Part 9 (1/2)
The sound of his voice made her jump. ”Hey Jan. I got what I came for, but these clowns want it back. How 'bout a ride? Over.”
Jan took her boots off the console and spoke into her headset. ”Hang in there. I'm on my way. Over.”
All the major systems were on-line. Jan flipped some switches, waited for the corresponding green lights, and fired the s.h.i.+p's repulsors. The Crow went straight up.
A farmer returning from a late-night errand saw the stars.h.i.+p rise out of the hollow, lost control of his gravsled, and took a nasty tumble.
Jan turned the bow toward Fuel City and added power. The lighthearted banter didn't fool her for a moment - Kyle was in trouble. Seconds would count.
She was low this time - so low, that Fuel City Control wouldn't see her till it was too late. A flock of gra scattered as she skimmed a hilltop, and lights twinkled on the horizon.
It seemed as if someone had called for help because the s.h.i.+p was crawling with troops. Kyle shot an officer, hurtled down the pa.s.sageway, and saw the access ladder.
Armored legs appeared, followed by a stormtrooper's torso. His boots. .h.i.t the deck; he turned, saw Kyle, and went for his a.s.sault weapon. It was slung across his back and not readily accessible. The agent shot the Imperial three times in quick succession and watched him fall.
An indicator flashed red and signaled the need for a fresh power pack. There were backups on the agent's belt but no time to mess with them, not with a perfectly good a.s.sault rifle waiting to be taken. He holstered the blaster, grabbed the more powerful weapon, and spun toward the other end of the pa.s.sageway.
A trio of Commandos came around the corner, paused by their officer's body, and opened fire.
Kyle ducked, fired three short bursts, and brought two of them down. The third thought better of the whole thing and fled.
Kyle took advantage of the respite to scramble up the ladder and slam the inner hatch. Two minutes' worth of sustained fire was sufficient to spotweld the door in place.
Once that was accomplished, the Rebel climbed through the lock and stuck his head outside. There was no sign of Jan. But there was lots of opposition. Ten or twelve Imperials were visible on the catwalks around him. A trooper spotted him, yelled something incoherent, and opened fire.
Thankful for the protection offered by the lock, Kyle returned the favor. The Imperial threw out his arms and fell into the darkness below. Orders were shouted, and fire came from all around.
Captain Zyak had completed his s.h.i.+ft and was about to head for his quarters when all heck broke loose. Information was hard to come by but judging from fragmentary comm traffic and the manner in which energy beams zipped back and forth, a full-fledged firefight was under way.
Given the fact that his replacement - a sallow-faced specimen named Nomo - had just graduated from air-traffic control school, the officer decided to stay. He peered through electrobinoculars and spoke from the side of his mouth.
”Lieutenant Nomo. Get ahold of the idiot in charge of those troops and remind him that they named this complex 'Fuel City' for a reason. One shot in the wrong place and every single one of us is dead.”
Nomo's hand shook as he lifted a comlink and made the necessary call.
”Incoming s.h.i.+p,” a tech said laconically. ”Vector eight - and coming fast.”
”Tell them to break it off,” Zyak ordered, scanning the battle below. ”I have enough problems.”
”I spoke with their commanding officer,” Nomo said urgently. ”He has orders to kill the infiltrators regardless of cost.”
”His b.u.t.t will be the first to fry,” the officer said wearily, ”but there's no reasoning with people like that. Call operations - tell them to stop the pumps and bleed the pipes. Order switching to close valves one through forty-six. The less fuel in circulation, the better.”
”The incoming craft suggests that we perform an unnatural act on ourselves,” the tech said patiently. ”Response?”
Zyak turned, strode over to the tech's position, and scanned his screens. He'd seen the target before. One-niner-two was back - and there was very little doubt as to why . .
. . The pilot with the nice voice had dropped a team of agents into his complex and was planning to extract them. Zyak remembered the advice he had given and felt betrayed. It was stupid - he knew that - but that's how he felt.
”Blow her out of the sky,” Zyak said flatly, ”and do it now.”
Jan kicked the Crow from port to starboard in an effort to confuse the surface-to-air missile batteries. She heard a tone as the weapons were launched. The s.h.i.+p's computer found the missiles, cla.s.sified them by type, and fed the information to her console.
