Mace moved down a wide hallway. Kohamian soldiers were marching about, preparing for war. He turned a corner into a large circular room. The walls were fully lit and covered with holo-displays. Console stations lined an outer circle on the floor, with three command chairs stacked one atop another in the center. Each command chair spun independently as orders were given to those operating the consoles. The images on the displays were flashing from one of the former Galactic Union worlds to another… including the Rhombia system.
Mace moved to a low-traffic spot on the deck where he could stand and observe. The UF would be retaking the Mawga worlds before moving on to the others. As Mace watched, each of the battles to be fought was laid out before him. After just over an hour of battle plans being revealed, the initial plans were once again shown. The Army Ranger moved back into the hallway.
A fifteen minute search located the reactor room on the dreadnought. The reactor on the newest UF ship was different. Gone were the boxy shapes of the standard reactors, replaced with a single sphere, five meters in diameter, that floated above the floor on a reverse gravity field. A plasma conduit at the top moved energy from the reactor to a storage well located on the opposite side of the room.
Mace walked slowly around the floating reactor, taking note of the lack of an access panel that would allow the rigging of its containment structure. A Kohamian worker walked into the room holding an electronic clipboard. His attention was drawn to the location where Mace was standing. Looking down, Mace could see his projection field was being interfered with. A translucent brilliance, barely perceptible, occupied much of his outer projection. Two steps back saw the light disappear.
The Kohamian continued to stare for several seconds before calling in a supervisor.
“Over there, next to the reactor, there was an energy glow. It moved to the right and faded. It was like it was alive and knew I was watching it.”
“Have you run any scans?”
The worker shook his head. “No, I called you immediately.”
The supervisor stepped over to the console that controlled the reactor. “Systems are all reporting fine. Hmm. If I move back a minute or two in the data recordings I do see a slight anomaly. Nothing that affected performance in any way. I’ll have the engineering team look it over, Taldy. Just wait here for them and tell them what you saw and when. Afterward you can return to your duty.”
Taldy nodded. “Thank you for coming, Sergeant. I’d rather us not be going into battle with a system issue. Especially with a new reactor.”
The sergeant patted the crewman on the back. “Parameters all look good. I wouldn’t worry about it. Just report it and move on. If there’s something wrong, the engineers will find it.”
Mace slipped out of the room and made his way back to the shuttle. Upon arrival at the Alpha site, the data was again transferred to Jasper’s team.
Mace said, “That new dreadnought… not sure what we do with it. I couldn’t find an access to the containment circuits.”
Jasper waved a hand. “I wouldn’t worry about it. We can rig something up with a projector to make it invisible. We’ll just stick it to the outside. Blow the whole reactor housing if we need to.”
Mace shook his head. “Don’t think so. If you get close to that reactor the projector doesn’t work properly. I was spotted after giving off a white glow when I stood next to it. A meter away and that glow dropped off. But there was definite interaction when I was close. Their sensors picked something up from that as well.”
“Was there room in there where we could just plant a reactor bomb? Maybe in an unused corner?”
Mace nodded. “There was.”
Jasper smiled. “We’ll go with that, then. Might even take less time.”
Chapter 22
*
As Jasper gave orders for his team to plan their raids, word came in from a scout ship. “Sire, the United Front ships are on the move. We place their destination to be Rhombia. Should we follow?”
“Keep with them and keep us informed.”
Mace said, “Another couple days would have been helpful.”
“We needed a week to make the reactor bombs. Those have to be put together and programmed.”
Mace frowned. “Maybe we just keep tabs on this fleet until then.”
Jasper shook his head. “Nonsense. We’ll move ahead with rigging the ships that can be done. We can catch up with the others later.”
The pilot of the scout came back over the comm. “Sire, five hundred heavy transports just came through a wormhole. They are UF ships as well, and they are heading down through the atmosphere.”
Johnny asked, “Why would they be sending transports? Any signs of resistance?”
