A Show of Force (46 page)

“Get the lieutenant out!” Ensign Latfee yelled at the approaching rescue team. He turned to Sergeant Torwell. “You two carry Davies. I’ll stay with the lieutenant until they get him out!”

“Yes, sir!” Sergeant Torwell replied. He looked at Ellis as they bent over and picked up the body of their dead door gunner. “You two friends?” he asked.

“I just met the guy last week,” Ellis replied.

Two more men ran up to them. “We can take him, guys,” they offered.

“We’ve got him,” Sergeant Torwell insisted. They began walking quickly toward the troop shuttle that had just landed nearby.

Commander Telles, Jessica, Gerard, and the surviving members of the studio staff came out the front of the broadcast building, followed by Master Sergeant Jahal and the other two members of Commander Telles’s team. They moved quickly down the path and to the waiting shuttle.

Jessica stopped as they approached the shuttle. “What about them?” she asked Telles.

“What about them?”

“We’re extricating them as well, right?”

“Why?”

“We can’t just leave them here. This place is a fucking war zone.”

Kata looked at one of her colleagues who was carrying a porta-cam. He turned it on and tucked it under his arm as if casually carrying it, while aiming it at Jessica and the commander.

Commander Telles immediately noticed the camera, but paid it little attention. “The entire planet is a war zone right now, and I do not have the resources to ferry them about.”

“Where is this shuttle going?”

“Back to Porto Santo.”

“Not the Aurora?” Jessica asked.

“The Aurora is engaged with the battleships,” Telles explained. “I doubt we could catch her in one place long enough to land.”

“Where is Porto Santo?” Kata wondered.

“Earth,” Jessica replied.

“Well, take us there.”

“What?”

“I can report your side of the story,” Kata suggested, “tell my people what’s really going on out there, what the Jung really are.”

Both Jessica and Telles looked at her with skepticism.

“Look, if the Jung are really what you say they are, then prove it. Show us!”

“What’s in it for you?” Jessica asked.

“Only the biggest story since the plague!”

Jessica looked at Telles.

“The idea has merit,” Telles admitted. He looked at Kata. “I cannot promise you anything, Miss Dun. I cannot even promise that any of you will ever be able to return to your world, should you choose to come with us now.”

“Deal,” Kata replied. She turned and looked at the others.

“I’ve got a family,” the man holding the porta-cam under his arm said.

“So do I,” the next man said.

“I don’t. I’ll go,” the third man announced. He stepped up and took the camera from the first man, making no attempt to hide the fact that it was on and recording from anyone.

“Great!” Kata replied. She turned back to Jessica and Telles. “Just Karl and I.” She looked back at the man. “It’s Karl, right?”

“It’s Karahl, actually.”

“Right.” She turned back to Jessica. “Just Karahl and I.”

“Great,” Jessica said. “What about Naralena?” Jessica asked Telles.

“I have her coordinates,” the commander replied. “I will see that she is extricated as well.”

“She is quite safe where she is,” Gerard insisted. “My people will take good care of her.”

“I will retrieve her in short order, you have my word,” Telles promised.

“Tango zulu, remember?”

“I remember,” Telles insisted.

Jessica turned and headed for the shuttle, with Kata, Karahl, and Gerard and his wounded comrade following close behind, working their way around and up the back boarding ramp. Kata paused for a moment, halfway up the ramp, looking back at Commander Telles. “He’s not going with us?” she asked.

“Nope, I guess not,” Jessica replied.

Karahl pointed the camera at Sergeant Torwell as he and Ellis carried the body of Corporal Davies up the ramp, followed a moment later by Ensign Latfee and two rescue men carrying the injured Lieutenant Kainan.

“Where is he going, then?” Kata asked as the commander walked away with his master sergeant.

“Well, he
is
in command of all Alliance ground forces in this sector, so I guess he’s going to command them,” Jessica replied.

Kata watched the commander walk away. “Hmm. He looked so young.” She turned and followed Jessica and Karahl up the ramp.

The troop shuttle ramp began to raise, and the shuttle spun up its four massive engines to full power, rising slowly off the deck. The ship began to rotate to port as it climbed up above the buildings, then began to ease into forward flight as soon as it was clear.

