by AM Scott
“No.” Captain Ruhger turned away but stopped when Smith grabbed Saree’s arm.
“What about you, Scholar? Students always need credits, and I can make it worth your while in other ways too,” Smith said, giving her what he evidently thought was a seductive look.
Saree shuddered. “I agreed to help Lightwave with the Sisters and abide by their rules. I will not help you.” His hand tightened on her arm, enough that it might bruise. “Let go of me now or I will hurt you.”
Smith pulled her toward him. Saree countered with a twisting motion and grabbed for her stunner. Before either one of them could finish, Captain Ruhger had Smith in a chokehold. Smith let go of Saree, scrabbling at Ruhger’s arm around his throat. Saree smiled, grimly.
“I told you we will defend ourselves. You will not be on my folder or on any shuttle on my folder. Application denied. Any further attempt on your part to speak with me, my crew, or my current passengers will be met with deadly force. No more warnings. Is that clear?”
Smith struggled to get away and Ruhger shook him. “I said, is that clear?”
“Yes! Let me go!”
Turning back toward town, Ruhger pushed Smith away, sending him sprawling. Saree drew her blaster, just in case. Climbing slowly to his feet, Smith snarled, “You’ll regret that. I’ll make sure of it.”
Ruhger drew his blaster. “Maybe I should make sure I don’t, right now. You’d be no loss to the human race.”
Smith held up his hands and backed away, glaring. At least he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut this time.
Ruhger growled out, “Remember what I said. You come near me, my crew, the Sisters, or my current passengers again and you’re dead. No more warnings.” They both watched Smith back away, turn and scuttle toward town. When Smith was about two hundred meters away, Ruhger said quietly, “Scholar, let’s move off to the right, then back toward the shuttles, just in case he decides to fire at us. If he does, shoot to kill.”
Nodding in agreement, she sidestepped off to the right, keeping Smith in view. They kept moving, eventually putting some of the spindly trees between Smith and them, then turned toward the shuttles, keeping an eye out toward the town.
Captain Ruhger sighed when Saree’s shuttle came into view. “I’m surprised Smith is the only one. I expected more, that they’d all be trying to beat each other out for a spot.” He shook his head. “I’m sure there will be more, later.” Looking into her eyes, he continued, “Scholar, thank you for your help. I’m sorry I didn’t suggest you stay here in your shuttle.” Snorting derisively, he said, “I don’t know why I expected them to accept what we said and go ahead with their jamboree—that’s a ridiculous thought, and I should have known better. I’m sorry you were attacked.”
Saree shrugged. “It’s not your fault, and I’ll be fine, Captain. Besides, now I know who’s likely to be trouble. I spotted a couple more people eying me speculatively and I’m sure I’ll get lots of bribes and threats. I’ll turn my shuttle defenses up to maximum and let you know who tries, so you can blacklist them. I have no desire to transport those kinds of people. They might try and take my shuttle from me.” She scowled. “They will not be successful.”
Ruhger nodded, his face set like stone. “Thank you, Scholar. We’ll be in touch about loading procedures and further security measures. Be careful. You might want to disconnect from Gliese-net entirely and reconnect only to get messages. We’ll message you ship to ship.”
“That’s what I planned, Captain. Be careful yourself. I’ll watch until you return to your shuttle.”
He shook his head. “Don’t worry, Scholar—Katryn’s covering me. Once we had a little distance, she had Smith in her sights. Get inside and set your defenses. Anybody taking me on now will die.”
Nodding again, Saree let herself into the shuttle.
“I am glad you are safe, Saree. I had a remote up with a stunner, but I would have stunned all of you, so it’s good Captain Ruhger stepped in.”
“Thank you, Hal. And I’d rather be stunned than touched by that man again.” She shuddered. “He’s disgusting.” She stepped out of her world boots and waited until for the sanitation procedure to finish, her teeth rattling in her head. “Is there anything you need me to do?”
“No. I’ve done as Captain Ruhger suggested and disconnected us from Gliese-net. I will gather messages occasionally. I’ve already gathered and quarantined several messages offering payment and veiled threats. I’ve sent standard replies to contact Lightwave about transport. My defenses are on high and I’ve displayed human-visible warning messages on the exterior of the shuttle.”
