The Battle for the Solar System (Complete Trilogy)

by Sweeney, Stephen

  Estelle felt both bitter and broken. For the second time in just a few weeks she had been busted down, absolved of any responsibility, of any chance to prove her true worth. It was starting to become too much of a regular occurrence.

  The cool, crisp air of the early morning hit her as she left the barracks along with the crowd. It was just past sunrise and spotlights illuminated the path, aiding the dim natural light. She could see the multicoloured marking lights of landing platforms, flickering in and out of her view as they were obscured by people rushing ahead of her. It was a clear morning and an arc of lights could be seen hanging high in the sky, dotted around the frame of the incomplete orbital ring. A pretty sight, though now was not the time to admire it.

  As she approached the landing zones, Estelle was greeted by a scene that she had only ever witnessed in archived war footage. In the sky ahead of her, several transport shuttles were accelerating upward, carrying with them their full complement of personnel. Pinpricks of blue engine light could be seen higher up, as the transports began switching to their ion drives for the journey through space. A couple of dozen transport craft rested on landing pads, hatches open, personnel being crammed inside. Hovering in the sky above were yet more shuttles, waiting for landing pads to become free so they could touch down and pick up more passengers. If the presentation had failed to impress upon anyone the importance of the operation they were about to undertake, then Estelle was certain that what she was seeing now would surely do the trick.

  She had long since lost Dodds and Enrique. Where had they gone? She looked around for them as she drew closer to their designated landing zone. They’d better not have disappeared off elsewhere … She then spotted a big, dark-skinned man ahead of her, running to a transport as people were called forward by one of the many air marshals present. Relief washed over her as she recognised Chaz, and then Enrique and Dodds following just a short way behind him. The three, along with several others, jumped into the waiting transport, which was quick to seal its doors and depart, another shuttle swiftly taking its place.

  With her boys accounted for and well on their way, Estelle looked around for Kelly. Where was she? Like herself, Kelly was barely taller than average height, and in amongst the taller men and women it was going to be hard to spot her. Estelle felt herself being pushed forward, and glancing around she found that Kelly was just behind her. The woman was looking more than a little concerned as she was jostled back and forth, and Estelle reached back to hold on to her — not only to make sure she was okay, but also to ensure that her entire team made it onto Griffin without any problems. She couldn’t afford yet another black mark against her name. Not after the dressing-down she had received after submitting her patrol report, and not after Enrique and Dodds’ irresponsible drinking. Idiots. But maybe more fool her, for not stopping them in the first place.

  “You alright, Kelly?” Estelle asked.

  Kelly didn’t answer; she looked scared. Just in front of them, a transport had filled its quota of passengers and was setting off. Now at the front, she and Kelly were next.

  “It’s just a shuttle ride,” Estelle said reassuringly. “We do this all the time; there’s nothing to be concerned about. Just remain calm.”

  “This time it just feels more real,” Kelly said. “We’re not going on patrol this time, Estelle, we’re going on the offensive.”

  “We did the same last November, during Clean Sweep.”

  “Not like this,” Kelly said.

  “Don’t panic, Kelly, they have it fully planned out,” Estelle said, keeping an eye on the transport that was descending from the sky. “The CSN always makes the safety of its servicemen its top priority.”

  “Even above Dragon, Zackaria and Rissard?”

  “Even above Dragon, Zackaria and Rissard,” Estelle said. Then again, there was always a first time … She shook the thought from her head.

  The transport landed and an air marshal beckoned them on, Estelle losing her place next to Kelly as the crowd surged forward. Parks’ speech must’ve hit home more than she’d thought. She imagined this was what it was like at the opening gates to a rock concert.

  “No, only you guys!” the air marshal said, spreading his arms out and trying to gain control over the crowd. “You lot head over to that one. The rest of you get back! I only want twelve here!”

  As the marshal split the group, Estelle discovered she had been separated from Kelly, who was back with the rest of the crowd, waiting to be put on the next shuttle to land. Feeling uncomfortable not knowing where everyone was, Estelle moved to rejoin those who were waiting.

