Gunship (46 page)

“You still haven’t explained why you’re on my ship. I’m waiting.” Reilly drummed her fingers in mock anticipation as the rest of the wall behind her blew out and flames licked the ceiling.

“My purpose on your ship is not something I can just explain in a few seconds.” Tiny sighed and looked back up at Reilly. “Pull me up and you’ll have your explanation when we get back to the ship. Your pilot should hear it too, since it involves his son. My word, I swear on my life.”

Reilly looked hard at the Gaiden as she processed what Tiny had said. Seth was involved? That didn’t make sense. But if Seth was involved, then the Gaiden was right. Duv deserved to hear what she had to say as well. Tiny had given her word, and Reilly knew she wouldn’t go back on it. She reached over and pulled the woman up next to her on the platform. They both lay there for a moment resting on the metal floor, surround by debris and smoking metal. The station shuttered again.

“Captain, we need to go. I’m not sure who is shooting at the space station, but I’d rather not stick around and find out.”

They both stood and turned to head down the nearest corridor. Tiny glanced back at Crazy Ray. His body lay motionless, his head circled by a growing pool of blood under the rubble on the metal walkway. Tiny pulled her gun to put another round in him just to be sure, just as the space station tilted to one side with a violent heave. Reilly gripped the railing and pulled herself up the hallway as Tiny cursed, then did the same. She hoped she wouldn’t regret that unspent round, but right now, her priority had to be getting off the station alive. Another laser round sizzled through the air on the far side of the bay as the two women began to run.

“If we can make it to the next corridor, we can access the cruiser. They should have some ships we can borrow!” Reilly yelled over the explosions. They moved faster as more explosions echoed behind them.

They hit the cruiser’s main corridor at a flat sprint. Tiny winged two of her knives at the nearest security guards, clearing a path for them to the flight deck as Reilly blasted another couple who tried to get in her way.

“So I just got to ask,” Reilly panted as she caught up to Tiny, “That stuff with Crazy Ray—you didn’t have to…you know…”

“No. He bought off on the trophy chain and my act.” Tiny scowled again. “Though at one point the bastard almost kissed me. Psycho puppy love, I guess. Just thinking about it makes me want to shower!”

Reilly nodded. The thought of Crazy Ray even looking at her like he had looked at Tiny made her want to vomit. They passed a few more halls and then gained access to the flight deck.

“There! Go for the fighters!” Tiny pointed to two star fighters in the corner that were set to launch. She and Reilly vaulted up the steps by the launch tunnels and jumped into the birds, locking down the cockpits as Welch’s security detail blasted away at them. Reilly jammed on the ignition and gunned the bird out the tunnel. She and Tiny raced off of the cruiser’s deck as another huge fireball erupted from the listing space station. They barely had time to register this event as the AOC fleet bore down on them and they found themselves joined in a major space battle. Reilly could see two gunships battling it out as they broke free of the station.

Shit! When did this happen? So much for operational planning!
Reilly pulled up, taking in the battlefield around her.

“I think they could use a hand,” Reilly noted as Tiny swung into position on her wing.

“Well, let’s go bring them some rain, then. The fiery kind!”

“Copy that. Weapons free and lots of targets to choose from. Let’s go!”

Reilly pulled her fighter hard and flipped it, engaging two other nearby fighters and destroying them as Tiny watched her six and then cleared a path around them by running her bird in a spinning figure-eight, mowing down several more of the AOC birds.

Reilly flipped her channels and punched in Duv’s frequency. The comms channel scanned and then hit.

“Duv, can you hear me? We’re coming to you, two fighters off your starboard side.”

“Captain! Good to hear your voice!” Duv responded at once as he whipped the gunship towards her. “We need to get beyond those ships so we can jump; they set up some jammers, too much interference in here. Looks like Zain sent some backup, but they are just jumping in and out from some outside point. We’re having comms issues, too, because I can’t seem to hear them on our freqs, although they have been responding to some of what we’ve passed for targets.”

“Roger that, Duv. Tiny and I are going to help you cut a path so we can get the hell out of here. Follow us!”

