“Prepare Ravage Maker. We are assaulting the soft skin’s Corrinar.”
“At your command, My Lord.”
Aboard Heimdallr
Well, Peeps. We have a mission. You remember that long haul from Bridgelen to here?”
“Bridgelen, Cap? Jeez. Why couldn’t we go to some place nice, like Tolimar?”
“Ours is not, Brooksy.”
“It’s about time, Cap. Two weeks of sitting on our asses just doesn’t do it for me. And don’t say a thing about my ass, Brooksy.”
Captain Scott waited while the groans and comments from his two crewmates subsided.
“Yup. We’re going back. Ship ready, Brooksy?”
“Gregor’s shipyard did us right, Cap. Ship handles just fine.”
“I like our new ray-gun,” Torres stated.
“Topped off on the go juice?”
“Maxed out, Cap. Fission material too.”
“Start the pre-flight. I want to lift off in two hours.”
“On it, Cap.”
“Toast, supplies? O-2? Scrubbers?”
“Topped off and squared away, Captain. We’re ready at my end.”
“And such a pretty end it is.”
“Already? We haven’t even launched.”
“Now, now, kiddies. No squabbling.”
“He started it, Captain.”
“Brooksy always does. That’s why we love him.”
“Hey. I’m right here. I can hear you, ya know.”
“Back on task, Peeps. We’re flying dual. We’ve got a civvie with us. A go-faster. Some sort of modified people transport.”
“Great. That’s all we need. Being wet-nurse to some wanna-be space jockey.”
“Don’t know who the pilot is. While you two go through pre-flight. I’ll give him a call. Check him out.”
“And lay down the law, Cap. We’re in charge. He just follows along. Does what he’s told.”
“You read my mind, Brooksy.”
Aboard Gazelle
“Let’s get started. I’m Jean Forsythe. I got my twenty in with the Federacy navy. But don’t hold that against me.” She smiled and waited for the response from Gazelle’s two newly recruited crewmates.
“Nah. Water over the bridge. Ian says good things about you.”
“Thanks. You’re Jessica Brown?”
“Just Jesse, Captain.”
“Jesse it is. Tell me about yourself. Why’d you get into engineering and weapons? Seems strange for a woman.”
“Not really. Grew up on Brazilia. We didn’t have a lot of money, so I learned to keep our vehicles and equipment running. Couldn’t afford new stuff. Been hunting since I was a kid. So, weapons and tools became my thing.”
“No dolls, huh? Any military?”
“No dolls. When the Federacy decided that we were getting too uppity, they sent in the Navy. Got a taste of living under their boot. Didn’t like it. So I chose the marines. Mechanic. Six years was enough.”
“Hank says good things about you, so welcome aboard, Jesse. Amanda, Your father owns Fairstar? He’s the captain?”
“Actually, the family corporation owns it. Dad has a big stake, sixty percent. So we’ve got the controlling interest.”
“Then you’re a full-time spacer.”
“Yup. Born and raised.”
“How long have you been piloting?”
“Since I could reach the control panel. Actually, before that. Dad had a special seat built so I could sit higher.”
“Any hard Gee’s?”
“A couple of times. Running from pirates.”
“So you know the drill.”
“Yup. Strap in, pop the pads, push the throttle. Nothing to it.”
“Right. Navigation?”
“Got my certificate. Second class.”
“Good enough.” Welcome aboard, both of you.”
“Thank you, Captain,” the two new crewmates responded.
“Let’s go with first names. Ok? I don’t like all the spit and polish. Unless we’re in the soup. Then we tighten it up. Big time. Got it?”
“Got it, Jean,” Amanda answered.
“Copy that, Captain” came from Jesse.
All three redirected their focus to Gazelle’s com screen as it winked and beeped, signalling an incoming call.
“Gazelle actual.”
