Ep.#14 - The Weak and the Innocent (The Frontiers Saga)

by Ryk Brown

  Eckert continued punching in commands on his data pad. “I think I’d like to change my vote back to insane again, sir.”

  * * *

  Commander Telles crouched down low as Falcon Four streaked overhead, blasting the rooftops to their left with their nose-mounted turret. Streaks of rapidly fired bolts of plasma energy struck the rooftop, sending debris in all directions as both man and building were torn apart. Telles kept his head low, barely peeking over the edge of the large section of fallen building that was providing his cover. Falcon Four pitched up and banked slightly right, disappearing in a flash of blue-white light as two shoulder-launched chaser missiles streaked upward toward them from the rooftops on their right.

  Two more thunderous claps announced the arrival of more jump ships from the north.

  “Combat Eight coming in from the north,” the pilot of the first combat jump shuttle reported.

  “Combat Three coming in behind Eight,” the second pilot added.

  “Combats Eight and Three, maintain one hundred meters until Falcon Four finishes their next pass, then descend to Kato Two for evac,” the controller in the command bunker instructed. “Watch for chasers.”

  “Eight staying above one hundred for Falcon Four, watching for chasers.”

  “I hate chasers,” the pilot for Combat Three grumbled.

  More energy weapons fire began to rain down on the commander and his men from the rooftop to their right, forcing them to duck down tight. Several men tried to return fire, taking hits that their body armor could barely absorb.

  “Where the fuck are all these guys coming from?” Master Sergeant Jahal barked.

  “Bulldog One, ten kilometers, southeast at one four thousand, ready to jump in for evac.”

  “I’ve been wondering the same thing,” Commander Telles replied as he raised his weapon just enough to get a string of shots off at the roofline to their right.

  “Bulldog One, Control, got you on the scope,” the controller’s voice called over the commander’s helmet comms. “Maintain approach, I’ll call your jump into Kato Two.”

  “Bulldog One, on approach. Copy you’ll call my jump into Kato Two.”

  Several bolts of energy slammed into the large section of building debris that Commander Telles was hiding behind, striking on either side of his head. The third one ricocheted off the top of his helmet, causing the tactical display on the inside of his visor to disappear. “My TDS is down!” he called to his master sergeant. These fuckers can shoot, he grudgingly admitted as he returned fire.

  One of the Ghatazhak soldiers on the other side of Jahal took several shots in the chest and neck, tossing him onto his back. The master sergeant scrambled over to him, reaching for his neck to check for a pulse.

  “Teichert’s dead!” he called out.

  Another jump flash occurred directly behind Commander Telles, announced by a deafening thunder followed by a powerful wave of displaced air. Falcon Four streaked over their heads again, firing their nose turret at the Jung troops on the rooftops to their right.

  “Give me his helmet!” the commander replied as debris from Falcon Four’s attack rained down on them.

  As Falcon Four disappeared in another jump flash, the master sergeant removed the dead man’s helmet, checked it over quickly, then turned to the commander. “Heads up!” he shouted as he tossed the helmet toward his leader.

  Commander Telles caught the helmet with ease. He waited several seconds for the debris to finish falling around them, then removed his helmet and quickly put on the one the master sergeant had thrown to him. The helmet automatically extended its umbilical into the top of the commander’s backpack and came to life, painting the tactical data onto the inside of the commander’s helmet visor. “I’m good!” he yelled, giving his master sergeant a thumbs-up.

  “Telles, Control. Jojo and Tongo are both clear. We’re all that’s left on the ground.”

  “What about Combat Seven?” Telles demanded.

  “They put down on the other side of the lake, far from any unfriendlies. They’ve already detonated. I’ve got two Falcons flying cover until someone comes back from Porto Santo to pick them up.”

  The energy weapons fire had ceased after Falcon Four’s last pass, and Telles and his men were able to stand again. The commander signaled Master Sergeant Jahal to position the men to keep an eye on the roof lines on either side, just in case. “Very well,” he replied over his helmet comms. “Shutdown and double-time it to Kato Two.”

