Lee stared at the screen, not believing what he had just heard. He searched his memory for any recollection of the voice and found only a glimmer. He quickly tapped a key on his chair and called up an image from three months ago. An ancient Vadne ship floated above his station. Another few taps and the same gruff voice echoed from the speakers, but this time it was speaking from a distant time.
“I expected you to start firing already. You must be getting soft in your old age…”
“Captain?” Kama asked from her station. “That voice is the same as the captain of that ship. Do you know that man?”
“Vadne, actually,” Lee replied. “We’ve met. Open that channel back up.”
“Resolute?” the captain said from the speaker. “My weapons are hot and your shields won’t protect you from what I have coming at you.”
“Vadne Captain,” Lee replied, standing and staring at the screen. “I thought you blew yourself up over Grekii? Why don’t you stay dead?”
“It is good to see your memory isn’t as dull as your wit, Captain Pearce,” the captain replied. “I don’t believe I introduced myself before you blew my ship out from underneath me last time. My name is Karana and I still don’t like you or your kind.”
“Perhaps you can speak to me,” the voice of Farthing interrupted. “You Barathists are far afield of Grekii for your kind. Please explain.”
“You are the traitor named Farthing,” Karana said with a sneer in his voice. “I will not talk to you. Your kind brought us to ruin with your comingling of species. I will speak to the warrior Pearce first. Him, I understand.”
“Karana,” Lee said, trying to regain control of the conversation. “We are here searching for fuel for a weapon which we believe can—”
“Destroy the Gizzeen,” Karana said. “I know, and I don’t believe in the plan, but if it gets you humans away from my world I will support it. Especially as the mission to deliver it is suicidal and I would like to see you burn.”
Lee looked over his shoulder to see Alice by the door. They exchanged glances at the mention of the plan. As he looked around the bridge, the sense of tension was growing. If the renegade Barathist was aware of their plan, who else might be party to their mission, and how did he know?
“Karana, if you know about our mission, then you know time is of the essence,” Lee said. “Do you know where we are supposed to go to find the fuel?”
“Indeed I do,” the voice replied, before a glaring image of a snaggle-toothed and scarred Vadne appeared on the screen. “I bet you don’t, though. Stupid humans always think they are the ones who will save the day. I’ve only met one of you who knew how to think as a Vadne. Him, I respect.”
“Whether you respect us or not, can you please give us the coordinates and let us pass?” Lee said, doing his best to glare back at the ugly Vadne captain. “Our time is not our own and we don’t like you any more than you like us.”
“Hah! You are as arrogant as your books make you out to be,” Karana said, exposing a yellowing and gapped set of teeth. “As I read them, you are the one most at fault for the war, Pearce. All you had to do was let the prisoners die and none of this would have been necessary.”
Lee stared back at the Vadne captain. The mention of the books at this moment sent a thrill of rage through his body. He clenched his fists before narrowing his eyes and staring back at the screen. The Vadne appeared to relish the anger, but Lee could see a trickle of fear, as the man’s crest slowly rose.
“Cal,” Lee said, referring to the Octopod by his new name. “Arm the cannons and target that ship’s bridge. One shot at maximum yield should do it. After that, destroy every other ship in this sector that doesn’t identify itself as Alliance.”
“Whoa ho!” Karana said, a deep chuff of laughter erupting from Karana’s chest. “You do show spirit! It is exactly as we were told to expect from you. I can show you where you need to go, but I think he wants to tell you himself.”
“I’m in no mood for a pronoun game, Karana,” Lee said. “Tell me now or I fire. Where do we go?”
The screen went black for several seconds. Lee stood still, not wanting to move for fear he would erupt in anger. He tried to take a deep breath and calm himself, but the mention of the books and his complicity in the war nagged at his mind. He knew Karana had been trying to rouse his anger, but it still rankled him that he knew so much about him. It took nearly a full minute before the screen blinked on again. The image was of a blank wall the pale shade of green usually reserved for med-bay walls and dormitories. Lee could hear feet shuffling on tile and a clearing of throats.
