“Bring him up, but audio only,” Lee replied the pilot. “Tell him I’m in the shower or something. I don’t want him to know I’m out here.”
“Aye,” replied Goldstein. “Patching him through.”
Lee waited as the signal was routed through the battleship’s antennae. It had been a few months since he had seen Captain Dalton. He knew Dalton was a man who held to his duty and honor like no one else. He had a loyalty to an ideal his father had lost sight of long ago, but that he clung to like a child to his father’s hand. If they had sent Dalton to destroy the Barathists, the battle would be swift and deadly. A quick check of the tactical area and he saw the Barathists’ ships moving to intercept the newcomers.
Dalton’s voice interrupted his thoughts with a sudden crack. “Captain Pearce. Why aren’t you transmitting visual?”
“Commodore Dalton,” Lee said, trying to calm his voice. “What a surprise. I’m afraid you caught me just waking up and I’m not really—”
“Can it, Lee. I can see that shiny bucket you call an Eagle on our scanners. Why are you in attack formation with the Barathists?”
“Franklin, we are not in formation with anyone,” Lee said. “The Barathists have a right to defend themselves against the Alliance. You saw what they did to the Ixloab. We’re here looking for someone who might get us all out of this mess.”
“And I’m here looking for you,” Dalton replied. “Lee Pearce, you are ordered to stand down and surrender yourself to the Alliance and be held for trial on charges of treason and collusion with the enemy.”
Lee was shocked. He should have seen the obvious. The Alliance had sent Trinity and its support vessels to destroy the Ixloab. Zeus was a powerful ship, more than capable of destroying Resolute with the fighter complement and offensive weaponry, but wouldn’t make much difference to the Barathists planetary encampment. The ship had not been sent to destroy the Vadne separatists, it had been sent to capture Resolute and take him back for trial and here he was in a lone fighter in space held by enemies of the Alliance and facing down a friend with superior firepower.
“Commodore,” Lee started. “I don’t think you understand—”
“Lee, quit with the commodore stuff,” Dalton replied. “You know they discontinued that rank when the Alliance took over. Now, are you going to come in or am I going to have to launch fighters and drag your sorry ass back to Earth?”
“Dalton, wait,” Lee said, trying to keep an eye on a Vadne cruiser which was maneuvering closer to the Alliance carrier. “I’m coming back to Earth on my own and I’m bringing evidence which might clear Admiral Chang.”
“Chang?” Dalton replied over the comm. “What does he have to do with anything? Trinity is taking him back to Earth for trial. If you have evidence in that case, they can hear it from prison. Otherwise, you need to bring that ship onto my flight deck and—”
A high pitched squeal came over the comm. Lee shut the sound off, trying to find the source on his tactical area map. The Vadne cruiser which had been gaining ground on Zeus had fired something at the carrier. His display lit up with a scan of the carrier and the damage created by a long rod which had been fired through it. Vadne weapons used the projectiles like spears, cutting through hulls, and it had pierced the ship straight through.
“Josh!” Lee shouted. “Get me that ship!”
The display showed extensive damage to the Alliance ship, but she was still alive. The projectile had missed the vital M-space engine area, breaching the primary computer core and disabling communications. The ship had back-ups, but the damage would make the switch much harder to perform. A low hum came over his speaker and a familiar voice echoed in the cockpit.
The smug voice of the Vadne cruiser’s captain slid over him. “Captain Pearce. You see, I was right. You Terrans are nothing compared to the might of Baratha and the Vadne. When I finish with this ship of destruction, I will come for you and your pitiful ship. Until then, watch the end of your Alliance.”
The signal cut out and Lee was left again in silence. He watched as another projectile launched from the cruiser. This time, though, one of the support ships accompanying Zeus intercepted the shot with a perfectly aimed missile. An eruption of signals came from the mouth of Zeus as fighter wings were launched after the Barathist ships.
“Captain?” Jackal’s voice came over his comm in a panic. “What do we do?”
