He needed another plan.
Task Force O’Leary, Anti-Kepler-186 ‘e’, December 18, 2021
“Do you see them?” Gunnery Sergeant Jerry ‘Wolf’ Stasik asked.
Not through this damn forest, Lieutenant O’Leary thought as he ducked under one of the large fern leaves. The foliage had slowed their progress to a crawl; invisibility did you no good if the enemy could see you pushing aside the leaves as you passed. “Yeah, I see them,” he commed, coming around a massive trunk. “Don’t get any closer. We don’t want to spook them.”
The locals looked like the other Silas he had seen. They were generally humanoid, but their knees pointed backwards, like birds.
He switched to the command net. “Captain Train, we’ve got a problem. I’m looking at about 30 locals in prepared positions.”
“Can you take them?” Night asked.
“We’re behind them, so yeah, we could wipe them all out pretty easily. I doubt any of them would even get a shot off. That’s not the problem. What I’m worried about is that they’re obviously waiting for the Shaitans to return, and they’re armed with what looks like some kind of crossbow. Even though they have good hiding positions overlooking the trail, they’re going to get creamed by the Shaitans’ plasma weapons.”
“I’m not sure how that affects us. Let them fight it out. If the Shaitans win, kill them. If the locals win, try to negotiate with them afterwards.”
“Cap’n, I’m for helping the locals. They’re just trying to get some payback for what the Shaitans did to their city. They’ve got to know that they don’t stand a chance, yet they’re willing to take the cowtaurs on anyway.”
“Have they seen you?”
“No sir, not yet.”
“Use your best judgment. I’ve gotta go—it looks like the Shaitan shuttle is about to take off with some of our troops inside. Train, out.”
Okay, he had permission. Now what? How do you tactfully approach a group of civilians who are primed to kill anyone who doesn’t look like them without getting shot? He really didn’t want to go back to the shuttle looking like a pin cushion.
“Hey, Lieutenant O’Leary,” Staff Sergeant Brian ‘Huge’ Mchugh commed, “I just saw one of the locals pouring something onto his arrowhead. I think they may be poisoning them.”
“Understood.” Great. Becoming a pin cushion was suddenly the least of his worries.
“Wolf, take Fire Team One and go up the trail about a quarter mile so we know when the Shaitans are coming.” That way he wouldn’t have to dodge plasma at the same time he was avoiding poisoned bolts.
“Yes sir. Are we going to help the locals?” Wolf asked, his tone hopeful.
“Yeah, if I can figure out a way to do it without getting my ass shot off.” He surveyed the ambush site again. He didn’t know much about how the Sila reacted to stress, but the ones in the ambush didn’t appear to be exhibiting any of the emotions that humans in their place might have. They didn’t look scared or act apprehensive; they just appeared focused on what they were doing.
Maybe they were too pissed off to be scared, kind of like what I’d be if someone had just dropped an orbital round on my home town.
He shook his head. Thinking about it any longer wouldn’t make it better. There was one a little further back from the rest. Might as well start with the leader. He strode over to stand five feet in front of the Sila. The leader felt or heard something from his passage, and he began to look around wildly.
O’Leary nullified his invisibility and held up his hands. “I’m here to help you in your fight.”
The Sila jumped backward, falling to the ground as he tripped over a branch. Hearing O’Leary or the commotion of their leader, the rest of the Sila turned and aimed their weapons at O’Leary, who stood as motionless as he could.
“I’m here to help you,” O’Leary repeated. “Can you understand what I’m saying?”
The leader picked himself up off the ground and turned to the Terran. “Your accent is odd, and your appearance sudden, but if you’re truly here to help, you are most welcome.” He waved at the rest of his men, who lowered their weapons fractionally.
“Shaitans inbound,” Wolf commed. “Looks to be at least 25 of them.”
Damn. That was more than he’d hoped for. “Copy. Follow them back so you can hit them from behind when I tell you, but not so close that they hear you.”
