“Yes, sir,” Lawrence said darkly. “It would seem that way.”
“Very well. Secure the moons of Supra, but reallocate some of those companies to the fleet sweep. I want the Resolute to lead the operation. Give it to Major Featherstone. I have the major’s file here. Top man. He will lead. Do you agree, Marine General?”
Lawrence shook his head. “We have lost contact with Featherstone and the Resolute, sir. She was assigned to investigate a Skarak signal in the Belt. It led him to a Faction mining facility that was utterly destroyed along with the Resolute and several fighter blades. We lost a lot of good people out there, but Featherstone in particular is a huge loss to the service.”
“Yes, Marine General. It looks like he was a prime candidate to take over from you when you move up from your current position.”
“I never thought about promotion beyond the Blue Stars, sir. Once you have served with the best it is very hard to move on. However, I think I am needed right here,” Lawrence said with a wry smile.
Selby nodded. “The Blue Stars have a lot to get done and not much time to do it in. Secure those planetary defense platforms and sweep my fleet. Tactical Intelligence is delivering the Skarak detection units to each carrier group. Send your teams to the carriers first and start there. We need every ship in this fight, but if the carriers are sabotaged we won’t stand a chance against the Skarak.”
“I will begin immediately, Admiral.” The image of Marine General Lawrence disappeared from the holostage.
Selby placed a holoimage of the entire Scorpio system on the holostage. The positions of all ships marked with a small red dot, their headings all marked with a faint green line. All lines led to the rendezvous location near the Belt. The Eminence was alone in the dark, the planet Terra falling away in the distance. The combined battle group of cruisers, frigates and corvettes was moving in from all sides. They were gathering fast, and the first corvette, dwarfed by the massive carrier, slid into formation alongside the flag ship. They were forming up fast, but Selby knew there was no time to waste.
“More ships,” Selby said to himself as he looked again at the data that had been sent to Fleet Command from the edge of the system, beyond the Sphere, the observational data from the surveillance ship, Sentinel Nine. A huge Skarak armada gathering on the outer edge of the Scorpio system. “We need every last ship we can get.”
4
Sitting in the command chair gave Boyd an overview of the command deck. He could see every console and had a clear view to the main holostage. The deck looked different from up here, more immediate, more controllable. Boyd didn’t have time to feel awkward in the big chair, he only had time to act. He looked at the image of the approaching Skarak fighters racing through the asteroids of the Belt. They held a tight formation, the outer fighters only breaking from their position in the diamond pattern to avoid asteroids in their path. They were closing fast.
Boyd switched view to the Resolute itself, putting the ship at the center of the holoimage, asteroids all around, all orbiting the distant star so slowly they appeared stationary. The technical data displayed over the holoimage of the Resolute showed the drive system was offline. Defensive systems were non-operational. The weapons systems were down.
The deflection shielding was flickering, barely holding the ship together. If that were disabled, the breach in the forward section would be exposed to space.
“Do we have thrusters at least?” Boyd said.
“Thrusters are operational,” Hemel replied.
“Put in as close to the asteroid as possible. Try and hide from those Skarak.”
“Moving us in now, sir.”
Boyd was not used to being called sir. Hemel had only used the title out of habit. He turned in his seat and looked up at Boyd.
“Sergeant, I mean.”
“Don’t sweat it, Jim,” Boyd said.
Doc Cronin came running into the command deck. He glanced up at Boyd in the command chair.
“Doc, weapons status?”
Cronin slid to a halt in front of the weapons’ console.
“I can give you spitz guns, all units ready, just waiting for the core to power up.”
Boyd looked over at Thresh at the engineering console.
“I know, I know,” she said. She moved along the console, limping badly, her hand tapping away in a frenzy.
Boyd looked at the Skarak. Six fighters were a tough prospect for the Resolute on a good day. But here she was, practically dead in the void. Once the Skarak spotted her she would be blasted to pieces, the crew killed, or worse.
