by J. J. Green
Jas gave a shudder. Of all the planets she’d visited while working aboard prospectors, K.67092d was the last place she wanted to return to. She’d rather go back to Antarctica.
“Coordinates ready,” Sayen said. “Sending them over.”
Pilot Kennewell gave a nod as they arrived. “Jumping in ten.”
Jas relayed the information to the crew around the ship, telling them to take their seats. “Perhaps you should find a jumpseat, Admiral?” she asked. It wouldn’t be safe for him to be standing when they jumped. Though the process usually wasn’t violent, it wasn’t unknown for ships to jump into weapons fire.
Pacheco seemed to wrestle with something in his mind, but he conceded to Jas’ common sense and left the bridge.
The tension relaxed a little as he departed. Officers who had been intent on their screens looked up and around at each other. There were some nervous smiles and quiet good luck wishes.
Jas tried to clear her mind, and get ready for the battle, but in truth her thoughts were in turmoil. Depending on how the battle went, she faced a terrible decision. If it made tactical sense to scramble the fighters, she would have to do it. And that would mean putting the life of the man she loved at risk.
Chapter Twenty-Five
As soon as the Thylacine had made the jump, Pacheco began to make his way back to the bridge. The comm officer had set him up with channels to the ships under his command, though his ability to speak with them depended on how effective the Shadow ship’s dampening field was.
In the battle where they’d lost the Camaradon, it had been all but impossible to comm the other UA ships through space rather than jump channels, but he had to try. The right maneuver at the right time might mean the difference between victory and defeat. In case he couldn’t comm the other ships, all their captains and commanders had been fully briefed on the aims and rationale of the battle tactics in case they were forced to act without instruction.
The battle plan was simple: deluge the Shadow ship with fire to prevent it from jumping, surround it with UA ships to dilute the effect of its ray, and give the Thylacine time to create the anti-matter bomb. The Thylacine would also need their protection while it prepared the bomb.
Jas had to make sure that her ship didn’t stand out from the rest. If the Shadows suspected that she posed a special threat, all they had to do was target it for destruction with their beam, and the last hope of galactic civilization would be crushed.
That was why the Unity Alliance had chosen the Thylacine. There were bigger, faster ships with more firepower, but they would attract the Shadows’ attention. The Thylacine was a run-of-the-mill destroyer. It wouldn’t stand out. It was like a drab brown scorpion with a lethal sting in its tail.
The Thylacine was also Jas’ ship, and though Pacheco was finally beginning to accept that there would never be anything personal between them, he was still moved to protect her. He’d argued strongly that the Thylacine was the right ship for the job.
In a way, he felt a fool. It didn’t take a genius to guess that that pilot he’d seen coming out of Jas’ cabin that morning was the lost love she’d been pining for all these years. He’d been crushed, if he was honest with himself, to see the man in the flesh. It was one thing to understand on an intellectual level that your love would never be reciprocated; it was quite another to meet your rival face to face.
There wasn’t anything special about that man, Lingiari, Pacheco told himself. It was just that he’d made his move first, and Jas wasn’t capricious. He knew that. It was one of the things he liked about her.
He was at the bridge. The doors opened and he went in. The battle was already in full swing. The holo of the gigantic Shadow ship hung in the air to the front and center of the bridge. The UA ships ranged around it to the sides and above and below. Farther below, the gray-brown surface of K.67092d with its wide, pale blue oceans slowly turned.
Every ship was firing. Pulses were raining down, but the Shadow ship wasn’t using its beam. It must require a period of time to start it up, Pacheco realized. They really had caught the Shadows by surprise this time, unlike at the previous battle where the beam was activated almost immediately.
The Unity Alliance ships were pouring all their energy into attacking the Shadow ship’s force field. Pacheco hoped the effort was making a dent in the ship’s massive power supply and preventing it from jumping.
