by Ryk Brown
“Nope,” Loki replied solemnly. “Thirty seconds to Tau Ceti.”
“Did you ask?” Josh wondered.
“Why would I ask?”
“I would’ve asked.”
“That’s because you’re weird,” Loki stated. “Ten seconds.”
Josh put his hands back on the flight controls in preparation for coming out of their jump series.
“Three……two……one……jump complete,” Loki reported as the opaque canopy turned clear again.
Josh looked out the forward canopy, immediately spotting the blue-green dot that was the planet Kohara.
“Aurora Flight Ops, Falcon Four, in system, fully loaded,” Loki called over the comms.
Twenty seconds later, he got a response. “Falcon Four, Aurora Flight Ops. Jump to Kohara. One five seven by three seven, ten thousand kilometers. Execute at zero three two five, mission time. Contact Koharan Command on four five zero point five.”
“Falcon four, jumping to Kohara at zero three two five mission,” Loki confirmed. “Coordinates one five seven by three seven. Altitude ten thousand kilometers. Will contact Koharan Command on four five zero point five.” Loki entered the parameters for the jump into the navigation computer as he waited for the confirmation reply from the controller on board the Aurora.
“Falcon Four, Aurora Flight, read back correct. Good hunting.”
“Give me ten to starboard and eighteen down,” Loki instructed. “Maintain current speed.”
“Ten to starboard and eighteen down,” Josh replied as he entered the course change and pressed the execute button. “Coming to new course now.”
“Jumping to medium orbit over Kohara in five seconds.”
“On course and speed,” Josh confirmed.
Again, the Falcon’s canopy briefly turned opaque as the ship jumped the remaining distance to the Tau Ceti system’s most heavily populated world.
“Jump complete,” Loki reported as he changed the comms to the new frequency. “Koharan Command, Falcon Four in medium orbit over Kohara at one five seven by three seven. Fully loaded and awaiting orders.”
“Falcon Four, Koharan Command,” the communications tech replied urgently. “Join action over Cetia. Locate and destroy any ground targets attempting to converge on our location. Last two elements to the north are being evacuated now. Other Falcons are covering their withdrawal. Flight comms now on three two five point two.”
“He does not sound happy,” Josh said as he pitched their nose down toward the planet below.
“Koharan Command, Falcon Four, jumping down to cover you. Copy new flight comms on three two five point two.”
“Just keep them off our ass for five more minutes, Falcon Four!”
“Copy that,” Loki replied. “Twenty-seven to port, eleven down, and drop your speed to two five zero.”
“Twenty-seven to port and eleven down. Decelerating to two five zero,” Josh confirmed.
“Jumping down to five hundred meters in three……”
“On course.”
“Two……”
“On speed.”
“One…… Jumping.”
Josh kept his eyes straight ahead out the forward canopy as it turned opaque gray, then clear again. The surface of Kohara, which had been ten thousand kilometers below them only seconds ago, was now less than five hundred meters directly ahead and rushing to meet them at the leisurely rate of two hundred and fifty kilometers per hour.
“Jump complete,” Loki announced. “Deploying nose turret. Charging wing cannons.”
Josh pulled back slowly on the flight control stick to his right and throttled up their atmospheric engines, bringing the ship out of its forty-degree dive toward the city of Cetia.
“Falcon Four, on station, sector one, looking for targets,” Loki announced over the comms as the Falcon leveled off just above the buildings of downtown Cetia. He watched as his targeting systems began to identify enemy targets on the streets below. Within seconds, there were more than a dozen red dots to choose from. “I’ve got at least a dozen targets on the ground, and more popping up.”
“Just tell me where to fly, Lok.”
“I’m linking them to your heads up. Just line them up and I’ll take them out.”
“You got it.” Josh reached forward with his left hand, touched the window on his display console and swiped it upward from the console to the air above. Red dots suddenly appeared, with range and type information displayed next to each of them. “Damn, I love this new display system,” he said as he rolled the ship to port toward the nearest red dot. All the red target dots circled around him from left to right as he continued his turn, rolling out as the furthest dot to the left moved to center. “How about we take them from left to right to start with?”
“Sounds good to me,” Loki replied. “Let’s make a wide arc around the backside of them. Keep all the lead elements on our starboard side so I don’t have to swing the turret around as much.”
“What’s the fun in that?” Josh complained. “Flying a lazy circle and all?”
“You can have your fun when we come back for the ones that got away,” Loki promised.
“Just don’t let any get away.”
“Command, Falcon Four. Confirm our rules of engagement?”
“Falcon Four! Weapons free! Maximum force! Collateral damage is not a concern!”
“Falcon Four copies, maximum force authorized.”
“Uh, Loki?” Josh said, as the number of red dots floating in the air around him suddenly doubled. “Please tell me this is a glitch in the new display system?”
“Oh shit,” Loki exclaimed. “Command, Falcon Four! My targets have just doubled! Correction! They’ve tripled! What the hell is going on down there?”
