I pushed the nav display to the big wall. "What are we looking at?"
Jack replied, "Sensors show the forty thousand Alliance ships, including your Gruntas and Talisans. And... wait... more coming in. Grumar and Grotus. Definitely coming through a portal. I count about twelve thousand, which is about what we thought that portal could handle."
Garrett said, "There were more than that at the Moddle worlds. I would have to believe they will bringing along the rest."
Jack frowned. "The Grumar and Grotus had a whole slew of new ships waiting at Mayanis. If they bring everything, we are looking at close to a hundred thousand warships. Those numbers are just crazy."
I said, "And I see they have already sent troops down onto the planet. Those are my Talisan down there."
Jack replied, "I'm not seeing much resistance."
Garrett said, "I have ships coming in from the other Kergan worlds. I'm counting about five thousand... no... wait... make that ten... no... they're still coming."
I gestured toward the display. "Jack, scan that fleet. Is it manned or unmanned?"
Jack replied, "I can tell you in about three minutes."
The Kergan ships continued to arrive.
Joni said, "Those aren't all Kergan. Some of those are Tamarin."
Jack turned to me with his head shaking. "And a new alliance is born."
Jack continued, "Scan data coming in... and... unmanned."
I asked, "All of them?"
Jack replied, "All of them. And they are still coming."
Kerba sat next to me on the bridge. "This battle will be of the proportions of the War of Wars!"
I looked at Jack. "We have to get my people out of there."
Jack held up his hands. "Where do you want to send them?"
I said, "Send the Talisans to Dallex. Send the Gruntas to Balimus."
Jack half laughed, "Your Council is going to hate you."
I replied, "I don't care. Better that they hate me and are still alive."
I looked at Jack. "Make a quick jump to the Kergan capital. I want to see their ship factories."
Jack replied, "We don't have to jump. We can scan it from here."
I waved my hand as I continued to gaze at the multitudes of ships on the nav display. "Just jump. It's faster."
Jack nodded. "Joni, Garrett, we'll be back in a couple minutes."
The rumble of the portal generators was followed by a silent jump through warped space.
I pointed at several structures surrounding the Kergan capital world. "Zoom in on those. Don't they look familiar?"
Jack slightly tilted his head to one side. "They look a lot like the ones at Mayanis."
I said, "Jump us to Parmesen."
Jack entered the coordinates. "Are you expecting to see what I'm expecting to see?"
I nodded as the rumble signified our next jump.
I again pointed. "There. Those are the same factories the Kergans have, and the Grumar and Grotus have. Take us back to Bolitha."
Jack entered the coordinates. Seconds later we were once again parked beside the Ares.
I said, "Joni, Garrett, I believe the others may be about to turn on the Alliance. We need to get our people out now. Begin sweeping the Gruntas back to Balimus. After that, we'll have to get a signal to all my Talisans to board their ships."
Joni replied, "We were listening, but will do. I'll have to take the Gruntas with three sweeps. They aren't lined up right for a single jump."
I nodded. "Do it."
Several seconds passed before the first of the Grunta transports disappeared. Two sweeps later, the Grunta were away.
Joni said, "We're jumping back to Balimus to check that everything went OK. Be back in a minute."
A portal window opened in front of the Ares and in a moment she was gone.
I said, "Jack, take us in. I want to give new orders to my Talisans."
Jack held up his hand. "Hold on. Something's going on here. The Kergan ships are coming in, but no one is taking a defensive stance."
Jack turned to face me. "You know what this is?"
I shook my head.
Jack gestured toward the display with a swirling motion of his hand. "This is Harden Salton's invasion fleet. I bet he's about the take over the other houses of the New Alliance!"
I said, "Take us in closer. I want to hear what the ambassador is saying. He has to know."
Jack entered the coordinates for a jump.
"You’re jumping?" I asked.
Jack nodded. "We can fly for twenty minutes or make the jump in about three seconds. Which do you prefer?"
I slowly nodded. "Please jump. I'll have to get used to its convenience."
