Hawk Genesis: Peace (Hawk Flight), page 23
John had taken just about as much as he was prepared to accept, and replied, “Pass me to your OOD. I have Navy authorization to operate these shuttles, and unless I receive confirmation that you are Navy, I shall assume you are pirates.”
John ordered both crews to warm up their radar, and put the missile and energy systems on standby.
He didn’t hear from the now presumed officer, so he repeated, “I am squawking an emergency. Unless I speak to the OOD, or your captain, I am going to take whatever measures I deem necessary to protect my craft and their crews.”
A moment later a different voice came up, “This is Lieutenant Commander Cohn; who am I speaking to?” John replied, “John Chamberlin. Your initial system query came up positive, but in light of recent attacks against civilian shuttles, we’d like the name of your ship, and your service ID.”
There was a pause, and she asked, “Mr. Chamberlin, if you bring up your drive, we will fire on you.”
John replied, “Since nobody seems to be willing to identify themselves, you are forcing me to assume you are pirates. Chamberlin out.”
John turned to his pilot, “Can you see anything on passive?” He shook his head, “We are still near the middle of the lane, but we’ve been running blind for over fifteen minutes.”
John ordered, “On my command, bring up our offensive systems. This feels off. Depressurive our cargo hold. Dump the air, don’t try to pump it.”
His co-pilot told John, “We’ve got two Navy Lt. Cdr’s with the same last name. One is no longer in service, the other is male.”
John ordered, “When you bring up your offensive systems, run reverse thrusters. Stand by.”
John made one more call, “Lieutenant Commander Cohn, this is John Chamberlin. We are still awaiting confirmation that you are Navy. Please provide me with the date of your induction into the Federal Navy. I ask as it appears that the only current officer with your rank and name is male.”
John waited sixty seconds, a reasonable amount of time considering the possible distance, and ordered, “Bring up your systems now. Do not shoot. Don’t bother with the thrusters.”
Five seconds later his pilot said, “Sir, two possible destroyers, three hundred thousand kilometers dead ahead. They appear to be second generation, and…they are confirmed Federal Navy. The Adelante, and the Venturer.”
John commed, “Federal Navy destroyer Adelante, this is John Chamberlin. We have confirmed your identity, and are shutting down our radar. Be advised, we are civilian, and we are very curious why you did not identify yourselves as requested.”
After a lengthy silence, his pilot quietly told John, “Sir, they’ve activated their drives, and brought up their radar.”
John promptly commed, “Navy destroyers Adelante and Venturer, you have activated your radar and drives. You are not following prescribed Navy security practices. Frankly, you are freaking us out, so I’d appreciate a confirmation that you have identified us as civilian shuttles.”
Finally, Lt. Cdr. Cohn answered, “Mr. Chamberlin, our sensor readings don’t match any shuttle we’ve ever seen, thus the precautions.”
John’s pilot told him, “They’ve shut down their targeting systems.” John nodded, “Captain Cohn, we await your boarding party.”
It took a very long time for one destroyer to match courses with John. The second remained outside energy weapon range. A boarding party swam over from the destroyer and entered through one of the cargo hatches. They cycled through to the lower personnel deck, where John stood to greet them. Karl was with him, but Hassan was up on the flight deck - he was somewhat intimidating.
John simply stood while the two Marines removed their soft helmets and looked curiously around. They didn’t appear to be nervous, but they were definitely alert.
One of them looked from John to Karl and stiffened, He covered his mouth and made a silent comm call to his ship. A moment later his companion stiffened and stood a little straighter, “Sir, you are John Chamberlin?” John smiled faintly, “I am. This man is Karl Mischovic. Our flight crew and one other employee are up on the flight deck. Would you care to take a tour?”
The enlisted sergeant asked, “Sir, your shuttle is highly unusual. One of the reasons we decided to board you is the fact that our radar had trouble getting a good read on you after you shut down your drives; you were almost invisible.”
John asked, “Did you ever hear, read about or see the Hawk?” The sergeant, who name tag was hidden by his outer suit, replied, “Yes sir.” John told him, “Lockheed owns the patent on the coating, but we own a similar company, and our shuttles, which are actually Light Cutters, have the ability to distribute fairly heavy energy weapon hits, and the coating greatly reduces our radar signature. We have a few other things you might find of interest; if you’ll follow me?”
John ascended the steep ladder to the flight deck, waited for his two guests, introduced them to his flight crew and without cracking a smile, to Hassan.
Hassan genially held out his hand and one of the two men started to take it. The second said, “Hell no. Sergeant, if you have half a brain, you’ll keep your hand to yourself – if you offer it to him, he’ll just take it. This man is a Marine, and he’s known as “Two By”, and that other large man is Master Sergeant Miscovich. I wouldn’t shake his hand either. Our host is Captain Chamberlin, former head of Second Fleet. He should be safe.”
