by Jan Domagala
Kurt continued the spin using his momentum to move him away from the next two shots aimed at him from Marko. He hit the ground and immediately went into a roll coming up on his side and took out his Sig P996 and fired.
The pulsed plasma bolt struck Marko in the centre of his forehead blowing his head apart in an explosion of blood and gore.
The body fell over to the side like a rag doll thrown aside and the second it lay in a crumpled heap alarms went off all around the colony.
“Time to detonation, five minutes,” a voice said through the integral speakers in the equipment, the sound seemingly coming from everywhere at once.
“What the fuck just happened?” asked Torres a little worried.
Kurt got to his feet and looked around the room. He said, “He must’ve had a bio monitor fitted that was connected to some sort of self destruct. This place has less than five minutes before it blows to hell and back.”
“You’re joking right?” Riley said.
“Nope,” Kurt said then he stood stock still for a second, his mind accessing whatever computer controls his NI could latch onto. He turned to Riley, his face bleached of all colour as he said, “It gets worse. Several thermobaric missiles have just been launched from somewhere on this colony also tied in to this self destruct system.”
“What’s the target?” Riley asked afraid that he already knew the answer.
“The planet below.” Kurt replied.
*****
“What has just happened?” Sinclair asked as he watched the salvo of Thermobaric missiles leave the colony. The entire bridge crew was watching the forward viewscreen and the events as they unfolded. They all gasped in surprise as they saw what just happened.
Sinclair contacted Kurt via his NI, “Kurt give me a sit rep now,” he said curtly.
“There was a doomsday device attached to the commander over here sir, it activated upon his death. Apparently we have little less than five minutes before this whole place detonates. There’s a further complication sir, Thermobaric missiles have been launched toward the planet below. I can only imagine they are primed to ignite the atmosphere and destroy all life down there,” Kurt replied swiftly.
“A scorched earth policy I see. Evacuate the colony as fast as possible; we will attempt to target the missiles before they detonate.”
“I have an idea about that sir, we may have a better chance aboard the Pulsar, using the nose section,” Riley said interrupting the conversation.
“Do it,” Sinclair said not needing to mull the idea over; he knew it was their best chance to avert a catastrophe.
Kurt said, “Right we’ve gotta move.”
Riley said, “I’ll come with you.”
“Okay but you’ll have to keep up,” Kurt replied and he was off and running. Riley took off after him and he knew after the first few steps that he would struggle to keep up.
Over his shoulder Riley shouted, “Hurry and get to the Pulsar, we’ll take the nose section, get aboard the main body and take her to the Odyssey.”
*****
General Lokar Tillic also saw the Thermobaric missiles launched from the colony. He knew what had happened; he knew the Col Sec forces had gained a foothold on the colony and that Marko had been killed. Marko had been fitted with the fail-safe device as soon as his post as colony commander had been confirmed. It was, as Sinclair had pointed out, a scorched earth policy, if the Alliance could not get control of Tartaran then they would make sure that the Confederation would not benefit either.
That did not help matters now though; they had come all that way to have it snatched away from them at the last gasp and by their own fail-safe device. The irony was not lost on him and he allowed a wry smile to cross his thin lips.
“Increase speed to flank, we need to get there as fast as we can,” he said, they had to do something to at least try to prevent this travesty from happening. He did not know if there was anything they could do, but they had to try.
44
Kurt arrived at the docking bay a few feet ahead of Riley.
“You don’t mess about do you?” Riley said when he finally caught up with Kurt. “I never thought I’d keep up with you,” he added breathlessly, he had run faster than he thought possible just to keep Kurt in sight.
“I was going slow so you could keep up, but enough chat, get us aboard your ship,” Kurt replied a little too curt for Riley’s taste but he let it go.
Riley opened the door to the Pulsar, the hatch was coded to the Wildfire Team’s NI’s only so Kurt had had to wait for him anyway. Once through the hatch they went through to the forward section. “Artie disengage your forward section, we’ve a job to do. Leave the rest of you here for the rest of the Team and Colonel De Boer and C Platoon,” Riley said as they entered the bridge on the forward section.
“You talk to this ship’s AI like it’s human,” Kurt observed.
“When you get to know him a bit better, you’ll know why. He’s as much a part of this team as any of us so it’s not too much of a stretch to consider him like one of us,” replied Riley who then added, “Artie we have to stop those missiles from detonating, so get us within firing range as fast as you can please.”
“I’ll do my best Jake,” the AI replied and immediately steered the forward section away from the docking hatch on the colony.
The AI boosted power to the engines and put the craft into pursuit mode as it locked the sensors onto the Thermobaric missiles.
*****
Colonel De Boer had heard the warning sirens and alert from the colony’s computer about the self-destruct as had the rest of the Platoon. He turned to Captain Mayfield and said, “It seems our work has been done for us, I suggest we find our way back to the Pulsar as fast as we can.”
“Copy that Colonel,” replied the captain and the two of them turned their men around and double-timed it back to the docking hatch.
