by Ryk Brown
Captain Proth could taste his first victory. His evasion of the Karuzari ship’s attack had been inspired, and their disabling of the enemy’s jump drive had been textbook. Even better, their relentless pounding of their aft shields was classic Dusahn. The battle at Volon would prove his value to the empire, as well as the value of others like him. “Move in closer to increase the impact energy of our weapons.”
“It would be safer to remain at our current distance,” the commander urged. “At the current rate of drain, their aft shields will be down in two minutes.”
“I want that ship destroyed…now,” the captain insisted. “Move closer.”
“Aft shields are down to thirty-two percent!” Dylan exclaimed as the Voss was rocked by incoming weapons fire.
Josh glanced at the threat display as he continued to maneuver wildly. “That fucker is moving closer!”
“Good,” Nathan replied. “Let him.”
“Let him?” Dylan asked in disbelief.
“Let him,” Nathan repeated.
“I feel obligated to point out that the closer they get, the more quickly our shields are drained by their weapons.”
“I’m aware of that,” Nathan assured him.
“I’m also obligated to point out that we now have a working jump drive, and a clear jump line.”
“Shut up, Dylan!” Josh scolded.
“I’m just saying…”
“Nobody asked you!” Josh replied, cutting him off.
Dylan took a breath, frustrated. “Aft shields at thirty percent,” he reported. “They won’t be able to withstand impacts at such close range once they fall below twenty-five percent.”
Kit pulled on the missile body with all his might, using the additional strength that his combat armor gave him to separate the delivery vehicle from the forward warhead package.
Marcus closed the access panel on the side of the missile’s warhead package, breathing a sigh of relief. “It’s ready,” he reported.
“How are we going to detonate it?” Nathan asked over the intercom.
“You don’t have to,” Marcus replied. “It’ll detonate with the slightest exposure of energy.”
“Then we shoot it?” Kit asked.
“No need,” Marcus explained. “If they shoot it, it goes nuclear. If it touches their shields, it goes nuclear.”
“Nice.”
“All we have to do is toss it out the back,” Marcus added.
“How do we do that?” Nathan asked.
“That’s my job,” Kit replied, stepping up to the warhead package.
“We’ll have to drop the pressure shield first,” Marcus warned. “It might trigger detonation as well.”
“Then you’d better clear out of here,” Kit suggested as the visor on his helmet dropped down and automatically sealed.
“Kit will toss it out the back!” Marcus reported over the intercom.
Another volley slammed into them, rocking the ship violently.
“Shields down to twenty-eight percent!” Dylan warned.
“We’re going to have to time this right,” Nathan decided. “Josh, prepare a one light-minute jump. We’ll go on a five-count, so that Kit can time his delivery.”
“Got it,” Josh replied.
“Whenever you’re ready, Kit,” Nathan called over the intercom.
“I’m ready, I’m ready!” Kit insisted.
“Jump is ready,” Josh reported as the ship rocked again.
“Aft shields at twenty-six percent!” Dylan warned urgently.
“Let’s do it,” Nathan ordered.
Josh placed his finger over the jump button. “Jumping in five…”
“Jesus!” Jessica exclaimed over the intercom. “These damned drones are everywhere!”
“A group is passing under us!” Jokay warned.
The ship rocked as two more bolts of energy slammed into their aft shields.
“Four…”
“Aft shields are down to twenty-two percent!” Dylan exclaimed.
“We can’t take another hit!” Dylan warned over the intercom.
Kit activated his mag boots, squatted down, and grabbed onto the handles on the warhead’s stern mounting plate, bracing himself.
“Dropping pressure shield!” Marcus announced over the intercom.
The pale blue pressure shield flickered, then disappeared, allowing the pressurized air inside the massive bay to be sucked out into space, taking anything that wasn’t secured with it.
Using the additional strength of his combat armor, he lifted the heavy warhead to his waist, straightening his legs into a standing position.
“I can’t believe I’m chucking rocks at a spaceship!” Kit yelled as he began to spin around in place.
“Three…”
Kit let go of the warhead flinging it out the opening at the back of the bay with all his might, praying that his aim was true.
“Two…”
“Warhead is away!” Kit reported as he ran toward the hatch controls on the left side of the door.
“One…”
Kit slapped the door close button, causing the massive utility bay ramp to begin rising toward its closed position.
“Jumping!”
“Target has jumped!” Commander Lobey reported from the Bor-Quarum’s tactical station.
“Damn it!” the captain cursed. “We almost had her!”
“Unidentified object detected,” the sensor officer reported. “Dead ahead; one kilometer and closing fast.”
“What is it?” the captain inquired.
“Running full spectrum scans now.”
“Debris?” the commander suggested.
“Did their aft shields fail before they jumped?” the captain wondered.
“It’s possible that one of our drones did some damage,” the commander opined.
“If it is debris, will our shields stop it?” the captain questioned.
“They should,” the commander assured him.
