The Return: The Conglomerate Trilogy (Volume 1)

by William S Frisbee Jr

  “We are coming,” Luke told Gray. “Hang in there. What about casualties?”

  “Our battalion is ripping them apart but the local Athenian defense force is poorly trained and unprepared to fend off aggressive attackers. They don’t have the weapons or training,” Gray said. “I’m using squads and platoons to plug holes but the Caliphate troops are jacked up on drugs and armed with grenades and rockets. The Athenians are taking heavy casualties. Where I deploy squads or platoons, we push them back but I don’t know if I have enough troops, we are facing at least ten to one odds, more likely thirty to one. They’ve made it into the Neritum habitat and it will be hard forcing them out. A warbot kills about twenty of them for every warbot I lose and they still keep coming.”

  “Copy that,” Luke said, opening and closing his hands, wishing for something to do. “Hang in there.”

  “Aye, aye Commander,” Gray said. “We are making them bleed for every millimeter of this rock.”

  Luke continued to watch the Athena’s slow and ponderous race to the wormhole like a snail chasing a mouse hole. It would get there, but keeping track of its process was one of the least exciting things Luke had done in a while.

  The repairs of the Ultio continued as Luke sat there watching the board. More systems came back online.

  “We have our plasma lances, a pair of missile bays and numerous point defense and secondaries,” Luke said. “We have teeth and we will bite.”

  Luke stared at the main screen, a magnified view of Athena. The transports were large lumbering bulbs, strung together with strands of metal and pipe. Easy prey for a real warship but there wasn’t anything left to shoot at them except for the tanks playing hide and seek. The transports had mass drivers, but just enough to threaten the tanks. The space between the transports and Athena was filled with shuttles going back and forth. One transport was moving closer so it could dock with one of the docking arms.

  A bright flash of light caused the camera to dim for a second and when it cleared Luke saw the broken remains of the transport drifting away. The docking arm was gone.

  “What just happened?!” Luke asked Gray.

  “That would have been two warbots from Puller’s platoon. They got a mini-nuke close enough it appears.”

  “Good job,” Luke said wondering how many thousand Caliphate troops had just died. Not enough. The other transports pulled back a few kilometers in case there were other suicidal warbots.

  “It was a long shot,” Gray said. “I’m still waiting to hear from Puller. Hopefully he wasn’t too close.”

  Luke nodded. His voice stuck in his throat.

  “Copy that,” Luke managed. “You have two more transports that look like they want a piece of you and are lining up to dock.”

  “Docking collar is shattered,” Gray said. “They will have to go EVA and I’ve got a lot of great shots available to discourage that. We are taking heavy casualties though.”

  “Copy that,” Luke said. “Make them suffer.”

  “We will hold the line,” Gray said sounding far too grim to Luke.

  CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

  Sol System, Battlecruiser Leonis Ultio

  Luke wanted to close his eyes and sleep as they entered maximum range and the first shot from the plasma lances scored a direct hit on a large troop carrier, shattering the center sphere. The rest of the transports accelerated in different directions their little engine spheres straining to push them away, but they were slow lumbering beasts. Luke launched missiles as they got far enough away from the colony. Several of them maneuvered to hide behind the colony and they would escape, based on the angles, but not all of them.

  “Incoming Caliphate targeting lock,” the Ultio computer announced.

  “Incoming Caliphate targeting lock,” the Ultio continued to announce until Luke turned off notifications. The transports would have minor defenses, nothing for him to worry about.

  Another beam lanced out and shattered what looked like a slow-moving supply ship. The fighters and frigates hunted the lightly armed Caliphate ships. Luke did not enjoy the slaughter, but he had to do everything in his power to keep those Caliphate solders away from the civilians of Athena.

  “Caliphate cruisers will enter missile range in fifteen minutes,” Nelson said.

  “Accelerate away at the last minute,” Luke said. “And let the fighters and frigates hunt until the last minute. I want to do as much damage as we can.”

  “Aye, aye Commander,” Nelson said.

  “How much time before they can get to the wormhole?” Luke asked. A plasma lance fired and another cargo transport died.

