"Five seconds. Engines activating."
"Brace!" said an unseen officer.
The sound of his voice called repeatedly though Nate's ears, but he couldn't tell if it was intentional or his mind playing tricks. The ship shuddered violently, and he looked up at the countdown. Each second moved away so slowly it almost felt he was watching minutes ticking by. As the unit reached two seconds, the CIC lights deactivated, and a great hammering thud filled the space, the sound of exploding systems mixed with screams and shouting. The last thing Nate saw as the lights cut off was the look of sheer terror on Cassandra's face.
CHAPTER FIVE
Alliance Armoured Assault Ship 'ANS Relentless'
Day 3
The beeping sound must have been playing for more than five minutes. Nate knew it was playing even though he was asleep. The sound was continuous, with an odd pulsing that was designed to get your attention. At some point it stopped, and for some bizarre reason that was when he opened his eyes. The place was dark, and he could hear the sound of snoring a short distance away. For a short while he might have forgotten where he was, but then the continuous, gently but irritating drone returned.
What was that sound?
He lowered his legs down from the top bunk and looked down. His head was swimming but not from pain or discomfort. The odd feeling was simply due to lack of sleep and that constant sound that was starting to drive him insane. Since the escape from the Mognathus 7 eighteen hours earlier, he'd managed just three hours of sleep, and every minute had been spent thinking about what he'd seen since the violent start of the mutiny.
"Billy. You awake?"
There was no sound so he turned his attention to the rest of the bunkroom. It was bigger than he might have expected, three large bunks on each side and doubled up to provide berths for up to twelve. A single massive bulkhead divided the room, with a single gap at the centre to allow movement through, while the rough arch shape ran along both the floor and ceiling. Opposite him were the sleeping forms of Matilda and Cassandra. The lights were dim but provided enough illumination for him to see that both were fast asleep. Nate stretched out with his legs and then spotted Jack off to the right. He saw Jack watching him, and then he vanished from view.
Typical Jack, Rex's lackey.
He lowered himself down to the floor, shivering as his bare feet touched the cold metal. Jack was one of those people that you never truly knew. While Rex was a classic case of an extrovert and used to public attention, Jack was the opposite. The cadet followed Rex around like a lost puppy, and was always there with moral and physical support in case of any problems. Nate had seen Jack drag other cadets away when involved in an argument with his friend. The two were like brothers and never apart.
"So, you're finally awake," said Rex.
He moved through the bulkhead gap, his feet moving slowly and deliberately. Jack followed right behind him and slightly to his left. Near them was a wall-mounted display, something old that possibly dated back to the original commissioning of the ship. Small green lettering filtered the display, but it was too small and too far away for Nate to be able to read the thing. He took a step to move closer, but Rex lifted his hands and blocked him.
"I've already read it."
"So?"
Nate again tried again, but Jack moved alongside Rex and completely blocked his path.
"I'll tell you how this is going to work, Nate. And it starts with you listening for a change."
Rex's voice was getting louder, and Cassandra had now woken and lowered her feet over the side of her bunk to touch the cold floor. She was still hazy and looked confused by the voices in the room. Like the others, she wore the loose underclothing given to them by the crew of Relentless that looked much like civilian pyjamas. They were far from flattering and consisted of a dark blue undershirt and trousers bearing the Alliance Navy insignia. She began speaking, but a voice interrupted and drowned out the others.
"Engines are on, and the alert system is inactive."
She lifted her head and looked first to Nate, and then to Rex.
"What's happening? Is there a problem?"
Rex pointed to Nate.
"That's what I'm trying to explain to your little boyfriend."
Cassandra looked to her right and to Nate. He watched her until she shook her head and groaned. She might have been annoyed, but Nate was convinced he could see a little embarrassment on her face. Cassandra pouted, and her voice became even more clipped and proper than normal.
"Boyfriend? Are you kidding me?"
Nate had heard many insults over the last few weeks, but this one comment seemed to hurt the most. He didn't know Cassandra as well as he'd wanted to, but he thought they were at the very least friends. She might come from a privileged family on Terra Nova, but that hadn't been much of an issue so far. This was out of the blue and knocked his confidence right when he wanted to stand up firm in front of Rex and Jack. It was made much worse by the mocking tone she appeared to use as she almost spat out the words.
Thanks for that.
Nate had hardly made any kind of move towards Cassandra; in fact of all in the group, he was the one that had gone out of his way not to. Jack's mouth was open, and at first Nate thought he was panting. In reality it was that he was silently laughing, enjoying Nate's discomfort.
Even better, Rex must love this.
Cassandra appeared oblivious to it all and pulled out her second generation Secpad bracelet. It was something all members of the Alliance military were now equipped with. They were given them when shown to their new quarters. It was small enough to fit inside a pocket, but most people these days just kept them on their wrists. It was much more than a unit to communicate with. It was a mobile device that gave access to the public Cortex, as well as the way to manage and control all manner of technologies.
"Okay, let's have a look then, shall we?"
