Chapter 4
Flight deck of the Singapore Dropship.

I know that I was pushing my luck with Colonel McManus, but I wasn’t going out there this time without a wingman. As it was I knew that we were going to be facing odds that no sane person would face. I expected for someone to argue with me and McManus using the two Lightnings to defend the Singapore. As we took the lift down to the Flight deck I watched as he engaged his bio-armor. As all I had was my bio-armor to wear I was surprised by how well the man was built. He had to be in his late forties to early fifties and he had the body of a twenty-year-old. For some reason the Colonel made me think of Prince James.

I pull my thought back to the here and now as the Singapore is rocked by the heavy pounding of incoming autocannon fire. “Shit they’re early. How do you want to play this Colonel? I know my last plan didn’t work too well.”

McManus looked at me then chuckled. “Lieutenant, you tried to use a two-craft attack plan with only one half the plan. I looked over your recordings of the last attack. You did everything right. Your only problem was needing a wingman. A position that I will be honored to take for this fight.”

I sighed before answering the man. “Okay sir, if that’s the way you want to play this, we’ll play. Just remember I don’t think like a normal pilot.”

“Don’t worry Lieutenant, I already know about your particular way of flying. I have read your evaluations from flight school. Your Instructors had nothing but high praise and scores for you. If it had not been for your medical clearances I would have done my damnedest to poach you for my Squadrons.” I could hear the pride in McManus’s voice at being able to fly with me.

“I just hope like hell this ain’t a one-way trip, sir. I figure we’re going to be at two-to-one odds of fighters to bombers. If I add in the fighter escort we’re talking another sixteen birds at least so figure the odds at around six-to-one between the escort and the bombers.” As I was tallying the odds in my head Colonel McManus got a strange look on his face.

“Lieutenant, I hate to tell you this, but those odds are off. By a wide margin. You said it yourself. Someone out here wants this dropship stopped. They have to do it out here on the edge of the system. Like you said earlier there has to be a heavy Carrier class dropship out here. That means our odds are more like twelve-to-one up to sixteen-to-one. Depending on what they send after our asses.”

“Not going to happen sir.” I tell him. “We downed half of their heavy fighters and a quarter of their medium TB’s. The best a heavy Carrier can support is ten medium class torpedo/bombers, twelve heavy fighters, six medium fighters, and four fast attack light fighters. If there is a Super Carrier out there then your odds are right, Colonel. And right now, I hope like hell that all we’re dealing with is a heavy Carrier and nothing more. Because if we are sir, we’re fracked.”

The doors opened before McManus could saying anything more. Seeing the two Lightnings setting there ready for takeoff I headed straight for the nearest one. I know that I should have let McManus have that one due to rank, but I felt that since I was now a woman I play the ‘women first’ card. Even as I was strapping into the fighter’s cockpit, I had the engines spinning over. As I reached to engage the combat control computer it fired up on its own.

‘Lilly are you doing something with the three C?’

‘I already have Terresa. That thing is a piece of shit straight out of the reject pile. I just bypassed it and took control of the fighter’s systems.’

‘Care to tell me why you took such a unilateral action Lilly?’ This was one of the reasons why the Infiltrator A.I.s were placed on the restricted list.

‘Because that damned thing would have gotten us killed out there. That’s why. The computational speed of that three C is barely fast enough to control the engine output. The moment you put it through combat operations it would have crashed.’ I took me a few seconds to understand what Lilly was talking about.

‘Lilly, is the Colonel dealing with the same type of three C?’ I really did need to know if McManus was in the same boat as me.

‘No Terresa, the three C in his fighter is a newer model. He is not handicapped the way we are. Is the Colonel really going to be are wingman?’

‘That is the safest position for him in this fight Lilly. He’s a fighter pilot and his place is out there in the cockpit of a fighter, but that doesn’t mean I have to let him put his ass in the line of fire. How do you got the weapons paired?’

‘I’m still setting that up Terresa. Sorry it’s taking so long, but I’m having to work around the safety protocols for maximum effect.’ I know that Lilly was one of the fastest A.I.s there is in the Empire. The fact that she was having a hard time configuring the weapons meant that she had her hands full.

“All set here Scorpion. You ready to lunch?”

“Time to join the dance party, Falcon.” I shoved the throttles to the stops and released the grave breaks. As before I rocketed down the lunch tube and into the fight. I called out just before I cleared my cradle. “Glory or death, Falcon. Glory or death.”

His response was immediate. “To death and glory, Scorpion, death and glory.”