Boyd tapped the arm rest holo-display and opened a channel.
“Assault teams. Suit up for extra vehicular combat. All teams go.”
Boyd climbed down from the command chair. He was a Blue Star Marine Sergeant and he needed to lead the assault.
“Where are you going?” Doc said.
“The marine deck. I need to suit up.”
“No you are not, sergeant,” doc said. “You are needed here.”
“You can command the Resolute. I need to command the assault team.”
“I can’t command the Resolute, Will.” Cronin said. “I’ve got to get these weapons up. Jim needs to fly the thing, but he can’t direct a battle too. And as for her…” Cronin shot a look at Thresh.
Thresh looked at Cronin and rolled her eyes. “If you think you can get these systems sorted out in the ninety seconds we’ve got before those Skarak get on top of us then please, be my guest.”
Boyd received an alert from the marine deck. All assault teams were ready for action. They needed a leader. The list of Blue Stars in the assault team appeared on the arm rest holo-display. Every marine was elite and they all knew what to do. But Boyd did not and he knew he was in danger of being paralyzed by the decision. It would be easier for him to lead the Blue Stars than to choose a leader for the assault team. This was what command meant, to make a call and give clear orders, to focus on the big picture. He selected a name and made the call.
“Corporal Strachan, you are lead Blue Star. Take your assault team out onto the Resolute’s hull and stand by for orders.”
Strachan replied immediately. He was only a corporal but there was not a Blue Star on the ship who was not ready and capable of leading the assault.
“Yes, sergeant. Blue Star assault teams are ready.”
Boyd watched the holostage. The Skarak were close, they were seemingly unaware of the Resolute, but the battered ship could not stay hidden for much longer. Boyd held his breath.
“We are defenseless,” Doc said. “No weapons. Minimal defenses.”
Hemel looked back from the pilot chair to Boyd in the command chair. “And we’re dead in the void. I can’t hook the drive up to the core without risking a full meltdown.”
Boyd stood up. “Strachan. Move out. Close in on the fighters. Wait for my order to attack. You are to land on the approaching fighters and cut out their pilots with your electron bayonets. Stand by.”
Boyd walked over to the main holostage.
“Doc, can you load a surveillance drone into one of the drone tubes?”
“Yes. And we can launch it under its own power, but the sudden appearance of a surveillance drone will light us up like a solar flare.”
“They will spot us any moment in any case. Better we choose when they see us. Then we have the advantage.”
“Not much of an advantage,” Hemel said.
“It’ll be enough. Load and stand ready.”
Boyd watched the Skarak fighters. They were moving past, but any moment now they would detect the Resolute and her flickering deflection shielding. He hit a button on his communicator, ready to give the orders to the corporal
“Strachan. Move in on the fighters. I am going to bring them to you. Latch on and kill them. The Resolute will collect you, every last Blue Star. Go!”
The Blue Star assault teams moved off toward the approaching Skarak.
“Launch,” Boyd ordered.
“Launching surveillance drone.”
The drone raced away from the Resolute. Instantly the sensor range was extended another half a million kilometers. Thankfully there was nothing out there but more of the asteroids in the Belt.
The instant the drone launched, the Skarak changed heading and started to close in on the Resolute. Boyd tried to steady his pulse. He didn’t have much time, but he had to be patient.
“I’ve bypassed the main governor,” Thresh said. “Accessing main core power. Distributing power to weapons systems.”
“Got it. Powered to spitz guns. Targeting Skarak.”
“Hold,” Boyd said. “I’ve just put our Blue Stars between us and the Skarak. The spitz guns will tear them apart.”
“Those Skarak will tear us apart if we don’t open fire,” Cronin said.
“Hold fire, Doc,” Boyd said. “The Blue Stars are deployed and on task. Give them a second.”
Boyd accessed the enhanced data view from Strachan’s helmet and displayed it on the holostage. The assault team was closing in on the Skarak fighters. The fighters were moving in fast, range finder data counting down rapidly.
