by G. P. Hudson
“But what about our troops on the surface?” said Madox.
“There’s nothing we can do for them,” said Calledonius. “They’re on their own.”
***
“They’re everywhere!” said Private Santos, scrambling for cover from the Kemmar insurgents targeting him.
“Valkyrie, Valkyrie, we are pinned down. I repeat, we are pinned down. Requesting immediate orbital support,” said Sergeant Gilmour, over his comm.
“What’s happening, Sarge?” said Corporal Blake, returning fire at the concealed insurgents in the buildings around him.
“I don’t know,” said Gilmour. “There’s no response.”
“Is your comm down?”
“Maybe. Try yours.”
“Valkyrie, this is Corporal Blake, Strike Team Alpha. Do you copy?”
Silence.
“Shit. I can’t get them either.”
A flash of light above them indicated that another drone had been shot down. Their drone swarm was the only thing keeping them alive at this point. The lethal machines were equipped with powerful weapons, and were fully autonomous. Yet even they were vulnerable to the seemingly endless number of armed Kemmar assailing them.
Sergeant Gilmour opened a comm with his base, hoping to get some help, or at least find out what was going on.
“”Valkyrie is down, Sergeant,” said the voice on the other end of his comm. “And we have our hands full here as well. All units are ordered to return to base.”
“Understood. Gilmour out.”
“What did they say?” said Blake.
“We’re on our own. The fleet is gone.”
“Gone? How?”
“They didn’t say. But if I had to guess, I’d say the Juttari showed up with some of those black ships we’ve been hearing about.”
“Damn.”
“Damn is right. The cavalry’s not coming boys. We’ve got to try and make it back to base,” said Gilmour, as an armed Kemmar appeared no more than three meters away from him. The Kemmar fired, hitting Gilmour square in the chest. The force of the impact knocked him backward, but not before he squeezed off a few rounds of his own. The Kemmar didn’t have the protection of a combat suit, and the energy bolts opened a gaping hole in its stomach.
No sooner did the Kemmar hit the ground than two more appeared, firing in tandem. More bolts crashed into Gilmour’s combat suit, and red numbers flashed at him from his visor, telling him that his suit’s integrity was down to fifteen percent.
Gilmour sprayed both Kemmar with energy bolts as he fell backward, dropping them. As he scrambled for a better position, a notification flashed on his visor indicating that Private Santos’s life signs had ceased.
Gilmour broke into a run, trying to reach a more defensible position. Energy bolts rained down all around him from the surrounding buildings. The same buildings the orbital strike was supposed to flatten.
Unfortunately, there would be no orbital strike today. Nor would there be any escape for him and his men. He knew this. As energy bolts hammered him in the back, driving him to the ground, he knew.
They would die here today. On the streets of the planet Kem, in the heart of the former Kemmar Empire.
Chapter 20
“Contact!” said Ensign Petrovic. “An extremely large warship has just appeared directly in front of us.”
“All stop,” said Jon, watching the main viewscreen. “Magnify.”
It zoomed in to reveal a tremendously powerful looking warship, blocking their path. Its dimensions were immense, easily dwarfing the mammoth Diakan battleships. It was armed to the teeth, with more gun batteries jutting out of its hull than Jon thought was possible. He realized then, that he’d not considered Empire’s weapons capabilities. Were their weapons more advanced, or did the UHSF have them outclassed?
“Advise battle group not to take any provocative actions. We’re just passing through and want no trouble.”
“Yes, Sir. Relaying orders,” said Commander Henderson.
“AI, did our scans pick up anything that would indicate the presence of a cloaked ship?” said Jon.
“Negative,” said AI.
“There’s got to be a way to spot them,” Jon said to himself.
“We are being hailed,” said Henderson.
“Route to my console.”
Jon’s comm display came to life and a Dvorkan dressed in an all black, military style uniform appeared. The Dvorkan seemed surprised to see Jon’s face.
“What are you?” the Dvorkan said. “What is your business in this system?”
“I’m a human. My name is Admiral Jon Pike. Our ships are just traveling through this system heading to the next transit point in our journey.”
“I do not know your race. Your ships are armed, yet are not broadcasting the required permits to bring them through this system.”
“We thought we had all the permits we needed. They were issued to us by the Consul in the previous system.”
“You only have a transit point access permit. You need a weapons permit to fly armed vessels through an Empire system.” The Dvorkan looked way for a moment. “The word human is not in our database. What is the name of your planet?”
“Earth.”
“There is no planet called Earth in our database either.” The Dvorkan’s eyes narrowed. “You are attempting to deceive me.”
Jon didn’t like where this was going. “I’m telling you the truth. We are not from the Empire, that is why you don’t know our planet.”
“Not from the Empire? There is only the Empire. Nothing more.” The Dvorkan leaned in. “I don’t like you, and I don’t believe your story. Stand down and prepare to be boarded.”
“Boarded? Why?”
“I just told you why. I don’t like you. That is reason enough. Be informed that our guns are trained on you, as are the guns of several cloaked warships. Any aggressive response will be met with lethal force, as will any attempt to cloak your ships.”
