Maxwell's Demon Ch. 15-21

Two of the deckhands who'd been working on releasing moorings walked over. Their muscled shoulders flexed as they retrieved the heavy gangway, hoisting it up, and affixing it to heavy steel clamps attached to the decking. Between the doors to the interior, Jennifer could see how thick the structure of this ship was. Whatever pretense it presented externally as a cargo vessel no longer survived scrutiny; this was an armored ship of battle. Not a single Centauran word had been spoken to her, or Sarah. They continued being shoved through the interior of the ship, up one deck, apparently to their final destination. By the postures and position of the four Centaurans present, this was the command crew, and she was on the bridge.

"Wards of Ralia, Captain," the Centauran shoving them finally said.

"Yes, and no doubt related to unfolding events. Have a seat, my odd looking guests; you may not live to see Northlights."

"They are armed, Captain," the officer said.

"So is everyone. Leave one of yours here. Kill them if needed, otherwise leave them be. It is unlikely Ralia would directly send us trouble."

The first officer pulled down her sighting glass. "Captain, Adir's battlecruiser sails with her gun ports open, bearing straight for us. I don't know how it's possible, but we've been made."

"Then again, these two may have indirectly brought us trouble. Is the foreign machine of the sky loaded?"

"Yes, Captain; everything is secure."

"Bring the powder pre-heaters online. Run the engines hot, quick as you can. Let Adir rattle her sabers at us. The Ikoa has never shown its gunports in Newtown, and it will stay that way unless we are provoked.

Best speed, once we're clear of port. Make for Northlights prime dock."

"You, you're Teolid, aren't you?" Jennifer said to the Captain.

"Of course. There's no need to hide that fact in Northlights by hiding my tail. What of it?"

"I've only met one of you. Mayana said you were born slaves, of simple mind."

"We are slaves, but we can be free, those of us who choose to serve Ralia, or buy our freedom through servitude to Adir. We're capable as any Telluki when given the same opportunities."

Through the slit windows of the bridge, Jennifer watched the alien seaship depart. As far west as her eye could see was water. Her keeper's crossbow bolt pricked her neck, a reminder she was only one finger's pull from death.

"Adir's flagship battlecruiser falls behind, but sends its ironclad gunboats the Claw and the Kyapu to harass us. The westerly wind favors them, they make a beam reach and gain on us," said the first officer.

"It's clear our guests were followed. It may be we are tasked to start the war today."

"Why does she not fire?" the weapons master asked.

"Adir is not ready for war; she knows our sailing vessels are superior to hers. She wishes to confirm the destination of our late arriving guests, and be certain we know that she knows."

"Raise the gun ports. It's time the Ikoa announces his presence. Let their crews confirm with their own eyes what Adir already suspects. Head straight west into the wind, into their irons. If they have engines, they best use them. When they break for their tack, bring us about, straight through the center of them," the Captain announced as the deck crew relayed her orders.

"Gun crews at the ready!" the weapons master yelled into the speaking tube.

"If we start the war, Mayana will never offer a safe port to us. Her economy is dependent on ore shipments from the eastern railroad, and Mainlights runs that railroad," the first officer said, raising her sight scope again on the pursuing ships.

"Nothing stays the same forever, my young first officer. If you saw the world as a Teolid does, you could believe that.

"Mayana is dead," Jennifer said, "She was killed while I was at her compound by Adir's soldiers. That's why I fled."

"Then it's done," said the Captain. "Fire broadside on any targets in range as we slice them. I've changed my mind; relieve our visitors of their weapons, and chain them to the deck post."

The guard pressed the tip of her crossbow into Jennifer's neck, breaking the skin. Blood trickled down to her collar. Jennifer released the thumb break on her SX4 before being forcefully pushed down onto the metal bench, and having the weapon removed from her side. It was thrown into a metal basket attached to the cabin walls, well out of reach. She began to wonder how she'd expected this to go: fleeing the hands of one tyrant into another. John was probably dead already. She was punched flat against the wall. Manacles were clasped around her wrists and attached to the vertical support column adjacent the featureless block of steel that was her seat.

"I'm not liking your plan so far," Sarah said, barely finishing her sentence before receiving a spinning blow from the back of the guard's rifle. "You will be quiet while the Ikoa enters battle," the guard said.

The low slung ship made a near full speed turn, its engine not at peak power yet. The crew braced against the forces, and the cuffs dug into Jennifer's wrist as she tried to keep upright during the sharp arc through the water.

