Point of Origin (War Eternal Book 4) (42 page)

"What about you?"

"I'll die, but do not concern yourself with that. I will end my time a happy man, knowing that I have completed my mission and that I will be joining my family in the world beyond our own, where there is no war, no suffering, and no Tetron."

"Thank you for everything you've done," Mitchell said.

"You are very welcome, Mitchell. Good hunting."

Yousefi saluted Mitchell in the old military style. Mitchell returned the salute, feeling awkward about it. He followed that with a more comfortable bow before leaving the Control Room, and Station W, behind.

"Everything is ready," Yousefi said over the comm channel. "I'm initiating the generation sequence now."

"Roger, Station W," Steven said. "All hands, prepare for departure on my mark."

Mitchell focused on keeping his breathing calm as he stood next to Kathy on the bridge of the Goliath. She was plugged into her Secondary, giving her faster access to the systems of the core.

The wormhole ring began to pulse with energy ahead of them, stationary at first and them starting to turn in rhythm to the pulses. Mitchell checked the view around them, noting each of the ships lined up in formation, the Goliath at the vanguard. A dozen of the more damaged starships floated on the opposite side of the station. They had been decommissioned and filled with Asimov's non-combatants, their orders to return their passengers to the asteroid and await further information.

They would be coming out the other end near the far side of Mars. The planets were currently near opposition, and the distance would give them time to assess the situation around the planet, and also allow Steven time to communicate both with the Council, who they were going into this assuming was compromised by the Tetron, and the commander of Earth's defense forces, Admiral Bixby. According to Steven, he and Bixby were good friends, and as long as the Admiral was still himself he would at least be open to listening to Steven's warning.

If that went according to design, they would then take up a position close enough to Earth to defend it in a hurry, and far enough away that the Tetron would be taken by surprise. The plan was further broken down into specific ship organization, formation, and tactics that Steven and John had come up with, and that Mitchell hadn't bothered to learn. He would be leading the starfighter squadrons in the S-17.

The ring continued to accelerate, the energy pulses growing stronger. The whorl began to grow in the circle, pushing back in space from the middle, the puncture in space created and the tunnel being built.

It was a good plan, but it would need to be executed perfectly to be carried out in time. Arriving only hours ahead of the Tetron wouldn't give Earth any time to recall any additional defenses, no matter how close they might be.
 

"Have you made any progress on Watson's work?" Mitchell asked, breaking the silence to help calm his nerves.

"A little," Kathy said. "I've been working with Singh on it. She's very intelligent, and she's helped me approach the problem in a new way. It's still going to take some time."

"She understands the source?"

"Not like Tio did. She understands the concept, which is more important."

"Do you have an updated ETA?"

"No. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I know you're doing your best. I was just asking."

She smiled. The ring was spinning quickly now, the space inside flattened and distorted.

"The wormhole is active and stable," Yousefi said.

"Riggers," Steven said. "Let's go save Earth."

"Riiigg-ahh," came the reply of thousands of voices across hundreds of ships.

Kathy put the Goliath in motion, moving it toward the wormhole for the second time in a few days. The rest of the fleet was lined up behind them, a long train of starships of various shapes and sizes easing into action.

"Thank you again, Yousefi," Mitchell said over the open channel.

"You are welcome, again, Captain," Yousefi replied. "I wish you all success."

The front of the Goliath entered the wormhole, distorting it as it crossed to the other side. Mitchell reached out and put his hand on Kathy's shoulder.

"Are you ready for this?" he asked.

"I was made for this," she said.

They watched the wormhole approach together. Mitchell didn't hold his breath this time. His heart still began to race.
 

"Here we go," he said as the bridge reached the ring.
 

There was no change in the feel of the motion as they crossed over, and the moment they did he could see the red planet on their left. Earth was visible beyond it, a small blue marble floating in a sea of stars.

"Father, we have a problem," Kathy said.

"What is it?"

"You'd better get to your starfighter. The Tetron are already here. We're too late."

Mitchell didn't wait for more information before he started dashing for the lift to carry him down to the hangar bay. Too late? How the hell had they come too late?

"Kathy, sound the alarm. All hands. What's the situation?" he asked as he descended, using his communicator to reach Kathy.

"Fourteen Tetron, and there appear to be at least four-hundred slave ships." Kathy's voice was calm and steady.

"Fourteen?" Mitchell's heart thumped against his chest. Even with Goliath, how were they going to stop fourteen of them? "Is Watson here?"

"Yes. They've detected us. A portion of the fleet is breaking off and vectoring our way."

"Is the Carver through?"
 

She was the second ship in the line. They would need Steven to help keep the fleet from falling apart when they arrived in the middle of a battlefield.

"Yes. Admiral Bayone has also arrived. Steven is sending EMS messages through the wormhole."

"Does that work?"

"I don't know."

The lift opened, and Mitchell raced down the corridor toward the hangar. Other pilots filed in with him.
 

"Green, this is Ares. Get your team ready."

"What?" Green said. "I thought we had a day?"

"So did I."

"Shit."

"Germaine, is everything set on your end?" Mitchell asked.

"Yes, sir," Germaine replied. "I'm starting up the drones now. I've never flown more than one fighter at a time."

