Alone in the Night Read online

  One mistake, and it would all be over. They could only be lucky and skillful so many times before the battle came to an abrupt end, and they all knew it. Icarus was forced to hold to its orbital track, until the shuttle could make it to safety. That limited the options of her helmsman, and made her all too easy for the gunners on Ajax to find their mark.

  She reached down to the throttle again, adjusting the settings on the power distribution to the engines, another bid to keep her stable. Energy was draining at an almost unbelievable rate as she struggled to catch up to Icarus’ orbital velocity, but finally, after what seemed like a thousand years, as another blast of debris raced past, some of it finally hammering on the hull, she completed a merciful dock.

  “We’re locked tight, Icarus,” Carter yelled. “Get going!”

  She could feel the engines on the transport surging into life as they hurled the transport away, easily breaking orbit around the tiny planetoid below and racing into the dark. The cargo airlock slid open, and technicians raced inside, manhauling the heavy crates to the other side, Malone and Ulyanov hastening to help them as Carter sprinted past the workers to reach the bridge, ducking around a pair of angry-looking guards in her haste.

  The doors slid open just in time as she raced into the control room, Harrison turning to glare at her as she entered. The battle was laid out before her on the tactical view, Icarus racing at full speed towards the safety of open space and the gravitational threshold, now on a vector that would make it almost impossible for the enemy ship to catch them in time, and with the maneuverability they needed to avoid any further attacks.

  “Clear in a little under fifteen minutes,” the helmsman reported.

  “I’ve got to get over to Avenger,” Carter said.

  Shaking her head, Harrison replied, “Not a chance. Most of our shuttles are still heavily loaded with cargo. Getting them stripped down hasn’t exactly been a top priority. Even if you could make the crossing, I wouldn’t risk it. Hell, I wouldn’t take the chance even if we did have a stripped-down ship at our disposal. You’re staying with us.”

  “Captain…”

  “You made your choice. If you wanted to get back to your ship faster, you could have stayed on the surface and been picked up with the others.” She paused, then said, “I won’t repeat what Todorova said. Let’s just say that you’ve made an enemy today.”

  “And you?” Carter asked.

  Harrison paused, then replied, “You did what you had to do. I’d have done the same. Probably with rather more diplomacy, but nevertheless.” Gesturing to the rear, she said, “Go report to Commodore McBride. He’s busy planning the next step.”

  “The next step?”

  “The liberation of Atlantis. That’s why we’re here. There’s no point waiting any longer, not if the Belters are calling in reinforcements. It’s time to roll the dice.”

  Chapter 11

  Singh looked up from the sensor station, and said, “Icarus is on the move, Commander, heading directly for the gravitational threshold. They’re charging their warp engines. I think they’re preparing to make a jump.”

  “Where the hell are they going?” Dixon asked, shaking his head.

  “I can guess,” Rojek said, walking onto the bridge. “Atlantis.”

  “What?” Corrigan said. “Alone?”

  “Don’t forget that was the original plan,” Rojek replied. “They weren’t counting on any support from us. I don’t know quite what they have up their sleeves, but they must have some means of dealing with the local forces. We’ll just have to work that out when we get to it.” Looking at the viewscreen, he added, “They’ve got at least half a dozen people left on the surface as far as I can tell. I suppose we could break for free space ourselves…”

  “Come on, Major, we can’t leave them behind,” Crawford exclaimed.

  “Technically, we’re not,” Rojek said. “We can send a message to our friends out there on Ajax and let them know that they have some potential prisoners to capture, down on the surface. I’m sure they’d be only too eager to pick them up for us.”

  “Data packet coming in from Icarus now,” Singh reported. He looked across at the trajectory plot, and added, “Looks like Ajax is moving off again, backing away. They probably figure on following Icarus back to Atlantis. It’s not exactly hard to work out where they’re going.” He looked at his monitor, and said, “I’m unpicking the data packet now. It’s got some pretty tight security encryption, but nothing we aren’t able to handle. I think.”

