Gambler, p.13
Gambler, page 13
“No, Geena. Of course, it isn’t. We’re taught that sometimes the Unity requires suffering and sacrifice.”
“I can sometimes sense people’s emotions, Danders,” Lexi said. “That’s why I know that all things considered, you’re a decent man. I know you don’t believe what you were taught. For the time being, right or wrong, I’m going to assume most of the people on those seven worlds are like you in that respect.”
Geena laughed wryly. “We’re salvaging the situation on Ostrieachia like you wanted us to, darling. I’ve known you long enough to know that now you’re thinking about how to save everybody in the Unity sphere of influence. We can’t do it, Lexi. I don’t think even secret agents can do it.”
“We’ll have the means when we need it,” Lexi’s voice was steady, solemn even.
“Not what I expected to hear you say at all,” Geena said. “I hope that’s the Rose talking.”
“I do too,” Lexi admitted.
Ignoring that entire conversation, Ron continued, “We left two functional warships behind, Danders. They didn’t pursue us. We expected them to. What do you think they’re up to?”
“I’m sorry, sir, I don’t have any idea. Command has contingency plans for everything, but I honestly question whether we would even have considered someone stealing a flight deck. I doubt anyone has ever done that before.” Danders paused, and then added, “Special Order Two. They’ll probably destroy the rest of the base. It’s known to the enemy now. That makes it useless for the Masters. It’s destruction may set back whatever plans the Masters have, but the Masters are patient.”
“Shit,” Lexi broke in. “He’s probably right. We’re going to have to put this interview on hold. I hate changing the plan a second-time mid-stream, but it keeps things interesting, I guess. We’re going to Plan C. Ron, you’ve already on the transport with Kalia. You don’t need the rest of us to make sure this chunk of rock makes it to Ostrieachia. Without transport pilots, your only option is going to be to ride the flight deck down into Ostrieachia’s ocean. Urania, I need you to unlock and warm-up three of the fighters for us, please. Geena, you’re going to get to fly your first real combat mission. Danders, you can show us what you’ve got. Let’s go guys. I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, but we have to go rescue some pirates.”
Danders said, “Wait. I’m not following. I thought we were taking these people to Ostrieachia.”
Geena, who was following Lexi’s thought processes this time, said, “Yes, we are. You, Lexi and I are flying back to your base to stop those two raiders from killing everyone grounded there. We could have killed them all before we left if that was what we wanted to happen. As Lexi said, most of those people are going to be innocents. So now the three of us are going to put a stop to Special Order Two. You OK with that?”
“Why would you do this?” The man was coming across as genuinely perplexed.
“Do you think they deserve to die?” Lexi snapped at him.
“No. Not really. I guess they’re mostly good people. But they’re still your enemy.” He still sounded puzzled.
“Danders,” Geena said, “you’re more our enemy than most of the people left on that base. You fly a warplane. Quit arguing. We’re doing this. We need your help.”
***
The fighters used by the pirates were very maneuverable, powerful little ships equipped with both n-space and hyperspace drives. They lacked an atmospheric drive, being equipped only with thrusters sufficient to get them off of and back onto a flight deck. The hyper-drive on a fighter was small, of limited range, and not very fast but still greatly exceeded the speed Urania was capable of when she had on a granite hat. The worlds of the Accord didn’t include fighters in their arsenals.
Accord fleets were designed for planetary defense against attacks on the homeworld that, in eight thousand years never came. To a certain extent, they were designed with the occasional police action in mind for when piracy got ‘out of hand.’ They would have probably found fighters useful in those situations if they had them. To add fighters into their mix, transport ships large enough to carry, service and fuel the short-range fighters would be required. Those ships would have been a large enough drain on anybody’s defense budget that no one bothered with them.
No one really expected pirates to have fleets of warships, far less to have fighters, anyway.
Both Lexi and Geena had many hours of experience flying fighters in video games. The actual cockpits of real ones, surprisingly, were not all that different. Once the three ships lifted from the flight deck, they locked in their courses. Lexi transmitted, “Danders, the two of us have never done this before. Nor do we have any training for this type of battle. We’re only about nine minutes out from the base. Tell us what to expect.”
“I was afraid of that,” Danders said. “I’ll keep it simple. Expect to be killed.” They could all hear him as he took a deep breath. “Three fighters going up against two Raiders, well, our odds aren’t that good to begin with. You people really are insane.” He paused to chuckle. “OK. Maybe I am too. I want Sedima to get home safely. I’ll do whatever I have to do. Listen up.”
His voice took on a more pedantic tone. “Fighters are designed for close combat,” he began. “We’re small enough that it’s generally a waste of a larger ship’s missile to target us; we’re fast and maneuverable enough that it is difficult to get a weapon lock on us with primaries or secondaries. As far as shielding goes, we have wall shields only and they’re not much to look at. You might survive a collision with a rock the size of your fist. Anything larger and you’re powder. There is no e-shield. You can light off your beam at any time. You’re going to want to keep your ship moving as fast as you can at all times. On the ion drives, we’re good for at least three hours. I don’t have information to convert that to your time units. Also, don’t make the mistake of grouping together. That just makes for a bigger, missile-worthy target.”
