by Chris Burton
So, this was it. All that effort to get off the Kryl ship and it would all end here. He felt absolutely empty as if everything that mattered to him suddenly just vaporized—even his dear beautiful Carla.
The Alpha battle cruiser arrived just as the shuttle digested its last kilowatt of power. The Halo 7 was back.
* * * *
The battle cruiser caught Morvalt’s cruiser completely unaware. The Kryl vessel was only partially shielded with no additional fighters in her hanger bay. Within minutes, the Halo 7 flooded the battle scene with twenty-five Jump Ships which quickly finished off the three fighters and now pummeled the Kryl cruiser with lasers, plasma cannons, and tiger missies. The Alpha ship added to the melee by discharging its PBA and an array of Teutonic’s straight into the hull of the Kryl vessel.
* * * *
Jake was only partially aware of the events around him. Morvalt entered his mind again,In its weakened state, he was an easy target, yet the probing was less intense than before.
The Kryl cruiser positioned itself to dock with the shuttle. Jake stood up, left the cockpit, and headed into the cargo area and to the main access doors. From here, Morvalt could access the shuttle and Jake would have nothing left to give. Jake unlocked the access doors and allowed the Kryl umbilical to lock onto the access portal. Three Kryl drones accessed the shuttle.
Morvalt still intended to secure his kill. His ship docked with the shuttle and his drones entered. Now he joined them.
He entered the main cargo deck to see Jake Carter collapsed in a ball on the floor.
“Get up Carter.”
Jake looked up and recognized his nemesis once again. He stayed down.
“Would it make any difference if I get up Morvalt? You are going to kill me anyway.”
“Quite possibly, but not yet. Take him aboard my ship and secure him.”
The guards carried the limp body of Jake Carter through the docking tunnel with Morvalt following. The docking clamps were removed, Once safely inside the Kryl ship, Morvalt re-focused his attention back towards the Halo 7.
His shields were severely depleted and she was not his target. Carter was in his custody and he had official duties to attend to on Earth. There was little point sticking around, waiting for the damage to his ship to become serious.
“Turn us around and head back towards the fleet. This battle is over.”
Chapter Seventy-Eight
Rescue
“Carter has been taken by Morvalt. His ship is turning about,and heading back to the Kryl fleet. How should we respond?”
“Comms, can we verify that the distress call definitely originated from the Eagle?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Helm, pursuit speed. Keep the Jump Ships out there. Let’s slow that Kryl ship down.”
The Halo 7 commenced her chase on auxiliary power. Morvalt’s ship’s drives were badly damaged and she was slowing down.
“Major De Vere to the command bridge.” Hoskins would bring Jake back and nothing was going to stop him.
“We are getting very close to the Kryl fleet. We will be putting ourselves in grave danger if we continue.”
“We owe it to him and in any case, we are still a long way out. Morvalt’s ship is crippled. This recovery will be a swift in and out and then we get the hell out of here.”
“Okay. Can I suggest we bring in the Jump Ships, they have done their bit?”
Hoskins pondered his response “Agreed, see to it.”
“Sir, incoming message from Fleet command. The battle is over and a negotiated settlement is in place. They are requesting acknowledgement.”
Hoskins looked at his XO. “I don’t think Morvalt is following any agreement.”
“Comms. ignore the message. We did not receive it.”
“But, Sir...”
“You have your orders.”
Commander Jacques was about to protest.
“Morvalt is a Kronan. He would know about an agreement way before fleet command did and he chose to ignore it. We are going to rescue Carter.”
Major Richard De Vere, the Halo 7’s Marine Commander entered the bridge.
“Ah Major. I want you to board the Kryl vessel and recover Lieutenant Jake Carter. Use any means necessary.”
De Vere acknowledged and set off to coordinate his sortie.
* * * *
On board Morvalt’s ship, the damage was taking its toll. It was clear the Halo 7’s commander did not intend to give up. It was time to persuade him to do so.
“Open a communication channel with the Alpha ship.”
* * * *
“Sir, the Kryl ship has opened a comm. link.”
“Okay, let’s have it.”
“Commander Hoskins, I am Morvalt, Kronan and now Governor of Earth. You are aware that there is an agreement in place between our peoples and your attack on my ship is a contravention of that. Stand down or be destroyed.”
“Morvalt, you have one of my officers aboard your ship. I want him returned and then we will back off. Your kidnapping of Alpha personnel would clearly be in breach of any agreement.”
“Jake Carter came aboard my ship of his own free will.”
“That’s crap. Release Carter to us immediately or prepare to be boarded.”
Morvalt took a moment to respond. Time was catching up with the Halo 7 commander. Soon re-enforcements would arrive.
“If you attempt to board you will be unsuccessful. We will not hesitate to defend ourselves. You are preventing the new leader of Earth from carrying out his responsibilities.”
“Last chance Morvalt.”
Hoskins received confirmation that the extended docking platform was engaged. One hundred troopers stood at the exit door, waiting to board the Kryl vessel.
“Back off or you will be killed trying...” Morvalt’s sentence trailed off as it became clear that the situation had changed.
The marine troopers has just blown the access panel and boarded the Kryl vessel.