"Cowards. Their battlecruiser stays behind, not drawing into range of our cannons. They may have engine power as well," the first officer called.

"Then let them use it. They'll not match the output of the Ikoa," replied the Captain.

"The gunships break, the Kyapu flees south, the northern Claw prepares to fire."

"Course parallel with the Claw, fire port broadside!" the Captain called.

Any doubt of gunpowder being invented on Proxima b was quickly removed. A deafening crack, followed by a metallic ringing that vibrated the entire ship's hull was brought forth. One, two, and three in succession -- each rocking the boat powerfully to the side upon discharge.

"No hits! Gunboats make steam, Captain," the first officer called.

"As well they must. Their wind speed served them well to catch us, but now they must deal with the Ikoa's engines at full power. We shall control the battle headings. Drop speed, tight turn to port, and fire again at the Claw's starboard as we come to bear," the Captain ordered.

If she stretched to the point of tearing her arm out of socket from the manacles, Jennifer could stand and see the battle through the armor slit window. Cuffed and disarmed, the crew no longer seemed to care what she did. She saw a bright flash from the northern ship, and had the good sense to duck. She'd never been in a naval battle before, but she had an idea what being fired at might look like. An ear splitting clang vibrated from the hull, and incendiary bits of green burning shrapnel found its way through the window she was previously looking out. She suddenly appreciated the small target area the Ikoa offered, being low to the water's surface.

The Ikoa's front port guns fired again.

"I record one hit forward, below their deck. They aim to run us back into range of the other gunship, Captain."

"Status of the battlecruiser?" the Captain called.

"Still behind. We're outgunned if they engage, Captain."

"But not outmaneuvered. Increase speed, keep the Claw on our port, between us and the Kyapu. Do not let them pinch us!" the Captain yelled, keeping a sharp look through the bridge view port.

Another salvo of gunfire boomed through the bridge, it was not from the Ikoa. Enemy gunship two, the Kyapu, had taken a shot of opportunity before Ikoa had put the Claw between them. The hull rang twice with impacts, and flames clung to the aft decks.

The Ikoa fired broadside, all guns, at the Claw. The ringing in Jennifer's ears reached a level where it blotted out the deafening sound from the cannons, and yet, the language model translations were miraculously able to discern Centauran speech amid the din.

"Three hits, Captain!" the first officer called, her voice a howl. "Damage amidships, their cannon doors give fire and do not reload."

"Cut the Claw off in his current heading; he'll turn to run, forcing the other two off us. His guns are no match for our armor, but the battlecruiser's are."

The Ikoa angled in toward the Claw, to cut off his current heading. Jennifer could see a fire still burning on the raft decking at the rear of the Ikoa, an incendiary payload that could not be extinguished.

"Captain!" the first officer called. "The battlecruiser makes for gun range; he approaches and turns to the east."

"Those damned fools. The Claw does not back down as I predicted," A bellowing feral growl came from the Captain, her Teloid tail wrapping into a tight coil behind her body. "Prepare a demolition party. Helm, run us straight alongside them! Scrape that slave made iron plating from their hull."

The helm ran the wheel. Her alien clawed hands spun turn over turn until the ships were no longer running parallel, but on a course to meet alongside, and before Jennifer heard the sound of metal scraping on metal, a blinding flash coated the deck like a pinata of candy photons. Fires burned inside the bridge; pieces of metal were torn away where there was once a view port. The weapons officer howled a grievous cry and fell to the decking. Jennifer's guard crawled on the floor, a fragment of metal railing impaling her left shoulder. She wrapped a cloth around the burning arm of the writhing weapons officer, squeezing it, trying to extinguish the flame. Black-green blood seeped from both of their wounds.

Outside the bridge, long poles of metal fell down across the decks between the two ships, pushed by soldiers on the Ikoa. Fire washed over the deck, but it didn't deter the Ikoa's crew. Two dozen of the Ikoa ran, jumped, and crawled their way onto the enemy ship, the Claw. Glints of hardened blades reflected the ongoing fires as the combatants stabbed and punctured each other's alien bodies with knives and point blank crossbow shots.

A Telluki soldier picked an enemy up and threw her into water as easily as someone might toss a sack of potatoes. Another Teolid boarder from the Ikoa whipped her tail, tripping her opponent, then running the pointed end of her rifle into their abdomen, where the alien lungs were. She twisted it with reckless abandon until her target's center was a clump of mangled entrails exhibiting no further life.

