“Hit them again!” he ordered.
“The particle beam has a twenty-second recharge, sir.”
Banking too late to avoid yet another shot from one of the Ixidar’s cannons, Recker noticed that the Gorgadar’s shield was on the brink of collapse. One more hit would likely be enough.
“Lieutenant Eastwood, is the Gorgadar able to convert its tenixite stores to bolster the shield?” he asked, remembering that some of the other Laws of Ancidium could – possibly – do the same thing.
“I can’t tell you one way or the other, sir. Best not to chance it.”
Recker wasn’t in the gambling mood and he sent the Gorgadar into a steep dive just as the next gun came on target. It was proving difficult to beat zero travel time and a corrosive blast hit the shield again. The reserve gauge fell to three percent.
“Forward clusters one through thirty: fired. Topside clusters one through thirty: fired,” said Aston.
Hundreds of warheads skimmed across the planet’s surface, chasing the still-accelerating Ixidar. Its shield was active, but the Gorgadar’s sensors pierced the blue, allowing Recker another sight of the particle beam hole, which was almost neat around the edges, like a cauterised wound. A huge area around the opening glowed and he was sure the internal heat expansion had made a real mess of the enemy ship’s innards.
Recker looked at the altimeter, which was reading sixty kilometres. Dead ahead lay one of the Daklan population centres. Still wary about what the death sphere might do to the planet’s inhabitants, he brought the Gorgadar from its dive into a steep climb and banked north, going against the rotation of the Ixidar’s guns in the calculated hope that he’d cross the path of one which hadn’t yet charged.
“Power spike,” said Eastwood.
For the first time since the encounter began, the Ixidar’s shot missed the Gorgadar. Instead of collapsing the warship’s energy shield, it created a nine-kilometre hole in Tokladan, on the outskirts of a Daklan facility. A near miss was still a miss and Recker banked once more, bringing the nose into line with the Ixidar. The enemy crew weren’t playing ball and they climbed high into the atmosphere, where the contrast with the darkness of space added a sullen appearance to the enemy ship’s friction-burning shield.
“Five seconds on the particle beam,” said Aston.
“They’re going to hit us with an Extractor,” said Recker in sudden realisation.
Cannon or Extractor, it probably didn’t matter one way or the other. The margins between success and failure were becoming too tight and Recker hated that he’d been pushed right to the limit.
The Extractor attack hit the Gorgadar and an agonising burning sensation took hold of every nerve in Recker’s body. It was bad, but not as much as the attacks he’d suffered on Ivisto and with an exertion of will, he held off the threatening unconsciousness.
“Firing particle beam,” said Aston, her voice distant and taut with strain.
“We’ve got to finish them,” said Recker through clenched teeth. The pain of the Extractor hadn’t gone away and he didn’t know how long he could hold out against it.
A second beam of solid blue energy appeared from the Gorgadar’s nose and again it sliced unhindered through the Ixidar’s shield. The beam missed the facing gun barrel and its housing, connected with an area near the corner, and went all the way through the enemy ship at an angle.
“We can’t let them win,” Recker said, dimly aware that the pain was making his speech garbled. His voice sounded weak and he didn’t know if Aston was still conscious.
Recker’s body succumbed to the darkness, to protect itself from the agony. His eyes closed for what seemed like no more than a moment and then he found himself able to open them again. How long had passed, he didn’t know, and his head didn’t willingly respond when he tried to look towards the sensor feeds.
“Sir, wake up!” shouted Larson. Out of everyone, she seemed most resistant to the Extractor effects. “The Ixidar activated mode 3. We need to get after it!”
“I’m awake,” said Recker, trying to bring together his jumbled thoughts.
He forced his limbs into action and grabbed the control bars with hands which had slipped off while he was unconscious. The sensor feeds were of Tokladan and space, with no sign of the Ixidar. Knowing the Lavorix, they’d be back soon enough and this time they’d likely turn the planet into dust just for the hell of it.
