The first Marine yelled, “Take everyone else in here! We will hold ‘em off in the hall!”
Seventeen other Marines made it through the portal before blaster fire entered the room. It was one of my proudest moments of being Human. The two Marines had sacrificed their lives for the others without hesitation. It was a trait that had been commonplace amongst all of the Marines that I had ever known.
Back in the jump room, one of the techs held up a piece of equipment as he motioned up and down with it along each of the Marines that had come through. “They are all clean, Sir. Press that green button by the door twice, followed by the blue one.”
As I stood with one arm and an aching body from the trauma I had just received, I felt a hard slap on the back of my right shoulder. “Grange! Good to see you! Tell me you are somehow pulling everyone else out of there as we speak!”
I shook my head. “Wish I could, Colonel, but things aren’t that simple. We have to get the Grid back, Colonel. We need you to help us do that. Frig and I will fill you in.”
The Colonel stared at me for a moment and then spoke. “Go get that arm repaired, Grange. I’ll get the ball rolling with Frig. Catch up to us when you are able.”
As I turned for the door, the Colonel again spoke. “Grange! Thanks for the assist back there! We won’t forget it!”
Chapter 22
George had a new arm readied and installed in a few hours. I sat down in a conference room with Colonel Harper, four of his best planners, and Frig.
The Colonel spoke. “It looks like we are up against a similar-sized force as before. The Colossuns aren’t much harder to kill than the Dakar and the Prassi were. I think this fight will depend on the quality of fighter the Gonta can provide.”
I replied, “My biggest concern is that we don’t have any comms available, Colonel. We can’t coordinate. Orders will have to be followed until the end without any adjustments if we are going to succeed. And Colonel, the Gonta fighters will give everything they have, but they are not your Ghouls, Sir.”
The Colonel nodded. “Understood. We will make do with what we have available. And as far as comms go, your whiz kids can’t come up with a gadget that doesn’t use a CPU? I don’t much care if it’s two cups and a string, but comms are critical.”
I replied, “Gy and Rita are working on that as we speak, Colonel. Everything we have done with comms for the last seven centuries has been CPU based. It is much easier to encrypt or to add features in software. All the hardware comms are long gone. However, if it can be done with what we have available, those two will figure out how to do it.”
For three days, we planned the taking of each of the sectors on the Grid. Repeated scans had been done to check for troop levels and positions as well as to make sure there was hydrogen in the fuel tanks. Taking back the Grid would do no good if we could not move it away from the Colossun base.
Frig entered the conference room with his report. “The hydrogen level is at 20 percent. That should be sufficient to bring the Grid back to Gonta space. Troop positions and strengths have not changed significantly from the previous scans. I believe we are ready to proceed.”
On our final day of planning, we ran into a major complication.
The Colonel spoke. “The Duke has to have seen that we have been scanning the Grid almost continuously. In the last twenty-four hours, we have had a major shift in troops from that ground prison up onto the Grid. They are flooding the lower decks. We need to establish a foothold before we can transfer all those Gontas aboard. If they catch us too early, it will be nothing but a death trap.”
I stood and began to pace the room. “We have to have a Grid, or we have nowhere to put our people. Once we get them back, we need to feed them as well. Even if the Gonta cleared space on a planet, it would take months for us to prepare food and housing.”
Frig spoke. “Sir, I do have a possible solution, although I don’t know that the Gonta would agree to this.”
I replied as I turned, “About now, I will take anything. What are you thinking?”
Frig stood and began to pace as he talked. “The Orienta, Sir. It is nearly identical to the Grid. The Gonta military sect that currently occupies it numbers at about two hundred fifty million. That station will hold, house, and feed a billion people, Sir. Give me half an hour, and I can tell you whether or not the farms can be brought back online in a timely enough manner to make a difference. They have the room to house our people. Feeding them may be much more difficult.”
I pointed towards his lab. “Go and get started on that. We still have the issue of getting six hundred million people through a handful of wormholes to figure out.”
As Frig left the room, I turned to the Colonel. “Give me an estimate on bringing our people through, say, fifty wormholes. The Gonta have been continuing to add them. I’m guessing they have at least fifty by now.”
One of the Colonel’s aides punched numbers into his console. “Assuming sixty portals, that’s ten million coming through each portal, one at a time. Assume two per second if they were at a full run. That will take almost two months, Sir.”
I sat back down at the table. “Colonel, I just don’t see how we can effect a rescue. We would have to wipe out the Colossun fleet there in order to have the time needed to move all those people. It took the Duke nearly three weeks to move them all down there with those shuttles.”
The Colonel’s aide again typed on his console. He spun his display around for the Colonel to see and then spoke to him in a low voice.
The Colonel banged his big fist on the table. “Brilliant, Grange!”
I replied, “Wait, what?”
The Colonel rocked back in his chair with his enormous arms folded and an evil grin on his face. “The Colossuns have moved all of their available troops onto the Grid to protect her from an assault. Several hundred thousand remain on the ground to guard our people. Their fleet, Grange. We storm their fleet and use it to hold off any other ships for however long it takes us to move them off the planet through those portals.”
