Chapter 20: They’re here!
“We are directly over the Odyssey, Captain,” the midshipman at the helm informed.
“Anything on the scans?” the captain asked the leftenant in charge the senior console.
“There are some isolated pockets of atmosphere and indications of several power sources, likely standard APUs. Carbon dioxide levels indicate the presence of personnel in the past few hours, or the carbon monoxide scrubbers are substandard. No active fusion reactors at this time.”
Marion Shepherd pondered the information for a few moments. “Check for ion trails.”
The leftenant manipulated the controls for a moment. “The only ion trail remaining is very faint, possibly several days old. The craft may have departed along the same course to avoid detection, though.”
“Or,” Captain Shepherd said, “they're still here.”
The leftenant looked back at her quizzically. “Ma’am?”
“The strike team is currently in pursuit and has engaged the target at least once, with casualties. They’re still here. Commander Isken, aren’t we due for some weapons testing and operator training?”
The first officer, Commander Isken, perked his head up from his station. “We have a week before we have to re-certify, but we can move the schedule up. This would be a great location with plenty of targets, and the best part would be not having to police the debris when we’re finished,” he said with a wry grin, getting what the Captain was hinting at. When hunting and the prey has gone to ground, sometimes the best way to flush them is to make some noise.
"Recall the strike team."
***
“They're here!”
Riordan paused. “The FRS vessel?”
“It’s definitely a frigate, I think. I can see at least half a dozen cannon pods and four large missile tubes on the front,” Glori replied over their secure com-link, which was degrading the further the Swindler drifted into the morass of derelict vessels and debris.
“I have the boarding party chasing ghosts, how close are you to an FTL solution?”
“It just completed. All we have to do is start the reactor, get clear of the Drift, and we can jump, but as soon as we do, they’re gonna know!”
Riordan hastily checked the gauges on the simple console of the racer; fuel: Check, thruster propellant: Check. With a flick of his hand he started the APU and powered on the flight controls. He would have liked to have the time for a proper pre-flight and control surfaces diagnostic but, you know, they have a frigate breathing down their necks. Tapping the control tablet built into his left wrist the outer hanger door silently opened a bit at a time. Riordan glanced at the hatch leading in to the hanger. ‘Maybe I should’ve should have shut that, just in case,’ he thought. The whole situation was getting to him. The last thing anyone needed was for a brace or two of Shoktroopers to burst in plasma rifles blazing to ruin their plans.
He checked the internal sensors for the boarding party. To his surprise they appeared to be heading away from his position. They were moving slow, possibly carrying their dead or injured members. Fleet doctrine was to leave no one behind, no matter what. That bothered Riordan for multiple reasons. If they recalled the boarding party, it meant they decided on another tactic. The outer door was now fully open. He climbed awkwardly into the racing sled’s cramped cockpit and buckled himself in. He expertly aligned the small craft with the exit using only thrusters. He primed the huge ion engine. The entire auxiliary hanger glowed with a bright blue light and the sled inched forward.
“Riordan to Swindler, go ahead and start the reactor. Don’t worry about detection, they’ll be distracted.” Without waiting for a response, Riordan activated Parade Mode which injected powdered elements of various components into the ion stream resulting in a huge bright plume of exhaust. Used primarily on a victory or exhibition lap, everyone within 200KMs would see it. It was similar to the smoke plumes used on atmospheric craft during exhibition shows during holidays.
“Roger, startup sequence initiated! Gods help us.” Glori replied.
With that, Riordan pushed the throttle to ten percent. The sled rocketed out of the auxiliary hanger like a missile. Riordan was crushed into the sparsely padded seat as the G forces impacted his body. His armor responded with alarms and another dose of XStim to keep him conscious. Moving only his eyes, as that was all he could move, he read the G forces on the gauge, 4 Gs. ‘Glad I didn’t go for 20 percent!’ he thought through gritted mental teeth.
***
Alarms sounded on the bridge of the FRS Frigate Hugo Norris as a streak of purple plasma shot from the side of the wrecked colony ship.
“Incoming! Incoming! Incoming!” the leftenant on the sensor console yelled.
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“Full defensive shields! Evasive maneuvers!” The captain yelled in response as the bridge lights cut to the stark red of emergency combat.
***
“Sarah, you heard him, do the honors.”
“Roger that,” Sarah responded as she triggered the controls to start the fusion reactor. The lighting dimmed and the entire ship shook as the antiquated lasers fired into the core of the reactor. Filled with raw fuel enveloped by magnetic containment fields almost as strong as a star’s the reactor was deceptively small. The lasers burned for 10 seconds. No ignition. "Come on!" Sarah growled, finger still pressed on the last button of the sequence. 20 seconds, no ignition. "Come on!" Sarah began to punch the button rapidly with her finger, not that it would have helped but it made her feel better. The fusion reactor burst to life with ten seconds of power left in the batteries. "YES!"
“That… sucked a bit,” Glori said. “Let's get clear of this debris, since there’s no more point in hiding,” Before Sarah could do anything the sensors went crazy. Through the forward view port she could see a long sharp streak of purple plasma arcing away from the side of the Odyssey.
“Is that a frelling missile!”
