Exiles

by Richard Alonzo

  * * * *

  “Status.”

  “Unbelievable.”

  “I need facts, not opinions Bryn, tell me what you see.”

  “The Fury is holding position, avoiding active engagements, defensive fire only. It looks like they're prepping to jump straight back out of here.”

  “Cowards.” spat David as he worked the weapons station, coordinating Logan’s newly assigned gunnery teams.

  Bryn continued. “There also appears to be some sort of munity underway among the Anterian forces. They’ve launched hundreds of strikers, but they’re targeting each other, as well as us.”

  “Confirmed.” said Carol. “Comms are confused, but it looks like a civil war between rival clans or tribes.”

  “Tell everyone to give the Fury a wide berth and focus their fire on the incoming strikers that aren’t engaging each other. We’re going straight for the swam ship.”

  “Acknowledged, I’ve also got an incoming hail, from the Fury.”

  “On-screen.”

  Jaspers leering face filled the screen. A vivid red scar running down the side of his face, from his cybernetic eye under a mop of tousled black hair. A heavy shadow of stubble darkening the skin under his chin. “Hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

  Ford smiled impassively. “You know how it is, just another day at the office.”

  Jasper glanced at a display off screen. ”Well, judging by the number of news crews you’ve invited, your impending demise will be widely reported.”

  “I prefer to think of it as my impending victory, but I take it you’re not stopping to see how things pan out them?”

  Jasper smiled and held up his hands shrugging his shoulders. “You know how it is, places to go, things to see and do. Thought I’d drop by and say good-bye, seeing as I was passing.”

  Ford suppressed a laugh. “And for a moment there, I was thinking you’d come here to prevent me revealing your part in the meat run.”

  Jasper wagged his finger at Ford. “You know, you really shouldn’t go running round the universe making wild accusations, without the evidence to back them up. You could ruin a man’s reputation.”

  “Like you have one.” sneered Carol.

  Ford held up his hand to silence her. “Don’t worry I have all the proof I need.”

  “Assuming you survive. I’m going now, so let me know how things pan out and, despite your insults, I’ll even leave you a little something to level the playing field.” said Jasper as he cut the transmission.

  “What the hell was all that about?” said Carol shaking her head.

  “Fury is opening a wormhole and jumping to hyperspace.” Bryn added. “Sultan has dropped off the grid. It’s like they just shut everything down and went into stealth mode.”

  Ford leapt to his Feet. “Faiz has firewalled the Sultan, took everything off-line. Damn it, it’s a virus. Jasper’s transmitting the same virus he used to shut down the Draconion defences. Warn Nova-7 and all remaining ships.”

  He uplinked with Alaster to assess their situation and initiate their own emergency anti-virus protocols.

  “To late.” said Carol. “I’m reading multiple system failures cascading through Nova-7. Keelie’s teams are firewalling what they can, but they’ve got life support failures in some of the public shelters. Localised shield failures across the station and all their weapons are on manual. They lost the targeting computers.”

  “What about the ships?”

  “Anyone who didn’t jump before the virus was transmitted is stranded. We’ve got at least a dozen ships infected and disabled.” Bryn chimed in as he scrolled through the sensor data. “On the plus side, the remaining news crews are still managing to relay this to the rest of the galaxy, and it’s infected the Anterian’s fleet as well.”

  Ford pulled up the sensor display on his station. Dozens of Anterian Strikers we’re drifting helplessly through space. Lights flickered on and off on the swarm ship, as its launch tubes fell silent. However, despite being an organic based AI, Alaster was not immune to the effects of the virus. Ford could sense the infection via his link with him. They were going to lose some systems before he could generate an antidote and purge it. More worrying still he recognised its heritage. It was a highly evolved and complex version of the virus they themselves had released, against Malstrom, during the Anobar revolt.

  “We’ve just lost our battle computers and a ship wide shield failure is imminent.” said David frantically trying to reroute power and controls around multiple system blackouts.

  “Switch all weapons to manual. Tell Logan he and his men they're going to have to do things the old fashion way and to make sure everyone is suited up and secured.”

  Carol looked at him.

  “Assuming all the bulkheads are still sealed, we’re going to decompress any compromised sections and blow everything and everyone that shouldn’t be on this ship back into space. Lucy full ahead, David bring everything we have to bear on that swarm ship. We keep going till its destroyed, am I clear?”

  Everyone nodded and silently set about making it happen.

  Bryn broke the silence as they bore down on the crippled swam ship. “Sultan is back on line and falling in behind us to provide covering fire.”

  “It’s like shooting fish in a barrel.” said David as they ploughed through a wave of fifty disabled strikers. Shredding them with the point defence lasers, as they brought the main gun batteries to bear on the Anterian swarm ship. The Sultan spraying waves of covering fire either side of them.

