Blood War 1: Last Stand of the Legion: Rift (42 page)

LYTEN SYSTEM

RIFT

FLEET HEADQUARTERS

EMERGENCY COMBAT INFORMATION CENTER

Istas had been standing behind Usiche so she had a view of the whole room. With the Legionnaires in place there was little worry of another attack but she remained vigilant. She had been watching the battle as the Admiral was seeing it, from far away represented by symbols on a display board, detached
from the fear and the blood. Istas knew that The Mother was watching through her eyes and for the first time she felt what she must feel when she watched her children on missions. It was not a good feeling to have made decisions that sent men and women into battle hoping that the decisions you had made were the correct ones. Knowing that if they weren't the right decisions it would not be you who paid the price. Istas felt the weight of command for the first time.

She had been watching Usiche closely throughout the battle. Her iron control of her emotions was amazing. She seemed totally divorced from the weight of her orders but Istas
’ training had provided her with insights that others would not have noticed. The micro-facial changes that only a trained eye could see and the subtle change in her body language, had told Istas all she needed to know about the Admiral. Usiche felt the weight of the command, and the responsibility for the thousands of men and women who carried out her orders. Yet she accepted their deaths and the price of command without flinching. She had an iron will that she used to focus her mind on the battle and put those personal emotions aside. Istas imagined she put them away until she was alone or with someone she trusted explicitly. This was a true leader, one worthy of the agreement with The Mother and one worthy of her protection. Istas knew the Confederation would need this woman if they were to ever defeat the aliens. She was someone that Istas felt was worth her own life if it meant saving the Admiral.

The display screen had been showing the battle above them for some time now. It was the most difficult
part of the Usiche's plan, with Sand and his troops facing a much superior force. Yet Colonel Sand and his troops had to find a way to win it. It had not been going well as waves of aliens poured out the buildings in the complex until Sand ordered the missiles. Now Istas could see that the aliens were down and Sand’s troops were moving forward. The missiles had worked.

"Sand is down. He is a red
," Buchman said. He had been monitoring the communications from the battle. He stood with a small group of his staff staring at the console in front of him. His shoulders slumped when he announced that Sand was down.

Admiral Raurk bolted out of her seat.

"What happened? They are making progress finally."

"He called in the M48 missiles."

"Remind me," Raurk said frowning.

"They are new experimental close support missiles. We were looking for ways the Tarawa could provide close support more accurately from space. They are filled
with tens of thousands of smart flechettes. Each flechette can tell friendly from tangos. We developed special markers for our troop’s armor to clearly separate friend from foe, since the flechette are so tiny we could not cram that much intelligence into each one."

"How many casualties?"

"Only Sand."

"Why?"

It took Buchman a moment to compose himself.

"We were going to use his suit in the test. He was having
its comm ungraded when they put the friendly ID hardware in the suits. They hadn't gotten to his yet."

"Did he know?"

"Yes, he knew."

"And called them in on himself anyway? Knowing full well..."

"Yes, Admiral."

"You say he is a red."

"Yes, left arm and leg gone and a lot of other injuries. The suit is keeping his brain alive but his body is gone. It will take a fully equipped hospital to save him."

"Did the missiles work?"

"Yes, it has turned the tide."

Raurk sat down in her seat
, her face a cold mask. For the first time since Istas had begun to closely observe her, she seemed to shrink. This had been a big blow. She knew what she had asked the Colonel and how he had sacrificed his career trying to prepare the Confederation for this day and now so close to victory, it did not appear he would survive. Istas did something she had never done with a principal before; she walked up and placed her hand on Usiche's shoulder. When she turned her face to Istas the iron mask was gone and the weight of Sands and all the other deaths were on her face; she placed her hand on Istas's and squeezed it. Then the iron control was back, she straightened up and faced the situational display.

"I need a new Battle Update Brief. What is happening with Admiral Lule? You have five minutes to prepare."

Usiche sat back down in her command chair. She stared at the situation screen, desperate for a sign that all of this sacrifice had been worth it. So far, nothing. Then General Buchman stood. Standing in an ECIC meant you had a flash message that meant everyone needed to stop what they were doing and pay attention.

"Admiral
, I am receiving reports from all my units. The aliens are retreating. Their landing craft are picking them up everywhere. They are leaving the surface."