“Lee,” came a voice that froze his blood. “I’ve been waiting for you. I need you to come down and get me so we can finish this.”
The man who appeared on screen was frail, and the gray that had once dotted his temples had now taken over his head. Deep lines were etched into the strong features, but the eyes were still bright and strong. As the man came into view fully, Lee could see one side of his face had been burned badly, and he seemed to be leaning on a crutch to move. Despite all that, the face of Ronald Chang looked as determined as ever.
“Now that we’ve both been dead,” Chang said to the astonished Lee. “We need to talk.”
25
3…
Alliance Carrier Zeus
Fleet Captain Dalton strode the bridge, inspecting the crew in the pit below. Efficient and fast, they had restored the ship to near perfection in record time. Hiding beyond the orbit of Vadne’s furthest planetary sibling, Zeus was nearly perfect and that was how Dalton liked it. He checked the data pad in his hand and scrolled down to find the status of his support fleet. The two destroyers were at full, having never engaged the Gizzeen fighters directly, and the frigates were each operating at over eighty percent efficiency. It was more than he could have hoped for when the battle was over and the Gizzeen had fled the area.
The surprise betrayal by the Ch’Tauk had alerted them to the danger within. The Ch’Tauk had managed to destroy the supply craft escorting the Zeus carrier fleet, but not any of the major battle vessels. When Vadne fell to the Ch’Tauk and he received orders to flee from the chancellor himself, Dalton had taken it upon himself to stay, stationing his ships nearby the center of the Alliance in case of an organized counter-attack. As fleet captain, he ordered many of the other surviving ships to a secluded area to repair and recharge. It was just him and his small fleet this close to the Ch’Tauk aggression. It made him feel on edge, but also as if he understood the battle better than anyone else. His simulations predicted they did not have the ships to retake Vadne, but communications were being sent out to gather whatever remained of the Alliance fleet in one location. He would be in command.
“Captain,” a voice rang out from the port side pit. “I’m receiving a transmission from an Alliance vessel … I think.”
“Is it Alliance or not?” Dalton replied, annoyed with the inexact nature of the communication. “What’s the authorization code?”
“That’s just it, sir,” the young man replied. “The code has a cancellation note on it attached to a live code. I don’t know if it’s valid or not.”
“Send it to me,” Dalton said, opening up the data pad receipt channel for the communications panel. “I’ll tell you what it is.”
The message scrolled across his screen. It was deeply encoded on a level he had only seen previously during the war. He supposed the security measure made sense given the extreme nature of the situation, but it still seemed heavy handed. He pulled up the signature code on the message to begin the encryption process and saw what the young comm officer was talking about. The signature was old and had been officially removed from the Alliance active files weeks ago. Cross checking with Alliance intelligence networks, Dalton recognized it instantly. A cold streak snapped through his body as the name appeared on his screen. Along with the old code was an active validation protocol owned by another captain. The pairing made Dalton’s blood run faster. If both codes were being used toget
her, it could only mean one thing.
“Mister…” Dalton said to the young comms officer. “I want this validated immediately. I am authorizing the re-opening of this code and the decoding of the message.”
“Aye, sir,” the young man replied, tapping keys and sending the message back to Dalton’s pad. “It’s on its way back to you, sir.”
Dalton saw the data scroll across the screen again. This time it was encoded into an algorithm known only to him. He entered his validation code and the data reorganized itself. As the maps and charts began to flow, Dalton knew what the plan meant and it brought a smile to his face.
“Helm,” he called to his pilots. “Bring us about. Open up the engines to full.”
“Course, sir?” the lead pilot asked.
Dalton smiled.
Theta Site Mining Colony 16
Lee paced the room. He was wearing his flight suit despite riding down to the small colony in one of its own shuttles. The walls of the cell were bare gray metal and corrugated with deep ridges. Every creak and groan of the colony seemed to echo through his soul as he waited for the arrival of a ghost. The room was cold and smelled of industrial air scrubbers and old dust. He stopped pacing only when Alice placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Lee,” she said, standing to look him in the eye. “You’re making us all nervous.”
