by John Walker
“I’m in position,” Redding said. “Ready to fire.”
“Fire at will,” Gray replied. “Take that scout down.”
***
Rudy took the lead, preparing to unload his entire payload the moment they had a lock. They rapidly approached the edge of the asteroid and from there, they would engage their target. The capital ship figured prominently on his scanners and it was moving away, further into the system.
Not toward the battle.
Is this coward running?
“One minute to deployment,” Rudy said over the com. He focused, eyes fixed on the prize. They’d long left behind any attackers who might’ve caused them harm and now only had to worry about whatever defenses The Final Star fielded. He guessed automated turrets and possibly a few fighters but their own escorts would make short work of them.
I assume. They haven’t shown themselves to be all that great yet.
“This is Giant Control, come in.” Rudy felt some of his focus falter from the sudden message and he acknowledged it quickly.
“What’s up?”
“I need you to abort the all out attack. Switch to disablement.”
“Are you kidding me, Giant Control? After what this guy did? I thought we were finishing this fight!”
“We are. There’s a friendly onboard and we’re not sacrificing him. Understood?”
Rudy sighed. “Yes, I do. We’ll…adjust accordingly.”
“Thank you and good luck.”
“Team, I’ve just received word that we have a friendly on our target. We can’t shoot to kill.”
“How are we going to nudge them with pulse bombs?” Flight Lieutenant Gerard Yunda asked. “These aren’t exactly firecrackers.”
“One second.” Rudy brought up his scanner and hit the capital ship with a sweep, frowning at the data. The modified cruiser showed heavy shields and several power relays. If they hit it wrong, the entire thing would likely go up. They needed to be cautious and surgical…not exactly what they were designed for.
He analyzed the primary engines and while he didn’t find any flaws, he saw a potential in. One of the turbines had been damaged in the past, leaving a hole where armored panels should’ve been. Someone patched it but they did a shoddy job of welding some metal in place and calling it a day.
Their commander would be furious. Such laziness tended to be caught during inspections but when a commander is a megalomaniac, he figured they didn’t have time for such inconvenient duties. Targeting that area might well bring the whole thing down but if it doesn’t blow up, it’ll definitely stop.
The shields were the tricky part. The Final Star boasted some potent defenses, powerful enough to deter one or two bombs easily. A kinetic blast involving over a dozen would drop them easily enough but then the ship would be obliterated. So this is where we use some finesse. Three bombs to drop the shields in that section, two to take out the engines.
“Piece of cake,” Rudy muttered. “Alright, listen up. I’ve got a plan. I need some distraction shots toward the nose, something guaranteed to miss. Gerard and I will attack the rear at the point you’ll see on your scanners. Escorts, watch for fighters. If all goes well, that ship will be stuck here for a long time.”
“You sure about this?” Gerard asked. “My computer’s simulating a total meltdown of their core.”
“Then I hope our friendly knows to get the hell out of there quick.” Rudy shook his head. “We’re not the disabling group. We do what we can. You’ve got your orders, let’s go.”
Rudy adjusted his course as they burst over the asteroid and finally got a good look at The Final Star off a scanner. The ship certainly looked big but compared to The Behemoth, it practically could’ve been a freighter. Engines lit up as it pushed away from the station. Rudy and Gerard would have to gun it to catch up.
They moved into their position as the others went forward to cause the distraction. The entire squadron sprung into action with the escorts hanging close by in the event of fighter interaction. Bombs were deployed, firing to distract the enemy without actually coming close to hitting it. The Final Star performed an evasive maneuver and that’s when Rudy and Gerard struck.
They launched their bombs, pacing them so the shields would be down by the time the next set got to their target. Turrets began firing at them, dividing their shots between the bombs and the bombers. Rudy dropped low and spun around, moving out of range. Gerard followed suit but began cursing.
“What is it?” Rudy asked. “What’s wrong?”
“They got two of the bombs,” Gerard said. “I’ve got this.”
“What do you got?” Rudy paused. “Gerard, whatever you’re doing, run it by me first.”
“I’m going to get closer so they can’t stop them. They hit the secondaries anyway. The primaries are still on target.”
“So what’s your plan?”
“Get in their face and see if they have good aim.” Rudy watched the Flight Lieutenant spin around and gun it back toward The Final Star.
“Belay that! Now! Fall back, that’s an order! Gerard, I am ordering you to fall back!”
“We’ve got to get this done, sir. If the secondaries aren’t there, we fail.”
“We can do another run!”
“If their shields go down, they’ll microjump. Guaranteed. Then we lose our opportunity.” Gerard clicked his tongue. “Nope, I’m not letting them get away.”
“I’ll have you up on charges, Gerard! Fall back!”
“Sorry, sir, you’re breaking up.” The com link went dead between them.
“Damn it!” Rudy called to the others. “Gerard’s doing something crazy. Escorts, do you have anything?”
“We’ll distract those turrets.” Tiger wing flew toward The Final Star, taking pot shots with pulse cannons. The attacks splashed harmlessly off the shields but it did the trick. The automated turrets considered them a more direct threat since they were firing weapons. This bought Gerard a little more time.