  “But watch out for the sharks.” said Bryn as two impacts rocked them in quick succession. “Decompressing compromised sections and blowing the bastards back into space.”

  “Not all of them.” said Carol grimly. “We’ve got reports of fighting in the forward missile magazine.”

  “Looks like they rumbled our plan and are trying to stop us destroying the mother ship. We’ve got every operational striker converging on us.” added Bryn.

  “Or trying to use our own weapons, to destroy us. If we lose that magazine it‘ll compromise our hull integrity.” said David.

  Logan’s men had engaged the Anterian's in hand-to-hand combat, with the heavy duty, powered EVA suits, they were using to manually load the missiles into the forward tubes.

  “Nova-7 is laying down additional covering fire, but I’ve got isolated reports of hand to hand fighting there as well. It’s not looking good.”

  “Ok everyone cut the chatter. We stay the course, no matter what. As soon as we are in range we fire everything we’ve got and we don’t stop till we’re out of ammo. Seal the forward magazines, open the airlocks and decompress everything. We’ll suck those animals out into space, before they blow the ship up.” said Ford grimly.

  “But I’ve still got people in there.” it was Logan on the comm.

  “Then you best tell them to hang onto something.” said Ford, gesturing to Bryn to pass the controls to his station and decompressing the forward magazines.

  “Coming into range now.” said Bryn as friend and foe alike was sucked out into the vacuum of space.

  “All weapons firing.” said David.

  “Sultan is breaking away and firing as well and we’ve got a salvo of heavy missiles inbound from the Nova-7.” added Bryn.

  “Forward magazines clear, repressurising.” It was Logan, his voice horse. “We lost half a dozen men, four killed in the attack, two sucked out into space.”

  “We’ll execute search and rescue once the battle is over, right now I need those tubes prepped and ready to launch.”

  “Okay boys you heard the man. Let’s get those tubes loaded and don’t forget to chalk the names of fallen on each and every missile. It's time for some payback.”

  “How much punishment can that ship take?” said Carol in awe, as they pounded the defenceless swam ship. Explosions rippling along its massive hull, as they tore away at its heavily armoured exterior.

  “Don’t want to worry you, but some of
their disabled Strikers are starting to come back on line. If that swarm ship manages to get its shields back up before we destroy it, then we are going to be royally screwed.” said Bryn, beads of perspiration running down his forehead.

  “Logan I need those missiles, now.“ barked Ford.

  “Prepped and ready. We can start reloading as soon as you fire this salvo.”

  “Three more Strikers inbound they’ve slipped through the covering fire.” yelled Bryn.

  “Redirecting point defence lasers.”

  “More reports of fighting and explosive decompressions on Nova-7.” chimed in Carol.

  “Forget the point defences, fire everything we’ve got at that ship. Concentrate all fire here, immediately forward of their engines.” Ford said. Pointing at the three dimension schematic, he pulled up above them, as two more impacts rocked the Themis.

  “Decompressing the compromised sections. Shit, it looks like they’re trying to get some of their weapons back on line.” Bryn shouted.

  “Understood. Now keep firing at those co-ordinates I gave you, no matter what, till that vessel is destroyed.” Ford could feel the damaging they were taking, rippling through Alaster and Themis, screaming at his own nerve endings. He dug deep and suppressed the pain. It was one of the disadvantages of having such a close link with a living, semi-organic, ship and AI.

  “And if it’s not?” asked Carol.

  Ford smiled laconically at her, cocking his head to one side. “Then it’s been nice knowing you all.”

  They emptied all the missile tubes, sending over fifty warheads screaming to towards the designated target. High explosives, cluster bombs, plasma charges, shredders, nearly every type of munitions known to man was being thrown at it. Lucy swung them around to fire a broadside from the main gun batteries as well. The missiles hit in rapid succession. The high explosives ripping away layers of heavy ablative armour, boring a hole in the swarm ships thick skin. Then came the cluster bombs, breaking up seconds before impact, locking hundreds of smaller bomblets to the edges of ragged crater, smouldering in the side of the ship. The empty fuselages of the missiles that delivered them crashing into it. The bomblets detonated, sending a ring of fire ripping around the gaping wound, deepening and enlarging it. Twisted and torn chucks of armoured plating spinning silently out into space. Next came the plasma charges, blue balls of searing destructive power, eating away the dermal layers of the ships secondary hull. Burning through platting and consuming the delicate innards of the ship. The plasma charges barely had time to dissipate before the shredders hit. Burrowing deep into wound, detonating far inside the ship, shredding electronics, conduits and crew alike. Severing the arteries that allowed power and information to flow through the ship.

  “I’m reading massive power fluctuations deep inside the ship.” said Bryn. As several large explosions around the site of their attack showered them in a sliver rain of twisted and buckled alloys.

  “That’s the general idea.” said Ford. “Pour everything we’ve got into that hole and Lucy get ready to run like hell when it blows.”

