Tarizon, Conquest Earth, Tarizon Trilogy Vol 3

by William Manchee

  Chapter 16

  Earth’s Destiny

  Red declined the offer of a tour of Earth’s Destiny because he had a shuttle to catch. Next stop: planet Earth.

  He said his goodbyes and returned to base to prepare for the upcoming launch. Meanwhile Rossi, Rep, and Paalo escorted Tam and Colonel Belmoht onto the attack cruiser and showed them around. They were overwhelmed by the ship’s size and complexity.

  “You think we can handle this thing?” Tam asked.

  “Yes, for now, but we’ll need more crew members eventually,” Rossi replied.

  Tam thought a moment. “I’ll call Lorin and see what she can do. We’ll need as many fighters as we can find, too. There’s no reason to take an empty ship to Earth.”

  “That makes sense,” Rossi said. “I’ll start work on sealing off the cargo hold. It shouldn’t take but a kyloon or two. Rep, you and Paalo go see how many of the workers want to go with us to Earth. Get us as many volunteers as you can. Don’t worry about their qualifications. We’ll provide on-the-job training.”

  “Right,” Rep said. Paalo nodded and they both left.

  “I’ll do the same with our own crew,” Col. Belmoht said. “They’ll all probably want to go, but I should give them an out since a trip to Earth wasn’t ever mentioned to them.”

  “Yes, this is a risky mission,” Tam agreed. “They should understand they may not see Tarizon again.”

  Colonel Belmoht and Rossi left, and Tam began fiddling with the ship’s com system, trying to figure out how it worked. He eventually succeeded and punched the Chancellor’s number into the system’s dialer. He got through immediately but was advised that Lorin was in bed. Tam apologized for calling after hours, but assured Lorin’s security officer the matter was urgent and she should be awakened.

  Lorin was a little out of sorts when she first came on but woke up quickly when she heard the news about the attack cruiser’s capture, and Rossi Sincini’s belief that it could be flown to Earth.

  “But the storage holds are empty,” Tam reported. “Apparently all the fighters were transferred to other ships, so we’ll need you to send as many fighters as possible up here immediately.”

  “I’ll see what I can do. How many will it hold?”

  “Three hundred and one is its maximum capacity. We’ll need a couple of transport ships as well in case we have to transfer soldiers to the surface, so about 299 fighters plus a pair of transport ships should do it.”

  “All right,” Lorin said. “I’ll work on that, but I can’t give you the go-ahead immediately. I need to confer with the General Assembly. Still, proceed as if you already have my consent, Tam. I can always call you back if I have to.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  After closing the connection, Tam walked around Earth’s Destiny’s bridge, familiarizing himself with as many of its features as he could. The ship’s instrumentation dazzled him; he couldn’t wait to find out how everything worked. He flipped on the big monitor and saw Tarizon in the distance. The image took his breath away. Tam had never traveled into deep space and he couldn’t believe he’d actually be commanding such an amazing craft as it traveled through space to its final destination, Earth.

  There was a commotion behind him. He turned around and saw Rep and Paalo leading in a half dozen men.

  “Commander General,” Paalo said. “I’ve found thirteen volunteers.”

  Tam smiled, and Paalo introduced the group of volunteers to him. Tam wondered if this ragtag, impromptu crew would be capable of running the ship. Paalo seemed to anticipate his concern.

  “These guys are the ones responsible for hijacking Earth’s Destiny,” Paalo explained. “In less than ten loons they took over control of the ship, severed all communications with the Fleet, fired up the defense systems, and manned four laser turrets. Before the Fleet knew what was happening they’d launched an all-out attack on the other five attack cruisers, driving them all off Clarion.”

  Tam laughed. “Quite an extraordinary accomplishment, no doubt about that. Congratulations to you all! And welcome aboard. It will be my pleasure to serve as your commanding officer.”

  They all made an attempt at a salute.

  Tam laughed again. “Very good. I’ll tell you what: You can teach me how to fly this bird and I’ll teach you how to properly salute an officer. How about that?”

