Ep.#3.6 - Evolution , page 16
“Better than jumping straight in. At least this way, we get a chance to eyeball the LZ on the way in.”
A warning light flashed and beeped over the tactical display.
“Multiple contacts,” Erica reported. “Drones and fighters. Just jumped into orbit, evenly spaced.”
“They’re taking positions to cover the entire planet from orbit,” Aiden realized.
“A few of them are turning toward us,” Erica warned. “They just… Shit! They’re right on us! One click to port, two clicks astern. They’re locking weapons on us!”
“Time to go!” Aiden decided, pressing the jump button.
A split second later, they were in the atmosphere, a few thousand meters above the surface, their AI automatically adjusting their course and speed for the next jump in the series that Aiden had outlined.
“We’re still going?” Erica realized in disbelief.
“They would for us,” Aiden replied calmly.
Erica understood. “That’s the job,” she said, more to herself than to Aiden.
“That’s the job,” Aiden repeated.
“They got through,” Breyanna told Jessica as she approached her outside in front of the old man’s prefab home.
“So quickly?” Jessica wondered. “I thought it was supposed to take hours?”
“I guess their security measures weren’t as good as they thought.”
“I would’ve loved to have seen Vlad’s face when he realized that,” Jessica chuckled as she scanned the area for unwanted guests.
“I felt a little guilty, to be honest,” Breyanna admitted. “He just stood there with his mouth open, staring at the screen in disbelief.”
“He needs to be taken down a notch every once in a while,” Jessica told her. “Keeps his enormous ego in check.”
“Well, he is five hundred years behind the times.”
“We may have a position for you once we get back to the ship,” Jessica told her.
“I thought you didn’t trust me?”
“Don’t take it personally,” Jessica told her. “I don’t trust anyone. It’s part of the job.”
Breyanna suddenly began staring at the sky, squinting.
“What is it?” Jessica asked, seeing nothing but clear skies in all directions.
“Two shuttles headed this way,” Breyanna told her. “You don’t see them?”
Jessica also squinted, but still saw nothing. She pulled out her hand scanner and pointed it in the direction she was looking. “Nothing. Are you sure?”
“I can see them, they’re descending. How can you not see them?”
“You must have really good eyesight.”
“Not that I remember,” Breyanna insisted.
“Come on,” Jessica told her. “Let’s get inside.”
“Then, you believe me?”
“No, but if you’re not hallucinating, we need to be inside.”
“New contacts!” Laza reported from the Aurora’s sensor station as the ship shook from the incoming energy weapons fire. “It’s those drones! The ones similar to Dusahn recon drones!”
“Aft shields are down to twenty percent,” the Aurora’s AI warned. “Forward shields are at thirty percent. Estimate aft shield failure in one minute.”
“The new contacts are gone!” Laza announced.
“Captain, I am unable to find a clear jump path,” the AI reported. “The mines are able to maneuver more quickly, and their number has grown to several hundred.”
“Can we jump through them?” Cameron asked.
“If doing so triggers their warheads, we don’t know what the effect would be, especially if one detonation triggers the others.”
“Aft shields at twenty-five percent,” Aurora updated.
“Load nukes into the aft tubes, maximum yield, and launch when ready,” Cameron ordered.
“Even if they reach the target and disable their forward shields, we will not be able to inflict enough damage before our aft shields fail, at which point they will target our main propulsion.”
“You believe they plan to board us?” Cameron realized.
“Analysis indicates that it would be advantageous for the Alliance to capture, charge, and convict those whom history blames for the great war.”
“Aurora, on my mark, channel all available power to the forward shields and jump us ahead ten light minutes.”
“Captain, Laza was right,” Abby said from her station. “It’s too risky.”
“We die now, or we die at a public execution later,” Cameron replied. “At least if we jump, we have a chance.”
“A very small chance,” Abby pointed out.
Jessica came charging into the old man’s home, with Breyanna right behind her.
Nathan spun around. “What’s wrong?”
Two claps of thunder sounded, as if lightning had struck just outside. For a second, the room filled with blue-white light.
“Please tell me those are our shuttles,” Doctor Barra pleaded.
Jessica turned around and looked out the window. Outside, two hovering shuttles drifted slowly apart as men clad in combat armor and carrying heavy assault rifles dropped the few meters to the ground.
Nathan ran to the window, looking out as well. “Vlad, tell Cam our situation just became desperate. And tell our ride they’re headed for a hot LZ.”
Two more thunderous claps sounded from behind the house.
“We’re being surrounded,” Jessica realized.
The old man walked over to the closet, pulling out a large bore, plasma hunting rifle, similar to the boomers carried by the Ta’Akar five centuries ago.
“What the hell is that for?” Jessica wondered.
“Hunting,” Gillis replied.
“What the hell do you hunt? Elephants?”
“There are some big-ass predators on this little world,” the old man grumbled, heading for the front door.
“Where are you…” Jessica was unable to finish her sentence.
Gillis walked right out onto the front porch and opened fire, sending four enormous blasts of energy toward the troops on the left. As he fired, the troops fired back, peppering the front of the house.
