by Randal Sloan
Missy and Sissy, along with their band of Protectors, took up positions on opposite ends of their underground network. They were armed with the same weapons as the Imperials, but Krissy had figured out how to increase their firepower several times above that of their opposition. It did require a bigger power pack but she’d figured out how to increase that too.
With their modified headsets in the helmets, the two girls were able to stay in touch with the action above them, so they knew what was happening. Missy had been extremely worried about the new developments with the psychic abilities shown by the special group. She was glad to see the stalemate above, but that only increased her worries for their location. Sooner or later the aliens would figure out they could get around the Marines by infiltrating their positions underground. When that happened, they would come here.
“I hope the portable shield units the Sarge loaned us work, or we’re going to be in trouble,” she told her two friends over her headset. “I expect we have only a few minutes more before they start showing up down here.”
Krissy was keeping a close eye on things for her. “Yes, I’m starting to pick up movement to the north, the same direction from which they launched their attacks above. I recommend you shift all your defenses to that end except for a couple of Protectors.”
Opening up a com channel to her group, Missy quickly shifted her position and that of most of the Protectors with her. They literally had to run down the corridors connecting the two ends of the block and without Krissy’s warning they wouldn’t have gotten there in time.
The aliens poured into the entrance to the underground passage at the north end of the block, launching a vicious attack. The small group of Protectors was severely outnumbered, and if Missy hadn’t brought her team in, Sissy’s group would have probably been overrun.
Knowing they were protecting the children and a number of innocent civilians, the Protectors fought with everything they had. Thanks to Krissy’s enhancement to their weapons and in no small part due to the Protectors’ intense program of marksmanship, they managed to hold. Sissy’s ability to partially hide some of them from the enemy helped, although she was not able to extend that to the entire group.
Without the portable shields and their limited body armor, they wouldn’t have stood a chance. Still, despite those protections, due to the intensity of the attack, they suffered a number of casualties within their group of Protectors. Some were minor, so that the individual Protector was able to keep fighting despite his injury. Missy’s arrival with her reinforcements gave them enough Protectors to fill the holes left in their defenses by those who could not continue to fight.
It helped to see even more of the enemy go down, for they didn’t have the advantage of Krissy’s or the Sarge’s technologies, but there were just so many of them. Finally, the alien attack broke, the aliens pulling back to lick their wounds, but the girls knew it would only be a matter of time before the enemy amassed enough bodies to push an overwhelming attack. From her vantage point, Krissy could tell they didn’t have long before that would happen.
“You’ve got to hang on,” she told her friends, unable to keep the fear from her voice.
Sissy and Missy exchanged a glance. Both knew this would be it. They would fight till their last breath, but without help it wasn’t going to be enough. Even with their special abilities, there was only so much they could do against such a horde of attackers.
They could only hope the Sarge was right about his Princess coming to save the day, and that it was going to be soon. Otherwise, it would be too late for their small group of Protectors, and then who would protect the children?
Soon the aliens had the entire end of the block filled. The girls could only hold their breath — any minute now, they would rush them and it would be over.
Some of the aliens started moving forward toward their position. This was it…
I don’t know you, Princess, but we need you, and you’d better hurry!
Greg Resault and Maze Sarbensky were glad the Sarge had given them the opportunity to do their small part in the defense of Block 85. The first time they fired the plasma cannons it was in total awe of their destructive power.
At least Maze had fired one before; plasma weapons were a part of initial Marine training. Greg had missed out on that. His assignment to the Master Sergeant as a Marine grunt had been the punishment he was given for his part in his father’s rebellious plot against the Empire. Greg had known what his father was up to, but he hadn’t done his duty to report it. Instead, he merely tried to protect himself and his mother.
The Princess had figured it all out, and somehow, amazingly, she’d accepted his offer of service. Not that he’d gotten off scot-free. That was what had him here, serving as a Marine instead of the prison time or death he’d deserved as a traitor. He considered the choice the Princess had offered him as not only fair, but also something he’d done his best to live up to with the second chance he’d been given.
But all that meant that he’d missed that part of his weapons training. He knew it all in theory and his implants did most of the work interacting with the weapon systems, so he really did “know” what he was doing.
Still, knowing and seeing the results were still quite different. He couldn’t believe how powerful the plasma burst was. It was like controlling a miniature nuclear weapon, which in a sense was what it fired. A tiny deuterium pellet was stuck by a laser and the resulting explosion of plasma was shaped and guided by the plasma gun system. The result was even more than his wildest expectations. A huge fiery burst shot out of the gun to strike the aliens, exploding all around them as his shot combined with Maze’s to completely envelop them.
Then the fire faded. What? He stared in disbelief! The aliens were still there. He couldn’t believe it! At least the shots had driven them back, so both Marines waited to see what would happen next. Perhaps the one time would be enough to keep them at bay?
