Attack Butterfly (Rust Bucket Universe) Read online

  Susan remembered just how much she had wanted him then and wondered why she hadn't ever married him afterwards. Somehow, settling down hadn't been for her. She wanted adventure and excitement, not a house with a yard and kids, exciting as those usually turned out to be in their own way. Now she had everything she wanted. She had adventure and excitement to the max.

  She went back to thinking of him, remembering how he first felt inside her. The feeling was so natural, thrilling, and exciting. That was partly it, she realized. She gave herself to him for the excitement. And oh, he was exciting to have. His energy filled her and threatened to overwhelm her, but she stayed the course that time and finished to feel satisfied with her first performance. There were a few other times later, but none ever compared with that first time.

  ***

  Mike watched the mine layer in action as it seeded the near reaches of space around the Ape-oids' planet with mines which would seek out any vessel without a responder. Already, there were fewer Ape-oid ships attempting to gain space from the planet's surface. He wondered if the Ape-oids were nearly out of ships or rethinking their predicament? It didn't matter which it was to him. He only knew that he was glad it was nearly over and they would be going on another mission soon.

  Chapter 7

  On the surface of Beulah, the cadet ensigns were ready for the enemy landings to happen. They were spread out among the key installations with their weapons.

  Cadet Ensign Tall wondered why she was in charge of a group instead of the instructor. Almost all eyes were on her as they waited for the Malakins to land. She gripped the radio that she would use to communicate with the other ground elements. Whatever happened, she knew that huge stakes were riding on her. The radio sparked to life. Tall almost dropped it after hours of waiting and waiting. "Malakin transport getting through. Settling down near the repair yards."

  She relaxed since that wasn't in her sector. Of course, her combat group could be called on for assistance which she would readily agree to give.

  ***

  Cadet Ensign Nape watched the transport land and open up. His force was all ready to fire on the Malakin soldiers when they emerged. They didn't. Instead, three ghastly robots came out instead. It was something that no one had foreseen. Hurriedly, he grabbed his radio handset and notified all the other ground combat units. He called out, "The Malakins are deploying robots! Three to a transport! Over."

  Nape glanced at the instructor who was standing away from him. He wondered what the instructor thought of his performance. The glare on the instructor's face seemed to be trying to tell him something. What was he forgetting to do? He thought hard as he turned away from the instructor's stare. Then it occurred to him.

  "Attack!" he hollered.

  Had he glanced back, he would have seen a grinning instructor instead.

  "Spread out and hit them from all sides! Keep to cover and watch your buddies!" he hollered before he, too, raised his weapon and fired at the huge robots that moved slowly along the ground.

  On another channel, the instructor whispered comments to the other instructors. "The robots are slow moving. Could be because they were produced in a lighter gravity. Maybe the Malakins didn't think this one through fully. They still appear to be highly dangerous. So far they haven't fired … Shit! They're heavily armed. I just lost three cadets from that blast. The cadets' weapons don't seem to be damaging them. The robots must be armored like tanks. I'm having Nape pull his troops back."

  "Ensign Nape!" the instructor hollered.

  Nape glanced back and caught the hand signal indicating he was to have his cadets pull back. Amid the firing, Nape shouted, "Pull back! Pull back! Withdraw!" Ensign Nape glanced back at the instructor and caught the next hand signal and signaled that he understood. "Fall back to the heavy weapons cache! Fall back! Keep it orderly! Help the wounded along! Pull back!"

  ***

  Sergeant Delgado accepted the news of armored robot warriors with some concern. She hadn't thought of anything like that. She planned on the possibility of the enemy using tanks. That was why there were heavy weapons within easy reach of each of the cadet combat groups. She passed on the word for all the cadet groups to arm themselves with the heavier weapons. There wasn't anyway that she was going to see them slaughtered by something they couldn't fight without those weapons.

  ***

  Ensign Tall couldn't believe her eyes a moment later when she caught the hand signal from the instructor telling her to take her cadets to the heavy weapons cache and arm themselves. She acknowledged his signal, thankful that the instructors were still helping out from the sidelines. Then she stood up and said, "Everyone head for the heavy weapons cache. Keep it orderly and quiet."

  As she passed the instructor, he walked with her and whispered, "The transports are carrying robot soldiers, three to the can. Sidearms aren't effective. Take every heavy weapon that your group can handle. Then proceed to the repair yards."

  She nodded and continued to lead her group. They reached their weapons cache within two minutes and opened the crates. The cadets picked up laser rifles, sonic disruptors, flame throwers, hand held rocket launchers, and anti-tank mines. Within minutes, they were being led towards the repair yards, so vital to keeping the Navy squadrons in action. Their long workouts with full packs in the outdoors prepared them for carrying the heavy loads now critical to their own survival as well as completion of their mission. There was no moaning or bitching about how heavy the weapons were in the heavier gravity of Beulah. They hefted up those weapons and made good progress to their next position.

