Space Unicorn

Chapter 4

Japanese destroyer Asashio

Jovian Orbit

The Asashio and JGSS Invisible Pink Unicorn, while still within the circles traced out by Jupiter's moons, were not technically in an orbit around Jupiter. During the chase, their torch drives had accelerated them well over Jupiter's escape velocity, putting them on a hyperbolic trajectory that would take them far from Jupiter. In fact, both ships had enough velocity to leave the Solar System entirely.

Nonetheless, they had matched velocities, and from their individual perspectives, were as motionless as the Earth beneath our feet.

Of course, the Earth is spinning on its axis and hurtling around the sun.

The Invisible Pink Unicorn pointed its heavily armored pyramidal head towards the Asashio's vulnerable flank like a dagger to a neck. Well, if the dagger was thirty stories tall, and a thousand kilometers away from the neck.

Feeds from drones suggested that all was quiet aboard the Asashio. Most of the ship's crew were dead – fried by reflected energy from gigawatt-range lasers or liquefied by kinetic energy weapons as they blasted through the hull. Men and women just like those aboard Invisible Pink Unicorn lay splattered across rooms, char-grilled, riddled with shrapnel, their frozen remains a testament to the horrors of technological warfare.

"Huh. The flyboys sure did a number on the crew. I would not want to be on the receiving end of that."

Clad in an armored digital-camouflage hardsuit, Captain Jackie Lynn Thomas, Joint Government Marines, surveyed the carnage with typical sangfroid. Her point marine signaled the all-clear, and she pushed off the lander, floating into the hallway. She turned towards her platoon. "1st squad on me! We're pushing to CIC! 2nd squad, engineering! 3rd squad, find damage control! Remember, once we secure those, we sweep the corridors! Ship may look dead, but they're compartmentalized for a reason. Stay sharp! Prepare for booby-traps and defenders!"

They arrived at CIC. Sabrina threw a flash grenade into the enemy CIC, and charged into the room. Flashes of gunfire told of survivors. Combat in vacuum is noiseless, since air is needed to transmit sound.

Jackie, leading from the front, entered the room, and shot a retreating spacesuited Japanese in the back. His lifeless body continued to travel forward, and hit the lip of the opposite door. Three marines gave chase. Jackie looked around the wrecked room.

The scene was one of utter carnage. A wall of Asashio's CIC emptied into a wreckage-filled void, and the room looked like a tornado had passed through it. Three other fresh, bullet-ridden bodies floated in the middle of the room.

---

"Bad news. It doesn't look like any terminals survived this."

On the (surprising still) marine helmet cam footage, a hardsuited Jackie smoothly glided through the air like a manatee through water. Or a mermaid, thought Marco.

He shook his head, and returned to the main display, showing the Asashio. At the first sign of trouble, Alfonzo would rip the enemy apart with lasers and particle beam. His laser was also accurate enough to fire on any resistance the Marines faced. The Marines would have to take cover too, of course, and friendly fire was always a danger.

Marco anxiously turned back to Jackie's screen, where a corridor firefight was in progress.

Star opened a private channel. "Marco? Marco! Focus on your job. Watch the Japanese ship, not the firefight. If you want your crush to come back for you to crush on, do your job properly."

"Crush? What crush? I'm not crushing on Jackie Lynn Thomas." Marco sighed happily as he said her name.

"Uhh... Marco? You told me you had a crush on Jackie. Remember? Back when we were monitoring that brine well on Europa?"