by Ken Lozito
“An archive! That’s amazing. How’d you find it?” Noah asked.
Lenora gave him a sidelong glance. “A group of refugees wandered down here and said they’d found something. They described this room.”
“Maybe having the refugees here isn’t such a bad thing after all. You could put them to work,” Noah said.
Lenora blew out a breath and looked at him regretfully. “About before. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize. None of this is easy.”
“That doesn’t mean I didn’t mean what I said. I’m just sorry I yelled at you,” Lenora said.
Noah glanced at the alien symbols scrolling past on the antiquated screen. It wasn’t made of glass but was constructed of some kind of tightly knitted flexible mesh.
“If you really feel that way, then why don’t you send Connor a message?” Noah said.
Lenora frowned. “I’m not going to send him some final message professing a bunch of emotional crap. He doesn’t need that.”
Noah laughed. “No, of course not, but would it hurt for you to tell him you’d like him to come back home?”
“We’re not together,” Lenora replied firmly.
“I know that, but you still care about him,” Noah said, thinking that Lenora could also teach a thing or two about being stubborn.
Lenora regarded him for a moment. “Maybe.”
Noah’s comlink chimed, and he tapped the receiver near his ear. “This is Noah.”
“We need you back topside, sir. Captain Gibson is ordering a test-fire of the colossus cannon,” Corporal Johnson said.
Noah jerked back a few steps. Idiot! He sucked in his bottom lip in frustration. “I’m coming. You have to stall him. If he fires that weapon, he could overload the entire system.”
“Yes, sir,” Corporal Johnson said.
The comlink closed.
“God, please save me from idiots like Gibson,” Noah said.
“I’ll come with you,” Lenora said, “in case God is busy.”
Noah snorted and, together, they ran out of the alien archive. He contacted members of the engineering team, informing them of what was happening. Three work crews were on their way to the mobile Command Center.
They ran through throngs of refugees, and Noah shouted for them to make a space. Most didn’t recognize him, but they did recognize the Colonial Defense Uniform and had come to respect it. A few minutes later they were within sight of the mobile Command Center. There was a crowd gathered, with more than a few work crews. Field Operations and Security personnel had established a perimeter just outside the Command Center, and Captain Gibson was standing just behind the line, red-faced, with a wild look in his eye. His left cheek was swollen. Noah saw Corporal Johnson on his knees. He looked disoriented, as if he’d just had a shock-stick used on him.
Noah pushed his way through the workers, and the line of Field Ops and Security forces held their shock-sticks ready.
“Gibson! What the hell are you doing?” Noah shouted.
Captain Gibson swung his angry gaze toward him and sneered. “Your man attacked me.”
Noah looked over at Corporal Johnson and scuttled over to him. “Get away from him,” Noah snapped.
The Field Ops agent standing over Corporal Johnson glared at Noah.
“Back off,” Lenora said, coming to stand next to Noah.
The Field Ops man glanced back at Gibson.
“This is ridiculous,” Lenora said and stepped forward, helping Corporal Johnson back to his feet. Surprisingly, the Field Ops team let her do this.
Corporal Johnson was hunched over, holding his middle.
“Are you alright?” Noah asked quietly.
“You did say to stall him, sir,” Corporal Johnson said and grimaced.
Noah motioned to some members of the work crew to take Corporal Johnson, and they led him off to the side.
Noah turned back toward Captain Gibson. “You can’t test-fire the colossus cannon. You’ll overload the system.”
“I had my own people check the latest reports for the power converter. The energy levels are constant. We can test the weapon,” Captain Gibson sneered.
Noah took a moment to calm down. He needed to defuse the situation, not exacerbate it. “You don’t know what you’re doing—”
“I’ve had about enough of your smug comments. You come here, strutting around, thinking you’re so superior. People actually believe you’re some kind of hero. The people are scared. They need to know they can be protected here,” Captain Gibson said and glanced at a Field Ops person next to him. “Ready the cannon for test-firing.”
