Black Legion: 05 - Sea of Fire (5 page)

“There, that should work.”

The man pointed to the control board in front of him.

“She’s configured as a recon bird, so all the tech is for the onboard suite. The guns are nothing special, but they are armed and work. I checked the load myself. Just take it from me; if you run into trouble, you’ll want to use your power unit to get back here. Don’t try and fight back.”

Xenophon began to answer, but the man was already pulling down on the canopy. It clamped down with a firm clunk, followed by a hiss as the system pressurized. It was only then that he realized he hadn’t seen his pilot. He tried to move his head, but the straps made it all but impossible. Then he felt a slight vibration and movement behind him, another clunk and more hissing.

“Xenophon, I see you couldn’t leave me alone for thirty minutes? You do know I’ve got more important things to do? Since we’ve arrived I’ve checked on the combat drills for the gun hands, and when you called, I was helping the engineers on that bucket of bolts fix their coolant leaks?”

There was something close to a groan before she continued.

“Flying Seafoxes is a job for cadets. Is it wise to have us out there, with all this junk floating around?”

“Roxana,” he said with quiet amusement, “you’re here for only one reason.”

“Let me guess?” she answered with a sigh, “You needed the best Navy officer and pilot in the fleet?”

Xenophon laughed. They had been friends for a very long time now, yet even since they were young children they had pushed each other as far as they might dare.

“Really, where is he?”

He couldn’t see her, but he could well imagine the look on her face at the implied insult. The arguments were something that was just as long as their friendship.

“Typical little rich boy, with a chauvinistic streak to match. You’ve obviously been learning from Glaucon.”

She clicked several buttons and then powered up the secondary power unit. The fans spun up, and a quiet drone filled the interior.

“No, really, why me?”

Xenophon considered trying to butter her up, but there was little point. She knew him well enough that any attempt to flatter her would probably backfire, or at the very least fail.

“You’re the only person in this scouting party qualified and experienced on this fighter.”

“Really?”

She sounded surprised.

“We have no fighter pilots on this ship?”

Again Xenophon laughed.

“Nobody old enough to have been trained on one of these, anyway.”

Roxana sighed that irritated, uninterested in continuing the conversation sound he’d heard hundreds of times before. The doors around them clamped shut, yet still there was no warning from her. Even as the engines detonated and they blasted out into space, she still said nothing.

“You mad at me now?” he asked.

“Funny. Do you have the route mapped out?”

Xenophon could tell he’d struck a nerve, so avoided it and concentrated on the job. He looked to the decrepit looking screen and touch interface that should have been in a museum. There were six small shapes marked on it.

“Yes, all six are programmed in. Nav Two is the approach marker. We coast to three.”

“Understood. Check your guns.”

Xenophon was already on that, checking the ammunition feed was spooling correctly and the targeting array was operational. It took just a few seconds until he was satisfied.

“Weapons ready.”

“Good. Hold on, we’re moving in one.”

The small fighter weaved past a pair of large lumps of rock and then settled in on a direct burn toward the next nav point. Even as they moved ahead, the engines continued to burn at their maximum, quickly accelerating toward the target. This craft was no interceptor, but it still managed a reasonable rate of increase.

“She’s not a bad little bird. Lacking in the motor department, but she’ll do,” said Roxana.

Already Xenophon could tell she was cooling off. There was little more exciting than piloting a small fighter like a Seafox. It wasn’t just that they were free and in charge of their own destiny, it was just as likely she was enjoying using a new craft, especially one as old as this one.

“Ten more seconds. Get ready.”

They turned about so that the canopy faced the large asteroid lying a short distance ahead. The object was slowly rotating, and around it moved hundreds of smaller shapes. Xenophon held his breath as Roxana expertly brought them through, the fighter hugging the asteroid at a distance of no less than thirty meters, effectively upside down in relation to it. They followed it around in an imaginary slingshot maneuver, leveling off onto a straight line away and through a modest path still inside the debris field.

“Very nice,” said Xenophon.

There was no humor or sarcasm there. The engines vibrated once, and then a high-pitched whine reverberated throughout the craft. The force of the engines pushing him back into the seat had stopped, and he could tell they were coasting.

“You ready?”

Xenophon nodded even though she couldn’t easily see him from her position further back and above him.

“Do it.”

One by one the systems shut down until nothing remained but the life support system built into their clothing and helmets. Even the visual overlays that showed heading, velocity, and other critical data shut down. Last to go was the navigational computer. Xenophon found himself smiling when he spotted the brass clock fitted into the forward display. It reset and began the three-minute countdown.

“Keep still, breathe slow, and keep your hands off the controls,” she said.

Xenophon already knew what he had to do, and to make sure he had no accidents folded his arms across his lap. The coolers fitted to the craft were already cooling down the sections easiest to spot. First was the power plant and engine outlets, second the habitation sections where the two of them sat. Xenophon felt a chill in his bones as the temperature plummeted.

Keep calm; you only have to hold on for three minutes.

He had never actually done this before, not even during his training upon being enlisted to fight in the war with Laconia. The clock continued to count down, and they drifted at high speed through the debris field. Out in front was a section of rock that spun about on its suicidal course. He’d plotted a route to go past it, but Roxana must have made a few modifications. Instead they were heading right for it.

I need to warn her.