  “Three hours,” Nelsons said and Luke swore.

  “What are your plans when they transition?” Leonessa asked.

  “I don’t know,” Luke said. “As near as I can tell, only the newer Caliphate cruisers have wormhole generators. Maybe I can keep them chasing us around the solar system and picking them off one by one while Athena gets its act together, wipes out the Caliphate soldiers and escapes.”

  “Incoming Caliphate targeting lock,” the Ultio computer announced and Luke checked the range. They were not in range yet so Luke turned off the notification for the inbound warships.

  “Commander?” Nelson said and his tone of voice worried Luke.

  “Go,” Luke said.

  “There is a problem,” Nelson said. “I am detecting a large fleet, four hours out from Athena and the wormhole.”

  Nelson brought the tactical plot up and focused on the long-range gravimetric sensors.

  “Oh shit,” Luke said.

  “Oh fudge,” Leonessa said seeing the same thing.

  “What is that thing in the center of the formation? Leonessa?” Luke asked unable to think of anything good.

  Leonessa shook her head. “We thought it was going to be an orbital battle station, or maybe just resources. About fifteen years ago they moved some M-type asteroids into earth orbit. It looks like they put engines on one, and lots of weapons.”

  Everyone stared at it for several minutes. At this range, there weren’t many details but they could see the gravity sink it created, along with numerous smaller spots surrounding it, which would be cruiser escorts.

  “Get me a full threat analysis,” Luke said. “Leonessa, open a channel to Athena Command and let them know what is coming. I hope it doesn’t have a wormhole drive but at this point I would say it does.”

  “What are we going to do?” Leonessa said, staring at the monstrosity.

  As sensors were focused on it, more and more of the spots were being identified as the new battle cruisers and troop transports. The asteroid vessel had to be at least ten kilometers long and well over three kilometers wide. It was huge. Even a Conglomerate battleship would require time to blow it to pieces.

  “Where did they get so many damned ships?” Luke asked counting all the remaining ships.

  “They weren’t fighting a civil war,” Leonessa said softly, staring. “They were building. No wonder we haven’t seen many Caliphate ships in the last seven years. Fiddle sticks. This is bad.”

  “I’m seeing at least twenty of the new battle cruisers, based on their mass,” Nelson said. “Do you think the Chonka patrols can stop them?”

  Luke looked back at the fleet, realizing the full horror of what he was seeing. This fleet could savage the Chonka patrol vessels and bombard Bizzen if they decided to, and Luke knew they would do so. The Topa would have to retaliate and would most likely destroy Earth and all humans to insure this ever happened again. Luke wondered if Suresh had known this and been trying to warn him? The Caliphate’s actions were too predictable.

  “No,” Luke said. Nelson got a telescope focused and magnification of the sensors showed a wormhole generator and two colossal mass drivers embedded in the hull. “The previous fleet chewed up the patrol vessel and Chonka doesn’t have many. Those mass drivers looked like they could launch a kinetic missile at Bizzen or any Conglomerate station or planet. It would cause wide scale pl
anetary devastation.”

  Leonessa nodded and tried to raise Athena Command.

  “Caliphate cruisers are not changing course to follow,” Nelson said. “They are decelerating to stay close to Athena. The last Caliphate transports are docking.”

  Luke swore. Failure tore at his soul. He had two functional frigates, thirty-one remaining fighters, and one battered and limping battle cruiser. There were no troops to deploy and nothing even remotely capable of running a gauntlet and attacking that behemoth. Around him everyone looked back at him. They were silent. Looking to him for a plan, for answers, for something. Nelson remained emotionless and Musashi stood there with his arms folded, scowling at Luke.

  He turned back to the plot.

  “We will kick their freaking ass,” Luke said. “We need a good plan.”

  He glanced at Musashi who smiled back.

  “Never give up Meat Sack,” Musashi said.

  “Did you teach me how?” Luke replied.

  “Nope,” Musashi said. “I have also neglected to teach you how to commit suicide, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

  “Thanks metal head,” Luke said.

