"It is true, Perasti Tertiary," Jonathan answered. "We are a collective of fourteen hundred thirty-eight sentients that are capable of inhabiting varied substrata, including silicate. It is reasonable to suggest we are more like Iskstar than human or Felio."
"Have you communicated with these Iskstar?" Moyo asked.
"We do not believe this to be advised," Jonathan answered. "As you can see, there has been a physical transformation of the Piscivoru, as well as our own Liam and Tabby. We fear that interface might lead to unintentional, catastrophic result for our kind."
"But you shared no such concern for House of the Bold?" Moyo pushed, eyes flashing with anger.
"It wasn't Jonathan's decision," I said, stepping between them. "Without Iskstar we'd have all been dead a hundred times over. So for at least the moment, I think we need to treat Iskstar as an unknown, but beneficial force."
"If this Iskstar will defeat Kroerak and save my home, I will gladly give my life and the lives of my crew," Moyo answered somberly, placing a paw at her solar plexus and bowing. "We stand with House of the Bold."
I bowed in response. Months of battling against Kroerak had taken a toll on my patience and I had little time for posturing and long speeches. Cooked food and beer, on the other hand, were things I'd very much like to spend time with. My eyes locked onto the table behind Moyo.
"Very well." I gestured to the table. "It is our tradition that we sit and eat as we remember those who have given their lives so that we might continue the fight. Please join us."
"It will be as you say," Moyo said, allowing herself to be guided to a chair next to Marny.
"Very smooth, but you need to speed this up," Tabby whispered as we sat. "I could eat your leg off right now."
"Nick, I haven't heard from Mom," I said. "She hasn't responded for over two ten-days. Have you heard anything from Abasi Command?"
"The relays we dropped while coming through the wormholes have all been disrupted," Nick said. "We were followed in by a couple of Strix-flagged frigates. I'm sure they intended to keep us cut off. There's been no update since we heard that a Kroerak fleet was headed right at Zuri. They would have reached the planet six days ago."
Fresh worry spiked. Suddenly the smell of the food did nothing for me. To make matters worse, everyone was looking at me and I realized it was up to me to start the dinner. "Let us remember the Bold and the Perasti who died in service to their kin. We fight as one," I said, trying to come up with something motivational. I picked up my fork and shoveled a steaming pile of food that I could not taste into my mouth. As soon as everyone else started eating, I grabbed the beer and pulled heavily on it.
"The dimensions of that crystal are a near match for Hornblower's heavy blaster," Nick said. "I don't think we'll need a special bracket or anything. How'd you know the right size?"
"Iskstar knew," I said. "It's a little unbelievable, but there's a grotto beneath the mountain and these crystals just broke off and dropped into our hands."
"That's a lot of information for a rock to process," Nick said, thoughtfully.
"I hate to be too direct, but I want to get spaceborne as soon as possible," I said. "Perasti Tertiary, we need to know if you can mount one of these crystals into your ship. You'll notice one has a slightly different shape and the only thing I can think is that it is a match to one of your weapons."
"This Iskstar crystal is compatible," Moyo answered, picking up a crystal from the table. She stared at it, mesmerized by the sparkling clarity. "I too share your desire to strike at our enemy. We have sailed a long distance and lost many of our family. We will not be able to rest until they have been avenged or we too have been sent to join our sisters. You need only tell me when to meet you on the field of battle and House Perasti will join House of the Bold as sisters, united."
Tabby nudged my leg at the 'sister' reference. Worry about Mom's plight, however, weighed heavily on me and I would have been fine if Moyo had suggested she'd join us as blue mice.
"We sail at 0630," I said. "This will give our crews twelve hours to get some rest."
"Cap, that's not a lot of time," Marny said. "We're all pretty banged up."
"Normally, I'd agree with you," I answered. "Ada, will you be capable of sailing this ship tomorrow morning?"
"Aye, Captain. That I will," Ada answered.
"Only one gun is going to matter tomorrow. Do we have someone for that?" I asked, looking back to Marny.
