Modulus Echo

by Toby Neighbors

  “Do what you do, then,” Ben said. “Show these aliens who’s boss.”

  “You got it,” Kim said, feeling a thrill.

  “Alright,” Pershing said, settling back in her place at the navigation console. “Let’s focus, people. No unnecessary chatter.”

  Kim wanted to tell the general that she didn’t know what was necessary and what wasn’t, but she kept her mouth shut as the aliens were almost in range of the lasers.

  “Put me through to Bravo squad,” Pershing said.

  “You’re on,” Holt said.

  “This is General Pershing to all ship commanders. Remember that the aliens use their grappling arms both offensively and defensively. Don’t waste all your firepower on the articulated arms. We have to get through those defenses to impact the ships.”

  There were acknowledgments from the Confederate ships. Kim saw flashes from the edges of the video feed. It was tempting to switch to the other cameras that would have a better view of the ships around them, but instead she focused on the ship they had been assigned to attack. It was a broad, beetle-shaped vessel with more waving articulated arms than any of the other alien ships they had fought. It looked almost like a mane around the ship’s forward, bulbous section. They were almost in the lasers’ ideal range. They could fire at a distance, but the lasers would diminish in power the farther they had to travel to reach the target. With only a few shots each, Kim knew they needed to get as close as possible to make their shots.

  “Alright, you have targeting, pilot,” General Pershing said. “Make your first shots on my mark.”

  Kim didn’t bother to acknowledge the command. She took aim at the approaching ship’s hull.

  “They’re extending their grappling arms,” Magnum said.

  “Fire!” Pershing ordered.

  “Kim pressed the thumb trigger on her joystick and watched the green lasers shooting out. Four quick shots, two from each cannon mounted on the Echo’s wing engines.

  The lasers moved at the speed of light, but the aliens were expecting them. The ship extended the grappling arms into the path of the lasers. Kim saw several open pincers burst apart and a few more went flying away from the ship, severed from the extendable arms. But the ship wasn’t damaged.

  “Evasive maneuvers,” Pershing said.

  Kim pulled back on the joystick. The Echo flew upward, and the alien altered its own trajectory, hoping to get close enough to strike. Kim continued pulling back on the joystick. She tilted her feet down on the pedals that controlled the ship’s wing engines to bring the ship around in a loop without losing much speed or momentum. The alien ship was gaining, but Kim was counting on that.

  “B-eight and B-two are in trouble,” Nance said.

  “They’re not fast enough,” Holt said.

  “Did anyone get past the alien’s defenses?” Pershing asked.

  “A couple of lucky shots,” Nance said. “But the damage is minor.”

  “How are we on ammunition?” Pershing asked.

  “Auxiliary batteries are at sixty-eight percent,” Magnum said.

  Holt went into a lengthy reply regarding the Confederate ships. Kim wasn’t listening. The only thing that mattered to her was getting the shot she knew would come.

  “Are we okay, Kim?” Ben asked over the com-link. “Do I need to reroute the power to give us more speed?”

  “Negative,” Kim said. “I just need that ship to get a little closer.”

  “Closer?” Pershing asked. “What’s your plan?”

  “Watch and learn, General,” Kim said.

  Almost as if the aliens could hear her, their attack altered. The Echo was almost in range of the grappling arms, and they went from a defensive posture to an offensive attempt to reach the fleeing ship. Kim pushed the main drive throttle to full, but she rotated the wing engines around so that the laser cannons were pointed behind them. She fired a quick barrage of shots. Six beams of light shot out from the cannons. Two were caught by the alien vessels grappling arms, but four got through and burned easily through the hull of the ship.

  Without waiting to see the results of her shots, Kim flipped the wing engines back around and pushed the throttle to the stoppers. The Echo seemed to jump forward, immediately gaining speed while the alien ship’s momentum slacked. Atmosphere and some type of liquid were spewing from the rents in the alien ship’s hull.

  “You got it,” Magnum said. “Four direct hits.”

