“Hey! I ain’t out of shape!” DJ leaned back in his chair and slapped his beer gut. “Round is a shape!”
Everyone except Athena shared a laugh at DJ’s comment. A moment later, Xerxes entered the room. Moving up to the table, the large Mantodea gently lifted a chair out of the way and set it near the bulkhead before kneeling at the table.
“Alright, now that we’re all here and we’ve had our laugh, I need a sit-rep,” Iaido said. “Engineering?”
“All systems are go,” replied Jay. Pulling out a data-pad, he tapped a few controls. “The damage to our starboard shield emitters has been repaired and all holes in our armor patched by Haven’s maintenance crews. Engines are in excellent shape and are capable of running twenty percent hotter than original specs which should give us a bit more speed.” Jay tapped a few other controls. “My cloaking device seems to be functioning normally but will it actually work or not,” he shrugged, “we won’t know until we try. It should work… in theory at least.”
Iaido tapped a few notes into his own data-pad. “Medical?”
Talia sat up a bit straighter and folded her hands in her lap. “The med bay seems to be fully functional. We are a might low on pain meds and sterile bandages but I believe we can manage.”
Iaido nodded and continued down his list. “Fire Control?”
Setting his chair down, DJ pulled a dirty handkerchief out of his pocket and blew his nose nosily. Talia looked on with disgust, while everyone else seemed unfazed by the ex-soldier’s manners.
“For a ship this old, she’s in extremely good shape. Even with the damage from your encounter en route to Haven. She seems solid. We are fully armed with plenty of spare ammunition in the cargo hold; securely fastened I might add.”
“Navigation?”
Pax answered. “Course laid in and we have been cleared for departure at 0100 hours, as per your request.”
“Operations?”
Athena said, “We are fully functional and ready for battle, sir.”
“Okay people, I have been going over all the data we have on the Major and his ship the Agamemnon. She is a fully equipped ship of the line and has us outgunned ten to one. In a straight up battle, we don’t stand a chance.” Iaido let that sink in before continuing, “But I don’t want to meet the Agamemnon in a pitched battle, therefore I have a plan. DJ…I need you to go back to Haven, on sub-level three you will find some bodies in the old cafeteria. If they’re still there, I want you to bring them on board. If not, find me some bodies, three at the minimum but six or more would be better.”
“You want me to bring dead bodies on board? What the hell for?”
“A diversion,” Iaido replied with a smile. “Trust me.”
DJ shrugged his shoulders. “Sure. Why not? You always were a bit daft but you never led us astray in the past.”
“It might seem strange but we will need those bodies to survive.” Iaido turned his attention to Jay. “I need you to rig the rear turrets so Pax can fire them automatically. We are short on crew and they are the hardest to hit anything with anyway.”
“Gotcha.”
“Xerxes and Athena, I need you two to load the cargo hold with scrap metal, spare parts, broken gaskets, anything.”
Athena nearly snapped to attention in her seat. “Aye, aye, sir.”
The large black mantis just shook his head before pointing at Talia.
Talia took that as her cue and stood up. “I think we have a problem. I have been going over the data Diana was able to acquire from the Feds’ database including the autopsy reports on Sgt. Major Spenton and his wife Amy. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, in fact I missed it completely.”
“Missed what?” Iaido asked.
“The twin punctures marks on the base of Amy’s neck.”
“I recall those,” Athena said. “The coroner’s report stated that there were no known chemical, biological or toxins in the wound.”
“Twin punctures…” Iaido said. “I remember seeing a similar mark on the Sensei’s neck. What are they?”
Talia chewed her lip momentarily before answering. “Here’s where it gets weird.” Talia began to pace around the room slowly. “I am not sure how much you know about the history of my race but the Sylvan Empire is over ten millennia old and we span many regions of space but that was only after the Shadow Wars drove them from Terra.”
“Shadow Wars?” Iaido asked.
