Vincent took off at a full sprint to the end of the corridor, narrowly avoiding his crew as they rushed franticly through the hallway preparing for the upcoming battle. Most of the crew had been relegated to either the damage control teams or sent to help with reloading the torpedo bays unless they had another critical skill to offer. This was a matter of life and death, and he was going to be damned if anybody was going to sleep while a battle was underway.
Vincent reached the bridge less than a minute later. He was winded and covered with sweat, but it was a small price to pay for speed.
"Is the Providence still hailing us?" he asked as he made his way to his chair.
"It is. It's marked for you only. Should I send it to your console?"
"Negative. Put it on the main screen, I want everyone to see what we are dealing with here."
Commander Wilson nodded then punched the command on the console, bringing the message up on the primary viewscreen. Commander Bremerton was on the image, but this time he was kneeling in front of Vice President Landry who was holding a small portable blaster to his head.
"What is the meaning of this?" Vincent demanded. "Why are you, of all people, holding Commander Bremerton hostage?"
"Because he is an enemy. He illegally boarded the Providence and attempted to take over the ship. Where I come from, that is either an act of treason or an act of war. Both are punished the same way, so what we call it is largely irrelevant."
"Now, Mr. Vice President, let's not be harsh. Commander Bremerton was sent to your ship to find and rescue you, not to take over the ship."
"Yet he and a group of marines stormed the bridge and demanded we relinquish control of the vessel to them. We had things under control over here until they opened fire."
"I'm sure it was all a big misunderstanding, Mr. Vice President. Since communications with the Providence have been down, we've been working under the assumption that the ship was compromised. We simply wanted to get you and your people off the ship before we left the system. But now it seems we were too late. As I'm sure you are aware, we are currently in combat with three unknown vessels. If you allow Commander Bremerton to assist you in running the ship, I'm sure we can make quick work of them."
The vice president smiled. "Now why would I want to do that?"
"Why? Because they are committing an act of war against the same NEC you swore to serve. It was their allies that ambushed us here to begin with. Without the Providence, we will surely fall."
"That is the idea," Landry replied. "Tell me, Captain. How do you feel about four on one odds? I doubt even you could survive that."
"Sir, receiving multiple damage reports from the Achilles. The Providence is firing on them."
Onscreen, Vincent watched as Jason leaned forward before rearing back and slamming the back of his head into Landry's nose. The vice president's face blossomed as his nose shattered, causing him to wince in pain. Before the transmission cut out, two of the alien things that contacted the Endeavor from the alien ship rushed in and slammed their weapons into Jason's chest.
The crew stared at him, stunned from watching the events play out before them. He didn't blame them. Perhaps he should've kept that transmission to himself. But it was too late to second guess that as he was staring down the wrong side of tilted odds.
"Sir, fighter crews are reporting incoming bogeys from the three contacts. Commander Thompson is requesting immediate fire support."
"Very well," Wellard agreed. "Commander Wilson, have all of our weapons crews fire on the Providence."
"Sir?"
"If we're going to die, I'll be damned if I'm going to let them use the flagship against the rest of the fleet. Besides, it looks like we need to depose our government of a traitorous vice president."
Chapter Fifty-Six
Atroxxin Sector
Cockpit, X-71 Fighter
"Picked up six new contacts. Expect them in firing range in under ten seconds." Tegan tapped on her console, setting the new targets to a high-priority setting only her squad would see.
"What the hell," Fireball barked. "Can't a brother get a break?"
"Sure can," Switch replied. "Once you bite the big one or we pull off the miracle of the century."
"For the record. I prefer option B," Fireball said, only sort of joking.
"Enough chatter," Lancer said, voice firm. "Focus on the objectives."
The targets were masses of fighters swarming them and the capitol ships. They had only been in play for just under two minutes, and already they'd done a number on the NEC vessels. A handful of the weapon embankments on the Endeavor had been critically damaged, along with a few on the Achilles. That was without counting the twenty pilots they'd already lost. In return they'd destroyed nearly fifty of the enemy fighters, but by doing the math they'd be on the losing side this time around.
They'd long since given up on destroying the two shuttles headed for the Achilles. That was going to be a fight for their marines. Tegan hoped they were ready.
Tegan pulled her controls to the right, spiraling her fighter around the steady beam of one of the Endeavor's lasers. The larger ship was shooting the weapon blind, in hopes of at least hitting a few of the fighters. So far they'd picked off a few who strayed too close, but nothing significant. She figured if they were going to use them, she might as well use the beams as a secondary defense. If nothing else, it would make the enemy pilots think twice about chasing her tail. Of course, it didn't help her attack vectors either, so in most cases she was picking off targets who dodged away from the beam.
A nearby bogey lit up on her HUD as it passed the beam. She made one final loop around the beam before pulling off to trail the target. Lancer and Switch were at her four and eight before she could even say a word, but Fireball was missing. She allowed her mind to acknowledge the thought before pushing it aside. He was a big boy and could take care of himself. He didn't have another choice. Thing were far too hectic to attempt searching for him.
