by John Walker
“What are you doing?” Lysa slapped his arm. “You told me to stay close and then you do that?”
“I’m sorry, hon.” Kyle gestured at the building. “I’d never seen anything like that before.”
“It’s not that impressive,” Niva said. She urged them through. “Milna! Jok, where are you? We are leaving!”
“Yeah,” Jok replied, “we’re doing our best. Just get to safety. We’ll catch up as soon as we can.”
Kyle shook his head. “I hate not helping them after they covered us.”
Niva sighed, staring at the door. She finally shook her head. “Even if we all went back, we couldn’t help much. No. We’re following their instructions. Move out.” She gestured. “Get to Quilla and Andrews.” She followed as they fell out again.
Sorry about that, guys. Kyle looked back once more. If anyone can make it, it’s probably them. They made it through the Flotilla on their own. But was that as dangerous as a war? Goddammit. He shook it off, focusing on his own problems.
***
Renz winced as he was whipped around in his seat. The Brekka gave them a good blast to the rear thrusters. Porth kept them moving but the two battleships remained in close proximity, maintaining serious fire throughout the exchange. With the rest of the fleet on the verge of arrival, they didn’t have to hold out much longer.
But we do have to hold out.
“Damn…” Kivda turned to him. “The fight on the surface isn’t going well. I just received a report that they’re facing off against three hundred fighters. Couple that with some ancient defense system that knocked our air support out.”
“Are you saying our soldiers are losing to a bunch of primitive locals?” Renz lifted his brow. “Surely, you’re joking. There’s simply no way.”
“There is if we’re facing those kinds of numbers. We need to draw closer to the planet and drop a couple shots.”
“Close proximity to our own people…” Renz stopped. “You want to take out the defense.”
“Yes, that will allow our shuttles to do their work. Our pilots are good enough for pinpoint shooting. They can even the numbers. Effectively putting us back in the advantage.”
“Very well.” Renz called out, “Porth, set course for the planet. Kivda is sending the coordinates. We need to target a specific location. Be ready for it.” He turned to Vhel. “I’m becoming rather unhappy with our support. Where exactly are they? If we picked their signature up, they should already be here!”
“Moments,” Vhel said, “I can’t believe they aren’t here already. The energy readings are showing at least six vessels coming through all at once, so they managed an impressive navigation sync.”
Renz grunted as they took yet another series of blows from the Brekka. They’d been throwing back attacks, but nothing deterred their opponents. We have to hit them harder if we want them to take notice. He shook his head. “Do you have a lock on the energy reading, Inda? Will we be able to fire when we’re in range?”
“Yes, sir.” Inda paused. “It’s pretty obvious… and like nothing I’ve seen. Should be no problem to hit it with a main blast. However, my calculations suggest we may not breach that shield with one hit.”
“It’s a shield?” Renz frowned. “I thought it took out our shuttles.”
“It appears to be both offensive and defensive.” Inda shrugged. “Again, I don’t even know what to equate it to. We don’t have anything like it in our arsenal.”
“Either way… we’ll see what we can do.” Renz turned to Kivda. “I recommend you think of something else to help our people if it doesn’t work. Even if it means sounding a general retreat. I doubt our quarry are still alive down there and if they are, we’ll need additional resources to extract them.” He looked at Vhel. “Which are coming, supposedly.”
The next hit made the viewscreen flicker.
“Aft shields are down to forty percent,” Inda announced. “They don’t know that, but they’re doing a real number. Damage reported in several decks. No hull breaches at this time but… we’re getting close.”
“How do they not know?” Kivda asked.
“Vhel and I came up with a jamming program. It uses energy from every generator to make it look like our shields are hovering around eighty to ninety percent.”
“That’s…” Renz huffed. “An incredible idea. Makes the enemy think they’re having no effect. Bravo. You should’ve told us sooner. It might’ve come in handy.” He turned to Porth. “We need some more evasive. Get us ahead of them before they do some real damage.” And we end up having to wait here for a day to manage repairs.
