The Gallant (Star Legend Book 3)

by J. J. Green

  It was a political thing, Wright guessed. If it got out that the BA had little or nothing to do with the defeat of the EAC, it would look bad. The Alliance was concerned about its reputation and ongoing influence in world affairs when the war was over.

  “Can I suggest something?” he asked.

  “Go ahead, Major,” said Carol.

  “What if you give Ellis a guarantee of her discharge as soon as the mission is over?”

  “If I’m still alive,” she muttered.

  Colbourn gave Carol a look. Her desire to shoot down the possibility was almost palpable.

  “I’d have to think about how to organize that within current regulations,” Carol replied, “but I’m willing to consider the request.”

  “Generous of you,” said Ellis.

  Wright winced.

  “Even if you give me a guarantee,” she went on, “how am I to know you won’t renege on it later? I was given a discharge once, now everyone’s backtracking on that.”

  “If we arrange for a guarantee of some kind, it would be legally binding.”

  “I could sue you? Come on, it’s wartime.”

  “Believe me,” said Carol, “it isn’t in our interests to have Marines who don’t want to fight.”

  “It seems the major’s identified a potential way forward,” Merlin said. “Why don’t we all take some time to think about it?”

  “That sounds like a splendid idea.” Carol clapped his hands together. “You must all be tired after your long journey, exhausted even.” He smiled at Ellis. “Rest a while, and we’ll see what we can come up with.”

  As they walked away from Colbourn’s office, Ellis wouldn’t make eye contact with Wright.

  “I had no idea they were going to pull that stunt,” he said. “As far as I knew, your discharge had gone through.”

  “Yeah, okay,” she replied, but she didn’t sound convinced.

  Chapter Forty

  The offer had arrived at Taylan’s cabin interface: two lines of text undersigned by Carol and the new Chief of Defence Staff. The lieutenant-general had gone to the top, probably in an effort to persuade her. They really wanted her to be a Marine, for a short time anyway. If she accepted, her discharge would take effect after the completion of her upcoming assignment.

  Along with the proposal came details of her personal file system and security permissions. Pre-empting her acceptance of the terms of the agreement, she’d been added to the Gallant’s database.

  Her files were empty. There was no sign of her vids. They were gone forever.

  Turning from the interface on her bedside table, she rolled onto her back. For the first time in her career as a Royal Marine, she had her own cabin.

  Carol and Colbourn really wanted her for this mission.

  And so did Merlin.

  No one had explained why.

  They’d sent Wright all the way to West BI, making him go on a long trek through the mountains with Merlin and Arthur to find her—how on Earth they’d managed that, she wasn’t clear. It had to be something to do with the alien. Then they’d all had to walk to the coast, sail to Ireland, and fly up to the Gallant, when all the while some other Marine could have done the job just as well as her, with a lot less wasted time and inconvenience.

  What did it mean? Why was she so important? Maybe Wright knew. She should have asked him on their journey, but she’d been too preoccupied with worries and doubts about what she was doing. Maybe she would get an opportunity to ask him later, though she wasn’t completely sure she trusted him. He was one of them, after all: a Royal Marine, like Colbourn and Carol. She wasn’t sure he had her best interests at heart.

  No, that wasn’t right. She was sure he didn’t. Before he’d found her, he hadn’t known what had gone on since he left her at the Preseli Hills hideout. He would have thought she was still searching for her kids, but he’d come to try to get her anyway.

  She’d thought he was a good guy and he was, to an extent, but following orders always came first with him. She would have to be careful to never forget that. She couldn’t trust anyone. She would have to look out for herself.

  On the other hand, she had the chance to put an end to the long war. If she succeeded in killing the Dwyr, the Britannic Isles would be free again. Things would begin to return to normal, and she might finally find Patrin and Kayla. She wouldn’t have to figure out how to survive in a country where she could be shot on sight and even the local Resistance wouldn’t have anything to do with her.

