Alone in the Night Read online

  “Tell them that,” Dixon said. “They don’t exactly seem to want to talk to me right now.” He looked up at his monitors, and said, “Ajax is running its weapons hotter, now. Not all the way, but on the road.”

  “Ensign, I need a full analysis of the asteroids they’re currently targeting, as well as a comparison with those within, say, a thousand miles of ourselves and Icarus.”

  “Commander,” Singh protested, “There must be ten thousand…”

  “Only those larger than, say ten meters. That ought to thin it down a little. And I need those range projections on the enemy armament right now.”

  “Coming up now, sir,” Crawford reported. “They can’t hit us from this range with sufficient force to do any damage. We wouldn’t even notice. Right now, we’re about thirteen thousand miles out of effective combat range.”

  “Too damned close,” Dixon said.

  “And if they tighten their beam as much as possible?” Corrigan asked.

  “I suppose they’d get a lot closer, sir, but we’d easily be able to dodge the blast. They’ll have no choice but to expose their intentions early,” Crawford said. He paused, then continued, “Not to mention that they’d likely do damage to their power distribution system.”

  “Unless they prepared for it in advance,” Dixon suggested. “That might work. Or if they had something specific in mind, they could tailor their shot perfectly to match. Though if they were going to do that, they’d want to run a series of baseline…” He turned to Corrigan, and said, “Come on, skipper, that’s insane. They’d never try it.”

  “Why not?” Corrigan asked. “I can think of it. So can they.”

  “Commander,” Crawford said, “I can’t work…”

  “They’re going to throw rocks at Icarus,” Corrigan said. “Playing pool with asteroids, if you like. I’m not talking about moving a rock onto trajectory. That’d take too long. Blowing a few thousand chunks of debris from one of the hunks of rock floating out there should be possible, though, and it’d be like firing a blunderbuss at the freighter. They wouldn’t have a chance.”

  “Ajax never lost sensor resolution,” Singh said. “They’ve had more than enough time to map the local asteroid fields, work out just what rocks would be best suited for targeting, where to take that shot.” Turning back to his station, he continued, “We’re way behind, skipper. We’ve focused all of our assets on supporting Icarus on the surface.”

  “There’s an easy solution for that,” Corrigan said. “Contact Icarus. I need to speak to them right now, and I do not intend to take ‘no’ for an answer. If they prove reluctant, tell them that we’ll be leaving the system in fifteen minutes if they don’t reply.”

  “That ought to do it,” Singh said, leaning over the communications station. “Enemy ship is charging for another shot, nowhere near Ajax.”

  “More test shots,” Corrigan said. “It would help a lot if we had some idea just how many of them they’re going to need before they attack.”

  “Hard to tell,” Crawford replied. “Too many variables. If I was trying something like that with Avenger, though, I’d want at least half a dozen test shots first, with calibration time in between. They seem to be recalibrating faster than we could, though. Specialist equipment, perhaps.”

  “Makes a kind of sense that the Belters should know how to shoot rocks,” Dixon quipped. “They’re holding position. If they’re planning this, then they must know that we’ll come after them.”

  “They should be able to get to the gravity well before we can, though,” Novak replied. “That ought not to be a factor. I think we’re already clear that they know far too much about Avenger for comfort.”

  “This isn’t cover for an escape,” Corrigan said. “It’s cover for an attack. Work out a best-guess interception course. Be aware that they’ll be expecting us to make that move, and will certainly do everything they can to counter it.”

  “I’ll try and anticipate their plans,” she replied. “Though they’ve got a damned good pilot out there, and if they know these rocks…”

  “I’ve got the numbers on a tight-beam shot now, sir,” Crawford said. “If they wanted, they could smash lumps out of asteroids anywhere close. It’d just be kinetic projectiles, but they could still cause an awful lot of damage, and that freighter’s vulnerable in orbit.”

  “Singh, where’s my communications link?” Corrigan barked.

  “I’m trying, sir,” the hapless technician replied.

  “Tell them we’re leaving now if they don’t reply.”

  “I’ve got them!” Singh said. “Captain Harrison, coming though now.”

