by Ken Lozito
Colonel Cross glared at him. “Permission to speak freely, sir.”
“Granted.”
“I know the damn protocol and the regulations,” Colonel Cross said.
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I wanted to fight! I have a right to fight. My pregnancy doesn’t in any way impede my ability to command,” Colonel Cross said.
“This is about more than just you, Savannah. ‘No pregnant woman shall serve in an active combat zone,’” Connor replied.
“Are you going to arrest me?” Colonel Cross challenged.
“No, I’m not going to arrest you. But I am sending you back to New Earth,” Connor said.
“No, don’t!” Colonel Cross pleaded. “Let me stay. Let me fight. You need me.”
Connor’s eyebrows drew together, furrowing over his eyes. “Absolutely not. This isn’t just about you anymore. There’s another life at stake.”
“All of our lives are at stake! What difference does it make whether I stay here and fight or go back to New Earth and fight there?” Colonel Cross said. “Tell me, what difference does it make?”
“All the difference in the world, but you can’t see it now. What is the Colonial Defense Force motto?” Connor asked.
Colonel Cross sighed heavily. “Defend the colony and all its people,” she said softly.
“Your baby, even at this stage, is part of this colony. The regulations on this are clear,” Connor said.
Colonel Cross gritted her teeth, and the edges of her eyes reddened.
“Who is the father? And does he know?” Connor asked.
“Where are you going to send me?” Colonel Cross asked.
“Answer the question, Colonel,” Connor said.
“It’s Colonel Hayes,” she said, and her shoulders slumped.
“Does Nathan know?” Connor asked.
Colonel Cross’s lips trembled and she shook her head.
“Understood,” Connor said. “For the record, I understand why you did what you did, but I can’t condone it. We have these regulations for a reason. You think that fighting here at Phoenix Station is no different than on New Earth, but I say you’re wrong. You might hate it, and you might hate me for enforcing the regulations even in times such as these, but I intend to give your and Nathan’s baby the best chance at life I can.”
Colonel Cross looked away from him.
Connor opened the door. “Major Quinn, have two members of your security detail escort Colonel Cross to the hangar bay. She’s been relieved of duty. She, along with several hundred nonessential personnel, are returning to New Earth. See that she’s assigned to Sanctuary, then come inside.”
“Right away, General,” Major Quinn said.
Colonel Cross began to walk out of the breakout room, but stopped before the threshold. She turned around and stood up straight, with her shoulders back. She raised her right hand to her brow and saluted.
Connor brought his heels together and saluted back to her in kind, then gave her a firm nod, and she left.
Connor rested his hands on his hips and sighed heavily. He looked up at the ceiling, still thinking about what Savannah had done. He kept thinking about whether he should inform Nathan that he was going to be a father but decided against it. News like that should come from the mother, but Lunar Base was in a communications blackout. Would it affect Colonel Hayes’s ability to command Lunar Base? Would the news of him becoming a father affect his judgment and make him prone to rash decisions? Connor pressed his lips together while he considered. He’d put Nathan in command of Lunar Base because of his commitment to their strategy for fighting the Vemus. While the news of his becoming a father would come as a shock, Connor believed that, of anyone under his command, Nathan could handle that news, but he’d leave it up to Savannah to tell him.
The door to the breakout room opened, and Sean stepped inside, closing the door behind him.
“You wanted to see me, sir,” Sean said.
“You were right about Colonel Cross. She’s pregnant,” Connor said.
Sean nodded. “It makes sense now, sir.”
Connor snorted. Savannah and Nathan were hardly the first officers to survive an ordeal like their first engagement with the Vemus and wind up sleeping together. Regardless of the status of their relationship, they both had something to consider.
“Your keen observation skills continue to impress me, Major,” Connor said.
“Thank you, sir. I aim to please,” Sean said with a smile.
Connor sighed. “You won’t like your new orders.”
Sean frowned. “New orders, sir?”
