The Vengeance was directly over the top of the Aeklu and Recker made some final adjustments. “This is your time and your chance, Lieutenant. I know you won’t waste it.”
“I’ll be replaced in about twenty minutes,” she said. “Once we pick up the new crew.”
“That doesn’t matter. You’re here now and there’s nobody else.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“We’ve got our crew!” called Burner. “We’re invited to land at the Lancer base on Earth and pick them up.”
“Did you hear that, Lieutenant Eastwood? Enter the coordinates into the navigational system and ready the Gateway. The moment Commander Aston and Corporal Montero are onboard, you can begin the warmup.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Now we’ve got enough tenixite for the Gateway, are you still intending to pick up some additional Daklan warships and bring them here to Lustre, sir?” asked Larson.
“Thank you for the reminder,” said Recker. He set the Vengeance down on the upper plating and activated the autopilot so it would stay there. “Lieutenant Burner, put in the request with Fleet Admiral Telar. If we bring a few annihilators here to Lustre, they might turn the battle.”
“Yes, sir.”
“What’s your progress, Commander Aston?” asked Recker on the comms.
“We only just left the bridge, sir.”
“That was a full five minutes ago.”
“I’ll let you know when we’re nearing the topside hatch, sir.”
“Don’t get lost.”
Aston laughed and closed the channel. With a few minutes available, Recker spoke to Captains Vazox and Vakh on the comms, to ensure they were fully informed. Once finished, he called over Corporal Hendrix. She arrived at his seat and her expression was as flat as it always was these last months. Once, he felt the two of them had a connection, now he felt nothing and it tore him up inside.
Pull yourself together, Carl. You didn’t even go on a date. Didn’t even kiss. You were drawn together in battle and when peace came, you had nothing.
He offered a smile and the one Hendrix returned was polite.
“How’s the platoon?” he asked.
“The human members are fine, sir, though that’ll change when the drugs start wearing off in a few hours.”
“What about the Daklan?”
“They aren’t recovering nearly as quickly from the last Extractor and I don’t know how many more drugs I can give them. If we had access to medical facilities, I’d suggest they each receive a complete system flush.”
Another, much larger, figure appeared at Recker’s shoulder. “We can fight, Captain Recker,” said Sergeant Shadar.
Recker twisted so he could see the Daklan’s face. “I’m sure you can, Sergeant.” He didn’t mention the sallowness which had crept into the dusky redness of Shadar’s skin, nor the faded lustre in the alien’s green eyes.
“You intend for us to leave the Aeklu once we return to your planet.”
“Having heard Corporal Hendrix’s evaluation, it would be for the best, Sergeant.”
The Daklan slowly shook his head. “You would shame us, Captain Recker.”
“You’ve more than played your part,” said Recker. “There would be no shame.”
“You do not understand.”
“No, I probably don’t,” said Recker. “What I do understand is that I’d rather you were alive for the next mission, instead of dead to an Extractor attack.”
“Please. Reconsider.”
Recker didn’t think he’d been given an opportunity to consider, let alone reconsider, since Shadar had interrupted his conversation with Corporal Hendrix. Still, effective command was about making snap decisions when necessary.
“The Daklan members of the platoon will disembark once we reach Earth,” said Recker. “I will not have you dying to stubborn pride.”
Shadar’s features betrayed a range of emotions which Recker was beginning to recognize, having fought alongside these Daklan so often. Aside from anger and dismay, he thought that just perhaps, he detected a hint of relief in Shadar’s face.
“Should you die, I want to look Vie-Rekh in the eye and tell her you were taken doing your duty, not helplessly killed by a piece of Lavorix tech fired from a million klicks,” said Recker, his eyes locked with Shadar’s.
A raucous laugh escaped the alien’s throat and he grinned. “You would not survive such an encounter with my wife.” The Daklan nodded. “Very well, I will order my squad to leave this ship once we arrive at Earth.”
“Thank you.”
Shadar re-joined the others, leaving Hendrix standing at Recker’s side.
“Anything else I need to be aware of, Corporal?”
