by John Walker
When he told him what the two saboteurs were doing, Adam thought he might blow a gasket.
“Will Maury be okay?” Gray kept his voice low.
“The medics have him but it’s too soon to say. They’ll report to me when they have something.”
“And Conway?”
“Hoffner and his people are in pursuit. He’s also initiated a security alert. She’s being hunted by every able bodied man on the ship.”
Gray nodded. “Okay. Lock down the bridge just in case.”
Adam tapped the controls set into his chair and a pair of audible clicks resounded from each door. He took a deep breath and turned his attention to the action reports from the battle to see where they were at. Much had happened since he started his investigation and now, he realized how dire the current situation had become.
“Chances of getting weapons back up?” Adam asked.
Gray shrugged. “Good in that regard but I guess it depends on Clea now. If she’s not successful, and we’re slow to fire….”
“Hoffner reported she was on it,” Adam replied. “So there is that.”
“I have faith in her. But just now, I’m not feeling particularly optimistic.”
Adam remained silent, turning his attention to reports from all over the ship. The busy work helped him stay focused and bolstered his patience. Everyone was busy doing their jobs. No need to get in the way. Whether they succeeded or not had nothing to do with leadership. Only the skill and talent of the men and women working would get them through now.
Adam knew when to stay out of the way.
***
Clea’s fingers flew over the controls of the console, moving with a precision that shocked her. Roper’s sabotage was obvious on the surface but undoing it required finesse. Had he been allowed to finish, the results may have been irreversible. She wondered where he got the expertise to create such a problem, where he got the training.
Luckily, he’d been shot. His blood remained plastered over the wall beneath the console. The coppery scent turned her stomach, trying to distract her. Even as she worked, she recognized she was standing in a small pool of blood, enough droplets to make the floor feel sticky through her boots.
Focus. You have to get this problem solved.
Somehow, Roper gained access to Protocol Seven and utilized it to reverse the shields, to turn them into a bomb rather than the defenses they were supposed to be. He rewrote the computer code governing them, altering it destructively without a backup to the original. Fortunately, they kept all the computer code in a repository to avoid mistakes.
However, she still needed to find all the modules he altered. That’s what took time and she needed to check every reference. Even one mistake might mean the destruction of the Behemoth. She read swiftly, using her own application to scan the others. Doubling up made it possible but it became apparent Roper arrived prepared.
He must’ve rewritten the code elsewhere and just been installing it. If he’d been a little more efficient, he would’ve finished in no time. Thankfully, he must’ve been unfamiliar with the interface. Incredible luck for us.
Clea ran simulations all the way through to ensure she fixed each module. One of the nearby technicians checked the code, calling out when he found errors. The two of them were able to pass through several of the modules in only a few minutes. They needed to cover a dozen more then run a final test to ensure the shields were ready for combat.
Meanwhile, the lights flashed overhead, a side effect of the security alert as they tried to find Lieutenant Conway. Clea figured no one would be particularly kind to her when she was caught. She didn’t blame them. Maury Higgins was one of the nicest men on board. The fact she so callously shot him for no reason made her earn any punishment she suffered.
Eleven to go. Come on, Clea. Hurry! Hurry!
***
Hoffner, Jenks and Marsten arrived at the maintenance corridors where Conway could’ve gone up or down. They paused there, checking their computers to see if they got a hit on her location. Somehow, she’d managed to avoid running past a camera or check point. She must’ve been hiding out somewhere in the maintenance tunnels.
“She might be prepping an ambush,” Marsten said. “We’ve got her contained, don’t you think?”
Hoffner shook his head. “No, as long as she’s free to roam around here, she’s a threat. We can’t consider her neutralized until she’s in custody.”
“So what’re we going to do?” Jenks asked. “Split up?”
“I think so,” Hoffner replied. “We have to cover ground. Marsten and I will go up. Jenks, go find some backup and head down.”
“No disrespect, sir,” Jenks said, “but I don’t think we’ve got time to get back up, do we?”
“She can’t cause the same trouble her buddy was trying to do,” Hoffner said. “The worst thing she’s got in her now is hurting someone.”
“That’s pretty bad,” Marsten pointed out.
“Jenks, I’m not letting you go down there alone. Now, get some damn back up and we’ll do this right.”
“Yes, sir.” Jenks hurried off.
Marsten started up the ladder without prompting, letting his gun lead the way. Hoffner tensed up. Taking a ladder was one of many tactical nightmares. When the sergeant poked his head through the hole, there was always the chance that their target could just take a shot, killing the poor bastard before he had a chance to do anything about it.
When he didn’t hear a gun go off, Hoffner relaxed and followed him up. Once they reached the next level, a tight passage allowing access to various systems throughout the ship, they started moving down as quickly as the close quarters allowed. Hoffner had to duck but Marsten was just short enough that he could make it without risking a knock on the head.
They made it to a junction that headed off to the left or right. Marsten crouched, scrutinizing the ground as Hoffner stood overwatch. He didn’t detect any movement in either direction. She had to have come through this way but did she go left or right? What was her intention? He checked the schematic really fast and saw that one could get to the elevator shaft to the left or the mess hall to the right.
