Liberation_Age of Expansion_A Kurtherian Gambit Series

by Craig Martelle

  “Dad, this is Cory.” She looked at the comm device to make sure it was on.

  “Cory, are you okay?”

  “Yes. Ted had a run-in with Ten and says that it is in orbit.” She watched Joseph prepare an explosive charge. He pointed to the elevator shaft. “Joseph is going to blow whatever is at the bottom of this shaft. Then we’ll be off. But there are a lot of women here.”

  She expected that her father was rolling his eyes.

  “The War Axe is already searching for a cloaked platform that is housing the AI. And once we’ve dealt with Ten, we’ll figure out what to do with the survivors.”

  “Talk to you then. We’ll be running away now. Watch for the fireworks.” Cory signed off, stuffed the device back into her pocket, and helped Ted to his feet. Joseph signaled when he was ready.

  “We’re coming out, Bundin.”

  “Good!” the Podder declared. “I’m getting fried in this sun.” Bundin wiggled and finally succeeded in unwedging himself. Cory went out first. The crowd of women was still there.

  “Listen up!” she yelled, motioning for silence. “There’s going to be a very big explosion here momentarily. You need to return to your homes and take cover. We’re going to run through here, so please don’t hold us up. It’d be best if you started running, right now.”

  Some of the women moved, but most remained motionless. Cory pointed out a path to the side, an opening that they could get through.

  She looked over her shoulder. “Are you ready?”

  “We need to get into orbit and find the AI,” Ted replied impatiently.

  Joseph nodded again. “Fire in the hole!” He tossed the explosive into the shaft and turned to run. The others had already bolted on a headlong rush to get as far away from the building as they could. The women raced after them.

  The War Axe

  Private Gefelton cradled Ankh’s head in his arms as he poured water on the wound. He tamped it dry, but it started to leak blood again. Tony held a bandage with coagulant over the gash. He looked for a way to tie it into place, but didn’t have enough stripping. Another warrior tied multiple pieces together until they had enough to wrap around the Crenellian’s head.

  Tony dabbled water on the alien’s small mouth. A tongue appeared and licked his lips. Tony sat him up so he could better drink. Ankh groaned.

  “Take a drink. You’ve lost some blood and water will help.”

  Ankh opened his eyes, but he couldn’t focus. “We need to get you to the Pod-doc,” Tony told him.

  “No,” Ankh said in a small voice. “Not yet. Help me into the chair.”

  Tony didn’t want to, but he did as the Crenellian asked. The holo screens surrounded the alien. Ankh tapped two spots and then dropped the screens. “Now we can go.”

  “That was weird,” Smedley broadcast to the entire ship.

  Tony caught Ankh as he collapsed. He picked him up, keeping the alien’s head elevated while telling the others to lead the way to sickbay.

  Drop ships 1 and 2

  “Aaron and Yanmei,” Terry started. “Ten is somewhere in orbit, on a stealthed platform of some type. It is currently cut off from most communication, but if Ten regains control of the fleet, the Axe is going to be in the middle of a shit sandwich. I need you to find it and blow it out of the sky.”

  “You need us to find something that we can’t see, in the vastness of orbit around the planet,” Yanmei asked. She pointed the nose of her ship skyward and flew toward space. Aaron fell in behind her. “How do you know it’s in space?”

  “Ted confirmed it.”

  “Does he know where it is?”

  “I don’t know,” Terry stammered. “I talked with Cory.”

  Yanmei didn’t insult Terry by suggesting that he ask.

  “I’ll tell them to get in touch with you directly.”

  Terry tapped the comm screen. “Where can I take you today?” Smedley asked.

  “Damn, bitch! I thought you were gone for good.”

  “Nice to talk with you, too. I got trapped inside Ankh’s head after we hit that mine. It wasn’t pleasant. Let’s say that I’m happy to be out here.”

  “Ask Plato if they have an idea where Ten is, and if he does, tell him to send the info to Aaron and Yanmei. They’re hunting for it as we speak.”

