The Darkness: The Conglomerate Trilogy (Volume 2)

by William S Frisbee Jr

  Contents

  Copyright

  CHAPTER ONE Saving Luke

  CHAPTER TWO The Fall

  CHAPTER THREE Proud Infidel

  CHAPTER FOUR New Alamo

  CHAPTER FIVE Meetings

  CHAPTER SIX Spy

  CHAPTER SEVEN Covert Meeting

  CHAPTER EIGHT Athena

  CHAPTER NINE Sight-Seeing

  CHAPTER TEN The Topa Returns

  CHAPTER ELEVEN Topa Suresh

  CHAPTER TWELVE Topa Meeting

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN Message from Admiral Wyatt

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN New Crew

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN The Dojo

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN Debriefing

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Falla Shum

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN Chonka

  CHAPTER NINETEEN Attacked in Nani

  CHAPTER TWENTY New Teacher

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE JA Ambassador

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO Council Meeting

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE Athenian Council

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR Strike Force

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE Falla Shum's Dream

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX The Wormhole

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN To Stattdennen

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT Assassination Attempt

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE Evasions in Stattdennen

  CHAPTER THIRTY Games

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE The Topa

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO Boarding Action

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE Prisoners

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR Betrayal, by teh JA

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE Cat and Mouse

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX Battle at the Papi Wormhole

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN Reinforcements

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT Premonitions

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE Papi

  CHAPTER FORTY Dazi-Sakalli

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE The Station

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO Nameless Assassins

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE From Papi

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR Wormhole to Papi

  CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE Churen

  CHAPTER FORTY-SIX Etn Station

  CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN Neurosystem Upgrade

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT Escort to Bronkaw Prime

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE New Droids

  CHAPTER FIFTY Leonessa and Morals

  CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE Bronkaw Prime

  CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO Nalee Shipyards

  CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE Battle Singers

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR Crusader

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE Tigress

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX Trial Run

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN Invasion

  CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT Defense of Nalee Station

  CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE Debrief

  CHAPTER SIXTY Dinner Preparations

  CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE Invasion

  CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO Dinner

  CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE Bronkaw Audience

  CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR Battle Singer in Sol

  CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE Wormhole Ambush

  CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX End

  The Darkness

  By William S. Frisbee Jr.

  ARC - Advanced Reader Copy

  NOT FOR GENERAL DISTRIBUTION

  Copyright © 2017 by William S. Frisbee Jr.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means whatsoever without express written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Please refer all pertinent questions to the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  For more books or information from this author, please visit

  www.WilliamSFrisbee.com

  CHAPTER ONE

  Saving Luke

  Red flashing lights on a console were bad, the screaming of alarms even worse, but Bruce had more important things to worry about than his dying ship.

  "We've just lost the lower port side plasma lance, Captain," Jason said. "Decks two and three are open to space. There could be more missiles inbound, most sensors are scrambled."

  Bruce nodded without concern, noting Jason might be ready to panic. Here in the armored Combat Information Center (CIC) at the heart of the battle cruiser Proud Infidel, the damage was not apparent. The screaming alarms and red boards were the only sign.

  "Then our starboard side has twice the work to do. Keep firing. See if we can get our remaining primary lined up again on target two," Bruce said.

  "We need to pull back," Jason said looking at too much red on his board. This wasn't a drill. Any red was too much. "We won't be doing any good if we can't fire and half our ship is dead."

  Bruce took his eyes off the holographic display and looked at Jason. He wanted to see Jason's eyes, but his executive officer had his helmet on. Except for two gray androids, all crew members in the CIC were ensconced in their cocoons and bathed by the steady red combat lights.

  The cocoons were armored cockpits, self-contained with power and air. Computer simulated graphics made the armored sides of the cocoon look transparent so the crew could see each other. An internal network shared information independent of the rest of the ship and it also made the crew in the auxiliary bridge appear as if they were in the same room with Bruce. Besides being the Combat Information Center for the ship, the room served as the bridge.

  "We are still combat capable. Our orders were to defend this sector," Bruce said, an edge in his voice. "We lost a plasma lance and taken damage. We can still fight. This is light damage. We can handle a few old earth cruisers."

  "Four more cruisers transitioning," Erica said. She was calmer than Jason, but Bruce could hear the tension in her voice. "And six frigates."

  "That is sixteen cruisers, sir," Jason said, a tremor in his voice. "You think the rag heads have any more?"

  "I don't know," Bruce said trying to keep the emotion out of his voice. Jason had not fought them in the past and had no right to call them rag heads. This was Jason's first real fight, and he was trying Bruce's patience. For someone supposed to be an experienced officer with high marks, Jason's performance was disappointing.

  "Holy mother of God," Erica said. "Something huge is making transition. I'm reading at least ten kilometers long, maybe three kilometers wide and heavy mass. Maybe five hundred thousand gravons. Shit."

