Joe Devlin: And the Renegades’ Toil (Space Academy Series Book 5)

by James Thomas

  ***

  The shrieks of the animals seemed to go on for several minutes before the explosion. Thick dust shot up the tunnel as it collapsed down below. Then, silence filled the air as everyone listened and looked for movement.

  Word by mouth of Kilian’s heroic actions moved quickly to the front.

  “Can’t be true,” said Aazar when he finally heard it.

  “Maybe you were a little too hard on her,” said Robert.

  Aazar’s broke his steady demeanor. “Yet, you think the same of this Devlin,” said Aazar in a vile tone. “Kilian can never be forgiven for the suffering she caused. Never!”

  Robert seemed deflated by Aazar’s comment and withdrew from the conversation.

  ***

  Robert and Aazar finally reached the end of the tunnel, where the surface looked like hell frozen over. As they approached the opening, the temperature dropped sharply and the winds whipped into the shaft, stinging Robert’s skin under his clothes, feeling like sharp slaps to the face. In their haste to escape, half of the Tourians forgot to grab their cold-weather gear. The clothing of those who had remembered was worn and torn from too many years of use. However, the Tourians were accustomed to the cold since they had lived half their time on the frozen surface.

  Of the trio, Robert was the only one who had not left his cold-weather gear behind in the haste of freeing the Tourians. Going back now to retrieve Joe and Sadar’s was out of the question especially since the tunnel had collapsed.

  Susan had fallen asleep in her father’s arms next to Robert. Killian’s husband looked shocked and confused at what had happened. He did not seem prepared to lose his wife after seeing her daily, despite her deplorable deceptions. Now he was a widower, and his daughter was without a mother.

  A debate was spreading throughout the Tourians concerning Kilian’s sacrifice. Had Kilian redeemed herself or gotten what she deserved? In any case, the Tourians avoided the debate around Susan, out of respect for her young age and recent loss.

  Daylight flooded the end of the tunnel as snow drifted across. Several Tourians made a snow barrier to block the winds, but as they tried to pack the icy snow, the wind whipped it from their hands, making the process slow.

  Joe finally arrived at the top. “Kilian is gone,” he said to Aazar.

  “We heard already,” said Robert pointing to where her daughter was sleeping. “So, what do we do now?” questioned Robert. “Going outside is a death sentence without proper gear. Only half have it.”

  “We wait,” said Joe. “Hopefully, my dad has been successful.”

  “With the temperature dropping, we need to do something fast,” said Sadar, “or my people will freeze to death.”

  “What about fire?” asked Robert.

  “No, we don’t have any means to start one or a find a source,” answered Aazar.

  “Body heat,” said Joe. We have lots of bodies. Have your people huddle in groups to keep warm while we wait. It might be hours before my dad comes with the ships.”

  “Yes, if,” replied Sadar.

  “Trust,” replied Joe. “My dad has my trust. I hope that is enough for now.”

  “Yes,” said Sadar as he handed the Black Medallion to Joe. “I trust you both. Better go outside with this to make sure they receive the tracker location. You seem the best at using it so far and my people wouldn’t want me to leave them.”

  Robert was surprised by the sight of the medallion. He had heard legends from other police on the force but did not think they were true. However, if they were . . . then Robert needed more than merely the sight of the medallion. He needed to see its powers in use before he would believe.

  Joe placed the Black Medallion around his neck and walked out into the storm without hesitation.

  Robert looked puzzled. The medallion was just a necklace. Nothing special. “He’s going to die,” said Robert.

  “You see, Robert,” said Sadar, “You may call Joe a traitor, but to me, he’s a hero like Kilian. He gave up everything for my people because he believed in the cause. You just need to believe. People make mistakes, but when they think it’s for the greater good, be careful about how fast you judge them based on of rumors.”

  “Kilian, from what I understand, betrayed you and your people,” said Robert.

