by Scott Baron
“Goddamn clever, that Chithiid,” Joshua said. “That was ballsy.”
“What exactly did he do?” Sarah asked, still a bit confused. “He sacrificed his ships, I get that, but how did that save the entire fleet?”
“Mathematics, my dear,” Joshua said. “Mathematics. The thing is, if his ships had been directly behind us when they were impacted by the blast wave, the impact and debris would have carried forward and taken out all the rest of the ships immediately after. But he had them moving the opposite direction.”
“Which I saw, but that doesn’t explain how the debris missed us.”
“Think of it like casting a shadow on a very sunny day,” Joshua suggested. “If you hold an umbrella just above your head, you cast only enough shade to shield a space the size of its diameter.”
“Right. And our ships were wider than that diameter, so they should have been destroyed.”
“Ah, but only if they were close by. You see, when he began heading the opposite direction of the fleet, his actions were akin to taking your umbrella and raising it higher and higher. And like an umbrella, eventually, the shadow it cast would grow to encompass a far larger area than the umbrella itself.”
“What he’s saying is, it dispersed the protective shielding effect of the ships they used to block the debris enough that––since we all fell in single file––the center of that line of vessels would be protected as the cone of safety spread as the debris was traveling on an expanding path,” Daisy clarified. “He sacrificed all of those dozens of ships to save the hundreds of others in the fleet.”
“Inspired bit of thinking. Truly,” Joshua said. “Now we just have to deal with part two.”
“Part two?” George said. “Oh boy.”
Far behind the diminished fleet, the Ra’az, surprised by the unusual tactic and the survival of the enemy that had resulted from it, began pulling back into an aggressive posturing once more, their ships spreading out as they prepared to pounce on their injured opponents.
“We need to regroup, and fast,” Daisy said. “Celeste, you’ve got to pull together as many of the larger ships as possible to give the smaller ones a chance to patch their most serious damage to get back into the fight. The Ra’az are gearing up to hit us while we’re hurt. We’ve got to be ready for them.”
“Joshua, do you think you can get through the gap in the asteroid field from here?”
“Shouldn’t be too hard,” he replied. “But why? The fight––and all of our resources––are here.”
“Not all of them.”
“You can’t mean the big asteroid,” he said, realizing where she was going with this. “It’s too far away, and even if we push it with our fastest ships, it’ll never get here in time.”
“But you said it’s far out there,” Daisy replied. “You said it’s so far out that it’s still in functional warp territory.”
“You can’t possibly be thinking what I think you’re thinking,” Joshua said, a note of excitement rising in his voice. “Because if you are, that’s just insane. Brilliant, but insane.”
“I’ve been called worse,” Daisy replied with a tired grin. “So can you do it?”
“I believe so, but it’ll cost us.”
“How many?”
“A dozen, I reckon.”
“Then a dozen it is. Pick your ships and get moving.”
“We can come with,” Arlo said, linking into the conversation. “Wherever it is you’re going, that is.”
“I’m heading outside the asteroid field, kid. We’re going to link a dozen ships together, using their warp drives to––theoretically––jump that huge asteroid right through the asteroid field.”
“But won’t that destroy the ships, as well as their warp cores?”
“Oh yeah, most definitely,” Joshua replied. “Which is why we’re going to do it remotely. I’ve already selected the most damaged ships and notified Zed,” he informed Daisy. “Time to go. It’ll take us a little while once we’re clear of the asteroid field and the Ra’az warp-cancellation tech to be able to jump out to it, but I’d estimate you have about two hours, give or take. You think you can rig something up in that time?”
“We’ll make it work,” Freya replied. “Get going.”
“See you soon, babe,” he replied before turning and darting out through the gap in the asteroid field, a dozen small ships close behind, following his lead.
“Babe?” Daisy chuckled.
“Leave me alone,” Freya shot back, sarcastically.
“No, really. Good for you, kiddo. Mom approves.”
“Are you two done?” Sarah grumbled.