  "Maintain discipline," Bruce said checking his boards. Erica's cursing had been appropriate, but Bruce wouldn't admit to it. The Proud Infidel's mass was only twenty-four hundred gravons. The newcomer was over two hundred times more massive. Sensors indicated it was likely a hollowed-out nickel asteroid, with the outer hull still being several hundred meters thick and the inner core full of countless tunnels and caverns. The entire structure was veiled by a black cloth that was part camouflage, part heat vane and all solar panel. Underneath would be a layer of foamcrete to provide structure. The turrets and hatches were also black and made it hard to pick them out from the surrounding material. It would take several missile strikes to peel away the cloth and see what was underneath the surface.

  "Look at those mass drivers," Jason said when the telescopes focused and they could see it on their screen. "There is no freaking way. We couldn't take even a glancing hit from one of those bitches."

  "Discipline!" Bruce said, almost shouting, but calming himself. "Those guns are a kilometer long. We have to get in front of it to be in any danger. They can't rotate them to the sides and they are too far forward."

  "But the
colony sir?" Erica said.

  "Will be safe. I want an attack plan to cripple or destroy those mass drivers, there are probably two on the other side. We still have some Supaka missiles?" Bruce said, knowing the answer. They were expensive, very effective, and not been made by humans. They had already used two of them to blast apart a pair of cruisers, but Bruce preferred to use them sparingly. He was glad he had saved them now.

  "We have four, sir," Erica said. Bruce nodded, he already knew, but it showed that Erica was paying attention and her response had been quick enough.

  "One for each mass driver then," Bruce said. "Plot a solution. We can't give them time to line up a shot on New Alamo or Athena."

  "Those cruisers or frigates might intercept them," Jason said. "Save the missiles and pull back. We need to get our other plasma lance on-line. We can't fight that thing; let it duel with the battle station."

  "We run the gauntlet," Bruce said his mind plotting a path, there was nobody else that could hit the mass drivers before they fired.

  "That's suicide," Jason said. "I'm not here to die."

  "You are relieved," Bruce said, his limit reached.

  Jason stared at Bruce, unable to believe what was happening. Bruce reached over and flipped a switch, cutting Jason's survival cockpit out of the loop. The walls that once revealed Jason turned gray, leaving him isolated and alone. If he would not fight, he would not interfere either.

  "We are in combat and an order has been given. You will obey. Lieutenant Desmond, you will replace Lieutenant Commander Commancho as my second in command."

  "Aye, aye sir," Erica said.

  "Lieutenant Reeves, do you copy?" Bruce said.

  "Aye, aye Captain," Alex said from the auxiliary bridge near the rear of the ship, although he appeared to be right next to Bruce. "Lieutenant Commander Commancho is relieved of duties."

  "We have a battle to win people," Bruce said broadcasting ship wide. "It will be hard and it might kill us, but we have a lot of innocent non-combatants relying on us. We have the people of New Alamo, your brothers, sisters, parents, and children. Then there is the Athena colony. This is a fleet battle; it is like nothing we've encountered before. With that behemoth, we are outgunned. If we do not stop the Caliphate here and now, then humanity could be wiped from the face of the galaxy. I will ram that son of a bitch if it will make a difference. Today we fight, and if necessary, die. Future generations of humans will know what we do here today."

  Glancing around Bruce saw that everyone was looking at him. They didn't all have their helmets on and Bruce was satisfied they were committed. This is what he was born for. Not money grubbing mercenary work, honorable work, defending innocent people from oppressors.

  "Let's push those bastards back! Are you with me?" Bruce said almost yelling.

  His crew yelled back and Bruce smiled. It was not as fierce as he wanted, but he was not leading a battle-hardened Jupiter Alliance warship either. This vessel was a mercenary vessel and mercenaries would fight, but not die for their cause. At least that is how he had trained them. It was too late to change that now.

  There were ten crew total, nine now with Commancho out of the loop. Androids ran most systems, and in turn the androids controlled the robots and networked Artificial Intelligence engines.

  The ship rocked again as a missile detonated nearby. Point defenses must have stopped it before it got too close.

  "Minimal," Erica said. "Cruisers are moving to put themselves between us and that monster."

  "We will punch through them," Bruce said. "Can the battle station give us any support?"

  "Negative," Kevin said. "We are still out of range."

  Bruce scowled. The Proud Infidel could make at least one run on the beast but she wouldn't make it back out. If she survived, Bruce would stock his inventory with nothing but Supaka's, damn the cost.

  "Two of the newcomers are moving in our direction," Erica said. "We got tango two! Cruiser number two is bleeding atmosphere and has stopped maneuvering!"

  "Good job. Concentrate on target three now," Bruce said sitting back and looking over the plot. This was deep space. Except for the colonies and battle station, there was no cover, and at this range concealment wasn't an option, especially for Bruce's older battle cruiser. There was nothing with a sufficient gravity field to use in maneuvers either. At this range, it would be a brutal slugging match, and firepower would trump technology. Although it was almost fifty years old, Bruce's ship, the Proud Infidel, was one of the most modernized warships in New Alamo's fleet, after the Ultio, and it was more than a match for the Caliphate battle cruisers one on one. Now it was four on one, and the odds were not improving. Bruce didn't want to count the frigates.