Jack laughed as the Garmon was swept through to a new location. "And there we have it. Establishing comm with the stealth tag and..."
The ambassador said, "I don't know how they did it, but the planning for this is superb."
Dale Rogers asked, "What about the Gruntas? Was that supposed to happen?"
The ambassador shrugged. "I don't know if that was our doing or of that pestilent niece, Joni Salton. I am certain she was involved in stealing the Ares. Let's just hope she ends her heroics there."
The captain pointed at his full-wall display. "We have a hundred thousand ships. Why do we need the Talisan ground- pounders anymore, or the Gruntas for that matter? They seem a bit obsolete."
The ambassador smiled. "The New Alliance is built of colonies, Captain. Sometimes those colonies don't like to follow orders. The Talisan and the Gruntas are needed to be the on-ground enforcers."
The captain scratched his chin. "Can't you achieve the same with a ship? Blast a few buildings, and the people will fall in line?"
The ambassador sat with a continued smile. "Colonists are often stubborn, Mr. Rogers. They can be annoyingly loyal. The ground troops are an insurance policy against a populace attempting to rise up to defend themselves. The Talisan should be sufficient for accomplishing that task."
Joni and Garrett returned.
"Everything looks good at Balimus," Joni said. "I opened a portal into the Council chambers so we can listen in. The Gruntas are currently in a state of confusion, but they are safe.
I'll patch it through now."
The lead councilwoman stood. "Order… please. We must be civil to one another. We don't yet have information as to why we were sent here. We are attempting to contact Command through the Balimus portal system but it appears that it has been blocked. We can either wait here, or it's a four day run to Climion Colony. We should find communications there."
Another member said, "We are home. They must have wanted us to come back here. I say we land and allow everyone to return to their homes. There will be much work to do to bring our farms and businesses back to normal."
A third member said, "I agree with Kala. We should be returning to our homes. Why else would we have been sent here?"
The lead councilwoman held up her hand. "We don't know why we are here. And until we know, I will be using my authority to keep us here."
The room erupted in heated discussion.
I said, "It looks like things have returned to normal. They will go on like this for hours before a decision is made."
Jack said, "I'm opening a comm to the Talisans. If you have something to say, you'd better say it. I believe those ships are all beginning to form up."
I said over the open channel. "My Talisans, this is your Emperor. I ask you to board all ships and to take up portal sweep positions. This is a priority order and should not be communicated to any non-Talisan. If asked what you are doing, just remain silent."
Jack zoomed in on the planet's surface. "Hard to tell from this distance, but it does look like we have activity down on the surface. If you want, I could open a comm and you can ask that they provide sensor data to it."
I shook my head. "I don't think it will be necessary. We'll know when they are ready to be moved away. Joni? Can you be ready? This may happen fast."
; Joni replied, "Got it. I'll set the parameters as wide as possible."
Garrett yelled, "We've got a problem! Thirty Alliance battleships just turned and are headed toward the Talisans!"
I looked at Jack. "Can we knock down their forward shields or push them back with a gravity beam?"
Jack nodded. "We can try. We're right at comm range to them. That beam stays together for about that distance. Hang on."
Several seconds passed before Jack's attempts bore fruit. One by one the Alliance battleships dropped from faster than light speeds."
Jack said, "We can't stop them all from out here."
I asked, "Are those ships manned?"
Jack replied, "Nine of them are. Five of those have their shields down."
I sat forward. "Target the other four and then jump us in between the others and the Talisans."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "You sure you want to do this? Those are battleships."
I gripped the arms of my chair and stood. "We can handle it. They're unmanned, so hit them with our cannon and fire off a few of those drillers. This will tell us whether or not they work."
Jack said, "OK, shields on all manned battleships are down. They've all dropped below light speed. Jump is complete. Launching drillers… drillers away. Whoa, look at those suckers go. That's crazy fast. OK, those ships are coming in hot. Be ready to take some knocks."