“Sorry. Celeste, do you copy?” Daisy transmitted. “We’re working on a plan, but we need time.”
“How much time? The Ra’az have regrouped and are moving our way. With our fleet numbers suddenly evened out by their trap, I’d say they’re looking pretty eager to press their advantage.”
“So we turn back and fight them,” Daisy said. “There are no guarantees any of this will work, but there’s no stopping now. Success is the only option.”
“Zed already told me the basics of Joshua’s plan. Can you actually get it rigged in time?”
“I think so,” she replied. “I don’t have much of a choice, in any case.”
“Very well,” Celeste said. “We’ll buy you all the time we can.”
Daisy jumped up from her seat to head to the fabrication lab Freya had tucked in her belly, when Arlo piped up.
“Hey, Joshua told Marty to hang back and fly cover for Freya while you guys do whatever it is you’re doing. What exactly are you doing?”
“We’re going to use the asteroid we had planned to throw at their world as a diversion for cover, Arlo. Joshua’s going to rig it to jump right through the asteroids, and when it arrives, we’re going to use Freya’s stealth tech to get past the Ra’az and plant a warp device on it.”
“But warp doesn’t work here.”
“No, but once it passes the Ra’az satellites it will, and when we finally get into the atmosphere, we’ll detonate it.”
“But their tech cancels out not only warp drives, but also blocks our signals from any reasonable distance.”
“I know,” Daisy said. “It’ll have to be manually triggered.”
“Wait, did you say manually?”
“Yes. And I’ll need you to take Sarah and George with you.”
“Hang on, you’re not booting me out for some hare-brained scheme of yours,” Sarah said. “And in case you forgot, the fleet’s warp systems are too weak. Only warp orbs we stole from the Ra’az base in San Francisco seem to have the energy potential you’re talking about for an atmospheric detonation.”
“Yeah. And we’ve got one right here.”
“The drained one?” Sarah said.
“No, the other one,” Daisy replied.
“Need I remind you that’s the one we’re using?”
“Not right now. Not while we’re flying under auxiliary power,” Daisy pointed out. “So we pull the orb, rig it to blow, and get it onto that asteroid. Freya’s got the auxiliary juice to get clear in plenty of time.”
“But the orb is drained.”
“You remember what happened to Marty’s drive? As soon as he pulled clear, it powered back up. Well, when we first got here the Ra’az warped a bunch of ships from within the atmosphere up to their fleet. That means the satellites are outward-facing. Once an orb passes their position, it should power back up. And that means it’ll be ready to blow when I trigger it.”
“Hang on a minute,” Arlo said over their comms. “You’re talking about a suicide mission.”
“Someone has to do it, Arlo,” Daisy said. “And everyone else here has already died because of me once before. Seems only fair it’d be my turn. Quite a way to go, huh? Saving the world.”
“But you can’t die. You don’t understand! Send me instead.”
You’re a brave kid, Arlo. Really, you are. And I’m proud to hav
e known you. But you’re young, and you’ve got a whole life to live. Freya, lose them.”
“Are you sure?”
“Please?” Daisy asked, quietly.
“All right.”
Freya spun into motion, using every bit of her stealthy tricks as she dove into the fleet, weaving through ships before tucking into the asteroid field and hiding from sight.
“Block their comms too, would ya? I’d rather not spend my last hours listening to them try to find us.”
“Okay, Daisy,” Freya complied.
“Daisy, are you sure you want to do this?” George asked. “I’m glad to shoulder the burden. In fact, it’s kinda my job.”
“Thanks, George, but I’m afraid the proximity to the Ra’az satellites might short out your systems if you’re on that asteroid and not protected by Freya’s shielding. It’s gotta be me.”
“But, Sis,” Sarah said, tears welling in her eyes.
“Hey, it’s okay. It has to be done.”
“Screw them. You don’t have to do this.”
Daisy gave her a big hug.
