“What if the diagnostic shows a problem?” Magnum asked.
“We’re all out of time,” Ben said, “unless we can convince the lieutenant to hold off on her invasion plans. And we might as well go inside to find out how the diagnostic check turns out.”
Magnum nodded. They screwed the engine cover back into place, then collected all their gear and disconnected the umbilical lines. Ben felt his stress level going up by the second. He didn’t want to have to tear the wing engine apart, but he was afraid that, if it worked, there would be no convincing Liachov to wait. And if they started up the main drive and flew to the planet, they were sure to attract the attention of the Fleet.
On the other hand, if the engine wasn’t fixed, the lieutenant might insist they proceed anyway, and Ben knew they didn’t stand much of a chance without a fully functioning ship.
Once they got inside, he got out of his space suit and hurried up to the bridge. Nance saw him coming and held up a hand.
“It’s still compiling,” she said. “Just a few more minutes and we’ll know something.”
Ben looked over at Kim, who was in the pilot’s seat but had swiveled around to face the row of consoles.
“Any news on our friends?” he asked.
“Do you mean have they come back?” Kim replied. “No, although there could be ten more capital ships on the far side of the planet for all we know. We don’t have radar, just long-range visuals. And just one of the big ships carry enough fighters to run patrols around the planet that would make getting to the surface nearly impossible.”
“We got out,” Liachov said. “We’ll get back in.”
“She’s crazy,” Kim said.
“No, but the Imperium forces are lazy. They could blockade a planet with just one ship, only if they kept their pilots busy flying and were willing to expend the Zexum necessary to run patrols nonstop. But they don’t, because they’re lazy. They think having a show of force is enough to frighten us away, but they’re wrong.”
“Or they’re just confident that they can take on whatever you throw at them,” Kim said. “Even with just three ships.”
“Let’s not bother fighting each other,” Ben said. “The real enemy is out there. And no matter, we need to pull together if we’re going to survive.”
“Diagnostics are complete,” Nance said.
Ben turned to look at her and saw Magnum standing beside her. It made Ben happy to see how the big man watched over her.
“Put the results on the main display,” Ben said.
Kim turned her seat back to face the large row of vertical screens. The information from the test came up and showed green. The engine had suffered no damage other than the power supply burning out, and their repairs were a success.
“Excellent,” Lieutenant Liachov said. “We’re ready.”
“Not yet,” Ben said. “The plan has always been to drift in past the blockade.”
“Plans change,” Liachov said. “I want us on the planet as soon as possible.”
“Fine,” Ben said. “But we still need a plan. We can’t just go flying straight toward the planet. They’ll see us coming a mile away.”
“What are you suggesting?” Liachov asked.
“Nance, from what we can see, what is the least visible quadrant on the planet?”
The computer expert began typing.
“I’ve been monitoring the position of the Imperium ships,” she said. “The three that remain are in orbit on an overlapping pattern.”
The display screen showing the test results from the diagnostics on the port wing engine was replaced with a schematic of the planet with three plot lines showing the orbital planes of the Imperium ships.
“They have to stay in an orderly orbit to avoid collisions,” Nance said.
“We should be so lucky,” Kim muttered.
“So can you factor in our speed, the rotation of the planet, its orbit around the sun, and the orbits of the Imperium ships to give us the best possible approach vector?” Ben asked.
“Precisely,” Nance said.
“How long will that take?” Liachov asked.
“Not long,” Ben said. “The real question is, how do we approach without being picked up on radar?”
“If we continue without systems down, we’ll just look like a meteor or some space junk,” Kim said. “Unless they’re being really conscientious and pull out their telescopes to get a visual inspection.”
“But if we activate the engines, we’ll ping their radar for certain,” Ben said. “Depending on how wide they’re projecting, they could have picked us up already.”
“No risk, no reward,” Liachov said.
“They’re probably just focused on the planet,” Ike said.
