Chapter 52

Above and Below

Nellie's face contorted in pain as the Talon absorbed another brutal blow. The modified cruiser, now a wounded beast, started to tilt to one side as its thrusters sputtered and failed.

“How long until that beam is up?” Nellie yelled over the warning klaxons.

“Thirty seconds!” Remy replied.

“Pilot, get us a line on that capital ship!” Nellie ordered. “Remy, fire on my order!”

“Talon to Bly,” The comm squawked.

“Bly here, go ahead!” Nellie clicked the comm open as Dar was busy shuffling the shields like playing cards to try and keep them flying. Two cruisers had closed on their sides, pinning them in place below the capital ship ahead.

“I have one more shot,” Lucy came over the comm. “After that, the Talon is dead in space.”

“What?” Nellie winced.

“Hey, we didn’t intend me to fire more than once; I just don’t have the power reserves on this thing,” Lucy cut out as the Talon shifted again. “I think you better back off.”

“No chance,” Nellie shook her head. “Pilot, follow this course.”

“We have range and locked!” Remy called.

“Now!” Nellie called, and both ships fired their beam weapons again.

Once more, the capital ship failed to block the blow.

“GO!” Nellie ordered, and the Bly shivered as the Tri unit twisted the Revenge into position between the exploding capital ship and the Talon.

“Full power to shields!” Remy called a second before the world went white, and Nellie was ripped from the Captain’s chair and thrown across the bridge.

Spitting blood inside her helmet, Nellie got to her feet.

“Report!” Nellie called.

“Shields down, Captain!” Dar called. “I need three seconds to get them back!”

“We don’t have it!” Remy warned.

Nellie saw a wave of missiles headed for the Bly.

“All crew to escape—”

“FOR THE QUEENS!” Vey’s voice blared across the comm line as his ship blinked into the missile barrage, weapons firing madly as the little destroyer’s shields flared.

“Vey, get out of there!” Nellie yelled, but it was too late.

She watched in horror as the destroyer shuddered as the shields collapsed, one explosion after another hitting their hull until it inevitably breached.

For a second, nothing seemed to happen, and then a flash lit the screen. When it cleared, nothing but debris remained.

Nellie blinked once and then turned and roared across the bridge.

“KILL THEM ALL! NO MERCY!”

“Nellie,” Lucy called, but Nellie could barely hear over the pounding in her ears.

“Give me the controls,” Nellie pulled the Tri unit away and pulled the Bly around.

“Nellie!” Lucy yelled louder. “Your weapons are still down! You can’t fire!”

“I know,” Nellie muttered as she pumped all the power of the Mark Seven generator into the structural integrity fields.

“Nellie?” Lucy gasped. “What are you doing?”

Klaxons began to sound as Nellie pointed the nose of the Bly directly at the nearest of the two remaining enemy cruisers.

“Captain?” Remy gulped.

“All hands brace,” Nellie said plainly as her fingers danced over the controls. “Brace. Brace. Brace.”

“Aww, shit!” Baz was leaning against one wall, cradling his arm after an earlier injury.

“Ramming Speed!” Nellie snarled, and the Bly shot forward like a bullet.

The enemy cruiser didn’t even have time to move before the nose of the Bly’s shields hit their own. The Bly groaned and shuddered as the impact shuddered through the ship, lights going off as the power generators fought to keep the ship in one piece.

It looked like the Bly would give for a split second, and then the cruiser cracked apart. The two halves spinning at their lights died, and gasses vented from the twisted wreckage.

Nellie stood, handing the controls back to the frozen Tri unit, and walked calmly back to her chair.

“Status?” Nellie snapped.

“Shields at ten percent,” Dar called.

“Weapons mostly offline. We have a single laser array left on the port and starboard. Forward weapons are gone. Rear weapons are still functioning. Weapons power at forty percent. Mark Seven Generator is offline.” Remy reported.

“Talon?” Nellie called.

“We have weapons and shields, but all maneuvering controls are fused. We’re stuck in place.” Lucy replied.

“Enemies remaining?” Nellie asked.

“We have one cruiser, three destroyers, and a pair of frigates still coming,” Remy replied. “And one Captial ship still docked at the station. We’ve heard nothing from there for a while now.”

“How are our shuttles doing?” Nellie asked.

“We have four still flying,” Remy replied.

“Issue orders for all shuttles to initiate kamikaze protocols,” Nellie replied. None of them were staffed with anyone but the Cents. They had done that just in case this very thing happened. “Target the destroyers.”

“Aye, Captain,” Remy nodded.

“Baz, how are you doing?” Nellie asked.

“A little jealous I didn’t get to ram that ship, Ma’am,” He grinned; the burns down one side looked bad, but they could be fixed.

