The teardrops pursued the Jess into the swirling gaseous vortexes of the giant planet. Garrett complained of the sluggish response of the Jess. I watched with trepidation as the pressure reading on our hull continued to rise.
Garrett took us lower. "We are at 80 percent rated now."
"How does our cannon match up to their lasers?"
Garrett shook his head. "One on one I think we would probably win. Maybe even against two. That's based on what we saw of them before when they raided our convoy. Against five … I don't think we stand a chance."
I pulled up a display of the Jess's ion cannon. "How would their lasers fair in this thick atmosphere as compared to our cannon?"
Garrett tilted his head. "I suppose we should gain advantage from that. The atmosphere will have little effect on an ion bolt. It should severely retard a laser pulse the thicker it gets. Are you thinking we should turn and fight?"
I nodded. "Bring them in as deep as you can. Then take it to them."
Garrett smiled. "I like the way you think!"
"Tell me that again when this is over and I'll thank you for your kind words."
We pushed the Jess deeper, pegging the hull pressure gauge at 93 percent before turning back on the Grotus fighters.
Garrett looked over at my worried face and slapped me on the back. "Don't worry about it. It's only life!"
The first teardrop passed us by. Our shots were misses. As we approached the second ship, a laser bolt impacted our starboard side. The heat of the blast damaged several external sensors but the hull held. Garrett's return shot was dead center. The hull of the enemy ship collapsed.
The third fighter came directly at us. A quick maneuver by Garrett moved us to the side as it passed us by. Another heavy laser blast impacted our hull. As we flew and turned back, the Jess's hull began to moan.
I said, "They only engaged us with three fighters."
Garrett nodded as he pulled the ship hard right. "That would be their second mistake."
I replied, "What was their first?"
Garrett flipped the controller hard to the left. "Their first mistake was coming in here to fight us. All they had to do was wait us out. We can't stay in here forever."
The two teardrop fighters approached head on.
Garrett pushed the nose of the Jess down and then pulled up and yelled, "Come and get it, boys!"
The hull pressure readout shot to 104 percent of rated as Garrett fired repeated ion bolts. A laser pulse impacted the center of my view portal. Smoke began to fill the cabin.
The first of the ion bolts scored a perfect hit, and the second teardrop crumpled and fell towards the planet's center. A partial hit on the third ship sent it momentarily spiraling out of control. Before it could recover, the hull gave in to the immense pressure.
Garrett yelled, "Ha! Take that scumbag! You don't bring a toy like that into a fight with the Jess!"
The environmental system was struggling to clear the air.
Garrett looked over at me as the smoke continued to pour from around the view portal. "You might want to put on your helmet. I don't know how much more the filters can take before they begin to clog."
Garrett snapped his helmet in place.
As we rose up through the thick atmosphere, the remaining two fighters came in to engage. We traded blows with the first ship to pass. Our port side took a nasty hit; the teardrop trailed away a line of smoke. The second fighter missed. Garrett did not. A bright flash passed by and Garrett turned the Jess back for the other ship. As the teardrop fighter attempted to run, we closed on its position.
Garrett began to shake his head. "I don't know what I was thinking."
I replied, "Can you clarify that remark?"
Garrett sighed as he pulled the trigger, bringing the last Grotus fighter to a fiery end. "The Jess can outrun those fighters. We didn't even have to fight. When that battlecruiser went down we could have just kept going."
I nodded. "Well, consider it paying our dues for bringing them here in the first place. We survived, and those fighters won't be harassing that planet."
The ride back to the others was long and quiet. The smoke coming from around the viewport had fizzled out. The Jess had taken some hard hits but had come out in one piece. I smiled when our small fleet showed up on the sensors.
We landed in the docking bay of the Garmon and exited down the ramp. Go went to work on assessing the damage we had taken from our brief but hard won fight. Raptor was the first to greet me, with a big slobbering mouth and wiggly nub.
Joni stood with a smile. "Glad to see you both made it!"
I replied, "We made a few bad assumptions, but things somehow turned in our favor. Garrett did an excellent job of keeping us alive. I couldn't ask for a better sidekick."
Garrett stopped and threw up his arms. "Hey! Just because I said I was more like a sidekick than a hero doesn't mean I should be called a sidekick!"
Joni walked over and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Personally, I like sidekicks."
Garrett returned a half smile. "Well. Whatever."
Our estimate for the portal to open was still weeks away. The time was spent grilling our captives for more information. The Green refused to give us his name. After an extended session of decryption, Garrett was able to pull his name from the ID signal we had captured coming from his helmet. When the Green heard his name called out by Garrett, it was a shock. Garrett continued to spin his lies about the power of the Alliance and about what we knew about the Grand Duration, all of which had come from the Grumar, Gasau Mont.
On the day the portal once again opened, we were all smiles.
I looked over at Jack Carson. "Captain, take us home!"
Even though many troubles still faced us, we would be facing them in our own galaxy. I scratched Raptor's neck as he laid quietly in my lap.
~~~~~
What's Next!
This Human is asking for your help!