***
Milna made her way through the narrow spaces between the buildings. She blasted a soldier who looked her way, ducking when she heard footsteps behind her. As expected, the approaching aggressor took a shot. When it went too high, she twisted to shoot back, tapping them in the groin.
A second shot tore through the visor of their helmet.
“I’m almost to you, Jok,” Milna said, “then we need a way out of here fast.”
“That might be impractical.” Jok sounded strained. Chirps from his rifle competed with his voice. “This place is practically in the center of the conflict.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Milna replied. She came around behind his structure, slowing as she came upon a combat scene. Four of Haulda’s people brawled with the Kahl. They were in close quarters, making rifles useless. She drew her sidearm while dashing into the fray, using it point-blank on the enemy.
Two of them went down. The last tried to barrel through the others. He was tackled to the ground, his helmet torn off by one. The others slashed his face, plunging their blades into his head. They looked at her with bloodlust in their eyes, each covered in gore which made them look more like feral beasts than sentient creatures.
“I’m on your side.” Milna held up her hands. “Just trying to get my friend.” They left her there, dashing off with guttural huffs. She shook her head, moving to the nearest window. The room appeared empty. She crawled through. “So these people are total savages. You sure you want to introduce them to the resistance?”
“We could probably use people like that right now,” Jok grunted… then cried out. The comm went dead.
“Jok!” Milna shouted. She moved to the right, leading the way with her sidearm. Crumbled stairs led to the second floor. She started up, flinching at the flashing lights above her. Enemy shots came through the open windows, tearing at the walls and ceiling. She paused at the top.
A gasp caught her, making it hard to breathe. Jok reclined on the ground, unmoving. “No!” She crawled to him, keeping clear of the window. Her scanner showed he was still alive. There weren’t any obvious shots on him, but he was surrounded by debris, rocks that seemed to fall from the ceiling.
“Hey…” Milna tapped his shoulder, giving him a gentle shake. Blood flowed over his forehead, mingling with his left eyebrow. She wiped it away, trying again. “Jok, you can’t leave me. Come on. Hello? Wake up!” Swallowing didn’t get rid of the lump in her throat. Something seized her chest, hampering her breathing.
“Jok!” Milna shouted his name. “Come on! Please!” She shook him one more time. This time he stirred, wincing as his brow furrowed. “Come here!” Dragging him up, she held him tightly. “I thought you were dead… or maimed at the very least!”
“Something… hit my head.” Jok feebly patted her on the back. “We have to move. Stay low. They got a good lock on this window.” The two of them made for the stairs, remaining low to the floor as they went. As he said, more shots came through above them, chewing away at the aged mortar, pulverizing sections of the room.
Milna risked a glance outside. She dipped back down, feeling the blood run from her face in a rush. The number of combatants outside shocked her. She hadn’t seen so many people in a battlefield in many years. The carnage matched the worst battle stories told by soldiers at home.
I suppose Haulda’s people meant business after all. Miln
a didn’t have faith they would pull anything off. They seemed like primitives by comparison; pushovers compared to the mechanized army the Kahl fielded. Instead, they proved to be dangerous militants. Total zealots. Probably a ratcheted-up version of the resistance.
Jok reached the bottom of the stairs first. He stood, slinging his rifle before drawing his sidearm. “If we’re going to run, we’ll want to keep things easy. Especially if we run into any stragglers back here.”
“I’m ready.” Milna nodded to him. The two slipped out the window then dashed for the rear entrance. “Do you have the ship on the way?”
“Should land near where the shuttles are going,” Jok said, “so we’ll be fine. The enemy is clearly a little busy.”
Light appeared above them, bathing the area in a blue aura. Milna closed her eyes, pressing her hands against her face when all details of the world blurred. She bit her lip when she realized what it was. We’re dead. The thought barely entered her head before a ground shattering crack made her ears instantly ring.
