Victory in the Stars (Marston Chronicles Book 6) Page 19

  “Aye, aye, First Sergeant,” Sergeant Stein answered for his squad of Tolimar defenders while saluting.

  “You heard the man, ladies. Six flyers high. Six horizontal and ground level. Five march, covering the middle. Move it! Move it!”

  As drilled, six members of Stein’s squad used their gravity packs and lifted to the high ceiling. In two rows of three, they began their scans, using their gravity guns as pointers.

  Six more lifted slightly off the deck, became horizontal and drifted back to within a foot of the floor. The final five, plus Sergeant Stein, floated just clear of the deck and took firing positions, aiming down the hallway.

  “On point, stay sharp. Move out!”

  Slowly, the eighteen-person wall of death and destruction floated down the hall.

  First squad, support. Third squad, trail.

  The two squads of First Patrol followed their Sergeant’s lead while Second Squad remained to secure Limpet’s breach point.

  The twenty-nine marines and eighteen Tolimar Defensemen slowly progressed through the Mortek Cruiser, exploring rooms, securing decks and searching for hostiles. The next four hours proved completely uneventful. No enemy or boobytraps were encountered.

  The one odd encounter was in the engine and fusion generator rooms. The marines encounter more than a thousand robots just standing, as though they were completely shut down.

  Other than that one strange encounter, all that the attack force found was a pristine, never-been-used Mortek Cruiser. That proved the rule until they reached the bridge.

  There, they found three more Mortek. A brief skirmish occurred and three more Mortek lay contorting and twisting on the deck.

  “Commander Marston, come in.”

  “Marston, here, Sergeant.”

  “This boat’s clear, Commander. After cleaning up a few messes, she’s brand-spanking new.”

  “Good to hear. Casualties?”

  “One down, Sir.”

  Krag heard the sadness in Sergeant Nelson’s voice.

  “Who was it?”

  “Lance Corporal Smith, Sir.”

  “Bring him home, Sergeant.”

  “Always, Commander. No man left behind.”

  “Leave a squad to maintain security, Sergeant. Do you have enough personnel to go again?”

  “You couldn’t stop us, Commander.”

  “Munitions?”

  “More than enough.”

  “Okay. Repeat. Same operation. I’m sending you the coordinates of your next cruiser.”

  “Roger that, Commander.”

  Sergeant Nelson heard the com link disconnect.

  “Stein, ready for another one?”

  “We’re ready, Nellie.”

  “First Squad. You are down a man. You will retain security on this cruiser.”

  “But, Sergeant, we need payback.”

  “Understood, Garcia. We got some here. We’ll get you more on the next ship. Until the Commander can get a crew here, you are to remain and maintain security. Is that clear?”

  “Clear, Sergeant.”

  “This war isn’t over, yet, First Squad. You’ll get yours. The rest, move out!”

  Chapter 17

  Aboard Griffin – Cencore

  “Well, people, it sounds like we have a Mortek cruiser to add to our navy.”

  “I get first dibs, Cap.”

  “Yes, you do, Mack. Buster, Sue, you three are to figure out how to sail that thing. Igaklay, how are you coming on the jump drive for a cruiser?”

  “I have finished the jump drive and control console for Cruiser One, Captain. I will have them delivered within two days.”

  “Change of plans, Igaklay. Will that jump drive work on this cruiser?”

  “Both ships are the same, Captain. Of course it will.”

  “Then, let’s bring the jump drive here. You already have the robots on board. Will there be any problem installing it here?”

  “None, Captain.”

  “Okay. That is what we will do. Bring the jump drive and console here, Igaklay. Now, we need to figure out how to get her a crew.”

  “Krag, I think we should give the Mortek another chance to surrender,” Keiko interrupted.

  “They won’t, Keiko. You heard them, over and over again. The Mortek do not negotiate with food.”

  “Ya, Wee-One. They’re pretty stuck in their brick brains. Nothing’s gonna get those rockheads to crack.”

  “They all saw us just take down a cruiser with a small contingent of marines. They might listen.”

  “You know best about these things, Keiko. I’ll follow your lead. Sergeants Nelson, Stein, please stand down. We are going to attempt to reopen negotiations.”