I know that my brother and sister didn’t understand when I said that to them earlier. McManus though, he did. It was like saying ‘break a leg’ instead of ‘good luck’ in the theater. For pilots we either die or return in victory. As I pulled up hard on the stick Lilly flashed the weapons pairing on the fighter’s HUD. I had to admit that I couldn’t have picked a better setup. The Pulse Plasma Lasers were on trigger one set to fire in a Gatling fashion. The four Particle Project Cannons were on trigger two and in a two-by-two over-and-under fashion. The only problem I had was my missile pods weren’t displayed.

‘Don’t worry Terresa. I’ve got them. You just take care of getting me a target. I’ll take care of putting those missiles where they’ll do the most good. Besides, I want some fracking payback! Out there some where is the bitch that blew up my old body.’ There was a snarl in Lilly’s voice. The fact that she was pissed off over having her old airframe destroyed was a little worrying.

I have to put my feelings on the matter aside for now. As my own HUD and H.H.S.S. kicked in. It didn’t take me more than two seconds to spot and catalog every enemy combatant in the area. My earlier calculations for our odds were off but so was McManus’s calculations. While the escort and attack fighters were between our two guesses the torpedo/bombers was way up.

“Scorpion, I hate to say this, but we got something bigger out here to support that many TB’s. That or they have set the heavy up as an attack carrier. Over”

“Falcon, I would give you better odds on our friends setting up a heavy Carrier in that manner than I would for the next Aerial Speed Track World Cup. Over” I know that sooner or later my gambling and book making was going to get me into trouble. Right now, I really didn’t give a shit. I spotted the major threat to the Singapore.

“What odds are you giving on Stone, Scorpion? Oh, and there are our bunnies. I count twelve VF-105B Thunderchiefs. Those two-by-two formations give them a three-attack vector. Over” I almost laughed at McManus when he asked for odds on Joey Stone.

As I rolled over into a power dive on the first set of four Thunderchiefs McManus was lining up to support my attack. With Lilly scanning the area for the Black Witch and any other fighter I dove on my quarry. I announced my arrival by firing on the VF-105 in the number one position. As the PPLs cycled through their sequence I was amazed by the damage they were doing. ‘Lilly what the hell is happening here? Our PPLs shouldn’t be racking up that kind of damage.’

‘Normally they won’t, but with them working in a Gatlin gun fashion it increases their fire rate, and thus their damage.’ The smugness in Lilly’s voice made wish I could get a hold of her. Because I want to hug the crazy little bitch. ‘I love you to Terresa. Now get your head in the game that first Thunderchief is dead and the number two is coming into firing position.’

I didn’t even think twice as I hit the trigger for my PPC’s twice. The over-under configuration slammed into the cockpit of the second Thunderchief as if they were each targeted individually. Then it hit me. They were being targeted individually by me. Between my H.H.S.S. and Lilly I had far more control over my primary weapons than a normal pilot would. I was literally one with my fighter’s targeting system.

We cleared the first TB’s Flight and were swing around to make a run on the second group when I spotted something unusual. The TB’s should have broken off their attack runs and changed course, but they were still on their original flight paths. I keyed my mike and made contract with McManus.

“Falcon, shouldn’t they be breaking off and coming in from different vectors? Over”

“What are you getting at Scorpion? Over” McManus asked.

“Falcon, these birds are acting like robots or A.I. driven L.E.O.s That’s what I’m getting at. Over” I knew the moment I brought it up that McManus would put it together faster than I had.

“Shit! Where is the C and C ship controlling these damned things, Scorpion? Over”

“Falcon that it the sixty-four credit question. You want to go hunting, while I’ll hold off the TB attacks? Over”

“Breaking off, Scorpion. You’re on your own. Good hunting, and don’t get your ass shot off. Your brother and sister will have my head if you do. Over” I watched as McManus rolled high right and out of the fight. I knew he would go for the C&C and have better luck taking it down than I would.

“Same to you Falcon. Out” I closed down the connection and turn my attention back to the remaining nine Thunderchiefs. ‘Okay, Lilly. Like the old song goes. It’s just you and me, kid. We got eight heavy torpedo/bombers to either disable or destroy before they can get a hard lock on the Singapore.’

‘Terresa, we have nine torpedo/bombers to destroy. Your suspicion of them being A.I. driven or remote controlled is correct. I have finished analyzing my sans of them from our first attack run. There are no human or sentient life signs on those craft. We can target the cockpit all day long, but unless it is destroyed completely like our two were. They will continue on their program flight path.’

With what Lilly just told me, I knew that I would have my hands full. If the only way to stop these heavy bitches was to either destroy them totally or blast the cockpits to hell. ‘Okay Lilly, let’s start with the wounded and work our way through the living as it were. Get an eye out for escort fighters and the Black Bitch.’

‘I’ve been meaning to tell you something Terresa. I have scanned every aerospace craft out here. The Black Witch is not here.’

