“How close was he able to get to Mythos? Was he able to relay any further information about the size, strength or make-up of the enemy forces?”
“No, sir. Only to say that, at the time of his approach, the planet appeared to be under orbital bombardment. He had Leviathan pull back as soon as he discovered he was outnumbered and had been detected on the enemy’s long-range scans.”
Dammit, Parks thought. We’re still sailing blind! He hurriedly scanned through the tablet Weathers had handed him, to get an impression of any outstanding issues that could delay their departure. There were none as far as he could see, the only unresolved item being clearance from Spirit Orbital to proceed with the jump to Coyote.
“And the White Knights?” Parks almost dared not ask.
Weathers shook her head. “There haven’t been any updates from CSN HQ as to their status, I’m afraid.”
Parks nodded grimly and handed the tablet back to her, before stepping into the deck lift, accompanied by two security staff. “Thank you, Lieutenant. Please join me on the bridge once you have completed your duties here.”
The doors closed and whisked him upward.
*
“Captain on the bridge,” a voice intoned as Parks strode down the long aisle towards the front. The bridge crew, seated in rows parallel to the aisle, rose and saluted him.
A short man waited for him at the front, arms by his sides. “Welcome aboard, Captain,” he saluted, as Parks drew up to him.
“As you were,” Parks said to the crew, before looking back to the man who stood before him. “Good to see you again, Ali.”
“You too, sir,” Commander Liu smiled. “It will be a pleasure to serve with you once more.”
“Thank you, Commander.” As with Weathers, Parks hadn’t seen much of Liu following their previous operation. After returning to Spirit, much of Griffin’s crew had either been assigned to other vessels or been granted extended shore leave. Weathers and Liu had opted for temporary reassignment. It was good to know that they had done so – Parks already had a feeling that he would be leaning on them a great deal in the hours ahead, and he needed a dependable and focused crew. Of all the staff on his vessel that he could’ve wished to be with him today, Weathers and Liu topped the list, without any exceptions.
“How are preparations here?” Parks asked.
“Course is laid in, sir. We are just awaiting clearance to jump,” Liu said.
“What’s our estimated journey time?” Parks asked. He almost didn’t want to hear the answer.
“Five to six hours.”
Don’t apologise, Ali, it’s not your damn fault, Parks thought, detecting the note in the man’s voice. “Good, please inform me as soon as we have clearance.”
Parks retired to the captain’s chair, to wait for the all-clear. The situation seemed to be growing ever more dire with each passing hour, and it wasn’t as if he could get to Mythos in just a click of his fingers; they were several hours away from their destination. Parks was keen to minimise that time as much as possible, even if it meant shaving off only a few minutes here and there.
Before him, out the frontal viewport, he could see the final few shuttle craft leaving the carrier’s launch bay, returning to Spirit’s surface and the Orbital. He began to get the impression that Spirit’s reputation for being a dull border world was starting to slip. The men and women stationed at Mandelah Naval base had seen more action in the last couple of months than many had in their entire career. The sight of so much activity above Spirit brought the memories of the last time he had commanded Griffin flooding back to him. He hoped that today wouldn’t be the disaster that the previous outing had been, although he was aware it wouldn’t be a walk in the park, either.
They were taking with them more firepower than he had ever seen in his life – several of the most powerful frigates the CSN had to offer; landers, packed full of tanks, APCs, troops, water craft, and aerial vehicles; TAFs, Rooks, Rays and Hammerhead bombers; and one eleven-hundred-metre starfighter carrier, the acting flagship of the Confederation, fresh out of the repair yard and packed to the gills with much more of the above. And that said nothing about what the United Naval Forces were preparing to serve up when they joined the fight.
Then why can’t I shake the feeling that what we’re bringing to the table isn’t enough?, he wondered.
He knew what they really needed, to counter the result of the Senate’s lust for power and domination, but that currently lay hundreds of metres beneath the sea, buried under several billions tons of water. Or, at least, he hoped they still were. Had the Enemy already succeeded in recovering the ATAFs from where Hail had deposited them? Were they now preparing to turn the powerful starfighters against the CSN and her allies? Were the White Knights already dead?
Was this how it began, he wondered. The loss of Ifrit may well have been nothing more than the detonator charge in the Enemy’s first steps beyond Mitikas. What would their next act be? There was little doubt in his mind that the next twenty-four hours were about to become the most demanding of his entire life. Everyone would be looking at him for leadership, depending on him to save the day and avert a disaster.
His thoughts turned briefly back to Claudia. The ring that should’ve been hers still remained in its little black presentation box, tucked away at the bottom of a drawer in his bedroom. He sometimes took it out to look at it, and cursed his own lack of confidence.
At least he wasn’t going into this engagement all alone. He found himself strangely looking forward to having Mandeep by his side, as he plunged headlong into another confrontation with the Enemy. For a moment, he pictured the engagement ring gracing a slender, olive-skinned finger. How good it would look there, sparkling, as a wonderful, captivating smile looked down at it …
“Departure clearance has been granted, Captain,” Liu reported, turning around from his console, just ahead of the captain’s seat.
