by Craig Allen
Badger shouted into his radio. “Everyone, get the fuck out of here now!”
Grasers painted the space around Badger, trying to lock on to his hopper. He maneuvered toward the aft end of the Kali, where the plates had been bolted in place to make her spaceworthy again. It was the ship’s only blind spot—unless they had gotten smart and mounted grasers there.
The other hoppers’ weapons went hot, as did Badger’s. They fired on the Kali, evaporating parts of the hull. Attacking the Kali with a hopper’s grasers was like shooting power armor with coil pistols. Causing damage was possible, but that would take time the hoppers probably didn’t have.
Badger still spun relative to the Kali, but the moon was behind him. If he accelerated directly away from the Kali’s stern, he would fall into the moon’s gravity well. If he took off in another direction, he would be exposed to the Kali’s grasers.
Fortunately, Badger had other options.
“Clear out,” Bounder shouted over the comm.
Every hopper went to full burn. Grasers lanced at them as they accelerated away from the area. Hera Six took a hit along its port side, but the damage was minimal. Badger couldn’t focus on that. He was one hundred klicks away, and he needed to be much farther than that. Badger pushed the throttle forward, accelerating away perpendicular to the Kali’s position as grasers licked at him. His hopper shuddered as a graser brushed his stern. Badger frowned. There’s a landing strut that will never extend again, he thought.
At five thousand klicks, he rotated to face the Kali. He fired tubes one and two. The tactical torpedoes rocketed away from him.
The grasers changed their targets, focusing on the incoming tacs. The animals piloting the Kali must have had a pretty good idea what they were up against. They managed to take down one tactical torpedo, but the other detonated nearby.
The sky lit up brighter than the local star. A few seconds later, the light disappeared, and the Kali reeled toward the moon. He registered the enemy’s impellers coming online and pushing against the moon’s gravity. It wasn’t so dead after all.
Badger’s gravimetrics went crazy at a point near the moon. He focused his hopper’s lidar, and there they were. At least a dozen light cruisers glided through space. Each cruiser was virtually identical to the other, and they approached the Washington at full burn.
Badger stared at the sight. The rescue mission had just turned into a war.
He reversed his thrust, which he had held for too long. That meant more time to slow down and even longer to reengage.
“Badge,” Bounder said. “You all right?”
“Goddamn it,” Badger said. “I’m going one-oh-five on my reactor. I’ll be back in the game in less than forty seconds.”
Badger knew he would be lucky if it wasn’t over by then.
~~~
“Battle stations.”
The bridge doors shut and locked automatically at the admiral’s command. A klaxon screeched three times. Red lights came to life but didn’t interfere with the usual illumination.
“I’m reading fifteen contacts,” Mr. Briar said. “All are identical to the Kali.”
The main visual zoomed in on one of the approaching ships. Text appeared beneath the image of the ship, too small for Cody to read from where he stood.
“Christ, they just copied her.” The XO shook his head as he pulled up a readout on one ship. “They even got the same identification numbers.”
“Admiral,” Mr. Briar said. “I’ve got multiple tacs inbound. ETA, forty seconds. Defense grasers are tracking.”
Dozens of lights flickered into life on the main visual. They approached the Washington faster than any other ship could possibly manage, which meant they could only be tactical torpedoes. Measured in hundreds of megatons, they were far more devastating than typical nuclear devices that might be used planetside. The tacs followed a zigzag course, attempting to confuse the defense systems that focused the grasers on those torpedoes.
The main visual highlighted the path of the Washington’s defense grasers in yellow as they locked onto torpedoes. When they fired, the paths turned red. There were more misses than hits, but the numbers of torpedoes decreased steadily.
“Load all tubes,” the admiral said. “I want a firing solution on every ship. Evasive. Take us to two seven zero by three two zero. Put us between them and the moon as much as possible.”
“Aye, sir,” a voice said. The main visual adjusted as the massive battle cruiser maneuvered. For a ship of that size, the Washington accelerated at a tremendous rate. The inbound torpedoes changed course to intercept. Of the dozens launched by the Kali ships, only four remained. A few seconds later, it was two. The second after that, the torpedo icons on the visual erupted into balls of light.
The deck lurched under Cody, and he nearly fell. Sonja and Bodin managed to steady themselves. The others on the bridge also kept their balance without a problem.
“Report,” the admiral said.
“Forward sections hit,” a voice said. “Registering hull damage, but no buckling. We got lucky.”
Another voice spoke. “Admiral, I have a firing solution on all tubes.”
“Return fire.”
The visual lit up with additional lights as dozens of torpedoes emerged from the Washington. They moved in an erratic pattern Cody couldn’t follow, even more erratic than the torpedoes fired at them. The Washington’s sensors noted the defensive grasers of the Kali ships lance at them. Because of either lack of experience or deficient technology, their effectiveness was somewhat less than that of the Washington.
The Kali ships dodged, trying desperately to avoid the torpedoes that their grasers couldn’t destroy. They managed to get into kill range and detonated. Splashes of light filled the visual, covering most of the ships. Within seconds, half the Kali ships spun helplessly through space. Most were caught within the moon’s gravity well. If their impellers were down, then they were dead. Four had survived, and they charged forward, heading directly toward the Washington.
