by C. R. Daems
“Lieutenant Reese is herself a Master in Si’jin. Is she capable? Students one and two levels below her could inflict those injuries. Yes, they’re consistent with the events she described. Judging by the burn marks on her and the bruises on the sergeants, I would say her account is accurate. Is she capable? Yes. I’d add that there should be an investigation of Blackstone and Owin. Neither man should have passed the tests for entry as Black Berets. In addition, the Buzzers were coded for them and are the ones missing from the Peregrine. A search of their room revealed two new five-hundred credit chips, issued by a Tamerland bank. It appears they were paid to kill Lieutenant Reese. In my opinion, Sir, those events require investigation.”
Riddler, Quentin, and Birkoff retired to another room. An hour later they returned.
“We find that Lieutenant Reese killed Sergeant Blackstone and Corporal Owin in self-defense while being attacked with stun-sticks. In addition, we order a full investigation of Blackstone and Owin. This inquiry will be sealed and forwarded to SAS.”
As I left the bay, Colonel Quentin approached. “Reese, I’m ashamed that men under my command attacked you and could be bribed into killing anyone.”
“You’ve no reason to be ashamed, Sir. I’ve personal experience with your men and women. I’d trust them at my back any time.”
“That’s what confused me. They seem very fond of you. I hate to say it, but too many people seem intent on killing the Riss. I’m glad you weren’t seriously injured. Any time you want to join the Blacks, I would be glad to have you.”
Chapter 30
“Attention. We’re preparing to enter Lords Landing in one hour. Everyone report to Battle Stations. Captain out.”
I dressed quickly and made my way to the bridge. When I arrived, Commander Kollar already sat at the weapons boards and Commander Spiros at the ECM station. I took the assistant’s seat next to Kollar and strapped in, as Lieutenant Commander DeWayne strapped into the communication station and Lieutenant Commander Abboto into the radar position.
“Well, Reese, are you ready for battle?”
“I’ll be happy to sit and watch, Commander.” I hoped we’d be in time to avoid bloodshed. I’d been told the people were religious fanatics, who were determined to kill each other to prove their God was the true God. They were human.
Her laughter rippled though me. It felt good. I hadn’t enjoyed killing them, although I had no other choice—except to die. Thalia was right that no Riss had killed another Riss in a thousand years. They had, like I had, killed in self-defense when hunters came hunting them for their Gorillai pelts.
My thoughts were interrupted as the reentry transition rippled through me, and the people on the bridge turned ghost-like. Some people got sick on reentry. I just felt a tingling sensation.
Abboto initiated the TAC and then spoke. “Captain, three enemy ships. One looks to be a Heavy cruiser, the other two, Lights. I’ve labeled them H1, L1 and L2. They’re on a heading away from Lords Landing.”
The hologram in the middle of the bridge came to life. Three red dots and a black one tagged T1 for the Tiger appeared. It looked like L1 and L2 had left Lords Landing well after H1, which had a sizeable lead.
“Nav, plot us an intercept course for the Lights. XO, make sure the Tiger is secured for battle. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.”
“Captain, what about a skip and run? Thalia’s quite good at it.” Uchida’s grin was predatory.
“Reese, why are you shaking your head? Something we should know?”
“Captain, if that’s the same Heavy we encountered at Tamerland, it’ll be prepared for a skip.”
“Captain Gebauer thought the same thing after we blew up the Light,” Kollar said. “Maybe we could make a short skip to test their reaction.”
“We’re already at a disadvantage. No sense making it worse. Uchida, a short skip, about half way.” Jordanno sat back, staring at the TAC.
“Ready, Skipper,” Uchida said, turning to look at Jordanno, who studied the projected vectors.
“Helm, execute.”
A second later, the Tiger shuddered. I watched in fascination. In seconds, everyone went from normal to ghosts and back.
Her laugh cancelled the tingling feeling of the skip.
“Captain, I’m detecting missile fire from all three ships. Looks like they estimated the time for us to arrive, and fired. Surprise!” Kollar said with a grin. “Captain, the Heavy cruiser is four light seconds out. Our new long range P3a missiles will lose power at three; however, the Light cruisers are at two.”
“Engage the Lights,” Jordanno said. He sounded like he was ordering dinner.
Kollar hit the firing button for bank one. “Five away, target L1,” she announced. A second later she hit the button for bank two. “Five away, target L2.”
“I’ve twelve incoming. Time to impact one hundred seconds,” Spiros reported. He seemed detached, too.
While I waited for the carnage to begin, Kollar got one hit on L1 and two on L2. As fast as each missile bank became ready, every thirty seconds, she fired.
Commander Spiros’s antimissiles and decoys streaked out, stopping five missiles. Then chaff distracted two, and at the last moment lasers stopped two more. A second later a series of shocks rocked the Tiger as the remaining three missiles hit and exploded.
“Two of the missiles hit the battle metal, causing no internal damage. The third opened bay 24, destroying two shuttles and causing minor damage to the Maintenance unit,” DeWayne said, as the sections began reporting their status. Although I’d gone through this before, it didn’t help. Each hit resulted in injuries and deaths. It made little difference to me whether those people were strangers or friends.
