Perigee station was an outpost supply base when the Confederation was still in control of the galaxy. It served the colony well until a nearby disturbance in the system sent the asteroid ring into a different orbit. The rocky debris bombarded the colony and caused the fleet to abandon the system. For a decade, the station sat, alone and silent. Newly repaired and occupied, the station now served as a secret base for the burgeoning Alliance forces as they planned a return to Earth.
As Lee accelerated towards the station, he spied several ships in the reorganized fleet. Since the battle of Karisia three months ago, the Terran ships hiding on the fringes of the galaxy began to seek out the Alliance through its allies. Word traveled along the trading posts and former Confederate worlds about the Ch’Tauk defeat by a handful of Earth ships. It would be Lee and the Resolute sent out to gather the lost ships.
He pushed the magnetic engines to one-half power, still faster than most fighters, and sped towards the former supply outpost. Right before he would have slammed into the defensive shields of Perigee, he turned the ship hard and executed a loose ninety degree turn away. He waited for the sound of his radio as he slammed between a pair of destroyers parked nearby, awaiting repair.
“Perigee station to Silver Eagle,” Kama Yu’s pleasing voice echoed from his helmet speaker. “You are in violation of our protective space and flying way too fast for the Minister. Please slow and return to your ship.”
“Kama, this is Flyboy, that would be a negative on the return,” said Lee. “I am having way too much fun. Tell Rao that I will be done in a few minutes and then he can relax.”
“Captain Pearce,” the voice of First Minister Rao crackled over his speaker. “You will return your ship to the Resolute now and stop buzzing the station. I don’t care how much fun you are having, you are getting on my nerves. I don’t trust that ship of yours.”
“Buna,” replied Lee, slowing the fighter and turning it back towards the station. “The ship is amazing and there is really nothing to fear. The Elves have done a great job.”
“Be that as it may, Captain Pearce,” replied the First Minister. “You shouldn’t be flying around in that thing anyway. Don’t you have a battleship to command?”
Lee hesitated for a moment as his ship barreled towards the station. He agreed that his place was on the bridge of his ship. Flying the fighter helped to keep his mind on the empty landing platform in the hangar bay. It also kept him from thinking about the empty quarters he used to share with Alice.
“Acknowledged, Perigee,” said Lee. “I’m returning to Resolute. I apologize, Minister Rao, if I upset you.”
“That’s okay, Lee,” said the Minister. “Just stop relying on that new technology of yours so much. Accidents do happen, you know.”
Lee aimed the fighter straight at the command area of the station. He pushed his throttle a touch higher as he approached the windows that looked into space. The Silver Eagle had no windows along its smooth skin, but a heads-up projection on the inside bulkhead that was used to view the space outside. He focused the image on the windows lining the upper pylon of the bridge. Buna Rao was probably just turning to look and he wanted to see the expression on his face as he flew past.
“Captain Pearce,” ordered the voice of Commodore Ronald Chang from his headset. “Pull out and get back to your ship. That’s an order.”
“Acknowledged, Command,” said Lee, easing his ship away from the command structure. “Flyboy is returning the long way to Big Mama.”
Lee tilted the fighter away from the station and past it towards his ship. The aging battleship survived for close to a half-century of battles and refits, but still managed to keep her crew safe. Lee enjoyed any chance to see the ship from the outside. It was a view that any commander would appreciate as he not only called the ship his job, but his home.
She was over a kilometer long with a rounded body that ended in a blunt tail. Her engines had been upgraded during the past few months and the hull was enlarged to accommodate the larger M-space field generator. The Elves had helped to design the new generator with Melaina Petros. Flattened projections from bow to stern allowed her passage into the membranous area between dimensions and thick hull plating that could withstand multiple hits by plasma cannon. Resolute was ugly, compared to other ships in the new fleet, but she was still his ship and he thought she was beautiful.
