by T. R. Harris
“If they’ve intervened to free us, let’s not disappoint them,” Adam said. “Pogo, give me all the power you can to the jump-drive. The dampeners are still active, so I’m going for the shortest route out of here. Jumping!”
It was still a hike to make it out of the influence of the field dampeners, with a heluva lot of Juireans still in the area. A number of them took pot shots at the Vengeance as she popped in and out. Fourteen minutes later they were outside the field and able to make longer jumps, up to three light-years at a time.
By now there was a full-scale battle raging and Adam was able to better make out the players. The Juireans had over two thousand ships matched up against eight hundred allied vessels. Most were Human ships, with a few from the more advanced worlds of the Union. Only a few of the sixty-worlds that made up the Human stellar empire had bothered to produce their own line of warships. Most simply bought them from Earth or deferred defensive responsibility to the Humans.
Adam felt sick. The allies were taking a beating and it was now time to test his theory as to why they had attacked a much larger force. He opened a link, broadcast on Union military frequencies.
“This is TS-17, USS Monitor. Identify,” a voice asked.
“Captain Adam Cain aboard the experimental Mark VII starship, designated the Vengeance. Please connect me with your theater commander.”
“One moment, sir. Switch to Channel Alpha Orange…now.”
Adam made the frequency change, but still had to wait over a minute for someone to come on the line.
“Captain David Morris…is this Captain Cain?”
“Yes it is. Captain, we’re clear and bugging out of the area. Are your intentions to continue the engagement or to break off?”
“We’re breaking off, Mister Cain. We’ve been shadowing you from the Kidis Frontier. When forward scouts reported you were in trouble we engaged.”
“Your help is appreciated. You really saved our skin, but now it’s time to save your own asses. The Juireans have over two thousand ships aligned against you.”
“Yeah, I noticed. Where the hell did all those ships come from?”
“They’ve been hoarding them here. Not sure if it was to catch me or you…maybe both. But get the hell out of here. There’ll be plenty of time for fighting later. Don’t spend any more blood on our account.”
“Understood. Do your thing, Captain. We’ll be right behind you if needed. Morris out.”
“Where to now, Adam?” Riyad asked.
Adam looked at his threat screen. There were still plenty of Juireans in the area. “Charge the lasers, gentleman—and orb. Let’s make a few quick runs on our way out of the area. That’s the last thing the mane-heads will expect. At least now we know part of their strategy. It looks like they’re trying to lure us in for one big-ass battle.”
“One-and-out, is that it, Captain?” asked Paulson.
“It may not be the norm, but it is efficient.”
22
Kradis answered the Elder’s link on the first indicator.
“What are you doing, Kradis?” Synnoc’s normally light green skin was now bordering on dark brown, and his yellow eyes were full of fire and hate.
“My Lord?”
“You attacked Adam Cain!”
“Yes, my Lord, he responded to a decoy fleet we’d placed near The Hand. You mentioned the region as the preferred attack stage.”
“Not for Cain! I want him to come to Juir. Do you know his status?”
Kradis fought back the anger. Even though Synnoc was his friend, he was also the Council Elder. It would not do to alienate him at this time.
“He survived, by all indications, and even managed to destroy more of my ships on his way out of the enclosure sphere.”
“Call back your ships. You cannot kill him…that is reserved for me.”
“The fleet has retreated, as have the Humans. It was a skirmish, not the major battle you have envisioned.”
“And my battle will not take place if Adam Cain is killed prematurely, or you defeat the Human fleet to such a degree that they withdraw.”
“My Lord, I just lost over two hundred ships. That is a lot of Juirean lives lost. Need I remind you our numbers are vastly diminished from what they were during past wars?”
Synnoc stared at his friend for a long, dangerous moment before speaking. “If there are others listening, have them leave the area.”
“I am in my office, alone.”
“Good. Then I shall say this: If you will not follow my orders, then I will find another Overlord who will. My plan for Adam Cain takes precedence over all other matters. Is that clear?”
“My Lord, he is but one creature. How many Juirean lives is he worth?”
“Do not play games with me, Kradis. This is your only warning. The Expansion and the future of the Juirean race is more important than our friendship. It must be this way. It is what makes us Juireans.”
“I fully support the Juirean people, my Lord. That is not in question.”
“Agreed, however it is our differing opinions in how best to support our people that is. I know best…I am the Council Elder. You will follow my orders without variation and without question.” He held up his hand to stop Kradis’ reply. “There is no need to affirm such. Your actions will say more than your words.”
The screen went blank.
“We lost sixteen ships, Admiral, and another six heavily damaged, but Cain got away.” Captain Morris was reporting over a secure CW comm link to Admiral Hollingsworth.
“They had two thousand ships?”
“More like twenty-one hundred, sir. Captain Cain took out about two hundred with his torpedoes, we took out another eighteen.”
Hollingsworth grimaced. “That sounds great, captain, but now he’s depleted his inventory of torpedoes. All he has left are his enhanced laser weapons.”
“Any chance we can get some of those, too, sir?”
“They wouldn’t do you any good, David. They take an incredible amount of energy.”
