Tarizon, Conquest Earth, Tarizon Trilogy Vol 3

by William Manchee

Chapter 10

  Communications Link

  Corporal Rushe showed up as promised to babysit Tokin, so Leek and Lucinda left to go to the officers’ dining room. A sentry stood at the door and saluted as they approached. Leek returned the salute, and the sentry opened the door. They stepped into a large compartment filled with officers drinking and talking casually to each other. Leek got them drinks and then they joined Lt. Lakee and a female officer.

  “Commander, Mrs. Lanzia,” Lt. Lakee said. “So, did you get unpacked?”

  Lucinda shook her head. “No. Not entirely.”

  Lt. Lakee smiled. “Oh, let me introduce Lt. Lei. She’s our chief medical officer.”

  “Oh, it’s a pleasure,” Leek said.

  Lucinda bowed slightly. “I’m so glad to meet you. With a baby I’m sure we’ll get to know each other quite well.”

  They all laughed.

  “And that’s fine with me,” Lt. Lei replied. “It will be a nice change of pace from treating brutes like Lt. Lakee.”

  Lt. Lakee, a seafolken, was a foot taller than Lt. Lei and very muscular in contrast to the petite medical officer.

  “I’m sorry for being a brute,” Lt. Lakee said teasingly.

  “So, Lieutenant,” Leek said. “What kind of medical problems do you usually encounter on a trip to Earth?”

  “Boredom, mostly,” Lt. Lakee replied before Lt. Lei could answer.

  Leek smiled and looked at Lt. Lakee. “Well then, you’ll be happy to learn that I intend to propose a rigorous training regimen for everyone on the ship. I promise you won’t be bored.”

  “Really,” Lt. Lei said. “What sort of training regimen?”

  “Well, since this is a desperate mission at best, we must be sure we are ready when we get to Earth. There will be no second chance at stopping the Fleet.”

  “Right,” Lt. Lei agreed.

  “So, first there will have to be physical training, of course, so we are all in top physical condition when we get to Earth. Secondly, we’ll need extensive training with our equipment and weaponry, including our new fighters. Thirdly, we’ll need to do a considerable amount of strategic analysis to determine how best to confront the enemy and assist the governments of Earth in meeting this threat.”

  As they were talking, Lt. Lakee received a communication from the bridge.

  “Excuse me,” he said. “The Captain is ready to come down for dinner. I’ll see all of you in a few tiks.”

  Lt. Lakee left, and a couple of loons later Captain Shilling arrived and was escorted to her place at the head of the table. The room quieted, everyone else found their assigned seats, and the dining staff began serving drinks and appetizers. Commander General Lanzia was seated between Captain Shilling and Lt. Lei.

  “Well, Captain. Any word on the Fleet?” Leek asked.

  “Nothing new,” Captain Shilling said. “It’s still on Clarion, fortunately. Our saboteurs apparently did a good job.”

  “Any casualties?” Leek asked.

  “Only one fighter didn’t make it back.”

  “It wasn’t Red, was it?” Leek asked, holding his breath.

  “No.”

  Leek breathed a sigh of relief, although he didn’t say anything, out of respect for the pilot who’d been lost. “It’s quite remarkable that they were able to catch the Fleet by surprise.”

  “Yes,” Captain Shilling agreed. “They came in low, under the base radar.”

  “It’s too bad we can’t find a way to do that in deep space.”

  Captain Shilling nodded. “Yes, but then, of course, we’d be vulnerable as well.”

  As they were talking, Commander General Lanzia’s communicator beeped. He frowned and clicked it on. “Yes.”

  “This is the bridge, Commander. The Chancellor is calling you. She’d like you to come up here at once.”

  “Yes, of course,” Leek said and gave the Captain an apologetic look.

  “Would you excuse me, Captain? The Chancellor needs to talk to me.”

  The Captain rose. “Yes, of course. I’ll have them put your food in the warmer while you’re gone. Don’t keep her waiting.”

  Lorin’s image was on the big screen when Leek walked in. He smiled up at her.

  “How did your address go, Madam Chancellor?”

  “Very well. It couldn’t have gone better. Your remarks were perfect. By the time my address was over we’d knocked the wind out of them and they were helpless.”

  “Fantastic. I knew you’d come out on top.”

  “Well, thanks to you. I don’t know what I’m going to do without you these next few years.”

  Leek blushed a little and replied, “I know. I wish there was a way we could talk like the old days. Our nightly chats got me through a lot of long nights.”

