Hold The Line: Ganog Wars Book 2

by Chris Fox

  "That's not for us to decide. Fizgig asked us to get Khar home, and we're doing that." Nolan shook his head. "Just stay alert. When we touch down on that dreadnought we'll find out real quick whether or not this was a mistake. When that happens, follow my lead. If they decide to capture us, resisting will only get us killed."

  "I don't like it sir," Hannan said.

  Nuchik brushed a lock of copper her from her face, but added nothing.

  "Me either," Nolan said. "In fact, I hate it. The easy thing to do would be to warp away, but in this instance I don't think it's the smart thing to do. I've got to play this my way." He caught her gaze, finding understanding there.

  "All right sir, it's your call. Better you than me," Hannan said. She turned to Annie and Nuchik. "Annie, get your mech idling. Nuchik, get your rifle primed. At the very least, we'll stay ready."

  Nolan knew the point of the orders as soon as she gave them. Giving them something to do would take their minds off the looming situation.

  He moved to his own mech, pulling himself up the leg and into the cockpit. He left the cockpit open, but activated one of the internal holoterminals. Nolan keyed it to the ship's sensors, and began scanning the system.

  They'd reached low orbit, and thus far the Void Wraith hadn't adjusted their position. It looked like they'd made it. He scanned the planet, but there was no sign of whatever ground-based weapon had fired before would fire again.

  "Uh-oh," he muttered. Nolan looked up at T'kon. "Hey, T'kon, you guys are going to want to see this." He keyed in the command to activate the cargo bay's holoterminal, sharing what he was seeing.

  Three dreadnoughts were moving to encircle the empress. They were supported by a small fleet of cruisers and destroyers--enough that he doubted the empress's single ship had any chance.

  "I should have expected this," the empress called in a clear voice. "Captain, what you're seeing is the approach of the Kthul. It is they who seized control of my world, and I suspect they seek to silence me here."

  "There's still a chance to just warp away," Nolan pointed out. "We can get you out of here right now, with no risk."

  "Doing so would cost my dreadnought, and the lives of my soldiers," the empress protested. She looked uncertainly at the white-furred Ganog. "Master Yulo, what would you suggest I do?"

  "Saving yourself is meaningless if your clan learns that you fled this battle prematurely. You need that dreadnought, and you need to be seen escaping." Yulo rested a hand on the empress's shoulder. "Sometimes doing what is right is difficult, but the price of doing otherwise is much higher."

  "Aluki, how far out from the dreadnought are we?" Nolan asked over the comm. He could see the holo, but it was difficult to judge distances based on the limited information he was tapping into.

  "We can be docked in sixty seconds, but those other dreadnoughts are going to reach it at almost exactly the same time," Aluki's high voice came back.

  "All right, Empress. Hold on. This is going to be a bumpy landing."

  46

  Warp

  The cruiser shuddered violently, sending Nolan lurching into his mech's leg. He clung on, as the squad struggled to do the same all around him. The empress and her white-furred companion stood calmly, rolling with the motion like ancient earth sailors on their mother sea.

  "Mmm, we're taking collateral fire from the dreadnought flak cannons." Aluki's voice came over the loudspeaker. "Both engines are damaged. Hold on. I'm going to guide us into the hangar bay."

  The ship lurched again, and Nolan's hand shot out to seize the bar affixed to the mech's leg. He tensed his arm, holding himself in place as the ship bounced its way through what felt like an asteroid field. Nolan hated not being to see what was going on, hated trusting his fate to someone else's reflexes and intuition.

  "I am quite surprised by how competent your ka'tok is, Captain Nolan," the empress began in a conversational tone.

  "If you refer to her that way again, you will regret it," T'kon interjected. His hand dropped to his sidearm. Both Yulo and the empress eyed him dispassionately, but Khar took offense.

  The Tigris interposed himself between the empress and T'kon, staring up at T'kon with a familiar fire in his eyes. At least he said nothing, though Nolan noted the firm set of his jaw. His tail thrashed behind him, almost daring T'kon to take another step.

  "Oh, for God's sake, enough with the posturing," Nolan snapped. The ship lurched again, and there was a tremendous groan as it slowed. He waited for the groan to stop before continuing. "T'kon, I know you and Aluki are close, but let it go. We have more important things to be concerned with."

