Witch Of The Federation III (Federal Histories Book 3)

by Michael Anderle

  “We really need to do something about the tunnels,” Marcus muttered, but Vishlog had other concerns.

  “Did someone say something about a grenade?” the Dreth rumbled and Marcus looked up.

  “Oh, shit…”

  It was more than one grenade. It was several, lobbed even as the throwers were eliminated by Elizabeth, Lars, and the team. As if Marcus’s dismay was a signal, one of the Meligornians looked up and thrust a hand toward the incoming cluster.

  Purple light followed, swept the grenades aside and arced them toward the beach.

  “Isn’t that where the Dreth left their shuttle?”

  Several explosions followed and the Meligornian toppled.

  “Crap.” Marcus crawled over to make sure he was still alive. He was, but his skin was cold despite the burning ground beneath him. Marcus stared at it.

  The burning ground…

  He placed a hand against it and looked at the time displayed in his HUD. Their two hours were almost up. He looked around.

  The heat shimmered over the Morgana, and the mountain trembled beneath them.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Deep inside the mountain, the rebels scowled when the grenades exploded before they reached the Dreth ship. They groaned with dismay and switched the display to where the Morgana stood, still shielded by a purple haze while her people decimated their forces.

  “We’re running out of men,” one observed and flicked through the surveillance cameras.

  The Witch’s forces weren’t the only ones on the island, and the Navy had landed forces on the other side while they’d diverted their resources to deal with her. Gunfire sounded from inside the base once Special Forces teams gained entry.

  “We could be in trouble.”

  “Should we recall some forces back to base?”

  “It’s too late for that. Our orders are to kill the Witch at any cost.”

  “I’m not sure how many people we have left in that sector.”

  “Don’t let up. They’re running out of ammo.”

  “And they’ve lost another mage.”

  They all stared at the screen. It was true. Only four Meligornians now stood where there had once been six.

  “Good.” The speaker took a breath to say more but was interrupted by their commander’s voice.

  “I don’t care what the orders are!” he bellowed and his voice echoed out of his office. “I want you to get the goddamned Witch off my goddamned island. She’s destroying the place.”

  A brief silence followed and something heavy pounded into a filing cabinet and shattered. It was followed by more shouting. “Who gives a shit? I want her gone—and I want her gone, now.”

  In the control room, they heard the sound of fighting in the corridor outside and exchanged worried glances. The commander, still in his office, listened to the unsympathetic reply.

  “The Witch has the Badge. You’re on your own.”

  He slammed the phone down and drew the pistol at his hip as he stood. Frustrated, he reefed it from its holster and found the trigger in one swift move.

  “Well, I guess,” he said, with a disillusioned sigh, “this shit is on me.”

  The sound of firing had now moved into the corridor directly outside the control room, and they both heard and watched the SEALs place charges against the door before the invaders raced behind cover.

  “Here they come,” the surveillance operator murmured and began the countdown for the explosives that would destroy their data array. He snatched up the blaster he’d kept on the desk beside him and took cover.

  They’d probably be dead before the explosives went off, anyway, but he intended to take as many of the incoming fighters as he could.

  The sound of a single shot echoed out of the commander’s office and the operator’s heart sank.

  So much for dying for the cause and to hell with the consequences, he thought morosely as the control room door blew in and the SEAL team followed.

  The floor trembled as they came through the hole they’d created and shook violently when something detonated. More explosions followed, and he glanced at the console to where the display showed a glowing red tide that surged down the corridor of the storage vaults.

  The ones on the lowest levels of the base where the missiles were stored.

  “Oh, dear God…” he moaned as the communications center came alive with frightened voices demanding they be allowed to surrender.

  Out on the mountainside, another group of resistance fighters stopped running toward the Witch. They, too, had noticed the heat building in the Earth and the sudden plume of steam that soared skyward from one side of the crater.

  Around them, fissures began to yawn in the earth and more steam escaped.

  One of them looked at another. “We need to get off the island.”

  A third man overheard him and glanced over. “We need to kill the gods-forsaken Witch,” he screamed and barreled forward. “We can’t let her live.”

  The first looked up the mountain and noted the piles of bodies scattered across the slope. “I don’t think we have a choice. We won’t reach her before the whole thing blows—and we need a way off.”

  The next shot to break the silence came as his head exploded.

  “The mission is unchanged.” The shooter snarled defiance and his gaze swept the stunned men around him. “Does anyone else want a way off the island?”

  A second shot rang out and he died.

  “I do!”

  “You damned traitor.”

  “Gutless wonder. You’re next.”

  “The enemy’s up there, not down here. Now, move!”

  Explosions rumbled beneath their feet, and many tripped and fell. More guns fired as fingers tightened on triggers in panic. Some died by accident and others by design, but through all of it, they ran, fleeing for their lives as the mountain quaked.

  Above them, the Morgana departed. Stephanie lowered her hands and blinked, then looked around with a frown on her face. “That should about do it.”

  Lars grabbed her arm. “Yes, it should. Now, let’s go.”

