Shadow War

Chapter One The destroyer Thylacine materialized from a starjump, and Commander Jas Harrington immediately leaned forward in her seat. A hologram blinked into life in front of her—a golden globe slowly spinning in mid-air, filling one-fifth of the Thylacine’s bridge. A dry, cloudless planet. The planet’s name was unpronounceable in English, but that didn’t matter. It was one of several worlds that was home to a rich source of mythrin, the raw ingredient of the stupor-inducing, extraordinarily expensive, highly illegal drug, mythranil. As such, the world was extremely likely to have been infiltrated by the hostile aliens known as Shadows. Infiltrated, and secured. The Shadows aimed to cut off the Unity Alliance’s supply of mythranil so the UA’s Shadow scanners wouldn’t work and their ability to tell friend from foe would be lost. “Force field maximum power,” said First Officer Trimborn. “Scanning for enemy ships.” Jas nodded. Everyone aboard knew the drill. If the battle scenario played out as it usually did, they had about five seconds. Four. Three. Two— “Pulses incoming,” exclaimed Trimborn. The Shadow ship protecting the planet had spotted them and fired. “Got the origin coordinates,” said another officer. “Returning fire.” Vibrations shook Jas’ seat and the arm rests beneath her hands. The enemy’s pulses had hit the ship, but the Thylacine’s force field was strong. They had plenty of power, enough for a long, pitched battle. The trick to winning was to destroy the opposition before the power ran out. “Picking up the Shadow ship,” said Trimborn, looking from his screen to the holo. A starship appeared over the edge of the golden globe. Long, slim, and sprouting four curved extensions, the ship was a make that Jas didn’t recognize. Like most Shadow ships, it had probably been built by the native population on the planet below and stolen by the aliens after their invasion. The Thylacine’s pulses were already streaming toward it. “Fire again,” Jas said. “Full attack.” “Yes, Commander.” “Halve our distance from that ship, Pilot,” said Jas. Pilot Kennewell replied, “Engaging Raptors, ma’am.” Acceleration from the propulsion engines pushed Jas back in her seat as the Thylacine sped toward its attacker, following the barrage of pulses it had launched. A similar assault from the Shadow ship clashed into the Thylacine’s pulses. The bolts of raw energy collided, exploded, and dispersed in the high thermosphere above the planet. The Thylacine continued full speed ahead, cutting through the cloud of energized particles, leaving behind a charged wake. Jas hoped the battle was visible to the population below, giving the invasion survivors the news that the Unity Alliance had come to their rescue. “A second ship’s jumped in,” exclaimed Trimborn. The hologram echoed his words. Before the first officer had finished speaking, another starship winked into existence. It appeared directly behind the Thylacine, so close that the energy of its starjump hit them full force, rocking the ship. “Krat,” muttered Jas, gripping her armrests to steady herself. There was no way the Shadows could have messaged for reinforcements. The Thylacine was dampening their comms. She was confident of that. This was bad luck—a pure coincidence that her destroyer had happened to arrive moments before a second Shadow ship. It was probably there to relieve the first or was intended to double the planet’s defenses. This battle wasn’t going to be as straightforward as Jas had hoped. “Fire away at our second target.” “Already on it, ma’am,” came the reply. The pulses flew out toward the new aggressor. The officer should have awaited her order, but she didn’t object. Her team were battle-seasoned. She trusted them to use their initiative, and they knew it. The new ship would take about a second to activate its force field post-jump. If the Thylacine could score a hit during that time window, it would do significant damage. Waiting for her command would only have wasted precious time. “Direct hit,” said the officer. The Thylacine continued to zoom closer to the original Shadow ship and away from their surprise attacker. The ship they were leaving behind shuddered as their pulses hit it. Jas craned forward, looking expectantly at the ship. They had to have hit it before its force field was full power, but the holo displayed no debris. “We didn’t breech her hull,” exclaimed Trimborn. “Maintain fire,” Jas said evenly, settling backward into her seat. “Equal pulses. Both ships.” They were now under attack from two directions. She bit the edge of her thumb. Failure to inflict serious damage when a ship’s force field was down was rare. She peered at the new ship. It was another kind that she’d never seen before. In five years of battles, Jas had seen many starships fighting on both sides of the Shadow War. She’d gotten to know most of the models and their specs and capabilities. Only occasionally now did she encounter an unfamiliar ship. Yet here were two that she didn’t know. She wondered if the Shadows had begun to design and manufacture their own ships. The second ship began its pursuit. The Thylacine continued on its course, closing the distance with the first ship. They were fast becoming penned in. Jas clenched her jaw. Taking out one average Shadow ship was achievable. The Thylacine had done it often enough. Taking out two—one of which seemed exceptionally well-protected—would be tough. “Pulses incoming,” Trimborn said. They were too numerous for the Thylacine’s pulses to intercept. The ship vibrated again under the heavy fire. “Fighters launched from Shadow Ship Two,” said Trimborn. Sparks spewed from the side of the second ship, the tiny flecks of light representing manned Shadow fighter ships. Jas’ stomach twisted at the sight. She raised her comm button to her lips. “Squadron Leader Correia, scramble all fighters.” She imagined the Unity Alliance fighter pilots in their single-seater, highly maneuverable ships as they bravely prepared to launch. Starship force fields protected them against high-energy pulses, but close-range, low-energy fighter fire could penetrate the defensive screen. Protracted fighter fire on vulnerable spots could cripple a ship. The Thylacine’s fighter pilots would