The Return to Strange Skies (JNC Edition)

by Hiroyuki Morioka

  He turned off the light and switched it to FIRE, then knelt on one knee and awaited the enemy.

  The cave was quite confined. A shoot-out wouldn’t hinge on manpower. The supply of soldiers would give out before their supply of phaser cartridges dried up.

  And yet...

  “It’s bad news if they use heavy arms against us. The cave’ll collapse on us.”

  “You needn’t worry,” said Lafier, brimming with confidence. “The Kin of the Stars could never die in an earthen tomb.”

  “Can’t even tell if that’s a decent point at this rate...” Jinto shrugged in the darkness. He felt terribly at ease considering they’d be fighting to the death in mere moments.

  Chapter 5: The Logh Labyrena (Maddening Maid)

  “Must’ve gotten to them before us.” Entryua lit himself a smoke.

  Another kind of smoke was issuing from the wreckage of the UH Armored Air Mobile Personnel Transport Vessel before their eyes. It wouldn’t have been out of place to spot at least a few wounded, but there were none to meet the eye. Odds were they’d been carried off to the field hospital.

  Three soldiers stretched a rope around the perimeter of the vessel, glaring at Entryua with furrowed brows.

  “How did they know to find them here?” puzzled Kyte.

  “That’s what I want to know. Why don’t you go ask those soldiers for us, huh?”

  “Right. Of course.” Kyte walked up to them.

  Only about an hour had passed since they deduced the members of the Clasbule Anti-imperial Front Guzonh Cell’s membership from the hotel manager’s deposition.

  Investigators wasted no time checking related sites, such as their residences and places of work. And one of those sites was the holiday home of one Min Cursap. At present, not even a single one of the cell members had been spotted in any of those places, let alone the Abh.

  Kyte dashed back over. “Min Cursap apparently used to be a member of the Secessionist Party, and a very high-ranking leader at that. Then, a cursory search turned up a large stockpile of munitions...”

  “What did you say?” Entryua scowled. They’d already looked into the gist of what there was to know about the cell members through the computing net .

  “He was a Secessionist Party member three years ago.”

  “That fact must not have been seen as very important.” Kyte shrugged. “May I continue?”

  “Go ahead.”

  “As I was saying, Min and several of his companions appeared while they were cordoning off the area. And when they questioned him...”

  “It turned into a fire fight.” Entryua gave their surroundings another once-over. The trees that had been shot were still smoldering, and the parts of what used to be a walker were strewn next to the transport vessel.

  “And what a fire fight it was.”

  “Undoubtedly.”

  “So where is this Min? Was the Abh among his companions?”

  “Regarding that...” Kyte hesitated to say it. “It seems that since they let them slip away, they don’t know for sure.”

  “They let them slip away!?” Entryua shouted at Kyte hotheadedly, but then he remembered that one, Kyte wasn’t his subordinate, and two, it wasn’t Kyte’s fault. So he settled on cynicism. “You lot, you’re not even really all that, are you? You’ve got all of the equipment, but that’s about it.”

  “I’m too ashamed for words.”

  “So where’d they run to, anyway?”

  Kyte gestured toward the soldiers. “It’d appear they don’t know the details, since they were deployed here after the fact.”

  “You people have no coordination.”

  “Level C clearance is needed to access that information.”

  “And you haven’t got Level C clearance?”

  “I do. I’m going to take a peek now.”

  “Well, good.” Entryua dropped his smoke’s embers onto the ground and stamped them out before lighting up another.

  Kyte peered into his transceiver’s screen and whispered something. Subsequently, the information displayed, and he read it aloud. “Min and six companions fled underground from Mark RC193-401 at 08:17 military time. Four people under Military Police Major Aranga died, and 12 were injured. Eight have begun tracking them under the command of Military Police Sublieutenant Muhammedov. At 08:30, Military Police Command requested backup from the District Management Headquarters. In response, three infantry platoons under Lieutenant Sleet were dispatched at 08:55. Said reinforcements arrived at the scene at 09:14, and are currently tracking them down on foot...”