  “You know. I’ve been thinking about that. And it reminded me of something else. We used to be able to communicate directly with Earth during the Tarizon Repopulation Project. I asked our scientists how it was done and they said that because we had so many shuttles going back and forth, a communications link could be kept open, which allowed rapid communication.”

  “Really? Too bad we don’t have more ships.”

  “Oh, we have more ships,” Lorin replied. “Dozens of them. The problem is most of them were in dry storage during the war and only three could be readied in time for this mission.”

  “So, what’s the possibility of setting up a communications link?”

  “It would take about ten days for another shuttle to take off. If we launch twenty-one shuttles and each places ten beacons in space, all equidistant from each other between here and Earth, we’d be able to maintain a communications link across the entire distance.”

  “Wow! That would be very useful. Any chance you can make that happen?”

  “Ordinarily I’d say no, but in this instance we won’t be carrying passengers or freight, so all we have to do is load enough provisions for the crew for a cycle or so. It might just be doable. It’s one of the things I’m going to throw at the General Assembly tomorrow. I’m going to warn them that if the Fleet is successful in conquering Earth, they’ll eventually be coming back to Tarizon, for revenge if nothing else. Evohn Cystrom and Rupra Bruda have said as much. So, having a communications link to Earth would give us an entire cycle’s warning of any impending attack on Tarizon.”

  “Right. Makes perfect sense. Nobody would dare oppose you if you put it to them like that.”

  “Well, if they know you’re still behind me, that will help.”

  “Okay. I’ll go make the tape; and good luck tomorrow.”

  “Thanks, Commander,” Lorin said, and the screen went blank.

  Leek looked at Lt. Lakee and said, “I’ll be back soon. Keep the link open.”

  “Yes, sir,” Lt. Lakee said.

  Leek went to his office and quickly wrote out a message to the General Assembly. He felt guilty about leaving Lorin in such a difficult situation. It hadn’t occurred to him that his leaving would cause such a ruckus. He thought about the communications link and prayed Lorin would make it happen. It would be nice to be able to confer with her, and Threebeard, too, particularly when they got to Earth and had to confront the Fleet. When he was finished he rushed back to the bridge and sent his message.

  When Leek got back to the dining hall, almost everyone had gone, and the staff was clearing the plates away. Lt. Lei was just leaving, but she got another cup of sankee and sat down to keep him company.

  “So, what was that about?” she asked.

  “Politics,” he said and stuffed a bite into his mouth.

  “Hmm. I stay clear of that.”

  “You know. You’d think after winning the war, ridding the planet of Videl Lai, and reestablishing the Supreme Mandate that Chancellor Boskie would be immune from political attack, at least for a few cycles.”

  “Who’s after her?”

  “The old Mammett faction. They ought to be glad I’m not on Tarizon. I’d like to kick a little Mammett-friendly
ass.”

  Lt. Lei laughed. “You and the Chancellor are close,” she said.

  Leek stopped chewing and looked at Lt. Lei thoughtfully. “You could say that, Doc. We’ve been through a lot together.”

  “She’s a remarkable woman. Many thought you two would mate.”

  Leek nearly choked on his food. “What!”

  “Well, at least until it turned out Lucinda was alive.”

  “Lorin and I? No. We’re just friends,” Leek said and returned to his food.

  “So,” Lt. Lei continued, “the Captain said there’s an officers’ briefing in the morning.”

  “Yes, we’ve got a lot of work to do before we go to Earth.”

  “Are you going to need my assistance in your training?”

  “Yes. Absolutely. We’ll need you to devise a physical training regimen for everyone. It would be really easy to grow fat and weak on a ship like this.”

  “Yes, that is a problem with space travel. I’ve got a program I’ve used in the past, but I’ll have to ramp it up a notch for this mission.”

  “Yes. Will there be a problem with the gravitational differences between Tarizon and Earth?”

  “No. Tarizon is bigger than Earth and has a stronger gravitational pull, so walking on Earth will actually be easier.”

  “Good.” Leek shared another cup of sankee with Lt. Lei and then went back to his quarters. It was dark inside except for a flickering candle. Leek assumed Lucinda had gone to bed, so he walked in quietly and began taking off his uniform. Suddenly Lucinda stepped out of the darkness wearing nothing but a seductive smile.

  “Well, it’s about time you came home, Commander. I’ve got plans for you.”

