Embracing Oblivion: Wolfpack Book 3

by Toby Neighbors

  “Is there any sign of activity from the alien vessel?” Masterson asked his first officer via the comlink.

  “No, Admiral. It’s just sitting there,” came the reply from the bridge.

  “Alright,” Masterson said to Dean, Parker, and the two diplomats, “what are our options.”

  “I say we blow the alien ship,” Dean said immediately.

  “That’s not going to happen,” Fanning said. “We have to find a way to communicate with the Kroll. That’s our mission.”

  “They could have more of their tugs just waiting for us to drop our guard,” Parker warned. “If we send the Recon platoon to their ship we would be vulnerable to a second attack.”

  “Let’s be honest,” Fanning said in a condescending tone. “We were not attacked. We were approached by the alien vessels and we are the ones who responded with violence.”

  “They tried to take control of our ship,” Masterson said.

  “We don’t know that for certain,” Fanning argued. “They could have been trying to communicate.”

  “Look,” Masterson said. “I’m not interested in having a debate. Here’s what we know. In the Alrakis system, those same types of ships were used to take control of the ship yards and two EsDef vessels. There was no attempt to communicate. I will admit that we have a lot to learn about the Kroll, but we know they weren’t trying to contact us with their tug ships.”

  “I respectfully disagree,” Fanning said.

  Dean didn’t think there was anything respectful about the beautiful diplomat, but kept his thoughts about her to himself.

  “I'm with Fanning on this one, Admiral,” Butler said. “We have to try and make contact. Send us over on the shuttle and we’ll talk to the Kroll.”

  “I’ll tell you what will happen if we go over there. We’ll be attacked by more of these creatures,” Dean pointed at the feline creature in the pod. “And whatever else they’ve got in their ship. People will die, and we’ll be no closer to communicating with the Kroll.”

  “You don’t know that,” Fanning said.

  “I’ve been on a Kroll ship twice,” Dean argued. “Both times I was attacked. People got hurt. I’ll do whatever Admiral Masterson orders me to do, but in my experience going over to the Kroll ship is waste of time and precious lives.”

  “You were the wrong choice for this mission,” Fanning declared. “I don’t want you anywhere near me when I make contact.”

  “Captain Blaze just saved our lives, ma’am,” Admiral Masterson said. “Surely you realize that.”

  “I do not question his courage, but he has no faith in the diplomatic process.”

  Dean didn’t argue. The encounter with the Kroll ship had been exactly what he expected. And while he would do whatever he could to ensure Admiral Masterson’s orders were carried out, he didn’t disagree with Sloan Fanning. His mind was made up and he didn’t think the Kroll would be open to peace. They were predators, the only question that remained was who was at the top of the food chain, humanity or the Kroll.

  “The way I see it, we have three choices,” Masterson said. “We can send over the diplomats, which is a high risk endeavor. We can send our attack drones over to destroy their ship, which still carries risk but is more manageable in my opinion. Or we can try to go around the alien vessel and continue on toward the Urgglatta system.”

  “Moving on gives us the greatest opportunity to collect intelligence,” Parker said. “We haven’t learned much here that we didn’t already know.”

  “This isn’t an intelligence mission,” Fanning said. “We’re here to make diplomatic contact with the Kroll. That is our highest objective.”

  “There’s no guarantee that we can even get inside the Kroll ship,” Dean said.

  “There’s no excuse for not trying,” Fanning declared.

  “We have an opportunity,” Butler said. “It would be a shame not to take advantage of it.”

  “What if we send across a communication drone?” Parker said. “We can give the Kroll an opportunity to respond in some way before putting lives at risk.”

  “For now, I agree with Captain Parker. I want more time to see what the Kroll will do,” Masterson said. “We will make efforts to communicate with the craft, but I’m not ready to send anyone over to their ship. Not yet.”

  “That is unacceptable,” Fanning said.

  “My decision is final,” Masterson said. “I won’t put you needlessly in harm’s way.”