Lee looked around the room, seeing the faces of Farthing, Telexo, and Kama Yu staring back at him. It was the only personnel requested by former Admiral Chang, and they had been restricted from contacting the ships once they were on board the shuttles. The whole situation reeked of Chang’s particular breed of intrigue. On the way, he had seen two more craft orbiting the planet. Both were the busy, industrial forms of Tonal warships, but very old and battle scarred. Lee assumed it was the last of the Ixloab fleet which had escaped the assault by Trinity and the Alliance before the arrival of the Gizzeen. With both the Barathists and the Ixloab working together, Lee had no doubt who had held together the opposing groups.
“He dragged us all the way out here to the ass end of nowhere,” Lee said, clenching his fists in impotent fury. “Now he leaves us here to freeze in this prison cell.”
“I believe this cell is standard for most colony worlds and is not indicative of the class of room we are in,” Farthing replied. “It is actually quite large for a living space and remarkably free of storage bins.”
“I’m not really interested in the décor, Farthing,” Lee replied, spreading his arms wide to indicate the empty room. “I want to know where he is and where he’s been for the last few weeks and why he isn’t dead and what’ll it take to make him that way.”
“Maybe he just wants to compare notes on death,” Telexo replied. “He and you at least share that.”
“I wasn’t actually dead, Commander,” Lee replied. “Chang was killed when the recon fleet was attacked at Sedna.”
“Apparently not,” Alice replied. “Ron is a hard man to kill. So far I count at least six races including humans who have tried. I think we can even say he tried to blow himself up once.”
“That man has manipulated us for the last six years in one form or another,” Lee said. “He’s played with our lives like it’s some kind of game to him.”
“You have played your part in each one of those plans, Captain,” Kama Yu said, turning from the wall where she had been trying to contact the ship with a micro-transmitter. “He may be the master chess player, but you’re no pawn. You have always been the most powerful piece.”
“Doesn’t that make you the queen?” Alice said, trying to lighten the dangerous mood. “Anyways, let’s see what he has to say before we start trying to crucify the man.”
“Not this time,” Lee said, straightening the buckle on his flight suit. “This time I tell him what’s going to happen and when and how. I am through being manipulated.”
The door slid open, startling the occupants. A small figure entered the room carrying a data pad in one hand and a sheaf of papers in the other. The man was shorter than Lee and had the aspect of a small rodent. His hair was meticulously combed and his uniform was crisp. He seemed oblivious to the people in the room.
“Preston McGraw,” Lee said, looking to the little man in amazement. “I thought you were back on Vadne with the chancellor.”
“Captain Pearce,” McGraw replied without looking up from the data pad. “You are misinformed. I have been on special assignment for the admiral and—”
“Ronald Chang was declared dead, Preston. He’s not an admiral anymore,” Alice said, stepping closer to the little man. “I can’t believe even you would still follow that man after what he’s done to the Alliance.”
“The admiral saved the Alliance, Commander Bennett, and he is still very much alive and in command,” McGraw said, finally looking up to see the assembled officers. “I have simply been keeping an eye on him. He is a great man who has kept us all alive despite your bungling of his plans.”
Lee kept himself from stepping any closer to the man. Preston McGraw had been rescued from a slave camp years ago by Lee during the war. He had found a home among the top politicians as an aide and confidant of Admiral Chang. He had even been part of one of Chang’s plans months ago which resulted in the current failed alliance with the Ch’Tauk.
“McGraw,” Lee said. “What’s going on here? We came here to pick up the fuel for the device the admiral said would close the breach. What’s Chang doing here and why isn’t he dead?”