  ***

  Susan spotted the blinking red light. She heard the tingling alarm that accompanied it. She didn't really have to look to know that particular alarm's meaning. Her atmosphere was leaking out somewhere. Efficiently, she took her space suit out of the locker again and put it back on. She kept the helmet ready to don when the atmosphere got worse. Susan knew that she couldn't last long enough with only the air in the suit tank to get back to the battle. She would have to take the risk of being alert enough still to put it on when her cabin atmosphere became dangerously low.

  ***

  The gunner left on board the America waited until the transport was in close range before he sizzled the transport engines with his heavy weapon. The engines were damaged enough that the transport went out of control and down towards the planet's surface. It would burn up before it reached the ground. He smiled to himself and remained vigilant for another target of opportunity. His ship wasn't out of action yet by his accounting.

  Five minutes later, he scorched the tail feathers of another transport and watched it float harmlessly beside his ship in space where it could do no harm. He wished it had gone screaming down to the planet's surface so that he could have a wider range of fire. However, there was nothing he could do about that now.

  ***

  The minutes ticked by. Susan kept herself inactive and relaxed so that she wouldn't use up much of what she had of the air in her cabin. Her mind calculated that it would be a very close call for her to get back into action. Even then, she wouldn't have long. More likely, she thought, she would have to streak quickly across the battle area, taking whatever shots she could while hurrying to land on the carrier. With her top notch maintenance personnel to do the necessary work, she was confident that she could return to the battle in less than two minutes after landing. She might even have enough time to pick up some replacement crew members from another fighter crew without a fighter. She remained optimistic about what would be. Susan had to be, otherwise why bother with all the work she had already performed?

  ***

  Ensign Nape looked at the slow moving, fighting robot, flanked now by the other two from the same transport. His cadets were armed now with heavy weapons and were well hidden. They waited for the robots to stray into the mine field. Nape remembered his lessons well. Never tackle the enemy head on when the enemy is stronger. Nip at the ankles and hit from behind. Nape figured the mines
were definitely nipping at the ankles. He hoped the mines were powerful enough to stop the robots. He wasn't worried about whether the robots were destroyed or not, only whether they were immobilized. If the robots were immobilized away from any vital areas, then the robots were useless regardless of whether they could still fire their weapons.

  The robots stopped. Nape caught his breath. He wasn't sure, but the lead robot appeared to be looking at the mines, even though the mines were well hidden. Nape waited for what seemed like hours, though it was only a second, for the robots to continue on. Then the lead robot strode forward and triggered a pair of the mines. It fell to the ground, minus one vital supporting leg to move on. It churned away in its efforts to move and only moved about slowly in a tight circle. The flanking robots walked wide around the damaged robot. There hadn't been time to place a very wide mine field. They each somehow managed to go wide enough to miss the remaining mines.

  "Fire!" Nape roared out while pressing the trigger of his own rocket launcher.

  Around him, other cadets fired their heavy weapons a mere fraction of a second behind his firing. Rockets leapt out from their hidden positions at the two enemy robots. Flame throwers covered the robots with burning liquid only moments later as the rockets impacted on the robots. One robot went down in the initial volley, broken completely where its supporting legs met the main body. The other continued to move forward and return fire.

  Nape reloaded his launcher coolly and efficiently before sighting in again on the remaining robot. The robot fired back along the track of the burning liquid spurting from the flame thrower. It was only a moment after that when the robot found its target and the cadet died. Nape fired at the robot. He saw his round lodge without exploding into the firing mechanism that the robot had just used. Nape had fired at the legs. Quickly, Nape reloaded again. As he fired his third rocket in what was almost a volley of rockets from other cadets, the robot tried to return fire at some more of them and blew off part of an arm. The damage done by the self-explosion did more harm to the robot than all their rockets to that time. Half of the interior workings of the robot were exposed. Nape reloaded, intending on firing again when the third robot fell to the ground. A ragged cheer went up from the cadets. Nape lowered his launcher and then remembered he was in charge.

  He ordered, "Okay, tend to the wounded! Get them away from the robots! Hustle! Hustle!"

  ***

  Susan was to the point where she was unbuttoning her boyfriend's clothes. She struggled, but she couldn't seem to find the buttons. Where were they? Was his shirt using a zipper or a self-sealer? She couldn't remember those on his clothing. Susan struggled to figure out why she couldn't unbutton her boyfriend's clothes. She tried to remember, but she couldn't. It couldn't have been that difficult, she realized. Something was wrong!

  ***

  Ensign Tall heard the reports from the ground battle. She quickly advised her group on where to aim at to disable the robots quickly. The flame throwers were hidden away again as they were useless and more of a menace to her people. Then her group moved on.

  ***

  The gunner on the America watched as the enemy destroyer moved almost behind the disabled transport and out of range. He mumbled to himself, "C'mon, move some more behind that transport for me like a good boy. C'mon, that's the way. Won't take me long to give you a trim."

  He clipped the engines of the enemy destroyer at the last possible moment so that it couldn't return fire because of the blocking transport.

  "Gotcha!"

  A moment later, he watched as the suddenly out of control destroyer rammed into the transport.

  He said to himself, "Now while you can't see me, it's my turn to cut loose."