As he flew past the battleship, he saw one of the two Zeus class carriers drifting outside the asteroid zone. The Alliance vessel Baal had been saved from destruction two years ago by Lee while it was being captained by the crazed Admiral Hathaway. It survived more battles than a carrier should have because of the shortage of warships in the fleet. The ship was double hulled and took up much of the visible sky as Lee circled around to his ship. Lee could still see the outlines of repairs and welds on the massive ship’s hull. He believed she was still one of the sturdiest and best commanded ships in the fleet.
Finally aiming his ship for the port hangar bay of the battleship Resolute, Lee slowed and started the landing sequence. The ship was equipped with a unique new skin, created by one of the scientists he rescued from Harpy Prison station. The molecularly bonded hull was flawless, allowing it to enter atmospheric zones with no resistance. Unfortunately, as beautiful as the hull was, he could not stand on the hull or land it on a standard hangar deck without special precautions.
The hangar doors opened as he slowed to a near hover. He positioned the ship over a painted roundel that marked his ship’s spot on the floor. A thin panel opened on the hull, extending a set of skids that could hold the ship to the floor. He settled the ship onto the new skids and began the power-down sequence. There was a faint sound of a siren as the bay door closed and he was sealed into the large room. As the air filled the room, the siren became progressively louder. He waited until the noise ceased and the flashing warning lights stopped flashing before activating the canopy controls and releasing his restraints.
As he stood in the cockpit, he pressed a key on the control panel that extended a new panel from inside the ship. This one allowed him to walk on the hull without sliding to the hangar deck. He heard his boots click on the surface as he stepped from the cockpit and onto the wing. He had kept his boots for years, even when the protective coating wore off of the magnets. Now he wore them when he flew to remind him of where he came from.
“Captain!” Henry Moore said from just inside the airlock. “Welcome back.”
“Thank you, Henry,” said the captain. “I was just taking the ship out for more trials. She’s really fast, now.”
“I know what you were doing, Lee,” replied the sergeant. “You’ve tried to ignore this ship and run away. You have been trying it for two months now.”
Lee looked at his friend in shock. He had not realized that his behavior was being so closely monitored by the man. Although the two men had been friends for years, Lee never realized that Henry was still a security guard at heart and was naturally suspicious of other people. He noticed new lines on his friend’s face as he stepped down and closer to the other man.
“You’re becoming an old man, Henry,” said Lee. “I am not running away from anything. I just need to stretch my legs. I was a fighter pilot once, you know.”
“You will always be a fighter pilot, Lee,” replied Henry. “You just traded in the compact for a full size.”
Lee laughed at the skimmer joke. He told the other man of a vehicle he once owned that was even too small for him, and he was not a tall man by any means. The two traded stories about skimmers for hours and Lee was surprised to discover that the old soldier was actually a fan of old, internal combustion vehicles.
“I guess you’re right, Henry,” Lee said. “It’s just that…”
“I know, Lee,” Henry replied. “I miss her too.”
For a moment, both men became silent while thinking about Lee’s former lover and fiancé. They were only engaged for a few moments before her death in battle, but to Lee, the engagement last
ed a lifetime. Henry sighed and the sound echoed in the hangar bay. They looked to each other and nodded. The time for reflection was over and Lee felt it was time to return to being the captain of a battleship again.
“Has there been any word from Farthing or the other teams, yet?” Lee asked.
“No,” Henry replied. “Not yet. I received a dirty joke from Wellick, but that is about all.”
The two men walked through the airlock doors and into the quiet corridor outside. The ship seemed empty with most of her non-Terran crew having returned to their home worlds to recruit allies. The plan was to gather more ships and plan a siege of the heavily defended Sol system. Lee did not hold out too much hope for the plan. The Alliance fleet was too small to be effective against the Ch’Tauk Imperial forces. Even with help, the war would not last too long unless they could find an advantage over the alien conquerors.
“Has Feist returned from Terpsichore?” Lee asked. “We could use at communications grid if we plan on planet hopping all the way home.”
