“Now, as I said earlier,” Parks began, after the two men had rejoined the group. “Your help is badly needed if we are to fight our way out of here. And whilst it is paramount that I ensure your own lives and safety, I would also like to get as many of our forces off-planet as possible.
“I will shortly brief you on what needs to be done and what your objectives will be for the evacuation.” He looked to Enrique, who was swaying on his feet ever so slightly. He still appeared exhausted and in bad shape, like he was going to collapse at any moment. “But before I do, we need to get Mr Todd seen to,” Parks concluded.
“Sir,” Dodds interrupted.
“What is it, Dodds?” Parks asked irritably, the fatigue etched on his face.
“It’s about Operation Sudarberg, sir.”
“What about it?”
“I’ll do it, sir. I’d like to volunteer.”
“Dodds, no!” Estelle leaped in before Parks could respond to Dodds’ offer.
“Are you serious?” Kelly rounded on him.
“Very,” Dodds said, with as much determination as he could muster.
“No, Dodds! The Confederation needs good pilots, not dead heroes!” Estelle started again. “Stop trying to always play the damn hero!”
“Estelle, it’s the only way,” Dodds said. “You heard what Natalia said back there. Short of a miracle, it’s going to be impossible to defeat twenty billion of those soldiers. Imagine what would happen if they were able to mobilize a force like that – they’d be even more unstoppable than they are now. It would be a slaughter.”
The two women looked about at Parks with pleading eyes. Chaz and Enrique looked as equally dumbstruck as they did.
Dodds didn’t say any more. He turned about, looking around the encampment at the wounded men and women that were being attended to on makeshift beds; at the damaged craft that mechanics were struggling to repair. He thought back on everything from the last day – the destruction of Ifrit and the tremendous loss of life, the thousands that probably hadn’t made it off the carrier and had perished in its destruction; the siege of New Malaga and all those that had died there, too; the bodies of the innocent, littering the streets. He could still see the towers of smoke rising from the city, further up the coast. He saw his friends’ eyes following his and knew he needn’t speak. The panoramic scenes of destruction and loss were illustrating his point already.
“Are you being serious, Dodds?” Parks said. “Are you fully prepared to perform this task? You know there will be no hero’s welcome or reward at the end of it. I need it to be very clear in your mind that this is a one-way trip, Lieutenant. Are you absolutely certain you want to go through with this?”
“Quite sure, sir,” Dodds said.
A silence fell. Heads turned from Dodds to Parks and back again, seemingly waiting for one of them to change their minds; waiting for Dodds to back down. Dodds stood as silent and motionless as Parks did, his eyes flickering across his team-mates.
Enrique let out a little chuckle. “Really?”
“Really,” Dodds said.
“In that case, dude, don’t even think about doing it without me.”
“Enrique, no!” Kelly grabbed the man’s arm tightly, as though he might be whisked away from her if she let go.
“Enrique, just because Dodds is doing it—” Estelle started.
“No. Don’t you see?” Enrique said. “This is it. This is what I am meant to do. That’s why I survived the crash. This is my purpose; what I am supposed to do with my life. I’ve always known that it was for a reason. I’m clearly meant to do this.”
Kelly and Estelle stared at him for a moment, as if he were a madman. Dodds knew what he was getting at. It was rare for Enrique to speak about the car crash that had killed his whole family when he was just a boy. On occasion, he had shared private thoughts with his close friends that he may be destined to fulfil a purpose, though he spoke lightly of such things, only half-believing it himself. But now that the situation had presented itself, he clearly felt that the time had finally arrived.
“Enrique, just because Parks gave you that reason, doesn’t mean it’s true,” Estelle said.
“We don’t have a destiny, Enrique,” Kelly said. “We’re all in control of our own lives.” She shook her head and squeezed his arm tighter, staring up into his eyes, begging him not to go through with his decision. She looked distraught, turning between Parks, Chaz, Estelle and Dodds, hoping that one of them might be able to help her persuade Enrique to change his mind.
