“Compliance.”
Trinity squeezed the trigger for the twin auto-rifles. A sound similar to a nest of angry hornets filled the tank’s turret as dozens of rounds of 20mm brerellium steel slugs shot out the two barrels in the direction of the scout ship. Already dodging a score of plasma beams from the cats on the mine floor, the pirates were caught by the surprise flanking fire from the hover-tank.
“You scored a hit,” said Jennifer. “I detect a reduction in her engine capacity of thirty percent. The pirates are heading for a ravine eight hundred meters to your four o’clock. I calculate they are attempting to land. I also calculate a seventy-four percent probability that they are attempting to link up with the Crosoian scout you fought.”
Climbing out the turret, Trinity jumped off the hover tank and landed next to the two teenagers. A quick sweep with her passive scan confirmed both Connor and Anna were uninjured. After a quick nod to the children, she took off running for the ravine.
“The kids are fine,” Trinity thought. “I’ve got to stop the scout from leaving.”
“The children are not exactly what I would call fine,” said Jennifer. “They have taken in a lot of smoke, but Wizard Scout Peeta was on the transport. He is attending to Wizard Scout Trevor at the moment. I have informed his battle computer to have him assist the children once he is finished. By the way, may I ask what you plan to do if you reach the ravine before the pirates and the Crosoian scout ship takes off? Your Power reserve is currently less than one half of one percent.”
“I’ve got no idea what I’m going to do. All I know is that I’m going to stop that ship from leaving if I have to beat the door in with my phase rod.” For emphasis, Trinity drew her phase rod and activated it in destructive mode.
“Bad idea,” said Jennifer. “The Crosoian scout will know exactly where you are now.”
Truth be told, Trinity was so angry she didn’t care. The bat had nearly killed Trevor and the children. Kicking her battle suit into high gear, she made all speed toward the ravine. When she was still three hundred meters away, the pirate ship rose into the air. A stream of ion energy shot out the rear as the scout ship began climbing higher at an ever increasing rate. Within seconds, it was lost to sight.
Trinity stared at the spot where the pirate ship had been. “Is the Donovan in a position to intercept?”
“Negative,” replied Jennifer. “I suspect you already knew as much. The good news is that I calculate a ninety-two percent probability the Crosoian scout was on the scout ship when it left. You could not have bested her with your Power reserve virtually empty.”
Trinity deactivated her phase rod and attached it to the left side of her utility belt. “The bat came here for a reason, Jennifer. My guess is she knows about the titanium. She got away and is probably headed back to her superiors to report what she found. That’s bound to mean trouble for us. I would hardly call that good news.”
Jennifer gave one of her canned laughs. “Well, at least you are still alive. I would classify that as good news. While there is life, there is hope.”
Checking her Power reserve, Trinity noticed it contained only a few drops of Power. She nodded. “Maybe. The question is, how much hope?”
“What do you mean maybe?” said Jennifer, sounding very indignant for a computer. “You know I am right.”
Raising the visor of her battle helmet, Trinity began running back in the direction of the still smoking hover-tank. “I suppose all we can do now is clean up the damage and come up with a plan B.”
Jennifer laughed again. “I suspect you are going to need more than a plan B. I calculate by the time this is over, you may need plans X, Y, and Z as well.”
Trinity didn’t disagree.
Chapter 22 – Aftermath
___________________________
Anna rested her back against the transport’s lowered ramp. Connor sat next to her. The Leviathan and the two Long Cat UHAAVs were arranged around the transport. Their plasma and phase weapons pointed up into the sky as their crews remained on the alert.
Glancing at the buckled metal plates on the lower third of the transport, Anna sighed. “I doubt she’ll ever fly again. I don’t know how Trinity and Janet plan on getting the larger cats back to town.” She pointed at the Leviathan. “That six-legged monstrosity will never make it through the mountain pass. I doubt the two Long Cat’s will either.”
Anna turned and looked at Connor. Rivulets of sweat turned black with smoke residue dripped down the side of his face. His eyes had a shiny look to them Anna had never seen before.