“Yes,” Connor replied. “I’m sending you back to Sierra. You’re to take command of the city’s defenses. I’m giving you full authority over all CDF forces on the ground.”
“But, sir, I thought I’d be at your side for the duration,” Sean said.
“Plans change. You and your entire team will go to Sierra,” Connor said.
Sean’s mouth hung open. “Is this because . . .”
Connor knew what he was about to ask, and Sean let the question go unfinished. “If you need to ask that, I haven’t done a very good job of not giving you special treatment all these years.”
Sean clamped his mouth shut. “Permission to speak freely, General.”
“Keep it quick.” Connor glanced at the clock.
“Why are you sending me back to New Earth? We have soldiers and commanding officers there already,” Sean said.
“Let me tell you something. We’re not all the same, commanding officers included, but there are some who are born with a certain instinct that either makes them die young or enables them to rise through the ranks. The fact of the matter is, Sean, you’re one of the best officers I’ve ever served with. And that includes Wil and Kasey. They both commented on more than one occasion about your abilities as an officer,” Connor said.
Sean swallowed hard. “Thank you, sir. I’m glad you believe in my abilities, but I don’t have the rank to take command of Sierra’s defenses.”
Connor smiled. “A CO once said to me that titles are cheap. People will follow those who do the work. Damon Mills is bullheaded, but he’s a good man. He’ll listen to you. I’m giving you operational command authority for the CDF ground forces. I’m sending my authorization to your PDA. You’re to report to Sierra at once.”
“But, sir, I don’t know if I can do this.”
Connor put his hand on Sean’s shoulder. “I know you can. I firmly believe that when the Vemus reach the city, it will stand a much better chance at surviving with you in command. Remember what you’ve learned and trust your instincts.”
“You said when the Vemus reach the city. You don’t think you can stop them here?” Sean asked.
“You’ve seen it for yourself. We’ll slow them down and do whatever damage we can against them so you’ll have fewer to face on the ground. Very little will change that,” Connor said. He’d been thinking it for so long that to finally admit it aloud was somewhat freeing.
He watched as a range of emotions crossed Sean’s face, but the young man was smart enough to know the answers. Instead, he hardened his gaze. “I’ll do my best, General.”
“Good luck,” Connor said, and his throat became tight.
“You too, sir,” Sean said.
They left the breakout room, and Connor watched the young man he had helped shape into a fine young officer walk away from him. He’d always looked at Sean as a son, and he was filled with fatherly pride in the man Sean Quinn had become. He wondered if Admiral Wilkinson had had the same thoughts when he looked at Connor’s own son. Connor felt a heavy weight lift from his shoulders. The video recording of his son was painful for him to watch, but he now had a better understanding of why Wilkinson had asked him to record it. Connor had spent a lot of time hating Wilkinson for the actions he’d taken and how Connor had to live with the results. It wasn’t a perfect world by a long shot, and if Connor could find it in his heart to
forgive Mitch Wilkinson for setting him on this path, then perhaps he could finally forgive himself for his own actions that had put him on this same path.
Connor swallowed those thoughts away. He wished he could tell Lenora that he finally understood what she’d been trying to tell him.
“General, they need you in the command area,” a CDF soldier said.
Connor nodded and headed there. This fight was far from over and he intended to make the Vemus bleed as much as he could before the end.
17
Noah walked among the ruins of the alien city the colonists called Sanctuary. He’d been working with a team of engineers to convert the alien power station into something they could use for the colossus cannon. The problem was that the technology was hundreds of years old. The aliens had tapped into geothermal energy deep in the planet’s crust. Since the colonists didn’t have the resources to build a power plant of their own, they’d taken the option of leveraging what was already there. The plan was simple, just not easy. Noah had finished running a series of tests, and the power output seemed stable enough for further testing. But if the Vemus somehow found this place, he wasn’t sure how long the colossus cannon would remain operational.