“About seven millennia ago, the Sylvan Empire shared Terra, or Earth as you call it, with another humanoid race that you know as the Lemurians. As a reptilian race that lives to fight, they crafted their whole culture based on the simple philosophy that only the strong survive. And although we Sylvans do not like to fight, we are very capable at it but our enmity with the Lemurians is not the story I need to impart; they have their part in this story, but I digress. It was during this time, that the Nosferatu first appeared.”
“The what?” Jay asked.
“The Nosferatu. Essentially they are a creature of dark legend, even for my people. They are vile creatures that inhabit a host body granting them the power of shadows but at a grave cost.”
“You mean like a parasite?”
Talia shook her head. “No. More like a symbiotic once joined they cannot be separated without killing the host body. Legends and ancient texts describe the Nosferatu in their natural state as serpent or worm-like. No one that I know of has actually seen one. However according to the same literature, a Nosferatu enters the host and attaches itself to the brain stem and becomes one with the host. This pairing imparts enhanced speed and strength and a great resilience when it comes to injuries.”
“Interesting legend,” Iaido said. “But what does it have to do with our situation?”
“I am getting to that.” Talia stopped her pacing for a moment. “There is no easy way to explain this but humans were originally bred to be the slaves of the Empire in ancient days. However, when the Nosferatu arrived your race seemed to be more susceptible to the infestation than the Sylvans or the Lemurians. At first, whole colonies of humans were wiped out in precaution of the infestation but still the Nosferatu seem to spread. So, the Sylvans and the Lemurians joined forces to exterminate the infestation. Unfortunately, they couldn’t tell which humans were infected or not.”
Talia moved over to stand next to Xerxes. “So the Ancients genetically altered a native insect from your world and created the Mantodea with their sole purpose to hunt the Nosferatu.”
“Okay…for argument sake, let’s accept what you say to be the truth,” said Iaido. “Again I ask, what has this legend to do with our current situation?”
“According to the legends, the twin puncture marks are the sign a Nosferatu has fed,” said Talia.
The huge Mantodea nodded his agreement.
“Wait!” Jay shouted. “When you said fed, you mean this Nosferatu-thingy has drunk their blood?! You’re talking about a freakin’ vampire!”
Talia cocked her head slightly. “A what?”
Iaido also looked that his old friend. “I agree with Talia, a what?”
“Come on! Don’t you two ever watch movies?”
Iaido looked and Talia then back at his friend. “No. What’s a movie?”
Throwing his hands up in disgust, Jay explained. “Movies are stories acted out on film. Think of them as a one dimensional holo-vid. They were very popular in the twenty-first century and vampires were a common theme in many movies. According to earth legends, the first vampire was Vlad Tepes. He was sometimes known as the Impaler due to the fact that he used to impale the heads of fallen enemies on pikes as a warning. His reputation for excessive cruelty spread across ancient Europe. He was also known as Dracula, which meant son of the dragon.”
DJ slammed his beer on the table. “Dracula! I’ve seen that holo-disk. It was…strange but very entertaining.”
Iaido nodded. “I have read accounts of his battle strategies. He was a leader who truly understood the many paths of war.” He tur
ned to Talia and asked, “Could our legends of vampires and your Nosferatu be the same creature?”
She shrugged. “They could be. The Shadow Wars continued for nearly five centuries with neither side gaining an advantage, until a fateful decision was made. It was known that Nosferatu had a difficult time surviving the cold, so the Ancients used their weapons to shatter the fragile eco-system of Terra causing the world to be covered in ice. The remnants of the two ancient races fled Terra, the Lemurians disappeared and the Sylvans took to the stars. Both races took Mantodea with them as their new slaves and left the humans to die from the cold.”
“But we survived,” Jay said. Rubbing his chin, “Why isn’t any of this history known to my people?”
Talia snickered. “Some of it still is. You have many fairy tales of trolls and elves. Not to mention the legends of Lemuria and Atlantis.”
Jay started to say something else but Iaido silenced him with a wave of his hand. “You seem to know a lot about an ancient legend and much about the history of Earth. Why?”
