“Neither did I.”
“No, true, but then you had a tendency to draw the short straws on assignments a little often, and given some of the people you ended up working with, I can hardly blame you for the occasional failure to communicate. That’s not really the issue. You had a reason. He didn’t.”
Carter reached down to fire the thrusters, guiding the shuttle onto trajectory, and added, “Is this the time or place for this, Major?”
“It’s got to be. We might not get another chance.” He looked at her, and added, “I know that you are thinking that I’m an evil bastard right now, and I can’t say that I blame you for that. Under other circumstances, I’d probably agree with you. It’s not right to say or think such things of the people you love, but I have a job to do, and so do you, and it is my responsibility to see that it is done. We’ve got the lives and futures of eight billion people riding on our backs, and…”
“I know my duty, Major. You don’t have to tell me.”
“I hope not,” he replied. “Though as I said, it is my job, and my career has led to a certain level of intrinsic paranoia. An occupational hazard, I’m afraid. I’m probably worrying about nothing. I hope that I am. I just don’t like it when things are presented in neat little packages for me to open.”
“Your parents must have hated you at Christmas.”
He chuckled, and added, “I usually knew what I was getting well before Thanksgiving, never mind Christmas. One year I…” He paused, shook his head, and added, “But that’s a story for another time. One minute to contact.” He reached for the communications systems, and said, “That’s odd. We’re getting a smooth feed to Avenger, but I’m not getting anything from Icarus. By now we should have synched in with their docking computers.”
Carter glanced across at the display, then looked up at the sensors. The enemy cruiser was altering course, changing its trajectory, moving slowly away from Avenger. Not far enough to avoid contact, or even delay it by more than a second. As Rojek worked the communications console, she fine-tuned the sensors, focusing on the enemy ship.
Her hangar bay doors were opening, power spikes from the space within. Boarding shuttles, ready to launch. It had to be.
“Major, we’ve got problems,” she said. “They’re sending an assault team over to Icarus. Fast boarding shuttles. If they’re using a standard Belter design, they’ll get there about the same time we do. Have we got any specifications on them?”
“We do, and none of them good. They’ve got limited endurance, they can’t stay in the sky for very long, but in those fifteen minutes they can really move. They don’t need to use airlocks either, just like ours, and if they don’t care about how much damage they do to a ship going in, they could have the crew captured in a matter of minutes. Estimate fifteen to twenty-two soldiers on board, as well as the flight crew, and you can bet they’ll be taking part in the fighting too.” Turning to her, he said, “You aren’t thinking…”
“There’s nothing that Avenger can do to stop them, and Icarus is unarmed. You said yourself that they could take that freighter in a matter of minutes, and if the rebels aren’t ready to stop them, all of this could come to a very abrupt end. We’ve got to do something.”
“We aren’t armed either,” he replied. “And if you’re thinking about hacking into their systems, that’s not an option. They build them tough and dumb. No need for complicated control interfaces when all they have to do is slam into the side of a starship hull. Besides, we’re not going to have time.”
“That’s not the idea,” she replied. “We’re going to play chicken.”
“Chicken? With shuttles?” he said, eyes widening. “You’ve got to be out of your mind!”
“Plenty of time for you to get into the escape pod,” she replied. She paused, smiled, then said, “And that gives me the second part of the plan. Get into the pod and start playing with the control systems. I want to be able to guide it from here, in the cockpit, and I need the thrusters set for maximum acceleration. While you’re at it, rig the life support to over-pressurize.”
“I am genuinely scared to ask just what you have in mind,” Rojek said, throwing aside his restraints as he climbed into the pod. “If I had any sense I’d just hit the ejection system and let you get on with…”
“Talking won’t get the job done, Major,” she said, bringing the shuttle around. She reached under the console, turning a key that many pilots were only vaguely aware existed, disabling the bulk of the safety interlocks and opening up far higher acceleration than normal. With a little luck, enough additional speed to allow here to complete her new mission.
“Cramped in here,” Rojek complained.
“You’ve got about two minutes,” she replied. “Move fast.” She swung the shuttle around, burning the engines as hot as she dared in a desperate bid to reach her target in time, to disrupt the flight path of the incoming boarding shuttles. They were on predictable trajectories, their destination known, their fuel sufficiently limited to reduce many of their options for evasive action. That gave her an advantage.
Warning lights flickered on her console as she locked in the course, the computers alerting of the danger she was placing herself in. If nothing changed, she’d crash into the nearest of the two boarding shuttles in eighty seconds. Escape vectors flickered into life on the navigation display as the automatic systems struggled to provide her with options, to urge her to choose a different, a less dangerous path, but she overrode each one with the tap of a control, her eyes locked on the trajectory plot.
“How long, Major?” she asked.
“Nearly there,” he replied. “Turns out this thing wasn’t designed to be used in combat. Can’t think why the designers didn’t have that in mind. Not very flexible imaginations, I guess.”
“You’ve got about thirty seconds,” she said.
“Working on it,” he said. “Two more connections.”