"Don't look at me, Cap. Best gunner I've seen is sitting right there." She nodded to Sendrei, who was quietly observing with an arm draped over the small, red-haired Flaer.
"How about it, Sendrei? Are you up for some Kroerak hunting tomorrow?"
"I have awaited this moment for most of my adult life," Sendrei answered. "I am ready this very instant."
"Marny, put it to your section heads," I said. "If they ask for a few days to recoup, I'm fine. But I'd really like to go tomorrow."
"Give me a moment," Marny answered, smiling as she stood and walked away from the table so her conversation wasn't interrupted. She might as well have stayed at the table as we all watched her walk away and waited quietly for her to return.
When Marny turned back, she wore a large grin on her face and I knew what her answer would be even before I asked.
"What'd they say?"
"I might have misjudged the current shape of the crew. Apparently, we've had a rash of near miraculous recoveries in every section I queried. They're reporting one-hundred percent go status."
I returned her smile. "And why the big grin?" I asked.
She clapped me on the back. "Because I didn't have to make that decision."
I laughed, my tension easing for just the moment. "To an end to the Kroerak!" I said and raised my third pouch of beer.
Finale
I finally dozed off around 0200. When 0500 came around, I awoke immediately. The bed next to me was empty and I heard Tabby in the shower. Generally, I'd have taken that as an invitation, but neither of us were in any shape for distraction. I pulled on a fresh suit liner and ran a quick groomer through my hair, removing a couple inches of wild growth from the past few months. I'd never been much of a beard grower, but passed the groomer over my face to remove the dark shadow that had thickened.
"You should have come running with me," Tabby said, stepping into the room. "Hornblower has an amazing workout facility."
"Yeah, definitely top of my list," I said sardonically. Of course Marny had prioritized the workout facilities.
"It'd make you less grumpy," she chided in a sing-song voice.
Ignoring her prodding, I shook my head. "You ready for this?"
"Oh, frak yes."
"You're not worried we'll get mobbed?"
"You can spend a life-time worrying," she said. "Way I see it, we stick to our protected zone and check out Hornblower's new Iskstar blaster range. After that, we adjust. Simple."
"Simple," I agreed with reservation. We'd talked through the plan a million times the night before. We held each other's gaze for a moment and I nodded with resolve. Nothing would change the fact that there were nearly a hundred ships orbiting the planet, just waiting to take us out. "Let's do this," I finally said.
"Go ahead. I'm going to check in on Little Pete," Tabby said.
"You're such a girl," I danced away from her before she could react to my taunt.
"Keep running, little man! I know where you live," she yelled down the hallway after me.
A Marine sentry snapped to attention after opening the armored bridge hatch.
"As you were," I acknowledged.
"Captain on the bridge," Marny announced smartly as I entered. The bridge crew, most of whom I recognized by sight but couldn't name, stood and pulled to attention.
"As you were." I wasn't a big fan of military decorum, but recognized the comfort routine provided. "Marny, what's our sit-rep?"
"Imperfect sensor data past the ionosphere," she said. "Piscivoru ground sensors can pick out the
big objects, but the Kroerak are doing a good job of masking their movements. We've seen plenty of evidence of the fleet build-up, though."
"Hornblower took damage when you entered the atmosphere," I said. "Is that going to be a problem?"
"We're all sealed up," Nick answered. "It looks worse than it is. We have enough replacement armor to bring us back to full, we just need a few days in zero-g to get it tied on. Without access to space, we don't have the machinery to move the armor."
"Have we heard from Hunting Fog this morning?" I asked. The status conversations were mostly review, but I wanted to make sure things were clear in my head.
"Roger that, Cap," Marny answered. "Perasti Tertiary is reporting that they're ready to go. You need to take your seat." She gestured to the captain's chair which was elevated half a meter off the deck, looking forward over the pilot's stations and through the expanse of armor glass.
I nodded thoughtfully. It felt like I was kicking her out of her rightful place, but she wasn't going to accept anything different. "You sure you're okay with this?"
"Please, Cap. If I never spend another hour in that chair, I'll die a happy woman," she answered. "You have no idea how well I slept last night."
