Free AMP Siege by Stephen Arseneault

replied, "Systems are already beginning to shut down, Mr. Grange. I believe we will be on suit oxygen within the hour."
    I looked back at York and the others as I spoke. "Is our shuttle still capable of flying?"
    The Captain replied, "We have managed to keep the shuttle isolated from the infection, so yes, we can fly it."
    I spoke. "Start ferrying the crew and supplies down to the planet surface. We are going to have to try to shut the Granger down completely, or at least until we can purge those systems. And Captain, make it fast; I don't want the Duke's program to start that ship and fly it away with you all still on there."
    The Captain replied, "Roger that, Mr. Grange. We will begin evacuation immediately."
    I again spoke into my arm comm. "And Captain, make sure everyone knows that the Gonta are not our enemies. We might just need their firepower if we are going to survive down there. According to them, the Targs are not likely to be very hospitable, and we already have evidence of that."
    The Jaarke , according to the Gonta protocol, was self-destructed where it sat. The second Gonta ship, the Friza , soon met with the same fate. As the Captain and the crew of the Granger came within reach of the Targ surface, my arm pad comm came to life.
    The Captain spoke. "Mr. Grange. We may be coming in hot. The virus has spread to this shuttle. We are doing our best to keep the systems online until we can touch down."
    I replied, "What's you ETA, Captain? And what's the status of the Granger ?"
    The comm was silent for several agonizing seconds. "The Granger is drifting, Mr. Grange. We shut down the ion feeds and retracted the power core. All systems are off. It will take us some time to bring her back online if we need to, Mr. Grange. And, every indication is that the virus will still be there."
    The Captain spoke with concern. "We've lost the shuttle shields, and now the life support is going haywire. We should be on the surface in two minutes if we can keep the nav computer clean. The virus is beginning to spread to our arm pad comms, Mr. Grange. We are going silent. Wish us luck!"
    I watched on a Gonta scanner as the Granger cut through the atmosphere like a fireball. It continued to travel at a high rate of speed in our direction.
    Meecha spoke. "Mr. Grange. How fast can that shuttle slow once it's entered the atmosphere?"
    I replied, "It should have already slowed, Captain. I hate to ask or even think about it, but can your weapons take out that shuttle if it doesn't slow? I'm guessing we have about thirty seconds to make a decision."
    The captain looked at me and then quickly turned to his First Major. "Major Galla! Prepare to take out that shuttle on my command!"
    The major scrambled to inform the Gonta shuttle gunner. "Target tracking on. It is coming right at us. The sooner you make the call, the less chance of debris striking us, Sir."
    The major turned. "Twenty seconds, Captain!"
    Before I could say a word, the Gonta captain spoke. "Take it out or we're all dead, Major!"
    I wanted to scream out to hold fire, but the captain was right. A red ion bolt shot upwards. A tiny speck of an explosion followed, with an indicator on my arm pad going blank. One hundred thirty-eight Humans had perished in an instant. The entire crew, minus York, Frost, Goddard, and me, had only one chance to make it to the surface. The shuttle had been packed to its limits.
    The debris came down hard, with a section of the shuttlecraft's tail burrowing a twenty-meter-deep crater only two hundred meters away from our position. The plume of smoke would be a marker of our position for the Targs. They would likely be moving in on us within hours.
    York placed her hand on my shoulder. "Couldn't be helped, Sir. Another ten seconds more and they would have killed us too. Hold any rage you have for the Duke. When we get back to the Grid, you can send him hurtling into that bright yellow sun or something."
    I sat and rubbed my temples as I pondered our loss.