Gregor pivoted into the hall with his gun raised. Cautiously, he approached the door where the bodies of two Alliance guards were burning. For a moment, he thought about how glad he was he’d kept the helmet. As he approached the door, he heard voices from inside. At least two people were trying to calm a third. Gregor examined the door for damage. The frame, not built to withstand military ordnance, was bent inwards but intact. He thought he knew what had happened inside. Someone was too close to the door when the grenade went off. The door was metal but weak with damage. He braced and kicked out, smashing his boot into the depression left by the explosion. A second kick and then a third, and the door fell inward.
Gregor moved away from the door as a plasma bolt burst against the wall. He couldn’t risk another grenade, so he waited. The people inside were nervous and injured and he could use that. He reached down and broke off a burnt finger from one of the dead guards and flung it into the room. The plasma gun fired, but none came out the door. He pivoted back and took aim. Two shots and the room was clear. The third soldier was lying on the floor with blood pooling around his head. Gregor didn’t bother to check if he was dead as he passed. Beyond the room was another door. This one was locked with a standard tumbler. A quick kick took the door off its hinge and flung it inwards.
As Gregor stepped into the smaller room, he saw a small cot and table. On the back of a chair was a plain duty jacket, neatly pressed. On the far wall was another door with a gentle wash of steam floating out. A book was open on the table and the sheets on the cot were neatly made. As he stepped closer to the door, he smelled a pleasant musk. Holding his weapon up, he prepared to enter the rom. Instead, a smallish man with gray hair stepped from the steam and looked up at him.
“You must be one of Pearce’s,” Admiral Chang said. “He’s the master of subtlety.”
The man wiped his face with a towel and took the duty jacket from the small chair. Gregor looked at the man in confusion. He seemed to be expecting a rescue despite the suddenness of their infiltration. He seemed to have been readying himself for the trip, and had taken a shower before Gregor arrived. Chang looked back at the big man as he fastened the jacket around his shoulder.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” Chang asked. “Call for pick-up. The package is secure.”
Gregor followed his orders immediately.
26
Battleship Resolute
Another jolt shook the bridge as Josh Goldstein tried to guide the aging battleship through a hail of attackers. Resolute’s advanced shielding was keeping most of the damage light, but missiles fired by the more enthusiastic fighter squadrons were still slamming into the shields and disrupting the inertial dampening system. As each hit registered on the battleship’s hull, Lee Pearce gripped the arm of his command chair tighter. He wanted to be out there again, fighting the battle in his own ship.
“Damage control teams to deck two,” Farthing’s voice said over the noise. “Damage control team, coolant leak on deck two, section B.”
Lee’s mind, desperate for distraction from the battle, tried to think of where that part of the ship was located. Section B was starboard, about one-third of the way along the hull. He scanned through the schematics of his mind and realized where the coolant leak was.
“Don’t tell me we’re back on rations,” Lee said over his shoulder. “If the mess freezer goes out again I think my stomach will rebel forever.”
“Look at it as your chance to lose a few pounds,” Farthing replied with a friendly chuff. “Your new uniform has been getting a bit tight across your torso.”
The friendly banter was only a momentary respite, however, as another strong blast detonated along their hull. Lee’s projection showed damage to the ship along the starboard side and a reduction in the efficiency of the shielding system. Instead of absorbing and strengthening the shields, the system was now holding the charge. The power capacity was entering dangerous levels. Without the ability to discharge the shields, the thick gel-like substance called capacitance gel would explode.
“Can we get that charge gassed out?” Lee asked. “We need something to get rid of that energy.”
“I’ve got it sir,” the vocoder belonging to the octopod whirred. “I’m routing the charge through the plasma cannons. We should see an improvement in yield, but I cannot do anything for the shields. We’ll be vulnerable in less than a minute.”
“Sir,” Goldstein called. “Another wave is coming around the planet. They’ve got Mars in tow.”
“Any word from the ground team?”
