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System Alpha16 at T plus 221 days
Rorke’s Drift floated in the blackness at the extreme edge of the star system currently inhabited by the insectoid mothership designated as Sierra109. Eighty-four fighters were flying in formation around her. The small Bridge was almost silent, with only the soft sounds that some of the equipment made. Shiloh shifted position to get more comfortable in the Command Chair and resumed watching the main display. Hundreds of recon drones had been launched days ago to search the system for the bug ship. They had finally found it in orbit around a moon near the system’s only gas giant planet. With recon drones diverted and approaching that general location, Foxer was receiving a growing amount of observational data that allowed him and his brothers to calculate a more and more accurate location and vector for the bug ship. That target was four point five billion kilometers away from the human fleet, and in order for the super-drones to be able to hit their target, they needed terrabytes of data. It wasn’t so much that they didn’t know where the bug ship was, but rather where the bug ship would be, relative to the fleet, by the time that the super-drones could get there. This far away, even the moon the ship was orbiting couldn’t be seen by any optical equipment. Therefore the observational data from each recon drone added one more piece to the overall geometrical puzzle. As Foxer and the AIs analyzed the data, they transmitted the results to the flagship’s Bridge.
Shiloh was about to drift off to sleep when the display pinged to announce that a new data stream from another recon drone had been received and processed. The display showed a new triangle with the recon drone, the bug ship and the fleet at each corner. A quick glance at the sidebar showed the target’s location and orbital vector to a new level of accuracy that translated into a margin for error of nine point eight kilometers. That was less than the estimated diameter of the mothership, but that wasn’t good enough. At this level of accuracy, it was possible that the bug ship could be almost ten kilometers away from its estimated location, which meant there was roughly a 50-50 chance that the super-drones would miss it altogether. No, the drones wouldn’t begin their acceleration run until the margin for error was five kilometers or less. Then the hit probability would be over 95%.
Shiloh was tired. He hadn’t slept for almost 20 hours but didn’t want to leave the Bridge now. The margin of error was falling fast now with each new set of data. They might reach their five kilometer goal in a couple of hours or less. Once he gave the order to launch the drones, he could then count on having four hours for a power nap before the drones reached their jump velocity. He and the AIs would only get one crack at this, and he was determined to hold the launch back until they reached the minimum margin of error.
He opened his eyes, looked at the chronometer and realized with a shock that he’d fallen asleep on the Bridge for over an hour. A quick look around at the rest of the Bridge crew seemed to show they were all diligently focused on their own stations and equipment, but Shiloh suspected that they knew he’d been asleep and were now pretending not to have noticed. Well, there was nothing he could do about that. The display pinged again. It was another new data stream, and the margin of error dropped below 5 kilometers to 4.99.
“Minimum margin of error achieved, CAG. You woke up just in time,” said Foxer over Shiloh’s com implant. Shiloh was grateful that the AI understood human psychology enough to avoid embarrassing him in front of his human crew.
“Are all four drones and their fighters ready to execute?” asked Shiloh.
“Ready as they’ll ever be, CAG. Just give the word,” said Foxer over the Bridge loudspeaker.
“Okay, Foxer. Since you’re co-ordinating the attack, you may execute the mission now,” said Shiloh.
The display pinged almost immediately as all four drone/fighter combinations began accelerating at 801Gs. Even at that rate, it would still take them over four hours to reach the minimum speed of 38% of light that they needed to compensate for their much smaller size.
“The mission is underway, CAG. It isn’t necessary to remain on the Bridge for the next four hours you know.”
Shiloh chuckled. Foxer was letting him know in a careful way that he could retire to his quarters and go back to sleep for a while. The logical part of his mind told him that was exactly what he should do. The actual drone attack itself would just be the opening move. The rest of the operation could potentially take another nine or ten hours, and he certainly wouldn’t be able to leave the Bridge then.
“You’re right, Foxer. I think I’ll go to my quarters and ah, do some paperwork,” said Shiloh. He pretended not to notice a couple of the Bridge personnel smile at that remark. Paperwork hell, everyone knew he was going to take another nap. “XO, you have the con.” Shiloh was almost through the hatch by the time the Executive Officer acknowledged the change of command.
Three hours and fifty-five minutes later, Shiloh stepped back onto the Bridge and said, “XO, I have the con.”
“Welcome back, CAG. I can tell from your voice pattern that you’re more alert. The nap clearly helped,” said Foxer over Shiloh’s implant.
“Status report, Foxer,” said Shiloh as he settled into the Command Chair.
