A4 - Chapter 168 – Tactical Decisions (Patreon)

USD: 6 days after awakening.

Location: Nu Crateris, Outer System, approaching 92 Pegasi Jump Point, A3123Y

Amy sat at her console on the bridge with Abbey, her eyes glued to the main screen as they observed the fleets moving toward the 92 Pegasi Jump Point. A31 was burning hard, while the Corpo fleet coalesced around its flagship and prepared for transit. Trailing far behind, the Solarian squadron maintained a half day’s worth of travel at a more sedate pace.

“They’re going through?” Amy asked, furrowing her brow.

Abbey frowned as she analyzed the data. “There are two corvettes breaking away and hard burning out of the system.”

Amy focused intently on the screen; it zoomed in without her needing to prompt it, revealing the fleeing ships. “Hail them again,” she instructed. “Tell them they will be destroyed if they remain in system.”

Abbey nodded. “Transmission sent.”

As time ticked down and long missile range drew nearer, Amy’s gut churned with tension. The Corpo fleet vanished from sight as it jumped, leaving only the two corvettes still hard burning away.

“They don’t think we’re serious?” Amy muttered unhappily.

Abbey shook her head. “I believe they don’t realize what we can do. They think they are forcing us to choose between chasing down the corvettes or transiting after the fleet.”

“They’re bait and a distraction,” Amy reasoned aloud, frustration rising in her voice. “There’s at least a hundred people on each of those ships!”

“They do not seem concerned about that,” Abbey said flatly.

Amy gazed at the two distant dots on-screen, feeling resigned to what now had to be done. She felt grateful that Lavigne had likely informed Captain Larret of their predicament and that Solarians hadn’t made a similar choice.

“Can you pull up the specifications of the corvettes? Actually, scratch that—can you just determine how many drone units we need to send in a squadron after each?” Amy asked.

“Five laser artillery drones should be sufficient to disable or destroy,” Abbey answered.

A31’s transformation had not only included the heavy armor plating and countless weapon batteries on its new mushroom-shaped dome. Behind it trailed hundreds of mooring arms and wharfs, with the station hosting hundreds of larger ships ready for deployment, along with thousands of smaller combat drones of corvette and gunship size.

The Corpos likely had no idea the station could deploy enough parasite ships to chase down the corvettes and pursue them through the jump point.

“Launch interceptors,” Amy ordered. “Make sure there is something with life-support and that can collect escape pods if there are any.”

She swallowed, but her throat had gone dry; she knew the laser artillery drones were likely to melt and slag the smaller corvettes without leaving survivors. But they would at least make the gesture.

Amy watched as two squads of five artillery drones were launched from A31’s massive docking array. The drones ignited their drives in pursuit of the fleeing corvettes. The main screen displayed their relative accelerations, while the navigation map charted their interception course. Despite the corvettes adjusting their course to lengthen the pursuit, Abbey’s drones closed in relentlessly; they were nearly twice as fast.

She couldn’t help but appreciate how well-suited they were for dealing with fast units like corvettes. “You expected something like this and built these way ahead of time.”

Amy studied the schematic of the artillery laser drone—a small cylinder-shaped ship with a powerful laser on its bow, reminiscent of a flashlight. A compact high-powered fusion reactor provided energy for all systems. However, there was no room for life support. One drone in each group had been slightly modified to accommodate potential prisoners and was equipped with a large array of lighter point-defense lasers.

Abbey tilted her head, responding, “Actually, it was Daniel who suggested these! I just figured out how to put them together.”

Amy blinked at the revelation. “Oh. Well, that’s smart of both of you then—him for thinking of it and you for designing them.”

Abbey smiled at her praise. “I like designing things.”

Amy struggled to maintain her own smile, painfully aware that they were about to destroy the lives aboard those corvettes. It was difficult to reconcile that decision with their seemingly casual conversation. They had planned this months in advance—did that make her a murderer?

“Can we hail them now?” Amy murmured hesitantly. “They must realize they’ve been had.”

A moment later, Abbey confirmed a reply: “They’re answering us.”

The image of a man dressed in a stark black uniform appeared onscreen. He spoke firmly: “Starlight Revolution Captain, we cannot accept your offer of surrender. We will carry out our duty to the letter.”

Before Amy could attempt a response, the feed cut out abruptly. “Did we lose connection?”

Abbey shook her head, answering grimly, “They killed it. I don’t think they want to talk anymore.”

The clock ticked down quickly, and Amy realized that the interception would occur before they reached the jump point on the battle station. She took a deep breath to steady herself, preparing for the inevitable confrontation.

As expected, the drones closed in on their targets. Both Abbey and Amy remained silent and focused as they watched the screen. The moment the drones entered maximum range for their long-range lasers, lines of light appeared on the monitor—indicating that they had fired at the fleeing corvettes.

Suddenly, both Corpo ships disintegrated into hundreds of pieces under the drone’s assault. Amy stared in disbelief at how quickly they vanished.

“I… they’re gone?”

On the monitor, debris scattered from where the ships had been moments ago. But then, something unexpected happened: the debris changed course.