Noah stepped forward and felt Lenora grab his arm, holding him back. “You’re such an idiot. Yes, the power levels are constant, but if you fire that weapon, you’ll overload the system and destroy our only means of defense.”
“Rubbish,” Captain Gibson spat.
The line of Field Ops and Security forces stood ready, almost inviting Noah to try and push his way through.
“I don’t know what your tech expert told you, but the power requirements for the colossus cannon are not comparable to the mag-cannons that were installed in Sierra. The power draw is much more taxing on the system and is prone to spikes,” Noah said.
Captain Gibson narrowed his gaze. “You would have accounted for that,” he said and glanced behind him. “Proceed with the test-fire.”
“No,” Noah muttered, stepping closer.
One of the Fields Ops and Security agents jabbed the shock-stick into Noah’s middle and unleashed its fury. Noah dropped to the ground, crying out in agony.
“Don’t do it,” Noah screamed.
There was a loud pop, and for a moment Noah thought the colossus cannon had fired, but it hadn’t. Captain Gibson glanced up toward the sky in surprise. A few moments later, Noah heard the high-pitched sound of a combat shuttle’s engines coming toward them. The colossus cannon hadn’t fired. What he’d heard was the sonic boom of a ship reentering New Earth’s atmosphere.
Three CDF combat shuttles flew overhead and landed nearby. Noah regained his feet, and Lenora helped to steady him. He glanced over and a slow smile crossed his face. CDF soldiers were pouring out of the shuttle, their dark blue uniforms appearing like a godsend. A group of them were making their way toward them.
Noah straightened and saluted. “Colonel,” he said.
Colonel Cross returned his salute. “Sitrep, Captain.”
The Field Ops and Security forces lowered their shock-sticks but stayed in formation. Noah was sure this had everything to do with the armed CDF soldiers that stood behind Colonel Cross.
Captain Gibson pushed his way through his men, his piggish eyes glaring. “Captain Raeburn Gibson, ma’am, and I’m in charge here.”
Colonel Cross regarded Gibson frostily. “I wasn’t speaking to you, but since you’re here, are you the one who assaulted men under my command?”
Captain Gibson glanced at the armed CDF soldiers and then back at Colonel Cross. “It was your soldiers who assaulted me first.”
“We’ll see about that,” Colonel Cross said and turned toward Noah. “Captain Barker. Front and center.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Noah said and noticed Lenora smiling at him in a big-sisterly way. “Field Ops Captain Gibson was trying to test-fire the colossus cannon. We’ve been adapting the alien power station here. I informed Captain Gibson that this would overload the system, but he decided to use Field Ops to force us to bring the cannon online.”
Colonel Cross swung her gaze back to Gibson, who flinched. “Explain yourself, Field Ops Captain.”
Colonial Defense Force authority superseded any authority the Field Ops captain had, and he knew it. “The people are scared. I was trying to demonstrate our ability to protect them.”
Colonel Cross arched an eyebrow. “Forcibly?” she said, and Gibson stubbornly met her gaze. Colonel Cross glanced to the soldier on her right. “Captain Gleason, take the Field Ops team into custody. Find somewhere
to hold them, and I’ll deal with them later.”
“Excuse me, Colonel,” Lenora said, “but I know of a place you can use.”
“Thank you—” Colonel Cross said and stopped.
“Dr. Bishop,” Lenora said.
Colonel Cross frowned. “Lenora Bishop?”
“You can’t do this!” Captain Gibson cried while struggling with a CDF soldier.
“That’s about enough of that, Captain,” Colonel Cross snapped. “If you don’t get yourself under control, I’ll order my soldiers to gag you. Is that understood?”
Captain Gibson’s face paled.
Colonel Cross leaned forward. “And just because I’m feeling a bit indulgent, I’ll tell you another reason why firing that cannon as a way to make everyone feel better for a few fleeting moments is a bad idea. The Vemus are coming. Long-range scanners detected the discharge of orbital defense weapons. In other words, your pitiful attempt to get your gun off would have painted a great big target in the one place we don’t want the Vemus to find. Does that clear up any misgivings you might have had?”
