by J. J. Green
His neck ached with tension. He rubbed it. He breathed in deeply before exhaling long and slow. “Ready, everyone.”
The seconds ticked away on Pacheco’s interface display. The air seemed syrupy and hard to breathe. The stress in the room pressed down.
The battle that could unlock a future of peace for galactic civilization was about to begin.
Pacheco’s display read zero.
“Jump.”
Chapter Thirteen
The Thylacine was ready to starjump across the galaxy to the remaining Shadow-controlled region. As she sat on the ship’s bridge for the countdown to the jump, Jas was reminded of the fact that the ship would pass momentarily through the Void on its journey She had learned that fact during her myth run at Ganymede Station. The Paths had told her that glimpses of the starships of the physical universe dipping into the Void while they starjumped had enticed the Shadows to devise a method to cross the barrier and find out more about this plane that was new to them.
Up until then, no one had known or even guessed the Shadows’ motivation for their invasion, but the knowledge didn’t seem to matter. It wasn’t as if the sentient species of the galaxy could give up using starjump technology. Traveling the vast distances across space would be impossible without it. The energy required to power transgalactic gateways was so great that transporting large numbers of people or large amounts of goods wasn’t economically viable. Jas wondered if traveling via gateway also meant stepping briefly into the Void.
It was unfortunate that the jump drive had resulted in enticing the Shadows to enter the galaxy, but she had no compassion or sympathy for the creatures. They were responsible for the deaths of millions, and one man in particular whose loss she would never recover from. She could never forgive what the Shadows had done, and she relished this opportunity to grind them to dust beneath her heel.
They jumped.
Starjumping such a large distance always left everyone disoriented for a moment. Jas blinked as the bridge came into focus around her.
A holo popped up. As Pacheco had told her, a large Shadow ship was in the vicinity. It was bigger than the Thylacine, but they had the element of surprise. With a grim smile, Jas imagined the reactions of the Shadow captain and his crew when they registered the Thylacine’s presence, heavily armed and force field up.
“Pulse cannons at the ready,” Jas said. “Fire.”
A battery of pulses flew from the Thylacine’s cannons, arcing across space, toward the Shadow ship. The first arrived before the ship’s force field was fully employed, and the holo displayed a satisfying splash of light directly across its hull. The following pulses hit soon after, spreading out across the force field and dissipating into space.
“Second degree hull damage on the enemy ship, Commander,” Trimborn said, his gaze intent on his console.
Score one to the Thylacine. The following battle might be long and hard until they finally subdued the enemy vessel, but they already had an advantage.
The return pulses weren’t slow in coming, but the Thylacine’s force field shrugged them off.
Jas leaned forward in her seat to look at the holo of the Shadow ship more closely. “Trimborn, is that a—”
“Class three destroyer, ma’am,” the first officer replied. “Unity ship.”
He looked up from his screen to give her a wry smile. Class three destroyers had been phased out of production because they had a notorious weakness: their new model, RaptorY engines were prone to exploding if the surrounding hull were breached, and the explosion would take out the entire ship.
Jas’ face registered grim satisfaction. “Kennewell, take us aft of that ship.”
“Yes, Commander.”
The pilot fired the Thylacine’s more trustworthy RaptorXs, and maneuvered the vessel on a course to bring them behind the Shadow ship.
The Shadow in command seemed to guess their intent, for the enemy ship began to swing around in response to the Thylacine’s maneuver.
“Ha,” Jas said, slapping her knee. “Looks like we’re in for a game of cat and mouse. Kennewell, get us behind that ship, whatever it takes. Trimborn, maintain full pulse barrage.” While it was under sustained attack, the ship wouldn’t be able to build the power to jump.
Abrupt acceleration crushed Jas into her seat as Kennewell powered the Thylacine on a vertical trajectory. The officers who were standing bent at the knees and gripped their consoles. A violent lurch of the ship threw everyone to the right as the holo displayed their rapidly moving vessel speeding closer to the Shadow ship.
“There it goes,” Trimborn said, remarking on the Shadow ship’s rapid descent, almost off the display.
