by C H Gideon
The bridge rumbled as the other destroyers closed, and the planetary weapon systems continued to engage the SD Reynolds.
Alarms sounded as the gravitic shields were penetrated in several locations. Sensors showed explosions battering the hull.
“Took a couple of good hits on the starboard flank, but the armor’s holding,” Jiya reported. “Increasing power to the shields there to compensate.”
“Bring us about, Ensign,” Reynolds ordered. “Turn that section away from the planet so they can’t concentrate on it.”
“Aye aye, sir,” Ria replied, bringing the SD Reynolds about to give the starboard shields time to recover.
Dozens of explosions rippled down the length of one of the remaining destroyers as the SD Reynolds repositioned.
“It’s like the Fourth of July out there.” Reynolds laughed, seeing the explosions come one after another.
The enemy ship veered at the unexpected attack, but the captain’s resulting panic walked them into even more danger.
The cloaked mines Takal had spit into space had been more effective than Reynolds could have hoped.
The ship plowed right into the makeshift minefield as it tried to flee the invisible enemy. Explosions rang out all across its nose, the brilliance of them obscuring the front of the destroyer for several seconds.
Tactical unleashed on the ship then, raining railgun fire, missiles, and blaster fire to take advantage of the weakened shields at the nose of the craft.
A wave of explosions followed, and the destroyer was engulfed, section by section, blowing up and flinging debris everywhere as its final act.
“We’re still being pounded by those damn guns on the planet,” Maddox reported. “Our return fire is largely being negated by the AA.”
“Shifting to targeting the defense outposts,” Tactical announced. “We worried about collateral damage?”
“Not here,” Reynolds replied. “This is a cult haven and a military outpost, not some compound in the middle of an innocent population. Take these fuckers out.”
Tactical chortled. “Carpet-bombing it is.”
Although the AI personality had been holding back to avoid wholesale ruin of the planet, he no longer had to worry about it.
A barrage of fire and missiles rained down on the planet in response to the constant fire pounding them from below. Explosions were marked on the viewscreen as Tactical poured it on, overwhelming the AA systems and shredding the planet as if tilling a field.
Zoomed in, the screen showed thousands of explosions moving across the surface of the planet like a tsunami. And one by one, the AA went silent as they were scorched, the tracers in the air slowing from a raging storm to a light drizzle in just seconds.
“Burn, motherfucker, burn!” Tactical laughed as he continued pounding the planet.
“Where’s that cruiser?” Reynolds asked, pulling his eyes from the screen and returning his focus to the battle in space.
“Closing on us, but they’re still out of range,” Asya replied.
“Then let’s deal with this destroyer before it gets here,” Reynolds suggested.
More explosions erupted outside as the last of the destroyers came across more of the cloaked mines Takal had laid down for them.
“Excellent work, Takal,” Reynolds said over the comm.
“It’s easy when they’re willing to run right into them,” the inventor came back.
“They’re giving us their belly.” Jiya laughed, motioning to the screen.
Sure enough, the destroyer had rolled, perhaps predicting where the next mines would be laid, in an effort to avoid ripping up their shields against a weapon they couldn’t detect.
Tactical, however, knew exactly where the mines were.
“That was kind of smart, in a fucking stupid way,” Tactical said, chuckling.
The enemy ship had actually moved in the right direction to avoid running into more of the mines. However, the captain’s decision provided the SD Reynolds with a better target, and it was the last mistake he would ever make.
Tactical concentrated fire on the field of mines that floated en masse alongside the destroyer’s belly. Railgun fire triggered the mines, setting them off and starting a chain reaction of explosions that sliced through the destroyer’s shields and rained fire across its armored hull.
The follow-up barrage of fire, with no shields remaining to deflect it, smashed into the destroyer, to great effect.
The warship shuddered as its belly was peeled open. Eviscerated, the ship spewed atmosphere, crew, and debris into space as though its intestines were spilling out.
