by John Walker
Clea took the lead this time, staying close to the woman. The marines took up a two by two formation and followed, their weapons slung. Hoffner tapped into Clea’s communicator, requesting that she set her helmet to private coms. She initiated the request and felt the seal on her helmet close around her throat.
That’s not at all frightening.
“Vora’s your sister?” Hoffner asked.
“Yes,” Clea replied. “Why?”
“That’s good news. We should get all the cooperation we need, right?”
Clea hesitated to respond. “Not…necessarily.”
“Uh oh…”
“We have a complicated history.” Clea sighed. “You’ll see.”
The gray hallway opened up to an ultramodern command center with consoles lining the walls and a dais in the center. A holographic display of the planet lit up on the ceiling, showing the points of conflict as little red pinpricks. They seemed to be monitoring orbital activity as well with the different ships detailed out enough to determine the make and model of each.
People milled about, some frantically and others more calmly. Clea took off her helmet and advanced into the room with their guide who went straight to a woman with purple-black hair and silver eyes. Her features were older but Clea felt as if she were looking into a mirror ten years in the future.
“Vora.” Clea tried to remain placid and calm, as her culture dictated but inside, she wanted nothing more than to hug her older sister. They’d had their differences, they struggled through competition and other foolishness but they still shared blood. For a Kielan, little else mattered in life.
“Clea.” Vora turned and nodded once. “Good, they sent someone competent. Do any of these people you’ve brought know how to copy data from our systems? Backup protocols? Or are they just the type that shoot things.”
“We’d like to think we’re diverse in our talents,” Hoffner said. “Show us what to do and we can help as needed or simply provide security while you handle it. Whichever is easiest.”
Vora nodded. “Very well. Clea, I need you to get on that console over there and finish downloading that material. The wipes are taking longer than we anticipated so we might not be able to cleanse the data as thoroughly as we’d like.”
“How about destroying it?” Hoffner asked. “Nothing quite eliminates something like blowing it to hell.”
“A vulgar Earth term, I’m sure,” Vora replied. “But it’s possible. The reactor here would vaporize everything. Of course, if we can’t get away fast enough, then everything we’re doing here wouldn’t matter, would it?”
“We have a way out,” Hoffner said. “When you get closer to finishing, we’ll have them high tail it over and we’ll be home free.”
Vora directed her attention to the holographic imagery. “From the look of the fighting going on up there, I’d say you’re not entirely right about that. After all, the enemy seems to have wiped out several of our ships.”
“The two left are more than up to the challenge,” Clea said. “Believe us, Vora. You’re in good hands.”
“Forgive me if I remain skeptical of that, Clea.” Vora scowled. “Just get to work. We don’t have a lot of time to dally. Those animals are on our doorstep and they have only a small barrier between them and us. The longer we wait, the better chance we have of being butchered like animals. I for one would rather be far away before that can happen.”
Vora stormed off, leaving Hoffner next to Clea.
“Not exactly the reunion you were hoping for, I’m guessing,” Hoffner said.
“She’s always been like that.” Clea moved to the console and stared down hard, fighting her emotions but failing. “Since we were young, she never…well…I mean…it doesn’t matter.”
“You know, the men gave you a hard time for hiding your emotions when we saw those men die. I’m starting to think they were wrong. You cared about them but you know how to hide it. Your culture taught you, didn’t it.”
Clea nodded.
“And your sister excels at it.”
“If she feels at all. A danger of hiding one’s feelings is no longer having them.”
“The fact you’re trying not to cry says you didn’t succumb to that.”
“I’ll do my job, Captain. Regardless of how I…well…”
“I didn’t say you wouldn’t.” Hoffner patted her on the shoulder. “But remember this, there’s no shame in being hurt by someone like that. You trust her because she’s blood, kin. I get it. I can’t get along with my brother to save my life but I know he’d have my back if it ever came down to it. I’m not sure you feel the same way.”
