The holo flicks on to reveal a still-angry Marius. “You think you can outwit me forever? I will hunt you down.”
I hold my finger over a button. “So I can tell your officers exactly who has you at a disadvantage? A young, untrained woman. A pirate. Answer me this, Marius. Do you want me on your side, or not?”
His face jerks up. “I side with no one.”
“Then I will leave you at the mercy of Oberon while I gather my allies.” I turn to Aktip and ask her to broadcast the images of the Blood Empire’s fleet gathering at the Sector’s boundary.
“What is this?” Marius is furious.
I smile. “What you just agreed to. Oberon’s forces are amassing. They’ll be here in weeks. So far, your own fleet can be defeated by a girl in an old battlecruiser. I think Oberon will be happy to engage battle, until he tires of you. Now, I must bid farewell.”
I cut the holo and whip around to Plexi. “Back us out and into the Scorpion’s remaining ships. We have no time to lose.”
Plexi is on it. Whatever doubt she had has vanished and her fingers fly. I feel the massive battlecruiser shudder slightly, but the only real sensation of speed we have is the blur of Jovian ships racing past the holo above us as we rapidly retreat. I keep my eyes on the holo, waiting, waiting. Then they move after us.
Good.
Garnek has folded his arms and watches me. “Your father was an amazing man. Who knew he had a daughter that would surpass even his genius.”
“We’re not done yet. Anyway, I have another job for you.”
“His son’s still pretty capable you know.” Mitch appears through the doors. “But I have to admit, that was pretty intense. Did you really think he wouldn’t want to admit being beaten by a woman?”
Garnek speaks up. “A ruse. The Captain wanted to rile him. Though I will say I entertained at least some possibility we’d be roasted into spacedust.” He looks at me. “Where did that ‘invincible’ trick come from?”
“No trick.” I look up at the holo to see we are now being followed, this time by the Jovians. Also keeping their distance. “Papa used to use it on you, Mitch. Remember? ‘Invincible mode’ he would say, and plant himself, waiting for you to charge at him. When I was flicking through the commandPanel, I saw what looked like a new function added called ‘Invincible Mode.’ I figured it was another of Papa’s modifications and played my hand.”
“A guess?” Garnek raises his eyes.
“Calculated. Well ... calculated based on something I deduced regarding the drive’s energy reserves.”
“Approaching the Scorpion’s fleet,” Plexi announces.
I keep my eyes on Garnek. “Now we’re really going to pull back the curtain. Ready for your miraculous return-to-duty speech, General?”
Garnek nods, and I tap the comms again. I pull up the previous hack into the Scorpion’s fleet and point to Garnek. He clears his throat.
“Attention all Takaon commanding officers and men. I am General Garnek, previous Chief Military Space Corps Officer of the battlecruiser Constellation. I must inform you that the person you know as the Scorpion is not who you think he is.”
I nod at Plexi, and she runs the footage of the Scorpion from my suit again.
Garnek continues. “This woman has deliberately misled you; manipulated you and deceived you into thinking you had enemies that never existed. I inserted myself into Takao after the Sector war, knowing that someone was responsible for destabilizing our defense against Oberon’s might in order to build their own power base. Over the last four years I infiltrated the Scorpion’s ranks, and over that time have become known to you as Admiral Simpson. As you can probably guess, I discovered the true identity of the Scorpion and the person attempting to take over our Sector by stealth. I vowed to prevent this from happening, but was beaten to it by the Constellation’s new Captain. I ask you now to question your loyalty: Oberon’s forces gather again”—he waves his hand and Plexi switches to the drone footage—“and only a highly organized response from our Sector, led by the Constellation, will see the Blood Empire retreat. The Jovians have turned down our offer. Perhaps they prefer to fight it out alone with Oberon’s Circle of Seven. So be it. But I have served with the Takaons, and I know your honor and caliber: if there was ever a fleet in the Sector worthy of following the Constellation into battle, you are it. You may confirm your allegiance with us by sending the confirmation signal, ‘United Sector’ to this comm channel.”
