by Isaac Stone
And then the AI when crazy.
“Massive breech!” It screamed. “Rear cabin!”
It was the first Sid starfighter. The damage wasn’t enough to keep it from sneaking back up on us. I’d neglected a key part of our training; never let an enemy get into your backfield.
To my horror, Ollie’s icon was red. Another screen materialized to show me the extent of the damage on our ship. We now possessed a large hole where the shielding used to be. At least the destruction hadn’t taken out the entire ship. Everyone else had a green icon.
I watched Tank finish off the Sid that snuck up on us. His ship sliced through with such precision that it drifted off into four separate red icons.
The remaining Sid starfighter was moving well out of our range and back in the direction of their frontier. It was just as well as our FAS was in no condition to give pursuit. Even Tank let it go and flew back in our direction to offer assistance.
Tank’s head materialized over the crew as Tran and I worked to assess the damage. No trace remained of Ollie. Whatever the Sid’s used against us vaporized him the moment it struck. There was a ten-foot hole in the FAS and we could see the light of stars shine through it. Orlando was in front keeping eye on the control panel while the rest of the crew tried to figure out what to do next.
“You guys need any help over there?” Tank asked. The holographic display showed his helmet head as we tried to figure out the nature of whatever ripped through our ship.
3
Captain was not in a good mood when we returned to the mothership. It took the better part of the day to get my ship back into the hanger, since it was too damaged to do the task on its own. Tank followed mine back to the Hard Rain in case I needed any help. The last time, I'd caught hell for racing him back, but this time things were solemn.
I waited a good ten minutes after the hanger doors were shut and sealed before I gave the order to remove our tops. Everything appeared normal inside the FAS, but I wanted to be sure the damage hadn’t affected something not so obvious. I allowed the mothership’s AI’s to look us over first. Finally, Cierra, one of the engineers and, coincidently, my next assignment, allowed us to remove our helmets.
As I walked down the ramp from the FAS into the hanger, I was greeted by her and Chanita, the other engineer. The other guys were pulling off their suit armor and talking to Cherish, who was one of our medical doctors. She let me know I was in her sleeping assignment line this week, and wanted to check the box as soon as she was off duty.
The hatch between the hanger and prep area opened and Britani came running into the room. Still wearing a nighttime jumper, she ran up and tossed her arms around my neck. As the other women looked on with disapproval, Britani planted a big kiss on my lips.
“I was so worried about you,” he proclaimed. “I woke up and heard about it in the mess hall and had to come down here.”
“You’re not worried about us?” Tran asked as he sat on a bench while Cherish looked him over.
“Of course I am,” she announced. Britani went over and gave the other three hugs.
We’re not supposed to show special favors to any one member of the pack. This is a little difficult outside the ship as some of the elders are related by blood, but they stay on the pack basecamp far from the free-fire zones. Britani and I are a bit closer than Captain likes to see, probably more than we should be given pack rules, but I am the father of her child. Those kinds of bonds are tight and generations within the Order have struggled with those sorts of inevitable intimacies. Show too much favoritism to any one person on the ship and Captain will send you to a single bunk for the remainder of the week, maybe the month. Britani was pushing it for both of us.
“Captain wants you to know the incident’s already been reported,” Cherish told me as I began to remove the rest of my suit. A small workstation rolled up on its own to take it from me. “She’s not happy at all about the damage done to the FAS.” I watched as she stepped back and looked me over.
“She also wants you to know that was quick thinking when you went to Tank's assistance,” she informed me. “She’s reviewing the scans of the engagement and will talk to you later.”
I looked around for Britani, but she's already left. Many visitors to an Order ship can’t tell us apart, since all of us act so much alike, and most of us do look related in some way. I’ve never had this issue, but once you’re around the same group of people for years, you don’t have the problem.
Our particular pack, the crew of the Hard Rain, was part of the overall Starwing Order. The Order maintained settlements and repair stations all over the outer reaches of UDF territory. It wasn’t allowed to operate inside the official UDF space, that was the domain of the UDF Navy. We weren’t even part of the whole UDF alliance. Nominally, no pack in the Oder had to listen to anyone from the UDF. The Grand Marshal of the various Orders dealt with any concerns the UDF government might have.
Our pack came into being twenty years ago when Captain was given the command. She’d done her best to keep the pack together and saw to it that bloodlines inside the mothership remained distinct. Our children went on to populate other packs within the Order when they came of age. Any loss from combat, accident or retirement was filled by other groups in the Order or by the occasional recruit.
Other Order battlegroups had different arrangements, but we didn’t encounter them very often, as this part of the frontier was our responsibility. Our own private free-fire zone.
“Captain wants us to make a landing on Furioso,” Cherish told me as she scrubbed my back a few minutes later in the ready room's shower. It was our night to be together and she wanted to start early.
“Why?” I asked as the hot water rained down on both of us. “Did Hard Rain take any fire?” I didn’t think so. None of the screens indicated gunfire from the mothership. Four women manned the weapons clusters at any given time, and I'd have noticed it the big shipboard weapons had lit up the darkness.
