Omega Force 6: Secret of the Phoenix (3 page)

****

“The
Defiant
just sent an encrypted message,” Doc said. “They’re moving out of low-orbit. It looks like a fresh defense force has arrived in the system and Captain Colleren is moving the fleet out to meet them.”

“Shouldn’t affect us,” Jason said with a shrug. “Did they say how many ships have arrived?”

“No,” Doc said.

“Looks like fourteen according to the tac uplink we still have with the
Defiant
,” Kage reported. “That will outnumber Kellea’s ships two to one.”

“Still doesn’t affect us,” Jason said, his chest tightening a bit as it looked like Kellea would be fighting some long odds. “The sooner we get our job done, the sooner she can withdraw from the system.”

“The compound is coming up just ahead,” Kage said. “You’ll be able to spot it from all the raging fires the Galvetic Marines seemed to have started.”

“They weren’t hired for their subtlety,” Twingo laughed.

“I’ve got a lock on Lucky,” Kage said, ignoring his friend. “It looks like they’re all assembled in the room under that glass dome on top of the main building.”

“Tell Mazer to pull his people back,” Jason said. “We’ll blow that dome and pull them up using the transit beam.”

“Mazer thinks that will take too long and they have some wounded,” Kage said, listening to the com channel he had open with the strike team. “They’re moving to the rooftop. He says to give them thirty seconds.”

“Thirty seconds it is,” Jason said and swung the nose away from the palace. He didn’t want to leave the
Phoenix
as a sitting target by hovering in place while the strike team made their way to the roof. “Do we have a threat assessment of the remaining ground forces?”

“Scattered and ineffective seems to sum it up,” Kage said. A moment later the ship was rocked as a powerful plasma bolt slammed into the underside of the hull. Warning alarms blared and Jason slammed the throttle down, sending the
Phoenix
streaking away from the building and not allowing them to get a second shot.

“You were saying?” he said angrily.

“I never said they wouldn’t get off a lucky shot,” Kage said defensively. “I’m sending the gun emplacement to your tactical display. The compound’s power is still down so I’m not sure what they’re using to run the plasma cannon.”

“I’m not sure I care,” Jason said, lining up the gun emplacement in the reticle that floated in his field of vision. He selected his main cannons and squeezed off a long burst that sent over a dozen plasma bolts streaking towards the small, raised platform that had the anti-aircraft gun. Once the smoke and fire cleared from the explosion there was only a crater left where the gun had once been.

“They’re on the roof,” Kage said, “west end near that com antenna array.”

“I’ve got ‘em,” Jason said as he swung the
Phoenix
around and let her descend towards the rooftop. “Lower the ramp. Tell Lucky to report to the bridge as soon as everyone is aboard.” He switched one of his displays to the internal feed of the cargo bay and watched as thirty-seven Marines, one battlesynth, and one setara marched up the ramp. The prisoner was secured to a seat that was anchored to the deck, his hands shackled behind him. The Marines secured their wounded and began to strap themselves into the crash seats that had been added to the hold specifically for the mission.

“All Marines are accounted for and onboard, Captain,” Lucky reported as he walked onto the bridge. “They were successful in their mission and the war criminal Rorid is secured and in custody.”

“Very good,” Jason said. “Kage, close the ramp back up and alert the
Defiant
we’ll be in orbit momentarily.” He began to climb away from the compound, leaving a scene of complete and utter devastation in his wake. Once he got the indication that the ramp was up and locked and the pressure doors were engaged, he advanced the throttle and pulled the
Phoenix
up into a vertical climb straight out of the atmosphere.

“
Defiant
reports they are exchanging fire with the defending fleet,” Kage said. “They won’t be able to lower the shields so we can come aboard.”

“I don’t think we want to fly towards more than a dozen hostile ships with the package sitting in our cargo hold,” Jason said. “Tell the
Defiant
we will proceed to the secondary rally point and they’re clear to disengage and withdraw.”

“We’ve got three fast movers coming over the horizon at us,” Doc said. “Low-orbit. It looks like they’re trying to mask their approach but the sensors picked up the atmospheric disturbance.”

