Anarchate Vigilante (Vigilante Series 4)

by T. Jackson King

  “The same to you,” mindspoke Immovable as its strong mind withdrew from tachlink connection.

  “Matt, what do we face at NGC 6397?” asked his beautiful mate of the long black hair, slender shape and deep feeling heart.

  He gave a mental shoulder shrug. “Lots of stars of all ages. One of them is our target. System CC9342 with seven planets. Will be something similar to what we faced here, at M2-9 nebula. Hopefully the local commander will not be as creatively hostile as the one who thought up the Supply Tube diversion.”

  Eliana’s jade green eyes looked deep into him, seeing his worry over the danger that young Ben might have been lost, his concern for Sarah’s feelings if her first serious lover had passed over death’s doorway, and his worry over the future surprises of the Dolmat Sector Captain.

  “Matthew, do you think this new fleet captain can really hurt us?”

  “I hope not,” he said honestly, then sought retreat from her inquiring mind in the excuse of routine. “Uh, we eight pilots have to prepare for Translation.” Eliana’s lips pursed. She knew avoidance when she felt it. “Hey, I’ll help Gatekeeper cook two steaks with salad and a slab of that great Morrigan cheese you love so much! Let us get into Translation and you will have my undivided attention!”

  Eliana smiled as if she saw through his blather to the young man who’d wondered about women well before he was sixteen. Only to be removed from their presence, until he met Helen on Omega Casino. She sent him a friendly mind hug. “I look forward to a picnic of just ourselves. Your mother and your sister will understand that we have to . . . recover after being in ocean-time.”

  Yes! That was a great excuse to escape interrogation by his sneaky and inventive sister. And the ethical questions of his mother. He would spend days with them anyway. The new target lay a good 3,000 light years away from the M2-9 planetary nebula.

  “Thank you, my brilliant Eliana. Now, to work.”

  Blessing the Fates for Ben’s survival and the repairs completed on Ben’s ship, he gathered his pilots together mentally and gave the word.

  “Onward!”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Running Leader heard the news of the Human’s attack on the Flesh Markets at M2-9 with a degree of irritation. How rude of the biped to take advantage of his fleet’s necessary downtime! Still, the local protoplanetary disk of sand, dust, gravel, boulders and gas isotopes had been sufficient for the repair of his damaged battleglobes, and for the building of additional Alcubierre drives for the Assault Asteroids and antimatter-laden Supply Tubes that always accompanied any fleet. Most importantly, half of his 32 battleglobes now possessed the Black Hole Ejector weapons, while every ship carried his third surprise weapon. Resting on his Command bench, he glanced sideways to his heavy planet ally Malel. The Orko’s long scaly ears showed an alertness that promised something interesting.

  “Malel? Does my executive officer know something of interest regarding this destructive biped?” he croaked in informal Belizel.

  “Yes,” muttered the omnivore whose brown armor plates showed a pleasant interlocking pattern. “The Observer Globe deposited in system CC8712 showed a six nitas long battle with one surprise.” The quadruped looked at him with all four yellow eyes looking intent. “One of the AM-laden Supply Tubes with automated pilot was ordered by someone to run ahead of the incoming T’Chak fleet but on the same vector line. After the Alcubierre shielded Dreadnoughts destroyed the two battleglobes and two armed Corvettes, they approached from the tube’s rear. The tube used its magfield to eject antimatter into the pathway of the incoming fleet.”

  “And?” Running Leader asked as he switched his vision to UV and infrared, the better to read the heatmap excitement of his fellow academy graduate.

  Malel hooted with excitement. “One of the T’Chak ships brushed against the AM cloud. Two of its Alcubierre shields burned out! Plus it lost an entire wing to the antimatter! See this image?”

  Running Leader looked ahead at the Bridge’s main holosphere, glad that the other Bridge crew, especially Chief Lark of Tactical Cluster, were paying attention. His ultraviolent sight showed multiple energy discharges at the site of the wing stub. It also showed the incredible flexskin of the hull moving to englobe the stub. Presumably for some kind of internal repair. What a ship! He raised his chest forehands to activate several of the datapads and holo pedestals that surrounded his Control Station.

  “Excellent news, Malel. Now, we must Translate out and meet our adversary. Does anyone on this Bridge have an idea of where next this biped will strike?”

