by Ron Francis
“You would be guessing right.” Manny replied. “Jesse and Serge have technology way past anything they could even dream. Ironically, he would have probably given it to them out of his sense of duty, before they tried to kill every member of his family.”
“Their loss,” she shrugged. “What are we gonna do? The Enclave is going to hunt us wherever we go. We’ll be outlaws. Even Polisia will be hard pressed to let us stay.”
“I don’t know. Jesse should be back in about a week, hopefully he’ll think of something.
“Or at least maybe he’ll be able to out the President for the Enclave stooge that he is.”
“Maybe.” Manny tried to be positive, but the truth was, he didn’t know. He wasn’t even sure there would be a conduit opening next week. He prepared to take off, hit the slave button and prepared for all hell to break loose inside the facility. Manny cloaked the shuttle, took off and then watched in satisfaction as three Leviathans and nine War Hawks took off after him.
“What do you mean someone stole all twelve ships? That’s not possible. Those ships weren’t even supposed to be finished for another week.” Admiral Bliney couldn’t believe what he was hearing and he knew the President would be upset when he heard.
“I don’t know what to tell you, Sir. Some commandos broke into the facility earlier. They put several of our men in the hospital before we drove them off. The people that stole the ships must have snuck in, then.”
“How many people would it take to successfully fly those ships away? I’m talking about a skeleton crew, bare minimum.”
“Let me ask one of the techs, Sir.” There was a momentary pause in the transmission before the soldier was back on. “He says it would have taken a minimum of seventy-five, Sir.”
“So seventy-five people broke into the facility you were charged with protecting, and no one saw anything? I find that unlikely.”
“Vid’s been destroyed as well. The whole day’s worth. They could have been sneaking in a couple at a time. We don’t know their protocols, Sir. We should have kept some of their men.”
“Too late for should have, Lieutenant. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a very unpleasant conversation to have with the President.
“One more thing, Sir. The tech’s are saying no one is allowed in the facility for the next three days. They spray cleaning chemicals on the line to keep it from corroding after every round of ships. Apparently, these chemicals are deadly if inhaled and take a couple days to dissipate.”
“Well, isn’t that good news. That’ll be all, Lieutenant.” Admiral Bliney was angry as he ended the transmission. He was about to contact the President when the thought hit him. The ships are on their way to Polisia because Earth wouldn’t reinforce them. I’d bet my life on it. After that thought passed, he calmed himself and prepared to contact Jesse’s sister.
“Nina, stealing military assets during war time is treason. Send the ships back, or I won’t be able to protect you.” He was trying to maintain his composure as he spoke.
“Admiral, it’s not stealing if it belongs to you. Not to mention that we have not officially declared war on anyone, so how is this wartime?”
“Why sneak them out in the middle of the night like a thief then if you’re not stealing them.”
“We were testing some new and classified software, and with all of the leaks coming from the President’s office and all of the attempts on our lives, we felt secrecy was the best option.”
He had to hand it to her, it was well thought out, and they technically hadn’t done anything wrong, but he needed those ships. He hated to strong-arm her because he felt like he was losing their trust by the hour, but he had to. “Nina, it doesn’t matter if the ships are yours. They were slated as defense for Earth and we need them back.”
“And you shall have them back, as soon as Polisia is safe. Remember, they were actually slated for Polisia.”
“That was when you were actually building a facility. I need them now. Nina, the President is going to issue a warrant for your arrest. He is fuming over this.”
“I don’t care, Admiral. He has nothing to arrest me on. The fact that I want to have my ships that I own defend the world on which I live? Let’s see that stand up in court. If he believes these ships belong to him, I shall give them to him. I will fly in with them myself as soon as he pays for the thirty-six ships we have just built for him. Oh, and the forty-one ships that we loaned the Coalition three years ago. Then he can buy these ships.”
“Nina, you know the Coalition doesn’t have that kind of money.”
“Well, then it doesn’t get any more of our ships. Let our new friends save us. That’s what they keep telling us they are doing here. You and I both know they’re here for another reason, but President Rhodes can’t exactly come out and say that now, can he? Frankly, Admiral, I’m shocked you don’t want to protect the ship building facility we are building on Polisia.
“You and I both know you were never going to finish that.”
“Maybe if we had some spare time in between all of the assassinations and attempts on our lives, we could get some work done and save the Coalition again.”
“I can see I have wasted my time trying to convince you. I am powerless to stop whatever the President might do in retaliation.” He let the threat hang in the air as he ended the transmission.
Nina was livid. She knew having the one man left in the government that Jesse trusted contact them was the best tactical move on their part, but Admiral Bliney seemed almost as upset by what they had done as the President would have been. She had expected a lecture, but she also expected the admiral to understand. I never thought he would question our dedication to the Coalition we have already given so much to save. That thought did not sit well with her as she sat in her home hoping they could survive until Jesse returned home.
