Nepenthe Rising

by John Triptych

  Another strike team was handling the second asteroid moving alongside them. The plan was to set up cover using the space rocks by getting in between the intercepting destroyers and the science vessel. Once the asteroids had begun taking damage, the battle drones behind them would peel away and join the Amerigo in retreat towards the shadow zone.

  Boaz continued to control the mass driver that had been pushing at the asteroid in front of them. It had now gone up to three-gees of acceleration, and that was the extent of their delta-V. “Damn, I wish this piece of rock would go faster, but that’s it.”

  Hauk kept holding his breath. The agony of waiting was nerve-wracking. “Just by looking at the numbers I think we need to increase delta-V. Those destroyers are getting too close.”

  “I wish I could, but we can’t do any more,” Boaz said. “It’s up to the LT now to get his ship behind us.”

  As the ranges got closer, the laser attacks from the two destroyers began to heat up the exposed aft sections of the Amerigo’s hull. The constant evasive maneuvering would sometimes reveal parts of the science vessel’s superstructure to the enemy laser batteries, away from the protective plasma exhausts of the Amerigo’s thrusters, and parts of her outer coating had begun to ablate. The gravity ring in particular had already sustained serious damage, with several of its habitat modules having been breached.

  Keo kept his eyes on the engineering console. “We’re losing hull integrity on the gravity wheel module.”

  “It looks like they don’t care about our lives anymore,” Zeno said. “They must have freed the ship and station crews we left behind.”

  “Oana, initiate emergency release of the gravity wheel,” Strand said.

  “Activating emergency separation protocols,” Oana said. “All internal airlocks to gravity wheel sealed. Beginning internal bulkhead separation in five … four … three … two …one.”

  “Attention,” Zeno said. “Port sensors detecting incoming gauss ordinance. Impact in two minutes.”

  Strand let out a deep breath. “Can we evade?”

  “No, the firing corridors covered all possible directional changes,” Zeno said. “They sent out plenty of munitions to make sure we would get hit by at least one burst no matter what our new heading would be.”

  Strand grimaced. “Oana, where is the gravity wheel now?”

  “Emergency detachment complete,” Oana said. “It’s starting to drift away from us.”

  “Here’s what we do,” Strand said. “Decelerate slightly and get that gravity wheel to drift along our port side.”

  Oana’s right hand carefully guided the manual control stick. “Starting gimbal maneuvering now.”

  “Interesting plan,” Zeno said, “but with the detached module having barely any armor, I think the gauss shells will still penetrate past it and into the Amerigo.”

  “Better than nothing,” Strand said. “Parts of the gravity wheel are still pressurized, so it might act as a bumper shield to take most of the kinetic shock away from the ordinance before it hits us.”

  “Good point,” Zeno said.

  “Maneuver completed,” Oana said tersely. “I’ve positioned the ship so our engines and this deck are somewhat covered by the still-pressurized modules.”

  Strand craned his head so he could look at the rear of the bridge. “Keo, depressurize the entire ship. The incoming shots ought to hit us any time now. Everybody brace for impact.”

  Just as Keo began the depressurization sequence, a small grouping of nano-carbon rods impacted the wheel module floating alongside the ship, shredding it. Most of the ordinance was absorbed and stopped by the detached component, but six more continued on past the improvised barrier and impacted the Amerigo’s hull at a reduced velocity.

  Everyone except Zeno immediately tensed up at the moment of impact. Oana let out a shrill scream before cutting herself off. The science vessel’s hull shuddered slightly from the attack, and the crew briefly heard the distant sounds of escaping air and the grinding of metal. The bridge seemed undamaged and remained well lighted as everyone began poring over the updated readouts on their consoles.

  “Keo, give me a damage report,” Strand said.

  “One hit took out the main battery so we’re on reserve,” Keo said. “Another near miss on the reactor—less than two meters—but she’s still good. Two hits went right through us, rupturing some nonessentials. Radiators working properly, though we lost some internal coolant when one of the tanks burst. Other than that, we’re okay.”

