by Trevor Wyatt
“You scared the shit out of me,” she hissed, stepping out of her raider to meet Jeryl’s gaze. He was standing at the bottom of the climbing ladder that lead to her cockpit, looking almost too annoyingly perfect in his Captain’s uniform.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to,” he shrugged, and then took Ashley’s helmet out of her hands as she climbed down the ladder. “Couldn’t resist to join them, huh?” He asked, pointing with his chin as the other three pilots dragged their feet across the hangar, looking tired and defeated.
“I couldn’t resist to beat them, that is. But what are you doing down here? I thought you were already back at the CNC?”
“Just came from there. The Armada has sent us a pile of reports concerning pirate activity in Drupadi territory, and I need your help to look at it. We might be called in to investigate.”
“You’re shitting me,” Ashley protested, one hand on her hip. “The Udenar have started acting crazy, a whole planet’s population is under shackles...and the Armada wants to send The Seeker into Drupadi territory?”
“Not much we can do about it, Ash,” Jeryl sighed, locking his eyes with hers. His words sounded sincere, but Ashley knew him too well. Jeryl wouldn’t come all the way from the CNC to the hangar just to tell her she had to look at some bullshit reports. No, Jeryl wanted Ashley’s opinion—or maybe her support on something. He just wasn’t comfortable being straightforward about it.
“You went to see Lydia, didn’t you?” She asked him, cutting straight to the chase.
“I did,” he nodded, and then sighed again. Pursing his lips, he turned on his heels and pressed his back against the raider’s fuselage. He was looking straight ahead, but his gaze was blank. Ashley could tell that Jeryl was torn.
“The Armada will never authorize us to look into it, Jeryl. You know that,” she whispered, pressing her back against the raider and joining him. “I know you’ve been waiting to hear back from Flynn, but—”
“But we never will,” he said, finishing her sentence. “I know that. And even if the Admiral does get back to us, I doubt we’ll hear what we actually want to hear.”
“We can’t just go back to patrolling borders and nailing small-time pirates without knowing what’s really going on in Galea.” She ran one hand through her disheveled hair and looked straight into Jeryl’s eyes. “No matter what the Armada says, we can’t abandon these people.”
“They’re the Confederation’s responsibility, not ours.”
“Do you really believe that, or are you just trying to convince yourself?” She asked, perhaps sounding more aggressive than she had intended. “You know damn well that the Confederation won’t lift a finger to rescue some farming colony out in the boondocks. They’ll just write it off as a loss and go on about their day.”
“Maybe it’s different with this new guy, Cassius Ojun,” Jeryl said, this time sounding like a tired old man.
“Yeah, I’ve read about him too. But if the new Chancellor wanted to do something, he would have already acted on it. Seriously, I doubt he has even responded to Flynn.”
“I know,” he replied, and then just stood there in silence, almost as if he was too afraid of uttering the words he wanted to say. “But you’re right, we can’t abandon these people.”
“We can’t,” Ashley agreed, and suddenly her heart started picking up the pace. Here they were, The Seeker’s captain and first officer, once more ready to guide their ship and crew into an uncertain territory—one that could lead to war.
And this time, they were risking war with the Human Confederation—which meant that if it came to that, they’d have to raise arms against their fellow humans. But what was their other option? Walk away from a situation like this, hands in their pockets and whistling into the air while thousands suffered at the hands of a merciless race? If that was her duty as a ranked officer in the Terran Armada, Ashley wasn’t sure if she had made the right career decision.
“We don’t need to go all out,” she found herself saying, even though she knew they were committing to a dangerous course of action. “We can drop into Galea’s star system, take a quick look to assess the situation, and we’ll be in and out as fast as we can. With all the second-hand crap the Udenar have gotten from the Tyreesians, I doubt they’ll be able to spot us.”
“Right,” Jeryl nodded, his lips a thin line of worry. “In and out, as fast as we can,” he continued, but the tone in his voice made it sound like he didn’t believe his own words. Much like Ashley, he knew that they’d be stepping into an equation with too many unknown variables. Anything—and everything—could happen.