The first of the battleships met with a driller, which subsequently vanished into its hull. Two additional drillers did the same. As the mammoth ships came within cannon range, the Garmon began firing.
Jack yelled, Wow! Look at that! That first bolt took out that whole section. Wow! Another!"
Jack swung the Garmon around to match the speed of the incoming battleships. "That's three! Wow! I can't believe this! We're just cutting through those shields like they aren't even there! The three ships with the drillers have gone offline!"
I asked, "Can the drillers be recalled?"
Jack replied, "Let me check... says here they will follow orders as long as they’re able."
Lieutenant Jefferson said, "Sir, all ships are breaking off."
Jack said, "Stand down all weapons. Recall those drillers, if possible."
Jefferson replied, "Drillers are returning, sir. We'll be ready to jump, if needed, in another thirty seconds.
I looked at Jack. His grin was wide.
Jack said, "They didn't even get a shot off! We just took on fifty Alliance battleships like they were unarmed transports!"
I asked, "If we're within comm of the Jordan, patch her through."
Jack frowned. "You want to talk to them?"
I shook my head. "No, sorry, open the comm to the tag."
Gottlieb yelled, "What do you mean there was nothing on the sensors! Ships don't explode for no reason! This has to be Beutcher and his gang! They have the Ares and they're taking shots through a portal! They have to be around here somewhere! I want scouts out in every direction! Find them!"
The captain added, "I want deep scans in every direction, Lieutenant! We worked too hard to build this alliance! We can't afford for it to be screwed up now. Those people will turn on each other like feral cats if they think we are weak!"
The ambassador paced. "One hour. That is all we needed. One more hour!"
Joni said, "Sweeping the first of three sets of Talisan transports through now."
Garrett yelled, "Two hundred Grotus ships coming your way!"
Jack swiped away at several screens. "Jumping over to meet them!"
Joni said, "First set through. Lining up on set two!"
Jack continued, "Launching six drillers. Powering up main ion cannon. In range in three... two... one."
Joni said, "Set two is through. Group three is not lined up yet!"
I replied, "See what you can do. If you can move half, then take the opportunity to move them out."
Jack said, "Drillers have reached their targets. Cannons... are firing. Whoa! Impacts are maximum. Mr. Jefferson, take us right into that pack. Keep us just under ten SOL and drive us through as many of those ships as you can."
Jefferson replied, "Yes, sir. Gravity beam is auto-targeting. Ships are dropping off to the right and left."
Joni said, "Have about two hundred transports left. Taking half in three... two... one. Gone!"
As we powered through the hull of the first Grotus battlecruiser, alarms went off.
Jefferson yelled, "We just hit 98 percent energy level on the skin, Sir! I'm pulling us back!"
The ship shuddered as we took a direct hit on our belly from a Grotus cannon.
Jefferson yelled, "Skin is offline! Alarm says we need five minutes to reset! And we are visible, sir!"
A second bolt impacted our side, knocking me from my chair. "Jack! Get us out of here!"
Jack yelled, "Mr. Jefferson! I'm taking the helm! Keep those cannons firing!"
Two more bolts struck our hull as the captain banked hard before rolling over, heading away from the center of the onrushing Grotus battlecruisers. As I tried to stand, another bolt sent me sprawling to the floor.
Jefferson yelled, "We have internal damage from the concussions! Repair system coming online! Autobots being dispersed!"
Four bolts impacted aft.
Jefferson yelled, "We just lost twenty layers of Tantric, sir!"
I stood and ran for my chair, plopping into the seat and pulling around a belt to secure me in place. Kerba Skol sat beside me with a terrified look on his now pale green face.
I said, "Don't worry, Kerba. We'll make it out of here. It's just going to be a rough ride until we break out of this pack."
Joni said, "Sweeping the last transports now!"
Two ion bolts impacted aft, jolting me hard in my seat.
Jack said, "I've got two on my tail that are sticking with us!"
Two more bolts struck, followed by another three.
Joni yelled, "All transports away! Hang in there! Garrett is coming in with the Jess! I'll see if I can sweep some of those ships away!"
