Star Fortress

“We maintain tight discipline,” Felix said. “They are there, secretly tracking your vessel.”

“You’d better signal them, then,” Marten said.

Felix accepted a com-unit and spoke a string of code words.

“Nothing,” Marten said, as he watched his screen.

“They are there,” Felix said, more ominously than before.

“Let’s get ready then,” Marten said.

The journey to the asteroid took time, several days. Finally, Marten gave the order.

“I am activating the engine now,” Osadar said, tapping her screen.

The ion engine thrummed with power as the boat began to decelerate. A jolt shook Marten. Beside him, Nadia’s head struck her headrest, knocking off her cap.

Compared to the last time they landed on a planet-wrecker, this was a gentle ride. The asteroid was nine- and-a-half kilometers in diameter and first appeared as a smooth object. Soon, on the forward cameras, hills appeared and grew larger. Then ancient impact craters were visible and plains of stardust. The hills loomed steadily larger and they became more jagged. After a time, a single mountain dominated.

“Look,” Nadia said.

Marten spied a slagged lump of metal like a melted coin. It must have been a laser-turret once, destroyed by a Doom Star’s heavy beam in the original battle.

Osadar brought them down as stardust billowed upward, surrounding the craft. Slowly, the patrol boat settled and then the vibration quit as the engine shut down. After eight months in space, they had landed on a solid object.

* * *

Even though they had been weightless for months, Marten lectured them on the need to practice caution while exploring the asteroid. If they jumped too high, they would reach escape velocity and simply keep floating. Ever since the Bangladesh, he worried about losing men to space-drift.

Everyone but Felix was tethered in groups of three, the lines attached to their belts.

Marten, Omi and Nadia glided across the bleak landscape with Felix and others following. Since they were so near the Sun, they stayed on the dark side. Otherwise, their conditioner-units would have quickly overheated. Marten led, climbing a lunar-like hill. It was so different from being cooped up on the boat. His heavy breathing echoed in his helmet and it felt good to move for an extended time. As he looked around, the stars were bright gems and dust billowed each time a boot struck the ground.

Clutching a gray rock, Marten steadied himself on the summit. In the valley, he spied a dome. It brought back bitter memories. There was motion to his left. Ah…Nadia climbed beside him. She spooked me. This place does. He pointed into the valley.

“Look at the dome’s jagged crack,” he said. “It crosses the entire width. A beam must have lased in a running slash.”

Through her visor, he saw his wife nod.

Marten spotted something above. He craned his head as Omi flailed uselessly over him. Grabbing the line, Marten pulled him down.

“Don’t jump so hard,” Marten said.

“Rookie mistake,” Omi muttered. He glanced back. “I doubt he’ll do that.”

Marten looked back, watching Felix move in his powered armor. The Highborn glided perfectly. Only Osadar asteroid-walked with as much confidence and ability.

That doesn’t mean they’re going to win. Marten shook off the feeling that maybe it did mean that. The fight wasn’t over until it was.

The giant reached them, looming ominously with his rotating hand-cannon on one arm and a laser carbine in the other.

“They should have signaled us by now,” Felix said.

“How many shuttles did you have?” Marten asked.

“Counting mine, three,” Felix said.

“Could they have left without you?”

Felix hesitated, with his visor aimed at the valley dome. “They would have set up a signal,” he finally said.

“Could they be waiting at the dome?”

Methodically, Felix examined the landscape. “We must beware. This could be a trap.”

Marten blew a lungful of air against his visor. He didn’t want to hear that. “We’re using over-watch,” he told the others. “Use passive sensors but be ready to switch to radar and get an exact fix for your weapons. If they don’t hail us first, fire to kill.”

“If they are ambushing us,” Felix said, “these precautions will do no good.”

“That’s what Centurion Titus thought,” Marten said.

Felix’s visor turned toward Marten. It was silver, the face behind it invisible. “You were a shock trooper once, is that not so?”

“I was.”

“It shows in your training. You are aggressive.”

Marten knew Felix meant aggressive like a well-trained beast. He let the insult pass. We have more important things to worry about.

“Let’s go,” Marten told the marines.

It took time climbing down the jagged hill and time to cross the lunar plain. Marten kept thinking how the asteroid used to orbit Saturn. That disturbed him, and he wasn’t sure why.

With their gyrocs trained on the dome, Marten’s group neared the low-built structure. Behind followed others, Osadar’s group bringing a plasma cannon.

They crept from behind a large boulder. The dome was silvery in the starlight, and its destruction was more apparent, with gouges everywhere, shell craters. Three metallic lumps showed were laser-turrets had stood and melted. Debris littered the valley floor, a junkyard of slagged metal, old weapons and corpses from the fight two years ago.

“What a horrible time,” Marten said, thinking about the battle onto their planet-wrecker. Was this the same one? He didn’t know and had forgotten to ask Felix.

Omi grunted over the headphones as he followed Felix toward the dome.

“What’s wrong?” Marten radioed.

“I’ve a bad feeling about this,” Omi said.

“Ambush?” asked Marten.

“Maybe,” the Korean said.

Marten rechecked his weapon, sliding it open to study the shell. He motioned the others to follow, and signaled: be careful.

He stepped over slagged metal the size of a helmet and avoided an old missile casing. His boots put prints in the dust. All the while, he checked his suit’s sensors and watched the ground for telltale signs of booby-traps.

With a pounding heart, Marten squeezed through an opening into the dome. He flicked on his helmet-lamp. The beam played over fused machines and endless debris on the floor. Ahead, Omi’s group and Felix moved from place to place, with weapons ready.

Giant Felix pointed ahead to a door. Omi nodded and signaled Marten. Unlatching his tether, Marten shoved off and drifted toward them, with the gyroc aimed at the hatch. Something felt wrong, bad wrong.

Felix readied his hand-cannon as he reached for the handle.

Marten wanted to shout a warning.

The door opened and Felix’s lamp-beam stabbed into the darkness. The Highborn moved in. Marten followed and grunted in shock.

Dead Highborn in breached combat-armor lay on the floor. Most had smashed helmets. All gripped weapons. He counted seven. Some of the equipment around them was smashed. The rest looked useable.

“What happened?” Omi radioed.

Marten glanced at Felix. The Highborn stood very still, his lamp-beam centered on one dead Highborn in