by Mark Iles
The Dutch Lady had so many backup systems that nothing could conceivably go wrong, and crawlers or crew members would be sent out to investigate and repair what damage occurred.
“Arthur,” Selena said, sitting back in her chair, “you and Singh go check out the lifeboat. I want a complete check on everything, from the engines and weapons systems right down to the hinges on the doors. Bryn, take over from Singh.”
As the two crewmen left, those on the bridge heard Singh say, “I don’t care what she says, Arthur, don’t you touch anything! I swear Selena does this deliberately, to wind me up.” Arthur’s protests were muted as he followed the co-pilot eagerly.
Just then the ship’s onboard computer chimed in. “Ahem; the crew status reports are ready, Captain.”
Shock danced over Selena, and she looked from one crew member to another. “What the hell?”
“Well, that’s a first. I never heard a ship’s computer cough before,” Kes muttered. “Nor any call you Captain.”
“You’ll be pleased to know,” the ship’s computer interrupted, “that I’ve completed my assessment and you all appear to be exceptionally unfit and, to put it mildly, undernourished. Not surprising, really, after such a long sleep. Physical training needs to begin immediately; although I’ll be extremely surprised if you have much time for that. But I’m also using my position as ship’s doctor to put you all on high protein diets, with immediate effect.”
“We know all that,” Kes continued, “and we’re already on those bloody diets. Do you have a name, computer; if not, what about arsehole? That would do a treat.”
“Now, now; that’s no way to talk to our loyal protector, now is it?” Selena interrupted, with a smirk. “I have to say that it’s an excellent idea about the name, though.”
“For your information, I already have a name,” the computer replied loftily. “Arthur calls me Methuselah.”
“Right then, Meths it is,” Bryn chuckled.
* * * *
Two days later they awoke to the general alarm sounding throughout the ship. The deafening siren and walls and ceiling flashing a deep vermillion was a hell of an awakening. They leaped from their beds and dressed rapidly, then ran to their action stations.
Dropping what they were doing, the crew already on duty rushed to the bridge.
Meths’ voice kicked in over the loudspeakers. “All hands to action stations. Three unidentified craft approaching on a potential intercept course.”
Samantha had obviously been caught in the shower and, although dressed, her hair remained wet and dripped constantly, and it was more than obvious that she didn’t have anything underneath her sweatshirt. Arthur seemed mesmerised by her and received a dig in the ribs from Za’an.
“Keep your mind on the job, Arthur. You can see her tits anytime that you like; same as we all can.”
Za’an was stunned at the glare he received in return. For just a moment there had been an extremely savage glint in the scientist’s eyes, or had he imagined it?
Arthur turned away suddenly and returned to tapping away at his keyboard, ignoring Za’an completely and leaving the man to wonder if he’d imagined it all. Then Za’an decided that, whatever the problem was, Arthur would certainly bear watching from now on.
Arthur looked up and caught Selena’s watchful eye. “It’s okay, Commander. The incoming ships aren’t actually on an intercept course, although they’ll be passing damned close to us – in fact if we stuck our chins out they’d probably give us a damn good shave. I’m still not sure what class of ship they are, but we’ll be able to see them in a moment.”
“Okay, assume silent running,” Selena commanded.
Everything except absolutely essential equipment was immediately powered down, reducing the chance of any electronic emissions spilling out. “Let’s just hope” she continued, “that they don’t notice anything unusual about us. Meths, turn that damn noise off!” Instantly the throbbing alarms and flashing walls died away.
“All weapon systems are armed but powered down, Ma’am,” Za’an reported.
“Thank you, Sergeant.”
“Trajectory of incoming craft is confirmed,” Arthur reported, “they’re definitely not on intercept course, Ma’am. They’ll be on screen any moment.”
A few seconds later, the screens lit up and everyone sucked in their breath and held it, unable to believe their eyes.
“Good God, it’s the Lexington!” Singh gasped. “She was lost with all hands years ago.”
Selena immediately checked the records. Launched over twenty years previously, the Lexington was a battle cruiser of such immense size and power that even by today’s standards, and all the technological advances since, she would still have remained a daunting and formidable ship. She’d been the first in her class, and at one time was listed as the Federation’s most powerful vessel. Launched by the President himself, there’d been an outcry when she’d disappeared on acceptance trials. For years, countless searches had been made around her last known position, but she’d simply vanished into the vast emptiness of space. It had been one of the universe’s many unsolved mysteries; and it was only five years ago that the information has finally been released that her weapons hadn’t even been armed, because she’d been on trials and so hadn’t yet been accepted into active service. The result of this was that things had changed with immediate effect. All ships coming out of build now had, by law, to have a full crew and fully functioning — and loaded — weapon systems.
“I’ve back-tracked their course, Commander,” Meths offered. “They originated from Manta and so are obviously under enemy control.”
“At least now we know what happened,” Samantha breathed softly. “Poor devils, they couldn’t have stood a chance. What about those other craft?”