Usiche didn't trust the fact they were leaving. They could just as easily decide to plaster Rift into glass once all the troops were off world. It could only be a change in tactics.

"I need more than that General," Usiche said.

She wanted to believe her gamble had worked but it was too early to celebrate. She sat silently staring at the board
, her arms crossed, her head held back slightly as if she were holding back her decision. The screen certainly backed up what Buchman had said. The aliens were definitely pulling their troops off Rift but why? Had Tamara and the Task Force hurt them enough to drive them off? Usiche had hoped to destroy the fleet trapped against Rift and the Task Force.

"Admiral
, I have Admiral Lule on comm."

"Put her through."

Tamara’s face swam in the 3D hold in front of Usiche.

"Admiral
, I happy to report the alien fleet is leaving."

"Are you able to pursue?"

"Negative Admiral. Take a look at this."

The
huge situation display screen was a visual of Rift with the alien fleet silhouetted again the black of Rift. Ship after ship was disappearing into what appeared to be a wormhole just outside of Rift's atmosphere. For once Usiche lost her command presence.

"What the fuck is that?" she said.

"We think it is a Krasnikov tube. The platform went into some sort of state and was able to form the tube at will. Their ships are retreating through the tube. We do not know how it was formed or where it leads."

Usiche stood there watching as alien ship after ship disappear into the newly formed
wormhole. The final ship to leave was the huge platform.  Once it was past the event horizon the wormhole snapped shut. One instant it was there the next it was gone as if it had never been there.

The Confederation had nothing
even close to approaching this technology. The implications for its use during a war were staggering. Any joy she might have taken in her apparent victory was immediately negated by this new development. It just made the war that much more difficult to fight.

"Do not let your units follow
," Usiche said.

"Aye, ma'am."

"Excellent job, Tamara. We will debrief when we have reorganized."

"Thank you Admiral."

The 3D image snapped off. The ECIC immediately erupted into cheering as the men and women in the room realized they had fought off the aliens. Usiche turned and found Istas staring at her. She was not cheering, by the look on her face she knew exactly what this meant, even if most in the room did not. Usiche took a deep breath then turned and said,

"Silence."

The room became quiet immediately. She reached down and put up the screen she had been monitoring the whole battle. It was a list of the men and women who had died during the battle. As it began to scroll people in the room began to abruptly sit when they saw names they recognized. Usiche did not have to explain her gesture. She simply said,

"We have much to be thankful for and it is at the cost of these men and women. Honor them."

She turned and found Istas staring at her with fierceness she had not seen before. There was something more than simply the look of a protector. Usiche walked out of the ECIC with Istas following close behind.

CETI SYSTEM

MAPIYA

VON FLEET CORPORATION

VF 1

The VISIONARY

The Chairman had summoned Carroll for an early morning meeting that he said was very important. It had been an amazing thirty-six hours. They had entered the Ceti system but were forced to wait before the
y picked up their other passenger. Carroll did not mind the delay; he and his family had lived in luxury they could not have dreamed of even on Sol from the moment they had stepped onto the yacht. They had eaten food from worlds across the Confederation. Given that he and his family were the only passengers besides the Chairman he been able to spend a lot of time with arguably the most powerful man in the Confederation.

He had spoken to Carroll of his future and how important it was for Von Fleet. He had been charming and kind with his wife and children. The crew had given them all tours of the ship to pass the time. The video library had centuries of entertainment for the children while he and his wife simply lived in
the plushest luxury either had ever been exposed to in all their years of marriage. Emelyn had come from a prominent family who were much richer than his own and was used to luxury but this was beyond what even she had seen.

Carroll finished dressing and hurried down the passageway to the Chairman's office. The guards knew him now and had the door open before he reached it. He nodded to both before entering the room. Carroll was beginning to get used to his new importance and the perks that came with them, not the least of which was regularly seeing the Chairman.

The Chairman was standing and staring at the "window" that showed Mapiya and the space around it. The dark side of the planet was visible with dayside only a bright crescent around the edges. Then Carroll saw a Confederation battleship; it was under attack by a swarm of fighters. Bright orange explosions illuminated the scene periodically as more and more torpedoes struck home. Bright green and red tracers from scram cannons from the battleship were firing at the fighters as they closed in for the kill. The bright hard light from the engines of the attacking fighters was visible as they attacked, flipped and sped in for another attack. Then something started to happen to the battleship.