Garnek wipes his brow and I wait, looking to the holo for evidence our play has worked.
One by one we see the red dots on the holodome turn green as the Constellation’s computer receives the confirmation signals and switches the allegiance of the opposition we still fly towards. I take a breath. “Now for the final showdown,” I say to myself. I look at Plexi. “Spin us around. We head back to the Jovians.”
Plexi looks incredulous, but complies.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Mitch mutters, and taps his helmpad to bring up the Constellation’s weapons system.
“You won’t need that,” I say. I watch the holo and the schematic Aktip has managed to construct showing the two forces approaching each other. The one not-so-tiny speck in between them is the Constellation.
I hit the commPanel again, this time opening two private channels. The holodome shifts to show Marius and the Scorpion, who quickly realize I have conferenced them in, staring at each other in giant imagery above us.
“Marius knows he cannot destroy the Constellation, and you”—I point to the Scorpion—“no longer enjoy the power you had. But all of our grudges are about to be dwarfed by a new Sector war. If we fight each other, Oberon wins. We cooperate, and together we defeat him. After which I will ensure the Constellation’s secrets will change our Sector for the good of everybody.”
“What choice do we have,” the Scorpion sneers. “You’re only replacing either one of us with a new dictator. If you think you can do it better than anyone else, then you’re no better than the thousands who have risen—and fallen—before you. Go ahead. Play your holier than thou game. I’ll take my chances with Oberon.” She appears to sit back, wearing a triumphant look.
I try to maintain my confidence. “General Marius. The Scorpion’s men are no longer hers to command. I have their loyalty. Together we can stop the Sector tearing itself apart, and turn to defend ourselves against the real threat.”
Marius taps his chin. I think I am getting through to him. He turns behind him and barks an unheard order, then turns back to me. “I gave my answer before, girl. I side with no man. As for women ... they are not fit for battle. Only for making soldiers.” He cuts communication.
“Charming,” Plexi says.
My mouth is still open and I close it slowly. The Scorpion is smiling at me. A capricious smile. I shut the comms down and slump back in my captain’s chair, feeling ill-equipped for this role I’ve been thrust into.
Up on the holo, the two fleets commence firing.
CHAPTER EIGHTY-THREE
The Constellation is still in Invincible Mode, and despite the firepower trained on us, and by each opposing fleet on each other, we remain unaffected.
“This can’t be happening. We’re weeks away from facing down the Circle of Seven, and these idiots want to play shoot ’em up.” I look to Garnek and Mitch, then Plexi and Aktip. Garnek has the hint of a smile on his face. I narrow my gaze at him. “What is it General? Amused that I couldn’t measure up?”
He shakes his head slowly. “No. But you’ve missed the one thing the Constellation is famed for.”
I hold my palms out. “It’s the Sector’s best battlecruiser. It defeated Oberon’s Blood Empire four years ago. I know what it’s famous for.”
He looks me in the eye, all the while a battle rages above us, played out like a movie on our holo. The Constellation is indifferent to the pica-watts of power being expended, both on us, and on the opposing forces.
“Exactly.” His eyes bore through me. �
��You know what the ship is famous for.” He moves closer. “But you’ve not once asked how we did it.”
I feel my face flush. Garnek is right. I’m heading up the Sector’s best weapon against Oberon, yet I’ve no idea how it was previously used. I’m arrogant and stupid, preferring to believe in Papa’s deliverance and genius, and my own hype. I stand up to leave the helm. “You’re right. I stand down. Please take over, I declare myself incompetent.”
He shakes his head. “Far from it. You’ve devised solutions based on ingenuity, not brute force. You’ve exploited weak links; played a layered game of tactics, and let people blossom under your leadership. You are far more a Commanding Officer than I was.”
“Than you are,” I correct.
“Was.” He shakes his head again. “But that’s not important now. Your father has gifted you power over your opponents, more than you can imagine. The Constellation’s power was kept undisclosed, even after the war ended, for good reason. I was wary of revealing it, not knowing how you would carry such responsibility.”
