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Nellie and the Nanites - Bk3 - Ch.41
🕑 Added 2024-06-20 08:00:06 +0000 UTCChapter 41
The Battlecry.
“What’s the final count?” Nellie asked Salem as they watched the Imperial Line ship depart the station.
“Fifty-three,” Salem tossed a small metal box on the console.
The idea of their new trading partners having placed bugs as they were escorted from the airlock to the meeting room and back again might have seemed strange to some. After all, they had been watched the whole time. It was that kind of thinking that people exploited, so naturally, Nellie assumed they had.
Remy, apparently, was of much the same opinion and had swept everything down to the very air itself wherever they had passed.
“Ten clear, matt disks placed against the floor, five small bugs placed against the interior doors, six placed under the conference desk, the list just goes on and on,” Remy noted. “I even found what appeared to be a crumb of food. By far, the most inventive was the liquid in the recycling tanks that contained a fine mesh that could be activated to become a detailed scanning device.”
“How did they…” Nellie trailed off.
“The Assessor had a can of HyperDrive when they returned for the second session,” Remy grinned. “Everything from the liquid to the can itself was a different bug.”
“What are the chances that we missed some?” Nellie asked.
“Zero,” Remy grinned. “Not when the nanites can check every surface at a level no one could ever even consider bugging.”
“Still, I will not be happy until that ship has left the system,” Nellie watched the destroyer spin on its axis to face toward the planet. The sleek armor was the velvet glove, while the compact, thick hull and plentiful weapons were the gauntleted fist.
A pair of phrases had been running through her head since the moment the two-faced trio had set foot on the station. Rats in the corn is a simple little phrase but an emotive one. It spoke of vermin infesting the crops, bites in the dark, and hidden nests spreading death and disease where sustenance should be growing.
Fox in the henhouse was the other. The sly predator slips past the defenses and gorges itself with sudden violence before slipping away, only to return as it pleases until the flock is picked clean.
Carter and his people were clearly set on being the fox. More than that, they enjoyed their role. Watching the way Carter and Assessor Franzal had played their parts in the ‘negotiations’ made it abundantly clear they enjoyed the threats they offered and the violence they contained. Carter’s eyes had darted over the faces of Duke and his people, looking for those hints of fear, of worry, and drinking them in. They preened and acted, but the truth was clear.
They were used to being the fox.
To Nellie, they were merely the rats in the corn. Her mind had been made up about them with their first offer in the negotiations. They opened with the threat to kill, to murder, and claimed generosity for not demanding torture preceded the deaths.
Everything since then had been nothing more than her buying time to gauge this Imperial Line's strength and build enough power to counter it. Today, they would leave with their recovered ship and be happy.
Tomorrow, they would begin to plan how to take advantage if they hadn’t already. Really, the only advantage she had was that groups like the Imperial Line enjoyed their trappings of respectability. An honest criminal broke into the window and took everything they wanted. This lot would come with smiles and offers of aid, taking their time to slowly acquire more and more control until one day, they finally unsheathed their claws and took everything you had, even what they didn’t really want.
It was a game to them, and that was why they would fail.
While they planned and wheedled, Nellie and her people would be building. By the time they figured out she wasn’t going to become a victim willingly, she would be too strong to be forced out.
“I’m heading for the Bly,” Nellie told Salem. “Just in case.”
“Understood,” Salem stepped onto her command platform and started to expand their sensors. “I’ll know the moment they deviate from the agreement.”
===<<<>>>===
Duke fumed as he watched his people scramble to clear the freighter’s hull. A good portion of the Last Chances had already been transferred and grafted to the hull, and now it would all be taken from them.
What was worse than the loss was the way it happened. Carter and Bea, talking and dealing without either so much as glancing his way. As if he didn’t matter. As if he was irrelevant. They had carved out a deal and then looked to him to agree.
Agree, as if either of them had left him a second option.
At that moment, looking at their faces on the holo, Duke had considered taking the original offer. Letting them come and murder his people, just so he didn’t have to take a deal others had made without him. Brenda, the idiot that she was, had brought this to the colony through her own actions.
It would be fitting to let her pay the price.
Fitting, but he needed her and her people alive. They could build another ship in time. He could not make another sister. Even if, at times, he considered her more animal than DaVore.
“The moment these people are out of the system, we must begin to plan,” Duke grumbled.
