The dash light blinked, advising him the Nek drive was charged, and Tom took a deep breath, slowly exhaling. He confirmed the destination for the fourth time and hit the button.
____________
Treena took a good tally on the approaching vessels and calmed. The Concord imposed limitations on their partners’ spaceship weapons systems for a reason. Not only did they not want rogue wars over turf breaking out within their Border, but they didn’t want an upheaval like the one coming for Nolix at this moment.
“Anything out of place, Brax?” she asked.
“I say hit the big one first. It’s clearly the leader,” Commander Teller said. He was standing with Missy at his side, aiding him.
“We aren’t fighting any of them. They’re misguided.” Treena frowned as she searched for the one he was indicating. She finally spotted the greatest of the makeshift fleet, a Finos cruiser. “How do you know that’s the leader?”
Teller grunted. “They’re subcontracted as a Border patrol along the far reaches closest to Earon when the Concord can’t make the run. Which means…”
Brax finished for him. “It means they’re allowed regulation weapons, making them our biggest threat.”
Treena was once again impressed with the knowledge Teller gave them. That didn’t mean she had to agree with him and attack anyone. Not yet.
There were over a hundred various craft congregated nearby, carving a thousand-kilometer-wide stretch as they slowly made for the Concord’s capital.
“Prime Xune, are you there?” she asked, seeing his image emerge on the viewscreen.
“They refuse to listen. The battle is coming,” he said. “I’ve sent what we have to assist our defense, but I fear we’re thin on real defenders.”
Treena knew exactly what they had on hand. An old cruise ship named after a Tekol leader from two centuries ago—Gutam—as well as the recently re-established Andron, along with another dozen skimmers and cruisers. It might be enough against the current grouping of vessels, but once the twenty Ugna arrived, that was a different story. They needed to change the script before the reinforcements came.
“Let me try,” Treena said. “Which vessel have you contacted?”
“The lead one. I assumed they were in charge.” Xune looked frustrated.
“That’s the mistake. Ven, hit up the Finos cruiser,” Teller said, and Xune shrugged.
“Until we meet in the Vastness,” he said, the communication ending.
There will be no meeting in the Vastness today, not if I can help it. Treena calmed herself as the image of a Finos woman landed on the viewscreen. Her skin was dark orange, the color of autumn leaves back home on Earon. She wore her hair short and spiky; a black vest and pants rounded out her appearance.
“The illustrious Constantine.” She smiled, her teeth white and pointy. “I should have expected the poster-ship would arrive to defend the Prime. Do you really think it’s good to continue this ruse? The Concord is attacking its own, and we’re going to cut the head off the leader.”
“You’ll have to forgive me. I’m Captain Treena Starling. Who are you?” Treena remained stoic.
“Captain Edgalo Vulons.”
“And, Captain Vulons, did you receive your information from the Ugna, by chance?” Treena asked her.
“What do they have to do with this? You have one on your bridge. I see him right there. Do you not trust them?”
Treena wished she’d asked Ven to stand aside, but it was too late. “They’re creating a disruption, a distraction from within. We’re fighting a war, but you’re facing the wrong direction.”
“Is that so? And what do you say about the recent attacks on our own soil? You think the Ugna were behind those? They were Concord fleet ships, killing innocent people on partners’ home worlds. You are part of the problem, Captain Starling. Prepare to engage.” The call ended, and Treena kicked out, striking the corner of Ven’s helm desk, her boot crushing into the plastic casing.
“Sorry. They’re fools!” Treena shouted. “How can they not see this?”
“Because the Concord is corrupt. The people are nervous. It wasn’t so long ago the Zilph’i were talking about leaving. The Callalay have been all but locked down, and we’ve essentially given the Ugna the perfect planet to colonize. I’d question their motivations too, if I were on the other side,” Brax told her.
“What do we do?” she asked, not wanting to fight these people. They should be working together, not wasting time and lives on misguided communication.