“Heimdallr actual. I thought we’d get introduced, seeing as how we are going to be dancing to the same tune for the next month. I’m Captain Scott. With me is Lieutenant Evelyn Torres, call sign ‘Toast’. And Lieutenant Richard Brooks, Junior Grade. Call sign ‘Brooksy’.”
“Nice meeting you all, Captain. I have Jesse Adams, ex-Marine, current engineer and weapons specialist. Also Amanda Adams. Second chair and navigator. She’s a life-long spacer, raised on her family’s freighter. I’m Jean Forsythe, call sign ‘Hornet’.”
“You’re Hornet? The Hornet that used to command the squadron on Vali?”
“That was me. Six of my twenty.”
“Sad to see what happened to Vali. She was a good ship.”
“You were there?”
“Yeah. Hiding in the rocks. Watched the alien super dreadnaught hole her. She didn’t stand a chance.”
“All hands?”
“Down with the ship. Massive explosion. No survivors. We looked. Looked hard.”
“Her loss will be felt.”
“Yeah. I had friends on her. Well, to Vali.”
“To Vali.”
“You, I watched. I was four years ahead of you at the academy. We kept hearing about this hotshot pilot coming up. Then, when I got my first captaincy, actually, my only captaincy, I watched you run all over space, keeping the Deep Dark safe.”
“Just doing what needed to get done, Captain.”
“Scotty. Call me ‘Scotty’. You really did a number against the pirates when you flew a wing. For ten years there wasn’t a grab anywhere close to Cencore space while you ran that crew.”
“That was a long time ago, Scotty. Things change.”
“What, you got an all-woman crew over there, Hornet?”
“Brooksy, leave it alone.”
“Just asking, Cap.”
“Now you ladies know Brooksy.”
“I tried to change his handle to ‘Dick’ but Cap wouldn’t let me.”
“Now, Toast, let’s not air our laundry so soon. We don’t want to start with a bad impression.”
“You’re navy. We ladies know all about you sailors and ports-o-call. So you’re not telling us anything we don’t already know.”
“There, see, Brooksy? You’ve ruined our reputation right from the get-go.”
“Aw, Cap. Just funnin’.”
“Captain Forsythe, can you achieve lift-off this afternoon?”
“Give me four hours. I need to get my crew familiarized with Gazelle. We’ll do drills and education on the first leg.”
“Four hours it is. We set sail at sixteen hundred.”
“Roger that, Captain. Oh, one last note. Mr. Gregor has directed me to place me and my ship under your leadership. Therefore, I formally acknowledge you, Captain Scott as the Commander of this current operation.”
“Acknowledgement accepted, Captain Forsythe. Let’s link back up at fifteen-forty-five. That gives us fifteen minutes of prep before pulling out.”
“Aye, Aye, Captain.”
Arium Ship Yard
“Mr. Gregor. Would you please come to my office?”
Having worked with Hank for years on end, Lawrence knew his voice. He knew all of Hank’s moods and attitudes. This time Lawrence picked up on nervous excitement. Although he wanted to go immediately, he couldn’t.
“Give me ten, Hank. Just finishing up a quick meeting.”
“Will do, Mr. Gregor.”
Ten minutes later, Lawrence strolled into Hank’s office. After so many years, nothing had changed. The place still resembled a mad scientist’s laboratory more than an office. A whole section held a work bench full of inventi
ons and test equipment. Another held a counter covered with the strangely-shaped glass containers and tubing of a chemistry lab. Off to the side stood Hank’s desk, a triumph in high tech with all of the latest viewing and communication gear, links to the shipyard’s massive central computer and strange electronic equipment performing who knew what.
“What have you got for me?”
“Harriet sent me a video and sensor data.”
“She sent it to you?”
“You’ll see why in a moment. A little background. It turns out that, while digging the bomb shelter in the mountain behind Trotzig they hit a cavern complex. A huge cavern complex. Goes on for miles. Harriet sent a map. It’s big and goes deep.
“Volcanic?”
“Nope. Artificial. Someone dug it. From the readings, a long, long time ago. Thousands of years ago.”
