Gods above and below, he needed to know what had happened since he lost consciousness. Did he dare risk letting the Callusians know he had regained consciousness?
Gathering his strength, he slowly rolled onto his side. Nausea washed over him, taking him under once again.
“Secure the area!” someone ordered as he once again regained consciousness. “And someone silence that damned alarm.”
Almost instantly the noise level lowered. Booted feet moved through the area. Hughes lay still. The accent of the speaker told him all he needed to know. The Anubis had been boarded. His fate suddenly went from bad to worse. The Fuerconese would recognize his uniform and want to know why he was there. He had no doubt the Callusians would betray him at the first opportunity. His only hope was to find a way to force one of the boarding party to kill him. He could not let them take him alive.
The sound of boots on the decksole neared. Once again, he prepared to move. It would have to be quick, no matter how badly he hurt. If he succeeded, the pain would end. More importantly, his death would protect his homeworld. Nothing else mattered.
Through slitted eyes, he saw a pair of black boots stop next to him. Canting his eyes upward, he knew his guess had been right. He recognized the black battle armor of the Devil Dogs. Part of him wanted to laugh aloud. Dorescu had earned death. Not only had he put all of Watchman’s careful plans in danger, he had been foolish enough to go up against the best SpecOps unit of the Fuerconese Marines. At least when he forced one of them to kill him, he would have the satisfaction his death had come at the hands of a worthy opponent.
He tensed, readying to move. Instantly, as if he had been waiting for Hughes to move, the Devil Dog planted his foot firmly in the man’s back. Hughes’ breath hissed out between clenched teeth. Before he could recover, his arms were wrenched behind his back and secured. Then he was rolled onto his back and he found himself looking up into the faces of two Marines.
“Jaeger, send for Angel. Tell her we have the package.” He grinned down at his prisoner. “Then finish securing the area.”
“Aye, Corporal.”
“Commander Hughes, consider yourself a guest of the Fuerconese Marine Corps.”
Hughes moaned softly, an almost overwhelming sense of failure washing over him.
* * *
“Angel, Jaeger just reported in. Says they have found the package,” Connery reported.
A smile lifted one corner of Ashlyn’s mouth and she turned to look at the lance corporal. The Devil Dogs had been onboard the Anubis for almost three hours. Much to her surprise, they had met with little resistance. Kovacz and the ship’s surviving officers had met the attack shuttles as they landed. Unarmed and unarmored, they had submitted to thorough searches before they had been taken into custody.
After securing the landing bay, the Devil Dogs had broken into fire teams. Ashlyn led the team to the bridge. Once there, she had discovered what happened to Dorescu. His body, along with those of several others, lay against the far bulkhead. One look was all she needed to know they had not died of battle-related injuries. They had been executed and she wondered if that way why Kovacz had been so willing to surrender.
“Excellent.” She motioned to Lashay. “Falconer, signal the flag that the ship is secure. My recommendation is that we transfer the surviving crew off-ship and put a skeleton crew onboard. I have a feeling the spooks would love to get their hands it. Make sur she understands we’ll need an engineering team to stabilize the engines.”
“Roger than, Angel.” He signaled to one of the two Devil Dogs guarding the lift. “Ranger, accompany Angel and Brigit.”
“Sir!”
“Where is Jaegar holding the package?” Ashlyn asked as the Ranger’s partner sent for the lift.
“Deck Three near the Sick Bay, Angel.”
“No lifts,” she said and moved toward the service ladder.
The last thing she wanted was to get stuck between decks. Just because they had not encountered any real resistance since coming onboard, she wasn’t going to take any chances. It was too easy to sabotage a lift tube, not to mention the fact power was still intermittent to parts of the ship. That meant climbing and that took time. Then there were corridors made inaccessible due to battle damage. But it gave her a better idea of the shape of the ship and it explained why they have found fewer survivors than expected. Though she hated the loss of life, she couldn’t help feeling pride that the LACs under her command, as well as the Nagato and her sister ships, had managed to keep the Anubis and the rest of the taskforce from overrunning them.