  “Done and done. The coordinates of Ten’s last known location are on your screen.”

  Terry looked the locations. It was surprisingly close to the War Axe. “Kill it, Smedley! Orient the ship and fire the mains!”

  “The mains are not operational at present. The platform is within missile range. I will advise Captain San Marino.”

  “And take us to the main compound, the only one with men.”

  Terry watched the icons on the screen. The fleet in space was a reminder of what Ten had available, if it could only contact them.

  He zoomed in on the War Axe. Mines started to appear around it and for as far as the ship’s sensors could reach. The icon for Ten’s cloaked platform flashed red. Two small icons represented the Black Eagles arcing into the upper atmosphere on their way to space.

  “Kill that fucker,” Terry whispered.

  The War Axe

  Xianna held Jenelope’s head in her lap and started to sing. She stayed under the table, having no idea what was going on. She was happy to have gravity back, but felt alone.

  That was what she liked about the dancing on Yol. She had plenty of attention, though not all of it good. She’d learned to fight, enough to get herself out of ugly situations. She was agile and fast. She found that vertical escapes worked best. She could climb faster than people could run.

  And here she was, under a table, her friend injured.

  The door opened and she called out.

  “Only here to grab a sandwich!” the voice replied, having not understood Xianna’s plea for help.

  One of the warriors who was left behind.

  “Xianna?” he called. She gently put Jenelope’s head down and launched herself from under the table. She jumped into the warrior’s arms and started kissing him in her joy.

  He gasped, eyes wide. “Whoa!” he called, pushing her face away from his. “We don’t do that. We don’t suck face with a buddy’s wife.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “We are different on Torregidor, but I will learn your ways. Help me with Jenelope. She is injured.”

  The lithe dancer jumped down as if nothing had happened and hurried back to where the chef was lying under the table.

  The warrior rolled her into a sitting position, then squatted to place his shoulder even with her mid-section. He pulled her over and stood, holding one of her arms to keep her balanced. “To sickbay,” he said and started walking.

  Xianna grabbed a handful of packaged sandwiches on her way out. Jenelope’s helper wouldn’t be the only one who was hungry.

  ***

  “Smedley!” the captain cheered.

  “Miss me?” the AI replied.

  “Status, Smedley. We can’t get in contact with our people.” The captain was all business, now that the AI had returned. Micky wanted all the information.

  “Communication systems overloaded throughout the ship. I show all hands as alive, but many are injured, judging from their vital signs.”

  “Thank goodness. No fatalities.” Micky wanted to know more about the ship and her crew, but buying time was the best he could do. He needed as much of it as possible. Accomplish the mission and you’ll have all the time in the world.

  “Smedley, get the mains online. This is your number one priority.”

  Team from Ramses’ Chariot

  They could hear the explosion, but the ground didn’t shake. The building blew, but it didn’t erupt. It collapsed in on itself.

  Cory stopped sprinting. “That was less than expected.”

  “I only used one pack,” Joseph admitted.

  “Was that enough?” Petricia asked.

  “Ted said that the battle wasn’t here. We only needed
to collapse the tunnel, not turn everything down below into slag, although it probably is anyway.”

  While the group talked, the women caught up and filled the empty space between the buildings. Soon, they were completely surrounded and the mob pressed in.

  Bundin raised his railguns. Cory jumped onto his shell. Ted vibrated with anxiety.

  So many people!

  Cory wrapped an arm around Bundin’s blue stalk to help balance her as she teetered on top. She took care not to poke one of his four eyes.

  “Women of Home World!” Cory shouted. The murmurs died down. Cory froze when she saw all eyes on her. She had always found it easy to talk with people, but this was different.

  She swallowed hard but couldn’t find her voice. She raised one hand for silence after the noise from the women started anew and built in volume.

  “We all come from Earth, a planet out there, a long ways away. Your ancestors were taken by aliens, used as slave labor, and then thanks to the alien artificial intelligence known as Ten, you were played with, toys for the AI’s amusement. Ten tried to expand its influence. And that’s how it discovered us. We stopped it out there and we’re going to stop it right here!”

