The Battle for the Solar System (Complete Trilogy)

by Sweeney, Stephen

  Zackaria lunged for him. “I know you,” the admiral said, grabbing hold of him, the dagger blood-sodden ready for more.

  Dodds opened his eyes in shock, relieved to find that he was still in his quarters on Griffin. Apparently, it hadn’t taken long for him to drift off at all, and neither had it taken long for the bad dreams to catch up with him. Not as detailed a dream as the previous one, but enough for him to appreciate that Zackaria had once again pursued him into it. The man had felt closer this time, almost suffocatingly so.

  How long had he been asleep? He began reaching for his Kyllini, to check the hour, when he heard the sound of voices. He listened more carefully for a time, realising that they were coming from Chaz’s bunk, from the man’s own PDA. It was a video message, the level of the voices low, yet not that of a person speaking softly.

  “… we’re moving again, soon. They said they’re shifting us to Sol, to give us refuge and thank us for everything we’ve done.”

  Dodds had never heard the voice before, but even so there was little doubt in his mind as to whom it likely belonged – Vanessa, Chaz’s wife. Chaz was watching one of the video messages he had received from her. Perhaps the most recent one. He wondered why the man wasn’t using headphones or something similar to listen to the messages more privately. Maybe he didn’t want to, wanting it to sound as if she were in the same room as him.

  “I’ve volunteered to continue helping out wherever I can,” Vanessa continued. “At this point, I can hardly refuse to do anything else, and it wasn’t as if I have anywhere to go.” She chuckled, but there was a sadness in it. “I’ve told the boys about what a hero their daddy is, and what hard work you’ve been doing out there, and we’re all so very, very proud of you, my darling—”

  “Yeah, Dad, we’re proud of you,” a new, younger-sounding voice chipped in.

  “Proud of you,” another, even younger voice, added.

  Chaz’s sons. Dodds forgot their names.

  “I’m proud of you, too,” he then heard Chaz whisper. “I’ll see you soon; in this life or the next.” The big man sniffed afterwards. He must’ve been weeping.

  Dodds had never known Chaz to cry. The man hadn’t seemed capable of it. And yet, here he was. Dodds began to feel very bad for continuing to listen in. He knew he should make some kind of noise to alert Chaz that he wasn’t asleep. He snored loudly, made a show of rolling over in his bunk, faked a yawn and pretended to be waking up. As expected, Chaz immediately clicked off the video message.

  “You awake, Dodds?” Chaz asked.

  “Hmm,” Dodds answered, pretending to be sleepy, still playing the part.

  “Did Natalia find you?”

  “She did. We sat up in the bar and caught up.”

  “Good.”

  “Parks wasn’t too happy that she’d stowed away, though.”

  “No. But it’s not like it really matters any more, does it?” Chaz lay where he was for a while longer, before sitting up and hopping down from the bunk. He sniffed and dabbed at his eyes, wiping away the tears that Dodds knew were still there. “Damn,” he said, “think I might’ve caught a cold down on Kethlan.”

  “What time is it?” Dodds asked.

  “Almost seven-thirty, ship time. We’ll be back in Sol in a little while,” Chaz said, picking up his neatly folded clothes and starting to pull them on. “There’s going to be a lot of people there. You’ll get to see Estelle again soon,” he added.

  And you’ll get to see Vanessa again soon, too, Dodds thought. And this time, we’ll make sure it’s forever. In both this life and the next.

  XIV

  — Three’s a Crowd —

  Estelle looked out her window to the space beyond. She wondered how long it would be until Earth came around to a point where she could see Europe again. She wanted to look down at Ireland, to where her family was. Would it still be dark? The sun had been setting when they had arrived, but it had been a good twelve hours or so since then. She touched the side of her face, feeling how tender it still was. Some greeting that had been. After retiring to her allocated stateroom, Estelle had seen how her face had swollen up following the agitated man’s attack. He had struck her hard, with the force of so much hate and anger. Had she not rolled part of it, trying to get out of the way, she knew it would’ve been much worse.

