“I'll tell you one thing,” Saxon said. “Director Wise won't fight to the death. He'll surrender if he thinks it's the only way to save his skin. And most of the other top brass are top-class cowards. Once it's obvious that we've won, we won't have a problem with the senior administration.”
“I can think of a couple of thousand ways that this could go wrong,” Moretti said.
“Obviously I have a better imagination than you, Lieutenant,” Rojek replied, “because I can think of far more. Risky, yes. But I don't see that we have any other option. If we continue with our hit-and-run raids, the Federation Fleet will ultimately ambush us, take us out. That's as near to a certainty as you'd ever want. I suppose we could wander into the Halo Worlds, try and find a place to hide, but for what? Some better day that might not come?”
“Right now,” Saxon added, “my guess is that a lot of people are waiting for us to make the next move. How about it, Major. You want a few million new recruits, or should we scuttle off into the shadows, give up the fight right now? Because that's the only other option on the table at the moment, and I don't like that at all.”
“We've got to make a move, and we've got to make it now,” Curtis pressed. “And once we launch this attack, we're committed. Either we win big, or it all ends here. Make no mistake about it. There's a good chance this could go very, very wrong, but if we pull it off, then we have a secure base, have probably whittled down the Federation Fleet a little, and have a lock on significant supplies of uranium. More than two-thirds of Earth's supply.” Glancing at Kani, he added, “Don't tell me that won't buy us a little bit of support from the Commonwealth. Or from the Halo Worlds.”
“It'll certainly make them a little eager to get to the bargaining table,” Kani replied. “There's a good chance that we might capture more freighters, as well.”
“Good point.” Looking around the table, he said, “Squadron Leader, I'll be briefing you in twenty minutes. Get your people together. As for the rest, Polaris departs this system in two hours. I want you all to be ready for that.”
“On that, Commander,” Moretti said. “We're pushing this ship a lot harder than I'd like. She's got a military-grade Tau Drive, but that doesn't mean we can keep these rapid transits forever. Two or three more at this pace, and I'll have to think about stripping down for a full overhaul. Better part of a week, with our current crew complement.”
“Noted, Lieutenant, and that's just one more reason why we need to make this mission work. Keep her together for another forty-eight hours. After that, everything should start getting easier. That's all. Dismissed.”
As the others left the room, Rojek rose to his feet, turned to Curtis, and asked, “Are you sure about this, Teddy?”
“Hell no. If a subordinate officer had come up to me with a plan like this, I'd have thrown him out of my office. I just can't see another realistic alternative. Every other choice is just a slow way of committing suicide. At least this way we have a chance of turning this little war of ours around.”
Nodding, Rojek said, “I know you aren't asking for votes, but you've got mine. I'll be right there on the bridge with you, all the way to the end.”
“Thanks, Felix,” he said. “Though I hope that doesn't come for a very, very long time.”
Chapter 6
“I know I've said this a lot, Commander, but this is crazy,” Kani said, shaking his head as the last of the equipment was loaded onto the cargo shuttle, bound for Montevideo.
“Not too late to back out, Squadron Leader,” Curtis replied. “Incidentally, thank you once again for choosing to stick with us. If you really want to find a way back to the Commonwealth, then as soon as this mission is completed, I'll see if there's any realistic chance. We'll be close enough to the border for you to make the attempt.”
“Thank you, sir, but we've got to live through this mission yet.” Holding up his datapad, he added, “Besides, the chance to fly a mission profile like this is one that no pilot worth the name would pass up. I've got to give it a try. Which makes me about as crazy as you.” He watched as his pilots filed onto the waiting shuttle, and said, “I don't like keeping them in the dark.”
“No choice. If this goes wrong...”
“I know,” he replied, holding up a hand. “Don't worry, Commander. I have no intention of being taken alive. The prospect of spending the rest of my life in an interrogation cell doesn't appeal. Commonwealth Intelligence already took care of that little detail for me, back when I first volunteered for undercover work.”
“Well, if you have to go down, go down fighting.”
“With all due respect, Commander, I have no intention of going down at all.” He paused, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a vial, passing it to Curtis. “If something does go wrong, though, I want you to do something for me.”
“Of course.”
“When you win your war, and if you somehow manage to pull this off, my money would certainly be on you finding a way to pull it off, I want these ashes scattered back home. On Earth, in the Karoo. My grandmother always wanted to go home, and I guess this is the only way she's ever going to do it. I've been carrying these with me for years, waiting for the chance.”
Curtis took the vial as though it was the most precious thing in the world, and said, “I'll be sure to keep these safe for you until you get back. And you're coming back, Squadron Leader. You've got just the right level of crazy built into you to find a way through this.”
Nodding, Kani replied, “Aye, sir. You know that. I know that.” Glancing up at the ceiling, he added, “Does the big man up there know that, though? He gets the deciding vote.” Holding out his hand, he said, “Good luck, Commander.”
Shaking the proffered hand, Curtis replied, “Good hunting, Squadron Leader. I'll see you at the rendezvous, and I'll try not to be late.”
