by Ellis,Tripp
“What are the brown marks for?”
“Those are turds. A safe landing—but you certainly don’t get any points for them.”
“How would you grade my landing?”
“You’d have to ask the LSO.”
Commander Walker stepped to the quarterdeck. Presley’s eyes lit up with joy when she saw him. She raced over and gave him a hug. Tim was right behind her.
He hugged them both. Then his eyes looked for Lauren. “Where’s your mother?”
Tim and Presley hung their heads.
Walker grimaced. “I’m so sorry.”
Their eyes filled again and Walker gave them a group hug. “I’m here for you both. Whatever you need. Whenever you need it.”
Presley nodded. “I want you to meet a friend of mine. This is Levi.”
Walker shook his hand. “Nice to meet you, Levi.”
“It’s a pleasure, sir.”
“Let me find you a place to stay, then I’ll introduce you to Captain Slade.” Walker glanced at the MAC 626. Then he looked to Presley. “You fly that?”
She nodded.
“Not bad.” Walker grinned. His mobile device buzzed with an incoming message. It was Presley’s frantic plea for help. It had been bouncing around space until now. “Might want to get a new mobile carrier.”
42
Revenant
In the CIC, a tinny voice crackled over the comm system. “I am Commander Hyl’al. On behalf of the Emperor, I offer the unconditional surrender of the fleet.”
The CIC erupted with cheers.
“A wise choice,” said Slade. “Prepare the release of all prisoners, and instruct the rest of the fleet to do the same.”
“As you command.”
“Any hostility will be met with prompt and utter destruction. Are we clear?”
“Yes.” Hyl’al said.
“Standby for further instructions.” Slade ended the communication.
“What are we going to do with them?” Zoey asked.
Slade shrugged. “Once they disarm and we get our prisoners back, they can go home. But they’re not taking their warships with them.” Slade grinned. “We’ve got a fleet to rebuild. Those ships might give us a nice head start.”
Zoey smiled.
Another voice crackled over the comm line. “USS Revenant, this is Major General Gary McMahon of the UPDF Global Strike Command. Do you copy?”
“Revenant actual. This is Captain Slade.”
“Can you confirm the surrender?”
“Yes. We’ve disabled the enemy fleet.”
McMahon sighed with relief. Slade heard him bark commands to his team. “Abort mission. I repeat, abort Operation Firestarter.”
“What is Operation Firestarter?” Slade asked.
“Counterstrike. In the event the planet is overrun, we nuke the shit out of them. It gives us a high enemy bodycount and makes the planet less desirable.” He almost sounded disappointed that he wasn’t going to get to scorch New Earth.
McMahon was safe and sound 2000 feet underground in the Strategic Defense Command headquarters in Blackhawk Mountain. They had enough food, water, and supplies to last 20 years underground. 25-ton blast doors shielded the entrance tunnels. Airborne filtration systems could mitigate nuclear, biological, or chemical contaminants. It was the perfect place to ride out nuclear armageddon.
Slade seemed a little dismayed. “Was any consideration given to the potential civilian body count?”
“I don’t make policy, Captain. I just follow orders.”
“Well, there’s no need for Operation Firestarter now.”
“For the moment, I agree,” the general said. “But I don’t take my orders from you.” There was a smug tone in his voice. “If I’m correct, you no longer have a commission in the Navy. Aren’t you a convicted felon?”
Slade had just saved New Earth, and this guy was giving her grief. “While you may be technically correct, I have the only star destroyer left in the Federation. I have a crew that is loyal to me. As far as I’m concerned, I am the Navy.”
The general muttered something under his breath, then terminated the transmission.
With the absence of President Amado, the Joint Planetary Operations Command, and several of the senior staff, there was a definite power vacuum. McMahon was tucked away at the base of a mountain with control over New Earth’s nuclear weapons. The thought of a power grab must have crossed his mind.
“Zoey, get in contact with Site X at Stone Raven.”
“What’s that, sir?”
“An Emergency Operations Center. Until President Amado relocated to the USS Devastator, Stone Raven was the primary alternate command and control facility. If there is anybody left in the line of succession, they’ll be at Site X.”
“Line of succession?”
“Right now, we’re a Federation without a president.”
Zoey got someone from Stone Raven on the line. The Secretary of Transportation, Anthony Perez, had been sworn in as Acting President. He was eager to take Slade’s call. “I guess I have you to thank for saving New Earth.”
