"Yeah, what he said," Mettler chimed in.
"So, what the hell are we doing here, LT?" MG asked.
"I've been made aware of a ship we can…borrow," Jacob said evasively. "The person who owns this ship isn't currently using it, but they're also not going to be very happy we took it. Either way…it's here, we need it, so let's just get it and get moving."
"That's hardly an answer," Sully complained.
"It'll be easier if I just show you. Or…we can try to pull this mission off using that." Jacob waved to the hissing and smoking Eshquarian shuttle that had burned up something on the bumpy de-orbit. It had landed hard enough to stress the starboard landing strut, and from inside the ship, they could still hear a half-dozen different alarms squealing.
"I would rather immigrate to this planet and live here the rest of my life than ever fly in that thing again," Sully declared.
"We are wasting time," 707 said.
"Let's get Hollick's ship stowed in the hangar I've arranged for, and then we'll be on our way," Jacob said.
"The ship isn't here?" Murph asked.
"It's at a private facility," Jacob said. "And before you ask why we didn't just land there, I'm not certain there aren't some active anti-aircraft measures in place."
"What planet is this again?" MG asked.
"It's called S'Tora," Murph said. "The same place they make that coffee you like."
"Cool."
"Still not talking, huh? That's okay. The NIS will probably get a hold of you first and, under the new Imminent Threat and Security Act, they'll be allowed to put the screws to you before the JAG manages to send your appointed defense team down."
The Kentucky flew to Olympus, not Terranovus as previously planned. Once Webb had reported to his superiors how his aide had been the one responsible for allowing Scout Fleet to be decimated, Command decided it would be best to avoid Taurus Station for the time being. Webb had been down twice to talk to his formerly-trusted righthand man, but Bennet was simply staring at the wall, refusing to acknowledge anybody.
"Suit yourself." Webb stood up and turned to leave.
"You can't beat her."
"Excuse me?" Webb turned. The voice had been so soft he almost hadn't heard it.
"You can't beat her," Bennet repeated. "It's not just the military she's infiltrated. It's our politics, industry, she even has supporters within the Cridal power structure."
"How is that even possible?" Webb asked. "She's been exiled for almost a decade!"
"She had been working on this long before she was stopped by the Cridal the first time," Bennet said. "Much of her network is still in place, and people are still willing to listen to her when she starts promising things. The Cridal don't like the fact that humanity appears to be fractured, and there is a growing movement within the Cooperative that wouldn't mind seeing Jansen take over and put an end to the pointless, wasteful bickering. She's made promises to them…something about a new type of superluminal drive and an engineering resource she calls the Ark. They're very interested in it, and she's made it clear that if she was in charge on Earth, the shipments of weapons would increase unabated."
Webb knew of the Ark, but he wasn't sure exactly what it really even was. He did know the drive technology she promised was from the wreckage of a starship Omega Force had shot down over Washington DC many years ago. Nobody admitted to even knowing where all of that had been shuffled off to. There were rumors about what the Americans had done with it, but nothing he'd ever seen proof of.
"Is that why you joined her? Because you think she'll be in charge eventually no matter what?" Webb asked, hoping to keep Bennet talking.
"It seems inevitable." Bennet shrugged. "They came to me after certain accounting indiscretions of mine involving NAVSOC funds and some questionable purchases. In order to keep them from reporting me to OSI or the IG, they asked instead that I do a couple small things for them, like letting them know when you'd left the base. It snowballed from there and, before I knew it, I was in too deep to ever get back out."
So, Bennet had siphoned some funds away from the slush funds NAVSOC used to keep its operations secret and bought himself a few things, but the wrong people found out. Having a file opened on you by the Office of Special Investigations or the Inspector General was a career death sentence, so it wasn't insignificant leverage they'd had over the young officer.
"People died because of you. A lot of people who were friends and colleagues," Webb said. "Why didn't you stop that?"
