It took only a few seconds before the alarms sounded. The noise was a jangling klaxon that included clicks and whistles. Wellick assumed that the worm had triggered an automated response. He waited a few seconds longer until the device chirped more than fifty percent complete. The spy pulled the device from the panel and shoved it back into his pouch. A flashing green light sprayed inside the room. It was either an all-clear or he was in big trouble.
As he stepped back to the door, he risked a small prick to the tip of his left glove. He did not want to expose his whole hand to the Ch’Tauk if necessary, but he needed to get the door open. Sliding his exposed nail down the panel, he watched the door slide open. There were louder alarms in the hall outside and a strobing green light. He quickly stepped into the hall and pressed himself against the nearest bulkhead. With no other cover, he needed to rely on the chaos of the alarm to hide him.
The sound of armored claws against deck plates alerted him to the approach of more centurions. Wellick pressed himself against the wall tighter, praying that the suit would cover his presence. The soldiers marched past him, focused on something further up the hall. Two dozen Ch’Tauk soldiers filed past him without glancing in his direction. Wellick realized that they were all heading the same way he needed to go.
He braced himself for the action he expected and stepped back into the hall. There were sounds of commotion from around the corner. He stepped to the crossroads and peeked around. What he saw made no sense to him.
Ch’Tauk soldiers were being attacked by humans. At first, Wellick thought that the crew of Diamond Sole had decided to board the destroyer in some suicidal attempt at capturing the ship. He realized, though, the humans he saw were not dressed in anything that came from Diamond Sole. They were wearing tattered clothing, some in barely scraps. Each person looked as if they were barely capable of standing up, but they fought the Ch’Tauk with an animal ferocity. Bodies littered the floor around the umbilical opening. Ch’Tauk had taken up positions and were firing at anyone who tried to enter the ship. More of the tattered humans were pouring through, however, than the Ch’Tauk could handle. Fear of damaging the umbilical kept the centurions from firing down the passageway with anything but the lowest power settings.
Wellick decided that whoever the humans were, they needed help if they had any hope of overcoming the aliens. He stepped back down the hall as quickly as he could, ignoring the sound he was making. He reached the nearest enemy position and wrapped his thick arm around a kneeling centurion’s neck. The alien whistled in alarm and Wellick smelled fear. He needed to use every ounce of strength to twist the armored neck. Finally, a jarring crunched signaled the end of the fight. The soldier slumped. In the chaos, none of the other soldiers had even noticed the death of one of their own.
Wellick grabbed the rifle dropped by the dead alien. Wellick checked the weapon before putting it to his shoulder and began picking targets. Ch’Tauk bodies fell under the new assault. Several of the creatures tried to aim at the new attacker, but could only see a floating rifle picking off their comrades. As more Ch’Tauk fell, the humans began retrieving weapons and firing at the enemy. Wellick had no idea what was happening, but he knew he was finally getting to have some fun.
23
“What the hell is going on?” Lee shouted at his comm officer. “Why can’t we get a visual from Phanoi?”
Lieutenant Sabina Devereaux tapped keys to try to bring up Jackal on the bridge. It was obvious that the woman was having no luck. Lee stood just behind her shoulder and tried to see anything that might give him a clue as to what was happening on the freighter. He had not even heard from Wellick on the secure pulse since before the start of the commotion.
“Send someone down there,” Lee ordered. “I want eyes on the scene.”
“Aye, sir.” Devereaux replied.
Lee watched the woman tap keys for another few moments before he stepped back to his command stool. On his own ship, he had been made to feel helpless. His only solace was the knowledge that they had not yet been detected by the other destroyer.
“Captain,” said the short form of Doctor Fintober. “It was Chang.”
Lee turned to see the short physician stepping onto the bridge holding his head. There appeared to be seeping blood from under the hand. Lee jumped from his seat to meet the doctor half way. The man collapsed into Lee’s arms as he fell forward.
