by Trevor Wyatt
“Sir, I still command the Hunters. I need to help them lock and load.” Her eyes said he better give her this one.
“Carry on.” She was right. He couldn’t strip her of rank just because she was two months pregnant. He needed to pull his own head out of his ass before he got them all killed.
Ashley nodded and ran out of the CNC.
Jeryl turned back to the viewscreen, determined to hide his nervousness. He didn’t want to let Ashley out of his sight. Rational thought was supposed to disappear in the mother, not the father. Yet, here he was, wanting to shelter her from everything. She was going to kick his ass if he didn’t let up.
A shuttle moved in to board the first armory ship. The rest followed. Jeryl realized that was the commanding shuttle.
“Hunters, what’s your status?”
“Two minutes, sir,” Ashley answered.
“Make it one. Armory ship six-one-five has just been boarded.”
“Yes, sir!”
Jeryl watched the Hunters shoot toward the convoy thirty seconds later. Who else but his wife could shave a minute and a half off prep time?
Six more shuttles had begun boarding. Jeryl held his breath. He wasn’t used to being helpless on his own ship.
The Hunters dove in, guns blazing. Caught by surprise, eight shuttles erupted, but the others were quicker than they should have been. They darted back and forth to avoid most of the fire.
Jeryl understood. They had been enhanced specifically to board enemy ships. It was quite brilliant. They were the perfect size to hide in the shadows of the larger ships, ensuring the success of capturing the weapons cargo.
This was a well thought out operation. Jeryl wondered how long this had been planned, and who had the patience for it. A tactic he had never seen before, Jeryl couldn’t begin to guess.
“If possible, I want the six-one-five boarders alive and brought for questioning. There’s a commander in that group.”
“Yes, sir.”
Two Hunters rerouted to armory ship six-one-five and disappeared into the landing bay.
“Long range scans. Those shuttles are taking orders from someone. Find them!”
“Sir, we’ve been scanning. If there’s a ship, it’s beyond range.”
Shit. Who are these fuckers?
Chapter 6
Jeryl
“Ashley, nail those shuttles! Coordinate with the Hunters, be an extra set of eyes to keep their asses safe,” Jeryl said as Ashley rushed back to her station. Bringing his holographic panel up at his chair, he started going over The Seeker’s vitals. “Tira, send me all the info we can get on those shuttles.”
“Yes, Captain.” Tira’s fingers flashed on her holo-board, running every scan she could on the shuttles.
Jeryl looked up from his holo and could see the convoy being overrun. “Shit. Ferriero, can we get a clear shot on those shuttles?”
Pedro Ferriero, the head of navigations, swiveled his chair around and shrugged. “Some of them, sir, but it’s still really close. There’s still a slight chance we could hit the convoy instead.”
“Dammit. Make sure your aim is on point, and only fire when you have a clear shot. Ashley?”
Ashley turned to him. “These shuttles are fast. They were designed specifically for this. But the Hunters are trying.”
In the three to four seconds it took her to say those words, Jeryl marveled at her beauty and tenacity. He recovered quickly and answered her with a nod. She turned her back to him, flipped her personal comm back to her Hunter team, and started barking out orders. She had one of the petty officers stationed next to her bring up a screen that displayed each Hunter’s POV.
Jeryl moved his attention back to the main screen and his own holo. The convoy, fifteen transports strong, was being hounded by at least double that number in shuttles, several of which already connected or connecting to the armory ships. Like Ashley said, the shuttles had obviously been modified and changed to fit what these pirates needed them for.
Without looking in her direction, he called out to Lieutenant Mary Taylor, the communications officer. “Mary, keep in contact with the transports. I want to try to focus on the ones that are in the worst shape and coordinate their movements as we try to get the hell out of here.”
Mary nodded as Jeryl watched the Hunters. They put themselves into a V formation, with Powers at the head and Guillermo and Francesca Vizzenzi flanking.
