by Dietmar Wehr
“Not exactly conclusive proof though, wouldn’t you agree, Troy?”
Ronson shrugged. “I guess not, but my remark to the station about any ship crew being brave enough to come out and face me was designed to enrage the Earth-killer race who, if they deliberately tried to exterminate us, must have a serious hate for us. I can’t see a Captain from that race taking my insult and not doing anything about it, especially if they believe that they’re just facing one of our rundown, puny ships.”
“I can’t fault your logic, Troy. If you’re planning on engaging those ships in combat, I would just point out that Spearthrower’s torsion beam has enough range to seriously damage the station if those ships stay directly in between the station and Spearthrower.”
“Damn, I forgot about that. Thanks for the reminder, Val Ky Ree.” After a pause he said, “Ah, maybe I should take full control of Spearthrower. I can manipulate the controls faster than I can describe what I want to you.”
“I will enable the manual controls but retain the option to override them if I feel the situation warrants. Is that acceptable, Troy?”
Ronson’s first impulse was to say no, but then realized that having an experienced combat pilot backing him up might not be such a bad thing. “Yes, that’s acceptable.”
“You have control of Spearthrower now, Troy,” said Val Ky Ree.
Ronson activated the manual piloting system, and a joystick rotated up at the end of his right armrest. He had to lean forward to be able to reach it, but he decided he could manage that. Spearthrower’s artificial gravity also compensated for sudden acceleration so he didn’t have to worry about being thrown backwards and losing his grip on the joystick. The joystick had built in buttons for acceleration both forward and backwards, pitch, roll and yaw controls and a firing button. Ronson had practiced enough with the joystick during the four hour trip to be confident that he could remember what each control did. A quick check of the station list showed that the Ziess ship was pulling out from the docking bay. The other two ships were still not quite finished undocking.
“The Ziess seem to be in a hurry to finish us off. Gee, I wonder why,” said Ronson in a low voice.
“Was that question directed at me, Troy?” asked Val Ky Ree.
“No, I was just talking to myself. We humans do that sometimes.” Ronson zoomed in the optical sensors to maximum and watched the Ziess ship back away from the station and then pivot around to point its bow at Spearthrower’s direction. The image was clear enough that Ronson could make out the Ziess ship’s armament. Two laser cannon, one on each side of the bow. Spearthrower was certainly close enough to be hit by them, but since the ship was no longer showing its running lights and was still using its advanced electronics to render the station’s radar useless, the Ziess ship didn’t really know where Spearthrower was right now.
“Power up spinal weapon,” said Ronson to Spearthrower’s voice-activated tactical computer. A red light appeared on the display in front of him. Ronson had to remember that red meant the same thing to the Aesir as green did to humans. With the torsion beam ready to fire, he checked the targeting alignment and nodded. The Ziess ship just happened to be lined up perfectly between Spearthrower and the station. If he fired the torsion beam now, it would cut right through the Ziess ship and hit the station too. Compact rules said that attacking a station was a no-no, and it was one of the few rules that was rigidly enforced. The penalty for doing so was a reprisal attack of equal magnitude. Since humans only had one station, which was in orbit around Earth, if he fired on the Koron station, the Earth station would pay the price.
Ronson caused Spearthrower to yaw to the left by 90 degrees. He then moved the craft backward. If the Ziess ship continued on the same vector, it would pass in front of Spearthrower with nothing behind it.
“I would recommend caution in performing that same maneuver in the future, Troy. Swinging Spearthrower around by that much could cause the light from this system’s sun to be reflected back to the station or those ships. You appeared to have gotten away with it this time.”
“Thanks for that warning, Valkyrie. I see that I have a lot to learn about being a combat pilot. How far back from the target should I be when I fire?”
“I can’t recommend an optimum distance, Troy. The farther away you are, the higher the probability of a miss but conversely, the closer you are, the more likely the enemy is to detect Spearthrower either visually or by electronic means. The craft’s stealth system is not 100% effective all the time.”
“Okay, what range would you choose if you were controlling Spearthrower?”
After a barely perceptible pause, Val Ky Ree said, “The same 10,000 kilometers as your current distance from the station. That way you will be in a completely different quadrant from the station’s perspective, and they will be less likely to be looking in your direction.”
“Ten thousand klicks it is,” said Ronson as he made Spearthrower accelerate in reverse. “By the way, Val Ky Ree, I’m designating the Ziess ship as Bogey1. The Koron ship will be Bogey2 and the other Bogey3. I see that Bogeys 2 and 3 have left the station now and it looks like…yes, they’re following Bogey1. I actually feel sorry for them. This is beginning to look like shooting fish in a barrel.”
“Why would any human want to shoot fish in a barrel, Troy?”
“No human would, or at least no sane human would. It’s actually a figure of speech meant to describe a situation that is unusually easy.”
“I understand now. The Warrior Code says that when an adversary does what the warrior wants, the warrior should be on her guard against being over-confident.”
