Baldwin's Legacy: The Complete Series

by Hystad, Nathan

  “They cannot enter the wormhole. It’s powered by the generator in Concord space, and we could have it disabled with us on either side of it,” Tom said, and Brax bristled.

  “You want to send an expedition ship through and tell them to turn it off? With us over here?” he asked, trying to see how deep they were in this battle.

  “Not necessarily.” Tom tapped the desk console, and a 3D image of the nearby region of the system appeared, showing over sixty warships on the radar, all trailing after the Concord Fleet. “But I do have an idea.”

  Brax noticed that Captain Rene Bouchard had lost her bluster, seeming disenchanted, her posture worse, her voice small as she spoke. “I didn’t sign up for this to come and die on my first mission, Baldwin.”

  “None of us did, Rene, but the truth of the matter is, we’ve been put in this position because the Concord trusts us to win this battle and to end the war!” Tom shouted, catching Brax off-guard.

  “Or more likely, found us to be disposable. Maybe they wanted you to lose… did you ever think of that?” Rene asked, and Brax fought the urge to tell her off. By the look in the captain’s eyes, he was close to doing so himself. “I say we hightail it out of here and tell the Concord they sent us with far too few cruise ships. This Prime doesn’t know how anything works. Harris would have…”

  “Are you capable of leading your ship, Commander Kan Shu?” Tom asked, not addressing Shu’s captain.

  “Yes, sir,” Shu said, and Rene barked a laugh.

  “You have to be kidding me, Baldwin. You don’t have the authority to…” Rene started, and Tom nodded to Brax.

  “Put her in a suite and make sure to guard the door,” Tom said, and Brax grabbed her by the arm.

  “Just hold on.” Rene lifted both hands in front of her. “I’m sorry for my rash words. I didn’t mean it, Baldwin. I can do this, you can count on me,” she said softly.

  “Rene, you’re lucky I’m not throwing you in a cell,” Captain Baldwin said. “Fine. We don’t have time to dwell on this. Pull yourself together. We have a war to fight, and you need to be clear-headed.”

  “Yes, sir.” Bouchard lowered her gaze, and she returned to her seat at the table.

  “We have sixty of the Statu coming to intercept us, and we need to make this decision.” Captain Baldwin turned to the Ugna. “Ven, we have a head start, but not by much. How far out of range are they now?”

  Ven didn’t need to use his fingers on the keypad, but opted to use his Talent instead. It was still odd to Brax, but the man had saved his life, and he could be as different as he wanted to be. “They are two thousand kilometers from range.”

  Brax sat on the edge of his seat, hands resting on the table. “Captain, we can confirm the warship range is slightly less than ours. What if we create a line, moving away from them at the exact right speed, allowing us to fire on them, but avoiding direct contact from their efforts?”

  “That only works if they were lined up too, but the Statu will likely bunch together, sending a warship full of our slaves to the forefront of the battle, and when it’s destroyed, they’ll be in the proper radius to attack,” Treena offered.

  “Captain, with all due respect, we can’t give quarter to any of the warships now, slave-filled or not.” Commander Shu didn’t look pleased as he said this, but he had a point. “We’re outnumbered, and we have no choice but to attack them relentlessly if we want to end their fleet.”

  Brax nodded, showing his support for Shu’s young commander. “Captain Baldwin, you said you had an idea earlier, before Bouchard showed her true colors. What was the plan?”

  Thomas Baldwin still stood near the 3D image, his expression grim, but a faint smile crept onto his face. “It won’t work.”

  “At least let us hear you out. Maybe we can all think of a way to make it happen,” Treena said.

  Tom glanced at his commander, and Brax saw a flicker of hope in his eyes. “Fine. We don’t have enough firepower to fend off sixty enemies today. We never had anything remotely close to this during the initial War, is that correct, Constantine?”

  The AI nodded. “That is correct. The largest battle was at Vilinar, where we lost five cruise ships while stopping eight warships from entering their neighboring system. We saved billions of lives that day.”

