A Fiery Sunset

by Chris Kennedy

  Jim sighed and nodded. “The Raknar used an incredibly advanced, ultra-small fusion core. Better than anything currently in use, when you consider the output levels and its low consumption of F11. The Raknar I have operational is using a modified ship’s fusion power plant. It’s much less efficient and larger than the native types. These were either salvaged and sold, or the Science Guild has them and are trying to duplicate their capabilities.”

  “You need small reactors?” Alistair Sinclair asked. Jim looked at the older man, who was smiling. “I know where there are a bunch, just waiting for someone to grab them.” He grinned and shrugged. “Give us a boost to another trading system, and I bet we can deliver.”

  “We’re cutting ourselves too thin,” Alexis said. “The entire Winged Hussars only has a couple platoons, and we’re all marines or garrison.” She nodded toward Walker. “The Golden Horde people here are primarily defenders. We need assault forces.”

  “Now I can offer something,” Nigel said. “The colony of New Persia.”

  “What about it?” Alexis asked.

  “Asbaran Solutions helped fund it, and I suspect they will be loyal to our cause. When they hear Earth has been attacked, I believe many of them will join us.”

  “There’s a bonus there, too,” Walker said. “New Persia is where Binnig has one of their test factories. They were developing the Mk 9 CASPer there and were making Mk 8s.”

  “I didn’t know that,” Alexis admitted. The Mk 9 was the newest iteration of the tried and true CASPer combat suit. Rumors had it the Mk 9 was a game-changer, with advancements that made it an unholy terror on the battlefield.

  She chewed her lower lip and considered. The pieces were coming together into a plan, albeit a somewhat ludicrous one. There was more that could go wrong than could go right, but it was a plan all the same. She’d made her career by making the impossible work, and she’d nearly lost count of the number of times she’d been in no-win situations and came out the other side.

  “Here’s what I propose,” Alexis said, “I’ll loan Alistair Sinclair and his Scorpions a frigate to go get those power plants. Jim Cartwright, you’ll leave most of your personnel here to make room in your ship for those Raknar and come with me to get those ships.”

  “Into this 2nd Level Hyperspace?” Jim asked.

  “Yes,” she replied. He swallowed but didn’t say anything else. “After we get there, we’ll send you to grab those Raknar of yours. Meanwhile, Nigel Shirazi will take his Asbaran Solutions troops to New Persia, and see if he can get them to join us.”

  “And the merc units held prisoner in Karma?” Jim asked. “I also have equipment I need to get from Karma Upsilon 4.”

  “All things in time,” she said. “If we don’t stop that Grimm, there won’t be any place for us to fall back to. Humanity needs us to keep New Warsaw a secret. My plan is to use one of my small, stealthy intelligence cutters to intercept the courier and capture the spy before it can give us away. We’ll piggyback the operation for Jim Cartwright to get his Raknar onto the operation to stop the spy.”

  “I’ll need some specialized movers fabricated,” Jim told her. “Flying frames capable of lifting 1,000 tons. They can be disposable if necessary. And we’ll need some shuttles; I only have four.”

  “We can handle that,” she said.

  “If we intercept the courier, what about the Grimm? How are you going to stop it if you can’t even see it?” Jim asked.

  “For that, we have an ace up our sleeve. The man that discovered the Grimm is Corporal Rick Culper.” Jim sat up straight at hearing the name. “Before he joined the Hussars, he sustained a brain injury. One of the side effects of that injury was an ability to resist the Grimm’s special talents. I’m going to send him and his squad with you under the command of Lieutenant T’jto.” The MinSha standing behind Alexis nodded. “They’ll handle the boarding action on our courier ship.”

  “How are we going to get out of 2nd Level Hyperspace to Sulaadar?” Jim asked. “Bucephalus doesn’t have hyperspace shunts.”

  “We’ll send one of our specialty ships with you,” Alexis said. “Think of it as a blockade runner. After you’ve intercepted the Grimm, you can go after the Raknar, and our ship will return Culper and his squad back to New Warsaw, hopefully with the Grimm as a prisoner. The timetable is tricky, but my intentions are to return the salvaged ships to New Warsaw, where my shipyards can begin overhauling them, then I’ll head for Karma with Commanders Drake and Earl to support the breakout of the other Human merc units. Hopefully, Jim Cartwright will be arriving to get the equipment he needs for the Raknar, and this all happens by the numbers.”