“We can hope,” Ben said. “We won’t know until they respond to our presence. I want a new jump point set.”
“We aren’t leaving the system,” Liachov said.
“Sometimes caution is preferable to rash bravery,” Ben said.
“And sometimes the best plan is to throw caution to the wind and charge straight at your enemy,” Liachov said. “I say we make the calculation for full sublight speed and go right at them. By the time they scramble fighters, we’ll be in atmo.”
“Unless they have fighters patrolling,” Kim said. “In that case, we’ll just be running straight into a trap.”
“I’m through debating,” Liachov said loudly as she drew her laser pistol and pointed it at Ben. “Set your course and go, or I start killing people.”
Magnum started to move, but Ben raised his good hand to stop him.
“I hope you get what’s coming to you really soon,” Kim said in a savage tone.
“Do it, Nance,” Ben said, sitting down at his station. “Magnum, man the security console, please.”
The big man moved over to his spot and sat in the chair, but his eyes never left Liachov, who was still pointing her gun at Ben.
“It didn’t have to be like this, you know,” Liachov said. “But this is just a game to you. Just another job. You have nothing at stake. All you care about is this ship, and how many credits you can accumulate.”
“I think you know that isn’t true,” Ben said softly, his eyes moving from the readouts of the ship’s systems to the woman he thought he knew.
Liachov had a hard, dangerous look to her. It was the look of a desperate person, and Ben hated himself for letting her get the best of him.
“Course is set,” Nance said.
“I have a reserve of power set for defensive measures,” Ben said. “Deflectors will draw from the auxiliary batteries first.”
“Engaging the main drive,” Kim said through clenched teeth.
“Bring the wing engines online slowly,” Ben said. “I had been counting on the friction of Brigton’s atmosphere to heat them up before we powered them on again.”
“Enough talking,” Liachov said.
Ben wanted to ask if she was getting nervous, but he knew that provoking her would probably get him killed. And if she killed him, Magnum and Kim would fight back. They would be killed by Liachov’s squad, and without Kim, the ship would be shot down or captured, which meant Nance would die or be tortured by the Imperium.
The Echo began to accelerate, and with a few taps on his keyboard, a chore that was more difficult with just one hand, he brought up their speed, course, and estimated time of arrival in orbit.
The forty plus hours at coasting speed was cut to just two hours. It seemed like an eternity to be on the Imperium’s radar. Ben could only hope that they wouldn’t be picked up too soon, and that Nance had set a jump point in case things got dicey.
Chapter 24
The first forty minutes passed with no sign of a response from the Imperium Fleet in orbit around the planet. They were still thousands of miles from orbit, so it was possible, Kim reasoned, that they hadn’t noticed the Kestrel class ship speeding toward them. On the other hand, they were rushing right at the enemy, who had no incentive to mobili
ze their forces and scare them away. It was like having a good hand in a game of poker. A player had to know how much to increase the bet without revealing just how good a hand they were holding.
Kim knew that either way, they were headed for danger that would require her very best piloting skills. When they passed the halfway mark, she began to get nervous. Flying the way she was didn’t take much effort. There was no friction in space, no outside forces that could knock her off course. Once they were pointed the right direction, and moving at speed, nothing changed until they needed to slow down or alter course.
“When should we start slowing down?” Sergeant Ike said.
“Soon,” Nance replied. “We’ll begin the retro burn to slow us down so that we don’t enter the planet’s atmosphere too fast and burn through our ship’s heat shield.”
Kim pressed her toes forward, rotating the wing engines until they were completely inverted. Then she used the ball control on her left armrest to do the same to the ship’s main drive engine. Normally she could choose the moment and speed of the retro burn just on instinct, but her nerves were shot from being under the gun, so she left it all up to the computer. There was nothing taking place yet that required her full skill, so she tried to shake off her feelings and stay loose.