“No, sir.”
Recker exhaled. “Thank you.”
Hendrix returned to the platoon and Recker stared for long moments at nothing, until the faint earpiece crackle of an opening comms channel snatched him from his reverie.
“We’re topside, sir,” said Aston.
“That was quick.”
“Just following orders, sir. We’re doing a zero-gravity walk to the Vengeance’s forward ramp.”
Recker didn’t see the need to distract Burner, so he accessed the nearest sensor array himself and watched the two figures making their way awkwardly across the upper plating, using the gravity fields in their boots to stop themselves drifting into space.
“Maybe I should have landed at Adamantine,” he said.
“We’ll be onboard soon enough, sir. I’m glad I had some top-up practice with zero-grav when we were escaping the Indarox.”
Recker could have occupied himself with any one of a dozen minor tasks. Instead, he watched Aston and Montero cross the Aeklu’s topside plating, tiny figures in the forest of towering alloy weaponry and even smaller in comparison to the Vengeance.
“Up we go,” said Aston, climbing the steps leading to the warship’s airlock.
“I’ll order Lieutenant Eastwood to begin the Gateway warmup,” said Recker.
“Yes, sir. We’ll be on the bridge in good time.”
“Get away from the Aeklu as quickly as possible so you don’t accidentally come with us.”
“We’re on the case, sir.”
“I’ll stop micromanaging.”
“That would be super.”
Smiling, Recker cut the channel, though he kept the sensor focused on the Vengeance.
“Lieutenant Eastwood, we’re going to Earth.”
“Yes, sir. Uhh…”
“What’s wrong?” said Recker.
“A particle wave appeared on the far side of Lustre, sir. The readings are similar to those we’ve obtained from the Galactar before.”
“The Hexidine,” said Recker. “Shit, they came by Gateway after all.”
“Yes, sir – looks like it.”
“Make the other ships aware,” snapped Recker. He reopened the channel to Aston. “The Hexidine is here. Are you on the bridge?”
“Not yet, sir.”
“We can’t wait for you.”
“No, sir. We’ll hold on tight.”
Recker closed the channel and raised his voice. “We’re meeting those bastards head-on - before they can turn their Extractor on Lustre and before they recover from their Gateway transit.”
He slammed the control bars forward and to the side. The propulsion gauge jumped straight to one hundred percent and the Aeklu surged into high acceleration, banking at the same time. On the sensor feed, Recker watched the Vengeance slide off the topside plating, missing the huge turret by a few hundred metres. The life support module on the smaller ship would keep the interior stable and he had no concerns about Aston’s and Montero’s safety.
“The Langinstol and the Incendus are with us, sir,” said Burner. “I’m linked in with the Lustre satellite network and have located the enemy warship. We are still sending and receiving to the Lavorix battle network.”
A red circle appeared on the tactical, far side of the planet and
two million klicks beyond. The Hexidine wasn’t moving, though Recker didn’t expect that situation to last. His mind turned over the possibilities and came up with an idea.
“Hit those bastards with lightspeed missiles while they’re at a standstill,” he ordered. “Fire straight through the planet.”
“The Daklan are planning to do just that, sir,” said Burner. He cursed. “I’ve got some bad news. The most recent battle network comms packet from the Ixidar indicates a significant change in location. It’s now in the Excon-1 solar system.”
“Shit,” said Recker. “What about the Gorgadar?”
“It hasn’t moved from its original position, sir.”
One Law of Ancidium was too much of an opponent and Recker wasn’t pleased at the possibility he might soon be facing two. The thought made him determined to get this battle with the Hexidine over as quickly as possible, in case the Ixidar’s next jump took it here to the QS-9 system.
Gritting his teeth, Recker switched the Aeklu’s propulsion into overstress. The roar of pressurized air filled the bridge and the warship raced away from its escort. Ahead, the planet Lustre, and beyond that, an opponent Recker knew would take him to the limit.
Chapter Eighteen
“The Daklan have fired their lightspeed missiles, sir,” said Burner. “And now the Hexidine is on the move – it’s heading straight for Lustre.”
