Spinebreakers

by Mitch Michaelson

  “Hold. Pull back behind the moon,” Steo said.

  Yuina slid back behind the cover of the moon.

  “There were more than two signals,” he said.

  “More than just the Fire Scorpion and the AndroVault, then,” Renosha surmised.

  “In other words, a lot more guards,” Yuina said.

  “They’re assembling their fleet,” Glaikis said. “The fight just got a lot tougher.”

  Hawking and Steo checked the data. “About eight to ten active ships are in the graveyard,” Steo said. “Hawking, change from alpha strike to nova strike plan. Yuina, take us out again.”

  They came out from behind the moon.

  “Fire the kinetic cannon three times at the largest hulks on the outer edge of the ship graveyard. Here, here and here.”

  “At 75 million miles? We’ll have to be accurate within a millionth of a decimal point to hit one,” she said.

  Hawking said, “Select explosive rounds instead of direct impact rounds, Pilot Yuina. They only need to explode in the vicinity.”

  She began the process.

  Hawking continued, “Since the rounds are inert and don’t emit signals, they will be difficult to identify in the emptiness of space. Plus, the probability of a direct hit is so remote, no vessel would normally care. The goal is not a hit.”

  After thoroughly checking the calculations, Hawking approved and Yuina let fly.

  “Wait until they’re about to impact. That should be hours from now. Then we’re going to use the explosions as cover,” Steo said.

  “Sir! Disruptions on the edge of the graveyard,” reported a crewman.

  “What kind of disruptions?” Pesht asked. The six-legged alien moved to the crewman’s station. He saw debris moving about in random patterns on the outskirts of the field of dead ships.

  “That looks like a meteor collision,” he said. “Analysis?”

  Several crewmen answered. They agreed that some object or objects had ventured into the graveyard and exploded, causing a multitude of blasts.

  The Eye of Orion disappeared from the moon and instantly appeared behind a gutted old cruise ship.

  “That was the shortest flight I’ve ever been on,” Glaikis said with a gulp. FTL flight was almost always reserved for long-distance travel. Even pirates and mercenaries didn’t use it to gain a tactical position except in extreme circumstances. They didn’t have Yuina and Hawking, though.

  “Stay behind the large cruise ship. A pleasure liner like that provides a big shadow to hide in. Start collecting data from their scans. Use an inert probe if you need to. We should be close enough to get real-time results.” Steo went back to the holobridge.

  The white room lit up with pulsing waves and images of the hulks and ships moving inside the graveyard.

  “The Fire Scorpion is near the AndroVault. Seven other ships are present, all smaller than the Eye of Orion. However they are all armed,” Hawking said.

  “Prepare for a second jump. Everyone get ready!” Steo said.

  Everyone was tense at the onset of battle.

  Pesht was facing away from the front panel, checking schedule rotations on his console when the alarms screamed.

  “We’re under attack! Enemy vessel appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the fleet!”

  “Good space, is that the Eye of Orion?!”

  “Tactics section reports a nova attack!”

  Pesht snapped his head around. A nova attack was when a ship raced into the middle of an enemy fleet and fired in all directions, like a star going nova. Dozens of missiles streaked away from the Eye of Orion. Dozens was a deadly, terrifying number. The Fire Scorpion and seven cutters were all targeted.

  Pesht ordered shields up. He had his instructions though. They came straight from Admiral Slaught. In case of an attack, any attack, he was to fire a certain missile at a certain target. Pesht typed the command in his console and said nothing as the missile launched.

  Instead of flying toward the Eye of Orion, the missile swung around and slammed into the AndroVault. High up on the side, it plunged into the coppery metal. Hundreds of sleepers were instantly killed. Air spat out until doors automatically shut, sealing the bioark again.

  Inside the generation ship, the crew rushed to repair the damage.

  Everyone on board the Eye of Orion paid close attention to their panels and consoles. They had jumped at FTL speed into the middle of the graveyard (passing directly through several hulks) and appeared in an open area off the bow of the colossal AndroVault.

  Then they fired a volley of 27 missiles – three per cutter and six at the Fire Scorpion.

