Clidepp Requital (3 page)

She was grateful beyond measure that she didn't have to make a decision today. There were far too many other considerations, and she might later regret a hasty decision.

* * *

The DS transport ship
Babbage
finally arrived at the battle site three weeks later to pick up the
Perry
. The gargantuan ship had been delayed, owing to a diversion to pick up the GSC Destroyer
Portland
before proceeding to the location of the
Perry
. The other Tritanium-sheathed warship had been performing interdiction duties much closer to Earth. Although pre-Dakinium, it wasn't nearly as ancient as the
Perry
. Until a permanent replacement for the
Perry
's assigned sub-sectors was named, the
Portland
would patrol in its place.

The first three frame-sections of the
Babbage
constituted a bow unit that, when swung fully open, revealed a space large enough to accommodate five SC destroyers. Once the
Babbage
was open and the
Portland
had been freed from captivity in the enormous hold, tugs arrived to push the
Perry
into position. When it had been secured, the
Abissto
, the
Glassama
, and the freighter
Furmmara
were guided in and secured, as were the
Furmmara's
link sections too badly damaged during the battle to ever be used again. On command from Sydnee in her capacity as acting captain of the
Abissto
, the freighter's cargo section had been broken in half by torpedoes after the freighter first fired torpedoes at the
Abissto
. Although no torpedoes had struck the freighter itself, fires and control-systems damage resulting from the cargo section breakup had prevented it from continuing the fight. Following the engagement, the
Perry's
engineers had deemed the freighter undependable for use until significant repairs had been made.

The unloading and loading operation took several hours to complete, but when the nose of the
Babbage
closed, the hull again became an airtight hold, sans gravity. Kilometers of undamaged cargo containers from the
Furmmara
would remain behind at the battle site until a freighter dispatched from Simmons SCB arrived to collect them. Not being a DS ship, the SC freighter would require months to reach the battle site. Until then, the GSC Scout-Destroyer
Rhine
would provide security for the containers.

The
Perry's
batteries were fully charged and would be adequate to maintain the gravity deck plating throughout the ship for the entire voyage to Mars. Gravity at the entrance threshold was substantially reduced and then grew progressively stronger moving away from the hatchway until it reached a full g.

The crew was immediately assigned visitor's quarters in the
Babbage
, while rebel crewmembers rescued from the
Glassama
and
Furmmara
were assigned more basic accommodations in an empty hold, with suitable Marine guard around the clock.

Sydnee was ecstatic with her temporary quarters, but they weren't really anything special. They were just the standard-size billet assigned to any Lieutenant(jg) aboard ships constructed during the past fifteen years. But after the shoebox she had occupied aboard the ancient
Perry
, the visitor quarters seemed like a deluxe suite aboard a passenger liner.

With the battle site cleaned up, the
Babbage
and
Missouri
headed for Diabolisto. At Light-9790, it seemed as though they arrived before they left. As the two ships established their orbit path, Sydnee received a message via her CT.

In response to the single-word query, "Marcola," Sydnee touched her ring and said, "Marcola here."

"Marcola," she heard Commander Bryant say, "jump into your personal armor and hoof it down to the shuttle bay."

She didn't understand the reason, but the order was clear enough. She stripped down and stepped into the padded body suit, then slipped into her body armor. Bryant hadn't said anything about weapons, but she decided that since she'd been ordered to wear her personal armor, the situation might involve some danger. She strapped one knife to her left thigh and the other to her right calf, then strapped on her pistol belt and clipped her rifle to her chest plate ring. Grabbing her helmet, she hurried out the door on the run. She required two lifts and a transport car, but she finally arrived at the
Babbage's
shuttle bay.

"Loaded for bear again, I see," Lieutenant(jg) Jerry Weems said with a smile. It was the way he'd greeted her the first time they'd met and had become a standing joke between them. On her first interdiction, she hadn't known what to expect and had brought all of her issued weapons.

"If what I suspect is true, we might need them."

"And what is it you suspect?"

