by Alex Kings
Hanson looked back. The unconscious Albascene had been joined by two more.
He hurried inside.
*
Minus six minutes:
Where are you, you old fool?
Karnasc's body swarmed and churned in frustration. The water was going sour with pheromones signalling annoyance (though the tank's automated systems were scrubbing this as quickly as it came).
It's nearly time!
The old Petaur hurried into the room. “Sir,” he said. “I have something. All those ships I checked have updated their ident codes.”
“Let's see,” Karnasc said.
The Petaur plugged a tablet into the tank, so Karnasc could read the data directly.
The update was complex, coded so it would be effective for each type of ship. Most of the data was unchanged, so anyone looking casually wouldn't see anything amiss.
There was only one difference.
“Prepare the Enforcer for launch,” he ordered the Petaur. “And update its ident code to include the following information …”
*
Minus two minutes:
The Petaurs aboard the ship had given way for Hanson's team as soon as they learned who they were.
The ship's CIC was a tiny circular room with evenly spaced stations around the wall. There was no command console – an Albascene commanding this ship would plug its suit directly into the computer.
Charin took the helm. Yilva went to an operations station to check everything. Hanson took a station to the other side, so he could monitor what was going on.
The other Petaurs hovered around the CIC for a bit before retreating. They whispered to one another in excited tones. “We're on Yilva's ship!” When Yilva heard this, her ears fell flat against her skull.
“Take-off in one minute,” reported Charin. “Gravity generators powering up and ready.”
“No problems with the docking clamps,” said Yilva.
“But just to make up for it, we've got another problem,” said Hanson. A platoon of Albascene were marching across the tarmac towards them.
“Forty seconds to go,” said Charin.
The Albascene would be at the door long before that.
“Thirty-five seconds.”
“Sod it, let's just go now,” said Hanson. “It's not a hard limit, just an agreed-upon time, and thirty seconds won't give much advance warning.”
Charin cocked his head. “Oh yeah,” he said. He flipped on the shipwide comms and said, “All hands, prepare for immediate liftoff.”
The Albascene outside them reached the door.
The ship hurtled upwards.
*
Zero:
It was time. Petaurs scrambled towards the luxury liner. Ixin was one of them, running flat out. He'd been kept back by his employer until he had been forced to leap out a window and glide away.
“Stop!” called a synthesised voice.
Ixin did not stop. Neither did the other Petaurs.
Stun-catapults flew through the air. Petaurs went down.
Ixin dodged under a stun-catapult and ran for the cruiser. Its door slammed shut before he was halfway there, and it rose into the sky.
It was happening!
But it was happening without him. He changed direction as soon as he saw another ship. The little interplanetary transport had its doors open. Behind it, Petaurs summoned him frantically.
Ixin leapt and glided past them. Another Petaur followed him and landed almost on top of him.
“Close the door! We have to go!”
The door began to close. Glowing ribbons of effector fields appeared from outside and dragged it open again. Two Albascene threw themselves inside with surprising agility.
“Don't move,” said one.
Another hauled itself up a ladder to the pilot's compartment.
Upstairs, the pilot turned to see the Albascene appear.
It was too late. He stepped away from the controls, hands raised. Not that would do any good. “Alright, you can stun me,” he said.
There came a sharp crack. Blood spattered against the Albascene's laser.
The pilot looked down at the burnt hole in his chest. “You didn't have to …” he began, then collapsed.
*
Plus thirty seconds:
“Sir, we've got a report from our officers on the ground. Yilva Vissin Avanni, the human captain of the Dauntless, and a group of Free Petaurs just stole a ship.”
The Albascene commander heard this news with a frisson of amusement. “Scramble fighters and bring them down again. Alive, if possible.” He looked around the small, domed command centre. This would be the place where they finally caught Yilva, the heart of the rebellion.
Before his underling could respond, another spoke. “We've got another report of Petaurs stealing a ship.”
“Fleet Officer Orin has just had his ship stolen.”
“We've got fifteen … no, eighteen … calls to police centres saying Petaurs have run away from their duties.”
“It's a planetwide phenomenon. So far we have confirmation on three hundred launches over the past two minute.”
“Scramble all ships, ASAP!” ordered the commander.
There was a pause. “Our ships aren't launching. They've been locked down … for suspected criminal activities.”
“What?” said the commander. If a synthesised voice was capable of a hiss, this would be the moment to use it.
“Confirm that,” said another underling. “Docking clamps refuse to unlock.”
“Then how did they do it?” the commander said.
“I don't know, sir.”
“Try our orbital cruisers.”
“They're locked down too. The station's clamps refuse to release.”
The commander struggled to think. Everything had fallen apart in the space of a minute. “Planetary laser installations? Orbital weapons platforms?”
“The targeting system is malfunctioning.”
“Someone update the lockdown system. Tell it we're legitimate. Shut it down completely. I don't care. Just do it!”
“The system is refusing to accept updates. I'll send a technician to work on it.”
Inside his suit, the commander's fish slumped in the water. That might take hours. “Yes, I'm sure it'll be a great help,” he muttered. “Update on the Petaur fleet?”
