by Richard Sosa
“Do you have our location beacon sending?”
Robec-3 worked with what remained of her controls. “Yes, but we don’t have much oxygen remaining. I’ve sent a coded location signal to anyone who might be able to help us. I am using your name hoping maybe you have some pull somewhere.”
“Maybe?” Rik looked at the web-like crack on the cockpit roof that was fanning out, “Don’t count on it. Let’s just sit tight conserve our breaths and hope we look like all the other debris out here. We’re done for now.”
After a long silence, Robec-3 spoke. “Captain Rik?”
“Yes, Ro?”
“I just wanted to say in case we don’t get rescued in time, it was an honor to serve as your co-pilot.”
Rik looked behind him. “Stop lying soldier, I can tell when I am being bull shitted on and that is thick. Besides, we’re not done. We’re done when we’re dead, got it?”
“Yes sir, we’re not done.”
Rik crushed his palms into his eyes and thought, why are you such a hardass? A long silence was broken by the static of the COM. ‘Hetair 876 heading to your location for pick up. hang tight.’
Rik said on COM, “Roger that, venting oxygen please double-time it.”
“We’re right behind you, Captain.”
A rescue Hetair slowed and approached the ejected cockpit and matched its rotation. The Hetair rescue pilot had a calm voice. “Steady there, docking position in twenty gamls. We'll nab you.” The pod was dented, scared, with spiderweb-like cracks all over the cockpit canopy. The Hetair pilot strained to see inside and said on COM. “I can see your movement, lots of smoke inside that cockpit. Does anyone need medical?”
“No. We need a new ride,” Rik said as he slapped away glass-like material off his pants.
A part of one engine was sheared off and parts of metal dangled from what remained of his ship like dreadlocks. The Flyer had long cycled down, but it still was smoking internally and bleeding out vaper and debris. The oxygen venting was propelling them away from the main battle. Robec-3 said on COM. “Het good to see you. We're kinda messed up.”
“Hang tight. I got your back now,” the Hetair rescue pilot responded, “matching rotation.” After a few moments, the Hetair pilot said on COM, “Retrieved.”
Rik and Robec-3 felt a bump as the docking clamps latched on to their capsule. A few seconds of silence passed, and then they jerked violently backward from the g-force as the Hetair raced away to the safety zone with them in tow. Rik saw the small points of lights of the battlefield fade way as they moved to a staging point far from the war. The large Hetair medical hospital came into view only when they banked toward it. Flyers were arcing and circling in a protective mode.
“We’re here only to patch up and get a new ride with munitions, ok?” Rik said. Silence from his co-pilot, “Ro did you hear me? We can’t stay here long.”
“Got it. I am calculating the orbit we need to come around behind the Orb closest to Aoife’s orbit. Can we get a fast Flyer here? We’ll need to move in close and hit them hard. They have some payback due.”
Chapter Forty-two
The eject cockpit hung in the air on a gravity crane ready to drop it into the recovery bay. Rik and Robec-3 were assisted out of the cockpit and they were directed to the hatch that led to the pilot’s conference room. A mechanic still standing on the burnt ship inspected its blackened bottom with dangling cables and sheared metal and called out to Rik, “I don’t think this is good for anything except recycling scrap. You’re not getting anything here back.”
“Treat her with respect,” Rik said, “she earned it out there.”
“You two are lucky to be alive,” the mechanic said.
“Luck had nothing to with it,” Robec-3 looked up from her IARI, “we need a new ride fast.”
A medical Tech approached Rik as they’re walking out of the flight bay, she called out,
“Captain Onanes we have an incoming message from the surface from Lieutenant General Dask. The relay caught up to you about two minutes ago. You can talk to him in the control room. Level three and follow the red line,” She turned to Robec-3, “Co-pilot Robec-3 can go on to the waiting area and get re-assigned.”
“Hell no, she’s staying with me,” Rik said, “she has the calculations for our next orbit, to attack.”
The Tech backed up surprised and nodded her understanding, “O.k. then both of you can report to the control center.”
Rik walked into the Hetair medical rescue ship control room and an Array Technician indicated, by pointing, to a ready monitor, Rik stood and peered at a monitor and then Dask came on. They both spoke at the same time. “Status?”