The holo flashes white, then red, then white again as the battle rages in silence. Dots representing ships flare briefly then disappear.
Garnek continues. “You can stop all this now and save lives. Or you can flee and fight your own battle against Oberon.”
I jerk my head up. “You know which one I choose. Have chosen.”
He nods and stands. “So let’s show them what the Constellation did to Oberon.”
I hold up my hand. “Not so fast. I won’t mass murder just to put an end to one battle. Only to lose the moral war. I won’t be like them.”
He smiles. “No need. Watch.” He walks over to my helmpad and swipes through until he finds a screen I’ve not seen before. He taps in some codes, then flicks the pad around to me. “It needs your authority. The Captain’s authority.”
I look down at the screen. It reads: ‘Null-E Field Enabled. Authorization requested. Minimum level voice and DNA.’
I place my hand on the pad and wait for it to glow green. “Captain Jackson at the helm.” I look at Garnek. “Request authority to deploy Null-E Field.”
<
I wait a moment and look Garnek in the eyes. “No death? Guaranteed?”
Garnek shakes his head. “No death.”
I take a breath. “Deploy Null-E Field.”
The dome brightens and the view zooms out. I see the plasma traces criss-crossing the screen, ships hitting each other; damage reports winking on and off, and in the middle, the Constellation, deflecting fire, oblivious to damage.
A small translucent-orange circle begins to expand from the Constellation, increasing in diameter. I see that it is in fact not a circle, but a sphere. I look at Garnek, but he merely shakes his head briefly and indicates the unfolding picture above us on the holodome.
The orange sphere is now large enough to encompass the ships closer to us. I notice with a start that any plasma traces simply end at the orange sphere. Then I notice the sphere gaining in size with each absorption.
Mitch sucks in a breath. “It’s sucking out the energy.”
Garnek nods, while looking up at the dome. “Very good observation. Almost exactly what your father intended—only back then we had limited energy supplies. Our reach was restricted and we had to be extremely strategic in its deployment.”
The orange sphere accelerated its growth, until it filled the entire holodome. No plasma traces were visible, only a spattered map of orange dots within the sphere.
“Disabled ships,” Garnek says.
An alarm sounds and the orange sphere flashes. The entire helmroom lighting dims.
<
“Seems we have a similar limitation.”
Garnek shrugs. “No matter, it's enough for our purposes. Still much more than I ever had at my disposal.”
“Will they ... are they?”
“They’ll be fine. The field is designed to consume energy, not destroy electronics like an EMP would, but it leaves a maintenance reserve. Not enough to run weapons. Enough for life-support.”
“You never fought Oberon. You just crippled him,” I say, wide-eyed.
Garnek nods. “And you’ve just done the same. Despite the Constellation’s extraordinary firepower, there was no way I would win against the Circle of Seven in a straight shootout. Luckily, we had a strategic advantage they not only didn’t know about, it would never have entered their minds. Back then, the Blood Empire relied on sheer brute force.”
“Where does the energy go? Laws of thermodynamics and all that.” Plexi peers at her panel, as if divining the answer.
Garnek shrugs. “I’m not the scientist. Jackson reckoned he’d used it to restore some imbalance in dark energy, but I never understood the man.”
“Maybe that’s where we got the infinite energy reading from,” I murmur, mesmerized by the display above.
“Not important right now. Time for you to open up comms again. This time they will listen. And if they don’t, people below them will. Send the message: the Blood Empire are coming, and we need their help.”
CHAPTER EIGHTY-FOUR
I take a few moments to compose myself, then open the all-comms broadcast. Aktip has set up a hyper-relay to nearby Takao, then on to Ganymede, Rykkamon and onward. It may take some days, but everyone in the Sector will hear my words.
“This is Captain Jackson of the battlecruiser Constellation. Our Sector is about to face Oberon’s Circle of Seven and the Blood Empire for a second time. I have sighted their forces and they are formidable. We must all cooperate and join forces, not bicker and fight. I promise an end to monopolistic trades, and to share the Constellation’s energy technology with all who join us. Our universe was never meant to be divided up and hoarded for one man—or woman’s—benefit, but to be shared and used with mutual respect.
