The ride was by no means smooth, but combat speed was attainable in the construction drone as long Spider paid attention to the thruster fuel thresholds and manually flipped the regulators.  He scrolled through the probe's user manual on his datapad fastened just above the view screen of the cramped compartment.  The probe had an extensive list of functionalities, but fighting wasn't one of them.  Spider intended to change that... but first he had to get the hang of flying the thing.  Despite the tight fit and the rocky learning curve the probe proved deceptively versatile.  Xiup Tikka might have been a double crossing bastard, but his equipment was everything he'd promised.

Ivory: Do you think they made it?

Ivory's words crawled along the bottom of his optic lenses.  The strike shuttle was just ahead, well within comms reach, but Spider had ordered radio silence in order to avoid alerting the Amazon to their presence for as long as possible.

"I hope so.  Without them this is going to be a suicide mission."

Ivory: So you're really going to fight in that thing?

"It's better than nothing.  I have 360 degree movement, a welding torch and demolition charges.  I could do worse."

Ivory: Worse than battling fighter squadrons in an egg with a hot knife?  I'm not buying it, boss.

"I'm not selling, I'm giving out samples.  If they sweep hard enough, they're bound to find Homebase.  Our job is to distract them for as long as we can.  The shuttle's shields will give them something to play with for a while, and the armor grade of this thing is in the 30s.  Trinity Cutters don't carry a yield high enough to get through."

Ivory: Okay, it's a very thick egg.

"I'm gonna be okay in here as long as I don't die from muscle spasms first.  This thing feels like it was built for a dwarf."  Spider chuckled to himself.  "Maybe you should have been the one to fly the probe."

Ivory: Ha, ha.  I'm short, I get it.

The sensors within the probe began to beep as the Amazon-class ship came in range.  Spider took hold of the two control arms and fired the right side thrusters, propelling the probe out of the shuttle's wake.  Ivory pulled further and further away.  He gave the user manual a quick glance then primed the explosives.  It would be a matter of seconds before the Amazon's systems detected them.

"Ivory, it's time."

Ivory: Shit... are you sure about this?

"This is what I do.  Trust me."

Ivory: I do, boss.  Wish me luck.

"Good luck."  The sensors started blaring as multiple contacts poured out of the Pale Garden gunship.  "Open comms and initiate Bad Kitty Protocol.  That ship's AI is going to try and overtake your computer systems, but Patricia created a countercode for just such an occasion."

Ivory: Copy that.  Trinity Cutters inbound!

The Pale Garden zero atmosphere fighters rushed towards them in two waves.  Trinity Cutters comprised of three blade-like protrusions jutting out from a single small cockpit.  The guns were mounted to the center mass, and the blades spun around creating a physical shielding that worked in concert with small deflectors.  The majority of their fleet were drones controlled and coordinated by their mothership's Core AI, but every third was piloted by an elite legionnaire.  They were fast, but banked poorly.  As the first wave came into weapons range they broke off into two groups.  One arrowed straight for the strike shuttle, and the other for Spider in the probe.

Spider swore at the narrowness of the probe's view port.  He preferred his own eyes in a dogfight, but there was no other choice but to use the vehicle's sensor panels and data display.  Staring at the screen, It reminded him of his grandfather's vintage 21st century video games.  Thoughts of growing up with his brother Lance threatened to steal his focus.

"Here. We. Go," he whispered to himself.

A hollow chorus of tapping filled the compact cockpit as the Pale Garden ships opened fire.  On the screen they were a slithering centipede moving in for the kill.  Ivory broke to his right, taking evasive action to avoid enemy fire.  Spider grinned and tested the probe's maneuverability.  He fired the top thrusters, bringing the vehicle below the enemy's attack vector, then he rotated until he was facing the underside of the leading ships.  He thrusted forward, and lashed out with the probes two welding arms.  The manned Trinity Cutters broke off as he cut through their ranks, but the drones reacted too slowly.  Their deflectors posed no problem for the superheated welding torch.

The cutters curved around for another pass, and Spider sent the probe into a spin, turning himself into a flaming bowling ball.  A handful of the fighters were disabled in their second clash.  He looked to the screen and watched as multiple targets swarmed the triangle representing the strike shuttle.  Ivory held her own, but the second wave swiftly approached.

Spider rushed into their path launching three shells of deep space demolition charges.  The sensors whistled warnings that the inbound ships would be in the projected blast radius.  The explosions ripped through their ranks, leaving only a fourth of their ships still viable.  Spider directed the probe towards the strike shuttle, moving in with torches blazing.   Something struck the side of the vehicle, sending it spinning end over end.  Then another, and another.  Spider struggled to fight back vertigo as he referred to the display.  The remaining Trinity Cutters were using themselves as kamikaze projectiles, and their tactic was damaging the integrity of the probe's armor plating.

