“I have no way to tell, but I am working on something. Please stand by.”
“What? I’m not good with waiting, honey!” Felicity said to the bulkhead. Dionysus had already gone back to what he was working on.
“Fuck me!” Bon Tap blurted as the enemy ship appeared almost on top of them. It fired as it materialized, then disappeared before they could take their next breath.
“Tell me you got something,” K’Thrall said as numbers washed across his screen. A systems analyst in a previous life, he couldn’t keep up with everything Ted’s ship was capable of providing. He had to count on the AI to interpolate, encapsulate, and explain.
“I can tell you what that ship is carrying in regards to weaponry and personnel. They appeared in the middle of an active scan, so I was able to collect a great deal of data in the short time they were visible.”
“They stopped firing. Do you think that was something we did?” Slicker asked.
“We did nothing,” Bundin replied. “I suggest that the commander of the enemy ship is operating according to an engagement strategy that meets his objectives. We will probably never find out directly what his objectives are. We’ll have to guess, based on what we can observe.”
“Like the fact that he’s trying to blow the shit out of the station?” Chris snarked.
“Like the fact that it appears the War Axe has ceased firing on the minefield and is en route to the station, where it appears our friend no longer is,” Bundin posited.
“A diversion,” K’Thrall muttered. “Dionysus? You have something?”
“I cannot yet track the ship, but I know that I will be able to if given enough time. The attack on the station was haphazard and impacted minimal systems. No injuries and despite appearances, there is minimal structural damage. Unfortunately, the great window of the All Guns Blazing is no more, and much of what was within was vented to space.” Dionysus delivered the damage report.
“The colonel isn’t going to be happy about that.” K’Thrall shook his head, mandibles clicking his dismay at not being able to solve the problem of the enemy ship.
B’Ichi remained confused. Space wasn’t where he wanted to spend his life, and he had little understanding of ships. None of what was happening made any sense to him.
“Why would they attack in the first place?”
“If we knew that, we could start a dialogue to resolve his concerns,” Bundin answered.
“But what if his only goal is to kill us all?”
“As of right now, that is the only thing that makes sense, but he’s going about it slowly and deliberately, which suggests power might be a limiting factor. He can’t rain plasma into the station because he’d remain exposed too long. He’s vulnerable,” K’Thrall offered from his position by the scrolling system display.
“My scan of his ship revealed that there are one hundred and ten carbon-based entities, and seventy-four similar devices that I conclude are mines. He has the plasma cannon and less potent point defense weaponry. His ship was unshielded, which means that K’Thrall is correct. The enemy is extremely vulnerable. All we need to do is hit him one time, and he’ll come apart catastrophically.”
“We need to tell the colonel,” Bundin said.
“Already done, Corporal,” Dionysus replied. “I don’t keep secrets.”
“Good to know,” Slicker interjected. “Except that one that’s just between us.”
“Of course,” the AI replied.
K’Thrall threw himself into the data, mumbling as he tried to make heads or tails of it. Slicker leaned over and watched, her multi-faceted eyes magnifying and reflecting the streams.
Bon Tap ran his fingers through his hair. He sat in the captain’s chair, but he had no idea what a real captain would do. He spun the chair to face the doorway from which the squad leader waited and watched.
“What do we do?” Bon Tap found himself asking again. He didn’t want to be known as the guy without a clue, but it was rapidly becoming apparent that was exactly what he was. He stopped playing with his hair and looked for guidance.
“He’s returning to the minefield,” Bundin said with certainty. “We shall join him. Dionysus, follow the alien to the minefield.”
“I cannot follow what I cannot see.”
“Of course, you can. The War Axe reported seeing the alien. Show it on the screen, please. And where the mines were destroyed. Two strings with the alien right in the middle? He’s pulling up the mines. But why? A marginal attack on the station to stop the destruction of his weapons. Is he regretting laying them in the first place?”
“You need to talk to Captain San Marino and Colonel Walton. Your insight is more than any other speculation that has been relayed.” Without waiting, Dionysus made the connection.
Chapter Ten
Terry rubbed his chin in thought as he examined the information Dionysus displayed on the War Axe’s main screen. Bundin had made a compelling argument, and Micky had stopped the ship halfway between the minefield and the station. They held their position, with gravitic shields at full strength and the crew at combat stations.
“If he fucked up, why would he keep shooting? He could slink away, and we’d never know that he left.” Terry crossed his arms and tossed his head. “What are you up to?” he asked the alien captain rhetorically.
“If he would only answer,” Micky remarked.
“You’re not suggesting we start our play-nice transmissions again?” Terry turned on the captain.
“No. I want him to come to us with an explanation.” Micky leaned back in his chair and watched the screen. The symbols were starting to blur into each other, so he climbed down from the captain’s dais. “I’m on my last reserve, TH. I’m going to catch a few zees. Call me if anything changes.”
“I’ll hold down the fort.” Terry climbed into the captain’s chair and tapped the button for the ship-wide broadcast. “Attention all hands. Fifty-percent watch. Let’s get some rest, people. Hour naps in place and rotate.”
