“Blast that Scarecrow!” Captain Nakamura sat slumped in his seat, brooding. He waved his hand at the tactical display as he continued. “We just left here, and now we’re back, and I’m playing Robert Mitchum in ‘The Enemy Below.’”
Parallax approached the first planet in the Luhman 16 star system. She was accompanied back to Luhman by Avarice, out of space dock and back on the line. When they dropped out of FTL, the Solar Warden carriers split up and each headed for one of the two gas giants in the system.
“Approaching target now, Captain,” the helm said.
“Good. The sooner we do this, the sooner we can plot a speed course for home. Tactical, once we’re in orbit, begin dropping our ‘depth charges.’ Execute a standard grid pattern. Try to cover as much area with the fewest charges possible.”
“Aye, Sir.”
Nakamura’s XO, Commander Anton Fuchs, walked up to the captain’s chair and stood watching the tactical display.
“Who would’ve guessed, Skipper. Old fashioned nuclear warheads as depth charges.” With his Austrian accent, Fuchs sounded like Curd Jürgens.
“Crude, but effective. And we’ve got plenty of them. Might as well put them to good use.”
“We’re ready, Sir.”
“Shields?”
“At full strength, Captain.
“Weapons?”
“We’re weapons hot, aye.”
“Alright. Let’s do this. Begin deploying charges.”
“Beginning deployment, aye.”
All eyes went to the tactical display, which showed the warheads dropping in sequence into the atmosphere of the gas giant beneath their position in orbit. They descended in silence, flashed on the ARI and disappeared from the display. As more of them deployed, a grid of squares showing the areas of the planet already targeted began to show on the tactical display screen.
Four hours passed, and 16 per-cent of the planet was covered. No one on the command deck was watching the tactical display anymore–they’d returned to their regular tasks. Captain Nakamura stood up, yawned and stretched, bored with the monotony of their assignment. Then he turned to his XO.
“Anton, I’m going to go use the head, then get a cup of coffee. Call me if anything happens to shatter this tedium.”
Nakamura wasn’t through the hatch when a bright flash lit up the tactical display monitor. Seconds later, Parallax lurched and shuddered as a massive shock wave struck the Solar Warden carrier with violent force. A klaxon sounded and Nakamura ran back to his chair, staring at the tactical display.
“What was that!” he shouted at his TAO.
“We hit something, Sir. Something big. Should I continue deploying charges?”
“You need to ask?” the captain replied. “Shields?”
“We’re still at 100 percent, Sir. No damage.”
“Weapons?”
“We’re weapons hot, Captain.”
“Tactical. Actively scan the surface of the planet. Let’s make sure we’re on the ball, just in case we manage to scare a rabbit out of the briar patch.” Nakamura’s eyes were glued to the tactical ARI monitor, now watching carefully as the tiny red blip that represented each charge detonated and disappeared.
Suddenly, another large flash, and a few moments later, Parallax shuddered as a second shock wave washed over them. To their surprise, a massive enemy saucer rose from the heavy atmosphere directly ahead.
“It’s Leviathan class, Sir!” the TAO shouted.
“Weapons! Target that bandit! Are they damaged?”
“No, Sir, they’re intact. But they’re having difficulty assembling their shields.”
“Fire! Fire! Fire! All batteries! Target that enemy vessel and fire!”
“All batteries firing, aye.”
All eyes were now on the tactical display, with an exterior view on the monitor beside it showing the enemy ship in the distance. Adrenaline had replaced blood in Nakamura’s veins and he stood fidgeting with nervous excitement in front of the captain’s chair. Particle beams could be seen streaking at the enemy saucer, and it shook as it was struck. Several moments passed, and the particle beams began slicing through the enemy hull. Unable to withstand the fearsome barrage, the nearly mile-wide saucer fragmented into several large pieces, and then lit up in a brilliant flash. Seconds later, the shock wave struck Parallax and she too shuddered from the mother ship’s detonation.
“Shields are holding.”
“Yes!” Nakamura leapt up and punched the air in an unaccustomed burst of exhilaration. He turned to his command deck crew, smiling like the Cheshire Cat.
“Bravo Zulu, everybody!”
“Sir, do you want me to continue deploying charges?”
“Are you kidding? Absolutely. Let’s see how many more of these tekisen we can flush out! Finish blanketing the planet. Comm, contact Chris Jenkins on Avarice, and inform him of our situation. We just greased three LCMS’s. That’s almost as many as Scarecrow got!”
“Hello, Ken,” Rear Admiral Reynolds said as the display in his office flashed on, revealing Captain Nakamura’s face, beaming. “What can I do for you?”
“Sir! You can tell that Commander Richardson of yours that I’m sending him a bottle of Juyondai sake. Make sure to tell him to warm it before taking a drink.” Nakamura’s excitement was obvious.
“He’s a teetotaler. He doesn’t imbibe.”
“Well he’s getting a bottle regardless. What he does with it is his business. He can pour it down the toire in the head for all I care, but I think he’s gonna want to take a good, long swig before he does.”
“Report status,” Reynolds emitted a slight chuckle as he spoke.
“He was right! He was right! Admiral, he was right!”
“His depth charge strategy–”
“Yes! We got four of them. Four Leviathan class mother ships. We got two with the charges deep in the atmosphere, and two more when we spooked them out of the goo. Blasted them before they could assemble their shields.”
“That’s quite a feat! Bravo Zulu. I’ll inform the commander right away.”
“Shake his hand for me while you’re at it. That man’s a genius, Sir. He’s a bona fide raijin!”
“A what?”
“You gaijin say ‘wunderkind.’”
Scarecrow laughed out loud at the description of Captain Nakamura’s exploit.
“If you don’t want a bottle of sake, I’ll take it,” Hutch said. “Juyondai’s expensive. And very hard to get.”
“It’s yours.”
“Before you give it to Hutch, I think the three of us should drink a toast to Captain Nakamura and the Parallax crew for completing a successful mission,” Reynolds said.
“I might consider a tiny sip,” Scarecrow replied. “Then it’s all yours, Hutch.”
“Now the really hard work begins,” the rear admiral’s face grew somber as he spoke.
“And what’s that, Sir?”
“We have to try and anticipate their next move.”