  Vishlog came over and picked her up. He pointed at the mages. “I have Stephanie. You grab them.”

  “Stop!” she commanded when she caught sight of the fallen Meligornians. “Put me down.”

  She repeated it as he turned to run down the mountain, and he yelped when she encased herself in blue and send a jolt of power into his head. “Put me down.”

  He did, but reluctantly.

  The Witch ignored him. She pointed at the Meligornians, her eyes edged in black and a touch of hollowness in her voice. “Get them off the mountain.”

  Bumblebee bumped her with his head and she turned. “Don’t leave them behind.”

  As she spoke, Brenden and Avery came over. They looked at Vishlog. “We’ll get her down, but we can’t carry them and get them off in time.”

  He looked to where Lars had lifted one over his shoulder and stared down at the other. Frog tapped him on the arm. “Stephanie needs this.”

  That was all it took. The big warrior hurried over to their team leader. He swept the remaining Meligornian over one shoulder and reached for the other one. The guard shook his head. “Just don’t let me fall.”

  They assessed the area and confirmed that the Marines and the other Dreth were already following her lead and that their orderly withdrawal was rapidly turning into headlong flight. It was a good thing that the resistance fighters had the same goal.

  They sprinted down the mountain toward the closest ship.

  “Dreth can take you,” the Dreth commander called, his bellow too loud through their comms.

  They wheeled toward him and followed the warriors as they raced to their ship. The Marine commander told his pilots to lift and that they had another ride, but he didn’t stop running. Beneath their feet, the ground smoked and cracked, and more than one of them lost their footing as tremors shook it.

  No one was left behind. They all saw to t
hat. Those who fell and struggled to keep the pace were carried. Brenden and Avery kept one hand on Stephanie and used the other for balance as they hurried her toward the ship. Elizabeth followed not far behind them.

  “What the hell was that?” she shouted at the Witch.

  “Yeah,” Frog added. “I thought we all voted not to do the whole melt the mountain thing after the last time!”

  “It’s not really something you get to vote on,” she retorted without slowing her pace. “But I’ll seriously take it under advisement next time.”

  “Next time?” They reached the shuttle and were hustled aboard.

  “There had better not be a next time,” Elizabeth yelled as they moved back to make space for those who followed.

  “Fine. I promise not to blow anything else up,” she retorted.

  “It might be too late for that,” Frog told her and peered out the viewing port as the last of the Marines was ushered onboard and the Dreth commander pressed the door controls.

  The vessel started to lift.

  “Have a little spine. It’s not like I really woke up a volcano.”

  A resounding explosion triggered loud cursing from the cockpit. The ship rocked and then shook and dipped and lost height. The engines screamed as they thrust more power and the flight became erratic.

  “I will shield you,” one of the Meligornians said, and the remaining four raised their hands.

  Stephanie glanced out the viewing port and raised her hands.

  Frog followed her gaze and the others looked also.

  Outside the shuttle, rock rained down and the water steamed when it hit.

  Frog turned to Stephanie. “You had to go and tempt fate, didn’t you?”

  “Go back!” she shouted and kept one hand upraised while she pointed to the beach. “Get us back there, now.”

  The Dreth commander spoke to the pilots and the ship turned. “I hope you know what you are doing,” he said.

  “We have room,” she told him, “and we are not monsters.”

  “No. You want to let the monsters on board,” he grunted and signaled to his men as the vessel touched down.

  “Wait here,” Lars said when the Marines went to rise. “We might need you later.”

  A tumult of pleading greeted her as she stepped onto the ramp.

  “Please take us with you.”

  “Don’t leave us.”

  “We surrender.”

  “Help us!”

  She stared coldly at them, a glimmer of the Morgana in her eyes and her voice held echoes of rage. “Tell me why I should.”

  Lars glanced up the mountainside and noted the slow-moving river of red that flowed down its side. He touched her on the arm. “We don’t have time for this.”

  The rebels closest misunderstood and surged forward.

  “Please—”

  “Have mercy!”

  “As you had mercy for us?” she retorted. “For our world?”

  “You will tell us everything you know,” the team leader shouted. “Everything. That information is the price of your passage.”

  “Agreed.”

  “Everything.”

  “I know locations!”

  The Dreth commander ignored them. He stepped to the front of the ramp and kept a wary eye on the lava flow that descended the mountain when he spoke.

  “Any who renege will be returned and thrown into the crater.” He fixed the gathering with an implacable eye. “I will execute you myself.”

  They surged forward but came to a screeching halt when he raised his hand. He looked at Stephanie. “My boat. My rules.”

  She nodded.

  He glanced at his men. “Get them aboard.”

  The Dreth hurried to take hold of the rebels and hurl them up the ramp. Some of the waiting survivors ducked under their hands and ran onto the ship. Whichever way they arrived at the door, their fate was the same.

  They were met with a Marine or Dreth fist and knocked unconscious, or Frog or Brendan tasered them to helplessness and they were tossed into the passenger compartment under the watchful guard of the Marines.