  “Yes, did, but then she didn’t,” replied Sadar. “You see, she thought she was protecting me the day the Grax came. Since the Grax didn’t know my age or sex, she told them she was the Tourian God. But when they threatened my life, Kilian told them who I was to protect me. Later, the Grax lied, saying she turned me over without regard for my life. She was . . . and still is my hero from the start. Joe is also a hero. You’ll see in time.”

  Susan had awakened and was looking at Sadar. She had heard the whole thing. Sadar smiled and winked at her and she smiled and winked back.

  “He’s going to die outside without a suit,” Robert repeated. “But it will be a hero’s death by your account.”

  “What do you seek, Robert?” said Sadar.

  “What do you mean?” asked Robert.

  “Well, you chased us on Bandor, leaving your backup behind against good judgment, and now you are involved in a great cause, and you still can’t see what you want.”

  “I want to go home with you two under my arrest,” replied Robert.

  “That’s why you joined the police force . . . to arrest people, or for justice to be served? Is that what you see in my people’s slavery? Admiral Pearson ordered my and Joe’s arrest . . . and for what purpose? To stop the slavery of my people? No, he hid that from your citizens. He lies about the war. It’s over. As you can see, my people are defeated and the Grax are just trying to survive. Their planet is dying. My people just want to live under our religious laws. You see, we all want something.”

  “You’re just a boy,” said Robert. “What do you know!”

  “No, Robert, I’m a leader of my people,” replied Sadar in a strong voice. “I give them hope and I do not lie to them like your Admiral Pearson lies to you. Now, since we both now know who I am, do you know who you really are? How much evidence do you need before you believe that Joe is not a traitor?”

  21

  TASK FORCE 99

  “All ships,” announced Ensign Brock over the radio. “Correction to my last, ninety-nine ships, this is Captain Brock on . . . um . . . on Ship One, report in on mission COM when ready.”

  “Captain Holdermen here on Scrapyard Two. I see you already promoted yourself. Set a new record, don’t you think!” said Mac.

  “Captain Holdermen, we’re all captains for this trip. I’m sure Commander Devlin will agree. Oh, I like the callsign. Ninety-nine ships, Scrapyard is our callsign. Your number will be assigned when you check-in.”

  “Well then, Captain Brock, how about a task force name?” suggested Mac, putting Brock on the spot.

  Brock was filling some big shoes, but it would not be the first time an Ensign led from the front. During a few Tri-Sun War battles, several Ensigns took the initiative resulting in heroic actions. One of those had been Commodore Devlin and Mac so many years ago.

  Commander Devlin was the next to check-in. “This is the Mission Commander checking in,” said Commander Devlin.

  “Yes, I have you five by five,” replied Ensign Brock. “We have ninety-eight ships currently in the comm network. You would be Scrapyard Ninety-nine.”

  “Well Captain Brock, thanks. Been listening to the coms from the beginning. Great initiative, but I’ll take on Task Force Commander as Scrapyard Ninety-nine, Task Force Ninety-nine. Since you’re using the common ninety-nine callsign to mean all ships on the mission communication, Task Force Ninety-nine will stand for all together.”

  “Aye, aye, Commodore Devlin,” replied Captain Brock. Commander Devlin was now the impromptu commodore for the task force.

  Commodore Devlin pressed the COM switch again. “Break, break,” he said, which meant he had a change in topic. He held down the COM switch, leaving the mi
crophone open while he looked out his view screen at the rag-tag group of ships he now controlled. This was the moment of no turning back. His next action would be traitorous as he set forth on a mission thought up by two kids and one Ensign.

  The Commodore slowly exhaled, which was heard by all the ship captains on the coms. He sensed what they were feeling, so it was as if each one of them was taking a deep breath in return.

  “Task Force 99, this is Commodore Devlin. We are about to start a journey down a path that seems impossible to complete on your own, but as our task force name implies, it’s all of us, and together we will get in and back out. On takeoff from here, if a ship gets into trouble, the rest of the task force are to keep moving to the jump point and meet at the designated location outside of Huldra. Captain Holdermen will stay behind to pick up the stragglers. At Huldra, we are to rescue the Tourian descendants from the Grax and jump back to the rendezvous point.

