[05] Elite: Reclamation (39 page)

‘Are you one of these Elite people?’

‘Elite?’ Luko laughed. ‘No, signorina. Not many pilots are Elite. Takes skill, courage and much time … they ruthless too.’ He frowned at her. ‘What do you know about the Elite?’

Kahina shrugged. ‘Not much. I met an old lady who said she was Elite …’

‘Pah. Hardly anyone is Elite. Everyone claims they are above average, but mostly harmless is the truth.’

‘Mostly harmless?’

Luko grinned. ‘Rookie on second flight.’

‘Oh …’

A group of four dark hulled and even more dart-like ships blasted past at a high speed. Kahina only got a brief view of them before they dropped astern.

‘Vipers,’ Luko said. ‘Policia mostly. Don’t mess with a Viper.’

‘They look pretty brutal,’ she said.

‘Designed to fight, nothing else,’ Luko said, with a grimace. ‘Small, fast and deadly. Kill pilot? Ship keeps coming. Kill ship? Missile on your tail. Kill missile? The other Viper you not see … it kills you. Don’t mess with a Viper.’

‘Could you fight them?’

Luko smiled. ‘Signorina, never start a fight you can’t win. Even the best pilots know when to run.’

The other ships disappeared behind them and another vessel drew her attention. This one was smooth and elegant, with a curving bow and a smooth modern look. She could just make out the name emblazoned on the bow,
Piekne Flecista
.

Luko smiled. ‘And here is someone with money …’

Kahina admired the clean lines of the vessel, the hull was painted white and it sparkled brightly in the light of the star.

‘Expensive?’

‘Molto. Is a Dolphin yacht. Very nice, very swish.’ Luko gestured expansively ‘I am big man, molto credits. I wish to show off, out of my way. I more important than you, I not care what you think, I cannot fly for …’

Kahina laughed. ‘Why my dear Luko, I do believe you’re jealous!’

Luko shrugged and muttered something under his breath.

‘And what does your choice of ship say about you?’ Kahina asked, with a wry smile.

Luko tapped the console of the Cobra fondly.

‘Ah … the pilot of a classic Cobra?’ Luko pulled his tunic tighter around him. ‘Here is a man of taste and discretion. A man who loves elegant design; sophisticated and suave. A man not swayed by fashion.’

‘Oh really? Looks like an old piece of junk to me.’

Luko looked hurt. ‘You’re cruel, signorina, but perhaps you not wrong. She is old, but … how you say? Reliable, dependable, simple. You can trust an original Cobra. It will never let you down.’

‘Other than when the hyperdrive system dies and maroons you on a barren rock for twenty years.’

Luko looked at her quizzical expression.

‘Cheap Federation parts,’ he said with distaste. ‘I say this for your Empire, better quality. Damned expensive, but better.’

‘Glad you approve, citizen.’

‘I do not approve,’ Luko said, growing serious. ‘Your Empire is oppressive. You have slavery and servitude. This is not right.’

‘Slavery is a safety net for society,’ Kahina replied, the answer coming easily to her. ‘It ensures nobody can starve or fall into poverty. What would you have? That or the squalor the poor live in inside the Federation after the corporations have sucked the life out of them? Our way is far better.’

Luko smiled, but shook his head. ‘The daughter of a Senator …’

‘Slaves are well treated, it is the law. Honour demands it.’

‘Maybe in the core,’ Luko answered her. ‘Try the outlying systems. Life as a slave? Desperate, brutal and short. You ever talk to the slaves on your precious little moon?’

‘I gave instructions to those at the palace, they were well treated.’

‘And those who worked in your mines? Slaves do not revolt for no reason, signorina. They were treated not so well, eh?’

‘Slaves will always demand more than they deserve. Federation propaganda, nothing more.’

‘Is not. I have seen. It is Imperial short-sightedness.’

She glared at him. ‘I hope you can fly better than you grasp politics.’

Kahina noticed that Luko had been watching the instruments with a frown on his face. ‘I think I …’ his voice tailed off.

‘What is it?’ she asked.

Luko shrugged.

‘Not sure.’ Luko waved his hand. ‘Ah … probably nothing.’