With Ashley coordinating with her Hunters, Mary talking with the convoy, and Ferriero doing what he could to get the shuttles off the transports, Jeryl decided to look at the specs that Tira was feeding his holo. The shuttles looked vaguely familiar…then, he saw it.
Almost half of them were old Terran Union shuttles, while the others were an odd mixture of Tyreesian and Sonali ships. Each had been modified—hulls strengthened, thrusters replaced, some even had claw arms attached that would grab on to the transports. One of the shuttles also looked like it was a hodge-podge of parts and pieces put together.
They were coordinated, each move smooth and fast, flawless in execution. The shuttles that weren’t already attached were flying interference, forcing the transports to change directions.
Even though the shuttles weren’t as nimble, they were better armored and better armed. They were smart too. When the Hunters engaged, only one of the shuttles let a Hunter get behind them, while the others kept moving and changing directions. It looked like coordinated madness. None of the shuttles stayed near each other, yet they never strayed far from those connected.
They’re almost as good as Ashley’s pilots. They never leave each other, but they never get close enough to be caught together, Jeryl thought to himself. There’s got to be some way to…that’s it! They never leave each other, but they stay apart!
“Ashley!”
“What?”
“Have your Hunters focus their attention on one or two shuttles, but only for a few seconds. I want to see something.”
She looked confused but followed orders. “Powers, I want all of the Hunters to focus on the two shuttles in sector seven-one-three-point-six-five. Just do it, Powers!”
Jeryl watched as all of the Hunters backed off, came together in formation, then attacked the two shuttles in the bottom left corner of the main viewer. They were the two Sonali-type shuttles that were trying to attack the rear of the convoy.
The two shuttles separated, one up, one left, each with six Hunters chasing them. The other shuttles, the ones not attached or being chased, turned their attention to the convoy, leaving the two to fend for themselves.
“That’s it, that’s how we beat them. They’ve been trained to go after the convoy first, trusting each pilot to be good enough to get themselves out of trouble. That’s how we’ll take them down,” Jeryl said as he smiled.
Ashley nodded and began relaying orders to her Hunters.
“Sir?” Tira and Mary said at the same time.
“Mary?”
“We’ve lost two transports, sir. The shuttles that are docking are loaded with soldiers, at least a dozen each.”
“Understood. Tira?”
“Long range scanners show another ship inbound, can’t tell what it is yet.”
“Keep an eye on it. Mary, tell the other transports to scrape the two we lost. If they can scrape off those shuttles, the hole they make will kill everyone and the pilots won’t get the weaponry inside.”
“Sir?”
“Those transport crews are most likely dead already. These guys don’t take prisoners.”
Mary didn’t look happy, but she passed along the information. Looking at the screen, the Hunters were doing well. Six shuttles were already down, and three more were damaged enough that they were trying to escape. He saw one of the transports bring themselves against the hull of one of the lost ones, scraping the shuttle off, exposing the inside to the emptiness of space.
Then, the other ship came into view on the screen. It was still far away, but close enough to be noticed. “Any
signs of who that belongs to?”
“No, sir. I can’t make out any markings on it yet.”
“Fine. Ferriero, how are we doing?”
“Better than a few minutes ago, Captain.”
“Keep it up.” Jeryl glanced at his holo. Two transports were lost, a third was about to be destroyed, another three had been breached. But, his Hunters were systematically destroying or damaging the other shuttles. Ferriero’s blasts kept the other six transports clean of shuttles, but they were getting more daring. It was like the pilots knew something.
“Son of a bitch!”
Jeryl, Mary, Ashley, and a few of the officers turned to look at Tira. Her fingers flew across her holo-board as she muttered curses under her breath. Shaking her head, she swiped her holo screen up to the main viewscreen and kept her fingers flying.
Jeryl looked at the viewscreen. It was a zoomed view at the ship coming their way. He felt his skin grow cold. The hair on his neck stood on end, and his brain felt like it stopped working. It took him a few moments to realize he wasn’t breathing. Forcing air into his lungs, he cursed quietly to himself. He knew that ship. He knew that ship real well.
