The irate physician rolled his eyes. “A cat . . . I remind you of a cat. What happened to this cat?”
“Disappeared one day, never came back.”
The doctor dropped his medscanner. “Hmmph,” he said. “I can’t imagine why…”
Chapter 33 – Wounds
“You can’t take on the ORA yourself” – Avery Alvarez
Phoenix
Aaron walked Vee down to the hangar deck. Auxiliary craft from Endeavor made several round trips to deliver tungsten rounds for the railguns and some havoc missiles while both ships’ fabricators worked double time to produce more.
The last craft was unloading and would take Vee back to Endeavor.
Endeavor’s crew had suffered psychologically more than anything else. Their ORA captors had supplied them with enough water and sustenance to keep them alive, and nothing more.
During the three days warping back to the wormhole, they stopped periodically to conduct logistics and transfer Endeavor’s crew aboard Phoenix, where they rested the entire time under Max’s care. He’d let Max do his thing and care for them. Garrett spent most of his time assisting Endeavor’s engineers. Some of Endeavor’s crew were cleared for duty and returned to operate their starship before they reached the wormhole.
So far, he’d only discussed the contents of his mother’s letter with Vee.
“So is it safe,” Aaron asked, “to assume Ben James and this other character are so-called Immortals? It fits for James since he seems to be everywhere. Seems he’s taken his immortal status a little too far. He’s just throwing around copies of himself everywhere. What about this other one? You said you recognized his voice from the ORA ship which attacked beyond the wormhole on our side.”
Vee visibly shivered at the mention of the unknown man. “It sounded like him. He might just be another one like James, another clone. Except this one was . . . well he was evil. You could see it in his eyes. The contempt. The hatred. I mean . . . even the Baridian Empire wanted to subjugate us, not annihilate us. These ORA, or these Immortals you mentioned have their minds set on exterminating Earth’s descendants.”
Aaron looked over the sealed containers carrying the railgun munitions. “They aren’t annihilating anyone or anything.”
Vee regarded him a long moment. As though a memory triggered him.
“You didn’t see him, Aaron. I’d take a thousand Ben James over the man any day. Ben more wants to convert people to his beliefs. The other one just wants us gone. Two competing ideologies within—if that helps.”
“It might be something we can exploit later. From what you’ve mentioned of his interest in Phoenix and our dark matter technology, they weren’t prepared for such resistance. Shepherd did good keeping it off the books until the Battle of Atlas Prime. Ben James and none of his copies got wind of it before then.”
Avery nodded. “But how do we defeat an ideology, especially if it’s held by an entire people and not just a dissident minority?”
“You create a different one for them to believe in,” Aaron said.
Vee gave him a disbelieving look. “That really doesn’t make any sense.”
Aaron clapped him on the shoulder. “Maybe, but it felt like the right thing to say.”
“I see that gleam in your eye,” Vee said. “You’re planning something.”
“Me? I’m taking a leaf out of the marines’ book. Not planning—improvising.”
“It’s probably dangerous, unsanctioned and borders on reckless.”
Aaron counted his fingers as Vee ranted.
“You missed one,” he said.
“Really . . . which one?”
“Typical. You missed typical.”
“I’m serious, Aaron. You can’t take on the ORA yourself.”
“I won’t be by myself. I’ve got the ship, and the crew.”
Vee sighed. “Don’t give me that good ship and crew speech.”
Whatever they’d done to him, Vee was truly afraid. He wouldn’t talk about it. When Aaron asked Lee for details on how he’d found Endeavor’s crew, the Lieutenant clammed up. Aaron didn’t press the rest of Endeavor’s crew on it either. Max said they were just withdrawn. Give them time.
He could understand needing time. If anyone could . . . it was him.
“Let’s just focus on getting back where we belong. We’ll discuss the fate of the ORA later. If it’s truly full blown Immortals guiding them, we’ll just have to nuke them all.”
Vee regarded him as though he was joking. He certainly wasn’t. If the ORA intended to wage a war of extermination—he’d just have to ensure the ORA lost.
