"Let Kellea do it." Jason shrugged. "She was managing the Cridal fleet already and the Eshquarians respect her."
"And you?"
"I prefer to remain an independent operator for now."
"Of course," Mok deadpanned. “So, how bad is the Phoenix?"
"Pretty bad, but she's been through worse," Jason said. "Twingo is getting it all sorted out now, and then I'll have to figure out how to source the parts. Damn near everything on her has to be custom made anymore."
"Have you ever thought about moving on to a newer, more modern ship?"
"Those clunky looking shitboxes you all fly around in now? No thanks. Besides, the fact she looks outdated works to my advantage."
"Except that the ship is becoming more and more recognizable," Mok argued. "I didn't say get rid of it, I just thought maybe it would be smart to go to something a little less…conspicuous."
"We may be forced to for the time being anyway," Jason admitted as he looked back at his beloved ship. They'd been together since the very beginning of his adventures, when he was accidentally abducted from Earth. The idea of parting with the DL7 was analogous to going on without one of his appendages. "The repairs aren't going to be cheap or quick thanks to losing one of the main engines. We'll have to have four brand new ones fabricated, tested, and installed. I don't think we have that sort of time to just sit around and wait."
"No, we don't," Mok said. "Let me guess, you're about to ask me for a ship to borrow."
"Well, since you're offering."
"Luckily, I've already been giving it some thought. A combat shuttle is too small since you guys like to live aboard the damn things, and they stopped making gunship-class vessels about the time Jepsen was bought and split up, so the best I can do for you is one of the Deruno-class corvettes I've recently acquired. They're new and mostly automated, so it shouldn't be a problem with even your small crew and your piloting."
"What do you want in return?"
"My ship back in one piece," Mok said. "And I'm serious about that. The ship is being brought up with two others I'm attaching to this new fleet we have. An added bonus for you is that the Phoenix will fit inside its hangar bay so you can take it wherever you're performing the repairs at."
"That's…unbelievably generous." Jason had no idea what to say in the face of such an offer. Mok was basically tossing him the keys to a brand-new starship for a loaner, so to speak. "Don't worry about her. Not a scratch…promise."
"I already regret this," Mok said.
"I think the best thing to do for now is to lay low, assess the damage, and wait for the Machine's next move," Jason said, steering things back on topic. "We really can't plan much until we know what its reaction is going to be."
"Agreed. We'll have a preliminary meeting shortly, and then begin moving ships out of here and into the Cluster for safe keeping. Do you have any idea where you'll be heading?"
"I actually need to stop at Pinnacle Station to pick up some people I've hired from Earth for a new business venture and take them back to S'Tora," Jason said, referring to the planet he and his crew had called home for the last few years. "I may as well just take her there and let the engineers and technicians who have already worked on her handle it."
"Good luck, Jason," Mok said, sticking his hand out to imitate the human gesture. "We'll be in touch. Don't damage my ship."
"Get those ships stashed and get clear of this," Jason said, shaking the proffered hand. "We might have surprised the ConFed, but they'll be pissed and looking for blood."
"Holy shit! Do we have to give it back?"
"We're just borrowing it!" Jason yelled as Crusher and Kage raced down the wide corridor. "Don't fuck anything up!"
"The Phoenix is secure in the hangar bay," Twingo said. "The deck had these nifty automated tie-downs that grabbed the landing gear trucks and secured it without me really having to do anything. This is a damn fine ship."
The corvette-class ship that Mok had lent them was more than nice. It was basically brand new and still smelled of fresh upholstery and gleamed inside in a way only a ship that hadn't been lived in yet could. Mok had been cagey about where he'd gotten the ship from, far too nice a vessel to have been in any actual military service, but assured him the codes were clean, and it wasn't stolen.
"It came out of the Aracoria Shipyards, so it's probably as good as it gets," Jason said. "Any trouble in Engineering?"
"All highly automated." Twingo fluttered his ears, his species equivalent to a shrug. "There's not a lot for me to do other than direct the damage control bots if something goes wrong. How are you for piloting this thing? It's a lot bigger than a gunship."
"It's not that much bigger," Jason said defensively. "It's a standard helm configuration so it won't be any trouble, just different from the stick and rudder in my own ship."
"Who are these people we're picking up?"
"Six humans Marcus Webb was nice enough to get immigration papers for and a ride out to Pinnacle Station," Jason said as they walked towards the lift that would take them up to the bridge. "They're staying as guests of the United Earth Navy in the offices and suites they keep at Pinnacle."
"That only half answers my question."
"These boys are from a place called Ireland back on Earth," Jason explained. "I figured the demand for Earth coffee has already made me rich, maybe Earth whiskey will make me richer. Besides, I want to be the first to market since I'm sure the bigger companies back home are already trying to figure out a way to get their products into distribution through the Cooperative's trade treaty."
"Is that really something you need to be concentrating on right now?" Twingo asked.
"I'm not doing shit," Jason said. "I'm giving them a ride to S'Tora and turning them loose with money, some property, and a local guide."
"Unbelievable," Twingo muttered.
