Machine Planet (Conquest of Stars Book 4)

by Sid Kar

  Raptor said nothing, turned towards the command room and started walking. Tollvyk and Rockvyk started following him when he said, “Leave me. I need to think. Alone.”

  “Yes Commodore,” Tollvyk said.

  “I have spoken to VC Barryett and he agrees too,” Rockvyk said. Raptor paused for a moment then continued walking.

  “When…” Tollvyk asked, “you didn’t tell me.”

  “I was going to lean on VC Barryett if needed, tell him that I would work the SPASI and SPASI would start whispers and rumors to the effect that Raptor was unduly pressured to certify,” Rockvyk said, “But fortunately it didn’t come to that. I would have hated to use tactics we use to intimidate criminals against our own Army officer. But Barryett needed no convincing. He himself volunteered that Raptor was far more important than himself. A good man, that Barryett. I really feel bad for planning to twist his arm. But what can you do?”

  “Let’s go to the command room,” Tollvyk said, “I hope Raptor listens to us.”

  Raptor approached the wide entrance of the command room and the multitude of starship guards jumped to attention and crisply saluted him with big smiles on their faces.

  “Welcome back Commodore,” a few of the guards exclaimed. Raptor waved them a salute just then he saw three officers walking out of the command room. VC Barryett was in the lead and Detective Hartar and Law Officer Legtar were walking behind him on either side.

  “Commodore Raptor, I am so delighted to see you up and walking,” VC Barryett said, “I heard the good news from Capitan Alvina and was just coming to see you.”

  “Glad to have just survived,” Raptor replied then pointed to a small room to the side just outside of the command room. “Follow me for a few,” he said. This side room was used for waiting by the visitors who didn’t have general access to the command room outside of a specially scheduled appointment.

  Raptor, Barryett, Hartar and Legtar walked in and Raptor said to the guards, “close the door and let no one in.”

  “Yes sir,” a guard replied. But just as he was about to close the door, Rockvyk reached out with his large, strong arm and pulled the door back open.

  “We are with him,” Tollvyk said.

  “But Commodore said…” the guard started to protest.

  “He didn’t mean us,” Rockvyk waved his SPASI badge in the guard’s face, “Col. Tollvyk is his best friend and I represent the State.”

  The guard was confused but let them in and shut the door after them.

  “The whole Army represents the State and this is Army territory, why did you show him your useless badge?” Tollvyk chuckled.

  “Just for good humor,” Rockvyk laughed.

  Meanwhile, VC Barryett and Com. Raptor had taken seats on the two single sofa seats facing each other in the middle of the room. Legtar and Hartar walked over to the small bar in the corner and started pouring whiskey for everyone. Rockvyk and Tollvyk walked over and stood behind Raptor’s sofa and looked straight at Barryett.

  Barryett looked at them in turn and got the hint. He cleared his throat.

  “Commodore Raptor, before you even ask, I have to tell you that I have no objection to your refusal to certify my decision to retreat from Rainmar,” Barryett said, “I am an old has been and I can take the fall for my own call.”

  “Who said anything about my refusal?” Raptor asked.

  “Commodore…please don’t let it get on your record,” Barryett said and looked up at Tollvyk who gritted his teeth and Rockvyk who just shrugged his wide shoulders.

  “Vice-Commodore Barryett, I had always been curious about your demotion,” Raptor said and folded his leg on his other knee, leaned back and sipped whiskey that Hartar handed him. “Even before you were assigned to Starship Conquistador. Back on Bravo we didn’t talk much before that and I could never work up the courage to ask you directly. But I have always wanted to know. So tell me VC Barryett, your army record is unblemished, you were even in the late war with Com. Antrar and didn’t suffer any defeat, let alone any ignominious defeat due to your own mistake. And you committed no crime, oppressed no subordinate, then why the hell were you demoted?” Raptor leaned forward to emphasize his last words which he spoke quite loudly.

  Barryett twirled his whiskey as he looked down into it. He waited for a few moments for the ice to start melting then looked up at Raptor.

