The Fringe Wars

3.16

Just Deserts

In orbit above Rebus Station, Terra

The Honorless eased in behind the Unity with the systems turned down to minimal support and no engine power. The pirate ship, painted a flat black and in stealth mode, would be nearly impossible to see by anyone not searching specifically for it. If the Arcadia didn't arrive soon, he'd have to use a nav engine to keep from running up into the Unity's tailpipes.

Birk jogged onto the bridge.

Critch looked him over. "Is it done?"

Birk grinned and held up a black marker. "It's done."

"Good. Buckle in."

They waited. Critch's adrenaline-soaked muscles began to throb as they waited. But he didn't stand. He knew he'd have only seconds to react when the Arcadia arrived. It took forty more minutes of waiting before the Arcadia blinked into view. Light glows straightaway surrounded the CUF ships.

"Their shields are up," Birk said. "She's got their full attention."

"Wait for it," Critch drawled. Ships vibrated as their phase cannons lit up. One shot, followed by more. "Now!"

In the middle of the phase blast lightshow, the Honorless fired off a single, unarmed torpedo. It had no systems and no metal, so scans couldn't pick it up. Critch's ship was close enough, he watched the torpedo fly unscathed through the energy shields and lodge itself into the Unity's hull.

Critch zoomed in the viewing panel to make sure the torpedo had broken all the way through the hull.

"Oh, yeah." Birk grinned. "It breached for sure."

Critch nodded as he looked at the torpedo. Only its tail remained outside. The rest of it had broken through. He held up his finger for a brief second before tapping it on the button that would cause the torpedo to burst open. They'd removed all explosives from the device, so it would display on the Unity's systems as a minimal breach. By the time they sent techs down to repair the hull, it would be too late.

A flash of light caused him to wince. He looked to see the Arcadia was gone. The black vacuum of space smothered flames from the exploding ship. Left in the warship's place was a sea of debris, flying outward. Ever since he was a kid, he'd found it a bit unnerving there was no sound in space. Plenty to see, but nothing to hear. He used to blast classical music to fill the void. Now, he had it play softly in the background.

He entered the frequency for the escape pods and noticed four pod beacons online. He was relieved to see they'd ejected in time. "Now, let's go get our girl before the fleet discovers her."

Sneaking up behind the Unity had been nerve-wracking. Flying around the fleet and through shooting debris while in stealth mode was damn near the riskiest thing Critch had ever done. Well, that, and searching for survivors in a minefield. Then, he'd been so careful to avoid mines that he'd never even considered a dead soldier could be gripping a grenade without its pin. With the explosion's damage to his upper body, Critch had felt—and looked—like ground meat for months.

People often asked him why he didn't have surgery to remove the scars. They had no idea he needed those scars—when he looked in the mirror every day, the scars reminded him of everything he'd done and everyone he'd killed. He'd never be able to erase those memories and so erasing the physical scars felt like a lie.

Critch had chosen to pilot the Honorless on this mission. Gabe was a good pilot, but Critch was the best. If the fleet detected them, they'd be dead, plain and simple. It'd be impossible to escape an entire fleet of ships that had their cannons already armed, targeted in their direction.