“Good job,” Lee encouraged. “Can we get a closer look at what’s happening?”
“I think so sir,” the big cat said, reaching over a violent cascade of electrical energy. “Give me a moment.”
The image wavered and then snapped into sharp definition. Lee was shocked to see the giant Ch’Tauk dreadnought listing over in space, red plasma fires blazing across its banded metal surface. Dozens of blasts seemed to hammer the enemy ship as Lee watched it began to burst open. As the warship broke apart in a fiery burst of red-orange plasma fuel, Lee was finally able to see the new ship that had apparently came to their rescue.
It was Zeus.
14
As Lee Pearce maneuvered his Silver Eagle fighter from the damaged landing bay of the battleship Resolute, he tried not to think of twisted hull of the old battleship. The damage to his ship had been nearly catastrophic and he wondered if the old girl would ever be the same. He had spread out his repair crews and the ingenious little Elves to cover as much of the destruction as possible. He had even needed to eject the personnel shuttle from his starboard landing bay due to the door of the bay door having been blown out and the shuttle getting jammed into the open portal.
They had rigged a communication feed to the carrier Zeus using a relay strung from Baron’s fighter. Otherwise, there was no way to contact the big Terran ship after it had destroyed or disabled the Ch’Tauk battle group. The captain of the carrier, a middle aged man calling himself Dalton, had requested that Lee comes aboard the big vessel in his fighter. After ordering the rest of the Demons to land on the carrier deck, Lee had felt it was as good a way as any to introduce himself to the lost fleet and check to make sure Alice was okay.
He throttled the Eagle up to less than a quarter of its full power, knowing that the hangar bay could not take any more as he shot out of the open door. For the first time in over four years, Lee turned his fighter to approach a full carrier battle group floating placidly in the space around Resolute. It was odd to see a Confederate Battle cruiser gliding behind the carrier. The last time he had seen the immense warship was when he had briefly been stationed on board the Zeus just before the invasion. After being around cruisers and destroyers, the presence of a ship the size of the Genghis Khan was humbling.
Lee pushed his throttle up to half, evading several support ships that had been dispatched to help his injured battleship. He noted that one of the ships was the St. Paul the ship that had visited the Felinoid race on Vadne. It was the repair ship that had led Lee and the Resolute straight to their present location and to the lost Zeus fleet.
As he approached the carrier, Lee tried to spot the damage to the port hull where he had been ejected into M-space four years prior. The ship looked to have been patched well, but Lee could make out the edges of a rough weld around the launch bay. For a strange moment, he felt almost like he was coming home, despite having lived on the carrier for only a few hours. He noticed that the launch bay doors were open and he angled his fighter into the carrier, carefully avoiding the rows of dark tan fighters that were parked along the sides.
He slowed to a stop and brought his fighter down on anti-grav lifts alone, trying to locate the large oval that had been painted on the floor. The last time he had been here, his ship spent much of its time in the repair bay. Now he knew that the Eagle was far superior to the other fighters that surrounded her. She gleamed in the light of the cavernous bay.
Lee unhooked his restraints and waited for the large room to pressurize. He felt the big door close and heard a siren begin to peel as the air returned to the bay. As soon as the flashing lights and siren had stopped, Lee pressed the release on his canopy and pushed it up, finally smelling the clean air of the carrier that had always faintly smelled of coolant and oily fluids, despite the exposure to the vacuum of space.
The airlock door hissed open and Lee saw Alice ran out of the door to his fighter. She had a huge smile on her face and practically leapt onto the wing of the Eagle as he stood. She wrapped her arms around him and gave him an enthusiastic kiss. Lee tried to push her away, not wanting to embarrass the woman in front of the other pilots who had entered behind her. She finally pulled away on her own and lightly pressed her hands to either side of his face.
“Lee,” she said in a breathless cry. “When we lost communications, I thought you were gone.”
“I couldn’t leave you, Alice,” Lee said. “We still haven’t had that dinner date yet.”