Captain Gibson’s mouth made a wide circle, but no words came out.
Colonel Cross looked at Captain Gleason. “As you were, Captain.”
Noah watched as the Field Operations and Security team was escorted away from the mobile Command Center.
“Dr. Bishop, would you join me inside?” Colonel Cross said. “And you too, Captain Barker.”
Noah followed them inside and went to the nearest terminal to make sure the startup power sequence for the colossus cannon had been properly shut down.
“Please, call me Lenora.”
Colonel Cross nodded. “And you can call me Savannah.”
Noah stepped away from the terminal and looked at Colonel Cross.
“Go ahead and ask, Captain,” Colonel Cross said.
“I thought you were in command of Phoenix Station, ma’am,” Noah said.
He watched as the colonel pressed her lips together to suppress a sneer.
“Ordinarily, I would dress you down for asking that kind of question of a superior officer, but General Gates and a few others have warned me of some of your eccentricities,” Colonel Cross said.
Noah felt his cheeks redden. “Apologies, Colonel.”
Colonel Cross glanced at Lenora. “It seems that General Gates is a bit of a stickler for certain rules and regulations.”
Lenora snorted. “When it wins him an argument.”
Colonel Cross chuckled. “You are the Lenora I’ve heard about.”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“It’s not important,” Colonel Cross said. “General Gates has sent me to Sanctuary, and I need to know our state of readiness.”
Noah still didn’t understand why Connor would send someone as capable as Savannah Cross to Sanctuary when the Vemus were coming, but he didn’t need to understand to follow his orders. Colonel Cross had a reputation for not tolerating nonsense.
“One hundred thousand refugees are at Sanctuary. The colossus cannon is operational, but we’ve been experiencing power fluctuations from the alien power station, ma’am,” Noah said.
“Can you fix it?” Colonel Cross asked.
“The power station is hundreds of years old. If I had enough time, I’d say it would be better to put our own reactor here, ma’am,” Noah said.
“Break it down for me. Can we fire the cannon or not?” Colonel Cross asked.
Noah frowned. “We can, but—and this is a strong but—we can’t predict the power fluctuations. The power converter we’ve installed attempts to manage them, but there’s a significant risk that when the colossus cannon is fired in earnest, it could overload the entire system.”
“So you’re saying we have a gun that we can fire a few times, but if we sustain a high rate of fire the system will fail?” Colonel Cross asked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“What happens if the system fails?”
“It depends. The power converter could burn out, or if there’s enough of an overload, we could lose the entire system in an explosion,” Noah answered.
Colonel Cross blew out a breath and regarded him for a moment. “You have quite a reputation, so I know you’ve been working this problem for as long as you’ve been here.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” Noah said.
“I can tell you with absolute certainty that the Vemus are on their way here right now. We’ve engaged them at Sagan’s line, and General Gates evacuated all nonessential personnel from Phoenix Station,” Colonel Cross said.
Noah swallowed hard. “What happened?”
Colonel Cross leaned back against one of the desks. “We used your modified missile design and sent everything we had against them.”
“Did it work?” Noah asked.
“At first. Then the Vemus launched countermeasures and were able to take out a high percentage of the HADES IV-Bs before they could reach their targets,” Colonel Cross said, glancing at Lenora. “I’m not sure how much either of you knows.”
“We haven’t had any news,” Lenora said.
“The Vemus are heading here in one massive ship, and the hull is made from the exoskeletal material we faced two months ago,” Colonel Cross said.
“How big is the ship, Colonel?” Noah asked.
Colonel Cross looked at them grimly. “Twenty-two kilometers across.”
Noah’s eyes widened and he gasped. “That’s not a ship. That’s a flying city.”
“We know the Vemus can absorb other ships. We think they’ve massed together somehow,” Colonel Cross said.
“But why would they do that?” Lenora asked.
Colonel Cross shrugged. “This is likely their answer to our defenses. Together in one massive ship, they represent a single overwhelming force.”
