by James McEwan
“Of course but you couldn’t smell it Humans don’t have the greatest sense of smell. So yeah, it reeked of fish. I hate Nektons and the way they smell. I kind of wish the Ralnai had blown a hole in the hull near the bridge. I would have welcomed the fresh air,” Kára said and then walked past him into the ship.
Thad had given the parts to Eve and Archie who, with the help of the team’s combat engineer, went to work repairing the space fold engines. He then found his way to his estate room. He hadn’t set foot on the Eden for more than two months. He stopped just outside his door. He stroked the door frame, “It’s good to be home.” He wasn’t speaking to anyone in particular when Edie answered him anyway.
“It is good to have you back honey.” She said.
“Thanks Eve,” he said.
“Call me Edie now.”
Confused Thad asked, “What?”
“Long story I will explain later. For now, welcome home.”
“Thanks Edie,” Thad said thinking it was a little strange. He thought no more about it as he stepped through the door and into his estate room.
Inside he found Freya there waiting for him. He crossed the room and scooped her up into his arms. She pushed her lips to his and they kissed deeply then he pulled away. “Where is Fie?”
“She is getting her foot taken care of. Which is her bad luck as I get you all to myself first.” Freya said softly.
“Sounds awesome, however I need a shower first,” Thad said as he pushed her away.
She was so happy to see him she had not paid any attention to his hygiene. Once he pointed it out she was forced to agree with him. She pulled on the belt to her red silk robe until it came undone and her robe fell open exposing her perfectly shaped naked body. “Yes, yes you do. Lucky for you I don’t mind getting wet again.”
Thad pulled her close and kissed her again. Then she jumped up and he caught her and, with her legs wrapped around his waist, he carried her to the shower.
An hour later Thad had been expected to be attacked by now. Since nothing had happened he had started to worry about what the Ralnai were up to. After his shower, he found Fiona in the infirmary her foot soaking in a tub of Doctor Hammer’s healing gel. Her foot was almost fully healed. He snuck up behind her and put his mouth a breath away from her ear, “Honey I’m home,” he whispered into her ear.
“Thad!” She screamed and turned around grabbed him by the sides of the head and planted a big old kiss on his lips. He returned the kiss and hugged her.
“It’s so damn good to have you in my arms again,” he said.
“It’s good to be in them again,” Fiona said holding him tight never wanting to let him go again.
“Hey buddy, if you are done playing kissy face with your wife we could use you on the bridge,” St. Claire said as he poked his head through the door.
“I’m coming,” Thad said, while Fiona stuck her tongue out at St. Claire.
“Couldn’t give me even five minutes could ya?” she asked in a sarcastic tone.
“Hey hop-along, since this concerns you too, you might want to hoof it to the bridge too.” St. Claire replied to her in a more playful tone.
“I’m good,” She said and got up and started for the bridge. She pulled Thad behind her.
Kára, Freya, and Eve were already on the bridge. The rest of the Commandos where busy storing the camo nets and getting ready to get underway. Eve in the body spoke, “We know now why the Ralnai are not trying to attack us while we are on the ground.”
“Do tell,” Thad said.
Chapter 41
Regrouped and ready, Grunt issued orders. They had made planet fall just before dawn and were still several miles from their target. They had lost three Marines on the way down and, given all the things that could have gone wrong, Grunt was thankful that he hadn’t lost more. He ordered them to move out and with the quiet discipline of seasoned troops they moved towards their target without a word and almost soundless.
They had made good time and had reached the command and control center just as the sun was breaking through the morning clouds. The sun didn’t stay out for long as the clouds turned darker and darker until they burst open. The rain was a welcome break for them as it helped the Marines hide. Grunt’s plan was to hit them at night in the dark so he had ordered his men to hold up and hide until night fall.
The area was heavily forested and the Marines had painted their normally gleaming white armor in a matching forest camo. They easily blended in and faded away. It rained all day. Normally the Marines hated to be buttoned up in their armor for that long, but not so much today. They were nice and toasty warm inside their battle armor. A luxury that countless soldiers and Marines never had over the many years of war up until now. They waited and remained undiscovered.
The NGE were so over confidant about their control of the area that they had only sent out one patrol all day. The Marines were able to escape detection easily enough and, as night drew closer, the rain finally started to let up.
Once it was dark enough, Grunt gave the order and the team moved out. They quickly and quietly took out the few guards. Something was wrong, Grunt thought, as he had never assaulted a target with such ease before. It wasn’t just how easy it was, but it was how the enemy had left such a critical asset so poorly defended. “Stay alert, something isn’t right,” Grunt told his Marines.
The command and control center for their missile defense system was nothing more than a few large steel containers that were hooked together and buried a few feet underground. When the NGE troops had landed the first thing they had done was dig in with heavy equipment and set up multiple command and control sites. They were at least smart enough to spread them out. The comm station was miles away, and their main command center was even further away. Once the Marines had taken out the planetary missile command it would open the window for the remaining Alliance ships to use orbital strikes to take out the other centers.
They broke in to three teams. Grunt led the team that was to breach the doors and take out the control center, while the second team was to hit the com tower and destroy it with explosives. The last team set up rear security and was to watch the others backs’.
