by TR Cameron
As soon as they were on board, a person in the uniform of a Cronus crew member took them in hand and led them to one of the large briefing rooms Major Stephenson used when she needed to talk to all her subordinates at once. She was pacing on a low stage at the front of the chamber. The galley had provided sandwiches and drinks on a table along one wall, and they dug in, carrying the food to their seats while his superior officer stood impatiently watching. When they were all seated, she began, “While you all were playing games with the aliens down on the planet, the Academy was working hard on figuring out Arlox’s movements. They found something.”
Excitement thrilled through Jax. Finally, a solid lead on the bastard.
Athena cautioned, “Don’t get your hopes up. We thought we had him nailed down a couple of other times. As I recalled, those ended in you getting injured.”
Shut it. He asked, “What did they discover?”
Stephenson scowled. “Not sure. Professor Maarsen wants to tell us all at once. Flair for the dramatic and all.” She hit a button, and the large display at the front of the room came to life to show the Academy leader’s face. He wasn’t smiling and wasn’t scowling, but definitely occupied a point somewhere on the “not happy” part of the continuum. He began, “Those of you who haven’t been working closely with us are probably unaware that we’ve planted a tracking agent of a sort on some of Zavian Arlox’s people. A bunch of them were present for a substantial amount of time on a Confederacy planet of interest to us, and they suddenly shifted location today. Naturally, we were curious about why they might have done so. So, we sent in our best technology to take a look.”
His face disappeared from the display, and the image of a planet with several moons appeared on it. “This is the Wokoth system, planet Rill.”
Marshall interjected, “What’s there that’s worth caring about?”
Maarsen’s voice had a hint of his teacherly persona in it. “On the planet itself, nothing. However, it appears that our friends in the Intelligence Division have constructed a base on one of its moons.” The image zoomed in a little to show the outlines of the facility, but it lacked detail.
Cia asked, “Can you go in further?”
Maarsen’s shaking head returned to the screen. “We can’t. To avoid detection, we’re leaving our drone right where it is.”
O’Leary prompted, “So why is this place interesting, other than the fact that it’s a probably super-secret, off-the-books Intelligence Division base?”
Maarsen chuckled at her description. “There’s been a lot of chatter going back and forth from that very remote base. I’ve called in some of our most valuable resources to examine the signals, likely removing their usefulness as assets ever again. But they’re the best cryptologists we have, with access to the most recent Alliance codes. No one positioned in the Intelligence Division, unfortunately, but our data provided enough of a baseline for them to crack the encoded transmissions. There is a meeting happening there quite soon, and Arlox will be there in person for it.”
A ripple of anticipation ran through everyone in the room. Cia hissed, “Yes,” and several others echoed her.
Jax said, “So, the plan is to blast the moon to dust with him on it, right? Use the Cronus to pummel the installation into tiny pieces of nothingness?”
Stephenson scowled. “Try not to be stupid, Jackson. There’s no way an Alliance warship can openly attack an Alliance base. If we survived whatever effort they made to capture us afterward, we’d live only long enough for them to court-martial us, then shoot us.”
Venn suggested, “How about we hit him on his way in? Do we know what ship he’ll be on?”
Maarsen shrugged. “We could find out, but that approach has the same problem. The Cronus can’t take official action.”
Jax growled, “You wouldn’t have brought us this far without a solution in mind, Professor. Let’s have it.”
He chuckled. “You’re correct. We’ve been working the situation from all angles. The only viable option seems to be getting a small team inside the installation before they realize the base is compromised. And the only way to do that is to arrive on a ship that they expect to see. My people tell me that we have to assume they’ll shoot first and ask questions later if faced with any vessels they don’t recognize.”
Stephenson nodded. “From what we know of Arlox, he’s a believer in the power of double-crosses, which means he’ll be extremely paranoid about someone doing the same to him. There’s no way he or his people would trust an unknown ship.”
Jax sighed. “Well, that seems like a pretty big ask.”
