“Yes, I was just coming to that,” the chancellor replied, with a slight twitch of his crest. “The admiral left behind orders in case of his death or capture. He was very clear about you and Captain Farthing hearing them together and in person.”
“Then I must protest the presence of the Ch’Tauk Emperor and his … entourage,” Lee said. “If this is to be a military briefing, we should take this in private.”
“Is this a question of protocol?” the Regent asked with a click. “Or are you afraid of letting an ally know of your plans to build up forces against us again?”
Lee practically leapt to his feet in response. A muscled hand reached for him, but Farthing was too late and Lee was too angry. The Regent raised his staff across his body as Lee moved quickly into an attack stance. From the corner of his eye, Lee saw movement from his first officer. Na’Tora had shifted crouched closer to the Emperor, spreading his arms wide in a defensive gesture. It told Lee where the man’s loyalties truly lay. At Lee’s back, Farthing had also risen and was now standing just behind him. Telexo had nearly crouched in readiness, and only a shout from the chancellor stopped the situation from escalating.
“Both of you,” the chancellor shouted in the loudest roar Lee had ever heard. “Sit down!”
For tense seconds, no one moved. Lee had a fleeting thought of not knowing who the Alliance leader was shouting at. After an eternity, the Regent lowered his staff, keeping it in front of him but no longer raised as a weapon. Lee relaxed and lowered his shoulders. He turned to the chancellor and straightened his uniform.”
“It was always the admiral’s wish that military information be compartmentalized,” Lee explained, not turning to the Regent or the Ch’Tauk in general. “In his absence, I believe Ron would have liked that to stay the policy.”
“I see,” the chancellor replied, looking at Lee with narrowed eyes. “I believe you, Captain. I knew Admiral Chang for only a few years, and you served with him through the war. I believe we can make accommodations for you. The Regent and Emperor were only here on a courtesy visit. I’m sure we can find some sights to show them while you take care of the briefing.”
“This is outrageous!” the Regent exclaimed, his vocoder buzzing with the stress of his words. “This is the leader of the Ch’Tauk Empire and we will not be led around to see the sights like tourists!”
“Regent, please,” the chancellor said, holding his hands out in a supplicating gesture. “I will personally escort you to see the glass desert. It is one of our planetary treasures and—”
“Enough of this!” the Regent said. “We will be present at the time of the briefing or this alliance will be formally dissolved!”
“Regent, please … you must understand I hold you in the utmost esteem, and Captain Pearce is within his rights to ask for—”
“Captain Pearce,” came a small voice, echoing through the Mother’s vocoder box. “Captain Pearce?”
All eyes turned to the small form of the child Emperor. The boy’s mother had recoiled at the sound of the child speaking Lee’s name. Lee glanced up at the Regent. If it were possible with their shiny black armor, the man looked as if he might turn several shades whiter. Apparently, the boy saying his name had been the child’s first words.
“Emperor Ch’Tauk,” Lee said, not sure what form to address the child as but knowing this was a crucial moment. “You grace me with your voice.”
“The child looked at Lee carefully, pulling away from his mother’s arms and stepping closer. Na’Tora seemed ready to leap between the boy and his captain, but held himself back. Lee bent down onto one knee to look the child in the eye. It was a strange sensation being this close to a Ch’Tauk child. During the war, he hadn’t wanted to believe that such creatures could ever have a helpless stage. He wanted to believe they erupted from their mothers fully formed and ready to slaughter humans. This child, however, was different. There was a spark of something else in the wide black eyes Lee had only seen once before in eyes which were more white-on-white.
“Captain Pearce,” the child continued, his voice echoing through the vocoders around Lee. “Your name has been told to me since before I was born. You are the human who saved my people by killing one of your own. You are worthy of my respect.”
Lee was suddenly frightened. This child, who had seemed so helpless only a few minute ago, was speaking to him with a voice from the centuries. He didn’t know what to do. In his confusion, he nodded his head at the boy who seemed to look back at him with a similar expression. The boy twitched his head to the side for a moment, looking closely at the tiny scar on Lee’s forehead.