"I seriously doubt we're doing an interdiction, so we must be going down to Diabolisto to help round up the Clidepp rebels."

"Yeah, you're probably right. But why? We're not Marines. And I'm sure the
Babbage
has its own shuttle pilots among the bridge crew."

"We know the planet, and the
Babbage
pilots probably don't have any personal armor since they don't perform interdictions."

"What about the
Missouri
?"

"It's a scout destroyer with limited personnel, so the same basic reasons apply. No Marines, no interdiction pilots, no personal armor."

"I was
really
hoping to never see that miserable planet up close again."

"Maybe it will just be a quick drop and pickup."

"Not with my luck. And I'd feel better if we had the MAT. Think we can get the captain to open the hull so we can fly it out?"

"The way they wedged the Clidepp destroyers and the pieces of that freighter inside, I don't think we'd be able to get the MAT out without moving everything."

"Might be worth it if we have to ferry a couple of hundred prisoners up here. The shuttles are so small we'll have to make thirty trips."

"That doesn't sound so bad."

Weems laughed. "You'd probably like to make all sixty legs by yourself."

"I wouldn't mind. This might be the last opportunity to fly again for a couple of months."

"Ahhh. Three weeks of no flight duty and no bridge duty. It's going to be a relaxing cruise home."

"I'm going to really miss that Marine combat range. It was a great way to unwind."

"We'll get you a pair of magnetic shoes and you can do laps around the inside of the ship hold in full EVA gear."

Sydnee chuckled, then said, "Not the same thing as shooting at a combat target that could jump up from behind every window or from a hidden sniper platform in a jungle tree."

The doors to the shuttle bay opened then and two squads of Marines double-timed it into the bay. The last one in was Marine First Lieutenant Kelly MacDonald.

"This your gig, Kel?" Sydnee asked as the Marines lined up in front of the nearest shuttle.

"Nah, Major Burrows is taking an active role. He'll be here in a minute. He's leading the unit on the surface this time."

"Really? That's unusual."

"I think he wants to see the layout down there firsthand so he's prepared to answer questions at the board hearings. And he said something about getting some terrain shots from altitude."

"Why? I mean we have all the images from the helmet cameras and the surveillance cameras."

"The Major just wants to be fully prepared when it comes time to show the Board how miserable that mud-ball is and what we were up against. I understand he found the images of the two battles with Lampaxa Vorheridines so entrancing that he watched them over and over. And Sgt. Booth designed a new unit patch that shows the Lampaxa head. It looks more frightening than the real thing."

"Nothing is more frightening than the real thing," Weems said. "Since we got back, I've had several nightmares about those monsters."

When the shuttle mechanics entered the bay, it gave Sydnee and Weems a chance to perform their walk-around. The shuttles weren't very old and looked sound and well maintained. Then it was simply a matter of waiting around until Major Burrows arrived and gave them their orders.

Marine Captain Burrows, always referred to as Major Burrows because a ship can only have one captain, finally arrived three-quarters of an hour later. He called MacDonald, Weems and Sydnee aside and asked, "Marcola, how's your arm?"

"Um, my arm, sir?"

"I read that your shoulder was dislocated during the attack on the
Glassama
."

"Um, yes sir. My arm is fine now. I feel a twinge sometimes if I twist it the wrong way, but most of the time it feels a hundred percent."

"Any doubts about piloting a ship with an arm that isn't
quite
a hundred percent?"

"None, sir. The physical requirements for flying a shuttle aren't that demanding."

"How about flying a fighter?"

"Um, a fighter, sir?"

"Let me outline the mission. You and Weems will fly your shuttles down to the planet and surreptitiously land in a clearing a kilometer beyond where the three rebel fighters are parked. The location information has already been downloaded into the navigation computer of both shuttles. After disabling your shuttles so they can't be commandeered during your absence, you'll deploy to the fighter clearing, disable one of the fighters and then take the other two. You'll each perform a single, low-level flyover of the rebel encampment to send the rebels scurrying for cover while my Marine fire teams surround the camp. When the rebels come out from cover and assemble to discuss the situation, we'll move in and take them prisoner.

