He tasted sweet victory as the jump point convulsed and the transport emerged. The hull marker UCSBTS-27413 stood like a beacon. He jumped to his feet in response and stabbed at the craft with a pointed hand. “Now, full speed for the jump point. Saldray give them a full spread.”

  The ship lunged beneath his feet as coherent light bridged the gap between the two ships. I just wish I could the looks on their stupid faces.

  Bridge, UCSBTS-27413

  “What in Drig’s name is that idiot doing?” Blazer roared as the transport rushed past them, every one of its turrets firing upon them. “Shreg! Full power to the combat shields! Helm, evasive, now! All hands, prepare for emergency evasion!”

  Blazer held tight to his chair as Rudjick dove their transport away. The ship rattled as their thrusters mimicked the impact of the incoming fire. Blazer desperately checked the status of their own weapons as the two craft raced past each other.. They were cold. His eyes went wide as he looked over at Chris’ console. Her fingers danced across it as she poured power into their shields, but it was too late. Damage indicators all across the ship lit up her board. “I can’t get the combat shields up to power. Their first hit nailed the dorsal ion projector. The Hyperspace shield isn’t of much help as this is all energy weapons. Fragging Sheol, they’re after the sensor array!”

  “Helm, angle us so the main sensor array is out of their line of fire.”

  “Already on it,” Rudjick called out as the alert siren roared to life.

  Blazer studied the tactical display as Rudjick turned and rolled the ship, the turrets of the other transport changing targets. “Chris close all habitat ring view ports and route all available shields to the rear of the ship.”

  “What, why?”

  “Just do it!” Blazer ordered and prayed that he was right. “Rudjick show them our tail and on my mark go full burn. Chris prepare to deploy that anti-laser chaff we found on my command.”

  “Got it,” Chris replied with a nod.

  Blazer dared not take his eyes from the tactical display as the ship twisted about beneath him. The structure groaned as Rudjick pointed them away from the hostile ship and more simulated plaser fire hammered their weakened shields. “Now!”

  The sudden acceleration threw Blazer back into the command chair as the anti-laser chaff burst into a cloud behind them. Blazer could tell why the countermeasure had fallen out of favor. While it dispersed and reflected the lasers, it did little to diffuse the plasma in each round. Before Blazer could even consider returning fire, the other transport escaped into the jump point.

  He looked about the bridge as everyone took a breath, adrenaline pumping through their veins. Calls began to come in from all around the ship as he caught his breath. “Damage report?”

  Chris nodded, checked her display, and scowled. “Long range sensors took a direct hit before we could evade. We have simulated decompression in the aft ring, alerting damage control parties.”

  Blazer activated the intercom into the rest of the ship. “All hands. We have come under attack. Attackers have fled, but we have decompression in segment six aft ring. All personnel enact emergency procedures. Damage control crews suit up and report to segment six and effect repairs. Medical teams on standby.” Blazer turned back to Chris and looked at her board. “Any other breaches? What’s the status of the shadow shields?”

  Chris raised an eyebrow for a moment, then her eyes went wide, and she rechecked the readings. “Shadow shield three took a direct hit. We have a breach.”

  An image of the simulated breach appeared on the main display and Blazer studied it. The simulated damage opened up a cone of radiation beaming straight through the spokes of the spin rings.

  “Radiator two took a hit as well, but it isn’t bad. Your trick dispersed their ranging lasers enough to keep the damage light.”

  Blazer breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay. Let’s get Arion’s DC party out there with a patch.”

  The hatch onto the bridge burst open and Zithe shot through, dressed only in his robe, Tadeh Qudas in his wake. “Report!” the bald Lycan ordered as he flipped about and landed on the ceiling.

  “Chertsin nailed us as we were coming through. He made a run at us from the exit side of the jump point too. I think he was trying to blind and cripple us, not ghost us.”