Once again, they were making a leap into the unknown.
“Let’s do this.”
Jeryl
Jeryl tried to make his words sound convincing, but he wasn’t sure if it was working. He had been part of the beginning of one war already, he really didn’t want to be part of another. But he couldn’t just leave these people to be forgotten or ignored by the Confederation, or the Union. Pushing himself away from the Hunter, he leaned over and gave Ashley a light peck on the cheek.
“Thanks.” Without another word, he walked to the elevator, and as he hesitated long enough for the doors to open, Ashley came up behind him.
“What was that for?”
The doors opened, they got on the elevator, and Jeryl called for the bridge. As the elevator started to take them up, he looked at his wife. If there was anyone that didn’t think she had the perfect figure or smile, he would call them out on the lie. The idea that someone could brighten up a room with their presence seemed asinine to Jeryl for the longest time, but Ashley’s smile truly did light up his world.
“Just a thank you for reminding me why we do what we do. If we don’t help these people, then how are we any better than the Udenar?” He asked as the elevator stopped at the CNC. The doors slid open and Jeryl stepped off, turning to look at Ashley as she followed him. “Even if all we do is get information to help these people…well, that will be at least something.”
“Then let’s do something,” she smiled. She put her hand on his arm and gave it a light squeeze, then walked over to her station.
Jeryl smiled, then put on his serious face as he turned around. “Docherty, Ferriero, I want you to plot a course for the Confederation space. Pick a location away from Galea, but still within scanner range. I want to know what’s going on.”
“Sir, I don’t mean to question your orders, but isn’t that a violation of protocol?” Ferriero asked, turning his chair to look at Jeryl.
“Technically. And that’s why we’re going to keep this as quiet as we possibly can. It’s an information-gathering order. We’re simply investigating why the Udenar are in the area, that’s all.”
Ferriero shrugged and turned back to his console. “It will take a few minutes to locate a suitable location and for the FTL to power up, sir.”
“Understood. Lieutenant Taylor, you have the bridge. Commander Gavin, in my office.” Jeryl walked across the CNC to his ready-room and walked in. Still as spartan as it was five years ago, he sat at his desk and let out a heavy sigh.
“Everything okay?” Ashley asked as the doors closed behind her. “You don’t look so good.”
“You do realize, that this could potentially start another war. And if it does, we’re…”
“We’re going to get vilified for it. I know.”
Ashley came over to the only other chair in the room and pulled it around the desk to sit right in front of Jeryl. She took his hands in hers and looked him in the eyes. “But if we sit back and do nothing, we’re condemning these people to the atrocities that Lydia told us about. Look, we’re here. This will only take a few hours, then we can go to Drupadi space like the head honchos want us to. And hopefully, the information that we gather can be used to help push Ojun, or Flynn, or both to do something. These people don’t deserve to be treated the way they’ve been treated, and we’re the ones that are here to do something about it.”
Jeryl
looked at Ashley, then took his hands out of hers. He gently grabbed her face and pulled her in for a kiss.
They kissed passionately before pulling away, almost as if they were reliving their first kiss. They smiled at each other, then Ashley leaned in and planted a light kiss on Jeryl’s lips again.
“Come on. Let’s go save a planet.”
Jeryl stood up and straightened his uniform, then followed Ashley out of the office.
Back in the CNC, he went straight to Docherty’s station. “Status?”
“One minute until FTL is ready. I must extend my own concerns about this order, sir. We haven’t received permission to enter Confederation space and this could create an issue for us, sir.”
“I understand that, but we can claim that during our investigation of Udenar activities in the area, we mistakenly entered Confederation space.”
“Yes, sir.” Docherty turned back and continued working on his holographic console. As soon as the FTL was ready, Jeryl ordered Docherty to punch it.
I hope I’m not screwing this one up, Jeryl thought as the FTL came to life.