“I’m after it,” Kennewell said, and Jas was airborne for a moment as the Thylacine plunged toward the enemy vessel. Bolts of light were passing between the two ships as pulse after pulse shot out of them.
“Force field eighty percent,” Trimborn said. The Thylacine’s power reserves were beginning to drain. Jas bit her lip. If they could last longer than the enemy vessel, they’d win in the end, providing—
“Ah, krat,” Jas said, forgetting her dignity as a commander for a moment as sparks of light flowed from the Shadow ship. The enemy hadn’t been slow in deploying its fighter ships. And it appeared to have over a hundred of them.
“Direct pulses at those ships, Trimborn,” Jas said, hoping to take out enough to force them to retreat.
The Thylacine’s pulses changed direction and began cutting through the cloud of fighters. But the pulses could only take out a handful at a time before disappearing into space. Meanwhile, the enemy ship’s pulses rained down on the Thylacine. The force field was holding for the time being, but the ship shuddered and shook as the pulses impacted.
“Force field forty-six percent,” Trimborn said.
Kennewell was doing her utmost to bring the Thylacine to the rear of the Shadow ship, but the enemy also clearly had a pilot who was excellent at playing the mouse.
“Force field thirty-five percent,” said Trimborn.
With a heavy heart, Jas spoke into her comm, “Squadron Leader, scramble all fighters.” Lifting her head, she said, “Trimborn, return pulse fire to the enemy ship.”
Pulses wouldn’t stop the enemy’s fighter ships, and no matter how fast Kennewell piloted the Thylacine, the large ship was no match for their speed or maneuverability. They would soon be close enough to fire at her.
The Thylacine’s fighters erupted from her launch bay. A collective gasp sounded on the bridge as a pulse from the Shadow ship cut a swathe through its own fighter ships, destroying the sparks like a jet of water on a fire. The Shadows were killing their own pilots to target the Thylacine’s.
Sayen turned a white, stricken face to Jas.
“Looks like they’re prepared to do anything to win this battle,” Jas said grimly.
The Shadow fighter ships were drawing nearer, and the Thylacine’s moved to engage with them. Another pulse flew from the Shadow ship, wiping out not only Shadow fighter ships, but the Thylacine’s too.
“What the krat are they doing?” Trimborn burst out. “What’s the point of sending out fighters just to destroy them?”
“As long as a few get through,” Jas said, “and none of ours survive, they could cause us some serious damage. And if we go after the fighters directly, that prevents us from targeting their ship.”
Jas bit the side of her thumb and stared at the holo.
She barked, “Kennewell, for krat’s sake, get us below that ship.” The Thylacine would draw some of the Shadow ship’s fire. But as they moved, the Shadow’s faster fighter planes were right on their tail.
“Commander,” Sayen said. “What if we jump?”
Jump? They couldn’t do that. It would mean leaving their fighters behind in the hands of the enemy. Unless she meant...
“Can we do that, S—Navigator?” Jas asked.
“It’ll be close,” Sayen replied, “but as long as our fighters stay at the fore,
they should be protected.”
“Do it,” Jas said. “Trimborn, cut pulses. We’re going to jump.”
“Jump, ma’am?” the first officer asked.
“Jump engines powering, Commander,” Kennewell said.
Sayen bent over her interface, rapidly calculating the jump.
“Prepare for full pulse barrage the second we jump,” Jas said. “No force field.”
Kennewell was watching Sayen, waiting for the coordinates. Without lifting her head, Sayen raised a hand and pointed at the pilot.
But she shook her head. “Still waiting on the engines.”
Without their pulses targeting those incoming from the Shadows, the Thylacine was taking a brutal beating once more. On the holo, their ship was a ball of light as the pulses spread out across its force field. The Shadow fighters had also broken through the defense laid down by the Thylacine’s pilots.
“Force field eighteen percent,” Trimborn said. “Damage to hull, port and starboard.”