  Chief Lark’s black whiskers flared in the negative. The Hootnai carnivore at Herd Defense post, one Strong Stalker, blinked its single large eye in a pattern that meant negative, according to his study of the Compendium of Species. He was about to interrogate the Brokeet arthropod biped at EMF Shields post when Yanakutt at NavCore turned toward Running Leader.

  “Sector Captain whose pheromones convey the scent of success, an observation and a suggestion,” clicked the stiff-legged elder in antique Belizel.

  “Proceed, talented elder.”

  The two antennae atop its head tilted backward in a sign of intense thought while its two globular eyes fixed a riveting stare on him. “Sector Captain, this soft-skinned biped has declared war on the Anarchate due to its opposition to cloneslavery and indentured bondServitude. It particularly dislikes the Flesh Markets where cloneslaves and labor slaves are gestated, imprinted and sold to buyers.” Its antennae flared toward the holosphere attack at M2-9 nebula. “The attack on planet New Life, in system CC8712, was limited to the antimatter vaporization of the several Flesh Markets on the planet’s surface. This Human previously vaporized the Flesh Markets on planet Megil, system Alkalurops C. And it attacked a genome harvester starship in system Dagda, planet Morrigan, in order to release fifteen captives taken from that Human colony. Its strategy is obvious. It will next attack another Flesh Market.”

  “Agreed,” croaked Running Leader. “But where? This soft-skinned biped has struck in widely diverse locations. And its fleet allies are attacking all over this galaxy.”

  Yanakutt thrust forward its golden-brown thorax. One arm gestured toward a holo that appeared above his station’s holo pedestal. “Sector Captain, there is a partial pattern. This Dragoneaux creature struck a genome harvester base at the Ring Nebula M57, in Sector 13, within Sagittarius-Carina Arm. Then, moving counter-spin along the arm, he struck CC3214 in the Dumbbell Nebula. Next he moved to Orion Arm to rescue his progenitor at Antares A, but still heading counter-spinward. In our direction. After other attacks in Orion Arm, he moved back to Sagittarius Arm with an attack on CC8712 in the M2-9 planetary nebula. I speculate that his next target will be the Flesh Markets of CC9342, within the NGC 6397 globular cluster of stars.”

  Running Leader could see the pattern both in the four lobes of his mind and in the yellow light holo projected by Yanakutt’s pedestal. Other Bridge crew also saw the promise of predictable movement, judging by the leg rasps, clicks and body language reactions. “Well done, elder Yanakutt. Your experience shows us the way. CC9342 is counter-spinward, and it is located between Sagittarius and Scutum-Crux arms. However, there are three other Flesh Markets within the 3,134 light cycles that lie between M2-9 and NGC 6397, if you view the area radially. Why not strike one of those other systems?”

  Yanakutt’s golden-brown legs trembled from unsupported standing. It rested the rear of its abdomen on a stool. “My leader, you are correct. However those three other systems with Flesh Markets are not on a direct line that parallels Sagittarius Arm. They lie toward Perseus Arm, Orion Arm or to the spinward direction of Sagittarius Arm. Hence my speculation.”

  Running Leader liked the Brokeet’s use of cautious words. While the arthropod had indeed detected a probable pattern, it was not a guarantee. This Human biped had appeared in all directions, from the Small Magellanic Cloud inward to the Omega Centauri cluster in Norma Arm. Still, the probability of NGC 6397 being the next target of the
Human was much greater than chance.

  “Malel, my crew, advise the rest of our fleet that we enter Translation shortly. Heading for CC9342 in cluster NGC 6397!”

  # # #

  Matt thought intently in ocean-time mode as Hexagon Prime fleet approached the time for Translation exit into the inner part of system CC9342, an F3V orange-white star with seven planets, two of them Earth analogues. Both planets three and four had been colonized by the giraffe-like Hootnai carnivores. But planet three, called Tasty Land, held the largest population and a giant urban nexus that occupied the central plains of the northern continent. Those plains supported the millions of herd animals which the Hootnai loved to live hunt. While they had the tech to process, freeze and store meat and root foods, part of their transition into puberty involved a youth personally chasing and killing its own food. For Matt, the Hootnai society reminded him of an ancient vidpic he’d seen one time about carnivores called lions at a place called the Serengeti, on old Earth. Well, he cared not how Aliens procured their food. What mattered most was that its city of Sharp Claw hosted a Flesh Market that had existed for the last nine thousand years.