“How long will it take us to get to Earth?” Kata asked.

“Five or ten minutes, maybe,” Jessica replied.

Kata laughed. “No, really.”

“Really.”

“KKVs should launch in two minutes,” Luis reported from the Aurora’s tactical station.

“Climbing starboard turn, Mister Chiles,” Nathan ordered. “Bring us back around for another attack run.”

“Climbing right turn, aye,” the helmsman replied.

“We’ll come in high this time. Increase your speed three percent. We have to keep their weapons operators guessing. As soon as you’re set for the jump, bring our nose around and down so that we’re ready to fire as soon as we come out of the jump.”

“End point?” the navigator asked.

“We should vary that as well,” Nathan replied. “We’ll come out on the second battleship this time. Above and abeam her stern.” Nathan turned to his sensor operator. “Mister Navashee, how long would you say it takes their big guns to lock on a track?”

“Ten seconds, maybe,” Mister Navashee answered. “Depends on how far off target they are when they change tracks.”

“Then let’s be sure we jump out within eight seconds, maximum,” Nathan continued.

“We can reduce the number of potential guns on us by always keeping one target between us and the other target,” Luis suggested.

“Won’t work,” Nathan replied. “It narrows our attack corridor too much, makes it easier for their guns to reacquire. Besides, we can’t really jump in under the lower target if she’s launching shuttles or fighters. Too much risk of collision, which would do just as much damage as a direct hit by their rail guns. We have to hit them from as many different angles as possible, making completely random changes to attack angles, speed, jump points, and time in the fire zone.”

“That’s going to make it awfully difficult to target the same shield section each time,” Luis warned.

“Better than getting shot to hell.”

“Why not just play it safe and stand clear, maybe take a few shots from a distance?”

“If we don’t press the attack as hard as we can, they’ll know that we’re setting up for another KKV attack. We have to make them think that we’re desperate… that attacking them this way is our only option. Just keep as many of the shots as possible on the same shield sections. Our job here is to bluff them into a false sense of superiority, not take them out on our own.”

“One minute to launch,” Luis announced.

“Turn complete,” the helmsman reported. “Bringing our nose over.”

“Jump plotted and ready,” Mister Riley reported.

“How long will it take the KKVs to reach their targets once launched?” Nathan asked.

“They’re launching from pretty close in, so about forty seconds,” Luis replied. “Thirty seconds to launch.”

“As soon as the KKVs launch, execute the jump,” Nathan instructed.

Mister Riley glanced at the time displays on the main view screen, noting the time to impact. “Recalculating jump.”

“Fifteen seconds to launch.”

“Our escape jump from the attack run will be fifteen light seconds in range.” Nathan added.

“Aye, sir,” Mister Riley reported as he finished recalculating their next attack jump. “Attack jump plotted and ready.”

“Five seconds to launch,” Luis continued.

“Escape jump reset to fifteen light seconds.”

“Three…”

“Attack attitude established,” Mister Chiles reported.

“…all forward tubes and cannons ready to fire.”

“Jumping,” Mister Riley reported.

Nathan closed his eyes momentarily as the jump flash translated in subdued fashion through the main view screen, bathing the bridge in additional blue-white light.

“Jump complete.”

“Tubes are on target! Firing all forward tubes and cannons!” Luis announced.

The bridge began to flash repeatedly with red-orange light as sixteen balls of highly charged plasma streaked from the sides of the main view screen inward, each of them disappearing in the distance at the center of the screen only a split second after they were fired.

“All torpedoes away!” Luis reported.

“Jumping,” Mister Riley announced.

“Time?” Nathan inquired.

“Ten seconds in the fire zone,” Mister Navashee replied.

“We’ve got to do better than that,” Nathan urged.

“Twenty seconds to KKV impact.”

“Come about with a descending turn to port,” Nathan ordered. “We’ll target the same ship again, but from below.”

“Descending turn to port, aye,” Mister Chiles replied.

“Ten seconds to impact,” Luis continued.

“Captain!” Mister Navashee exclaimed. “The lead battleship is changing course!”

“What?” Nathan stood suddenly.

“She’s turning to port!”

“Five seconds.”

“How much?”

“Three degrees! No, five!”

