by Clark Graham
“But, Sir.” Phay didn’t bother raising his hand. Obviously, the captain didn’t know what he was talking about and he was going to point it out. “The Xanik fighters can fly far enough to launch missiles across the gap, if we need.”
Merken didn’t miss a step. It was as if he wanted someone to mention that. “True, but here is the data we’ve collected over the last forty-eight hours.” There were dots on the map going between the space stations. “Fifteen pirates have gone through the gaps in this amount of time. Why aren’t the Xanik pilots shooting their missiles at them? Because the enemy is too far away to detect. You can’t hit a target you don’t know is there.”
The others in the room let out a nervous laugh. Phay slunk down in his chair.
“There are two solutions to this problem. The first is the frigate I arrived in. Small fast ships with firepower that is more than enough to dispatch a pirate. The second is mini carriers between the starbases. The ships will only have room for two roc’fis. The Xanik fighters will dock in them. The mini carriers will plug the holes, the frigates will destroy the pirates that have already made it past our defenses. We have only one frigate so far, but fifteen mini carriers, enough to fill all the gaps.”
The captain caught Phay’s attention. “Lieutenant, you and your wingman will be the first to go to the carrier.”
“But, Sir, I’m the squadron commander.”
“Yes, and as a good leader, you will set the example.”
Phay frowned, but he said, “Yes, Sir.”
“Meeting dismissed.”
After the room cleared out, Gromsom came up to the captain. “Any other orders, Sir?”
“Yes, rotate the men out of those mini carriers every two weeks. There is nothing to do on them as they are thin skinned and hastily built. I don’t want morale to suffer too badly.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Merken started to walk away, but then stopped and turned back. “Except for Lieutenant Phay. Leave him there as long as possible. Things will be so much nicer around here without him.”
Chapter 25
Mini Carrier Chaple
Keldar Sector
Phay looked out of his roc’fi’s window. He was on his last approach to the carrier. It looked like a black box. Slightly rectangular, the craft was dark to blend into deep space. If the ship hadn’t turned on its lights, Phay would have never found it.
He thought about turning around, even though he wouldn’t have enough fuel to make it back to the station. Why didn’t I meet the new base commander when he came onboard? It had been a stupid decision that cost Falisar his job and now Phay was banished to a box in deep space. His battle with the new commander had been short-lived and a massive defeat.
“Command, this is Zebra leader, permission to land.” He gritted his teeth. It was the last thing he wanted to do.
“Approach at one-eight-three Zebra leader. Both craft can land at the same time. Zebra five, approach at one-one-eight.”
“Roger.” The eager voice of his wingman came over his headset. To Hansaw, this was all an adventure.
“Roger,” Phay mumbled into his headset. Both craft slowed down and slid onto the waiting mouth of the carrier.
The doors to the landing bay closed behind them as the roc’fis came to rest on the platforms. Phay looked up. The carrier was a box from this angle too, only it was a white box on the inside.
His canopy slid back and two men helped him out of the cockpit.
“Welcome aboard. We haven’t had visitors before.”
Phay eyed the newcomer. The man had perfectly white teeth, stood about six-foot-two and had on a pressed uniform, he had lieutenant commander bars on. Even with the man’s cap pulled down on his head, Phay could still see the blonde hair. “Lieutenant Phay reporting, Sir.”
“I’m sure you had a long flight. I will let you and your wingman get some rest. Ensign Morris will show you to your quarters.”
The Ensign saluted Phay smartly. “Right this way, Sir.”
Phay hated formality. He ground his teeth as he walked. Down a short corridor and around a corner, the Ensign opened the door.
“This is your quarters, Sir.”
Phay stood facing bunk beds. “Is this some kind of joke?”
“No, Sir. Your storage lockers are to the right. This is your bunk, Lieutenant, from now until sixteen hundred hours, then Ensign Hansaw will take over. The captain wants one roc’fi pilot awake at all times.”
“I’m a lieutenant, not a deckhand. I demand better quarters.”
“Sir, the only better quarters are the captains and he doesn’t have any more room than you do. The only difference is, he isn’t in bunk beds and he doesn’t have to share a cot.” Without another word, the ensign turned on his heels and walked away.
“This is ridiculous. I’m a lieutenant. I deserve to be treated better than this.”
“It’s you and your big mouth that got us both into the situation,” the normally quiet Hansaw snapped. “Now since I’ll be up another twelve hours, I hope you get some sleep. Don’t sweat, I can’t stand getting into a sweaty bunk.”
The ensign had never talked to him like that and Phay stood, open-jawed as Hansaw stormed off.
Phay found himself alone facing the bunk beds. He was debating about which one to take, but the decision was made for him by another lieutenant, who walked past him, and rolled into the bottom bunk.
Me and my big mouth.
Ensign Hansaw took the opportunity to explore the ship. It was built around the landing bay. A small bridge was at the bow of the ship and the doors to the landing bay opened up to the aft. Two small engines were bolted on to the side, but they looked only big enough to maneuver the ship, not fly it through space. He surmised that the craft was towed into place. On his second pass around the hallway, he peeked into the bridge.
“Ensign, please join me,” came the captain’s cheery voice.