  He went ahead and fired at the transport with the intention of burning a hole through it until he reached the destroyer. It would never know what hit it. However, the enemy destroyer's impact ruptured the transport, releasing the cargo of three, still-functional robots into space. The robots reacted against the destroyer, perhaps thinking that it was the enemy. Their fire at point blank range hulled the enemy destroyer before the America's gunner could. He satisfied himself with destroying the three robots, instead. Then he laughed as he thought about how the enemy unwittingly helped him.

  ***

  Susan thought, maybe she was supposed to be dressing her boyfriend. That had to be it! They had made love already! She was supposed to be helping him dress! What was it that he wanted put on? She thought hard and reached around to find out what she hadn't put on him yet.

  ***

  Ensign Tall's group came up quietly behind three advancing robots and fired in a volley that was well timed and executed. All three of the robots fell from their shots. One blew up on impact and did more damage to the other two. She glanced around to see a broad smile on the instructor's face. Then she signaled a well done to her group and for them to continue on to their defensive positions. She had time to catch sight of smiles on her fellow cadets' faces before moving out.

  ***

  Susan's hands found something. Was this what she was supposed to put on her boyfriend? It didn't feel like any of his clothing. Maybe it was hers. She tried to remember where she wore it.

  ***

  Dave observed the lone gunner left on the America as he ambushed the enemy ships. Dave made a mental note to try to meet him. That was the kind of daring and courage that deserved reward and encouragement. It might not be much that Dave could offer, but Dave knew that a few kind words could go a long way.

  Chapter 8

  Captain George Clark had watched the enemy ships go by and wondered if even that was too many for Admiral Oden to handle. It wouldn't be like the Ape-oids War where Dave was able to move about and cause the enemy to make mistakes. In this situation, Dave was going to be tied down and fighting with one arm behind his back. Perhaps Dave's only advantage was that he had a Navy he could count on. George hoped that was enough. George had problems enough of his own.

  The planet of Malak was nearer and the war was on. It would be up to Captain Marble to get them onto the planet and back off again before the Malakins could react. If there were ships on sentry duty, then she would likely have to destroy those first. With the kind of force which was sent against Beulah, George wondered how much of a defensive force she would have to break through?

  ***

  Dave watched in fascination as a bunch of Navy destroyers formed up and charged at two enemy cruisers. Their combined firepower was crushing as the enemy cruisers were kept busy with too many targets to concentrate their massive firepower on. Dave was proud of them for thinking on their feet and solving their problem. As soon as the two enemy cruisers became silent at the cost of one destroyer, the other destroyers took off after an enemy dreadnought. Dave watched them chase it out of sight.

  ***

  Susan felt the helmet snap into place and activate the oxygen tank. Her head started to clear slowly. She vaguely remembered what she was dreaming and, almost with a start, what had transpired. She blinked her eyes and shook her head to speed up the clearing. Then she reached over to the panel and flipped several switches.

  "This is Attack Butterfly. Running low on oxygen. I may be coming in hot and unconscious when I arrive. If I'm unconscious, I guess you'll have to fight without me. Otherwise, deal me in again."

  She listened for a reply. A voice, broken but directed at her replied, "Plea-- --peat ----age. --- are ----king --."

  Susan called back, "This is Attack Butterfly. I'm running low on oxygen and might not be conscious when I arrive."

  "Did you say --tack Butter---?"

  Susan called, "Affirmative. Attack Butterfly. Running low on oxygen. May not be conscious when I arrive."

  The distance was steadily decreasing.

  ***

  Dave listened to the conversation, garbled as it was. He attempted to fill in the gaps as the communications officer was doing. He reached the same conclusions. Lieutenant Thompson was on her way back. Evidently, h
e thought, she repaired her fighter and regained control of it. Not many fighter commanders could do that, he knew.

  Dave wanted to send the carrier out to meet the lieutenant, but it was needed more by Beulah as it continued to help the squadron engage the enemy ships. More than before, he wished her luck and said another silent prayer for her.

  ***

  "I understand you now, Attack Butterfly. Your carrier is chasing down transports on the other side of Beulah. Do you copy?"

  Susan replied, "Roger, I copy. Glad to be almost back."

  Susan wondered if she would be able to find her fighter-carrier if it was busy destroying enemy transports. Her situation was already touch and go. Now it was going to be a little bit trickier. She concentrated on using as little oxygen as possible while trying to think of a way to improve her situation.

  ***

  Mike watched as the mines took over the job that his destroyer had been doing. The mine layer ship was nearly finished with the entire planet. Soon, they would be going elsewhere.

  ***

  It didn't take long for the robots to learn about mines and use their sensors to ferret out the cadets in their hiding places. All the cadet groups were slowly forced to fall back as the robots supported each other more and more.

  Ensign Tall and her group reached the marked highway. A hover approached and she flagged it down. "I need your hover. Sorry, but you'll have to walk or wait for another to come by," she said to the driver.

  "Oh? I can drive those wounded people to a hospital, if that's what you need it for," he offered.