  They were grinning as Paalo led them off to start readying the ship for takeoff. A few tiks later Colonel Belmoht returned with eleven of his crewmen. “Everyone we brought with us wants to serve on Earth’s Destiny, sir,” he said.

  “Good. Then we can stow our ship on board in case we need passenger transport on Earth.”

  “Very good, sir,” Col. Belmoht said. “I’ll have it loaded on board immediately. Any word on our fighters?”

  “Yes. The Chancellor is working on that as we speak. Hopefully they’ll be delivered and loaded before we are ready for takeoff.”

  “Good, sir. Where do you want these men assigned?”

  Tam gave them all a quick glance. “We need a communications specialist. Can any of you handle that job?”

  One of them raised his hand. “Yes, sir. That was my position on Earth Shuttle 13,” he said.

  “Good. What’s your name?”

  “Flight Specialist 1st Class, Grugger, sir.”

  “Specialist Grugger. You’ll stay here on the bridge. Go find your station and familiarize yourself with it.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Any navigators among you?”

  Another one raised his hand. “I was second in my class in navigation at Pogo Flight School,” said another of the volunteers.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Second Lieutenant Alvin Jones, sir.”

  “An Earthchild?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Are you anxious to see Earth again?”

  “Yes, sir. I was seven years old when I left. I remember it well.”

  “Good. Did they teach you anything about space navigation?”

  “Ah. Not really, sir.”

  Tam sighed. “Well, fortunately the ship’s computer is already programmed for the flight to Earth, so that will give you time to study. I think Mr. Sincini can probably teach you what you need to know since he’s been to Earth a few times.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Tam pointed to a seat in front of him. “If I’m not mistaken, that is the navigator’s station. Go ahead and man it, but for now don’t touch anything.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “The rest of you go find engineer Paalo and have him give you a briefing on the weapons and ship’s defense systems. We’ll need a lot of manpower in those positions.”

  They all saluted, turned, and left the bridge. Colonel Belmoht started to follow them, but Tam stopped him.

  “Not so fast, Colonel. We still need a first officer, and that, I think, should be you. For your first duty as XO, go see how Mr. Sincini is doing. I’m going to stay here on the bridge. I’m expecting a call from the Chancellor.”

  “Yes, sir,” Colonel Belmoht said and then left.

  Specialist Grugger looked over at Tam and said, “Sir, a message is coming in from Shini. It’s the Chancellor.”

  “Put her on screen.”

  Lorin’s image appeared on the large screen at the front of the bridge. “Commander, are you there?”

  “Yes, Madam Chancellor. I’m on the bridge of Earth’s Destiny, preparing for our voyage to Earth.”

  “Good. I’ve conferred with the presiding member of the Executive Committee and he voiced no objections to your flight, so I’m authorizing your mission as a matter of world security.”

  “Thank you, Madam Chancellor.”

  “Two hundred and eighty T-59 fighters have been requisitioned for your voyage, and they are en route to you as we speak.”

  “Excellent. Our crew is shaping up pretty well here. If you could send us a medical officer and staff, a cooking staff, a few clerks, and some soldiers fo
r security, that should do.”

  “Yes, I anticipated as much. They’ll be on the transport ships.”

  “Good. Then as soon as they arrive and the loading dock is secured, we’ll be on our way.”

  “One more thing, Commander,” Lorin said. “We’re trying to set up a communications link between Tarizon and Earth, so we’ll be able to maintain communications with you, and with the other ships. In one of the transports I’m sending you there are a total of 121 beacons with instructions on how to deploy them along the way. Be sure and take care of that. We must keep a channel of communications open. If the mission is not successful, I need to know about it.”

  “Yes, Madam Chancellor. We’ll do our part.”

  “Very well, then. I’ll keep in touch.”

  Tam saluted and the screen went blank. As Tam was contemplating his conversation, Colonel Belmoht returned.

  “The repairs are coming along well, sir. Mr. Sincini estimates we’ll be ready to lift off in about two kyloons.”

  “Good. The fighters and transports should be here by then, so we won’t lose any time.”

