“Do you want to issue orders from here?” Mike asked the admiral.
“What if the Chessori are listening?” he chided Mike. “Besides, my sailors have their orders. All weapons are locked and loaded, but no one will open fire without my command except under very strict guidelines. Those guidelines include my willingness to lose a ship or two before we chance failing with this First Contact. When I return, my superiors will demand an accounting before anything happens, over secure channels of course. You’re getting lots of attention, Mr. Carver, including the White House. You’ve stirred up a hornet’s nest if I’ve ever seen one.”
“Oh, great! We don’t have weeks, or even days, Admiral.”
“You won’t need them. We’re better than that. Mind if I look around a bit before heading back?”
“Sure. Give me a minute.” Mike gave Reba a quick briefing, then handed her a helmet and introduced her to George, informing George that top priority was to bring her up to speed on her weapons station. Introducing her to the rest of the net would have to wait until they were underway. To himself, he added, if we make it that far.
Admiral Trexler got his tour, though not to the extent he would have received had he been within the net. Mike showed him around the bridge, let him experience the central shaft again, even showed him his suite. As they walked side by side down the corridor near Mike’s suite, they entered the area scarred by blasters.
Trexler sucked in his breath. “Seen a little action already, have you?” he demanded.
“Before my time, Admiral. All I’ve gotten to do so far is to simulate battles in space. But amazing as it may sound, I actually know how to drive this thing,” he said with pride. “I’m captain, but not owner. The lady’s in charge.”
“I gathered that. Who is she, exactly?”
“You know, I don’t know myself, not exactly. She’s important, but I think her mission may be more important. I know you’d like details, but I don’t want to scare you off with too much information. What you don’t know doesn’t have to be explained to your superiors. We must limit delay as much as possible, sir.”
“Not a valid argument,” Admiral Trexler said, shaking his head inside the suit. “Something you will discover when you reach a certain level of responsibility,” he continued, “is that there can be no hiding behind ignorance, nor can you avoid the truth. You must insist on the truth, always. Today, millions of lives are at stake. The power of my fleet is humbling, possibly enough to destroy the planet. And the power, or more important the anger of the Chessori? We have no way of knowing. I will ultimately be the one to decide whether to engage these Chessori with my fleet. Mr. Carver, things rarely work out as expected. I’m already facing grievous decisions that might affect everyone on the planet, and there will be more decisions to make during the coming hours. Now, is there anything else you can tell me about what’s going on here?”
Mike thought hard before reaching a decision that felt right. He needed the admiral’s help, but the admiral needed his help if he was to convince his own superiors. “Sir, there are lots and lots of aliens out there,” he said waiving his hand at the ceiling. “They have formed a representative government headed by a Royal Family. The woman is a member of that Royal Family. She’s been running from these Chessori for some months now. All she wants to do is return to her Empire where she’ll get all the help she needs.”
“So this is political. Why are they after her?”
“Sir, remember what you said to me when I wanted to check you for weapons?”
“Mr. Carver . . .”
“Sorry, sir. You have to trust me. I know that’s stretching things, but it’s the truth. I can’t say more. If you could spend a couple of days here, you could experience the truth rather than just hear it. I’ve been living and experiencing things with these people that were beyond my wildest imaginings. Lieutenant Morrison has already had a taste and is receiving more as we speak. Why don’t we go talk to her, see what she thinks?”
“She hasn’t been here long enough to know anything.”
“Want to bet? Come on!”
They headed back to the bridge, but the admiral reached out a hand and stopped Mike. “Mr. Carver, there’s one thing I must insist upon, and this is just between you and me. You must promise to come back, and when you do, I want you to look me up even if I’m in a rest home. Please.”
“I’m not in a position to make promises, but it’s a deal, sir. And you can tell Senator Morrison we’ll be in touch with him, too. Hopefully, long before either of you are in a rest home.” To himself, he added again, if we get back.