  “What’s this ‘military time’ business? Is it different from our time?”

  “Yes. Right now, it’s 09:35 military time.”

  “It’s slower by 21 minutes, huh...” Entryua stretched. He’d been working for too long. His back hurt. And now that he thought about, he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in days.

  “What do we do now? Do we head underground as well?”

  “Can’t say that’s the brightest idea. We’d just get in the other soldiers’ way.”

  “Then do we give up here?” Kyte gave him a puppy dog look.

  “No, we’re not throwing in the towel now.” He had only a half day left to spend with this guy, he reasoned. “They’re hiding in the Guzonh Caverns. Criminals and adventure-seeking kids’ve been disappearing into them for who knows how long. It’s a regular stomping ground for us police. So much so, we’ve taken to calling the cops in Guzonh ‘crawlers.’ They’ve got to have fairly detailed info on the place.”

  “Then...”

  “Yep. If they grab the Abh and her gang in those tunnels, then there’s nothing we can do. But we can get to them before they do. Your friends’ve got odor or heat detectors, right?”

  “I’d be shocked if they don’t.”

  “Then they must know where the Abh’s gone. Can you find out where the soldiers who tracked them are right now?”

  “Yes,” Kyte said with enthusiasm, “of course.”

  “Great. Let’s chase that lead, then.” Entryua took a deep breath. “Just to warn you, though — if there’s no Abh among them, I don’t much care, got it?”

  Luminous letters floated in the dark. They were using the compuwatch ’s heat detector function. It wasn’t as accurate as a dedicated heat detector device, but it did show them a rough estimate of their distance, their bearing, and the size of their heat signatures.

  “They’re close,” Jinto breathed. “1,000 dagh away, if that.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  The enemy stalked ever nearer without any illumination. And why would they use any? It was obvious they had night vision goggles or something of the sort. In other words, the enemy could see them. Lafier had her frocragh , but that did nothing to tip the scales.

  He could hear a bzzzz where he knew Lafier was. He sensed her move. The next instant, countless lines of fire clove through the darkness! Since they were holed up in the inner part of the branching point, bullets didn’t come flying their way, but they did punch into the cave’s edge, causing small explosions. Shards of stone rained down on them.

  “Take cover!” said Lafier, voice strained.

  The moment Jinto obeyed, a hell of an explosion rocked him — the phaser magazine that Lafier lobbed had released all of its energy instantaneously. The dark yielded to the dazzling light, and the temperature within the cave rose several degrees.

  The firing lines broke off.

  “Come on, run!”

  Jinto dashed for the depths. In the momentary light, they could make out the wide-open mouth of the small cave. Yet as they raced, darkness enclosed them once more.

  “Stop!” said Lafier, upon reaching a spot by the small cave’s mouth.

  “You gonna attack ‘em here?” His voice quavered. He thought himself pathetic, but then he thought twice. It was just him being human.

  “Yep. You had best take a knee and ready your gun.”

  “You got it.” Jinto did exactly that. Lafier re
ached a hand to adjust his gun’s aim.

  “When I give the signal, aim up and down and don’t stop firing.”

  “Aye aye. Though I’m not super confident shooting at targets I can’t see.”

  “You’re such a lousy shot that whether or not you see them has no bearing.”

  “Thanks for giving it to me straight,” he said, deflated.

  “Now!” Having detected them with her frocragh , Lafier began firing.

  Jinto pulled the trigger with abandon, waving the gun up and down.

  A shriek. Ah, did I just shoot a dude?

  Maybe this was what they called the battlefield mentality. No rage, no guilt. If he had to name what was impelling him to pull that trigger, it was fear.

  The phaser itself wasn’t visible in the dark. The points of light that hit the victims’ bodies were. That light illuminated still more enemy soldiers that were being sent spinning. Their positioning allowed them to fire comfortably, but the enemy was not afforded the same, a gap very much borne out by the fruits of battle: a pile of corpses.

  Jinto was racked by nausea. Of course, just because the enemy had disadvantageous positioning didn’t mean they had acted as targets and nothing else. The gleaming lines of fire chipped away at the granite in the cave walls. Rapid fire sprayed a point not even ten dagh away from him.

