“Yeah, Jerome’s coordinating,” Ko said, glancing at Mark’s leg.
Mark tilted his head down, looking at the medic who was covered in blood. She was doing something in his leg.
Mark laid back down. “Hope my balls are alright.”
***
“Mark got hit, but he’s good to go,” Ko said on the command channel.
“Just a bit low on the old blood count,” Mark added.
“Will you stop getting shot?” Alexis sighed.
“Glad you’re okay,” Tyler said. Green lights filled Tyler’s HUD as the others agreed.
“Making me blush, guys. Captain, orders?” Mark said, putting them back on mission.
“Good to know you’re okay, lieutenant. Bravo, I want you to start pulling out with the wounded and anyone left in the cryo-pods, I think M will want to have a few words with them on Fearless. Alpha and Charlie can clear the remainder of the living quarters. Once that’s done, I’m going to send word to the Carrier that we have secured the freighter. Alpha, I want a Platoon for security once the freighter is cleared; transfer back once the EMF’s flight crew takes over the ship,” Haas said.
Tyler and the other officers greened up.
“Well let’s get this wrapped up,” Haas said.
There weren’t any other Chosen left alive on the freighter. Tyler had medics pull the Chosen out of cryo with minimal recovery time, and they looked like crap as they were stuffed into space suits and cuffed.
The Troopers dragged them out onto the waiting Combat Shuttles. The two wounded Troopers had already been transported back to Dauntless, with one needing priority medical aid.
Mark didn’t need to be immediately evacuated. His artery was reattached, sealed and then the leg closed up with sealant. Some needles, a patch of smart cloth, and he was airtight and mobile. He would need a bit of time in the medical bay to finish it off, but he was good.
Tyler was the last of his Company to leave.
The replacement crew was already being shipped over by the time he landed.
Mark came with the last of his Company as well; he was limping and there was blood everywhere, but he was alive.
“You are an idiot,” Tyler sighed, putting an arm under Mark’s shoulder and taking some of the weight off his leg, helping him through the hangar’s airlock and to a lift to get patched up.
“Shit happens, man. Thank God for medics and drugs. Should probably apologize to the one that put me back together,” Mark grumbled.
“What did she do to you except keep you alive?” Tyler said, his voice taking on an edge.
“Used tongs in my damned leg to find my artery. Don’t get shot in the leg, bro,” Mark advised.
Tyler sighed and shook his head, it was funny, but Tyler knew how bad an arterial bleed was. Mark’s drugs had fought the blood loss and kept him active, but he could have easily died.
This is what we signed up for, to be Troopers, the corporations’ enforcers. Some days he wished he had just turned around and left the Citadel.
Tyler looked to his Company and Regiment as they walked in from their shuttles.
And some days you don’t know how you could do anything but be a Trooper.
“Let’s get you to medical before we get stuffed right back into cryo,” Tyler said.
“Next stop, Fernix,” Mark said, and some of the heat and hatred that had come from his time on Osdal was audible in his words.
Chapter 12
System Freighter Kelas
Oort Cloud, Housapel System
1/3283
Luke woke from his cryo-pod slowly, his body responding perfectly as he walked out and into his room. The medical personnel that had revived him took their gear and left, and his security guards followed them out.
Luke checked his reports and the ship’s progress; they were just a few weeks from Housapel Prime.
Soon I’ll be back with educated and socialized people, instead of the apes and idiots of Osdal, he thought. The two decades that it had taken him to reach Housapel felt like minutes as he ordered a meal from his private chef. That done, he sent a message to the head of Harmony, Peter Quinn himself, making sure it was through one of the secure messaging systems.
The freighter Kelas would not be heading straight into Housapel, not even her materials were to be known by the people of the system. Instead, she was going to a region of space where there should be nothing but a thick gathering of asteroids in Housapel’s Oort Cloud.
Luke took a deep breath, tensions leaving him as he smiled.
He was home; here power was not brutally enforced but rather politically maintained. He had played his part out and for it his reward would be great.
With Kelas’ arrival, the last pieces for Peter Quinn’s plan would be put into place.
Chapter 13
Tower
Earth, Sol System
6/3294
Nivad had been in and out of these conference rooms for decades now.
He looked out at the people around the table; many of them were different faces, but the intelligence heads of Osdal and Masoul were still there, Dalia and Wallace still sat on either side of Nivad. The EMF delegation had gone through a number of changes in the years.
“Let us begin shall we?” Nivad said, looking to the intelligence head of Osdal.
The bald man bowed his head to Nivad. “As you all know, the fighting in Osdal finished around twenty years ago, and the system is starting to get back to its normal production levels. A number of companies have started up to fill a void that the Osdal Partnership has been unable to do, due to their travel time. All of the freighters captured so far have been bought with their contents and sold off. The two Earth Military Force Carriers are rotating Troopers on and off duty to mitigate operational costs.”
“Masoul,” Nivad said.
“The system has recovered and they are working to fix up the shipping station once again. Freighters are moving to and from Masoul. Harmony seem to have the majority of the freighters in the sphere under their control. Keeping up with demand is hard on the economy, and we are starting to see the issues now. There are fewer people with higher classed goods, more with simplistic ones,” Masoul said.
