Task Force (Task Force Series)

by Brad Smith

  She ran up the cargo ramp as it closed shut behind her. Frida panted and waited for Hector to slow her heart down. It took a moment for her to realize she was leaning on the lip of the second barrel. The bot stood beside it with the barrel still in its arms.

  “Job is done!” it said triumphantly to her. It shut itself down again. Frida leaned down and picked up her thermos mug from the ship’s deck and threw it at the bot. The Vectura turned away from the moon and headed for home.

  Chapter Six

  The three of them sat together in the darkness of the big empty flight ops briefing room. On the wall near them hung the banners of both of the carrier’s squadrons. Under each banner, were the colors of both flights in each squadron. Chief Warrant Officer Randall strode to the front of the room and pressed the button on the flight recorder playback device. Their faces were bathed in its blue glow.

  “I hope this is good, Chief,” Rayner said. “There are plenty of other places I’d rather be right now.”

  Harris narrowed her eyes.

  Randall cleared his throat. “First off, I want to make this clear that this isn’t an investigation of Captain Harris’ flight from four days ago. That committee has already met and found her blameless for what happened.”

  Harris sniffed and turned her body away from Rayner.

  “Going over the flight recorder again, I found something very strange. This is where Captain Harris turned on her Arcturus,” Randall said loudly.

  His finger pointed to a time stamp in the corner of the video. Below it was a paused image of the two ships in three dimensional space. Captain Harris’ fighter was tilted upwards and away from the Hellmund. Her wingman’s plane was slightly behind her.

  Harris, sitting in a wheelchair and wearing a neckbrace, tried her best to nod. “That’s right. I was bringing Mansen with me to practice coordinated attack maneuvers. Here, I’m telling him to engage his Arcturus, follow the course it recommends and then let it handle the actual mock firing. Just as we were ordered to do. Test the system.”

  Rayner leaned back in his chair. “You brought a rookie out there with you to do a test flight and look what happened. Well done,” he said.

  “Those were my orders,” she snapped at Rayner. “And the Arcturus was supposed to be safe – remember?!”

  Rayner smiled. “Can I just confirm that the captain asked you to bring Mansen out there with you?” He tapped something into his PDA.

  Randall tapped lightly on the desk. Rayner and Harris looked over to him. “The logs show that your fighter’s Arcturus was working fine. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find Mansen’s flight recorder so we don’t know for sure if his Arcturus was on or not. Judging from the lack of AI communication from his fighter, it seems like it wasn’t turned on.”

  “I already told the investigators this a million times. I told him to turn it on,” Harris said. “I specifically remember telling him to turn on the Arcturus in his fighter before the run began.”

  Warrant Officer Randall nodded. “Sure. And I believe you,” he said. “But I’m more interested in what your fighter’s AI did next,” he said. Randall advanced the time frame by two seconds and grabbed a pen. He pointed it at the nose of Harris’ fighter plane. A little blue bulbous circle glowed and pulsed within it.

  “This little blue dot shows your Arcturus is communicating with something. Of course, it should be linking up with the Hellmund’s AI. And it did. But look again. There’s something not quite right here.” Randall pushed the dot with his pen and a list of digits appeared on the screen.

  Rayner’s eyes narrowed. He shook his head and eyed the clock. “You’ll have to forgive me, Chief. Not sure what you’re getting at.”

  Randall pointed to the list of digits on the screen. A series of light blue lines spilled out from the nose of the fighter. “This line here goes from Harris’ fighter to the Hellmund,” he said. “But how about this long line here?”

  He zoomed out on the map and played with the knobs on the side of the screen. The line traveled from the small fighter to out beyond the boundaries of the system.

  “That extra line goes all the way to a single point here,” He pointed to a small light on the galactic map near a large red dotted line. Randall pointed to the line. “This is the boundary between Earth empire and the Noridian empire. The line stops right before it in the Harness System. Specifically, a small uninhabited moon called Iola.”

  Zooming in on it, Harris squinted her eyes to see the name.

  “Iola,” she said. “Never heard of it. What would be the significance of that?” She shifted in her seat.