When no answer came, Lee turned his chair to see the felinoid. The big alien was tearing at his console as the lights blinked off and on. Lee moved from his chair, hoping to assist the man with whatever he was doing, but a quick flick of the man’s crest paused him. He slammed a wide hand down on the panel and the lights flicked on full. He growled a command into the microphone and the system flickered one last time. Lee could hear voices from the small earpiece in the commander’s ear.
“We’ve got a recall signal,” Farthing announced. “The package is secure. The team needs extraction.”
“Get Liberty there now,” Lee ordered. “I don’t want to leave anyone behind.”
The bridge crew seemed to relax a little as Farthing relayed the orders to Connor Jakes’ ship. The small pirate ship had been flying around the battleship wildly, picking off targets at random and scattering the incoming ships. As the Demons flew cleanup, the Liberty flipped over and fired missiles from hidden tubes. Two more Alliance fighters exploded as the projectiles hit their targets. As the ships broke apart, Jakes’ pilot pushed her nose over and headed for the surface. Jackal and the Demons reformed into a battle formation and began to thin out the incoming ships.
“Take us further out, Josh,” Lee ordered the pilot. “I want to give ourselves room to move when that cruiser comes in.”
The ship shuddered as power was brought up to the engines. The sound of Roy Booth’s voice was muffled as Lee sat back in his chair and covered the small speaker with his arm. The man’s protestations had merit, but there was hardly anything Lee could do about it. When the assault cruiser arrived, Resolute would be outmatched and he wanted to give the rescue as much cover as he could. Lee watched the display as Resolute moved further away from the moon and turned her port side towards the incoming ships.
“Have the teams aim for the navigational array when Mars gets in range,” Lee ordered. “I don’t know how long we can hold out, but I don’t want her following when we go.”
“Sir,” Farthing called. “Liberty reports pick-up of Baron. They’ve dusted off and are moving around to find the team.”
“Relay to Jackal. She does worry, and now she won’t have to kill me for sending him out there.”
A tremendous crash slammed into the ship, nearly flinging Lee from his perch. The lights dimmed as the ship listed in space. Lee could feel the hold of gravity lessening for a moment, just enough time to loosen his stomach, and then jerk back to normalcy. The heads-up projection flickered out, leaving Lee without a clear answer to his immediate question.
“Report!”
“Mars fired everything,” the octopod replied. “She’s out for blood, Captain.”
“Weapons hot?”
“Aye.”
“Fire,” Lee ordered. “Clear the way and fire.”
Lee’s display snapped back into being and he watched the plasma cannons rip through several of the small fighters in pursuit of bigger game. As the first tendrils of red-orange energy slammed into Mars’ shields, Lee felt a strange glimmer of anxiety. He knew it was over now. His career in the Alliance was long gone. Even if they could get away from the newer, more powerful ship, there was no way he could plead his mission. They had destroyed Alliance fighters, killed Alliance soldiers, and fired upon an Alliance ship. They were well and truly the criminals the press had made them out to be, and it was all for a man Lee wasn’t even sure he trusted anymore.
“Captai
n,” Farthing called. “Liberty reports pick-up. Strike team minus two plus one.”
Lee winced as he heard the report. Two casualties from the twelve he sent down, but one addition. The admiral was secure, but the cost was too high. He knew Gregor enough to know that behind their escape was likely a pile of bodies and damage to an agricultural station trying to restore balance to Earth’s ecosystem. It was another casualty of the quest they were on. He hoped whatever secrets Chang carried, they were enough to justify the sacrifice.
“Engine status?”
“Mars has a jump-block on us,” Goldstein reported. “We’ve got power, but no way to get out.”
“Let Jakes know and order him out of here,” Lee ordered. “We’re in for a fight, so let’s give it to them. Target engine systems on Mars. I want their power off-line.”
