Captives of the Kratzen (Hearts in Orbit)

by S. C. Mitchell

  In his seat, Kirtl stirred. “Oh, we’re home already? It will be good to see everyone.”

  He disengaged the security webbing and trundled toward the hatchway.

  As she released her webbing, Tina detached the translator from her kimono lapel and handed it to Chel. “You’ll need this now.”

  He offered a shy smile.

  “Kirtl?” Luna Callista’s unmistakable squeal reverberated into the ship as Tina made her way toward the open hatch.

  On the exit ramp, Luna knelt, her arms wrapped tightly around Kirtl. “I was so afraid for you. Where have you been? What did they do to you?”

  Kirtl squirmed. “Aunt Luna, please. You’re embarrassing me.”

  “Then prepare to be further embarrassed, young man.” The deep, masculine voice was accompanied by heavy boot steps on the boarding ramp. Galactic Ambassador Rigel Antares stooped to pick up Kirtl and crush him in a hug. “Do you have any idea how worried your mother and I have been?”

  “Dad, come on.”

  Rigel Antares was Kirtl’s father. Through some Blarmling tradition known as first nurture Ambassador Antares had ended up adopting Kirtl at birth. And the handsome ex-bounty hunter was married to Luna’s sister, Phoebe. At least legally, in the eyes of the Milky Way Galaxy, Kirtl had human parents.

  Tina couldn’t help but see the deep emotion in Rigel’s eyes. She stood for just a moment longer before leaving the ship.

  A cheer went up, resounding through the hangar bay when she stepped onto the exit ramp.

  “I told you.” Magda’s boast rose above the clamor. “Didn’t I tell you?”

  As Kirtl wiggled free of Rigel’s big arms, Luna rushed up the ramp to embrace Tina. “Oh gods. Oh gods. I feared we’d lost you all.”

  There were tears twinkling at the corners of her eyes.

  Tina gave her an earnest hug. It was so good to be back onboard The Starboard Mist. “What’s your brother-in-law doing here?”

  Sniffing back her tears, Luna pulled back. “When they heard that Kirtl was missing, Rigel headed right out to help with the search. Phoebe would have come too, but with the baby and all . . .”

  Then Luna stiffened, and the marines in the bay brought their weapons back up.

  “That’s not Carter.” Quatrain Tyson’s tone held an edge. Well, it always did, to a certain extent, but this time she could feel the emotion. Quatrain and Carter had a bond. The boy had to be looking for him.

  Tina disengaged from Luna and spun to see Chel, mouth and eyes open wide, at the top of the ramp. He raised his hands and took a step back.

  “No.” Tina spun back toward the group, raising her hands palms out. “No, this is our friend. This is Chel, from Dzlozia. His people helped us, and now they need our help.”

  ~ ~ ~

  It was over. Carter fisted his hands in frustration. They’d fought so valiantly, but it hadn’t been enough. Fewer than three dozen of the new Dzlozian fighters remained.

  The survivors raced back toward Dzlozia to bolster the planet’s meager defenses. Kratzen fighters followed in hot pursuit.

  Dzlozia spun like a lavender pearl against the inky blackness of space. Soon, if the Kratzen had their way, it would be a devastated world.

  How many other proud civilizations had the Kratzen laid waste to? How many peoples had perished in their wake of destruction?

  Damn them.

  Tina and Kirtl hadn’t made it back in time, but considering how fast the Dzlozian armada had been pushed back, they’d probably hadn’t made it back to Star Base One yet.

  Maybe that was for the best. Could even a Fleet task force, hastily drawn together from whatever was available in the sector, stand up to four Kratzen motherships?

  “What the hell?” Even Rolanda’s translated phrase held a note of incredulity and pulled him from his reverie.

  Tendle’s voice crackled over the com. “Sorry I’m late. I needed to finish up a little present for our bug friends.”

  Carter shifted his display to view the big, ugly ship chugging toward them from the planet’s surface.