"Captain, the Kyapu, he comes around to attack on our starboard," the first officer said.

"Fire the starboard guns at him then!" the Captain yelled.

"We can't. There's a fire on the gun deck."

A violent crescendoing growl came from the Captain. "Then put it out!" she said, pounding her tail against the deck. "Are the demolition crews aboard?"

"Yes," the first officer barked.

"Sail us away from the Claw, starboard. Show the Kyapu our bow once we're clear."

Ladders and poles fell into the water as the Ikoa tried to lurch away from the Claw's hull, screeching as it did so. Jennifer watched the combatants continue fighting, unaware, or not caring of the Ikoa's departure. In the lower porthole of the holds of the Claw, a thunderous explosion occurred. The ship seemed to lose its earlier course, and drifted starboard, impeding the Ikoa's escape.

"Helm, where is our speed? I need that turn now!" the Captain yelled.

"The Claw, she drifts sir, we've disabled her; her hull drags us.

"Emergency speed, hard starboard."

The Ikoa's stern wallowed, the entire ship settling lower into the water than it already was. Water washed over the rear raft in a tumultuous geyser, partially extinguishing the flame that had been ceaselessly burning. It was working -- the Ikoa was breaking free, the deadly embrace of the Claw and Ikoa's two hulls let go in a tormented concert of shrieks and scraping alloys.

The Captain's tail tapped nervously on the deck plating as she worked her spyglass through the undamaged viewport. She yelled, to herself, or the entire bridge crew. "Too slow, too slow. Gun crews prepare to fire, bring our heading to Kyapu's starboard... and keep our stern to the battlecruiser, mothers be damned!"

"The Kyapu accelerates... he makes to ram us, Captain!"

"Fire down the jaw at him then!"

The Ikoa listed violently to port in time with a cadence of booms, and Jennifer could see multiple deck hits on the Kyapu... just before its bow, and a massive ramming beam, impacted the Ikoa stern of midship. The collision slammed her head against the hull. She slumped to the floor, stopped only by the manacles gouging a bloody circlet into her wrists and arresting her fall.

"Fire again, point blank. Disconnect the guns from their lashing if you have to," the Captain bellowed, "Prepare to repel boarders!"

Plumes of water churned from the back of the Kyapu as it tried to extricate itself with reverse thrust from its successful ramming attack of the Ikoa.

The Ikoa fired a second and third full salvo at the stationary Kyapu, the latter severing the main spar that held its sails, destroying the bridge, and setting fire to its entire superstructure. Smoke poured from bridge viewports on the Kyapu. Its crew ran onto the decking, ablaze in gruesome bipedal pillars of greenish fire; some dived into the water below, others ran to the bow of the ship, leaping in fantastic athletic displays onto the Ikoa.

Cries of deadly fighting starting midship made their way into the bridge as more survivors of the Kyapu fled their burning ship onto the deck of the Ikoa. Many were without weapons, fighting with their blunt claws, gouging flesh in bloodied clumps from each other in displays of unfettered animal violence.

"The battlecruiser turns to attack and make a pass with his starboard guns, Captain."

"Of course he does, while we are impaled like a crab. Port gun crews prepare to fire, any angle they can."

An impulse ran through the superstructure of the Ikoa, like a string being plucked; there was an explosion at the rear boiler vent housing. The Kyapu's struggling engine had finally freed it from the impaled hull of the Ikoa.

One of the bridge crew's sharpened ears disengaged from a speaking tube, it was the helmsman, a Teolid male Jennifer realized, scarcely larger than her. "We've lost contact with the engine room. At last report, they were taking on water. They can't close the water doors because of the Lani sky device in the cargo hold... it took two spaces and blocks the door."

"A device of doom from the first it was seen. Get someone from the gun crew to run orders for us; I need full helm."

"They're not answering, Captain. I think they're busy executing reloads and putting out fires... they're short handed," the small male officer said.

The captain eyed the approaching battlecruiser.

"I'll go, my Captain. I'll deliver your last orders, and if Mother provides me passage, I will execute them till my death," the male officer said.

The captain bent down, licking the small framed male on his ears.

"I take you as my first, Loti, you are the bravest male I have ever known. If we survive, I will see your clan lives in all Mother's glory in Northlights. When you make it, give me 10 minutes of standard, then flank for as long as you can."

