The Commander (39 page)

“But the second you fire he’ll be onto us?”

“That is the case,” George confirmed.

“We missed our best chance. He’s getting further away.”

“If I may, Commander?”

“Go ahead. What’re you thinking?”

“This system is rife with objects large enough to conceal my presence. We can sling one in its direction and approach unobserved. At least we may get close enough for a kill shot.”

“Do it,” Luke ordered.

“
Scanning
nearby space,” George said.

The chancellor looked about ready to burst.

“What?” Luke asked gruffly.

“Can’t we let the planet know that thing is coming?”

“Not necessary, Madam Chancellor,” George said. “The Alliance Command Center in your capital city constantly monitors all drone reports. They are well aware of what’s going on.”

Luke nodded but worry filled his mind. “But they may not know about it being a level-two-device.”

“Perhaps, Commander. But the Jiguan planetary shield system is manually controlled from the surface. The Bakkui have no effect on their defenses.”

“That’s true,” Luke agreed. “But we still need to inform Moonbase One on Earth about this. Can you send a message drone without it being spotted?”

“Negative, Commander. The Bakkui would surely notice.”

“Okay, prepare a complete report of this and have it ready. At the same time we fire, send out that report. Earth has to have this information. Roth and the George at Moonbase One might be able to come up with a defense.”

“Order programmed, Commander. Stand by. I am repositioning to our new concealment.”

The warship slid rapidly toward the back side of the planet. At the last second Luke saw a tiny asteroid coming out of the planet’s rings.

“That looks too small, George.”

“The smaller our concealment, the less likely it is to be noticed. So long as it obscures the Bakkui’s direct line of sight to my hull, it should do.”

“How long until we catch it?” Luke asked.

“We will not, Commander. Asteroids travel significantly slower than do spacecraft. Although I have arranged for the rock concealing us to move far faster than the rest of the asteroids in this system, we will not catch the enemy vessel until he has been in orbit for several days.”

“What?” the chancellor cried. “You’re letting it attack?”

“Yes, Madam Chancellor,” George confirmed. “But during the last attack your planet held out for almost two days. And that was during the simultaneous attack of several hundred warships. I must compliment you, by the way, for the robust nature of your shields. They are quite impressive.”

“George!” she screamed in frustration.

Luke gestured for her to be quiet. “Not ideal, but I agree this is our best shot.” He looked back at the angry young woman. “However, let’s monitor the situation closely. If the planetary shields start to fail, we’ll attack, no matter what the distance. After all, our goal is to
save
the planet. Not to destroy the enemy
after
it kills everyone on it.”

“Understood, Commander.”

“How long, then?” Luke still wanted to know

“Twenty-seven days.”

Luke groaned in frustration. “That’s a long time for the shields on the planet.” He flopped into the captain’s chair.

“It is indeed, Commander.”

“Is there no way to go faster?” the chancellor urged.

Luke looked at the woman in the next chair. “Don’t be in such a hurry to go to your own funeral. You do realize that we’re not going to survive this, right?”

“That’s not a consideration,” she replied calmly. “If we can stop that thing—if there’s even a chance—that’s the only thing that matters.”

Luke smiled at her a bit sadly. It was a shame to see such spirit thrown away. But that seemed to be the way of the universe.

“Let’s do some thinking,” he said. “I doubt we’re going to last twenty-seven days without being detected. George? Are the cannons already loaded?

“Yes, Commander. As soon as we received the alert I chambered the two forward barrels with nuclear core rounds.”

“Perfect. On the off chance we get more shots off before he returns fire, let’s go with standard solid core. Those load quicker, don’t they?”

“They do. But I could load smaller nukes just as quickly. That might give you a higher PK.”

“Proximity fusing?” Luke asked?

“Affirmative.”

“Let’s go with that, then.”

“Programmed.”

The chancellor held out her hands as a stop sign. “What are you two talking about?”

