Void Dragon

by William Kephart

  “You heard the Captain, step to! We’re on a tight schedule here and I want those fabricators loaded by eighteen hundred hours. It’s going to be a long night so stay sharp.”

  “What about our suits?” a male marine asked.

  “We have the gravimetric data on Harbin loaded into the software already. We can’t unpack them right now, no room, so we’ll have to work fast once we touch down. Harbin can be dusty so make sure you have a tight seal on everything. Well, move it!” Zhamisce ordered.

  The marines filed out in ordered chaos as they got to work clearing room, packing the cargo tighter, and loading more. Wen was glad she wouldn’t have to supervise this time. Major Zhamisce had delegated that to one of his junior officers.

  “Right then—”

  “So—”

  “After you, Captain.”

  “This is going to be our first real ground op. I know we’ve drilled, but I’d like to see you and Colonel Xia in my office to help me plan a course of action.”

  “Can do, Ma’am. I’ve already got some ideas.”

  “Great. Give me an hour to wrangle Xia and we’ll figure it out together. Dismissed.”

  Zhamisce saluted and made for the loading dock. At the threshold he paused, turned and said, “Don’t worry too much about Colonel Xia. Ren units keep to themselves but they know their business. We’re lucky to have them, trust me.”

  “I hope you’re right, Major. See you in an hour.”

  Wen didn’t feel like stewing alone in her office so she went to the command deck. Funny enough it was deserted except for a few junior officers she knew by face more than name. You’d think on a ship this size I’d know everyone intimately by now.

  “Carry on, carry on,” she said. They look disappointed. Hell, I would be too. It was a long patrol and I bet they were looking forward to shore leave. Oh well. The war waits for no one.

  There wasn’t much to do just then, the commands had been given and everyone was either doing their jobs or trying to get in a little sleep if they could. Wen paced the passageways for a time, checked that only a few minutes had passed, went back to pacing again, and so on.

  This is worse than waiting weeks for action on a patrol in some ways, she thought. They would be dropping on Harbin tonight, a sure thing. If all went well this would amount to glorified transport duty for her, but she didn’t count on all going well. They’d been surprised too many times in the last few months. Something would go wrong. Wen went back to her office to stare at maps.

  She’d been at it for a few minutes before she realized she never talked to Colonel Xia. After hesitating a bit Wen brought up the intercom. “Colonel Xia to the Captain’s office. Colonel Xia to the Captain’s office.”

  To Wen’s surprise she wasn’t waiting long.

  “Reconsider your plan already?” Xia asked presumptuously.

  “No, I wanted you here to help me plan the operation.”

  “What’s to plan? This was supposed to be a quick in and out. Grab Montjoie, set demo charges on the core, and slip away before the Enemy knows what’s what.”

  “You think it’ll be that easy?”

  Xia sat down without asking for permission and leaned over Wen’s desk. “If you let me do it my way, sure. Your whole idea of digging in, building up a strike force, and attacking together is just going to give the Enemy enough warning to be ready for us. As it stands they think they’ve broken our resistance on Harbin. They won’t be ready for a swift strike.”

  “I think you’re overestimating yourself.”

  “And you’re underestimating the Enemy. It’s difficult terrain so it will take time, but if they expect an attack on the Mountain they captured they can bring in heavy artillery, emphasis on heavy. Their plasma flak is good. We’d have to come in low and fast to get under it, and I’d rather not even give them time to set if up if it’s all the same to you.”

  “And if it’s already set up? Assaulting with just your team is suicide.”

  “Trust me, they haven’t.”

  “And how would you know?”

  “You Navy types don’t understand them like we do, fight them like we do, person to person. They’re slow to act, but once they decide on a course of action they pile on resources until they become an unstoppable force. The way to beat them is never give them the chance, play dirty, hit first, hit often, and get out before they can respond.”

  “Maybe so, but you’re wrong here.”

  “Really? Care to tell me why?”