“We'll be waiting, sir.” With one last look at Polaris, he stepped onto the waiting shuttle, Nguyen and Voronova waiting for him. Montgomery sat at the controls as he guided the ship to its departure lock, dropping through the levels of the hull before being tossed into space, the engine firing to push it towards its destination, the lumbering freighter Vladivostok, up ahead.
“Well?” Nguyen asked. “What's the mission?”
“Need to know. You don't.”
A scowl crept onto her face, and she said, “You don't normally hide the objective from the rest of us. Doesn't make sense.”
“This time, it does,” he replied. “Trust me, Mel, you don't want to know this one. Not until we complete Phase Two, anyway. That way, if anything goes wrong, I'm the only one with his head in the noose, and the rest of you might be able to at least talk yourselves into a prison camp.”
“Not what I signed on for,” a disgruntled Jones replied, sitting by herself at the back. “I just left one suicide squad. I don't plan on joining another.”
“Bit late for you to change your mind, kid,” Nguyen said.
“Besides,” Voronova added, “I'll say a lot of things about Win, but he doesn't tend to take on a mission unless he thinks there's a good chance of making it back. Not with a squadron flying along for the ride. If he was going off on his own, I'd be worried.”
Peering out of the viewport at the cargo shuttle, Nguyen asked, “What's with the extra equipment? They already shipped over our ordnance.”
“Something special we're going to need later on.”
“And when are they planning on dumping Montevideo's cargo? There must be a quarter-million tons of ore on board. She'll be slower than hell with all that mass in her tail.”
“Quit fishing, Mel. I know what I'm doing, and I think this plan should work.”
“You think?”
With a shrug, he replied, “We'll find out in about thirty-one hours from now. Though I'll tell you this much. You're going to have the two best flying experiences of your life, one way or another.�
�� Looking around the cramped cabin, he added, “That goes for all of you, as well. I personally guarantee that this is one mission you won't want to miss.”
“Docking in one minute, sir,” Montgomery said. He glanced down at the fighter wings on his chest, gold now instead of silver, the mark of a blooded warrior who had made his first kill. Jones looked at him coldly, aware that the kill he was celebrating was one of her comrades, and Kani walked over to her.
“I went over the footage again,” he replied.
“Spare me, sir. I really don't want to go through a postmortem on how you wiped out my squadron.” She looked up at him, and said, “I'm here because my desire to get revenge on the bastards who sent me up here to die is greater than my desire to punch you in the gut and watch you collapse at my feet. That situation could change.”
“I'm sure I'll be the first to know if it does,” Kani replied. “But for the record, I didn't get your squadron commander. Monty did. With one of the cleanest kills I've ever seen for a rookie, incidentally. He's going to make an outstanding fighter pilot if he lives long enough. I can say the same of you, I think. The others turned and ran, broke formation and fled to their deaths. You pressed the attack even when all hope was lost, and had the good sense to bail out of your bird before it was too late.”
“If this is some sort of a speech...”
His face growing colder, Kani said, “Look, I'm aware that everyone is here for their own reasons, and that our little fleet barely even has the pretense of being a military operation, but I need everyone here to do their job. If you can't do that, then tell me now, while there's still time to transfer you back to Polaris.”
“I know my duty, sir,” she replied. “I also know that you are desperate for any pilots you can get. You need me a lot more than I need you, and I suggest you remember that. Sir.” She walked away, moving to a viewport, watching the planet recede behind them.
“She's going to be trouble,” Nguyen said.
“No kidding,” Kani replied. “Unfortunately, she's also right. And both Saxon and Cordova cleared her. She's sincere.” Frowning, he continued, “In an ideal world, we'd post her to another ship in the fleet.”
“We'd have to have two ships to make that nice little plan work.”
“True. And she is a good pilot.” Looking at the others, he added, “What about the rest?”
“Monty's fine. A little green, but getting that first kill will do him good. Take some of the pressure off. And a pretty damn good one, at that. He even beat you to the draw.”
“Tell me about it.” Turning to the others, a man and a woman standing by themselves at the rear of the shuttle, he said, “Keller and Carr?”
“I don't know,” she replied. “I managed to get them into the simulator, and on paper they know what they are doing, but they didn't really do much in the last battle. I'm not sure they've got the spark, either of them.” Pulling out a datapad, she added, “Carr actually did do a little training, but they washed her out in the first few months. Not political, either. Smashed up a training ship and was lucky to walk away in one piece. Keller's been a shuttle pilot for ten years, has a pretty good reputation, but he's never flown anything with guns on it before.”
“And we're going up against the best fighter pilots in the Federation Fleet.”
“You and I are better. Even Voronova, though it hurts a little to admit it. And Monty's certainly got what it takes. Give him a year, and he'll be up there with the best of us. Assuming he lives that long.” She paused, then said, “Commander Curtis gave you a chance to pull out, didn't he.”
“He did.”
“We could have made it home from here. Might have taken a while, but our ships do come here every few months. One of them's due in seven weeks.”