  The image of the tough freighter appeared on the monitor, and Harrison barked, “I might have expected that you’d run at the first sign of trouble, but your people on the surface…”

  “Ajax is going to attack. Any moment now. There’s damned all we’re going to be able to do to stop it. Pack up what you’ve got and prepare for immediate departure. You can call it an order, a recommendation, hell, call it an engraved invitation if you want, but get moving, now!”

  “Hold on, hold on, it’s not that simple,” Harrison protested. “We’ve got three shuttles down on the surface, more than a dozen people, and it’s going to take at least another hour to load all of the cargo. We can’t possibly leave yet. You’re going to have to find a way to protect us. Isn’t that what your fancy ship is for, anyway?”

  “Captain, have you ever studied space combat tactics?”

  “I read a few books…”

  “If you managed to get beyond the first chapter, you’d have seen a lot of very interesting material about the near-impossibility of defending any sort of stationary target from a mobile one. You’re going to have ten thousand kinetic projectiles heading right down your throat any time now. If you aren’t on the move, then you’ll be a sitting duck. Don’t you get this yet? Your ship is dead unless you get out of orbit. Now. Did you at least prioritize the loading of your cargo?”

  “Most of the satellites are aboard,” she replied. “The rest are on the shuttles that will be coming up next. Commander, if we don’t retrieve the defense network, all of this was for nothing, and we might as well not go home. The shuttles are going to be loaded way over their normal maximums. They’ll barely make it from surface to ship. There’s no margin. None at all.”

  “Can you take the ship lower, get…” He paused, smiled, then said, “There’s one answer, but it won’t last for long. I think I’ve got a way to cover you for a few minutes, but you’re going to have to do precisely what I say. Break your current orbital pattern and get lower, as low as you dare. Cut the shuttle’s transit time to the absolute possible minimum. If you have to leave anyone behind, do it. We’ll come back and pick them up later. You can head out into the deep system and wait for us..”

  “Just what have you…,” Harrison said, before pausing, looking at him, and saying, “Commander, if this is some sort of a trick…”

  “I’m on your side, damn it, but you’re making it as hard as you possibly can for me to pull you out of the fire. You want to live? Get that cargo loaded and break for free space. We’ll follow as fast as we can. Avenger out.” He turned to Crawford, and said, “Set our particle cannons for maximum possible dispersion.”

  “They won’t have enough power to do any damage,” the gunner protested. “We won’t even be able to…”

  “All we have to do is sweep the stars clear of the kinetic projectiles the enemy starts throwing around. You’re supposed to be one of the best gunners in the fleet. Now you get to prove it. And if you miss once, just once, it’s all over.” Before he could reply, Corrigan turned to Novak, and said, “Lieutenant, place us in between Icarus and the enemy. Let’s get ourselves into harm’s way.”

  Chapter 10

  “Damn it, be careful!” Todorova said, snapping at one of the salvagers as he clumsily loaded a crate onto the shuttle, almost dropping it. “We can’t replace any of this stuff. You we can replac
e.”

  “Take it easy,” Carter replied, glaring at her. “You’re pushing everyone too hard. The faster you push, the longer it takes. That’s how you make mistakes.” She looked at the young man, barely a boy, and said, “What’s your name, son?”

  “Boris,” he replied. “Boris Ulyanov. I’m a…”

  “We really don’t have time for this,” Todorova snapped. “You can get to know your new friend later. We’re on the clock.” She turned to Mathis, scrambling up the shaft, pushing a heavily loaded trolley, and added, “Is that the last of the satellite components?”

  Nodding, he replied, “This is the uplink equipment. I checked through the rest of the gear down there. We can make use of it, but this is the last of the essentials. Think we can fit it on the shuttle?”

  “We’ll fit it,” Todorova said.

  “I’m not sure,” Ulyanov replied, peering nervously into the cargo bay. “The center of gravity is way off, and we’re already way, way over the normal mass limits for this sort of shuttle. We might want to…”

  “If I want the advice of a deckhand, I’ll ask,” Todorova snapped.