They entered the bridge, and Mike went directly for his helmet, feeling guilty that he’d been out of the net as long as he had. Their situation was precarious, and though George was equipped for solving most of the problems that came his way, he needed guidance on some of the simplest things.
As he lifted the helmet to his head, his body suddenly spasmed with intense pain in every cell of his body. The next thing he knew, he was lying on the floor with the admiral kneeling down beside him. His right lower leg was on fire. Looking around, he discovered Ellie writhing in pain on the floor. Cicadas buzzed fiercely. Reba was still with George, oblivious to what was taking place on the bridge, her body shifting from side to side in response to whatever she was experiencing within the net at that particular moment.
Resolve’s guns pounded continuously. Mike shook himself and staggered to his feet, dragging his right leg. He leaned against a chair, knowing he needed to get going but feeling like his head was full of wool.
Then he discovered that Jake was missing.
He grabbed the admiral. “We’re under attack! Do you feel it?”
“Feel what?” Trexler questioned urgently. “I hear the guns firing.”
“We haven’t told you everything, sir. The Chessori have some kind of power over people’s minds. From the looks of things, you, me, and Reba,” he said glancing over at Lieutenant Morrison, “might be immune. Maybe everyone on Earth is immune. Hold on while I figure out what’s going on.”
His right leg was on fire, and it was bad, but it was only one leg. For Jake, Ellie, and Otis the fire consumed their whole bodies. He shivered with horror at the thought, then forced his attention away from his leg and back to the ship. He donned his helmet to find George waiting anxiously. “What’s our status?” he demanded.
“We’re under attack,” George stated. “Otis ordered me to tilt the ship so that all guns could be brought to bear. I have done so. Reba has commanded me to slave both upper guns to her until someone comes to help. She seems to be under control. Otis seems to be having trouble with accuracy. Wait . . .”
Mike felt the ship shudder repeatedly. Obviously, they’d been hit. George returned. “She got one!” he yelled. “She’s commanded me to move Resolve away from the carrier. She’s concerned that deflected shots might harm the humans aboard. I think they could harm the carrier as well, but I haven’t said anything to her about that. She’s pretty busy.”
Mike was frustrated as he waited to get fully plugged-in. “Give me a damage report,” he demanded.
“All shields are activated,” George continued. “Both upper shields are down to half strength. I’m trying to restore them with backups. She’s down to one gun. Number two cannon’s integrator was fused on that last pass. What are your orders, Mike?”
“Has the surface fleet returned fire?”
“No.”
Mike was fully into the net now. He avoided contact with Lieutenant Morrison, afraid he’d confuse and distract her. She had not been exposed to the full net yet and did not know his electronic personality. Otis was, indeed, failing to fire with his accustomed accuracy. It must be from the effects of the Chessori mind weapon. Two Chessori were streaking away, probably preparing to return. High overhead, three Chessori orbited, not doing anything that he could see. Several fighters from the carrier orbited at a middle altitude, but they seemed to be avoiding the attacking Chessori
.
He ordered Otis to leave his guns and attempt repairs on the gun Reba had lost. He was ready to take control of the guns himself, but he waited. He needed to fly the ship first. He maneuvered farther from the carrier, but he remained well within the boundaries of the carrier’s battle group. The two retreating Chessori were turning back, and one of the orbiting Chessori appeared to be joining them. It was three to one, bad odds under the best of circumstances.
“Tell Lieutenant Morrison what’s going on,” he ordered George. “Here they come!”
Three ships came at them, all from different directions and altitudes. Mike was ready; he took all the guns and chose one target for each. All three cannons spoke repeatedly, scoring hits. One Chessori broke off its attack, possibly damaged. George had the shields up to full strength to deflect hits, assuring some safety unless the attackers timed their shots just right and overloaded the circuits, a difficult chore under the best of circumstances.
Mike felt Resolve shuddering. They were taking more hits. Then the Chessori were past, still firing as they retreated. Mike kept up his fire on both Chessori.
