A Show of Force (38 page)

“Main batteries locked on the Tontakeen,” the weapons officer announced. “Firing!”

“Scrambling Strike Group Three,” the flight control officer acknowledged. “They’ll be off the deck in two minutes.”

“Why so long?”

“Group two just got off the deck, sir. The next ready group was just moving into position.”

“The Tontakeen and the Juda are the only other jump-capable ships in the fleet,” the captain said as the first of the Tontakeen’s plasma shots struck their shields. “The Clarkson and the Crippin are FTL ships and are too far out to be a threat.”

“Impact, number twelve shield. Port side, forward quarter,” Lieutenant Cahnis reported. “Shield strength diminished by five percent. Target is continuing to fire.”

“If they have both jump ships…” Commander Erbe began.

“Direct hits to her forward shields!” Lieutenant Rogal reported.

“Target’s forward shields down by twenty percent,” Lieutenant Cahnis added.

“The Avendahl can handle two heavy cruisers,” Captain Navarro insisted.

“Two heavy cruisers with jump drives?” Commander Erbe asked.

“I did not say it would be easy,” Captain Navarro replied.

“Impact, same shield. Down ten percent,” the sensor officer reported.

“Damage control reports loss of shield generator twenty-seven,” the damage control officer reported. “They are channeling power from backups now.”

“Loss?”

“Two percent to forward shields across the board. We can channel power from the aft shields…”

“No, that’s what they want. They have jump-capable gunships, the same as us. Rather a bloody nose than broken legs,” the captain said.

“Direct hits to their forward shields again!” Lieutenant Rogal reported. “They’re at fifty percent.”

“Continue firing,” the captain replied. He turned to his sensor officer. “How many bandits in the air now?”

“Forty-seven enemy fighters are now in the engagement zone, along with four… make that three boxcars and now eight gunships.”

“Target the boxcars,” Captain Navarro ordered. “Helm, move us in between the Tontakeen and the Ghatazhak array. Once the boxcars are destroyed, they will try to destroy the array to keep those troops out of our hands.”

“Aye, sir,” the helmsman acknowledged.

“Two more jump events!” Lieutenant Cahnis reported. “Gunships, on the other side of the array. They’re targeting our gunships.”

“Gunship Four Two has been hit!” the flight controller said.

“One of their boxcars has acquired another pod,” the sensor officer announced.

“Flight! Have all ships near the array target that…”

“The boxcar has jumped away!” Lieutenant Cahnis interrupted. “The Tontakeen is changing course, sir! She’s turning toward the array!”

“All ships, protect the array,” Captain Navarro ordered. “Helm, how long until we’re blocking the Tontakeen’s line of fire to the array?”

“Fifteen seconds, sir!”

“Best speed?”

“We are, sir.”

“Pound that ship, Rogal,” Captain Navarro urged.

“I am, sir,” the lieutenant assured him, “but she’s got ZPEDs too. Her shields are tough to get through.”

“Ten seconds,” the helmsman reported.

“Add in the kinetics,” Captain Navarro ordered. “Lock all missile batteries on that ship as well. Her captain needs something to think about.”

“Aye, sir!”

“The Tontakeen is targeting the array!” Lieutenant Cahnis warned.

“Move all ships into her line of fire!” the captain barked.

“Redirecting all combat vessels to shield the array from the Tontakeen’s fire!” Lieutenant Commander Getty acknowledged.

“Five seconds.”

Captain Navarro stared at the tactical display on the center overhead view screen, taking note of every ship as they all maneuvered into position to protect the Ghatazhak storage array.

“The Tontakeen is firing! Plasma and kinetics!”

Captain Navarro continued to watch the tactical display as the icon representing his ship slipped in front of the red line that had just sprouted from the icon representing the Tontakeen’s firing path. The line connected with the Avendahl’s icon just as the bridge shook lightly from the incoming fire. The Tontakeen was a massive ship, with powerful weapons, but the Avendahl was a capital ship, and she was even bigger.

“Maintain position,” Captain Navarro ordered.

“Tontakeen has ceased fire,” Lieutenant Cahnis reported. “She’s pitching up… she’s jumping, sir.”

“Flight, launch two more fighter squadrons,” Captain Navarro ordered. “I want that array protected.”