The enemy was holding their course, calling her bluff, assuming that she’d dodge out of the way in time. To their rear, the cruiser was moving into position to attack Avenger, Novak playing the game of the enemy helmsman for long enough to lure him into a trap. A battle she couldn’t take part in. She had her own fight to win. And only a few seconds in which to do it.
One more advantage. The two shuttles were flying in close formation. Not that they had much of a choice, given that they’d be hitting Icarus only a few meters apart, concentrating the force of their strike team, but even so, that made her plan possible. Rojek climbed through the hatch, scrambling back into position at the co-pilot’s seat, rubbing greasy hands down his jacket.
“All done,” he said. “Good to go.”
“Prepare for launch. Lock it into the second shuttle. The second, not the first. Right now the bastard thinks that he’s getting a free run. I don’t want to disabuse him of that notion. At least, not yet.”
“We’re going to be on a pretty wild trajectory when we get through this,” Rojek warned. “It’s not going to be easy to get to either Avenger or Icarus.”
“There’s a docking option with Icarus in three minutes, assuming they play along. Try and raise them.”
“Still nothing,” Rojek said, shaking his head. “And for the record, contact in twenty seconds. If you’ve got something in mind, you might want to get on with…”
Before he finished, Carter tapped a pair of controls, the first sending the shuttle spinning off to starboard, safely dodging out of the way of the incoming enemy ship, the second releasing the escape pod and sending it racing towards the hitherto untouched enemy craft, a titanic mine thrown directly into their flight path.
A good helmsman flying a nimble vessel might have dodged out of the way in time. Might. Neither was evident in the enemy formation, despite their best efforts. The pod crashed into the Belter shuttle with a velocity differential in the high five figures, a kinetic projectile that tore the target to pieces. The single remaining vessel pushed on, trying to press home their attack, but
it was futile, the debris field from her erstwhile comrade racing in all directions to slam into the ship, tearing it into a billion scattered pieces.
“And that,” Carter said, a smile on her face, “is how you do that.”
“Remind me not to make you mad,” Rojek replied. Looking at his monitor, he smiled, and added, “Getting a beacon signal from Icarus now.”
“Maybe they were worried about giving the boarding shuttles something to home in on?” Carter suggested.”
“Maybe,” Rojek replied. “Maybe. We’re being guided into Airlock Seven, and they’re altering course to give us a run in.” Turning to Carter, he said, “Everything seems to be dropping our way. Just why does that make me nervous?” He looked at the sensor feeds again, and said, “Maybe we should head out into free space, drift out of the battle. We’ve got more than enough fuel to take our time about this…”
“Our orders were to reach Icarus,” Carter said. “Docking in two minutes, Major. Unless you can give me a concrete reason why we shouldn’t.”
“Trust me,” the agent replied, “I’m working on it.” He looked across at the sensor display, and added, “The enemy cruiser is turning, heading right for Avenger. One more thing we’re not going to have to worry about. There’s no chance that they could possibly catch up to Icarus, no matter what happens now. Far too slow.”
“Unless they’ve got something else up their sleeve,” she replied.
“Some damage to Icarus,” Rojek added. “Scoring along the port side of the hull, evidence of patching, and she’s got very few sensor relays on that part of the ship. Looks like she’s been in a firefight. Which I suppose supports their story, at least to an extent.”
“Still suspicious?”
“I could have faked that easily,” he replied. “To throw us off the scent.” Shaking his head, he said, “Paranoia keeps you alive. It wins wars. Remember that, Lieutenant. Hang onto those little nagging doubts. You never know just when they might come in handy. And though I’ve got a nice strong beacon signal now, I still can’t raise anyone aboard that ship. Not very welcoming.”
“There’s a battle going on,” Carter said. “We’ll deal with it when we dock. In about thirty seconds.” The thrusters fired as the shuttle struggled to match speed and course, Icarus now looming large before them, the long, sleek lines of the freighter up ahead, the twin warp rings gleaming in the cold darkness of space.
Carter carefully worked the controls, aware that they’d only have one chance to bring the shuttle into position, one chance to link the two ships before they drifted past each other into the void. Icarus was already moving, thrusters firing as it prepared to return to its original course, out in the depths of the asteroid field.
“Ten meters,” Rojek said. “Almost home. Five. Three. Contact.”
With an anticlimactic click, the docking ports mated, and the hatches slid open as the clamps locked down, securing the shuttle to the side of the freighter. Carter turned to the rear, seeing a technician in the threshold, but when she saw the pistol nestled in his hand, leveled at the two of them, the smile dropped from her face.
“Stay where you are,” the man said. “And no sudden moves.”
“Guess I found that reason,” Rojek quipped, glancing at Carter. “I hate to say I told you so, but…”
“Nobody likes a wise guy,” she replied. Looking at the technician, she added, “Don’t shoot. We’ll come quietly.”
“Not as if we have a choice,” Rojek said.
Chapter 3
“Enemy ship is closing,” Dixon warned. “I have a positive identification now. It’s Ajax, Captain Sofia Garcia last reported in command. Some rich guy’s kid, in her twenties. Intelligence suggests that she was put on Ajax to keep her out of the way.”
“Nice to see that the glorious beacon of liberty still believes in good old-fashioned nepotism, I guess,” Corrigan replied. “Do we have anything on her combat technique?”
