The Battle for the Solar System (Complete Trilogy)

by Sweeney, Stephen

  Eventually, the call came. They were approaching HD 21563010. He met the others on the bridge, all suited up and ready to go. He had only just arrived when one of the straps affixing the protective armour to his arm gave way and fell to the floor. He quickly headed back to the security station to find a replacement. The sight that greeted his arrival surprised him. Standing there, allowing another member of the crew to assist her with tightening up a flak jacket and finding suitable protection for her arms and legs, was Natalia. She glanced up at him as he halted in the doorway, her face serious and determined.

  “You’re coming?” Dodds said.

  “I have to,” Natalia replied, as her assistant tightened up the straps around her legs more.

  “Parks said he didn’t want you coming along,” Dodds reminded her, not meaning it to sound like an accusation.

  “I need to do this, Simon,” Natalia insisted, checking everything that had been done so far. “Things have happened in my life that I’m not entirely proud of.”

  “You didn’t have a choice back then,” Dodds said, certain that she was referring to the incident at the Independent-Imperial border.

  “It’s not that,” Natalia said. “These are things that I don’t think you’d understand.”

  “Like what?” Dodds asked.

  The crewman assisting Natalia was done. Natalia thanked him for his help and Dodds took the opportunity to find a replacement for his missing body armour. Dodds prompted Natalia with his eyes as the man departed, conscious that she had dodged answering his question. He wondered if what was troubling her was somehow linked to what she had briefly talked about in the hangar.

  Natalia was still not forthcoming. “Like I said,” she repeated, “I don’t think you’d understand.”

  Dodds let slip a small chuckle. “Try me,” he said.

  Natalia considered it for a moment, then sighed. “Remember when we first met?”

  “Yes, we had that fight in the park,” Dodds said. “You thought I was one of the Pandoran scouts. That was pretty brave of you to attempt to tackle me like that,” he added with a smile.

  Natalia didn’t return it. “I told you that I was hiding up in that tree because my unit had told me to get away while I still could,” she said. “But that wasn’t entirely true. I abandoned them.”

  Dodds wasn’t sure he had heard her correctly. “You … you did what?”

  “I abandoned them,” Natalia repeated, her face once again taking on that sorrowful look. Except that this time there was something more there – shame. “We were holding off a Pandoran unit in the park. There were ten of us and about twelve of them. We’d have been outmatched even if there had been just five of them. We had seen some children in a car and went to try to rescue them. They’d been acting as bait for the soldiers to jump us. When they did so we fought against them as best we could, but we didn’t have a hope in hell.” She sighed, before carrying on. “The head of my unit told me to fall back and take cover behind a set of cars that had already been destroyed in gunfire, so that we could use them as protection without fear of them going up.

  “But as the Enemy advanced and I saw another of my team go down, I found myself unable to carry on. I just wanted to get away from there. So … I panicked and ran. I threw my gun, ammo and other things away, so that they wouldn’t weigh me down. My unit commander was shouting after me to come back, but I never even turned around. I made it to a group of trees and went a little deeper into them, before I climbed nearly all the way to the top of the tallest. I didn’t really expect the Pandorans not to find me up there, but they didn’t.

  “I can still remember hearing the children wailing as I ran, Simon. I don’t know what happened to them. I’m guessing that either the soldiers took them away to use as decoys again, or that they shot them dead right there. I couldn’t bring myself to go back and look.

  “I’ve spent every day since living a lie, pretending in my head that my commanding officer told me to run and get away. He said quite the opposite. He wanted me to stand and fight to the death. But I’ve told my alternative story so many times to so many people that I’m almost ready to believe the lie myself. I should’ve died that day on Mythos, right there with the rest of them.”

  Dodds was stunned. He didn’t know what to say, and just stood there lost for reply. Natalia said nothing more and just stared at him, the emotion the memories were evoking in her looking ready to drive her once again to the brink of tears.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said, finally.

  “It’s not me that you should be apologising to,” Dodds said, automatically.