Reilly pulled her bird in front of the gunship and Tiny joined her. In front of them, another twenty or so fighters and several large AOC vessels with barrage guns waited, ready to engage them.

—————

Seth sat up from where he had been working as his ship’s proximity sensor went off. Another Dark Angel appeared off his port side and signaled him.

He grimaced and accepted the link. The HAILE identified the Commander as the holoscreen came up, and Seth saw Trace Callum looking at him strangely. Apparently the Commander had neglected to tell Captain Callum he was in pursuit of a fourteen-year-old Gaiden.

“Uh, Dark Angel Charlie-Delta-five-three-Echo-Juliet-one-two, you are ordered to return to port immediately by the Commander of ISU forces. How copy?” Callum looked at him, still confused by what he was seeing.

“Good copy,” Seth replied. “But I’m not going back. I’m on an emergency mission.”

He bent over and finished connecting the last remaining wires as Trace tried to figure out what to say. When he stood back up, the captain was looking at him again, but with a more determined expression.

“Look kid, Commander Zain ordered us to bring you in. I don’t know what your deal is, but right now we need every ship and crew member we can get. I don’t want to waste you or your ship because you decide to do something stupid.”

Seth smiled. “You know, I like a challenge, Captain. How about this? If your pilot can catch me before I make the next planet in this solar system, I’ll head back with you. And if not, then I jump on to my next journey and you stay out of my way. Deal?”

Captain Callum shook his head. “Kid, you’ve got some brass ones, I’ll give you that. But there is no way you can outfly my pilot, so just give it a rest and let’s head back to the base.”

“No can do, Captain. Catch me if you can!” Seth clicked off the mic and kicked the Dark Angel into high gear, pulling away and up from his pursuit.

“What the hell? Go, Nado, go!” Trace watched as the kid’s gunship pulled a high, fast tactical ascent and took off.

Nado grinned and gunned his gunship in pursuit. He imitated the kid’s move and followed him, pulling up in his propulsion wake. The kid suddenly dove and then looped, coming around on their tail as Captain Callum pulled up the gunship’s shields in case the kid decided to get squirrely on them and take a few shots. The two ships danced back and forth, intertwining in a maddening duel, each trying to outmaneuver the other.

“That kid can fly!” Trace’s electronic warfare officer was grinning in admiration until the captain shot him a look and he suddenly realized how busy he was at his holoscreen.

Nado pushed into a figure eight with a double loop and then spiraled out, holding even with Seth’s ship. He inched closer and glanced at the captain, who nodded. Just as he got ready to launch a net, the kid pulled a flip and then disappeared.

“I need a scan, Jake!”

The electronic warfare board was spiking as Jake ran several scans at once and then swore eloquently.

“Sir, the kid spiked us and bailed. He’s gone, and he blocked his journey. I got nothing.”

Trace slammed his hand on the console. “Damn it!”

He stared into the star field, wondering how the Commander would take the news and how much shit he would catch off the other crews when they learned that he had been shown up by a kid.

—————

Crazy Ray felt like he had been hit by a TORR. His hearing was distorted and his vision blurry as he began to pull himself forward. Blood flowed sluggishly from a gash in his head, forming a sticky, congealed pool on the floor around his face. Something heavy lay across his legs and lower back. He could smell acrid smoke from metal melted by laser blasts and high explosives. He finally crawled free of the debris and used a piece of railing to help him to his feet. Smoke and small fires burned everywhere as he leaned, taking it all in. His eyes shone with a crazed light as he found his handheld and immediately sent out several messages to his staff. Then, picking his way back to where he had fallen, he searched the debris, looking for Captain Campbell or the bounty hunter. If Campbell was dead, fine. Strangely, he found himself still hoping that his mystery woman had survived, that she would find him again. They had only just begun to explore the possibilities when Welch had interrupted them. The first woman in a decade to captivate him, and now she was gone.

He wandered back until he reached the corridor entrance where Campbell had held a knife to her throat. A trail of blood droplets mixed with dust on the floor as he knelt down and ran his fingers through it, then held them up, the dark red of the congealed mess making the lines in his skin stand out. He could smell it though, the blood was hers, it carried that same scent that she did. Carefully, he pulled out a silk handkerchief and let the blood soak into it, then gently folded it and put it into his pocket. He looked up to find Jamie watching him through the smoke.