“I’ll endeavor to keep that in mind, Val Ky Ree. Bogey1 is continuing to accelerate. He’ll reach my last position within 60 seconds if he keeps this up. I’m setting the auto-pilot to tracking mode now!”
Val Ky Ree noticed that Ronson’s voice was becoming higher pitched with excitement.
“Okay, the AP is tracking and has Bogey1 in its sights!” There was a pause and when Ronson spoke again, his voice was low and calm again. “I’m firing…now.”
“Bogeywon has been destroyed, Troy.”
The sense of satisfaction for striking back at the race that probably killed the Earth was so intense that Ronson was unable to speak for a few seconds. “One down, two to go,” he said finally.
“Perhaps not, Troy. Bogeys Two and Three seem to be reconsidering their intentions.”
Ronson checked the tactical display and saw that Val Ky Ree was correct. Both ships were decelerating as fast as they could. Ronson wanted very much to destroy them too, but his bloodlust faded as he tried to look at the situation rationally. The goal here was to get the metals from the station. If he destroyed the Koron ship, the station hierarchy might react angrily rather than rationally. Sparing those two ships might be interpreted as a weakness, but his better nature convinced him to give it a try.
“Spearthrower to Foxbutt Station. As you can see, the Ziess Captain paid for his eagerness to destroy me. You can pass on this message to all Ziess ships that visit any Koron station in the future. If I encounter a Ziess ship, I will destroy it without warning. The Ziess killed my home world, and that is a large debt that will take a long time for them to repay. I’m willing to allow your ship to escape unharmed. Tell it to continue on an outbound trajectory. If I see it trying to come back, I’ll destroy it too. Because I’m in a good mood right now, I’m going to allow the Trior ship the same opportunity to live another day. Tell it to leave now or be destroyed without any further warning. I hope you’re getting my metal shipment ready, Foxbutt Station. You don’t want to make me angry.” There was no immediate reply.
“What if you learn that the Ziess are not the race that killed your Earth, Troy? My Warrior Code does not condone the killing of innocents.”
Ronson took a deep breath before replying. “I’m conducting a form of psychological warfare, Val Ky Ree. My threats are designed to give the impression that I’m convinced the Ziess
are Earth-killers, and maybe they actually are. At this point, they’re at the top of my list of suspect races, but even if they’re not, by me giving that impression, the real Earth-killers will believe they’re safe, and that may make them careless in their behavior towards humans. If they slip up and reveal their own culpability, then this tactic will have worked. In any case, having a reputation as being quick on the trigger will generate a lot more respect than coming across as easy going, and right now we need all the respect we can get.”
“You would have made an excellent Aesirian warrior leader, Troy. The ability to deceive the enemy is a quality that not many warrior leaders have. May I ask—“ Val Ky Ree’s sentence was interrupted by the station’s reply.
“Foxbaact Station to Spearthrowar. Your instructions passed on to both ships. No more resistance by station or docked ships. Metal shipment being collected now. Docking bay one nine available for ship.”
Ronson grinned at the mispronunciation of Spearthrower. It was tit for tat for his deliberate mispronunciation of the station’s name.
“Spearthrower acknowledges docking bay one nine.” Ronson told the auto-pilot to head for the station. When he had muted the com channel to the station, he said, “The Koron would make terrible poker players. They can’t bluff worth a damn. Now then, I believe you were going to ask me if I intend to fire on other Ziess ships without warning, weren’t you, Val Ky Ree?”
“Very perceptive of you, Troy. Yes, that was what I was going to ask. This Ziess ship was clearly looking for a fight. Other Ziess ships may not act that way.”
“If a Ziess captain calls my bluff, I’ll follow through with my threat, but if a Ziess ship tries to leave as soon as I show up, I’ll let it go.”
“What does ‘call my bluff’ mean exactly. I’m not certain I understand that phrase, Troy.”
Ronson grinned. “I wonder if it’s possible to play poker with a holographic opponent. Maybe we can try that some time, but for now, I’ll attempt to explain the concept. If the Ziess think that I won’t follow through on my threat and they act in a way that suggests they’re deliberately testing me, then if I don’t take the threatened action, my threat will lose its credibility and become worthless.”
“So if a Ziess captain decides to test you, his crew will pay the price for his error in judgement,” said Val Ky Ree.
“Yes, and that’s sad, but that possibility is always present when warriors follow leaders into dangerous situations. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“I…suppose so. Do you trust the Koron not to attempt to capture Spearthrower after it docks?”
“Well, I have no intention of leaving Spearthrower, and its cargo compartment can be sealed off from the rest of the craft. It’s my understanding that the station docking bays typically remain in vacuum, so trying to sneak aboard Spearthrower without me noticing will be difficult. And if they think they can cut their way in through the outer hull, they’re going to have trouble with its armor.”
“Correct, but since Spearthrower will be completely inside the docking bay, which from your downloaded data I see can be completely closed thereby trapping Spearthrower, given enough time, they can force their way into the craft.”
“Hmm. What would happen if I used the torsion weapon while inside the docking bay?”