From the mess hall, she could get to crew quarters or even one of the hangar bays. And that didn’t take into account the elevator. Okay, so did she want to climb around in an active shaft or go somewhere with a chance of escape?
“She didn’t go left. Come on.”
“How do you know?” Marsten stood and followed him. “There’s a chance…”
“A hunch. I think she wanted options. Climbing the elevator shaft wasn’t a logical one.”
They picked up the pace, jogging until they reached an access door that led into the hallway. It was open, pried by one of the emergency bars. Someone screamed off in the distance, Hoffner guessed a good hundred meters away. A gun went off and he cursed, breaking into a full run.
They arrived on a scene where three people hovered around a fourth who was on the ground, holding his gut. What is it with this chick and gut shots?
Hoffner contacted Jenks on the com. “Jenks, we’re in pursuit of the target. Standby.”
“Are the medics on the way?” Marsten asked.
“Yes, sir.” One of the three replied. “We called them right away and are applying pressure.”
“Which way did she go?” Hoffner added. “Do you know?”
“That way,” two hands pointed down a hall leading to the hangar. “She’s crazy!”
“We get that.” Hoffner nudged Marsten. “Let’s go. Heading to the hangar can’t be good. Jenks, meet us in Hangar Three ASAP.”
“Got it, sir.” Jenks replied.
Marsten fell into step beside him. “You don’t think she’s crazy enough to try and steal a fighter, do you?”
Hoffner shrugged. “Probably. Let’s go find out.”
***
Meagan did not anticipate getting back out in space after what her fighter had been through. As she waited for clearance to launc
h in a different fighter than her own, she checked the roster of pilots coming with her. Instead of her whole wing, she found herself with only three others and two bombers. It was all they could quickly muster after they last boarded.
She wished that Rudy had come back. It would’ve made her feel better to be flying with him. All the years they served together made her feel comfortable with him. These other folks were good, but they’d only met when they started their tour aboard the Behemoth. Still, their whole goal was to hit the enemy hard while they were down, to buy some time.
Shields down, weapons down…this is a nightmare situation.
Revente gave them clearance to launch and they gunned it, popping out of the hangar and turning hard to starboard. As they brought the enemy into view, she marveled at the darkness of the hull. None of the usual lights illuminated from the various windows. For all intents and purposes, it looked dead.
“Precision hits,” Revente’s voice piped into their speakers. “That’s what you’re after. Go for the midsection where the engineering section is. Keep those shields offline. Bombers, drop them on the thrusters. If they can’t maneuver, we’ve won.”
“I’ll patch in with you guys,” Meagan said. “Fighters, when those bombs are let loose, hall ass away. You do not want in on that destruction. You get me?”
“Yes, ma’am!” The response from so many people at the same time hurt her ears. She narrowed her eyes and focused on the target, allowing her computer to show her exactly where to shoot. The first strafing run felt surreal as they hammered the hull of the enemy craft without so much as a shot fired in return.
Bulbs of fire erupted from the surface as they passed by. She didn’t even have to use evasive maneuvers as she turned for a second run. They truly were down and out. This is just a matter of semantics. If we can hit this thing hard enough, it’ll be over before we know it. I guess we didn’t need more pilots after all.
The bombers moved in, firing their payloads toward the engines just as the fighters began a second strafing run. By the time the bombs arrived, the fighters would be far enough away to avoid too much damage. Meagan hit the afterburners after she cleared the enemy, allowing herself to relax while racing away from the impact.
“Oh my God!” One of the bombers shouted. “Panther One, I have a problem. Enemy fighters—”
The rest of his message turned to static and she glanced over her shoulder in time to see his ship get vaporized by an enemy ship, flying in erratic circles. I guess they’re in the exact same boat as us…makes sense that they’d follow suit.
“Group Commander Revente,” Meagan called out. “We’re going to need some reinforcements. Enemy fighters have engaged. We’re down one bomber but their payloads were deployed and…”
The explosion cut her off, jamming her radio with the sudden shockwave that spread out in all directions. The enemy capital ship careened, drifting away from the concussion blast. Static danced across their engines and a bout of flame erupted in a strange oval globe, flaring every so often.
Well that worked.
“Direct hit!” Mick called out. “Their engines are done!”
“They’re still dangerous,” Revente said. “Engage those fighters. I’m going to try to get you some more people out there but for now, you have to keep those things away from the Behemoth. We’re still not in a position to fight them. Repeat, keep those fighters at bay. Copy?”
“Copy,” Meagan said. “We’ll take care of it as best we can but reinforcements are pretty much essential.”
“I’m recalling the bomber. He’s not going to do anymore good out there.”
If he makes it back, Meagan thought. Chances were slim. She also felt a flare of annoyance. She’d already survived uneven odds once that day. A second time felt especially unfair. I figured I was done with fighting for an afternoon too. Fate’s being a particular bitch today I guess.
“Come on, Mick. Let’s take the lead and keep these jerks off the ship. I hope this isn’t a repeat of earlier today.”
“If it is, we know we were meant to die out here.”