  Someone whistled while others nodded. It was a bodacious plan, to say the least. One that depended on nothing going wrong.

  “And my people?” Walker asked.

  “You’re to assume command of the Golden Horde garrison here on New Warsaw and defend the remaining free Humans. Our people are continuing their analysis of the SalSha’s abilities, and we want to run some evaluations in field conditions. If those work out, I’ll do as you’ve requested and will accept them into our flight training program. Until they’re ready, we think it’s best to keep them here, out of sight.” He looked unhappy but nodded in understanding.

  Everyone around the table exchanged looks, and Alexis watched their reactions. She could see skepticism and concern. What she also saw, though, was hope.

  “Sounds like a plan,” Nigel said. With that, they began working out the timetable.

  * * *

  Walker entered the Winged Hussars’ lab and found Alexis’ mad scientist, Taiki Sato, up to his elbows in some sort of drone propulsion unit. “Excuse me?” Walker asked.

  “Can I help you?” Sato asked, looking over his shoulder. “Are you lost?” He pulled out one of his hands, but the other appeared stuck in his project.

  “No, actually, I was looking for you. I know you’ve created a number of amazing things, and there’s something I desperately need.”

  Sato turned fully around to look at Walker, spinning the propulsion unit as he moved. “Oh? What is it you’re looking for?”

  “Well, I got overrun by a company of Goka once,” Walker said, stifling a shiver, “and would really like to keep from repeating that…ever again. I was just put in charge of our defenses, and I need something to protect against Goka.”

  “Yes, they’re difficult to kill, but I’m kind of busy…”

  “I can see that,” Walker said, “but, like I said, I heard you were a genius, and no one has been able to build this yet, so I thought…”

  “What is it you have in mind?”

  “I want a railgun round that functions like a mini-HEAT round. I want something that’s armor penetrating, that I can fire out of my railgun, but no one’s been able to design anything like that for me.”

  “Hmm…the normal railgun rounds are how big? Ten millimeters,” he said, answering his question before Walker could. “I’d need a metal sleeve to allow the mechanism to function…” His train of thought continued, but Walker couldn’t hear what he said. After about a minute of muttering to himself he turned back to Walker and jumped slightly, as if not expecting him to be there.

  “Do you think it’s possible?” Walker asked.

  “Oh, absolutely,” Sato replied. “I’m surprised it doesn’t exist already. It should be easy to put together…Come back tomorrow, and I’ll have something for you.”

  “Tomorrow?” Walker said. “Seriously?”

  “Yes,” Sato replied, shooing him out of the lab with his good hand. “Now let me get to work or nothing will ever get done.”

  * * *

  “Commander Cromwell, do you have a minute?” Alexis was just leaving the conference room when Nigel Shirazi came up behind her. The session to hammer out the details had lasted almost six hours, and she was eager for some rest.

  “Sure,” she said, “what’s on your mind?”

  “Ships,” he said.

  “You
have your ship,” she said. “We’ll give you a code key to get back, like we said.”

  “There’s a war starting,” he said. “They’re hunting Human mercs, especially Horsemen.” The two looked at each other for a minute, and Alexis admired his swagger. The man cut a fine figure for a young commander. He also had his grandfather’s good looks.

  “What do you want, Nigel?”

  “A few ships,” he said, “and a transport at the least. There are a lot of men on New Persia. A lot more than Revenge can carry. Plus, if we get any CASPers, they’ll take room—lots of it—and we need the CASPers.”

  She regarded him more closely, deciding she’d underestimated him a bit. He saw her narrow her eyes and grinned slyly. Alexis laughed. “You’re more like your grandfather than I thought,” she said.

  “So you’ll loan me some ships?”

  “Sure,” she said. “I’m sure Jim Cartwright can take care of himself. He’s been wandering around the galaxy looking for those Raknar for months. He’s got a capable ship, too. But that tub of yours is pathetic.” It was Nigel’s turn to narrow his eyes, and Alexis’ to grin slyly. He laughed at his own expense, and she raised her opinion of him another notch.

