Desperate Measures: The Issog

by C. R. Daems

  "Battle Stations," I announced with thirty minutes to go.

  Thirty minutes later, Perkins announced the beginning of the attack with, "Good hunting, Captain LaFon."

  I immediately skipped four light-seconds to the twelve-second mark, located the closest batmobile, B1, determined its position, fired six missiles from bank one, and waited. B1 fired several seconds later, and I skipped one second back to the eleven-second mark.

  The sensors indicated five hits on B1. To my surprise, B2 skipped to the eleven-second mark. I acquired a lock on B2 fourteen seconds later and fired my remaining six missiles from bank two as the first bank of missiles turned green. The sensors indicated I had again scored five hits. Three seconds later, B2 fired. I skipped to the twelve-second mark, located the nearest Vamp, B3, computed its position, and fired six from the first bank.

  B3 fired five seconds later, and I skipped in the opposite direction to the thirteen-second mark, noting four hits. B4 followed. I acquired a lock just as the second bank of six turned green, and fired. As I waited for B4 to get a lock on me, I considered my options and what I was achieving—very little. Their refusal to all fire at me or chase me meant my squadron didn't have an opportunity to swoop in while the Vamps were reloading, so it had become me against the four Vamps, and they hadn't used but a one-second skip each.

  Currently, B1 and B3 were at the twelve-second mark, B2 at the eleven mark, and B4 at the thirteen mark. I was scoring, but the Vamp cruisers were still all operational. In addition, I had only five skip-seconds remaining, just enough to get back to the front line of the Sixth. B4 fired only seconds before six of my missiles scored. I skipped to the eleven-second mark only to find B2 had released its fighters and I had jumped almost in the middle of them with ten seconds remaining until bank one would be ready. Indecision gripped me—wait twelve seconds to acquire a lock on B2, or to skip to safety?

  The ship heaved and tossed like it had been hit by successive tsunamis as fighter after fighter slammed into the Odin. The first two almost tore me out of the captain's chair. I saw stars and tasted blood and lost focus. The next two tore the chair partially loose, and the force of the whiplash caused me to lose consciousness temporarily. Thanks to my implant, I didn't need sight to know the results of the damage monitor—hundreds had died, several sections were open to space, and while the engines still had power, it was insufficient to skip.

  I initiated the emergency evacuation protocol and klaxons blared throughout the ship as red lights flashed on and off with their own sense of urgency. I pushed the engines to maximum and aimed the Odin at the planet, hoping the front line would move in to distract the Issog. We weren't in condition to fight.

  I managed to unstrap myself but fell to the floor, unable to rise. I had lost my helmet and felt blind. Had the back-up Bridge taken control? Panic. I closed my eyes, knowing we were ducks in a cage facing hunters standing with guns drawn and loaded. I was responsible. Sweat dripped down my face from thinking of all the people who were going to die if I didn't do something. My captain's helmet. I needed the helmet, but my eyes wouldn't focus and smoke was beginning to fill the cabin. I began crawling and sweeping my arms around the floor, hoping to find the helmet. Panic. I couldn't find it.

  I stopped suddenly. Panic kills. Hundreds are depending on me, and I'm acting like a recruit. I forced myself to stop, breathe, and relax. Plato, status, I said, remembering I didn't need the helmet. Immediately I could see the monitors and the status of each panel. The front wave of the fleet had jumped to my rescue and we were free of the immediate threat, but the Odin was structurally unstable and could break apart at any moment, especially when we reached the planet's gravity. I could steer the Odin into space, but that was no guarantee the ship would survive in its current condition. I slowed, set it on a course to orbit Berlin, and opened a channel for general broadcast.

  "This is Captain LaFon. All personnel are to evacuate the ship immediately." I was too tired to move. I was sorry I wouldn't see the end of the war, sorry I had screwed up and lost the Odin, sorry…

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Fight for Survival

  Akar knew the ship had been slammed by something multiple times, because his body jerked this way and that, his restraints so tight he could hardly breathe. He saw the captain's chair tear partway loose and the captain flung to the floor. When nothing else happened for several minutes, he removed his safety belts and stood holding on to the chair, waiting for his head to clear and the dizziness to recede. A little unsteadily, he started toward the captain and then heard the announcement to abandon the ship. Relieved to know she was alive, he knelt down and placed his hands under her armpits and rose with her in his arms. He couldn't handle her by himself, but the situation in the ship was uncertain.

