The Assassins Guild 4: Last Man Standing

by Saxon Andrew

  The monitor went dark and the OG wanted so much to hate that being, but, somehow, he just couldn’t make himself feel it.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The countdown reached zero and Indie ordered, “Commence your attacks.” The three-attack-fleets went to full speed and moved in on three Brotherhood planets. They roared in and the Berserkers holding station away from the planets came out at full speed to intercept them.

  Mila ordered, “All ships stop and launch the killer-tees. Her fifty Ste warships began launching the small missiles and the Berserkers began exploding in high numbers as they rushed in. The first wave was eliminated in huge explosions but the second wave moving in from the planet was twice as large. Some of the Berserkers flew past her fleet and turned around to attack them from the rear. The rear missile launcher began launching the small missiles and the pulse cannons joined the missiles in taking out the Berserkers that leaked through the missile barrage. So far, they were holding out but the third wave from the planet was gigantic. Every ship had the Berserkers surrounding them and the Ste’s were the center of massive explosions. Indie watched the monitor and saw the destruction taking place was incredible. But the fleets were holding out and Indie asked, “Status of Commodore Brisbane’s fleet?”

  “He’s moving in now, Sir.” Indie nodded and was not leaving until Tee launched his missiles.

  • • •

  Tee stared at the long-range monitor and saw the Brotherhood warships holding position out from the planet. He lifted his communicator to call off the attack when suddenly, they began moving out at high speed toward the other side of the planet. His thirty warships were coasting in on the planet at minimal power and once the Brotherhood warships disappeared around the planet he ordered, “GO TO FULL POWER AND LAUNCH YOUR MISSILES AT THE DESIGNATED DISTANCE!”

  His thirty ships went to full speed and ten-minutes later, he felt the Australia start vibrating from the high-speed launches of the heavy nuclear missiles. All four hundred were launched and he ordered, “Go to full thrusters and stay in formation. Once we move over the top of the planet, launch your remaining heavy missiles and go vertical!”

  The formation flew past the nuclear missiles and went over the planet. Tee’s scanner showed a massive cloud of Berserkers ahead of his formation along with hundreds of Brotherhood warships. Huge numbers of the Berserkers were turning toward his ships, “LAUNCH NOW! START FIRING THE TEES AND GET OUT OF HERE!!”

  A giant cloud of small sparks left the thirty warships as they went vertical and moved away from the Berserkers moving toward them at their fastest speed. The front ranks of the Berserkers began going up in explosions and Tee saw the large Brotherhood warships start firing at the incoming missiles. He saw large numbers of them start going up in massive explosions as his ships flew at maximum speed away from the incoming Berserkers. He saw two of his ships hit by a Berserker and go up in massive explosions before the rest of his formation moved ahead of the incoming small ships. He shook his head and realized he should have launched the tees before moving over the planet. He wouldn’t make that mistake again.

  • • •

  Indie stared at his monitor and watched the scout’s recording of Tee’s attack. He kept his eyes on the monitor and asked, “How many warships did he hit?”

  Katy quickly replied, “More than fifty Brotherhood warships are destroyed and forty more have been damaged. We have a hundred Brotherhood warships moving in on our fleets from the closest planets to the ones we’re attacking, Sir. They have their small ships leading them this way.”

  Indie ordered, “ALL SHIPS, TURN AND EVADE. GO TO FULL SPEED AND SCATTER.”

  Indie kept his eyes on the monitor and suddenly saw hundreds of bright white explosions appear on the planets surfaces Tee and Lori attacked. The explosions became more numerous and he turned to contact his Commanders. It appeared Tee’s plan worked.

  • • •

  Tee punched his console and shouted, “LORI, REPORT IN!!” He received no reply and then yelled again, “LORI…”

  “We’re running at the moment, Tee! Give me a few minutes to get away.”

  Tee fell back in his chair and looked at his scanning officer, “How many warships did we manage to hit?”

  “Around ninety, Sir. The nuclear missiles are currently hitting their targets and it appears the small ships didn’t arrive in time to take them out. They chose to chase us and missed the missiles.”

