Battleship Furiosa Read online

  "They'll do."

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Byotai Imperial Battleship 'Furiosa'

  Approaching Martos III Rift, Deadlands

  24 December 2472

  A pair of Byotai soldiers walked towards them, and Nate found his eyes drawn to the lavish and ornamental armour. Like everything on this ship, even the soldiers wore expensive and over-the-top gear compared to regular soldiers. The traditional blacks were nowhere to be seen; these soldiers wore the grey and gold unique to this small contingent. The armour made them look huge, especially with the embellishments on the chest and shoulder. As they passed, Nate noticed both were carrying one of the deadly Sparth cannons that they'd seen Prince Kratha demonstrating on Relentless.

  "Nate!"

  He looked to his side and found Billy beckoning towards the Byotai soldier. Their armour looked exquisite, and under normal circumstances they might have spent hours examining them over and over.

  "I know. I've seen them on the ship already."

  Aliens were a constant interest to Billy, especially those in the military. Yet it was their spacecraft, weaponry, and equipment that really got them interested. Since the Alliance had expanded into the Orion Nebula, they had made contact with many alien races, and that exposure had brought them access to everything from the fearsome thermal bolts of the Byotai, to the deadly plasma weaponry of the half-bionic Khreenk.

  "Royal Soldiers."

  Nate sighed as once more his friend whispered the obvious to him. He'd been much more subtle as the two groups had approached, and had already looked over their gear with interest. There were entire sets of standard issue Byotai armour and weapons from the Biomech War era in the museums, but nothing from the Royal units. Even so, the Sparth cannon was an exceptional piece of equipment and rarely carried by ground units. From what the Prince had said, it was so heavy that only the strongest and most experienced would use them, and now he could see two soldiers, each holding one across their shoulders.

  "You know what that is, right?"

  The two moved aside as the soldiers pushed past, completely ignoring the group of pilots. Nate was surprised at their attitude and spoke quietly, but not too quietly that they could not have known that he was displeased.

  "Looks like they're too good for us, don't you think?"

  One turned back a fraction and grunted towards Nate. He looked back, but was unsure what to say. Instead, it was Valdis that finally stopped and called after them as they carried on through the passageway.

  "Great," said Billy, "We've done it now."

  The words from Valdis were in the noble dialect spoken by the senior officers and those from the richer, and more important clans. This form of language was much older than that used by the common Byotai, with odd changes in syntax and structure specifically to make it difficult for the commoners to understand. Billy strained to listen but couldn't understand a single word.

  "They're using their secret language again."

  Nate listened carefully to his translator, but for some reason it failed to understand anything. Finally, she stopped, and the soldier bowed down in their direction, and then turned away. Valdis spotted Nate looking at her and wiped a few strands of her pale hair from her face.

  "He apologizes. Not all of my kin are completely happy at our mixed operation. They would rather head on to Makos alone."

  Matilda said what all of them were thinking.

  "By all means carry on without us. I'm sure Prince Kratha would be perfectly content with that."

  "True," added Cassandra, "Without us, your ships would still be burning around the bodies of Kratha. We expect, and deserve, more respect than this."

  She lowered her hands to her side and thrust out her chest in a petulant manner.

  "After all of..."

  Valdis interrupted her before she could go on further and shouted after the soldiers. One looked back, grunted, and then kept going. Valdis looked a little surprised at the reaction and did her best to mimic the human way of shrugging.

  "Never mind. It will take time."

  They turned back and continued forward, but Nate found many question springing to mind.

  "Valdis. Is it like that with everybody on the ship?"

  They continued to walk as Valdis considered his question. When she finally answered, they'd already moved another thirty metres.

  "Most are grateful, but among the Royal units there is still a great deal of bitterness. The Empire was secure and reliable until this...revolution. Those serving on the loyal military units doubt everybody else, Byotai and Human alike."

  "I see," said Nate.

  They carried on along in the corridor and finally made it to the end of the massive hangar deck. From this point they now had a final fleeting view of the deck, and Nate watched the battered remains of his fighter being pushed aside by a robotic loader. The damage had seemed heavy when inside the craft, but from the outside it was clear he'd had a very close escape. The landing on the battleship had caused additional damage to the exterior, and he very much doubted the technicians would be able to fix her in time for their next mission.

  "Why so glum?"

  As usual, Billy's demeanour was bright and cheerful, much more so than it should have been under the circumstances. When all around appeared to be falling apart, Billy always seemed able to concentrate on the smaller things that were right to hand. Nate and Matilda, and perhaps Cassandra to a lesser extent, tended to over think things. As Nate listened to his friend, he wished he were able to switch things off so easily.

  "My fighter, she's not looking so good, is she?"

  Matilda shook her head and answered for Billy. Her voice lacked any kind of emotion and came across as cold and calculating. There was a reason why she had so few friends outside of their small group.

  "Your fighter has sustained a lot of damage, and your landing made it worse."

  Had Nate not known her so well, he might have been offended.

  "Yeah, not the best landing, dude," laughed Ensign Fletcher.

