OMEGA Allegiance (23 page)

"As far as the power and technology they possess goes, I believe there is an AMP history lesson, from the early Humans, that speaks to this: 'Never give in—never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force, never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.'"

Garrett smiled. "For pitting one species against another: 'A house divided against itself cannot stand.' That's also from an old Human history lesson. So, what we want to know is what species they have as subjects? Do they have a king? And how many of those big ships do they have? I'll go back in and work him over for a bit. Hey, let me borrow Raptor for a few minutes. Just having him sniffing around might be a good distraction."

Joni held out her hand. "If he can help, then make use of him. I'm sure he would love to sniff around someone new anyway."

Garrett left the room with Raptor at his heel.

I walked with Joni to the bridge. "I think we are getting a good picture of the situation. The Moddles are expansionists, but small. The Grotus, they are very powerful and would easily defeat any defense we could muster. Now, as for your uncle, unless he is attempting to expand the Alliance, I can't figure out why he is here. These planets were never part of the AMP or the New Alliance. Is there a corner of the Andromeda galaxy that was never settled by the AMP?"

Joni half laughed. "Yeah, if we're even in the Andromeda."

I stopped and grabbed her arm. "What you just said, is that possible? Are we fighting a war in a galaxy other than Andromeda?"

We hurried to the bridge. "Jack! Do we have any images of the Andromeda galaxy aboard this ship? I know we don't have the star maps as they weren't available to us. If we have an image, we might be able to at least verify our location by the surrounding galaxy's shape!"

Jack replied, "I have the small image I showed before. Not much detail there though."

Jack opened a comm channel to entire crew. "Listen up. We need an image of the Andromeda galaxy if anyone has one. Search your personal storage and any devices you brought with you. If you find an image, send it to the bridge as soon as possible!"

Jack searched his personal gear. "I don't have anything but that one. Will knowing our location tell us anything we should know? Are there destinations out here we can head for if the portal doesn't open?"

I walked over to the nav station. "Do a 360 degree scan and shrink the image of all the stars in this galaxy down to fit on the main screen."

The nav officer complied. Fifteen seconds later we had a side view of the galaxy we were trapped in.

I continued, "Flip it down so we have a perspective as if from the top."

The image spun down.

I pointed. "There! That is a lenticular galaxy! We are not in the Andromeda! Harden Salton has us out here looking to acquire new territory!"

Joni slowly shook her head. "I can't believe it! He wouldn't do that! That can't be right!"

Joni began to tear up.

I walked over and put my arm around her shoulder. "Hey, for all we know, he doesn't know himself. That might all be coming from his advisors."

Joni shook her head as she sighed. "No, I have to believe he knows what's going on. What better way to get rid of your enemies than to send them off to fight a war in another galaxy. I think it fits perfectly with what he's become. You know, my grandfather built up this family. He was very pro-AMP and the people respected him for that. When he passed, his fortune, power, and control went to my uncle. I think he had his advisors whispering in his ear even before my grandfather's death. It was only eighteen months afterward that the New Alliance was formed. My grandfather would not have allowed that to happen."

I squeezed Joni and relaxed. "There are no greater corruptors than power and greed. Those who are weak in principle are easily swayed into doing things they would never think of if they didn't have the means. Your grandfather obviously had the principles that your uncle lacks."

There it was. The reasons for the war revealed. The truth was ugly, the terms harsh. How could we return to face Harden Salton knowing that it was he who had put us there. It was his scheme, his plan all along. And what of the Grumar and the Grotus? What did he really know about them? Were they allies of Harden Salton? Were they playing him for a fool?

As I walked back towards the interrogation room, I had to wonder about the alliance that I had pledged my allegiance to. Would we be better off as separate colonies, only bound together by trade or the need to survive? I had to believe that together was better than apart. I had to believe that sometime in the future, the old ways could once again become the new. I sat in the monitor room and watched as Garrett worked to irritate and frustrate our Grotus captive. My mind however, was wandering elsewhere.

