Star Crusader: Siege of Kalar

by Thomas, Michael G.

Katanga’s eyes narrowed.

  “Interesting. If Honorius lives, the pup may have some chance.”

  He let that sink in for a moment before saying more.

  “So, war has finally come. You truly fight with us?”

  The Alliance officer shrugged.

  “Why else would we be out here?”

  Katanga grunted.

  “Very well. I must speak with Honorius and your commander. There is much for the three of us to discuss.”

  They turned away, and Nate watched the senior officers leave the platform. He let out a long sigh and then found Billy looking back at him.

  “Nate, can you believe that?”

  Nate laughed, though not too loudly.

  “Which bit?”

  “All of it.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Alliance Assault Carrier 'ANS Victorious'

  Approaching Kalar Anchorage, 9th Quadrant

  January 12th 2473

  Commander Higgins watched with interest the deck officers draw to attention. The mood had shifted since the end of the battle four hours earlier, and though there were still signs of battle, most had been cleared away. The wounded were in the sickbay, and fresh crew had replaced those who desperately needed rest. It was his turn next, but he couldn’t leave, not until he’d seem this event unfold. There was more security in this part of the ship than he was used to, and even Spartan and Colonel Gun appeared on edge. General Honorius, on the other hand, looked positively excited by the events.

  Where are they?

  On cue, the doors hissed open, and in walked two armoured figures. He’d expected them to be the Byotai, but instead they were clearly the infamous Black Widows mercenaries. They moved up towards Spartan and Gun. They exchanged words, but they were too quiet to hear from where he waited. Then the two stepped to the sides and turned back to face the doorway. Shapes moved through and then paused. They were Byotai soldiers, all heavily armoured, though carrying little more than sidearms. A rare concession made to an unknown third party.

  “Permission to come aboard.”

  “Granted,” said Gun.

  The Byotai group moved inside, and Commander Higgins gave them a good look. They were a rough bunch, as Holder had described them. Yet for all the rough edges, he could see a pride about them. They were more than mere Byotai officers. They were among the few that remained actively fighting an enemy they could never beat. The leader paused, moved right up to them, and then removed his half-armoured helm. His skin was leathery and pale, the classic sign of a seasoned veteran. He lowered his head.

  “Katanga, at your service. General.”

  Honorius stepped forward and grasped the Warlord with both arms. They spoke briefly in their own tongue before separating. Katanga turned his attention to the Humans.

  “I have you to thank for this battle. My forces have been weakened over the last two months. Little of the Empire remains. We took this place by force. The Kalar Anchorage is our new home.”

  Spartan remained expressionless, but Colonel Gun grabbed the Byotai’s arms and shook both of them. Compared to all of them, he was a giant of a man. Katanga took a half step back, and that one action sent a chill through the bridge of the ship. The silence was deafening as each watched and waited for what came next.

  “My apologies,” said Katanga, “I have never seen one of your kind before. You’re even bigger than the few Helion synthetics that still live.”

  Gun beamed at him.

  “No apology required. This is the usual reaction to meeting me.”

  Katanga laughed uncomfortably and shifted his eyes briefly to Spartan.

  “Major Spartan. Your reputation precedes you. The hero of the Black Rift, and victor of the Biomech War.”

  He said the words as though reading them from a biography, but not once sounding as though he believed a word of it. His eyes ran down Spartan’s body, from his short beard and scarred face, down to his modified PDS armour. Even safe inside the ship, he still wore equipment suitable for a warzone.

  “You expected trouble out here?”

  Spartan’s lip quivered.

  “I always expect trouble.”

  Katanga seemed to like that.

  “Very well, then. And who might you be?”

  His attention shifted to the two lithe looking warriors encased in black. Both deactivated their visors to reveal identical faces.

  “Ah, the Widows. Yes, I know of you also. Why are you here? Do you fight alongside the Alliance?”

  One bore bright red hair, but the other appeared a little more conventional. She spoke for the two of them.

  “We’re contracted to work with the IAB.”

  Katanga didn’t seem to fully understand, so Spartan intervened.

  “The Black Widows have been deputised. That makes them part of the Interstellar Assault Brigade.”

  Katanga nodded in the Human fashion.

  “I see. Now, perhaps you can explain why you’re here, in Kalar. My understanding is that the civil war in the Empire still rages, in places. Are you here to…”

  Spartan shook his head.

  “No, the war is over. Your people lost. This place, Kalar, it doesn’t have long left. They will be here, soon. And when they arrive, your people will face battle, or assimilation.”

  Katanga didn’t like the sound of that one bit.

  “The war is over when I say it is over. None of my people will go to their side. They are loyal, every one of them.”

  General Honorius stepped in but spoke in English, using his translator to help so that all those present might understand.

  “The capital has fallen, and every planet in the Trinity is under the authority of the Orion Interstellar Empire. They control our old lands, and they are our shared enemy. Even now they have indoctrinated many of our kin to join their cause. Millions of civilians are joining their technophobe regiments, each ready to crush the taint of the Biomechs.”

  Katanga snorted as he listened.

  “Biomechs. They are long gone. There is no taint anymore. We made sure of that in the War.”

