by Ryk Brown
“What happened to our point defenses?” Nathan asked.
“They jumped in less than fifty meters away!” she replied. “No time to lock on and fire.”
“Number four shield is down to ten percent!” the systems officer warned. “One more hit and it’s gone!”
“Lay down a defensive fire field in front of the number four shield,” Nathan ordered. “Cheng, Captain. Can you channel extra power into the number four shield?”
“Only if I draw it from our jump reserve,” Vladimir replied.
“How much jump juice do we have left?” Nathan asked his navigator.
“Five point two light years in drive one, eight point seven in drive two,” Mister Bickle replied.
Nathan did the math in his head. If they kept their battle jumps short and the Dusahn didn’t pursue them after the battle, it would be enough. It would have to be. “Cheng, Captain. Do it.”
“Yes, sir,” Vladimir replied.
The ship rocked more violently than before, catching Nathan off guard and nearly knocking him out of his command chair. “Damn it, Jess!”
“Nothing I can do, Captain!” Jessica defended. “Those ones jumped in at thirty-five meters! Their range and targeting systems must be damned good.”
“Second battleship just jumped in behind us!”
“Jesus,” Nathan exclaimed. “Well, at least they won’t be firing any jump missiles at us.”
“Incoming rail gun fire from the second battleship!” Lieutenant Commander Kono warned. “Big ones!”
“How are you coming with the call, deBanco?” Nathan asked.
“I’m trying, Captain,” the comms officer replied. “But their comm-array is offline. If we can get closer, I can probably get him on a comm-set channel.”
“Helm, slide us in closer to the Teyentah,” Nathan ordered as his ship shook with the impact of the incoming rail gun rounds.
Suvan Navarro struggled to maintain control of his battered vessel. His automated weapons systems traded energy weapons fire with the Dusahn super-battleship that was shadowing him just beyond the Aurora, as well as numerous octo-fighters that slipped past the Aurora’s defensive efforts on his behalf. Had the Aurora not been running a blockade between him and that ship, he would have been destroyed several minutes ago.
“Captain, Telles,” the general called over Suvan’s comm-set. “We are in the escape pods. I recommend that you jettison all escape pods at once, including the unoccupied ones, so the Dusahn will have a more difficult time shooting us down before we are able to jump away.”
“An excellent idea, General,” Suvan admitted. “I am embarrassed I did not think of it myself.”
“I suspect your hands are full at the moment,” the general said.
“Thank you again, General.”
“It has been an honor, Captain. Telles out.”
The ship rocked as missiles launched by the super-battleship found their way around the Aurora’s defenses and found the Teyentah’s failing shields. Alarms went off on his panel as several more shield sections collapsed, leaving his ship even more vulnerable than before. He checked his range to the shipyard. At his current speed, it would take him four minutes to reach the station. Unfortunately, he doubted his ship would hold together that long.
“Captain Navarro, Lieutenant Rezhik,” the call came over Suvan’s comm-set.
“Go ahead, Lieutenant.”
“Sir, I have managed to bypass the safety protocols that prevent the jump drive field generators from operating when the emitter field is too badly damaged.”
“Are you telling me I can jump the ship?” Suvan asked as he struggled to stay on course.
“Yes, sir. However, I cannot guarantee the distance accuracy of any jump, nor can I promise the entire ship will jump.”
“I suppose I’ll have to take my chances, Lieutenant. Thank you.”
“You are most welcome, Captain,” the lieutenant replied. “There is one more thing. I also had my men sabotage one of the zero-point reactors, so the fail-safe will not kick in. As you know, if the containment fields fail, the result is a micro-singularity that will consume everything within a few kilometers before the singularity collapses. That type of spatial disturbance should be sufficient to destroy the shipyard and anything nearby.”
“Impressive, Lieutenant.”
“Thank you, sir, but again, I cannot guarantee an event. Only that if the reactor is seriously damaged or the containment fields are disturbed, the fail-safes that prevent such an event will not operate as designed. It was the best I could do on short notice.”
“It was a valiant effort, nonetheless, Lieutenant. Now I suggest you and your men get to the escape pods, while you still can.”
“Captain?”
“Yes, Lieutenant?” Suvan replied as he checked his range to the shipyard.
“I understand you are a sailor?”
“It’s been a few years but, yes.”
“Then I wish you fair winds and following seas, Captain.”
“To you, as well, Lieutenant.”
“Rezhik, out.”
Suvan let out a sigh of relief. If he had to die, at least he would strike a serious blow to the Dusahn Empire in the process.
“……ntah, th……… the Aur…a. Do y………py?”
Suvan tapped his comm-set, trying to clear up the transmission.
“Te…tah, this … the Auror…… you copy?”
“Aurora, this is the Teyentah. I copy you.”
“Cap…n Na…ro?”
“Yes, this is Navarro,” Suvan replied as another missile impact rocked his ship, setting off more system failure alerts.
There was a pause, and then a voice he never thought he would hear again came through his comm-set. “Captain Navarro, this is Captain Scott.”
