Badlands

by Randal Sloan

  Not one to be shy, Amy rushed in and delivered her hug, albeit a little carefully. She slid aside to allow Jason in to give his, although he stopped to drop a kiss on her lips too. Ever the cautious one, Sasha was last and she couldn't keep her tears back as she gave her a hug.

  "I thought we'd lost you," she told Jarra. "First while we hunted you and that madman in the middle of that awful Badlands, and then while I watched your shuttle crash right in front of me."

  "It's not been my best day," Jarra told her. "But at least I've got my team all here safe and sound." Seeing the look pass between them all, she asked, "What? What are you not telling me?"

  Jason knew he was the one that needed to tell her. After all, he was the one who was there when it happened. "Not quite all. A group of us were waiting in the shuttle bay for your return to the ship, including your two Marines who protected us."

  He saw the dread in her eyes as she feared the worst so he rushed to finish. "They're alive," he told her, "but it's not good. Both had severe injuries to their legs, too severe to repair. They're currently sedated and will be slated for the tanks to grow new ones as soon as everything is stable. They saved our lives so we owe them big time."

  Jarra nodded. It would be a long recovery indeed for the two men, but with modern medicine they would be as good as new eventually.

  "I'll make sure they're given the proper awards for their actions, including the Purple Hearts they deserve.

  Turning to Sasha, Jarra asked, "How's my ship? I was impressed with your ability to navigate through the Badlands. Quite impressive shields I saw there on my short little flight."

  Sasha smiled. "We sorta tore it apart and put it back together again."

  Seeing the question in Jarra's eyes, she explained. "We had to rebuild the reactor control system to handle the issues with high level hyper-navigation and firing that beam weapon. We just got it all back to 100% right before the crash. But you should see what she can do now. There's nothing else like her."

  "Wonderful."Jarra smiled. Then she frowned. "You're going to have to go out to test her without me. It looks like I'm stuck here for at least a little while."

  They were interrupted by a call from the bridge. It was a very worried-looking Captain Arkwright.

  "We've got problems," the Captain told them, "Big ones!"

  #

  Jarra listened as the Captain explained what he knew. "The Admiral called me from some kind of new ship. He claims he has something that will be able to destroy this ship, which I find unbelievable, but he seemed to believe it. Somehow, he has the ability to navigate in the Badlands, a little like your ship, the Katarina."

  "I expect he has lots of alien technology. I doubt they have the same ability as our ship but I get your point. When did he say he would be here?"

  "He said less than an hour but he's a long way off. I don't believe he'll get here that soon."

  "Oh, he'll be here. They're probably able to operate in the delta range. That is considerably faster than our standard ships can travel, so if he says one hour, we have to plan for that."

  "There's more. He wasn't being very careful with his pick-up and I saw what looked like some kind of robot in the background."

  It all started to make sense to Jarra, including why she had known this showdown in the Badlands was so important. "It's the aliens," she explained. "I suspect that this is some kind of test of a new ship they plan to use against us."

  Jarra smiled as she thought through the ramifications. It wasn't a fleet, so that meant the aliens weren't entirely sure it would work. She might be able to work with that.

  "It's probably a prototype," she told her listeners as ideas began to flow through her head. "It's up to us to stop them here, which should throw a monkey wrench into their plans. Hopefully that will slow them down and give us more time to ready our response to this invasion."

  She saw their looks of doubt. "Don't fool yourselves. It's a full invasion; they're just being cautious, hoping for an easy victory. We were caught flat-footed by all this, but we're developing our own versions of new tech, which when brought to completion will give us a bit of an edge."

  "I have a plan that I believe will work, but we have to do it very carefully or my plan will backfire."

  For once, Jarra didn't get a collective groan when she said that, probably because they were all in shock and desperate for a solution.

  "Sasha, you're going to have to take the Katarina back out to fight the Admiral. I know you're not ready to do battle, but I also know you can handle it." She smiled at Sasha's reaction. "I wish I could be there, but that's not going to happen with all this." She pointed to the medical equipment attached to her.

  The rest of the Katarina's crew had been standing outside her door, waiting to visit her. After overhearing what the Captain and Princess had been discussing, they'd gradually worked their way into her room.

  "It's a good thing this is a Princess-sized room," Jarra told them with a smile. "I love you guys, but you're going to have to visit later. I need the three of you to get to engineering pronto. You've got to get the shields of this ship up high enough to withstand a few hits from that alien beam weapon."

  She didn't miss the doubt that showed in their eyes. "I caught a glimpse of the limited scans Mad Dog made from that ill-fated shuttle, and they showed a cruiser-sized ship. You know based on our understanding of their tech about how strong that beam will be, so it should be doable. In their case, assume they're also using a capacitor bank to increase the power. You have forty minutes, so you'd better hurry."

  Shaking their heads, the three rushed off rather anxiously. Perhaps they could accomplish what she asked, but in forty minutes?

  "Jason, I need you to assume control of the Relentless and coordinate with my team. We're going to have to do some rather tricky maneuvers. I'll explain what I mean in a minute."

