by I G Hulme
Ryann and Angelique looked on in concern as they saw Anders call over to them. His words must have made an impression, because immediately Grande’s men raised their weapons, though Anders himself seemed unmoved.
And then, he turned suddenly, looking upwards as though hearing a noise. To Ryann’s dismay, he saw the sleek shapes of the five Interceptors drift into view, hovering unsteadily over the Ghost-Runner ship.
There was a brief moment’s stand-off, but then Ryann saw Anders come to a decision, talking briefly into his commlink before raising his arms in surrender. Moments later, three more figures appeared at the top of the ramp and walked down to Anders’ side.
Grande’s crew came forward, leading their new prisoners back into the control centre, while more of them disappeared inside the Marianne. The five Interceptors hovered for a little while longer, and then landed alongside the bigger ship, their pilots following the others back into the control centre.
Soon, the landing pad was empty and silent once again.
“Ryann! Angelique! Well at least we found you in one piece!”
Anders swept the pair of them up in his arms as he walked in through the door with the rest of the Marianne’s crew.
“When we found your ship we feared the worst.” He watched Grande’s men with a look of contempt as they left the room, sealing the door behind them.
“You found the Raven?” exclaimed Ryann. “It’s so good to see you guys!”
“I’m afraid we’re not in a position to offer much help though,” muttered Anders in frustration. “What the hell’s going on Ryann? Where are the crew of New Eden?”
“Angelique!”
Ryann looked up in surprise as one of Anders’ crew stepped forward, reaching out towards her. They embraced warmly, then the man stepped back to look upon her, a great grin spreading across his face. Angelique smiled back, then caught Ryann’s questioning gaze and looked away in embarrassment.
“Angelique, I was so worried!” exclaimed the young man. “When we saw the state of your ship, well, we thought…” He was tall and athletic, in his mid-twenties with olive skin and black hair. His dark eyes were fixed intently upon her.
“It’s so good to see you too Mara,” replied Angelique. “Though the circumstances could be better.”
“You’ve met my crew haven’t you?” asked Anders, and Ryann looked around, shaken from his thoughts as Angelique continued to speak quietly with the young man.
“This is my co-pilot, Ashe,” he said, nodding to the woman beside him. She was in her mid-forties, with close-cropped hair. She wore a battered leather jacket over her flight-suit. “Torrens is my mechanic, and over there, that’s my gunner, Kobo, Mara Kobo.” The young man looked up from his quiet conversation with Angelique when he heard his name, reaching out his hand towards Ryann.
“What the hell brought you back to New Eden?” asked Ryann, turning back to Anders, ignoring the young man. “Not that I’m not grateful to see you.” He laughed and led Anders to a seat at the table. But he couldn’t resist glancing back to where Angelique and Kobo were still talking in hushed voices at the window.
“When you didn’t come back from your scouting mission your father sent out search teams from the Defiance. And then one mother of a Luminal ship jumped in from the Gateway and we picked up all sorts of fireworks on the passive scans.
“We hid out for a while until the Luminal got bored and headed off, then we picked up a scan of a couple of ships heading into the Halion Belt. We followed them and came across the remains of your Raven along the way. When we first saw the state of it we thought that Luminal ships must have found you. But then we had a closer look and found the hatches sealed and you gone, and well we hoped that you may have been picked up by one of the ships we were tracking. It was quite a surprise to get welcomed by that gang of Outlanders!” He laughed grimly, taking the drink that Ryann offered.
“Well I’m sorry we got you into all of this,” muttered Ryann.
“These things happen,” replied the gruff man, seemingly unconcerned by their predicament. “Your father knows which sector we were searching. When we don’t come back I’m sure he’ll send out more ships. Five Interceptors against the Ghost-Runners?” He chuckled softly to himself. “The leader of this rabble, Grande, he seems a pragmatic man. He won’t want to see his people wiped out. This misunderstanding will not last long.”
