“He’s diving, sir,” Josh informed him. “Going under us.”
“Order gun crews to open fire as soon as they are clear,” Lee ordered, switching his tactical view back to the fighters. “Watch for the Demons.”
Something about the battle between the junk fighters and the powerful Eagles was bothering him, but he didn’t have time to think about it. The ship designators flared quickly as he brought up the tactical image. The Eagle were doing as expected, flying rings around the slower fighters. Jackal flew a tight formation with one star-shaped enemy ship. He saw her latch on to the ship with her grapple and pull up. The other ship broke apart almost immediately, throwing debris and two pilots into space. The grapple released and the debris was thrown into the path of another fighter trying to flee from Baron’s ship. The debris tore through the other ship, breaking it apart and scattering ship debris into the path of the other Eagle.
Realization dawned on Lee. He saw Baron’s ship fly through the cloud of debris, swerving and juking in a manner he had never seen Baron do before. The maneuver was a hallmark of another pilot he knew, though.
“Alice?” Lee said. “Farthing, gets me Baron’s ship.”
“Aye,” the commander replied. “Big Momma to Princess…”
“You knew?” Lee asked, turning back to his comm officer. “Why didn’t you say?”
“You were busy,” Farthing replied. “I have her.”
“Alice, what are you doing?” Lee demanded over the comm line.
“Princess to Flyboy,” Alice replied, using Lee’s call sign. “Did you forget how to call me?”
“Princess, get back here,” Lee ordered. “You are not authorized to be out there.”
Alice’s voice crackled over the speaker. “Baron wasn’t really in the mood to try fighting one handed, Flyboy. I thought three against four wasn’t fair. It’s okay. I’m ready to get back out here, Lee.”
“It’s two against four now, Princess,” Lee replied as calmly as he could. “You’re recalled. Get back in here. That’s an order.”
“Roger,” Alice said after a beat. “Big Momma, Princess is coming in. Tell Poppa he’s being a jerk, will you?”
Farthing snapped the speaker off before Alice could hear his reply. A jolt went through the deck and Lee shifted his attention back to the main battle. The two Estes class escorts were now flanking Resolute on either side. Lee could see damage on both ships consistent with his cannons. The octopod was still firing in a staggered pattern, trying to disable the ships rather than destroy. Lee was getting tired of the battle. He wanted to get his ship out of danger and out of the battle as soon as possible.
“Have the gun crews go to full power,” Lee ordered his tactical officer. “Let’s finish this.”
The octopods vocoder let out a tone of pleasure as the creature tapped keys into the panel. His color had gone from a calm blue to a deep red as soon as he had finished the commands. Lee saw the cannon power increase to full. As the red-orange energy spat across the gulf between ships, he felt only pity for the other ships. They had been outmatched from the beginning. If Lee hadn’t wanted to capture instead of kill, this battle would have been over long ago. As the first hits impacted the escort’s shields, Lee saw the second set of cannons open up to full power. The escort frigates were torn apart almost instantly as the shields overloaded and ruptured. Tiny explosions rippled along the spine of the smaller ships as atmosphere burned and systems failed. Resolute glided through the carnage, leaving a trail of debris in her wake.
“Aztec is reporting two survivors, sir,” Farthing called. “He’s got a ship in tow. At least he says he has part of a ship.”
Lee checked his display to see the Eagle towing the front part of an old Confederacy fighter. The cockpit area was sealed off but without power, and the whole piece was attached to a grapple line being towed from Aztec’s ship.
“Have them bring it in,” Lee ordered. “Get a security team standing by. I want those people in the brig and ready for questioning by the time I get there.”
“Aye, sir.”
“Get Connor Jakes up here,” Lee ordered, snapping off his tactical display.
“I’m right here,” Jakes replied from behind Lee’s chair. “That was real pretty, Lee.”
Lee was startled to see the man standing behind him. He hadn’t realized the pirate had been standing there the entire battle. He wore a wide smile that made his face look like he was scheming.
“How did they know we were coming, Connor?” Lee asked.
“Lee, Aleinhelm is not a nice place,” Jakes said. “Just about anyone could have sent a signal if they saw you come get me before. I guess you forgot to bribe someone.”