“Oh,” Abbey said, realization dawning on her face. “They self-destructed. The debris fragments are escape pods; it looks like the crews abandoned ship instead of fighting!”

Amy’s eyes widened in relief. The Corpo Captain’s words hit her again. Follow our orders to the letter. Apparently, that’d hadn’t included preparing to abandon ship as soon as possible. “Can our drone pick up those life pods?”

Abbey nodded but added, “There are a lot; I don’t think our drones can handle them all.”

Amy glanced back at the navigation screen. Leaving more units behind would weaken their jump point assault—a risk she was hesitant to take. But as her eyes moved toward the Solarian fleet’s position, an idea struck her.

“Hail Captain Larret,” she instructed Abbey.

Abbey’s eyes lit up with understanding. “Oh! Our drones can tend to them and deliver them to her! That’s smart!”

Amy watched as Captain Larret’s image appeared on the screen. The Solarian officer didn’t look happy. Amy hoped it was just her current situation and not a permanent disposition.

“You want me to collect their escape pods?” Captain Larret repeated, seeking confirmation.

Amy nodded. “There are a lot more than the drones can handle long term.”

Captain Larret didn’t reply immediately; instead, she locked eyes with Amy, scrutinizing her carefully. Finally, she spoke up: “Those drones are armed, heavily. Letting them near my squadron is a hazard.”

Amy bit her lip, considering the situation. “Only two of them need to meet you,” she explained. “The others will rendezvous with us before we jump through after the Corpos.”

“Why?” Larret asked bluntly.

Amy blinked in surprise but held her ground. “Because it’s the right thing to do.”

Captain Larret challenged Amy’s position further: “You’re utilizing illegal NAI technology outside of a core system. Every single person still on Nu Crateris and in 92 Pegasi is at risk because of it. Isn’t the right thing to surrender to us and accept our legal authority before it’s too late?”

Though Amy felt momentarily shaken by Larret’s words—echoing some of her own doubts—she maintained steady eye contact with the Solarian captain. A strange surge of confidence filled her as she realized that surrendering to the Solarians or the Corpos wasn’t the right course of action.

“It’s not,” Amy affirmed firmly. “Please accept the prisoners.”

After a tense pause, Captain Larret finally nodded in agreement. “We’ll pick them up. I can’t promise they’ll get fancy accommodations, but we can split them up and keep them alive according to military justice protocols.”

Amy felt a sense of relief and the weight lifted off her shoulders. “Thank you, Captain. Other than that, please follow through the jump point 24 hours after us.”

Captain Larret nodded before the connection ended.

Two drones continued to collect escape pods as the other eight returned. Larret’s promise to treat the prisoners properly sent a shiver down Amy’s spine, as she suddenly recalled the memory of Captain Yalof.

She glanced at the station monitor, noting the Alpha NAI’s destroyer parked among their automated warships. She still wasn’t sure what to do about it, but was grateful that Abbey had kept her secret and Heeler hadn’t argued its importance. Once they had restored contact and secured Ackman station, she hoped she could seek advice from Portmaster Whitely.

Her attention shifted to the system map with dozens of ships moving between Dedia and Hades, making her frown.

“Heeler is going to have a hard time managing everything from inside Hades with you gone,” Amy commented.

Abbey remained silent for a moment before responding. “Heeler is going to make a sub-core to help him manage things.”

The statement sent shock running through her. The sudden picture of NAIs multiplying out of control formed a terrifying picture in Amy’s mind. They hadn’t even discussed anything of the sort as a group!

“I… I don’t know if it’s a good idea for us to be making more NAIs. It seems like a bad idea unless we hammer out some kind of… rules.”

Abbey nodded slightly, but there was hesitance in her voice. “In this case, I think there’s a good reason. But… I’m also not sure Heeler would accept us telling him he can’t. He feels there is already an imbalance because… of you.”

Amy blinked, realizing that she too was an NAI now. For a moment, she had forgotten. “Because I’m your sub-core? Why is that an imbalance?”

Abbey frowned at her. “Because he sees humans and Rexxors as separate. We might be his family, but humans aren’t necessarily his people; they’re our people to him. He will take care of the colonists on Nu Crateris not because he cares much about them, but because he cares about us and Alex, and he knows they matter to us.”

A chill ran down Amy’s spine as she considered Heeler’s thought process and motives behind his actions—something she had never deeply probed before. She realized it was a dangerous oversight that should have been addressed long before their expedition into Hades.

He had saved her back then when he could have left her on Heaven’s Fire to suffer the same fate as the rest of the crew.

“If he feels like it’s an imbalance for you to have an extra sub-core compared to him… how is he going to feel with all the star nations having hundreds and thousands of them?” Amy asked.

Abbey stared at her blankly. “I think he’ll make a lot of sub-cores. I don’t think he’ll do it haphazardly… but I don’t think he intends for Rexxors to be dominated by humans, either.”

Amy’s eyes widened as a realization struck her. She turned her attention to the main screen, which displayed schematics for large invasion barges.

“These are big enough… large enough for an entire Rexxor Queen’s nest.”