“All four drones are bearing down on the target with a margin of error now of 1.8 kilometers. The fighters have detached from the drones and are moving to a safe distance. All ten squadrons report ready to micro-jump, CAG.”
“Very good. I’m releasing your space superiority squadrons, Foxer. You can order them to jump when the drones should have hit the target. Rorke’s Drift will follow as soon as we get the all clear signal. Any questions?”
“Negative, CAG,” was all that Foxer said. The remaining four minutes and twenty-five seconds seemed to go fast. The actual countdown to zero was anti-climactic since the ship was much too far away to be able to see the impact that quickly. If they stayed where they were, they’d have to wait over four hours to see any visible sign of the drones hitting the mothership, but that wasn’t the plan. As soon as the timer hit zero, and on the assumption that the drones had indeed hit their target, all eighty fighters would micro-jump to within less than five kilometers of the mothership. There they would engage any of the ship’s smaller craft in combat. With the F6 fighters’ gravity lens beam weapons, the insectoid craft would be literally cut to pieces.
Shiloh waited patiently. He and his human crew were now the only sentient beings within billions of kilometers. All the AIs were involved in suppressing any residual bug presence near the hopefully crippled mothership. Just as he was about to start worrying over the delay, the main display pinged to announce the arrival of a message drone. A text message scrolled across the bottom of the display.
[Sierra109 is dead in space. Major structural damage observed. All four drones hit the target. All secondary insectoid craft have been disabled or destroyed. Rorke’s Drift may jump into recovery position at your discretion, CAG. Foxer]
Shiloh heard the rest of the Bridge crew clapping at the good news. So far so good. “Okay, Helm. Execute the micro-jump. Let’s go pick up some corpses and get out of Dodge before more Indians arrive,” said Shiloh in a cheerful tone.
“Roger that, Sir. Micro-jumping now,” said the Helm Officer.
The main display shifted to a computer-enhanced visual image of the insectoid ship. Rorke’s Drift was less than 20 kilometers away and decelerating as it approached the target. Shiloh ordered the image to zoom in and gasped at what he saw. Very little of the insectoid ship’s outer hull was still visible on the side that he was looking at. The outer edges of the impact craters were still glowing from the tremendous heat generated by the impact. A cloud of debris was expanding outwards, but Shiloh’s attention was focused on the exposed innards of the bug ship. He could barely make out the outline of individual decks due to the fact that a lot of the ship’s mass had been pushed inward by the force of the collisions. Liquids could be seen leaking into space from some areas. Jets of flame, obviously caused by flammable gases in combination with oxygen, could be seen here and there. The overall impression reminded him of a soccer ball after losing most of its air, with one side caved in, but it was the immense scale of the thing that generated his sense of awe.
The image zoomed back out, and Shiloh noticed larger pieces of debris that used to be part of the smaller craft that the Bugs used to land their soldiers or carry cargo back to the ship. Data from previous timelines showed that those craft were also armed with lasers. If the fighters hadn’t come in first to neutralize them, Shiloh and his humans would have been in trouble. Rorke’s Drift was now within five kilometers and would soon be stopped relative to the bug ship, even though the derelict still had several hundred kilometers per second velocity.
“Foxer, this is the CAG,” said Shiloh.
“Go ahead, CAG.”
“We’re in position and are about to open the cargo hatch. Do your boys have positive control of the RUs?”
“Affirmative, CAG. We’re ready to proceed,” said Foxer.
Shiloh nodded to the Helm Officer who was looking at him. “Okay, Helm. Open up the cargo bay.”
“Yes, Sir. Opening it up now.”
The left half of the main display switched to an internal camera that showed the cargo hold hatch opening. The robot units that would fly over to the wreck would locate and carry back a dozen bug corpses under the direct control of Foxer’s AIs. In the extremely unlikely event that there were still some Bugs alive on the wreck, the robotic units had the mechanical strength to overpower them. Shiloh watched the RUs lift off from the deck and slowly fly out of the open hatch. Once clear of the ship, they increased speed. The display shifted back to the single view of the derelict mothership
When the RUs were roughly halfway to the wreck, Foxer’s louder than normal voice came over both the Bridge speakers and Shiloh’s implant.
“CAG, Insectoids are crawling through the cargo hatch into the ship! Close the hatch immediately and arm yourselves!”
Even as Shiloh felt a chill go down his spine, he reacted. “Close the goddamned hatch NOW!” he yelled. In a slightly lower voice he said, “Where did those bastards come from, Foxer?”
“They came from one of the landing craft that was drifting nearby. At first we thought it was debris floating across, but then one of my brothers noticed movement on RD’s hull. We see the cargo hatch closing. How many got inside?”