  “Tendle, what are you doing? What is that ship?” Concern laced Rolanda’s tone.

  “It’s mostly explosives, so make sure you stay back.”

  Carter’s stomach sank. The man was riding a bomb.

  Tendle’s voice quivered as if he was talking through a spinning fan or sitting on some kind of vibrating machine. “Listen. I think I’ve developed something that will disrupt the Kratzen ships. But there’s only one way to test it. Just stay back and watch.”

  The big, bulky craft wobbled as it flew, picking up speed as it approached the swarm of bug ships. The wobble became more pronounced as the vessel picked up speed. The motion gave it a blurred effect.

  The bug’s blue, plasma weapons poured energy toward Tendle’s craft, but before hitting, the plasma bounced, splintering and ricocheting in all directions.

  “The vibration makes it harder to control. It’s going to need some refining. My plans and notes are at the factory.” Tendle’s voice vibrated radically, tight with tension.

  “Then get back here and refine it.” Tears streaked Rolanda’s cheeks. Thick emotion filled her tone.

  The craft was then among the larger Kratzen ships. Their energy pulses fired erratically, blacking out other ships nearby, but had no effect on the bulky Dzlozian craft.

  “It worked. The power stayed on.” Fatigue showed in Tendle’s voice. It sounded like he was barely keeping it together.

  “Good, now get back here. Help us implement it.” Rolanda was pleading.

  “Sorry, love, this trip was one-way from the start. Had to be.” The craft flew past the fighters, straight toward one of the motherships.

  “Tendle.” The translator barely picked up Rolanda’s soft plea.

  A small egg-shaped vessel ejected from the craft. A lifepod of some sort?

  “I’ve got no weapons, no maneuverability, but I did want to watch it hit.”

  The ship careened on, striking the mothership dead center. The one massive explosion was followed by numerous smaller eruptions all around the spherical body and up the launch tubes. Massive metal chunks flew into space as the Kratzen base ship blew to pieces.

  When his eyes readjusted after the flash, Carter noted fighters turning and fleeing toward the three remaining motherships. The Kratzen were retreating, at least for now, buying Dzlozia more time.

  Maybe enough time to build more of those mothership killers.

  Maybe even enough time for the Fleet to arrive.

  Tendle’s little lifepod was nowhere to be seen.

  Too close to the blast? Or had one of the retreating fighters finished him off.

  In any case, Tendle’s sacrifice hadn’t been in vain. Now they had at least a little hope.

  Chapter 13

  The three remaining Kratzen motherships pulled back, retreating as their fighters swarmed back down the launch tubes. It was a victory, but it felt hollow. The Dzlozian armada had been reduced to a handful of vessels. Hope now lay in a suicide ship plan or the Milky Way Fleet showing up before the Kratzen attacked once again.

  The Kratzen had taken an unexpected blow, to be sure, but they were tenacious creatures. Carter had no doubt they’d be back.

  He pulled in a deep breath and rubbed at the back of his neck to try and loosen the tension that built there. The battle had been grueling yet a check of his chrono showed less than five hours had passed since Tina and Kirtl had left.

  Not near enough time for the Fleet to get here, if it was even coming.

  Well, it had been a long shot at best.

  The motherships still lingered in the distance, gathering up the last remaining fighters before hopefully warping away. It was a tenuous hope. All they had left wa
s a bluff. If the Kratzen changed their minds and attacked now, Dzlozia would be overrun.

  How long did they have and what could they do?

  Suddenly, ships appeared out of warp. Three Umberhulk class star destroyers and over two dozen other ships of the line. The Fleet ships surrounded the retreating motherships, blocking their escape. Phason beams fired and photon torpedoes launched.

  The Kratzen motherships again launched their fighters. But the Fleet ships had warped in close and already had a huge tactical advantage. Many fighters barely left their launch tubes before being obliterated.

  “Carter?” Rolanda’s eyes were still filled with tears. She wiped her sleeve across them.