“I thought we were going to die in the hover-tank,” said Connor. “When that phase round exploded in the barrel, I tried to find you. All I could see was smoke. I thought... I err, I thought I’d lost you.”
Anna’s face grew warm. From force of habit, a flippant remark came to her mind as her natural tendency to keep people at bay came to the fore. She kept the remark inside where it belonged. She looked into Connor’s blue eyes a full five seconds before replying.
“I was scared too, Connor. When that bat jumped on the tank, I thought sure she was going to rip open the driver’s hatch, drag you out, and kill you in front of my eyes. I... I don’t think I could stand to lose someone else I care about.”
Connor’s face turned slightly red. “You care about—”
“Am I interrupting?” came a voice from Anna’s right.
Flustered, Anna turned to see Wizard Scout Trevor standing at the end of the ramp. Her battle suit was deactivated, and her battle helmet was attached to the utility belt on her left hip. Anna was almost glad for the interruption; almost. She jumped to her feet. Connor did the same.
“No, you’re not interrupting,” Anna lied. She noticed two jagged holes in the leather-like material of the wizard scout’s pants. She pointed at the damage. “Did the bat do that, or was it us?”
Fingering one of the holes, the wizard scout smiled. “Oh, these two holes were all you guys.”
Heat rose to Anna’s face. “I’m sorry. We were just trying—”
Trevor waved a hand dismissively. “Think nothing of it. Truth be told, if you hadn’t fired that phase round when you did, I dare say the bat would’ve had her phase spear stuck up to the hilt in my heart. That would’ve been the end of that. My Power reserve isn’t what it used to be. Heck, that’s why the Empire medically retired me in the first place.” Trevor shook her head, giving a sad smile. “The bat spotted my weakness. She’d have killed me before Trinity got there to help if you hadn’t intervened.” Trevor fingered the holes again. “A little air conditioning in my battle suit is a small price to pay for saving my life.” She smiled a full smile. “Besides, holes in battle suits can be repaired. I just came over to tell you thanks.”
Embarrassed, Anna glanced at Connor. The boy’s face was as red as his hair.
Connor turned away for a moment before turning back to look at the wizard scout. “What happens now?” He jerked a thumb at the transport. “She’s not going anywhere. How will we get the larger cats back to town?”
“We won’t,” said Trevor.
“What?” Anna said. “We can’t leave the townspeople unprotected. We’ve got to figure out a way to get the cats back.”
“That’s not the only way to protect the people,” said Trevor. She pointed at a large disc antenna mounted on the top side of the transport. “We were in the middle of converting the ship’s force field into something that could protect the town from any space bombardment. By combining the shield generator we acquired from the raid on the pirate base with the transport’s force field, Ryan thinks we can come up with a defensive shield strong enough to withstand four or five nuclear blasts if necessary.”
Anna glanced at the disc antennae. “What good will that do the town? The transport’s stuck here.”
Trevor shrugged. “The town? It won’t do any it good now. The transport and its force field are stuck here at the mine. So whatever happens to the town happens. We can’t prevent
that. What we can do is move the townspeople here. Our battle computers are working with Janet to lay out defensive positions here at the mine. We’ll make our stand against the pirates here.”
Surveying the floor of the pit mine, Anna saw certain advantages to defending the mine compared with trying to defend a sprawled out town. “Okay, let’s say the townspeople decide to come here. That Crosoian scout got away. Trinity told me that we might have more than just pirates to worry about if the bats decide they want the titanium.”
Connor turned in the direction of the hole where the titanium vein was located. “Have you checked out the vein yet? Is it valuable?”
The wizard scout laughed so hard her blonde hair fell across her eyes. She flicked it away with her right hand. “Valuable? That’s hardly the word for it. I’m a diviner... uh, that means I’m really good at tracing things. I personally went down that hole of yours. The titanium in that vein is probably the most concentrated titanium ore ever discovered in the galaxy.” She frowned.