  She heard the door chime.

  “Who is it?” she called. Though there hadn’t been any more incidents since arriving, the coastguards had recommended she not take any chances, and had suggested she lock the door.

  “Estelle, it’s Kelly,” came the voice via the intercom. “Griffin’s here!”

  Estelle opened the door, seeing the excited look on Kelly’s face. She saw that the small woman was clutching her Kyllini in her hand. Enrique must have notified her the moment they had entered the system.

  “Come on, let’s go meet them,” Kelly added, disappearing before Estelle could reply.

  Griffin was back. They were all together again, after nearly three years. And that meant Dodds was here. Estelle found herself moving automatically, hastening down the corridors and making her way to the orbital’s flight deck, just as fast as Kelly, keeping pace with her for reasons she couldn’t quite explain.

  Once again, a large crowd had formed on the deck, more people now than when Leviathan had arrived. As it was one of the last Confederation warships to return, and knowing from where it came, the people here were likely waiting on the news Griffin’s arrival would bring with it. Estelle knew they would be hoping for, yearning for something positive. Would Parks, Dodds, Enrique and Chaz truly be bringing the glad tidings that Kelly had hinted at?

  She made her way into the throng, disregarding any threat from certain individuals, and pushed her way as close to the front as she could. Pulling rank here would do little to move people from her path, she knew. Force was perhaps all they would understand. She was shoved back a few times as she pushed forward, but only shoved back harder until she was at the front.

  She stood side by side with Kelly, watching as the shuttles began to spill into the bay. Necks craned as the first occupants emerged. Despite what else the crowd might be feeling, she guessed that she wasn’t the only person there who was waiting for someone close to return home.

  The first group of shuttle doors opened, met immediately by cheers and tears from the friends, family and colleagues that had come to meet the arrivals. Estelle caught snatches of conversation from those coming ashore from Parks’ fleet as she continued to wait, relieved to hear that many of them were painting the Knights in a very positive light. There were many comments about how Dodds, Enrique and Chaz had pulled them out of the fire on several occasions, saving the carrier, the lander and the two frigates from total destruction as they delved deeper into Imperial space.

  “Have you seen Enrique, Dodds or Chaz yet?” Kelly asked after some time.

  “Not yet,” Estelle said. Many shuttles had landed now, but there was still no sign of any of the three men. There were only a few faces that Estelle recognised. She wondered whether Dodds, Enrique or Chaz could’ve changed so much in three years that she might not have spotted them immediately. “They’ll probably be the last off,” she added.

  As the deck began to clear, the coastguards once more moving people back into the main parts of the station, she saw several figures – three men of around average height, one very tall man, and another figure whom she couldn’t place. Dodds might have still been a way off, but Estelle identified him from his gait. She felt her heart suddenly lift, excitement and happiness bubbling up from within her, where it seemed to have hidden itself away for many, many months. Even so, she resisted the urge to run forward to him, choosing to remain where she was. Kelly, for her part, broke from Estelle as she ran for Enrique, almost bowling the man over as she hugged him. Estelle caught Dodds’ distinctive laugh as the two collided and saw an extremely brief exchange, before Kelly pointed in Estelle’s direction. Dodds looked over and smiled, giving a short wave.


  Well, Estelle thought, may as well join them now. But as she started over she felt her smile slipping. Who was that next to Dodds, walking so very close, the hands by their sides almost brushing? She took in more details as she came closer – blonde hair, small frame. Oh no! It couldn’t be, could it? She’d not seen the woman since Mythos, but for some reason had never forgotten her. Natalia Grace.

  Why was she here? Why was she standing so close to Dodds? She couldn’t answer any of these questions, but as she saw Kelly and Enrique hugging each other, with Parks trying to push them forward, she knew that she needed to get over to Dodds. After months of wanting to see him again, to be with him again, had he already slipped from her grasp and into the embrace of that blonde stranger? She made her way over to the group, doing her best not to sprint and maintaining a healthy smile for everyone.