  Tam sighed. “I’m famished. I think I’ll go check out the galley and see what there is to eat. Jones, come eat with me. Colonel Belmoht, you have the bridge.”

  Colonel Belmoht saluted. “Yes, sir.”

  To help them find the ship’s galley, Tam and Lt. Jones peered down at a floor plan of the deck. After several missed turns they finally located the kitchen and stepped inside. It was a huge room full of ovens, grills, tables, racks of utensils, and a walk-in refrigerator.

  “Here we go. Let’s look in here,” Tam said.

  They came out a few minutes later laden with a variety of meats and cheeses and two bottles of Tekari. Tam found a knife and cut off a few slices of meat and cheese for them. They began to eat.

  “It looks like we’ll have plenty of food,” Tam observed.

  “I hope so,” Jones said. “I’d hate to get halfway to Earth and run out.”

  “That would be bad. We’ll have to ask Rossi about that. There must be some more food stored somewhere.”

  After they’d finished eating they went back to the bridge. Rossi Sincini was there giving instructions to Grugger and Colonel Belmoht.

  “So, how are the repairs coming?” Tam asked.

  “The damaged area is sealed off,” Rossi said. “We just have to pressure test the seals, and if they hold we’ll be ready to go.”

  “Excellent.”

  Grugger turned to Tam. “Sir, our fighters are here. They’re requesting landing instructions.

  Tam looked at Rossi Sincini. Rossi stopped what he was doing and went to the control console. “Tell them to land on the port side landing bay,” he instructed. “I’ll open it for them now. . . . Colonel Belmoht, why don’t you come with me and I’ll show you how to secure and store the fighters.”

  “Let’s go,” Colonel Belmoht replied.

  The two men left and Tam and his new bridge crew watched the long line of fighters approaching one by one and hovering near the ship. After a couple of loons they started disappearing into the cargo hold. Tam was mesmerized by the operation because the fighters acted so differently in the absence of an atmosphere and in very low gravity. He wondered if he’d have difficulty learning to fly in space.

  Ten loons after the fighters had been loaded and secured the two transport ships arrived. They were loaded and anchored, and the port side landing bay was secured.

  The last transport had 101 security personnel aboard. Colonel Belmoht went over as they deplaned. Much to his surprise he realized all of the soldiers were seafolken. He looked around for the officer in charge and was shocked to see a familiar face.

  “Well, well, Captain Grenz Lozich,” Colonel Belmoht said, smiling. “What a surprise.”

  “Colonel Belmoht. I heard you were first officer. It’s great to see you again.”

  “Likewise. I’m delighted to have seafolken aboard, but I’m surprised you’d volunteer for a mission like this. Don’t you like to stay close to the sea?”

  “Actually, most of men have been to Earth as slaves aboard one Earth shuttle or another. They like Earth. The seas and lakes are a very rich source of food.”

  “Well, when you get your men secured come up to the bridge. I’m sure Tam will be glad to see you.”

  “I’ll do that. See you soon.”

  Colonel Belmoht found Rossi Sincini, who was making sure the ship was airtight. When he was done the two of them went back to the bridge to prepare for takeoff. Sincini typed departure instructions into the navigational computer and then nodded to Colonel Belmoht.

  “The ship is secure and ready for takeoff, Commander,” Colonel Belmoht advised.

  Tam looked at Rossi Sincini and raised his eyebrows. Rossi pointed to a button on the main control console and Tam pushed it. The cruiser immediately began to vibrate and then lifted off from Clarion. It began to pick up speed. At first it appeared to be heading straight for Tarizon, then it suddenly changed course and headed out into the darkness of space. Tam flipped the monitor control to show them a rear view. Tarizon initially loomed large on the screen, but its image shrank at an alarming rate.

  “All hands, brace yourselves for FTL,” Rossi Sincini warned.

  Tam grabbed the side of his chair as Tarizon suddenly disappeared and there was nothing now behind them but a view of billions of stars. Tam sighed. They were going to Earth and there was no turning back.