by Ryk Brown
“She’s firing her rail guns,” Mister Randeen reported.
The bridge began to shake. The frigate’s rail guns pounded at the Aurora’s topside as she passed under the target.
“Stand by to fire tubes five and six,” Nathan ordered.
“Five and six are ready,” Mister Randeen acknowledged.
“She’s breaking in two!” Mister Navashee announced.
“Captain, shall we cancel the…”
“Fire five and six,” Nathan interrupted.
“Firing five and six,” his tactical officer answered. “Five and six away. Five seconds.”
“Helm, hard to starboard, forty-five degrees. Pitch down ten.
“Direct hits,” Mister Randeen announced.
“New jump, three light minutes, as soon as we finish our turn.”
“Target destroyed,” Mister Randeen reported.
“Contact!” Mister Navashee reported. “It’s the battleship, sir! She’s coming over the horizon counter orbit at full power. She’s locking her forward missile launchers on us.”
“Time to turn?” Nathan asked.
“Ten seconds,” Mister Chiles answered.
“More contacts!” Mister Navashee reported. “Eight inbound missiles! Impact in thirty seconds.”
“Jump plotted and ready,” Mister Riley reported.
“Message from Jung command, General Bacca,” Naralena announced. “Message reads, ‘Poor choice, Captain. My turn.’”
“The battleship is firing again.”
Nathan looked at his sensor operator out of the corner of his eye, barely turning his head. “At us?”
“No, sir! At the surface!”
“Target?”
“Two targets:” Mister Navashee reported, “mid-African continent and the east coast of South America!”
“Twenty seconds!” Mister Randeen reminded the captain.
“They’re nukes, sir,” Mister Navashee added, his tone subdued.
Nathan stood. “What?”
“Impact! Port Gentil!” Mister Navashee reported. “Oh my God.” He watched his display, then called out, “Second impact! Cape Town!” Mister Navashee turned to face the captain. “They’re both gone, sir.”
“Captain,” Mister Randeen urged. “The missiles!”
“Jump,” Nathan ordered.
“Jumping,” Mister Riley responded, eschewing the usual three second countdown.
Nathan turned forward as the jump flash washed over them.
“Jump complete.”
“That bastard,” Nathan muttered. “It’s like a game to him. He’s using them as pawns… millions and millions of pawns.”
* * *
“Jump complete!” Loki groaned as he was thrown forward by the Falcon’s sudden impact with the Earth’s atmosphere. He readjusted himself as the initial shock subsided. The sudden change in conditions was always drastic—from the calm, smooth ride in space to the jarring, bouncy ride in an atmosphere. This time, it was even more severe, as they had come in faster than usual.
“Range to crash site?” Josh asked.
“Two hundred kilometers to starboard. We’re headed south right now.”
“Threat board?”
“The fighters are still there,” Loki said. “I count sixteen total: eight high, eight low. Still no shuttles to speak of.”
“Have they picked us up?”
“Not yet… Wait. The top eight are turning toward us. They’re accelerating.”
“That’s it; come to Papa,” Josh mumbled. “What about the eight low?”
“Four are climbing but holding position. The other four are still circling the search area at low altitude.”
“No problem,” Josh said. “We can blow right past them.”
“They’re definitely on an intercept course,” Loki said. “They’ll be in weapons range in thirty seconds.”
“You got the jump ready?”
“Plotted and locked in,” Loki answered. “Twenty seconds.”
“Turning toward them,” Josh announced as he rolled the Falcon onto her right side and pulled the nose over to turn. A moment later, he snapped the ship level again.
“Ten seconds,” Loki said. “Jumping in three…”
“Wait!” Josh interrupted. “Not yet! Let them waste some missiles first!”
“Okay.” Loki looked at his threat display. “They’re firing! Four inbound! Ten seconds!”
“Pitching up,” Josh said. “Now you can jump.”
“Jumping!”
Josh watched as his visor become opaque to protect his eyes against the jump flash. A second later, his visor was clear again.
“Jump complete!” Loki announced.
“Dropping to the deck!” Josh called as he put the Falcon into a steep dive and pulled his throttles back to minimal power. The ship’s nose went down sharply, diving toward the moonlit forest below.
“Five thousand meters!” Loki announced. “Three thousand…two thousand…one thousand.”
Josh slowly pulled the nose level, bringing his throttles up to ten percent as the Falcon leveled off just above the treetops. “Skimming the treetops!” he announced.
“Four bandits turning toward us!” Loki announced.
“Send the message!” Josh reminded him.
“Nash, Falcon! In the blind! Deep down, eyes shut, ears up, saw wood! Do you copy?” Loki looked down at the threat board. “They’re moving in to fire!”
“Going to full power!” Josh announced as he slammed the throttles all the way forward.
Loki was pushed back in his flight seat as he keyed his mic again. “Nash, Falcon! Do you copy?”
“Deep down, eyes shut, ears up, saw wood!” Jessica’s voice called over the comms. Loki could hear the tension in her voice and the sound of her weapon firing in rapid succession. He looked at the threat display. “They’re firing! Five seconds! Pitch up!”
