The Star Cross: The Dark Invaders (17 page)

Then, once he
had control of Earth, it would be time to move on Newton. Governor Spalding and
Fleet Admiral Vickers hadn’t heard the last of Marlen Stroud. Sometime in the
not-so-distant future, they would rue the day they had refused to turn Newton over to him. Leaning back in his plush office chair, he could already see the
reactions on their faces when he removed them from power. The only thing Stroud
needed to decide was whether to have them hung or put before a firing squad.

Prince Brollen
aboard the mothership
Reaper
gazed in satisfaction with his multifaceted
eyes as four intergalactic transport ships reappeared in the system. Even more
pleasing was seeing the three other motherships and the two Collector Ships
docked to the massive vessel. All the other docking ports held the helix-shaped
cruisers. This was an invasion fleet.

The
approval for the harvesting of Galaxy X241 must have been approved
, Mardok,
the
Reaper’s
military commander projected.
This is a good beginning
.

We will
know soon
, Prince Brollen replied, his two antennae waving slightly,
anticipating the orders to begin the harvest.
Prince Ortumad aboard the
transport ship will be in range shortly, and then we will know for certain
.

Telepathy was
limited in range. The longer the distance, the more exhausting it was to
project one’s thoughts. For most purposes, a maximum limit of fifty thousand
kilometers was feasible. Any further than that and a Vorn risked brain damage
or collapsing from exhaustion. The only exceptions were the Hive Queens; they
could reach out much farther.

Prince Brollen
watched as the four massive transport ships steadily came closer and then went
into orbit around the planet. Already he could taste the new food they would be
harvesting from the worlds of Galaxy X241.

Hive Queen
Alithe has agreed to the harvest
, Prince Ortumad sent to Brollen.
All
the Hive Queens were at the Conclave Habitat and thoroughly enjoyed the food
samples you gathered
.
Queen Alithe is quite pleased with you
.

Prince Brollen
turned in the direction he sensed Ortumad’s thoughts came from.
There is an
overabundance of food in Galaxy X241. It will take us a long time to complete
this harvest
.
We will feast for many years to come
.

We will
deploy a total of ten mothership fleets initially
, Ortumad responded.
More
transport ships will arrive in the next few days
.
Within two years we
will have over one hundred mothership fleets assisting in the harvest
.

What are
the wishes of Queen Alithe
?

You are to
take your fleet and harvest one of the primary food worlds of this galaxy. A
second mothership will be placed under your command as well. The Hive Queens
are anxious to receive more high-quality food from different food species.

Prince Brollen
remained silent for a moment.
The food species in Galaxy X241 are quite
advanced. Much more so than those we have encountered previously. There may be
some danger
.

Not to our
vessels
, answered Ortumad dismissively.
In all the secondary worlds you have
harvested, not one of your warships was ever damaged. We know the type of
weapons we face, and, while they are powerful, they cannot penetrate our energy
screens. You also did not use several of our more powerful offensive weapons.
While there will doubtlessly be some great battles fought by the food species,
in the end, they all will be subjugated and serve as nutrients for the Vorn
.

I will
ready my vessels
, replied Prince Brollen, anxious to begin the harvest.
As
soon as the second mothership is ready, we will depart for Galaxy X241. I already
have a target picked out. I am sure the Hive Queens will find the food gathered
from this particular system to be highly pleasing
.

The second
mothership will be ready for departure in two hours
, Prince Ortumad
responded.
Tomorrow I will send the others
.

My fleet is
ready
, proclaimed Prince Brollen.
The Vorn will feast well on the food
from this galaxy!

Prince Brollen
turned toward Military Commander Mardok.
The word has been given from the
Hive Queens. Galaxy X241 is to be harvested. Prepare the fleet to journey to
the homeworld of species 822
.

Military
Commander Mardok bowed slightly and then issued orders to the command crew of
the mothership as well as to the cruisers. While in Galaxy X241, they had
cataloged hundreds of different intelligent food species. Mardok knew their
survey was far from complete as Galaxy X241 was overrun with species suitable
for food, such as species 822, also known as the Visth.

-

In the Newton
System, Fleet Admiral Kurt Vickers was once more in Governor Spalding’s office.
The two were discussing the recent change in the status of Newton.