It was the The Ghost.
That ship wasn’t supposed to exist anymore. It wasn’t supposed to be here…it wasn’t supposed to be on his screen. It had been destroyed in the Earth-Sonali war. He had watched it happen.
Towards the last year of the war, The Ghost and The Seeker had been sent to a space station deep in Sonali space. It had been a research center for the Sonali, a place where they were researching new chemicals and technology that would have pushed the advantage into their favor. It was supposed to be easy: two massive cruisers jump in, blast the hell out of a space station, and jump back out again.
It didn’t happen that way. They jumped in, but intel had been wrong. That space station was also a way-station, and a full convoy was sitting there. The Seeker and The Ghost took a pounding, parts flying off of both ships. The Ghost took the brunt of the damage, her captain somehow maneuvering her in the way of a few Sonali battlecruisers. The ship’s comms went down, the shields dropped, thrusters were blown off, and her fuselage was coming apart. There was nothing left of her.
It took every ounce of crazy Jeryl had to maneuver The Seeker enough to use the FTL drive and get the hell out of there. In the days it took The Seeker to get back to anywhere remotely safe, Jeryl mourned Kaine Reed, The Ghost’s captain. More than his fellow captain, Kaine had been Jeryl’s best friend in the Academy. Hell, Kaine was practically his brother and Jeryl looked up to the fool.
Kaine was from Intelligence, black-ops. He was one of the best agents that the higher-ups called on for the strangest and craziest missions they could think of. And he was good at what he did. Except war doesn’t care about how good you are. It’ll chew you up and spit you out.
No mercy, no nothing.
“This can't be happening,” Jeryl muttered to himself, his unblinking eyes focused on a spaceship that wasn't supposed to exist anymore.
But, here it was, a defunct battleship coming right at The Seeker, somehow salvaged and rebuilt. She looked just like she did when they first flew out, minus the markings. There were none, no markings at all, just a black and gray hull with a minimum number of lights.
Ashley broke him out of his reverie. “Is that the…that can’t be the…”
Trying to rub the goosebumps off of his arm, Jeryl nodded.
“It is. The Ghost is back.”
Chapter 7
Ashley
“We got this, guys. This is what you've been trained for. Just stay calm and do your job,” Ashley intoned from her workstation.
Though she had spoken these words, she wasn't entirely sure she believed them. Oh, she believed in the training that she and her fellow Hunter pilots had received. At the moment, she just wasn't sure that would be enough.
The Ghost, a relic from the Earth-Sonali War, wasn’t a simple Terran Union ship. Deployed more often than not behind enemy lines, it had been the bane of the Sonali. Ashley never thought she’d see her ever again…but here it was, menacing as always.
Glancing sideways at Jeryl, she wondered if he was alright; she knew that, in some way, he still blamed himself for abandoning The Ghost and its crew during that ill-conceived mission.
Focus, Ashley, she admonished herself, returning her gaze to the holo screen in front of her.
She was desperately trying to coordinate the Hunters as they and The Seeker kept being attacked by the hostile shuttle ships. But now, with The Ghost thrown into the mix, ratcheting up the tension...
No, Ashley thought to herself. I have to stay calm for the team.
“Francesca, watch your tail!”
“Roger that,” Francesca replied.
Ashley watched, as with some deft flying, Francesca was able to evade the bogey. She breathed a sigh of relief, but there was only a pinch of relief to be found. The Hunters had been doing well until The Ghost showed up; that had tilted the battle into the opponent’s favor once again.
We have to cripple The Ghost. It's our only chance, she thought. While The Seeker was doing its best, it was the Hunters that were the jewel of the fleet in Ashley's eyes. If the pilots did their job, maybe they could pull this off. It would take some tremendous coordination from Ashley, but it wasn’t impossible for a Hunter squadron to do some damage to a battleship.
“Guillermo, Powers, how are you doing out there?”
“I'm hanging in here, ma’am,” Guillermo noted.