Spider used his superior controls to avoid the new form of attack as best he could, but the swarm was coming from every direction.  He dodged a pair of ships arrowing toward his viewport only to put himself in the path of a line of incoming reinforcements. The strike shuttle swept in overhead, unleashing a barrage of high yield kinetic rounds and destroying a handful of fighters.  Spider broke right as she banked left, splitting up the growing number of fighters.

"Stage Two, Ivory.  Stage Two!" Spider shouted.

The ceaseless sound of ineffective rounds peppering the probe played background music to the sound of Trinity Cutters scraping against his ship.  Spider did a good job of avoiding direct hits, but it proved impossible to escape unscathed.  He felt a twinge of concern as the probe made a new noise warning there was a coolant malfunction.  He cut a hole in the swarm, and barreled towards the gunship.  The Trinity Cutters followed in his wake.

Ivory: They're all over us.  You sure about this Stage Two?

"Yeah, if we don't step up the attack they'll get suspicious."  Spider advanced towards the section of the Amazon he hoped housed the ship's shield generators, and fired a salvo of four demolition charges.  "Fire in the hole!"

Under a barrage of enemy fire he accelerated towards the much larger Pale Garden ship only to reverse his thrusters a hundred feet from impact.  The cutters in pursuit were incapable of such a maneuver and rocketed past even as the explosives struck the Amazon's shields.  A webbing of purple light enveloped the gunship and explosions ripped across its surface.  Spider was hard pressed to escape the blast radius.  The score of Trinity Cutters he lured into his trap weren't as lucky.

He hooted, and dropped back as another wave of cutters poured out of the Amazon.  The ship's shields seemed unfazed by his assault, but he definitely had their attention.  He wished he could get a status update from Raven back at Homebase, if for no other reason than to know they'd made it, but he didn't dare risk alerting the enemy.  Liam read the probe's data display as he piloted into the midst of ship debris.  The incoming cutters would need to fly through the remnants of their comrades if they hoped to ram him.

Ivory: Boss, they've sent more than cutters this time.

The probe didn't seem capable of analyzing the type of ships within scanner range, but it could detect metal densities and volume.  Using his cover for a moment's reprieve he studied the data.  Among the 30 incoming ships there were two moving much slower with higher grade armor.  Unlike the cutters which broke into two lines and arrowed towards both the strike shuttle and probe, these new ships took a more circumventive route.  It was clear they were trying to catch them in pincer attacks.

"Watch your angles, Ivory.  They're trying to blindside us."

Spider dropped out of his makeshift cover and flew directly for the new ship heading his way.  He wiped sweat from his brow, the temperature steadily rising within the snug cockpit.  The probe only had five more demolition charges, but the welding torches were still burning hot.  The coolant malfunction needed to be monitored, but Spider was confident he could handle the heat.

The ship drew close enough for Spider to make a visual identification, and he realized it wasn't a ship at all but a bipedal machine with stubby wings, a long barreled rifle, and rocket thrusters.  It came to an abrupt halt, and fired it's weapon, releasing a line red energy.  Spider reacted more out of instinct than conscious thought, dodging aside as the light cut through the void.  Alarms sounded as the left welding arm was severed from the probe.

Ivory: These are Dragon BACKs!  We need to retreat.

Dragons.

Spider had heard of the anti-BACK BACK capable of operating in all theaters of battle including deep space and deepsea, but he'd thought it was merely concept.  To see one fighting under the banner of the Pale Garden was sobering.  He fired a demolition charge and gunned his front thrusters, propelling the probe backwards into oncoming cutters.  The ensuing explosion was too close for comfort.  The probe's armor plating soaked up much of the impact, but Spider could hear the vessel groaning around him.

The Dragon barreled out of the heart of the flames firing another burst from its beam laser.  This time Spider's reflexes weren't enough.  The beam danced across the top of the probe, filling the cockpit with smoke.  A thick glowing line appeared along the metal ceiling above his head.  The high graded plating held against the attack by a hair's breadth.  Spider rushed the BACK as it charged it's rifle for another attack.

"How do I slay this thing?" He shouted into the comms.

Ivory: Anything except a direct hit is a waste of time.

Spider swore.  He changed direction flying straight towards the still swarming lines of Trinity Cutters.  As he expected, the cutters came right for him.  He reversed and the probe was hit by a wave of force, sending him spinning sideways.  The scanners picked up an energy build up coming from the massive bud at the center of the Amazon-class ship.  As Spider regained control of his vessel the bud's petals opened to reveal a massive wide mouthed cannon.  Light danced in the depths of the cannon for a drawn out moment before it belched out a beam of superheated energy, vaporizing everything within a 40 foot span.

The display screen showed static, and the probe readings ceased.  Spider was effectively blind... but he was still alive. He was left to wonder what survived in the world beyond his shelter.

"Ivory, come in."  When there was no immediate response he tried again.  "Ivory?"