Xenophon wanted to speak, but that would require breaking their enforced silence. Even the communications system was off-line and powered down. He could speak, but the whining inside the craft of the cooling system almost completely blotted out his voice. Of more concern was that getting loud and excited would cause him to emit more heat. The system could only barely mask them, and it was his job to help, not hinder the process.

She’s not stupid. She knows.

He was convinced he was right, but the last few hundred meters left him regretting not speaking out. They were now so close he could see marks in the rock, marks made from plasma weaponry. There were great chunks of rock missing and holes blown right through the thing. One of the gaps was massive, and only then did he realize they were heading right through it.

I should have known.

The fighter went through the breached object and out into open space. At first he could see nothing of note, and then he found it. Off to the right was another large chunk of rock, perhaps the size of a Terran Titan. Built directly into its surface was a complex series of metallic domes.

The outpost.

The fighter was on a gentle roll so they could both get a good look all around them. For a moment the facility moved away, and Xenophon was left looking at the wreckage of a Medes civilian transport. The metal was pristine, but a gash in the flank showed where something had torn right through. They rolled a little further, and now he could see at least ten ships, perhaps more. They were a mixture of craft, many bearing the insignia of Carduchia, but at least three were Imperial transports. Smaller craft traveled back and forth between the ships and the outpost.

What’s going on here?
Xenophon wondered.

The Seafox rolled around so that he could see the facility. Now that he was right over it, albeit it at quite a distance, he could see the issue. One of the domes had been ripped open while a second showed impact damage in a hundred different places. The Seafox drifted past the scene of devastation and on toward the next nav point. Xenophon tried to twist around but was held back by the straps. Finally, he stopped and looked right ahead.

Great, so we find the only outpost in the middle of a full evacuation.

They drifted on a few more kilometers before passing three more chunks of debris. Even Xenophon was impressed by the degree of skill and planning conducted by Roxana in the short time from take-off until they’d reached the first of the navbeacons.

How much longer?

The drone of motors and systems restarting answered him. The power plant warmers were first, followed by the system itself. As it warmed through, the engine activated, and they were able to change course to the next waypoint.

“Xenophon, all okay there?”

He nodded before speaking.

“Cold, but fine, yes.”

The retro engines fired once more, and then they were on their way back to the hidden group of Black Legion ships. Even so, Xenophon didn’t feel comfortable speaking until he could actually see the Theban cruiser Antaeus.

There she is. I wonder who thought Antaeus was a suitable name for a light cruiser?

Passing one of the escort torpedo boats, he activated the communications channel. The cruiser’s auletes answered.

“Put me on with Kentarchos Cadmus.”

“Yes, Topoteretes.”

They passed the second vessel while waiting for the senior officer to speak. Xenophon looked at the regional markings and the motif that showed three kills. The vessel was the smallest ship class in the fleet, yet even something that small still carried a crew of at least a dozen.

“Xenophon? What do you have?”

Finally.

“Kentarchos. Get a message to the fleet. We have a confirmed sighting of a Carduchian outpost. It’s large, and there are no Imperial capital ships in the area. It looks like they’ve taken asteroid damage in the last few hours or days. There’s some kind of relief effort ongoing.”

Again a pause.

“Understood. I’ve just sent the data to the Strategos. Could you see any sign of supplies out there? We need them like a man in the desert needs water.”

“Yes, I could see storage tanks, and there are several mining ships nearby. Let the Strategos know. I advise we send in a small team with Lady Artemas as emissary. We should be able to negotiate...”

“Sorry, Topoteretes. The Strategos has spoken. He’s moving in on your marked location at the outpost.”

Xenophon was stunned and unable to speak for a second.

“What?”

He twisted his head and again was held back by the straps.

“Roxana, get us back to the outpost, fast!”

“Already on it.”

With a groan the craft twisted about, and the engines activated just as before.

“Kentarchos, follow our approach vector. There is no point in waiting out here. Surprise has gone, and so has our chance not to spook them.”

Rather than take the stealthy route, she modified their last projected path to take just three turns before passing the worst of the debris. The trip didn’t take long, and they burst out of the rock and ice just as the shapes of half the fleet arrived. First came the Titan Valediction and then in squadrons the rest of the fleet.

“The fool.”

Xenophon shook his head in sheer amazement at the sight of what lay before him. A crippled outpost surrounded by Terran warships and a few dozen Medes civilian craft.

This could get ugly, fast!

CHAPTER THREE

Outpost Iraj, Carduchian Wilderness

Xenophon’s journey from the hangar of the cruiser took only a few minutes, but by the time he’d reached the command deck, he found things had already spiraled well out of his control. Kentarchos Cadmus was busy preparing the ship for possible battle, all on the direct orders of the Strategos. The first thing Xenophon heard was Lady Artemas speaking loudly.

“No, they say they are in the middle of a full evacuation. The entire facility has been compromised.”

He stepped into the middle of the deck and looked around. The officers were all busy, but even Kentarchos Cadmus seemed unimpressed at what was happening. He spotted Xenophon and indicated for him to look at the view of the outpost.

“The transports are already closer to the outpost, and they have activated three shield generators. The commander of the site says they will not yield to our forces.”

Xenophon rubbed his forehead and looked to Artemas.

“Do they understand we are not looking for a fight?”

She smiled at him, an expression that hid a bewildering array of thoughts. Few others than he would really know what it was she was saying, without actually saying it.