Chapter 11: Nemesis

“Major, the Hybrid system is now coming online,” the ensign reported from his station. Hughes turned to watch the show. He was seated in the captain’s chair of a very special warship. Built in tandem, but separate, from the Praetorian, this ship was small, fast, and armed to the teeth. It was the perfect nemesis to the Praetorian. In tandem, the ships would make for a formidable pair, but against one another, the Gladius had all the speed and agility to the Praetorian’s strength and was the perfect weapon to combat it.


The bridge lights came up full as technicians ran to and fro checking systems as the vicious ship came alive. Holo-displays flickered to life across the bridge, filling every window and every space above consoles with screens of shimmering light. The flight crew scanned the readouts as they flashed by, watching for any signs of problems, or to track status.

Hughes could feel the massive Merlin engines rumble to life and felt the vibration in his bones. The little ship had power. The new Type VI Patterson Reactor produced energy at nearly three times the rate of the Type V installed on the Praetorian. And with eight PDE’s, two more than the Praetorian scattered across her delta hull, the Gladius was far more maneuverable. Hughes smiled. That plane would not escape him again.

“Hybrid Activation in three, two, one,” the ensign called out again as the system completed its startup. All status windows showed green, and a small particle began to whip around the holo-displays, picking up other particles as it went. Within seconds, a swirling vortex of light had formed over the port bridge windows. In a bight flash, a small figure was created out of the particles, now spinning calmly in formation to make up the avatar.

“Captain,” a synthesized voice said, coming from the avatar. “I am the AI-Hybrid Interface. You may call me Shenan. The Gladius is now fully operational. All supplies have been loaded and this ship is prepared for launch. Synchronization with Dock Control established. Awaiting orders, Captain.”

“Excellent,” Hughes said, truly pleased. When he had been told he was going to command a squadron of the Military’s finest Elite in the latest Lancer mechs ferried aboard the latest in Military carriers, the Gladius, Hughes thought Davenport had been joking. But now, sitting in the captain’s chair, and watching his crew work like a flawless machine, he knew it was no joke.

For the past four days, he had been getting to know them; worked beside them. The days when Hughes had commanded under the old Buzzard’s command flooded back to him. He knew exactly what needed to be done, and when. Because of that, his crew had learned to trust him. But of course, that was in dry dock. The real test would be in combat. But Hughes had been in combat many times already. He had taken part in several skirmishes in the Outer Territories, taking on Pirates and Mercenary bands alike. It wasn’t fighting the Krix, but it was battle just the same. Hughes knew battle, it was no stranger, and he relished the upcoming fight against the Praetorian. And this time, it wouldn’t be his ass cratered into the ground.

“Shenan,” Hughes called out over the din. The bridge grew silent as the crew anticipated his launch orders. “Contact Dock Control and request permission to depart.”

“Dock Control reports Permission Granted,” the computer quickly replied back.

“Excellent. Helm: cut all umbilical and mooring lines. Navigation: plot a course for Tal Rho’an, Outer Territories; best possible speed once we are clear.” Almost in unison came the ‘aye sir’ from both officers.

Hughes watched with pride and mounting excitement as he heard the rumble and sharp hisses of the dock detach from the Gladius. Within seconds, the ship began to inch forward, slowly picking up speed as it went.

Straight ahead in the mammoth hangar bay, the massive space doors began to slide open. The bay itself was kept in a vacuum state with the same conditions as outside. This made construction of large ships easy. The Gladius was dwarfed in the bay, a small pebble amongst boulders. She quickly edged past the destroyers and battleships in various stages of construction and made for the doors.

Almost before he realized, they were past the doors and gliding through space. Once they were free and clear, the helmsman really picked up speed, and Hughes’ smirked as the young pilot put her foot down. The engines purred in response and the ship shot off through the stars. Just to add more flair to her flashy exit, the helmsman put the ship through several barrel rolls and loops checking the response and abilities of the warship. Smiling, she turned back to Hughes.

“Ship’s helm reporting no problems, Captain.”

