Majel was inwardly pleased that her math had been correct. With Dan, she was wrong more often than the mathematics suggested she should be. That odd thing about humanity which enabled them to defy the odds seemed particularly strong in some members of the species. He didn’t have much time before the other fighters toasted the Satori, but he didn’t need it. She locked the speeding fighter. He fired.
It detonated into a fireball.
Just in time. The other fighters screamed in from all sides. Their crossfire stitched the hull, pounding the already wounded vessel. Dan was distracted, trying to steer the ship into a vector which would get them clear of the enemy guns. He hadn’t thought to turn the cloak back on yet. Majel could flick the switch digitally though. She turned the alien cloak back on.
Nothing happened.
Twenty-Four
Dan cursed under his breath as the Naga fighters zipped in toward them, firing as they came. He slapped the button to activate the cloak, belatedly realizing that he could have turned it on earlier and improved their odds of surviving the next few moments greatly. But nothing happened. He rapped the button again, but there was still no response from the system.
“Cloaking device is not functioning,” Majel said.
“Shit,” Dan said. “Beth, what’s going on with the cloak?”
He brought the Satori into a tight spiral, working to evade and outrun the fighters. It mostly worked. The ones which had been trying to catch them in a pincer move were now all behind them. As more bolts of enemy fire slammed against the hull, Dan was forced to wonder if that was an improvement or not.
“It’s a mess back here. Took fire and tore the place up,” Beth said.
“Are you all right?” Dan asked.
“Yes, but the systems are trashed. I can’t activate the cloak from here either, not without some time to repair the linking systems.”
“Shit,” Dan said, thinking fast as he tried to dodge the enemy fighters. If they moved too far away from the cruiser it would lock them with its guns and destroy them. The only reason it wasn’t already trying was that all its guns were still busy blowing up the remaining missiles Earth fired.
“We’re going to have to jump,” Andy said.
“Agreed,” Dan said. He began working with Majel to plot coordinates that would take them out of the fight. They wouldn’t be able to return until Beth repaired whatever was wrong with the cloaking device. He hated the idea of running away, but it was the only option.
“Incoming call from the Marine platoon,” Linda said. “They’re in trouble. They can’t break through the airlock. Enemy forces inside. And they’re taking fire from another fighter. They’ve got some cover, but they’re not going to last long out there.”
Dan glanced up from his calculations to meet Andy’s eyes. They couldn’t run. Not now. This was for the planet. They had to find a way to stay and fight. But it had to be something that made a difference. Getting blown out of space in the next minute or so wasn’t going to help anyone.
“Let’s give those Naga something else to think about other than Marines,” Andy said. “You’ve flown into a Naga cruiser before, Dan. Can you get into their hangar bay? Via wormhole?”
Dan shrugged. “I have absolutely no idea. Majel?”
There was a pause while Majel worked through whatever hellish math was involved. The fighters were getting closer. Dan swung around the side of the cruiser, breaking their line of sight for a moment. It wasn’t going to last, though. They’d be coming after them again any second.
“Affirmative,” Majel said. “I…think.”
“You think?” Charline asked, incredulous.
“The variables are too significant, and there are too many unknown factors involved. I will have to…guess,” Majel said. “Our odds of success are unknown.”
Dan laughed aloud. It was all he could think to do. This was the mad world they were in now, where alien spaceships were trying to shoot them down, and their computer was making guesses. He twisted the controls, sending the Satori up around the Naga cruiser in a narrow orbit, barely skimming above the hull.
“I’m not certain this is the time for levity,” Majel said. “I was quite serious.”
“Guess quickly, Majel,” Dan chuckled some more. “I trust your guesses more than most people’s certainty.”
“Sending you coordinates now,” Majel replied. “At this speed we will have to brake rather rapidly.”
