“Let them run back to their Empire,” Chang said, settling back in his chair. “They’ll think twice about coming back.”
The commodore watched as the battle group attached to the carrier Zeus began to move away from the battle, allowing enemy fighters to escape back to their capital ships. Since the Ch’Tauk fighters could travel through M-space without a carrier, there was little harm in letting them become escorts for the damaged and fleeing capital ships. The fighter squadrons from the Alliance vessels continued their pursuit, driving the enemy away from the fleet and towards open space.
“Sir!” Matthias exclaimed. “There is a jump point opening!”
The action had been so fast that Chang had decided not to use the jump blocker technology in case they needed to leave the battle and head back to Perigee. Now, the Ch’Tauk dreadnought had used their own technology to open the blue-brown vortex into M-space, clearing the way for their escape.
“Let them go,” Chang said. ‘We’ve made our point.”
The Ch’Tauk fleet entered the energy whirlpool and slowly began to disappear from Chang’s display. The commodore noticed that there was still one Alliance ship following the enemy fleet as it fled the battle. He saw the designation on the holographic projection and cursed silently. He should have known that Pearce, in his unstable state, would not be able to break away from the destruction.
“Pearce,” Chang said, tapping a control on his armrest to open a direct channel. “Lee, it’s Ron. You need to break off the attack. It’s over, Lee.”
The Eagle continued to pursue the enemy fleet even as they pierced the energy barrier in the jump point. Lee’s ship swerved to avoid the swirling vortex of energy even as he pummeled the ships that were leaving. As the last of the Ch’Tauk ships limped into M-space, Chang saw the fighter accelerate towards the opening.
“Lee,” Chang yelled. “You’ll never survive. It’s not what Alice would have wanted.”
As Chang mentioned the female pilot’s name, he saw the Silver Eagle swerve away from the jump point. The whirlpool collapsed in on itself, closing off the blue-brown entrance and restoring the normal blackness of space where it had been. Lee’s ship continued in its wide turn until it had angled back towards Baal. To Chang, it looked as if the man was about to attack the carrier.
“Why did you let them go?” Lee’s voice cried over the intercom. “Those damned bugs killed Alice, Ron.”
Chang’s heart broke as he heard the anguish in his friend’s voice. They had all lost someone during the invasion of Earth, Chang had lost his wife and three children, but the pain of Alice’s death seemed so much deeper. The woman was well liked among all of the crews and Ronald had grown close to the couple during their infrequent visits to Perigee. Her death seemed to be an open wound that tore away at Lee Pearce’s soul.
“It was over, Lee,” Chang responded. “We won.”
“It’s not over, Commodore,” Lee said. “Not until we are back on Earth. Alice wanted to see that planet so much, Ron. I will take our home world back from them if it means losing everything else.”
“Then they will have won, Lee,” replied Chang. “Losing everything to win back a planet, even Earth, is no victory.”
“It’s all I’ve got left, Ron,” Lee said quietly.
“No, Lee,” Chang said. “You’ve got Resolute and the Alliance.”
Chang heard the channel click off as the Silver Eagle turned back towards the battleship. He felt relief that the battle had resolved with his friend alive and his ship and fleet intact. There was silence on the bridge as the crew saw the fighter return to its home. As the fighter entered the hangar bay of the battleship, Chang scanned the area for any remaining ships. There was a single signal rising from the planet.
“Matthias,” Chang said. “What is that signal coming up from Karisia?”
“I cannot read it, sir,” replied the young man. “It isn’t a Ch’Tauk signal, but it doesn’t sound like an Alliance ship either.”
“Can you bring up a visual?” Chang asked.
The view screen shifted and an image of a banded, flattened bug expanded to take over the projection. It was rising in lurching leaps through the atmosphere of the planet. Chang looked at the scans to determine if the ship was damaged, but did not see any energy spikes or plasma fires. The crew stared at the ship as well, trying to decide if the ship was hostile or not. There were several Alliance Vultures speeding through the thick air after the Ch’Tauk landing craft.