  “The diplomatic mandate for this mission is clear, Admiral,” she said.

  “Fighting won’t help us,” Butler said to his counterpart, trying to calm her down. “And there is still time to make contact.”

  Fanning didn’t respond, she just turned up her nose, a gesture that was difficult to do in the emergency flight suit she was in, and walked away.

  “We’ll be in our lounge if you need us,” Butler said, before following Fanning.

  Dean didn’t bother to watch them leave. He was struggling with his feelings. Something inside of him knew that nothing but death awaited them inside the alien ship, but he could also feel his destiny calling him to it.

  “Captain, have your platoon stand down, but you’re still on alert. You will maintain a state of readiness in case we run into more of these pods. I’m returning to the bridge. Give my congratulations to your platoon. You all did excellent work today.”

  “It’s what we’re trained to do, Admiral, but I will pass your praise on to my Specialists. Thank you.”

  Dean saluted and the admiral returned the salute before heading back up to the bridge on Charlie deck. They watched him go, then Dean slumped down onto the containment pod.

  “You aren’t happy?” Captain Parker asked. “Your platoon performed admirably.”

  “I’m very happy with my platoon,” Dean said. “But I can’t pretend to like this mission. It’s foolishness.”

  “Many are,” Parker agreed. “We don’t get to pick and choose our assignments. Our job is to carry out the mission, not decide if it’s right or wrong.”

  “I’ll do what I’m ordered to do, but how can I order my Specialists onto that ship when I know we won’t all return.”

  “You can’t know that,” Parker insisted. “And every person who puts on a uniform knows that dying in the line of duty is a possibility. You aren’t making that choice for them, they made it when they joined the service. What you can do is lead them well, give them the best chance of completing the mission safely and efficiently.”

  “You’re right,” Dean said, wishing he could pull his TCU off and rub his hands over his eyes. He was tired and frustrated, but that was no cause to be unprofessional. “I’m sorry, Captain.”

  “There’s no need to apologize, Dean,” Parker said. “One day you may be giving the orders that send platoons into harm’s way, and every once in a while we need to be reminded why we serve. Moments like this define us, and shape our lives.”

  She placed a hand on his shoulder for just a moment. Dean wanted more. Being so near the awful reality of a hostile race and the likelihood that good people would die, made him long for human contact, for intimacy. But that wasn’t just a bad idea, it was unprofessional and wrong. Captain Parker was a good friend, but he couldn’t let his emotions dictate his feelings or actions. He stood up, and Parker walked away. He watched her go, then looked back down at the strange creature in the containment pod. There was no doubt the strange aliens would kill them the first chance they got. It was up to Dean not to give them that chance. Perhaps it was an impossible mission, but it was his, and he would not shirk the task.

  Chapter 32

  A full twenty-four hour cycle passed before Admiral Masterson sent the drone. The alien ship was under constant surveillance, but it didn’t move and no more of the teardrop-shaped tug vessels appeared. Dean met with the other officers and diplomats to determine the best guess at where they should send the communications drone. The nest ship rotated slowly, which had allowed the Apache to map
the structure’s entire surface. There was no obvious hangar, but Dean saw what looked like a blank spot on the surface. He couldn’t be sure he was seeing the gooey substance that the other Kroll ship had used to adhere captured ships to its hull, but he guessed that he was seeing either the launch point for the teardrop-shaped craft, or a suitable place for the next vessel the alien ship captured.

  “I think it would be taken aboard right there,” Dean said, pointing at the hologram of the alien nest ship floating above the ward room table. “It looks right.”

  “Thank you for that guess, Captain,” Fanning said in an icy tone.

  “Does anyone have a better idea?” Admiral Masterson said.

  “My people all agree,” Major Anderson said. “Lieutenant Owens has experience with the Kroll and he brought up the same points as Captain Blaze.”

  “Alright, we’ll send the drone to the ship at this point. What hopes do we have that they’ll respond?”

  “The drone will transmit any audio that takes place near it,” Anderson said. “A vid feed too.”

