Battle Beyond Earth Box Set

by Nick S. Thomas

  “Yep, I think I’ve noticed that,” replied Taylor sarcastically.

  “What are you going to do about it?”

  “I am not going to do anything. Zaya saved my life, and for that he won’t be touched.”

  “We…”

  Taylor interrupted him as he roared in anger.

  “For fuck’s sake. Do you remember when we met, my old friend?”

  “Of course, how could I forget?”

  “We were enemies, were we not?”

  “Yes, but nothing like this.”

  “Exactly like this. Jafar, he saved my life, just like you did.”

  “I doubt it was for the same reasons. I saved your life because it was the honourable thing to do. He probably did it out of convenience.”

  “We are going to give him a chance. That is my final word, and the President of the Alliance thinks so, too.”

  “The President? The President is dead.”

  “The former one, yes, but I’d like you to meet President Lisa Caron,” he said, waving her to come forward from where she had been watching from the sidelines.

  “Pleased to meet you, Lord Jafar,” she said, coming forward with her hand outstretched in friendship.

  Jafar looked to Taylor in surprise and doubt, as if questioning whether he had gone through any legitimate process.

  “I was in line to the Presidency, it is true, but you are of course, welcome to check my credentials. I would understand.”

  “If Colonel Taylor says it is so, then I believe it,” he said, looking to Taylor.

  “That’s right. We have a new boss, and she is going to see us to victory.”

  “No pressure,” whispered Jones and smiled to himself.

  "You all came here because you wanted to work and fight together, am I right?"

  From their faces it was, but this was going to be an uneasy alliance. There had been so many wars between them all. So much bitter history, and yet somehow they had to put it past them. He kept telling himself, if he could, then should they be able to, and yet Irala didn't look convinced.

  "As long as you accept that creature amongst us, we have no Alliance. It will bring us nothing but death and destruction."

  "We’ve got that already, so it can't get any worse. I shouldn't need to remind you that it was Zaya who saved us down there. I didn't see you riding to the rescue?"

  Irala stormed off the bridge without another word. They had lost one ally as quickly as they had gained one.

  "I guess some grudges you just can't get over," said Jones.

  "Bullshit. I have lived through enough shit to know that ain't the case."

  "If accepting this Morohtan Prince means that we lose the Aranui, they we will not accept him among us," declared Jafar.

  Taylor couldn't believe what he was hearing.

  "Not you, too?"

  "I want what is best for the Alliance, and what gives us the best chance of defeating Bolormaa."

  "Yeah, is that so? Well, you see him right there? He is our best chance. Irala, for all his skills and supposed power, has rarely lifted a finger to help. His people fared no better against Bolormaa than the rest of us. And he's not the one offering to go and fight her, is he?"

  Jafar was still not convinced.

  "But without the Aranui, we are weak."

  "We are weak, anyway. It's gonna take a goddamn miracle for us to win this war, and..."

  He stopped himself as he noticed the crew were all listening to him. He had always known how desperate the situation was since he first saw Bolormaa with his own eyes, but he had done well to hide it.

  "With Zaya, I believe we have a chance. Certainly, before he came along, there seemed little hope of ever holding them back. I like the Aranui, and I respect Irala, but he is wrong about this. I fear he is letting personal issues cloud his judgement."

  "Please, Lord Jafar, will you go to Irala and try and convince him to come back?" Caron asked.

  Taylor appreciated her interruption. She was catching on fast.

  Jafar shook his head.

  "I will not change his mind. Nobody ever can."

  "You know that's not true," added Taylor.

  "Maybe, but not this time. Some wounds will never heal."

  "So what now?"

  Jafar sighed. "Without the Aranui, there can be no victory, and humanity is not strong like it used to be. They are a pale shadow of the heroes of your day. The heroes that defeated Erdogan."

  "What does that mean?"

  "It means that we are done here. There can be no victory on Earth. The Krys Lords of old would have sacrificed his own in a folly effort to do so, but I will not."

  Taylor was becoming distraught. He had come back on such a high with their new ally, and yet everything was falling apart around him.

  "So that's it, you're gonna leave us here?"

  "No, we will leave Earth. Come to my homeworld. We can rescue as many humans as we can and re-establish communities in Krys space."

  "Is that what you would do if your homeworld was going to fall? You would run?"

  Jafar had no answer for it.

  "That's right. Come on, Jafar, you fought with me once. You fought against all the odds on what seemed like the losing side."

  "Yes, but I only had to risk my own life to do it. I will not sacrifice millions of my people for nothing."

  The room fell silent as everyone realised what a depressing turning point they’d reached. Jafar moved to leave the bridge. Taylor knew he had to say or do something, but nothing was coming to mind.

  "Captain, I am detecting jump signatures," a voice called out.

  Jafar came to a standstill and turned to see for himself. Taylor didn't know whether to be grateful of the timing or not, fearing what was going to come through those gateways.

  "Bring it up screen!" Fortier ordered.

  "It already is."

  They were horrified, as whatever was arriving was coming in right on top of them.

