by Randy Dyess
“Dakota, Captain Moore,” Cheyenne said, “I’ve found a whole series of security and command codes for the station. There is nothing about Archimedes Mining disabling their codes when they abandon a station. In fact, Archimedes’ policy is to leave the codes active, in case they need to reopen the station.”
“Are you sure? What if the pirates disabled them?” Captain Moore asked.
“That’s not likely,” Cheyenne replied. “It would take a master command code to disable the other codes, and I doubt the pirates have one.”
“How do you think Florres took over the station, then?” Captain Moore asked.
“All mining stations have a general code created when they are abandoned,” Cheyenne said. “The code is known by most miners, so he probably used one of those.”
Captain Moore said, “Make sure Lt. Davids and the rest of the captains know the codes. We might be able to use them to gain entry into the station and save some marine lives.” Captain Moore looked at his camera, “All ships, report status. Marine assault force, report status.”
“Assault force is green,” Lt. Davids reported.
“Sullivan’s Pride is green,” Dakota reported. “Taurus’ Pride and Pegasus’ Pride report green, as well.”
“Alpha Squad reports green,” Captain Moore reported. “All ships start your FTL drives and move out. Good luck, everyone!”
“The same to you, sir,” Dakota told Captain Moore.
The six ships of the task force created their FTL tunnel endpoints and disappeared from Taurus Prime.
******
Three hours and thirty minutes later, Cheyenne said to Dakota, “Everyone’s nervous.”
“Same here. We’ve had minor skirmishes with pirates before, but never a fleet battle. I hope I’m up to this.”
“You are,” Cheyenne said. “The pirates have never been in a fleet battle, either, and they usually flee when something comes at them. Our ships are bigger, faster, and better-equipped than anything in space today. You’ll do fine. It’s the marines that I worry about—they don’t have the right equipment for boarding a pirate-filled mining station.”
“The marines will do what they were trained to do, good equipment or not.”
“Two minutes to FTL exit,” the Sullivan’s Pride pilot said. The bridge crew gave out a quick cheer and then became serious as they started adjusting their equipment. “Exit!” the pilot shouted over the communications channel.
“Scan and ready weapons!” Dakota shouted. The Sullivan’s Pride bridge crew started their tasks to get their ship ready for the upcoming battle.
“I scan eighty ships in orbit around the station. One is the size of an Orion patrol vessel,” the tactical officer said.
“Must be the Anarchy,” Dakota said. “What about the others?”
“Small freighters in the five to six crew size range. Nothing is moving. They’re all parked in space.”
“Let’s hope the crews are on the station.”
“I see another thirty small fighter-sized ships docked.”
Cheyenne looked to Dakota with worry. “We don’t have defenses built for fighters.”
“Make the docked fighters a priority,” Dakota commanded. “I want Taurus’ Pride to make a run at the fighter dock and destroy them. I want Pegasus’ Pride to sweep the station and destroy any ships they find, and scan and destroy any weapons on the station if deemed safe. Sullivan’s Pride will handle the ships in orbit and make our way toward the Anarchy. Everyone join up at Zeta point after you have completed your objectives. We’ll take on the rest of the pirate ships while we wait for Alpha Squad.”
The three Sullivan armed freighters started moving toward their targets. The ships were ready and would likely be able to clear the area without losses.
“Let’s try to take them all out before Alpha Squad arrives,” Dakota said.
******
King Antonio Florres had just fallen asleep when the battle alarm sounded throughout the Anarchy. “Whoever hit that alarm is going to pay,” Florres grunted as he swung out of bed. He only kept a small number of trusted crew members on the Anarchy when they were at the station, but even those members got drunk. Drunk men on the bridge of a ship—even one parked in orbit—often set off various alarms.
“What the hell is going on?” Florres shouted into his com unit.
“King Florres, a fleet just appeared at the FTL endpoint! Sensors are reporting three Sullivan Shipping Pride-class armed freighters making a run at us.”
“Those damn Sullivans!” Florres shouted. “Get this ship moving! Get us out of here! Warn the others, if you have time.”
“Aye, King Florres,” the bridge watch responded. They knew they had no hope of saving any of the others; only a few of the pirate ships would have a crew on board and the station wouldn’t be able to respond in time to send crews to their ships. It was doubtful that anyone was actually in the command room of the station standing watch.
It only took a minute for the half-dressed King to appear on the bridge of the Anarchy. He could tell that only a dozen of his ships were able to flee. He watched as the Sullivan freighters plowed into his small fleet and started destroying his ships one by one.
“Full speed, and get me away from those ships!” Florres shouted at his pilot. “Let’s get out of here!”
King Florres knew he had no chance against any of the Sullivan ships; it was better to flee and start over in another sector than to try to save his other ships or men. They were a lost cause.
“Tell the others who are able to get moving to make their way to point Charlie.”