  “Good work,” Pershing said. “Holt, tell the others how we did that.”

  “It might be too late,” the Confederate said.

  “And we’re out of energy,” Magnum said. “Auxiliary batteries down to eighteen percent.”

  “Ben, get the shield up,” Pershing said. “Holt, pull your ships back before this turns into a massacre.”

  Kim glanced up at the plot through her view screen. She could see that each of the Confederate vessels was being chased down, and their only hope was to jump to hyperspace. They might still have weapons, but their ships were too slow, their pilots not talented enough to avoid the alien pursuit.

  “You want them to jump from the system?” Holt asked.

  “Only if they can’t shake their pursuers,” Pershing said.

  “It doesn’t look like any of them can,” Nance said. “The alien ships are too fast.”

  “Their defenses are good too,” Magnum said.

  “There has to be a way,” Pershing said.

  “Wait!” Ben shouted as he bounded up the stairs. “Wait, don’t jump to hyperspace. Not yet.”

  “What is it?” Pershing said.

  Kim knew that jumping out of the system might buy them a little time, but not much. Not if the aliens could follow them through hyperspace.

  “I have an idea,” Ben said.

  Chapter 54

  “You need a way to break through their defenses, right?” Ben asked.

  “Yes,” Pershing said.

  “Then let the aliens capture the other ships,” Ben said.

  “Are you out of your mind?” Holt snarled. “I knew this was a mistake. You want to sacrifice our fighters.”

  “No,” Ben said. “They can use their escape pods.”

  “But they’ll lose their ships,” Holt said. “Jumping to hyperspace is the only way to escape.”

  “They’ll be jumping blind,” Ben said. “There’s nothing more dangerous than that. And the aliens can track us through hyperspace.”

  “That’s impossible,” Holt said.

  “No, he’s right,” Kim said. “The aliens followed us out of the Celeste system. They came out right on our tail. How do you think I knew to let them get close to us before I fired?”

  “What good is letting the enemy capture our ships?” Pershing asked.

  “Those ships all have hydrogen tanks,” Ben said. “Standard issue oxygen generators.”

  “So?” Pershing asked.

  “So they vent those tanks and set a timed charge. Say, eight minutes from now. Kim will keep the alien ships distracted until the charges detonate.”

  “You want to scuttle all the Confederate ships?” Pershing said.

  “They’ll blow up within the aliens’ defenses,” Ben said. “It will rip huge holes in their ships. Maybe even destroy them completely.”

  “It’s insane,” Holt said. “My people will never do it.”

  “B-eight, two, and four have already been captured,” Nance said. “Seven and nine are on the brink.”

  “The Imperium can replace their ships,” Ben said. “As long as the crew gets away, it’s the best chance we have to take out those alien vessels.”

  “I can’t authorize that,” Pershing said.

  “But I can,” Duke Simeon said. “Hell, I’ll buy them new ships myself if I have to.”

  “Do it,” Ben said. “Vent the hydrogen, set a charge, and get off the ship.”

  “It would have to be coordinated,” Pershing said. “Okay, we’ll do it. Holt, give the orders. Kim, can you keep us o
ut of their reach for ten more minutes?”

  “No sweat, General,” Kim said.

  “When this is over, we’re going to talk about shipboard discipline,” Pershing said.

  “I won’t do it,” Holt said. “Not unless you promise to get my people when this is over. And I mean every last one of them.”

  “We’ve got a commando squad on board,” Ben said. “We can go straight into rescue mode as soon as we dispatch the aliens.”

  “No, I want her word,” Holt said, pointing at General Pershing. “You have to promise not one of my people will be left.”

  “Two more ships are moving to intercept,” Nance said. “We don’t have much time left.”

  “Do it,” Pershing said. “You have my word.”

  Ben heard Holt giving the orders to the Confederates as he looked over Duke Simeon’s shoulder at his console. The systems were green except for the auxiliary battery supply.

  “Flux shield is almost ready,” Ben said.