Parks sat up as Weathers strode past his chair and settled down at the console adjacent to Liu’s. She tapped away at her console briefly before looking around to face him.
“Fleet is standing by, waiting for your orders, sir,” she said.
Parks nodded and pushed aside his thoughts of the past and anxieties for the future. “Inform the fleet that we are ready to jump to Coyote,” he said.
The notification was sent; each of the frigates’ and battleships’ captains acknowledged that they were in position, and would follow with Griffin’s lead. With that, Parks ordered Liu to open the jump point, and together the carrier, battleships, frigates, and fighter escort departed Spirit and began the journey towards Coyote.
X
— A Testing Time —
An excerpt from A GIFT FROM THE GODS by Kelly Taylor
Thursday, 18th December 2617
I felt the APC come to an abrupt halt, and a few moments later the rear door lowered like a drawbridge. Just like the other members of Ifrit’s crew that had been taken from the beach, we had spent our entire journey in silence. I was never sure how long we had been in that APC, but it had felt like a long journey, well over an hour by my own reckoning. Where we had all been brought to, and for what purpose, I didn’t want to imagine. Had I known back then what the next couple of days were to have in store for me, I may well have wished I had died on the beach.
A black-gloved finger of the soldier sat opposite pointed first at me and then to the exit. I exchanged disquieted looks with Enrique, but didn’t move; I felt far better off where I was.
When I failed to respond to the request, the gloved finger once more pointed at me and then again to the exit. “Out,” came the single command from behind the mask.
That was the first time I had heard the troopers speak English. I hadn’t thought they were capable of it, and I remember wondering what the strange other tongue was that I heard them speak so often. It seemed that they only spoke English when they needed to. Their command of the language sounded accurate enough, not like someone who was learnin
g it, where phonetic errors could trip them up. I detected an Imperial accent in the voice though, even within that single word.
I still hadn’t moved and the solider repeated his command again, much more forcefully this time. He was clearly starting to lose patience with me, and so I decided to comply. With a last look at Enrique, I rose and made my way down the ramp.
I found myself in a desolate, misshapen environment, a far cry from the colourful splendour of the beach we had originally set down on. Here, the whole area had been levelled. Quite what it had been home to before was anyone’s guess. The ground in the distance was strewn with rubble and what appeared to be the remains of buildings that had once stood tall and proud. Now all that remained were broken skeletal structures, brick, mortar, concrete and glass stripped clean from their metal bones. Dust, dirt and granular remains of the collapsed construction blew from the stone and metals in the gentle breeze, like tiny sandstorms. But that was just the backdrop to a far busier scene just ahead of me.
Where, far off, rubble had lain still and silent, the area before me was a hive of black-suited soldiers. I couldn’t count their numbers, but there were certainly more than there had been on the beach. Six months prior, I had been terrified by just five of them. Now there were well over one hundred within close proximity. Some wore the familiar helmets with the piercing eyes, that still glowed menacingly even in the light of midday. Others heads and faces were exposed, just like the woman who had tackled me on the beach. Like her, they wore unfeeling, neutral expressions on their faces, as they either trooped around or stood perfectly in line with the rest of their regiment, looking like rows of neatly arranged toy soldiers. They towered over me as they went about their business, leaving me feeling incredibly unsettled every time they drew close to where I had been made to stand. You have no idea of how intimidating they truly are until they are stood directly in front of you, your head always tilted back to look up into those horrible red eyes. I remember that there were many flags and standards there – the image of the naked man with a spear, and the sash that curled around his body. They were dug into the dirt, propped up on little stands, or held by the soldiers themselves. To this day, I have never discovered a reason for their presence and can only guess that the Pandorans carried them out of patriotism.
Those soldiers not standing to attention moved equipment about and performed maintenance on weaponry, vehicles and other equipment. Their boots whipped up the dirt as they tramped around, creating little red dust clouds. I was invisible to them; none paid me even the slightest bit of attention as they continued doing their duty, their focus entirely on the task at hand. I don’t think they had even acknowledged our arrival.
Before I learned the true nature of events, I had at one point entertained the possibility that these black-suited soldiers were of alien origin, assuming a human-like form to dupe their adversaries. I guessed that they had crept into society, bumping people off one after another, taking their places and moving higher and higher up the social and political ladders, until they were able to establish themselves as the dominant species. But standing there before them, I remember suddenly being altogether convinced that they were entirely human.
And somehow, that was worse.
As we were lined up, my eyes scanned the starfighters and aircraft that rested on the ground. Many were of Independent design, and stood next to the Imperial fighters that the soldiers also worked on. I saw something being lowered to the ground by a makeshift crane; it was one of the sleds. It was being positioned next to what looked to be the remains of another sled, one which appeared to have already been stripped down and taken apart. It was almost as if the soldiers were curious scientists, dissecting an intriguing new entity.
Elsewhere, I made out various crates, as well as missile and rocket racks just behind them. It became clear that my captors were stockpiling and hoarding every useful resource they could lay their hands on. I saw myself and the other CSN survivors as making up a part of that resource; though how they intended to use us was still unclear.