“I don’t…I can’t…she’s…always the job. And I’m never doing good enough.”
“You’ve been doing great by my book. We’re all alive and here. Don’t beat yourself up. Even if she doesn’t plan on backing your play, we sure as hell will. You’re a crew mate and until such time as you decide to leave the Behemoth, that will always be true. Hell, I’d go so far as to say even then, I’d come calling if you needed me.”
Clea turned to him, finding a smile. “Thank you, sir. That means more to me than you know.”
“I won’t always be so sentimental but take it while you can get it. Besides, we’ve got too much to do to struggle with feelings right now, don’t you think? Let’s save this data, then our lives. Like your sister, I don’t fancy being butchered today.”
“I’m on it, sir.” Clea returned to her duties with renewed vigor. Yes, Vora may not be the person she wanted her to be and yes, she missed her family. All this time she wondered why she left her relatives behind, she never noticed she’d found a new unit to be part of, an extended family who mostly embraced her.
Chapter 11
Gray pulled Olly and Redding aside to fill them in on the plan. They both waited patiently before speaking, each staring with wide eyes. As he concluded the idea of the microjump, they exchanged a glance as if trying to decide who would ask their questions first. Redding gestured for the tech officer to go.
“I know our system can send the message fast enough,” Olly replied. “And I’m sure the coordinates will be fine. I’m just concerned about whether or not the engines can make the necessary pulse to get us moving without blowing up.”
“A good concern,” Gray replied. “How likely is it that the core won’t be able to take the taxation?”
“That’s a question for Higgins, I’m afraid.” Olly hummed. “But as far as the technical side, I can do it.”
“Redding?” Gray turned to her. “What’ve you got to say?”
“The piloting aspect of a jump is pretty simple. I basically point us in the right direction and hit the button. What you’re describing shouldn’t be a problem. I can handle it and I know Tim can.”
“Okay. I’ll ask Higgins about the integrity of his department. Meanwhile, the Crystal Font is going to send you some coordinates. Get them over to Tim and have him plot the hyper jump. Keep the discussion about this to a minimum and get it done. Dismissed.”
Olly and Redding both saluted before leaving the room. Gray tapped his com and brought up Chief Engineer Higgins. “I need to ask you a private question. Are you in your office?”
“I will be, hold on.” Higgins made him wait a few moments. “Go ahead, Captain.”
“We’re about to initiate a maneuver we’ve never attempted. A microjump. Olly can send you down the parameters. I need you to very quickly decide whether or not our systems can handle the load. How soon can you find out?”
“Minutes after getting the tech data,” Higgins replied. “If it has energy requirements and time to reach those heights.”
“Good, figure out how to make it work. The gamble’s a desperate one but it will definitely help. Reach out to Olly for the data right now and call me back.”
“Aye, sir. I’ll talk to you shortly.”
Gray returned to the bridge and sent Adam a text message through the com, detailing what they were doing. His XO sm
iled when he finished, nodding his approval. Olly worked with Tim, inputting the coordinates. Redding prepared her station for the maneuver. All of them moved with quiet efficiency. It was the most silent the bridge had been in weeks.
Higgins pinged him and he put it on his ear speaker. “Go ahead.”
“I’ve looked at the data, sir and it’s more than possible to do what you’re asking. I would recommend we throttle up our power just to the point of it being obvious. That way, it won’t tax the engines when we suddenly demand full power in a moment’s notice.”
“Have you calculated what that level should be?”
“Yes, sir and I’ve already run a simulation. It will work just fine providing Redding doesn’t tip our hand by going too fast.”
“I’m sure she’ll rise to the challenge. Atwell out.” Gray turned to the crew. “We’re a go on this plan, people.” He patched Kale into his private line.
“Yes, Captain?”
“We’ve confirmed we can do it,” Gray said. “And we’re making preparations now.”