Glori worked the sensor console only partially understanding what she was reading. “Uh, I don't think so… its…”
“How is that for a distraction, ladies!?” Riordan's stressed voice came over the com, a little clearer. “Now get clear and jump as soon as you can!”
Glori craned her neck to look up, from the Swindler’s perspective, through the upper view-port at the Frigate now nearly over them. She could see the bright flames of ionic thrusters slowly pushing the nose of the vessel away from the rapidly approaching arc of purple plasma.
“Yeah, they look distracted!” Glori said over the coms.
Riordan grunted and clenched to keep blood in his brain. The sled was approaching 6Gs. He adjusted the control stick and nudged his course closer to the Frigate. He knew the bridge crew would be in a state of pandemonium. He had seconds before the forward cannon batteries were charged and firing at him. He hoped to be past the ship by that point. He cut the ion engine and coasted. The G forces disappeared immediately, but his speed remained almost the same due to inertia. He deliberately mimicked the flight profile of a ship to ship missile.
The targeting sensors on the cannon batteries would have a hard time locking onto such a small target, especially since it was made mostly from carbon fiber reinforced plasteel. Once a ship to ship missile approached close enough to a target the ion lance cut off to prevent tracking and the missile would utilize it's retained speed and thrusters to find and impact the target. While the crew tried to figure out what was going on he would coast past the vessel and behind it where he would start a return arc, hopefully looking like another missile.
***
“Counter measures to full! Fire flares!” The captain roared. Small thumps sounded as the ion flares deployed. They were essentially tiny ion emitters with a power source. Ship to ship missiles homed in on ion sources, the brightest point on any maneuvering ship. A direct hit, even with shields up ran a good chance of disabling an engine or two.
“The plume is gone!”
“Forward batteries, Fire, standard pattern!”
The three forward cannon batteries fired in a pattern trying to predict where the missile would be and hopefully hitting it. “No hits!”
“Lead three hundred meters and fire again!”
“Firing!”
***
The first salvo of plasma fire streaked past the tiny racing sled hundreds of meters dextral. Riordan was spared only because of his experience in the fleet operations. He knew the batteries would try to predict his position based on his last observed trajectory. As soon as he cut the engine he used the thrusters to move him off the parabolic course the small ship would have taken.
The second salvo was a bit more problematic as it passed just to his sinistral side close enough for the light from the bolts to cast shadows across his control panel. He was now passing along the length of the Frigate. He couldn’t help but admire its sleek deadly lines and sweeping curves. He shifted the craft even closer, just outside the edge of their defensive shields by his estimation.
***
After a few tense moments Captain Shepard called out for a status report.
“Uh… no hits! Nothing on scans! Flares ineffective! It should have hit us! It might have malfunctioned and passed us by!”
Shepard thought for a second. Where would that scum sucking pustule have acquired a ship to ship missile? Riordan was a small-time thief and smuggler. The largest piece of weaponry he smuggled, according to Folyn, was crew-served anti-personnel heavy plasma rifles and some grenades.
“Stand down to general quarters and…”
Alarms sounded again, shrieking through the bridge.
“Incoming! Incoming! Incoming! Aft sinistral!!”
Someone yelled something else but it was lost in the chaos.
“What?! Speak the frek up!!!”
“Sensors just got a hit on an active fusion reactor, single signature, small, but close!”
“A ship!?”
“Has to be!”
“Firing aft batteries! Standard pattern!”
“Where is the ship!?” Shepherd asked, leaving the defense of the ship to its fully qualified personnel for another moment or two.
“Almost directly under us and moving. Trajectory indicates its trying to get clear of the debris and wreckage.”
“Match speed and pursue…”
***
Once he was a kilometer past the frigate Riordan used the thrusters and turned the sled. He was now traveling backwards, the blue glow of the frigate's six engines visible. He mentally estimated how much thrust he would need to counter his inertia and shoot toward the frigate. The Swindler would need at least another 60 seconds to clear the debris field and jump. He pushed the throttle to ten percent and his speed dropped dramatically due to the counter burn.
He held it there till then pushed it to 15 percent, then 20, keeping the Gs below 6 and his speed as high as he could tolerate. A well trained and experienced sled racer, wearing the proper compression suit, could tolerate up to 13 Gs or more during a race. Activating Parade mode, the purple plume extended far behind the small craft as he approached the frigate from behind simulating the typical kill shot.
To his surprise a volley of cannon fire arced passed him, or rather, he passed between the bolts. His armor alarmed at the increase in temperature. The larger ship’s engines flared to life and the ship began to nose downward toward where the Swindler was burning ions to get free of the drift so she could safely jump.
‘I guess the jig is up,' he thought. “Swindler, push the engines to the max, they can handle it, just watch the temps!”
***
“He wants you to…”
“I heard him!” Sarah screeched. This was her first time piloting a goddamn star ship and she was frazzled. Sweat was pouring down her face. Her undershirt was glued to her back. Her hands were slick on the controls. She pushed the twin ion engines past the 100% mark. Their speed increased noticeably.
“Engine temps are within limits but rising! Find us the quickest route out into the open and put it on the HUD so I can follow it!”
Glori complied. Sarah did her best, with her lack of experience, to follow it.
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