From the Black (Free Fleet Book 4)

by Michael Chatfield

  “He's on your personal channel,” Onur said, hands moving across his workstation as he completed her orders.

  “Ma'am?” Smith said in her ear.

  “I want that carrier intact, but if it makes a move to be aggressive I want you to cut it down,” Cheerleader said.

  “Understood,” Smith said, sounding oddly serious.

  Cheerleader didn't have time to dwell on it as she made sure she was on an open channel before talking.

  “This is Ship Commander Cheerleader to the carrier Elshurvum, Cut your engines, power down your weapons, shields and prepare to be boarded. Fail to do this and my forces will tear the carrier apart. You will be treated to a fair trial,”

  ***

  Marhtu raced down the corridor his Kaaorv's around him as that damned message blared in every tongue in existence.

  “Get out of the way!” He barked as slaves walked into the path of the Kaaorv. They parted, bowing.

  There was a wet sound. Marhtu looked in confusion. One of the slaves wasn't bowing anymore, instead its hand and the blade in it were coming out of one of his Kaaorv's soft tissues. The single strike had killed them instantly. That slave, wearing perfect white was now covered in blackish-blue blood as it turned to Marhtu. Nothing registered in its eyes as it walked forward. Didn’t know how the slaves had got word of what the Free Fleet were transmitting. The Kaaorvs turned to the slave, in shock.

  It was then that they realized how he had thought of Slaves as fixtures instead of possible threats. There were slaves up and down the hallway. They stood out from where they had been made to stand for years, grabbing the Kaaorvs, no emotions passed over their features as they killed their torturers.

  Marhtu felt a coldness fill him. He dwelt on others pain, these creatures he had created felt nothing. He pulled out a blaster, shooting them as they walked at him. It clicked empty, one reached him, putting a blade to his head.

  It was a large specimen, probably used for manual labour, Marhtu had no doubt that it could easily embed the blade into his head.

  It didn't make any noise, looking to its fellow slaves. With nothing more than looks they seemed to have a conversation, slaves dispersed. They had lived in silence for so long that they had figured out a way to talk without words.

  The big slave put its blade under its clothes and picked Marhtu up with one hand.

  “What are you...?” Marhtu's head hit a wall, the slave still walking, as Marhtu looked around groggily, pain and fear filled him.

  He was taken into the slave holding pens, no slaves were there anymore. Syndicate personnel sat in the cages, some looked fine. Others were roughed up. Everyone was separated into groups. Slaves walked around, these ones wearing armor and holding rifles.

  A cage opened, the big creature dropped Marhtu in it. Without pause it turned and left. A slave passed it a rifle, it gave them a look before it kept going.

  The slave that gave the big one a rifle looked amused as it pulled another rifle off of its back.

  More of the crew were thrown into cages. Some were walked in.

  None of them were Lady Fairgate.

  There was some time when no one else was brought in and the slaves rotated through their positions.

  Then there was the sound of powered armor, a lot of it.

  The slaves put down their guns and stepped away, their appendages raised and visible. Powered armor with the markings of the Free Fleet entered the caged area. Marhtu wouldn't have forgotten the group he'd vowed revenge on.

  The moved to the slaves, their weapons lowered after a few minutes. They picked up a weapon as one commando went to them, opening their helmet.

  “You're free now,” It said, its speakers saying the same thing in multiple languages.

  The slaves broke down, expressing relief or a myriad of emotions.

  “We will take over watching the prisoners, we have room on our ships so you can get sorted out. We have a ship that will take you wherever you want. You can go home, if at any time you need help the Free Fleet will be there for you. Commander Cheerleader says she will personally see to it.

  Amazingly it seemed that all of the slaves understood what was going on.

  They had been listening to more than Marhtu had ever realized.

  ***

  “Salchar,” Shreesht said, I was up, my hand grabbing for my rail gun as I looked to him. There wasn't alarm but excitement on his face.