“It sounds like you’ve got everything under control, Hal. Oh, was there anything else on the missing girls?”
“No, nothing. The Sisters tracked them to the Badlands, but were unwilling to enter without a larger, better-armed contingent.”
Saree nodded sadly. “Unfortunately wise. Those poor girls.”
“I still can’t fully penetrate their net, but I have been monitoring their communications. The Sisters decided to recall everyone still outside the compound. They are slaughtering and preserving all remaining animals, preserving their harvests and preparing for evacuation. I believe they may make a rescue attempt soon, if they can agree on who is going and what weapons they’re taking. Many of the Sisters believe their obligation to the remaining girls makes any attempt at rescue risky and unnecessary. A clear case, Saree, of the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few.”
“Very true, Hal. It is the safest option; it’s just a very difficult thing to turn your back on those you love.”
“I understand this is a common human emotion, Saree, but I can’t say I truly understand it. Any rescue attempt will put those lives and weapons at risk, which will increase the risk to those who remain, and the likelihood of any of the women surviving more than a few days is low. It is not a sensible thing to attempt.”
Poor Hal, so bewildered by human behavior. “No, it’s not logical, but it is likely. Try and help them if you can without exposing yourself and let me know if there’s anything I can do.” Saree shrugged helplessly. “I’ve done all I can, so I’m going to practice my guitar, then sleep. Hopefully playing will relax me enough so I can sleep. It’s probably going to be a long day tomorrow.”
“All days are longer than standard here on Gliese, Saree.”
“Yes, they are. Tomorrow will feel even longer, I’m sure.”
“If you say so, Saree.”
She sighed and got her guitar.
Chapter 8
With a growl, Ruhger swiped ‘reject’ on another call. As expected, they’d received pleas, bribes and threats all day. They’d also received thousands of applications for transport—there were far more people on Gliese than he thought. Katryn set up a database and a rule-set for automated sorting, but they still had to review a huge number of applications by hand. In the end, they wouldn’t find all of the most vulnerable, but they’d find some of them, and that would be good enough. It had to be.
Reading the applications was heart-wrenching. The only thing keeping him from breaking down like a baby was knowing more than a few were nothing but lies.
Overall, everything was going better than expected. Katryn was pacing again but at least she was reviewing applications while she paced in the cargo bay. Good thing they’d sparred this morning—they’d both burned out some anger and tension. Chief successfully flew the Sisters’ shuttle to Lightwave, taking one load off Ruhger’s mind, literally and figuratively. Chief insisted on cargo, not people, for the test flight, so they’d compromised, taking mostly food and water, with four of the older girls to help Loreli and Grant get Lightwave ready for the incoming numbers. And they’d come up with some very innovative solutions to handle those numbers.
Although the troop-style sleeping racks were long gone, the attachment points were still there. If everyone brought a four-meter length of sturdy cloth and some rope, they could rig hammocks along the walls in th
e cargo bays, phys mod and ready room. They put up some temporary posts and used the phys machines to make more sleeping places, leaving the floor and ready room couches for the elderly and infirm unable to climb. By stacking the hammocks five high along the walls, all of the Sisters had a sleeping spot. This left the cargo bays open for other Gliesians, one hundred and twenty-five of them, who could be packed in the same way. The chow hall was left open for food preparation, with the Sisters taking on that task under Loreli’s direction.
The biggest remaining issue was sanitation. They just didn’t have enough toilets on Lightwave—the big troopship sani-mods were also long gone. Chief had some ideas on temporary facilities, but no time to build anything yet. Maybe they could get someone on the mud to build them? Either way, there would be long lines. And cleaning up post-evac? Brutal. This evacuation would cost them a lot of time and money.
But it was the right thing to do.
Grant messaged Ursuine about the delay and offered him an additional fold as well. He wasn’t likely to be happy about it—there were projects waiting on his approval on several worlds. But all he could do was complain; his contract didn’t have schedule guarantees. The contract did have ‘act of war’ and ‘natural disaster’ clauses—this evacuation fit both.