He glanced around him as he went over to the comm officer’s desk. Everyone on the bridge was performing their tasks like clockwork. Jas sat at the center of the activity, pale and tense. He wondered what was going through her mind. To be reunited with her lover the night before she might lose him in battle had to be tough.
A collective gasp and a flare that lit up the bridge told him before he turned to the holo that the Shadow ship had activated its beam. There it was. The impossibly powerful ray of energy had sprung out and was targeting a UA ship. The Shadows had picked a large battleship out of the numerous UA ships that surrounded it.
The beam bore down on the ship, slowly gnawing away at its force field, grinding down its defenses. The battleship ceased firing pulses, as had been the order if targeted by the beam. With luck, the ship would have time to build the energy to jump before the beam broke through.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Unity Alliance fleet targeted their pulses to avoid the ray on their way to the Shadows’ force field. If their guess that the beam absorbed the energy from pulses that crossed it was correct, it made no sense to feed it.
The officers were glancing up from their consoles at the battleship that the Shadows had targeted. Jas was also staring at it, her knuckles white as she gripped her armrests.
Suddenly, where the destroyer had been was nothing but empty space. A cheer arose, and Trimborn exclaimed, “They made it. They jumped.”
The ray shone out into deep space, fading away at its farthest end. It quickly switched to another ship. This also immediately stopped firing, conserving its energy for its force field and to build up to jump. This ship was smaller, however, and Pacheco doubted it ability to withstand the Shadows’ beam to the same extent the battleship had.
As if to attract the Shadows’ attention, another battleship moved toward the targeted UA ship, but the Shadows didn’t take the bait. They poured energy onto the second ship. The battleship inched forward across the holo display, though in reality it was traveling at thousands of kilometers per hour on its RaptorX engines.
Jas murmured into her comm, no doubt checking her engineer’s progress with the equipment that was building the anti-matter bomb. Pacheco hoped the bomb was on schedule.
The officers drew in their breath. The Shadows’ beam had broken through the second ship’s force field, but in another moment it was gone. It was impossible to tell what damage had been done before it jumped. The second ship’s crew would soon find out at the other end.
Meanwhile, the battleship that had been trying to distract the Shadows from the weaker ship got its wish. The Shadow’s ray flicked to it.
Pacheco had an idea. He asked the comm officer if she had a channel to the other admirals. If they all acted as the battleship had, ordering their ships to fly to the ship targeted by the ray, they might persuade the Shadows to split their attention. Ten UA ships would withstand a split ray better than one would its concentrated force.
“Sorry, sir,” the woman said, “nothing yet, but I’ll keep trying.”
If they couldn’t spread the devastating beam around, the Unity Alliance was playing a losing game. By firing all pulses, the UA ships were expending energy quickly. Few would now be able to do what the first battleship had done and simply jump out of trouble.
They had to last long enough for the Thylacine to launch the anti-matter bomb.
Even without Pacheco’s suggestion, many of the UA ships seemed to have had the same idea. They flew toward the battleship that was under fire. But the Shadows were not to be tempted. From experience, Pacheco knew the battleship’s force field
could not last much longer. He caught Jas’ worried gaze as they both counted down the seconds.
The beam broke through the battleship’s force field. A minute later, it’s hull began to break down. Soon, it was gone.
“Did they have time to evacuate?” someone asked.
“Concentrate on your job,” Jas snapped.
Another ship blinked into existence to the far side of the Shadow ship. It was the first battleship, returning to the fight. The Shadow ship saw it immediately, and left its third target to fire again upon the returned ship.
The pulses that the UA ships were pouring at the Shadow ship’s force field seemed to make no difference to its resources. The beam didn’t lessen, dim, or waver. The ship’s power levels were incredible.
Another ship appeared and began firing on the returned battleship. Pacheco’s momentary confusion cleared. It was another Shadow ship. The mother ship was calling her children to her. Another Shadow ship appeared, and another. The battle became difficult to follow as the new Shadow ships engaged with UA vessel, forcing them to re-target their pulses.