  “You know that’s not going to work, Hawk.”

  “Maybe not, Nellie. But all those Mortek just saw how easily you took one of their cruisers. That has got to leave an imprint.”

  “It took us almost five hours to take this ship, Commander. They’ve had five hours to prepare for the next assault.”

  “Another ten minutes won’t hurt. Let’s see if we can avoid more bloodshed. Sue, open all channels. Keiko, go ahead.”

  “That won’t work, Krag. The Mortek will definitely not listen to an egg layer.” Keiko said this with a wry smirk.

  “Well, Cap, sounds like you get to politic.”

  Mack got Krag’s ‘look’.

  “All channels are open, Captain,”

  “Thank you, Sue. Igaklay, do you have the translator going?”

  “Everything is ready, Captain.”

  Clearing his throat, pausing to get his thoughts together, Krag began.

  “To all Mortek. Humans do not condone war.”

  Everyone heard Farsi emanating from Griffin’s speakers.

  “Human society is based upon peaceful coexistence. Humans do not condone the killing of any sentient beings. Humans do not enslave sentient beings. But, when we are attacked, we will fight to our very last breath.”

  Pausing to construct his next thoughts, Krag took a sip of water and continued.

  “When you invaded us and enslaved the Yeni Persia system, Humanity was not prepared to withstand your assault. Within less than a Sasanian year, you have seen that Humanity was able to adjust, to fight back. You have seen what we Humans have been able to accomplish with our small jump-ships. That is only the beginning. We are currently building a fleet of jump-ships, ten times as large. And, our fleet will contain ships as large as your super dreadnaughts.”

  Krag again paused before continuing.

  “It will take time. You will kill and enslave much more of Humanity. But, in the end, we will completely destroy all of your fleets. Then we will kill every Mortek we find. Humanity will be the species left standing.”

  “Your boast is the cry of the fearful.”

  Everyone on every ship, Mortek or Human, heard the response.

  “Who am I speaking to?”

  “First Commander of Sixth Fleet and Nest Two shipyards.”

  “I am Commander Marston of Humanity’s Defense Force.”

  “That means nothing to me.”

  “It should. Your Sixth Fleet is floating in space, without the power to sail or fire your weaponry. And, we have already taken control of one of your cruisers. It is just a matter of time before we turn it against you. We will seize the rest and do the same.”

  “You are attacking ships with no crews. You are preying on the weak. Fifth Fleet has reformed. You may have won this battle, but you will not win this war, soft skin. More fleets are being assembled. You will never conquer War and the might of the Mortek. We will find your shipyards and we will destroy this new vaunted fleet that you are assembling.”

  Hearing Mack’s humorous snort, Krag gave him another look.

  “I am offering peace. I am offering negotiations to reach an accord where both of our species can live in harmony.”

  “Mortek do not negotiate with food.”

  With a tight-mouthed grimace, Krag gave Sue
the throat-cut to terminate the transmission.

  “I told you, Hawk.”

  “Yes, you did, Nellie. Igaklay, where did that transmission originate?”

  “Federacy’s main shipyard, Captain. From the main administration offices.”

  “You’ve got those pegged?”

  “Of course, Captain. As soon as I located the source of the signal, I accessed the shipyard plans and downloaded the entire schematics.”

  “Change of plan, Sergeants. Your next target will be the Federacy main shipyard. Your objective will be that Mortek First Commander.”

  “Roger that, Commander.”

  “Take your entire force. I’m going to get another crew for the cruiser.”

  “Not Weiskoff, Hawk,” everyone heard a new voice.

  “You’ve been listening in, Hornet? Yes, Weiskoff. He’s got a full bridge crew sitting out in the sands on Tolimar. We can use him.”

  “Well, I’m not going to pick him up, unless you order me to.”

  “I wouldn’t do that. It’s my call, my responsibility. I’ll handle Weiskoff.”

  “And keep him away from my Stingers.”

  “That goes without saying.”

  Cencore-Mortek Shipyards

  First Commander sat on what had previously been First Administrator’s office stool. Placing his claws on the desktop, an angry chittering sound came from his oval mouth as his cylindrical tongue flicked the air.

