“How are they?” Mark asked.
“They seem to be okay. I’m not seeing anything going on with them that’s out of the ordinary.” Dr. Troiano replied with a shrug.
Ariel looked at a few crewmembers she recognized and smiled warmly to several before turning back to Troiano and Mark. “So what were they doing to them in those cylinders?”
“As far as I can tell they were storing them.”
“What does that mean?” Mark asked, suddenly angry.
Dr. Troiano locked her eyes with Mark’s. “They were storing them like pickles in a jar, Captain. Like you would with any type of food.”
Mark’s lip twitched in disgust. “That is not what I wanted to hear.”
“What about Chakix?” Ari asked.
“The native housing its sentience is still unconscious from the sedative I’ve been giving him. I can bring him out of it at any time though.”
“Can you do it gradually? I don’t want this thing back to its full insanity at the drop of a hat.”
Troiano nodded in the affirmative. “Yes, I can. I can make the native host barely cognizant, if need be. I can also give him something to keep his body almost paralyzed but his mind fully functioning.”
“Ann, I don’t want this thing to be dangerous. I want to be able to speak to it calmly.”
“What are you planning, Captain?” Troiano asked suspiciously.
“Something that will benefit all of us, Chakix and Earth alike.”
Ariel squinted her eyes slightly while looking at Mark. “You’re planning on making a deal with it aren’t you?”
Mark grinned slyly. “You know me better than you think, Ari.”
“No,” she shrugged her shoulders and then added, “I just know what to expect from you at this point.” She returned his grin.
Mark feigned surprise holding his right hand across his chest and over his heart. “What do you mean, oh fair Ariel?”
“I mean I expect the unexpected”
Mark leaned over and kissed her gently. A moment passed and they separated.
Ariel smiled, “Mmmm, I like kisses…” she cooed softly.
Mark moved his head sideways, smirked and replied, “Well they’re better than a punch in the mouth.”
She slapped him playfully. “You are such a jerk sometimes.”
He laughed. “Hey as long as it’s not all the time.”
Troiano cleared her throat. “Excuse me, but if you two children are finished, what would you like me to do with our guest?”
“I need Chakix awake and lucid but not in control of that body. Can you do that?”
Troiano nodded. “Give me five minutes and you’ll be able to talk to it.”
Chapter 25
Mark and Ariel sat at a table in a small closed room. The red skinned alien that bore Chakix’s intelligence sat facing them. Behind the alien stood two security men, guns at the ready, just in case.
“What is it you want now, MarkJohnson? You have separated me from my body, my world, and children. What more can you do to me to humiliate and hurt me?”
“Hey, Chakix, let’s be honest. You attacked us first. You possessed Ariel, you tried to cause death and destruction on my ship and to my crew. None of that was necessary. We were willing to negotiate, you wanted to demand.”
“I am Chakix, demanding is what I know. None have ever refused me before,” the alien blurted out.
“That’s not my problem, Chakix. If you want to play in the big boy pool you have to learn the rules of the game. Now I’m still willing to negotiate getting rid of the Agalum with you.”
“With?” The alien went wide eyed and exclaimed.
“Yes, with. Like I already previously explained to you, we’re not your slaves, or your weapons to point at your enemies. If you want allies to aid you in getting rid of the Agalum, we can do that. But it would be you entering into a long term contract or deal with our world, Earth.”
The red skinned native looked perplexed. “What is this…deal?”
“It basically means we will aid you as your allies, and you will aid us as ours. We will require some concessions in exchange for ridding you of the Agalum.”
“What kind of…concessions do you seek?”
“We will help you in driving the Agalum from your world, but we get to use the base they already created. We will turn that base into a forward command for the Earth forces. Your people will be freed from slavery by us. We will supply our own people to work the base. We will require natural resources from you, in exchange for freeing your people.”
“What are these…resources?”