  Oana couldn’t help but smile. “We made it.”

  “Another attack could end it all for us,” Strand said. “Everybody stay sharp. Keep your eyes peeled on those sensors.”

  “We’re in position,” Boaz said. “Altering mass driver heading now to move alongside the lieutenant’s ship and act as cover for them.”

  Hauk had the virtual display running in his visor. The asteroid they controlled would be virtually orbiting the Amerigo as they all headed towards the dark matter field. “They got hit a few times but they still seem okay.”

  “For fekk’s sake, Duncan,” Boaz said. “Keep your eyes on any potential incoming attacks. I need to know in advance so I can position the asteroid to block any approaching munitions.”

  “Sorry,” Hauk said. “My scopes are clear.”

  “That could change any time,” Boaz said. “Our sensors won’t be picking up anything until they’re close enough, so we gotta react fast. This is a busy corridor, so lots of background noise you need to filter through.”

  Hauk continued to concentrate on the tactical map. His sergeant was right. The sensor modules were picking up everything, and the simple AI systems were hard pressed to identify an incoming threat as each set of probabilities were continually updated.

  “We’ve matched speed and heading with the Amerigo,” Boaz said. “Asteroid two is right behind them while we react against any attacks coming up from any other direction. You spot anything out there?”

  Hauk shook his head. “Still nothing. Asteroid two is heating up a bit; those destroyers are really working their lasers on it.”

  Boaz chuckled. “These big rocks we’re moving around are at least three klicks in diameter. Gonna take a lot of power to vaporize a hefty chunk of it. I ain’t too worried about their lasers.”

  Hauk’s eyes widened when a large blip on his virtual map suddenly appeared out of nowhere. “Contact! I got a big one less than half a million klicks from the shadow zone.”

  Boaz twisted his head in surprise. “What? There wasn’t anything out here before.”

  Hauk clenched his jaw. “It looks like another destroyer. Just appeared out of nowhere. Right ahead of us.”

  “They got us in a pincer,” Boaz said. “How the heck did we not notice her before?”

  Hauk could see the Nepenthe had by now activated her fusion engines and was coming to the rescue. The problem was, it would take her at least a few hours to get to them. By that time this fourth destroyer would be able to obliterate the Amerigo and the two battle drones guarding her.

  “She’s firing her lasers. I’m putting asteroid one in front of the Amerigo so this rock can take the attack,” Boaz said. “If she fires her gauss cannons we ought to be able to take it too.”

  It took less than a minute for the embedded mass driver to make the necessary adjustments. The wounded science vessel now had two asteroids shielding her front and rear sides.

  “Looks like we’re good for the time being,” Boaz said. “Now if we could just—”

  The youth’s words were cut off when the proximity alerts blared in their helmet audio speakers. They both began to check the displays again. Hauk let out a gasp.

  Multiple incoming contacts were coming in towards the vulnerable sides. The size of the contacts and their heat signatures indicated lancer missiles.

  Boaz’s voice was shrill. “They must have deployed the missiles ahead of time and waited until we got into range. We’re dead.”

  �
��We got this battle drone we’re riding in,” Hauk said. “Let’s try to intercept as many of the lancers as we can before they hit.”

  Boaz quickly recovered his senses. He began issuing commands to the drone AI that was piloting the spacecraft. “I’m opening the pod door and giving you full control of the mass driver for the asteroid. Get going.”

  Hauk was shocked. “What? Let me stay with the drone.”

  “No,” Boaz said. “I outrank you. Get moving—that’s an order. We don’t have much time.”

  The boy understood the burdens of command. He stood by the door as it opened up. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

  “Keep the LT and his crew safe,” Boaz said. It felt like his last words.