“Of course, sir,” Hadrian bowed and returned to standing silently at his side. The sudden disappearance of Nancy and her most loyal people had completed the change Duke had wanted to see in the man. A natural administrator, Hadrian had returned to his role as an assistant, not a leader.
Ultimately, Duke decided his father was right. People were just not fit to govern themselves. They needed someone to tell them what to do, guide them, and punish them when they strayed.
It had taken twenty years or more, but he finally understood.
People did not deserve any more freedom than the DaVore decided they had earned.
“We have it on scan,” Brenda said meekly. “A destroyer class ship, a tough one.”
“How long until it gets here?” Duke asked.
“Ten minutes to make orbit, five more to locate the ship,” Hadrian consulted his pad. “Do we know how they plan to lift the craft?”
“We do not,” Duke said. “I want everyone inside the colony and armed. Just in case they change their minds.”
“That’ll leave the Last Chances unguarded,” Brenda said sadly.
“We will get you another ship, sister,” Duke said blandly, “A better one.”
“Yes, brother.”
After that, there wasn’t much to say. Duke and his people moved to the walls of their colony and watched the ship approach. Hadrian picked up the wide, active scan the bastards were using. They no doubt had already gotten the ship's coordinates; now, they were just gathering every bit of information they could.
Because they could.
Duke gripped the metal so hard it began to creak as he ground his teeth in frustration. It was clearly done to disrespect him, and he had no choice but to take it.
But he would remember. A DaVore never forgets an insult.
“I’m reading weapons active!” Hadrian gasped. “They are powering!”
“Everyone off the walls!” Duke roared as he grabbed his sister and ran for the bunker.
There was only one, sized for two. He knew because he had built it himself.
He was only halfway there when a series of bright beams cut through the sky and hit… somewhere else.
“Wait!” Duke slid to a stop. “What are they firing at?”
“It’s not us, so who fucking cares?” Brenda laughed in relief.
“Sir!” Hadrian ran over. “They are firing on the natives!”
Duke felt himself starting to smile.
The damn natives. They had driven the wedge between his colony and Nellie. It was almost worth losing the ship to see them pay.
“Nellie will be heartbroken,” Brenda grinned widely. “Too bad.”
“Isn’t it,” Duke turned on his heel, heading for the council room.
“Where are you going?” Brenda called after him.
“I’m going to call the station,” Duke chuckled. “I want to see her face when I tell her.”
===<<<>>>===
“Jumping!” Remy called.
They had pushed clear of the station the moment the Imperial Line weapons were activated. Nellie had no intention of allowing them to fire on the Colony.
The Bly shuddered slightly, and the moon was suddenly there below them.
“Bly’s Revenge to Trader’s Gift. Cease fire immediately!” Nellie demanded over the comm. “This is a violation of our arrangement!”
“Responding!” Vay flicked the comm call onto her screen.
“Queen Bonne-Chance, how nice to hear from you.” Carter’s smug face appeared on her screen. “I assure you, we are violating no terms.”
Remy gestured and pulled up a scan of the surface. The beams were not hitting the colony. In fact…
“Cease fire immediately,” Nellie growled. “The natives are not to be harmed.”
“Natives?” Carter laughed. “Those are not natives, your highness. Those are Clutch-born infestations. We will talk after we have removed them from this system.”
The comm line went dead.
“They are firing again,” Remy called, “Do we return fire?”
“Baz, get us between that ship and the surface,” Nellie said, “Remy, power shields and weapons. Make a display of it.”
“Yes, Captain!” They both got to work, the Bly shooting forward and arcing into a blocking position between the Trader’s Girft and the surface.
“Tell them I want an explanation. Now.” Nellie sat back in her seat as Vey began arguing with the other ship's comm officer.
“I apologize if I appeared curt,” Carter said, his face showing the lie in his words plainly enough, “But those things are not to be underestimated.”
“I am acquainted with those people on the surface; I won’t have them harmed,” Nellie told him, trying to be calm.
“They are not people, Queen Bonne-Chance,” Carter snapped. “They are things and an enemy of the Imperial Line. Any ship that encounters them is instructed to advise Headquarters and attack immediately. I do not wish to anger you, but this is not a negotiable situation.”
“I am not negotiating,” Nellie replied calmly. “I am telling you I will not allow you to harm the Clutch. They have not done anything aggressive to me or to you.”