Mr. Briar turned to the admiral. “They’ll be in graser range in thirty seconds.”
~~~
The light show lit the sky as Badger approached. Most of the enemy ships spun helplessly, damaged enough to be out of the fight, but still active enough to be a problem for the Washington. Hoppers painted them with grasers until they were no longer a threat. He couldn’t tell whether any of the massive debris field around him had come from damaged hoppers or if it belonged only to the enemy.
Of the remaining ships, four headed straight for the Washington. In thirty seconds, they would be in graser range, too close for the Washington or the Kali ships to use tacs. But Badger still had time to do something, as did the other hoppers.
Badger was about to suggest it to the squadron leader, but Bounder must’ve read his mind. “All hoppers, launch tacs.”
Badger locked and launched his last two tacs. The other hoppers lit up on his lidar as they launched their own tacs. The tactical torpedoes on hoppers were a much smaller yield, not like the large-yield tacs the Washington carried. Most called the standard hopper tacs “thumb tacks.” Though small, collectively, they could do a lot of damage to one or more of the ships approaching the Washington, especially if the ships didn’t notice the incoming tacs in time.
Luck and prayer were hardly decent tactics in a fight, but they couldn’t hurt.
~~~
“Contact!” Mr. Briar’s hands swept over his controls. “Torpedoes inbound.”
“From them?” the admiral asked.
“Negative, sir. They are coming from the hoppers. They’re—”
The screen lit up as the Washington’s sensors registered the hits along the afts of the Kali ships. One ship lost its entire aft section as the tac vaporized much of its fusion plant. Another veered away from the approaching torpedoes, only to suffer heavy damage to its starboard side when they detonated. It continued changing course, never approaching graser range.
The last tw
o ships suffered damage, but not enough to stop them. They pressed on.
“Grasers locked,” a voice called out.
The admiral nodded and then gave the command. “Commence firing.”
Cody wasn’t sure of the power output of a battle cruiser’s grasers. He knew only that it was very high. The view screen lit up as it tracked the direction of the Washington’s fire. The lead Kali ship took several direct hits. Its trajectory remained steady as it returned fire.
The Washington vibrated again. “Graser hit on our forward starboard hull,” an officer said. “Damage minimal.”
“They should be doing more damage than they are,” the XO said. “Maybe the petty officer’s work?”
The admiral nodded. “He helped us out that much.”
The second ship adjusted its course and headed directly for the Washington.
“Sound collision,” the admiral said. Another alarm went off. “Maintain fire.”
Several grasers cut into the approaching ship. Five thousand kilometers. Four thousand. The Washington’s grasers penetrated every part of it, sometimes going all the way through the ship.
Finally, the enemy ship’s grasers ceased firing. A final, decisive hit lanced the aft of the Kali ship. A bright explosion vaporized part of the ship as the fusion planet went up. Another graser burned through the central area of the ship, breaking it in two.
The Washington continued its evasive course toward the moon. The debris from the Kali copies sailed past.
“No power signatures,” Mr. Briar said.
“Give me all contacts,” the admiral said. “Are we clear?”
“I’m detecting the hoppers. Nothing…” Mr. Briar paused. “Correction, I have four contacts, bearing two six zero by three one zero, one hundred thousand.”
The main visual showed additional contacts from behind the moon. Four ships approached, cruising side by side.
“I have incoming, sir.”
A series of signals, more torpedoes, appeared on the viewer.
“They’re thinking in two dimensions,” the XO said.
Nodding, the admiral stared at the visual. “Take us to two six zero by three five five. Orient us so port tubes are at optimal firing range.”
The Washington’s massive impellers carried it above the relative position of the Kali ships. They tried to adjust their course, but they couldn’t stop their forward momentum quickly enough. They sailed past Washington’s stern. The Washington spun on its axis so its port side faced the passing ships.
The admiral’s voice remained calm as he gave the command. “Fire as you have solutions.”
Seconds later, torpedoes burst from the Washington. The main visual showed them racing in wide arcs to hit the Kali ships along their flanks. The ships launched their own torpedoes, only to have Washington’s defense grasers burn them out of existence. The Kali ships managed to take down half the incoming torpedoes, but it wasn’t enough. Each surviving warhead detonated, lighting up the main visual. When their glow disappeared, only debris remained.
“Clever bastards,” the XO said. “Tried to sandwich us.”
“Too damn clever,” the admiral said. “Any more contacts?”
“One, sir,” Mr. Briar said. “Bearing nine eight by eight zero at two hundred thousand.”
The main visual panned. It zoomed in on a single Kali ship. Debris poured from its aft as it limped toward the planet.
“Their impellers are at ten percent,” Mr. Briar said. “Not detecting tracking signals.”
“I have a firing solution on one and two,” another voice said.
“Very good,” the admiral said. “I want them out of my sky.”
Two lights appeared on the main visual. They flew in a zigzag pattern to avoid defense grasers, but that was unnecessary. The Kali made no attempt to fire upon the incoming torpedoes. Their tracking system seemed to be down. They could possibly hit their own moon with a graser, but certainly not a tac accelerating at a thousand g’s. The two torpedoes reached their target in less than a minute. They detonated, one at the fore and one at the aft. The sky lit up briefly, and when it was visible again, only debris remained.
