Flash Fiction # 462 -- Raiders/12

 

We knew that there would be more trouble heading our way before this was done, but their appearance already annoyed the hell out of me.  I had hoped we'd have a chance to deal with Sailfor first.

I fired at Sailfor just out of annoyance, even though it would not help our situation.  I caught sight of the blips on the sensor screen, but then I turned away.  They were still out of range.  I had more weapons to take care of on this stupid little ship and one fired before I had even located it --

The blast hit the rear right side of the fighter like a flash of lightning.  The controls went dead for a moment.  We kept moving, and I held my breath, listening for the sound that would mean our deaths -- a leak we couldn't fix.

I didn't hear one.  I didn't hear anything else, though, either.  We were still dead in space, and that was not good since the Sailfor was preparing to shoot again.  I glanced at Lisel, who had already spun to handle some of Krisin's controls.  I watched Lisel's boards for him, though I knew he remained fully aware of what was happening there.  There was just nothing for me to do at the moment. I couldn't fly, and I couldn't shoot.  That left me with too much time to think, which was never one of my better pastimes.  

I wanted to be back in the Belgium.  I wanted to rest in my room, wait for the enemy ... I did not want to be responsible for this entire station full of people.

The captain had to be crazy to send us out on this mission.  We weren't trained for it.  She must have been --

Desperate with no clear idea of what was going on and how to save these people.

The time stretched on, even though it couldn't have been more than a minute and a half.  Lisel was working quickly, half-turned in his seat and jabbing at the controls that were usually Krisin's position.  He mumbled.  He growled.  He yelped -- and we had power.

"Good work!"

He sucked on the fingers of his left hand, but he nodded.  I was already moving us fast in an upward direction, then to the right again.  We were going over the top of the ship, and more weapons were popping up --

I had not counted on Krisin working in the station and helping us in his own way.

"Count of three, Tana," Krisin said.

"Hey.  What?"

"One, Two -- Three!"

A surge of electrical power -- braids of lightning -- flashed along the side of the Sailfor where it was tied to the station.  The braids spread out over the ship in flashes of bright and deadly power.  Now there was a neat trick.  I imagined it fried many of the ship's controls and might have killed a few of the crew.  It also gave Lisel and me the chance to spin around again and locate the engine signature.

"Don't get too close," Lisel warned.  "Any of that power could go for us and fry the fighter."

"Got it."  I was already turning our ship, and Lisel prepared the weapons.  I took the front lasers, and he took the back canon.  We had them angled, so we were not going to fly headfirst into the ship.  That would stop them, of course.  Stop us, stop the station ... might be a bit of overkill --

I got the first hit and scored a shot right at the plates, burning through with a quick flash of power.  Lisel took the second shot right through my opening and hit the core.

We'd done it often enough before with were ships.

The Sailfor wasn't going anywhere now.  I read the scanners and saw that they'd dropped bulkheads into place, so the ship didn't wholly decompress.  That was fine.  I thought someone in authority would want to talk to some of them later.

Lisel and I had other problems.  I could see the line of six ships moving steadily station-ward.  Given the timing, I believed that they were the rest of the raiders, but it might be wise to do our best to make sure of it before we went in shooting.

"Hear me?" Krisin said, his voice breaking up.

"Not clearly," Lisel answered while he worked some of the power nodes.  We must have lost some of the commlinks.  "How is it going in there?"

"Chaos."

"Yeah, I can believe that," I said.  "What have we got on the new ships?"

"Too far yet," Krisin answered.  Lisel had mostly cleared up the comm problem.  "But coming in fast."

"How does the puddle jumper look?  Do we need to take that engine out, too?"  I looked over the scanners, locating that craft.  The engines hadn't powered up yet.

"Brick and some of his trusted people are guarding it.  There was an attempt to take the ship, but he and his people fought them off.  The other ships are locked down. I fear one or two might try to cut and run.  We're trying to work with them to at least not do damage to the station if they leave."

"Might warn them of other ships coming in -- Not the time to try and get clear.  You're right.  These guys are fast."

"It might be better to clear everyone that we can out of the station," Krisin replied.  "I can't say it is safe."

Lisel grunted something and frowned.

"What?" Krisin and I chorused.

"Doesn't that pattern look familiar?" Lisel asked.

I stared at the screen and then cursed.  Several times.

"They can't be were ships," I said.  I shook my head in denial as my rage grew.  "They can't be were because that would mean it was either a coincidence that they are here, or else they're working with the Sailfor.  And I don't believe in coincidence."