“We’re on ‘em. See you soon. Wolf out.”
“We have to hurry,” Lieutenant O’Leary said. “They are almost here.”
“You are in that much of a hurry to go to your death?” the Sila asked.
“Not today.” He cancelled the squad’s invisibility. “Nor are my men.” Several of the Sila jumped in surprise as the squad materialized in their midst. “I’m hoping that if we surprise them, we can kill them all without taking any casualties.”
A Sila burst out of the forest and dove behind a log. “They come!” he exclaimed.
O’Leary reengaged the Terrans’ invisibility as the first Shaitan came pounding down the path.
Ducting, Jotunn Ship Falcon, Kepler-186, December 18, 2021
“My ship, the Vella Gulf, just contacted me,” Calvin said to the assembled group of Farhome, the Ssselipsssiss and Zeeelbit, the leader of the bugs; “they’re here, in-system. I need a way to contact them.”
“Can’t you just contact them the same way they contacted you?” Zeeelbit asked.
“I could,” Calvin replied, “but I’m worried the Jotunn would intercept my transmission. While they probably couldn’t break the encryption on it, they would be able to tell the transmission came from this ship, and I’m sure they’d come looking for me. In fact, I doubt they’d stop until they found me. This could have some pretty serious repercussions, not only for us, but for your society as well.”
“You’re right,” Paxton said. “They probably could intercept it; I could, anyway, if I had my normal equipment.” He paused, then added, “You need a way of signaling them, without actually signaling them.”
“Yeah,” Calvin agreed. “Got one of those in your bag of tricks?”
“Sadly, no,” the Ssselipsssiss replied. “Standard loadout for a planetary mission would have at least two methods of surreptitious communication, but I don’t have a normal loadout. I only have what I could gather from my training equipment.”
“Any ideas?”
“We could try a mass assault on the bridge,” Burkuri replied. “If we hit them by surprise, we might be able to capture and hold it long enough for your forces to rescue us. It might be possible if the S’nark helped us.”
“We might be able to overwhelm the bridge crew,” Calvin agreed, “but there’s too many variables for what could go wrong after that. What if they can shift control to an auxiliary control station? They just tell the computer to transfer the conn, and then all of a sudden we’ve got nothing. They can come in and kill us at will. Even if we could hold it, my ship is a cruiser, and a Terran one at that. It wouldn’t stand a chance against this ship. My CO wouldn’t bring the ship into weapons range of this ship unless he absolutely had to; it would be suicide. Even sending a shuttle would be foolish. If I were there, I would have to advise him against it.”
“I am against anything that would upset our status quo with the giants,” Zeeelbit said. “While our lives are imperfect here, at least the giants tolerate us living above them. It is unacceptable for you to do something which will cause them to attack us.”
“I don’t get it, then,” Burkuri said. “If you would tell your captain not to rescue us, what is the point of contacting him? All we would do is give away our presence. It would be better to remain silent and hope to find a way to escape later.”
“That’s what I’m saying,” Calvin said. “We can’t afford to alert the Jotunn we’re here.”
“So we’re still going to Jotunheimr?” Farhome asked, his voice hopeful.
“Not if I can help it,” Calvin replied. “The further we go into Jotun
n territory, the smaller our chances of being recovered. We need to get a message to the Gulf. There has to be a way.”
“So how do we do it?” the female Ssselipsssiss asked.
“I don’t know,” Calvin replied. He sighed. “I just don’t know.”
“We could turn off their shields again,” Karver said. “If we did that, and we assaulted the bridge, maybe they would come close enough for us to steal a shuttle and meet them before the Jotunn could break into the bridge.”
“That’s stupid,” Burkuri said. “How are the people holding the bridge going to escape?”
“I’ll hold the bridge, and the rest of you can go without me.”