“He’s already sent signals from there and has begun laying the network with the other allied worlds,” Henry said. “I still can’t believe we can just press a button and talk to a world on the other side of the galaxy.”
Captain Andrew Feist of the Alliance support ship Chappe had been tasked with establishing a network of relays that used M-space physics to amplify communications signals to distant locations. The technology had been invented on Karisia before the invasion. It had taken the scientists there over a year after their rescue to work out the details of construction and programming. Lee had been aware that the Ch’Tauk fleet had a communications relay system that gave them an advantage in calling for reinforcements.
“It sounds like everyone is busy except us,” Lee said, stepping into the lift that would take him up to his quarters. “Is there anything else?”
“No,” replied Moore. “Oh, the Sweet Liberty has just arrived in-system. Captain Jakes requested a meeting with you when you have the time.”
Lee looked concerned for a moment at the mention of the other man’s name. Connor Jakes was a privateer in the Alliance fleet, although he had been called much worse. The only real redeeming quality that Henry had ever seen in the man was his absolute loyalty to Lee Pearce. Lee had been instrumental in rescuing the man from the Harpy prison station years before. The two men appeared as different as humans could be in their approach to life. They seemed to have reached a partnership a few months ago and Lee had been having meetings with Jakes ever since.
“Alright,” Lee said. “Signal the Liberty that I will meet with Jakes in one hour. Have someone clear the planning room for the meeting. I don’t want anyone else in that meeting.”
“But Lee,” Henry said. “The man’s a pirate. Let me at least post guards with you…”
“No!” Lee snapped. “You can put guards outside the door, but I don’t want anyone else in that room with us. Is that clear, Sergeant?”
“Aye, sir,” he replied, surprised at the other man’s turn of mood. He watched the captain as he stepped out of the lift and into the short hallway outside the command center. There was a door ahead that led to the captain’s quarters, situated just outside the bridge.
Henry waited until the lift doors closed before exhaling. He was worried about his friend. The loss of Alice Bennett had broken something in the captain. He pressed the key to take him down to the docking area and waited for the lift to move. If his friend had truly begun to lose his mind, then it would be up to Henry to be sure that Lee didn’t take the ship with him.
2
Captain Connor Jakes of the privateer vessel Sweet Liberty stepped from the docking umbilical and into the airlock corridor of the battleship Resolute to face three guards with rifles raised to his face. Despite the situation, Jakes smiled broadly at the men. He put down the case he had and raised his hands to show that he was carrying no weapon. He waited while the nearest guard gave him a quick pat-down.
“Now boys,” Jakes said. “If ya’ll don’t point those guns somewhere else, I’m gonna have to tell Captain Pearce that I feel unwanted on your ship.”
“Tell him whatever you want, Jakes,” replied Henry Moore, stepping into the docking area. “You don’t come onto my ship with a weapon. Is that clear? Now what is in the case?”
“Now, Sarge,” replied the pirate captain. “I let you bring guns onto my ship. It just don’t seem fair. The case is for Captain Pearce and he’ll be mighty angry if ya’ll don’t let me take it to him unmolested.”
“You also locked my men and I in a cargo hold. I will still have to take a look at the case and scan it for weapons,” said Moore.
Jakes dropped his hands as the guards stepped back. He was wearing the familiar sleeveless shirt under a dark brown vest. He still wore his hair long, but it had been tied up in a neat tail at the back of his head. It looked as though he had cleaned up, although his mannerisms still hinted at a lack of concern for his appearance. The case was a silver metal box that was scanned and approved by the guard that had patted him down.
“I thought you might bring that up,” Jakes replied. “I have apologized for that and explained that it was a malfunction in the ship’s locking system.”
“Right,” said Moore. “Captain Pearce is waiting. Let’s get moving.”
The three guards formed up behind Jakes as he exited the airlock area. They escorted the captain, along with Henry Moore, towards a lift station. As the group stepped onto the platform, Jakes examined the controls with admiration.