  “They’ve already decided that core is valuable, and committed major resources to capturing it. They just dug an entire task force out of a mountain range. Rushing in is the exact opposite of what we should do. If you think a small force can slip through unsupported you’re delusional. Our only hope is rallying and rearming the Xuanwu survivors, and using them and Zhamisce’s unit to open up a gap in their lines for you. Besides, if anybody knows where Montjoie is, they do. I don’t fancy trying to interrogate Enemy prisoners without him.”

  “Fine. It’s your mission. Our lives though.”

  “And Xuanwu?”

  “They’re marines. They knew the risks.”

  “Couldn’t agree more, Colonel,” Zhamisce said from the door.

  I forgot he was about due. “Good afternoon Major, or I suppose it’s evening now. Please sit, the Colonel and I were just discussing our strategy.”

  “Is that so? Well, I’ve been looking at scans of the badlands and I think I’ve found a few good candidates for our LZ and base camp.”

  He handed Xia his datapad and she puzzled over it for a moment. “That’s open ground,” she said. “You want to expose us to their air power?”

  “I doubt they’re running patrols that far south. The weather conditions also provide some cover. Some of these dust storms I’ve read about could act as a kind of natural shroud.”

  “Shroud?” Wen asked.

  “Like bugout bursts, but for ground operations, basically light-noise that blinds sensors. It’s useful cover and can get you within visual range of the Enemy without too much heat coming your way, most of the time,” he said.

  Not a bad idea. “Could the Void Dragon deploy something like that to cover your drop?”

  “Would probably end up being too strong,” Zhamisce said. “I imagine it would draw them to us like a beacon, negating any advantage we might gain.”

  “Agreed,” Xia added grudgingly. “Which is why the best plan is an immediate attack. We’ll drop in on them with thunderclap surprise and be gone before they can rouse resistance.”

  “That’s assuming a lot,” Zhamisce said, stroking his chin in thought. “I can think of several things that could go wrong. Suppose they’ve captured Montjoie already and evacuated him to their strongpoint in the polar region?”

  “If that’s the case this mission is a failure before it’s even begun, which is precisely why we must strike now!” Xia said, slamming a fist into her opposite hand. “We must give them no time to transport prisoners or anything else.”

  “It’s just as likely they came upon Montjoie not knowing what they had, and killed him along with the marines.” Wen said.

  “They might not be able to tell the difference, but Task Force Xuanwu almost certainly captured Enemy prisoners for Montjoie to study. When the Mountain Stronghold that held the core was lost, those prisoners may have been released. The prisoners would tell them,” Xia said.

  Wen hadn’t considered that. The conversation died for a while.

  “This is all speculation,” she said finally. “We have no notion of where Montjoie is or if he’s even alive. If he’s already dead the mission simplifies greatly.”

  “I would hope he still lives. The Mei on strike may not be satisfied with a story about him dying on a planet that has officially been lost to us for years,” Zhamisce said.

  “And what do you mean by that?” Xia asked, leaning into his personal space just a little too much.

  “Only that I want this mission to s
ucceed,” he replied, holding up a hand. “Our purpose here is the pacification of the Mei dissidents and the resumption of full war production. Harbin is a sandbox on the edge of nowhere and less than useless otherwise.”

  Yes, it’s only the planet my mother died for, Wen thought. But as soon as that thought came and went she knew she was being unfair. Her mother accepted the mission just like she accepted the Void Dragon. They were both doing their duty and knew the risks.

  “I’ve heard enough. We’re going with my original plan to rally Xuanwu and gather information on Montjoie’s whereabouts before we destroy the core at the Mountain Stronghold.” Wen beckoned them both to her side of the desk. “Major, your datapad is connected to the ship intranet? Upload it to my screen and let’s talk landing zones.”

  They dickered for a bit before settling on an empty region in the northern tropic. “The mountains cover us to the north and we needn’t trouble ourselves over the barren lands along the equator. The surrounding hill country is confirmed by prospectors to have ore enough to supply our fabricators. If any Xuanwu troopers yet live we can rearm them at our leisure,” Wen stated. “Questions, comments, concerns?”