Morris didn’t pursue the topic. Instead: “We’re heading for an area outside the Belsonian star system. There’s a lot of asteroids and rogue planets there, good places to hide. Even though the main Juirean fleet isn’t following, I’m sure they’re keeping an eye on us now that they know we’re here. The bulk of their fleet has faded back into the nebula. Any reinforcements coming our way?”
“Plenty. They just won’t reach you for another three weeks.”
“So what do we do in the interim? I told Cain we’d have his back. We can’t do that and stay anchored around Belson.”
“You may have to wait until Cain distracts them again before you make your breakout. If that happens, do your best to shake the pursuit.”
“Sir, I have almost nine hundred starships. We don’t exactly tip-toe through space.”
“Well, Captain Morris, maybe you should.”
Morris frowned; the head of the Union military forces was smiling at him.
“Captain, break your force up into squadrons of fifteen to twenty ships each and then send them out on difference courses, yet to a central rendezvous point. The Juireans don’t seem too anxious to divide their forces, especially to chase dozens of small units that by themselves can’t affect anything. When you have everyone assembled, do it again, but always be moving farther into the Expansion. Just don’t hang around any one spot for too long.”
“Sounds like a strategy, sir. For the rendezvous points, I’ll follow Cain’s lead. He seems to know what he’s doing.”
“I wouldn’t count on that, Captain, but he does have an uncanny amount of luck surrounding him. Send me flash updates of your locations. I’ll do my best to supplement your force as much as possible. The Juireans have done us a favor by withdrawing their forces. Now we can move right up to the front row without being seen. It’s after we rush the stage that we have to be careful. There’s still a lot more of them then there are of us.”
23
“
I’ve got those, I ain’t got no more torpedoes blues,” Adam cut loose in a horribly flat singing voice.
“Sounds like the next big country-western hit,” Riyad said. They were in the service bay of the Vengeance repairing the hull breaches, with oxygen masks over their faces. Unlike hull leaks on seafaring vessels, if a breach wasn’t too big on a starship, there were special sealing pads, panels and foam that could be used. The outflowing air pressure helped hold the sealers in place with very little effort. Adam had spent his time in damage-control training in the Navy. This was a lot different than a firehose-like stream of ice cold water blasting through a breach, confounding all your efforts to plug it.
Once the holes were sealed, the men removed their masks.
“As you were saying, Mister Cain?”
“We’re down to only our lasers and ballistics.”
“Which means we still pack quite a punch.”
“Yeah, but we’re going to have to avoid the larger ship concentrations, especially in space. Might start looking for some juicy ground-based targets.”
Riyad flashed his trademark smile. “I have an idea. What about MK or Xan-fi? Sure, the mane-heads probably have enough weapons in reserve to last out the war, but think what a psychological impact that would have?”
“Not sure about Xan-fi, but MK has manufacturing facilities all over the Expansion. Hitting one or two of them won’t make much of a dent.”
“Again, my friend, it’s a mind-game we’ll be playing. Bloodying their noses a little will make them blink. And with facilities all over the Expansion, they’re everywhere you want to be.”
“It’s named after a planet? I thought Marix-Kliss were a couple of guys who started a weapons company way back when,” said Tom Paulson.
“Nah, it’s all right here,” Travis Morgan replied, reading from a Library entry on a data screen. “Founded two-thousand, eight hundred years ago, originally on the planet Marix, MK Weapons Systems is now the largest weapons manufacturer in the galaxy, supplying over ninety-percent of the handheld flash weapons in use. It says they also used to make a large rifle-like version, but they got into a pretty vicious business war with their rival Xan-fi about a thousand years ago. The two companies came to an ‘accommodation’—” Travis used finger-quotes around accommodation—“where Xan-fi was free to make the longer-barrel flash weapons, while MK specialized in hand-helds. Since then, MK has moved into shipbuilding, land-ownership, electronic devices and even finance. It’s the largest business entity in the galaxy and solidly in the Juirean camp. They see the Union as their most aggressive competitor, in a number of fields.”
“So giving them a bloody nose should send a very strong message across the Expansion,” Adam said, confirming Riyad’s belief.
Tom Paulson let out a laugh. “You know, Captain, we should only use our conventional weapons—the ballistics—to hit their facilities. Be a pretty stark contrast between the two approaches to weapons development.”
“Great idea, Tom. Energy bolts versus hot lead. Never has been much of a contest, in my humble opinion. So where’s the closest MK facility?”
“You’re not going to believe this,” said Travis, “but Marix itself is only four hundred light years from here. There’s about a dozen other facilities between here and there, but if we’re out to make an impression, might as well go for the whole enchilada.”
“I concur,” said Adam. “Plot a course, Mister Tarazi. We have a whole cargo hold full of idle bullets—let’s burn through a few.”
Every race in the Expansion and the Union used MK flash weapons. By virtue of this fact, the management of Marix-Kliss Weapons Systems felt they were immune to any of the wars or political intrigue taking place. In fact, the more turmoil in the Milky Way, the more they profited.
It was for this reason that the largest manufacturer of armaments in the galaxy had very little security protecting their own facilities, including the headquarters building in the city of Jendis on the planet Marix. This lack of concern extended into the star system as well, even with a war currently being fought between galactic empires.