  “Any time meat sack,” Musashi replied.

  Luke looked at the boards. There had to be something he could do.

  “We are receiving a tight beam from one of the Caliphate battle cruisers near Athena,” Nelson reported.

  “On speakers,” Luke said.

  “You lose infidel,” Serkan said. “Athena is ours. We will capture it and use it as an invulnerable base to attack the Jupiter Alliance and the rest of the New Alamo cowards. The population will become our pleasure slaves. You cannot fight against the warriors of Allah the Magnificent and win because you will always lose.”

  “You will destroy the human race,” Luke said resisting the urge to scream and swear at Serkan because that is what the bastard wanted.

  “Insha’Allah,” Serkan said, his voice dripping with smug superiority. “Our troops are winning. We will take Athena through the wormhole and there it will be safe from infidel attack. Our crews will enjoy the hospitality of the Athena population without the chance of any Jupiter commandos interfering with their fun. You are helpless. Does it feel good? There is nothing you can do in your crippled ship except die, like the dog you are. You cannot flee home and warn the rest of your cowardly comrades.”

  “I will kill you,” Leonessa said breaking into the conversation. “Slowly, you pig eating dog.”

  Serkan laughed. “I will enjoy watching you try slut. It will be fun to throw you to my men. They will teach you your place. A mere sex slave is not worth my time.”

  “Don’t forget how many Caliphate fleets I have destroyed and crippled, I will win,” Luke said. “Cut transmission.”

  Luke looked at Leonessa. Her face was red and her hands were shaking. Her lips trembled, holding back emotions.

  For a moment, his problems were forgotten as he looked at Leonessa. It was her home, and she knew plenty of people there, but this was pure hatred and anger.

  “Are you not telling me something?” Luke asked quietly.

  “Years ago, I was with the Jupiter Commandos, an elite Marine unit. We did stealthed landings on several Caliphate asteroid supply depots they had captured and we destroyed their garrisons and supplies.”

  “And?” Luke asked.

  “The Janissaries had captured those asteroid bases. They didn’t build them. There were still a few civilians still there, but. . . “

  Luke watched and waited.

  “They were no longer human,” she said looking into Luke’s eyes, but Luke could see she wasn’t looking at him. “They had been tortured and degraded to the point they were no longer human. Because we couldn’t save them in time. . . we. . . they couldn’t be saved.”

  Luke nodded.

  “That won’t happen,” Luke said grimly. “Gray is an experienced commander, a damned good one. I expect he can continue fighting a guerrilla war there for months and he will make them suffer. There might be enough time for New Alamo to launch a rescue mission and push back the Caliphate. Gray knows what’s at stake.”

  “But not if the Caliphate launches an attack against Bizzen,” Leonessa said bitterly. “If what you said is true, the Conglomerate will destroy everything human. They will destroy Athena.”

  “It won’t happen,” Luke said and turned back to the screen. “I’ll figure something out.”

  Luke looked at the screens. He could accomplish anything. Given time, maybe he could devise something, but now? It was looking more and more hopeless. Even a suicidal attack would be nothing more than an annoyance. Optimistically, New Alamo could escape what was about to befall the human race, but Luke was not seeing anything he could do to stop the Caliphate. They were too numerous and too well prepared. More good, honest people would die and there was not a damned thing he could do. Every plan he came up with revealed itself as unworkable, or useless. There had to be a way!

  “Caliphate cruiser is sending out a broadcast on all channels,” Nelson reported.

  “On speaker,” Luke said wondering what the bastard Serkan was up to now. There were not any other choices.

  “This hoovers,” Elena voice said. “I love you,”

  Luke sat there listening to the conversation from so long ago. He could not move. To hear Elena’s voice again. To hear her say she loved him.

  “We can do this,” Luke heard himself say; there was desperation and pain in his voice. “Go to minimal power, play dead. I love you too Elena. I. . .”

  “No matter where you go, I will find you. If it takes a thousand years,” Elena said. She sounded too calm. She could see the future and knew how it would end. She knew there was nothing Luke could do. “Live for me.”