“I’m just one of about 1400 people that made that possible.”
“The Federation is forever indebted to you.”
“Thank you, Mr. President.”
“Please, call me Tony. This is just a temporary position until Amado returns. I’ve spoken with General Andrew Stubbs. UPDF Army FORSCOM. He’s heading up ground operations. He says the Decluvians are cooperating and not resisting.”
“That’s excellent, sir. General Stubbs is a good man. But there may be others that I’m concerned about. It’s a very delicate time, and our democracy is vulnerable.”
“I couldn’t agree more. That’s why I’m going to need your full support as we move forward to rebuild the Federation and reestablish the government.”
“Absolutely, sir.”
“I’ve been fully briefed on your… situation. As of this moment, I’m issuing a full Presidential pardon, and reinstating your command in the Navy.”
Slade couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you, sir.”
“You are a true guardian of humanity. Welcome back, Fleet Admiral Slade.”
43
Revenant
The CIC erupted with applause as Violet entered. She blushed a little.
“You have saved the entire human race,” Slade said with a grin.
“We all did.” Violet was too humble to take that much credit.
“You’re work’s not over,” Slade said. “I need you to find a way to make our systems immune to this virus.”
“I think I can work that out.” Violet smiled.
“Sir, do you want me to send an encrypted subspace transmission to the Devastator?” Zoey asked.
“Inform them of our victory. I’m sure they’ll return as soon as they discover there is no one left to fight.”
“I’m not thrilled about Amado coming back. I’m liking Perez much better.”
“Cameron is still aboard that ship,” Slade said. “One way, or another, we need to get him back.”
“I would say you have considerably more leverage now, Admiral.”
Slade grinned.
Walker escorted Presley, Levi, and Tim to the CIC, and introduced them to Slade. Their eyes filled with wonder—they had all read about her exploits during the first Verge War, in school textbooks. And this was their first time in a combat information center.
“I hear you’re a pilot,” Slade said.
“Yes, sir,” Presley said.
“The LSO tells me this was your first carrier landing.”
“Yes, sir.”
“How do you think you did?”
“There’s a lot of room for improvement.”
“The LSO marked it as fair. Gave you a yellow card.”
Presley’s eyes gleamed.
“I would have given her a turd,” Tim said, then added, “sir.”
Slade chuckled. “Well, my first carrier landing certainly wasn’t perfect.”
Presley looked skeptical.
“It’s true. And I think you’ve got the makings of a great pilot.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Commander Walker tells me what you’ve been through. I know this is a very difficult time for you both. You’re welcome to stay aboard as long as you’d like.”
“Thank you.”
“And I could always use a good pilot.”
Presley’s eyes gleamed.
“It’s not the flight academy, but I can start your training, if you’d like.”
A resounding “Yes,” spurted from Presley’s lips.
Slade smiled. “Report to Commander Zoey Bryant a 06:00 tomorrow. In the mean time, why don’t you all grab some chow and get some rest?”
“Aye, sir.”
Presley and the others started to file out of the CIC. Presley turned back to Walker. “Commander, would you be willing to speak with me about my father, when you have a moment?”
“Of course,” Walker said. “I don’t think there is any need to keep those details classified anymore.”
Presley smiled. She spun around and left, clutching Levi’s hand.
Bailey chased Max into the CIC. They raced around the controls and dashed out in the blink of an eye. It made Slade chuckle.
Slade’s sultry eyes found Walker’s. “We’ve got some unfinished business.”
A slight smirk curled on Walker’s lips.
Slade leaned in and whispered in his ear. “My quarters in five minutes.”
“Aye, sir.” Walker grinned and strolled from the CIC.
New Earth was safe, for now. It would take years to rebuild, and the Decluvians would likely return. And there were other lingering threats in the galaxy.
Slade had a monumental task ahead of her—rebuild the fleet, secure the colonies, and ensure the preservation of democracy on New Earth. It wasn’t going to be easy. But for the first time, in a long time, she could sit back, relax, and breathe a little easier.
Thank You!
I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please consider reviewing on Amazon—a simple “Loved it,” or, “Hated it,” would be appreciated.
—Tripp
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I'm just a geek who loves sci-fi and horror. I was abducted by aliens and forced to travel the galaxy as the official biographer of an evil galactic ruler. This is where I learned to hone my craft. Fortunately, I escaped and made my way back to Earth, and now I write about my adventures. I hope you enjoy!
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