A Shifting Alliance (Galaxy Ascendant Book 3)

by Yakov Merkin

  “We do have analysts combing through what we do have,” added the senior Darvian officer present, “but it’s almost all generic information, the kind of thing anyone in the Alliance could access; basic technological information, species studies, historical texts, and so on.”

  “Oour priorityy must bee to firsst preevent further enemyy iincursions into our sspace,” Senkar said. “Aand thee besst way to do that, as weee have sseeen, is to keeep hitting them haard. Raiid their worlds, iinvade their worlds. But then weee reeturn to the problem of thee enemyy commander.”

  “Agreed,” replied the supreme commander with a nod to Senkar. “Really, the ideal option would be to find a way to assassinate this Sai’var. Beyond the disruption the death of a commander in chief would normally cause, taking him out could well collapse their military entirely.”

  Nayasar nodded, though she noticed that Darkclaw did not seem enthusiastic, even by his standards. He disliked that type of tactic, she knew; he wanted to fight an honorable, moral war. What would he do, though, if pushed to the limit? And did she, or any of those present, want to see that?

  “Should we then not waste any resources on defensive measures, or should we focus on defense as we coordinate an offensive action or covert strike?” the legapratorem asked.

  Nayasar was about to respond when alarms began to blare, the sound reverberating in the bare conference room. The alarm sound was only interrupted, briefly, by an officer calling all hands to battle stations.

  “What is happening?” The supreme commander shouted into his comm as everyone sprung out of their chairs.

  “Sir, enemy ships have appeared in system. Somehow we had no advance warning on sensors,” came the frightened-sounding reply.

  “How many?“

  “Several hundred at least, sir. And sir, two small ships somehow came out of hyperspace right next to the flagship and are approaching it now.”

  “They’re going to board us,” Nayasar said as her hand went to her sidearm.

  “How could they possibly know to attack us here, now?” Darkclaw asked. A worthwhile question.

  “That’s irrelevant,” Vitarren said. He already had his rifle ready for battle. “We need to repel the boarders and then get to our respective ships. Supreme Commander, you should get to the command deck, make sure our fleet has direction. We’ll take care of defending this ship.”

  The supreme commander nodded, then sprinted off, a pair of security guards in tow.

  “Determine where the boarders will most likely be entering the ship, and call all security forces and onboard legionnaires to defend those positions,” the Talvostan commander ordered.

  Nayasar took advantage of the brief moment of quiet to contact her fleet and delegated command, for now, to Admiral Tirga, while Darkclaw, Senkar, and the Talvostan commander appeared to be doing the same with their subordinates.

  “Projections are that one of the boarding craft will be breaching the ship not far from here, near the main hangar bay,” announced the Cytan.

  “Then let’s not waste any time. We might be the first line of defense,” Nayasar said, then unhooked her helmet from her belt, slipped it on, and rushed out of the room.

  Not far down the hallway, it became clear where the entry was coming from. She could hear something boring into the hull and feel the vibrations it was causing.

  “Is there anything we can use for cover, or barricades?” Nayasar asked a stunned-looking ensign.

  “Um,” the ensign looked around.

  “Without time, not really,” said a nearby lieutenant. ‘“However, we might be able to collapse the ceiling here. The inner walls and ceilings here are not all that thick, and we won’t disrupt any crucial systems by damaging this area if we’re careful. It’s not much, but the panels will be better than nothing. And in doing so we could create some alcoves from which we can fire while behind cover.”

  “Fine, then,” Nayasar replied. “Darkclaw, take that side, I’ve got this one.” Nayasar drew her twin long knives, and with a light jump managed to reach and cut into the ship’s ceiling while Darkclaw, much taller, simply reached up and raked at it with his claws.

  Her felinite blades cut through with little resistance, and by the third jump Nayasar was able to cut out a piece and get a hand in to hold herself up as she cut down more sections of ceiling, as well as anything that didn’t look crucial to the ship’s systems.

  Ever conscious of the increasingly loud sounds of the Revittan boarders cutting through, Nayasar and Darkclaw both quickly amassed piles of debris that the others present scattered in front of and around the soon-to-be entry point while someone managed to pull off several full sections of wall to serve as at least some degree of cover.

  Then the cutting sound reached truly piercing levels.

  “Ready weapons!” Darkclaw shouted, and everyone moved into whatever positions they could that provided some cover as well as a line of fire, and waited.

  As the cutting sounds stopped, replaced by other, unusual sounds, Nayasar glanced over her shoulder. No sign of larger security teams yet.

  Then there was a muffled explosion, and the cut-through section of hull and wall flew into the hallway along with a rush of smoke. There was a moment of stillness as the smoke began to dissipate and the fragments of ship settled, unevenly, on the previously scattered debris, and then the battle began.

  A pair of red-and-white-armored Revittans leaped through the breach, handheld energy shields in front of them and firing wildly, as others began to pour in behind them.

  There was no need for any orders to be given; everyone there knew to open fire on the invaders. Unfortunately, the handheld shields seemed to be quite resilient, and most of the hits the Alliance defenders managed to score were glancing ones that did little damage. By the time the defenders managed to take the first Revittan down, a number of them had made it onto the ship, and, overlapping their shields, became even harder to reach.

