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  Immediately, the five other Trident captains abandoned the attack and retreated.

  “Black space,” Lucia seethed.

  “My apologies, Admiral, planet telemetry doesn’t indicate shuttle landing sites,” Orbit said.

  “Because these transports never contained shuttles,” Lucia replied, gritting her teeth. “The Colony set a trap for our ships just like they’ve been doing to the veterans on the planets and in the domes. After all the time I’ve spent with Jess, I should have suspected something like this would happen.”

  “Do we leave the remaining transports or destroy them?” Orbit asked.

  “I don’t think we’ve an option,” Lucia replied. “The Earthers will want to extract a measure of revenge, and for that matter, I can’t blame them. Can a Trident stay safely out of range of a transport’s detonation?”

  “Negative, Admiral,” Orbit replied. “Metal balls were detected emanating outward. These transports aren’t just carrying fuel or some other incendiary material. They were specifically constructed to act as bombs and wreak maximum damage on our ships.”

  “I’d love to know how the Colony continues to collect and share data on us,” Lucia mused.

  “We’ve four travelers that we can’t transport,” Orbit noted. “We could use them as drones.”

  As a fleet commander, Lucia was loath to sacrifice perfectly good fighters against passive targets, and she said so.

  “In time, Admiral, the transports’ orbits will decay, and they’ll plunge into the atmosphere and detonate,” Orbit offered.

  “How long until that happens?” Lucia inquired.

  “Telemetry data is limited, but I estimate a century or more in Omnian time,” Orbit replied.

  Lucia turned to stare with narrowed eyes at the SADE.

  “It is an option, Admiral,” Orbit protested.

  The Trident’s holo-vid displayed the spreading debris fields, which were the remains of two ships and the Earther crew.

  Lucia was angry at herself. The Colony had taken the fight into space, and she’d been caught off guard. “Orbit, without launching drones at the transports, what could detonate them?” she asked.

  “It’s hard to know what the Colony has prepared, Admiral,” Orbit replied.

  “You’re thinking too specifically, like a SADE,” Lucia riposted. “Think like the Colony.”

  “I see what you mean,” Orbit enthused, his emotional algorithms ascending. “If I were the Colony, I’d use as many techniques as possible ... heat, proximity, impact ... everything I could build into my trap.”

  Lucia grinned at Orbit, and she said, “That’s my thinking too.” Then she ordered the ship’s captain, her newly elevated first officer, to empty the bays and bring the four orphan fighters aboard.

  In the captain’s quarters, Lucia and Orbit met with the four pilots and Captain Salomé “Sal” Jelany.

  “I’m sorry for the loss of your comrades,” Lucia said to the Earther pilots.

  “The transports were supposed to be empty,” a pilot angrily declared.

  “Who said so?” Lucia asked.

  “They had been before,” another pilot pointed out.

  “This is the nature of the fight that’s been conducted in alliance space,” Sal Jelany said. “You’ve been told repeatedly of the escalating nature of the encounters between the Colony and the veterans. The Colony is clever and insidious. Now, we’ve learned firsthand of the insectoids’ evolving tactics.”

  “I’ve choices for your fighters,” Lucia said. “I can use them as drones to detonate four of the transports or abandon them on the moon.”

  “Are those the only choices, Admiral?” Sal asked, before the pilots could object. She was also aware that the Earthers wanted revenge, even if it was against stationary transports.

  “We might try another idea,” Lucia said. “There’s no guarantee it will work, but it was effective at Sol against United Earth’s naval forces.”

  “I heard this story from my father,” a pilot declared, which immediately made Lucia aware of the passage of time. “Your ships threw rocks, lots of them. They imitated an asteroid storm.”

  “Rocks?” another pilot asked dubiously. “We train on advanced fighters, and you want us to throw rocks.”

  “You work with what you have,” Lucia replied. “Do you want the transports destroyed or not?”

  There were three days of preparation before the pilots and auxiliary crews were ready. The four passenger-style fighters were traded among the Tridents for cargo shuttles.

  Ensconced in environment suits, crews sat in the shuttles’ aft ends, as the pilots took up stations at a minimum safe distance from the first transport.

  the pilot of shuttle one sent.

  Orbit replied. He entered the weight into his calculations, updated the shuttle’s controller, and activated his program.

  Directed by the controller, the traveler sailed in a loop, which headed it away from the transport. Then, as the ship described its arc, the rear ramp dropped, and the crew rolled the first stone onto the ramp. Immediately, the crew rushed to their seats and strapped on harnesses. It was a safety precaution against the maneuver to come.

  As the traveler neared the line of other shuttles, it flipped end over end and flung the moon rock at the transport.

  “Not bad for a first shot,” Lucia commented to Orbit. The SADE had missed the transport by a mere twelve meters.

  “The stones aren’t round, Admiral,” Orbit objected. “There’s no way to accurately launch them with their irregular surfaces.”

  “I always knew there were things beyond the SADEs’ abilities to calculate,” Lucia said, staring forward and deliberately not meeting Orbit’s eyes.