“Radiological!” the sensor officer reported urgently. “It’s a warhead!”
“Emergency jump!” the captain ordered as a brilliant, white flash appeared on their view screen, filling the entire bridge with the blinding light.
“You still with us, Kit?” Nathan called.
“Still here!” Kit replied over the intercom. “Rear door is closed.”
“Nice job,” Nathan replied. “Come about, Josh,” he instructed. “If that nuke took out their shields, we’re going to have to strike quickly before they jump out.”
“Coming about,” Josh acknowledged.
“Do we still have nukes in the tubes?” Nathan asked.
“Yes, sir,” Dylan replied.
“Set them to jump the moment they clear the tubes.”
“Setting missiles for snap jump,” Dylan confirmed. “Range?”
“One hundred meters shy of whatever our range is at the time of launch,” Nathan replied.
“At our current speed, that means they’ll come out of their jump only a few meters from impact,” Dylan warned. “They’ll have no time to make final course adjustments.”
“Which is why we’re setting their detonators to proximity mode,” Nathan explained.
“Aye sir,” Dylan replied, fighting not to be overwhelmed by everything that was happening.
“Coming about now, Cap’n,” Josh reported. “Where do you want to jump back in at?”
“Just astern of them,” Nathan replied. “Flip us over and nose us down a few degrees. With any luck, that nuke took out their forward shields, and the missiles we’re about to ram down their throats will bring the rest of them down as well. If so, we’ll take out their main propulsion with our plasma torpedoes.”
“Sounds fun!” Josh exclaimed, preparing for the maneu
ver.
“You people have strange ideas of what’s fun,” Dylan mumbled.
Sparks flew in all directions as consoles all around the Bor-Quarum’s bridge were overloaded by the sudden burst of radiation. A plethora of emergency alarms added to the chaos and screams of the bridge crew as they struggled to stay ahead of the damage.
“Report!” Captain Proth demanded as he climbed back to his feet.
“All forward shields are down!” Commander Lobey replied. “Midship and aft shield rings are down to twenty percent! Forward turrets are offline. Point defenses are also down!”
“Engineering! Captain!”
“Main propulsion and maneuvering are still working,” the chief engineer replied over the intercom. “Jump drive is also working, but the main reactor has automatically switched to safety mode, so whatever is in the energy banks is all the jump range we have until I can fix whatever is wrong with the reactor and get it back to full-power mode.”
“Helm, report levels in our jump banks.”
“Approximately three light years,” the helmsman replied.
“Why so little?” the captain wondered.
“I am uncertain, Captain,” the lieutenant commander admitted. “We had three times that before the attack started. We may have lost some of the charge due to that blast.”
“Figure out if it’s an instrumentation problem or a physical one,” the captain instructed. “Three light years isn’t enough to get home, let alone to complete our mission.”
“Yes, Captain,” the helmsman replied.
“Captain, we are in no condition to complete our mission,” the commander argued. “We may not even be able to get home.”
“Home?” the captain snapped, turning back to face his second-in-command. “And what will await us should we return in disgrace?”
“Multiple contacts!” the sensor officer reported urgently. His expression suddenly changed. “It’s the Nan-Sala! Gunships! Octos!”
“What?” the captain snapped. “How did…”
“The Oro-Bowona,” Commander Lobey said. “Her captain must have informed command of the situation…per protocol.”
Captain Proth’s face was crestfallen. His dreams of proving himself, and all those like him, to the empire they served were gone. Crippled, unable to fight, unable to get home, and the enemy having escaped their grasp, his fate, and likely those of his crew, were sealed. Any whom were not executed faced the most menial of tasks for the rest of their days, along with the ridicule and disrespect of their peers. The situation could not have been worse.
Or so he thought.
“New contacts!” the sensor officer gasped. “MISSILES!”
The jump flash washed over the Voss’s flight deck as the ship finished pitching over. The Dusahn warship slid into view, only a few hundred meters away.
The targeting computer beeped, indicating that the ship’s forward torpedo tubes were lined up, and that the ship’s AI had taken control of its attitude thrusters so that it remained that way.
“Firing!” Josh announced as he pressed the button to launch the first spread of plasma torpedoes.
Red-orange balls of plasma, two from each side, streaked forward, slamming into the target’s weakened shields. They flashed brightly, and tiny explosions of sparks appeared all over the aft side of its hull. The target’s aft shields flickered, then disappeared.
“Their shields are down!” Dylan exclaimed with excitement.
The Voss shook violently, surprising them all. “What the…” Nathan began to say.
“Frigate!” Mori yelled over the intercom, the screech of his plasma cannons sounding in the background. “One twenty, twenty degrees up relative!”
Another volley slammed into them, rocking the ship and setting off more warning alarms.
“I’ve got gunships and octos below!” Jokay added.
“Drones are passing over the target, coming toward us!” Jessica warned over the intercom.
“Where they hell did they come from?” Nathan snapped.
