by Ryk Brown
“Send our forces to Rama,” Lord Dusahn instructed.
“My lord,” General Hesson objected. “If we leave Takara undefended…”
“Our battleships can defend themselves against gunships and fighters,” Lord Dusahn insisted.
“But there are still numerous industrial targets at risk,” General Hesson reminded him.
“This is all just a diversion, General,” Lord Dusahn insisted. “I’m disappointed that you did not recognize it as such. Send our forces now…and send the Zen-Anor, as well,” he added, turning toward the general. “Their real mission is on Rama, I am certain.”
* * *
Robert adjusted his course as his Cobra gunship came out of its jump, turning toward the nearest gunship. Within seconds, his targeting system indicated a good lock, and he pressed his firing button, sending the first wave of plasma torpedoes at the target.
The enemy gunship’s shields flashed, but then the ship became surrounded by blue-white light, disappearing a split second later.
“Damn it,” Robert cursed. “Find me another target, Kas.”
“I don’t have any,” his sensor officer replied.
“What do you mean, you don’t have any? This place was crawling with targets a few seconds ago.”
“They’re all jumping out!” Kasma exclaimed. “First the octos, then the gunships…”
“Bobby,” Gil Roselle called from Striker Two. “You seeing what I’m seeing?”
“If you mean nothing then, yes,” Robert replied.
“I think they’re on to us.”
“Shit,” Robert said, coming to the same conclusion. “Strike Leader to all ships! Jump to Rama! Repeat, jump to Rama!”
“Maybe they just jumped out to shake-off our attacks and they’re planning on jumping back in to ambush us?” Sasha suggested.
“I sure as hell hope you’re right,” Robert replied as he turned the ship toward the Tico system.
Vol glanced at his tactical display as they came out of the jump to Tico. Icons were appearing one by one near Rama.
“Striker Leader to all ships,” Robert called over comms. “Don’t let anything get to Rama. If you see a shuttle, destroy it!”
“That’s not going to be easy,” Tariq said from Shenza Two. “This place is crawling with octos.”
“Let’s see if we can do something about that,” Vol said. “All Shenza! Lone wolf mode! Hit and run! Don’t give them more than a few seconds of peace! Guns only! Save your missiles for the shuttles!”
“Suvietai no shayoo!” another Gunyoki pilot yelled over comms.
“Red…… Stri…… One!” Robert called, barely audible, over comms.
Nathan ducked down as more energy weapons fire streaked over his head. He dove for cover behind a vertical support as one of his men took a hit to the leg, collapsing next to him. Nathan reached out and grabbed the fallen Ghatazhak, pulling the man toward him by his Dusahn uniform as the soldier continued firing down the corridor.
“Red One, Striker One!” Robert called again, this time coming through more clearly.
Nathan helped the corporal back against the wall behind him and then tapped his comm-set. “Go for Red One!” he barked as he resumed firing at the group of Dusahn soldiers standing between them and the cargo hangar bay.
“Blue Leader! Red Two!” Corporal Elken exclaimed from the other side of the corridor, where he too had taken shelter. “We have Zen-Anor blocking our route!”
“Red Leader! Striker One!” Robert replied urgently. “The jig is up! Bandits of all sizes are on top of you! We’re trying to push them back so you can get out! Suspect they will try to drop in reinforcements! You need to hurry!”
“They already have!” Nathan replied as an energy blast struck the vertical beam only centimeters from his face. “But, thanks!”
“Blue, Red! Do you copy?” the corporal repeated as the enemy barrage continued.
Several energy weapons blasts streaked past them from behind.
“Contact! Rear!” Specialist Knaff barked as he spun around to fire on the enemy attacking from behind their position. “Zen-Anor!”
“I’m not getting through to Blue team!” Corporal Elken yelled as energy weapons fire streaked past him from both front and back.
“Blue! Red!” Nathan called as he pulled the sidearm from the injured corporal next to him, firing down the corridor behind them with it while continuing to fire at the enemy in front of them. “Blue! Red! In the blind! We’re caught in a cross fire, corridor one eight five, intersection forty-seven B, about one hundred meters from your position! Can you assist?”
