Jose took command of com 5, coordinating the defensive fighters, while Jason took com 6, the offensive squadron, with his two most trusted fighters, Erik and Mae.
“Mae, I want you to stick to these guys like glue. We can’t lose their location. I’ll give you two men to cover you. All other crafts fall behind fighter Erik Andal. Erik, split into a 2-3 formation and prepare for some big fucking maneuvers. With these things we’ll be lucky if we see them before they attack.”
He watched on his HUD as the 3-D representation of the ship and miles of space around it came alive with the movement of the battle squadrons settling into formation. There was no sign of the enemy. Jason saw that Jose was positioning his defenders near the captain’s and admiral’s quarters, conveniently located near the ships’ shielding systems. His ships created a physical barrier in front of the station with their formation. Jason wondered then if the shield generator even mattered. The enemy had destroyed the shield over Redemption with their weapons easily. Either way, it seemed that Jose knew the best defense they had against these things might require the loss of his whole squadron. He always made the hard decisions without flinching.
Jason hated him for it.
Just then the attackers streaked into view on Jason’s HUD, and everyone tensed. He watched them fly toward the admiral’s quarters with three times the speed of his own fighters and unleash a torrent of missiles at Jose’s team. The squadron did not move, instead bearing down on the attackers with all the firepower they had. It worked, and the fighter was clipped. It lost control and flew into the squadron along with its missiles, destroying three ships. That left three remaining, and it was unknown how many enemies might be out there.
Jason opened his com link to Mae’s channel. “Mae! Fly to the X coordinate of that bogey’s point of origin and wait a half mile away in both the Y and Z. Erik! Set up a fan of ships 30 degrees below and halfway between the bogey’s point of origin. I expect another attack from that direction any second!”
Before Jason could finish, two more ships streaked out of space right where he said they would. His ships weren’t in formation yet, but they were close. “I’m overlaying the point of release for the last ship’s missiles along its trajectory on your HUDs. I need you to destroy this ship before it gets there. Fire!”
Jason’s crew fired at the same time as Jose’s crew, and together they took the ship down without incurring any more damage. But just when it fell, two more streaked forward from the same area, moving very fast.
“Clear out!” Jason ordered the fighters. “They are moving too quickly for attack. They intend to kamikaze!”
At the same time Jose was yelling, “Abandon the quarters, cover only the shield generators!”
His crew had already been carrying out the command before he had spoken, and all three were taken up in the first explosion.
“Sir!” came the voice of the senior engineer. “Shield generator has taken 80 percent damage. It is shutting down! Secondary shields engaging in five!”
That wasn’t quick enough, though. The second ship streaked toward the space station, only recognizable by the trail it’s thrusters left, and crashed directly into the admiral’s quarters.
“Damn it!” yelled Jose. “Computer, report, where is the admiral?”
“Request processed: The admiral cannot be located at this time,” the computer responded.
“Fuck!” yelled Jose.
“Pal, report,” said Jason.
There was static for a moment, and then the distorted voice of the robot answered. “Si-Sir. I went to the admiral’s quarters as per your request and shortly thereafter I was blown into space. I never did get all the way to his quarters. I am currently gaining my bearings.”
“Okay, Pal, is there anything you can give me to help out with these fighter ships?”
“Oh yes, Captain. These are A-Class military vessels. It seems they have been modified as they do not share the same specifications as the original model. There are two left. One just appeared directly behind Mae.”
“Captain!” Mae screamed. “They just showed up right behind me. I didn’t see shit coming! What are these things?”
Her ship began to maneuver impressively as her follow ships attempted to shoot the enemy out of space. Suddenly the ship stopped dead and dropped behind the two ally fighters. Jason saw the maneuver coming and knew he couldn’t help those pilots, but he and Mae could avenge them.
“Mae, move to destroy that ship once he has destroyed your tails.”
“I can drop back and save them!”
“Obey orders, pilot!”
With that Mae flew in a large arc back and up over the fighter as it destroyed her follow ships. She cried out as she watched their ships explode in space, and she lined up her shot as the enemy ship finished its barrage. She narrowed her eyes and grunted as she fired. “Go to hell, you bastard!”
Her shots made direct contact and the enemy ship exploded.
“Okay, Pal told me there’s only one more. Join back up with Erik. Erik, send two fighters to Jose.”
“Affirmative, Captain.”
“Pal, are you still there?”
Silence.
“Pal?”
Then he heard the static again. “Yes, sir!”
“Pal, report, how many enemy fighters remaining?”
“One, sir, just as you said.”
“Perfect. Do you know where?”
“No, sir. I only know how many were dispatched.”
That was unusual. Why would Pal know anything about the dispatch? He’d have to worry about it later.
“Okay, Pal. Keep the line clear.”
“Until next time, sir.”
Just then a ship darted toward Mae and she sped to outrace it. Jason watched with bated breath as the rest of the squadron tried to keep up. It was a miracle Mae was outmaneuvering the enemy ship. Working with half the capability she was able to stay one step ahead of the enemy every time. The chase lasted over a minute, and Jason knew she must be getting tired. Flying a ship that way was impossible for anyone else, and it took a lot out of Mae. One mistake and she’d be dead.
