Enemies on All Sides (Maraukian War Book 4)

by Michael Chatfield

  Remy grinned. “I thought it was something we could enjoy, so why not. Besides, I think Ashaeed and I deserve to be accompanied by beautiful women and see this fair city once and for all…” When he paused, Pela looked at him. He noticed her and smiled. “We might never get to come back after our next stage.”

  Pela glanced to him again and noted the emotion on his face. He actually genuinely cared for them all. They’d spent many evenings, the four of them, going over materials, math equations, problems, and sometimes well into the night. But she’d never really thought about what that connection meant to her. Now, facing the changes ahead, and being with all three of them, she choked up and fought down her emotions, living in the moment with a smile on her face.

  “Woo-hoo! Shotgun!” Aileen yelled, rushing into the shuttle.

  “Dammit!” Ashaeed yelled after her, breaking the solemn moment.

  Remy and Pela laughed, following after them into the craft. Once inside the shuttle, Aileen and Remy headed off to one of the projection walls that allowed you to look out of the shuttle as if there were no wall.

  Ashaeed remained behind. It seemed he sensed Pela’s mood as he smiled.

  “Will you do me the honor, milady.” Ashaeed held out his arm.

  At his over-the-top, posh accent, Pela rolled her eyes and looped her arm in his.

  “I’ve never seen anything like it,” she said as Ashaeed led her through the shuttle and they reached the observation area, where Remy and Aileen were talking to each other and pointing out different things.

  Remy noticed Ashaeed and Pela, turning to include them as he used his finger to illustrate his words. “We’re to take a tour around Malazar and then it will land just south of the new gardens.”

  “Prepare for departure. Please move to your seats.” The pilot’s voice came over the speakers as they looked to one another and moved for their seats.

  When they sat down, they were able to connect via their NIAIs to the sensors. They could see everything around the shuttle as its doors closed and its engines kicked in.

  Slowly, it lifted off from its docking cradle, then orientated itself along its flight path and pushed forward. Their acceleration increased as they left Malazar, going in a long loop around the city, showing it off in all its glory.

  Pela could only watch as the scenery changed while she tried to pick out the familiar sights and locations on the ground.

  “I can’t believe how much it’s changed,” Aileen said, the four of them connected through a communication channel.

  There were huge differences. Pela remembered her flight in. Malazar was almost incomparable to those ruins, the city still so very destroyed. Building and rubble everywhere in the surrounding areas, where the enemy had almost beaten them. Now it was rich with areas that had been newly planted and buildings, if not already under way, were plotted out and the groundwork had already begun.

  The layout of the spiral had been started. There were three buildings, the headquarters in the center, then the two growing metal and glass towers that were starting to loop around it.

  There were foundations for another five buildings laid out, creating a spiral around the headquarters that was already twenty stories and growing rapidly.

  Roads had been laid down, with crews working even now to extend them.

  The towers were alight even as dusk started to fall, students learning with on-the-job training. Pela felt pride knowing that she had been one of the people who had contributed to this growing city and school grounds.

  She had never seen something as large as it or ambitious. Knowing that she’d left her mark on it—it was a hard thing to describe. She felt warm and happy, knowing that they would be used for generations to come.

  They turned away from the city and headed to the southern gardens. The gardens were part of the city; they were the outskirts for now but with time they’d be wrapped up in the city.

  The gardens had been built around an oasis that was being slowly pumped into the city. It could have been turned into an industrial complex to clean and return water; instead, it had been turned into a place to escape.

  Building and growing was one thing, but sometimes people needed to get away. There might be cafeterias in the Malazar school, but there were also a number of growing restaurants that served food from Tricticus and the different regions. For a taste of home, people were more than happy to pay a little extra for their food.

  The trip was over far too soon, and Pela couldn’t stop smiling as she disconnected from the sensors as they started to descend. “Thank you,” she said to Remy.

  It was a short walk to a local restaurant out of the way, tucked back where it seemed none of the others had wandered off to. Pela wondered how Remy had thought of it all but it was nice to celebrate in good company. “Come on then, spill.”

  Without hesitating, all four of them said together, “Tier One!”

  Then they laughed, clinked glasses and excitedly started talking about what it all meant for them. Pela had not felt as good in many years. Not only were these three her fellow students, they were her friends—the kind that couldn’t be bought and couldn’t be wished for.

  Pela sat back, a smile on her lips as she drank from her glass, just watching and listening to their antics. Aileen was deep in conversation with Remy over certain aspects of refinery production. She’d really enjoyed herself and it had made the whole skill school experience and being around her friends even more special. Listening to them gave her some time to think over what she wanted for her future: to stay planetside or do her trials in space. Options she might later have now that she was moving onto study further, all the basics covered. The real tests came from here on. She pushed the conversation with her parents to the back of her mind.

  It felt right to be here. This was where she was meant to be.

  Chapter Twelve

  EMFC Avenger

  Oort Cloud, Osdal System

  5/3556

  Captain Jean-Pierre Marcelle woke with a sore head. In fact, much more than a sore head. He sucked in a breath and waited for the voices, the techs.