“Pitching up!” Josh replied as he pulled the nose up gently.
“Jumping!” Loki’s visor went opaque momentarily, obscuring his vision for a second. “Jump complete!” he announced as the ship suddenly stopped bouncing.
Josh pulled back on his throttles. “Worked like a charm,” he bragged.
“Did you hear the weapons fire in the background?” Loki said. “She’s in a firefight.”
“Who isn’t?” Josh said.
* * *
“Mister Navashee!” Nathan called, anger in his voice. “Do we have a clear jump line to the battleship?”
“Yes, sir,” Mister Navashee answered from the sensor station.
“Helm, come about to port. Put us on course for that battleship.”
“Coming to port, aye,” Mister Chiles answered from the helm.
“Captain, recommend engaging the cruiser first, sir,” Mister Randeen said. “She’s already damaged from our previous encounter, and she’s currently too far from the battleship to receive fire support. If she moves closer, not only will we be unable to attack her, but she’ll be able to provide fire support for the battleship as well.”
Nathan took a deep breath, realizing that his emotions had gotten the better of him. “You’re right, Mister Randeen.” Nathan stepped forward and bent over, looking at the navigation display on the center console between his helmsman and navigator. “New course,” he said, pointing at the display. “We want to jump here, directly astern of the cruiser and one light minute out. Then we’ll turn and accelerate so we’re going just a little faster than the target. That way, we won’t blow past her faster than we can shoot. Then we jump in directly behind her, as close as you can and still translate down enough to pass under her, and start our attack run.”
“We’ll receive
a pounding as we pass,” Mister Randeen reminded his captain.
“We’ll roll over before we pass under them, show them our belly. We should survive the pass, and that will give us time to recharge the plasma torpedoes so we can fire another spread at her stern.”
“So I’ll be flipping us over as we pass?” the helmsman wondered. “That means we’ll need more space between us.”
“Yaw, Mister Chiles, not pitch,” Nathan said. “Spin us laterally.”
“She pitches over much faster than she yaws, sir,” Mister Chiles reminded him.
“That’s why we’re going to jump in stern first. We’ll launch nukes, pitch over quick, and fire plasma torpedoes, making them hit a split second apart just like before. Then we spin laterally as we slide under, bringing all four forward tubes, nukes and plasma onto the cruiser’s stern.” Nathan looked at his helmsman. “Piece of cake, right?”
“Yes, sir,” Mister Chiles answered, smiling. “Changing course.”
“We may not get the plasma torpedo cannons completely recharged in time,” Mister Randeen warned.
“Calculate the time needed and the transition speed to get you that time. I want to put a pair of plasma torpedoes and nukes in both her back and front ends, all on the first pass. Then we’ll finish her off with a round of missiles before we jump away.”
“You want us to try to take out a Jung cruiser with a single pass?” Mister Randeen asked, surprise in his voice.
“Not try, Mister Randeen, do,” Nathan said. “I want to put the fear of God in the crew of that battleship.”
“Plotting jump,” Mister Riley announced.
“Jump flash!” Mister Navashee reported. “The Falcon’s back!”
“She’s hailing us, sir,” Naralena reported.
Nathan pointed to his comm-set, then to the overhead speakers. Naralena understood, putting the call through to the captain’s comm-set as well as to the overhead speakers so that everyone on the bridge could hear. “Falcon, go for Actual.”
“She got the message, sir,” Loki’s voice announced over the loudspeaker. “I don’t know how well she’ll be able to hide though. We heard weapons fire over the comms. I’m pretty sure she was in a firefight at the time.”
“How hot was the area this time?” Nathan asked.
“Sixteen fighters, eight flying high cover and another eight low. We jumped in farther out and drew the top eight off, then micro-jumped in below the other eight. We barely got away as the second eight were firing on us.”
“Damn it,” Nathan swore to himself. He tapped his comm-set again. “Any chance you can give her some air cover?”
“Sure, but you told us not to put our ship at risk. I’m pretty sure we’ve nearly stepped over that line already, sir.”
Nathan thought for a moment before continuing. “Loki, I’m authorizing you to assess the situation and determine the risk. If you believe you can help her out without losing the ship, go ahead.”
“Understood. Falcon out.”
“Turn complete,” Mister Chiles reported.
“Jump plotted and ready,” Mister Riley added.
“All weapons charged and ready,” Mister Randeen announced.
“Very well,” Nathan said. “Jump us in.”
* * *
“Loki, I’m authorizing you to assess the situation and determine the risk,” the captain’s voice said over the Falcon’s comms. “If you believe you can help her out without losing the ship, go ahead.”
“Isn’t that what we were already doing?” Josh wondered.
“Understood. Falcon out,” Loki acknowledged, ending the communication. “Plotting new jump.”
“Coming about,” Josh said excitedly as he started a turn.
“Don’t get too crazy on me,” Loki warned.
“Who, me?”
“We’ll come in on the same vector as before,” Loki said.