“It is too late. Release Carter and we will be on our way. There does not need to be any bloodshed.”
The comm. link went dead.
* * * *
Jake Carter was in a holding cell in the bow of the ship. He heard the fracas above him but had no comprehension of what was going on. He was beginning to feel himself again now that Morvalt had released him. His head hurt again and he was exhausted but he was still alive. What is going on up there?
Thirty seconds later he had his answer as the cell door opened and a heavily armored Alpha Marine stepped inside.
“Lieutenant Carter, Sir. We are here to recover you, Sir.”
“Christ! How? Have you boarded?”
“Yes. Best if you don’t ask too many questions and just follow me, Sir. Keep close. Do not turn around or deviate.”
Jake was not about to argue and quickly followed the marine out of the cell, where two more marines joined them. They ran up the corridor toward the front of the ship. They stopped as they reached a gantry. There was fire everywhere and Jake saw Kryl lying dead where they fell. Major Richard De Vere stood at the gantry with a serious look on his face.
“Nice to see you again Mister Carter. Please follow the marines up the corridor and out through the docking platform.”
Jake followed and in less than a minute, he was in the portal chamber between the two ships. He felt safe again but for how long he did not know. As he reached the comfort of the Halo 7 access doors, he turned back to look at Morvalt’s ship. It was ablaze and immediately surrounded by the remaining marines. Major De Vere pushed Jake and his men through before picking up his mobile comms. device.
“De Vere, code three. Recovery complete, close access doors, and get us out of here.”
* * * *
Aboard the Kryl ship, his crew were scattered everywhere. The Alpha marines devastating attack had destroyed his ship and she was going down. Far from being the savior of his people, he was now a failed cruiser commander, beaten because of his obsessi
on to avenge Navalion’s death. Now Jake Carter was responsible for his death too. Why had he not seen this coming? He was a Kronan. He should surely have been able to foresee his own death and he hadn’t. He felt weak. Is this what death is like?
Then he realized. The destruction of his ship and his untimely death was actually a blessing. His body was subject to the final stages of the disease which had infected so many of his people. No matter, I am going to die whatever happens but I do so in the knowledge that my people have been saved. They will soon feed. Seconds later, the Kryl Cruiser broke up and Morvalt was no more.
* * * *
Jonathan Hoskins smiled. He had the bastard and Jake Carter had been recovered.
“Get us underway, Number One. I assume we now have full Stellar capability. Resume previous course heading.”
He did not know it yet but their problems were far from over.
Chapter Seventy-Nine
Kravos’ Revenge
So far, it was a good day for Kravos. An agreement had been reached and he was just about to personally witness the transfer of the sovereign power of Earth from Humans to Kryl. That was before he realized his Kronan was in trouble.
He was on his command deck, having just informed the legislative that agreement had been ratified, when he witnessed Morvalt’s ship set off in pursuit of a small Alpha shuttle. He kept a close eye on proceedings—protective as he always was of his Kronan. Then it became clear that his Kronan was in trouble and he gave the command to follow. Two other Kryl Cruisers were summoned to join him. They now sat back two thousand kilometers adrift of the Kronan’s vessel to witness proceedings.
Kravos watched in disbelief as first the Kronan’s ship was peppered by Alpha Jump Ships. Then she was brought to a virtual standstill and the Alpha ship personnel boarded. He thought about moving forward but he did not want to offend his Kronan. He would surely regain control quickly.
He had just seen his Kronan’s ship destroyed. He could not believe Morvalt was gone. His disbelief quickly turned to anger and he forgot about the momentous events from earlier in the day. He would turn the Alpha ship into dust particles. Kravos though, was a thinker and he needed time to plan. He knew with the two other cruisers, he had the advantage and his ship was fully armed and operational. It took him a few moments longer before he recognized his most valuable asset.
Kravos gave the command to pursue the Halo 7 and the three cruisers set out just as the Earth ship changed course and headed out under sub-light power. As he drew closer, all three ships disabled their cloaking devices and Kravos opened a communication channel.
“Commander Hoskins. My name is Kravos. You will have heard of me.”
* * * *
Hoskins sighed and switched the channel to video interface so he could see who he was talking to.
“Kravos...no, I don’t believe I do. What can we do for you?”
“I am the Chief Negotiator for the Kryl Fleet. Do you know who I have aboard my ship, Commander?”
“No. I guess you are going to tell me.”
Hoskins was growing tired of the Kryl’s games. If they were going to fight, could they just get on with it?
“Is Jake Carter aboard your ship now?”
“Who is Jake Carter?”
“Don’t play games with me. I know he is on board and that you just destroyed my Kronan’s ship. You will surrender Carter to me or your ship will be destroyed. You are outnumbered.”
Hoskins laughed. “Do you seriously believe I am going to hand Carter over to you, just ten minutes after we mounted a successful mission to rescue him? I don’t respond to threats and I am not concerned about your theoretical advantage. Back off or we will deploy our Jump Ships.”
“I have Alpha’s two chief negotiators on board Lieutenant Colonel Harrington and Major Carla Stevenson. I believe you are familiar with the woman?”