He shuddered the slightest bit. How can I be expected to teach novices how to fly a fighter mission in nine minutes? Can’t be done. OK, nothing fancy then. “If you’re not careful, you can collide with other fighters. That’s usually more of an issue when there is an entire squad in the attack. Or two-thirds of your pilots have never flown a mission before. But still, if you hear the proximity alarm, you only have seconds to react. Even in hyper, you’ll experience something like g-forces when maneuvering quickly. We’ll probably find the two Raiders in n-space but in either environment, if you do something stupid, you can momentarily pass out. Are there any questions about the controls?”
“Our only weapon is the single primary cannon?” Geena asked. “I have a fire button on both sides of the control yoke.”
“You have two hands, right?” Danders remarked. “Some people find it easier to use the left and some the right. Either one fires the same weapon. Ah, it only fires in a very limited cone straight ahead. You have to aim it by steering the ship. The fire button is touch-sensitive. Run your thumb around the edge to adjust the aim within a seven-degree arc. Push the center to fire. You’ll see a couple of orange concentric circles with crosshairs in the middle on the heads-up display when the weapon system is active. They dim when the weapon is offline or recharging. The recharge cycle is no more than two seconds. You have to wait for the recharge after each shot.”
“What about tactics?” Lexi asked.
“With just three of us, we all want to target the same ship. The second ship is less likely to fire on us and risk hitting the other Raider. If they’re firing on Rathca, they won’t have their e-shields up. If we’re lucky, we might be able to disable one raider. Our fires are pretty hot for our size. With luck, we might be able to take the one out before they realize we’re enemy forces. Listen, I’ve been thinking.”
He paused, and Lexi said, “Go ahead. We’ve got time. Explain what you mean by that.”
Danders spoke slowly. “The Master’s policy in this kind of situation is to destroy everything. Leave nothing behind for Accord investigators to find. That’s what Special Order Two is about. We all know that. But as far as I know, we’ve never lost a major base like Rathca before. People down there have spouses, children, lovers in some cases, other family as well. The crews manning raiders never have family. I never considered why that might be before. They also pretty much keep to themselves when they’re on the base. They’re rotated out on a frequent basis.”
“No emotional attachments, so they won’t have any qualms about killing everyone on the base,” Geena stated.
“Yes. I’m afraid that is what I was thinking. I have friends down there. But it’s possible that the base is fighting back. That would be both good and bad for us. I don’t know what the base’s defensive capabilities are, but they may not be all that impressive. My best guess is that we counted on the ships on the flight deck for defense. We’re trained to scramble on short notice. But if the base is engaged fighting the raiders, that will help us bring them down. The bad part is they’ll see us as part of the attack.”
“Once we start our attack, comm the base,” Lexi instructed. “Identify yourself, and explain that we’re on their side. But before that, as soon as we drop into n-space, comm the Raiders. Offer our assistance.”
“OK, Lexi,” Danders agreed. Then he laughed. “I’m going to have tell them where we came from. They’re not going to believe it.”
While Danders was talking, Lexi was considering her helium-three levels reported by her fuel gauge. The small vessels were hyper-capable, yes, but the intent of that was clearly so that they could be used in hyper after hitching a ride on a larger vessel having a flight deck. They didn’t have nearly enough fuel capacity to get from the base back to Ostrieachia. Nor, even assuming they wrapped this up before Urania got that far, did they have enough to get back to her. Possibly just barely, with nothing to spare. These are not long-distance craft. I don’t think I want to gamble on this one.
Chapter 25
Raider Two
The base’s refueling depot had been, and still was for that matter, on the flight deck. In fact, the only source of additional fuel in the area was going to be the Raiders they expected to be fighting soon. True, the base they were now trying to save was probably powered by a helium-three fueled reactor, but getting down to the surface and talking them into refueling her three fighters would be next to impossible. For one thing, they would have to build the hookups from scratch.
Lexi knew the specs of a Raider as well or better than their designers. These were again the same ships Lexi’s team had been calling Antagonizers. “Guys,” she said, “before we start the attack, I’m breaking off and going after the second ship. I’m going to capture a Raider for us. We’re going to need it if we want to get back. You guys distract Raider One for me. Once I have Raider Two, I’ll help you take down One.”
“There’s no way to do that, Lexi,” Danders transmitted. “One fighter doesn’t have sufficient firepower. We’re stretching it with three. They certainly won’t let you board.”
Alone in her cockpit, Geena merely shook her head. She suspected she now knew why Lexi asked for her Zapper as they were climbing into the fighters. Lexi realized from the start they wouldn’t be able to make it to Ostrieachia with the amount of fuel a fighter carried, a truth Geena had only realized within the last few minutes. They needed to either capture a Raider or land at the base and wait for Ron and Urania to come and get them. Depending on how the crash on Ostrieachia went, that could be a while, if ever. “Danders, don’t worry about it. You just don’t know Lexi very well.”