“Two more hits, one on L1 and one on L2,” Kollar reported.
Against all reason, it felt good. I justified it because we were saving lives—the ultimate irony.
“Another twelve incoming.” Spiros’s fingers danced across the board. Decoys and antimissiles destroyed six, chaff caused one to go off course, and lasers stopped two. The Tiger rocked as three penetrated our defenses. One encountered battle armor without effect, one hit level one, and the other was a direct hit on level two. The bridge shook violently and Spiros lurched forward into the ECM board.
“Damn it,” he whispered and sat holding his hand. “Captain, my finger’s broken, it’ll slow me down.”
“Reese, you take the weapons board, Kollar ECM. Spiros, you’re backup.”
Kollar’s fingers flew over the dials and switches as missiles continued to streak in.
I used Kollar’s current settings, firing alternately at L1 and L2 as each bank became available. Since the turnaround for each bank was thirty seconds, it gave the Tiger a firing capacity of five missiles every fifteen seconds. At present, impact time was running under fifty seconds.
Commander DeWayne broke the silence. “Two hits on level one battle metal, with no internal damage; however, the area’s weak. Three hits destroyed two 50-centimeter lasers and two missile tubes. The missile delivery track’s still functional.” DeWayne continued his running commentary as the count of damages and dead mounted.
“Captain, H1 is turning around. Looks like they’re planning to join the party,” Abboto said, his voice rising with excitement.
“Distance to the H1?”
“Three point five light seconds. Still out of missile range.”
“Ma’am, what about using the projectile option?” I whispered as if Kollar was sitting next to me. She wasn’t. The Riss projectile option was unproven except in the simulator and still under evaluatio
n. Thalia and I felt confident that it would work and were willing to bet our lives if necessary.
Somehow the Captain had heard me. “Projectile option? Oh, the option that leaves our detection features turned off. I don’t know, Reese. I hate to waste missiles on H1. It’s still out of our range.” Two more missiles eluded Kollar and the Tiger rocked. “I guess distance doesn’t matter for that option. All right, Reese, we’ve less than three minutes until H1 can launch their missiles. We won’t survive the combined assault from the three ships. We can only try to inflict as much damage as possible. Fire when ready.”
I waited while the program activated and the countdown began. The system computer checked three times: twenty seconds after the start of the sixty seconds, when the solution is first available, and again at forty and sixty seconds.
“Hurry up, Reese,” Jordanno said. I waited as the last ten seconds ticked off and the panel showed green. I hit the firing button. Five missiles raced towards H1.
“Time to target, ninety-nine seconds,” I announced and crossed my fingers.
I switched back to the original settings, maintaining our steady barrage against the two Lights. By now damage reports were coming in steadily as the two Light cruisers continued to bombard us. We were scoring sixty percent more often because of their slower launch time and less efficient ECM capability. But the hits were distributed between the two cruisers. Their combined efforts had begun to seriously affect our operational effectiveness. We were open to vacuum in several areas: Environment, Bays 24 and 28, and one bank of missiles tubes. We were down to one bank of five.
“Release the Sharks, XO,” Jordanno said as the battle intensified and the distances closed.
The Sharks proved effective but were taking heavy losses. Everyone knew we were fighting for our lives and the odds were getting worse as H1 approached. The Tiger might survive against the two Lights but not without a heavy cost to ship and lives. While firing five missiles every thirty seconds from our one functional bank, I watched the time count down for the missiles heading for H1.
“Sir, contact with the H1 in ten...five…”
“We scored one...three...no…four hits. Looks like a couple drew blood. They appear to be changing course and heading for the transition point,” Abboto shouted seconds later.
The Tiger shook again.
“Damage control reports another missile tube destroyed as well as the missile loading track. They have it on manual,” DeWayne reported.
Amusement trickled through me. I left off the missile detection software and was prepared to fire two at each Light, when the ship shuddered three times and the door to the bridge blew off. Commander Kollar’s chair ripped loose from its mount and ricocheted off mine. I smashed against the console. Lieutenant Bennet at the helm was spun around and driven into the console. Jordanno and Uchida weren’t directly in the line of the blast; nevertheless heat and flying debris sprayed them.
“Medics to the bridge. Commander Riddler, I’m passing control to you. The bridge is no longer functional,” Jordanno said while continuing to stare at the TAC.
“Captain, L1 has exploded; L2 seems to have lost power,” Abboto shouted.
“Colonel Quentin, drop your Scorpions. See if anything can be salvaged on L2. Commander Birkoff, call off your Sharks. You’re to support the Scorpions as needed,” Riddler ordered. He was running the backup bridge and now in command. Jordanno sat back in his chair, dripping blood—from somewhere. I blanked out.
* * * *
I woke in the hospital. This has got to stop or they’ll have to keep a bed designated specifically for me.
A gentle feeling, like invisible hands massaging me. I lay there wondering about the price of winning. Who survived and who died? With that thought, my world went black.
* * * *
When I woke, Terril was standing by the side of my bed.