The surviving cutters had been disoriented, but they recovered faster than he could and the barrage of small yield fire resumed.  He grabbed the control arms and rocketed towards the dragon, which could see through his viewport was having trouble stabilizing.  He had to assume the cutters were still on his six.  Spider moved in as the massive petals closed.  His ship's alarms warned the armor integrity had been compromised as he swooped under the BACK just before impact.  He spun around and watched with satisfaction as the cutters plowed into the dragon one by one, unable to veer away fast enough.

Suddenly the Trinity Cutters shot off in random directions, colliding with each other or arrowing into open space.  All of them at once.  The sensor display came back to life, showing Spider dozens of xs in scattered chaos.  A handful crashed into the Amazon.  Spider snarled.

"Ivory, my dragon is disabled.  Can you handle yours?"

Ivory: I think so, boss.  This guy's nowhere near as good as the pilots I used to train with.

"Good.  Time for Stage 3."

Spider let go of the control arms and snapped the black band on his wrist, triggering the metamorphosis into war mode.  He howled through the pain, and the world turned cobalt blue as his eyes generated a visor of hard light.  He took the controls and put everything he could into acceleration.

Ivory:  Bad Kitty cleared the way like you said.  Don't die on us.

"Same to you," he said, firing a demolition charge ahead of him.

Patricia designed the Bad Kitty program as a countermeasure to the Pale Garden Core AI practice of digitally hijacking ships before engaging in physical combat.  Dozens of EC ships including the ECS Dark Horse had fallen victim to Pale Garden vessels with less advanced weapons systems because their Core AIs weren't capable of fighting such effective cyber warfare.  Bad Kitty waited for contact then used it to enter the enemy ship's network.  From there it disrupted communications between Core AI and the Trinity Cutters, and disabled shields.  At least that was the gist Spider got from Patricia's explanation.  The part about disabling shields was what mattered to Spider when he'd devised his plan of attack.

Spider held tight to the control arms, ready to take evasive maneuvers if Bad Kitty had failed them.  He watched as the powerful explosive torpedoed directly toward what he hoped was the shield generators.

"Second time's the charm."

Ivory: Spider!

The second dragon thrusted into view, accelerating faster than Spider thought a BACK could move.  It tossed its rifle aside and grabbed for the demolition charge.  Spider swore and threw the probe into full reverse a fraction of a second before the charge exploded.  The flash was dampened by the viewport's  smartglass, and the smoke dissipated quickly, but there was no purple shield webbing.  The dragon was gone, disintegrated, and there was a gaping hole in the side of the Amazon.  A gaiar field covered the damaged area, and the probe detected multiple organic signatures floating in the void.

"I'm going in!"

Spider barreled through the debris field then the breach, using the welding arm to damage as much as he could in passing.  The sensors went haywire as the probe's computer attempted to make sense of the data flowing in.  It was too rudimentary to be overtaken by the Amazon Core AI.  It was also not designed to fly in even the most basic atmosphere.  Two levels.  Three levels.  Four levels down, into the belly of the Pale Garden gunship he plummeted.  The probe came to a jarring stop that made Spider's bones rattle in their metal plated shell.

Spider jumped out of the probe under a hail of small arms fire.  He ran to cover, returning fire with his pistol while clutching his duffel bag tight.  He set his visor to analyzing the shape of the room as he dealt with the Pale Garden troopers.  In a few minutes there were enemy bodies sprawled about.  His visor detected power converters, reinforced energy conduits, and a group of field amplifiers.  One way in and one way out.  It wasn't the shield generator but he was close.

Spider picked through his bag as he listened for sounds of incoming enemies.  He came up with a frag grenade in one hand, and a sentry turret in the other.  He synced the flat drone to his visor before placing it against the wall beside the archway, giving it a clear view of the only way in and the probe.  The drone came to life, unfolding into a single-barreled rifle with six insect-like legs.  It climbed the wall and positioned itself behind a thick conduit.  It would fire on anyone lacking the signal from his visor.

Spider pulled the pin on the grenade, and tossed it down the hall, gathering his bag to the sound of approaching troops.  The explosion and screams that followed heralded his charge.  A crippled Pale Garden legionnaire yanked off her smoking helmet and called for medical support, Her leg a charred mess from the knee down.  Spider shot her in the chest as he ran past.  He left her head intact.  If the Pale Garden chose to, she could be revived.  Her life wasn't his concern, but Spider tried to avoid permanent kills unless he had no choice.

He followed the pipes on the ceiling, knowing they'd terminate at the shield generator.  That was his target.  Holstering his pistol, he pulled an Embrine 400b rifle from his bag.  His favorite toy.  A team of three troopers clad in black flexsteel armor with white pauldrons led by a legionnaire in magenta pauldrons rushed around the corner.  Spider gunned them down with a steady burst of medium yield rifle fire.  Some of the bodies dropped mid-stride.

Killing Pale Garden troops had become his specialty.