by S. E. Smith
Roan knew his greeting was short and stiff. At the moment, he really didn’t give a damn. He resented being beckoned to Jeslean like an errant cadet. The fact that two of the most influential men in his life were both there didn’t make the situation any better.
Standing at attention just inside the door, he kept his gaze focused on the black coated figure by the window. His mind was not on the man, though. No, his mind was replaying the destruction he had witnessed upon his arrival.
Silence reigned for several long minutes before Andri released a sigh and turned to look at him. Roan kept his attention focused on the expressionless face, trying to gauge the situation. Andri walked over to a bar and poured a drink. Suspicion and dread began to build inside Roan. He knew for a fact that the Director did not drink. His hand automatically reached for the glass when it was held out to him.
“Sit down,” Andri ordered, turning and walking back to the window.
Roan walked over to the second plush chair. He placed the small glass of liquor on the table next to him, along with his hat, before he sat down. His gaze brushed over the older man sitting across from him in silence.
“What happened?” The man asked.
Roan turned to look at him. “There was a traitor on board my ship, a maintenance programmer. He must have helped the rebels gain access and shut down critical systems. I have a team working on correcting the issue and developing security to make sure it does not happen again,” he replied in an emotionless voice.
“Who is the traitor?” The man asked in a deceptively calm tone.
“Bantu de Gaul,” Roan stated.
“See that his family is punished – publicly,” the Director ordered, not turning around.
Roan stiffened before he relaxed. “It has already been done,” he replied.
He didn’t mention that he had discovered that Bantu’s parents had been living in one of the devastated cities. It was unlikely that they had survived. The current number of fatalities was over two hundred thousand and rising.
The Director turned and gazed at Roan with an intense stare for several seconds before he walked over to the table next to Roan and picked up the glass of liquor. He continued back to the bar and poured the liquid down the sink. Roan listened as the water from the sink briefly came on before it shut back off. A moment later, Andri walked by him again.
“What of the rebels? Did you learn anything from the prisoner before he escaped?” Andri asked nonchalantly when he resumed his position by the tinted window.
Roan forced himself to relax and leaned back in his chair. “His name is Packu de Rola. He is Jemar de Rola’s oldest son. He refused to say anything other than his name. I was in the process of using alternative methods to secure information when he escaped. As for the other rebels….” Roan’s voice faded as he remembered the strange male and his cocky salute.
“You were saying,” the man across from him demanded.
Roan’s gaze refocused on the Director’s face. “There was a strange male. He was… Different,” Roan finally said.
“What do you mean by different?” The Director demanded in a harsh tone, turning and stepping closer to Roan. “What made him different?”
“It was more than his features. It was the way he carried himself. He was confident, cocky. He also carried the Staff belonging to a Knight of the Gallant Order,” Roan said in a quiet voice.
“That is impossible! There is only one Knight of the Order left,” the man across from him exclaimed. “A Staff will not work unless it is passed from one Knight to the next, even the two that we managed to retrieve would not work. When we tried to re-engineer one of them, the Staff exploded, killing everyone in the lab.”
Roan’s jaw tightened. “I know what I saw,” he stated in an icy tone.
“It will not matter,” the Director replied with a wave of his hand. “Legion Battle Cruisers will be arriving on Tesla Terra any time now. I’ve ordered the destruction of every city on the planet to set an example of what happens to anyone who dares to stand against the Legion. One old Knight and this stranger will not stand in the way.”
Roan rose from his chair. His hands curled at his side before he forced them to relax. Even so, he could feel the muscle in his jaw twitching with anger.
“Director, the destruction of every man, woman, and child on Tesla Terra could have negative effects to the Legion and to your rule,” Roan cautioned in a stiff voice. “Already, the leveling of the cities here on Jeslean will have long term effects. Surely that is enough to show the strength of the Legion.”
Roan could tell his words were falling on deaf ears. He stiffened when the man across from him rose and stared at him. Glancing down, he bowed his head.