“You missed all the fun. We stormed the Light cruiser you left for us and found fifty-five raiders alive. They seem determined to die and to take as many of us with them as they could. They set explosive charges in the hallways and compartments as we advanced. Only four survived—three who were seriously wounded and one after he ran out of ammo. Their computer was destroyed but we found a lot of Handcoms, which may contain useful information.” Terril paused, her eyes misty. “We lost a total of forty, thirty from missile strikes and ten in taking the raiders on the Light. Eighteen more were wounded. We earned our pay that day. How are you feeling, Lieutenant?”
“That day? How long have I been here?”
“Two days.”
“Thalia says I’m sort of healed. How are you doing? I see your arm’s in a sling and a bunch of bandages.”
She smiled, but I could see she was in pain.
“My wounds are minor compared to others. They’ll throw me in the Rejuv unit later today, and I’ll be good to go. I’ll see you for Si’jin practice tomorrow.” She left, laughing.
An interesting thought—we were our mind. The body was really no more than a mode of transportation—Gorillai for Riss, human for Riss-human.
* * * *
I woke feeling good and got out of bed, planning to return to my room to get ready for duty.
Echart appeared. “Good morning, Reese. I see you’re getting ready to leave us. Before you do, let me inspect you.” He grinned. “I presume Thalia has already checked you, but I have to pretend to be earning my pay. Besides, you and Thalia interest me. I wish I could use my expensive machines to follow Thalia’s repairs.”
“Thalia said I had a concussion, three fractured ribs, a ruptured artery, and multiple cuts and burns.”
“That’s more or less what I suspected. I tried to help by providing burn salve and patches over the cuts.”
“Thalia appreciated it. It helped prevent infection while she worked on the ribs.”
I spent the next hour with him discussing the precise injuries and what Thalia had done to heal them. He smiled like a kid at his birthday party.
“You seem well enough to leave our modest hotel, so I authorize your discharge. Come visit me from time to time. You and Thalia are fascinating. As you and her become better known, the next Riss-human program is going to have lots of volunteers.”
I returned to my room, washed, and dressed for duty. I felt a little sore but knew every able-bodied person would be needed. In the hospital, I learned the navy had lost one hundred eight people and one hundred six had been wounded—almost half of the crew. When I arrived at the bridge, I found all the positions filled by alternates. Commander Riddler had the watch.
“Sir, Lieutenant Reese, reporting for duty.”
Riddler looked tired. “You should be resting, but I appreciate you reporting for duty. We’re short-handed and need everyone who’s even marginally fit. I’m glad to see you made it. The last time I saw you I thought you were going to die. If you’re up to it, you can relieve Lieutenant Commander Blesel.” He pointed to an old man with gray hair and a craggy face. He looked worn out, but his smile was warm.
“The legendary Lieutenant Reese.” He remained seated. “Take a seat, Reese. You’ll have to tell me how you destroyed L1 and L2, when I’m awake enough to understand. We’re currently in orbit around Lords Landing. The followers of Bedwyr have tried everything to get us to let them board. They’ve offered medical, ship repairs, and equipment help. The XO has been very diplomatic in refusing. It’s obvious that they think we’re weak enough to be overpowered and for them to capture the Tiger. Right now they have five attack shuttles in orbit with us.” He pointed to the TAC. Five small red dots surrounded the black spot representing the Tiger. It looked like a star with orbiting planets. “The XO has been emphatic that he doesn’t want one more person to die. If you even suspect they’re attempting to attack, you’re authorized to fire without waiting for approval. Good night, Reese.” He rose and staggered off into the conference room.
I looked at Riddler questioningly.
He explained. “We’ve been manning all three shifts. The conference room is being used as a bedroom, so we’re always close if needed. Meals are being served at each station. Doctor Echart assures me the Captain, Uchida, and DeWayne will be fit for duty tomorrow or the day after. Lieutenant Commanders Kollar, Abboto, and Spiros, and Lieutenant Bennet were killed by the blast. You and Bessel will have to cover Tactical until we get home.”
I knew Kollar had taken the blunt of the blast, but I’d hoped she’d survived. I settled back and reviewed the boards Bessel had set up. He’d been tracking the shuttles with our fifty-centimeter lasers. I sat back and watched, hoping I didn’t have to be the one to kill them.
For two days, Bessel and I traded watches.
* * * *
Uchida and DeWayne reported for duty in the morning; the Captain arrived in the afternoon. Uchida had been the furthest from the blast. Judging from the pinkness of the skin on her face and hands, she had significant burns and probably lung damage. Dewayne had been closer. He’d remained in his chair as it was torn from the floor and slammed into the consol. He walked slowly, his gait indicating bone damage. The Captain’s shock chair had held but his neck brace indicated his vertebrae had been damaged. Like Uchida, DeWayne and Jordanno also had burn damage. If it hadn’t been for medical equipment like Rejuv, they probably would have died. With another session in Rejuv, they’d be back to normal. I suspect they’d spent only the minimum time required to repair the worse injuries, so as to make room for others needing critical attention. Jordanno sat down carefully and looked around the room.