  “I’ll send a short squadron,” she said. “The Crown-class cruiser Whirlaway, the Legend-class frigate Durendal, and the transport Capricorn. Whirlaway is under Commander Yoshuka.”

  “An alien?” Nigel asked incredulously.

  “Yes, Nigel, an alien. He’s Maki, and they’re some of the best space-capable aliens in the galaxy. I’ve faced off against them many times.”

  “You trust this alien with a squadron? Even after what you said?”

  “I trust that person with my life, and I have, numerous times,” she said with steel in her voice. “You see, Yoshuka and his family have been here, in New Warsaw, for seventy years. His father served my mother.” He shook his head in amazement. “Nigel, there are over 60,000 dependents of the Winged Hussars here in New Warsaw. Fully 40% of them are aliens, from 26 different races at last count. We really don’t care what race you are, as long as you do your job and are loyal to the Hussars first and foremost.”

  “Strikes me as risky,” he said darkly, a scowl on his face.

  “We’ve been here almost 100 years,” she reminded him. “It’s worked that long.” Slowly he nodded.

  “As you say, Alexis.” She gave a little grin. For some reason, hearing him call her by her first name brought a smile to her face.

  “Bring yourself back alive,” she said, “I’m aware of your rather foolhardy tactics. We need live Horsemen, not dead ones.”

  “I’ll do the best I can,” he said, and turned to leave.

  Jim Cartwright was still in his seat, his eyes unfocused and lips moving slightly. Alexis knew he was probably talking with someone on his ship, most likely his XO. The little alien named Splunk sat on the conference table, just out of his view. She had a slate and was busily tapping away on it.

  “”

  “Yes,” she answered Ghost. “Do you know about that race?”

  “” Alexis waited a long time, but no more information followed.

  * * *

  “Can we trust her?” Jim turned toward Nigel, who’d asked the question as they walked down the corridor. Splunk didn’t look at the Asbaran Solutions commander. She hadn’t so much as glanced his way since the meeting. Jim didn’t think he’d ever seen her hold a grudge before.

  “She’s a Horseman,” Jim replied. Nigel’s expression seemed to be a mixture of curiosity and doubt as they followed a Human Hussar, who was escorting them to the shuttle bay.

  “She’s been hiding here for months while Peepo maneuvered to invade Earth. It sounds like she realized something was coming.”

  “Not to the degree the Horde put it together,” Jim reminded him.

  “Okay, sure, but still, she had the fleets to do something. Opposing an invasion is easier than invading. Her complaint about not having battleships falls short, especially with what she did to that huge fleet months ago.”

  “She did say she pulled some moves she couldn’t do again.”

  Nigel nodded slightly, his expression still one of evaluation. “Could she have stopped the invasion?” Nigel lifted a questioning eyebrow.

  “Maybe,” Jim admitted. “But do I trust her? She’s loaning us ships, which means she’s weakening her own defenses. If I don’t stop the Grimm, she may well end up wishing those ships were still here. So the answer is yes.”

  “She’s a bit of an enigma,” Nigel said. “She keeps her opinions to herself, and that’s very Arabic. She’s a stellar beauty, with none of the affectations you find in Earth women who are as lovely as she is. That hair too…” he said, shaking his head.

  “A mutation, as I understand,” Jim said. “Something happened early with her family. Probably radiation.”

  “We’re linking our fates with hers,” Nigel said. “I hope she has our interests in mind, as well as her own.”

  Jim nodded as they reached the shuttle bay, and he turned to Nigel. The two men faced each other, one tall, lean, and muscular, the other somewhat shorter, not lean, and not muscular. “Good luck,” Jim said as he held out his hand.

  “I don’t like you, Jim Cartwright,” Nigel said. “You’re soft and not at all what I’d expect from a merc.” Jim felt his jaw muscles tense as he held his ground, hand outstretched in a gesture of friendship. “But I’ve learned, in command you don’t have to like the people you fight with. You’ve also proven yourself a warrior, even if you’re an unconventional one. Good luck to you as well,” he said, taking the proffered hand. “I hope you secure these Raknar and stop the Grimm. I’ll bring back many warriors, and we’ll defeat Peepo. Together.”