  “Can we hit them first?” Corrigan asked.

  “Possibly, but that’s going to be tricky,” Crawford replied. “We’ll have only a limited time in combat range at best, and we’d be forced onto a course that’ll take us right down their throats. Giving them a chance to try that kinetic warhead trick on us.”

  “We can shoot them down,” Dixon said.

  Nodding, Crawford said, “Sure, sir, but it’ll take me at least ninety seconds to adjust the settings in the particle beams to inflict maximum damage on the enemy. We’d be conceding them the initiative.”

  “Any luck with the data packet, Singh?” Corrigan asked.

  “One minute more, sir,” he said.

  “Helm, intercept course on Ajax, maximum speed,” Corrigan ordered.

  “Commander…,” Dixon began.

  “We don’t have time to wait and watch, Lieutenant, and if we’re going to take any part in the action, we’ve got to get moving, and now. We might not be able to destroy Ajax, but there has to be some way to at least blow some more chunks off her and set back those repairs. I need options, and fast.”

  “I’m running the engines as hot as I can,” Novak replied, swinging the ship around towards Ajax, “but I can’t go as fast as normal. We’re still finishing up the repairs to the forward power grid.” Turning to Corrigan with a smirk, she added, “Might be a good idea to actually get a crew for this ship at some point, you think?”

  “It might indeed,” Corrigan agreed, looking at the display. As he expected, Ajax fired a pair of quick blasts, hurling chunks of debris towards them, Novak’s hands twitched, the temptation to execute an evasive course to take the ship clear all but overwhelming, but Crawford saved her the trouble, countering the attacks with defensive fire of his own.

  “Intercept in six minutes,” Novak reported. “We’ll be in firing range for a little under thirty seconds.”

  “Any ideas, people?” Corrigan asked. “Crawford, can you shave any time off the rearming sequence?”

  “I’ve already worked in all the shortcuts I can think of, sir,” he replied. The gunner glanced up at his controls and fired again, a brief pulse of energy that knocked a cloud of debris clear of their course before it could threaten them. “They’re telegraphing their responses now.”

  “You think they’re planning something?” Dixon asked.

  Nodding, Corrigan said, “Sure, and it’s all too obvious. They want us to keep our weapons set just the way they are. Right now there’s no way we can damage them, and they’ll keep hurling easily predictable rocks at us until they get into range.”

  “It works both ways, though,” Rojek noted. “They can’t shoot us any more than we can shoot them, not unless they want to waste time changing their settings. Unless they don’t have the same problems.”

  “If they don’t, we’re dead,” Crawford replied. “That sort of fine-tuning has been the holy grail of weapons design for years, Major. If they’d worked out that problem, I think we’d already know about it. We’d be giving a personal briefing to Saint Peter.”

  “Is there any way we can do any damage to them with our weapons set as they are, then?” asked Rojek. “Overload the power systems again?”

  “Do that, and Sandy will kill you,” Singh replied.

  “I have the data packet now, sir,” Singh said. “Instructions to us from the Commodore on the planned attack on Atlantis. There’s a lot of detail here, but we’re to engage the orbital sensor systems and
the fighter garrison, as well as stand off any other forces that might be present. According to the data they have here, Ajax was the only guardship, and there isn’t anything else closer than twenty hours away.”

  “Send it to my terminal, Ensign,” Corrigan said. “I’ll go over it while we’re in transit.” He paused, then said, “We’ve got a hundred and fifty seconds, people, and so far, all we’re going to do is put together a nice light show as we fly past. What about electronic warfare?”

  “I’ll try, sir, but the time margin is far too tight for me to put together a real hack,” Dixon replied. “They’ll have their firewalls firmed by now, and if they’ve got any talented people on board, I’m going to be just as tied up trying to hold them out of our systems.”

  Corrigan looked at the display again, then turned to Dixon, and asked, “How long to get one of our shuttles ready for launch?”

