“Shit,” Luke said and looked at Leonessa. Nelson was right, Luke didn’t know how to control the Ultio in its current condition.
“Go,” Nelson said, holding out his hand. “And remember me.”
Luke looked at Nelson, battered, missing an arm, with plasma scarring and barely able to walk after he had been too close to a rocket blast. Nelson looked blurry. Luke took Nelson’s good hand and shook it. Leonessa pulled on Luke’s arm and Luke blinked back the tears.
“Damn you metal head,” Luke said following Leonessa but looking at Nelson.
“It has been an honor serving you sir,” Nelson transmitted. “You have made us proud. I am uploading the Ultio’s data core to storage on your life pod. It will be encrypted. Take care and Semper Fi Commander.”
Leonessa half-dragged, half-pushed Luke out the hatch toward the waiting life pod. Musashi appeared and grabbed Luke’s other arm to pull him along. Brita and Carmichael were already in the pod. It was only big enough for five humans and when they sat down, they would all be facing the center with their knees touching.
“You are running out of time Commander,” Nelson said.
“We are ready,” Luke said and hit the eject button. An explosion pushed the pod away from the Ultio and an overpowered short life engine kicked in, slamming them all into their seats, crushing them with the acceleration of their escape.
“On course,” Nelson said. “It appears we have inflicted severe damage with the plasma lances. We are not taking incoming fire yet. Accelerating to maximum speed. Semper Fi.”
‘Transmission signal lost,’ Luke’s heads-up display informed him and Luke wanted to scream. The gravity eased, and a hand grasped his.
“Starting evasive maneuvers,” the pods computer reported. “Fusion containment failure detected in the vicinity. Explosion imminent.” The pod accelerated hard, and it did not stop. Luke could not breathe and he worried about the others. He couldn’t see them since he couldn’t move his body and the angle was wrong. Just as the world was going dark the crushing acceleration ended and something slammed the pod like an angry child with a rattle.
“Moderate damage,” the pod reported. “Repairs initiated. Atmosphere is not stable. Please remain suited. Stealth protocols active. Damaged caused failure to multiple sensors. Replacements are being moved into position.”
Luke looked at the others.
“You okay?” Luke asked Leonessa.
“I’m alive,” she said.
“Brita?” Luke asked.
“Shit that was fun,” she said, but it sounded automatic and without real feeling.
“Carmichael?” Luke said turning to look at her.
“I don’t want to do that again sir,” she said.
Musashi gave him a thumb up when Luke looked at him.
“Covert scan for Colonel Gray’s comm channel,” Luke told the pod hoping Gray could still respond.
“Beacon detected,” the pod replied after several very intense minutes. Athena couldn’t be too far away.
“Open channel,” Luke said, everyone could hear what was going on. “Gray this is Luke, come in.”
“Welcome Commander,” Gray said. “I can’t say how relieved I am to hear your voice.”
“Status? I’m in a life pod and we are running blind.”
“Copy that Commander,” Gray said. “New Alamo has landed additional combat forces and we are pushing back the Caliphate troops. We expect to have full control within eight hours. The battle wagon has taken severe damage but Caleet and New Alamo mobile forces have the situation under control. Fighter wings from New Alamo are preventing Caliphate forces from retreating and the juggernaut is a radioactive hulk thanks to you.
“Also, Admiral Harrison would like to talk to you,” Gray said.
“He’s here?” Luke said trying to understand what was happening. New Alamo was supposed to be a month away. How had the Admiral gotten here so fast?
“The New Alamo colony is here,” Gray said. “Along with a Caleet task force and the Bronkaw battle wagon you captured.”
“Commander Kishi,” Harrison said, coming online. “Welcome home. Looks like you managed another medal.”
Leonessa squeezed his hand and Luke looked into her eyes.
“Thank you, sir,” Luke said and squeezed her hand. “It is good to be home and there’s someone I would like you to meet.”
Luke had returned.
