Cry of War: A Military Space Adventure Series

by R. L. Giddings

  He was aware of various unsecured items flying across the bridge area. A small hand extinguisher struck the top of one of the acceleration couches with such force that it spiralled off into the air, landing somewhere behind him.

  A series of bangs and crashes echoed throughout the whole ship and for a moment, Faulkner thought that the game was up. That they’d suffered a catastrophic hull breech which would leave them having to limp home for repairs. But then the damage reports started flashing up all around him and he realised that it wasn’t as bad as he’d first thought.

  “I take it they hit us?” he said far too calmly.

  “That’s a positive, sir. Three compartments are currently off-line, suspected damage to the forward engine array and it looks as though most of our forward sensors and our long-range comms are down too.”

  That wasn’t what he wanted to hear.

  “What about casualties?”

  “Nothing as yet, sir, but I’ll keep you informed.”

  With everyone either locked down or incapacitated, he prayed that casualties would be light.

  “Mister Whaites? What’s happening?”

  “We’re down to seven live missiles but they’re still looking good.”

  Faulkner checked the countdown clock and then had to sit and watch as, one by one, five of the remaining missiles disappeared from the display.

  That meant that out of forty missiles, only two had been successful.

  “Did we do any damage?”

  Whaites came on looking anxious. “I’d love to say that we did, sir, but with our long-range scans down, it’s difficult to say.”

  Ten minutes later, Faulkner convened a virtual meeting with Whaites, Schwartz and Khan.

  “Okay, so what went wrong?”

  “Shall we start with their incoming missile,” Schwartz said.

  “That was one hell of a shot,” Whaites said. “Considering all the vectors, to hit us like that was quite something.”

  Schwartz said, “Two other missiles were dealt with by our point defence weapons and one missed completely.”

  “And we had no warning?”

  Whaites pulled a face. “It looks like they didn’t actually ‘launch’ these things which is why they didn’t have the normal launch signatures. They just released them, leaving momentum to do the rest. And it’s not like we’re making it difficult for them to see us. They know we’re after them so, in that regard, we’re an easy target.”

  “Still, no excuse. We’ve got three confirmed casualties, one of whom has life changing injuries. I don’t want a repeat of this. Do whatever you have to but make sure this doesn’t happen again. Is that understood?”

  They all nodded their assent.

  “Now what about our missiles? What happened there?”

  All eyes were on Whaites.

  “Thirty-eight missiles launched and only two of them managed to get through. We’ve completed a visual analysis because that’s all we can do but damage appears to be minimal.” Whaites licked his lips before continuing. “Sir, if you’d like me to stand down as Head of Tactical…”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. This is the first time we’ve tried something like this and we’re going to have to learn from it. You think you’re the first guy this has happened to? Then think again. We’re in a fight here, son. We have to accept that the enemy are going to get in a good couple of licks. That’s how this goes. We just have to make sure our heads don’t go down when that happens. No. We re-group and come out fighting. Now, what have you got for me?”

  Whaites was thrown by that. He hadn’t been expecting to be still in the conversation at this point.

  “As I said, sir, they managed to take down thirty-six of our missiles”.

  “Yes. Yes. I get all that. But what happened to them exactly?”

  “I think it’s best if I show you,” the various faces disappeared to be replaced with a single shot of the rear of the Loki.

  “Okay, so what is this we’re looking at?”

  “Yeah,” Schwartz said. “I’m expecting to be seeing lots of laser batteries, only I’m not.”

  “That’s because there aren’t any. At least not in the sense that we would expect. See these two rings, here and here?”

  Faulkner couldn’t make out what was going on but then Whaites over-wrote them with an orange marker.

  “There you are,” he said. “Two concentric circles, one inside the other.”

  Faulkner squinted at the screen. “You’re saying, that’s where their lasers are based?”

  “That’s right. Hundreds of lasers, arranged in a circular lay-out, all firing independently.”

  “Hundreds?” Schwartz asked.

  “But they’re mounted inside the ship,” Khan said. “Which is crazy. So, what does that mean for the question of heat dispersal?”

  Confederation ships had their lasers mounted externally for this very reason. They relied on the deep cold of space to help dissipate the build-up of heat. To stop them over-heating.

  “Actually, this is fascinating,” Khan continued. “They must have some massive heat sink back there to help them deal with all this, otherwise it’d never work.”

  “Which is why they don’t have to rely on rear shields,” Faulkner said. “With something as sophisticated as this in place, they don’t need to. How many lasers are we talking about?”

  The image disappeared and all their faces came back into view.

  “Three hundred and fourteen,” Whaites said. “That we’re aware of. There may be more.”

  “All firing independently?”

  “That would seem to be the case.”

  There was a long pause while the significance of this sank in.

  “How big are these circles?” Faulkner asked.

  “The big one is two kilometres across the smaller circle is a little less than one.”

  “Not going to be easy taking those out.”

  “I think that’s an under-statement, sir. Plus, their level of accuracy is quite impressive. Even with Renheim’s twelve laser batteries you’re looking at a hit rate of about fifty six percent. As you’ve seen here, they’re capable of a much higher level of accuracy. Only two of our birds got through.”