  “Alright, you have now asked me directly, almost as an order and I think I have fought under you long enough that you deserve to know,” Barryett replied, “This is after the war against Magobadh Empire. At that time when it appeared as though Jak Confederacy might invade Nestorian Republic for access to the space route connecting them to the center of the galaxy and we might need to intervene. I was a Commodore with a battle record and was posted to the Sixth Frontier Fleet. We managed to persuade Jaks against invading Nestor but I got stuck at Bravo for a while.

  As my luck would have it…bad luck that is, the senior officer of my patrol fleet was then Commodore Carvyk Botlar. Even then he was suspected of corruption and malfeasance but that was only uttered in hushed tones. And our Zarrvyk Province was even more of a frontier with rampant smuggling and piracy common activities. One day I came upon an unauthorized spaceship flying out of our space and I interdicted it and ordered it to halt for boarding. But just before I was about to dispatch a boarding party, I get a distress call from Commodore Carvyk’s starship and I abandon the search task and respond to his call. It turns out to have been a false alarm. It happened a few times and I grew suspicious. One day I refused to heed one such call.”

  “You disobeyed a direct order?” Raptor raised a brow, “That is not like you.”

  “I would not do such a foolish act,” Barryett said finishing his whiskey, “Carvyk was careful not to issue an order for reinforcement as that would establish a pattern and get his name on the record. His distress calls were low level warnings of potential trouble in his patrol space not signals of an imminent attack. Thus, per the Army law, I had the discretion to ignore it if I determined that I had an important task at hand. And I did.”

  “I will vouch for that,” Capitan Legtar said, “That is the correct interpretation of Army law.”

  “I busted up a large spaceship carrying very valuable contraband. It must have hurt Carvyk’s pockets dearly as smuggling went down when they could not count upon Carvyk to guarantee a safe passage,” Barryett continued, “he got it in for me and when he was promoted to Regional Star Commander he framed ME as the patrol officer taking bribes. The record of the distress calls he had sent out disappeared from his starship’s log books and from the regional command’s archives. He made it appear that I had made up excuses to allow smuggler’s vessels to escape. I was charged by the Army Detectives of aiding smuggling and piracy.” Barryett said and invariably looked at Army Detective Hartar.

  “That is quite a scheme by Commander Carvyk and before the events I have witnessed abroad Conquistador I would not have believed your story, but now I do,” Hartar said, “But I am puzzled that you got away with a mere demotion. Those charges lead to court martial, expulsion from the Army straight into a prison.”

  “Carvyk played it cleverly,” VC Barryett said, “He knew if it came to a full out court martial, I would accuse him right back, causing a huge scandal and that would get the attention of the top ranks of Army Detectives and Starfleet Command, perhaps even House of War. Major investigation might get underway of the region and higher ranking officers might take over his region. He proposed to me to reduce the charges to a non-criminal but still punishable offense of Incompetence if I didn’t accuse him right back. I would avoid court martial and the regional commander, Carvyk himself, would have the discretion to punish me. I accepted his deal.”

  VC Barryett then sighed, “In this whole sordid affair, this is the only decision that I regret, although I am not sure I would have done it differently. I might have prevailed, then again, I might not have, if I had faced the Army Judges. He demoted me to
Vice-Commodore rank and achieved his main purpose: preventing me from causing any further damage to his schemes. Without command of a starship, I could not go off on my own in deep space, chasing pirates or smugglers, turning up some irrefutable piece of evidence against him. From then on, I kept my head down and my mouth shut and Carvyk left me alone seemingly convinced that I regretted crossing him. But I do not.”

  “VC Barryett, you deserve better,” Raptor said.

  “But please do not certi…” VC Barryett began to speak when Raptor raised his hand to quiet him.

  “That will be all from you, VC Barryett,” Raptor said and turned to SPASI Detective Rockvyk. “I want to hear from you. You are under my authority now abroad my starship. You may be SPASI and I did hear you flip that badge to my guard,” Raptor said, “But make no mistake we are at war now and I have command authority under War Law over all nationals and national institutions. You hide nothing now or you will regret it later.”

  Rockvyk swallowed hard. He had never known Raptor to be like this but a sweat broke on Rockvyk’s brow and he nearly groveled.