  Holding her upright with one arm, he clicked on his unit's emergency channel. "To me." It was a command that would cause every Mactan to drop whatever he was doing and race to his position, which they would know was the Bridge. Watching his communication screen, which he had switched to the camera feed LaFon had installed, he waited until several of his team were racing down the hallway to the Bridge before unlocking the door.

  "Dache, Ceba, take the captain." He released his hold as each man took an arm and positioned an arm around her back. Then Akar led them at a run to the stairs to the first level and down the hallway to the captain's shuttle bay, hoping it was functional. As they ran, he noticed by the flashing red lights above the doors that several of the bays had been breached. The door to the captain’s bay was open when they arrived. It looked like the Backup Bridge crew as well as the backup crew. Disanto pointed to the captain's shuttle and Akar and his crew entered. The shuttle had a normal capacity of ten but with the Mactans and LaFon it now held more than twenty. The door was shut and locked. A few minutes later, the light above the door turned red, and the engines came to life. They were all slammed back against seats, walls, and other people as the shuttle exited at maximum acceleration. Akar wondered whether the pilot expected enemy fire or the ship to explode. Either would certainly be a good reason to hurry. When nothing happened for several minutes, multiple conversations started.

  "Is the captain all right?" Maize asked, looking worried. Suddenly the shuttle became quiet, except for the noise of the engines still straining for more acceleration, awaiting the answer.

  "I think she needs medical attention, but I believe she will survive." Akar wasn’t a doctor but had extensive field medical training. Judging by what he had seen, he thought she might have bruised or maybe fractured ribs and a concussion. Most of the blood on her clothes was from a nose bleed. Confirming his assessment, LaFon spoke.

  "I'll live," she said, sounding like she was drunk. "Where are we?"

  "In a shuttle heading for the planet," Maize said, looking relieved.

  "Maize, ask the pilot the status of the other survivors…" LaFon closed her eyes, her breathing shallow. Maize nodded and pushed her way to the pilot’s compartment at the front of the shuttle. She returned several minutes later.

  Maize looked to Akar when she noticed LaFon's eyes still closed.

  "Concussion, I think," Akar said. "She just needs rest. What's the situation?" He had no command authority, but he wanted to know the general situation so he would be better prepared when they disembarked.

  Maize stood quiet for a moment, regarding first Akar and then LaFon. "The pilot says four marine combat shuttles left the ship. They are rendezvousing on us. They know the captain is on board. About thirty emergency pods decoupled. They look to be waiting to be picked up by the fleet."

  "Akar," LaFon said just above a whisper. When he turned toward the captain, she spoke. "You pick the terrain you would prefer to fight in." She closed her eyes, obviously finished or just too tired to say more.

  Akar pushed up from the seat and eased between those in the aisle toward the pilots, with Maize following.

  "What did she mean, fight?"

  "I assume she thinks there are Issog on
the ground and they will be drawn to shuttles landing on the planet." Akar entered the pilot’s cabin. "Sir, the captain would like to know the terrain in the area we are heading."

  The older of the two Lieutenants looked up at Akar wide-eyed and leaned away. Then he took a deep breath before speaking. "Sir, there is a little of everything, a medium-size town, some small mountains, farmland, and an ocean."

  "Where can you and the combat shuttles land?" Akar asked, deciding his charge would be safest among the marines.

  "Anywhere there is relatively level ground for fifty meters."

  "Will it be daylight or nighttime in the next couple of hours?"

  "Daylight."

  "Close to the city where you detect the least amount of life," Akar finally said. The Issog would have shuttles to chase and humans to capture for their blood-collection units, therefore they would need cover. The combat shuttle would most likely win, but not before the Issog had time to attack anyone in the open.