Jasper asked, “Captain, any sign of a struggle?”
A response came back. “One moment… visual sensors suggest Mawga troops were waiting on the ground, Your Highness. This appears to be planned.”
Mace said, “This can’t be good. A force like that is intended for a ground invasion. That would mean either the Karthian worlds or Earth.”
Johnny said, “We need to go and prepare.”
Mace stood. “Mr. Collins, I’d rig those remaining ships as soon as possible. If their destination is Earth, we’re gonna want to move everyone from the cave to here.”
Jasper nodded. “There’s room. Go do what you need to.”
The Royal Fortune returned to the cave complex, settling in the field under the visual protection of the holo-projector. The civilians and children were the first to be loaded aboard the shuttle. Six trips were made to the Alpha Centauri site. Upon arrival with the sixth group, word came from the Targarian scout.
“Sire, the United Front fleet is again on the move. Five hundred fourteen transports were loaded and have now rejoined the fleet. Hold on… wormholes are opening.”
A video feed from the scout showed more UF warships coming into the Rhombia system.
“Sire, sensors count seven hundred eight additional ships. Most of those are the newer type dreadnought, the design you named ‘a keeper.��� The ships appear to be forming up for another jump, Your Highness.”
Mace said, “The Karthians won’t be able to defend against this.”
A comm came in from Malcom Stark. “Gentlemen, as I’m certain you are aware, a United Front fleet is preparing for an invasion. I believe our fates may be changing.”
Jasper scowled. “How is this a good thing for us?”
“I made a deal with the United Front. In exchange for our full cooperation with them against the Karthians, they have promised our freedom. Transports should be arriving here shortly. When they do, we have two hundred thousand Marines standing at the ready to join them in the crushing of the Karthian Empire.”
Mace said, “What makes you think you can trust them?”
Stark frowned. “Please, Mr. Hardy, I’ve been planning this for months. And much of that time was spent with a Kohamian liaison. I believe you may know him… Leonis Kontin.”
Mace nodded. “We know Mr. Kontin. He ran things for Mr. Knuttin while he was recovering from injuries. What is it you’ve been planning?”
Stark’s frown turned into a slight smile. “If we assist with the taking of Terrex, we gain our freedom. We will then be under the protection of the United Front for a period of ten years. That should allow us ample time to build a planetary defense. In the meantime, we will continue to supply a two hundred thousand man force for any further conquests they deem a force necessary for.”
Johnny said, “So you traded the lives of two hundred thousand men, and the freedom of our planet for ten years, for our permanent freedom after that?”
“Yes. It took some doing, but I was able to arrange just such a deal.”
Johnny shook his head. “I don’t know about your prior deals, but this one… I’m not impressed with. What’s to keep the UF from deciding after nine years that they no longer want that deal?”
“That is always a possibility, Mr. Tret
cher. Any deal can be broken. However, we have contingencies that will make that effort difficult. The Mawga have a similar deal, although with five times the ground troops. And following this campaign, we will be given control of the older UF warships. Their newest dreadnought���we call it the Vendetta class���will make up the bulk of their fleet, with the other ships falling to our care.”
“And what of the Mawga? Do they get ships too?” Johnny asked.
“We are not responsible for whatever deal the Mawga chose to make, Mr. Tretcher, only our own. And those older ships have been promised to us.”
Mace sighed. “Again, I have to wonder if you’re a genius or a fool, Stark. How is it you managed all this without the Karthians��� knowledge?”
Stark laughed. “If you tell them you have plans for their enemies, and you convince them of your loyalty to those plans, they are eager to give you the space you need to carry those plans out. They still view us as an asset, Mr. Hardy. So long as that continues, we will have leverage to make things happen. Foolish and naive on their part, but advantageous for us.”