The hull, unable to maintain integrity, split, tearing the ship in two, almost as if it were a peeled banana. It tore apart lengthwise, pieces of armor and hull behaving like toppling stones, bouncing off the rest of the ship as momentum carried it forward.
So close to orbit, with no engines to redirect it, the planet started pulling it in, and the destroyer began its final flight. Flames flickered, and the ship glowed a brilliant orangish-red as it returned home for the last time.
“Ashes to ashes, and fuck that fuck.” Tactical intoned as the enemy ship was devoured by the atmosphere.
“We’ve got one more to worry about,” Reynolds reminded them.
The cruiser moved into range then and began to unleash on the SD Reynolds, shaking up the ship and the crew as its fire pounded the gravitic shields.
“Sitrep!” Reynolds ordered as the cruiser engaged.
“Scanners show there are no more ships headed our way anywhere in the system,” Jiya replied. “The planetary guns in the eastern hemisphere are still active, but Tactical is steadily blowing the shit out of things in that direction.”
“Damn right, I am,” Tactical said. “The threat from the planet is negligible at this point, but they’re still popping off shots.”
“Tactical’s efforts have also reduced the local population drastically,” Jiya went on. “Their numbers were concentrated around the guns, and there aren’t many of those left now.”
“That means we’ll likely find little intelligence down on the planet,” XO advised.
Reynolds shrugged. “The grunts aren’t going to have much to tell us anyway, so no loss there,” he answered, then pointed at the incoming cruiser. “Those are the bastards we want to get our hands on. Keep bombing the planet and take their base out completely, then ready a boarding team.”
The crew acknowledged the orders and got to work as Reynolds examined the fast-approaching cruiser.
“Let’s cripple that ship so we can go pay them a visit,” he told Tactical.
“Gladly!” the AI personality replied, and Reynolds could practically hear him grinning.
Chapter Eleven
The enemy cruiser had no intention of going down easy.
It had seen and recognized the tactics deployed by the SD Reynolds with the mines, so its first act was to flash the entire field. Tracers of energy brightened the blackness of space, the resulting explosions only adding to the flickering brilliance between the opposing ships.
“I hate when they’re smart,” Asya said, grunting as the viewscreen adjusted to the brightness outside.
“Just takes a little longer to punch holes in them, that’s all,” Reynolds countered. “Speaking of which…”
“On it,” Tactical replied.
The SD Reynolds unloaded on the cruiser as Ria took advantage of the other ship’s focus on the mines.
The cruiser’s shields sparked as it deflected their efforts, the SD Reynolds veering off and peppering the port side of the enemy craft.
The cruiser returned fire, and the bridge trembled under the fierce assault.
“Swing us about and threaten them with the ESD,” Reynolds ordered.
The Reynolds turned instantly, angling to bring its nose about. The cruiser seemed unimpressed, holding its ground and firing hordes of missiles in return.
XO grunted. “So much for that bluff.”
“It
’s only a bluff if I don’t actually pull the trigger,” Tactical shot back.
“We can’t risk wiping the ship out. We need it in one piece,” Reynolds warned. “Kill the ESD and save the energy. We’re not going to out-poker-face this captain, obviously.”
“ESD down, much to my regret,” Tactical reported.
The bridge rattled again as the cruiser continued to pound the SD Reynolds. Tactical returned fire as the two ships streaked past each other, each side doing its damndest to take the other out first.
“It’s packing more heat than a normal cruiser,” Jiya called. “It’s not on the level of the Pillar, but that cruiser isn’t stock. The cult has upgraded it.”
As the two ships came about to face each other again, Reynolds examined the ship. The two traded fire, neither side having a distinct advantage at a distance, despite the fact that the SD Reynolds packed more firepower.
The enemy’s shields had been enhanced similarly to those of the Pillar, and it was shrugging off enough of the hits that what little crept past did effectively no damage to the armored hull.
It was as if the two ships were jousting in space, each side’s lances clanging off the armor of the other.
