“Tracking?” asked the Admiral.
“A last spread of missiles is approaching fast, Admiral,” the Tracking Officer said.
“Let’s use the launch tube,” said Admiral Sioux.
“The lasers will take it out,” the Tracking Officer said.
“Belay that order,” said Admiral Sioux. “Yes, you’re right,” she told the Tracking Officer. “Pilot, aim a particle shield at the incoming enemy. We’ll let them come in unharmed.”
“They might not fall for the same trick twice,” the Tracking Officer said.
“Admiral!” cried a damage control party leader.
“Report,” said Admiral Sioux.
“Enemy soldiers have breached the
“Security Chief,” said Admiral Sioux, “I hope you’re online and listening.”
“I’m listening,” the Security Chief said, a gruff-sounding man. He’d killed the mutinous ringleaders while they’d orbited the Sun those long months waiting. He had few qualms when it came to killing. He now said, “If you accelerate faster than two Gs we can’t fight. But keep us one-G or less and we’ll take them.”
“How many have breached?” the Admiral asked.
“I’d say ten soldiers,” the damage control officer said. “But they’re wearing high-tech fighting suits. Just like Highborn use.”
“Incoming missiles,” said the Tracking Officer. “Their last batch, I think.”
“HB torpedoes are launching!” shouted the First Gunner. “Let me PD them, Admiral.”
“Not as long as they have laser missiles on this side of us,” said Admiral Sioux.
“But there are fifty to sixty more torpedoes, Admiral.”
“Turn the ship aft,” said Admiral Sioux, hoping to increase the distance between the incoming torps.
Side jets burned. But the shock troop torpedoes proved as maneuverable as the vast ship. The fifty-plus torps came at the beamship on an unprotected side.
“Fire the PD’s,” said Admiral Sioux.
They fired for three seconds. Then HB lasers melted them. In the meantime, five shock trooper torps exploded.
“Good work, mister,” said Admiral Sioux. “Launch our torpedoes.”
On their VR goggles, they saw it for the futility it was. Three torps made it out. Then lasers destroyed them and the tube. Soon thereafter, the HB missiles flew past that part of the Bangladesh. And the mighty beamship shuddered as the surviving HB torpedoes slammed into the ship.
“Those are all inside the
“Thank you,” said Admiral Sioux. “That makes sixty to seventy enemy soldiers. What do you think, Chief? Can Security take them?”
“Depends on how good those soldiers are.”
“That’s the wrong answer, Chief.”
“We can take them, although I’ll need damage control to pitch in.”
“Pilot, one-G acceleration until otherwise ordered.”
“In what direction, Admiral?”
“Where else?” asked Admiral Sioux, “for our rendezvous with the flotilla.”
13.
Nadia Pravda hesitated as she stood before the stealth pod’s airlock.
For seemingly endless days after she’d left the Mercury System she had slept, watched videos and thought deeply about her life. When she’d noticed she was putting on weight she had exercised religiously and ate less. Finally, the boredom had overwhelmed her. So she’d broken open a baggie of dream dust, snorted, and fantasized until she had come down days later, dehydrated, ravenous and the baggie empty. So she had drunk water until she’d been ready to vomit. Then she had eaten and for several hours gazed at the stars. Slowly the desire to return to her fantasizes had come upon her. It had been then when the realization that she was about to commit suicide jerked her upright in the pilot’s chair. She had paced in the simulated light-gravity until she found herself in front of the airlock.
If she broke open another baggie, she would doubtlessly use dust until she died. Maybe that wasn’t a bad way to go. The truth however, was that she didn’t want to die. She wanted to live. But the boredom was so awful. Maybe it would have been better to have Hansen and Ervil aboard.
She drank water and like a zombie approached the stored dream dust. She stared at it for a long, long time. This was her stake in the new world. Without it, she would be without credits, valueless in the cold calculations of the habitats. But if she kept it, she was dead.
Slowly, hesitating often and with many doubts, she put baggie after baggie into the airlock. Finally, all the pod’s drugs were piled in the pressure chamber. She closed the inner hatch, rested her forehead on it for fifteen minutes and then activated the outer hatch.
She went to a side port and watched the powder drift into space. She cried afterward. Then she went to sleep. When she woke up, she was bored. “But I’m alive,” she whispered. And in a year, she should reach the Jupiter System. So she did two hundred jumping jacks and settled in the pilot’s chair for another movie.
14.
Ten trolls prowled through the
The beamship’s corridors were dark. It didn’t matter, though. The battlesuits turned radar and motion scans into VR-images on each of the shock troopers
After the initial breach and their slaughtering of unarmed ship’s personnel, the outer portion of the beamship seemed to have been evacuated. Thus, they tramped down long, empty corridors, crossed various rooms and blasted booby-traps and door-locks.
“Tank coming at three o’clock,” Vip said, who had point in the latest corridor.
“They’ve recovered from their initial shock,” Marten said. “Stay alert. We’re finally going to see what they have.”
“What the—Gas!” Lance said.
“Where?” Marten asked. They were in a recreation area with tables, chairs and a music unit.
“It’s coming through the vents.”
“What kind of gas?”
“It’s not combustible or corrosive,” said Lance. “My guess is it is knockout gas.”
“There are guys behind that tank,” warned Vip.
“Wernher, set up the cannon,” Marten said.
“Roger,” said Wernher, who followed close behind Vip.
“Kang, Conway, watch the rear,” Marten said.
Kang grunted. He’d given tactical command to Marten while he considered strategy.
