Battle Beyond Earth - Box Set (Books 6-9)

by Nick S. Thomas

  “Well, she’s not so far from the truth there, is she? We’re proper fucked, and she knows it.”

  “She thinks she knows everything. I bet she is more confident and cocky than ever before, thinking she knows all our secrets. She isn’t even in a rush anymore. From what she told Lieutenant King, she wants us to sweat for a while.”

  “And? A little more time to drown in our own sorrows, so how does that help us?”

  “You spoke of traps. She doesn’t think herself capable of being ensnared in one now, and she doesn’t even see any danger in it. We will use that.”

  “Well, I sure hope you have some great plan, because I am all out of them. We keep doing this dance, and we don’t get anywhere.”

  “Take it easy. You could all do with a break. I will figure this out.”

  “How long do we have?”

  “Maybe a few days, but we aren’t gonna let her pick the time and place. That will be ours to choose, and she will run with it because she is a fool.”

  “I wouldn’t say that. She is many things, but not foolish.”

  “Really? I am willing to bet you that she isn’t a smart one. Not half as smart as she thinks she is. Leave it to me. I will set this up right. Get some rest, Colonel. You are going to need it.”

  Rogers rushed off enthusiastically, but the others didn’t share his belief.

  “You know, for a moment I thought you had good news.”

  “Important news, I am not sure we ever get much good news anymore.”

  Both of them sat down beside the Admiral.

  “I never thought I would live to see days like this, you know. I was a month from compulsory retirement before this war began,” said Vega.

  “Long gone now, Sir, you should be somewhere with your feet up sipping cocktails on a beach,” said Jones.

  “Even if that were possible, could any of you do it while all this is going on?”

  They didn’t reply, but they all knew the answer.

  “So what happened to retirement?” Taylor asked.

  “Nobody mentioned it after all this began, and I’m not asking for it. I just wish I had been twenty years younger. I really don’t have the energy for it anymore.”

  “I don’t believe that. It would take it out of any man, to go through what you do. And anyway, at least you got those years to enjoy.”

  “Yes, better to die an old man at war, than a young one,” he replied with a smile. But he winced as it caused a stinging sensation to the wounds on his face.

  He began to laugh, as it was all that was left to do. It was an odd sensation, but the other two couldn’t help but see the humour in his words and joined in. It was as funny as it was tragic, and eventually when it came to an end, an uncomfortable silence followed.

  “I was ready to press the button, ready and willing, you know that, don’t you, Colonel?”

  “I never doubted you, Sir.”

  “And if I were given the chance again, I would not hesitate to do it. This Bolormaa threatens all civilised life in the universe like no being we have ever known, even more than those enemies you faced back in your day.”

  “It’s true. All the Krys really ever wanted was to have Earth for their own. Had we left it and not shown any intent of coming back, I think we could have continued on with our lives, but that isn’t our way, is it?”

  “No,” replied Vega sternly, “Earth is worth fighting for, and it is worth dying for. It is the very fabric of what makes us human, and even though I get to spend precious little time there anymore, I would pay any price to save it for the generations to come. And I am sure you both would, too.”

  “The fighting still rages on there, you know?” Jones asked.

  “Yes, the enemy seem to funnel just enough troops onto the surface to maintain a perpetual state of war, and tie up all the resources of the world.”

  “That is what I always fought for, you know, Earth,” said Taylor, “It was sacred, more so than it can ever be today. I have seen humans spread out and live on a hundred worlds, moons, and stations. But back then, it was pretty much all we knew. And now, I can’t even be there to defend it.”

  “The time will come when you can return and save Earth once more.”

  “Maybe, Admiral, I just hope I’m not too late.”

  CHAPTER 7

  Taylor awoke to find himself remarkable well rested. He’d been too exhausted to let his troubles get to him, and keep him up at night. Too tired to set an alarm, and nobody had come to awaken him. He had slept for ten hours, and clearly he needed it. There was no sun rising on his window to ease him into the new day. That was something he missed most about being off world. He didn’t even reach over for Alita, forgetting, something he had been doing lately. That bothered him, the realisation that she had slipped so far from him. It certainly put a downer on an otherwise welcome start to the morning. Then his door buzzer rang.

  “Come in!”

  The door slid open, and Rogers stepped in. There was a spring in his step like he had been popping too many stims. He was a little shaky and over excited.

  “Good, you are awake, Colonel.”

  Taylor knew it was no coincidence that his door was knocked on the moment he had arisen.

  “How long have you been out there?”

  “Oh, just an hour or so.”

  Taylor smiled. The enthusiasm was appreciated. It was a welcome change from the dire and depressing faces he saw as he walked among the crew of the Resolution. It was as though they each knew the Admiral’s plan to trade all their lives for Bolormaa’s, and yet they couldn’t know. Rogers looked desperate to explain what he had worked out.

  “I’ve got it. I’ve got it, and it’s so simple it is beautiful.”

  He began to talk, and for what he had described as simple, he sure went on, and on. For thirty minutes solid he talked, and Taylor just switched off and let him continue. He was too worn down to listen to the finer points, and Rogers was too amped up to tone it down. Finally, he stopped to let himself breathe, and he awaited Taylor’s response.

