Battle in the Stars (Marston Chronicles Book 4)

by D Patrick Wagner

  “I found Kokali. My friend is dead.”

  Princess Analyn dropped her eating knife. Gopai froze, tail shooting straight up. Sir Mahajani leaned forward, attempting to understand what he just heard.

  “That’s so sad. How long ago did he die?’

  “By your measurement, about two thousand years. That was the time of his last using the quant-com.”

  “Is there anything we can do?” Keiko asked

  “Not about Kokali. I do need some advice, though.”

  “Anything. Whatever you need. I am so sorry about you losing your friend,” Keiko answered as she lay down her eating utensils and focused on the conversation.

  “Thank you, Ambassador Suzume. Someone has activated his quant-com. Humans. From your data banks, a planet you call ‘Sasania’.”

  “You’re in contact with Sasania?” Krag interrupted after he finished chewing a mouth full of breakfast.

  “Yes, Captain Marston. Apparently a Sergeant Boulos and his men found the cave where Kokali was staying. That is where they found his remains.” Again, sadness crept into Igaklay’s voice.

  “You’re sure it’s Kokali?”

  “Yes, Vidhee. They found his Genetic Scientist medallion. Kokali always wore it.”

  “Captain. We must go to this planet. Kokali’s remains could be one of the greatest finds in the history of Elonia!”

  “Planning, Princess Analyn. Planning. We must proceed carefully. As we promised Igaklay, Ballison first. Then, we plan our next steps. But I do agree with you. We need to preserve and protect Kokali’s remains.”

  “Igaklay, would you like us to retrieve Kokali and bring him back to Ballison?”

  “That would be a very honorable action, Ambassador Suzume. And I would appreciate that very much.”

  “Let’s see what I can do. Can I talk to Sergeant Boulos?”

  “Yes you can, Captain Marston. In the same way as Princess Analyn communicates with her father and mother.”

  “Ok. I am going to be a little deceitful, everybody. It is to insure that this cave remains intact and secret. Is that ok with all of you? Igaklay?”

  “If it helps to bring Kokali home, then yes, I approve.”

  “Vidhee?”

  “Deceit is never good, Captain Marston. In what way will you be deceitful?”

  “I am going to pretend that I am still a Commander in the Sedition Division of the Federacy.”

  “Vidhee, in actuality, Captain Marston is still a Commander. Just retired.”

  “That is a very fine line between truth and lies, Ambassador Suzume.”

  “I agree, Vidhee. But, don’t your politicians hedge on truths the same way?”

  “Yes, Ambassador, Suzume. What you say has merit. I agree. Leaving out the fact that Captain Marston is retired is appropriate for this discussion.”

  “Thank you, Vidhee. Igaklay, open a channel.”

  “Opened, Captain Marston.”

  “Sergeant Boulos

  “Speaking,” everyone heard in English as Igaklay translated the Farsi.

  “This is Commander Marston of the Federacy Space Force, Sedition Division. Who are you? Where are you? And how did you contact Igaklay?”

  “Sir! First Sergeant Boulos, squad leader of the Sasanian First Recon Patrol, Sir!” Everyone in Griffin’s galley could practically hear the Sergeant come to attention.”

  “At ease, Sergeant. Sit-rep.”

  “Seven man squad currently holding a small, hidden cave deep within a large cave complex. The complex seems to have been artificially created. We are currently communicating through a device of unknown technology, Sir.”

  “Understood, Sergeant. I am familiar with that technology. Igaklay indicates you have found a strange cadaver.”

  “Yes, sir. On some sort of bed. We have never seen anything like it.”

  “Please describe it.”

  “The bed, rectangular. Made of some sort of silver metal. A cylinder at one end.”

  “The cadaver?”

  “Small. Size of a ten, eleven year-old child. Oversized head. Large, oblong eye sockets almost on the sides of the head. No nose, only two holes. Small mouth. Two fingers and a thumb. Three toes. Not human, sir.”

  The Griffin crew, with Vidhee, Princess Analyn and Sir Mahajani, listened, enthralled.

  “We are aware of this alien form, Sergeant. What else is in the cavern?”

