Copyright 1992. So there!
THE 4.5TH COLUMNISTS
by
Scott Kellogg
- IL -
Five Swordfish II's of Kangaroo squadron screamed in on the
particle accelerator batteries with their anti-ship pulse lasers
licking away at the armored emplacements, gouging scars in the
heavy superdense.
Eight Shtelfires came climbing up the Swordfish II's tails.
A growling note sounded in the pilot's ears as their missile's
seeker heads locked onto the data fed from the Shtel's sensor
arrays. Three missiles leapt from each Shtel toward the wildly
jinking Swordfish II's.
Most of the missiles went wide, but three found their way to
their targets. In a small flash, one of the Swordfish lost all
power and plowed a deep furrow in the ground. A second Swordfish,
wildly evading one missile, veered right into the path of a second
missile and blew the cockpit off. The third missile ripped a
Fish's turret off, taking the fighter's computer systems with it
leaving a plate of twisted metal, plastic and diamond semiconductor
spaghetti: she was maimed, but alive, close enough to the ground
to spit at it.
The three survivors pulled away from the barren surface.
The eight Shtels closed in for the kill.
But the Shtels luck was turning as the five Swordfish I's of
Rabbit squadron bore in on the climbing Shtels.
Kangaroos chased by Shtels chased by Rabbits. The surface of
Zylath was the site of the largest 6G carousel as the three groups
went into a defensive wheel formation.
The Kangaroos laser turrets turned to bear on their attackers
while the Rabbits fired their missiles catching their opponents in
a Shtelfire sandwich. But against the superior electronic
countermeasures of the Shtels computers, the vollies found no
marks.
The Shtels missiles streaked after the surviving Kangaroos but
the pilots were fully alerted to the defensive now, and were ready
for the launch. Not a missile came close to the twisting
Kangaroos.
The fight was too even.
The stalemate was broken as five Swordfish I's of Dingo
squadron blazed in to tip the balance. They swooped into the
circle of fire and lit off their missiles.
The outnumbered Shtels weren't ready for the onslaught. One
Shtel vaporized. Another went out of control as the cockpit
shattered under the force of the blast.
The Shtelfires fired another salvo of missiles on the fleeing
Kangaroo squadron and broke off. The crippled Swordfish II
crumpled under her second hit while another sailed on into the
blackness without power.
- L -
"Grahl, Ancients! Am I glad to see you! I thought cha' were
one of them!" Gresha waved the group into the garage with an
automatic. She still looked ill from the radiation serum, but was
on her feet. "We'll never fit the Tilly's into the grav
ambulance."
Jiet nodded. "Yes. They'll have to ride on the outside."
"Where the gvresh are we going?"
"We've gotta get back to the Flamboyant." growled Jiet.
"She's too well guarded so we go for their armory first and get
loaded for bear!"
Gresha counted and came up one short, "Where's Kfoks?"
"Out on the surface somewhere." growled Tuerz.
- LI -
The Battleaxe's cutter swung low over Kfoks's head and settled
on the surface with the modular bay swung open. Quickly, a Kuum
grav armored personnel carrier dropped out. The cutter, relieved
of it's precious cargo climbed back up at full power.
With no prelude, the APC swung round and bore down on Kfoks
with her clamshell doors wide open.
The Tilly clumped over and climbed into the Kuum's cargo
space, the armored bulk barely fit as the clamshells closed. Kfoks
was jounced as the APC took off in a nape of the ground flight.
"Welcome aboard, mate."
- LII -
Niedrsha slowly lifted the grav ambulance and began guiding
her for the armory. "Miakr? You sure you can get us in the armory
from that account?"
Miakr nodded "No question. This account looks like it
belonged to their main supply officer. Got their whole inventory."
Niedrsha frowned, "Whole inventory... Ummm, Jiet. Just
thought of something..."
Jietlshaiepr, in the midst of examining her bandaged arm,
looked up, "What?"
"These bastards are pretty sore losers, right?"
"Yeah?"
"Suicide capsules, the whole bit." Niedrsha exhaled sharply,
"So, what happens if they figure they're losin'?"
"Mmmm... They'll throw a party and get bombed out their
minds."
Niedrsha nodded. "Well, that's one party I can afford to
miss."