Jessica charged out, activating the personal shield she always wore as she stepped in front of the old man, protecting him from the incoming blasts of energy. “Are you fucking stupid!” she hollered, shoving the old man back through the door.
Meanwhile, Nathan busted out one of the windows and opened fire.
“Vlad, take Breyanna with you and cover the back!” Jessica instructed. “We gotta hold them off until help arrives!” she added, turning and breaking a second window with her elbow.
“Those open, you know!” the old man told her.
“Shut up and start shooting, old man!” Jessica replied.
The Mirai came out of its low-level jump series less than a kilometer from the evac coordinates. As soon as they arrived, their threat warning flashed and their shields were lit up by energy weapons fire.
“Jesus!” Erica exclaimed as the shuttle bounced and shook. “Four fighters to port, two more directly ahead!”
“Mirai, Aurora,” Sima called over comms. “Hot LZ! Hot LZ! Package is under fire!”
“A little late,” Aiden said.
“I’ve got three buildings dead ahead,” Erica announced. “One of them has six life signs and is surrounded by troops. They are under fire.”
Several jump flashes appeared in front of them, accompanied by six combat drones, all of them opening fire.
“Son of a bitch!” Aiden exclaimed, pulling back on his flight control stick to bring up his nose, and pushing his throttle forward to climb. “I’m jumping clear! We’re going to need fighter cover to get in there!”
“Aurora, Mirai!” Erica called over comms. “LZ is too hot! We’re not getting in without fighter cover!”
“Aft shields are down to five percent,” Aurora warned. “Failure in thirty seconds.”
“It’s now or never,” Cameron sighed. “Aurora…”
“New contact!” Laza reported.
The violent shaking of incoming fire suddenly ceased. Cameron looked around, unsure of what was going on. “What happened? Why did they stop firing?”
“It’s a Dusahn warship!” Laza added, excitedly. “It’s engaging both targets! They’re both breaking off to maneuver!”
Cameron glanced at the tactical display on the overhead view screen. “Aurora! Hard to port and translate down and left at the same time! And target the mines along the edge! I want a clear jump line, ASAP!”
“Executing,” Aurora acknowledged.
“Who the hell is operating that ship?” Cameron wondered.
“Aurora to all Dragons and shuttles,” Sima called over comms. “All units are to rally on fifth world at transmitted coordinates. Captain Walsh on the Mirai has operational command for that area. Be advised, there may be multiple hostiles from different forces to defend against.”
“Shit,” Josh cursed as he came out of his turn and opened fire on one of the fleeing Zhulati combat drones. “I guess the diversion’s over, huh?” He rolled off the contact just as it jumped away, then pulled his nose up toward the sky. “We’re outta here, Remo.”
“What’s our new target?” Nikolas asked.
“If it shoots at us, shoot back,” Josh replied.
Cameron breathed a sigh of relief as the Aurora came out of her escape jump. “Hard about,” she instructed the ship’s AI. “I want to jump back in five hundred kilometers from the battle.”
“Coming about, sharply,” the AI replied.
“Sima, update Nathan about that Dusahn ship,” Cameron ordered.
“I’ve lost contact with the captain,” Sima replied. “His connection is no longer active.”
“Can you call him back?”
“I’ll try.”
Cameron tapped a button on the comms console on the arm of the command chair. “Dragon Leader, Aurora Actual.”
“Go for Dragon Leader,” Josh replied promptly.
“Josh, we’ve lost contact with Nathan, and a Dusahn warship just joined the party.”
“Did you say, a Dusahn warship?” Josh asked.
“Affirmative.”
“So, we’re fighting three different hostiles now?”
“Unknown. The Dusahn saved our ass, but I can’t be sure if that was their intent. So, watch out.”
“Great. Thanks.”
“Turn complete,” Aurora announced. “Ready for return jump.”
“Execute,” Cameron instructed.
“Jumping.”
“Let’s update our tactical picture quickly,” Cameron told Laza. “I want to be able to jump again on a moment’s notice.”
The jump flash faded, and the various view screens arranged along the overhead before the command chair refreshed, their contents repainting.
“I’m picking up a lot of debris,” Laza reported. “The Dusahn ship is still engaged with the Zhulati cruiser, but the Zhulati’s shields are rapidly draining. The Dusahn ship is launching dozens of smaller vessels. Combat drones, and small shuttles. They’re headed for the fifth world.”
“Sima, warn all units they have multiple inbounds, but do not engage anything that doesn’t shoot at them first,” Cameron instructed.
“Josh is not going to like that,” Sima commented.
Josh jumped in ten meters above the surface of the fifth planet in the Nishida system. What seemed like a leisurely speed in space felt like a bat-out-of-hell this close to the ground, but it was something Josh had gotten used to long ago. And with his AI backstopping him, he could be even more reckless than before and still survive. AI’s made bad pilots good, and good pilots great. In Josh’s case, it made him more insane than anyone could have imagined.
Josh pushed his fighter even lower, staying just high enough that he wouldn’t kick up any dust. He had a clear line down the valley where the pickup coordinates were located, following the river that had carved it.