  Ted hugged the case containing Plato and started to rock. He would only look at the ground. Joseph moved close, trying to shield him from the innumerable stares. Petricia stood shoulder to shoulder with her husband, taking his hand in hers, to put their being a couple on display.

  “No matter what, we’re going to offer you a chance to leave this place, take a shot at being human once again, with the opportunities that humanity enjoys within this universe. The opportunity to have friends from all races and all genders. Determine your own destiny.”

  Cory tried to finish with a flourish, but almost fell. The women didn’t respond to her speech. Dokken stood with his front paws on Dokken’s shell so he could better see his human.

  “Am I reaching them?” she whispered to Joseph. He climbed onto Bundin’s shell and joined her. The crowd sighed. An odd creature worked its way through the women and watched the newcomers. The heavy pig-like creature, half Dokken’s size but with claws that rivaled a werewolf’s, approached Bundin and sniffed the alien’s shell.

  “Who’s the alien now?” Bundin asked in a near-whisper.

  Cory shook her head, but smiled. Joseph took a deep breath and prepared to speak.

  “We’re taking you off this rock, as soon as possible, but only if you agree. I’ll fight tooth and nail, and I have long teeth, trust me on this, to reunite you with your men, the other half of your race.”

  “They’re alive?” a lone voice wondered.

  “That, my dear, is the same question they are asking. They believe that you are dead, all of you. Ten made them think that. Ten’s evil knows no boundaries. If you would be so kind, talk among yourselves and find a leader, the woman that you look up to, because getting you out of here will take everything she has and more. All of us, working together, to bring you home. I don’t mean this concentration camp, either. A real home with art and love and most importantly, a purpose for living. If you will let us through, we can get the ball rolling by destroying Ten. It is still out there!”

  The women reluctantly moved out of the way. Ted took off running. Cory jumped down and ran after him. Joseph waved until Petricia pulled him to her. They loped through the opening, waving as they passed. Bundin apologized as he bounced people out of the way from an opening that was too small. Once clear, they accelerated toward Ramses’ Chariot.

  The strange creature ran like a thing possessed to keep up.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Drop ships 1 and 2

  “Land on the roof of the hospital,” Terry ordered. The drop ships hovered as the warriors ran off, taking care not to pound the roof too hard and risk breaking through. Terry and Char walked off last.

  Someone opened the roof door. Terry crouched and the JDS leapt into his hand. Capples peered out.

  Terry returned the pistol to its holster. “Where’s your mech suit?”

  “Some of the corridors are too narrow, and this set of stairs. The mechs will have to jump down and come in through the main doors.” Cap pointed to the correct side of the building. Kimber looked but didn’t move.

  “Go ahead. We’ll meet you inside,” Terry told her.

  She walked to the edge, looked over, then jumped. One by one, the other eight went over and into the darkness.

  “Shall we?” Terry motioned for Cap to precede them inside. Char went next and Terry waved good-bye to the drop ships when they lifted off and headed to a defensible position outside the community.

  Once inside, the extent of the hospital spread out before him. The pregnancy suite, the maternity suite, the baby section, and below ground, the youth. The children were separated early by gender. Much of their time as children was spent in growth chambers—the benefits of physically aging without the experience.

  It made Terry sick to his stomach. Workers in the facility were assigned to a section and stayed there for life. Too many of them could not remember the last time they’d been allowed to leave the building.

  “Who allows you, and more importantly, what happens if you say no?” Terry asked one woman.

  She was shocked to be talking with a man, so Char moved in front of her husband and asked the same question. The woman finally answered. “We can’t say no. We obey the commands. There is no other way.” She pointed to the screen on the wall.

  “The good news is that you can all read. That will make your assimilation into a human society easier. If you want to leave, leave. Ten’s days are numbered,” Char told her.

  “Who’s Ten?”