“Aye, sir.”

“The Tontakeen may just be turning around to attack from another angle,” Commander Erbe warned.

“Perhaps,” Captain Navarro agreed. “Flight, also launch cargo tugs. I want the rest of those Ghatazhak pods on board this ship as soon as possible.”

“Aye, sir.”

Captain Navarro looked at Commander Erbe. “How quickly can they revive those troops and get them combat ready?”

“Normally, two days,” the commander answered. “However, they can be ready to fight in half that time. They just won’t be at one hundred percent. After all, they have been in stasis for nearly a year now.”

“As soon as we get those pods on board, start reviving those men,” Captain Navarro ordered. “I suspect we are going to need them sooner than expected.”

* * *

“The best broadcast studio for us to target is in the Mora district, on the southern edge of Cetia, near the shore,” Gerard explained as they walked down the corridor of the complex. “It will take us nearly two hours to get there.”

“If my calculations are correct, that will be cutting it pretty damned close,” Jessica warned.

“Your calculations were correct. We checked.”

“Nothing closer?”

“One, but it is also closer to a Jung security station. They would be on us in minutes, and the longer we’re able to broadcast, the greater the odds that your people will receive the message,” Gerard explained.

“How are we going to get there?” Jessica asked as they left the corridor and entered a large cavern containing several delivery trucks.

“In that,” Gerard answered, pointing at one of the trucks.

“It’s not very big,” Jessica said. “Will it hold everyone?”

“This
is
everyone,” Gerard answered.

Jessica looked around. Besides herself, Naralena, and Gerard, there were only six other men. “Nine people? That’s it? What kind of a liberation army are you?”

“Eight, actually.”

“What?”

“The vehicle only has room for eight people. Two in front and six in the back.”

Jessica looked at the truck again. “You could fit twenty in the back of that.”

“The Jung routinely scan delivery vehicles, checking the contents for various reasons. This vehicle is designed to fool the Jung scanners. However, that equipment takes up space. Therefore, only six people will fit in the back.”

“Jesus,” Jessica exclaimed. “When I suggested that we capture a broadcast studio, I was thinking of a force of a hundred, not eight.”

“I could have one hundred men to attack with, if given more time. The Jung monitor communications very closely. It takes days, sometimes weeks to get messages out to all our operatives.”

“Uh, Jessica?” Naralena asked.

Jessica turned to face her. Naralena pulled at her arm, separating her from Gerard and his men. “Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked under her breath.

“Of course I’m sure,” Jessica answered, appearing somewhat surprised that Naralena had asked. “Why?”

“Why? Well, for starters, it seems a bit like a suicide mission… one with a very low probability of succeeding, I might add.”

“Oh, we’ll get the word out,” Jessica stated confidently, “trust me.”

“I’m sure you will. The question is, will anyone be listening?”

“There’s no way to know,” Jessica admitted, “but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try.”

“There’s got to be a better way to warn the Aurora.”

“There probably is, but there’s no time. This is all we’ve got, and we have to go for it.”

“What about me?” Naralena asked.

“Looks like you’re going to have to stay here and watch it all on the vid,” Jessica replied. She noticed Naralena’s reaction. “You didn’t really want to go, did you?” she asked. “I mean, I’m pretty sure one of these guys would be willing to give up his seat…”

“No, that’s alright,” Naralena insisted. “I’ve been shot at enough for one lifetime, thanks.” Naralena hung her head down. “First Jerome, now… I never should have come on this mission. I’m not cut out for it.”

“You’ve done great,” Jessica insisted.

“What am I going to do, though… if…”

“Hey, don’t worry about me,” Jessica interrupted. “This is what I’m trained for. It’s what I do, and I’m damned good at it.” Jessica winked. “I’ll be back before you know it. Besides, these people will take care of you, no matter what happens.” Jessica turned toward the others. “Right guys?”

The other men looked at her, confusion in their eyes.

“I’m pretty sure most of them don’t speak English, Jess.”

“Right.” Jessica pulled her handgun out of her holster and handed it to Naralena. “Power, safety,” she explained, showing the switches to Naralena. “If everything goes to shit, and you’re about to be captured…”

“I know.”

Jessica looked her in the eyes. “You got this?”

“I’ve got this,” she replied, nodding her head.