“I only speak to give a different perspective, my Lord,” Roan said, looking down at the gleaming tiled floor.
“You are not growing weak, are you, General?” The Director asked in a deceptively calm voice.
Roan straightened and looked back with cold, hard eyes. “No, my Lord. My only thought was for the future of the Legion,” he stated.
“Your concern is noted. A new report has come in that another signal has been located. I want you to retrieve the capsule and the contents. It is imperative that you do not fail this time,” the Director ordered with a wave of his hand in dismissal.
“Yes, my Lord,” Roan murmured, picking up his hat and bowing again before walking toward the door.
“Roan,” the Director called in a hard voice.
Roan turned at the door and waited. “Yes, my Lord,” he said.
“Do not disappoint me again,” the Director warned in a soft tone. “I will not be so forgiving the next time.”
“Yes, my Lord,” Roan replied, bowing one last time before he opened the door and walked out.
He paused outside the door. For a moment before the door closed, he could hear the conversation between the two men. He pressed his hand against the door so that it didn’t quite close all the way.
“I thought you were going to kill him. Do you question his loyalty?” The older man in the room asked.
“I planned to at first. Do you believe he will turn against the Legion?” Andri asked, studying the other man.
“No, he will not betray you. I have trained him to follow in our footsteps since his birth. If he does betray you, I will kill him myself,” the man stated.
“Like father, like son,” Andri chuckled.
“And like his uncle,” Coleridge Landais stated.
“Yes. He is. It is a good thing he was not thirsty,” Andri replied with a slightly amused tone.
Roan released the door and silently stepped away. Striding down the corridor, he ignored those that he passed. He knew what they were thinking and didn’t care. Lifting the communicator that he had removed when he entered the room, he spoke in a sharp tone.
“Prepare to leave the planet,” he ordered.
*.*.*
“Are you ready?” Josh asked Pack.
Pack gave him a crooked grin. “Yes,” he said, glancing over his shoulder at Bantu. “What about you?”
Josh saw Bantu swallow and nod. The other man looked pale and his hands shook, but he hadn’t bailed out on them… Yet. He still had his doubts. The problem was if Bantu couldn’t do this, there was only one other person who could, and Cassa was already assigned to the other dangerous mission.
“Bantu, are you sure you can do this?” Cassa asked in a quiet voice. “If not, perhaps I can….”
“No,” Bantu and Josh both snapped out at the same time.
“No,” Bantu said stubbornly. “I’ve got this. I know the ships and the way around better than anyone else. I just need Pack to get me there. I can do it after that.”
“Each Battle Cruiser has a protective shield. Pack, you and Bantu will take out the first ship while Cassa and I take out the second,” Josh said. “Remember, the plan.”
“Yeah, get lost in the confusion and try not to get blown up before we reach our target,” Pack re
plied dryly. “That sounds easy enough.”
Josh hated to admit it, but he agreed with Pack. It was a crazy idea. What was even crazier was that he was putting Cassa in the middle of it. Unfortunately, there were only the two of them with the expertise to bring those shields down and, in order to do it, they had to get on the Battle Cruisers to tap into the computer systems.
“We’ll come up from under and behind them,” Josh said, pointing to the diagram he had drawn of the ships, the moon, and the planet. “Hutu and the other rebel forces will draw attention away from us.”
“They are going to be hard pressed to protect this base and the planet,” Cassa murmured.
“We’ve requested re-enforcements,” Hutu interjected coming up behind them. “It will be close. They will not arrive before the battle begins, but if all goes well, they will be here before it ends.”
“What about the bases on the planet?” Josh asked.
“They are prepared and waiting. The fighters have been positioned in the far desert and will come in on three different sides of the attacking Legion forces. Ground troops will also engage any air or ground units that attack,” Hutu said.
They all looked up when the lights dimmed and the red lights warning of the Legion’s approach began to flash. They were out of time. This could be either the beginning or the end of the rebellion.
“Are you ready?” Josh asked, turning to Cassa who was dressed in a dark green uniform.