When no pain came, no searing fire, no obliteration to end her, she looked around. A purple globe surrounded the ruins, a shield that must’ve prevented their demise. Milna looked at Jok with wide eyes. “We should probably give praise to that thing,” she said. “I can see why they’re so religious.”
“Did we just withstand an attack from a battleship?” Jok asked.
Milna nodded.
“That’s… impossible. Any ground-based shield capable of that would have to be much larger.”
“You don’t know what the power station looks like for that thing.” Milna patted his shoulder. “Come on. It doesn’t matter anyway. We have to get out of here while we can. Undoubtedly, they’re going to try again. And we want to be near to the landing zone long before that happens.”
“I’m with you.” Jok glanced back. “No one seems to be following us.”
“They’re likely deaf or blind after that nonsense. But it won’t last long. Not for all of them.” Milna picked up the pace. “Let’s not stick around to find out just how quickly they recover.”
***
Triss stayed well away from the ruin as she made her approach to the landing zone. One of her screens showed a view of the conflict raging within. Men and women tore at each other, using melee weapons and point-blank blasters. Projectiles finished off downed fighters. Some were stomped to death.
When a blast came down from the heavens, her scanner issued a warning. It would’ve been far too late if they had attacked her. Instead, they went straight for the ruins. They want to take out those defenses. Triss’s cockpit dimmed to protect her from the flash, a bright explosion of light that rivaled most suns.
The readings topped every chart they measured energy by. Whatever the ancient Kahl had built, it was more than up to the challenge to fend off such an assault. She reached out to Sylvie, who was on the opposite side of the base. They took their approach from two angles to ensure one made it.
“Are you okay?”
“I think I pissed myself,” Sylvie replied, “but beyond that, yeah. I’m peachy.”
“I have no idea what any of that meant.”
“I’m okay,” Sylvie said, “it startled me.”
“Oh. Me too.” Triss smirked. “I guess that answers why it was so important to bring it online.”
“Yeah, the question is how long they can keep it that way.”
“Or if it’ll matter for us.” Triss made her approach, dropping altitude. “I’m about to land. I’ve got a visual on the spot.” Scans showed their people mustering out there as well. Another ship came toward them from the east, moving swiftly. No life forms registered onboard. “Um… Sylvie? Do you see that thing?”
“Not sure what it is, but let’s ask before we take a shot at it, huh?”
“What if it shoots at us?” Triss asked.
“Then I guess that’s a good reason to shoot back.” Sylvie hummed. “I’m having a hard time getting them on comms. That blast might be disrupting ground-based communications. Can you try?”
“Niva?” Triss asked. “Can you read me? We need some information before we land.”
“I… what… do…” Niva’s voice came through in clips. She repeated a moment later. “I read you… what do you need?”
“Better comms,” Triss said, “and to find out if you know about an unmanned drone coming this way? Correction, larger ship?”
“Must be Jok’s. It’s fine. Get down here, we want to go before they decide to bombard this place again.”
“We’re nearly there.” Triss dropped faster, hitting the afterburner to make up a few moments. As she came in for a landing, she hit the retrorockets. The ground team were roughly a quarter mile out. That gave them plenty of distance from the action. Still, she brought the ship down then disengaged her safety belts.
Rushing through the ship, she slapped the panel to drop the ramp. The others came running toward her as Sylvie put down beside her. The third ship continued to roar toward them, but it was on the horizon, not quite there. She put the thing’s ETA at two more minutes. I wonder if we can leave it behind.
Andrews rose his hand, waving at her. “Hey!” He shouted. “Hey, thanks for coming for us! Good God, it’s great to see you!” He came close, throwing his arms around her. “I’m telling you, I’ve never been so happy to see someone else’s ship.”