“I am done discussing this matter,” Carter snapped, finally abandoning pretense, “Get that ship out of the way, or we will drill through it, and you, to get rid of these things. Your fake sensor data is good, but no ship that size can mount that much weaponry. Whoever made the fakes is good, but to boast as much power as any of our three capital ships when your size makes the lie obvious. The Imperial Line has played nice so far; do not make us take a more aggressive stance. Your pitiful little station, ship, and the whole system will be forfeit if you do not move aside. NOW!”
“Helmsman, maintain position,” Nellie said, looking Carter in the eye.
“Aye, Captain!” Baz was grinning from ear to ear.
“Final warning!” Carter almost screamed into the screen.
“I warn you, Carter,” Nellie replied calmly. “If you open fire on this ship, I will not merely return fire. I’ll destroy you.”
“Arrogant little bitch!” Carter laughed nastily. “I hope you enjoy the taste of vacuum.”
The destroyer rolled, bringing the weapons to bear on the Bly’s Revenge, and beams of light split the void to sparkle against its shields. The Bly shot forward, curving in a wide arc away from the planet while the destroyer turned to follow.
The three large engines pushed the destroyer forward, racing after the Bly as its rear shields shimmered as if nearing failure.
A comm line opened between the two ships as the rear shields flickered again.
“I warned you,” Carter grinned into the comm.
“No, I warned you,” Nellie grinned back. “I just wanted you away from the planet.”
The shields stopped fluctuating as they stabilized and powered up, a second shield layer laying itself over the top before the Bly blinked out of sight.
To their credit, the Trader’s Gift took immediate evasive action, and against a human crew, they might have had a chance.
The Bly’s Revenge came out of their micro-jump astern of the destroyer. The laser arrays tore the rear shields open in a series of sustained strikes from the four forward-mounted laser arrays running at full power. One of the three engines was struck, igniting an explosion that speckled the forward shields of the Bly with wreckage as it accelerated, rolling through a complete rotation as it passed over the limping ship, bringing array after array to bear on the destroyer, shredding the shielding and armor along the central axis.
The comm line lit for a fraction of a second before the scattering field from the Bly suppressed any attempt at communication.
“Attack shuttle has launched, port side,” Vey reported. “I’m reading a rapid spooling on a miniaturized Exo-System Drive.”
“Fire for effect,” Nellie said, and the laser arrays tuned the small shuttle to slag.
“Incoming fire from the destroyer,” Remy warned a second before the laser arrays hit their shield again.
“Shields?” Nellie asked.
“Holding steady at eighty percent,” Remy smiled. “I think that was everything they had.”
“Do we have a reading on their power generator yet?” Nellie asked.
“I have it,” Lucy confirmed. “A third up from the engines, heavily shielded compartment of the right size.”
“Vey, target the core and fire for effect,” Nellie said grimly.
“They will not survive it,” Lucy warned her in the privacy of her own head.
“I know,” Nellie said. “I’m not letting enemies escape only to come back stronger.”
“Target locked,” Vey announced. “Firing.”
The destroyer’s core ruptured, a flash of light as it detonated, and then it was over; the Trader’s Gift was drifting, slowly separating into two separate pieces as the compartments vented their contents into the waiting void.
“Prepare boarding party,” Nellie commanded. “I want a full complement of Centrums and a party of Cents.”
“I’ll lead it,” Lucy said firmly. “I want to see if their computers hold anything interesting for us.”
“While you do that, I’ll start to tow this lot back toward the station,” Nellie said, giving Lucy’s hand a squeeze. “Be careful over there. We don’t know what weapons they carry.”
“I’m always careful,” Lucy winked as she strode toward the equipment locker.
Nellie watched her go before ordering Baz to take a team and launch the Resurgence and its twin from their own bay. Between the Bly and the two shuttles, they would have more than enough grav tows to keep this lot stable on the way back to the station.
“Looks like we solved our materials shortage,” Nellie said, brushing a hand across her forehead. “Vey, send a message to Salem to update her and let her know I need to check on the Clutch the moment we get back.”
“Aye, Captain,” Vey nodded and got to work.
A little over an hour later, just as they were bringing the remains of the destroyer into place next to the station, Lucy contacted her.
One of the shuttles was missing.
There were rats loose in the corn…
Comments
Clayton Danvers
Glad to hear it!
Scyfe
Thanks for the chapter - I'm really enjoying this story
Clayton Danvers
Not too long to wait to find out!
Avdrdr
The shuttle has probably been totaled by the clutch