Cassandra's voice had taken on the tone of the Terra Novan elite, an accent she often tried to hide with more common rolling vowels and dropping certain letters. Her long, frail looking blonde hair dropped down over her brow. With a flourish, she shook it back and continued to page through the latest reports.
Rex looked to Jack, and though he tried to hide it, Nate could see he was snarling. Cassandra tapped the bracelet, and the entire unit pulsed white. She then dragged her right index finger along her arm. A page appeared, hovering directly over her flesh. The result was much like the antiquated Secpad they'd been given as children, but it was in reality being projected by the device on her wrist.
"That's odd," said Cassandra.
"What is it?" Nate asked.
Rex shook his head and moved closer. Jack waited near the bulkhead.
"It's the Captain. She wants to see everybody in..."
Rex then glanced to Jack who mouthed something back to him.
"Yeah...in ten minutes."
Matilda was now upright on her bunk and busily scrolling through masses of data on her own unit. Cassandra looked up to her and indicated towards the others.
"Have you..."
"Yes. I know," interrupted Matilda.
Cassandra shook her head in irritation. Matilda might be the most intelligent of the group by far, but she was also the one with the least sense of etiquette or social awareness. While Cassandra was always mindful of the way she sounded or looked, Matilda often completely forgot what she was doing. Nate had seen her arrive to simulations and training sessions half-dressed, without make-up, and often with her hair in a frightful state.
"So what are you doing?"
Matilda still kept her eyes glued to the holographic detail until she finally stopped and looked down to them all.
"We are approaching the Arnos Cluster. It's home to an abandoned Byotai research station."
Rex laughed.
"What? Why the hell would we be heading towards a Byotai station after everything we've just been through?"
Matilda sighed.
"Because we are seven
weeks away from the border and running out of provisions. I saw the display in the CIC, and the Arnos Cluster was flagged as the destination."
Rex continued to laugh at her.
"Seven weeks, what the hell? You know there is a Spacebridge six days travel from Mognathu, don't you? We can just use it to travel directly to the Helios Prime nexus. And from there we can go wherever we want."
Now it was Nate's turn to enjoy watching his nemesis suffer at the intellect of Matilda. He would have liked to say it himself, but Nate and Rex were always at each other's throat. It was nice to see somebody else there for a change.
"The Spacebridge between the Byotai Trinity and the Helios Nexus? You are of course correct, oh, genius."
Rex's eyebrows lifted at the insult.
"If we travelled to the Spacebridge, we would have to ask the Byotai military for permission to use it. They would then activate the unit, and we would be away and safe in Alliance territory."
She then looked to Nate. He was happily smiling as she spoke.
"Clearly we won't be doing that. Not unless we want to be blasted to atoms by the Imperial fleet. Do you think they will grant passage to a renegade ship deep inside their own territory?"
Nate leaned over his friend who still lay on his back on his bunk. He was fast asleep, and every twenty seconds or so would let out a long, rumbling snore. He leaned in close and called out loudly.
"Billy!"
The cadet opened his eyes and stared at him.
"What?"
Nate turned away and grabbed his overalls. They were Naval crew issue and nothing particularly fancy. Grey seemed to be the order of the day on the ship, with the only sign of colour being the utility strap around the waist. Fitted to the wide band were a number of narrow pouches, all of which were empty.
"The Captain wants to see everybody. It's important."
He looked back. Rex and Jack had left, leaving the four of them inside the room.
"Good work," grumbled Cassandra, "We need to stick together. Unless you want to get us all volunteered for cleaning duty."
Nate didn't seem overly impressed with her wishes, and he wanted more than anything to show her that he was no longer the follower, the one that always did as Rex and the others told him.
"Maybe, but somebody needed to say it. If we're to get home alive, we're going to need to use our brains for a change."
Matilda laughed, but it was not a laugh like the others might utter. The young cadet's voice almost howled before she returned to her normal conservative state.
"Nice fake laugh," said Billy.
The teenager's voice was slow and slightly slurred, made worse by the yawn midway through the sentence.
Cassandra rolled her eyes as she listened to them both.
"Whatever...Nate."
Cassandra then walked to the doorway and opened the blast door. Nate looked despondent as she left, only now realising what a fool the two had made of themselves. In his attempt to build himself up, he'd made it simpler to knock him back down. Cassandra was a stickler for details, and she had probably already worked out what each of them would be doing for the next week. Then she looked back at them.
"Well? Are you coming?"
Nate in turn looked to his scruffily attired friend.
"Come on, Billy, we need to go."
Nate wasn't sure, but he was pretty certain he saw a glint of a smile on Cassandra's face. That or she was merely laughing at the two of them.
* * *
The landing deck might have been exactly the same as when Nate and the others had arrived, but in just three days it had incurred a surprising amount of change. Many of the stores from the rest of the ship had been brought down, and the place was now filled with the weapons and equipment of war. It was a radical transformation, yet the interior was sparsely filled with spacecraft. Nate and his friends moved past the groups of people and to the front, where a metal gantry was lifted up nearly three metres tall. At the top was the Captain.
