by Finn Gray
As she had predicted, the Memnon fighters were initially slow to react, but they caught on quickly. They began to form a shield in the Aquarian’s path to make their last desperate stand.
All around them, Cobras and Mongooses went down, shredded by the hail of Memnon fire. They were coming closer… closer… Soon they would collide.
“This is going to be one hell of an explosion,” Smoke said.
A missile shot toward Sabre’s fighter, too fast for her to react. It missed, but found its target somewhere behind her. She hoped it wasn’t one of her pilots and she didn’t even feel bad about it.
She could feel the clock ticking. The last Memnon fighters were joining the shield.
“Just a few more… a few more…” Sabre said. And then. “Now!”
As one, the Aquarians fired a final salvo. Missiles streaked toward the massed Memnons like a school of sharks toward chum.
And then they broke off the attack, scattering in every direction as the missiles struck home. The missiles weren’t nearly enough to break through the wall of fighters, but that wasn’t the plan.
The Aquarian pilots, who had outflown their Memnon counterparts throughout the engagement, changed course and headed for the now unprotected Brick.
The Memnons were in a state of confusion. They’d lost the center of their shield to missile fire. Meanwhile, many of their number broke formation to protect the Brick from the onslaught of the Aquarian fighters, leaving only a skeleton force to hold off Cronus’ desperate suicide run.
Neither was enough.
Sabre laughed as she made a strafing run down the Brick’s length. All around her, her allies were doing the same.
“Do it for George!” one of the new pilots, callsign Spartan, shouted. The new arrivals poured everything they had into the attack, raking the Brick with a vicious assault.
“And with that attack, I think that puts all our tanks on empty,” Sherr announced, bitter regret filling his voice.
“She’s still afloat, gods damn it!” Sabre shouted, even as she pumped her fist at the sight of gas escaping the Brick through a gash in its hull.
“Sabre, my guns are empty,” Cactus said
“Then clear the hells out.”
“No, sir.” Cactus’s voice was odd, emotionless. “I’m not out of the fight yet.”
Sabre understood. “Don’t you do it!’
“It’s for Rose.”
“One kamikaze fighter won’t take that thing down,” Sabre said. “Do you hear me, Cactus? Break off! That’s an order!”
But Cactus didn’t listen. She turned her Cobra and flew it full-tilt into the Brick. The fighter smashed into the hull. As predicted, it wasn’t enough. Just one more hole in the hull, one more jet of escaping gas. Not much of a tradeoff for a human life.
“Gods damn it!” Sabre swore. And then she saw what was really happening. Like a torpedo, Cronus was hurtling toward the Brick. “Admiral Laws, you brave, crazy bitch.”
“I heard that, pilot,” the admiral’s voice replied.
“Said with respect, Sir.”
“The feeling is mutual, pilot,” Laws said.
The Memnons had seen what was happening and were throwing everything they had at the approaching battlecruiser. But with all power on thrusters and forward shields, Cronus would not be stopped. She shattered the Memnon’s remaining defenses. Their Reapers smashed like insects on a windscreen against the massive warship’s bulk.
“Bug out. Back to Dragonfly!” Sabre ordered.
She couldn’t help stealing a glance back as Cronus barreled into the strange Memnon vessel. It was destruction like she’d never witnessed. The Brick crumpled as Cronus smashed into it. And then both vessels exploded.
“My gods,” Teddy said.
“We can marvel about it later,” Sherr said.
Sabre nodded. “Vesuvius is a smart man. Listen to him.”
“Sabre, this is Dragonfly. Get your chicks back to the henhouse. We are spinning up QE drives and flying the coop,” Cassier ordered.
“They’re working again?” she asked.
“Affirmative. It was the Brick, just like we thought.”
“Roger that, Dragonfly.” She gave the command and the pilots went buster, opening the throttle and heading for home. Relief flooded through her as she realized Dragonfly had won its battle with the dreadnought. On her RADS, the first ships vanished from the screen as they spun up their drives and jumped away.
“You did it, Admiral Laws,” she whispered. “Godspeed.”
Chapter 48
Among the Aquarian fleet
Marson was tempted to close his eyes as the transport zipped toward Kestrel. They had finally made contact with the warship and had been granted permission to dock. This should have been a relief, but it was clear that Commander Begay trusted them no more than did Hunter, the pilot who was escorting them in. And the battle still raged all around.
Now there was another problem. Every surviving ship in the fleet was spooling up their engines to jump away, which meant they had precious little time to reach Kestrel.
“Things must be pretty bad if everyone’s jumping in such a hurry,” Peyton said. Sweat dripped down her forehead.
“I don’t suppose they’d trust us with the jump coordinates?” Marson asked.
