“What!” uttered Casey, her eyes showing shock. “We can’t leave the others here!”
“That’s what I told the major,” Ryan answered. “Let’s see if we can find our suits first and then we’ll see what happens. Without the suits, there’s nothing we can do.”
Casey nodded. The last few weeks had been harrowing. Lauren and she had spoken quite often about their situation. Lauren had even suggested Casey go to Ryan’s quarters and become intimate. She had refused, not wanting her first experience with Ryan to be under such terrifying conditions. She hoped she didn’t live to regret that decision.
They continued in silence as they took a station tram to the vicinity of the flight bay where the exploration cruiser was docked. Going back on board they were escorted to the large assembly hall and told to form up and remain quiet.
Looking up on the stage, Ryan recognized Queex as the Nabian gazed out over the assembled Marines. The large door in the back of the stage opened and a Kleese stepped through. Ryan guessed it was probably Minor Overload Creedanth as it was difficult to tell individual Kleese apart.
“We will be departing shortly for the Kleese home world,” Queex announced in his stilted voice. “Once we arrive there you will be separated and sent to different locations for further interrogation and study. Those of you who cooperate fully will continue to live; those who don’t will be disposed of.” Queex stepped back and looked over expectantly toward Creedanth.
“Humans,” spoke Creedanth in a cold and harsh voice. “Our Supreme Military Overlord has ordered you to be taken to our home system. If it were up to me, I would exterminate all of you now. To me you are nothing more than vermin and a lower life form. I have studied the transcripts of your interrogations, and it is obvious there was an attempt to trick your interrogators into believing you were answering their questions truthfully. Your answers were too similar and held no valuable military information. I find it difficult to believe that as members of your planet’s military your knowledge of military matters could be so limited.”
Ryan shifted uneasily on his feet. It was obvious their attempt to fool the Kleese had failed. He glanced over at Colonel Stratford and Major Stevens, seeing the concerned looks upon their faces. Focusing his attention back on the Kleese Overlord he noticed with trepidation that the arachnid was holding one of the small black control boxes in his left hand.
“I will tolerate no more attempts at being mislead,” Creedanth said in a hard voice, raising the small black box and pointing at it with his long, slim fingers. “If it were up to me I would press the button on this control box that controls all the explosive collars around your necks and end your pitiful and menial lives. However, the Zaltule seem to have other uses for you and for that reason your lives have been spared.”
Ryan breathed out a sigh of relief. He had been expecting to hear the resounding sound of one of the explosive collars detonating, ending the life of another Marine. He knew he wasn’t the only one in the assembly chamber breathing a long sigh of relief.
“The Nabians will escort you back to your barracks. You will stay there other than being taken to one of the training chambers for exercise every other day. If any human is caught outside of their barracks, they will be immediately executed.” Turning, Creedanth exited through the open door, his legs making the familiar clicking noises as he left.
“You will now return to your quarters,” commanded Queex. “You will be allowed out two hours every other day for exercise. It is a ten week journey to the home system of the Kleese.”
There was some mumbling amongst the Marines as they realized just how far away from home they were going to be. In addition, being cooped up in their small, cramped barracks for such a long period of time was going to be extremely trying.
“It’s a good thing we have showers in the barracks,” commented Casey, her eyes focusing on Ryan. “Sounds as if we’re going to be stuck in our quarters for most of the trip.”
“We have to find a way out,” Ryan replied in a low voice as Gureen ordered them to follow him. “We must find our battlesuits. Once we arrive at the Kleese home system, I don’t think we’ll have any chance to escape.”
“That gives us ten weeks,” Casey said quietly, as they left the assembly chamber and began marching down the wide corridor under the watchful eyes of several conscripts in Type Two suits.
“We have to find a way out of our barracks if we want to search the ship,” added Ryan, as he gazed thoughtfully at one of the conscripts.