On the astrogation scanner one of the markers had stopped moving relative to their position; something was pacing them. As she watched, Kahina saw it inch a little closer.

Kahina looked over her shoulder through the rear cockpit windows. She could see a ship a few kilometres back. She squinted; it looked like the ship she’d seen earlier, the
Raeben.

‘Do we warn him to stay back?’

 Luko shook his head. Kahina realised that Luko had been watching the ship and had been studying it curiously. She felt suddenly cold.

Something wasn’t right. Kahina had no idea what it was. Something was not going according to routine.

An audio communication sounded.

‘
Bella Principessa
, this is SysCon. You are cleared for hyperspace transit, proceed when ready.’

‘Ack, SysCon.’

Luko closed the link and looked across at Kahina. ‘Here we go. Hang on to your seat.’

The rising hum of the hyperspace generators resonated through the ship. As it reached a crescendo, space flickered before them, the stars rushing past in a blur of motion. The hum dropped and faded away rapidly.

Kahina blinked. She still found it hard to believe she was now several light years from where she had been moments before. She wasn’t sure she’d ever really grasp it …

Red lights, a warning sound from the console. Kahina remembered the sound.

Threat warning.

She looked at the console. There was a target, portside aft, glowing red on the display. It was in exactly the same position as the
Raeben
had been, but rapidly closing.

‘They can’t be thinking of attacking us …’

‘The hell they can’t!’

A voice crackled on the wideband transmitter. Kahina recognised the sharp and grating tones of a Federation accent.

‘Cobra
Bella Principessa
. Stand down. Prepare to be boarded or destroyed. I only want your passenger.’

Luko looked across at her. ‘I would say your secret is … not so secret, signorina.’

Kahina swallowed.

So fast. But how?

Luko’s hands were flying across the controls. Kahina briefly saw messages on the console, weapons priming, shields raising, drives readied for maximum bursts of power. Holofac targeting reticules appeared before their vision in the cockpit windows. The
Bella Principessa
surged forward, rotating on its centre axis and then coming about in a wide arc.

Actinic light flashed around the ship. Kahina remembered the glowing discharge of the shields.

Warning! Rear shields at 76%.

A bright beam of light flashed close by. The
Bella Principessa’s
shields flared again in response. Luko triggered the forward weapons and the bass vibrato thrum buzzed through the ship. Kahina recalled it from before, but it was far more intense this time, she could almost sense the vast power being discharged into the void.

Ahead now, the
Raeben
was still closing, bright beams of light marking the emission of its forward weapons. The
Bella Principessa’s
shields flared again. Luko returned fire.

Warning! Forward shields at 45%.

Kahina jolted as an abrupt warning siren shrieked nearby.

Incoming Missile!

She gasped as she saw something detach from the lower hull of the
Raeben
. A bright halo of flame surrounded it and it surged forward, closing the distance between the two ships with terrifying rapidity. She tensed in her chair, grasping the armrests and bracing her feet.

Luko’s hand moved to a supplementary control. Kahina watched him pause for a moment and then press it. A pulse of energy rang out; the
Bella Principessa
rang like a gong. The missile was close now, just a few seconds to impact. She prepared herself for the inevitable explosion, there was no way they could avoid it …

A bright cascade of light splashed across the cockpit, forcing her to shield her eyes. The missile was gone, replaced by a cloud of smoke and debris that flashed past them as the
Bella Principessa
surged onwards. The
Raeben
changed course rapidly, pulling up in an abrupt climb.

‘Sbaglio!’ Luko had a fierce grin on his face.

Luko nudged his ship into pursuit triggering his weapons again. Kahina saw a line of sparking fire burn down the exposed lower hull of the
Raeben
. Shields flared, flickered and collapsed. A blackened stain was the result. The weapons fire stopped.

Warning! Forward weapons, thermal overload.

The
Raeben
turned, trailing smoke and flame before the hull sealed itself. Luko turned his ship into pursuit. Kahina felt the spin and tried to ignore the whirling star field outside, concentrating on the ship before them.