“Commander Aston?” said Recker. He reached out to give her a shake, but she’d already come round.
“Cheating scumbag cock faces!” she swore. “I hate those Extractors.”
“That makes all of us, Commander. Now eyes to your station!” Recker ordered. “Lieutenant Burner, Lieutenant Eastwood? Pull yourselves together! Now!”
Both officers emerged from unconsciousness at the same time, each spilling invective to rival that uttered by Aston only moments earlier.
“We’re not finished!” shouted Recker. “Cursing will not defeat our enemies!”
He knew exactly how they felt and he had endless wells of sympathy, but they needed spurring on and he hoped the harshness in his words would focus their minds.
“Lieutenant Eastwood, ready for duty, sir,” mumbled Eastwood.
“You damn well better be! Lieutenant Burner?”
“I’m on it, sir.”
The response wasn’t exactly coherent, but it was better than nothing.
“Lieutenant Larson, where’s the Ixidar?” asked Recker. He checked the shield reserve gauge, which was at forty percent and climbing strongly. Judging by how much it had increased, he guessed he’d been unconscious for less than a minute.
“I’m hunting for it, sir. Without knowledge of its launch direction I’ve got several times the radius of this solar system to scan.”
“What happens if you link to the Vengeance’s sensors?” asked Recker. “Has it detected anything nearby?”
“No, sir, it has not. On the plus side, the Vengeance didn’t get blown to pieces. If the Ixidar had arrived close enough to spot it…”
“I get the message, Lieutenant.”
Recker’s brain was finally engaged. He aimed the Gorgadar directly away from Tokladan and gave it maximum power. If the Ixidar came back, it seemed best to be away in case the planet became collateral damage. The warship quickly escaped the atmosphere and the velocity needle climbed to seven thousand kilometres per second and held there.
“Same maximum velocity as the Aeklu,” said Eastwood. “Want to try superstress?”
“Not now, Lieutenant. This would be a great time for you to figure out how to detect a lightspeed tunnel.” Recker thought back to a previous conversation he’d had with Eastwood on the subject. “When we were on the Aeklu, you told me the HPA console tech wasn’t aware of the capability and that’s why you couldn’t do it. Now you’ve got a direct line to the backend hardware, what’s keeping you?”
“Damnit, sir, there’s been no opportunity!”
“And now you’ve got one. Make use of it!”
There were times Eastwood responded better when he was riled and Recker hoped this was one of them. With the Ixidar off the sensors, the enemy warship was potentially back in control of the engagement, assuming the Lavorix wanted to continue the fight. Given the two massive particle beam holes through their hull, that wasn’t definite.
“What’s on the sensors?” asked Recker.
“Nothing so far, sir,” said Burner. It was encouraging that he sounded far more alert than just seconds ago.
“There’s a good chance they know where we are, Lieutenant. And the range on their cannons is at least a billion klicks.”
“If the Ixidar held onto mode 3 for as long as possible, we’ll never locate them before they have time to open a Gateway or activate their conventional ternium drive,” said Larson.
Recker knew it too. While he was certain the enemy warship had suffered enormous damage, it was still likely a match for everything in the combined HPA and Daklan fleets. If the Lavorix
made it to extended lightspeed, they could begin sweeping through the 170 planets on their star chart in the search for another populated world. And the next world might have ten billion souls living on it, rather than the eighty million on Tokladan.
“We can’t let them escape!” Recker said, striking his fist against the console in front of him. The action made his head thump and only served to compound his growing fury.
It was Eastwood’s turn to come up with the goods and he did so in style.
“Sir, I think I’ve worked out how to detect lightspeed tunnels! There’s a piece of software running on the backend of the propulsion console which filters the incoming data from the sensors and…”
“Save the explanation for later,” said Recker. “Tell me where the Ixidar has gone!”
“I can’t tell you directly, sir. The only option I can see is to push the software output onto your tactical.”
“Do it,” said Recker.
