Torian Reclamation 3: Test of Fortitude (32 page)

“Enemy satellites firing now,” Borsk7 said. “Commander, you want us to go over and try to help?”

“Yes—but wait. Give me a moment.”

They watched as every Dirg vessel came away from their planet’s orbit, in all directions. In most places they flew right into waiting enemy squadrons. Lasers and explosions erupted everywhere. Less than a third of the dark enemy force was engaged, but that appeared to be all Dirg could handle in their current predicament. They needed help.

The fearsome ordinance of the attack satellites was nothing Brandon ever wanted to see again. But there it was. Gigantic red light missiles that appeared as intermittent laser fire, the segments of which shot to the planet surface at tremendous speeds. There was no ground defense against such a thing, and nowhere to hide down there. The potential death and destruction from this kind of attack was heinous. Worlds could be destroyed. Brandon thought about his new friend Bleear.

The satellites suddenly ceased firing. Many of the light segments were cut off at a partial size in mid-fire.

“The shield must have come on,” Borsk7 said. “It’s working, Commander. But that means no fighting can take place close to Dirg, right?”

Brandon didn’t answer. Instead, he leaned down and activated the mine targeting screen. It showed the Azaarian ships near them as potential mark objectives. Brandon changed the screen to bring up the deployment mapping system. In a few more seconds, he had it zoomed in to the area above Dirg where the enemy’s satellites were bunched.

The mapping system held an accurate image of planet Dirg before them. It asked about current enemy activity in the area. Best he could, Brandon used the touch screen feature to draw a crude map around Dirg and identify the enemy position. He then entered the space right outside the satellite deployment area as an anticipated enemy destination.

The system came back with several suggested deployment schemes. Brandon didn’t know why one would be better than another, so he picked one at random. The system wanted to know how many ITF2’s would be involved in the deployment, and how many mines each had. Brandon entered the correct information. The system calculated for a few seconds. It then fed back a completed deployment scheme, ready to transmit to the other three vessels.

Brandon looked up—just in time to see the enemy’s satellites resume firing upon Dirg.

“The drones are firing again, Commander. Looks like you were right.” Borsk7 looked down at the mine targeting screen. “You have a deployment scheme figured?”

“Yes.” Brandon fiddled with the controls one last time. “It’s uploaded and ready to send now. Transmit it to our three sister ships. Tell them to prepare for coordinated deployment.”

Borsk7 hesitated, but only for a second.

“Yes, Commander. Anything you say. Where are we putting them?”

“Near the enemy’s satellite cluster. On a likely approach route from their current position.”

Now Borsk7 objected. “The drones have their own defense systems, and are impenetrable. Why you suspect the enemy will move to support them?”

“Because we’ll be there,” Brandon said. “Attempting to convince the enemy we’ve devised an effective method of disabling the satellites.”

*

“The sun is sinking fast,” Alan said.

Jumper looked at the sky. “We’re almost to the ground, and making good time. Should be back in the city before it’s too dark.”

Casanova bumped against Shaldan as they came together on a narrow portion of the overgrown trail. When they touched, Casanova stopped and rubbed his head on Shaldan’s ribs.

Kayla giggled half-heartedly. “He’s sure taken a liking to you.”

“Maybe he’s still apologizing for the shoulder injury he gave me the other day.” Shaldan scratched behind Casanova’s ears. “I’ll take his leash for a while if you like.”

Kayla hesitated, but then surrendered the leash with a warm smile. It was nice to see her acting somewhat normal. Alan was worried about her being traumatized after the events of the day. Kayla was a formidable warrior when called for, but she was still a woman. And none of them actually wanted to be warriors anywhere but on a nice safe Banorian mercenary course where the lasers were harmless.

“I hope your rescue party is okay,” Kayla said to Shaldan.

“I’m sure they are, with all the caving skills they possess.” Shaldan nudged Casanova forward. “And they’re young, full of energy. Only ones I could find to come with me. Thank Erob the tupinx fascination ended today, or I wouldn’t have been able to recruit anyone.”

Kayla shook her head. “What’s wrong with these people?”

“I think I know,” Jumper said.

Everyone looked at him.

