It didn’t matter.
He peered around the corner, blade at the ready. He saw no movement nor anything out of the ordinary—save for the lump on the ground near the reserved area where the subdivision directors parked.
He knew what awaited him as he approached from the shadows.
Michael Volosk lay on his back in a pool of blood, one arm fractured at the elbow and the other wrenched behind his head. He had fought his attacker, if to no avail.
His throat had been sliced clean through from ear to ear by a gamma knife. His eyes stared blankly into the void, no different in death than the assailant’s at the park.
Caleb blew out a harsh breath, his hand coming up to abuse his jaw. Volosk was an honorable, decent man. He had a wife and two young children and a spotless record. What reason did they have to kill him?
He spun around at the echo of footsteps, arm cocked and blade raised. But it was her. His arm dropped to his side.
She approached with caution, her focus locked on the body of the man she had met mere hours earlier—until it darted jerkily up to him.
God, she looked so scared.
He would give the wealth of nations to be able to convince her she never need be afraid of him. But he had no such wealth to give.
“He can’t have been dead long or someone would have found him. The attackers might still be nearby.” He glanced at the Division building, at the door fifteen meters across the lot. “I think we should get out of here, to the ship. It isn’t safe, even here. If they got to him this close to Headquarters, they could have gotten inside.”
He gazed at her imploringly. “Will you do that? Will you go with me to the spaceport at least? From there you can…whatever you want. But I need to get you to safety.”
She blinked. “Of course….” She took a step, faltered and sank against the wall grasping clumsily at her right side.
“What is it? Are you hurt?”
“Yeah…I…I got nicked back there at the park…it’s fine though…cybernetics will take care of it….”
Then her legs buckled beneath her.
He had already been moving and reached her a split-second before she hit the ground. One hand slid under her head, much as it had in another, far, far better circumstance.
He eased her down. “Alex? Alex, talk to me.”
Nothing. She had lost consciousness.
He carefully shifted her arm out of the way. Her sweater was soaked through with blood. It blended into the deep purple of the material, which was why he hadn’t seen it until now.
A frantic breath fell from his lips. “Oh, baby, no….”
Time screeched to a halt while he oh-so-gently rolled her onto her side. The back of the sweater was soaked in blood as well.
He lifted the sweater up to reveal entry and exit wounds. They lay in a direct trajectory, above her hip. The laser had traveled straight through and at a location which in all probability missed any vital organs.
Okay.
He willed what combat mode still remained to the forefront. Time resumed its skewed rapid slow progression forward.
There was a med kit inside, but there may also be assassins inside—or worse, traitors from within. If they were being hunted a hospital represented a death trap, and his apartment was doubtless being watched.
The rental ship had a Grade III med kit on board. If her cybernetics and genetic enhancements were as advanced as he was certain they must be, it would be enough.
If he got her to it soon.
The bike was clearly out. Something he could walk away from.
He stood, walked six meters and broke into the nearest vehicle. He rummaged through the compartment; as expected, there was a gym bag. Division employees loved their workouts, if solely for the stress relief they provided.
He tore it open and removed a t-shirt, climbed out and rushed back to her. With a rip of the seam the shirt became a long strip of cloth which he wound around her abdomen and secured over both wounds to staunch the bleeding.
He gathered her up in his arms.
Though he had endeavored to smother any emotions beneath an iron façade, a cry found its way to the surface when she sagged bonelessly against him.
He choked it off in his throat as he positioned her in the passenger seat and secured the harness over her. Then he bolted to the driver’s side, scrambled in and hacked the controls.
The instant the engine fired he lifted into the air and accelerated toward the spaceport at reckless speed.
71 Erisen
Earth Alliance Colony
Kennedy exited the lift at the top floor of IS Design’s offices, heels clack-clacking on the marble floor as she strode across the wide foyer. The deep green business suit she wore was cut rather conservatively, though at least it complimented her eyes, and her hair was uncharacteristically pulled up in a dress knot—a few minor concessions to the stodgy formality of a Board of Directors meeting.
The secretary smiled as she approached. “You’re expected, Ms. Rossi. You can go right on in.”
“Thank you, Nance. Oh, before I forget, congratulations on your daughter being accepted to MIT. I know you must be proud.”
The woman beamed. “Very much so, though I will miss her. Thank you again for the personal recommendation. I’m sure it helped quite a lot.”
Her grin held a hint of teasing. “I’m sure it had far more to do with her accomplishments, but I’m glad if I helped out a tiny bit.”
She gave Nance a wink and continued into the boardroom. The four men and three women were engaged in a heated discussion over new efficiency measures, so she quietly took a seat along the wall.
It was several minutes until the conversation quieted down and the chairman motioned to her. “Ms. Rossi, thank you for coming.”
She stood and approached the empty end of the table. “My pleasure. I’m glad to have the opportunity to—”
“A situation has arisen regarding a materials supplier which we’d like you to turn your attention toward.”
What? She was here to present the final specs on the EM reverse shield. “I’m sorry, sir, I’m not clear on—”
“You’re aware the Surno Materials facility on Aquila was destroyed by the Senecans yesterday?”
