by Ken Lozito
“No,” Kara said softly. “I was ashamed because I wanted to go with you. More than anything.”
Noah looked at her. “You did? Then why did you avoid me?”
Kara swallowed hard. “Because I thought I’d be abandoning my post, shirking my duty. We were handpicked to be assigned to Titan Space Station because we were the best the Colonial Defense Force had to offer for defending the colony against the threat of invasion. I loved the work I was doing and the people I worked with. It was a close-knit community there. There’s very little choice on the space station to be otherwise. Sure, we were way out on the edge of the star system, but we had each other. Then you showed up all those months ago. The legendary Noah Barker, renowned engineer and integral part of the early colonial effort, a personal friend of General Gates.”
Noah snorted. He knew he had a reputation but didn’t think much of it. Certainly not among his peers. “Being Connor’s friend isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. We often get the most dangerous assignments.”
“It was General Gates and Colonel Douglass who approached me to be part of the CDF brigade serving on Titan. It was a tremendous honor even to be asked,” Kara said.
Noah’s eyebrows pulled together in understanding. “I didn’t realize what I was asking you to give up. I’m sorry. We seemed to hit it off. We go together. Knowing the general, he wouldn’t have viewed your request to return to New Earth with me as an abandonment of your post. The man may drive himself like a robot, but he understands people.”
They were silent for a few moments and Noah heard Kara sigh.
“I would have said yes,” Kara said, finally.
Noah smiled widely and he saw Kara doing the same. He took her hand in his and held it, and she gave his hand a gentle squeeze. Noah felt as if a great weight had shifted off of his shoulders, and a renewed determination swept over him. They had to get home. They had to find a way to thwart the Vemus invasion. For the first time since entering the life pod, he felt free despite everything that was going on around him. Then fear threatened to creep back into his thoughts. The Vemus. Why did they come? What did they want? How’d they even get here? But he didn’t want to focus on that now and pushed those thoughts out of his mind so he could take this moment with Kara and remember it for however long his life would be.
A comlink opened to the pod. “Life pod 707, execute reverse thrust for final approach,” the comms officer of the Chmiel said.
Noah looked at the life pod controls and hit the button to slow the pod down.
“Perfect. We’ll have you aboard in just a few moments.”
“Acknowledged, and thank you,” Noah said.
The drone guided their pod to the cargo area, where they were handed off to the robotic loading arms. The arms brought the pod safely inside the cargo bay area. The pod was then shifted to the interior of the ship through a massive airlock. A few minutes later there was a knock on the hatch, and Noah pulled on the release.
“Welcome aboard the Chmiel. My name is Jim.”
Noah gestured for Kara to go first and followed her out of the pod. Kara told Jim their names and ranks. Noah saw other pods being opened and their occupants coming out.
Jim’s eyes widened. “Captain Benson has been waiting for both of you. Please, if you’ll follow me to the bridge.”
Noah glanced at Kara and then back at Jim. “Of course,” he said.
Jim led them out of the cargo area and called out to the deck chief that he was taking them to the bridge. There were a lot of life pods that had made it already, and Noah thought about all those waiting to get on board. He wondered why the captain had seen fit to single out both of them.
“Do you know what this is about?” Noah asked.
Jim looked back at him. “I have no idea, but I have my instructions. We’re scooping you guys up and then we’re supposed to hightail it out of here as quickly as possible.”
The Chmiel was a large ship, so it took them almost fifteen minutes to reach the bridge. As they entered the bridge, there was none of the formality Noah had gotten used to on the CDF military ships he’d been on.
Captain Benson was an older, dark-skinned man whose gray hair and beard made him look like a sage. He glanced over at them with a deeply furrowed brow. “Major Roberts and Captain Barker?”
“Yes, sir,” Noah said.
Officially, Benson wasn’t part of the Colonial Defense Force, but the man was the captain of this ship and had just saved their lives.
Captain Benson eyed him for a moment. “I appreciate the sentiment, son, but though I’m captain of this ship I’m very much at the CDF’s service. Regardless, I don’t need someone to tell me the right thing to do.”
“We appreciate it all the same, Captain,” Noah said, and Kara nodded.
“I have orders for you, Captain Barker, and I need your expertise, Major,” Captain Benson said.
“How can I help?” Kara said.
“We have to beat the enemy fleet back to New Earth. To do that I need better speed from the engines,” Captain Benson said.
“Understood. I can help with that, but I must warn you that there’s a significant risk of permanently damaging the engine pods,” Kara said.
“I suspected as much,” Captain Benson replied.
“I’ll head down to Main Engineering and see what we’re dealing with,” Kara said.
“Look for Marcin. He keeps things running down there,” Captain Benson said.
Noah watched Kara leave the bridge and turned back to the captain. “You have orders for me?”
Captain Benson nodded. “I have new encryption protocols you’re to use to contact General Gates. You can use my comms station over there.”
Noah went over, sat down at the comms station, and put on the headset. Captain Benson enabled the new encryption protocols and then left him. Noah opened a comms channel and waited for it to connect. Once the link was established, Noah saw Connor’s face appear on his screen. He was stone-faced, with a burning intensity in his eyes.