  Tee waited and fifteen minutes later, Lori reported in, “We’re clear and moving away from the planet, Sir.”

  “Losses?” Tee asked.

  “None, Sir. I fired the tee’s before I came over the planet. If I hadn’t done that, I would have experienced losses, Sir. The numbers of Berserkers chasing us was unbelievable. What about you, Sir?”

  “I lost two ships, Lori. I didn’t fire the tees before we went over the planet. Their loss is my fault.”

  “No, it’s not, Tee.”

  “Yes, it is!”

  “I should have told you to do it and didn’t. I assumed you’d know and that was a mistake on my part. Their loss is on me.”

  “But…”

  Lori interrupted him, “I’m here to provide you experience and I didn’t come through, Tee. We should have discussed this before we arrived and I didn’t contact you to do it. This is on me.” Tee was silent and Lori added softly, “I let our conversation get in the way of talking to you; it won’t happen again. I’m sorry.”

  “We’ll discuss it when we get back. Head back to the freighters to provision your ships,” Tee replied.

  “Yes, Sir.”

  Tee struggled with what to do but didn’t come up with any answers. He looked to his scanning officer and ordered, “Send me the recording of our attack. I also want the recording Captain Barber made of her attack as well.”

  “Yes Sir.” Tee sat back and studied the recording. This method wouldn’t work again.

  • • •

  Tee and Rachael were on Tal’s console and Jee said, “We really didn’t accomplish much, Sir. We did destroy huge numbers of the Berserkers but they’ll be replaced within a few weeks.”

  Rachael added, “It was pretty much the same thing in my attacks as well. There are just too many of their small ships to get through, Tal.”

  “Jee, are you aware that one of your attack fleets managed to destroy two Brotherhood planets?” Tal inquired.

  Jee’s head went back slightly, “No. I’ve just ordered my fleets out and haven’t had the opportunity to look at the recording summary. How did they manage to do that and why wasn’t I told they were going to make the effort?”

  “Don’t get your shirt in a wad, Jee,” Tal replied. “Indie approached me with a plan that Commodore Brisbane came up with and I green lighted it. I didn’t tell you about it because you had other issues to handle with your other attack fleets.”

  “Why didn’t Indie come to me with the plan first?” Jee responded with narrow eyes.

  “Jee, Indie and I have a close relationship and he did the right thing coming to me first. The mission required using nuclear weapons on those planets and it took him over an hour to explain what he wanted to do. What would have happened if he came to you first with his plan?”

  Jee took a breath and answered, “I would have had to come to you for permission to use the nukes.”

  “And that would have taken another hour for you to fill me in and if there was a question you couldn’t answer, you would have been forced to contact Indie and bring him into the conversation. Now two hours would have been taken just when we’re about to launch our attacks. If you’re so insecure, just order your Commodores to only go through you and not directly to me!” Tal replied angrily.

  Rachael interjected, “I’m sure Indie knew that trying to explain his plan to you would be a waste of time if Tal didn’t approve using the nukes, Jee.”

  Jee exhaled and forced a smile, “You’re right, Tal; I’m being petty. I’m going to contact Indie and congratul
ate him on his success.”

  “How did they manage to do it, Tal?” Rachael asked.

  Tal covered them on what happened and Rachael’s expression changed, “Sir, why didn’t you delay our attacks so we could use this plan on more Brotherhood Planets?”

  “I thought about that Rachael but your ships wouldn’t have been able to pull it off.”

  “Why not?”

  “Rachael, it appears Commodore Brisbane had been teaching the warships under his command how to use the phase fields to coast in on targets undetected. He gets up to speed and shuts down all his systems until he’s within firing range of the target. It takes a lot of practice to learn the distance a Ste Warship can coast at various speeds. Tee told me it took more than four weeks to get it down to a science. I deemed it more important for all of our crews to get their first taste of combat fighting the Berserkers before taking the time to learn Tee’s procedures.” Tal paused and added, “I also had no idea that this plan would actually work. Commodore Brisbane said that if the Brotherhood didn’t move the ships located on the sun side of the planet to the space side, he would be forced to back off.”

