by M. R. Forbes
"I'm sorry, Major," he said.
"I should have gone with General St. Martin," Looper replied. "When I had the chance. I should have gone with him. Oh, God. I don't want to die."
"Get those transports launched Major. Don't think about anything else."
"Yes, sir."
General Cave felt his heart thumping in his chest. Everything was happening so fast. Fifty years and it was all going to be over within minutes.
He had been drowning in hopelessness for the last few weeks. Now that the end was near, he found he had held onto more hope than was probably reasonable. Maybe they had been down, but the scientists were working on the problem, and given a chance they might have even solved it.
He saw the first Dread fortress appear a moment later, coming out from behind Ursa Major, a dark spot against the light of the star. The second appeared shortly after that, trailing slightly behind the first, both headed right toward them.
A blue dot appeared on the front of the first fortress. General Cave cringed at the sight of it, knowing what it meant. Major Looper's voice echoed in his ears, his cries of "I don't want to die" causing him to lean forward for balance as the Dread starship unleashed the bolt from its main plasma cannon.
The blue streak arced across the distance between the Dread fortress and Delta Station, a flash of lightning that ended with the space station being torn to pieces, dark and silent as it disintegrated beneath the onslaught, literally vanishing in front of his eyes.
"No," he said, slamming his fist on the monitor and cracking the screen. "Damn it. No."
He stopped himself, wiping at the tears that had come to his eyes as he returned his attention to the Dread ships. They were spreading apart, one of them headed toward Alpha, the other breaking for Gamma. He could only hope the other settlements had gotten underground in time.
The seconds passed like an eternity, the Dread ships slowing as they drew nearer. The tip of the second one began to glow, and General Cave closed his eyes as it unleashed its fury, sending a plasma bolt into Gamma Settlement. Would the shelter protect the people there? He had no idea. He could only hope.
"We're going to die," one of the soldiers said, watching the same approach on his own monitor.
"We might," he replied. "And if we do, let us die with courage and dignity, not filled with fear."
"Yes, sir," the soldier said.
"Sir," one of the others said. "Sir, look."
"What is it, Spaceman?" General Cave said, looking at his screen. He didn't see anything. Then again, his view was obscured by the crack he made.
"There. Behind the Dread ships."
General Cave hurried to the soldier's position, leaning down beside him to look at his monitor. He squinted his eyes to make out the shape in the distance, positioned behind the Dread fortresses.
"It looks like-"
"Another Dread ship," he said, identifying it. His heart might have sunk further, had there been anywhere else for it to go. "We have no weapons; we can't touch them, and yet they sent three ships to find and destroy us. Why?"
FORTY
THEODORE GRITTED HIS TEETH as the Ishur tracked behind the Dread fortress while vectoring away from the slipspace exodus point. They had arrived only seconds earlier, just in time to see the lead starship fire its plasma cannon on Delta Station and blow it into little more than debris.
Just in time to watch their people die.
"Mr. Mokri, divert power to the main plasma cannon," Theodore shouted, his eyes glued to the scene ahead of them. "Gabriel, get us on target to intercept the port ship before it can fire again."
"Yes, sir," Gabriel replied, manipulating the makeshift controls Reza had created to allow him to fly the fortress and turning the Ishur toward the enemy ship.
The domo'shah had already blasted the surface once, burning into the exposed part of Gamma Settlement and leaving little more than a crater behind.
It was possible the residents had made it into the shelters.
It was possible the blast hadn't dug quite deep enough to reach them.
Then again, it was possible they were all dead.
"Let's show them sons of bitches what happens when they screw with the Earth Alliance," he said, looking down at the status screen of his tablet. The button at the bottom of it turned red as the main plasma cannon finished charging. "Gabriel, give me five degrees starboard."
"Yes, sir."
The ship began to adjust again, shifting slowly as it crossed the space. The Dread fortresses were slowing down, beginning to make their own turns to come about and face them. Given a choice, he would rather hit them both before they finished the maneuver.