“The station has just been attacked, and you’re standing down?” Smedley inquired.
“Bundin has given me a good perspective on the situation, and I am convinced he’s right. We have time. This bastard is going to return to the minefield to recover his mines. When we hit him, if he’s loaded up, the explosion will be spectacular. Too bad we won’t find a piece big enough to put in a shoe box.”
“What if he redeploys those weapons?” Smedley pressed.
“Minesweepers. We will bombard the area with the full spectrum of electromagnetic waves. I think we’ll find a way to detonate them. We’ll flood the area with so much noise, they’ll have to blow. Maybe if we blast enough debris through the area, it’ll leave a hole in the cloud...”
Terry stopped talking and visualized how there would be a dead space beyond the physical object of an invisible ship. Rocks and debris instead of electromagnetic waves.
He activated his chip for a direct comm link, holding his finger to his temple as he usually did, knowing that Ted preferred the quicker communication so it wouldn’t interrupt him and his train of thought.
What if we bombard the area where we think that ship is hiding? A massive debris pattern?
If you put enough debris into space, none of our other sensors will work.
How are they working now? Terry asked, not amused by Ted’s answer.
Telling us nothing, Ted admitted, before continuing in a more excited tone, Your special squad has taken my ship. They are to bring it here immediately.
Can’t you fly it?
It appears they’ve convinced Dionysus of the greater positive impact if the ship remains in space and trailing the enemy.
They can track the enemy? Terry stood up on the dais, hope surging through his system. Bundin didn’t say that.
No. They have, with Dionysus’ help, achieved a more accurate-than-average guess as to the enemy commander’s intentions.
Terry considered the caveats that Ted included in his reply. I�
��ll take that as a good thing. We’ll keep Ramses’ Chariot out there trailing the enemy, but with shields in place and the Gate drive energized. They can leave before a weapon could hit them.
They better not hurt my ship.
We’re all government property, Ted. I’ll tell them to do their best not to scratch the paint.
Terry sat back down and sighed. He had no intention of telling the crew of Ramses’ Chariot to take it easy. Dionysus was flying the ship and K’Thrall and Bundin were on board, and they were warriors to whom Terry had entrusted his life. If they wrecked the ship, it would be for a good reason. He put those thoughts out of his mind.
“Smedley, make sure you stay tight with Dionysus. I want you to know everything he knows when he knows it.”
“I’m not sure I can do that. His is a greater mind than mine.”
“Not when it comes to fighting an enemy. How about you focus on everything he knows when it comes to our invisible enemy?”
“I can do that. I thought you said everything.”
“Human version of everything,” Terry corrected. He stopped to listen to the internal reporting as the crew and the warriors of the Bad Company stood watch at fifty percent. Half would be on duty while the other half rested. It wasn’t optimal, but this battle would be fought minute by minute, and it could spread out over days.
His people had to be ready when the time came.
“Ruzfell,” Terry called to the new systems analyst. “What will it take to send a wide debris field across a large area of space?”
“Asteroids. We can hit them with the mains once they’re on course.”
“Fill the hangar bay with asteroids. I like it.”
The alien nodded. “Clifton, move us toward the asteroid field, and Smedley, get Timmons on the line and send the department heads to the hangar bay. I need their input to make sure this plan will work.”
“Where are they going?” Bon Tap asked.
Slicker turned, her head shaking as she laughed.
“What?” Bon Tap wondered.
“You’re that guy,” Slicker hissed in the way Ixtalis spoke. “The one with all the questions.”
“Am not!” he shot back, spine rigid and head thrown back. “Am I?”
He laughed with the group.
Danger. Combat. Those were the situations when true warriors found their humor. Their ability to focus sharpened to where they could switch from one topic to the next in an instant, never losing sight of what they were there to accomplish. The Bad Company at its finest.
“Make sure your shipsuits are intact and ready for deployment. Keep your beacons close at hand,” Bundin ordered the group. “Continue scanning and searching. Dionysus, can you find out where the War Axe is going and why?”
“They are headed to the asteroid field, where they intend to fill the hangar bay with asteroids that they’ll then use like shotgun pellets, if I have gotten correct the term Colonel Walton used.”
“Fill the area with a fast-moving dust cloud that will reveal a spaceship that is hidden from all waveforms,” K’Thrall postulated.
“I think we may be important to that effort since we can take a side view, as it may be.” The Ixtali’s statement gave the others pause, but after consideration, they agreed.
“Put us where we need to be to support that effort,” Bundin ordered.
“We shall be a leaf on the wind,” Dionysus replied.
“I’m sure that means something,” Bundin started, “but I have no idea what it is. Are there any mechs on board?”
B’Ichi tapped the squad leader’s shell as he climbed over. “I’ll check,” he said as he moved down the corridor to look for the main hold.
“I hope there are,” Chris said softly. “I’ve never fought a spaceship before, but imagine if we could get on board like Colonel Walton and the leadership of the Bad Company did to us when we were under Ten’s control. I want to be more like him.”
“I think he wants us all to be more like him. Fearless, leads from the front. He doesn’t make us do anything he isn’t willing to do himself. That’s different than anything a Malatian would do. The higher up you go, the farther you get from the action.”