  Where was backup?

  A member of the ship’s crew went down next to Nayasar, a smoking hole in his chest, as several shots impacted her personal shield. This was not going to work. If she’d been fully equipped for combat, this would have been another story entirely. A single berion grenade could’ve taken out the enemy shields and weapons, allowing her and Darkclaw to take them on with an advantage.

  “Fall back!” She shouted, hoping that Darkclaw and those with him on the other side would hear and do the same. She pulled out a power cell, quickly set it to overload, and tossed it toward the Revittans just before she dove into a roll away from them. A few more shots took her shields down to below fifty percent, but she made it far enough for several crewmen and the legapratorem to pull her around the corner.

  “Where is the nearest bulkhead?” She asked. “We could try and seal them in, buy some more time.”

  “A ways behind us,” came the reply. “But sealing them in would just let them either cut through the doors or go through the wall.”

  “Better than continuous retreat and ineffectual fire from our side,” Nayasar said as she fired around the corner. And now, she couldn’t even see how Darkclaw and the others were doing, nor if more Revittans were emerging into the ship. Nayasar looked up. “Could I get up into the ceiling and move inside it toward the enemy strike team?”

  “Theoretically, but the open space is designed for remote maintenance, not for people. Space will be very tight.”

  Nayasar grinned, even though through her helmet they wouldn’t be able to see it. “Lucky I’m not a large person, then. Keep them busy and static as long as you can.”

  As Nayasar reached up and cut a hole in the ceiling, she heard heavy footfalls approaching from behind. Reinforcements, at last. All the better to keep the enemy busy.

  The Revittans did make a move, however, just before Nayasar pulled herself up, and she saw the Revittan boarding party surge forward, shields up and firing steadily. Even as the ship’s security and Legionnaires began to engage the enemy, several
of the defenders went down. She had to act quickly.

  The ensign who had told her things would be tight had not been lying. It took effort to pull herself through the narrow gap between the ceiling panels and the various things above it. Luckily, she had always made sure to stay in good shape, and thus had a thin profile, even with the additional bulk of her gear.

  The sounds of the fighting were muffled now, but still loud enough for her to be able to tell where she was in relation to the weapons fire. Before long, she was in position.

  Nayasar took a deep breath. This would be very risky, but it had to be done. She tried to avoid dangerous actions like this, but she would have been lying if she ever claimed she didn’t enjoy this type of thing.

  She contorted herself as best she could into position, then sliced through the panel and landed on her feet just behind the attackers, who, intent on pressing forward, apparently did not hear her land or the panel section fall.

  Without wasting a moment, Nayasar let loose with her long knives, and the Revittan armor seemed no more resilient than the various other types they had cut into over the years. Nayasar managed to kill several before the others realized what was happening, then several spun toward her, and one managed to slam into her with his energy shield, nearly knocking Nayasar to the floor. But she recovered quickly, and, sheathing one knife and drawing her pistol, re-engaged, trusting her armor and shields to protect her from both enemy and friendly fire.

  “Alliance!” She shouted, and the defending group immediately rushed forward into the now disorganized Revittan ranks. The defenders cheered and surged forward as Nayasar slipped between the Revittans, striking while making sure to keep one of them between her and the incoming friendly fire.

  “Legapratorem, take charge here,” she shouted as it became clear that this group of Revittans, trapped and disorganized, was all-but routed, and then darted toward Darkclaw’s position.

  They had not fallen back as far, and were still actively exchanging fire with a large group of Revittan soldiers, and losing, though there were a few dead Revittans next to deactivated shields, which meant that Darkclaw’s group might have succeeded in punching through them. Regardless, she did as she had done previously, and attacked the unaware Revittans from behind. They realized what was going on more quickly this time, however, and their front rank remained intact as it continued to press forward, taking out more of the Alliance defenders, who had yet to receive any reinforcements.

  A trio of Revittan soldiers turned to face her, and she realized for the first time how tall they truly were. While certainly far shorter than a Tyrannodon or a Snevan, compared to Nayasar, they were large, more so in their heavy armor. With any luck, they would underestimate her.

  Nayasar turned sideways, slipped between two of their handheld shields, and sliced deep into the neck of one of them, cutting through armor and flesh in the same motion, then sprung onto the back of the second and buried one of her knives in the back of his head.

  It took a bit of effort to get the knife out, however, and just as she succeeded she was knocked onto her back by the third soldier’s shield, and he aimed his short rifle toward her face.

  Reacting instinctively, Nayasar hurled one of her knives, which struck and became embedded in the weapon’s barrel.

  The Revittan dropped the now useless weapon, and pulled a small, handle-shaped object from his belt. A moment later, a red blade about a meter and a half long projected from the handle. A more advanced form of energy sword than those the Tyrannodons used, which required wires to guide and shape the blade. The real question was, what would happen if it hit her own weapons, or armor? She knew from tests that they could resist a Tyrannodon energy sword, but this was clearly something different.

  There was little choice, however, as the soldier brought the blade down just as Nayasar retrieved her second knife from his dropped rifle. She raised the shorter weapon up just in time to intercept the energy blade, and, thank the Omnipresent, it held.