“Captain, I am getting a signal from that landing ship,” announced Matthias. “I think it is one of ours.”
“Patch it through,” Chang ordered.
The projection of a scraggly human appeared on the screen. He was naked to the waist and looked as if he had been dipped in mud. There were many looking burns around his neck, but the man did not seem to be bothered by any pain. Long, wet hair hung around the shoulders of the man as he grinned into the projection.
“Commodore Chang!” Jakes said as he saw the other man. “It’s so nice of you to come along finally. Could you please ask your ships not to kill us?”
“Matthias, wave off those Vultures,” Chang said, a smile growing across his face. “Jakes, what the hell happened to you?”
“I tripped and fell into a planet, Ronny,” said Jakes, using his irritating nickname for Chang. “I brought some friends along with me, Commodore. I think you’ll be wantin’ to speak with’em so could you open the doors?”
“The landing bay is open, Captain,” Chang replied, glancing at his console. “We won, Jakes. The battle is over.”
As Chang completed the sentence the dam holding back the emotions of the crew finally burst and they began to cheer. It had truly been one of the most vicious battles that any of them had ever lived through. Suddenly caught up in the moment, Chang allowed his crew to celebrate the moment. He heard the sound of shouts and cheers from the other ships in the fleet as the word was spread throughout the Alliance. Jakes called the announcement over his shoulder to the passengers of the landing craft. As he looked back, he held up his hand to quiet the celebration.
“Commodore,” Jakes asked. “I got one more question for you.”
“What is that, Captain?” Chang asked. “Ask me anything.”
“Well, Ronny,” Jakes said, leaning in closer to the screen. “Where the hell did you park my ship?”
28
Cruise Liner Terran Hope
“Why was the captain not waiting for me when I arrived,” thought Banu Rao. “It is not as if there is still a battle being fought.”
The new First Minister of the Alliance strode the halls of his former home and admired the restored cruise ship as if it were his own property. He had lived on the ship for years as a passenger before being taken to Perigee station where he had risen to political power among the civilians. He had returned to the former Terran Princess to be sure that the military was treating the refugees from Karisia properly.
Banu did not dislike the military; in fact, he enjoyed the company of many of the officers on the station and appreciated all that they did to make the people of Terra safe on the far-flung station. It was more like a fear of what a powerful military could do that bothered him. He had always assumed that it had been the Confederate military that had instigated the invasion and had later found out that, that was nearly true.
He had discovered, through secret channels, of course, that the Confederate military had been planning an invasion of Ch’Tauk nearly four years ago. It had been assumed that the alien species was defenseless due to a lack of contact with the warrior caste of their society. The Ch’Tauk society that the humans had found had been primarily made up of artists and priests and seemed totally unwilling to submit to the control of the Confederacy and also totally unable to withstand the attack. When the traitor, Erik Heyerdahl, had relayed the information about the invasion, the Ch’Tauk had struck with preemptive fury and taken the human home-world from there would be conquerors.
Banu
had lost family in the attack, his parents and others and developed a natural distrust of the government that had set the attack in motion. During his years on the cruise ship, he had protested that they be returned to Earth and even been arrested for trying to break into the communications center to send a signal to his family on Earth. Had he done so, he now realized, he would have been guilty of giving away information to the enemy just as certainly as if he had been the traitor, Heyerdahl.
He walked across the broad promenade where he had once eaten a grand meal with friends before they had been forced to flee from Earth and their home. He saw several of the ship’s crew enjoying a soft drink from a cart near where the restaurant once was. Now the ship had been relegated to transporting civilian refugees and others on errands for the Alliance. He almost missed the old days, sometimes, but knew that he needed to keep moving forward if they were to keep their species intact.
When the knowledge had reached him that the planet Karisia was about to be invaded, it had been Rao who had championed the defense of the planet. It had not been out of concern for the natives, Rao really did not like the large amphibians that lived there, but he knew that there was still human presence there. He knew because he had sent them there.