At the last moment the Blue Stars attacked. Reaching out with their suits’ grav fields they caught hold of the Skarak, like grabbing hold of a charging tiger. Several Blue Stars got their grav field off alignment and were sent tumbling aside. Their med data showed a few busted bones and a bad concussion as they tumbled away.
Strachan secured his grav fields’ grip on his Skarak fighter and drew himself in. The alien opened fire with its crackle beam but the Blue Star marines were too small to be targeted and Strachan moved forward, pulling himself in with the grav field, dancing around the crackle beam with his thrusters.
He touched down on the Skarak fighter, a dark hull rippling like black tar. He plunged his electron blade into the hull. His team joined him, and they cut deep into the small fighter. Grey ooze spilled out of the fighter. Strachan reached inside and pulled a Skarak soldier out. It thrashed around as it was dispatched with a swift thrust from an electron bayonet.
Strachan pushed the fighter off its course and aimed it at the distant blue giant star millions of kilometers away. He leapt off and let the Skarak fighter go tumbling, unpiloted, in toward the inner system where it would eventually fall into the blue giant star.
Boyd watched as all Skarak fighters had their pilot cut out before the craft was sent toward the blue giant star.
With the last Skarak fighter defeated, Boyd leaned heavily on the holostage and let out a sigh.
“Well done, sergeant,” Hemel said. “I thought we were done for.”
Boyd looked at the casualty reports. Several Blue Stars were adrift, concussed or with broken limbs. One Blue Star was missing. Lost in the void.
“We didn’t come away unscathed,” Boyd said grimly.
“The assault teams did their jobs,” Cronin said. “And you did yours. You saved the ship.”
Boyd nodded. It didn’t feel like a victory. He’d lost Blue Stars under his command before but then he had been in the field, fighting alongside them, sharing the danger in equal measure.
Cronin could read his mood. “Command is hard, sergeant.”
Boyd walked over to the command chair. He could not let his concern spread amongst his crew.
“Recall all marines. Find our missing Blue Star. I want every marine back aboard double quick. Copy?”
“Yes, sergeant,” Hemel said. “Scanning now. Plotting his last knows position. He got bounced off a Skarak and his suit went offline. Most likely he was killed in action.”
“But he might be drifting out there with a dwindling air supply waiting for rescue.”
Boyd didn’t want to abandon a man on his first action in command. But he also needed to find Kitzov. The fate of one man was nothing compared to the fate of the entire system, but still it felt like too much to lose.
“We’ve got him. He’s moving away fast. We can be there in moments if the drive was up and running.”
“Transferring power to the drive now,” Thresh said.
Boyd nodded. He felt his head drop with the relief, the exhaustion. How did Featherstone always look so calm under this sort of stress?
“Let’s go and get our man.”
The Resolute moved away from the asteroid and began to gather up the Blue Stars scattered by the action against the Skarak fighters. Boyd stepped over to Thresh at the engineering console. Standing next to her now felt like a betrayal of his brother. He had wanted to be with her, but knew he could never feel the same way about her again.
“Do you have a way we can get hold of Kitzov?” Boyd spoke quietly. “Any old Faction trick you know of?”
“I know all the old Faction tricks,” Thresh said, bristling. “But, yes,” she softened. “I can send a signal that will get his attention.”
“You can use the communication console,” Boyd said.
“It’s not that kind of signal. I can do it right here. A malfunction in the drive field will alert him.”
Thresh sent out a Faction raider coded message. She accessed the drive assembly and caused it to flare in a random pattern that looked like a drive misalignment. The pattern would be noticed by any Faction ships in sensor range and the message would be relayed to Kitzov.
“The Skarak are not the only ones to have infiltrated the Union.” Thresh smiled. “The Faction have been on the inside for as long as I know.”
“All Blue Star marines are recovered and aboard, sergeant,” Hemel said.
Boyd was almost afraid to ask, but he had to know. “What’s the fate of the one that was adrift?”