  The cave’s edge was alive with gunfire.

  Jinto took aim and strafed, firing continuously. The soldiers’ guns glanced away, accompanied by screaming. Perhaps their arms had joined their guns in flying off.

  The inside of his mouth was bone-dry.

  Man, I’d give my noble rank for a glass of cold water right now.

  This he thought with all seriousness, for that was all his rank meant to him.

  The cave was lit by the dim glow of death. He could just make out an enemy hand move. Something came flying through the air.

  “Jinto!” Lafier kicked his right flank.

  Jinto immediately understood why she had. He rolled into a small grotto. Lafier slid in after him.

  “C’mon, deeper!” Jinto twined bodies with Lafier and raced for the inner recesses.

  Suddenly, a blast wave bowled them over from behind. Jinto pitched forward and tumbled twice over. He had failed to take into account how phaser magazines were nothing more than substitute bombs. They were virtually party poppers compared to real deal hand grenades.

  The wave of intense heat squashed down on their backs.

  “Hot hot hot!” Jinto gritted his teeth.

  Though they were on their stomachs, still they crawled forward. The crashing of copious rubble rumbled to their rear. It was a cave-in.

  “Quick!” Jinto somehow managed to get to his feet, and helped her up.

  The collapse continued apace. The igneous rock, which had become brittle due to weathering, was coming off the walls, plummeting down onto Jinto’s shoulders.

  Finally, a pause in the crumbling.

  Jinto looked back, but unfortunately could only see pitch darkness.

  “What’s the situation?” asked Jinto, relying on Lafier’s frocragh .

  “We’re sealed in.”

  “For real?”

  “Why would I lie?”

  “Right, right.”

  Jinto set his gun to ILLUMINATE. The grotto was totally sealed. The ground above them had probably given way.

  Jinto wasn’t sure how to interpret this turn of events. Maybe he should thank his stars this had saved them by keeping the enemy away. On the other hand, it was more than possible that this passage had no exit; for all he knew, this was their living tomb.

  “In any case,” said Jinto, “let’s keep going and see what’s down there.”

  “I see no other choice.”

  That was when Jinto noticed he’d lost the duffel bag. Oh well , thought Jinto resignedly. He’d transferred the important things like cash and phaser cartridges to his pocket anyway.

  Jinto switched out the used-up cartridge for another, and started down the pitch dark path.

  “Enemy fleet found! Azimuth: 105-010. Distance: 0.12. Relative speed: 217.5 üésdagh . Ship number: around 20.”

  Cfadiss had picked up the planet of Clasbule using his frocragh . The group of patrol ships in the reconnaissance half-fleet Ftuné was also close by. So, too, was the shadow of the enemy vessels rising up to face them. The enemy ships were clearly aiming for what lay behind the Ftuné — which was to say, the Sfagnoff Gate .

  “Verification of enemy ships complete. They are thought to be 12 large-scale transport freighters , one patrol ship , and six assault ships ,” said the gunner staff officer . Our chances of victory are 0.987 in 1.”

  “Do we advise them to surrender?” Cfadiss asked his commander , Associate Commodore Sporr.

  “No need. They would if they wanted to. And they must already understand what’s in store for them,” came Sporr’s reply.

  “Never mind that; Prepare for battle in normal space . Massed Battle Formation 5.”

  “Understood.” Cfadiss translated Sporr’s commands into reality.

  Yet the enemy ships didn’t budge. They came creeping up the spatial warps created by Clasbule’s gravity.

  “A transmission from the enemy,” reported the communications staff officer . “It’s a holovision transmission. Time gap: 0.23 seconds.”

  “Connect them.”

  A video link was established on the Commander’s Bridge . Cfadiss was surprised. He had been expecting a high-level enemy officer, but here instead was an Abh male. Though his garments were dirty, and he wasn’t wearing a circlet , the froch on his forehead, coupled with the iridescent blue hair and the face of beauty, betrayed his Abhness.