“You fellas have sure cleaned this place up,” he said. “The last time I came aboard, this old girl was pretty beat up.”
“It was nothing a little hard work couldn’t fix,” Henry replied. “You remember hard work, right?”
Jakes whistled at the comment, but did not respond. The small group rides the rest of the way in silence. As the lift stopped, Henry stepped closer to Jakes. The two men left the platform in step with the guards following closely. They walked down a narrow hallway to a door set on the port side.
“The captain has asked to see you alone, Jakes,” said Henry, turning to face the other man. “I am stationing guards just outside the door in case you decide to pull anything.”
“Well, thank you Sarge,” said Jakes. “You really know how to make a man feel wanted.”
The soldier pressed his hand to the door panel. The door opened silently and Jakes entered the room. He saw Lee Pearce standing near one of the false windows set in the hull. Although the space around the ship was shown, the window was actually a projection set in the bulkhead. Real windows on a military ship created a weak point that an enemy could exploit.
“Captain Jakes,” said Lee. “Welcome aboard the Resolute.”
“Well, thank you Captain,” Jakes replied. “Your men don’t seem too happy to see me, though.”
“Don’t worry about Henry. He’s just an old woman sometimes.”
The two men shook hands and sat at the conference table. Jakes lifted the case and placed it in the middle of the table where he could access it. Pearce stared at the box for a moment before focusing his attention back on the other captain. The pirate captain settled back in his seat and put his feet up on the table.
“This is a real nice ship ya got here, Lee,” said Jakes. “She’s not quite the Baal, but still pretty nice.”
“I’ll let Commodore Chang know you like his ship the next time I see him,” replied Lee. “Now, I need to ask about the mission, Jakes. It looks like you found something.”
“Yeah, I did,” said Jakes. “You know, after Karisia, when you asked me to go on this little errand of yours, I thought you had maybe gone a little crazy.”
“That seems to be the consensus these days, Connor,” replied Lee. “But tell me about the mission.”
“You asked me to find some evidence that your friend Alice was alive or dead, Lee,” replied Jakes, lowering his feet back to the ground and becoming more focused on the story. “Tha
t ain’t normal. I saw the holos of the battle. She spiraled off and into a Ch’Tauk ship.”
“I know, Jakes,” Lee said, getting angry at the man’s exposition. “They never found any debris from her ship. When I sent you back there, I needed you to find me something that proved that she was dead. I needed that closure.”
“I understand, Lee. I really do, but there was so much stuff floatin’ around out there that we couldn’t really find anything. On top of that, Captain Dalton did not appreciate our presence while they were tryin’ to salvage the Ch’Tauk fleet. I think they might have thought that we were doin’ some grave robbin’.”
Captain Franklin Dalton of the Alliance carrier Zeus had been assigned to protect the space around Karisia after the battle. He and his support fleet were trying to recover any technology or weapons that they could from the Ch’Tauk fleet as well as salvage the few Alliance ships that had been lost. Lee could see the military man’s misunderstanding of Jakes’ intentions given the pirate’s reputation.
“He didn’t fire on you, I hope,” Lee asked.
“Nah,” replied Jakes. “I can be kind of persuasive when I need to be. After I explained that I was there on Alliance business and such, he backed off. Of course, he did send an escort to follow us around. We weren’t really doing anything so even the escort got bored after a while. Anyway, I didn’t find anything of Alice at the battle site, Lee.”
Lee looked to the captain with a puzzled expression. His eyes strayed to the case on the table and then back to Jakes. The other man leaned in closer to Lee with a smile.
“That don’t mean I didn’t find anything, Lee, just that I didn’t find any trace of Alice,” Jakes said in a conspiratorial tone.
“What do you mean?” Lee asked. “What did you find?”
“Well, you know how they say you can’t track a ship through M-space?” Jakes replied. “They may have been wrong about that, Lee. Melaina managed to work out how to track one of them Ch’Tauk ships.”
Resolute Uprising (The War for Terra) Page 2