  Rachael shrugged, “There were too many unknowns to make it a general plan, right?”

  “Exactly right. Commodore Brisbane still lost two ships while attempting to escape. However, this plan won’t work again; the Brotherhood won’t pull the ships from the sun side in the future.” Tal looked at Jee and saw he was deep in thought. “What are you thinking, Jee.”

  “Perhaps we’re going about this the wrong way.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Tal, our plan is to go in and take out their warships.”

  “Jee, if we don’t reduce their numbers, we’ll be overwhelmed. They’re building almost five hundred warships a week.”

  “And where are those warships being built, Tal?” Tal was silent and Jee added, “They’re being built on the defended planets. If we can remove the planets, they won’t be building anything on them.”

  “But this plan won’t work again, Jee!”

  “I’m not talking about using that plan, Tal. I’m talking about a different plan. And I believe that Indie’s attack will make the plan feasible.”

  “Tell me what you’re thinking.” Jee started explaining and after a few minutes, Rachael and Tal looked at each other with a smile.

  • • •

  Tee was sitting at his console as the Australia was being provisioned. He looked to his left and saw Lori walk on to the bridge. His brow furrowed and Lori said, “The mission is complete, Sir. My post is here.”

  Tee stood up and said, “Harley, you have the bridge.” He turned to Lori as he headed toward his office, “We need to talk.”

  “Yes, Sir, we do!” Lori said as she followed him.

  They entered the office and Tee closed the door behind Lori, “Sit down, Lori.”

  “Yes Sir!”

  Tee’s eyes narrowed and his eyebrows came together, “If you prefer I just issue you orders and not discuss this at all, then just keep up this aggressive attitude!”

  Lori’s expression showed instant anger but she stopped, took a deep breath, and replied, “I’m sorry, Tee.”

  Tee’s expression changed slightly and he leaned forward before saying, “It wasn’t your fault I lost two ships.”

  “But Tee, I didn’t tell you…”

  Tee interrupted her, “It wouldn’t have made a difference.” Lori stopped and tilted her head slightly, “I’ve examined the recordings of our two attacks and launching the tees prior to going over the planet would work with your unit but it wouldn’t have with mine.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because the Berserkers at the planet you attacked were outside the Brotherhood’s warships. At my planet, there were more than ten thousand of them close to the planet.”

  “That doesn’t make sense.”

  Tee raised his hands, “From what I can understand from the recordings, I believe it was just simply bad luck and timing. Those ships must have just launched from the planet to join the defenses. They all appeared to be brand new and must have just been released to join the Brotherhood fleet. The two ships I lost came over the planet right into the middle of their formation. They were overwhelmed before they could get out.”

  Lori was silent for a moment and then said, “That makes me feel better, but it doesn’t address the failure on my part to communicate with you.”

  “No, it doesn’t,” Tee agreed. “And it doesn’t address your not telling me the truth in Orlando.”

  “I told you the truth in Orlando!” Tee’s eyebrows came together again as Lori continued, “At that time, I liked you but not in a romantic way. That happened later.”

  “When?”

  “I wish I could say, Tee. I only realized it when you sent me to command the other unit. I felt a sudden panic that you intended to separate us. After looking at my feelings, I realized I did not want to be away from you.”

  “You know that means we can’t serve on the same ship, Lori.” Tee replied.

  Lori looked at him with a bemused smile and asked, “Exactly what universe are you living in?”

  “Excuse me!” Tee responded.”

  Lori held up her hand and raised her index finger, “Tal and Ka,” She started raising her other fingers, “Katy and Indie, Jan and Dorman, and Jee and Mamani; how do they fit into the last pronouncement you made?” Tee stared at her and blinked. He opened his mouth and then shut it. “And don’t sit there and tell me you’re not interested in me as well, Tee. I’ve seen you looking at me numerous times in the reflection off my console’s monitor. Or am I wrong about that?” Tee was quiet and Lori’s eyes narrowed slightly, “You’re not telling me something.” Tee’s eyes widened slightly and Lori demanded, “WHAT IS IT?!”