Banu reached the lift that occupied the port side of the promenade and entered. He briefly toyed with the idea that he would return to his former suite on board the ship, but knew that would be a folly that he could not allow himself. Nostalgia was the province of the victors, and no real victory had been achieved here. He pressed the button to take him to the area of the ship reserved for the Karisien refugees. He had told the first officer that he was visiting as an ambassador, but he had another motive for traveling all the way to the battle site.
As the lift stopped, Banu thought he smelled a faint odor of curry, but with earthier base to it than he recognized. The odor reminded him of his mother’s cooking back on Earth and made him missed Kakinada even more. The lift doors opened and he found himself staring at the muddy, dirty face of Connor Jakes.
“Bunny,” exclaimed Jakes, reaching forward to wrap his arms around the Indian politician. “Who the hell are you?”
“It’s Minister Rao, Mister Jakes,” replied Banu. “And I am very busy right now.”
“Well, if we are gonna be formal, and then you can call me Captain,” replied Jakes, pulling back and standing aside for the minister. “I wanted to thank you, Bunny.”
“It’s Banu, Captain Jake’s,” responded Rao, stepping into the hall and away from Jakes. “Your thanks are not required.”
“Oh, but they are, Mister Rao,” Jakes said, bowing slightly in an exaggerated manner. “You brought me back my ship.”
Banu Rao had needed to come to the battle as soon as he could and with the absence of many of the military vessels, he had been forced to accept a ride on the dilapidated yacht that Jakes had acquired. The mess on the ship had made Rao sick for the first twenty four hours, but he and Lieutenant Bonita Estevez had spent most of the journey trying to clean the place up. By the time they had arrived near Karisia, the ship had lost the rotting food smell that had seemed to permeate the very walls and looked much more like the private vessel it had once been.
“The Sweet Liberty is docked at the starboard docking entrance, Captain,” Banu replied. “I suggest you board her and leave as quickly as you can.”
“Now that seems rude, mister Minister,” replied Jakes with a cockeyed grin. “I was gonna hang around here for a bit and see if I could get a decent meal.”
“I think you will find the galley of your own ship much more palatable,” Banu said. “And besides, I assumed you would be on your way by now to wherever you people go.”
“Well, Bunny,” Jakes replied. “My people, as you put it, like to go, get a good steak once in a while and I hear this tub has a pretty good mess hall. After that, I guess we’ll just head-on back to Perigee until we can get things squared away.”
“Your presence will not be needed again, Captain Jakes,” said Rao, squaring off against the other man. “Now that the Zeus has arrived with her escorts, our need for pirates is at an end.”
“Wait just a damn minute, Minister Rao,” Jakes said, stepping closer to the other man. “Are you tellin’ me that the Sweet Liberty is bein’ kicked out of the Alliance? After all we’ve done for you?”
“What you have done for us, Captain Jakes, is nearly getting yourself caught numerous times,” Rao said, stepping up nose-to-nose with the pirate captain. “If you had been taken to the Ch’Tauk, our safety would have been compromised. Along with that, you are a thief and a murderer and your kind will not be tolerated within the Alliance.”
“Then you will have to kick us out too,” said a voice from further down the corridor. “Or do you not like our kind either, Minister Rao.”
Banu turned to see Melaina Petros standing behind him, hands on hips, with a furious look in her eyes. Although it had been her involvement in a prison break that had drawn the human race into another battle with the Ch’Tauk, Banu Rao likes the woman. It was upsetting to him that she would choose to defend the scruffy pirate captain just when he had decided to get rid of him.
“Miss Petros,” Rao said. “It is so nice to see you. I did not…”
“Can it, Minister,” Petros said, stepping closer to the politician. “You did not expect me to be standing here while you insulted one of the bravest men I have ever met?”
“Miss Petros,” Rao began. “I was only trying to explain to Captain Jakes that his brand of lawless problem solving will not be tolerated in the Alliance.”
“His brand of problem solving saved my life,” Melaina replied. “In fact, if it were not for him, none of us would be here right now celebrating this victory.”