  “About a minute,” he replied. “Are we going somewhere?”

  “No, I need it flown automatically. Crawford, start narrowing the beam on the particle cannons right now, and get a firing solution that will make a mess of their warp drive. Dimensional stabilizers, anything you can take out in a single shot. It’s got to be perfect.”

  “We’ll be vulnerable…,” he warned.

  “Not if we get this right,” Corrigan said. “We’re coming out of the asteroid field anyway. The last run’s easy. The shuttle can take the heat for us. If it heads off in the direction of the blast, then the debris is a cone effect. Getting closer…”

  “I get it,” Dixon said. “Shuttle Three is ready for launch. Not much fuel, but that’s not going to matter. It’s not as though we’re going to be trying to recover it, anyway.” Turning to Crawford, he added, “Jack, all that guesswork you’ve been doing is going to be an order of magnitude harder now.”

  “I’ll do what I can,” the gunner replied. “I should have the cannons ready as soon as we enter weapons range. Main battery has a firing solution.”

  Nodding, Corrigan said, “Stay with it, Crawford, and watch those bastards like a hawk. If they so much as sneeze, I want to be ready.”

  All eyes were on the sensor display, watching Ajax as they approached. Even under normal circumstances, Avenger was more than fast enough to determine the time and place of the battle, and Ajax, bold though it was, still had yet to complete her repairs. She was slower than normal, but had a sufficient distance advantage that they would still be able to make the transition to warp before Avenger. Unless they could get their key shot home.

  “They’re going to fire! Port side, target asteroid Gamma-Nine!” Crawford yelled. “Five seconds minus!”

  “Launching shuttle,” Dixon said, his hands calmly working the controls. “If they realize what we’re planning, they’ll…”

  Before he could finish his words, there was a brief blast of light, and the enemy’s particle cannons hammered into the asteroid indicated by Crawford, a small hunk of ice and rock that instantly exploded upon impact, shattering into a million tiny fragments that sped towards Avenger.

  It was all over in an instant. The shuttle dived in between Avenger and the expanding wave of debris, Dixon carefully guiding it where it could do the most good, the small ship’s hull cracking and breaking under the load, until only a drifting hulk remained. Seconds later, there was a faint rattle on the hull, the remnants of the debris finding its mark, a faint echo of the devastation that might have been wrought.

  “Great job,” Corrigan said. “If we ever get back to anywhere where it matters, I’ll put you both up for a commendation.”

  “Just buy me a beer at our next safe port,” Dixon replied. “Then we can call it even.”

  “Sold. Time to target?”

  “Forty seconds,” Crawford said, a smile on his face as he carefully lined up his shot, surging power into the weapons systems. “Target is locked.”

  “Don’t wait for the order, fire at will,” Corrigan replied, settling back into his chair, his eyes quickly darting from station to station, checking that all was well. Ajax had realized that their plan had failed within an instant, and turned away, firing its engines as hard as it could in a desperate bid to put more space between themselves and Ajax, exposing their vulnerable rear section.

  “They’re overcharging their warp systems,” Singh said. “I guess they’re serious about wanting to get out of here in a hurry.”

  “That’s just going to make a bigger bang when I hit them,” Crawford said, his hands flexing over the controls. “Ten seconds to firing.”

  The two ships slowly slid towards each other, Ajax’s helmsman doing his best to twist the tail of his vessel, trying to duck and dodge to at least take the impact of the attack on a non-critical area, even if he couldn’t avoid being hit entirely. Novak drove Avenger on, engines burning hotter and hotter, warning lights snapping on as they entered firing range. Crawford’s finger hovered over the control, waiting for the perfect instant.

  Either he found it, or close enough to make no difference. Avenger’s weapons fired in salvo sequence, two cannons to pierce the defensive screens, four to wreak havoc on the ship within. Crawford was an artist, with a rare gift for his work, and it showed. Two pulses caught the power distribution network again, knocking the system offline, with the others neatly catching the warp drive manifold.

