Chapter 18
Ned spent as much time as he could training and studying, but it turned out that Izralith was a couple of days’ travel, and there was no way Ned could keep himself focused on preparation without stopping. So at the end of the first day, after reviewing the specs of the ice climbing equipment he would be using, Ned knocked on Smardwurst’s door. It opened almost immediately, and Smardwurst invited him to sit down.
“What is on your mind?”
“You know,” Ned began, “I realized that I don’t know very much about you. Your history, I mean. I almost looked up information on Zalorus a couple of times, but it seemed silly to search for information on something when you know someone who can tell you in person. So, how exactly did you come to be a part of Marnax’s army?”
Smardwurst sat back and took a deep breath, his huge eyes rolling up toward the ceiling. “It seems like a very long time ago. To be honest, I do not think that far back very often.”
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” Suddenly Ned was feeling guilty for prying.
“No, it may be useful for you to know. My planet has a policy of remaining independent and neutral. They did not even fight in the Alien war. Most Zalorians prefer to stay within our own star system, but I wanted to explore the galaxy, so I started a shipping business. That is how I met Gerran. I served aboard his ship for a while until I was able to save up enough to purchase my own. And aside from a considerable amount of criticism from my old community, things were going well.
“When the Aliens attacked, I helped the Empire; all Zalorians are required to go through military training as part of their education, so I had some useful skills to contribute. And when Gerran left over his disagreement with Trelan Thendrak, I chose to follow him.”
A dark look passed over Smardwurst’s face. “Dark Viper could not have that. He knew that if Zalorus joined the rebellion, we would be a formidable force against him. Of course, there was no reason to think that the rest of the planet would follow my lead. But I stood out because of my solitude, and Viper was not taking chances. He destroyed the village where I had grown up.”
“What?” Ned was aghast. “How did he justify that to everyone else?”
“Oh, it was a small matter to fabricate a threat. You know, that I was part of a resistance movement which had to be destroyed. For the good of Zalorus, you see. Our leaders could not stand up to a man who could breach an entire planet’s defenses and who would wipe out an entire city for his own ambition. They surrendered, and the time of war was not kind to my people. Occupation, taxes.”
“That’s terrible!”
“Yes. And I am afraid that they tend to blame me for starting it. Not without reason, I suppose.”
This story was just getting worse. Ned stood up and started pacing. “I can’t believe that! They would blame you for something done by the man you fought against?”
“Blame is easier to give out than you might think, Nedward. But I did not mean to worry you. I have found my place here. With Gerran, and with you. It seems my calling is to be a facilitator of sorts. For the heroes.”
Ned turned back to Smardwurst, eyes wide. “Marnax and me? Heroes? We’ve been successful because of the people around us. I would be nothing without you. You are the hero here, Smardwurst. Heroism isn’t about the use of power. It’s about sacrifice. I have taken risks, but you have given up everything – including the support of the very people you set out to protect!”
Smardwurst smiled. “I have done what I thought was right, and that is enough for me. But I am glad that you feel I have been of use.”
It was such an understatement that Ned had to laugh. “Yeah, you have been of use. You brought me here in the first place and helped me fit in. One of these days I hope I can repay you for it.”
“We are all in this together. Once we defeat Dark Viper, I imagine all accounts will be considered settled.”
Ned sighed. “That is the tricky part, isn’t it? I’m still not even sure how we’re going to defeat Kayleen Rax.”
“We will do our best,” Smardwurst said confidently. “Up to now, that has always been good enough.”
The journey was over much sooner than Ned would have liked. He joined Smardwurst on the pricom as they dropped out of warp some distance from Izralith so they could scan the area before committing.
“White Mercury is in orbit around the planet,” came the report. “No other ships in the area, and no significant technology on the surface.”
“They are waiting,” Smardwurst mused to himself.
By now, everyone was familiar with the risks of the situation. If they landed, White Mercury could blast them from space. But Green Scorpion was outgunned, and there was no obvious way to keep Rax’s ship away from the planet. They had decided that their best bet was to try Ned’s powers on it, in spite of how ineffective that had been on Dread Phoenix.
“Let’s do it,” Ned said after a moment of silence.
“You are sure you do not want to accompany me aboard Mandible?”
“I’m sure.” In spite of his lack of skills as a fighter pilot, Ned had decided that he needed the independence of using his own fighter, in case the Ice Master tried something that required a quick reaction. Ned was not sure he would be able to articulate his thoughts to another pilot.
“Very well,” Smardwurst said. “All pilots, prepare to launch. Güzhmäk, stand by to bring us into attack range.”
Feeling a grim sense of determination, Ned followed Smardwurst and Kjrvlnk to the launch bay. The latter two boarded Mandible as he climbed into his own fighter. This is for Mirana, Ned reminded himself, and his apprehension gave way a little.