“I'm taking fire out here, but I'm getting by,” Powers replied.
Ashley paused for a moment to figure out what to do next.
“Prepare for further instruction,” she intoned.
The pilots all acknowledged the message. Ashley looked over at Jeryl. To think that it wasn't all that long ago he and Ashley were in bed together, talking about babies and family. Now, they were both trying to save their ship and crew from a ship that belonged on a graveyard.
Jeryl was busy dealing out instructions of his own to try and keep hostile shuttles away from The Seeker. All the while, his eyes were on the The Ghost. Ashley had to turn her eyes away from Jeryl and back to the battle. She had to give her attention to the Hunters. She owed that to them.
“Do any of you think you can get in position to attack The Ghost?” Ashley asked.
“I think I have an opening,” Guillermo replied.
“Go for it. Everybody else, if you can try and get Guillermo's back. Make sure he's safe.”
The battle outside was pure chaos. Many of the armory ships had been boarded already, maybe even all of them at this point. The Seeker was still safe…but for how long? Ashley was quickly realizing that the Hunters weren't so much trying to stifle the enemy as they were protecting themselves. If they were able to keep The Seeker from being boarded, it would be a success.
“I've got the shot,” Guillermo called out.
Ashley watched as Guillermo made his move. The Hunter was flying toward The Ghost with real pace. Guillermo fired off a couple shots as Ashley held her breath. It didn't even make a dent. Ashley's heart sank.
“No luck,” Guillermo said.
“Okay. We'll regroup. Maybe we should try and protect the convoy. See if any of the ships have not been boarded yet. We might be able to still protect them,” Ashley replied.
Ashley felt like she was juggling 10 things at once. She was smart and capable, so it wasn’t above her abilities—it just took all her energy and effort, and being pregnant made that more difficult. You can't argue with your body. Ashley was going to fight on, though. It was the least she could do for her fellow pilots, and for Jeryl.
“I think it's too late for the convoy. Every ship seems to have been boarded,” she heard Powers report.
“Damn it!” Ashley seethed.
What were they going to do now? The Seeker was failing at its mission. They had been caught off guard by the boarding shuttles, and they weren't ready for The Ghost. The fo
rmer black-ops battleship had already locked its weapons on The Seeker, keeping it under a barrage of particle beams. Soon enough, the shields would collapse, and what then?
The Seeker had just finished being repaired, and now it was under siege again. At least none of the Hunters had been taken down yet. The crew had lost too many pilots recently. They couldn't afford to lose another, especially with Ashley on the sidelines.
Ashley knew she had to fight through her frustrations to keep on coordinating the Hunters. It was a vitally important job, and she was the best person to handle it. However, the frustration was practically choking her at this point. It wasn't just that The Seeker and the Hunters were in bad shape, or the fact the convoy had been overtaken. No, it was something much more personal.
I should be out there, she thought to herself. I'm a pilot! A damn great pilot! I can fly a Hunter like nobody else here. If I was out there, things would be different.
She watched as her fellow pilots tried valiantly to fight off the shuttles as The Ghost loomed closer and closer. There was an ominous feeling in the air.
I should be fighting and leading. I'm no use to anybody here on the ship!
Deep down, she knew she was underselling her ability to lead from CNC. She was doing a fine job coordinating the Hunters, but it wasn't what she wanted to be doing. Though she was leading the way, she wanted to be doing it from inside a Hunter. Ashley wanted to lead from example, taking down shuttles and helping to save the convoy.
Unfortunately, that wasn't in the cards. She looked down at her belly. Her pregnancy wasn't really showing yet, but she could still tell. It was this baby that was keeping her grounded, or as grounded as one can be while flying through space.
Jeryl wasn't letting her fly as long as she was carrying his child. Ashley understood, but she could never truly accept his edict.
I can fly while pregnant, she assured herself. This is all unnecessary.
However, it was all a decided issue, at least in Jeryl's mind. Ashley wouldn’t be flying until she had her baby.