“You once spoke to my father,” the boy said. “You were made to negotiate with him by the Engineers.”
“Yes,” Lee replied “He seemed to be a … good man.”
“He was of the old and would have killed you had he had the chance,” the boy said. “But of course you are being polite. There is no need for this. Our alliance is between governments, not people. I would wish to see these glass sands; however, we are needed on the command ship. Regent, please take me to the landing bay so we may leave.”
“Emperor, may the light never fade from your empire,” the Regent sputtered as the boy walked back to his mother’s embrace. “We cannot just—”
“Now, Camerlingo,” the boy said.
Lee sensed a power switch had just occurred. The word seemed to put an end to the confrontation. Lee stood again, feeling the eyes of the other officers upon him. A glance at Na’Tora showed him awe for the first time. In one quick conversation, the boy had imparted respect to him from his first officer. It was another uncomfortable sensation for Lee, but one he felt he could live with if it made things easier with the officer. The Cg’Tauk backed away from the humans as the Vadne stepped forward in an attempt to diffuse the situation.
“Captains,” the chancellor said, smoothing his crest back down and coming around the table. “I have copied the data record of your orders onto the pads on my desk. You can watch them here as soon as we are away.”
“Thank you, Chancellor,” Farthing said with a soothing scent. .”
“Thank you as well,” the chancellor said, stepping close to Lee. “And I mean that in the strongest sense, Captain. Thank you.”
The moment passed and the entourage moved to the door. Just before leaving, the chancellor stopped again, a thought abruptly holding him back. He waved to the Regent and stepped back to the office. For just a moment, he seemed to be considering his next action and then nodded. He moved closer to Lee and with a conspiratorial wave of his robes, he placed his back between the Camerlingo and Lee.
“There is one more thing,” the Alliance leader said in a near whisper. “When you are finished, we have had a problem lately with an officer of your acquaintance. I wonder if you wouldn’t be willing to look into it”
“I’m not sure what I can do but okay,” Lee replied. “Who is it?”
13
As Alliance headquarters had grown up on the Vadne capital city, vast complexes for logistics and military command grew up around it. Housing was constructed for all manner of creatures. By necessity, restaurants and entertainment facilities sprouted up around the housing areas. However, as in most cities, less desirable locations also came into existence on the outskirts of civilization. As Farthing, Alice and Lee approached one of these locations, the metal chair flying through the front door announced they had arrived at the correct location.
After watching the admiral’s mission briefing and sending the first officers back to their respective ships to prepare, Farthing and Lee had recovered Alice and set out to find the chancellor’s problem officer. Alice had explained she thought she had recognized one of the Ch’Tauk creatures from her time in captivity. The experience she had tried so hard to repress had surged forth and overwhelmed her. Lee had wanted to send her back to the ship, but after finding out their destination, she had insisted on coming with them. As the three approached the doors to the bar, Lee beg
an to have some reservations.
“I was a goddamn hero!” a voice thundered from inside the bar. “You can spot me another drink for my service or I’ll throw another chair out the door and the guy sitting on it!”
Lee stepped through the door, holding a hand back to stop Alice, and surveyed the scene. She pushed past him a moment later and stepped fully into the seedy place. Instead of the usual beige walls and elegant styling characteristic of most Vadne places, this watering hole had been decorated in what someone had thought a Terran bar might look like. Pictures of verdant fields and ancient flags adorned the dingy walls. It was designed to instill nostalgia only in people who had only seen Earth from a distance or in books. Wooden tables and metal chairs clashed against the squeals of Vadne music playing in the background. In the center, a mock-wood bar was surrounded by deep space miners and working class men and women who were all staring at the disheveled figure of the man they had heard from outside.
“Shut off that damn light,” the man in the dirty clothes shouted, grabbing another nearby chair and lifting it for a throw. “Can’t you see people are drinkin’ here?”
“Sergeant Major,” Lee barked, filling his voice with all the authority he could muster. “Stand down. We’re here to take you back to the ship.”
“What?” the man said, turning on an unsteady heel to peer at Lee. “Pearce? Is that you?”