“Tango down,” Mr. Briar said. “Zero contacts, sir.”
“Stand down from battle stations,” the admiral said. “Recall hoppers. Give me a damage report.”
“On visual, admiral.”
A silhouette of the Washington appeared on the visual. Red areas lit up as battle damage.
“That doesn’t make sense,” the XO said. “Why didn’t they target main drives?”
The admiral ran his fingers across his console. A few seconds later, a cross section of another ship appeared, enlarged so it was the size of the Washington. The second image was labeled Kali. The two images lined up.
“They deliberately avoided damaging our engines.” The admiral hammered his fist against the command desk. “Christ, we got lucky. How long until the hoppers are aboard?”
“Two minutes, sir. Well, except for one.”
~~~
Badger’s lidar detected the object just after he got the recall signal. He had a suspicion of what it was. When he approached it, those suspicions were confirmed.
It was a body. It had been damaged by exposure to vacuum but was still intact. It looked a lot like the creatures that shot at him planetside. He brought his hopper alongside it and activated his grapples.
A voice chimed in on his comm system. “Hera Three, why have you changed your course? Over.”
“Washington, this is Hera Three. I found something that might be interesting.”
~~~
The entire bridge stopped to listen to Badger describe what he’d found.
“Understood, Hera Three,” the comm officer said. “Out.”
The admiral raised an eyebrow after hearing the report. “Good find.” He faced the rest of the bridge. “Helm.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Take us into high orbit over the planet. Maintain alert status. I don’t think we’ve seen everything they have available.”
“Aye, sir.”
The admiral turned and faced Cody. He nodded toward Sonja and Bodin. “Dismissed.”
“Yes, sir,” they both said at the same time. Sonja glanced at Cody and then left. Cody started to follow, but the admiral stopped him.
“Wait a moment, Doctor,” he said. “You may want to see this.”
~~~
Cody followed the admiral into the infirmary. It didn’t seem large enough to service the entire Washington. Cody reasoned there were probably other infirmaries on board.
The Washington’s doctor slid a tray into a small chamber and closed the door while Cody and the admiral waited on him. Cody gulped at the sight of the blanket. Deveau’s remains were under it. The doctor stared at the door for a second before looking up at the admiral.
“You finished the autopsy, Doc?”
Cody was so used to people calling him Doc that he almost answered.
But the other doctor—his nametag read Donaldson—responded, “I’m sure you know the cause of death.”
The admiral frowned. “Of course, Doctor, but how did it happen? Why didn’t the enviro-suit detect the breach, or even stop it from happening?”
“It looks like the organism came in through the external vents.” Dr. Donaldson activated a viewing globe on his desk. A three-dimensional image of the suit appeared. It zoomed in on the respiration system, which contained a small sphere with a series of ridges, along which rested several lengthy tube-like creatures similar to flat worms.
“His suit seems to have caught most of the organisms.” The doctor indicated the small worm-like creatures. “But it only took one. From what I can tell, the suit’s nanos had trouble catching them. It was as if they were smart enough to avoid the tiny robots. That’s not something the suit is prepared for.”
The admiral nodded grimly and turned to Cody. “Those beetles, as you called them. They exhibited a communal intelligence.”
&n
bsp; “Yes, admiral.” Cody stared at the cabinet that contained Deveau’s remains. “It may very well be true with microorganisms, as well.”
The admiral turned back to Dr. Donaldson. “What about everyone else’s suits?”
Cody froze. If something like that was floating in his body…
The doctor shook his head. “We did a thorough examination during decontamination. There is no evidence of foreign invasion. The respiration systems of their suits show some attempts at it, however. Microscopic creatures were found within their filtration systems.”
“What about that thing?” The admiral nodded over his shoulder. “What do you make of it?”
The corpse Badger had found lay in a containment chamber in the center of the infirmary. The clear cover gave them a full view of the body inside. Though bloated from exposure to vacuum, the body was obviously that of a toad.
“Fascinating.” Dr. Donaldson rubbed his chin as he walked toward the containment chamber. The admiral and Cody followed. “No internal structure like ours. Instead of bones, it appears to have some sort of thick cartilage. Very flexible. Dr. Brenner?”
“Yes?”
“You said these things could jump several meters in the air.”
Cody nodded.
“Very impressive, given the gravity,” Dr. Donaldson said. “Its legs are similar to tentacles. They act like coils, easily absorbing the impact of each jump.” He pointed at the thick hair. “This reddish outer area is photosynthetic.”
“Interesting,” Cody said. “Every living thing has this characteristic color.”
“So most living things on this world use photosynthesis.” The doctor turned on a control station next to the containment chamber. A spiral appeared on the three-dimensional display. “Still haven’t nailed down the genetics of the species. The amino acids are completely different, as is the structure. The characteristic spiral is there, but that’s where the similarities end. The DNA, or the equivalent thereof, doesn’t appear to be collected into chromosomes. However, it does look more complex than what we see on our world.”