There was silence for a moment and then Samantha gasped, “That’s the Scott!”
The quiet was broken by Singh, who said simply, “Oh my God, now we’re really are in trouble. But what the hell is that other thing? It’s weird, a bit like some kind of hive; sort of pear-shaped and bumpy. No, it can’t be...”
“Can’t be what?” Za’an demanded.
“A nest.”
“I’d say that’s exactly what it was,” Selena said, sitting back in her chair. “It’s a nest ship, or colony craft. They must have gotten the information from the Scott after all. I reckon they’re making a break for it. But we have a mission to carry out, people; let’s not get distracted. We can get a warning to command once the battle commences. The good thing is that nest doesn’t look complete; her engines obviously aren’t working as she’s being towed by the Lexington. Perhaps something’s got them spooked, pretty badly too. Let’s just hope they’re not expecting us.”
“I’ve accessed the Scott’s database, Commander,” Samantha offered. “Damn, this confirms the Manta did manage to access it. They have all the information the Scott discovered regarding their crops. It says here that the problem was that the crops need a very rare element in the soil and if that element’s missing then their crop won’t grow; it’s as simple as that. The Scott also gained some intelligence about that derelict fleet we saw. Looks like that fleet brought their survivors from the last war to a new home world and when they arrived it took them a while to get established, and many of them starved.”
“Good news, then,” Bryn interjected.
“Not really; well, maybe the starving bit was, but the Scott’s records show that the element they require is showing as present on a couple of human worlds, and the enemy now have that relevant information too.”
“We need to stop them then,” Bryn added, “and quickly!”
“Focus, Lieutenant,” Selena said firmly. “I told you, I’ll send a message once we start our attack. If we give ourselves away now, humanity’s doomed. It will take the nest quite some time to get established, so we’ve time to deal with it; but our priority is to destroy Mantis. That remains our mission.”
“You’re right, Ma’am; I�
�m sorry. I just have this horrible feeling that if we win this coming battle, and do manage to wipe out their world, then they’ll just come back to haunt us again; like they did after the last war that destroyed the ForeRunners. At least if we do succeed we can warn the fleet about that thing, and just hope they can find it in time.”
Selena turned to Samantha. “Prepare a looped tight-beam continuous message,” she said, tersely. “Make sure you include everything, including a video playback of the ships from our screens. Release it on my command, the moment we begin our attacking run; is that understood? That’s your responsibility, Sam; the rest of us are going to be mighty busy right then. Your job is communications, so it’s down to you.”
“Let’s just hope that they get that message,” Bryn replied. “Or in a few years’ time all hell is coming to visit and not one person will be expecting it.”
Chapter Sixteen
They entered the Pilorum system in stealth mode and immediately began the countdown to the attack. They’d detected a meteor cloud that would bring them quite close to Mantis and had slid into it in the hope they’d done so unseen. No doubt when the time came to break away and begin their attack run, all hell would break loose.
For the last twelve hours Selena had insisted they all get as much sleep as possible. She knew their chances of survival were slim, as they all did. Selena spent as much time as she could in Bryn’s company and their relationship grew rapidly. She began to think more often about the log cabin on Loreen, and dreamed of waking each morning with her arms wrapped about Bryn; spending her days with him working on the fish farm, exploring and swimming in the cool water – once it was finally safe to do so. With the high price of wood she considered talking to Bryn about having a tree farm about the lake. They’d have barbecues in the evenings she decided, with friends and colleagues coming over to talk about old times and to share a few beers. She wondered if it would snow at Christmas and if they would ever have a family, what their children would look like and even thought about names for them.
When the time to attack arrived it almost came as a surprise, for time had passed far too quickly. One moment they were happily going about their business and the next they were buckling themselves in, with a visit to Hell just around the corner. She and Bryn had made love much of the night before, spending a long time talking into the early hours and discussing their plans about Loreen; how big the cabin would be, how many rooms it would have and what jobs they’d take when they left the regiments. They had even discussed pets. Bryn had always wanted a black Labrador, while Selena favoured Capulet’s large hunting cats, for their independence and protective instincts.
As she settled more comfortably into her chair, Selena tightened her straps, so that they bit firmly into her shoulders and across her waist; crinkling and crushing her uniform. The red dagger emblem of the Special Forces lay across the top of her left arm, giving a defiant single digit salute to the enemy system that was now so clearly mapped on the screens. “Everybody ready?” she asked, taking a deep breath. When they’d all nodded and gave verbal affirmations, she turned to Bryn and said, “Okay, let’s take her in.”
Bryn checked his systems for the umpteenth time, Singh beside him doing likewise. He glanced at his friend as their fingers danced over the controls. “Ten, nine,” he started counting down calmly but swiftly, “…one!” This was it. He’d soon have his revenge on the aliens for the horror they’d inflicted on his family. For an instant the image of his sister’s body flashed through his mind; her body dissected, covered in blood and lying on the ground next to his parents. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and glanced at the scanners that showed the meteor cloud; then he keyed in the engine start codes and felt the power kick in as the Trojan Horse’s engines roared into life and thrust them out of the meteor field and directly towards the enemy world. Their acceleration was tremendous and a smile played over Bryn’s face as he watched their speed increasing at a phenomenal rate.