“Atmospheric disturbance?” Jason asked, surprised. “That’s a very low orbit. Send their approach vector to my display.” Doc nodded and sent the new target tracks to his tactical display. Jason frowned at the data as the sensors were unable to resolve the targets while they were flying so deeply in the atmosphere. The thermal bloom they were kicking up from friction caused by the thin gasses was causing the problem, and Jason didn’t plan to stick around for them to close the range enough to allow them to get a positive identification. It was fairly obvious they were hostile, but the speed they were achieving indicated they must be from the incoming fleet as the technology level on Olem wouldn’t support such craft. He’d have to have a talk with Kellea about focusing too much on the big capital ships and letting their smaller attack craft slip through and harass them. It was an error in judgment that could get them all killed.

“Course is laid in and the slip-drive is ready,” Kage said, shaking him out of his thoughts. “You’re clear to engage at any time.”

“We’ll get a little more distance before we do, I think,” Jason said, pushing the power up even further and setting a course directly away from the pursuing ships. He let the ship get a couple hundred thousand kilometers away from Olem before engaging the slip-drive. The
Phoenix
shuddered and disappeared from the system in a blinding flash of released energy.

Chapter 3

“Lord Archon,” Mazer Reddix said, bowing his head slightly as he came onto the bridge.

“Captain Reddix,” Crusher acknowledged his old title.

“Captain Burke, we have secured our prisoner and Dr. Ma’Fredich is currently tending to my wounded Marines,” Mazer said to Jason.

“Congratulations on the successful mission, Mazer,” Jason said, trying to shake his friend out of the stiff formality he sometimes adopted in front of others. “I trust Lucky wasn’t in the way too much.”

“Captain, I resent the implication that I would ever be ‘in the way,’” Lucky said stiffly.

“He’s messing with you, my friend,” Mazer said with a laugh. “No, Jason, your
observer
was able to save our asses a couple times during the operation. I don’t suppose you’d be interested in a transfer to a real combat unit?” His last question was directed towards Lucky.

“Not at this time, Captain Reddix,” Lucky said, picking up on the joke. “I am afraid they would not last long without me here. I would rather not deal with the guilt of their inevitable deaths.”

“Your loss,” Mazer shrugged. “How long until we meet up with the
Defiant
?”

“If they broke away soon after we left the system, we should meet up with them in around nine hours,” Kage said after consulting his display.

“We’re running a lot slower than usual since we’d like them to be waiting on us and not the other way around,” Jason explained. “A single little gunship sitting in open space is a lot more vulnerable than half an armada.”

“Seems reasonable, I suppose,” Mazer said in a bored tone.

“You’ll want to pay sharp attention to details like this, Captain,” Crusher spoke up, noticing Mazer’s disinterested demeanor. “Ships are more integral to what we do than just giving us a ride to the next fight. Understanding how and why they’re utilized will make you that much more effective.”

“I understand, Lord Felex,” Mazer said, genuinely abashed.

“Don’t worry about it. You’ll pick it up quickly,” Crusher said with a wave, moving to walk off the bridge. He paused by the younger warrior and spoke softly into his ear. “Good job getting your mission accomplished and your Marines back on board alive. I saw you were the last one to step onto the ramp; your men saw that too. You’ve made us all proud.” As Crusher left the bridge Mazer watched him go, his mouth agape. The Lord Archon was never known to offer praise lightly. Or at all, for that matter.

****

“How much longer are we going to have to sit here waiting on her tame beasts?”

“We will remain here as long as the captain instructs us to,” a loud, harsh voice rumbled from behind the ensign who was manning the sensor station, startling him so badly he almost came out of his seat. He hadn’t been aware of anyone behind him overhearing his mutterings. “As for your characterization of my kind … I would be happy to dispel your misguided opinions at your convenience.”

“Is there a problem over here?” Kellea demanded, walking over to where her Marine bridge guard was glowering down at one of her sensor operators. “Lieutenant Korix?”

“No problem, Captain Colleren,” Zellon Korix said crisply. “I was offering to correct the ensign’s belief that Galvetic warriors are, how did you put it? Tame beasts? I apologize for the distraction.”