“Captain, another FTL endpoint is forming about five thousand kilometers off our port side.”
“Change course toward that endpoint,” Florres said. “Maybe we can take out one of those damn ships before they fully exit the endpoint. I don’t care if it blows up—I want one of those ships taken out before we enter FTL.”
The bridge crew didn’t like it, but they changed course to obey King Florres, anyway. They just wanted to make it out of the battle area and into safety.
******
Cheyenne watched in horror as the smaller pirate ships were destroyed and the few crew members on them were swept out into space. She knew she would watch the recordings later to confirm what she saw, but she swore the pirates struggled as they entered space and died. She could only guess what they were going through. I need to design suits we can wear during these battles, so none of our people have to go through that, she thought as she watched another pirate ship blow up.
Dakota watched her three ships sweep through the pirate fleet, destroying any ship they came in contact with. The pirates were not even fighting back; they had taken them completely by surprise.
“Taurus’ Pride reports they have destroyed all fighters and the fighter docks. They are joining us now,” the Sullivan’s Pride tactical officer reported into the ship’s communication channel.
“Good. What about the Pegasus?” she asked.
“Pegasus’ Pride reports they have destroyed thirty pirate ships and have completed their scan of the station. They report no weapons present.”
“Tell Lt. Davids to get his men ready to drop,” Dakota said.
“Anarchy and four other ships are moving toward the FTL endpoint. They’ll get there before Alpha Squad is due.”
“They’ll catch them before they are out and able to power up,” Dakota said as she looked to Cheyenne. “Does your AI have any suggestions?”
“Yes, but you’re not going to like it. I’m sending a suggested flight plan to you now.”
“You’ve got to be kidding!” Dakota exclaimed after looking at the flight plan. Cheyenne just shrugged. Dakota turned toward her pilot and said, “Input this flight maneuver into the system and execute on my command.”
The pilot looked at the new flight maneuver and then at Dakota with a doubtful look on his face. “Are you sure?”
“Yes! Input and execute. Now!” she commanded.
<
br /> “Aye, Captain.”
******
“Listen up, everyone. The Sullivans have been carrying the load for at least fifteen minutes. It’s our turn to get into this fight and help them out,” Captain Moore said into the Castle’s communications channel. “Let’s hope they left some for us.”
The crew cheered as the Castle left her FTL tunnel. They were ready for anything the pirates could throw at them.
“Exit!” the pilot shouted.
“Give me a scan. Contact the Sullivan’s Pride and get my weapons up!” Captain Moore commanded.
“Captain! Contact dead ahead. It’s the Anarchy and four other ships. They’ll be on us before we clear!”
Captain Moore knew there was nothing he could do: Florres would strafe the Castle as it cleared FTL and flee before the Castle could turn around and engage. He just hoped his ship would survive.
Aboard the Sullivan’s Pride, Dakota told Lt. Davids that they were about to engage the Anarchy. “It might get a little bumpy. We have to try a very radical maneuver to save the Castle from the Anarchy.”
“Understood. We’re ready,” Lt. Davids responded, hoping they would survive the next few minutes. He wanted to take his frustrations out on the pirates on the base; he hated being locked up in the drop ship while the Sullivan’s Pride did all the fighting. It wasn’t in his nature to have someone else fight for him and have his life in their hands.
The Sullivan’s Pride accelerated to catch up to the pirate ships. Dakota wanted full use of her weapons to destroy the four remaining pirate ships, along with the Anarchy. In order to do so, the combat AI had suggested they use maximum speed to catch up with the pirates and then perform a high-speed flip to keep the Sullivan’s Pride weapons locked on the targets the entire duration. The AI reported that the ship should be able to handle the stress of the maneuver. It also suggested the marine dropships be jettisoned as soon as the flip was over. They needed to be dropped just after the pirate ships were destroyed to maximize the element of surprise on the station.
Captain Moore and the crew of the Castle watched in fascination as the Sullivan’s Pride rapidly closed in on the pirate ships. They saw it slide sideways to bring all of her weapons about and lock onto the four smaller pirate ships. One round from the Sullivan’s Pride and all four pirate ships were destroyed with nothing to mark their location but an expanding dust cloud.
The crew of the Anarchy watched in disbelief as the Sullivan’s Pride performed a barrel roll over the Anarchy, keeping its weapons firing the entire time. Five rounds landed on the Anarchy during the barrel-roll—five rounds which destroyed the Anarchy’s weapons and engines, leaving it helpless and unable to escape from the oncoming Castle. King Florres and the rest of his crew could only cuss as the Sullivan’s Pride performed maneuvers meant for fighter ships and not large freighters.
