OMEGA Allegiance (20 page)

As we sped safely away, Garrett turned his attention to the captive being held down by Joni and Dovit. After several taps on his arm pad, the translation app started. Moments later he began to speak to the woman in her native tongue.

"Hey. First let me tell you who we are. Those ships back there that are chasing us, they are our enemy. They are your enemy as well, which kind of makes you your friend. Now, if we let go of you, will you behave long enough for us to talk?"

The woman snarled as she looked up at me. "You are the enemy! I have seen that savage face before! And these two! They were the first to attack my planet!"

Garrett looked back with a snicker. What? Him? He's probably the least savage among us."

I removed my helmet. "Look at my skin. The others, they were green. I am gray. The Greens are my mortal enemy as well."

The woman began to settle. "Who are you people and why did you kill my friends if you are not the enemy?"

Dovit crossed his arms. "You were trying to steal our ship! He tried to talk to you but your people fired on us!"

I held up my hand. "No need to be combative. What is your name?"

The woman replied, "Karrissa."

I continued, "That planet down there. Were you a native of that planet?"

Karrissa nodded as she pointed at Dovit. "I was, until they showed up! They just showed up one day with a small armada, demanding our surrender. We fought back!"

I looked at Dovit. "Is this true? Were your people the first to arrive here?"

Dovit squirmed uncomfortably. "I can't say. That was not the story we were told. We were told that our ambassador was attacked and savagely killed. War was declared shortly after."

Karrissa shook her head. "We attacked your fleet in defense! Two transport shuttles carrying men, women, and children to this moon were attacked and destroyed by your fleet without any provocation! Fifteen hundred of our citizens perished! And your ambassador had the audacity to demand our surrender!"

Dovit frowned. "I can't believe that. We were told differently."

I again held up my hand in an attempt to lower the level of tension. "The planet below, we call it Doomlight. Is that your name for it?"

Karrissa nodded. "It is. We have seventeen thousand years of recorded history there. It is our world."

She looked angrily at Dovit. "And we will not give it up so long as even one of us lives!"

Dovit moved over to sit in the copilot's chair. "The rumors are true then. I believe you. I believe her. Our politicians and military leaders forced this war upon them. Those three methane planets were the prize."

Karrissa spat. "If you wanted to mine methane we would have happily allowed it. We have it in abundance down on our planet as well as in this system. We wouldn't have even asked for anything in return. We do not own those planets, only Doomlight."

I squatted in front of her. "When did the Grumar arrive?"

Karrissa pointed at Garrett and Joni. They were the next to show. They at first promised help and they delivered. The Moddle had landed troops on the surface. They were winning. When the Alliance came along, the balance shifted in our favor. We were winning. That's when they stabbed us in the back!"

Joni pulled her head back as her eyes widened. "We did what?"

Karrissa continued. "With the victories we were experiencing, we let your people in close. You were walking side by side with us when the coup happened. Over the course of two bloody days, you killed or imprisoned our entire leadership. You claimed they were conspiring with the enemy and the people needed to be protected. Once you took control, the fighting intensified."

Karrissa pointed towards me. "That's when your green people showed up. As if we needed more aliens fighting to take control of us. The Greens were savage and brutal. They slaughtered tens of thousands of fighters from both of your camps in the first week alone. They too promised us our freedom back. After it was apparent that they would easily accomplish their goals, they turned on us as well.

"That moon base was our central command when the wars all started. The Moddles took control of it first. The Alliance second. When the Grumar came they killed everyone, destroying the dome and most of the buildings underneath. My friends and I managed to stay hidden, and survived the bombardment and ground assault. We've been living on the food supplies that remained. They last a long time in the cold, oxygen free, dead of space.

"Anything that has happened since that time, I couldn't say."

Dovit spoke. "That explains what happened when I arrived. The Grumar had already taken full control. We were told, by others who we believed were our own people, to land the troops for a fight in that great valley. As soon as we landed we were taken captive by the Grumar."

I shook my head.

Joni asked, "What are you thinking?"

I replied, "What I'm thinking is that we still don't know anything about the Grumar or the Greens. We know they are in control, but we don't know anything else. The rest of the cities on that planet, they might all be empty. Our troops and Dovit's troops, they may have been taken off the planet for all we know. Other than those killed down there on the battlefield, the rest might still be alive for all we know."

Garrett sighed. "Tell me you're not thinking what I think you're thinking."

I looked up. "If we are to advise the New Alliance on what to expect out here, we have to know what the Grumar are up to."

Garrett reached over and set the
Jess
to stop. "OK, first, there is no way I can operate this ship with five other people and these boxes all jammed in here if we are heading back. I need room. I need to be able to think and to operate this ship quietly. Voices, walking, inadvertently banging something around or even tearing open one of those supply boxes, sends vibrations through this hull. Those vibrations can be detected if the right equipment is used. And I have to assume you are talking about trying to grab a Grumar for interrogation purposes?"