“That doesn’t work for me,” Meagan replied. “So stow the pessimism and start shooting. I plan on making it home after all this.”
***
Olly slapped the arm of his chair and cursed loudly. “We got their engines and they aren’t raising their shields but they’re maybe a minute away from weapons still! How do they do it?”
“Generators for each system?” Redding asked. “I can get us out of here.”
“Get us moving,” Gray said. “If we’re at extreme range, they won’t be able to do much but take potshots and I’m pretty sure we can survive a few of those.” He patched down to the engineering section. “Clea, we have to move. How’re you doing on getting those shields fixed?”
“Another two minutes at most,” Clea replied.
“You have one, see what you can do.” Gray turned to Agatha. “Give them a chance to surrender. Send it out on all frequencies. We’ve never done this before but maybe these guys are feeling a little less than excited about dying horribly.”
“Yes, sir.”
“They’re not even going to respond,” Adam said. “And if they can shoot us, you damn well know they’re going to do it.”
Gray shrugged. “We try everything and besides, returning with some prisoners would definitely do wonders with the brass. It could make this side trip worth quite a lot. Anyway, no time to slow down now, ladies and gentlemen. Keep your focus. This isn’t over yet.”
***
Hoffner and Marsten arrived in the hangar and slowed before entering, aiming their guns through the door. They didn’t hear anything going on inside. As far as Hoffner knew, they were using this particular hangar to repair the ships damaged in the last fight. It was mostly full of vessels needing attention and the techs were busy in one of the other ones, supporting the fight outside.
Still, a couple people had to be in there working. But considering the silence, Hoffner felt something was off. Conway was in there somewhere and she probably wanted to get out. How insane would she be? He couldn’t wait to find out. “We should wait for Jenks and his guy,” Hoffner said. “This is a big area to cover for two people.”
“If she’s in a fighter?”
“Then she’s as good as gone anyway,” Hoffner replied. “We can’t stop her from leaving if she’s already inside a ship.”
Jenks pinged them to say he was thirty seconds out. Hoffner leaned against the wall, using it for cover. Half a minute could be a lifetime in a combat situation but it felt even longer when nothing seemed to be happening. The tension made him want to tap his foot and he refrained, staring into the hangar intently for any sign of movement or sound.
Then it came. Someone cried out. A scuffle went on. A man shouted for help. Marsten cursed and Hoffner nodded to him. The two men darted inside, moving for toward the sound. They rounded a bomber to find Conway holding a technician from behind. She’d dragged him backward so he was off balance and she placed her gun against the side of his head.
“You guys are persistent,” Conway said. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”
“No, you really shouldn’t.” Hoffner aimed his gun at her face. “It’s over, Conway. Let him go and give it up already. I’m sick of chasing your ass.”
“I’m leaving this ship, Sir.” Conway shook her head. “And you can’t stop me.”
Marsten scoffed. “The hell we can’t! Put that gun down or we’re going to take you out!”
“Neither of you would risk this man just to put me down. If I leave with a fighter, what’s it matter? It’s not like I’m going to get far. You both know it. But I’d rather die out there than be executed for sabotage and treason.”
“You probably won’t make it to trial at this rate,” Hoffner said. “I’m going to give you one last warning then I’m going to shoot.”
“Don’t bluff me!” Conway pressed the barrel hard into the man’s head. “He dies if you keep
pushing me!”
“You got her, Marsten?” Hoffner asked.
“Yes, sir. On your word.”
“Believe me,” Hoffner said. “He doesn’t miss and you know that. You’ve seen him shoot before. Jenks is on the way and you know he’s a good shot. I might not be as great but here’s the thing, I’m less than fifteen feet away and guarantee I’ll hit something. Consider the fact that I don’t want you to get away no matter what. That should tell you I’m not bluffing.”
“To hell with you, Hoffner!” Conway shoved the man away and began to turn her weapon on them. Marsten fired, Hoffner pulled the trigger and a third gun went off. Conway danced away from both of them, slamming hard into the hull of a nearby fighter. Her head jerked back and she collapsed to the ground, her torso covered in blood.
Jenks rushed over and kicked her gun aside, aiming at her head. “Clear!”
“Thank you, Corporal,” Hoffner approached and crouched beside her. She stared up, barely able to move. Her breathing was labored and he knew without even touching her, she had moments to live. “So was it worth this?”
Her mouth opened to reply but nothing came out. Hoffner nodded and stood, turning to the others. “Get someone down here to take her to the morgue. I’ll report to Lieutenant Colonel Dupont. We’re done here…all of us.”
***
Adam turned to Gray. “Report just in from Marshall. They got the traitors. One of them wouldn’t go down without a fight but the other is in custody and receiving medical treatment.”
Gray nodded. “Very good. One dilemma down, two to go.”
“There’s quite the dogfight going on out there, sir,” Olly said. “We seem to be winning for now…I suspect they have a disadvantage.”
“Why do you say that?” Adam asked.
“Whenever their ships are damaged, their fighters don’t do as well in combat,” Olly replied. “I noticed it when we were at the research facility. Like they receive considerable tactical assistance from their mother ship.”
