by Ken Lozito
“Why not?” Reisman asked.
“We need to catch up to them first and figure out what we’re dealing with. We thought the Wyatt was attached to the outside of the ship, and there’s really no reason to believe the Banshee isn’t in the same position. The Vemus so far have sought to disable our ships and take them intact. They targeted our engines as well. There’s still a lot of interference out there, but I’m willing to bet that those two ships have already sustained some damage. I say we approach them and try to dock with their ship,” Connor said.
Reisman smiled. “Even better. If the Banshee is outside, we send a team onto the ship and split up, with one team going aboard the main battleship carrier.”
Connor nodded. “I like that. This way, if one team can’t find warheads in the Banshee’s armory, we still have the other team that’s going on the main ship …” Connor’s lips twisted into a frown. “To disable that ship, we’d need to cause the main reactor to fail. Overload would be better.”
“Yeah, but a ship that big is bound to have more than one reactor powering it,” Major Hayes said.
“Oh, it does for sure, and there are contingencies in place that prevent a chain reaction to the overload of a single reactor,” Connor said.
“Okay, so what’s the plan then?” Major Hayes asked.
“We’re speculating and we have some good ideas, but until we actually get on board that ship, a lot of what we come up with will remain hypothetical. We know what kind of ships they were, but they’ve clearly been modified and have survived a two-hundred-year journey to get here,” Connor said.
“That alone presents a multitude of questions, but the foundation for the ship’s design is the same. It’s a warship, but it all goes back to the same action. We need to get inside that ship,” Reisman said.
Connor looked at Major Hayes. “You’ll monitor the mission from here. Hopefully, we’ll bring back some extra passengers. Assuming we do, we’ll need areas established as quarantine zones. We know next to nothing about this virus, so we need a completely isolated system for quarantine. I want you to work with Dr. Allen on that.”
Major Hayes nodded and then looked at Connor grimly.
“If it comes to it, you need to blow the ship up before we reach New Earth. If Noah does his job, the missile-defense platforms will be targeting the main Vemus forces. After that I told him to get to New Earth to update the orbital defenses,” Connor said.
“Do you think they’ll reach New Earth?” Major Hayes asked.
Connor glanced at the PRADIS readout. There was still a substantial fighting force intact. It would be a close thing. “We can only do the best we can. Our single highest priority is to prevent the Vemus from reaching New Earth. If we fail that, we’ve lost everything.”
Connor hated all the assumptions they were making. Taken as a whole, they were stacking up, but they had little choice. The Vemus obviously had hostile intentions and they still didn’t have a clear understanding of what the Vemus actually were. Sometimes one had to go into the monster’s lair to see how much of a monster they really were.
Connor looked over at Sean, who’d been listening quietly.
“My team is ready, General,” Sean said.
“Good. Tell them to assemble on the main hangar deck,” Connor said and then snorted. “She’s never going to forgive me for this.”
Sean smiled. “I think she’ll understand in this case.”
Major Hayes looked confused. “I’m not following.”
“Captain Quinn’s mother is none other than the legendary Ashley Quinn—a force to be reckoned with,” Connor said.
Major Hayes shook his head with a tired smile. “I hadn’t realized.”
Connor glanced at Sean. “See, it’s working. No more special treatment,” he said and looked back at Major Hayes. “When Ashley found out that her son had joined me in Search and Rescue, she punched me in the stomach.”
Sean laughed. “She never admitted that.”
“How do you think she reacted when the Colonial Defense Force was formed?” Connor said.
“What did she do?” Major Hayes asked.
“Let’s just say I’m glad I’m a quick healer,” Connor said.
Sean shrugged. “She always said you reminded her of her younger brother.”
It was a momentary reprieve from what they were about to face, and Connor appreciated it. They all did, but after a few seconds a somber silence settled over them.
“The Vemus forces have been reactionary for the most part. Not sure why, so I think as we approach, if we don’t show any aggression, they might just let us get near enough to board the ship,” Connor said.
“By no aggression, you mean . . .?” Major Hayes asked.
“I mean we don’t scan them or have our weapons pointed at them. Let’s just fly right up to them and see what they do. Earlier, they took a shot at us because we were firing at them; otherwise, I’m not sure they would have bothered with us at all,” Connor said.
“That’s the part that bothers me,” Reisman said.
“You’re not the only one,” Major Hayes agreed.
“It’s worth a shot. We can get our weapons online and hope they don’t hit us,” Reisman said.
“A shot in the dark is better than no shot at all,” Connor said.
He aimed to shine a bright light on the enemy. There were too many unanswered questions. Allegedly, these Vemus had defeated the combined military forces of Earth and had then come here with a large fighting force. Connor couldn’t help but think there was so much more they needed to learn about their enemy. Gaining more intelligence was worth dying for if it yielded knowledge that gave them a fighting chance.
“Helm, plot a course for the Vemus battleship carrier. Best speed possible,” Connor said.