“Dalia, would you like to talk about timeline?” Nivad asked.
“Certainly,” Dalia looked at the rest of the table. “As it stands, we believe it will take the sphere a century or two to recover. In that time, we are going to have issues all across the board, most notably in places furthest from the sphere. Like Earth.” She let this sink in. Nivad continued to look at her but was really studying people out of the corner of his eye.
“Companies that are in Sol are slowly starting to make more freighters as we put out incentives. We need to speed that up as much as possible as we should assume that Fernix will not be producing ships for a couple of decades.
“Which brings me to another point about colonies and their attempts to monopolize one sector. Having looked over the information from Harmony’s rebellion, we need more systems able to make things in different sectors. One system one product has shown its ugly head. If we can foster new growth, we can also open up colony drives again, shifting our population out to the colonies and reducing the drain on the shipments arriving in-system,” Dalia said, her eyes moving back to Nivad.
“Understood, I want a report on that,” Nivad said.
He already had it, but it emphasized the importance to the others in the room.
“Certainly, sir,” Dalia said, making a note on her surface.
“Wallace?” Nivad asked.
“Within the week the fleet assembled to attack Fernix will cross the system’s Oort Cloud. The fleet at Housapel will also enter their system. We hope to hit both systems at once, to create the most confusion. The forces at Housapel will have reinforcements coming in for the next fifteen years as the later model Carriers were fitted with higher powered drives. If needed, they can be diverted to help against the forces in Fernix,” Wallace said.
/>
“Good. How are we looking on the broadcast network?” Nivad looked at Alice, the head of communications within Earth and Her Colonies. The woman had plain features with her brunette hair pulled back in a severe bun.
“We have the highest subscription rate ever seen, and every system is watching the events of Fernix. Many people are re-watching the fighting in Mining City Twenty-One. The released content from Masoul, with the Triple-Twos hitting the Chosen from behind, was a hit. People are all looking for Mark Victor’s feed. They haven’t been happy with the lack of content, with only one boarding action in some twenty-seven years. We’ve been showing the old footage for the last few months. People are excited to see Earth’s Military Forces destroy Harmony,” Alice said, barely a flicker of emotion on her face.
“Then I guess we only have to sit back and watch the show,” Nivad said, tapping his fingers on the table. They were so close to the end of it all.
The biggest thing that annoyed him was that he didn’t know who the leaders of Fernix and Housapel were. They had to be there, but the politicians’ smoke screen hid them well. It was why Earth and Her Colonies still had a government, to give the people someone to blame and a body to come down on them. Separating them from companies who were pulling the strings but wanted to appear good and untarnished to their consumers.
Not many people wanted to buy goods from the people that were taxing, arresting, and policing them.
Maybe they’ll be lucky and escape me, but even if they do, the Troopers won’t have mercy on them, he thought. The order had gone out: all except Harmony’s prisoners were to be killed. There was no knowing who the leaders were, or who truly believed in Harmony. So Nivad needed to clear house.
Chapter 14
HC Bulwark
Patrol Fernix System
6/3294
Admiral Zeichner was an older looking woman, more regal than beautiful, with her hair cut short and out of the way. Her black and red accentuated Harmony uniform emphasized her power.
She was admiring the Fernix system on the center holo as alerts started coming in; the sensor network was picking up inbound targets.
Her seat was to the rear of the command center, and her aides were positioned around the main holographic display, with secondary personnel along the walls.
“Admiral, we have fourteen plus objects entering system, and the number is growing,” Baike, one of her close friends and communications aides reported, just like if they were in a simulation.
“Make sure that General Ando is alerted, and bring the fleet to full readiness. I want a course plotted to the EMF fleet and another to Fernix Prime’s orbit,” Zeichner said, calm and controlled even as she felt her heartbeat in her ears and her adrenaline pumping through her veins.
“I want a time estimate and flight plan for the incoming fleet.” The fourteen had risen to thirty-one and more sensor ghosts were appearing.
“Yes, ma’am,” Navigator Wazny said, and moments later a line was leading from the Earth Military Carriers to Fernix Prime.
“From their power outputs these ships look like they’ve been hiding outside of the Oort Cloud,” Wazny said.
“How long until they reach Fernix Prime?”
“Two and a half weeks at their current rate of speed, I don’t know their thrust output, so it’s an estimate.”
“Very well, get me a channel with General Ando,” Zeichner said.
Moments later and the hologram of Fernix system was replaced by General Ando of Harmony’s Chosen ground forces.
He was a young looking man, with long hair tied back in a braid. Grey hairs were visible in his goatee beard. While he had the body of a twenty-year-old, he was well over eighty.
“Admiral,” Ando said in greeting. The two of them butted heads, but they understood and respected each other’s abilities.
“My aim is to go out and engage the Earth Military Forces’ Carriers at my best speed. My hope is to weaken and throw them into chaos before they attempt a landing on Fernix,” Zeichner said.
“Understood. I wish you best luck Admiral. We will stay in contact. I am stepping up the ground force units, so we’ll be ready for the bastards when they come down,” Ando promised.