  T'kon ignored Nolan, his attention fixed on Zakanna. He removed his hand from his side arm. "You have ruled over our people from the carefully constructed world you created in that ivory spire. Where has that arrogance gotten you, empress? Manipulated and ultimately deposed."

  "Perhaps, but mine isn't the only such arrogance, is it, T'kon of the Azi clan?" The empress's eyes blazed, and she pushed past Khar to stand next to T'kon. "We have arrived on my flagship, the heart of my remaining power. If, for some reason, I didn't wish to kill you myself, I could have any number of loyal clansmen do it for me."

  "Hey." Nolan tensed. The sudden reminder of where they were was sobering. He needed to diffuse this and quickly. "I said hey." All eyes turned to him. Nolan stalked over to the Ganog. "Put this shit aside, right goddamned now. Zakanna--that's your name right? T'kon and the ka'tok saved your collective asses. You'd be dead back on Imperalis if not for them. How about you put aside your feelings and concentrate on getting us out of here? Didn't you say that the Kthul fleet was bearing down on us?"

  Zakanna blinked, then her fur softened to an embarrassed pink. "Apologies. You are correct, human." She walked to the cargo ramp, slapping the button beside it. The ramp began to lower, giving Nolan the first glimpse at the interior of a Ganog dreadnought.

  "I'm going to contact my people. Do you mind if we stay on the ship?" Nolan asked.

  "I understand your mistrust, and your wish to remain in the ship. I'm afraid I must refuse. Your crew can remain here, but you will accompany me to the command island." Zakanna stalked down the ramp, and into a long, narrow hangar. It reeked of something that smelled like oil, and Nolan noted the rusted walls immediately. This place had been terribly maintained.

  Yulo followed Zakanna toward a doorway at the far side, but Khar hung back a moment. Nolan moved to stand beside him, eyeing his friend searchingly. "I hope like hell you remember whose side you're on, Khar. You're scaring the crap out of me."

  "I remember my friends, Nolan," Khar rumbled. He extended a paw, and Nolan accepted it. "You will always be part of me, and I will always be part of you. I know you do not understand my actions, but I promise that when you understand them, you will agree they are necessary."

  Nolan barked a short laugh. "If you say so." He turned to Hannan. "Stay here and keep the shuttle powered up. Contact Admiral Fizgig and give her a full report. If she can stop the battle, wonderful."

  47

  End This

  Zakanna quietly opened her lower nostrils, taking a single long breath before closing them. It helped to compose her, and in that moment she needed composure. She stepped off the transport disk, onto the command island.

  Yogotho, her finest surviving fleet leader, stood atop the dais, calling out orders to the battery of techsmiths behind him. She looked up, trying to make sense of the battle as it raged across the system.

  "Takkar has not fared well," Yulo murmured, also staring up.

  "I only count nine dreadnoughts." Zakanna shook her head. "Over a third of the support ships are missing." She stalked to the dais.

  Yogotho turned to her, giving a low bow. "Do you wish to assume command, Empress?" She noted the glare that Yogotho shot Nolan's way. The human stood back at the edge of the island next to Khar, both looking uncomfortable.

  Zakanna considered the benefits of assuming direct command. She surveyed the system q
uickly, but other than scattered debris fields there was no direct sign of ship to ship combat.

  "I will assume command." She leaped atop the dais, stabbing a finger at a techsmith. "Get me Takkar. Now. Then compile a report on the surface battle."

  "I have opened a channel, Empress." The techsmith bowed, even as a spider-legged holo-unit scurried onto the dais. A hologram sprang to life above it, showing Takkar's command island.

  Takkar stood alone, except for a single techsmith. His hands were clasped behind his back, and he stared upward, no doubt studying the battle. He turned toward the holo-unit, his fur darkening. "Now is hardly the time, Zakanna. I've given you everything you wished. What is it now? Be swift. I have a battle to run."

  "The battle is over." Zakanna leaned closer to the holo-unit, glaring at the defiant commander. "Order your vessels to retreat to my position. Now."

  "I'll do no such thing," Takkar roared. "The work is not yet done. We've nearly destroyed their factory."

