“Those people made us what we are. We gave your Alliance a chance to do the right thing and let us be free to live as we please, and they chose to keep coming after us. Any blood spilled from now on is on their hands, not ours. We will do what is necessary to defend our way of life. If you don’t understand that, then you have no right to profess the good virtues of the Alliance.”
He gestured towards Standen to take her away once more.
“You’re making a mistake!” she cried as she was escorted from the bridge, “Bolormaa will come for you. She is coming for all of us. We have to stand together!”
CJ didn’t listen and waited for the room to fall silent once more.
“Three frigates, you said?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Smaller and more manoeuvrable than a destroyer, a hunting pack. They will not so easily be overcome as the Tempest.”
“Then what do we do?”
“I tried to make them see our way, Kaner. I tried to let them live, but still they come. This time we may not be able to be so lenient or kind, and why should we be? They treat us as criminals and outlaws who must be hunted down and killed or detained. Probably to never be released again. Against that we must fight.”
“Would you not at least hear what they have to say first?”
“No, Mirov, I am sure we will hear their ultimatum soon enough. Send out a drone on the far side of the planet. We need to divide their forces.”
Rivera went about doing it, but CJ saw the look of worry in Mirov’s face.
“We are going to fight them up there? How will we ever get off the surface without being spotted? Once we get a few hundred metres off the ground, they’ll pick up our engine signatures in seconds. They could blow us out of the sky before we even have a chance to get up there to engage them.”
“You leave that to me. Rivera, you stay here to be our eyes and ears. Everyone else with me.”
He grabbed his rifle and strode off the bridge, rushed to the nearest air lock, and leapt out. The boosters on his armour brought him to a gentle landing, and he hit the ground running. He was in the forest in seconds and passed several creatures which now steered well clear. He smiled. He had started to get the respect of the predators of Orman.
It was just a few minutes of running before they reached an opening where the Phoenix had put down. He rushed aboard. The crew of the bridge were already at their stations and under the guard of two of Kaner’s platoon.
“Get us in the air!” he ordered.
Kaner took the pilot’s seat. Somehow it didn’t surprise him to see that he knew what he was doing.
“One hundred metres off the ground and hold,” he added.
Kaner looked surprised but did not question it.
“Rivera, get a view from our drones.”
“Sir, one of the frigates has split off and pursued as expected. The other two are holding position in orbit.”
The two video displays appeared before him.
“Pick them off one at a time?”
“No, Mirov, that’s what they will be counting on,” he replied, as he thought about his options. He knew he had to think fast, and that was just what he did.
“Ready all weapon systems. Plot a jump course to the two frigates. Bring us up on their aft side.”
“A jump? From here?”
“Why not?”
“The effect to the surface will be severe, and the results are…unpredictable.”
“Yeah, exciting, isn’t it?”
He waited for Mirov to do as asked, and he begrudgingly obliged.
“That’s it. We are good to go, but I have to…”
“Punch it!” he ordered.
Kaner activated the jump engines, and in a flash they were gone.
* * *
Rivera’s eyes widened as she saw the Phoenix vanish into a jump gate. The forest for a hundred metres all around where they had been was burnt and blown down by the force of the gateway, and the shock hit the Tempest next. She felt the entire destroyer rumble and heard boulders crash down from the cliff top onto the vessel.
“I sure hope you know what you’re doing,” she whispered to herself.
“He’s got guts. That much is certain,” said a voice.
She peered around. King was on the bridge once more, but before she could react, the Lieutenant struck her in the face with the stock of her rifle and knocked her out. She opened a channel on all frequencies.
“This is Lieutenant King of the Phoenix. Please come in. Frigates of the Alliance, you are in immediate and present danger!”
She watched the drone video feed as a gateway opened behind the two Allied vessels, and the Phoenix came up on their aft side with gun ports facing their engines.
“Oh, no!”
* * *
“Target engines of that one!” CJ ordered, pointing at the one to the left, “Everything you’ve got!”
The port batteries opened up with a relentless salvo that smashed the engines of the one frigate. It immediately lost power.
“Full speed ahead!” he roared.
The engines of the Phoenix lit up as they surged forward just as the other frigate was trying to do the same, but it failed to match the power that they possessed. Missiles flew from the vessel and smashed into the bow of the Phoenix. They felt the impacts, but the armour was so thick it brushed them off.
“I sure hope you know what you are doing!” Mirov yelled.
But there was no going back now. The reinforced bow of the Phoenix smashed into the second frigate at high speed and pierced it with ease. The ship was broken in half as they burst through on the far side. The bodies of the ship’s crew were sucked out into space, and the lights of the ship faded as their power cut out. It was a display of absolute tactical skill and prowess, if horrendously brutal. Mirov could not help but feel for the crew.
“Poor souls.”
“Those that were prepared for a fight should have had their suits on, and we cannot save all those who would come to kill and enslave us,” replied CJ.