Suddenly a new persona joined him on the net. “I’m on them! Can you give me control of the guns?” Mike instantly recognized Lieutenant Morrison’s persona, and he understood her plan. He was needed to fly the ship. Could she have known that? He instructed George to give her control of his guns and immediately set off in pursuit of the retreating Chessori. Reba brought all three guns to bear on one ship and opened fire. Simultaneous hits quickly overloaded its rear shield, and it blew up in a roiling fireball that quickly curved into the ocean and disappeared. Two down. She coordinated their fire to the next ship in line, but it had broken away during her concentration on the downed ship and was out of range.
Mike wanted to get the orbiting Chessori ships, but he did not want to get too far from the carrier. It would be a disaster to attract all the Chessori. Still, he suspected that the psi attack was coming from the ships orbiting above. Reba seemed under control, so he took a chance and joined her on the net.
“We’re going after the ships orbiting above. Ready?”
“I don’t know what ships you’re talking about. Give me targeting data and I’ll be ready.”
“Can you talk to the fleet if I give you a connection? I don’t want them firing at the Chessori.”
“Sure, if you think this will go on for a while. You might be better off concentrating on beating off the attack. Then you won’t have to worry about it. Your call, sir.”
Mike directed Resolve to make an instant climb to high altitude, feeding targeting data to Reba as soon as it was available. She opened fire at long range, firing steadily at the two orbiting Chessori ships high above and driving them away. The buzzing of cicadas stopped as those ships fled.
Mike sensed that the attack was over. He brought Resolve back to its place beside the carrier and left the net after instructing George to sound the alarm if the Chessori returned. Reba joined him in a hug, the two dancing around in delight until they noticed Admiral Trexler attending to Ellie. Mike took one look at her lying on the floor and stopped his dance in mid-stride, feeling guilty. How bad had it been for her, and how about Jake? He wasn’t back yet.
Mike knelt beside Ellie. “Can I help?” he asked.
“No,” she responded dully. “This was a bad one. Is it over, are we okay?”
“It’s over.” He picked her up and carried her to his command seat where he sat with her on his lap, her head resting on his shoulder. He had experienced the Chessori mind weapon through Jake, and he now had a better understanding of what it had been like for her, Otis, and Jake. But in addition to sensing Ellie’s pain and exhaustion, he sensed her disappointment as well. All her training had been for naught. There was nothing he could do or say except to be there for her. Otis worked his way down from the upper turret to lie on the floor before him, something Mike had never seen him do.
He reported. “Both upper guns are operational. Who’s watching the ship?”
“George is, and I have the monitors here to back him up. Shields are up.”
“This was much worse than anything we experienced before,” he replied. Then he just closed his eyes.
Admiral Trexler and Reba sat beside each other in crew seats in front of Mike. “Will someone please tell me what the heck just happened?” demanded Trexler.
“I’m sure you’ll be able to watch a recording of it when you get back to your ship, sir,” Mike answered. “Obviously, we were attacked. Thanks to Lieutenant Morrison, we’re not only alive, but the Chessori are short two ships.”
“Two!” the admiral exclaimed looking at her.
“Oh, Ray, this ship is incredible. It’s got a living brain that controls everything. Whatever you want is right there at your fingertips. It helps you, it knows your feelings, it’s wonderful.”
“So you’ve met George,” Mike commented.
“It has a name?”
“And lots more. You haven’t even scratched the surface yet,” he mused. “But you will!” Turning to the admiral, he continued, “She’s remarkable, sir. She took out two Chessori ships single-handedly with only an hour’s training. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.”
“I’m not surprised. Too bad I didn’t bring her service record to show you. It’s impressive. I take it these Chessori have retreated?”
“For the moment. I did not anticipate that attack. I really thought we were safe here, but now, time is clearly of the essence. They’ll be back. Are you ready? Can we drop you off?”
The admiral considered his words, then a grin spread across his face. “Oh, that would be fun. Can you?”