“Reporting in, sir. Escape pods are being loaded onto the Chmiel as we speak. Captain Benson had me brought to the bridge to contact you,” Noah said.
“I’m glad you made it out of there. I have a job for you,” Connor replied.
“I’ll do whatever you need me to.”
“I need you to update the targeting capabilities used on the defense platforms. After that, they must be fully engaged for danger close-fire configuration. Do you understand what I’m telling you to do?” Connor said.
Noah swallowed hard. Danger close-fire configuration would enable the defense platform to prioritize enemy ships regardless of whether there were friendlies in the area. “I do, sir,” Noah said, knowing better than to waste time questioning Connor about his own orders.
“Good. We need to prevent as much of the Vemus fleet from getting to New Earth as we can. I’ve told Captain Benson he’s to head back there using best speed,” Connor said.
“Major Roberts is heading to Engineering to try and increase the speed once we get underway,” Noah said.
“How long before you’re underway?” Connor asked.
Noah had no idea. He glanced over toward Captain Benson and repeated the question.
“They’re loading the escape pods now, but it could be another thirty minutes before they’re all on board,” Noah said.
Connor looked away from the screen for a moment. “Call Captain Benson over to you.”
Captain Benson joined Noah at the comms station.
“Captain, the Vemus fleet is reeling from the destruction of Titan Space Station. I appreciate what you’re doing, but there’s a tough call to be made,” Connor said.
Noah’s insides went cold.
“I cannot abandon those pods, sir,” Captain Benson replied.
“Keep loading as many as you can, but if you receive a signal from us that the Vemus forces are on the move, you’re to cut and run. The top priority is for you to make it back to New Earth and for
Noah to update the defense platforms. We’ve had no confirmation that COMCENT even knows the attack has begun. We believe this has to do with the Vemus, but we’re not sure. Preparation is key, and the survival of the colony is at stake,” Connor said.
Noah’s mouth hung open as he watched Captain Benson struggle with what Connor had just told him. The cargo carrier captain walked away and began shouting orders.
Noah looked back at the screen. “He’s gone, sir,” he said.
“Sending over the updated parameters for targeting. This includes the PRADIS update in case active scans cannot detect the remaining Vemus fleet,” Connor said.
A progress window appeared. “Data received, sir,” Noah said.
“Noah, if Captain Benson won’t leave, I need you to take control of the ship,” Connor said.
“Sir, I have no idea how to fly a cargo carrier. How am I supposed to fly the ship?” Noah asked and glanced around to check if he’d been overheard.
“Calm down. I’m sending you my authorization codes that will give you master control of the Chmiel’s systems. We checked, and Captain Benson already has a course plotted back to New Earth. All you need to do is execute it. Can I count on you?”
Noah frowned. “What if he overrides it?”
Connor leveled a look at the screen and Noah felt as if he were training with Search and Rescue all those years ago. “Don’t let him. This is more important.”
The thought of leaving CDF personnel behind made his throat thick. He hated it and glared at the screen.
“Hate me if you need to, but everything is counting on it,” Connor said.
“Sir, where are you?” Noah asked.
“Our time is just about up. We’re going to try and slow down the enemy as much as we can and get them to chase us right into the kill zone of the defense platforms,” Connor said.
At last Noah understood. This could be the last time he ever spoke to his friend, his mentor, and he didn’t know what to say.
“Stay focused and get it done,” Connor said.
The comms channel was severed, and Noah stared at the blank screen. He sucked in a deep breath and glanced over at Captain Benson. Had the captain heard what Connor told him about taking control of the ship? Noah hoped it wouldn’t come to that. In fact, he silently pleaded that it wouldn’t come to that.
He opened the data cache and checked the updated PRADIS configuration. He’d have to wait until they were much closer to the defense platforms before uploading the update. It was the only way to confirm that the updates had been accepted by the defense platforms’ onboard targeting AI. If he sent the updates out now and they were rejected, the defense platforms’ systems could fail to target anything. He’d been part of the team that worked on the original operating code for those defense platforms, so he had a good idea how fragile they could be. Noah started to think about contingency plans if the updates failed to install. The Chmiel was a civilian ship and wasn’t capable of doing anything but sending transmissions and getting them where they needed to go. There was no cyber warfare suite loaded onto a secondary computer system that was capable of running targeting analyses, and this wasn’t something Noah could perform on the fly.
A comms alert from the Vigilant appeared on his holoscreen. Noah looked up and saw the same alert appear on the main holoscreen. The Vemus were starting to regroup. Noah’s gaze darted to Captain Benson.
The captain returned to the command chair and Noah watched as a video feed from the main cargo doors was brought up. There was still a long line of escape pods from Titan Space Station waiting to board the ship.
Captain Benson looked over at Noah with a pained expression. They had to leave, and they were going to leave people behind.
“Open a comlink to the main cargo area,” Captain Benson said.
“Main cargo.”
“Deck Officer, you’re to close the cargo doors for immediate departure,” Captain Benson said.