Jas prayed that her squadron leader would notice that the Thylacine was building to a jump and guess her intention. Her gaze was fixed on those tiny flecks of light that represented the lives of more than eighty women and men. If their fighters were too close when they jumped, they would be killed. One or two lingered in the unsafe zone. Come on. Move.
“Force field seven percent.”
“Get out of the way,” Jas exclaimed, hitting her arm rest.
As if in response, the Thylacine’s fighter ships that were in danger began to peel away, fleeing the vicinity like fish escaping a shark’s mouth.
“Jumping in fifteen seconds,” Kennewell said.
The officers dropped into their seats and fastened their harnesses.
“Five seconds,” said Kennewell.
“Remember that barrage, Trimborn,” Jas said. “Don’t waste time on the force field.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the first officer said, and then they jumped.
The Thylacine reappeared less than a heartbeat later right behind the Shadow ship. Trimborn unleashed the full might of its pulse cannons on one spot—the site of the RaptorY engines. The Shadow ship’s force field was still strong, but not strong enough to protect the ship from the concentrated power of the Thylacine. The captain also took too long to realize what was happening.
A single pulse sped from the enemy ship in their direction before its force field collapsed. The Thylacine’s next attack penetrated the hull, hitting both RaptorY engines. As soon as the breach appeared, without waiting for the order, Kennewell pulled the Thylacine violently away, throwing everyone on the bridge forward.
Another pulse from the Shadow ship and the blast of its explosion hit the Thylacine, throwing it backward even faster. Kennewell didn’t slow the ship down until they were safely beyond the explosion zone.
“Hull breach,” Trimborn said. “Losing atmosphere decks two and three. And we’re on fire.”
They’d sustained some damage, but they’d done it. The Shadow ship was nothing but scattered debris.
“Direct comm to Admiral Pacheco,” Jas said.
The comm officer pressed his console and spoke into his mic. He nodded and took off his earpiece before holding it out to Jas. She strode over, held the earpiece to one ear and spoke into the mic.
“Mission successful, Admiral. The Shadow ship’s destroyed.”
“Then get over here,” came Pacheco’s reply. “The Camaradon needs you.”
Chapter Fourteen
The Thylacine’s engines began building to starjump again. Jas spoke to the repair crews who were sealing the hull breech, telling them they had three minutes to get everyone behind sealed bulkheads. As she spoke, her eyes were on the holo. The surviving fighter pilots were streaming back to the safety of the Thylacine’s launch bay, though the remaining Shadow fighters were engaging them in dog fights.
With their mother ship gone, they were as good as dead. They had nothing to lose. And if Jas left without them, her fighters were in nearly the same predicament, though if the Thylacine made it through, they would return to search for them.
Sayen was busy calculating their next jump from the coordinates given by the Camaradon. Jas wondered what the problem was. The Unity’s fleet ship had never been beaten in battle. She had never even had her hull breached, as far as Jas was aware. And Pacheco knew what he was doing when it came to space battles. Maybe their intelligence had underestimated the enemy’s firepower.
“Trimborn,” Jas said, “what power capacity are we at?”
“After this jump,” he replied, “I estimate seventy-three percent.”
Not too bad, but not great either. Not for entering another intense engagement. Pacheco knew that, yet he’d still asked them to come. Things had to be bad.
“Sending coordinates,” Sayen said.
“Got them,” said Kennewell. “Engine three minutes from jump, Commander.”
Jas gripped her arm rests and stared down at the list of pilots’ names ever present on her screen. The dots were missing from a large percentage, and as she watched, one of the lights wavered and went out. Looking up at the holo, she saw the fighter vessels approaching, dogged by fire from the Shadow fighters.
“Trimborn,” she said, “can you aim a pulse at those Shadow vessels without risking hitting our own ships?”
He frowned over his console for a moment before replying, “Yes, ma’am.”
“It will delay our jump a few seconds, Commander,” the comm officer said.
Kennewell scowled at him.
“I’m aware of that,” said Jas. “Do it.” She watched as the short pulse from the Thylacine obliterated the tail end of the Shadow fighters. The Thylacine’s fighters were already arriving at the ship and entering the launch bay. The remaining pilots fought off the Shadows still chasing them.