I smiled as I sat. I'd hate to think it was merely the power that made me want the chair, but I'd never be satisfied to serve as number two to anyone. Turning to the holo controls, I uploaded my status layout. Time flew by as I double-checked the ship's systems. Coming across Roby and Semper's names gave me a moment of peace. It seemed like decades since the two had joined us.
When I was satisfied, I sat back and looked around the bridge, catching Marny's eye.
"We're ready, Cap," she answered my unasked question.
"Sergeant Major, please inform Piscivoru command that lift-off is imminent. Nick, link bridge comms with Hunting Fog and inform them of same."
Both Marny and Nick replied in the affirmative and Moyo's face appeared next to Ada and Sendrei's on the virtual display to my right.
"Ada, take us up slow," I said. "Stay to the centerline of Piscivoru weapon control. Let's not give the Kroerak any easy shots."
"Aye, aye, Captain!" she answered.
Hornblower shuddered in its struggle to escape the grip of Picis’ gravity.
Once free, Ada turned the great ship so the engines faced downward, fired the powerful engines and we accelerated more quickly. We weren't as nimble as Intrepid but then, we were also the size of a space station in comparison.
A brilliant blue beam passed next to Hornblower as the Piscivoru fired a shot into the sky. Hornblower's sensors brought back the beautiful display of a Kroerak cruiser that had strayed into Piscivoru territory and was obliterated. A cheer erupted from the bridge as many who had never seen the weapon's capabilities experienced it for the first time.
"Replay that stream to all crew," I instructed the AI. "Show 'em what we're going to do with the Iskstar."
We continued to climb into the upper atmosphere as a second and then a third shot fired from planet-side.
"Hornblower, transmit on all frequencies and ship-wide public address," I said.
"Aww, Cap, you can't be serious," Marny groaned, knowing what was coming next.
I nodded, smiling. "Play Thin Lizzy's The Boys are Back in Town, but start with the chorus first."
A rock guitar played loudly over the speakers.
The boys are back in town … The boys are back in town …
"Twelve bogies confirmed on the edge of Piscivoru control," Nick announced, his conversation muting the song. "We're tracking an additional sixty ships within twelve minutes of our location."
"Moyo, Fleet Maneuver One," I ordered, marking three cruisers on the edge of Piscivoru-controlled space.
"Pretoof," she answered, acknowledging the order in her native language. Since I knew the meaning of the word, my AI chose not to translate it for me. Gracefully, Hunting Fog rolled over and slid up next to Hornblower. Both ships had top-mounted weapons that utilized the Iskstar. With our orientations, we would more than double our effective coverage.
"Ada, close to one hundred twenty-five percent of Kroerak lance weapon effective range," I said.
"Copy that, Captain," Ada answered.
A moment, later, it was as if a dam had broken. Twelve ships on the opposite side of the Piscivoru-controlled cone surged forward into peril. Their plan became immediately obvious and was one we'd anticipated. The Kroerak planned to overwhelm Piscivoru’s defense.
"All reverse!" I ordered. There was no reason to leave the safety of Dskirnss weapon's range. "Sendrei, open fire."
Even before I'd finished my sentence, a beam from the surface ripped through the bow of an encroaching ship. I punched a virtual counter on my holo display. I needed to know just how quickly the Piscivoru were able to charge and fire again.
"Target acquired," Sendrei acknowledged. As per plan, Marny was marking ships in priority order. "Firing!"
We were farther away from the target ship than I liked, but it was imperative we test our range. The Kroerak would not hesitate to swarm us, sacrificing forward ships for an open shot from the trailing ones. I held my breath as a slender blue finger reached out from Hornblower's main turret and contacted the targeted cruiser.
"All hands, combat burn imminent," Ada announced, rolling Hornblower slowly as she accelerated at the approaching ships.
"Fleet Formation Two," I ordered. The simple directive to Moyo would separate the two cruisers enough to give both ships room to maneuver.