  "Yes, sir. I'll tell Colonel Storch."

  Akar found LaFon sleeping when he returned, which was what she needed. An hour later, the pilot's voice announced they would be landing in two minutes and everyone should buckle up. Of course, there weren't enough seats, let alone seatbelts, so people began sitting down and wedging themselves into places which would provide some security if the landing was rough.

  * * *

  "Admiral Perkins, the Odin is in trouble, and it appears they are abandoning the ship." Captain Barker’s face on Perkins' monitor looked pale.

  "How the hell…" Perkins cut off the sentence. It didn't matter right now.

  "The Odin squadron has skipped," Barker said, looking at his ESP. It was unnecessary as Perkins also had an ESP unit in the command center.

  "Order the first wave to skip. We don't want to give the Vamps time to target the survivors. Have the second wave dispatch their combat shuttles to pick up LaFon and any survivors. I imagine the Vamps will be on them like blood suckers." He sat shaking his head at the irony. LaFon had previously danced around twelve cruisers with hardly a scratch, and now four had downed her with two fleets ready to support her. "Barker, I want LaFon found and brought to the Heptet."

  "Sir, Admiral Simons is requesting a connection," Barker said. Perkins nodded, imagining Simons’s reaction. She appeared on his monitor seconds later.

  "Yes, they are abandoning the Odin. I'm sending marines to recover the survivors."

  "LaFon?" she looked pale. Perkins didn't blame her. LaFon and her Odin squadron had helped turn the war around during the last year. It was beginning to look like they could defeat the Issog and have a couple of fleets operational enough to greet the Arrith when they came. Maybe enough to bluff them into continuing the truce.

  "No idea. The problem must have been sudden and catastrophic, because there were no communications from the Odin. Our first indication of trouble came when the Odin was trailing debris and the emergency pods began exiting the ship. I conjecture that LaFon was unable, or she would have sent some message." Maybe dead, he thought, but didn't dare say it aloud.

  "What happened? There where only four batmobiles…" Simons asked, her face and voice alternating between grief and rage. "I want to speak to the Odin squadron captains as soon as they are free. This is a disaster."

  "We have the Thor," Perkins suggested, bracing for Simons's reaction.

  "He's…he doesn't understand the Issog like Zoe, he doesn't have her instincts or experience, and…" she cut the connection, to Perkins relief. He felt the same. Zoe would be missed.

  "Admiral, Colonel Webster is reporting two hours to reach Berlin," Barker said into his moment of silence. "Maybe she survived. She has the Mactans."

  * * *

  The landing proved relatively smooth, Akar thought, considering the pilot approached faster than normal. When the light went green, Akar shouted to be heard above the talking.

  "Gephel, Jalus, check out the situation."

  The two men had to push past the crowd beginning to move toward the exit. Jalus opened the door and the two disappeared outside. A minute later, Gephel appeared in the doorway.

  "Three combat shuttles landed, one has stayed in the air. Houses and small buildings beginning about fifty meters ahead and to our right. I'd suggest to the right, as the buildings are larger," he shouted. Ceba and Dache appeared a second later and hoisted the captain out of her seat and carried her between them. By then, most of the people in the doorway had exited.

  As Akar exited, Colonel Storch came running up, followed by Gunny Chow. "How is she?" Storch asked, his bulldog face wrinkled in concern.

  "Concussion I think, plus a lot of bruising. Maybe a fractured rib or two," Akar said as he waved Ceba and Dashe toward the building. "I want to get her under cover as soon as possible." Storch nodded after looking up at the clear blue sky with only an occasional puffy cloud.

  The Mactans began running toward the building, with Ceba and Dashe in the middle carrying LaFon. Halfway, five Issog shuttles appeared high over the city, heading in their direction. Storch said something in his ICD and the three marine shuttles began rising, and a few seconds later accelerated toward the Issog shuttles. Akar only hoped the marine shuttles could keep the Issog busy as they were only halfway to the buildings and the Issog shuttles were only a few hundred meters from the end of the buildings.