I replied, “We haven’t even gotten permission from the Gonta to use the Orienta. Why would they give the green light to this plan?”
The Colonel smiled. “The Gonta will come around. You just need to sell them on the merits of this plan.”
I replied, “And what are those, Colonel? That we are going to take over the Orienta? Their home?”
The Colonel leaned forward in his chair. “Any arrangement for our people to be on the Orienta will be temporary. What you have to sell the Gonta on is that they will be striking right at the heart of the Duke’s fleet. We could have a hundred men on each of those ships in about twenty minutes’ time. Their regular crews are not going to be fighters and should be easily overtaken. Imagine taking control of his fleet, Grange. We would control that whole star system.”
I sat back at the table. “What about the Grid? We won’t be in control of it.”
The Colonel shook his head. “No, we won’t. But the Grid is geared towards defending itself. It is practically useless in an assault because of its lack of mobility. We just ignore the Grid while we get our people out of there. Once they are safely back, we can work on a strategy for taking back the Grid.”
The next twenty minutes were spent going over a speech for me to deliver to Gonta Central Command. It would be a tough sell, but it was our only viable option.
I passed through a portal onto the Orienta and made my way into the Gontas’ central planning conference room. Commander Grita and his entire senior staff were waiting.
I spoke. “As you have no doubt seen, we can no longer attempt an assault on the Grid. The Duke has overloaded it with his troops, and any attempt at taking it back would only get many of us killed.”
I continued, “Gentlemen. Our last victory over the Colossuns, while spectacular and beyond what we thought ourselves capable of, was a minor one. It is likely that it will only delay the Duke’s plans for an assault on your territories for a short w
hile. I believe we can all agree that our next similar encounter would not go so smoothly, as the Duke would enact changes to counter the strategies that we employed.”
I began to pace the room as I talked. “I believe we have a new plan that will strike deep into the Duke’s territory. A strike that will render his main fleet inert and set him back much further than our last battle. At the same time, it will allow us to rescue our people from captivity. It is a win-win for us, gentlemen. However, there is a catch that will require cooperation far beyond what we have done to date.”
I paused my speech for effect.
The Commander spoke. “Well, what is it that you are asking, Mr. Grange? What level of cooperation are you referring to?”
I again paused. “Gentlemen, our data shows that the Duke has moved nearly all of his available troops in that star system onto the Grid. That would mean that his fleet is left with only its crews. Our plan is to assault his fleet and to take control of it. If we control the fleet, we control the whole system, excluding the Grid, of course.”
The Commander replied, “Why not just simply destroy their fleet?”
I stopped at the end of the conference table and set my fists, knuckles down, onto its surface. “As you know, our goal is to rescue our people. What I am going to ask will be far above what we have asked of you so far. We want to take the Duke’s fleet and hold off any reinforcements he sends while we move our people off of the planet and onto the Orienta.”
The room erupted in discussion as the ramifications of what I had proposed sank in.
Commander Grita stood and banged his fist on the table. “Gontas! Please hold your discussions and comments. Mr. Grange, what you are proposing—do you not have six hundred million citizens to house and feed?”
I replied, “Indeed we do, Commander. That is why I am here to plead with you for your assistance. We both know that this great station is capable of supporting that number of people. What I am here to find out is if it is logistically possible. Are your farms capable of the food production needed to feed our people? And would you be able to make temporary accommodations for them while we figure out where to go?”
I turned back to the other staffers. “I beg you to take this under consideration. It is the only option we have available to us for a rescue of our people. At the same time, we could devastate the Duke’s ability to attack your systems for some time to come.”
One of the staffers stood. “We should conduct a closed council to discuss this.”
Commander Grita replied, “Major Bemma. Please be seated. There will be no closed session. The Humans are our allies. They have brought to us a plan that is anything but convenient for us. It would entail us sharing our home with Humans. Forgive us, Mr. Grange. This is a difficult thing you ask.”
The Commander continued, “Until the Humans arrived, we were on the brink of a long, crushing war. I believe we all know where it was going to end. The Humans have willingly shared everything they have with us. With a defeat in his home system, we possibly have an avenue by which to secure our future. The loss of the Duke’s home fleet would no doubt signal weakness to the other surrounding species and as such would cause endless chaos along his borders. This could be the first blow of many against a decidedly weaker opponent. And with the Humans rescued, that gives us another six hundred million to join in the fight.”
A quiet discussion lasted for several minutes before the room was again silent.
The Commander spoke. “What say you, Gontas! Do we extend our hand to our friends in need? Or do we recoil and prepare for the Duke’s next assault?”
The Gontas voted one by one on their consoles.
Commander Grita read the final tally. “Mr. Grange, it is time that we planned for being neighbors. We will begin to clear space immediately. Provide my staff with the nutritional needs of the Humans, and we will begin production of food for them at our farms. We will begin making plans at once for a fleet invasion.”