______
After three months of physically taking it easy on Hyperia and Ginderbar, the crew of Endeavor was ready to spend the last month of their adventure on Kaldor, where it all began. They may have been taking it easy physically, but that by no means meant they weren’t working. They had been cataloging the different species they had encountered, worlds they had gone to and technology they had purchased. Suzy was updating the medical files to include all of their numerous injuries, which must have been a huge chore. She was also cataloging the medical tech they had picked up. Much of it would be useful. Jesse was busy with the galaxy drive and refused to let his newlywed Lieutenant near it for another two weeks. Josiah had been busy coordinating the fifty ships that would be joining them in the conduit. Hyperia’s two battle groups, thirty-two ships, would be arriving in twelve days. They would wait out the estimated two weeks before the conduit opened with twelve Battle Hammers from Ginderbar. Kaldor would also be sending six ships through the conduit. Jesse still had no idea how he would explain their presence to President Sandoval. The fleet had voluntarily put themselves under Jesse’s command. He wondered how that would go over with the likes of Admiral Natora. He was getting more and more excited by the day. I can’t wait to get back home to my family and friends. I can’t wait to show them the wonders of the Kalephi Galaxy and introduce them to Endeavor‘s new crew members. I can’t wait to show Serge the galaxy drive research. I know it’s going to work, and it’s gonna change everything. Most importantly, though, I can’t wait to tell everyone that Kimi and I are finally together. I’m going to ask her mom for Kimi’s hand in marriage and have whatever kind of wedding she wants. I bet she wants a small wedding with only our family and close friends there. A smile from Kimi brought him out of his thoughts for home. They had been dating almost three months now, but his feelings for her were growing stronger by the day.
“Jesse, you must hurry up or you are going to miss the tour of the new Outpost Twenty-Three. There is talk they will be calling it Marcostown.” She laughed at the look that crossed his face.
“Please tell me th
at was a joke, Kimi. That would be a terrible name.”
“I like it, and you are the one that made it possible, so why not name it after you?”
“We made it possible, I wasn’t alone when we defeated the pirates and saved Valinor. I wasn’t alone when we found the treasure. We did it. I hate to be singled out.”
“Too bad. I believe you deserve it.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek and slipped her arm around him as they boarded the air speeder with Reece, Xanu, Josiah and Tanna. Suzy and Shadow were with Doctor Kinson, overseeing the finishing touches on Kaldor’s recovery pod. Collin and Bessa were unavailable, as newlyweds often are.
Jesse dropped Commando off to spend the day with a happy Kiah and he also presented her with a new hover board for her to ride. She loved it and squeezed his neck tight, like she always did when she saw him. He had to admit that he loved it when she squeezed his neck and it reminded him that couldn’t wait to have kids. I really hope I have at least one daughter. He said goodbye and left for the outpost.
When they reached the settlement, Jesse couldn’t even tell it was the same place. It was twice as big. There was a large sign that actually named it Marcostown, much to his chagrin. There was a commerce center, fashionable clothing stores, nice restaurants and beautiful parks. The row houses were gone, replaced by individual family units and each worker had received a raise. His tour guide had taken them up to the top of the new government building in the center of town. It was fifteen stories high, with another seven or eight ten story buildings surrounding it. He noticed a forest almost two kilometers wide had been planted to the west, and he was told that they were trees that thrive in the desert. They would act as natural barrier to the westerly winds that used to whip through the settlement. What they had done with the new Outpost Twenty-Three was truly amazing. He was really happy for the people. He stood on the partially finished building and looked out over the town.
His guide was still speaking when a Farannsian construction worker hit him with a steel beam and knocked him off the building. He was vaguely aware of Josiah yelling something as he instinctively reached for Helga and fired the grappling hook into the building. He was dazed and off balance as the cable grew taught and he slammed into the side of the building almost four meters off the ground. The force of hitting the building caused him to lose his grip and fall. He hit the ground in a heap and lay there looking up. Thankfully, he didn’t feel like he had seriously hurt anything, but he wasn’t ready to move yet either. He didn’t know if it were an accident or not, but at least he had survived. Josiah undid the grappling hook, so Helga fell a few feet away from him. As he was reaching for the comfort of his favorite weapon, four Farannsians emerged from the shadows and began hitting him with pipes and kicking him while he was on the ground. So, not an accident, he thought as he managed to get a knife into the leg of one of them. He grabbed the pipe the injured attacker was holding and swung it wildly, causing the others to move back. He slowly got to his feet. His left eye was swollen shut, his left arm was broken and he had a couple broken ribs. He probably had a dislocated shoulder as well. Suzy was going to be mad at him. He threw the pipe at the nearest attacker while he picked up Helga. He fired off two shots, but the assailants were armored and didn’t go down. He tried to parry the next round of attacks but he had taken too much damage. Where is my crew?