“A wise old Vulcan once said, ‘The good of the many outwe––”
“What’s a Vulcan?” Sarah interrupted.
“Never mind,” Daisy replied with an amused sigh, then left the command pod and headed into Freya’s belly to get to work.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Joshua delivered, as promised, a short while later.
The massive asteroid, formerly to be a simple diversionary tool, popped into view just at the edge of the asteroid field, smashing them into bits as it hurtled toward the Ra’az world.
“Looks like he gauged the distance a little off,” Sarah said, noting the bits of smashed rock in the huge asteroid’s wake.
“Nah, it’s just the field is thicker over there,” Freya said. “I was scanning and noticed a gravitational anomaly that pulled the inner walls of it a little bit closer to the Ra’az. I would have warned him before he warped it in here, but comms won’t clear the asteroid field.”
“Or the Ra’az satellites,” Daisy added, walking back into the command pod, her deadly new toy in hand. “Those bastards keep scrambling our ships’ comms if they stray too far from one another.”
Outside, the two fleets were battling it out, engaged in a battle royale for nearly an hour. The Ra’az, though still slightly fewer in number, now held a slight advantage, as the human and Kathiri vessels had sustained damage ranging from nominal to severe in the wake of the Ra’az trap.
Marty had finally given up trying to find Daisy and was tearing through the enemy ships, ripping apart their weapons systems from close range, then darting off before a neighboring craft could target him. Daisy had to admire the two of them. A boy and his ship, willing to give it all for a group of people they’d never even met before.
“Daisy, I’ve finished my assessment of the asteroid,” Freya informed her.
“And?”
“And it’s moving really fast.”
“Obviously,” she replied with a chuckle. “And what else, kiddo?”
“And I have determined the densest portion of its mass. It isn’t the thickest, per se, but it is the most likely to withstand entry into the planet’s atmosphere and remain intact.”
“And that’s what we want,” Daisy noted. “So, we’re looking good, then.”
“Well, yes and no,” Freya said, a note of reluctance in her voice.
“Why couldn’t you start with the bad news first for once?” Daisy asked, jokingly. “Okay, Freya, what haven’t you told me?”
“The thing is, there’s an eighty-six percent likelihood of that section of the asteroid reaching atmosphere and surviving entry.”
“But?”
“But there is also a seventy-two percent chance that the Ra’az will be able to significantly slow its progress using their cannons and smaller weapons systems, much like they did with the asteroids our fleet threw at them prior to their ambush.”
“But those were smaller rocks,” Sarah pointed out. “I mean, much smaller.”
“Yes, Sarah, they were. But this time there is just one target, and I fear they may all target it at once. If they did, it could diminish its velocity.”
“Enough to stop it?” Daisy asked.
“No. But enough to potentially delay it enough to miss its target as the Ra’az planet travels on its orbital path.”
“Then we’d better distract them. The others have seen the asteroid by now. Start your approach, Freya, and comm them and tell them to divert whatever firepower they can to give that giant-ass rock a clear path. I’m going to suit up. If this works, I’ll only have a minute to jump out there before you’ll have to dust off.”
Sarah stopped her in her tracks, pulling her into a tight hug.
“I don’t want you to do this, Daisy.”
“I don’t want to either, but it needs to be done. Everyone else has been so busy sacrificing it all for the good of our worlds. It’s only fair I do the same.” She turned to leave, pausing a moment in front of her cybernetic friend.
“Daisy, it’s been a real honor,” Sergeant Franklin said, throwing her a crisp salute.
“George, you’re one of a kind,” she said, saluting him back, then wrapping him up in a big hug. “You take care of yourself, okay?”
“Will do. And I’ll keep an eye on that one as well,” he said, nodding toward Daisy’s tearful sister.
“Oh, don’t start that!” Daisy griped, her own waterworks kicking in. “See what you made me do?” she half-heartedly bitched to her sister.
They shared a final look as she stepped into the doorway.
“Love you, Sis.”
“Love you too.”
