by James Palmer
“Yes, sir,” Hall’s voice filtered unevenly through the comm-link. “Every word. I’ll send a security detail to your location to take the woman into custody.”
“Thank you, Commander,” Andrews said. “Where is Commander Maddox?” he asked between breaths.
“Sir?”
“Commander Maddox?” he repeated. “Where is he?”
“Sir?” Commander Hall’s confusion filtered through loud and clear. “He told me that he was going with you to find the admiral.” A moment ticked off as she verified. “Is he not there with you, sir?”
“No.” The captain stopped, helped Lt. Jeffries to the deck slowly, leaning him against a closed door, all the while checking his surroundings. “At least not yet,” he muttered.
Something isn’t right here, Commander Hall thought. She made an offer to help, proposed to hail the first officer to find out his present location.
“Don’t bother,” Andrews said. “I’m sure he’ll be along any minute now.”
Commander Hall started to protest, but the captain cut her short. “Just get a security team down here pronto. Then get us back on course to rendezvous with Marshal Vortex and his fleet. Maximum speed. Now!”
“Yes, Captain.”
Although she did not understand the captain’s order, it really was not her place to do so. With dispatch, she carried out her commanding officers order.
In the lower decks of the Ulysis, Captain William Andrews looked around, tensed and waiting for the coming attack. “Where are you, Jonathon?” he asked no one in particular. The hallway was empty, except for the captain and the injured Jeffries. “What game are you playing?”
“Game, Captain?” the voice of the first officer of the Ulysis said as the commander slowly walked around the corner to faces his superior officer. Grim determination etched on his face, this was a side of Jonathon Maddox that Andrews had never witnessed. Until that moment one he had not known the younger man possessed.
Maddox’s pistol was drawn and ready, pointed directly at Captain Andrews’ chest. His body language told Andrews all he needed to know. The man he thought of as a friend would certainly kill him without a second thought.
“How did I miss this?” Andrews asked. “How did you fool me all these years? How? Come on, Jonathon, you owe me that much.” The betrayal etched on Andrews’ face underscored the triumph of his traitorous first officer.
“I don’t really owe you much of anything, sir.” The last word dripped with sarcasm.
“Were there clues and I just couldn’t see it?”
Carefully, Andrews moved away from Lt. Jeffries, leading the traitor toward the opposite wall. Mr. Jeffries has been injured enough for one day, he decided as he put as much distance between them as possible.
Commander Maddox answered with a laugh. “Clues? I have never hidden anything, you idiot. Everything that I am, I have always been. I aim to free my people.” He watched his captain stare him down, probably wondering where he went wrong. Wondering what possible event could have so corrupted his youthfully optimistic executive officer. The captain was drowning in self-recrimination over Maddox’s ‘fall from grace.’
“You fool,” the traitorous first officer yelled. “You never knew me! We never talked to one another as men! You were always so enthralled by the job that you neglected to get to know those of us who serve beneath you.”
Andrews’ face hardened.
“I’ve played you like a broken fiddle from day one, Captain.”
“I’ve got to admit it, Jonathon. You fooled me. I’m so...” he paused, searching for the right word. “...surprised,” he concluded.
“Surprised?”
“Well,” Andrews began, still moving away from Lt. Jeffries, putting as much distance between them as possible. “I’m truly impressed. I didn’t think you were competent enough to ever do anything like this. I’m surprised you had the brains to pull off so convincing an act. I actually thought you were a good soldier. You took orders like a faithful little lap dog.”
Maddox’s jaw twitched.
Andrews stopped. Noticing a detail out of the corner of his right eye, an idea began forming.
“Or…” he said, letting a sly smile play across his lips as he pointed back to the room where Jeffries had been a prisoner. “Was she the brains of your particular operation?”
The insult was clear.
“I will shoot you,” Maddox threatened.
“I doubt it.” Andrews said as he stared down the officer. “If you were going to shoot me you would’ve done it by now.”