  Krom's injuries took a lot out of him. He'd been fighting without an arm and half a leg for a while now. The replacements were being grown in a vat but it would be another week before he could get them reattached, as such he was in medical getting worked over.

  There was a long list of people needing to get their parts put back on. It was damned odd, though the neural implants kept up moving with our phantom limbs.

  “What?” I asked, letting out a breath as I let my adrenaline get to normal levels.

  “Come to the Bridge. Cheerleader has something to show you,” he said, looking rather pleased.

  I followed him, knowing he wouldn't tell me what the hell was going on.

  Everyone seemed oddly happy.

  I got on a lift punching in the bridge as I sipped on my water tube, it was empty again. I logged a reminder on my visor as I shifted in my armor. I smelled rank, my clothes were a greasy second layer, my face was rough with the start of a beard and I could feel the greasiness of my skin.

  Even as tired and zombie as I was, I still wanted a damn shower.

  Or at least a wet-nap.

  I should buy stocks in wet-naps, not just for babies. I thought getting a huff of humour out of me.

  I stomped after Shreesht who walked quickly to the Destroyer's bridge. I got there a few moments later.

  “Commander!” The ship commander looked much too happy at whatever damn time it was.

  “What is so damned exciting?” I said over my speakers.

  “We captured Lady Fairgate and Marhtu,” The ship commander said, everyone grins and smiles. I pulled off my helmet, my eyes cold and hungry.

  “Show me,” I said, eyes darting away from me as I leaned on a railing.

  There was a short video of Lady Fairgate in an opulent looking room with one wall filled with vid screens, Commandos around her as she looked at them, her eyes wide.

  “We must leave. They are coming. They will get us all! Don't you get it!?” She yelled, the video cutting to a cage. It was on a shoulder mounted camera, the commando looked down at the creature in the cage. It was Marhtu, different colors of blood were spattered across his clothes. It changed to Cheerleader.

  “Today the Kalu known as Edvasho and his sub-leader Orshpa have engaged the Syndicate at Rosho station. The station's shields are still up at the time of this transmission. One carrier was able to escape the system. The carrier Elshurvum, onboard was Lady Fairgate and Marhtu. Both are now in our custody,” Cheerleader said, matter-of-factly.

  I grabbed my data pad, pulling up reports, seeing that the top priority message was from Rick. He outlined what had happened at Rosho.

  “Get me Cheerleader,” I said, looking over my other urgent reports from Rick.

  “She's ready,” The communications commander said after a few minutes, FTL relays crossing light years passing my message.

  She appeared on the main screen.

  “Cheerleader,” I said, looking up from my data pad.

  “Commander? She said professionally.

  “Continue your mission to watch over the Rosho hostilities. Send Lady Fairgate to Parnmal to be put on trial and her sentence carried out,” I said.

  “I understand Commander, and Marhtu?” She sounded pained asking me about him.

  “Well I do think that the people of Daestramus have a quite able court system,” I said, something dark that had been made in those cells with the Kaaorv making its way to the surface before I pushed it back down again.

  “Understood,” Cheerleader said.

  I saw the request by Felix, if he wan
ted Elshurvum then by all means he could have it. He had more than proved that he and his team were able to make some damned useful things out of what the Free Fleet could find.

  I accepted it on my data pad, sending it to Cheerleader.

  “In your report you also mentioned a mass of slaves that were used to run the ship and took it over when they found out your ships were closing in... “ I asked.

  “I am looking into the matter personally,” Cheerleader said, cutting me off.

  “Very well,” I said, feeling a weight lift from my shoulders. Lady Fairgate and Marhtu were secured, Rosho was engaged with the Kalu. It pulled some pressure off of Heija, with the constant incoming forces from Xentar we wouldn't see that relief until all of the Kalu were dead, or we were.

  It's about time I thought of a strategy to get us the hell off this planet.