  Nate looked at him and shook his head. The pilot was tall and thin as a rake. Of all the pilots in their unit, he was the one they'd had the least contact with. Whenever the group were meeting for a chat or eating, he seemed to be somewhere else. Nate suspected he was often speaking with crew, technicians, and visitors to ships where he was known to be able to obtain all kinds of items.

  "Thanks for that...Spiv."

  He looked surprised, but when Cassandra started to laugh the mood soon changed.

  "So...you got my nickname from who, Hawkins?"

  Nate shook his head.

  "No, the brothers told us about you. Apparently, you're the guy that can get things done back on Relentless."

  Fletcher nodded repeatedly, clearly pleased with the recognition. He feigned rubbing his hands together with glee.

  "There's always something people need. Chocolate, time on the network cortex..."

  He looked to Cassandra and gave her a wolfish grin.

  "...Special clothing for the..."

  Cassandra grabbed his right arm, locked it, and then forced him to one knee. She was so slight that Nate choked with surprise. It was a good lock, and Fletcher was soon yelling for her to stop.

  "Take your games somewhere else, Ensign. We've got work to do."

  She then released her grip and looked to Nate.

  "Remember your call sign suggestion?"

  Nate continued to nod.

  "Maybe it's time we revisited it, especially if we're going to keep hopping between squadrons like this."

  Both of them turned to Fletcher.

  "And let me guess, Fletcher gets to go first?"

  He placed his right forefinger on his chest and then feigned embarrassment.

  "What, me?"

  "Yeah. Spiv."

  Anybody else might have been offended, but not him. Since they'd known him, he'd gone out of his way to maintain his wheeler-dealer persona. This suggestion seemed to excite him more than a
nything else so far. It was not the first time he'd heard the name, and some of his comrades already used it as a shorthand, and also to avoid using his name when discussing topics of questionable legality. Nate laughed a little as he repeated what Cassandra had just said.

  "Ensign Neil 'Spiv' Fletcher, it suits you."

  The Ensign's grin spread across his face.

  "I can't argue with that. What about you two? Isn't it customary to offer up names for others, instead of choosing them?"

  Nate shrugged and then looked to Cassandra.

  "In the Star Crusader simulator, Ensign Hurley is known for complex flying, better than some of the most experienced pilots."

  The other pilots stopped and moved around the group, listening intently. Each regaled some event in the past, but Billy found the story that caught their interest the most.

  "Okay, so back in one of our early training missions, Hurley was lead fighter. Our formation got broken up by the competition, and we were getting taken apart, me, Nate, the lot. Rex took a missile, and it ended with just her on her own."

  Valdis appeared enthused by the story and pushed so close that Billy thought she was trying to push him away.

  "What happened? Did you win?"

  "Oh, we didn't win," added Matilda, "We lost, just like Cassandra did. But not before..."

  "Hey!"

  Billy lifted his hands to stop her speaking.

  "Let me finish."

  Matilda nodded and stopped as requested. Billy lifted his hands and moved them as though one was chasing the other.

  "Cassandra was pulling all kinds of spins and rolls, but there were too many of them. Finally, the instructor stepped in and brought his fighter right up behind her and opened fire."

  Valdis looked disappointed.

  "And?"

  "Oh, it's coming."

  His hands moved closer, and then with the left hand he opened it like a flower, while explaining loudly. Several of them, Valdis included, stumbled back.

  "What happened?"

  Billy laughed.

  "So, the instructor came close and fired a burst before positioning himself fifty metres back and in her blind spot."

  Cassandra shook her head now, but Nate could see it was lightly concealed embarrassment. She was actually enjoying the attention, and unlike the Byotai, Nate knew what had happened because he'd been there.

  "This insane pilot activated her countermeasures and dumped a pattern of fifteen flares, one of which sucked right into the coolant intake of the instructor's fighter. It set off a chain reaction that blew the engine, and the fighter with it."

  Valdis burst out in a roar of laughter that sounded more like a battle cry. Upon seeing their surprise, she lowered the volume and leaned in close.

  "What happened next?"

  This time Cassandra continued the story.

  "Not a lot. Two of them hit me with gunfire, and then I think a ship-killer missile finished me off. "

  Her face broke out into a smile.

  "But the instructor had one hell of a surprise. I received a major reprimand after that fight, but it was worth it."

  Valdis seemed confused.

  "How so?"

  Cassandra beamed back at her.

  "Because this instructor had been riding us hard all week. Remember that?"

  Nate, Matilda, and Billy all nodded in agreement. Matilda especially seemed to be quite animated.

  "He was a nasty piece of work. Some of the tech was brand new to us, yet he expected perfect results every time, but only from us. The regular pilots being put against us were given plenty of opportunities to practice."

  Nate rubbed his chin as he listened.

  "And after all of that, when we'd practiced enough, we took on his favourite in a sixteen-fighter furball. And what was the final score?"

  "Zero loss win for us," said Billy.

  "Damned right, it was a zero loss," agreed Cassandra, "And even then, after a perfect score, what did the instructor have to say to us afterwards?"