  “No,” Natalia shook her head. “I did it to you, too.”

  “Huh?” Dodds racked his brain. He then thought back to that day that he had first met this woman. It had been a blur of emotions and events, of desperation to save his own life, while also trying to find a way to save his friends. One event did stick out though – the time when he had crashed in the Sabretooth, regaining consciousness to find that the seat next to him was empty. He’d never been given a true explanation for what had happened but now it was obvious. “You did run away!” he exclaimed.

  “I know!” Natalia pleaded. “You don’t need to tell me – I’m a coward, Simon, have been for years. I’m so afraid of what might happen to me that I’d always hide behind others. And I’m not proud of one single bloody instance! Black Widow almost destroyed me. To see others willingly sacrifice themselves so that I could escape – a coward who’d already abandoned so many before … They shouldn’t have.”

  “Why are you telling me this?” Dodds said, still struggling to grasp what Natalia had confessed to him.

  “Because I need someone to understand,” she said, suddenly sounding totally frustrated. “You’re the first person I’ve ever told this to. I don’t know why it had to be you, but I just feel more comfortable with you than anyone I’ve known in years. I need you to know how I feel and why I now want to make up for it.”

  “I … you …” Dodds started, finding words almost impossible. He struggled to be fair. Natalia had just confessed her shameful secrets to him. Now was not the time to act as appalled as he felt. The woman clearly needed support. He could see her fighting tears, unable to look directly at him. Instinctively he gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

  “Do you see?” Natalia asked. “Do you understand how hard it is to live with something like this? Something so despicable that, if you could, you’d turn back time to undo and set right?”

  “Actually,” Dodds said, smiling ruefully. “I do.”

  “You do?” she said.

  Dodds nodded. “I do,” he continued, “because there’s something I’ve never told you, either …”

  And so, he recounted what happened on Peri, about Stefan Pitt and Poppy Castro, the trial, his sentencing to Huntingdon for twelve years – of his actual five month suspension – and of his return to Earth, where he had attempted to sever himself from his past life. But mostly he told her of how he carried the guilt, how he thought of that man and that woman every day, how he had tried to cope with it, but found it next to impossible to do.

  “You … you told me you’d never killed anyone,” Natalia said, straightening. “When we were hiding on Mythos, I remember asking you straight and you said no.”

  Dodds faltered. He wasn’t quite sure how to reply. “It wasn’t the same,” he started. “It … wasn’t murder.” But he had still killed two people – two innocent people. Wasn’t that just as bad? “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m just so ashamed of it. I don’t really like talking or even thinking about it …”

  “But you always do, don’t you?” Natalia said, her voice full of understanding. “I know exactly how you feel, Simon.”

  Dodds nodded. Finally, he had found someone who could completely understand him. They both smiled faintly, confirming that the bond between them had strengthened.

  “So, now we know, shall we agree not to abandon or shoot each other when we get over
there?” she said, wryly.

  “Agreed,” he said. He reached out to Natalia, and they shook hands. “Ready?” he asked her.

  “Ready,” Natalia said.

  *

  Returning to the bridge, Dodds saw that Cratos had fully emerged from jump and that the dreadnought was now making its way towards its target. His team-mates turned briefly towards him as he entered with Natalia, giving only the briefest of acknowledgements. Dodds could understand why the vista they were all studying was so riveting.

  HD 21563010 Ab was a huge ocean-blue ball of a planet. It had very little definition right now, the planet appearing almost as if it was just one solid colour. Here and there, however, he could make out definite swirls, coursing about its body. The definition would increase as they drew closer to it, which Cratos was doing rapidly with every passing second. His eyes then picked out a circle of objects that were moving around the planet, and realised that he was looking at a very thin ring system. It was almost undetectable at this distance, but, like the definition of the planet itself, was becoming steadily clearer.

  “What gives it that colour?” Dodds asked.