Garrett walked into the monitor room with a grin. "Got it! One hundred thirty-two of those battlecruisers, sixteen species under their subjugation, and the leader of the Grotus is their King, Spamuel the Beheader! Raptor here was actually a big help. Whenever the Green began to jerk around wildly, he would stand up on the end of the gurney, put his head right down in the Green's crotch, and start growling. It actually made me a bit nervous!"

Garrett's grin began to fade. "What's wrong? What did I miss?"

I looked up. "We aren't in the Andromeda galaxy. Harden Salton and his cronies have been lying to everyone."

Garrett sat down. "That can't be right. Where are we then?"

I replied, "We are in some lenticular galaxy, fighting a war of expansion. We are not defending the Alliance, we are trying to expand it. Who knows if there is even any problem in Andromeda. Probably not. What we do know is that Harden Salton has been sending all his enemies out here with the dual purpose of killing them off and expanding his empire. All this time I thought we were fighting the good fight, the fight for all of our citizenry. Come to find out that we are only pawns in some corrupt game of empire building. The New Alliance is a sham."

Garrett sat silent for a moment. "Wow. That's a lot to take in. That changes the game completely. We can't go back through that portal knowing what we know. He would have us put to death before we left the vicinity of that gate. No wonder he hasn't allowed any of the ships, other than those transports, to come back through. I'm sure he has those pilots under strict guard so they can't talk to anyone if they know something, which they probably don't."

Jack came over the comm. "You two! You'd better get up here to the bridge! It looks like we've got company! And you best run!"

We arrived on the bridge deck to see a holo-display with a red pinpoint circled in yellow in the center.

"You sure you weren't followed? They must have tagged you or something."

Garrett shook his head. "There's no way. I did continuous sweeps of the
Jess
right up until the time we left."

Jack pointed. "If you have detection gear on that ship I suggest you go back and check it again. I'm moving us at an angle away from their approach, but I don't know yet which one of us is faster. I sent the other ships directly away from them. If they adjust course in the next ten minutes or so to follow us, we will know it's us that's emitting."

I followed Garrett as he raced for the
Jess
. Once aboard he powered up his sensors and began to scan. Three minutes later a single pulse was captured.

Garrett pecked away at his holo-display in an attempt to refine the signal search. "We need at least two more of those to get a fix. We are definitely marked. Now we have to find it."

I turned and walked into the cabin, emerging a few seconds later carrying the Green's helmet. "Is it this?"

Garrett looked at the helmet. "No, we smashed the emitter on that. Remember that whack to your head?"

I turned the helmet around. "This is the Green's helmet."

Garrett looked down at the still intact ID emitter. "I thought you threw that out?"

I shook my head. We were in a hurry. I set it to the side and then carried it into your cabin when we lifted off. I didn't think to throw it down the ramp."

Garrett grabbed the helmet, placing it face down on the floor with his boot inside to hold it still, then smashed the butt of a blaster rifle hard into the emitter. Shattered bits of circuit told of its destruction.

Garrett slapped the blaster back into its mount on the back of the pilot's chair and sat down. "Jack. I think we found it. Adjust course again and tell me if they are still following. I'll keep scanning for signals here until we know we're clear."

"This is just not turning out to be my day," I said.

Garrett chuckled. "It was an easy mistake. I should have followed up with my signal sweeps. I think we both got caught up in our success and got sloppy."

I nodded. "Your attempt at spreading the blame is appreciated, but not necessary. The blame lies with me and no one else. I accept it. Let's move forward."

Jack came over the comm. "Looks like they adjusted course to follow us just before your last message. I set our course off by another three degrees. We should know in about fifteen minutes if they adjust again."

Garrett replied, "Thanks, Jack. Let us know when you know. I'll continue watching from here."

I sat in the copilot's chair. "Bring up the
Garmon
's sensors. Tell me if they are closing distance or not."