  “Oh, so you’re the commander , Great Duchess of Laitpanh .” He flashed a wan smile. “Fancy we should meet under such circumstances.”

  “It’s been a while, Marquess of Sfagnoff ,” she greeted him, inclining her head. “I never would have expected you to send a communication from aboard an enemy ship. What in heavens has transpired?”

  “To my great shame, I’ve been taken prisoner. They told me they’d kill a child before my very eyes if I didn’t send the message.”

  “I see.” Sporr’s eyes turned grim and severe. “Please, then, your message.”

  “‘There are 21 Abhs in this fleet. My family, my servants , and the starpilots of the liaison fleet . If our lives mean anything to you, then you will refrain from attacking. We also demand safe passage through flat space .’”

  “If we were to abide by those demands, what will become of all of you?”

  “I imagine we’d be sent to a prison camp or somesuch, Great Duchess . In any case, they’ve been chased into such a desperate corner that they have no choice but to trust demands like these will hold water,” he continued with a rather detached air.

  “How fascinating.”

  “Truly, it is,” nodded the Marquess. “Now, I bid you farewell, Great Duchess of Laitpanh . Fulfill your duty. Goodbye.”

  “Goodbye, Marquess .”

  The hologram cut out.

  “I really hate him. The Marquess .” Sporr bit the joint of her pinky, and stood up from her special-ordered chaise. “Communications staff officer .”

  “Yes.”

  “Connect me through to them.”

  “Through holovision, ma’am?”

  “Sound-only is fine.”

  “Roger. Preparations complete. Please speak.”

  “This is the Commander of the reconnaissance half-fleet Ftuné , Associate Commodore Sporr,” she intoned imposingly. “Let the tolerance and generosity of the Star Forces be known, for we will give you a chance to surrender. We shall wait until the distance between us reaches 0.08 light-seconds. Needless to say, this is contingent upon you not laying a finger upon our compatriots. Allow me to stress, again, the magnanimity of the Star Forces . For should you waste this chance to surrender, then we have an even sweeter fate prepared. That is, you will get to reflect on what an honor
it is to die alongside Abh nobility as you disintegrate into elementary particles! The atoms that composed your bodies will probably even fall back onto the terrestrial worlds that were your homes, after a few hundred million years of riding the galactic vortex.”

  A solemn silence gripped the bridge .

  “Now transmit the following to all ships under my command. You needn’t cipher it.”

  “Roger. Preparations complete.”

  “We will begin the attack at 0.08 light-seconds’ distance. Once the assault has begun, you may ignore any signal of surrender from the enemy. Crush them completely. Show them no mercy, not even with üicoc (lifeboats). I shall take all responsibility and all of the blame!”

  “Please wait!” Cfadiss stepped toward the Commander’s Seat .

  “What, Senior Staff Officer !?” she said, her shoulders squared haughtily.

  “Shooting an enemy that has surrendered would damage the reputation of the Empire and of the Star Forces .”

  She glared at him with her blazing crimson eyes. But Cfadiss had to stay his ground. “And it may not be my place to say it, but it would also stain the crest of the Golden Crow .”

  That seemed to have worked the effect he wanted. Sporr leaned against her Commander’s Seat — crestfallen, Cfadiss perceived — and appeared to give the matter more thought.

  When next she laid eyes on Cfadiss, a bewitching smile graced those venomously red lips. A shiver ran down the Hecto-commander ’s spine. It was no doubt the smile a cat would make when playing with its prey, if cats had slightly richer facial expressions.

  “You’re right, Senior Staff Officer . There’s no beauty in assaulting an enemy that’s surrendered. Let’s not.”

  “I am grateful you have heeded my counsel,” he answered warily.

  “Incidentally, it’s my prerogative how the prisoners of war are transferred, isn’t it?”

  “Yes. You are the highest-ranking commander here, Lonh .” Cfadiss couldn’t fathom why she would ask a question whose answer she already knew.

  “Lovely. What is your estimate as to the enemy’s numbers?”

  “With 12 large-scale transport freighters , I imagine there around 25,000 of them. That is, assuming their main cargo is people.”