"What's the plan?" Juni said she had had a plan.
"First to Fort Bush, and then to the Badlands-"
"This is the Liberty Navy! Cut your engines!"
Oh god. We're dead.
The LNS Unity is in front of the trade lane to West Point and is launching fighters. A cruiser, LNS Twilight, is in front of Fort Bush trade lane and her fighter escort of at least six Defenders is headed this way. We're dead. That's it. It's over.
Bugger this for a lark. I suddenly get very stubborn, and that Navy guy right there pays for it with four volleys in a head-to-head. Loop out, split-s. Blap the one after Juni. My shields are holding, just barely, but I'm burning thruster power like it's going out of style. I'll run out and die quick.
Make me, you sons of whores. "There's too many, I don't see how we get out of this!" Juni's not shooting much. I guess she's given up, but she's still flying defensive at least. Oh, that one's not got his head in the game right, he's focused on the not-a-threat; now he's dead. More of them launching from Manhattan. Only twenty fighters? Oh, you'll all regret that like your three, no, four dead friends did briefly. These guys don't fly half as well as the wings off the Rio Grande; if you all were fighting Outcasts or Corsairs you'd be dead already.
What, did the Liberty Navy send only rookies after me? I'm insult-there goes the thruster. I'm out. Unity's in range. This will be over-
"Juni, this is King. Head for West Point. We'll take care of the battleship."
The LNS Utah. King, in a Defender rather than his usual patriot. A dozen Defenders squawking IDs of Cruiser Attack Group South. The Utah and Walker demonstrate why it is a bad idea to piss off your most brilliant naval commander when he has access to the largest gun in the Colonies.
"Unity here, we are taking-" An explosion. "General order, all hands abandon ship, all hands-" The Unity is breaking up. That's...three thousand people. They were at battle stations. Some of them will have been suited up and survived, but...most of them are dead now.
"Juni, Trent, head for West Point. King, you go with them." Walker's still got that command voice; he is In Control and Knows What He Is Doing. The LNS Twilight is coming up, and fires at the Utah. It misses somehow.
"What about you?" Juni asks.
"I'll be fine. Go!" No arguing with that man. We hit the trade lane.
Westpoint has two wings of fighters in the air, but they're small. We can probably take them, but the station is another matter, it's spewing fire everywhere. It may be an academy, but it's still a military installation. Gotta run. Trade lane again. King breaks off to meet up with Walker near Detroit.
"Trent, I'm sending you coordinates. You're going to meet an old friend of mine." Okay Juni, I hope he's trustworthy.
"Approaching ships, this is a restricted area. Turn around at once." Oh great, Juni's plan-
"Doctor van Pelt? It's Jun'ko, Jun'ko Zane."
"Juni?" Okay maybe it's not bad. "I've heard the news about you on the secure channel. What is going on?"
"I can't explain like this; we need a place to hide." True enough. Badlands are full of EM disturbance and particulate and asteroids, but I don't want to be out here.
"You are cleared to land. I'll meet you on the deck."
"Juni, the secure channel is buzzing with reports about you." An older man; much older. He has the tell-tale marks of anti-aging treatments; this guy could be anything from 70 to 200.
"Professor, this is my friend, Trent." Juni waves to me.
"van Pelt's the name, young man. Juni, you must explain this. They're saying you're an armed and dangerous fugitive!" Not one to be deterred.
"I don't know-" Okay, Trent, time for the big reveal.
"I think it's related," I fish the artifact out of my coat, "to this."
Van Pelt sets up some gear and analyzes away happily for a bit. "Artifact, very old, but still active. Hmm. You might try Quintaine."
"What?" Juni's losing it. That's a name, not a place...
"Not what dear, who. Quintaine is a respected xenoarcheologist in Cambridge. He could help you identify it." Dear? Once again, I'm forced to wonder about Juni's possibly familial relationship with an older man.
"I don't want to identify it, I want to get rid of it!" Crap. Not meltdown but we're getting real close now.
"We can't do that, Juni." Calm, keep it calm. "Not now. If we keep it, at least we've got a bargaining chip."
"I'm afraid your young man," I really do not know how I feel about that description, "is right dear. You will both be safer in Bretonia. Now, how to get you there."
"Liberty patrol approaching."
"They must have followed you somehow. I'm setting the automated defenses to cover your retreat. They never come out this far."
"What about you?" Juni's worried about him. Hell, I'm worried about him and I've only known the guy for forty minutes.
"I'm an old man facing two violent criminals. I'll be fine. You must go. There's a jumpgate to Magellan, here. It hasn't been used since the disaster that destroyed Ithaca, but it still works." Ithaca Station. I remember reading something about that, that was before the 80 Years War-
Holy shit. van Pelt has to be close to 200 years old...
"Renegade ships-"
Tell it to someone who cares, nancy boy. Juni's urging Van Pelt to come with us; Van Pelt's telling us to go; I'm blasting Defenders, but these guys are a better class of pilot. And they're armed like the wings off the Rio Grande, plasma weapons...bloody hell those hurt. My shields went down twice in as many seconds and I've only got them up now because I spent all my batteries.
Three cruisers-they're firing on Benford Station! Oh god-Juni, hold it together. Hold it together. Come on, don't crack now. She's not moving. Neither are the Liberty ships...
"Commander Zane, cut your engines and surrender."
"They'll pay for this. Trent, cruise engines. Let's go." Thank god.
Gate ahead. They didn't chase us...jump gate is active. It still works. We might survive this.
We made it. Freeport Four here we come...
Me and my mouth. Ten Bounty Hunter lights, Piranhas. There's a million-credit bounty on each of us, dead. We roll in, but we're losing this one. I got two kills, but chasing one...shields down...he dropped a mine.
My right wing's gone. I don't know how I can be so calm. Nanobots are patching the hull together but I'm going to run out.
"Bounty Hunters, cease fire. These ships are under the protection of the Lane Hackers!"
Say what?