Instead, they assiduously protected what remained of their fleet and tried to convince the Jaj to join the fray. Now that the Jaj were finally in war mode, the Aegisi fleet was in position to assist in the war effort. Within reason.
“You will recall our mutual intelligence on a Cavan facility known as the Embank,” Teronde said.
“Indeed,” came the reply. “Our analysts believe destroying the facility would go a long way to defeating the Cava05. Such an outcome is, of course, impossible.”
“Not quite,” Teronde said mildly. “I’m looking at the system in question. The Rivia system.”
Councillor Forran’s ice blue eyes flickered briefly. It was the barest hint of emotion, and the only one they were likely to get.
“You have my undivided attention, General.”
“I won’t mince words, Councillor,” Teronde said. “We need you to bait and draw their orbital fleet.”
“A dead man’s run,” Forran said, stroking his chin in thought. “And what will you do if you reach the surface?”
“What we do best,” Teronde said indignantly. “Deploy our paladin legions.”
Forran was silent was several moments.
“I’m sorry, General, but I need to be convinced. I will not risk my fleet on a desperate reach, Embank or no Embank.”
“It’s not a ‘reach’, it’s a well-considered -”
“Allow me, General,” Fusar said, stepping forward so Councillor Forran could see her.
“My name is Fusar Majesta, Councillor,” she began calmly.
Forran’s eyes widened and for the first time he grasped for words.
“Empress … what a pleasure to make your acquaintance. News travels fast, as I’m sure you can imagine. Your story is an inspiration to us Aegisi.”
“You are too kind, Councillor,” Fusar said agreeably. “And I understand your reticence. A good leader knows how to weigh the balance of probabilities, and I agree our Rivia offensive seems destined to fail.”
“I am glad we see eye-to-eye, Empress.”
“But I’m also prepared to accept that you cannot possibly know the true strength of my Legions. The inferno of feeling in the heart of every Jaj under my command. How could you? Your mother, your sister, your daughter - they live, they breathe, they are free to live their lives. Know this Councillor - whether you help us or not, every single Jaj is going to fling themselves against the enemy until all are dead. We’ve kept you waiting far too long. We’re here - and we’re ready. Help us send shock waves across the galaxy.”
Dead silence as everyone watched the Councillor on screen. It might have been Fusar’s imagination, but Jake took a half-step toward her. Real or perceived, it felt good.
“You speak very well, Empress, and most persuasively,” Councillor Forran began. “And yet still, my head tells me this is a battle we cannot win. But then, I sense the Jaj are not approaching this enterprise with their heads alone.”
A pause as the Councillor collected his thoughts.
“The only way this will work is if we enter the fray with the same headstrong spirit. We must, for this is our last chance. And you are our greatest allies. In the name of prudence, I reject your plan. In the name of friendship, I embrace it with all my heart. We will make a stand together.”
A cheer erupted from the bridge floor, where normally dour military officers let go of their pent-up tension. The whole enterprise would be for nothing without Aegisi aerial support. The Jaj fleet might have been able to break through to Rivia, but by that stage the accretion of damage would’ve been too great to mount a serious ground assault.
“It will be an honor to fight alongside the Aegisi,” Fusar said with a bow. “Especially since you have the better ships.”
“I’m glad you noticed that,” Forran quipped. There was scattered laughter across the bridge.
Fusar handed over to General Teronde, who launched into a detailed battle simulator showing expected actions and reactions in orbit off Rivia. The essential plan was to split the defensive Cava05 fleet with a front-on engagement initiated by the Aegisi. Once a hole had been opened, Jaj ramming ships would fill the breach and disable the planetary shield. The bulk of the Jaj fleet would advance from the rear and release hundreds of Paladin Infantry Neos (PINs) from their holds. The PINs would enter the breach and rain down on the Embank facility.
From there, the plan was largely unformed, but thousands of paladin units would be armed with explosives and instructed to cause as much chaos as possible whilst a smaller strike team searched for the Embank itself.
“I see heavy losses, General,” the Councillor said. “But if you want the Embank, there’s no other way.”
“Let’s talk about a precision fall point in the Rivia system,” Teronde said.
The General looked tired and drawn. Fusar touched him on the arm and gestured that she was withdrawing from the conversation.
The Resolute was a picture of calm, professional chaos as it prepared for yet another drift run.
“Once we reach Rivia, things will happen quickly,” Jake said as they threaded the busy corridors to Gold Deck. “We should lie low before we launch.”
‘Lie low’ sounded like an intimate session with Mandie, but Fusar was too tired to care. She hit her own quarters and contented herself with neural relaxation games on her wrist pad. She just needed to switch off for a while. Her message inbox was stuffed with literally thousands of messages but she figured there’d be time for them after the offensive. If anyone survived.
73
The calming games must’ve have worked pretty well, because Fusar was woken by a general call to drift capsules. She met the others in the corridor and made her way to her allocated capsule. Apart from the dried vomit, her recent fall from drift space had been surprisingly smooth. Could’ve had something to do with the high-grade military drugs paladins used for long-distance travel. Soldiers needed to be on wherever they landed. There often wasn’t enough time to eat, drink, or think before battle commenced on the other side of a drift run.
