[05] Elite: Reclamation (46 page)

‘What don’t you understand, my dear?’ Tenim replied.

‘We can’t leave the Loren girl in the hands of Octavia Quinton. Surely once she’s done with her she’ll just sell the girl back to the Imperials? Then where will we be?’

‘We have a deal with her,’ Tenim replied. ‘A matter of trust, surely.’

Jenu looked agog. ‘You trust Octavia Quinton?’

‘I trust her to do what I expect.’

‘And what’s that exactly?’

Tenim turned to her, his lips curving in a half smile. ‘Wait and see.’

He stepped down towards the captain, who was overseeing the repair activities taking place.

‘Captain? Ah … yes. I need a favour …’

***

   Hassan adjusted the course of the ship they’d been assigned as it fell into position at the rear of the phalanx of vessels leaving
Hiram’s Anchorage
. It was an Adder-class vessel, rather curiously named the
Black Monk
. It was a little more roomy than Hassan’s old Eagle. An old design, it was famed for being tough and sturdy, if not the last word in offensive firepower.

‘It handles well planetside,’ he said. ‘These old beasts have wing-folding mechs, less of a brick and more of a plane.’

The rest of the ‘fleet’ was centred around Octavia’s Anaconda, the
Retribution
. It was by far the largest vessel. Dalk had chosen a rather scarred and battered looking Asp, an ex-military ship with a fearsome reputation for being resilient in a firefight. It was positioned above the
Retribution.

The remaining ships were mostly a collection of old Sidewinders, a few Eagles and a squadron of Imperial fighters that had been spared from the Imperial fleet in orbit, still facing off against the Federation armada.

The holofac system crackled into life. Hassan saw an ornately dressed gentleman appear. He bowed his head as he caught sight of Kahina.

‘Ambassador Cuthrick,’ Kahina acknowledged.

‘Lady Kahina. Are things in place?’

‘We are ready, the attack will commence in moments.’ Hassan thought her voice shook, but a determined look was set on her face.

‘May fortune favour you. We will watch your back and prevent Federation interference. Take back your world. I look forward to greeting you as Senator of Chione.’

‘It won’t be long Ambassador, thank you for your service.’

‘Until we meet again, Lady Kahina.’

The holofac faded. Kahina looked across. Hassan saw her lick her lips and run a hand through her hair.

‘Ready?’ he asked.

‘Ready,’ she answered. ‘Signal all ships. Begin the attack.’

***

The glowing blue curve of the moon flattened out rapidly below them. Atmospheric entry was the incinerating hell it had been before and then the fleet dropped into the thickening atmosphere. It was a beautiful cloudless day with good visibility. Kahina knew precisely where they were, the shapes of the continents were intimately familiar, almost reassuring.

The fleet flew in over the Garian Sea, closing rapidly on the island of New Ithaca where the Imperial Palace was located. They were approaching from several hundred miles away, keeping the island below the horizon for now, hoping to make their detection more difficult for the defenders. Each ship streamed a thick trail of vapour behind it, roaring across the archipelago far beyond the speed of sound, a fierce rumble echoing off the water far below.

The ships flew lower still, descending until they were a scant few metres above the flickering blue surface of the sea, drawing plumes of water rushing into the air in their wake. They were approaching from the north, with the light of the Prism star behind them, its glare providing a little extra cover in the hope that it would confuse the targeting systems of the defence networks.

Dalk’s voice crackled over the narrowband comms.

‘Range fifty kilometres. Stand by for incoming. Engage and destroy hostile vessels but do not close on the island until the defences are neutralised.’

Kahina heard the acknowledgements crackle back across the link.

Streams of tracer fire flashed towards them, with shocking suddenness the air was rent with the black crashes of explosive fire. Turbulence buffeted the
Black Monk
. Hassan wrestled with the controls to keep the ship in the protective shadow of the
Retribution.
Fire flashed around them. Kahina saw one Sidewinder take a hit and explode nearby. Debris, trailing burning torrents of flame and smoke flashed past the windows and were gone.