  “Except the gravity field around the alien ships blocks our transmissions,” Dean reminded him.

  “All the more reason to send us to the ship,” Fanning argued. “We’re wasting time.”

  “I won’t send you into harm’s way until I’ve exhausted every possibility,” Admiral Masterson said. “Send the drone.”

  The meeting broke up and Dean, still in his armor, but with his TCU under one arm, walked back down to Alpha deck. The Recon briefing theater was a small room, with thickly padded chairs that could accommodate the entire platoon even in their armor. Dean had let his Specialists rest in shifts since the attack, but they remained on high alert. It wouldn’t take the Kroll long to move from their ship to the Apache, and they might even have stealth technology which could bring them on board the EsDef ship without being detected. Dean was determined not to let that happen, and he knew the likelihood was high that the Kroll had tech he hadn’t seen yet.

  The theater had become the unofficial gathering place for the Recon platoon. They could move across the atrium and into the hangar in less than a minute, and it gave the Heavy Armor Specialists enough space to relax, while the big screen showed the alien ship from one of the Apache’s many cameras. When Dean walked in he saw his entire platoon. Even the four who should have been sleeping were there, waiting to find out what the admiral had decided to do.

  “What’s the word, Captain?” Chavez asked.

  “They’re sending the drone,” Dean said.

  “Well, better a drone than us,” said Adkins.

  “It’s just putting off the inevitable,” Harper said. “What happens when the drone loses contact inside their gravity field, sir?”

  “Then we’ll have another meeting,” Dean said. “Where I will tell them all I told them so, and listen to Sloan Fanning insist on taking the shuttle across.”

  “She may be fine, but she’s not right in the head,” Wilson said.

  “Does she really believe that we can make peace with the Kroll?” Tallgrass asked.

  “I don’t know what she believes,” Dean said. “But she’s pressing hard. Butler agrees, but I don’t think his heart is in it. Admiral Masterson understands the risk, but he can’t deny his orders. It’s only a matter of time.”

  “Fine by me,” Landin said. “We missed the party last time.”

  “I’m pretty anxious to try out the new hardware,” Kliner agreed.

  “What do you think, Captain?” Tallgrass asked.

  “Doesn’t matter what I think,” Dean replied. “We have a mission. Whether we do it here or in the Urgglatta system makes no difference. We go in when the diplomats get the approval from Admiral Masterson. We do everything in our power to ensure mission success. That’s all.”

  “You really believe that?” Ghost asked. “I mean, I don’t care where we go. Just give me a target and I’ll do whatever you need, but if we know we’re all going to die…”

  “Who said we’re gonna die?” Wilson asked.

  “Yeah, to hell with that,” Adkins said. “I ain’t dying.”

  “No one is dying,” Dean said. “I won’t let that happen. We aren’t helpless here, if anyone is dying it’s the creatures stupid enough to try and fight us. As long as we stay together, work as a unit, trust our training, we have nothing to fear.”

  The image on the vid wall of the rotating alien ship suddenly changed. They all turned their attention to the big screen to watch what was happening. The communication drone was easy enough to see. It had rows of blinking lights and moved steadily toward the alien ship. Dean slipped his TCU onto his head so he could listen in on the command channel.

  “Three minutes, sir,” Major Anderson said.

  “We have a solid read on that drone?” the admiral asked.

  “Five by five, sir. The signal is strong.”

  Dean brought up the drone’s vid feed. He could see the giant nest ship growing closer and looking larger every second. A feeling of dread bloomed in his stomach as he watched, knowing that soon the feed would be lost.

  “One minute sir, we’re slowing down.”

  Dean saw the thrusters firing to slow the drone. There was no sound yet, in the hard vacuum of space no sound carried, but the silence only made the alien ship seem even more terrible.

  “Man, it’s like watching a movie,” Adkins said as he started humming a familiar cinematic theme. Several others joined in with him.

  “Still reading everything,” Anderson said up on the bridge. “No interference.”