“Over three thousand confirmed launches.”
“By the ancestral abyss,” murmured the commander. He was out of options.
“Sir, we're getting a call. It's from Karnasc.”
“Put him through,” said the commander.
“Commander –” began Karnasc.
“Is this what you call crushing the Resistance?” the commander leapt in. “Most of the Petaurs on the planet just decided to leave, and we can do nothing about it!”
“Yes, we have been outmanoeuvred.” Karnasc's voice was calm, even for an Albascene. “But we haven't been defeated just yet. I have found a way around the lockdown. My ship is free.”
“How?”
“You must update your ship's ident code with the following data.” Karnasc sent a string of code alongside his message.
“That'll take twelve minutes, at least,” said the commander.
“Really? I was done in less than six,” Karnasc mused. “Worry not. I will keep the Petaurs occupied until then. Karnasc out.”
Chapter 34: Walk Into a Trap
It was a bizarre and beautiful sight. Angular Albascene ships – nearly all of them shaped like dodecahedrons – swarmed along with slightly more normal-looking shuttles. The final count was 400,000 ships, plus double that in shuttles. Together they carried close to 60 million Petaurs.
Nearly all of them were civilian vessels – slow, underpowered, lacking jump engines, and about as useful in a fight as a watermelon. They were packed with excited but uncertain Petaurs. No-one seemed to have any idea what to do next.
Yilva hunched over her console, trying to co-ordinate the ships. Her fi
rst victory was simply getting them all to head away from Laikon in the same direction. On Hanson's suggestion, she managed to stop the ships from clumping together, so they would be harder to pick off in case the Albascene had any weapons that still worked.
Finally, they searched for a way of getting out of the system.
“It would be so much easier if the Dauntless was still around,” complained Yilva. She was searching through the all the ships, trying to find one with a jump drive.
“Most things are.” Hanson was at the comms station, calling for any nearby allies – Human, Tethyan, or Varanid. So far he hadn't had much luck.
Agatha peered over his shoulder. “The Alliance won't be too pleased when they see what you've done here.”
Hanson shrugged. “They can take me back to Earth for a court martial as soon as we save it.”
He was interrupted by a hail. Apparently it was coming from one of the stragglers. Yilva heard it and bounded over.
Hanson put it through.
The screen showed an empty, well-lit corridor inside an Albascene ship.
“Hello, Yilva,” said a synthesised voice. “It's nice to speak to you at last. I am Karnasc.”
Yilva bared her teeth.
“Tell me,” said Karnasc. “Are any of the Free Petaurs with you? It must be difficult for them to leave behind their families.”
As soon as he heard this, Charin came over.
“So I've done you the favour of bringing them along. I know I haven't been entirely truthful in the past, so here's some hard evidence.” The camera view turned to show a cell. Inside, a number of Petaurs cowered.
Charin's ears fell flat against his head. He rushed forward to grab the microphone.
Hanson killed the connection. “Wait!”
Charin glared at him. “He has them!”
Hanson nodded. “Good, we'll get them back. But let's try not to walk blindly into a trap, alright?”
After a moment Charin fell back. His tail was rigid with tension. “Okay,” he said.
“First thing we need to do,” said Hanson, “is find the source of that signal.”
“On it,” said Yilva. She went back to her station.
“Now, let's negotiate.” Hanson turned to comms back on. “Karnasc?”
“Who's speaking?”
“Captain Hanson, of the SAV Dauntless.”
“Even better,” said Karnasc.
“What do you want?” Hanson asked.
“I want you, Yilva, and any members of the Free Petaurs and the Petaur Resistance to come to my ship to save them,” said Karnasc. “You do as I say, and they will be freed. You don't, and I will begin executing them, one by one, until you change your mind. I think that sounds fair. You have one minute to accept.”
Hanson turned off the microphone. “Do we have a shuttle?”
“Yes,” said Charin.
Iya spoke for the first time since they came aboard. “We must leave them.”
“No,” snarled Charin.
“You're not just risking yourself,” said Iya. “You're risking this whole escape! He has a plan.”
“I don't care,” said Charin. “I'm going.”
“Me too,” said Yilva.
“This is foolish!” cried Iya. “You can't –”
Hanson turned the microphone on again. “We accept,” he said.
“Wonderful,” said Karnasc. “You're doing well. Zero fatality rate so far. I'm sending you the co-ordinates of my ship. Come in a shuttle. Quickly, or I might start worrying. See you soon, Captain.” The transmission ended.
“Yilva?” asked Hanson.
Yilva nodded. “He has given us the correct co-ordinates. That's where the signal is coming from.”
Hanson stood. “Let's go, then.” He started down the ladder away from the CIC. Yilva and Charin followed him.
“This is a trap, you know,” said Iya.
“I know,” said Hanson. “But it's also an opportunity.”
In the hold, the gathered Petaurs watched him. Some chittered silently among themselves.
Uruth stepped forward. “Do you have a helmet suitable for a Glaber?” He smiled thinly. “We left mine in the water.”
