Battleship Furiosa (16 page)

"Some of their dialects, yes. How
can you expect to work and negotiate with your near neighbours, if
you cannot understand them?"

Nate laughed upon realising she was
describing him perfectly.

"Apologies, I am sure you speak
many of your own tongues. I am led to believe you have hundreds of
different languages from the old nationalities of Earth? Surely
learning these must prove equally difficult?"

"We do, but I don't know them very
well. English is the most important language we have, and every
citizen speaks it."

He leaned in close.

"We call it the Lingua Franca."

Valdis mouthed the words
but looked confused.

"What is that?"

Nate s
huffled on his seat to move nearer to her. Now he could see
her long, smooth hair that seemed to bend light through its
colourless appearance. This close he could smell the cinnamon scent
much more strongly.

"It was originally a language
spoke
n one and a half millennia ago, on
Earth. Back then, traders would meet and be forced to communicate
in their own languages. Lingua Franca mixed several languages
together into a loose new language."

"I see. And what does the name
mean?"

"Ah...I think it means language
of the Franks. That was a name given to all the different peoples
of the West that spoke similar languages. Today it is used where
multiple cultures share words to create a hybrid language that is
imperfect, but works between parties."

Valdis licked her upper lip as she
considered what he'd just said.

"So, if I taught you some words from my
own tongue, and you did the same for me. We could have a broken
conversation?"

Nate nodded slowly.

"Yes, except you already
understand my language only too well."

"Perhaps I could share something with
you, to get you started."

Valdis placed her left hand in
her bony forehead and then ran it along the deep brown lines that
marked her skin.

"My name
Valdis Ferreus in your language, and you may not know, but
second names are rare among my race."

"I know. W
e've studied your people for some time now."

She opened her mouth and
bar
ed her teeth with
amusement.

"Really? Well, my family name
comes from a genetic trait. Ferreus is related to the chemical
called Iron. When exposed to oxygen, it creates..."

"Iron oxide,
" replied Nate, as though he was answering a
test.

"Exactly."

Nate nodded with the sudden realisation
as to the meaning of her name.

"The name is related to the brown
markings on your face."

Her expression changed instantly, and
she held out her hands and showed him the back. Apart from the
subtle skin changes compared to human flesh, they were remarkably
similar. The dark brown lines were clearly visible on the upper
side as well.

"The pigmentation covers my entire
body."

The door opened with a clunk and
waiting there was the tall figure of
Lieutenant Commander Holder. She wore PDS gear and carried
her helmet under her arm.

"Okay, people. Your break is over. It's
time to mount up."

Nate rose from his seat and found
Valdis already on her feet and handing him his helmet. As he took
it
, her hand touched his for a brief
moment. For some reason, Nate had assumed it would be hard and dry,
but it had the same warm softness as his own.

"Nate."

"Yes?"

She looked to the door as the
pilots began to file out onto the hangar deck.

"This is our fight, not yours. If it
comes to it, do not sacrifice yourselves in vain. If my people
fall, then you will be needed to defend your own worlds."

Nate tried to look
positive
rather than the terrified
teenager that he actually was. Even as he tried to speak, his heart
was pounding away. So heavy was it that he worried the others might
hear it.

"Don't worry about that.
Remember, we're here to scout the area, make contact with Makos,
and to create a communication relay back to the fleet."

"Yes," said Valdis, as she
squeezed his hands, "But my people have a saying. No plan survives
the first encounter with the enemy."

Nate squeezed her hand, and as
they released, he grinned. He had never expected to have such a
conversation with the reptilian species, let alone find he had
feelings towards one of them.

"Valdis, we have that exact same
saying."

She laugh
ed.

"Then, perhaps we have a chance after
all."

Th
e
pilots fanned out on the hangar deck to find the mixture of human
and alien crew standing to attention. Everything was ready, and
with just ten fighters, there was little else for them to do.
Lieutenant Commander Holder was already at her ladder and halfway
up before she stopped and looked back at the other nine.

"Ironclads, this is an auspicious
day. Look at yourselves."

Nate looked left and right,
taking in the shapes of his friends, both old and new. All of them
were in their flight gear and carrying sidearms, as was now
required when in hostile space.

"This is the first time we've
operated a mixed squadron, but it is not the first time we've
fought together. The Alliance and the Empire have been friends
since that day almost sixteen years ago, when our ships burst into
the Helion System. Within a few short years, we were embroiled in a
massive war that has left us closer friends than ever."

She
pointed towards the bow of the battleship.

"Today we will help pull together
the fleets of both our forces so that we can stand up to the
tyranny of this so-called Star Empire. Are you ready?"

The Alliance pilots lifted their
arms and cheered, and the Byotai, who looked a little confused,
then did the same.

"Then get to your fighters, and
remember your training. Stay in pairs
,
and follow my orders to the letter. Fly smart, fly safe. Good
hunting!"

And with that, they separated and
headed for their fighters. Nate walked alongside Billy and
Cassandra as they passed by Matilda. She was already up her ladder
and climbing inside. As usual, she had nothing to say and
concentrated on exactly what she had to do. Next was Billy, and
Nate and Cassandra waited for a moment as he started to climb his
ladder.

"Be careful out
there,
" said Nate.

"Yeah," agreed Cassandra, "Let's
all come back in one
piece this
time."

Billy looked down at them both and
laughed.

"You two are having a laugh,
right?"