“Impossible to say. The beam would eviscerate— is that the right word? —the station, and if it destroyed some critical system or supporting structure, the rest of the station that was not in the beam’s path might break up or perhaps explode. I would not advise using that tactic unless the situation was desperate, Troy.”
“Okay, then what about using Spearthrower’s engines to force my way out of the station? Will the armor be strong enough to prevent damage to the craft?”
“I cannot say with certainty, because I have no data on the composition or thickness of the docking bay walls. Because of its size, there is a practical limit to how much armor a craft that small can carry and still be able to maneuver and accelerate adequately. If the bay is large enough, you could rotate Spearthrower so that the torsion beam is pointing outward and then use it to create an opening.”
“Or Spearthrower could just back into the docking bay and then I’d be able to blow my way out if necessary without having to turn around inside. You’d have to back her in for me though. My piloting stills aren’t quite up to the task yet,” said Ronson.
“That would be a piloting challenge I would enjoy taking on, Troy.”
“Good. I’ll control the craft on the approach, and when we’re ready to back in, you can take back control. I think we’ve got all possibilities covered, wouldn’t you say, Val Ky Ree?”
“The Warrior Code says that overconfidence will eventually lead to defeat, Troy. You should guard against that.”
“Yeah, thanks. That just the kind of comment my self-confidence needed,” said Ronson shaking his head.
By the time Spearthrower was less than a kilometer from the Station, Ronson was feeling butterflies in his stomach. The station had confirmed that the metal ingots were packed into the standard containers that the Korons liked to use at their stations. They had not issued any further threats or complaints, and Ronson almost wished they had. Their co-operation, while desirable, now seemed too good to be true. As he brought Spearthrower to a dead stop, he told the craft’s computer to zoom the opticals in on docking bay nine. The image on his screen showed a spherical shape with the front half divided into triangular sections that had been pulled into the inside of the back half. Inside the bay were four gantries that projected into open space. A docking ship would carefully move between the gantries. Cargo could be loaded into a docked ship or unloaded from a ship by the gantries using robotic arms. The entire cargo transfer process was automated. A quick query of the computer verified that Spearthrower would fit in between the gantries and that the cargo compartment hatch would be lined up properly with one of the gantries.
“Spearthrower to Foxbutt Station. I should be close enough for you to see my ship now. You’ll notice that it has a completely different shape from our usual puny ships. It’s also armored. If you have any plans to try to capture this ship once it docks, you should know that I intend to back the ship into the docking bay. Any attempt to damage or capture Spearthrower will result in the use of the same weapon that destroyed the Zeiss ship. Do not close the bay after this ship docks. If I see the bay doors closing, I’ll assume that you’re trying to capture Spearthrower, and the ship will use its weapons to keep the bay open. Oh, and one more thing, Foxbutt Station. When this ship gets to its destination, the containers in our cargo hold will be scanned to make sure the contents are what you say they. If we find something that doesn’t belong there, Spearthrower will be back here to embargo your station by threatening to destroy any ship that attempts to dock. We may not be able to fire on your station, but we’ll do the next best thing. We’ll render it useless. Is there anything you wish to tell me, Foxbutt Station?”
After a short pause, he heard the reply. “Foxbaact Station to Spearthrower. Docking bay doors will remain open. Cargo ready soon for transfer. No need to back in. Risk damage to loading gantries.”
“Show me the cargo manifest, Foxbutt Station,” demanded Ronson. The data appeared on his screen. “Is that enough metal, Val Ky Ree?”
“No, Troy. I would need approximately sixty-one percent more to be able to accomplish all desired repairs.”
Ronson decided to play a hunch. “Station, where’s the rest of our metal? You’re not trying to cheat us, are you, Station? Spearthrower can start the embargo right now.”
Another pause, then a reply in a clearly panicked voice. “No embargo! No embargo! We fix manifest mistake! Stand by, Spearthrower!”
“How did you know they were holding some of the metal back, Troy?” asked Val Ky Ree.
“I didn’t know for sure. For all I know, the original manifest amounts could be correct, but I figured the bluff might work either way, and it seems to be doing so.”
“You humans are devious. I like that.”
It took almost five minutes before the station sent a revised manifest. Val Ky Ree declared the amounts listed as sufficient, and Ronson told her to take control and begin the docking maneuver. Ronson watched the maneuver in fascination. Spearthrower moved forward until it was only a hundred meters from the docking bay, and then without slowing down or stopping, the craft rotated 180 degrees just in time for the stern to clear the gantries and slide in between them.
“Oh, that was nicely done, Val Ky Ree. I’ll bet you gave the station traffic-control people heart attacks with that maneuver.”
“We Aesir take pride in our warrior skills, Troy.” When the craft came to a stop, she said, “Docking maneuver complete, Troy. Cargo containers are starting to move through the gantry opposite our cargo hold. Shall I open the hold?”
“May as well. The sooner we get what we came for, the happier I’ll be.” As Ronson watched the view from the hold’s internal opticals, he saw four containers being carefully placed inside the hold one at a time by robotic arms. “Can we tell what’s in those containers without opening them, Val Ky Ree?”