by Chris Burton
* * * *
“They are not trying anything, Number One. What are they planning?”
“They obviously still want Jake off the ship. Perhaps we should just let them have him?”
“No! His presence is protecting us. We have no stellar drive and no Jump Ships and there are two cruisers out there. We have already seem how powerful Morvalt’s ship is. From our point of view, the longer he leaves this, the better it will be. We are close to Earth and the stellar drive will soon be on-line. We wait.”
* * * *
The two guards had left and the third was now at his station, which was twenty meters to the left of the cell. Jake was able to leave the cell as planned and he waited patiently. He could see the guard. There was no way to get past him via the section corridor; this was anticipated. He had prepared a set of magnets which he removed from a non-essential system from a side panel of his workstation. One magnet either side of his security tag would disable it but he had to wait until he started moving.
He planned to access the small conduit, which ran along the section roof line and from there he could join the main service tube and access almost every part of the ship. First, he had to disconnect the security protocols for the conduit access, which without the access code was difficult. However, Jake already had one, courtesy of a schematic diagram he viewed while at his station.
He became aware of Morvalt ten minutes before Hoskins realized he was under the Kryl’s control again. Morvalt planted the suggestion that Jake plan for his escape and he had done just that, including his method of departure from the Halo 7. Now, he accessed the conduit control port and entered the key code. The conduit hatch clip released and Jake pulled himself up into the tube, before closing the hatch behind him. So far, so good.
He used the two magnets to disable his security tag and crawled slowly through the cramped access tube, making way to the main service tunnel. He moved faster. He had no idea how long it would be before his security tag deactivation would be picked up and he needed to be off the ship quickly. If Hoskins got the stellar drive online, then this would all be over.
The Halo 7, like most of Alpha’s ships had a complex grid of interconnecting service tubes, all leading to a main service tunnel, this was the only part of the service grid tall enough to allow a person to stand. Jake reached the main tunnel, and removed his shoes, to reduce noise from his movements and ran down the main spine to the rear of the ship. The tunnel would take him directly to the rear most section of the ship and to the smaller rear hanger bay, that housed the Eagle shuttles. This was his planned means of escape.
* * * *
“How long to stellar capability?”
“Five minutes. We won’t be able to head straight for Earth, even with a small jump, we will just have to hit and hope again.”
“Sir, rear hanger bay doors have just been activated!”
“Carter, get a team down there. He is trying to take a shuttle!”
Jake powered up the shuttle and quickly carried out a truncated pre-flight. He knew he had to be quick—the algorithmic blocking code on the security doors would not stop them for long.
Finally, he was ready but as the shuttle lifted off, the bay doors began to close. This is it; no choice now. He forced both hands down on the thruster control and Eagle shot forward and through the bay door with only a few meters to spare. He was free but not for long.
“Shuttle launched, Sir. We could not close the door in time!”
“Tractor beam!”
“Locking on, Sir. We have him. He is trying to pull away.”
“He will burn out his main drive but it may take a while. Stellar drive, Number One?”
“Two minutes...but we have a bigger problem. Morvalt’s cruiser just de-cloaked astern. She is targeting the tractor beam array.”
“Transfer shield power and return fire.”
The second Kryl vessel pummeled her plasma weaponry on the port side.
“Stellar drive on-line.”
“We now have stellar capability Jonathan. I suggest we let Carter go. He is no longer in a position to protect us.”
Hoskins pondered his next move. He did not want Jake to be taken but it looked inevitable. Once they had him, both cruisers would target the Halo 7 in a different way. Their intent would be to destroy them. What choice did he have?
Jonathan, we need to act now!”
“Release tractor beam and engage stellar drive. Helm, take us out!”
Chapter Sixty-Five
SED
Twelve thousand Jump Ships prepared to launch to take on the might of the Kryl fleet. The pilots had prepared for a long time, now their day had come.
Lieutenant Steve Costello stood beside his Rapier 7 waiting for the second phase of Jump Ships to be called to launch. In just minutes, he would be in the air. He was not frightened, more impassive and nonchalant. He wanted this, he needed this, and this is what he was born to do.
The signal indicated it was time to board and Steve jumped from the foot plate, across the wing to the cockpit in two strides and was in his seat seconds later, already booting up and commencing his pre-flight. This morning’s impassioned speech from Wing Commander Charland was typically gun hoe and Steve was more than ready.
Two minutes later, two hundred Rapier Jump Ships from Charland’s battle group launched from Alpha Two and stared into the face of the Kryl fleet.
Come on..let me at the little bastards.
The signal to engage was held off until all twelve thousand vessels were in the air. This was planned and coordinated in finite detail to ensure all the Jump Ships were off-world and ready to engage as quickly as possible. The strategy was to flood the Kryl fleet with a huge mass of Jump Ships.
Within ten minutes, the whole fleet was in the air and the signal came from SED fleet command. “Engage and Destroy.”