Shtam turned to Miakr, "Can you get into the Flamboyant's
systems from here?"
Miakr checked the hand computer. "Ummm... I think so..."
"Do it. I want the systems running through the emergency
automatic checklist for take off. We may have to get out of here
in a hurry."
Miakr nodded. "Okay. I'm on it."
- LIII -
High in orbit, Lt. Dragoon sat on the bridge of the Burke
sulking. The main body of the task force was down in close laying
orbital fire support, and here she was up in high guard position
twiddling her thumbs.
Nothing on sensors out there, "Damn orders!" she growled.
Great opportunity to get in action, and here she was guarding the
task force from it's own... shadow...
...Shadow? Hmmm... that's the second time that sensor glitch
appeared... She crossed her fingers and grinned. Maybe there
*was* something out here to fight...
Dragoon flicked the toggle safety off the active sensors.
Let's see if anybody's home...
"Energizing active EMS! Targeting... Bogie... Negative...
She's a bandit!"
Dragoon kicked the throttle over. "Burke to task force. Have
identified a Ninz class scout. Closing to engage."
"Gunner! Weapon's free! Ram a nuke down that bastard's
throat!"
Two missiles leapt from the Burke's racks and flashed off into
the darkness. Almost immediately the Ninz returned fire. The
missiles arced across the blackness passing within mere kilometers
of each other on opposite courses.
One of the Burke's missiles flew wide. The second connected
with the onrushing Ninz. The detonation gave Zylath a second sun
for a millisecond as pieces of the Ninz scattered across the high
orbit of the small planet.
Separated from the umbilical cord of guiding maser beams, the
Ninz's missiles sought the Burke on their own power, but without
the Ninz's computer to help them, they were easily sidestepped by
Dragoon's pirouettes.
- LIV -
Miakr looked up from the hand computer. "I've got the
Flamboyant chewing on the checklist. Five minutes 'till power
plant start up. Got ship's sensors going. Looks like about
sixteen of those robots outside guarding her."
Shtam grinned. "Good. Now can you make a data transfer to the
Flamboyant from here?"
"Yeah..."
"Do it: all the data you can get. If a lot of shipping went
through here, we might be able to get an idea of where it came
from, and where it was going."
"Ok..."
Shtam took a deep breath. "With luck we may even find out
where they have shipped Dr. Malenkoviepr..."
An alarm sounded on the ambulance radio. "Alert! Alert!
Enemy troops have breached the starport landing bay! Blazer
Company, divert to landing bay!"
- LV -
The Kuum APC entered the glowing hole in the starport airlock.
She flew over the blasted carcass of one of her fellows as a plasma
bolt streamed by missing by a meter. A second bolt scorched the
APC's armored hull, rocking the thirty seven ton mass slightly.
The APC's VRF gauss gun locked on the source of the blasts and
chewed the plasma gunner in half.
The Kuum's doors swung open. Sergeant Tucker screamed "GO!
GO! GO!" and jumped as two fire teams of marines leaped out and
into firing positions.
Gauss needles began arcing over the scene as Kfoks dropped out
of the cargo bay to join the Sergeant under the cover of the
blasted Kuum.
"I'll lay down covering fire." shouted Kfoks, "You move yer
men up!"
Tucker's helmet nodded.
Kfoks popped up and blazed fusing plasma over the source of
the annoyance.
"MOVE IT! MOVE IT! MOVE IT!"
- LVI -
Eight Shtelfires screamed toward the body of the task force.
Quickly they began unloading their missile racks, sending off
salvoes to the League of Suns ships, concentrated on the Machete.
The mercenary cruiser's lasers swung round to engage the
closing missiles managing to pick off three of the pursuing probing
salvoes. Three more slammed into the Machete's spherical hull.
Her heavy bulk was shaken by three nuclear explosions.
Hydrogen fuel streamed off into the vacuum in a giant cloud of
gas. Fifty tons of hydrogen and bits of lanathnum plasma formed a
freezing, burning sphere around the stricken ship.
The task force quickly shifted targets to avenge the strike.
A fusillade of destruction caught the Shtel's, blowing seven of the
eight from the black skies of Zylath.
In desperation, the last Shtel fired off a second salvo of
missiles at the Machete and ran. The combined batteries of the
entire task force blazed after the fleeing fighter which vaporized
under the heavy abuse.