“What about the second…”

“Impact in three…”

“Second battleship is holding course!”

“…Two…”

“Wait! Second battleship is turning!”

“…One…”

“Two degrees… to starboard!”

“…Impact!” Luis announced.

Nathan held his breath, staring at the back of Mister Navashee’s head for what seemed an eternity.

“Impact confirmed!” Mister Navashee finally reported. “But only one! The second battleship was hit in her stern! She’s coming apart!”

“What about the first battleship?” Nathan asked.

“Negative, sir,” Mister Navashee replied. “No damage. Two clean misses.”

Nathan tried to keep his frustration from showing. “Helm, adjust course to the remaining battleship. Mister Riley, plot a new jump. Same attack strategy.”

“Changing course to intercept remaining target,” Mister Chiles replied.

“Plotting new jump,” Mister Riley acknowledged.

“Captain, they’re changing course again,” Mister Navashee stated. “Seven degrees to starboard.”

“They’re zigzagging,” Nathan said. “If they weren’t before, they sure as hell are now.”

“They’re bringing their big guns around,” Mister Navashee added.

“To target us?”

“No, sir.”

“What then?”

“I have no idea,” Mister Navashee admitted.

“Comms, contact Jumpers One and Two and tell them to retrieve the KKVs that missed and get them back into firing positions as quickly as possible.”

“That will take time,” Luis warned. “Time that we don’t have.”

“Not much choice, is there?”

“Course change complete,” Mister Chiles reported.

“Attack jump plotted and locked,” Mister Riley added.

Nathan sighed, summoning up his resolve. “Let’s hit them again, gentlemen.”

Commander Telles jumped up into the combat jumper, followed by Master Sergeant Jahal and his two Ghatazhak soldiers. He tapped the comm-control on the side of his helmet, switching to the jumper’s intercom. “Pilot! Get me to Mobile Two!”

“Aye, sir!” the pilot replied.

Telles tapped his comm-control again. “Aurora, Telles. Status on the Tango Zulu?”

“
Telles, Aurora. One down, one to go,
” Ensign Souza answered.

“What happened?” the commander asked as the combat jumper’s engines spun up and the shuttle began to rise quickly off the ground.

“
Target went evasive. We’re going to try again.
”

“How long?”

“
At least ten mikes, maybe twelve.
”

The combat shuttle turned sharply to the left and began to accelerate into forward flight as it continued to climb.

“Copy that. Telles out.” The commander switched channels again. “Mobile Two, Telles.”

“
Go for Mobile Two.
”

“Sit-rep?” Telles asked as the door gunners activated the doors on either side.

“
Their close air support is making things a bit challenging, sir. It sure would be nice if they’d stop sending down troops and air cover.
”

Telles looked at the door gunner in front of him. “Why’d you close them?”

“We’re doing micro-jumps everywhere!” the door gunner explained. “Makes it more difficult for the Jungers on the ground to target us!”

“
What’s the status on the Tango Zulu?
” the lieutenant asked over the comms.

Telles returned to his communication with Mobile Two. “Tango Zulu went fifty-fifty,” he told the lieutenant. “They’re taking another shot in ten to twelve. Can you hold?”

“
No way, sir,
” the lieutenant responded. “
Not with all the close air support the Jung are throwing at us. We’re down to ten combat jumpers, and only a few troop jumpers. We’ve also lost more than thirty percent force strength. I have no idea how many Falcons are left, as I haven’t heard from any of them since Falcon Four cleared the skies above your last position.
”

“Order all airborne assets except the Falcons out of the area,” the commander ordered. “Order all ground forces to stop trying to advance and dig in and hold position wherever they can, until we can get rid of some of the air cover for you.”

“Understood.”

“I’ll be at your position shortly. Telles out.” The commander looked at his master sergeant, the two of them exchanging looks of concern.

“The Ghatazhak don’t lose, sir,” the master sergeant insisted, just before he offered a grin.

“So I’ve been told,” the commander replied as he tapped his comm-control again.

The windows on the shuttle went opaque as the shuttle jumped across the city at relatively low altitude.

“Aren’t you guys worried about hitting something while jumping so low?” Master Sergeant Jahal asked the starboard door gunner.