Omega Force 5: Return of the Archon

by Joshua Dalzelle

  “It’s not good,” Jason said, worrying at his scalp with his right hand. “Kage has been able to work some serious magic with the limited resources available, but we’re no closer to getting a bead on the ship than we were standing around in that clearing. Well, that’s not fair … we do have a general time of when it would have been taken.”

  “What’s our next move?” Mazer asked. Jason looked up and could see the genuine concern on his face. For some reason, he was greatly comforted by that.

  “We let Kage keep at it,” he said. “He’s never let me down yet and I still think he’ll be able to—” A strident beep from the console stopped Jason short as the displays began streaming lines of what looked like computer code, something he had no hope of understanding.

  “Move!” Kage shouted, sprinting from the bunk room. Jason practically threw himself out of the chair to make room for Kage since he was already leaping off the ground, intent on getting to the console whether Jason was still there or not. All four of his hands began flying over the touch-sensitive displays as he reintegrated his neural implant into the link. Jason waited patiently. He knew Kage would report the second he was able to.

  “That’s how they got her,” he said quietly after a few more minutes. The screen to Jason’s right flickered and the grainy image of a bulky ship came into view.

  “What am I looking at?” Jason asked. Instead of answering, Kage began cleaning up the image and zooming it in until he could clearly make out what the odd-shaped craft really was: it was two ships linked together. The larger was some sort of utility ship that had outriggers extending out from its flanks, three per side. Tucked up underneath, its landing gear still deployed, was a DL7 heavy gunship.

  “I’ll be a son of a bitch,” Jason said.

  “Huh?” Mazer asked, thoroughly confused at the expression.

  “After the defensive systems made it impossible for them to board her, they brought in that rescue ship and lifted her right out of the clearing. It’s not something the defensive systems were ever designed to handle.”

  Mazer peered closer at the image before muttering a curse of his own.

  “That’s one of our ships,” he said finally.

  “Are you sure?” Jason asked, hope springing up in his voice. While the ship being taken by a bunch of badass warriors wasn’t ideal, it was far better than not having any idea at all.

  “Quite sure,” Mazer confirmed. “There are three of them still in existence. We were allowed to keep them after Galvetor relocated us here. They were to be used to harvest asteroids and assist in major construction efforts.”

  “What are they?” Kage asked.

  “Exactly what Captain Burke said they were,” Mazer answered. “Rescue ships. They were designed to go in and extract damaged combat landers after an assault. That ship is over two hundred years old.”

  “Is it slip-space capable?” Jason asked with dread.

  “Yes,” Mazer said simply. Jason’s shoulders slumped. The Phoenix could be on the other side of the sector by now. “But they’re not very fast,” Mazer continued. “Slower still when they’re hauling a ship.”

  “That makes sense,” Jason said. “The drive would have to expand the slip-space field to accommodate the carried vehicle. So maybe they couldn’t have gotten that far after all.”

  “I’m already on it,” Kage said. “I’m accessing all the specs for the carrier ship. I should be able to determine the maximum theoretical distance by accounting for the mass and size of the Phoenix in the calculation.”

  “Now we’re getting somewhere,” Jason said, grabbing Kage’s shoulders and shaking him. “Good job.”

  “It’s not a sure thing yet,” Kage warned, “but it’s a damn good start.” The slicer settled into his seat and began attacking the problem with renewed vigor.

  “A word, Captain,” Mazer said, indicating one of the unused bunk rooms. Jason followed him in there, nodding to Lucky that everything was fine. He’ll be listening in anyway. Jason couldn’t figure out Lucky’s morality at times. He could be the absolute epitome of courtesy and manners, and then spy on your most personal moments without a bit of shame.

  “What is it?” he asked once they were in the room.

  “That ship means that my people are involved in this somehow,” Mazer said. “This means your hunch was right, it was someone within the Order that had knowledge of where your ship was.”

  “Not necessarily,” Jason said. “All someone had to be aware of is that we came to Restaria at all. The ship wasn’t that well hidden; it could have been found using the satellite feed just like Kage did. For that matter, one of your rescue ships could have been stolen. There are just too many unknowns, so for right now we keep playing it tight.”

  “What good does that do?”

  “If the people who did this are in the Order’s inner circle, and we don’t let on that we have the slightest clue as to what happened, they’re more likely to relax their guard,” Jason said.

  “Ah,” Mazer said. “Basic counterintelligence.”

  “Essentially, yes. All we’ll—” Jason was interrupted by Mazer’s beeping com unit.

  “It’s text only,” the warrior said as he looked at the display. “It’s from the Caretaker, she says she needs to speak to us right away. In person.”

  Chapter 18

  “In here,” Connimon said calmly, leading them away from the entrance of the parking area. Mazer, Jason, and Lucky said nothing as they followed her into an area of the compound they hadn’t been in before.

  She led them across the length of the main building and then down a narrow flight of stairs into the sub-basement. Still further into the bowels of the building she went, not speaking until coming up to an unmarked door set into the wall. “I hope I can trust your discretion,” she said and opened the door without waiting for an answer.