Karl grinned like a wolf, “You are in absolutely no danger from Captain Chamberlin.” John sighed in resignation, “I’m telling Rachel that you like to dance the Tango.” Hassan burst into laugher, “Karl?” Karl muttered, “Record, John wants an especially good workout with Two by.” Everyone on the flight deck burst into laughter, including the two Navy sergeants.
John opened the armored hatch into the cramped missile launcher bay. The two sergeants gaped, and one promptly inspected the identification plate on one of the missiles. He said, “These are newer than the ones on our destroyer.” John nodded, and pointed at the very large capacitor, “Twin launchers, twenty-five centimeter energy weapon, armor, jump capable. You’re going to see lots of them as the Navy leaves these systems.”
They returned to the flight deck and John asked, “Have you had any incidents in this system?” The sergeant looked uncomfortable, so John waved his hand, “No problem. You may have noticed that our missile racks were not full. We were attacked by a former destroyer in Orleans. We destroyed it, but weren’t able to find it’s escort – a freighter – and it jumped out.”
They discussed the incident in some detail, and ended up shaking hands all around.
The marines swam back to their destroyer and fifteen minutes later it moved off enough to allow the two shuttles to resume their journey. John hadn’t mentioned the crafts’ ability to accelerate at 6 G’s, and kept that ability a secret. One day, probably soon, it would be general knowledge, but before that John thought the ability might offer an advantage in an encounter.
Chapter 24
Fujian’s landing field was full of new shuttles, now outfitted with the somewhat lurid red and white paint schemes of their veteran’s association. This was John’s first visit, and still something of a risk, but Karl reasoned that the huge influx of money into their system might mitigate it’s otherwise rabid hatred for all things John Chamberlin. That, and John simply overrode every argument Karl offered up.
In fact, John was anxious to see if there was something else his organization could do to spur growth in the local economy. Since that economy built shuttles, AKA gunboats and fighters during the war, John was there to see if the two deactivated factories could be restarted.
Karl and his team accompanied John into the city. Their first and only stop was the veteran’s association. Their arrival was anticipated – their shuttle had alerted the hundreds of association personnel on the field.
John was met at the reception area by an attractive young woman who stood and bowed slightly. John bowed back and introduced himself and his companions and asked if it would be possible to make an appointment to meet with the executives of the association. She asked, “Sir, may I ask, what is the nature of your visit?” John smiled, “We wish to inquire as to the progress your organization has made in helping your veterans, as well as your society; and, we wish to explore additional avenues of support.”
She seemed a little stiff, but under the circumstances, John understood it, and to a certain degree, felt the same: a lot of good people died in this system, some of them John’s.
She looked down at a readout and told John, “Sir, our executive committee won’t meet until later this week.” John smiled nicely, “Sorry to hear that. Um, can you tell us if the shuttle service is up and operating?”
She flushed – everyone knew that John’s organization had provided the shuttles – but said, “Yes sir, they are already moving cargo.”
John nodded, still smiling, although it was a little forced, “Excellent news. Well, would you please pass on our organization’s congratulations to you and your entire team?”
He waited for her to acknowledge his request, and he turned to leave. She spoke to the back of his head, suddenly a little anxious, “Sir, are you leaving?”
John paused, turned and replied, “Yes. Unfortunately, conditions in many colonies are deteriorating, acts of piracy are exploding everywhere, and our organization is struggling to find ways of helping veterans and trying to prevent a general breakdown of order.”
He waited for a beat, waved and turned again. She said, “Sir, how long will you be here?” John said, “Unfortunately, due to my former career in the Federal Navy, I am not terribly popular here; since I am unable to meet with your executives, I will have to depart. I’ve got a number of other stops to make before returning to my home world.”
She displayed a small amount of anxiety – he was hated, but he apparently was also disposed to dump more money into their association. She asked, “You traveled to this system just to meet with our association?” John smiled faintly, “I can’t think of any other group or organization that would allow me inside their foyer.”
She cocked her head, “Do you blame us?” John asked her right back, “Do you want to continue to live in hatred and war, or prosper in peace?” He waved his hand, “I don’t expect an answer. Thank you for your kindness.”
She didn’t stop him this time.
They headed straight back to the field. Karl quietly told John, “It’s probably a good thing we didn’t stay. I’ve received word that your presence on the planet is spreading like wild fire. We might get a chance to test our suits.” He seemed just as calm as usual, but he was also talking on his comm with the small crew at the shuttle, which hadn’t allowed anyone near it, and he was extremely alert.
They had hired a private conveyance, and John sat up near the middle, with Karl and Fidel in front and two others behind.
As they neared the field a fusillade of pellets began striking the vehicle. It’s plastic windows starred and then exploded inward. They didn’t really have any targets to shoot back at, so they didn’t try, but they donned their newly improved head coverings and activated the commo feature, for what little good it would do.
The civilian driver tried to stop the vehicle, causing Karl to simply bodily yank him out of the driver’s seat and take his place. A moment later he was hit multiple times. Karl pushed the throttle to the maximum and lowered himself to reduce his exposure to the large number of pellets striking the side of the vehicle and passing through the shattered windows.