Banu Rao stared at the woman as she brushed past him to Jakes. She had to stand on her toes to reach him, but the two exchanged a quick kiss that shocked Rao to the core. He knew Melaina Petros’ skills were legendary and the idea that she could be fraternizing with a muddy, disheveled pirate like Jakes was incomprehensible.
“Be that as it may, Miss Petros,” Rao said, trying to restore his composure. “We should not be so tolerant of criminals in our new future.”
“The future,” Jakes replied, smiling at the man. ‘Is whatever you want it to be, Bunny.”
“It’s Banu!” Rao exclaimed, losing his temper completely in the face of the grinning man. “And we will be making our future without people like you.”
“Then you’ll be making it without us or our new friends, Minister Rao,” said Melaina. “The scientists from Harpy Station will follow my lead if you insist on getting rid of Captain Jakes. If those researchers leave the Alliance; then so will the Elves.”
Rao was stunned. He had never imagined that the former prisoner and scientist would be blackmailing him in favor of Captain Connor Jakes. Banu wondered how it had all gone wrong for him despite being the leader of an entire government. He knew that they needed the expertise of the little creatures if they ever had a hope of reclaiming Earth from the Ch’Tauk. He exhaled a deep sigh and dropped his shoulders.
“Alright, Miss Petros,” he said. “You win, but understand that if Mister Jakes returns to his criminal ways, I will see to it myself that he is tried and convicted if I have to prosecute him myself. Is that clear?”
“Crystal clear,” Jakes said, stepping up to look Rao in the eyes. “And you can have my guarantee that if I decide to start murderin’ anybody, I’ll make sure that you’re the first to know.”
Jakes and Melaina stepped away from Rao, leaving him breathless in the corridor. The lift departed and the minister turned to continue on his way. As he walked, he noticed that the odor that he had smelled earlier seemed to be traveling with him now. He looked down at his red coat to see a thick layer of dried mud had been deposited on him by Jakes when they had embraced. Rao cursed loudly as he tried to brush the foul smelling stuff from his clothing.
He reached the door he wanted to enter and p
ressed the keypad by the door. It took only a moment for the portal to slide open and Rao let himself in. Inside were several researchers that had been brought up from Karisia prior to the battle. There were four men and two women in the room along with three of the big amphibians. Rao looked around the room to see the man he had come to talk to.
“Banu,” said the man, rising from a shared couch and approaching. The man was tall and broad shouldered, with a short beard that had become gray since the last time Rao had seen him. “I am so happy to see you again.”
“Doctor Lamont,” Banu said, taking the man’s strong hand in a firm handshake. “I am glad you all are here. Did everyone make it?”
“Yes, thank you,” replied Lamont. “The base is still intact as well.”
“That is good to hear, my friend,” replied Rao with a smile. “And the weapon; is it finished?”
“Yes, Banu, it nearly is,” said Lamont in a veiled whisper. Doctor Haley Lamont had been Erik Heyerdahl’s lab partner before the Ch’Tauk invasion of Karisia. Once Banu had found out that the man still retained much of the knowledge that Heyerdahl had tried to hide, he had spirited the man off of Perigee station and back to Karisia. The man had gathered some of the former prisoners of Harpy station that Lee Pearce had rescued and began work to build the new weapon in secret and away from the military.
“Then we can begin testing?” Rao asked, drawing the other man close. “We can find someplace isolated.”
“Not yet, Minister Rao,” Lamont said. But in another year, it will be ready. The Hyper-Velocity Energy Accelerator is the most powerful device in the galaxy and we can use it to re-take Terra for the Alliance.”
“No, Doctor,” replied Rao. “Not for the Alliance. Not for any other group or people, do you hear me? We will use this weapon for the good of the human race, my friend. And we will win the war for Terra ourselves.”
The group heard Rao as his voice picked up in volume. They all stared at the man in fascination as he seemed to grow in their eyes. All of their work had come to this moment and they seemed to finally see the man as their savior.
Resolute Omnibus (The War for Terra) Page 44