Mirov agreed, but it still didn’t feel right.
“Bring us about!” CJ ordered.
The nimble and powerful Phoenix came about quickly. In the distance they could see the other frigate already en route to intercept.
“CJ, stand down. There is no need for any more killing!” Lieutenant King pleaded.
“Lieutenant, what are you doing on this channel?”
“I can’t bear to see any more of this. Please stop this senseless killing.”
“We didn’t go looking for this fight. It came looking for us.”
“But you can stop it, now!”
“Sir, we are being hailed by the frigate that is on approach,” said Kaner.
“Put them on.”
An older Captain appeared before them. He was balding on top with short grey hair and was a little overweight.
“Charlie Jones, you are ordered to stand down and come with us. You are under arrest.”
“Don’t be a fool. This fight is already over,” replied CJ.
He could see the Captain was assessing the situation around him, and there was a look of fear in his face.
“Fight us, and you will all die here. But hold your fire, and I will let you recover the survivors of your other two vessels and leave in peace.”
“They came here to kill us!” Kaner complained.
“Yes, and that was their mistake, but I think they have already learnt their lesson, don’t you?”
The frigate’s Captain looked pale and defeated, and yet knew he had a responsibility to carry out his orders.
“What is your name?” CJ asked.
“Captain Bolton.”
“Your superiors have probably painted a picture of me as some kind of monster, haven’t they?”
He nodded in agreement.
“And yet I am giving you the chance to live, and that is all we want. Recover your crews, go back to the Alliance, and leave us to go on as we please. I won�
�t fire on you, providing we see no further acts of aggression. That is my promise.”
“And why would I trust you?”
“You don’t have a choice. One frigate against this highly advanced vessel is no fight at all. You can live or die, and that is your choice.”
He looked exhausted, but also relieved.
“Thank you, for your consideration. We will recover survivors and be on our way just as soon as we can.”
He ended the transmission, and CJ could now see the judgemental looks he was getting from many of his crew.
“Why would we leave them alive?”
“We do not need to kill all those who oppose us, Kaner. There are many ways to beat an enemy.”
“But they will keep coming.”
“Maybe, but the more we kill, the more reason we give them to come back here. Revenge is a powerful motivator, and no matter what the precious little Alliance thinks they might be, no matter how good and pious they think they are; ultimately, when they are pushed, they will be every bit as cut-throat as the rest of us.”
“And everyone of theirs we do not kill is another to make the next force stronger.”
“Maybe.”
CJ was trying to work it all out in his head. He still had little idea of what the universe was like today.
All I know is that I want to be free. I want to run back to the Krys Empire that I used to know, and yet that no longer exists. There is no place to call home for me anymore, only what I make for myself.
Chapter 13
CJ strode back onto the bridge of the Tempest. Rivera was tied to the Captain’s chair, and Lieutenant King sat casually on the console beside her. A rifle and pistol were laid out on a table, deliberately far from the reach of either of them. CJ stopped for just a moment to evaluate the situation, but soon saw that King did not intend them harm. He walked on and paced around her, weighing her up and trying to make some sense of what she was doing.
“You tried to warn them?”
“I didn’t want to see anyone die over this.”
“But you saw what went down. We won’t be taken back to your Alliance. But you, you could have gone. You could have taken any number of shuttles or fighters from this vessel and gone back with them. Surely you can fly?”
“Yes, I can, but I have a responsibility here. General Lysenko ordered me as her Liaison Officer to you, and I fully intend to carry on in that duty.”
“Why?” he asked in amazement.
“Because I believe there is hope for you. Hope for you all. I know there is good in you, and the Alliance needs you. I am not ready to give up on my mission yet.”
CJ smiled. The whole concept entertained him. He stepped up to Rivera and drew out a knife to cut her bonds. She leapt out of the seat to go for King, but CJ put a hand on her shoulder and drove her back into the seat forcefully.
“You won’t lay a finger on the Lieutenant.”
“She is the enemy,” she protested.
“Maybe, but that remains to be seen. We haven’t picked sides in this war, and perhaps we never will, but let’s not burn all of our bridges.”
“And when the Alliance comes for us again, and she leads them right to us? She could undermine us all when we are weak.”
“She can try, but we are not weak, and we never have been.”
He released his hold on the Corporal and let her stand up. She sighed as she strode away. He knew it would be a lot to swallow.
“I’d want to kill whoever smacked me in the face with a rifle stock as well, so don’t hold it against her,” he said to King.
“You could have killed every single Alliance man and woman who had come after you, and you haven’t. I find that most interesting.”
“Yep, well life is complex.”
“I am seeing that more and more. So what now?”
“Welcome to our home, Orman,” he replied with a smile.
He gestured for her to follow him, and he led the way to the outside of the vessel from where they could look out across the surface of the world. She took in the fresh air as though it was something almost long forgotten.