"Firing," he said. He squinted as the bolt of blue energy launched from the bow ahead of them, a streak of light that crossed thousands of kilometers in seconds, heading for the exposed side of the Dread ship.
Theodore tracked it intently, leaning forward in his seat, smiling at the very thought of the energy blast piercing the heart of the enemy. He may have promised the keepers he would try to spare the legri'shah, but he hadn't sworn to put the lives of the creatures over the lives of their people.
The bolt slammed into the side of the fortress, creating a flash of light as it struck. Then the light faded away, the bolt absorbed by a sudden ripple of pitch black that formed against the hull.
"What the hell?" he heard Miranda say in front of him.
"That looks like our shields," Gabriel said.
"Mr. Mokri?" Theodore said, asking for confirmation.
Reza was looking at his tablet and shaking his head. "Confirmed, sir. It has the same modulation signature as our Darkspace Defense System."
"In other words, they're using our tech against us?"
"Yes, sir."
"What?" Colonel Choi said. "How can that be?"
"Shielle," Theodore replied. "It has to be. We never had time to figure out what she sent. Well, now we know, damn that woman."
"General, if they have our shields," Colonel Choi said.
"We're on even footing offensively," Theodore said. "But also outnumbered."
He watched as the first Dread ship finished reversing course, getting the bow pointed back at them. They were heading directly toward one another on a terrifying collision course.
"Mr. Mokri, is the DDS ready for action?" Theodore said.
"Uh. General, I'm not-"
"That was a rhetorical, Mr. Mokri. It damn well better be, or we're all about to die."
"Yes, sir," Reza said. "But we haven't tried this yet. I'm not sure the modulators will hold up to the stress."
"Nothing like beta testing on the job. Turn the damn thing on."
"Yes, sir. Activating the DDS."
Reza tapped on his control pad. There was no immediate visual or audible change in anything, and for a moment Theodore wondered if there was nothing happening down in engineering but a shower of sparks and a nice big electrical fire.
"Forward DDS, online," Lieutenant Bale said from her station.
"Port side DDS, online," Miranda said.
"Starboard side DDS, online," Colonel Choi said.
"Stern DDS, online," Sergeant Hafizi said.
"Fantastic," Theodore replied to the news. "I know this is new for you ladies and gents, so do your best to stay calm and focused. Prioritize the mains over the secondaries. We can't afford to let that bad boy through."
"Yes, sir," the soldiers replied.
"Gabriel, don't let us get caught between them," Theodore said.
"Yes, sir."
The Ishur began to rise, vectoring up and away from the oncoming Dread ships.
"Picking up an energy spike from the starboard fortress," Miranda said.
"Colonel, that's yours," Theodore replied.
Colonel Choi stared intently at the hologram in front of her. It was a generated depiction of the side of the Ishur, matched to a line from the side that was piercing the lower portion of the hull, along with a red dot that was placed to the left of it. S
he put her finger to the red dot, dragging it toward the line.
The darkness lessened as the enemy domo'shah fired, sending a return volley back at them. It appeared as a tapering yellow line that was lining up almost perfectly with the line on Colonel Choi's terminal, and she held her finger steady while the heaviest part of the line slammed into the dot.
The ship vibrated softly under the impact.
"Damage report, Sergeant?" Theodore said.
"No damage reported," Sergeant Abdullah replied. "It looks like the DDS is working."
"Sir, energy spike from the port ship," Miranda said.
"Got it," Bale said, repeating the same motion as Colonel Choi.
The plasma blast filled their viewport, crossing the chasm of space and hitting the front of the ship. Again there was a soft vibration, but no evidence of harm.
"Hell, yes, Mr. Mokri," Theodore said in response to the success of the system. "Let's try part two. Gabriel, bring us in on that port side bastard. I want to broadside him and see how well they've integrated our technology."
"Yes, sir," Gabriel replied.