23
In the hours that followed, Connor grudgingly agreed that he wasn’t to be on the first away team. He had to concede that Sean’s cold logic left little to be argued with. Let Sean and his team secure the initial area, and when the all clear was given, the VIPs could come aboard. Reisman was amused to no end, and Major Hayes approved. So Connor remained on the bridge for the moment. Being outthought by his protégé should have made him proud. It didn’t.
Reisman glanced at him. “Still reeling from the upset? It’s always the quiet ones you need to watch out for.”
“You’ll be saluting him before long,” Connor replied.
“Maybe. I was thinking of retiring after all this is done,” Reisman replied.
Connor arched an eyebrow at him. “You’d go crazy inside a few months.”
Reisman nodded. “Ordinarily yes, but I’m sure I can think of a better way to spend my time than being stuck on a warship for the rest of my life.”
They were still on the bridge and were speaking quietly.
“I know better than to ask what you’ll do,” Reisman said.
Connor frowned. “You mean after we survive annihilation? I hadn’t thought of it. I guess I’m too busy with the whole ‘staying alive’ part.”
“Overrated. We all need reasons to fight, sir,” Reisman said and walked over to speak with Major Hayes.
Connor wouldn’t allow himself to think beyond the next few objectives. It helped him focus on what needed to be done. During his career, he’d noticed that some people liked to think about what they would do in the future and make plans. It was a coping mechanism—that he understood. A person needed to believe there was a light at the end of the tunnel even if, in truth, there was just more darkness waiting for them. When he was younger, Connor hardly ever thought about dying on any of the missions he was part of. Death was always present, but as a young man, he’d felt invincible. However, those were a much younger man’s thoughts. Connor didn’t feel invincible anymore. Far from it. Most recently he focused on what he could accomplish now and how that work could be carried on in the event that he did die. These past seven years he’d been so focused on protecting the colony that he’d never really th
ought about what he’d do if the danger passed. He’d always assumed he’d figure it out later, but seeing Lenora again a few weeks ago had him questioning whether that approach was best for him moving forward.
“Sir, I have the images from the high-res tactical array ready,” Sergeant Browning said from the operations workstation.
Connor returned to the command chair. “Put it on the main holoscreen.”
Using the high-res array, which was a system of high-powered optical imagers that weren’t used during normal operations, was a calculated risk. Preferring not to push his luck, Connor ordered that the high-res array be retracted after they were done.
The rough outer hull of the Vemus ship appeared on screen. There were large gashes in the exoskeleton that surrounded the Alliance Navy vessel. Connor zoomed in on one of the damaged areas.
“Can you augment the darker areas inside that damaged section?” Connor asked.
Sergeant Browning tapped a few commands and the designated area of the image was rendered, but there wasn’t much clarity with the updated image.
“I don’t think we can improve on what we’ve already got, sir,” Sergeant Browning said.
Connor zoomed out from that section of the image and noticed a metallic protrusion that didn’t match the rest of the ship. On the starboard lower half of the ship was the cigar-shaped, gleaming hull of the Banshee. The destroyer appeared to be tethered to the ship by the same living exoskeleton that was part of the hull.
Reisman sat down in the chair next to Connor. “The ship looks intact.”
“Yes, and it looks like several maintenance hatches are still available,” Connor said.
“I’m not sure landing directly on the hull of the Vemus ship is a good idea. It could grab hold of the Vigilant and not let go,” Reisman advised.
“Agreed. We’ll use our own emergency docking clamps and attach them to the Banshee. Then the team can go through one of the maintenance hatches, make our way through the ship, and take it from there,” Connor said.
“Sir,” Sergeant Boers said, “should I try hailing the Banshee?”
“No, let’s maintain radio silence for now. Continue to monitor for any communications,” Connor said.
“Yes, sir.”
They made their final approach to the Vemus ship and there was no indication that there was anything amiss. He wondered why the ship was traveling well below an ordinary battleship carrier’s capability. Ships of the wall weren’t designed for speed, per se; they were designed to deliver and take significant damage. The bulk of the remaining Vemus fleet was behind them. They’d seen the fleet increase their velocity for the assault on Titan Space Station. Connor and Wil had run some comparison analyses against what they knew of NA Alliance ships’ capabilities, and so far they had been comparable to what the Vemus ships had shown.
“Sergeant Edwards, take us in,” Connor said.
“Yes, sir,” Sergeant Edwards said.
Aaron Edwards was part of the primary bridge crew for the Vigilant. His performance scores for piloting the ship edged him over his alternate on the secondary bridge crew. Connor knew the Vigilant was in good hands.
A wave of tension-filled silence settled over the bridge, with most people’s eyes glued to their own terminals or on the main holoscreen.
“Tactical, any change in the Vemus ship?” Connor asked.
“None, sir. It’s like they don’t care that we’re here,” Lieutenant LaCroix answered.
Reisman shrugged. “You know the saying about looking a gift horse in the mouth.”
“Yeah, but I’d rather not get kicked by that same gift horse,” Connor said.
What kind of invasion fleet would let an enemy ship just fly right up to it like they were doing? Connor watched the active plot on the main holoscreen showing their position relative to the battleship cruiser. They moved into position next to the Banshee’s stern maintenance hatch. This would put them close to the primary ammunition depot.