  "Takkar." Zakanna stepped back, flaring her lower nostrils and forcing her fur to a soft grey. "You have fought bravely this day, and no doubt could eradicate every last Coalition vessel easily. I can see that you were winning." She couldn't. In fact, there was still no sign of the enemy fleet. "This battle is no longer of import. The Kthul, under the direction of the seekers, have seized control of Imperalis. They've awakened an army of guardians. Over a quarter of the Nyar fleet has been eradicated. What you possess here is the sum of our fighting strength against the Kthul. If we lose it fighting this...Coalition, then the seekers win. Our people become slaves to the Nameless Ones, just as our ancestors did. Think, Takkar. I know how you hate the seekers. Do you really wish to play into their hands?"

  Takkar's fur darkened to a deep red-black. Whirls of color flowed through it as Takkar labored under a maelstrom of emotion. Zakanna said nothing, allowing the storm to blow out. She knew Takkar, knew what he loved, and what he despised. Takkar hated seekers more than anything, more than he valued winning here...even against the foe that had so incensed and embarrassed him.

  "Very well." Takkar raised a clenched fist, and the techsmith transmitted his orders. The Ganog fleet ceased firing on the doomed factory in low orbit. "Yet how do you expect to convince the enemy to withdraw? This enemy commander strikes from the shadows, and then quickly retreats. She has bled my forces, and there is nothing to stop her from continuing this."

  "Nolan?" Zakanna called, waving the human forward.

  He joined her in front of the hologram, nodding to Takkar. "Hello, Takkar. I've had my people contact Admiral Fizgig to request a cease fire. If you take no hostile action, she'll honor that. For now."

  "Very well. Empress, are you certain this alliance is wise? We know little of these new aliens." Takkar frowned at Nolan.

  "Takkar, the Coalition has faced a Nameless One, and killed it. For now, that is all I need to know. We have a common foe, and I believe the Coalition will see reason. If they do not, then I will unleash you to destroy them." Zakanna gave a simple shrug, as if the outcome didn't matter.

  Takkar cocked his head thoughtfully. "Perhaps you are right. I would have expected another strike by now, yet there is no sign of her fleet."

  As if in answer to his words dozens of Coalition vessels decloaked. They were clustered in high orbit, far enough away that they could easily interpose the planet between them and the Ganog. They made no threatening move, merely hovering there in orbit.

  "Empress, we are receiving a signal from the enemy fleet. They are requesting a cease fire. They would like to send a delegation aboard." The techsmith gave a low bow, then backed away as she awaited a response.

  Zakanna smiled. "Tell them we agree. Invite them to send a force of their warriors aboard. We have much to discuss."

  48

  Pact

  Nolan offered an arm to help Fizgig down off the platform, onto the ivory ring bordering the empress's command island. She merely glared at him, hopping nimbly to the island. Fizgig turned to the center of the island, sizing up the empress and her delegation.

  "It would seem she has kept her word," Fizgig said. "I see only a few attendants."

  "She seems trustworthy--so far anyway." Nolan fell into step next to Fizgig as they slowly approached the empress.

  She stood atop her dais, hands clasped behind her back. Her fur was a soft grey, almost white. Next to her stood Khar, his body covered by environmental armor. Only his head was exposed, his golden mane framing his leonine face.

  On the empress's other side stood an unfamiliar Ganog, one who was glaring hatefully at Fizgig. He was taller than the empress, taller even than T'kon. His scarlet armor gleamed, and an enormous axe with a wickedly curved blade was strapped to his back.

  A single Saurian in grey robes stood a few feet from the dais, attentively waiting for orders from its mistress. That was it. The empress had no other guards, and if he or Fizgig decided to attack her there was little she'd be able to do to prevent it.

  That showed trust, which gave Nolan hope.

  He approached, then gave a short bow. "Empress Zakanna, allow me to introduce Admiral Fizgig of Pride Fizgig. She is our finest Fleet Commander, and has engaged your forces both at Ganog 7 and here in the Atreas system."

  Fizgig inclined her head at Zakanna, but didn't bow. Her tail swished slowly behind her, and her feline eyes were narrowed to slits. There was more white in her fur than when Nolan had last met her, but he had no doubt that she was just as lethal as she'd been in her prime. Probably more so.