"Is this it?" Rex said.
Nate hadn't noticed his fellow cadet, but with there being so few people about, it was impossible to avoid him. He lifted his hand to get his attention, but Rex intentionally looked away and to his friend Jack.
"Such an ass," said Billy.
He nodded in agreement and started to speak, realising Cassandra and Matilda had vanished. He looked off to his right. They were speaking with a marine. The hum of conversation vanished as the Captain called out loudly to those in the hangar.
"Your attention, please. We have an urgent situation to discuss."
Nate listened but turned his attention to those waiting in front of the gantry. At least half were military, made clear by their clothing and bearing. The rest were a mixture of traders, scientists, and diplomatic staff from their mission. He saw the Ambassador, a short stocky woman with a fearsome expression on her face. Her two guards, as always, surrounded her. They were plainclothes marines, both expressionless as they looked out at the group. One noticed Nate watching, and as their eyes met, he gave him a low nod.
What? Nate thought.
Another officer, one he didn't recognise, was helped up the first few steps and then leaned forward on the metal barrier. He wore the stripped down Naval version of the PDS armour, but without a helmet or attached webbing and firearms. Unlike the similar gear worn by the marines, this was designed to provide a sealed environment and protection from blast and flash damage. The resulting armour was little thicker than the clothing worn by the civilians, but instantly marked him out as an Alliance officer. Ambassador Delorax approached the gantry, but she did not climb it and waited at the bottom, with one foot on the lowest rung.
"The mutiny at Mognathus has spread far and wide. The last contact we received from Alliance Command was mixed, but clear. Something has happened inside the Byotai Empire, and they are turning on any allies of the ruling caste. Military and civilians alike have been murdered, and there is no way of knowing how far this goes."
She looked to the Captain and nodded politely.
"On behalf of all civilians on Relentless, and for my family and staff, I thank you and your crew."
She then turned her gaze out to the small crowd.
"I call on you to do whatever the Captain asks of us. We all have a part to play, and if we are to survive this treachery, we must work together."
With those last words, she stepped away, leaving the deck in silence. There was no talking, just the gentle click of her shoes as she moved from view. Captain Galanos lifted her arms slightly higher to encompass them all.
"My last orders were to recover all Alliance personnel, military and civilian, and to fall back to our emergency rendezvous with the fleet, and that is exactly what we will do."
A few in the audience spoke quietly, and she waited for complete silence before continuing, "We escaped the munity at Mognathus, but our ordeal has only just begun. Relentless is a tough lady, but she still suffered as badly in the fight. Even worse, the losses sustained by my crew. If we are to survive this, we will have to work together. I no longer have the manpower to operate her effectively."
The Captain paused, letting her words sink in. The implication was clear, and as Nate listened, he almost felt excited at the prospect of being able to help in some way.
Anything is better than waiting and wondering what’s happening.
"In three days we will rendezvous with the fleet, but, and this is a big but. We have no idea what ships made it out in one piece, or even if the enemy knows this location. We need the ship in the best condition we can make her, and we must be combat effective."
She glanced at one of her crew, took a breath, and continued, "We came to Mognathus with more than a hundred crew. Now we are down to just twenty-seven plus our thirteen marine guards. I am short of crew in almost all areas, especially medical and engineering. When we arrive we have to be ready, and that means each of us will have to do our part."
She then nodded to the wounded officer.
"Please listen to the assessment by our senior pilot, Lieutenant Higgins. He is the sole survivor of the battle of Mognathus, and responsible for allowing us this one chance to get home alive."
The man nodded and stepped slightly to the right. He moved awkwardly, and that, combined with the short description by the Captain, left the hangar deck in a somewhat sombre mood. A few clapped, but they soon stopped when realising how few they were.
"The escape from Mognathus was costly, incredibly costly."
He fidgeted as he spoke, and even grimaced as his right elbow brushed against the railing.
"As well as the loss of personnel, we lost a large quantity of fuel, and over half our ammunition was expended getting out of there. For this ship to be combat effective, we need manual gunners, fighter pilots, and support crews. The only defence the ship has is behind its guns and fighters, and right now we cannot operate either of them."
He pointed behind the assembled group.
"Everything we have left is on the deck. The rest has been stripped for parts. Every member of this ship's crew is here, right now."
That revelation sent a shockwave through the group. A normal ship's complement was in the hundreds, and a carrier would expect to double that with a full-strength air wing. Even with all the civilians, they could barely muster seventy souls. Two of the civilians started to talk, and then a third joined in, his voice nervous and worried. The Lieutenant increased the volume of his powerful voice, and it boomed out into the open hangar.
"All my pilots are dead or missing in action. Only Major Williams and I made it back here. The Major is an outstanding pilot, with a history of combat flying going back to the Biomech War. He was our best hope at defending the ship. I have to inform you that he died of his wounds less than an hour ago. That leaves me as the only qualified pilot."
Star Crusader: Hero of the Alliance Page 10
