The Dark Defiance

by A. G. Claymore

  Tommy turned to Chelak. “You should go up one more level before we detonate this charge.” As the three locals climbed the ladder, Tommy repeated the suggestion to Harry and they both climbed to the next landing.

  Kale joined them and pulled out his command unit. “If I didn’t know better,” he said as he activated the unit, “I’d say I was starting to enjoy myself.” He pressed the button and a brief thunderclap assaulted their ears in the relatively small space. Though the shaft ran for an incredible distance, half of the pressure still had to travel past them and it was far stronger than what they had felt earlier, blowing a door from the outside.

  They spent a few minutes, sitting on the landing and collecting their senses.

  Kale moved over to the ladder. “I’ll go down first and make sure our little friends don’t fall all the way back to water level.” He nodded over to where Chelak and the two guards were shaking their heads, trying to clear the high-pitched, humming noise from their ears. “Make sure they get on the ladder without any accidents.”

  Tommy’s ears were ringing, but he had been training with Liam and his hand-picked team for over a year and he was quicker at recovering than most civilians. Probably be deaf by the time I’m thirty but it’s paying off right now. He shepherded the three away from the edge of the landing and guided them, one by one, onto the ladder.

  “You’re next, Captain.” He took a step closer and touched Harry on the shoulder. “Captain?”

  Harry started. “Sorry,” he yelled. “I think I was swallowing or something when the charge went off.” He waved a hand at his ear. “I can hardly hear you at all.”

  Tommy got him onto the ladder and followed him down. They stepped outside to find that Chelak was walking over to an official looking barrier where at least thirty armed police were dividing their attention between the angry mob to their front and the dramatic appearance of a small group by the ventilation shaft. Most of the door lay twenty feet out in the middle of the intersection.

  Chelak was talking to one of the officers as he approached. Tommy’s ears were still not able to make sense of what he was saying, but the driver turned and waved at them to follow him. They trotted over to stand beside Chelak.

  “Listen, subaltern…”

  “Kerrik.” The junior officer looked nervously at the three humans.

  “Subaltern Kerrik, I wouldn’t have asked, but this is a matter of utmost urgency. These three,” Chelak waved to indicate his charges, “are the ones who brought us the warning. I must get them to their destination immediately. Your cooperation will not go unnoticed.” He turned away from the officer before he could reply. “This way, friends.” He walked over to the row of hover-bikes, twenty feet behind the police line.

  He climbed onto the first one in line. The two guards, grinning fit to split their heads in half, mounted the next two bikes. “Tommy, what are the red-heads doing?” He steadfastly ignored the officers as he started up the small vehicle.

  Tommy glanced quickly at the red-helmeted troops. “Arguing.”

  “Good, get your friends to sit behind us and we’ll fly you to Kobrak’s office.” He looked over to the two others. “Turn off surface mode. We’ll take the central riser up to fifty.”

  Tommy’s feet suddenly seemed very heavy. It felt as though a gradient of gravity was now in effect on the small vehicle, progressively lessening with distance from the foot plates on each side. Despite the quick acceleration, he had no trouble holding on as they lifted off and sped past the barricade and over the angry mob, thirty feet below.

  “I ride something like this on my days off,” Chelak shouted as they pulled such a tight turn that Tommy could turn his head to the left and look straight down at the street below. The suspensor field stopped them from crashing into the adjacent building and they leveled off and sped along above one of the spoke streets that radiated out from the central riser.

  “Hang on,” Chelak shouted as they crossed the central ring boulevard and entered the five-hundred-yard-wide open space that was surrounded by the spiraling, central riser - the eight lane avenue that carried surface traffic from one level of the city to the next.

  Tommy only had a brief instant to be impressed by the massive feat of engineering before Chelak forced the tiny craft into a sickening manoeuver, sending them straight up. Despite the gravity restraint field, he felt himself sliding backwards and grabbed desperately for the raised bar between him and the driver.