There was a moment of heavy silence. The bridge crew seemed to huddle at their workstations, hunched as if weathering a terrible storm.
“Captain, there are still a lot of life pods out there. We just need some more time—”
“We’re out of time. Close those doors or everyone in the cargo bay will die,” Captain Benson said and cut the comlink.
Noah watched as Captain Benson waited a few moments.
“Captain, cargo bay doors are closing,” said the ops officer.
“Helm, max thrust for engines one and two. Take us back to New Earth,” Captain Benson said.
Noah’s eyes became tight—all those pods still outside, their second chance taken from them. He felt hollow inside, as if he wasn’t worthy of being one of the people who got to leave while other CDF soldiers were being sacrificed.
“Noah Barker, you need to focus. We all have jobs to do,” Captain Benson snapped.
Noah swung his gaze back to his holoscreen. Captain Benson was right. There was work to be done. Deep in Noah’s mind he imagined the screams of the CDF personnel still out there in life pods that were being sentenced to death. He was coming to understand the hardened glint that sometimes showed itself in Connor’s gaze and he hated it. This was an understanding he didn’t want.
A strong hand gripped his shoulder, and Captain Benson leaned down. “Focus, Noah. Make their sacrifice worth something. It will be the only way you’ll find peace in the days to come.”
Noah wiped his eyes and threw himself at his task, directing his anger and frustration at doing his utmost to destroy their enemy. In that moment, Noah left a much younger version of himself behind, and he began to wonder if he would even recognize himself in the days to come—if they survived.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Connor cut the comlink to the Chmiel. He felt bile creep up the back of his throat and forced it down, knowing there was nothing he could do. They had a shuttle on board the Vigilant, but there was no way it could make the trip from the outer star system to New Earth. The call had to be made. The remains of the Vemus fleet were regrouping, and the escape pods from Titan that hadn’t made it onto the cargo carrier would be left behind.
“Sir, the Chmiel has started heading back to New Earth,” Sergeant Browning said.
“Acknowledged,” Connor answered.
Reisman glanced over at him. “Now it’s up to Noah. He has to get that targeting package uploaded to the defense platforms to guarantee they’ll be able to hit the Vemus ships.”
The loss of Titan Space Station exposed a major hole in their defense strategy. The missile-defense platforms could operate autonomously only to a certain degree. Now that Titan Space Station was gone, the platform’s targeting computers couldn’t be updated without getting into close proximity, something Connor hadn’t accounted for in his plans, and now he was mentally kicking himself for the lapse.
Connor looked at the Chmiel’s location on the main holoscreen and noted the increasing velocity. There were still hundreds of escape pods from Titan and there was nothing he could do for them. The occupants on the pods might survive for a few weeks, at best. Ordinarily a few weeks would be more than enough time to mount a rescue mission, but with the Vemus fleet in proximity, Connor had little doubt that the escape pods would be picked up by them. He didn’t know what they would do with the survivors, but it wouldn’t be good.
“Sir, I have the two Vemus battleship carriers on the plot now,” Sergeant Browning said.
Those were his targets. Somehow he had to soften them up so when they did reach the missile-defense platforms, they could finish the job and destroy them. The Vigilant had no more missiles. They had ammunition for their few remaining rail-cannons and grasers that could be used for close-range combat. Range was ever the issue in space warfare. He glanced at the area of the PRADIS output that showed where Titan Space Station had been. The Vigilant’s systems were still trying to make sense of the data in order to put it into some type of output he could use. They didn’t know how many of the Vemus fleet had been
destroyed by the Titan Space Station self-destruct sequence, but Connor knew it hadn’t been all of them.
“Helm, plot an intercept course for the two battleship carriers. Keep our approach slow. I want ample time to react if they change course,” Connor said.
“Yes, General, laying in course now,” Sergeant Edwards said.
Major Hayes came onto the bridge and walked over to the command area. He’d been working with the damaged areas of the ship. News of Alec Toro’s assassination attempt had spread throughout the ship. Reisman had raised the question of whether Toro had been working alone. In the end, Connor didn’t know, and given their list of objectives, it wasn’t something he could worry about at the moment. If someone else was trying to kill him while they were fighting the Vemus, then so be it. Sean stood off to the side and listened in.
“By all accounts, Toro completely lost it at the end,” Reisman said.
Connor nodded. “He was becoming desperate because he was dying. I’m not sure it really registered with him that his main reason for killing me was null and void now that the Vemus are here.”
“He cracked under the pressure, and the whole thing could have been avoided if we’d looked for the signs earlier,” Major Hayes said.
“Toro was the one who would have been reporting in on stuff like that. Regardless, we need to focus on the bigger enemy,” Connor said
Major Hayes glanced at their two targets. “How do we destroy something that big?”
Reisman shrugged. “It’s not a matter of whether we can; it’s how we want to go about it.”
“Well, missiles are out. No more HADES IVs. They’d destroy us well before we could destroy them if we used our remaining rail-cannons. That’s even if we had enough ammunition to take the ships out,” Connor said.
“What about the Banshee? That ship had a purely offensive armament,” Major Hayes said.