“That’ll never work,” Burkuri said. “If we’re all needed to assault the bridge, who’s going to steal the shuttle? Not only that, the Jotunn will destroy the shuttle before it gets 100 kilometers from the ship.” She hissed in frustration. “We don’t have time for this. What if you just shut up and leave the strategy planning to people who haven’t already donated their brains to the repair lab?”
“No,” Calvin said; “Karver’s right. That’s perfect.”
“What?” Burkuri asked, stunned. “Stealing a shuttle at the same time everyone’s assaulting the bridge?”
“No, you were right; that part will never work. What will work is the shield idea. If we do this right, we can use the shield to signal my ship. We’ll just need a distraction, but I think it can be done.”
Farhome’s face fell. “Does that mean we won’t be going to Jotunheimr?”
“It’s too early to tell,” Calvin said, “but I have something for you that might be a lot of fun.”
“Better than a trip to Jotunheimr?”
“Absolutely. If nothing else, it will be very exciting…”
Bridge, TSS Vella Gulf, Kepler-186 System, December 18, 2021
“Huh,” the DSO muttered. “That’s odd.”
“Could you be a little more descriptive?” Captain Sheppard asked. “You know how much I don’t like odd things.”
“Uh, yes sir. I was watching the enemy ships, and the Jotunn ships just broke orbit. It looks like they’re heading out-system.”
“They’re not just going to a higher orbit?”
“No sir. They’re pulling out and away.”
“The DSO is correct,” Steropes added. “Their engines have come to full power, and their speed continues to build. They are definitely leaving orbit.”
“Any idea where they’re headed?” Captain Sheppard asked. “Do you suppose they intercepted our transmission and are looking for us?
“If they’re looking for us,” Steropes replied, “they’re going the wrong way; in fact, they are headed in nearly the opposite direction.”
“Maybe their direction finding gear is broken,” the duty engineer guessed. “I mean, machinery breaks, right? Ours does; theirs must too.”
“If they intercepted our transmission, which is statistically possible but unlikely, it is even more unlikely they would be looking for us in the direction they are proceeding. The Jotunn are headed at a right angle to the plane of the ecliptic; beyond a comet or two, there isn’t anything to be found on that heading. I believe they have other intentions than searching for us.”
“Maybe they’re afraid of us?” the helmsman asked. “You know, because we can jump back and forth, and they can’t? The Jotunn probably heard how we kicked their asses in Golirion and are running from us.”
“I rather doubt a ship that size is running from us,” the CO replied. “Barring a lucky shot that hits something vital, they could probably absorb everything we shot at them and keep going. All they need is one lucky shot on us, though, and we’re done. No; that isn’t it. Steropes, got any ideas on where they’re headed?”
“No sir, not without more information.”
“Want me to follow them?” the helmsman asked.
“If we don’t begin pursuit immediately,” Steropes said, “we will have a hard time catching up with them. They are continuing to accelerate at a significant rate.”
“Is there anything significant in the direction they’re heading?” Captain Sheppard asked.
“No sir,” Steropes replied. “There are no planets, mapped stargates or anything else significant on that bearing.”
“So they’re probably heading for a stargate we don’t know about?”
“That is the likeliest option. The ephemeris information we have from the Ssselipsssiss is extremely deficient. The only stargates listed are the ones they wanted us to follow to the Dark Star. They provided nothing more than the minimum necessary for us to accomplish their task.”
“Well, keep an eye on them, then. We know next to nothing about this system; it would be helpful to know where the exits are, if nothing else.”
“So we’re not going to follow them?” the helmsman asked.
“No. Not with troops on the planet in the other universe. In fact, once we get a good idea which direction they’re headed, we need to jump back and pick them up. Who knows what kind of trouble our folks will get into if we leave them there too long?”
Outside the Shaitan Shuttle, Anti-Kepler-186 ‘e’, December 18, 2021
“Should we shoot it?” Sergeant Anne ‘Fox’ Stasik commed. “It looks like it’s about to lift.” Like the rest of the squad, she had her rifle aimed at the shuttle but wasn’t sure if she should pull the trigger.