  “Methane clouds,” Liu replied, without looking up from his console. “Circling the planet at over two thousand kilometres per hour. No solid surfaces, but the core is made up of—”

  “We’re not here on a scientific expedition,” Parks interrupted. He sounded stressed, a little different from how he had been a few hours earlier. Something was clearly bothering him. Maybe he was having second thoughts about what he had done back at Sol, and whether or not this truly was a wild-goose chase. He called the team forward, demanding their full attention. “Have you picked up any signals yet, Karen?” he asked Weathers.

  “Not yet,” Weathers said, somewhat apologetically.

  Parks swore. “Okay, keep scanning.”

  Yes, that was definitely it, Dodds thought. Parks was clearly fighting with reservations about pulling out his command – five capable starfighter pilots, both of Griffin’s senior bridge staff, and one highly-equipped dreadnought – from Sol’s defence line, and going in search of a weapon that might prove impossibly elusive. Dodds saw Kelly fidgeting. Likely, she was blaming herself for this. He met Enrique and Estelle’s eyes, aware that they too shared Parks’ concerns. They should be back at Earth, preparing to defend it from the upcoming Pandoran assault.

  “I’m getting something!” Weathers suddenly announced. “It’s very weak, but it’s definitely electronic.”

  “Where?” Parks said.

  “Beyond the ring system.”

  “Try and get a better fix on it and bring up some imaging as soon as you can,” Parks said. “Mr Liu, take us closer.”

  The signal strengthened as the bridge crew became able to focus in on its origin. With Cratos’ camera systems pointed towards the signal, a holographic screen sprang up at the front of the bridge, displaying the results. The three shapes were difficult to make out at first, hanging low in the planet’s orbit. It looked as though they were engulfed in the cloud layer. They were there, though, two small Dart-like craft and one three-box freighter, appearing just as Kelly had described. Dodds guessed that it was their proximity to the planet that had made it so hard for them to detect the craft initially. He wondered if the navigators of those vessels had done that on purpose, to hide themselves from unwanted attention. As well as the ring system, large deposits of rock and ice chunks floated nearby, orbiting the planet. Dodds thought that instead of burying themselves beneath the upper cloud layer, they could’ve simply clung to the far side of one of those giant rocks. They weren’t turning very fast, and the spacing between each would mean that collisions with other rocks would be a rare occurrence. Why hadn’t they tried this? Dodds suddenly got a feeling that the Elpis was carrying more than just the TSB prototype that they sought.

  “That looks like our girl,” Parks said, his voice now more positive. He looked to Kelly for confirmation.

  “That’s a Gloucester Enterprises freighter,” she said, after studying the image. “And it fits the description and schematics of what was on file for the Elpis.”

  “What’s the main vessel’s USID?” Parks asked.

  “XXX-118-GE-01991#JM” Weathers confirmed, to an exchange of positive nods from those assembled on the bridge.

  “Can we zoom in any further?” Parks asked. “If the original designation is written on the side of her, that’ll pretty much seal the deal.”

  Weathers did as requested, but the ship’s designation was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps it had been removed prior to dispatch.

  “See if you can pull up a comparison, instead,” Parks prompted.

  Weathers did so, drawing up another holographic screen next to the one feeding imagery of the vessel before them. Everyone agreed that they were identical.

  “I’m getting some more data on the ship, now,” Weathers said, working away at her console and routing the information through to the primary holographic display.

  Parks studied the statistics for a time, before swearing. “Decaying orbit. Mr Liu, can you work out how long we have before that ship is completely lost to us?”

  “Based on initial data readings,” Liu started, “the orbit of the Elpis is decaying at a rate of just over one kilometre per day. Based on the make-up of the planet and the rating of the freighter’s engines, it will reach a point of inescapable gravitational pull and cloud depth in about fifteen years’ time. The pressure will likely crush it well before that, though,” he added.

  “Ah,” Parks said. “We’ve got a while, then. Not that we can afford to take our time over this.”

  “There’s an additional problem though, Captain,” Liu continued. “The depth of its orbit will make both movement to and from the freighter quite difficult. Shuttles could struggle to negotiate the cloud layer.”