“Command to all Falcons!” The controller’s voice sounded more stressed than before. “Multiple ground targets converging on our location! We need air support, now!”
CHAPTER TWO
“Brakar Two Four is reporting heavy fire from the northwest corner!” one of the communications technicians reported with urgency.
Commander Telles glanced to the right, quickly assessing the position of all his withdrawing units on the main tactical display in the command bunker. “Have One Seven move in from the southeast, and move Two Zero around to the Two Four’s north flank to distract.”
Dozens of red icons moved about the tactical display in a bizarre, chaotic dance, as Jung fast-attack squads continued to appear out of nowhere. Just as soon as he moved his men into position to take the enemy squads out, they would disappear again.
“Two Four is taking casualties,” the comm-tech added. “Brakars One Seven and Two Zero, report your ETA’s.”
Telles turned to the flight control officer. “How long until the rest of the Falcons arrive?”
“Three minutes,” the flight controller answered. “Three of them are on the other side of the planet, and the other two have damaged jump drives.”
Commander Telles watched as Falcon Four’s icon moved over the icon representing Brakar Two Four. The two red symbols for the Jung fast-attack squads northeast of Brakar Two Four disappeared, after which Falcon Four’s icon turned to the left to circle back. Falcon Four blinked out of view a second later. Telles watched for a moment and noticed that Falcon Four reappeared on one of the other displays, six kilometers to the west. It turned around and vanished again, only to join in the same area of battle as before, on the main tactical display.
“Falcon Four reports shoulder launched chasers, Commander.”
“That explains their jump,” Master Sergeant Jahal muttered.
A series of muffled explosions shook the command center.
“Perimeter breach!” another comm-tech shouted. “Three squads! Two to the north, o
ne to the east! They’re firing rockets!”
“Bunker busters, no doubt.”
“How many men do we still have out there?” Commander Telles asked, maintaining his composure with ease.
“Twelve squads still on the ground,” the master sergeant replied. “One-fifty, give or take.”
“Flight, how many jumpers can we expect in the next five minutes?”
“Five troop jumpers, seven combat, and two boxcars, sir.”
“Everyone east of us goes to rally point Jojo Seven,” the commander ordered. “Everyone west goes to Tongo Four. Two troop, two combat, and one Falcon to each rally point. The rest come here. Have the boxcars return. We’re burning all assets on our way out.”
“Yes, sir,” the comm-tech acknowledged.
Commander Telles noticed Falcon Four’s icon as it flew over one of the retreating Ghatazhak squads, causing more red icons to disappear. “Tell Falcon Four to concentrate their efforts on our location. Let them know we’ve got unfriendlies in our own perimeter.”
“Yes, sir,” the flight controller replied.
Master Sergeant leaned in closer to his commander, lowering his tone to a harsh whisper. “You do realize there is not enough space in those ships to carry one hundred and fifty men.”
Commander Telles picked up his energy rifle from the side of the tactical display table and activated its charging circuit. “I doubt there will be a hundred and fifty of us left to evacuate,” he replied as the command center rocked from another series of explosions. “Shall we join the fun?”
“I was wondering when you were going to ask.”
“Gentlemen,” the commander called out, addressing everyone in the command center, “stay at your stations until the evac shuttle arrives, then haul ass outta here.” He looked at the young men working the consoles. Terrans, Corinairans, and even a few Tannans. Where they were from didn’t matter, they all understood the situation.
Telles turned and headed toward the hatch, pausing by the sergeant guarding the exit. “You’re the last one out of here, Sergeant. Light the fires on your way out.”
“No problem, Commander,” the Corinairan sergeant promised with confidence.
* * *
Captain Nash sent the control cards he had collected from the forward end of the ship tumbling aft ahead of him as he drifted through the hatch that led from Scout Three’s main cabin into the forward engineering space. The cards drifted into the aft bulkhead, careening off in different directions, tumbling as they floated about the compartment.
Nash grabbed the overhead rail, his feet swinging under him as his forward motion continued to carry his body aft. He twisted around and then pulled himself forward along the rail to the edge of the hatch. “How are you doing back there?” he called to Commander Eckert over his comm-set.
“I’ve found where the line splits. I’ve spliced into the port run. If I can get a signal back from the port detonator, then I’ll try the starboard detonator.”
“What are you going to use for a power source?” Nash asked as he swung the hatch partially closed.
“I took the battery from one of the portable lights in the maintenance locker back here. That should give me more than enough power to set up a connection between my data pad and the detonators. Did you get the control cards?”
“Yeah, I got them.”
“Maybe we should destroy them, just to be safe?”
“Not yet,” Nash replied. He grabbed the rail that ran vertically alongside the hatchway, checking to make sure he could brace himself properly while firing. “We might still need them.”
“I thought you said we weren’t getting out of this one?”
“Allow a guy a little hope, will ya, Skeech?”
“Yes, sir.”
