Alpha One: The Kronan (7 page)

Hoskins stood in disbelief as the Clipper destroyed first one, then a second and a third cruiser. It was Commander Shen Knui who broke the silence that had descended onto the floor of the Halo 7 bridge.

“The Kryl ship must have taken control over the Clipper and somehow knocked the shields out for the other cruisers. We need to stop them from attacking us.”

Hoskins was shaken back to reality, as it dawned on him, that his first officer was right.

“We need to keep our distance Number One. If we get too close...can we knock out the Clippers weaponry arrays?”

“Difficult from here. We would need to get closer. We could launch more Jump Ships.”

“No. That would be futile and would just mean more loss of life. We need to communicate with the Clipper and try to get them to stand down or to pull away from the Kryl ship. Send a ship to ship comm. link.”

“Commander. We need to draw the Clipper away from the Kryl ship so they release the hold they have over her. We could cause a particle shock wave between them. That should force the two ships apart.”

Hoskins was impressed. Commander Shen Knui had already proven herself a quick thinker, but this idea was definitely out of the unusual box. A shock wave could be created by detonating the mix of positive and negatively charged ions emitted from an ion drive. To be successful, The Halo 7 would need to engage her ion drive and then project the resultant exhaust into the gap between the Kryl ship and the Clipper. Not an easy task, but it could work.

“Agreed. Engage the ion drive and take us about Mister Peterson. Number One, calculate the parameters required.”

“Already done. We need to apply reverse thrust to these coordinates.”

“Won’t that take us too close to the Kryl Ship? We could enhance the ion drive ratios. That way we would not need to get so close.”

“A good point, Mister Peterson.” His Bridge officer was right on the mark, as usual. “Number One, recalculate with enhanced ratios. It seems the Kryl Commander is waiting for us to act, rather than take the Clipper out or pursue us. Let’s mix it up a bit. Target the Kryl ship with a burst of Teutonic missiles, before we engage reverse thrust. That should keep them busy.”

“Number One. Can you arrange for our Jump Ships to return and prepare the SD drive to re-engage for a fast exit? Plot the parameters in manually. That way if we get to close, the Kryl will have no time to coerce us into moving closer.”

* * * *

“Teutonic tubes loaded and all Jump Ships in the hanger, Sir.”

“Fire at will. Target and disperse ion dive exhaust and ignite.”

The Teutonic missiles hit their target, but had little effect against the apparently strengthening Kryl shields. They did though briefly detract from the Halo 7’s new tactical position. The ion drive discharge ignited and the Kryl ship and the Clipper began to separate.

The Kryl commanders obviously ran out of patience and the advantage gained was never enough. Instead of responding directly against the Halo 7, they opened up a barrage of plasma fire against the Clipper, whose shields had been deactivated. The Clipper was paralyzed moments later.

“Get us out of here Mister Peterson. Engage SD now!”

The Halo 7’s powerful SD drive engaged immediately and she pulled away from the dying Clipper and the Kryl vessel but the advantage was short-lived.

“Sir, she is in pursuit. She is gaining on us.”

“Increase to SD6. Let’s see how fast this Kryl cruiser can go.”

The new stellar drive smoothly pushed the Halo 7, faster. At first, the Kryl ship matched her but pulled back once it became evident that the chase was futile.

“She is backing off and turning about. Looks like she is back on course to the Tri-star System.”

* * * *

Hoskins was in his ready room and Commander Shen Knui had just joined him. They started their post battle analysis and Shen Knui was summarizing.

“Our conventional weapons were ineffective and we could not get close enough to charge up the PBA. Her shields were actually getting stronger and not weaker. How are we going to destroy them, if we can’t get close enough to them?”

“I think we already know that this Kryl ship is unusual. The Kryl cruisers we engaged in the original Tri-star Battle had good protective shields, but not as strong as these. The ability to assume control of our ships is also a new thing. It all tends to suggest that they have another Winterburn aboard.”

“A Kronan?”

“Possibly. In which case, this ship may well be the single most important target we have. If we can destroy her, then we may be able to stop the other Kryl by more conventional means.”

“That depends on how many there may be and if they send any more ships.”

“Let’s leave that for Admiral Koenig. Now that I have sent my report, they will be able to disseminate and reflect further. In the mean time, we need to reset our course for the Tri-star System and see if we can seek out the Kryl ship again. Thank you Number One. We can discuss this again later.”

The little Cartholodite Commander left the ready room and Hoskins reflected on a bad mornings work. His first fleet was obliterated and the loss of life under his command just reached the thousand mark. He would have to start the process of reporting their loss. He would need a crew manifest for each ship, so that he could at least make some brief but positive reflections about each lost crew member. This would be a long and difficult task and right now, he needed Lieutenant Obeya Temsouri.