I was made to stand in a line, the others that I had travelled with in the APC moving into place alongside me. Someone bumped into me from behind, seemingly on purpose, and I turned to see Enrique lining up beside me.
“You okay?” he mouthed to me.
I mouthed back that I was, my eyes darting around in fear of Julian Rissard. He didn’t appear to be about.
Enrique leaned closer and began whispering into my ear.
“No talking!” came the angry voice of a soldier stood behind the line-up. He struck out with the butt of his rifle, striking Enrique in the back of his head. It wasn’t a hard blow, only enough to get the point across – the no talking rule was still in force. Enrique heeded immediately.
The line-up stood in silence for a time, as the last of those captured on the beach were marched out of the APCs. I caught sight of Harris, the man who had been assigned as my personal bodyguard, and with whom I had spent the trip down to the surface. His expression was grim, but I was relieved to see that he was at least still alive. Though he had been charged with protecting me with his life, I felt a need to do the same for him. Absurd I know, but it was that kind of thinking that had made me join the service in the first place.
The steadily increasing sound of engines above drew my attention skyward. A shuttle appeared overhead, hovering in the sky above us, its wings outstretched like a kestrel in search of its prey below. The activity of nearby soldiers increased, many hurrying about, giving orders and instructions, and clearing away equipment. With its intended landing zone clear, the shuttle descended rapidly, churning up dirt and dust as it did so. The cloud carried quickly over to the line-up, and with my hands still bound behind my back, I could do little to guard myself from the flurry. I tried to turn around, but was immediately spun back to facing the landing zone by a soldier stood directly behind me. After that, I could only lower my head and shut my eyes to guard against the dust storm. It didn’t help much, and I shortly joined those spitting and coughing as it found its way into my mouth.
I looked up at the craft when the worst of the assault of dust had ended. It was more formal-looking than most other shuttles, at one time likely having been reserved for use by high-ranking officials and senior command within the Imperial navy. Judging by the way the soldiers around me were making use of anything and everything they could lay their hands on, it appeared to have now been relegated to serving as a general purpose transport for anyone needing it, regardless of rank or status.
A door on the transport opened and a small set of steps unfolded. One of the soldiers close by pointed to someone further up the line and then towards the shuttle. “Go,” they said. A woman started forward, followed by several more people soon after. Enrique was summoned next and I was gripped by a sudden fear that I might be separated from him. He turned and gave me a reassuring look as he departed the line. I watched him ascend the small steps into the transport, shaking with fear as I awaited the ominous sound of gears engaging and the sight of them folding up. I then felt a heavy hand shove me forward. They wanted me in there, too. I hurried to board the craft, moving far faster and more eagerly than anybody else had done.
Once inside, we were unceremoniously shoved down into seats, still in complete silence. The interior of the shuttle was filthy from where mud, dirt, chalk and other waste had been introduced, but never cleaned. What colour the carpeted floor may have been before was anyone’s guess. The luxurious leather seats were in such a tattered state that no one would have ever wanted to sit in them again. Not that, of course, we were given a choice.
Full, the shuttle’s doors closed and it lifted off.
It seemed that it only flew a short distance before touching down again. Along with the other Confederation naval personnel, Enrique and I were herded out of the shuttle and ushered inside a building that bore all the hallmarks of a hospital. It turned out to be an institution for the mentally ill. Our restraints were removed and we were
bundled into a cell.
In the short period that followed, we talked in high spirits to keep our morale up. We told each other a number of things – they’re not going to hurt us; the others are safe; they’ll come and get us; don’t worry, we’ll be okay.
It only worked in the short-term. Then the screaming started.
Even through the thick walls and heavy padding, I could hear what sounded like the tortured cries of men and women. At first, I thought it was coming from the inmates of the asylum. It is therefore incredibly difficult for me to describe the horror I felt at discovering they belonged to those that had been brought in with us. They were terrible, twisted screams that sounded as though the victim was undergoing a slow, sadistic torture – in incredible pain, always an inch from death, but never being granted that relief.
The instant we realised it was Ifrit’s survivors that were being tormented, we desperately hunted around for a way to escape. We soon discovered that there was no way out except through the cell door. And even if we could’ve gotten through it, there was no way we could have avoided detection by the army of black-clad soldiers that patrolled the floors and grounds of the institution.
Then they had come for Enrique.
The door had opened and the screams had come flooding into the cell, along with three soldiers. We did our best to stop either of us from being taken, but our efforts were nothing but a token gesture at best; I knew we were barely a match for one, let alone three. Restraining me, they took hold of Enrique as easily a grown man might do a child, dragging him from the cell. The door had bolted shut once more, leaving me alone with nothing but the continuing screams of pain and the tormented thoughts that Enrique’s own might very soon be joining them. I heard his shouts, cries and threats gradually growing quieter in my ears as he was dragged away, until they faded away to nothing.
The Battle for the Solar System (Complete Trilogy) Page 60