  "I am pleased to meet you, Fizgig." Zakanna returned the nod that Fizgig had given, mimicking it perfectly.

  "I have only come because Nolan insisted. So far as I am concerned, you are an enemy--one who struck without warning, and has caused untold damage in both lives and material. Why have you called me here?" Fizgig spoke simply, as she would to an equal. It was a start.

  "I have asked you here because I wish to end the bloodshed between our races," the empress explained. She waved a furred hand in Khar's direction. "Your companion has told me much of your species, and I believe attacking you was a mistake--one I'd like to rectify, before the war escalates."

  "Really?" Fizgig asked dryly. "Because I was under the impression that you'd been deposed, and that you now need the Coalition as allies to win back your throne."

  "I told you this was pointless," the other Ganog growled.

  "Be silent, Takkar." The empress spoke quietly, and Takkar's jaw snapped shut.

  "Takkar?" Fizgig asked, her eyes widening slightly. She smiled grimly up at the black-furred Ganog. "So you are the enemy commander I've been battling. You've an interesting style. It relies too much on brute force, but I cannot deny that it is effective."

  Takkar opened his mouth to reply, but snapped it shut again at a look from the empress.

  "Admiral--that is your title, yes?" the empress smoothly interjected. "You've suffered much at the hands of the Vkash clan, Takkar's clan. I lead the Imperium--or led it, until, as you say, I was deposed. Yet I still lead the Yog clan. I still command our armies, and our fleets--"

  "You seek to deflect blame for the attack on Takkar," Fizgig interrupted. "And from the look of it, he's willing to accept responsibility. Yet I am no fool. I see three distinctly different forces out there." Fizgig pointed up at the dreadnought's transparent hull, at the cluster of Ganog ships. "Is one of those fleets from the Yog clan?"

  "Yes," Zakanna reluctantly admitted.

  "Your species, your empire, has warred upon us. Now, you face a civil war. Why would we intervene? We can simply wait for you to wipe each other out, while we grow strong." Fizgig folded her arms, her tail swishing a wide arc over her shoulders.

  "I'll tell you why," Nolan said, surprising everyone. All eyes turned to him. "Admiral, we faced Void Wraith on their capital world. Not just any Void Wraith either. These ones had been kept in stasis for millennia. That army is the reason the empress was deposed in the first place. You and I both know what that m
eans."

  "Nolan speaks the truth," Khar roared, hopping from the dais to land near Fizgig. He stalked over, his posture more aggressive than Nolan had ever seen it with Fizgig. "The Void Wraith are puppets of the Gorthians, as are the seekers who now control them. These foul scum are tools of the Gorthians, and if we do nothing they will place the might of the Ganog at the command of our enemies. If we do nothing, we invite a war we may not be able to win."

  "I have overlooked your disloyalty, Khar, because I consider you one of my own kits. Yet do not think I have forgotten it, or that it rests easy in my heart. I do not know what spell this...woman has cast over you, but it is clear to me that your judgement has been compromised." Fizgig's eyes narrowed to slits, and she took a threatening step toward Khar.

  The larger Tigris retreated--not that Nolan could blame him.

  "Believe as you will about my loyalty, but I speak facts, Mighty Fizgig," Khar protested. He pointed at the Ganog fleet. "That fleet is the best hope we have of retaking Imperalis from the seekers."

  Fizgig appeared unmoved, and there was an awkward moment of silence, until the empress finally spoke. "Admiral, surely you can see the merits in an alliance. Both of us have been deeply wounded today."

  "Not so," Fizgig countered, folding her arms. "There have been many Ganog bodies, but very few Coalition."

  "What are you prattling about?" Takkar roared, glaring down at Fizgig. "We've wiped out your factories, both on the ground and in orbit. We've taken away your ability to make war."

  "Have you?" Fizgig asked mildly. She gave a slight smile. "Or did you come to the system we chose, attacking factories that our people no longer use?"

  Both Takkar and the empress were made mute by the revelation. Finally, the empress turned to Khar. "You knew about this, didn't you?"

  "No, but had I, I would have said nothing." Khar said simply. He didn't make excuses, calmly accepting the empress's silent fury.