Grunt gave the order and they moved out. His team carefully crept down the ramp to the doors. They were steel doors with a magnetic lock. Grunt was an old school Marine and he would have wanted to set a breaching charge on the door and blow it. This time though, they had tools for this kind of lock.
The Marine who was a breaching specialist chose to use a magnetic interrupter, basically an electro magnet that reads the polarity of the magnetic field holding the lock in place and hits it with a more intense electromagnetic field that forces the door lock open. He slapped it on the lock and pushed a button. The little red light changed to green with an audible clunk as the lock slid open. The Marines were stacked and ready. He pulled the door open and the front man tossed in a flash bang. The non-lethal disorienting grenade exploded in a flash of light and sound, the signal to assault. The Marines rushed into the building clearing each one of their assigned quadrants, but they didn’t fire a single shot. They didn’t have a single target to shoot. The entire place was automated, there wasn’t a soul around and not even security bots.
“I don’t get it,” one of the Marines blurted out.
“That makes two of us Corporal,” Grunt answered as he was puzzled. He had never seen anything like this. The NGE must really think that they are so unbeatable to leave this place unguarded. “Alright two minutes, you know what to do,” he barked out the order. Half of his team grabbed the explosive charges that was attached to the back of their armor and started to arm them and place them around the key systems. The other part of the team went straight for the computer cores. They were cutting, bashing, or ripping out every drive and core they could find.
Up top, the team planted the explosives on the tower and withdrew to a safe distance. They joined the security team and waited for the rest of the Marines to wit
hdraw. Things were quiet. Too quiet and the Marines knew it. There were a lot of itchy trigger fingers.
In space on the Daniel Wesson the tension was so thick one could have cut it with a knife. They waited with bated breath for word from Grunt. They had the enemy comm station targeted and were ready to reduce it to ash and dust.
“Sir, we just had a ship drop out of sub space. Their IFF is showing it is the Tesseract, and they are requesting clearance to dock,” the comm officer announced.
The Captain of the Wesson looked at Amanda who nodded her head. “Give them clearance.”
“Tesseract you are cleared to dock,” the officer said into his mic and followed it up with the docking instructions.
“I wonder why they are here?” The Captain asked.
“The Tesseract is a stealth ship. It used to be used primarily by the Rep Com intel service. Now she is part of the new Alliance intel service and you can bet your ass that since they are here it is nothing good,” Amanda answered the question with annoyance in her voice.
“You think so?” the Captain questioned her.
“We will find out soon enough,” was her answer.
Five minutes later they were joined in the combat control center by a tall thin man with really pale skin and dark greasy hair cut short. He was dressed in the dark grey uniform of the intel service. Amanda hated the dark uniforms. That is why she had insisted that the fleet uniforms be white and blue with gold and silver piping depending on rank.
On the man’s shoulder bars, were full eagles. “Colonel Latimer. And why do we have the pleasure of your presents today?” Amanda asked. Colonel Hogan Latimer was a former Rep Com intel officer and one that Amanda had always hated. In fact she tried to have him Court Martialed on more than one occasion. But the man had always seemed to find a way out of it. She was pretty sure that he had blackmail information on all of his superior officers and that it was how he kept himself out of a military prison. Basically, Amanda despised the man.
Latimer didn’t salute he just smiled, which he only did when he knew that he had something on someone. “Commander Hayes, I am here to officially release you of your command and place you under arrest. You are here by ordered to stand down and surrender to me for transport back to Earth to face trial,” He stopped and then he turned to the Captain of the Wesson, “and you Captain are to order the remaining ships to with draw and return to Earth forthwith.”
“Excuse me!” Amanda grabbed the tablet from Latimer’s hand. She read the orders then she handed them to the comm officer, “Authenticate these please.”
“Not so fun when you are on the other side now is it Hayes,” Latimer said smugly.
“The orders are authenticated Sir,” the comm officer said as he handed them back to her.
She took the tablet, “Horse shit!”
Latimer grinned at her as if he had just put her in to check mate in a great game of chess they had been playing for years. Then he dropped the smile and turned to the comm officer, “Why have you not issued the withdraw order yet lieutenant!”
The comm officer didn’t miss a beat, “Because I don’t work for you,” he paused long enough to get his point across, “Sir!”
That had the effect that it was intended to have. Latimer lost his cool, “Damn it son, do you not see the birds on my shoulders? Did they not teach you in Starguard academy that birds on my shoulders out-ranks the butter bars on yours? Give the fucking order before I have you arrested and Court Martialed as well.”
The Captain stepped in, “Colonel Latimer you are a guest on my ship and you have no authority to give my people orders or threaten them. He was right. He doesn’t work for you. He works for me and I give the orders on my ship is that clear?”
“Captain, I come with the complete authority of the Alliance Congress, or do I need to remind you of that?” Latimer said.
“Yes, and as I read the orders, you have the authority to take Supreme Commander Hayes into custody and give me the order to return to Earth. However, it doesn’t state when or how I have to give that order nor does it give you the right to act like an asshole while on my ship. Now you have given your order and you can leave now,” the Captain said as he shoved the tablet back into the Colonel’s hands.