  “That coward. Running to War, pretending to bear an important message. When I get the chance, I will eat his eyes.”

  Discarding the mutinous thoughts, the war-bred Mortek watched what had previously been First Administrator’s viewing monitor. The Mortek Sixth Fleet still drifted in Cencore’s space. Without fusion generators, all locomotive capabilities died with the incapacitating of the energy sources which fed the ships’ engines.

  First Commander had ordered the skeleton crews on all but one Mortek cruiser to scramble and build defenses against the coming soft skin onslaughts. Jumping his view from ship to ship, the four-legged insectoid sat and worried about what those vexing soft skins would surprise him with next.

  While thinking, First Commander began thinking on scuttling the entire Sixth Fleet. That thought went against everything Mortek. It went against his very being. He furiously thought, struggled for a solution. None came. Without access to the fusion generators, no destroying explosions could be instigated. First Commander could not find a path to destroying his ships. He could not stop those invaders from commandeering his fleet.

  Never had the Mortek ever thought of preparing their ships for self-destruction. Their only means was to remove the regulators on the fusion generators and allow them to overload. This thought also entered First Commander’s thoughts.

  Uselessly thinking in circles, First Commander absently placed his claw on the Globe of Pronouncement and repeatedly tapped a singular claw.

  “My Commander, My Commander!” First Communicator burst into the First Administrator’s, now First Commander’s, office.

  “What! How dare you interrupt me!”

  “But, My Commander, the soft skins have attached themselves to the shipyard!”

  Cencore Shipyard Assault

  Twenty minutes earlier, Fifty-three focused, angry marines had withdrawn from the Mortek cruiser then pushed and mashed their way into Limpet. Again, they stood, crammed cheek-to-jowl. Again, they checked gear and waited.

  Limpet had lifted from the Mortek cruiser, jumped over to the target on the ring of the main Cencore shipyard and repeated its attachment ritual. The final step saw four marines swing the battering ram and crash the cut hull section into the opposite bulkhead.

  “Jones, Garcia, go! Ramirez, Cox, go high!”

  Corporals Jones and Garcia, the two remaining best marksmen of First Squad, squatted and sighted down each direction of the corridor. Ramirez and Cox activated their anti-gravity harnesses, drifted up and ended ceiling high, matching their counterparts’ sightlines.

  “Clear,” four voices shouted.

  “First Squad, defensive formation. Second and Third Squads, by the numbers, as planned, move out, down the left causeway. Move it! Move it!”

  Sergeants Nelson and Stein stood back and watched their mixed troops move in unison, finally becoming a coordinated force.

  “Sorry about ordering your people, Stein.”

  “No problem, Nellie. You know more about these types of operations. You take lead. I’ll take second.”

  “Thanks. You get the next one.”

  “No need.”

  “Do you mind if you command the LZ?” Nelson asked. “I need to get to the front.”

  “No problem, there, Nellie.”

  “First Squad, you are under the temporary command of Sergeant Stein. Understood?”

  “Aye, aye, Sergeant,” five voices responded.

  “Call if you need backup.”

  “Contact!”

  The shout came just before the weapons fire. It started quickly and ended abruptly.

  Speaking into his shoulder mic, Nelson asked, “Sit-rep?”

  “Four bugs down, Sarge. We have one down. Welch. Stevens is on her.”

  “Stein, can a couple of your people float her back?”

  In answer, Sergeant Stein spoke into his shoulder mic.

  “Reed, Lee. Stretcher duty!”

  “On it, Sarge!”

  Within minutes, Corpsman Steven walked around the bend, holding an IV bag with a tube dripping fluid into Corporal Welch’s arm. Security guards Reed and Lee held the ends of the stretcher while flying high enough to keep the wounded marine at waist height.

  “Back to Limpet, men. Get her settled in. Tillerson and Brenner will stand watch.”

  “Got it, Sarge.”

  Everyone waited while the three got Welch comfortable and medicated then exited Limpet.

  “Two down, so far. I hate to lose good people,” Stein commented.

  “Stevens says that Welch will pull through. She’s tough.”