A second bolt from the surface ripped into another of the encroaching ships. I punched the timer while still keeping track of the ship Sendrei had fired at. The bolt struck center mass, burrowing through the ship's armor like lava through thin ice. I checked the ship's trajectory as Hornblower turned hard to starboard and I was slammed against my restraints. Unlike the other Kroerak ships in combat space, the cruiser we'd fired on no longer tracked us.
"That's a confirmed kill!" Nick exclaimed excitedly. "Ada, lance wave twenty degrees port."
I tracked the lance wave Nick had picked up on. As it turned out, there were ten such lance waves slicing through local space. Ada's adjusted course invalidated most of them, but Nick had picked up on a fresh launch.
"I've got it," Ada answered calmly. She tweaked our path so the wave would miss.
"Firing," Sendrei announced.
"Frigates on approach," Nick announced as a grouping of four smaller frigates sailed at us in tight formation.
"Fire-control, put our two-fifties on those ships," Marny ordered. "Ada, give us some daylight on those frigates."
Sendrei's second shot found its home, center-punching a second cruiser, just as a third shot from the planet obliterated yet another ship. It wasn't lost on me that the planetary weapon caused significantly more damage than our ship-based blasters. It was also just as plain that Sendrei's well-placed shots were equally as deadly.
Hornblower bucked and I looked over to Marny, startled. We were taking damage and I couldn’t locate its source. "Marny, where's that coming from? Did we miss a lance wave? Roby, damage report."
Marny turned to me, her impassive face morphing into a smile. "Belay that, Engineering," Marny ordered. "Cap, what you're feeling is our cannons. They don't do much against cruisers, but will eat those frigates up."
I looked back to the battle space on my holo display. A fine red dotted line emerged from Hornblower and stitched into the attacking frigates. The AI highlighted the 250mm and 75mm cannon fire as our gunners concentrated on one target after the next. Like their much bigger sisters, the Kroerak frigates also fired waves of lances which shook Hornblower as they struck. But after a single pass, all four ships careened away, helplessly broken.
"First wave is clear!" Marny announced, a moment later.
Whooping and hollering were heard throughout the bridge as crew, excited by our success, celebrated. I allowed the hoopla for a moment. Fact was, defeating this first wave had simply been a warmup and w
e now had to face a force three times larger.
"We're not through this yet, folks," I said, eyeing the approaching Kroerak swarm.
"We've got this," Tabby said over comms. I pulled up her image, locating her call. She was in fire-control at one of the empty stations.
"Hunting Fog, Formation One," I said.
"We shall run beside your flank," Moyo replied, her teeth bared as I'd seen her do only once before. "This Iskstar is even more powerful than we believed possible. Let the fields run dark with the blood of our enemies!"
I exhaled a breath of anticipation as my heart hammered in my chest. We'd had small success and were now betting everything on the Iskstar.
"Ada, you're really going to need to dance on this one," I said, as we streaked toward the Kroerak.
The main force consisted of thirty cruisers and another thirty or so smaller ships. Our priority was the cruisers, as their lance waves were devastating. With a lucky hit, they could end the battle just as quickly as it started.
"Lances away," Nick announced.
"Rolling starboard," Ada informed as she dodged the prematurely-launched wave of lances.
"Firing!" Sendrei announced. We were still well beyond reasonable range of the Kroerak lances when twin, blue fingers of death reached out from both Hornblower and Hunting Fog, tearing into the lead cruisers.
In response, a quartet of sleek cruisers punched through the cloud of debris caused by the Iskstar-tuned blasters.
"Nick, you getting this?" I asked.
"I see it, Liam," Nick answered. "Looks like a different kind of armor."
"Fire control, I want four-hundreds on those ships," Marny ordered.
Hornblower bucked under the pressure of twin 400mm cannons firing.
"Brace, brace, brace," the AI announced.
I'd been watching a pair of cruisers on the starboard side. In the confusion of the meeting fleets, they'd avoided fire from our ships and the ground weapon. A familiar pop of air was followed by a deep shudder and the screaming of metal fatigue as the lance wave broke across our hull.
Our shells glanced off the new ships, causing little obvious damage. Blue fingers of death then danced into the fray, shredding the ships that had flanked us.
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