The tactical updated and Recker was given a visual explanation of how the Galactar had managed to pursue him and his crew so easily across the depths of Meklon space. A hundred or more different lines appeared, all in red. Some were the deepest of reds, while others had faded so much they were almost invisible. Each line represented a different lightspeed tunnel, with the oldest ones in the faded colours. The lines were marked with codes which Recker believed related to lightspeed multipliers and estimated destinations based on the whatever unknown data types the Lavorix had gleaned from their scientific research.
“This is incredible,” said Recker. He sensed that Eastwood was itching to come and look, but he was required to remain at his station.
“What can you see on the tactical, sir?”
“The Gorgadar’s sensors have detected lightspeed tunnels to and from Tokladan, potentially going back months.”
“That suggests that when a spaceship enters lightspeed, it leaves a lasting scar on the universe,” said Eastwood excitedly. “I think I’ve discovered how to look at the output from here…the Lavorix hardware must be able to create a model based on particle movement or shape and apply it to…”
“Lieutenant Eastwood, I truly appreciate your enthusiasm, but again this is a discussion for another time,” said Recker firmly.
“Yes, sir, I understand. One more thing I have to say – we cannot lose the Gorgadar. The technology it contains is too valuable – we’re looking at fifty or a hundred years of advancement if we learn everything it has to offer.”
It was another burden that Recker didn’t need and he tried to pretend it wasn’t so important. “We’ve got today’s people to look after before we start thinking about the future, Lieutenant,” he growled.
Eastwood got the message and he fell silent, allowing Recker to concentrate on the tactical display. Locating the Ixidar was easier than he could have imagined. Its line was thickest of all and its origin point was at Tokladan, exactly where the final moments of the engagement had taken place.
An experimental tap on the screen told Recker that he could set the end point of the Ixidar’s lightspeed tunnel as a mode 3 destination.
Quickly, he explained his findings to the others. “It’s no wonder the Lavorix have been able to locate us so easily in the past,” he said. “This whole damn warship has been purpose-designed to pursue its opponents.”
“I guess those are the advantages which let you wipe out whole civilisations,” said Larson. “And you say the Ixidar went out beyond the last planet?”
“Well beyond it, Lieutenant.”
“Maybe that’s a good sign.”
“Maybe.” The shield gauge was nearing its maximum and Recker didn’t want to hold off any longer. “We’re going in for round two. Is everyone ready?”
“Let’s do it,” said Aston. She looked worn, but her eyes glowed.
“Here we go.”
Recker set the mode 3 destination and pressed the activation button on his control bar.
Chapter Five
The transition pain hardly registered, so intent was Recker on everything else. Without delay, he switched into overstress and requested maximum acceleration from the propulsion. Again came the thunder and the Gorgadar raced from its arrival point.
“Sensors online,” said Larson. “Commencing scans.”
“I’m waiting for the lightspeed tunnel data to feed into my console,” said Eastwood. “I have a feeling it’s going to take a while for the picture to build.”
“That’s what I think as well,” Recker agreed. “Else the Galactar would have followed us instantly every time we entered lightspeed.”
“Near scan complete – no sign of the enemy. Fars underway,” said Larson.
“Lieutenant Burner, you’re quiet,” said Recker.
“Yes, sir. I’m checking something out.”
“Don’t keep it to yourself.”
“If the Lavorix chose their direction of travel with intent rather than as a random selection, they might have continued along that same course once they broke lightspeed.”
Recker nodded. “That’s a good idea, and even travelling at a few thousand klicks per second they should be easy enough to locate.”
“And there they are,” said Burner. “Travelling away from us at four hundred klicks per second. Distance: seventy thousand klicks.”
Burner locked one of the sensors onto the Ixidar and the feed clearly showed the two particle beam holes, still burning hot. The enemy ship wasn’t rotating and it made no deviations in its course.