“Switch main display to the cargo hold!” yelled Shiloh. When the image reformed, Shiloh tried but failed to suppress a groan. The cargo hold was full of the damn things, and they were clearly trying to force open both interior hatches. One led to the ship’s power plant and engines. The other led forward to the crew quarters and the Bridge. The interior hatches were made of metal, but Shiloh wasn’t prepared to assume that they would stand up to the combined efforts of several Bugs indefinitely.
“Intercom...shipwide,” said Shiloh. “Attention! We’ve been boarded by Bug soldiers. All crew will report to deck C immediately. Do NOT go through or near the cargo hold. Lieutenants Sykes and Verlander, you’ll meet me at the Arms Locker on the double! Shiloh clear.” Turning to the Bridge personnel, he said, “Alright people, evacuate the Bridge and head for Deck C. I want everyone to squeeze into the Cubbyhole. XO, you’ll activate the remote controls and monitor the situation inside the ship. Sykes, Verlander and I will stay out here and try to keep the Bugs from wrecking the ship. As soon as you get control of the ship from the Cubbyhole, your orders are to jump the ship to the rendezvous point. If we haven’t retained control of the ship’s interior by the time we arrive, you’ll call for help from the support ships. Now get going!” Shiloh made sure he was the last one to leave the Bridge.
“CAG, the RUs are on their way back, and we’ve burned any Insectoids that were near the ship or on the hull. It’s safe to open the cargo hold hatch again. The RUs will help neutralize the Insectoids,” said Foxer over Shiloh’s implant.
“We’ve abandoned the Bridge. Relay my signal to the XO. He’s to open the cargo hatch from the Cubbyhole as soon as he’s able,” said Shiloh.
“Acknowledged. The XO has the word. Let us take care of the Insectoids, CAG. You’re too valuable to risk in personal combat. We recommend you avoid contact if at all possible.”
“No promises, Foxer. I’ll do what I think the situation demands. CAG clear.”
He was the first one to reach the Arms Locker. After unlocking and opening it, he looked at the contents. The assault rifles and pistols were useless inside the ship. If the bullets missed damaging any equipment, they were very likely to ricochet off the metal walls and become a threat to the humans. The locker had the flamethrower, but only one. It also had knives with very narrow and very sharp blades. The blades were so sharp that they could cut through bone with very little effort, and therefore were dangerous to anyone using them who was not a trained expert in knife fighting. The locker also had special metal staffs where a knife could be screwed to one end to make a stabbing spear. Shiloh had them made when it still looked like the mousetrap mission would go ahead. How ironic that they now found themselves in exactly that kind of situation. He grabbed the fireproof overall for use with the flamethrower and started to put it on as Sykes and Verlander came running up.
“I want you two to take the knives, stabbing staffs and pistols, and guard the cargo bay hatch leading to deck C. Use the pistols as a last resort only. I’ll take the flamethrower and guard the other hatch that leads to the Engineering Section. If the Bugs get into the machinery, we’ll be royally screwed. Help me to get this thing on,” he commanded. The two lieutenants helped Shiloh put on the flamethrower and handed him the helmet and special gloves that he would need to protect his hands and face from the heat. Neither of them had said anything. Shiloh could tell they were scared. That was okay. He was scared too, but doing nothing and hoping for the best wasn’t a viable option.
“If they break out of the cargo bay, use the staffs and knives as spears and keep your distance. Whatever you do, don’t try to get into the Cubbyhole. They might see you. The hatch is camouflaged to blend into the wall, so chances are they won’t figure out what’s behind the wall. If you can’t hold them, and there’s nowhere else to fall back to, then use the pistols. Good luck!” Without waiting for them to reply, Shiloh turned and headed for the corridor that led to the alternate way around the cargo bay to the rear of the ship. He had the longest way to go and the tanks on his back were heavy enough that running wasn’t possible.
By the time he got to the hatch leading from the Engineering Section to the cargo bay, he was panting. The Bugs hadn’t broken through yet, but he could tell that the metal in the hatch had been stressed by a lot of pressure. It was only a matter of time before the hinges were pulled apart and the hatch door pushed open. He looked around to see if there was something he could use to reinforce the hatch door but saw nothing. What he did see was another hatch directly opposite the one the Bugs were trying to force open. Behind the other door was the Engineering Control room with lots of delicate equipment. He couldn’t let them get in there, but because both hatch doors were lined up perfectly, it also made a good spot to fire the flamethrower from.
“Shiloh to XO! Can you hear me?”
“XO here, Sir.”