  “Hey, where are you going?” the marshal said, stopping her from leaving. “No time to go back now. In you get!” the marshal added, placing a hand on Estelle’s back and pushing her aboard the transport, the hatch quick to close and lock the instant she was inside.

  Estelle felt the engines engage and took up a position on the bench, pulling down the restraining harness over her shoulders. The shuttle was smaller than the ones she had grown accustomed to over the past few weeks, holding fewer people. Estelle glanced around the other faces occupying the transport with her, at first not recognising any. She then did a double take.

  “Andrea?”

  The curly blonde-haired member of the Red Devils looked over in her direction and smiled. “Estelle!” Andrea Kennedy said, her eyes sparkling. “How have you been?” She looked genuinely pleased to see Estelle.

  “I’ve been good. Everything’s going very well,” Estelle said. Andrea was here? At Mandelah? Since when? Did this mean that the Red Devils hadn’t succeeded in the evaluations, either? Had it gone to the other team? She forgot their name.

  “Are you based here?” Estelle asked. “I’ve not seen you around.”

  “No,” Andrea said, shaking her head. “I’ve been continuing the training and been posted elsewhere.”

  That confirmed it. Andrea’s team had won. Estelle realised that her face was betraying her jealousy. She could not bear to ask any more about how the training was going. She did want to know one thing though … “So, what are you doing here?”

  “Special Operations,” Andrea replied, with a confident wink and a smile.

  Estelle had heard enough. She sat back and closed her eyes, waiting for the transport to arrive at its destination.

  XIII

  — The Art of War —

  Dodds, Enrique and Chaz stood on the flight deck of Griffin, bunched up with several other personnel and crew members who had disembarked from the transport shuttles. The deck of Griffin was massive, spanning close to the entire width of the vessel itself. The adjoining launch catapult ran almost one-third of the ship’s length, the half-octagon-shaped tunnel lit at regular intervals as it stretched off towards open space.

  The junior OOD instructed the new arrivals to await Parks, and as the numbers began to swell, the three men were joined by Estelle and, shortly thereafter, Kelly. Dodds witnessed a brief exchange between the two and guessed that Estelle was busying herself in keeping her team together. His eyes flickered over the gathering of personnel and he noticed a tall woman with curly blonde hair being led away from the main assembled group. Had he seen her somewhere before? She looked rather familiar. He watched her for a moment, before he noticed Parks approaching.

  “Welcome to CSN Griffin,” Parks began, as transports continued to arrive and unload their passengers. “The ship you now stand on is currently acting as the CSN’s flagship, in place of Dragon’s soon-to-be-ended absence. This is my ship and I expect you to remember that at all times.”

  Perhaps it was Dodds’s guilty conscience, but it felt as if the man’s gaze moved in his and Enrique’s direction as he spoke the last two sentences.

  Parks went on, “As soon as we are up to our full complement, we will jump to the Aster system, where we will rendezvous with the UNF’s charmingly named twin carriers, Grendel and Grendel’s Mother. From there, we will await the arrival of Dragon and then immediately commen
ce Operation Menelaus. Primary defence and Initial Run teams should be prepared to depart at the moment we arrive at our destination. Secondary defence teams—”

  Dodds once again felt the man’s gaze shift in the direction of the White Knights.

  “—should await further instructions. Squadron leaders will be further briefed prior to our arrival. Additionally, a full breakfast is being prepared for all serving crew, so there is no need for any of you to worry about going into this on an empty stomach. For now, prepare yourselves for jump.”

  Having finished, Parks departed the flight deck while attendants began clearing personnel, escorting them to their assigned quarters. Dodds couldn’t wait to find somewhere to sit down and rest. His head was still spinning, the shuttle ride having done nothing but make it worse.

  “Have you ever seen Dragon in real life?” Enrique asked Dodds, as they were escorted to Griffin’s crew quarters.

  “Not in real life, no. Only video footage,” Dodds said. “But all we really need to know is that it’s big and has a lot of guns.”