  Toktaleen of the Brokeet appeared in the joint mind communion Matt shared with all pilots. “Confirming our arrival behind the planet five gas giant, with zero arrival speed.”

  “Confirmed,” Matt said, offering a nod of encouragement to Sarah, Eliana who was now back on her own ship, Toktaleen, Rafael, George, Ben and Suzanne. For whom he had a question. “Mistress Suzanne, what does your precog future viewing show? Are we correct to appear behind the gas giant to shield our gravity wave pulses, then jump to planet three?”

  “Yes and no,” Suzanne said in mindlink as her distant look conveyed a part of her mind was taking a ‘peek’ at likely future events. “Damn! There is a large fleet waiting for us next to planet Tasty Land! At least 30 battleglobes. And they are led by the Dolmat Sector Captain who surprised us at Antares B.” Her eyes scanned them all. “Matt, I recommend we strike another Flesh Market planet. Somehow, someway, this new fleet captain has predicted where we will attack!”

  Concern flowed into their mindlinks from every pilot, especially from Eliana, who’d given his Mom and sister a loving hug before she returned to her own ship. She knew, like Matt did, that in the Anarchate there are no coincidences. “We keep on. Then later we broadcast that we knew the fleet was there but we attacked anyway. Should bother the Council of Sixteen. And it might wake up the trillions of Anarchate citizens who seem pleased with the status quo.”

  In his mind glowed the images of Mata Hari and BattleMind. Both sent him mental approval of his decision. However, Rafael of the droopy mustache waved at him. “Mathew, maybe we should exit outside the system, build speed up to three quarters light, then reenter Alcubierre drive and hit Tasty Land in a quick flyby?”

  Matt could feel Rafael’ concern. Every battle they fought carried with it a chance of injury or death. The damage to Ben’s starship had been repaired during the week of transit to this cluster, but the young Aussie still limped on his right leg. The loss of the right side wing had burned into his mind a sense of losing a leg. While he could think beyond his neurolink overlap with his ship Flowering, the recent injury had turned him skittish. Matt suspected Ben would be less in synchrony with the fleet than would other members. Still, in combat you survived, learned and then fought again.

  Matt liked Rafael’s change idea. “Good point Rafael. Toktaleen, we adjust our tactics to exit six light minutes out from the planet seven gas giant in order to see how the Anarchate fleet is deployed.” He sent a PET thought-image to all of them showing his change to the battle plan. “We head inward until we hit three-fourths lightspeed, then we re-enter Alcubierre drive and exit just five light seconds from the world Tasty Land,” he said. “That gives us the advantage of being harder to hit while moving at near lightspeed. Plus, our stop by the gas giant will reveal the gravity waves of any deployed artificial black holes. And maybe the numbers of Assault Asteroids, Thermonuke sleds, x-ray Picket Globes, Offense sleds, tachRemotes and similar outlying sensors.”

  Eliana gave him a mental hug. “Matthew, my precog sense shows the same as Suzanne’s. There are many explosions, some surprises, intense terror for some and at least two of our ships will be damaged. I think we all will survive, if we stay together in our Hub-and-Wheel formation.”

  Matt blinked at the negative side of precognition. Knowing that two of their eight ships would be damaged upon entry into battle was not good. But better than knowing nothing.

  One second, 101 milliseconds, 12 nanoseconds, 90 picoseconds and 67 femtoseconds, said his cyberclock.

  “Exiting behind the outer gas giant!” he said as the grey of Alcubierre space-time disappeared into the black with white diamonds of normal space-time. The real-time light image disappeared within ten femtoseconds as their flat Alcubierre space-time shields surrounded each ship. New imagery appeared in his ocean-time senses.

  Three Supply Tubes laden with antimatter sparkled in infrared heat imagery directly in the path of their approach to the Saturn-like gas giant.

  “Up!” he cried. “Up, up above the ecliptic plane. And watch out for stealth Thermonuke sleds!”

  Running Leader felt his neurolink with the sensors of Defiant II hum with the perception of eight gravity wave sources on their side of the system’s F3V main sequence star. The sensors said the incoming starships had emerged from Translation directly behind the outermost gas giant. Viewed from his fleet’s position between planet Tasty Land and its single moon, there were four planetary orbits between his fleet and the intruders. Whose eight gravity wave signatures almost guaranteed they were the smaller T’Chak fleet of the Human Dragoneaux.