  The whole operation took less than ten minutes, but the lava was almost upon them, and the mountain shook again to erupt more debris like super-heated shrapnel. Stephanie and the Meligornians were showing the strain of sheltering the ship as it elevated and hurtled clear.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  The scout group roved the outer edges of Meligornian space. Four ships strong, it patrolled the farthest system from their homeworld, checking it for any sign of life—or invasion.

  The alert had gone out that the King’s Warrior suspected an attack and that they had yet to learn which direction it would come from, but they weren’t worried. This sector of space had always been quiet, and the explorers had yet to reach it.

  By the king’s decree, it was not open to colonists.

  “Let’s settle what we have first,” he’d advised, “and make sure we can protect it.”

  The patrol had, so far, been very quiet but the crew was on edge. The magic wasn’t right, and there’d been trouble in the engine room. It was as though the stars themselves held warning, but they couldn’t tell of what.

  When the proximity alarms began to blare, they scrambled.

  “Which way is it coming from?”

  “I have nothing, sir.”

  “Nothing? Search the spectrums.”

  “Captain! Engineering says they’re having negative energy fluctuations.”

  “Selestel’s light. It never rains but it pours— What is that?”

  The ship came out of nowhere like a fishing vessel emerging from a storm or a battleship sailing out of fog—and yes, it was a battleship. There was nothing peaceful about it. Startled exclamations escaped those in the command center and alarms rang.

  “They have us painted like a funeral barge, sir. I’ve never seen a weapons system like it.”

  “Take evasive action.”

  “It may be too late for that.”

  “We have to give them a chance to prove they’re not hostile.”

  “They’re hailing us, sir.”

  “Put them on screen.”

  The forward viewscreen gave up its view of the incoming ship to reveal the interior of its command center. Half a dozen beings raised their heads to reveal nothing but darkness beneath their helmets.

  The Meligornians gasped, and the blood drained from their leader’s face. The communications screen shifted again until only a single image faced them.

  “I see you have heard of us.”

  “You are the Nihilism,” the captain replied and could discern nothing from the blankness where its face should be.

  “That is the name given us by the Witch, yes. We call ourselves Telorans. You will remember that name.”

  “I take it you do not come in peace.”

  “We come in conquest.”

  “We will fight for our world if we must.”

  “You do not need to,” the alien replied, and the captain almost breathed a sigh of relief, but it continued. “You can surrender and there will be no fighting necessary.”

  “Is there the possibility of an alternative?”

  “None. You will surrender or your world will die.”

  “Engage full battle stations,” the captain commanded authoritatively and the pilot banked the scout ship up and around.

  He didn’t try to take them farther away from the massive ship, merely far enough for the scan team to see what lay behind it. They definitely wouldn’t live to tell this tale, but they would find out what the huge ship was hiding.

  And they intended to try to live long enough to send the information back to Meligorn. That was what he and the defense team would do. He and the attack team, however, would attempt to do as much damage to the big behemoth as they could.

  He could fly both ways and for the first time in a long time, he’d have to. The chances were that he wouldn’t fly for much longer, anyway. The power surged and fad
ed beneath the controls and he remembered what engineering had sent.

  “Pashal’s balls!”

  “Do your best,” the captain told him.

  The ship shuddered and the team on sensors turned. “They’re pulling us in.”

  “How?”

  “Some kind of tractor beam, sir.”

  “Engineering. Make sure we explode somewhere strategic. Weapons, give them everything you have while you still can. Defense, do something creative and do some damage! Pilot, I’m sure you’ll think of something.”

  He regarded them steadily and turned on the ship’s internal address system. “Crew of Selestine’s Orbit. This is your captain speaking. We have found the enemy and its name. Our homeworld will be warned.”

  For a moment he paused to push down the unexpected well of sadness before he spoke again. “It has been an honor serving with you. It has been an honor to serve Meligorn alongside you.”

  With a glance at the communications team, he said, “Broadcast this on all channels. Put it on a repeating loop and use it to hide everything you send home.”

  The communications officer swallowed and nodded, his reply quietly determined. “Aye, aye, sir.”

  The captain turned back to the broadcast and raised his fist in defiance to the Teloran ship. “Meligorn Bleeds for her Freedom!” he roared, and the crew roared back. “Meligorn bleeds for her freedom!”

  The pilot was helpless to do anything against the beam, but he redlined the engines at engineering’s request and used a reverse thrust to disguise their true intent.

  In their control center, the Telorans laughed. “That won’t save them.”

  They opened the hold to haul the tiny scout ship inside, but the pilot reversed the thrust again and the scout ship hurtled forward when the tractor beam released them. At the same time, those on defense altered the flow of energy to the scout ship’s shields and delivered a pulse of pure MU through the enemy ship.

  The Meligornian weapons team fired everything it had, and communications released a virus through the enemy system disguised as a request to speak. When the Teloran commander answered, it entered their system and began to broadcast the Meligornian battle cry throughout its corridors.