"It all just seemed so pointless." Bennet leaned against the bulkhead. "They try and kill us, so we go and kill them back. They try and steal assets from us, we go and—"
"You're talking about the actions of two nation states," Webb interrupted, tiring of the flimsy justification Bennet tried to push off on him. "Jansen doesn't even have the full support of the Ull. She is a usurper, a murderer, and a traitor to not only her country, but her planet and species."
"What's the difference?" Bennet shrugged.
"You can pretend to be nihilistic about what you've done, but deep down, you know you got a lot of people killed who trusted you. Many of them have—had—families back on Terranovus I will now have to personally visit and tell their children, wives, and husbands that their Marines and Spacers aren't coming home. You did that. You did it because you're weak and a coward of such monumental proportions you'd allow an atrocity like that to happen rather than face the consequences of your own actions. What'd you buy?"
"Excuse me?"
"What'd you buy? With the money you stole from the ops accounts."
"I got a new car for my girlfriend back on Earth," Bennet said. "A few other small things on top of that."
"I hope she appreciated it, at least." Webb sneered. At this, Bennet just let out a sad, defeated laugh.
"She wrote me a letter after I bought it for her…said things weren't working out between us."
"You sold your soul for a car to try and keep a girl on another planet who was probably already done with you the minute your shuttle took off to bring you here," Webb said. "If you had just owned up to that when it happened, you'd have maybe lost some rank and got a slap on the wrist, but that first domino led to this…a pile of orphans, widows, and widowers."
"I think I'm done speaking now." Bennet's face went stony, and he rolled over on the rack, facing away from the bars.
"I'd have almost preferred that you were a zealot and a true believer," Webb said. "That I can at least understand and, on some level, respect. Your reasons? They just sicken me."
Webb left the brig, needing to be away from the traitor before he vomited onto the deck. All the carnage Bennet had caused because he was too scared to own up to doing something stupid. How many others were like him? He imagined that same line of reasoning, that self-preservation at all costs mentality, but applied to powerful politicians and titans of industry. It was no wonder they couldn't seem to dig out all the sympathizers…they were going about it all wrong. These weren't misguided revolutionaries. They were hopeless cowards who would sell out their planet to save their own sorry asses.
29
The ride from the small spaceport—almost small enough to just be considered an airfield, even though it technically launched ships to orbit—was quiet and tense. When they'd reached a security gate after traveling down a coastal road for a few hours, 707 reached out of the vehicle and punched in a sixteen-digit security code so quickly Jacob couldn't make out any of the numbers. The gate rolled aside, but the vehicle refused to move from there.
"We will need to walk the rest of the way," 784 said. "This is a declared exclusion zone for public transportation."
"Interesting," Murph said, sliding out of the vehicle.
They closed the gate, collected their meager belongings, and marched up the road towards an outcropping that jutted into the sky. Once they'd crested the shallow rise, they could see enormous doors set into the side of the mountain and a decent-sized landing pad in front of that. There
were a few haphazardly placed utility buildings around the area, and enough debris had been blown onto the pad to make it seem like it hadn't been used in a while. When they reached the doors, 707 again entered an even longer security code string that unlocked a small, man-sized door inset into one of the larger ones.
"This is intense," MG said. "I feel like it's either going to be a surprise party in there, or maybe we're being tricked and they'll knock us out and steal our organs." Murph just rolled his eyes and walked through the door first.
Once they were inside, the interior lights came up automatically, and they got their first glimpse of the ship Jacob intended to borrow. It was a menacing, black, sleek ship that dominated the center of the hangar. There was evidence it had recently been worked on, but she looked to be in perfect shape. Sully let out a low whistle and walked around, looking her over.
"Is this an actual gunship?" he asked. "Looks like a Jepsen, but she looks like she's been heavily modified. The main engines are wrong, and the wings look like they were replaced at some point."