“Excellent.” Kale paused. “Our people have coordinated with yours and we’re ready as well. We need to not make this very obvious. My plan involves getting close together so it appears we wish to focus our fire on one of their vessels. As we get close, we’ll take some random shots, just to get their attention. The tactic has been done by my people before to great effect.”
“Interesting…so worst case scenario?”
“We get destroyed by their incoming vessel. If they don’t rise to the bait however, then we’ll eliminate one of their cruisers.”
“I like that optimism.” Gray nodded. “Shall be begin?”
“Indeed. I’m patching my pilot to yours. They’ll need to stay on tight beam communication throughout.”
“Understood.”
Let’s cast the line and see what happens… Gray leaned back in his seat to observe. It’s all on the crews now. Come on you, bastards. Let’s play some chicken.
***
Revente sent a broadcast out to the various pilots out at the time. Meagan and her team just finished a quick break and deployed back into the battle zone. The coded message took the computer a moment to decipher. She read it on the screen and her eyes widened. She pinged Mick to see what he thought.
Sounds crazy, came back the text message. We’ll have to conserve our resources.
Rudy sent her a message as well. We’ve made contact with one of the alliance ships and it’s still mostly intact. They can accept borders and have stabilized their life support.
“Thank God for small favors,” Meagan muttered. Flying escort for the search and rescue proved to be boring in long stretches and chaotic for a few moments. They had contact with the enemy four times, three of which ended with their opponents fragged and the last with a routing where the bad guys ran away.
Her men wanted to pursue but she kept them back, holding them to the task of watching out for the rescuers. As they scoured the wreckage for life pods, they weren’t exactly in any position to flee quickly. With all the debris floating around, they couldn’t perform any quick maneuvers. The fighters stayed out of the densest junk, allowing them the freedom to remain mobile.
Reports suggested they already found more than fifty people and were able to bring them back to the Crystal Font and Behemoth. Many needed medical attention and the various sick bays were filling up. Now that they had a third ship with nominal power, they could start to relieve the burden by using their facilities but if they couldn’t fix their engine for a hyper jump, it wouldn’t matter.
We’ll have to evac all those people…Christ, what a nightmare.
This new message from the Behemoth added to the stress. With their mobile base hopping away from their current position, any support would be limited. The pilots stuck on board during that attempt would be unable to perform their duties or relieve them, at least for a while. This left them entirely on their own, stranded if something went wrong.
If we were on board and they blow up, we’d be dead anyway. I guess we get the opportunity to take our chances out here…though I’m pretty sure it would just mean a slower death.
Meagan glanced over her shoulder and watched as the Crystal Font and Behemoth headed or their rendezvous. According to Revente’s message, they would close in for an attack formation and charge the enemy, attempting to draw them into something desperate. If the plan succeeded, they’d even the odds again. If it partially succeeded, they’d take one down.
And if it failed miserably, both of them would be destroyed.
That’s a gamble I doubt I’d take.
Meagan didn’t mind some risk but she liked to mitigate it as much as possible. Using the debris field in their last mission or dropping a core bomb, those made sense but this…they basically were using themselves as bait for a massive explosion, one up to the task of taking down multiple alliance capital ships all at once.
Captain Atwell is wily…I hope he’s got this one under control.
Part of her didn’t believe her people came up with the plan. It was too risky. The Behemoth was the only ship to protect Earth so they tried to be somewhat cautious, or at least treat their home with some respect. Risking her like this…it would’ve been unheard of back in Sol. Hell, the council would’ve gone crazy.
Of course, out here with an enemy fleet on the way, they might not really have much choice. It was either take their chances with desperation or hope they could duke it out with the bad guys long enough to achieve their mission.
I miss the time when we thought this would be a milk run.
Pulse cannons fired up and Meagan watched as the Behemoth and Crystal font began firing at the enemy. She held her breath, offering up a silent prayer for fortune in the next ten minutes. Such a precious little amount of time would dictate whether they survived this conflict or lost utterly.