“Jumping in one minute,” Kennewell said.
Their fighters were going to make it. Jas checked with the repair crew that everyone was in a place of safety, and she told the rest of the ship to get to their jumpseats. She comm’d the Squadron Leader to tell his pilots to remain aboard their vessels for the jump.
Jas leaned back in her seat and passed a hand over her eyes. The adrenaline from the battle was fading, leaving behind a deep fatigue. She felt like she could sleep for a month. Just one last effort, she told herself. Just one last fight, then it would all be over. Sayen could return to Earth and her brother, Toirien could be reunited with her daughters, and Pacheco could find someone else to moon over.
What she would do, she didn’t know, but neither did she care.
“Here we go,” Kennewell said, and Jas felt the familiar falling sensation.
“Krat, would you look at that,” exclaimed Trimborn as the holo of the battle scene flickered to life.
The Thylacine had appeared to one side of a flurry of pulse fire. Pacheco had brought them right into battle, and it soon became obvious why. The Camaradon was under severe attack.
Jas’ heart froze at the sight. A mere few hundred thousand kilometers from the Camaradon was a ship bigger than any she’d ever seen. It dwarfed the massive Unity ship like a planet did a moon. The ship’s make was also entirely unfamiliar.
Her mind flew back to the Thylacine’s battle with the unfamiliar Shadow ships. The Shadows had been building their own ships. They’d moved on from using their victims’ knowledge and skills and begun to innovate and create. Had the ships Jas had encountered been mere test vessels for the technology of this new, gargantuan ship?
“Attack that ship,” she shouted, leaping out of her seat. “Full pulses.”
Her hand rose to her mouth. Had they been tricked? Had the entire battle been the Shadows’ idea? Had the Camaradon and the other Unity Alliance vessels been lured into a trap?
Her eyes rose to the holo of the Shadow ship that overhung the bridge. She scanned the vessel for any familiarities—sensor arrays, drive assemblies, cannons—anything that could give her a handle on what they were dealing with.
But the ship was a mystery to her. Even its firepower was different. A long stream of energy burst from it, not the familiar bolts of pulses.
The Camaradon was being raked by this raw firepower, and its own barrage of pulses were being trapped and eradicated by the wavering energy beam before they could even hit the Shadow ship.
As they watched, more Unity Alliance ships blinked into existence, called to the Camaradon’s aid, yet they looked like fleas hopping around a dog.
The Thylacine’s pulses attracted the attention of the energy beam. It flicked toward them, and the pulses were gone. The familiar burst and dissipation of charged particles was missing, however. Had the beam absorbed the energy? Were the Camaradon’s pulses being converted and returned to it as firepower?
“Stop firing all pulses,” Jas said. “Comm the Admiral.”
“I can’t, ma’am,” the comm officer said. “Our comms are being scrambled. Everything that leaves or enters our system.”
Krat. Jas got up and went over to the holo. The behemoth Shadow ship dominated the display but Unity Alliance ships surrounded it on all sides. The number of ships indicated that the UA had been successful in most of their individual battles, but that wouldn’t mean anything if they lost the Camaradon.
The Shadow ship was bigger and the Shadow’s technology was better, but the UA had to win this fight. If they didn’t the enemy would begin to push back, retaking the planets that had been cleaned of their presence, infiltrating new worlds. All the battles of the previous five years, all the lives that had been lost would have been for nothing.
But how could they defeat the Shadow’s devastating ray?
As Jas watched the holo, tiny sparks began to stream from the belly of the Camaradon. Pacheco had launched his fighter ships, sending individual women and men in their tiny craft against that terrifying beam of light that was possibly being fed by pulses from the UA side.
But Pacheco had the right idea. If pulses couldn’t break through the Shadow ship’s defenses, the only chance the UA had of destroying the ship was the force field-penetrating, low-energy fire of the fighters. If they could wreck whatever it was that was creating that ray, the Camaradon and the UA still stood a chance.