  “Five against eight. We do have better technology now, and the Statu appear to have remained stagnant out here, but we need help,” Tom said. “We have a wormhole generator outside Earon, and in retrospect, the admiral may have been short-sighted to suggest operating it so close to the human settlement.”

  A notion occurred to Brax, and he didn’t want to believe it. Perhaps the Concord was aware of how many Statu remained, and they wanted them to enter the wormhole, to return to Earon and destroy the human race. He shook the worrisome thought from his head because he had enough to be concerned about.

  “Captain, we have that under control. We can shut it down if necessary,” Reeve advised him.

  “How? We’re too far to relay a message in this system from the wormhole to the planet…”

  “We planned for that. We brought the Nek Drive shuttle with us,” Reeve said, and Brax smiled, wishing he’d thought of that sooner.

  The captain’s eyes grew wider, and he leaned over the table, palms pressed to it. “You did? We can jump to the wormhole and send word to them?”

  “That’s right. We can be at the entrance in a split second. It’ll be a total of twenty minutes from our hangar to Earon Station,” Brax told the captain.

  “Then prepare it,” Tom said, smiling again.

  “What’s the plan?” Rene asked.

  “We’re recruiting the backup we need.”

  Nineteen

  The sight of the radar was daunting, and Treena cringed as she watched the blinking red dots culminating on Constantine’s position. They were two hours from reaching the wormhole, and they’d even contemplated moving away from the entrance to lure the Statu somewhere else. Tom was confident the warships wouldn’t follow; that they’d travel to the wormhole regardless. Their enemy’s goal was entering Concord space, meaning they were far less worried about the small opposing fleet that had entered their system.

  Treena strode through the corridors, alarms gently chiming throughout the entire ship, keeping everyone on alert and on edge.

  “Treena, I want to come with you,” Tarlen’s distinguishable voice called from down the hall, and she slowed to allow him to catch up.

  “It’s always dangerous traveling through the wormhole, and this time, we’re doing it in an old modified shuttle. I don’t think this is the best idea, Tar.” She stopped at the hangar, the guards stepping away to grant her access as soon as they recognized her.

  “Don’t let him through,” she commanded, and Tarlen remained behind, stuck in the hall as she strode toward the Nek Drive shuttle. “Sorry about this, kid. I’ll be back really soon. Tell you what, go to my room and watch over me. Tom was going to send Kelli, but she’s got her hands full with the sick patients. I’ll relay when I’ve successfully traversed the wormhole.”

  “I’ll be there!” the Bacal teen called as the hangar doors slid shut, and Treena made her way to the deteriorated shuttle. There hadn’t been time to fix it up or test it again since Brax and Ven had used it at the Tingor Belt, but there was no choice. If Tom’s plan had any chance of working, she needed to make this trip.

  Treena entered through the lifted door, not needing to wear the full EVA armored suit the others would have donned, since her body was robotic, and it allowed her more space to move around. The Nek Drive took up half of the ship, adding substantial length to the shuttle.

  Treena took the pilot’s seat, strapping in, and the shuttle powered up with the press of a circular red button. She glanced over the controls, having only been briefly told how the Nek Drive operated. She almost wished Brax was here with her, but he’d been through enough deadly missions over the last few months. The dash had a thin layer of grime over it, whi
ch didn’t bode well for its functionality.

  “Be glad you’re not blowing yourself up this time,” she whispered to herself, and the ship rumbled, shaking as she lifted from the hangar floor. “At least, not on purpose.”

  Once outside, she avoided looking at the shuttle’s radar, not wanting to be reminded how many enemy warships were on their trail. Tom’s plan was as solid as she could ask for, and she adjusted her trajectory, pushing away from Constantine’s massive hull. She flew between two beautiful Ugna vessels and realized she’d never stepped foot on one.

  That would have to be remedied when the battle was over, but she had bigger worries now. This technology was so new, so untested, that it had the potential to explode or send her far from her target zone. The controls were simple enough, and Treena set her destination, which was a thousand kilometers from the wormhole opening.