“Captain, one call back home and I can add you to that list of officers who need to be Court Martialed,” Latimer threatened him.
“Colonel you go make your damn call, but you can do it from your ship. You are no longer welcome on mine,” the Captain replied unimpressed.
“Fine Captain. I think I might just do that, but the Commander is coming with me,” he said as he grabbed Amanda by the arm.
“Over my dead body, She will. The Supreme Commander is my responsibility, and I will bring her home. No one else, understand?” The Captain said with a force of conviction that everyone in the room understood.
Amanda slipped her arm free from his grip and then she cocked her arm back and let him have it. Her punch connected with the side of his jaw just below the man’s right ear. He wasn’t expecting to get punched and it rang his bell pretty good. He stumbled back a few steps, his hand grabbing his injured jaw. He started to rub it. “There, you slimy son of a bitch, now at least you have a real charge against me.” Amanda calmly said.
“Escort the Colonel to his ship and if he gives you any grief or tries anything, shoot him, twice” the Captain said to the two Marines who had escorted the Colonel to the combat control center.
Both Marines leveled their weapons at the Colonel, “This way Sir,” one of the Marines said with a tone that meant he was not playing.
Latimer looked at Amanda, “This isn’t over. I will see that you fry for this. as well as your poor leadership!”
“Get this asshole off my ship!” The Captain barked for the first time.
“Now, Sir,” one of the two Marines grabbed his arm and started to drag him from the room.
After Latimer was gone Amanda spoke to the Captain, “Thanks for the loyalty, but you didn’t have to do that. The poor excuse for a human being probably will make good on his threat and have you Court Martialed.”
“What? That asshole? Hell, I take bigger shits than him. I can handle anything he can throw at me. This isn’t my first rodeo. I will be okay. It’s you I am worried about,” he said.
“I will be fine. The charges are a bunch of trumped up bullshit,” Amanda said, not knowing that they had lost four colonies to the NGE while she was off helping a non-Alliance world. There were many in the Congress that were upset with her choices and were calling for her head.
“I hope so Amanda, I would hate to see you replaced.”
“Thank you. Now you better give the recall order,” Amanda said as she straighten her uniform jacket as she often did when she was stressed.
Back down below the Marines had reached the minimum safe distant before detonating the explosives. The ground shook as boom after boom lit up the night sky. The missile command and control disappeared and was replaced with a twisted mess of burning steel and plastic.
Grunt key his mic, “Big Daddy, Big Daddy, Nightshade actual over,” he paused and waited.
“Nightshade actual this is Big Daddy send it, over” his comm crackled a little from the jamming interference as the enemy had an ongoing jamming signal.
“Big Daddy, target is tango uniform, I say again, target is tango uniform. You are clear to send the rain, over,” he responded over the radio.
“Nightshade actual negative on the rain. Weather man as called for clear skies. I say again weather man says clear skies, over,” the crackled transmission came through.
“Big Daddy, get the damn weather man on the line now, over!” Grunt barked into his radio.
“Nightshade actual, Big Daddy actual, it’s one big Charlie Foxtrot up here. I’m sending you coordinates for extraction. Be there most tick. We are beating feet, over,” The Captain of the Daniel Wesson himself gave Grunt the bad news.
Grunt was pissed and for a moment forgot about
radio protocol, “put her on the line damn it!”
The Supreme Commander didn’t have a call sign as she normally didn’t talk on the comms during combat operations. Instead she did use one of her old call signs, “Nightshade actual, Dragon one, send it, over.”
“Whisky Tango Foxtrot, over!” Grant radioed.
“Nightshade actual, can’t explain over net, need you to comply with extraction, over,” Amanda answered, hoping that he would understand and get to the extraction point. She had a feeling that James Grunt was not the kind of man that would leave people to die while he could do something about it.
She was right, “Say again Dragon one, your transmission is broken and stupid,” he started to make hissing sounds with his mouth. She tried to send the message again, but he just replied with more static noises. He did this so he could try to say that he didn’t hear the order to pull out. He wasn’t going to leave the Amerons to a fate worse than death. Not while he had a Marine by his side and breath in his body.
Amanda set down the mic and looked at the Captain, “That man has got to be the most stubborn man I have ever met.” She paused and straightened her uniform yet again, “Give the order and let’s head home.”
“What about Jim?” The Captain asked.
“The man has made his choice, and if I was in his shoes, I would probably do the same thing. No, Jim Grunt and his Marines are on their own,” she said wishing she was on the ground in the middle of the fight instead of heading home to face a Congressional witch hunt. “Did the burst transmission get sent to St. Claire’s team?” The comm officer nodded his head yes. “Good, let’s just hope that they get it and can get here in time. Jim is going to need the help.”
Grunt cut the comm, “Alright you all heard that.” No one moved. “I have just disobeyed a direct order and I have probably just put us on a suicide mission. regardless, there is no way that this Marine is going to abandon these people and run away with his tail between his legs. Now any of you who wish to stand down and not face a court martial may do so now. I will not think anything less of you. But let it be known, if you wish to stand with me and kick some NGE ass you do so with full knowledge of the consequences.”