Gabriel has Spoken
02 Nov 2024Silalus
“Core Dynamics Sierra India Lima. An ally like you is always welcome here.” Even crackling and distorted through comms, the voice of Gabriel Dock’s flight controller was pure music. I turned to Marj beside me. From her copilot’s seat, she stared off at something a thousand light years away. Her head was cocked. One side of her scarred face rose in a half-smile.“Hear that, Marj?” I forced levity into my voice. “The sound of civilization! Spin gravity. Hot showers. Fresh vegetables—and maybe even meat that didn’t come from a vat.”
Her half-smile faded before it had time to become anything more. “Imperial slaves,” she muttered without making eye contact. “War profiteering.” Her helmet mic picked up a squeak of teeth grinding. “Politics.”
I chuckled, then glanced to my left. A holo glowed there, with a portrait on it beside a wall of text. “Well, good news for you on one of those, at least. Apparently, this system has pledged loyalty to Princess Aisling Duval. No slaves here.”
Marj only shrugged and turned away. The shine of starlight on her visor obscured any reaction I might have seen otherwise.
I sighed and made no further comment, busying myself with the controls as I adjusted our vector toward the welcome embrace of Gabriel Dock’s entrance. Marj had earned both her cynicism and her silence. She was more than hired crew now. She was a comrade-in-arms. We’d been off fighting the xenos for what felt like a lifetime, though it’d barely been a year. The stars of hard-beaten titans emblazoned across our Corvette’s hull were proof enough of that, alongside the discoloration of neutralized corrosives. This thrice-damned war with the bugs had taken so much from both of us that, as far as I was concerned, she’d also earned whatever space she needed alongside the billions of credits from her bond-share.
Some others in the Pilots’ Federation scoffed at how hired guns like her had mostly been managing affairs back on our fleet carriers while we were bombing titans, but that was no picnic either. I knew how many of her friends came back to the carrier in escape pods, each shell-shocked, bankrupt, and wounded. I knew how many escape pods we’d recovered too late, too. Or not at all. I can only hope they died in those pods before the xenos got them.
Or, at least, died on the titans when we blew them back to hell.
She deserved a hero’s welcome from the station before us. In fact, let’s be honest, we both did.
Which is why at first I couldn’t believe my eyes when, without even a warning, an imperial eagle opened up on us with a pulse laser.
⁂
Marj was already out of her reverie and had her hands back on the controls in front of her before I had even registered the sizzle of pulse laser fire on our shields. “What the hell?” I asked. Adrenaline spiking within me had lent a rasp to my voice. “Pirates? This deep in an Imperial system? Diverting power from engines to shields. See if you can get a scan on that ship.”
“Doesn’t read like a pirate,” she said, her voice more level than mine. Grim. No, not exactly grim—resigned. “No system bounties, no known pirate markings, no declared pirate group affiliations in the FoF system.” Her hands danced on controls. “Telepresence online. Fighter warming up in the bay.”
“Verifying.” I cycled the holo on my left to targeting to double-check her, but I knew better. Marj didn’t make mistakes. She’d been doing this longer than me. I was just the one that had gotten rich first, hauling booze out to Rackham's wild parties high above the plane. Despite being her boss, I didn’t know any better. “Ok, then what the hell is going on?” I cycled back to the station view. It still glowed the bright, friendly green of a declared ally. “Is this some kind of mistake? Do we have any bounties on us? An unpaid speeding ticket from a year ago or something? Anything?”
“Nothing,” she said. “Already checked. There’s no legitimate—” she cut off and raised her eyes as our attacker sped over us. The simulated roar of its engines blasted from the bridge’s situational awareness speakers. “What the hell is that?”
The fast little ship flew a holographic banner, nestled between its twin nacelles. It glowed a painfully bright sky blue, almost blinding in its phosphorescent intensity. “AISLING,” it seemed to shout at the world. Behind the single word was the icon of a figure embracing stars.
⁂
I thumbed comms and fought to keep my voice steady. What in the bowels of witchspace was this little mosquito trying? “Attention to the ship bearing Princess Duval’s banner. Cease your attack immediately and stow your hardpoints. We are a friendly.”
No response. The little ship banked hard in front of us, coming around for another attack pass. Our massive Corvette’s shield recharged a tic, the glow of it distorting the station in front of us and the stars behind it.
“I say again, Imperial Eagle. Sierra India Lima is a friendly. Do not continue to attack.”
The sizzling of pulse laser fire striking our shield resumed. Beside me, Marj shot me a hard look. “Your call, boss,” she said. “Tell me to launch the fighter or deploy the big guns.” She’d flipped the safety on her stick up to reveal the hardpoint deployment control below it.
I shook my head. There hadn’t even been time for me to feel the cold rage of battle rising. Instead, the only thing running through me was numb disbelief. Where was our hero’s welcome? What did we do to deserve this? “Duval Imperial Eagle, stand down! You are attacking a Duke of the Empire and honorary Vice Admiral of the Federal Navy. We are returning from the Thargoid front and have no quarrel with you. Our warrant comes from Emperor Arissa Lavigny-Duval herself, who your own princess supports. We’re on your side, fool!”
Behind us, the little Eagle banked hard and came about for a third attack pass. Even its tiny guns were taking a noticeable toll on our shields, if a small one. We were down to 88%. I powered up one of our shield cell banks, just in case we needed to top off. The station loomed large before us.
Marj seemed to notice how close we were at the same moment I did. “Why isn’t the cavalry swooping in to return fire?” she asked. Then she turned to me. “Orders, Commander?”
“Duval Imperial Eagle, final warning.” Comms off, I turned to Marj, giving her a nod. “Launch the fighter,” I said. “Passive escort only. No engagement until my signal.” Then I flipped the safety on my own stick, and deployed our hardpoints. The entire ship shuddered as our big guns rose from the hull. I thumbed the comms back on. “You are attacking a Duke, a Rear Admiral, and an Elite combat-ranked ally of both the Pilot’s Federation and the local government in control of this station. Hydras and Glaives have burned before me and mine as we brought glory to mankind. Seven titans are now absent from this galaxy, yet I remain. If you choose to persist in your actions, pray quickly, because once we bring our guns to bear, you will have seconds to live.” Now the cold fury was rising at last. It was a relief from the numbness, and I hated only that I had to turn it upon a fellow human. “So I ask you again: Please. Stand. Down.”
The killing fury flowed away as our comms crackled back to life. It had been a misunderstanding, after all. An honest misunderstanding. No harm had been done, and nobody else would need to die today. That was good.
So very many had died already.
“Core Dynamics Sierra India Lima,” declared Gabriel Dock. “Stow your guns immediately. If you return fire, a bounty will be assessed, and all local and imperial security forces will hunt you down.” Static crackled for long seconds as the line remained open, but silent. The ship’s distributor thrummed as it poured power into our huge hardpoints, readying an ancient god’s worth of vengeance. “I’m sorry Commander,” said the flight controller, voice subdued. “Things have changed since you’ve been away.” Disbelief flooded back into me, replacing the fury that had departed moments before. My jaw dropped open. The blackness outside the ship suddenly looked darker. Colder. The shadows were closing in on us. Beside me, Marj sat back in her chair hard, shoulders slumping.
“How did we fall so far already?” I asked. Tears welled up in my eyes. The fans in my helmet whirred to life, collecting them before they could spoil my view of our attacker. Our target. “What fate did we save humanity for?”