Captain Nash heard an odd sound coming from the forward end of the ship, like metal scraping on metal. “Something’s going on forward.” Sparks rained down from the overhead hatch in the middle of the EVA room on the other side of the main cabin. “They’re cutting through the hatch,” he said, lowering his voice in case the enemy was within earshot. Nash pulled the hatch nearly closed, leaving himself just enough room through which to fire on anyone who might enter the main cabin. He wrapped his left arm around the vertical rail alongside the hatchway to brace himself, then grabbed the close-quarters automatic weapon that was dangling from his chest harness and pulled it up into firing position. “I’m going to wait until as many of them as possible are inside before I open up.” He checked that his safety was off and that his weapon was ready.
“How much ammunition do we have?” Commander Eckert asked over the comms.
“Four mags, so about two hundred rounds. Plus two mags for my side arm.”
“Make them count.”
“You just worry about getting those detonators working.”
“Yes, sir.”
The sparks stopped spraying into the EVA compartment and the overhead hatch swung down and aft. Captain Nash cursed the designers of the old FTL scout ships for inadvertently giving the intruders additional cover during their entry into his ship.
Something moved on the other side of the hatch. A shadowy silhouette descending from above. A helmet, followed by a body and a weapon. Captain Nash leaned back, barely peering around the edge of the hatchway’s collar as he watched the first Jung soldier rotate once around, checking both fore and aft for any signs of life. The soldier’s helmet lamp cast an eerie set of distorted, moving shadows as it pierced the dimly lit interior of the ship.
The intruder descended further, flipping over upright as his feet cleared the overhead hatch. His boots touched the deck and affixed themselves with two dull clanking noises.
“Damn it,” Nash cursed under his breath. “They’re in full pressure suits, and they’ve got some kind of magnetic boots or something.”
“You can still vent the cabin,” the commander replied. “Just punch holes in their suits first.”
“Yeah, that’s the idea, Skeech,” Nash replied as he watched two more soldiers drift down through the hatch. Three more soldiers, for a total of six, moved to either side of the EVA compartment, hugging the walls for safety. One of the men, presumably the leader, made gestures to the others. Two of the soldiers turned and proceeded carefully through the forward hatch into the operations compartment. The other four turned aft, in the direction of the main cabin and Nash’s hiding place.
“Two going forward, four coming aft. I’m going to wait for them to reach the main cabin.”
“I’ve got the emergency purge command ready to activate for everything forward of you,” Commander Eckert assured him.
Nash watched as the first two men stepped through the hatchway from the EVA compartment into the main cabin. They moved with practiced precision, one going left while the other went right, weapons held high and ready, sweeping them from side to side. They moved along the edges of the cabin, taking note that two of the pods had not ejected.
The next two soldiers stepped through the hatch with equal expertise, again splitting left and right to follow the others.
Nash leaned in just enough to train his weapon on the leftmost Jung soldier and squeezed the trigger. His weapon burst forth short, staccato flashes of bright yellow fire, sending its deadly projectiles into the compartment. He held the trigger down, sweeping his weapon from left to right, then back again, emptying his clip. The soldier on the far right managed to get a shot off, but his aim was interrupted as projectiles tore through his suit and flesh. Blood sprayed out from all four suited bodies as they shook in morbidly comical fashion, their magnetic boots still clinging to the deck beneath them. They did not fall; instead their arms dangled slightly outward from their bodies at odd, unnatural angles like gruesome marionettes. Globules of blood, varying in size, spread about the main cabin, staining the surf
ace of everything they touched. The scene was surreal, unlike anything Nash had ever seen or heard of. Those men, mangled and disfigured with expressions of horror and pain frozen on their faces.
Bolts of red streaked across the cabin, passing between the standing dead to strike the hatch and bulkhead around it. Nash leaned back and quickly changed clips. Damn! he thought, I forgot about the two that went forward! He returned fire, but again had to retreat as two more sets of energy bolts joined the ones previously fired. “They’ve got more outside!” he yelled over his comm-set as he changed magazines on his weapon. “They’ve probably got some sort of boarding ship attached to our hull!” Nash tried to push the hatch closed, but the amount of absorbed energy from enemy fire made it too hot to touch. “Fuck!” he cursed in frustration. He stuck the nose of his weapon back through the hatch and opened fire again, holding the trigger down and spraying back and forth until he emptied his next clip. “Purge!” he yelled over his comm-set.
“The hatch isn’t…”
“That’s an order, damn it!”
“Purging!” the commander replied.
The main cabin filled with the sound of rushing air as the emergency purge system, used to combat shipboard fires, vented the atmosphere from the ship’s interior out into space. Although the four soldiers still inside the main cabin were wearing pressure suits, they began to carefully withdraw.
Captain Nash quickly pulled out his sidearm and opened fire, aiming in all directions as he discharged his weapon again and again. The air leaving the forward areas of the ship created a suction that pulled the hatch next to him closed. He yanked his weapon out of the way just before the hatch slammed shut.
The compartment went silent. Captain Nash switched his grip on the rail and twisted himself around in order to kick the overheated locking lever into the latched position. He quickly moved to the maintenance locker on the port side of the small compartment and pulled out a large wrench.
