Ambush

by G J Moses

  All on the bridge heard the reply. A commanding woman’s voice loudly responded “Aye Aye Will. Okay me matey’s, let’s show these land lubber’s how to fly.”

  Will put his display on the main screen just in time to see twenty-two fighters suddenly appear on the screen like a bullet coming out of an opening that suddenly appeared in the ground.

  Hawke’s wings puffed a little in surprise while Will whistled when he saw the speed indicators. Looked at Will, Hawke mouthed “How?”

  Their admiration rose another notch when they saw the fighters themselves. Unlike the fighters on The Lucky Strike, which were a solid V shaped craft with the lasers mounted internally next to the cockpit with a pair of missile’s underneath, the ships they were now looking at were, well, delicate looking.

  The Irracan fighters had a thin body with small wings in the bow that flared out and swept back in half circles. The center had similar wings, but three times in size with a missile under each. On the rear of the craft were a pair of fancy stabilizers that looked more like tail feathers than anything else. And to top it off, the whole skin of the craft was embellished with the design of a dragon. Even with two glowing eyes on each side of the cockpit that were lasers with a third laser in the very front that looked like a dragon mouth. It was a beautiful craft to look at, but as we saw, it was also very deadly.

  The Irracan fighters came climbing up towards the Chohish who had turned around now that their rear was being attacked. The Irracan fighters wasted no time in showing them who owned the skies. They raced upwards and swooped around like a bird of prey.

  The lead fighter was more elaborately decorated than all the rest. It was colored in shades of red and black with the wings decorated like streaming flames. That fighter quickly showed the owner deserved the decorations.

  As it raced up to a pair of enemy fighters, it went into a tight spiral while firing all three lasers. The lasers connected with one fighter that blew apart, while at the same time the fighter let loose with a missile to take a second fighter out of the sky within seconds.

  The fighter did not rest, but did a fancy flip over one hundred eighty degrees to plant a missile on a third fighter that had been lining up one of its brothers. The g’s on the pilot must have been terrific, but the fighter never slowed before targeting another fighter. It was an impressive display of flying and shooting at the same time.

  But that was not the only fighter giving impressive displays. All the Irracan fighters showed degrees of the same skill. Enemy fighter, after enemy fighter, was being shot out of the sky. One on one, the Chohish were no match for the Irracan. But even with all their skill, the bridge crew saw several of the Irracan craft taken out.

  Everyone had been watching the Irracan display so closely they did not see Gunner’s fighters enter the combat. The six fighters flew in like avenging angels. They may not look as flashy, but they showed they were just as dangerous. The Chohish did not even see them coming. In less than the same number of seconds, another half dozen of the Chohish fighters had been taken out.

  There were only several dozen Chohish fighters left in the sky when Hawke opened with the secondaries again and took out another half dozen who had been on the fringes, away from the other fighters. It was the secondaries that broke the Chohish attack. The rest turned and tried fleeing, but the now combined allied fighter group took chase. It was quickly over with no further losses.

  Several of the Irracan fighters, one being the red and black one, headed towards the cruiser. The rest split into two sections. One group headed back to the ground quarters while the rest headed up to the cruiser where Khaleesi’s Marines, loaded onto shuttles, flew out of both shuttle bays. There was no time to delay the execution of the next stage.

  With the shuttles following, this group of fighters led the way to the ground emergency quarters only to pass another group of fighters leading more shuttles that were heading to the cruiser.

  And while this was all underway, two individual fighters landed in the fighter bay.

  As Zeke made his way to the fighter bay, he wondered what this Captain Jeanne de Clisson was like. As he opened the access hatch to the bay, he was confronted with his answer. At first all he saw were the half dozen security personnel milling around before they snapped to attention when they saw his arrival. Then they moved aside so he could see his guests.

  Before him stood a tall, beautiful young woman, no more than mid-twenties, with long flowing brunette hair whose corset outfit matched her ship. Beside her stood a mammoth of a man who eyed him with suspicion.

