Chapter 49

Final Plans.

“We have a total of seventy armed personnel,” Duke told them while his shadow Hadrian hovered behind him. “Of that, I estimate thirty at best to be well-armed and trained. Ten from my own people and the other twenty from my sister’s crew. It is just not enough to effectively attack both sites.”

“That depends on your definition of ‘effective,’ but you have yet to consider two things.” Carter beamed at the big man. “For a start, you assume the Clutchlings will shoot back?”

“Of course,” Duke replied.

“They will not,” Carter replied with a confident smile. “They only attack once their shields fail. That will not happen. We are only there to keep them pinned in place until the fleet arrives, a strategy we can rely on due to their predictable behavior.”

“Even so,” Duke frowned. “How sure are you that the enemy will not attack?”

“In over a thousand recorded engagements, the Clutch has not returned fire before losing its shields. Not once,” Maxton replied. “However, without fleet support, we would not survive the counterattack.”

“Which is why we intend to weaken, not burst, their shield.” Carter hastened to add. “All we need is a ring around the settlement to prevent escape.”

“And enough firepower to drain the shield,” Maxton added.

“May I suggest we put the forty or fifty worst armored troops on the Clutch, with Maxton and her people and one of our little surprises?” Carter tossed a slice of vegetable into his mouth.

“What surprises?” Duke asked.

“May I?” Maxton asked.

Carter nodded and followed along behind the others as Maxton led the way into the shuttle hangar.

The shuttle itself looked much smaller than when it had landed. Much of the armor and weapons systems had been removed.

Shed of all the extra material, the actual shuttle had been reduced to a personal escape craft capable of carrying two passengers even through Transit Space.

The extra material, along with the weapons, sensors, and the two hidden items, had been reassembled into their full form.

“War Walkers?” Duke asked, peering suspiciously at the two machines.

“Is that what you call them?” Carter asked. “We prefer Mechanised Assault Platforms. Either way, they are formidable.”

Maxton walked up to the nearest one, pulled a step ladder over, and pressed a button sequence on the side. The machine opened up, revealing the space for a driver.

“There is space for a driver inside, including power armor and personal weapons. The chassis itself is bipedal, gyroscopically balanced, and climate-controlled. It is rated for Zero-G and deep-space combat, boasts a full sensor suite, shield systems mounted in the shoulders, and weapons platforms.” Maxton pointed everything out as she spoke. “Mounted missile launchers on the left, suppression field generator on the right. Rear-mounted comms package, and each one has a single, shuttle-sized laser array on the right forearm. The left has a powerful directional sonic attack good for bypassing shield systems.”

“In short, they kick ass,” Carter chuckled darkly.

“You built these from the shuttle?” Duke gaped at the two machines.

“Imperial Line shuttles carry these as an emergency defense measure if a crew finds itself crashing in unfriendly territory.” Maxton climbed down, letting the machine close up as she did so.

“A single one of those machines could turn the tide of a battle,” Duke said, looking over the gleaming metal forms, “Why am I only hearing about them now?”

“We launch the attack in two days,” Carter shrugged. “It was necessary to wait until they were complete. Why promise what I might not be able to deliver?”

An hour later, everything was set. Fifty colonists would surround and open fire on the Clutch, with Maxton and her two elites in control. With one of the M.A.P. units providing the majority of the firepower, it would be more than enough.

Duke's remaining twenty troops would head for the second colony, with Duke leading the charge in the other M.A.P. unit. The big bastard barely fit, even without armor, but his eyes had barely left the unit since he saw it.

“How is the new ship progressing?” Carter asked. They had spent almost a week and a half on the thing, so it better be near enough done.

“Good,” Maxton smiled. “Focusing on just mounting weapons and shield systems on it, we have managed to complete the project a little ahead of time. It isn’t pretty, but it will work.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“I still don’t understand the point of having the ship completed,” Duke insisted. “Your fleet will be doing all the fighting, won’t it?”

“Of course,” Carter admitted. “But what if that destroyer comes down to take us out before they are killed?”

“They wouldn’t do that,” Duke insisted.

“Bet your life on it?” Carter asked.

“Yes,” Duke nodded. “I would.”

“Well, I wouldn’t,” Carter shrugged. “If you’re right, you are ahead of the work on your new ship. If you’re wrong? We are covered.”

“We can also use it to attack the Embassy,” Maxton said thoughtfully as if it had just occurred to her. “It would certainly look good to the fleet if we did.”

“I don’t want to attack Bea’s people directly,” Duke frowned.

“You hedging your bets, Duke?” Carter laughed. “You are beyond that now.”