  “Okay, gentlemen, thank you,” Faulkner said with finality. “Katherine, I’d like a word.”

  The images of Whaites and Khan blinked off one after the other.

  “So, what do you think?”

  “I think we’ve got a problem.”

  “I think you’re right. Whaites wasn’t holding back with that first salvo. He was hoping to do some real damage back there.”

  “But it just didn’t work,” Schwartz gave him a quizzical look. “It doesn’t matter how fast we are, if we can’t strike at the enemy, we’re just spinning our wheels.”

  “Trust me – I get it. But what’s this with these concentric circles? I don’t recall seeing anything like this on that first Da’al ship we encountered.”

  “I’ve gone over those schematics countless times myself and you’re right. This design seems to be unique to Loki.”

  “Which is just our luck. We’ve got less than forty-eight hours to stop this thing and, so far, we haven’t even managed to scratch her paintwork.”

  *

  Morton had been at home in the apartment all day cleaning. She was starting to feel more and more isolated and had even begun taking Coptic lessons. A young, austere looking woman came to her house twice a week to put her through her paces. Morton wasn’t a natural linguist but felt that she had a responsibility to Bayas to at least have a working knowledge of the language.

  Bayas had acted oddly the day after her run-in with Hermendal saying that he was going to arrange for their food to be delivered to the house but she refused. Although she didn’t relish the prospect of shopping, she knew that it was crucial if she wanted to develop her language skills. She couldn’t help wondering whether word of her altercation at the checkpoint hadn’t somehow managed to get back to Bayas.
He hadn’t said anything directly to her about it but then he didn’t need to.

  For the rest of the evening, they both maintained a slightly embarrassed silence.

  A couple of days earlier, Tanziat had turned up with an armful of dresses for her to try on, along with several pairs of shoes. Tanziat seemed excited about something and was thrilled when Morton asked if she’d like to take tea with her. Hermendal’s tea set had arrived the day before and she’d been looking for an excuse to try it out.

  After the tea, Morton had grudgingly consented to try on some of the dresses while Tanziat critiqued her appearance while making suggestions about make-up. Morton, as a rule, didn’t wear dresses - she felt she didn’t have the legs for them – but she enjoyed taking a break from the housework. She also managed to ascertain the reason behind Tanziat’s visit. It seemed that there was a big, week-long religious festival coming up and that Bayas was probably going to want to take his new wife out to dinner at some point.

  Bayas hadn’t mentioned any of this, though that wasn’t really a surprise. Morton had little time for religion and became impatient whenever her husband casually enquired if she’d like to visit their local temple. He’d obviously decided just to avoid the topic.

  Still, knowing this helped to put Morton’s mind at rest about one thing. He’d become quite secretive of late and she’d started to grow concerned so it was a relief to find out that he’d merely been trying to surprise her.

  While she tried on the dresses, Morton quizzed Tanziat about her husband’s job. She was surprised to learn that as commander his role was taken up mainly with the management of the domestic infrastructure and had nothing to do with the military side at all. He was currently having to deal with the power-cuts which routinely affected this part of the city. They often occurred mid-afternoon but could last up to three hours. Morton got the impression that Tanziat saw very little of her husband as a result and her opinion of the woman changed.

  She was obviously lonely and reaching out to Morton was her way of dealing with that.

  Morton didn’t have the inclination to try on all the dresses. Besides, there was only one dress there that she would seriously consider wearing. A long-sleeved number in orange and brown silk. Tanziat reluctantly accepted her decision although, after she’d left, Morton found another dress hanging on the back of one of the doors. Tanziat must have left it there deliberately. It was a sleeveless dress patterned in pale gold and lime. Although it was a very pretty dress, Morton had decided not to try it on. She thought that the neckline was far too revealing.

  She wondered whether this might have been one of Tanziat’s favorites and she cursed herself for being such a fool. The very least she could have done was to try it on. It would have been the polite thing to do. She didn’t have to wear it.

  Morton carried it over to the only full-length mirror in their tiny apartment and spent a few moments posing with it, though she never removed it from the hanger. She didn’t want to risk it.

  Tanziat had been right about the dinner invitation. Bayas waited until the day of the festival to tell her that he was taking her out that night to somewhere ‘important’ and that she should go to the market to pick up a dress. He seemed nervous when he was telling her all this and only relaxed when she agreed to do as he asked, even suggesting that she might get her hair done.

  After he’d left, she realised why he’d been so nervous. He was surely worried that Morton would refuse and she had to admit that, if she hadn’t been fore warned by Tanziat, she might well have done.

  When Bayas returned home that evening, Morton was ready for him wearing the long-sleeved dress. She’d put her hair up and had even applied some make-up.

  The streets were crowded with large groups of men and Bayas seemed to take a particular pleasure in parading Morton in front of them. Normally, in Yakutian society women stayed very much in the background but tonight the women that they did see wore elegant dresses verging on the theatrical, complete with over-stuffed shoulder pads and eye-catching head pieces. And Morton couldn’t help thinking that she should have taken Tanziat’s advice and gone with the more eye-catching of the two dresses. In comparison to the others, she couldn’t help but feel that she’d let everyone down.