  "Raise shields, activate weapon systems, and launch all fighters!"

  Before Fortier had even finished, the gateways opened, and a single object came though. It was tiny, no larger than the craft Alita flew them in.

  "What the hell is that?"

  A light began to flash on the object. It was little more than an oval shaped metal tube with four small engines.

  "What is that?" Jones asked again.

  "Just shoot it, now, Captain!" Taylor ordered.

  "Lock on to target and fire at will!"

  "Target locked, firing."

  Two missiles launched from the ship. There was a brief tense moment as they watched them sore towards the object. It finally hit their target, and it was blown into a thousand pieces.

  Fortier appeared to be relaxing, but Taylor wasn't convinced.

  "The gateway? It's still open," said Jones.

  "They must have known we'd have destroyed whatever that was. But something that small, they could have put it on the far side of Earth, and we'd never have picked it up. Why put it in plain sight?"

  "I doubt it was any accident," said Jones.

  The lights on the bridge began to flicker, and the screens soon followed. Primary lighting and power cut off without warning.

  "What the hell is going on?" Fortier turned to the engineering officer who was frantically pressing buttons on his console.

  "Sir, we are experienced power fluctuations across all systems."

  "We are being hailed by the Resolution!" called the comms officer.

  "Put them through."

  "We can only get audio," she added.

  "This is the Admiral speaking. We have lost power to..." The transmission began to cut in and out, "all...we are unable to..."

  The signal ended abruptly as it became too weak.

  "We've lost them, Sir," replied the comms officer.

  Taylor stepped up closer to the viewscreens that were still flickering on and off. Lights on the outer hull of the Resolution flashed erratically, but slowed unti
l they cut out completely.

  "What is going on, Colonel?"

  "They're here, Madam President."

  A second later a Morohtan vessel soared through the jump gate, and another two followed it. All were substantial size warships, equivalent to a frigate in the human fleet, but far more powerful.

  "She has come," Zaya stated.

  He looked gleeful at the prospect of a fight. Taylor could tell he had no care for his own life, only that he lived long enough to end his mother’s.

  "What do we do?" Fortier asked.

  Taylor looked around to the engineering officer.

  "What systems are operational?"

  "I...err," he hesitated.

  "Come on, just tell me what we are facing!" Taylor snapped.

  "The ship is infected...with a virus," another said.

  "A virus?" he asked the woman who had said it.

  "Yes, Sir, I have never seen anything like it. It has infected our systems at every level."

  "Well, can you fix it?"

  She shrugged. "I...I don't know."

  "Well, find out!"

  "We are being hailed...by one of the enemy vessels."

  "Put them on!" Taylor roared.

  A screen projected before them, but this did not flicker. It was crisp and clear, as the lights still flashed manically around them, and the crew was trying to make some sense of it all. What was displayed was complete blackness, but soon two small lights lit up like eyes that were watching them.

  "Bolormaa," whispered Taylor.

  Her eyes grew nearer and brighter, but she didn't reveal any more of her face. Those eyes turned to Zaya when she saw him in the background.

  "You would stand beside these pathetic creatures?"

  "For a chance at killing you, I would do anything," he replied sharply.

  It was a painful reminder of just how single-mindedly the former Prince thought, and yet it made Taylor wonder how different he really was.

  "Taylor, you made me bleed, and you made me suffer. Now I shall take from you until you have nothing left, but your own wits and memories to torment you."

  The transmission ended, and the ship’s systems powered down. Emergency lighting kicked in a moment later, but nothing else. They were flying blind.

  "What do we do?"

  "If she wanted to blow us out of the sky, Captain, she could have done so. She may do yet. But if she doesn't, then she means to take us by force."

  "So?"

  "So, you already have your answer. Gear up, and be ready to fight, because once this starts, it won't end till either she decides to, or we're all dead."

  “Colonel, surely there is something else we can do?” Caron asked.

  “We could flee in the lifeboats, maybe. If they still have power."

  “Okay?”

  “And we’d be shot out of the sky like the fools and cowards we would be.”

  “It is not an act of cowardice to save lives,” she retorted.

  “No, that’s true, but in this situation, the best chance we have is to stay here and fight it out.”

  She stepped up closer towards him so they might speak more privately.

  “Be sure you are doing this for the right reasons, Colonel.”

  “What other motive do you think I could have?” He sounded surprised.

  “You have history with this Bolormaa, and I know enough about you to know you’d always stay in a fight rather than run if you think you could win.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

  “Maybe it is.”

  “Madam President, this is a ship of war, and this is our job,” he replied and turned back to Fortier.

  “This ship has isolated wired communications in the event of jamming. This isn’t what we had in mind, but they should do the trick. Send the word of what is happening.”

  “And what is that?”

  “That we are to prepare to repel boarders. All crew are to draw weapons unless involved in necessary repairs and maintenance.”

  “And then?”

  “Everyone must be ready. We have no idea where they will strike or in what number, so we have to be ready for anything.”

  Fortier stepped away to set those plans in motion.

