Conflict: Rise Of Mankind Book 4

by John Walker

  “No engagement,” Gray replied. “Let’s just get out of here.”

  ***

  Raeka hated what they were doing. Watching the constant barrage of their weapons hammer the visiting ship, he felt like they were little more than children swatting at a giant. He wished Darm would’ve listened to reason but that fool would fight to the bitter end. When the Behemoth unleashed their own weapons and destroyed the asteroid, he felt sure Darm would pause.

  Instead, he upped the urgency and hit them harder.

  The only man who tries harder after having his nose flattened into his skull.

  As the Behemoth powered up and began to turn, Raeka knew they were planning to flee the area. They would depart and avoid further conflict, once again proving their words of peace. How could Darm think they still wanted trouble? He couldn’t help himself and decided to raise the man on the com again to work it out.

  “Darm, you’re being a fool,” Raeka called out. “They are retreating! They do not want to hurt anyone. Can you just stop being pig headed for a moment to realize that?”

  “Perhaps we have them on the run…”

  “You are a blind idiot!” Raeka brought his fist down hard on the arm of his chair. “Do not mistake their departure for our success! They are leaving to spare us! Now back down! Cease fire before it’s too late and we miss the opportunity of a lifetime! This culture can share so much with us, we are throwing it away!”

  “We can learn a great deal from their debris. Do not stop your attack, Raeka or we’ll turn on you immediately.”

  Raeka stared at the screen, unable to speak for a moment. “You truly are mad.”

  “Determined,” Darm corrected. “And committed to safe guarding our people…even yours in this case. Don’t stop. We’ll have this wrapped up soon. You’ll see.”

  The communication dropped and Tarkin turned to him. “Do you want us to stop firing, sir?”

  Raeka knew Tarkin agreed with him. They’d both seen enough violence in their days to know when they couldn’t win a fight. Their ranks and positions proved as much. This situation they both knew would result in a loss before it even began. They should never have opened fire in the first place but now that they had, it would be difficult to sell the visitors any sort of trust.

  “Not yet,” Raeka replied. The comment made him sigh. “Let’s see what these visitors do for another few moments…Hopefully, Darm will realize he’s making a mistake.”

  “You realize he may turn on us the moment the visitor’s ship escapes,” Tarkin said.

  Raeka nodded. “Yes, he’s predictable in that way. When one enemy’s gone, the other takes its place. I don’t know how he’ll acclimate to civilian life, if he ever makes it back. War is in his blood. Let’s hope we don’t have to spill it to get him to simmer down. Remain on target. I’m sure we’ll be stopping soon enough.”

  ***

  Adam read up on Keller’s admission to the academy but found his parents helped him and no one else. He had no such activity with any politically powerful individuals. Just a friendly instructor who mentored him through the last year. Otherwise, he came back clean. Though he fit part of the bill, he didn’t seem to be the saboteur.

  As he continued through to find others who had anything to do with politics or the alliance, he found some connections. Some of the officers who achieved higher ranks quicker had been associated with military council members but one in particular shocked him. Lieutenant Junior Grade Tim Collins worked as Admiral Torian Jameson’s personal aide for over two years.

  Interesting.

  Jameson always proved to be an outspoken opponent to any sort of collusion with the alliance. He harbored an obvious and outward prejudice of the kielans and never trusted them, regardless of what they offered and had done. Adam heard plenty of stories from Gray about the man. The Admiral seemed to hope for failure to prove his points.

  Could he have influenced Tim? But that young man always seems so level headed. I can’t imagine he would’ve gone for something so…crazy as to sabotage the ship. If nothing else, I’ve always felt like he has too much self preservation to do such a thing.

  Even if he did influence the navigator, the young man didn’t seem capable of all the things he’d have to be able to do in order to pull off the tampering. He needed computer access, engineering access and he had to be able to automate things to be able to get rid of the evidence. Adam never thought of him as that technologically proficient. He was an astronomer first and foremost.

  I’d better dive into his education though. I could be very wrong about my impression…however, there’s something else to consider. If Jameson really did put an agent on the ship, he may well have had the man or woman trained off the grid and off their record. An intelligence agent pull off their duty completely under our noses.

  If Keller had been acting alone, Adam would’ve believed the man couldn’t have hidden his skill set but with the help of an admiral…the sky was the limit.

  Adam performed a cursory search for anyone with a top secret clearance, something above even his or the captain’s. As he expected, nothing came back but it would be too simple if it had. Tim’s file showed the exact type of education Adam expected to find. He didn’t touch on engineering nor did he study advanced computer techniques.

  Who else got a sponsorship from Jameson?

  Most officers who served aboard the Behemoth received some type endorsement. Some came from politicians, others high ranking military officers and some from highly respected civilian authorities. These were recorded in each officer’s file along with the letter written on their behalf. Tim’s was fairly direct.

  Cadet Timothy Collins has submitted his request for a commission. Please accept my endorsement for his advancement into the junior officer’s corp. As an intern with my office, he performed with discipline and efficiency. I have personally worked with him on many occasions and have total faith in his abilities.