The United Front fleet jumped from Rhombia to Earth. The dozen Karthian ships that remained were quickly dispatched by the UF Vendetta dreadnoughts. Transports dropped down through the atmosphere, unloading their Mawga soldier cargoes. Fierce fighting began as the Mawga engaged with the Karthian troops that policed the Human planet. Ten hours later, the last of the Karthians surrendered.
Stark came over the comm. “Mr. Hardy, as I’m sure you are aware, the Karthian threat is no more.”
Mace replied, “From what I see it’s only been replaced with a new threat. If you believe you’re about to be free, you’re mistaken. The Mawga troops are unloading equipment. My guess is they are here to stay.”
Stark growled. “You must excuse me, Mr. Hardy. This was not part of our agreement.”
Jasper said, “Looks like you’ve been played, Stark.”
The comm closed.
Johnny shook his head. “Freedom. That’s not happening until we become more powerful than them. We need ships and we need a lot of them.”
Fatso Geerok raised a hand. “Mr. Hardy, I believe I may have a solution to your dilemma.”
Mace turned. “And what would that be?”
Geerok stood. “Mr. Collins��� teams have become proficient in piracy. Why not apply that skill toward acquiring warships? It seems to me we are destroying ships that we could make use of.”
Johnny asked, “You saying we should start jacking ships?”
Geerok nodded. “Precisely. We have teams gaining access to the vital systems of these ships every time they are aboard. Instead of destroying them, why not take control and then move them to a neutral spot until we have a sufficient number on hand? I’m certain either Mr. Collins or Mr. Stark could provide the crews to man them.”
Mace said, “Taking over an entire ship is a lot more difficult that hiding explosives on one.”
Jasper replied, “We can do it.”
Jane added, “We’ll have to cover any captured ships in the gatrellium and then add projectors. Wormhole generators too if they don’t come equipped.”
Mace frowned. “We don’t have enough gatrellium to cover more than a handful of ships.”
Jasper said, “Well then, we get more. The Karthians are weak. Might be a good time to steal it from them again. And if we can’t get a hold of any in the near term, we can always mothball any ships we grab until a later date. Besides, that will give me a chance to train new crews to pilot them. We won’t need gatrellium for flight and weapons practice.”
Mace stood. “Anyone opposed to trying this?”
Jane asked, “So we take these ships… what do we do with the crews?”
Jasper jumped in. “Space ‘em.”
Johnny chuckled. “Is that your solution to everything?”
Jasper replied, “These are the soldiers that enslave our world. We didn’t attack them. We didn’t threaten them. The Karthians and the UF chose their paths. We’re just gonna speed them along it.”
Mace held up a hand. “While we’ve had our moments, I won’t be party to a slaughter of those who have surrendered. We can load them on captured transports or freighters and send them home.”
Jane nodded. “I second that motion.”
Johnny looked at Jasper. “Sorry, gotta go with the wife on this one.”
The others in the room concurred.
Jasper scowled. “Pfft. You people need to grow some spines. Fine. We send those who surrender home. But the instant any of those captives try to do anything, my people and I will be spacing the lot of them.”
Mace replied, “Fair enough. I’d say we need to get started on this immediately. Mr. Collins, tell us which UF ships you plan on hitting and we’ll work on the rest. Between our team and yours, we could easily have a hundred ships in a week’s time.”
Jasper scoffed. “Hundred? I’m thinking half the UF fleet that’s now parked at Earth. Might give them pause with their Karthian assault if they feel they don’t have the necessary ships.”
Johnny laughed. “Half? How you gonna pull that off?”
“By putting three-man teams on that many ships, that’s how. I have the people to do this. I’m sure you guys could commandeer a dozen or so ships of your own. And I’d start with those new Vendetta ships. We take half those and the UF won’t be doing anything.”
“I think he’s right about the Vendetta ships,” said Mace. “That fleet has just over six hundred of that ship. We manage to take half and the UF won’t attack.”
The teams divided the data on the ships they designated. The Humans were split into fourteen teams of two, while Targarians made up three hundred teams of three. The stealth shuttles would be used to drop off each of the teams. From there they would wait until a set time when all teams would assault the bridge of their ship.
