by Rick Bentsen
“She’s requesting landing clearance now, Supreme Commander,” T’Marik said.
“Grant clearance and have the pilot report to me on the double,” M’Bek growled.
“Aye, sir,” T’Marik turned back to his board. “Fighter recon cleared for landing. The Commander wishes to speak to you immediately.”
M’Bek stood up and started to slowly pace around the cramped bridge
“Someone get me a cup of kamarat root tea,” he growled as he plopped back down in his command chair.
A steaming cup of kamarat root tea appeared next to M’Bek Tarmos as a female in a flight suit rushed onto the bridge.
“Pilot Y’Edera reporting as ordered, sir,” the female said.
M’Bek looked over the lithe, as much as lithe could apply to any member of the Brentax race, female with a lecherous glint in his eye. He nodded approvingly and smiled.
“Y’Edera, report on your mission,” M’Bek hissed.
“As I approached the jump gate, I had a momentary contact on my scanner. But it was not there long enough for me to be able to tell what it was,” Y’Edera shrugged. “I ran a diagnostic on my scanner just to be sure. There does appear that there is some sort of power glitch. I have requested the engineers to look at it.”
“Good.”
Y’Edera turned and walked off the bridge, M’Bek Tarmos’ eyes on her the entire time.
2.4.2136
1604
Shuttle Kiarin
K’Alan grunted as he worked the navigations console. One of the things he had been doing had been to monitor Brentax activity. They were in enemy territory, and it would have been foolish to not pay attention. He’d been hoping to catch a break and end up having little Brentax activity in the area.
Unfortunately, the Brentax seemed to be anticipating a retaliatory strike from the Star League for the destruction of Duterius Prime. It seemed to K’Alan that every ship in the Brentax Armada was going to be in range of them on their way to Brentax III. He only hoped the work that Sarah did on the shuttle would hold up.
“This doesn’t look good,” he said finally.
“What’s wrong, Kal?” Mario asked from his seat on the opposite side of the small cabin.
“It looks like a Duhari class cruiser has been dogging our six,” K’Alan sighed.
“You sure?” Mario turned around to look over the readings.
“Well, it looks like they’re heading to Brentax III. Not in any hurry either. They could have long outrun us. I think they’re following us in on purpose.”
“It’s a long ride in, Kal. Maybe they’ll peel off and head wherever they’re heading before we get to Brentax III.”
“We can hope,” K’Alan said.
2.4.2136
1822
SLS White Knight
Soran’s Bar.
Soran was polishing the bar, gently rubbing it, smiling to himself as he admired the polish.
“Hi, Soran,” K’Itea smiled a sad little smile as she sat down at the bar.
“Kit, it’s good to see you,” Soran smiled. “How’s Elam?”
“All right. He’s with K’Alan’s sister.”
“How are you holding up?” he asked as he reached under the bar and grabbed a clean glass. With a flourish, he poured her a Duterian Sunmist.
“Not well,” she admitted. “I’m worried about him, Soran.”
“I’m sure he’s fine, Kit,” Soran said, his smile broadening. “K’Alan has a way of always coming back.”
“I know. But I still worry.”
“Well, he and Mario can take care of themselves,” the barman shrugged. He went back to polishing his bar. “They’re quite a team. Mario’ll watch his back.”
“Do you think they’ll be successful, Soran?” K’Itea leaned forward and asked. “I understand that if they can do what they’re trying to do, it could end the war.”
“I hope they do,” Soran said, pausing from his polishing to look at her. “I for one am tired of war.”
“Me too,” K’Itea sighed. “Me too.”
“Yes,” he nodded and went back to rubbing the soft towel on the hardwood top of the bar. “I would imagine you are.”
2.4.2136
1900
SLS White Knight
The Bridge.
“Commander, you should go get some rest. It’ll be quite a while before we hear from them,” Kath said.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Erin said, not moving from the command chair. There were several Styrofoam coffee cups scattered around the command chair. All of them were empty. There was a full cup on the arm of the command chair.