Noah’s mind raced as he did the calculations. “We don’t have enough missiles.”
“No, we don’t,” Colonel Cross confirmed.
“What about the rest of the soldiers at Phoenix Station?” Lenora asked.
“They couldn’t confirm the amount of damage we’d done. Phoenix Station still has other close-range weapons that will make the Vemus pay for every kilometer closer they get to New Earth,” Colonel Cross said.
“What are their chances?” Lenora said, her eyes wide.
Colonel Cross looked at her solemnly and sighed. “I’m going to be honest with you. I’m sorry, but the chances of survival for anyone on Phoenix Station are virtually nonexistent.”
Noah watched as Lenora’s breath caught in her throat. Then her eyes flashed. “Connor has survived overwhelming odds before.”
“I know. I was there. I wish I could tell you something different to give you some hope, but that would be a disservice to you,” Colonel Cross said.
Lenora turned away from them. “I need to get some air,” she muttered and fled the Command Center.
Noah looked at the colonel, and she nodded for him to speak.
“What do you need me to do, Colonel?” Noah asked.
“You have a little bit of time. I need that cannon operational for as long as you can give me. What we cannot have is blowing ourselves up in the process. You tell me what you need and I’ll try and get it for you,” Colonel Cross said.
Noah nodded, feeling suddenly lighter because Colonel Cross was there, but then he was dragged back down by the impending invasion. He began with what anyone solving complex problems should do, which was to start by listing their assets. Then they could come up with a plan of action. Noah and Colonel Cross got to work. He didn’t know why Connor would have sent her here, but he was glad he had.
Chapter Eighteen
Captain Walker waited outside the dull gray doors to the munitions factory aboard a large chunk of Vemus warship wreckage. He’d been watching the Vemus forces through the small window. Their skin was a deep, dark purple that glistened in the light. Their rounded heads angled to a pointed snout with lighter-toned oval shapes where Jon expected the eyes
would be. They were clustered at the far end of the room. One of the Vemus towered above the others and pounded against the door while the others tried to beat their fists against the wall.
I’m coming, Brian, Jon thought. He could barely see the salvage team trapped in the room on the far side of the munitions factory floor. He checked his rifle and set the nano-robotic ammunition to incendiary. The high heat rounds worked best at disabling Vemus, according to his combat suit computer. Sergeant Lee and Lieutenant Chester hastened down the corridor. They’d just finished setting up the heavy turret, leaving the ammunition box attached. Jon accessed the heavy turret’s camera and controls through his combat suit’s systems. All systems were ready.
“Locked and loaded, Captain,” Sergeant Lee said.
“Check your weapons,” Jon said.
There was a flurry of activity as they all did one final check of their equipment, along with that of the people around them.
“We’re ready, Captain,” Lieutenant Chester said, giving him a determined look.
“Go ahead, Sergeant Lee, if you please,” Jon said.
“Detonating the first group,” Sergeant Lee said.
Jon heard the faint pops of the concussive charges and watched to see if the Vemus had heard anything. The Vemus soldiers ceased all activity and became rigidly still.
Sergeant Lee held up two of his fingers. There were more pops even louder than before. The Vemus soldiers began moving off to the side and out of sight—a few at a time at first and then more and more.
“It’s working!” Jon said.
All the Vemus had run off, leaving the area. Jon slapped his palm against the door controls and the age-old contraption sputtered as the gears pulled the doors apart. They went inside. Jon kept the heavy turret’s camera feed in the upper right corner of his heads-up display. There was still no sign of the Vemus.
“Blow the third group,” Jon said.
He didn’t wait for Sergeant Lee to respond but kept moving forward. They crouched as they ran, using the munitions factory lines as cover. Tall metal racks stood along the left side of the factory where two-hundred-year-old mag-cannon projectiles were secured in place. There were countless tips of two-meter projectiles perfectly aligned where the NA Alliance Navy had left them. Jon focused in on the room at the far end, and an IR channel opened to his combat suit.