CHAPTER TEN

“Agent Corbusier, there’s something on the sensors,” Thompson said as politely as he could.

Corbusier’s eye almost twitched. The Fox had left orbit around the station and had been heading to the start of her flight path an hour ago. Clear skies. Not even a meteor shower on the radar. Now this.

“Put it in the tank.”

“Aye.”

The holotank added two red triangles heading toward an interception course based on the estimated flight path of the unknowns.

“Try all standard frequencies.”

“Aye.” There were a few minutes of silence. “Nothing, Agent.”

“Try the miners’ preferred frequencies.”

“Aye.”

“Chief Davis, raise shield output.” Corbusier didn’t count on hearing anything back from the unknowns.

“Aye, but if we dip into the atmosphere at this power level, the Fox will feel it.”

“Understood. We may need to readjust the plan.” Corbusier’s eye did twitch now. As much as Bedford rankled him at times, Corbusier knew the best man for this job wasn’t here.

“Crew, it looks like we’ll have a fight on our hands. And while my experiences are many and varied, I don’t know how to run a Confederate frigate through a battle. I’m handing command over to Navigator Thompson for the duration.” Corbusier settled in the captain’s chair after that. Their best chance of surviving this would be not to have him in charge.

“Aye, Agent. I have command,” Thompson said.

Some of the tension drained from the bridge.

The details of the unknown ships filled in as they drew closer. Two sleek-looking craft, unmarked and not responding, blasted towards them.

“Gunny, assessment?” Thompson asked.

“Fast attack ships, moderately armed. I doubt they have anything that will punch through the Fox’s shielding in one shot, but they certainly will whittle it away.” Gunny studied the data coming in. “Missile-equipped, estimated eight per ship, not sure their capabilities right now. Laser banks on each side, I assume just medium range. Looks like a single autocannon underneath. They are more nimble than the Fox but lack her raw power.”

“Understood, Gunny. All hands, we will be under attack in thirty minutes or less. Secure and report to stations. This is not a drill.” Thompson’s voice was level and calm.

The men prepared by strapping in and securing any loose items.

“Cutting gravity in three, two, one,” Thompson intoned. They felt the shift as the Fox reclaimed power from the generators.

Thompson weighed his options. The Fox was a better fighter in deep space, these ships looked to be stronger above and in atmosphere. Something bugged him, though. It was too neat and tidy to have this type of ship to attack right now. The smart move would be to pull out and head deeper into space to fight. And that felt wrong to Thompson.

“Davis, we’re going to skim the atmosphere, can you adjust the shielding to minimize drag underneath us?” Thompson asked.

“Aye, Navigator. I can’t promise you much, but I’ll do my best.”

“Fair enough.” Thompson allowed himself to connect deeper to the Fox, his eyes rolling back in his head for several seconds. He snapped back into himself, confident his play had a decent chance of not killing them all. Mire the attackers just enough in the atmosphere while keeping the Fox skimming along the top and using her power. It was a balancing act between power and nature. He looked forward to the challenge with a certain relish.

Corbusier watched the crew’s interplay closely.

Lucas and Aveline were in the lounge when the all hands call went out.

“We’ll stay here,” Lucas decided, activating the security measures for the couches.

“Ooh, Lucas, how daring of you!” Aveline giggled.

“At least Henderson won’t interrupt for a few minutes,” Lucas said with a grin.

The shutters closed around them, dimming the lighting.

“My, Lucas, you know how to show a girl a good time! Romantic mood lighting in the middle of a ship-to-ship firefight!”

Lucas laughed out loud over that. “Yes, that’s how I wooed Lorena.” His mood soured slightly. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought her up.”

Aveline wanted to reach out and touch him gently, but the harness prevented her. He was so close, yet distant. She decided it was finally time to press him a little on the subject.

“You don’t talk about her. At all.” There was no rancor in her tone, no probing, just a simple unstated invitation to open up, even just a little.

Lucas sighed. “I know, and I am sorry about that. It’s…complicated.”

“I assumed so,” Aveline said gently.

The Fox shuddered and groaned as she skimmed into the exosphere.

Lucas ignored it. Either his men would see them through, or they’d all be dead, and in either case, there was nothing he could do to change the outcome.

“Lorena and I were a perfect match. Met in college–I was planning on a career in mechanical construction and repair–and it was an instant attraction between us. Dated her for about a year. The relationship with the Republic, literally our neighbors in the cluster, became strained over some disputes about the borders between us, then about trade and shipping agreements, then some troubles for our frontier colonies, and then before anyone realized it, we were in a war.” He stopped for a minute as the forces pushed them against their harnesses.

When they could breathe again, Aveline spoke. “You joined the Navy, and she insisted on marriage before you went to training camp, and things went hot and cold from there, correct?”

Lucas gave a wry chuckle. “That obvious, eh?”

Aveline smiled at him in understanding. “It’s a common story.”

“My family chipped in and bought me my commission. After I completed officer training, I had six months off. It was amazing–we were in sync like never before. Then the assignments, and I was gone for months up to a year at a time, usually with communications blackout imposed by the Navy. I fought, survived, climbed the ranks through service and survival, and tried to keep our marriage going.” He stopped for a second, thinking. “I want to believe she was trying, too. I think she was, at least, in her own way.”

The Fox rolled, then yawed. The ship shook as something hit the shields.

“Before I made captain, I promised I’d cycle back to serving in the Navy outside of active combat. But then, I was promoted and sent on a year-long mission. That’s when I was assigned to the Fox and most of the crew you’ve met. After that, the two governments called a truce, and I went home. Lorena was done at that point, I just didn’t realize it then.”

“Any children?” Aveline asked.

Lucas shook his head. “We wanted to wait until after the war. Lorena didn’t want our children to have a brave, but dead, father. I agreed.”

The world flipped upside down for several minutes, and the forces squeezed the air out of their lungs. The roll put them back right-side up and oxygen rushed back into their lungs.

Bedford coughed several times before he could continue. Aveline didn’t say a thing, lest this talkative side of him suddenly run dry.

“We might have made it work again, but the peace talks fell apart and war surged back into the gap. Again, we were sent out to fight more, and during that whole engagement, she sent me the divorce papers to finalize.” Lucas’s voice was tight as he talked.

They couldn’t speak for a few minutes as the Fox rumbled and shook. Lucas could feel the weapons firing in rapid succession–whatever trap Thompson had laid he must have sprung.

“And you didn’t sign those papers, did you?” It wasn’t a question as much as a statement.

“No, I didn’t. I wasn’t ready to give up. And then I received news about the accident. And then the last operation that ended up sending us here. I don’t even know if she’s alive or not.”

They were both quiet for a moment as the ship was buffeted and slammed around.

“I see now.” Aveline sighed. “You aren’t making any of this easier, you know?”

“Navigator is returning command to Agent Corbusier,” Thompson said after Gunny confirmed the last kill.

“Lay in a course back to where we need to be, Navigator. And good flying.”

“Aye, course being plotted. And thank you.”