“Get him back on the line, computer!” Rudy demanded. “Cut through the interference and get me in his cockpit! Now!”
Rudy watched as Gerard avoided a series of blasts then closed the gap so he was nearly point blank. He deployed his bombs and spun around, hitting the after burners but the primary bombs struck the shields and he was too close. The shockwave caught him, stalling his engines and sending him into a spin.
As he tumbled away from the target and the shields dropped, the second bombs he had just fired struck home and a second shockwave tore Gerard’ bomber apart. Rudy didn’t see the ejection module. He hammered his console, enraged at what he’d witnessed. “God damn it, man! There was another way!”
The computer came back with a scan of The Final Star. Engines were offline, fires raged throughout the deck and power was failing. Shields remained online thanks to generators but they’d pulled off their assignment. At a big cost! Rudy cursed again and reported in to Giant Control.
“Your space ship’s down,” he said. “I hope this guy turns out to be worth it.”
Chapter 10
Trellan heard Krilan raging behind him, shouting at the engineering department for more power. He asked why they were moving so slowly but the baffled technicians couldn’t answer his question. According to them, everything was operating at optimal efficiency. They begged him for time to look into the problem which he angrily granted.
“Trellan, are you sure you have the helm set to full speed?” Krilan asked. “My console shows we’re barely at three-quarter thrust.”
“My console suggests we are,” Trellan replied. He’d adjusted the sensors to report incorrectly and kept them slow on purpose. He needed to buy time for his people to hit the ship and help him finish his mission. “I’ll run another diagnostic.”
“We don’t have time for that!”
An explosion made the ship shake and the lights flickered all around them. Stabilizers gave out and they listed to starboard. The navigator lost his seat and slammed int
o the wall. He didn’t move as blood oozed from his forehead. Trellan held tight to his console, glancing over his shoulder.
The guards struggled to maintain their footing, holding fast to the wall. Krilan remained seated. Now’s my chance.
“My Lord!” The engineer came over the speaker. “We weren’t going full speed because the pilot wasn’t tapping full power!”
“Care to explain the explosion?” Krilan shouted. “What happened?”
“Left engine is down,” the engineer replied. “Stabilizers will be online in thirty seconds.”
“We don’t have that long! Get me power! Now!” Krilan turned to Trellan. “So, would you care to explain your incompetence?”
“No.” Trellan drew his weapon. Krilan tossed himself from his seat just as he fired. A hole appeared in the chair.
The guards went for their guns and Trellan fired several times, catching one in the face. The other took a bullet to the chest. He instantly went limp, rolling into the wall near the unconscious navigator.
Krilan crawled to his feet and bolted for the door, disappearing into the hall as Trellan fired several shots after him.
“Damn it!” Trellan moved out of his seat, struggling to hurry after his target with the room tilted as it was. He reached the hallway, grabbed the wall and moved through, noting Krilan hadn’t gotten more than thirty yards ahead of him. The stabilizers returned and the ship leveled out, making it easier to move.
The two men began to run, Trellan aiming his weapon and taking another shot. The round ricocheted off the ceiling and Krilan took a hard left after the next door. Red lights went on overhead and an alarm began blaring. “Alert…Alert…hull integrity compromised…Alert.”
Great, this couldn’t get much worse. Trellan burst into the hall. Light flashed in his eyes as something struck him on the side of the head, knocking him to the ground. His gun skid across the floor. Another blow connected with his side, flipping him over to his back. Pain lanced through his ribs and he fought the cobwebs from the first strike.
“So you are a traitor,” Krilan said. “What a fool I was to believe in you. I genuinely believed in you too. I suppose I was desperate for a competent officer, a confidante but now I have to kill you.”
Trellan blinked hard and his vision cleared. He deflected another kick, this one directed for his head. Shoving back, he bought himself a moment to reclaim his feet and squared off. Krilan steadied himself against the wall, his expression twisted into something truly psychotic. “You must’ve thought I’d be a push over.”
“I hoped to make it quick with a gun,” Trellan said. “But if you want it to go this way, I’m happy to oblige.”
“Did you lead the alliance here?”
Trellan nodded. “I did among other things but none of that matters because this is over.” He launched himself at Krilan. He threw a high feint and followed it up with a kick to the knee. Krilan fell for it, taking the shot then countering with his own flurry of punches.
They brawled, blocking and striking for a good thirty seconds. Trellan never imagined Krilan could hold his own against him. Even as the intelligence agent began to claim the upper hand, his opponent landed enough blows to prove he kept up with his own physical training. Blood slicked Trellan’s face from several small cuts and his body ached but the fight would be over soon.
“I won’t let you take this from me,” Krilan grunted as he disengaged, dashing through a nearby door. “My dream of controlling the alliance will not be undone by a grunt! A deceptive scum!”
Trellan gave chase, stumbling as the ship rumbled from some explosion far off in the bowels of the vessel. The alert continued overhead, becoming more frantic as it sounded off additional systems that were failing. If life support went, they’d both be done in minutes and if the hull breach worsened, they’d all die.