The returned battleship lost its fight. It burst apart.
How much longer for the anti-matter bomb? Time was dragging. They’d been fighting less than half an hour, yet it seemed much longer. Had something gone wrong with the bomb? Pacheco couldn’t ask Jas directly. None of the officers present knew of the UA’s plan. The danger that something would be leaked to the Shadows had been too great.
“They’re sending out fighters,” exclaimed Trimborn.
From the underside of the giant Shadow ship, a cloud of sparks streamed like hornets from a nest. The Shadow mother ship was going all out to attack the UA ships. Pacheco swung to Jas with a sudden realization. If any approached the Thylacine, she would be forced to respond. Not to do so would be odd, and she couldn’t afford to do anything to attract the Shadows’ attention. The Thylacine wouldn’t last long under that dreadful beam.
Another UA ship exploded, and the ray sought a new victim. More Shadow ships appeared. The tide of the battle was turning against the Unity Alliance They had to deploy the anti-matter bomb, and soon. The chances that the Thylacine would be next to experience the Shadows’ beam drew stronger every moment.
“Fighters approaching, ma’am,” Trimborn said, though his words were unnecessary. The contingent of Shadow fighters approaching the Thylacine was plain to see.
“Target pulses on them,” Jas said.
The Thylacine’s pulses diverted from the Shadow mother ship and onto the approaching fighter ships. The small specks were undeterred by the bolts that passed through them, hitting only one or two. The Thylacine had to use a different method to defend herself from their attack.
Jas’ face was wracked with pain as she spoke into her comm, and Pacheco lip-read the words, “Squadron Leader, scramble fighters.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Jas could barely concentrate on the battle. Her thoughts and heart were with Carl, who was at that moment flying out of the safety of the Thylacine to do battle with Shadow fighters once more. In her mind’s eye, she could see him intent over the controls of his ship, guiding it skillfully into space, seeking out the approaching Shadow ships, ready to fire.
Like all the other pilots, he was also tasked with breaking through the Shadow fighters’ ranks and attacking the origin point of the Shadows’ devastating weapon in the hope of disabling or destroying it, slim though the chances were of their success.
And Carl wouldn’t shirk his duty, Jas knew, even though he’d done far more than his fair share of fighting.
Her gaze was fixed on the swirling sparks that were the Thylacine’s fighters, already drawing near the enemy. The rest of the battle faded in significance compared to those tiny flecks of life. The two sets of fighters engaged, and the sparks began to disappear.
“MacAdam,” she said urgently into her comm. “How long?”
“Thirty-seven seconds, ma’am,” came the reply.
The anti-matter bomb had been configured to be attracted to the greatest source of energy in the immediate area. It needed no aiming to fly directly to the Shadow’s beam. Once released, it would do its job. The question was only whether it would succeed. The idea that the beam absorbed as well as dispensed energy was just a hypothesis. The Transgalactic Council scientists were also unsure that they had effectively disguised the bomb as a pulse, or that it wouldn’t explode before it reached its destination.
It was all based on guesswork. If they were wrong, it was all over.
Jas realized that she was biting the edge of her thumb and that the iron taste of blood was in her mouth. She couldn’t take her eyes off the part of the holo where the Thylacine and Shadow fighters were at battle.
“Toirien,” she exclaimed into her comm.
“It’s ready,” Toirien said.
“Fire now,” Jas blurted.
A pulse flew out from the Thylacine toward the Shadow ship. It looked the same as the others, and Jas could only tell it was the bomb because it didn’t follow the same trajectory. Rather than targeting the side of the ship opposite the beam, it flew straight toward it.
“Hey,” Trimborn said, “what’s that? Is it one of ours?”
“Pilot, reverse Raptors,” Jas barked. If the bomb worked, there was going to be one hell of an explosion.
Looking confused but obeying immediately, Kennewell pulled the ship sharply away. Pacheco stumbled due to the sudden movement.
