“Yes.”
“Execute,” she commanded.
The AI’s presence evaporated, but the shields, targeting, and firing controls still functioned. It would be much more difficult to hit a moving target under these conditions, but their target was not moving.
Reba and Walters left the net. He was pretty concerned. “You know, that gun will be an even match for me.”
“I know. You’re going to give me two hours, then open up on it. I’ll be in a ship somewhere out there, and I’ll open up on the gun as soon as I see your first shot. See if you can get the two other gun emplacements to join you.”
“You’re going to fire a ship’s weapons from the ground?” he asked in surprise.
“If I can. If I can’t, I’ll get word back to you before your first shot.”
She took off at a fast limp and rounded up a crew of experienced gunners, then headed for the largest ship on the field, a frigate. Reba had never been on, let alone flown, a frigate. Frigates were multi-storied fortresses literally sprouting with guns. The guns of a frigate were not as powerful as those of a cruiser, but what the frigate lacked in power it made up in numbers. The very presence of a frigate moving in on bands of smugglers or pirates brought instant surrender.
Reba had to ask the AI for directions to the bridge. Along the way, she found Empire crewmembers scattered around the ship, all in the throes of the scree. Her men stunned everyone they found, and Reba speeded up the process by directing searchers from the net. Then everyone plugged in, got situated, and Reba prepared to lift the ship.
She didn’t want to take off in case the gun emplacement had orders to shoot her down, but she had no choice. She had to lift her ship above the ships parked between her and the gun emplacement. She lifted, and the moment she did so, she came under fire. The gun crew must have been watching her power up her shields and known she was going to take off.
The shot was devastating, immediately causing a shield to fail. The next shot followed immediately on its heels, and the ship was holed. She was in serious trouble, and she had another half hour before Walters would be ready. She lifted higher and turned the ship until it pointed directly at the offending gun. She never had to issue an order to fire – her gunners opened up with every gun under their control.
Walters must have been watching her power up. The moment the battery opened fire on her, he opened fire on it. The battery shook hard, but it kept firing at an incredible rate. Fire from her ship and Walters’s battery poured into the enemy battery, but the defenses were too strong to penetrate. Then the other two batteries joined in. The Chessori shields quickly failed, then an immense fireball rose from its location, followed closely by a huge explosion.
When the air cleared, there was only a smoking hole in the ground with a few remnants of structure poking out of it.
Reba set the ship down, but she kept her crew together, issuing orders to move to the only other frigate on the line. She no longer wanted this one, it was damaged. Someone else would have to see to repairs.
She got settled into the other frigate and waited to see what developed. She and Waverly stayed in constant contact; anything he knew, she would know.
It took a full ten hours to clear the military side of the port. Waverly glared wearily at the civilian ships standing on the other side of the field. The scree still sounded, and it had to be coming from there.
“Only one way to do this,” he said to his adjutant, now truly exhausted. “One by one.”
“Any idea where the scree is coming from?” Reba asked Waverly over the comm link.
“No idea at all. We haven’t secured all the buildings here at the port, and it could be coming from anywhere in the city,” he replied calmly. “We don’t know the range of the thing, but my money is on the civilian ships.”
“I’m worried that we could be attacked from a ship in orbit,” she replied, “but I don’t want to be out of position on the far side of the planet if someone comes in. I’ll just stay here and be ready to go if needed.”
Hours later, as Waverly and his men slowly worked their way through the civilian ships and buildings, a Chessori trader came streaking in at low altitude from the west. The moment it appeared, two Chessori traders parked on the far side of the field took off. Reba lifted her ship to attack, but to her amazement, both traders were taken out by the three weapons platforms on the field. She grinned at the thought of Walters and his crew getting another chance to use their newest toy.
Reba followed the first trader and allowed it to reach orbit, then set her own gunners on it. The trader’s weapons were insignificant against a frigate, and her gunners quickly prevailed. As the Chessori turned into a brief, roiling fireball, the scree ended.
When she returned to Orion III, she made her way to Korban’s office. Her Raiders were still clearing buildings in the city and at both space ports, but Korban’s men were getting back on their feet and taking over as quickly as Waverly could brief the commanders. All that remained was a mopping up exercise, and everyone knew it.
Val met her outside Korban’s office with a shaky embrace, still recovering from his own ordeal with the scree. Korban came out into the foyer to greet her, offering a deep bow.
“My Lady, you and your men have saved the day.”
She collapsed into a chair, returning his bow with a stern glare. “The day, perhaps. How goes it for Chandrajuski?”
“Struthers’ reinforcements have not yet arrived. Chandrajuski just called the rest of his ships into the system, and that should put them in front of the Rebels. I’d like to help him, but you’ve told me my sailors will be completely ineffective against the scree. Now that I’ve experienced it myself, I’m convinced.”
She considered long and hard, then looked to Val. He raised his eyebrows and said, “Korban has seven squadrons, four of them in excellent condition, the others lacking only crew. Unfortunately, you’re the only pilot we have who is immune.”
She looked at Waverly. “Then we’ll just have to train some more, eh?”
He shook his head. “I’ll give you all the gunners you want, but my guys are not psychologically fit to be pilots. It’s a whole different mindset from ground fighting.”
“I know, but we’re sitting at the bottom of a gravity well with everyone falling toward us. What if Chandrajuski’s forces lose, or what if they let a squadron or two get through? We’re dead meat. I’d like to set up a last ditch defense. We can forget the small ships. How about if we just try to man the cruisers?”
“We could just as well make plans to get out of here if necessary.”
“We could, Jim. They’re your men. It’s your call.”
Waverly stared at her, then looked to Val, then Korban. His lips tightened. “We’re not just here to rescue this sector. We’re here to defend Earth. We’ll stay, and we’ll fight even if they land. We’ll make plans for both contingencies. I’ll personally select your pilots, but I beg you to find a better solution.”
Korban issued orders to all seven of his squadrons to return to the planet. Reba would pilot one cruiser, and eighteen Raiders were chosen to fly the other six. The plan was Reba’s, and though it was unorthodox, she would train three pilots to fly each ship. Only one could do the actual flying, but that one pilot would be coached and helped by two others.
Val shook his head at the audacity of these Terrans, but he jumped in with both feet to help with the training.
T rexler
Chapter Twenty-three
Chandrajuski rejoined his forces, still shaken by the extended experience of the scree. “What’s the plan?” he asked M’Coda.
“The governor’s reinforcements are due to arrive soon, but we don’t know their strength, and we don’t know if they’ll be grouped together or come at us from all directions. We don’t want to show our fast ship advantage unless it’s absolutely necessary. Those are the ground rules.”