I put the thought of the Black Witch not being here out of mind for now. ‘That’s alright Lilly. Right now, we have more pressing matters. Namely those Thunderchiefs.’

‘Understood, Terresa. I have a battle plan that will take advantage of their programed signal mindedness. Sweep wide and come in just off the tails. That is the Thunderchiefs greatest blind spot. Without pilots they will be totally defenseless and confused. We strafe them from tail-end Charlie to lead. Instead of targeting the cockpits, we target the torpedoes.’

The second Lilly gave her me little attack plan I knew it would work. I shoved the stick over hard right and jammed the right rudder to the floor. While pushing the throttles to the stops. The sounds of the airframe groaning under the stress of the maneuver could be heard over the screams of the engines. I knew that I was pushing the Lightnings performance profile to its limits. I also knew that I would continue to do so until I either destroyed the last torpedo/bomber or the Lightning broke apart in a ball of fire.

I didn’t even get the chance to hit the override on the warning button before Lilly was taking care of the problem for me. ‘Just fly Terresa. Leave the rest to me. besides, I don’t really have any other function right now.’

‘Okay Lilly. I trust you to not let us burnup from overheating the engines or the weapons, sister.’

‘Just fly the damned thing like you stole it. Which we did by the way. I’ll let you know if we need to back off.’

I took Lilly at her word and did just that. I pushed the Lightning to its limits. As I swung round to the tail-end Charlie position at six o’clock low just below the line of Thunderchiefs. I knew that what I was about to do was risky, but then I had to try. I waited until I had solid target locks on the last two Thunderchiefs and fired.

I know that my targets were not the norm, but I was out to kill drones, not pilots. I knew that targeting the Thunderchiefs’ torpedoes was risky. I also knew that the warheads wouldn’t exploded while still on the cradle, but their fuel would explode. I just prayed that the blast would be enough to tear the Thunderchiefs apart. As my PPLs hit the starboard torpedo they peeled the outer casing away as if it was made of butter. When they finally hit the fuel cells I was caught off guard by the explosion.

I watched as the first Thuderchief was flipped over onto its formation partner. The two heavy TB’s crashed with enough force to crush them into a tin can. The explosion of the two crashing TB’s forced me to drop lower to avoid any shrapnel. As I pulled back into attack position I got the first surprise of many. The destruction of the one torpedo and two Thunderchiefs had a rippling effect. An effect that I wasn’t expecting or had taken in to account for. The resulting explosion not only took out the two targeted Thunderchiefs but flipped the two leading Thunderchiefs in the group. The shock wave was four times normal and way out of proportion for what it should have been.

‘What the hell, Lilly?’

‘I can only hazard a guess, Terresa and you’re not going to like it.’

‘Just give it to me, Lilly?’

‘These torpedo/bombers are on suicide attack runs. They’ve been setup as kamikaze bombers. Take out one in each group the shock wave to take down the others.’

The moment she told me that I knew I had to take down the last four now. Pushing the Lightning even harder I lined up on the last group. I was at point blank range by now. I would either take them out or they would ram the Singapore. Something that I couldn’t allow to happen. With each Thunderchief carrying two Mark seventy-nine ship killer torpedoes apiece that would be a total of eight slamming into the dropship. Overkill for such a lightly armored dropship.

I tightened my finger on the trigger for my main weapons and fire them all. I don’t target the torpedoes alone this time. I target the engines. I cannot let these monsters get closer to the Singapore. Any closer and they can lunch their torpedoes. I had planned my attack to disable this time. I failed. TheThunderchief keeled over and exploded. The shock wave again does the rest. Once again, I have to evade the resulting backlash that comes from the resulting sympathetic deaths of the other three Thunderchiefs. My sudden move had two very different responses. The first was getting me clear of the explosion. The second was putting me directly in the sights of an escort fighter out for revenge.

The escort announced its presence with a hail of autocannon fire. The pounding along my portside engine outrigger let me know the piece of shit was on my four o’clock. I banked hard to starboard and pulled an Ingram flip. I heard the groan of over stressed struts and supports. I looked over at the diagram displaying my ships over all status. I didn’t like what I was seeing. Almost every surface and section was flashing yellow. The only section that wasn’t was the cockpit. It was still in the green. The port side outrigger was in the red.

As I came back around to line up on the escort I recognized the design and smiled. At least this fighter was an even match for my Lightning. The TS-19 Tiger shark was an overrated, overvalued, overpriced, and underpowered slapped together universal piece of crap. While they were great for training pilots, they weren’t worth a shit in a real fight. Like this one. I only needed the PPLs to take this fighter out.