The End
Thank you for reading The Return. I hope you enjoyed it.
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www.WilliamSFrisbee.com
If you would like to read more about the Conglomerate Series check out the rest of the trilogy;
Book 2: The Darkness
With his ship destroyed Luke returns to New Alamo while Leonessa returns to Athena to rebuild her shattered home.
War is coming and the colonies must defend themselves against the religious fanatics of Earth, but there are greater threats, lurking in the darkness and preparing to strike. Topa Suresh has an even more important task for Luke, a mission that could hasten the death of the Conglomerate and the collapse of civilization or save it.
The drums of war are beating.
Coming in 2017
Book 3: New Empires
With the Conglomerate shattered and burning, Topa Suresh missing, the Jupiter Alliance and Caliphate preparing for war, and death in every shadow Luke and Leonessa must take the battle to the enemy and build alliances against an ancient enemy intent on the destruction of civilization and peace.
Coming Soon
Coming later in 2017
The Darkness
By William S. Frisbee Jr
Red flashing lights on a console were bad, the screaming of alarms even worse, but Bruce had more important things to worry about than his dying ship.
“We’ve just lost the lower port side plasma lance, Captain,” Jason said. “Decks two and three are open to space. There could be more missiles inbound, most sensors are scrambled.”
Bruce nodded without concern, noting Jason might be ready to panic. Here in the armored Combat Information Center (CIC) at the heart of the battle cruiser Proud Infidel, the damage was not apparent. The screaming alarms and red boards were the only sign.
“Then our starboard side has twice the work to do. Keep firing. See if we can get our remaining primary lined up again on target two,” Bruce said.
“We need to pull back,” Jason said looking at too much red on his board. This wasn't a drill. Any red was too much. “We won’t be doing any good if we can’t fire and half our ship is dead.”
Bruce took his eyes off the holographic display and looked at Jason. He wanted to see Jason’s eyes, but his executive officer had his helmet on. Except for two gray androids, all crew members in the CIC were ensconced in their cocoons and bathed by the steady red combat lights.
The cocoons were armored cockpits, self-contained with power and air. Computer simulated graphics made the armored sides of the cocoon look transparent so the crew could see each other. An internal network shared information independent of the rest of the ship and it also made the crew in the auxiliary bridge appear as if they were in the same room with Bruce. Besides being the Combat Information Center for the ship, the room served as the bridge.
“We are still combat capable. Our orders were to defend this sector,” Bruce said, an edge in his voice. “We lost a plasma lance and taken damage. We can still fight. This is light damage. We can handle a few old earth cruisers.”
“Four more cruisers transitioning,” Erica said. She was calmer than Jason, but Bruce could hear the tension in her voice. “And six frigates.”
“That is sixteen cruisers, sir,” Jason said, a tremor in his voice. “You think the rag heads have any more?”
“I don’t know,” Bruce said tr
ying to keep the emotion out of his voice. Jason had not fought them in the past and had no right to call them rag heads. This was Jason’s first real fight, and he was trying Bruce’s patience. For someone supposed to be an experienced officer with high marks, Jason’s performance was disappointing.
“Holy mother of God,” Erica said. “Something huge is making transition. I’m reading at least ten kilometers long, maybe three kilometers wide and heavy mass. Maybe five hundred thousand gravons. Shit.”
“Maintain discipline,” Bruce said checking his boards. Erica’s cursing had been appropriate, but Bruce wouldn’t admit to it. The Proud Infidel’s mass was only twenty-four hundred gravons. The newcomer was over two hundred times more massive. Sensors indicated it was likely a hollowed-out nickel asteroid, with the outer hull still being several hundred meters thick and the inner core full of countless tunnels and caverns. The entire structure was veiled by a black cloth that was part camouflage, part heat vane and all solar panel. Underneath would be a layer of foamcrete to provide structure. The turrets and hatches were also black and made it hard to pick them out from the surrounding material. It would take several missile strikes to peel away the cloth and see what was underneath the surface.