  "Amy, I'm going to need you at the helm for that very same reason, but I want you to stay behind for a few minutes. I need to talk over some things with you."

  Everyone was now looking at the Princess. Once again she had just assumed command in her easygoing but self-assured way. Only later would everyone realize just how easily she'd done that.

  Jarra really did have a plan. As usual for her plans, when she first explained what she wanted them to do, they just shook their heads, but the more she talked, the more she had everyone believing they could do it. When she talked about the importance of what they were doing for the future of the Empire, they each realized they had no choice. Most importantly, no one wanted to let their Princess down, and quite importantly to them all, they knew her life was even more at risk this time with her being unable to leave the sick bay of the Relentless.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Preparing to Do Battle

  Gabo, Galen, and Sara hurried to the engineering section of the ship. Gabo was trying to think through it even as he followed the other two, glad that Sara apparently knew where she was going. She'd probably hacked the ship's systems. Gabo's idea revolved around the fact that a super-dreadnought had multiple reactors both to give them redundancy and to reduce the load on any one reactor. All of that was handled by a load management center that on a super-dreadnought had its own AI. Perhaps they could take advantage of that.

  Sara took the lead once more as they passed through the set of blast doors that separated engineering from the other areas of the ship. She strode forward to stand in front of Lieutenant Commander Bradford Watson, currently the head of Engineering on the Relentless. Luckily for them, the Princess had Jynks send instructions ahead to Engineering along with her command codes. So at least they were expecting them, although she saw the look of disbelief on his face.

  She smiled. They tended to get that more often than not, what with their very young age. "Commander Watson," she said. "We're here to fix your shields and I have no time for you to question us about our abilities. There's an alien ship out there that has a beam weapon capable of destroying this ship with j
ust a few hits. We have personal experience with that weapon and I can promise you it will do it."

  Commander Watson wasn't happy but he nodded. After all, she had the command codes to demand whatever she wanted. His only option was to file a complaint, something he was loathe to do unless he had a very good reason.

  "This is how we're going to do it. Commander, I'm going to need access to your master console to update your code base."

  Standing beside the Commander were the two Senior Chiefs reporting to him. Sara pointed to them.. "You two, I need each of you to pair off with one of my team members and do whatever they tell you to do. We have very little time, but failure is not an option. Someone very important to me is on board this ship and it's our job to protect her, no matter what."

  Gabo turned toward Galen. "I have some ideas on how to use the load management system to increase the power we supply to the shields. Think you can handle setting up the window into hyperspace for our power enhancement?"

  Galen nodded. "Yeah, I can handle it. Sounds like a good plan. I'll ping your implants if I have any questions."

  He turned to the Senior Chief beside him. "Chief, I'm going to need access to your hyperspace engines. Take me to your control panel for them."

  Senior Chief Arlan didn't quite know what to think of the two, but he knew how to follow orders. "This way. As I'm sure you know, we actually have two consoles for redundancy, but we usually use Console 927 as the primary."

  Gabo glanced at the implant code for his new partner. "Senior Chief Glasgow, your primary load management console, if you will."

  Senior Chief Glasgow didn't argue either. "This way."

  On the way there, apparently on the other side of engineering, Gabo explained what he wanted to do. At first the Senior Chief stared at him in disbelief but the more he talked, the more what he said made sense.

  Gabo gave him a sympathetic grin. He'd already worked through a lot of it. "Chief, I know we're going to overload some of your systems. I'm going to depend on you to tell me which power couplers are the most critical to be swapped out; we just don't have time to get them all. But it's better than the alternative; if we don't get your shields where they need to be, this ship won't survive. I have a very high incentive to ensure that doesn't happen. My Princess is going to be on board this ship and I'll do whatever it takes to protect her."

  Galen was explaining to Chief Arlan what he needed to do even as he flew through the VR controls on his panel. "What we have to do is set up a feedback window into hyperspace. We're using the higher frequency energy there to power the enhanced shields, which operate at approximately the same frequency."

  At first Chief Arlan stared at Galen incredulously. But as he thought through the ramifications of what he was hearing, it made perfect sense. He had to wonder why no one had thought of it before. As he directed his men to make the changes Galen requested, he found himself smiling. Those aliens were going to be in for quite a surprise.

  #

  Jason gave Jarra a second more lingering kiss, but he rushed off to take his place in the Admiral's station on the bridge, something the Admiral had never bothered to do. He also instructed a group of technicians to install a dedicated communications link to the Katarina and another to Jarra's room. None of them were happy about her involvement, most especially her doctor, who knew how much she needed her rest, but they knew they had no choice.

  Jason turned to Captain Arkwright, who was sitting rigid in his chair. "Sir, I know you outrank me and I'm not going to tell you anything about how to run your ship, but the Princess is right. You need someone coordinating the ship's movements."

  Arkwright nodded. He'd understood the reason for the Princess' orders but a part of him had been resenting having to take orders from a Lieutenant Commander. This was no time for such petty behavior. He smiled. "Commander, I can see a little of what she sees in you. Don't worry about me; I'll take care of the ship and we'll be ready to do whatever you ask."