  Lucia received a vid. It was the first mock fight that Orbit and she had held, and it made her feel accepted in a way she couldn’t describe. She wondered if her relationship with Jess had made her appear more accessible to Omnians.

  In the vid, a stick figure labeled Jess was trying to catch a SADE’s attention to speak to Lucia, but he was being ignored. Lucia’s back was to both of them, and she was unaware that Jess wanted her.

  “You wouldn’t dare,” Lucia said hurriedly, as she spun to face Orbit, who grinned at her.

  Lucia realized she’d been bested, and she laughed. “Next time,” she warned Orbit. “Now, throw another rock.”

  “Certainly, Admiral,” Orbit replied. He’d received the weight of the next rock, and the shuttle was launched on its flight and the missile’s subsequent delivery.

  The miss was slightly forward of the transport’s bow. In time, shuttle one was emptied of moon rocks, and the crew of shuttle two readied their stones.

  Orbit continually got closer, but the SADE was right. Without taking the time to shape the rocks, the calculations would always be betrayed by the irregular surfaces against the ramps.

  Soon, shuttle two was empty.

  Lucia could imagine her report to Tatia. It would say, “We threw stones at the transports for days, Admiral, and we never hit a single one.”

  Orbit was undaunted, and he was determined to solve the problem. When he suggested an idea to Lucia, she encouraged him to put it in play.

  With a quick trip to a Trident, the crew of shuttle three slung metallic fabric from one end of the ramp to the other. It hung down, and the first moon rock nested in the sling.

  With each of seven successive shots, Orbit got closer and closer to the targeted transport, and the command’s hopes rose.

  The eighth stone impacted the transport amidships, and it detonated. Cheers went up throughout the fleet. As minor as the victory was, the fleet had struck back.

  “Well done,” Lucia said to Orbit. “Four to go.”

  “And I’ll require only four rocks,” Orbit replied.

  “Show off,” Lucia retorted.

  However, Orbit was correct. He continued to use shuttle three for his maneuvers, and each th
row accurately delivered a moon rock on target and blew the transport to pieces.

  Lucia sent.

  Orbit sent in reply.

 

  9: Pims Aloft

  Zista was sufficiently cleared that Jess considered the local population could finish the job, and he left a load of Loopah weapons and satchels with Indersan.

  The Zistarians were intent on copying and distributing the rifles and darts for home defense and to other races.

  The veterans gained some much-needed rest on the passage to Pimbor.

  To Jess’s chagrin, he often rolled over in bed and reached for Lucia only to wake and find her gone. He was a little jealous of Alex and Renée, who sailed together. Someday, it’ll be our turn, he promised with a thought.

  Soon after the Freedom reached Pimbor’s orbit, Jess, Tacnock, and Aputi dropped planetside. As they exited the traveler, they heard, “Veterans,” from twin high-pitched voices.

  The veterans glanced around. Then Phette and Oforum hovered into view and settled on the ground in front of them.

  “Grav cycles,” Phette declared, as he unstrapped his harness.

  “They’re flying shadows,” Oforum added. She remained astride her cycle, comfortable in the connection.

  “Are there many of these?” Tacnock asked.

  “Edmas, Jodlyne, and Esteban produce these for Omnians,” Phette explained. “Mickey took their plans and augmented them. These are prototypes.” He stuck out his little hand and shook Jess’s finger.

  “How goes the hunt?” Aputi asked.

  “Wonderful,” Oforum announced. “The Sylians have developed into true veterans. Few lives have been lost, and many insectoids have been destroyed.”

  “We heard you were on Zista,” Phette said.

  “We cleared that planet,” Aputi replied. “It was a minor infestation, although the Zistarians were struggling.”

  “They were hunting with single-shot spearguns,” Tacnock added. “We left them Loopah weapons.”

  “Good riddance to the Colony,” Oforum harshly declared. “That’s one less home world that the insectoids don’t possess.”

  “Where’s Lucia?” Phette asked.

  “Six commands search the entire sphere of alliance space and beyond for evidence of the Colony,” Jess replied. “Lucia leads a command comprised of Earthers.”

  “I’m sorry for you, Captain,” Oforum said. “As much as possible, mates should be together.”

  “Mickey says you’ve brought shadows from Sol,” Phette said.

  “We do. More than two thousand of them,” Jess replied.

  “They’re aboard the Freedom,” Aputi added, indicating overhead with the hook of a thumb.

  “What’s the strategy?” Oforum inquired.

  “Alex, Renée, and Julien sailed for Sylia and Norsitchia for permission to offer implants to their troops,” Jess explained.

  Phette and Oforum’s high-pitched squeaks of laughter cut the air.

  “Talsoma might cooperate, Captain, but the Norsitchians are an entirely different matter,” Phette said.

  “What about Pims?” Oforum asked.

  “That’s not our call,” Jess replied, indicating the three of them.

  “It would be important for you to reconstitute your political organization,” Tacnock recommended.

  “We’ve recovered a third of the planet,” Oforum stated. “It probably represents sixty percent of the insectoids’ hiding places. It’s enabled us to organize enough citizens to choose a new direction of governance. We’ve elected a council and a president. We’ve chosen to emulate Pyre and Sol.”