“Ensign?” Kellea asked icily.

“Captain … I … what I mean to say is—”

“Enough,” Kellea said. “You are relieved of duty. You will confine yourself to quarters until I decide what to do with you. I will not tolerate such ignorance and bigotry from my crew. Now remove yourself from my sight.” The now-trembling ensign climbed out of his seat and tried to squeeze by the immobile Marine as his relief was trying to get past him to begin working the sensor station. The entire bridge was silent as the disgraced officer tried to hustle off the bridge.

“Ensign,” Kellea called when he’d almost made it. “I’m sure you’re aware that on this ship I give a certain leeway for cultural customs and laws. On Restaria they have a wonderfully expedient way of settling small disputes. Lieutenant Korix would be within his rights to offer a settlement to your disagreement via unarmed combat.” The ensign’s dark-hued skin paled significantly as his trembling started again. Without a word he turned and walked as fast as he could from the bridge entrance. Kellea turned her back to the crew and winked at Zellon who, in turn, stifled a laugh before walking back to his post.

“I apologize for that, Lieutenant,” she said after him. “I expect better out of my crew.” She said the last part loud enough for all to hear.

“It is of no importance, Captain Colleren,” Zellon said with a dismissive wave. “We expected this type of ignorance and prejudice when we decided to leave our homeworld. It will not affect our performance under your command.”

“Captain,” the relief sensor operator called out, “we have a new contact emerging from slip-space. Initial readings are consistent with the
Phoenix
.”

“Ping their transponder,” Kellea said.

“Pinging,” the com officer said. “Good return. It’s them, Captain. Omega Force is reporting that their package is still intact and all Galvetic Marines are accounted for, with some injuries.”

“First Officer, you have the bridge,” Kellea said as she walked towards the exit with Zellon in tow. “I’ll be down on the hangar deck to meet the strike team.”

****

Rorid was marched down the ramp of the gunship with Mazer’s clawed hand grasping his left shoulder firmly. The rest of the Marines disembarked and formed up to the right of the ramp, awaiting orders. Kellea and Crisstof were there along with a handful of other officers and civilian dignitaries. Jason stood at the top of the ramp and watched the whole thing with a certain bemusement.

“Captain Colleren,” Mazer said, “this is the war criminal Rorid, as per your orders, captured alive and delivered unharmed.”

“Thank you, Captain Reddix,” Kellea said, nodding to the three Marines behind her to take custody of Rorid. “Your unit has performed impressively, I look forward to a full debrief.”

“Yes, Captain,” Mazer said. He waited until everyone had walked away from the gunship save for the medical crews who were transferring his wounded from the
Phoenix
to the
Defiant’s
infirmary. “First Platoon! Dismissed!” he ordered. “Mission debrief in four hours. Go get some rest and grab something to eat.”

“That’s not a bad idea, Captain,” Crusher said from behind Jason. “We could probably use a good meal as well.”

“I assume you don’t want to utilize the Marines’ mess deck?” Jason asked.

“Ah … we always have an open invitation to the officer’s mess,” Crusher said evasively.

“I’m not so certain it’s an open invitation, rather nobody has been brave enough to get between you and the chow line,” Jason said. “Either way … I’m not turning down a good meal. Let’s go.”

It was nearly twelve grueling hours later before all of the debriefs were concluded, the reports filled out, and questions answered before they were finally done with the mission. “This is why we don’t volunteer for too many sanctioned missions,” Jason said to Kellea as she brought him a drink. They were in the small lounge area attached to her personal quarters and even though she didn’t drink herself she had an impressive variety of alcoholic beverages from all over the quadrant, mostly gifts from the countless guests that visited the battlecruiser.

“So what was your overall impression of the operation?” she asked, sitting next to him on the couch.

“Overall I’d have to say it went off without a hitch,” Jason said carefully. “We only had a few injured Marines and Twingo says the fish smell will wear off the
Phoenix
after an atmospheric entry.”

“How about the blockade? Anything I could have done better?” It was the question Jason had been trying to avoid.