She slowly pressed the throttle forward, watching their course and speed on her console’s screen. It seemed like madness to fly toward the Imperium’s forces without activating their radar and knowing exactly what was out there. A thousand Imperium fighters could be hidden in the shadow of a capital ship, just waiting for the Echo to fly into their field of fire.
“Lieutenant, can I suggest that you and your sergeant keep a close visual on the Imperium ships,” Ben said. “You can each zoom in one of the exterior cameras with the best vantage point.”
“To what end?” Liachov said.
“We’re scanning visually for any sign that they’ve spotted us. One of them might be swiveling its big guns away from the planet and toward our ship.”
“There’s no need to patronize us,” Liachov said.
“Forty minutes to reach atmosphere,” Nance announced.
Kim thought each minute felt like a year. She was growing old before her time doing such idiotic feats such as trying to penetrate a besieged planet.
“This ship has weapons right?” Ike said. “Maybe we should use them on the big ships.”
“We’d be killed,” Ben said calmly.
“Sure, but if we could take out just one of them, think of the message that would send,” Ike continued. “They carry thousands of people on board. We could take more in one fell swoop than in a month of raids.”
“Do you recall that your people fired rockets at those same ships?” Kim said. “They have shielding that is nearly impenetrable. Not to mention defensive fire capabilities that would knock anything we could throw at them off before they even got close.”
“We aren’t carrying heavy munitions,” Ben said. “Even if we could hit them with everything we have, it wouldn’t so much as disable their big ships.”
“On the other hand,” Liachov said, “if we were captured and hauled into their hanger bay, we could self-destruct and at the very least take out a full squadron of their fighters and bombers.”
“You do get that we would all die in the process, right?” Kim said in a cynical tone.
“One life for many,” Liachov said. “That’s our motto. We’re already dead, but we’re taking as many Imperium fighters with us as possible.”
“Great,” Kim said. “Wonderful.”
“This ship doesn’t have a self-destruct,” Ben said.
“Maybe not, but you’ve got a crate full of explosives,” Ike said. “I did an inventory of what we took from the outlaws on KX21.”
“I had forgotten about that,” Liachov said.
“No,” Ben said, his voice so even and confident it made Kim want to kiss him again. “You don’t want to do that.”
“And why, pray tell, do we not want to do that, oh wise one?” Liachov said in a snarky tone.
“Because if we get caught, this entire mission would have been a failure,” Ben explained. “You’ve got the weapons needed to give your people a boost. There may not be enough to turn the tide, but they will make a major difference in the battles yet to come. And if we self-destruct, even inside their hanger bays, we’ll only do cosmetic damage.”
“I doubt that,” Liachov said.
“Think about it, Lieutenant,” Kim said. “Their hangers are reinforced for just that type of attack. If we thought of it, you know their engineers and ship designers did too. You’ll be throwing away the future for a weak, ineffectual shot at just one of their ships, which they could easily replace without even feeling the sting.”
The bridge fell silent for a moment as Liachov considered Ben’s argument. Kim could feel the woman’s resolve crumbling under Ben’s logic. Unfortunately, the rational thing to do was to deliver the weapons to the guerrillas on the ground, then fly the ship back up to get captured. Kim hoped the woman wouldn’t think of that.
“We have company,” Nance interrupted the debate and was pointing at the display screen. “A full squad of Imperium fighters is turning this way.”
The sight made Kim’s stomach flip inside her, and she felt sweat popping out all over her body. She took a deep breath and settled her hands on the ship’s controls.
“Get the radar on,” she growled. “I have to know how much time we have before they’re in range.”
“Lieutenant?” Ben said.
“Fine,” Liachov said.
“Eighteen minutes to orbit,” Nance said. “Diverting our course will cost us time, but it should keep us out of range until we can make it into the planet’s atmosphere.”
Kim didn’t wait for permission. The fighters were north of her trajectory, so she angled the wing engines slightly so that they dove toward the planet’s southern hemisphere.
“Recalculating,” Nance said.