“And we'd be sitting on our hands while Polaris and her people fought for their lives, fighting our war for us. Besides, it would just be the two of us, and I'm not really happy about tossing Voronova command of a squadron.” He cracked a thin smile, and said, “It offends my sense of professional pride.”
“Not to mention this flight of a lifetime you're promising us.”
“I told you not to dig on that,” he replied. “I'll tell you as soon as I can. Hell, I won't have to. It'll be obvious as soon as we complete Phase Two. All you need to know for now is that we're heading back to Sinaloa, and that there's something big coming up. Another good reason why we need to hang around for a while. Sooner or later one or both of us...”
“You're thinking of staying, aren't you. Switching sides.”
“Enemy of my enemy, Mel. As I was saying, soon enough we'll be trying to talk our people back home into joining the fight, and the better the odds of victory, the easier it'll be. This mission is risky as hell, but I think it's worth it.”
“Docking, sir,” Montgomery said, and the shuttle locked into place on the side of Montevideo, airlock opening to reveal Captain Hammond standing at the airlock, a frown on her face.
“Everything ready, Captain?” Kani asked.
“We're just getting the last of the equipment unloaded. It would help if we could unseal the crates. They barely fit down the lateral corridor. Or we could use one of the cargo airlocks.”
“Not an option,” Kani replied. “They've got to stay up here, right at the top of the ship, and they've got to stay in their seal all the way. What about the cargo?”
Shaking her head, Hammond replied, “I've got the loading robots working on it now. They should be about finished by the time we get to Sinaloa, but it's going to do some pretty nasty things to our center of gravity. The navigation computer's already spitting out electronic garbage at the prospect of making it to the gravitational threshold. I hope you aren't expecting any fancy flying.”
“Actually, I am, but don't worry, Captain. What I and Commander Curtis have in mind is well within the current capabilities of Montevideo.” He patted the hull, and said, “Your people?”
“Five of us. I'm going to need all of you to take your stations immediately if we're going to depart.” She frowned, then added, “We'll be on round-the-clock watches all the way.”
Clapping her on the shoulder, Kani replied, “As soon as we get to Sinaloa, you'll have a chance to relax for a while. So will we all. At least until the real fireworks start.” He walked over to a communicator, and tapped a control, saying, “Kani to Polaris.”
“Actual here. Go ahead.”
“We're all set and ready to go. The cargo shuttles will be on their way home in,” he glanced at Hammond, who held up four fingers, and continued, “four minutes. We're going to proceed to the gravitational threshold right now. Good luck.”
“And to you.”
“I guess we'd better get up to the bridge,” Hammond said, shaking her head. She looked at Kani, and said, “How bad is this going to be for my baby?”
Kani frowned, then said, “Bad. But if it makes you feel any better, Montevideo will be remembered for a very long time after all of this is over. I can promise you that much.” Looking around, he added, “Everyone to your posts on the double. Let's get this show on the road.”
Chapter 7
Michael Curtis looked at the datapad on his lap for the third time, struggling to concentrate on the latest selection of reports funneled to him by the department heads. Technically, they only needed his thumbprint before being consigned to electronic oblivion, and the temptation to simply swipe through all of them was all but impossible to resist. Somehow, though, he pressed on through the file. Oxygen consumption a little down, a few defects with waste reclamation.
His reverie was interrupted by a faint chime, someone outside his cabin, and he reached across to the panel beside his bed, opening the door. Waiting at the threshold was Petrova, as ever in her meticulous black uniform, one that he could swear had been tailored to her advantage. She walked into the room and sat at his desk, a frown on her fa
ce.
“Are you always this casual when you are off duty?”
“You should see me when I really let my hair down, Lieutenant.” He paused, then said, “There's nothing we can do until we reach our destination. It's usually a good idea to try and relax the best way you can. Going through paperwork isn't exactly my favorite occupation, but it isn't a bad method of taking your mind off things.” He looked up at her, and asked, “Isn't it a little early in my command for you to be doing a Reliability check?”
“Oh, that won't be necessary for a while. You were full evaluated before being assigned to this command. Though I must confess that your appointment came as something of a surprise to a lot of people.”
“Not you.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Your choice of words. A lot of people. You were expecting it.”
“It was a logical move for two reasons. Firstly, your father will have difficulty in shooting down a ship commanded by his son. Treason doesn't usually break down familial bonds. Second, you have been something of a protege of Admiral Yoshida, and this mission will give you a chance to make your reputation and cast off any remaining doubts about your parentage.” She paused, then said, “Tell me, Commander. What do you really think about this mission? You can speak quite freely.”
Raising an eyebrow, he added, “You're telling me that every word I utter won't appear in a formal report at some point in the next few hours?”
“I suspect you are unlikely to share with a stranger anything that I would find important enough to recommend you be stripped of command.” Folding her arms, she added, “My job, Commander, is to monitor you. Not only for reliability, but your well-being, also. I have a qualification in psychiatry. At one point I had planned to make it my profession.”
“What changed your mind? If you don't mind my asking.”
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