"We do," replied Kaner.
"Then that is good enough for me."
"And if you help us and we get him back, what then?"
"We will cross that bridge when we reach it, if we reach it."
"So what now?" Lieutenant King spoke as though she was one of them, and nobody questioned it.
"Firstly, I need to know that you are willing to do what needs to be done."
"We are," Kaner quickly answered.
Jafar shook his head. "You do not even know what I am asking of you yet."
"Then please tell us," replied Mirov.
"Have any of you ever faced or seen a Morohtan Prince?"
Kaner's face became stern and a little pale, and that was not lost on Jafar.
"So you have some incline of what you may have to face?"
"One of those things nearly killed me, and CJ was not able to stop it either."
"And yet Taylor was able to kill one."
"No, he wasn't," King interrupted.
Jafar looked confused. "Why do you say this?"
"The Prince that Colonel Taylor supposedly killed, Ganbaatar, wasn't it?"
"Yes, it was."
"And yet it was Ganbaatar who CJ and Kaner faced. It is Ganbaatar who has taken CJ."
"That is impossible! Ganbaatar is dead."
He saw the doubt in their faces. "How can you be sure? How can any of you be sure?"
"I came face-to-face with him. He was scarred, but very much alive."
"And you believe him?"
"Why would he lie?"
Jafar was dumbfounded and also a little shaken.
"Either way it does not matter. A Morohtan Prince is a formidable foe, more so than anything I have ever had to face in any war."
"And you want us to fight one?"
"No, I don't want you to do anything. I want us to get CJ back, alive."
"If you don't mind me asking. Why do you care so much?" asked King.
Jafar sighed.
"This war is not going as well as you might think. Not as the Alliance tells you. Taylor's resurrection and successes have provided a platform for good news, something for people to cling on to. But for all that Taylor is; there is still only so much that he can do. We need more. CJ, just like Taylor, are warriors from a different age. Men who knew nothing but war and excelled at it."
"Like yourself."
He smiled as he nodded in agreement.
"Yes, but my best days are long behind me. Taylor has made a difference in this war, and I believe CJ can, too."
"Even though he isn't really Captain Charlie Jones?"
"Yes, Lieutenant King. Charlie was a good friend of mine, but CJ is every bit the fighter Charlie was, and more. He has all of his DNA, all of his skills, and more. The Resurrection Programme has also ensured that he is more than just Human. He is faster, stronger, and better than the Captain I knew, at least as a fighter, if not as a man."
"He doesn't want to fight for the Alliance. He feels as though he is a slave that has escaped his captors."
"Perhaps he will feel differently after being at the mercy of a Prince."
"I am not sure whether to hope you are right or not," replied Mirov.
"You really care for him, don't you?" Jafar asked.
They were all in agreement.
"There are still things in this life that amaze me. A ship full of convicts, and you have more loyalty to your Captain than I have seen from almost any other. It reminds me of my best days, and I thank you for that."
"So what now? What can we do?" asked King.
"I said I would help you, and I will. But I never said it would be easy. Are you ready to jump into hell and claw your way back out?"
Nobody said a word, but he could see that they were raring to go. There was not a single sign of doubt, not even from King, who was not one of them.
"Then it's time to get him back."
Chapter 18
"Why do you even still bother? Why do you even care? I didn't want to fight you. I didn't come looking for you," said CJ.
Ganbaatar paced back and forth in the room as if contemplating his response. It was as if he was trying to find the way to get to him mentally as well as physically.
"Bolormaa does not care what you think or say, and neither do I. All living creatures in the universe will submit to her, or face her wrath."
CJ just shook his head. He didn't have any idea how to respond to that.
"And still you do not understand it. For you, working for the Krys, tried to do just the same to the Human race."
He opened his mouth to reply but held his tongue, knowing he didn't have a leg to stand on. Ganbaatar just smiled at him as though he had won yet another battle.
"Nobody is coming for you. Nobody cares for you. You are not even worth fighting for. Shame, as I would have enjoyed seeing Taylor's suffering as I delivered pieces of you to him."
"Yeah, well, I am sorry to have fucked with your plans."
He just growled in response.
"What to do with you? You have no worth to me, and you have no worth to Taylor. The Alliance seems to have no care for you. You are an outcast."
"Then let me go."
He shook his head as if it were never a possibility.
"Why? You fight for us, or you fight for them. There is nothing in between."
CJ sighed.
That must be exactly how I sounded and acted in my previous life. Did this used to be me?
He remembered all the people he had killed and tortured, and the many more lives he had cost with his actions as a Krys agent. Everything had seemed so black and white back then. Humanity was the enemy, and they must be destroyed, and yet now he was beginning to doubt everything he knew and everything he was. All the while his hatred of this alien was building. At least there was somewhere to vent his anger besides against himself and Taylor.
Maybe Taylor wasn't the monster they said he was?
