Ep.#7 - Who Takes No Risk (The Frontiers Saga - Part 2: Rogue Castes)

by Ryk Brown

  General Hesson stood there, silently watching, as Lord Dusahn stormed out of the commander center. “That man’s ego will be our undoing,” he said to himself.

  * * *

  “Helm, turn to one seven zero, twenty degrees down relative,” Nathan ordered. “Once established, jump ahead one light minute.”

  “One seven zero, twenty down relative,” Lieutenant Dinev replied as she initiated the course change.

  “One light minute, aye,” Mister Bickle replied

  “Status of that battleship?” Nathan inquired.

  “Shield numbers four and five are at fifty percent. Twelve and fourteen at forty percent,” Lieutenant Commander Kono replied.

  “Recommend targeting shield sections four and five,” Jessica advised. “Two of her six reactors are directly underneath.”

  “Agreed,” Nathan replied. “Comms, tell the Cobras to attack the battleship’s number four and five shields, on an attack heading of one seven zero, twenty down relative. Attack at…” Nathan glanced at the mission clock, then at the status of their turn, doing quick calculations in his head in the split second pause. “…plus one two point three zero.”

  “Aye, sir,” the comms officer replied.

  “One seven zero, twenty down relative,” Lieutenant Dinev announced, notifying her captain that the ship was on the assigned course, as requested.

  “Five-degree up angle on the bow, and jump us in to attack range,” Nathan instructed. “Ready all forward tubes. Full power triplets. Four rounds, then we jump ahead another light minute.”

  “Message away,” the comms officer reported.

  “Jumping,” Mister Bickle announced as the jump flash washed over the bridge.

  A black and crimson Dusahn battleship appeared before them, filling most of the upper portion of the Aurora’s, wrap-around view screen.

  “Firing all forward tubes,” Jessica announced.

  “Adjust your angle as we pass, Lieutenant,” Nathan instructed his helmsman.

  Red-orange flashes of light filled the bridge as waves of plasma torpedoes leapt from the Aurora’s bow, slamming into the enemy battleship’s number four and five shields, causing them to glow in similar hues with each impact. By the time the third round of plasma torpedoes left the Aurora’s launch tubes, incoming fire had already began shaking the ship violently.

  “Forward shields are down to thirty percent!” the weapons officer warned.

  Nathan counted the waves of plasma torpedoes as they left the tubes, and as the fourth wave left, he ordered the next jump.

  Lieutenant Rezhik ran down the corridor, leading his men into enemy fire from the opposite end. Blue bolts of energy slammed into his body armor as he charged forth, firing his weapon at each source of the incoming fire as it appeared. In true Ghatazhak style; one shot, one kill.

  By the time he and his men reached the end of the corridor, there were twelve dead Dusahn soldiers.

  The lieutenant stood at the intersection, back against the wall, using the tactical sensor system and display on his visor to search the surrounding areas for targets.

  “If these are Zen-Anor, we’ve got nothing to worry about,” Corporal Chodan said as he came to stand next to the lieutenant.

  “These are not Zen-Anor,” the lieutenant stated. “I doubt they are even Dusahn.”

  “Conscripts?” the corporal wondered.

  “Most likely.” Three groups of red icons appeared on his visor display. “Take Bains and Malin, and intercept the bandits coming around the starboard side,” he instructed. “I’ll take Chervenkov and Coffield to port.”

  “What about the guys coming up the center?” the corporal wondered.

  “They will likely go to either side, or possibly split up and go in both directions. That will draw them to us. If you finish off your first targets before the center group reaches you, move forward and circle in behind them.”

  “Got it,” the corporal replied.

  The lieutenant glanced at the mission time display on his visor. “And move quickly, Corporal. We are already one minute behind schedule.”

  “Don’t blame us,” the corporal said as he moved toward starboard, signaling Specialists Bains and Malin to follow him. “It’s the enemy who’s refusing to die quickly.”

  The Seiiki came out of her jump dangerously close to one of the three Dusahn gunships loitering over Corinair and bombarding the Ghatazhak shield from orbit. As soon as she appeared, she opened fire, sending balls of plasma energy slamming into the gunship’s shields, causing them to flash with each impact.

  Josh rocked in his seat as the Seiiki shook violently from the incoming fire, lighting up their shields.

  “We can’t take more than a few seconds of this,” Loki warned. “Not from this range,”

  “No shit!” Josh agreed in earnest. He snap rolled the ship to the right, rolling into an inverted position relative to the target as they started their pass over it, thus allowing his gunners better lines of fire. “Damn!” he exclaimed as a direct blast nearly knocked him out of his seat. “We need better restraints in this thing!”

  “Take that, you son of a bitch!” Marcus exclaimed as he tracked the gunship passing over them with his double-barreled plasma cannon. Red-orange bolts of plasma leapt from his barrels, slamming into the enemy gunship’s shields but failing to penetrate them. The gunship slid away from him as he rotated his turret as far aft as possible. The gunship disappeared behind them, and a moment later, the stars changed, and the violent shaking ceased. “God damn it, kid! Where’d you learn to shoot? I thought you were gonna get that bastard’s shields down for us!”