“Commodore, in his present state, I don’t believe that Lieutenant Todd is of sound mind,” Estelle said.
“I know what I’m doing, Estelle,” Enrique said. “I’ve known for years.”
Parks remained silent. Estelle muttered something about spiritual claptrap under her breath. Dodds wasn’t sure that Enrique heard it. Either that or he chose to ignore it.
“Enrique, don’t …” Kelly said.
“Kelly …”
“I love you, Enrique,” she said in a tiny voice.
Wow, Dodds thought, glancing at Estelle. What happened in that cell?
Enrique said nothing for a time. “I have to do this, Kelly,” he said apologetically. “I have to.”
“In that case … in that case, I’m going with you,” she whispered.
“Kelly, no!” Estelle cried in disbelief. “Commodore!”
“Yes, Commander,” Parks finally acknowledged her in a calm voice.
“I respectfully ask that you ignore Lieutenant Dodds’, Todd’s and Taylor’s decisions to commit to the mission. They’ve all been through a lot in the past twenty-four hours and cannot be counted on to make rational decisions …” her voice trailed off and she began looking around the encampment.
Parks said nothing and merely folded his arms across his chest.
Dodds watched Estelle as she looked about the area. He knew what she was about to say, even before she did. Estelle wanted to make her family proud of her, wanted to prove that she was worth more than scratching a living, that she could rise above all of that and go on to do great things. And how would she be remembered? Would she be forgotten? No. Not by anyone, least of all by her friends and her family, who would all be proud of her.
Parks was right – this was precisely why they had all been chosen.
Estelle looked back around to Parks. “What I mean, sir, is that they cannot be expected to think laterally without the right guidance. So, with that in mind, I’d like to volunteer too, sir.”
Spot on.
Kelly gingerly let go of Enrique and put her arm around Estelle’s shoulder. Dodds could see there were tears forming in her eyes.
“Accepted,” Parks said. And then his eyes turned to Chaz.
Dodds followed them to the big man, who had stood silently by as, one after the other, his fellow wingmates had stepped forward to offer their lives for the sake of billions.
“No,” Chaz said, shaking his head. “You’ve taken enough of my life already. Don’t go expecting more. Don’t look at me like that!” he added to Dodds. Chaz glared at Parks, his eyes accusing the commodore of all manner of wrong doing.
Parks remained with his arms folded across his chest. It seemed that he was aware that he had won already; he was now just playing the waiting game.
“Chaz—” Dodds started.
“No, Dodds. Don’t waste your breath.” The big man started to stalk off in the direction of the shield perimeter, changing direction a number of times before he decided on his route, keeping his back to the group the whole time.
“Chaz, we need you,” Dodds called after him.
“I don’t give a damn!” Chaz shouted back over his shoulder.
“The CSN needs you, the Confederacy, all those innocent civilians—”
“I said—”
“—and so does your family.” At that, Chaz abruptly halted and Dodds began to regret his words. He had a feeling that he had just crossed a line.
Chaz stood
with his back to the group for a while longer, his arms by his sides, hands clenching and unclenching. He then turned around, his eyes narrowed and strode back over to the group, stopping just in front of Dodds. He glared down at him for a moment, then, to Parks, he said, “Will you look after my family? Will you protect Vanessa, Matthew and Luke? Will you give them a home and keep them safe?”
“If that’s what you want.” Parks said.
“Yes. Yes, that’s what I want,” Chaz said. “You know that’s all I’ve ever wanted,” he added in a softer tone.
“I’ll see that it happens.”
“Do you promise?” Chaz said.
A momentary pause. “Yes, I promise,” Parks said. He sounded genuine, as well as grateful and almost a little relieved.
Chaz was quiet for a while, his breathing loud and nervous-sounding. “Then you have my support,” he said. “But, I want to see them before it’s done.”