An idea was forming in the back of his mind. If somehow they could get a hold of a Type Two suit, they could move through the ship undetected. The Nabians wouldn’t know a human was in the suit, particularly if the wearer was careful not to incur the curiosity of any of the aliens. Now the next big question was how could they get one of the Type Two suits?
-
Supreme Military Overlord Harmock watched one of the viewscreens as the trading station began to recede. They would shortly enter Fold Space and begin the long trip back to the home system. He had left one hundred and twenty of his Zaltule battlecruisers behind to help protect the station as well as keep the worlds in this sector obedient to the Kleese Empire. The rest he was taking home to be updated. When he returned, he planned on bringing the majority of the Zaltule battle fleet to crush the Alliance and the humans. Six thousand Zaltule battlecruisers would be an unstoppable force.
“It will be good to return to the home world,” commented Gareth, looking up at Harmock, who was standing on the Command Pedestal. “The new hatchlings will be maturing rapidly and will soon be ready to assume their roles as Zaltule warriors.”
“Inexperienced warriors,” Harmock responded coldly.
“They will learn,” responded Gareth. “Those that are weak will die; it is the Zaltule way.”
“I am concerned Supreme Overlord Xatul may have found out about the hatchings,” replied Harmock, crossing his powerful arms over his chest. “Overlord Darthu is supposed to contact us if that occurs, but we are so far away from the home system that it takes weeks for a message to reach us.”
“It was necessary to bring up our numbers,” protested Gareth, his multifaceted eyes focusing intently on Harmock. “We lost many warriors in the war against the Strell.”
“The new Queens will be the problem,” Harmock spoke softly. Only Gareth knew Queens had been hatched as well. With them, in only a few years, they could dramatically increase the number of Zaltule. If allowed to breed regularly, Zaltule numbers could easily swell to over one hundred million in less than ten years. They would become an unstoppable force in the Kleese Empire.
“The council must not find out about the new Queens,” agreed Gareth. “They’ll realize we’re not satisfied with playing a military role in the empire but plan on controlling it and someday replacing the other Kleese as the primary members of our race.”
“We are superior,” stated Harmock in a hard and deadly voice. “None shall stand in our way, not even the council. It is our right to rule over the Kleese Empire and the inferior races.”
“And what of the humans?” persisted Gareth. Even as he spoke, the Warrior’s Fire made the jump into Fold Space. “Do you still think they’re our equals in battle?”
“Perhaps,” Harmock spoke as he thought over the human problem. “They have shown to be very ferocious in battle and have been the only race, other than the Strell, who have been able to defeat Kleese warfleets.”
“But the Strell now answer to us,” commented Gareth. “Their Queens in their Great Dens wear our collars of obedience.”
“Soon, so will the humans,” added Harmock. “Once we have studied their warriors we shall know their weaknesses and how to defeat them. With our new fleets, we will descend on their Alliance and annihilate it, bringing all of their worlds under our domination. Then we will strike the humans’ home system. If they resist, we’ll exterminate their entire race. If they surrender, then they may become valuable servants of the empire.” Harmoc
k strongly suspected the humans would not surrender and would have to be eliminated.
“All should serve the Kleese,” responded Gareth. “It’s our destiny to rule the galaxy and all the inferior races shall serve us to increase and grow the empire.”
Harmock nodded. However, he knew it wasn’t as simple as that. Supreme Overlord Xatul was no fool; he’d shown he could be as harsh and uncompromising as a Zaltule. He also controlled enough of the powerful exploration ships to be a serious problem. It would be necessary to remove him to prevent the other council members from rallying around the Overlord. Harmock knew that would be no easy task. There was another option; Harmock could challenge Xatul for his leadership position. It would mean fighting a duel, which Xatul would be honor bound to agree to. However, there was no guarantee Harmock could win such a duel. If he were to fail in his gambit, then the future of the warrior caste would become in doubt. It was a future he wasn’t willing to risk. It would be necessary to find another way to remove the Supreme Overlord from power.
