AMP Messenger

by Stephen Arseneault

  Chapter 2.1

  _______________________

  A year had passed since I fled from prosecution on the Grid. My relationship with Ashley Elizabeth stood at a standstill. Several more visits had been made for the purpose of gathering information, but nothing new was revealed. Dearest Kreed was helpful, but her knowledge of the happenings on and around the Grid was shrinking. Her handlers suspected her of being a double agent, a suspicion they had been unable to prove.

  The mine continued to turn out high-quality Tantric ore. Frig's survey of the vein had located a vast store of Tantric deep into the core of Bullwort. Our credit store was already large and growing larger with each new sale of refined ore. With the credits we had amassed, we continued to add updates and improvements to our fleet.

  Each ship now had the best environmental system available; even our bunk rooms had been remodeled. With the new equipment added, our cargo holds had become ever smaller. It was a trade-off that we were more than willing to make.

  During his hunts, George managed to find two new Defender hulls. Our fleet now stood at eight. The Torrent and the Bull were our newest Defender additions. Gy continued to work his magic. The hull of each ship was now covered with eighteen layers of Tantric armor that was interlaced with aquamarine. A full strike from a Milgari battle cannon would only fracture and burn two layers at a time. Our already-tough ships had grown ever tougher.

  The Milgari showed no new signs of aggression, other than the continued construction of the massive ion cannons in the Felgar sector. A raid was in the works as the first of the cannons neared completion. My time had been spent on the business side with George, growing and refining the relationships with our customers. Even though we were flooding the market with volumes of refined Tantric ore, our pricing was on the increase. Demand for the ore continued to outstrip supply.

  The team had been hard at work on our plan of attack. I sat in a conference room with the others for a presentation on what they had decided upon.

  Frig said, "Sir, we felt the strategy used in our last raid was worthwhile: move in close and do as much damage as possible. Gy and Rita have a design for a Tantric shield. It will be ninety meters in diameter, allowing our fleet to ride behind it in single file. We should be able to ride safely all the way up to a target.

  “The shield would be constructed of 126 layers of Tantric and aquamarine. It would have a forward image projector, keeping its visual signature to a minimum, and a signal inhibitor to keep any reflections from giving away our position. We have been discussing whether or not to add a propulsion system to it, sir. It would be costly in both time and credits, but we believe it would make the shield functional in a higher number of situations.”

  I looked over what they had laid out before me. “This is outstanding work... all of you. And I like the shield. Anything that gets us close enough to use our weapons before taking a beating is a worthwhile investment. I would say, let’s get to work on this immediately. We have credits coming out of our ears, and with a new shaft coming online in the next few weeks, we will be doubling our ore production.”

  The shield took two months to complete. It was constructed as sections that could be assembled once in space. Five small ion engines and a nav computer would guide it to its final destination. Once deployed, the Tantric shield would be a throwaway. Once it was abandoned, I struggled with the thoughts of it being a source of Tantric that could later be used against us. Those thoughts were put to rest with the addition of thousands of small microcharges that would be embedded within its layers. With the push of a button, or at a programmed time or location, the shield would self-destruct.

  Our newest pilots were Harley Shoals in the Torrent and Desire Phillips piloting the Bull. Harley had been an off-world Messenger, while Desire had recently retired from the Marines. Both were gruff, with spit-in-the-dirt attitudes, and both were excellent pilots.

  Before our trip out to the Felgar sector, we decided to make a run on the pirates who had forever plagued commerce near the Gonk system. Their ionic field generators had nearly trapped Frig and me once as we attempted a shortcut near their stronghold. Our engines were now switchable, and we intended to use that fact to put an end to their ways.

  As we approached the Gonk system, our sensor displays lit up with the outlines of their ionic webs. I got on the comm. “OK, listen up. When we get in the web, we need to come to a complete stop. It won't take them long to send out their thugs. Switch your engines to negative and we will free the sector of their nasty threat. I want to clean out everything until we have an unconditional surrender.

  “I'm sure some of you knew Bat Geathers: these are the thugs who did him in.

  “George is heading to Malcon to enlist their help with cleaning up the Gonk government. With luck, shipping will move easily through there. who knows? Gonk might even become a hub of commerce.”