  “It’s a solid choice, the plasma flak coverage is likely to be weak to nonexistent there, and optimized against orbital drops in any case. Coming in under it shouldn’t be a problem.” Zhamisce said.

  “And after we land?” Xia asked.

  “Establish a base camp, unpack your gear, calibrate it for local conditions, and get those fabricators processing the local resources into something usable. After that I’ll be sending both of your units out to comb the mountains for survivors and gather intel.”

  “And how long do you suppose that will take? High Command wants this mission done yesterday,” Xia said.

  “That’s entirely up to you, Colonel. Just carry out your orders and they’ll be done before you know it.” Bitch. “I’ll leave the briefing of your troopers up to you. Dismissed.” And stay out of my office.

  Wen waited for the door to close behind them before slouching and pinching the bridge of her nose. Ugh, that was exhausting. She objected to everything, and I don’t think I’ve slept for a day and a half. Everything about this mission is rushed, she thought.

  Oh well, can’t do anything about it. At least once we land I won’t be the one doing the hard work. Sometimes it was good to be the Captain.

  Wen didn’t trust herself to remain awake if she stayed alone in her office for a minute longer. She went back to pacing the passageways and checking in on the loading crews a few times an hour. On one of her forays she met Xinren leaving the crew compartment.

  “Carry on, Commander, we’ll be underway soon,” she said.

  “I was just headed out for a last minute check of the accelerator rails. Did you know they have to be reset after every hundred shots? We’re getting very close to that and I’d insist on it if we weren’t carrying so little ammunition. Do you really think that’s a good idea?”

  Trust a gunnery officer to care only about the gun. For a moment she considered whether the stereotype about gunnery officers being myopic about everything but their job was true. Perhaps it’s why they don’t give us our own ships, usually. She smiled.

  “Nothing we can do, Commander. It’s a ground op for the most part. We always knew the Void Dragon would eventually be used for something like this. If we run into trouble we run, no point in taking on Enemy ships without our friends around, eh?”

  “If you say so, Captain. Can’t say I like it, though. I’m a Navy man, for life.”

  “We’ll get back to the black Xinren, you’ll see, just have to handle this bit of business for the powers that be. See you.”

  She dearly hoped this mission wouldn’t take long. Transforming the ship into a combination cargo ship and troop transport had already been a pain and a half. Those loading crews better be done by the time I get there or I’ll know the reason why.

  She pounded down the passageways, her long legs carrying her with authority to the cargo compartment. “Major,” she called out. “Progress report.”

  “That’s about the last of it, Captain. Exit ports will be sealed in five minutes.”

  Finally. “I’ll see you on Harbin.”

  ***

  “Lieutenant Tian, bring up our intelligence report on the Enemy’s expected flak grid and plot a greenshift jump to take us under it. Put us as close to the planned LZ as possible, in the lower stratosphere. We should be able to use meteorological conditions to conceal our descent from there.”

  The command deck was buzzing with activity once more. Their brief layover at the Dark Facility was finally over and there would be no prelude. Harbin was but seconds away and a few of the lucky ones on the command deck had managed to wrangle a few hours of sleep. Many weren’t so lucky. This was their first ground op against live hostiles and Wen had commanded her most experienced personnel to their stations. There would be no second stringers for this.

  Wen knew they were tired. She was tired. She thought about passing out stims but didn’t want them wired and jittery. Just have to get them down safely, then I can rest.

  “Ready to go, Lieutenant?” she asked.

  “All systems go,” Tian relayed over the com. “Energy dispersal is set to maximum. They’ll never know we were there.”

  “I like the sound of that. All right, raise shields,” she ordered as an afterthought. The gunnery staff carried out her command robotically. “Our intel on their flak belt is incomplete. I don’t fancy being disintegrated when we come out of our jump.”

