It was then that it dawned on him. ‘I can warp away…in the Dregun shuttle.’ He quickly got up, told his watch officer to carry on and left the command centre. He thought about going to his cabin to collect some things but dismissed that thought and instead took the elevator down to the third deck and from there walked briskly towards the stern. He maintained his usual erect posture like the commander in control that he knew he was. He turned right at the first junction and crossed through into the port hangar deck’s 2nd level.
He ignored the warning lights that were designed to keep the through runway clear. He knew there would be no craft using it at this time. He crossed the runway over to the aprons on the far side turned left and marched past the fighter bays, now mostly empty. Mechanics were working on several craft, albeit damaged or in need of rearming.
He ignored the mechanic who attempted to salute him. His focus was set on the second rear bay where the Dregun shuttle sat. He began to smile as he got closer. Here it was his ticket out of here. But then he saw the stern, disapproving face of Assani emerge from behind the far side of the craft.
“I thought as much” said Assani.
“Humm…” said Meeka. He took another few steps towards the craft, during which he drew his pistol and fired directly at Assani from less than five metres. He fired twice.
Assani slumped to the floor not believing he had actually been shot. But the pool of blood staining his suit in the middle of his chest could not be denied. Assani now on his hands and knees and fighting for breath looked up as the third round struck him in the shoulder, spinning his body so he ended up on his back. The last image he saw was the back of Meeka as he climbed into the shuttle.
It took Meeka less than two minutes to do his preflight check and then he taxied out of the bay, onto the apron and then angled across to the runway. The doors were sealed as no flights in or out were scheduled. Thankfully, the Dregun had privileged access to the flight deck controls. He opened the hangar doors, tapped the vertical thrusters till the craft rose off the runway floor and then engaged the aft thrusters accelerating rapidly.
Meeka ignored the controller’s mutterings about his unauthorised flight. The shuttle spat out into the black space. As it cleared the ship, Meeka engaged the warp drive. Within thirty seconds he would be gone from this madness.
The watch officer was alerted immediately and tried hailing the craft. This was ignored. By the time he dithered as to whether he should engage it or not, the Dregun warped away. He then tried to inform the Imperial Admiral but he failed to respond to his hail. He sent one of his subordinates to find the Imperial Admiral.
The departure of the Dregun was also noted by the Federation. There was no chance any Federation ship could have prevented it. Meeka had got away.
Five minutes later, while Li Nahn squadron was rearming, the rogan watch officer was advised of the death of Assani and he came to the right conclusion that the Imperial Admiral was the culprit and that he had abandoned them to their fate. An intense feeling of revulsion came over him followed by the determination to live. Yes he wanted to ensure that those remaining all lived. These leaders were not worth it.
At 0113 he hailed the Resolute and surrendered his ship. The battle of Polaris was over – forty one minutes after it started. The Rogan combined fleet had been decimated. Of the initial 2 carriers, 30 caps, 48 frigates and 400 fighters only 8 caps and 13 frigates and 16 fighters managed to warp away and all of these were damaged significantly. Of the 14,700 fleet and 22,000 army souls only 3,451 survived.
By comparison the Federation losses appeared light. They had lost 7 caps, 14 frigates and 269 fighters/marauders destroyed but just about every ship that remained, with the exception of the Resolute and Phantom, was damaged to some degree or another. All up the Fleet had lost 4,335 personnel. The Army had lost 16 people from the nuclear attack in Nova Vista. Civilian casualties amounted to another 22.
On his damaged flagship Rudi slumped back into his chair after receiving the news from Dave about the surrender of the Mailon. He knew they had pulled off a resounding victory but his heart was heavy nonetheless. He couldn’t get the images of the commanders of the ships that had just been lost out of his mind. He closed his eyes. ‘Marnie I have won’ he said to himself ‘but at such a price it is not sweet.’
Part 6
Payback
You sowed sins of deceit and abused your power
You brought death and trauma and hurled it forth
Now brought undone you must face the hour
When karma reclaims your worth
It’s payback time. Vengeance is here.
Warped in with menace to unleash its fury
Whether brave or full of fear
It matters not to this judge and jury
You condemned yourself with your own actions
From this fate there are no retractions
Chapter 1. Nova Vista 0115, 26 June
Phil nodded his head in satisfaction upon hearing the news of Mailon’s surrender. There was loud cheering from the ops centre staff, with the exception of a few who were still hard at work. These included Alex who was now coordinating the nuke clean up and recovery effort.
He had just finished ordering the despatch of several specialist engineering units to Tumos. They would be there within the hour and start decontamination immediately as well as begin the rescue of Sue, Emilio and Jules.
Recovery and decontamination teams were already in the north of Nova Vista. First priority was the spaceport, which was lucky to escape most of the radiation due to the north westerly winds that blew much of the initial radiation and radioactive debris into the bay.
“Art” called out Phil “Get onto Butros Alia and find out how many droids they have ready now for immediate despatch to the Resolute and Phantom.”
“On it” said Art grateful to have something to do – anything to take his mind off Sue’s predicament. He knew that Alex was doing everything possible but he worried so.