“Wouldn’t matter. This taxicab isn’t jump-capable.”
“Oh,” he said.
The next few minutes passed with the speed of molasses on a cold day. This was Marson’s first flight outside the atmosphere, and it should have been a wondrous experience. Instead, he watched as ship after ship from the civilian fleet jumped away. It was an odd sight—the ship would suddenly appear to ripple, like fast flowing water, and then it was gone. Meanwhile, signs of battle still raged all around. It all seems so unreal.
“I wonder who’s winning?” Park asked.
“I just hope we survive,” Marson said. He still couldn’t quite believe the world he’d known was gone.
“Transport, this is Kestrel. We are jumping in sixty!”
Marson looked at Peyton. They both understood the subtext. We are jumping with our without you.
“Everybody hold on!” Peyton said. “We’re going in hot.”
Marson held his breath as the massive warship loomed larger and larger before them. A Cobra swept in from the port side and fell in behind them. He had no doubt the pilot had weapons ready, just waiting for an excuse to open fire.
The landing bay seemed to grow larger and larger as they approached. They were going too fast. They had to be!
And then they were in.
Marson felt the transport touch down and then he felt a painful jolt as the craft bounced.
Peyton gritted her teeth and tried to maintain control. Their transport slammed into the side of the landing bay, then rebounded in the opposite direction.
Marson had only a moment to let out a cry of alarm before everything went black.
“Captain, with all due respect, I must register my strenuous objection to your allowing this ship to pass through the civilian fleet.” Jude tried not to let his strain show so as not to rouse suspicion.
“And with all due respect to you, Mister Vatcher, you really don’t have any say in military matters,” Hunter replied stiffly.
Magda took up the gauntlet. “They’re flying right into the middle of the civilian fleet for the gods’ sakes!”
“Exactly. They’re in the midst of our most vulnerable ships and they haven’t tried anything.”
“Have you heard of infiltration, Captain?” Magda said.
The other pilot, Vera, turned around slowly.
“And have you heard of stuffing a sock in someone’s mouth to make them shut up?”
“I’ll thank you not to talk to my wife like that,” Jude said.
“I wasn’t only talking to her.” Vera locked eyes with him and held his gaze for a few seconds. Long enough for him to understand that she was not making an idle threat. This was what the fleet
had come to—underqualified grandmothers drunk on the tiniest sip of power.
He flashed a wicked grin.
“I think I’ll ask my son to have you transferred to his ship. It would be amusing to have you at our disposal.”
Vera didn’t blink. “If you think that will stop me from properly discharging my duties, think again.”
As she turned back around, Jude and Magda exchanged a stealthy grin. The woman had no idea who she was dealing with. But she would find out some day.
Up ahead, a Cobra fell in behind the rogue shuttle. For a moment, hope flared in Jude’s heart, but fizzled as the craft vanished into the landing bay. He wondered if it was going to be a problem.
“What’s wrong?” Magda whispered.
He turned and pulled her close.
“I’m all right, dear. Just thinking about the future.”
Chapter 49
Battlecruiser Dragonfly
“Commander, the last civilian ship is away safely!” Cassier said, his voice sagging with relief. “The fleet is waiting on your command.”
“Very well! Give the go-ahead for the battlecruisers to jump when ready.”
Graves swallowed hard. A ship was at her most vulnerable in the moments before a jump, when the bulk of her available energy was devoted to the jump, and there were no fighters or support ship to hold off the enemy. It was a question of how much damage the Memnons could inflict before the jump was complete. Dragonfly was not in danger at present, but the rest of the fleet was still locked in combat.
Cassier issued the command. One by one, the surviving ships jumped. With each successful escape, Graves breathed a little easier.
Graves took a long look at the vid screen that displayed his home planet of Thetis. There was no battle raging there, at least not in the sky, and not much on the ground, either. The fight was over, there.
Then again, the same was true of Hyperion. They had managed to get the civilian fleet away safely, but it was not a victory. Only a loss just a hair short of complete.
“Commander, everyone’s away except Kestrel.”
“What’s the problem there?”
“They had to wait for a couple of ship. They’re spooling up now”
Relief flooded Graves, followed by a wave of apprehension. When the Brick had been destroyed, the Memnons focused their attack completely on the civilian fleet. That meant Kestrel had borne the brunt of the attack. And now, as all the other ships jumped away, she once again was suffering heavy damage.
“Come on,” Graves whispered as he watched the vid.
“She’s got the satellites to protect her,” Fisher offered.
“I hope it’s enough.”
Eyes locked on the vids, they watched as the defense satellites, those closest to the fight, blasted away. Memnon missiles evaporated just short of their targets. Their fighters and ships suffered blast after blast from the powerful beams.