  “Estelle,” Dodds said, reaching out an arm towards her.

  “Simon,” Estelle said, stepping forward into it. The two tightly embraced each other, Estelle grateful for the physical contact after so many years of nothing but exchanges of text messages. He felt thin to her, even more than she would’ve expected. But she was thin too, as were they all. She didn’t want him to let her go any time soon, but Dodds shortly released her.

  “Good to see you again, Estelle,” Chaz smiled, coming forward and sweeping her up. The big man had also lost some of his girth, was not quite as muscular as he had once been.

  Estelle stepped over to Enrique and Parks next, greeting the rear admiral a little more awkwardly than her team-mates, simply shaking his hand after deciding against anything overly familiar. She said nothing to Natalia, only giving her a small nod. She then came back to Dodds, giving him another hug.

  “How are you?” Dodds started, before his eyes focused on the left side of her face. He scowled, reached out probing fingers. “What’s this all about? Did you try and take on one of those black-suited bastards with your bare hands?”

  That had been the result of Dodds’ own attempt, Estelle recalled, when they had encountered their first ever Pandoran soldier at Arlos starport. It had taken weeks for that bruise to vanish. She took hold of his hand, moving it away from her black eye. “We were attacked when we landed,” Estelle said, dismissively.

  “Attacked?” Enrique said. He had stopped hugging Kelly and was looking somewhat wound up.

  “Someone punched you?” Dodds said.

  “Who?” Chaz added, scanning the crowd of people.

  “Don’t worry,” Kelly said. “It was nothing. Security dealt with it.”

  “Is this something that we need to be aware of, Captain?” Parks asked.

  “Nothing serious, sir,” Estelle said. “Some of the residents were blaming the failure to hold back the enemy fleet on the ATAFs. We’ve been assigned private quarters for the moment, since tensions and sentiments seem to be running a little high. Admiral Jenkins and Commodore Meyers can fill you in on the rest of the details, if you need them,” she added.

  “Thank you, Captain. I’ll be sure to ask her about that.” He then looked past Estelle to where a number of coastguards were approaching. They identified themselves as an escort sent by Jenkins, to lead Parks to her office and the Knights to their staterooms, until the meeting was ready to begin.

  “Twenty minutes at most,” the lead said. “The admiral is keen to get things underway as soon as possible.”

  “Estelle, you remember Natalia, right?” Dodds introduced, as they followed the coastguards.

  For a moment, Estelle considered feigning ignorance. No, something like that didn’t really suit her. “Um … yes,” she said. “You’re the government agent, right?”

  “Former agent,” Natalia said. “I got out of the service a few years ago.”

  Estelle nodded, but said nothing more to her, looking back to Dodds. “Simon, can we go somewhere and talk for a while? Alone,” she added.

  “Sure,” Dodds said. “I’ll catch you later, Natalia.”

  “I’ll see you in the meeting,” Natalia said, before splitting off with the other coastguards.

  Estelle looked about the flight deck as the party waited for the lift to arrive. She noticed that a number of maintenance workers, deckhands, and what appeared to be some dressed-down pilots were standing in a group together. One held a tablet in her hand, tapping away at it and talking to the others. There was something not right about their behaviour. They were acting – for want of a better word – a little shifty. The woman holding the tablet looked over to the Knights, scanning the group before returning her eyes to the device. Her lips moved, and those standing by focused on her for a moment. A few turned their heads, one after the other, and looked over in the Knights’ direction. Estelle recognised that trick, it was one of the oldest in the book. Don’t all look at once, but …

  Estelle noticed that Dodds was studying her when she turned back. He then followed her eyes to the group, causing those who met his gaze to pretend to be suddenly interested in other things. “You okay?” he said, looking back to Estelle.

  “No, I’m fine. Don’t worry,” Estelle said. Though in truth she was feeling quite apprehensive once more. Something was suddenly bothering her, and she couldn’t help shake the feeling that something was bothering those eleven men and women, too.