“I’m in Deck E, Section Four. I want you to close and lock the hatch leading from the corridor, and open the hatch leading to Section Five. I’m going to set up my flamethrower just inside that hatch. Be ready to close that door fast when I tell you to, got it?”
“Got it, Sir. The outer hatch is open again. The RUs are almost back. With a little luck, they’ll take care of all the Bugs before they break through.”
“Let’s hope so,” said Shiloh as he stepped through the now open inner hatch and turned to face the opening. He pulled his face shield down, carefully flipped the safety on the nozzle from on to off and pointed the nozzle at the cargo bay hatch. He could hear the sounds of tortured metal starting to give way.
“The RUs are inside the cargo bay now, Sir. Some of the Bugs are trying to hold them off!” The XO’s voice betrayed his excitement.
Before Shiloh could respond, the metal door leading to the cargo bay started to fall inward. It was still attached by one hinge, but that wouldn’t hold for long. With the outside hatch open, air started to rush from the inside of the ship into the near vacuum of the cargo bay. Shiloh cursed himself for not anticipating that. He wasn’t wearing a spacesuit, so unless he sealed himself off from the airless cargo bay, his lungs would burst pretty quickly. With a final push, the Insectoids pushed their door off its remaining hinge and surged into the next room.
“Not this time, you fuckers!” yelled Shiloh as he pulled the trigger. Two jets of liquid emerged from the nozzle under pressure and burst into flame as soon as they came in contact with each other. The Bugs couldn’t get out of the way fast enough. The flaming liquid splashed over the first two as they came through the opening and then shot past them to hit the Bugs further back. But without air to sustain the flames, the fountain of fire was quickly dying away.
“XO! Close the inner door!” gasped Shiloh.
The inner door closed fast, and the life support system pumped fresh air into the room until normal pressure was restored. Shiloh gasped for air and for a moment thought he was going to black out from lack of oxygen, but he held on. He could already hear the Bugs trying to batter open the inner door.
“What’s the situation in the cargo bay, XO?”
“All the RUs are back inside. They’re gaining the upper hand.”
“Good. Close the outer cargo hatch and pressurize the room just in case I need to use the flamethrower again,” ordered Shiloh.
“Hatch closing, Sir. The cargo bay is now clear of Bugs...ah, at least there aren’t any live ones left, but several have moved into the section you just fired into, and the RUs are too big to go in and kill them. Orders, Sir?”
Shiloh shook his head is dismay. Despite all their preparations, he and the others had overlooked some important details. Those live Bugs on the other side of the wall were still dangerous enough that they couldn’t just be ignored. They had to be killed, but the robotic units were too big to fit through the hatchway. Sending Sykes and Verlander into the cargo bay with spears and pistols might work if the RUs blocked the open door to prevent the Bugs from moving back into the cargo bay. Shooting into the room might or might not accomplish the goal.
“Is there another way that I can get to the other side of the cargo bay, XO?”
“Yes, Sir, but it’ll involve some climbing. There’s a maintenance shaft that runs the length of the ship. You can access if from Engineering Control. There’ll be a ladder on the far wall. See it?”
Shiloh looked behind him. “Yes, I see it. I’m starting up the ladder. Keep the directions coming.”
It only took two minutes to get to the other doorway leading into the cargo bay, but it seemed much longer than that. Shiloh stepped into the cavernous room and, trying not to look at the mangled bodies of a dozen Bugs, trotted over to the far side where the RUs were using their mechanical arms to bar the opening. Shiloh slowed to a walk as he approached the opening. Without waiting, he stood to one side, aimed the nozzle between the arms of the RUs and pressed the trigger. It didn’t take long for the whole room on the other side of the door to be a mass of flames. The liquid had splashed against the far wall and onto the Bugs. Shiloh realized that the XO must have shut off the automatic fire suppression system without being ordered to. He could hear the Bugs scream, and he could smell them burning. It didn’t take long for the screaming to stop. Shiloh switched the nozzle’s safety to on and stepped back.
Looking around at the dead bugs he said, “I think we’ve won, XO, Foxer. The fire suppression system can be turned back on. The RUs will stand guard just in case they’re not all dead. I think it’s safe to come out of the Cubbyhole now, XO. I’ll meet you back on the Bridge. Shiloh clear.”
They had their insectoid corpses. The ship could head back to Earth. He felt the rush of adrenaline fade fast. The tanks on his back seemed to get heavier by the second. He pulled his gloves off, took his helmet off, letting it fall, and unfastened the harness so that he could lower the flamethrower unit to the deck. As he did so, his stomach lost its battle against the stench of burnt flesh and heaved. What a way to end a battle.