  There was lots of brightly colored bunting hanging overhead and various street hawkers selling all manner of different trinkets, all of them seemingly animal themed. Bayas paused to buy her a rabbit hairpin which he was keen for her to wear immediately, so she did.

  They went to a restaurant which she’d walked past previously, though at night it was completely transformed. It was a long low wooden structure with a bell tower at one end a sort of cross between a 19th century schoolhouse and a Shinto temple. Inside though, it couldn’t have been more different. The tables were arranged in separate booths all set out on different levels and every one of them was occupied. Their table was on one of the highest levels which she took from the waiter’s response meant that it had be one of their premium tables. It was a bit of a struggle getting up there in her dress but well worth the effort as they were able to look down on all the other diners. Kind of childish, but fun.

  When they came to order, Morton plumped for the duck while Bayas chose rabbit but then surprised her by ordering a bottle of rice wine.

  Once he’d had a chance to settle down, Bayas seemed extremely excited just to be there. Clearly, he’d gone to great lengths to secure them such a table on such a popular occasion. But he wasn’t done yet. Throughout the meal he kept alluding to the fact that he had a surprise for her which kind of made her feel uneasy.

  At one point she panicked and thought ‘I hope he’s not going to propose,’ only to remember that they were already married.

  In the end, they managed to get through two bottle of rice wine so they were both a little tipsy when they left the restaurant. But, instead of heading straight home, Bayas surprised her by leading her off into a part of the ship she’d never visited before. It wasn’t long before they could hear the sound of a crowded funfair. As they turned a corner they could see the big wheel in the distance but found their route blocked by soldiers. They weren’t the only ones standing there either. There must have been thirty people, all smartly dressed, who appeared to be heading for the funfair. One of the men kept asking the soldiers what they were waiting for but the soldiers, who were all armed, ignored him. The longer they stood there, the more people joined them and Bayas started to grow impatient.

  But then, almost out of nowhere, an enormous transporter appeared, the sort that was normally used to transport battle tanks. Only they weren’t carrying tanks. The loads were broken up into different sized containers. In all, there were three such transports and it took a good ten minutes for them all to pass and for the soldiers to wave them across the road.

  “What was all that about?” Morton asked.

  Bayas kept his eyes fixed straight ahead. “Nothing. Just easier to move those big loads at night, I suppose.”

  But when she went to question him further, he just glared at her and strode away.

  She would have been upset with him then if she hadn’t seen the same rapt expression on the faces of the people around her. They walked on in studied silence projecting an air of quiet resolve.

  She ran ahead, desperate to catch up with Bayas and when she drew level with him, he simply nodded his approval before taking her by the hand and leading her towards the funfairs flashing lights. The place was packed with revellers and Morton was more than happy just to watch the people enjoying themselves. The Yakutians could be such a dour bunch at times it felt odd to see them delighting in such simple pleasures. She preferred the smaller rides overall and every time they came across one of the bigger ones she cringed, hoping that this wasn’t the surprises Bayas had been talking about, but he never showed any inclination towards the rides themselves. He seemed happy just to be walking hand in hand with her,

  It was with some relief that they left the funfair behind and came down
a rambling set of steps to find themselves confronted by an enormous artificial lake. Apart from a few lights around the boating concession, the lake was largely in darkness which she might have found scary on any other occasion but came as a blessed relief after the rowdiness of the funfair.

  As Bayas led them over to the queue for rowing boats, she breathed a sigh of relief. If this was going to be the surprise, then she could handle that. On their way over, they spotted a large, animated rabbit display and she was reminded of her hairpin.

  Bayas explained that the Resilience festival celebrated the time one of the early colony families had found themselves faced with starvation after their main crop failed. Then, with the family on the point of starvation, the father had caught a rabbit which was enough to see them through until a food relief rocket arrived a few weeks later.

  While they were in the queue, Morton was relieved to be able to take off the shoes which Tanziat had loaned to her. They’d started to pinch her feet and she was glad to pass them over to an attendant who put them to one-side. When it came to their turn, she was ushered to the aft section while Bayas took his place between the oars. He couldn’t help but look pleased with himself.

  Bayas rowed earnestly for about twenty minutes with Morton making the effort to compliment his technique. The ceiling was cleverly lit to show the stars in a night sky, though it wasn’t a constellation Morton was familiar with. Probably linked to the Yakutian home worlds, she decided. Initially, she thought the idea was a little tacky but as they drew out into the quiet at the centre of the lake, and she was able to trail her fingers through the water, she found that she was genuinely enjoying the whole experience. It wasn’t what she’d have chosen for herself but that wasn’t perhaps the point. She appreciated the fact that Bayas had actually gone to the trouble of planning the whole thing.

  It was really quite sweet.

  “Have you enjoyed yourself?” Bayas asked, the oars tucked under his elbows.

  “Very much,” she said, looking back to the little jetty. “Very much indeed. Thank you for bringing me.”