Luke considered that she came from a planet without weapons.
And she was the one who kept saying ‘kill it
’. “George, fill her in.”

While the warship explained the ramifications of PK—probability of kill ratios—to the young woman, Luke reviewed other possible outcomes. Finally, the woman leaned back in her chair.

“I understand,” she said. “Thank you, George.”

“What if we survive?” Luke asked. “I’m going to assume the Bakkui ship will get off a shot in our direction. What if he takes you out, George, but not the chancellor and me? What can we do to prepare for that?”

“An excellent point, Commander. However, another possibility, and just as likely, is that our attack is successful, but that he simultaneously commands me to shut down. We should cover both eventualities.”

Luke was sick of the view out the front window. The rocky surface of the asteroid they were following was the only thing he could see while George kept them carefully behind the tumbling chunk of ice and stone. The chancellor entered the bridge with fresh cups of coffee.

During an unguarded moment of their enforced solitude she disclosed her given name was Sarangi. In her local tongue, Sarangi meant ‘love’. Luke remembered looking up Annie’s name on Wikipedia. Although Annie was a Hebrew name that meant ‘prayer,’ her full name, Annabelle, meant ‘loving.’ Inwardly he reflected on the fact that he had known two women from two planets with the same beautiful meaning behind their names, and that he was responsible for ruining both of their lives.

With nothing to do during the past two weeks but talk, they had come to know each other on a personal level. Underneath her official robes she was not the fierce stateswoman that so intimidated him. Instead, she was a frightened twenty-five-year-old who missed her father and wanted to spend more time with her fiancé. Luke was unaware of that aspect in her life.

“When’s the wedding?” Luke asked.

She looked wistful. “Everything is on hold now. He said not to rush. He understands that it will take time to sort out my role as chancellor. For now, he loves flying your new warships.” She stopped abruptly, new tears on her cheeks. The young man was a patrol pilot. He was on duty the day she went to the moon.

There was not much Luke could say to comfort her. He retrieved a blanket from her quarters and draped it over her shoulders. After a moment, she gathered her composure. “Thank you for your kindness,” she said. “I know that you have lost loved ones yourself; twice in fact. My grief cannot compare to yours.”

That surprised him. It turned out the chancellor knew quite a lot about Luke. She admitted that in order to learn about her enemy she had pumped Tyler mercilessly to gain insight on the warlord. Instead, he turned the tables and she wound up listening to an old man talk fondly about a good friend. Tyler had gone on for hours expounding on Luke’s background, how he was roped into saving the universe, and what he had accomplished.

The chancellor confessed that while hearing Luke’s history, her hatred toward him had dissolved. She came to see Luke as the man he was, similar to herself, thrown into an unexpected situation and suddenly responsible for countless lives. Luke sent Tyler a silent thank you.

She wrapped the blanket tightly around her shoulders and retreated to her room. Luke stayed on the bridge to give her time alone with memories of those she’d lost. An hour later, she reappeared with more hot coffee. Her hair was damp and she wore a fresh jumpsuit. She plopped down beside him in the first officer’s chair.

“Anything new?” she asked.

Luke shook his head without answering. They sipped the hot drinks in companionable silence until Luke started to nod off. He was vaguely aware that just before he fell asleep, the chancellor rescued his still half-full mug from his loosening grasp.

# # #

“Luke!” The chancellor was shaking him. “Wake up! George is talking to you.”

Luke came alert quickly. “I’m awake. George, report!”

“Commander, the planetary shields are failing. The time has come.”

“Got it.” He looked at the chancellor. “You ready for this?”

She covered his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I am. Thank you for everything, Commander.”

He gave her a quick nod before facing the viewscreen.

“All right, George. Execute the planned attack. You have control.”

“Acknowledged, Commander. I have the hammer.”

Luke felt the faintest tremor.

“Message drone away,” George announced.

Luke had set the highest priority on the message drone, even above saving the Jiguan planet. George had programmed it to fly directly astern until away from the system to keep it hidden from the Bakkui.