"At least that's the plan," Burrows said. "We all know that no plan survives first contact with the enemy. We'll be in constant communication, and with this new armor, the only light weapons that can harm us are mortars, RPG's, and hand grenades. According to reports from Lt. Marcola, the rebels have few weapons left, but stay sharp!"

"Sir," Weems said, "I don't know how to fly a Clidepp fighter and Lt. Marcola might not either."

"That true, Marcola?" Burrows asked.

"Yes, sir." Sydnee said. "We're both experienced pilots, and I don't believe the injury to my arm will affect my flying ability at all, but the controls of those Clidepp fighters might be considerably different from the Marine fighters."

"But you flew that Clidepp tug you stole from the rebels to the
Perry
."

"Um, yes, sir. But a tug is considerably different than a fighter in maneuvering and flight characteristics. I was able to correlate the tug's controls with those of SC tugs I'd flown, and Lt. Weems had no trouble later flying that tug as well. Of course, we can't really know for sure until we see the cockpit of the fighters. If their ships are like ours, we might be able to work it out, but I don't know about performing a low-level flyover without a little practice."

"Well," Burrows said, "perhaps this is one of those instances where the plan falls apart even before we meet the enemy. I've been told you're the best pilot aboard the
Perry
, Marcola, so I'll make a decision about the flyover once we're down on the planet and you and Weems have had a chance to examine the fighter cockpits."

~ June 2
^nd
, 2285 ~

The shuttles approached low and slow, then flew at treetop level for the last twenty kilometers, using oh-gee engines for propulsion and maintaining altitude, and thrusters for attitude control. It was doubtful that the nearly silent approach would attract any attention, but the Marines in the passenger compartment had already sealed their armor and were ready to deploy the second the shuttles touched down. As the hatches were flung open, the Marines leapt out and secured the LZ while Sydnee and Weems powered down the systems and incapacitated the small ships in ways that could easily be undone, but only by someone who knew exactly which system interfaces had been disconnected.

As Weems and Sydnee exited their shuttle, they closed and locked the hatches so no one, or no wild creature, could get inside without leaving clear evidence of the attempt. Scouts had gone on ahead, reconnoitered the area, and ascertained the absence of sentries. Informed it was safe to continue, the entire group made their way stealthily to the clearing where the fighter craft were parked.

"The area appears to be clear," Burrows said on Com channel Two to Sydnee and Weems. "Take a look at the fighters. My people will spread out and watch for any enemy soldiers while you determine if you can fly those things. Pick the two best craft and disable the third."

"I think that'll be unnecessary, sir," Weems said. "Look at the furthest fighter. It looks like the engine is being overhauled. There are pieces all around the ship."

Burrows glanced towards the ship and used his right eye to select settings on the display menu inside his helmet that would lighten the image and zoom in. "That appears to be the case, Weems," he said after a few seconds. "Okay, check out the other two while I verify that third fighter isn't going anywhere soon."

Sydnee headed towards one fighter while Weems headed towards the other.

Opening the control pad cover on the side of the cockpit, Sydnee examined it for a second before pressing a button that the visual-translation assistant built into her helmet identified as 'hatch.' The cockpit cover slid back to give full access to the pilot and copilot seats.

She climbed into the cockpit and immediately began studying the flight controls and instrumentation. Her helmet translator was invaluable. All she had to do was focus her attention on any relevant symbols or text. The helmet then identified wherever she was looking and translated the Yolon to Amer. From that point on, the Amer translation immediately replaced the Yolon on the inside SimageWindow in her helmet whenever she focused on that text or symbol. But there were a few controls that weren't marked at all. She sincerely hoped they didn't activate the ejection seat. There
was
a button marked 'eject' with a spring-hinged cover over it to prevent it from being accidently depressed. Hopefully, that was the
only
control for ejection.