by Chris Burton
Jake tried to avoid losing his temper, opting for a conciliatory tone.
“Steve Costello is a unique talent and it is fortunate for all of us that he elected not to come. He would have been a formidable opponent. He is not responsible for the wormhole re-opening. Alpha’s scientists got their sums wrong and they are to blame, not us. Look, I am pleased to meet an opponent, but can we just leave it at that for now. Let’s just get on with the competition.”
“Suit yourself. I like to get to know my opponent. You should learn from that. Glad to have met with you Enson Carter.”
The American returned to his seat and left Jake to continue his pondering.
His mind soon turned to Carla. Last night had been full on. Their lovemaking was fantastic and yet the evening was beset with heated and meaningful conversation. They had not argued, merely bringing their emotions to the fore about the way they felt for each other, about their futures, the inevitable periods where they would be apart, the Kryl crisis, and about Steve. Their final embrace was charged with emotion as they recognized the strength of their relationship. He left her knowing that she would inevitably spend time with Steve. She assured him this was a good thing. Steve needed to be brought back to the fore. Jake was left with the uncertainty that scared him the most: he could lose her again to Steve. Yet she had assured him her relationship with Steve was long over. He believed her and he trusted her but he did not trust Steve. Jake knew he would take the chance to be with her again. Did he still have the power to get Carla back into his bed?
Jake slept for a while, but was woken by a comm. link from Carla. Sure enough, it appeared Steve had already tried it on.
“He was absolutely blind drunk and I could not get rid of him. I just waited for him to pass out and left him on the couch. I have locked the door. I am not sure I trust him Jake. I don’t know what’s happened to him.”
“Do you want me to come home?”
“Don’t be daft. I can look after myself. Tomorrow, when he wakes up and realizes what he’s done, I will sit down with him and make him see sense. He is throwing everything away. He is obviously worried about his court appearance.”
“And the fact that I am here and he is there. Carla, be careful. I don’t trust him. I am worried he might do something really stupid.”
“He has come pretty close to doing that already. If there are any issues, I will speak to the tutor. Steve’s priority is to graduate and get out there in a Jump Ship. If he can’t win the TG, at least he can be where he really wants to be.”
“I am not sure, what he wants. If he loses the court case, he will be in big trouble. Are you still going with him?”
“Yes. But I am not sure I am the right person...Don’t worry I will look after him.”
Jake returned his seat to sleep mode. He still had two whole days of travel before he got to Titus 3 and at this rate, they were going to be two very long days.
* * * *
The shuttle banked over Titus 3, then came in quickly as the landing pad locked on, and drew the ship downwards. The small planetoid was an enigma. Despite a breathable atmosphere and a hospitable climate, it had a gravity pressure equivalent to ten times that of Earth. When you were caught in it, there was really only one place to go—straight to the surface. This made the small planetoid the perfect place to test the skills of the very best Jump Pilots and that was why this particular shuttle had touched down today.
The remainder of the journey was uneventful. Jake turned to his studying, as there were no further interruptions from his fellow contestants. Although Carla called him twice more, she had dealt with Steve smartly and he backed off.
This was his first visit to Titus 3. He fully understood why engaging this planet in a TG competition was such a challenge. The shuttle’s descent was alarmingly quick. Without the remotely controlled landing process, the shuttles power to weight ratio, would have been inadequate and she would have been dragged onto the planet surface.
* * * *
On landing and clearing security, the contestants were coached to their accommodation and within forty- five minutes, they sat in a hotel function room awaiting the TG supremo to address them.
“Welcome everyone. I hope you enjoyed your descent to Titus 3. Those of you who have never visited before, will be rather alarmed by the speed and the brutality of the landing process. This ladies and gentlemen, is why you are here. There is no better place to test your skills and for you to show us who is the best TG pilot.”
“We like to keep everyone guessing,” he continued. “This year we have selected Hunter R4’s as the competition vessel. This is going to be a very hard challenge indeed.”
A hush fell over the audience as they realized they would not be cosseted by the automated precision of the Rapier 7 or the smooth and wonderfully adept Sabre 4. They would be flying basic. The Hunter’s were used in the TG finals before, but not for a good few years. This was a cruel blow, to many and some would not cope.
“I will let you get over that shock for a moment, before I explain why...”
“We are all too aware of the events taking place in the Tri-star System and important though this competition is the new variant Rapier and Sabre will not be available to us at this time. We could then have opted for older variants, but we were reminded of just how good you people seem to think you are. The Hunter challenge became an attractive one. You will need all your skills and strengths just to avoid plunging the R4’s into the surface of the planet. I will close this welcome meeting, with a word of caution, be prepared for anything and make sure you are fully awake when you step foot inside your ship...Good luck, you are going to need it!”
The first race commenced early in the thirty-eight hour Titus 3 day. Twenty-two hours of darkness gave way to bright sunlight, almost unbearably, as the twin stars of the Dalbor System reached their maximum brightness.