It appeared that the aliens were completely stunned by what had hit them, but it didn’t last. Apparently they were determined to keep trying, for they gathered themselves and started forward again. Once more the two Marines let loose with their guns. This time, at least, no one was surprised to see the aliens still stood, although once again they had been driven back.
Greg glanced over at Maze, who just shook his head. “I’d have never thought anyone could do what they just did, but we’ve got to keep trying. Sooner or later, one or the other of us will find a way to beat the stalemate. Let’s just hope it’s us still standing when this is all done.”
Again the aliens moved forward and again the two fired their guns. This time, the aliens in the robes held back a moment, but the others began to gather. It appeared they were about to rush the Marines.
“Not good,” Greg told his companion. “We’ll never get them all.”
“Maybe not,” Maze grimly told him, “but we can make them pay.”
Then a sixth alien in robes showed up and things suddenly got a lot worse. Greg knew something was bad wrong, for he couldn’t seem to get a breath. He quickly realized what was happening. That alien, somehow he’s doing this. He’s going to kill us, he realized.
After all I’ve been through the last few weeks, this is so unfair. All those years I lived as the spoiled brat my father let me become, I hated myself. Finally, I’ve learned to do good and even feel good about myself, and now it ends like this.
I’m sorry, Princess. I wanted to give back a little bit of what you gave me. Now it’s too late.
The world began to fade. Was this it?
Chapter 13
Help Draws Nigh
Once more at her station on Katarina, Jarra’s thoughts were so deep she scarcely noticed what was going on. They were nearing their destination and it was going to be so very close. She knew just how much was depending on them to get there in time. A line was about to be crossed by those who opposed the Master Sergeant and the civilians he protected, and if it was crossed, nothing she could do would save the
situation.
She had concentrated on her mental prep for a second time after she left Kaeden and Jason. Kaeden’s discussion about the Order had given her what she believed was a greater understanding of the ones they faced, and she really believed there was a way to find a solution satisfactory to all. If he was right, they actually had more in common with the enemy they would soon face than they had differences. Still, she worried, especially about the time remaining for them to get there. Would it be soon enough?
Jarra remembered meeting her grandfather when she was a little girl. Maximus Von Hassan had been in poor health and her uncle was already serving as Emperor in everything but name, but still Maximus was an imposing man. Nevertheless, he spoke to her gently, and with kindness. Noticing her gaze upon his watch, he gave her a big smile and removed it, handing it to her to examine.
That watch had been entirely mechanical, so rare that there were only one or two specialists in the Empire that could repair it. No one needed such a device anymore, what with implants that could give them the time any instant they wished. That was one of the reasons it fascinated her.
It had been a beautiful piece of jewelry, the case obviously made of the purest gold, but that wasn’t what the young Jarra found to be so irresistible. No, it was the little circle in the middle, where she could see the tiny little mechanical gears spinning round and round. It had completely amazed her and she had been unable to stop watching it.
Jarra swore she had one of those in her head, with the gears spinning just as exquisitely. Unfortunately, those gears were spinning much too quickly to suit her, and time was running out.
She feared what would happen when they stopped spinning.
Katarina burst out of fast hyperspace into the star system where the planet New Earth was located. Galen had brought them in as close as he dared, using the fact that fast hyperspace extended further into the system than normal hyperspace. Luckily, for this system that was fairly close to the planet New Earth. He was also able to retain an extra bit of velocity as they entered real space so that they could reach the planet as quickly as possible.
Not one to be any less competent, Gabo quickly brought up the scanners to give them immediate real time details about the system.
“Find and tag any ships in the area,” Jarra told him. “Bring the beam system up to full power.”
Gabo nodded, displaying an overview of the system on the main viewer. “Already working on it. So far I’ve found only a handful of ships. The two outbound are merchants and it’s obvious they’re attempting to leave the system. No inbounds. Two probable hostiles in a loose orbit around the planet, pirates likely.”
She turned to Galen. “Give me your fastest course to engage the hostiles. Use the upgraded drives at 200 percent. We’ll just have to deal with the acceleration effects for a few minutes.
“Sara, I need you to broadcast the following on all frequencies: All ships in the area. This is the Imperial ship Katarina. Due to the urgent situation on the planet, we demand your immediate shutdown of all your offensive weapons. Reduce your power levels to minimums and transmit your acceptance of our demands or you will be fired upon.”
Sara was glad she was back at her station. She concentrated on her coms, sending out and quickly receiving compliance from the merchants but unsurprisingly nothing from the two hostiles. “Both of the merchants have complied,” she told her leader. “They appear to be glad to see us. No response from the hostiles. As you can see, it appears they’ve already blown the station.”
All of them had suspected nothing less, but it still was a sad sight to see. All of those people just gone with no chance of survival. Jarra’s stance against the pirates grew even more set.
Gabo quickly brought the status of the two remaining ships from yellow to red. He also shook his head. “I’ve never seen ships with tech this far out of date. There’s no way either of them can pose a threat to us.”