  Yuina saw something she didn’t like and shouted, “Active signals coming from that hulk! They’re targeting us!”

  The hulks were garbage, stripped of everything valuable. They couldn’t move, much less fire weapons.

  Hawking said, “That ship is being repaired.”

  “They probably fixed the weapons systems first,” Glaikis said.

  “I’ll put a stop to that.” Yuina spun the rotary cannon on the top of the Eye of Orion and fired. “You said the rotary cannon is for defense.” Its six barrels came alive.

  Many men had come to Admiral Slaught’s summons. They came in small ships, called cutters, with crews of about ten. All had dirty pasts.

  Slaught had put them to use, promising them officer positions on any ships they could get working. It was pointless to fix up a ship that couldn’t support weaponry, so that was the first thing they worked on.

  The cruiser Rotkrieg had great potential. It was old but had strong bones and ample room for improvement. A team got crude missile batteries installed and power out of the old engines.

  When the Eye of Orion appeared and they saw that the fleet was under attack, the men on the Rotkrieg fired. Unfortunately they didn’t have shields or the ability to move.

  A moment after the Rotkrieg’s missiles were away, they saw on their scanners that all were obliterated. A moment later, the crew of the Rotkrieg was too.

  “How many rounds did you fire?” Cyrus asked.

  “37,450 in a one-second burst,” Hawking said. “The hulk is no longer a threat.”

  “Shredded,” Yuina said with satisfaction.

  When Pesht saw the Rotkrieg get perforated, he rapidly sent orders to the workers on other ships not to engage, and to find protection. “Do not draw fire on ships under repair!” he shrieked at the top of his voice.

  His efficient crew brought the Fire Scorpion up to combat status while the missiles approached.

  “Jamming and electronic countermeasures ineffective,” said the countermeasures team over the comm.

  Pesht pounded the voice comm. “That’s because they have a better hacker than any of you!” To his weapons crew he said, “Launch frag missiles in a defensive pattern!”

  The Eye of Orion’s missiles were staggered in waves. The first was anti-missiles. Normally they were used to shoot down missiles attacking a ship, which meant they needed targets before launch. However Steo had programmed these to pick up targets as they flew toward the Fire Scorpion.

  “Our frag missiles were destroyed! Second wave of missiles approaching!” a crewmember reported to Pesht.

  Pesht ordered the Fire Scorpion to move, to avoid direct gunfire.

  “Defensive maneuvers! Chaff! Launch another volley of frag missiles!” The stalk that dangled from Pesht’s face often made his speech seem like a gurgle. However he was in the habit of directing it toward different crewmen, allowing him to project his voice clearly.

  One missile got through to the Fire Scorpion. When it exploded, it raked the destroyer with globs of burning plasma, tearing down shields in several points. However with no follow-up fire, the shields began to regenerate.

  “Get those shields up now! Continue defensive maneuvers! We can’t attack with down shields!”

  The Eye of Orion had launched its nova attack and torn the Rotkrieg to shreds. They watched as missiles approached their tar
gets. The rotary cannon and a few anti-missiles had shut down any counterattack by the enemy fleet. Soon the Fire Scorpion lit up under a plasma spray. The destroyer didn’t venture far from the AndroVault.

  “Significant shield damage to the Fire Scorpion, but they will regenerate,” Hawking said.

  Glaikis said, “It looks like four cutters ducked into the field of ships to avoid missile fire. Two managed to shoot the missiles down, but another failed. It’s limping badly.”

  Cyrus stood in the doorway between the two bridges. “The Fire Scorpion is Slaught’s ship. Are we going to get him?”

  Renosha asked, “Can we challenge the Fire Scorpion in a head-to-head engagement?”

  Steo said, “No, probably not. Yuina, take us into the field. We need to move.”

  “Done,” Yuina said. The Eye of Orion darted out of the open area and zigzagged past several hulks.

  “How are we going to kill him?” Cyrus said.

  “Cyrus, I’m a thief not a soldier. My skill is getting away! I need time to come up with a plan! We need an edge,” Steo said.