The two of them arrived at the hangar but found it empty. All the fighters had been deployed to fight the alliance. Krilan shouted in dismay, frustration gripping his shoulders as he shook in rage. Bodies were strewn about, people killed when the engines were struck. Trellan advanced slowly into the room, prepared to finish the fight.
“Looks like you won’t be getting out of here either,” Krilan said. “I suppose we’re both done, eh? Finished by your treachery. It’s fitting, honestly, that I should find my death at the hands of a man like you. Fate has robbed me so many times of my rightful place in society, why not once again?”
“You had the potential to be a great man,” Trellan replied. “Your career was quite probably the most promising I’d ever read about. I took this assignment reluctantly because before you went insane, you were a solid commander. Strict, but good. Your legacy has been tarnished beyond any repair now.”
“Then come, Trellan, if that’s even your real name. Fight me to the finish so you can watch the world burn around you. The ship dies with me and you won’t survive its death throes.”
Krilan limped forward, his leg finally getting the better of him. He threw a punch but it was blocked. Another blow, this time grappled. Trellan twisted the man’s arm so he bent at the waist. Bringing his knee up, Trellan slammed it into Krilan’s face, shattering his nose. The strike ended the fight as his opponent went limp and dropped to the floor, gasping.
“Such…is the end…of greatness…” Krilan muttered as Trellan dropped down beside him, panting. Grabbing both sides of the terrorist’s head, he braced himself for the coup de grace.
“I’m sorry it came to this.” Trellan snapped his neck and fell backward, trying to catch his breath. The fight took a lot out of him, enough that even the satisfaction of finishing his assignment didn’t help. He struggled to his feet and stumbled over to a computer terminal, bringing up the schematics of the ship.
A quick scan found that some of the escape pods were still intact but he only had a few minutes to get to them. Tapping his com unit, he brought up the woman who had been talking to him from one of the alliance vessel and started to lumber down the hall. Chances were good he wouldn’t make it but he wasn’t about to give up just yet.
“This is The Behemoth,” the woman’s voice filled his ear. “Who is this?”
“Trellan En’Dal,” he replied. “Krilan is dead…and his ship will be in a minute as well.”
“That’s fantastic news! Have you taken an enemy fighter?”
“There weren’t any in the hangar. I’m on my way to an escape pod.” Trellan winced as he spoke, checking his lip. It’d been split in the fight and he hadn’t even realized it. Several wounds began to hound him and ignoring them became increasingly difficult. “I might not make it. Say, what’s your name?”
“I’m Clea An’Tufal. You’ll make it, Mister En’Dal. Just…don’t give up!”
“Oh, I’ll try not to.” Another explosion shook the ship and air began hissing somewhere nearby. He picked up the pace, using the wall to support him and help him move. “An’Tufal is familiar. Anyone else in your family part of intelligence?”
“Not that I know of…it would probably be classified if so.” Clea sighed. “Please just focus on the task at hand. Get to that pod, soldier. That’s an order.”
“Do you have the authority to give me orders?”
“I do, I’m Siva’s second.”
Trellan chuckled but was rewarded with a rush of pain in his chest. “Oops, bad plan there. And I should’ve known Siva would send someone. No wonder you didn’t let them blow up the ship. I appreciate that by the way. But they run these things so hot it’s about to go up anyway.”
The escape pod loomed ahead and he only had another forty yards to get to it. Just seeing it renewed his hope and gave him the vigor to pick up the pace. Struggling on, the ship shook again and the lights went out. Life support was offline. Whatever oxygen there was in the area was what he’d get.
The line went dead. Trellan reached for the lever and pulled…
***
“En’Dal!” Clea shouted. “Trellan! Come in!”
“What’s
going on?” Gray asked.
“I was just speaking with Trellan…he finished Krilan. The leader of Orion’s Light is dead.”
The bridge crew cheered but didn’t have time to be too exuberant. They were in the middle of attacking the last of the vessels and the pulse blasts they fired might well end the entire conflict. Clea knew Gray didn’t have time to ask any questions or even be interested in what was going on. He tried anyway.
“Did he get out?”
“I don’t know…” Clea shrugged. “We have to focus on the task at hand and hope. That’s all we’ve got.”
“Agreed.”
Clea looked at the view screen as The Behemoth fired several volleys at their target. The blasts met their target and scans indicated they would finish the ship off in a moment. Success, she thought. They didn’t get a chance—
The scout spun as their shields failed and they fired their weapon, a parting shot as their ship exploded in a fantastic display of blue and green light. “Evasive!” Gray shouted. “Now!”
Redding’s hands flew over the controls and the ship lurched downward just as the beam arrived. Unlike The Crystal Font, this didn’t merely graze them but caught the edge of their port bow. Shields dropped instantly and an alarm went off throughout the ship, indicating a hull breach. Safety seals closed it off, preventing further damage.
“Glad that didn’t hit us full on,” Adam muttered. “It could’ve taken us out.”
“Depending on where they hit, you’re right,” Gray replied. “Damage report, Olly.”
“We’ve got a hull breach in crew quarters…injuries only, no casualties. Shields are down but recharging fast. Durant’s on it.” Olly looked back at them. “I think I’d call that a miracle considering.”