“No reports of any battles fought, but she’s had some tuition, and it’s far from impossible that she’s got some experts on board. Might just be a figurehead, at least in practice.” Frowning, Dixon added, “On a ship like that, though, I’m not sure just what sort of finesse you could manage. It’s a big ugly bastard with a hell of a kick.”
“Firing range in sixty seconds,” Crawford added. “I have a good firing solution now, targeting engines and sensors. If she’s stuck on trajectory and blind, there’s not very much she can do about it.”
“Wow!” Singh said. “Those boarding shuttles are history. I don’t know how she did it, but Lieutenant Carter knocked them off the screen with an escape pod. Used as some sort of mine. Never seen anything like it.”
“It’s always nice to see a real professional at work,” Corrigan said with a gleaming smile. He looked at the trajectory plot, and added, “And if I’m not mistaken, either you’re right about those advisors, or Captain Garcia took some pretty comprehensive notes during her training. They’re matching us.”
“That’s the idea,” Novak replied.
Shaking his head, he said, “No, no, Lieutenant, they’re trying to play us just like you’re playing them.” Turning to Singh, he added, “Ensign, see if you can take a reading on their power grid. Tell me if there’s anything suspicious.”
“They’re at battle stations,” he replied, “building to fire their first salvo in about thirty-two seconds, just as we expected.”
“Still charging?” Dixon asked.
Singh glanced at Dixon, nodded, then said, “They’ve got a lot more power than normal. Either they’ve overcharged their weapons for a more powerful strike to punch through our shields, or they’re going to fire twice in quick succession. Which would be a pretty good trick if they could manage it.”
“Anyone want to take a guess on which?” asked Crawford.
“Option two,” Dixon said.
“Agreed,” Corrigan replied. “They’re going to try and use our superior maneuverability against us. My guess is that they’ve worked out a best-guess on our evasive patterns, or they’ve got a damn sharp pilot at the controls. Or both, more than likely.”
“Then what do we do about it?” Novak asked.
“That’s easy. Cut our engines. Now. Make it look as though we’ve had an overload, a burnout. Dixon, ride the engineering systems to play along with that. Kill a few redundant systems, anything we’re not going to need for the battle. Auxiliary sensor control, long-range communications.”
“On it,” Dixon replied.
“Engines cut,” Novak added, doubt laced in her voice. “Commander, if this goes wrong, then we’re drifting right into a trap.”
With a hunter’s smile, Corrigan said, “We’ve still got our weapons, and they know it. They’ll be cautious. That’s how I want them.”
Turning to him, the pilot replied, “I thought caution was…”
“Fortune, Lieutenant, favors the bold,” Corrigan interrupted.
Singh looked up at his monitors, and added, “Enemy ship has altered trajectory, slowing down. They’re still building up their power systems.”
“Firm our forward defensive screens,” Corrigan ordered. “Funnel in all the power you can. Run it right up to an overload.”
“Doing it,” Crawford said. “If they do fire at maximum, it won’t make a difference, though. They’ll cut through like a knife through butter.”
“I know that. They know that. They’ll still go for the overkill. I want them to take that one big shot. Novak, you’re going to make sure that we’re somewhere else when they do. Watch their power distribution like a hawk. The instant they’re ready to fire, get us out of the way. Got it?”
She nodded, flexed her fingers on the controls, and replied, “Got it.”
Corrigan sat back in his chair, forcing a smile, attempting to look relaxed as the enemy ship cautiously moved towards them, preparing to take its shot. Pushing that much power into a single devastating attack would have repercussions. Enough to leave Ajax
wide open to a response that could cripple them, force them to flee.
On the other hand, should Ajax successfully take its shot, find its mark, then there wouldn’t be anything left of Avenger other than a few scattered particles of debris. Meaning at least that cleaning up the mess would become someone else’s problem. Though admittedly, that wasn’t the outcome he was hoping for from the firefight.
“Closing,” Singh said. “Twenty-five seconds.”
“They won’t fire at maximum range,” Crawford predicted. “They’ll wait until they are absolutely certain that they’ll hit. They can’t afford to take a risk.”
“Don’t guess,” Corrigan warned. “Wait until the power distribution network starts to build, and act accordingly. Crawford, don’t want for the command. As soon as you get a good shot, take it. You might only get one chance at this. Make it count.”
“Will do, sir,” the gunner replied, a smile on his face.
“Fifteen seconds,” Singh said.
“Steady as you go, helm,” Corrigan said, Novak nodding, her gaze locked on the readings coming in from Ajax, the sensors gathering all the information they could on the internal workings of the enemy ship, each scrap of data a valuable asset in their quiet little war.
“Five seconds,” Singh reported. “Any time now.”
“Evasion course is plotted and ready,” Novak added, a finger poised over the button that would activate the course, send them racing out of the line of fire. Time seemed to stand still, everyone waiting, watching, preparing for the brief burst of activity that would be triggered by the enemy’s decision to fire. Corrigan watched the monitors, urging the enemy on, for it to be over, for the battle to begin, for the waiting to end.
And then, it did.
Alone in the Night Page 2