“Look at those mass drivers,” Jason said when the telescopes focused and they could see it on their screen. “There is no freaking way. We couldn’t take even a glancing hit from one of those bitches.”
“Discipline!” Bruce said, almost shouting, but calming himself. “Those guns are a kilometer long. We have to get in front of it to be in any danger. They can’t rotate them to the sides and they are too far forward.”
“But the colony sir?” Erica said.
“Will be safe. I want an attack plan to cripple or destroy those mass drivers, there are probably two on the other side. We still have some Supaka missiles?” Bruce said, knowing the answer. They were expensive, very effective, and not been made by humans. They had already used two of them to blast apart a pair of cruisers, but Bruce preferred to use them sparingly. He was glad he had saved them now.
“We have four, sir,” Erica said. Bruce nodded, he already knew, but it showed that Erica was paying attention and her response had been quick enough.
“One for each mass driver then,” Bruce said. “Plot a solution. We can’t give them time to line up a shot on New Alamo or Athena.”
“Those cruisers or frigates might intercept them,” Jason said. “Save the missiles and pull back. We need to get our other plasma lance on-line. We can’t fight that thing; let it duel with the battle station.”
“We run the gauntlet,” Bruce said his mind plotting a path, there was nobody else that could hit the mass drivers before they fired.
“That’s suicide,” Jason said. “I’m not here to die.”
“You are relieved,” Bruce said, his limit reached.
Jason stared at Bruce, unable to believe what was happening. Bruce reached over and flipped a switch, cutting Jason’s survival cockpit out of the loop. The walls that once revealed Jason turned gray, leaving him isolated and alone. If he would not fight, he would not interfere either.
“We are in combat and an order has been given. You will obey. Lieutenant Desmond, you will replace Lieutenant Commander Commancho as my second in command.”
“Aye, aye sir,” Erica said.
“Lieutenant Reeves, do you copy?” Bruce said.
“Aye, aye Captain,” Alex said from the auxiliary bridge near the rear of the ship, although he appeared to be right next to Bruce. “Lieutenant Commander Commancho is relieved of duties.”
“We have a battle to win people,” Bruce said broadcasting ship wide. “It will be hard and it might kill us, but we have a lot of innocent non-combatants relying on us. We have the people of New Alamo, your brothers, sisters, parents, and children. Then there is the Athena colony. This is a fleet battle; it is like nothing we’ve encountered before. With that behemoth, we are outgunned. If we do not stop the Caliphate here and now, then humanity could be wiped from the face of the galaxy. I will ram that son of a bitch if it will make a difference. Today we fight, and if necessary, die. Future generations of humans will know what we do here today.”
Glancing around Bruce saw that everyone was looking at him. They didn’t all have their helmets on and Bruce was satisfied they were committed. This is what he was born for. Not money grubbing mercenary work, honorable work, defending innocent people from oppressors.
“Let’s push those bastards back! Are you with me?” Bruce said almost yelling.
His crew yelled back and Bruce smiled. It was not as fierce as he wanted, but he was not leading a battle-hardened Jupiter Alliance warship either. This vessel was a mercenary vessel and mercenaries would fight, but not die for their cause. At least that is how he had trained them. It was too late to change that now.
There were ten crew total, nine now with Commancho out of the loop. Androids ran most systems, and in turn the androids controlled the robots and networked Artificial Intelligence engines.
The ship rocked again as a missile detonated nearby. Point defenses must have stopped it before it got too close.
“Minimal,” Erica said. “Cruisers are moving to put themselves between us and that monster.”
“We will punch through them,” Bruce said. “Can the battle station give us any support?”
“Negative,” Kevin said. “We are still out of range.”
Bruce scowled. The Proud Infidel could make at least one run on the beast but she wouldn’t make it back out. If she survived, Bruce would stock his inventory with nothing but Supaka’s, damn the cost.