  Our trap to lure out the pirates worked flawlessly. The bulk of their fleet was easily destroyed, along with the equipment that made up the ionic webs. The following day the government of Gonk collapsed and its politicians fled. Malcon troops arrived the day after to put a conventional, commerce-friendly government in place.

  The event had been good practice for our new pilots. Their interactions with my commands and the other ships had been nothing short of perfection. Desire had proven to be both ruthless and persistent with her attacks. Harley had been close behind.

  The ride out to the Felgar sector was again filled with targeting and tactics drills. A simulation of the shield was run on the fleet’s computers for a mock attack on a two-kilometer-long asteroid. The pilots followed the decided-upon attack plan with precision and power. I had to believe our small fighting force was unequaled in strength and skill. Our practice only served to make us that much better.

  When we arrived in Felgar, the Milgari were hard at work on a fourth and fifth cannon. I was shocked and angered to see that two of the massive cannons that were previously under construction had already been moved.

  I said, “We should have come back out here three months ago. Those cannons could be anywhere now.”

  Frig replied, “Sir, we cannot do anything about them now. Our focus should be on putting an end to the ones we have here, along with those construction bays. I count thirty-two battleships in their ranks. Once we show our hand, I would expect them all to engage. Perhaps we should focus on attacking them first.”

  As always, Frig was right. We needed a strategy to take down the battleships. The ion cannons on their cruisers and other vessels had always been underpowered. Our ultrathick Tantric hulls could handle a cruiser’s cannon for a nearly unlimited number of hits. The battleships, however, were powerful enough to do heavy damage.

  I threw out our overall plan and was immediately replied to by Barg. “This is the Hammer. I would like to suggest a divide-and-conquer strategy. Two of us will cause diversions in two different areas, and the six remaining will swoop in to take out any battleships that come our way. If we get lucky and they send out at least four of the big guns, I say we make use of the shield to catch them by surprise.

  “I'll volunteer to be a lure this time, but I don't want to make a habit of that and miss out on all the fun!”

  We discussed the strategy for several hours before turning it into a plan. Divide and Conquer would be used for the initial culling of the Milgari battleships. The Hammer and the Frost would be the bait.

  The Tantric shield would be assembled and waiting when the trap was sprung. If four or more battleships came out in pursuit, the shield would be put into play. Four exploding decoy probes would be placed on the opposite side of the Milgari base and fired off periodically. The hope was to keep the rest of the fleet from joining in. We counted the seconds until Divide and Conquer was put into play.

  Once the Hammer and the Frost were in position, I gave the order to begin. The Hammer was first to fire a low-power ion pulse at the Milgari. The Frost fired several seconds later. As the first of the shi
ps turned and began to race out to meet the attackers, I flipped the switch on the decoys. The first of the four probe explosions was easily detected.

  The Milgari sent out twelve of their thirty-two battleships, along with two dozen cruisers. Eight battleships and ten cruisers raced for the Frost while the remaining headed for the Hammer. I powered up the shield's thrusters and headed in to meet the Milgari defenders. As planned, the extra explosions worked to keep the remaining ships in the fleet frozen in place.

  I said “Frost, hold your position as long as possible. Then head our way. Hammer; don't try to be a hero. Move just far enough away that they will stay in pursuit while we work on the rest. Target those battle cannons on the big boys. If we can take those offline, the rest will be gravy. Prepare to break away and engage in five... four... three... two... one. Let's show 'em what we've got!”

  I flipped the Swift out to the port side, and we immediately fired upon the lead ship. The first of its battle cannons was destroyed by a precision shot from Frig. I banked hard left as the first bolt left the battleship's remaining cannon. Hundreds of tiny blue streaks lit up the surrounding void as the Milgari gunners fired everything they had.

  Three more of the sixteen battle cannons were knocked out in the first run. Barg growled over the comm channels, as his only task was to stay just out of range of the pursuing portion of the fleet. The Fist quickly joined our fight. The Milgari crews were confused as the tiny Defenders flew between and around them. Their calibrated firing mechanisms were quick to adjust.

  Harley was the first to take two simultaneous hits in the Torrent. Both impacted his tail section, fracturing and blowing off four layers of his armor.

  “Crap, those hits hurt, Boss. Systems remain green.”