  Leek smiled. “Oh, really? What kind of plans?”

  Chapter 11

  Operation Conquest Earth

  Evohn Cystrom rushed from the Admiral’s quarters, furious that Lorin Boskie had outmaneuvered them again, and angry at his crew for allowing the Fleet to be attacked with impunity.

  He’d cherished the look on the Chancellor’s face when she was told the Fleet wouldn’t surrender and would be leaving Clarion. He never dreamed she’d be so bold as to attempt a suicide attack on the Fleet. The fact that the attack had been so successful was humiliating.

  His first stop was the bridge, to find out the extent of the damage done to the Fleet. When he arrived, Lt. Lethrow was there talking to the intelligence officer.

  “I need a damage report,” Captain Cystrom barked.

  Lt. Lethrow grimaced. “Forty-four dead, eighty-one injured, two hangars destroyed, three fuel storage tanks ruptured, eleven fighters destroyed, twenty-one fighters with minor damage, and one attack cruiser with moderate hull damage.”

  “I don’t care about the base. We’re going to blow it up when we leave anyway. The casualties are unfortunate, and we can live with a few less fighters, but what about the attack cruiser? We can’t do without it. Is it flight worthy?”

  “No, sir. There has been substantial hull damage. It would take seven or eight days to fix it.”

  “Seven or eight days,” Evohn Cystrom said thoughtfully. “Not a long time . . . I suppose we’ll have to delay our departure.”

  “What if they attack us again?” Lt. Lethrow asked.

  “They won’t. From now on, I want around-the-clock patrols, so we’ll have plenty of warning if they try this again. We were overconfident and underestimated our enemy. We can’t ever allow that to happen again.”

  “No, sir.” Lt. Lethrow agreed.

  “What about our civilian technicians? Have they been found?”

  “No, sir. The underground tunnel system has collapsed, and the hangar they were working in took a direct hit from a string of cluster bombs. They’re probably all dead.”

  “All right. Forget about them, then. We’ll hit what’s left of the hangar hard when we leave, just in case any of them survived. In the meantime we need to get started on the repairs to the battle cruiser. Which one is it?”

  “Earth’s Destiny.”

  “Okay, I want crews working on Earth’s Destiny nonstop until the repairs are finished. We’ve got to get off this rock. I won’t sleep until we are out of range of the Loyalist fighters.”

  “Yes, sir,” Lt. Lethrow said. “I’ll get right on it.”

  The next morning the briefing with Rupra Bruda went on as scheduled in the ship’s main briefing room. Admiral Vin Lugart began the briefing by stating his belief that the Loyalist raid had been an act of desperation and nothing more. In fact, he told everyone, he was glad it had happened, because it revealed a major flaw in the Intergalactic Fleet’s defenses that needed to be addressed. Then he turned the briefing over to Vice Admiral Brunns.

  “As you know, I ran the Tarizon Repopulation Project for many cycles,” Brunns began. “Let me refresh your memory as to the project’s purpose. Many cycles ago a debate took place within the General Assembly as to what could be done to stabilize Tarizon’s dwindling human population. Cycles of worldwide war, and then the super-volcanic eruptions, killed billions. Those who were left barely survived in the planet’s contaminated atmosphere. Inevitably many of those who were born during those times were mutants, some barely resembling human beings as we knew them. Eventually, the mutant population grew, and we normal humans became fewer and fewer.

  “A debate arose over whether to abandon Tarizon, conquer Earth, and take our pure human population there to live, or to seek permission from one or more of Earth’s governments to breed new, healthy human children for eventual transport back to Tarizon.

  “Well, you know what happened. Those of us who favored conquest lost the debate in the General Assembly, and the Tarizon Repopulation Project was born. But what you may not know is that many of us believed we needed a contingency plan. Videl Lai was one of them. After I was appointed to run the project, Videl, myself and others got together and developed such a plan.

  “Essentially, that plan was to seize control of the United States government and its military so that we could rule Earth and bring our people there to live in an uncontaminated environment. Obviously such a bold initiative would take careful planning, organization, and military strength to be successful. So, for the ten cycles that I ran the Repopulation Project, many citizens of Tarizon were recruited into a secondary operation, Operation Conquest Earth, or OCE as we called it.

  The plan was to infiltrate our operatives into the U.S. government, the military, and the major corporations, and maneuver them into positions of leadership. They would then be in a position to facilitate the transition to Purist rule, once our own government finally realized that the evacuation of Tarizon was our only viable option.

