Merkiaari Wars: 01 - Hard Duty (21 page)

“I hear,” Kajika said calmly. “Target locked, but still out of range.”

“Inform the elders of what is occurring,” he said without taking his eyes from the display. They were gaining, but much too slowly. How could a heavy fang, even an alien one, accelerate so fast?

“I hear,” Jozka said.

Tei’Varyk pressed a control on his station and another screen lit. “Tei’Unwin,
Chakra
pursues.”

“I hear, Tei. I have been monitoring.”

Tei’Unwin was
Chakra’s
alternate commander. It was comforting to know that
Chakra
would be well cared for when Tei’Varyk was gone.

“I knew you would be. In the event
Chakra’s
command deck is destroyed, you will command. I order the alien
disabled
at all costs, even that of
Chakra
himself.”

“I hear,” Tei’Unwin said grimly. “It will be done.”

Tei’Varyk keyed the screen clear and noted the alien was pulling ahead. It was incredible. No heavy fang could accelerate like this.

“The elders say good hunting,” Jozka said.

“I hear,” he said. “Anything else?”

“They say
Hekja
,
Hoth
, and
Neifon
come.”

His ears twitched and relief flooded through him. “I hear.”

Three heavy fangs should be more than enough. The alien was still opening the range, but it was deep in system and would not escape. Even if he knew where the ship was trying to escape to, which he didn’t, he was certain it could not… but where
was
it going? Tei’Varyk shifted uncomfortably at his station. Unanswerable questions always made him twitchy. This one had been asked time and time again without an answer. Who knew where the Murderers came from?

“Display current location of
Hoth
,
Hekja
, and
Neifon
,” he said.

The viewer cleared and a tactical map of the system appeared. The three heavy fangs were moving to envelop the alien while
Chakra
chased him into the trap. It was too easy. He knew it was, but what else could he do?

Nothing.

“Go to maximum emergency power,” Tei’Varyk said quietly and ignored the hisses of shock.

“I hear,” Jakinda said prayerfully. “Accelerating to maximum emergency power.”

Now they were gaining, Tei’Varyk noted with approval.

* * *

Aboard ASN Invincible, Shan System

“The cruiser is gaining, Captain. CIC reports that the three heavies will be in range in two minutes,” Commander Hamilton reported.

Monroe nodded and studied the data on her number two monitor that CIC (Combat Information Centre) had gathered for her. She turned her attention to another of her repeater displays. Her number one monitor was currently mirroring in miniature the data displayed at Commander Hamilton’s station.

“Very good, XO,” Monroe said and turned to the helm. “Charge the jump drive.”

“Aye, Skipper,” Lieutenant Hadden said. “Drive will be hot in three minutes.”

“This might be a little tight,” she murmured uneasily. “Weps, point defence free, but no aggressive action.
Defensive
only.
Clear?
”

“Aye, aye, sir,” Irene Bishop replied. “Point defence online, no aggressive action.”

“Helm, go to evasive when necessary. Don’t wait for the order.”

“Aye, aye, Skipper,” Lieutenant Hadden replied tensely and firmed his grip upon
Invincible’s
stick.

* * *

Aboard Chakra, in pursuit of alien ship, Shan System

“Alien in range. Target lock confirmed… firing!” Kajika said.

Tei’Varyk watched
Chakra’s
claws reach out to rend the alien ship, but Kajika missed. Tei’Varyk leaned forward to study the data more closely. No, he hadn’t missed.
Chakra’s
eyes reported a definite hit, but the alien was unaffected. Tei’Varyk’s hackles rose and he shivered in fright. If
Chakra’s
main energy mounts could not hurt it, what would?

“No effect,” Kajika reported.

“Engage with secondary weapons, engage with everything!” Tei’Varyk gasped in shock when all his hits produced no effect.

“I hear,” Kajika said. “Launching torpedoes, firing secondary mounts, firing primaries.”

Tei’Varyk watched the torpedoes impact and detonate, but this time they definitely missed. Just as they reached terminal range, something detached from the alien and the torpedoes impacted it. Again,
Chakra’s
torpedoes flew straight to the target, and again they were decoyed off track.

“Save his torpedoes. Go to maximum rate of fire on all energy mounts.”

“I hear, Tei,” Kajika said making the adjustment on his panel. “Firing energy weapons at maximum.”

“
Chakra
slows!” Jakinda reported.

Tei’Varyk flicked his ears in agreement and watched grimly.
Chakra’s
weapons were energy hogs. Maximum rate of fire was causing him to sacrifice energy normally reserved for propulsion.

“Continue action,” he ordered grimly.

“I hear,” Kajika said.

“I hear,” Jakinda said. “Main propulsion heating beyond critical. Failure imminent.”

“Reduce by twenty percent and continue pursuit,” he said without fuss. He had been monitoring the situation closely on his own panel.

“I hear,” Jakinda said in relief as
Chakra’s
great engines cooled into the safe zone once again.

Chakra
was losing the alien now, but it would remain in range for a while longer. The heavy fangs were just coming into range, and would have to take over from
Chakra
unless Tei’Varyk could somehow slow the alien. He could think of no way to do that. Everything he could do was being done.

“Alien wreckage detected,” Tarjei yelped in glee.

“Well done, Kajika!” Tei’Varyk howled his own excitement. “Continue action.”

“I hear!”

* * *

Aboard ASN Invincible, Shan System

Damage control parties scrambled in the darkness trying to patch the hole in
Invincible’s
defences. She had lost her aft launchers and boat bay, but worse than that; she was breached passed frame two hundred all the way to two-fifty. Over a dozen crewmen were killed when shrapnel shredded their uniforms opening them to vacuum. Finally, power was restored and the full horror was revealed. Dead crewmen littered the deck with blood and fluids splashed over the walls where the absolute zero of space it had frozen it solid.

