The Spider and the Fly

by C.E. Stalbaum

  ***

 

  “Any updates on the last transport?” Jenavian asked into the com as she swung the Phoenix around behind the Golem.

  “It won’t be ready in time,” Thexyl replied. “Selaris and Thomas have powered up the defensive turrets and driven the assault transports back, but it appears the Unifier is preparing for its own attack run. We will not be able to stop them.”

  “They’ve also launched a fresh set of bombers, and we’re all out of Windrunners to hold them off,” Grier added. “There’s nothing else we can do.”

  We didn’t even slow them down, Markus said into her thoughts. We didn’t even scratch the paint on their hull.

  Jenavian ground her teeth together and directed a surge of annoyance at him through their mindlink. It’s not over yet. I have an idea. “Just hold your position and try to cover our escape. We’re going in for another run.”

  Grier snorted. “You could always try flying straight into their engines. Maybe they skimped on their kinetic barriers.”

  “Just hold on,” Jenavian repeated. “The same goes for you, Thexyl.”

  “We aren’t going anywhere,” he said. “Good luck.”

  What’s your idea? Markus asked. Their aft shielding is impenetrable, and blasting off a cannon or two won’t make enough of a difference.

  I’m going to help power the gun, she told him as she lined them up for another strafing run. The two of us together will give it a bigger kick, right?

  Yes, but if you’re not focused on flying, they’ll blow us apart before we even get there.

  If you have another option, spit it out. If not, quit whining and give me the link.

  He grunted audibly. I guess you were a natural after all, huh? All right, I’m opening the link. Be ready.

  Jenavian closed her eyes as the cannon started to siphon additional power from her. She’d gotten comfortable enough with the piloting interface that the drain wasn’t particularly noticeable, but she had a feeling that was going to change when they actually fired the thing.

  All right. Here we go.

  The Phoenix darted forward, and she broke into a series of defensive rolls the instant they crossed into the Unifier’s range. She kept them positioned behind the battleship’s engines, minimizing the amount of cannons that could reliably track them, but several of the swiveling port-defense turrets began spitting at them immediately.

  Locking onto their engines, Markus said. Ten seconds until we’re in optimal range.

  Jenavian nodded absently, wondering how hard it was really going to be to split her attention between two systems. Dodging the stream of defensive fire was difficult but manageable right now, but if she faltered even a little…

  She shook away the thought. As she’d just reminded Markus, they no longer had a choice. Either they stopped this thing now, or the battle was already over.

  Three seconds, Markus announced. Two, one, fire!

  Another blast erupted from the front of the Phoenix, and Jenavian winced as the cannon sucked power from her mind. Her teeth rattled together and she froze in place, unable to move or speak or even think…

  And then a flash of light exploded in front of her face, and it was all she could do to wrench the Phoenix clear of the firestorm before it engulfed them.

  “Direct hit!” Markus half-screamed, half-yelped into the com. “Their starboard engine is severely damaged.”

  Once the afterimage faded from her vision, Jenavian allowed herself to process the shuttle’s sensor data. The Unifier had indeed taken a hit; a gout of drive plasma was pouring out from its starboard engine, and the shield grid was desperately trying to compensate from being pierced so easily. The battleship was still limping forward, unfortunately, but they had at least slowed it down.

  “I think you got their attention,” Grier commented, not bothering to hide the surprise in her voice. “Their fighters are breaking off and coming after you now. Be careful.”

  We have to make another pass, Markus said. One more shot into the port thruster and maybe we can convince them to give up.

  Maybe, Jenavian said, taking in a deep breath and trying to ignore the sudden wave of nausea passing over her. She wasn’t going to be able to keep that up for long, and she could already tell that her response times were slowing. If those gunners decided to get just a little bit smarter, they were going to be in a lot of trouble…and she didn’t even want to think about the swarm of fighters now headed their way. I’m coming around for another pass.

  The Phoenix whipped around and spiraled in towards the Unifier once more. The point defense turrets continued their mostly futile barrage, though this time a pair of shots managed to connect. Fortunately, Markus was able to keep the shields intact, and soon they were back within range.

  They fired again, and this time it felt like Jenavian had just been prodded with a shock-stick. A spike of pain jolted through her head and arms before finally settling in her chest. She clutched onto the steering console, wondering distantly if this is what a heart attack felt like…

  “Another hit!” Markus announced. “Their port thruster is crippled, and their shields are fluctuating. I think we might have—”

  He choked off as the Phoenix violently lurched to the side and a searing flash of heat singed the side of Jenavian’s face. Amidst the oppressive agony she realized that one of the Unifier’s plasma cannons had finally connected, and the shuttle’s shields had been completely overloaded. Another hit would finish them off, and so she pulled hard at the controls, desperately spinning them back towards the relative safety of the Golem.

  “We’re moving up to cover you,” Grier’s voice called out through the haze. “Stay in tight.”

  Jenavian nodded, mostly to herself, and once again her mind flashed back to their last moments on the Manticore when she’d tried desperately to get them within range of the Golem’s protective fire…

  Mercifully, the enemy fighters backed off before they got in range, and after a few more stomach-clenching twists and turns, it appeared they were in the clear.

  I think we’re all right, she said. We just have to hope their inertia doesn’t carry them into range.

  It was only when Markus didn’t respond that she realized she could no longer sense him in the mindlink. She opened her eyes and glanced over to him. He was slouched in his chair, breathing faintly but unconscious. The psionic linkage interface next to him had clearly suffered damage, and even when she tried to shunt her consciousness into the shield grid in his place, it didn’t respond.

  Grimacing, she mentally flicked on the com and signaled for the city. “Thexyl, this is Jen,” she said. “We’ve taken a hit and I’ve lost Markus, but I think we managed to cripple their engines.”

  “You did,” her partner replied tightly. “But they are already in range.”