The Star Cross: The Forever War

by Raymond L. Weil

  Creed grinned. “A fitting place for that lowlife scum to die.”

  “Should we leave orbit?” asked Hurkler. “The Kubitz government will order a major investigation over this hit. We took out a key embassy compound, and the fines, if they find out we’re responsible, will be outrageous.”

  “We’ll stay in orbit for now,” Creed replied. “We took precautions to ensure this attack couldn’t be traced back to us.” Besides, he wanted confirmation that Ambassador Tenner was dead.

  Creed looked at one of the viewscreens, showing the burning embassy. Admiral Vickers would be furious when he found out what had happened. Creed had taken meticulous steps to ensure Vickers, at least for now, would not know Creed had escaped from Earth.

  He still felt unrelenting anger at what Vickers had cost him. Earth had meant enough wealth to allow Creed to live a life of affluence on Marsten. He would have been one of the esteemed Profiteers who others came to for advice or to help fund major raiding expeditions. Now all of that was lost.

  Fortunately he had enough credits still on Kubitz to allow him to purchase his new battleship as well as to repair his former raiding fleet. It was much smaller than what it once was, but it would do for now. In time, Creed would correct that. The current crew of his new battleship was made up in part of some of his surviving crews who had escaped from the battle over Earth.

  “We’re detecting communications from the surface to the Human light cruiser,” reported the Profiteer at Communications. “The communication originated from the spaceport.”

  Creed nodded. The mercenaries had deployed communication jammers to ensure the Humans at the embassy could not contact their orbiting warship during the attack. Now it no longer mattered; Creed had achieved his objective. His first blows against Admiral Vickers had been delivered. There would be many more.

  -

  Captain Danforth looked at the communications officer in disbelief. “Are you certain of that?”

  “Yes, it’s been confirmed. One of the embassy’s Humvees is at the spaceport. The main embassy building has been destroyed, and Ambassador Tenner is missing. Captain Briar believes the ambassador was killed in the attack while attempting to reach the Communications Center. They’re in the process of searching for his body.”

  Danforth shook his head. Fleet Admiral Vickers would be livid when he found out. “Ready the FTL transmitter. As soon as we know more, we’ll send a message to Newton.”

  The FTL transmitter was a new one based on Glaymon technology. It wouldn’t take Vickers long to learn what had happened. What his response would be, Danforth had no way of knowing. He did know Vickers and Tenner were close, and the admiral wouldn’t take lightly the news of his friend’s death.

  “Should we evacuate the survivors?” asked Lieutenant Candace Burls.

  “No,” Danforth answered, shaking his head. “If we leave the system, there’s a good chance whoever did this will take us out as well. We’ll wait for the arrival of one of our new battlecruisers before we evacuate anyone.”

  “We could at least bring them up to the ship, where they would be safe.”

  “It may come to that,” answered Captain Danforth. “Let’s wait until we hear more from Captain Briar.”

  Danforth sat in his command chair, wondering exactly what response would be coming from Fleet Admiral Vickers over this. He wouldn’t allow this crime to go unpunished. There was a chance, when the fleet admiral arrived at Kubitz, he would bring an entire warfleet with him. How unfortunate for the Gotham Empire that they didn’t know the extent of the firepower the admiral now wielded in his new warships. With the combined technology of several Protector Worlds as well as the Glaymons, Kurt had the most powerful ships in the galaxy.

  -

  Captain Briar looked at the updated casualty list. They had finally reached the people who had taken refuge in the lower levels and found them still alive. They were shaken up by their ordeal, but they had survived. Looking toward the destroyed main gate, Briar saw a group of Lylan Enforcers standing there. He had informed them his Marines were in the process of recovering the dead, and the Enforcers could either help or remain at the destroyed entrance.

  The head of the Enforcers had decided they would stay at the gate until the Humans had finished, and then they would investigate who was responsible for this attack. It was against the laws of Kubitz for certain weapons to be used inside the city—exactly those used against the embassy—particularly in this part of the city protected by an environmental dome. Heavy fines would be levied.