“Minerals, oil, any other items we can find of use to us that will aid in the war against the Agalum conglomerate. Once we defeat them permanently we will leave your world if that is what you want. If you want us to remain that can be arranged as well, but that we can discuss when the time comes and only if you so desire our presence here.”
The bare chested red skinned alien spat, “I do not need your help to defeat these…Agalum. I can do it myself.”
Mark smiled as he walked around the captive alien. “No, you cannot. If you could drive them from your world you would have done so already instead of demanding we do it for you. So think on that a while if you must. I’m offering you a very fair deal. It’s time to wake up and grow up, Chakix. You can’t keep acting like some all-powerful spoiled brat who’ll stamp her feet if she doesn’t get her way. If you want to win the freedom of your children or people or whatever, you’ll have to join us, and come into a long lasting agreement with us that will benefit both of us. That’s what I’m offering you.”
The Chakix host hesitated. “I…do not know. I do not trust you. Others like you; they have done much harm to my children and myself.”
“Those others, the Agalum, are not like us. Not at all. We’ll leave if you tell us to, once this is over. Though I’m counting on you to be a creature of your word and to allow us to stay and use this already constructed base to keep our mutual enemies at bay. What say you?”
The Chakix host stared up at the blank ceiling a moment, then exhaled before finally answering, “You will allow me to make my mind up when this war is over?”
“Yes, Chakix, once the war is over you can either welcome us completely as your permanent tenant, or tell us to leave. But if you choose to tell us to leave after we defeat the Agalum and before the war is over, effectively double crossing us… well, let me put it this way. You’ll wish the Agalum were still your tenants and not us. What I’m saying is don’t betray us, Chakix. We want to be your allies, not your enemy.”
The red skinned alien stared at its feet, then the ceiling again momentarily before returning its host’s glare upon Mark Johnson. “You will aid us in driving these Agalum away?”
“Yes, Chakix, as I have said already. They are your enemy, not us. We seek to build a relationship with you.”
Chakix looked at them hesitantly. Mark extended his hand, waiting for the alien to take it and shake. Hesitantly the red skinned alien reached its hand out and grasped Mark’s, clumsily shaking it.
Mark grinned and released the alien’s hand after a moment. “That’s great, now let’s get to work.”
Chapter 26
The Cagliostro dropped out of hyper-warp and slowed to a stop. Its position was deep in the void between solar systems.
“Maintain shields at maximum. Red, any contacts?”
The big security man shook his head negatively. “Nada, Mark. I’m running hyper-warp as well as regular space scans. There’s nothing and no one even close to our position.”
“All right. I’m going to send a coded message to EPIC about our situation and what we need out here. I’ll be in the command conference room. Ariel, join me please.”
Ariel thumbed a control on her console and spoke, “Lilly Wallflower to the command deck please.” She then rose and followed Mark to the maglovator.
They exited the maglovator outside the command conference room a minu
te later.
“After you,” Mark offered. The door slid open before them and both entered.
Sitting down across from each other, Mark began talking. “Are we doing the right thing?”
“What? What are you talking about?” Ariel asked in total surprise.
Driving the Agalum off of Chakix’s world. I mean the Agalum are our foe, no doubt about it, and Chakix agreed to our terms, but you know as well as I do that Chakix can’t be trusted. What if this is all a ploy to get a large number of our vessels out here far enough from Earth that the Agalum can attack and do us some extended harm while we’re trying to free Chakix?”
Ariel continued to look at Mark with astonishment in her eyes. “How many ships are you going to request out here?”
“We’re going to need at least one carrier and several battle dreadnaughts to take down that fleet they have around Chakix. Plus how do we know they are not going to pull more ships in as reinforcements once the battle begins?”
“You think they would, right?”
“Of course I do Ariel. I have no doubt once the alarms start going off they are going to pull every ship they can into place about Chakix and start trying to protect their investment.”
“You’re right. They’re not going to go easy, I guess.”
“No, of course not. In fact this may well be the bloodiest battle of the war, even surpassing what happened two years ago above the Earth when we drove them off.”
