Doctor Who_ So Vile a Sin - Ben Aaronovitch [57]
‘The Pequot.’
‘Indigenous Class,’ said Chris. ‘That’s not so bad. They predate the Wars of Acquisition. They don’t have any big weapons – there’ll be a couple of squadrons of fighters aboard.
We’ll have to counter with ours.’
‘Yeah,’ said Roz, ‘but Sokolovsky’s just put his crew off the ship in lifepods. Who’s going to fly them?’
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‘Are you guys sure about this?’
Son of My Father didn’t answer, squeezing himself deeper into the fighter’s cabin. It was meant for an average-sized human body, just too small to comfortably accommodate an Ogron’s wide shoulders.
Chris reached in and tugged the straps into place. ‘Secure,’ he said. Son of My Father still didn’t say anything. After a moment, the fighter’s canopy began to lower with a hiss.
Chris jumped down from the ladder, rolled it over to Sister’s Son, sitting in the other fighter. ‘Are you really sure?’ he said, reaching in to fasten the straps.
‘You heard,’ said Sister’s Son. ‘The Pequot will catch up with us too soon. Me and him will go and make them busy, make them slow.’
‘They’ve got two squadrons of fighters aboard,’ said Chris.
‘This really isn’t such a good idea.’
‘Chris,’ said Sister’s Son. ‘You regular guy. Listen, me and him, we decide what to do. We decide.’
Chris just looked at the Ogron, mouth tugging down at the corners.
‘Do this,’ said Sister’s Son, ‘do that, good Ogron, bad Ogron –
all gone now. We go flying, Chris. OK?’
Chris nodded. ‘Try a quick strafing run to distract them, and then pull away. And watch your ass out there.’
‘Can’t,’ said Sister’s Son, glancing down at the straps.
‘I meant –’ The Ogron was rumbling with subsonic laughter.
Chris grinned. ‘Just be careful, OK?’
It took Chris two minutes to get back to the bridge, where Vincenzi was in charge of the engagement. Chris looked at the tactical schematic, a circle of computer graphics on the forward viewscreen.
Immediately, he knew something was wrong.
‘Sister’s Son’s fighter,’ Chris said. The icon was crawling across the screen, away from the Victoria. ‘He launched already.
He wasn’t supposed to launch for another two minutes!’
The Doctor was watching the screen, intently. Everyone else had their heads down in their displays.
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Chris said, ‘There’s been a mistake or something. We have to call them back.’
‘I can’t raise either of our fighters,’ said CommOps.
‘The Pequot have launched their fighters, sir. Iphiko class –
eight Wings. Proton cannons, no missiles,’ said TacOps.
‘Too late,’ Vincenzi told Chris, with a shake of his head.
Sister’s Son, thought Chris, what the hell have you decided?
‘Five seconds to intercept. Second fighter launching on schedule.’
The icon marking Sister’s Son’s ship flared. The data beside it turned from green to red.
‘First Wing destroyed. Second fighter firing missiles.’
‘He rammed it,’ said Chris. ‘He shot right past the Wings and rammed the Pequot.’
‘Goddess,’ said Vincenzi. ‘With a full complement of missiles still in their launch tubes.’
‘Severe structural damage to the Pequot,’ said TacOps calmly.
‘Her port engine is afire.’
The Doctor, at least the Doctor who had stayed on the bridge, was staring at the screen in disbelief.
The inverted triangles that represented Son of My Father’s ASDACs converged with the blips marking the first wave of Wings. Three of the enemy fighters flared and dropped off the display.
‘He didn’t launch too early,’ said Roz. ‘He planned to ram the frigate from the start, didn’t he?’
Captain Sokolovsky nodded.
‘Still no answer from our remaining fighter,’ said CommOps.
‘If only there was something we could do,’ said Chris.
Son of My Father’s missiles hit the remaining two fighters, destroying both. Chris heard Roz swear softly.
‘They’re not breaking off,’ said TacOps.
‘With that much damage, they may not be able to. The Pequot will try to launch a second flight,’ said the captain.
Do this, do that, good Ogron, bad Ogron – all gone now.
‘They’re not going to get the chance,’ said Chris.
‘But they’re Ogrons,’ said the Doctor. ‘Ogrons don’t do this.’
But Chris knew in his guts