“I can’t hold this much longer. Can anyone get a sight on this asshole?”
“Negative, gold leader,” came the report from all the other ships.
Mae sighed into her mic. “Do I have to do everything by myself? I swear if chivalry wasn’t already dead…” With that her ship blasted straight for open space before it suddenly rolled and spun one, two, three times before blasting back in the direction of the enemy ship. Mae released a barrage of missiles, destroying the enemy, and then whooped as she shot through the wreckage.
Everyone in the control room let out a breath. It was over.
“Please remove your hats and recognize the sacrifice of our fellow fleet members,” said Jose. “They gave their lives for this station. They will not soon be forgotten.”
Jason acknowledged the moment of silence and then headed for the door. He had to find the admiral.
Chapter 14
A New Ride
Jason stared at the buzzing energy shield protecting him from the vacuum of space. One of the blasts had completely obliterated the admiral’s quarters. Now a gaping hole was all that remained. Only yesterday Jason had been in that room. The admiral had forgiven him.
Pal joined him and hung his head solemnly.
“Any news, Pal?” Jason asked, though he dreaded the answer.
“I have read the computer’s reports,” said the robot. “I’m sorry, Captain, but the admiral was in his quarters when the enemy struck.”
Just then a short, balding man with a barrel chest rounded the corner followed by two other officers.
“Sir,” said Jason, saluting the vice admiral.
“At ease, Captain,” said the man after offering him a lazy salute.
“Sir, what the hell happened here? Who attacked us?”
“We don’t know yet. But it isn’t safe. You and the crew need to c
ome with me.”
“Where, sir?”
The vice admiral glanced at the two officers who had followed him, and they smartly saluted him before leaving.
“This wasn’t the only ship equipped with the new drive technology,” the vice admiral told him.
“A backup?” said Jason.
A nod, and, “Come with me.”
Jason and Pal 2000 followed the vice admiral to a hangar bay, where a transport ship was waiting for them. The rest of the crew had been ushered there as well, and together they boarded the spacecraft.
The vice admiral said nothing as they all strapped into their seats, and it wasn’t until the craft’s thrusters had kicked that Jason realized he had brought nothing with him: no booze, no coke, no pills. Panic washed over him, and he squirmed against his harness, looking around the cabin of the small craft wildly. He saw Charlie across the aisle watching him, and she reached out a hand. Jason reached out and took it, using the comfort to fight the panic.
Jason closed his eyes as the craft steadily gained speed and the stars in the windows began to blur. He tore through his fear, extinguishing it with a mental stomp of willpower. The washed-up, fucked-up, Jason Eriksson was shoved to the wayside, and Captain Jason Eriksson, The Man Who Broke the Moon, took his place.
Someone had killed the admiral. Someone had fucked with his people.
Someone didn’t want this mission to move forward.
Jason found his purpose. He found himself. Without purpose a man was nothing but a walking limp dick. But with purpose and focus he was unstoppable; he was a force of nature. For too long he had wallowed in the misery of his failings; suffered the agony of the ego. Now Jason had someone to fight for besides himself, and that was all he needed.
Someone had destroyed Redemption, and therefore Jason was determined for the mission to move forward.
When he awoke, less than twenty-four hours had passed, but it felt like a lifetime. He lifted the mask that had administered the sleeping agent and leaned forward with a groan.
“God, I feel like I’ve been driving for three days.”
The light of the incubation chamber ever so slowly increased in brilliance as the crew all came to. In a semicircle their pods sat, with a few empties on the left side. In the middle of the circle was the med bot, waiting to check the vitals of anyone entering or leaving a pod. At the opposite side of the room was a table and two doors leading out on the left and right sides of the room respectively.
The rest of the crew groaned similar exclamations as they began to stretch and yawn. All but Pal 2000, of course. He approached Jason with a screen full of grinning teeth. “I trust you rested well, Captain.”
“No, Pal, I didn’t rest well at all,” said Jason, stiffly rising to his feet and moving into the aisle. His head was pounding, and he felt shaky. Probably just from the sleep aide they gave him for the station transfer. “Where are we?” he asked the robot.
“I could tell you, Captain. But then I would have to kill you.”
Jason stared blankly, and Pal 2000 did likewise. Jason cracked first, shaking his head and laughing.
“Have I been successful in telling a joke?” Pal asked, digital cheeks pink and swelling along with his teary eyes.
“You have, my metal friend. But give up while you’re ahead,” said Jason, slapping him on the metal shoulder.
They all went to the med bot for their health checks and sat at the table on the other side of the room, allowing themselves a few minutes to recuperate completely.
The vice admiral emerged from his personal quarters looking like he had slept a solid eight hours and had just finished a good workout. “Good morning,” he said and pointed out the starboard window. “Recognize anything?”
Jason moved to the window and grinned when he saw the old bucket of bolts.
“Zeus,” he whispered.
The others rushed to the windows as well, and Kaito cheered triumphantly.
“The backup ship is Zeus?” said Charlie.