Talia moved back to her seat and pulled forth her tarot cards. “It is all part of our training at the Seminary.”
She absentmindedly shuffled her cards.
“Every Sylvan must attend one of five government sanctioned institutions before taking their place in society. I was chosen to be a mystic, so history was one of our primary lessons.”
“Okay. I’ll buy that. But I still don’t understand what this shadow-drinker thing has to do with us?”
Drawing forth a card, Talia laid it flat on the table. “Here is your answer.”
The image of the Grim Reaper confronted the companions. The Death card…a universal sign that even the android Athena could interpret.
Chapter 22
“Captain, sorry to disturb your rest but a priority one message just came in for you.”
“Dammit!” Captain Dixon slammed his fist onto the bulkhead. “I told you I was not to be disturbed!”
The young cadet stammered before continuing, “I…I know that sir but this individual has information about Spartan.”
Bolting upright, Captain Dixon leapt to the comm unit. “This is Captain Dixon of the JDL. Who are you?”
DJ’s image filled the screen. “Just an interested party with information about a bounty hunter named Spartan. The word is that you are paying handsomely for reliable information.”
“Only if it is good information and pertinent to the JDL,” said Captain Dixon. “If you are calling just to tell me he’s located in Haven at the moment, you are wasting your time and mine.”
“What if I could give you the location and time Spartan will be within range of your fleet?” DJ looked over his shoulder quickly, his eyes darting to the shadows. “Would that be worth something to you?”
Captain Dixon leaned back in his chair. “How much?”
“Since I know the time and location, how about seventy percent of the bounty?”
“Nope. My raptors will be doing all the hunting and the work, no way. I’ll give you twenty percent.”
DJ snickered. “Do you realize what Spartan would do to me if he found out I was even talking to you?”
“Yes, I suspect I do. And I think I will send him a copy of this conversation if you don’t take my offer.”
“Give me at least twenty-five percent!”
“Done!” Captain Dixon leaned in. “Now where and when?”
“We are due to enter orbit around Mars at 0620 hours, if your fleet is there waiting…”
Captain Dixon rubbed his hands together in anticipation. “Then we will have the Nemesis trapped.”
“Don’t underestimate Spartan!” DJ said, “He’s a canny adversary!”
“True.” Captain Dixon rubbed his chin in thought. “I tell you what, if you were to somehow disable the engines on the Nemesis, I will up your portion to thirty percent.”
Quickly looking around, a gleam filled DJ’s eyes. “For thirty-five percent I’ll disable her shields and engines. A small EMP grenade in the engine room would do the trick.” Holding a grenade up for effect, he continued, “Once we arrive, I’ll drop this baby in the engine room, jettison myself in an escape pod and join you to collect the bounty. How does that sound?”
Captain Dixon clapped his hands together. “Excellent. You do your part and I’ll make sure you are rewarded. Dixon out!”
Checking his chrono, Captain Dixon signaled his com-center. “Recall all pilots and have all squadron leaders in my ready room in thirty minutes!”
* * * * *
The vid-screen went black as DJ leaned back in his chair and placed his hands behind his head. With a large grin covering his face he asked, “Well…how’d I do?”
Everyone of his companions were smiling, except Xerxes but then no one is sure when or if a mantis could smile, nevertheless DJ thought he saw a sparkle in his large compound eyes.
Moving forward, Jay slapped him on the back. “Outstanding! That was an Oscar winning performance if there ever was one!”
Talia and Iaido both said in unison. “A what?”
Shaking his head, Jay waved off their question. “Nevermind. It’s a Terran thing from the 21st century.”
DJ swiveled his chair to face Iaido. “Okay, I’m not sure why but the JDL should be in orbit sometime around 0600 hours. Care to explain?”