  Few men take such pride and exhibit such passion in regards to astrogation and astronomy. He can speak of the stars for hours and consistently proves he has taken his education to heart. Any ship or research facility will be lucky to take him on and shall be all the more successful as a result.

  My own staff could use a junior intern of such skill and when this request is granted, I shall extend him an offer. Do please reach out with any additional questions and I will gladly answer them. Thank you for your kind attention in this matter and I look forward to seeing this young man’s future blossom.

  Yours, Admiral Jameson.

  Many endorsement letters tended to be much longer. Adam’s took up three pages but then his came from a congressman. Perhaps high military command afforded an admiral’s word more stock. He probably didn’t have to write a great deal because if he said the cadet deserved a commission, the board simply granted it.

  I need to talk to Collins but he’s on the bridge and probably busy as hell. But if he’s my guy, or has anything to do with it, then he’s in the perfect place to cause trouble. Adam engaged a security program to monitor Tim’s console, ensuring that every keystroke and activity was recorded.

  He also locked that station down so access to engineering was restricted. This left Tim the ability to do scans and lock in navigational courses…which he’d just done not long before. Adam’s eyes narrowed, taking a look at the coordinates. He wasn’t sophisticated enough to fully understand them, not when the origin point was somewhere entirely unknown but he did recognize the star map.

  It showed Sol rather prominently and around it, the star systems charted by the alliance.

  Okay, so he’s at least taking us home. If he’s involved, he changes his mind.

  “I sincerely doubt he’s got anything to do with this.” Adam rubbed his eyes. “This suspicion is seriously getting out of hand.”

  He wrote a brief message to the captain concerning Tim. Can he be spared for a conversation?

  A reply came back right away. I’d be hard pressed to let him
go right now all things considered. What’s up?

  He may have something to do with this but I need to hear what he has to say.

  Gray’s reply took a few moments. What evidence is leading you there?

  A connection to Admiral Jameson. I’m trying to target people who might have reason to put doubt in our technology or our relationship with the alliance. Not returning from that mining run might look like we were set up.

  Understood, Gray replied. I’ll send him to your quarters shortly. Gray out.

  Adam leaned back and prepared for a far less comfortable interview, one which might reveal a traitor in the inner circle of the bridge staff. The thought made his stomach sink but if this was the man, then he’d be able to keep the traitor from performing any further harm. Much as he hoped it wasn’t Tim, part of him wanted to be done with it.

  The sooner we find him the better…even if it is painful.

  ***

  Redding got them turned around and buried the throttle. The ship rumbled for a moment as the engines fully engaged, propelling them forward. She watched their speed carefully, worrying about the damage they’d suffered from the bad jump. The pulse drive warmed up sufficiently but she still didn’t entirely trust it.

  Chief Higgins insisted the only problem revolved around the jump module. Redding’s stomach still felt tight as the speed increased. If something happened, if they lost acceleration, they’d have to fight. She noted the attacking fleet gave chase, trying to keep up as they departed. It didn’t make sense.

  What’s with these guys? Are they seriously this bent out of shape that we showed up? Have they never made a mistake before?

  The Behemoth could easily take them all. A quick simulation suggested it would take only a few batteries to disable them or even destroy them all. Maybe they deserved to meet their match and get taken down a notch. It might help the next poor bastards who happened upon this miserable sector.

  Of course, the reality with warlike cultures was they rarely learned a lesson which changed their perspective. They merely became more convinced of their need to fight. The real enemy, the one who invaded Earth space only a few years ago, held much in common with these folks.

  If the two ever met, they’d certainly have quite the exchange. Neither side would back down, nor would they accept surrender. This culture would be utterly destroyed, their resources taken and their memories wiped out. All because they didn’t want to play nice when benevolent people showed up who could help them.

  Figures that our first contact would be with total jerks.

  “Captain,” Olly’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “We are putting some distance between us and the larger ships but the smaller ones are keeping decent pace. Of course, they are the ones capable of the least amount of damage as well.”

  “Throttle seems sluggish,” Gray said. “Is that your impression as well, Redding?”

  “Yes, sir,” Redding replied. “Though I didn’t bury the needle immediately either. As we reached certain speeds, I increased throttle. This gave the engines a chance to go from cold to hot without the stress of a sudden change.”

  “How’re things holding up, Olly?”

  “Internal sensors show nominal,” Olly replied. “Seems all systems are back.”

  “Good.” Gray paused. “Lieutenant Collins, please report to Commander Everly’s office immediately.”

  Tim turned in his seat. “Sir?”

  “Do you need me to repeat the order?”

  “No, sir. I’m…I’m on my way.”

  Redding frowned, watching the navigator leave. When he boarded the elevator and was gone, she cleared her throat. Part of her said to keep her mouth shut, that it wasn’t any of her business. But they were in the midst of a crisis and they might need Tim to plot a new course when the jump drive returned.