  “Three ships to take on the fleet?”

  “You think they’re getting desperate, spreading themselves a little thin, Jones?”

  “We can only hope. It is not even half the number I would have expected.”

  “Maybe it’s because it’s all they need,” replied Caron.

  Taylor didn’t agree. “Bolormaa is arrogant, but she is no fool, Ma’am.”

  “Then what?” Jones asked.

  Taylor looked to the blank display screens. He wished he could see what was going on, but they were in the dark.

  “She didn’t come for the fleet. She came for us,” he finally announced as he thought it through in his head.

  “Look at us, all in one place, just waiting for her to come in and deal a crippling blow. You should never have come, any of you,” he said, looking at Jafar.

  “If it’s a fight she wants, then that is what she will get. It was what I signed on to the day I met you,” he replied confidently.

  Taylor wasn’t so confident.

  She must have known who was aboard. Any other day that would make taking this vessel impossible, so what trick has she got up her sleeve?

  “Well, will she hit us?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine, Jones.”

  “We’re spread pretty thin, a few platoons to cover the whole ship?”

  “There are five hundred marines attached to this ship on permanent detail, Captain,” said Fortier.

  “That’s good to know, but they aren’t equipped and trained to deal with the nightmare that is going to be unleashed on us.”

  “They’ll have to do,” added Taylor.

  He turned back to Jafar.

  “How many men do you have with you, my friend?”

  “Four.”

  Shit, is that all?

  “We should have seen this coming. All right, send word for the ship’s marines to separate at platoon level and cover as much ground as possible. Make sure every single one of the crew knows to use the hard lines. When this begins, it is going to hit us hard and fast, and we need to be able to adapt and roll with it as necessary.”

  He hurried over to the woman who had first told him about the virus infecting their systems.

  “What is your name?”

  “Second Lieutenant Biondi, Sir.”

  “Okay, Lieutenant Biondi, you figured what this was, do you think you can work out how to fix it?”

  “I…I,” she began to stutter.

  “This is not he time to hesitate. Nothing is certain in this life, so just tell me what you think can be done.”

  “Sir, I might be able to fix this if I had about five or six hours.”

  “We probably don’t even have one.”

  She froze as she ran through ideas in her head.

  “There might be another way, but I would have to go to one of the consoles in the lower hull. I might just be able to reset everything from there and clear the systems, but it would mean completely wiping all our drives. We would lose everything, and we’d...it doesn’t bear thinking about, Sir.”

  “Tell me, Lieutenant, between what we might lose by doing that, and all of us dying here today, which do you think is preferable?”

  She nodded in agreement.

  “How long would you need?”

  “Once I am there, maybe ten minutes.”

  “Could you do it any faster?”

  “Uhhh…I suppose so, but don’t rush me. I make mistakes when I rush.”

  “I wish we had the opportunity of letting you take your time, but we’ll just have to make do. We need you to do this now. I will escort you personally.”

  “Colonel, would you not be better off running things from here?”

  “No, Madam President, there is nothing to run.
The Captain can manage just fine. Jafar, you and your people stay put to defend the bridge and the President, you hear?”

  His friend obeyed his orders without fail. It felt just like old times.

  “Then come on. Let’s get down there and sort this mess out.”

  Jones left with them, and they found Bailey and Babacan waiting for them outside the door.

  “Come on, we have work to do.”

  ‘We still have no ammo. You get that right? Sir?” Bailey asked.

  “We can find some along the way.” He then remembered there was one person missing.

  “Alita, where is Alita?” he asked her.

  “The last I saw she was working on the bird that she picked us up in.”

  Taylor was very concerned at how much danger she might be in and wanted to turn around and head right for her, but he couldn’t. He looked back to Biondi. She didn’t even carry a sidearm and clearly was no fighter.

  “You stay in between the four of us, you hear?”

  She nodded.

  “If we make contact with the enemy, you stay in between us, or go to cover if need be, but you do not leave our sight, you understand? You might be our only hope of getting back control of this ship, so right now you are the most important person aboard.”

  She took a deep breath, feeling how much pressure was on her and tried to stay calm.

  “What do they want from us, Sir?”

  “To make us suffer and ultimately die, Lieutenant.”

  Jones glared at him. “You could have at least softened the blow, or lied.”

  Taylor refused to do either. He looked down to his Mappad and tried to access a map of the ship, but found just noise as the enemy virus blocked access.

  “Does anyone know where the nearest weapons locker is?”

  “The floor above where we are heading, Sir.”

  “You know this ship pretty well, do you, Lieutenant?”

  “Better than most, Sir.”

  Well, that at least is something.

  He tried to open a comms channel only to find that wouldn’t work either.

  “All wireless devices will be affected by this virus, Colonel. Your Mappad draws data from the ship and connects to our systems wherever possible. Even if it weren’t infected directly, it would be the moment it interacted with our systems."

  “Great, so we’re in the dark again.”

  An explosion rang out in the distance. It could mean only one thing. He ripped his Assegai from its sheath and activated his shield.