“We couldn’t afford to build two ships like Redemption,” the vice admiral explained. “Goddamned things cost twenty billion.”
“Are we any closer to discovering who attacked the station?” said Killian.
“No, but you saw how those ships moved,” said the vice admiral. “It is likely they were hostile extraterrestrials.”
“Pal, I thought you said those were modified A-Class fighters that attacked us,” said Jason with a frown. “You mentioned you knew how many had been sent to attack us. So, why does the fleet think they are extraterrestrials?”
“Oh, Captain, I assure you I said nothing like that. You may be misremembering. I have noticed your body is entering alcoholic withdrawal. Maybe it is playing tricks on your memory. My hard drive shows no mention of the event you are referring to.”
“Are you fucking with me, Pal?”
“Of course not, sir.”
Jason let it go for the time being, but he intended on questioning Pal further. Something was up with the robot, and Jason intended on getting to the bottom of it.
“So, I assume we aren’t going to be extending an olive branch to our new neighbors when we get there,” Jason said to the vice admiral.
“No. The EMP device has been loaded onto Zeus. You release that thing into their sun and get the hell out of the way before it goes off. Once their power is down, deploy the drones. I want a full sweep of the enemy’s cities.”
“How do we know they won’t try to stop this launch?” Killian pressed.
The vice admiral leveled him with a stoic gaze. “We don’t. So the sooner you get the hell out of here the better.”
Jason glanced around at his crew: Charlie had never liked the clunky old battle cruiser, and she said so with her face. Kaito, on the other hand, looked like a kid who had just found out about Christmas. Killian searched the stars outside the window with paranoia, Erik lit a cigar, and Mae stared at the old bucket of bolts with a mix of disapproval and irony.
“You heard him, let’s get moving!” said Jason, and everyone turned to regard the captain they remembered but hadn’t seen of late.
“Yes, sir,” said Kaito, with an exaggerated salute.
Charlie brushed by Jason as everyone shuffled into a line and the transport came amidships. “Good to have you back,” she said.
“Good to be back,” Jason admitted.
Chapter 15
Termination Shock
Jason hadn’t been inside his old ship in years. But the smell of copper pennies and polished brass was a familiar one. If there was a smell that could be called a mix between a hospital and a garage, this was it. There lingered the faint scent of people as well—characterized mostly by sweat and fear.
The bucket of bolts, as it was affectionately referred to by her crew, was only twenty years old, but she had been through a hell of a lot during the Terra-Luna War. Most of the damage Jason remembered had been repaired. A diagnostic that he oversaw with Pal 2000 shortly after boarding showed all systems working at a minimum of 92 percent, which was a miracle. It seemed that the ship had barely been touched since he’d been in it. Jason figured they’d only installed the new engine and ensured a safe diagnostic readout before moving on past the dust and cobwebs.
To him it was still magnificent.
“You know, Pal, this ship won the Terra-Luna War.”
“I am aware, sir.” The robot’s digital face smiled pleasantly but haltingly—as one might at a funeral. “That is why they call you, The Man Who Broke the Moon, isn’t it?”
“Is this a therapy session?”
“No, sir, I—”
“Then don’t ask stupid questions. Are we ready or not?”
“Yes. All systems are running smoothly, though...”
“Though what?”
“It’s nothing...”
Jason’s brow jumped at that. “Now you’re annoying, AND coyly mysterious? Did we start dating and I don’t know about it?”
“What?” said th
e robot, his emoji face the portrait of confusion.
“Nothing, just tell me what the hell you were going to say.”
“It’s the drive, sir. I am getting readings from the engine room that just don’t make sense.”
“What kind of readings?”
“Strange fluctuations on every sensor.”
“It’s obviously the alien hybrid technology messing with your Radio Shack sensors.”
“Radio Shack, sir?”
“It’s before your time. Never mind. I’ll speak with Kaito about it.”
Jason found Kaito among the multitude of new wires littering the engine room. His multicolored bots were zipping this way and that like a pack of bloodthirsty mosquitoes, and Kaito himself looked flustered, which was unusual.
“What are we looking at?” Jason asked, startling his engineer.
Kaito shook his head as he stared at a hologram projecting from his wrist. He was typing and swiping so fast that Jason couldn’t make heads or tails out of what he was doing. “We’re looking at a typical government clusterfuck, that’s what. This system wasn’t designed for this.”
“Can she get the job done? Are we operational?”
“Sure,” said Kaito, finally looking at his captain. “In theory.”
“Anything I should be worried about?” said Jason over the noise.
“I’d say it’s about fifty-fifty that we’ll disintegrate when we try to use this new drive, or we’ll be successful. I mean, there is a reason we aren’t allowed to do this inside of the Termination Shock.”
Jason glanced at the new door separating the engine room from what used to be the main drive engine. “So what the hell powers this thing?”
Kaito ignored him, typing and swiping like a mad man.
“Kaito!”
“What?”
“What powers this thing?”
“Alien tech,” said Kaito. “You want a tutorial, or you want to get the hell out of here before the aliens blast us into embers?”
Jason flinched at the word, and Kaito realized his small mistake. “Cap...”
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