Authors: R. M. Meluch

The Ninth Circle (42 page)

The fighters were traveling at sublight speeds. Still, they were a lot faster than bullets and just as easy to see. And their beam shots moved at speed of light. The fighters had converged on
Bagheera
in a heartbeat with a hail of tags and great flashes of beam fire.

The brothers couldn’t count them. The ship’s system was counting only thirty-seven discrete plots.

“They’re good shots,” said Leo, feeling as if he’d been physically pummeled. Fortunately, the Xerxes’ energy field was everything it was supposed to be.

“They’ve done this before,” said Nox, standing behind him.

“I’ve done all the simulations,” said Leo. “There wasn’t anything like this.” Ran the back of his hand across his upper lip again.

“That’s because the Xerxes is meant to repel pirates, not
be
the pirates,” said Nox. “You’re doing fine, Leo.” Gave his left shoulder a quick squeeze.

Leo replayed the computer record of the encounter, slower and illuminated, to show the brothers what the human eye could not see.

One of the attackers, a small one-man attack craft, crossed the leopard’s bow.

“Freeze that,” said Nox.

The image froze.

Nox felt cold. “Those are Swifts.”

“Significant of what?” Nicanor said testily.

“It’s a U.S. Fleet Marine attack craft. That model is carried by only two ships.
Merrimack
and
Monitor
.”

All eyes turned upward, as if the brothers might see the space battleship through the overhead.

Caesar
did
mention there might be a space battleship.

“
Merrimack
is here,” Nox said.

“Not
Monitor
?” Leo said, puzzled. How would Nox know the ship was one and not the other?

“It’s
Merrimack
,” Nox said.

“Find her,” said Nicanor.

It wasn’t hard. One plot was much larger than the other thirty-six. That ship was running dark on the night side of the world. Leo brought the image up on the monitor.

The ship’s upper and lower sails and her swept-back wings gave her the aspect of a barbaric spearhead. Her gun turrets swiveled, hunting. Her gun blisters were all open. Six huge engines gave her steroidal bulges. The Stars and Stripes were painted on her hull, alongside her name,
Merrimack
.

“Can we hit her!” said Orissus. “I’d love to take a crack at John Farragut.”

Anywhere in the Roman Empire, in almost any pub, you could find a dartboard with John Farragut’s face on it. At any shooting range you could get a likeness of John Farragut on your target.

“He’s not on board,” said Nox.

Faunus said, “
Merrimack
is John Farragut’s ship.”

“No,” said Nox. “Not since war’s end. He’s got a ground assignment.”

“You sure?”

“Trust me. Anyway, you’re not hitting
Merrimack
with that box of pencils we’re carrying. Caesar wants us on the planet.”

“How do we get there?” Leo asked from the helm. “Alive.”

“Wait them out?” Galeo suggested. “We’re almost safe as long as we stay FTL.”

Nox didn’t like it. “The longer we wait, the more time they have to figure out a way to get at us. Like Caesar found a way to get at us.”

“How did he do that?” asked Nicanor. “Do we know?”

“We don’t,” said Nox. “All I can guess is he got some kind of tracking code from the Italian government or from the manufacturer.”

None of them liked the idea of waiting.

“We have our choice of executioners,” said Leo. “There’s a whole bunch of little skat. Then there’s the space battleship.”

“All we need to do is get into the atmosphere before they get a lock on us. Even the Americans won’t blow up an antimatter-powered vessel inside the atmosphere,” said Nox.

“That’s all,” said Leo fatalistically. “Piece of cake.”

Nox told him, “Keep us in as tight to the atmosphere as you can without losing stealth before we try entry. At least it will take out most of their possible shots. They can’t shoot downward.”

“Just what makes you think they can’t shoot down?”

“Because they’re not shooting down,” said Nox. “Play back the tactical log again. You’ll see. They don’t want to shoot at the planet.”

Pallas saw what Nox meant. “They’re guarding the planet. They don’t dare miss.”

“Neither do I.” Leo slammed the Xerxes back through the light barrier to sublight speed. The transition made the ship instrument-visible for a moment.

That moment brought not just a shower of tags and shots, but converging hostiles.

The Swifts were coming off their positions hugging the planet.

The Xerxes regained its stealth after its transition to sublight, and Leo changed course. Changed course again. He drove the undetectable ship on a jagged path around the world, while the Swifts swarmed toward each of its last sightings.

“Wing. This is Wing Leader. Do not let yourselves get drawn off the horizon! You will be flanked!”

Bagheera
ran in, unseen, under the Swifts, straight at the planet.

“Too steep! Too steep! Leo, we’re too—”

Shit!

Tactical: “Target sighted! He’s entering atmo!”

Targeting: “There he goes. There he goes.”

Tracking: “Here he comes! Here he comes!”

“He
bounced!
” Tactical cried, coming out of his seat. “He bounced off the air! Get him! Get him! Get him!”

Merrimack’s
tracking system automatically sent the Xerxes’ loc to the targeting systems of all fighter craft.

The Swifts opened fire.

“Got him got him got him—”

“Tag! You’re—”

“Gone.”

“
What?”

Bagheera
escaped with a panic leap to FTL.

Leo bent over his console, breathing hard. Finally spoke. “Screwed that, didn’t I?”

“We’re still here,
frater
,” said Nox. Spilled milk was never on the menu. “Get us ready to sublight again. We know they’ll see us. And we know there’ll be another barrage of shooting. We can survive that.”

“Shoot back,” said Orissus.

“To what end?” said Nicanor. “Realistically.”

“It could back ’em up,” said Orissus.

“No. It will just scatter
our
attention from what we’re trying to get done, and it will annoy
them
,” said Nicanor.

Nox added, “These hombres and hembras do not back up.”

Galeo said, “Sure we don’t want to back off and try again later?”

“No. This is it,” said Leo. “Get this done. Nox, where do you want me to drive?”

“Snug in close to the battleship,” said Nox. “Get right under her.”

“We’ll be vaporized,” said Faunus. “That’s the
Merrimack
.”

“I know it’s the
Merrimack
,” said Nox. “She can’t see us. Get us between her and the planet. Tuck up close enough to smell her.”

Leo, getting fanciful in the face of death, said, “You can’t smell in vacuum.”

Leo piloted
Bagheera
into the shadow of the planet where
Merrimack
lurked. The space battleship had her running lights off. The view through the Xerxes’ viewports was black.

Only
Bagheera
’s instrument display told the brothers when they passed silent, unseen, underneath
Merrimack
.

“I can smell her,” said Nox.

Merrimack will not shoot me.

I think Merrimack will not shoot me.

I hope it’s quick if Merrimack shoots me.