“Subtle as ever, Captain Pearce. I’m glad to see these last few months haven’t blunted your sparkling personality,” Preston replied, dropping the sheaf of papers on a low table and holding up the data pad. “I am here to prepare you for the admiral and to be sure you don’t do anything stupid. It’s only because of your loyalty to the man he is willing to see you at all. He’s not well.”
“What has happened to the admiral?” Farthing asked in his smoothly accented voice. “He appeared to have sustained burns. I assume it was from the battle at Sedna?”
“Yes,” McGraw said, his voice dropping an octave and becoming quiet. “He arrived here nearly dead. It’s only his will to live that kept him alive this long. He needs to see this through.”
“See what through?” Lee asked. “You mean the device? If we can get the fuel, we can get moving and he can see whatever he needs to see.”
“You already have the fuel,” a rough voice grumbled from outside. “If you followed instructions and went to Perigee, you already have it.”
As Preston McGraw turned to look, Admiral Ronald Chang rolled into the room perched atop a rolling chair. It wasn’t a formal wheelchair, as those were probably not available on a mining colony such as this. It was more like an office chair, with a small data interface on one arm. Chang’s right foot was missing and the stump appeared to be bleeding through a thick sock. Lee was stunned as he looked into the ruined face of the man he’d once respected. The screen on Resolute had not prepared him for the actual burns. The right side of Chang’s face was a melted terrain of flesh which seemed to pulse with seeping wounds. He had a bandage wrapped around his head but appeared to have pulled aside the coverings on his face. He wheezed as he tried to speak again.
“You look like hell,” Chang said as he rolled into the room. “I’ll forgive you. I think you’ve probably been through a lot lately. It’s my fault, so I’ll take the blame.”
“You’re damn right it’s your fault,” Lee said, restraining the urge to slap the man. “All of this is your doing. You’ve been here while the Alliance has been getting torn apart and people are dying. The chancellor is dead because you made allies out of our—”
“The chancellor was in on the whole thing with the Ch’Tauk,” Chang said, interrupting Lee with a wave of his hand. “It’s been him all along, Lee. I needed to get the hell out of there and away from that place before they killed me.”
“In on it?” Farthing asked. “What do you mean? I believe you were the man in charge of the Alli
ance military and the alliance with the Ch’Tauk.”
“The admiral took steps to protect you and your ships from the chancellor,” McGraw said, as Lee looked at the crippled man. “He sent you away to be protected. It was the chancellor who placed the bugs on board your ships. The admiral tried to stop it before it started.”
“That’s alright, Preston,” Chang said, waving off the small man with a blistered hand. “I can take care of this. You go on and get our things ready.”
“But, Admiral, I—”
“Go!” Chang said with surprising strength. “He’s right, you know. I tried to protect my most valuable assets. I sent you on that training mission to keep you from getting caught up in the fight. I knew it was coming and I wanted to get as far away as I could. That’s why I led the mission to Sol. I needed to get my ships and my teams out of harm’s way. I also knew you’d come after me if you knew.”
That doesn’t make any sense,” Lee replied. “You took your ships to the most dangerous place imaginable to protect them?”
“Lee I don’t expect you to understand,” Chang said, his breath growing heavy with the stress. “I needed to see the Gizzeen forces up close. I needed to…”
“You wanted to die, didn’t you?” Lee spat back. “you wanted to die and you took all of those people with you! Suicide by Gizzeen, right?”
“It was my responsibility to protect the Alliance from the threat we ignored for too long”
“It was your responsibility to make sure those people lived and you failed,” Lee said, silencing the man. “Ron, you used us as bait, didn’t you? You knew they’d recall us to Vadne and the Gizzeen would attack. The Gizzeen knew we were there and sent that team when we arrived.”
“Don’t flatter yourself, Lee,” Chang said. “You’re good but not that good. I found out about the attack after the fact. I figured it would come, but not so soon. After we were attacked from behind, I knew they were loose on the galaxy, but I was unconscious for a bit … I couldn’t warn anyone.”
Resolute Strike (The War for Terra Book 7) Page 21