Chapter Eleven (1/2)
”Help us, please help us. It killed everyone in our colony, killed most of my crew. It chased through jumpspace,” Vekan said, opening the com window on his own displayrs, moving the task from the shattered screens in front of an empty seat that used to be the communications station.
”You request for assistance is granted,” came over the com. The voice was calm and clear and cut through the background static like the sender was just outside the hull and not twelve million miles out. ”Am moving to intercept,” The voice continued. ”You can't scratch that thing and it's trying to force you to head home so it can follow you.”
Nakteti looked at what few screens were working and saw that a ship rising out of the gas giant. The scanner was having a hard time holding onto it, the ship vanishing in a ball of fuzz or just plain disappearing from the screen. According to the ship's scanners, when it could see it, it was a dead ship, no energy output and a solid object with no hull-spaces.
”Please help us, it slaughtered our colony, killed our friends and family,” Vekan said, almost sobbing.
”That's what they do,” The voice said. ”Now it wants you to go back home so it can follow you.”
”But why?” Vekan asked as Lektat accelerated toward the stranger in a corkscrew pattern.
”So it can kill them too,” The voice answered. There was no emotion beneath the calm, just certainty and eerie dead calm. ”Get behind the gas giant. I'm sending you a friend. Listen to him and treat him well.”
Nakteti could see the speed the new ship was putting on, already up to .25C and climbing. The terrifying ship behind them was changing course, heading for the newcomer, already up to .15C and accelerating.
Her poor Sweet could only pull a tenth of the acceleration those ships were showing and it had the newest compensaters, best drives, and most modern thrust tubes. Still, Lektat was making a good showing even with two of the engines not responding and one of the reactors offline.
Daxin, in his disaster frame body, was locked into his pilot's pod, information pouring into his brain as he pushed the throttle to 60% and set his course at an angle. He knew it would make his drive signature burn through his stealth but he didn't have a choice if he was going to give those poor souls any chance at escape.
**Fido**
//Fido goodboi! Warboi time?//
Daxin wished he still had a mouth to wipe as he stared at the massive ship in front of him and tickled Fido's petting nerve. He was close enough and he wasn't about to try to bring down the range and let that big bastard get first launch on him. He ordered the warbois to flush the missile tubes and reload.
Nakteti and Vekan saw on the long range scanner what appeared to be glitter sparkle around the newcomer then vanish.
”What was that?” Chakuva asked.
Nobody had an answer.
**No, Fido. Our new friends are hurt and can't go home** Dax started. The big ship had seen him, picked him up already
//no Dax no Fido can be warboi again//
**Fido is goodboi. Newboi need Fido to be goodboi**
Dax fired the C+ cannons, one right after another, as fast as he could without risking warping his ship's frame, ordering the warbois to bring up hotshot for the C+ cannons.
The crew of the Sweet felt as if someone was plucking at their bone marrow like it was ghostly guitar strings. Four deep vibrations that seemed to come from deep inside.
//Dax need Fido//
**I need you to help them. Get them to Confed space**
Nakteti saw that the massive ship, which was now passing her little ship, suddenly rolled, ponderously because of its size, but rolled all the same.
//Dax need Fido//
**They need you more, buddy**
Dax saw the cannon shells hit first. The size of an old train car, solid iron, more often used as auxiliary fuel sources than actual shells. They were moving at .995C when they hit the armor of the leviathan now hurtling toward him.
All they left was deep craters, adding to the craters from battles past that the behemoth had survived.
//newbois need Fido?//
**Yes Fido take them to CONFED**
”Silent running,” Chakuva said suddenly. He sounded resigned. ”If it will matter.”
The missiles Dax had fired before dropped stealth, blowing free their shielding, deploying the submunitions. The submunitions spread out, orienting, and triggered. Graviton generators spun up, creating gravity lenses, focusing the nuclear explosion into a lance of energy.
Dozens of beams stabbed into the behemoth's armor, raking it, gouging at it with talons.
Making nothing but pockmarks.
**I can't beat him, Fido**
//Fido help//
Dax 'felt' his point defense to to rapid fire, heard the VI's telling him each time a missile was wiped away, each torpedo that was destroyed. His point defense, the best money could buy from gray market dealers, driven by the best VI's outside the Confederate Navy, wiped away all of the incoming missiles and torpedoes.
But Dax could tell it had been close.
**help newbois, Fido, help newbois**
//Fido help newbois//
Dax triggered the ejection for Fido's frame, timing it with another missile launch and firing off the C+ cannons at the same time. It wasn't much but Dax hoped it was enough to hide Fido's launch in the background clutter of another attack.
//Fido love Dax//