  The energy sinks hummed as they pushed the massive light particles together in a huge reaction before venting them as thick strings from exhaust ports along the hull. Then, differential gravity filters bent and stretched the strings into sheets of transparent armor that encased the ship, thickest in the forward-facing cone at the bow.

  “Shield integrity one hundred percent,” Xinren reported.

  “Copy that, Commander. Lieutenant Tian, you may shift when ready.”

  Wen made a note of paying a compliment to Tian and Bruzio on their optimization work when she hardly felt that funny feeling associated with greenshifting and they popped in a moment later. She was just about to make the command to descend when the ship lurched.

  “What the hell? Are we under fire already? Report!”

  The command deck was chaos as the staff struggled to find out what was wrong. A few seconds went by and Wen felt something that she could swear was g force. It was weak, but she shouldn’t have been able to feel anything through the Void Dragon’s artificial gravity field.

  “We’re losing altitude, Captain,” Nima said. “Thirty kilometers.”

  “Altitude? Fire the plasma thrusters, full reverse!” Wen ordered.

  “In a gravity well? You’ll tear the ship apart! Twenty nine kilometers.”

  “Then give me whatever you can!”

  “I’m trying! Twenty seven!” Nima called back.

  What’s going on? “Is it Harbin’s gravity? Dust clogging the thrusters already? We should be above their weather conditions!”

  “Gravity...gravity,” Nima puzzled over the astrogation display. “You fool,” he said quietly. “The shields! We have too much mass with the shields! Xinren, take them down!”

  Of course, Wen thought. People had a tendency to forget massive light had mass, and while their shields were transparent they were heavy.

  “You heard the man, Commander, take them down,” Wen ordered.

  Xinren started working without a word.

  “It’s not working,” Nima said. “Twenty two.”

  “The shields are molecularly complex structures. They’re designed to hold under extreme force,” Xinren replied. “The pressure from the rapid descent is likely helping them hold together. I’ve only got bits fraying off. This is easier in space.”

  “Eighteen and accelerating, Captain,” Nima called out.

  Damn. Damn. Damn. What to do? Wen had spent so
much time trying to keep the shields up she never really considered what she’d have to do to take them down in a hurry.

  Wait. Take them down.

  “Xinren, fire the main gun!” Wen ordered.

  “Captain, if you think that will reverse our momentum—”

  “Not that way, Nima! Xinren, it will break up the shield.”

  “That could work,” Xinren said. “If the shield isn’t set to reform after each shot it won’t. We’ll be able to get clear.”

  “Then what are you waiting for? Do it!” she ordered.

  “Got to minimize the muzzle velocity. At full power we could crack the planet’s crust, and nobody wants that!” Xinren yelled back, working furiously.

  “I suggest you hurry,” Nima said in a strained voice. “Twelve.”

  “Okay...now!”

  Xinren fired. The shot blew out the shield cone from the inside and the Void Dragon slipped right through. Nima spent a few seconds desperately trying to control descent and right the ship along with his astrogation staff.

  “Steady at five kilometers,” he reported. “I can’t believe this. We can forget about stealth. That shot will bring the whole planet down on us,” he said viciously.

  Wen did not need this right now. “Watch your tone, Nima! Take us to the LZ and that’s an order!”

  The Void Dragon continued its slow descent until a junior officer at the gunnery station got a frantic look on his face. “I can’t be sure...I can’t be sure...” he muttered.

  “Speak up kid, what’s the problem?” Xinren asked.

  “I think...I think we’re being scanned, right now,” he said.

  Xinren looked over the officer’s shoulder to double check and sprang into action once he saw whatever he was looking for. “Activate the proximity alarm. Captain, hostile contact,” he reported.

  “ETA?” Wen asked.

  “Unknown, but if they’ve made us already interceptors could be here in minutes.”

  “That’s it then,” Nima said. “Captain, abort the mission. Without the element of surprise we can’t hope to succeed. We can slip away and perhaps they’ll dismiss us as another scout. We might even be able return once the heat dies down.”