In return for that help I have a free science fiction ebook short story, titled "THE SQUAD", waiting for anyone who joins my email list. Also, find out when the next exciting release is available by joining the email list at [email protected]. I like feedback!
I sincerely hope you have enjoyed reading this book. The first chapter of the next book in the series is provided below, I hope you enjoy it as well!
Stephen
OMEGA
4
Conscript
Chapter 1
The portal back to the Triangulum galaxy had opened. Our handful of ships raced through to the other side. Only upon our arrival did we see the long line of transports and destroyers that was heading through in the opposite direction. Hails from our comm were ignored.
I stood on the bridge of the Garmon. "We can't just let them all go! That is certain death!"
Jack replied, "Well, we have another two and a half minutes and that portal will be closed for another four to six months."
Garrett said, "We'll just have to open it again ourselves then."
Jack pointed to the nav screen. "Those five destroyers sitting over there by the portal structure say that's not going to happen."
I shook my head. "We have to go back through to warn them. They have to be turned around. That is a much bigger force going through there, but it won't be enough once they meet up with those battlecruisers."
Garrett sighed. "I'll go back. I'll take the Jess."
Joni protested. "If you go, I'm going."
Jack held up his hand. "Listen up. Whoever goes through is going to have to catch up with those ships. You three need to fight this war from this side. I'll take the Garmon and I'll head after them. I have a trained crew, I have supplies, I am, believe it or not, a trained officer in the Alliance fleet. I can't save my own people, but I can save whoever just went through.
"Now, the four of you have less that two minutes to get your asses on the Jess and to get out of my hold. Scram! Scoot! You keep anyone else from coming through and I'll have those ships wa
iting there whenever the portal reopens. No arguments! Move it!"
Jack was right. He was the best option for convincing the others to not leave the portal area.
I grabbed Garrett and Joni by their arms and nodded at Go. "Joni, get Raptor and get on the Jess, set her up for a quick exit. Go, Garrett, come with me. We need to bring the Green and the Grumar with us!"
We raced down two decks and into the holding room where the Green was strapped to a wall. I grabbed him by his good arm, removed his restraints, and jerked him to his feet, practically dragging him out of the room and into the hall. Go and Garrett emerged from a second holding room with the Grumar. As I hurried the Green down two more flights of stairs and out to the Jess, I did my best to not let him see the Grumar coming from behind. Once up the ramp I forced the Green back into Garrett's cabin, strapping him again to the bed to keep him immobilized. I shut the door just as Go and Garrett boarded with the Grumar.
Joni closed the ramp and the Jess lifted to hover just above the deck.
Jack came over the comm. "You're gonna have to leave out hot! That portal is about to close and I've gotta go!"
Joni acknowledged, "We're on our way! Head on through!"
We exited the gravity wall with only a few kilometers to spare. The Garmon proceeded through with the portal closing only moments later.
Garrett remarked. "That had to be close to a thousand transports going through. And an equal number of destroyers. Where did they get all those ships?"
I replied, "They must have other shipyards. What I want to know is what colony they conscripted to send through. That has to be between ten and twenty million people on those transports. That's no small colony!"
Joni looked back over her shoulder. "Unless you want us to be taken into custody we need to move! Those destroyers are heading this way! Point me in a direction!"
I pointed away from the oncoming destroyers as I hailed the Talisan ships in our group. "Turn yourselves in to the destroyers which are approaching. Do not fight them. If they release you, return to Dallex."
Garrett referenced the handful of transports with Adicans that had escaped with us. "What about them?"
I shook my head. "We can't help them here. We have to get Joni to her uncle. That's the only way we can help them or anyone else."
Garrett nodded. "OK, so, we drop her at the palace for a cup of tea with the king? I don't think he would be interested in seeing me, seeing as how I'm a wanted man."
Joni replied, "No, you take me there, or at least get me close and I can make it the rest of the way. I'll convince him to pardon both of you and to release the Adicans. I have to believe he will be thrilled to know what we know. We even have two prisoners for his people to interrogate. They will corroborate our stories."
I turned to face her. "I'll be going to see him with you. Aside from me losing you before, he likes me, and I believe he will listen to my reason."
Garrett chided. "Yeah, well, you can go to see him, but I'm not going near that place until Joni tells me with 100 percent surety that it's safe to do so. Besides, if things go wrong you'll want to have someone on the outside."
I nodded. "It's decided then. Set a course for Alpha Prime."
Go held up his hand in an attempt to be noticed. "OK then, I guess I'll hang out with Garrett."
Garrett pointed to the comm display. "Those destroyers have been hailing us non-stop. Anything you want to say before we move out of range? Unless they've made improvements over the last set of destroyers, the Jess is faster, we will be off their sensors in a couple hours, even if they follow."
I gestured with my hand. "Just keep going. They will grill the others about us, the Adicans don't really know who we are and the Talisans just think I'm their emperor. They have been told to not speak my name. Hopefully we make it to Alpha before word gets back to SS241. I'm sure we can count on Layda to delay things for us."