  *

  “So, someone wasn’t too impressed with all the hard work you and Kelly have been putting in, then?” Dodds said, sitting down next to Estelle on the small bed.

  “No,” Estelle said. “They were blaming their losses on the amount of money that had been put into the ATAF program. They said that had that not been done, then a lot more people would’ve been alive today. They reckoned that the expenditure could’ve been better used to develop more warships, starfighters and train up more soldiers and pilots, as well as fund automated defence systems.”

  Dodds snorted and shook his head. “I’ve lost count of the number of times the ATAFs have prevented things from becoming a complete disaster,” he said. He looked out the small window. “Though I’ll admit things could’ve been better,” he added quietly.

  “We did everything we could,” she said. “But we’re only human.” It sounded like she was making an excuse. She decided to change the subject. “Does it look bad?” she said, indicating her eye.

  “It’s pretty swollen,” Dodds said, peering closely at it. “Was it one of the guys down on the deck earlier?” He looked almost ready to head back down there to try to sort them out himself – maybe even grab Enrique and Chaz on his way, to make things a little easier. She didn’t want him doing anything like that. She’d only just gotten him back.

  “No, it wasn’t,” she said, taking his hand and holding it tight. “Don’t worry.”

  “Those guys did look like they were up to something, though,” Dodds said, returning his attention to the window. “Harbouring negative sentiments towards the very people trying to protect them isn’t what we need right now.”

  “Simon,” Estelle said, drawing him back around. “I’ve missed you.” She hugged him again, trying to take the negativity out of him. He made to break the hug a couple of times, but she held him tight. “I can’t believe it’s been three years,” she said. “I’m so glad that you’re alive.” He relaxed more and hugged her back, and when she finally released him, he appeared a little more at ease.

  “Thanks,” he said.

  “You’re welcome,” she said, still holding his hand tight. He squeezed it back, smiling warmly. “And thank you for looking after my family,” she added, her eyes straying to the window.

  “Have you spoken to them since you arrived?” Dodds asked, following her gaze out the window.

  “Not yet,” Estelle said, studying the planet below. The angle of Earth still wasn’t as good as she had wanted, it being difficult to make out any more than one quarter of the upper/lower hemisphere (she wasn’t sure which). She’d hoped to see Ireland again, but she would likely have to get outside the station for a better view. “We exch
anged some messages and I tried to talk to them in the comms rooms, but they’re constantly busy right now. Security doesn’t want us walking around unaccompanied, either.”

  “You can probably hook your Kyllini into the system from here, like we did on the carriers,” Dodds suggested.

  “I tried,” Estelle said, picking the little device up from where it was resting on a pillow. “But it can’t locate the right services. I had a go at rescanning and changing the configuration, but I can’t even get onto the network. Kelly wasn’t sure, either. She can only get naval channels.”

  “Want me to give it a try? I was meaning to talk to my mum and dad myself, so we might as well do so together.”

  “Sure,” Estelle said, handing the device over, “you were always very good with these things.” She watched as he began to work his way through various screens and settings, seeming to be drawn into the task. She felt a small tingling in her belly as she watched, knowing he was taking pleasure in doing all this just for her. It brought back some memories of when he had done so in the past, during happier times.

  “Ah,” Dodds said, not a short time later. “It won’t work because you’re missing a couple of add-ons.”

  He looked up at her, but Estelle only shrugged. She knew what he meant, but for some reason wanted him to do it.

  “I’ll see if I can get them installed,” he said.

  He began working through some more screens, commentating on what he was doing as he did so. Estelle paid the device only a little attention. She caught glimpses of lists with colourful icons, along with what looked like comments and ratings, not unlike something she might expect to see from an online store. She didn’t care if what he was doing was costing her money, she had more than enough to last several lifetimes. Right now, her focus was more on Dodds himself. He had indeed got thinner, the skin around his face was drawn a little tighter than she remembered it. His hair, too, was not as thick as it had been, and there were a lot more grey hairs. She wondered if he had noticed at all that she had dyed her own hair. Maybe he had, but decided not to say anything.