In the center of the huge ship
, a huge bright orange fireball began to spread throughout the interior. Bits of the ship were being thrown into space as orange sparks or streaks that eventually stopped glowing. Then the orange fireball grew to twice its size and the ship broke in half. Debris of all kinds was thrown into the space around the ship as the battleship began to break apart at amidships. More bright orange explosions spread through both halves as the proud battleship broke into more pieces. Carroll realized that he was watching the deaths of thousands of good men and women. He was too stunned to say a word; he knew he had helped the enemy but now he was faced with the reality in a way that was much more real than simply advancing his career.

The Chairman turned and sat down heavily
, his face a stunned mask. He looked older than normal and Carroll did not think that was possible. His face was paler than usual and his lips were a pale blue.

"Sit down
," The Chairman said, his voice barely audible.

"Sir, are you all right. Should I get the doctor?"

"No, no just sit down."

Carroll sat down. Even though he knew he should be watching the Chairman's face, he found he could not take his eyes off the window as the battleship
, the most recognized symbol of the Confederation's military might and power, continued to be torn apart by explosions and more attacks. The attackers were not satisfied with simply destroying it they continued to attack even the wreckage, blasting the larger sections of the ships wreckage with torpedoes and some sort of cannons. 

"This was not the deal
," the Chairman said.

"Sir?"

"This was not the deal. The Xotoli were not supposed to attack Ceti. They told me all they wanted was GI 789, Delta Pavonis, and Lacaille. They are just simple mining planets that are rich in iridum, palladium, rhodium and such.  All they wanted was to cripple the fleet at Rift long enough for them to take possession of those planets. It made sense but this, this..."

Carroll watched as huge Xotoli ships began to move into orbits around Mapyia. As they moved into their orbits hundreds of smaller ships were being launched. A huge station of some sort came into view
; it was bigger than any of the other ships and was launching twice as many smaller ships. Then what appeared to be Xotoli battleships began to bombard the planet with huge plasma cannons and missiles. Carroll could see the lights of the cities that dotted the surface. The plasma cannons were targeting the cities one by one. The plasma would strike the white and gold patterns made by the cities lights and the lights would go out. A huge red spiral of an explosion would replace the warm glow of the lights. There were secondary explosions so large Carroll could see them easily even though they were thousands of kilometers away.

The Xotoli were not destroying all the cities
, they seemed to have selected specific cities as targets. The smaller ships could be seen converging on the cities that were not destroyed by the plasma cannons or missiles. They were invading Mapiya with an occupation army. Mapiya had no defenses. There was no Legion post there and no military installation of any kind. The battleship must have been one of the ships from Task Force 7 that left earlier in the week because Mapiya had no military protection. Another city disappeared as a missile exploded, then it struck Carroll that they were only seeing one side of the planet; the same must be happening on the other side. The Xotoli were killing millions of people for no reason that Carroll could understand. Carroll's mouth went dry and his heart began to race. What had he helped to do?

"The first thing they did was
occupy our Complex on Mapiya. It is our largest crystal manufacturing facility. Its stock of crystals is the largest in the Confederation. They were after the crystals all the time. Then they took over the shipyard, it is the reason so much crystal is stored here for the new ships. Now they have the crystals and our ship building facilities and materials. It's a disaster, it's..."

"But..."

The doors suddenly burst open and the body of one of the guards was thrown into the room. He had an enormous hole in his chest. Blood began to flow from under him the second he landed. Ms. White was dressed in an expensive black suit, her white blonde hair immaculately done as if she were going to a board meeting, except she had a woman's body under her one arm. Two armored troopers in strange armor flanked her. She tossed the woman's body onto the Chairman’s expensive carpet. Blood began to spread from numerous tears and vicious wounds all over her body.

"Her
e is your other passenger Mr. Chairman. She is a little worse for wear as you say. I played with her a little. I needed to verify a few things, it was quite enjoyable."

Carroll recognized Olenka Storm
, his counterpart on Ceti. She must have been doing the same job for the Chairman that he had been doing. Ms. White strode into the room and stood in front of the Chairman.

"I gather by the look on your face that you have finally figured out that we were never after those little planets
, they were a ruse you were more than willing to accept given your greed. They are only secondary targets at best. Those little planets you bargained so hard for will be ours soon anyway. The main goal of this invasion was always the crystals."