The trip to Alpha Prime took three weeks. The Grumar sat quietly with us in the cockpit while the Green was safely confined in Garrett's cabin. Quarters were cramped, but livable. We approached Alpha by piggybacking on the freighter.
Garrett continued a conversation with Layda. "... yes, credentials for Knog and Joni under other names. They need to be able to move through security for just long enough to get down to the planet's surface."
Layda replied, "I can make that happen. What names do they want."
Garrett smirked as he typed in a response.
I attempted to see what he was typing to no avail. "What are doing?"
Garrett looked up with a smile. "I'm getting you and Joni your credentials."
Layda responded a few seconds later. "OK, identity tokens are coming your way. I'll personally keep filtering requests for the Emperor's identity on this end. They won't get a straight answer as to who he is for at least a few more days."
I replied, "We appreciate all you are doing for us. Hopefully, in another day, none of this secrecy will be needed."
Layda smiled. "You freed an entire sector. I'll do whatever is asked of me. Let me know if you need anything else."
Joni looked over the Grotus battle-suit I was wearing. "Walking around in that might be a problem."
I replied, "Unless you can find a shop that sells Grunta sized clothing, this will have to do."
Garrett laughed. "I don't think anyone is going to bother you two. They'll be to distracted by your identities!"
Joni asked. "What did you do?"
Garrett pulled up the holo-display over his arm pad. Two names appeared along with identity tokens.
I growled. "You gave me the name of Whip Cream!"
Joni scowled. "Daisy Poppins? Really?"
Garrett laughed. "Oh, come on. Those are funny. And bizarre enough that they won't be questioned! Things have been so tense lately that I though a little levity might loosen the two of you up before you hop off this freighter. Which should be happening in the next few minutes. It looks like they've been cleared to dock. I transferred a modest amount of credits to each of your stores. You should be able to buy passage down to the surface without issue."
Joni let out a sigh. "Daisy? That's worse than Jetta! The whole of the Adican command has been calling me Jetta since they grabbed me during the rebellion. Knog stuck me with that."
I replied, "And you stuck me with Bogg. Although I will have to say that it would be much preferred over Whip. I am not a vengeful person, but I can promise retribution for that one at some future point."
Garrett threw up his hands with another smirk. "Hey, I'm just trying to protect the both of you. You're important to me!"
The freighter soon came to a stop.
Garrett lowered the ramp as he brought up an image of the freighter. "Use your gravity boots. It'll be about a half kilometer walk, but you should be able to gain access into that bay where these loading tunnels are connected. Just hop down and walk through there like you belong. Nobody will even notice you."
Go raised his hand as he gestured towards Garrett. "I'll just hang out here with him."
The walk along the exterior of the freighter passed quickly. We hopped down into the docking bay to a flurry of cargo hauling activity. The workers nearby only glanced our way before returning to their tasks.
We walked quickly to the doorway and out into a hall that led to the main terminal area of space port Alpha-26.
A security guard stepped in front of us as we entered the hall, gesturing with his hand. "Let's see some identification."
I pulled up my holo-display. "Whip Cream?"
The guard shook his head. "I guess your big enough that the other kids didn't torture you about that."
I leaned in with a scowl. "Torture me about what?"
The guard froze. "Uh, nothing. Just trying to... oh, never mind. Mam, may I see your credentials?"
Joni held up her display. "Daisy... oh, sorry. You two have a nice day."
The guard quickly turned and walked into the docking bay.
Joni frowned as we contin
ued to walk.
I asked, "What's wrong."
Joni replied, "Daisy Poppins. It worked. The guy was too embarrassed to question us further. I'm almost disappointed."
We made our way to the main terminal and purchased a shuttle pass to the surface. We were looked at curiously by both the ticket agent and the guard at the shuttle gate. Both moved us along without issue.
The shuttle landed on the surface in the capital city. I remembered my previous ride in the pearl white limo when receiving an award and a star. So much had transpired since that time that my memory of it seemed like something I had seen in a video, something that had happened to someone else. A transport was hired and we were soon on our way to Salton city.
Joni scanned several screens on her holo-display. "When we get to the gates I'll send for my father. We'll be safe with him until we can see my uncle."
I nodded. "You are of good character Joni Salton. You stood by the Adicans even though you had no duty to do so."
Joni laughed. "Yeah, well, if I'm of good character then you are of great character. You have a family with eighteen little Gruntas to feed and you put your life on the line repeatedly just to save me! I'm not deserving of that effort! I haven't done anything with my life yet, other than try to help the Adicans, and you risked it all to come after me before you even knew I was helping them. No, the two of us don't even compare. I may be Joni Salton, which is only a name, but I'm no Whip Cream!"
I shook my head as the transport pulled into the station. Joni hailed her father on the comm.
"Joni! What the... where are you!" Joseph Salton said in an excited voice.
Joni replied, "I'm at the main gate. I have Knog Beutcher here, he rescued me. Come and get us, we have a lot to discuss."
Joseph Salton nodded. "I'll be right there."
Fifteen minutes later a pearl white transport showed up. The driver got out, opened the door and gestured for us to climb in. Joseph Salton was not there.
OMEGA Allegiance Page 24