“Yes, sir. Most unfortunate. I know they were a major supplier of ours.”
“Not merely of ours. They were also a significant supplier of metamaterials to the Alliance military. Now the Alliance is busily soaking up the remaining available supply from other manufacturers.”
He glanced a little nervously around the table. “Of course this company has a long history and tradition of supporting the Alliance, and we stand fully behind the war effort. But the fact remains we will also need supplies if we expect to deliver on existing orders, not to mention future ones.”
She couldn’t help but frown. “Without a doubt. But while Surno was a reliable supplier, there are numerous metamaterial manufacturers on Alliance worlds and friendly independent ones.”
“Yes, and they are all now being courted heavily by our competitors and every other provider of space-worthy end products.”
“Ah, well, I can see the difficulty. However, as Director of the Design and Prototyping Division, I’m not certain how I might be able to help.”
One of the directors, Amanda Vashi, clasped her hands on the table. “We recognize it isn’t your normal area of focus. But your, shall we say, ‘social’ talents and networking connections are well known and respected, by this Board and the community at large. Combined with the stature of your family, we believe you would make an excellent ambassador for the company and a shrewd negotiator.”
She suppressed a laugh; that had to be the most polite way of saying ‘you’re very attractive, can work a cocktail party like nobody’s business and excel at fooling powerful men into believing you’re flirting with them’ she had ever heard. “I’m flattered, Ms. Vashi, but there are a number of important projects ongoing in DPD right now which I would hate
to neglect.”
The chairman smiled in his usual annoying, condescending manner. “Certainly there are, but I’m sure they will survive a couple of days without your direct guidance. We want you to go to Messium and persuade the president of Palaimo Metallurgy to supply us a minimum of sixty percent of our metamaterial requirements for the next year—for reasonable and fair compensation, naturally.”
Her weight shifted to her back foot and she crossed her arms over her stomach, deciding she could stand to lose a bit of deference. “Can’t those negotiations be conducted over holo? I really don’t see the need for a personal visit.”
“Palaimo’s president is something of a prima donna, I’m afraid. And he is, as I noted earlier, being wooed by other companies as well. We believe a personal touch and a touch of extra attention will be required to make the deal happen.”
She pursed her lips together to swallow annoyance. She didn’t particularly want to trek all the way out to Messium to kiss some self-important corporate executive’s ass. But she didn’t see how it was particularly up to her either. With a silent sigh she nodded and gave the chairman a brilliant if somewhat plastic smile.
“Then I am happy to assist the company in any way I can. I’ll make the arrangements today.” She looked around at the directors. “If there’s nothing else, I’d like to give my presentation now.”
“Absolutely, Ms. Rossi. Please, continue.”
“Thank you.” She sent the presentation to the large screen above the table. “As you may recall from my earlier visit, the proposed EM reverse shield is intended—”
Nance burst into the room. The woman’s eyes were wide, and she appeared out of breath though she couldn’t have run more than a few meters.
“Turn on the news feed! Alliance Strategic Command has been destroyed!”
72 Space, Northwest Quadrant
Orellan Stellar System
The 2nd Regiment of the 4th Brigade of the Earth Alliance NW Regional Command patrolled the Fionava-Balta-Orellan corridor, as had been its duty for more than a decade. Periodic superluminal traversals ended randomly to avoid predictable patterns and were interspersed with lengthy periods of impulse propulsion. Of course this being the Earth Alliance military, ‘randomly’ actually meant one of seven predetermined sequences.
Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm Jenner paced in front of the CO chair as the seconds counted down to the shift from superluminal to normal impulse propulsion. They would be at full ready when the transition occurred, as always, but particularly so after the EASC bombing hours earlier had put the entire fleet on Level IV alert status.
He had been the commanding officer of the EAS Juno for all of twenty-three days, and ready state still made him apprehensive. It wasn’t like commanding ground forces, where you could hear and smell and sense the situation you were heading into—where even as a commander you had a weapon in your hand and at least the illusion of control over your own fate.
Here, standing on the deck of a starship in the void of space, he could request information and give orders but do little else to affect his fate or that of his men. It was one reason he disliked space, but only the latest one.
He had tried to comprehend the appeal, to grasp the wonder and amazement others felt toward the stars. For Alex, he had tried. But he had failed.
It wasn’t as if he was a luddite; he embraced humanity’s continued advancement as much as anyone. He simply preferred the sensation of soil beneath his feet and wind in his hair, of fresh, non-recycled air which carried on it the scent and taste of life. He preferred what was solid and real, where if you could see it you could touch it, feel its texture between the tips of your fingers. As far as he knew, no one had ever touched a star.
Not even her.
Yet here he was, commander of a starship for twenty-three days and flying into the middle of a war.
He had been happy serving as the operations officer for the 3rd BC Brigade in Vancouver. It was a good posting, with plenty of responsibility and solid officers under him. But if he wanted to make full colonel in the next decade—or possibly ever—a flight command tour was all but a necessity. And he did want to make colonel, almost as much as Veronica wanted him to.