  “Some kind of work or administrative area. Like a desk, maybe. And a work table.”

  “Do you have recording capabilities?”

  “Yes, Sir. Drones, Sir.”

  “Set them to record the room. I’ll wait.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “One moment.”

  Krag made a ‘cut’ gesture towards Igaklay’s holo projector

  “Signal muted, Captain Marston.”

  “Igaklay, can Kokali’s device transmit data?”

  “Yes, Captain Marston”.

  “Good. Put the Sergeant back on.”

  “Completed, Sir.”

  “Thank you, Igaklay. Sergeant, please follow Igaklay’s instruction on transferring your data. He will guide you through the process of transferring your recordings to here.”

  “Yes, Sir. Mahdi. Take control.”

  Igaklay walked the communications specialist through positioning the control case in front of the pyramid, opening a Wi-Fi channel and streaming the data. Upon completion, Igaklay explained to Mahdi how to disconnect.

  Krag took back the conversation. “Sergeant, can this cavern be secured?”

  “It has only one small opening, sir. And it is well concealed. No other marines or drones spotted it.”

  “How did you find it?”

  “Boredom, Sir. After the alien invasion, the survivors of Federacy HQ ended up hiding in this cave complex. My squad needed something to do. So we began reconning the entire complex. Took us three days, but we found this small cavern.”

  Sergeant Boulos’s revelation of an alien invasion startled everyone. Krag held his hand up for complete silence as he tried to absorb that one small statement. Alien invasion.

  “Current sit-rep on the alien invasion, Sergeant.”

  “I apologize, Commander. This intel is six months old. My patrol did a forced recon from the Federacy Space Fleet headquarters and a hundred clicks north. The bugs are constructing breeding domes. Using our people as food. They’re also enslaving us and forcing us to work the mines, stripping Sasania of all its resources. It’s bad, Commander.”

  “Sergeant Boulos. Order one, directly from the Federacy Naval Sedition Division. Under no circumstances are you or your men to reveal the existence of the cavern or any of its contents. Is that clearly understood?”

  “Yes, Commander. Clearly understood.” Krag didn’t see it, but Sergeant Boulos slowly glared his men down as he responded. They all nodded.

  “Second, you and each of your men will step forward and announce each of his name, rank and I.D. number.”

  “A now highly intimidated Sergeant followed, what he thought to be, his Commander’s orders. No one argued with the Sedition Division. His men followed suit.

  “You and your men will be held accountable if any of this information leaks out. Is that understood?”

  “Yes, Commander.”

  “Third. You are in possession of the intel collected during your recon missions. Is that correct, Sergeant?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “I am going to turn you over to Igaklay, again. Igaklay?”

  “Corporal Mahdi!”

  Because of the large amounts of data needing transfer and the small bandwidth of the quant-com, the transfer took time. Everyone sat or stood around, anxious for its completion.

  With the final packet passed, Igaklay announced, “The transfer of information has completed. I will now transfer it to our mail box.”

  “Thank you, Igaklay. Next, Sergeant Boulos. What are your current orders?”

  “We have none, Commander. We are just hiding in
this complex, waiting to be rescued.”

  “What is your schedule?”

  “Again, none, Commander. We simply return for taps. Once reveille sounds, we are on our own.”

  “Your final orders, Sergeant. You will continue your cave complex recon. All gathered intel will be flagged as top secret. Whatever your time is there, you, and your patrol, will be in this cavern tomorrow and every day thereafter for status reporting. Am I clear?”

  “Sir, yes, sir.”

  “Tomorrow. Be available for debrief on your recon Intel.”

  “Sir, yes, sir!”

  “Dismissed.”

  Krag signaled. Igaklay broke communication.

  “We need to review the download.”

  “Ya, Cap. Alien invasion? I thought we had it weird.”

  “I think we need to hold position for a day. Review, discuss and get back to Sergeant Boulos before our next jump.”

  “Igaklay, would that be acceptable to you?”

  “But, you can do your analysis here, Ambassador Suzume.”

  “We are very worried about what we just heard, Igaklay. We need some quiet time to review all of the information and data you sent us. It’s just a day. Then we will get to Ballison.”