“
Firing
main cannons,” George said.

The familiar thumps vibrated through the bridge. Simultaneously an additional force field sprang out of the warship’s nose, and the engines engaged at full throttle. The plan was to push the asteroid directly at the Bakkui while continuing to fire. If the asteroid created even a momentary hesitation in the enemy’s response, it allowed more rounds to be fired.

George’s next words came at the same instant the blinding light of a nuclear detonation filled the space ahead.

“
Shutting
down as ordered,” the warship announced. Luke could hear defeat in his voice.

“Can you hear me, George?”

“I am still here, Commander. The command was to kill all weapons, shields, and propulsion drives.”

“Did we get him?”

“I infer from the fact that we are still talking that we did, at least to some extent. The blast has momentarily blinded my external sensors.”

“Status of the planet?”

“Damage to one of the smaller continents.”

The chancellor gasped in horror at the news. “Was anyone hurt?” she asked.

“Unknown, Madam Chancellor. Reporting is limited thus far. We will have to wait, but that is not the main issue.”

“Tell me,” Luke said.

“The Bakkui has resumed firing on the planet, but at a much slower rate. It may still be enough to cause eventual annihilation.”

“Options?”

“
Processing
sensor information.” George responded slowly. “It appears the Bakkui is unable to maneuver with his main drives. My conjecture is that he has stabilizing thrusters only and is using them to direct his fire on the planet.”

“So we’re safe?” Luke asked.

“Negative, Commander. We will impact what is left of the Bakkui craft in approximately fifteen minutes. With my shields down, the collision will destroy this craft.”

“Will that be enough to kill it?” the chancellor wanted to know.

“Doubtful,” George replied. “We will hit the main mass of what is left of the target. I can now see that the enemy has a single cannon still firing. If we were to hit that cannon it might permanently disable its offensive capability.”

“But you can’t adjust your trajectory?” Luke asked.

“I cannot. However…”

“Tell us,” the chancellor pleaded. “We have to stop it! There must be something we can do.”

“There is one high-risk possibility, Commander.”

“Go ahead.”

“The plan entails an almost certain probability of death.”

“What if we don’t?”

“I project an almost certain probability of death that is slightly lower.”

“You’re wasting time!” the chancellor shouted.

“You heard her, George. Let’s do what we can to take this guy down.”

“Understood, Commander. Please proceed to the hangar bay, I will have everything ready by the time you arrive.”

# # #

Luke saw the replicator shimmer fade away as they neared the hangar bay. He laughed aloud when he saw the modified scooter on the replicator pad.

“This is what you had in mind? Attack the Bakkui on a toy?”

George sounded harried. “Anything more complex would take too much replicator time. You must hurry.”

Luke could not keep from grinning as he mounted the scooter. The controls were just like the ones back on Moonbase One. The only exception was a lighted red button between the handlebars. “What’s button for, George?”

“That will activate a flight profile that will maximize your distance from the Bakkui ship prior to the time that I reach his vessel. Even now the enemy is regenerating his shield capability to prevent my impact from causing additional damage. To offset, I plan to replicate a large nuclear device once you depart. My hope is to take out those shields.”

“Then what do we do?”

“I have included a cutting tool on the back.”

“I see it.”

“Use that to destroy his last cannon. It may eliminate its last offensive capability.”

Luke took two personal force fields from an equipment locker and activated them before strapping one to the chancellor and the other to his belt. He motioned for the chancellor to sit behind him. She slid onto the seat and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist.

“Ready!” Luke shouted.

George opened the hangar bay door and Luke gunned the scooter forward. As soon as he was clear of the warship, he slammed the red button. The scooter rolled to the side, pointing its wide base toward the Bakkui ship. It’s gravity drives activated, driving the scooter away from George and his impending collision with the Bakkui.

Luke watched George get smaller as the distance between the two warships closed. He had vastly underestimated how big the Bakkui ship was. It was at least the size of
Lulubelle
.