“You sure about that, Bill?”
“I don’t think you’ve got the guts or the stomach for it, Jonathon.” A heartbeat ticked off as they stared at one another.
The first officer made no move.
“Well?” Captain Andrews feigned impatience.
The commander held the gun leveled at Andrews’ head, his hand mostly steady and sure, with just a slight tremor.
Captain Andrews stood his ground, steady and unswerving. A seasoned combat officer, he was a rock in the sea of turmoil and strife that had permeated his ship for the past few hours.
“I don’t have all day, Jonathon. Let’s get this over with. I’ve got work to do.”
Jonathon Maddox’s finger tightened on the blaster’s trigger. There was no way he could miss at this range.
“Good bye, Captain,” Jonathon Maddox sneered.
Andrews closes his eyes, hoping his desperate gamble paid off.
He tensed for the blast.
Commander Maddox squeezed the trigger.
At that moment Admiral McKeen made his move.
In a fluid motion the admiral leapt from the open doorway.
Toppling the armed, younger man, they fell to the deck. The admiral twisted, landed atop the commander as a blast of energy lanced out of the pistol aimed at Andrews.
Instinctively, Captain Andrews dove toward the deck, the shot sizzling past overhead, just barely missing its intended target.
McKeen kicked at Maddox’s hand, sending the gun sliding across the deck. The admiral pressed his advantage, but his opponent had youth and vigor on his side. McKeen’s injuries did not help matters.
An elbow smashed into the admiral’s face. Free of the older man’s grip, Maddox leapt for his fallen gun.
Refusing to relent, McKeen grabbed the younger man by the leg, pulling him back to the deck. Just out of reach of the fallen weapon. With renewed fervor, James McKeen leapt upon his attacker, pummeling his enemy.
“Admiral!” The voice of Captain Andrews boomed in the narrow corridor, full of enough authority to make both men cease their struggling. “That’s enough!” he said.
The admiral stopped his attack, his breathing ragged as he reared back on his knees. With much pain, forced himself against the nearest bulkhead.
“He’s finished,” Andrews said softly.
Commander Maddox moaned softly, his hands trying to stop the blood pouring from his nose.
“You look like hell, Jim,” Andrews said.
“Thanks,” he said with a grunt, a cough escaping between gasps for breath.
“Let’s get you two out of here.”
“Jeffries?” the older man asked.
“I’ll live, sir,” the lieutenant answered from across the room. “I think.”
The captain freed Jeffries from his restraints.
“Thank you,” he said as he massaged feeling back into his wrists.
The captain opened his mouth to respond when the sound of running footsteps echoed from down the corridor.
“Cavalry’s here,” McKeen joked.
“Better late than never.”
“But still a sight for sore eyes,” Jeffries said.
“Captain?”
“In here, Chief! Everything’s under control.”
The security team took position around the small assemblage of senior officers. At a command from the captain, they took the soon to be former Commander Maddox into c
ustody.
“How many more are there, Jonathon?” the captain asked through clenched teeth once security had secured the prisoner. “Are there any more of your Earth Liberation League terrorists on board my ship?”
Maddox laughed out loud. “Why should I tell you? We are not terrorists. We are revolutionaries. The time of turning a blind eye to the problems of the sector are over. We are the salvation of all those who have no one to turn to. We are the heroes here, Captain. We are the saviors here. Not you.”
“Don’t bet on it,” Andrews said. He turned to the security chief. “Take him to the brig and make sure he stays there! I want him under constant guard. A minimum of two guards on him at all times, just in case any more of his friends are here.” He chucked a thumb over his shoulder. “His friends are back there.”
“Yes, sir,” the security chief answered. They escorted Maddox out of the room, to his new quarters in the brig.
The admiral looked at the traitor. “Consider yourself demoted, son. I guess we won’t be taking that tour after all.”