“Hell, yes!” Night replied. “Shoot its damn motors! Don’t let it take off!”
“I don’t see any motors!” several troopers commed at once.
“Switch to thermal and shoot at anything hot! If that doesn’t work, shoot the damn canopy!”
The troops began firing, but Night could see they were having little effect. The ship was obviously a combat shuttle, and its armor shrugged off most of the platoon’s lighter weapons. Similarly, the canopy was built to withstand micro-meteoroid strikes; it was also impervious to the Terran’s lasers.
“Fire in the hole!” Sergeant Ken ‘Boom’ Weinert warned as the shuttle lifted from the ground. He fired, and the round left a phosphorescent trail as it streaked toward the alien shuttle. The round detonated spectacularly on the side of the ship with a flash of gold and silver that left afterimages on the troops’ retinas. Pieces of shell made a starburst pattern like an enormous firework exploding as they flew off with a brilliant golden iridescent glare. The round left a burning hole in the side of the shuttle, with a spider web of molten lines extending out from it. The engine noise diminished, and the shuttle crashed down onto its skids.
“Nice shot, Weinert,” Night commed. “What the hell was that?”
“High-velocity discarding sabot round, sir,” the trooper replied. “The core of the projectile was filled with silver.”
That explained why the metal was still burning down the side of the shuttle, Night thought. Silver, and the other metals in that period of the periodic table, were unstable in this universe and reacted explosively when they were introduced.
Motion caught Night’s eyes. Two tubes extended on a metal framework from the top of the shuttle. One spun in the direction of the cyborg; the other toward the largest concentration of troops. “Look out!” he yelled.
Shaitan Shuttle, Anti-Kepler-186 ‘e’, December 18, 2021
“Come on, mon,” Witch said. The roar of the shuttle’s engines got louder as the second motor came to life. “We got to find the cockpit.”
“Which way is that?” Valkyrie asked.
“No idea. Forward some place. Let’s go.” She turned and sprinted up the passageway, Good Twin and Valkyrie close behind. The passage ran toward the front of the shuttle without any more turns, ending suddenly in a blank wall.
“Shit! Where be the door, mon?”
“Looks like the whole panel slides,” Good Twin said, looking at the left side of the door. “You can see where it goes into the frame here.”
“Well, try to figure out how to open it!” The shuttle tilted slightly as it lifted. �
��Now!”
“There’s nothing on the door or on the wall near it,” Good Twin replied.
“Got it!” exclaimed Valkyrie. She pointed to a small square cut into the bulkhead about five feet from the door. “Doesn’t that look like a pressure plate?”
“I don’t care what it be looking like, mon,” Witch said; “just push the damn thing!”
“Okay,” Valkyrie said with a shrug. “Here goes.” She reached for the plate but was knocked to the deck as the shuttle crashed to the ground.
She climbed back to her knees. “Now!” she added as she slapped the plate.
Without a sound, the door retracted into the starboard bulkhead, allowing access into what was obviously the cockpit. Although the space was a 15-foot square, it seemed cramped with two of the Shaitans manning it, especially since each was wearing a six-point harness to hold it in place. At the front of the cockpit one of the cowtaurs stood furiously working what appeared to be the flight controls while looking out the cockpit window. All four hands were in motion, with its upper hands on a pair of flight controls and the other two pushing a variety of strange-looking buttons and switches on a slightly lower console.
The other Shaitan stood to the right. A dual monitor display was mounted on the bulkhead with the one on the left slightly higher than the one on the right. Its upper hands worked a set of controls beneath the left monitor while its lower pair operated a set of controls under the right monitor.
Both monitors showed pictures of the Terran forces surrounding the shuttle with a series of concentric circles around them; a group of three soldiers appeared on the left monitor, and a close-up view of Sergeant Weinert dominated the one on the right.
The Dark Star War (Codex Regius Book 3) Page 13
