Star Watch (31 page)

Stalls added, “And you too? … Commander … you’ll be joining us as well?” Stalls asked.

Several long moments elapsed. “Sure. I wouldn’t miss it.”

Leon saw that the connection had ended. He looked at the newly transmitted coordinates Miranda, the AI, had already transferred onto the logistical display. It showed the planetary system, and the suggested flight vector to a single nearby planet.

“That’s Harpaign.”

Everyone turned to the back of the bridge, toward the small girl standing in the open hatchway. Boomer was wearing her battle suit, her enhancement shield on her left forearm. Her visor was up and Leon could see the sheen of perspiration on her flushed red cheeks.

“You all right?” Leon asked.

She nodded. “Practicing. I need to be ready.”

Chapter 44

Dacci System

The
Minian
, Flight Bay

_________________

Jason watched the
Capricorn
, an older, Allied forces transport shuttle, enter the
Minian
’s flight bay, hover forty feet in the air—spin around one hundred and eighty degrees—and gently settle onto the deck. The high-pitched drive leveled out to a low hum but kept running.

“Guess this is
adios
for now,” his father said. Jason offered his father a sympathetic smile. The admiral then gave him a rare hug, and stood back, his hands still resting on Jason’s shoulders. “Probably best if you let her know that you’re on to her … talk to her.” With that, the admiral grabbed the oversized satchel at his feet and headed off toward the awaiting shuttle, as Nan, Mollie, and Teardrop entered the bay, looking less than pleased to be leaving.

Mollie gave her father a hug and looked sorrowfully up at him. “Dad … why do we have to leave already? We just got here.”

“Mollie!” Nan warned sternly.

“Well … you won’t tell me anything.”

“Get on board … Keep your grandfather company.”

Mollie made a mean face and ran off toward the shuttle.

Nan watched as Mollie, with Teardrop close behind, hurried away in the sudden relative silence. Jason saw her biting her lip.

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on with you … why you had to come here at this particular time—”

Nan interrupted him, “I can’t do it anymore, Jason. I can’t run a country. I can’t even run my own life.”

“You’re loved, Nan, by the whole country. The U.S. needs a strong leader like you. And I know you’re still in office. Hell, according to the admiral, Ross may never get back to where he can function again in running the country.”

Nan looked up and held his eyes.

“You’re just overworked … stressed. Understandably so!”

She nodded and looked to be relieved he knew the truth. “Do you really have to do this, Jason?”

“This?” he asked.

“Risk your life in space on this particular mission. You have kids. Don’t you owe it to them to stay alive?”

“Come on. This is what I do, Nan.”

“You know I have all the information … all the briefings and specifics of what you’re up against with these Sahhrain shits. This is different.”

Jason shook his head and smiled.

Angered, she kept talking. “I’ve felt it in my bones … that you’re not coming back from this one. That’s why I’m here … I had to warn you … had to tell you to come back with me right now … come back to your family.”

He continued to stare down at her. Her eyes, full of pleading, looked up at him.
What does she know?
“How about if I come back for a while when this is over? When Star Watch can spend sufficient time eradicating the rest of those damn
peovils
back home?”

That answer didn’t pacify her in the least. Her voice was now soft and barely audible. “Jason … you need to sit this one out … please … come home … just this once, listen to me.”

“I can’t … you know I can’t do that.”

He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. “Watch out for my father. Can you do that for me? Let him hang out at the White House for a while … maybe convalesce there, before he heads back to California?”

“All right. But I’m not real sure he’ll go along with that for very long.” Her expression became more serious. “You make sure nothing happens to Boomer. I mean it, Jason … nothing can happen to her.”

He felt her nod into his chest. She pulled away and kissed him on the lips. He tasted her salty tears as she turned away, quickly hurrying toward the awaiting shuttle.

* * *

Jason entered the bridge and scanned the occupants.

Orion caught his eye. “Everyone get off all right?”

“Fine. Where the hell’s Ricket?”

“Been meaning to talk to you about that. He never returned to the
Minian,
Cap. I tracked his fighter … his last known coordinates were near the planet … Harpaign. Anything entering that world’s atmosphere is pretty much impossible to track. I’m sure he’s fine, though … probably needs a new ride.”