Hemel was silent for a moment. “He didn’t make it. But he died a hero.”
That’s the way war was. There were casualties. But this was Boyd’s first as a leader.
“Do you want to set a new heading?” Hemel asked.
Boyd looked at the region on the holostage. He wanted to head home. He hadn’t been home in almost a year. “Take us to the Sphere.”
Thresh winced as pain shot through her knee and it buckled. Instinctively Boyd stuck out his arm and grabbed her, stopping her from falling only for her to shrug him off. She leaned heavily on the engineering console.
“Doc, take another look at her leg,” Boyd said.
“It’s probably just a med pack issue,” Cronin said. “She needs a replacement. There was a lot of damage. She’ll eat through a few med packs before the damage is repaired.”
“So do you want to give her a new one?” Boyd said.
Cronin looked up from the weapons console. “Yes, or I could try and get these weapons systems online. Up to you.”
Boyd knew he didn’t want to be without weapons if and when he met Kitzov.
“Don’t worry,” Doc said, looking back to his work, “a med drone can attach a new pack. She just needs to get to med bay.”
“I know the way,” Thresh said, limping.
“I’ll take you,” Boyd said.
“I don’t need a nurse maid,” Thresh said bitterly.
“But you do need a guard. You are still a prisoner aboard this ship, Thresh,” Boyd replied firmly and somewhat harshly.
Thresh let out a snort of derision. “Fine,” she said.
Boyd put an arm around her waist and helped her along the command deck corridor as they headed toward the med bay.
“I’m surprised they let you back into your beloved Blue Stars,” Thresh said with a sneer, limping alongside Boyd. “I thought they would call you traitor and hang you.”
“It’s a firing squad for traitors. Hanging is for pirates,” Boyd said.
Thresh winced as she put too much weight on her bad leg. Boyd stopped.
“Ok, that’s enough.” He helped her sit down against the side of the corridor. “Wait here.”
She looked up at him. “I thought I was your prisoner.” She held her wrists together as if manacled and then held them up over her head. “I’m at your mercy.”
Boy
d crouched next to her. “You wouldn’t do anything to make me look bad would you?”
She looked at him with a mischievous coquettish flutter of her lashes. “Never,” she said.
Boyd couldn’t forget his feelings for her, but neither could he forget that she had shot his brother dead. Deep down he knew it wasn’t her fault, but the holo-recording of the execution played through his mind every time he looked at her.
He stood up.
“Just wait here and I’ll grab that med pack. Back in a few minutes.”
“And if any of your Blue Stars find me here?”
“Don’t tell them you are trying to escape. And don’t hurt anyone.”
Boyd smiled at her, but seeing her face reminded him of all he had lost, and his smile slipped.
“I’m sorry, Will,” Thresh said looking up at him.
Boyd looked away, along the corridor. He pointed down at her.
“Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”
Boyd moved quickly and was in the med bay in moments. He didn’t want to leave Thresh sitting alone in the corridor. He told himself it was because she was his prisoner. He didn’t dare admit that he wanted to be near her.
As he reached up and into a small overhead cabinet for the med pack, the ship lurched suddenly. Boyd felt the thud as something stuck him on the head. His vision blurred and the taste of blood filled his mouth. The med bay swam around him and then drifted to black as the Resolute’s collision alarm sounded, fading into the dark.
Suddenly Boyd was running with his brother. He didn’t know how he got here, back to the field behind his parent’s old house. He was sixteen and grown up for his age. His brother was twenty-one, tall, and handsome in his new junior officer uniform.
“Daniel!” Boyd called out as he ran to his brother.
“Slow down, Will. Save it for the track.”
“I’m not going to school today. I’m coming with you to the marines.”
Daniel Boyd laughed.
Will remembered that laugh. Light and infectious.
“You’ll be made corporal in the first week when you do sign up. But not today little brother.”
Then he was inside the house, his mother and father looking at Will and Daniel. A glow around them.
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