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  “Pilot, take us down low, as tight as you can against the rooftops. I’m hoping it’ll confuse their targeting scanners with all the electronic interference from the buildings long enough for us to gain some distance,” Hawk shouted as he ran different strategies through his mind hoping to come up with something they could use.

  “Aye, sir,” agreed the pilot and he put the shuttle through a tight looping dive back towards the city once more.

  Plasma fire from the chasing attack craft narrowly missed them as they suddenly changed direction, but it wasn’t long before the pursuit was on again with them firing regardless of their close proximity to the buildings and their occupants. As the shuttle flew in low across several flight lanes used by civilian craft such as sky-cabs, between buildings, above streets, the pursuit craft followed firing her plasma cannons in rapid bursts.

  Plasma bolts struck buildings, destroying huge portions of the structures; explosions erupted along their flight path as they fired at them indiscriminately. In one instance a plasma bolt struck an escaping sky-cab sending it hurtling into the side of a building in a huge fireball. The building exploded where the sky-cab impacted with it and burst into flames that were soon spreading throughout the wreckage. Only the building’s fire prevention protocols prevented the fire spreading onto those adjacent to it initially, but soon the flames were so intense that they overwhelmed even those and the Fire Department had to be called. Many people would die in that building alone before the fire was brought under control, a fact that Hawk could not allow to affect his decision-making processes.

  Seeing the destruction their altered flight path had caused, Hawk said, “Take us back up and return fire as soon as you get a lock. I want those bastards stopped.”

  De Boer saw the expression on his face and knew that the decision to fly into the city for cover was a calculated risk that hadn’t worked as hoped and the consequences would lie heavy on Hawk’s mind for a long time to come.

  Without a word the pilot took the shuttle straight up out of the cityscape and into the air. The marine manning the weapons console was taking care to get as tight a lock on the attacking craft as possible to minimise the chance of missing and thus adding to the damage and loss of life already caused by their flight through the city.

  “I have a lock,” he shouted.

  “Fire!” Hawk ordered and from the rear pods that had elongated out from the sides of the shuttle two Sabre missiles ignited their fuel pods and, having locked onto the designated target, went streaking towards their pursuers.

  Within seconds the forward momentum of the targeted craft and the speed of the missiles had closed the gap between them. The ensuing explosion when the two met sent a fireball followed by a shockwave outwards that almost reached the rooftops below. The escaping shuttle though had enough velocity to outrun them both. Sitting watching the monitor intently, Hawk waited to see the outcome of the retaliatory missile strike and was disheartened when he saw the craft come hurtling through the fireball trailing fiery tendrils in her wake.

  “Still in pursuit,” observed the marine at the weapons console and he opened fire with the aft plasma pulse cannons.

  “We need more speed or higher yield to the missiles,” suggested Hawk to the two marines hard at work in the two pilots’ chairs up front.

  “That may be a problem, sir,” replied the weapons officer calmly.

  Almost afraid to ask, Hawk said, “Why?”

  “Because they’ve just got a weapon’s lock on us in preparation for firing a missile,” came the reply.

  Looking at Hawk, Tanya asked, “Can this thing survive something like that?”

  Hawk glanced at De Boer for confirmation but all he received was a blank, non-committal expression, which meant either he didn’t know or they were about to die. Always wanting to keep a positive attitude, he chose to believe the former and hoped that the boys who built the shuttle knew what they were doing. However, balancing that against not wanting to lie to her he said, “We’re about to find out,” then smiled in a reassuring way.

  Tanya glanced away so that Hawk couldn’t see the fear in her eyes. Then he saw De Boer look at him and he knew they were in trouble.

  ON BOARD THE ATTACK craft Tanis Rygar was the pilot whilst the Rover was manning the weapons.

  “Get closer,” the clone ordered once more. It was the one order he’d kept on repeating since they’d locked onto the girl’s tracking chip signal.

  “If I get any closer we’ll be on board with ’em,” Rygar replied sardonically.

  “I’ve got a missile lock on them,” Rover said coldly.

  “At this range we’ll be killed too, I’d better pull back,” Rygar replied, not daring to take his eyes off the shuttle they were chasing for fear of either losing it or crashing into it.

  “You do and I’ll kill you myself,” Rover replied coldly.

  “But...”

  “But nothing, our shields will protect us against the blast, now hold her steady,” explained Rover coldly and calmly, so coldly in fact he reminded Rygar of a cobra about to strike.

  “Missile away,” Rover said with a press of a touch pad on the weapons console, then with a trace of satisfaction added, “I’ve got you now!”

  “INCOMING,” SHOUTED the weapons officer.

  “Shields to full power,” ordered Hawk.

  “Already done, sir,” replied the marine.

  Within seconds the missile had closed the gap between them as its onboard computer locked onto the signal from the shuttle’s electronic equipment and homed in on its target. Whatever the outcome one thing was certain, it would not miss.

  Captain Jefferson on the Valkyrie had been monitoring the action with intensity. Frustration fuelled him as he paced the bridge listening to the audio feed from down below.

  “Is there nothing we can do?” he asked as he stopped at the ops station.