“I didn’t pay any bribes,” Lee replied.
“Well, that’s your problem right there.”
“Who were they?”
“I ain’t got no idea,” Connor replied with a smirk. “But it was fun to see you fight them in a nightgown.”
Lee glanced down, again realizing he had fought the whole battle in a hospital gown. When he looked back to his crew, they studiously avoided looking at him. When he looked back to Connor, the man’s smirk had turned into a full-blown smile. Lee let out a short laugh as he reached up and straightened the gown. He turned back to his crew.
“Secure from battle stations and get us back into M-space,” Lee ordered. “Take us somewhere quiet, Josh. I need to have a talk with our new guests.”
“Should I tell the brig to expect you, sir?” Farthing asked.
“In a bit, Commander,” Lee replied, stepping past Connor and to the door. “Have Princess report to me as soon as she is in the hold. I need to get my uniform first.”
Thankfully, the door closed before the laughter broke out behind him on the bridge.
10
Isolation cells on a Republic class battleship were meant to hold prisoners for short terms until they could be delivered to a military court. Stripped down to the bare walls with only cots and a small toilet, the room was barely able to hold the two Tonal prisoners captured from the fighter battle. The porcine pilots had been pacing the four steps across the opening of the cell for an hour before Lee arrived in a freshly pressed uniform. Gregor, the ship’s head of security, followed closely behind. As he came to a stop before the energy shields, the prisoners stopped pacing and faced the captain.
“The innocent shall be redeemed by the hand of justice,” one of the creatures proclaimed. “The guilty shall be smitten down by the weight of their own sins.”
“Save the sermon,” Lee said. “Why did you attack my ship?”
“In the words of Pollan, redeemer of our people, we shall find redemption and freedom,” said the Tonal. “We have no reason to fear you. Do what you must.”
“Fine, Gregor,” Lee said, pointing at the one who had been speaking. “Take him.”
Gregor was a massive man. As he approached the cell, the two Tonal stepped back, craning their necks to see his face. The security chief palmed the door code, allowing the energy shield to snap off. An involuntary squeal erupted from the porcine man as Gregor grabbed the man by the flight suit and lifted him from the deck, carrying him back out of the cell and out of sight. As Gregor disappeared, Henry Moore came into the brig to stand beside Lee.
“What have we got?” Henry asked, his gray uniform and short hair conveying the image of a professional interrogator.
“This little piggy fired plasma cannons at my ship,” Lee said, stepping into the small cell. “I want to know who ordered him to do that. You have my permission to do whatever is necessary to find out.”
“You can’t do that! I am a missionary spreading the word of Ixloab to an unworthy galaxy!”
“If he starts spouting any of that alien religion crap,” Lee continued, “cut off a finger or something. See where Ixloab takes the pieces.”
“Wait!” the Tonal shouted. “You can’t do this. You’re Alliance. You have rules to follow and … um … laws.”
“We’re only human
,” Henry added, looking at the stocky pilot directly for the first time. “You people say it all the time. Other races are just lost souls. So … we’re lost. Now I’m going to ask you some questions. Your responses will determine how much pain your friend will be in, understand?”
“But … I’m really just a pilot,” the Tonal replied. “I am not really very high up in the church. I haven’t even memorized the Ixloab scriptures yet.”
“If you don’t know anything, your friend will likely die and then we’ll have to take you to the torture room,” Henry said calmly.
“Torture? I can’t be tortured. It’s against the Alliance protocols.”
“You fired on an Alliance battleship, thereby breaking the treaty between our peoples,” Lee interjected. “All bets are off. We just defeated the Ch’Tauk Empire. What chance do you think your little group of zealots will have?”
“Captain, please,” Henry said, stepping into the cell and between Lee and the prisoner. “This man is right. We have protocols to uphold. Please back out of the cell so I can interrogate the prisoner.”
Lee stared Henry down. A moment passed between them when Lee thought he might break character and laugh, but he held his face as he stomped out of the cell. Henry turned back to the prisoner and motioned for the man to sit on the cot.
“Let’s start with your name.”
“Uh … Rellio, sir. My name is Rellio.”