  “Copy that. Control to all units. We are shutting down and bugging out. Everyone rally at Kato Two. Good luck.”

  Commander Telles scanned the skies above. He could still hear the exchange of weapons fire from the far side of the command bunker. “Brakar One Seven, Telles. Sitrep?”

  “Telles, One Seven. Holding off about a dozen of the fuckers to our north and west. TDS shows another twenty or so two clicks north, moving toward us.”

  “Copy. Hold until command bunker is clear, then move to Kato Two for evac.”

  “One Seven, copies.”

  “New movement!” Master Sergeant Jahal barked as he swung his energy rifle up to fire at the distant roofline. “Check your TDS! Check your TDS!” he yelled urgently as he opened fire.

  “One One, Telles. Sitrep!” the commander called over the din of weapons fire.

  “Telles, One One, taking fire from the rooftops to the south. We’ve got no shot! Pinned down!”

  “Combat Eight, Telles. Take out targets on the rooftops south of Micker Three! Then circle west and take out the targets in the street west of Micker Four!”

  “Combat Eight, engaging targets on rooftops south of Micker Three and in street west of Micker Four,” the pilot responded. “On first targets in thirty seconds.”

  “Combat Three, Telles. Targets in the street, north of Micker Four are yours. Then clear the roof tops around Kato Two again!”

  “Combat Three, inbound for targets north of Micker Four, in the street, then on the roofs around Kato Two. Weapons live in twenty seconds.”

  “All jumpers, your targets are dangerously close! Call your shots. Call your shots!”

  “Combat Eight, copies.”

  “Combat Three, copies.”

  Commander Telles noticed a dozen green dots moving up behind him on his tactical display. He glanced behind him to confirm that they were the technicians from the command bunker. Each of them had donned torso armor and helmets, and carried energy rifles of Corinari design. “Bulldog One, Telles. Start your approach. I’ll call your inbound jump.”

  “Combat Eight! Danger close! Micker Three! Heads down!”

  Commander Telles turned to his right, looking southwest as Combat Jumper Eight swooped in low over the top of the now abandoned command bunker, firing all of their weapons at the rooftops on either side. It was an impressive array of firepower with eight separate barrels spewing forth bolts of red plasma energy.

  “Bulldog One is starting final. Understand you’ll call our inbound jump.”

  “Combat Three! Danger close! Micker Three! Heads down!”

  “Stay here!” Telles ordered the fleeing controllers from the command bunker, gesturing for them to get down. “Hunker down and cover your ears!” he ordered as his men continued to fire at the distant roof lines to the east.

  “Combat Eight! Targeting the streets west of Micker Four!”

  “Combat Three! Clearing the roofs south of Kato Two!”

  “Brakars One One and One Seven, Telles!” the commander called as Combat Jumper Three streaked overhead and opened fire on the rooftops south of the commander’s position. “Move to Kato Two. Now, now, now!”

  “One One moving to Kato Two!”

  “One Seven moving to Kato Two!”

  “Bulldog One!” the comma
nder yelled over his comms. “Jump, jump, jump!” He turned to his men. “Heads down!” he yelled as he took cover.

  “Bulldog One, jumping to Kato Two. Heads down, gentlemen,” the pilot announced calmly.

  The entire landing zone lit up with brilliant blue-white light, then disappeared as all other sounds were drowned out by the roar of another wave of air. The effect was disorienting to most, even to the Ghatazhak. When a heavy cargo shuttle jumped in that low, the shock wave could knock the air out of a man’s lungs.

  Four screaming engine pods of the cargo jumper instantly replaced the sudden clap of thunder as it hovered only twenty meters above them, descending at an alarming rate.

  “Combat Jumpers, Falcon Four!” Loki’s voice called out over the comms. “Bandits on the rooftops, two blocks to the north and south of the LZ! They’ve got chasers!”