  “So, when we are finally able to leave Clarion, we will be embarking on OCE. The day has come for us to make a permanent home for our people.”

  Rupra Bruda nodded. “Yes, I was aware of OCE. Videl talked of it often. What I don’t know is how strong our current presence on Earth is, or how OCE is to work now that it is actually underway.”

  “Yes,” Brunns said. “Well, I’m happy to say a month ago a shuttle returned from Earth and they report that we have over 40,000 citizens of Tarizon on Earth ready to help implement OCE. These include members of the United States Congress, state governors, law enforcement officials, including those in the FBI, Secret Service, and CIA, as well as numerous business and religious leaders.

  “As to our specific plan, once we have reached Earth, we will eliminate the American president and two of his would-be successors. This will pave the way for one of our people to become president. When he is sworn in he will appoint other Purists to key positions in the government and the military. It will not be long before we have complete control over the greatest nation on Earth.”

  “Brilliant, Vice Admiral,” Rupra Bruda acknowledged. “I was wondering how you were going to conquer Earth without destroying it in the process.”

  “Yes, it is a brilliant plan and we’ve sent the shuttle back to Earth to let ou
r commanders there know that the Fleet is on its way. By the time we get there they should be ready to commence OCE.”

  “What if the people resist?” Lt. Muri asked. “The Americans have fought many wars to win their freedom. Do you think they will sit idly by while we take over their government?”

  “No,” the Vice Admiral replied. “There will be resistance, but we will control their military so it should easily be quelled. But, even if the military can’t handle the opposition, or turns against us, we’ll have the Fleet to crush all of them.”

  “What about the other nations of the world? How will you deal with them?” Rupra Bruda asked.

  “After the United States falls, they will not dare challenge us. Once we have solidified our position, we’ll take over the United Nations and begin to organize a world government.”

  “Of course,” Admiral Vin Lugart acknowledged, “keep in mind that all of this is still in the planning stages. We’ll have nearly a cycle to study and refine it while we travel to Earth.”

  “Yes, of course,” Bruda said. “Excellent, Admiral. Thank you for a most interesting briefing.”

  The session continued until everyone’s questions had been answered. Most were pleasantly surprised at what they’d learned. Videl Lai had kept OCE a secret because he couldn’t afford for the Loyalists to learn of it before he became chancellor.

  Evohn Cystrom spent the next day watching the work being done on Earth’s Destiny and studying reports from the fighters patrolling the skies over Clarion. All attack cruisers were on high alert, so the moment an enemy fighter was discovered it could be almost immediately neutralized. He also ordered a satellite placed in orbit to monitor any traffic leaving Tarizon. He wanted as much notice of an attack as possible. Late in the day, he got a report from a crewman that a ship had left Tarizon’s atmosphere.

  “What’s its ETA?” he asked.

  “Ah. It’s not heading for Clarion, sir. It’s going into deep space.”

  Captain Cystrom grimaced. “What? Are you sure?”

  “Yes, sir. It emerged from the atmosphere and immediately went FTL.”

  “Where was it headed? Can you tell?”

  “No, sir. It could have been going anywhere.”

  “Was it going in the direction of Earth?”

  “Ah . . . Yes, sir. That could be its destination.”

  Captain Cystrom thought a moment and then went to the Admiral’s quarters. The door scanner did its routine and then announced his presence to the Admiral.

  “Come in,” the Admiral said and the door unlatched.

  Captain Cystrom pushed the door open and walked inside. The Admiral looked up expectantly.

  “Sir, I’ve just been told a ship has left Tarizon and is headed into deep space.”

  “What?” the Admiral said in surprise. “Where would it be going?”

  “I suspect it’s a shuttle headed to Earth.”

  “But what would they expect to accomplish by sending a shuttle to Earth?”

  “I suspect it’s Commander Lanzia going to Earth to warn the Americans of our attack.”

  The Admiral slammed his fist on his desk. “We can’t let that happen! We need to catch them by surprise. If they know of the attack they’ll go on high alert and make implementation of OCE much more difficult. We’ll have to completely revamp our plans. We must stop that shuttle. How long until Earth’s Destiny is repaired?”

  “Five more days, sir.”

  “Can we send one of our attack cruisers ahead to intercept the shuttle?”

  “I’ll look into it, but I doubt that we could catch them.”