The FTL engaged, the screen went dark as everything around them vanished.
“Sir, we’ll arrive at the coordinates in about two minutes,” Ferriero reported.
“Where are we going to be?”
Ferriero answered without looking away from his screen. “Roughly the distance of Saturn to Earth, just at the edge of our sensor range. Should give us a chance to scan things without being noticed.”
“Nice work, Ferriero. Good job, Docherty.”
“Thank you, sir,” they both responded.
“Ensign Avae, I want you to—”
Just as they were coming out of FTL, the ship rocked, knocking everyone off their feet and off their chairs.
“What the hell is happening?”
“I don’t know, sir. We hit something coming out of FTL.”
“Get me damage assessments and find out what the hell we hit.”
Ashley was already at one of the stations, trying to find out what was happening. Docherty and Ferriero returned to their seats, Tira was helping others to their feet, and Jeryl was rubbing at his knee and elbow.
“Captain, exterior sensors are currently offline. It’ll take a minute or two to get them back,” Ashley said as she looked up from her station.
“Try to get them back faster. Docherty, do we have any way to see what’s outside?”
“Not yet, sir.”
“Someone get me something!”
It was Tira that answered first. “Sir, Engineering has reported that the engines are undamaged. Preliminary medical reports only have bumps and bruises, one possible sprain so far.”
“Thank you, Ensign. Anything on the sensors yet?”
“Getting the exterior cameras up now, additional sensors are twenty seconds.”
“Show me.”
Ferriero turned on the main screen, but there was nothing. There was empty space where they could see.
“Give me a 360 view.”
As Ferriero pushed more buttons and the view changed, they were finally able to see what it was that they had hit.
An Udenar transport was floating behind them, practically ripped in half from the collision with The Seeker. Bodies and supplies floated in space while three lights on the shuttle still blinked. One of the bodies floated past their view.
“All sensors back online, Cap—oh, shit!”
Jeryl turned to Ashley to see her face go pale. She punched three holographic keys and sent the visuals to the main viewscreen. What was there made several of the bridge crew curse: three cruisers, six shuttles, three dozen raiders, and an old Tyreesian freighter.
“Fuck! Red Alert! Battle stations, everyone! Divert any unnecessary power to the shields and find us a way out of here!” Jeryl yelled out.
Somehow, they had flown right into the middle of an Udenar mini-fleet. Why were there so many Udenar ships in Confederation space, and why hadn’t the Confederation dealt with them or called for help?
How did they manage to take over this much of a sector of space? They weren’t that smart, or that terribly ambitious, so how the hell did they get so many ships and take over a whole star system?
So many new questions formed inside Jeryl’s head as the whole CNC prepared for battle.
“They’re scanning us, sir,” Docherty said. His fingers were a blur as they flew all over his console, trying to gather as much information as he could about the fleet. Ferriero’s fingers were slower, but they were flying just as much as he was trying to shut down all unnecessary systems.
Ashley’s voice came from right behind Jeryl. “Captain, one of the AI computes our odds at forty-one percent against the fleet of Udenar ships.”
“Damn. Shit, their turning. Ferriero, light them up!”
“Yes, sir.”
“Ashley, how many of the Hunters are capable right now?”
“Eleven of the twelve. The twelfth Hunter has only one cockpit usable right now.”
“Can it fly?”
“Yeah, it can.”
“Get your Hunters out there, but stay away from the big ships if you can. Don’t get caught in their range of fire.”
“Like I’m that stupid. Okay, okay, we’re going,” Ashley said as she rushed out of the CNC.
Within minutes, the Hunters were launching as Ferriero and Docherty were taking down the Udenar freighter. The three cruisers and raiders were coming for them, as were the shuttles.
Now that Jeryl had a better view of the shuttles, he could see that they had been retrofitted for battle, each of them armed with two laser cannons and a small complement of missiles. Whatever plans the Udenar had for Galea, they sure seemed ready to defend them with tooth and nail.