“Do you have a title in the Ixloab organization?”
“Yes. Yes, they call me Second Magus under the Tertiary pilot command. It’s a long title but the priests believe in being explicit in titles.”
“Well, that’s certainly specific, Rellio,” Henry replied. “My name is Henry. I’m just a sergeant major in the Alliance. I think specificity is a good thing, don’t you?”
“And my name is Lee, and the big guy who’s tearing your friend a few new holes is called Gregor,” Lee shouted into the cell. “Now, can we get on with it?”
“Captain,” Henry said, turning away from the prisoner and stepping in between Lee and Rellio. “If you can’t calm down and let me do my job I shall have to leave. I can’t work under these conditions.”
Henry made to step away from the prisoner as Lee brought out a wicked-looking grin. Rellio leapt from the cot and grabbed Henry’s arm, tugging the man back into the cell.
“Please,” Rellio said. “I’ll tell you everything I know. You haven’t asked me anything yet, but I’ll tell.”
“Who sent you?” Lee said, stomping his right foot forward. “Why did you attack my ship?”
At that moment, a scream tore through the brig, startling Rellio almost to tears. A second howl of terror made Lee grin even wider. Rellio stepped back and sat down on the cot, trying to make himself as small as possible. Lee stepped out of the brig for a moment. When he returned, he was wiping thick red fluid from his fingers with a towel. Rellio’s face turned pale white with fear.
“Your friend has really thin skin,” Lee said. “Gregor barely nicked him and he just started spouting. You wanna see?”
“Oh, mighty Ixloab,” Rellio said, closing his eyes in prayer. “Forgive my unworthy soul in my hour of weakness. You who said the strength of our people lay in the strength of our souls, I am not worthy.”
Lee dropped the towel and suddenly pushed past Henry. He grabbed the Tonal’s right arm and pulled him to his feet. The smaller creature practically fell to his knees and began to squeal in terror. Lee produced a short knife from his belt and pressed it to the flesh of the middle finger. Henry grabbed Lee’s arm and pulled him away.
“Just get it over with,” the captain said, brandishing the knife at him. “I’m getting tired of this.”
“Rellio, I don’t think I can keep this up unless you give us something,” Henry said, moving closer to the Tonal pilot. “Who sent you to attack this ship?”
“The Grand Vizier,” Rellio said, his voice trembling. “The Grand Vizier sent out the call to crush the heretics who were coming for us.”
“There, Captain,” Henry said, turning back to Lee. “He’s giving us answers. Can’t you stop this?”
“Why did you attack my ship?” Lee asked as another howl of pain erupted from out of sight.
“I don’t know. I swear!” Rellio said. “I heard something from Bulloc, my co-pilot. He said something about a captured spy. That’s all I know!”
“We haven’t sent a spy. We don’t even know who you people really are,” Lee said, stepping closer again.
“I swear! The Grand Vizier sent out the ships to look for stray Alliance vessels,” Rellio said, sweat breaking out along his thick brow. “He said he wanted to capture a crew and find out why the Alliance was sending spies. When we heard about the apprehend order, we started searching for you. I think the priests paid someone on Aleinhelm for your jump coordinates. Bulloc said they have the spy at the colony on Xyphlic. That’s all I know. Please let Bulloc go. He’s a true believer, but he’s a good guy. Please.”
Lee glanced to Henry. Both men nodded as Lee turned back to the outer door and disappeared. Henry turned to Rellio. The Tonal was sweating profusely as he twisted the thick sheet on the cot. As Henry approached, the screaming from outside abruptly stopped. There was a sound like something heavy dropping to the ground and then silence. Lee came back into sight, again wiping his hands.
“Okay, I stopped it,” he said to Rellio. “Anything else you want to say before you get to go too?”
Rellio went even paler before dropping over onto his side. Henry checked the Tonal’s thick neck for a pulse and nodded to Lee. A few seconds later, Connor Jakes entered the confined space.
“That was just mean,” he said to Lee. “Hell, it’s like somethin’ I woulda done.”
“You did do it, Connor,” Lee said. “Where did you learn to squeal like a Tonal?”