  The Admiral thought a moment and then said, “Get the Vice Admiral and Lt. Muri up here. We may need to scuttle Earth’s Destiny and leave immediately.”

  “What about Rupra Bruda and Lt. Lethrow, sir?”

  The Admiral shrugged. “Yes. Find them as well. This is an important decision; we’ll need to look at this from all angles.”

  “Yes, sir. Right away.”

  Captain Cystrom left immediately to find Rupra Bruda and Lt. Lethrow, to bring them up to speed on the new development. After a brief discussion they agreed on what their joint recommendation should be. When they reached the main briefing room, Lt. Muri was just arriving.

  “It seems we’ve underestimated Commander General Lanzia once again,” she said, seemingly amused.

  Rupra Bruda’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, we often forget a fundamental scientific principle: With every action there is an inevitable reaction. We must consider this carefully in all our planning for the future.”

  “I really didn’t think there was any way the Liberator could interfere with our mission,” Lt. Muri admitted. “I’m sure Videl would have anticipated this.”

  “Yes, he would have,” Captain Cystrom agreed icily. “We’ve got to think through our moves more carefully from now on. But it’s not the Liberator we have to worry about. He’s just a stooge for Threebeard. He’s our real rival.”

  “Threebeard? But he’s just a three-headed mutant.”

  “Yes. He’s a freak, but he’s also incredibly intelligent and cunning. He thinks of himself as a god and acts accordingly. He’s been pulling Leek Lanzia’s strings ever since the boy arrived on Tarizon.”

  “What? Do you have proof of that?” Lt. Muri asked.

  “Proof? My father is dead and we are fleeing to Earth. Isn’t that proof enough?”

  “Perhaps you’re right,” she admitted.

  “I must be right because my father was doing God’s work. That perverted mutant Threebeard is our most powerful enemy, and the true one we should fear.”

  Lt. Muri shrugged and stepped inside the briefing room. As soon as everyone was seated, the Admiral began by reiterating the current situation. “So, we must decide if our plans should change on account of this shuttle being sent to Earth.”

  “I don’t think we have any choice,” Vice Admiral Brunns replied. “We must leave immediately. If we can limit them to one or two days’ head start, I doubt they will have time to alert the American authorities. I’m very familiar with the United States bureaucracy. Peter Turner will have to find his father. His father will then have to contact the CIA. The CIA will have to evaluate whether the threat is real and serious enough to take to the President.”

  “Yes,” Lt. Muri interjected, “and even if Peter Turner warns the President, he knows nothing of our specific plans, nor does he know we’ve infiltrated his government and military. Worst case, he’ll put the military on high alert.”

  “I disagree,” Captain Cystrom said. “We cannot assume that Peter Turner doesn’t know of our infiltration into the American government, military, and private business corporations. Certainly, his father and the CIA could have discovered it themselves. We’ve got to be prepared to alter our plans, if necessary. We may need to take Earth by force, and, if that is the case, we’ll need Earth’s Destiny. I doubt waiting five days will have any negative impact on our ultimate objective, but having one less attack cruiser certainly could.”

  “I agree with Captain Cystrom,” Rupra Bruda said. “If the Vice Admiral is correct in his assessment of the American bureaucracy, then five days won’t matter. We’ll still catch them by surprise and it will be too late for them to take any action to thwart our mission.”

  “You may be right,” the Vice Admiral said. “Five days might not make a difference, but you can’t guarantee that. I, on the other hand, can assure you that our present plan to conquer Earth will work just as well with five attack cruisers as it would with six. So why take a chance on having all our plans disrupted? I say we scuttle Earth’s Destiny and take off immediately.”

  The Admiral nodded. “I thank all of you for your thoughts on this. There is merit to both sides, but my gut feeling is to leave immediately as the Vice Admiral recommends.”

  “Thank you, Admiral,” Vice Admiral Brunns said. “I’ll see to the scuttling of Earth’s Destiny.”

  “Very good, then. Dismissed!”
r />   The briefing broke up and Vice Admiral Brunns and Lt. Muri left. Evohn Cystrom stood up slowly and started to leave. Then he turned and said, “Admiral, may I speak frankly?”

  The Admiral’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, if you must.”

  “Sir, I think leaving Earth’s Destiny is a great mistake and may jeopardize the mission. My father always insisted that six attack cruisers were the absolute minimum needed for OCE to be successful. Two for North America, one for Europe, one for Asia, one for South America, and one for Africa and the Middle East. Earth is a big planet with many formidable armies. If our American coup fails, we will need Earth’s Destiny, and even then there is no guarantee we will prevail.”