  Randall nodded. “No idea. It’s one of the moons of Strados, a gas giant that no one even cares about,” he said. “I wonder if they have something to do with this thing after all.”

  Rayner yanked the flight recorder tape out of the display and put it back in its red metal box before closing the lid tightly. “I’ll get in touch with Fleet. Leave this whole thing to me. In the meantime, just get back to work and don’t let a word of this out to anyone,” he said.

  Randall looked up at him. “Not even the captain?” he asked.

  “Especially not the captain,” Rayner answered.

  Harris rolled her eyes.

  Chapter Seven

  The big carrier left jump speed and the stars around her dimmed for a moment, as if the lights of the universe were blinking on and off to welcome it. The other ships in the task force sat in the Verada System. With the Hellmund having joined the task force, the number of ships in the had grown to more than forty. The carrier took its place in the middle of the group. The show of strength would have been impressive and unmistakable to anyone who was watching. Commander Rayner hoped someone was indeed looking at them. Come out and fight us. He watched the sensors, squinting at his display.

  Captain Marlin sat in his chair on the bridge, looking out the viewscreen. The figure of Admiral Gretus stood before him. The edge of his lip curled downwards. His nostrils flared.

  “Glad you could join us, Captain Marlin,” he said. “I trust we didn’t take too much time off your busy schedule.”

  Fuck you. Marlin cleared his throat. “Sir, you may have been informed by Fleet that we needed extra time for shakedown and training. Also, we ran into a —”

  The admiral waved a hand at him. “Yes, yes. I got the report from Fleet. Thank you. It has all been noted in your record. We have used the time you spent dallying to our advantage. Our sensor scans indicate this thing hasn’t moved yet from the Anata System.”

  Marlin squirmed in his seat. His chest heaved. “Is there any indication of what exactly this thing is supposed to be?”

  Gretus waved the question away. “Isn’t it obvious that it’s Noridian in nature?” he said. “They’re the only ones out there. Who else could it be?”

  Marlin shook his head. “Might be worth spending a little more time analyzing it before we commit to jumping the whole Sixth Fleet in front of it. What’s the harm?”

  Admiral Gretus’ face turned purple. “There will be no more delays!” he snarled. “Captain, you will stop dragging your feet and coordinate with the other ships of this task force. Prepare to receive the jump coordinates.” In a flash, Gretus disappeared from the screen.

  Rayner brought his head up and peered at the captain. His fist tightened and clenched. Every fiber of his being felt alive. Let’s go.

  Marlin stood up and walked over to him. “Any reports of malfunctions now that the Arcturus is switched off?” he asked quietly.

  Rayner towered over him. His face was hot and his brain buzzed behind his eyes.

  Not on your life. He cleared his throat and threw a hand towards the console where he sat. Without looking in Marlin’s eyes, he shrugged. “Nothing, sir. All indications show that the ship and its systems are operating properly. I personally checked with engineering and weapons systems to ensure that we were in fighting shape. With your permission, I’ll call in the patrol fighters and we’re ready for the jump.�
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  Marlin turned away from Rayner. He surveyed the bridge. No one said a word. How many will we lose? “Okay then. Let’s just keep Arcturus offline for the time being. Prepare for jump.”

  The Hellmund’s engines spun up, bright searing plasma pouring out of its dorsal drives. The space around it waved like a curtain in a gentle breeze. A second later, the entire fleet had jumped.

  Rayner let out the smallest of sighs.

  ***

  The huge featureless black cylinder moved slowly towards them without slowing or stopping. It dwarfed the largest ship in the task force by thirty or forty times. From out of its center, a trench of light pulsed and then fired a beam outwards, sweeping across the space in front of it. By the time the task force’s lead ships had gotten near firing range, it had already destroyed a cruiser. The human ship was dissected lengthwise by the beam. Both halves tumbled uselessly away from each other in opposite directions.

  Marlin listened to Admiral Gretus throwing orders around left and right. “Attack! Everyone focus firepower on that ship. Hellmund, dispatch all available squadrons!”