Connor looked at Major Hayes. “Depending on what we find over there, we should consider adding additional teams to offload any ammunition we could use.”
“The Banshee’s computer system appears to be offline, but if we can get that up, we might be able to use the automated systems for munitions offloading,” Major Hayes said.
Connor nodded. “We’ll check the ship’s systems once we get over there.”
Connor stood up and Reisman did as well.
“Sir, we’ve matched velocity with the Vemus ship. Holding steady,” Sergeant Edwards said.
“Ops, commence emergency docking procedure,” Connor said.
“Emergency docking procedure being executed, sir,” Sergeant Browning replied.
Connor looked at Major Hayes. “You have the con. Good luck, Major.”
“I have the con. Good luck to you as well, General,” Major Hayes replied.
Connor headed for the door, with Reisman and their CDF escort following. He opened a comlink to Sean. “We’re all lined up. You’re a go once we’re docked.”
“Acknowledged, sir. We’ll do a quick sweep and give the okay for the second team,” Sean replied.
Connor closed the comlink and frowned.
Reisman snorted. “Feels strange not to be the first ones through the door this time.”
“I was thinking the same thing. Too bad more of the old team wasn’t here,” Connor said, thinking of Samson and Hank, who were training CDF Infantry on New Earth.
“Could have used Woods or Tiegen on this,” Reisman said.
“Would have been nice, but they’re working on the orbital defense system we have around home,” Connor said.
Reisman glanced at him with a bemused expression. “I think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard you refer to the colony as home instead of Earth.”
“I’m evolving,” Connor said and quickened his pace.
They went to the main hangar, where their combat suits would be waiting. He used his implants to check the status of the Away Team. They were making their way across the emergency airlock tube that connected the two ships. There were two combat suits waiting for them.
Sergeant Hoffer waved them over. “Right this way, General and Colonel.”
He couldn’t see Hoffer’s face because he was already in his combat suit, but the soldier’s name appeared on Connor’s internal heads-up display, as did the names of the other soldiers on the secondary team. His Nexstar combat suit was split down the middle, with the chest plate opened. Connor climbed inside and activated the suite. His implants registered with the Nexstar’s computer systems. The power armor closed itself up and the suite status showed on his helmet’s HUD. He was green across the board. Connor felt the familiar adrenaline burst from being in combat armor once again. These combat suits were modified series eights, designed for space combat. They carried enough oxygen to last them for days, and the onboard medical systems could administer treatment depending on the type of injuries. The Nexstars were as tough as they came. He picked up an AR-71 assault rifle with grenade launcher attachment, Connor’s preferred weapon these days.
Connor and Reisman moved toward the front where Captain Lee waited. Saluting with a combat suit wasn’t practical, so Captain Lee simply greeted Connor.
“Captain Quinn is at the maintenance hatch now,” Captain Lee said.
Connor nodded, and his armored head bobbed up and down. Time to find out what the hell these Vemus really were.
24
Connor waited near the emergency airlock. Within ten minutes of Sean’s platoon entering the Banshee, he opened a comlink saying they were clear to come aboard. They walked across the emergency docking tube and Connor stepped inside the Banshee first.
“No contacts at all?” Connor asked Sean over a comlink.
“That’s affirmative, sir. It’s like the crew of the Banshee all left. There are no life signs on the ship,” Sean said.
The interior of the ship was sparsely lit from the emergency lighting along the ceiling
. Connor scanned for any active comms channels, but there were none.
“Sir, we just got to the bridge. The systems here appear to be on standby. According to the logs, the crew left the ship,” Sean said.
“Does it say where they went?” Connor asked.
“It was a quick entry from Major Cross. She just says the ship isn’t safe and that they went inside the enemy ship to try to secure another ship to escape with,” Sean said.
“That doesn’t sound right. Major Cross wouldn’t endanger her entire crew on a whim. There has to be more to it than that,” Reisman said.
“See if you can restore emergency systems,” Connor told Sean. “Captain Lee, I want you to take half the team and see what can be salvaged from the ship. We need to know if there are any intact warheads we can use.”
“On it, General,” Captain Lee said and began issuing orders.
Connor and the rest of the platoon headed toward the bridge. The Destroyer-class vessels were much smaller than the heavy cruiser. The scans they had of the ship from the outside showed that it had been heavily damaged before the Vemus disabled it. Savannah Cross hadn’t given the ship up without a fight.
More emergency lighting came on as they made it to the bridge. Sean had CDF troops stationed outside. Connor and Reisman went inside and found Sean standing at the tactical workstation, where he had a holoscreen active.
“They used the forward hatch to get aboard the Vemus ship, sir,” Sean said.
Connor used his implants to access the Banshee’s systems. He skimmed the logs quickly. “They did repel boarders, but they suffered severe casualties. I still would have expected a small group to have been left behind.”
“Wouldn’t want to draw that short straw,” Reisman said.
Connor glanced at him. “Come again?”
“Think about it. You’ve lost a bunch of your crew fighting this enemy and then the few that remain have a choice. Stay holed up in here and make the enemy come to you or head out on their ship and make them chase you,” Reisman said.