Once they were safely back in the home system with the humans, Harmock would contact Darthu to see how the council was reacting to the war against the nonaligned worlds and this new Alliance. They would also discuss Xatul and come up with a plan of action to eliminate or neutralize the Supreme Overlord of the Kleese.
-
Several days passed and Ryan was becoming impatient. They’d only been allowed out of their quarters once and that had been for only two hours.
“We need some cards!” complained Alexander, leaning back against the wall on his bunk.
“Quit complaining,” chided Lauren. She was doing pushups on the floor a few bunks over. “At least we’re getting three meals a day.”
Lauren stopped doing pushups and sat up. She knew they were in a serious situation and one they weren’t likely to escape from. Each time their meals were delivered, two Nabians wheeled the meal carts in under the watchful eye of either two or four conscripts in battlesuits. Lauren had the distinct feeling the conscripts were just looking for an excuse to shoot one of the Marines with the powerful stun rifles they carried. If Alexander didn’t watch it, he would be their first victim and Lauren knew how the corporal hated being stunned.
Casey was sitting next to Ryan. She’d been analyzing their situation, trying to find some way to change it. She was currently remembering what she knew about the Type Two battlesuits. They were not nearly as advanced as the Type Fours and in many ways seemed quite primitive.
“We need to take out the Nabians who routinely bring our meals as well as the conscripts,” she said in a thoughtful voice, looking over at Ryan. It was so difficult to be so close and not able to tell Ryan how she felt. She knew he must feel the same way.
“The suits are the key,” Ryan responded. He looked over at Lauren, recalling she was pretty good at technical problems. “Corporal Adams, I have some questions for you.”
Lauren quickly stood up and came over to stand in front of Ryan and Casey.
“What’s the simplest way to disable a Type Two battlesuit?”
“That’s easy,” Lauren said, her eyes narrowing as she wondered why Ryan was asking such a question. “Knock out its power. Without power, the suit is just a heavy piece of useless armor. The conscript inside probably couldn’t even move.”
“I don’t think knocking out the power is an option,” Ryan said, shaking his head. “What happens if a Marine is injured and cannot activate the opening sequence for the suit?”
“There’s an override switch on the back just below the neck,” Lauren replied. “Flip the switch and the suit will automatically open.”
“How hard is the switch to reach?”
“Not easy,” answered Lauren, biting her lower lip. “It’s slightly indented with a protecting flange to prevent the suit from accidentally being opened.”
“That’s it,” Casey said excitedly, her eyes widening. “If we can activate the suit override switch we can overpower the conscripts inside and take over their battlesuits.”
“Perhaps,” replied Lauren, knowing it wouldn’t be easy to do. Casey had mentioned to her what Ryan had been told by Major Stevens. “But as soon as the Nabians or the Kleese find out, they will just activate the explosive collars and then we’ll all be dead.”
“We need a plan,” Ryan said, looking at the two women. “There are twenty of us in this room; we need to be able to disable two Nabians and potentially two to four Type Two battlesuits all within a matter of a few seconds.”
“Two Marines to each Nabian and if there are four suits that leaves four of us to take out each one,” Casey suggested. “We’ll have the element of surprise on our side.”
“A conscript in a suit will have superhuman strength,” Lauren was quick to point out. “Even without the stun rifles they’ll be quite deadly. If all of us rush them, we’ll lose some people.” A conscript in a Type Two suit could easily snap a Marine’s neck with just the flick of his armor-encased hand.
“They won’t be expecting an attack,” Casey said earnestly, as she began working out a plan in her mind. “With luck, we could have most of them overwhelmed before they realize what we’re doing.”
“I wouldn’t use everyone,” Lauren said, as she thought over Casey’s suggestion. “If we’re all too close to the hatch, they might become suspicious.”
“It won’t do us any good if we can’t find my command suit,” Ryan said, standing up and looking intently at the other two. “I want us to begin practicing mock attacks on the Nabians and the conscripts. We can have some of our Marines pose as both until we have a sound plan that we feel comfortable with.”