“Chang came down to sickbay after you sent him away.” Fintober said. “He was angry and making threats. I went to get a sedative to try to calm him down but he began to attack us. He threw off several of the other former slaves trying to hold him back. Finally, he struck out and broke away from all of us.”
“Where did he go, Doctor?” Lee asked. “What did he do?’
“It seems he made his way over to the other ship. He released the prisoners on board Phanoi, Captain. He opened the bulkhead doors just as the Ch’Tauk went for an inspection. One of the other humans followed him. I think he’s gone mad.”
“Did you get an idea of what is going on over there?” Lee asked.
“No. Not really, Captain.” Fintober replied with a wince. “The slaves overran the Ch’Tauk centurions and headed for the umbilical. That’s when our man came back.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” Lee said. “Now I know what’s going on. Do you need help to get back to sickbay?”
“Just give me a minute, sir.” The doctor replied. “I just got a bit dizzy.”
Lee helped the doctor sit up on the metal deck. He stood and walked back to the communications station. Devereaux was trying again to get a camera feed from Phanoi. One view flickered into focus. The camera mounted on the bridge of the freighter became active. There was no one at any station on the bridge. Lee strained to see if Jackal or the other two crew on board were anywhere to be seen.
“Get me visual from the security cameras on the cargo containers.” Lee said. “I want to see who’s left up there.”
A camera view snapped up on a central screen. The humans that they had rescued on Gomus were rampaging across the view. He thought that they had been calmed by the notion that they were going to be part of a mission to free other humans. Apparently, Eddie Chang had managed to whip them into a fury of revenge and violence. Lee felt the need to run down to the connection and try to calm the situation. As he turned to leave, Goldstein stopped him.
“Captain Pearce!” The man shouted. “The other destroyer has begun to move. It’s coming around in an attack posture.”
Lee halted and stepped to the small pilot’s console. He saw the big warship slowly turning in space. If the ship was allowed to fire on the freighter, there would be nothing left of either ships. Lee needed to give his people time to take care of the riot.
“Disengage the attachment, Goldstein.” Lee ordered. “Have whoever is left report to battle stations.”
“Battle stations, sir?” The pilot asked. “I didn’t know we had any.”
“Just do it.” Lee replied. “We need to give Wellick and the others time to get things under control.”
“Aye, sir.” Goldstein said, tapping keys on his control.
Lee knew that the sturdy attachment system that magnetically held the smaller ship to the freighter was being closed as he settled into the stool. It would take a few seconds for the seal to be secure and then they could float away from Phanoi. Diamond Sole was equipped with the advanced shielding system developed by the elves, but Lee knew it would only go so far. The rest of the operation would need to be guile and cunning.
The slight metallic shudder and high pitched tone told Lee that the ships had separated. Goldstein maneuvered the slave ship away on reaction thrusters. At twenty meters, Goldstein kicked the magnetic drive into power and the smaller ship shot forward away from the freighter. They were still protected by the bulk of the larger vessel, but they would not stay that way for long. The ship pulled around the flattened bottom of the freighter and came out from under Phanoi. Goldstein pulled the ship up sharply, fl
ipping their perspective upside down and over the top of the destroyer. Lee instinctively tried to hold himself to his seat despite the inertial control and artificial gravity system.
The bridge doors slid open and Aztec sprinted onto the bridge and into the tactical chair. The man was sweating and out of breath but drew up his screen without question. The ship was equipped with standard cutting lasers as well as improved plasma cannons. They were no match for the banded hull plating of the destroyer, but they might be able to sting the other ship enough to distract them.
The plasma cannons opened up as soon as Diamond Sole was clear of the freighter and its attached destroyer. Blasts of red-orange fire deflected from the tough armor plating. The Ch’Tauk destroyer ignored the small ship as it closed on the freighter. Goldstein twisted the ship in space and brought the ship under the enemy ship. Aztec continued a steady stream of plasma fire at the belly of the insectoid ship. They were still not making much difference to the armor, but at least the destroyer had to notice their attack.