  Nothing.

  Cold. All he could feel was the insurmountable cold surrounding him. It was never this bad on waking up.

  Forcing his eyes open, there was a blurry figure in the distance. Marcelle forced himself to blink as flickering lights illuminated the pod he was in.

  The rest of the spine holding the different cryopods was only slowly starting to turn on but there were no medics moving around and it seemed as if everyone else was asleep still.

  There was usually an EMF tech or medic to greet him and get him updated on what was going on. There was just a man standing outside his cryopod, with his helmet off to the side. He wore a used space suit with “Victor Corporation” on his chest.

  The cryopod opened and Marcelle shivered. The ship hadn’t warmed up yet.

  “Captain Marcelle, I am Captain Aaron Grild of the VCF Fernix. I am sorry for the confusion on your awakening. Forgive me.”

  Marcelle stood, his legs shakily finding their footing on the cold floor. The ship should have woken him up before this. Just who the hell is this Aaron Grild?

  Too many questions, but his brain started to focus as he looked at Aaron. Then he pulled his gun.

  ***

  Aaron’s opinion of Marcelle rose. He was clearly groggy from coming out of cryo, but Marcelle had taken the waking up to seeing a man he didn’t know pretty well, at least on the outside. A captain like Marcelle had been through and seen it all, and for the most part was as alert as they come. Being woken up without any techs around him had him on high alert; there would be no officer alive who wouldn’t be. This situation was, after all, probably planned for in their emergency protocol.

  Aaron’s smaller shuttle had managed to get to the EMFC Avenger within a very decent timeframe. What he needed to happen now and what actually could was a gamble.

  He’d made his way up to the bridge, with a bag containing wate
r and rations from his ship, and once there, he pushed the main buttons for entry. The codes he got from Moretti allowed him to not set off sensors around the ship, waking the crew as soon as they were in range. But it had taken him some time to get inside and in to wake the captain.

  “I have nothing for a Captain Grild,” he said simply. “State your business before I blow your fucking head off!”

  Marcelle had an accent but Aaron couldn’t pinpoint where from. Aaron moved quickly to the man’s second-in-command’s station and held out a data chip. It had taken awhile to get the required information on it that he knew he had to show the man, but he held it out also for the captain to take. “It’s safe—nothing on it but information. I believe your security scanners can verify that.”

  Marcelle pushed himself up and out of the cryopod. He then took the chip and placed it in a reader. Within a few seconds, a green light came on and he moved to install it into the side of his station’s computer.

  “You want me to watch this, now? Before you speak?”

  Marcelle looked confused, but Aaron nodded. “What’s on there will tell you more than I could. Just know that this is no joke.”

  “You do realize that sounds very ominous?” Marcelle pressed play on the station, taking a seat so he could watch it.

  Aaron had toyed with many ways of doing this, but the visuals were the only thing he really needed. The true war effort and the cities that had fallen and were still falling would be enough to turn any commander’s stomach. He sat near him, watching closely the reactions from the officer.

  Marcelle’s face hardened as he watched. He drank and chewed some of the ration bar, but his face gave Aaron the answers he needed.

  Marcelle faced him when the vids had finished. “This is no joke, those things? Those people?”

  Aaron shook his head. “No, none of this is a joke, I’m sorry to say.”

  “Has the EMF fallen?”

  “No, but as far as the human race is concerned, they all might as well have.”

  “How many years have we been asleep? I can’t get the data to display.”

  Aaron moved slightly in his chair so that he could reach the captain’s computer pad. “I’ve locked outside communications completely. No one knows you’re waking up, and I need to keep it that way for now.”

  Marcelle was quick to act this time. He pulled the gun from his back and pointed it directly at Aaron. “So you are trying to take the carrier, after all!”

  Aaron held up his hands. “No. No, I’m not.” He paused. “Well, actually, yes, I am but not for those kinds of reasons. Please sit back down and listen.” He watched as the captain cycled back and forth with questions and possible answers in his own head; then he sat back down and Aaron pulled up a particular vid from his chip. Here he zoomed in. “You remember Mark and Tyler Victor?”

  Marcelle grinned now. “What man alive doesn’t know those names? Savior of many, those two brothers.”

  “You’d trust them in battle, yes?” Aaron knew he was leading these questions in. Hook, line, and sinker—bring him in now, or never.

  He tapped the screen. “That man there fighting is Mark Victor.”

  Marcelle moved closer to the screen. “He’s changed, a lot. What’s the tech?”

  “Again, there’s a lot to talk about, but I work for Mark. My shuttle was built by the Victor Corporation at the Yard, where we’re gathering forces to finally defeat these creatures.”

  “He still fights like Diablo.” Marcelle watched Mark’s form as the video played out once again, slashing and dicing the monsters on the screen.

  Aaron was proud of his brother-in-arms. “That he does. But, he also needs your help. He needs the help of the carriers.”

  “The Avenger?”

  “Not just the Avenger—the whole fleet. General Ortiz is waking some of the others up.”

  “Your plan for me and mine?”