Suvan smiled broadly, shaking his head in disbelief. “It is good to hear your voice, Captain.”
“Yours, as well, my friend.”
“To be honest, I wasn’t sure I believed the messages were actually from you.”
“Yours, as well, my friend,” Nathan repeated with a chuckle. “Perhaps you can share your plans with me?”
“Simple enough,” Suvan replied. “I intend to use this ship to destroy the Dusahn shipyard and hopefully, a few Dusahn ships along with it.”
“I’m assuming you’re planning on getting to an escape pod before that happens?”
Suvan called up the status screen for the escape pods, noting that the one closest to the lieutenant’s post in engineering now showed it was closed, and ready to launch, with six persons aboard. Without thinking twice, he activated the auto-launch sequence for all the pods. “I had considered that option, believe me. Unfortunately, the ship is too badly damaged. Someone must remain on board to pilot the ship and ensure a successful impact.”
“Suvan,” Nathan said, trying to make a more personal connection. “You don’t have to do this. Your ship is already on course. Just shut everything down and let your ship’s momentum do the job for you.”
“I’m still three minutes out,” Suvan told him as the ship rocked from several missile impacts. More alerts sounded, causing him to call up the damage report screen. “I’ve lost seventy percent of my shields. The ship will not last that long. They’ll blow it apart, and nothing large enough to do any appreciable damage will reach the target.”
“All the more reason for you to…”
“Captain!” Lieutenant Commander Kono called. “The Teyentah just jettisoned her escape pods!”
“All of them?” Nathan asked in disbelief.
“I’m not sure,” the lieutenant commander admitted, “but it looks like it.”
“Suvan, did you just jettison all of your escape pods?” Nathan asked over c
omms.
“It was necessary to maximize my crew’s chances of escape.”
“I don’t understand,” Nathan said. “They’ll blow your ship to pieces long before you reach the shipyard, whether you’re piloting her or not.”
“I failed to go down with my ship once, Nathan. I shall not fail a second time.”
“But you could do so much more to help defeat the Dusahn by surviving,” Nathan insisted.
“Listen, Nathan, I have no death wish. I am just being practical. One of your Ghatazhak managed to turn this ship into a giant jump missile, armed with a micro-singularity warhead.”
“A what?”
“That had to be Rezhik,” Jessica muttered.
“It is the only way, Nathan. If that shipyard is allowed to continue operating, your chances of defeating the Dusahn and freeing my family…my people……all our people……”
There was a long pause. “Suvan?” Nathan finally called.
“It is the only way…… You know this.”
Nathan hung his head down. “I know.”
“Captain, a third battleship just jumped in on the other side of the Teyentah,” Lieutenant Commander Kono announced. “They’re locking all weapons on her.”
Nathan steadied his emotions. “You’re being targeted by a third battleship, Captain. You must jump now.”
“Understood,” Suvan replied.
“He’s spinning up his jump drive,” the lieutenant commander reported.
“Good luck to you all,” Suvan wished them.
“The battleship is firing.”
“Godspeed, Captain,” Nathan replied, standing. He watched his main view screen as his ship continued to be pounded by enemy fire. The pale blue light spilled out across the Teyentah’s hull, albeit unevenly. A second later, the portions that were covered flashed, transporting those portions of the battered warship into the shipyard several kilometers ahead, while leaving nearly a third of her behind.
As the portion of the Teyentah that was left behind broke apart and exploded, there was a flash of light in the distance.
“Max magnification,” Nathan ordered, still standing and staring at the screen. When the view screen refocused, they could see the Takaran shipyard, collapsing in on itself as the micro-singularity grew, pulling everything around it across the event horizon. Explosions went off as the shipyard collapsed into the singularity, breaking the station up as it imploded. The singularity grew in size as it consumed the station, but when there was nothing left nearby to feed on, its gravity became insufficient, and it collapsed onto itself, ending in another brilliant flash of light. In less than ten seconds, what had taken the Takarans decades to build, and the Dusahn minutes to capture, had been completely erased from existence.
If only it had taken those battleships with it, Nathan thought. “Lieutenant Dinev?” Nathan asked.
The lieutenant gazed up at her captain, noticing a tear running down his cheek. “Yes, Captain?”
“Get us out of here,” Nathan said softly. “This battle is won.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Nathan sat in his ready room, studying the combat data logs from the battle.
“Hey,” Cameron called from the hatch.
Nathan looked up. “How is it going?”
Cameron entered the room, closing the hatch behind her. “I was going to ask you the same thing.” She pointed at the data pad. “What are you reading?”
“Just studying the combat logs,” Nathan admitted.
“You’ve been studying those for three days now, Nathan. Maybe you should give it a rest?”
Nathan sighed. “I can’t help thinking that my new super-brain missed something. That I let my new confidence get the best of me.”
“It’s possible, I’m not going to lie,” Cameron said. “But we all miss something. Even those of us with ‘super-brains’. Hell, even Telles misses something once in awhile.”
Nathan’s eyebrow went up. “Name one,” he challenged.
