The rest of us had boarded the Fracker and were on our way out to the Rigel system for a recon run. I wanted a current record of what we would need to be prepared for should we want to attack. We would be seeking intel on the possible whereabouts of Xurpok's people. Our mission would be a short, three-minute jump into and out of the system, just long enough for a full scan.
Mendez was scratching her head in thought as we talked about the mission. "I don't get it, Sarge. Why the whole crew if all we're doing is a quick recon?"
Tanner leaned in. "Opportunity. If we get there and they only have a single warship in orbit we'll want to take advantage of that."
"I guess that makes sense."
"Just stick with us, Mendez, we'll get you through this."
Collins chuckled. Mendez closed her eyes for several seconds as she struggled to dismiss the comment.
At just over five hundred light-years from Alday Port, Rigel was right in the thick of the Maxan front lines. I expected at least a half-dozen warships to be present, if not more. We arrived only to find more than one hundred. Following our planned mission, we jumped away just as five Maxan ships closed on our position. Our full scan finished as we entered a wormhole going away.
Sammy said, "We couldn't have cut that much closer. Good call at coming in at a high-speed, outward going angle. We were really only within range for a few seconds."
The ship's computer was allowed to crunch on the data for a good five minutes before Collins began his queries. "Hmm. Looks like one hundred seventeen warships, Sarge. And settlements on both the third and fourth planets with an outpost on the sixth. The bios, from what we can see, show more than a billion Maxans. Unfortunately those scans only cover the half of the system we had line-of-sight of."
Xurpok said, "We must go back."
I held up a hand. "We will. But not without a few minutes of planning. Sammy? Do we have a good angle of approach that will minimize our exposure?"
"Working up possibilities now, Sarge."
"I'm heading to another console to look over the data. Shout when you have a possible path."
Sammy turned. "I can shout right now. There's not one. Especially now that those ships would likely be on alert. Best I can do is a partial and only then with a high risk of taking hits. Of course the ships may have moved since we left. A few minutes can make a big difference in location. I would suggest we make another jaunt in, further out this time, just to evaluate ship positions."
"Wouldn't that leave us right where we are, not knowing where they are after we jump away?"
Sammy tapped his fingers on the armrest of his chair. "There is one other possibility, but I hesitate to mention it."
"Talking doesn't hurt. Spit it out."
A display of the system was pointed to. "We jump in all the way out here and set an immediate jump to be along one of these paths. The hope would be we bring ships this way with the initial jump, thereby allowing us to make a second hop to just the other side of those colonies. The risk is the ships don't move and we're stuck fighting for our lives for the several minutes it takes for the wormhole generators to come online again. We could have a dozen or more ships hitting us hard for almost three minutes."
Mendez was standing just behind me. "I can't say I like the sound of that, Sarge. I would be in favor of us allowing the place to cool down a bit. They chased us off. Let them get it in their minds that we're gone for good."
Xurpok stood over my other shoulder. "We need to know. That data is important. If my people are indeed down there, our sighting might trigger a move to elsewhere. If we wait a few hours for things to calm, we might miss them altogether."
Mendez slowly shook her head. "Sorry, Xurpok. That's just taking too big a risk. And if they've had your people down there for a hundred years, one ship skipping through the system is not gonna spook them into moving them. Especially if it's identified as being Human."
Sammy said, "They wouldn't recognize this ship. Profile is all wrong and we weren't broadcasting anything more than that scan signal, which has been fairly universal in this galaxy for a century. Our angles coming and leaving wouldn't suggest Human ships either."
I took in and let out a long slow breath. "Sorry, Xurpok. With that many ships and just us, I can't authorize taking that action."
Tanner came over to stand behind us. "What if we only target a single colony? Is there a run we could take that will allow us to image the remains of say... the third planet?"
Sammy turned back to his console. "Not the third. Not the fourth. But we do have a shot at the outpost. Might not even be anyone on the other side of that rock."
I turned to face Xurpok. "Best we can do at the moment. And after our jump we'll need to be heading back to Alday. They need to know about this fleet. Those all looked to be fully capable warships."
Tanner said, "You think the CDF would risk a strike?"
Mendez replied, "Not without leaving Alday and our other deep colonies in jeopardy. They'd have to send out the remains of our fleet to take on that many. I'd expect ground-based cannons firing up at us from below. And who knows how many of those satellites we detected are armed?"
"Regardless." I slowly shook my head. "We need to inform Command. This would be a significant opportunity they might not want to pass up."
Sammy glanced up. "So, the outpost?"
"Make it happen and then set a course for Alday. If we come back here with several ships we should be able to safely scan that entire system at once."
Tanner smirked. "Unless our fleet is here on a rampage."
"If that happens we can't be here or we get called into service. So let's hope Command doesn't get in a rush."
The coordinates for a jump were set, and we streaked through the Rigel system without incident. As had been suggested, any other attempt at a scan would have met with folly. As it was, the outpost on Rigel VI had no other bio signatures. I could see a look of depression growing in Xurpok's eyes.
