‘Can we use the spacesuits?’
‘They would help you breath but will not protect you from this type of radiation. They’ll slow you down, so I suggest you don’t use them. I’ll land the Aurora over Londuo’s position, so the exit to the pojin lift will be ten metres from her.’
‘Okay, understood.’
‘James, scanners are indicating that the Treitan ships have just returned from Jomi. If we don’t leave now we may not get past their ships. Even the Aurora can’t go up against that many ships. They’ll be in range of the planet in three minutes.’
‘Show me!’
James viewed the monitor. Eight heavy cruisers were rapidly approaching the planet.
‘They’re joining the other ships already orbiting the planet. The net’s closing,’ Kalrea said.
James looked at Gulino. He nodded reassuringly back.
‘No, we’re not going. I’m not leaving Londuo,’ James said, determined.
Below was the burning wreck of the fighter and nearby on its side lay its cockpit, with Londuo strapped motionless inside it.
The Aurora slowed and landed directly over the crash site, while James and Gulino rushed to the lift.
*****
Londuo moved her head. Dazed and disoriented she tried to focus.
‘Where are the stars?’
She was looking up at the belly of the Aurora. Her head dropped back and she passed out.
*****
The pojin lift door opened. James could see the remains of Londuo’s fighter on fire in the distance. Nearby lay the cockpit. James tried to rush over but after two breaths felt tired and instantly slowed his pace. He looked to Gulino, who was also having trouble breathing. He wanted to ask Gulino if he felt the same way but was so out of breath that he felt physically unable.
James was stunned by the damage the cockpit had incurred.
Ca… we m…ve her K…lrea, he thought, panicking.
There were large tears in the casing of the cockpit and the glass had shattered.
She has a heavy concussion and a broken left fibula. Her heart’s beating irregularly, so be very careful, Kalrea replied. And, James, please calm down! Your thoughts need to be clear.
Gulino pressed three symbols on the side of the cockpit casing to release the window. It fell to one side. James reached in and carefully removed Londuo’s cracked helmet.
Londuo, please don’t die, he thought.
James held her up, and Gulino released the seat harness.
I wish I could help you, James, Kalrea said.
They carefully lifted Londuo away from the twisted seat.
Hurry up! Kalrea said with urgency. I’m worried. A heavy cruiser has moved over our position. It’s trying to get a lock on us.
James and Gulino carefully carried Londuo over to the lift. We’re going as fast as we can. James was irritated by Kalrea’s sense of urgency.
They’ve just fired a high energy mass-converter, Kalrea said. Get inside, now!
James looked back from the lift to hear a deafening whistle, followed by a soft explosion close to the Aurora. Dust erupted into the air, and an immense wave of heat swept across the ground towards him.
The lift rose up into the Aurora, just before the wave surged under the ship. As James entered the bridge, internal alarms were sounding. He felt the Aurora shudder, and its nose dropped slightly. Then he heard three loud explosions beneath the ship, and it fell to the ground with a crash.
James and Gulino were thrown to the floor, dropping Londuo.
Kira let out a yelp. Her head appeared around the corner of the console to see what was going on.
‘Damn!’ James said, annoyed with himself.
He crawled over to Londuo.
‘Kalrea, is she all right?’
‘No, her life signs are fading. I don’t have the medical facilities she needs onboard,’ Kalrea said. ‘Put her in the seatra. I’ll have to put her in stasis.’
They carefully lowered Londuo into the seatra.
‘What happened, James?’ Gulino asked. ‘It felt like we dropped.’
‘We’ve just lost the landing legs; the mass-converter melted them. Kalrea’s had to jettison their mountings to keep the Plyane hull sealed.’
Get us in the air, Kalrea, before any of those things hit us, he thought.
There was a roar from the event horizon drives and the Aurora powered into the sky.
James took a look at the monitor.
‘Any suggestions?’ he said.
‘It looks like they’re really pissed off!’ Gulino commented.
‘There’re too many ships,’ Kalrea replied.