  Now, we have been in tough spots before or you wouldn’t trust my leadership, so no person is to be left behind.” Commadore Devlin continued, “Remember, timing is everything, so it’s important that we successfully infiltrate under both the Grax and ISF’s noses. Standby for mission orders to be transmitted. Task Force 99 Commander, over.”

  A control button flashed white on Commodore Devlin’s flight console. He was not sure what it was for. When he pressed the button, it turned steady white with a corresponding static noise before the computer system tuned it out. It was a communication frequency.

  “Commodore, Scrapyard forty-two,” said a young voice over the channel.

  Delvin recognized her voice. It was Lieutenant Sara Vince, one of the flight-leads from his last command squadron. She was easy to remember since she towered over everyone else in the room at six foot eight inches. The height gave her a commanding presence among her troops, which made her a useful officer to have on his team. All you would hear was yes ma’am as they looked up at her. However, she was a gentle giant among her troops, which earned her their respect in return.

  Commodore Devlin laughed as he thought, yet another Captain. All his pilots had jumped in status from among the lowest ranks to highest.

  “Yes, Captain Vince,” said Commodore Devlin in a commanding voice before switching to a warmer one, then adding, “Sara.”

  “Sir, I send you my greetings. Took me a little time to figure out these ancient COM systems to find a private channel,” replied Sara.

  “Sara, I figure if anyone could, you would.”

  “Sir, thanks, but I have a concern about the mission. I hope this is not outside the regulations because I think we threw those out on our way here,” said Sara.

  “Yes, yes we did,” he replied in a half-joking half-serious tone. “Go ahead, let it rip.”

  “Commodore, how will we be able to see the ISF ships with their new cloaking upgrades? They’ll be able to fire while masked.”

  “Sara, spot on. You see, initially the Admiral’s ships will be able to fire while cloaked, to make sure they pass the operational tests. I have been assured by one of our friends that this will not be the case once they start the attack against Huldra.”

  “Won’t that put our ISF comrades at risk against the Grax?” asked Sara.

  “That would normally be true, Sara. However, the Grax have not recovered from the last battle. Plus, the latest ISF intel is that their star is very unstable, and it won’t last through the next cycle. Reports have over half their assets at a secondary location away from Huldra. The question is, what will Admiral Pearson do to the Grax? Nevertheless, Sara, in my transmitted orders, you will see that I have a plan to protect everyone,” said the Commodore, emphasizing the last word. “That means us, the ISF, the Tourians, and even the Grax. It’s a dangerous move but I don’t see any other way out.”

  “The Grax?” Sara spoke incredulously. “For sure they are the enemy.”

  “Sara, I believe they just need a place to live due to the unstable star. Besides, this Boy God, Sadar, assures me many of the Grax are against the war than we first thought. The plans give the details, but it’s still a shot in the dark.”

  “Thank you, Commodore. I look forward to reviewing the plan.”

  “No, thank you Sara, for risking everything and your career. The Tourians have been punished enough. Who would have ever thought after the Tri-Sun War we would be united with an enemy! But what the Grax and Admiral have done is wrong. I believe in our mission.”

  “Yes sir, we all do. Scrapyard Forty-two out,” said Sara.

  “Commodore out,” replied Commodore Devlin. Then he turned the main COM volume back to normal, seeing it flash again on the panel.

  “Commodore Devlin, Task Force Ninety-nine is ready to depart,” reported Captain Brock.

  “Very well,” replied Commodore Devlin. “Launch as per orders and dispatch all directives to Task Force Ninety-nine once in route.”

  ***

  “Lieutenant Commander Hoxha, secure message from Admiral Pearson,” said his Communication Officer.

  Lieutenant Commander Hoxha promptly opened the message in his command chair. His head popped up after reading it. “Tactical Officer!”

  “Yes sir!” replied the TAC-O.

  “We have orders! The freighter is to be destroyed. They’re all traitors. Launch all fighters and you have permission for Weapons Loose from the station.”

  “Aye, aye, sir,” replied the TAC-O.