The comm. link reply was prompt and to the point. He had asked his mistress to join him in his quarters.

Jake was awoken by the noise of a huge ore freighter departing from the South Downs Space Port. The roar from the gargantuan ion drive, sent a series of rhythmic shudders through the air, each seemingly creating a mini earthquake as they travelled away from the ship and into the distance. Not that this was unusual. Freighters and other large vessels lifted off from the spaceport many times a day. However, today Jake could not see them through his apartment window. He remained confined to his stasis chamber with a medical droid for his companion.

“How are you today, Mister Carter?”

“Just fine...at least I will be when I am released from this contraption. Will a medic be visiting today?”

“Yes, a visit is scheduled. You have made good progress and it is likely you will be released from the chamber. I would recommend that you do try to keep as still as possible though, your sporadic movements will not assist the healing process.”

The two and a half-meter long open-top chamber stood on a platform in the center of Jake bedroom—where his bed usually stood. Jake lay on curved body foam, immersed to his neck and surrounded by a clear viscous gel, with contact pressure pads attached to his abdomen and to each limb. Every movement he made altered the shape of the body foam to which he lay and although movement was restrictive, it was possible and to a degree necessary to prevent muscular decay. Fidgeting or rapid body movements were discouraged, as the body foam needed time to adapt to the change in shapes formed by the body. The gel was the healer. Its chemical properties, constantly adapting via a plethora of tubes connecting to a control center on the outside of the chamber, as the patients healing process continued. The stasis chamber was now the method to facilitate fast healing of multiple injury, meaning that even the most paralyzing of injuries, including back and head trauma could be dealt with quickly and effectively, with the patient, usually making a full recovery.

Jake sighed. “Okay. Can you open a comm. link...to Carla?”

The droid became Jake’s constant companion, since his return from Titus 3, five days ago. He received visitors, of course, but the droid only allowed twenty minutes per visit. Jake was uncomfortable, bored and desperate for some real human company.

* * * *

“Hi, Jake. How are you this morning sweetheart?”

Carla’s perfect features beamed at him from his comm. link panel.

“I just want to get out of here!”

“Your medic told me yesterday, that you should be released today. You should be back to normal after a few hours of adaptive muscle therapy.”

“And get on with my revision. This has really put me behind.”

“Jake, you are lucky to be alive. Your crash was serious. The academy will not make you sit your finals, if you are not ready and anyway you still have two weeks.”

“Is that Steve, I can see in the background? What the hell is he doing in your apartment so early in the morning?”

“He slept on the couch Jake. We were revising late last night and I told him to stay.”

“I thought...”

“Now is not the time to discuss this Jake. We can talk later. I am going in late today, as I want to be by your side, when you are released. There are no issues here. Let’s just get you out and then I can give you a big hug. I have missed you.”

“I have missed you too. I’ll see you a little later.”

Jake hung up. He was not happy. Carla and he had discussed how best to help Steve get back on track and with Jake away at the TG, Carla was Steve’s best chance to get through graduation. Carla suggested that maybe she should let Steve think that they still stood a chance, post graduation. Jake objected but she reassured him that she would allow nothing to happen and that she would only be acting this way, to give Steve something to aim for. Once they graduated, Steve would be free from what he saw as the unnatural encumbrance of the academy, free to pursue his dream of piloting a Jump Ship as a career. He would be able to take rejection much better, especially as he could well be posted on the other side of the galaxy within a few weeks. The policy was working; Steve was back on track and would be ready for his finals, something almost unthinkable a few weeks ago.

Somehow, Jake doubted it would be easy for Steve to let go, once they graduated and still in the back of his mind, was the nagging doubt that Carla, despite her assertions to the contrary, could one day go back to Steve.

Jake’s thought process was interrupted, by the arrival of his parents.

* * * *

His parent’s daily visit was restricted to twenty minutes and Jake was then left on his own once again to ponder the situation with Carla and Steve before the medic arrived for what Jake hoped would be the termination of the stasis process.

The medic studied the various monitors for a few minutes, before speaking.

“I am switching off the stasis chamber now. You will feel the gel drain quite quickly and then a sudden numbness, which will clear within a few minutes as your body adapts to its change in surroundings. You have made very good progress Mister Carter. The healing process is complete and you will be up walking again by this afternoon.”

“That soon? I have been stuck in this chamber for five days. I don’t think I can just stand up and start jumping up and down!”

“Of course not, although you should be walking perfectly normally. The adaptive muscle therapy will kick in automatically, once the gel drains. We do not hang about these days, Mister Carter. We need the chamber to pass on to the next patient and some technicians will be here within an hour to collect it and to restore your apartment to its original state. I am signing you off now.”