Cassa gave him a reassuring smile and touched his cheek. “Yes,” she said, realizing that she was ready. “My father knew that this day would come. He prepared me for it, even when I hoped he was wrong.”
Josh reached up and laid his hand over hers, pressing it against his cheek. Once again, he was reminded of what an amazing woman she was. It was hard to remember what his life was like before he met her.
“I love you,” he murmured.
Cassa’s gaze softened and she reached up to brush a kiss against his lips. “I love you, as well, Joshua Manson,” she said.
The sound of clearing throats drew their attention. Pack and Bantu were both looking at them with pained expressions. Josh’s lips twitched when Pack turned to look at the other man.
“If you are expecting me to get all soft on you, kiss you, and tell you I love you, you are going to be waiting a long, long time,” Pack remarked sardonically to Bantu. “Like forever.”
“Thank you for that,” Bantu retorted with a roll of his eyes. “Let’s go. Suddenly, this isn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”
“They’re just jealous,” Cassa chuckled, winking at Josh before she turned and headed to the shuttles they would be using instead of fighters. “Let’s show them how this should be done.”
*.*.*
“Phantom One, locked in position,” Josh stated in his comlink.
“Phantom Two, locked in position,” Pack added a moment later. “Storm is increasing.”
“Affirmative, Phantom Two. Legion fleet is almost in range, hold position until signaled,” base ordered on the communication channels set up to prevent the Legion from intercepting their messages.
Josh glanced out the cockpit of the shuttle before looking down at the display. The small Service Bot that Bantu had programmed for them was updating information every few minutes. Wind speeds had increased and blinding sheets of sleet cut a diagonal path along the surface of the moon.
“If the storm increases, will it affect the fighters?” Cassa asked in a worried voice.
“It could,” Josh responded. “It will also help to conceal the base from the Legion fighters, though. Cassa released a shaky sigh. “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” she finally answered, staring out at the storm. “If you were to ask me before if I ever thought I would find myself in the middle of a battle with the Legion, I would have laughed at you. I never really realized how sheltered I was in the valley.”
Josh chuckled. “If you were to ask me if I ever thought I would end up in the middle of an alien battle between two factions, I would have escorted you to the nearest hospital for evaluation,” he mused. “I have to admit, I have no regrets. I just hope that after this is over, I can find the rest of my crew. It would be nice to know that they survived.”
“Phantom One, prepare for departure,” base suddenly instructed.
“Phantom One, copy that,” Josh responded.
The familiar adrenaline rush that Josh felt before a mission began to course through him. He checked the readings on the display and sent instructions to the Service Bot to de-ice the thrusters. Wrapping his hands around the controls, he slowly pulled back and increased power to the engines. The shuttle rose like a ghostly figure through the icy spears of sleet.
“Phantom Two, lifting off,” Pack stated in a calm voice. “Long live the Gallant Order.”
Chapter 26
Josh broke through the thin atmosphere of the moon and angled the shuttle toward the Battle Cruisers. Already he could see the streams of Legion fighters pouring out of the two massive spaceships. Six smaller support ships, a third of the size of the Battle Cruisers, were aligned before the two ships.
He and Pack kept a low profile, hidden by the moon. Cassa’s swiftly drawn breath echoed in the cockpit. Josh could appreciate her concern. While he already knew how large the Battle Cruisers were, seeing them for the first time with the fleet and with hundreds of fighters pouring out of them was a sight he would never forget.
“Josh,” Cassa whispered when she saw two bursts of light from the bottom turret cannons.
They watched in horrid fascination as twin bolts of energy hit the planet below. Josh could hear Pack’s soft curse in his ear. The fight had begun.
“This is going to get nasty, Cassa,” Josh warned.
Hundreds of fighters suddenly swept past them. Hidden by the dark side of the moon, the Gallant rebel forces surged toward the Legion fighters. Below them, lights flashed around the planet. Josh and Pack turned away from the mass and focused on their target. They needed to disable the shields on the Battle Cruisers. Until then, the rebellion would be limited in the damage they could do while the Legion continued firing on the planet from above.