"Good thing for Digger's mimic system then," Mitchell said. They had integrated Digger's software with the drone intelligence and tied it all back to a single virtual cockpit buried in the bowels of the Goliath. Germaine would be in control of an entire army of fighters that would move and attack in perfect unison, like a flock of birds.

The hatch to the hangar opened. There was already a craze of activity inside, pilots scurrying to ships while techs finished emergency prep. The S-17 was sitting alone in the corner.

"Good hunting, Colonel," Major Long said as Mitchell ran past. Long was climbing aboard the Valkyrie Two, its enhanced lasers a valuable addition to their forces.

"You too, Major," Mitchell said.

He reached the starfighter, climbing the repulser steps and falling into the cockpit. He grabbed the helmet and pulled it on while the clear carbonate closed him in.
 

A thought started the reactor. Another opened the fleet-wide channel, and a third brought up the battle grid over his eyes. A final thought opened a private channel to Kathy.

Steven's voice was crisp and composed over the fleet channel. "Federation, flank left. Alpha and Bravo, move right. Goliath, it looks like they're heading for you."

Mitchell checked the grid. Four Tetron had broken off from the main group, along with a fleet of Alliance warships. They were already close enough to make a long-range attack.

"We need to keep the wormhole covered until the rest of the ships are through," Steven said. "Goliath, keep your shields up, defense only. You need to absorb their attack until we can get our numbers up."

"Roger," Kathy said.

Mitchell looked out into the hangar. The activity had died on the floor, all of the pilots in their ships and the techs safely out of the area.
 

"Goliath, this is Ares. Blow the hangar."

"Roger."

Mitchell fired the thrusters, spinning the S-17 to the open space outside the hangar. He hit the thrusters, shooting ahead of the rest of the forces as the shields over the space fell and the atmosphere began pouring out. Docking clamps released in a synchronized pattern, each of the ships firing thrusters as the gravity vanished. Mitchell didn't see any of the other ships depart. He burst out into space, a single small ship racing toward the Tetron forces.

"Ares, are you crazy?" he heard Germaine say.

"Get them up behind me," Mitchell said. "Follow my lead."

"Roger."

Mitchell checked the grid again. The Goliath had turned broadside across the wormhole, making itself a massive target while also blocking the incoming ships from enemy fire. Blue energy pooled on the port side while the starboard remained completely dark. He wondered how many hits from a plasma stream the starship could take like that.

A warning in his ear told him he was going to find out. The Tetron were still a distance away, but they had figured out the Goliath's defensive tactic. Four massive balls of energy loosed from them, nothing but specks of light. They grew quickly as they rushed toward the Goliath, their path forcing Mitchell to take an alternate route ahead.

"Firing warheads," he heard Lieutenant Lewis say. He watched the Carver on the grid. It had been sitting behind the Goliath, and it dropped below and fired its nukes toward the plasma streams.

Two quick flashes marked the warhead detonations, right in the path of two of the streams. They dissipated beneath the energy of the nuclear reaction, waves of color washing out into space. The other two continued their course, slamming into the side of Goliath and causing the shields to flare so brightly they momentarily blinded everything.

"Shields intact," he heard Kathy say. "Rerouting power for the next hit."

It would take more than two hits to drop the starship.

"This is Bayone. I've reached my position."

"Bayone," Steven said. "Concentrate fire on the lead Tetron. Ignore the slave ships. Ares, get ready to back him up."

"Roger," Mitchell said, his eyes forward and tracing the sudden volley of projectiles launched from the Federation ships on his right. "Germaine, we need to speed it up."

"Yes, sir."

Mitchell continued to add thrust and velocity, sending the S-17 screaming toward the oncoming Tetron and Alliance fleet.

"Father," Kathy said through their private channel. "We need to hurry. The remaining Tetron have begun bombarding Earth. I don't think they intend to take any slaves."

"We can only get the fleet through the wormhole so fast," Mitchell said.

"I can break off. I can jump the Goliath between the two forces and attack Watson."

"Did Steven order you to do it?" Mitchell asked.

"No."

"Then don't. Wait for your orders."

"Father, he doesn't know how to-"

"Kathy," Mitchell shouted. "It isn't your call."

"Yes, sir."

The Tetron ships were drawing closer. Mitchell's ears burned from the warning alarms of a thousand amoebics heading his way.

"Evasive maneuvers," Mitchell said. He threw the fighter over into a wild pattern, firing lasers at the same time. The field was so thick it was impossible not to hit the explosive projectiles, knocking them away as he cut into them. Germaine followed suit behind him, unable to prevent all of the drones from being hit.

"Bayone, fire," Steven said, monitoring the action.

The Federation ships opened up again, projectiles and lasers surrounding Mitchell and the drone squadron, blasting past them with precision. They hit the lead Tetron hard, their fire focused on a single point, causing its shields to flash brightly in that area.

"Germaine, hit the same spot," Mitchell said, vectoring the S-17 away from the drones. Every one of them fired at once, concentrating their energy on the spot.

"Goliath," Steven said. "I'm picking up energy spikes from the Tetron closer to Earth, firing on the planet. We need to draw their fire away."