  “Let’s hope it holds together,” Pershing said. “Let’s lead the aliens back toward the planet.”

  “Roger that,” Kim said, sending the Echo into a twisting maneuver that took them dangerously close to one of the alien ships.

  “They’re learning,” Magnum said. “That one didn’t even try to grab us.”

  “They think we’ll fire on them if they do,” Pershing said. “Let’s just hope they can’t share that tactic outside of this system.”

  “Okay, they’re all in. But you better come through with those ships,” Holt warned the duke.

  “It will be my pleasure,” he replied with a chuckle.

  Ben realized the royal was having a good time. After being zealously protected all his life, he was finally in the middle of a real adventure. If the Imperium had to continue, it could do worse than having Duke Simeon as the next king.

  “Six minutes until detonation,” Nance said.

  “We have five ships in pursuit,” Magnum said. “Three more are taking control of the Confederate vessels.”

  “There’s another,” Nance said. “A tenth alien ship. I think it’s the same one we tangled with in the Celeste system.”

  “I thought that one went back through the wormhole?” Ben said.

  “It did,” Pershing said. “At least it was in position to. It wasn’t in the system when we went back.”

  “Well, it’s here now,” Ben said. “What’s it doing.”

  “Holding a position above Yelsin Prime,” Nance said.

  “It might be sending ground troops down to the surface,” Holt suggested.

  “I hope so,” Pershing said. “That’s my Spec Ops training facility down there. Those bastards would be in for one hell of a surprise.”

  “Five minutes until detonation.”

  “Careful, Kim,” Magnum said.

  The aliens were trying to get ahead of the Echo to cut off its escape, but Kim was in her zone, flying the ship like an avenging angel. Ben glanced down at the engineering console just as the flux shield went online.

  “The shield is up,” Ben said.

  “Give them a taste,” Pershing said. “It will test our shields, and if it works, make them think twice before they attacking us.

  “Four minutes until detonation,” Nance said.

  “Four minutes seems too long,” Magnum said.

  “Holt, did your Confederates get out of their ships?” Pershing asked.

  “Looks like it,” he replied. “I’ve got emergency signals from all of them on my screen.”

  “Keep leading the aliens away from the survivors,” Pershing said. “If we’re lucky and those alien ships blow up, I don’t want to lose anyone from Bravo squadron.”

  Kim didn’t reply. Ben guessed she was too busy, too deep in concentration, the way he’d been when he was rebuilding the wave generator. The Echo danced and twisted, seemingly defying the laws of physics as she led the alien ships back toward Yelsin Prime.

  “Three minutes,” Nance said.

  “That bogey is getting close,” Magnum said.

  Ben reached over the duke’s shoulder and hit a few keys, bringing up an array on his touch screen of the various external cameras.

  “Just touch whichever one you want to see on the other screen,” Ben told the royal.

  They could see one of the alien ships looming up. Ben saw that it was from the starboard wing camera. The duke tapped the small square, and on the other monitor, the video feed appeared. The ship itself wasn’t close, but the grappling arms were. They waved wildly, like jellyfish tendrils, only much faster. They seemed unaffected by the ship’s motion, as if they were a completely separate system outside the ship’s gravitational field.

  “Your shield better work, Ben,” Pershing threatened.

  Ben didn’t understand why the general was being so hard on him. He knew the stakes, they all did. If the flux shield failed, they would be captured and perhaps even killed. Everyone wanted the shield to work, and it wasn’t about ego or proving himself. Ben had confidence in his engineering skills, but more than that, he genuinely cared for the people on board the Echo.

  “It will,” Ben said confidently.

  At that moment, the four grappling arms from among the several dozen waving wildly toward the ship, shot out. They were like vipers striking at their prey. Only when the grappling pincers opened to latch onto the ship did they hit the flux shield and were ripped away. On the video feed from the camera, Ben saw one get caught in the gravitational flow. It was pulverized instantly, and the other three were sent flying away.