“Henry,” Alice said, stepping closer to the man as he set the chair back on the floor. “It’s us. We’re going to take you home.”
Henry Moore stepped away from the bar and closer to Alice. As a reflex, Lee moved closer to the older man. Henry was slightly taller than Lee but heavier and broader across the shoulders. The last time he had seen Henry Moore he had been distraught about the loss of his wife and unborn child, who were still on Earth at the time of the Gizzeen invasion. He had begged Lee to leave him in the care of Alliance Intelligence so he could find a weakness in the Gizzeen defenses. Now the man seemed lost. He had lost nearly twenty pounds and his hair, always kept bristly short, was hanging limply from his head. Deep blue circles under both eyes told Lee all he needed to know about the sleeping habits he was keeping. The remains of his duty uniform told him the rest. Henry Moore was a wreck and he was approaching Alice on unsteady legs.
“Bennett?” Henry said, his voice beginning to slur from the drinks he had already had. “Dear Alice, it’s you. Are we goin’ back to the Princess? I always liked that ship. It was a good place to work.”
“Henry,” Lee said, trying to catch Henry’s attention before he got too close to Alice. “We’re taking you back to Resolute. We’ve got a mission and I need you.”
“D’ya hear that?” Henry said, turning back to the barkeep. “Admiral Lee Pearce needs me. He needs me to go on a mission. That ought to earn me at least one more drink before I go off to die! Come on, buy us all a round.”
“Henry,” Lee said, reaching out to place a hand on Moore’s shoulder.
The fist that slammed into Lee’s cheek was rock hard and not dulled by whatever Henry had been drinking. Staggered by the blow, Lee stepped back. Farthing, still standing in the door, leapt over his friend and landed between the two. Henry looked up at the white-furred Vadne and didn’t back down. He lowered his head and rushed into Farthing’s abdomen. Farthing tried to bring his hands down on the drunk man’s back, but Henry moved back too quickly. Alice tried to step between the men but was rudely pushed back into a nearby chair by one of the other men in the bar. Lee saw the move and moved to his fiancée’s side.
“Alice,” Lee shouted. “Get away from here!”
Legs shot out and tripped Lee even as he reached for Alice. He fell forward into her lap, stopping himself before hitting a table. He looked up to see Alice’s confused expression turn into an aggressive smile. From behind him, he heard Henry scream at the man who had tripped him. Enraged at the audacity, Henry charged the group. Lee managed to roll off the floor and back to his feet just as the stocky intelligence man barreled into the other drunks.
“Henry!” Lee shouted into the crowd. “Dammit, Henry. Now I gotta—” Lee grabbed the nearest man by the shirt-back and swung him around. An outstretched arm swung centimeters from his head as he ducked under the blow. The man was off balance and Lee brought his knee up hard into the man’s stomach. Sour bourbon breath expelled all over his back, along with a healthy dose of whatever the man had been eating. Lee rounded under the man’s arm and pushed him to the floor. Feeling the sick sliding off his dress-whites uniform, he tore the buttons away and tossed the jacket to the floor.
Farthing had cornered two other Vadne. Neither were his size and both appeared to have been imbibing themselves. Both leapt at the captain, arms outstretched. Farthing swiped the nearest with his right arm while ducking down and sweeping out the leg of the other. Both men hit the floor with heavy thuds. From the direction of the bar, a bottle slammed into the white fur of the Alliance captain. He shrugged and shook his head as his crest rose to its full height. Blood filled the sail and made the man look like the enraged animal he was.
Alice, meanwhile, had launched at the group of women who were taking up chairs to throw at the officers. She charged low, sliding into the first and turning fast. A chair came at her head and, without looking, she reached up and caught the chair in both hands. She stood fast, causing the woman to lose balance and fall back, and kicked out hard into the woman’s face. As she brought the leg back, she spun, holding the chair out and impacting another woman. The chair broke and Alice was left with two sticks which she used to quickly subdue another woman.
Henry was now standing closer to the door, screaming curses at the men in the bar. Lee grabbed a man trying to swing a broken glass at him and flung the man into a wall. With the bar in complete disarray, he tried to find Alice among the combatants. She had made quick work of the women who had been cheering the men on and was now moving closer to him.
