by Dale Sale
Pela glanced down at her tablet. “The weapons for the Corvus are installed. Torpedoes, mines, drones, CWIS, auto-cannon, and more. We will be able to stand against anything the Governance sends.”
Drake was up next: “The Straps are getting a full weapons install in the shipyard shops, including Wingman drones. I’ve been tweaking the BUGs and started modifying them with deployable carbonado stealth tiles. I’m working with Nyrkki and Faber to come up with a similar system for the MCBs. We should be able to sneak past anyone we want.”
“Great job folks, anything else?” Gus asked.
“TEETH NOW,” Corvus boomed. “FLY FAST, CALL THUNDER,”
The crew laughed and Gus smiled. “Oorah shipmate!”
He looked around the wardroom, “Has anyone seen Lenore? It’s not like her to miss a meeting.”
Zia grinned.
The wardroom hatch slid open and everyone turned to see Lenore standing at parade rest in the hatchway. Not a projection, a physical Lenore, dressed in an immaculate Imperial Confederation shipboard uniform.
She strode up to the table sporting a huge smile and saluted. “Reporting for duty Skipper.” A bold patch on her sleeve proclaimed, “CORVUS, FLY FAST, CALL DOWN THE THUNDER.”
Nyrkki Ratuainen stretched and cracked his joints as he inspected the machine shop. He was recovering from cryo quickly. He didn’t appear to have freezer burn, but how would he know? He turned to HAM, “You did a pretty good job, little bot.” The man plopped into a chair at his workbench and strapped himself in.
HAM sniffed. “This shop is constructed exactly to original Confederation Engineering Standards for this vessel.”
Nyrkki smiled and whacked HAM across the back, sending him stumbling on his skates. “Yes, but it is not constructed to Iron Fist standards.”
“I am assuming you are referring to the rough translation of your name?” HAM said as he regained his balance. “Is everyone on Wolfram descended from the Finnish of Earth?”
Nyrkki paused a little misty eyed at the mention of his long-ago world. “Yes, for the most part. I guess that’s why we were suited for the mines, all those cold dark winters. The original settlers were gene-edited to use tungsten for bones instead of calcium to withstand the higher gravity. A standard human doesn’t last long at three gravities. Wolfers are now a non-compatible subspecies so, no interbreeding.” He shrugged. “We were stuck with each other.”
HAM asked, “But doesn’t that edit also allow you to form a stable bond with the neural lace network to operate the mining equipment?”
“True, that is why we are the best miners. Wolfram is the largest source of tungsten in the Imperium,” Nyrkki said. “If you want to leave Wolfram, you must sign an unbreakable employment contract with the Imperium.” He flashed HAM a smile.
HAM studied the device Nyrkki was building on his workbench. “What are you constructing, Sir?”
“This is a doodad Drake asked for. He called it a frog tongue,” Nyrkki said. He spun his chair, pointed the tool, and pressed a firing stud. A long thin line shot out and the ball on the end stuck to a wrench clipped to the tool board. Nyrkki pressed a stud, and the device reeled the wrench toward him. “He said they had these in the Guard. I modified this one with a gecko anchor on the end so it grips better.”
Nyrkki turned to a knocking on the hatch frame to the shop as Zia Forte stepped inside. “How are you feeling, Mr. Ratuainen? Any lingering effects of your long nap?” she stammered. “Lenore wanted know.”
The man rubbed his neck and blushed slightly. “Umm, still at little stiff. I should be fine before we get underway.”
Zia moved forward. “Here, let me,” she said as she began to work her strong fingers into the knots of his shoulders.
Nyrkki groaned contentedly. “Damn, you are strong for a tiny woman!”
Zia slapped the back of his head. “Looks who’s talking shorty!”
“Ow, you are lucky I am still recovering,” he said.
She spun his chair around. “Or what?”
Nyrkki said, “I surrender!” holding up his hands.
Zia narrowed her eyes and grinned. “Yes, you will, more than once.” She leaned forward and kissed him.