“How long has it been since you breathed real air? Since you stepped foot on solid ground?”
“Too long, that’s for sure.”
“I was a slave to the Alliance because I was behind bars in a cell, but you lived a similar life without even knowing it. Human and Krys, we were not born to live in the darkness of space.”
“You sound like Mitch Taylor.”
He grimaced at the sound of the name. “We are nothing alike,” he snapped.
There was silence as they looked out across the landscape and the vast hole the jump gate had left behind.
“Why do you hate him so much?” she finally asked.
He sighed as if he didn’t want to talk about it.
“There has to be some good reason, and I haven’t seen it. Taylor is rough and ready, but he has been the best thing that ever happened for the Alliance.”
Still no response came.
“What did he ever do to you?”
He couldn’t take it any longer and blurted out his response.
“Taylor ruined the Krys Empire. He has made them weak and pathetic. The universe wouldn’t need Taylor now if the Krys Empire were what it used to be. Whoever this Bolormaa was, she would have been defeated in the face of the great strength among the Krys Lords and their people.”
“And yet the Krys were not able to beat Humanity, so how could they stand alone against Bolormaa? I think you underestimate her strength.”
He was silent as he thought about it. It did worry him just how little he knew or understood about the universe today.
“If you consider yourself more Krys than Human, will you not at least fight for them?”
“No, I do not know the Krys people anymore. Maybe Humanity is no longer my enemy, but the Krys are certainly no longer my friends.”
“And yet look at what you have done here? Human and Krys follow you equally. They follow you because they believe in you, and with your strength and skills, you are ten times stronger than any Alliance force of your size.”
“Only ten times?” he asked with a wicked smile.
“I don’t get you at all. You aren’t the pure evil that some of our records would suggest, but neither are you the man whose face you share.”
“I have some of his memories, but I am not that man.”
“But you also have his strength.”
“Charlie Jones was not a strong man, or he would have survived the last war.”
“Not strong? He sacrificed himself to save others, including his own family. His descendants live on, and…”
She could tell by the look in his eyes that it hadn’t even occurred to him. She could see some of Charlie Jones’ humanity in him.
“William Jones, he has forged quite a reputation for himself fighting at Taylor’s side. Just as you did.”
“That was not me,” he snarled, “He is a fool to follow Taylor, just like Charlie was.”
“Tell me something. Is the grand sum of your ambition in life to kill Mitch Taylor, and everything he cares about?”
“It would be a start.”
“And what would that achieve? You want to make the Krys people strong again. Taylor is making that happen.”
CJ groaned. He didn’t agree and didn’t want to talk about it any longer.
“I won’t try and hurt any of you here. But you must know that I will not stop trying to get you to join this fight, and I rarely fail in anything I set my mind to. I don’t trust you, and I don’t like you, but I know that the Alliance needs you.”
He grunted again, and she knew that was her cue to leave. CJ got up and leapt off the ship and hit the ground running. He rushed into the forest and kept running. Anything to burn off some energy so that he didn’t focus that energy on the anger he felt. He could not stop thinking about Taylor and how much he wanted to kill him with his bare hands. A number of the powerful creatures o
f the forest watched as he passed them by, but not a single one made an attempt to move against him. He could roam freely now without any support. He ran through it like he owned it, and every creature in sight respected that fact.
That is the way it was for three more weeks, as his team grew stronger through the need to survive. On the twenty-third day he found himself at the opening where they had made their jump. He stopped abruptly as he noticed a small vessel at the centre of the clearing. It was no bigger than a fighter or transport for maybe ten people at most. He paced slowly towards it, but he made no attempt to look for cover or draw a weapon. He feared nothing and nobody on the world he now called his own.
As he drew nearer, he realised that it was a Krys vessel. A door prised open and dropped down as a ramp to the floor. CJ had no idea what or who to expect, but he stood his ground calmly and fearlessly. All the time his hand was just centimetres away from the pistol on his side and ready to draw it at a moment’s notice.
A Krys Lord appeared at the doorway of the ship, but in the failing light, he couldn’t make out the face. The armour was unmistakeable.
“What are you doing here?” CJ shouted.
“A better question would be what are you doing here?” a voice roared back.
He recognised the voice, but he couldn’t remember why. The Krys Lord stepped forward and into view.
“Jafar,” he muttered with anger in his voice.
The most surprising thing was that he was alone.
“Why have you come?”
“I am here because the President of the Alliance does not want any more blood spilled over this issue.”
“Issue?” he spat.
“You should never have been set free into this life, but the same could and has been said of Taylor.”
“Taylor, it’s always about Taylor. I don’t give a damn about your Alliance or Taylor or anything you have to say!”
“That may be, but you must at least hear me out.”
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t come here to fight. I could have levelled this entire planet, and I could still. I need but give the order. You have given me more than enough reason in your past life, let alone this one.”
Phoenix Odyssey Book 1 (Battle Beyond Earth) Page 10