“We’ve had worse odds,” Jason argued.
“With the element of surprise and the fact we were too stupid to know better,” Kage said. “A slow march across the system isn’t exactly subtle.” Even as Kage whined on about their impending defeat, he was optimizing the ship’s systems for the upcoming engagement.
“I just wish I knew who the hell they were,” Jason said to himself. The com silence from what appeared to be an invasion fleet was unnerving. Were they here to support Fordix’s coup? Or was this something else? “Well,” he said loudly to Kage, “I’d been saving these for a special occasion, but warm up the XTX-4s.” Kage brightened up noticeably at this. In the aft weapons bay, the Phoenix was carrying five XTX-4 antimatter “ship killer” missiles. They could be fired at extreme range and had a type of specialized slip-drive that would “pulse” and cause the missile to skip in and out of real-space on its way to the target, making it impossible to track or shoot down. Their size meant that five was all the gunship could carry in a single weapons bay. Their expense was unholy, and it was illegal to even have them onboard in many systems.
Thankfully, they were almost impossible to detect when not powered up and the cost wasn’t really an issue since Omega Force had technically stolen them. They were onboard the Diligent, Kellea Colleren’s former command and Crisstof Dalton’s former flagship. They had been in the ammunition magazine when they had raided the ship to use it as a kinetic kill weapon.
“XTXs coming online, ten minutes until they’re ready to fire,” Kage said.
“Plenty of time,” Jason said. “We’ll see if they can read and understand what the change in our energy profile means. If they know we’re carrying these things, I would assume they will either retreat or open communications.”
They waited a bit longer as the ships still maintained their rate of acceleration. They were two hours apart and closing into range of the XTX-4s when the enemy broke com silence.
“We’ve got incoming on the open channel,” Kage reported. “Audio only.”
Jason nodded for him to patch it through.
“We are here to provide logistical support and relief to the new government of the Galvetor System,” the voice said simply in Jenovian Standard. “Please state your intentions.”
“I’m not sure if you’ve been made aware, but there is no new government on Galvetor,” Jason said. “I’ve also never seen six warships deployed for relief aid. So … state your intentions, if you please.”
There was a long pause as the intruders no doubt tried to contact someone on the planet to verify what Jason had said.
“While we’re at it,” Jason continued, “how about you tell us who you are and who you represent.”
“We are under no obligation to answer your inquiries,” the voice said after a moment. “We suspect you have illegally displaced the rightful government of this sovereign world and will take steps to remove you.” The channel closed and they refused to reopen it after repeated attempts by Kage.
“It looks like they’re determined to do this the dumb way,” Jason said with a sigh. “Feed the targeting data to our missiles. Obviously leave the frigate we already hit for us to handle afterwards.”
“Whatever investment they made in Fordix’s plan must be important for them to take a risk like this,” Kage remarked. “The ConFed will view this as an invasion unless they’re able to kill us and quickly install a puppet government.”
“It won’t do any good without the Order’s leadership,” Jason said, watching the timer on his tactical display. “Crusher is back in charge and the Legions will tear these guys to shreds the moment they make landfall. The entire thing was a house of cards built on Fordix’s attempt to deceive the warrior class.”
As he watched the ships march towards them on the display, the entire scheme became clearer in his head, but the ultimate motivation eluded him. Was Fordix really such a blind idealist? Or was there a more corporeal benefit involved? The pessimist that he was, he figured it was the latter.
“Oh shit!” Kage exclaimed. “New contact just entered the system. It is very big and very fast.”
Jason’s heart sank at the news. There were seven big ships and he only had five big missiles.
“This is Captain Kellea Colleren of the battlecruiser Defiant,” the familiar voice broke in over the open channel. “To the six warships in this system; you will come about and identify yourselves at once.”