“Shit.”
Ashley
The Seeker could handle three Udenar cruisers, six shuttles, and three dozen raiders, no matter what the damn AI said. The two AIs that they were forced to have on the ship always underestimated the crew’s abilities to compensate for virtually anything they faced.
Ashley paid no attention to the percent of survival the AI reported—she knew they would survive this confrontation.
As she rushed into the hangar, she saw her team already suited up and getting into their Hunters. Powers was waiting for her with Vanessa. They helped her into her flight suit, then she climbed as fast as she could into her cockpit. Putting her helmet on and hearing the familiar hiss of the suit’s air circulator kicking in, she could feel her heart pounding in her chest.
She was always jazzed up for a fight, but ever since the Hunters were brought on board, she felt this whole new level of adrenaline, a new level of joy when she got to fly. Her first fight, only a few days ago, gave her such a rush that it was almost orgasmic in feeling. Knowing that she was about to fly and fight again, she struggled to keep her voice level and calm.
“Alright, people. We got three cruisers, six shuttles, and three dozen raiders out there. We need to keep it loose and fast while staying away from the cruisers. They’ll light us up like we’re nothing. The shuttles have been retrofitted with lasers and missiles, and probably shields too, but they have no speed or maneuverability. We know the raiders—they can fly. But their pilots suck. Let’s knock them out.”
“Yes ma’am!” came the universal reply. Each Hunter floated away from their locks and exited the hangar doors. Eleven fighters, twenty-three pilots, about to take on forty-two different little ships.
“Diamond formation, top to bottom. Break hard when we’re within range of their blasters. Leave the shuttles to me and Jasper to test. The rest of you, fly circles around those damn raiders.”
Her HUD display blinked and warned that one of the shuttles had already fired their missiles.
“Heads up! Missiles inbound.” Three of her Hunters barely broke formation and fired on the missiles, destroying a few hundred klicks in front of them. They rejoined the formation and flew on.
Ashley made note of the
shuttle that had fired at them; it was turning away and heading back towards the cruisers.
Coward, Ashley thought as a slight smirk formed on her mouth.
They kept in tight formation, heading straight for the raiders—but something was bothering Ashley.
“Powers, how many raiders are you counting?”
“You saw it too? I’m only counting twenty-nine. A few of the others are reporting the same.”
“Fuck. Fin…” She was interrupted by laser fire exploding within their formation. Screams and shouts filled her ears as the formation broke, each Hunter splitting off, two of them already damaged. The seven missing raiders flew by from underneath, heading up.
“Francois, Vizzenzi, pair off and fight together. The rest of you, hit the fuckers. Powers, let’s play,” Ashley commanded, flinging her Hunter up after the seven raiders and using her superior speed to hunt them down.
She chased two of them down fairly quickly, blasting them and sending pieces of each ship careening off into the vastness of space. Two more went down almost as fast. The other three were flying back for the rest of the raiders, looking to join their ranks. Thirty-two left.
Looking to her left, Ashley saw Jasper attacking one of the shuttles that had tried to sneak up on them. She could see a few of his lasers get deflected by a shield, but then his blasts struck home. Six shots—that was all the shuttles could withstand before their shields dropped.
“Nice job, Jasper! Everyone, listen up! The shuttles’ shields are weak. They can only withstand about six shots from our lasers before their shields go down. Hit them from the sides or behind, don’t take them head on or they can fire back.”
Her people acknowledged, then all she could hear was shouts, calls for help, calling out targets and warnings as they engaged the Udenar raiders.
They’re fucking bats, that’s what they are. And I hate bats, Ashley thought, gritting her teeth.
Ashley felt a rush of intensity as she flung her Hunter around, avoiding laser fire and chasing down Bats. Her people were fairing pretty well, and it helped that The Seeker was able to provide some help. Flipping a toggle next to her screen, she was able to see that The Seeker had not yet engaged with the cruisers, so they were providing some laser fire.