  “I’ve got an active lock on them, sir, but at this range I’m not certain it would do any good.”

  Making a decision, he contacted the other transport also in orbit and said, “Captain, you maintain position here and monitor this frequency. I’ve seen that craft before and our boys are going to need help so I’m taking the Valkyrie down. As soon as I have them we’ll make the jump and head for Earth as ordered.”

  “Aye Captain, we’ll keep scanners tightly on you and all our weapons charged just in case,” came the reply.

  Jefferson turned to his pilot and said, “Take us down there on an intercept course.”

  “Sir, we may be too late,” warned the ops officer.

  “What!” exclaimed Jefferson.

  “They’ve just fired a Sabre missile at them, sir.”

  THE MISSILE IMPACTED against the aft shields of the shuttle and exploded in a fireball that threatened to engulf the sleek craft as it consumed the oxygen in close proximity as fuel. The force of the blast threw the shuttle forward and into a tight tailspin that the pilot struggled to control. The aft shields protected the shuttle from serious damage by absorbing the energy released by the explosion and deflecting the remainder away from it.

  End over end the shuttle spun out of control for many seconds during which her passengers were powerless to do anything to help until the pilot had her once more under his control. As he brought her out of the spin and on an even keel he said, “We can’t take another hit like that, the shields barely held that time, so if you guys have any suggestions back there, I’m all ears.”

  “Soon as you get a lock on her, let her have everything we have. Let’s see how they hold up against a full brace of Sabre missiles set to full yield. That should stop them cold and if it doesn’t at least we’ll have the time to make a run for the Valkyrie,” Hawk replied quickly.

  “I’m on it,” replied the marine, manning the weapons console confidently.

  “Sirs, the Valkyrie is approaching fast on an intercept course,” the pilot said, informing the rest of the crew.

  “She’s coming to lend a hand,
keep evasive manoeuvres going until you release the missiles then match her course. Our chances of getting out of this have just doubled,” observed Hawk, with a smile aimed at Tanya.

  RYGAR FLEW THE ATTACK craft through the fireball, momentarily losing sight of the shuttle. As they emerged, trailing fiery tendrils behind them, he saw the shuttle off to the side having been pushed off course by the blast.

  “There they are,” he muttered to himself.

  “They must have improved their shield capability,” observed Rover when he saw no discernible damage to the shuttle.

  Rygar attempted to bring the craft around and get behind the shuttle once more, but the shuttle pilot had anticipated the manoeuvre and had looped his craft over to starboard whilst firing both forward and aft plasma pulse cannons laterally at her attacker. The plasma bolts had no effect on the attack craft shields other than to push her away slightly, but it was just enough for the shuttle to complete the turn and put more distance between them.

  “They’re getting away you fool,” shouted Rover angrily.

  Rygar brought the attack craft around again in an attempt to match the shuttle’s course.

  “They won’t escape again,” Rover said through clenched teeth as he released a salvo of Sabre missiles.

  “Sir, the attack craft has just fired three more Sabre missiles at the shuttle, detonation in less than thirty seconds,” the ops officer reported.

  “Target those missiles with our pulse cannons and open fire,” ordered Jefferson. “Get us closer, be ready to fire our own Sabres at that attack craft,” he added urgently.

  THE MARINE MANNING the weapons on the shuttle saw the trio of Sabres fired from the attack craft and immediately targeted them with the shuttle’s aft pulse cannons. The joined effort of pulse cannon fire from both the Valkyrie and the shuttle blasted the three Sabre missiles out of the sky in a multiple explosion that lit up the darkening sky with its intensity.

  “Sirs, the Valkyrie is closing on us, we also have three other craft approaching, they’re from the local Constabulary,” said the pilot, who had also kept an eye on the scanners.

  A voice came through the com. channel saying, “This is Commander Iverson of the Cordoban Constabulary. I order you to disarm your weapons, drop your shields and follow us to the nearest spaceport. You are under arrest.”

  “I’m sorry Commander but we can’t do that,” replied Hawk, adding to his men, “Open fire on that attack craft.”

  “Then you leave me no choice but to force you to the ground,” Commander Iverson said with finality in his voice. He’d obviously been given his orders to bring down both of these craft that were tearing apart his city and he would obey those orders.

  The weapons officer on the shuttle urgently said, “They have weapons lock on us, they intend to fire.”

  “Now this is getting really interesting,” De Boer said.

  THE ATTACK CRAFT HAD received the same communiqué as the shuttle.

  Rygar said, “I’m getting a bad feeling about this.”

  Rover fired a Sabre missile at the lead Constabulary craft that had taken point whilst the other two had remained slightly behind, one to port and the other to starboard.

  The Sabre missile struck its target and exploded destroying the craft in a huge fireball. Before the explosion had time to expand much past its initial ignition, Rover had targeted the other two Constabulary craft with the pulse cannons and fired before they had time to raise their shields.

  The plasma bolts struck the port craft in the pilots’ area smashing through, killing the crew of three, and sending the craft hurtling to the ground below. The starboard craft was struck on her port wing, which was shredded by the plasma bolts effectively destroying the stability of the craft without which she could not remain in the air. The smaller craft was sent spinning to the ground in a breathtaking tailspin.