"Uh, LT…is that a damn Camaro sitting over there?" MG asked, pointing to where a bright red 1968 Camaro convertible sat.
"Who the hell owns this ship, Brown?" Murph asked. "No bullshit." Jacob took a deep breath and let it out while they all gathered around him.
"This ship belongs to my…father," he said, the last word a struggle to get out. "This is a Jepsen Aero DL7 heavy gunship. It is, in fact, the same one you probably remember from the old news videos when Earth was attacked those first two times. She's called the Phoenix."
"It's that ship?" Mettler asked. "You're going to steal this ship from— Wait, who the hell is your father?"
"His dad's name is Jason Burke," Murph provided, his face showing that all the pieces had fallen into place in his mind. "He's a mercenary of sorts, who was abducted from Earth years ago. My question is, if the Phoenix is here, where the hell is Omega Force? I'm not stealing this ship just to have Crusher rip my arms from their sockets."
"Omega Force is currently using another ship," 707 provided. "The Phoenix was badly damaged in the battle over Miressa. When I suggested this ship, it was my hope the local crew here had had enough time to repair her. It seems I was correct."
"I've heard of them," MG said. "I don't think they're going to be too happy we stole their ship. How tight are you and your pops?"
"Let's just say it would be best if we get her out of here and off-planet before he finds out what I'm doing," Jacob said, turning to 707. "So, how do we get in? The ramp is raised and locked."
"If my suspicions are correct, your biometric reading should access the ship," 707 said. "It was a measure put in by your father after the first time you met him."
"Why?"
"My assumption is he intended to leave the ship to you should something happen to him."
"How do you know all this?" Murph asked.
"I was a passenger on this ship from Khepri to Terranovus," 784 answered. "While we were grateful for the help, we didn't entirely trust Burke at that time. I accessed the ship's main computer and browsed whatever information on him I could find. It was how we discovered your existence, Jacob Brown."
They continued to talk back and forth about how the battlesynths had so much access to the intelligence they did, but Jacob ignored them and approached the ship. There was a small security panel on the portside main landing gear strut, which had a blinking light to let him know it was active. He placed his palm flat on it and let it read his DNA and a dozen other metrics to determine if he was who he claimed to be and if he was under duress. Now that he'd been reminded, he remembered his dad doing the initial bio scan while he gave the tour of his ship. As a fourteen-year-old kid, he had been so overwhelmed with meeting his father for the first time in his life and talking to actual aliens that the ship herself had seemed rather mundane.
"Hello, Jacob."
"Huh, the ship remembers me, I guess," Jacob muttered.
"Oh, I'm not actually the ship, but I do have control of many of the major systems," the voice said.
"Okay, so who are you?"
"My name is Cas. Before I allow the ship to drop the ramp and let you and your crew aboard, may I ask if you have your father's permission to be taking this vessel?"
"Not exactly," Jacob decided lying would be too complicated. He didn't even know what the hell he was talking to. "But I figure since he wasn't using it at the moment, and I sort of need it, he'd be okay with it."
"I'm sure," Cas said, sounding like it thought the whole idea was hysterical. "But hey…I don't like to butt into family business. If he was dumb enough to add you to the access list, then he deserves to come back home and find his ship missing. Welcome aboard!"
There was a loud clanking from the aft of the ship, and the rear ramp swung down, hitting the hangar floor with a thud.
"It worked? Cool," MG said.
"Let's go on up and see what her status is," Jacob said. "Not sure how we are on fuel and consumables. Also, there seems to be some sort of AI active right now that isn't like any I've ever talked to."
"That would be a new addition," 707 said, looking at his partner.
"It says its name is Cas," Jacob said. "Ring any bells?"
"It does not," 784 said.
"Okay then," Jacob said. "After that ultra-helpful answer, I guess we should go ahead and get started."