The slave ship turned down the length of the destroyer, pulling up tight to the armored hull. The view from the screen was dizzying as they passed at full speed along the ridged hull. Aztec had stopped firing randomly and had concentrated his efforts on an area near the bulbous stern. Lee could see metal heating as the sustained fire took a toll on the plating. They shot beyond the tail of the ship and into open space. Goldstein pulled up hard and Lee could feel a slight increase in the gravity on the ship. The dampeners were overloaded from the maneuvers and would need a complete overhaul if they escaped.
A sharp jolt knocked Lee from his perch and into Goldstein. The view screen flared as their system was overloaded with energy. An unmanned panel popped and sent sparks across the command center. When the image resolved again, Lee could see the stars rotating vertically in an uncontrolled roll. Brief glimpses of the destroyer explained the impact. The Ch’Tauk ship had fired a full battery of plasma bolts at them. Their improved shields had shunted power into other systems, but it was too much for the cobbled together interface.
“Stabilize!” Lee shouted.
Goldstein shook his head to clear the fog but began to tap keys. The ship slowed its rotation, but then swerved hard to port. The pilot was still trying to evade the deadly bolts even as another one glanced off their shields, spinning them horizontally this time. Lee pushed himself away from the pilot console and back to the command stool. He heard the sound of Devereaux retching as the projection screen spun wildly.
Lee felt more thrusters come online as the young pilot struggled to stop the spin. Lee heard calls from the communications station for information, clarification and damnation as the ship’s systems blew out one at a time. He wanted to make an announcement; to make his crew feel better about eh situation but he knew it would be a lie. He held on to the stool and waited for the end.
“Captain!” announced Goldstein. “An M-space portal has just opened!”
Lee walked to the tactical console and looked over Aztec’s shoulder. His monitor showed a scan of the surrounding area. Despite the spinning display, Lee could make out the two destroyers, one freighter and a new target entering the fray.
“Goldstein, can you do anything about the spin?” lee asked over his shoulder.
In response, the ship slowed its spin and began to travel in a long arc away from the pursuing destroyer. Lee could hear Roy Booth’s voice as he cursed Lee’s name. The mag-drive was back online and the ship was flying a corkscrew course towards the incoming ship.
Lee looked at the projection. The ship’s corona was bleeding off into space and he could just make out the lines of the ship. It was smaller than the Ch’Tauk ships and of a different configuration. It had a rounded nose that tapered back into a mag-drive housing. As soon as the ship lost speed, its forward plasma cannons opened up at the destroyer.
“It’s Resolute!” Devereaux cried.
24
Diamond Sole twisted hard in space, narrowly avoiding plasma bolts from the oncoming battleship. Resolute had unleashed its full batteries against both the destroyer and the much smaller slave ship. She had turned herself broadside to the attacking Ch’Tauk ship to maximize her fire capacity. Goldstein was tapping madly at his panel to evade the fiery stream of friendly fire.
“Reinitialize the transponder!” Lee yelled to Devereaux. “Signal them to stop shooting at us!”
“I’m trying, sir.” Devereaux responded. “I think our antennae were hit in the last attack. I don’t know if our transponder is broadcasting.”
“I don’t care is we have to land on her hull and tap code with a hammer,” Lee responded. “Find some way of letting them know we are friendly.”
The small bridge staff worked their controls. Aztec was trying to reroute the shield grid to keep it from overloading more of their systems. Goldstein had turned the ship back towards the destroyer, trying to place the larger target in Resolute’s crosshairs. Lee was standing behind the pilot trying to figure a way out of the situation that didn’t involve a posthumous medal.