  Zithe rubbed his chin as he stared at the damage display. “Damn. I should have expected something like that. Contact the Pride of Niatoo and get them to rendezvous with us ASAP. Then contact the Black Vises and Pogrin’s Payback back in 36. Let them know what happened.” Zithe shot a look at Tadeh Qudas as he studied the playback of the brief engagement. “Sir, did they violate any protocols in their attack?”

  Tadeh Qudas shook his head as the playback finished. “So far as I can see, the only violation was one in regards to hyperspace entry and exit vectors. It’s nothing the academy will penalize them for. I will link in with the observer corvette and have them issue a reprimand. However, you knew they were in this system. You should have been better prepared.”

  Zithe nodded. “From now on, we jump on first shift only, with all weapons at the ready.” Zithe looked around the bridge and launched towards the command chair.

  Blazer gave up the seat as Zithe approached. So what now?

  Zithe retook his seat and activated the intercom. “All hands. This is your captain speaking. As you all know by now, we came under attack as we entered the system. Chertsin’s Commandos executed a surgical strike against us and caught us like pups in a nest. We won’t let that happen again, nor will we lose focus on our primary mission. Though our nose is bloodied, we will not seek out retaliation.” Zithe paused for effect.

  He has to be kidding? The whole crew’s going to want blood for this, Blazer thought.

  “We have a job to do here. We will do it, first and foremost,” he continued. “Rest assured however, when the time comes, and it will, Chertsin and his crony commandos will pay the price, with interest. We will show them that this wolf kicks when bit, and that this wolf hunts in a pack.”

  Blazer smiled as cheers and hoots came back over the link. “Should we contact any remaining neutral ships and let them know what happened?”

  “That was my next plan. I have the bridge. I want you heading up the damage control parties.”

  UCSB DATE: 1003.101

  Main Hold, UCSBTS-27413, System: T-18-E-37

  Gokhead flitted through the bay towards the aft spin ring hub, his micomm displaying the latest updates on their exploration efforts. Their defensive protocols had slowed all operations and frustrated him to no end. Traveling in tandem with the Pride of Niatoo’s transport allowed them better defensive fire and cover should the Red Force attack again. But it meant that the two ships could only scan one planet at a time. At least two more neutral ships had joined the Blue Force in the tridec and half since Chertsin’s Commandos had fired upon them.

  The sound of an access panel slamming shut drew Gokhead’s attention to Blazer as he hung on the back of Gavit’s fighter. “Damn it Gavit. If you keep pushing your fighter like this then I’ll have to down it for more serious maintenance. We don’t have the facilities here that we do at the academy.”

  Gavit poked his head out of his cockpit and scowled. “Tell Zithe that. We’ve been flying back to back recon and patrol missions every cycle since we arrived.”

  “All of the pilots have been running back to back cycles. But you’re the only one that brings the bird back so stressed. Take it easy this time.” Blazer tapped the side of his head and looked down at the belly of the fighter before Gadcon emerged. “Your miniprobes are all loaded and ready to go.”

  “Thanks,” Gavit replied and began to seal his canopy. Blazer hopped off to help the crew load up one of the shuttles.

  Gokhead shook his head. He and Marda had been on patrol the cycle before and still hadn’t had adequate time to rest. The survey mission they’d planned for this cycle was too important. The massive gas giant they’d slipstreamed towards had at least a dozen moons according to their still-compromised sensors. Fatigued or not, his probe team had to excel.

  He reached the hub and latched onto the waiting lift towards the probe control segment. He wished once again that the academy hadn’t placed the probe control bay in the spin rings. Once under gravity, he ran into the bay. His science cadets were already at their stations as they readied the six long-range probes for launch. The timer ticking away in the air above them, he addressed his team. “Eight pulses people. I want a status check.” He looked down at the status of his own probe. It had been ready since before he’d checked in with Zithe. It was important for him to always be first, ahead of his team. “Probe One has a blue board.”

  “Probe two, blue.”

  “Probe three, fueling now, all else blue.”

  “Probe four, refueling complete, we’re ready.”

  “Probe five, sensors are still being adjusted in the pit, all else ready.”