  In a funny way, it made her happy to think the Crusaders would be free too. Her experience at the midsummer festival had changed her perspective on them. Without a madwoman leading them, filling their heads with superstitions and delusions, they might see how wrong their beliefs were. They might be dragged into modern times.

  If the mission failed, she would probably die. If it succeeded, the Alliance wouldn’t need her anymore.

  What did she have to lose?

  She turned onto her side, reached out to the interface, and accepted Carol’s offer.

  Chapter Forty-One

  The Gallant had been fitted with massive clamps that would attach to the Belladonna’s hull when she came alongside the flagship. The problem was, the EAC’s vessel was faster than the Gallant. When the Alliance Space Fleet troops tried to board her, she could simply pull away and rip off the umbilici. With the clamps in place, wherever she moved, she would take the Gallant with her.

  It was one of the many new challenges the Alliance strategists had tried to anticipate and pro-actively solve. What the BA was attempting was a first in the history of space warfare. Up until then, boarding only took place when the opponent’s ship was crippled. It was the final stage of battle that signaled impending victory. This time, the Space Fleet troops would attempt to board a fully working battleship, all its engines and weapons intact.

  The only thing working in their favor was the fact that the Belladonna would not be able to deploy any of its heavy armaments. As soon as the attack started, the EAC’s other ships would come to the flagship’s defense, but with only fifty meters between the Gallant and the Belladonna, neither would be in a position to target the other. Not only that, destroying another vessel at such close range would inevitably take out the attacker too.

  Not that Crusaders were averse to dying in preference to surrender.

  The thought brought back painful memories for Wright. He saw again the flash of light as the stadium in Kingston, full of EAC soldiers, exploded, heard the detonation, saw the unmoving bodies of the young men and women he’d been sent to collect.

  His orders were to report to the pysch division once the attack on the Belladonna was over and undergo therapy. Only when he’d passed an evaluation would he be allowed to return to duty. No one ever stated it out loud, but it was generally accepted that a spell in a psych unit put an end to your military career. There would always be a doubt over your reliability and mettle. At the very least, it would take years to clean the stain from his record and regain his superiors’ trust. Most likely, he would never receive another promotion.

  “I’m not okay with this,” said Ellis. “Are you okay with this?”

  She was sitting in a crash seat next to him as the Gallant slid silently and invisibly closer to her target.

  “Okay with what?” he asked in reply. There were many aspects of the attack that brought him discomfort.

  “It doesn’t seem right that others have to do the hardest, most dangerous bit while we sit on the sidelines.”

  Boarding the Belladonna would inevitably result in high casualties. The Space Fleet soldiers would be forcing their way through the enemy vessel’s airlocks under heavy fire. Consequently, Ellis, Arthur, Merlin, and he were under orders to wait until the ship’s defenses were broken through before they began their mission. Their roles were too important to risk their lives in the initial attack.

  “Everyone has to play their part,” he replied, though he wondered how old the men and women we
re who would lose their lives that day. “If we all did exactly what we wanted we’d never win a battle and more lives would be lost.”

  “If we all did exactly what we wanted,” she said, “probably half of us wouldn’t even be here.”

  He couldn’t deny the truth of her comment.

  “What I don’t understand is,” she went on, “why they’re using the Gallant in the attack. I mean, she isn’t the biggest ship in the fleet, but she’s up there. I know it’ll take a lot of troops to fight the Belladonna’s crew, but wouldn’t it make more sense to use dropships? Why risk bringing one of our best battleships next to the EAC’s most powerful vessel? If we lose, they’ll have another great ship in their fleet.”

  He explained the problem with the superiority of the Belladonna’s engines, then also said, “Besides, no dropship is large enough to accommodate the cloaking device. It’s massive. The engineers had to remove half the Gallant’s weaponry and living quarters to fit it. That’s why she couldn’t take part in the Battle of the Bres—the remodeling took a year.”