  “I hope we’ll be getting a bit more information other than ‘it’s big’, before we get to Aster and have to face off against it,” Estelle said.

  “What would you like to know?”

  “Crew capacity, weapons systems, defences, fighter complement, that sort of thing.”

  “Just under fifty thousand serving crew, including pilots. It can also comfortably accommodate over one thousand starfighters in its hangars, without any concessions for type.”

  “Not like you to do your research, Dodds,” Estelle said.

  “I didn’t say anything,” Dodds answered.

  Heads turned, all surprised to discover that it was Chaz who had been serving up the information. Dodds caught Estelle’s eye, before she looked back at the big man.

  “What about armaments?” she asked.

  “Numerous enhanced plasma, laser, rocket, missile and torpedo batteries,” Chaz said, “and the entire ship is also protected by multiple high-powered shield generators, far more efficient than those found on most other naval vessels.”

  “Still wishing you’d asked?” Kelly said to Estelle.

  Estelle ignored Kelly and pressed for more information.

  “Its secondary offensive weapon array consists of eight plasma accelerators,” Chaz said.

  Estelle almost stopped walking. “Eight?”

  Chaz nodded. “Three each on the port and starboard, two on the bow. None at the rear, but that doesn’t make you any safer approaching it from that angle.”

  Dodds and Enrique swore simultaneously.

  Chaz added, “I’d suggest that if you’re going to attack that thing, you should aim to do it from the maximum possible distance, to counter its defensive capabilities. And unless you can apply sheer strength of numbers, attempting to take it on with starfighters alone would prove next to impossible.”

  The other four Knights exchanged disquieted looks.

  “How many fighters are we talking?” Enrique wanted to know.

  “More than we’re taking,” Chaz answered, almost inaudibly.

  “How do you know all this?” Estelle asked, as they arrived at the quarters where they would be spending the next few hours, whilst Griffin made the jump to Aster.

  “Let’s just say that a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing, Lieutenant,” Chaz said, pulling himself up onto a nearby bunk and lying back.

  Dodds spied one of quarters’ beds past the others and made for it, slumping down onto the mattress. It was far from the softest thing he had ever sat on; even the beds at Mandelah offered more in the way of comfort. But right now, it met his needs. He sat for a moment, before stretching out across its length, allowing his body to relax, grateful that he could now start on recuperating. What he really needed was to get his hands on some painkillers. With all the rushing about back on the ground, he’d not found the time to take any. He would visit the ship’s doctor once they were underway.

  “I can see why it would be best to disable it, before we attempt to retake it now,” Kelly commented, settling down at the foot of a bed that Enrique had taken to.

  “Wait a second,” Estelle suddenly said. “Chaz, you said the accelerators were its secondary defence system.”

  “I did,” Chaz said.

  “So … what’s its first?” She almost sounded as though she didn’t want to know.

  “A so-called antimatter cannon, modified from an original design for a mass driver. It’s the only vessel in existence to be kitted out with one.”

  “Oh. I’d forgotten about that,” Kelly said.

  “It’s got a what?” Enrique said.

  “Dragon’s main offensive weapon is a high-powered cannon which is capable of firing a magnetically enclosed container of antimatter at any frontal target,” Chaz said.

  “What exactly does that mean?” Estelle asked. From the tone of her voice, it was obvious to Dodds that for all Estelle’s knowledge of the ins and outs of naval protocol, Chaz was now speaking in a language that even she didn’t understand.

  “In layman’s terms, it means it can destroy anything in its path,” Kelly said, “it’s powerful enough to even take down Spirit Orbital, with a single shot. We don’t want to be in the way of that if it happens to get a chance to use it.”

  “Well, from what they said in the briefing, it sounds like they’ve made concessions for all eventualities,” Estelle said.

  Dodds could almost hear the straws breaking in her hand.

  “Hey, I’m starving,” one of the other occupants of the quarters said. “When do we get fed?”

  “Once we’re underway, you’ll be called for breakfast,” the officer who had escorted them replied. “Until then, please remain here.”