HAM said, “If that will that be all, EO, I believe I am needed elsewhere.” The little bot skated out the door and the hatchway closed.
Gus piloted the BUG around the docked ship. A host of Faber’s minions still crawled and poked over the outside of the ship, flashes of welding flickering along her flanks. The shimmering carbonado shell was covered in places to fit Nyrkki’s un-camouflage scheme. Gus moved to the dorsal line of the ship to inspect his new toy. He had gotten Faber to throw in an enormous six hundred millimeter dreadnought rail gun. They had mounted it facing aft and could use the Corvus carbonado hull as a capacitor bank to fire it.
Gus said out loud, “Now that’s a gun! Turns this tugboat into a real power-hitter.”
Nan Stanski’s voice came over the comm. “You boys are all about size.” Gus could see her waving from the other BUG, maneuvering along the hull.
Gus responded. “I never heard any complaints from the ladies.”
Nan said, “I’m sure they were sparing your feelings.”
“Ha, good one,” Drake Sheridan added. He was trying out his new tailored EV suit and inspecting the wing pylon installations. “I still don’t see why you wanted that thing, Captain. These drones are a hundred times more effective than that old shotgun. It’s gonna screw up our atmospheric flight balance something fierce.”
Gus replied, “Dodging bullets from an enormous cannon can distract an enemy in amazing ways. Besides, sometimes simple is better, not much to go wrong with this thing. Nan, what’s the latest estimate for completing the refit?”
“Last estimate I got was 24 hours,” Nan said. “Faber has bots on every square inch of her inside and out.”
Nyrkki Ratuainen’s low rumble joined the conversation. “Skipper, Engineering is ready for full power trials at any time.”
“Great news, EO. I want to test the weapons and get underway for Terne Station ASAP. I hope our friends are still OK back on there. Grey has had two weeks to make their lives miserable.”
“Yeah, but he’s gonna regret that when we show up,” said Nan.
Chapter Twenty
On board Erebus, the intercom in Harrison Grey’s office buzzed, “Captain Grey, we have just picked up a drive signature matching Johansson’s ship.”
“Commander Meza reports that they are in the Ix Trojan asteroid cluster.”
“Ha!” Grey smiled. “Thought you could sneak back here. I’m wise to your tricks, Johansson.
Lenore zoomed the forward view to maximum. “I believe that is our old pursuer the Governance cruiser Erebus, Skipper.”
Gus studied the ship. It was exceptionally ugly. Like most Governance ships, they built Erebus of modules fastened inside of an external strength frame holding the ship together. It had none of the graceful lines of Corvus. Governance designs focused on fast construction and easy repair. Was a time I considered that the best way to build a ship. Something to be said for a little artistry, though. He rubbed the sculpted arm of his command chair.
Gus turned to Nyrkki, “Well, Captain Ratuainen, are you ready for your performance?”
Nyrkki snorted. “Do you think this will work, play-acting and disguise?”
“Nope, like you said, it’s all play-acting. We just get to learn a little more about our opponents.”
Grey stretched and groaned as he entered the Bridge of Erebus. Life on the station had made him soft.
Commander Meza met him at the door. “It is highly unusual to relieve me of my command, Captain. Don’t you have more urgent duties than chasing a drunken old man?”
Grey snarled, “This ‘drunken old man’ made a nice fool out of you recently. He is the most wanted criminal in the system. That ship of his is a ‘Clear and Present Danger’ to the balance of power among the Iz worlds. The Governance needs that
ship taken. Do I make myself clear?”
“Crystal,” Meza’s eyes narrowed as he replied.
Grey barked at the Ops Officer. “Sitrep on that ship!”
“We have been tracking a ship leaving the Trojan cluster. It doesn’t match the description of Johansson’s ship though, just a common tug.”
“What’s its name?”
“It isn’t pinging an AIS transponder Sir, but that’s not unusual out here around Ix. A lot of ships don’t want to attract attention.”
Grey pushed the Comm Officer aside and took over his panel. “Unidentified vessel, this is the Governance cruiser Erebus I want to speak to your Captain, now.”