Garrett brought up the sensor display. "It looks like they have a very slight speed advantage over this ship. Too bad we're not in the
Jess
. It has enough juice to pull away by about an equal amount."

I replied, "We are in the
Jess
."

Garrett shook his head. "I know we are sitting in the
Jess
, but the
Jess
is sitting in the
Garmon
. We can't go any faster than the
Garmon
, no matter how much we want to."

"Bring up the sensor screen that shows that helmet signal," I said.

The display showed in front of us. "You captured that signal. Can you replicate it?"

Garrett nodded. "I can send it. But what good does that do us? They'll just keep following us."

I smacked Garrett on his back. "Exactly! Get the signal set up to broadcast at the same frequency it was before and start it going."

Garrett gave me a confused look. "Why do we want them to follow us?"

I smiled. "Because we are taking the
Jess
out. The
Garmon
will be free to circle back to the other ship. If we are faster than those Grotus ships, we can lead them away. When we've reached a safe distance, we turn that signal off and double back. Now, just get me set up and I'll do the dirty work."

Garrett laughed. "Yeah, like I'm gonna let you steal all the glory. Look, if you really have to go, then we both go. I know how to fly this ship and I know how to hide this ship. Make yourself comfortable in that chair because I'm driving."

I sat back. "Jack, we're going to be taking the
Jess
out to lead them away. Double back to the other ships and take up a waiting position on the opposite side of the portal opening from where you were. That should put sufficient space between you and them if they double back."

Jack replied, "OK, so that cuts us down to two people getting captured or killed. If we lost them already, why don't we just keep on the current heading?"

Garrett followed. "If we lose them right now, they are going to start fishing around where they last got a signal. That will put them in the vicinity of the portal opening. We can't let that happen. Knog and I are going to lead them away in the
Jess
. We'll match their speed for a week or two and then we'll turn off the signal and quietly slip away. It would take them six months of searching to even get remotely close to this area. We've got the time, and we've got the speed."

Jack smiled. "Got it. They are all yours. I'll set the gravity wall for your exit. And don't take any chances. That portal should be opening not too long after you get back, if they stick to their previous schedules."

Garrett gave the nod. The
Jess
lifted off the deck and slid out through the gravity wall into free space. The Grotus ID signal was activated and our direction changed. The
Garmon
moved quickly away from us.

Joni came over the comm. "Don't be taking any chances out there. We need you both back here when that gate opens. If we take this information through to my uncle, this might be the last time a portal opens into this galaxy. So bring yourselves back here as soon as you can."

Go entered the conversation. "I did a once over of the
Jess
before you launched. She's in good shape. I have to say I wish I could go as well."

I replied, "We'll be back in a few weeks, Go. Then it's on to home."

I continued, "That's our plan, Joni. However, we need to lead those ships as far away from the portal area as we can. Just one of those behemoths going through could wreck a hundred colonies before we could come up with something to defeat it. We can't allow them to go near the portal."

Garrett jumped into the conversation. "Hey, you don't have to worry about us, Joni. The
Jess
is faster than those ships. We'll take them away from here and then dump them. They will spend months looking where we're not. Now, we need to cut the comms or we risk them knowing there is more than one ship. Keep yourselves safe and we'll be back in a few weeks or so."

Joni nodded and smiled as the comm closed. Fifteen minutes later, a small course correction by the Grotus ship confirmed they were following. We matched their speed and sat back for the long ride.

After a packaged meal, Garrett leaned back in his chair, picking at his teeth. "You know, I always wondered what it would be like to travel to Andromeda or any of the other galaxies. All the different species and subcultures. I would have loved to have been an anthropologist."

I replied, "While I'm grateful for the opportunities I've had, I believe I would have been content being a farmer."

Garrett laughed. "You? A farmer? I don't think so. You are one of those people who has to get involved in things that are much bigger than farming. I think you are right where you should be, in the middle of a big adventure, trying to save the Alliance and everyone in it."

