Atlas: Infinity Verge Trilogy: Book II (13 page)

Luckily, no word from the EXO Prime suggested that Breaker had chosen wrong in infecting passengers. Exing crewmembers of the ships they attacked would not darken Abel’s reputation as much as it would increase the notoriety of the EXOs. Breaker wanted those rescued to blame the actions on the
Kodiak
and Abel. He did not want to paint a target on the EXOs.

“Cat, get into the EFNF communications,” Breaker ordered. “I want to know what they think is happening.”

The crew of the
Mirage
had finally decided that a more direct attack was necessary. Breaker decided on Quintar IV. An attack run on the EFNF home world would incite violence against the
Mirage,
but most would assume it was the
Kodiak
, especially if word from the outer systems and trade routes had reached anyone.

“Commander,” Cat stammered. “I can’t seem to get into their comms. They’re warded against standard intrusion and they’re protected by an encrypted system. I could suggest bombarding them with EXO code, but that would sort of defeat the purpose of our mission. I think that if we--”

Breaker cut in, “EXO One, starting working on that encryption,” Breaker called to one of the nearby EXOs. “I want to get through their comms, but don’’t let them know you’re in there. The last thing we need is someone recognizing EXO presence in conjunction with the
Mirage.
”

“Affirmative Commander,” EXO One responded. Its voice was in monotone and had a mechanical ring to it.

“Cat, start working on monitoring any outgoing or intersystem communications,” Breaker ordered. He wanted to be sure that if they were seen and if the military might of the EFNF would be brought to bear against them.

“You got it Commander,” Baxter “Cat” Perez said.

Cat had been one of Breaker’s most loyal men on Eden. Breaker used the petite man for spying missions and to track communications that might prove to be trouble for The Silence - Breaker’s former gang. Admittedly, he brought Cat along as a means of saving the boy from a worse fate. Having left Eden, Breaker knew the planet would be subject to chaos. Without Breaker to protect him Cat would have been killed. Cat had numerous enemies due to his operations on Breaker’s behalf.

“I have a targeting array on production facilities Commander,” Ark said.

“Fire on my mark,” Breaker paused. He checked the power outputs and searched the feed from Cat’s analysis of the comms.

“Mark!” he said a moment later.

The missiles deployed from the under belly of the
Mirage.
The roar of the missiles rang through the ship as they launched from their compartments and arced downward towards the city below.

* * * *

Fleet Admiral Andromeda Clark sat in her office within the EFNF compound. Proximity alerts blared almost immediately as the URSA-class vessel entered the atmosphere. She stared hard at the images as the ship broke through the upper atmosphere. Everything in her being wanted to panic. The ship looked exactly like the
Kodiak
and she was certain it could have been.

However, her new allies assured her it was not. After reports of the vessel began to trickle in from all over the outlying systems and trade routes, Andromeda had inquired. The Vald were secretive, but direct when they wanted to be. Their explanations left some doubts in her mind regarding the identity of the passengers aboard the gunship. The Vald were certain it was the EXO Prime acting on some instinctual vendetta against Abel, but she was not so sure.

The ships which the vessel had attacked had too many survivors. Abel had been notorious for ambushing vessels to steal supplies and he was human enough that he rarely, if ever, killed anyone. This new URSA ship left a trail of bodies, but every hit they made screamed Abel. Stealing supplies fit his MO. She considered the Vald again.

The secretive insectile creatures pulled strings everywhere. Andromeda worried that they pulled too many of her own strings. She had not sent patrols out to intercept this ship and now it had come calling. Steeling herself, she went to the communications relay in her office.

“This is Fleet Admiral Andromeda Clark,” she spoke in a clear direct voice. “Assemble all RAVEN fighters and take out the invading spacecraft.”

* * * *

Echo Shade pushed herself up and stared in horror at the ship in the sky. She was sure it was the
Kodiak
. The quantum plating still glowed with the bluish-green glow as it magnetically connected to the rest of the ship. She had spent enough time admiring the ship while they were on Eden to know what it looked like. On Quintar VII, she had flown the
Kodiak
.

What confused her now was how the ship was airborne again, let alone why it was attacking Quintar IV. Abel would never do such a thing despite his anger towards the EFNF. She felt she knew him well enough to know that. The line of thought led her to who might be controlling the vessel.

Zee is dead,
she thought. It pained her to even think his name.
The EXO Prime could manage it. Mercury Frinz
, she thought.

Reports indicated that Frinz was dead, but the thought came to mind anyway. There had been little time to investigate what was happening on other planets and it was entirely possible that Frinz had returned to Eden. Echo shuddered.

If Mercury Frinz is still alive, I need to find Abel,
she thought.

As she started towards the interior of her apartment, several EXOs entered through the front door.

FLAK!
She thought.

Echo dove for the practice blades on the balcony. ‘Practice staves’ was a more apt term, but they did end in blade shaped tips. The edges, though, were still blunted. Echo leapt into the air and twirled sideways before slamming the polearm down on top of one of the EXO’’s head. It collapsed and did not get back up. She could see the exposed circuitry and brain matter on the floor of her room. The image made her sick. She had killed before, but the way the EXOs killed was disturbing.

Crouching low with the polearm nestled in the crook of her elbow she held herself up in a tripod position. As the next EXO advanced she leapt again, twisting backward and thrusting out with the practice blade. The force behind the blow lodged the weapon in the EXO’s throat. It still advanced.

Echo landed hard and almost lost her footing. She was tired from the exertions while practicing earlier.