  “Captain de Clisson I presume, welcome to the Lucky Strike. I am Captain Zeke Kinsley. May I show you to the bridge?”

  Sweeping off her large tricorn captain’s hat adorned with a pair of long red and black feathers, Captain Jeanne de Clisson did a graceful bow. “Captain, we would be delighted. Next to me is my sergeant of arms, Jan de Bouff. Please call us by Jeanne and Jan.”

  With the introductions over, Zeke led the way. As he walked through the hall to the elevator, he could hear Jeanne whistling a contagious tune behind him. What bothered him most of all was her perfume. He was not used to it being on a warship most of the time where there was very limited personal space. Perfumes of any kind were frowned upon in the RGN, but he had to admit, hers matched her persona. It was spicy and fruity at the same time. And her eyes, he could not remember seeing such bright green eyes like that before. He would swear they twinkled when she introduced herself to him. Yep, this was a trip for new experiences.

  As Jeanne followed the Captain, she inwardly smiled as she looked at his back. He sure did fill out a uniform nicely. His short cropped blond hair and muscular build spoke of a strong personal regime. And his intense brown eyes did not seem to miss anything, but then again, neither did hers.

  Jeanne watched closely the casual and comfortable way the crew responded to the Captain. It spoke volumes of the man. As they walked, they passed by several of the crew bearing bandages and before the Captain would pass one, he would stop and ask how they were doing. Not once did she see anyone look down or show concern about speaking to a superior officer.

  After seeing the extensive damage that was evident on the cruiser when she flew into the bay, Jeanne was not expecting to see a crew this relaxed. From her experience, that meant this crew and captain have flown into danger together before. That was good news, as she was deeply concerned for her own crew. It was going to take a miracle to get out this and working with a go by the book type of Captain would not have been her preference as she doubted anything in this war was going to be normal. She believed this war was just starting.

  Impressed so far with the man in front of her, Jeanne started whistling a new tune. Walking with her normal swagger, she carefully made her way behind Zeke while laughing inwardly at the stares she received because of her whistling.

  Introductions

  The bridge noise was unusually subdued when Zeke led both Jeanne and Jan into the center of the bridge. Just as he was about to introduce them, Hawke beat him to it.

  Walking over to the group, Hawke offered his hand in greeting. “Captain Jeanne de Clisson and Master Sergeant Jan de Bouff, I presume? I am known as Hawke, just Hawke. It is with great pleasure to meet you both. I am pleased to see you have the same love for the Chohish as I do.”

  Jeanne, who had put her hat back on again during her trip up to the bridge, swept it off before replying and shaking Hawkes hand. “Ah, you must be the delightful Hawke my crew has told me about. There must be a trace of Tortuga blood in you based on the delightful plans you, Commander Chandler and Lieutenant Morison suggested. And, lest I forget, Lieutenant Commander Farren also. I must congratulate him also. I hope I get to meet everyone soon.”

  Twirling in her wide thigh high boots, Jeanne swept her hat in a wide circle saluting the crew. “And this must be the crew of the famed Lucky Strike I have heard so much about. Ahoy, me hearties!”.

  Most of the crew rose from their seats and salu
ted back. Others saluted from where they sat. Zeke admired the skill of this Captain. Just a few short weeks ago, they were firing at each other, now they had not only fought together but were respectfully saluting each other.

  With a quick apology, Zeke got back to business. “Isolde, get Khaleesi on the line.”

  “Bringing her in. Visual on screen.” replied Isolde.

  The screen changed to show a large field where in the distance you could see a large encampment with a lot of activity. The image was not close enough to see detailed activity, but it was not a human camp.

  “Hi Zeke, just getting a layout of the opposing forces. How much time do we have before you have to leave?” a muffled female voice called out.

  “We estimate three to four hours at most. We expect the Chohish to be here in six to ten hours. I believe they will leave several of their ships here so you will need to be hunkered down and ready for the resumption of their siege before then. Have you been able to determine the forces arrayed against you?” questioned Zeke.