Dask on the monitor was tired with a wrinkle across the bridge of his nose that reminded Rik of his father. Rik sat down. Dask spoke first. “Early data on the landing force, we are engaging with cannon, Da, we're going to pay a price here. I am losing ground forces in large numbers.” A silent beat passed and Dask said, “Ignore that.”
Rik smiled sadly. “Roger that. I am thinking about Neil too. Are the modified rifles and cannons working?”
“No data yet, it appears at least on these first reports they may leap over the defense. I have several lines but if we must break and fall back to catch up with the battle we will be at a huge disadvantage. Communications is saying they somehow know our weakest parts on the line.”
“Tell your Commanders on the ground to order your people to stop talking about their fears,” Rik remembered the ‘reset’ process, “especially on the line defense and tell them to reset.”
Dask asked. “Do you think they have satellite access or something?”
“No, they are talking but they can sense your troops worry and where it is concentrated might be sensed as the weakest area. Get the word out so our people aren’t giving the enemy Intel.”
“I’ll get my teams up to speed.”
“Another thing,” Rik said, “tell Karl to deploy the sticky black polymer in an explosive. Drop it from the air and saturate those droids. That will limit their communications. If they can’t triangulate, it makes it easier to take them out.”
“You sure it will work? It will slow them down, right.”
“I don’t know if we can turn the tide, old man. We took out three primary Orb ships. One Orb got away. There are two remaining and headed toward the surface.”
A nurse entered and searched the room and then walked over, she said, “Captain Onanes? You're needed in medical Bay Eight now, please follow me and I’ll get you started in the right direction.”
“I am needed in sickbay. We’ll be leaving back out as soon as a Flyer is assigned and loaded. Rik out.” He saluted Dask on the monitor.
Rik followed the nurse into the hospital as staff rushed in organized chaos to save lives. She pointed him to a room, a sign read MEDICAL BAY EIGHT, “through there and you will get directions.”
He entered the Medical Bay and a nurse at his station handed him scrubs. “Put these on Sir and I am going to spray you down,” he gathered equipment, “then you need to walk to stall 54 it’s the bed in the corner,” he looked behind him and pointed, “there.”
Rik walked peering into the small stalls each with a bed and monitoring equipment. His pilots were limp broken bodies lying in rows. Their colorful flight suits were tattered, burned, bloody and their faces unrecognizable. Rik silently counted the stall numbers and at 54 looked at Ra. He approached the bed tentatively and placed his hand gently on Ra’s head. He gently stroked the man’s long black hair. Rabid's battered body was bandaged covering the burns on his arm, a bandaged stump where his other arm had been, and his body covered with white mesh and artificial skin-graphs. Bloodstained the sheets where his hands had crumpled them in pain.
Rik leaned over him and spoke softly. “Ra. There you are. You hold on before you know it, we'll be back on Aoife.” He adjusted Rabid’s bedding. He felt Ra’s forehead and elevated temperature. Sweat covered Rabid’s face.
Ra looke
d up at him and quietly said. “I failed… My warning is too late. Go. Go back, man. Go back to Aoife and get her,” in a lower whisper he continued, “Save Iris. You can leave. Take her with you,” he tried to clear his throat choking, he tried to sit up, “I’ve set it up, you can leave. Activate Delta Seven Run. Iris can help you with that.”
Ra words struck at Rik’s heart, “Run? What are you saying?” he gently pushed Ra back to his pillow. “Ra, the warning came. We’re giving them an ass-kicking, dude.”
“No. I heard them,” he pointed to his head with his massively wrapped hand, “They're coming now changing their path toward us.” Rabid tried to move quickly to get up.
“No stop. Come on sit back, dude,” stroking his shoulder gently Rik pushed him back down to the bed again, with more force. “All are safe. You did well. Iris is safe.”
Rabid, closed his eyes in pain. “She's my…” Rabid looked up and smiled as he squeezed Rik’s hand and said, “Take her with you. Both of you survive. Please survive.”
Ra closed his eyes and died.