  “It’s nothing. Lori.”

  “Tee Brisbane, I’ve been completely honest with you, even though I really didn’t want to do it. I’m starting to believe that you have another reason for sending me to another ship that has nothing to do with how we feel about each other. Is this how you treat those that are friends? I would never believe that you have a deceptive bone in your body, am I wrong?” Tee stared at Lori and struggled with what to do. She saw it and added, “Just tell me! If you’re married or have a girlfriend, I’ll go away.”

  “It’s nothing like that,” Tee replied.

  “Then what is it, Tee?” Lori asked softly.

  Tee decided what the hell, “If I tell you, I need you to keep it to yourself.” Lori nodded with a tilted head. “I made you my beneficiary.”

  “You’re serious?” Tee nodded. “This is all over the survivor benefit we received in our benefits?” Lori asked.

  “Well, not exactly, Lori.” Lori sat back on her chair and stared at him. “I was dishonest with you in Orlando, but I felt I had to do it.”

  “You lied.”

  “I guess; I certainly misled you.”

  “About what?”

  “That black card I used to pay for things; the account wasn’t really empty,” Tee answered.

  “Why did you do that?”

  “Lori, I made a lot of credits when I was an assassin. I soon discovered after I left the Assassins Guild that everyone I knew was there to get a piece of what I had. They weren’t there for me and I really think most of them hated me for what I possessed and they didn’t. It was a shallow, hollow existence and I decided to leave it. I felt a real sense of accomplishment at fighting against the aliens that invaded my colony and I missed the feeling. So, I joined the navy to fight for humanity’s survival against the Brotherhood.” Tee paused and shook his head slightly, “I used my family name to join and no one knew that I had any wealth. Admiral Meadows transferred me to Tal’s fleet and he interviewed me about whether or not he was going to accept me. He learned from my file that I was hiding how much I owned and he agreed to keep it secret.”

  “What does this have to do with us, Tee?”

  “Well, after
getting to know you, I decided that you were the first person outside of my personal Barrister that ever liked me for me instead of what I have. I sold everything on Australia and transferred my money to a bank on Earth. I was required to have a beneficiary to do that and I chose you. If something happens to me, you will become the owner of what I possess.” Lori stared at him and Tee said, “That’s why I think it would be better for us to be on different warships, Lori.”

  “Just how much are we talking about, Tee?”

  Tee hesitated and said, “A little over three.” Lori pursed her lips and before she could respond, Tee added, “Three hundred billion, Lori.” Lori’s stunned expression revealed her shock and Tee shrugged.

  Lori started shaking her head and said, “Remove me as your beneficiary.”

  “WHAT?!”

  “I don’t want it! Especially if it means we have to be separated. Pick someone else that deserves it and let’s go forward staying together.”

  “But Lori, you’re my first real friend!”

  “Get real, Tee. I was the first one to run into you. Everyone of the officers that were in your training class liked you immensely and you know it. Our crew adores you and it doesn’t stop there. I don’t want to be just a friend and that won’t happen if you send me away. Find someone else!”

  Tee sighed and said, “I’ve had my heart broken twice by someone I thought really cared about me.”

  “Then let’s you and I make sure it doesn’t happen a third time. I have to say you’re headed in the wrong direction, Tee.”

  “You would honestly turn your back on that much wealth?”

  “Tee, I’ve served most of my adult life in the navy. I have everything I need provided and I’m still able to save against the day I leave the service. The only thing missing from my life is you. If I have you, my life would be full, and quite frankly, complete. I’ve watched you closely since I met you and you are a very special person. I hope you see me that way as well; get someone else. I don’t care about the wealth.”

  Tee smiled slightly and stood up, “I’ll look into it.”

  Lori kept her seat, “That’s not an answer, Tee. I need to know what you’re thinking about all I’ve just shared with you.”