“We are ready,” he heard Smardwurst call to the pricom. “Take us in.”
After a brief pause, the bay doors opened, and the metallic walls fell away as Ned launched his fighter into space. Vortak ships were already firing on Green Scorpion, and Ned took a few hits before he could even pinpoint the location of White Mercury. Smardwurst’s squadron quickly occupied the attention of the attacking fighters, though, and soon Ned was on course, followed closely by Smardwurst.
Principles from Ned’s limited flight training flashed through is mind, and he was pleased to see that his fighter’s maneuverability allowed him to dodge most of the incoming laser fire at first. The automatic anti-missile lasers took out a few incoming projectiles as well as he approached. Soon White Mercury was looming closer, its crystalline surface filling most of his view.
Then suddenly the ship broke apart, with four smaller sections moving outward. One of them headed for Green Scorpion, but the others seemed to be moving to surround Ned’s fighter. The squadron of smaller Vortak ships also seemed focused on him, and Ned could tell that his escort was already busy keeping them away. Again, lessons from X and Smardwurst ran though his mind. He knew it was generally better to take out smaller targets first, in order to reduce the number of incoming attacks early. But Ned suspected that he might only get one shot at this, and he wanted to make it count. He continued on course for the main body of White Mercury.
It was impossible to dodge all of the ship’s lasers now, but Ned continued, heedless of them, trusting his shields to hold up long enough to give him at least this one pass. A few times the way was blocked by a Vortak fighter that put itself directly in his path, but each time Ned responded with shots from his forward particle beams. Their powerful attack, coupled with the support from Smardwurst’s squadron, quickly cleared Ned’s path. Soon he was so close to the crystalline bulk of Rax’s ship that his shields seemed to glow constantly as he was struck with laser fire.
Finally he was within range. White Mercury loomed so close that Ned felt like he was about to collide with it, but he forced himself to focus. The canopy display identified the location of the ship’s engines, weapons, and shield generators. Still willing himself to ignore the damage to his own fighter, Ned opened a vortex to the starboard shield generators. He fired several missiles as
he made a single pass, then pulled to the side, accelerating away from the deadly weapons that were still tracking him mercilessly. There had been no wall of Plasmic energy blocking his vortex, but he did not dare look back to find out what had happened. As he moved away from the larger ship’s weapons, the smaller fighters began to close in again, and evading them took all of his attention.
After what seemed like an eternity but was probably only a few seconds, Commander Undúvlahuth’s voice came over the com link. “It worked! Their starboard shields are down. The smaller ships are moving to rejoin, probably hoping to patch the hole.”
Ned took a quick look at his fighter’s shields. They were more than halfway depleted, although he inwardly thanked Koral for leaving him a fighter that was powerful enough to survive such a run at all, given his lack of experience. But less than half was much better than gone, and Ned decided it was not time to quit yet. He located one of the ship fragments and moved toward it. Smardwurst’s voice came over the com link immediately.
“Nedward, it may be wise to return now. I could-”
“I’ve got this,” Ned assured him, cutting him off. Again he targeted the shield generators and opened a vortex. He continued forward as he launched his missiles and was rewarded with the sight of multiple explosions from within the crystalline surface, blowing shards off of the hull. The ship’s shields were down, and Ned hammered its weapons array with his particle beams for a few seconds before pulling away. He had taken more damage during this attack, of course, and this time he decided to follow Smardwurst’s advice. He headed toward Green Scorpion as fast as he could.
Again, Güzhmäk’s voice called out an update. “They’re moving off! All fighters are returning to White Mercury.”
Then the com system beeped as a second message came through, this time from the planet.
“You’ve gotten a little distracted, boy.” Ned smirked at the sound of Rax’s voice. “I thought you wanted to rescue your friend. I’m down here.”
“You sound worried,” Ned replied sharply. “You must not be very pleased with your ship’s crew.”
“Enough of this. I’m ordering White Mercury to withdraw from the planet; it will keep its distance as long as Green Scorpion does. Come down here if you dare to face me. But stop making me wait.”
The transmission ended, and Ned looked down at his sensor readout in time to see White Mercury go to warp. He supposed it was a good sign, but it also felt suspiciously convenient. “What do you think, Smardwurst?”
“It is difficult to tell what Rax is planning. If you go down to the planet, Green Scorpion will have lost its most effective weapon in space. On the other hand, the shield failures you caused might even things out; it is possible that she is genuinely worried about losing her ship.”
Ned thought for a moment, but his options seemed limited. “I have to assume that her priority is to attack me directly. If that’s true, then she has to keep things balanced in order to get me to keep approaching. Green Scorpion should be safe until I meet up with her.”
“The risk was always part of the mission,” Smardwurst reminded him. “If you are ready to meet her, you have our support.”
Ned nodded to himself. “All right. I’m ready.”