  He did say to hang on, Tommy thought ruefully as he pried his eyes away from the white knuckles on the bar. He looked back. Harry showed as much fear as Tommy felt. Kale had his mouth open as he shouted. It wasn’t clear whether he was terrified or exhilarated.

  They pulled yet another high-speed turn, this time using the suspensors against the ceiling of level 50 to arrest their upward momentum before rolling around to skim, right side up, down the main spoke leading to Kobrak’s offices.

  Tommy stepped off the vehicle inside the compound with a mixture of relief and regret. “I wonder if we could buy some of these,” he said, mostly to himself. “A guy could make a fortune selling these back on Earth.”

  “Next time, maybe.” Harry led them towards the main door, but they only got halfway before Kobrak came out to meet them.

  “I hear Cera was hit by raiders. How bad was it?” he asked as they greeted each other.

  Tommy provided the details and Kobrak took it surprisingly well.

  “They’ll pay eventually. They’ll have to scrape something together before I send them another load.” He shrugged. “Might even give them this one for free. It’s no real hardship for me and nothing cements a business relationship like an old favor.” He led them inside. “Loading should have begun by now; let’s call your ship and confirm before we settle the payment.”

  The Mist Clears

  The Völund

  In orbit around Khola

  “Damn, that was close.” Carol rubbed her eyes. “Don’t those jackasses know where the inbound corridor is?” Almost instantly, she realized what that meant. An invasion fleet wouldn’t just line up and take turns. “Raise, combat shielding!”

  “Combat shields are operational.” He looked back at her. “Let’s hope they fall prey to our winning personalities. Not much chance of holding out against all those ships.” He gestured to the windows.

  Dozens of flashes were appearing throughout the region surrounding the gas giant and its moons. Their view was suddenly cut off as a massive ship dropped down in front of them. It seemed to be vastly more maneuverable than the Völund.

  “Gentlemen, I do believe we may be outclassed as well as outnumbered.” She got up from her seat and stepped over to Tommy’s station, where Gelna was filling in. “See if they…”

  She stopped talking as a call indicator activated on Gelna’s screen. He activated it and a face appeared. He looked human, eyes widening as he noticed Gelna. He turned his head and barked a series of commands in a guttural language before turning back to the screen. He spoke now in a different language. Gelna replied rapidly in his own tongue, waving at Carol as he spoke.

  “Carol!” Wally’s voice conveyed definite urgency.

  She looked up to see that the ship was now bristling with an array of small surface weapons. A pair of large rotary barrel clusters had been unmasked as a retractable cowling slid back into the bow. No way they kill us without a fight. She considered the weapons at hand, knowing they might only get one good shot. “Ray, prep some mosquitoes.”

  “Carol.” Gelna turned to her. “I’ve managed to convince him that this ship doesn’t belong to my people, but he wants to talk to you.”

  “OK, tell him to go ahead.”

  “He wants to talk in person - here or on his ship - he doesn’t care which, but he’s pretty adamant that he get a chance to talk.”

  If that isn’t an opportunity hiding in a crisis, it’s at least close enough for my needs. “Tell him we need a few moments to recall our captain from the planet’s su
rface.” She gave Gelna a clap on the back. “Might as well get our shore party back while these boys are still interested in chitchat.

  The Lighter

  On approach to the Völund

  Tommy watched out the cockpit windows as they ascended. Sky blue changed gradually to night as they left the atmosphere, slowly revealing the full extent of the danger. Sunlight flared around the hulls of dozens of ships. The beauty of the scene was in stark contrast to the implied menace. “Things have gone a bit pear-shaped, haven’t they?” He looked over at Harry. “I mean, we only needed another six hours and we’d have been off for the big blue. Why did these scallys have to show up right now?”

  “It can’t be a coincidence.” Harry activated the shield match as they approached the Völund from the port side. A massive ship hung directly in front of her and a small vessel detached and quickly moved to their side as they prepared to pass the shields. “They asked to talk to us, not the government of Khola. They must have followed us here.”