“So, why aren’t you going off the bridge?” Kath said.
“I’m a little nervous with the Captain going off on a mission like that,” the commander shrugged. She took a sip of the coffee and put the cup back on the arm.
“We all are, Commander,” Kath shook her head. “But the captain’s a survivor. He’ll be back.”
“The captain is a very special man, Kath,” Erin smiled. “Hell, if it weren’t for him, I doubt I’d be a Commander right now.”
“Really? What do you mean?”
“We were assigned to the Prometheus. It was a tough assignment. The captain was a real hard case. Had his ‘special cases’ that were the only ones he gave the cushy jobs to. And the only ones he ever promoted. I was fed up, and ready to quit the SLDF altogether.
“K’Alan, even then, was the same kind of guy he is now. He was easy going and very easy to turn to with a problem. I told him I was quitting and why. He talked me out of it. He said that I’d long since earned his respect and that he believed in me. He helped me fight within the rules and start getting the recognition I deserved.
“We were both transferred off the Prometheus at the same time. My new CO saw how hard I worked and immediately gave me the promotion to Lieutenant that I should have received months before. K’Alan was one of the first to congratulate me. I would have given up if it weren’t for him.”
“He really cares about his people, Erin,” Kath said. “That’s probably one of the reasons Admiral Bonetti gave him this command when Captain Ker’sal left.”
“Yeah, probably,” Erin nodded. “But I don’t intend to let Gamma Strike lose two Captains in a month.”
“We won’t, Erin. If my read on Mario is correct, he will do whatever it takes to keep the captain safe.”
“Let’s hope so.”
2.4.2136
2355
Shuttle Kiarin
“Mario, the cruiser’s accelerating. It looks like she is going to go right past us.” K’Alan’s eyes were glued to the scanner watching every move the Brentax cruiser
“I told you. And you were worrying about nothing.”
“Unidentified freighter,” the comms systems crackled. “This is the Brentax warship Dorania Toran. You are in Brentax space. You are ordered to submit a complete cargo manifest and flight plan immediately. Failure to comply or an attempt to run will result in your immediate and painful termination. You have ten standard minutes to comply.”
“Or you may have good reason to worry,” Mario sighed. “Dammit, why can’t I keep my big mouth shut?”
Chapter 10
2.5.2136
0001
Brentax Duhari class cruiser Torellia Corvax
The Bridge.
M’BEK Tarmos growled as he stumbled onto the bridge. The summons from the bridge had awakened him from a sound sleep. M’Bek Tarmos was not a man that liked being woken up.
“You had best have a good reason for interrupting my sleep period, T’Marik,” the Brentax commander roared.
“We are approaching Brentax III, Commander,” T’Marik replied. He had seen his commander angry before, so the outburst was nothing new to him. And he knew how to handle it. “You asked to be alerted the moment we were this close to home.”
“Ah, good man, T’Marik,” M’Bek smiled. “Because you were following my orders, I will not have you beheaded for
waking me this time.” He strode over to his command chair. “It is good to be home, wouldn’t you say, T’Marik?”
“Yes, sir. My wife will be pleased to see me,” T’Marik said. “And I’m sure my pouchling has grown quite a bit.”
“Yes, I had forgotten that you had family,” M’Bek nodded. “Well, we’ll be on Brentax III for about a month. You should be able to spend plenty of time with them.”
“Thank you, sir,” T’Marik nodded and turned back to his console.
M’Bek smiled as he watched the main viewscreen as his home planet loomed larger and larger.
2.5.2136
0003
Shuttle Kiarin
“Your time is almost up, unidentified freighter. Do you truly wish to die this much? It can be arranged.”
“Answer the man, Kal,” Mario urged.
“Brentax warship, this is the freighter Torian. I apologize for the delay in replying to you. I’ve been having intermittent computer problems. We are carrying a small shipment of katarrh root for Supreme Commander M’Bek Tarmos on Brentax III,” K’Alan closed his eyes as he talked to the unseen cruiser. He said a small prayer to the Duterian gods that this would work.