  Three minutes to contact, came the general announcement.

  He closed his visor.

  Nearer the airlocks, the boarding troops waited. When the clamps had engaged, an umbilicus would extend from each airlock and attach to the Belladonna’s. Sappers would use molecular scalpels to breach the hatches, then the fighting would begin.

  Ellis leaned over to touch her helmet to his. “Have you ever seen such a weird couple?” She nodded toward Arthur and Merlin, who sat opposite them on the other side of the passageway.

  Arthur had been persuaded to forsake his chainmail and helmet and put on an armored suit, but he hadn’t given up his sword. He sat with it propped on the floor, point downward, both his hands resting on the hilt.

  Merlin was wearing his attire from the time he’d first appeared in human form: a red robe that extended to his feet and a black cap that covered most of his skull. He’d declined the offer of an EVA suit or any other protection against depressurization.

  He had to admit she was right.

  Two minutes to contact.

  “You know,” he said, “I really didn’t expect Carol to insist you operate as a Marine for this. If I’d known what he and Colbourn intended, I would have refused to try to find you.”

  “It’s okay. I know how important your job is to you.” She moved her helmet away.

  She didn’t believe him and he didn’t know how to convince her.

  Patel loomed in his inner vision, and then his last sight of Elphicke.

  Fuck.

  If Taylan died today, he would never forgive himself.

  One minute to contact.

  All the small movements of everyone around him ceased. Arthur had his head down. Was he praying? Merlin stared ahead, focusing on nothing.

  The seconds ticked away in silence, then, over the comm: Ten, nine, eight, seven...

  The Gallant had been slowing for ages. She came to an abrupt halt, jerking everyone in their seats. The clamps had grabbed the Belladonna.

  The deck reverberated with the pounding of booted feet as the troops raced to the airlocks. Already, umbilici would be shooting out and latching onto the enemy vessel’s hull. The scalpels would be through the thick barrier in no time. Then the hard fight would begin.

  Sitting and waiting was agony. All Wright could do was watch his HUD for the signal to move.

  A shockwave exploded down the passageway. Somewhere, a grenade had gone off. Was the enemy using them to detach the umbilici? Or were the Alliance throwing them into the Belladonna to clear entry to the ship? It was impossible to tell.

  His helmet picked up the distant whisper of pulse rifle fire and physical clash of armored bodies.

  A Crusader appeared around a corner!

  One of them had broken through onto the Gallant.

  The man ran, confused, glancing over his shoulder, somehow cut off from his fellows.

  From his seated position, Wright aimed and fired. The round hit his chest, stopping him in his tracks. He looked down at the hole in his armor.

  Meanwhile, Wright had unfastened his harness and was walking toward the hostile. He fired again, hitting the same spot as before. The Crusader fell forward on his face. The body twitched a couple of times before it was still.

  His actions had been automatic: see an enemy soldier, shoot to kill.

  He’d been doing it most of his adult life. Killing had become second nature to him, he realized.

  He seemed to see himself as if from a distance, standing over the dead Crusader.

  Then the signal flashed up.

  THE Belladonna’s interior was a hazy, scorched mess. Alliance and EAC troops lay dead in the passageways and fighting continued in other areas of the ship. The vessel was not yet in the BA’s hands, but this section was, for now. They couldn’t afford to wait until the ship was secured to try to find the Dwyr. The Alliance might be repulsed, so they had to take their chance while they had it.

  As ordered, Wright led the search with Ellis, Arthur and Merlin following in their steps.

  They moved fast. The Belladonna was a huge vessel. If they had to search her top to bottom it would take hours. He guessed the Dwyr would probably be somewhere in the living quarters. She was either in a cabin or the bridge, but he didn’t think she would have had time to make it there after the attack began. She would be surrounded by a personal guard by now, no doubt. That was where Arthur would come in.