  He looked up at the display and watched the battle unfold in three dimensional representation. Marlin whirled around to Haraldi. “Dispatch Squadron One. Both flights. Keep the other squadron in reserve.”

  Gold Flight and Red Flight attacked in a pincer movement. Rayner stood beside Marlin, nodding his head and grasping the railing. Marlin looked at him for a moment and smiled faintly.

  “Gold and Red Flights, I want you to keep your distance,” Marlin spoke out. “Hang back as far as you can. Get your shots off at maximum range and then return here immediately.”

  Rayner kept his eyes on the battle unfolding before him. “Fish in the water,” he heard Gold Flight Leader say. On the display appeared the tiny dots showing torpedoes launched by the fighters. Rayner gritted his teeth as they slowly approached the massive ship. Several of them were already off track. Marlin focused on the fighters that were turning back.

  “I’ve got hits!” Gold Leader announced. Two of the torpedoes slammed into the massive ship. Rayner smiled.

  “Captain, I’ve got reports of damage on that ship,” Haraldi reported. “Shields down 40 per cent and there’s some kind of energy surge.”

  Marlin turned to Rayner. “Okay then, let’s get the other squadron out there. Once they launch, get ops to bring in the other fighters – five at a time – and rearm them. The rest of the fighters stay in a holding pattern. Just get those planes out!”

  Rayner had to suppress a laugh. We are gonna do it! Over the headset, he shot out orders to the flight ops controller. “Just send out whoever is ready. Launch! Launch!”

  Marlin kept his eyes on the screen. The massive enemy ship punched out again with its beam, sweeping in front of Red Flight. Several of the fighters swerved away from it in time. The others ran straight into it. Red 3 and Red 4 disappeared from the display screen. His stomach tightened. God damn it. Red Flight’s lead pilot’s came over the comms. “I’ve lost my wingman!” he shouted. “And there goes Paulus! Taking heavy casualties here.” Marlin averted his eyes from the display.

  “Commander, belay that order,” he said to Rayner, who was already talking to the flight ops controller. “I want you to keep the other fighters back while the first two return from their runs. I don’t want to lose any more pilots than we can spare.”

  Rayner turned slightly away from Marlin. He said nothing, keeping his focus on the large viewscreen.

  Marlin’s face was red. “Commander, are you listening? Get on the comms and keep the other squadron back. We’ve done our duty for the day.” The tiny trails crept out from the two fighters remaining in Red Flight.

  Rayner cradled the handset like a newborn. He pointed to the display. “Sir, half the fighters in Gold Flight have managed to get off torpedoes at that ship. Only a few of their fighters have been lost. Red Flight has taken heavy casualties but we can press this attack with Blue and Yellow Flights. We’d have even more success if we allow the fighters in closer with instead of launching at the outside of the torpedo’s envelope.”

  “I’ve lost another!” shouted Red Flight leader. The fighter blinked off the display.

  Marlin grabbed Rayner by the collar and pulled the big man close to him. His hands shook. Rayner’s eyes went wide. “You order those men back and keep our other squadron in the goddamn hangar. Don’t make me issue the orders myself, do you hear me?” he shouted. Marlin was breathing hard now. Rayner looked at him wild–eyed. His fist clenched.

  Haraldis stood before them with a tablet and cleared his throat. “Sirs, I’ve lost communication with our flagship, the Mantis. Admiral Gretus is out of contact.”

  Marlin released Rayner from his clutches and turned back towards the display. A surging beam from the big ship lashed out at the task force. The battleship turned nearly 90 degrees from the rest of the fleet and fell out of formation.. Marlin watched the Mantis break apart on the viewscreen. A chain of explosions ran along from stem to stern before it a gigantic fireball engulfed it entirely. Debris from the explosion flung outwards and crippled one of the nearby cruisers. It spiralled lazily in towards the huge enemy ship and dashed itself on one of the cylinder’s poles.

  The enemy ship stopped firing. It made a slow turn on its axis away from the task force’s current position.

  “Captain, my sensors show structural damage to the enemy ship. Its shields are disabled for the moment,” Haraldi said.

  Too dangerous. “What’s the status of Gold and Red Flight?” Marlin demanded.