  David nodded relaying co-ordinates to Logan teams as their heavy rail gun and plasma cannon batteries blasted the opening. White hot projectiles, and searing blue plasma blots, ripping into the ships innards, tearing it apart from the inside out.

  “They’re losing structural integrity. “cried Bryn as the ship began to break apart. Its damaged infrastructure no longer able to support the weight of the engine mountings. They began to separate from the rest of the ship in slow motion. A series of massive explosions ripping through the hull, as it parted company with its engines. “They’ve lost containment on the reactors, they’re going critical.”

  Ford looked to Lucy. She didn’t wait for the order, she was already turning the Themis away, trying to put as much distance as possible between them and the doomed swarm ship. The Sultan was also speeding away, back towards Nova-7, fragging Strikers as it went. Ford could see at least five embedded in its hull.

  Just then there was the muffled sound of shouts, screams and gunfire outside the bridge. Ford turned to the two guards, Bryson had stationed on the bridge, standing uneasily beside the sealed blast doors. “Nothing comes through that door without my permission, understood?” They nodded silently and readied their weapons. He turned to the rest of the crew. “Report.”

  “Shields are back on line, but they’ll never have enough time to recharge before she blows.” said Bryn frantically trying to divert as much power as he could to them.

  “At least the Sultan is clear.” said Carol.

  “Here it comes!” Bryn cried, as a thermonuclear detonation engulfed the crippled swam ship, sending a massive shockwave of destruction hurtling towards them.

  “Brace for impact.” said Ford clutching his console.

  Lucy rammed the throttle forward and smiled. “Always wanted to be a surfer, guess it’s time to ride the wave.”

  Catching the ships belly on the crest of the shockwave she rode it like a giant surfboard, until it’s energy dissipated, washing over them. Leaving the Themis rocking gently in its wake, like a fishing boat, in the aftermath of a great storm. Debris cascading over them and spinning aimlessly through space.

  Carol was the first to speak. “Sultan has contained their boarding parties and is mopping up the surviving Strikers. Nova-7 has taken significant damage and casualties, but the Anterian incursions have been repulsed. The civilians are safe.”

  “Ok people, let’s secure the ship, assist the Sultan and prep the Phoenix for search and rescue.”

  “Permission to enter the bridge.” it was Bryson’s voice.

  “Permission granted.” Ford gestured to the guards to unseal the doors and Bryson stepped in, follow by Vlade and Chole, their blades drawn and dripping with Anterian blood. The corridor outside was smeared with body fluids. The floor littered with dead Anterian warriors, plus a couple of humans and a Talmari security guard. “Been busy?” enquired Ford, lifting an eyebrow, as he stared at Bryson.

  Bryson shook his head and gave him a knowing look. “Much as I’d love to take the credit for all that out there, someone with upgraded weapons beat us to it.” He nodded at the bodies where the armour had been eaten away by nanobots and the precise surgical precision with which they’d been stabbed.

  Ford shrugged, no one appeared to have caught the significance of Bryson’s statement. “Well let’s just be grateful they’re on our side, for now. We can discuss it later.”

  Bryson nodded. “We’re going to start a full sweep of the ship, decontaminate section by section, make sure these bastards haven’t left any unpleasant surprises.” Vlade and Chole sheathed their blades and bowed politely before withdrawing from the bridge with Bryson.

  Jay had taken the Phoenix out and was searching the debris, looking for crew transponders. In the unlikely event, that anyone who had been sucked out of the ship, had survived the blast. Eliminating anything among the destruction, that looked like a viable Anterian threat, as he went.

  Ford turned to Carol. “Patch me through to the Nova-7 I think Keelie owes me a drink.”

  “I’m afraid that won’t be possible Keelie’s dead.” it was the black suited goon she winded. His clothes were ripped and bloody, his face battered and bruised. The command deck behind him was burnt and mangled, bodies sprawled everywhere. “We took a direct hit from one of the swarm ships strikers, when we lost the shields, bastards over-ran us. She fought like a demon, but didn’t stand a chance.” he shook his head and looked at his feet.

  “Thank you Commander...” said Ford softly.

  “Haidar, the names Commander Haidar, internal security.” he took a deep breath and pulled himself together. The damage control crews behind him extinguished the last of the smouldering fires, as the medics began bagging up the bodies for removal. “For what it’s worth, I’m listing that man she shot as KIA. Recommending her for a posthumous award for unparalleled bravery in the line of duty. That way both their families g
et provided for. I figure it’s the least I can do under the circumstances.”

  Ford didn’t say a word, just nodded in acknowledgement of the man’s actions.

  “Oh and one other thing.” added Commander Haidar. “The Governor has asked me to pass on his special thanks to you and your colleagues for saving the station. He’d like to meet you all personally, to express his gratitude at your earliest convenience, Haidar out.”

  “I’m sure he would.” muttered Ford under his breath.