I fired once and the Tiger Shark went up in a ball of flames. I rolled over once more and dropped in on the tail of a KV-81. I didn’t even realize that it was in the area until it came into my sights. I pushed the throttles to the stops one more time and closed in tight on my quarry. I held off until I was at pointblank range and fired my PPCs. Not to be out done and maybe to get in on the fun Lilly fired two of our missiles. I don’t know how but she guided them straight into the exhaust for the KV-81’s engines. I knew the bird was dead the moment the missiles hit.

Shoving hard over on the stick I rolled right and away. There were still more of those bitches out here to kill and I was still able to fight. As I scanned for my next target I found that the two Mustangs were still in the fight and doing damned well from the looks of things. I had no visual on Colonel McManus making me worry. Keying my radio, I contacted McManus.

“Come in Falcon, this is Scorpion. Over” when nothing happened I tried again. “Falcon, this is Scorpion come in. Over”

“Relax Scorpion. I read you. Over”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “Falcon, have you been able to locate the enemy C and C. Over”

“Found and engaged, Scorpion. I could really use a little more firepower over here. This baby is no ordinary C and C. Over” I watched as the coordinates for McManus and the enemy C&C were displayed on the HUD.

“On the way Falcon. Hang in there. Over” I told him as I turned towards him and the C&C ship. I knew the Mustang pilots had things well in hand here.

‘Lilly give me a missile count and full status report on our weapons.’

‘We have ten Swift anti-aerospace missiles and eight Mark-nineteen Super Mavericks left. With the exception of two PPLs all of our primary weapons are fully functional. The two that are off-line is due to cracked focusing lenses. As much as I tried to lessen our heat buildup and increase our cyclic rate I failed to take in the possibility of manufacturing defects.’

‘Lilly, rule number one of combat. Murphy is a bitch. You just can’t account for everything. If we’re down two PPLs because of wear and tear, then we’re down two PPLs due to wear and tear. Nothing you did wrong, let it go.’

‘Okay Terresa, I’ll let it go. I just feel like I let you down.’

‘You didn’t Lilly. And so far you haven’t. Let’s finish this fight before the airframe falls apart on us. I don’t know about you, but I really don’t want to eject again inside of twenty-four hours.’

We had cleared the initial area of combat when a new contact appeared on the radar. Before all we were picking up was small attack craft this one was big. Big and surrounded by eight fast moving smaller signatures. “Falcon, can you give me sitrep. Over”

“In the immortal words of Omar Bradley ‘In war there is no second prize for runner up.’ Scorpion. I got seven JR-9 Spite Fires running Top Cover for the enemy C and C. I can’t get close to use my missiles.”

That was all I needed to hear. “Copy that, Falcon. What type of ship are we talking about? Heavy, medium, or light. Over”

“Corsair class fast freighter, Scorpion. Come in hard, fast, and low off their six. That’s the only way you’ll get a shot off before one of the escorts jumps you. How copy? Over”

I knew what McManus was going to pull and didn’t like it. The problem was he outranked me. “Good copy, Falcon. You play bait for the cats, while I go for the cheese. Start your run now. Over”

I pulled back hard on the stick and pushed the left rudder to the floor. The heavy gee forces were pushing me deep into my seat as the airframe groaned once more. From the sounds of metal stressing, to just short of the breaking point, I know that I couldn’t pull such maneuvers again. I was already pushing the Lightnings limits too far as it was. Much more and I wouldn’t be taking this bird home.

I wait for my shot. I hold for as long as I can. I know I need to make this attack run count. Count for all that is worth. Because this will be my only shoot at taking the C&C ship down and out of the fight. As I closed with the ship I got my first good look at the monster that started this nightmare of mine for the past eight hours. When McManus told me that the C&C was a Corsair class dropship I knew that I would need every missile I had to destroy the damned thing. As I approached I ran through everything I knew about the Corsair class. Their strengths, their weaknesses, their weapons, their speed, their power profile, I was a little surprise by how much I could remember about Corsairs.

‘That’s because I’m giving it to you Terresa.’ Lilly piped up with.

‘Oh thanks, Lilly. Can you give me anymore information on our target?’ I asked her.

‘Our target is a Bellridge shipyard HP-150 Hyper Point Corsair. One of the heaviest in the class, and one of the best armed. They’re perfect for this type of operation. Their standard communications package could handle up to forty smaller craft with a single operator. With two that same system could handle a told of sixty craft.’ The more Lilly told me about the target the more I didn’t like what I heard. ‘The Hyper Points only have one weak point Terresa. The power couplings between the main engines and the ship. It is also the only area that they are blind.’

‘Any more good news Lilly?’ I asked with a snark.

