Excerpt: Heron

They were at the landing field when the call came in. "Alert! Alert! Landing party, respond!"
The captain grabbed his radio. "Captain Thornton here. What is it?" Blue and yellow flashing lights appeared at every corrider junction he could see.
"A Casper ship just appeared in orbit. We didn't detect it before now," transmitted Arthur. "Based on, well, everything, I called an alert. They haven't communicated with us yet. Stand by." After a pause, he continued, "They want to talk now. What should I tell them?"
"Stall," said the Captain. "Tell them we have people on the moon. Imply that it's a strike team. Don't tell them I'm here. They won't want to talk with me, anyway. Just give us some time. And keep this channel closed. We don't know if they can overhear."
"Roger," said Arthur.
Captain Thornton put the radio away, and spun around to talk to the alien he'd named Rev. "Rev, we need a favor."
"The entire moon is on alert," said Rev. "You destroyed our incoming strike ship. We're getting ready to launch our fighter crafts. Our other fighting ships are away, searching for more of your colonies. We have recalled them, but they will not be here in time. If you leave now, you may avoid the destruction."
The captain shook his head. "They probably followed us here to find you, and they won't want to leave human witnesses. Letting us see their ship is proof of that. They would not have brought a ship that couldn't defeat the Heron. We've got one shot at this, and for that, I'll need your help."
"What do you need?" asked the alien.
Up on the ship, Arthur took a deep breath. "Clark," he said, "accept the call."
"Aye, sir," said Clark. "Casper ship, on screen."
The hologram tank at the front of the bridge filled with swirling static, which resolved itself into the head of a Casper. Arthur decided to take the offense.
"Are you here to help us?" he said.
The Casper's jerked his head back, just a tiny bit, but it was a sure sign he'd taken them by surprise.
"What do you mean? Are you in need of assistance?" asked the Casper.
Arthur wanted to smile, but he kept his expression grim. "We have a team on the moon now, trying to take more prisoners," he said. "These are the bastards who attacked Sonora! They want to destroy every magical race in the universe! I assumed that Earth had contacted you, and that you were here to help."
The Casper responded, "Yes, we are here to help. We know of these creatures. We thought them extinct. Many years ago, they destroyed a race we communicated with, much like your own. We could not let that happen to our friends from Earth."
Clark said, "Commander, they're moving closer."
"One moment, sir," said Arthur, and turned off his camera. He said to the acting pilot, "Don't change course yet, but don't let them get too close. Clark, if you get the slightest indication of a launch, or other weapon power-up, tell him. We don't wait for orders, we go evasive."
"Aye, sir." "Understood."
He turned the camera back on. "My apologies. We've received indications that other strike ships are inbound towards our other colonies. We need as much intelligence as possible from the surface. When our team has left, we can attack. I suggest you take the southern hemisphere, and we'll take the north. Between the two of us, we can…."
"Power-up!" yelled Clark. The pilot sent the ship into a spiral course away from the moon. A narrow beam of something red flew just pasted the ship. Where it grazed the atmosphere, it turned a blinding white.
He closed the channel. "Continue evasive!" he ordered. "Clark, what in the hell was that?"
"Unknown, sir," said Clark, working the controls on the sensorium. "Judging by the reaction to the atmosphere, it might be a thin stream of antimatter."
"That's impossible!" said Arthur. "You need a huge… evasive!" The ship jerked, and another of the Casper's streams missed.
"The Caspers are known to be much better than us at magical transmutation," said Clark. "This could be within their capabilities."
"What happens if they fire it at the moon?" asked Arthur.
"A lot would be wasted on the atmosphere, but I'm sure they have other weapons for that," said Clark. "It seems like we were right about them. They aren't the rude but harmless people we thought."
"Great," said Arthur. "I always wanted to die being right. Evasive!"
The pilot had maneuvered the Heron further away from the Casper ship, which gave him more time to evade their shots. The Caspers, however, were getting better at shooting. The hit the ship, and it shook. Arthur barely held himself in the command chair.
"What was that?" he said.
"Damage reports coming in," said Clark. "We were hit over cargo bay two. There were three people in there." He paused. "It's all vacuum now, sir. No life signs."
The intercom beeped. "Otori to bridge. Otori to bridge."