They had the paperwork to prove that it was a legitimate order. In fact, it had cost the Star League a pretty penny to take this run over from the purveyor that was originally supposed to bring the catarrh root to Brentax III.
“Freighter Torian, prepare to be boarded for shipment inspection.” The Brentax sounded like he was grinning in anticipation.
“Sir, I must protest,” K’Alan said. “If we don’t get this katarrh root to Brentax III soon, the Supreme Commander will be most displeased. We are already running behind due to the computer issues. I would be happy to transmit the shipping order signed by the Supreme Commander himself.”
“Transmit your paperwork, freighter,” the Brentax officer ordered.
K’Alan fiddled with the controls in front of him, preparing the documents for transmission. As soon as he hit the send button, he turned back to the transmitting mike. “Sent. You should be able to confirm that it is, in fact, the Supreme Commander’s signature on that paperwork.”
“It is indeed,” the Brentax growled. K’Alan wasn’t sure, but he thought he detected a note of disappointment in the voice. “Very well, you may proceed to Brentax III. But remember this, Freighter Torian. We will be monitoring you. If you deviate from your planned flight path to Brentax III, we will be forced to open fire on your freighter.”
“Understood. Thank you, sir,” K’Alan acknowledged as he flicked the comms system off. He breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Mario.
“That was close,” Mario said, his eyes wide.
“Too close,” K’Alan nodded. “Let’s just hope that the rest of this trip is uneventful.”
2.5.2136
0944
SLS White Knight
The Gym.
Masha was angry.
She’d protested K’Alan and Mario going on the mission by themselves, but they left her behind. She pointed out that it was her job to protect the Captain at all costs. They had ignored her recommendation. She knew that they were going to get in trouble, and that she wouldn’t be able to help them.
So, she was angry. And she was taking out her anger on the punching bag, taking out all her aggressions on an inanimate object rather than her usual sparring partners. She was too afraid that anyone she sparred with would end up in the medbay.
“Lieutenant?” Tyla Barros said as she walked into the gym. “I don’t normally see you in here.”
“I usually only come down here when I’m upset, Tyla,” the big woman growled. “And call me Masha.”
“Masha it is then,” Tyla grinned. “Let me guess. You’re upset about the Captain and Mario going on this mission.”
“You got it, sugar,” Masha said as she gave the bag a particularly hard punch. “They should have taken a security officer or two along. They certainly should not have gone on the mission by themselves.”
“I think we all agree, Masha,” Tyla nodded. She began to stretch to prepare for her own exercise. “But beating up a punching bag won’t help them.”
“Neither will worrying about them, sugar, but I’m doing that too,” Masha said, grinning and baring her sharp teeth. “Say, sugar. Do you know how to fence?”
2.5.2136
1408
Gamma Epsilon station
Admiral Bonetti’s office.
Admiral John Bonetti was bored. Very bored. He was looking over acquisition and budget reports. He hated this part of the job, looking over and approving budgets for the units under his command. It was a necessity, but none of the Admiralty particularly enjoyed it. Except for Admiral Bryce Hawkes. He kept thinking about seeing if Hawkes would do his for him.
There was a knock on his door, and he sighed.
“Enter,” he called.
“I hope I’m not interrupting anything, Admiral,” the newcomer said.
“No, not at all,” John said looking up. Dear lord, did the man have a psychic connection or something? How did he know that I was literally just thinking about passing off paperwork to him? “In fact, I’m glad for the interruption, Admiral Hawkes. What can I do for you?”
“I wanted to talk to you about the Gamma Strike mission, John,” Bryce Hawkes took a seat without it being offered. It was one of the privileges of being the same rank. “I wanted to talk to you outside of the council chambers.”
“What do you want to talk about?” John leaned back in his chair, taking a clearly defensive posture.