A run was made back to Alday and the authorities informed, including the complete data sets from our scans. No questions were asked as to why we had been out there as mercs on a hunt allowed to go wherever they wanted. After a briefing with CDF Command, I made my way back to the warehouse. Mitchell Diggs had news.
Chapter 4
* * *
An image was showing on a wall display.
"Say hello to the Dragonfire. We have our fourth assault-ship hull and it's on its way to Faulk and Waldorp. Tumbe Bradley decided to make the trade himself. The former owner, this was one of the auctioned ships, was willing to swap for Tumbe's ship plus fifty thousand credits to be paid over time. It was a premium, and I took the liberty of agreeing that we would help Tumbe out where we could, if needed."
I nodded. "Excellent work. Do we have a new projected schedule of when those four ships will be complete?"
"Six days for the armor, that's all four, six for the ride out to the rally point, and another three to add the cannons."
"Good work Diggs. And we'll honor your commitment to help with any payouts, if we're able." I looked around the room. "Well this is just good news all the way around. Wasn't certain we could pull this off this soon."
Mendez said, "Still no word of a new attack by the Herzek."
"Command is discussing a raid on Rigel. I talked to a few old fiends this morning and they are already busy seeing that ships are fully resupplied and ready to be called upon should they decide to go."
Xurpok said, "We will want to go back before the fleet."
"Agreed. We don't want to get caught up in that mess."
Mendez said, "Sarge, if we waited until the battle is over we could slip in there without a fight and gather the intel we're looking for."
I shook my head. "If there's a fight and we're victorious, I doubt there would be much left there for us to investigate. Wiping out that colony would be a major blow to the Maxans."
"Why would we not make it into a forward outpost?"
"Because we no long
er have the fleet to defend it. The moment after that victory is won the admiralty will be sending every ship it can spare back to Alday. If they risk sending out a large fleet, they will be doing so to the detriment of our defenses here. I would expect they might call up the merc fleet if that's the case."
Tanner had an uneasy look on his face. "Alday has been our forward base for fifty years. Losing it would be crippling for this sector. I just don't see our current leadership taking such a chance."
"You might be surprised. The loss of Rigel would be an equally damaging blow to the Maxans."
Our discussion continued for much of the afternoon. By evening we had decided it might be best for us to leave Alday. Should orders come down for a merc defense we would be stuck in port for the duration. The Fracker was loaded, and the four new assault ship crews were brought aboard. Our first hop going out to the rally point took place just after midnight Standard time.
During the flight out, we spent every minute we could training the new merc crews on the assault tactics we used and the reasons why. Repeated mock drills were employed and constant tests given, with evaluations occurring at every opportunity.
Upon landing at the rally point, we transferred our training effort to the decks of the Warstalker. Tumbe's crew, along with the others, were eager students. For most it was their first time seeing Xurpok in action. Just as I continued to be, they were blown away with his speed, agility, and intellect.
On a lark, Tanner insisted on having us defend against an attack by Xurpok, alluding to the fact we might be able to point out his weaknesses. As it turned out, there were none. Seven times we set up a defense, and seven times he overran our position. It was an exercise that was both humbling and humiliating. Humans did not like to lose, especially those in the small group that surrounded me.
On the sixth day after our arrival, the assault ships settled on the rocky surface just outside of the Warstalker. We moved the Fracker out of the bay, and two of our newly armored ships were moved in.
Tanner had a satisfied expression on his face. "They look just like ours. What are the names of these two?"
I opened a comm to Sammy, "Which ships did they just bring in?"
"The Mohawk and the Alderban. The Mohawk is Captain Flaxman. Deneb was her first fight as a merc. One of only two rookies who survived. She still lost three out of her six fighters though. The Alderban goes to Captain Richards. His crew came out intact. The Dragonfire is of course Captain Bradley. Captain Sorensen and crew will be on the Magnifik."
Tanner smirked. "I can't wait to see what kind of damage we can do with five of these."
Jeremiah Faulk joined us. "Fine looking ships."
I nodded. "Better than we had hoped for. You and Waldorp have done an outstanding job. And I have to ask, did you ever get your frigate designs in front of the right people?"
"We have an initial contract to build two. If they perform as predicted and can be built for the price we quoted, I'm told we should prepare for a large buy."
"They're hurting for ships and crews. You nail these first two and you'll have more work than you can handle. Are you confident you'll be able to pull together the workforce needed?"
"We are. Far more of our early assembly work is automated as compared to our competitors. The established yards have work crews who are both professional and skilled, but they are also used to taking their time. The output quality is high, and consistent. They just don't have the motivation or hunger to go over and above with their schedules."
The three days of retrofit came and went in a flash. A fourth day was spent on practice. The Warstalker hull was used for repeated breach runs. After half a Standard day of pulling alongside, cutting through and storming aboard the Maxan ship, the decision was made to make another run out to Rigel. Xurpok was ecstatic. The ride out took six days.
Sammy said, "We'll be relying on their distraction to open up this lane. One run through here, two minutes, will give us the scan data we're looking for."