  “Commodore Raptor, I hadn’t told much to your officers because I didn’t know how much you had told them yourself,” Rockvyk said, “but I will tell you everything starting from when Com. Antrar came to me.”

  “Go on, everyone here has my confidence,” Raptor said.

  Rockvyk told his story and everyone’s jaws headed to the ground as his story progressed and finally their jaws smashed into the floor in shock when Rockvyk revealed the name Supreme Commander Sejavyk Pytar as the silent and commanding member of the Lambda Man.

  “But that doesn’t mean Commander Sejavyk is even aware of Carvyk’s actions, let alone moving him like a puppet on a string,” VC Barryett said after Rockvyk had finished.

  “But if the rumors of Starfleet Majestic disappearing are true…” Col. Tollvyk let his words trail off.

  “I had found it strange but I am not an Army man and cannot know all the reasons for your operations,” Rockvyk said, “And after the Mercurian attack on Rainmar, I thought perhaps Starfleet Majestic had been dispatched in great secrecy and haste to attack the Mercurians. But there is no sign of Starfleet Majestic anywhere, even after Rainmar is under siege, Bravo is under siege, Mercurian scout fleets are laying waste to nearby planets and star systems. Why isn’t it coming to our rescue, to liberate Rainmar and the occupied space?”

  Detective Hartar and Law Officer Legtar shrugged their shoulders but they too were feeling shivers inside their bodies from the new revelations.

  “I believe the time for speculation is over,” Raptor said, “We need to confront our Supreme Commander. Throw everything on the table, about Carvyk’s conspiracy, about Dark Star Company’s attack on Conquistador, about Mercurian Empire, and our knowledge of his involvement in Lambda Man. I will confront him in front of our King and the whole Constellation.”

  “Don’t do that Raptor,” Tollvyk said, “We didn’t want to tell you, but,” Tollvyk paced the room, “You are not a war hero anymore, not to everyone anyway, you are being denounced as a deserter by many Constellars and news channels.”

  “What?” Raptor jumped up from his seat, “Me a deserter? I who won them the only victories we have against the Mercurians. We who rode out with a single starship in deep space to strike at a mighty empire? Those bastards dare call me a deserter?”

  “I am sorry, Raptor,” Tollvyk said, “But that is why you can’t certify…” Tollvyk let his words trail off, he did not want to directly speak against VC Barryett’s predicament.

  “Stop,” Raptor said, “I have had enough of hand wringing and worrying and posturing to avoid dangers, the dangers that are part and parcel of the innate natural order of the Universe.”

  Tollvyk raised a brow and looked at Raptor.

  “We have become too spoiled, not like before, too much talk,” Raptor said, “worried about this, worried about that. Worried about ranks, about titles, reputations and records. And what are all this to a true warrior, useless as a gunk to a starship engine. Would our ancient heroes cared about frivolous baubles, gimmicks and trifles, we would never have become a powerful military empire. And I shall not care a whit for any decorations for myself anymore. Throw me out in the space, launch me into space on a rocket, hell launch a rocket at me and launch my thousand pieces into space if that would increase the chance of our victory by even a speck. Victory alone I shall live for and die for.”

  Colonel Tollvyk was frozen with a terrifying awe of his friend’s words. His eyes were wide open and his mouth gaped even larger. He had never heard his friend speak like this. Rest of the room stood silent and stunned as they watched Commodore Raptor.

  “Com. Raptor…” Tollvyk began to speak.

  “Shut up Col. Toll, you are interrupting me,” Raptor said, “They label me a deserter, I will show them the war. Follow me to the command room and not one word from any of you. Dismissed.”

  Rest of them quickly smacked their boots on the floor and sharply saluted Raptor who walked out and they hurriedly and worriedly followed him. Raptor was already climbing the steps to his elevated central section when the command room noticed his presence, stood up with a collective salute and then gave him a standing ovation. Tollvyk was worried how Raptor would react but he took a deep sigh of relief when Raptor smiled at them and waved his hand. His friend had not completely lost it, Tollvyk thought.

  “Capitan Flyptar, prepare Starship Conquistador for immediate departure to Karxian Space,” Raptor barked his first order right away.