Cameron thought for a moment, realizing she might have misspoken. “Oh!” she suddenly exclaimed. “I’ve got one. He recruited Jessica into the Ghatazhak.”
Nathan chuckled. “Okay, I’ll give you that one.”
“You know, if you just put that away for a few days, and come back to it later with fresh eyes, you just might find what you’re looking for.”
“Funny, Telles said the same thing an hour ago.”
“Yeah, I talked to him in the officer’s mess,” she admitted. “He said he was worried about you.”
“I’ll be alright,” Nathan assured her. “I just hate losing people, you know?”
“I know.”
“I mean, a hundred Ghatazhak…and in the blink of an eye. That’s nearly half of their numbers.”
“Don’t forget about the thousands of Corinairans that died in that blast,” Cameron reminded him. “And the tens of thousands that will likely suffer due to the radiation. It will take the Dusahn months to clean that up.”
Nathan sighed, turning off his data pad. “Any comm-traffic from Earth?” he asked, changing the subject.
“I’m afraid not,” Cameron replied. “Not for more than a week. Is it possible that your sister went dark for some reason?”
“I suppose so,” Nathan admitted.
The intercom beeped. “Captain, Tactical,” Jessica called. “Two contacts just jumped in. A Takaran medium cargo ship and a Sol Alliance cargo vessel.”
“On my way,” Nathan replied, rising from his seat and following Cameron out.
“Captain on the bridge,” the guard announced.
Nathan eyed the guard as he passed, annoyed by his constant declarations of Nathan’s comings and goings.
“The Takaran cargo ship is one of ours,” Lieutenant Commander Kono reported from the sensor station. “The Motta-Fawls.”
“What about the Alliance cargo ship?” Nathan asked. “It has to be Hunt’s ship, right?”
“It is, sir,” the comms officer reported. “Message from Captain Hunt. He is requesting your presence aboard his ship. He says it is urgent. He is requesting a doctor and a medical team, as well.”
“That can’t be good,” Nathan surmised. “Jess? Want to play bodyguard?”
“Why not?” Jessica agreed.
“You have the conn,” he told Cameron.
“Yes, sir.”
“Alert medical,” Nathan instructed the comms officer as he and Jessica headed for the exit. “Tell them to meet us in the main hangar bay.”
“Aye, sir.”
* * *
Nathan and Jessica followed Doctor Chen and her medical team through the tight confines of the cargo ship, winding their way to its modest sick bay. As they approached, Captain Hunt came down the forward ladder, his eyes widening when he spotted Nathan.
“Captain Scott,” Captain Hunt greeted.
“It’s good to see you, Chris,” Nathan said, shaking the captain’s hand.
“Go ahead,” Nathan instructed Doctor Chen and Jessica. “I’ll meet you inside.”
“Jesus, you haven’t aged a day,” Chris laughed.
“Actually, I think I’m a couple years younger. I haven’t really done the math yet.” When he noticed the confused look on Captain Hunt’s face, he added, “It’s a long story. Why am I here?”
Captain Hunt looked down as he scratched his head, obviously troubled by what he was about to tell the man he had long thought dead. “Maybe we should speak in private, Nathan.”
* * *
Nathan entered the cargo ship’s sick bay. His movements were slow, his expression crestfallen, and his eyes red. He appeared a man broken; a man that had just had his heart ripped from his chest; his being devoid of all hope.
Jessica c
ould barely stand to see him suffering so much pain. She took his hand as he neared her, squeezing it lovingly as she gazed into his eyes, her face full of sympathy and compassion. “I’m so sorry, Nathan,” she whispered, almost crying.
Nathan looked at her, barely able to control himself. He tried to smile at her but could not. In fact, at that moment, he wondered if he would ever smile again. He had never known such pain and anguish. He had never even imagined it. First his mother, then his brother, and now… Everyone.
Everyone except…
Nathan stepped into the quarantine compartment. Inside, Doctor Chen was inspecting three stasis tubes.
“How are they?” he asked in a whisper.
Doctor Chen looked at him with the same sympathetic expression as Jessica. “The children are not injured. They were put into stasis by your sister’s security team. Considering the voyage they were about to take, it was probably for the best. They can be awakened at any time.”
Nathan looked at the doctor. “What about…” He couldn’t finish his sentence.
“She is alive, but she is badly injured.”
“Can you save her?” he was barely able to ask.
“I will do everything that I can, Nathan. I promise.”
Nathan nodded, as if to tell her that he believed she would do her best. The doctor stepped aside, and Nathan moved closer to the three stasis pods. The first two pods contained his niece and nephew, neither of whom he had seen in more than seven years. They had grown so much, he hardly recognized them. They looked so peaceful. He wondered how he would ever tell them what had happened. They, too, had lost so much.
Nathan moved to the third pod. It took all his strength and courage to look inside. When he finally did so, he nearly fell apart. His sister, Miri, his closest friend and confidant growing up, lay there motionless. Her face was bruised and swollen, and her head had been shaved. She had a surgical scar on the side of her head and across the top. She had tubes and wires attached everywhere, and she looked like a lifeless corpse, being kept alive by a multitude of technology.