“As soon as you’re confident of the shot, hit the enemy ship with the Toll, Lieutenant Larson,” said Recker.
The Aeklu’s incredible velocity had closed the distance to Lustre in only a few seconds and Recker intended to skim across the planet’s atmosphere to reduce travel time to a minimum. With the needle showing seven thousand kilometres per second, the warship sped past Lustre and the few scattered atmospheric particles were enough to trigger the energy shield, wrapping the Aeklu in the palest of blues.
As if sensing the approach, the enemy vessel shifted onto a new course which would intercept the Aeklu.
“They’re on our battle network, sir, which means they can find us wherever we are,” said Burner. “Want me to cut them off?”
“Don’t bother, Lieutenant. The longer this fight goes on, the greater the chance those people on Lustre become casualties. We don’t want this engagement turning into a game of hide and seek.”
“They’ll probably infiltrate the satellite network as well, sir.”
“Keep an eye on it.”
“We’ve reached the bridge of the Vengeance, sir,” said Aston on the comms. “We’ll head in pursuit of the Aeklu and wait for our opportunity.”
Recker wanted to spell out his own idea of what that opportunity would be, so Aston would understand. It was hard to keep his mouth shut.
She knows. She’ll do the right thing.
“The Aeklu leads,” Recker said. “And we’re going to blow the crap out of these bastards.”
“Yes, sir.”
“We’ll have a sensor lock on the Hexidine any moment,” said Burner. “There!”
Up it came on the bulkhead screen, a thirty-five-thousand-metre destroyer of planets and fleets alike. Not that it was undamaged. From its approach angle, the ripped-out armour from the Executor attack on Ivisto was visible and three separate areas glowed white from the most recent lightspeed missile detonations.
“Distance to target: one million klicks,” said Larson. “They’re making a slight course adjustment every second or two.”
“They know what the Toll will do to their shield,” said Recker. “Let’s take this as a positive sign.”
“The Daklan are holding their missile launches while the enemy ship is moving, sir,” said Burner. “Captain Vazox intends to remain behind Lustre and fire again when the opportunity arises.”
“Targeting the enemy warship with our main armament,” said Larson.
“Hold until we’re closer,” said Recker, glancing at the distance to target reading.
Seven hundred thousand klicks.
“Depletion burst locked and available,” said Larson. “Missiles and gauss repeaters outside of lock range.”
“Hit it with a full-strength depletion burst. Fire missiles when available.”
Recker wasn’t sure what physically debilitating outcome would result from the tenixite converter’s activation. He didn’t find out.
“Negative discharge on the tenixite converter, sir. All lights are green, so I don’t know the cause of failure.”
“I’m getting the same power spikes from their hull as last time, sir,” said Eastwood. “They’re readying the Halo.”
“Half a million klicks to target.”
“Fire the Toll.”
“Toll fired.”
Recker didn’t wait to see the result. As quickly as he could, he touched an area of the tactical farther away from Lustre, and then activated a mode 3 transit. The propulsion thunder peaked louder than before and was joined by the clanging of the main armament and the thudding of the weapon’s reload mechanisms. Clenching his jaw against the aftereffects of the transit, Recker gave the Aeklu full acceleration again.
“Sensors back online, hunting for the enemy,” said Burner.
“Come on, come on,” muttered Recker. He’d aimed directly beyond the opposing warship and he waited for Burner to obtain a sensor lock.
“There they are!” said Burner. “A million klicks off our portside and coming about for another shot at us. No indication they’ve suffered additional damage.”
“The Toll shot missed, sir,” said Larson. “Ten klicks wide, judging from the readings as the projectile left the barrel.”
“Next time you’ll be dead centre, Lieutenant.”
“Yes, sir, I will.”
Up for the challenge, Recker aimed directly for the Hexidine, feeling like a mediaeval jouster staring at the end of a lance.
“Twenty seconds on the Toll reload, sir,” said Larson.
“They’re readying the Halo again,” said Eastwood. “I have no idea of its range.”