‘We’ll only get one shoot at this Terresa. After that their anti-aircraft crews will know we’re there. As fast as you have become, and as good as we are, we’re not that lucky Terresa. Not against four computer control and radar guided and targeted ninety-millimeter Gatlin laser AA batteries.’

I didn’t even bother with keeping my feeling of that little piece of information to myself. “Just bang me in a back alley with a football bat.”

With everything that Lilly gave me on my target I side slipped into the Hyper Point’s one and only blind spot. Even at four klicks the turbulence off the engines was bucking my fighter. I now knew why the Hyper Points are so damned fast. They’re so over powered that a battleship would have a hard time tracking them. I kept my hands on the controls and my eyes on the target. I needed a hard lock from my missiles. I waited until I heard the beeping for their target systems to lock on and turn to a steady solid tone.

I held my fire until I was within five-hundred meters. I knew I was pushing my luck when the paint started to peel off my nose. I could feel the heat through my canopy and bio-armor. Lilly kept having to override the overheat warnings. I double checked the temp gages and almost shit myself. I was in the red across the boards. I wanted to dump my whole load all at once but held off. Instead I fire them off in a staggered pattern. Two at a time until my racks were empty. When the last two missiles left their rack I pulled back on my control stick and climbed out of the Hyper Point’s exhaust trail. Even as I climb away the heat levels drop.

I know that my missiles will hit, I just don’t know if they’ll get the job done. I rolled over so I can get a look at the impact of my missiles. The explosions that I saw were nothing compared to their impact on the Hyper Point. I watched as the stern slowly rose upwards as fuel exhaust vented downward from the couplings. With each missile impact the uncontrolled venting of superheated plasma pushed the Hyper Point further over. When the last two missiles hit, the dropship was totally out of control. As I continued on my escape trajectory I kept my cockpit facing the doomed dropship. With an unimagined dignity the enemy dropship continued to roll as pieces broke away in a fiery shower of death and uncontrolled destruction.

I was so lost in making sure that the Hyper Point died that I didn’t notice I had company until McManus came over the radio. “Nice shooting Scorpion. Be sure to paint a gold star on your cockpit for that bad boy. Over”

“Shit! Falcon, you could have warned me you were on my wingtip. Over” I came close to losing it when I finally spotted the Colonel just off my starboard wingtip.

“Sorry about that, Scorpion. I take it that you’re down to V.F.R. only? Over”

“Yeah pretty much Falcon. Radar is out, thermal is cooked, and mag scan is worthless. All I got is a shaky assed Navcom and Mark one eyeballs for flight control and navigation. Over” My very blunt assessment of my situation most have caught McManus off guard slightly because it was a few seconds before he replied.

“Well it is a good thing that the fighting is over then. Fall in on my eight o’clock and I’ll get you back to the Singapore. Do you think you can land that bird? Over”

I had to think about that one. I needed more information. ‘Lilly is this bird safe to land on the Singapore?’

‘So long as we don’t go making any more high-performance maneuvers we can land on the Singapore’s flight deck. Terresa, I’ll be honest honey, you really pushed this airframe to its limits and a little beyond. We’re going to need to find you an aerospace fighter that can keep up with our abilities. That or design one that can.’ It was Lilly’s last comment that got me thinking. I had pushed the Lightning in ways that it wasn’t designed to handle, but it had still performed for me.

“Falcon, I can put her down as she is now, but don’t ask for any victory rolls. I’ve got one too many cracks in the frame for something like that. Over” I did my best to keep the worry out of my voice.

“Damn. The Prince was right. We’ll find you a fighter that can handle your abilities Scorpion. I promise that you won’t be ground because of being able to fly most aerospace fighters to the edge of their flight envelopes and beyond. Over”

“If it is all the same Falcone. If we can get this old bird back on her feet and upgraded I’d like to keep flying her if I can. Over” I really had come to love the Lightning. I also knew that with the chances of me being able to keep it was slim to fracking none.

“Sorry, Scorpion. But if my scans of your ship are correct that bird is bound for the scrapheap. You got more cracks in that airframe than the Empress has gray hairs. Over” I had to laugh at McManus’s joke about the Empress having gray hairs. At forty-eight years old Maiha Nakatoma still looked as young as the day she first took the Throne.

What I did know was that McManus had been scanning my Lightning from the time he pulled next to my wing. I knew that my ship was in bad shape but not how bad. If I had I damned wouldn’t have been trying to put this bird down on the Recovery Flight Deck of the Singapore. As I lined up for my approach I felt a shudder though the airframe that put me on edge. The closer I got to the Singapore the stronger the shudder became. It got to the point that it was now a constant vibration.

‘Lilly, where the hell is that vibration coming from?’