Alice pulled her hand back a few centimeters and then lightly slapped him on the cheek. It had become a kind of tradition between them as, over the past year, she had slapped him repeatedly for things he had done. She smiled again at him and then stepped backwards, allowing him to exit the fighter. He saw Jackal, Merlin and Aztec standing just off his wing, each with a stupid grin crossing their faces. They knew about the relationship and shared it amongst themselves as a private joke.
The airlock hissed open again and a contingent of armed soldiers marched in and stood at attention to either side of the door. A tall, thin woman wearing the standard green and brown colors of the Confederacy stepped through and looked at Lee, waiting for him to step down from the ship. As he made the little jump to the deck, he heard the sound of his boots clicking as they made contact with the metal floor. In his haste to get ready for his meeting with the carrier captain, he had grabbed his old boots and pulled them on. In a way, he realized that it completed the circle that he had started four years ago. He had been wearing these boots the last time he had been on this deck.
“Captain Pearce?” the woman asked in a deep soprano. “My name is Commander Bach. I am the First Officer of the Zeus.”
“Commander Bach,” replied Lee, raising his hand to greet the woman. “Thank you for letting my fighters land on your deck. My ship is a little bit too damaged for them to land right now.”
“I am aware of your condition, Captain,” said the woman in an icy tone. “If you would follow me, the Captain would like to see you in his office. Your pilots can stay here if they like.”
“Hell no,” Alice replied. “I’ve been waiting a year to see this ship and I want to meet this Dalton guy.”
“Alice,” Lee glared at the woman. “This isn’t the Resolute. The people here are all military. You need to rein it in a little bit.”
Alice looked back at him with a little pout. She had never accepted a rank on board the ship and had always felt out of place among the strict military types on the station. Lee had allowed her to fly without the authority as he felt that the Confederate Fleet was gone anyway. Now that they had found the carrier, however, he realized that he may have to formalize her status if he wanted her to continue to fly the fighter.
The Commander led the way back through the airlock with Lee clicking closely behind her. The Demon Squadron kept a respectful distance behind them as they progressed down the hall to the nearby transit station. The Zeus was laid out exactly like Baal so Lee and the others were already familiar with the schematic. As they all stepped onto the transit platform, Lee looked at the Commander standing very still by the control pad.
“Commander,” he began. “I was stationed on Zeus briefly before the invasion. I was with Captain Blackmon when she was killed. What position did Captain Dalton hold before he took command?”
“The Captain was formerly Chief of Operations on board the Zeus,” replied the woman, still displaying an icy calmness that Lee found unnerving. “I was in charge of Computer Systems. When the Ch’Tauk attacked, the Captain got us out of the Terran system and saved our lives. We owe the man everything.”
“I can appreciate your loyalty, Commander,” said Lee. “After I was dropped out of the side of the hull, I drifted for a while until I was rescued by a cruise ship.”
The woman appeared unmoved by his revelation and continued to operate the transit sled dispassionately. Lee looked back to his pilots to see Jackal and Aztec giggling slightly. He had to admit that the woman’s stoicism was amusing. He had always
felt that his charm could win just about anyone over, but this woman seemed to be formed out of ice.
The sled slowed to a stop and the group stepped off and into a corridor. The ship appeared to be in fine condition and they passed several human crews rushing past as they went about their duty. They reached the end of the hall and stepped into a lift car. The soldiers that had accompanied them stepped away as they entered the lift. Commander Bach pressed the lift button and they began their ascent through the ship.
“Your ship has held up fairly well on the run after all these years, Commander,” Lee said, once again trying to engage the woman in conversation. “When we found Baal, she was a wreck. It’s taken almost a whole year to get her back up to fighting strength.”
“I would be interested to hear how you managed that, Captain,” replied the woman, still not making eye contact with Lee. “We are badly in need of a refit and parts are impossible to come by.”
“Let’s just say that Santa has been good to us over the years,” replied Lee. “He sent his Elves to help us out.”