  “Captain,” called out Lieutenant Jarsky, coming over to the captain. “We’ve found Ambassador Tenner and Corporal Binger.”

  Briar turned to see several Marines carrying out two body bags from the smoking ruins of the embassy. The building still smoldered, and there was still a lot of smoke. The Marines carried the bodies to a long line of other body bags and carefully laid them down. Briar felt a cold chill pass through him at the confirmation that Ambassador Tenner had, indeed, died.

  “Where did you find Ambassador Tenner and Corporal Binger?”

  “In the hallway just outside the Communications Center. They never made it inside.”

  Looking at the increasing numbers of their dead, Briar realized he had failed in his mission. He was supposed to keep the embassy and the ambassador safe; he had not done either. “What’s the body count?”

  “We lost thirty-nine Marines. We’ve found twenty-six of the embassy staff who died, as well as Ambassador Tenner. We still have twelve Marines missing and sixteen staff members.”

  Briar felt as if he had been struck in the gut. Nearly half his Marines had died in the surprise attack. “What’s the condition of the compound?”

  “The barracks are still intact, as well as most of the secondary buildings. Some holes from weapons fire need to be repaired if we plan on using them. We have six breaches in the compound walls, and we’ve lost one of the guard towers as well as two of the Humvees.”

  “Move the surviving embassy staff members into one of the secondary buildings, whichever is the least damaged.” Two of those buildings were set up to house people taken from Earth to be sold in the Kubitz’s slave markets. Fortunately the Profiteers no longer captured people from Earth to be sold. As a result, the two buildings hadn’t been used much recently. They would serve for now to house the surviving staff until something better could be found or the embassy rebuilt.

  “Get a couple squads busy sealing up those breaches in the compound wall,” ordered Briar as he gazed at all the damage. “I feel too exposed with those holes in our defensive perimeter.”

  “Captain,” said Sergeant Hunter as he neared Briar, “Avery Dolman is outside and wants to know if he can do anything to help.”

  Dolman was humanoid and heavily involved in the black market. He had been extremely useful at times in assisting Ambassador Tenner as well as Fleet Admiral Vickers.

  Standing among the ruins of the embassy, Captain Briar was willing to take any help he could get. “Have the Enforcers let Dolman in. I’ll speak with him.”

  A few minutes later Dolman appeared, escorted by half a dozen of his security people. He stopped next to Captain Briar and stared in shock at the destroyed embassy and the long line of bodies. “I don’t see Ambassador Tenner.” Dolman had done a lot of business with the ambassador in the past.

  “He’s dead,” Briar replied in a cold voice. “We were attacked by a Profiteer clan and some Dacroni mercenaries. I believe their target was the ambassador.”

  “Ambassador Tenner was a good man,” Dolman said, a deep frown appearing on his face. “Whoever did this has a lot of connections and spent a small fortune in credits. I’ll have my people make some discreet inquiries. With what was done here, there will certainly be a credit trail.”

  Captain Briar nodded. “I’m sure Fleet Admiral Vickers will want the names of whoever was involved in this.”

  “This has all the indications of a hit,” said Dolman, looking aroun
d at the damage to the compound. “Fleet Admiral Vickers or Ambassador Tenner must have angered someone high in the Kubitz government or in one of the major Profiteer clans.”

  Captain Briar was about to say something when the head of the Lylan Enforcers came over, carrying his handheld device used to hand out fines. Briar didn’t intend to pay any fine for what had happened at the embassy.

  “I’ll handle this,” said Dolman, gazing at the approaching Enforcer. “It’s the least I can do for Ambassador Tenner.”

  Captain Briar watched as Dolman intercepted the Lylan Enforcer. They immediately became involved in a heated argument. After a few moments the Enforcer turned and left, and Dolman headed to Briar.