“We weren’t here thousands of years ago.”
“Nope. Someone else dug it. According to sensors, with technology we don’t possess.”
“You’re saying this network of caves was built by aliens?”
“That’s what Harriet and Evert believe.”
“Our invaders?”
“Nope. The bugs’ tech isn’t anywhere close. This is something different. But that’s not why I called you down. They found something.”
“Well? Don’t just sit there like the cat that ate the canary. What’d they find?”
“A sealed room at the bottom of the complex. Filled with alien tech.”
“They opened it?”
“Nope. Just drilled a small hole and peeked. When they saw what was inside, they closed it up, bundled up all of the intel and sent it here. That was thirteen days ago.”
“Well, let’s see what my daughter has gotten herself into this time.”
The two friends reviewed the short video, stopping multiple times.
“Nothing looks like weapons.”
“No, Mr. Gregor. Just some type of harnesses. Small. Made for children.”
“Or small aliens.”
“Those canisters, or cylinders, look like the one you had Captain Marston steal. But they’re much smaller.”
“And attached to the harnesses.”
“Some sort of device attached to the canister base.”
“I wonder what they do.”
“I need to look at them.”
“Of course you do. Everything is running smoothly here. Fergie and Aston can manage things while you’re gone. I’m coming too.”
“We taking Halcyon?”
“Yup. Get packed. I want to leave in a couple of hours.”
“On it, Boss.”
“And bring Dean.”
“I was going to. I’ve gotten used to my personal gopher.”
Nyu-Nippon Weapons Cache
Thirty days. The time it took for the eight teams, the sixteen remaining Nightshades, to arrive at the cache cave.
As each team entered, they would come to a stop, staring at the seventeen metal statues of destruction. Taketa and Juro had arranged the war robots in a triangular formation, in preparation for an attacking defense if the aliens ever discovered the cave and its contents.
Each arriving pair displayed their loyalty and saluted, their recognition of Taketa Oishi’s position of authority. The Sousui and Mappai welcomed each pair with showers, food and places to set up their bivouacs. When the final pair arrived and all had established their personal spaces, Sousui Oishi called his squad to the first planning meeting.
“Nightshades, we are the last. We, all who are here in this cave, are the last of a band of brothers and sisters who have lived our lives as one. And we mourn those we have lost. Those who have performed their final duty to the Gods, Nye Nippon and the Emperor”
Taketa paused, scanned his seventeen subordinates and looked each one in their eyes. He read his people and assessed their spiritual readiness in the way that each one looked back. To his satisfaction, he found strength. He found determination.
“We are the last. And we are the first! We are the first to bring the fight to the alien invaders. We are the first to draw blood. We are the first to avenge our brothers and sisters. We are the first to bring death and destruction to these invaders of Mankind.”
Taketa waited for the shouts of encouragement and aggression to die down. As he did, he activated a holo-projector which displayed a three-dimensional image of the surrounding terrain. Once protocol resumed, he continued.
“Our first order is to scout, find the enemy. Find targets of convenience. To that end, we will remain in our two-person teams and begin an ever-widening cone of infiltration, using this cave as the base of operations.”
“Sousui?”
“Yes, Shoui Nakano?”
“Kaihei Ono and I intercepted civilians heading up the mountains, seeking safety and protection in the upper forests.”
“Thank you. Please indicate on the map where you achieved contact and their direction of flight.”
Taketa’s last Second Lieutenant activated his tablet and projected a red dot with an arrow.
“How many?”
“Close to a hundred, Sousui.”
“Have any of you others intercepted civilians on the move?”
Multiple team leaders raised their hands. Each, in turn, marked their dots of contact and arrows of direction.
“Obviously there is a trend. Everyone is heading high, concealed by the forest. No doubt, they will not break the tree line. From this new information, I must change our focus. We will still scout out targets of opportunity, but we will focus our efforts at creating a protective barrier between the aliens and our people. Shoui Nakano, please form a discussion group with the other four team leaders who came in contact with our people and develop a scouting pattern which will patrol the lower elevations and protect the travelling civilians.”