“Simple. If the Major has laid a trap for us, which I am positive he has then the arrival of the JDL raptors should upset his plans.” He nodded his head toward Athena. “According to our latest intel, we know that when he went AWOL he took the Agamemnon with him.” He paused when he noticed Talia’s bewildered expression. “Yes?”
“Awol?” she asked in a soft voice.
Iaido grinned. “Absent without leave…AWOL. It’s a rather serious charge in the military. It means that he abandoned his post without proper authority.” Seeing her nod, he continued his explanation. “According to UNCF records there have been no sightings of the Agamemnon since her departure but Athena dug up something interesting.”
Athena picked up the briefing. “According to Fleet records, the Agamemnon was a Harbinger class battlecruiser. They were widely used during the war; a total of one hundred and fifty were constructed between the years 2175 and 2190. UNCF records state that one hundred and twenty seven were lost in combat, twelve lost to natural mishaps, seven mothballed in the Orion Shipyards, and visually accounted for by shipyard personnel I might add, three missing-in-action and presumed lost with all hands, and one stolen…the Agamemnon.”
Jay quickly did the math. “Okay. That’s one hundred and fifty ships. All accounted for, so what?”
Athena flashed him a crooked smile. “The Praetorian Guard has listed as an asset one Harbinger class battlecruiser, the Romulus.”
DJ caught on. “So if all the Harbingers that were manufactured by the Coalition are accounted for, where did this mysterious Romulus come from?”
“Exactly. The Romulus must be the Agamemnon.” Setting down a holo-crystal, Iaido flicked the switch to activate the display of Mars. “Since the destruction of the Mars University, only two new habitats have been built on Mars.”
Iaido pointed at the dark spot on the northern pole of Mars. “According to the Coalition files, this is an automated monitoring module that is studying the possibility of using some new terra-forming technology to convert the polar icecaps to change atmosphere of Mars to an M-class.”
Iaido shook his head. “I don’t believe this is the Major’s home. It is too small and too recent; it seems to only have been put in place two years ago.”
DJ pointed at the only other dark spot. “Simple process of elimination.”
“Enhance.”
At Iaido’s command the image tightened and expanded till the shape of the buildings were visible.
Built from the red rocks of Mars on a hilltop overlooking the ruins of the university, the Roman style influence was immediately visible with its large pillars and numerous statues. From the companions
’ overhead view the barrack looked like a veritable fortress.
“May I present Cohors Praetoria.”
Chapter 23
Once the Nemesis left Haven and made the jump to hyperspace, all that was left to do was wait.
Everything that they could foresee had been planned out and prepared. Since time began and wars fought, every soldier discovers that the waiting before battle was the worst. There is always the nervousness and excitement of the impending battle that quickens the blood but as the waiting stretches on, the high wears off. Next come the worries and questions. Will I live to see another sunset? Will my courage hold? Will my buddy next to me die? These questions and many more plague the soldier, wearing him down. Most veterans find something to do to fill the time; gambling, games, sleep, sex, something and anything.
Iaido usually spent the time in meditation but with the increased number of crew came new difficulties. Jay and DJ were in the galley playing cards, an old soldiers’ favorite pastime. Athena was different and only time would tell at where their relationship stood.
So, Iaido found himself wandering the passageways of his ship with questions and doubts plaguing his mind. It wasn’t the fear of the upcoming battle but the questions of his past which haunted him. Something significant happened during Operation Lodestone and he didn’t know what it was. In his line of work, proper intel was essential. Anything less and you were guessing.
Finding himself outside of med-bay, Iaido knocked. As the Captain of the ship, he could enter any compartment without permission but proper manners dictated otherwise.
“Come in,” came Talia’s musical voice.
Iaido expected to find the compartment in the sterile, pristine condition he had left it in but obviously, Talia had other plans. She had lowered the ambient light in the room, had several candles burning and a black cloth draped over the surgical table. She was standing near the door dressed in a dark mesh robe with the cowl pulled down low over her head, casting her features in dark shadows.
Talia pointed at the table and whispered, “Remove your clothes and lay face down on the table.”
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