She smiled that beautiful smile that was more scary than beguiling as she watched her words sink into the Chairman. Her eyes never smiled
, they were always cold and predatory, like a snake watching its prey.

"We used the information you gave us to destroy the Confederation
’s military power on Rift. Our main objective was Mapiya all the time. As you have been observing, we also destroyed the Task Force that had been sent here. We knew it was coming thanks to Mr. Carroll and were ready for it. So now that we have crippled the Confederations fleet we can complete our plans at our leisure. We now have all our troops on Ceti and have begun our occupation. The last of the Confederation military power is either crippled on Rift or destroyed in this sector."

She turned her cold gaze onto Carroll.

"If it were not for our little friend Mr. Carroll, our operations might not have been nearly as successful. His information about the Confederation military on Rift was invaluable. So we now own the space, the wormholes and the Ceti system. We are here to stay. The Ceti System and all it resources and facilities are ours. The population will make good workers for us. Once we have our operation here underway we intend to spread further through Confederation space. Given that the Confederations military power has been decimated we intend to expand as it suits us."

"But we had a contract, an agreement to..."

Ms. White’s head snapped around to look at the Chairman.

"Do not speak unless I speak to you
, human. I am so tired of pretending to be respectful I could lose control."

Carroll glanced at the Chairman, he was frozen in astonishment
Ms. White had spoken the word human as if it were a curse word.

"I will finish telling
you what you are going to do and then you will do it. We are here to stay and we intend to take everything of value to us. The population is only valuable as workers so they will be put to work. Your facilities will be used by us for our purposes."

Olenka moaned on the floor and White simply kicked her until she was
quiet. .

"You know I was hoping it would have been you
, Carroll," White said staring at him with those cold predatory beautiful eyes. "But we all have disappointments. Maybe in the future we will play."

White turned back to the Chairman.

"We are going through the ship as I speak and culling out those that will not be needed and replacing them with our own people. We've had people on board all along and they will help us decide."

Carroll
’s face went white at the thought of his wife and children.

"Do not worry Carroll
, your family will know nothing. We locked them in your stateroom where they are safe. They were told this is a security drill and they have to stay there until someone comes to release them. They were quite willing to believe the story."

Ms
. White again smiled at Carroll, this time the smile made him very frightened.

"They are a nice incentive for you to continue to cooperate with us with no questions asked
, don't you think Mr. Carroll? You would not want me to play with your wife and children the way I did with Olenka now, would you?"

Carroll could only shake his head his mouth was so dry. He fought
to keep back the pictures of what she would do to Emelyn and the kids. It made his blood run cold.

The Chairman stood to protest. White simply swiped his face with what appeared to be a gentle slap but it left four deep lacerations on the side of
his face. Blood spurted out and all over the Chairman. He sat down, blood dripping down his face and onto his expensive suit.

"I told you human
, you do not move unless I say."

White chuckled to herself.

"I guess I didn't tell you, but now you know."

White looked at Carroll and said
,

"You and this woman will continue to feed us the information we need for as long as we need. You will not tell anyone of course
, you would be seen as the biggest traitor in your pathetic human history. I must say though, your human race as you call yourselves, is proving to be a bigger challenge than we had anticipated. Your military on Rift, while crudely armed are proving to be a fierce opponent. Xotoli like a fierce opponent, it makes the victory all the more sweet."

White frowned for second.

"We took some of your..what do you call those who fight on the ground?"

"Legion
naries."

"Yes Legionnaires. We took some wounded captive. They would not talk despite our best efforts. They all died but they would not talk. A couple even managed to kill their interrogators. It was impressive for an inferior race."

White paused and stared out the "window" at what was left of the battleship.

"That is what
is in store for your whole race. We will take what we need and discard the rest. My people will man this ship and those we deem dependable for the trip back to Sol. You three are considered dependable, for you know what will happen if you do not do our bidding. Your ship will use your normal wormhole back to Sol. You will tell them of the terrible things you saw, but you will continue to send us information until your time comes."

White looked down at Carroll. With her forefinger she raised his head until their eyes met
, then she extended her claw deep into his chin and ripped it open. Carroll put his hand to his chin to try and stop the bleeding but it only poured through his fingers.