‘What do you recommend?’ James asked.
‘We run. Accelerate to light speed as soon as possible. We can’t afford to engage their ships. The hull won’t be able to withstand a constant bombardment,’ Kalrea said.
‘We must find the weakest point in the blockade,’ Gulino said.
‘Okay, let’s do it… And, if we don’t make it, Kalrea,’ James added. ‘Make sure we take some of them with us.’
James climbed back into the seatra. The lid was about to close when Kira suddenly jumped in, startling him.
‘Kira! Please don’t do that. You keep scaring the life out of me.’
As the lid closed, he glanced over at Gulino. He won’t stand a chance if the hull’s breached, will he? James thought to Kalrea.
I’m sorry, James, the seatra can only sustain two, she replied. The blast walls will protect him.
Gulino smiled, indicating he understood.
‘We’ll make it,’ he said proudly, pulling his seat harness tight.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The Aurora broke through the atmosphere at speed. The nearest Treitan cruiser fired at them the instant they came into range.
‘SIX INCOMING, RANDOM SPREAD.’
The Aurora twisted and turned. One missile struck the front of the ship.
Maximum power! James thought.
Two of the Aurora drives roared, accelerating the ship away from Dagnamk and towards a gap in the Treitan blockade, but three more Treitan heavy cruisers converged rapidly. The Aurora rolled to avoid being struck by more missiles.
How long before we reach light speed?
‘INCOMING!’
Eleven seconds.
The sheer number of missiles made it impossible to avoid them all. Four struck the belly and front of the ship in quick succession. The hull turned white because of the heat; this increased its resonance and pushed it toward critical phase. The force of the explosions jerked the Aurora sideways toward one of the cruisers.
Fire all front tubes! James thought urgently.
Six torpedoes hurtled into the distance.
Three more missiles whistled towards the Aurora, but only one struck the ship. The others harmlessly disappeared into the distance, passing through the phasing hull and out the other side of the ship. An orange mist enveloped the Aurora for a second before disappearing.
Wow! James thought, as he watched. Look, there’s that inner-space, Kalrea! The Paradoxica!
Suddenly an alarm sounded in James’ head. He could see a shuttle had broken loose from its clamps in the Aurora’s cargo bay. It toppled over and slid across the floor.
I can’t keep the ship straight. Kalrea sounded concerned and seemed to be in some discomfort.
The Aurora’s torpedoes now struck a Treitan cruiser dead centre, one after the other. Where they hit, a fiery line moved along the side of the cruiser.
The Aurora was struck again and started to rotate out of control. James watched as the shuttle, in the cargo bay, was thrown violently against the far wall where it exploded. Fragments bounced off the wall. Internal extinguishers smothered the flames immediately.
The hull can’t take much more of this, Kalrea said, her voice sounding distressed. I must not shut down! We must lose some of this heat; we’re nearing critical phase.
They’re getting behind us. More acceleration! James t
hought.
The other event horizon drives started. The Aurora lurched forward, but there was a cruiser moving directly into their path.
‘WARNING! COLLISION ALERT.’
‘Hold on, Gulino!’ James said, over the address system, but there was no response.
He’s unconscious. It was the G force from our last manoeuvre, Kalrea informed James, sensing he was concerned. It’s probably just as well!
The Aurora entered light speed but couldn’t avoid the collision with the Treitan cruiser. It passed through its heart, like a bullet through a torso, destroying everything in its path. Blast walls, decks and fighters within the cruiser were ripped apart. The Aurora burst from the cruiser, trailing a yellow haze.
Damn, we’ve lost momentum, James thought.
We’ve lost some of that heat, though! Kalrea said.
‘INCOMING!’
James watched three torpedoes leave the rear of the Aurora, intercepting some of the Treitan missiles which detonated, but two of the missiles struck the side of the hull. In the distance, the crippled Treitan cruiser tried to turn towards the Aurora, but it slowly split in two, its structure failing. Its rear section started to accelerate, pushing its severed front out of its way. Orange and white flashes lit the void as sections of the ship collapsed.