  “In that case, we’ll just have to move Cratos in as close as we can and make our journey as short as possible. Right, everyone,” Parks said, looking around from his seat. “Are you all ready?” His eyes passed over each one of them, before halting on Natalia. He must have only just noticed that it was her who had followed Dodds onto the bridge. He half-scowled as he took in her attire. “I thought I ordered you to stay put, Grace?” he said.

  “I can vouch for her, Admiral,” Dodds said immediately, before Natalia could speak. “She will act under my command.”

  Parks didn’t look in the least convinced. “Not good enough, Dodds,” he said. “You’re staying here, Grace.”

  “I can vouch for her too, sir,” Estelle added. Parks looked at her with slight puzzlement.

  “And me, too,” Chaz said, before Parks could add another objection.

  Three against one, Dodds thought, though Parks could still veto them if he chose to. Dodds moved beside Natalia, in a gesture of support, Estelle and Chaz doing likewise. Neither Enrique nor Kelly moved or spoke, seemingly unwilling to pick sides.

  Parks said nothing for a short time, before nodding reluctantly. “Very well. Grace is your responsibility, Dodds. Now,” he said, rising, “we have a bomb to find.”

  XIX

  — Closures —

  Dodds was sure that he could feel the shuttle beginning to buffet. Though they were travelling through free space, he could detect a subtle tremble coursing through him, as the craft around him trembled. Everyone around him looked pensive. Only Parks maintained the same determined look he had shown since departing Cratos. He had pushed aside any uncertainties.

  Dodds looked beyond the cockpit to where the two pilots sat, guiding them to their destination. The Elpis was growing steadily larger with each passing moment, as were the two Darts, and the rocks and debris that littered the orbit around HD 21563010 Ab. They would be hitting that cloud layer soon. He wondered what would happen when they did. The Elpis, as well as the two modified Darts that had no doubt formed part of its original escort, were somehow managing to maintain their positions despite the clouds that whipped around them. Perhaps th
e pull of the winds wasn’t so strong after all. He then saw that the Darts appeared to be attached to the freighter by some sort of cabling, keeping them in place. What looked like stray cabling could also be seen. More Darts or other craft had been attached at some point, probably lost to the winds when the cables had broken free.

  The cockpit console jingled and Roberts looked at the instrument panel before turning worriedly to Parks. “Admiral, Cratos is trying to contact us on the emergency band,” she said.

  “On speaker,” Parks said, rising from his place and joining the two in the cockpit. “Cratos, this is Admiral Parks. What’s happening?”

  “Admiral, we’ve just detected a jump signature,” came the voice of Weathers. “Estimates suggest something big is about to enter the system.”

  “Didn’t think Jenkins would actually have the nerve to come after us,” Parks muttered, sounding quite surprised. “How far out?”

  “Just over two hundred kilometres from our position,” Weathers said, then, “Point is stabilising—”

  The two pilots swore.

  “What’s happening?” Parks demanded.

  “It’s an Imperial carrier, sir, no doubt about it,” Weathers said.

  “Identity?”

  “INF Chimera. We have visual and radar idents. It’s definitely Chimera, Admiral. They have starfighter escorts, which are already approaching us on intercept vectors. Estimating time to engagement of about twenty minutes.”

  “How many?”

  “Between forty-five and fifty. Mixed-class Imperial and Independent. We’re also detecting Leeches.”

  Parks swore, then looked about the shuttle, before turning to Natalia. “Grace, has Cratos ever been exposed to either low orbit or re-entrant-like stresses?” he asked of her.

  “I don’t know,” she said, apologetically. “If it has, then it wasn’t while I was serving.”

  “Okay, well I guess we’re about the find out. Mr Liu,” he said, turning back to the comms, “I want you to bring Cratos low into the planet’s atmosphere, lower than the Elpis is. The turbulence will make it more difficult for the starfighters to manoeuvre and should allow you to pick them off at a distance.”