“Understood,” Dan said. He began slowing the ship down so he’d have some chance of stopping them before they smashed into something on the other side of the wormhole. Out of habit Dan wanted to add an unnecessary ‘hang on’ for the rest of the crew, but if they weren’t already hanging on then they hadn’t been paying attention for the last ten minutes. Besides, there wasn’t time. He pressed the button to activate the jump. Brilliant light blossomed in front of the ship.
And they were elsewhere, transitioning almost instantly. Dan’s first awareness was of a wall only a few dozen meters ahead of them. He banked the ship hard, braking with every erg of power the Satori’s engines could bring to bear. Even through the ship’s inertial dampening, the sheering force of their hard turn threw Dan against his restraints with bruising force. His vision narrowed, turning black on the edges as he struggled to retain focus on flying.
He sucked in a deep breath against the pressure and continued the turn. The Satori was inside a hanger much like the one he’d seen before. Luckily most of the cruiser’s fighters were already out in space. There wasn’t much to crash into besides the Naga ship itself. The Satori glided along the wall, dumping speed as it went. He cut sharply once more as they reached the far end of the hangar, continuing to follow the wall.
It was almost tight enough a turn, but not quite. The Satori’s wing clipped the corner, and at the speed they were moving the small graze was disastrous. Most of the left wing sheered away with a sound like a steel bridge collapsing. Warning lights splashed across Dan’s console. He didn’t have time to take them all in. The Satori was out of control now, threatening to enter into a spin.
He had to set the ship down before they crashed. They were still moving too rapidly for a controlled descent, but there wasn’t any choice. Dan dropped the landing gear and shoved the nose of the ship downward toward the Naga deck.
The Satori responded sluggishly, the wing clipping another wall and threatening to destroy what was left of his control over the vessel. Then the landing gear under the nose came down against the deck hard enough to jam Dan’s teeth together. The aft end of the ship slammed down a moment later. All three landing gear buckled, collapsing under the strain. The ship crashed into the Naga deck, belly down, and continued to slide another hundred feet. Dan could see the shower of sparks they were striking even through the cockpit window.
The ship came to rest only a few dozen feet from the far wall of the hangar. Dan could taste blood in his mouth. He’d bitten his lip somewhere in the crash. His hands were shaking at how close they had come to disaster. But they were in, and they were alive.
“That wasn’t your best landing,” Andy said from behind him, coughing.
“Sorry about that. You know what they say about any landing you walk away from, right?” Dan replied. He felt terrible. He’d let them all down. It had been a complex move, and he knew he had done all he could. But he couldn’t help wishing he had been able to move just a little bit faster.
“If you call that a good landing, I’ll eat my suit helmet,” Charline said.
“We’ve got a shot. That’s what counts,” Andy replied. “Everyone OK?”
From the back of the ship, Beth’s voice hollered over the radio. “What the hell did you do to my ship?”
She was OK. That took an enormous load off Dan’s shoulders. He wasn’t sure he could ever have forgiven himself if she’d been hurt.
“We’re all here,” Linda said. “Barely.”
“Sore, but alive,” John said. “You all need to go reinforce those Marines.
Get them inside where they can do the job they were sent to do, or Earth is doomed. I’ll just slow you down. I’ll remain here to guard the ship.”
“Alone?” Andy said. “Dan can…”
Dan turned his chair, then stood up without a word. His legs shook, but it was as much from reaction to the crash as his lingering weakness. The Naga ships were operating at a little less than two-thirds of Earth’s gravity. He wasn’t going to be running too much. But by god, he could stand. He stood and stared firmly ahead at Andy, daring the man to leave him out. He was done being left behind in the ship.
“Majel and I can handle it,” John said.
“Grab a rifle then, Dan,” Andy said after a pause. “All of you, arm up. Let’s do this.”
Twenty-Five
Andy was in the middle of their little band as they made their way from the hangar, moving deeper into the ship. Speed was of the essence. They were outnumbered. Vastly so. If they allowed the Naga to pin them down, then all of this would be for nothing. They had to get the Marines aboard the ship, needed to get that additional firepower on their side.
