burn.

  The problem with hard burn, Pike considered philosophically from his place on the cargo bay floor, was that you didn’t actually pass out. You lay there and had what could only be described as gravity nightmares, where your brain slowed to a sluggish crawl, and then you started to wonder if the human brain had really been designed for this sort of thing, and you came to the inescapable conclusion that it hadn’t, and you started to picture it actually melting into goo—

  He heard the too-quick footsteps of someone moving at a normal pace and then a searing pain as Rychenkov jabbed a cocktail of drugs into Pike’s chest.

  “Up.” Strong arms looped under his and hauled him upright.

  “Wh’th’hell.” The protest was plaintive.

  “Cockpit. Now.” Rychenkov snaked Pike’s arm over his shoulders, none too gently, and did most of the walking.

  Pike was in full-on twitch mode by the time they arrived. The drugs seemed to have set his chest on fire, but his brain was still moving a bit too slowly for comfort while his legs and arms flopped around, having acquired a mind of their own.

  He was glad Walker couldn’t see him right now. He leaned over to look at the sensor screens and nearly banged his head directly into him. “There’s a ship.”

  “I know.” Rychenkov hauled Pike’s head upright. Pale eyes stared into his. “Drugs hitting yet?”

  “Close.” Pike’s body gave a convulsive shudder. “Who’s the ship? It’s close.”

  “It’s Nhean.”

  “He sent a ship?” The man’s concern was oddly touching. Maybe that was the drugs.

  �
�He’s on the ship.” Rychenkov made sure Pike wasn’t going to fall out of his chair and then leaned back. “Says he needs to come on board, but he can’t dock while we’re at this acceleration.”

  “We’ll get to Venus soon.”

  “We’ve still got feathers on our tail. We can’t exactly stop in a residential area.”

  Pike struggled to pull his mind through the fog of the sedatives. “But … after we left that last ship adrift, they shouldn’t have been able to track us. They’re millions of kilometers away. How are they tracking us?”

  Rychenkov eyed him with a heavy look. “That’s the question, isn’t it?”

  Pike felt himself sober up in a hurry. He’d been on the Aggy long enough to see how Rychenkov operated. The man was quick to swear and throw things and get in fistfights. He got angry easily and then dropped his anger up readily enough, at least once someone’s nose was bleeding.

  Or so Pike had thought. It turned out, he realized now, that he had never actually seen Rychenkov when he was angry. When Rychenkov was angry, he went entirely, eerily still.

  Pike rubbed his eyes. “You sound like a guy who knows something. What happened?”

  “We should have known to look when this all started.” Rychenkov looked away, movements tight. Pike could see him berating himself.

  “What happened?” Pike repeated.

  “There’s a locator beacon on board.” Rychenkov leaned back in his chair. “Someone on this ship ... is sending a signal to the Telestines.”

  Pike went cold.

  “Ours might have turned on when we—”

  “It’s Telestine-made,” Rychenkov interrupted him. “Your fancy computer man Nhean figured that out right quick, once we knew what we were looking for. We’ve been trailing a big-ass sign behind us this whole damned time while we’ve been trying to shake ‘em.”

  “We have to find out who it is.” Pike pushed himself up.

  “You got that right.” Rychenkov sighed. “Look. He said I shouldn’t wake you up for this. I promised I wouldn’t, but ... you’re my guy. Been a damned good first mate. Wasn’t going to do you like that.”