When they arrived they found Cooper; Vance, Torres and Matt already waiting for them.
“Where’s Riley and Kurt?” asked De Boer.
“They’ve gone ahead in the Pulsar’s nose section to try and stop the Thermobaric missiles before they reach the planet and detonate,” replied Matt adding, “We have to leave now Colonel we have less than four minutes before this place blows to hell and back.”
“Let’s move,” De Boer said and they all left the colony through the hatch onto the main body of the Pulsar. The moment they were aboard, the AI steered her away from the colony and back towards the Odyssey.
*****
“We’re not going to make it are we?” Kurt said as he and Riley stood on the bridge watching through the forward viewport at the space before them. In the distance, they could just make out the missiles heading toward the planet. The gap between them was closing as the intercept course they were on brought them closer to their targets. In Kurt’s, mind though, the gap was not closing quickly enough and he thought they would fail. If that were the case then the planet below would be destroyed as, the atmosphere would ignite and kill all life below with the possible exceptions of any marine life deep in the oceans.
Over fifty years ago, the two warring bodies issued a story that the planet had been destroyed, made uninhabitable due to the war between them, which was not the case, now though they seemed determined to make that fiction a reality.
“Artie, we need to close the gap faster if we want any chance at all at stopping those missiles,” Riley said both as a reply to Kurt and as an instruction to the AI piloting the craft.
“I am attempting to bring us in at an angle that will give us the best firing solution sir,” replied Artie.
“We haven’t much time Artie, whatever you’re planning on doing I suggest you do it now,” Riley urged.
“Almost there sir,” replied the Ai calmly.
*****
“How long to missile detonation?” asked Sinclair.
“Less than two minutes sir,” replied ops.
“It looks like they won’t mak
e it sir,” Captain Biggs said.
“Give them time Captain, I trust my men and you should too, they are the best at what they do.”
*****
“Artie we have less than a minute before the missiles enter the upper atmosphere. If you destroy them once they’ve entered the effect will be the same,” Riley said with a trace of panic in his voice.
“Almost there sir,” Artie replied.
*****
“Sir the missiles will enter the atmosphere in less than thirty seconds, then it’ll be too late,” said ops who had been tracking them with an eye on the clock as well.
“It’s not over yet people, there’s still time,” Sinclair said resolutely.
*****
Kurt kept an eye on the missiles progress and the other on the chronometer below the forward viewport, which was set on a countdown timer.
It read 00.24, the amount of time they had until it was too late to help.
00.23
00.22
00.21
00.20
“Artie, time is running out,” Riley told the AI.
00.18
00.17
00.16
“Firing forward cannons,” the AI said.
The forward mounted pulse cannons fired a continuous stream of high intensity pulsed plasma bolts at the missiles.
Kurt and Riley along with the bridge crew of the Odyssey, those aboard the Pulsar and the approaching super destroyer watched the plasma bolts streak toward the missiles, which were flying in a formation.
Everyone held their breath as the bolts closed the gap, hoping that the potential disaster could be averted.
The first missile was struck by the stream of plasma bolts and detonated and because of how the missiles were linked, it caused a cascade effect whereby each individual missile followed suit, detonating one after another.
The explosions sent out a shockwave that buffeted all the craft in the vicinity but because they were Thermobaric, missiles the detonation was not as powerful as if they had gone off in the atmosphere where the oxygen present would have acted as fuel.
The AI steered the nose section of the Pulsar away from the shockwave, turning the craft as soon as the pulse cannons had finishing firing. Artie knew exactly what he was doing and exactly what the outcome would be and he took the necessary actions to save his crew and himself from any further danger.
“Wow Artie, that was awesome, did you know that would happen?” Riley said.
“It stood to reason sir that the missiles would be linked, after all they were fired through a fail-safe device linked to the commander’s bio readings. I assumed because of this sir that if I detonated one of them the rest would follow due to their being linked,” replied the AI.
“Nice work Artie,” Kurt said with a broad smile.
“See what I meant now about him being one of the crew, part of the team?” Riley said.
“I must admit, I’m warming to him,” Kurt said.
“Artie take us back to the Odyssey, we have friends waiting,” Riley said.
“Yes, this isn’t over just yet, we still have that Alliance super destroyer to contend with,” Kurt said, his smile rapidly disappearing.
*****
A cheer had gone around the bridge the moment the missiles all detonated at the last second as relief flooded the ship.
Sinclair had simply watched and allowed a smile to play along his thin lips for a moment or two as he silently congratulated his team for their good work.
“Prepare for the return of the men Captain, as soon as they are here safely, make preparations to return to Earth, we still have much to do,” he said his voice cutting through everyone’s euphoria.
“Damage control General?” asked Captain Biggs.
“Very much so, I’m afraid. We have to issue a counter statement to the one the Alliance had issued, one that tells a more truthful account of what actually happened out here.”
“Good luck with that sir,” Biggs commented not sounding too hopeful.