Triss patted his back. “I told you. Get on board.” She disentangled herself from him as the others approached. The soldiers headed for Sylvie’s vessel. Niva came close, bending at the waist to catch her breath. “Welcome back, ma’am. I’m glad to see you’re in one piece. Must’ve been quite the run.”
“I wish you could’ve landed closer,” Niva panted, “still, this is better than nothing. Prepare to take off. I’ll get everyone else to a ship.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Triss headed toward the cockpit. She waved at Andrews. “Come on, you can sit in the copilot’s seat.”
“You sure? I have no idea how to pilot this thing.”
“Good thing I don’t need your help.” Triss winked. “Just come with me. I’ll show you how to fly a shuttle properly.”
“Oh, by all means. I can’t wait to learn.”
Triss took a seat, belting in. She put everything to full power, tapping the comm. “We are ready for launch whenever everyone’s secure. Let me know, ma’am, and we’re out of here.” She smiled at Andrews. “I thought you were gone when I heard what happened. With the Flotilla warping out. And us with so little time.”
“We’ll make some now. I promise.”
“You’d better.” Triss took his hand, squeezing it. “I would’ve been cross if you hadn’t made it.”
“It was touch and go.”
“I… don’t know what that means.”
“Close,” Andrews replied. “Damn close.”
“Ah. Well… this might be as well considering what’s going on in space right now. The Kahl have some reinforcements on the verge of showing up. We might have a bit of a time getting out of here. But at least you have me.” Triss smiled as she plotted her course off the planet. “I’ve got experience buzzing Kahl destroyers.”
“Really hope I don’t have to see that today.”
Triss chuckled. “I guess we’ll see.”
Chapter 11
Titus flinched when the Kahl ship blasted the surface of the planet. He turned to Violet, gesturing to her at the same time. “What did he just do? What was that?” Another flash made him look back at the screen. A purple globe appeared, a tiny dot but still incredibly noticeable against the brown and green of the area.
“They hit a shield of some kind,” Violet replied, “and that caused the flash. I’m not reading any casualties… nor damage to the area.” She hummed. “Wow. It seems to have absorbed the shot completely. Taken it all in!”
“That’s… not possible,” Rhys said, “is it? I mean, that’s a lot of energy.”
“Probably has something to do with the power cour
sing through the rocks,” Violet explained, “it seems whatever did that is drawing energy from the planet itself. Or some construct I can’t deep scan. Either way, it worked. And everyone down there is okay. So… yay for weird technology.”
“Lay into him, Sam,” Titus ordered. “Give him everything we’ve got.”
“The enemy ships have arrived!” Violet shouted. “Sorry, it just happened! They’re here!”
“What’re we looking at?” Rhys asked. They appeared on the viewscreen. Two battleships, four destroyers. They immediately fired up their engines, heading for the planet. “Holy shit… that… is not exactly what I expected.”
“For a coward like Renz?” Titus shook his head. “I expected nothing less.” He turned to Jane. “Plot us a course out of here.” He slapped the panel on his chair, reaching out to Engineering. “Huxley, I hate to be a cliche here, but we need warp before the enemy ships turn us to dust. What’ve you got?”
“Five more minutes,” Huxley replied, “things went smoothly. Thank you for not jostling us around as much as normal. All parts are in place but the thing’s rebooting. Power’s at eighty percent. You buy me those five minutes, and we can go.”
“Well, you’ve got some time anyway while we wait for our shuttle to return. Keep me informed.” Titus switched over to the Brekka. “Griel, this is a moment of truth, I think. What’re we doing?”
Renz’s ship pulled away from them, going around the opposite side of the planet. The Brekka quit chasing it, instead moving in the opposite direction. Titus gave the order for them to slow as well. Their new opponents had an ETA of more than ten minutes at their current speed.
Not a lot of breathing room, but hopefully enough.
“Triss will be leaving momentarily,” Griel said, “she should be here in a couple minutes. Renz proved himself a coward again, so we’ve got time to collect our people. But not much. How’s your warp?”