  “Well, more to come.”

  “Let’s hope not.”

  Saying that, Sergeant Nelson joined Stevens, Reed and Lee in racing back to the frontlines.

  Chapter 18

  Aboard Griffin – Tolimar

  Keiko brought Griffin in slowly, circled Odin’s emergency escape shuttle and set down a good hundred yards away. Bringing up the cameras, Sue focused Griffin’s attention on the survival quarters of Odin’s last of her crew. Krag signalled to Buster to follow him and proceeded to exit Griffin’s own bridge.

  “I’m coming, Cap.”

  “No, Mack. Nor you, Keiko. I need you five here, keeping Griffin ready. When Buster and I exit, close the hatch. I don’t want any Federacy on board without my permission.”

  “I hear ya, Cap.”

  “I’ll keep us safe, Captain!”

  “I know you will, Igaklay.”

  “Take some security, Krag. From what I hear, Vice-Admiral Weiskoff may feel that he has the right to seize Griffin.”

  “You read my mind, Keiko. Gopai, as I approach the shuttle, I want you to make a big deal of rotating the top Gatling to point at it.”

  “Aye, aye, Captain.”

  “Stay frosty. No firing without my command.”

  “I understand, Captain. Ears forward, eyes focused. Stay alert.”

  “Perfect, Vassal. Buster, let’s go.”

  Upon reaching the cargo bay, Krag and Buster saw seven Guardsmen and four Sasanian Marines lined up and at attention.

  Tribune Ambakai and Sergeant Boulos smartly saluted.

  “Tribune, Sergeant,” Krag responded while returning the salute.

  “Same as Atlantius. Tribune, all Guardsmen are to be chameleon. Four high. Four on the ground. Sergeant, you four are the honor guard. Buster, to my left.”

  “Aye, aye, Captain.”

  “At your command, Commander.”

  “Mack, open the cargo bay door.”

  Thirteen beings waited w
hile Griffin’s rear clam door opened, half rising, half lowering to become a ramp. Seven Elonians blinked from view. Once the ramp slammed into the earth, raising a cloud of sand, Krag and Buster marched down the ramp and towards the Odin encampment. The four Marines followed. Unseen, so did the seven Elonians, four flying and four marching.

  As Griffin’s people approached, Krag saw his former Vice-Admiral lead twelve Federacy naval crewmembers from the shade of Odin’s survival shuttle. They met halfway. The Federacy personnel saw Griffin’s Gatling swing to come to bear on their location.

  Eschewing any show of respect, Vice-Admiral Weiskoff looked upon his previous subordinate with his typical look of disdain. Krag, knowing it was coming, ignored the slight.

  “Vice-Admiral, Sir!” Krag saluted.

  After waiting and with no return salute forthcoming, Krag dropped his hand.

  The Vice-Admiral looked over the android to Krag’s right then attempted to stare down Krag. Krag waited patiently for Weiskoff’s next move.

  “What do you want, Marston?”

  “I want to give you a ship, Sir.”

  “A ship.”

  “Yes, Sir. A Mortek cruiser.”

  “A Mortek cruiser.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “How did you come by a Mortek cruiser?”

  “We captured it, Sir.”

  “Who’s ‘we’?”

  “Griffin, Gazelle and the Stingers.”

  “And you are going to give this to me.”

  “With conditions, Sir.”

  “You have got to be kidding, Marston. If you have a Mortek cruiser, under the Federacy War Act, it is the property of the Federacy. Hand it over.”

  “I’m trying to work with you here, Vice-Admiral. No doubt you have heard of us throwing the Mortek out of Tolimar.”

  “We picked up chatter. But, for our safety, we have not been in contact with any other groups.”

  “So, you have remained isolated.”

  “And safe, Marston.”

  “We need to talk.”

  “You need to give me that Mortek Cruiser.”

  “Um, Vice-Admiral, may I have a moment?”

  “What, Captain?”

  “In private?”

  Weiskoff turned his back on Krag and his group, then marched to the rear of his own, closely followed by Captain Brewer and Lieutenant Clarke. After a time, the three returned to stand in front of Krag.