  “Yes, yes, I agree with much of what you say, Captain,” the admiral replied irritably, “but I’m confident our plan will work as long as the element of surprise is preserved. So, let’s get off Clarion and on our way to Earth just as quickly as we can, okay?”

  “Yes, sir,” Captain Cystrom said and saluted.

  Lt. Lethrow followed the Captain out and asked, “Should I go assist with the scuttle of Earth’s Destiny?”

  Captain Cystrom shook his head. “No, the Vice Admiral volunteered to do it, so let him do it alone. I don’t want any part of this madness.”

  “Yes, sir. Then I’ll report to the bridge to help ready the ship for takeoff.”

  “Very good, Lieutenant. I’ll be in Rupra Bruda’s quarters if you need me.”

  Rep, Rossi, and Paalo took turns keeping watch the first night after the Loyalist attack on Clarion. They knew the Purist soldiers would be looking for them. If they didn’t suspect the workers of having sabotaged their ships, they’d want their expertise in repairing the damage to the sensors and routing out the chaos virus. And if they did suspect them, they’d want to find the workers so they could kill them. Their only hope was that in the Fleet’s haste to leave Clarion, they wouldn’t have the time or the manpower to find and deal with the saboteurs.

  At first light the next morning, Rossi and Paalo decided to climb up to the roof of the hangar so they could get a look at the entire base and see what was going on. It was a difficult climb in their spacesuits, and they had to be careful not to be seen. They took the risk, though, because from that vantage point they’d be able to see much earlier if any soldiers were coming to kill them. Also, they would know immediately when the Fleet left. The first thing they noticed when they reached the top of the hangar was the extent of the damage to Earth’s Destiny. One of the loading bay doors had been ripped from the hull, leaving a gaping hole.

  “They’ll never be able to take off with a hull breach of that magnitude,” Rossi observed.

  “How long will it take to fix it?” Paalo asked.

  “Several days at least, maybe longer to repair it properly.”

  “Do you think they’ll hang around here that long?”

  “I don’t know. The Loyalists may come back and attack them again at any time. It would be risky to stay.”

  They watched Earth’s Destiny for a while, mesmerized by the hubbub of the activity around the cargo hold. There were officers coming and going, conversations among crew members, but very little actual work being done. No one person seemed to be in charge. Then a soldier rushed up to the group of officers watching the work. One of the officers began to give out orders and the repair work came to a halt. The scene became increasingly chaotic as officers and soldiers scurried around with a great sense of urgency.

  “Oh, my God!” Rossi said though his suit com. “I think they’re going to abandon Earth’s Destiny.”

  “What? Are you serious?” Paalo asked.

  “Yes, they’ve realized the repairs are going to take a long time to fix. If they had our help they could probably get it done a lot faster, but now we’re out of the equation.”

  “What should we do?”

  Rossi thought for a moment. “You know, I’ll bet Captain Shilling could really use an attack cruiser at her side when she gets to Earth.”

  “Yeah, but—”

  “In fact, I’ll bet that with a little luck we could deliver Earth’s Destiny to her. Wouldn’t she be surprised?”

  “I guess so,” Paalo agreed. “But—”

  “Come on. We’ll need everybody if we’re going to pull this off.”

  If Paalo hadn’t had his spacesuit on Rossi would have seen his mouth hanging open in astonishment. He couldn’t for the life of him figure out how they could possibly commandeer Earth’s Destiny and fly her to Earth, particularly since she was about to be scuttled by the Purists. But the idea of it fascinated him.

  He struggled to keep up with Rossi as they climbed down the ladder to the ground, rushed to the elevator shaft, and slid down to their basement hideout. When they tapped on the window of the big metallic door, it opened a crack and they slipped inside, trying not to let out too much oxygen in the process.

  “So, what’s going on up there?” Rep asked.

  “All right, everyone,” Rossi said, projecting his voice so all could hear. “Here’s the deal. We have a unique opportunity to do something quite extraordinary and also of immense importance to the struggle against the Purists and the future of Earth. One of the attack cruisers, Earth’s Destiny, was severely damaged in yesterday’s attack. Apparently, Intergalactic Command has determined that it cannot be repaired quickly enough, so they are preparing to scuttle it.