The Ishur began to shift and accelerate, heading toward the fortress while the other released another plasma blast. Colonel Choi shifted her hand, moving the dot to the impact point. The ship shook a little more violently this time but came out of it unscathed.
Theodore flicked the screen on the tablet, changing from the main plasma cannon to the freshly networked secondary batteries. With the push of a button the batteries opened up on the port side, over one hundred lighter plasma cannons creating a ripple of energy along the Ishur. The enemy ship followed suit, giving them the first true test of their makeshift system.
Miranda needed both hands to try to deflect the attack, raising them and placing them on the threat display, dragging the red dot across the visual and through a series of white lines. She kept the shield modulation on the move, sweeping it from the closest attack and across, catching a series of bolts with the DDS.
Meanwhile, the Ishur's guns pounded the side of the enemy fortress. Not only did the Dread's modulated darkspace shields hold up to the attack, but they didn't seem to have the same coverage limitations as the Ishur did.
"Damn it," Theodore said. "Mr. Mokri, how is your work on the weapons modifications coming along?"
"It isn't, General," Reza said. "I've hit nothing but dead ends so far."
"We need to think of something, son," Theodore said. "Gabriel, watch your starboard side. Duck and cover."
The Ishur shuddered as Gabriel manipulated the thrusters, bringing them downward in a sharp maneuver that wasn't quite exact. The second Dread starship opened fire on them again, the heavy plasma crossing the decreasing distance in a matter of seconds.
It didn't leave Colonel Choi much time to react, and she was a split-second late in dragging the red dot to the line on her display. The Ishur rocked more violently, taking a measure of damage from the plasma before recovering.
"Hull breaches on Decks thirty-four to forty," Abdullah said.
"Casualties?"
"No, sir. The decks are isolated. Emergency bulkheads are sealing."
"Sorry, General," Choi said.
"We're still alive," Theodore replied.
He eyed the two Dread fortresses. They were trying to maneuver around the front corners of the Ishur and get their main cannons in line. In fact, as Theodore watched them turn, it appeared to him that they were trying to target the same area of the ship, perhaps in the hope that a combined blast would penetrate their defenses.
If that was true, it was something they could use.
"Mr. Mokri, how much more power can we send to the plasma cannon?"
"I'm not sure, sir. Why?"
"I want to concentrate a steady stream on a single point. Can we do that?"
"Uh. I'm not sure, sir."
"That isn't a no. What do we have to do?"
"I'll need to make some adjustments to the parameters."
Theodore looked at the two Dread ships outside the viewport. They were getting dangerously close.
"You'd better do it fast, then, Mr. Mokri."
"Already on it," Reza replied, his fingers a blur on his tablet. "Sir," he added a moment later.
"Gabriel, head right for the port side ship. Full thrust. At five hundred klicks, bounce up and rotate the ass end to get us pointed down towards that coullion. Got it?"
"Yes, sir," Gabriel replied.
"Starboard ship is firing again, sir," Miranda said.
Theodore felt the soft shudder that signaled the attack had been deflected.
"I think I have it, sir," Reza said. "Hold down the trigger to keep firing a steady stream. You should know, it might fry the systems and leave us without the main cannon."
"A risk we have to take, I think," Theodore replied. "Gabriel, a little more rotation on the bow."
"Yes, sir."
The Ishur spun and rolled in space in a breaching maneuver that left them tilted over the top side of one of the Dread ships.
"Keep us over it," Theodore said. "Help me steady the shot."
"Yes, sir," Gabriel replied, working his own translated controls. The Ishur responded to them, the bow shifting in sync with the Dread ship's forward momentum.
Theodore pressed down on the firing button.
The blue bolt of plasma burst from the main cannon, hitting the Dread ship almost immediately. The darkspace flared beneath the attack, absorbing the energy. Theodore held the attack, and the flow of plasma continued, forming a near stream that bombarded the enemy ship.