protect against these attacks and attempt to destroy the enemy’s fighters. Despite the danger to her ship from the Shadow fighter attack, Jas hated deploying her pilots. Their chances of survival were terrible. In the average Shadow War battle, fewer than sixty percent of UA pilots would make it back to their ships alive. Jas’ pilot survival stats were somewhat better, mostly because she did whatever she could to avoid risking her pilots’ lives. It was something Admiral Pacheco criticized her for, though she’d never lost a battle yet. In the current situation, however, she had no choice. “Kennewell,” she said. “As the last fighter leaves, take us hard to port.” The Thylacine’s fighter ships would launch to starboard. She needed to give the pilots room to maneuver, and she wanted to avoid becoming sandwiched between the two Shadow ships. “Yes, ma’am,” Kennewell replied, her hands hovering over her controls. The ship continued to vibrate as the odd attacking pulse impacted their force field. Their own pulses were also scoring hits, too, gradually wearing down their enemies’ power levels. Inertia pushed Jas to the right as Kennewell swiftly maneuvered the ship. The Thylacine’s fighters were now visible on the holo, specks of light swirling around the ship, streaming out to meet the enemy’s oncoming ships. “Drop force field power fifty percent. Divert to pulses. Direct all pulse fire at ship one,” Jas commanded, judging that the second ship wouldn’t fire through the ranks of their own fighters to attack the Thylacine. Temporarily diverting her ship’s force field power to pulses was worth the risk. They had to hit the first ship with everything they had. The Thylacine’s bolts poured across space toward the first Shadow ship. The pulses the destroyer emitted were so intense they looked like one long chain of light leading from the Thylacine to its enemy. They swamped the enemy ship with energy. Trimborn was intent on his scanner. “Their force field’s breaking down, Commander.” “Fighter fire at our launch bay doors,” another officer said. Jas’ gaze swept to the interplay of fighter ships. They were executing a macabre dance in the space between the Thylacine and the second Shadow ship. Some enemy fighters had slipped through her pilots’ defenses, and sprays of flickering sparks were springing out and onto the Thylacine. Her fighters had spotted the attack, however. Several peeled away from the rest and swept back toward the ship. “We’re through,” exclaimed Trimborn. Jas clicked her tongue. Her first officer’s speech always became vague when he was over-excited. “We’ve broken through ship one’s force field, Trimborn?” “Yes, ma’am. Sorry, ma’am.” Then the bridge of the Thylacine shook so violently, Jas was almost thrown from her seat. “Force field one hundred percent,” she barked as she recovered her balance. “Damage report.” “They’ve blasted our bay doors wide open,” an officer said. “But—” Trimborn gave a whoop. “We’ve got them!” Jas turned to the holo to see if Trimborn meant what she thought he meant. Sure enough, the first Shadow ship’s curved extensions on one side had been blown clean off and were spinning away into space. As she watched, another of the Thylacine’s pulses hit the ship, cleaving the central section in half. “The Shadow fighters are returning to ship two,” said an officer. As if in response to the first ship’s destruction, the specks of light from the second ship were speeding home. Jas frowned. The fighter ships had succeeded in hitting the Thylacine. Why were they giving up their attack? Their actions could mean only one thing, Jas realized. But surely it was too soon for that? As the enemy fighters left the battle scene, the Thylacine’s did the same, clearing the path for pulses. Not for the first time, Jas was grateful for her smart squadron leader. Once the fighters were outside the ship, both sides’ comm dampeners made giving orders impossible. The pilots were trained in set responses to certain events during an engagement. “Ship two’s building energy,” Trimborn said. “Fire at will,” commanded Jas. They would make the best use of the remaining time. Now that the pathway was clear, the Thylacine poured pulses onto the enemy ship. But their attack seemed to have little impact. Like its hull, the ship’s force field was formidable. The Thylacine’s pulses were bathing the enemy ship in light, so that only its outline was visible above the slowly turning golden globe. Everyone on the bridge fixed their gaze on the starship. No one even seemed to breathe. Then it was gone. There was a sigh of exhaled breath. The second ship had jumped. Relieved exclamations sounded across the bridge. “I want a full damage report,” Jas barked. “Begin repairs immediately, and scan the remaining ship’s debris for signs of life. Trimborn, assemble a team to sweep the planet.” Her tone quietened the room, and heads turned to consoles as everyone went back to their tasks. Jas frowned. The battle had been much too easy. Why hadn’t the second ship remained? Her fighters had penetrated the Thylacine’s defenses, and expended power made the ship additionally vulnerable. The two new models of starships added to Jas’ suspicions. She would have to speak to Pacheco the next opportunity she had. Jas’ expression turned grim. Her next task was a sad one. After briefly checking that everyone on the bridge was focused on their work, she opened the interface on her armrest. The screen displayed a list of pilots’ names. As the fighter pilots returned to the ship, their embedded microchips would be recognized by the ship’s computer. A dot would appear next to each name as the pilots landed. The search for missing pilots would begin immediately. When it was completed, Jas would write to the families of those who hadn’t been found. She would tell them that their loved one was missing in action, presumed dead. Pacheco had told her several times that she didn’t have to do this task, but she did it anyway. The reason was, each time that she did it, she was reminded of a pilot she had once known. Jas performed this service for missing pilots’ families because she knew that she would have liked to have received that news rather than being left never really knowing what had happened to him.