“Angel.” Jaeger and his partner braced to attention as she entered what looked to be enlisted quarters.
She nodded and looked past him to the man seated on the edge of the bottom bunk. Face swollen, the front of his uniform covered in blood, he showed all the signs of having been beaten. Remembering the dead on the bridge, she wondered if there was a connection. Not that it mattered just then.
Frowning at the man, she glanced at Jaeger and jerked her head in Hughes’ direction. Instantly, the Devil Dog stepped forward. One hand closed around the Midlothian’s upper arm. Hughes hissed in pain as he was roughly hauled to his feet. Ashlyn nodded once and stepped forward, Connery at her side.
“Name?” she snapped.
“Kieran Hardisty.”
She shook her head, doing her best to look disappointed. “Let me help you. Your name is Commander Bernard Hughes, Midlothian Space Navy. You were a decorated officer in the last war and dropped off the scene in the last year or so. You have also been acting as an advisor to the Callusians, taking part in the invasion of the Cassius System and other hostile actions by the Anubis and her crew.”
He continued to stand silent, as she expected. Well, she had a way to end that – she hoped.
She entered a code on her comm and waited. A few minutes later, two more Devil Dogs appeared, Kovacz between them.
“Since you two know one another, I won’t bother with introductions,” she said coldly. “However, your answers to my questions very well may determine how long you live.”
Unlike Hughes who continued to stand so still he might as well have been a statue, Kovacz struggled against the iron hold of the Marines on either side of him. Ashlyn saw it and knew who the weak link was.
“Where are his quarters?” She jerked her head in Hughes’ direction.
Kovacz couldn’t answer quickly enough. The moment he fell silent, she motioned for him to be removed. Then she turned her attention back to Hughes and the Marines guarding him.
“Has he been searched?”
“He has.”
After making sure his partner had Hughes well in hand, Jaeger stepped forward. Ashlyn followed him to the small table against the bulkhead. On it rested several items, none of which were of much interest until she came to the last one. Cylindrical about half the size of her hand, it looked similar to some of the detonators she had seen. But there was something different about this one. What needed to be answered and quickly.
She carefully picked it up and turned back to Hughes. She knew the moment he saw what she held. His reaction was small but she had been looking for it. A quick intake of breath, a slight narrowing of his eyes. Good. She could work with that.
“Mr. Hughes, I’ll make this simple. As a member of the Midlothian Space Navy, you are bound by the treaties between our worlds. The fact that you have been willfully assisting our enemy makes you an enemy combatant at best, a spy at worst. I could make a case right now for spacing you. However, I have a feeling that is exactly what you want me to do. Dead, no one can compel you to reveal what you know about the collusion taking place between your government and the Callusians.”
She didn’t wait to see if he would respond. “So let me tell you what my recommendation to Admiral Tremayne will be. When news of what happened here is released to the media, so will the news that we have had a spy in the Midlothian Space Navy. It was something we did not initiate. He came to us when he di
scovered that his superiors, and his government, were betraying Fuercon and its allies. A man of honor, Commander Bernard Hughes risked everything to make sure that betrayal cost no more lives than it already had. Because of him, we were able to retake the Cassius System when he got word to us that the bulk of the Callusian force had moved on and we were able to turn back the invasion of our own system after he warned us of the upcoming attack. You will be hailed as a hero among our allies and be a traitor to your own people. How will your government react to this betrayal? From what I’ve learned over the years, they will take their anger with you out on your family and friends since you are outside of their reach.”
As she spoke, she closely watched for his reaction. His breath quickened and sweat dotted his upper lip and forehead. For the first time since she entered the cabin, he looked away. He would break, hopefully sooner rather than later.
“No,” he croaked. “You can’t.”