“Resolute,” Lee said, opening his comm channels wide. “Defend Zeus and the other Alliance ships. Demons, target that damn Barathist’s ship and bring it down. I don’t want this to end this way.”
“Roger,” Jackal replied crisply, an edge of danger back in her voice as she prepared to engage the other ship. “What about you?”
“I’ll be right behind you.”
Lee switched the comm off and hit the thrusters. The drive on his Eagle had been reworked by the trans-dimensional creatures known as the Engineers. He had once taken the ship faster than he had ever wanted to go and he had a healthy respect for the ship’s capabilities. He armed his weapons and began targeting Barathist ships. As the first cruiser retargeted the Alliance ships, more Vadne ships were flying in to assist. Lee began to search for targets he could clear quickly.
There was a small vessel, not much larger than an escort, struggling to make up space between the cruisers and the Alliance. Lee saw the Demons arc away in battle formation, aiming their ships like a sword straight at the larger cruiser. Lee goosed the throttle a bit more, pointing his nose straight at the escort. The ship was an older model Vadne ship which, based on its hull scarring, had seen its share of battle. Lee powered up his shield array and armed the plasma cannons. As he entered firing range, he loosed a short burst to warn the vessel to move off.
Instead of turning, the enemy ship swerved hard to port and flipped over. Lee was now presented with a lower profile to the vessel and one he would have a difficult time targeting. The armor on the pointed nose of the ship was thick and looked as if it had been reinforced many times. A projectile, fired at high speed, whipped from the escort straight at Lee. A quick flip of his controls and the Eagle twisted around the missile’s trajectory and past it. With an inverted roll, Lee targeted the rod as it passed above his head and fired. Plasma lanced out and engulfed the projectile, melting the material and reducing its flight to a slow tumble.
The tactic had been sound, but it placed him in the line of a plasma stream from the escort. The commander of the vessel was showing a battle readiness he hadn’t seen in many Vadne. Whoever it was, Lee was glad it was him who had engaged the ship. He would rather have risked his own life than the lives of any of his crew out here. His ship rumbled as it absorbed the plasma burst. He pushed the throttle more, nearing the max safe speed of his fighter while staying sub-luminal. He pushed the controls down hard, taking a near ninety-degree turn away from the escort.
Unable to counter the move, the escort shot under the fighter. Lee’s inertial compensator was straining and he felt his fighter protesting against the hard maneuvers. It seemed the pilot wasn’t the only thing rusty on the mission. He shut down the engine and allowed the ship to fly at speed unpowered. A tap of his controls flipped his ship over and pointed the nose back to the escort. He released a full volley of red-orange plasma at the enemy ship, scorching the hull and illuminating the shields. His ship quickly analyzed the image and found two weak spots in the ship’s hull he would need to exploit.
Before he could target the ship again, the vessel spun hard and turned back upwards toward Lee. A series of projectiles were launched, each fired in a different direction and at a slower pace than the others. The Eagle was still flying backwards while pointing at the escort, and it became clear the shots were designed to limit his movement. Move in any direction and he would impact one of the flying rods. Even with his advanced shields, he doubted he could handle an impact from a dense material like the projectiles. Instead, he allowed himself to drift backwards further and the projectiles to chase. He targeted three of
the rods and opened up his cannons. The metal was reduced to slag as it came at him. He pushed the throttle hard and felt the change in inertia in his shoulder straps.
The Eagle shot forward, cannons firing at the escort. The opening created by the melted metal was just large enough for his ship to fly through. As he passed, one of the melted rods impacted his ship, sending blue sparks into space as it slid away from the molecularly bonded hull. His heads-up showed no damage to the ship. The escort, however, was showing signs of an unstable engine core. Lee toggled his comms and tried to call the other ship.
“Barathist ship,” Lee called. “I have no desire to destroy you. You have an overheated engine core. Break off and withdraw.”