  “Yes sir,” Flyptar replied and started directing his flight section.

  “Capitan Dorrvyk, send an urgent message to the Duke of Karxian Empire,” Raptor said, “with my personal code that I will send over in a minute. I am invoking the Aurum Pact. Call the grand assembly of all Aurum nations at once for Pact initiation.”

  “Right away,” Capitan Dorrvyk saluted him and started composing the message while Raptor entered his personal code and transmitted it encrypted to Dorrvyk’s station.

  “Umm…Commodore,” VC Barryett cleared his throat, “If I may speak,” he asked. He wasn’t sure if Raptor’s order for them to keep quiet still applied.

  “Go ahead,” Raptor said.

  “Only our state’s official representative can invoke the Aurum Pact,” VC Barryett said, “the only exception is a Starfleet Commander in need of immediate assistance when our own state is unreachable.”

  “This is an emergency,” Raptor said, “And if the news of our defeat at Rainmar has reached Karx, they will certainly consider it seriously. But I mean to make it happen by showing up and demanding an audience.”

  “As you say sir,” VC Barryett nodded and walked back to his section.

  “Message transmitted to Karxian capital,” Capitan Dorrvyk said then hesitated a bit, “Commodore, there is an important message from House of War encoded communication priority #1 with direct orders from Supreme Commander asking you to ‘Certify or Decline to Certify’ VC Barryett’s decision…” Dorrvyk looked at Barryett who kept his head down and focused on his terminal with no body motion or emotion on his face. Then he continued, “…VC Barryett’s decision to retreat from Rainmar amidst the thick of the battle.”

  “After the damn battle was lost,” Raptor exclaimed loudly and all small talk and side conversations in the room stopped.

  “Will you take some time to think it over? Shall I send a request asking for deferment?” Dorrvyk asked.

  “I have already thought about it,” Raptor said, “Turn on the starship wide broadcast system and connect it to my audio.”

  “Yes sir,” Dorrvyk replied. Raptor could have done it himself but he was looking straight into the eyes of everybody on the command room floor who would match his eyes. Most averted their eyes, only Alvina and Tollvyk kept staring right back at him, their eyes pleading with him not to certify.

  Dorrvyk gave Raptor a thumbs up, too anxious to even speak anticipating Raptor’s excitable s
tate.

  “Officers and Soldiers of Starship Conquistador, this is Commodore Raptor speaking,” Raptor said, “I have survived and I have recovered. I am ready to fight. But more importantly, I want to lay it out where I stand in relation to this Starship and as your commanding officer. When you were all assigned to me, it did not escape my attention that everyone and I include myself, had a tainted subpar record.”

  A stream of sudden gasps could be heard in the command room and Raptor felt them from across the starship.

  “And I repeat, I include myself. I was not disciplined but I was reprimanded as a Vice-Commodore of Starship Victory and my record was not impeccable. But that was the peacetime. You have all proven your worth in the arena. That record doesn’t matter anymore. No one in the future will remember it or care for it. What will matter is only what you do in the battle, in the war. For victory in war sanctifies our deeds, cleanses away our taints, purifies our spirits and glorifies our army and our nation.

  Your war record, our war record against Mercurian Empire is unrivaled across the entire Starfire Army. We are the best fighting spaceship in the entire galaxy now. What is one retreat, just a mere strategic decision. And we may lose battles too. But I will not abandon you and I will not sacrifice anybody to save myself. That I promise you. Make no mistake, I will sacrifice all of us to win the war if that is what it takes, but I will never let one soldier suffer for the sake of my personal gain. I will throw away the Commodore’s uniform and stripes and I will fling myself first into fires of a star to see the light of our victory.

  Capitan Dorrvyk, tell Supreme Commander and the House of War, that Commodore Raptor stands behind each of his warriors and I Certify the Decision.”

  Chapter 8: Machine Planet

  Capitan Setvyk jumped in the laser gun pit himself and helped align the gun as the gunner pulled the trigger and fired away at the incoming rockets. The incoming rockets were growing by the minute and while most were being destroyed by their lasers and counter-rockets a few were splattering all around their hull with massive explosions.