  “Good work Cheerleader. Your fleets are going to be hard pressed in the coming weeks, but these kinds of victories are damned good news,” I flashed a smile, Cheerleader flashing one back. She might try to be looking professional, but under that I knew she was as damned quirky as ever.

  ***

  Cheerleader marched through Elshurvum, Commandos nodded and tapped their fingers to their heads as she passed through. Their battle scarred and grime covered powered armor at odds with the pristine innards of Elshurvum.

  The Free Fleet were a creation at a time of necessity, they weren't ones to care about frills and making themselves look pretty. Their armor worked as if it was brand new, so what if it wasn't polished and it had a scar of a near-miss.

  Cheerleader looked over the slaves that were still on board, they were getting the Commandos and transferred prize crew information on the ship. The intelligence department said that they had been damned useful in unravelling everything about the Syndicate. The commander had been rather excited about something the ex-slaves had said.

  “I'm not willing to say it for certain, we are looking to confirm now,” Cheerleader remembered the intelligence commander said. It had not satisfied Cheerleader's curiosity, but her commander knew her job. Stepping all over her would be damned idiotic in Cheerleader's mind.

  A satisfied smile grew on Cheerleader's face, she was looking forward to her next task, immensely. She knew that there were billions of people that wished they were in her shoes, which was why she was using her armor's camera to record the entire thing.

  She walked into the slave pens, he helmet snapped open as her eyes latched onto Marhtu and Fairgate, the latter still in a near catatonic state.

  Cheerleader looked to everyone in the cages.

  “You will all be processed through Parnmal, your crimes judged and the resulting sentences handed out,” she said, some fearful voices, other calm ones coming back. Not all of them had been monsters, something the slaves had attested for, or against. Cheerleader's eyes focused on Marhtu.

  “Marhtu Dashoval, your planet Daestramus did not sign a treaty with the Free Fleet before a warrant for your arrest was issued. As such, you will be transferred to Daestramus, they will judge you,” Cheerleader's eyes lingered on the ex-planetary governor. He had been able to control his emotions to hide them from his skin. Now the emotions rippled through his Slevaran hide.

  Cheerleader turned off the camera, sending the recording to Onur, he would make sure it got out to every major news distributor.

  “Prepare the prisoners for transport. A merchant freighter has arrived with holding cells and a crew to pilot the Elshurvum,” Cheerleader left out the fact that both the freighter had been sent before the ship captured, and that the crew taking over piloting Elshurvum were all Min Hae's operatives.

  Got the bitch that turned the Union into a backwater and enslaved three races. Now I have to win the war she used to gain power. Though War station will be here soon. Then we wait until the Syndicate finally fights a true battle.

  A thin smile appeared on her features, thinking of what the result of the Kalu-Syndicates battle would be, as she shut her helmet.

  Hopefully they can last long enough for us to crush the remaining Kalu.

  Chapter Beasts of war.

  Empress watched as war-station passed through Flor and felt every engineering impulse draw her to the damned colossal machine that had emerged with a good sized fleet from a wormhole.

  Even with the size of it, the engines, the size of a Dreadnought pushed it at cruising speeds of the merchant freighter recovered by Commander Bregend.

  “How many power plants does that thing have? They must be massive!” One of her chiefs said as they watched from night builder.

  Empress pulled out a data pad and checked the contacts, she found a line to the chief of engineering.

  She pressed it, waiting more time than she was used to before someone got on the line.

  “What is it? I am running a damned station here so be snappy about it!” The creature said through her audio device. She thought she heard the familiar sounds of a Kuruvian talking, though the built-in translation device clarified and covered most of the natural noises of speech over.

  “We were wondering as to the size of your power plants and the number of them,” Empress said, reminding herself to stay calm, this chief was obviously under a lot of pressure.

  “More every damned day,” The Chief said.

  “You're powering them up while on the move?” She said, alarm entering her voice. Powering up power plants was a delicate process, one that was nearly exclusively done in a yard. This Chief was starting them while on the move and under power.