Just as she was recovering from that, an Imperial fighter above and to the right was also hit, spiralling away out of control. She watched in dismay as it ploughed into the sea, shattering into pieces on impact in a splash of water. It fell behind and was gone.

More death … is this truly worth this sacrifice? Am I doing the right thing?

The fleet responded. Missiles streaked forward, dropping out of their launch mechanisms and blasting forwards towards targets unseen. Kahina caught a brief view of the island of New Ithaca just appearing over the horizon when another brief command buzzed over the narrowband comms.

‘Break and attack, all ships, break and attack.’

The
Black Monk
rose and turned. Kahina gasped, ships were everywhere, turning and twisting in the air, lasers and particle weapons flashing and discharging. She could make almost no sense of which ship was which, only the large
Retribution
was obvious, making its way directly towards the island.

It was clear the defenders saw it as the most significant threat. Ships targeted it immediately. Kahina saw its shields flare in response as weapons fire flickered along its flank, streaming backwards in a burning wake as the Anaconda ploughed onwards. She could just make out Dalk’s ship targeting and destroying those vessels. It was a battle of attrition.

A jolt brought her attention to her immediate surroundings. The shields aboard the
Black Monk
flared. Hassan threw the controls over, sending the Adder into a loop and a sharp turn, hoping to evade whatever ship had decided to take a fancy to incinerating them.

The bright red beam of a laser passed close by, Hassan rolled the other way. Another jolt. A warning siren from the on-board systems.

Shields failed!

‘They’ve locked on to us,’ Hassan snapped into the narrowband. ‘Could use a little help here.’

The
Black Monk
dived towards the surface of the sea, heading straight downwards towards the scintillating blue surface. Kahina glanced at the rear-view monitor, briefly seeing two ships flicker across the displays.

‘Two of them …’ she whispered.

The
Black Monk
jolted a third time and then the threat warning alarm sounded, buzzing furiously.

‘Missile lock …’ Hassan wrenched the controls back and the
Black Monk
rose abruptly, crushing them painfully in their seats. The sea was close, rushing by below them, just metres away.

The horizon appeared, an explosion flashed from the rear view.

Hassan grinned. Kahina looked forward only to gasp in surprise. A ship was heading directly towards them, guns blazing.

A Sidewinder rocketed past with a roar, mere metres above them. More explosions followed.

Hassan looked across at Kahina.

‘Cutting it fine.’

Kahina gritted her teeth. ‘It’s a habit I wish to break.’

Octavia’s voice was next to sound across the comms.

‘We’re almost in range of the palace defences. Flak-fire is intense. Ten seconds.’

‘All ships, converge on the
Retribution
and draw fire,’ Dalk’s voice was firm and insistent.

Hassan adjusted the course of the
Black Monk
. They were now some distance behind the main fleet. The fleet was converging on the island; it seemed the defenders’ ships had been beaten back, though streams of fire still erupted from the defensive emplacements on the hillside. Kahina feared the smaller ships wouldn’t last long against the surface weapons at close range.

‘Five seconds.’

Two more of the Sidewinders succumbed to the defensive fire, spiralling into destruction as the defences blasted another wave of flak into the sky. Dark clouds flashed past, rocking the
Black Monk
.

‘We have range.’

A beam of intense white light burst from the
Retribution,
scouring the surface of the island. An intense flash followed causing all the pilots to shield their eyes from the glare. When they could see again, a colossal mushroom cloud of smoke and debris was rising from the mountains on the west side of the island.

The flak-fire abruptly ceased.

Kahina watched as the
Retribution
veered aside, climbing beyond the island and turning back towards them.

Cheers and yells of delight crashed across the communications channels; whoops and hollerings of success and achievement.

‘She did it,’ Kahina said in delight. ‘She came through, we’ve won!’

Kahina watched as their companion ships headed down towards New Ithaca. The defences were gone, their approach was clear now.

Elated, she looked across to Hassan, her expression changing to confusion. He’d undone his seat harness and was stepping out of the flight chair.

‘Hassan?’

He swung at her. Something connected with the back of her head.