“What about your command suit?” Lauren asked. “We have no idea where it is.”
“I may have an idea about that,” Ryan said. “The Nabians seem quite devoted to their Kleese masters, willing to do almost anything to please them. I think I may have a bone to give them.”
Lauren and Casey looked confused, as Ryan didn’t say anything else. Whatever he had come up with it was evident he was going to keep it to himself for now.
“I’m going to take a shower and get some rest,” Lauren said as she turned to head for the door at the far end of the barracks.
“You should get some rest too,” Ryan said, taking Casey’s hand and helping her off his bunk.
“So should you,” Casey said softly, reaching out her hand and gently touching Ryan’s face.
Casey then went over and lay down on her bunk, closing her eyes. At least in her mind she could have Ryan and dream about what a future with him would be like. A future that, at the moment, was very doubtful.
Ryan watched Casey as he stood next to his bunk. He’d come up with a daring plan which was risky, but just might work. If Gureen could be enticed to take him to where their battlesuits were stored, he just might have a way to pull off their escape. He drew in a sharp and deep breath as he thought over what he was going to do. It was actually quite simple. He was going to offer to reveal to Gureen the secrets of the Type Four battlesuits. He would explain to Gureen he had decided to cooperate with the Kleese, as he wanted his people to live. Ryan strongly suspected Gureen would jump at the opportunity to learn more about the suits so he could take credit to further advance himself in the eyes of the Kleese. The Nabian’s own desire to serve would be his downfall. Ryan would have to wait a few weeks before he made his offer; if he did it too suddenly he doubted if Gureen would buy into it.
It was a relief to finally come up with a plan that might lead to their eventual escape. There was one other thing also; he had left a message back in the dome where they had been held on the trading station for Wade. He just hoped that Wade would find it.
Chapter Nine
Colonel Wade Nelson was standing in the Command Center of the one thousand-meter troop assault ship Defender as the vessel dropped out of Fold Space into the Lanolth system. They were to rendezvous with Seventh Fleet and then continue to Sector Twelve and attempt to capture the large Kleese tra
ding station which was responsible for the sector. It was a daring and risky plan and, if it succeeded, would throw a huge wrench into the Zaltule battle plans. Wade also hoped Ryan and the other Marines were still on the station though he knew the odds of that were now very small considering how much time had passed. For the last several weeks, he’d spent many sleepless nights worrying about the fate of his younger brother.
“Contacts,” called out Ensign Walton from his sensor console. “Picking up Alliance ships as well as Seventh Fleet.”
“Message from Admiral Adamson,” reported Ensign Snider from Communications. “He’s requesting we join his formation and we’ll get underway for Sector Twelve immediately.”
“Take us in,” ordered Wade, glancing over at Commander Greer. “We need to reach Sector Twelve as soon as we can.”
“Still hoping Ryan’s there?” asked Greer. He knew how close Wade and his younger brother were. The commander had been on several missions with Wade as well as his wife Beth. He’d been secretly pleased when he heard Beth was retiring from the military to take a safer job at Vesta.
“Yes,” answered Wade, turning to look at the commander. “I know a lot of time has passed, but we don’t know what the Zaltule planned on doing with Ryan and the other Marines. There’s still a small chance they could still be there.” He knew it was a small chance indeed, but he had to hope.
Wade turned his attention back to one of the main viewscreens. One of the two new battlecruisers, the Union, was on the screen. The one thousand-meter ship was an awesome sight. The other new battlecruiser, the Britannica, was visible in the distance. The ship on the screen suddenly swelled as the view was greatly magnified. Particle beam, pulse fusion, and energy beam turrets became visible as well as numerous closed missile hatches. It seemed as if every inch of the powerful ship was covered in weapons.
Galactic Empire Wars: The Alliance (The Galactic Empire Wars Book 4) Page 12