  “Oh, alright. One more day, Ambassador Suzume.”

  “Thank you, Igaklay. Princess Analyn, Vidhee, I have a thought.”

  “Yes, Ambassador Suzume?”

  “We are going to retrieve the remains of one of your deities. Should we have a special casket or sarcophagus for Kokali?’

  “That is very thoughtful.”

  “Would it be appropriate for Mack, Sue and Buster to help you and Vidhee to design and construct this casket?”

  “I would like to help.”

  “Of course, Igaklay. Kokali was your friend. My mistake.”

  “We can build a shrine!”

  “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Igaklay. As Krag said. First we plan.”

  “And to that end, One. Alien invasion review. Two. Debrief Sergeant Boulos and his patrol. Three. Get to Ballison. Sound good for step one?”

  “Ya, Cap. Sounds good.”

  “The data has been downloaded to our communication crystal, Captain Marston.”

  “Good. Now let’s see what’s going on with Sasania.”

  Chapter 03

  Trotzig Cave System

  Twelve days later, Halcyon’s shuttle settled onto the finished Trotzig landing port. The hatch opened and a stairway slowly extended. Once the gangway touched ground, Gregor, Hank and Sue’s son, Dean, hurried down the stairs, to be met by Harriet, Randy and Evert.

  “Welcome to Trotzig, Mr. Gregor.”

  Lawrence Gregor, now the most powerful man at this end of Humanity’s civilization, looked around. He saw the finished landing port. He saw the massive, sloping walls, spiked with turrets, antiaircraft guns and missile launchers. He saw the massive doors. In the distance, the parade grounds sported multiple groups of disciplined men and women training, marching or conditioning.

  “I like what you’ve done with the place, Evert.”

  “Not me, sir. I’m just an underling. Your daughter and Mr. Roth did all of the planning and organization.”

  Uh-huh. Hello, Harriet. Give the old man a hug.”

  She did.

  “Randy,” Lawrence nodded and held out his hand to his daughter’s current love.”

  “Mr. Gregor. Mr. McCauley.” Randy shook both hands in return.

  “Hi, all. Where’s this hidden cabinet?”

  “That’s Hank. Right to it.”

  “Do you want to relax first? Settle in?”

  “Nah, Harriet. We’ve been relaxing for twelve days. Besides, we’ll just stay on board Halcyon while we’re here. It is a pleasure yacht, after all. Let’s see our new toys.”

  “We already have some people opening the door, Mr. Gregor. It should be open by the time we arrive. Carts are this way.”

  “Thank you, Evert. Your show, Hank. Follow the good man.”

  “I need to get my gear, Mr. Gregor.”

  “Of course you do.”

  Everyone watched as Hank mumbled into his throat mic. They continued to watch as Halcyon’s loading ramp dropped and a loader android marched down. Strapped to its back, a massive hard-shell container matched the ones being held in each of the android’s hands. It came to a stop beside Hank.

  “Bring enough gear?”

  “I didn’t know what we needed. I thought more would be better.”

  “Close it up, Hank. Let’s get this show on the road.”

  “No pilot, Mr. Gregor?”

  “No. It was a short hop, with most of the time in the gates, Evert. I’m the pilot.”

  Hank again mumbled. The ramp closed and the stairs retracted. After the yacht finished closing up, everyone headed towards the waiting limousine.

  The loading android easily kept pace with the limousine as the two machines entered through the massive doors protecting Trotzig. Gregor, Hank and Dean all marvelled at the completed city as they travelled around and through Tolimar’s newest town. At the back of Trotzig, another massive set of doors opened, revealing the massive cave dug for Humanity’s protection against the alien invasion.

  As they travelled through the cavern, the newly arrived stared and inspected the multi-tiered housing, the strong stairways and railed walkways, the elevator shafts large enough for moving equipment and all things needed for living. They saw the hundreds of workers scurrying over the new construction, finishing some, continuing others and beginning more.

  “You’ve done well, Harriet, Sean.”

  “Thank you, Father. But it’s been a group effort. Everyone has pitched in. they’re all working hard.”