* * * *

Once again, Jake was left on his own. He felt the muscle therapy begin to massage and manipulate his joints, although there was no perceivable movement. He did feel numb but it was diminishing. By the time, his medical droid next attended with his lunch, the muscle stimulation process was complete.

“You should be able to stand.”

Jake felt anxious but he saw that the droid believed he was ready. He sat up and to his surprise, he found he could move both his arms and legs with comparative ease. He stood briefly before immediately sitting down again. He felt a little dizzy.

“You will feel a little unsteady for a few minutes. I suggest you take your lunch in the armchair. You should try to walk to it now.”

The rather metallic, almost nasal voice of the droid was typically matter-of-fact. Jake stood again. Slowly and gingerly, he walked from the chamber to the chair, which stood on the other side of the room, facing his workstation and the window.

The droid brought his lunch to him and then proceeded to disconnect the stasis chamber.

Carla arrived a few minutes later and was overjoyed to see that Jake was out of the chamber and was sitting up. She leaned over, kissed him, and then sat down next to him.

“If I had known you would be out already, I would have been here earlier. I wanted to be there for you when you were released from the tank.”

“It all happened rather fast...sorry.”

“That’s okay. The most important thing is that you are up and about. Have you tried to walk yet?”

“Only from the chamber to the chair. Feels okay...a bit weird though.”

“It’s bound to. You were off your feet for about ten days and it was a nasty accident. Your mother has told me that she wants you walking properly this afternoon.”

“Typical doctor! She’d have me climbing a mountain this afternoon!”

“Yes, probably. Let’s not get carried away. We can try walking in a bit. Right now, I want to talk to you about this Steve thing. We need to make sure we have our stories right. He is bound to be here soon.”

Here we go
, thought Jake. What exactly was she going to tell him?

“I didn’t know he was coming today?”

“Of course he is. He’s supposed to be your best friend Jake. Even with us being together, that’s still something you want to preserve isn’t it?”

“Yes, but not if it gets in the way of you and me. This is precious time Carla. In a few weeks time, we could be separated by light years of space and God knows when we will see each other again.”

“I doubt, whether they will allow you to fly for a while yet. You may be able to walk, but according to your mother, your motor functions and muscle control will require some fairly intensive therapy before you can climb back into a cockpit.”

“This is my mother, who would do anything to stop me from flying. This accident was exactly the kind of ammunition she and my father need. They would have me stuck on a flight deck for sure. Anyway, we could still be based in different parts of the galaxy, even if I am grounded. Who knows—I could be in Cirrus 9 and you and Steve could both be based on Alpha Two. That would kind of screw up our plans.”

“Not unless Steve signs up for SED, which is unlikely. You know as well as I do that all three of us are likely to be separated.”

“So what does Steve think about his relationship with you? Does he think it is back on? How far have you gone to make him feel ‘positive’ about things?”

“I am not sure I like what you are inferring. Let’s be clear, we agreed that I would send Steve some weak signals, just to give him the impression there was hope for him and me in the future. He has grasped this quite well and has kept his distance. He isn’t asking about you and me now anyway.”

This made Jake angry.

“Goddamn it Carla. We should not have to hide our feelings for each other. We should be able to go out in public so everyone can see that we are now together. If it does not come out soon, no-one will ever know. Especially if I get blown to bits six weeks out of graduation!”

“Don’t talk like that! I know this is frustrating. I love you Jake and I want us to be together but Steve is important to me too. Only platonically, but he is important. We were together for a long time and I want to, we need to give him the best chance of graduating with half decent grades so he doesn’t get posted to a cannon fodder JS squadron and straight into the Kryl line of fire.”

“Best advice my father ever gave me, was don’t fall in love in the academy. Light years of space do not make for good relationships and then there’s Joanne. Losing her, shows us both exactly what can happen, especially in war time.”

“Jo was unlucky, but you and she had fallen in and out of love, before she was killed. I miss her too, so does Steve.”

Joanne Black was Jake’s ex-girlfriend. She graduated as a Jump Ship Pilot, one year ahead of Jake, but was killed a few months ago during an exchange with the Sentinels. Jake still mourned her loss. They remained close after they had split and he still could not believe she was gone. He tried to put thoughts of Jo out of his mind and returned to the matter at hand.

“So, we just continue as we are then.”

“Yes, we have too. Steve knows not to try anything on. We just need to get you back into the academy now, so you can complete your catch up and then we can get down to revision cramming.”

“Just three weeks to go!”

“Yes. Apart from you and me, nothing else is as important. For you, me and Steve.”