“We can, and we will. Reba, will you get back into the net and keep an eye on things for me?”
“Aye, aye, sir.” She picked up her helmet and lowered it over her head, pulling the face plate down into position.
They landed on the carrier’s forward deck. Well . . . not landed, not exactly. Had they actually set down on the deck, they would have sunk the ship. George was instructed to keep Resolve’s ramp one inch above the deck until further notice, and to notify Mike if he sensed anything threatening from the Chessori. The deck pitched up and down as the great ship plowed through swells at its top speed, but that was no problem for George.
Mike, Ellie, and Otis escorted the admiral through the ship to the lower ramp. On the way there, Mike heard with welcome relief, >Hi, Man. I’m back.<
>Jake! You okay?<
>I don’t know. I’m still working on it. I’ll let you know after I wake up. I’m going to take the first nap of my life.<
>Okay, but make it a power nap. I need you.<
>What’s a power nap?<
Mike rolled his eyes. >Never mind. Get some rest.<
They gathered in the ramp area, the ramp itself still bearing the wounds of the fight in the desert. Ellie, still shaky, felt Mike’s arm go around her waist to steady her. She leaned into him, grateful for the support. She looked to the admiral, sensing his reluctance at leaving Reba behind. She shared that feeling, having left so many behind during the past months.
Admiral Trexler met her gaze and said quietly, “You’d better take good care of her, whoever you are. You have me to answer to.”
Mike translated her reply, “We shall do our best, Admiral. She but increases my debt to you. It will not be forgotten. May we next meet under more peaceful circumstances.”
Trexler nodded. “I’m off. Good luck, and watch your flank, Mr. Carver. You know what you’re up against here, but what’s waiting for you out in space?”
“A good question, sir. We’ll take it one step at a time. The next few hours will decide. In any case, thank you for your help.”
The admiral saluted Mike and Ellie, then followed Otis down the ramp. Otis led him out onto the deck of the carrier, mostly for effect. The wind tore across the empty deck, forcing Trexler to lean heavily into his steps. Otis again extended a hand. Trexler
reached out with his own gloved hand, they shook, then Trexler stepped back and saluted him. Without delay, he turned on his heel and walked away. Otis returned to Resolve and closed the ramp.
Ellie looked to Mike like she’d aged years. Otis just looked done in. When asked, Ellie replied that she didn’t know if the Chessori attacks were getting stronger or if she was becoming more sensitive to the psi weapon, but this attack had been severe, the worst for her by far.
Otis agreed. His struggle to cope had been monumental. He surmised that attacks varied, perhaps with the numbers or abilities of the individual Chessori focusing the weapon, or perhaps just with distance. Attacks in space had not been as intense, perhaps because ships were so far apart. Close in space was a relative term. Often many, many miles separated ships, even ships flying in formation, but attacks on the ground were a different matter. This last attack had virtually paralyzed half the crew, wiping out all the crew coordination they’d so painstakingly developed.
This was a major concern to all. Rebecca Morrison had saved the ship, period. Everything they’d built so far during all the hours of practice had failed with the surprise attack, and Mike was disappointed at his own lack of leadership and discipline. Why hadn’t he foreseen the type of attack the Chessori would launch and taken precautions? He’d been expecting any encounters with the Chessori to occur out in space, and that was where all their practice had been focused. The manner of attack seemed obvious in hindsight, though he still found it hard to believe the Chessori had attacked in full view of the fleet. What else didn’t he know about these Chessori and their methods? What additional precautions could he take?
The only thing certain was that there would be more surprises, probably lots more. He would keep learning, and so would the crew. They had to keep moving forward; there could be no giving up.
The one thing George had failed to train them on was the Chessori mind weapon. That was not George’s failure, it was a failure of command – Mike’s failure. He should have foreseen exactly what had happened today. They needed more training and more practice to determine in advance what their limitations would be when the Chessori used their mind weapon.
Last of the Chosen (Spirit of Empire, Book One) Page 11