  Then he saw the Issog's logic. Two of the shuttles disgorged bats, who glided gracefully into the city, limiting their access. As the remaining three shuttles passed overhead, bats exited them as well. The bats now had them boxed in, confined to maybe ten buildings at the edge of the city. The overhead roar of heavy gunfire, missiles, and exploding shuttles had everyone pushing themselves to their limit. By the time Akar and his team reached the first building, the air battle was over and only one marine combat shuttle remained. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be much help in the city, with the bats too close to the troops to engage.

  Marines were engaging the Issog troops in the rear, so five of the Mactans moved in front of the captain to confront the three bats that looked like they would arrive before the captain’s party could reach the building. About twenty meters in front of the party, the bats folded their flaps, covering their faces and bodies. The Mactans opened fire, but the flaps were tough and seemed to absorb the pellets, or at least minimize their impact, because the bats continued to run toward the party.

  The lead bat raced toward Jalus, who had holstered his weapon, braced himself, and stood waiting. When the bat was only two meters away, he spread his arms, opening the flaps to expose claws three centimeters long. Jalus rotated ninety-degrees, left hand striking the bat in his heart region with his open palm. The bat’s arms appeared to hang suspended, limp like a rag doll’s as Jalus rotated back, driving his left palm into the bat’s head, which caved in as bones supporting the structure shattered. Like a limp rag, the bat crumpled to the ground.

  The second bat raced toward Jozef. When he opened his flaps, Jozef took one step away as if he were running and then threw a back-thrusting kick into the bat’s chest. The bat hung suspended for a moment, but his claws raked Jozef's leg, shredding his leather pants. As he hung there, Benes, standing slightly behind Jozef, fired twice. The bullets ripped through the bat's small head, spraying skin, bone, and brains into the bat behind him.

  The third bat closed on Damek. As he opened his flaps, he fired twice. As he did, Damek dropped onto one leg and executed a leg sweep, which sent the bat sprawling forward. Akar put two shots in his furry head before he could recover. They reached the first building and managed to enter before the remaining bats arrived. By that time the marines had caught up. They split up, entering one of the three buildings the survivors chose. Akar looked around, discovering what looked to have been a restaurant, judging by the large open area and the number of tables and chairs. The crew were crowding behind counters or disappearing into the kitchen and back rooms, as most didn't carry weapons on board the ship. Many of the marines were upturning tables
as protection against the bats’ pellet guns. The Mactans clustered in one windowless corner, upturned a couple of tables to protect the captain—who was awake but still groggy—and then each grabbed a chair after Akar gave several hand signals. Silence descended on the room as they waited.

  "Gunny Chow, the chairs," Akar shouted, lifting one of the chairs and holding it straight out, legs forward. He didn't get to elaborate, as multiple shots shattered the quiet, and windows exploded inward. Seconds later, bats came diving through every opening. Half of the twenty rushed the marines while the other half the Mactans. When the bats were within a meter of the first row, the Mactans rotated the chairs up with legs facing the charging bats, who were suspended between the legs, arms stretched wide for attack and exposed. In those brief seconds, the second row of Mactans had clear shots at the bats’ exposed heads. The first five died instantly. The next five took several running steps and attempted to glide over the row of Mactans with chairs, but didn't have enough running space to glide high enough to clear the top of the chair when rotated up and over the Mactans' heads. Tangled in the chair legs, they too were easy targets. As Akar looked to the other side of the room, the marines shouted some saying or other as they too used chairs to stop the bats' charge. Chow smiled at Akar and gave him a thumbs up.

  The last bat had barely died when shouts and a racket came from the kitchen. Seconds later, people came running into the dining area followed by bats. Ironically, the bats didn't appear to be using pellet guns but rather some kind of stun guns, judging by the lack of blood. Akar couldn't help but wonder if the bats thought they were collecting milking stock. The marines moved quickly, using their chairs to block and kill the bats coming through the doorway.

  Akar used finger signals to get his team ready to move. When the bats who had entered through the entrance to the kitchen had been killed, he motioned for his team to move.