‘Terresa, I cannot pinpoint the cause for the vibration. In fact I have no idea for why it is happening. Could there be something from the Singapore causing some form of turbulence?’ I thought about what Lilly asked. There were a few things that could cause this type of turbulence in space and none of them were good. Especially when it comes to dropships. I doubled checked the scans of the dropship’s engine output and vectoring thrusters.

“Falcon, wave off, wave off. We got to come in from the other side. Over’

“What you got Scorpion? Over”

“Check the top side port thrusters. Three of them are pointed in line with our flight path. Over” I knew that he should have seen the thrusters.

“Negative Scorpion. This is our only vector for landing and our chances of a refuel are slim to none. Over”

I knew that McManus knew more than he was letting on. “Falcon, what aren’t you telling me? Over”

“The enemy attack managed to damage the starboard side landing bays. The Fire and Damage Control crews are still trying to get the fires under control. The port side bays are our only chance for recovery. Over”

I felt my stomach drop. “Falcon, any chance of getting a pickup from one of carriers? Over”

“Sorry, Scorpion, but the nearest carrier is on the far side of the system running interdiction operations. Over”

“Frack! Just great. Well Lilly, it’s been nice knowing you little lady.” Keying my radio. “Okay, Falcon. Let’s try this one more time. By the way, if I don’t make it. It has been nice knowing you, and an honor serving with you. Out”

I lined back up for the landing bay and said a quick prayer. I pushed the throttles to the half way point and began my landing approach. The closer I can to the Singapore the stronger the turbulence and the more I had to push on my throttles and stick to fight for control. The closer I got to the Recovery Flight deck the more the airframe groaned, and engines screamed. I knew that one way or the other I would be on the Recovery Deck. Wither that would be crashing or a landing was a toss of the dice. I just hope I walk away from it. As I cleared the flight deck covering the turbulence dropped to zero, and I dropped my landing gear. The second my wheels touched the decking I yanked back on the throttles, slammed down on the breaks, and kicked in the reverse thrusters. All while praying that my tail hook gabbed the catch cable before I hit the arrester net.

I knew that if I hit that net it would pull my ship apart, along with me inside the cockpit. The sudden jerk as my tail hook snatched the catch cable and pressure from the gee forces shoved me deep into my command chair. The shock of the sudden stop almost caused me to blackout. It wasn’t until my landing gear gave way dropping the Lightning to the deck with a solid thud I knew I was still alive. I sent up a silent prayer to the gods and goddesses of flight and aircraft manufacture.

‘Terresa, who are these gods that you just prayed to?’ All I could do was laugh at Lilly’s question.

Command deck for the Singapore.

General Davenport had watched the entire battle from her place behind Captain Stokes. Prince James and Sylvester had taken up places over by the tactical operations officer’s position. Sylvia and Colonel Kelly were in the Medical Bay tending to the wounded as they came in. The other members of the General Staff had taken positions around the Command deck at stations that were close to their normal operational duties. They were all amazed by the battle that had taken place outside in the cold harsh unforgiving vastness of space.

All the General Staff had seen such battles before, but never had they seen one where a single fighter had made so much difference in the outcome. General Davenport looked over at Prince James and Sylvester. “Captain Cole, were you aware of your sister’s skill level at the controls of a fighter?”

Sylvester turned to face Davenport before answering her. “General, all I can say when it comes to my little sister is this. She was slated to be a test pilot for the new F-1E5 Strike Eagle Aerospace Fighter. That and all of her training was to be exactly that, a test pilot.”

Prince James started chuckling. “That explains why she fights the way she does.”

“Explain please, Major Nakatoma.” Davenport asked of the Prince.

“General, I know this is going to sound crazy, but it is the only explanation that fits all the facts.” Prince James began with a smile. “The Lieutenant was trained to push whatever aircraft she flies to its limits. She was never really trained for air-to-air combat. All she ever got was the basics and theory. As far as Lieutenant Terresa Cole is concerned there is no difference between combat and test flights. She’ll always push her aircraft to the limit and beyond. She is just like my three aunts and grandmother when they pilot their APS’s. They all make those Suits do shit that they shouldn’t. All because they were never trained as APS combat pilots. I don’t know HOW many times I’ve heard their personal suit mechanic bitch about having to overhaul their suits’ powerplants, control systems, and just about every other system on those monsters. I have a feeling that Flight Lieutenant Terresa Cole will be very much the same as my aunts and grandmother with her aircraft.”

“Hell shit! That’s just perfect. I’ve got a pilot that will continuously fly whatever aircraft she is put into to the point that it either falls apart in the skies or slams nose first into the ground. All due to her pushing it to its limits in combat maneuvers. Maneuvers I might add that no one else can preform because of the pilot’s unique physical makeup and skill set. Does that about sum things up, Major Nakatoma or is there something that I missed?” Davenport asked sarcastically. Sylvester chuckled at hearing this last part. Then started to nod his head. “Okay Captain Cole, what have we missed?”