Blackness followed, deeper than the void.

***

Dalk saw the
Retribution
come about after the attack run. The defences were down, the ground assault could commence. Octavia’s ship’s formidable firepower had won the day for them.

He punched up the narrowband comms and opened a channel to the
Black Monk.

‘You’re in the clear now, follow us in. Just keep an eye out for any small-scale ground to air defences.’

The
Black Monk
continued to fly straight and true, angling away from New Ithaca.

‘Kahina, Hassan. Please respond,’ Dalk scrutinised the scanner. Octavia’s
Retribution
was rising up to meet the
Black Monk
on a parallel course.

Octavia.

Angrily he wrenched his Asp out of formation, cancelling the undercarriage deployment and accelerating as rapidly as he could towards the two errant ships.

***

Hassan secured himself back into the pilot’s chair. Kahina was slumped beside him, stunned into unconsciousness by the blow he’d dealt her with the butt of his Cowell ’55. Sweat formed on his forehead despite the cool air aboard the ship, his hands were clenched on the controls, knuckles showing white against his skin.

‘Sorry lady,’ he muttered. ‘But it’s me or you.’

The narrowband comms buzzed again, but he didn’t acknowledge it. Octavia’s vessel was before him, the cargo bay gaping wide. He steered the
Black Monk
towards it as fast as he dared.

Laser fire splashed across the cockpit. The shields on the
Retribution
flared in response, easily deflecting the blast. Hassan could see Dalk’s Asp attempting to intercept them.

Turret guns aboard the
Retribution
swung around and began to discharge in ugly, heavy thumps. The laser fire ceased. Hassan had no time to see what had become of the bounty hunter’s vessel. The bulk of the
Retribution
swelled before him and then he was inside, hitting the retros in a hasty attempt to stop the
Black Monk
from smashing into the rear wall of the cargo bay.

‘I’m aboard!’ He yelled into the comms, engaging the magnetic clamps to ensure the
Black Monk
was secured. ‘Get out of here!’

The response was immediate. The floor tilted up under him and a fierce acceleration gripped him. The
Retribution
was blasting up out of the atmosphere.

‘Good work, little boy.’ Octavia’s tones sounded across the cockpit. ‘I trust you have my prize with you.’

‘She’s here. I had to knock her out, but she’s here,’ Hassan stammered. ‘Our deal. I got you the girl. You’ll let me go, no questions, no bounty, no retribution?’

‘Consider your debt paid,’ Octavia replied slowly, her voice warm with satisfaction.

‘I want this ship too,’ Hassan added, in afterthought.

‘Take it. All is right with the void.’

Chapter Fifteen

Sickness and nausea. Feelings that was all too familiar to her. Pain and a dull ache across the back of her head. Consciousness returned and her surroundings began to register.

‘She’s awake,’ a soft and worried voice said from nearby. She couldn’t place it. A man’s voice she didn’t recognise.

Motion, a whirl of grey and harsh lights. She blinked, feeling her arms being pulled and then restrained.

Hassan?

‘Bring her to me.’

That voice she did know. Dread flooded through her, making her body shake. She felt herself propelled forwards against her will. She struggled but she had no purchase – weightless! She blinked, trying to focus her eyes. She heard the click of mag-boots on metallic hull plates before her vision cleared.

Octavia Quinton stood before her, looking down with an intensely satisfied expression suffusing her sharp features. Kahina felt herself pulled upright. She was dimly aware that she was being held by two men. To Octavia’s left-hand side was a smaller man, dressed in some kind of medical gown.

A Doctor. Why?

The Doctor was standing in front of a large flat device, secured at waist height. Kahina’s eyes widened as she recognised the pod she’d been put in after Dalk had ‘killed’ her.

What is that doing here?

‘Welcome Kahina Loren,’ Octavia said. ‘Do not attempt to flee. I would not have you damaged further, not now. Not after all the trouble I have taken to ensure your presence.’

Octavia stroked a finger across Kahina’s cheek. Kahina twisted away angrily, tensing against the men that held her. It was useless, they tightened their grip. She could barely move.