“Just one observation. When you have a small attack craft like the
Phoenix,
and it’s the principal mission, you have to be aware of any smaller targets breaking away from the main fleet, not just the big ships with the big guns,” he said.

“What are you talking about?” she said with a frown.

“We had a small formation of what appeared to be heavy fighters pursuing us around Olem,” Jason said. “Our preliminary scans indicate they’re far too advanced for the locals, so we had to assume they were with the defending fleet Rorid had called in. I didn’t want to risk hanging around with the package to get a higher resolution scan.”

“We made extra sure that didn’t happen,” Kellea said without a trace of defensiveness. “In fact, we took out seventeen smaller ships trying to break away and edge around our formation. Nothing got through that we’re aware of. Could they have been stealthed?”

“Not likely,” Jason said, now his turn to frown as he considered the problem again. “If they had stealth tech that good they wouldn’t have bothered trying to skim in below us through the atmosphere. So the real question is … if they weren’t from Olem, and weren’t from the incoming fleet … who were they?”

“It’s possible Rorid had hired another mercenary outfit to protect him,” Kellea offered.

“Maybe,” Jason said doubtfully. “Strange time to make an appearance though.”

“Well either way, thank you for agreeing to help with this mission,” she said. “Our shuttle pilots are capable, but having you guys along was a nice bit of insurance.”

“It was interesting being part of an organized military op again,” Jason said. “It’s not normally something we would volunteer for.”

“So why did you volunteer for this one?” Kellea asked.

“It was the first live mission for Mazer and his Marines,” Jason said. “I feel a certain responsibility for them and wanted to be there in case it didn’t go as planned.” He took a sip of the expensive, rare whiskey-style drink she’d handed him before he realized his error. “Of course, the main reason was so I could spend some time with you.”

“Nice save,” Kellea said drily. “So what’s your opinion of their performance?”

“Lucky tells me that they operated like they’ve been doing this sort of thing for years. I suppose technically they have been doing this their whole lives, but there are some distinct differences between life in the Legions and serving shipboard as a detachment. How have they integrated into the
Defiant
?”

“They’re the epitome of courtesy when they’re around the rest of the crew. The rowdiness I expected seems to be reserved for when they’re in their own barracks. Oh … and they play that music you gave them from your homeworld at almost unsafe volumes while they’re training or exercising.”

“Giving Mazer that data chip full of heavy metal music was my special gift to you,” Jason said with a wide smile that earned him an elbow in the ribs.

“Have you ever thought about coming fully into the fold? Reporting to Crisstof and bringing the
Phoenix
aboard as a permanent arrangement?” she asked after a moment.

“Well … that’s certainly a thing to think about,” Jason said carefully.

“Please … try to contain your excitement.”

“Let’s look at it seriously, Kellea,” he said, aware he was on dangerous ground. “A lot of what makes us useful is we’re not a part of his organization and can operate in that gray area he’s hesitant to tread on. There’s also the fact that even though you command a large professional crew on a battlecruiser, and I command a small group of borderline sociopaths on a tiny gunship, we’re more or less equals when we meet. With what you’re suggesting I would be subordinate to you. In fact, far subordinate since I would likely report to your tactical officer and not even to you directly.”

“I wasn’t making a serious suggestion, I suppose,” she said with a sigh, leaning her head onto his shoulder. “It’s just frustrating at times.”

“I agree,” Jason said. “But look at it this way: would you really want my crew loose on your ship for any length of time?”

Kellea gave an involuntary shudder as she considered the havoc the small crew could wreak given an extended amount of time. “That’s a truly frightening proposition,” she said.

“They’re not joiners,” Jason agreed. “They’d make your life a living hell just for the fun of it.”

“So what’s next for you guys?”

“Back to the usual, I guess. We’ll start running along the fringe and see what we can kick up,” Jason answered.

“So nothing pressing?”

“Nothing pressing.”

“That means you can stay for a while?” she said, turning to look at him.

“I’m sure the ship needs at least a week of maintenance and repairs after that last mission,” Jason said, setting his drink down and drawing her in closer for a kiss.