If all went well, three hundred fourteen United Front ships would open wormholes and move through at the same time.
The Human teams were given a half hour to spend how they liked. Jasper was eager to get underway, pushing his crews to begin their jumps. Each Targarian shuttle held two to three teams. With a fleet of one hundred five ships, delivery of all teams would be complete in less than an hour.
Johnny walked alongside Jane as they entered the crew quarters. Zax and Fina greeted the two by charging Johnny and clamping onto the legs of his battlesuit.
Johnny chuckled. “Can we take them with us? They might be effective if we need the enemy immobilized.”
Jane scowled. “Not happening, Tonto.”
Johnny smiled. “You haven’t called me that in over a year.”
Jane looked up with a smile as she peeled Zax’s hands from their grip of Johnny’s leg. “I guess it has been a while. Maybe with this move we’ll be one step closer to that carefree world again.”
Johnny planted a kiss on her forehead. “I’d like that.”
Vanessa and Tres’ three girls ran up in front of them. “Uncle Johnny? Can you play?”
Johnny looked at Jane, who nodded her head. “You have twenty minutes.”
Johnny leaned in, scooping up the three screaming girls as Zax again glued to his leg. The large Human slowly walked across the room as the five kids squirmed and screamed with delight.
Jane turned to Vanessa. “Sorry we have to steal your man for a few hours. Hopefully that’s all this will take.”
“He’s been itching to get back out there. Going on a raid terrifies him, but he doesn’t want to miss out on the adventure.”
Jane frowned. “Hardly an adventure. We’ve been lucky with these with as few people as we’ve lost. I think that has us all feeling a bit cocky.”
Vanessa nodded. “So long as he’s scared he won’t be taking chances. Anyway, I’m glad he’s on your team. I know you’ll bring him back safe.”
“I’m a bit worried about Johnny. He has a tendency to charge in where he shouldn’t. He has one of Mr. Crawford’s men wit
h him. I just hope he doesn’t put them in a bad spot. He’d never forgive himself if he got someone killed.”
Vanessa put her hand on Jane’s shoulder. “Let’s just have all of you come back safe, OK?”
Jane smiled. “I’m sure we’ll all do our best.”
Fatso Geerok insisted on being included in the raids. He was teamed with Mace to target a Vendetta dreadnought. The battlesuit, with its incorporated exoskeleton structure, enabled the former Mawga admiral to move about as freely as a person half his age and weight.
The portly fighter joined Mace in the cabin of the Royal Fortune. “I feel invigorated, Mr. Hardy. It’s been many years since I was involved with a ship assault. Back at the academy, my squad finished second out of twenty-six teams. We successfully eliminated the defenses of our opponents���all simulated of course���in four out of sixteen engagements. I believed our success at the time to be responsible for much of my climb through the ranks to admiral.”
“You’ve watched the videos of some of our assaults… how do those compare to the simulations you went through?”
Geerok half smiled. “Not much of a comparison really. Our approach was always one of caution. You didn’t make a move unless you were in high confidence of a positive result. Your assaults would have finished off any defending crew without much trouble. Our training was nothing compared to your real-world triumphs. I’m looking forward to participating.”
Mace frowned. “I wouldn’t get too eager to blast ahead, Mr. Geerok. We have yet to take on the UF crews. My gut tells me they will be much more determined to win than any of the Galactic Union members were. Have you watched any of our assaults on Karthian ships?”
Geerok nodded. “I have. Both breathtaking and terrifying. Your shots are precise and your tactics admirable. I look forward to following your leadership.”
Mace rubbed his temples for several seconds before closing his faceshield visor. “Let’s just hope my leadership holds up this time. Follow my exact orders and we might just make it back alive.”
Geerok grinned. “I do like the way you Humans face adversity. I would certainly like to find some of such determination in myself.”
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