Steve needed no encouragement as he forced his Rapier forward. In this fight, there were no squadrons, no groupings, just him and his wing man and he did not intend to stick too closely to him.
“Green group. Keep with your wing and coordinate your attack and defensive moves together.” Charland’s voice on the intercom, serving as both a reminder to his battle group and a contradiction to Steve’s strategy.
They were in amongst the Kryl fighters and the battle commenced. Steve’s wing man, Lieutenant Charlie Pearce, wasted no time in taking out a stray Kryl fighter who fell mistakenly within his target lock. Steve took up the pace and targeted three more fighters, but was forced off course instantly as two more crossed his flight path, briefly sending his Rapier into a flat spin. Recovering, he reengaged and locked onto the nearest fighter, but again, the Rapier was forced off target by another Kryl fighter sending the Jump Ship spinning in the opposite direction.
Steve was right in the thick of it and there was no room to move. He needed to fly into some space if he was to make an impact.
“Losing you Green four. I have two Kryl on my tail.”
Charlie Pearce was way off his wing. “I can’t help you, Charlie. I am too far out. I will swing round and try to counter, but you need to get out of that missile lock.”
It was too late. Charlie Pearce, second year postgraduate, and his Rapier were spread in bits across the cosmos.
“Green Four, you have lost your wing man. Bring yourself back to lock-down coordinates and pick up another.”
“Will do.”
Steve had no intention of heading back into the thick of the battle. He was looking for the edges of the skirmish, where he could move, engage and destroy his enemy. Charlie had been unlucky, but this was a numbers game and you made your own luck.
That’s better. I can see the enemy now.
He targeted two Kryl fighters who had just pulled back and were heading back into the throng. They were too close together. Big mistake, thought Steve as he dispatched two tigers straight between them, without obtaining lock. The missiles collided, exploded, and took out both Kryl ships.
�
�Yoo Hooo,” shouted Steve. Now he was in this battle.
Over the next thirty minutes, Steve was in his element. He knew his strengths and his enemies’ weaknesses. He exploited every one of them—destroying eight more Kryl fighters before his supply of tiger missiles ran out. He still had plasma cannons and his power cells were only half exhausted. Three more obliterated fighters later, his Rapier took its first plasma hit from the enemy. The damage seemed cosmetic, but the Jump Ships protective skin had been breached and harmful radiation leaked into the cockpit.
“Green Four. What are you doing out here. I redirected you to the lock-down coordinates. Have you been hit?”
“Just a scratch, Sir, although the skin has been breached. I got forced out here, en route to the lock-down. To be honest, Sir, I have had rich pickings.”
“It’s more than just a scratch if you have radiation venting into the cockpit. That’s it for you Green four—get yourself home.”
Steve sighed. “Will do, Sir.”
Steve pulled back on the throttle and adjusted his system dynamics, to bring control of his ship back to his visor control system. He was going home.
* * * *
“Bloody disgraceful flying Lieutenant. You deliberately avoided your wing man, leaving him vulnerable and he was taken out. Then you have the audacity to tell me you were forced out on route to the lock-down when the schematics show you never even attempted to adjust your course.”
“I took out thirteen Kryl fighters, Sir.”
“Am I supposed to be impressed? If you salvaged some of your missiles, you could still be out there. Some of our pilots have fifteen-twenty kills plus today and they were in the thick of it.”
“I felt I was more use on the edges of the battle, Sir. Close quarter flying is not my forte.”
“Not good enough Lieutenant Costello . Now with radiation sickness, you are grounded until the morning. Get some rest and when you get back out there, you will conform. Is that clear?”
* * * *
The first ten hours of SED’s involvement in the Kryl war had been difficult. The mass deployment of Jump Ships was partially successful but there were too many losses. For now the invasion was put off, but for how much longer?
Once the Jump Ship’s defensive ring was removed, all that remained to protect Earth was her shields and with the main Kryl fleet and vast majority of the Malchian Arrows still intact, the shields would come under pressure shortly. The Kryl’s commanders waited patiently. Alpha’s long resistance was virtually over.
Chapter Sixty-Six
Earth at Last
The Halo 7 penetrated Earth’s shields at her allocated entry point and she moved into the upper stratosphere, now safe and protected by the shields above.
“Halo 7, we have you on visual. Welcome home. You are cleared for docking at Alpha One, docking bay ten.”
This was far too cheerful a greeting, thought Hoskins. The traffic controller was obviously oblivious to the events off-world.
The replacement Comms Officer confirmed the landing arrangements and the pilot commenced his run in.
Hoskins could not quite believe what just happened. He used Carter as a pawn to allow his ship to escape and probably condemned the Lieutenant to his death. After all the effort to protect him, now he was gone.
He did not feel relief—that would come but there was still the apprehension. The Kryl were on their doorstep and the SED would not hold them for long. So, how long did they have? Shenke talked about Koenig wanting the Halo 7 for a special mission, but was unable to specify what. Was that mission still valid?
