DusktoDust_Final3 (18 page)

“
Just passed through a hundred.
”
Her hands flew over the holoscreen.
“
Computer
’
s saying that it has no power.
”

“
Well get it power. Now!
”
David
’
s voice bled urgency. If they didn
’
t jam the incoming fighters they were going to have the whole Peacekeeper fleet all over them in a matter of minutes.

“
It
’
s no use. The computer doesn
’
t even read the
‘
bow on the network.
”

“
Shit, okay.
”
His anger was replaced with the will to survive.
“
Boost the static jammer power. Maybe we
’
ll get lucky.
”

Alana objected.
“
We
’
ll overload the power plant, D. We could get stranded out here.
”

“
Just do it, Alana. If we don
’
t, this run is going to go south real quick.
”

Tentatively, she followed the order. Power usage spiked into the red. David retarded the throttle, bringing
Catalyst
to a crawl. Then they waited. He watched the nav plot as the enemy fighters closed the distance. With the change in velocity the ships would only come within seventy kilometers of the transport. Hopefully, the static jammer would be enough.

The heat in the cockpit rose, power being diverted from environmental control to the sensor array. Sweat rolled down David
’
s forehead. He didn
’
t bother to wipe it off. All his attention was devoted to his console.

“
They're past,
”
Alana said jubilantly, watching the distance-to-target readout reach seventy and then start climbing again.

“
Wait.
”
David wasn
’
t satisfied yet. Jammers were temperamental devices. They didn
’
t always work evenly across space. He wouldn
’
t be happy until the zoomies were well past them.

And then his heart dropped.
“
Shit. They
’
re coming about.
”
The fighters had changed course, making a sweeping left turn. Their new bearing took them on an intercept course for
Catalyst
.

“
What!
”
Alana punched the copilot
’
s console with anger.
“
No
…
How?
”

David shrugged off the question. It didn
’
t matter.
“
Strap in. It
’
s about to get dicey.
”
He slammed the throttle all the way forward and
Catalyst
leapt towards the stars.

Letsego had felt the ship slow down less than a minute after he had tampered with the jammer. It looked like his plan was working. Soon Peacekeeper soldiers would be boarding the transport and Carpenter, Ramirez, Castle and his troopers, and the Windcorp executive would be in custody. With any luck Titus Windham would be behind bars by the end of the week. When there was proof, Peacekeeper justice was swift.

The intelligence operative was almost back to the passenger cabin when the transport accelerated again. He was not prepared for it. His body was thrown, the back of his head crashing into the corner of a bulkhead. Even with his helmet on his world went black.

The situation developed quickly.

Their pursuers increased from two to over a dozen in less than a minute. They were mostly fighters but there were a couple of gunboats in the mix too.
Catalyst
shuddered as cannons and missiles impacted her hull.

“
Strap yourselves in back there,
”
David announced belatedly on the ship’s PA.

Mr. Black responded over the comm system, his voice still pleasant.
“
What is going on, Captain? Is there anything I can help you with?
”

“
Send a trooper up here. Someone who knows how to man the weapons.
”
Alana was already returning fire, but David needed her to call targets for him.

He glanced at the nav plot. They now had three capital ships closing in on their path, trying to block
Catalyst
’
s escape. The cruisers had powerful gun batteries that could cut the little transport to pieces. David maneuvered to avoid them.

“
How we looking?
”
he half spoke half screamed to Alana.

“
Not good. I
’
ve managed to take a couple of them out but more keep joining the chase. Where the hell is that trooper?
”

“
Right here,
”
Castle said as he walked into the cockpit. Mr. Black followed him in.
“
What the hell happened?!
”

“
Not now, Castle. Man that station.
”
David pointed in the direction of the weapons console.
“
I hope you know how to use a targeting computer.
”

Castle sat down at the station, clearly pissed.
“
Of course. If I miss it
’
s
‘
cause you are a shitty pilot.
”

“
Stow it, you two!
”
Alana screamed.
“
Mr. Black. I need your code. We need the launch point.
”

“
Yes, of course.
”
The man leaned over her shoulder and inserted his passcode into the nav computer. She pushed him out of her way when he was done and he found a seat in front of the communications console.

“
Carp, the point is twenty-one hundred klicks out.
”
She now had the coordinates for the hyperspace launch. She compared it against the nav plot.
“
Damn, those cruisers are right between us and it.
”

Of course they are
. Two thousand kilometers was still a long ways to go.
“
Castle, how are we looking back there?
”

Castle was deftly designating targets for the ship
’
s weapons systems. The heavy lifting was done by
Catalyst
’
s
computers, which prioritized the targets and then engaged them with the arsenal of missile and gun pods.
“
I
’
ve got eleven confirmed kills. Still eight bogies in pursuit. And more on their way.
”

“
How
’
s the armor holding?
”

“
The sparrows are taking out most of the inbound missiles.
”
He was referring to the ship’s countermeasure system.
“
But we can
’
t keep it up for much longer. Sparrow magazines are already down to thirty percent.
”

“
The rear hull
’
s taken quite a few hits,
”
Alana added as she read the status panel.
“
It
’
s holding for now, but it
’
s not invincible, D.
”

“
What are they aiming for?
”
David demanded.