  “Now just a damned minute,” Carter said. “If this shuttle smashes up, then all of your precious equipment is going to be destroyed, and we’ll have wasted our time.” Turning to Ulyanov, she ordered, “Get in there and see what you can do to rearrange everything. There’s another shuttle coming down in eight minutes. If necessary, we’ll load the last crate onto that.”

  She felt the ground shake, and turned to see one of the other shuttles rising from the surface, unsteady on her thrusters, her pilot struggling to get altitude even in the low gravity, the engines straining under the overload. The ship rocked from side to side, steering jets pulsing constantly in a bid to keep her stable, until finally the main engines lit, sending the shuttle staggering up into orbital space, towards the waiting Icarus.

  “Let me guess,” Carter said. “You loaded that.”

  “It made it up, didn’t it,” Todorova replied.

  “Relax, Cat,” Mathis said. “We’ll make it. It’ll work, one way or another. By this time tomorrow Atlantis will be free.”

  “Or we’ll all be dead,” Carter said. “Care to place a bet?” There was a chime in her ear, and she said, “Carter here. Go ahead.”

  “This is Commander Corrigan. I don’t know how much information you’re getting down there, but we’re going to have to evacuate everyone from the surface on the double. Ajax is up to something, and we can’t guarantee the safety of your people. What’s the status on the cargo?”

  “The last few crates are about to be loaded.”

  “Get them piled into the shuttle and get the hell out of there right now. If anyone has to stay behind, we’ll try and pick them up, but there aren’t any guarantees. We’ll do what we can. Icarus should be coming overhead shortly. Good luck, Lieutenant. I think you’re going to need it. Out.”

  “Todorova,” Carter said, turning to the rebel leader, seeing the look in her face that made it clear that she had received the same briefing, “We need to strip down that shuttle, right now. Take out anything non-essential. Just the satellite hardware. That’s it.”

  “Way ahead of you,” she replied. “I prioritized that. Once we get those two crates on board, we’re good to go. Unless you care to protest.” She gestured at Mathis, who pushed them up the ramp, the wide-eyed Ulyanov struggling to place them in any sort of order, trying desperately to lock them into position for launch.

  “We’ll never take off with a full load,” he said.

  “I’ll fly the shuttle. I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve. Everyone on board, right now.” She moved to the airlock, but Todorova shook her head.

  “Essential personnel only. Avenger will be back to pick the rest of you up once the battle is over. Head into the cave with emergency ration packs and wait. There’s an oxygen dump down there, so you should be able to last out for a day or two. If the enemy arrives, you know what to do.” She turned to Carter, and said, “Shall we go, Lieutenant?”

  “Just how are you defining essential personnel?” Carter asked.

  “Yourself, me, and Mathis.”

  Shaking her head, Carter said, “If one goes, we all go.”

  “Lieutenant,” Ulyanov replied, “I’m afraid she’s right. I figure you’re going to bleed out the oxygen and fuel reserves, but even then, it’s going to be a struggle for three of you to get up into orbit. We’ll have to wait.”

  “Before you became a rebel, Boris, what did you do?”

  “I was a shuttle maintenance technician, working in the orbital yard.”

  “And you, Todorova?” Carter asked. “What’s your essential skill.”

  “I’ve been fighting for this cause since I was old enough to crawl.”

  “That sounds nice on a poster. What can you actually do?”

  “Lieutenant, I…”

  “Fair enough. Claude, you’re an expert in planetary survival. You stay here and take command of the ground party.”

  “Cat, I don’t think…”

  “I’ve got seniority. Lieutenant. By six months, if I recall correctly. You’re the best choice to stay behind and make sure nobody down here gets killed. And to put up the best possible fight if the Belters make it to the surface. Ulyanov, you get to ride shotgun. Do anything you can do to lighten the ship, and work out a flight loading pattern for me. The center of gravity is way, way off, and if I’m going to get this beast up to Icarus, I need to know just how rough a ride we’ll have.”

  “On it, ma’am,” the grateful technician replied.