  Coming to the back of the cave, the driver stopped the limousine and Hank stopped the android. Everyone piled out. The opening to the alien network stood before them. As did three two-person carts.

  “Hank, you go with Evert. I’ll take Dean.”

  “Ok, Mr. Gregor.”

  Lawrence already knew that his daughter would ride with Randy. With Evert and Hank in the lead cart, the caravan worked its way through the now-well-known tunnels and ended at the alien door. Piling out, all six joined five more and stared at the now-open portal.

  “Any problems getting it open, Telly?”

  “None, Mr. Keller.”

  “Lanzo, any surprises?”

  “No, sir. No bugs, microbes, viruses or toxins. Just stale air.”

  “And, no one has entered.”

  “No, sir. As you ordered, we just tested, opened, and waited for your instructions.”

  Gregor looked on, noting how easily Evert Keller commanded his people and how his people respected and followed his command.

  “Well done. Who goes first?”

  “I do, of course.”

  “Of course you do, Doctor McCauley. One other. Anyone?”

  “I’ll go, Mr. Keller.”

  “It’s always the young one who dives in first. You are it, Dean. Does that meet your approval, Mr. Gregor?”

  “Works for me. Lead on, Hank.”

  “Yes, sir, Boss.”

  Hank mumbled into his throat mic. The loader android set down its three large boxes and popped their lids. Reaching in, it carefully extracted Hank’s custom tablet and a unique-looking scanner. Handing it to Hank, the android came to ready and waited for the next set of commands.

  Hank took the tablet and scanner then connected the two.

  “Dean, get two safety helmets. And cloves”

  “Yes, sir,” Sue’s boy responded as he hurried to do as told.

  Once both donned their safety gear, the two quietly and carefully entered the alien storage room. Approaching the first strange harness, hank activated his tablet and ran the scanner over every square centimeter of the device. Dean looked on, studying everything and remembering as much as he could. Once Hank completed the multi-sensor scan, he shut down his tablet and carefully exited the storeroom, followed
by Dean.

  “We have enough for today. Can you close it up?”

  “Yes, sir, Doctor. When we cut it open, we made sure of that.”

  “Thank you, Telly. I need to get my readings to a lab and study them before we take the next step.”

  “Go ahead and close it up, Telly.

  “Well, that was anticlimactic.”

  “First things first, Harriet.”

  “I know, Hank. It’s just that, we’ve been sitting here for more than three weeks, knowing something was here and not being able to do anything about it.”

  “Yeah, Doctor. Me and the boys, we’ve been antsy, waiting to do something with it.”

  “I haven’t given you enough work, Telly?” Evert good naturedly asked.

  “Aw, Boss, I didn’t say that. Me and the boys have been plenty busy. We don’t need any more work,” Telly good-naturedly answered as Bernie, Hagen and Merle looked on with feigned apprehension.

  “Let’s get some dinner.”

  “Yes, Sir, Mr. Keller.”

  “I’d rather get to a lab and get to work, if it is alright with you all.”

  “I would expect nothing less, Doctor.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Gregor.”

  “Me too. I want to stay with Doctor McCauley.”

  “Of course you do, Dean. Go ahead. We’ll have some food sent over.”

  “Let’s meet up tomorrow morning. Seven?”

  “We’ll be here, Mr. Gregor.”

  “Thank you, Evert. Harriet? Randy?”

  Looking at Randy, Harriet responded, “Wouldn’t miss it.”

  “Where?”

  “The command van. We have privacy and all of the presentation gear you’ll need.”

  “Good idea, Harriet. The command van.”

  “Thank you, Father.”

  Nyu-Nippon Weapons Cache

  “Sousui, a drone has returned.”

  “Have you downloaded the readings, Mappai?”

  “Just finished. I’m putting it up now.”

  “I’ll be right there.”

  Juro waited for his superior to enter the communications van. After a small time, Taketa pulled the door open, entered and took his seat beside Juro.

  At Taketa’s nod, Juro began the sensor playback. The two Nightshades saw an alien patrol-in-force crossing the Nye Nippon plain, heading for the mountain range.

  “How old is this intel?”