“Don’t be afraid, we’re here to rescue you,” Alaya said. “Is the Brandenburger CEO here?”
A stately looking man with graying temples and a few days growth of stubble came forward. He was dressed in fine clothes that were a bit disheveled and looked like he had spent several nights sleeping in them. Some of the others present were even scruffier. The stately man came over to the Romani, “I’m Juergen Schardt, CEO, how do we know you are not working with our enemies?”
“The only enemies you have here are the Saltic,” Slone said. “You allied yourself with them and now they turned on you. Just in case you were not aware of what they are doing, they are taking your people to large harvester ships in orbit and removing their brains to use as computer control nodes. The brains remain sentient and suffer terribly. I have no doubt that will be your fate if you decide you would rather take your chances with them.”
“And if we go with you, where are you taking us. I don’t recognize your uniforms. What corporation are you with?”
“We are not part of any corporation, but we have fought the Saltic several times, even in their own galaxy. They are here from Andromeda and they mean to enslave us. We will have to leave now, before they miss their guards. Are these others your vice presidents?”
“Yes, this is the entire government of the corporation. If we die, so does the corporation.”
“Then let’s make sure you don’t,” Alaya said. “Follow us.”
The CEO and his VPs walked to the door and exited the room only to stop dead in their tracks when they saw the serpents. “What are these animals doing here?”
“These are not animals; they are a sentient race of aliens. Did you really think that the Saltic were the only aliens in existence?” Slone said.
The CEO was overwhelmed as were his vice presidents. They had only recently accepted that the Saltic existed; now here was another alien race. As they were taking this in, the optio said to Slone, “Sss. Captain Slone, we should leave. Air samples say Saltic moving below us.”
Slone could see that the CEO and the others were in shock that the serpents could speak human language without a translator device like the Saltic used. “Lead us out of here, optio.”
The optio ordered the Romani back into the stairwell. The rescued corporate officers were kept in the middle with mixed human and serpent Romani forming the forward and rear guard. Since they were in a stairwell, they did not require flankers. They progressed down rapidly and reached the basement. When they came out of the stairwell, Slone was happy to see the guards they had posted on the elevator were still there with the dead Saltic at their feet. As they moved into the basement and started moving towards the door to the utility tunnel, alarms began sounding throughout the building.
“They must have found the guards we killed and discovered their prisoners were gone,” Slone said just as the elevator activated and started coming down. “Optio, may I suggest we fuse the stairwell door and blow the elevator?”
The optio issued orders to several of the Special Forces who set small thermite charges on the stairwell metal doors and fused them to the point they would need a cutting torch to open them. They set demolition charges on the elevator doors. They used a combination of blast and incendiary. As the last Romani entered the utility tunnel, he pressed the detonator and the charges on the elevator doors exploded. The blasting charges blew the doors inward to prevent any elevator from arriving on the floor. This was followed a few seconds later by the incendiaries detonating and sending a blast of fire up the elevator shaft. The elevator carrying several Saltic down to check out the basement was just two floors from its destination when the blast hit it and knocked it off its rails, causing it to drop the rest of the way. It was stopped by the doors that had blown in and the incendiary turned the metal elevator box into an oven that baked the Saltic to death.
The group moved through the utility tunnel and Alaya was concerned about the Saltic following them. When they came to the sharp turn leading back to the maglev tube, she asked the optio if it would be wise to block the tunnel in their rear. The optio agreed and called a halt while she sent a demolitions tech to the bend to set it for detonation.
“Why have we stopped?” CEO Schardt demanded.
“We are closing the tunnel behind us to protect our rear,” Slone said.
“If you blow this tunnel you will cut the power to the maglev system,” The CEO said.
“Good, that is a desirable effect. We will have to walk the tunnel back to our entrance point and I would prefer not to run into a maglev train.”
“What if I do not give you permission to blow up the tunnel?”
“Then I will be happy to tell the optio to let you and your vice presidents take their chances with the Saltic. We do what we have to for the problem at hand. We have already lost legionaries saving you, so I will not lose more if you don’t cooperate.”
“Where are you taking us?”
“Your home army is camped outside the city under the command of a sergeant, since your officer corps is either MIA or dead. They need leadership and you need to get them into hiding in the mountains. The Saltic are soft and cannot stand any harsh environments, so they will not follow you into the mountains. They are here to harvest as many human brains as they need, then I suspect they will leave until they need more.”
“How do you know all this?”
“We have dealt with the Saltic several times over the last 15 years, and have had the chance to question them many times. What I don’t understand is how you could have thought they would be in any way beneficial to you?” Alaya asked.
“When old man Sinclair died and the new CEO, Femi Okar, pulled out of a war they wanted us to start with Highline Corporation, I had to do something. Alone Highline would mop the floor with us and they were winning until I convinced the Saltic, who were attacking us at the time, to attack Coreward Industries as an easier target. It looked like it was working and I had no problem with the Saltic having a presence in my space, since they would be ‘our’ aliens. That kind of backfired.”