“There might not be time—” Parks began.
Chaz glared.
“But I’ll make every effort to ensure you can.”
Chaz deliberated for a while. “Okay,” he said finally, then looked back down at Dodds, sticking a thick finger in his face. “That’s one! That’s all you get! You will never mention my family like that again! UNDERSTAND?”
Dodds felt himself jump and swallow hard. He nodded his understanding, unable to find the words to reply. He had half-expected Chaz to punch him. Chaz continued to glare at him for a little while longer, before he backed away and stood alongside the others.
“Thank you,” Parks said. “Thank you, all. This will never be forgotten. Now; let’s get Mr Todd seen to.”
Dodds noticed that Enrique had once again started to waver, his eyes tired and his concentration clearly affected by the experience he had been through.
“Lieutenant Todd, come with me,” Parks prompted.
“We all go,” Dodds said.
“Dodds?” Estelle said.
“From here on out, we’re in this thing together. We should do everything together. We train together, we eat together, we sleep together. Hell, we’ll even wash together. Agreed?”
Confused looks were exchanged. They must have thought he’d gone mad.
“What I mean is, we need to be there to support each other,” he finished. “This isn’t going to be easy. But with the right support, we can do it.” There were nods of acknowledgement from his wingmates. That seemed to have made more sense.
Parks nodded. “Good, let’s not waste any more time.” He started off and the group followed after him. Enrique dragged his feet as he went, his pace slow, the pilot far from his usual energetic self. Kelly came forward and pulled his arm around her shoulder, her own around his waist, and walked along with him.
“Hey, I’m fine,” Enrique said, his protest accompanied by an unconvincing toothless grin.
“I know,” Kelly said, rubbing his side gently with her hand.
*
Parks led the group to a makeshift medical tent, where a number of men and women were laid out on collapsible beds and ground mats. Many were afflicted with terrible wounds – faces that were nothing more than a mess of bloodied flesh; people sedated, after having had hands, legs, feet and other limbs amputated. There were those who were moaning and crying out in pain, being attended to by field medics. Dodds saw rows of white sheets lined up neatly, the outlines of bodies beneath. Memories of the morgue on Arlos station came back to him briefly, before he turned away and shook them from his head. Those poor service personnel wouldn’t be getting back up ever, for better or for worse.
Parks caught the attention of a man who was giving instructions to a medic and he hurried over to meet the commodore.
“This is Lieutenant Todd, he’s one of the ATAF pilots,” Parks said. “He’s going to be assisting our evac, and I need to be assured that he can be cleared to fly a starfighter, for at least the next five to six hours.”
The medic gave Enrique a quick once-over with his eyes. “Okay, let me take a look,” he said, indicating for Enrique to sit down. “Have you taken any medication in the past twenty-four hours?”
“Yeah,” Enrique said. “But I have no idea what it was. I was injected with something – some sort of pain relief.”
“How did it make you feel?”
“No pain, and I was happy. Sort of buzzing.”
“It came from a field case,” Kelly added.
“Could have been morphine.” The medic took a blood sample. “Test this and bring me the results as soon as they’re ready,” he said, handing the vial to a nurse. While he waited for the nurse to return, the medic tested Enrique’s hearing, eyesight, temperature and heart rate. The results returned just a short time after he finished and, after a quick scan of the finding, the medic gave Parks his opinion. “Ordinary, I would say that this man is not fit for duty—” he began.
Parks already looked dissatisfied.
“—but I can give him something that will enable him to do his job,” the medic hastened to add. “It’ll wake him up and allow him to focus a lot easier.”
“An amphetamine derivative?” Parks asked.
“Almost. It’s a little cocktail of mine. It contains a number of stimulants and suppressants that will provide pain relief, stress relief, and up his concentration without duly affecting his judgement. It will be as if you had just woken up from a good night’s sleep.”
“Side effects?” Parks asked. “I don’t want him to suddenly drop out of the sky because he’s just lost consciousness in the cockpit.”