  Inside was a room with bare rock walls, lined with work benches around the entire perimeter. Those benches were loaded up with computer consoles and com units, even a compact tactical slip-space com node. Sitting at one of the benches was Morakar.

  “Brother, Captain, Lucky,” he nodded in greeting. “Welcome.”

  “What is this place, brother?” Mazer asked, looking around at the screens that showed various views from hidden surveillance cameras placed around the compound.

  “This is my secret,” Connimon said. “I only just now brought Morakar down here. I needed to know whom I could trust.”

  “Maybe you should start from somewhere near the beginning,” Jason suggested.

  Connimon walked over to an empty chair and sat down slowly, suddenly looking very weary.

  “When Lord Felex first learned he was to be exiled, he came to me with a specialized mission,” she began. “He said it wasn’t to be a command, but that it was important that I accepted. He knew that the circumstances surrounding his fall from grace were suspect, but he didn’t have any substantiated evidence beyond that.

  “I began with simple observation, keeping tabs on the leaders of the different legions within my role as the Caretaker. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary and for a time I began to think that Lord Felex was mistaken and there was no deeper plot here on Restaria, just the normal ebb and flow of politics from the homeworld. I began to lessen my suspicions and went about my life as I always had.”

  “Until?” Jason prompted.

  “Until I was approached by the three Praetores you met earlier,” she continued. “By that time the Order had already been formed and they were slowly recruiting those loyal to the Lord Archon for membership. They knew of my service to him and, despite not being of the warrior class, asked me to continue my work with them.

  “At first it just seemed like a social club … then more like a cult. Even then I thought it nothing more than harmless reminiscing by a bunch of middle-aged warriors with nothing better to do. But then they began recruiting younger commanders, key personnel in logistical positions, political contacts on the homeworld … it
all began to point to a buildup of some kind.”

  “Let me guess,” Jason interrupted. “The talk of insurrection and emancipation began seriously shortly afterwards.”

  “Correct, Captain.” Connimon paused to reflect a moment before continuing. “The hostility began to escalate on both sides with neither really understanding why. The propaganda on the homeworld was to stoke fear of a warrior uprising and dig up the specter of the last confrontation that led to the colonization of Restaria. It was no different here, as rumors of an invasion by the homeworld fomented a general feeling of distrust among the legions.

  “Fordix was accused of inciting rebellion and was promptly arrested by Galvetic Internal Security. They came in the middle of the night and abducted him before anyone knew what was happening. This enraged the senior members of the Order and it was then that they tasked me with tracking down Lord Felex. I left with two warriors I trusted the most and set out after you.”

  “This still does not explain what the current emergency is,” Lucky pointed out.

  “You know that they’ve summoned the leaders of the outlying Legions, right?” When everyone nodded she continued. “I’ve learned that the leaders didn’t just come for a meeting with Lord Felex. The warriors are all mobilizing.”

  “And by mobilizing you mean…” Jason said.

  “Exactly what it sounds like. They’re preparing for war. Not an exercise or a demonstration … the armories are being opened and warriors armed with live weapons and real armor are now mustering and will be deploying to staging areas surrounding Ker,” Connimon said.

  “And this is related to Crusher being back in the picture?” Jason asked.

  “He is the only one with the authority to command all the legions,” Morakar said.

  “Which may explain why you were asked to track him down,” Jason mused. “Is it possible that this has all been a complicated ruse just to get him back on Restaria so he could unify the Legions?”

  “That was my thought,” Connimon confirmed. “But we’re still without a firm motive or even a main suspect. In other words, this could all be speculation that is far off target.”

  “My gut tells me it’s not,” Jason said, “but we should move with caution from here. Let’s keep this between only the people in this room until we can get a better handle on what’s happening.”

  “Does this include Crusher, Captain?” Lucky asked.

  “No,” Jason said, “but only due to the lack of access to him right now I will brief him on everything when I get the chance.”

  “Do we assume the Lord Archon is above suspicion?” Morakar asked.

  “Yes,” Mazer said forcefully before Jason or Lucky could answer. “Remember, brother, he had no desire to even speak to us, much less come back with us. Not only that, but he didn’t make it easy to find him.”

  “I agree,” Jason said. “Even though the politics of this star system are a little murky for me, I know my friend. He would not be a part of … well, whatever this may turn out to be.”

  “I also concur,” Lucky said. “Crusher has risked his life to fight this type of corruption. He would not be a part of it.”

  “I was not casting aspersions,” Morakar said defensively. “I was just making sure we’re all in agreement before we proceed.”

  “Yeah, we’re in agreement,” Jason said sourly. “We agree we have no fucking clue what’s going on right now.”

  *****

  “Captain!” Kage’s voice was cutting through Jason’s head like a knife via his neural implant. He had asked the code slicer not to do that, so he assumed this must be a unique emergency. Given what was happening around them, he skipped the admonishments and opened the channel.

  “What is it, Kage?” he said aloud, knowing it would be picked up and transmitted back. He’d never been able to master transmitting a spoken message without actually speaking aloud.

  “That rescue ship has just reappeared in the system,” Kage said, talking very fast. “It’s following a normal approach course and is heading back to Restaria.”