“We’ve been given a gift,” Bundin suggested. He craned his neck forward to stick his stalk head through the hatch to the bridge. Even though he spoke through a device attached to the bottom of his shell, his voice reverberated throughout the small space. “We were selected because each of us brings something different to a specialized operation. In a battle on a mountain, I’m useless, but underground or in space, I can serve. K’Thrall brings systems expertise, and also a Yollin carapace and mandibles. Slicker can climb and move in ways that none of us can, and she sees and senses things because of her innate spider-sense. Bon Tap, you’re lean and faster than most. You bring the power of language and flair. One never knows how important that might be. Chris, our sole human, was a subject of an evil AI. He has an understanding we can’t duplicate. And the Keome? He can live and work easily in places that would boil the rest of us alive. Together we’re better than we are alone.”
“We are in position, and powering down systems to reduce our energy signature. Maybe he won’t notice us,” Dionysus offered.
“Why is that ship following us?” the commander demanded to know.
“There is no confirmation that he can see us,” the pilot replied, using passive voice to keep himself off the skyline.
“He is powering down his systems. And he’s gone,” the scanner operator reported.
“Find him!”
“Minimal active scans. Yes, Lord Mantis.”
“Belay that,” the commander replied.
“What weaponry did that ship have?”
“Scans were inconclusive,” the operator answered, cringing in advance of the expected tirade.
“Why is that?”
“It is shielded somehow. Different from the others.”
“They have a special ship that can see us but can also hide from us. It was waiting for us during our attack on the station, almost like it knew we would be there. We have a leak. We have a spy on board, or the ship’s computer has been penetrated. I don’t believe in coincidences. Review all emanations from the ship since we departed the attack point, Dulisto. Find me that leak.”
“It will be done,” the scanner operator replied before turning to his grim task of looking for a mole he didn’t believe existed.
The commander contacted the weapons bay where the mines were stored. “How many remain?” he asked.
The weapons specialist was elbow-deep in attaching a magnetic grapple to a mine. When he couldn’t extricate himself quickly enough to reply, he tasked one of his people to answer.
“Lord Mantis, this is a weapons technician answering on behalf of Weapons Specialist Katamara. There are six mines left to reconfigure, and that includes the two that were recovered previously.”
“Why aren’t you doing the work instead of the specialist?”
“The degree of experience necessary to keep from blowing up the ship is beyond me, Lord Mantis.”
The commander clicked his teeth together and rolled his mouth as he contemplated the reply. “Learn. But don’t blow up my ship.” He signed off.
The weapons specialist breathed a sigh of relief because that was the greatest concession they would ever get from the commander. “Come and join me. It’s time you learned how to do this.”
The technician nodded and joined the specialist at a temporary workbench in the middle of the space. The open mine sat on it. Around them, the remainder of their active inventory was well-ordered on racks. Should there be an accident, they would all blow, and the ship would be vaporized.
“First step is to control your fear. Follow the steps in order, and you will be successful every time. Put your doubts aside and dig in. Take that curved slash and lean in here...”
“We need to reconfigure the hangar bay?” Kimber didn’t understand the order. “Asteroids?”
“We can always launch the drop ships—the Pods in their tubes—but the warriors in their armor will be at a disadvantage.”
“No one is allowed on the hangar deck who isn’t in armor. We’ll need Aaron and Yanmei to launch in their fighters and remain outside the ship. They will be able to bounce our sensors and help us see if a shadow appears. Their firepower can be added to ours.”
“Are they awake yet?” Kimber wondered. Last she’d heard, all those who had gone on a team jaunt into the Etheric were exhausted. Joseph and Petricia’s suits stood empty near the inner bulkhead.
“I just roused them. They’re on their way to the mess deck to load up on coffee.”
“Any of the others?”
“Not yet.” Terry tried to sound reassuring. “Do what you can to get the hangar deck ready. We’ll be rendezvousing with Sue and Timmons any minute now, and they’ll direct us to the smaller rocks. Expect an hour or so before we’ll need the deck clear.”
“Clearing the decks, aye aye, sir,” Kimber replied, taking pleasure in using the phrase she’d seen in an old Earth movie.
“Well done,” Terry Henry replied. “I’ll try to get the others up too, but you know what good sleepers Joseph and Petricia are.”
“They slept for fifty years once, didn’t they?”
“They did.” Terry shook his head, but he was smiling. “We may have to count them out for this one. In any case, the department heads will probably know the answers instead of us spinning our wheels.”
Commander Suresha, who was in charge of the propulsion systems, was first into the hangar bay. She was followed closely by Commander MacEachthighearna, who was called “Mac” by everyone because no one could pronounce his full name. He was in charge of the environmental controls, or as Terry liked to put it, keeping the crew alive.
Commanders Blagun Lagunov and Oscar Wirth arrived together. One was Structure, and the other was Stores. They pointed and talked hurriedly to each other, nodding and providing counterpoints as they walked. When they reached Terry and Kimber, they stopped talking and waited.
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