“Did you know Horatio Sinclair also tried to use the Saltic to his advantage and it also did not end well,” Alaya pointed out.
“How do you know what Horatio Sinclair did or did not do?”
“Because my maiden name was Alaya Sinclair and he was my stepfather. He also tried to feed me to the Saltic, figuratively speaking. It was his intention to add my brain to their collection.”
The Brandenburger CEO looked shocked. He then looked closely at Alaya, and recognized her from decades ago when she was in her early twenties. “Yes, now I recognize you. Is this then a Sinclair military unit? I had no idea Sinclair had aliens working with them.”
“We are from a civilization in the Matsua Rim known as Nova Romae and we call ourselves the Romani. We have nothing to do with any corporation.”
Before this discussion could go further, the explosives tech returned and reported the tunnel was ready for demolition. The optio then signaled for the group to continue. After they were another hundred meters down the tunnel, the optio told the explosives tech to detonate. He pressed the button and there was a rumble behind them as the tunnel filled with dust and the group moved on to the maglev tube. As they approached the hole they had opened, the Romani guards challenged them and the proper signals were exchanged. The optio then asked for a report.
“All is quiet, sir. We heard an explosion and the lights and power went out in the maglev tunnel. Two trains have passed in the time you were on mission,” one of the guards reported.
“Sss. The explosion was from us blocking the tunnel in our rear. We must move out. Take point.”
“Yes sir,” The legionaries said and moved out of the tunnel. They activated the night vision on their helmets to allow them to see in the dark. As they began to move down the tunnel in the direction they had come, the optio sent two serpents in the other direction to see if there was a chance to retrieve the body of the serpent lost on the platf
orm. They returned to report that there were no Saltic on the platform and the body of the dead serpent was also gone. The Slones both wondered if the dead serpent could spread the disease the serpents carried that was fatal to the Saltic.
After several hours of movement down the tunnel, they finally arrived at the station they had entered from and moved from the platform to the surface. After making sure the coast was clear, the group continued on without further problems to where the military was camped. They dropped the CEO and his vice presidents with the military. Captain Neumann wanted to return to his command so went with the Romani back to the Mary Rose. The Slones hoped the CEO would take their advice and hide in the mountains, but she was not sure. If they decided to attack the Saltic, she knew how it would end. Corporate armies were no match for the Saltic on the ground. The Romani would have to find a way to unite the corporations. But they would have to unite under the Romani banner as a unified force. The Slones feared the Romani hatred for the corporations might make them too rigid in their dealings. This was the one scenario the Romani had never expected when it came to dealing with the corporations. As the Mary Rose took off and invisibly moved out of the atmosphere, Olivia turned from her scanner panel to talk with her mother.
“Captain, sensors indicate the Brandenburger forces have left their camp and are moving towards the city.”
Slone just shook his head, “So much for heeding good advice. Captain Neumann, is your family in the city?”
“We do not live on the home world. I am stationed with the patrol fleet based on a mining colony in the Munich system,” Captain Neumann responded.
“Given what you have seen, I think you realize that your CEO’s decision to attack with a small force spells the end of your corporation, at least as a single entity. Do you want us to drop you off at your home?”
“Captain Slone, if it would be possible, could I get my family and bring them along with us to safety?”
Alaya could see the captain was concerned about his family, as well he should be. She looked at her husband since he was technically in over all command of the mission. He nodded his approval and Alaya said to Blue Scale, “Blue, set a wormhole jump to the Munich system. Hatch, keep us invisible.”
“Sss. Yes, Captain,” both serpents responded.
“Captain Neumann, we will have to first leave this system the usual way or the Saltic will see we are opening a wormhole. Tavia take us to the outbound slipstream.”
“Yes, Captain.”
The Mary Rose moved away from the planet and headed to the outbound slipstream to an uninhabited system. As they moved out, sensors indicated smoke arising from the Brandenburger capital, New Berlin. “Captain, sensors indicate fighting in the capital city. Part of the city is burning and large numbers of people appear to be moving out of the city as fast as possible. We will be out of sensor range in another fifteen minutes,” Olivia reported.
Alaya looked at her husband and just shook her head. “Captain, there is a tight beam message coming in from the planet. It is in Brandenburger code.”
“Put it through.”
After the computer finished deciphering it, the message came through the bridge speakers. “This is CEO Juergen Schardt broadcasting to the Mary Rose. I know you wanted us to go into the mountains and hide, but that would not help my people. The army decided to sacrifice themselves to rescue as many citizens as possible to hide in the mountains. I don’t know if I and my troops will survive this or not, but I want this to be our finest hour. I am officially asking the Romani, and any corporation willing, to return and either rescue us or avenge us. But most of all, tell the corporations that I am sorry for the war we started and I would rather see my corporation divided among the corporations than fall to the Saltic. My people are all that matter. Wherever we end up after this, we will be watching.”