"Chief!" said Arthur. "What's the news?"
"Commander, we can't take any more hits," said Chief Otori. "The shield didn't stop the beam—the shield actually bent around the beam. With the shield distorted, it barely touched the cargo bay. If we get his solid, the ship will be gone, sir."
"Can you stop the effect on the shield?" asked Arthur.
Otori said, "I don't even know how they're doing it! It should be impossible!"
"Do your best, Chief," said Arthur. "We'll avoid getting hit. Bridge, out." To the pilot, he said, "You heard the chief, son. Keep us away from them."
"Yes, commander," he said, spinning the ship again. This time, it was a clean miss.
"We can't keep this up forever," said Arthur.
"Shuttle launch from the surface," said Clark. "It's the Derby. Three lifeforms aboard… Sir, the alien fired their beam at the shuttle."
"Don't keep me in suspense!" said Arthur. "Report!"
"The Derby evaded the shot. It must have been pretty weak down that far; most of the antimatter was expended on the air. In fact…." He slammed his fists on his board. "Too much radiation interference from the shot, sir. I can't see anything. They aliens are still firing at the shuttle."
"Don't worry, Thorn, I've got a stupid idea," muttered Arthur. "Clark, fire a missile at the Caspers. Also, fire all our anti-missile flak cannons."
"Sir?" asked Clark.
"We need to get their attention," said Arthur. "Fire two missiles, weapons officer!"
"Aye, aye, sir," he said. Arthur watched as two missiles fled away from the Heron toward the enemy. Flak cannons flashed ahead of the ship. The Caspers destroyed one missile, then the other.
"Keep firing," said Arthur. "I don't know what the captain is planned, but we need to give him time!"
"Aye, sir," said Clark. "Missile away!"
Fleeing away from the planet, Ágústa was doing to her best to avoid the antimatter beams. The radiation interference was hurting her ability to see where she was going, but the alien's were transmitting directions to Rev, and he was passing them on to her. She dodged another beam.
"Your ship is firing at the Casper ship," reported Rev.
"That's it!" said the Captain. "Up, up, up!"
"Aye, sir," said Ágústa, and sent the Derby following where the beam had sliced into the atmosphere. They're only hope was that the Caspers couldn't see through the radiation any better than they, or the aliens, could.
"I've lost communication with the ground," said Rev. "Faster, Lieutenant!"
"I'm giving her all she's got, Captain," she said. "Just get ready. Sir."
He was braced by the door, next to Rev. She could feel the air sigil at her neck. There wasn't much time left on it, but it would have to do. They had asked if the aliens had something like it, but Rev said they could survive space for short durations. Nice for them, Ágústa thought.
"Approaching atmosphere's edge," said Ágústa.
"Opening the door," said the Captain. The air hissed away, causing her sigil to get warm. She turned on her radio, and kept flying.
The Caspers could see them now. The interference they were following vanished when the air did. Their speed increased as the drag went away. The enemy grew larger and larger. She sent the ship into an evasive maneuver, but they didn't fire. The two explosions to starboard showed why—they were still occupied with the Heron's missiles.
"Now!" yelled the Captain. Ágústa heard the command through her radio. She fired the port retros, and spun the ship. The captain and Rev pushed their package out the door. It flew, black as night, toward the enemy ship. Another antimatter beam fired at the shuttle, but Ágústa was already fleeing, and it missed. She knew the next beam would probably get them, though. She was too close.
The Caspers didn't get the chance. An explosion flashed near their ship, and the ship went crazy. It seemed to be trying to spin in every direction at once. The Heron fired two more missiles, then another two. The Caspers didn't even try to intercept them. In a burning blaze of light, their ship was turned into rubble.
"To the Heron, Lieutenant," ordered the captain. He was shutting the door. Soon, they would have a little air. It might be enough.
"Heron to Derby," came Arthur's voice. "What the hell was that?"
"It was one of the alien's anti-menhir warheads," said the Captain. "The perfect thing for a magical ship. Good timing on those missiles, Art."
"I can't take the credit, sir," said Arthur. "Crewman Clark just keep firing. We figured you might need a distraction."
"You figured right, Art," he replied. "Get the shuttle hangar bay ready to receive us. We're running out of air. Derby, out."