His plan was to flank the Naga pinning the human troops at the airlock. Even with his handful of fighters, he ought to be able to tear up the Naga force rapidly enough that the Marines could take advantage of the confusion and move in for the kill. Combining their forces, they could take the key installations on the Naga ship - the bridge and engine room. Those in hand, the immediate threat to Earth from the asteroid the battle cruiser was pushing along would be gone. They could get reinforcements from Earth and the rest would be cleanup.
Beth jogged alongside him. Charline had point, several meters ahead. She was the best shot of any of them, and as nervous as Andy was about having her be first in the line of fire, he had to admit she was good at this. They’d worked together over and over, drilling movement to contact until she was damned near as good as most professional soldiers he’d worked with. She’d come a long way from the quiet programmer she had been when they’d met!
Andy glanced back over his shoulder. Dan and Linda were bringing up the rear. If anything were going to be a weak link in this operation, it would be those two. Dan had training, but he was weak, unsteady on legs he’d barely even been able to move a week before. Linda was fairly fit, but she had little training. He’d armed her with one of the Naga rifles, set to stun. The last thing they needed was a friendly fire accident with a P90 rifle, which was what the rest of them carried.
“Stay tight,” Andy whispered. Each of them had a throat microphone to communicate even the softest vocalization, and an earpiece to receive each other’s words.
Dan nodded back at him, gamely working to keep up with the rest of the group, but he was clearly struggling. His face was white, sweat beading on his forehead. Andy grimaced, hoping that it hadn’t been a horrible mistake to bring him along.
There was a rattle of gunfire from up ahead, and Andy had no more time to think about Dan. Charline had made contact. He whirled forward and ducked back against the wall, rifle ready to add his own bullets if needed. But Charline had already dispatched the two Naga she’d spotted.
“Just the two,” Charline said. “No more enemy in sight.”
“Stay alert,” Andy replied. “Beth, move forward. Cover each other as you advance.”
The sound of those shots would carry. Any other Naga nearby would know that there were intruders on board the ship now. Andy wanted to increase the pace, but they were already traveling about as fast as Dan could manage. He couldn’t push much more without leaving the man behind, and they might need the extra firepower soon.
“Majel, how much further do we need to go?” Andy asked. The AI had a pretty good schematic of the ship.
“About another two hundred meters forward. You’ll need to descend several decks to reach the outer hull,” she replied. “I am working on a route for you. Continue current path for now.”
They made it another hundred meters before the enemy caught up with them. Shots from behind zipped by over Andy’s right shoulder. He turned toward the rear, hitting the deck just in time to dodge more incoming fire.
“Enemy to the rear!” he called out, warning the others. Dan and Linda had already taken up positions against the walls, firing at the enemy from behind the minimal cover of a pair of stanchions.
It was hard to see just how many of them there were. Andy counted at least four, maybe six. Enough to be a problem. Probably not enough to stop them cold, but every delay was hurting their chances of stopping the enemy from dropping a rock on his home world.
“More of them to the front!” Charline called out. Andy spared a glance her way. She and Beth were returning fire at another Naga patrol ahead of them.
They were trapped, pinned between the two groups. It wasn’t going to be possible to break contact with both groups, and if they turned to focus fire on one enemy the other would tear them apart from the other side. It was a neat setup, and the Naga had clearly prepared it with some care. He cursed under his breath.
“Majel, we need another way out of here,” Andy said into the radio. “We’re pinned down in the hall, enemy on both sides. You have anything?”
There was the briefest of delays before she replied. “Affirmative. There is an access panel directly to your left. I can hack the control systems to allow you to open the panel.”
“What’s on the other side?” Andy asked her.
“Ducts. They drop down straight for several levels. You’ll have to climb down the ladder.”