“Captain,” the woman said, pressing the lift stop button. “I know you have been living out on the edge for a long time, but on this ship, the only way we have survived is to maintain our discipline. Your attempts at brevity are unnecessary and unwanted. Your ship has nearly been destroyed and we are your only chance to get back to wherever you have been hiding. So if you don’t mind, I would like to ride in silence from now on.”
Lee looked back at the woman as she pressed the lift button again. He knew that he had allowed his own relaxed command style to control his actions, but the woman’s bearing was bordering on rude. If the captain of the carrier was equally strict about his own actions, then Lee would have to be very careful in how he approached the man.
The lift stopped and the four pilots, captain and commander all stepped out into the long corridor leading to the bridge. Lee saw the computer rooms on either side of the corridor full of people. Commander Bach paused near one door and stepped inside, holding up her hand to halt Lee’s entrance behind her. She briefly exchanged words with the technician inside, seeming to be insistent about some detail, and then exited the room and continued down the hall. Lee assumed that the woman had not given up on her original duties to the systems on board the carrier.
The doors to the bridge opened and the group entered the busy command center. When Lee had first seen Baal, the bridge had nearly been destroyed. The upper command deck had been split and the catwalk leading over the command pit had been blown up during the initial attack four years prior. Despite a year of repair work, the bridge of Captain Chang’s ship had still not regained the level of efficiency and cleanliness that he saw on Zeus.
The consoles practically hummed with energy as the crew worked to scan the surrounding area. The catwalk area was fully intact and the large view screen seemed almost three dimensional in its clarity. Lee envied the ship its almost pristine functionality and technology. His own ship was much more compact with an eye towards functionality over beauty.
Commander Bach beckoned them up the ramp to the command deck. As Lee ascended the ramp, he caught a glimpse of the ship’s commander and it made his blood run cold. Standing at the top of the ramp, head turned away monitoring one of the holographic projections surrounding his chair, was the twin of Admiral Omar Hathaway.
“Oh my God,” Alice cried out in a momentary loss of control. “Lee it’s…
The man turned his head back to the visitors. Lee could see that it was not Hathaway, but it could have been his duplicate. This man had the same dark skin and haircut, but was slightly taller and appeared to be younger. The captain looked at Lee and smiled. He raised his hand and approached the group warmly.
“Welcome aboard Zeus,” he said in a voice that echoed the admiral’s. “I am Captain Franklin Dalton.”
“Captain Dalton,” replied Lee, taking the man’s hand but not looking away. “I am Captain Lee Pearce of the battleship Resolute. We’ve been looking for you for quite some time.”
“I know,” replied the other captain. “We received a communication from Vadne asking us about you.”
“Forgive me, Captain,” Lee said, still not able to tear his gaze away from the face of the other man. “But you look just like Admiral Omar Hathaway.”
“I know that too,” replied Dalton. “For a while most people thought I was going to look like my mother, but genetics won out and I ended up looking just like dad.”
15
Ch’Tauk Dreadnought
The private dining hall aboard the Primero’s flagship was large enough to park a fighter comfortably and still have room for the pilot and flight crew. Upon a long table was laid out a feast fit for the Empress herself, but there was only a single occupant of the room indulging in the succulent fare being offered.
Ki’Bontri was seated at the head of the table, wearing a human style shirt decorated with a dark blue pattern that he had been told was reminiscent of a blooming plant native to Earth. The clothing was now stained with the juices from a thick cut of meat torn from the roasted beast central to the table. The Primero lifted another bite to his hard shelled lips and tore off a bite, dripping more of the viscous juice across his shirt.
He had discarded the Sash of Authority when he had entered the hall and hung it on a decorative peg set into the wall. Although his people typically ate without any covering over their armored hides, Ki’Bontri relished his food and had made the decision to eat wearing the shirt to protect his gleaming chest plates.