“Is it wise to send men off to abduct M’Bek Tarmos like that?” Admiral Hawkes spoke in a soft voice, measuring his words carefully.
“Bryce, you and I disagree on a lot of things, but one thing we don’t disagree on is that this war has gone on way too long,” John suppressed the urge to sigh. “It’s my intention to stop this war once and for all.”
“By sending some of our best men on what could very easily be a suicide mission, John?”
John stood up and walked around his desk. He sat on the edge of the desk and looked down at Bryce Hawkes.
“It won’t be a suicide mission because of who I sent on it. You’re right. They are the best we have for this mission, Bryce.”
“John,” Bryce closed his eyes. “It’s suicide. They’re not going to just be able to saunter onto Brentax III, grab M’Bek Tarmos, and saunter back out. They’ll get caught. And when they get caught, they’ll get executed.”
“I have a feeling that they’ll make it, Bryce. I wouldn’t have sent them otherwise. Besides. Do you think I’d consent to my son going on a suicide mission?”
“Mario’s on the mission?” Bryce’s jaw dropped. “That’s just pure insanity! He’s a morale officer, for Christ’s sake!”
“There’s more to Mario than you know, Bryce,” John smiled. There was a twinkle in his eye. He was proud of his son, even if Mario’s insistence on staying an enlisted man infuriated him. “Mario is a martial arts master and a tactical genius. If he’d only take the officer’s exam, he’d have a command of his own by now.”
“Well, I’m still not sure if it’s the brightest move we’ve made,” Bryce shook his head.
“Bryce, if this works, we’ll end this war once and for all. A new era of peace can begin,” John said.
“And if it doesn’t work, we’ve lost some of our best men,” Bryce countered.
“It’ll work, my friend. It has to work.”
2.5.2136
1818
Shuttle Kiarin
K’Alan was dozing at the navigations station. He’d been dozing a couple minutes here and there whenever he could. Unfortunately, the shuttle seemed to have a mind of its own and needed almost constant course correction. He grumbled as the computer beeped to get his attention.
“You know, I can pilot the shuttle for a while, K’Alan,” Mario said.
“You just keep your eyes on the scanners. If we run in
to another Brentax cruiser that wants to inspect our cargo, I doubt I can pull off the same trick twice,” K’Alan grunted. “We may have legitimate paperwork, but if one of them gets it into their head that they need to search us even with M’Bek Tarmos’s signature on the order request, we’re done for.”
“Good point.”
The two men were quiet for a while, each one concentrating on his individual duties. Finally, K’Alan broke the silence.
“You know, Mario,” he said, with a wry smile on his face. “I think Kath likes you.”
“Huh?” Mario said, caught off guard. “What are you talking about, Kal?”
“Kath from the bridge,” K’Alan specified as his fingers flew over his console, as he adjusted their course yet again. “You know. Tall. Lithe. Kind of a light brown hair. Pixie face.”
“What about her?” Mario turned in his seat to look at his friend.
“I think she likes you.” K’Alan looked at Mario and winked.
“Oh.” Mario turned back to his console and continued to scan. Suddenly he turned back to K’Alan. “She’s the cute one, right?”
“Yup.”
“Oh.”
K’Alan chuckled as he finished making the course corrections and closed his eyes to try to get a couple minutes sleep.
2.5.2136
1911
SLS White Knight
The Bridge
Kath was alone on the bridge. She’d opted to take a shift monitoring the bridge. Because of the current circumstances, a full bridge crew wasn’t necessary. Kath didn’t mind the time by herself. It gave her time to sort out her thoughts.
She was worried about the two men, of course. She knew that the outcome of this war may well hinge on those two men. But even more, she found, much to her dismay, that she was more worried about not seeing them again. Particularly Mario. It was a disturbing thought for her. She’d never felt anything for a man before. She wasn’t sure how to deal with it.
Shrugging to herself, she checked over her readings again. Nodding to herself as she noted that everything was reading normal, she tried to get her mind off the engaging young Colonel.