“I admire your optimism,” said Ryann with a grim smile. “But sadly time may not be on our side. Do you remember their ship, the Ibis? Did you see it on the edge of the Halion Belt when you came in?”
Anders shook his head.
“No, but we were keeping our scans to a minimal, so it wouldn’t have been difficult to miss them. Why?”
“Well, they seem hellbent on bringing the entire Luminal fleet down on us,” muttered Ryann. “They’re trying to contact some more of their ships. They’ve got some sort of inter-system transmitter that they’re using out on the edge of the Halion Belt — Grande doesn’t think the Lumina will spot it.”
Anders looked on, a deep frown furrowing his brow. Ryann looked up as Ashe, Anders’ co-pilot sat down beside them.
“What the hell are they thinking?” she cursed, shaking her head in disbelief. “Those damn Outlanders are going to get us all killed. We have to do something.”
“If we could break out, get word back to the Defiance,” cut in Mara as everybody crowded around the table. “Angelique, you worked on the internal security systems back on the Defiance didn’t you? You know the routines — if we get you to a control node, do you think you could clear us a path through security to the docking bay?”
Angelique seemed lost in thought for a moment.
“If security here is as ancient as the rest of that station, then I might be able to get into the system, play with the power feed to the cameras, open a few doors, sure.”
“You said earlier that there’s no chance of breaking off this barge,” mumbled Ryann.
“That was before though,” she muttered. “Mara here’s amazing with power data control systems.”
Mara gave Angelique a grin.
“Be just like back on the Defiance.”
Ryann shot Mara a barely-concealed look of contempt.
“No, it’s too risky,” he cut in. “Any control nodes are going to be well guarded. Putting you in danger isn’t the answer Angelique.”
“What are you talking about Ryann?” she asked, stopping and staring at him with a quizzical expression; Ryann glanced away.
“Even if we make it to the docking bay and fire up the Marianne, we’re just going to be back where we were in the beginning — racing back to the Defiance, alerting every Luminal to where we are.”
“And you’d rather just sit and do nothing while those Outlanders bring the Lumina down on New Eden all by themselves?” muttered Kobo.
“Do nothing?” spat Ryann icily. “You think that just because I point out how bad your idea is, that makes me too scared to do anything else? Is that it?” Ryann got to his feet staring angrily at the young man.
“Sit down, I never said that,” sighed Mara, shaking his head wearily.
“You don’t tell me to sit down!” hissed Ryann, taking a threatening step towards him.
“Ryann! Sit down dammit!” Angelique’s voice made him jump as she got to her feet, stepping in-between the two men. “Ryann, what the hell’s got into you?” she murmured quietly.
Ryann stood glaring at Mara for a moment longer, and then turned away with an angry sigh, walking over to the window and staring off into space.
“I never said do nothing,” he mumbled.
“Well, I think Ryann has a point,” said Anders slowly, addressing the others around the table. “Maybe it’s safer for everyone, the refugees included if we sit tight until help comes from the Defiance.”
After a while the talk petered out and the group broke up. Anders stayed seated at the table, while Ashe, Torrens and Mara rested upon their bunks. Soon they
were asleep, and only the sounds of their breathing could be heard in the room.
Ryann caught a glimpse of Angelique’s reflection in the window as she came over.
“Ryann, what the hell was all that about earlier on?” Her voice was a low murmur so as not to disturb the others.
He didn’t reply, he just stared out into the dark at the flotilla of refugee ships, his features tinged a sickly green from the glowing walls of the Halion Belt. Every so-often, brief flashes of plasma would illuminate the sea of ice crystals floating within the vapours making them shimmer and sparkle.
“Ryann?” repeated Angelique.
“How long have you known him?” asked Ryann in a disinterested monotone, still staring out into space.
“What? Anders?” asked Angelique in confusion.
“You know who, him!”replied Ryann, nodding angrily over to Kobo’s bunk.