“My rifle’s inop!” the injured corporal exclaimed, tossing his main weapon aside.
“Can you fight?” Nathan asked.
“I’m still in it, Captain!”
“Whaley!” Corporal Elken hollered just before tossing the corporal his own rifle.
Corporal Whaley caught the rifle and immediately opened fire on the enemy to their rear, joining the other two specialists in the barrage of energy. “We’re not going to make it out of here!”
Corporal Elken pulled a grenade out of his uniform thigh pocket. “After this goes off, we charge them!” he barked.
“They’ll mow us down!” Nathan replied, still firing with both weapons.
“It’s all we’ve got!” the corporal insisted.
“Do it!” Nathan agreed.
Corporal Elken twisted the top of his grenade, tossed it ahead of them down the corridor toward the Zen-Anor, and then started to rise.
“RED TEAM! HEADS DOWN!”
“DOWN!” Nathan barked, ceasing fire and covering himself and Corporal Whaley.
The other three Ghatazhak quickly ceased firing, as well, curling up into balls and tucking themselves as close to the walls as possible.
There was a clanking of metal, barely audible above the sound of energy weapons fire. Nathan thought he saw something small fly over his head, but couldn’t be sure.
Suddenly, the corridor was filled with blinding, white light and a high-pitched whine that felt like it would split Nathan’s head open. A split second later, several explosions went off, and a shock wave swept through the corridor from both directions. Nathan and the others were pushed back against the wall so hard, he felt as if he were going to go right through it into the next compartment. All the air in his lungs was immediately sucked out, and he found himself desperately gasping for breath. The sensation seemed to last forever, and he was certain he was going to lose consciousness.
A cacophony of weapons fire rang out from both directions. Nathan felt himself slipping away as he barely made out the sound of boots on the hard deck. He was certain they were being overrun.
Suddenly, someone shoved something over his face. His face became cold, and then he felt the sweet sensation of air flowing past his lips and nostrils, and into his lungs. He instinctively grabbed whatever was covering his face, not wanting to let it fall away. His wits began to return, and his vision began to clear.
“Are you injured?” he heard a voice call. “We gotta move!”
He felt someone tug at his uniform, trying to get him onto his feet. He felt his feet touch the deck and somehow managed to gain his balance again. He blinked and saw Jessica standing before him, decked out in full Ghatazhak battle armor, a smile on her face. “Get behind me!” she ordered, shoving him forward.
Energy weapons fire began again but only from behind them, this time. He grabbed Corporal Whaley, helping him to his feet, as well, and they stumbled forward as the weapons fire intensified. Within seconds, they were passing more than a dozen dead Zen-Anor soldiers, their bodies mutilated by whatever devices Jessica’s team had used to subdue them.
Jessica and her team walked backward, their personal shields protecting both teams as they carefully stepped through the remains of the Zen-Anor position that had been blocking Red team’s progress. She glanced back and saw that Nathan and his team had made it through the next hatch. “Grenades!”
she ordered as she continued firing.
Two of the Ghatazhak on her team pulled grenades off their thigh armor and tossed them down the corridor.
Jessica continued firing as her team stepped through the hatch, then stepped backward through it herself, just as the grenades detonated. As soon as she made it through, one of her teammates slammed the hatch closed and spun the latch. Jessica took aim at the locking mechanism and fired three times at a lower power setting, melting the mechanism so it couldn’t be easily opened.
Jessica turned around to look at Nathan. “How are you doing?”
“I’ve had better days,” Nathan admitted, finally able to remove the portable breather that Jessica had put on him. “Why the hell didn’t you answer me?”
“I didn’t want the Zen-Anor to know we were coming,” she replied, pushing him forward. “They probably monitor enemy comms during a battle, just like we do.”
“What about the ZPEDs?” Nathan asked as they ran down the corridor.
“Loaded and ready to go,” she replied.
“I ordered you to depart as soon as they were loaded!” Nathan barked.