  “Until then,” Jim agreed, and the two parted company.

  * * *

  “I was able to make the rounds you wanted,” Sato said when Walker returned the next day, “and I fit them into the sleeve required to launch them from one of your CASPer railguns. Of course, the rounds are a little longer, so there’s less room in the drum for them, and your ammunition loadout will be reduced by about one-third.” He pointed to a CASPer ammo drum in the corner of the lab. “That one is loaded with the first production run of your mini-HEAT rounds. I call them WARM rounds.”

  “What does WARM stand for?” Walker asked.

  “It doesn’t stand for anything,” Sato said with a smile. “They aren’t quite as strong as a full-size HEAT round, so I thought maybe they were just a little warm, right?”

  Walker sighed. “I see,” he said, giving the scientist’s pun a half-frown. “They’re going to work, though, right?”

  “Absolutely,” Sato replied. “They’ll function as designed. I guarantee it.”

  “That’s great. Thanks!”

  “My pleasure. Just go easy on them when you first start shooting, in case they explode in the barrel when it’s cold.”

  “What?!”

  “Don’t worry, only a couple did that.” Sato mumbled to himself for a second, and Walker only caught the last bit, “…Marines are so picky about failure rates.”

  “Is it going to work or not?”

  “Yes, of course it’s going to work,” Sato replied. “I’m positive the round will function as expected. At least it did in my trials. And, even though it’s a smaller round because it had to fit in the sleeve, it’s still able to penetrate about two inches of steel armor.”

  “That’s perfect,” Walker replied. “Thanks.”

  Sato turned and walked out of the lab, and Walker heard him say as the door closed, “It’s definitely going to explode. Hopefully, it won’t still be in the muzzle when it does…”

  * * * * *

  Chapter Thirteen

  Winged Hussars Prime Base, New Warsaw System

  Ships that had sat idle for months came alive as crews arrived and brought their power plants online. The near space around Prime Base was a buzz of cargo shuttles,
armament replenishment craft, and tankers. Alexis watched the area through data fed directly into her pinplants as she floated in her wardroom, adjacent to the CIC. It felt good to be back aboard Pegasus.

  A few kilometers away, Whirlaway was formed up with the escort frigate Durendal and the transport Capricorn. The Asbaran Solutions ship Revenge floated nearby, dwarfed by the cruiser and transport. A squadron of that composition was unheard of, especially where combat might result. Winged Hussars’ doctrine stated a minimum of four warships in this situation; a cruiser and three frigates. By sending a single cruiser and a frigate, she was violating that doctrine. She dearly hoped there wouldn’t be any combat. They couldn’t afford to lose the cruiser.

  “”

  “Of course, what else would I be concerned about?”

  “”

  Alexis laughed out loud. The obnoxious Arab was far from the top of her list of concerns for this operation. There were a hundred other things she was more concerned about.

  “Commander?” She cocked her head at the call from Hoot, her Buma comms officer.

  “Go ahead.”

  “Commander Shirazi is calling.” Alexis ground her teeth and shook her head.

  “Put it through here.” A second later, the Tri-V on her desk came alive with Nigel’s grinning face. Despite herself, she smiled. “Commander, I understand from Captain Yoshuka you are about ready to boost for the stargate?”

  “That’s correct,” he said. The slight Arabic accent gave his speech a rich quality she didn’t hear very often in New Warsaw. Exotic, she thought. “I just wanted to thank you for the ships.”

  “I’m not giving them to you, Colonel Shirazi; they’re still under Yoshuka’s command. I want them back.”

  “You shall have them, I promise, and we’ll bring back the soldiers we need, along with the new Mk 9 CASPers. That I promise as well.” She nodded, and he gave her that same self-assured smile. “Until we meet again,” he said, and he terminated the connection. On her status board, the tiny squadron began to thrust away toward the Winged Hussars’ private stargate. For once, Ghost didn’t butt in on her private thoughts.