Edge of the Vortex

by Donald B McFarlane

  Joe smiled and shook his head while leaning forward. “And how do we do that?”

  “That is the question.” The Admiral looked at the ceiling of the space they were in, then back down and locked eyes with Joe. “Let’s make the trip to Mella II, then start planning, and remember, it’s only been three days.”

  Joe nodded in agreement, then looked at the Admiral when the most obvious question popped into his head that should have been asked ages ago. “Why are you helping us? Not with dealing with the conspiracy, but with taking back Earth?”

  The Admiral hesitated a moment before responding. “I believe in honour, and also repaying debts. Master Doctor Prure saved my life many years ago. When the Epsilon crashed on Terra, with him onboard, it was you, the rest of your team and humanity that saved him. To me, that is a debt that I owe to Terra. I owe Prure my life, and you saved him. Now I must return the honour to the best of my abilities.”

  Joe smiled. “An entire for one person’s life.” He shook his head. “That’s quite an exchange.”

  The Admiral tilted his head to one side. “Maybe.”

  25

  Prince Rupert, British Columbia

  19 January

  The train that was promised by John Robert arrived within twenty-two hours of the telephone conversation. The giant red 23-metre behemoth rolled into the Prince Rupert station with a single passenger carriage attached to the rear of the GE Transportation Systems Evolution Series diesel-electric train.

  When the beast finally came to a halt, the two engineers came down from the cab and looked at Keegan who was holding hands with his wife Ryan, and then the Canadian soldiers, and then the Alliance troops in their battle armour.

  “One of you Beck?” One of the engineers asked.

  Keegan stepped forward. “Yes.”

  The man nodded his head. “Okay then.” The engineer looked around the small station, and at the rail tracks that led off up the coast, and then back down the section they had approached on. “We’re going to need some time to get the engine turned around. There’s a turntable further ahead. We’ll disconnect the passenger compartment and leave it here, and go up and get ourselves turned around.”

  The men didn’t wait for a reply. They walked over to the rear of the large engine and quickly went about the task of unhooking the locomotive section from the rear passenger section which was a refurbished 1950s streamlined silver compartment measuring twenty-five metres long.

  Keegan tilted his head to one side and looked at Ryan. “I suppose we should get on board and get out of this weather.”

  Ryan nodded and walked towards the only visible door for the train, located just behind the point where the two trains met.

  Keegan looked over at Captain Joyce. “What do you think?”

  The Canadian officer looked up into the sky, then back down at Keegan. “If the opposition doesn’t mind us going about our business, I think we’ll be fine.” He looked at the train. “This thing isn’t exactly small, but hopefully we can stay off their radar.”

  Star Guard Hulo walked up to Keegan. “Considering the distances required, environmental conditions, and enemy control of the skies, this is our only real option to get to the target area for the next phase of transport.”

  26

  Traxis

  19 January

  When Rhea reached her quarters on the Epsilon, it was just as she had left them before they had boarded the derelict ship off Pisi. Joe had already gone through the process of removing the personal effects of Doctor Ji-woon and Lysa Jannsen from their quarters. It was a team that was slowly falling apart at the seams, and now without a world to return to, she wasn’t sure where the road she was on would end.

  The task of continuing the investigation into the reason that the war had been dragged out so long had been left to her, Royal Inspector Wey and Estiva Controller Roper Daz. Rhea had confidence that both men were above reproach, she just had a little apprehension about going on this journey without Joe. At least the crew of the Epsilon was with her, she thought to herself. She had caught a quick glance of the Sentinel Commander in the station’s massive hangar bay when she had boarded, he was always a welcome sight.

  After dropping off her kit, Rhea headed to the bridge to find the bridge crew at their stations preparing to depart for Mechcharga. Ranix was in his command chair going over a data pad, while the rest of the crew monitored their stations. The Epsilon had received enough repairs since the tussle with the Inquisitor ships and its dramatic escape from Earth to make the ship operational, everyone had been reassured that the ship was fully operational, even if it had some superficial damage left to be smoothed out.

  Royal Inspector Wey and Estiva Controller Roper Daz were stood at the rear of the bridge, observing the crew in action. Wey struck Rhea as cold, calculating and stand-offish, and that wasn’t because his skin was almost jet black in colour, it was his almost clinical approach to his work coupled with an indifferent attitude of superiority. Daz, on the other hand, had a much more relaxed appearance and attitude, even though he wore the same uniform as Daz. Wey had a manner that tried to give others around him the impression that he didn’t care and he was not concerned with the daily affairs of his job, but as the Royal Inspector he was one of the most influential people in the Alliance, and that was a position not reached by being slack.

  They were a slightly odd duo, Rhea thought, observing them from her perch. A bit of a yin and yang. Neither appeared to carry any form of weapon, which did make Rhea wonder how things would unfold on Mechcharga if a show of force were necessary. She knew that those at the heart of the conspiracy were ready to kill to fulfil their goals, but she wasn’t sure yet just how far they’d go.