  Spartan shook his head.

  “They use us, the Alliance as the enemy, and with it have united their own people, and yours against us. Their propaganda war has been very successful. Even now they claim we are the puppets of the ancient Biomechs, and only they can remove the taint.”

  Katanga laughed.

  “We all fought in that war. And we all know who the enemy was. Now they are dead.”

  He looked resigned at the news.

  “So, if it is over, then I have no place here. I will take my ships to Ctenosaura and end this once and for all above our homeworld. Or perhaps I will seek out Makos and fight alongside him.”

  Gun laughed as he listened.

  “Then you will die. You do not have the ships to make even a dent at Ctenosaura.”

  Katanga looked unconcerned.

  “Then I will die, and with me the last of the old Empire. I have more ships than you. My captains will not continue this life forever, though. They would rather die facing the enemy than suffer old age in exile.”

  Honorius placed a hand on the Warlord’s shoulder.

  “There is another way, old friend.”

  He then looked to Spartan and Gun.”

  “Yes?”

  Gun gave Spartan the nod to continue, and the Marine leapt in right away.

  “Imperator Kratha waits for all loyal Byotai at the dead star of Fiorr Veej.”

  Katanga appeared unimpressed.

  “And there the pup will end his days. Fiorr Veej is a rock, nothing more. Why would I end my days fighting for it?”

  Spartan walked towards the bank of three large rectangular displays and tapped the controls. Images of Fiorr Veej appeared, with the massed lines of ships. Most were Alliance, but there were also a number of Byotai vessels, including those that had recently left to fight alongside Makos.

  “We’re massing together, just like we did in the last war, Byot
ai, Helion, Human, and more. All together and ready to fight the Star Empire, and trust me, the fight is coming very soon. Kratha needs you and your ships. As long as he lives, so does the Byotai Empire. He needs you, and we need you.”

  Katanga visibly shuddered as he looked at the video feeds. If Honorius hadn’t been there, he might have suspected trickery, but the old General made that almost impossible. He nodded towards Honorius while keeping one eye on the unit. He was intrigued by many of the ships that he’d never seen before.

  “You agree, General?”

  The General hesitated as he waited for the translators. The circuits were fast, but sometimes not quite fast enough.

  “Yes. We have already fought together, me, Kratha, Makos, and Admiral Churchill of the Humans.”

  That name seemed to pique his interest. As his eyes widened, he noticed Commander Higgins looking directly at him. At being spotted, the Commander tried to look away, but it was too late.

  “Human?”

  Commander Higgins was not one to baulk and rose to his feet as Katanga sized him up.

  “Yes, Sir?”

  The Byotai looked at him for a moment.

  “I have seen you before. On Star Base Mognathus 7?”

  Higgins looked at him for a second. He still didn’t recognise him, though that was not always surprising. He’d met so many people on that station.

  “Yes, perhaps we met. Before the…”

  “War. Yes.”

  He moved closer, examining the Human officer with interest.

  “You were a pilot, on the carrier.”

  Commander Higgins nodded.

  “Yes. We lost much in the battle. I was the only pilot to make it out alive.”

  Even as he spoke, he moved awkwardly. A never-ending reminder of the trauma his body had sustained during that ordeal. He could walk and operate normally now, but there were still the occasional twitches that reminded everybody else of the physical damage he’d gone through. The Byotai looked angry, and then his face shifted in expression.

  “You led the Ironclads, correct?”

  Higgins nodded, but that was already more than enough. Katanga shook his head as though amazed. He opened and then slowly closed his mouth before looking back to the assembled senior officers.

  “It will take time. My ships are battered, and we were in the middle of restoring half of them back into service. If you can help me, we could leave in three, perhaps four days. Any earlier and I will have to leave some of them behind.”

  He snarled as though spotting an enemy.

  “This is the price of constant fighting for the last two months.”

  Spartan didn’t like the sound of that. He started to speak with Colonel Gun, and Higgins could just about make out some of the details. Spartan wanted to get back to the fleet, and the massive shape of Gun kept reminding him of their secondary mission, to find allies for the fight to come. But after almost thirty seconds of argument, General Honorius overruled Spartan’s objections.

  “Two days’ delay is a lot, but the announcement that Katanga and his squadron are with Kratha is worth a victory by itself. You’ve seen the communiqué from the fleet, the same as me.”

  Spartan grimaced.

  “Yeah, I’ve seen it. Our attack at Ctenosaura has thrown the Star Empire’s schedule into confusion, or so they say. Admiral Churchill reckons we’ve bought ourselves a month before they attack. But he’s been wrong before.”

  General Honorius looked back to Katanga.

  “Katanga. We can give you two days, no more. After that, we must withdraw to the Rift and make our way to Fiorr Veej. There we will join Churchill and Kratha to give battle one last time. If we take any longer, we may arrive after the war has been decided. Better to arrive with less ships and in time, than late and with ships that are no longer needed.”

  Before the Byotai could answer, Spartan intervened.

  “We will send over our best engineering teams to help get you ready. Most have worked on Byotai war machines already.”