  She waited as the drive powered up, needing to generate enough momentum to send her there in a quick hop rather than a trek. This shuttle would take twenty-nine hours to make the same trip at regular propulsion, and that wasn’t going to work. Their entire fleet would be destroyed by then.

  The dash told her the drive was prepared, and she blinked a few times, trying to regain her composure. She heard something inside her head, her real mind, and knew Tarlen was at her bedside in her suite on Constantine. It was somewhat of a relief to know the boy was there, like she was no longer alone on this daring mission, even if she was by herself on the shuttle.

  “Here goes nothing,” she whispered, pressing the jump key.

  One second, Treena was near their fleet; the next, all of the radar icons were far away on the map, and the swirling wormhole stood waiting for her arrival. She let out a quiet cheer, her mood still subdued, because the next part was just as worrisome. Treena needed to take the shuttle through the fold in space.

  Every noise inside it seemed amplified, and she almost felt like the hull was going to fall apart as things groaned and clanged the closer she brought the shuttle to the opening.

  With a deep breath this body didn’t need, Treena urged the shaking shuttle into the wormhole.

  ____________

  “Tell me again,” the captain said.

  Ina had tried to stay strong, but everything had fallen apart. The longer she was separated from the others, left to her own thoughts, the clearer the real Ina became. She wasn’t a bad person. All she’d ever wanted was to be free outside. To let the sun freckle her skin, to have the wind tousle her hair as she worked.

  Not once had anything in her life been her own decision. She realized this now. Her cheeks were tight from the dried tears, and fresh ones threatened to come at any moment.

  “Look. I’m not going to wait all day. Tell me why you did it!” The man slammed his hand against the table, sending her chin up from her chest to meet his angry gaze.

  She’d seen anger before, but this burned like the entrance to the Vastness in his eyes. She suddenly wasn’t sure what to tell him. “They told me I had to.”

  “Or what? They’d wipe your brain like the others? They’d kill you?” the man asked.

  She only nodded, still meeting his stare. “That’s right.”

  “You could have warned us, but you demanded we bring everyone to the planet. Mark me a fool for listening to a girl who grew up a slave to the bastards,” he said.

  “I am not a slave!” she shouted, resolve firming through her being.

  “Is that so?” His expression shifted from angry to full of pity. “Did you have choices? Were you able to leave when you wanted? Eat what you chose? Spend time with anyone you wanted?”

  She shook her head, because she hadn’t been able to do any of those things. “No. I couldn’t.”

  “See, you were a slave, Ina. They used you, just as they’ve used our people for decades, sending them to battle against us. I need you to tell me how many of our people are on these warships,” he told her.

  “I don’t know.” The answer was truthful. She’d seen some boarding the warships on the Adepts’ second planet, but mostly, they had been Statu. “I don’t think many.” She tried to envision what she’d witnessed as the Adept had showed her the view from the top of Savior.

  “Think, Ina.”

  “I grew up being told the Concord was evil,” she finally managed to say. “The Adepts…”

  “The Statu are manipulative. They’re too scared to fight themselves, so they steal our children, our soldiers, our spouses, and turn them against us. We have a way to repair their minds. That’s why I need to hear what we’re dealing with. We not only want to destroy your Adepts to keep our people safe, but we want to free the slaves, even the ones you’ve seen with no color to their eyes,” the captain said, his tone gentle.

  Could it be true? Her mind argued with itself, and she pressed her eyelids closed tightly, feeling a tear squeeze past one. “My mother told me stories when I was a little girl.”

  The captain sat down finally, no longer tall and threatening across the tiny room. He didn’t speak, but she could sense his urging her on.

  “She told me my grandfather was a soldier in the War. That he was from Earon, and a lieutenant. She was born underground like me, but she knew this to be true,” Ina said.