Come on E! You have to get out of here,
she thought as three more EXOs entered the apartment.

She backed up to the balcony and looked back. The drop was at least four stories down and she wasn’t sure of her ability to grip the ledge to slow her fall. She caught something out of the corner of her eye.

The EXOs advanced and Echo Shade leapt over the railing.

* * * *

Six Remington had decided to retrain his flight skills. Since becoming an officer aboard the TP-D
Justice
, he had neglected his flight training. For years he religiously flew the flight simulators to improve his skills. He was not an excellent combat pilot, but his service in the war against the EXOs proved he was, at least, a capable one.

The simulator pitted him against numerous EXO Vulture-BAA-C vessels, much like the simulations for the
Justice
. He was halfway through the mission when the general comms blared with the Fleet Admiral’s voice.

Six shut off the simulator and left. Luckily, the flight simulators required full SATYR armor to perform correctly and they were close to the actual hangar bays. Six rushed out of the main building and ran to the hangar. RAVEN-F and RAVEN-S vessels were taking off and converging on the attacking URSA class vessel.

He looked up at the vessel and his nostrils flared,
Abel!

His anger overwhelmed him. Six had once looked up the rebellious captain, now he saw his admiration dashed in the single image of the URSA class ship attacking his home. He growled and hit the airlock release for a RAVEN-F craft. He rushed in and used the SATYR armor to initiate the ship’s flight operations. The engines roared to life as he took a seat in the control seat.

The haptic display lit up and he maneuvered the vessel out of the hangar. He watched at the other vessels converged on the attacking ship and he veered away towards the living apartments.

* * * *

Breaker Jones slammed his fist down on the console, “Get targeting on the flanks! They’re trying to get behind us.”

The
Mirage
banked hard to starboard as the rail guns tried to pin down the circling RAVEN-S ships. Breaker had deployed anti-matter missiles to tackle the larger RAVEN-F vessels and succeeded. The larger ships were not as maneuverable as the smaller S models. Despite having blocked communications, Breaker realized that the pilots had formed a strategy. This was his first test against a larger military force and part of him enjoyed it.

The pragmatic and laid back Mr. Jones in him was panicking. The nanites flooded his system with a mix of adrenaline and oxytocin creating a sort of focused calm in his mind.

“Focus fire on the trailing RAVENs,” Breaker ordered. “Strike at their noses and knock out the LIDAR sensors. They can’’t hit what they can’t see.”

There was a chorus of acquiescence as the rail turrets fired again. Breaker watched as several targets dropped off his combat screen. The
Mirage
banked again to port and dove in a half-roll maneuver. Two more of the targets vanished from his displays.

“We’re taking another strafe at the production facilities and then we’re out of here,” Breaker announced.

13:
BIRDS & BEARS

Quintar IV - Independent ATLAS-V Class Gunship: Atlas

2973 ESD - Sunday, May 23rd 01:27 hours

Abel woke up in the cockpit of the
Atlas
. He had been working on it all night and simply fell asleep mid calculation. The vessel was in dire need of an AI, but he couldn’t let on that he was installing one. It was just after one in the morning when he heard the first explosions. They rattled the hangar where the
Atlas
laid docked.

Not much I can do,
Abel thought.
She’s not flight-worthy yet.

The nonchalant attitude surprised him. Abel had spent the last year trying to overcome his apathetic attitude. Zee’s death had exasperated his quest to rid himself of it, but now he feared he had become so cold that it returned.

Have I?
He thought.

Abel did not want to dwell on the implications. Having some operable systems he engaged the
Atlas
LIDAR scanners.

“Come on, there has to be at least one RAVEN-S around here.” He said aloud.

Abel scanned the area searching for one of the single pilot fighters. Considering the sound of the ordinance bombarding Quintar IV the ship was at least gunship size, if not larger. The sound of the missile ordinance concerned him a bit.

But,
he thought,
if I can find a RAVEN I can at least take part in protecting the civilians.

It was a wild thought and likely a wholly reckless one, but it was what his heart called for. Abel had become a hero to the Quintarrans and he couldn’t in good conscience leave them to their fate. More disturbing was the lack of response. He couldn’t hear any anti-aircraft batteries.

They would not fire on their own,
he thought.
They might have the batteries shut down for inter-atmospheric fighters.
The
Atlas
LIDAR beeped loudly as it located a nearby RAVEN-S Mark II. Abel grinned.

He bolted to the cargo hold of the
Atlas
and located his new SATYR armor. The Survival Assault Tactical Yield Armor was the bread and butter of the EFNF ground forces. However, the Lute model SATYR was a favorite of RAVEN pilots. Fully melee capable, the suit would protect a pilot should he crash in hostile territory. In addition to being helpful in a fight the SATYR armor allowed the pilot to survive in EVA conditions, such as a cockpit breach in space.

The armor fitted around him like a glove and he cried out as the control nodes pierced his back and locked into his spine. The military grade nanites entered his system and began to repair the damage immediately. A moment later the suit responded and he ran out of the hangar. The footfalls echoed through the spaceport. He was alone.

Am I the only one putting up a fight?
He thought.

Abel followed the internal monitor on his visor. The RAVEN-S was less than a kilometer away. His systems alerted him to the type of vessel above. Abel stopped dead in his tracks.

It can’t be …
his thought trailed off.

He knew it could not be the
Kodiak
because he had spent the last several months repairing the
Kodiak
and upgrading her.