“They live their lives in a cave, oblivious to everything happening outside their hole in the ground. We’ve seen how obsessive they can be over whatever happens to capture their attention. You can’t tear them away from it until they decide they’ve had enough. Then they move on to something new. It doesn’t matter if the world around them is crumbling. They won’t take notice, or even move to protect themselves, until it’s too late. They wear blinders of their own choosing, and then fall victim to them.”

“You know how ironic it is to hear you say that, honey?”

Jumper turned to Kayla. “Because of my past personal obsession with polwar, you mean? You might have a point. But I did pull my head out, didn’t I? Maybe that’s why I now see things differently, I don’t know. I do know there’s a whole galaxy of things happening around us. A fool can ignore it all, no one else. Good things, bad things, interesting things, boring things. If you pay no attention to your larger environment, sooner or later somebody will come along and take everything you have.”

Kayla laughed. “Now that sounds like Brandon talking.”

Alan spoke. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve had enough of caves for a while. When we get home I’m going to ask Derek if we can move some of the production facility outside. And Shaldan, I don’t mind telling you I was more than a little nervous a few minutes ago when you were calling into that cavern for your companions.”

“Me too,” Jumper and Kayla said in unison.

Shaldan laughed. “Sorry about that. I wasn’t comfortable with it, either. But I wanted to make sure they weren’t still hiding in there. They probably got back to the city by now. I half-expected to hear those horrible alien voices shout insults at us from that cave, too.”

“What were those insults, anyway?” Kayla asked. “I couldn’t understand them. It only sounded like bits and pieces of familiar words to me.”

“I understood them,” Alan said. “I was closest to the hole in the rocks. They were poor imitations of Sulienite accents, but I could make out what they were saying. They called us …capitalist dogs, among other things.”

Jumper pointed at Shaldan. “They must have been talking to our Mparian friend here. What were the other things?”

Alan looked to see Shaldan’s reaction before answering, but he was stumbling ahead as Casanova began pulling him.

“Don’t let him control you,” Kayla shouted after Shaldan. “He’ll take you off into the brush if you let him. Remember the thorn plants!”

Alan turned back to Jumper. “More stuff like that. Evil classists, extortionists, exploitive profiteers. Oh, and some stuff about being weak. Said we ‘Erobians’ weren’t worthy of being their pets.”

“Erobians?”

“Yeah, none of us Erobians were good enough to be in his animal pen, or something.”

“Did he mean Erobs? Why would he call us Erobs? That’s hardly an insult.”

Alan shook his head. “I don’t think he meant Erobs. I think he was categorizing us with the natives, or more likely all natives in this part of the galaxy.”

“You mean all members of the ancient Erob coalition?”

“Possibly.”

Jumper cocked his head. “That’s interesting.”

“Why?” Alan asked.

“Just wondering who the horned aliens are, and where they came from. I don’t remember studying any species that looked like them. Do you?”

“No. But it’s been a while since—”

“Never seen anything like them on Amulen, either,” Jumper continued. “If they’re insulting all members of the Erob coalition, they’re obviously not from a member world.”

“Maybe not even from the Erobian Sphere at all,” Alan said.

Jumper nodded. “Now that’s an intriguing thought. Never even considered that.” He laughed. “See, I was living in a cave again, only looking at our little part of the galaxy.”

“I don’t mind being called a capitalist,” Kayla said. “Or even a profiteer. Not crazy about dog or extortionist. But if that’s the best they can do, they’re no better at hurling insults than they are at fighting. Sorry I asked now. Do we have to keep talking about them?”

“They’re socialists,” Jumper said. He looked at Alan and Kayla. “You guys didn’t have nutty dads who forced you to take advanced economics classes. So for your information, that’s why those things they called us are insults. To them, probably the worst insults they could muster. Not so much to us. To Shaldan, probably compliments. But they also seem to see themselves as a genetically superior race. Must have been quite a blow to their ego to have been outsmarted by inferior beings. Thanks to you, Alan.”

“Yeah,” Kayla said. “Nice work back there, Alan.” Alan could tell Kayla meant what she said, but her voice was still less enthusiastic than normal.

Jumper put his arm around her. “Okay honey, I’m done. Let’s try and keep up with Shaldan and your precious kitty cat.”

