by Craig Allen
The hopper diverted its course and climbed higher into the sky. Cody switched off the autopilot and took the stick. The hopper wavered under Cody’s untrained hand. He checked the hopper’s configuration. The air foils had been extended, which meant he was operating as a fixed wing. He could land a fixed wing, at least, but he hadn’t done so in years. He operated the pedals, and the hopper banked. Those were his rudders, and the stick was ailerons and elevators.
I can do this.
Cody brought the hopper around until the island was on his left. He pulled back on the throttle, and the lower grav-jets maneuvered beneath him, allowing him to hover. He breathed deeply. So far so good.
The hopper shuddered, and warning lights lit up on the HUD. What now? Cody pulled up the hopper’s schematic. The starboard grav-drives had suffered a catastrophic failure, followed by shorts in the ailerons and the elevators.
The hopper vibrated as it tried to respond to the controls, but with half the control surfaces gone, the hopper had nowhere to go but down.
He had no choice. He maneuvered into the spin and pulled back, trying to keep the hopper in a controlled spin that, when it hit the ground, wouldn’t become a full-on crash and burn.
He hoped.
The hopper vibrated violently as more warning lights lit up along the hopper’s schematic, still splayed across the HUD. The port engines had gone out as well, leaving him the one engine aft that had been tilted under the hopper. The elevators had been locked in position, requiring him to use the underside grav-jets to fight said elevators, making the ship vibrate more and causing more harm to the hopper’s failing systems, systems that had been through a lot in the past few days.
Meanwhile, the ground was approaching much more swiftly than Cody wanted.
The last of his control surfaces burned out fifty meters over the ground. He could do nothing but check his straps and brace himself, hoping the internal gravity wouldn’t give out before impact.
The ground grew close enough for Cody to see shrubs and smaller trees running away. Seconds later, he impacted. Alarms sounded all across the hopper, and Cody’s whole body shook violently as the hopper rolled end over end across the land. The HUD flickered then winked out altogether as the main canopy cracked. Emergency lights flicked on as the main power went out. A warning sounded, indicating the reactor had gone into emergency shutdown procedures. The hopper slid across the ground for a few more seconds then halted.
Cody listened as the hull groaned for a moment, then all was quiet and dark except for a handful of emergency lights that had their own battery power.
He unstrapped himself and fell against the side hatch. The hopper had landed on her port side, and the internal gravity had gone out. On top of it all, his foot was wedged in place where the seat had pushed forward. It probably would’ve crushed his feet if not for the hard boots of his suit.
The holocontrols were out, which made sense if the main reactor was down. An emergency beacon had to be somewhere, but Cody had no idea where it was or how to activate it.
None of that mattered to him, though. He rushed into the hopper bay and checked on Sonja. She was sleeping peacefully inside. All systems were nominal, but the med bay had switched over to its own power supply. It would run for twelve hours tops and shut down.
Leaving the hopper wasn’t a priority yet. First and foremost, he had to contact the fleet for rescue. That, of course, assumed they were in a position to rescue him.
He activated the long-distance comm on his suit. It hummed to life. “This is Banshee Five One requesting immediate assistance. I have one injured.” At the last second, he added, “Over.”
In return, Cody received static. He should’ve expected it. The hopper’s hull was thick enough to deflect any variety of threats found in space, such as ionized particles, radiation, and weapons fire. Normally, his suit would sync with the hopper’s systems and send the signal, but since main power had gone down, he was in the equivalent of a Faraday cage.
He had to go outside into the open Kali air.
Cody crawled around, searching for a release handle, and quickly found it. He pulled it and hoped someone out there could take his call before the locals appeared.
The rear hatch bolts exploded, and the outer hatch opened just wide enough for Cody to get through. He stepped onto the surface of Kali and was greeted by nothing—no dish trees, no shrubs, and most importantly no reeds or toads.
Cody activated his comm system again. “This is Banshee—”
A ship roared overhead, its gravimetric engines vibrating the ground as it passed less than a hundred meters over the crashed hopper. It blotted out the sun for a second then continued on its way, ignoring Cody and the hopper.
Another appeared, followed by another. A dozen more crossed the sky, all gaining altitude as they passed overhead, climbing out of the atmosphere. Farther to the north, he saw more ships leave the planet and rise above the atmosphere.
Fear rushed over him. God only knew how many more ships Kali had, and that meant he wouldn’t be rescued until the ordeal was dealt with.
Something rubbed at his feet. A reed had popped out of the ground. Two more popped up nearby and reached for his leg. He dodged the reed and had to jump away from two more. Quickly, he boarded the hopper and reached for the hatch, pulling it closed as hard as he could. It didn’t budge.
More reeds gathered around the hopper, fluttering in a nonexistent breeze as they reached for Cody inside the hopper.
~~~
Jericho’s jaw dropped at the sight. The planet itself had opened up in dozens of places, like hidden tunnels within the surface, and ships were pouring from those openings like bees from a hive. Dozens more Kali-type vessels appeared on gravimetrics, a fleet rivaling the one they were still in the process of mopping up.