A massive, white-hot blast of energy blew away from Resolute. As the core of plasma arced across space, Lee could make out the crackle of power surrounding it as a thick lightning bolt. The bolt slammed into the cruiser, instantly causing a bright blue flare of sparks along the ship’s hull. The energy surrounded the ship for a moment before their shields collapsed. Mars seemed to burn for a moment in space under the cloud of energy and then go dark.
“What the hell?” Lee called. “Was that us?”
“Aye, Captain,” the octopod called. “I told you we would see an improvement in shields. We have also lost the cannons on the port side for the time being. Medical crews are already on the way.”
“Wait,” Lee said incredulously. “You mean we have no weapons on the port side and no shields on starboard?”
“Actually we have no shields at all,” the eight-tentacled creature replied. “Crews are working on it.”
Lee’s mind raced. They were defenseless and unable to run for the moment. The only saving grace was Mars also appeared to be incapacitated. The faint smell of ozone drifted across the bridge as he tried to think of a solution. In the midst of the chaos, Lee heard a small alarm from the navigational panel.
“Josh?” Lee asked the pilot.
“I’m reading incoming M-space portals,” Goldstein replied. “I see ten … no, twelve vortexes and growing. It’s an armada or something. I haven’t seen anything like this since the war.”
“Is Liberty away?” Lee asked, hoping they had at least succeeded in that.
“Negative,” Farthing replied calmly. “She’s coming up to us. I think the incoming vortices are impairing her ability to exit.”
Lee swore. As Sweet Liberty Too approached, his heart began to sink. If the Alliance had managed to call in reinforcements, they were dead. As he watched the ships translating into real space, he could see visions of his own death again. He had been put to death once before, but this time it would likely be permanent, as the man who had saved him before would be dying right next to him. He took a deep breath and promised not to subject his crew to the indignity of a trial. He would take responsibility and hope they were spared for his actions. Either that, or he would fight to the death and spare the Alliance the trouble. He saw the energy sheath fall away from the first ship, though, and was astonished.
What he saw wasn’t a warship. A glance over to Farthing confirmed the ship was Alliance, but Lee couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The ship was about the same size as Resolute, but of an entirely different design. Where the battleship was angular and tapered back to a bulbous stern, the new arrival was sleek and elegant. A large opening in the front called to mind a wide mouth over a solid bow. Lee could just make out the blazing lights of the ship as she turned slowly towards the moon and Resolute.
“Sir,” Farthing called. “We’re being hailed.”
“Put it on the big screen,” Lee replied. “I’ve got to see this.”
The image changed from the incoming ship to a face. The man on the screen was older than Lee by a lifetime. The lines on his dark face were deeper than he remembered. A deep tan had made his skin leathery, but new wrinkles around his eyes indicated happiness. Despite the laugh lines now etched deep in his face, there was sadness in the man’s eyes as he looked at Lee.
“Captain Pearce,” said Captain Alfredo Ortiz. “Permission to come aboard? We have a lot to talk about.”
“Captain Ortiz?” Lee said, not believing what he saw. “Is that the Princess?”
“You’ve been away too long. You forgot she’s called the Hope now, and we need that now more than anything else.”
“Captain, who are all these ships?” Lee asked. “Where are you going?”
“We’re evacuating, Lee. We’re the last ones out. I think there are about twenty more still in M-space, but that’s it.”
“Evacuating?” Lee said. “Evacuating Earth? Why?”
“I need to come aboard, Captain,” Ortiz replied, a grave look on his face. “And I’m bringing some old friends to explain.”
The image on the screen changed. Ortiz was seated in the command chair of the cruise ship, and when he stood Lee noticed a small creature standing just behind. The creature was all white, with large eyes and hair-like projections from its head. The creature moved forward and tilted its head. Lee thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but he stared anyway at the creature they once would have called an Elf.
“Captain Pearce?” the Elf said in his mind. “We need to talk.”