“Damn … I remember. Actually saw him and that beat up fighter heading off toward the planet … what the hell’s he up to?”

Orion pointed up to the display. “Captain, the fleet … it’s on the move.”

Jason took a seat in the command chair, absorbing the quickly changing dynamics in space.

“Incoming missiles! One thousand and counting. Look to be coming from the Parlek Orion warships.”

Jason watched their incoming trajectory on a newly added logistical display segment. He saw the
Minian
’s positioning, sitting approximately midpoint within the fleet of two hundred Allied warships. Millions of miles away, he saw the larger fleet of Sahhrain and Parlek Orion warships heading right for them.

“How much time do we have before the missiles strike?”

“Thirty seconds.”

The tiny missile icons blinked and then disappeared. “What the hell just happened, Gunny?”

She continued to work at her console … her hands quickly moving across the board. She looked up, concerned. “They’re cloaked … gone dark … sensors don’t see them?”

“I thought Bristol fixed that!”

“Only the Parlek Orion warships …”

Jason continued to stare up at the display. A thousand inbound warheads would be finding their targets within the next few seconds. Nan’s departing words replayed in his mind …
please … come home … just this once, listen to me.

* * *

Ricket had spent hours looking for the habitat portal to no avail. Instead, he discovered other writings, albeit smaller, on engraved walls and tablets. He was well aware now that there were other ancient ruins, where both Blues and Sahhrain societies had once lived, at multiple locations around the planet. Many were buried beneath the surface of Harpaign.

He checked the scrambled, nonsensical readings one more time. Without use of functional data from his HUD, or his internal sensors, it wasn’t possible to locate the portal. Simple as that. Ricket sat down upon a larger segment of crumbled column. His eyes looked upward, toward where he guesstimated the current position of the
Minian
and Allied fleet to be.
How do I contact them?

He wondered, at first, if his eyes were playing tricks on him. All so faint—nearly indecipherable against the dreary backdrop of Harpaign’s dark gray sky—were tiny reflections. Hundreds of them arced from high above to a distant location on the world’s surface, many miles away. Ricket stood and looked toward the horizon but could see nothing there—too far away.

He checked his suit’s power levels—he’d been using his suit’s power reserves nonstop—phase-shifting often and discharging his integrated wrist plasma weapons a dozen times to clear away subterranean obstacles. His suit’s power reserves were barely holding at five percent. Ricket eyed the distant horizon again and shrugged.
I’m not doing any good standing around here.
He set the phase-shift coordinates for fifty miles’ distance and flashed away.

He’d misjudged the coordinates by a mile … maybe two. He phase-shifted again. Closer now, Ricket watched as spherical drones, each highly reflective, descended from high above in a constant stream. One after another they approached the surface below, slowed, and quickly joined row-upon-row formations of other identical-looking drones. He counted fifteen hundred, as many more still dropped from the sky.

No less than twenty Sahhrain warships were haphazardly parked nearby as well. Sahhrain warriors were filing out from one of the vessels and heading off toward a massive, mostly intact, rock archway.

“What do we have here?” Ricket asked aloud, using his HUD to magnify the distant landscape. The vessel closest to the archway was instantly recognizable … the
Assailant
.

Startled, Ricket first felt the hot wash of thrusters above before looking up and seeing the spacecraft quickly descending. He was directly beneath it. Ricket checked his HUD—suit power levels were at zero. Phase-shifting no longer an option.

He ran.

Chapter 45

Dacci System

The
SpaceRunner
, Entering Harpaign Atmosphere

_________________

Leon quickly realized nav-sensors were useless here. As soon as they entered the atmosphere he switched over, manually navigating the
SpaceRunner
to the provided planet coordinates. In the misty-gray swirls of fog hugging the surface of Harpaign below, he spotted the
Assailant,
parked near an old archway. Here and there he saw ruins—several freestanding pillars, a low, crumbling wall, and multiple piles of marble-like stone.

Lowering his ship’s landing struts, he slowly settled onto the surface, then shut down the ship’s drive. He left the pilot’s seat and headed up the stairs, where he found everyone waiting for him in the main cabin.