  Crawford had been right. It was an impressive explosion, though the enemy ship remained only barely damaged, scorch marks from the hull. Corrigan turned to Singh, who looked up with a wan smile.

  “They purged their power systems just before impact. I read strong heat signatures from the radiators. I guess they realized what we were doing. They’ve still suffered damage, though. It’ll be hours now until they can engage their warp drive.”

  “Out of firing range,” Novak said. “Where too, skipper?”

  “We could come around for another pass,” Dixon said. “It’d take at least half an hour to execute the turn, but we’d be able to finish them off.”

  “I’m afraid we’ve got a date with Atlantis,” Corrigan replied. “As tempting a thought as it might be. Besides, I think this is going to buy us a little more time at the other end. They’ll rally here, assemble a strike group, before launching a counterattack. Helm, take us back to the asteroid, maximum speed. Dixon, get a shuttle ready and go pick up anyone who was left behind. Make it quick, as well. Just load them on board and get back up to the ship. I want to be out of this system in fifteen minutes.”

  “Even with our enhanced drive, it’ll be touch and go whether we can beat Icarus to Atlantis,” Novak warned.

  “The rebels seem to think that they can start the battle without us,” Corrigan replied. “Maybe we’ll get to find out if they’re right.”

  Chapter 12

  The cargo bay was loaded with hastily-stacked cargo, containers and crates hastily stacked atop each other with no regard for safety regulations or any thought of caution, the shuttle crews gathered around an improvised holodisplay on the wall. Commodore McBride and Captain Harrison walked into the room, and the crews shambolically rose to attention as they entered, taking their places at the podium. Carter looked across at Mathis, sitting with his own crew, who flashed her a quick wink.

  “Good morning,” McBride said. “The time is now oh-six-fifty hours, Earth Standard. By lunchtime, either Atlantis is going to be a free and independent world, or the revolution will have failed and everyone in this room will either be dead or captured. Given how the Belt tends to treat its political prisoners, I would recommend the first option if you can possibly manage it.” He cracked a smile, and added, “I’m not saying this to depress you, or to put you off. I know that all of you are totally dedicated to the cause, or you wouldn’t be here, but I need you all to understand just how critical the next six hours are going to be.”

  Nodding, Harrison added, “In two and a half hours, we will be leaving warp space in low orbit over Atlantis. We’re pushing our navigational controls to the limit and, frankly, beyond in orde
r to make this work, but we’ve got to make sure that the enemy has as little warning of our presence as possible. Surprise is our greatest weapon at this stage.”

  “Despite our early departure from the depot,” McBride continued, “we were able to retrieve sufficient hand weapons and other materiel to make the mission work. Everything we need to equip our strike teams on the surface with the weapons they require to defeat the garrison. The instant we emerge, the shuttles will detach and immediately make for the surface, each to a designated landing point where local rebel forces will meet up with them. Once on the ground, you will work with those rebels for the duration of the battle.”

  One of the shuttle pilots, a bald, grey-bearded old man, asked, “What happens if our landing site is impossible?”

  “Each of you have secondary landing sites programmed in, just in case something has gone wrong. None are as important as your primary objectives, but all of them will be useful, and should there be a chance for a second phase of the assault, we’ll be using them. As a last resort, you also have the locations of the other landing sites, so go down to the nearest.”

  “We’re not expecting there to be any problems,” Harrison added.

  “All of this is the end result of years of planning and preparation and months of covert operations,” McBride said. “Ever since the war with Earth began, and it became obvious that the Belters were more vulnerable than they have ever been before, the resistance has mobilized for this moment.”

  Carter frowned, glancing at Malone, the young crewman sharing her thoughts. McBride was making it sound as though he’d been a part of the rebellion right from the beginning, rather than from his tardy arrival to the fight. It could just be for the crowd. Or it could be a revealing slip.