  Gokhead wasn’t about to let the oversight that had almost lost them probe five happen again and turned to the cadet. “Fuel?”

  “Correction, all else on schedule we’re next for fuel.”

  “Good, probe six?”

  “Probe Six… We’re having trouble, computer is still not responding to commands.”

  Gokhead poked his head around to look at the probe’s six controllers. “Check your command and control board.”

  “Self-test shows good,” the Drashig cadet replied. “Performing BIT on the receiver unit.”

  Gokhead turned to the camera feed to the probe launch pit and keyed his link. “Pit crew, probe command, check that all the connections to the command and control board in probe six.”

  “Probe Command, this is pit crew, probe six’s command and control board is not installed,” an annoyed voice replied over the link. “We had to pull it due to a faulty command interpreter. Check the logs. We will have it installed in half a pulse.”

  “Copy that pit crew,” Gokhead replied, fixing the Drashig cadet with a hard stare. “Probe Five you’ve got three pulses. What’s your status?”

  “Taking on fuel now, sensors are recalibrated and ready to fly, looks like six is the slacker this time.”

  “Copy that. Six, you know the rules. You buy drinks after shift.”

  “Probe Command this is pit crew. Command and Control board is installed into probe six and we have begun fueling. Request permission to clear the pit.”

  Gokhead looked to the Drashig cadet controlling probe six. “Standby one pit crew.”

  The cadet stared at his screen for a moment then gave Gokhead a thumbs up.

  “Pit crew you are clear to vacate the pit. Everything is set here. One pulse to reversion, move it!”

  “Halfway out the hatch already,” the reply came.

  “All hands prepare for reversion,” Zithe’s voice blared over the loudspeaker. The tension rose in the control bay. “We are T-Minus one pulse. All sections check in.”

  “Fighter one, check,” Matt replied.

  “Fighter two, check,” Nash reported.

  “Fighter maintenance crews are clear,” Blazer continued as he and the other cadets evacuated to the cargo loading crane, snapping safety tethers to its framework.

  “Shuttle one ready,” Acknit answered.

  “Shuttle two set,” Telsh reported.

  “All probes are ready to launch,” Gokhead relayed as the pit crews floated out of the launchers towards Blazer and his team.

  “Main sensors set,” Alieha replied through the speaker.

  “Main engines are blue,” Chris came back, the sound of humming electronics clearly to be heard.

  “Weapon systems are primed,” Arion reported.

  “Confirmed, all hands reversion in five, four, three, two, one…”

  The ship decelerated from .8C to orbital velocity in less than a pulse. It lurched as it regained the last of its hidden mass. If it weren’t for the acceleration compensators, they would all have been smears on the forward bulkheads. The floor vibrated for a moment, and Gokhead shook his head. Chris needs to recalibrate the slipstream drive. The ship shouldn’t shudder this much during reversion.

  A loud thump rang though the bay monitor and Gokhead peered towards the feed to the fighter docks. The gaunt arms of the fighter docks sprang out, shoving the fighters out in scramble mode. Gokhead grabbed his console as the atmosphere shield fluctuated under the assault, puffs of atmosphere escaping out around the arms as they retracted. Gokhead hated this part and instinctively held his breath as the docking claws breached the fields, destabilizing them enough to collapse for an instant.

  The collection of debris behind the launch doors responded to the field collapse. With nothing but raw vacuum beyond, the colored trash flew out towards the opening. Two pieces slipped through before the hatches slammed shut.

  Shaking his head, Gokhead turned towards his crew. Tiny bits of colored plastic passed between several of them. This betting on trash is getting out of hand. I’d say something if it wasn’t one of the few bits of live entertainment we’re permitted.

  Right on cue, Bichard’s hum-click voice rang over Gokhead’s speaker. “Bridge to Probe Control.”

  “Probe Control here,” Gokhead responded and fingered his purple snack chit.

  “The captain wishes to know if anything was lost during fighter launch.”

  “Tell Zithe that the greens lost and I get his snack chit,” Gokhead replied with a smirk. Whether he agreed with the gambling or not, Gokhead’s sugar craving needed satisfaction, and he had yet to lose.