  They pushed through the nav shield and then the atmospheric shielding at the entry port. The control system on the Völund brought them into the bay, turned them around and lowered them gently to rest on the lighter’s three skids. Already, through the window, they could see the alien shuttle easing its way down onto the deck in front of them.

  “Kale, keep a round up the spout.” Harry hit the button to open the rear ramp before getting out of his seat. “Keep the safety on. If shooting starts, our lives won’t be worth a pinch of badger shit.” He turned to Tommy. “We don’t say a word. Let them speak first, no matter how long they make us wait. I want them talking first.”

  The three men walked down the ramp and around to the front of the lighter. Through the lighter bay windows, Harry could see Liam and his men moving towards the entry door and he waved them to wait outside.

  A seam appeared on the ventral surface of the alien shuttle. The entire lower surface, with the exception of the cockpit, began to lower to the deck of the lighter bay. On it stood two men. They could have easily passed for human and would have gone unremarked in any European city. They were wearing what looked to be pressure suits with armor plating attached. As they stepped off the lowered platform, the plates appeared to rearrange themselves on a continuous basis, extruding sub sections to cover gaps as the main plates shifted.

  They didn’t have to wait long for their guests to open the conversation. “I am Caul Hrada, the leader of this war band. Who are you?”

  Tommy rendered that into English for Harry and then he realized why they were meeting here, in the lighter bay. You fly bastard! Every bit helps in a situation like this, I reckon.

  “I am Harrison Young,” he boomed, his voice resonating from the plating of the lighter bay. “The captain of the Völund. Why do you have weapons aimed at my ship?”

  Tommy could see that Harry’s little trick had at least impressed Caul but the big man was not easily intimidated. “When we saw your communications officer, we assumed that we had found a Dactari vessel. They were the closest thing we have found to a worthy opponent in all of our recorded history.” He shrugged. “If your first officer hadn’t been standing behind him, this ship would have been nothing but debris by now.”

  “And you and your ship,” Tommy translated Harry’s booming response, “would be an expanding cloud of vapor.” He sincerely hoped they weren’t about to escalate into a war of insults leading to a brief but spectacular battle. He didn’t have to wait very long to find out.

  “Hah!” Caul’s laugh was deep and hearty. “You must be our lost cousins after all. No other species would show such defiance against insurmountable odds!”

  “Cousins?” Kale muttered. “My mom never mentioned Aunt June having any damn kids and I sure as hell don’t remember a pack of marauding killers at the last family reunion.”

  “We already know there’s a common origin for all of the species we’ve met so far, including ourselves,” Harry said quietly. “No reason why these boys would be any exception. Might as well play up the relative card for all its worth. Let’s conduct ourselves as if neither side has any intention of firing on the other.” He leaned his head towards Tommy, his eyes still on Caul. “Ask him…”

  “Harry!” The speakers on the bay wall startled them all as Carol’s urgent voice intruded. “Inbound vessel to port. We read energy spikes all over the ship. Looks like CIWS and a heavy rail gun getting ready for action.”

  The three humans ran past Caul to the edge of the atmo shielding. Through the light blue haze, they could clearly see the approaching ship.

  Caul and his companion joined them and he let loose a stream of angry invective in his own guttural tongue. “This is not by my order,” he told the humans.

  “Then you will not mind if we destroy that vessel?” Tommy parroted his captain. “The rest of your fleet will stay out of this?”

  Caul blinked in surprise at the casual arrogance of the question. He was accustomed to unchallenged technical superiority, and yet, this crew was calmly contemplating the destruction of a Midgaard vessel. He touched his temple and spoke a few short sentences before answering Tommy. “I have just placed that vessel outside of my authority. You may attack it, if you wish. No other ship will interfere.”

  Harry couldn’t suppress a grin as Tommy gave him the gist of Caul’s response. He opened a channel on his wrist pad. “Carol, you are free to engage that one vessel only. Do you have the mosquitoes ready?”