  “Malone,” Carter added, “You get the third spot. I want all of our countermeasure systems at full strength, and a full sensor sweep of any mascons or other gravitational anomalies. One error wrecks us. You’re a lot more use up on Icarus than you are on the ground anyway.”

  “Just who do you think you are to be giving orders,” Todorova said, her eyes locked on Carter’s with a laser-like glare. “I’m in charge down here. This is our mission, and that is our shuttle, and you have no right to dictate any sort of policy about how we…”

  “I think I do,” Carter said. “For one simple reason. Unless someone down here has taken any correspondence courses I don’t know about, I’m the only one rated to fly that shuttle.”

  Shaking his head, Mathis replied, “I’ve got a flight rating.”

  “Claude, damn it, you barely scraped a passing grade, and not only did I graduate top in that class, but I spent six months in advanced training.”

  “Is she right?” Todorova asked, turning to Mathis.

  “Technically, but…”

  “This is not a conversation, nor a discussion,” Carter pressed. “None of this is subject to debate. The priority is getting the satellite components up to Icarus, and if my guess is right, she’s going to be passing overhead any minute. We don’t have time for an argument. This is how it is going to be, so I suggest you make peace with that. Get down into the caverns, on the double. You might want to put a couple of quick loads together, in case Avenger has time to pick anything else up along with the rest of you. Commander Corrigan will be back if he possibly can. Failing that, if there’s no other choice, the decision about what to do next is yours.”

  “I’m sure you’d be more than happy to surrender,” Todorova said.

  “If it saved the lives of the people under my command, yes.” She began to climb the ramp to the shuttle, turned, and said, “What’s the matter? You’re not afraid to stay behind, are you?” Not waiting for an answer, she climbed into the cabin, the airlock sliding shut behind her as Ulyanov and Malone took their positions, the engineer already frantically working his controls, trying to reduce the load on the ship as much as possible.

  “I’ve left twenty minutes of life support,” he said. “Water’s gone, and I’ve overcharged the thrusters. We’ll burn through the fuel in no time flat, but it should give you a significant additional boost.” The engineer paused, then said,
“Thanks, Lieutenant.”

  “Any time,” she replied. “Shuttle Seven to Icarus. Do you read.”

  “This is Captain Harrison. We’ll be overhead in two minutes, nineteen seconds. There’s only going to be time for a single pass. Are you ready?”

  “Initiating launch sequence now. This is going to be a little messy, so we might need a little help on the docking. Warn your helmsman that he’ll need to make some last-minute adjustments.”

  “On it,” Harrison replied. “I just had an interesting message from…”

  “Todorova?” Carter asked. “Ignore her. I did. See you soon. Out.”

  “She’s got a lot of important friends,” Ulyanov warned. “And she and Lieutenant Mathis run the…”

  “Contacts, incoming contacts, particle beams firing!” Malone said, his hands dancing across the rudimentary sensor console. “They’re shooting at…” The technician froze, shaking his head at the display.

  “Report, Malone!” Carter said. “Do we still have somewhere to land?”

  “Ajax fired a tight-beamed shot at an asteroid, but Avenger shot the damned debris out of the air with a dispersed particle beam. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

  “Firing launch thrusters,” Carter said, working the controls. “Let’s get out of here while we still can. That’s a smart play, but it’s only going to work for just so long before we all run right out of luck.” The shuttle staggered into the sky, Carter carefully playing the thrusters against one other in order to get the maximum possible benefit, As soon as she dared, she reached down to throw the main engines to full power, a cloud of dust sweeping across the landscape in their wake.

  The ship lurched from side to side, packages shifting in the cargo compartment, everything she had feared and warned Todorova of coming to pass. She kept the thrusters firing, using the additional boost that Ulyanov had rigged to keep them stable, keep them on course for Icarus, the freighter now closing on them rapidly, docking ports open and ready for their arrival.

  She looked at the sensor display, spotting Avenger in the distance, moving out towards the enemy ship at maximum acceleration and unleashing blast after blast with its particle cannons, predicting the pattern of the enemy attacks with uncanny accuracy, destroying the fragments of rock before they could cause any damage to either Icarus or the shuttle.