“There’s a repair station on Furioso,” she explained while kissing my back. “Captain doesn’t think we can make the patch ourselves. She’s not sure it can even be done from the damage information you sent us. We might have to continue the mission with two FAS ships.” I felt her small arms encircle my waist; she was ready.
“Are you still scheduled for the baby?” I asked her. Cherish was slated to be the next pregnancy onboard, although the Captain hinted she might change that. If the zone went hot, she didn’t need a medic in the family way.
“She hasn’t changed it yet,” Cherish replied and cupped one hand around my package. I worried about not making it to her room. It had been a long time since I’d done that and Captain was known to penalize anyone caught in the act outside a private room. Hell, we had children on board and you had to be careful.
“Besides,” Cherish announced as she squeezed a bit tighter, “She’s placed herself back on the roster. Not alone tonight, either.”
“Who’s the fortunate son?” I asked as she found a few favorite spot. Nope, I wasn't going to hold out for her room this time. Rules be damned.
“Randolph,” she informed me as I reached back to keep her in position. “Remember? He dedicated last year. Captain had some inconsiderate action reports from Elysian and Latasha. Claims he needs further instruction. He’ll get it too.”
We never made it to the room. The shower doesn’t really count as public space, I decided. At least no one walked in on us. I just blasted a bunch of Sid starfighters, didn't I deserve a nice lay and a hot shower at the same time?
Although we did make it to her room eventually. She slept soundly and I did too. Not an easy thing to do when you’re worried about the next day. The sex helps, which is part of why it's all on a schedule. Nutrition, hydration, sleep, and vigorous intercourse are the basics of life, and you can't have high speed professionals under performing because they aren't getting enough of what they need. Not that any of it was going to lessen the sting of lost pack members though.
The service for Ollie and Reagan's crew was short. Captain had us line up in battle formation. She said a few words and read from the Apacrhon before their personal effects were jettisoned to the great beyond. I stood next to my crew in the assembly room, which doubled as a common space most of the time. Each shift assembles there to go over the assignment roster every twelve-hour period, but everyone was present this time. I could tell who was headed back to their rooms by how they looked. The ones coming off their sleep shift looked a lot more refreshed and, in some cases, satisfied. You don’t have to make love every night, but Captain will pull you aside and want to know why if you don’t for more than a few days at a time. You don't always want who you are paired with, but eventually you have to fulfill your obligation to the pack.
“And we’re pulling further back after the repairs while the Sidarians and UDF sort out this mess,” she announced. “No more sorties until we hear from the Grand Marshal.”
Captain stood in the front of the room with her hands clasped in front of her. She radiates command and control in the right way. She looked rested that day, as did the young man who’d spent the sleep cycle with her. He was off to one side with a characteristic smile on his face. She doesn’t have to do these interventions very often. Having been through one myself, I admit she can get to the cause of your performance issues rather quick. I still remember her on top of me saying, “Not so quick, this is a marathon, not a sprint.”
“Sidarian gunships appeared in firing range last night,” she announced. “The Navy isn’t ready for a show-down just yet, so we have to bug out.”
“So why the sudden shift in our area of responsibility?” Tank asked her. He quickly added “Captain.” She wasn’t the most formal of ship captains, but there were certain ways you needed to address her when in a group formation. Make the mistake too many times and you’d regret it.
“The Udies don’t want us causing too much trouble in this part of the sector,” she explained, "And an unsanctioned star fight resulting in casualties on both sides counts as trouble."
A hand went up. Captain nodded at Alyx, one of the navigators who helped the Hard Rain find its way around the universe.
“They attacked us first,” she pointed out. “Isn’t that why we had this part of the frontier? To keep the Sids from sneaking in and ripping up shit in our free-fire zone?” Alyx stepped back into line.
I like our little navigator. You have to get along with the members of your pack, but some of my packmates made it hard. Alyx on the other hand never lost her charm and youthful attitude about the universe. I’d watched her squeal with delight one day when she found an uncharted comet as it moved into the sector.
“We did our job too well. Instead of a few shots exchanged to test each other's mettle, you dominated the battlefield,” Captain explained. “If you believe the report I received from the Marshal, though I'd argue that even one FAS down is unacceptable. The Sids are threatening all-out war if some concession is not granted, a gesture made. The Udies don’t want war, but they do want the Sids to stay on their side of the free-fire zone.”
Another hand. This time it was Tank. He was with his crew and the woman he’d been assigned last night, Talia, our cybernetician. Talia was endlessly energetic, but knew when to let her man sleep, something all of us appreciated.
“I can’t believe the Udies want to keep the Sids happy,” Tank griped. “That kingdom isn’t big enough to control a single system. We’re only talking two planets. Why don’t they just go in and annex them? It’s been done in the past.”
“I’m told the Central Council feels the Sidarians can be brought into the fold eventually,” Captain explained. It was quiet in there and you could hear the guffaws from the assembled family.