  “Three, circling south to engage!”

  “Eight is taking the ones to the north!”

  “Bulldog One, setting down,” the pilot announced as the cargo jump shuttle neared the surface. Its gear doors slid open, and four double-wheeled gears dropped down into position. The shuttle bounced slightly on its gear struts, its engines rapidly spinning down to idle as the shuttles aft loading ramp swung down into position.

  “Combat Eight! Four chasers on your six!” Loki cried out. “Jump, jump, jump!”

  “Go, go, go!” Commander Telles ordered, gesturing for everyone to board the shuttle. He turned to his left, spotting Combat Eight as it banked hard. One of the four chaser missiles pursuing the combat jump shuttle slammed into its aft starboard engine just as its jump field started to form. The shuttle rolled to the right, yawing in the same direction due to a sudden loss of thrust, the forward section of the shuttle disappeared in a blue-white flash, leaving the aft section behind to tumble aimlessly to the ground.

  “Combat Eight is down!” Loki reported. “Eight is down, hard!”

  There was an explosion a few blocks away as the tail of Combat Eight struck a building. Telles turned and saw his last two squads running around the corner of the command bunker, on their way to the cargo shuttle. Seconds later, there was another explosion a few kilometers to the northeast.

  “Oh my God!” Loki exclaimed over the comms from their vantage point above the action. “The front half of Eight is down four clicks to the northeast.”

  “Any survivors?” Telles asked, already knowing the answer.

  “No way, sir,” Loki replied, confirming his suspicion.

  “Four, Telles. Did you spot where those chasers came from?”

  “Yes, sir,” Loki replied.

  “Four, Telles. Waste the entire fucking block.”

  * * *

  “I’ve got the starboard field generator setup and ready to go,” Commander Eckert reported.

  “They’ve got to be getting ready for something,” Captain Nash said.

  “Like what?” the commander asked as he continued to work on his data pad. “You think they’re going to blast their way in?”

  “And run the risk of accidentally blowing us up? Not likely. They must know about our jump drive, otherwise they wouldn’t be wasting their time with us. More likely they’ll find a way to tap into our environmental system and pump in gas or something.”

  “Or they could just wait for us to run out of oxygen,” Eckert commented. “Not like it will take very long.”

  “They can’t take the chance,” Nash argued. “Too many things can go wrong. We find a way to detonate, the Aurora catches up with us, a KKV strike… They can’t afford to waste time here, but they can’t afford to take unnecessary risks either. The captain of the Jar-Ba-something out there is probably drooling over the prospect of handing a jump drive to his leaders. Probably get himself a fat promotion.”

  “Attention, Captain Nash of the gunship Pequod. Can you hear me?” The voice was female, with a slight yet different accent than the Major that had previously called.

  “That’s a surprise,” Nash commented.

  “I didn’t think the Jung had any women on their crews?” Eckert said.

  “Neither did I,” Nash replied as he tapped his comm-set. “This is Captain Nash. To whom am I speaking?”

  “My name is Kaya Allemahn. I have been authorized to speak with you on behalf of the Jung.”

  “Authorized by who?” Nash asked.

  “By the commander of the Jar-Benakh, Captain Tahn.”

  “What do you want to speak to me about? Are you offering to surrender? Because that would probably be a really smart move on your captain’s part. Save us all a whole lot of trouble.”

  “I expect Captain Tahn would disagree with you, Captain. You are aware that the Jar-Benahk has many times your firepower, and could destroy you in an instant, are you not?”

  “I am,” Captain Nash replied, “and you are aware that doing so will cause our self-destruct system, which is currently armed, to destroy this ship, as well as your own…are you not?”

  There was a pause.

  “That got them thinking,” Nash muttered. “How much longer?”

  “A minute or two, tops,” Eckert replied. “You realize that even if we are able to jump away clean, without tearing ourselves apart, we have no way of knowing if we damaged the Jung ship on the way out. They could catch up to us in minutes.”