This time Fusar was ready for that painful band that clamped itself around her ankle. Jake made a lewd gesture from the adjoining capsule. Man, she wished she could just jump on top of him. However pleasant that train of thought might have been, it petered out into nothing before she could bring it home.
A strident siren called Fusar from her enforced slumber. She was up and standing in an instant, amazed at how alert she was.
“Fucking drugs get better every time,” Jake muttered as he kneaded the bridge of his nose. “Let’s go gear up.”
“Am I coming with you, Jake?” Fusar asked plaintively. She wasn’t sure what the protocol for a fully-fledged Empress was, only that she wanted to be with him.
“Well I’m sure as fuck not leaving you here,” Jake said. “We started this together, we’ll finish it together.”
Fusar grinned despite herself. “I’ll try not to get in the way.”
“Give yourself some credit,” Jake said seriously. “You can handle yourself pretty well.”
“We’d better go,” Mandie said, smoothing out her utility suit.
“Aye, girl,” Jake agreed.
“Are things panning out as you expected?” Fusar blurted suddenly. “With the Catalysts?”
Fusar wasn’t sure why it was critical that she know right then. Probably because she was scared. She needed to latch onto as many seeds of hope as she could.
“Some things haven’t happened as I expected,” Jake said after a pause. “Well, not like my father described them anyway.”
The Duellist’s eyes lingered on her.
“Some things have turned out better than expected.”
Blinking away tears, Fusar decided to resolve an issue that had been bugging her for months.
“If there are five Catalysts, who are the other two?” she a
sked. “First there was Michael Danner, followed by you, then me. There should be two more. Have we missed something?”
“I think about that every day,” Jake said. “But thinking gets you nowhere in this galaxy. All I know is we’re here with a fluker’s chance of bringing down the fucking simians. Let’s focus on that, Fusar.”
Fusar nodded - it was enough. There were worse fates than fighting alongside one of the best damned soldiers in the galaxy. She followed the others to Blue Deck, where the armory was located.
“Strange,” she said. “I don’t feel hungry at all.”
“Battle stims, mixed in with the usual drift drugs,” Jake said. “The next twelve hours will be a blast, but the comedown will be fucked up.”
As expected, the armory was a flurry of activity. Several hundred Jaj were either picking up their kits or seeing technicians about various mechanical faults. Fusar saw several of the magenta-colored sapper kits that one in two paladins would bring into battle.
The Empress was content to wait in line like everyone else, but she was recognized within seconds and practically shoved to the front. At first she felt a little self-conscious, but the looks on these soldiers’ faces was worth a lifetime of discomfort. To see their leader, an Empress no less, rub shoulders with rank and file troops in the armory was a morale-booster that lasted an entire battle.
Fusar received a blaster rifle, three photon grenades, a compact plasma pistol, a murderous-looking pike and a standard plasteel armor set. Her helm was fearsome. She gazed at it for several seconds, savoring the moment. Today, at least, she was a paladin.
She changed in one of the adjoining locker rooms and was greeted with a warm cheer on her return. The armor was rather heavy but nothing she couldn’t get used to. The pike folded into segments she could tuck into a sheath at her thigh. She could also hook the helm to a special latch at her hip.
Jake and Mandie had elected to receive special sapper kits. They included extra photon charges and a strong grappling cable coiled into a sleek forearm dispenser.
Fusar and her companions reported to the Bridge. General Teronde had no time for pleasantries.
“Rivia is a barren, rocky planetoid,” he said “We believe the Embank Facility is located in a mountain range to the south. I’ve authorized the deployment of montane climbing packs for our vanguard. Hopefully they can help secure safe landing zones.”
The Resolute was cruising at full speed toward Rivia. Fusar gazed at a close-up view of the planet.
“What’s that blue haze?’ she asked.
“We don’t know yet,” Teronde said with a grimace. “It looks like an everyday energy field but I suspect it’s something else entirely.”
“Why?” Jake asked, looking suspiciously at the nav display.
“I haven’t seen any ships pass in and out of there,” Teronde mused. “We don’t understand Cavan technology at a high level. As soon as we have something I’ll relay it.”
“The Aegisi are en route,” Jake said, noting the tightly clustered Aegisi warships several clicks ahead of them. A readout suggested their ETA was less than an hour. A thick purple line encircled the planetoid, suggesting a heavy defensive presence. At this range the Cavan line was too far to see clearly.
“The enemy has deployed a solid defensive fleet,” Teronde said. “I’m just glad we didn’t fall within range of a patrolling warship.”
A familiar sense of anxiety knotted itself in Fusar’s guts, gripping her like a monstrous python.
“The Aegisi will soon engage,” Teronde said. “You should head to your PIN berths. I’ll coordinate the attack from the Resolute and stay in contact. The command channel is 34.”
Teronde glanced at Fusar almost sheepishly. “A week ago, if I was told a Jaj Empress would be heading into battle under my watch, I’d turn in my helm immediately. But … this offensive is so incredibly high risk, I figure planet-side is just as good as the Resolute. Good luck, Empress. And thanks for bringing us all back to life.”