With some relief, Jas saw that the fighter pilots had noticed the Thylacine’s motion and broken off their engagement to return to her. Jas didn’t worry about leaving them behind, despite her speed. Until the Thylacine built momentum, the fighters could fly much faster and catch up to her easily.
The other UA ships were also quickly withdrawing from the vicinity of the Shadow ship. Their captains and commanders had clearly been watching for the release of the anti-matter bomb, as their ships began to crawl steadily away.
The bomb reached the Shadows’ beam and was gone in a flash. Jas and Pacheco were the only ones on the bridge who understood the significance of the event. Jas stared at the beam, though the brilliant light hurt her eyes. One second passed, and another. The bomb should have reached the ship. It should have exploded.
Nausea rose in Jas’ stomach. The bomb hadn’t worked. They’d failed. She locked gazes with Pacheco. His dark eyes were full of despair.
Then the Shadow mother ship exploded. The Thylacine was thrown backward at ten times its earlier speed. The holo disappeared as the ship’s sensors were flooded. Jas gripped her armrests to avoid being thrown out of her seat. Pacheco was already down.
“Hull breached,” Trimborn said in a strangled tone, holding tight to his console.
But there wasn’t anything anyone could do until the force of the Shadow ship’s explosion had dissipated. They waited for the turbulent movement to ease. Gradually, the forces operating on the Thylacine diminished. Jas’ hold on her armrests loosened, and Pacheco stood up.
“Damage report,” Jas said.
“Where do I start?” Trimborn asked.
She snapped a hard look at him, and he said hastily, “Hull breached decks five through eight. Two RaptorX’s out. I don’t know about the jump engines. Not getting anything from them.”
“How about the sensors?” Jas asked. “Can we get the holo back up?”
She desperately wanted to see what had happened to the fighter ships in that devastating blast.
“External sensors are knocked out,” Trimborn said. “They’re auto-repairing, but no estimate on completion time. Internal sensors are operational.”
Krat. There was only one way she could tell if Carl had survived. When he returned to the ship, the internal sensors would pick up the signal from his chip.
She stood up. “I’ll be in my office,” she announced.
“Commander,” Pacheco said, “aren’t you forgetting something?”
“What?” Jas answered, before realizing
her officers were watching and waiting for an explanation of what had just happened. “Oh, yes. We just destroyed the Shadow mother ship.”
The women and men around her gaped for a moment. They looked to Pacheco for confirmation that their commander hadn’t gone mad. When he nodded his agreement, they began to whoop and holler and hug each other.
Jas left the bridge unnoticed as her officers celebrated. She went quickly to her office. Someone on the bridge broadcast the news of the victory around the ship, and the celebrations spread.
Until Jas knew Carl was aboard the ship, she knew she couldn’t join in.
At her office, she sat and turned on her interface. The list of pilots was already on the screen. The names refreshed as the computer added the data on the pilots who had arrived the previous night. There was Carl’s name. No light was beside it.
It’s okay, she told herself. It’s still early. She couldn’t expect to see any of the returning pilots yet. The Shadow ship’s explosion must have propelled them all over the place. It might take them hours to make their way back to the Thylacine. And some of the ships would be disabled. They would have to sweep for them. Other ships might pick them up.
Jas reassured herself in this way over the next few hours as buttons lit up next to the returning pilots’ names. Sayen came to see her and watch with her, but Jas sent her away. She didn’t want any distraction from the screen. Pacheco also came in, to see what she was doing. As soon as he realized, he told her he would take over the running of the ship while she was busy. She barely heard him.
Carl didn’t arrive with the pilots who managed to return to the Thylacine under their own power.
They didn’t find him in any of their sweeps. None of the other UA ships had picked him up.
Twenty-four hours later, after a night of no sleep, Jas finally accepted that he was gone.
The Shadow War was over, and it didn’t mean a thing.