“What if we could do this, I dunno, maybe stealthily?”
Mark smiled. “Do you have a suggestion, Ari?”
“Well you want to use a ground force to take out that base, right?”
“I don’t even know if that’s possible. That’s a functioning base with hundreds of personnel at least, perhaps thousands. I don’t know what it will take to breach their defenses and take over that place. I know we don’t have enough manpower to hold it even if we do succeed in taking it.”
“What if we really do?”
“What are you suggesting, Ari?”
“That you’re overlooking the natives.”
“I know. I had considered them earlier, but they’re savages with sticks and flint point knives. They’re not exactly a major fighting force, all things considered.”
“What about the giant red ape?”
“Well, we only saw one of those, and any blast from one of our cannons would have killed it. So unless there’s a few hundred or thousand of those things floating around, they’re really not going to be a major force that can’t be taken out fairly easily.”
“Mark, wait. Think about it. The natives under Chakix guidance were pretty formidable, and Chakix already proved that the red ape is under her dominion too. She had it talking in her own voice along with the natives, remember?”
“How could I forget? That was more than a little disconcerting. It was downright eerie.”
“Okay, that aside, what do you think about getting Chakix and the natives to draw the attention of the Agalum commanders and their troops while we sneak in and take the base?”
“It’s a really bad crap shoot, Ariel. I’m really not sure any of this is such a good idea. That’s why I’m having second thoughts about it.”
“What else are you going to do, Mark? Dump the Chakix alien back on his world and leave the Agalum in charge? That’s like pointing them at the doorway to Earth and handing them the keys to get in.”
He sighed heavily and then banged his fist on the table top.“ Put the call through to EPIC now requesting a fleet. I’ll work up an attack plan. Between Chakix’s forces and our own we might be able to pull this off, but I’m not counting on it.”
“You’re such a glass half empty kind of guy.” She smirked.
“No, seriously, what I am is a realist. I don’t take that many chances, Ari, and usually when I do the odds favor us coming out on top. Right now that’s not the case. We could be in for a heavy loss, and that alone could seal the Earth’s fate. That’s something to think about before we go any further.”
“So you’re willing to just walk away?”
“Now that’s something I never said, did I?”
She shook her head side to side, her expression remained neutral “No, you didn’t. What are you planning? I already see those gears turning inside your head.”
“You’re the telepath, Ari. You tell me.”
She laughed weakly. “No, no, no. I’ll let you surprise me.”
Mark grinned like the Cheshire cat. “Don’t I always?”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
The ship rocked suddenly. Ariel immediately touched her right sleeve. “Lilly, it’s Ariel. What’s going on?”
“We’re under attack by three fighters approximately the size of the Stargrazer. Eddie says it’s the same design as the ones that attacked him the other day when he was aboard the Stargrazer alone.”
“I’m on my way topside,” Mark interjected, rising from the table immediately, quickly followed by Ariel. The ship rocked once again from an explosive attack.
“Battle stations, everyone!” Mark called into the tech suit’s comm unit on his sleeve. He entered the maglovator with Ariel a step behind him.
He emerged from the maglovator onto the command deck, followed by Ariel.
Matt Marek slid from the command chair. “All yours, Captain.”
Mark nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Marek. What’s our status?”
Matt answered, “Three of those unknown ships are flying around us and attacking continually.”
The Cagliostro rocked as another barrage from the attacking ships slammed into the Cagliostro’s shields.
“That ain’t good,” Eddie muttered.
“Relax, half pint,” Red growled. “Shields are holding steady, so far at least.”
Mark nodded slowly. “Danny, it’s time to raise some hell.”
“An’ I’m just the guy to do it,” the smiling Jovian replied.
Dan heaved the Cagliostro to the right and began to accelerate away. He held his present course for ten seconds and then corkscrewed the Cagliostro majestically, rolling it over in space so it was heading back in the direction it had come from.