Crawling around inside the ventilation shafts of an alien ship. It was so damned cliché that the idea surprised a chuckle from his throat. “OK, tell me when we can move.”
“Done. The hatch should be directly to your left and forward one meter,” Majel said.
Andy glanced over and spotted the panel in question. More Naga energy bolts whizzed by over his head, and he fired a burst at the enterprising lizard that had decided he made a good target. He heard the alien grunt in pain. At least one of his shots hit.
A quick roll brought him out of the line of fire, up against the wall. The hatch opened easily to his touch, sliding aside to reveal a dark passage punctuated by a steady series of rungs, descending who-knew-how-far. With luck, maybe they could get all the way to the outer deck this way, and be that much nearer to the airlock.
“Beth, this way,” he said. He popped up on one knee to add his own fire to Charline’s, giving Beth cover as she dodged back and slid into the hole. She started to descend.
“Linda, you next,” Andy said.
“I can’t. They’ll hit me.” She sounded terrified. Andy cursed silently. He hadn’t been paying enough attention. Of course she was scared. She had damned little experience with firefights. The rest of them had been through this a few times, knew what they needed to do to stay alive. Linda was their newest recruit and had missed most of the hairier battles the others had been in.
“Linda, you can do this. I’ll fire as you move and pin them down,” Dan said.
“I’ve got you covered too,” Andy added. “On three.”
“OK,” Linda replied, her voice shaking.
“One. Two. Three!” Andy called out the numbers. Linda scuttled back along the floor on the third number, panting by the time she reached the hole. She slid down onto the ladder and began to descend.
“Dan, go,” Andy called out.
Dan almost stumbled back down again as he stood, then rushed across the hall. One of the Naga shots clipped his shoulder as he ran. He spun and fell, hitting the deck hard. Andy fired back down the corridor, keeping the Naga pinned in place while Dan got his feet back under him. He rolled the rest of the way out of the line of fire.
“You OK?” Andy asked.
“The body armor stopped the shot from going through,” Dan said through clenched teeth. “Hurts like hell though.”
“Can you climb?” Andy asked.
“I think so.”
“Go.”
Dan ducked
down into the tunnel. Andy nodded across to Charline, who rose from her position, firing as she stepped back toward him. Andy fired the other way, working to keep the Naga heads under cover while Charline was exposed. She made it back to squat next to him.
“Were you worried about me?” she asked him with a grin.
“I’m worried about all of us, but you probably least of all,” Andy replied.
“Aw, that’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me,” Charline said. “Don’t wait too long up here.”
Then she started down the shaft, leaving Andy alone up top. He dipped down partway into the duct, but kept his head and shoulders above so that he could fire out. It was difficult tracking the enemy alone. They were closing in now, approaching from both sides. He wanted to buy the team more time. Every second counted, got them a little deeper into the shaft before the Naga would be able to come after them or fire down on them.
“Leave the lock to me,” Majel said into Andy’s ear. “Go!”
He dropped down, pulling the hatch into place as he began to descend the ladder. Above him he heard the crackle of electricity, and smelled ozone. He didn’t know what Majel had done to the lock, but he assumed it would hold the Naga for at least a few moments.
“Hang tight, folks,” Andy said. He pulled a pair of glow-sticks from his pocket, snapped them against his side, and dropped them. They plummeted down scores of feet before clattering against the floor at the bottom.
One step after another, he lowered himself down the ladder into the still-dark shaft.
A sharp yelp from below startled Andy, and he looked down to see Dan’s fingers slide from a rung. Exhausted, with his shoulder injured from the shot and his legs weak, Dan must be almost completely spent. There was nothing at all Andy could do. Charline was between him and Dan. He wasn’t even close.
Dan slipped, then fell free from the ladder entirely. He brushed past Linda, almost knocking her from the rail as well. She ducked in close and clung with everything she had.
Adventures of the Starship Satori: Book 1-6 Complete Library Page 65