“I’m picking up twelve bad guys surrounding a building with six people inside,” Talisha reported over comms. “There’s a hell of a firefight going on down there.”
“Dragons Seven and Eight are approaching the LZ from the south,” Allet announced.
“One and Two are coming in low from the North,” Josh announced as he skimmed the river, his main thrust kicking up a spray of water behind him.
“Four shuttles and about twenty drones are approaching from the East,” Allet added.
Josh glanced at his tactical display, his eyes immediately reverting back to his front view. All ten Dragons were in the immediate area, and three of their shuttles had just jumped into orbit and were maneuvering to jump down to the engagement area.
“Dragon Leader, Mirai Actual,” Aiden called over comms. “I can’t get in there. The LZ is too damned hot. If you guys can clear out half of those clowns on the ground, I might be able to drop in and use our shields to pick them up.”
“Has anyone even verified our people are there?” Josh asked.
“Negative,” Aiden replied. “They’re no longer on comms, either.”
“I guess that’s my job,” Josh said. “Niko, you keep those drones off my ass. I’m going to try to spot our people. Everyone else, pick a target and let’em have it.”
“I thought we were only to shoot if shot at?” Tricia reminded him.
“Fuck that!” Josh exclaimed. “If they’re not ours, shoot’em! That’s an order!”
“Five seconds to LZ,” Josh’s AI warned.
Josh flipped his fighter over so that he was flying backwards and jammed his throttles to full power.
“What the hell, Josh!” Nikolas exclaimed. “We’re in atmo! You can’t fly that way!”
“Oh yeah? Watch me!” Josh replied as he advanced his grav-lift controls to keep him from falling into the river a few meters below.
“You’re insane!” Nikolas yelled over comms.
Besides flying backwards, he was also inverted, so a glance upward had him looking at the river rushing beneath him. “You might be right about that one,” Josh declared as he yanked his throttles back to idle and flipped over so he was flying nose-first again. “Damn!” he exclaimed as he eased his throttles forward just enough to maintain his new, much slower, airspeed. He peered out his forward windows, spotting the firefight on the ground. Three pairs of heavily armed men were exchanging fire with whoever was inside, what looked like one of those prefab homes that were so common on newly settled worlds. Josh pulled his throttles back to idle, then twisted his joystick to the right, keeping his nose pointed at the enemy soldiers. He squeezed the trigger, holding it in and sending a stream of plasma torpedoes at the nearest pair. “You’ve got the others, sweetie!”
Josh’s AI understood, and immediately locked their ventral guns onto the other two pairs of soldiers, also opening fire.
Outside, the ground exploded wherever his Dragons’ incoming energy weapons struck. The two men Josh had fired upon disappeared in a fiery burst of red-orange plasma and dirt. A glance toward the others showed one of them turning around to fire at Josh’s Dragon, while the other three dove for cover to avoid being incinerated.
“That fucking scattered them!” Talisha exclaimed over comms.
Josh ceased fire as the house slid in from his left, not wanting to blow it apart and kill the very people they were trying to rescue. “Zoom forward window, factor of ten,” he instructed his AI. The view suddenly enlarged, with the front face of the home filling the window. A familiar face glanced out the window, shaking a fist victoriously at him. “It’s them!” Josh exclaimed. “I’ve got eyes on Jess!” he added as his fighter continued sideways, passing the house. He twisted his joystick to the right again, bringing his nose back around so that he was flying backwards again. This time, he spotted Vladimir firing through a broken window. “Eyes on Vlad as well!” Josh added, twisting his joystick some more to bring his nose back around to forward. “You might be able to make it in now!” he told Aiden as he jammed his throttles forward again and pulled his nose up to gain altitude.
“Mirai is going in,” Aiden announced over comms.
“Those drones are already moving back into position,” Erica warned.
“Our shields can handle the drones,” Aiden told her as their shuttle jumped from high and far to low and close to the LZ. He dropped the ship lower, barely clearing the treetops.
More red icons began appearing on the tactical display while alert lights flashed and alarms sounded.
“Shuttles are back!” Erica announced, a slight panic in her voice.
The ship rocked as energy weapons fire struck their dorsal shields.
“Somebody wanna get those shuttles off our back!” Aiden demanded.
“We’re trying,” Tricia replied over comms. “Their shields are like nothing I’ve ever seen on a shuttle!”
“DRONES!” Erica shouted, pointing out the forward window.
Aiden glanced up, quickly pulling the Mirai’s nose up and jamming his main throttles all the way forward. “Fuck!” he cursed, pressing his jump button to escape. “It’s still too hot!”
An explosion rocked the entire house as smoke and debris came flying out into the main room where Nathan, Jessica, and the old man were firing from the windows.
“Breach!” Jessica yelled, turning and firing into the cloud of smoke.
Both Nathan and Gillis also turned to engage whoever was coming through the breach in the east room.
“Stay on the front!” Jessica insisted as she advanced toward the breached room, shooting into the smoke. “They’re trying to distract us!”
Nathan and the old man returned to the windows, opening fire as two more shuttles came to a low hover about twenty meters away, with more soldiers dropping out of them.