  “Congratulations, President Phette,” Aputi said, with a broad smile.

  “Thank you, Aputi,” Oforum replied. Her eyes were firmly fixed on the Pyrean.

  “Sorry, Madam President,” Aputi apologized.

  “You, overly large human, are forgiven,” Oforum said.

  “Congratulations, Madam President,” Jess said. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, we need to speak to Mickey.”

  “Understood, Captain. We’ll talk later,” Oforum said, as she lifted her grav cycle into the air and sped away.

  As the veterans walked away, Aputi lamented privately to his friends,

  Tacnock sent.

  Jess added.

  Mickey’s implant signaled him of the approach of the veterans, and he dismissed a planning team to greet them.

  “Wow,” Aputi commented.

  Where Mickey’s temporary work areas had stood, a two-story commercial building existed. Connected to it was a long low manufacturing building. A landing pad for Pimbor shuttles and travelers was adjacent to the far end of the manufacturing site.

  Nearby was a smaller building. It was decorated in a colorful motif, and tens of kits spilled out of it. They scampered past the veterans, headed for clusters of standalone two-story homes.

  The veterans’ implants detected the many shadows that kept watch over the bustling area.

  Esteban and Juliette followed the kits into the day’s bright starlight, and a round of welcomes ensued.

  “A lot of kits,” Tacnock said to the SADEs.

  “Education can never start too early,” Esteban replied.

  “And the kits will happily participate in anything the two of you offer,” Jess noted.

  “That is our advantage,” Juliette replied. “We’re pleased to see the three of you alive and well.”

  “No happier than we are to be,” Aputi commented.

  Juliette sent.

  Jess sent.

  Juliette replied.

  “Welcome back,” Mickey called out loudly. He clasped forearms with Aputi and Tacnock. Then he regarded Jess and said, “I’m never sure what to do with you.”

  The two men laughed and hugged each other.

  “Did you see my grav cycle version of a shadow?” Mickey enthused.

  “Yes, and we met the president,” Tacnock replied.

  “Now, that’s a development, isn’t it?” Mickey said proudly. “It’s amazing what the injection of technology can do to elevate a population socially.”

  “How are the Trident commands doing?” Jess asked.

  Juliette sent privately.

  Jess sent in reply.

  “There’s a new wrinkle,” Mickey replied. “Just recently, we’ve received word that the Colony has armed the transports.”

  “Anyone hurt?” Aputi asked.

  “A command lost an entire Earther Trident and crew,” Esteban replied. “At the time, the travelers were outboard. Those ships had to be abandoned on a moon.”

  “Then there weren’t Colony shuttles on the planet,” Jess surmised.

  “Correct, Captain. Six transports in orbit, and no shuttle landings,” Juliette summarized.

  “Any more details?” Jess asked.

  “It’s believed that the transports weren’t crewed,” Esteban replied. “The attacking Trident’s beams ignited the explosives aboard the transport. The warship was caught in the energy and shrapnel wave.”

  “Were all the transports armed?” Aputi asked.

  “Yes,” Julie
tte replied.

  “So, the command left them there?” Tacnock asked.

  Mickey chuckled. “The problem was solved with an old trick that was first used at Sol against United Earth’s forces,” he said. “They threw stones at them.”

  To the veterans’ frowns, Mickey added, “I’m not kidding. They tossed moon rocks, and the transports detonated on contact.”

  Mickey was laughing, but the veterans weren’t. Abruptly, he ceased his laughter and asked, “Problem?”

  “Armed transports represent an escalation in Colony tactics,” Tacnock explained.

  “Which means we can expect more complications in the fighting,” Aputi added.

  “There won’t be any more slug throwers planetside with new invasions,” Jess commented.

  “Probably energy weapons,” Tacnock agreed. “The reds might be carrying them in the dome too. The Colony now knows that the dome is safe from their use.”

  “Someone should warn the commands about the rings and the shuttles in the launch tubes,” Jess said. “The Colony will use them as weapons too.”

  “Already done,” Juliette replied. “It was Admiral Bellardo’s command that encountered the armed transports. She warned every Omnian and Earther ship and added her thoughts about what they might expect from the Colony.”

  “Mickey, have you built anything else?” Tacnock asked.

  “We were focused on constructing shadows for the hunt,” Mickey replied. “However, lately, we’ve been sidelined a bit.”

  “Why?” Jess inquired.

  “The new president sent her mate on a tour through the domes with a shadow,” Mickey explained, chuckling. “Phette created a stir, and design and cost requests have been arriving by cube.”

  “Then you’ve been working on prototypes and estimates,” Aputi supposed.

  “Designs only,” Mickey cautioned. “We communicate by cube to ensure that we’ve met the requested requirements with our design specifications. We won’t touch the costs of prototypes and builds until Alex and Julien arrive.”

  “Why those two?” Tacnock asked.

  “We’ve received forty-two requests for variations on the shadow technology,” Mickey replied. “Turning even a quarter of those requests into contracts will be huge time and resource commitments. That requires Alex’s approval.”