“Tell me something I don’t know!” Jessica replied, laughing as they ran.
“One minute to strike package four,” Aiden announced from the helm of Orochi Three.
“Jesus.” Chief Mando looked at Aiden. “Do you think they’re clear?”
“I’m trying not to think about that,” Aiden replied, double-checking his flight displays. “This is all very surreal…fighting a battle from light years away with no one shooting at us. It doesn’t seem right. We aren’t taking any risk.”
“We’re taking some risk,” the chief insisted. “The Dusahn are pretty good at following jump trails. If they did and they found us…”
“You’re not helping,” Aiden said, interrupting the chief. He sighed. “I think I actually liked it better when we were jumping into the thick of it.” He looked at the time display again. “You ready, Ali?”
“Strike package four, loaded and ready for launch,” she replied.
“Let’s hope they’re clear.”
“I thought I gave you an order,” Nathan said to General Telles as they ran across the hangar bay toward him.
“Tell her that,” he replied.
“I tried.”
“As did I,” the general insisted.
Shots rang out from the far side of the cargo hangar bay, striking the side of the Dusahn cargo shuttle, and the surrounding deck, as Zen-Anor troops entered the bay and attacked.
“Holy crap!” Josh exclaimed, ducking inside the cargo shuttle’s cockpit as energy weapons fire slammed into the side of their hull, just aft of the starboard cockpit window.
“Powering up the antigrav drive,” Loki announced.
“Everyone get on board!” Josh yelled. “It’s time to go!”
“Loki!” Nathan called over comms. “Raise the shields!”
Vol guided his Gunyoki fighter under the passing Dusahn gunship, his topside shields flashing as they absorbed the incoming weapons fire.
“Two octos passing left to right, directly below you, Vol!”
Vol leaned to his left, looking downward as the two Dusahn octo fighters appeared from under him. “We’re on them,” he replied as he pushed his flight control stick down and left, twisting it slightly counterclockwise at the same time.
“Right behind you, Vol,” Tariq assured him over comms.
Vol’s fighter nosed down and turned quickly to the left, dropping in behind the two enemy fighters. “Where the hell are those two going in such a hurry?” Vol increased his throttles, closing on the two fighters as they skirted the edge of the asteroid. Suddenly, both octo fighters pitched upward and rolled on their starboard sides, turning and diving in between two rows of buildings on the surface of the Rama asteroid.
“Shenza One! Striker One!” Robert called over comms. “Your targets are making a run for the cargo hangar transfer tunnel! If they get in there, they’ll block the cargo shuttle’s exit!”
“Understood,” Vol replied, increasing his throttles even further as he, too, dove between the rows of buildings.
“You have to take them out, now!”
“We’re all out of missiles, Vol,” Isa warned.
“Switching to guns,” Vol announced. “Ten seconds to range.”
“You can’t raise the shields on this thing when you’re on the deck,” Loki replied. “Something about the antigrav fields interacting with the surface, or something!”
“Thirty seconds until this entire rock is vaporized,” Jessica reminded everyone.
“GHATAZHAK!” General Telles barked. “Shield the doors!”
The general and several other Ghatazhak took up positions in front of the starboard cargo hatch to the shuttle, three of them staying low while the other three stood tall, thus creating a shield tall enough to protect Nathan and his team from the incoming Zen-Anor weapons fire while they climbed up into the cargo shuttle.
As soon as Nathan and his team were inside, they turned around and opened fire, shooting over the tops of the Ghatazhak shields that had protected them. Incoming energy weapons fire pounded the Ghatazhak shields as one by one, they each jumped up backwards into the cargo bay of the shuttle, still firing away at the advancing Zen-Anor.
“Liftoff and raise shields!” Nathan ordered as he closed the cargo hatch.
“Red Leader, Striker One!” Robert called over comms. “Two octos have entered the transfer airlock tunnel to your hangar bay! They’ll blow you away as soon as those doors open!”
“Inner airlock doors are opening,” Loki warned as the shuttle rose off the deck.
“Ten seconds to missiles!” Jessica warned.