  “Maybe we’ll get lucky,” Masterson said.

  “Maybe they want to communicate,” Fanning suggested smugly.

  Dean thought he heard a scoff, but he couldn’t be sure.

  “Contact in eight, seven, six,” the O&A officer said. “Five, four-”

  Suddenly the vid feed cut off, and on the ship’s camera they saw the drone drop sharply before impacting the side of the alien ship.

  “It’s holding!” Anderson said in an excited voice.

  “What good does that do us if we aren’t getting a signal?” Admiral Masterson snapped. “Zoom in that vid feed.”

  The image from the ship’s camera zoomed and they watched as the drone seemed to be absorbed into the side of the alien ship.

  “What the hell?” Adkins said.

  “They took it in,” Ghost said. “Right through the slime, just like before.”

  “They have the drone, Admiral,” Anderson stated.

  “I can see that. I’m not blind. Is there no way to boost the signal?”

  “No sir,” said Lieutenant Gruber, the engineering officer. “That drone has the most powerful signal transmitter in the service. And we can’t do anything remotely now that we’ve lost contact.”

  There were curses and suggestions, but none that made a difference. Dean sat back in his seat, knowing what would happen next. The admiral would wait, maybe an hour, maybe a day, but eventually he would give in and send the diplomats to the alien ship. When that call came, it would mean Dean’s platoon would be escorting them, right into the belly of the beast.

  Dean’s wrist link vibrated, but he didn’t have to look at it to know the admiral was summoning him to the bridge. Dean would give his opinion, but there was no escaping the inevitable.

  “Suit up people,” Dean said. “Double check everything. I want extra explosive charges. They try to chew us up when we go in, I want to take that ship apart from the inside out.”

  “Yes sir!” the platoon shouted.

  Dean couldn’t help but smile. He might be headed for a fight but he had a well-trained team around him and they would give as good as they got. Captain Parker was right, his job was to lead his platoon and that was what he was going to do.

  When he reached the bridge an argument was already underway. Sloan Fanning was like a dog with a bone, insisting that she and Butler be given a chance to make contact. Dean didn’t argue, not even when Admiral Masterson as
ked his opinion. It didn’t matter that Dean thought the mission was a waste of time and effort, possibly even lives. It would happen no matter what he thought about it.

  “Might as well get it over with,” Dean said, holding his helmet under one arm and keeping a poker face so that his anxiety didn’t show.

  “You think we should go now?” the admiral asked in surprise.

  “Yes sir,” Dean said. “We’re locked and loaded. No time like the present.”

  “Alright then,” Masterson said. “You have my permission to proceed, Captain. Get your platoon on the shuttle and make sure Butler and Fanning come home safe.”

  “Yes sir,” Dean said.

  He didn’t leave the bridge though. Instead he moved close to Admiral Masterson.

  “Sir, if I may speak freely?” he said in a quiet voice.

  “Of course,” Masterson said.

  “Sir, I would plot in a course away from that ship and be ready to go on a moment’s notice.”

  “Around the alien vessel?”

  “No, back home, sir. If things go south, and I’m thinking that’s a very strong possibility, I wouldn’t want you stuck here without a Recon platoon.”

  “Well then you just make sure that doesn’t happen, Captain Blaze, that’s an order.”

  “Yes sir,” Dean said, saluting, before hurrying from the bridge and back to his platoon.

  Chapter 33

  “Captain Blaze, good to hear your voice, sir,” Lieutenant Owens said over the command channel.

  “Owens, you our pilot for this op?” Dean asked.

  “Yes sir, I volunteered. I got trained on the new gravity drive back at Grooms Lake.”

  “Good to have you. How long until we launch?”

  “About five minutes. All systems are on line, but we’re running one more systems check. And sir, I’ve added an emergency switch on board the shuttle.”

  “What do you mean?” Dean asked.

  “Well, sir, I don’t think getting you to the alien ship will be a problem.”

  “But getting off is a different matter, especially since their gravity field will block our signal.”