‘INCOMING!’
The Aurora fired the last three rear torpedoes. They detonated immediately, destroying more Treitan missiles.
‘ENTERING LIGHT SPEED.’
‘INCOMING!’
The Aurora pitched and rolled, but four of the incoming missiles struck the rear of the ship, one striking a port event horizon drive. The explosion savagely ripped through the port drive room and the rear defence system. The force of the explosion tore into the blast walls; they buckled and split. Jagged fragments of metal were forced into the port reactor room and cargo bay.
‘DECOMPRESSION IN PORT DRIVE ROOM.’
‘DECOMPRESSION IN PORT REACTOR ROOM.’
‘WARNING! PORT REACTOR CASING COMPROMISED.’
A large ball of fire spat from the port drive cones.
Damn, we’ve been hit.
James was very concerned. He looked at the damage inside the ship.
That’s not good.
‘VENTING PLASMA.’
‘DECOMPRESSION IN CARGO BAY.’
Another alarm sounded.
‘WARNING! PORT REACTOR EQUILIBRIUM FIELD COIL COLLAPSING. EJECTING!’
James watched on in dismay as the port reactor was ejected from the underside of the Aurora and exploded instantly. Light-blue circles of light rippled out from it, followed by a blinding white light. He felt the ship rock violently in its wake.
Damage report? James thought stressed.
‘PORT EVENT HORIZON DRIVES NOT RESPONDING.’
‘PORT REACTOR JETTISONED.’
‘REAR PLASMA TUBES NOT RESPONDING.’
‘REAR LASER OFFLINE.’
I’ve also lost five of my key internal systems, Kalrea’s voice was painful.
James looked backward from the ship. A Treitan heavy cruiser was closing rapidly.
The Aurora continued to accelerate.
Can we outrun it, he thought.
The remaining drives have nothing to balance them. The maximum we can expect is Q2.38, but at that speed we’ll break up in five point one minutes.
James felt the Aurora start to vibrate violently.
‘INCOMING!’
Three missiles whistled past the port side of the Aurora.
How did they miss us? James asked.
When a ship travels faster than light speed, it causes subspace turbulence behind it. This is why the missiles have been deviating from their intended course. They could go anywhere, Kalrea replied. Their accuracy cannot be guaranteed, until the cruiser breaks through into the space bubble we’re creating behind us. When they do, they won’t miss.
How long do we have?
Eight seconds.
‘INCOMING!’
Damn, we’re a sitting dirkons, James thought annoyed.
Not yet, we’re not, Kalrea said calmly, and the starboard reactor ejected from the hull.
James watched in disbelief.
‘INCOMING!’
The Treitan cruiser fired at the Aurora’s jettisoned reactor in an attempt to destroy it before impact, but it was too late. The reactor passed through the cruiser, exploding as it penetrated. A light-blue halo surrounded the back of the cruiser, which was slowly disintegrating. One of its event horizon drives eerily emerged from the explosions, until it also broke up.
James was stunned.
Suddenly, one of the remaining Treitan missiles struck the rear of the Aurora adjacent to the starboard drives, which flickered before becoming silent.
Back-draught from the explosion has prematurely collapsed the black holes. The pressure… has damaged… the accelerator coils, Kalrea said, sounding like she was in a lot of pain.
‘WARNING! STABILISER POWER CRITICAL.’
The Aurora banked slowly and coasted from light speed.
Damage report? James asked urgently. He could see that they were now heading directly towards a small planet.
‘STARBOARD EVENT HORIZON DRIVES OFFLINE.’
‘FRONT REACTOR AT FIFTY PERCENT.’
‘REAR LASER OFFLINE.’
‘STABILISER FAILURE.’
Main stabilisers… have failed; switching… to secondary, Kalrea said.
How long before we can get the drives back online, Kalrea?
Can’t estimate at present… still, assessing damage. We’re going to have to land. I’m losing all key systems… Kalrea said, her voice straining. The secondary… stabilisers… are failing!