Maarsen shook his head. “Not as big as you think. It turns out that someone you’re familiar with arrived late to the meetings on Earth and stayed behind when the rest departed. He’ll take a separate Intelligence Division ship to the meeting if the information our agent at the government center in Tokyo acquired is correct.”
Jax laughed. “Seems like our friend Quentin is having a tough month.”
Chuckles traveled around the room, and Maarsen nodded. “We’d noticed the ship was in orbit and had thought it was there for Arlox. That was his clever move, leaving ahead of time while we were busy watching the ship.” He shook his head. “There’s no denying that he’s a smart man. Nonetheless, we have a ship, and on it a person who needs to get to that same meeting, by all accounts. So, this gives us an opportunity.”
Jax asked, “I guess we need to hoof it to Earth so we can capture his ride before it leaves?”
Stephenson shook her head. “Impossible. The timeframe doesn’t work.”
Maarsen continued, “We’ve got that covered. I was able to activate one of our alumni who works in engineering at the shipyard that built the craft. They created a backdoor in the computer systems for maintenance purposes, as you’d expect. She believes it’s probably still active. If she’s correct, we can exploit it.”
Verrand laughed. “Too bad Arlox wasn’t on that ship. We could’ve simply set it to self-destruct, called the thing done, and gone out for victory drinks.”
Maarsen nodded. “But then we’d lose the opportunity to discover what this meeting is all about, and something tells me it will probably turn out to be important knowledge to have. In any case, we’ll instruct the ship to divert from its course, drop out of jump, and go dark at a certain location. When it does, you’ll be there to take control of it. That should make it possible for you to break into the installation quietly.”
Cia asked, “What’s to keep them from calling for help once they get the power back up?”
Stephenson replied, “I’ve got that covered. We’re going to replace one of your expended pods with a heavy-duty jammer. You should be able to ensure that no signal gets in or out.”
She scowled. “And turn the Grace into a target while we do it.”
“We’re not in a safe business. Risks abound.”
Jax nodded. “Okay, so you’ve given us the good news. That leaves the bad. What is it?”
Stephenson chuckled. “How like you to be a pessimist, Jackson.”
“Uh-huh. Nice deflection. Are you going to answer my question or keep acting like a bureaucrat?”
She scowled at the insult. “I can only release one squad to accompany you. The other two need to stay with the Cronus and get back to the planet we just left. We still have our original mission, and they’ll be expecting us back shortly to finish it.”
Jax twisted to face the other members of his Academy team. “I know this is a stupid question, but is there any chance I can get you all not to come along and instead stay here on the Cronus where it’s comparatively safe?”
They all shook their heads at him. Cia also rolled her eyes and added, “Yep, you’re still an idiot.”
“Okay. Then I guess we’re all in. Speaking for myself, I’m very much looking forward to seeing our friend Quentin again.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Before the Cronus departed, Major Stephenson arranged for all the possi
ble toys the teams could need to be transported to the Grace. Jax had rarely been so happy to see his familiar equipment arrayed and awaiting his selection. Although the materials the Academy provided had been sufficient thus far, it simply wasn’t up to Special Forces standards. He looked forward to having his tried-and-true gear to rely on for the mission ahead.
The teams had meshed effectively with none of the “One group over here and the other group over there” nonsense that sometimes plagued combinations like this. Instead, everyone had gathered in the cargo compartment to dig through the supplies and outfit themselves for the assault. They compared preferences and made choices that would complement the selections other team members were making.
Darius “Dare” Lyton had chosen the heaviest rifle available, a projectile weapon with oversized exploding rounds. While they hoped not to have to kill any of the enemies they would encounter, since theoretically they were all on the same side, they couldn’t depend upon it. The man had selected less lethal options for pistols and grenades, fortunately.