It was just Aaron’s kind of luck for a person like Ben James to unlock the secrets to immortality. The universe mocked him.
It had immortalized an asshole.
Chapter 34 – And Onward To Great Glory
“Couldn’t have said it better myself, Ensign” – Aaron Rayne
Main Bridge
Phoenix
Aaron stood at the command chair. Everything was as it should be. Vee was aboard Endeavor with his crew, Lee’s head down at tactical, Flaps at the helm, and the marines stood at the back of the bridge. Herman took ops and Max had to be content with the secondary tactical seat since Ayres was where Max had liked to sit—the XO’s chair.
Only Rachael and Reyes were missing.
“Endeavor signaling, Commander. They’re ready.”
Phoenix and Endeavor cruised a thousand kilometers apart. Two machines of war upon a tide of madness.
The wormhole was surrounded by more ORA ships and multiple overlapping interdiction zones.
No matter.
It wasn’t located inside a star system. They could warp in, destroy the interdiction drones on the perimeter, warp out and continue. The ORA fleet couldn’t effectively blockade the wormhole with the ships they had. They’d have to reposition closer to it.
And the closer towards the event horizon they positioned, the closer Phoenix and Endeavor could get.
Aaron didn’t like the idea of Rachael and Reyes staying on this side. But their role was critical to the survival of the United Star Systems. Phoenix would get field repairs as quickly as humanly possible, and nothing would stop him returning for his crew.
“Prepare the dragon to fight, XO.”
Ayres nodded. “Helm, transition from warp. Lieutenant Lee, deploy railgun and missile batteries. Mr. Zane, be ready with the kinetic barrier. Sparingly please, our gravitic charges are low. All hands, this is the XO, brace for impending combat maneuvers, we’re going in.”
“Just one thing I forgot, Commander,” Flaps said, rising from the helm.
“Ensign?”
Flaps reached down, picked up a small object, and moved quickly to attach it to the bulkhead.
The ship’s plaque. Aaron squinted at the inscription on the bottom. He smiled as he read it. And onward to great glory.
Flaps returned to the helm.
“Helm answering, transition from warp, three-two-one, Phoenix arriving.”
“Railguns and missile batteries deployed,” Lee reported. “Magazines full, we’ve got six reloads, and it looks like we’ve stirred a hornet’s nest.”
On the tactical board, the ORA ships reacted to the sudden appearance of the two United Systems starships. They’d slowed their speed to avoid detection up to several light minutes. The ORA never saw them coming.
“I’ve got a visual hail from the lead ORA ship,” Ayres said.
Aaron nodded to her.
The holo-viewer came alive with none other than Ben James.
“Ah, Commander Rayne, here we are again, on opposite sides. Now that I know who you really are, it’s no doubt stubbornness runs in the family. Reminus and his woman were always idealists.”
What the hell was he on about now? He always seemed to be spewing some nonsense this one.
“I’m going to find every last one of your copies and end them, Ben James.”
“No, Rayne. Even now we are poi
sed to strike at the heart of your beloved United Systems. We can be anywhere—anytime. None of you can stop it.”
Flaps jerked upright in his seat.
“You’re about to get an ass-kicking!”
Silence settled over the bridge, everyone paused to stare at Flaps.
Aaron snickered. “Couldn’t have said it better myself, Ensign. Ben James. I’d warn you to get out the way, but I prefer you to stay and hold still. We’re going to rip you a new one.” He turned to Ayres. “Cut comms.”
She complied.
“Helm,” Aaron ordered. “Full burn for the first target, decelerate to combat speeds as we bare for the first pass.”
The first interdiction drone loomed.
“Target locked,” Lee said.
“Weapons free on the drones, Lieutenant. Only fire on ships which pose an immediate threat to us or Endeavor.”
A small burst of railgun fire destroyed the first drone.
“Transitioning to warp,” Flaps said.