  “But he could fly away now!”

  “Will he? The Fire Scorpion hasn’t left the side of the AndroVault,” Renosha said.

  “Maybe I can use that,” Steo said as he pulled up holograms.

  “Why don’t we just attack?” Cyrus protested.

  “Steady, Cyrus,” Glaikis said. “They killed Tully, and even some of their own allies. We’re the hunter now. Hunting takes patience.”

  “Orion was a mythological hunter,” Renosha said.

  “Get after it!” Pesht ordered the remaining six cutters. They didn’t show much enthusiasm as they milled about.

  “They’re not pursuing,” Yuina said.

  “That gives us time,” Glaikis suggested.

  “Let’s not give them enough time to come up with a plan. Never let guards organize,” Steo said. “Yuina! Take us in a long swing around the graveyard to the damaged cutter.”

  “We’ll be there in a minute.”

  Pesht watched a Spinebreaker missile punch through the damaged cutter, and it went up in a violent explosion.

  “Cutters, earn your pay! I order you to pursue the Eye of Orion! Engage now or we will fire on you!” Pesht said.

  Pesht muttered in his own language, “That’s why I ordered you in together, human maggots. Don’t let them pick you off one at a time.”

  “The cutter is destroyed,” Glaikis reported.

  “One down, six to go,” Yuina said.

  “That will get their attention.” Steo kept a serious expression but he felt a little conflicted about destroying the disabled cutter. It wasn’t an honorable thing to do.

  Hawking said, “The cutters are joining battle. They have moved into the field.”

  “Yuina this will largely be you! Keep moving and just worry about defense. We’ll fire missiles. Cyrus, take that console. You can fire fragmentation missiles. We have plenty, but don’t waste them. Glaikis, you navigate. Hawking, you report. I’ll take advanced missiles.”

  Renosha joined Steo in the holobridge. “You kept Cyrus busy?”

  “He wanted to be a crewmember, and I don’t want him throwing away Seeker/Stalkers.”

  “What would you have me do?” Renosha asked.

  “I don’t know. Got any advice?”

  “Always. I have observed your technology and believe there are ways to use it that you have not considered.”

  The six cutters split up into pairs, improving their defenses. They tried to box the Eye of Orion in but were frustrated by Yuina’s agile moves. Their gunfire was useless against a quick ship in a field like this, much less one piloted by a tirrian. Their missiles required no skill to fire though. Glaikis and Hawking kept everyone aware of what to do. Anti-missiles kept the Eye of Orion safe as it flew through the ship graveyard.

  As Yuina and Cyrus improved their coordination, the cutters were confronted by missiles at point-blank range. Surprised, they used shields and anti-missiles to survive.

  Occasionally a missile would arrive in their defense from the Fire Scorpion, forcing the Eye of Orion away from the smaller ships.

  Glaikis had an idea. They picked on one ship, forcing it to defend itself. Then Glaikis launched a decoy drone at it with the Fire Scorpion’s signature. Confused and thinking they were headed for a collision, the cutter slowed. The Eye of Orion followed the decoy. As the cutter came to a halt, Yuina riddled it with fire from the rotary cannon. Once they were past, Cyrus fired a missile into it and blew it to bits.

  “Overkill!” Yuina shouted.

  “Sorry,” Cyrus said.

  “I love it!”

  They learned that one of the cutters had a laser when their shields were knocked down in one hit. The energy beam came out of nowhere, burning away their main protection.

  Yuina deftly weaved through the wreckage to give them time. Hawking adjusted rapidly to bring the shields up. The cutters joined into a pack and pursued.

  “That laser packs a powerful punch but it has to get close and it has a slow recharge,” Glaikis said.

  Yuina terrified everyone by threading a narrow gap between hulks. Cyrus fired back into their wake. The cutters followed and found missiles in their faces. One cutter evaded too hard and bumped a wreck. The cutter was lucky to lose only a weapons mount and several sensors. It fell to the back of the pack.

  “Steo!” Glaikis yelled. “That laser changes things. They’re recharging now. Our shields can’t stand a second hit. If we engage them again, we could be in real danger! We need time!”