“Only the most important thing ma’am.” Sylvester pointed towards the forward view screen. “Somewhere, out there, right now, is a pilot that has pissed off my kid sister in a major way and she’ll be wanting a rematch.”

“How do you figure that Captain?” Davenport asked Sylvester coldly. Already knowing she wasn’t about to like his answer one little bit.

“Ma’am, let me put it this way. Terresa may have new packaging, but behind those silver eyes and under the white hair is still the hot headed stubborn little brother of mine. A brother that never once let someone push him around. And never backed down from a fight, not even once in his short life. The pilot of that all black KV-81 owes Terresa a fighter. And she’ll collect her due in blood.” The look in Sylvester’s eyes let Davenport know just how serious the situation was with Terresa.

James looked the younger officer in the eyes. “Just how strong will her lust and need for revenge drive her, Captain Cole?”

The answer to that question came from the door. “Past the Gates of Hell, before the Throne of Lucifer, and beyond, your Highness. She’ll drag her enemies with her as she does it. Our new kid sister picked the right names for herself and her A.I. If there was ever a pairing that pointed to the twin Goddess of Justice and Vengeance it is that pairing.”

Sylvester looked over at his sister Sylvia. “You have got to be kidding me, sis. You really don’t think she picked those two names just for that reason.”

Sylvia just nodded her head yes. “I do Sy. You know as well as I do how Jason used to sit for hours on end as a little kid and listen to mom’s stories of Terresa and Lilith. The twin Goddesses of Justice and Vengeance who brought death from above.”

“Who are these goddesses Major Cole?” James asked her.

“Major Nakatoma that is a story that will take more time to explain than we currently have. And we have more pressing matter that must be addressed.” Colonel Kelly let the bridge know with some worry in her voice. “The Med bay is full, and we have injured in the corridors. If we don’t get to New Texas soon we may lose more than a few of them. Before you ask General, the answer is yes, they are mostly civilians.”

Captain Stokes just shook his head. “I would love to give you an emergency jump straight to New Texas, Colonel. I could have done exactly that until this last attack, but thanks to those few fighters that did get past our defenders we can’t.”

General Davenport gave the Singapore’s Captain a harsh look. “Why not Captain?”

“I can give you a laundry list of reasons General, but I’ll sum it up for you. Our engines are running at half capacity, the navigation thrusters are barely keeping us on course, and our navigational beacon is gone. So, unless you can get us Medical Rescue Ship out here, there is nothing we can do for your patients accept give them mercy.” Stokes’ last three words drew a harsh intake of breath from Colonel Kelly and Sylvia. As doctors they both had taken oaths to save lives, not take them. What Stokes was suggesting was putting the worst of the injured out of their pain and misery by lethal injection.

General Davenport knew what Stokes was getting at and didn’t want to agree with the man. The problem was she knew he was right. “Captain Stokes send the destress call. The hospital dropship Bifrost is in system. She can be here within the hour.”

The Bifrost was a Military Hospital dropship and could only render aid to civilian dropships under full emergency conditions. It also meant that Stokes would be evacuating his ship of all but needed personal. Something that he wasn’t about to do. He didn’t care what General Davenport ordered.

“You maybe a General in Her Majesty’s service Davenport, but on this ship you’re not the one in charge. I am and I already gave the order for mercy.” There was something about Stokes’ manner that set those on the bridge on edge.

“Care to explain why you’re refusing to call for help Captain?” James growled out.

“Frack that shit, Major. I want to know what is so damned important on this ship that he is willing to kill for.” Sylvester snapped. “You left the New Heaven system with only three of your normal fighter pilots and fighters. You’re already running with a skeleton crew. My sister informed me that you don’t even have a ship’s doctor for this run. I won’t even ask why you had only one Tactical Office on board.”

Stokes stood there fuming. These outsiders were asking one too many questions. He wanted them off his ship now. He knew that if they started looking too closely at his ship’s cargo he would be in deep shit. When the next voice that joined the conversation once again came from the door to the bridge, Stokes knew he was done.

“I’ll tell you why Sy. The son-of-bitch, is smuggling weapons.” Terresa snapped. As she walked across the bridge deck Terresa twirled a 10mm semi-automatic pistol in her right hand. In her left hand was a 30mm grenade. “I found these little beauties in crates marked as ceramics bound for Peermont on New Texas. I couldn’t figure out why those torpedo/bombers were on kamikaze runs. Our Captain here is supplying the resistance forces on New Texas. He put his passengers in harm’s way by violating the rules of war by using his dropship to smuggle weapons. That act alone makes this ship a legitimate target.”