Phoenix and Endeavor separated now. Each had their own designated interdiction drones to target.
“Two ORA ships have accelerated towards our current target,” Zane said.
“Havocs authorized, Lee.”
Phoenix fired a volley of havocs, and the ORA ships backed off.
“Mr. Zane. Send another message. Inform the Supreme Commander, we’re preparing to maneuver through, and we’re going to need help.”
Shepherd’s task force should be standing by. There was no way Shepherd could know the extent of the threat they faced. Phoenix had to make it through. Hopefully, the Supreme Commander had gathered more ships than just a small task force.
They would soon make a dash for the wormhole. Together, Endeavor and Phoenix finished the remaining interdiction drones on the outer perimeter, clearing the way for a burn to the wormhole, forcing the ORA ships to tighten the blockade.
The wormhole effects prevented warp out to a million kilometers, so they couldn’t warp in and go through. They had to peel back the layers of protection.
“I don’t like this, Commander,” Ayres said.
Aaron kept his eyes locked to his tactical read out. “A little more resistance was expected.”
“It’s a large area to be certain,” she said. “And defending it from warp capable ships outside a system is difficult with even sixty ships, but still, it’s almost as if they’ve given up. And that doesn’t sit right.”
“If ‘the man’ taught me anything,” Lee said. “It’s that these people are determined. And I don’t believe for one minute they’d give up this easily, Commander.” Lee said.
“Nor do I, Lieutenant,” Aaron said. “But their determination is born of a bitter hate. Our determination is born of love. That’s why we will always prevail.” He looked at Ayres and caught her stare. She quickly looked away.
“Well if they created this wormhole outside Terran Union territory, what’s stopping them from creating another one?” Max asked.
Everyone looked at the doctor at once.
“You think they’ve somehow stabilized this wormhole themselves?” Flaps asked.
Zane answered. “We know it’s possible. But the amount of exotic matter it would take is extraordinary. And they’d have to have developed technology to contain it. Or it would have no effect. It would be like digging a tunnel without reinforcing the sides—it would cave in.”
“If they can create a wormhole to anywhere . . . that gives them tactical options we simply can’t defend against.” Ayres said.
Aaron smiled inwardly. “Didn’t know you were such a pessimist, XO. We’ll have to purge it from you.”
She raised a single eyebrow but said nothing.
“And how much farther can they create these things?” Dawes asked.
“Hopefully,” Aaron said. “Lieutenant Commander Delaine can answer these questions for us soon. All the more reason we have to find her.”
“If it was an easy process,” Zane said. “I’m sure they would have opened more than one by now.”
Aaron rubbed his forehead. “Still, we can’t discount they might have the ability. Even if it’s time consuming.”
“If,” Ayres said, “an enemy fleet could suddenly appear behind early detection systems, there’d be no distinct focal point to an interstellar war, they could be anywhere any time.”
“How could we defend against that?” Flaps asked.
“A preemptive strike. We find them and we destroy them.”
It was Corporal Ubu.
Aaron smiled. “Indeed. That’s as good a plan as any I’ve ever heard, Corporal.”
“And you know we love to improvise,” Ubu said.
Early warning gravity wave detectors could always spot any approaching fleet from thousands of light years away. With warp drive, you could attempt to “go around” an opposing fleet, but interception fleets backed by early warning interdiction grids meant you’d be intercepted long before your destination. Creating a line in space where fleets would usually meet—a front line.
Even if one ship sneaked around, it wasn’t much one ship could do against planetary defenses or space stations, or a colony’s orbital defense platforms. An orbital gun the size of a ship, would impale any fleet’s largest battleship.
“We can’t stay here forever and wonder about it,” Aaron said. “We have to go through.”
He opened a comm to Endeavor.
Alvarez appeared on the holo-viewer. “Commander?”
“Commander,” Aaron smiled. “Form up on our starboard bow. We still haven’t got PDC coverage there. We’re going to micro-jump as close as possible now we’ve cleared the outer drones. Then max burn for the hole. We’ll use thrusters to nudge us around to dodge incoming fire.”