27
Mars, despite being disabled, tried to rally its fighters for another attack, but it was no use. Ortiz was wrong. It was not just a few ships jumping in from Earth, but nearly one hundred. Most ships were civilian, but a few of the older Alliance military ships came through as well. The Demons tried to keep up with herding the incoming ships with the fighters from Mars, spreading the refugee fleet along the orbital path of Jupiter’s moons. Lee recalled Alice to Resolute as the Terran Hope came alongside for docking. Through all of the chaos, Lee tried his best not to wonder about the evacuation of his home planet and what it was all about. When Captain Browning aboard Mars made her inevitable call, Lee had the image sent to the conference room and left the bridge to take it.
“Pearce,” the fierce woman called. “First, you are under arrest for too many crimes to count.”
“Okay,” Lee replied. “What’s second?”
“Second, what the hell is going on out here?”
“Fair question,” Lee said. “Got anything else?”
“You arrogant bastard. Why is the Terran Princess out here and not sitting in orbit as a hotel for tourists? What the hell are all these ships doing and why are you here?”
“I think that last one was the same as the one before it, but I’ll go ahead and answer anyway. I don’t know,” Lee said with a shrug. “I’m as in the dark as you are, Captain. I’ve got Captain Ortiz coming aboard with an Engineer to try and explain things.”
“What engineer?” Browning said, her rage still evident in her face. “What does all this have to do with … the … um—”
“Admiral Chang?” Lee said. “I have a feeling we don’t have to worry about secrecy anymore. I don’t just mean any old engineer, either. He’s got an Elf with him.”
Silence from Browning. The red of her face drained away to pure white at the mention of the creature. She seemed to stutter for a moment, trying to find the words to continue her rant, but they failed her. In the end, she faced Lee with a grim face and tried to look in control.
“You’re still under arrest.”
Lee let out an involuntary chuckle as the image of the captain suddenly became fuzzy. It lasted only a moment and then snapped back into resolution. Lee reached for the comm panel to call Farthing, but the panel beeped just before.
“Farthing?” Lee asked. “What’s going on with the transmission from Mars?”
“The simplest explanation would be unusual solar activity, but I am not detecting any trace from Sol.”
“So if it isn’t that,” Lee asked. “What is it?”
“I don’t know, sir. I called to let you know the Hope has completed dockin
g and the captain and his guest are being escorted to the conference room.”
“Have them back off as soon as they can and let Sweet Liberty dock. I don’t want Jakes to get too close to those blasted out cannons.”
“Aye.”
“Captain Browning,” Lee said, looking back to the screen. “I’m going to ask you to hold on the line while our guests explain what is going on.”
“I’m not letting you out of my sight,” replied the woman with a scowl. “Lee, why is it whenever you’re around we end up getting involved with the Ch’Tauk?”
“Hey, I’m just as in the dark as you are,” Lee explained. “It’s not like I call these people or anything.”
“I thought the damn bugs had gone back home to regroup or rethink their lives,” Browning added. “Now we’ve got another invasion.”
“We’ve got no evidence of that. All we’ve got is a runaway armada and one little white Elf.”
“How many does it take until it’s too many?” Browning replied. “I for one was looking forward to enjoying peacetime. This old bucket and I were going to go on a goodwill tour after the peace treaty was signed. Now … oh God, Lee, I’m so sorry about your father.”
As luck would have it, Lee didn’t need to reply to that. The door to the conference room opened and Captain Alfredo Ortiz entered, followed by the little white creature and two guards. Lee’s face lit up upon seeing the old man. He had thought Ortiz had retired to Costa Rica to live with his wife and grandson in the devastated rainforest. The man looked good, but walked a little slower than Lee remembered. For three years, Lee had served as his substitute first officer and protector of the old cruise ship. He stepped away from the screen to grasp the man’s hand.
“You look good, old man,” Lee said, wrapping one arm around the man in an affectionate hug. “I didn’t think I would ever see you back in space.”
“I didn’t think you would either,” Ortiz said, his voice thicker and raspier than Lee remembered. “I was content to live with my family and grow fruit until I became one. At least … until this guy arrived.”
Resolute Alliance (The War for Terra Book 6) Page 22