  “Why yes, what do you expect me to do? Tell the Commander to stop pushing for Rosho. Salchar would have my exoskeleton himself. Though maybe I could bribe him with telling him I would take down his armor I nailed to the armory wall,” The chief said, rambling.

  “That's suicidal! I will get Salchar on the comms and tell him what is going on right now!” She barked.

  “Fine,” The chief said, sending her a message with a comm link number. “He might not be best pleased with the call. Now I have things to do,” The Chief warned, signing off.

  She tapped the code, using relays to punch her through to a comms channel.

  “Who is this?” The voice said, clearly not pleased with the distraction.

  “Empress of the Kuruvians, who is this?”

  “Salchar commander of the Free Fleet and the Resilient, currently on Heija in a war,” He ground out.

  “Incoming on the right, that swarm is coming back together, firing missiles,” There was a frrshwhooosh! In the background as she guessed rockets were being fired.

  She could hear the sounds of high-velocity rounds being spat in bursts, the whine of hydraulics and servos as the person calling themselves Salchar moved.

  “What do you want?” He said, sounding as if he was only barely concentrating on her.

  “Your Engineer on War-station is starting reactors while the ship is not in dock,” She fumed.

  “Yes, and?” There was a noise. “You sounvabitch! Fucker got my arm!” The sounds of high-velocity rounds rose in tempo.

  “It's not safe,” she said, feeling that talking to this man in battle, who seemed to have just got wounded did not think her concerns worth his time.

  “Hey who’s got some hell fire, dick got my good arm. Really don't want to have to replace this one too!” He said, his tone light.

  “Salchar?” Empress asked, wondering if he had forgotten about her.

  “Fine, you think it's unsafe, go and watch it. Call Shrift up and tell him he better damned well convince you he isn't going to blow up war-station, or I am going to make him my personal armorer,” Salchar said. “Hey, Krom, your side, I don't like those warriors so close,”

  The channel cut as Empress was left standing on night builder. It was odd to think that light years away there were people fighting and dying for her people. It felt so disconnected, the fact that she had been talking to a man right in the middle of it, comfortable on her yard was, strange.

  She t
yped a message to the chief, using the words that Salchar had told her.

  In five minutes she was asked if she would provide her own transport to war-station.

  “Whoever finds me the fastest moving ship in the system to get to war station will come with me aboard her?” Empress said.

  It took fifteen minutes for Empress to be on a ship and headed for War-station.

  The entire ride she looked over ways to start power plants, glancing at the mobile station as it grew in her view.

  The station seemed to only grow as she took in cannons as big as shuttles, Dreadnought's and Carriers looking like corvette's and wings of fighters moving in complex formations.

  A group of four fighters settled around the fast courier she was on.

  The Free Fleet was not taking any risks, no matter who was supposed to be visiting.

  The entire courier came in to land in a shuttle-bay, it was isolated, after a few moments walls dropped and the rest of the shuttle-bay-launch-bay was revealed. Fighters lay in racks against the walls, shuttles joining them. Though there still wasn't enough of either ship to fill all of the cycling racks. More seemed to come from one hatch, racks going into the hatch as fresh fighters came out. Engineer's swarmed the one's that came out.

  A group of Commandos in HAPA's supported by regular powered armor wearing commandos surrounded the ship, others were on walkways, their cannons and missiles unlocked and ready.

  Empress shook her head at what she thought of as ridiculousness. She found the walkway out of the ship, using the manual release and walked out onto the shuttle-bay floor, her Chief, the one that had greeted Cheerleader, followed.

  “Empress, welcome to the War-Station,” A man by his tone said from a set of powered armor.

  “I was told that I would be able to see what your Chief is doing to kick-start your power plants. Apparently he is doing it while you are moving?” She asked.

  “Yes, of course. Shrift!” The man said, raising his body.

  “Thank you commander,” A Kuruvian said, his body covered in the scars and grooves in his carapace that came with being an engineer. He even had a few prosthetic's to replace what he had given to engineering.