I frowned. "I can assure you that for all of my adult life, up until Joni Salton came along, I was about as far from adventurous as one could be. I like order. I take care of the business at hand. I require a stable unchanging world to be content."

Garrett again laughed. "Well, that may have been the public you, but all this we are doing out here, this is right up your alley. You go where it's not wise and you do it for the right reasons. Just look at what happened to the Omega sector after you swept through there. Millions of lives have been changed for the better. You have a wife and children, and yet you sacrificed possibly never seeing them again in order to come through to rescue Joni. No, you are not the stoic, common citizen that you make yourself out to be. You are the hero of worlds, the rescuer of damsels in distress, the Emperor of the Talisan!"

I half smiled. "Are you trying to give me a big head?"

Garrett smirked. "If you haven't noticed, you already have a big head—you Gruntas have about the biggest heads I've seen. No, all I'm trying to do is say that the things I have seen you accomplish have been fantastic, over and above what could be expected of anyone. You have to face the facts, Knog Beutcher, you are one unique individual out of trillions of copies."

I sighed. "None of this would have been possible without your assistance. Without you, I would still be a slave on Telfor, if even still alive. It is you who have saved my life repeatedly. You are the hero in this great game."

Garrett shook his head. "And humble to boot. No, at best I might be the hero's haphazard sidekick. I'm not the grand planner, I'm the follower."

A week into our run, I glanced at the nav screen. "Garrett, is that ship closer to us than it was yesterday?"

Garrett looked. "Hmm. They've somehow closed the distance between us by 20 percent. Why didn't my monitor alarm go off? Crap. I never initiated it."

I checked the distance. "They remain at a safe distance, but I would think we want to push them back out to the max our sensors can handle, just as they were before. We need that distance if we want room to slip away when we shut down that signal."

Garrett nodded. "OK, I'm pushing the throttle to full. We should have our distance back in a day."

After an hour at our new speed, Garrett checked the nav display. "I think we have a problem."

Garrett began frantically pushing holo-buttons and swiping at screens. "Speed indicator shows we are running at max, and sensor data confirms that."

Garrett leaned back in his chair. "I hate to say this, but I think their ships are faster than ours. They are still gaining on us!"

"How long before they catch us?"

Garrett swiped at several screens while running a set of calculations. "Two days. Two and a half, tops. We need a plan."

I looked over the nav display. "Head for this star system. This ship is good at hiding. Perhaps we can find a rock to hide behind."

Garrett nodded. "We can be there in about four hours. I hope there are lots of planets in that system. We already underestimated the speed of that ship, there's no reason they wouldn't have better sensors than us as well. I shut off the ID signal before I made that turn. In about ten minutes we'll know if they are tracking us on their normal sensors."

Tension hung in the air as we waited for confirmation of our fears. When the data arrived on the display, it was confirmed. The Grotus ship was still following.

Garrett continued to work over his screens. "There is no way they have us on visual sensors. We must be putting off something else they can detect. I'll keep looking, but at the moment I don't have a clue as to what that would be."

I replied, "We aren't leaking anything are we? Any ion emissions or carbon from the environmental system?"

Garrett shook his head. "No. I'm not picking up anything unusual. The sensors on this ship are set up to detect just about everything and they aren't showing anything."

I looked towards the back of the ship. "What about the engine? Could we be leaking anything from there?"

Garrett looked back and took a deep breath. "No. It's a gravity drive. There are no emissions. The gravity waves that come out of that thing are almost imperceptible at only a kilometer away. At their distance, the sensors would have to be insanely sensitive. Any signature or pattern left behind would be so buried in the noise of the cosmos that it would never be seen."

Garrett continued to scan and evaluate the data the
Jess
's sensors returned. He was baffled. He could not comprehend how it was the Grotus ship was still following us. The planets of the star system we had targeted were soon within visual range.