Tegan lined up her sights on the enemy ship before pulling the trigger. The steady staccato of laser fire echoed loudly in her ears. That's going to get annoying fast. This was the exact reason she hated flying one of the backup birds. You never knew what systems had been poached to repair the other birds.
The enemy ship exploded as her fire penetrated the armor around the fighter's thrusters. She held her craft steady as she flew through the expanding debris field, cringing as the pilot's arm slammed into her canopy.
"Never gonna win this shit if it takes three of you to kill one of them," Fireball joked.
Tegan spared a glance at her HUD and noticed his blue icon rapidly approaching a pair of reds. Before she could turn her craft in his direction the two icons blinked off of the screen. Those two were followed by another pair of disappearing icons shortly after as he blasted through another pair intent on picking off one of the Achilles' fighters.
"Fireball, you're a cheating piece of..." Switch said, before being cut off by Lancer.
"We can discuss his disregard for our guidelines later. In the meantime I'll give him a pass."
"Hate to say it, boys, but that is brilliant. What do you say we play along?"
"What do you have in mind, boss?"
"A little wounded bird act."
"You sure you're up to that?" Switch asked. "Considering the loaner bird and all?"
"Beats the hell out of listening to the damned lasers this whole time. Besides, we can't let Fireball have all the fun."
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Atroxxin Sector
Bridge, NECS Endeavor
"Registering heavy damage to the starboard portions of the Providence," Wilson barked.
"Yet that section of the ship is still firing back. Focus all weapons on disabling their weapon systems. Maybe we can buy ourselves enough time for the commander to work a miracle."
Even as he said it, he knew it was doubtful. From Wilson's report, Jason was knee deep in shit without so much as a branch to save him.
Making matters worse, any attempt at contacting any of the teams on the ship were still unsuccessful. As far as he knew, the whole mission had been a failure. Whatever the things were the Landry had sided with had a firm foothold on the ship which meant he had sent his marines into a trap.
But there still was a sliver of hope. The fact that the commander had even made it to the bridge told him the defenses over there were at least lax in spots. He would've had to cross no less than ten decks between the lower fighter bay and the auxiliary bridge. You didn't just do that on a hostile ship without running into problems. With any luck, the marines would make it up to the bridge and get it under control before the alien ships could destroy them all.
Then, reality slapped him in the face as the Endeavor was rocked hard by an explosion somewhere on the lower decks. He pulled himself back onto his chair as his bridge crew did the same. Most of the crew was still in decent shape though one person caught his eye.
"Ensign Price," he said, noticing her body in a heap just below her station, blood pooling from a wound on her head. "Wellard to sick bay."
There was a momentary delay before Doc Simmons answered. "Sick bay. We're a little busy here. What do you need?"
"Jim, Ensign Price took a nasty blow to the head. I know you can't come up here yourself, but can you send one of your assistants here to check on her?"
"Very well. I'll send Roberts up there shortly."
"Appreciate it, Jim. I owe you one. Wellard, out." Vincent knelt down next to the young ensign and ran his hand along her head. It was probably not a good idea to touch her without protection, but he didn't care. They were all probably going to die as it was, he was sure as hell not going to let her go on her own.
He held his hand still as his fingers brushed against a fist sized lump right behind her ear. Glancing at her console he noticed a trace amount of blood on her terminal where the screen butted into a nearby wall.
She slowly opened her eyes, wincing as the bright lights of the bridge blinked in her eyes.
"You're alive," he said, amazed. The girl was made of better stuff than most of the crew to take a hit like that and still be around.
"Wouldn't cut out on your now, Captain. Not when you need me the most." She grunted as she reached up to grab the back of her seat, only to have Wellard grab her wrist before her hand could gain purchase.
"You need to take it easy," he said, sincere. "You took a nasty hit on the head. Doc Simmons has one of his assistants on the way now to take a look at you and take you to sickbay. We can handle things from here."
Before she could so much as protest, Wilson slid past the pair and sat into her seat. He used the cuff of his sleeve to wipe the smear of blood off the screen before getting to work piloting the ship.
She opened her mouth to protest, but shut it as the doors to the bridge slid open and Roberts passed through. He was flanked by two members of the damage control staff, both carrying a plasteel stretcher.
Robers took a knee next to them and pulled out a small portable light. He held it in front of her face, moving it around slowly to gauge her movement. After a quick scan, he glanced over at Wellard and nodded. "She has a moderate concussion. I need to bring her to sickbay for observation."
"Very well," he said, backing away. "Just make sure she comes back in one piece. Am I clear?"
"As day, sir."
As the two men lifted her on the stretcher, Ensign Price reached out and grabbed Wellard's wrist. "The anomaly," she said, struggling to get the words out. "Target the anomaly."
"We tried that already. It's impervious to our weapons."
"Something has changed. The shimmering effect the anomaly was giving off faded as soon as Vice President Landry contacted us. If I had to guess, whatever they had shielding it is no longer in effect."
"Wilson, can you confirm?"
Wilson brought up the image and enlarged it, bringing the object into view. He pressed a few buttons, doing a full sensor sweep of the ship. "She's right, sir. Whatever was shielding the anomaly is no longer operational."