“I still can’t
believe the president pulled it off,” Spalding said as the two stood at the
large window in his office, looking out across the capital city.

“He’s not our
president now. You’re fully in charge,” Kurt reminded Spalding. “I’m just
worried about the ramifications of what he did and what’ll happen on Earth.”

Spalding
nodded and then answered in a grim voice. “There will be repercussions,
probably some serious ones. Marlen Stroud will see to that.”

“I can’t
believe Stroud weaseled himself back into power. Sometimes I despair of the
politics that occur on Earth. Why can’t they place the people first?”

“It’s a sad
situation,” admitted Governor Spalding. “But some good people are in government,
such as President Mayfield.”

“How did the
people take the announcement of our independence?”

“Most seemed
happy about it,” answered Spalding as a buzzer sounded on the comm system on
his cluttered desk. “It took nearly all the people by surprise, and it will be
a few days before everyone fully understands what our independence means.”

Spalding
walked over and answered the comm, holding the receiver to his ear. With a
satisfied nod, he hung up and turned toward Kurt. “That was Colonel Simms. The
Vindication
and her ships just dropped from hyperspace and will dock in about two more
hours.”

Kurt nodded.
“I expected them back shortly. They’re a little ahead of schedule.”

A light
cruiser had returned a few days earlier bringing the warning from Marvin Tenner
about the coming Profiteer attack. They had informed President Mayfield of the
impending danger so he could begin making preparations for Earth’s defense.

“That’s not
all,” Spalding said, his face creasing in a concerned frown. “A number of very
large ships are with the
Vindication
. The same ships Lomatz came to Newton with last year, only this time a lot more of them. Were you expecting Lomatz to
show up?”

Kurt felt a
sudden chill. “While I was on Kubitz, Lomatz indicated he might come to Newton with something I would find interesting. I never did find out what. I wasn’t
expecting him to arrive unannounced.”

“Whatever it
is, you better get to Newton Station and the
Star Cross
. I’ll feel a lot
better with you there to handle this situation. I never did trust Lomatz the
first time he was here.”

Walking across
the room, Kurt paused and then turned toward Governor Spalding. “I don’t know
what Lomatz brought me, but I have a feeling we won’t like it.” Kurt knew
Lomatz had a reputation as a weapons dealer willing to do business with anybody.
Lomatz and Avery Dolman were thick as thieves, and both were probably involved
in this unexpected visit. Kurt wouldn’t be surprised to find Dolman on board
one of Lomatz’s ships as well.

“Keep me
informed,” Spalding said as he sat down behind his desk and picked up a thick
folder. “I have some trade agreements with the European Union and the Russian
Collective to go over. If everything goes well, I should have them approved in
the next few days.”

Promising to
keep Spalding informed of developments, Kurt left the Capitol building for the
spaceport, taking a shuttle to Newton Station. The
Star Cross
was still
docked to the station, and he was anxious to get on board and find out what
Lomatz was up to. It was a little reassuring that the
Vindication
was
here too. Kurt was confident, if there were any danger, Henry would never have
brought Lomatz and his ships to Newton.

-

As Kurt
stepped into the Command Center of Newton Station, he saw a frantic amount of
activity. Both Colonel Simms and Colonel Hayworth were present and speaking
animatedly to one another.

“I’m not sure
we should let those ships come so close to Newton,” Hayworth argued. “We have
no idea what they want here.”

“Captain
Watkins has vouched for them,” Colonel Simms pointed out.

“Let them
approach,” Kurt ordered as he stepped closer to the two men, who hadn’t noticed
he had entered the crowded Command Center. “Lomatz told me, while I was on
Kubitz, that he would be coming to Newton. I just didn’t expect him this soon.”

Colonel Simms
grimaced. “But look at what he brought with him. If we’re reading these scans
correctly, he’s brought two of his big construction ships as well as ten of
those massive cargo vessels. Also we can’t identify the other six ships.”

“Put them up
on a viewscreen. Let’s look at them.” Kurt was curious about the six
unidentifiable ships.

On the screen,
the massive construction and cargo ships appeared. Each was two thousand meters
in length and four hundred meters in diameter. However, what stunned Kurt were
the other six ships. He hadn’t been expecting this. They were obviously
warships—and very large ones at that. He had never seen ships of this design
before. Two of them were easily 1,700 meters in length, and the other four were
1,200. Kurt felt uneasy, wondering what Lomatz was up to. The only way to find
out was to talk to the weapons dealer.