The ship pulled smoothly away from the moon, accelerating towards their mesh-out point, while the mismatched fleet of warships sat in a loose formation above the mining base. Jason hadn't flown a standard helm ship in some time, but it all came back to him as he maneuvered the nimble corvette among the other ships. The bridge was enormous compared to that of the Phoenix and the amenities were certainly much nicer. There was even a separate galley on the command deck right off the bridge as well as the main galley down below.
Each of them now had their own spacious quarters rather than the cramped berthing aboard the gunship and there was enough room that they weren't on top of each other. Jason hoped that this would lead to less fights on the long trip back across the quadrant to S'Tora. Their home was out near the Delphine Expanse, far from the Core Worlds, and even further from Eshquaria. By the time the ship had hopped smoothly into slip-space, Jason was trying to figure out a way to not give the ship back to Mok once they were done with it.
“So, what do we call her?" Twingo asked.
"It's not our ship. I don't think we get to name it," Kage said.
"It's bad luck to be on a ship without a name," Twingo insisted.
This kicked off a four-hour argument that included one physical altercation and names being suggested like the Stupid Asshole Mobile and Drunken Idiots Barge. For a group that claimed not to care whether it was even named or not, they suddenly all had strong opinions their name be picked. In the end, Jason exerted his veto power and officially named the ship the Devil's Fortune. It didn't really mean anything, he just liked how it sounded like a pirate ship name.
"Why do you get to just pick the name?"
"I'm the captain, I get final say so," Jason said. "Now shut up and get back to work."
Epilogue
"Admiral, it's good to see you."
"This isn't a social call, Captain Webb." Admiral Sandor strode into Webb's office and slammed the door behind him. Once he activated the anti-eavesdropping measures, he turned back the captain. "How much do you know about what happened in the Miressa System?"
"Our media monitoring station on Pinnacle forwarded th
e reports that the Eshquarians showed up and wiped out the HDF fleet," Webb said. "Not much after that until our sources start submitting their field reports."
"I've been on the com with a high-placed friend in the Cooperative," Sandor said. "What you saw was only half of it. After the HDF got its ass kicked, the 405th Battlefleet arrived."
"The 405th as in the ConFed's attack dog fleet?" Webb asked.
"The same. The Eshquarian remnants would have likely been wiped out, but Admiral Colleran intervened with her taskforce. Long story short, the Eshquarians and the Cridal ships put a hurting on the ConFed fleet. We're hearing that their one and only dreadnaught may have been taken out, and they lost two battleships." Sandor leaned back, gripping the arm rests of the seat, and then shifted again to lean forward. The nervous energy the man was radiating was making Webb anxious.
"If Taskforce Starfire got involved then—"
"That's right…the ten Victory-class cruisers we put on detached duty were right in the fucking mix," Sandor spat. "That imbecile, Edgars, took down one of the battleships with his squadron."
"Oh, Christ…"
"Ah! But it gets better. Not content with possibly dragging Earth into a hot war between a superpower and a rogue fleet, Edgars took his ship and has apparently linked up with the insurgents in the Eshquarian fleet."
"What?!" Webb's head was starting to spin.
"The nine other cruisers came home, called ahead to warn us what was happening. We diverted them to Olympus and ordered them to remain on lockdown. I'm on my way out to debrief the captains of those ships as soon as I leave here."
"And you need me because—?"
"Don't be so obtuse, man," Sandor snapped. "I need you to find Edgars and drag his stupid ass back here! Send one of your Scout Fleet teams looking for him."
"I don't have the manpower to support something like that right now," Webb said carefully. "Scout Team Obsidian is the only unit available, and they're stood down while we try to work out some command issues."
"Obsidian? Is that Mosler's team?"
"Yeah, but he—"
"Don't give a shit. Send them, now. That's an order." Sandor stood up and straightened his uniform. "Keep this quiet, but do whatever the hell it takes to find my missing cruiser."
Admiral Sandor blew out of the office as quickly as he came in, leaving before Webb could explain that Obsidian wasn't in any shape to be put on-mission just yet. Sandor's reputation preceded him and Webb knew he wouldn't care about the details. He'd dismissively tell him to "just get it done" despite the fact Scout Team Obsidian sat on an alien planet right now with a stolen ship, no equipment, no support staff, and a green Marine lieutenant calling the shots.
"Bennett!" he bellowed.
"You realize there's an intercom button on your desk, don't you, sir?" his aide said a moment later when he stuck his head in the door.
"Shut up and get in here. Close the damn door. We need to figure out a way to get an emergency equipment drop out to Obsidian ASAP."
"Obsidian?"
"I know, I know." Webb waved him off. "Brown's expecting to be recalled to Terranovus so the teams can be reorganized. Unfortunately, I've been overruled, and we have a mission tasking that can't wait for personnel issues to work themselves out."
Also by Joshua Dalzelle
Thank you for reading Omega Force: Rebellion.
If you enjoyed the story, Captain Burke and the guys will be back in: Omega Force: The Pandora Paradox
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Omega Force: Rebellion (OF11) Page 25