“Why don’t the Memnons just blow up the satellites?” Cassier asked.
“They want them intact in case we try to retake the planet someday.” Graves wondered if that day would ever come.
“Sir, all our birds are home as well as those from Cronus,” Cassier said. “Do we jump?”
“Not yet.”
They waited. Reapers strafed Kestrel. A missile made it through, and then another.
“What is taking her so long?” Graves muttered.
And then the massive warship rippled and vanished.
“Thank the gods!” Graves said over the cheers that rang out in the bridge. “Let’s get the hells out of here.”
He braced himself for the sickening feeling that came with a jump. He gripped the console and closed his eyes.
The ship gently vibrated. A low hum filled the air. And then.
The world shifted.
Graves doubled over and fought the urge to vomit. His head swam and his bowels begged to loose themselves.
It was over in a matter of seconds, but gods, what awful seconds they were. He took a couple of deep breaths, steadied himself.
“XO. Sitrep,” he ordered, eyes still squeezed firmly shut.
“Checking now,” Fisher said. “Coordinates check out. That is the Scarn Nebula up ahead.”
Graves opened his eyes. There was the glowing red cloud of the nebula. He breathed a measured sigh of relief. Only a ragged chorus of cheers rang out. Everyone was still feeling the aftereffects of the jump.
“Roll call time. Get a head count of the fleet,” he ordered. “Make sure we didn’t lose anyone.”
Someone touched his arm and he turned to see Lina standing beside him.
“I threw up in my mouth a little,” she said, her face twisting.
“Better than I did on my first jump. It came out both ends.”
“Oh, that’s awful.” Lina frowned. “It was like… being yanked to the side really fast, but your guts go first, then your bones, then your skin, and then you get put together again on the other end, but it all happens like that.” She snapped her fingers.
“That’s as good a description as any,” he said.
“Gods,” she said. “I can’t believe we did it.”
“Nothing is done yet, Majesty.”
It was true. They were fleeing the Aquaria system with, at best, the seed of humankind, and they had nowhere to plant it.
“I’ll trade certain death for an uncertain life any day.” Lina looked up at him and smiled. “You did well.”
Graves managed a smile. “Thank you, Majesty.”
Lina rolled her eyes. “Even now you can’t call me Lina?”
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. It wouldn’t be appropriate.” He winked to show he wasn’t entirely serious.
“Have it your way, Admiral.”
Graves closed his eyes and let out a groan. In the blink of an eye he’d gone from submitting his retirement papers to being in charge of the whole gods damned fleet. It was all riding on him. Well, him and the newly minted empress.
Lina’s eyes sparkled with mirth. “How does it feel to suddenly be the most powerful man in Aquaria? Or, in what’s left of it?”
“Dizzying,” he said truthfully.
Lina looked around at the crew, who were all busy about their tasks. She lowered her voice. “Things are about to get complicated very fast. You and I have to work together, but we can’t appear to be in league together. There’s a difference. Know what I mean?”
“I do.” Graves was impressed at her grasp of nuance.
“Before now, I’ll wager you thought of me as a vapid rich girl. One of the Empire Twins.” She bracketed the nickname with air quotes. “I promise you I’m more than that. I don’t care about power, but I do care about stability.”
“I agree.”
“And I promise you,” she lowered her voice even more, “that you do not want my sister in charge. So, I hope I can count on your support.”
“You can,” he said, “unless you give me good reason to withdraw it, of course.”
“That’s fair.”
“There is one condition,” Graves said.
Lina raised her eyebrows. “And what is that?”
“I’ll agree to call you Lina in private if you’ll call me Dom. I’m running out of friends who are comfortable enough to call me by my first name.”
Lina smiled and shook his hand. “Deal.”
If you enjoyed Aquaria Burning, try The Gate, book three of the Aquaria series!
Get news of free giveaways, special discounts, and new releases when you sign up for Finn’s newsletter.
Books by Finn Gray
The Aquaria Series
Aquaria Falling
Aquaria Burning
The Gate
About the Author
Finn Gray is the author of the AQUARIA novels. His literary inspirations include Starship Troopers, Ender's Game, Crystal Rain, and many more. On the screen, he loves Firefly, Battlestar Galactica (original and reboot), and Blade Runner. When not writing, he enjoys eating waff
les, shooting at random objects with his old-school, single-shot .22 rifle, and shouting at strangers to get off his land. Don't send him any letters or packages because no one will deliver to him any more. Finn lives in the American Southwest with his wife, children, and dog. (Finn Gray is the pen name for the USA Today bestselling author of a popular action-adventure series.)
Visit Finn’s Website
Connect with Finn on Facebook
Follow Finn on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/finngrayscifi