  Nayasar snarled and went on the attack with both her weapons, seeking a way past the Revittan’s guard. But he was a solid fighter, and with the advantages of his shield, a longer weapon, and his own size, Nayasar was quickly put on the defensive.

  The Revittan was stronger too, or else his armor enhanced his strength, and it became progressively harder and harder for Nayasar to parry his blows, to the point where she had to cross both her blades to stop a downward slash of his. As soon as she committed to that, however, the shield hit her again, and pressed her up against the wall. There had to be something she could do!

  He pulled his blade back, still keeping Nayasar trapped up against the wall, and thrust the energy sword toward her exposed side.

  Out of options, Nayasar managed to hit the manual switch that extended a small felinite blade from her boot, and, just managing to free her leg, kicked the Revittan as hard as she could in the back of the knee.

  He grunted and went down to one knee, the slash of his sword slowing, but there was nothing Nayasar could do to prevent it from impacting her shields, which it overloaded in moments. Her enemy’s grip had weakened, however, and Nayasar was just able to squirm out from behind the shield and rolled away as the energy sword grazed her armor.

  The armored soldier swung at her again, but suddenly Nayasar saw four familiar black claws emerge through the Revittan’s armored head, and the soldier collapsed instantly.

  “Are you alright?” Darkclaw asked as he offered Nayasar a hand.

  That was way too close.

  Nayasar accepted the help up, her hand practically vanishing inside Darkclaw’s much larger fingers, and she nodded to him before they both returned to the fight.

  ###

  A short while later, Nayasar rested on a piece of debris as the few surviving Revittan soldiers were secured, and contacted the supreme commander. “What is the status of the battle? Boarders have been dealt with.” In addition to their own group, they had received word that the second Revittan boarding party had been forced to retreat. The defenders has suffered many casualties, however.

  “The battle… has been over for several minutes. The enemy pulled back suddenly. We were holding, but they were still hitting us very hard. My fleet in particular suffered heavy damage.”

  “Understood. We are going to return to our ships, assess damage and casualties. However, once that is done we must come up with a plan of action for the moment, even if only to buy time for something larger.”

  “Agreed,” the supreme commander replied before ending the transmission.

  Nayasar sighed. The enemy most certainly knew of the internal issues the Alliance had, and was pressing hard on the, ostensibly, weakest link. More losses to the Legion Navy, in addition to hurting morale, would lead to more opposition to the war by many, which would only complicate matters further.

  The only solution was to resume winning. And that was easier said than done.

  CHAPTER 27

  The biggest takeaway Executor Keeneye had from his time spent so far on the captured Firebloom Station was that it was very aesthetically pleasing, especially in comparison to Tyrannodon stations. The walls were Revittan colors, red and white, with designs that looked hand-painted, and everything from the doorways to the chairs seemed to follow a sleek, curving style that contrasted sharply with the sharper shapes of their warships. If he did not know all that he did about the Empire’s authoritarian, oppressive nature, he would never have suspected such things of a society that built a battlestation like this.

  But here he was, overseeing the shoring up of defensive positions around the strategically located station while the Alliance worked on figuring out how to deal with a now seemingly unbeatable enemy.

  There was, also, a secondary reason this station was going to be a key position. Work had nearly been completed on the installation of an advanced, high-powered and long-ranged transmitter that would make communication across Imperial space much faster and more secure.

  He activated his
arm-mounted multitool and pulled up the most recent updates on the holographic display, and was pleased to see that the work was all-but complete.

  He deactivated the device as he reached the station commander’s office, where they had set up the database with all of the information gathered on the Empire. Despite recent developments, Keeneye still believed they had the information edge, if only slightly.

  He activated his multitool again and wirelessly accessed the database to begin skimming some of the recently added information on Revittan weapons systems.

  He was quickly interrupted, however, by new reports. Unfortunately, they informed him of more defeats in mostly small skirmishes. There hadn’t been even a partial Alliance victory since they’d survived the enemy ambush over Arelaan about a week earlier. It was incredible, really, how much had happened, and how rapidly the situation shifted, over the mere two or so months the war had lasted so far—perhaps three months if one considered the war to have started with the battle over the hollow world.

  At least this posting allowed him a break from the otherwise near-constant combat, Keeneye acknowledged as he moved to look out a window at the Alliance fleet holding position around the station. He felt a fool for having wished for battle during a period of actual calm not too long ago. Despite his instinctual enjoyment of being in combat, he had by now conclusively determined that this was not who he wanted to be for his entire life. Perhaps someday he would create beauty, like what he saw in this station, instead of occupying or destroying it. Surely his unparalleled vision would aid in such a venture.

  He was interrupted again a few minutes later, this time by his comm.

  “This is Executor Keeneye,” he answered.

  “Executor, this is Lieutenant Paress,” said the Tyrannodon on the other end of the channel. “I wished to inform you that the transmitter is active, and that we have already picked up a fairly large data transmission. It appears to be from Admiral Kharitzon’s Nihluran agents. We cannot determine if the Empire has managed to intercept the signal or not.”