The Havenites built passenger loading facilities. Ruhger explained they’d inspect each and every person individually, so they built long, narrow corral-type structures to funnel people through scanners and inspection. All weapons would be secured separately. There’d been some grumbling already about being treated like livestock, but most people understood they’d be lucky to get off-world at all. And Haven’s leaders knew future folders would need the same facilities—hopefully in the spirit intended, not as convenient loading for slavers. The long lines would leave the refugees vulnerable to attack, but they’d have a shuttle in the air for top cover once loading started. The town council had arranged rudimentary ground defense and people to help with loading.
Leaning back, the chair creaking under him, Ruhger rubbed his eyes. It had been a long day and was likely to be a longer night. He’d forced himself to sleep late today, knowing he’d needed rest, but exhaustion would hit all too soon.
An urgent message alert flashed, from the Sisters. He swept it up. “Ruhger.”
“Lashtar. We’re under attack at the compound.” Her voice was calm, but he could hear the underlying tension—and weapons fire, both the whine of lasers and the percussive report of projectile weapons.
He buckled his harness. “We’re on our way. Send Katryn links to your surveillance and hold this line. SITREP when we’re in the air.” He swept up the shuttle command and control panel and spooled up the engines. “Katryn, trouble! Strap in and bring up an ops net!” he yelled.
Pounding of feet on plas sounded and her butt slapped into the co-pilot’s seat, the harness buckle snicked and her fingers flew through the air.
Ruhger checked the exterior status—everything properly stowed—and swept up the weapons panel, bringing all them to ready status. The thrusters weren’t quite ready, so he swept up the pre-programmed course to the Sisters’ compound, laid it into the nav system and continued the pre-flight checklist in C2. Cutting corners when headed into battle was stupid. “Katryn, secure?”
“All secure, Captain.” Her hands swept like a mad woman’s symphony and he heard her murmuring, probably to Lightwave. “Ops net up. Lightwave and Beta on.”
The thrusters were at minimum operating temperature, finally. “Engaging thrust.” He initiated the thrust and course to the compound, cutting the route short with a hover over their compound. It would take too long to get there—because of the shuttle engine parameters, they had no choice but to gain, and then lose, more altitude than he’d like, in a tall, skinny parabola. But Katryn could use the weapons once he got enough altitude. Good thing he’d given Lashtar access to their nets.
“Lashtar, situation report.”
“Approximately one hundred hostiles attacking from five directions. Grouped in loose formations of twenty. Armed remotes, with blasters and stunners over the troops and coming in hot. If you can take those out, we can handle the ground attack. We’ve lost comms with the topside Sisters.”
“I’ve got the remotes, Ruhger,” Katryn said. Her hands swept and poked in his peripheral vision. “Splash one.”
“Ruhger, Beta Shuttle,” Tyron’s voice said.
“Go ahead, Beta.”
“Do you need assistance?”
“Katryn?”
“Splash two. If this is it, no, we don’t need help. If there are others coming or heavy weapons, yes.”
“Lashtar?”
“No sign of heavy weapons or additional personnel yet, but most of our surveillance is inoperative. A lot of the sensors went down just before the attack.”
“Splash three. Two more remaining. Lightwave reports no signs of reinforcements.”
Another urgent message, this one from the Scholar. He swept it away; she didn’t have weapons, so her probable offer of help was useless. An emergency alert, this one from Harlan. He brought it up. “Captain Ruhger, they’re attacking! Help!” Oh, suns. The Scholar was probably under attack, not offering help. He noted Beta Shuttle pulling away from Lightwave. Tyron anticipated his command. Good.
“Haven town, we’re defending the Sisters’ compound. Beta shuttle is on the way. Can you hold them off?”
“They’re coming from everywhere! They’ve taken out everyone on the roofs!” Harlan yelled over the sound of weapons fire.
“We’ll do what we can. Keep firing. Stand by.” He took manual control of the shuttle and sent it plummeting down in a combat drop, the shuttle shuddering around them as he pushed the stress limits. Gravity fluxed as the generators struggled to compensate. He’d hover between the compound and the town, letting Katryn attack remotes in both areas.