  And the other member of the group joining the Epsilon was the unspoken member. The captive Inquisitor locked in one of the empty crew quarters. While the being had put on a strong face before Admiral Taark and the rest of those trying to sniff out what was going on, he cracked quickly when the Sentinel Commander offered to use his rather unsubtle methods of influence to extract information. Rhea supposed that everyone had their limits.

  When the ship finally departed the station, it made its way in the usual fashion that Rhea was getting used to of queuing up for a slot in this or that jump-box. Off Traxis there were several such boxes, and Rhea watched the main display screen as the Epsilon lined up four thousand metres behind another ship and waited for their slot. An announcement came over the ships PA system letting the crew know the time until jump and their destination, which had already been mentioned. Rhea looked around the bridge once more. There wasn’t another human face in sight. Sarah Chan and Jose Berenguer had decided to go with Joe and document what may be Earth’s only chance to free itself from the clutches of the Coalition. This was Rhea’s rodeo, as Joe had put it.

  The ship that was in line in front of them finally disappeared from the small looking jump box and the Epsilon moved into position. Rhea knew that she didn’t need to be strapped in for the jump, but she took the effort to lean back against the section of panelling where she was and crossed her arms. It had been several days since she had actually feared that she and Joe might come to their ends, just like Charles and Lysa. Now she was jumping back into the lion's den, and she wasn’t sure what to expect.

  Yuli came over the ship’s intercom as she did before every jump and started her countdown. When the count-down stopped, the ship jumped. The distance of over three hundred light years passed in the blink of an eye, and the darkness of space that was filled only with stars was replaced by the giant green ball that was Mechcharga, floating in space before the ship.

  Like the last time the ship had arrived at the capital of the Etelainen, they were greeted with the usual hostility by the local security forces, but this time they had Royal Inspector Wey with them, and with just the lightest tap on a communicator on his belt, the security ships backed off, and the Epsilon was given free reign.

  “Ship Master, why don’t you put us in
orbit.” Wey suggested and walked over to where Rhea was standing, Daz right behind him. “What do you think?” He asked, standing rather close to Rhea while surveying the bridge.

  Rhea rocked her head from side to side. “We should make contact with those that contacted us while we were on the planet the first time. The Elder’s, Councilmen, service members. Everyone that we can trust needs to be spoken with as soon as possible. If the conspirators are covering up their tracks, just like Toup Ra, then there’s no telling how many of them are already dead.” She rubbed her right eyebrow with her left forefinger and looked at Wey. “And we need to get in touch with the commander of the supply ship.” She shook her head. “I can’t remember his name at present.”

  Daz stepped forward. “Don’t worry, we have all the names that you and Colonel Hunt gathered. I do agree that until we know the full scope of the conspiracy, we should consider ourselves, and our contacts in jeopardy.” He looked back towards the front of the bridge. “We don’t have the most formidable warship so we must do our best as to not stir the ire of those we have under investigation, or attract too much attention.” He looked at Wey. “Something not so simple with the Royal Inspector present.”

  Wey nodded. “Very true. I have informed my office to wipe all my movements from recent Alliance travel logs, including the authorisation for our trip to Mechcharga that I just sent to that security ship.” He looked at Rhea then back to Daz, “But on the Royal grounds I will be recognised, so I shall remain with the ship during your investigation and work from here.” He brought his finger up to his lips. “We can use the ship to get our contacts off world. You,” he pointed at Rhea, “Will find them, then bring them here. Once we have collected everyone and depending on the information we gather, we shall proceed with the investigation.”

  27

  Mechcharga

  20 January

  “They’re back.” Royal Councillor Valoris said.

  Admiral Lex shook his head. “Can we confirm that?”

  “Yes. The ship touched down at the Royal Docks this morning, and the female Terran exited and is making her way through the Royal quarter in search of those that she had made contact with last time.” High Councillor Omeg Zaloo answered from his slouched position on a soft couch.

  “We should never have trusted your Inquisitors,” Lex said. “They were too cautious, and look where we are now.”

  “Where are we now?” Asked Royal Councillor Valoris. “What do we really know? They’ve spoken to a few individuals, most of whom have been taken care of. If anything, the Inquisitors allowed us the opportunity to see where they went and in the end,” he shrugged. “I’m not sure they learnt that much. And if they did learn anything, where is their proof? If they had credible evidence of something surely, they would have sent the Royal Guard after us, but nothing.” He walked across the room to a large window that looked out onto the Royal Gardens. “The Terrans have bigger problems. The Coalition has seised their home-world. They don’t have time to worry about us.”