  They each paused, but as usual, Matilda had the answer. Either it had stuck in her memory after all these months, but much more likely was the fact that her memory was infinitely better organised than any of them.

  "He said that we took too long, and that in a real fight the other pilots would have been able to find other ways to win."

  Valdis sighed with frustration as she listened.

  "I see. We have similar instructors in the Imperial Military. Officers who expect impossible results, and then punish you when you fail to achieve them."

  She nodded back into the corridor, in the direction they had already been travelling.

  "In any case, we must continue. We are expected within thirty of your minutes."

  They started to move, but Valdis looked back at Cassandra and snorted.

  "The name is good, though, Backfire. Perhaps it is the right call sign?"

  Billy piped up in agreement.

  "Definitely, Ensign Cassandra 'Backfire' Hurley."

  Cassandra shook her head.

  "Really, not cool, guys."

  Nate nodded along with the others.

  "I agree. The name fits, and you're kind of well known for that incident. Embrace it, Cassandra. It could be a lot worse."

  Cassandra looked both angry and pleased at the same time, and as usual, Nate had no idea how to react. She seemed to switch between hot and cold with him all the time, even when he didn't do anything.

  "Whatever you say, Star Crusader."

  Valdis angled her head and looked to Nate.

  "Like the game?"

  Nate shook his head, knowing exactly where this was going, and as before, Billy joined in.

  "When we first met, he was crazy about the game. He was always downloading upgrades to the system, just wouldn't shut up about it. So we used to tease him with the name."

  His head turned to Nate, and he looked genuinely confused.

  "When did they stop?"

  Nate laughed, but deep down he was trying desperately to diffuse the situation.

  "After our first big win. Then the six of us were suddenly a lot more interested in the game."

  He emphasised the word game, but Valdis was already intrigued.

  "I see. Well, Star Crusader. It's time to move on."

  The nine pilots walked away in a loose group along the long corridor at the side of the hangar deck that took them deeper inside the ship. As they took a few more steps, Flying Officer Dogg spoke to Nate.

  "You said six, but there are only four of you here. What happened?"

  Nate swallowed uncomfortably.

  "Rex, he was our lead pilot. He had a...difference of opinion with our officers. He's back on the ship."

  "And the other one?"

  Matilda heard them and answered for him.

  "That would be Jack. He died in the first weeks of the revolt. We lost a lot of good people."

  Dogg lifted her head and hissed through her mouth.

  "I understand. We have all suffered."

  They carried on quietly, each thinking about those no longer with them. All apart from Billy, who seemed to find something unusual and exciting with every step along the passageway. High-level lighting cast faint shadows onto the polished floor, and their feet made gentle clunking sounds. They were heading for the crew deck, and conveniently for each of them it took them past other parts of the ship. Nate looked to his Secpad bracelet and tapped it to bring up the schematics.

  She's big, but she's not that unusual inside.

  He smiled to himself as he checked the position of the key parts of the vessel. There was the main hangar deck that they had so far spent much of their time aboard, as well as additional decks for fighters and drones. Closer to the bow the infantry deck housed a company of soldiers, and above that, the substantial medical deck. Next up was the command deck, with the bridge positioned in the centre. Crew and engineering were next, with most of the additional space taken by the multiple gunnery decks that littered th
e ship from top to bottom.

  What a work of art, though!

  As they moved onwards, Nate found his eyes drawn to the exquisite designs of artwork and imagery of Byotai heroes of old filled the ceiling, but his friends seemed more interested in looking through the row of small windows on the one side as they passed the next massive section. Valdis ran her hand provocatively along the glass and nodded to the line of spacecraft.

  "This is the automated fighter bay. Here we use machines to move the fighters and boarding shuttles into position on the hangar deck."

  Billy stopped at one of them and looked intently at a long metallic unit. From where he was, it looked like a long series of combs attached to a single, long shaft extending out from one side of the deck. They'd seem similar mechanisms aboard major stations and military bases before, but never inside the ship.

  "What are those things?" Billy asked, "Some kind of loading mechanism?"

  Valdis stopped alongside him and moved her face close to the glass. Her warm breath misted up a small segment for a few seconds. Nate looked to her, but her interest in him had either waned, or she was genuinely more interested in talking to Billy about the ship. Nate watched as her attention drifted away and wondered if she and her friends saw the new pilots as little more than playthings, something unusual to occupy themselves with in their downtime.

  "Effectively, yes. Legion battleships are over half a kilometre long, and still only carry three and a half thousand crew at full strength. Using automation like this reduces the crew numbers and makes better use of her size."

  Her face creased as though she was concentrating, or at the very least trying to remember something.

  "Without the equipment, the crew numbers would be closer to five thousand, for no tactical gain. Instead, we get more spacecraft, soldiers, and weaponry."

  Her arm extended outwards, and a waft of the cinnamon aroma drifted about her. Nate noticed it immediately and looked at her body with intrigue. This close he could see her armour plates, but it was the glimpses of her skin that intrigued him the most. Her face was easy to see, but her hands, parts of her forearms, and the middle of her chest all revealed the soft, patterned flesh that Nate found so intriguing.