“Both the Jovian leadership and the Scorpion have ended their opposition at my request. Anyone who opposes joining with us to prevent Oberon’s attack will be left to their own devices, but do not expect the Blood Empire to show mercy. The Constellation is our best physical weapon, but the Sector’s secret weapon is you. Fight each other, and Oberon wins. Band together, and we all live. Shortly a new command station will be established on Rykkamon’s outer orbits. Our enemies within the Sector are no more: now there is only one enemy—and he shall be defeated.
“Those who hold weapons to each other’s heads, drop them now; those who hold grudges against races, release them now; those who do not trust their leaders to follow our call, rise up now.”
I shut the comms down, exhausted. I reach to the helmpad and hesitate, my finger halted in the air. Though the Constellation is not at risk, my rallying call to action is. There’s only one way to find out if my demand to lay down arms was successful, and we have at least a temporary truce.
<
I feel us all holding our breath together.
Not one ship left with power moves to attack. And not one plasma trace crosses the screen.
I exhale.
CHAPTER EIGHTY-FIVE
I enter the medbay. Herg is up on his feet, limping badly, a massive medpatch surrounding his bulky thigh. He grins when he sees me, then his grin drops when he sees my eyes searching. He flicks his eyes over to a bunk surrounded by drapes. I walk over and swipe them away.
The Rykkan Chief sits next to the medbed. He looks tired and barely acknowledges me when I enter. Herg comes in after me. “He won’t leave. Insists that he can sense Danielli’s health.”
“He’s probably right.” I bend down to look at the monitor. Danielli’s vital signs are weak. He is close to death.
Across his legs is a machine I have not seen before. I look at Herg with inquiring eyes.
“Your brother found it. ‘Self-repair,’ he kept saying, like he was on a mission. Did we win?”
“Not yet.” I look at Danielli, whose face is pallid. An eyelid flutters. I
lean down and place my cheek next to his. “Please stay with us. I need you,” I whisper into his ear.
He is trying to say something. I place my hand on his chest. “No talking.” He won’t listen. I put my ear to his mouth.
“Iss.” His voice is barely audible. His eyes stay closed. I look at the Chief, but he is not paying attention to me, just staring at Danielli.
I gesture to Herg to come close. He limps over. “What’s with him?” I ask, pointing to the Chief.
“Danielli saved his life. Got in the line of fire of a Takaon fighter and pushed the Chief here out of the way. Danielli took a hit. Both legs. Messy. Now the Chief says he owes a lifelong debt. Won’t let Danielli die, or he has to die with him. Or something.”
Danielli stirs again. I lean in.
“Is.”
I strain to hear. “What is it, Danielli? ‘Is’? Is what?”
His eyes flutter open and widen when they see me. “Iss,” he says, so softly I can barely hear.
The machine next to me starts beeping. Urgently. Danielli twitches, then goes into convulsions on the bunk. I shoot Herg a frantic look. “What’s happening?”
He shrugs. “Dunno. Ask your brother, he seems to know what he’s doing.”
“He’s not here!” I look at the machine in desperation. Some of the readings look low to me, but I have no idea. Danielli jerks once more, then stops, inert.
“Danielli!” I scream, but his eyes don’t look at me. They just stare up, unblinking.
Mitch rushes in and goes straight to the machine. “Jeez, Indy. He’s dying. Quick, move your butt.” He pushes me out of the way and straddles Danielli on the bunk. He pulls a massive stimpack from his suit, undoes the wrapper and slams it into Danielli’s chest. Danielli jerks upwards, but Mitch holds him down. He looks back at me. “Old fashioned CPR. You do the mouth-to-mouth. I’ll do the heart.” He starts pounding Danielli’s chest rhythmically, indicating for me to go to Danielli’s mouth.
Constellation (Blood Empire Book 1) Page 25