Wellard pulled Price's hand up and kissed her lightly on the back of her palm. "You, my dear, are brilliant." He turned his attention to Rogers, who was already heading towards the door. "Make sure she gets back to us in one piece."
"You sound more confident now," she joked.
"Loads," he replied. "Focus our weapons on the anomaly. I want it off that damned ship yesterday."
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Atroxxin Sector
Auxiliary Bridge, NECS Providence
Blood trailed down Jason's neck, from a gash on the side of his cheek. He'd taken two quick blows intended to quiet him after his outburst and had done the trick. The second of which he was sure had broken his jaw, but the pain had subsided in the previous few minutes.
They'd dragged his beaten form to a chair on the side of the bridge and surrounded him with three of the tough-looking aliens. Why they'd done it was another question entirely. If they wanted him dead why were they just prolonging the pain? He suspected they wanted him to watch the destruction of his ship and to see how decisively they were going to win the battle.
"Order your people to move in and pin in the Achilles in case the shuttle teams are unable to secure the ship."
"What of the Endeavor?"
"The Endeavor is to be spared, for now. Our masters have special plans for that ship. But please, continue to have your fighters focus on the weapons embankments. We can't continue to allow them to damage this ship."
Special plans? What the hell are they going to do with my ship? Whatever it was, he didn't intend on letting them pull it off. Not if there was anything he could do.
Motion caught his eye from out in the hallway. He turned his head just enough to get a better view, noticing Sergeant Walker taking up a position on the other side of the door. Behind him was a handful of marines, each brandishing their blasters.
A Klyptons turned towards the door, eyes hovering at a point just off to the side. Bremerton knew he needed to keep the damned thing from ruining whatever Walker had planned.
Kicking his leg out, he slammed his heel into the knee of the nearest alien. The ugly thing's leg buckled and it fell headfirst into the sensor console. Struggling against his restraints he stood up and threw another kick, this one connecting with the midsection of another. He made a move at a third, but was interrupted by a rapid thrust to his abdomen.
Gasping for air, he dropped to his knees as his lungs burned. He needed to get up before he took another blow. But before he could, a Klypton grabbed him under the arms, lifted him to his feet, and threw him against the wall. It pulled out a portable gun and held it to Jason's head before uttering guttural tones Jason believed was a threat or warning.
"Easy with him," Landry said, grinning from the spectacle playing out before him. "I need Commander Bremerton alive."
The thing said something else without so much as taking his eyes off Jason, then slammed the butt of the weapon into his shoulder. The blow sending waves of pain through his body, causing his knees to waiver once again, but he kept on his feet. Gritting his teeth, he glared at the alien with a look that begged it to hit him again. It almost complied.
"Why the hell do you need me alive?" Jason spat. "Planning on ransoming me back to the NEA? I'll make you kill me before that happens."
"The only thing you are going to do is sit there and cooperate with us, or I'll let my associate there have a little fun at your expense."
"This one? He doesn't scare me." Jason lunged at the alien only to have it slam its fist into his gut, causing him to double over in pain. He fought the urge to glance at the doorway, hoping Walker hurried up with whatever plan he had in play. He wasn't sure how much more punishment he could take.
"I've heard many things about you," Landry said, amused. "None of them said you were stupid. Unless you wish to test my patience, I recommend you stay seated. I can only stand so much violence."
Jason snorted, but took Landry
's advice and took a seat since his little outburst had worked as intended. Each one of the alien creatures, minus those currently involved in the battle, had their attention on him. He wasn't sure how long he could keep it, but he was willing to give it a few more minutes. "Fine," he said reluctantly.
"I admire your desire to fight for your beliefs, but your loyalty is misplaced. Those people back on New Earth care nothing for you. To them, you are nothing more than a cog in the wheel. A device they can use until broken, only to be discarded with the rest of the waste. Unlike them, we believe you can be so much more. You can be a beacon of order to the people of humanity. Usher them into a new era of peace and prosperity with our allies."
Jason bit down on his tongue to keep from laughing out loud. Allies? With the Mythrar? Does he think it is possible? The people back on New Earth would do everything necessary to keep that from happening, including going to war again.
Landry studied Jason for a moment, watching his expressions intently. Jason knew Landry wasn't confusing his silence with loyalty by any means. In fact, he thought it was becoming more likely he would be taken as a prisoner by Landry's expression instead of whatever the man had in mind.
"I see I'm not going to be able to convince you here today," Landry said, waving an arm lazily towards Jason. "Bring him to me."
One of the nearby Klyptons broke off from his task and lumbered towards Jason. The commander tried to dodge the alien's grapple, but found himself instead grabbed by another that had come at him from behind. The two of them grabbed one of Jason's arms and carried him, kicking and screaming towards Landry.
Landry laughed as he watched Jason try to squirm away from the Klyptons, but it was of no use. They were far too strong for most humans to have any chance of wiggling out of their grasp, let alone two. They dropped Jason on his knees a few feet in front of Landry.
The vice president stood there for a moment, contemplating something for a moment before he reached towards his back and pulled out a portable blaster. He held the weapon to Jason's head and sighed. "I was hoping not to have to do this, but you leave me no choice."
Endeavor (The Mythrar War Book 1) Page 19