  28

  Earth Orbit/Australia

  20 January

  Base Commander Sajoba had kept a close eye on the Windstalkers he had deposited on Terra from his large quarters aboard the Lone Hunter. Sector Commander Varus had given him a severe dressing down after he had learned that Sajoba had deployed the biological weapons to the surface, but had not insisted that the weapons be recalled or destroyed. As the second in command for the entire operation, Sajoba’s quarters doubled as a mini-command and control station, and from there he had monitored the progress of the systems.

  The first set of eggs hatched a little off schedule, but that was due to local weather conditions, but that didn’t concern Sajoba. He had launched a single reconnaissance drone down to the planet’s surface to keep a check on developments, and once all the eggs had hatched, they did what they were bred to do, they started to move in the direction of the large city that they were located just outside of.

  Sajoba was fairly confident that the Windstalkers had never been used against such a densely populated area before, and he did not expect that they’d be able to eradicate all the locals without suffering some severe losses, but he was confident that the creatures would put a perpetual fear into the souls of the inhabitants.

  The town of Woottating was the first in the path of the Windstalkers that were already pushing speeds of 30 kilometres per hour as they rushed west. The town was on flat ground and made up of patches of dust, desert, and woodland with two dozen single story homes. It was a cattle town, and the four-hundred Windstalkers made quick work of every living mammal in the town, man, woman, child, cow, and even the dogs.

  A few of the last humans to be killed managed to get off the odd rifle shot, and even if the rounds hit home, they lacked the punch to cause any real damage on the creatures. The shots did, however, alert a lone driver that was heading towards Woottating along the Great Southern Highway. The driver stopped his pickup in the middle of the road and paused just long enough to catch sight of a horde of ungodly creatures rushing twenty abreast and twenty deep towards him.

  Putting his truck in reverse, the driver slammed his foot on the accelerator while reaching for his CB radio. Squeezing the controller, he called out in a panic what he saw before his eyes. He kept shouting into the radio until he accidentally reversed into a ditch along the side of the road, which stopped the truck dead in its tracks.

  Shaking his head to come to terms with his situation, the man looked at the radio, and then down at the CB unit on his dash and turned it to the emergency services channel that was primarily used to report fires in this dry part of Australia. Once the channel was selected, he brought his gaze back up to the road just in time for him to see the first Windstalker jump onto the hood of his wrecked truck before a second monster ploughed its head through the driver’s side window before dispatching the driver. The driver had kept his hand tightly clenched around the microphone the entire time, and anyone listening would have heard the last blood-curdling screams of a dying man.

  But those screams were not in vain. The closest police station was just thirty-three kilometres down the road, located at 7250 Great Eastern Highway in the town of Mundaring, and on that morning, the station was fully manned, and the head dispatcher was there to hear the panicked call from the man just east of their position.

  Without hesitation, the entire station was put on alert. Ever since the planet had fallen to the Coalition and Sydney had been destroyed, the local police forces of Australia had gone into full post-apocalyptic mode, and had started to prepare for the worst. The collapse of society as they knew it hadn’t happened yet, but there had been a considerable amount of panic in Perth, the closest major city. Without instruction from the outside world, the police force in Mundaring had started to ready themselves for whatever may come next, whether that be an alien invasion or a massive level of social unrest, either way, the chief of police, and the local inhabitants had come together to ready themselves. They were a hardy bunch. Children learned to shoot from a young age, and the women and men could all handle themselves in the harsh conditions that Western Australia threw at them.

  “This is it.” The chief said to his gathered deputies. “Hit the village alarm. Have everyone old enough to carry a weapon arm themselves.” He looked around the room at his fellow officers. “The war has finally come to us.”

  29

  Earth Orbit

  21 January

  Sector Commander Varus was sitting on the bridge in his large command chair where he was found every day at the same time reviewing recent logs and action reports. The first information he read was covering the Coalition assets in the system, which were considerably smaller than the fleet he had jumped in with. In addition to the ships he had patrolling the system, he had droids and some organic forces on the surface of the planet in four locations.

  The first location was the barrier generator hub located in the middle of one of the large northern continents. The second
most important facility was the mine where the mineral they sought was located, while the final two sites were located on extremely remote islands, Amsterdam and Selkirk, in the southern hemisphere. After the initial invasion, and destruction of the planets six most populous cities by continent and the subsequent EMP’ing of the world, there had almost been no resistance to the very limited occupation.

  Ships still moved about under the power of the wind on the seas, and the occasional old aircraft made it into the air for a short flight, often ended by an automated flight drone that would drop down from orbit and obliterate the craft. Most land travel had been restricted as a result of the EMP blast, and Varus was confident that there was no possible resistance in existence to his control over the world.

  After reading over the report he carried on to the most recent updates on mineral levels that had been extracted from the planet’s surface, and while those levels were within the expected levels, they were at the bottom end, which did not bode well for him, but worse for his second in command, Sajoba whose action set the chain of events in motion that brought them to where they were.