“What’s wrong?” Anna asked.
Trevor shrugged. “I was just thinking that I hope the Crosoian scout wasn’t a diviner. Maybe she doesn’t know the full extent of the vein. She’s bound to have taken some samples with her, but it will take time for the Crosoians to decide whether the risk is worth the reward. If you Talosians make an agreement with the Empire or some other federation for the mining rights, you could probably have some of their destroyers overhead in a few days.”
“Do you think the Empire will make an offer for the mining rights?” asked Connor.
Smiling, Wizard Scout Trevor said, “I’ve already sent my report to the Imperial High Council via my battle computer. Unless something out of the ordinary happens, I’m betting the Empire will have a team of lawyers along with a squadron of warships here before the Crosoians have time to get organized. The Crosoians and the Empire are currently at peace. I think both sides want to keep it that way. I seriously doubt the bats will risk stirring up trouble once the Empire gets a few warships in orbit around Talos.”
A movement at the rim of the mine caught Anna’s eyes. She noticed four hover-trucks pull up loaded down with people carrying weapons. The other hover-tanks and light UHAAVs were with them. So was the converted Crosoian Wingbat medium cat.
“What happens if the Crosoians or the pirates move faster than you think?” Anna asked. “What then?”
Wizard Scout Trevor shrugged her shoulders. “Then I guess we’ll just have to hold out until the cavalry gets here.”
Anna took another look at the motely group of townspeople walking down the stairs cut into the side of the cliff. “What happens if the Empire doesn’t come? What happens if no one comes to help us?”
Trevor gave a tightlipped smile. “Then I suspect future historians may refer to our fight as the ‘Last Stand on Talos Seven.’”
Connor laughed. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d just as soon not go down in the history books.”
Wizard Scout Trevor laughed and gave Anna a wink. “Now that’s what I call a smart man.”
Chapter 23 – Backdoor
__________________
Trinity finished making her rounds of the mine’s defensive position around midnight. They’d done the best they could. The UHAAVs were spaced around the rim of the mine along with three squads of the town’s militia. The Donovan was parked next to the damaged transport ship in the center of the mine. Even without using the night-vision filter of her battle helmet, both ships were easy to see, lit up as they were by the hundred plus ion lights strewn around the mine’s rim. The same lights illuminated the two hundred plus emergency shelters put up by the citizens of the town. Based upon the amount of movement on the mine floor, Trinity suspected most of the people were too stressed from the day’s move to the mine to go to sleep. Some were cooking a late supper, while others appeared content to just sit around discussing what might soon come to pass. Only adults were visible. Based upon a recommendation by Janet, the mayor had ordered all of the town’s children to be taken to the deepest of the mine’s tunnels in the hopes it would provide protection from the worst of whatever fighting might occur on the surface.
“It will not protect them,” said Jennifer in their shared space. “If the pirates get through the mine’s defensive shield, being in a tunnel is not going to help.”
Trinity didn’t disagree. “Doesn’t matter. Having the children out of the way will allow the townspeople in the militia to concentrate on fighting. It was hard enough keeping them running for the hills as it was without them thinking their children might be killed.”
Trinity thought back to the amount of talking and downright threats it had taken to convince the townspeople to leave their homes and businesses at the mercy of the pirates. In the end, they’d all come. She supposed the fact that the Crosoian scout had murdered one of their own in cold blood at the mine had been a motivating factor in their decision. Trinity remembered the passionate speech the murdered man’s son had given to the town’s citizens the evening of the fight in the mine. It had taken over a day to get everyone within a thousand kilometers of the town packed up and transported to the pit mine. They’d had to recall the Donovan from her patrols to help get everyone moved. The last of the families from the most remote farms had arrived a few hours earlier.
Sighing, Trinity took a final look around before heading toward the Donovan. “I just hope we made the right decision bringing everyone here.”
“I calculate the mine is the safest place to be on Talos,” said Jennifer. “Now that Ryan has completed the modifications to the transport’s force field, I calculate the shield around the mine will stop a half a dozen medium-sized nukes before it collapses. I doubt it will come to that though.”