Irrespective of Koenig’s plans, he needed to be home and would make sure he spent some time with his wife and son before he was called into action once again. It had not been the longest tour but it certainly was one of the hardest and the most challenging. As for Obeya...well, she would wait for him. She understood...he had a child now.
“Sir, Admiral Koenig requests your company at the Admiralty as soon as we land.”
“Acknowledged. Take us down slowly Mister Tims.” Hoskins was in no hurry.
* * * *
“Come in Commander. Take a seat.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
Hoskins took a seat in front of Admiral Koenig’s desk. Koenig seemed remarkably calm, bearing in mind that invasion was imminent.
“What is the condition of the Halo 7?”
No pleasantries; straight down to business. Koenig was renowned for his no nonsense approach, thought Hoskins.
“She has damage to several decks and the main hanger bay was destroyed. The main drives need some work.”
“How soon can she be ready?”
“A week at least. She is in a bad way.”
“You have forty-eight hours. I need you to patch her up and get her back out there. You will head out to the Styros Cluster, where you will join a fleet of one hundred and fifty ships of the line, under the command of Admiral Martin.”
Hoskins was astounded but tried not to show it.
“Can I ask why we have a fleet in the Styros Cluster? That’s a hell of a long way from home. Is there something going on out there? I didn’t know Admiral Martin was operational?
“Martin is a good tactician, a patient and fastidious organizer, and he is perfect for this role. Yes, it is a long way away—deliberately so and no there is nothing going on out there whatsoever. The fleet is simply waiting there and they may have to wait for a long time.”
“But...”
“As a five star commander you will take a senior position within the fleet. You and the other senior officers will be the only people who will know the real reason for this deployment. It goes without saying that this is highly confidential.”
Koenig waited patiently as Jonathan Hoskins took in what he was told.
“This is our Contingency Fleet. It is there because it is possible that without it, the human race will cease to exist. The worst case scenario is that you will never return, or that when you do, there are no humans left. The best is that you lay in wait until you are contacted and then you launch an attack on the remaining Kryl on Earth. In either event, it is highly likely the fleet will remain in exile for many months and potentially years. Do you understand the importance of this role and the magnitude of the task you are undertaking?”
“Sir, I have family on Earth.”
“Without this fleet there will be no chance of them ever being free again.”
“It sounds as if you have admitted defeat already.”
“Far from it. We will continue to fight to prevent the Kryl from invading. The contingency has been in place for some time. It is there as a backstop and for me and my chief advisors—a reminder that it is far from all over. As for your wife and child, I will bring them into my protection and I can assure you they will be safe.”
“Not if the entire population of Earth is wiped out!”
“That is very much a worst case scenario. We need our best commanders to participate in this fleet which is why I have selected you.”
“Do I have any option?”
“Of course. You can refuse. However the Halo 7 will still go, as will your crew, who will be unaware of either the destination or the potential duration. I believe you have someone on board the Halo too.”
Hoskins laughed. “You are remarkably well-informed.”
“Admiral Martin is a friend of your family, is he not?”
“I will need longer than two days.”
“Why?”
“I need longer with my wife and child.”
“Not possible. Earth could be lost very soon and the chance to leave will be gone.”
“What will happen to you?”
“Does that matter?”
“Not particularly. Why are you not going with the fleet?”
“I did think about it but no.”
“Can I ask another question?”
Koenig nodded.
“Why can’t we just bring the fleet here and attack the Kryl?”<
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“Because if they were unsuccessful, there would be nothing left. The memorandum and articles of Alpha’s incorporation make it clear that the human race must be preserved above all other interests. This is the most important aspect of our existence. You will lead the preservation of our species—a very important job. Are you in?”
Hoskins paused for a while before responding.
“Yes, I am in.”
“Good. Two days maximum . Remember that you must disclose this to no-one—not even your wife.”
Hoskins was about to protest.
“I will look after your wife. In time, I will bring her into my inner circle. She will be safe, as will your child. You have my word.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
There was nothing more to be said and Hoskins left the Admiral’s office. He needed a drink.
* * * *
“You are here for just one day!”
“Yes. I am sorry. Do you realize how bad things are out there? I was lucky to get twenty-four hours with you.”
“What about your son...don’t forget him!”
“How could I? We need to use this time. I don’t know how long it will be before I see you both again.”
“You said that with meaning . Is there something you’re not telling me?”
“No. It is the same every time I start a tour.”
“Where are you going and is that Obeya bitch still on your ship?”
“No. This has nothing to do with her. I really can’t tell you where I am going, as I am not sure myself yet.”
“You never could lie on both fronts. I am just the mother to your child.”
“No! Come with me. Let me prove that you are the one.”
“I don’t think so. You can spend the next couple of hours with Oliver but then I think its best that you go. If there is anything left of our relationship, then we will pick up on it when you return. I am not waiting for you anymore.”