  The Dagger, the Swift, and the Saxon each took a hit in quick succession before four more of the Milgari battle cannons went silent. Two of the disabled battleships turned back toward the main fleet. The Fist was quick to cut deep into their engines. Both ships began to roll uncontrollably from the loss of primary propulsion. I pushed the stick hard left and took out another cannon before taking two hard hits to my undercarriage.

  I yelled, “Frig, where did those come from? That battleship should be offline!”

  Frig diverted his attention for only a moment. “Sir, both bolts came from cruisers. It seems a significant upgrade has occurred during our absence. The cruisers appear to each have a single battle cannon. That will change the dynamic of our strategy, sir. We may have to consider an early departure.”

  I thought for a moment before Frig's words sank in. “What? Are you saying cut and run?”

  As I rolled over, Frig fired two more bolts, taking out the battle cannon of a cruiser before responding. “I'm only saying we should consider it, sir. We have now taken fourteen hits and counting. At what point should a crew leave the field of battle, sir. At eight layers? Six would be cutting it a bit close.”

  I let out a growl as I lined up for another precision shot by Frig. “Listen up, all. If your layers get to eight, I want you to head out to the prearranged rendezvous point. No sense in us getting killed today if we don't have to. There are seven of us, and they are down to nine of those battle cannons between them. Fist, your primary mission now is to target the propulsion of ships that no longer have use of a battle cannon. We need to keep them here if we're going to take them out.”

  The big Milgari guns were quickly taken from eight to four. The Fist had disabled two battleships and seven of the ten cruisers. Two other damaged battleships managed to slip away. When the final Milgari battle cannon went silent, the Torrent had taken its ninth hit.

  “This is the Torrent, Boss. I'm down to five layers on my tail. Just say the word and I'll peel off. I would like to stay for the party, though. It’s up to you, sir.”

  I gave Harley the order he was looking for. We had ships to kill, and only a short time before the Milgari sent out a second wave, or before those who were chasing the Hammer wised up to his game. Our prior experience with the Milgari told us of a vulnerable point one hundred meters in front of their engines.

  It was the point where streams of ions were recombined to create the swirling vortex that gave their ships thrust. A well-placed shot would cause a rupture, enabling the feed streams to spew outwards, effectively destroying the ship from within.

  I yelled, “Target those recombiners and let's get out of here. I don't want to engage any more of those cannons until we have a full evaluation of our own damage.”

  We made short work of the battleships and cruisers that had been disabled. The Milgari had been caught off guard, and their response had been disorganized. Their upgraded weapons were a surprise, and had caused nearly half of our damage. We had used our shield, and its thousands of fractured Tantric shards now filled the void around us as the final cruiser exploded from within.

  I ordered the team back to our rendezvous point for an examination of our hulls. The Torrent had been the hardest hit. We counted only three layers remaining on the port tail fin. Two of those layers had taken partial damage. The Torrent was only a hit away from hull violation, an outcome that would mean certain death.

  The Dagger was second, with the loss of nine layers on her nose. The Swift was third, with five. After several hours of evaluating our options, the decision was made to return to Bullwort for repairs. I did not want to risk losing a ship and her crew if we didn’t have to. The massive cannons were nearing completion, but I wondered if we would be better off to allow it, and to then follow them to their destination.

  Our rendezvous point was on the dark side of an uninhabited, rocky planet. It had given us a chance to fully quantify the damage we had taken. But there was a huge oversight on our part, an oversight that placed us needlessly in peril. We had been followed. Our position on the small planet had been observed, and then relayed back to the main Milgari fleet.

  Each of the pilots had returned to their ship, and I had only given the order to return to Bullwort minutes before. Frig was the first to realize our mistake.

  “Sir, a Milgari frigate just entered orbit around this planet. We should have placed a sensor probe on the other side before setting down. We have been sitting blind for nearly an hour, sir. If the Milgari were sm—”

  Our sensors lit up with the bad news: twenty Milgari battleships, along with thirty-two cruisers, were rounding the curvature of the planet we had taken refuge on. They were only moments away from our position.

  I yelled, “We have incoming! Get off the ground and out of this atmosphere! We can't handle a fight with them down here. These buckets don't have the maneuverability needed for that. Head straight out with cannons blazing and we'll try to punch a hole past the three ships I'm highlighting!”