  “I know.”

  “It seems, Captain, that we are at an impasse,” Kaya finally replied. “You have something we want, and we have something you want.”

  “I know what you want,” Nash replied. “What is it that you think I want?”

  “To live.”

  “Good guess, but in all honesty, life back on Earth kind of sucks right now. Your people made sure of that.”

  “They are not my people, Captain. However, perhaps had your people not ignored the blockade, had you not attempted to infect other worlds…”

  “What the hell are you talking about, lady?”

  “It is well known throughout the Cetian worlds, as well as the rest of the core, that the Earth is the source of the great plague, and that it is still infected. Your people have been trying to escape your dying world for some time, with no regard to the health and safety of the billions…”

  Nash looked at Eckert. “Lady, I don’t know where your people are getting their intel, but the bio-digital plague on Earth died out more than nine hundred years ago.”

  “If what you say is true, then why are you attacking my worlds?”

  “What worlds?”

  “The Cetian worlds.”

  “She’s not Jung,” Nash realized.

  “A local collaborator, maybe?”

  “Maybe.” Nash tapped his comm-set again. “We are not attacking your worlds. We were attacking the Jung forces around, and on your worlds.”

  “And why are you attacking the Jung?”

  “Because they invaded our world,” Captain Nash explained. “It took us months to drive them off. They nearly destroyed our entire planet. They killed billions. And it’s not just on Earth, it’s all over the damn sector! They took out an entire moon in the Alpha Centauri system. Killed millions there as well. Apparently, it’s what they do. We’re just trying to stop them. But hey, if you’re happy living under their boot heel, then by all means, continue to do so. We’ll just take our fleet and go about our merry way.”

  Commander Eckert shook his head in disbelief as he continued to work on his data pad. “I’m seeing a whole other side of you today, Captain.”

  “Just hurry up and jump us.”

  “You know, you and your sister are a lot alike.”

  “Attitude runs in our family,” Captain Nash replied. “Mine tends to come out when I’m about to die.”

  “Captain Tahn does not believe you,” Kaya finally
said. “And…and neither do I. However, Captain Tahn admires your bravery. He would like to offer you your freedom.”

  “To go back and live on an irradiated world? As a traitor?” Captain Nash chuckled. “You’re going to have to do better than that.”

  “You can live on any world you wish. The Jung can provide you with wealth, power, women… Anything you desire.”

  “How much longer?” Captain Nash asked the commander.

  “I’m syncing the field generators now. Just a few more seconds…”

  “Interesting proposition,” Nash replied over his comm-set. “Mind if I think about it for a few minutes?”

  “You will decide now,” Kaya demanded, her tone indicating it was not up for debate.

  “How much wealth are we talking about?” Nash asked, stalling for time.

  “Decide now!”

  “I don’t like pushy women, Kaya,” Captain Nash chided.

  “Captain Tahn tires of your games! He has decided that you will die!”

  “We’re ready,” Commander Eckert said.

  “No matter,” Captain Nash replied over his comm-set. “I was going to tell you to fuck off anyway.” He looked at the commander and nodded his head. “Do it.”

  “Initiating emergency snap-jump,” the commander replied, pressing the screen on his data pad with his forefinger.

  A low rumble quickly turned into an intense, high-pitched shriek as the jump field generators on either side of them quickly pulled the last of the power from the system’s energy banks and distributed it to the emitter arrays on the exterior of the scout ship’s hull. A split second later, it went silent.

  The ship jerked hard to port, rolling slightly. There was a terrible sound of metal beams and bulkheads under tremendous strain, followed immediately by a series of muffled explosions and the frightening sound of structures being torn apart.

  Captain Nash found himself bouncing off the port bulkhead, his head slamming into one of the overhead pipes that had pulled away from its brackets and fractured. As he spun about, he caught a glimpse of Commander Eckert, his body careening off the number three reactor column, blood spurting from a gaping hole on the back of his head, and one of his legs torn away mid thigh.