  “Yes, thanks to Captain de Clisson who, per the Governor, installed hidden sensors and cameras in the most likely locations for a camp. Without those, making sense of the Chohish would have been hard. When you meet her, please pass along my thanks.” reported Khaleesi

  “Captain Jeanne de Clisson here, please call me Jeanne. I wish I could take credit for the sensors, but it was my Master Sergeant Jan de Bouff who deserves that honor. Jan spent hours flying over those fields before making his final decisions where to put the shielded camera’s. I am glad he could assist. And please, just call us by our first names, Jeanne and Jan. Same for all my crew.”

  “Thanks, Jeanne. Zeke, the Chohish layouts makes no sense to us, but they seem to have a pattern they follow as both camps were built following the same plan. In total, we estimate around fourteen to fifteen thousand troops and support. And I do not see any air gear being worn so they must be oxygen breathers like us. And surprisingly, only minimal personal armor, if any at all. From the size of the camps, there should have held twice the number at one time. Not sure what happened there.” replied Khaleesi.

  “Thoughts on what you want to do before we leave. I had planned to leave Gunner and his fighters with you, but with the surprise addition of Jeanne’s fighters and supplies, I am going to change my plans. I plan to leave the eighteen fighters that need upgrading and take the rest with me. I may have to put one in my bed, but I will fit them somehow. And find some way to bring the three pinnacles I was told about. Can you make do?” asked Zeke.

  “Yes, they should do fine. The crew of Jeanne’s, that are working on the fighter upgrades, said they should be able to get them all upgraded in several weeks to a month. If we can last that long that is. Not sure about the three pinnacles though, there is only one here, not sure what happened to the other two. I would like to knock out the two camps before you leave though. I have several thoughts on doing that. A little risky but it should work if Hawke’s analysis of the Chohish is correct.” updated Khaleesi.

  “Hawke here Khaleesi, if you have a moment now, we can review and confirm your plans. Let’s check with Jan on what he saw when he did his scouting.”

  “Excellent,” replied Khaleesi, “I will also need Jamie, Gunner, Jax, and Jeanne present. See if Will is available. We need to do it fast as I plan to make my move soon. Captain, I expect you want to be there of course.”

  “Actually, I am going to pass. Fighting ground battles are your expertise and I have full confidence in you. I have something else I want to follow up on before we leave. I will need Isolde so glad you did not require her services.”

  Jeanne looked at Zeke oddly when he signaled Isolde to join him in his cabin. Seeing her puzzlement, Hawke laughed. “Follow me Jeanne and we will join the rest in the conference room.”

  While walking, he asked “What is bothering you?”

  “Does he usually leave such an important decision like that to his officers?” queried Jeanne.

  “Oh, that. Yes, he does, as a matter of fact. Most of the officers on this ship have served under Zeke before. If he cannot trust the officers that report to him, why should the people who report to that officer? And bad officers do not last long with Zeke, he demands excellence. He takes his responsibility to everyone on this ship very seriously.”

  “I still remember the day we met. I am used to humans, once they see my wings and skin, seeing someone different being hesitant or standoffish. My race is not unknown on human worlds, but there are not that many of us in comparison. I had just reported to the RGN Naval Academy where I was waiting in line for the living arrangements to be published.”

  Jeanne noticed that Hawke, who had paused and was now sporting a huge grin, had a faraway look when he resumed, “Zeke walked up to me with two beers in his hands. He introduced himself and then handed me a beer. He then informed me that he and I were going to be roommates at the Naval Academy. I looked at him in surprise as they had not posted the living arrangements yet. When I asked how he knew, Zeke said he had an aunt in the administration department and had asked her to get me assigned to his room when he found out that there was a Sorath present in this class.”

  Hawke had continued walking before he stopped suddenly. Turning toward Jeanne just outside the conference room, Hawke finished with. “In puzzlement I asked why. Zeke looked me straight in the eyes and said, ‘because you are our future’. I was shocked and said I did not understand. He then told me that humans are not alone in this universe and if they could not get along with another race, they are doomed. In order to save humans, I had to be his friend and roommate. No options. We had to save humans.”