The second missile salvo, now without guidance from the
Shtel's computers blinked for a second and found the target on
their own. The missile detonated on target. The Machete's
computers were awash in a sea of radiation. The electromagnetic
pulse blew the connections to the diamond semiconductor chips
arcing and melting the systems around it.
- LVII -
The heavy blast door to the armory lifted open to admit the
ambulance. The reunited PPO2's swept into the room while Kaezorr
and Rackan in the Tilly's dropped off the outside of the ambulance
and swung round looking for...
...Nothing?
The armory was unguarded.
"Looks like we had a convenient diversion!" sighed
Jietlshaiepr. The crew climbed out of the ambulance to look on the
stockpile.
The bunker was overflowing with an orgy of ordnance.
Conventional missiles stood in row upon row upon row. Missile
booster stages stood awaiting their unconventional warheads stored
in different safe bins, nuclear, biological, chemical. Death
harnessed and imprisoned in tiny containers labeled with bright
colors and garish designs. All waiting impatiently for someone to
loose their collars.
Racks of gauss rifles stood ready. A plethora of plasma guns,
loads of lasers, rows of rocket launchers, cases of caseless ammo,
mounds of ammunition, heaps of HEAP all competed for space on the
floor of the stockpile.
Shtam surveyed the army of armaments, "There are enough
munitions here to supply an entire invasion. You could refit a
fleet of ships with all this."
"Yeah," agreed Niedrsha, "but who's fleet? And where are they
bound?"
"They will be invading the Domain of Alentzar." answered
Shtam. "Zylath is a good strategic position."
"Somebody's planning a Big party..." Observed Tuerz.
"Nuclear rounds..." Jietlshaiepr raised an eyebrow, "Let's
make *sure* all they do is *plan* that party."
- LVIII -
A team of cargobots edged into the landing bay of the
Flamboyant carrying seven heavy cargo containers. The sergeant in
charge of the squad guarding the ship strode over to them as they
headed for the ship's cargo lock which opened to greet them.
"What's this?" he asked suspiciously.
The robot cargo master did not slow. "Work order niner zero
seven three two charlie. Load cargo containers: delta one, two,
three, four, five, six, seven, eight into docked ship via aft cargo
bay."
"Who authorized this? I wasn't notified."
"Work order niner zero seven three two charlie comes from
Supply Officer Carton."
The sergeant sighed, better not question it. Carton was a
real bastard sometimes: the stupid and officious type. He didn't
realize that Carton was hardly likely to bother him again as his
brains were currently spread over the walls of one of the bunker's
terminal rooms.
"Proceed."
The robots hurried about the task of loading the eight crates.
- LIX -
Miakr opened the crate and jumped out as soon as the cargo
door boomed shut. "It worked!"
Jiet crawled carefully out of the crate with Niedrsha's help.
"Good going. Ok crew. Man your stations. We're getting out of
here."
Tuerz growled mutinously. "We aren't leaving."
"What?"
"Taek is still out there."
Jietlshaiepr eyed Tuerz angrily and growled, "We're going to
get him. We don't leave anyone behind. Now, get to your station
mister!"
Tuerz ears drooped and he retreated, his tail curled slightly
between his legs.
- LX -
"Power is up!" called Shtam from engineering.
Jietlshaiepr sat nervously on the bridge. She watched as
Miakr fed firing orders to the turret computers. Sixteen troops in
the outside bay, six lasers in two turrets. "Ready Miakr?" she
asked.
Miakr continued working "Just a second more... ok... ok..."
He brightened, "All fed in."
Jietlshaiepr turned to her lover at the pilot's station,
"Ready Niedrsha?"
"Checklists complete. Ready for take off."
Jietlshaiepr set her jaw. "Right. Gunnery stations to
automatic control. Commence fire on my mark."
She drew a deep breath and sat back in her chair. "MARK!"
The laser turrets swept round and fired on low power. Six one
megawatt beams of photons surgically removed the targets standing
in the landing bay. It was over in a tenth of a second. The last
was hit before the first had even started to crumple.
Jietlshaiepr grinned. "Ok, Miakr open that door!"
The heavy bay doors began to open sending the air out into the
vacuum in a typhoon.