Sure enough, the sensors resolved the new contact into the sleek and powerful battlecruiser that was Crisstof’s new flagship and one of the most powerful warships in private hands. It was only Dalton’s myriad contacts within the ConFed and regional governments that allowed him to have such a vessel without being affiliated with any sanctioned military.
“Well, this just got interesting,” Kage said. “Inbound fleet is turning away from the planet. It looks like they’re stalling for time and trying to put distance between them and Captain Colleren. We’re more or less being ignored now.”
“In a situation like this, that’s the best I could hope for,” Jason said. As he watched, Kellea ordered her ship to cut off the attacking fleet and accelerated so fast that it forced their hand; they turned hard away from Galvetor and began getting separation from each other in order to make the transition to slip-space.
“Damn, that ship is fast,” Kage marveled. “I’m glad she’s not chasing us.”
“Me too,” Jason said, marveling at the acceleration the enormous ship was able to achieve. A battlecruiser was the second largest warship class, if one were to discount carriers. The Defiant’s tonnage was more than that of the six ships she was chasing combined. “We may need to start looking into a drive upgrade soon if ships that big are hitting those speeds within a gravity well.”
“Truly.”
“Damnit!” Jason said suddenly. “Shut down the XTXs! Quick, before the Defiant gets close enough to scan us.”
Kage didn’t ask any questions as he lunged forward and began powering down the weapons and getting them back into a dormant state. He was well aware where they had gotten the very expensive and very illegal ordnance. He was also privy to the fact Jason had played dumb when asked point-blank about the missiles by both Crisstof and Kellea when he had debriefed them on the Diligent’s destruction.
“Phoenix, this is the Defiant,” Kellea said over a private channel. “The immediate threat has left the area. We will be taking up position in orbit over Galvetor and assessing the situation.”
“Copy that, Defiant,” Jason said. “We’ll meet you there.”
“When she says ‘assessing the situation’ it sounds more like ‘seeing what you guys have done this time,’” Kage said. Jason winced but chose to remain silent.
Chapter 28
“May I talk to you, Captain Burke?” Mazer asked in a serious tone. They were walking among the troops still left on Galvetor as the lifters were coming and going, taking them back to Restaria. It was two weeks since the attempted coup, and the aftershocks of that political neutron bomb were still being felt. The system was in complete disarray, but it had also opened a dialogue that had been long overdue between the residents of Galvetor and the warrior class on Restaria.
“Of course,” Jason said, motioning over to an area that was sparsely populated. “What’s on your mind?”
“You’ve heard that the restriction on leaving the Galvetor System is being lifted?”
“I’d heard,” Jason said carefully. “You think there will be many of your people wanting to leave?”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” Mazer said. “There are many of us, mostly from the 7th Legion, who want to see what’s out there. Living vicariously through the Archon’s adventures is no longer enough. For the first time, we’re being given the opportunity to see it for ourselves.”
“Have you thought about the realities of space travel?” Jason asked. “The reality is that it’s mostly riding around in a cramped ship for extended periods that are interrupted wi
th spurts of planetside action.”
“We are aware of what it entails,” Mazer said patiently. “This is not something that has come from rash thinking.”
“How many warriors have approached you?” Jason asked.
“One hundred and twenty-two,” Mazer said. “That number may fluctuate more or less by a few heads.”
“Damn, an entire company of you,” Jason whistled. He realized the enormity of his responsibility. An entire company of Galvetic warriors would be a powerful weapon in the wrong hands. He also had to consider the safety and well-being of the warriors themselves. He would not turn them loose to be cannon fodder.
“I was hoping that possibly one or two of us might join your crew, Captain,” Mazer said, interrupting his thoughts. Jason took a moment to consider it, but realized ultimately that a loose mercenary unit like Omega Force wouldn’t likely be a good place for a few young, wide-eyed warriors looking to prove themselves. Someone would probably be killed and he wasn’t entirely sure it wouldn’t be him.
“Let’s hang off on that,” he said to his friend, an idea coming to him. “Let me talk to someone and get back with you. Stay here in the area, I’m going to try and set up a meeting.”