Today’s race involved a free-for-all offensive across the surface of the planetoid, never once breaking atmosphere, confined to within five thousand meters from the surface. The circumference route of the planetoid was guided by thirty checkpoints. The Jump Ship pilots had to pass within ten kilometers of each. This would be no mean feat. The terrain was constantly varied and included two complex mountainous sections and the infamous Dolphin cavern—a two thousand mile cave that traversed one entire continent of the planetoid. The Jump Ships had to negotiate the cave in near darkness. This was by far the most dangerous section of the course, with some sections less than one hundred and fifty meters in height. Gravity and intermix calculations were plotted in advance as each TG contestant planned their route in finite detail. This was the first race, but it was also the hardest. Some would not make it to the end.
Jake sat almost horizontally as he studied his chart and route calculations. He knew this section was designed to reduce the field. Sixty competitors were too many for a meaningful competition. At such an early stage, this was about safe negotiation of the course, rather than pitching the fastest time.
The command came for the Hunter R4’s engines to ignite and Jake brought himself back to his standard seating position and powered up his twin thrusters. The ion drives would not be needed today, but if emergency thrust burst was required, he would keep them on standby.
The Hunters lined up six abreast in a grid system, which was pre-determined by random selection. Jake’s ship was on the second row. The order to engage was broadcast and Jake fired up his thrusters to maximum for a super fast launch. Seconds later the Hunter rose into the sky, as the procession of Jump Ships began the early stages of the race.
This was full on. He was back in thirty-sixth place and struggling to stay with the leaders. All the contestants were exceptional pilots.
This was an endurance race and completion was the target, so Jake set about positioning himself safely, with clear distance between those Jump Ships ahead, below, above and behind. The first section of mountain terrain was quickly approaching. A tall range of mountains, where the highest
peaks fell just a few hundred meters short of the atmospheric boundary. If you chose the wrong peak to climb over, you could be disqualified in a flash. Jake opted to hug the ground closely and use his helmet telemetry to instinctively keep the ship from getting too close to the surface. Twice, he came close and quick changes to his intermix brought him back to safety. The second mountainous section followed a cruise across a large section of water. Bizarrely this was one of the hardest sections. Detecting the checkpoints over water was difficult because the gravity pull created liquid vortexes, which spurted out from the sea, if altitude dropped to low. Several Jump Ships were lost this way and. Jake was grateful, after fifteen minutes of flying that, this section was finally over, and the second less dense mountain section commenced. The great cavern fast approached and Jake began the finite adjustments required to negotiate his Hunter through the vast underground tunnel. This will be tricky.
Ten kilometers into the cavern, the gravitational pull decreased, the ride became firmer, and the urge to ditch reduced markedly.
Jake was now in danger. The Hunter immediately behind him closed to less than fifty meters and was obviously trying to force Jake into a mistake. The Duke tried to force him into the side of the cavern, where the height was restricted and light was very limited. Jake instinctively pulled the stick back and allowed his thoughts to control his progress. He eased back further on the throttle and the Duke went shooting by. The Duke’s Hunter did not look back. He was clearly on a quest to reach the leaders.
Jake was in eighteenth place and the tunnel section was proving a formidable obstacle to the Hunters limited maneuverability. Only fifty-two ships remained in the race.
The race continued. Twice, Jake swerved to avoid protruding cave sections and on the closing section, when he could almost sense the daylight, he narrowly avoided ditching as he swerved to avoid the Jump Ship in front as the cave height suddenly narrowed to less than three hundred meters. Then they were clear and in front of them lay the Great Plains and the Antubi dessert. These were two of the fastest sections of the race, but the terrain was difficult and gravity was back to play its fullest part.
The closing section of the race was mostly over water and when the leading Jump Ships finally sighted land, the end was in sight. The Duke came in first, proving he was a formidable Jump Pilot. Jake came passed the winning post in ninth position.
The second and third days of the competition passed by, with five further races, narrowing the field on the final day to just twenty- two. Jake was in third place and was challenging for the lead. The final race was a time trial across the Antubi Desert, the plains and through the cavern, but now, as with the South Downs final TG, the organizers had added a simple reality check. The Jump Ships would be targeted from above and below by a vast array of anti aircraft artillery. Jake lay in fifth place in the time trial, as the contestants exited the plains and headed into the mouth of the cavern. Jake needed to ramp things up and he made adjustments to his intermix calculations. He needed to win this race in the best time possible, to stand any chance of winning the competition outright. The leaders were all bunched together, with the Duke tucked in behind the leader. Jake made his move and passed the fourth and third place Jump Ships as the cavern narrowed to one of its lowest points. He was behind the Duke.
The Duke was ready and as Jake pushed his Jump Ship to its absolute limit, he fired his afterburners and swerved left and then right to create a wall through which Jake could not pass. These were legitimate, but dangerous tactics. However, Jake was ready for him. He had already boiled up his Ion drive. He drew in close again and prepared to engage his off-world engines. The Duke pulled left and created a tempting passage for Jake to pass through. Jake took the bait.