Kyra “Books” Venn had decided to equip herself with support and nonlethal gear. A bandolier across her chest held a dozen knockout gas grenades and the holsters at her hips looked like they held stun pistols. She’d selected an energy rifle, which generally proved less lethal than the alternatives. She also had extra medkits strapped to her belt and each thigh. He hoped that would turn out to be excessive but planned to carry an additional one as well, in case.
Sebastian “Strings” Welker, the team’s newest member when Jax had left it, had selected a mostly standard kit: projectile rifle, energy pistol, and a stun baton strapped to his leg. He carried the demo pouch against the possibility they’d need to breach any barriers along the way.
Thomas “Edison” Sparks had stepped in to replace Jax when Wasp took over the squad’s leadership. He was short and muscular, with a crazy shock of blonde hair that stuck up as much as the Special Forces’ length requirement would permit. The man looked vaguely like his finger had gotten caught in an electrical socket, which doubtless explained his nickname. He chose a shotgun in place of a rifle and crisscrossing bandoliers of different shell options for it. His backpack carried the team’s sensor gear, and he had toolkits strapped to his thighs.
Finally, Beatrice “Wasp” O’Leary had selected standard equipment as well. She would coordinate her squad’s actions while Jax directed his, and he would follow her lead whenever possible.
Unfortunately, his team was down a couple of people. They’d all agreed that Ethan Kimmel’s best role would be to thwart any effort on the other ship’s part to use their internal systems against the boarders, should the power come back up. They’d be able to plug in a connector to give him access, so there was no reason for him to abandon the safety of their ship to do it. Trianna and Cia would remain in the Grace’s pilot compartment, ready to fight if needed or fly in to pick them up if things went wrong. While one of them probably could’ve handled it, Cia didn’t want to trust both the jamming and the piloting to a single person in case either required more attention than expected.
So, that left him, Verrand, Sirenno, and Marshall. The others wore their standard Academy gear. Jax had chosen Special Forces uniform and armor, plus a pair of pistols, a pair of batons, and one of the heavy rifles with the grenade launcher underneath. He was confident they had the firepower to handle whatever they would face on the other side. An extra med-pack and a variety of other random useful items were in his pouches.
Cia gave them the warning that they were five minutes out from leaving jump, and they all sealed their helmets and headed to the airlock. When they emerged into real space and the panel slid aside, they got their first view of the Intelligence Division ship with their own eyes. They’d reviewed the schematics over and over during the transit and knew what to expect. Still, it seemed bigger than he’d thought it was, easily three or four times the size of the Grace.
They’d modified the heavy grapnel gun in the airlock so its cable attached to a hardpoint on the ship, rather than terminating in the weapon. Athena assisted him in aiming, and he squeezed the trigger when she told him to. The heavy magnet flew across to the other ship and adhered to its skin. Then the winch drew the line taut between the two. He reached up, grabbed it, and gave it as hard a yank as he could. It didn’t budge. He reported, “We’re attached. Try not to move the ship and kill us all.” Cia laughed. He gestured at Lyton. “Dare, you’re first.”
The man gave him a grin. “Off to save the day, that’s me.” He attached a small, motorized, wheeled device to the cable and snapped a carabiner onto the line as a backup. The machine started moving and pulled him along the line toward the other ship. Each of them followed in turn, with Jax bringing up the rear. They’d considered using propellant packs and flying over, but given that the Academy team didn’t have any experience with them, this was a safer, if slower, option.
When he’d detached himself from the line on the enemy ship’s hull and activated his mag boots, Athena gave them all a path to the target. They jogged in a double column toward it while holding their rifles ready in case enemies materialized unexpectedly. As they ran past a large anti-ship turret, Jax shook his head. “That right there could ruin our day.”
O’Leary laughed. “Oh, I’m sure if the ship had power right now, they’d have all sorts of things competing for the honor of ruining our day.”
When they reached the hatch, Sparks reported, “There’s atmosphere inside.” He knelt beside it. “Everybody stand back.” He found the right spot and flipped open a cover to reveal the manual override. He stuck a universal handle into the gear and turned it until the hatch smashed open on its hinges from the force of the air inside escaping. When the flow ran out, they all dropped in and pulled the door closed above them.
