“Keep up our delta-vee and swing us around in low orbit,” Scoggins said to her helmsman as the last of the Scourges burned off the skin in atmosphere. “This is getting to be a habit.”
“She’s not designed to fight small craft,” Absen snarled. “When I asked for a dreadnought – hell, when Desolator upgraded her – I wanted a Meme-killer. If I had any idea we’d be fighting this kind of war I’d have waited a year and assembled another task force.” Back out of VR space, he paced the bridge like a caged lion.
“If you’d have done that, sir,” she shot back, “the Scourges would have overrun the system.”
“Yeah.” Absen rubbed his jaw, then his face. When he was dumped out of VR space his eyes had been grimy and dry, his bones aching and his mind weary. He could feel himself flagging from twenty solid hours of work and battle. More, really, as his time sense had been played with repeatedly. His skin felt like he could peel it off like old wallpaper, and everything itched.
Humans aren’t made to have chips in their heads, he thought for the Nth time. At least, not this human.
“Sir,” Captain Scoggins said, putting her hands behind her back, “we can’t save the fortresses. The shipyard is toast. In fact, everything in orbit is going to get eaten. We can only attrit the enemy a few more percent and then they will land on Earth. I’ll fight this ship wherever and however you want, but I’d like to know your overall plan.”
“My plan?” Absen put his fingertips against his forehead and his voice rose. “I ran out of plan a while back, Captain. I feel like I’m reliving the same nightmare where Earth gets creamed because I failed. I’m tired of swimming upstream, but our troubles are nothing compared to what the folks on the ground are going to go through. What’s with the universe, anyway? Does Earth have a flashing sign on it saying ‘invade me’?” He massaged his temples, and then looked up to see everyone on the bridge staring at him.
Scoggins spoke, concern in her eyes. “Sir –”
“No, Captain, I haven’t cracked. Not yet, anyway.” Absen waved a dismissive hand. “To answer your question: we’re going to go on killing Scourges until we can’t kill any more, and then we’ll pick up the pieces. That’s my plan. That’s it. If anyone has a better one, I’m all ears.”
The bridge crew turned away, exchanging covert glances. Doctor Horton slipped out of her chair and off the bridge, leaving Bannum to man the BioMed station.