This is it, Selena thought, my last mission. When this is over, I’m using those credits for release and then I’ll settle the score with that bitch of a Queen back home; but this time things will be different. Oh no, Mama, I’ve not forgotten. I fully intended on killing the Queen, one way or another, preferably as slowly and as painfully as possible. And then, when it’s all done and dusted, I’ll go back to Loreen and meet up with Bryn. We’ll move to that lakeside house, settle down and have the family I’ve always wanted. And when we do finally get together, our life will be such a wonderful one, you wait and see.
Samantha readied the message that Selena had told her to prepare and looked up, waiting for the order. He’d be waiting for her, of course, he’d promised; King Khalid of Elueon, one of the richest men there was in the whole of man’s wide dominions; ready to marry the saviour of mankind on her triumphant return. Shame he was such a fat useless prick. She flicked a glance of regret at Arthur, allowing herself a few brief seconds thought about what might have been, if only things had been a little different. In the short time since they’d met, Samantha had come to first admire Arthur and all his eccentricities; then finally to love him. Beneath that bumbling eccentric exterior beat a strong, caring but desperately sad heart. He was someone she could find lasting happiness with, someone with whom she could build the life she’d always wanted. Samantha knew that now, deep in the far recesses of her heart, and she felt torn about her decision, wondering what he would do and think when he found out about her intentions.
But the King’s billions made him the most attractive man she knew, although it was somewhat unfortunate about his heart. She knew it had already been replaced twice, from organ donors, but his raucous living shortened their life span dramatically and he now had to take things extremely easy, after all another such attack was but a heartbeat away. But she’d be a new versatile and extremely willing young wife, with very strong physical needs, and she was sure people would understand. Perhaps Arthur would like to stay in touch, just in case?
The ship lurched as its mighty engines increased in power and began to thrum beneath their feet, punching them closer towards the alien world. As other meteors strayed into their path, The Dutch Lady’s guns activated and blew them into dust. The surface of the ship was now bristling with weapon systems, as they unravelled themselves from their concealments.
“What the hell’s that noise?” Za’an demanded through gritted teeth, his eyes fixed to his screens, he and Kes sharing the weapon systems.
“That,” Bryn replied tersely, “is Singh humming. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.” He pulled the red bandanna his mother had given him so long ago from his trouser pocket and tied it around his head, giving a silent nod to her memory. He’d not worn it for many years, uniform rules and all that, but he knew that she’d be proud he was wearing it on this day. He knew that their chances of survival were slim, so to hell with all the rules. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed them all glance at him, including Selena, but not one of them said a word. Then he locked eyes with Singh and they grinned insanely at each other; before turning back to their controls, each intent on the mission.
Singh was still humming and now giving vent to the odd word or two, while blatantly ignoring the frowns from Za’an. He was sure he could convince Bryn that when this was all over they could afford to buy another starship, a much larger trader this time. When the war was over there’d be a great deal of opportunity out there in the colonies. Perhaps they could even convince Arthur to jazz the ship up a little bit, maybe even join them. After all, together they made a great team; as it was he and Bryn were already known on many worlds and people trusted them. Then of course there was Loreen. They’d be welcome there all right, and the colonists would be needing traders. All that natural wood lying about was worth a fortune.
Za’an scowled at Singh, wishing he’d stop that awful whining. To take his mind off it he started to let himself think about Arthur, wondering when the professor would make his move. Ha, how simple minded
could that genius be? Didn’t he realise that the ship’s computer carried all their personal data, and that it wasn’t particularly hard to discover exactly what was going on? When he’d taken a fleeting opportunity and searched Arthur’s locker, he’d been shocked to find such detailed records of his own movements, which alone would be more than enough to get Za’an executed. There had even been a picture of Arthur’s wife, which he’d recognised instantly. He remembered her well, and how much he’d enjoyed killing her. It was a shame, really. He quite liked Arthur; but he was a threat now, and life had taught him that threats had to be eliminated. Realising he had little choice, Za’an had quickly retrieved the few trophies he’d secreted in the ship and ejected them into space, cursing the man and that bitch Dillon. He thought about her for a moment, smiling inwardly. He’d take great pleasure in replacing his former trophies with various parts of the Commander, when the battle was over and the opportunity arose.
Bryn made a few adjustments on his controls, then turned back to face Selena. “We’re on course, Commander,” he said, breaking into everyone’s thoughts. “The engines are working at full power and all indicators are well above the green. We’re in the groove and there are no reported complications.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant. Sergeant Za’an?”
“All weapon systems are working perfectly, Ma’am, and Meths took those meteors out first time, with no trouble at all.”
“All communications are ready and sensors are working perfectly,” Samantha said, before Selena could ask her.