  Dodds heard some grateful murmurings from the others who had joined their sizeable quarters. Even so, he wasn’t so sure he would be eating much when the time came. Though whether that was due to the way he was feeling or because of what he had just heard about Dragon, he couldn’t say.

  *

  Parks strode down the long, central aisle of Griffin’s bridge, and up to the front to check on how the departure preparations were progressing. Crew busied themselves around him, performing last-minute checks to ensure that their route was clear, and that all essential safety measures had been followed.

  From beyond the frontal viewport, he could see the last few transport craft departing Ifrit and Leviathan, returning to Spirit Orbital and the planet surface. Many other supply craft were leaving the carriers with each passing second, their cargo of essential equipment and armaments having been offloaded.

  This is it, Parks thought to himself, as he looked over Ifrit and Leviathan, which rested either side of Griffin. This is where I find out whether I’m ready. So much responsibility had been piled on him in the past few weeks – the success of the ATAF program; verifying the location of and retrieving a data card that had been stolen from Cardinal; and now, the command of an operation aiming to see the safe return of Dragon to Confederation hands.

  It was a lot. Maybe too much for him. Perhaps it would be best if someone else took the reins …

  “All safety checks completed and route confirmed clear, Captain,” a member of the bridge crew reported, yanking him away from his thoughts.

  He exhaled quietly, watching as the final few preparation craft cleared the vicinity of the three carriers. He could do this. Everything was going to be fine.

  “Thank you,” he said. “Open communications with Ifrit and Leviathan.”

  Above him, two two-dimensional holographic projections sprang into existence, each sourced from imagery fed from the bridges of Ifrit and Leviathan.

  “Hello, gentlemen,” Parks said to Hawke and Meyers, “preparations aboard Griffin are complete. Are you both nearly ready to proceed?”

  “Ifrit is ready,” Hawke confirmed.

  “As is Leviathan, Commodore,” Meyers said. “Ready to jump on your order.”

 
; “Very well,” Parks nodded, and looked to Griffin’s helmsman. “Mr Liu, open a jump point to Aster.” The navigator did as instructed, and Parks watched as the space in front of the carriers began to twist and distort, before subsiding into a swirling mass, rotating like a lazy whirlpool. He gazed down the conduit for a moment, seeing it stretch off almost endlessly; though there was an end there, one which brought him closer to his next test.

  “Jump point opened, sir,” Liu confirmed.

  “Thank you, Mr Liu,” he said, then to Meyers and Hawke, “Ready, gentlemen?”

  “With your lead, Commodore,” Meyers said.

  “Ready,” Hawke nodded his agreement.

  Are you ready, Elliott? a voice inside him seemed to ask. Was he? Yes, he was. “Take us forward, Mr Liu,” he said.

  Griffin’s engines came online, and the carrier started forward, followed by Ifrit and Leviathan. The ships passed the threshold of the jump point, Spirit and the Temper system slipping away from around them. A few seconds later, the point closed behind them … and they were gone.

  *

  Dodds looked down at the food on his plate. Sausages, beans, bacon, fried bread, scrambled egg, tomato, and a side of toast. Though he had asked for everything available as he stood in the queue along with everyone else, he now wasn’t sure that he wanted any of it.

  “Eat up,” Estelle had said, “it’ll make you feel better.”

  He chewed lazily at a slice of toast, worried that if he put too much else in him it’d only come straight back up again. Ordinarily, after a night out on the town with the boys, he’d have happy swallowed down such a breakfast in one go. Enrique was making a little bit more of an effort than he was, having polished off one of his sausages and the fried tomatoes. He was now working his way through a bacon sandwich that he’d constructed, though he was clearly still struggling.

  Dodds considered the orange juice for a moment. He got the impression that the sharp taste probably wouldn’t do him any good. He should’ve gotten some tea, instead. He found that three things often helped in these kinds of situations – headache tablets, a shower, and a nice mug of tea. Two he could do nothing about; the other was in easy reach. He went and got himself a cup.