He was deeply conflicted for the first time in his life, and the sadistic creature before him only furthered his doubts and fears.
"Why don't you just kill me?"
"There must be some use for you yet. The Alliance once believed there was value in you, or they would not have brought you back. I believe there is a place for you in this world, but for what I am not yet certain."
"Really? Well, maybe that place is to take your head as a trophy."
He smiled as though he took it all as a joke.
"There will never come a day that a petty mortal like you could destroy a demi God."
CJ laughed. "God? You really do have a high opinion of yourselves, don’t you?"
He reached forward and backhanded CJ with a brutally swift strike that almost broke his neck.
"How dare you insult our Queen?"
"How could I? For all I know she doesn't even exist, just like the Human Gods."
Ganbaatar smiled wickedly.
"Then pray that you never meet Bolormaa."
"Sure, if you're anything to go by, I bet she's a barrel of laughs."
Ganbaatar groaned and then smiled awkwardly as if not knowing how to take his statement. Then he turned and strode away. CJ was relieved to see him gone. As much as he stayed defiant, he couldn't survive many more blows like that. He was starting to accept that the alien Prince was right about one thing, nobody was coming for him. He had to figure a way out, and fast. But that seemed like an insurmountable objective. Even his bonds seemed unbreakable, and were he to get past them, the Gueros stood guard.
"Well, fuck. Fuck!"
* * *
"You know where C J is? Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
Rivera sounded desperate as though she expected him to be dead if they waited much longer.
"Yes, I know where he is, and we are not strong enough to fight a Prince and all that he has at his disposal," replied Jafar.
"We should not be here at all," said a Krys officer standing behind him.
"Who are you, then?" asked Rivera.
"Sarik," he replied bluntly.
"He is one of my finest officers, and you would do well to remember that."
"All right, we aren't getting anywhere. How many ships, and how many troops do you have?"
"We can spare only this ship."
"One ship?" King asked, shocked by that revelation.
"Our fleets are engaged and spread too thinly."
"How are we supposed to do this with what, two ships, and how many troops?"
"We have one hundred and fifty-five marines," replied Sarik.
"About two hundred men, against Ganbaatar?" Kaner asked.
"We will have to do what Taylor would do...Improvise, adapt, and overcome."
King sighed, pacing back and forth. "It can't be done."
Jafar stepped into her path and stopped her dead in her tracks.
"It can be done, and it will be done. It's your kind of attitude that will lose this war."
She didn't look happy about his comments, but he had shamed her into being quiet.
"So what do we do?" asked Kaner.
"We need to find a way to draw that Prince out and away from where we want to go," said King. It seemed that an idea had sprung into her head.
"Go on," said Jafar.
"This Ganbaatar, he isn't stupid, is he?"
"No, he most definitely is not."
"Then he won't fall for a ruse."
"Not likely."
"Then we use that against him."
* * *
"So what do you get out of all this?"
When there was no response, CJ just kept throwing the questions out.
"Do you have any of your own thoughts? Is this really what you want to be doing?"
The Gueros didn't even turn to look at him. It just stood there very slowly breathing in and out as though it couldn't even hear him, or just didn't care.
"Well, you're a talkative one," added CJ.
He knew that he may well die there, and it was a horrifying thought. Death had never been a worry for him, and he expected it would have happened long ago. Death in combat, or maybe execution for his crimes, but not this, rotting away in the cell of a sadistic creature.
I have to get out of this place. I can’t stay here!
He strained against the bonds around his wrists once again. He was stronger than ever before, and yet still he couldn't shift them.
Maybe I should have taken Lysenko's deal?
He still didn't like the Alliance. He had no respect for Humanity, or the Krys Empire for supporting them, but the Morohtans were far worse, and he could see that now. He tried to think of some way out of his predicament, but there seemed to be no options available to him.
* * *
"Ready to jump?" Jafar asked.
He stood on the bridge of the Phoenix talking to Sarik on a screen aboard the ship they had arrived in. The Kadir.
"We are, but I must ask you to reconsider. This is a dangerous course of action."
"Aren't they all?"
"But this is a risk that you do not need to take. None of us do."
"Maybe, but maybe not. We need something more in this war than we currently have, and it’s possible CJ and his group of misfits are just that."
Sarik sighed; knowing his friend and Lord would not be dissuaded.
"We do this fast, and we do it right," said Jafar.
He smiled. He sounded just like Taylor, and that wasn't lost on the rest of them.
"This is going to work. It has to work, right?" Rivera quietly asked King.
"Nothing is certain."
“Good luck,” said Jafar. Followed shortly by, “Jump!”
Light burst into the bridge, and just seconds later they were out. Many of them gasped, as they looked the Morohtan space station that lay before them and three warships nearby.
“Hold position. Now we wait,” Jafar ordered.