“I can and will,” she countered. Even as she did, she knew she wouldn’t. It was one thing to use an enemy’s weakness against them but something else to sacrifice innocents who did not have to die. “But I might reconsider if you start cooperating.”
“I can’t. They’ll kill my family.”
“Not if you are presented as a POW, one we are going to try as an enemy combatant.”
“Your word?”
“Your cooperation?” She waited until he nodded. “If you cooperate, you have my word.” Now she extended the cylinder so he could see it. “What is this?”
He closed his eye and she waited. When he finally looked at her, she knew she was not going to like what he had to say. “It’s a kill-switch tied into the ship’s engines and computer systems. Once activated, the databanks will be wiped and the engines will go critical.”
“Did you activate it?”
“No.” He shook his head.
She turned and very carefully set the device down on the table. “Send for Boomer. I want that thing secured.”
“Right away.” Connery pulled her comm and issued the order.
“Now, Mr. Hughes, you are going to be transported to the flagship. My people have orders to keep you alive. But that doesn’t mean they won’t hurt you if you force their hand. Do you understand?”
“I do.” His shoulders sagged and she knew he had given up, at least for the moment. “Answer me one question. Who are you?”
“Colonel Ashlyn Shaw, CO of the Devil Dogs.” With that, she turned on her heel and left the cabin. Time to check in with Tremayne and brief her on what had happened.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“WELCOME BACK, ASH,” Tremayne said as Ashlyn was shown in.
“Thanks. I have to admit it’s good to be back onboard.”
Tremayne nodded and handed her a glass of whiskey. Then she motioned for her to be seated. For a moment, Ashlyn hesitated. Understanding, Tremayne smiled and moved to sit at the far end of the divan. She waited, knowing the young woman would move when she was ready.
“Is this an official or unofficial meeting, Ma’am?” Ashlyn asked, still standing.
“Unofficial. I figured you needed an evening off-duty after all you’ve been through the last few days. But I also needed to hear the main points of what you learned. FleetCom is having a fit back home, trying to figure out how to respond to what happened.”
Ashlyn nodded and moved to sit on the opposite end of the sofa. Tremayne watched as she stretched her long legs out in front of her before sipping her whiskey. As she did, the Admiral could see her tension ease. She wished the exhaustion reflected in Ashlyn’s eyes did as well.
“You know most of it, Miranda.” She lifted her right shoulder in a shrug. “What I didn’t put in my official report was what Hughes told me on the flight over from the Nagato. He still hasn’t given us all that much information about the Midlothian connection and he probably won’t until the powers-that-be give him the reassurances he needs to know we won’t reveal that he has been cooperating. Frankly, he’s terrified word will get out and his family will pay the price.”
“I’ve already alerted SecDef.”
“Good.” Ash sipped again. “Anyway, the short version is he knew his days were numbered. Dorescu had already killed the other advisors who had come on board with him. He believes the only reason they kept him alive as long as they did was so they could get as much out of the Midlothians as they could.
“Things came to a head when he realized Dorescu had deviated from their orders, orders supposedly given by the Midlothians. Our intelligence had been right. They were supposed to attack the Drakkana System. What Hughes didn’t know is that Dorescu and his superiors had decided to test our defenses in preparation of a full-scale invasion.” She leaned forward and placed her glass on the low table in front of the sofa. “I don’t think he’s told me the entire story yet and I’ll leave it to Intel to winnow the rest of it out. However, after you brought the bulk of the fleet up, he confronted Dorescu on the bridge and demanded he withdraw. When he refused, Hughes killed him. That’s when he was jumped by Kovacz and the other members of the bridge crew. He lost consciousness in the fight and didn’t regain it until we had boarded.”
“What’s your feel for him?”
“Honestly?”
Tremayne nodded.
“I think he’s an honorable man who found himself in an untenable position.”
For a moment, Tremayne studied her companion. There had been something in Ashlyn’s voice that worried her and she wondered if the young woman identified with their prisoner. Before she could ask, Ashlyn reclaimed her glass and downed the rest of her whiskey.