  Hauk held back the tears as he used his suit’s built-in thrusters to maneuver himself away from the drone. The moment he was halfway between the small spacecraft and the mass driver, he could see the battle drone energizing its radiator wings before heading off. For the first time since his mother had died, he felt a sense of loss. Every crewmember of the Nepenthe was special to him, and seeing his colleague heading out to face off against death filled him with both shame and frustration for not being able to join Boaz.

  It took less than a minute for him to reach the rear of the mass driver. Carefully making sure he decelerated in time, Hauk grabbed one of the handholds and made his way up to an open platform. Using his helmet’s virtual menu, he began to get a direct uplink with the device. The mass driver was the size of a small building and vaguely resembled a gigantic hand, its fingers digging deeply into the body of the asteroid, while a massive fusion exhaust continually erupted from where its wrist would have been.

  Hauk linked the mass driver controls with the science vessel less than a klick behind it. They had placed a number of sensors in front of the asteroid, and it was clear the destroyer ahead of them continued to fire her lasers to keep him from shifting the huge space rock to shield against the incoming lancers at the flanks. Come on, Nepenthe, he thought. Hurry up!

  Looking up into the darkness, he could see brief flashes of light, like distant twinkling stars before the endless night covered it all up again. He knew the missile warheads had detonated, sending out their deadly ordinance towards them.

  Lancer missiles were named as such because they did not detonate on impact, rather their internal AI systems would set off a simple fusion charge behind a solid composite lining, accelerating the latter with enormous speed towards the target, turning the once inert nose of the missile into a kinetic projectile which was impossible to protect against using point defense weaponry.

  Conventional missiles could be destroyed or damaged before they reached their targets, limiting their effectiveness. Lancer missiles soon became standard armament for both ships and planetary defenses. If the missile AI timed it correctly, there would be no time for the target vessel to change her course to avoid it.

  Boaz did his best, using his battle drone’s own lasers and lancer missiles to intercept the incoming munitions by impacting them with a counter charge. By rushing headlong into the swarm of approaching projectiles he was able to give the Amerigo more time, and in the end he used the drone he rode in as a sort of shield when he ran out of ammunition. Boaz could have saved himself by veering away; instead he maneuvered the drone until it faced the largest concentration of projectiles, and accelerated right into them. The incoming ordinance slammed into the flattened side of his drone’s hull, annihilating it.

  Hauk screamed as he noticed the remaining lancers tearing through their makeshift defenses and severely damaging the Amerigo. He could feel the asteroid he was riding on begin to decelerate in order to match velocities with the now crippled science vessel.

  Turning around, he looked down the length of the Amerigo’s hull; the tactical AI in his suit had begun an analysis. There were two large gaping holes along the aft superstructure, clear evidence of the vessel’s rapid loss in acceleration. The pursuing ships behind them would surely catch up and get within optimum weapons range now.

  Keying in his audio, he called out to the crew inside the second battle drone that was supposed to be controlling the rear mass driver holding the second asteroid, only to blink back in despair. The other drone had been impacted by a direct hit, and his status readouts indicated that both spacers inside the pod were also dead.

  Three confirmed dead including his sergeant, and the possibility of the Amerigo crew as casualties too. With operational control of both mass drivers now being transferred over to his battle armor’s AI, Hauk quickly slaved all controls to match every adjustment the science vessel made.

  The remote sensors embedded at the front of the asteroid told him the destroyer ahead of them had spotted the Nepenthe, and was now turning to face the new threat. The enemy commander must have communicated with the three other destroyers behind them, since the sensors on the rear asteroid were detecting more impacts from lancer missiles now. It seemed the pursuing Star Force ships were more determined than ever to smash through the rear asteroid in order to annihilate the Amerigo before the Nepenthe could get to her.

  Precious minutes ticked by. Hauk’s readouts indicated the rearward asteroid was taking tremendous punishment, and there was a possibility it would fracture into pieces. The attached mass driver at the rear was using up precious fuel in order to keep it steady.