Nobody said a word. They were all glued to the screens and waiting with anticipation. For a few moments there was nothing as if they had not been detected, but soon enough all three ships powered up and banked to set a course towards them.
“I sure hope you know what you are doing. You are playing with fire,” King said to Jafar.
“Then let’s play with fire together.”
“You still think this is going to work?” Rivera asked nervously.
“Morohtan ships are not individually equipped with jump engines, so maybe. Just maybe.”
“Why? Why don’t they have jump tech?”
“I honestly don’t know why.
Jafar had overhead them and jumped in.
“Rumour has it that no Morohtan vessel has jump technology after a rebellion five thousand years ago. Never again would she allow her Captains to have so much control.”
“If you treat your people like slaves, you shouldn’t be surprised when they turn on you,” added King.
“Which is why the Krys Empire is what it is today.”
“They are almost in range!”
“Send the signal,” ordered Jafar.
The ships were descending on them fast now and nobody under any illusion about the danger that they posed.
“Come on,” whispered King.
“Jump gate opening, the Kadir has arrived right on target.”
Everyone was still peeled to the screens as they watched and hoped for the enemy to peel off. It took a minute as they held their breath, and finally two of the ships banked and moved to engage the Kadir.
“We could probably take one of them,” said Mirov.
“But it’s a fight we do not have time for,” replied King.
“And we won’t need to,” added Kaner, “Let them come at us. Reel them in.”
“What?” Rivera didn’t understand what was happening.
“Do not open gun ports,” added Kaner.
“What are you doing? You’ll kill us all.”
One look from Jafar soon silenced her.
“We know what we’re doing, whether it works or not is a different matter,” said King to try and comfort her. The enemy vessel closed with them, but did not fire.
“Why are they not firing?”
“Because they want us alive, and that will be their biggest mistake,” said Kaner.
Lights flashed in the distance as the Kadir opened fire with her long-range guns. Two vessels were closing in on her.
“Good luck, my friend,” said Jafar as he thought of Sarik.
“One hundred metres and closing!”
“Fire up the jump engines, and release the module.”
Few could understand what he was doing, for they had not been told.
“Prepare to jump on my mark.”
“Enemy weapon systems have activated. They are preparing to fire!”
“Five, four, three…”
The first salvo of fire rocked the Phoenix, but her heavy armour shrugged the worst of it off.
“Two, one, jump!”
In a flash of light they were gone, leaving behind a single escape module floating in space. Seconds later, they were out and appeared right beside the Morohtan space station, but two of their screens still focused on the ship that had chased them down. They could see that it had started to bank to come around.
“Five, four, three, two, one…”
Nobody knew what to expect, but just moments later a massive explosion erupted beside the enemy ship and blew it apart.
“My, God,” said King, as she balked at the utter devastation, “That is horrible.”
“That is war,” replied Jafar.
On another screen he could see the other two ships open fire on the Kadir. They were all slugging it out now like a frigate duel of old.
“Come on, let’s do this!” Mirov yelled with excitement.
It was starting to dawn on them all that they really had a chance.
“Weapon systems on that station are powering up!”
“Take us in closer. We can get under their guns.”
Nobody questioned J
afar’s orders as their engines lit up, and they began to close the last one hundred metres. A few shots smashed into their hull, but they were soon running alongside the main body of the station that was four times the size of their frigate.
They were rocked back and forth as the gunfire smashed into them. One of the more powerful weapons caused several of them to stagger and fall into consoles, and a few of them to the ground.
“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” said Rivera.
“Do you want your Captain back or not?”
She nodded in agreement to Jafar. “Of course I do.”
“And what are you willing to do to achieve that? What are you willing to risk, to sacrifice?”
She still didn’t look comfortable with the situation, but she was beginning to understand.
“Corporal, you were willing to kill to get into this unit, will you now falter?”
“I was willing to kill for my freedom,” she snapped back at King.
“And it was CJ who gave you that chance, and CJ who will ensure that you stay alive long enough to enjoy it. You need him, just like he needs you right now. This is what you were born for. This is what you trained for. You want your freedom so badly? Well, it’s about time you earned it!”
“Come on, almost there,” said Mirov.
“We’re going to make it. We have to,” said Kaner.
They felt the ship rock as they clamped and sealed shut onto the structure, and the guns had stopped firing.
“We made it!”
Cheers rang out across the bridge. Relief that they had gotten so far and were still alive, but they were well aware of the huge hurdles that still lay ahead.
Chapter 19
“What are you waiting for, do it!” Mirov hollered.
Ross placed a charge on the hull and stepped back into the docking corridor of their ship. There was a small explosion, and a panel of the station blew inwards, creating a man-sized hole. Mirov rushed to it and was first through, but Jafar was close behind. He had to duck and squeeze through the hole as another charge blew further along, and more of the unit poured in to support them.
Phoenix Odyssey Book 1 (Battle Beyond Earth) Page 14