“Mara? I’ve known him for ages — Since we started helping on the Defiance refit. He’s a friend, we worked together on the auxiliary control systems. I told you — jeez Ryann, what’s wrong?”
“You never told me,” he muttered gloomily, turning away from her. “Get some rest, things could get ugly tomorrow.”
He strode off, leaving Angelique alone at the window.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
ASSAULT ON EDEN
“Whoa! What was that?”
Ryann glanced up from his bunk as he heard Mara call out at the window.
“What is it?” asked Anders, opening one eye and sitting up.
“I don’t know, looked like an explosion or something, off in the ice-field,” replied Mara without looking around. He peered out of the window, his hand pressed against the glass.
“Whereabouts?” asked Angelique, walking over to his side.
“The Halion Belt’s full of electrical storms — don’t be so nervous,” muttered Ryann, turning back on his side.
Mara shot him an angry glance, then went back to the window.
“I’m not sure what it was,” he said, talking softly to Angelique. “I think it was over past the Aurora, that way. It looked way too big to be electrical activity.”
As if to affirm his words, the whole room suddenly lit up in a flash of yellow.
“Did you see what it was?” asked Anders urgently, jumping down from his bunk and pulling on his jacket. “Everybody, get your gear together, we may need to move fast!”
“Definitely an explosion of some sort,” breathed Angelique, as all four of the Marianne’s crew crowded around the window. “There! Behind the hospital ship!”
As Ryann joined them he was just in time to see a chain of explosions lighting up the far walls of the gas cloud.
“Some of ours do you think?” asked Ashe.
“Hard to say,” replied Anders, grim-faced. “But, maybe not. Those explosions look too big for anything our fighters carry.”
“Lumina then,” croaked Ashe.
“Let’s wait and see.”
“Look, over there, it’s the Serena!” cut in Angelique. Sure enough, the little freighter used by Jean-Baptiste Grande was approaching fast from out of the thick clouds of the Halion Belt.
“She’s been hit,” growled Anders, squinting to make it out in the distance. As it appeared out from behind one of the refugee ships on a course for the landing pad, Ryann could see that he was correct.
The Serena belched black smoke and sparks from one of her damaged engine ports, causing her to list over at an angle. She touched down heavily upon the landing pad as Grande’s men ran out to meet them.
Another great explosion seared the gas clouds above, so close that Ryann saw the shockwave spreading out, sending ripples of ice and rock before it.
The station shook as the debris struck, and immediately the lights dimmed and emergency alarms split the air.
“That’s definitely not coming from any of our fighters! The Lumina have found us!” cursed Ryann, looking on as he saw Jean-Baptiste Grande himself striding down the Serena’s loading ramp, shouting orders to his crew.
Ryann turned and ran over to the door, beating upon it with his fists.
“Hey! Let us out!” he cried, but his voice was barely audible above the cacophony of alarms.
“Ryann!”
Angelique’s urgent shout made him look around, just in time to see the dark silhouette of the Ibis burst out from the wall of the Halion Belt, scattering a shower of crystals all about. The clouds lit up behind as the great craft was struck by bright beams of laser fire from a swarm of smaller craft in pursuit. They had the appearance of insects buzzing all about the ponderous vessel as they span this way and that, firing shot after shot into the defenceless ship.
“Dammit — Luminal drones!” cursed Anders. “The mothership can’t be far behind!”
They looked on in horror as the Ibis came on towards them, multiple explosions blossoming all along its great hull as the Luminal drone-ships circled around it.
“Why don’t they get their damn Interceptors in the air?” cursed Ryann, unable to tear his eyes away from the unfolding scene as the Ibis came on through a hail of fire.
Just then, a noise from behind made them all jump, and they turned to see the door to their makeshift cell slide open. The red emergency lights illuminated the empty airlock beyond: there was no sign of their guards.
“Time to leave,” muttered Anders, and all six of them hurried for the door.