He’d already commed the shuttle, which in turn contacted the Federal Army. The two security men closed the personnel hatch and, following John’s directions, began powering up the shuttle’s systems.
Karl shouted to his people, “We’re getting hit from overhead and behind. If you can take out our pursuers without exposing yourselves, please do so.”
John looked up at the plastic ceiling. It was also starring from repeated hits. So far, they weren’t taking any solid slugs – they would have easily passed through the vehicle.
Fidel let loose a string of pellets, targeting a heavy industrial vehicle that was following them. His pellets sparked all over the front of the freight loader, but didn’t seem to do any damage.
Karl shouted, “We’re just a few hundred meters from the field. I’m going to drive straight through to the shuttle – the fucking Army is at least twenty minutes away. Everyone keep your head down, except for Fidel – I want you to keep them under fire.”
A piece of the ceiling shattered, opening a large hole. John spotted a small aircraft, flowing just fifty or so meters directly overhead. He emptied his weapon into the underside of the craft, reloaded and resumed firing.
Pellets were now hitting him, but once again his suit protected him from damage, although he could feel each hit.
His shots were hitting the craft, but as far as he could tell causing no damage other than to scar the surface.
The little vehicle passed through the main entrance. Peter commed John, “I’ve identified the aircraft, and I may be able to interfere with its’ flight controls; the vehicle behind you is being manually driven, so no joy there.”
By now John had emptied five loads into the craft. Karl was able to toss him two reloads and within moments John resumed his fire. As he emptied a cartridge, the large craft began descending and slammed into the ground with an audible screech of shattering plastic and ceramics. John finally had a target, and sent the entire load into the interior of the craft.
They approached the shuttle, with the ground vehicle still right behind them. Fidel borrowed a cartridge and said, “Last cartridge.” Karl pulled the now smoking vehicle up to the side of the relatively huge shuttle and Karl and two men jumped down and ran the few paces toward the open personnel hatch of the shuttle, where they turned and aimed outward to provide covering fire for John and Fidel.
The energy mount on the shuttle flashed, drilling a hole lengthwise down through the vehicle, raising a fountain of paving on the far side. John and Fidel were the last two out and ran for the hatch as the now smoking wreck of the cargo hauler slammed into the tattered vehicle, smashing it up against the side of the shuttle and pinning the two men.
Their suits immediately stiffened, but not enough. John gasped in pain, but couldn’t do anything. His hands were free and he still had a nearly full cartridge. He aimed the small weapon through the remains of the windows and waited for someone to appear.
Fidel was slumped over, presumably unconscious. A man appeared and John hit him with three pellets. He disappeared, but two more took his place. John emptied his last pellets into the two.
Karl appeared to the left of the vehicle. His suit puffed and sparked but he kept moving forward, his hand outstretched. He emptied his cartridge into the interior of the vehicle, reloaded, poked his hand inside and emptied another cartridge.
The two other men appeared and attempted to push the vehicle away from the shuttle. It didn’t budge. One asked John, “Sir, are you alright?” John said, “I don’t know, but Fidel is out, and we probably don’t have much free time before more shooters arrive.”
Karl appeared and asked John, “How ya doing, Captain?” John said, “Better than Fidel, not as good as you.”
Karl said, “Sir, without some heavy equipment, I don’t see how we can move this piece of shit.” John said, “Move the shuttle.” Karl laughed, “Never thought of that. Are you certain?” John pointed through the window, “Considering the fact that there are two vehicles approaching, and neither is Army green, yes.”
Karl commed the pilot, and after a moment told John, “He says that he’ll have to lift it first, and he can’t guarantee it won’t move the wrong way.”
John said, “You’ve got about one minute to find out. Tell him to do it now. Also, tell him that he can use the energy weapon only after they shoot – we don’t know yet if they’re hostile.”
Almost as soon as John uttered those words, a projectile passed through the remnants of the ruined vehicle hit the side of the shuttle, just missing John.
Karl grinned, “Sir, is that good enough?” John said, “I think so.”
John felt the shuttle quiver, the pressure against his suit increased slightly, then it was gone, as the over one hundred meter long craft edged away from the wrecked vehicle.
John groaned and slowly fell to the ground, along with Fidel, who was still out.
More projectiles passed through the plastic vehicle. John grabbed one of Fidel’s hands and pulled him over on his side. He flopped over on top of him, hoping that their suits were still working.
A brilliant spear of light exploded one of the vehicles in a shower of exploding battery pack. The other shuddered to a stop and began disgorging men.
Karl emptied his last cartridge their way and a moment later was pulling John to his feet. Another man grabbed Fidel and dragged him toward the hatch. Pellets and projectiles began hitting all along the side of the vehicle. John’s suit went completely stiff and he felt an agonizing stab of pain in his left leg. Karl ducked through the hatch, and a moment later Fidel was literally dragged into the shuttle. The hatch slammed shut and the shuttle began rising up.