“The message ends here,” Olivia reported.
“I misjudged the CEO, he has rare courage for a corporate CEO,” Slone stated. He could tell by the expressions on the human Romani faces that they admired the courage of the corporate leader and his soldiers. All aboard resolved they would do what they could to help them if given the chance. The Mary Rose continued to the slipstream and then entered it, after deploying the slipstream sails.
“Blue, what is our slipstream time?” Alaya asked.
“Sss. Eleven and a half hours, human time.”
“Tavia, set the ship to slipstream rest and keep a standard watch. Wake the ship an hour before we reach the system. Everyone get some rest.”
“Yes captain.”
Since the corvette was built for a crew of 50 but the Mary Rose only ran with a crew of 25, there was plenty of room for all the comforts of home. The addition of the new wormhole drive took up some of the space that used to be for equipment and mission related cargo, however, there was still plenty of room left. Since Alaya had paid out of her own pocket for the old pirate corvette to be turned into a scout ship, she put in all the luxuries of home. It was as much a private yacht as a scout ship. The Slones went into the captain’s suit which had a room for Alaya and one for their daughter, Olivia. When Slone went along on missions, there was plenty of room for him to share the master bedroom with his wife. There was also a larger living room and an office/meeting room for Alaya to meet with her bridge crew, the optio and the two decani who were part of the operation of the ship. She was proud of her crew and it affected her when she lost any. She had lost four on this mission and it was not over yet. As the Slones sat down at the table in the small dining room, between the living room and the office, they had a glass of wine and a light snack. Just as they sat down to enjoy this, Olivia came in, made herself a sandwich and grabbed a soda from the drink dispenser. She came over and sat at the table with her parents.
“Is the ship running well in the slipstream?” Alaya asked her daughter.
“Yes, Mom, Tavia is standing the first slipstream watch and we are running normally in the stream.”
“Good, when is your watch?”
“In six hours. I plan to grab some shuteye after the snack and before I have to report to the bridge,” Olivia stated. “So, Dad, what do you think we’ll find when we take a wormhole to the Munich system?”
“From what Captain Neumann tells us, there should only be a mining base on the seventh planet from the single star. I am hoping we will find it unaffected by the events in the Brandenburg system and we can pay a quick visit and pull the Captain’s family off. We’ll be picking up his wife and two children.”
“How old are his kids?”
“Young, 8 and 10, a boy and a girl with the girl being the youngest.”
“Ok then, when my watch is over I’ll make sure the guest suite is set up for them.”
“That would be great, Liv, thanks for thinking of that,” Alaya said to her daughter.
They finished their snack and the Slones expected their daughter to leave, but she did not go to her room. Slone picked up on this, as did his wife. “Ok Liv, what’s on your mind? Since you are not heading to get some rest, something must be bothering you.”
“Well, Mom and Dad, you kind of sprung a half brother on me and so far I have had little time to process that, since he left the ship with you on the Brandenburg home world. Did you spring my existence on him as well?”
“I’m afraid so, Liv,” Slone said to his daughter. He wished he could have brought the siblings together in a more controlled way, but when Christopher Morel heard Olivia Slone call Christopher Slone dad, he had no choice but to introduce them. “I honestly had no idea he was in the Highline navy, much less that I would run into him out here. I fully expected never to see him again after his stepfather adopted him, much less have him aboard your Mom’s ship.”
“When this is over, could we have a family dinner so I can meet my brother under better circumstances?”
“Definitely, Liv,” Alaya said and Olivia told her parents she would go get some rest now. After she left the room, Alaya turned to her husband
, “Chris, any chance we could get the other Chris to come to Nova Romae with us?”
“I have no idea. He is still a Captain in the Highline navy. If Highline decides to ally with us, perhaps I can convince them to allow him to be the liaison to the Romani. But before we can worry about that, we have to get back to the Highline home world.”
The Slones decided to turn in and get some sleep before they reached the end of the slipstream. The klaxon brought everyone out of the rest period. The Slones showered and went to the bridge. Alaya sat in the captain’s chair and the bridge crew went to their various stations.
Chapter 7 - Munich
“Fifteen minutes to system insertion,” Tavia reported.
“Hatch, keep us invisible in the system,” Alaya ordered.
“Sss. Yes Captain,” Hatch responded and a few minutes later, as Tavia depolarized the slipstream sails, Hatch said, “Sss. Ship invisible.”
“Olivia, anything in the system?”
Olivia Slone concentrated on her sensor panel. “There are no ships in the system, it reads uninhabited.”
“Excellent, charge the wormhole drive for the jump to the Munich system.”
“Sss. Yes Captain, drive is charging. Charge time will be 15 human minutes,” Blue Scale reported.
The Slones always had to chuckle the way serpents reminded them that fleet time was in human time. It was true but sounded funny when spoken aloud. After the passage of the reported time, the serpent Blue Scale reported, “Sss. Wormhole drive is charged, Captain.”
Invasion Page 15