  “They are a threat no longer,” Rover stated without emotion.

  Rygar glanced at the clone seated next to him and felt a chill run through him. When he looked back towards the shuttle he realised he was too late.

  SABRE MISSILES FROM both the Valkyrie and the shuttle streaked towards the attack craft and within seconds they had exploded in a huge fireball of cataclysmic proportions that engulfed the craft. The shuttle quickly boarded the larger Valkyrie who then reversed her course and headed into the upper atmosphere.

  “Make the jump to hyperspace, let’s get back to Earth,” Hawk said through the com. channel via his NI.

  As soon as the Valkyrie had reached the edge of Cordoba’s atmosphere where the other starship was waiting, they activated the star drive and both ships made the jump to hyperspace.

  Rygar regained control of the attack craft after the explosion caused by the Sabre missiles.

  “Damn, they escaped,” exclaimed Rover furiously.

  “Well, we’d better get away from here ourselves. After you shot down those three Constabulary ships they’re bound to send more, probably larger with better weapons,” Rygar replied.

  Rover contacted Jonas Wilde via a secure com. channel using his NI. “They escaped us, sir, they’re probably on their way to Earth by now,” he said.

  “Good, just as I’d hoped,” Wilde said, sounding pleased with himself.

  “But you said you wanted them to die,” Rover said, perplexed by the contrariness of Wilde’s statement.

  “And if I’d told you that, then your attack would’ve illustrated that, but now they’ve gone exactly where I wanted them to go.”

  “So what do you want us to do now, sir?”

  “Rendezvous with Nemesis right away, she will be leaving for Earth very soon where the final phase will take place. I’ll meet you on board,” Wilde said then broke the connection.

  As Rover and Rygar contemplated the complexity of Wilde’s revelations, the man in question was smiling as he sat at his desk. His plan had changed along with events in an almost organic way.

  He was smiling because, despite all the changes along the way, the outcome was going to be the same, just as he’d planned all along.

  He got up and left the room. It would all be over soon.

  16

  The Valkyrie and her escort arrived back at Earth and were soon in orbit around the planet that was the centre of the Colonial Confederation and home to nine billion people.

  “Here we are, Captain, and don’t worry I haven’t forgotten my promise to get shore leave for you and your crew. As soon as I’ve transported Miss Wilde here to Col Sec HQ and reported to General Sinclair I’ll mention it to him, I give you my word,” Hawk said as he was about to board the shuttle. Captain Jefferson was standing next to him along with Tanya Wilde, Colonel De Boer and his two marines.

  “I’m sure you will, Matt, but I have a bad feeling that this isn’t over just yet so my men and I will remain on board and at battle readiness just to be on the safe side,” Jefferson answered with a dour expression.

  “I agree with the captain, this isn’t over yet,” said De Boer.

  “I hate to admit it but I think you’re both right. Seeing the lengths Wilde is prepared to go to I can’t see him giving up that easily,” Hawk agreed.

  “Whatever happens now will depend on the results of my report to General Sinclair so I’d better get on with it,” Hawk added, then entered the shuttle followed by the rest of the small party.

  They were soon leaving the hold of the Valkyrie and heading towards the planet below. Col Sec HQ was a sprawling complex situated on the site of the ancient United Nations. The Intelligence Division was located in the bowels of the complex several hundred feet below the surface.

  The Headquarters had its own spaceport close by which was where the shuttle was headed. Alongside the main complex were the barracks for the security contingent stationed there. Recon Delta marines were the best that Col Sec had, the pride of the military, and it was their duty to protect the Confederation and its people, which included the Confederation HQ where World President Takagi met with di
gnitaries and members of the various Royal Houses from around the galaxy.

  The barracks held only a small contingent from whichever company’s turn it was to be stationed there. It was Bravo Company at the moment, or just a small section of it, no more than twenty marines at a time. They rotated every six months depending on the company’s duties.

  The shuttle landed at the spaceport landing pad where Hawk, Tanya Wilde, Colonel De Boer and the two marines debarked. As they entered the huge building Tanya put a hand on Hawk’s arm stopping him and asked, “What happens now, to me I mean?”

  Hawk saw her worried expression and smiled to reassure her. Turning to face her he said, “Nothing bad, I promise.”

  “How can you be so sure? My father has done some terrible things, what’s to say some of the blame won’t come my way. I’m scared and not just for that but I’m scared because I have no idea what I’ll do next.”

  “Well first off, you don’t have to worry about any blame being attached to you, it simply doesn’t work that way, not unless we find some evidence to prove you were party to his actions in some way, an accomplice of some sort either before or after the fact. Considering that you came to us the moment you learned of what your father had done we can safely rule that out. What you do next is quite simple, you come with me to my boss, General Sinclair, and we take your evidence and your statement.”

  “No, you don’t understand, what do I do after that? I have no one and nowhere to go. Since Mom died it’s been just Dad and me. Okay, so he wasn’t there a whole lot of the time and I mostly had the staff to look after me, but I won’t have that now. Dad won’t let me return there now; he tried to kill me for Christ’s sake. I still can’t get over that and I’m rambling again, sorry.”