The forward screen lit up, Nyrkki Ratuainen’s broad square face filled the view. “This is the tug Vinssi, what do you want, Governance?”
“State your name and business in the area!”
Nyrkki said, “I am Captain Ratuainen, I am on my way to grab a load of ice from the Ix ring. Some asteroid miners are thirsty. Not that it’s any of your business.”
Grey whispered to the still stunned Comm Officer. “Run that man through the facial recognition database.” Louder he said, “I need you to maintain course and speed, we will send over a boarding party.”
Nyrkki said, “Navy asshats,” the visual blanked.
Nyrkki looked around the bridge, “Okay, that didn’t work, now what?”
Gus said, “We wait until the boarding party is almost to us, then we hightail it out of here. Erebus will need to recover the boarding party before they chase us. That will buy us time to get to the ring.”
Nan added, “It’s as good a plan as any.”
The Conning Officer on Erebus said, “I’ve got some strange activity on the Vinssi, Captain Grey.”
The screen zoomed in on the ship. They headed the boarding party MCB toward the tug. The hull shifted and suddenly large plates and struts ejected from the ship. It disappeared! The only thing visible on the screen was the background star field and floating debris.
Grey swore. “I want a firing solution on that ship, now!”
From Combat Information Center, a voice said, “I have an incomplete solution.”
Grey shouted, “Fire full spread of torpedoes. Proximity fuses set to disable.”
The Weapons Officer said, “Our boarding party is within the blast kill radius.”
Grey slammed his chair. “Fire as soon as those idiots are clear!”
Six primary drives blazed into life on the screen, and Corvus fled.
On the Bridge of Corvus, Lenore said, “Skipper the Erebus has fired six torpedoes. They are tracking our fusion drive. Should I destroy them with the CWIS cannon?”
Gus grunted against the G-forces. “Corvus, how along until we are in the ring?”
Corvus boomed, “Two Hours Like This,”
Gus painfully turned to look at Lenore. She appeared not to notice the 6 gees slamming him into his seat.
“Negative,” Gus said, “let’s keep that our secret for now. Drop some fizzys.”
“Torpedo countermeasures away,” Lenore said. “I also suggest evasive maneuvering and cutting the fusion drive.”
“Sounds good,” Gus managed as the blood pounded in his ears.
Nyrkki was whistling a tune and holding on to a grab bar at the Comm station. “You don’t sound so good, Skipper,” he joked. “This is like back home on Wolfram.”
Gus felt the ship shifting as Lenore piloted in communication with Corvus. He took a deep breath as free fall returned.
“The torpedoes have lost lock on us. Corvus has plotted a Hohmann transfer orbit that will sneak us into the ring, Skipper,” Lenore said.
Gus asked, “What is Erebus doing now?” He frantically worked a console on his chair, “I’m leaving a little something for them to remember us by.”
Nan answered from Ops, “They are still trying to get their boarding party back aboard. They are prepping for a one gee burn, looks like they want to get there first and try to spot us coming in.”
Lenore said, “Captain, the carbonado camouflage is less effective near a star.”
“Then we need to make sure they don’t see us before we are inside the ring.”
“Good idea Meza, we will use Ix to paint them,” Grey said.
Meza replied, “I’ve used this tactic before, never with a ship as stealthy as this one though. It’s going to depend on us getting the right visual angle.” He keyed the comm, “CiC, I want passive sensors set to maximum, begin running CI augmented search on the enemy’s most probable approach to the ring.” He turned to Grey “My crew is the best. We’ll find them.”
Grey stood and grunted. “I will be in my cabin; keep me advised. You have the deck and conn Commander.” He left without waiting for a response.
The Bridge crew looked at each other and grumbled.
Meza reached for the comm. “I’m assuming you can hear me Vinssi, this is Commander Atil Meza, Erebus is the finest predator in the Fleet. You might as well give up.” He keyed the squawk box to CiC. “I want a fix on them if they respond.”