  “So let me get this straight. All of that, and in the end what it achieves is that I get to go out there myself, and fight?”

  “Yes, but in a fair fight, where you can win. We sidestep her tactics and her plots. She may say to the world that she wants a fair fight, but we both know that she would never risk such a thing. If she has any inclination as to what the AR2 can do, she will position herself in the best possible way to not only win, but win so decisively that you are humiliated.”

  “Right, and how is that any different to any other day?”

  “Didn’t you hear what I just said?”

  “I got the gist of it, yeah.”

  He’d not even caught a half of what the Captain was trying to tell him. He was only just awake, and Rogers’ enthusiasm was wearing.

  “All right, all right, so how long do we have?”

  “Well, that’s the big question, isn’t it? And nobody knows. Not long, though. We need to move quickly if we are to make this work the way we want it to.”

  “Isn’t that what we did last time? And look how that worked out.”

  “Yes, but it would have worked. We could not have known CJ would do what he did. That was a wildcard that nobody could have predicted.”

  “Nobody? I told you bringing him back was a mistake. I told you we would pay a heavy price for it.”

  “Yes, and plenty of people said precisely the same thing about you, Colonel, didn’t they?”

  “That’s not a fair comparison, and you know it. He was created by an enemy of Earth.”

  “I know you don’t want to accept this, but CJ has achieved great things for the Alliance, and even this was not done out of malice. Like it or not, he is one of the good guys.”

  Taylor almost choked at the prospect.

  “Making a deal with the devil to help you out doesn’t make him a good guy.”

  The biblical reference didn’t sit well with Rogers, and Taylor instant
ly regretted having used it.

  “There are many evils in this world, but a man who does evil deeds is not the devil, and you cannot claim piety here, Colonel. I know CJ has done some horrific things in his time, but life cannot go on without forgiveness.”

  Taylor was already shaking his head. He looked angry.

  “Oh, no, don’t you dare. Don’t you dare talk to me about forgiveness! I don’t owe forgiveness to anyone, and neither do they deserve it.”

  “Where does this bitterness come from? I know you have seen great evil in your lifetime, but you have also experienced good, too, in so many places. So much goodness. The friends you have had, and still have.”

  “And because I love my friends, I should hate my enemies less?”

  Rogers shrugged as if Taylor had taken the words straight from his mouth, and yet he did not believe them.

  “Would it be such a bad thing? And you talk about enemies and friends as if it is black and white. You of all people should well understand that things are rarely that simple. Were you not the first human to befriend the Krys? And at a time when the races were in all-out war with each other?”

  Taylor could not argue with that. It was true.

  “In all of that you managed to find the good in an enemy. I know CJ has done awful things in the past, but you cannot tell me that you have always been a saint. We both know that you are not, and never have been. People change, and they deserve a second chance.”

  “And if that second chance costs the life of a good person, or worse, a few hundred, thousand, where does it stop?”

  “Sometimes we must all take a chance, and that is something you certainly understand. CJ isn’t the same man you used to know, and that is plain for all to see. His motivations may be a little different to you or I, but he is doing good.”

  “And for how long?”

  “Should we always question good deeds? There may be a day that CJ once again becomes the villain you once knew, but why wish it to happen? Why meet trouble half way?”

  Taylor smiled.

  “What is it?”

  “That’s something Jones used to say. The old Jones, Charlie.”

  “Yes? Well, he was right.”

  “But CJ is a ticking time bomb.”

  “Maybe, and if he is, just be sure he is placed correctly when he goes off.”

  Taylor groaned.

  “I’m not going to change your mind, am I?” Rogers asked.

  Taylor smiled in response.

  “No, because you are just as stubborn as he is.”

  “All right, then, so how are we going to do this?”

  “Staying put would be a mistake. It would suggest a level of confidence that would make her wary. She has to think what we did here was the limit of our capabilities. That when she left us we were on our hands and knees, and that she had triumphed.”

  “That’s not exactly a lie, is it?”

  “No, precisely, a half truth is always the best ruse.”

  “So what, then? We make it look like we are falling back for some last stand?”

  “Aren’t we?

  “I guess so.”

  “And of all places, if you were going to make that stand, where would it be?”

  Taylor didn’t even have to give it much thought. He knew the answer instantly.

  “The only place I truly care about. The only place that I really call home.”

  “Yes, exactly. We’re going back to Earth, Colonel.”

  Taylor took a deep breath as he realised what that would mean.

  “All or nothing, is that what you are saying?”

  “What better motivation to be at your very best, but to fight in a place you truly care about, and to Bolormaa it will look like she has you cornered.”

  “And if I fail, it’s all over.”

  Rogers smiled.

  “There are more people fighting this war than just you, Colonel. We are betting on you, but you aren’t our only hope.”

  He perked up at that. It was a weight off his shoulders, but he wondered how true it really was. Then he decided he’d rather not ask; rather not know if it was a lie. Ignorance was the better path in this moment. He’d prefer to believe there was hope outside of his own efforts.