“Let’s finish this,” said Recker, banking the Gorgadar and bringing it on an intercept course with the enemy warship. The velocity gauge climbed and the distance between the two vessels reduced quickly. “Commander Aston, hit them with the particle beam.”
“Wait!” yelled Eastwood.
“Belay that order, Commander,” said Recker at once. He didn’t turn. “What’s the reason, Lieutenant Eastwood?”
“Zero power readings from their hull, sir. And none from the cannon housings.”
“That last particle beam strike must have taken out some critical hardware,” said Recker. “Can you confirm the enemy ship is in a state of failure?”
“I can only give you the power readings, sir.”
“Commander Aston, fire a single missile at the Ixidar. Target anywhere except the guns or their housings.”
“Yes, sir. One missile from forward tube #1 launched.”
Given the velocity difference between the two craft, the Gorgadar had just about closed the gap and the missile launched and impacted in less than a second.
“Successful detonation against the enemy armour,” said Aston. “Their shield is down.”
“What’re the chances the Ixidar’s crew can bring any of their hardware back online?” asked Recker, decelerating to match the speed of the enemy warship. He positioned the Gorgadar a thousand kilometres behind, with the particle beam aimed dead on target.
“Slim to none, sir. I don’t know what we might have hit that would result in a failure of every single onboard system. The central control modules or maybe the links between the storage arrays and those control modules. Given the damage caused by our particle beam, there’re a number of possibilities.”
Movement in Recker’s periphery made him turn. It was Burner and he’d leapt from his seat. “Sir, we’ve received a comms request from the Ixidar!”
Recker was stunned – the Lavorix didn’t negotiate, or at least they hadn’t made any attempt before now. “Accept the damned request!” he said. “What do they want?”
“It’s not a voice comm, sir,” said Burner a moment later. “They’ve sent us a bunch of codes.”
For a split-second, Recker experienced fear. Perhaps the Ixidar had issued shutdown codes for the Gorgadar. He quickly discounted the idea, since the Hexidine had not done anything like it when Recker was piloting the Aeklu, and the Ixidar could have issued these codes before the Gorgadar put two holes all the way through its hull.
“Be wary of the c
odes,” Recker warned anyway. “Does your console have a way to interpret them?”
“Yes, sir, it does!” said Burner, his excitement continuing to rise. “The Ixidar has sent us a distress notification. It has suffered critical hardware failure on its main data arrays and requests our assistance to return to base for repairs.”
“What about the crew?” asked Recker, becoming suspicious again. “They know we aren’t friendly.”
“Sir, what if our death sphere did kill the Lavorix crew after all?” said Aston. “Then, the Ixidar’s battle computer might have executed a standard escape protocol based on a damage audit. Except it only managed a single mode 3 before hardware failure prevented it executing a return to base routine.”
“Why isn’t it hostile to us?” said Larson.
“If we took out some of its data arrays, maybe the battle computer doesn’t know what happened,” mused Recker. “Yet it still recognizes us as a friendly ship and wants us to help.”
“Or this could be an elaborate hoax,” said Eastwood.
“What would that accomplish?” asked Recker. “You said the enemy have almost zero chance of bringing the Ixidar’s critical systems back online.”
“There’s a lot at stake, sir.”
“That there is, Lieutenant.” Recker tapped his fingertips on the arm of his seat. “But this could be an opportunity.”
“The Ixidar is awaiting a response, sir,” said Burner.
“Feed it some bullshit about why we haven’t confirmed our willingness to help and ask for a full status report.”
“Feed it some bullshit?” asked Burner incredulously. “It’s a computer, sir.”
“I’m sure you’ll think of something,” said Recker. “I want more information.”
“Yes, sir,” said Burner. “It’s a bit prickly.”
“What do you mean?”
“As I said, sir. Prickly. Maybe it doesn’t like the Gorgadar or maybe it’s pissed because it got beaten.”
“It’s a computer,” said Recker, repeating Burner’s own words. “Deal with it.”
Recker's Chance Page 4