One second passed. Two. Five. The beam remained solid, digging into the spot on the Dread fortress. The starboard ship fired again, its blow deflected by Colonel Choi.
"Come on, you bastard," Theodore said, watching the darkspace continue to absorb the attack. "I know you want to fail. Come on, damn you."
Seven seconds. Eight seconds. Nine seconds. Theodore could barely believe the cannon was still functional after all that time.
"Sir, DDS is offline," Lieutenant Bale said.
"We don't have the power," Reza replied. "General, half the ship is shutting down."
"We're already committed, son. We may not get another chance."
He kept his finger on the trigger.
Twelve seconds. Thirteen seconds.
He was about to give up, to try to think of something else, when the miracle he was waiting for finally happened, and in a way that was more fantastic than he could have ever expected.
One second, the darkspace shield was absorbing the energy of the plasma cannon. The next, it was collapsing inward, the pitch of the alternate continuum appearing to flip and fold backward and into the Dread fortress' hull, sinking through the lek'shah and eating away at the structure like a plague.
Theodore lifted his finger, the main cannon disengaging. The ship rocked from solid strikes by the second Dread starship's secondary batteries. A moment later, the DDS came back online, and his defense crew returned to work blocking the attack.
Small gouts of flame vented from the growing disintegration within the first vessel, the darkspace modulation almost seeming to implode and destroying everything in its path through the ship. It started to tilt a few seconds after that, and by the time the Ishur had swept past the side of the Dread starship it had fallen dead, drifting away from the human settlements.
"That's one," Theodore said, more than satisfied with the outcome. "Even if I don't know exactly what all just happened."
He refocused his attention on the other Dread ship. It had used their time in a relatively static position to improve its attack vector, sneaking in toward the rear of the Ishur and peppering it with secondary batteries. Both Colonel Choi and Sergeant Hafizi were working feverishly to keep their DDS points centered on the brunt of the force, absorbing the incoming attacks before they could burn into the lek'shah hide of the ship.
"Come about, Gabriel," Theodore said. "As hard and fast as you can."
"Yes, sir,"
Gabriel replied. "Coming about."
The Ishur was silent, the power to the thrusters cut. They floated freely for a few seconds, gaining proximity to the settlements while Gabriel adjusted their vectors. The domo'shah behind them fired its main plasma cannon again, but this time Gabriel managed to steer them out of its path.
Theodore watched his son work with a measure of pride. Gabriel had blamed himself for the damage the Magellan had taken, but it seemed to him that the boy had used the situation to learn and improve. He was flying the huge fortress almost as well as Tea'va had done it and with much less experience, pushing it to extremes and getting the results.
The Ishur's bow swung forward, coming to rest in a nearly direct line with the enemy fortress.
Theodore pressed down on the trigger again.
He held it once more, counting the seconds as the beam tore into the leading edge of the opposing ship, somewhere within a few hundred meters of the bridge. He wondered what the pur'dahm in charge of the ship might be thinking after he had just watched his partner succumb to the same attack.
He found out a moment later. The second domo'shah accelerated toward them before altering course and ducking below, vectoring around in an effort to run.
"Oh no you don't," Theodore said, "Not after what you did to Delta. Stay on that bastard. We aren't letting this one run away."
"Yes, sir," Gabriel said, aligning the Ishur to give chase.
"She's heading for a slipstream," Reza reported.
"We're at max thrust, sir," Gabriel said. "We can't catch up to them."
"Damn it," Theodore cursed.
His finger hovered over the fire button while he considered whether or not to take the shot. It would be more for show than anything. The fortress was gaining range too fast for the weapon to be effective.
He hesitated for another second before pulling his hand away. "Pack it in, Gabriel," he said. "There's no point in risking the cannon, and we'll get another crack at him when we get to Earth."
Theodore could tell Gabriel didn't want to give up the chase, but he followed the order without hesitation, using the tablet to slow the Ishur once more.