“I’m feeling much better, dear,” Alice said as she pressed her back against his. “How ‘bout you?”
“I hated that uniform anyway. Farthing, it’s time to go!”
The Vadne captain was holding two humans off the floor. When he heard Lee’s order, he swung the two men together. A loud crack accompanied their heads hitting each other and they fell from Farthing’s hands unconscious. Together, the three officers moved towards the door, keeping their backs to each other so no one could sneak up. All the while, Henry Moore was still tossing epithets at the patrons. In the distance, Lee could hear the klaxon alarms signaling the imminent arrival of police to the bar. He grabbed Henry by his dirty shirt and dragged the man outside and into the sun. The group continued to move until Lee felt they had eluded the stragglers who had come out to chase them.
“That was great,” Henry said, as Lee dragged him along the walkway to a train station. “We haven’t done that in … geez, a thousand years. Let’s go back. I think we can—”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Lee said, swinging the man around to face him. “What was that all about in there? Henry, what happened to you?”
“Lee,” Henry said, out of breath. “I just wanted to get a drink and—”
“I think you’ve had enough,” Lee replied. “What the hell would Emma say if she—”
This time Lee saw the fist which struck him. Henry’s face changed from drunken smile to deadly serious almost as Lee said his wife’s name. Lee rolled with the punch, allowing it to turn him but not really do any damage, and replied with a punch of his own. Henry reeled back, nearly falling down before Lee hit him again. This time, the big man fell hard on his back.
“I know you miss her, Henry, but we all lost someone,” Lee said, looking down at the prostrate man. “If you get up off your ass, maybe we have a chance at getting her back.”
“Emma?” Henry said, looking up at his friend. “She’s alive?”
“Chang thought so, and he’s sending us in to try to get those bastards where they live.”
�
�Lee,” Henry said, wobbling to his feet. “Don’t trust that man. He’s the one that made us sign up with the bugs. He’s the one that lost Earth. If he’s sending you to Earth, it’s to die. Don’t trust him.”
“Chang’s dead,” Lee said, reaching a hand out to help steady his friend. “The plan is sound, but no, I don’t trust him. I need you, Henry, I need someone watching my back. They put a bug on my ship and I need you there to help.”
“Then you’ve got me,” Henry said, stepping close enough Lee could smell his rancid breath. “Those bastards have us surrounded, you know. They came into orbit and took over the day side of the planet yesterday. They’ve pushed everyone else around to the other side … I guess the night side, but then it’s day now so I’m not really sure.”
“What do you mean they pushed everyone out?” Lee asked, looking up to the sun at its zenith. “Is that why all the traffic was up there? We had to dock at the commercial station so I could get down here. The place was packed.”
“Yes,” Henry replied, rubbing his eyes and looking up. “That’s the thing, Chang gave those damn bugs carte blanche to muscle around our fleet. If they’ve got one on your ship, you can’t trust ‘em. They’ll turn on you as soon as they can and probably eat your heart out.”
“I don’t trust him, but that’s why I need you on board and I need you sober,” Lee replied, dragging the man along as they came to a train platform. “I need you to watch my back like the old days.”
Henry stumbled up the steps to the platform. “If it’s like the old days, then I refuse. The last time we had an old days, you shot me out in an escape tube and I don’t think I can do that right now. Besides, I think we both need a shower first.”
“I think I agree with you,” Farthing said, interrupting the moment between old friends. “You both smell awful. At least Lee has an excuse, though.”
The trio let out a laugh now as Henry stepped away. He took a moment to sniff at his own stained uniform before turning up his nose. The movement sent Alice into peals of laughter and Lee into a wide smile. It had been so long since he had heard her laugh he had almost forgotten how much he loved the sound. As they stood on the train platform, Lee looked to the bright sky. There were fewer ships overhead than he would have expected for this time of day, but it didn’t seem to be a problem. The sun felt warm on his skin and this moment was good. He almost missed the sound of the explosion in the distance and the first appearance of warships in the air above him.
Resolute Strike (The War for Terra Book 7) Page 11