As a result, Adam was able to jump the Vengeance nearly to the inner ring of rocky planets before receiving the first challenge. Riyad relayed to ground control that they were a small merchant vessel seeking permission to orbit, before landing to restock crucial supplies.
Noticing the lack of security in the area, Adam figured that wasn’t such a bad idea. Restock…and then ravage the planet. A man had to have his priorities, and recently the food stock aboard the Vengeance was down the crap that no one wanted to eat when they had better choices. Cain the Carnivore was craving a big, juicy steak—no matter what kind of beast it came from.
“The weapons company has had their share of Human visitors over the years, so it’s a pretty good bet the natives know what we look like,” Adam said, briefing his crew. “The atmosphere doesn’t require any special masks, but we’ll wear full-face covers to throw them off. And let’s wear those long tech robes we found in the service bay this time. They look like trench coats. A lot of firepower can be hidden underneath.”
“We’ll look like the Earp brothers and Doc Holiday on the way to the OK Corral,” Travis offered with a wide grin.
“I want to be Wyatt,” said Riyad. He stroked his full beard. “I may have more than necessary, but I do have a mustache, where the rest of you clean-shaven military types look too pretty to pass yourselves off as deadly gunfighters.”
“There’ll be no shooting on the surface,” Adam ordered. “We’re just going down to get supplies. After that, we’ll launch and light up the facilities from air and space. The four of us can’t do much damage in a street shootout.”
“Not even one little demonstration of Human quick-draw prowess?” asked Riyad. He’d been in enough shootouts in his lifetime to know that very few aliens could stand against a Human in a contest of speed and accuracy. To the Humans, most such engagements were simply target practice.
Adam didn’t answer; instead, he just pursed his lips and shook his head.
24
The Vengeance landed without incident at a large commercial spaceport outside Jendis. As the foursome stepped outside the ship, they were struck by a bitterly cold wind, howling down from several of the jagged mountain peaks surrounding the valley where the city was located. Marix was a rugged planet, with evidence of recent volcanic activity found in huge swaths of yellow and ruddy brown in the soil nearby, remnants of sulfur pits and geysers from a not-too-distant past. A huge landslide rumbled down a nearby mountain side, and the ground shook almost constantly with a strange harmonic vibration.
“Not the sort of place you’d come for a vacation,” said Paulson as the group made their way through the wind and cold before entering a huge concourse structure.
Once inside the warmth of the port building, they mingled with hundreds of other creatures, most with looks of concern in their many varieties of eyes or vision stalks. These were the faces of civilians in a time of war; worried and helpless, at the mercy of powers much greater than themselves. There were Juireans here, as well. They were the only aliens Adam was interested in killing, although he knew there would be collateral damage once he unleashed his dogs of war on the MK facilities. As a career soldier, he knew this was the price of victory. To prolong a conflict, ostensibly to fight a more nuanced, more civilized war, meant more innocent lives would be lost over the long run.
As they passed the many shops and kiosks along the concourse—much like you’d find in any airport on Earth—automatic devices scanned their translation bugs and broadcast versions of the names and advertising in English. One such announcement caught Adam’s attention.
“Hold up,” he said to the others. “Let’s check this out.”
They entered a small shop with a long counter and a glass wall rising from its surface to the ceiling, with openings resembling teller windows. The clerk Adam approached was a female with four eyes and yellow skin. By the shape of the fa
ce and the smoothness of the skin, he assumed she was a she. He could never be sure.
He placed four gold ingots on the counter. “Can I exchange these for Juirean credits?”
The clerk turned and pulled a wheeled cart with an electronic device on it to her station. She took the gold bars, one at a time, and placed them in pull-out drawers before activating the machine.
“Yes, we can. Is this all?”
Adam turned to the others. They handed him another eight bars.
After the scan, the clerk took a datapad and made some calculations. “Forty-eight thousand, one hundred nine, at the current exchange rate.”
Adam knew that was over a hundred thousand dollars back on Earth. Damn…what was the total worth of Panur’s palace?
“We’ll take it.”
“Would you like the credits in currency or on a card?”
“Currency, please.”
“It will take a moment.” She left her station. The other tellers looked at them with curiosity. Forty-eight thousand Juirean credits was a lot of money. Adam began to calculate in his head just how much he’d given the taxi driver on Incus…. No wonder the creature was willing to kiss his boots….
A few minutes later Adam divvied up the cash chips to his team. “This will keep us from standing out too much while we shop for our supplies, and without the need for haggling…or gunplay.”
“You’re no fun anymore,” said Riyad.
“That’s all right, Mister Tarazi. Considering the landscape around here, I’m sure you can find some baby seals to club to death before we leave.”
“You promise, daddy?”
Adam sent Travis and Tom looking for bulk food stock while he and Riyad went looking for something a little more substantial.
“There has to be a fresh meat market around here,” Adam said. They’d left the spaceport building and were now in a commercial district full of businesses of all kinds. Marix was a planet based on capitalism, not the military or politics. It was apparent you could buy almost anything in the city of Jendis. All Adam wanted was a thick piece of red meat.