  Down in sick bay, Jarra rested for a few moments while the technicians installed a dedicated communication link to the bridge. That would be her lifeline during the battle and she knew it. As soon as they left, she roused herself, calling Amy over to her.

  "Thank you for staying with me. I really need my friend right now. Besides feeling weak as a kitten, I have something else I have to deal with. Something has happened to me and I need your help. I'm about to tell you a secret about my family that no one else in the galaxy knows. Not even Jason." She smiled, "Not yet."

  Amy couldn't resist swallowing with a gulp, but she smiled at her Princess and friend. "You know your secret's safe with me."

  "I know," Jarra said. She rushed on, "My family has always carried within us special nanites that don't exist anywhere else. We think it was some kind of freak accident that happened to one of our ancestors in the distant past. It's not unlimited but our nanites give us the ability to learn and do things physically better than most. That and hard work is the reason I can do so well at my martial arts."

  She smiled at Amy's reaction. "Yeah, it still takes a lot of hard work and hours and hours of practice, but it does give me a bit of advantage. Everyone in my family has them, but usually within a generation, one of us tends to inherit a little bit more from their nanites than the others. I was the lucky one this time.

  "But the thing is, something has happened to my nanites. I'm guessing it had something to do with them interacting with those nanites that madman injected me with. That and the power surge that hit me during the crash. But whatever's happened, my nanites have moved to a higher level. I can still barely control my movements," she demonstrated by moving her arm which flew by in a blur.

  "I've been getting better at it by using some of the meditation tricks I've learned to help my mind and body get more in sync, but it's still slow going. I think long term I'll be alright, but I suspect I'm going to need your help."

  "Anything I can do to help, just let me know."

  "I know." Jarra had tears in her eyes, but she didn't care. "There's one more thing. I had to kill Mad Dog — he left me no choice, it was him or me, but it was a very personal thing. Much different from killing someone in battle. I'm still quite shook up by it; I keep seeing his face right before I killed him."

  Amy looked at her friend. She couldn't help it, she had her own tears by now. "Oh, Sweetie. I think I'd worry if it was any other way. Just know that I and a lot of other people love you so very much. To a one, I can say we're all glad that you were the one to survive that ordeal and not that terrible man." She carefully gave Jarra another hug, this time just holding her and letting her get it all out.

  For Jarra, for a few moments the tears flowed as she could feel the love from her friend. This was what she needed, someone who just loved her for herself. Slowly, she started to heal.

  #

  With five minutes to spare, the trio in Engineering finished their final tasks. Sara smiled as the other two came over to stand in front of her. She actually had a crowd standing around her as everyone that didn't have anything else to do was there. "You guys ready to do this?" she asked.

  When they both nodded, she pressed the virtual go button. Shields popped up around the ship, strong shields, shields that had everyone other than her small team staring in disbelief. Of course, they didn't have the heart to tell those looking on that those shields were weak compared to what Katarina had now. Gabo and Galen hurriedly ran through their tests using their implants to connect back to their respective consoles.

  "Everything looks good," Gabo said with a big smile. As usual, he was a man of few words.

  Beside him, Galen nodded. "The interface to hyperspace is stable and feeding in as much power as the ship can handle. We're good to go."

  Sara tweaked the power levels down a bit. No sense in taxing those systems too much until they were needed. Plus, they wouldn't want to tip their hand to the enemy.

  She turned to the ships Engineer. "Commander Watson, we're turning it all back over
to you. We've got a ship to catch and a battle to fight." She looked him in the eyes. "I don't care if you burn out every system you've got. Those shields have got to hold."

  Watson nodded. "I understand. Systems can be replaced, but if we lose those shields, there won't be anything to replace."

  Sara nodded. "Most importantly, my Princess cannot be replaced. There is no one else like her in the galaxy."

  Watson couldn't argue with that. She'd already gotten him the best shields he'd ever seen. "I promise. I will protect her to the best of my ability, even to my life."

  "Thank you, sir," Sara said softly. She knew she couldn't ask for anything more. "I just pray that it will be enough."

  #

  Sasha rushed through the preparation on the Katarina to get them back underway. She knew that before their hour was up they had to be off the Relentless and under stealth in the position indicated by the Princess. They only had one shot at this and she was determined to do her part. She had already decided to add one change to the plan. It was more of a backup desperation move than a plan.

  The rest of the team arrived back on ship with a few minutes to spare. Sasha had told the Marine squad to stay on board the Relentless to look after the Princess and their two men that were in medical. As she started buttoning up the ship she told the others what she had in mind.

  "If things go really bad and Relentless starts to lose her shields, I intend to do whatever it takes to stop that ship. Even if I have to sacrifice our ship. I will not allow our Princess to be put in danger if I can avoid it. If any of you can't live with that decision, you need to leave the ship now."

  Sara answered for them all. "We're not going anywhere. We all feel the same way, not that I think you have anything to worry about. We did a good job on those shields."

  Gabo nodded. "Unless we're way off base on the real alien tech, those shields could hold a much greater attack than that ship could possibly do."