  “We do,” the speakers answered. “All batteries are loaded and chained. We’re ready for one helluva fight, if need be.”

  “Very well, launch from starboard batteries as soon as they reach the halfway point of the firing solution or if they happen to open up on us first.”

  Carol re-stated the terms of engagement to prevent any misunderstandings, and they all settled in to wait.

  Just as she began to announce the enemy vessel was approaching the center of the mosquito’s optimal firing solution, the enemy vessel began to display a variety of yellow flashes.

  “They’re firing with conventionals,” Carol stated calmly. “Launching four.”

  There was a slight vibration as the four mosquitoes left their launch tubes. The five occupants of the lighter bay had to wait a few seconds to see the outbound projectiles as they flew around from the starboard side of the ship to streak towards the enemy ship. As they came into view, they seemed to explode. As the sudden burst of combusted fuel dissipated, they could now discern seven projectiles spreading out from where each of the four missiles had been.

  The swarm was now active.

  Jinking and rolling, the sub-munitions made their erratic way towards the enemy, who now re-allocated their fire in an attempt to stop the twenty-eight incoming warheads. One of the large-caliber enemy rounds, which were still being fired at the Völund, struck the shield at a point near the center of the lighter bay opening and all five spectators flinched. The shield array had already adjusted to the threat.

  The Völund was one of the first commercial vessels constructed with the new Very Dense Shield Array or VDSA. Four massive, curving panels adorned the fore and aft thirds of the ship on both sides. The panels each supported thousands of small shield emitters and they could be managed by the fire control system. For a large, inbound projectile, coverage could be shifted to reinforce the targeted area. It sounded risky, in theory, because it meant several areas were left unshielded for a brief instant. In practice, it was highly successful – once most of the bugs had been worked out.

  A brilliant cloud of high-energy vapor flooded back towards the enemy ship as the projectile was vaporized. The shield stabilized just in time for them to see the swarm converge on the enemy shield. Using a smaller version of the VDSA, the individual sub-munitions traveled protected by a patchwork of over a thousand shield segments, each one a different frequency and each one cycling from one frequency to the next in numeric progression.

  On contact with the shield of the enemy, the fre
quency of the vessel’s screen was quickly found and shared among all members of the swarm. Tommy understood the principles behind the weapons, but it was intensely satisfying to watch as they burrowed through the enemy’s defenses almost as if they didn’t exist at all. As the shield closed again behind the final mosquito, they group-detonated.

  Tommy stole a glance at their visitor as 2.8 megatons of destructive power were unleashed inside the shields of the approaching renegade. I wonder if this is the first time he’s ever shown fear on his face? He looked back in time to see the remnant of the blast expanding outwards now that the shield generators had been consumed.

  The Völund’s shield array easily handled the shock wave and, when it was past, nothing remained of the enemy ship.

  Harry turned to his stunned visitor. “Where are my manners?” He waited for Tommy to begin on that before continuing. “Why don’t you come up to the crew lounge? I have some beer that you might find enjoyable.” Caul nodded, still looking out at the empty place where one of his ships should have been.

  Tommy stood with Caul and his companion near the entrance to one of the privacy cubicles on the starboard side of the lounge deck. Harry and Kale arrived, holding the necks of five red ales. “Let’s take the corner cube.” Harry gestured towards the open door. “That way, nobody has to share a couch.” The corner units were configured for meetings and they had club chairs rather than couches.

  They sat and distributed the bottles. The humans twisted off the caps, throwing them on the low coffee table and the visitors followed their example. Both guests nodded in approval at the taste.

  “So.” Harry eased back and put a foot up on the edge of the table. “You wanted to talk.” He gestured vaguely with his bottle. “You have my undivided attention.”

  Despite the friction of the past few days, Tommy had to admit he was proud of the way his captain was handling the situation. The recent show of force had to be giving these characters pause, and his complete air of nonchalance was keeping them off balance. They have to be wondering what else we have up our sleeve. They have no way of knowing we led with our ace.