On the third pass, seeing the ineffectiveness of their current tactics, Jiya raised her hand.
“We’re not in class, First Officer Lemaire.” Reynolds smiled. “Just tell me what you’re thinking.”
“If that’s not an invitation to disaster, I don’t know what is,” Tactical muttered.
“I’ve got an idea,” Jiya said.
“Then spit it out,” Reynolds told her.
She did, and the AI chuckled when she finished.
“I used to think that most of you not having had any structured tactical training was a bad thing, but I’m starting to believe it’s an advantage,” Reynolds said with a grin. “You think up some crazy shit.” He motioned to Jiya. “Do it.”
“Doing it,” she replied, grinning broadly, and triggering the comm to relay her orders.
“Coordinate with Jiya when she’s ready, Tactical,” Reynolds ordered. “Until then, let’s keep this prick occupied so he doesn’t suspect anything.”
“You don’t think their captain isn’t contemplating a new way to come at us, the same way we are them?” XO asked.
“Of course they are,” the AI answered, “but I can guaran-fucking-tee they’ll stick to the handbook until they run out of pages. No one does crazy like the crew of the SD Reynolds.”
“I’m taking that as a compliment, however you meant it.” Asya laughed.
The cruiser came about again, and true to Reynolds’ prediction, its only response to the relative stalemate was to come at the SD Reynolds from another angle, showing clear signs that it intended to veer suddenly and try to deliver damage while minimizing the amount of return fire it absorbed.
Reynolds told Ria to let it come on. They didn’t need to make any radical adjustments to their path for Jiya’s plan to play out. They only needed to be close enough to make it a surprise.
“Ready!” Jiya announced. “Launch systems green.”
Reynolds acknowledged the statement with a nod, but he held his tongue, waiting for the right moment to launch their plot.
The cruiser streaked toward them, then did as he expected, veering quickly as Tactical engaged it, feinting to avoid return fire as it moved along the starboard side of the SD Reynolds.
“Hard to port, Ensign!” Reynolds called.
Ria maneuvered the superdreadnought smoothly, angling off to open up space between the two ships.
“Pods away,” Jiya reported.
“Those poor Pods,” Tactical commented.
Packed with mines, the trio of cloaked Pods shot free of the hangar bay, which was positioned directly in line with the enemy ship. Piloted remotely by Jiya, they streaked straight at the cruiser in a tight formation before the enemy could slip away.
The shuttles exploded as they collided with the cruiser’s shields, a flash of vicious energy erupting before flaring out.
It took out a swath of the enemy ship’s shields along with it.
“Now, Tactical!” Reynolds commanded.
“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Tactical replied as he hammered the hole in the cruiser’s shields.
Perfectly placed, the exploding Pods had taken out the cruiser’s defenses near its aft end, leaving its engines undefended. Tactical tore it a new ass, a variety of weapons fire battering the back end of the cruiser and wrecking its engines and a large portion of the ship beyond that.
There was a sudden influx of debris clattering across the SD Reynolds’ shields as they watched the enemy cruiser’s engines flare and die.
A quick burst of atmosphere vented from the other side of the engines, but it was almost immediately quelled, showing that the majority of the ship’s system were still online.
That was something Reynolds would have to remedy.
“Bring us around and hit it again,” the AI ordered. “Be surgical. I want their guns down but their bridge intact.”
Tactical laughed. “That’s greedy of you.”
“Just do it,” Reynolds countered as they came back around, easily closing on the wrecked ship.
The cruiser fired all it had to keep the SD Reynolds off its back, but it didn’t stand a chance. Its blows were deflected by the gravitic shields easily enough.
Tactical took his time and picked at the enemy ship, piecing it up until nothing remained that posed a danger to the superdreadnought.
“Stripped and ready for a cavity search,” Tactical announced once he was finished.