  Lieutenant Commander Hoxha was irritated that traitors had gotten the better of him. Yet, a freighter would be an easy target. He had not taken this duty in the middle of nowhere to let someone make him look like a fool. He wondered why a renowned Commander would change sides. Something was not right, but the order had been issued, and nothing was going to get in his way to earning full Commander.

  “Officer-of-the-Deck, bring up the freighter on the forward screen,” ordered Lieutenant Commander Hoxha.

  The screen lit up with a view of Fandor, but Lieutenant Commander Hoxha did not just see one ship. He saw various and numerous types of vessels coming up off the surface.

  “TAC-O, what exactly am I seeing?” requested Lieutenant Commander Hoxha.

  “Sir, they seem to be Tourian transport ships, ninety-nine of them. No major armament. Standby, sir.” He pushed a few buttons to run a detailed scan. “They are empty, I think. Ancient, too!”

  Lieutenant Commander Hoxha leaned forward in his command chair, then stood up on his feet, assessing the situation. He was not panicked. Rather, he was determined to teach the traitors a lesson. “Are they armed?”

  “Yes, but nothing that could do damage to this station with its improved shields,” replied the TAC-O.

  “How many can we lock onto at once with firing solutions?” asked Lieutenant Commander Hoxha.

  “Sir, only ten. The flighters can target another eight, but they are limited on the damage they can do to the larger ships,” replied the TAC-O.

  Lieutenant Commander Hoxha stepped forward and away from his command chair, looking over the scene. “TAC-O, rescind my weapons free order.”

  He studied the situation. The ships were merging, almost in overlapping formations. “What are they doing,” said Lieutenant Commander Hoxha, barely audible over his breath. Then it hit him, they were trying to confuse the station’s targeting system. He was in a fight with traitors who knew his station’s weaknesses, something he had never trained for in simulations. The Lieutenant Commander was aware of Commander Devlin’s exploits, but this maneuver was impressive.

  “TAC-O, lock onto the ships farthest apart before they overlap. Let me know when you have locks. Then fire on my command.”

  “Sir, I’m having problems with targeting!” replied the TAC-O.

  “Of course, you are!” replied Lieutenant Commander Hoxha.

  “Sir?” questioned the TAC-O, confused.

  “COM, give me a private line with our squadron’s mission commander when able. And, for crying out loud, open a COM channel with those vessels. I
have a one-way message,” said Lieutenant Commander Hoxha.

  “Sir, channel open,” replied the COM Officer.

  “All vessels launching from Fandor, this is the Space Station Janus. You are in violation of . . .” Lieutenant Commander Hoxha stopped mid-sentence, remembering what the admiral had ordered, and it wasn’t a two-way conversation. “You are about to be destroyed, out!” However, before the channel was closed, a response came back.

  “This is Commodore Devlin of Task Force Ninety-nine. In violation of what?”

  Lieutenant Commander Hoxha did not respond, but also did not close the communication channel.

  Commodore Devlin continued, “Did Admiral Pearson send you private orders to destroy us, your own people, instead of talking? I assure you we have not powered up our weapons and I’m only on a peaceful rescue mission. We will not fire upon you period!”

  Lieutenant Commander Hoxha was surprised by what he was hearing. Devlin was an ISF hero with no equal, and now he was head-to-head with him. However, Admiral Pearson’s orders said not to communicate with the traitors under penalty of court-martial. He had already technically broken that order. But he would deal with that later, without adding more to the error.

  Commodore Devlin was not finished trying to break through to the Station Commander. “Haven’t you wondered why all Tourians are missing from their planet!”

  “Sir, are you going to respond?” asked the COM Officer. “Or should I kill the coms with them?”

  It was against his orders. He did not close the communication channel and did not respond to the COM Officer.

  “Sir?” repeated the COM Officer. After a few moments, he added, “Incoming communication from Viper’s Mission Commander, Lieutenant Wun.”

  “Patch him through,” said Lieutenant Commander Hoxha.

  “Sir, Mission Commander reporting as ordered.”

  “Lieutenant, get in close and target those ships. They’re masking from us and confusing our targeting systems with overlays.”