“Splash four. The fifth one is a tricky bugger. Fast and shielded.”
“Copy, Katryn. Once I get in place, I’ll start on the town remotes.”
“I’ve set the weapons on that side for auto-targeting. Designated foxtrot through mike.”
Chief’s voice broke through on the comms. “Ruhger, Lightwave.”
“Go, Lightwave.”
“You’ve got two shuttles incoming, weapons hot, estimated time of arrival two minutes. Good shielding, unknown size and type, but assume heavy weapons. Lightwave unable to target due to geometry. Calculating return course now. I’ve got operational command.”
Blast and rad. A coordinated attack, timed for when Lightwave was out of range. At least Beta shuttle was on the way.
“Copy that, Lightwave. You’ve got command.”
Chief said, “Command accepted. Beta Shuttle—enemy shuttles, designated Tango One and Two, are your number one priority when in range, then the town attack. Alpha Shuttle, take the Sisters’ compound first, town second. Break, break. Lashtar, report.”
“Holding. Barring changes, we can hold.”
Chief said, “Harlan, Chief Bhoher on Lightwave. Beta shuttle is en route. We’re targeting the remotes. What’s your status?”
“We’re holding them off, but they’re pounding away at the roofs with some sort of weapon. They’re trying to collapse the roof!”
“Splash foxtrot,” Katryn’s voice said quietly. “Splash golf.”
“Haven, we’re targeting the roof attack—got two already. I’m leaving you up on our operations comms. Don’t say anything unless something changes,” Chief said calmly.
“I understand, Chief, but hurry!”
Chief said, “Thirty seconds to enemy shuttles in range.”
Ruhger balanced the engines and readied for retro-fire. Three, two, engage. The engines roared in maximum thrust to halt the combat drop, the shuddering of the shuttle increasing to teeth-rattling highs.
“Splash hotel. Still targeting five, india and mike,” Katryn said. So, she’d taken out all the remotes except one at the Sisters’ compound and two over to
wn. It had to be good enough; they had bigger problems now.
“Katryn, target incoming shuttles. Fire at will. Break, break. Beta shuttle, status?” Chief said.
Tyron said, “Five point four mikes to max combat range, enemy shuttle Tango One. Five point six mikes to Tango Two.”
Blast it all to a black hole. Two against one for five minutes? With unknown weapons, probably better than theirs? Ruhger slumped, despair softening his spine, and he closed his eyes. They were dead. Why hadn’t he kissed the Scholar when he had the chance? He slapped himself mentally. No time for defeatist attitudes or regrets. At the very least, he’d take them one of them out with a shuttle-to-shuttle impact if he had to.
“Splash india,” the Scholar’s voice said. “Targeting drone mike. Haven, get people on those roofs.”
Shock straightened his spine with a jolt. By all the suns, how did she do that? The Scholar didn’t have weapons! Or access to their net. Ruhger shook the thought away. Didn’t matter—he had bigger problems. “Katryn, target Tango Two. I’ve got One.” He set the shuttle into a hover and pulled half the weapons from Katryn, setting them on full power using the targeting data Chief supplied from Lightwave. They’d have a chance if they got lucky right away.
“Shuttle Alpha, Beta, Tangos are Sierra-Kilo Model Twos, standard load of six laser cannons. Weak point at bottom of weapon ports, if standard weapons are still in place,” Lowe reported.
Older model shuttles, but original armaments were unlikely; they’d have upgraded weapons. But if the retrofit was cheap, the mounting points were a big weakness. And if the shuttles belonged to the Inquisitors, they might be crap. Galactica Corp was notorious for bad maintenance. But the shuttle might belong to that Dalm character, in which case they might be better maintained.
Or not.
“Splash five. Lashtar, topside clear,” Katryn said, her hands sweeping frantically, probably bringing up the weapons specs Chief sent.
“Tango One firing. Analyzing. Weapons upgraded, possibly Model Fifteen, version twelve,” Lowe said.