Blaster fire could be heard in the hall just outside the bridge.
Go stepped into the doorway, firing repeated ion bolts back down the hall. An ion bolt struck his left arm, blowing it off and sending him reeling. I unlatched my belt and sprinted for the door, catching an armed autobot as it came through, crushing it into the door frame. I picked up the ion rifle it carried, firing down the hall at two autobots as they attempted to push forward. I ducked behind the doorframe as an ion bolt struck just outside. Sparks flew as the wall in front of me dented and turned a glowing red.
Go rolled over into the doorway, firing his rifle, taking out one of the two autobots, before continuing his roll to the other side. Fluid leaked from the smoldering stump that remained where his left arm had been.
I yelled as I pulled back from the door. "Autobots are out there everywhere!"
Three ion bolts impacted the hull, sending me hard into the near wall. Go bounced up from the floor, nearly a meter into the air before slamming back down hard.
Joni yelled, "Garrett, just hit the two on your tail! Jack, keep it in a straight line and I'll sweep you out of there!
As I tried to stand, another bolt struck the side of the Garmon. Smoke began to pour from the environmental system. The doorway wall behind Go dented and glowed white hot as multiple bolt strikes hit just outside. Go rolled onto his back, bringing up his holo-display. Two swipes with his right arm brought up the kill switch for the AIs. With a third swipe the dozen autobots in the hallway fell silent.
Joni yelled, "Sweeping you away!"
Seconds later, we were slowing as we portaled into the Gratis system. Smoke filled much of the bridge. All visors had been dropped and battle-suit environmental systems engaged. I glanced up through the smoke to see a terrified Kerba Skol with his eyes squeezed shut.
I jumped over to Go's side. "You OK?"
Go sighed as he looked at his arm. "Other than losing that prosthetic and getting knocked on my ass hard… I
think I'm OK."
I checked around the rest of the crew. All except my two Talisan doctors were strapped to their chairs. I looked toward the lab.
Go grabbed my arm, shaking his head. "They didn't make it. Saved my life when those bots turned."
I asked, "How'd that happen?"
Go frowned. "A large piece of equipment got slammed into the power feeds for the lab. The bots turned off the juice to begin repairs. I guess my backup system failed. Anterra took over almost instantly."
Joni yelled, "I'm back! You guys OK? Knog? Jack? Go?"
Jack replied, "We lost two crew. Knog and Go are OK, although Go lost an arm."
Garrett swept into the system behind us. "Wow, that was intense!"
Go replied, "Let me thank you right now for insisting on that kill switch!"
Garrett nodded. "You just get that arm fixed! I'll say 'I told you so' later."
The Garmon was taken into the repair docks at Gratis and immediate repairs were undertaken. Go was swept aboard a sentinel ship for evaluation. A new prosthetic arm was already under construction. Kerba Skol remained heavily shaken. Our rescue of the Talisans was a success, but our excess level of confidence in our new technology had quickly deflated.
Chapter 18
* * *
Go said, "I checked the comm logs. Anterra was connected to those Grotus ships for forty-two seconds. More than enough time for her to transfer everything she knew to those other AIs."
Garrett remarked, "I killed all the ships around the point from which Joni swept you away. Any info Anterra gave out should have stopped there."
Go shook his head, "No, if it made it to one of those ships, it made it to all of them. We should assume they now have the ion amplifier design and the gravity beam. They have the designs for my old prostheses as well."
Garrett asked, "It wasn't able to get into our system, was it?"
Go replied, "Not that I can tell. I had all the systems locked down as far as comm goes. There were a few security walls hit in the nav system, but I don't think she was able to break through. Not enough time."
Garrett sat in a chair beside Go's gurney. "What did Quan say about your arm?"
Go sighed, "Arm was a total loss, but they should have a new one for me by tomorrow. My innards took a sudden 20 Gs shock when that arm blew. All the plating and support I had added kept me from any serious damage. I'll be sore for a few days, but that's all."
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