“Two of the newcomers are moving in our direction,” Erica said. “We got tango two! Cruiser number two is bleeding atmosphere and has stopped maneuvering!”
“Good job. Concentrate on target three now,” Bruce said sitting back and looking over the plot. This was deep space. Except for the colonies and battle station, there was no cover, and at this range concealment wasn’t an option, especially for Bruce's older battle cruiser. There was nothing with a sufficient gravity field to use in maneuvers either. At this range, it would be a brutal slugging match, and firepower would trump technology. Although it was almost fifty years old, Bruce’s ship, the Proud Infidel, was one of the most modernized warships in New Alamo's fleet, after the Ultio, and it was more than a match for the Caliphate battle cruisers one on one. Now it was four on one, and the odds were not improving. Bruce didn't want to count the frigates.
“Incoming transmission from New Alamo,” Kevin said. Bruce saw no option other than to continue to slug it out. This was what he lived for, not mercenary work. This was fleet, and it was in his blood. He wanted to die a fleet officer, not a mercenary. He wanted to die defending others, for honor, for the future.
“Pull back so the station can cover you,” Admiral Day said. That would take them out of their assigned sector and away from where the Proud Infidel could do the most damage.
“I will cripple the mass drivers on that behemoth,” Bruce said. “I think I have the best chance and my orders were to stay in this sector as long as I can.”
Bruce thought he could hear the gears turning in the Admiral’s head. Bruce’s orders had not come from the Admiral who was the senior human officer of the New Alamo defense force. They didn’t even come from the elected Prime Minister of New Alamo. Technically, Bruce had not been ‘ordered’ to fight in this sector either, but when one of the Topa, the rulers of the Conglomerate, makes a request, any military officer with half an IQ point takes it as an order. Admiral Day knew it too.
They Topa made some very odd requests sometimes, and this was one of those times, but they paid very well.
“Carry on,” Day said. “Do what you feel is necessary.”
“Aye, aye Admiral,” Bruce said grimly. Long before he had become a mercenary Captain, he had been a combat hardened line officer in the New Alamo Defense force and the Jupiter Alliance. He had fought in and survived numerous fleet actions
. There was honor and purity in fleet operations, defending your home and innocent people. Mercenary work was just about killing for money.
“Another cruiser is breaking apart,” Erica reported.
“Excellent,” Bruce said noting it on the display. There were still too many. The Proud Infidel had better shields and weapons but was not indestructible.
“We are at maximum range for the Supakas,” Erica said and Bruce nodded. A squadron of drone fighter craft moved into the sector and savaged the frigates Bruce had been ignoring. This caused the cruisers to stop concentrating on the Proud Infidel to protect their frigates. It was breathing room Bruce was glad to have. The Proud Infidel slid a little closer to her target.
“Four more battle cruisers are changing course for us,” Erica said. “They are accelerating.”
“Looks like we have their attention it appears,” Bruce said, someone over there was paying attention and saw him preparing to make a run. Just a little closer and he would order the launch of the Supakas. There would only be a single run on the behemoth and it would have to count. Ramming it might inflict damage but he didn’t have a good angle on it and if it was as armored as he suspected, ramming it would not be fatal.
Bruce nodded and observed two more fighter squadrons from the New Alamo coming into his sector. It looked like the Admiral was doing what he could to help. Fighters just did not have the firepower needed to stop a Caliphate battle cruiser but they could wipe out any missile volleys and threaten frigates. The rest of New Alamo’s fleet was trying to protect Athena, which was right in the juggernaut’s path and the focus of the large majority of cruisers. Already the juggernaut was launching shuttles. At least the juggernaut was not trying to destroy Athena.
Bruce heard the fighting was still ongoing in the corridors and habitats of the Athena colony. It would get even more intense as the Caliphate troops learned they would get reinforcements. Someone had said they had been fighting non-stop for a day.
The Return: The Conglomerate Trilogy (Volume 1) Page 35