A red targeting reticule appeared in space, Luko adjusted course and pulled a separate trigger on the control yoke. A mechanical clunk echoed through the ship. Kahina watched as one of their own missiles rushed forwards, trailing a plume of flame. She watched as it arced towards their assailant.

A glowing translucent sphere formed around the
Raeben
and then abruptly expanded, fading as it did so. The missile struck the sphere moments before it would have hit the other ship. Kahina watched in dismay as it broke up and exploded. The
Raeben
was unharmed.

The ships continued to duel, trading fire, spiralling around each other in the darkness. Kahina clamped down on nausea that rose up within her, she couldn’t afford to be sick, not here … not now. Luko seemed immune to it.

Maybe you get used to it!

Her head was jolted left and right, her body crushed one way and then the other. Luko didn’t fly straight for more than a moment. Just as she tried to draw breath, another stomach lurching manoeuvre would commence. She tasted bile in her throat and on her tongue. She clenched her eyes shut, forcing herself to breathe, trying to avoid vomiting. If she could only anticipate …

Just let it be over, please.

The
Raeben
abruptly shut down its drive, a flare of light glowing across its bow. Kahina watched in surprise as it rapidly slowed. The
Bella Principessa
roared past, unable to match the change in velocity.

‘Dannazioni!’ Luko yelled. Kahina watched as he flung the controls hard over. The
Bella Principessa
spun rapidly and then dived away, desperately trying to regain the initiative. Light crashed about them again. Warnings flickered on the console.

Warning! Rear shields failed!

Now there was another sound, a fearful mix of rending, tearing followed by a scream of tortured metal. Hot smoke filtered into the cockpit and sparks flew. Kahina didn’t see what happened next; there was an echoing thump and the
Bella Principessa
whirled out of control.

She was flung back in her chair and then wrenched abruptly forward before being slung left and then right. The pattern repeated itself. She screamed with the disorientation. The stars were just streaks of light outside, spiralling at random.

‘Luko!’

She managed to turn her head and look across. Her heart thumped painfully in her chest and she felt sweat chill across her in sudden panic. Luko was slumped in his seat, blood rushing from a wound on his forehead where he’d been bashed against his seat. His hands had fallen from the controls, which were crashing from one side to the other without direction. The
Bella Principessa
was completely out of control. The ship groaned and screeched around her.

Instinctively she grabbed the controls ahead of her. They were an identical copy of the primary systems Luko had been using. They were stiff, jolting in her hands as she tried to wrestle the ship back to her command.

Warning! Rear shields failed!

Kahina glanced at the scanner. The
Raeben
was still behind them. She didn’t know why it hadn’t finished them off. Maybe the uncontrolled spin had bought them a little time. Regardless, with no shields, it would doubtless make short work of them on the next hit. She had to do something …

Panic gripped her.

I don’t know how to fight!

She’d no grasp of space combat, she was going to die the moment that ship out there adjusted its course.

The
Bella Principessa
danced under her direction, spinning around and then arcing back on itself.

Kahina had an idea, an idea borne of desperation; she didn't know whether it would work. She was no fighter pilot, no combateer, it was crazy …

… it was the only thing she could think of.

She pulled her ship around and aimed directly at the other vessel, pushing the throttles forward to their stops. The
Bella Principessa
stuttered forward unevenly; they must have taken some damage. Kahina adjusted the course as the ship tried to yaw sideways, keeping the
Raeben
dead ahead.

Laser fire flashed out. Shields crashed into life once more, deflecting the deadly ephemeral barrage.

Warning! Forward shields at 15%.

The range continued to close. The
Raeben
didn’t veer off. They were only seconds away from impact. Kahina tensed her arms, fighting the overwhelming desire to pull back on the controls to avoid a deadly collision. The other ship loomed frighteningly in the cockpit windows. She grabbed another control in a fierce grip. A series of tones followed by an imperious buzzing signalled that the targeting systems had locked onto the
Raeben
…

Missile: Target locked.

In that last split second the
Raeben
jinked aside, firing up its drives in an attempt to evade the
Bella Principessa
as it barrelled in at full speed on an insane trajectory. As it did so, Kahina grasped the second trigger.