Kimi watched in slow motion as the horror unfolded. Jesse had been pushed off the building. He hit the ground hard, but looked like he was alright. Helga had saved him again. Reece quickly dispatched the man that had pushed Jesse off of the roof while Kimi tried to get to the man she loved. As he lie there, she watched as four men began to attack him. She tried to get back to him, but the elevators were conveniently stuck. She began to shoot at the attackers, but they were armored. She decided she would quickly climb down the side of the building. She made it down four stories when she found a rope that had probably been used to haul supplies up the side of the building. She repelled the rest of the way down the building to see Jesse cornered. He had taken a lot of damage and he wasn’t going to last much longer. She picked up the pipe Jesse had thrown and charged into the fray. They had found each other after years of mixed signals and missed opportunities. She was not about to let a clumsy assassination attempt take him from her.
She reached the first attacker and hit him hard in the side of the face. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as he slumped to the floor. The second attacker met her head on while Jesse found a weak spot in the last attacker’s armor. He stabbed the assassin under his arm and into his heart. The big, red Farannsian was dead before he hit the ground. He finished off the wounded one while Kimi dispatched the last one. He stumbled and fell to the ground. He found he was unable to stand under his own power as he lay barely conscious in the comfort of the heated sand. Kimi held him down and said, “Do not try to move yet, Jesse.” He could see the worry in her eyes as she yelled for a medic. A medical shuttle landed about thirty-five meters away, and the medics rushed to him with a hover gurney. By this time, the rest of his team had reached them as well. They all jumped into the shuttle with the mortified outpost mayor, and took off for Endeavor. The mayor couldn’t stop apologizing. His guest of honor had almost been assassinated and looked to be in bad shape. Josiah was on comms with an unhappy Suzy who would be meeting them at the ship.
Jesse looked up into Kimi’s worried eyes and said, “Now I really don’t want that city to be named after me.” He smiled and it broke the tension.
His friends began to chuckle as the shuttle raced back to the ship.
“Always the jokes, Jess. How come the bad guys never break that part of you?” There were a few more chuckles as Josiah turned serious and said, “We’re gonna get to the bottom of this, Jess.”
“I know you will, Jo.” He looked up at Kimi and squeezed her hand. “I wasn’t gonna win, Kimi. Thank you.” She just held his hand and smiled. She would indeed be getting to the bottom of this.
______
“Thansar, we are too late. Our worst fear has come to pass. Somehow, the Enclave has managed to ally themselves with Earth. We need to begin attacking Earth’s outer colonies to keep their Leviathans and War Hawks out of Enclave hands. If they feel they need to defend themselves against us, they will not be giving anymore of their ships to Lucien.”
“We are in position to strike at their frontier defenses with three hundred fifty ships. After we defeat the Coalition’s guardians, we will only need to take three of their poorly protected worlds before we can attack Polisia. If you are threatening their core planets at the same time, we should be able to take Polisia and break their back, Dobar.”
“What is so important about Polisia, Thansar?”
“It is where the leaders of the company that builds their most powerful ships reside. Our network has also picked up that they are constructing another even larger ship building facility there. Stopping that from happening would be key to us having any chance in this war. Their only other facility is on Earth, but they will not be able to produce enough ships quickly enough with just the one.”
“Very good, I knew having Jarlevia on our side would turn the tide. Take a mixed fleet of three hundred fifty ships and put your plan into action. We will threaten the Coalition’s core to prevent reinforcements from arriving.
Nine hours later, three hundred fifty alien vessels dropped out of light space on the Coalition’s first line of defense under Admiral Collingsworth.
“Give me fleet wide.” A clearly rattled Admiral Collingsworth commanded from the bridge of the Churchill. When the ensign indicated he was on, he began. “I know the odds look long, but we must hold on long enough for the Coalition to get some more ships to the outer worlds. Pick targets and open fire. We are all that stands between these monsters and millions of innocent lives. Coordinate your efforts and let’s make a good showing of ourselves.” When he was finished addressing his fleet, he sent a message to Earth asking for defe
nses to be ready at the Stamdall. He was curious as to why he had received no reply, but could not investigate with the battle raging. He had only two Leviathans and six War Hawks. The rest were normal standard issue Earth military vessels. Luckily, SSE had sent their best techs to modify weapons and shields to give them more firepower and better defenses, but they were still nowhere near as powerful as the SSE ships.
Hard light shot through space and splashed off Coalition deflectors as the two Leviathans and their War Hawk contingent began to destroy alien vessels. Collingsworth thought he could pick out five distinctly different types of vessels, which did not bode well for the Coalition. If five alien races had joined together to eliminate them, they were in trouble. At least we have our new allies; their four hundred ships will come in handy.
Collingsworth looked out the viewport to the right and saw an Earth battle cruiser go up in a shower of sparks before the explosion destroyed it. Two gunships and a frigate quickly followed suit. Almost a thousand good men, dead in seconds, he sadly mused.