They failed at that. Casanova had too much energy left. He dragged poor Shaldan into a trot twenty or thirty meters ahead of them, where the two stayed even after Alan, Jumper, and Kayla increased their pace. Alan brought up the rear. He walked as fast as he could while still watching where he placed his feet. It’d be bad to incur an ankle injury this close from the sanctuary of the city.

The hiking became easier the farther they descended, as the trail they followed was more recently used at lower elevations. When they got down among the foothills, Alan could see where the trail mercifully ended on the ground in a cove ahead of them.

That’s when he heard the noise.

“Wait,” Alan said.

Jumper and Kayla turned around. “What?”

Alan pointed to the northwest. “Did you hear something?”

They both took their weapons out of their belts. No one said anything. Finally, Kayla spoke.

“Like what?”

“Maybe a ship.”

They all stood still for another moment. Jumper looked particularly alarmed.

“I’m getting nothing, Alan. How clear did you hear it?”

“Not very.”

Jumper scanned the horizons. “If you did hear a ship, let’s hope it was from The Measure. They’re due back.”

“What do you suppose happened to the mining equipment delivery,” Kayla said as she examined her weapon. “The one Trodenjo and his brother went to go check on. I remember thinking they were more than a little surprised that it never arrived.”

“I don’t even want to guess now,” Jumper said. “No one seemed to be aware of any hostile alien activity here before today. And aren’t you the one who wanted to stop talking about this?”

Kayla didn’t answer. She fired her laser instead, at the ground across the slope.

Alan and Jumper instantly crouched and aimed their weapons at the same spot. What was she shooting at? Her beam suddenly grew weak, became segmented, and flickered out. Kayla then appeared to notice how anxious Alan and Jumper looked.

“Sorry, guys. Just testing. I suspected it was near dead. Unfortunately, I was right. Now totally dead. The ‘superior race’ of horned aliens makes inferior hand lasers. They don’t hold a charge very long. The technology is foreign, so we can’t charge it back up. It’s useless. Alan, how’s yours?”

Alan pointed his inferior alien laser at the same spot on the ground Kayla shot at and fired. It was a repeat performance. The beam fragmented, flickered, and died.

“Give it to me,” Kayla said. “These are now a liability, not an asset.”

Alan handed her his weapon. Kayla scanned the ground as they continued through the foothills. She came to a dead tree trunk with a hole in it, and unceremoniously dropped the empty lasers through it.

Jumper spoke. “Firing those on the hillside was stupid, honey. It’s close to dusk and they might have been seen from a long ways off.”

Alan cringed. Kayla really, really, really didn’t like to be called stupid. Alan hadn’t heard Jumper use that word to her in many years.

“Yeah,” Kayla said. “You might be right. Sorry. I’m having a bad day.” Alan breathed again.

They came out the trailhead into the cove. It felt good to be on flat ground again. Alan looked back and forth.

“Where’s Shaldan and Casanova?”

“I just saw them here,” Kayla said. “Maybe Casanova pulled him around the corner.”

They walked out of the cove a short ways. The entrance to the city was barely visible in the distance, but a welcoming beacon nonetheless. A thirty minute jog would probably get them home. But there was no Shaldan and Casanova. They turned around.

“There they are,” Kayla said. “Inside the brush line.”

She raised her voice to shout.

“I warned you, Shaldan! Don’t let him boss you around!”

At that moment, the unmistakable sound of a speeding spaceship came from the top of the mountain behind them, above the area they were climbing this morning. The three of them spun back around and looked up.

It wasn’t Trodenjo’s shuttle. It was two fighter craft, moving fast. In the time it took Alan to shield his eyes and squint, they were halfway down the mountainside, coming straight for them.

Alan recognized them. They weren’t from The Measure.

“The dark enemy!” he said. “Run!”

Alan followed Kayla and Jumper in an all-out sprint towards Shaldan and Casanova in the brush. He could see them in there, looking up at the incoming ships. They were so close, yet so far away under the circumstances. Just another ten or fifteen seconds—that’s all they needed to make it to cover. They had to make it. Surely they would make it after all they’d been through today.

They didn’t. A large laser beam from one of the fighters cut them off. It fired to the ground before them, blocking their way to the foothills. They were forced to halt. Alan could feel the heat from it.