“Shared a cell with one for about a year during the occupation,” the pirate replied. “He wouldn’t stop. I couldn’t sleep for almost a whole year until he finally died. I slept good that night, though.”
“Where’s the other one. Bulloc?” Henry asked.
“Eatin’,” Connor replied with a grimace. “He may be a nut, but he can really put food down. You ever watched a Tonal eat?”
“Yes,” Lee said, remembering his friend Wellick. “I have. In any case, what do we know?”
“If the Grand Vizier has an Alliance spy, I’d be willing to bet it’s our Petunia. Chang might have had a strange sense of humor, but he wouldn’t have sent out more than one,” Henry explained.
“What do we really know about these Ixloab?” Lee asked. “What about this Xyphlic? Has anybody been there?”
“Nobody’s been to Xyphlic,” Henry replied. “It’s a colony asteroid deep in Tonal space. The natives were wiped out when the Ixloab moved in. The last time I looked at an update, the Ixloab were fairly peaceful. They’re zealots, that is true, but they weren’t so aggressive. Something’s hanged out there.”
“Well, if they’re out looking for Alliance ships, they’re more likely to get the notice of someone a lot less friendly than us,” Lee replied. “If they’ve got Petunia, we need to be the ones to get her first. It might get us the next piece of the puzzle.”
“We ain’t gonna have to dress up again, are we?” Connor asked with a scowl. “The collars ain’t all that comfortable.”
“We wouldn’t pass for Tonal, anyway,” Henry replied, looking at the three of them. “We might be able to get someone inside to gather intel. Do we have any Tonal on board?”
“A few,” Lee replied. “I don’t think the subtle approach is going to cut it this time, though.”
“What’d you have on your mind, Lee?” Henry asked.
“Gregor has been wanting to shoot something lately,” Lee replied. “I say we jump in and launch an assault with the fighters while the shuttle lands an assault team.”
“Mendel will love that,” Connor added. “I think he got a new gun he’s been wantin’ to try out.”
<
br /> “I don’t want to kill anyone if we don’t have to,” Lee replied. We may be fugitives, but I don’t want to be murderers, too, when this is all over with.”
“So what do we do, yell at ‘em?” Connor asked. “Maybe toss daisies?”
“Lee, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Connor’s right,” Henry said, shaking his head. “We’re going to have to spill some blood if we want to see this through. They did shoot first.”
“I don’t care who shot first, Henry,” Lee replied, a hardness sneaking into his voice. “That’s how it all begins, doesn’t it? They shoot us, we shoot them, and then they retaliate. It’s not a game we can win. The only way to stop it is to be better than the one who started it. We use stunners. If things get hairy, we’ll let Gregor and Eli loose, but I don’t want a slaughter.”
“Do you just sit around and think up noble things to say, Lee?” Connor asked with a grin. “I mean, damn you’re heroic.”
Henry broke into a grin as Lee turned red. The three men left the cell, turning the cell energy shield back on as they left. After a few minutes, Gregor brought Bulloc in. The Tonal priest-pilot belched as the energy shield snapped back off. Gregor heard the porcine man belch again as he left the room, swearing to not eat for at least a week.
11
Night on board the battleship was synched to Earth over the North American continent. It had been chosen even before the fall of the Confederacy to honor the old geo-political union of America, as the Republic class ships had all been built there. Lights were lowered and the general feel of the ship slowed under normal circumstances. In other times the lights were still dimmed, but the pace of activity increased as crew members rushed to their duty stations and kept the ship at peak readiness. Anticipation for battle made the old ship seem to come alive.
Alice Bennett walked the halls, unable to sleep. Normally, she would spend sleepless nights working in the launch bay, tearing apart one of the shuttles or working on one of the Eagles. This night, however, as Demon Squadron and their regular mechanics readied the ships for battle, she was forced to walk the halls. Lee, Connor, and Henry were busy deep in the ship, plotting out the coming attack against the Ixloab colony. She had been left to herself for nearly the first time since she had been released from Ch’Tauk imprisonment. Doctors and psychologists had been keeping a close watch on her, hoping she would show some sign of being fragile, but so far she had managed to hide the cracks.
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