“We blast that damned Finos cruiser.” Teller grimaced, and she could tell he didn’t really want to. He was doing as trained. Strike hard, strike first, and the others might disperse. Would it work?
“Brax, target the cruiser…” The first blast took Treena by surprise, and it had come from below them. The next hit rapidly, and she cursed herself. “We’ve been suckers. I was relying on the sanctity of the Concord’s regulations, but if this fleet assumed the Concord was pulling a fast one on them, they don’t believe in the rules any longer.”
“They’ve updated the weapons,” Brax said.
“That’s right.” Treena took her captain’s chair and watched as another five pulses hit their shields, which held without issue.
Andron and Gutam flanked them, and Treena imagined this going into an all-out war. Teller might be right. The only move might be striking first before this angry mob went for Nolix and Ridele. There were billions of lives on the planet, and it was up to her to ensure their safety.
“Brax, we’re done being friendly. How long until the Ugna arrive?” she asked.
“An hour and a half,” Brax advised her.
“Hopefully, we have some juice left in the tank.” Another blast hit them, this time a sizeable cannon pulse from the Finos vessel. “Brax, on your mark...”
____________
The blast struck the shuttle’s shields, sending their compact craft reeling. Tom was able to recover, pulling out of the spin toward Nolix.
“What in the Vastness was that?” President Bertol asked.
“We’re in the middle of a dogfight.” Tom tried to get hold of the situation. He saw his beloved Constantine on one side, along with an unfamiliar ship, and his grandfather’s old one, Andron.
On the other side were over a hundred opponents—vastly outgunned, but what they lacked in weapons, they made up for with numbers. Out of habit, he checked the long-range radar, seeing twenty additional sleek vessels coming in hot, their formation perfect. The shuttle’s system recognized them. “Ugna,” he whispered.
“Thomas, you have to do something,” Elder Fayle said with far less panic than should have been expected.
He thought about the issues while attempting to maneuver the shuttle out of harm’s way. “Admiral, connect me with Ridele. I need to tap into their network so my message hits them at the same time!” Tom cranked the direction, the pulse striking the rear shields. Alarms rang out around him, and he silenced them with the push of a button.
“I have you patched,” Benitor said. At least she knew how to use the equipment.
“Am I linked? Will the entire fleet see this?” he asked, and she paused, a long ten seconds of breathless flying, while he waited for her response.
“And… you’re good. They will each bear witness,” Benitor told him.
Nolix was a busy planet, with almost ten times the trade traffic of any other Concord world. To ensure safety and disaster mitigation, they had the ability to talk to every vessel within range at once, to save trouble. It wasn’t used often, but today it might save some lives.
He saw the blinking light near the shuttle’s panoramic viewer and focused on it, sitting up in his seat. “People of the Concord, stop this. I am Admiral Thomas Baldwin, and I need to tell you something of the utmost importance.”
He saw the bridge of Constantine appear in the lower corner of the screen and noticed Captain Starling raising a finger to make Brax stop firing.
More shots were
fired, and Tom frowned, speaking faster. “I repeat. There is no reason to fight our own. Please, cease fire, and I’ll reveal everything we know.”
“Thomas, there’s an incoming from the Finos cruiser,” Benitor told him. “Would you like it onscreen?”
Tom nodded, adding, “Make sure this is shared with everyone too.”
The woman stalked toward the camera, her face stoic. “I am Captain Edgalo Vulons. How can we trust you? You might be involved in the conspiracy.”
Tom only smiled, shaking his head. “Well met, Captain. I’ve spent my entire life working to make the Concord a formidable alliance. When I was given Constantine, I fought the Statu. I defeated the Assembly from attempting a hostile takeover, and I returned to finish off the Statu threat. I helped bring the new Prime to his seat and saved the Bacal people from their destruction.
“I stand before you today, swearing on the Flame of Life and the Vastness that I am not lying to you. The Concord is strong. The flagships you’re suggesting attacked our partners were none other than fakes built by a wayward Ugna leader. High Elder Wylen has planned this for a lifetime, and he seeks to disrupt us, to weaken our capital to make his invasion easier.