The Hunter RS4, slammed into the side of the cave at high velocity, as the Duke brought his ship back into line, with his own burst of Ion drive power. The impact caused Jake to lose consciousness and his Jump Ship veered up, smashing against the roof of the cave, before bottoming and coming to rest on the cave surface several thousand meters from where the incident started.
* * * *
Jake came round in the medical facility. He realized he was badly hurt and placed in a stasis chamber to allow his broken bones to rejuvenate. He drifted in and out of sleep for the next few hours, until a meal was served. It seemed like weeks since he had last eaten.
* * * *
“Good to see you conscious, Enson.”
“Commander Golding. I did not know you had travelled to the TG final?”
“The Chancellor and I travelled separately. How are you feeling?”
“A little groggy, Sir, but I guess I must be on the mend.”
“You were lucky. The Hunter was totally wiped out. The surgeons removed a blood clot from your skull and cleared up significant internal bleeding. You were lucky. But your injuries were not life threatening and the surgeons and stasis chamber have done a good job. I am told you should be fit to return to Earth later today and if it’s okay with you I will accompany you on the medical ship.”
“Of course, Sir. I presume I lost my position in the final standings?”
Golding smiled. “Yes, you finished sixteenth, but frankly you could have finished first. Tom Duke managed to get away with this stunt. His maneuver was deemed legal, which I disagree with. He won the TG of course.”
“I am not sure I would have won outright. Even if I had got passed Duke, I still would have been in second and then there was the other time trial heat.”
“Your heat was the fastest and I am sure if you had got past Duke, you could have passed the man in first place. He was suffering intermix problems and eventually finished the time trial in eighth place. We are very proud of your achievement Mister Carter. You could and probably should have won and we are contesting the result. It will fail, of course, but we want to register our objection to the result. I will let you rest now. The medical technician will be here in due course, to get you set up for the journey home.”
So, he had done well after all. The field was very competitive but Tom Duke had come through in the end. Thank God, Steve missed the competition. A clash between Steve and Duke would have been bad.
He was pleased the Chancellor and the South Downs Academies TG Supremo had witnessed the competition. Without their acknowledgement, it would have been difficult to justify how he had managed to return to the Academy in a stasis chamber.
Chapter Thirteen
Chasing the Kronan
The mini-fleet, under the command of Jonathan Hoskins had left the Jandas System two weeks ago, in pursuit of the rogue Kryl vessel, now believed to be heading to the Tri-star System. They were travelling at maximum fleet velocity. There was no prospect of locating the enemy vessel in the light years of space that lay between the two systems. The Halo 7 completed her post refit trials and deposited the outgoing first officer, Commander Jacques at Alpha Two before rendezvousing with the mini-fleet. The new first officer Commander Shen Knui then boarded and they headed straight to the Jandas System. When their search proved unsuccessful Hoskins was relieved when fleet command ordered them to head directly to the Tri-star System.
Hoskins was in his quarters, his mistress, and the ships CAG, Lieutenant Obeya Temsouri lay by his side on his bed, completely naked, sleeping. He had just answered a comm. link.
“Commander, we are picking up some unusual readings.”
The voice was that of his new first officer. He was getting used to her. She could be quite forthright, but was pleasant enough and knew her job, albeit a bit too much ‘by the book’.
“What kind of readings Number One?”
“Vented plasma from a hyper drive core. The plasma is unusual, not Alpha, or any other usual source. This could be the rogue ship. Do you want to join me on the bridge?”
This was Shen Knui, going by the book, but Hoskins did not feel compelled to join her.
“You do not need my help to investigate this matter. Proceed and let me know who or what is venting
when you have the information. I will join you on the bridge in a few hours.”
“Very well, Sir, but as we are not certain of the plasma origins, I am taking us to alert status and raising shields.”
“That’s a sensible precaution. Keep me informed.”
The communication ended as Obeya began to stir. She would be late for her shift again. But her staff knew what was going on and no one would say anything.
“You let me oversleep again. This does not look good to the outside world. My staff are already talking.”
“Let them. I am in command of the fleet and not just this ship now. I am entitled to a few perks.”
“Is that what your wife thinks too?”
“Oh come on, Obeya. Let’s not start that again. I have to support my wife. She is the mother of my son!”
“So, that’s it then. No further discussions regarding our future because you now have a son. I will just continue to be your sordid little affair...your mistress.”
“Sweetheart, you know I love you. I am trying to look for the best of both worlds.”
“Well, it’s not working. You need to make a decision soon. It’s your wife or me!”
“I know, I know. I need to work out how I am going to tell her.”
Or whether I will tell her, he thought. He could not let go of his wife or Obeya.
Obeya said nothing, but stared at Hoskins briefly before standing and heading off towards the shower. Hoskins was left to contemplate Obeya’s latest ultimatum. They were becoming more frequent now. He did not want to lose her, but he did not want to lose Sarah either and as for his son?
Hoskins’s label badge flashed.
“Commander, we think we have traced the plasma identity. The ship is almost certainly Kryl.”
“Then we may be in business Number One. I am on my way.”
* * * *
“How close is the plasma trail?”
“We are closing to within ten kilometers. Shall I send a probe?”