Rik looked at him for a long moment, the words burned in his mind, please survive. He could feel his breathing in his chest, he choked back a sob that crawled up his throat, “Oh Ra. Damn it.” Rik turned away in heart pain tears filling his eyes as he covered his mouth holding off a scream then noticed with a start Iris was on the monitor over the bed crying. Her tears streaked down her face making tracks through the dirt on her face. “He's... not a warrior. That's what I said. That’s what I god damn said,” she sobbed and continued, “Right? That's what I said. They sent him to die. You said he would be o.k. You did this. I've lost all my friends because of you.”
Rik was stunned and said softly, “I am sorry love.”
She signed off and the screen blipped off to a blank screen. Rik moved back as if the accusation was a sharp point pushing into him and he crashed hard on the small stool beside the bed. He ran his hands through his hair noticing bits of burnt metal and hardened polymer trapped in his hair. He took some out of his hair and inspected it in his hands. He looked at his hands as if they had betrayed him again. He looked at Ra’s lifeless body. ‘‘Path?”
A nurse rushed in and looked at Rik surprised. She began to work over Ra, “You can’t stay here any longer I need you to move out now.”
Rik stumbled out of the ward and walked aimlessly into the next non-burn ward. A familiar voice stopped him in his tracks. “Dude boss, you hurt too?” Rik looked up and saw Stu sitting up on his bed with his shoulder, arm and chest wrapped a sure sign that he broke his ribs.
“Stu? You so and so. When I did the count, your Flyer went down. You’re supposed to be dead. I saw you go down.”
“I almost got killed. Don’t tell but my cockpit has a logistif thruster. I always find a way to make sure I am not assigned a co-pilot, this way my rocket is ready when I need it.”
“What? What happened?”
“I turned my thrusters to reverse, I have a routine to slide by ass into my little sidewinder and blew out the backside of the Flyer. It’s a little rigging up to my Flyer that I’ve added. I have to fly blind until I could clear the tunnel.”
“You’re a crazy ass. You could have killed all of us.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t. I use a stand-alone Trimmiter-Receiver that I released from my ship when the shooting started, and it guided me out. It’s only linked to my ship, doesn’t disrupt ‘navs’. It’s not perfect, but I am alive. Are you going to report me?”
Rik eyed him with a mean stare. “Rabid just died.”
Stu shook his head. “Does Iris know? We can die up here but someone like that dude doesn’t deserve it.”
Rik studied Stu’s beaten up face. “I am not going to be responsible for putting one of Iris’ friends in the brig, especially someone willing to follow me into a suicide run. I’ve done enough to disappoint her for one lifetime.”
“I’ve been in worse, Captain boss dude F up.” Stu gave a weak salute.
“What? Don’t lie. Simulators don’t count.”
“Don’t tell anyone, but I used to run contraband for some people, and I can outrun and jam any authorities chasing me. Even military.”
“I figured you were a criminal or smuggler, you think like a weasel. Get well, I need you back out there, you, crazy-ass but I—” Rik stopped himself, “path,” he frowned, “I need to go.”
Rik walked out of the ward, shook his head as he walked fast and then started to jog and broke into a full run. He ran into the Medical Ship Control Center breathing hard and said to the Commander on deck. “Priority one highest. Patch me over to Commander Samit-jec and Dask at the same time.”
“Aye Sir.” The watch Commander entered data on the console and said. “It’s ready just tap here.”
Rik went to it and scanned his retina Dask and Samit-jec (intercutting) come online, Dask said. “Dask here with Samit-jec, report.”
“Both of you listen up, I have some unconfirmed intel there may be another wave of Primary Orbs outside our system as yet undetected.”
“Damn it. What did we miss? What in the hell happened? Are you sure?”
“No Sir, I am not but when I talked with Ra. He said something familiar to me,” Rik peered directly at Samit-jec, “your ships are cast over a wider area of space than the rest of us. Can you send support ships further afield and start scanning? See if you can confirm something out there waiting its turn to attack,” Rik gave them a pained grimace, “I can’t believe the Orb fleet would wait this long, we’re defenseless to them. They must be out further afield.”