  By this time the Amerigo’s acceleration had virtually stopped. Damage control diagnostics came back with grim news: the reactor had been severely damaged. There was no question the destroyers would succeed in their intercept course. The boy checked the personnel status of the strike team inside the Amerigo but his readouts were blank.

  Hauk activated his suit’s com-link circuit to the Amerigo. “Is there anyone there who can hear me? Please answer!”

  Strand’s calm reply gave the boy a bit of hope. “Easy, kid. You’re about to burst my eardrums. What’s your status? The blown reactor took out the ship AI so we’re not getting any proper readouts from here. Where’s your team sergeant?”

  Hauk let out a deep breath. They’re alive! “Lieutenant, everyone’s gone except me. The enemy vessel ahead of us laid out a trap with lancer missiles. Both battle drones are out too.”

  “Lancers, eh? Devious bastards. You had better get going. We’ll just have to fight it out on our own and give them a surprise when they try and board us.”

  “Sir, there’s still time to get you back to the Nepenthe. Evacuate your team from the ship and get to me.”

  “Over to you? Where the hell are you?”

  “Sergeant Boaz told me to stay with the mass driver, sir. I think it still has enough fuel to get to the shadow zone and link up with the Nepenthe.”

  “Hell of a risky plan, but I like it. Stand by.”

  Using the enhanced visual mode in his helmet visor, Hauk saw the lieutenant and his team open up an airlock by the side of the Amerigo and head towards him using EVA thruster packs.

  With the growing distance between them, the boy estimated it would take Strand’s team fifteen minutes to reach the mass driver. Come on, you can do it.

  Hauk tensed up when a warning beep blared in his ears. The sensors on the second mass driver indicated the rearward asteroid had taken a tremendous pounding and was close to fracturing. He keyed in his com-link circuit once more. “Lieutenant, you need to increase your acceleration. The space rock behind you is about to—”

  His words were cut off when the rearward asteroid’s outline suddenly lit up like a small star and exploded, sending pieces of rock in multiple directions. A boulder the size of a small ship came hurtling towards Strand’s strike team.

  Hauk’s suit AI told him the flying lump of space rock was on an imminent collision course with the four people making their way towards him. “Look out, incoming!”

  Strand and Zeno were able to react, altering their trajectory just in time, and the boulder missed them by a few meters. Oana had somewhat gotten out of the way, but her EVA thruster pack was damaged as
the side of the rock grazed it, tearing away essential chunks of machinery. Keo was hit a glancing blow by a boulder as it passed him by, crushing his thruster pack and sending him into a spin.

  Disengaging the tether line, Hauk activated his leg thrusters and headed towards the unresponsive spacer sergeant. Keo’s arms were limp as he continued to spin like a top. Strand had turned around and got to his subordinate first, using his hands to disengage Keo’s damaged thruster pack, and stopped the youth’s spin. Zeno altered his course in order to rendezvous with Oana to see if she was alright. The synthetic man wasn’t wearing a spacesuit, so he couldn’t speak.

  By the time Hauk had gotten to the two of them, Strand was holding onto the unconscious Keo and had begun to readjust his thruster pack’s course towards the mass driver. Hauk grabbed hold of the top of the oversized backpack and used his own foot thrusters to increase their collective delta-V.

  “Thanks,” Strand said. “For a rookie you ain’t doing so badly.”

  Hauk winced as the Amerigo imploded behind him, sending more debris their way. He turned and saw a piece of the hull hurtling towards them, his suit’s AI screaming out in alarm. The boy aimed and fired his arm-mounted gauss rifle, sending the once threatening shard of composite carbon towards a different trajectory.

  “Looks like they just wanted to finish the job,” Strand said. “Hopefully they’ll think we died in the blast.”

  “We’ve still got that other destroyer ahead of us, Lieutenant,” Hauk said.

  “Not for long,” Strand said confidently. “I now have a com-link channel with the Nepenthe.”