“Why not from a different angle,” Josh suggested, “so they can’t guess which direction we’re coming from and shoot us down?”
“If they see us jumping in to the same spot, maybe they’ll move their fighter cover closer to that spot and away from Jessica.”
“Clever,” Josh said. “Turn complete.”
“Jumping in three……two……one……jump.”
The jump flash washed over the Falcon, instantly transitioning her from high orbit above the Earth to only a kilometer above its surface.
“Jump complete!” Loki groaned as he was thrown forward against his restraint harness.
“We have got to find some way to compensate for that!” Josh complained. “I’m sure I’m getting bruises on my shoulders!”
“Contacts!” Loki reported. “Two hundred kilometers at our three o’clock! Eight high, eight low!”
“Coming right,” Josh announced as he rolled the Falcon into a tight turn.
“Wait! More contacts!” Loki reported. “Three slow movers, probable combat shuttles, skimming the treetops! I’m pretty sure they’re headed for Jess!”
“Where are they?” Josh asked.
“Four o’clock!”
“Adjusting,” Josh announced. “We’ll take the shuttles first. The last thing she needs down there is more boots on the ground.”
“Activating nose turret,” Loki reported. “The high eight are turning to intercept. Twenty seconds to weapons on us.”
“On course for the shuttles.”
“Jumping in three……two……one……jump.”
Loki’s visor went opaque again as the jump flash washed over them.
Josh’s visor cleared instantly after the jump flash dissipated, revealing a formation of three Jung combat shuttles flying across their course and directly ahead of them. “WHOA!” He yanked the control stick back hard as he pushed his throttles to full power, spinning the thumb lever on them to increase lift thrust.
The interceptor’s nose pitched up quickly as her engines screamed to full power, and the ship felt as if it had suddenly been pushed upward. The three shuttles passed under them, barely missing the Falcon’s underside.
“A little close, don’t you think?” Josh yelled as he pushed the nose back down and decreased power.
“Sorry about that,” Loki said as he swung the nose turret around. “Come hard left and give me a shot!”
“Coming left,” Josh announced as he rolled the Falcon on its side and pulled the nose up hard. The ship came around quickly to the left.
“Firing!” Loki announced as he depressed the trigger.
Bolts of plasma energy fired in rapid succession from the ball turret tucked into the underside of the Falcon’s nose. The turret tracked left and downward as the ship leveled off, finding its first target and blowing it apart with only three hits.
“One down!” Josh cheered.
Loki glanced at his threat display as he continued to fire. “Low eight are turning toward us!” he reported as another blip indicating the Jung combat shuttles disappeared.
“Two down!” Josh cheered.
“Fighters are firing missiles!”
“Disengaging!” Josh announced. “Standing up!” Josh pulled the nose up hard and went to full power again, climbing straight up. “Are they tracking?”
“Missiles are turning up with us!” Loki reported. “Popping countermeasures!”
Twenty decoys quickly dropped out of the Falcon’s wings on either side. The decoys began spreading out and emitting heat and radiation signatures meant to mimic that of the Falcon. Three of the four missiles followed the decoys, exploding as they made contact. The fourth missile blew past the decoys and continued on toward the still climbing Falcon.
“One still coming!” Loki yelled. “Three……two……”
“Hold on!” Josh
yanked his throttles back to idle as he again applied full lift power. The Falcon suddenly translated laterally in relation to the surface, perpendicular to their vertical flight path. The missile passed under them, missing by no more than a single meter.
Josh saw the missile pass beyond their nose. To his surprise, the missile suddenly began to slow, pitching back as if it were attempting to turn into them. “What the fuck?!” Josh pushed his throttles forward again as the missile fell back and tried to move closer. His sudden increase in forward thrust shot them above the missile’s path, causing it to pass under their tail and across to their topside. “They’ve got fucking smart missiles!” he exclaimed as he put the Falcon into a snap roll in order to bring their gun turret onto the same side as the missile that was still pursuing them. “Shoot that bitch!”
Loki opened fire with the Falcon’s nose turret, blowing the missile apart a few moments later.
“Damn!” Josh yelled as the Falcon shook from the missile’s shock wave. “Pitching over!” he announced as he pushed the Falcon into a dive again, reducing power once more. “Get ready to fire missiles at the other four before they decide to join the party!”
“I’m on it,” Loki replied as he armed the Falcon’s close range missiles. He tapped the four icons on his threat display that represented the fighters that were still loitering over the search area. “Targets selected. Hold course.” He armed four missiles and opened the weapons bay doors along the Falcon’s underside. “Firing four!”
Four short, stubby missiles dropped from the open weapons bay under the Falcon’s left wing-body. Their engines ignited in rapid succession as they fell away from the Falcon, sending them streaking across the sky toward their targets.
The four Jung fighters maneuvered wildly, all deploying their own countermeasures. Two of the fighters were instantly blown apart, their burning debris spreading over the forest below. The other two managed to escape by dodging the last two missiles, which then struck the ground and exploded in massive fireballs.