“Rihan” ordered Phil “arrange for an immediate missile resup for Resolute and Phantom.”
Rihan looked at Phil her left eyebrow raised. Phil saw her expression but ignored it. He had made his decision. He was now in full flight to have it put into action. “Then get Plentun and Draag onto the Phantom. Let me know where the shuttle is leaving from. You and I will be on it.”
“Right Sir” replied Rihan. Then she added “What’s on your mind?”
“Retribution, Rihan….retribution. Oh and add all of the Mark31 nuke warheads we have in stock to that resup.”
“Sir you know Dave is not going to agree to carry out nuke attacks on enemy cities?” said Rihan raising her voice.
“These are not for enemy cities.”
“What then?” she cut back like the end of a whiplash.
“Enemy ships. How many missiles can the Resolute and Phantom carry?”
“Four hundred Torads and 300 Javelins.”
“So there is no way they have enough to destroy the number of enemy ships that warped away plus whatever was left at Chelora for local defence.”
“Oh I see. The nukes will help even up the odds.”
“Exactly. Now if it’s alright with you can we get on with it?” Phil tilted his head down and looked up at her with an expression that said ‘I’ve had enough’.
“Yes Sir” said a more demur Rihan.
Art had been waiting patiently for this little conversation to finish. He now saw his chance and said “Twenty six line droids, four support ones and a command one Sir and they can pack them in a pod and send them up top within three hours.”
“Do it. Earmark them for the Phantom. Oh Alex.”
“Sir.”
“I want Chalker, Shavez and Meyer, the ones trapped at Tumos, up to the Resolute and Phantom in three hours.”
“Would you like the seas parted too?” asked Alex.
“I think you’ll find it’s a desert down there Alex. Just get on with it.”
“Of
course Sir. Yes Sir. Whatever you ask for…” and Alex’s voice trailed off.
“Dave” hailed Phil.
“Sir”.
“I’m coming up with Rihan and a resup. Hand over all responsibilities you have up there to Admiral Holland. He can deal with the Mailon.”
“Right Sir I take it where going to follow up?”
“Correct. I’ll fill you in when I get there. Have Aubrey on board so I can brief her as well.”
“Will do.”
“Rudi” hailed Phil.
“Yes Sir.”
“Excellent job Rudi. You won an important victory. I’m going to take the Resolute and Phantom away from your command now and commit them to pursue the enemy fleet to Chelora. Can you tidy up things here?”
“Sure. I’m going to send the most damaged ships down for repair. Is that OK with you?”
“Absolutely and Rudi please extend my congratulations to your entire command.”
“Thank you Sir. Will do.”
“Rihan” called out Phil.
Rihan was on a call. She held up a single finger. Phil had to check and make sure it wasn’t her middle finger. He actually began to chuckle at the notion. ‘She’s a feisty character that’s for sure’ he thought. Rihan terminated her call and turned to face Phil with a big smile she affected just for the occasion. ‘And beautiful to boot’ he added to himself. “When will it be ready?”
“Half an hour. I need to round up Plentun and Draag.”
“OK I’ll meet you all up top in fifteen.”
“Right Sir” said Rihan with a little exasperation. She turned and made another call.
Phil used the time to send off a quick report to Earth using official channels for the first time in weeks. He felt satisfied at that.
Chapter 2. Tumos 0200, 26 June
The big shuttle carrying the 129th Engineering Squadron touched down 1km west of the facility entrance ten minutes ahead of its ETA. The specially designed vehicles began unloading onto the tarmac. After a brief call with Mani they began operations.
The vehicles were either fully automated or their operator was housed in a sealed compartment to protect them from the radiation. They divided into two rescue and recovery teams and two decontamination teams.
The priority for decontamination was outside the facility main entrance including the apron and tarmac immediately in front. They checked the integrity of the hardened aprons and tarmac and found they were still sound. This was due primarily to the fact that the penetrating warhead had burrowed into the mountain above and much of the blast had been borne by the earth and rock of the mountain. Dozers began moving the earth off the aprons and one dozer was assigned to remove the detritus from the battle.
A special assessment vehicle conducted a series of full spectrum scans to confirm the integrity of the two tunnels. There was much joy when they reported that the pods within them looked intact.
The eastern tunnel, where Emilio was trapped, had little debris in front and so the ‘little digger’ vehicle began operating there. Its automated conveyor system scooped massive amounts of earth and quickly broke through. One of the engineers inside the nearby recovery vehicle made contact with Emilio.
“Boy am I glad to hear you” said Emilio.
“Well hold on I’m coming in to get you” said the engineer. Under the arc lights of the ‘little digger’, the engineer in his specialised suit made his way in. His suit was so bulky he appeared to waddle rather than walk. Emilio was inside the recovery vehicle a few minutes later.
To the west dozers were still working to move the fallen earth away sufficiently to get a digger into the entrance. It took a good half hour to bore their way into the location where the entrance should be. The arc lights and vehicle lights created daylight where they shone. But elsewhere it was still very dark. As they progressed ever deeper into the newly created spur of earth and rock the light seemed to get swallowed by the mountain.