  “Off,” Luke said. It was hard to see the CIC through his damned watering eyes. He wanted to keep listening, but he knew how the conversation ended, he remembered how helpless he had been to change things. That conversation brought it all back, it reminded him how helpless he had been back then and how helpless he was now. The woman he loved had died, and there had been nothing he could have done. Even after forty-five years, he could not think of anything he could have done different. He buried his face in his hands to hold back a sob. Serkan knew what Luke was experiencing now. He knew and was enjoying it. “Serkan you low life son of a bitch. I will freaking kill you. Good God, I will torture you to death, I will destroy you and your perverted religion.”

  Leonessa left her chair and grabbed Luke’s shoulder, pulling him to her. Luke held her tight and sobbed. Before, it had almost destroyed him. He felt the wounds again, opened wide and raw. Everything came back to him. The wounds had not healed and Serkan had just added salt. Luke had failed again, he had not been good enough, had not planned well enough, and was not prepared. It was all happening again.

  Her lips brushed against his head as she held him. Brita and Carmichael turned away.

  “Maybe the Topa know and have a plan,” Leonessa whispered and Luke’s first thought was how absurd that was. The Topa allowed slavery, torture, and genocide to occur, although not on an intergalactic scale. They demanded people find their own path and shape their own future.

  Another sob escaped him, but Luke thought about it and that caused him to take his mind off Elena. He stopped and regained control. Holding Leonessa helped. She felt comfortable and Luke knew the last time he had held a woman in his arms and felt at peace, had been when he held Elena.

  “Everyone will break,” Musashi transmitted. “Everyone hits rock bottom. The true measure of a warrior is how he gets back up and continues the fight afterwards. I know what you are made of. You will make him pay if you plan it and regain control like I know you will. You won’t win every battle, but if you never give up, you will win the last one.”

  Luke exhaled and let go of Leonessa who stepped back, sadness in her eyes. He exhaled again and straightened up. Wiping the tears from his eyes, he looked to Leonessa.

  “Thank you,�
�� Luke said quietly and took a deep breath. “Perhaps later I can borrow your shoulder again. Right now, we need to plan.”

  Leonessa nodded and sat down. Luke could not read her face. He glanced at Brita and Carmichael who were busy working on their boards, oblivious, giving him his privacy.

  Luke looked back at the boards, the ship plots, and the ship status. He was not drifting helplessly off into deep space, suffering radiation damage and unable to control his course or ship. The Leonis Ultio still had teeth. It was hurt, but there were missiles, powerful plasma lances, and a few secondary weapons.

  He locked his eyes on the screen.

  “The Topa have never helped before,” Luke said, thinking about what Topa Suresh had told him. “They will not come to the rescue. It is not their way. They demand people find their own path and their own solutions. If they did help, others would become dependent on them and they don’t want slaves or worshipers.”

  “How do you know?” Carmichael asked.

  “Because over forty years ago, when Suresh first hired me for a mission, that is what he told me. In all the time, I have seen the Topa operate, I have never seen them act differently. I have read histories and they all paint the same picture. They will punish ruthlessly if humans do not resolve our problems. They will exterminate us. That is their way. If we cannot join the galactic society, then we will not be allowed to endanger it.

  “The Caliphate is a human problem. We must resolve it,” Luke said. But the Topa would also give the humans the tools they needed to solve this problem, and that was also their way. What had Luke missed?

  Luke looked at the monstrosity bearing down on Athena. Was the Caliph on it? How could he destroy that thing? It had hundreds of meters of armor plating and was honeycombed with tunnels, gun turrets, and barracks. The mass drivers would inflict massive damage on anything to the front, even a Conglomerate battleship, and there would be no way he could get close to it with the screen of battle cruisers and frigates. None of his missiles or plasma lances could hurt it in time, even if it was not firing back.

  “Gray what is your status?” Luke asked as the Athena approached the wormhole and the energies began to build up. Luke watched Serkan’s ships pulling back since they did not have the proper frequencies and would be destroyed in the backlash.