Ryann went on ahead, peering cautiously around the corner and out into the corridor. He signalled the all-clear, and the group headed off at a jog.
“Get to the landing pad!” called Anders over the sound of the alarms.
They ran along deserted corridors, heading back through the control centre. Every bulkhead door lay open, and as they passed through the habitation levels there were no signs of the Outlander families they had come across on their way down.
They paused cautiously at the entrance to the main control room, but even here all was eerily deserted. The banks of equipment were all unattended, and they pressed on towards the landing pad.
As they crossed the control centre, Ryann paused to look out through the panoramic windows that filled one side of the room. He had a perfect view of the entire refugee fleet spread out in space before him and the glowing walls of the Halion Belt beyond.
As he looked on, another great explosion from inside the ice-field lit up the room.
The Ibis was now coming to a halt a little way off from the station, unable to get any closer due to the other vessels. The Luminal fighters still swooped and span all about them, but to Ryann’s relief, he could see that Grande’s crew had managed to scramble the Interceptors now, and they were engaging with the Lumina. But they were hopelessly outnumbered. There must have been at least twenty or so enemy craft, and to Ryann’s eyes the pilots of the Interceptors looked inexperienced. He cursed as he watched one of them chasing down a drone-ship, focussing upon his target without any heed for the enemy ships upon his tail.
“Use your wingmen!” he whispered under his breath, unable to tear his gaze away from the weaving craft. To his dismay, he saw two Luminal ships latch on to the little Interceptor, swooping in and out of the refugee ships as the pilot tried to get a shot to land upon his quarry.
“Look behind you dammit!” urged Ryann, as the Lumina craft closed in. By the time they opened up with their lasers, the Interceptor had nowhere to go. It broke off its pursuit of the drone, desperately dodging this way and that, but it was no use. There was a brief burst of white light as the Lumina guns found their target and the Interceptor exploded in a shower of flames.
“Ryann!”
Anders stood at the exit to the control centre as the others filed out towards the docking level.
Ryann glanced back out through the window, finding it impossible to drag himself away from the unfolding scene. He watched in horror as one of the Luminal drone-ships swooped down over the refugee fleet, strafing along the dark hulls leaving a trail of explosions blossoming i
n its wake. The station rocked as more blasts echoed all around.
“Ryann! We have to go!” yelled Anders, now at his side. The big man grabbed him by the arm, dragging him off towards the exit. “We need to get to the Marianne! We’re no use here on this station! We have to get those drones off the refugee fleet!”
Ryann nodded grimly and followed Anders out of the control centre as another barrage shook the station.
CHAPTER TWENTY
A PLEA
When they arrived at the landing pads they were greeted with a scene of chaos.
Around a hundred Outlanders — the elderly and the families, were milling about in panic as Grande’s crew tried to get them aboard the Serena. The little transport ship was powering up its engines, ready to take off, black smoke still pouring from one drive housing.
Ryann and the others pushed their way through the crowds, battling to get to the ship. Through the open docking gates they could see the fleet of refugee ships overhead, and beyond, the great mass of the Ibis floating in space. And all about, explosions lit them up as the bright streaks of the Luminal fighters swooped and span, red and green laser-beams splitting the darkness.
The landing pad shuddered once more as a drone-ship tore past pouring fire into the station’s protective shields.
“Grande!” yelled Ryann in fury, pushing through the families who were now desperate to escape to the Serena. “Grande!”
Ryann struggled on towards the big man; he was standing at the cargo doors pulling people up the loading ramp and into the crowded ship.
He looked up just as Ryann reached him, grabbing the big man by the shoulder.
“You damn fool!” screamed Ryann. “You brought them down on us! I told you! I told you but you wouldn’t listen!”
In a swift movement, Jean-Baptiste tore Ryann’s hand away, driving him against the side of the ship. Ryann felt the wind knocked from his lungs with the force of the impact, and he slumped to the floor, winded.