Maintaining composure was getting harder for Jericho to manage. His fleet couldn’t escape. Unfolding their Daedalus struts would take five minutes, and another two to initiate the Alcubierre field. That assumed the few surviving Kali ships around them wouldn’t fight back, which they were doing even in the face of defeat. They had to fight even though they were outnumbered.
So be it. “The hoppers, the Chicago, Amazon, Ontario, and the Congo will clean up the remaining ships. All others proceed to three one five by three four one. Engage incoming from the planet.” He paused before continuing. “Our friends in battle know what to do.”
The hollow voice of the Spicans responded. “We know and help nest brothers with joy.”
The Tokugawa engaged her drive to maximum burn and passed various dead hulks, most of which were Kali ships. The Spicans rocketed forth at ridiculous speeds. Jericho ran through plans in his head and would have one by the time they reached the second Kali fleet, but no matter the outcome, a lot of dead from both sides would be floating in space.
~~~
Cody checked the seal on the med pod as the reeds crawled inside the hopper, feeling along every inch of the hopper bay. With no power to the hopper at all, he couldn’t use grav-drives or even the internal gravity to drive off the sensitive reeds. That left his boots.
He quickly cycled through the menus on his HUD and pulled up the magnets on his boots. A red light flashed angrily at him: System Down.
“Are you kidding me?”
He couldn’t see anything wrong with his boots. The problem had to be something to do with the crash, but he didn’t have time to check.
His last option was to shoot the reeds. He reached for his coil pistol and ended up stuffing his hand into an empty holster.
He backed away toward the cockpit, hoping the reeds couldn’t pry open the med pod and get to Sonja. His pistol must’ve fallen out during the crash. If he could get to the cockpit, maybe he could hold the reeds off for just long enough to radio a signal to the fleet.
Outside the cockpit canopy, reeds slithered along the hopper, prying at the crack in the transparency. Normally, he didn’t think they could get in, but that didn’t matter since the hatch was sti
ll open.
Reeds swarmed over the pod, testing it, prodding at it. In time, they’d find an opening, and then…
“Leave her alone!” Cody picked up a boot and threw it. The reeds dodged it as the metallic underside clattered across the floor.
A boot. A magnetic boot.
The other boot, detached from the suit, lay in a pile of circuitry and twisted metal. The rest of the suit was there, too.
He knelt, picking up the boot and the leg end of the suit, ignoring the reeds swarming toward him. If the suit still had power, and he knew of no reason why it shouldn’t, he might have a chance.
He had to hurry, though. The reeds piled up at his feet, tugging at his suit, pulling him down.
~~~
Jericho gritted his teeth so hard his jaw hurt. He watched as the icon on the main holoviewer representing the Lincoln vanished, which didn’t do justice to what really happened to her. One of her fusion cores had been pierced by a graser, and the ventilation system sustained too much damage to save the ship. The entire vessel had exploded.
That was the third ship lost.
“Joan of Arc, take control of battle groups five and seven!” Jericho found himself shouting into the comm but didn’t care. “Head to one five six by zero four five. Flank these bastards, and send them to hell.”
The ships did just that, grasing and torpedoing everything in their path.
A hollow voice chimed in on the comm. “Nest brothers will retreat while we destroy those from the terrifying world.”
The Spican’s suggestion was tempting. The bridge crew of the Tokugawa stared at him, waiting for him to respond.
For Jericho, there really was only one response. “We will destroy them together.”
After a pause, the Spicans responded, “They cannot face us as we are one.”
A cheer went up across the bridge. No one wanted to flee, not in the face of barbarians with stolen technology. Also, no one wanted to abandon the Spicans to a hopeless battle. Ten years before, no one would’ve blinked an eye at doing so.
Jericho continued to bark orders at his fleet as the Spicans tore into the Kali ships. He believed they had a good chance of winning, but as hoppers were taken out of the sky, as more ships were crippled, his faith was faltering.
~~~
The reeds tugged at Cody’s shoulders then at his arms. Just one more connection.
The actuators in his suit groaned as they helped Cody resist the pull of the reeds. More reeds swarmed over the med pod, but they hadn’t gotten in—yet.
The actuator in his left arm failed, and the reed pulled it away—just as he managed to touch the wire to the terminal. The boot activated with a vengeance, ripping itself from Cody’s grasp and clinging to the bulkhead.
The reeds trembled as they backed away a good three meters. Cody picked up the suit and interfaced with the controls. He dialed the magnetic boot down slightly, just enough so he could pull it off the wall, then dialed it back up to its maximum again.
He held the boot out toward the reeds, who retreated, shivering violently in either pain or rage—or both. They pulled away from the med pod. Cody ran a systems check, keeping the boot out of reach so it wouldn’t accidentally cling to the wall again. The med pod’s systems were nominal.
He checked the power system of the suit. Only one power pack remained intact, and it had about an hour of power left. He could probably connect the boot to his own suit, but for the moment, he needed to get outside and make contact with someone.
He stepped outside the hopper, and the reeds retreated to a three-meter radius around him.
Cody initiated his long-distance comm. “Mayday, mayday. To anyone listening, this is Banshee Five One, requesting assistance.”
No one responded.
Shit. Cody activated a homing beacon and left the signal open.