“Now, DiGenovese,” Mark ordered.
Eddie nodded. “With pleasure, Boss man.”
The Cagliostro’s guns opened up, spraying their enemies with the forward solar cannons. In mid-attack Eddie thumbed up two star core missiles. Every weapon was aimed at one of the ships attacking them.
“What the hell?” Eddie exclaimed. “That was three direct hits, and that things still coming. It should’ve been dust by now.”
“Yeah, but it ain’t so keep shooting’ it,” Dan barked.
“What do you think I’m doing you big ape?”
Eddie continued to fire at the one ship, until its shields glowed a bright red. At the same time the other two ships fired upon the Cagliostro repeatedly.
“Dan, continue on a heading directly toward them, slide between the two ships, splitting them. Eddie, take that damned ship you nicknamed a ‘Predator’ out so we can start on the other two.”
Di Genovese replied, “I’m workin’ on it Boss.”
Again and again the Cagliostro’s mighty solar cannons lit up space like newborn stars erupting from her bow. Each blast careened madly into the shields of the strangely winged ship. The Cagliostro slid between the other two attacking ships, Dan turning it almost vertical on its wingtip to do so.
The instant it slid past, Eddie switched to the three rear mounted solar cannons and locked onto the two ships they had just passed, spraying them with energy beams.
“Those two are turning around again,” Red grunted.
“Okay, go back to one at a time, Eddie. Lock onto the one with the most damage and let’s cut the odds down with its destruction.”
“Locked on now, Boss.”
“That one’s rabbiting, Mark,” Red announced.
Eddie fired a spread of star core missiles again at the now fleeing attack
craft. The three missiles impacted brightly against its shields, but then the shields flared bright white. If not for the instantly dimming display the command crew would have been momentarily blinded by the sight.
“Gotcha!” Eddie exclaimed. He fired the solar cannons again and again against the now defenseless attack craft, turning it to free floating atoms in a heartbeat. The resulting explosion lit up the viewer brightly for an instant until the ships systems compensated and dimmed the viewer a heartbeat later.
Mark shouted, “Where are the last two?”
“Turning attack vectors back to us, Mark,” Red replied. “They circled around and are coming from the front at us, from opposite vectors, both aiming directly toward us though.”
The crew stared at the viewer and both remaining ships could be seen coming from opposite angles toward the Cagliostro, one seemingly from the left, one from the right, in a V-shaped attack pattern with the Cagliostro itself the point of the V, or the convergence point.
“Danny, it’s time for a game of chicken.”
Dan looked over his shoulder at his friend and Captain. He squinted his right eye in obvious disbelief. “Yer kiddin’, right?”
“Not at all, Mister. Take us on a collision course with the starboard enemy ship now. Red, shields double front. Eddie charge up all weaponry. As soon as we get a visual on them begin firing at your leisure. Red, what is our shield status?”
“Sixty percent, Boss.”
“So their attacks are taking a toll.”
“Yes Mark they are. But it’s slow and cumulative.”
“Okay Red, let’s burn these bastards to the ground.”
The Cagliostro spun about in space once more. Its gleaming hull gave off sparks when it crossed the debris field left by the remains of the predator craft.
“Eddie, target the ‘Predator’ on the port side with our forward guns and the predator on the starboard side with our aft guns.”
“Ah, okay. I got it. Boss,” Eddie nodded his head and grinned.
The Cagliostro screamed silently through space, laying down solar cannon fire repeatedly. Both remaining predators concentrated their fire on the sleek manta ray shaped ship, hammering at the Cagliostro as it passed swiftly below them. Eddie fired the rearward solar cannons, blasting away at the starboard predator. Once more the three dueling ships switched positions. The Cagliostro flipped about like a ballerina dancing in space. The two Agalum ships crossed each other in an ‘X’ pattern and returned to attacking the Cag once more, again streaking directly toward the gleaming star cruiser, their guns blazing.
The Cagliostro Chronicles II: Conflagration Page 15