“No …” Hanson frowned. “Though we might be able to rig up a temporary cover with smart matter. Why?”
Uruth bared his teeth. “I'm still seeking my revenge.”
Chapter 35: Dock and Jump
Moore, Saito, and Newman were sprinting away from the facility when the blast hit.
It was an odd sort of explosion. There was no heat, no flames. It was as if a giant fist below the facility had suddenly punched upwards, tearing it apart and sending several tonnes of soil and gravel into the air.
The invisible force of the blast hit Moore, simultaneously throwing her off her feet and sending her flying forward.
She managed to think, Shit. This is it. This is how I die.
Then she hit the ground again, roughly. Pain like liquid fire ran up her arm. She slid and rolled across the grassland for several metres before coming to a halt. Bits of metal and soil and rock rained down around her, pattering against her armour.
She blinked. Her head was pounding.
Okay, I'm still alive. That's a turn up for the books.
She struggled to her feet. Her arm lit up in pain again. She ignored it and looked around. The Ancient weapon had gone. Twenty or so metres away to her left, she saw Saito getting up. Ahead of her, Newman was still on the ground, but he was moving.
She glanced behind her. The facility had been replaced with a giant crater. And above, the air was thick with dust, but she could see the Ancient ship still in position.
Something else was roaring in the distance.
She summoned Saito over, and they both ran over to Newman as he managed to sit up.
“Can you stand, Specialist?” she said.
The roaring grew louder. A moment later, a glowing orange streak shot towards them. It turned into a fighter – Kestrel class – and came to a sudden halt directly in front of them.
Its hull was still glowing from the heat of atmospheric friction. It made the contracting tak-tak-tak sound of cooling metal. The back door opened.
“Get in, now,” said a voice. “Try not to touch the hull.”
Moore and Saito carried Newman inside. “Welcome aboard, Sergeant,” said Red. The Kestrel began moving as soon as they were through the threshold, even before the door had closed.
Moore looked back in time to see another blast hit the spot where they'd just been. This one was bigger. The ground itself seemed to shatter.
The Kestrel lurched forward as the blast hit it. Out of control, angled downwards, it flew towards the ground. Red wrested with the controls.
When they were a couple of metres away from crashing, the Kestrel angled upwards again and began climbing out of the atmosphere.
“We're not out of the woods yet,” Red warned them.
The Ancient ship was shifting, redirecting its aim. Red pulled the Kestrel upwards, flying vertically towards it. He counted down under his breath, then pulled aside just before the Ancient ship was able to fire again.
By now they were in the upper atmosphere. The curved horizon and the glowing blue atmosphere of Iona were visible beneath them; above, the sky darkened enough to show stars. They came level with the Ancient ship, flying so close that Moore could make out the details of the patterning on the spines, then passed it.
The Black Cat was in a line of sight. Red contacted it. “I have them,” he said.
“Understood,” said Serafin. “I'm on my way. Mid-air dock-and-jump good with you?”
“Yep.”
“Good.”
The Black Cat dived down through the atmosphere. The Kestrel flew up. As it did so, the Ancient ship turned about its axis to fire again.
The two ships hurtled towards each other on a collision course, less than a kilometre away from each other. At the last moment, they turned sharply and decelerated so they were flyin
g side-by-side.
The Ancient ship lined up its weapon, aiming directly at them.
Red took the Kestrel into the Black Cat's already open bay doors.
They jumped away as the Ancient ship fired again.
Chapter 36: Out of Time
The shuttle was tiny. The ceiling brushed against Hanson's head. He was squeezed between a wall and a Petaur. Yilva, Charin, and Iya joined him – Iya, for all his complaints, had finally decided to come along.
The room shook when they undocked. Hanson keyed in the co-ordinates and headed for Karnasc's ship. The underpowered shuttle struggled along with barely a gee of acceleration, but soon enough their destination was in view: A dodecahedral frigate, its surface covered in laser turrets.
Hanson hailed it when they came within five klicks. “Karnasc, we're here.”
“Come on in,” said Karnasc.
A small port opened in the middle of one of the pentagonal faces. Hanson guided the shuttle in. Effector fields seized the shuttle and dragged it inside.
When they were settled in the bay, a booming voice said, “Deactivate your systems and come out with your hands raised.”
Hanson came out first. Two Albascene in armoured suits stood directly ahead. Another six flanked him. Others waited behind the shuttle, in case anything went wrong.
The Albascene frisked them with effector fields. Satisfied, it pulled Hanson's hands behind his back and manacled him, then did the same to the Petaurs. “They're ready!” it said.
The bay's door opened. “Good, good!” Karnasc glided in. His suit was unlike any Hanson had seen before, with gold and mother of pearl trim, and what looked like inset rubies.
“Where are they?” said Charin.
“Right this way,” said Karnasc. “Quickly, now. We've got things to do!”
The Albascene marched them down a corridor and through a door. Cells lined one wall.
The Petaurs were all there, huddled together. One of them looked up. She was clearly quite old. Her ears perked up and her eyes widened. “Charin!” she said.