  “The one who has been giving you direction your entire life,” Char replied. Terry stayed out of the conversation. This was Char’s show. And he expected, Christina’s and Cory’s, too. They could talk with the populace without getting them stirred up. Terry was out of his element.

  Cap pounded into the hallway, having returned to his suit. He kept his visor mirrored. The women had less of a problem with the mech than they did with men.

  Problem wasn’t the right word. Cap settled on discordant fascination.

  “Find the power link between this terminal and whatever is driving it, then trace it back to whatever source you can find. If you come across a server farm or whatever that thing might be in hiding in, destroy it without hesitation. Don’t give the tendrils a chance to escape,” Terry said

  The Black Eagles

  “Plotting a flight path between the mines,” Yanmei said as she gently rolled one way, straightened, then ascended. She maintained her speed through the smooth maneuvers.

  Aaron couldn’t change course without jerking the ship. He would follow her into a turn, oversteer, over-correct, and finally be on course by the time she changed again, then it would start over.

  He wanted to slow down, but he didn’t want to lose her. He could fly or he could navigate. He wasn’t up to the challenge of doing both simultaneously. The more he tried to relax, the tighter he became, until his hand started to go numb from his death grip he maintained on the joystick.

  Yanmei accelerated as she closed. “Prepare to fire,” she told Aaron. He backed off the throttle and stuffed his head inside the cockpit to make sure he activated the external cannons properly. He saw the flashes from Yanmei firing. He waited for an explosion but none came. She slowed and fired in a circular pattern, increasing in size as she approached.

  “Negative contact. Target coordinates engaged, but there doesn’t seem to be anything here,” she reported.

  “Roger,” Micky replied. They could hear the disappointment in his voice.

  The War Axe

  “Smedley? Is it still cloaked and in that state, is untouchable? Or did it move?”

  “I can answer none of your questions since I never saw it in the first place,” Smedley replied. “I can see the mines, but the technology to cloak Ten must be different.”

  “What about a
comm satellite being restored? Can you find any repair activity?”

  “Space is a big place, Skipper. I have the sensors focused exclusively toward the area where Ten was supposed to be located. I am digging through a great deal of data trying to find an anomalous reading when it may not appear as an anomaly.”

  “All sensors are focused inboard?” The realization hit Micky. “Why does the Home World fleet show as static?”

  “A projection based on previous location and activity.”

  “Are they still there?” Micky asked.

  There was a long pause. “The fleet is moving toward us.”

  “I need the mains. I need you to find the restored communications satellite. I need you to fix the comm within this ship. I need you to help me fight this battle!”

  “I understand,” Smedley said sadly. “I am doing all I can.”

  The AI audibly clicked off.

  Clifton turned around to face his captain. “We’re in no position to fight. We need to move.”

  Micky studied the charts. “How long until the main weapons are online?”

  No one answered. Micky leaned forward, bowing his head. He needed more time.

  But that was the one thing that he wasn’t going to get. The Home World fleet was accelerating toward the War Axe.

  The Black Eagles

  “Tell me where to shoot and I’ll light ‘em up,” Yanmei broadcast.

  Are you sure you want to do that? Aaron said using his comm chip. You’ll make yourself a target.

  If Ten doesn’t know that we’re here, then the AI is pretty sad. I don’t think it has offensive weapons. It has a massive fleet at its beck and call.

  I thought I heard TH talk about a communication satellite. Can you find one of those?

  Yanmei didn’t bother to tell Aaron to use his systems to look. She knew that he had no affinity for flying. It wasn’t natural to him. He was only doing it for her. She found that adorable, except when they were in a life or death combat situation.

  “Check out a data variation at these coordinates,” Smedley said. A new icon appeared on Yanmei’s screen.

  “Moving now,” she reported and engaged. The ship launched ahead. Aaron accelerated slowly. He looked inside the cockpit to see where he was in weapons activation sequence. When he returned his gaze outside, Yanmei was gone. He looked at his navigation screen, trying to figure out which way to go. He pressed forward, slowly.