Jon muted his comm link. “Sound General Quarters throughout battle group.”
“Yes, Sir. Sounding General Quarters.”
“Don’t launch our birds yet, but I want them ready to go at a moment’s notice. Target the battleship with jump bombs, and make sure Tallos holds back on his nukes.”
“Yes, Sir. Birds and jump bombs are ready for launch.”
Jon couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He had no intention of letting these Dvorkans board his ships. But he couldn’t get into a firefight. He had no idea how many ships he was dealing with, or where they were located. He could see only one option. Jumping away.
But in doing so, he would reveal his secret, and the Empire would become aware of the jump system technology. He was also almost a thousand light years from the previous Dvorkan system. He could try to get to the previous transit point, but what if the Dvorkans prevented that? It would take another five days just to get back to the previous system.
And what about the scholar? Did he just give up on her? He would have to. The Dvorkans would be on the lookout for Jon’s ships. It would be unsafe for him to remain in the Empire. There were no good options open to him.
In the end, he decided to fight. The jump bombs would hit that big Dvorkan ship with a heavy punch. It might just be enough to get them to back off.
“Our sensors are detecting the activation of weapon systems on several of your ships. Stand down immediately, or you will be-” The Dvorkan turned to someone off screen. A lively conversation ensued. Jon tried, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. He was certain that much of it involved swearing. Finally, the Dvorkan commander turned to face Jon again. “It seems there has been a misunderstanding. Your ships are free to go, though you will need to purchase the necessary permits.”
Jon was flabbergasted. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”
“There was a mistake,” said the Dvorkan, raising his voice. “That is all. Now, you will either transfer the necessary credits for your weapons permit, or y
ou will go back the way you came. What is your decision?”
The muscles in Jon’s shoulders relaxed. He felt relieved that he didn’t need to fight another battle. “I’ll purchase the permits. How much will they cost?”
“One-hundred-and-fifty-thousand credits,” said the Dvorkan with the kind of half smile that indicated a large chunk of the payment would go into his personal account.
“I’ll pay,” said Jon. He had no interest in provoking the Dvorkan further. It was not the first time he’d encountered corruption, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.
“Excellent,” said the Dvorkan, his smile significantly broader. “Do you authorize the credits to be transferred from your account?”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
“It is done. You are now permitted to continue to your destination. Safe journeys.” The Dvorkan terminated the communication, and his face blinked off Jon’s screen.
“What the hell was that about?” said Jon, baffled by the encounter.
“Maybe they were bluffing about boarding our ships. It could’ve been just a tactic to get us to cough up the credits,” said Henderson.
“I don’t know. He didn’t look like the bluffing type. You could be right. It was probably a shakedown from the start.”
“He could’ve been telling the truth. The Consul might have given us all the permits we needed. Maybe this guy just made a mistake.”
“I don’t know. Something fishy is going on. I just haven’t figured out what it is yet. But I will. Resume course. Let’s hurry up and get to our destination before the next Imperial officer tries to get their hands on our credits.”
Chapter 21
“The alien ships were intercepted by an Empire battleship,” said Captain Keer, the three-dimensional projection of his head floating in front of Consul Kang.
Consul Kang gasped, worrying that someone else could take the credit for her discovery. “Why were they intercepted?”
“The battleship commander said they lacked the necessary permits to bring warships through system, and threatened to board their ships. Of course, we know that once boarded, those ships would be seized.”
“And were they?” said Kang, a pang of anxiety creeping in.
“No. My men were following the encounter from their cloaked vessel. They contacted the battleship commander. He was told that he was interfering in a sensitive investigation, and would face serious charges if he persisted.”
“Did it work?”
“Yes, the Captain seemed aware of the damage such charges would have on his career, and he let Admiral Jon Pike go. Of course, he made sure to sell Pike some weapon permits at an inflated price, but it is to be expected.”
“Thankfully Admiral Pike secured plenty of credits before leaving. Excellent work, Captain.”
“Thank you, your worship.”
“I assume your men are still following the alien ships.”
“Yes, your worship. A cloaked squadron is keeping a close eye on them. Their travel remains predictable and consistent with a trip to Kaizon One.”
“Good. Stay with them. Our plan has not changed. They will need to travel down to the surface to meet the scholar. When they do, you will spring your trap.”
“What if the scholar interferes?”
“She is irrelevant. You are free to take whatever action is necessary.”
“It will be done, your worship.”
Chapter 22
After crossing through the last transit point, Jon finally caught a glimpse of their destination. The planet Kaizon One, home of the Dvorkan scholar, Miira Kev. It was one of several inhabited planets orbiting a large yellow star, a fair bit larger than Earth’s sun. It was a bustling solar system.
Traveling through the Empire, Jon remarked at the Dvorkan willingness to inhabit various planets. In this system, for example, Kaizon One was ideally situated to support life. Sitting perfectly in the system’s habitable zone, it had ample sources of water, flourishing vegetation, and plenty of oxygen.