On Corvus, Gus turned to Lenore, “Launch two comm relays and tie me in a bounce series.”
Gus’s fingers danced on his console. “Hey Atil, nice to meet you. This is Gusty Johansson, skipper of the fine ship Corvus. That’s not very nice, firing on us unprovoked like that.”
Meza replied, “Sorry about that, Captain Grey is a little jumpy. Why don’t we talk this out instead of shooting at each other?”
Gus laughed. “I would, but you are the one doing all the shooting.”
CiC came over the squawk. “Almost got a solution, Sir.”
Meza turned to the Weapons Officer and whispered, “Full spread of EMP torpedoes when you have a solution.”
Meza keyed the comm again, “As far as we are concerned, you are just another pirate stealing Governance resources.”
Gus said, “Hah, that’s a good one, the Governance calling me a pirate.”
“Okay, how about ‘stateless’ then? All such vessels are subject to boarding and inspection,” Meza said.
“Wrong again, Corvus and crew are operating under a Letter of Marque from the independent state of Matria,” Gus said. “You just committed an act of war.”
Meza glanced at the Weapons Officer, waiting for a signal. “Sorry, we don’t recognize the independence of rogue settlements,” he told Gus.
The bridge of Erebus shuddered as the torpedoes launched. A cheer sounded when a blue lightning glow filled the screen.
Gus laughter rang from the comm, “Nice shooting Erebus! That’s one comm relay that won’t be troubling you again. Good thing I launched two. Oh tag, you’re it.”
The Erebus bridge crew looked puzzled. Suddenly a tremendous clang rang through their hull.
The Conning Officer looked wide-eyed. “What the hell was that?”
CiC called on the squawk box, “Bridge, CiC we just hit a…”
Meza finished for them, “Wargame acoustic mine. If they wanted us dead, we would be.”
Murmurs ran through the Erebus at light speed. The situation had just gotten deadly serious.
Chapter Twenty-One
Gus was slouched down in his comfy leather chair, thinking. His quarters weren’t luxurious, but they were better than any of his old billets: pullman rack that doubled as a couch during the day, desk, storage locker, plus a private head. Pretty plush, and this chair Zia weaseled out of Faber tops it off.
He was worrying about slipping past Erebus. The crew was good, but still green as grass, and none of them were skilled at hide and hunt. Sheridan was good at zero gee, but young. Pela was a simmering hothead as much as she tried to play it cool. Nyrkki, the EO, was great at building stuff once he knew what you wanted. Zia was still trying to shift from logistics and support to operations. Even Nan, his best fighter, didn’t have any experience handling ships.
Gus was also still trying to figure out the bots. Sometimes it seemed like they had their own agenda.
Gus could feel his eyes closing and he began to doze.
His dropship was so high that the planet’s curve was clearly evident through the front screen. The surface below formed a patchwork of ice-capped mountains and green valleys. Rivers of grass ran toward the forest sea of the lower elevations. His ship was headed for the planet’s terminator and dark side. He looked down at the control console and instantly recognized it as an old Anvil Class.
He realized this must be another of his dreams, I must be doing a halo insertion. Well, hang on for the ride!
Gus keyed the internal comms. “Who am I hauling back there?”
The familiar voice of Nan Stanski came back. “You OK up there? Having a stroke, old timer?”
“Nah, just checking if you are still awake, Fancy.”
If that’s Nan, he knew this was Thunderbolt Squad and below him must be Kai. Their mission was an insertion to take out the warlord, Festal Pastelus. The locals considered him a freedom fighter; the Governance classified him a terrorist.
To Gus, it was just another mission. “Calling down the thunder!” he liked to say. “They want us to take him out, we take him out.”
They had been training hard for two months and had finally got solid intel on a location. The hard part would be escaping after the job was done. One hundred klicks through enemy territory to the extraction point. Gus could still draw the topo maps of the area all these years later.
Gus glanced at the instruments. “Ship, what’s your name?”
A soft voice came through his helmet. “Gus, it’s your old friend Annie.”