Alana inspected the damage report.
“
The engines.
”

David nodded as he held the yoke tight. He had a solid picture of what was going on, both in front of him, with the cruisers, and behind him with the fighters.

“
Alana, what
’
s the direct heading for the launch point?
”

“
Zero-four-two, takeoff one-eight. But that takes us right through the right most cruiser,
”
she objected.

David ignored her.
“
Castle, can you keep our ass intact for another three minutes?
”

“
Yes,
”
he said with a worried voice.

“
Good answer.
”
David pulled back on the yoke.
“
Coming about to new heading zero-four-two, takeoff one-eight.
”

“
D, what are you doing?!
”
Alana cried in astonishment.
“
That cruiser will tear us to pieces.
”

“
And it will tear its own fighters apart, too,
”
David observed.
“
Plus, the Peaks aren
’
t trying to shoot us down. They
’
re trying to cripple us. They won
’
t risk firing on us head on.
”

“
That
’
s a hell of an assumption to make,
”
Castle objected.

“
It
’
s not an assumption,
”
David countered.
“
It
’
s what they
’
re doing. They
’
ve only fired at our engines.
”

Castle shook his head.
“
Carpenter, if you get me blown up, I swear to God I
’
m going to-
”

“
Alana, put as much power into the engines as you can. Let
’
s widen the gap between us and those zoomies.
”
He admitted it was a wild plan, but they couldn
’
t risk taking the long way around. On the nav plot he could see other cruisers and interdictors maneuvering to set up a better blockade. If
Catalyst
didn
’
t get around it now they would be caught for sure. David just hoped that his assumption about the PKs intentions was correct

“
The gap is widening,
”
Alana announced.

“
Good. What
’
s our range to target?
”

“
Two hundred to the cruiser, five hundred to the launch point.
”

“
I
’
m down to five zoomies, right now,
”
Castle said.
“
Should have them cleaned up in the next thirty seconds. No more inbound.
”

David nodded. They would be in the range of the cruisers missiles just inside of one hundred kilometers. The plot said their course would take
Catalyst
right under the belly of capital ship. He peered out the viewport hoping to see a glimpse of the behemoth with no luck. They were still too far out to get visual contact.

“
I
’
ve got new contacts to our front,
”
Alana reported.

“
Missiles?
”
Castle asked.

“
No, ten Peacekeeper gunboats.
”

Castle turned to David.
“
Is this part of your little plan?
”

Castle
’
s attitude was wearing David
’
s patience, but he resisted lashing back.
“
Range to target?
”

Alana read from her console.
“
Fifty and closing fast
…
That
’
s weird. They
’
re in missile range but they aren
’
t firing.
”

That confirmed David
’
s assumption. The PKs were trying to capture
Catalyst
in one piece. The gunboats would likely wait for close in shots and aim for the transport
’
s engines. David could see them coming in, a blob of grey closing at over two kilometers per second. The blob soon turned into ten distinct specs arranged in a circle.

Wait.
“
Alana, are those boats in flat formation?
”

A check of the plot confirmed it.
“
Shit,
”
she exclaimed.
“
It
’
s a net.
”

David could see it now, blue lines of energy running between the gunboats. It was an EM net and it would fry the electronics of any ship that passed through it.
“
That
’
s why they aren
’
t firing.
”
David grabbed the yoke tight.
“
Hold on.
”

He pushed down and the ship dropped. They needed to get under the enemy gunboats. The gunboats countered his maneuver, though, widening their dispersion, increasing the size of the net.

“
Castle, take out the bottom two gunboats right fucking now!
”
The enemy ships were so close now that David could almost make out their stubby wings. If Castle didn
’
t act fast he would be able to wave to the pilots.

“
Any day now would be nice!
”
They were five kilometers away now. Only a few seconds
…
It was going to be close.

Four missiles streaked across
Catalyst
’
s viewport, exploding the two bottom most gunboats. With their destruction the bottom portion of the EM net flickered and dissolved.

“
That
’
s a kill!
”
Castle yelled in celebration.

The transport streaked under the other gunboats, barely missing the net.
“
Good job, Castle.
”
As much as David hated the man, he had just saved their asses.
“
But we
’
re not out of this yet. Alana?
”

“
We
’
re in range of the cruiser
’
s missiles. Sixty klicks out but she
’
s not firing. You were right.
”