“Update our jump point,” Ben said.
“No!” Liachov insisted.
“Lieutenant, let my people do their job,” Ben said angrily. “We have to have a contingency plan.”
Kim heard the pistol fire. It was a muted pop, followed immediately by the sound of the battery pack humming back to full power. Kim felt her heart stop beating and despite the danger racing toward them, she turned to see Ben splayed on the deck. Magnum rose to his feet with the Deck Sweeper in his hands, the emergency rifle looked deadly as the dark barrel rose toward the lieutenant. Liachov fired again, and Magnum dropped to the deck without firing his weapon.
“No!” Kim screamed.
“Wait!” Liachov said as Kim jumped from the pilot’s seat. “Get back in your cockpit and get us on the ground.”
Kim was shaking all over with a rage she had never experienced before. All she could think about was killing Lieutenant Rena Liachov. Somehow, someway, they would make it past the Imperium, because Kim wouldn’t be robbed of the chance of killing the haughty officer herself.
She flopped back into her pilot’s seat, swiped at the tears in her eyes, and then took control of the ship.
“Nance, can you work the defensive systems from your console?”
“Yes,” Nancy said in a trembling voice.
“Good. Keep the shields on the auxiliary batteries, but shift them to the front of the ship.”
“What? Why?” Liachov asked.
“Shut up, bitch, and let me work.”
Kim flipped the wing engines back around and pulled back on the joystick. The ship arced slowly around, still moving toward the planet, but now rising toward the squad of fighters.
“I need my lasers on and powered up,” Kim said.
“Rerouting power,” Nance said.
“What is she doing?” Liachov said. “I didn’t kill Ben. He’s just stunned, that’s all. I swear it.”
Kim didn’t respond. The tactical overlay appeared on her monitor, and the lasers’ aimi
ng reticles flashed red.
“Shields are ready,” Nance said. “Passing a thousand miles above orbit. Enemy lasers will be in range in sixteen seconds.”
“Roger that. How many missiles can we fire at once?”
“Two at a time, every three seconds.”
“Get them ready,” Kim said. “Fire the first four as soon as I hit the lasers.”
“Roger.”
Kim couldn’t see Liachov or her squad, but she could feel them moving back as their world grew larger in the main display screens, and the enemy fighters came into sight.
On her monitor, the laser range was counting down. Kim knew that lasers were nothing more than highly focused light beams. At their strongest, the lasers could turn a ship the size of the Echo into atoms. But the greater the distance from their target, the less effective the lasers became, until eventually they lost all potency.
“We’re in range of their guns,” Nance said, her voice eerily calm and filled with determination.
“They won’t fire yet,” Kim said. “Not until they’ve scared us a little.
The two fighters on either side of the tight grouping of ships fired. Their lasers were well wide of the Echo, but the message was sent.
“They’re hailing us,” Nance said. “We’re directed to alter course and reduce speed.”
“You wish,” Kim said. “Ready, Nance?”
“Affirmative.”
Kim fired three rounds from the lasers. The engine output dropped but that was all part of Kim’s plan. Almost immediately, Nance fired the first two missiles. The next set came soon after. The fighters let their shields deflect the lasers but didn’t notice the missiles at first. When they did, the fighters broke apart. It was an almost flawless display of aerial skill... Almost.
The lead ship had to wait the longest to break off course, and panic got the best of him. He pulled back, clipped the fighter beside him, and both went tumbling way. The missiles shot past the fighters, who had done exactly what Kim expected of them. They pulled up and out from the missiles, and Kim rotated the Echo’s engines and dove toward the surface of the planet. When the missiles turned, they locked onto the nearest ships and went chasing the fighters. Only one caught its target before the missiles’ fuel was spent and the internal safety deactivated the warhead. They didn’t hear the explosion of the Imperium fighter who was hit, but they saw the light.
Jump Point: Kestrel Class Saga Book 2 Page 16