  “Earon. We’re only a few hours from Earon. You can help me win this war, and I’ll bring you there. Maybe you still have family on the planet. We can return everyone on this side to their families. Wouldn’t you like to help them go home? To no longer be slaves to these...Adepts?”

  She nodded, feeling so foolish for ever believing the Adepts’ lies. It was so clear. “What of the Vastness? If I accept your truth, will I burn for eternity in it?”

  He laughed, and she saw a smile break the lines of his face. He was handsome when he did this, and Ina felt herself drawn to the man.

  “The Vastness is a belief system, a welcoming and wonderful place we’re nourished by while we live, and reside in during the afterlife. Some of the Concord’s partners believe different things, but many of us focus on the Vastness to guide us through our days. We live by the Code, an ancient set of texts that help shape our society, to put us on the proper side of ethics, to help one another in times of need. It’s so much more than that, and I’m not the best person to explain it, but if there’s one thing I know, it’s that the Vastness is not to be feared,” the captain said, and Ina’s heart soared at the passion the man spoke with.

  She made a decision, picturing herself walking free on the human home world, perhaps learning where her grandparents had once lived, seeing their village, their schools, feeling the same wind on her face as her ancestors had, rather than the stale underground air, she’d grown up with.

  “I’m sorry, Captain Baldwin. I didn’t know what I was doing. The virus was brought on by the others,” she admitted.

  “We know about that.” The captain coughed, but he still didn’t seem to understand.

  She shook her head. “You don’t.”

  “Our doctor has fixed it. It was an old strain, one we identified and have potentially resolved,” the man said, coughing again. His eyes were turning red, and he finally appeared to comprehend what she was saying. “What is it? This virus…”

  “I overheard Adept Feerez talking to the others about it before we left. It was a secondary defense that wasn’t supposed to hit until you arrived on-planet,” she told him.

  “How do we stop it?” the captain asked, his skin already starting to shine with perspiration.

  “You don’t,” she said sadly.

  ____________

  The wormhole was only an hour and a half away, and the Statu remained relentless in their approach. Captain Bouchard and Commander Shu had returned to their ship, and Brax was left on the bridge, trying to decipher their best course of action.

  “Where’s the captain?” Brax asked Constantine, and the AI flickered.

  “He’s interrogating the girl,” Constantine said.

  “I wish he’d left me to that task. I
could have made her talk,” Brax said.

  The bridge was fully attended, and Ven met his gaze from his center helm position. “Lieutenant Commander Daak, they’ve deployed their Tubers.”

  He’d been waiting for that to happen. They were looking for a fight, and Brax wasn’t going to disappoint. He hated the Statu fiercely. Growing up in the Concord, every kid wanted nothing more than to fend off the enemy, like Constantine Baldwin had at Yollox, and even though Brax understood the complicated details of that encounter, it changed nothing for him. He still wanted to fight and send them into the Vastness.

  In the absence of numbers, we must have a multitude of ambition. The saying echoed through his mind as the Tubers’ tiny icons appeared. There were hundreds of them.

  Brax did the math. They’d brought an extra six fighters, along with the ten on Shu. The Ugna had different tools, and he’d only viewed the schematics and a computer-generated simulation of the drones. The pilots controlled them from inside the safety of their vessel, and they held about as much firepower and effectiveness as the Concord fighters.

  The Statu wanted a dog fight, throwing their people, or perhaps the Concord’s people, against them without a care in the world. Brax grinned as he thought about the Tuber he’d stolen and landed inside the warship. Bringing it back home had given the eggheads a lot to consider, and after a month or two, they’d developed a handy defense against the cylinder-shaped enemy craft.

  Their fighters were now equipped with the technology, as were the Ugna drones, and Brax made the order in spite of the captain’s and commander’s absences on the bridge. With them away, he was in charge.

  He set the communication to all of their fleet. “Concord, deploy Tuber resistance.” They had the same equipment loaded into the flagships’ weapons array, but they required close proximity to be effective. That was why they worked with better efficiency from the compact fighters and Ugna-operated drones.