  “Earth?” he asked as he reminisced, “Yes, why not, why not indeed?”

  Rogers well understood that it was rhetorical.

  “He may not live you know.”

  “Who?”

  “CJ. Bolormaa didn’t go easy on him. His injuries are…severe.”

  Taylor didn’t know quite how to feel. He hated CJ, but he hated Bolormaa more, and he couldn’t help but feel some shred of respect for CJ for having the balls to stand up to the enemy Queen. He knew all too well how terrifying an experience it was.

  “Do you think I can do it?” he eventually asked.

  “Yes, I do. I have faith in you.”

  That wasn’t what he wanted to hear.

  “Faith? How is that worth anything? You have faith blindly.”

  “Far from it. I have seen magnificent things achieved by good people, and that gives me faith, and more so than that. I am willing to stand by my faith and prove it.”

  “Oh, and how will you do that?”

  “I told you, when you stand before Bolormaa, I am going to be right there with you. Whatever it takes, I will be there. I am not afraid to face her.”

  “Maybe you should be. I hate to say it, but CJ is a hell of a fighter, and she took him apart like he was nothing, from what I can tell.”

  “Because he was foolish and arrogant. He did not have all the facts, and I hasten to add, that had you passed on some vital information to him about the AR2, he would never have gotten himself in such a state.”

  “He extorted that suit from us, and it was something we could not afford to lose, and you think I should have given him a full lesson on how to use it?”

  “It might have been an idea. I told you from the start just how important it was that we kept this technology secret, and not only have you given one away, but you also revealed to the enemy that you have it.”

  “So it’s all my fault now? That’s just great.”

  “I am just saying that sometimes it wouldn’t hurt to show a little more caution.”

  “And yet you were celebrating the fact that CJ has now given us this opportunity.”

  “Don’t flip this onto me. I am making the best out of a bad situation. That is not the same thing as it being a desirable one. And quite frankly, it is nothing short of luck that it has worked out this way. It could have gone down very differently. The only thing that keeps us going right now is Bolormaa’s obsession with you.”

  “Why does it always have to be me? Why can’t I be left to fight, just like everyone else?”

  “Because you stepped up and made a name for yourself. You are famous, and famous for doing one thing, defeating the enemies of Earth, and ever after, that paints a target on your head.”

  “So you are saying it is a vicious cycle?”

  “Precisely, and I don’t think there is anything you can do to stop it. Even if you retired to some peaceful land, the enemies of Earth and the Alliance would still seek you out, as a means to prove themselves in the eyes of the universe.”

  “So, I am the universe’s punching bag?”

  “Not quite, you hit back,” he replied with a smile.

  “You know there was a time when I could call on powerful friends and allies. Irala, and Jafar for a start, and where are they now? Jafar is an old man, and Irala taken away from us. Who do I go to now?”

  “The fight for Earth this time is going to be decided by humans, just like it once was.”

  “Humans? Some of the weakest species in the universe?”

  “Weak? How could we have done all this if we were weak? An ox is stronger than a man, but does that make it able to achieve more than he can? The strength of man is not in his muscles, but in his head, and in his heart.”

  “You really believe
that? After all the things you have seen? You have been around me long enough to know better.”

  “No…that has only confirmed my belief.”

  Taylor fell silent as he thought it over. He wasn’t the same man he had once been, not since he had lost Alita, and especially since he had seen what she had become.

  “You still have something to live for, you know that right?”

  Taylor didn’t respond, and Rogers could tell more than ever that he was in a bad place.

  “I said we would find a way to get her back, and that is not a promise I am going to break. We will get Alita back, and facing Bolormaa will not be the end. You aren’t being sent to face her just to die.”

  “I wonder if it would be such a bad thing. Everyone I have ever loved and cared for dies before me, maybe it is my turn.”

  “I am still here. Captain Jones is, too, and you have many more friends who still stand by you.”

  They heard footsteps approaching, and Jones stepped into view.

  “Looks like we’re gonna need a new ride.”

  “My ship, what has been done to her?”

  “She took a beating, some wonder if she’ll ever make a jump again. The structural damage is beyond belief. It is a miracle anyone survived.”

  Taylor knew the casualties were going to be bad from what he said, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask.

  “Admiral Vega is more than happy to continue on in the task he accepted for this mission,” said Rogers.

  “Yeah, and the Resolution is in the best shape after that fight,” added Jones.

  “The Attila, did she make it?”

  “Yes, she did, tough little beast that she is. Only a handful of casualties, and they certainly gave a good account of themselves. Even so, just nine ships, including the Resolution are able to make the jump.”

  “Nine?” Rogers was shocked at that.

  “This was supposed to be our last stand here, wasn’t it? Well, we made our stand, and we paid the price for it, and look where it got us.”

  “It was not the plan that failed us.”

  “No, it was CJ,” he stated angrily.

  “Whatever has happened is in the past. All we can do is move forward with what we have,” replied Rogers.

  “And just forget it ever happened? Forget that the bastard betrayed us, just as Taylor said he would? Forget that he cost us the lives of tens of thousands here? That’s without even considering the material losses.”