Instead of pulling away, the escort continued to fly straight at Lee. The readings from the ship were showing the engine going critical. Lee pulled up hard, not wanting to be near the ship if it blew up. But instead of erupting in a ball of atmosphere and flame, the ship turned up sharply towards Lee, firing a projectile directly in Lee’s path. He had been drawn in by a false reading and played right into the enemy’s hands. He pulled back on his throttle hard, reversing thrust and pushing himself through the straps.
A loud clatter went through his ship as the rod impacted on the nose. Lee’s systems went down and he was in the dark coffin of a dead ship. Back-up systems snapped on, but the moments he spent in the dark were almost too much. He had once been sealed in a coffin and fired at a star; the experience had left him with an anxiety he had not yet conquered.
As the ship powered up, he saw the escort closing in. Weapons were taking too long to come on-line. He was a sitting duck. The nearest help was on the other side of the battle, Demon Squadron struggling with the cruiser. Zeus’ fighters were engaging the Barathists everywhere, but none of them were close enough to help. He looked back at the display and watched as the escort closed, not wanting to die before having delivered the data back to Resolute.
A blinding flash erupted on his screen as the escort seemed to tear itself apart. Gasses and plasma enveloped the vessel as it passed to either side of Lee’s Eagle. His fighter’s shields, having priority over other defensive systems, had come on just in time to deflect most of the damage, but the screen once again went blank as the impacts overloaded them again. A crackle of static popped over the speaker, a familiar voice echoed in the dark cockpit.
“Did ya miss me?” Connor Jakes said. “I thought ya might need some help so I paid attention and came after you. Good thing, too. You’re a bit slow these days, Lee. Gettin’ old or somethin’. Good thing it don’t seem to have affected me.”
“Connor?” Lee asked, trying to spot the Sweet Liberty Too on his screen. “Where the hell did you come from? I can’t see you on scanners.”
“That’s the idea,” Jakes replied. “Now if you’re done chattin’, I think Zeus could use your help.”
“I’m on it. And thanks.”
“No problem,” Jakes said. “You owe me another one.”
Lee cycled his engines back up and spotted the carrier. The damage the Vadne cruiser had inflicted on it didn’t seem to be affecting the ship’s ability to defend itself, but there was a swarm of smaller ships attacking her. Lee pushed his throttle forward and re-activated his weapons. The near-death experience had scared him more than he wanted to admit, and he couldn’t help glancing to find Alice and her fighter, still in formation with Jackal. It was an important lesson about flying alone and being arrogant. He just wished he hadn’t had to re-learn it now. As he approached the nearest of the Barathist ships, a new crackle of static came over his comm.
“…to all Barathist ships in orbit of Grakii, this is Gourahaardt, your leader. Stand down and do not engage the Alliance vessels. We are followers of a different path and these people are not here for us. Let them take their prize and leave us before we show them the error of their ways…”
The ships fighting Zeus and Resolute immediately broke off the engagement. The cruiser which had fired on the carrier was dead in space, having taken the full brunt of the attack from the Demons in the opening wave. As Lee watched, the ship listed over. Its power systems were flickering, but staying high enough to keep the life-support operational. Lee powered down his weapons but kept the shields on-line. As he watched, the Barathist ships pulled back from the Alliance ships. The Demons followed long enough to be sure it wasn’t a feint and then turned back to Resolute.
“Lee?” Alice’s voice rang out over the comm. “Lee, are you alright?”
“I’m fine, Princess, but the ship might need a good buffing out.”
When we get back to the ship I will personally oversee the repairs, and you are going to be there. Do you understand?”
“It might take a bit, Alice,” Lee replied, understanding what his fiancée had just offered. “Goldstein, can you reach Zeus?”
“I’ve got a data signal only, Captain,” replied the acting captain of Resolute.
“That’ll be enough. Signal my surrender. Tell them I’m coming aboard.”
“Lee, no!” Alice’s voice crackled over the comm, her shock obvious. “You can’t!”
“It’s the best way to end this, Princess. I’ve got to go over there and talk some sense into them.”
“At least let us escort you in, Captain,” Jackal interrupted. “It’s the least we can do.”
“Negative,” Lee said. “You get back to Resolute and get ready to leave. If this goes bad, I want all of you safe. That’s an order.”