“Jamie, what did you see, my boy?”

Jamie giggled and pointed. “They left. Your lady and the other one.”

Crazy Ray’s eyes narrowed as he looked in the direction that Jamie had pointed. Towards Welch’s cruiser.

Jamie pointed at Crazy Ray’s bloody handkerchief. “You’re keeping it?”

Crazy Ray smiled. “Of course. Something to remember her by until I see her again.”

Jamie put his head down shyly. “She did smell nice. I’m glad she’s coming back.”

He walked over and let Crazy Ray lean on him as he limped down the hallway. When they reached the end of the corridor, Crazy Ray sealed the bay and opened the shields. Everything was pulled into the void. He left it open and they continued on towards his suite. Welch surely thought he was dead by now and was moving ahead without him. He couldn’t wait to show up and prove him wrong.

“Jamie, how many others survived in my detainment wing?”

“Most.” The boy giggled again. “Just stunned. Nothing like what happened over here!”

Crazy Ray smiled. Good, at least he wouldn’t have to train new detainers. He stumbled briefly as the station tilted further to one side and then grinned his normal evil grin. He looked at Jamie.

“And do you think they would like to travel a bit?” he asked, thinking of Welch and all that was owed.

Jamie smiled his best boyish smile. “Oh yes! Think of all the new people we can meet…and make beautiful!”

Crazy Ray patted him on the shoulder affectionately. “Yes, yes. You certainly do know how to make them beautiful for me. Let the others know to pack, and then you come up to my room.”

He waved Jamie off to the detainment wing and began to limp towards his suite as his security team ran up to fall in step with their boss. Each of them was armed and wired to explode.

Another team had also been sent aboard Welch’s cruiser and was awaiting Crazy Ray’s orders. It was time to negotiate for his new position in government, and this time Welch would give him everything he wanted. Of course, if he didn’t, then that would be fine too. Crazy Ray tilted his head and pulled out one of his blasters as they entered the lift.
Time to play!

—————

Duv was running out of space and options. Even with the two fighters and the gunships jumping in and out, the AOC fleet had more ships and fire power. It was only a matter of time until they were trapped. Already several ships were flanking their position as Duv winged his way around debris and asteroids, firing the rail guns to blast an opening when things got too tight. The guns on the space station were still operational, as they had discovered earlier while trying to negotiate a quick turn to get behind a group of fighters. A few errant blasts by the fighters pursuing them had gone into the bays, and the space station had responded in kind, catching the gunship in a hail of high-explosive metal. The shields were holding so far, but if any of the larger guns from the station or the cruisers landed direct hits, they would be in trouble.

“Captain, we need to find a hole, and fast. It looks like they are trying to force us in between the station and the cruisers. If that happens, we’re going to be trapped in their crossfire. We won’t last even a few seconds in there.”

Reilly looked around as she blasted another fighter from their path. There had to be a way out.

“Duv—what if we try for a blind jump using one of the other gunship’s coordinates?”

“That could work.” Duv banked the gunship hard and came back around as Chang and Marek plied the guns to mow down several more fighters. Laser scores created a series of streaks along the hull, and a couple of spots were starting to glow from the repeated hits. “Risky as hell, but there is a lot more space out there than stars and planets. So statistically, our chances of surviving would be better than what we got going for us in here!”

“Tiny, can you see if you can reach one of the gunships the next time it jumps in? See if you can get them to share some safe coordinates in an open area of space,” Reilly ordered as she flipped her ship around to clear their tail.

“Roger—let me see who I can get.” Tiny began channel hopping as the next gunship popped in. “Any ISU gunship, this is starfighter Bravo One Three Seven. I am requesting coordinates for a blind jump for us and gunship X-ray Delta Niner Seven Foxtrot Whiskey One. Standing by to copy.”

She recorded and sent the message on all of the likely gunship frequencies. A response came back immediately, and she opened a channel.

“Gunship Echo Joliet Twelve, this is starfighter Bravo One Three Seven. Do you copy?”

“Hey Tiny. Yeah, I can hear you just fine.”