It was only because she believed in him and thought he was capable of greater things that she pushed him so. He knew this in his heart.
So he had left behind his beautiful new wife of two months, his honorable if slightly staid job and his charming house in the North Vancouver foothills for a half-year space tour. Seventeen days in he had found himself in a war. Alex would be laughing her ass off if she could see him now….
“Flight Lieutenant Billoughy, prepare to idle the sLume drive at 14:35:00. Helmsman Xao, is the Orellan asteroid belt survey loaded into the navigation system?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Very good. Impulse in two…one…mark.”
In the large viewport dominating the bow of the bridge, stars crystalized into focus. Though nearly 3.4 AU away, the sanguine light from the system’s red giant sun cast an eerie hue over the scene. Two of the other four frigates in the formation materialized in the port and starboard peripherals as well as on the tactical map to his left.
“All systems—”
An explosion off their port viewport blew a hole in the side of the EAS Somerset 2.3 seconds after it emerged from superluminal. The shockwave shuddered across the bridge, causing him to grab for the arm of his chair while he implemented Level V alert status. Alarms rang through the deck, but he filtered the increased noise to the background.
He quickly sat down so as not to stumble around the bridge like some ground-pounder. Miniature versions of the tactical and sector maps leapt onto small screens beside him. He watched in dismay as the EAS Caroline ventured forth to their starboard, never seeing the ‘asteroid’ beneath it which detonated and blew out its impulse engine.
Lt. Colonel Jenner: Command, the asteroid field is mined. I repeat, the asteroid field is mined.
The field had been mapped to a three-meter level of accuracy so ships were able to avoid collisions. Now it appeared mines had been disguised to resemble asteroids to the casual observer—‘asteroids’ which would not be on the map.
“Science, I need active visual scans. Update navigation on new obstacles as they are found. Tactical, deploy drones in sets of four spaced one hundred fifty meters apart. Billoughy, keep our course at least two hundred meters rear of the drones. Systems, divert non-critical power to plasma shield—”
The tactical map flared red as a dozen Senecan fighters dropped out of superluminal into the middle of the asteroid field and spread to engage. Based on the speed they were approaching, they did possess detailed mappings of the mines’ locations as well as the asteroids themselves.
The Caroline made for easy pickings with its impulse engine disabled. It took under eight seconds for the small ships to destroy its sLume drive and blow a hole through its shields and into the port stern hull.
The comm screen to his right shouted in bold letters when their own fighters launched from the carrier accompanying them, the EAS Sao Paulo. The surrounding space lit up in arcing laser streams and small explosions as numerous asteroids fell victim to the crossfire.
For a breath he paused to acknowledge the scene depicted in the viewport. So this is what space warfare truly looked like. Admittedly, it was beautiful.
“Weapons, you get a clear shot on one of those fighters, you take it. Billoughy, increase minimum distance to drones to four hundred meters and prepare for evasive maneuvers.” A bright plume flared ahead; he thought it might be a drone catching a mine, but a glance at tactical confirmed it was a fighter. One of ours.
He stared at the screen, briefly transfixed as a Senecan fighter drew its opponent into a mine, diverting at the last instant and leaving the Alliance ship to disintegrate.
“Jesus…Science, get the updated scans out to the other ships.”
Lt. Colonel Jenner: Recommend all capable vessels initiate active vi
sual scans to update navigation maps. Our optimal range does not encompass entire battle sector.
Rear Admiral Tarone (Sao Paulo): Michigan, Hirami, assume defensive positions off Sao Paulo flanks. Juno, get your ass back here on the double and assume point.
The carrier, having been lucky enough to arrive at a location absent of any mines, had little choice at the moment but to hold its position. Given its size and relative lack of maneuverability, it faced certain damage and probable crippling if it attempted to navigate the asteroid field. Requesting protection was understandable.
Nonetheless, Malcolm bristled at the order. It left their fighters with effectively no support and created a giant stationary target for the enemy.
“Billoughy, reverse course and adopt a position 0.8 kilometers N 5.00° E of the Sao Paulo.”
“Sir?”
“You heard me. Those are our orders.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Tactical, continue deploying drones to replace those destroyed.” By this point the drones were doing a decent job of clearing a path forward in about a 60° arc. Maybe the fighters would be able to use it to their advantage…he looked back at the screens. Shit, they only had four still flying to the Senecans’ nine?
This was a bloodbath.
Even without the mines the battlefield favored the opponents’ superior maneuverability—undoubtedly one reason it had been chosen. The Senecans clearly had identified their ostensibly ‘random’ routes and knew they would eventually traverse the asteroid field.
He sent a private pulse to Tarone.
Admiral, we’ve lost two-thirds of our fighters and a third of our frigates. Perhaps we should consider retreating.
Run from a few tiny fighters? Ridiculous.
…Yes, sir.
With the dwindling number of Alliance fighters to offer resistance, several of the enemy vessels began advancing on their position.
“Weapons, be ready to lock on to the first ship to come in range.”
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