The Ch’Tauk pursuer had turned its attention towards the battleship. Lee could see that the rest of the small armada had also taken notice of the battle. Two more frigate analogs and a set of four corvettes had turned away from the planet and were approaching. Lee assumed that fighters were being scrambled as well either from the surface or from inside one of the frigates. Diamond Sole bobbed between the lines of fire, finally dropping straight below the plain of the battle and under the destroyer.
Lee scanned the tactical readout our Aztec’s shoulder, trying to get a sense of how badly things were going. He noticed that the second destroyer had detached from Phanoi and had begun moving away from the stationary freighter. Without radio contact, he felt blind. He needed to find out what was going on with his team on the alien cargo ship.
“Goldstein,” Lee ordered. “Get us I closer to Phanoi. I need to see if Jackal and the team are still operational.”
“Aye, sir.”
The slave ship turned sharp and travelled towards the stern of the alien destroyer. The ship flared out at the end and Goldstein held fast to the hull until breaking away towards the freighter. The second destroyer was moving slowly. To Lee, it seemed that they were having trouble with their thruster system. The ship seemed to shimmy in space. The freighter, however, was drifting in space. Scanners still picked up power readings from the command section, but varying power output from the cargo containers.
“Bring us around front.” Lee said. “I want to see if anyone is on the bridge.”
Goldstein maneuvered the ship around to face the bow of the freighter. There was an exposed window near the top of the pear-shaped command section. Most ships did not use real windows for fear of micrometeorite hits or blinding solar radiation. Phanoi was a civilian ship formerly owned by a man who thought he was untouchable. The cargo ship had come equipped with only minimal weapons or shields but lavish decorations. The windows glowed bright red into space as Lee tried to peer into the ship. He noticed movement from beyond the window and signaled Devereaux to enhance his projection. An image grew on the screen of a slim woman waving her hands at them. It was Jackal.
“Can’t you get anything form her?” Lee asked Devereaux. “What about her personal com?”
Most pilots carried personal communications units in case of a crash or separation from their ship. Lee was worried that Jackal had left eh device behind when she changed into her costume to fly the ship.
“I don’t know if we are transmitting or not, sir.” Devereaux replied, staring blankly at her panel. “The whole system is messed up.”
“Captain,” Aztec called to Lee. “Are we close enough to use our own?”
Lee stared at the other pilot, dumbfounded. He had been so focused on the problems of the ship that he had forgotten his own personal comm unit. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out the small device. Flicking the system on, he heard a crackle of static and then the voice of his wing
mate.
“…lost control of the destroyer. I have minimal thruster power and no weapons. Can anyone read me over there?”
“We read you, Jackal,” Lee replied into the com unit. “Nice to hear your voice again. Can you hear our signal?”
“It’s blowing my ears out, Flyboy,” The pilot replied. Lee could see her stop waving and hold the small transceiver to her face. “I had to turn the gain down. You are transmitting, but I don’t think you are receiving. I see a hole where most of your antennae should be.”
“Acknowledged, Jackal.” Lee replied. “What’s going on over there?”
“Everything was fine until that lunatic crossed over the umbilical and started letting the prisoners free.” Jackal replied. “All hell broke loose once the Ch’Tauk realized that they were being overrun. I think I heard Wellick shouting orders before the umbilical began to tear and I was forced to close the hatchway. I have no idea what is going on over on that ship.”
Lee sighed. He had hoped that the porcine security guard had learned something about the Ch’Tauk home world before the start of the riot, but now he wasn’t sure. If the guard had gotten mixed up in the fighting, it was anyone’s guess as to whether he had fulfilled his mission. Lee turned to Aztec, still at the tactical station.
“Show me Resolute.” Lee ordered.
The screen shifted from a view in through the forward window of Phanoi and across the battle. Resolute was evading the larger destroyer and landing precise hits along the other ship’s hull. The destroyer was giving chase, though, and not allowing the battleship any time to rest. Lee prayed that Farthing could keep his ship together long enough for Phanoi and Diamond Sole to get away.
Resolute Uprising (The War for Terra) Page 18