“He’s a coward, hiding in the shadows while he uses trickery to win a secret battle, but we aren’t going to let him win. We’re here to tell you that the Concord stands united. I stand with you, Captain Edgalo Vulons.” Tom waited, seeing her expression soften.
“There are twenty Ugna ships coming now,” she told him.
“Then we’re running out of time.” At least all one hundred spaceships were no longer firing. They were watching their viewscreens with great interest. “There will be a war, but we can’t have it on our soil. I’m asking you to join us, to change our focus on the incoming fleet, because it will be the only way we can turn the tides in our favor. The Ugna want everything. They’re powerful and have advanced measures to deal with an enemy. Will you join us?”
Vulons shifted on her feet, backing away a few steps. “Why do you think the Ugna were behind this?”
President Bertol moved behind him and answered, “I am President Bertol of Aruto, the leader of the Callalay, a Concord Founder. We encountered them only a day ago, and Thomas Baldwin stopped the Ugna. We now have that replica in our possession.”
Tom took over. “And it’s heading toward Nolix with Shu as we speak. It’ll arrive in a week. I’d be happy to give you a tour of it then.”
“We don’t have a week, Admiral,” Vulons sneered. “We have under an hour.”
“Then you’ll need to make a decision. This is our biggest threat in some time, Captain. Remember that. Remember why you signed up to run Border patrol with your Finos cruiser when we didn’t have a large enough fleet to do so. We need to be united, because the Ugna have waged a war, and I intend to give them one.” Tom sat back, setting his hands on his lap. This was it. This woman was clearly in charge of their group, and he hoped he’d been able to convince her.
“Very well. What’s your plan?” she asked, and Tom grinned.
“Thank you. The Ugna will think you’re with them. Let’s ensure they keep believing that. Continue the fight, but lower your pulses to twenty percent, and make sure your weapons officers’ aim is inferior for the next while,” Tom ordered.
“You want us to keep fighting?” Captain Vulons asked, her sharp teeth showing as she smiled.
“That’s right. When the Ugna arrive, we don’t give them a chance to recover. Understand?” Tom asked.
“I see what you’re suggesting. It will be done.” The Finos captain’s image disappeared, and Tom cut the all-play communication.
“Admiral Benitor, can you connect me to Constantine?” Tom was enjoying bossing the old Callalay admiral around for a change of pace.
“They may not be fooled so easily, Baldwin,” Elder Fayle warned him.
“I don’t expect them to, but I do have a favor to ask of you, Fayle,” Tom said.
“What is it?”
“Does Wylen have any idea you’ve betrayed him?” Tom asked.
She shook her head. “I’ve kept my tracks very light. There is no trail.”
“I need you to return to your new home. Take the shuttle, escape during the battle. Set course for Driun F49 and plead your case to your people while staying covert. If we’re going to stop him, we need someone on the inside,” he told her.
Fayle didn’t speak, and her fear was almost palpable. “I do not think that is such a great idea.”
“Admiral Baldwin,” Treena said.
Tom checked to make sure their conversation was private. “Captain, good to see you in one piece.”
“You did a great job, and nice timing. I was about to lay waste to that fleet,” she said, her voice wavering. That wouldn’t have been an easy decision for Starling.
“We don’t have long. What do we know?” he asked her promptly.
“Earth. We’ve been close. The Ugna rule the planet. They’ve taken over and enslaved the humans. We escaped and set a trap. Someone has gone there with Nek drive schematics, but we managed to deceive them. The moment they try to make the jump to the Concord, they’re going to find a nice surprise,” Treena said.
Tom checked the clock. Thirty minutes until the Ugna were in firing range. “I know who delivered the plans.”
“Who?” Treena asked.
Tom watched the crew through his screen. Ven Ittix was there, and he thought about Fayle’s words. He was powerful. Something special. The future leader of the Ugna at Driun F49, and he had no idea. This wasn’t the time to speak up about it.