  A moment later Bichard replied. “Confirmed, you can collect later. The captain also wishes to know what probe was last to be readied.”

  “Tell him probe six. And, we are ready to launch at any time.”

  “Confirmed, launch when ready,” Bichard came back a moment later.

  Gokhead snatched his WSO helmet from its pedestal and slipped it on. “Commencing launch countdown,” he reported before dropping into the level-five interface.

  Gokhead breathed out a sigh of relief. The hectic noise of the control bay disappeared as he became one with his probe. He felt the launch cradle holding onto him and commanded the starboard hatch to open. The brilliant hues of a nearby nebula flooded his optics as the launch arm pushed the probe out into the void. The two shuttles on this side flanked his launcher and he double checked his navigation system. Rudjick had better keep the ship on course: even a minor disruption could cause his probe to collide with one of the two docked craft.

  Ever vigilant of the timer, Gokhead performed his last prelaunch check of the probe. A power fluctuation in the torpedo-sized craft drew his attention, but a tickle on his belly convinced him it was fine. The umbilical had just disconnected. He was on internal power now.

  As the timer reached zero, Gokhead felt like he’d been punched as the separation charge fired. The squibs severed the holdback lugs and his engine ignited. His probe surged forward, the transport no more than a blur as he shot free and got his first good look at the planet. He stared in awe, the rich colors swirling about him a surreealist’s dream as they danced across the surface. This was no pleasure flight though, and he set his probe on course into a low orbit over the massive world.

  Propelled by its powerful engine, the probe raced towards the massive world on the vector Gokhead had assigned. He watched the vector align and smiled. How many times did I do this when I was just an enlisted tech using just a console screen? The others have to be sweating their probe alignments. To him however, it was second nature. The WSO interface made it even easier. What I wouldn’t give to have had this back then. He cut out the engine a moment later, his orbital insertion complete, and set the probe on autopilot. No need to waste fuel. I’ll need it to return to the ship later.

  Overlaying the courses of the other probes into his view, Gokhead pulled back to look at the planet. He then fed in all the information coming in from their ship’s sensor and those mounted to the fighters. He noticed something. He couldn’t be sure of what it was, but his gut told him it was important. So he skipped several steps in his procedures and opened his main sensor array. Like a great metal flower, the nose of the probe blossomed open and Gokhead focused it on the distant object. He grimaced for a moment and switched the probe to gyroscopic maneuvering. Don’t waste fuel unless you have to.

  Tachyon, Electromagnetic, and Laser Illumination Active Sensors washed over the distant object as the passive detectors flooded with data. The tachyon scan returned in what seemed like an instant and Gokhead focused on the object, letting the probe continue on autopilot. “Couldn’t be,” Gokhead gasped at the sensor image. “Can anyone else put sensors on the object in quadrant six? Uploading location data.”

  “Negative, we’re all headed the wrong way,” one of the other cadets replied.

  “I caught a glimpse, have plotted its orbit,” another cadet called out and the object’s orbital path appeared. “We should have a clear line of sight on it again in three hects, marking reacquisition location.”

  Better than nothing, but I would have at least liked to get a clear image of the object first. Something about it seemed far too familiar. If he was right, he didn’t want to consider the implications. “Plot all probe orbits, I want to see what our closest approach will be.”

  In response the orbits of all six probes, as well as the patrol routes of the fighters and shuttles appeared. He didn’t like it. “I’ll have the closest approach, about half a hect after I reacquire, but that’s it. The object’s orbit is decaying rapidly.”

  “Confirmed. Looks like you should get within three hundred kimets. That’s outside mission parameters for a rendezvous though.”

  Gokhead snorted. “If it looks interesting we might be able to divert a shuttle to check it out.”

  “We’ll need the captain’s permission to do that Gokhead.”

  Gokhead pulled back out of the interface and turned to the cadet beside him. “Leave that to me. In the meantime, plot my probe a minimum fuel close approach.”