The Aurora slowly swept through a bright green swirling atmosphere. It rocked sedately from side to side while it whistled towards the ground. The barren countryside flashed past. Ruined cities, made of large crystals, littered the landscape.
‘WARNING! COLLISION ALERT.’
Kalrea fired two plasma torpedoes ahead of the ship at a large derelict crystal formation, which lay directly in their path. James watched the torpedoes strike the crystal, just before the Aurora. The whole top shattered and debris was thrust in all directions. The Aurora then rapidly descended into a row of small crystal formations, before plunging to the ground.
James thought the ship was never going to come to rest. It ploughed through the crystals, throwing debris, soil and rocks high into the air, leaving a trough two and a half kilometres long, before shuddering to a stop.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The lid of the seatra rose up slowly, revealing a dimly lit bridge. Kira sat upright and sniffed the air. James smelt a strange odour.
What’s that, he thought. Smells like plastic and rubber.
He sat up and looked outside the seatra. The blue band around the walls was flashing, and its light was softened by a haze of smoke.
The air’s very humid.
He heard the sound of distant pumps starting and watched as the smoke was drawn from the bridge through air ducts in the ceiling.
James stepped out from the seatra.
‘Where are we, Kalrea?’ he asked, but there was no reply. ‘Kalrea!’ James repeated.
He looked down at Londuo, who appeared very peaceful inside the seatra.
‘I hope you’re all right, Londuo,’ he said, feeling worried.
Kalrea! I need you!
James could hear the sound of debris rolling off the hull and soil settling outside the ship. The Aurora suddenly jerked sideways, making him grab the edge of the seatra to steady himself. He felt the ship shudder, until it finally nestled on the surface.
Gulino’s head moved slightly in the light. He moaned and raised his arms to his head. James rushed over to him.
‘My head,’ Gulino said, looking dazed.
‘How are you?’ James asked.
Gulino opened his eyes.
‘My head, it feels like it’s been hit by a Fopl. I think these s
eats need a re-design,’ he said, managing a slight smile. ‘It’s quiet. What happened?’
‘We made it. We’ve… er… made a kind of landing,’ James said sheepishly.
‘Where are we?’
‘I’ve no idea. Kalrea’s not answering,’ James said.
He tried again to contact her.
‘Most of the ship’s systems aren’t functioning.’
He paused and concentrated. The monitor lit up, and the image flickered before it formed.
‘At least we can have a look around outside.’
There was an eerie scream from outside the ship that made James shiver.
‘I wonder what that was,’ Gulino said, still trying to focus.
‘I’m not sure I want to find out,’ James replied.
The front two-thirds of the Aurora were buried. From the monitor, James looked back along the furrow cut behind the ship, where the dust was settling. The furrow was littered with the debris of crystals and remnants of plants. Yellow and grey roots, which would normally be underground, were now exposed in the surface and were producing a mustard-coloured sap, which dripped onto the soil. Some severed roots were also strewn behind the ship.
Gulino looked at the dark-green sky, which made the landscape look dull.
‘What a depressing planet,’ he commented.
‘I tend to agree. The sooner we can leave, the better,’ James said.
Kalrea, can you hear me?
Yes… I’m trying… to… Kalrea’s voice was weak.
‘I’ve managed to get a response out of Kalrea,’ James said.
Gulino didn’t answer. He was staring at the monitor.
‘I thought I saw one of those weird roots move,’ he said.
‘What do you mean ‘weird’? I’ve seen those before, on Qintaino,’ James replied.
The monitor zoomed in closer.
‘Don’t be daft,’ Gulino said. ‘There’s never been anything like that growing on Qintaino.’
‘Are you sure? I tripped over one of them; nearly broke my neck on one of those roots. There must be!’
Gulino looked at James strangely and said,
‘I thought I was the one who blacked out. I’m telling you, there’s no plant like that on Qintaino!’
The Aurora (Aurora Saga, Book 1) Page 24