  "Incoming transmission from New Alamo," Kevin said. Bruce saw no option other than to continue to slug it out. This was what he lived for, not mercenary work. This was fleet, and it was in his blood. He wanted to die a fleet officer, not a mercenary. He wanted to die defending others, for honor, for the future.

  "Pull back so the station can cover you," Admiral Day said. That would take them out of their assigned sector and away from where the Proud Infidel could do the most damage.

  "I will cripple the mass drivers on that behemoth," Bruce said. "I think I have the best chance and my orders were to stay in this sector as long as I can."

  Bruce thought he could hear the gears turning in the Admiral's head. Bruce's orders had not come from the Admiral who was the senior human officer of the New Alamo defense force. They didn't even come from the elected Prime Minister of New Alamo. Technically, Bruce had not been 'ordered' to fight in this sector either, but when one of the Topa, the rulers of the Conglomerate, makes a request, any military officer with half an IQ point takes it as an order. Admiral Day knew it too.

  They Topa made some very odd requests sometimes, and this was one of those times, but they paid very well.

  "Carry on," Day said. "Do what you feel is necessary."

  "Aye, aye Admiral," Bruce said grimly. Long before he had become a mercenary Captain, he had been a combat hardened line officer in the New Alamo Defense force and the Jupiter Alliance. He had fought in and survived numerous fleet actions. There was honor and purity in fleet operations, defending your home and innocent people. Mercenary work was just about killing for money.

  "Another cruiser is breaking apart," Erica reported.

  "Excellent," Bruce said noting it on the display. There were still too many. The Proud Infidel had better shields and weapons but was not indestructible.

  "We are at maximum range for the Supakas," Erica said and Bruce nodded. A squadron of drone fighter craft moved into the sector and savaged the frigates Bruce had been ignoring. This caused the cruisers to stop concentrating on the Proud Infidel to protect their frigates. It was breathing room Bruce was glad to have. The Proud Infidel slid a little closer to her target.

  "Four more battle cruisers are changing course for us," Erica said. "They are accelerating."

  "Looks like we have their attention it appears," Bruce said, someone over there was paying attention and saw him preparing to make a run. Just a little closer and he would order the launch of the Supakas. There would only be a single run on the behemoth and it would have to count. Ramming it might inflict damage but he didn't have a good angle on it and if it was as armored as he suspected, ramming it would not be fatal.

  Bruce nodded and observed two more fighter squadrons from the New Alamo coming into his sector. It looked like the Admiral was doing what he could to help. Fighters just did not have the firepower needed to stop a Caliphate battle cruiser but they could wipe out any missile volleys and threaten frigates. The rest of New Alamo's fleet was trying to protect Athena, which was right in the juggernaut's path and the focus of the large majority of cruisers. Already the juggernaut was launching shuttles. At least the juggernaut was not trying to destroy Athena.

  Bruce heard the fighting was still ongoing in the corridors and habitats of the Athena colony. It would get even m
ore intense as the Caliphate troops learned they would get reinforcements. Someone had said they had been fighting non-stop for a day.

  The juggernaut lit up with a power spike. It looked like it was firing. Bruce calculated the range and direction. It was firing on the Bronkaw made battle station that was chewing up and spitting out Caliphate cruisers and frigates. Bruce winced. That was extreme long range, but then the battle station was immobile and could not dodge. Magnetic fields might provide protection, but not enough.

  "Another emergence," Erica said. "An odd signal," she paused tilting her head think about it. "Initiating target lock."

  "God dammit!" Bruce said aloud, his frustration getting the better of him. When were the bastards going to run out of ships? It could not be another juggernaut. That would just be too much, hadn't the Jupiter Alliance been fighting at all? How had the Caliphate assembled such a fleet?

  "Looks like the wreckage of a Conglomerate style vessel and a Caliphate battle cruiser,"

  "Coming out of the wormhole?" Bruce said looking at the display, hoping for more data to make sense out of it. A telescope focused on it and zoomed in, displaying the results on a large screen. Why was a Conglomerate ship coming from Sol?

  "It is the Leonis Ultio!" Erica said. "She's firing on the juggernaut!"

  Bruce smiled. "Hot damn, Luke is trying to get another medal. That damn glory hound! Get him on comm if you can."

  "That is a lot of damage," Erica said scanning the Ultio. "That ship has been through hell, and there is a Caliphate cruiser embedded in her, looks like a low speed impact." The Proud Infidel shook as missiles exploded. Bruce would not worry about it. Either the shields and point defense turrets kept them safe, or they did not.

  "The Ultio is accelerating!" Erica said, struggling to keep the excitement out of her voice.

  "Son of a. . ." Bruce saw the only possible outcome. From behind was the only angle it would work.

  "The Ultio's plasma lances are scoring major damage on the juggernaut, one engine has failed on the juggernaut," Erica said. The Proud Infidel shook again. Bruce checked the board. That was the last of the Caliphate missile volley. Missiles were being expelled from the Ultio as fast as they could be pushed out, but there weren't a lot.