“See if you
can contact Lomatz,” Kurt ordered. “Maybe he can explain what’s going on.” Kurt
folded his arms across his chest as he studied the ships on the viewscreen.
Lomatz had never given any indication of owning warships, though his
construction and cargo ships were moderately armed.

Ensign Paul
Simmons worked his communications console, and, in just a matter of a few
seconds, he had Lomatz on the comm. “Mr. Lomatz is requesting a meeting on
board his ship. He says he has brought you some gifts.”

Kurt let out a
deep sigh. He wondered how costly these gifts would be. However, since Lomatz had
furnished the hyperspace stealth technology that had allowed Kurt and his ships
to escape the Dacroni mercenaries, he at least owed Lomatz this meeting.

“Tell him that
I’ll board his ship as soon as it goes into orbit around Newton.”

“Message
sent,” replied Ensign Simmons. “Lomatz says he’s looking forward to your visit
and suggests bringing an engineer or two who’s familiar with ship
construction.”

Kurt turned
toward Colonel Hayworth. “I guess that means you’re coming with me.”

“I’ll go round
up a few ship engineers,” replied Hayworth, taking a deep breath. “I’m sure
they’ll be interested in going aboard one of Lomatz’s vessels.”

“Ensign
Simmons,” said Colonel Simms with a disgruntled frown, “have Lomatz’s ships go
into close orbit to the station. I want to keep an eye on them. I also want a
few ion cannons focused on his command ship.”

“Why the
hostility?” asked Kurt. “After all, Lomatz and his construction people helped
build a major portion of this station.”

“Yeah,” Simms
replied. “I’m just concerned about what he wants this time.”

Kurt nodded.
“Contact the
Vindication
and tell Captain Watkins that I need him here at
the station. Perhaps he can help clarify what’s going on.”

-

Three hours
later Kurt was on board Lomatz’s ship, the
Golan Four
. Kurt was afraid
to ask what had happened to the first three ships with the Golan name. With him
were Colonel Hayworth, several ship construction engineers Hayworth had
suggested bringing along, as well as a full squad of heavily armed Marines. Kurt
had spoken briefly with Captain Watkins, but he was unsure himself what Lomatz
was up to. All Watkins knew for certain was that Marvin Tenner had said it was
important Lomatz travel to Newton and that Kurt would understand after he spoke
to the weapons dealer.

No comment was
made by the ship’s crew as Kurt and his party were led to the meeting room,
where Lomatz waited. Most of the crew were of the same humanoid race as Lomatz.
They looked Human, except their eyes had a strange yellow tint to them. One
thing Kurt did notice was that nearly every crewmember wore a sidearm—a
definite indication they were from the Gothan Empire. While the weapons dealer
might not be classified as a Profiteer, he was pretty damn close.

After about
twenty minutes they reached a large ornate wooden door. Kurt was surprised to
see this type of door inside a spacecraft. Their escort opened the door, and
Kurt and his people stepped inside.

“Fleet Admiral
Vickers!” called out a familiar voice.

Kurt winced,
recognizing Grantz’s loud booming voice. It seemed as if every time something
unexpected occurred, the greedy Profiteer was present. Unconsciously Kurt
touched his pocket, making sure he had no gold coins Grantz could weasel from
him. “Grantz, why are you here? Shouldn’t you be back at the embassy with
Marvin Tenner? How will he survive with you leaving him on his own?” Kurt
thought maybe, by trying a little flattery, he could encourage the Profiteer to
remain on Kubitz the next time an opportunity arose for him to sneak off to Newton. It seemed every time Kurt turned around, the Profiteer showed up with some scheme
to get more gold.

“No, Tenner
suggested I tag along. He still has his hands full with the two Earth ship
cargo crews he’s holding.” Grantz grinned as he looked at Kurt and the others.
“Besides, I’ve brought you something that’s nearly priceless this time.”

Kurt sighed.
Tenner had probably wanted some peace and quiet or else Grantz had connived some
way to get all the gold coins Kurt had left behind with Tenner. Grantz was very
good at sniffing out gold if it was around.