Samit-jec entered instructions on his computer. “Copied your request to six of our supply ships and they can tow Raptors with them. We can put arrays on the Raptors and send them out even further ahead of the freighters. Let’s see how far we can get visuals or light refraction data. If you don’t need anything else. I am checking out to get working on this.”
“That’s a good plan Samit-jec, let us know what you find,” Dask said and turned to Rik, “I hope to Gods you’re wrong on this one. If not, we are just going to go down swinging. We don’t have the resources to fight longer. The Orbs in our air-space right now.”
“I am hoping I am wrong as well.”
They terminated transmission and Rik stood by himself gathering his thoughts. Robec-3 frowned at Rik. “Sir, you O.K.?”
Rik ignored her and continued to type on the console. He opened a communication link. “All forces prepare for additional Primary Orb invasion. We have unconfirmed intel of a possible second invasion. Move fleet four to grid Section twenty-one away from the battle and keep them in reserve until you get further orders.”
“Raptors are taking a hard hit here and my reserves are already engaged. I can’t cut my reserves out,” A pilot Commander immediately reported on COM.
Rik hardened his expression. “Do it soldier that’s an order.”
Silence.
“Roger that.”
Robec-3 moved away to the corner. “I am ready to go out,” she was checking her IARI, “we have a Raptor waiting in dock three. Let’s get them, boss.”
Rik scanned the control room and all the Techs staring back at him. “All of you, we don’t have a confirmation only a preliminary hunch it may not play out. I need you to help the team trying to put some long-range eyes out there. We need to know. All of you reset now and move on to the next task, that’s a damn order.” The staff returned to their duties with heads down working their monitors. “I just ordered the battle group to reduce their forces when they least can afford it,” Rik said quietly to Robec-3, “now the CS’s are going to get through to the surface. What the hell did I do?”
“Sir, you do know that you’re not the CO here, right?” she smiled, “everyone is going to be happy when we leave, so let’s get the hell out of here and kill some more Orbs.”
Chapter Forty-two
Rik and Robec-3 ran through the narrow corridors to the dock and flattened against the wall when they met m
edical staff coming in the opposite direction. A few Flyers were being prepared for takeoff. Rik pointed to the Flyers. “Which one is ours? Captain Onanes reporting for a flight plan.”
A mechanic looked at Robec-3. “You drew the short straw again, right?”
“Just get us the ride,” Robec-3 said, “we’re late already.”
The mechanic pointed to a shiny black Raptor. “This one is new just brought up as a perimeter defender, but we hadn’t even detailed her yet.”
“O.K. as long as this thing is packing. How do I file a flight plan?”
The mechanic regarded Rik. “Flight Plan? How about clear the complex and don’t scrap the ship on the way out?”
“You’re a funny guy. Steer me clear of incoming wounded.”
“Clear your flight with Control on COM Seven but there are no wounded coming in. You’re not going to meet anyone headed our way. Rumor has it that no one is surviving. We aren’t collecting Flyers or people anymore.”
Rik and Robec-3 shared a look and Rik said. “Then get us the hell underway.”
The Flyer raced back toward the battle and Robec-3 monitored her controls. “Captain, I am not picking up any activity because everyone has transitioned into the atmosphere. I am not picking up any Orb ships waiting around either.”
“Explains the crickets at the Hetair.”
“Crickets?”
“Tre-bitjouls, you know those nighttime bugs.”
Robec-3 was quiet in thought. “Don’t try to explain, it just makes it worse.”
The main battle had moved to the planet’s exosphere. The two remaining CS’s were slowly descending like large beach balls mostly submerged in water between outer space and the planet’s exosphere. “Two CS’s peeking out like a moon on the horizon at 4985 by 4125,” Rik observed to Robec-3, “what can we do? Give me any attack options.”
“My calculation indicates that we can attack them and still stay out of the planet’s atmosphere, but we need to act fast. My scans are showing three Raptor groups trying to get here and some Chariots are orbiting to complete a transition in six gaml-ites,” she listened to her helmet COM, “did you get that Rik? Gods, there are over sixty thousand Flyers destroyed or MIA, so it looks like everyone is taking the fight to the surface.”