  “Sector Captain,” muttered Malel. “Our dispersed tachRemotes show the incoming craft are indeed the T’Chak Dreadnoughts. They avoided our antimatter picket line of Supply Tubes by moving sharply upward from the ecliptic plane. Other tachRemotes say they are accelerating to speed from what was almost a stationary exit from Alcubierre space-time.”

  Ah. That explained why none of the ships had crashed into a Supply Tube, or entered the several AM clouds that lay between the three ships. A surprise though. This Dragoneaux biped had never entered a star system at other than a large portion of the speed of light. Why different now? And would the fleet leave this system now that it had real-time images of his fleet deployment?

  “Malel, maintain our globular formation with each ship arranged as if on the tips of spines,” he hooted. “This deployment pattern will maximize the protective value of our new Alcubierre weapon.”

  Chief Lark lifted his scaly black tail and draped it over his left shoulder. The cant of his Whiskers of Distinction showed Eager For Battle in body language. “Sector Captain, shall we eject the artificial black holes toward the planet? It is obvious that the Human and his ships have to pass between us and the planet in order for him to attack the Flesh Markets in Sharp Claw city.”

  “No,” Running Leader croaked. “Recall, we fight in three dimensions, not just the horizontal,” he said in calm Belizel. “This hairless biped may well approach at a right angle to the planet’s orbital plane in positional anticipation of the nearing of the Flesh Markets city. And we need to recharge our own antimatter cannon reserves. Do so!”

  Sarah Vasiliades bit her lip as her ship Imperial rose above the local ecliptic plane and out of the way of the unmoving Supply Tubes. Sparkles near to the tubes said some had ejected antimatter clouds whose contents flared from the impact of tiny dust grains. If they had continued toward the gas giant in the effort to build speed for the future attack, some of them would have lost their shields and perhaps been damaged like Ben had been hurt.

  “Ben, you clear now?” she called over their shared tachlink.

  “Yes, good Sarah,” said the man she had come to love during long hikes through the forests of Morrigan. His English held the rough-hewn accent unique to the people of Australia. “Worry not. This Dolmat
ship captain may be an impediment as large as Ayers Rock, but space is vast. Matt will surely change our angle of attack in view of the sensors and remotes that have been deployed throughout this system.”

  Sarah’s heart beat slowed as she heard Ben’s reassuring words and felt his Aussie sense of ‘this is just a Walkabout through the desert’ that conveyed a nonchalance in the face of deadly danger. Still, she recalled the sudden emergence of rainstorms off the coast of her native world Kepler-22b, when she had gone out to fish off one of the ocean world’s few large islands. While the yellow light of its G5V star kept her warm, by midday grey clouds had moved in. As she paddled for shore in her kayak, giant waves and lightning had struck all around her. She lived to tell the tale . It was an example of sudden change she had never forgotten.

  “Thank you, Ben,” she said, giving thanks for how a man in his thirties could care for a woman like her in her fifties. Their time together at the end of the attack on the Spelidon world had been precious. “However, I like to be prepared for the unexpected. Do stay alert for gravity pulses from the tiny black holes their fleet shoots out. And the matter-to-energy sparkles from the antimatter clouds.”

  His weather-beaten face showed a friendly smile. “Yes, mistress. I bow to your greater combat experience with these exotic T’Chak warships.”

  Sarah pulled her mind focus inward, assuming the Greek stoic mood that she had found useful in all past combat. Avoiding emotional reactions the way Matt did made excellent sense. Doing her part as a member of Hexagon Prime fleet would go a long ways toward preserving the life of her young lover.

  Matt went back into ocean-time mindlink once they reached three-fourths lightspeed in the normal space-time universe. While their ships had been hit several times by x-ray Picket Globes and several stealthed Thermonuke sleds that had fallen to their proton beams, he knew the Dolmat fleet commander was watching their every movement through the FTL vision of deployed tachRemotes. Their view of the enemy fleet, though, was several hours old even as they passed planet six, a gas giant twice the size of Jupiter. Well, one of the nice advantages of traveling by Alcubierre Star Drive was that while you retained your entry speed, your exit orientation could be from any angle. So rather than continue to approach parallel to the plane of planetary ecliptic, they would come in at a right angle. If they exited just ahead of the planet’s orbital movement, and to one side of its moon-planet alignment, they would avoid passing between the Anarchate fleet and the planet. The urban city of Sharp Claw would be within 100,000 kilometers at their closest approach. And if they kept their time in system to five seconds, they should avoid being an easy target.