“Pilot, bring us around to the Talon,” Nellie ordered.

“What about the enemy cruiser, Ma’am?” the Tri unit looked determined.

“We are going to throw Lucy at it,” Nellie grinned as she fiddled with the gravity tow controls.

“Pardon?” Dar gaped.

“We can move, she can shoot. Between us, we have a functional ship,” Nellie grinned.

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

“Maxton, where are you?” Carter’s voice sounded tinny and distorted inside the MAP unit, but it still made her grin. She punched up the noise-canceling effect of the shielding before answering.

“We are still a couple of miles from the Clutch settlement. There was some resistance, but we are routing them now.” Maxton reported. “We’ll have them pinned in before the hour is out.”

“That’s nice, but I don’t care,” Carter snapped. “Get your ass back here.”

“What’s wrong?” Maxton asked.

“We’re leaving,” Carter replied simply. “Well, I am. You can come if you want.”

“Have we been called up to the fleet?” Maxton asked.

“No. No, we have not,” Carter laughed, his voice weirdly high and manic. “I stopped watching the battle when I saw that fucking ship ram one of our last cruisers. That was after two of our capital ships were lost but before the last one stopped responding.”

“WHAT?” Maxton gasped. “You can’t think that woman is going to win?”

“Who the fuck cares?” Carter giggled. “Even if the Line wins, I’m going to get cooked over the loss of those ships. I’m leaving. Want to come with me?”

“Yes,” Maxton ground her teeth. It sucked being in love with a fucking prick, but she was. She didn’t choose to be, but that was just the way it was. “Where are we going?”

“To the sectors,” Carter replied happily. “It’s the only shithole the Line hasn’t slipped into yet. Might as well hide there as anywhere.”

“On my way,” Maxton stopped firing and turned the MAP around, kicking off the ground and firing the thrusters as she shed the heavy weapons and gear. Fast was all that mattered now. “You realize that attack is doomed now, right?”

“Yeah, fuck it,” Carter laughed. “You just get that ass back here in one piece.”

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

Duke grinned to himself as the walls of the second Colony came into sight ahead of him. It was long past time that these people learned to respect him and his leadership.

The walker was a snug fit, but there was a definite satisfaction when the metal feet slammed into the ground. Duke grinned to himself. Once this was all over, he would have to make sure that any deal with Carter included leaving one of two of these things here. It would make dealing with any wildlife a trivial matter. The scanner on the rig reported the interior of the compound was sparsely occupied, but that was only because of how many had gone to defend the Clutch.

Duke considered that was actually a good thing; the troublemakers had all, no doubt, gone with the Marshall to defend the Natives, leaving only the tag-along.

They would no doubt put up a token resistance, but nothing more.

Once they were under his control, Duke could then make sure they survived the Imperial Line’s wrath.

If worst came to worst, Duke could blame the trading on Crush and his Marshalls. It would be a shame to lose someone with so much potential, but it was merely the price of his own refusal to follow orders.

“Duke, can you hear me?” Brenda’s voice came over his comm unit.

“I hear you,” Duke grinned. “I’m almost in place for you to do your fly-by.”

“Change of plans,” Brenda replied, her voice breathless with excitement. “The bitch’s ships are damaged, I’m going up there to finish them off!”

“Leave that to the fleet,” Duke snapped. “They might just fire on you instead!”

“What fleet?” Brenda laughed. “They have one limping cruiser left, and Bea is up to something; I can feel it.”

“Stick to the plan,” Duke insisted. “We need this to go right!”

“Trust me!” Brenda laughed.

“I need that fly-by,” Duke snapped.

“Oh, fine!” Brenda sighed. “I’m on my way.”

Duke commanded his troops to approach, tracking the ship's approach on his scanner.

“Attention!” A voice came from the walls, and Duke looked up to see a familiar face on the walls, holding some kind of megaphone.

“Attention!” Vicky called again. “We have no fight with you. Please allow us to leave, and you can take what you want!”

“Not good enough,” Duke called back, activating the loudspeakers on his Walker. “You and your people are to return with me to the main colony! You will not be harmed!”

“Duke?” Vicky called down, “Is that you?”

“Yes,” Duke grinned to himself. “You and your people are to return with me. I will protect you from the Imperial Line! You will be safe and well-treated as long as you obey these instructions!”

He turned as the form of the freighter drifted past overhead. A light sparked on the hull, and Duke watched in horror as lasers raked the colony.

“That’ll make them pay attention,” Brenda laughed nastily. “Wish me luck!”

The comm line clicked closed.

“You fucking bastard!” Vicky screamed and threw the megaphone over the wall.