Ignoring military protocol, Fusar embraced the General. She was touched when he responded in kind.
“I’ve done nothing,” she said. “All you needed was a catalyst.”
She looked up at Jake, who stifled a grin.
A call had already been put out to the soldiers participating in the ground invasion. As Fusar and her friends hurried from the Bridge, Teronde was receiving a frantic report from Councillor Forran. Through the nose of the warship, Rivia loomed large. Red and purple tongues of flame could just be seen at the vanguard of the Aegisi fleet. The offensive had begun in earnest.
Trying not to think about the hundreds of good Aegisi folk dying at that moment, Fusar found herself in a massive hangar bay filled with sharply elongated shuttles.
“The PINs,” Mandie said, running her hand down the fuselage of the nearest craft. “Ballistic entry craft. Specialized ground invasion fleet.”
“We’re in PIN 74,” Fusar said, consulting her wrist pad. It was hard not to feel intimidated by the forest of intimidating craft. The hangar was humming with adrenalized paladins boarding the PINs for probably their last mission.
Everyone checked their footing as the Resolute surged, hopefully to provide support to the Aegisi fleet and exploit whatever gaps had opened up in the Cavan defensive line.
“Over here,” Mandie said, locating their PIN. Fusar’s heart hammered in her throat as she climbed a tall ladder up the side of the ballistic shuttle.
The interior was dark, sweaty and frightening. No allowances for comfort in military craft. Fusar was pressed forward by the paladins behind her as everyone found their seats. Jake squeezed her hand reassuringly as they strapped themselves into wall harnesses.
“Our pilot’s a charmer,” Jake said laconically.
The atmosphere was so thick with dread that Fusar couldn’t even muster an eye-roll.
“When we break from the Resolute, this can will feel like it’s being pulled in all directions,” Jake said. “Close your eyes and listen for the sound of the bay doors. Don’t depend on the pilot’s voice. He’ll probably be dead by then.”
Fusar gripped the edge of her harness tightly. What the fuck was she thinking, joining Jake and Mandie like she was some kind of badass? She wasn’t. She was a tragic teenager who’d been chained in a pit for most of her life. That’s all. Her spot should be going to someone with a better chance of surviving.
An alarm sounded and the shuttle began jerking sideways, like it was on a conveyor belt.
“Catapult,” Jake said. “Keep your body straight and close your mouth.”
The deep thrum of a large warship could be heard somewhere off to starboard.
“Could be the rammer,” Mandie muttered.
PIN 74 shuddered, then changed direction. It was now moving up a support structure of some kind. At the top it just sat there while the troops fretted and sweated. The unmistakable sound of vomit splashing to the floor carried through the humid chamber. Unable to resist, Fusar found herself rejecting what little she had in her own stomach.
“Better out than in,” Jake said, probably hoping to calm her down. It was too late. Fusar felt as though her body might shut down from all the nervous energy. Why couldn’t they just move?
Her body was pressed against the wall and she almost bit her tongue off. Forced to close her eyes against the motion sickness, she could only surmise that the PIN had shot through the aft hangar bay and was now hurtling toward Rivia.
“Holy Seven fuckin’ Hells,” Jake said. His voice sounded faint, like he was on the other side of the hold. Had Fusar’s ear drums been perforated?
The screeching, wrenching sound of the catapult had long faded away. In the untrustworthy silence that followed, Fusar dared open her right eye. Her gaze was immediately drawn to the starburst of color through the nearest porthole. There were vibrant reds and oranges through there, the aftermath of something beautiful and deadly.
<
br /> “We’re already off-course,” Jake said. “Damned simians are picking off the pilots.”
Fusar barely had time to process that when the bay doors opened and the rearmost paladins were released.
“Helms!” Jake roared.
Fusar pulled her helm on in the nick of time, gasping in the air supplied by the filtration feed. The paladin across from her wasn’t so lucky, his eyes almost bulging free of their sockets as he died from asphyxiation.
The bay doors slammed shut, quivering on their bearings.
The doors opened again and two more paladins were released from their harnesses. Beyond the spinning, flailing bodies, Fusar could see the immense bulk of a Jaj warship heading straight for the blue fuzz of Rivia’s planetary shield. The vessel’s entire aft section was being torn apart by concentrated laser fire. The bay doors shut again and Fusar exchanged a panicked look with Jake.
“Can we get to the cockpit?”
“For what?” Fusar asked.
Jake didn’t reply. It seemed that all they were waiting for was the sinister void of space. Without jetpacks or any means of propulsion, the released paladins were sitting ducks for enemy warships. The shuttle was knocked sideways by a explosion to port. Fusar feared her arms would be ripped free of the harness.
The doors opened once again to release the next doomed paladin pair. By this stage all discipline had vanished and the hold was a desperate chorus of frenzied shouts. There were only four paladin pairs before Mandie. Through the bay doors she saw something inexplicable - the Jaj warship had dipped beneath the planetary shield with no visible damage at all.
“What the fuck …?” Mandie asked, her voice trailing off.
The warship seemed to be slowing up as it passed through the field, curiously disengaged.
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