“Striker One, Red Leader! Blow the tunnel! Repeat, blow the tunnel!
“The entire hangar will decompress and come apart!” Robert warned. “You’ll all be killed!”
“DO IT!” Nathan ordered. “Josh, get ready to jump!”
“Launch strike package four,” Aiden instructed, “in three……two……one……launch.”
Ali pressed the launch button. Two seconds later, the launch confirmation light blinked. “Missiles away.”
Aiden looked up as four missiles streaked overhead, then disappeared behind blue-white flashes of light. “Time to go home,” he said, not wanting to think about the possible ramifications of the weapons they had just sent toward Rama.
“Gil! I’m not in position!” Robert called.
“I am!” Gil assured him as he pushed his nose down and pressed his jump button. A split second later, the ZPED factory on the Rama asteroid was directly in front of him, filling their front windows.
“New contact!” his sensor officer reported. “Dusahn battleship just jumped in right on top of us!”
Gil pitched up slightly, lining up on the transfer tunnel. “Nathan! I’m firing……NOW!”
As the transfer airlocks doors parted, Josh and Loki could see the two Dusahn octo fighters hovering in the tunnel on the other side, their weapons pointed forward ready to fire.
“Oh, shit,” Josh said calmly, his eyes wide.
There was a flash of red-orange light as the tunnel came apart, taking the wall and nearby ceiling of the hangar bay with it. The shuttle lunged forward suddenly, pulled along by the decompression of the massive hangar bay. Josh quickly pitched up, pushed his throttles forward, and pressed the jump button, closing his eyes as they jumped.
“Oh, my God,” Robert said half under his breath as he watched sixteen jump missiles detonate all over the Rama asteroid, blowing it apart. “EVERYONE TO THE RALLY POINT!” he barked over comms as he steered his gunship away from the doomed asteroid and pressed his jump button.
Everything was quiet. Only the faint whirring of ventilation fans and the occasional alert beep could be heard.
Josh opened his eyes, looking right and left. A giggle suddenly leapt from his mouth. “Fuck, we made it!” he exclaimed with glee.
“I
never had any doubt,” Nathan said from behind them.
Josh and Loki both turned to Nathan, looks of skepticism on their faces.
“Okay, maybe just a little,” Nathan admitted, smiling. “Take us to the rally point, boys.”
“With pleasure,” Josh replied, also smiling.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
General Hesson stood proudly before his lord, waiting for him to speak. He had been doing so for several minutes, but all his leader had done, thus far, was to stare at him. Several times over the last few minutes, the general had considered asking his lord the reason he had been called but with each silent minute that passed, he became more certain that doing so would likely make things worse.
Finally, Lord Dusahn rose from his seat behind his massive, ornate desk and moved over to the window overlooking the palace garden; still silent.
In Dusahn culture, displaying ones back without comment showed contempt and was considered highly disrespectful. General Hesson, who had served both his current lord and the two who had preceded him, could barely contain himself. Surely a century of service deserved greater respect than this arrogant, so-called lord was showing him.
“My father had a great fondness for you, General,” Lord Dusahn finally said, his back still to the general. “It is for this reason that I shall spare your life.”
General Hesson could take no more. “How have I failed you, my lord?” he asked, fighting not to choke on the words.
“Are you truly unaware?”
“I am.”
Lord Dusahn sighed. “You have served your caste for nearly a century, so perhaps your mind is not what it used to be.”
“While that is entirely possible, I still believe that I am capable of serving my caste at the same level as I have in the past,” General Hesson insisted.
“Yet, it was I who ultimately deduced the Karuzari’s true intentions yesterday,” Lord Dusahn pointed out, turning to face the general.
“That is why you are a lord, and I am but a general.”
“You have lost your political and interpersonal acumen, I’ll give you that,” Lord Dusahn noted. He moved slowly around the desk, coming to stand in front of the general, only two meters distant. “Out of respect for your service to the empire, I will allow you to retire, retaining all honors, privileges, and compensation due your rank. Will you offer your resignation?”