  “Yes, these are my friends.” He scanned the fleet for a recognizable ship. With a slight shimmer, The Starboard Mist appeared out of its cloak.

  Home.

  It never looked so good.

  “Armada, reform.” Rolanda called back the Dzlozian ships. “We should do our part.”

  He shook his head. “We can’t communicate. To them, we’d look as alien as the Kratzen. It might be confusing.”

  Dzlozian communications operated on much different frequencies, and the language barrier stood in the way even if they could bridge the technology gap. But he sure wished he could get another few shots in on the enemy.

  As the attack continued in the distance, The Starboard Mist broke off and sped toward Rolanda’s ship.

  Crap. Are they going to attack us?

  “Rolanda?” A young sounding voice crackled over the com.

  She smiled. “Chel?”

  “I am relaying a request from Captain Mazar for you to join the attack. Follow this ship and support if you are able but stay in its wake.”

  Leave it to Rik to make the politically correct decision. Keep their new allies engaged, yet place them in a safe position.

  ~ ~ ~

  Tina slid into the familiar comfort of the navigation station on the bridge of The Starboard Mist. This was where she belonged.

  Pyxis Taygete manned the weaponry console next to Quatrain. How often she’d glanced that way to catch a quick glimpse of Carter. Okay, a long, hot look at Carter.

  Sometimes he’d catch her and smile back.

  By the gods, that smile.

  Carter was in one of those ships following behind. He had to be, because the alternative would crush her.

  “He’s there. I can hear his mind.” Kirtl trundled up beside her.

  Tina’s heart warmed. “Thank you.”

  “Miss la Cross. Plot a course to that starboard mothership around the mass of fighters. I want to keep the Dzlozians on the perimeter without looking like we’re keeping them on the perimeter.” Captain Mazar sat in the command seat, his gaze jumping between the three monitors there.

  Tina plotted the course and sent it to the captain’s command queue, then set a video feed on the Dzlozian ships trailing behind, to keep an eye on them.

  She knew Captain Mazar planned to walk a dangerous line by letting the Dzlozians do some real damage to the bugs, while baby-sitting them to preserve what was left of their armada and as many lives as possible.

  Keeping the Dzlozians involved was important diplomatically and militarily. This was their war. The Galactic Federation didn’t have a formal alliance with the Dzlozians yet, and they needed it. And though it looked like the Dzlozians needed an alliance even more, it was far from assured until the diplomats had done their thing, and the agreements were signed.

  The targeted Kratzen mothership loomed in the front viewport.

  “Mr. Tyson, Mr. Taygete, target that launch tube with your phason fire. Mr. Stout, please target that open portal with a couple photon torpedoes.” Even in the heat of battle, Rik Mazar managed to keep his tone even.

  “Aye, Captain,” resonated from all three weapons stations.

  The buzz of blaster beams underscored the gentle thunk of photon torpedoes leaving their tubes. Explosions erupted along the juncture that connected the launch tube to the mothership. The purple rays of the Dzlozian ships followed and the launch tube crumpled and detached from the Kratzen vessel, spewing depowered fighters into space.

  The allied forces swept through decimating the fighters before they could power up.

  The three Umberhulks were moving into position, one on each of the Kratzen motherships. They were slow. It took time to line up the shot and power up their macrowave generators. The rest of the fleet was doing their part to engage the motherships and the clouds of fighters. They’d been lucky so far, surprising the Kratzen who couldn’t have been ready for this much resistance.

  Still, there were losses in the fleet.

  One of the smaller frigate-class ships overextended its chase. The Kratzen fighters swarmed it, blasting chunks from its armored hull. Two Pulsar fighters led a Slitheron carrier in a heroic attempt to save the craft, but they also got sucked into the swarm. The frigate and two fighters dissolved into balls of fire. The carrier barely made it out, but was crippled, with heavy loss of life and armament, and had to flee the battle.

  “Captain, message from the Stockdale.” Kyra Jansky manned the com station. “They are in position.”