“None that have yet been discovered, but it’s only good for around twelve hours, after which time he’ll be useless for a day or two, if not more. It’s like giving someone a sudden jolt, one that’s followed by a long come down.” He looked at Enrique and cautioned, “you might feel dizzy, nauseous or even be physically sick.”
Enrique chuckled. “I might throw up? Well, after what I’ve been through already, that doesn’t sound bad at all.”
“I’m just warning you in case you’re not in a position where you can do so, such as wearing a flight helmet. Are you happy for me to administer the treatment?”
“Yes, go ahead,” Parks said, not waiting for Enrique to answer. The medic did so.
“How do you feel?” Dodds said a few minutes later, as Enrique began to get out of the chair.
“Like I’ve just taken a miracle hangover cure,” Enrique said. He looked like he had returned to his old self, just as he had been the last time Dodds had seen him, aboard Ifrit. “I’ve still got a slight headache, but I can feel it passing. Anything you can do about my teeth, doc?”
“We’ll worry about your vanity later, Mr Todd,” Parks said, shepherding the group out of the medical tent and into a place where he could speak to them without interruption. “Right you lot, attention!” To Estelle, he said, “Commander, we have a number of units pinned down by Pandoran forces, who we should try and assist in falling back. In addition, there are a number of aerial squadrons who would greatly benefit from having the ATAFs’ firepower by their side.”
“Yes, sir,” Estelle said.
“Despite what I said earlier, I think it’s unreasonable to expect that we can save everyone. But please do the best you can. I will be on hand to help you coordinate with ground teams. As soon as we have pulled out as many of our forces as we can, we will start to evacuate the first set of landers. We will require both atmospheric and orbital cover as we do so. There is a lot of work to be done, but the ATAFs should give you the boost you need to accomplish it. Are you clear on that so far?”
“Yes, sir,” the five men and women responded.
“Good, get to it. Flight teams are already expecting you.”
*
Dodds pulled on the flight suit he was handed, his previous having been lost along with Ifrit. He quickly ascended a ladder into his fighter’s – but it isn’t really a fighter, is it? – cockpit, scooping up the helmet that rested on the seat. He stared at the red
lettering that ran across the top of it. The letters that spelled out ‘Dodds’ seemed somehow strange to him, in light of the information he had received in the APC.
He pulled it on, making sure it was affixed correctly and then sank into the seat, closing the canopy overhead and starting to run through the pre-flight safety checks. They all returned successful, the starfighter no worse for its stay at the bottom of the ocean. Shortly after, he gave a thumbs-up to the acting flight officer, before people cleared the way for lift-off.
*
Their destinations detailed and fed into their flight computers, the five Knights raced to the first of the mission waypoints, flying as expertly as they had always done – moving high whilst engaging the Pandoran pilots in the skies; low, to help tackle the enemy forces on the ground. And, as always, the ATAFs proved unstoppable – unmatchable in their speed and firepower, virtually impervious to anything brought against them.
As the hours slipped by, the allied forces scattered around the city started to evacuate and pull back from their engagements. But although it felt good to be back in the cockpit after all the time he had spent on the ground, Dodds couldn’t escape the thoughts that lingered in the back of his head.
I’m flying a bomb! A Goddamn bomb! He knew it wasn’t entirely true, but it may as well have been.
The Knights raced from one city to the next, devouring the distances between them as though they were merely moving from door to door down a street of houses, such was the speed offered by the fighters.
At every new location, their arrival was greeted by rapturous chatter through their comms systems, the allied pilots thankful for the additional support, more so for seeing the ATAFs themselves. As the Pandoran fighters continued to fall from the skies, many began to retreat and the Knights turned their attentions to the streets, hurtling down the wide roads, barely a few stories from the ground, chasing down the black-suited enemy soldiers who were positioned there.
The Battle for the Solar System (Complete Trilogy) Page 83