No pressure guys…good luck.
***
The Crystal Font sent over targets for the Behemoth to focus on, critical systems aboard the enemy vessel that would cause the most damage, even if the blows didn’t penetrate the shields. Redding entered them into the computer and prepared the cannons. “Ready to fire,” she announced. “On your mark, Crystal Font.”
“Synchronizing now,” a voice piped through the speaker. “And…fire.”
Redding hit the trigger, unleashing a swath of energy at maximum range. She kept the throttle at a low level, not tipping their hand as the power levels of the engine hovered well above normal. This allowed them to keep pace with the Font and made the entire situation look like a standard attack run.
“Some hits,” Olly announced. “Minimal damage but I think they get the point. They’re spreading out.”
“Do we have one charging yet?” Captain Atwell asked.
“Negative, sir.” Olly tapped at his controls. “The one we’re shooting is maintaining position and firing back. His allies are spreading out. They might want to flank us.”
“Keep up the barrage, Redding,” Adam said. “If they try to close us in, we’ll need to redirect fire.”
“Aye, sir.” Redding kept up the pressure, laying into their opponents with everything they had. Energy splashed off their shields, causing a slight rumble through the hull. With Olly in the tech chair, she felt less stress than when Paul took over. Nothing against the other Ensign but Olly was an honest to God computer prodigy.
“Redirecting power for our shields,” Olly said. “I’ve normalized the output and absorption rates. We should be good for a while.”
“Good job,” Captain Atwell said. “Any damage on the enemy?”
“The Font did some,” Olly said. “I’m reading…significant damage to their forward stabilizers. Nothing too critical unless they want to do any fancy maneuvering.”
“Captain,” Tim spoke up, “They are altering course, angling thirty degrees.”
“Where’s that put them?” Adam asked.
“Directing between us and the Font,” Tim re
plied. “They’re picking up speed.”
Redding glanced over her shoulder and saw Captain Atwell smirk.
“Very good, Mister Collins,” Gray said. “Steady as she goes, Redding.”
This is definitely going to be the craziest thing I’ve ever done. Redding felt a surge of adrenaline. Her body tensed up and sweat tickled the back of her neck. The course was laid in and ready to go. Initiating the emergency hyper jump would take a fraction of a second and they’d once again attempt something no other human did before them.
No one can say my job is boring.
Redding hadn’t felt so alive since she sat in the cockpit of a fighter years ago, before the first attack. Once she took her post aboard the Behemoth, controlling the massive battleship carried its own rewards but it was rarely as break neck exciting. Especially considering the fact it didn’t exactly maneuver on a dime.
“Enemy ship closing to within one hundred thousand kilometers,” Tim said. “Closing fast.”
“Massive energy surge!” Olly shouted. “They’re overloading!”
“Steady as she goes,” Captain Atwell said but it wasn’t necessary. Redding was in the zone, her body and mind working together in perfect tandem as they moved toward the objective. Now they knew full well the enemy planned their famous sacrifice and very shortly, they’d learn it was a bad idea.
“Crystal Font reports readiness for objective,” Olly said. “We’ll be going on their mark.”
“Very good,” Captain Atwell acknowledged. “Initiate countdown with Redding.”
“On your screen, Lieutenant Commander,” Olly said. “Ready when you are.”
“Don’t stop firing until the last second,” Gray said. “We need them past the point of no return.”
“Um, Captain?” Agatha asked. She was the only bridge crew member unaware of the plan. “Shouldn’t we be…I don’t know…getting out of the way?”
“Don’t worry, Ensign,” Captain Atwell replied. “I think we’ve got things well in hand.”
The enemy ship stopped firing. Its shields dropped but even firing on it wouldn’t stop the inevitable. The thing was going to explode and when it did, any vessels within twenty thousand kilometers would be vaporized. Redding poised her hand, ready to initiate the hyper jump at just the right moment.