The small merc fleet split with the four new members taking their ships in at a jump point that was close to the outpost at Rigel VI. To our surprise, the large fleet was gone. Instead, a Warstalker and two Warmongers were all that remained.
I got on the comm. "Change of plans. Bradley, you and Flaxman hit the Warmonger to our port. Richards, you and Sorensen take the other. We'll be tackling the Warstalker. And remember, we want these ships as intact as we can keep them. The bounties for these will pay all our debts and keep us in credits as we build out more of these assault ships."
Xurpok took my arm. "What of the data? We must perform the scans."
"Those will have to wait until we've secured this system."
Two minutes later the plasma cannons of the Maxan ships were blasting round after round at our heavily armored assault hulls. The Dragonfire was the first to reach the side of a Warmonger where a pipe was extended and a boarding party run across. The Mohawk and Alderban were next with the Magnifik attaching only moments later.
On the Fracker, Sammy maneuvered us in to the starboard side, and a pipe was extended to the aft deck that was one level below the bridge.
I looked around at my team as the automated cutters burned through the Maxan hull. "Grimes, this is your hatch. You have any sign of trouble and you close it off and detach."
"Not a problem, Sarge."
Xurpok kicked the cutout open, and we hustled through.
Chapter 5
* * *
Tanner scowled as we ran along. "Again, he's already out of sight. I almost feel useless on these runs nowadays."
Collins nodded.
"We've had our share of problems, Mr. Tanner," I said. "Don't be wishing for more."
Mendez agreed. "Yeah. I kind of like not being shot at that much."
Tanner turned. "Well maybe we should swap you out for Grimes. She likes the action."
"Pipe duty? No thanks. That job would just bore me to tears."
Seconds later, four mag-tags splatted on the wall just beside me. I dropped to my knees and fired blindly down the cross-hall to our right. Collins grabbed under my shoulder and pulled me back as four plasma rounds bounced off the walls, ceiling, and floor as they came our way.
Tanner chuckled. "Finally, some action."
The next ten minutes were spent battling an unknown number of Maxans. We didn't want to move forward leaving the enemy also behind us, and we didn't want to stay because we were on a warship with hundreds of opposing troops. Xurpok was no doubt still cutting his way toward the bridge all the way forward, but we had yet to reach mid-ship.
I pointed back toward where we had come from. "Mendez, cover our six. Collins, you back her up. Tanner, you cross over and prepare for an assault. We're gonna charge down that hall and clear it out."
"Now you're talking my language."
A dash across the hall saw a half-dozen plasma rounds impact the wall to my left. I glanced back to make certain Mendez and Collins were set before turning to give Tanner a nod.
"On three."
I held up my gloved hand and began the count. As the last finger dropped, we leaned out and unleashed a barrage of plasma from our blaster rifles before proceeding to walk out and up the hall. Continued trigger squeezes saw to it the other end of the hall stayed clear. For a moment the tactic was working, that is, until a repeater was leaned out around the far corner and a tag was released.
Tanner instinctively turned, causing the tag to stick to the back of his left shoulder. Four broad steps at a run were all that was needed to reach the corner we had come from. I unleashed another barrage of plasma as I hurried back. That was when I saw the repeater bolt bounce off the far end of the hall... only to head our way.
As Tanner turned the corner, now at a full run, he lost his footing. Instead of continuing to move away from the coming bolt, he crashed hard into the wall as he fell to the floor. For a moment I contemplated taking a partial hit from the free bolt that was screaming toward me, but Collins, our miracle-
man when it came to dealing with tags, had jumped to his friend's aid.
With a flip of the blade of his combat knife, the tag was removed and the knife thrust up high in the air. A bright, purple flash overtook my vision just as I turned the corner. The knife disintegrated, taking much of Collins's prosthetic hand with it.
He pulled back the stump with a growl. "Crap!"
Tanner looked up with a chuckle. "Thanks for the hand."
I shook my head before turning back to glance around the corner. The hall was filling with Maxans!
I grabbed Tanner by the arm and pulled him to his feet. "Go! Go! Go! They're charging!"
The four of us began to scurry down the hall, away from the coming horde. I pulled my shoulders in as I reacted to the whumps and thuds coming from behind us.
I opened a comm. "Xurpok! We've been forced back! The Maxans have you cut off!"
There was nothing but silence for several seconds as the mayhem of plasma continued behind us. My head was leaning forward as I ran, expecting to take a dozen tags in the back at any moment. But the tags never came...
Xurpok said, "The threat behind you is over."
I glanced back and was rewarded with an empty hall going back a hundred meters.
Xurpok stepped from around the corner hall from which the Maxans had been charging. "They are dead. Come. We have a bridge to capture."
I slowed to a stop with a sigh. "When did you come back? I thought you'd be on the bridge by now."
"I was momentarily slowed and expected the four of you to come up behind me. When you didn't, I returned."
We hustled back up the hall to where our Corbo friend was waiting. The remains of a dozen Maxans lay scattered about the hall, all facing our direction.
Raid on Rigel Page 2