Suddenly, the doors stopped dead and began to close.
They'd been detected.
The laser turrets swung round and began chewing on the bay
doors. The turrets began to draw their full power and the heavy
armored doors began to puddle on the floor. The glare shields went
up in the flamboyant as one point five gigawatts of energy blazed
away at the doors.
The laser's shut off.
The glare shields cut out.
The crew watched as the glowing metal doors fell slowly to the
ground in the low gravity of Zylath.
Niedrsha grinned and pulled up on the collective as the
Flamboyant slowly lifted vertically and eased out through the hole
she'd carved.
- LXI -
"Captain! Picking up new target!"
Stewart growled, "Identify!"
"Sensors make her out as a Fiery class gunned escort."
"Cud' be th' Flamboyant." Lt. Jones interjected.
"Picking up their masercom."
Stewart raised an eyebrow. "Put 'em on."
Miakr's voice came over the link, "...of Suns task force, this
is the Flamboyant come in..."
"This is Commander Stewart. Go ahead Flamboyant."
"Do your fire! Repeat, do not fire! We're on your side!
Hold on..."
Jietlshaiepr's voice replaced Miakr on the circuit.
"Commander Stewart, if you've got troops down there you'd better
get them out, now! These folks are known for their scorched ground
policy."
Stewart started to speak when Lt. Jones interrupted him.
"Leftenant Jietlshaiepr, this is Leftenant Jones. How are Miakr's
stitches?"
Stewart eyed Jones critically, but kept his mouth shut.
*These bloody intell types!*
Jietlshaiepr hesitated on the line, "Ummm... fine. He
recovered quickly considering... Mind you I had to clean up your
work, but not bad over all."
"Ye' cleaned up *My* work? Ye'..." Jones grimaced, "Yeah,
Commander, it's them. Think we'd better get th' men back 'ere
quick. If there's a bomb, it's a mother of all bombs..."
- LXII -
The center of town was a dead vacuum when the recall order
came. All the air had leaked out through the blast holes from the
fire fight. The defenders were being driven back slowly and not
without cost.
Tucker and Kfoks fazed back covering the retreat back to the
APC's at the landing bay with a wall of plasma.
The defenders had holed up in a large building. At first they
thought the cease fire was another ruse while the attackers dropped
back to switch to a probing attack.
Find the weak points.
It took them some time to realize that their adversaries were
pulling out. Had they beaten them off? Or was it a trick?
A minute later they came out ready to counter attack.
They caught up with the troops loading in their APC's. Gauss
needles splintered off the hulls and cutting down one of the
marines. His combat armor leaking away air and blood.
A bolt of fusing plasma drove the counter attack back
momentarily, but they had seen the marines were in retreat. Now
they could really smash them as they sought to escape.
Suddenly, a new form hovered through the smashed landing bay
doors.
The triangular wedge of the Flamboyant came through.
Jietlshaiepr's voice came over the circuit. "Hey! Kfoks!
You order a pizza?"
Kfoks barked over the radio "GrraSH! Team am I glad to see
you!"
"You want this pizza or not?"
Kfoks barked a laugh, "HARF! Sure! Got my laser designator,
deliver it to this address, and don't forget the anchovies!" Kfoks
laser welder shined over the target where the defenders were
gathering their strength.
"On the way! Flamboyant's delivers!"
The ship's lasers came up again at low power melting away the
rubble and smashing up the cover the defenders needed.
"So long, Tucker!" called Kfoks, "Thanks for the lift, but I
got my own ride home now!"
"G'day Kfoks! Fun workin' w' ye!"
Kfoks clumped heavily across the pad and climbed into the
Flamboyant's cargo hold. Inside, he punched the hatch close and
howled to the bridge. "HAAAROOO! Niedrsha! Get us outta here!"
"On the way!" Niedrsha called.
The Flamboyant lifted, spun around and headed for space.
__________________________________________________
Well folx, that's it.
I'm gonna be working on the next chapter fer a while.
Should be 3 (possibly 2) more chapters in this.
6: Shades of Gray
7: Eve of Destruction
8: For What It's Worth
(Gee, sounds like a lot of TL 6 Rock and Roll don't it?
Triva: Who were the artists?) :-)
2G Scott