Jan ejected chaff in an effort to create more targets, fired four antimissile missiles, and used her energy cannon to strafe an outlying fuel tank. It exploded, attracted every heat-seeking missile then in the air, and erupted again. An obscene red-orange flower blossomed, consuming everything around it, and sent petals toward the sky.
”By all the G.o.ds,” Nomo said, his voice filled with wonder, ”look at that! We blew the s.h.i.+p out of the air!”
”That was storage tank sixteen, you idiot,” Zyak replied crossly. ”Have they bled the pipes yet?”
Nomo checked a console. ”Not entirely, sir. They read seventy percent and falling.”
”And the valves?”
”They're working on it - some kind of relay went down. What's so important about bleeding the . . . ”
Nomo's question was cut short as tanks fifteen, fourteen, and thirteen blew in quick succession. The explosions shook the transparisteel windows and sent a mug cras.h.i.+ng to the deck. Fires, each overlapping the next, lit the night.
”That's why the pipes are so important,” Zyak said bleakly. ”As long as they have fuel in them and the valves remain open, they function as fuses. Well, Nomo, it's your s.h.i.+ft. Sort this one out and you'll be a Captain by Monday. Fail, and you'll be working in the mines.”
The color drained from the younger officer's face as he watched Zyak remove personal items from a drawer. ”Mines? What mines? Where will you go?”
”As far as I can,” Zyak said grimly. ”As far as I can.”
The Crow banked left, then right as Jan guided the s.h.i.+p between pillars of fire. The control tower appeared on the left, and she pa.s.sed within fifty meters of it. A frightened face peered out and disappeared. ”Kyle? Where the heck are you? We won't get a second chance. Over.”
Kyle watched another storage tank explode off to the north, realized the destruction was marching his way, and spoke into his wrist comm. ”Look for station six. I'm on the top surface of a large cargo s.h.i.+p. Over.”
Fuel City's computerized docking system was still up and running. A diagram appeared on the Crow's nav screen. Jan spotted station six, dodged a communications pylon, and fired her retros. The s.h.i.+p slowed, dropped into the appropriate approach slot, and eased forward. Blaster fire splashed against the s.h.i.+p's hull but lacked the force to penetrate. The larger, more powerful weapons, the ones a.s.signed to defend the entire complex, were equipped with stops that prevented them from firing on a fueling station - a rather wise precaution, all things considered.
The Crow was backlit by a distant fire. Kyle raised his arms and brought his wrists together as the s.h.i.+p coasted into position. The ramp whirred, and jerked to a stop. A gust of wind hit the starboard side of the hull, and Jan fought for control.
The agent checked to make sure that he had a good grip on 88's head, waited for the ramp to swing his way, and made the necessary jump. The ramp bounced, swayed, and pulled Kyle up. Energy bolts flashed, but none came close enough to worry about.
Once inside, Kyle made his way to the c.o.c.kpit. Jan wrinkled her nose. ”Who's your friend? He could use some deodorant.”
Kyle grinned. ”Jan, meet 8188. What's left of him, anyway. 8t88, meet Jan. She's cranky sometimes. But very good looking. Not something you could relate to.”
It was a nice compliment, and one that Jan would have enjoyed a lot more if the circ.u.mstances had been different. Sensors went off as a TIE fighter approached. She performed a wing-over, circled a stillintact storage unit, and opened fire. The enemy s.h.i.+p seemed to stagger, nose-dived into the tank, and triggered a ma.s.sive explosion. Shrapnel flew in every direction, punctured a line, and sent fuel spilling out onto the ground. A piece of still-burning debris splashed into the liquid and set it afire. The lake expanded and wrapped the maintenance facility in a red-hot embrace.
Kyle swallowed and fought the desire to grab the controls. ”Where the heck did he come from?”
”I believe TIE fighters are manufactured by Sienar Fleet Systems,” Jan replied sweetly, ”or were you referring to the pilot?”
”Ex-pilot,” Kyle said dryly. ”Head for the Nefra Canyons. Maybe we can lose them.”
Though not as familiar with Sulon as Kyle, Jan knew the canyons were part of the dry, semiarid region that lay just beyond the Hanto mountain range, only minutes away as the crow flies. The sun had broken over the eastern horizon by then and flooded the land with pink light.
Jan turned toward the east, saw Kyle rise from his chair, and knew what he intended to do. The Crow was vulnerable from behind.
Mountains appeared ahead. A brace of TIE fighters took up position behind them and opened fire. Jan jinked back and forth. The cannon fire went wide.