“Aye, Captain,” replied the fighter pilot.
“Lee?”
“No, Alice. That means you too,” Lee said. “Josh, have they replied to the signal?”
“Yes sir,” Goldstein said. “They’re waiting for you in hangar two.”
“Good. One last thing,” Lee said. “See if you can find Connor Jakes. I think I’m about to owe him again.”
22
Alliance Carrier Zeus
The bare walls of the interrogation room aboard Zeus reminded Lee of the sterile chamber where his father’s body was being held aboard Resolute. Subdued lighting and very little furniture gave the stark room the air of a mausoleum. It suited Lee’s mood just fine as he scratched at the back of his hand. A low hum of white noise blocked out all sound from outside the room. Every effort had been made to make the place feel cold and isolated. For Lee, it made him feel as though he was locked in another coffin, and he didn’t like it.
Upon arriving in the hangar bay, Lee was taken from his ship and brought to the perfectly square room. As the guards moved him, he watched the flight deck crew trying to load his ship onto a tractor for storage and lockdown. The molecularly bonded hull thwarted all attempts to move the silver ship, and as he was brought through the airlock, he saw the crew balancing the ship between two tractors and hooking a magnetic grapple to its damaged nose. It was a safe assumption he would not be using the ship to leave Zeus in case an escape was necessary.
The one thing which helped to relieve his anxiety about the mission, though, was the apparent safety of the Barathists. As he maneuvered his ship into the hangar, he had scanned the area and witnessed the retreat of the ships. Even the aggressive cruiser which had been disabled was being towed by their fellow ships toward the planet. If Lira and his signal was keeping Trinity away, then he could breathe a little easier. If not, he hoped the cultists’ small fleet would be enough to keep them safe. The whole mystery was becoming too much for Lee to bear, and now he seemed to be out of the fight.
An electronic beep preceded the door opening on the far wall. Flanked by two guards, Captain Franklin Dalton stepped into the small room. The guards immediately held their weapons upright, not threatening directly, but indicating their willingness to use them. Dalton wore no sidearm, but looked angry enough to beat Lee himself. He stepped to the small table and took the chair opposite Lee. The two men stared at each other, neither wanting to start the conversation they each knew they had to have. Not wanting to prolong the moment, Lee spoke first.
“Dalton, you’ve got to listen,” Lee began. “I am not committing treason or anything else against anyone. I’m trying to find out what happened at the peace conference.”
“Lee Pearce, it is my duty to inform you that you are under arrest on charges of treason against the state and collusion with enemy forces,” Dalton replied. “You will be taken from this place and tried in a court of your peers on Earth, where you will be sentenced to life in prison—”
“Franklin, dammit,” Lee shouted. “Quit with the party line and listen to me. Chang is being set up and so am I. Don’t you see how the Alliance has been acting lately?”
“The Alliance hasn’t had time to act oddly, Lee. The whole organization is only a few months old. We haven’t even had time to set up the rules and boundaries for the fleet.”
“Come on,” Lee begged. “You know as well as I do the slaughter of the Ixloab was out of line for any fleet. Those people weren’t a threat to the Alliance. They were just a bunch of religious nuts trying to—”
“They were responsible for the bombing that killed your father,” Dalton said, stopping Lee in his tracks. “I’ve seen the evidence, Lee. While you’ve been out here cutting deals with the terrorists, I’ve been back home reading reports and examining the evidence. I know you were there before Trinity arrived, Lee. I saw your ship leave just as the fleet arrived.”
“I was there, yes. I wasn’t making deals with terrorists. I was looking for the evidence Ron left with one of his operatives. Lellda, you know the ensign from Baal? She was sent out here and we needed to get her. She held evidence of something the admiral was involved in. I can show you.”
“I don’t want to see anything,” Dalton said, rising to his feet to leave. “You’re under arrest and we’re taking you and your ship back to Earth. I came down here to see if you had anything to say.”
Resolute Alliance (The War for Terra Book 6) Page 18