“Quite, I’m sure our actions here in averting the destruction of the planet will go somewhere in addressing the balance,” Sinclair said hinting that he already had a strategy in mind.
Before anything else could be added a call came through to Sinclair which he routed through to the comm. channels in the bridge so they could all hear. He knew who it was calling and wanted them all to hear for future reference.
“Congratulations General, on your men’s outstanding work today. I commend them for averting a possible tragedy and in doing so giving us the opportunity to gain control of the planet,” General Tillic said.
“I’m sure they will be pleased when I pass on your message Lokar,” Sinclair said, not rising to the bait.
“In the spirit of good will, because I am so grateful to you and your men, I will allow you all to leave the area unharmed. You can return to Earth and ponder on what you did here today, and the consequences of your actions. You can feel safe in the knowledge that the planet is safe in our hands and we will put to good use any and all knowledge gleaned from it,” Tillic goaded.
Again, Sinclair refused to take the bait instead he replied, “I thank you for your kindness and I pray for your safety.”
This left Tillic slightly bemused, why would he pray for his enemies safety, it did not make any sense to him. While he thought about what Sinclair could have meant he watched as the Confederation ships gathered in preparation for leaving. No closer to an answer he watched as the enemy ships all entered hyper space windows leaving the area heading back to Confederation space.
They were alone, the colony had been destroyed but that was no great hardship another would be in place soon enough. This time though it would be an Alliance outpost, there would be no need for subterfuge any longer. Any discoveries made now would be for the betterment and glory of the Elysium Alliance.
45
When the two starships returned to Confederation space they both made the final jump to the solar system where they rendezvoused at IO Jupiter’s largest moon and the home of the largest Col Sec base inside the solar system outside of Earth and the Lunar colony. Once they reached IO General Sinclair; Admiral Garvey and his daughter, Natasha all transferred over to the Pulsar from the Odyssey. The Odyssey then went back on patrol whilst the Pulsar continued on to Earth.
General Sinclair made himself comfortable in the Pulsar’s ready room while he composed the statement he would give to the media regarding the Tartaran Incident repudiating the Alliance version of events.
Natasha and her father were on the bridge with the rest of the Wildfire Team, Kurt and Matt. The mood in te room was less than euphoric as Riley and Natasha had unresolved issues over their relationship. The others were feeling a little down even though they had saved the planet, all the deaths and the loss of control of the planet weighed heavy on them.
“Go to him, talk, you two never sorted this out,” Admiral Garvey said as he and Natasha stood apart from the rest of them.
“Dad, stay out of this, please. It’s complicated,” she replied quietly so as not to alert Riley and the rest of them as to what they were talking about.
“Complicated how? If you feel about that young man the same as he obviously still feels about you then it’s as simple as the nose on your face. You go and talk to him and try and make it work.”
“How Dad, how do we make it work? Neither of us have the nine to five kind of jobs, we could end up working in different sectors of the galaxy for months at a time. You know as well as anyone that long distance relationships just don’t work.”
“True, I can’t deny that but I also know that what you two had was real, and if any of it remains then it’s worth fighting for. Somehow you’ll make it work and trust me you don’t want to go through your life wondering what it would’ve been like. I know what that’s like too, and you don’t want that, ever.”
Natasha looked at her father in astonishment, that had been something she had never known about. Wh
o was the woman who had gotten away, or did he make the same decision she made over her relationship with Jake?
“Go, talk to him,” Garvey said and he walked toward the rest of them leaving his daughter staring at his back as she stood alone.
He walked over to Riley and said, “Go to her Jake, say what you need to, before it’s too late.”
Riley shook his head, “What’s the point, she made her decision,” he replied looking away.
“Don’t be so stupid man, this may be your last chance to either save whatever you two had or get closure and move on, it’s up to you.”
Grabbing his wrist Torres pulled Riley around to look at her and said, “Don’t be such a tool Jake, go to her. Don’t make me have to kick your ass, get over there.”
“What do I say to her?” he asked sheepishly.
“You’ll know when you get there, just tell her how you feel then take it from there,” Torres replied softly.
Riley nodded his head and haltingly left the group.
Sinclair came out of the ready room and approached the group. He sensed that Riley and Natasha had things to talk over and that this was possibly the only time they had before they returned to Earth and were redeployed so he left them to it and went to stand with the rest of the group.
“Well gentlemen and ladies, I must congratulate on a job very well done,” he said.
“There he goes calling me a lady again,” Torres said to Vance.
“How dare he!,” joked Vance with a smile.
“Sir somehow this doesn’t feel like we did a very good job,” Kurt said to nods of agreement all round.
“Well you should. We were thrust into a situation that we handled well considering what we had to work with and the odds that were stacked against us, I think we came out of it very well indeed. Don’t forget too, that you saved the planet from total destruction which has now been reported around the GalacticWeb. Everyone will know that we went to rescue the Prince and that the Alliance had stationed troops there who killed all the passengers on the Colonial Queen.”