  Haraldi called back. “Sir, ever since that blast…I don’t have them anymore. They aren’t responding.”

  Marlin scanned the display before him, his eyes swinging left to right. Gone. All of them.

  “Time to go,” Marlin shouted to Haraldi. “Let’s go. Tell the fleet we’re heading to our rally point. Jump when ready.”

  “Sir, what are you doing? We can launch the rest of the planes—,” Rayner told him.

  Marlin snapped. He swiveled around to face Rayner. Spittle shot out from his mouth. “Mister Rayner! You will carry out my orders immediately and without question or you will be escorted off my bridge. If you object to my decisions, you will address them to me at the proper time and place. Is that goddamn well understood!?”

  Less than thirty seconds later, the task force jumped.

  Chapter Eight

  Marlin sat alone in his quarters, a glass of whisky in front of him.

  Too many lost out there. Branscome all over again. His mind wandered back through the years. Back to that old familiar place.

  “Come on, Ricky! Bring your fighters in closer. Let’s hit that carrier as hard as we can!” he screamed into his helmet mic. Marlin pushed his throttle forward and his Voodoo fighter bucked and kicked. Its powerful engine jolted him in his seat. Far in front of him, the Noridian carrier sat helpless. A V–shaped enemy fighter shot up in front of him, its engine burning. Marlin followed him up and squeezed the trigger on his flight stick. The tracers arced out from his plane and sunk into the “Vee”. A half–second later, it exploded. Marlin’s fighter twirled. “Got one!” he shouted.

  “I don’t know if I can hold this,” Marlin heard in his headset. “Bad position…let’s try another run.”

  Marlin gritted his teeth hard. He checked his six. More Vees were emerging from the carrier now. “Let’s go, Ricky. This is our only shot. Get in there and hit that carrier. Green Flight has you covered.” He threw his Voodoo at the newly–launched planes. They were most vulnerable coming out of the flight deck, all lined up in a row. He swerved and hammered on the flight stick trigger again. Two of the Vees blew into pieces. “Green Flight, let’s circle around and come back for another run,” he said.

  The dozen fighters left in Green Flight circled around the carrier and headed away from it. Marlin watched his scope. Nothing. His Voodoo was at maximum speed now, heading away from the big enemy ship. Red Flight came in like a blur m
oving past him in the opposite direction. “Get as close as you can, Ricky! Make sure those torps gets past their defenses.”

  Green Flight sped away from the enemy carrier. Marlin watched for Noridian Vees closing on the approaching Red Flight. Nothing showed on his scope. “Okay, Green – let’s turn in again and hit —.”

  Marlin was blinded by the flash. He closed his eyes. Still, he saw the bright searing light, burning into his retina white hot. “Green Flight, do you copy? I’ve lost Red Flight. Say again, we’ve lost Red Flight on our scope.”

  Slowly, Marlin regained his vision. He rubbed his eyes and saw through the blotches of black and brown that floated in front of him. They faded away. To his right, he saw nothing. He had read about suicide tactics at the academy and how they shaped human conflict from the mid–20th century. This was the first time he had ever seen it himself. The first time he had ever seen them used on people he knew and loved.

  ***

  His head pounded like a hammer on a drum. Marlin slowly got up from his bunk, fighting the urge to vomit. He was still wearing his uniform. On the table lay an empty whisky bottle and a single shot glass turned over. How many times do I have to go through this?

  He pulled open the fridge, and took out a sour milk canister. Marlin cradled his head while he poured to the brim of the dirty glass. He quaffed it down, one glass after another until the canister was empty.

  What’s next? Oh right. Shower. He stood up and fumbled with his uniform then went to the medicine cabinet, trying to avoid looking in the mirror. He pulled the door open quickly to find the pills. Nothing. All gone. All gone just like Gold and Red Flight.

  Marlin flung the medicine cabinet door shut. He tried to turn away. My god, how did I get this way? He ran a finger along his stubbled jawline. Traced the lines on his face with the edge of his nail. He turned his head back and forth, looking at the gray that had arrived unexpectedly and without warning over the last few years. Years that men and women under his command would never get to see.