Jonathon Maddox fumed, but said nothing. His eyes burned hatred for the two men, whom he once admired, now objects of a government he opposed.
The captain flipped on his wrist comm-link. “Did you get all of that, Commander Hall?”
“Yes I did, Captain. It was very... enlightening.” Her voice was full of sadness. He remembered that Andrea Hall and Jonathon Maddox had become friends during their tour together. She had looked up to him and respected him and he had betrayed her.
He had betrayed them all.
The captain shared her sorrow. He had also come to think of his first officer as a friend. His treachery was a hard pill for either of them to swallow.
“After I escort the admiral and Lt. Jeffries to the infirmary, I’ll be on my way back to the bridge. If you need me, Commander Hall, that’s where I’ll be.”
“Aye, sir.”
“Come on, Admiral. Let’s get you and Mr. Jeffries here to a doctor.”
“Like hell!” The admiral’s face hid no emotion. “The infirmary is the last place I plan on going.”
The captain knew, from years of experience, better than to argue with the man once he made up his mind. “Mr. Ibuta,” he said to one of the closest security officer. “Take Lt. Jeffries to medical, please.”
Melvin Jeffries started to protest, but the admiral and captain glared at him, daring him to speak.
“You’ve done your job, son,” the admiral said. “I... uh, I mean, we’ll take it from here. You and I’ll talk later.”
Jeffries nodded ascent.
“Get him out of here,” McKeen said. “And be careful.”
The security guard nodded, allowing Jeffries to lean against him for support. “I’ll take good care of him, Admiral.”
“Very good, Mr. Ibuta.” the captain answered.
Once they were gone, Andrews faced his mentor, offering him a thin smile devoid of humor. The admiral suspected Bill Andrews was three steps shy of throwing him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and carrying him to the infirmary personally. Knowing that the Ulysis’ captain wouldn’t actually do it, but that the thought had probably raced through his mind once or twice, made McKeen return the smile.
“Alright, you stubborn ass,” Andrews acquiesced. “Come on.”
Together, they ran to the closest elevator.
“We’ve got an invasion to stop.”
38
Marshal’s Office Starship Bounty’s Pride
“Coming up on Space Lab’s coordinates, Marshal.”
“How long?”
“Twenty eight seconds,” Natalie Vortex said. She started a countdown from her console on the bridge of the Bounty’s Pride. As the flagship of the attack fleet trying to stave off an invasion of the planet Earth, the marshal’s ship led the charge. We get to save all the rich folk’s land. Yippee! Not that she would ever say it aloud, but she sympathized with those who wanted to open up the Earth to be repopulated.
“Thank you, Natalie,” the marshal said. Stippling his fingers, he rested them under his clean-shaven chin. Eyes a blaze with determination, but his heart in turmoil. This incursion by the Earth Liberation League would, if successful, open up the planet like never before. Would it be so bad? he wondered. Making the planet a free haven for those without a place to call their very own?
The result would be more land for colonies, more places for people to live. The overpopulation problem plaguing the Alliance for the past three dozen years could be cut down to a more manageable size if Earth were opened to the general populace. Surely it would not end the problem, but as a stopgap it would help with at least one particular dilemma in this sector.
Could helping those that are less fortunate be so wrong?
Unfortunately, yes.
For all of the Earth Liberation League’s altruistic intentions, they were still violating several laws. Laws erected by the Alliance legislature to protect the citizens of the United Planetary Alliance. Like it or not, the planet Earth was a part of the vast community of worlds that made up the whole of the Alliance. Their rights had be protected just as the rights of everyone else in this sector.
It was not right to value the privileges of a select few members of society while throwing those of the remainder out the window.
The Alliance was only as strong as the sum of its parts. The right hand could not steal from the left hand. Order and balance were essential. They had to be maintained at all costs. The unenviable task of halting the advance of the Earth Liberation League fell to Marshal Maxwell Vortex. It was his responsibility to maintain the status quo in regards to Earth.