Someone must have thought it was a grenade, and suddenly everyone started firing.

“Cease fire! Cease fire!” Duke yelled, but no one paid attention.

“They’re running!” Someone yelled, and the right-hand side of the formation began to run for the side.

For a second, Duke considered firing on his own people. They had ignored the order to cease fire, and they were about to fire on unarmed people. It was the kind of decision that marked a man; he knew that.

The Imperial Line and all they could offer ran through his mind in the blink of an eye. No matter what his sister thought, there was no way they didn’t win this. If they had suffered significant losses, they would be angry.

Duke lowered his weapons and started after the others.

Better to make an example of the people here than face their ire with nothing to show for it.

“No one escapes!” Duke ordered. “Shoot on sight!”

Bodies soon lay in a line stretching toward the distant shape of the embassy. Duke tried not to notice the faces as he and his people chased after the fleeing colonists.

Massacres were a messy business, but one thing he had learned from his father was that the best massacre was a complete one. No survivors meant no one to spread the tales or come back to haunt you later.

His scanner pinged a warning, and he looked up to see figures approaching quickly over the landscape.

“Incoming!” Duke called, sliding to a stop as he started to target his missiles.

“HERE COMES THE BANJO!” A garishly dressed figure leaped into view, a weapon in each hand as he unloaded both into the attackers.

Two men went down, one not moving as his head snapped back, the helmet burned through in a single shot.

Duke raised his weapon to fire but had to dodge aside as his warning sensors blared.

Spinning around, he gaped as a metallic form ran at him. Inside the cab, Vicky glared at him.

Duke backpedaled but was sent flying as she slammed into him.

“You bastard!” Vicky roared at him, metal fists slamming into his rig. “There were children in there!”

He kicked her away, firing his rear thrusters to get himself back on his feet, and lowered his laser array, ready to fire.

“No, you don’t, big boy!” banjo yelled and swung off the metal arm, sending his aim wide.

“Get out of the way!” Vicky yelled, and Duke felt the rig shudder as rounds punched into it.

Firing all thrusters got him clear, and he took a vicious glee in Banjo's yell of pain.

Several warning lights were on, and he flared the onboard shields while running his eyes over the scanners. Most of his people were down or running already. The colonists were either dead or out of range, and there were more of the damn machines arriving every minute.

He flicked all the power left to the weapons, firing everything he could to buy him time to escape.

Lowering his arm, he sighted on Vicky’s chest and fired.

It was petty, but he wanted to hurt her and Crush. This would do both.

“No, you don’t!” Banjo leaped in front, metal arms and tail crossed over his chest to block the beam.

It slammed into them, burning through and cutting deep into the chest.

Duke flicked the emergency drop for the weapons and stared.

Banjo dropped like a stone as every comm unit around played the same sound.

A chill ran through Duke as he heard Nellie’s scream of pain and rage playing from all around him.

Swallowing his fear, Duke turned and pushed all power to his thrusters.

He needed to get back to his Colony and think.

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

Paren was in her lab, directing a swarm of her Smiler sub-drones as they chased down a party of fleeing Imperial Line troops, when her implant pinged.

“Don’t look,” Nu-B warned her.

Paren looked.

Drone - Banjo - Ceased functioning.

She stared at the words as every speaker on the station roared Nellie’s scream.

Paren did not scream.

Screaming was pointless.

Making others scream was not.

Her body went limp as she slipped into that other place, and silver liquid flowed from around her lab and covered her from head to toe before it hardened into a new form.

She mentally gave the command for ALL sub-drones to assault the docked capital ship and stalked towards the door.

It was strange, but even in this place, the anger and pain still burned through her.

Some pains went beyond the body it seemed.

As she left her lab, Paren saw Robot calmly assembling a set of massive arms and legs.

“Are you alright?” Paren asked, making the silvery coating over her rippling as she spoke.

“I am very angry, Friend Paren,” Robot replied evenly. “I will kill them all.”

“As will I, Robot, as will I.” Paren nodded and turned away.

The transport tube took her to the main floor, where there was still fighting.

The last of the Imperial Line boarding party had fallen back to the main airlock and were fighting a desperate battle against the remaining Centrum.

“Salem, they are not to be allowed to leave,” Paren called out loud. She would be watching; she always was.

“I have sealed their ship to the station,” Salem growled. “None of them will leave.”

“No, they won’t,” Paren agreed as she started to run.

All around her, vents burst open as smilers of all kinds burst out in a wave.

“Robot has exited the station,” Salem told her. “He is on top of the capital ship and cutting his way inside.”

“Good,” Paren snarled and launched herself forward.

And then all there was left was blood and screaming.