“I know it sounds preposterous,” Captain went on, “but they want to avoid any overt displays of confrontation. Yes, they could grind the surface off both planets with the UDF Navy, but how would that look? They seem to think it’s possible that the Sidarian monarchy can be coaxed into a democratic rule, so long as they are reminded from time to time what the UDF, and more importantly allies like the Orders, are capable of,” More laughter.
“So where does that leave us?” Tank went on. “I thought our mission was to patrol this sector for the next five standard years.” A few nods from the others accompanied his observations.
“It was,” Captain let him know. “But the situation has changed and we’re being redeployed. As I said, concessions are being made now that UDF has shown the Sids what happens when we disagree too strongly. Hard Rain is being docked at Furioso and then onwards to our next assignment from there. However, I don’t know where they want to send us. I’m supposed to find out tomorrow. Until then, we maintain the present course. I have spoken, everyone back to work.” She turned and exited through a side door that led to her quarters.
4
“Well,” Cherish said to me. “Not what I wanted to hear.” We’d gone along together to the meeting after waking that morning. It wasn’t what I wanted to hear either. Pack members dying is part of life in the free-fire zones, though this fight in particular felt damn hollow.
She joined my crew that morning for breakfast. As usual, the tables rolled into place as Captain finished her speech. Everyone scheduled to eat at that time sat down to see whatever the kitchen generated that morning. We’ve had a good supply run and didn’t have to depend on the hydroponic garden too much. Modified beat cabbage gets a bit tedious after a while.
“You’re looking spry,” Tran spoke to me as I sat down across from him. The table consisted of him, Cherish, Orlando, and myself. We’re on the same cycle since the FAS ships might be scrambled at any moment. Neither of my crew were with the women they’d slept with the night before, but they seemed in good moods. I’d checked the schedule before all of us went to separate quarters. Captain made some last minute changes and made sure they’d been with women who could handle the stress they’d been under. In general the younger guys faired better when they were paired with a woman of age and experience, and that was certainly Orlando, and Tran as well to a degree.
“Cherish went easy on me last night,” I informed them. She laughed and kissed me on the cheek. “You guys sleep well?”
“Well enough,” Tran replied with a weak smile. “Adri snores.”
“I’m a bit better,” Orlando noted. “Hard to keep frame when someone on your crew was vaporized. I tried to forget that might’ve been me.” He looked down at the table. “I was with Jalilah and we spent most of the time talking about it. That, and the new baby.” Like I mentioned, Captain was good about the assignments. The pairing system wasn't just about sex, there's a lot of value in simple companionship.
“We’re down five,” I commented. “And an entire FAS. At least they patched ours. We’re going to need more crew.”
“I’m guessing Captain has that underway,” Orlando mentioned. “Although it won’t be easy to find five replacements on short notice. We may have to wait. Not to mention putting in for a new FAS. Maybe the Udies will send us an upgraded model. I hear they’ve made some improvements on the basic design.”
“So anyone guess where they’re sending us next?” Cherish asked as the auto-waiter delivered the morning rations. This time it was pancakes made from trees grown in the nearest system. Britani had gotten a good deal on them.
“I’m guessing Jesmyn,” Tran spoke between mouthfuls. “I hear they’ve had problems over there with the next system, I forget the name.” Both civilizations were UDF members, but some bad blood had erupted between the two over the past three standard years. We’d be there on boring peacekeeping duties. It was rare that we were sent inside UDF territory. The UDF Navy didn't want civilians witnessing pack war, and I couldn't blame them.
“I’m not even going to speculate,” I offered. “Right now, I want to make sure we have a loader that can fill Ollie’s slot. We’re not operation until we find one. I suggested several names to Captain.”
“Our designation is Operation Alpha Lance. The Udies want us in the Yon sector,” Captain announced as she stood in front of everyone. I was there with my crew, but my previous night’s assignment, Shaunice, was back with Shelly, the next cycle’s assignment for her. Shaunice held the hand of her daughter, Roxanne. As the kids get older, they’re allowed to attend the assemblies. Roxanne had just turned fourteen, so she could follow most of the discussion and not fidget too much. I knew we’d be sad to see her traded off to another group within the Orders to keep their bloodlines strong.
“If you know anything about the Yon system,” Captain continued. “You’ll know the Roka have infiltrated it. The UDF can’t afford to have an entire system controlled by the Roka in their territory, but they can't exactly be seen attacking their own people. So they are allowing the Orders to send us. I want Alyx to calculate how fast we can get there and how much fuel we’ll need to scoop along the way. All three planetary governments in Yon are messed up and have rebellions breaking out each standard month. We get to put out the fires.”
“Isn’t this the sort of thing left to ground troops?” Brynne asked as her hand went up in the air. She was good weapon specialist, or gunner, on the ship. I hadn’t been with her in a long time, and honestly we struggled to get along, not overly compatible outside duty. Like I said, sometimes it can be an obligation.
And she was right. Heck, being sent into UDF territory was outside our charter.
“We are the first responders to this developing crisis, so for now we are air support and precision strikes only,” Captain responded. “There are orbital stations involved and we have the fun task of keeping them on the side of the good guys.”
“Captain,” I asked as my hand went up. “We’re down to three attack ships.”