“Then let’s board her and see what there is to find. Put us in position, Ensign. Tactical, provide distractions with boarding umbilicals to keep them guessing as to where we’re really coming in,” Reynolds said. “Asya, you have the conn. Maddox and Jiya, you’re with me.”
The three left the bridge and marched down to the hangar bay, where Ka’nak and Geroux met them.
“We flying in?” the Melowi asked.
“Why not?” Jiya countered. “Their shields are down, their hangar bay is cracked open, and they think we’re coming in through the boarding tubes.” She ushered Ka’nak into the Pod.
The warrior grunted affirmatively and stomped inside. The others followed, and Jiya brought up the rear. She plopped into the pilot’s chair beside Reynolds and waited for the crew to strap in.
Once they had, she triggered the Pod’s cloak, eased out of the hangar bay, and started toward the enemy ship. Debris floated around the cruiser, bits and pieces being stirred up by Tactical as he pecked away at the ship with low-powered bursts of fire, further degrading their systems and doing what he could to distract and take out the enemy crew.
Invisible to the enemy sensors, whatever remained active, Jiya piloted the Pod around and easily slipped into the cruiser’s hangar. Crew rushed about, preparing their escape shuttles, but it was clear they’d never had to abandon ship before.
The hangar bay was total chaos.
Ships and people were everywhere, automated bots confusing the process as everyone scrambled to flee. It was taking three times the amount of time to get things done than it should have.
“Let’s give them something else to worry about,” Reynolds said with a grin. “Park the Pod over there,” he told Jiya, pointing to a position where it would be out of the way but close enough to do what he needed it to.
She did as ordered and the Pod set down quietly, engines stilling unnoticed in the frenzied din.
“Cloak yourselves, and let’s go,” Reynolds told them.
The crew vanished, leaving nothing but their vague outlines, then exited the Pod and slipped around the far end of the hangar bay, avoiding the clusterfuck.
“We should have just transported in,” Ka’nak said. “Feels like a missed opportunity to test the system in a real-world situation.”
“We’re still not sure if we can cloak in transport or if it disrupts it,” Geroux
said. “Besides, we don’t have a good layout of the cruiser. While they don’t have any shields to deflect us, there’s still a chance we can beam into a wall or person.”
She shuddered at that thought.
“And we wouldn’t be able to do this,” Reynolds said, grinning wildly.
The Pod ramp retracted, and the hatch closed. The ship’s engines started up, then suddenly it was no longer cloaked.
“Uh, what are you doing?” Jiya asked.
“Taking a page out of your tactics book,” Reynolds answered.
The Pod shot forward.
The crew in the hangar bay saw it then, the strange ship appearing out of nowhere and shooting straight toward the thickest congregation of them.
Shouts and screams rang out even above the clatter, but those didn’t last long.
“We might want to move around the corner,” Reynolds suggested as the Pod crashed into the crowd of enemy shuttles and crew.
“Oh, shit!” Jiya smirked as they darted around the corner.
There was a loud crash, then explosions rang out behind them. Reynolds had triggered the Pod’s self-destruct system as it collided with the crowd.
The ground trembled under the crew’s feet as their ships went up in a chain reaction. The massive door that separated the hallway from the hangar bay slammed shut, alarms whooping overhead. Rattling explosions continued from the other side, only slightly muted by the sealed hatch.
“What the hell are you guys doing over there?” Asya called over the comm.
“Reynolds is renovating the hangar bay,” Jiya answered with a barked laugh.
“We’re going to need a Pod-printer similar to the aggro-printer if these guys keep this up,” Maddox commented. “We’re going to run out of Pods.”
“Well, I hope it was worth it,” Asya went on, “because you’ve drawn attention to what was supposed to be a quiet entry. Scanners show people headed your way.”
“That means there will be fewer on the bridge when we get there,” Reynolds replied, shrugging. He waved the crew on.
They jogged down the corridor, stepping to the side and squeezing into doorways or repair alcoves in order to avoid the cultists storming past in search of them.