  “What this means is that in about thirty or forty loons Earth’s Destiny will have been evacuated and rendered vulnerable to attack. As the other ships leave, they will fire on it with their laser cannons until it has been destroyed. So, we have about fifteen or twenty loons to get topside and enter that ship, take over control, and man enough gun turrets to mount a counterattack against the other attack cruisers. During that time, we will have to restore all onboard defensive systems, because we’ll need them to survive the missile strike that will inevitably follow.”

  “Can the attack cruiser withstand a missile attack?” Rep asked.

  “Yes, attack cruisers have an ion-based missile defense shield. When approaching missiles are detected, an ionic shield is projected between the ship and the incoming missile. The ions disable the missile’s guidance system and also cause it to prematurely explode,” Rossi explained.

  “Let’s do it,” Rep said.

  “I agree!” Paalo shouted.

  “All right,” Rossi said, “anyone who wants to help is welcome to, but understand that any number of things could go wrong, and we could easily end up dead. So, if you want to stay here and wait for a rescue party, nobody will hold it against you.”

  Nobody said a word.

  “Okay, let’s break up into three groups based on experience and knowledge. Those with knowledge or skills relating to the ship’s defense system stand to my left. Those who know how to fire the ship’s laser cannons stand to my right. The rest of you stick with me.

  “Rep, since you know something about armaments, you’re in charge of getting as many gun turrets up and running as you can. Paalo, you’ll coordinate the work on the ship’s defenses. I’ll go to the bridge and try to cut off communications with the Fleet so they can’t remotely control Earth’s Destiny in any way. Everybody set their com links to T-34 so we can stay in touch.

  “Also, portions of the tunnels leading to the ship have collapsed, so you’ll have to suit up until we get inside and get the artificial atmosphere up and running. The tunnels may be difficult to traverse in the areas where they’ve caved in, so be careful going through the rubble. If you tear your suit you’ll lose oxygen, and nobody’s going to have time to try to save you.

  “If you have any questions I’ll answer them as we go, but we must leave now. Everybody suit up and go with your group. Everyone following me, I’ll be waiting at the top of the elevator shaft, but I can’t wait long, so hurry.”

  Rossi put his helmet back on, stepped outside, and closed the door. Rep went into the storage room and started handing out spacesuits. Paalo walk
ed around helping people suit up and then urged them topside.

  Thirteen loons later the group was gathered at the tunnel’s entrance. Rossi nodded and then started toward Earth’s Destiny. The floor of the tunnel was littered with debris and large chunks of concrete. At one point the way was almost entirely blocked, and it took them several loons to clear a path through. When they finally reached Earth’s Destiny, they saw guards stationed at the main entry hatch inside a temporarily oxygenated gangway tube.

  “Okay, they haven’t completed the evacuation yet,” Rossi said. “Everybody sit tight. Be perfectly still and no talking. They’ll be leaving soon.”

  Several loons later an officer stepped out of the ship and dismissed the guards. He lingered, taking a long hard look at the big battle cruiser. Finally he turned and walked down the tube to a transport vehicle and got in. They watched the vehicle drive away, and when it was out of view they rushed inside the gangway tube, removed their suits, and began boarding the ship.

  They’d all worked on the ship for over a cycle, so they knew their way around. Rossi went straight to the bridge and sat in the Captain’s chair. He studied the complicated array of instruments and controls for a moment, and then began turning switches and punching in commands to the ship’s computer. He discovered, much to his surprise, that the captain hadn’t shut down the computer, nor had he bothered to change any of the passwords or security protocols. Rossi had thought getting control of the ship would be much harder.

  Once in control of the ship’s systems, the first thing he did was activate the main power generator, because the vessel’s defense systems took a lot of energy to function effectively.

  “Rep. The power’s up,” Rossi advised. “How many gun turrets will you be able to man?”

  “We’ve got four in the process of activation. Give me a few loons and I should have them up and ready for action.”

  “Good,” Rossi replied. “Paalo. How are the ship’s defenses coming?”

  “All systems are initializing,” Paalo reported. “I’ve got half a dozen engineers monitoring them. They just take time to come on line.”

  “Good. Let me check the Fleet.”

  Rossi found the main display button and pushed it. The sky above appeared on the big monitor in front of him. The five other attack cruisers were just lifting off. “Okay, the Fleet’s off the ground. Rep. You got those laser cannons ready?”

  “Yes, sir. Standing by.”

  “No time like the present, then. Let’s catch them by surprise and drive them away. Fire at will!”