“Understood; good hunting, general.”
“You too, admiral,” Zeichner said, cutting the channel. “Have us move to intercept the enemy fleet. Wazny, get me a time estimate on how long until we cross their formation. If we have enough time, I’d like to do a simulation.”
Now that she saw the enemy, all she wanted to do was close with them and get the whole thing over with. The weeks it would take would be a practice in patience.
Chapter 15
Revival City
Housapel Prime Housapel System
6/3294
Peter Quinn looked up from his desk, drinking his coffee as reports came in about Earth Military Forces Carriers entering the system.
Housapel’s news networks were buzzing with the news. Quinn looked at different reports coming from the Harmony military and everything looked to be proceeding as planned.
The numbers put the EMFCs at sixty strong and, judging by their trajectory, they had come directly from Earth.
The CEO messages started coming in moments later, all looking for assurances that they and their possessions were secure. Peter consoled and assured them, inviting them to a war party at his home to take their minds off the events.
We’re the rich and wealthy, nothing can happen to us! Peter thought with a smile, putting his coffee down and heading out into his living area.
“Good day, Bodro,” Peter said to his head of security, a dull man who kept his mouth shut and knew how to quietly eliminate Peter’s rivals.
“Sir,” Bodro said nodding to his patron.
“Are we set for our expedition?” Peter asked.
“Yes sir, Admiral Hawking is ready to get a move on. Admiral Gorbachek is holding his leash and moving his forces to intercept the incoming EMF Carriers, as per our original plans.”
“Very well, I will be having a party in two days, see that things are arranged. Check with Admiral Hawking as to when we will be boarding.”
“Certainly, sir,” Bodro said, standing and leaving the room. Peter stepped out onto his balcony. Special bafflers stopped the air from whipping at his clothes and air jets made it so he could breathe properly.
He looked out over Revival; air cars and traffic weaved between the buildings, shuttles dropped and climbed from the orbiting facilities. Peter used his implants to track down the fleet that was holding in orbit. The three-hundred-meter-long ships were hidden by the cloud cover, but they were up there, ready and waiting to attack the Earth Military Forces.
Fernix had fourteen Harmony Cruisers, Housapel had fifteen in their main fleet.
Though the real fleet only has nine. Peter felt a smile cross his lips.
“Soon I’ll take a nap and wake up with all of this mess over.” He looked over Housapel again, taking in the view he had seen for more than a hundred and fifty years. It would be one of the last times he did.
He turned and walked back into his apartment, sending a message to Miss Choi. She was a rare gem in the CEO circles, and an unrivaled lover.
“Peter, my dear, what may I do for you?” she purred in his ear.
“I’m feeling rather vigorous and I have a function I need to plan for,” Peter said.
“I’ll be over within the hour,” she said, and a shiver of excitement ran down Peter’s back.
“I look forward to it,” Peter said.
“So do I.”
Maybe I should take her with me to Earth. Peter’s smile widened, the last phases of his plan were coming into play.
Chapter 16
EMFC Dauntless
Fernix System
6/3294
“Wake them up,” General Jones said, an agitated flick of his wrist erasing the message he had got from the Carrier Fearless from his view.
“Yes, sir.” The chief me
dical officer who was in his office turned and left.
Jones looked back to the holographic map showing Fernix System. The EMF fleet was coming in from every direction, all sixty-seven Carriers. There were fourteen ships just a third the size of the EMFC’s, but they were covered in weapons and launch bays. Unlike the EMFC’s, their weapons and armor were on both sides of their hulls. They didn’t have large bays for storing solar sails.
These were in-system fighting ships.
Jones wasn’t scared of them, but they seemed eager to close with the EMF fleet. Tomorrow they’d get to see just what they were capable of.
***
Tyler woke up, and this time his cryo-pod was open. He walked out, firing up his augments, running checks on his gear.
The rest of the Regiment was already out of their pods and moving.
He looked down the length of the spine with its cryo-pods on either side. The ones that weren’t occupied by the Regiment were open, their occupants out and about.
“Why do I get the feeling that they have a grudge?” Che asked, slamming her pistol magazine in and pulling the action back, checking there was a round in the chamber.
“Cause you have a brilliant set of deductive skills,” Tyler said, his words falling away as Haas opened a channel to him and the other officers.
“Seems that it’s about to get interesting in here. We’re a week and a half in-system, and the Harmony fuckers have some weaponized ships coming out to greet us. We’ve been given clearance to check our gear. Higher wants us to try and take one of the Harmony ships if we can,” Haas said.
“Fucking awesome,” Jerome sighed.
“Welcome to Fernix, boys and girls.”
“I want gear check by the end of today, have someone on watch at all times. Make sure everyone gets some hot meals and rack time. Don’t know the next time we’ll get some down time,” Haas said.
Tyler greened up with the rest of the officers.
“Let’s get this shit-show on the road,” Haas said.
“Che, get a rota sorted out for people to get food and rack time, I’m going to head down to the armories,” Tyler said.
Fernix (Harmony War Book 4) Page 6