"Hangar doors are fully open," Jacob said from the copilot seat. It had taken nearly six hours to prep the ship for launch. Cas had helped the entire time familiarizing them with the ship's workings, otherwise it would have been days. Sully had done a double take when he saw the pilot station and the very familiar stick-and-rudder flight control configuration. "You're sure you can fly her?"
"This will actually be easier than just hopping into a ship with an Eshquarian or Aracorian-type helm," the pilot said. "This is all familiar. The fact the regular pilot on this ship is human makes everything a lot more intuitive."
"Ramp is up and locked, pressure hatches are all sealed, and everything is green across the board," Jacob said.
"Rolling back now," Sully said, nudging the taxi joystick aft a bit. There was a groan as the heavy gunship rolled out of the hangar and into the sunlight. "My engine panel is green, so I guess 784 has everything sorted in engineering. You know how to close the hangar back up?"
"Cas?" Jacob asked.
"I can take care of that," the AI said. Sure enough, the hangar doors rolled closed a moment later.
"We have departure clearance from the local controller all the way to orbit," 707 said from one of the sensor stations along the port side of the bridge.
"Engines up, standby," Sully said and fed power to the grav-drive. The Phoenix throbbed and rose slowly from the pad. "Gear up."
"Gear coming up," Jacob said, toggling the control. "Up and locked."
"Here we go." The nose swung out over open water before Sully pushed the throttle forward a bit, and the gunship leapt away from the small peninsula. His eyes widened in shock for a moment, and he experimented some more, nudging the throttle up a bit further. This time, there was a deep rumble, and the ship accelerated rapidly across the water. Sully brought the nose up a bit and smiled tightly to himself, pushing the throttle up to about seventy percent. The Phoenix responded immediately, hurtling them across the sea as if shot from a cannon. Even with the artificial gravity up, the pull from the engines pressed them into their seats before the pilot pulled the power back and angled the nose up to catch their orbital vector.
"This thing is insanely overpowered!" he smiled. "Even the Corsair wouldn't be able to keep up with her down in an atmosphere."
The Phoenix clawed her way up out of S'Tora's atmosphere and the first wisps of doubt threaded through Jacob's brain. What they were doing was, on its face, insane. He'd just swiped his dad's beloved ship, which was bad enough, but now they were heading back towards the Orion Arm to try and capture a woman who had so far eluded everyone the UEAS had sent after
her. Having the two battlesynths with him was some comfort, at least. Not only were they seasoned warriors and savvy operatives, they also seemed to have at least a passing familiarity with the Phoenix.
"Navigation?" Sully asked.
"First waypoint is entered and locked," Jacob said. The copilot station was configured for a small Veran named Kage, an alien with four arms and a diminutive stature, and Jacob felt like a clumsy oaf trying to manipulate the controls. "Slip-drive is available, mesh-out point on your display."
"Got it."
The gunship tore across the S'Tora System, a sparsely populated star system near the boundary of what was called the Delphine Expanse. His dad had really picked an out of the way place to call home. The thought of Jason deliberately isolating himself out here, as far away as he could reasonably get from him, sent a pang of sympathy through Jacob. The complicated feelings he had towards his father were something he didn't like to dwell too heavily on, but that was going to be damn near impossible as long as he was aboard this ship. He was even staying in his dad's quarters and wearing his clothes. This mission promised to be quite the head trip in more ways than one.
Five and a half hours after lifting off from the planet, the Phoenix meshed-out of system. Her new crew had no idea how they were going to accomplish their mission, no idea of the true capabilities of the ship, and no idea whether they would be welcomed back home as heroes or criminals afterwards. But there was a job that needed doing. It was a shit job, so that naturally meant it would fall to a Marine to get it done.
Epilogue
"You actually managed to get him back without him suiciding?"
"Barely. 701 got to him before he could tie his pants to the edge of the rack and attempt to hang himself. You going to be able to handle this?"
"Oh, yes. We have complete legal authority to do the interrogation before he's formally charged," NIS Director Michael Welford said.
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