Hoskins briefly put his head to his hands before replying. Why did this always happen to him?
“Are you offering some kind of trade-off?”
“Give me Carter and you can have the two negotiators in exchange.”
“Carter is a valuable member of my crew. I have no place for negotiators.”
“Then you would rather see them die?”
“No, of course not.”
“Did you know Jake Carter is already trying to take a shuttle off your ship again?”
“XO Verify.”
“You cannot have Jake Carter...”
Hoskins wanted to antagonize Kravos to keep the conversation going, while his XO checked Jake’s status.
“You have five Earth minutes to surrender him. If you fail, we will attack and destroy you.”
The XO whispered in Hoskins’s ear. “Carter just tried to access the hanger bay. I have put him in a containment cell.”
“I need a gesture of faith to give credibility to your exchange offer. Since Carla Stevenson is so clearly linked to Jake Carter, I would suggest you offer us Lieutenant Colonel Harrington now and get your other two ships to back off. As we are negotiating between us, we do not need them.”
“How do I benefit from that?”
“You are a negotiator, you know how these things work.”
Hoskins nodded to his XO, trusting that he would understand the meaning of this simple communication. The XO left his station and headed to where Major De Vere currently stood.
“Major,” he whispered, “I need you to get ready to recover someone again.”
The Marine Commander nodded and set off to brief his men.
* * * *
Kravos had now contemplated Hoskins’s offer.
“Very well, I will release Harrington but the two ships stay.
* * * *
Two minutes later, Hoskins and Jacques were in the marine briefing room with De Vere.
“We need a discrete covert operation with maybe five operatives at the most. When Harrington comes across, you find your way in and release Lieutenant Stevenson. She has a security tag so you should be able to lock onto her.”
“We will need boosters to enhance the tag’s harmonics. I am pretty sure we know where to find her anyway. I’ll take seven men—three to recover Stevenson and four to provide cover. It is not going to be easy to find a way aboard in the first place.”
“I have every faith in you.”
Hoskins turned to his XO.
“Jake Carter will need to stay in his cell with a full complement of guards. It is possible the Kryl will try to recover him themselves by trying to board our ship. We need guards stationed at key points throughout the ship, as well as at the cell. Are we clear?”
Both Jacques and De Vere agreed. Hoskins returned to the bridge where a comm. link had just opened. It was Kravos.
“Commander, we are ready to deliver Harrington to you. I presume you will try something to prevent me from taking Carter. I would not recommend it and please, time is of the essence.”
“We are receiving your umbilical cord now. We will receive Harrington, check he is okay,and then move to the exchange.”
“No! You will have Carter ready for an immediate exchange. Don’t play games with me. You have one minute to complete the exchange once Harrington has arrived on your ship.”
The comm. link died. Hoskins handed his XO the con and left the bridge immediately, using the elevator to take him three decks down where the access portal connected.
* * * *
Harrington just arrived when Hoskins entered the reception room which linked to the access portal. De Vere was in position with his six marines. An eighth man dressed in Alpha fatigues and with Jake Carter’s security ID stood in front of the portal. His real name was Trooper Paris and he was the decoy. He would only be used if absolutely necessary.
Hoskins waited thirty seconds longer before opening the comm. link.
“Kravos. We are ready. Open the portal.”
The access portal opened immediately and the decoy stepped inside the umbilical cord. He walked towards the Kryl ves
sels airlock and waited. The door opened and three Kryl guards walked through.
Major De Vere responded by stepping forward as if to welcome them and then slit the first Kryl’s throat from ear to ear. The second and third stood little chance as they were quickly ambushed by three other troopers. Trooper Paris returned to the Halo 7 and moved to a secure location. De Vere and his men advanced into the Kryl Cruiser.
The comm. link opened again.
“Why is Carter not yet aboard my ship?”
“He is on his way,,” Hoskins lied.
* * * *
Timing was critical. De Vere needed to ensure Carla Stevenson was secured quickly and then off the ship fast. He left the troopers’ trademark parting gift: a tiny high-yield explosive device which he would attach to the inside of the umbilical chamber.
De Vere and has team quickly moved down to Carla’s location on the bottom deck of the ship. The tracer only partially worked but they had a rough location which was good enough. As anticipated, Kravos made no effort to release Carla. She was in a holding cell, secured by a force field. There were no guards and De Vere’s men quickly set about the task of deactivating the field.
* * * *
Hoskins stood in the shadows, hoping De Vere’s men would reappear soon. He knew whatever happened, he would be needed on the bridge imminently. Kravos’ ship and the two other cruisers would surely fire on them. He heard a crash and three of his security crew standing in front of the access portal suddenly fell to the ground. He had not heard any firing but realized something bad was just about to happen.
Kravos appeared at the Halo 7’s access portal followed by twenty of his men. Three other security guards moved forward to confront him but quickly fell to the ground.
Hoskins was powerless to do anything but stayed out of sight. He was killing their minds! The deceiving bastard never had any intention to swap. He had come for Carter directly! He watched helplessly as the Kryl contingent marched through the access portal room and in to the main corridor. As soon as the room was clear, Hoskins nudged his lapel comm. device.