The other populated planets, and moons, were not as abundant as Kaizon One. Some were even hostile to life. Not much different from the first Dvorkan planet they’d encountered, with great domed cities to protect from the elements. Those cities were an engineering marvel. Jon had seen domes before, but nothing on this scale. The Dvorkans had truly mastered the art of city building in hostile environments.
If there was little room left on the habitable planets, many would need to move to those less hospitable. Considering their mercantile nature, Jon was sure the cost of living on a habitable world was highly prohibitive. It would force those of lesser means to a less desirable planet, or even a moon. And those likely to be pushed there would be these alien races the Consul had spoken of.
He thought of the inhabitants of the Consul’s planet. In a remote system, on the outskirts of the Empire, it was extremely hostile to life. There were no habitable planets nearby to trade with, nor any other populated planets for that matter. He imagined that life on that desert planet was very affordable, compared to life on a planet like Kaizon One, or even one of the more hostile planets in this system.
It seemed, perhaps like something of a refuge for less savory types. The Consul had indicated many Dvorkans moved there to avoid other alien races of the Empire. He suspected though, it wasn’t the full story. He was fairly certain of black market activity on that planet. It would stand to reason, that those involved preferred to keep a low profile.
“Sir, we are being hailed,” said Henderson.
“Patch them through to my console,” said Jon, wondering what demands he would encounter this time.
A Dvorkan woman appeared on Jon’s screen, sporting the same surprised expression shown by each Dvorkan they’d met thus far. She rebounded quickly regaining her composure. “What is the nature of your business in this system?”
“We are here to visit someone on Kaizon One.”
The Dvorkan nodded. “Eighty thousand credits. Armed ships are not permitted in planetary orbit. Do you permit me to withdraw the necessary credits from your account?”
Jon tried to conceal his sticker shock. Clearly the more prosperous systems were also more expensive to visit. He was thankful for the forethought to secure more credits prior to their trip. But those credits were quickly evaporating. “Yes. Please go ahead and withdraw the necessary fees.”
“Please note that firearms are not permitted on the planet surface. You are further restricted from firing your ships’ weapons in system, regardless of the nature of your quarrel.”
“I understand.”
“Very well. Enjoy your visit to Kaizon One.”
“Thank you.”
The Dvorkan gave Jon a perplexed look, and ended the transmission.
“These Dvorkans have a fee for everything,” said Commander Henderson.
“I guess you’ve got to pay for an Empire like this somehow. Prepare a shuttle, and assign a team of Marine.”
“Yes, Sir. What about the other ships?”
“Have them send their own contingents as well. With any luck we won’t run into hostilities on the surface. But the manpower would be nice if we do.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Jon opened a comm and Breeah’s face appeared on his screen. “I’m about to head down. Do you want to meet me in the hangar bay with Anki?”
“Of course. We’ll be right there.”
“Okay, see you in a bit.” Jon closed the connection, and left the bridge.
Chapter 2 3 2
“This planet is amazing!” Anki was taking in Kaizon One’s lush landscape, and imposing cities, from the display inside their shuttle.
A second shuttle, carrying the rest of his team flew in close formation to Jon’s. After the trouble they’d encountered on the desert planet, Jon decided it would be prudent to bring greater numbers down to the planet. They were careful to abide by the law prohibiting firearms on the surface, but made sure to equipe as many alternative weapons as possible. The Dvorkan
s had specified firearms, not ion blades.
“It is something to behold,” said Jon, in awe of the pristine planet.
“Those buildings are miraculous,” said Breeah. “How do they build them to such great heights?”
“The Dvorkans have displayed a mastery of engineering,” said Jon. “Those towers are another example of this prowess.”
Despite the snarky Dvorkan attitude, Jon couldn’t help but admire their many achievements. But he was becoming more convinced that it was unwise to share the jump system. There was no telling how far they could take the technology. Considering their aggressive history, Jon had no interest in extending an invitation to invade their corner of space.
The shuttles touched down at a designated landing pad, near the Imperial Science Center. There, they would seek out the scholar, Miira Kev. Exiting the shuttles, the landing party proceeded down a crowded city street.
“It is not just Dvorkans,” said Breeah in astonishment amidst all the well-dressed aliens walking around.
“No, they’re not,” said Jon, “Kaizon One seems to be home to a multitude of aliens.”
“It is strange for so many aliens to live on such a prosperous world. I expected it to be full of Dvorkans.”
“Me too. Especially with how the Dvorkans we’ve already met referred to them. Now I’m starting to think that the aliens’ wealth is what got them citizenship. It’s not cheap to run an empire this size. Taxing wealthy citizens goes a long way toward paying for the needed infrastructure.”
“If these races were conquered, why wouldn’t the Empire simply confiscate their wealth?”
“I’m sure they did at first. A large portion of it at least. The Consul said something about the aliens paying tribute to the Empire, before acending. The Empire had decided it more profitable to make them tax paying citizens instead.”
“Better to have them generate wealth, and taxes, rather than enforcing poverty on them.”