“I don’t know!” Dylan defended. “The contacts weren’t there a second ago!”
“Well, they’re there now!” Nathan replied. “Josh, jump us the hell out of here!”
“I’m on it,” Josh replied, quickly dialing up an escape jump and pressing the jump button.
Nothing happened.
“Josh…”
“I’m trying!” Josh insisted. “The jump status board shows ready, but nothing is happening!”
A terrible thought suddenly occurred to Nathan. I should have called for backup before we jumped back in.
CHAPTER FIVE
The intercom panel built into the desk in the captain’s ready room beeped.
“Go ahead,” Cameron answered.
“Captain, Intel,” Lieutenant Commander Shinoda called. “Latest recon from Takara shows considerable movement. One frigate, at least four gunships, and about twenty octos have all gotten underway.”
“Destination?”
“Unknown,” the lieutenant commander replied. “Our recon drone jumped out before they did. Best I can say is that they were pulling away from Takara.”
Cameron thought for a moment. “Do we have any spare drones available for tasking?”
“Negative. The one that just returned has to be recycled. I can have it ready to go in about thirty minutes, if that helps.”
“Never mind,” she told him. “I’ll retask one of the BARCAP teams.”
“To where?”
“To where we hope they’re not going.” Cameron quickly changed channels. “Comms, Captain, get me Corinari Command, ASAP.”
* * *
Talisha Sane glanced at her sensor display again. As expected, there were no contacts.
“I’m just saying that these patrols could be done by drones,” her wingman continued. “I mean, we’ve only got twenty-eight Nighthawks left. Seems to me they should be saved for combat, not used for BARCAPs.”
“You just want to spend more time with that waitress at Hodgers,” Talisha teased.
“And there’s something wrong with that?”
“Contact,” Talisha’s AI announced. “Comm-drone; squawking Corinari IFF codes.”
“Looks like we’ve got an incoming message from command,” Talisha commented.
“Probably that waitress,” her wingman joked.
“No doubt.” Talisha read the text message as it appeared on her screen, then shifted in her seat. “We’ve got an urgent retask,” she announced.
“What now?” her wingman asked. “They want us to take over someone else’s patrol area again?”
“Negative,” Talisha replied. “They want us to recon the Volon system, ASAP.”
“Now they have us doing the work of recon drones?” he complained. “Unbelievable!”
“Leta, plot a high-speed series jump to Volon and load.”
“Distance to Volon is fourteen point five three light years from current position,” Leta replied. “Suggest immediate course change to one five seven mark one four and accelerate at full power. First jump will be in two minutes. The series will require fifteen jumps. With ten second intervals, time to Volon will be two minutes and thirty seconds.”
“Recalculate at max jump range,” Talisha instructed her AI.
“Max-range jumps in series are not recommended,” Leta warned.
“I’m aware,” Talisha replied. “Calculate anyway.”
“Five jumps, twelve second intervals. Time to Volon; one minute,” Leta reported.
“Much better,” Talisha agreed. “You ready?”
“Let’s go take a look, boss,” her wingman replied.
“Leta, take control and get us to Volon.”
“Confirming max-range jumps?”
“Max-range jumps confirmed.”<
br />
“Turning to new heading and executing jump series to Volon,” Leta announced.
“Try to keep up,” Talisha joked.
* * *
The Voss shook as the Dusahn frigate’s guns pummeled their failing shields. Josh jinked the ship around, trying to evade the target locks of the enemy ship’s main guns and popping off a few plasma torpedoes whenever their rear tubes lined up for a moment.
“We can’t take many more hits from those big guns!” Dylan warned.
“I have an idea!” Josh exclaimed.
“Whatever it is, do it!” Nathan urged.
“You’re not gonna like it!”
“If it keeps us from getting our asses blown off, I’ll love it, I promise!”
“Hang on!” Josh exclaimed, pushing his flight controls forward.
The ship’s nose dropped sharply, diving toward the planet below.
“What the hell are you doing?” Dylan yelled, his eyes wide.
“Frigates and gunships can’t fly in atmo,” Josh explained.
“Their fighters can!”
“Yeah, I got an idea for them as well,” Josh snickered.
* * *
“Last jump, coming up,” Talisha announced. “Shields up.”
“We expecting trouble?” her wingman asked.
“The Voss is supposed to be here,” she replied.
“We’re doing recon on a system that already has an asset in place? Why not just send a comm-drone?”
“That’s why we’re raising shields,” Talisha replied.
The jump flash washed over her ship, its brilliant, blue-white light subdued to manageable levels by the Sugali fighter’s projection canopy.
“Multiple contacts,” her AI reported.
“What have we got, Leta?” Talisha asked.
“One Dusahn frigate, four gunships, and one heavy gunship of unknown origin. The heavy gunship is badly damaged. There are also twenty octo-fighters diving toward the surface of Volon. There is considerable destruction to the surface civilization. It appears that the planet is under attack.”