“It’s show time,” he said. “Everyone know what’s expected of them?”

There were nods all around.

Stalls held up his bound wrists. “You’ll need to release my hands.”

Leon looked over to Rizzo, who obviously wasn’t keen on the idea. Reluctantly, he stepped forward and removed the electronic bindings. He whispered something into Stalls’ ear before stepping back away.

Hanna, looking out one of the side observation windows, observed, “We’ve got a welcoming committee coming.”

All eyes went to Boomer. Leon still was having a hard time believing the entire mission hinged on one little girl’s ability to confront and immobilize the Sahhrain leader. Perhaps he didn’t fully understand things … but, somehow, it just didn’t seem right.

Boomer initialized her battle suit and looked up at Rizzo through her helmet’s visor. Once again he instructed, “Remember, kid … you’ll need to get him off by himself, away from his men. Once you immobilize him … even for a few seconds, I’ll be able to bring him down.” Rizzo lifted the muzzle of his multi-gun to emphasize his point.

“You’re going to kill him?” she asked.

“That’ll be up to him. I’m ready to, if it comes to that.”

Boomer glanced around at the cabin’s occupants, took in a deep breath, and nodded. For the first time, she seemed nervous and unsure of herself. Leon gave her an encouraging smile and a thumbs up. “Watch yourself out there, Boomer.”

She flashed away.

Leon turned to Hanna. “You’ll need to stay on board—out of your husband’s sight, until Lord Shakrim is dealt with.” He walked to the back of the compartment and slid open a door-sized panel, which provided access into a hidden compartment. “We won’t encourage them to go anywhere other than the hold area below, especially since this posh upper deck wouldn’t jive very well with the ship’s phony, old-wreck-looking exterior. Just in case you need a place to lay low, there’s enough room in there to be comfortable … at least for a while. Bristol and the mecher will keep you company.”

Hanna looked over to Trommy5. “I don’t suppose you have a deck of cards on board?”

* * *

Leon, Stalls, and Rizzo, slinging his multi-gun over his shoulder, exited the
SpaceRunner
and hurried down the gangway, single-file. A welcoming party was waiting for them at the bottom of the ramp.

Leon took in the three tall Sahhrain warriors and the sole human. Wearing leather breastplates, which exposed well-muscled arms, it was clear none had an ounce of extra fat anywhere on him. The human, with an eye patch, was most assuredly Hanna’s husband; he was a foot shorter, wearing a silver breastplate, and was no less an imposing figure. Although each was equipped with an enhancement shield, only the three Sahhrain held the shafts of long spears in their grasp. A gust of wind swirled around them and Leon caught the pungent, sour smell of body odor.
Physically fit, sure … but these guys reek to high heaven.

Stalls stepped forward, his palms spread wide before him. His smile looked authentic as he approached them. “My good friend … how have you been, Ridert?”

The human did not return Stalls’ smile. “You will address me as Commander Douville, Captain Stalls.”

“Of course. Commander Douville, it is. We have your delivery … you’ll need a hover cart to transport the barrels from the hold.”

Leon watched the human’s expression of mild disinterest turn to contempt. “Enough of this ruse … we know why you are here.” Ridert gestured to the others with the wave of one hand. “Take them!”

Leon wasn’t totally surprised by this less than cordial reception. They’d expected just such a possible scenario. Several hours earlier, Rizzo reviewed the procedure involved in initializing Leon’s battle suit from the small SuitPac device he wore on his belt.

Leon dove to his right, even as he felt his battle suit expand, one segment at a time, quickly conforming about his body. He hit the ground, his battle suit fully initialized. Rizzo, earlier, had also instructed him on how to access the integrated, wrist plasma weapons via his HUD. But before he could actually do that, bright violet distortion waves filled his vision—multiple bone-crushing thuds hitting him in the chest. He gasped for air, doing his best to spin away on the ground, and getting a quick glimpse of Rizzo in the process. Fortunately, the young Navy SEAL was better prepared. Somehow, he’d already unslung his weapon and initialized his battle suit while remaining on his feet.