  “I’m trying, old man!” Josh defended as the ship began coming about for another attack run.

  “Well, try harder!”

  General Telles continued down the corridor, maintaining a staggered gait and occasionally moving from one side to the other. His assault rifle was held high and tight against his shoulder, and he swept it from side to side, always ready to fire at a moment’s notice.

  As he rounded the corner, two men in basic battle gear appeared ten meters away. The men raised their weapons to fire, but the general was much quicker, firing four times in rapid succession, striking them both in the abdomen and lower neck. The men fell, groaning in pain and scrambling to bring their weapons up from the floor to defend themselves, but the general shot them both in the face as he continued past them.

  Suvan Navarro followed the general, watching in amazement as the man dispatched enemy combatants one after the other with equal precision. He marveled at the general’s ability to remain completely calm and without emotion, even when engaged in hand-to-hand combat. In fact, as easily as the general was progressing toward their objective, Suvan wondered why they had sent five others along with him.

  Without warning, shots rang out from behind. Energy bolts streaked past Suvan’s head with a sizzling sound, slamming into the bulkheads beyond. He immediately ducked, running to one side of the corridor as the Ghatazhak behind him returned fire.

  He felt someone grab his shoulder and yank him forward, dragging him, stumbling, around the next corner.

  General Telles tossed Captain Navarro about like a child, the assistive bodysuit under his armor providing him with the additional strength needed. With the captain safely out of immediate danger, the general peeked around the corner, quickly withdrawing as incoming fire flew past him. He made the calculations in his head and then leaned back around the corner, firing three shots.

  In the distance, beyond his men’s position, the general’s shots struck a large pipe running overhead. The pipe exploded, sending pressurized gas spraying all over the enemy’s position.

  Corporal Vasya immediately recognized the gas as flammable and tossed an incendiary grenade toward the enemy’s position, then took co
ver. “Fire in the hole!” he warned as he covered his head and curled up in a ball on the floor.

  The grenade detonated, igniting the gas. The explosion rocked the entire deck, sending a ball of fire down the corridor in both directions, like a wave from hell.

  Corporal Vasya felt the heat as the flames washed over him and his men. A split second later, the flames subsided, and the Corporal rose to his feet and opened fire, spraying the corridor with energy weapons fire.

  Ten seconds later, the corporal ceased fire, his eyes fixed on the swirling smoke between himself and the enemy position, waiting for any signs of movement. But none came. “Clear!” he finally reported.

  “Keep moving!” the general ordered as he continued forward. “Captain,” he called as he walked past Suvan. “The bridge awaits us.”

  Suvan just shook his head as he climbed to his feet, following the determined Ghatazhak general.

  “Jump complete,” Mister Bickle reported as the jump flash cleared from the Aurora’s bridge. “Darvano system.”

  “Three gunships loitering over the extrication point,” Lieutenant Commander Kono reported. “Two battleships now protecting the first battleship, which is still disabled. One of the battleships is turning toward us, Captain.”

  “The gunships are two light minutes out,” Jessica reported. “I’m locking jump missiles on them now.”

  “New course,” Nathan announced. “Turn to three five six, up sixty relative. New jump, one light hour,”

  “Three five six, up sixty,” the lieutenant acknowledged.

  “Confirming one light hour, sir?” Mister Bickle asked.

  “Confirmed,” Nathan replied. “One light hour.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  “Missiles away,” Jessica announced.

  “Sir, that will put us directly above the group of battleships,” Mister Bickle realized.

  “That’s the plan, Ensign,” Nathan replied. “Jess, we’re going to thread the needle.”

  Jessica smiled. “I’m ready when you are, Skipper.”

  “Three five six, sixty-degree up angle relative,” Lieutenant Dinev reported after completing her turn.

  “Jump us ahead, one light hour,” Nathan ordered.

  “Jumping,” Ensign Bickle replied.

  “Calculating target positions based on last known course and speed,” Jessica announced.

  “Hold your course,” Nathan instructed. “Ninety-degree down angle, relative to the ecliptic. Steer a course directly between the calculated position of those battleships, one minute from now. Make sure we’ll pass just astern of the ship they’re protecting.”

  “Aye, sir,” the lieutenant confirmed.

  “Roll, as needed, to bring our broadsides to bear on the targets as we pass between them,” he added.

  “Aye, sir. Pitching down and adjusting course for optimal attack angle.”

  “One minute to jump,” Mister Bickle reported.

  The stars outside shifted slightly as the Seiiki came out of its jump less than two kilometers above the three Dusahn gunships currently bombarding the Ghatazhak shield from above.

  “…eady to start extrication!” Sergeant Eliason’s voice called over comms as they came out of the jump. “But you have to get those gunships off us first, or we’ll never get out alive!”

  Josh immediately opened fire, sending a stream of plasma bolts toward the distant group of gunships. Flashes of light appeared in the area of the distant gunships, followed by multiple explosions. “What the…” Josh said in shock. “I got them?”

  “You didn’t get them,” Loki corrected. “But, somebody did.”