Recker’s eyes darted to the tactical. The Langinstol and the Incendus were completely hidden by Lustre but communicating their positions on the battle network. Elsewhere, the Vengeance was low to the planet’s surface and near the cusp. Aston was keeping the warship just out of sight, while maintaining readiness to attack. With the Hexidine travelling so quickly, any attempt to mode 3 in for a second Executor shot was doomed to failure.
“We’ve got to draw them into a mode 3 jump of their own,” said Recker. “They’ll emerge from it at a near standstill and that’ll be our opening.”
“Yes, sir – the other commanding officers are aware,” said Burner.
“Still out of missile range,” said Larson.
“The power spikes from their hull have levelled off, sir,” said Eastwood. “I think they’re about to fire the Halo.”
“Let’s break their target lock,” said Recker. He touched the tactical and activated mode 3 for a second time. The moment the transit was finished, he slammed the controls forward.
“There’s the Hexidine!” said Burner, loudly over the renewed sound of the propulsion. “A quarter of a million klicks starboard.”
“Missiles locked!” said Larson.
“Give them everything, Lieutenant. We want them to get scared and jump out of range,” said Recker, banking to aim the Toll at the enemy warship. The turret could only adjust within a narrow arc and most of the targeting was accomplished by pointing the Aeklu’s nose in the right direction.
“Starboard clusters one through thirty: fired. Uppers one through fifteen: fired. Forwards one through fifteen: fired,” said Larson. “Gauss countermeasures set to track and destroy. Enemy missile launch detected. 1080 missiles coming our way.”
“Those will take a big chunk out of our shield reserves, sir,” said Eastwood. “I’d recommend we don’t soak them. I’m reading the Halo power spikes again.”
Recker wasn’t sure on the precise maximum range of the Extractor, but as the gap between the s
hips fell below two hundred thousand kilometres, he knew he was cutting it fine. Part of him hoped the enemy – having fired the Extractor numerous times and leaving the Aeklu still operational – wouldn’t fire it again. The cynic in him was sure the Lavorix would simply appreciate the opportunity to fine-tune the weapon in preparation for a total extraction of Lustre.
I’m scared of that weapon. Not for those people on Lustre, but for me and the people with me. For the pain it brings.
“I won’t let it affect me,” he snarled under his breath.
Holding focus, Recker brought the Toll into line with the Hexidine. The enemy ship was aware of the danger and it zig-zagged with physics-defying agility, making it hard for Larson to aim the shot. With a combination of intuition, experience and fast reactions, Recker kept the Toll barrel following the Hexidine and he could sense Larson’s hesitation.
“If you overthink it, you’ll miss your chance,” said Recker.
Missiles covered the tactical in red and green. The Aeklu’s gauss repeaters started up, firing in a cacophony of perfectly machined alloy. Tracer lines stabbed into the vacuum, coming from both Laws of Ancidium, while orange trails of propellant from the boosters of two thousand missiles wove a twisting pattern that defied the eye and the brain. A gentle breeze from the bridge vents was laden with pungent odours of burned metal and ozone. For a fleeting moment, Recker felt pure exaltation, like this was everything he was meant to be.
“Halo power spikes levelling off!” shouted Eastwood.
“Firing the Toll,” said Larson.
The Hexidine vanished into mode 3. Expecting it to happen, Recker did the same with the Aeklu, a moment before the incoming missiles could crash into the shield. The in-out transition was worse than the others and he could feel the Frenziol holding back his body’s urge to vomit.
“Find that damned ship!” yelled Recker, angrily.
“Scanning!”
“You can use mode 3 once more before the ten-minute cooldown kicks in, sir,” said Eastwood. “If the Hexidine has the same capabilities as we do, they can activate three more.”
Recker heard and understood the words, but most of his attention was on the tactical and the sensors. He hoped Aston and the two Daklan officers had been fast enough to grab this chance to hurt the enemy ship, but if the Vengeance was inside the Hexidine’s shield, it wouldn’t survive long without assistance.
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