Even though he felt it was wrong, the law was the law. No matter how much he might wish it otherwise, the marshal was sworn to uphold that law. He had a strict moral code. There were lines he refused to cross despite how blurry that line became at times.
Times like today.
“Marshal,” Natalie’s soothing voice interrupted his train of thought. “The Scavenger attack fleet has just entered the Earth sector. They will be within weapons range of Space Lab in two minutes and twenty two seconds.”
“How long until we can intercept?”
“Two minutes and ten seconds,” Natalie answered assuredly.
He did not question her calculations. Over the years he had grown to trust her abilities fully. And not just because she was his daughter, but because she was usually right. Her track record spoke for itself.
The marshal let out a breath he did not realize he’d been holding. He leaned back against the cushion of his command chair. “Cutting it a little close, aren’t we, Nat?”
“So what else is new?” She grinned.
“Alright, Natalie,” he stiffened. The time was upon him. Just like he trained his cadets. There would be no regrets, no indecision. There was no choice.
“Show time, people.”
“Yes, sir.” Natalie tapped keys on her communication console, connecting the marshal to every ship under his command. The fleet was made up of military and police force vessels. The marshal gave the order to engage the enemy if fired upon.
“Battle stations! All hands prepare for contact. We’re reading hostiles on approach. All snub fighters prepare to launch and form up with squadron lead, Commander Grady.” He hesitated a moment, then continued.
“No matter what people,” he said. “We do not, I repeat, do not let these people take Space Lab. Consider that the proverbial line in the sand. We will not let them cross it. Good luck. Godspeed.”
He paused, took a deep cleansing breath. “Okay,” he said. “Let’s do it.”
At his command, Natalie severed the connection and set condition one. The bridge of the Bounty’s Pride was illuminated in washes of red lighting as the hymn of the call to battle stations blared throughout, giving the old ship a new sense of life. Natalie monitored the same scenario playing out on board every other ship in the fleet. That knowledge propelled her, giving her a renewed confidence
in herself and her peers.
She felt confident they would win the day. Together, they were unbeatable. Together they can accomplish anything. Besides, I promised Mom I’d come back in one piece. Can’t lie to Mom.
“Grady?”
“Ready, willing, and able, Marshal. Just give the word,” Deputy Allison Grady’s voice filtered onto the bridge, steady.
Natalie listened for any sign of strain in her voice. There was none. Nothing rattled Grady. Never had, at least not as long as Natalie had known her.
“What’s the word, Marshal?” Grady asked, her voice authoritative, but with the acknowledgment that Marshal Vortex is in charge.
The marshal pointed at his daughter, signaling an open channel. Natalie opened a channel to Grady’s fighter.
“The word is go, Commander. Get out there and take care of business.”
“Launch deck reports fighters ready for launch,” Dexter Freeman reported.
“Launch fighters,” the marshal ordered.
“Launching!”
“And Grady?
“Yes, sir?”
“Be careful.”
“Understood, Boss. Grady out.” He could almost see the smile on her face as he heard her reassuring words.
“The bird’s are away, marshal,” Natalie said, counting off as the smaller ships launched, moving ahead of the larger ships in attack formation.
“Very good, Natalie.” The marshal shot a glance toward the pilot’s station. “Mr. Walker, move the Bounty’s Pride into formation behind Grady’s fighters. We’ll cover them as long as we are able.”
“Understood, sir. Changing course now.”
“Enemy vessels now within visual range, Marshal.”
“Let’s see them, Nat.” The main screen at the front of the bridge sprang to life, filling the bridge with a panoramic view of space around them. Off in the distance, a small speck appeared against the Aloud he said, “I was hoping I was wrong.” His tone betrayed no emotion. This was a time for decisive action. “Open a channel to the Scavenger attack group.”
Natalie nodded, entering the appropriate signal frequency. “You’re on, Marshal,” she announced.