Then she was gone, on her way to don her space suit for the final time.
“Freya, can you patch me through to Vince?” she asked as she slid her legs into the suit’s protective embrace.
“Got him,” Freya replied. “He’s on.”
“Hey, babe. What’s this Arlo says about you going on some crazy suicide mission without me?” he said with a concerned laugh. “I know he was exaggerating, right?”
Keep it together, Daisy. You can do this.
“Sorry, Vince,” she said, forcing her tightening throat to work as she held back her emotions. “I’m afraid there’s just no other way.”
Vince was silent a long moment.
“No,” he finally said. “No, you get someone else to do it, you understand? This does not have to be you. You’ve done enough already.”
“It’s okay, baby,” she soothed. “Nothing is forever, and we had a really good run of it, and I wouldn’t change a minute.”
“But we had plans. We were going to get a place by the ocean. Plant some crops. Start a family.”
That last one stung, twisting the knife a bit deeper, but she knew she had to spare him that additional pain.
“Yeah, that would have been nice,” she said. “But this has to be done, and there’s no one else who can do it. Now I want you to go and be strong for me. Can you do that? Be strong and help the others. They’ll need you, Vince. There’s still a war to win.”
Daisy slid her arms into the suit’s sleeves. All that was left was the helmet.
“Listen. I’ve got to go now,” she said quietly. “Just always remember how much I love you.”
“Daisy, please. You can’t––”
“Don’t, Vince. Just don’t.”
He was silent a long moment.
“I love you, Daisy Swarthmore,” he said, then the comms went silent.
Tearfully, Daisy slid the helmet into place and moved closer to the lower airlock she’d be exiting onto the surface of the asteroid.
“I’m ready, Freya. Give me a countdown when we’re getting close.”
“There’s a problem, Daisy,” Freya blurted out in a panic. “You’d better get up here.”
“But I’m ready to––”
“Get up here. Trust me.”
“Sh
it,” Daisy cursed, lurching through the door into Freya’s corridor and hustling back to her command pod.
“What is it that’s so important you couldn’t just tell me over the––” She fell silent as she realized what was on the monitor screens. “Oh, fuck me.”
A series of large explosions shook the asteroid as they neared it, fracturing it, then breaking it into millions of tiny pieces.
“They must have figured it had some strategic importance when our ships started clearing a path for it,” George said. “Looks like one of their commanders took the initiative to divert all of his cannons to take it out before it could get anywhere near their planet.”
Daisy looked at the other monitors with dread. The fleet was losing, the Ra’az ships were chipping away at their defenses, slowly driving them into a crossfire. It was only a matter of time before their fleet would be destroyed.
Sarah stared at her sister, a grim look on her face. Grim, and determined.
“Is the orb hooked up?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“And can it take out their planet if we manage to get it to the edge of their atmosphere?”
“I don’t know, Sis,” Daisy replied. “It’s supposed to be in full atmosphere to have that effect. I don’t know if its reaction would be powerful enough that high up.”
Sarah looked crestfallen.
“What if you tied it to a second orb?” George said. “Could that help?”
“I don’t know if that would––”
“Yeah, I’m almost sure that’d give it a much higher volatility level,” Freya interrupted. “The fresh one would power up once it passed the satellites, and if it were in a feedback loop with the drained unit, the combination would almost certainly increase the detonation’s power by several orders of magnitude.”
“Which would be enough to take the Ra’az down, even from the very edge of their atmosphere,” George said, giving Sarah a knowing nod. “Excellent.”
“So we’re in agreement?” Freya asked.
“I am,” George replied. “Sarah?”
“Count me in.”
“What are you talking about?” Daisy asked, more than a little confused.
“Our entire fleet is about to lose, Daisy. Everyone we love. Everyone we care about. Gone. And then there will be no one left to check the Ra’az aggression,” Sarah said, a flash of angry steel in her voice. “So we were talking while you were down below, and we’ve made a decision.”