The bridge was kept dark and Hansaw stumbled through it until he was standing at the captain’s chair. “Sir.”
“Relax, we’re fellow officers. You don’t have to be so formal.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Commander Sevil smiled. “I know, it’ll take some getting used to.” Pointing at the screen he said, “We’ll need your services soon. Two pirate ships are making their way through the gap. They don’t know we’re here. Soon, they will get an unpleasant surprise.”
Chapter 26
Null Space
Keldar Sector
The roc’fi roared through space towards the enemy. Hansaw checked his gauges. All systems were good. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he made a last-minute adjustment to his direction. He was now headed straight at them.
As they appeared in the distance, he noted that one of the ships was towing the other, so he decided to concentrate his fire on the first ship. He switched on his targeting computer. The pirate ship grew larger in the circle on his canopy. When the circle turned red, he squeezed the trigger twice. Two missiles streaked towards the target, rapidly followed by large explosions.
The shock wave bounced his craft. He pulled up. As the roc’fi flew past, the ship being towed open fired on him. White streaks zipped near his ship. What? He hadn’t expected anyone to be on that one.
He turned back around. If he had known both ships were occupied, he wouldn’t have shot both his missiles at the first one. Coming closer, he noted there was nothing left of the first ship, just space debris. Pirates used captured merchants. The thin-skinned craft were no match for weapons designed to blow holes in heavily armored starships.
White streaks of counter fire greeted him as he neared the second target. As he squeezed the trigger, red flashes headed toward the enemy. Impacts explosions dotted the pirate. Small fires erupted.
Thud. Something hit his roc’fi. The rocket became more and more unmanageable as he struggled to get away from the enemy fire. Warning alarm. The engine’s overheated. His heart raced as the red lights on his control panel
flashed.
“This is Zebra Five. My roc’fi is damaged, engine overheating. I won’t make it back to the carrier. Please send rescue.”
“This is the Chaple, Zebra five. We don’t have rescue, we will notify the starbase.”
“But, it could be hours before they get here.”
“They have been notified. Are your life support systems damaged?”
“Checking.” Hansaw scrolled through his controls. “My internal climate control system is out.”
“Use an emergency blanket. Wrap up well. They’ll get to you as soon as possible.”
“Yes, Sir.”
He pointed his ship towards the carrier with a vain hope of actually making it there. More warning lights flashed, then the engine cut out altogether.
This is all Phay’s fault. Him and his loud mouth. If he wasn’t such a jerk, we wouldn’t both be banished. I’m going to die because of him. He hit the control panel. It beeped. Idiot. The ensign shook his head then pulled out the emergency water and blanket from the back-storage area behind the seat. He wrapped himself up then drank half of the water.
Not having anything left to do, he took a nap. It had been so long since he’d slept. Waking up once and a while to scan the darkness in hope of getting rescued, then he’d slip back into a quiet sleep.
As he slowly drifted through space, his mind raced back to the first roc’fi he ever flew. It was the old Drottning design. Large and ugly, but they could fly forever and take an enormous amount of battle damage. The olive drab paint job did nothing to improve the looks of the rocket.
In comparison, the Xanik fighter was a thing of beauty. Small and nimble, it could slice through space at speeds the Drottning could only dream about. White, with a T-tail it was unsurpassed in any fighter to fighter battle. The size came at a cost. It couldn’t sustain any amount of damage without being taken out of action, and its range was limited.
It was getting harder and harder for Hansaw to see out of the flight deck as ice forming on the inside of the canopy. He tried to scrape it off with his fingernails, but all he received for his efforts was a cold hand. He tucked it back under the blanket.
He tried to get another drink, but his water had frozen solid.
“Zebra Five, how are you holding up?”
“Not well, I’m freezing to death.”
“This is rescue seventeen. We’ll have you onboard in a matter of minutes. We have some hot soup waiting for you along with a nice warm bunk.”
‘Thank you.” Hansaw hit at the frosted-up windscreen in hopes of cracking the ice and seeing out, but it was in vain.
The hull jolted with a loud clank. The ship moved. Soon something was banging on the frozen canopy. With a pop, it came open. “There you are. I didn’t think we were going to get you out for a minute there.”
Hansaw tried to stand, but his joints wouldn’t move. He felt hands pulling on his shoulders. Soon, he was sitting in front of a steaming bowl of soup and a hot mug.
Chapter 27
Rescue 17
Keldar Sector
To Hansaw’s delight, the rescue ship headed towards the starbase instead of back to the Chaple. When he thought about it, it made sense. The carrier had no repair facilities and he would have no reason to be there without a roc’fi.
His hands were still cold, but the soup had warmed his insides. He looked up as another lieutenant sat next to him in the small mess hall. “Hi, I’m Rofin. I’m the captain of this ship. I’m used to towing damaged freighters, not taking onboard small fighters.”
“I thank you. I’ve seen you guys around the station. I never knew I’d need you. I’ll be nicer from now on.”
Rofin laughed. “Thank you. You’re a lucky man. If they would have hit you a foot forward, the shot would have gone through the cockpit.”