He’d decided to take a walk to clear his head. He wanted to find Lenora. She’d been pretty upset, and wasn’t that what little brothers were supposed to do? A member of the archaeological team had told him she’d gone into an area of the city that was cordoned off from refugees. The soldiers securing that area took one look at his uniform and rank, then let him pass.
The aliens that built this place hadn’t constructed anything like stairs. Instead, they preferred ramps that made traversing to the lower levels of the city seem like he was walking along a winding road. It would have been nice if they’d built elevators, but they apparently hadn’t had any need for them either. He came to a subterranean level of the city where the only lighting came from some of the temporary light fixtures they’d set up. Noah peered ahead and noticed that the lighting became brighter in the distance. The source of the light came from a building whose large circular door was partially open. Some unseen mechanism must have pulled the door into the wall because there was no way Lenora could have opened it herself.
Noah called out and heard Lenora answer him from inside the building, but her voice echoed and sounded distant. Noah went inside and followed a corridor that circled into a large cavern. There were glowing amber lights along the smooth walls. Noah walked deeper into the cavern and noticed that there were even more levels beneath the one he was on.
He saw Lenora standing a short distance away, in front of a curved screen that showed some type of alien writing scrolling past, going from left to right.
“What is this place?” Noah asked.
“I think it’s some kind of archive,” Lenora said in hushed tones, as if they were in a church.
“An archive! That’s amazing. How’d you find it?” Noah asked.
Lenora gave him a sidelong glance. “A group of refugees wandered down here and said they’d found something. They described this room.”
“Maybe having the refugees here isn’t such a bad thing after all. You could put them to work,” Noah said.
Lenora blew out a breath and looked at him regretfully. “About before. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize. None of this is easy.”
“That doesn’t mean I didn’t mean what I said. I’m just sorry I yelled at you,” Lenora said.
Noah glanced at the alien symbols scrolling past on the antiquated screen. It wasn’t made of glass but was constructed of some kind of tightly knitted flexible mesh.
“If you really feel that way, then why don’t you send Connor a message?” Noah said.
Lenora frowned. “I’m not going to send him some final message professing a bunch of emotional crap. He doesn’t need that.”
Noah laughed. “No, of course not, but would it hurt for you to tell him you’d like him to come back home?”
“We’re not together,” Lenora replied firmly.
“I know that, but you still care about him,” Noah said, thinking that Lenora could also teach a thing or two about being stubborn.
Lenora regarded him for a moment. “Maybe.”
Noah’s comlink chimed, and he tapped the receiver near his ear. “This is Noah.”
“We need you back topside, sir. Captain Gibson is ordering a test-fire of the colossus cannon,” Corporal Johnson said.
Noah jerked back a few steps. Idiot! He sucked in his bottom lip in frustration. “I’m coming. You have to stall him. If he fires that weapon, he could overload the entire system.”
“Yes, sir,” Corporal Johnson said.
The comlink closed.
“God, please save me from idiots like Gibson,” Noah said.
“I’ll come with you,” Lenora said, “in case God is busy.”
Noah snorted and, together, they ran out of the alien archive. He contacted members of the engineering team, informing them of what was happening. Three work crews were on their way to the mobile Command Center.
They ran through throngs of refugees, and Noah shouted for them to make a space. Most didn’t recognize him, but they did recognize the Colonial Defense Uniform and had come to respect it. A few minutes later they were within sight of the mobile Command Center. There was a crowd gathered, with more than a few work crews. Field Operations and Security personnel had established a perimeter just outside the Command Center, and Captain Gibson was standing just behind the line, red-faced, with a wild look in his eye. His left cheek was swollen. Noah saw Corporal Johnson on his knees. He looked disoriented, as if he’d just had a shock-stick used on him.
Noah pushed his way through the workers, and the line of Field Ops and Security forces held their shock-sticks ready.
“Gibson! What the hell are you doing?” Noah shouted.
Captain Gibson swung his angry gaze toward him and sneered. “Your man attacked me.”