He jumped in, leaving the two of
them to walk to their fighters. Cassandra stopped and extended her
hand to his. They shook for the first time ever, and she then
nodded to their Lightnings.

"I'm not joking, Nate. I've got a bad
feeling about this mission. Come back safe."

She turned and left him
alone
to walk to his fighter without a
friend nearby. Once there, he stopped and looked at it. The
paintwork gleamed, and any signs of damage were hidden behind
expert craftsmanship and the careful placement of new parts. His
eyes moved to the right and found the pylons all fully loaded with
ordnance.

"Well, she ready to go. It's time."

He turned to the left and found
Valdis standing right beside him. In her hand she held a small
golden motif. It was little bigger than a thumbnail, but she handed
it to him as though it was the most valuable thing in her
possession.

"It
is
the emblem of the Ironclads. This one was given to me personally by
the Imperator, hours before our last battle. It will bring you luck
in this battle."

She reached out and placed it in
Nate's right hand. As he took it, she pushed forward, grasped him
firmly, and kissed him on the lips. It was a short, but passionate
affair that left him breathless. He watched her walk to her
interceptor and then shook his head in surprise. Billy looked down
from the side of his cockpit and waved furiously.

"Way to go, Nate!"

"Idiot," he muttered
quietly,
"Always knows how to kill the
mood."

* * *

Two Byotai soldiers entered the bridge
and marched into the centre to speak with the General. Commander
Higgins watched for a second, fascinated by the way the aliens
moved and behaved. They seemed so polite and civilised when in the
company of others, but on this ship there was a harsh attitude,
where everything was spoken with firm resolve, and the senior
officers treated like warlords. These Byotai dressed very
differently to those he'd met before, and he could only assume it
was due to the ship being in the Royal Squadron.

This is not what I expected.

Both of the soldiers were bare headed,
and dressed in grey and yellow. Their normal armour was embellished
with additional plates covered in detailed carvings. Yet for all
this protection, parts of their bodies were left completely bare.
The shorter of the two was clearly female, and bared part of the
chest area to show the dark skin beneath. The impression given was
that while discipline was tough, there was also a strong hint of
decadence about the entire vessel. The female warriors emphasised
their femininity by showing off flesh, and he'd seen a good number
of them with their pale hair arrayed in all manner of strange
shapes.

"Close all gun ports.
Prepare to move through the Rift," said General
Honorius.

The translator presented him with
a flat, characterless voice, but the Commander knew better than
that. Every word he spoke was treated with the utmost of respect,
like he was the Prince himself.

"Engines to full."

The vessel rocked gently as the
powerful engines activated. They would be travelling through the
Rift at great speed, and if anything were waiting for them, they
would be unable to avoid it, or turn back in anything less than an
hour. It was risky, but the General didn't seem bothered about
that.

Another ship, another mission. It's not
so different really.

The b
attleship felt both familiar and incredibly alien to
Commander Higgins. He'd served aboard several ships from small
clippers through to the carrier, ANS Relentless, but never on a
Byotai ship. The computer systems were similar to those in the
Alliance, and recent exchange programmes had ensured a degree of
interoperability that he was now very grateful for.

We can do this, can't we?

He looked behind him and out of
the nearest artificial window. To the rear flank was
one of the three Viper Class destroyers. He'd
heard of them but never actually seen one in the flesh before. They
bore many of the design elements of Furiosa, while maintaining the
insectoid styling so common among the Byotai. They were also
coloured in the same greys and yellows of the other Royal
ships.

If only they'd had a
few more
, this fight might
not have been necessary.

Commander Higgins
shook his head and turned his attention back to
his work. There were far too many distractions aboard Furiosa, and
he could quite happily have spent days or perhaps weeks exploring
the mighty ship. Now he would have to forgo that opportunity and
instead focus on his task. He checked the fighter positions on the
vertical display in front of him. It was an odd unit, made from a
crystal clear projection that hovered in front of the controls. The
projection appeared translucent, and he could make out the senior
officers ahead in the centre of the room. Like many of the newer
Alliance designs, a combined bridge and CIC was used to operate the
ship. Here the Captain and his officers could command a battle to
maximum efficiency, safely hidden away inside the heavily armoured
hull.

Blue
outlines showed the Alliance and Byotai craft, looking odd
parked next to each other. The Lightning fighters appeared slightly
larger overall, but the Mantis fighters were much longer. Each
showed ready indicators, and all were now fully fuelled and armed,
the pilots in their cockpits and awaiting orders.

Ten fighters, on a
ship
that normally carries
eighteen!

He shook his head as the
realisation dawned on him that they were woefully undermanned and
underequipped for a major fight.
They
carried fewer fighters than were even available for normal
operations on board Relentless. He was also all too familiar with
the fact that the ship had been defeated in battle with a full crew
and compliment of fighters.

Well, too late to worry about that
now.

Commander H
iggins lifted his head from his display and to the middle
of the room. The bridge was quite a surprise to him and smaller
than he would have expected. It was fully circular and provided a
shielded dome from which to observe the battle. The outside of the
circle was transparent, but clearly artificial and provided a
crystal clear view of the region around the ships. The Byotai were
taking no chances in creating vulnerabilities like windows. The
space was then divided up into two rings around the central
vertical projection; so massive it took up a full quarter of the
room. The first ring was an open walkway that allowed the senior
officers, including the ship's commander to walk around the
display, look out of the artificial windows, or check the smaller
displays used by the officers positioned in the second ring. These
units showed the same data on both sides so that a commander had
access to every piece of important information.