I walked over to the Commander and extended my hand. Grita took hold of my wrist, and a firm shake was exchanged.
I spoke. “Commander, the generosity of the Gontas will not be soon forgotten. Our people will be in your debt.”
The Commander replied, “Nonsense, Mr. Grange. We are only paying down on our current debt to you. You have given us hope when hope was fleeting. Now you give us opportunity to once again take control of our destiny. If the Colossuns can one day be defeated, this section of the galaxy for many sectors will live in peace and prosperity under a fair government. A government where Humans are treated as equals.”
I smiled. “I like your vision, Commander. Let’s hope we can make it happen!”
Chapter 23
The Gonta command structure was highly efficient. Within days the great farms of the Orienta were running at full production. In another three days’ time, the beginnings of the produce would be rolling off the algae harvest lines, where it would be packaged for storage and distribution. The Gonta crews were also preparing decks for habitation that had been closed off for centuries. Power and environmental systems were brought back online with little effort. The Orienta, like the Grid, was an engineering marvel. Its low-maintenance and highly efficient designs made operations a dream. The great station would be ready for its new arrivals within days.
I once again sat around the conference room with Frig and the Colonel and his planning staff.
Frig spoke. “Colonel, I believe your suggestion of continuing an undue number of scans of the Grid has worked to our favor. The Duke has pulled even more troops from the planet’s surface. Our best estimate is that one hundred fifty thousand remain at the compound while another five million guard the cities. He has definitely taken the bait.”
The Colonel replied, “Good for us, Grange. The Gontas think they will be ready for an assault on that fleet in two days. I say we strike at the earliest possible moment. The battlefield has a way of changing its shape once hostilities are under way. By the way, Commander Grita says they now have five hundred assault portals operational. That places our time estimate for pulling out all our people at anywhere from six days to three weeks. My guess would be that the Colossuns will have ships converging on that system within a week. We are going to have to fight ship to ship to have enough time to move them all.”
I nodded. “Can’t we just jump onto those ships that may come as well?”
The Colonel shook his head. “I would not plan on it. They will have fighting troops aboard them, so any assault may prove to be difficult. As I have said before, I would expect the Duke to be changing tactics after each new encounter with us. I will have to say that I am a bit surprised by his placing so many troops on the Grid while leaving his fleet nearly defenseless.”
I spoke. “Are you getting the feeling that we are once again doing exactly what he wants us to do?”
The Colonel sighed. “Unfortunately, I am, but he has left us with no better option.”
The final two days of preparations were intense. I would lead an assault of the fleet while Commander Grita and the Colonel managed the taking of the Human compound. My team of York, Frost, Meecha, and six other Gontas would also assault a battleship. More than ninety-five thousand Gonta regulars would be assigned to the various other ships.
Taking down a fleet of five thousand ships would be no easy task. Two thousand of those ships were shuttles, which only required a team of five to take control. Battleships, other than our own, would see a force of 150 fighters. Each team had two members who would be responsible for installing the antivirus worm. Without that worm, we had no chance of controlling the ships once they had been cleansed of Colossuns.
I stood in line in a jump room. “Let command know that team one is in place, Lieutenant. They can open the portal at any time.”
The lieutenant nodded as he walked to the jump room exit and locked and sealed the door. Several seconds later, the portal opened and my team began to slide through. For our assault, we were starting on the lowe
st deck in the rear of the ship we had been assigned to.
I rolled off the rail only to find myself standing knee deep in garbage. “Really? We couldn’t pick a better room?”
York replied, “Sorry, Sir. This was the most logical place to not have hostiles in it. We go through that door and the fun begins!”
I turned back towards Frost. “OK. You and Meecha have the worm burners. Hit every station you come across, and make sure the worm is active before you leave.”
Frost nodded. “Got it, Chief. Just try to keep York from getting too far ahead. I don’t want to miss out on seeing all the action!”
As I turned back, York was already moving through a maintenance door. “OK, they have to know we are here now. Meecha, once you plant that worm, I want you and your men to sweep for any Colossuns that we—that York misses. The Colonel estimated an hour to take this bucket. We need to do it in half that time if we can, as we will need to jump to another once we are done.”
The assault moved forward, with York leading the way. The resistance was light from the crewmen who remained on board. If any trouble was met, York quickly smashed through adjacent walls, coming upon her attackers from behind. She was in her element, and I was happy to be moving along behind her.
When we had reached deck four of fifteen, we encountered a force of twelve Colossun soldiers who had remained on the ship. Two ion cannons had been set up in parallel hallways, with no good avenue for York to work between them. Reinforced bulkheads made it impossible for her to smash through to go around.
York spoke as a heavy ion bolt struck a nearby wall. “Sir, they have those cannons guarding a pinch point. I don’t see how we can get beyond them without going through that point. It would appear that these battleships, at least, have been designed to make an assault difficult. We can’t go up, down, or sideways through these bulkheads. Through that door behind them is the only way.”
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