  “Can you continue to track it?” Jason asked excitedly.

  “Yes!” Kage nearly shouted. “They’re simply flying a normal approach and have already been picked up by the orbital control system.”

  “How long?”

  “They’ll make orbit in just over three hours,” Kage said. “I’ll contact you again if there are any changes in course and speed.” Before Jason could answer, he felt the channel close. While Lucky seemed to know whom he’d been talking to, Mazer was staring at him as if he’d lost his mind.

  “That was Kage,” he said. “That rescue ship is on its way back to Restaria. We have three hours to prepare an intercept.”

  “We don’t have access to a ship unless we go and speak with the Praetores,” Mazer said. “I don’t think even Lord Felex could authorize us the use of a ship without too many people knowing about it.”

  “Oh we have a ship,” Jason said, winking at Mazer. “We always leave ourselves options. We will need to get an aircar, however.”

  The trio moved through the facility as quickly as they could without drawing attention on their way back to the parking facility. A suitable aircar was selected and soon, after a quick negotiation with the warrior who had been watching over the vehicles, they were speeding over the streets of Ker. Thankfully, vehicle guard duty in the Legions was much like it was in any other military: a punishment. The bored-looking warrior could not have been less interested in which vehicle they were taking, or why.

  Jason was beginning to see the change happening in Ker that Morakar and Connimon had been talking about. The first time he’d come through the city there had been laughter, music, and lively conversation on every block. Now, grim-faced warriors in full tactical armor stomped about, many fully armed. There was even a smattering of physical altercations between warriors of differing units as they left the main metropolitan area and cruised into the sparsely populated outskirts.

  When they reached their destination, Mazer looked over at Jason skeptically. “How are we going to gain access to this ship? It’s locked up tight.”

  “Didn’t I say we always leave ourselves options?” Jason said with a large smile. “Kage was kind enough to leave us full access before we left.” He climbed out of the aircar and walked up to the sleek Eshquarian combat shuttle that had brought them to Restaria from Galvetor. The ship, an incredibly expensive piece of military hardware, was sitting in the same spot they’d left it, only now with a covering of dust and leaves. The fact the Order would just leave it lying about meant they were likely very well-funded by someone; he just wished he knew to what end.

  When he walked up close, however, he could see that they hadn’t forgotten about it. There were footprints all around the area where the access control panel was located and even some tool marks on the hatch itself as if someone had become impatient and actually tried to pry it open. There were also some impact marks in the hull coating where it seemed once the brute force method failed they began beating the ship with their pry tool. Warriors were nothing if not predictable. He placed his thumb on the glossy black access control panel and waited while the ship began to take biometric readings.

  There were a series of beeps and squawks until the rear hatch popped open with a hiss and lowered gently to the ground, creating the entry ramp.

  “Gentlemen,” Jason said, “after you.”

  “Welcome, Captain Burke,” the ship said as the interior lights of the cargo area came up and the environmental systems began circulating the stale air. “Primary systems are now warming up. Time to flight-ready: seven minutes.”

  “Nice touch,” Jason said as he followed Mazer and Lucky through the cargo hold and up the small flight of stairs to the flight deck. “You know, the Phoenix could use some better manners.”

  “So you had Kage change the command authorization before we disembarked the last time?” Mazer said. “How could you possibly know we would need it again?” />
  “I didn’t have the slightest clue,” Jason admitted. “I just know our operations usually devolve into a pile of shit no matter how well planned, and this was one of the worst plans we’ve had in years.”

  “So what if we hadn’t needed it?” Mazer asked.

  “Kage could remotely release the ship anytime,” Jason assured him, “and barring that, the original command authorizations would be restored after two weeks with no contact from us.”

  “Impressive,” Mazer conceded. “Will this thing be able to intercept that rescue ship? Even through it’s slow it is heavily armored.”

  “Not an issue,” Jason said as he slipped into the pilot’s seat. “The term ‘shuttle’ may be a bit misleading. This is really just a top of the line heavy fighter with an attached cargo bay for inserting troops. The Eshquarians use it for their special operation commandos. Don’t worry, we’ve got plenty of engines and firepower.”

  “What is our plan, Captain?” Lucky asked as he carefully lowered his bulk into the copilot’s seat.

  “I don’t really have a plan, as such,” Jason admitted. “I’m sure something will come to me before we actually get within range of the rescue ship.” Both his companions gave him looks that ranged from incredulous to downright hostile. He ignored them both as the engines of the new shuttle were already warmed and spooling up, ready to provide power. Not that he would ever admit it out loud, but he did have to admit that the brand new ship being ready to fly in less than ten minutes had some appeal when compared to a grumpy gunship taking over thirty for a cold start and even then complaining through most of the first hour of flight. But one thing the clever, slick Eshquarian shuttle couldn’t match the older Jepsen in was speed or firepower or the ability to take a tremendous amount of battle damage and keep coming back for more.

  “All flight systems active,” the ship said over the intercom.

  “Lucky, get on the com and start coordinating with Kage,” Jason said. “We’ll fly out of here low and try to catch the rescue ship as it comes in over an unpopulated part of the planet.”