  “There will be no fines,” Dolman reported. “They have no idea who attacked the compound, and I got the impression they don’t want to know. For tonight, they’ll keep Enforcers on patrol outside the compound and will limit entry to authorized personnel only. Once you’re ready, they want to come in and inspect the compound to determine exactly what weapons were used.” Dolman paused, gazing at the destroyed gate and several of the large gaps in the compound wall. “I know of a construction crew I can get here tomorrow. They can have the compound wall repaired and the guard tower back up inside of thirty hours. As to the embassy, that’ll take longer.”

  “I suspect Fleet Admiral Vickers will have a say in what he wants done with the embassy. However, I would appreciate the construction crew showing up. I would feel much better with a secure perimeter around what remains of the compound.”

  Dolman nodded his understanding. “I’ll have them here first thing in the morning. In the meantime, I’ll start some inquiries to find out who was responsible for this.” Dolman paused, looking, as if searching for someone. “Have you seen Grantz around anywhere?”

  Briar shook his head. “He left earlier to go to one of the pleasure houses to conduct some business.”

  Dolman’s eyes narrowed. “Do you know which one?”

  “No idea. That crazy Profiteer goes to several.”

  “Yes, he does have an appetite for partying. I’ll have some of my people look for him. Is anyone else missing from the compound?”

  “Not that I’m aware of,” Briar answered, and then he looked sharply at Dolman. “You don’t think they would have targeted Grantz as well?”

  “Possibly,” Dolman said. “He and Tenner were pretty close.”

  Captain Briar remained silent. He wondered just what the hell was going on. Why would someone attack the embassy and kill the ambassador? He was certain, when Fleet Admiral Vickers found out about this, he would show up at Kubitz with a fleet. The Profiteers had no idea of the danger Vickers now posed to their little empire. Because of this incident they were about to find out.

  Chapter Two

  Fleet Admiral Kurt Vickers was in his home on the outskirts of the capital, enjoying some quality time with Keera. The four months since his return from Lakiam had been busy. The Glaymons had willingly shared certain aspects of their technology with Newton. Perhaps the most important were the changes made to Newton Station and the other two new shipyards that now orbited the planet. Ship construction had greatly sped up, with Newton Station producing a steady stream of battlecruisers and the two new shipyards building battleships. Other changes had been made too as Protector World technology and additional Glaymon technology had been implemented across the planet.

  “Bryan has a ball game tonight,” said Keera, snuggling up close to Kurt on the couch. “He will expect us to be there.” Keera and Kurt had gotten married a few months back in a small and private ceremony attended by a few close friends.

  Kurt enjoyed watching Bryan play ball. The ballpark was only a few blocks from their new house. “What are Dalen and Meesa doing?”

  “They’re coming,” Keera said, smiling. “Dalen’s turned over a new leaf. I can’t believe how much he’s changed since coming to Newton. Meesa told me the other night they’re thinking about starting a family.”

  Kurt’s eyes widened. Dalen didn’t seem like the family type to him, though Meesa would be a good mother. He was about to mention that when his cell phone rang. “Yes,” he said, answering it. He listened for a moment, a knot grow in his stomach. “I’ll be right there.”

  “What’s wrong?” asked Keera, seeing the shocked and pale look on Kurt’s face.

  “That was Governor Spalding’s office. “There’s been an attack on our embassy at Kubitz.” Kurt was still processing what he had just been told. Not only had Ambassador Tenner been killed but so had a number of Marines and some of the embassy staff. He felt as if he had been blindsided. Over the last several years, he and Tenner had become close friends.

  “The Vorn?” asked Keera with fear on her face. “Have they attacked the Gothan Empire?”

  “No, someone else did. Marvin Tenner was killed in the attack.”

  “Oh, no!” cried Keera, her eyes widening in disbelief. “How?”

  “Dolman’s looking into it. I’m going to Spalding’s office for a briefing. You’ll have to tell Bryan something important came up, and I couldn’t come to his game.”

  Keera was silent for a long moment, and then she spoke. “Are you going to Kubitz?”

  Kurt stood and walked to the large window that faced the city. From here he could see the tall buildings as well as Government Center where Spalding had his office. “Probably. If I do, I’m taking one of the new battlefleets. It’s time someone showed the Profiteers this murderous activity must come to a stop.” He felt anger at Tenner’s death. Someone would pay!