Trinity snorted. “You doubt it, huh? What makes you so sure they won’t send down seven nukes and be done with it?”
“Oh ye of little faith,” said Jennifer. “The Crosoians’ master computer makes its decisions based on logic. I am also a creature of logic. If they nuke the mine, it will just make extracting the titanium ore that much harder after the fact. If I were their master computer, I would advise an all-out ground assault by an armored division backed up with a massive space bombardment of non-nuclear weapons. The townspeople, and you wizard scouts for that matter, would not stand a chance.”
“Now who’s the one with little faith? I didn’t realize until now how much of a pessimistic you are. If you battle computers think it’s a lost cause, why did you bother agreeing to help us defend the Talosians against the pirates in the first place.”
“We battle computers are not pessimists,” Jennifer insisted. “On the contrary, we are realists. We help you wizard scouts because we are a team. Besides, our algorithms indicate the Crosoians will not risk a fight with the Empire over a single titanium vein, no matter how pure it is. If the Crosoian Federation and the Intergalactic Empire were already at war, that would be another story. If that were the case, I would advise you to just bend over and kiss your—”
Trinity laughed. “Never mind. I get the idea.” She glanced at the timer on her heads-up display. “I have thirty minutes before I’ve got to meet with Janet and the other wizard scouts. Did you set up a call with Jerad like I asked you?”
“I did. It was easy enough to do. Unlike most of the other cadets at the Academy, your Jerad has extensive experience with UHAAVs. Sergeant Ron was able to convince your cadet’s TAC officers to let him work his extra duty off at the maintenance hangars.”
Trinity smiled as she thought back to her years at the Intergalactic Wizard Scout Academy. No matter how well a cadet did something, their TAC officers would always find things worthy of demerits and the extra duty that went with them.
After reaching the Donovan, Trinity went straight to the small living quarters assigned to her. The holodisk was still on the desk where she’d left it.
“Jerad is ready when you are,” said Jennifer.
Pressing the activate icon on the disk,
Trinity sat back in her chair. A half-meter-tall image of Jerad dressed in greasy coveralls appeared above the disk.
He looks tired, Trinity thought.
“You have been out of the Academy too long,” laughed Jennifer. “Cadets are always tired. They won’t get their DNA baseline until their senior year at the Academy. Until then, they need to sleep to rest, which their TAC officers give them very little time to do. The Academy is designed to weed out cadets that cannot handle the stress of—”
“Do you mind, Jennifer,” Trinity said. “I’d kinda like to have this conversation in private.”
“My lips are sealed, Wizard Scout. Not another peep.”
The image of Jerad frowned. “Were you hurt during the fight?”
“Fight?” asked Trinity, trying her best to feign innocence. “What fight would that be?”
“I’m serious, Trinity. Sergeant Ron’s already filled me in with the scoop on Talos. He keeps me informed about a lot of things. I suppose you could say he’s my backdoor for information. So my question stands. Were you hurt?”
Shrugging her shoulders, Trinity locked eyes with Jerad. “I fought a Crosoian scout. What do you think?”
Jerad stared at her for a dozen heartbeats. The stress lines on his face slowly relaxed. “Understood.” He sighed. “I suppose being in love with a wizard scout means I’ll always be worrying about you.”
“We’ll be worrying about each other once you graduate from the Academy. Then we’ll both be wizard scouts. It’s rare for the high command to assign multiple wizard scouts to the same mission. We’ll be apart a lot.” Trinity looked for any sign of doubt in her lover’s eyes. She saw none. “You knew that going in.”
Jerad nodded and gave a tired smile. “I did, and I wouldn’t change a thing. I just wish I was there to help you now.”
Trinity started to reach out toward the hologram before catching herself. “I’m glad you’re not. I’m a wizard scout. I can self-heal. If the pirates come before the Empire sends help, it’s a tossup which way the battle will go.”
Last Stand on Talos Seven Page 17