The gears in Jarra’s head were spinning much faster now. They were nearly out of time. “There’s just not enough time to deal with them, not that I think it would do any good. They’ll never surrender, I’m certain.”
She just shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. We can’t leave them in control of the planet’s space and we don’t have time to chat. We have no time to waste with anything other than the kill shot, so target the nearest ship as soon as we’re in range.”
Her face grew hard. She couldn't stand pirates, especially blatant killers like these two. They were nearly as bad as traitors. “We’ve warned them, they didn’t comply, so now it’s all on them. No warning shots, just take them out. One shot should do it. As soon as you’re in range of his companion, take him out too.
“Galen, as soon as Gabo has finished off the two pirates, I need your least time course to the following coordinates.”
Galen couldn't help but stare at her for a moment. “You are aware of the fact that those coordinates are on the surface, right?”
Jarra didn’t even blink. “Yes,” she answered flatly. “Actually, they’re just a few meters above the surface, so you won’t need to land the ship. I intend to do a drop to the surface from the lowest point, so plan to hover there briefly.”
She smiled at them. “Our rather naughty Master Sergeant controls the airspace with hypervelocity missiles, so you don’t have to worry about hostile fire. After this mission is over, I’m going to have to find out how he slipped those in on what was supposed to be a peaceful little vacation for his squad.”
Her smile grew bigger. “And then I’m going to thank him most graciously.”
She pulled up the com message on her panel that she had prepared prior to their arrival. “Sara, I just forwarded to you the message I need you to transmit to the Master Sergeant’s location on the planet. It contains my orders for him, including the plans for our arrival.”
She turned to Kaeden. “As soon as we take care of the hostiles, I want you to take over the flight controls. As good as the AI is, I don’t trust it like I do your ability to fly us.”
Kaeden gave her a huge smile. “A piece of cake,” he told her.
Jarra appreciated the comic relief that offered, for Kaeden had struggled at first with human idioms when he had been learning Galactic Standard. “And Kaeden,” she said. “I need it to be as fast as you can make it.”
“Pedal to the metal,” she told him with a smile.
“It will be so,” he replied, his own smile reflecting hers.
Unfortunately, they had a battle to fight, so Jarra returned her view to the 3D VR display in front of her. “Two minutes to engagement,” Galen told her.
Jarra nodded. “I will be back shortly. I need to get into my armor.”
She was already on the move, sending the implant commands to initiate her armor even as she reached her quarters. During her training, she had practiced the process of donning her armor in the minimum time necessary and she’d gotten her time down there with the best of them.
All of that meant she had just returned to the bridge as they neared the hostiles. Both ships had gone to full power and she knew they expected to overpower her single small ship despite their out-of-date tech. Boy, are they in for a big surprise, she thought.
“Thirty seconds,” Galen told her. “Shields are at max, drives still at 200 percent. You would think our insane speed would get the pirates’ attention. No one in human space should be able to match our speed and that alone should give them pause.”
The first of the two ships launched his missiles, quite a few for such a small ship. He must have added extra launchers. It didn’t matter. Sara easily diverted them with her defensive systems, not that they would have been a threat against their superior shields anyway.
She smiled at Jarra. “Gabo’s right about their tech. Give me two minutes and I could hack their missiles and send them back at them.”
Jarra just shook her head. She was glad to see the old Sara back. “We don’t have two minutes,” she told her, “or I’d let you
have your fun.”
“Firing the beam in five,” Gabo told her.
Those brief seconds passed and Katarina’s beam stabbed out. Unlike in the past when they had still been figuring out their highly experimental beam weapon, Katarina’s beam functioned perfectly at full power. The pirate was completely surprised, not that it mattered for very long. His shields held for the briefest time before the entire ship exploded, leaving nothing behind.
If he’d only known, he’d have been quick to surrender. After all, Katarina had faced down cruisers with that beam and they hadn’t fared much better.
It didn’t matter. Jarra didn’t have time to deal with them. The second pirate never even got his missiles launched as seconds later his ship suffered the same fate. It wasn’t like they deserved any mercy. Between the two of them they’d obviously been the ones that took out the station, a hostile act of terrorism so vile that would have brought most of them the death penalty anyway.
Jarra knew there were probably some innocents on board that they had just killed with the others, but there was just no other way. Such was the horror of war. Most never saw that; Jarra had seen enough already that she was sick of it. Nevertheless, she knew she had to do her duty and this time a whole planet was depending on her.
Kaeden quickly assumed the controls and Katarina was already on her way to the surface. Now was the time for the real work. What happened in the next few minutes could well determine the future for the entire galaxy. Jarra didn’t know how she knew that, but she did.
Rae’s misgivings about their attack strategy had quickly taken a back seat when they faced that atrocious weapon the Galactics wielded. That weapon was absolutely horrendous and if he hadn’t already had a shield up, it would have been too bad. Still it was a close thing.
It took all of his ability to block that attack, the effort driving him back. Every time he and his men attempted to move forward, they would open fire again, forcing him to stop in place to keep their shield up.