Once her ship completed its flip, Dakota ordered the marine dropships to start their run. Six drop ships came pouring out of the Sullivan’s Pride, tumbling before their pilots could gain control. “Sorry, about that,” she told the drop ship pilots. “Couldn’t be helped.” She got no answer, though, as the marine dropship pilots were too busy trying to recover their flight paths. “Tell the Castle it will take us another sixty minutes to turn around and make our way back to the battle. I don’t think we left any ships for him, but he has command of the Taurus and Pegasus for cleanup and rescue operations. Tell Captain Moore that the marines are on their way to take the base,” Dakota told her communications officer before sinking back into her chair with relief. There was still a lot of fighting left for the marines, but her people were safe. No lives had been lost on any of the Sullivan freighters.
Chapter 6
The thirty-five marines of Alpha Squad looked nervously at Lt. Davids as he disconnected his com unit. It had been a rough few minutes as the Sullivan’s Pride went through its maneuvers fighting the pirate ships, and several of the young marines had already turned slightly green and lost their lunches. Humans had been at peace for over six hundred years and only a few pirates ever risked combat with Terran Marines or private security forces. Very few of the one-hundred and fifty marines on the assault force had actually experienced any form of combat, let alone gone through the violent ship maneuvers they had just experienced. They all wanted off the Sullivan’s Pride and for the fight to begin, but secretly most of the marines hoped the pirates would simply give up once they boarded the station. The marines were used to arresting pirates, not fighting them.
“Okay, listen up,” Lt. Davids commanded his men. “We have a go. Strap in; we’re about to launch, and it will be a tricky one. I want everyone to run through their checklist one more time and check out their buddy. Get ready for the ride of your lives.”
Smiles broke out on the faces of the younger men, but the older ones grimaced. First Sergeant McCoons had been through this before. “Mel,” McCoons said as he created a private channel with another NCO on the drop ship. “Watch your men. We’re about to drop, and some of these youngsters will lose it over the next few minutes until the pilot can get straightened out.”
“Understood,” Sergeant McKinsey replied. What he didn’t say was that he was one of them. Sergeant Mel McKinsey had never been in a combat situation during his ten years in the marines. Five years as a fleet marine and five more as a mud marine didn’t prepare him for actual combat.
“Here we go,” McCoons replied as he felt a slight bump indicating the locking clamps on the drop ship were about to disengage.
One by one, six smaller marine dropships detached from the Sullivan’s Pride and started tumbling, due to the extreme speed the ship had been under. The protocol called for the main ship to be stationary when releasing the drop ships, but it had been written during peace time and not for combat situations.
Almost all of the marines started vomiting as the drop ship pilot fought to control the small ship’s tumbling. Vibrations shook the ship as the engines fired and went into overdrive as they tried to get the ship under control. Slowly, the marines relaxed as the small ship straightened and begin to rocket toward the large space station of Pirate’s Bay.
******
Over three-hundred were stranded on Pirate’s Bay as the security task force attacked. All over the station, pirates crowded around observation windows, monitors, and small portholes, watching their fleet as it was destroyed. Fighting others was a way of life for all pirates, and none of them wanted to be captured since corporate prisons meant for a slow death with years of hard labor. They all knew they would die in prison, so they were prepared to fight to the end. It was better to go out a free man than a slave for a corporation.
The pirates watched and counted their friends dying out in space. The few young pirates who voiced their opinion that they should surrender the station were promptly shot by the others. Even after feeling the station shake as their few defensive weapons were destroyed, the remaining pirates vowed to defend the station or die trying. Their leaders yelled for them to make their way to their boarding stations and get prepared to defend Pirate’s Bay.
“Get with it, you scurvy dogs! We can take a bunch of land-loving Candus Security pukes!” The pirates broke off into small groups as they made their way to the docking stations and other key defensive points of the space station. The experienced pirates and their leaders went to the hostages they recently captured during the Night Queen cruise ship raid. currently being held on the station. They knew they probably wouldn’t win this fight, so they wanted hostages between them and whatever security force made its way onto their station.
The few pirates remaining near windows or monitors saw the marine dropships rocketing toward them. Many of the pirates had served in the military or on security teams, so they knew what was coming and that they had no chance of winning if the marines were involved. As bad as the Terran military equipment was, it was still much better than what the pirates had. Friends shook hands as they watched the six small ships make their way to the stati
on.
The small group of pirates defending the main docking station heard the small bump as a marine dropship mated with the docking clamps. They hoped the hatches would hold, but they prepared themselves behind a small barricade of cargo containers. They thought they were ready for whatever came out of the airlock’s hatches, and they needed to prevent the boarders from getting through in large numbers. If they could pick them off as they exited the airlock, the pirates would have a chance.
******
Lt. Davids looked at Tech Sergeant Chen. “Go!”
Tech Sergeant Chen floated to the space station’s main docking hatch and entered the old code supplied to them by Cheyenne. The hatch slid open, but the airlock only had room for one fire team at a time.
“Alpha Squad with me,” Lt. Davids told his men.