Noah looked over at Corporal Johnson and scuttled over to him. “Get away from him,” Noah snapped.
The Field Ops agent standing over Corporal Johnson glared at Noah.
“Back off,” Lenora said, coming to stand next to Noah.
The Field Ops man glanced back at Gibson.
“This is ridiculous,” Lenora said and stepped forward, helping Corporal Johnson back to his feet. Surprisingly, the Field Ops team let her do this.
Corporal Johnson was hunched over, holding his middle.
“Are you alright?” Noah asked quietly.
“You did say to stall him, sir,” Corporal Johnson said and grimaced.
Noah motioned to some members of the work crew to take Corporal Johnson, and they led him off to the side.
Noah turned back toward Captain Gibson. “You can’t test-fire the colossus cannon. You’ll overload the system.”
“I had my own people check the latest reports for the power converter. The energy levels are constant. We can test the weapon,” Captain Gibson sneered.
Noah took a moment to calm down. He needed to defuse the situation, not exacerbate it. “You don’t know what you’re doing—”
“I’ve had about enough of your smug comments. You come here, strutting around, thinking you’re so superior. People actually believe you’re some kind of hero. The people are scared. They need to know they can be protected here,” Captain Gibson said and glanced at a Field Ops person next to him. “Ready the cannon for test-firing.”
Noah stepped forward and felt Lenora grab his arm, holding him back. “You’re such an idiot. Yes, the power levels are constant, but if you fire that weapon, you’ll overload the system and destroy our only means of defense.”
“Rubbish,” Captain Gibson spat.
The line of Field Ops and Security forces stood ready, almost inviting Noah to try and push his way through.
“I don’t know what your tech expert told you, but the power requirements for the colossus cannon are not comp
arable to the mag-cannons that were installed in Sierra. The power draw is much more taxing on the system and is prone to spikes,” Noah said.
Captain Gibson narrowed his gaze. “You would have accounted for that,” he said and glanced behind him. “Proceed with the test-fire.”
“No,” Noah muttered, stepping closer.
One of the Fields Ops and Security agents jabbed the shock-stick into Noah’s middle and unleashed its fury. Noah dropped to the ground, crying out in agony.
“Don’t do it,” Noah screamed.
There was a loud pop, and for a moment Noah thought the colossus cannon had fired, but it hadn’t. Captain Gibson glanced up toward the sky in surprise. A few moments later, Noah heard the high-pitched sound of a combat shuttle’s engines coming toward them. The colossus cannon hadn’t fired. What he’d heard was the sonic boom of a ship reentering New Earth’s atmosphere.
Three CDF combat shuttles flew overhead and landed nearby. Noah regained his feet, and Lenora helped to steady him. He glanced over and a slow smile crossed his face. CDF soldiers were pouring out of the shuttle, their dark blue uniforms appearing like a godsend. A group of them were making their way toward them.
Noah straightened and saluted. “Colonel,” he said.
Colonel Cross returned his salute. “Sitrep, Captain.”
The Field Ops and Security forces lowered their shock-sticks but stayed in formation. Noah was sure this had everything to do with the armed CDF soldiers that stood behind Colonel Cross.
Captain Gibson pushed his way through his men, his piggish eyes glaring. “Captain Raeburn Gibson, ma’am, and I’m in charge here.”
Colonel Cross regarded Gibson frostily. “I wasn’t speaking to you, but since you’re here, are you the one who assaulted men under my command?”
Captain Gibson glanced at the armed CDF soldiers and then back at Colonel Cross. “It was your soldiers who assaulted me first.”
“We’ll see about that,” Colonel Cross said and turned toward Noah. “Captain Barker. Front and center.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Noah said and noticed Lenora smiling at him in a big-sisterly way. “Field Ops Captain Gibson was trying to test-fire the colossus cannon. We’ve been adapting the alien power station here. I informed Captain Gibson that this would overload the system, but he decided to use Field Ops to force us to bring the cannon online.”