The Primero discarded the remainder of his meat to a plate set nearby and pushed himself away from the table. He stood, stretching his four-fingered hands over his head and relishing the feeling of fullness that the meal had given him. Serving on a warship, Ki’Bontri had feared that he would never be capable of feeding himself so fully. Rank, however, had privileges, he had found, such as the ability to order his crew to return to Ch’Tauk and gather the ingredients for the celebratory feast.
The Primero walked away from the table and to a panel on the nearby wall. He slid his finger along the edge, summoning the stewards that would clear the remaining food from the room. There seemed to be more left over than he had thought, but assumed that the crew would distribute it amongst themselves. In reality, he had no idea what the Centurions would do with the food as he never bothered to address any of them directly.
As Ki’Bontri turned back to the table to see if there were still any sweet morsels to chew on, the door to the hall slid open. He heard clawed feet step into the room and then halt. There was a pheromone of disapproval permeating the room now over the scent of the finely cooked food. Ki’Bontri turned to face the subordinate, annoyance creeping over him as he contemplated killing other crewmen.
“You are worse than the primate humans, Ki’Bontri,” said Ki’Bara, standing in the open doorway. “At least the slaves eat only what they need.”
“Ah, Primero,” replied Ki’Bontri, sending out a wave of confident pheromones. “It’s so nice to see you here. Would you care to sample the feast? I had it shipped all the way from the home world.”
“You waste food while your own people die from your incompetence, Ki’Bontri,” said Ki’Bara. “I warned you that I would be watching.”
“Ki’Bara,” replied the Second among Equals. “Whatever are you talking about? This food will not go to waste. The remnants of my celebration will be given to the Centurions below decks. I believe it was you who spoke about the virtues of taking care of your soldiers.”
“The Centurions are still Ch’Tauk, Primero,” Ki’Bara said, advancing on his junior with anger in his stride. “They don’t want your handouts, they want to fight for their honor and earn their rewards.”
“I don’t have time for this right now, Primero and you are upsetting my stomach,” replied Ki’Bontri, turning his back to the other man and walking away. “I ordered the stewards to remove this meal. What have you done with them, Ki’Bara?”
�
��I ordered them to go back down and be ready for battle,” he replied. “They are not your slaves, Primero; they are warriors in Her Majesty’s service and should be treated as such.”
“Ki’Bara, this is becoming tiresome,” The Primero said, waving his hands in a dismissive gesture. “If you have a point, then please get to it and stop wasting my time. I have a plan underway and I do not need these distractions.”
“You arrogant fool!” Ki’Bara responded, stepping closer and emitting a scent of rage. “Do you not know that I will report your actions to the Empress and…”
“The Empress is fully aware of what I am doing here, Ki’Bara,” interrupted Ki’Bontri, whirling on the other man and pointing a finger at him. “I have informed her of my actions as well as yours!”
Ki’Bara stepped back from the other man at this revelation. For a moment, the old warrior seemed to retreat into himself, allowing all four eyes to droop and his jaw to go slack. Ki’Bontri advanced on the other man, still keeping his finger raised in an aggressive stab towards Ki’Bara.
“The Camerlingo was very interested to hear about your return to service, Ki’Bara,” said Ki’Bontri in a hissing voice. “He seemed particularly interested in how you threatened to report to the Empress, despite the fact that he has not seen you for over a year. How do you explain your lies, Ki’Bara?”
“I am the First among Equals, Ki’Bontri,” replied Ki’Bara, regaining some if his confidence. “I still speak for the Empress in Her fleet.”
“Not any more, Ki’Bara,” said Ki’Bontri, standing to his full height and looking down at the other man. “The Camerlingo has advanced me to First, Primero.”
Ki’Bara was staggered by the news, but stood his ground before the arrogant Ch’Tauk commander. He had fought and bled for the Empress since he was a young Centurion himself and to have this scheming politician steal his rightful place was an affront to all that he knew. He blinked his eyes in disbelief at the news as Ki’Bontri began to strut around the table.
Resolute Omnibus (The War for Terra) Page 34