  Putting his right hand on Jeanne’s left forearm, his eyes crinkled in amusement. “Thankfully, my digestion track is similar to humans otherwise I am not sure what all that beer we consumed that evening would have done to me. And we have been best friends ever since.”

  Laughing, Jeanne patted Hawke’s hand resting on her arm as they walked through the conference room doors. “I am liking this Captain Kinsley more and more.”

  Behind them, there was a deep grunt of agreement. Hawke turned in surprise. He had forgotten Jan was following. Jan was never more than a foot away from Jeanne. At first his bulk is intimidating, but over a short period of time he goes unnoticed as he is so quiet and unassuming.

  Meanwhile, Isolde and Zeke quietly made their way to Zeke’s cabin.

  Isolde walked in and jumped into one of the leather chairs in front of the desk. Getting comfortable, she accepted the offer of hot cocoa. After Isolde had her cocoa in hand, Zeke programmed in his coffee and sat on the corner of his desk facing Isolde.

  While waiting for his coffee, Zeke let his gaze settle on Isolde as she sipped her cocoa. Her dark hair, fair skin with deep blue eyes were very easy on the eyes, she was a very beautiful woman. Zeke and Isolde had served together several times already and he could not be any happier. She was a rare asset to any Captain and without a doubt, would be getting her own command soon.

  The ping that the coffee was ready broke him out of his daydreaming. Zeke wrapped the coffee mug in his hands, sat down behind the desk and brought the coffee up to his chin so he could sniff the fragrant smell. Sighing in contentment, he took a small sip and let the taste swirl around his mouth. “Ah, nothing like a good cup of black coffee after a day like today.”

  “Ok, Isolde, let’s get down to business. I need your assistance on the following.” A map of the star system popped up hovering in the air above the desk. Zeke selected the planet they were orbiting and brought it to the forefront. Then he traced the path to the second planet, Nocuous. “I need to get in touch with them. Recommendations?”

  Sitting up straight, Isolde touched a spot on her arm activating IA controls implanted in her fingers. Taking the map and putting it into a slight rotation, Isolde informed Zeke that she had already been looking into how they could contact Nocuous. Nodding his head, he smiled as he should have known she would have been doing
that already, Isolde was that good.

  Stopping the map when it reached a certain point, Isolde pointed to an asteroid that was close to their present location and going in the general direction of Nocuous. “All their space satellites are probably destroyed or are non-functional. If there are any survivors, they must be hunkered down in hardened bunkers like Niflhel. I am sure they have ground radios, but these would not be able to reach us here.”

  Isolde stood up straight so she could get better control of the map. Being short has some disadvantages. “I was thinking we could put some communication equipment on that asteroid. We can do a tight beam setup where it would not be detectable unless someone was right on top of it. It should get within range of any ground quarters still available to Nocuous in a little more than half a day.” Isolde looked at Zeke for his opinion.

  Putting the map spinning again, he asked “how long will it stay in range?”

  “I estimate it will stay in range for about twenty-four, maybe a couple more hours if we are lucky. If the Chohish have any ships in orbit, the Chohish will be able to detect it once we start transmitting. But it will take them a good while to do anything about it. By the time they did, it would be out of range anyway. Then again… they did not station any ships here, so you never know. Thoughts?”

  Raising his hand, Zeke signaled for her to wait a moment. She watched as he gazed intensely at the map. Having served under Zeke for several years, she knew what most of Zeke’s facial expressions meant. Isolde smiled as she knew he was up to something when he turned to her with a grin after a few moments.

  With barely a delay, Zeke called the bridge and asked them to put him into the conference call with Khaleesi. Once connected, Zeke interrupted the conference.

  “Khaleesi, sorry for the intrusion, change of plans. I need you and the Marines back on board before we leave. I expect we will have use of them when we reach Nocuous. And Jeanne, any Marines you think the planet can spare, we will need them also. Along with as many of the fighters and shuttles we can manage. I hope this does not change your plans any.”