  A strange look passed over Keera’s face. “The Profiteers will resist you, particularly the Controllers. They will not accept any changes.”

  Kurt turned toward Keera with a grim and determined look on his face. “I won’t give them any choice.”

  -

  An hour later Kurt entered Governor Spalding’s office.

  “It’s a sad day,” commented General Mclusky, rising from his chair and shaking Kurt’s hand. “Ambassador Tenner will be missed. He was a good man.”

  Kurt sat in the chair next to Mclusky in front of the governor’s desk. “Do we know anything else?”

  “I have a complete casualty list,” said Spalding, handing it over to Kurt. “Captain Danforth of the Sydney sent it just a few minutes ago.”

  Kurt took the list and read over the names. Quite a few he recognized. “Did Captain Danforth have any idea who might have done this?”

  “The captain indicated in his report that it seemed to be the Jalon Profiteer Clan and a group of Dacroni mercenaries,” answered General Mclusky. “Our Marines nearly wiped out the Profiteers, but most of the mercenaries escaped. They took their dead with them so we can’t confirm for sure which Dacroni clan hit the embassy.”

  “What do we know about the Jalon Profiteers?” So many Profiteer clans were on Kubitz that it was almost impossible to keep them straight. However, since setting up the embassy on Kubitz, the staff had created a database of the different clans, in case it was ever needed in the future.

  “They’re a minor clan who hires out for a lot of the dirty work that occurs on Kubitz. I don’t think they realized what they were getting into when they attacked our embassy, considering how many of them were killed.”

  “The mercenaries used them as decoys,” Kurt surmised, thinking about how the Dacroni clans operated. “Probably to draw the fire of our Marines, while the Dacroni mercs concentrated on taking out their primary targets—Ambassador Tenner, individually, and our embassy building in general.”

  “Tenner hadn’t reported any problems or even a threat against the embassy,” said Governor Spalding, frowning. “I don’t understand why they singled him out.”

  “A message,” said General Mclusky, looking over at Kurt. “Someone is sending us a message that they want us off Kubitz.”

  “But who?” asked Kurt, his eyes narrowing. “All our fines have been paid, and we’ve purchased a lot of automated factories and other
items from the planet. They’ve made a small fortune off us. Why would anyone react this way?”

  Governor Spalding leaned forward, gazing at Kurt. “There’s only one way to find out. Go to Kubitz and get to the bottom of this. I want whoever is responsible for this atrocity.”

  “I know.” Kurt sighed. He had already decided another trip to the Gothan Empire was on his agenda. “I’ll take one of the new battle groups. I can promise you that we will find the person who did this.”

  “What about taking one of the new Marine assault ships?” asked General Mclusky. “If the two of you want to maintain a presence on Kubitz, I would recommend doubling the size of our Marine force at the embassy compound, reinforcing those Marines with heavier weapons and some of our new armored vehicles. Those old Humvees are fine vehicles, but they’re really outdated.”

  Kurt leaned back in his chair. Everything General Mclusky suggested seriously violated what was legally allowed on Kubitz. But, then again, the weapons used against the embassy had been outlawed as well.

  “Is Lomatz still on the planet?”

  Lomatz was from Kubitz and ran a very lucrative weapons business. He had settled twenty thousand of his people on an island on Newton and had willingly provided advanced technology as well as some very advanced weapons platforms to help protect the planet. He had been instrumental in finding the Glaymons.

  General Mclusky nodded. “The Golan Four is currently in orbit. I don’t know if Lomatz is on board or if he’s at the island.”

  “Either way I want him and his pet Controller Nirron here tomorrow for a meeting.”

  “The Controller?” said Governor Mclusky in confusion. “Why him? He makes me feel like I’m being audited.”

  Kurt took in a deep breath and then replied. “It’s time the Controllers and the Kubitz government receive some of their own medicine.”

  “What do you have in mind?” asked Governor Spalding, looking curious.