“Feel good, does she?” Hughes asked, still smirking.

“Handles like a dream, sir,” she replied and turned back to her duties.

“Commander Deckert, I’m going to check in on my team below. You have the bridge,” Hughes said standing up and quickly gripping the armrest for support in low gravity. Unlike the Praetorian that had full gravity, the Gladius was too small to produce its own fully-formed gravity well, so the crew dealt with partial gravity. It took some getting used to, and Hughes was still getting his ‘space legs’.

“Aye, sir, I have the bridge,” said Deckert, a severe career man who would gladly give anything, even his life, for the Military. Hughes wasn’t quite so devoted, but such a man had his uses.

Other than emergency and maintenance hatches, the only entrance to the bridge was a shaft that led to the lower decks. A continuously running ‘hook cable’ system ran at the back of the shaft. It was a rope that ran up and down, and every couple of feet was a handlebar, or a ‘hook’. The idea was to step into the hook and ride it down, or up. The shaft was fairly wide, allowing for at least two people to share the shaft at the same time, but collisions had been known to occur. Hughes, on his first tour, had managed to collide with an Admiral inspecting the ship. It was an awkward moment to be sure, but one that ended amicably, to Hughes’ relief.

Hughes followed the shaft down to the main deck. Here is where the Gladius and the Praetorian shared design styles. The crew deck was not quite as furnished, but the hangar bays and engine rooms were the same size on both ships. To Hughes that meant they were oversized here and undersized on the Praetorian. Even so, the ability to house a full cadre of mechs was reassuring.

Hughes followed the corridors aft and after taking another shaft downward, arrived at the main hangar bay located on the underside of the Gladius’ delta hull. Here was another frenzy of activity as the mech teams were quickly assembling and testing the new Lancer mechs. Twice the power and speed, but still the same size as the Cavalier, these fighters were the Military’s latest. They were on par with Hughes’ Knight, but not quite as sleek, and Hughes had twelve of them.

“Captain on the bridge!” a technician called out as he saw Hughes emerge from the shaft. The crew stopped what they were doing and came to attention.

“As you were,” Hughes replied, and the chaos resumed. Hughes had come to check on his own personal unit, and make sure it was ready to go. It was pretty amazing actually, the work his crew had done in only four days. He looked up at his repaired Knight shining in the bay lighting. They had even waxed her. Hughes pushed off from the bay floor and floated up to the cockpit of the Knight and surprised the tech running last minute diagnostics.

“Sir, I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were inspecting the unit, it’s almost ready,” the technician stuttered.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m just looking in on things. Keep at it Specialist,” Hughes said dismissing the man as he pushed back down to the bay floor. The mechanic Chief, a grizzled man who looked to have seen action in the Krix War floated over to him covered in oil and grease and holding a d-com.

“Chief Forester,” Hughes greeted. “How are things coming along down here?”

“Captain,” Forester nodded in return. “Everything is coming along nicely. By tomorrow afternoon, all Lancers will be fully operational and ready to rock and roll. The Military’s been nice enough to spring for the extras package, and we have a whole arsenal of toys to play with. They even made a few upgrades to your Knight while you weren’t looking. The Kid, Sammy up there, will do you right, sir. Good kid, bright. We’re ready to go hunting.”

“As are we,” Captain John “Martian” Carter replied from above them as he and three other pilots came floating down. Hughes knew these men were some of the best. He’d seen their records, and knew that they’d seen almost as much combat as he had before his unfortunate ‘reassignment’.

“Good,” Hughes said, soberly. “Because what we hunt, is big game, and is going to take every scrap of talent here. If we aren’t ready, we’ll be floating home in pieces.”

“Understood, sir,” all replied.

“Captain, we’ve reached safe distance from the space dock and we can begin Slipping at any time,” Ensign Richmond called over the bay speakers.

“Time to get hunting,” Hughes ordered the men and saluted. They returned the salute, and Hughes made for the shaft and back for the bridge.

“This time,” Hughes said to himself, “things will be different.”