“We’re with you.”
“Let’s get home then.”
“Commander,” Zane said. “I have an incoming wave. Lieutenant Delaine’s code.”
Delaine? His chest thumped. The message might be a day old, depending on how far Delaine had gone. “Send it to my handheld.”
“Aaron, I don’t have much time. We’ve run into a bit of a situation here. We’re being pursued by several ORA frigates. I think we found what we were looking for. That wormhole is part of something larger. We’ve discovered an invasion fleet. At least a thousand ships in our current sector. They have a massive array. It seems it can open a wormhole to anywhere. We’re going to get as much as we can and—”
The message cut off. She never finished it. It’s likely her pursuers found her and jammed the signal. She was in trouble.
The wormhole loomed. The ORA ships closed in front, cutting off their final approach.
“They haven’t learned,” Lee said. “If they sit still, we’ll obliterate them.”
Zane had bad news. “Massive surge detected direct astern—one million klicks.”
Several small wormholes opened behind Endeavor and Phoenix. More ORA ships poured out.
“Missiles in the black!” Lee shouted.
“Helm, hard to starboard,” Aaron said. “Zane, signal Commander Alvarez to match our maneuvers, he has to protect our starboard.”
Missiles loomed from their new pursuers and the original ships ahead.
PDCs and battle computers on both ships coordinated fire to take out the missiles with unified point defense, but with so many firing from flanking positions, it would be a losing battle.
“Commander, another surge,” Zane reported.
It was a useless effort to think things couldn’t get worse. They always did. Aaron should think things couldn’t get better and maybe they’d get better. “Source?” he asked.
“Localizing . . . it’s the wormhole!”
On the screen the United Star Systems ship Excalibur came through.
Lee called them out. “Battleships Excalibur, Arthur and Imperial Flagship Phalanx leading the formation. Ten escorting Hemiolia-class destroyers. One Valkyrie-class ship, two Endeavor-class, ten Independence-class and two s
quadrons of Arrow-class front-line frigates.” He turned to Aaron. “They brought the pain, Commander.”
“That they did, Lieutenant.”
“Incoming signal from Phalanx,” Zane said.
Aaron grinned.
Lord Commander Quintus Scipio’s voice boomed across the deck. “Commander Aaron Rayne . . . I had to hear from a third party you had awoken. How typical of you. I thought it would be inappropriate for you to die before I got the chance to admonish you for your rudeness, so I’ve personally come to ensure this does not occur.”
“Blame Shepherd, Quintus. It really is his fault. We’ll talk soon.”
“Please do not get hurt in the hellfire I am about to unleash on the ORA. Phalanx, out.”
The combined volley of missiles fired point-blank by the arriving allied fleet decimated the ORA ships blockading the wormhole. The remaining chunks of those ships now floated away as debris.
The front-line frigates broke off and encircled Phoenix and Endeavor linking their point defense fire, intercepting the missiles threatening them.
The ORA ships closer to the melee, decided to change course abruptly, they were fleeing. The ones still inside the interdiction zone created by their own drones didn’t make it.
“Havoc missiles, Lieutenant. Target those retreating ships and fire.”
It was a cardinal rule in space engagements, especially when this close, that you didn’t expose your drive section to the enemy. The moment of panic must have clouded their reasoning and the havoc missiles made it worse for them. Heavy damage crippled most of them as their sub-light drives were smashed.
The remaining ORA ships had scattered like ants.
If Aaron was going to venture deeper into ORA territory to find Rachael, he would need more munitions now. The tungsten wasn’t a problem, but there was one thing they couldn’t produce—havocs.
When the area was cleared of hostiles. Phoenix docked with Arthur and they transferred a full load of missiles, spares and raw materials. Shepherd, didn’t have a clue what Aaron had planned.
An hour later Shepherd’s voice boomed. The fleet was ready to return to the other side.
Beyond The Frontier (United Star Systems Book 2) Page 17