“Phantom Two, you have a Legion fighter coming up on your tail,” Josh warned, coming into position to cover Pack and Bantu when one of the Legion fighters broke off and headed for them. “He’s on your left. Stay in position, I’m coming in to cover you.”
“Affirmative, Phantom One,” Pack replied.
Josh watched as Pack weaved back and forth to keep from being locked on. Pressing the shuttle forward, Josh came up behind the Legion fighter. The moment he was in range, Cassa opened fire. They watched as the fighter spun out of control, barely missing one of the smaller escort ships.
“Josh, to the right,” Cassa warned, swiveling her seat and taking aim.
“Good shot!” Josh exclaimed when Cassa cut the other fighter down in a brilliant explosion.
“Phantom One, take position, watch out for the turret guns underneath,” base warned. “Phantom Two, GKL Team is drawing fire away, proceed to contact.”
“Phantom Two, affirmative,” Pack replied, tilting and moving toward the first Battle Cruiser. “Josh, protect my sister.”
“I will, Pack,” Josh promised. “We’ll see you when this is over.”
Josh turned his focus onto the second Battle Cruiser. The plan was for them to connect and enter through a remote access chute that was protected from the mounted guns. Several years before, Bantu had stumbled across one of the original engineers of the Battle Cruisers in a bar. The two had struck up a conversation that had proven to be very informative. Bantu explained that it was a serious design flaw that had been covered up by the original designers. The problem was that the only way to access and connect with it was by using a service shuttle.
“It was just one of those strange bits of information that you never forget. I remember checking out the chute to make sure the old man was telling me the truth. You can imagine my
surprise when I found out that he was!” Bantu had shared when they were planning the attack. “The thing is, it was made for a service shuttle. They are the only type of spacecraft designed to fit into the space and connect. That was another reason the engineers didn’t say anything. They figured that during a battle, no one would be using a service shuttle.”
“Do we have access to any of these shuttles?” Josh remembered asking.
“Yes,” Pack had answered. “We use them to transport items from the planet to the moon.”
“We’ll need to modify them with some weapons,” Hutu suggested. “It shouldn’t take long.”
It hadn’t. Within hours, the modifications to two of the shuttles had been completed. Now, the only thing Josh wished they could have done was add more horsepower to them. Trying to do combat between the shuttles and a Legion fighter was like locating a flea on a Mammoth’s ass.
“Phantom One, you have a clear path,” the Base communications officer announced.
“Roger, Base,” Josh replied.
“Josh, there is a channel wide enough for the shuttle. If you stay in it, we should be able to remain undetected and out of sight from the fighters,” Cassa said, swiveling around in her seat to get a better view.
“I see it,” Josh responded. “Keep an eye out for any stragglers, Cassa. We’ll be sitting ducks if they catch us.”
“One of the things you will have to do when this is over is to teach me some of your phrases,” Cassa replied with a humorous chuckle. “I do not know what a sitting duck is, but I believe I know what you mean. I will keep an eye out for any more Legion fighters.”
“There are a few that I’ll have to make sure I share,” Josh replied.
“I look forward to learning them,” Cassa whispered, staring up at the underbelly of the Battle Cruiser. “It is so huge.”
“Second new phrase to remember, Cassa. The bigger they are, the harder they fall,” Josh said in a reassuring tone. “I see the chute Bantu was talking about.”
Josh focused on bringing the shuttle into alignment. The section was very narrow and would leave little room for error. Seeing it up close, he could understand why the original engineers decided it wouldn’t be a factor since only the boxy service shuttles could fit in the tight, rectangular section. Josh was thankful for the training he had received back in Houston as he fired the thrusters. A part of him wished that Ash was here. His friend was a pro at doing this. As it was, Josh knew that it would take all of his skills to maneuver them safely to the connecting hatch.