“As you feel is best, Captain,” Mazer said, saluting and turning to rejoin his friends.
As Jason walked through the assemblage, he did notice that most of the warriors not only recognized him, but saluted him as well. He felt profoundly honored to have earned their respect. Lucky and Kage had left a couple days ago with the Phoenix to pick up Twingo and transport him to the Defiant to continue his treatment. The gunship was still sitting in the hangar bay of the battlecruiser, so Jason walked over to the officious-looking gelten and bullied him into borrowing one of the combat shuttles that were still parked on the grounds and being used to support the troop movements.
*****
“So what do you make of it all, Captain?” Crisstof asked. He and Jason were sitting in the Defiant’s observation lounge sharing a bottle of some incredibly expensive distilled spirit, doing their customary mission debrief that seemed to happen whenever Omega Force got itself tangled up in something he needed to fly in for and smooth over with local governments. “Was Fordix acting alone?”
“I really can’t say one way or another,” Jason admitted. “My newfound insight into the gelten racial character leads me to believe that he could have been, but obviously he was being supported by someone outside. All the Eshquarian hardware and the six ships waiting to swoop in as soon as Galvetor fell could mean he was just a pawn. Or he could have been using them to accomplish his own means. In other words, I have no idea.”
“It’s unfortunate Lord Felex killed him before any of that could be determined,” Crisstof remarked.
“I told him that,” Jason said with a shrug. “But if he was going to recapture control of the situation, he had to prove to the Legions that he was still worthy of leadership. He actually seems fairly disinterested in the details now that the Order of the Archon’s Fist has been disbanded.”
“Have you spoken to him about his future?”
“No,” Jason said glumly. “Crusher will do what he wants to do … that’s always been the agreement between us in Omega. Anybody can leave at any time. Hell, I almost did after the incident on Earth. But, whatever he decides, we’ll carry on. Lucky actually has a line on two other battlesynths that could be convinced to join up.”
“The obvious choice would be Mazer,” Crisstof remarked.
“It would be,” Jason said, “and he’s asked. But he needs some experience outside of life in the Legions within a more controlled environment ... and yes, I know that’s incredibly hypocritical of me to say given my own background.”
“Which brings me to why we’re talking in the first place,” Crisstof segued smoothly. “An entire company of Galvetic warriors stationed on the Defiant? This is your solution?”
“Look, they’re going to leave anyway,” Jason said. “They might scrape up enough for a ship of their own and who the hell knows what sort of trouble they’ll get themselves into. Or, they may be snatched up by someone looking to use them as shock troops to terrorize anyone they feel like.
“This way, you can keep an eye on them and in the meantime you’ll have the most capable company of Marines the quadrant has ever seen on your ship. I really feel this is important, Crisstof. You’d be ushering in a new era for this species by taking these warriors out and letting them see the galaxy a bit without it taking advantage of them.”
“I fear you have become as skillful at manipulating me as my captain,” Crisstof said ruefully. “Not to worry, Jason. I’ve already given the order and their barracks are being configured down on one of our many empty decks. They’ll even have their own training facilities.”
Jason leaned back in relief. “Thanks,” he said simply.
“So no word of the Caretaker?” Crisstof asked after another quiet moment.
“It seems she simply vanished,” Jason said. “No mean trick on a planet as locked down as Restaria was. I can’t even find any definitive proof she went to Galvetor with the Legions, so I have to assume she’s either hiding on the other world or had an escape plan.”
“What do you think her role was? Besides incapacitating Crusher.”
“I don’t think that was part of her plan. After debriefing everyone involved, I’m beginning to thing she was acting towards her own goals while playing along with Fordix,” Jason said, taking another sip. “She had been feeding information out to both sides in what seems like a clumsy attempt to move people the direction she needed them.