“Thank you” said Sue as she sat down in the recovery vehicle next to Jules. Jules was more than relieved. He couldn’t stop beaming. He had been sure he was going to die and he now felt like he had been given a new lease on life. He felt lighter than at any time he could remember since he was a kid.
“Our pleasure Maam” said the engineer sergeant. “We’ll have you on your shuttle in no time.”
“What shuttle?”
“The one the Admiral sent for you. It’s just landed. We’ll be there in a few minutes.”
Sue sank back into her seat. Just when she thought she could relax she finds there is more expected of her. She looked across to Jules and shrugged her shoulders. He didn’t seem to care. In fact he hadn’t cared about anything the whole time in the pod. She didn’t know him and wondered if this was normal for him. She had her doubts.
Emilio was already on board the light shuttle. He beamed up at Sue from his seat. She smiled back at him. “What a war hey?” he asked.
“Yeah what a war” said Sue. She sat down and hailed Art. She loved the sound of his voice. He sounded so pleased to hear her voice too.
“Do you know where they are taking me?” she asked.
“Back to the Resolute” said Art. “The Admiral’s sending her to Chelora to destroy the ships that got away.”
“You’re not coming?” asked Sue, her voice almost pleading.
“Sorry darling but I’m the Admiral’s gofer now and he won’t let me go.”
“Oh I so want to hold you right now.”
“Me too. I love you darling. It won’t be for too long. I’ll keep the bed warm.”
“Can’t wait. I love you too.”
Chapter 3. Sierra 271 over Polaris 0210, 26 June
“So Admiral” said Evie “you have won your battle and we are now continuing our mission?”
“More or less” replied Phil. “You and Draag will be rejoining the Phantom. It will accompany the Resolute to Chelora. From there you will proceed on your original mission.”
“Chelora?” asked Evie.
“Yes Chelora.”
“So there will be another battle there then?”
“Probably.”
“You are placing us in jeopardy then?”
“The risks to yourself will be minimal I assure you.”
“How can you say that? Apart from the craft that warped away to Chelora the Imperialists will have other operational ships defending there, not to mention the ground defences.”
Felis was listening intently but trying not to display too keen an interest. He too knew that there would be other ships there. These weeks in limbo had given him much time to reflect. This latest crushing defeat at the hands of the Federation fleet was the final nail in the coffin as he saw it. ‘The Imperialist system has to go before we lose everything’ he said to himself.
He still felt torn. Duty was ingrained in him. ‘But duty demands integrity’ he thought and the Imperialists had lost all that now. He felt tainted. ‘My entire career has been stained. I must do whatever it takes to wash away this.’
“Perhaps I can help reduce those risks even further” said Felis out loud. Both Phil an Evie turned to him. He took a deep breath in. “I can help you. I know the defence systems. I know the standing force over Chelora. The fleet may have changed it in the meantime but I doubt it.”
“Why are you helping us?” asked Evie. “Why now?” she asked with a certain venom. “Just because you can see the tide turning and you want to be on the winning side. Hmm?”
“Yes the tide is turning but there is still much fighting ahead before the Imperialists are brought down and you know it. I am prepared to help. I am prepared to betray my Government but I won’t be betraying my people. You are not the only one who despises the Imperialist system. Not everyone enjoyed your privileged upbringing. For people like me we chose the path that allowed us to survive. There were few choices available and you know that. So don’t come the high and mighty with me.”
Evie was stung by his rebuke. To herself she admitted th
at much of what he said was true but she was still sceptical of his motives. “All right then show us these defences.” Evie brought out her console and zoomed into the Chelora system. “Show us.”
He spent the next ten minutes explaining the details. By the time the pilot advised they would be docking, he had finished. Phil and Evie were studying his annotations. He was committed now. Some would call him a traitor but he felt good to do it.
Chapter 4. Resolute over Polaris 0330, 26 June
While Val and her team were transferring missiles Phil held court in the briefing room on A deck. “So to recap. You warp to Chelora, destroy all IRS ships in the system and destroy all ground defences. Dave you will then defend the system till the follow up force arrives. You, Aubrey, continue on into rogan territory as per the original plan. Are there any questions?”
“What about a missile resup?” asked Aubrey. “As you say, we are likely to be heavily engaged over Chelora.” There was genuine concern on Aubrey’s face. “I don’t want to be heading into rogan territory without a full supply of Torads. It’s going to take weeks for a resup. Our shuttles are going to have to fly around the Dordallous Cloud. They don’t have our tech.”
“No they don’t but the Mailon here does. I propose to fill her up with fighters, troops and supplies. I will need a day or so to arrange for that.”
“How are you going to crew her?” asked Dave.
“You will need someone who knows how to operate her” piped up Felis. “I can help advise your crew.” Felis looked around at everyone, their eyes largely suspicious. He added “Of course I will be under supervision at all times.”
“Your offer is appreciated and accepted” said Phil. “Now who to command her?” He looked across at Rihan.
Retribution Page 29