  “Is to help me convince some more of them that we’re on the right side.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Refinery Seventy-Seven

  Oort Cloud, Osdal System

  5/3556

  Flanked by two of her most trusted men, Carly made her way through to the scheduled meeting. She’d had just as much sleep as the others, but she knew that this was a trying time for them all.

  They all knew Mark, and they all knew what he had been capable of back then. But now, so many years later… The sudden arrival of their freighter, with the addition of Alcubierre drives, the messages from Mark to give the Fernix some time to wake the Avenger. She still didn’t know where it would lead, but at least it looked like there would be a future.

  Her guards stopped following her as she reached the designated meeting room. Four others stood outside; they nodded to one another and then she typed in her codes and was granted access to the room.

  Once inside, another guard checked she was carrying no weapons. She rolled her eyes and waited for the all clear. Then she was allowed farther inside and to the secure meeting.

  When the shimmering glass door closed behind her and she noted who was at the table, she smiled. “Felicia, Johnny.” She greeted the tow others inside the room.

  Felicia was sitting at the table while Johnny as per normal was trying to burn a hole into the ground as he walked back and forth.

  “Carly,” Felicia smiled as Johnny cleared his throat.

  “Alright, now we’re all here we can talk about what is happening.

  “Captain Grild is looking to awake avenger, it looks like he has codes to bypass the controls placed on the ships by the EMF. He has also given me an order, from Mark Victor himself. A purchase order for all manner of processed materials. The Maruakian threat is real and parts are in motion to secure the powerbase of the Victor Corporation in a new system.”

  Johnny’s face didn’t relax, filled with lines. He moved to panel, removing it and pulling out a bottle and a glass, he poured himself one, quickly tossing it back.

  He took a breath, letting out a hiss as the alcohol kicked.

  “Shit,” He put the bottle and glass on the table, leaning forwards as he looked at the glass, collecting himself.

  “I want to move to wherever they’re going,” He looked up at the two women.

  “We always knew that we were on a timer until the EHC tried to re-establish control here, the Avenger isn’t hiding out there just because there are some nice asteroids to sleep beside. The EMF was made to maintain control. If we can leave Osdal, go to where the Victor Corporation is, well it looks like they’re doing something right, the Victor Yard has to be going somewhere. I want to go there instead of wait until the noose slips around my neck, whether it’s the EMF, the Union, the Maraukians or some other prick with armored goons.

  Felicia and Carly didn’t look away, each of them had their own guarded expressions as they thought on the decision that they would have to make as well.

  “If we can get good conditions, I’m with you, lived in one system long enough, it would be good to see another,” Felicia said, sharing a look with Johnny before she looked over to Carly.

  “Well maybe it’s a little cooler than Osdal,” Carly smiled, she felt her heart twist a bit, this was the place she had been born. Her actions would lead her somewhere new, a place that she didn’t know.

  “We keep this to ourselves. We need to negotiate with Captain Grild and the Victor Corporation, see if we can get a good deal. Hold the power, then mobilize on it,” Johnny must have seen Felicia starting to open her mouth as he spoke louder and faster. “I’m not looking to screw the over, just make sure that we can look after as many of our people as possible. If Mark said that he needed us and didn’t have the funds. I would bankrupt myself sell the refineries to help him,” Johnny said.

  Felicia’s words died in her throat as Carly let out a long breath.

  “The Harmony War, seems a lifetime ago, now the Maraukian war. Even one would be too much for a lifetime,” She didn’t try to hide her sadness.

&n
bsp; The others didn’t have words to say to that as they fell silent as well.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Refinery Seventy-Seven

  Oort Cloud, Osdal System

  5/3556

  Aaron waited for confirmation that Marcelle had everyone woken that he needed to. The ship’s systems had been easy to start up. Waking key medicos and engineers and everyone else he thought might be needed from the get-go also meant the key officers. These needed to be men who Marcelle trusted completely. “I know a few I should just send right on home,” he’d said and Aaron made sure he knew not to wake those.

  This was supposed to be a smaller meeting, a place where they could address concerns, but the sheer size of the ship meant that it wasn’t going to be so. There were a few thousand people needed to be addressed now, and it might as well have been all at once. The officers were now in this room, and other members were at their posts around the ship, listening in together with their colleagues.

  Aaron and Marcelle stood in the conference room. There, sitting before them, were over four thousand men and women. Some hushed talking was going on, but for the most part, they seemed in good spirits. For them, being woken was just as much of a shock as it had been to Marcelle, instantly on alert and ready to fight.

  In front of the crowd were the other major officers Marcelle had chosen to wake himself. Several key members of command were still in cryo, but that was due to Marcelle’s choices. Perhaps they weren’t to be trusted without the backing of the ship, or maybe they were more EMF personnel than he’d have liked.

  Aaron stood by and watched as Marcelle addressed the more prominent men on his ship.

  “To be woken for battle is nothing we don’t know or understand as troopers of the EMF.” He turned to the large screen behind him. “For some of you, this video might be small; you can view from the tablets on the chair in front. Please watch this very carefully.”