  The Stockdale was the Umberhulk assigned to assault that mothership they’d crippled. At about a quarter the size of the Kratzen motherships, the huge deep-space war vessels were the latest in the Federation arsenal and had amazing firepower including a huge Flint macrowave proton blaster mounted on the port side of the ship.

  How the Federation Fleet had managed to pull three Umberhulks together for this encounter was beyond belief. There were only six or seven of the craft even in service, as far as she knew.

  “Magda was responsible for instigating this fleet.” Kirtl still stood at her side, watching the battle on the control screens that ringed the bridge. “She had one of her visions when the ship was over on the other side of the wormhole on their supply mission. The Oracles spoke to her. That’s how they found us so quickly. She knew we would be going through that sector before we even left Dzlozia.”

  Any doubts Tina had about Magda’s seeing powers evaporated. Finding them in an unknown sector of another galaxy? Knowing to bring a huge fleet of warships with them? There was so much more to the eccentric ship’s medic than Tina had ever imagined.

  “Miss Jansky, please relay to the young man down in the hanger bay to make sure the Dzlozians stay close to us. There’s about to be one big explosion here and I don’t want anyone caught in it except the bugs.” Captain Mazar switched screens on his command console. “Miss la Cross, plot us a course out of here.”

  “Aye, captain.” Tina relayed the flight path and the ship shifted to port as Captain Mazar implemented the course. She kept her eye on the Dzlozian ships to make sure they all followed.

  Which one was Carter on? They all looked the same.

  The Stockdale fired its Flint macrowave canon, as The Starboard Mist accelerated away from the mothership. A bright white light flashed, blinding all the display screens momentarily.

  Tina’s vision and display cleared in time for her to see the mothership torn to pieces in a massive explosion.

  Gods, the power of that blast.

  Doing a quick count of the Dzlozian ships in her video feed, Tina breathed a sigh of relief. They were all still there.

  Almost immediately after the blast, the Kratzen fighters started pulling back toward the two remaining motherships. Pouring back down the launch tubes. They were looking to retreat once again.

  Good.

  Keeping them from getting away would be even better.

  One of the other Umberhulks fired its macrowave ray, slicing a huge wound in the hull of the closest mothership. Explosions erupted within, but the vessel remained in one piece.

  A shimmer rippled th
rough the hull and then the ship disappeared, warping away from the battle but leaving some chunks of its hull behind.

  The last mothership followed a few seconds later.

  A cheer rippled through the bridge of The Starboard Mist.

  Victory.

  At least for now.

  Chapter 14

  Carter waited in the open field, as The Starboard Mist settled in the long grasses. In the distance, ruined buildings stood like the Skeletal Stalagmites of Quantis 5. Behind him, a hastily assembled group of Dzlozian dignitaries milled nervously, here to greet representatives from another galaxy they hadn’t even known existed until a few days ago.

  Rolanda stood at his side. “What do I say to a people that not only saved my life, but saved my entire planet?”

  “You say thank you and remember that they need this alliance as much as you do.” He didn’t feel like he was betraying any confidence. They’d all need to work together to push back the invasion. Cooperation would be required at every level. The Federation desperately wanted to expand into Andromeda. With the rim now well colonized, and rampant overpopulation straining some of the Core Worlds, humanity needed someplace to grow. Habitable planets in the Milky Way were in short supply and terraforming took decades.

  When the hatch on The Starboard Mist opened and the boarding ramp extended, his gut tightened. Was Tina onboard? She had to be the reason they’d come. Yet, they’d arrived so soon. Almost too soon.

  He needed to see her. Know she was safe.

  Striding side by side, two men marched down the ramp. Captain Rik Mazar and Ambassador Rigel Antares.

  Carter couldn’t think of two better dignitaries to open negotiations with the Dzlozians. He held out his hand to Rik, but the starship captain pulled him into a hug.

  “You big lug. Don’t you dare do that to me again. That’s twice I’ve feared you dead.” Rik slapped his shoulder and disengaged.