  Katanga seemed to like the sound of that.

  “I see.”

  He rubbed his forehead.

  “Very good. My people are looking for a fight, and it would appear you have arranged for the battle of our times. I will pass on the word to my people. Please, send over your teams, but hurry, there is much to do.”

  Colonel Gun issued a few orders to his officers and then looked back. Katanga indicated to the ship.

  “Might you grant me a tour of this vessel? I am unfamiliar with the design.”

  Spartan moved ahead of the group.

  “No problem, it would be my pleasure. This ship is one of our…specials.”

  “Excellent. And then you will join me at the Anchorage. My troops would be honoured to meet you all. There is much to do before we can leave this place.”

  Commander Higgins watched as Spartan led the Byotai away, and then returned to his own screen. In front of him was a list of remaining fighter craft, drones, as well as the pilots of Ironclad Squadron.

  Okay. You get a few hours, and then it’s back to the grindstone.

  * * *

  Ten hours later

  Nate closed his eyes for a moment, letting the sounds of the place wash over him. It could have been any planet, based on the voices, footsteps, and the whoosh of aircraft buzzing overhead. Yet when he opened his eyes he could see it was the artificial structure, and nothing less.

  This place is incredible.

  His friends were busy chatting with a pair of Byotai soldiers, but Nate found the place far too immersive right now. With the fighting over, the Kalar Anchorage returned to a degree of normality. This was not a station going about the normal routine that it might have in the past. The entire place was on a war footing, and with every extra second Nate was beginning to see the place turning into something so much more than a starbase. The Kalar Anchorage was a military bastion, a supply base, and a home for refugees. Due to its vast size, it was perfectly positioned for those fleeing the fighting, though its location inside the 9th Quadrant placed it within the sphere of influence of the Star Empire. It was a glimmering beacon on the edge of the vastness of the Empire, and the nearby wreckage confirmed the Byotai were not letting it go without a fight.

  For all its size, it was definitely not back to its daily routine. Nate could see that by the way people moved.

  This place is at war. I’ve seen this before.

  Instead of the usual day-to-day business, every person on board was either making their way to the landing platforms, decks, and pads, or stripping anything of value from the massive facility. Nate and his friends waited along one of the upper pylon observation areas where they could watch what was going on. Long curved windows gave a perfect view of space outside, and more important, two warships. To the left one of the Confederate Class ships of the Alliance, and to the right, a Cohort Class Byotai warship. They were equally massive and intimidating, both brisling with guns and covered in thick armour.

  “Look,” said Svana.

  Nate’s attention moved down to a pair of civilian cargo shuttles lifting off from their landing pads. Another three were waiting next to hundreds of large containers, as well as dozens of civilians working alongside machines to load more.

  “It’s true, then,” said Billy, “They really are going to abandon the place.”

  The pair headed away to one of the many sealed shafts, and circular hatches slid open as they passed through. In seconds, they clunked shut, leaving the craft to make their way through another series of access doors before heading out into space.

  “Of course,” answered Matilda, “This location is within the Star Empire. It can only be held so long as the enemy are not prepared to attack it.”

  “You think they will come?”

  Matilda gave Billy one of those looks that answered his question. Cassandra had little interest in being quite so subtle.

  “They’ve already attacked once when we arrived, and you saw the wre
ckage in this sector. If you ask me, the only reason they haven’t come this way yet, is they have other fish to fry.”

  Nate nodded.

  “I agree. There’s no reason to leave this place uncontested. And what do they have to defend it? The one squadron, plus the people on the station.”

  One of the Byotai soldiers heard her speaking as he moved past and stopped alongside her.

  “No.” The voice was translated by each of the Human’s hardware systems moments after he spoke, “We have more than just Katanga now.”

  The soldier lifted his arm and pointed to the shapes outside. Nate and the others followed his outstretched arm.

  “Our ships?” Nate looked back to the soldier, “We’re not here to fight for this station. We’ve got to…”

  Valdis grabbed his arm and stopped him in his tracks.

  “We’re here for whatever the generals decide we’re here for. You and I are just pilots, and the Private here is just a soldier.”

  The Byotai warrior looked at Valdis with interest and then bowed politely.

  “You are correct. We obey our orders.” Then his expression shifted subtlety. Nate might have missed it, had he not already spent so much time with the aliens.

  He’s nervous or confused about something.

  “Even when our orders make absolutely no sense.”

  Without saying a word more, the soldier wandered off, leaving the pilots to themselves. Cassandra sighed.

  “Okay, that was…interesting.”

  Her Secpad bracelet flashed, reminding all of them about their own orders. She started to move, but Valdis nodded off into the distance.

  “I still haven’t shown you her.”

  “Have we got time?” Nate asked.

  Matilda tapped her Secpad bracelet and checked their most recent messages.

  “Three hours before we need to meet the other pilots.”

  “That’s long enough. Come with me. You’ll want to see this, I promise.”

  Nate looked to his friends, none of whom seemed as intrigued as he was.

  “You coming?”

  Cassandra and Billy appeared at least vaguely interested, the others not so much.

  “You’re sure it’s here?” Cassandra asked.