  Ben checked the readout that measured the shield’s energy output. When anything was caught in the swirl of gravity around the ship, it was compacted so small that it released a massive amount of energy in the form of heat. The Echo’s hull-mounted sensors registered the energy and showed Ben how hot the flux shield was. They were still well within the safe range.

  “Two minutes until detonation,” Nance said.

  “The shield works,” Magnum said, giving Ben a thumbs-up.

  “I never doubted it,” Kim said through clenched teeth.

  “How long will it work before it needs to be reset?” Pershing asked.

  Ben tapped a few keys and sent the data over to the general’s console.

  “Time isn’t the issue,” he said.

  “We have eight ships in pursuit,” Nance said. “Ninety seconds until detonation.”

  “What are these readings?” Pershing asked.

  “The more objects the shield encounters, the more residual matter gets caught in the gravity flow. It acts like a black hole, swirling around the eye of the storm, only the flow of gravity is much smaller than a black hole.”

  “And the matter is converted to energy when it’s compressed,” the duke said. “I read about that. Like the formation of a star.”

  “Exactly,” Ben said. “Only we don’t want the energy levels to get that high.”

  “How high?” Pershing asked.

  “High enough to spontaneously combust,” Ben said. “If that happens, the gravity flow would compact and destroy the ship.”

  “And you’ve tested these levels?” Pershing asked.

  “Professor Jones suggested them,” Ben said. “As long as we stay within the green area, we’re fine.”

  At that moment, another set of grappling arms hit the shield as a ship came up from behind the Echo. The energy reading bumped up a notch on the readout.

  “And what happens in sixty seconds when the ships pursuing us explode?” Pershing asked.

  “Hopefully nothing,” Ben said.

  “I’d like to base my decisions on something more sound that your hopes,” Pershing said.

  “Forty seconds until detonation,” Nance said.

  “We don’t have the time or the ability to get clear now,” Ben said. “The shield will hold.”

  “You’re betting a lot of lives on your hunch,” Pershing said.

  “If you have a better idea, I’m all ears,” B
en said. “But this is my ship and my crew. I wouldn’t risk our lives if I wasn’t supremely confident the shield would hold.”

  “Ben’s word is good enough for me,” Magnum said.

  “And me,” Nance echoed. “Fifteen seconds.”

  “I can only hope you’re right,” Pershing said. “Bring up the external feeds on the main display, please.”

  Ben didn’t know what else to say. He just looked up along with everyone else.

  “Five seconds,” Nance said. “Three, two, one.”

  Ben held his breath, but nothing happened. He had expected fireworks, but inside there was only disappointment. He felt a sinking feeling. They couldn’t run from the aliens forever. Eventually, they would overwhelm the flux shield, forcing the Echo to lower her defenses. His idea had been good, and he had no idea what went wrong. The bridge was silent, and Ben’s fear seemed to increase exponentially.

  “Well, that was a bad—”

  The first ship exploded in an orange ball of flame that spread up around the alien ship. Ben watched transfixed as the grappling arms shot out stiffly, then the ship blew apart. Most of it slammed into the other alien vessels, many of which were also beginning to combust as the Confederate vessels exploded in orange balls of fire. One section of the exploding ship hit the shield. It was thrown clear, and Kim pushed her joystick forward, pressing her toes down on one foot, and her heel down on the other. It sent the Echo into a spiral dive that the alien ships either didn’t or more likely couldn’t match. They had kept pace with the Kestrel class ship well enough up until that moment, but the coordinated explosions changed that.

  One by one the alien ships were destroyed. Some, like the first, blew apart in a fiery display. Others were just engulfed in flames and continued flying as the flames sprouted from the seams in the patchwork hull. Others stayed mostly intact but went shooting off in a completely new trajectory with massive, gaping holes in their fuselage.

  Cheers went up on the Echo, which slowed as she finally flew clear of the carnage. Ben looked down and saw that the energy readings from the flux shield system were in the middle of the acceptable range. The had taken quite a bit of matter into the swirl of gravity, but it wasn’t enough to threaten them.