  Steo stopped talking to Renosha. “I can give you that! Hawking show them nova attack B.” To Renosha, Steo said, “I’ve got the spot.”

  Meanwhile Hawking brought up a diagram on a side panel and showed the bridge crew. Yuina found an open area and slowed down. The cutters split up to approach the Eye of Orion from two sides, coming in fast.

  Glaikis released Seeker/Stalkers at each. The dreaded missiles were incredibly difficult to avoid. They were more than powerful enough to punch through the thin shields and armor of a cutter.

  Pesht saw the launch in the melee and ordered the cutters to flee. He wondered who equipped the Eye of Orion, since it had seemed weaponless before. Five Seeker/Stalker missiles were an expensive salvo against mere cutters.

  As the laser-armed cutter turned, Yuina took a chance and accelerated. The rotary cannon swung around and she swept the cutter with the gun. Few of the thousands of rounds hit the cutter, but it scoured the ship nonetheless. Still, all five cutters fled the area with missiles hot on their tails.

  “I think you’ve proven your point,” Glaikis said to her.

  Steo came into the bridge. “Go to these coordinates.”

  “It’s a big carrier,” Glaikis said.

  “A freighter?” Yuina asked.

  “No, a carrier. It carried smaller ships, usually shuttles or fighters,” Steo said.

  “Okay.”

  The Eye of Orion wound through the ship graveyard until they found the large ship. It was still in one piece but had giant holes in it.

  “The cutters escaped the Seeker/Stalker missiles. Some returned to the vicinity of the Fire Scorpion, who helped destroy the missiles,” Hawking said.

  “That was to be expected,” Renosha said.

  “As we approach the carrier, fire six decoy drones at varying speeds,” Steo said. “Glaikis, reduce our signature. No active scans.”

  “What are we doing?” Cyrus said as he launched the decoys.

  Once the last was gone, Steo said, “Stop close to the carrier.”

  Yuina came to a full halt nearly touching the big ship.

  Steo pointed. “See that? Some of those holes are big enough for us to fit into. The bays inside are huge.”

  Hawking identified the largest and Yuina steered the Eye of Orion up to the black opening.

  “Are you sure about this?” she said.

  “Yes. It’s safe. Just act like it’s docking in
side a space station,” Steo said.

  Yuina guided the corvette into the cavern. Glaikis switched to low-power scans that allowed them to see. The bay was huge but there were girders and joists everywhere, remnants of walkways designed for small docked ships. Yuina moved at a slow, measured speed into the cave. Soon she found an open area in which to stop.

  “That prevents us from being seen, but if we’re under attack we can’t get out fast,” Yuina said.

  “That’s fine. Go ahead and pull over there. Orient the ship to that gantry.”

  “Are you getting out?” Glaikis said, alarmed.

  “Don’t worry, you’re coming with me,” Steo said.

  “You don’t understand. I don’t like coming with you!”

  “Sir, we have multiple signals for the Eye of Orion, headed in different directions. We’ve lost them sir,” said a crewman.

  “They went silent. They’re in the field somewhere, keeping quiet while they recharge shields,” Pesht said.

  He checked his console and a damage report. He ordered the five cutters to search the graveyard.

  “Tactical! Get me guidance on where the enemy ship went and what its plans are, fast!”

  He noted that the Eye of Orion hadn’t fired on the AndroVault. It was a big, unmistakable target. Its shields were good because of the amount of energy the bioark’s engines could force into them, but modern missiles could penetrate them. The Eye of Orion had fired more missiles at the Fire Scorpion than any of the cutters. Pesht didn’t need the tactical section’s assessment of the enemy’s objective. He called Boc to the bridge.

  When the mercenary arrived, Pesht said, “Field Officer Boc, it is my assessment that the Eye of Orion’s goal is to kill Admiral Slaught.”

  Boc looked at Pesht, then to the main panel, then back to Pesht. “But he isn’t on the Scorpion.”

  “Given where they were last seen, maybe they don’t know that, maybe they do.”