“Miranda, don’t look at me like that. I don’t condone what he did.” She once more set the glass on the table. “But I do understand. If I knew that day the Capital was attacked what I do now, I would have slipped away and done my best to kill Sorkowski and O’Brien. It wouldn’t have been right but it might have helped put my ghosts to rest sooner.”
“I understand.” And she did. There were times when she fantasied about killing the men and all those who had conspired with them. “But enough of that. When you leave here, you are ordered to get a solid eight hours sleep. Come morning, we’re heading back to Fuercon. I’m leaving several elements to patrol the area until reinforcements from First Fleet arrive.”
“Sounds good to me. My people, especially Second Platoon, need to heal up and you know the state of my LACs.”
“Major Laboe will be ready to brief you on the rest of the battalion after you’ve slept. I will say he did admirably as your new XO. I’m going to miss having him as my Marine CO.”
“You always manage to find excellent CO’s, Miranda. Of course, being good friends with the Commandant and the CO of FirstDiv might have something to do with it.” Ashlyn grinned, her first real grin since her arrival. Then she yawned.
“True. Now let’s get some food in you. Then you are to get some rest. When you wake, you are to report to Sick Bay and let the CMO have a look at you. Once he’s cleared you for duty, report in.”
“I’d argue but food and sleep sound too good right now.”
Tremayne smiled and made a mental note to talk with both Talbot and Connery to make sure she made her way to Sick Bay. She knew from past experience, Ashlyn would do her best to avoid it if she could.
* * *
“Ready, Guns?” Tremayne commed.
“Aye, Admiral.”
“Issue the order.”
All eyes focused on the holo display over the briefing table. The image showed all but three of the remaining ships from the Callusian taskforce. The three, crewed by officers and ratings from Second Fleet, had started their slow translation to Fuercon an hour earlier. Most of Second had gone with them. The Phoenix Rising and its escort had remained to oversee this one last duty.
Missiles raced across the distance separating the Phoenix from the damaged ships. Over the comm, the countdown to impact sounded. No one spoke. Ashlyn wasn’t sure anyone breathed. When the first
missiles found their target, those gathered in the Admiral’s Ready Room seemed to relax.
“Ships destroyed, Admiral.”
“Confirmed. Helm, let’s go home.”
As the holo display ended, the hatch slid open and several enlisted entered. They quickly served coffee and tea to those who wanted it before leaving. Once the hatch closed behind them, Tremayne rapped her knuckles on the tabletop, calling for order.
“Ladies and gentlemen, let me start by conveying the congratulations and appreciation of FleetCom, SecDef and the President. Luck was on our side this time. We managed to not only confirm that the Midlothians are involved with the Callusians but we have managed to do something no one has done in recent history. Not only did we basically destroy the invading taskforce but we captured half a dozen of their ships. We have prisoners, some of whom I’m confident will cooperate with FleetIntel.
“First Fleet will be reinforcing the picket we established while those ships damaged in the fighting put in for repairs. Ship’s commanders, coordinate with Captain Montgomery on what repairs are needed. Also, I expect your After Action Reports by end of day.
“When we arrive home, set up rotating schedules. Those not on duty are to be given leave. Get me your recommendations for awards and commendations before we arrive home.” Tremayne paused and looked around the table. “Questions?”
When there were none, she dismissed everyone. Then she leaned back and sighed heavily. They had been lucky this time. Next time, they might not be.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“DO YOU REALIZE HOW LUCKY WE WERE this time?”
President Derek Harper stood before the bay window, looking outside. His hands were clasped behind his back. He spoke softly but there could be no mistaking his anger and concern. The fact he was right only drove it home all the more.
“Don’t answer.” He turned and waved a hand, dismissing the question. “I know you do. Luck was on our side and we have to take advantage of it.”
Honor from Ashes (Honor and Duty Book 3) Page 24