  As we lifted off, the first of the cruisers swept in low and began to pound us. We had quickly taken a combined fifteen additional hits before the cruisers turned away and began to circle back. I punched it straight for a battleship and was rewarded with four hits to the Swift's right wing before Frig was able to take out one of her cannons. The Torrent was the last to lift off.

  Again I yelled, “All, fall in line behind me and let’s try to force our way past that formation of three ships! Follow your target stacking on the tactical display; we have to take out a few of those big guns before we get surrounded. Harley! How are you holding up?”

  Several seconds passed before a response was heard. “Sorry, sir. we... are taking a beating. Tail plating now registers zero, Chief. One more hit and we're a—”

  A Milgari bolt ripped through the exposed tail of the Torrent and into its interior. Harley and his engineer died quickly. But there was a new ripple in our plans of escaping. The Torrent had been disabled, but most of her technologies remained. I made a quick decision, one that was not popular with the others.

  “Guys, we can't leave that ship out here for them, even if it has been largely gutted. Roll on my count and give Harley and Gerfel the sendoff they deserve. I want nothing but cinder
s left of the Torrent in three... two... one!”

  I pushed the stick hard and rolled out of a cannon shot by an oncoming cruiser. Frig targeted and took the shot, taking out its main gun. Seconds later I had the Torrent in my sights. “Switch to negative on those guns! Maybe we get lucky with a couple opposing hits and she rips apart!”

  “This is Hammer; I just took five shots to my underbelly. I can manage one round on the Torrent, but then I have to go!”

  Boom! Boom!

  “Two more hits on the cargo door, Chief. Losing my protection real fast!”

  The Swift then rolled in behind the Hammer after taking out the guns of the pursuing cruisers. “I got your back, Hammer. Take that shot!”

  Four bolts hit the Torrent's hull at the same time. The plating fractured and the ship exploded in a hot ball of plasma as the negative charge amped up the destructive power. The Torrent was gone, but we had a Milgari fleet that was kicking our cans from there to Halui.

  I barked out another order. “Follow my lead! We're going to kick up some of that dirt down there and push around this rock to the other side. Keep shifting, because we are in for a nasty beating until we can break free!”

  I dropped down to twenty meters off the surface and pushed the throttle to full. It was a dangerous move, considering our speed. We had a dozen cruisers on our tail that were mercilessly firing at us.

  I continued, “Head for the groove in those peaks and then put it skyward. We are going right up through them like there is no tomorrow! Pinch your cheeks together, boys! This is all or nothing!”

  I pulled back on the stick as the Swift continued to accelerate. The blue bolts from the Milgari guns came in from all directions.

  Boom! Boom! Boom!

  “Grrrrrr. Frig, I'm heading for that battleship on the left. Try to take out those guns before they rip us apart!”

  “This is the Dagger. We are down to bare metal. I got smoke filling the hold as we speak.”

  Boom! Boom!

  “Aw, crap... been nice serving with you, sir.” The Dagger turned hard into the near battleship and flew directly into the ship's recombiners. The battleship's engines went silent. Seconds later, streams of bright blue ions could be seen carving up her hull. We flew close to the self-destructing ship and the momentary cover that it offered. It was the break we needed.

  The Dagger was gone, incinerated in an instant when the Milgari recombiner had been breached. Jon Baumer and his engineer had given their lives to open a hole for our escape. The six remaining Defenders pushed through the expanding debris cloud out into the open space beyond. The Fist was the last to follow, taking two final hits as we sped away.

  Our engines were now our allies. We were quickly out of the Milgari's range and into free space. I set a course for home.

  “We did the best we could out there. I want you to focus on the fact that six crews made it out. Harley, Jon, Gerfel, and Trippit don't want us crying over them. So, just keep your heads up and keep alert. We have a long ride home.”

  ~~~~~

  Once again, this Human is asking for your help! If you enjoyed the book, please leave a review on the site where it was purchased or downloaded. And by all means, please tell your friends! Any help with spreading the word is highly appreciated!

  Also, I have a free science fiction eBook short story, titled “THE SQUAD”, waiting for anyone who joins my email list! By joining, also find out when the next exciting release is available. Join at comments@arsenex.com. Visit the author’s website at www.arsenex.com for links to this series and other works!

  Take care and have a great day!

  Stephen