  “Nice shootin’ boys!” Sergeant Eliason congratulated. “Now, just keep them away for ten more minutes, and we’re home free!”

  “Who the hell took them out?” Josh wondered.

  “It had to be the Aurora,” Loki decided, checking his sensor readings. “There were jump flashes just before the gunships blew up. It must have been jump missiles.”

  “Sweet!”

  “Seiiki to all Eagles and Reapers,” Loki called over comms. “Extraction is about to begin. Keep those ground forces at bay until our ground forces are clear.”

  “Eagle Leader, understood.”

  “Reaper Leader, we’re on it.”

  “Ready to jump,” Mister Bickle reported.

  “Ready on all weapons?” Nathan asked.

  “Ready,” Jessica replied.

  “Take us in, Ensign,” Nathan ordered.

  “Jumping in three……two……one……jumping.”

  Nathan watched as the view screen lit up with the blue-white jump flash. When it cleared a second later, there were three Dusahn battleships, their black hulls trimmed with crimson highlights, filling the screen. The already damaged battleship was directly ahead of them, slowly sliding out of the Aurora’s path of flight, moving from the top of the view screen toward the bottom. The other two battleships were slightly closer, about to slide past them on either side of the screen. The view itself was alarming, especially since all three battleships were undoubtedly turning their guns toward the Aurora, at that very moment.

  The view screen suddenly lit up. Red-orange plasma torpedoes streaked from under the Aurora’s bow, and dotted lines of red leapt from her gun turrets, lashing out at all three approaching battleships. A few seconds later, the intensity tripled as the battleships returned fire, lighting up the Aurora’s shields as they struck, violently shaking her crew.

  “Forward shields are already down to forty percent and dropping,” the systems office warned.

  “Concentrate torpedoes on the far target, directly ahead,” Nathan ordered. “Mister Bickle, be ready to jump us ten light seconds ahead, once we have a clear jump line.”

  The Aurora dove down between the two Dusahn battleships, all her gun turrets blazing. Plasma cannons sent bolts of energy slamming into the passing warship’s shields, and rail guns sent unending streams of exploding projectiles, the size of a small car, each of them exploding on impact. The enemy’s shields flashed as they tried to absorb the energy. The flashing was so rapid that it appeared constant, with only minor fluctuations in intensity.

  As the Aurora moved between the two, much larger, enemy vessels, she added her broadside cannons to the fray. Unfortunately, the massive Dusahn warships’ shields, although diminishing in strength with the continued onslaught, held.

  The shields of the damaged battleship, directly ahead of the Aurora, did not.

  The view screen suddenly filled with yellow and orange explosions as the Aurora’s plasma torpedoes finally found their way through the enemy battleship’s hull, setting off secondary explosions that tore through the massive ship within seconds.

  “Both port and starboard shields are about to fail!” the Aurora’s systems officer warned.

  “Clear jump line in ten seconds,” Mister Bickle reported.

  “Hold your course, and continue firing,” Nathan ordered.

  “Captain!” the systems officer urged, becoming concerned.

  “Stand by to jump, on my command,” Nathan ordered as the ship continued to shake under the bombardment.

  “Five seconds!”

  “Starboard midship shield is failing!”

  The ship shook even more violently.

  “Clear ju…”

  “Jump!” Nathan ordered, not waiting for the navigator to finish his announcement.

  The bridge filled with blue-white light, once again, and the violent shaking ceased a split second later.

  “Hard to starboard, and be ready for another ten-second jump!” Nathan ordered. “Lock a spread of missiles on both targets, and launch when ready! Sensors, damage assessments on all three targets!”

  The ship rolled to starboar
d and started a rapid turn while all four of those addressed verbally confirmed their orders as they carried them out.

  “Missiles away!” Jessica announced.

  Nathan waited ten seconds, knowing it would take time for the light of the battle, from which they had just jumped away, to catch up to them at their current location.

  “Primary target is destroyed,” Lieutenant Commander Kono finally reported. “Shields on the other two battleships were weakened but no damage. Targets have broke formation and are steering toward the far side of the…” The lieutenant commander paused a moment as new sensor readings came in. “Correction! One of the ships has jumped away. Based on course at jump, she’s headed back to the Takar system.”

  “And the other battleship?” Nathan asked.

  “She’s headed for the far side of Corinair, sir,” the lieutenant commander replied.

  “They’re going to take over the bombardment of the Ghatazhak shield on the surface,” Jessica realized.

  “How long until they reach firing position?” Nathan inquired.

  “They’ll have to make at least two jumps to get around the planet, sir,” the lieutenant commander replied. “Five minutes, max.”

  “Comms, warn the Ghatazhak. They’ve got four and a half minutes to get out of there before all hell breaks loose,” Nathan ordered.

  “Captain, they can’t move two thousand some-odd people in four minutes,” Jessica insisted.

  “Not people,” Nathan reminded her. “Corinari. Big difference.”

  “If we can slow those battleships down…”

  “We’re due to cover the Teyentah’s escape in just over a minute,” Nathan reminded her sternly. “We’ll come back when the Teyentah is safely away.”