“My old nemesis.”
“Lark Keen?” She almost jumped as she said it. “That son of a…”
“He’s a piece of work, and we know for a fact that Wylen was behind his prison transport break,” Tom advised them. “Will your trap kill them?”
She shook her head. “We wanted to buy time. There was no secure manner of arranging that, not one that the pre-flight run analysis wouldn’t discover. We had to do what we were able to while being discreet.”
“Will it work?” Tom asked.
“We think so. We’ll have time to discuss it after, but for now, we have a looming battle on our hands.” Treena looked confident as a captain, and Tom’s gaze lingered on the old man beside her. Teller seemed to be good at keeping quiet, and he wondered how her experience had been with the ex-captain.
“Very well. Let’s prepare for a fight.” Tom drew up the plans, sending them to Ridele and the fleet.
Twenty-Two
It was time. One advantage of using an android body was the lack of nerves. It wasn’t the same, with none of the physical trepidation that came along with the emotion. The Ugna were close, expecting the battle to be raging over Nolix. Tom had been right about one thing. They were cowards, tricking others into doing their dirty work, but not anymore.
Brax continued to fire at the ragtag group of vessels gathered there, but none of the shots held much power, and he was sure to miss more often than hit, just as they were doing. She only hoped the approaching Ugna didn’t notice in the heat of the moment.
“Captain, they’re close,” Ven said. “I can sense them, but it doesn’t feel as it did with the Vusuls. They are confident, not worried enough to attempt a mass kill.”
“Good. Let’s hope the buggers stay assured,” Teller said, making Treena laugh.
Teller had tweaked Tom’s idea a bit, and the Admiral had gone for it. Treena prayed to the Vastness that it worked.
The twenty ships broke formation, as Ven had suggested they would, splitting into four groups as they were instructed from a young age. He hadn’t trained with them, but in his time on Driun F49, he’d grilled Hanli about their fleet any chance he’d gotten, and apparently, it had worked.
“Good job, Ven,” she told him.
Five ships flew to the far edge of the assembled partners: another five to the near side, five above, five below. They were more susceptible to an attack, but fro
m their point of view, they were stronger to pen in the one hundred ships and destroy them before they could escape. Their plan banked on the fact that the Ugna would be deceived.
“Brax, select your targets. Andron, take your two,” Treena ordered.
“On your mark, Captain,” Brax said, and she waited until the Ugna began firing toward Constantine.
The bridge doors opened, and Tom ran through, followed by Admiral Benitor and President Bertol. Treena had never met her, only seen pictures, and she snapped her attention to the viewscreen again, not wanting the distraction.
“Did I miss anything?” Tom asked, rushing to her side.
“Not yet. Brax, fire!” She called the command, and they watched as his shots hit their targets, destroying two freight haulers from Yollox. Andron aimed at two others, these farther out near the Ugna, on top of the fleet. They also exploded quickly, sending a sign.
In order to make the battle seem real, they’d emptied out four ships, with the promise of compensating the owners later. Evacuating them had been a close call, but in the end, it made their fight seem in full swing.
The moment the ships were destroyed, the entire fleet started firing—only not at the Concord vessels, like the Ugna were doing. They didn’t see it coming for a second. Constantine targeted the left side, Andron the top, and Gutam the right. The other ninety-five struck with a ferocity that shocked Treena.
The first Ugna vessel was destroyed within moments, and another followed a second later. But the Ugna were no fools, and once they saw the deception, they altered their attack, focusing on the Finos cruiser first. But it was too late.
Treena watched as two freighters were destroyed in the crossfire, and she closed her eyes for a moment at the loss of life. When she opened them, Ven was guiding Constantine in the direction of the last cluster of Ugna ships. One of them was attempting to flee, and Treena shouted at Brax, “Don’t let them escape!”
Baldwin's Legacy: The Complete Series Page 134