  The deck shook. Somewhere, another grenade had gone off. Smoke puffed down the passageway and streamed into vents as the environmental control tried to clear it. The atmosphere readings on his HUD were going haywire. Somewhere, the ship was depressurizing. Probably multiple places—the clamps piercing her hull, destroyed airlocks, and detached umbilici.

  A knot of Crusaders appeared ahead. Ellis fired and Wright joined in. Their pulses splashed over the enemy’s suits. One fell. The hostiles moved to fire back, but something made them pause. They were looking past him and Ellis.

  After a moment’s hesitation, abandoning their fallen comrade, they fled.

  Wright glanced back. Arthur was holding his sword aloft.

  His formidable presence, along with Merlin’s odd garb, must have struck terror into them. The alien’s red robes were similar to the Dwyr’s ceremonial costumes. They must have been disturbed and confused.

  “Major,” Merlin said.

  “What?”

  “This way.”

  Wright stopped and turned to face the alien. He was pointing at a passageway that branched off the main, heading starboard.

  “You can tell where she is?”

  “Not her, but someone I believe is with her.”

  Exasperated, adrenaline making every nerve taut, Wright replied, “Whatever you say.”

  Ellis’s dark visor pivoted toward his, as if questioning his decision. He didn’t like the idea of Merlin taking over either, but he was anxious to get the job done.

  The alien took the new route.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Fighting annoyance and reluctance every step of the way, Taylan followed Merlin through the Belladonna. Carrying out an assignment on the request of the Britannic Alliance was one thing, doing the alien’s bidding was another.

  But then, hadn’t they been doing his bidding all along, under the guise of fulfilling the BA’s aims? He’d been playing them all for fools and she still didn’t know exactly why. The story Wright had told her, about Merlin saying he represented powers who supported the Alliance, didn’t ring true. Her gut told her his demeanor didn’t echo his words.

  Nevertheless, she didn’t have much of a choice except to trudge along behind him.

  Arthur walked alongside the alien, his sword held defensively, while she and Wright regularly checked the rear. The chaotic situation aboard the ship meant threats could come from any angle.

  Merlin halted. He seemed to be considering something.

  A door slid open and four Crusaders bu
rst into the passageway. She lifted her rifle. Arthur swung around, his sword moved in a wide arc, slicing into a man’s bicep and continuing through into his chest. The king heaved the blade out and kicked his victim out of the way. He drove the point into another soldier’s stomach, thrusting until the blade emerged from his back.

  The remaining two Crusaders leapt backward to get out of his reach, retreating through the doorway. The door slid closed. Two men lay dying in pools of blood, and neither she nor Wright had fired a shot.

  Merlin walked on.

  She’d been wondering how the king would fare against the Dwyr’s troops. The Crusaders he’d killed at the launch ceremony had been mostly unarmed and defenseless. Pulse fire might not affect him, but would he have any effect against suited-up soldiers? Her question had been answered.

  Wright opened a one-to-one comm. “I see what you mean about him.”

  She replied, “You haven’t seen anything yet.”

  “Not far now,” said Merlin over his shoulder.

  They strode around a corner. Five troops stood abreast, blocking the passageway. More were gathered to their rear.

  “This is it,” said Wright. “Good luck.”

  Pulse bolts flew from the enemy’s rifles. The energy spilled over Arthur and Merlin...

  Merlin was dissolving.

  As the Dwyr’s female companion at the launch ceremony had, the alien was breaking apart, becoming translucent.

  Taylan fired back. Her rounds passed through the space containing the diffusing Merlin. His cloud began to fill the space around her, dark gray and billowing. Trying to ignore the distraction, she marched through it, firing round after round at the enemy. A pulse hit her. Agonizing heat emanated from the spot and she stumbled.

  “Behind me, Taylan!” Arthur ordered, taking a long step to get ahead of her.

  His arm was up, his elbow pointing back and his sword held tip first as he stamped toward his foes.