“See ya soon,” Jessica said, as she took two steps back and then turned and headed toward the truck to join the others.

* * *

Captain Navarro stood on the starboard catwalk, looking down into one of the Avendahl’s cavernous bays. Below him were seven Ghatazhak deployment pods, their hatches open, the entrances guarded by the Avendahl’s own Ghatazhak forces. Newly awakened soldiers emerged from the large, rectangular pods, greeted by members of the ship’s medical staff, eager to check their well-being and administer medications to speed their return to active status.

“How many?” Captain Navarro asked Commander Erbe as he approached.

“Six hundred. One pod was damaged during the attack, killing all the occupants.”

“One hundred dead, and the war hasn’t even begun.”

“It began the moment those forces attacked property of the Takaran people and tried to take it as their own,” Commander Erbe insisted. “It started when allegedly honorable men began talking of treason. It started when those men decided that they were no longer bound by the agreements of their forefathers.”

“The Charter of Torrence was a mistake,” Captain Navarro said. “My grandfather told me this more than two hundred years ago.”

“You don’t look a day over one fifty,” the commander replied in deadpan fashion as he gazed out over the activities below.

Captain Navarro looked at his old friend. “Humor. A rare find among the Ghatazhak.” Captain Navarro sighed. “You cannot ask men of great wealth and power to give up what they consider rightfully theirs, no matter how much it might benefit their people. All you can do is ignore them, and let them fade into obscurity in the face of a new order.”

“An odd statement from a military man,” the commander observed. “After all, our purpose is not only to defend, but also to convince others to acquiesce to our terms.”

“My grandfather was not your typical military officer. He believed that orders had to be questioned by reasonable men, in order to test their worthiness to be carried out.”

“Sounds like someone I know.”

“I suspect that is why I have always admired the Ghatazhak,” Captain Navarro said. “Your men question and analyze everything, down to the tiniest detail, before they act.”

“Yet, they still obey orders.”

“Yes, they do.” Captain Navarro looked at the commander again. “Has no Ghatazhak ever questioned his superior officer?”

“Never.”

“How is that possible?”

“Because we are always right, and the men under us know that to be true, because they have also analyzed the situation, the same as us.”

“But truth is not always absolute.”

“My men do not need to agree with my decision, nor do they need to like it. They only need to understand it. Understanding why you are being asked to do the things you do makes doing them all the easier.”

“Yet, you never explain your decisions to any of your subordinates?”

“There is no need. They were all taught the same as me. They act the same. They think the same. There is an old saying. ‘A Ghatazhak only differs from his brethren in three ways. His name, his rank, and his experiences.’ That overall sameness is just as much a reason for our strength as any other part of our training. We think as one. We act as one. We are one.”

“The question is, will your ‘one’ be enough to defeat theirs?”

Commander Erbe leaned forward on the railing. “I never thought I would see the day when Ghatazhak would fight Ghatazhak.”

“The loyalty programming has always been a double-edged sword, my friend.”

“Indeed.” Commander Erbe took a breath. “Assuming they do not have the Ybaran Legions on their side, our intelligence estimates indicate we are closely matched… perhaps with the slightest advantage on our side.”

“And if the Legions are on their side?”

“I suppose we shall see,” the commander replied. “I know one thing, I would not want to live knowing that I killed my fellow Ghatazhak, while acting as the agent of a group of treasonous old fools.”

“Do not take this the wrong way, my friend, but I am more concerned with the Crippin and the Astaire.”

“May I offer some words of advice?”

“Need you ask permission?” Captain Navarro replied.

“Show no mercy, Captain. Let them fire the first shot, but make sure you fire the last. Fire everything you have when a target presents itself, as it will do so but a few times at best. They will test you, for they want to take you intact to ensure their own supremacy within the sector. Do not fool yourself… this war will be won or lost on the surface of Takara, not in space.”

Captain Navarro took in a deep breath, letting it out in a long sigh that spoke clearly of the pressure he felt in that moment.

“I trust you have secured your family?” Commander Erbe inquired.

“Two days ago, when the opposition first contacted me,” the captain replied. “They are in hiding on Corinair.”

“That explains the attack on the array,” the commander realized. “You demonstrated your intent when you whisked your loved ones to safety.”