Danders didn’t have a clue what the woman was planning. For that matter, he didn’t have a clue what to make of Geena’s comment. Nevertheless, at the moment, Lexi was his commanding officer. Besides, he had already decided all of them, himself included, were insane. Offsetting that judgment was the fact there really was an entire flight deck, complete with inventory, on its way through hyperspace toward Ostrieachia.
When the three fighters dropped out of hyper and headed in-system he sent a ship-to-ship transmission to the Raiders, both of which were, as anticipated, firing on the base. He momentarily wondered why the defensive fire from the base was so uncoordinated. Wasn’t anyone manning the CC?
“This is Lieutenant Danders Y’Throthe commanding the three-fighter squad now approaching from the hyper-limit. Can you use our help?”
Not surprisingly, he got a very quick, somewhat suspicious, response. “Where did you come from, Y’Throthe?”
“Believe it or not, sir, we escaped from the Rathca flight deck. I know this sounds crazy, but it’s not part of Rathca base anymore. Someone stole it. The entire flight deck along with all of the craft parked on it. It’s currently in hyper. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s on it’s way to Ostrieachia.” He laughed. “The people who stole it may be clever, but they lack vigilance. We took the fighters from under their noses. I expect a promotion for this. Listen, whoever you are, I need to warn you that one of my pilots is very inexperienced. Still, so far she’s been doing OK.”
“Good to have you, Danders. We know the flight deck is missing. We thought it must have blown up or something. I think you’re probably delusional, but you had to come from somewhere and there’s a huge crater where it used to be. We’ll figure that out later. Start making runs on the base. Target point defense. We’re executing SO-Two. If your three ships can take out the point defense for us, you may just get that promotion.”
“Understood, sir. Destroy everything. A shame, there’s a woman I kind of like down there. Oh well, orders are orders. I’ll find another.”
Lexi, listening in, was very pleased with Dander’s transmission other than the implication girlfriends were no more than plug-and-play components, at least as far as the raider crews were concerned. She seriously hoped that wasn’t actually Dander’s attitude. For now, he was on her side. She’d find out later if any of his attitudes warranted a slapping around. Or a prison term.
His ad-libbing was better than she could have hoped for. He set it up perfectly for what she was going to do next. As the small fighters accelerated toward the planet, she messed with the steering thrusters and sent her ship tumbling more or less in the direction of the second Raider, still a few miles distant. Danders instantly started yelling at her, “Stevens, relax. Straighten out your fighter. Follow orders.” He was so good, she briefly wondered if he had led a squad before.
“I don’t know what to do, Dan,” Lexi almost screamed. “I can’t control this horrid thing. I’m ejecting.”
“Stay with your ship, Stevens,” Danders tried. His voice conveyed that he knew it was hopeless. Lexi had the attention of practically every pirate with access to a viewscreen on both ships as the canopy of her fighter slid back and her body went tumbling chaotically directly toward Raider Two. “She’s gone,” Dander’s muttered, his voice low as though talking to himself, although his comm was still open.
His voice firming, he said, “Samue, I don’t want any foolishness from you.” He watched Lexi’s body pass through Raider Two’s wall shields. Suddenly she was in complete control, straightening out of the tumble and touching down feet first on Two’s hull, making it look effortless. He shook his head. Where did you learn to be that nimble in zero-gee? “Samue, forget about her. She’s gone. The Raiders might be willing to pick up her body after the engagement. Begin the attack.”
With her feet planted firmly on the hull of the Raider, Lexi ejected the power pack from Geena’s Zapper, set the timer to twenty seconds and slapped it onto the hull amidships. Holstering the now useless Zapper, none of them carried extra clips this time, she detached and blasted herself toward the rear of the ship.
She could see Danders and Geena making their run on One as the power pack detonated, blowing a large hole in the side of Raider Two. Lexi positioned the charge so as not to damage any critical systems, although it took environmental completely down when it blew. She wasn’t concerned about that. The life-support of the suits would keep them going until one of them could fly this Raider back to the flight deck. Besides, there really weren’t any non-critical systems on a ship this size. Even bunk rooms were near something important.
Despite the fact that most of the destructive force was deflected outward by the tough hull, the resulting hole was seven feet in diameter and went halfway through the ship. The concussion shoved the entire ship a little bit sideways and sent any of the crew who wasn’t strapped down flying into whatever wall was in their path. They could use upgraded dampeners. Lexi adjusted her suit’s thrusters, flying into the ship through the hole, her own Zapper ready in her hand. And I designed those power packs for use as hand grenades. Sheesh! What an idiotic idea that was.
She hated this new world she suddenly found herself in where not all pirates deserved to die. Some things just shouldn’t be complicated. She was grateful that Danders already indicated that Raider crews were among the worst of them. These guys were in the process of killing over three thousand others. That alone made the decision of who to Zap and who to let live trivial. Kill them all.
She moved quickly through the damaged ship, prepared to be deadly with the Zapper. As she advanced through the corridors, she felt perceptions of where the people she was hunting were taking cover. Whether that was due to the Rose or the Channel or a combination of both she didn’t know. In the back of her mind was a concern that she could easily come to rely on her evolving ability when she wasn’t really sure it was reliable. Something else to discuss with Jis when she got back.