  Olly took over the navigator’s duties without being asked but he wasn’t an astrogator. He could fake it, yes and so could Redding if it came down to it, but ultimately, they shouldn’t have had to. She glanced over her shoulder to get a look at the captain, to determine whether or not he was in the mood for a question.

  He wore a neutral expression.

  Oh well, here goes.

  “Captain, permission to speak freely?”

  “Denied,” Gray said.

  There went that ask.

  “Permission to have our backup navigator report to the bridge.”

  “I’ve already sent him a message, thank you, Lieutenant Commander.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Why would Tim be taken off the bridge at a moment like this? What’s going on?

  Asking the questions internally didn’t help as much as acting Gray would’ve but at least she gave them words in her mind. Maybe later he’d explain. She understood him keeping them in the dark for the moment. If they decided to take down the other fleet, they’d be a little too busy for a random explanation concerning a shipmate.

  “Captain,” Olly said, heaving a sigh. “I have some good news and bad news, sir.”

  “A little of the former sounds nice. Let’s go with that first.”

  “The jump drive is operational again. Mock tests prove out we can get out of here.”

  “That’s great news.” Gray joined the young man at his station. “What’s the bad news?”

  “I just picked something up on long range scan. Someone jumped in hot and is moving in our direction fast.”

  Redding’s blood ran cold. “The enemy? Here?” She shook her head. “They can’t have been hunting for us. There’s just no way.”

  “They’re here for this culture,” Gray said. “To do to them what they tried to do to us.”

  “If you’re right about that,” Redding said, “then they’ll tear through these people. None of their ships stand a chance against two of their warships.”

  “I know.” Gray stood, crossing his arms over his chest. “They’re going to wipe out their planets, destroy these fleets and then do God knows what. Strip mine their planets? Who knows. Whatever the case, I don’t think we can stand by and let it happen. Not while we’re in system and combat effective.”

  “What do you propose?” Redding asked. “These people don’t want our help. They haven’t even stopped attacking us yet and there’re new players on the board.”

  “They probably don’t know about the attack yet,” Olly said. “Their equipment isn’t remotely as good as ours. I’m sure we’re the early warning detection here.”

  “I say we try to talk to them one more time,” Gray said. “If they won’t take us up on the offer, then we have to do something. Innocent people, civilians on their planets shouldn’t suffer even if their military is causing the problem. Clea, open a channel to this Raeka character. We’ll make him listen and if not…well, we’ll head out there and take them on ourselves.”

  Chapter 6

  “Captain,” Gahlir spoke up. “The visitor is attempting to communicate again, this time they are stating it is absolutely urgent. The lives of our civilians are stake they say and if we do not want to see our homes devastated, they say you should speak to them right away. They are…somewhat insistent.”

  Some nerve! Raeka raged internally. Perhaps I was wrong about you people after all! Threatening our homes? What kind of warriors are you!

  He wanted to tell them this directly. “Patch them through. I’ll speak to them right now.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Alright, Captain Atwell, you have my attention though I’m not sure you wanted to do so in such a negative way. Do you think this will halt our attack? Threatening our homes?”

  “First off, stow that nonsense. I’m getting a little tired of your stubbornness.” Captain Atwell’s voice carried the same frustration Raeka felt. “Second, we’re not threatening anyone. You can already tell your attacks on us are ineffective. We have no reason to cause trouble. In fact, we were about to leave your system when we picked something up on long range scans.”

  “Explain.”

>   “We and our allies are at war with a culture that seems hellbent on destroying everyone they encounter. When they entered our space years ago, they destroyed an outpost then laid into our fleet. We lost all but one ship, the one I’m standing on now. If it wasn’t for the timely intervention of the kielan people, our world would be dead right now.”

  “And you believe you’ve picked up these…fiends…on scans?”

  “We know we have and they’ve already destroyed something,” Atwell replied. “Do you have any way to connect with your outposts in this system?”

  “Not easily, no. If they’re too distant, we must travel closer.”

  “We can feed you the data and the historical records of our first encounter with this threat. I recommend you save your ordinance for them because they’ll be here soon. You don’t have long to decide whether you want to trust us or not but I tell you this: we’re going to face them down either way. I won’t let your civilians die, even if you’re all too pigheaded to help us.”

  Raeka considered his words for a long moment. They proved themselves to him already but he really wished he could check on their claim of the attack on his own. Still, their historical data may be interesting, if it wasn’t fabricated. He didn’t believe they should be attacked in the first place. Now, he had to back down to check their story.

  “Order the fleet to stand down,” Raeka said. “Cease fire.”

  “Yes, sir.” Tarkin smiled when he said it then turned to the task of issuing the order.

  “I must get off the line now, Captain,” Raeka said. “I need to explain to Darm why we’re backing down from the assault. I don’t know if he’ll listen but I’ll try again. Send the historical data as soon as possible. It may help our decision one way or another.”

  “Thank you, Raeka. I appreciate it.” Atwell signed off the line. The Founder fleet continued their bombardment but, as expected, Darm reached out to them the moment their ships stopped firing. He didn’t waste a moment but Raeka allowed him to wait, letting him sweat for the time being.