“Still,” Duke looked conflicted as they both stared at him.

Carter let the seconds tick by, waiting for the right moment.

“I’m sorry, but no,” Duke said eventually.

“A pity,” Carter sighed. “The sight of the ship and the destruction of the embassy might have been enough to make the other colony give up, or at least a few of them.”

“You mean they could be spared?” Maxton asked innocently.

“Maybe,” Carter shrugged. “If they refused to fight Duke, it would certainly argue for their innocence.”

“You think it might save them”? Duke asked doubtfully.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” Carter hedged. “But it would help.”

“Then we do it,” Duke nodded. “If there is any chance to reduce my losses, I’ll take it.”

“If you’re sure,” Carter nodded. “Will you tell your sister?”

“Of course,” Duke nodded.

===<<<>>>===

Crush looked over the latest reports from Remy, Nellie’s security officer. According to them, there were at least twenty well-armed and geared people over there, with another thirty at least with minor arms and light armor.

He had hoped to leave at least ten people behind, just in case, but with these numbers, he would need everyone.

“Well?” Cara asked.

“Not good,” Crush confirmed. “We’ll need everyone.”

The last week of training had gone well, but it was still only a week. They could shoot where he told them to, find their way to where they needed to be, and not shoot each other. That was about it.

“We might have to dig in a bit,” Cara gestured to a few areas around the Clutch settlement. “It’ll give us the best chance of a successful defense.”

“That makes sense,” Crush grinned.

“What?” Cara scowled.

“Here, here, and here,” Crush pointed to areas between the main colony and the Clutch settlement.

“You want to ambush them?” Cara grinned back.

“Natural choke points, we can get them before they break up into too many groups, and they won’t expect it,” Crush confirmed.

“We’ll have to get there early,” Cara smiled.

“Yup, we leave tonight,” Crush jumped up. “I just need to let Vicky know.”

“Better you than me,” Cara chuckled as she headed off to round up the recruits.

“Coward,” Crush called after her.

“Asshole!” Vicky slammed the door in his face.

“That’s not helpful!” Crush called through the closed door.

“Fuck helpful!” Vicky yelled, and the door let out a thump as something heavy hit it. “What about being safe?”

“This is the safest option!” Crush yelled, waving awkwardly at the neighbors who craned their necks to get a better look at events.

“Says who?” Vicky snapped, opening the door again.

“I do,” Crush said quickly. “If I’m right, we can stop the fight before it even gets started.”

“And if you are wrong?” Vicky crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow.

“Then we have a way to pull back and get away.”

“You shit,” Vicky scowled. “You wouldn’t leave them undefended, and you know it.”

“I will if I have to,” Crush promised. “I’m going to do everything I can; I admit that. But if there is no hope, I promise I’ll take everyone and head back here.”

“Promises have to be kept,” Vicky said, her tone softening.

“I am aware of that.” Crush smiled.

“So we just wait here and hope you don’t die?” Vicky asked.

“Actually, no,” Crush admitted. “I want you and the others to head to the Embassy. Banjo and his people will make sure you get away if anything goes wrong.”

“When do you leave?” Vicky asked.

“I’ll leave tonight,” Crush said. “How soon can you get everyone together.”

“It’ll take a couple of days at least,” Vicky sighed. “Be careful, will you?”

“You too,” Crush said, leaning in for a kiss.

“As if,” Vicky slammed the door in his face. “I’m still pissed.”

“Yeah, noticed that,” Crush chuckled. “Love you!”

“Love you too, asshole!” Vicky called back.

===<<<>>>===

Salem changed the lighting over to standby on the upper levels as she cycled through the camera feeds to verify everyone had evacuated.

“Paren, will you please vacate your lab?” Salem tried again.

“No means the same thing no matter how many times you ask,” Paren snapped. “I am working, you know.”

“I understand that,” Salem snapped. “But we need you to verify the habitats for your sub-drones.”

“I already did that,” Paren replied.

“You verified the design; we want to run a test with maximum capacity.” Salem knew Paren had read the notification. She was just pretending she hadn’t.

“For how long?” Paren sounded distracted, probably creating another fleshy horror. Nellie should never have allowed her access to the dead bodies.

“One day, Paren, just one day.” Salem hated the pleading tone in her voice but didn’t know what else to do.

“The enemy fleet will be here in four days, Salem. I can’t.” Paren cut the comm line.

Salem tried to reconnect it but discovered the connection had been physically severed.

“Make a note, Paren damaged station property again,” Salem told the computer.

“Noted, Administrator Prissy-Pants.”

“PAREN!”