George’s last nuke went off and a star blossomed against the enemy’s hull.

“Don’t look,” Luke cried.

The shock wave from the detonation rushed outward in an expanding sphere of almost invisible energy.

“Hang on,” Luke shouted once more. “This could get hot!”

The wave was uncomfortable and the heat intense. But the distance remaining between the scooter and George’s detonation made the attenuated blast survivable.

The goal now was to close on what was left of the Bakkui vessel before it could regenerate its shields. As Luke approached the massive spacecraft, he felt like a child riding a tricycle next to an aircraft carrier. He steered the scooter toward the front of the damaged Bakkui, trying to spot the still-firing cannon. If they were lucky, the last explosion could have taken it out, turning the Bakkui into a derelict. Even as that hope grew, a flash of light identified the functional weapon.

No such luck
, he thought.

The chancellor groaned with disappointment at the sight. She squeezed Luke’s middle. “Hurry!”

The cannon barrel was larger than those on the
Ambrosia
-class warships. The tube jutted out from a large, slope-sided gun-housing built atop the cylindrical hull.

Another round fired, spitting smoke and flame from the end of the cannon. The barrel kicked back into the housing before bouncing back. The recoil meant it was using an explosive charge to fire the projectiles, unlike the gravity cannons.

A large metal canister kicked out of a slot in the side of the housing.

“No Way!” Luke exclaimed in surprise. “That thing is using gunpowder, or something like it. Can you believe that?”

“Gum-pah-dor?” the chancellor replied.

Luke shook his head. “Nevermind. I’m just saying this thing is using some really old technology. We’ll worry about the implications later. Right now, what it means is George was right. It shouldn’t be that hard to sabotage.”

Luke bumped the throttle, sending the scooter down the length of the barrel. It was a built-up barrel to accommodate the stress of the powder’s gas pressure.
Overlapping
cylinders of steel progressively jacketed the inner tube. Luke was astonished by the old technology; it would be outdated on his own world.

He came to a stop just past the last reinforcing jacket. “This is where we’ll set up, it will be the easiest cut.” He twisted around on the scooter so he was facing backwards, his knees touching hers. “Once I leave the scooter there’s no gravity. Remember what happened on the bridge when George cut power?”

The chancellor nodded, her eyes wide at the memory.

“Don’t worry about it; I promise neither of us will float away.” Luke pushed her leg out of the way and dug into the scooter’s saddlebag. He pulled out a length of rope and pair of gloves, standard issue on all scooters. He tied one end of the rope around her waist, the other around his own.

“I want you to stay on the scooter; hang onto the handlebars. If you get loose I’ll just pull you back in.” He held up the rope. “The main thing is that both of us take our time. If necessary, we just keep starting over until we get it right.”

“But we have to hurry,” she said urgently.

“Nothing will make this take longer than hurrying. Please believe me.”

The chancellor looked into his eyes and nodded. “I do,” she said.

Luke reached behind her and grasped the cutting tool George had included. It had a chainsaw-type handle with an adjustable blade. When triggered it would cut through anything.

“I’m going to use this to cut the barrel. You just sit tight, okay?”

Her face was filled with fear.

“It’ll be fine,” Luke said reassuringly.

The cannon fired again. It was eerie to be this close to the end of the gigantic muzzle and not hear a sound. The canister ejected out of the slot and spun off into the distance.

“That’s about four minutes between rounds,” Luke said. “Wish me luck!” He pushed off toward the cannon. Once in place, he looped the rope around the barrel to hold him steady.

Bracing
his feet against the tube, he leaned backwards and slowly brought the cutter down against it. The blade was not long enough to slice all the way through the cannon so he used it like a can opener, working his way around. It was slow going. When the cut was slightly more than halfway, he felt a vibration in the tube. The Bakkui was loading a round in the chamber. He sliced off a small chunk of the tube and jammed it into the cut. It was time to get away before the next round.