Outside the bridge, the sound of fighting grew louder. A crossbow bolt passed through the damaged port window, dangerously close to Jennifer's head. It struck the opposing wall, ricocheting, and becoming entangled in the support structure. A crowd of enemy combatants neared the compromised bridge hull.

Jennifer threw the mangled bolt at the weapons officer, hitting her injured arm burned earlier from enemy fire. "Hey, you! Let me go... Release us. Give me my weapon. I will fight for you. I will take down more of your enemy in one minute than you can in ten."

The guard grabbed her crossbow, eyeing the approaching mob, then eyed Jennifer's weapon. She grabbed the weapon and released Jennifer. "If you will fight, then you will follow me... Lani. We wait for the Captain's order."

"Captain, we have engine RPMs, we're moving... and we're free of the Kyapu."

"Standard turn to port," the Captain said, looking at her timepiece. The Ikoa began to accelerate, gaining speed and turning to the left. The formidable Mainlights battlecruiser approached from astern, already at full speed, its guns ready.

"Just one more order... Loti," the Captain said, clicking her timepiece.

Jennifer took a step backward as a surge of acceleration tried to sweep the deck away from her feet.

"Nothing can outrun the Ikoa at flank speed," the Captain said, baring all of her teeth in a drooling devil's smile. "You're mine now. Helm, impale the toothless Mother's ship. For Ralia! For Northlights!"

"For Ralia! For Northlights!" the bridge crew echoed.

Jennifer watched helplessly. She was going to die on Proxima, in a war she didn't give a shit about, left to rot at the bottom of an alien seabed, never absolving her family's shame, never knowing what became of her Father, never making a new world for her country, changing nothing... amounting to nothing, nothing at all.

Despite the battlecruier's attempt to evade, the Ikoa was quicker, and headed full speed for their midship. The battlecruiser fired, but the angle on bow made the Ikoa a difficult target. It scored a glancing hit, deflected by Ikoa's armor. The weapons officer draped her good arm around the front of Jennifer, to brace her from the ramming impact to come. Outside, the crowds that were fighting, and anything that wasn't affixed to a part of the ship, was instantly displaced from its current position. Everyone that was standing without bracing was no longer. The bow of the Ikoa penetrated into the enemy battlecruiser, crushing its own superstructure in the process.

Water washed over the front of the Ikoa, quickly rising above it. No longer seaworthy, and taking on water in great volume, the only thing holding the Ikoa's nose up was its entanglement with the battlecruiser. Both ships were doomed, that much was clear. It was simply a matter of how long, before Jennifer found herself alien fish food at the bottom of a Proxima b ocean, along with the Fuzanglong's landing probe, and any mission logs it contained.

"Send up the signal flares, Yooliya" the Captain said, addressing the first officer by familiar name.

"But my Captain, we are so far away from Northlights..."

"Send them anyway, Yooliya, then fight, all of you."

"Yes, my Captain."

-*-

At first Jennifer panicked, standing on the roof of the Ikoa bridge. Could she even tell the difference between Ralia's soldiers and Adir's? Did it matter? Flames engulfed her horizon as the weapons magazine of the Mainlights battlecruiser burned furiously, ignited from the intrusion of Ikoa's bow. Searing hot air singed her hair, and she drew her SX4. She had enough ammo to kill every Centauran, on both ships.

The pashmina, the color cloth they wore, that's how she could tell them apart. She fired accurately into the masses without emotion. One, two, three -- down; she turned: four, five, six. It was too easy. They couldn't hear her weapon among the waves, howls and screams. No one thought to attack her, in her out of place flight uniform, with her strange appearance. She flipped the chamber open on her SX4 and loaded another tape string of caseless ammo into it. Crack, Crack, Crack her weapon sounded, every discharge a dead Centauran. Bodies were washed off the deck by passing waves like erasing unwanted pencil lines from a sketch.

There was a sound amid the featureless gray clouds. Jennifer could not figure out what it was, or where it was coming from; it seemed to come from everywhere at once. Distracted, she felt something grab her ankles, and found herself skidding off the roof, thrown onto the steel deck. She tried to get up, sticking her hand in a pool of still warm alien blood, but she fell back to the plating. Pain blanked out every sense she had. A blade sat deep into her thigh, its point lodged firmly into her femur, her last coherent thought.