Although they could’ve removed their helmets after the airlock filled with atmosphere, they’d decided to keep them on throughout the mission, both for additional defense against weapons and to address the possibility that the ship might wind up depressurized at some point. Evacuating the vessel’s oxygen was their ultimate fallback plan to send the crew into unconsciousness due to lack of air. The dangers involved made it a less than desirable option, especially with the ship’s systems down so they couldn’t easily restore the others’ ability to breathe.
The Special Forces soldiers opened the inner hatch, and the teams flowed out into a room filled with lockers and EVA suits. Jax found a computer port near the airlock controls and slotted in one of the connectors. “You’re in, Kimmel.” The slot stood out even in the weird view that the night vision function of his helmet provided in the darkened vessel.
He replied, “I see the connection. If the ship gets power, I’ll be ready to hack in.”
O’Leary said, “Bridge is forward, and we have about half the ship to cover before we get there. We’re going to stay together and go right down the middle. My squad is first. Axe’s squad, keep an eye on the rear. Odd numbers watch left, evens right. If we get into a fight, you Academy folks should pick your shots carefully. Those of us in front of you would like to avoid any friendly fire incidents.”
To only his group, Jax added, “Her squad members are liable to move unpredictably in our view since they have a sense of what the others will do based on training and experience. Although I know you’re all good, that doesn’t mean you can ignore Wasp’s warning. So be extra careful. Of course, if something threatens me, everyone shoot it a lot.”
The others laughed. Verrand said, “Well, we wouldn’t want to risk losing Athena, right?”
Jax pointed at her. “Exactly. If that’s what you need to think to get the job done and save me, I can accept that.”
O’Leary ordered, “Let’s move out,” and they started stalking toward the bridge. His display showed that the ship’s passages were laid out more or less in a grid shape, with long corridors on the left, right, and center connected by cross lanes at regular intervals. When they planned the action, he’d
at least thought there would be emergency lighting active, but whatever software changes the Academy had made, it had killed everything. Thank heaven for sensors and night vision. Maybe we’ll get lucky, and they won’t have either of them.
Athena snorted. “And maybe there will be a room filled with candy along the way.”
Shut it. Also, now I’m hungry. You suck. They only made it as far as the nearest major intersection, less than a minute’s travel, before they encountered the first defenders. Their sensors picked them up as thermal images ahead of time, so they knew they were there, but no one expected them to stick guns around the corner and fire without aiming. Fortunately, Special Forces armor was designed to withstand military-grade weapons, and these weren’t that powerful. O’Leary said, “Sidearms,” in a disgusted voice as if the inconvenience of such a weak attack was an insult. “Books, I bet they’re not wearing helmets.”
“On it, Boss.” The first time he’d heard her referred to that way on the planet, it had been a shock to realize that what he thought of as his call sign belonged to someone else. Now, it was just weird, and he had to force himself not to respond to it. She hurled a grenade into the intersection where it exploded in a cloud of gas. The firing became uneven, then stopped entirely. A body slumped into the corridor, and O’Leary ordered the teams to advance.
They found four uniformed crew members helmet-less and unconscious. O’Leary ordered, “Einstein, give them a shot so they don’t wake up for a while, then catch up. The rest of you keep moving.” They encountered another similar ambush a few intersections down, the common crew of the ship doing their best against a far more formidable opponent. Jax respected the effort, although he wished they’d lay down and surrender.
As they moved forward, Sparks announced, “Contact ahead. Electrical.”
O’Leary replied, “So, they found some armor, or we’re about to meet some robots. Dare, you’re in front. Edison, beside him. I have the middle, Strings and Books behind me.” Jax gripped his rifle and trained it forward, deeply frustrated by being relegated to the operational second string. He fully understood and agreed with the reasoning behind the move and tried hard not to think of it as a demotion.