“This leaves a few more loose ends than I care to think about. She could have been working for another player we haven’t been able to identify, she could have been trying to warn Crusher about Fordix’s plan, or she could have been part of an unrelated scheme. If we think about the theft of the Phoenix and the attacks on my crew, the third option seems to be the most likely.”
“I thought you felt the incidents involving your crew and ship were related to the machinations of the Order,” Crisstof said.
“I did say that,” Jason admitted, “but now I’m not completely certain.”
“I’m sure everything will come to light in due time,” Crisstof said with a small shrug. “You can drive yourself insane trying to chase around ghosts that may not even mean anything.”
“You’re not telling me anything I don’t know already,” Jason said with a laugh.
“Now, I heard a nasty, unfounded rumor that when we meshed into the system a peculiar weapon signature was detected on the Phoenix,” Crisstof said, setting his glass down. “I assumed there must have been some sort of anomaly with our sensors.”
“Sounds like it,” Jason said, also setting his glass down and standing up. “I’d get a tech team on that pretty soon. Inaccurate sensor readings are bad news on a starship. Anyway, I’m going to check on Twingo and then I’m due for dinner with the captain. Goodnight.”
Jason hustled out of the lounge as fast as decorum would allow, missing the older man smirking at his back.
*****
“You’re looking good as new, buddy,” Jason said expansively. “If anything, the new ear looks even better than the original one.”
Twingo actually laughed, holding his chest in pain as he did. He was walking on his own with the aid of a low-tech solution Jason had fabricated for him: a cane.
“It feels good to be up and about,” Twingo admitted. “A little more rest and I’ll be ready to undo all the damage you’ve done to my engines.”
“It’s going to take you a while,” Jason admitted.
It had been three weeks aboard the Defiant and now his friend was ready to go; Mazer’s warriors had just come aboard and were settling in. Mazer had been promoted to captain and made the company commander in a ceremony performed by Kellea. Jason had pinned his rank insignia on at the younger warrior’s request. They all had new uniforms to reinforce the fact that they were no l
onger Legionnaires, but Marines on a battlecruiser and under the command of Captain Colleren.
“I heard we’re a man light,” Twingo said sadly.
“I wasn’t able to get a hold of him,” Jason said. “I know he’s busy, so I guess that’s our answer. We’ll get by.”
“We always do,” Twingo said and shuffled off into the cargo bay with Lucky helping him along. Doc and Kage were already aboard and there was really no reason they couldn’t depart. Jason thought about going to see Kellea one more time, but they’d already said goodbye after spending an entire day together, and she was up on the bridge anyway. Even though she had relaxed a bit since he’d met her, he wouldn’t compromise her authority by making an unannounced personal visit while she was on the bridge of her ship as its commanding officer.
He looked out over the hangar deck at all the starfighters, shuttles, and tenders the battlecruiser was carrying, thinking back on waking up with Kellea that morning in her quarters. It had been their first time experimenting with any sort of real intimacy, and it turned out his fears of incompatibility, both physically and emotionally, were unfounded. With her dark complexion and dark, upturned eyes, she could have passed for an exotically beautiful human woman with her hair down. The slight differences in the shape of her ears and the ridge that ran up the back of her neck were the only obvious giveaways. Jason discovered it was the differences he found most endearing. He shook his head with a smile and walked back into the cargo bay. His hand hovered over the controls to close the ship up when he heard footsteps coming up the ramp.
“What the hell?! You were going to leave without me?”
“I thought you were staying here,” Jason said with a shrug, hiding his surprise at the other’s appearance on the Defiant. “We couldn’t get a hold of you and I didn’t want to put you on the spot.”
“I see how it is,” Crusher said, looking visibly angry. “You’ll move planets to find Twingo but can’t take a shuttle ride down to the surface to check for me.”
“You know that isn’t true,” Jason shot back, his own anger rising. He forced himself to calm down before he continued. “What about your own people? Don’t they need you?”
Omega Force 5: Return of the Archon Page 27