Hansaw turned white. “I didn’t know. I thought it hit the engine.” He walked back to the cargo bay. Rofin followed him. There in the side of his roc’fi was a hole big enough to stick his duffle bag in. “It’s worse than it sounded.” He swallowed hard.
“It’s a high-energy weapon. They’re not supposed to have anything that sophisticated, but apparently, they do. Things will get worse before they get better. A couple of hits from that and they can take out almost any roc’fi. Especially the Xanik.”
“I want a Drottning again. It was the fighter I learned on.”
“Yes, but most of those are gone.”
An Ensign came up to the captain, “Sir, it’s the Ederic. She’s hailing us.”
“I’ll take it in my quarters.”
Before the door closed, Hansaw could hear some of the conversation.
“Is my pilot okay?”
“Yes, Sir. We got to him before he froze to death. We’re bringing him back now.”
“Good…”
Well, at least the new captain is concerned about me.
Phay woke up with a start. He looked over to see an ensign had turned on the light to the room. “The captain wants you in your ship and patrolling the area.”
Phay blinked twice. The young ensign didn’t look old enough to be in a combat patrol, much less on a starship. “I’ll come when I’m ready.”
“Begging your pardon, Sir. You need to be ready immediately.”
The ensign walked off, but not before getting a glare from Phay. As he sat up, he remembered Hansaw’s words. I can’t stand a sweaty bunk. The bunk wasn’t sweaty. I should wet the bed. Phay smiled to himself until he realized it would still be wet when he made his way back to bed hours later.
Grumbling, he pulled on his uniform and headed towards the bridge. It was a small space. The captain’s chair and two more for a couple of helmsmen were all the room it had. “You called, Sir?”
“Yes, an hour ago. Zebra five is out of commission. I need you and your roc’fi to go out on patrol. Two pirates tried to get through the gap. One was destroyed. I want to know what happened to the other.”
Why is the captain glaring at me? Phay wondered. “Yes, Sir. I would like to eat first, Sir.” He threw in an extra sir for good measure.
“Your breakfast is on the seat of your roc’fi.” The captain turned back to the view screen.
Phay glared back, but no one saw. I’ve got to find a commanding officer I can get along with.
The ‘breakfast’ was a tube of semi-liquid protein. Phay hated the stuff, but it was better than nothing, so he scarfed it down.
Closing his canopy, he signaled the flight ops officer. The end of the launch tube opened to deep space, and he shot out. Banking sharply, he headed out in the direction of the confrontation. Slowing down when he reached the area. He didn’t want to be damaged by space debris. The one pirate ship was in pieces, both big and small. The other ship was intact, but dead in space. He flew over it, trying to get a reaction from there guns, but no response came.
“This is Zebra Leader, we have two ships not moving. One in pieces.”
“Roger, Zebra Leader. Continue your patrol.”
Phay clicked off the communicator and began doing large lazy circles out in space. They didn’t tell me where to go.
Chapter 28
Null Space
Frigate Ederic
The frigate approached Chaple. To Captain Merken, the ship looked especially small. He had seen mock-ups of the mini-carriers, but having it sitting out in space by itself made it seem even frailer.
“This is the Ederic. We have another roc’fi and pilot for you. We don’t have a launch bay, so we’ll be dropping it out of the cargo hold.”
“Roger, Ederic, awaiting your roc’fi.”
The frigate came to a halt, and it’s cargo bay opened. A roc’fi slid out of the bay. Its engine roared to life and it flew into the open flight deck of the carrier. The docking clamps latched on, the engine was shut down. Ensign Eisler waited for the canopy to be opened. When it did, he climbed out.
“Well, Ensign, welcome to the Chaple.”
Eisler turned to the voice. Commander Sevil th
e captain of the Chaple stood there.
Eisler saluted crisply. He waited in vain for a return salute.
“You’d better get some sleep. When Phay comes back, he’ll kick you out of the bunk.”
“Sir, I’m not tired, Sir.”
Sevil smiled. “That will be the last time you’ll be able to say that.”
The Ederic scanned the area. The helmsman called out, “Sir, I found the roc’fi. He’s flying in circles around space.”
“This is the Ederic for Zebra Leader.” He turned to the captain. “No response, Sir.”
“Try again.”.
“This is the Ederic for Zebra Leader. Still no response, Sir.”
Captain Merken yelled into the com. “Lieutenant Phay, wake up.”
“Sir? Um, yes, Sir. I mean, no, Sir. I wasn’t asleep. I mean asleep, Sir.”
“You have to be running out of fuel by now, Zebra Leader. Make your way back to the station.”
“Yes, Sir.” The roc’fi changed direction and headed back towards the Chaple.
Ignoring it, the Ederic headed towards the last known coordinates of the two pirate vessels.
“Dead ahead, Sir.” The helmsmen slowed the ship.
“Scan for any life signs.”
“Yes, Sir.” The helmsman looked down on the screen. “No, life signs, Sir, but the cargo bay doors are wide open. It looks like they’ve left.”
“Curse that Phay. He should have been monitoring the situation. He let them escape.” Merken sat back in his chair. “Send a boarding party. Five men only. I don’t want to risk more. Scan for booby traps.”