“All right people,” O’Malley said coldly. “There’s nothing we can do for them. Get that blast door shut. We seal this section or we can’t jump.”

Swede lifted the wreckage clear by main strength and forced the hatch shut. Men rushed forward to help and welded it in position. The damage control party moved on, repairing what it could, sealing what it could not.

On the bridge, smoke hung thickly, but no one took notice. Monroe raged at the loss of her people, but she would not be the cause of another interstellar war. She could not,
would not
, fire back. She grimly held to her composure and watched the heavies bear down on her.

“Damage control to bridge. She’s sealed, Skipper, but I don’t know for how long,” O’Malley reported.

Monroe’s eyes snapped up to Keith Hadden at the helm. “Execute!”

“Executing.”

ASN Invincible
gathered herself and jumped into fold space as a dozen torpedoes raced through the wake caused by activation of a jump drive. The tiny computer brains were no longer able to find a target, and as a safety precaution, they detonated.

* * *

Aboard Chakra, Shan System

“Target lost,” Tarjei said fiercely.

Everyone was grinning and celebrating their victory, but Tei’Varyk stared at the empty display in puzzled silence. There was something just before the final explosion, he was sure of it.

“Tarjei, look for debris,” he said quietly and caused a profound silence to descend on the command deck.

“I hear. Scanning for debris, indications…” she said in stunned realisation. “Indications negative!”

Hisses of shock and outrage sounded from all sides as they realised the alien had escaped. How was it possible? One moment it was fleeing, the next it was gone. The explosion had blinded
Chakra’s
eyes for a moment, but that was not enough time for the alien to escape.

Tei’Varyk studied his now empty tactical display. “Jakinda, search pattern at last known coordinates.”

“I hear,” Jakinda said and brought
Chakra
onto a new heading.

Tei’Varyk turned his station to Jozka. “Contact
Hoth
,
Hekja
, and
Neifon
. Tell them what we have discovered and ask that they search with us.”

“I hear,” Jozka said.

He flexed his claws in frustration. There was nothing on
Chakra’s
display to say the alien had ever existed. Tei’Varyk flicked his ears in annoyance with himself and turned to Tarjei.

“Replay last action.”

“Time index?” Tarjei asked.

“Just as the heavies fire their torpedoes.”

“I hear.”

Tarjei displayed the data frozen on the main viewer. Everyone, except Jozka who was busy talking to the commanders of the heavy fangs, turned to watch the screen.

“Advance at twice speed… stop,” Tei’Varyk ordered when the scene reached the point he wanted. “Play at one half.”

“I hear.” Tarjei turned a control on her panel.

Tei’Varyk watched again as
Chakra’s
claws reached out to tear and rend the alien. He noted the tiny amount of damage he had inflicted, and his lips rippled back in worry and fear.

“Slow to one tenth,” he said.

“I hear.”

The torpedoes approached at a crawl, and then it happened. Space itself shimmered and twisted. The alien ship seemed to glow blue for an instant before it twisted violently and disappeared. Tei’Varyk’s shock was complete, and so was that of his crew. The alien had not been hit by the torpedoes and destroyed, it had escaped somehow. The torpedoes lost lock as they watched and detonated as they were programmed to do in these cases. The screen flashed white as the violence of the explosion overloaded
Chakra’s
eyes, and then the star speckled black of space returned.

“The alien escaped us,” Tei’Varyk said quietly. “Contact the elders, I must tell them what has happened.”

“I hear,” Jozka said.

“Reverse course back to where we first encountered the alien.”

“I hear, Tei.
Chakra
turns to new heading, one-two-eight by zero-zero-two.”

Why had the alien shown itself and then run? Was it possible there was more than one? It could be. They had been unable to find one, why not two or three or even more?

“The elders await,” Jozka said.

“I hear. Call Tei’Unwin to take my place here. I will speak to the elders in my chambers.”

“I hear, Tei.” Jozka hunched over his consol.

Tei’Varyk stood and left the command deck. He was tired after all the excitement of the pursuit. He had been sitting for far too long, but strangely his legs felt wobbly. Fright. No doubt he would start shedding later. His people always shed when stressed—it was part of being born Shan. Would they ever find a cure for it? His people had made so many advances in the time since the war, that one would scarcely recognise the way they lived these days. The war wasn’t all bad he supposed, though it was a shocking thought. If not for the war he would not be living in space, which he loved, commanding a ship that he also loved.

“Where do aliens come from?” he mused as he made his way along the empty corridor. “Other planets orbiting other suns obviously.”

That being true, how did they travel the vast distances from one sun to another? Faster than light travel had been theorised by the elders since time began. It was generally accepted as being impossible, but what if it wasn’t? The Murderers came from somewhere, and now these new aliens had also come. He had accepted that these aliens were not the Murderers of old. It became obvious as soon as he had a clear view of their ship. Maybe the blue light and the twisting was an FTL drive. But it was impossible… was it not?

Tei’Varyk growled irritably. He entered his chambers and keyed the terminal alive. The screen lightened to show three very old and grey-streaked Shan.

He bowed. “Honoured elders, I fear I have failed you.”

“Nonsense, Tei’Varyk,” Kajetan said from her position in the centre. She was the speaker for the elders. “
Chakra
was the only ship to detect the alien intrusion. The only ship to find them again, and now you are the only one to have noticed this new data. We are pleased with you.”

“I hear, Kajetan.
Chakra
is on route to the inner belt to discover what the alien ship found so interesting. I have theorised that there might be more than one ship.”