“Hai, Sousui.”
“I will work with the remaining three teams and develop a means of communicating with our people and establishing caravans to insure that they have what supplies they need. We meet tomorrow morning, sunrise, to present our solutions. Dismissed.”
* * * * *
Sunrise brightened the surrounding forest but kept the cave, and its entrance, in shadows, with just enough reflected sunlight brightening the cavern’s front interior so that no extra light was needed. Again, seventeen Nightshades sat cross-legged on the cavern floor while Sousui Oishi stood.
“Shoui Nakano, report.”
Taketa’s Second Lieutenant stood and bowed. “Hai, Sousui.” Approaching the hologram, he worked his tablet and new arrows of directions, this time green, popped onto the image
“Until our actual reconnaissance, we are only surmising, Sousui. We believe that, if there are any pursuing alien forces, they will be crossing the plains or landing at the foot of the mountains. May I ask a question?”
“Of course, Shoui.”
“Will the Warbots be accompanying our teams?’
“If that helps our plan to protect the civilians, then, yes, the Warbots will be in play. One for each team, including mine, with seven in reserve.”
“Also, we saw scout vehicles. Will we have access to them?”
“If they are needed. And each team will have a short-range drone pack.”
“Then our plan has three phases. Phase one is for five teams to head towards five predetermined destinations with the warbots and using the scout vehicles for fast egress. We launch the drones, keeping them below the trees and searching out the most efficient paths. At the halfway points, we put the Warbots in sentry mode and leave them until they are needed. At a quarter from our destinations each team leaves its scout vehicle and proceeds on foot, covering their proscribed territory. Using the drones as solid relays, we rotate them back to our home base, delivering intel, thus avoiding any electronic signatures which the aliens might be able to detect.”
“Excellent plan. Also, load up with supplies, using the scout vehicles as your mobile headquarters. Plan on a week.”
“Leave tonight.”
“Hai.”
“Your plan is good. The remaining three teams will progress in the same manner, except that they will head up the mountains, searching for our people. “Sa-Janto Kimura, Prepare the final three teams. You are also leaving tonight.”
“Hai, Sousui.”
“Kaihei Ariyama and I will monitor and command from here.”
Taketa didn’t like the idea of staying behind but he understood the responsibilities of leadership.
“Mappai, set up the monitoring van to receive all sensor readings from the drones and personal cameras.”
“Hai, Sousui.”
“Now, Nightshades. Now is our turn. No more hiding. We attack!”
Repeated shouts of ‘kougeki’ reverberated through the cavern.
Sasania Mountain Cave
“Igaklay. Is that your name?”
“Yes. Is Kokali there?”
“There’s no one here except us.”
“Oh. I miss my friend.”
“We have a skeleton of some kind here.”
“A skeleton? Could you describe it, please?”
“Child size. Big head. Only two fingers and a thumb.”
“And a medallion. Looks like it has a funny twisted rope on it.”
“It is a DNA string. That is too bad. You found Kokali. I was afraid he had died, when I couldn’t contact him. Are you humans?”
“Yes.” Sergeant Boulos drew out the word. “You aren’t”
“No. Wait one minute. I need to talk to Buster.”
“Buster?” the Sergeant looked at his men. They all confusedly stared back.
“Keep quiet. Don’t touch anything.” Sergeant Boulos’s men knew that his hissed command could not be defied. They all stood in place and waited for the next surprise.
“Sergeant Boulos.” The Sergeant flinched as his name and rank emanated from the pyramid
“Speaking.”
“This is Commander Marston of the Federacy Space Force, Sedition Division. Where are you? And how did you contact Igaklay?”
Aboard Griffin
Ten minutes earlier.
“Buster?”
“Hello, Igaklay.”
Battle in the Stars (Marston Chronicles Book 4) Page 5