The reeds continued to undulate three meters away. He had no question in his mind that they were angry, and he didn’t care.
“You started this,” he said. “You have no right to be mad.”
The reeds froze in place, with only the tip of each reed quivering. Cody could’ve kicked himself. Of course they could understand him. For all he knew, the reeds helped the toads learn English.
“You started this war.” Cody stepped toward the reeds, and they retreated, maintaining the three-meter distance. “You stole technology that did not belong to you. Then you used it to attack us.”
The reeds flittered angrily. Cody didn’t care if they were mad.
A flash erupted above him, followed by another. Bursts of light permeated the yellow sky—torpedo explosions, less than a hundred thousand kilometers over the surface. The ships he had seen leaving the planet had likely engaged the fleet. Half of him wished he had gravimetric sensors in his suit so he could monitor the battle. The other half was glad he couldn’t witness the destruction.
He was damn curious about what was going on above him, though. He activated the magnifier on his suit’s HUD.
~~~
Red lights illuminated the faces of half the officers on the Tokugawa’s bridge. Two missiles had penetrated the defense perimeter and detonated fifty kilometers off their starboard bow. Several sections vented into space while others had been irradiated to the point they’d have to be scoured clean before repairs could begin. Those in the area had likely died within seconds if they were lucky. Otherwise, they’d have time to watch their bodies fall apart before they died.
Five more ships had been disabled, and Jericho had no clue if anyone was left alive. Three Spican ships had been destroyed, one of which had made a suicide run at a group of Kali vessels, destroying four of them before their fusion cores finally ruptured.
Jericho felt as if he was reliving the war ten years before, but back then, he had seen the Spicans as demons. This day, he saw them as avenging angels no one could stand against.
Jericho ignored the blood running down his temple as he gave further orders to the fleet. “Group three, proceed to zero four five by zero eight five. Fill in that flank before they can get away.”
On the holovisual, the remaining ships in group three swung about and closed in. Jericho had just enough ships to box in the remaining Kali ships, which had nowhere to run. That meant they would eventually be destroyed, and once they realized it, they would fight like mad, only adding more cost to the butcher’s bill.
~~~
Cody deactivated the zoom. He’d seen enough.
The reeds danced around him like rows of teeth waiting to crush their prey. If he was going to be rescued, it wouldn’t be anytime soon.
However, if the reeds would listen to him, maybe he would have a chance. Maybe the fleet would have a chance.
“When you first fought us two months ago,” Cody said, “you didn’t throw everything you had at us.”
The reeds ceased dancing around him and remained still.
“Do you think we’ve done the same today?” He pointed at the sky. “What you fight today is a fraction of what we have. If you destroy it, my people and the people of many other worlds will see you as a threat.”
The tips of the reeds flickered as Cody continued. “Believe me, we don’t want another war. If you studied the records of the UEAF Kali, then you know what that war was like. My people will do anything to prevent another such war. Even if it means…” Cody swallowed. “Even if it means genocide on your world.”
The reeds quivered at the word genocide.
“We would avoid that if we thought you could be peaceable.” Cody pointed upward. “You are proving the opposite right now.”
The reeds hovered near Cody, approaching closer than the three meters they had maintained. Cody forced himself not to hold up the magnetic boot or to panic.
Finally, the reeds stood straight for a moment, like bamboo, then retreated into the ground. All the reeds around him vanished until all Cody could see was the wrecked hopper and the dry, cracked ground of Kali.
Cody stood stock still, the magneti
c boot vibrating in his hand, wondering if he had helped matters or made them worse.
~~~
“Report. What the hell just happened?”
Jericho couldn’t believe his eyes. Every Kali vessel had gone quiet. Their point defense went down, and their grasers and torpedoes ceased firing. Even their grav-engines went offline. Power readings dropped to nothing, as if their reactors had not just gone into standby but shut down completely.
“All ships maintain firing solutions but cease fire,” Jericho said. “Pull back to a minimum distance of five hundred thousand kilometers.”
The ships in the fleet pulled back. The brass probably wouldn’t have blamed Jericho if he had ordered the fleet to grase the enemy ships out of the sky while they were powered down, but as awful as Kali was, he couldn’t bring himself to attack an opponent who had stood down.
Reports piled in, filling the comm channel, but Jericho could see the results on the main holovisual. The power level of each Kali vessel shot up for several seconds. He’d seen it before. They were dumping the entirety of their hydrogen into the reactors as they shut off all safety systems, until all the fuel fused at once. The explosion was terrific, and he saw one explosion for every Kali ship in space.
Soon, only debris remained of the Kali ships.
Jericho clasped his hands behind his back. It’s done.
~~~
Cody checked the medical pod for the fifth time. Again, everything was nominal. Power was good. Sonja was fine, sleeping peacefully. As long as she was okay, nothing else mattered—even if she really did leave him.
He stepped outside and magnified the same section of the sky where he had seen the battle. The explosions had ceased. The only question was who had won, and he was about to have his answer.
A shadow appeared out of the east, sending a sonic boom ahead of it. The vessel, much larger than a hopper, slowed to subsonic as it approached with the sun behind it.