“How much were you paid, you blood sucking piece of shit?” Sylvester snarled.

When Stokes didn’t answer Sylvester, Prince James placed his sword next to the man’s neck. “Answer Captain Cole, Stokes or I’ll take your head.”

“I’m only being paid for the cost of the weapons and my crews wages.” Stokes answered. “You Imperials have done nothing to stop the Amazons or help the free citizens of the GWS or NCS. You can arrest me and my crew for weapons smuggling but that won’t stop the other smugglers out there. At least I’m not gauging them.”

As much as Prince James wanted to argue the man’s point, he couldn’t. Not even the General and her Staff could argue the point. James just walked over to the communications station. “Can you get me a connection with the Bifrost?”

The coms-tech just nodded her head and did as asked. When Stokes went to countermand the Prince’s request Terresa shoved the pistol in his face. “If I were you Stokes I would just stand there and keep your trap shut. You damned near got me killed twice in the last eight hours. Right now I don’t give a shit about your cargo or your political leanings. But we are not killing those wounded civilians. You want to stay aboard and take your chances after we’re gone that is fine, but don’t interfere with the rescue operations.”

“Lieutenant Cole! Stand Down!” Davenport ordered.

“No ma’am. This man and his beliefs along with his business practices have endangered the lives of innocent bystanders. He blinks, sneezes, even farts wrong, I blow his head off, ma’am. Between the stupidity of those scientists and this shit stick’s ignorance I have damned near been killed one time too many today.” Everyone on the Command deck could tell that Terresa was running on the ragged edge. And she was done listening to reason. Even Prince James could tell the young lady had been pushed too far. He was well educated in the ways of female emotions coming from a family where the women out number the men by two to one.

“General Davenport this is one time that a Lieutenant is going to overrule your orders. I for one agree with her.” James smirked. “Lieutenant Cole, as this is a civilian dropship I do have more of a legal standing than the General so if you so desire you can carry out the promise without repercussions from the Military or Civilian authorities. You’ll be acting on my authority understand?”

For the first time Stokes realized just how far he gone. The Crown Prince of the Human Empire had just issued his arrest warrant, and if needs be his death as well. His bid to supply the resistance fighters on New Texas and New Carolina with weapons had failed. He knew that there were seven Death Dealer Divisions in the two systems working as peacekeepers. Peacekeepers that were trying to keep a full-blown war from erupting between the locals and the Amazons.

“You just doomed those people to lives of slavery under those genetic freaks Nakatoma. I hope you’re happy with yourself.” Stokes spat out just before Terresa pulled the trigger of the confiscated pistol.

As Stokes fell face-first to the deck Terresa lowered the pistol slowly. “I hope you find your way straight to hell, you worthless bootjacked thug. Don’t worry though, I’ll be sure to send you company soon.”

“Lieutenant Cole, normally I would have you in irons. Fortunately for you, you acted under the Civil Authority of the Crown Prince.” Davenport knew that no matter how she sliced it, Terresa had acted under Prince James authority. Now she needed to get the wounded passengers off this dropship and start recovery operations for the ship its self. “Comms raise the Bifrost and Battleship Roger Young.”

“Aye, ma’am. You should know that the XO and cargo master also knew about the illegal cargo. As well as most of the cargo crew.” The communication officer told her bluntly. “I can vouch for the rest of the bridge crew ma’am. When I say that we wanted no part of the Captain’s or the XO’s plans.”

“Why is that Comms?” Sylvester asked for everyone there.

“Most of the bridge crew come from systems that were hit hard during the last war thirty years ago. Systems that are still trying to rebuild in some cases. We know what civil war does. We may not like what the Amazons have been doing, but so far, they have been doing it in a bloodless manner. Do we like what the Amazons have been doing no, but until the laws get changed it is legal. Only here has there been violent response to their tactics and we know how that ends. In the end nobody really wins. The more the locals use weapons to fight back the more the Amazons will use mercenary units to fight back.” The radar operator answered from his position with more than a little heat.

“Any idea of who is backing the mercs crewman?” Davenport asked.

“Sure, everybody in the system knows who the big six families are. All you got to do is look at the Amazon High Families of White, Von Bencher, Blücher, Danvers, Bull, and King. They’re the ones paying the mercs to keep the pressure on the locals but it’s the Calisto family that is leading them.” The radar operator smirked as he turned to face Terresa directly. “Lieutenant Cole, you’ve already had the pleasure of meeting their local Head of House.”

Terresa looked at the man then asked. “Where and when?”

The radar operator pointed out the forward view screen. “About six hours ago in combat. You know her as the Black Witch, everyone else knows her as Emily Calisto.”

-----tbc-----