I nodded. "We have to know. We cannot plan a sufficient response if we don't know what we are up against."

I took a deep breath. "We need to find Jack and the
Garmon
. Take us to where the portal opens. Jack will be waiting somewhere near there."

Garrett rubbed his chin. "You are assuming that Jack made it out of there."

"I am. If we are to learn what the Grumar are up to, we will need Jack."

Karrissa spoke: "OK. I told you who I was. I know who these two are, and I have a general idea of where they are from, a system about halfway between here and the nighttime feature we call the Barnlight nebula."

Dovit sat up. "You know of our home world's location?"

Karrissa smiled a crass smile. "Your people squeal just like everyone else if the right pain is applied."

Dovit's expression turned to one of worry. "Only a few knew the location of our worlds. They must have gotten to one of those."

Dovit grabbed my arm. "We must go there instead of through your portal! My people have to be warned!"

Joni patted Dovit on the shoulder. "You said yourself it would take six months to get there. If she knew about your home world three years ago, the Grumar knew about it too. It's very likely they have already gone there. And if so, your people know."

Dovit leaned back. "This is horrible."

Karrissa replied sarcastically, "Welcome to my world. You attacked us, now it's coming back to haunt you. How does it feel to think of your planet being destroyed and your people all dead or enslaved?"

I raised my hand. "OK, one thing I think we can agree upon is that everyone on this ship is on the same side for the moment. The real enemy is the Grumar and whatever it is they are up to. Dovit, your worlds may still be intact. And Karrissa, your people may still be in the other cities on that planet. We did see at least one family being taken away from a farm not far from the city we were kept in.

"And just so we are all of the same mind, we are heading to the portal where we hope to find Jack. Once that is done, Garrett and I will return in the
Jess
with a mission of grabbing a Grumar for interrogation. After that, we go back through to let the Alliance know what's really happening out here."

Dovit looked angrily in my direction. "And what of Tobik and I? What of our people?"

I raised both hands. "Please, let me finish. After giving the news to the Alliance, I will be coming back through the portal. Karrissa, we will attempt to find your people first. Dovit, we will then travel to your worlds so that you can be returned to your people. After that, I will remain out here. I have to know more about the Greens. How many are there? Are they a threat? Do my people need to prepare to once again fight our most feared enemy?"

Garrett shook his head. "Sounds like you are planning on saving the universe. I'm guessing you are going to need some help."

Joni chided in. "Yeah, we can't let him take that on all by himself. You can count me in as well."

The ride back to the portal was long. I used the time to quiz Karrissa about the Doomlighters and Dovit about the Moddles. Dovit was free with his information. Troops, ship types, the politics of his empire's leadership. His lack of a family. He had grown up in government care as an orphan. His life had been dedicated to his work, which is where his only friends existed. He had never taken a wife.

Tobik was the opposite. He had a large extended family and many friends. He had only achieved the rank of Commander after passing up several opportunities that would have brought promotions with them. His focus was on his family, the military had come second.

Karrissa was young, only out of her primary education when the Moddles first arrived. The Doomlighters had achieved space travel, but they had only had their first visit to a nearby star system the year before the wars began. They did not have a fleet of warships with which to defend themselves. The Moddles had easily taken control of their space.

Shortly after our arrival at the portal area, Garrett received a comm call from Jack. "Tell me the others are still alive!"

Garrett replied, "They are here, though we are crammed in here, so, I'd appreciate it if you could take them off my hands!"

Jack laughed. "We'll be there in a few minutes."

As the
Garmon
pulled alongside, Garrett piloted the
Jess
through her gravity wall and into the main docking bay. When the rampway dropped, Jack Carson was standing there with a smile.

Joni was the first down the ramp, with Raptor by her side. "Hello, Miss Salton."

Joni replied, "We are very glad to see you, Mr. Carson. Did any of the other ships manage to escape?"

Jack nodded. "Three. They are waiting at another location not far from here. The Adican called Jontik was among them. He has been extremely helpful at keeping order and calm. I'm sorry to say that probably only twenty thousand of the Adicans escaped. I don't know how they got that transport safely out of there, but they did."

Dovit and Tobik escorted Karrissa down the ramp. "I see you picked up some strays as well. Welcome to the
Garmon
."

Dovit and Tobik nodded as Karrissa looked around.

I replied, "This is Dovit and Tobik. They are our guests until this is all straightened out. Consider them the ambassadors from the Moddle Empire. They are who we were originally fighting."

Jack's demeanor changed to one of disgust. "I lost a lot of good friends to these people. Why are they here?"

I placed my hand on Jack's shoulder. "They are here to make peace. Neither of these two ever pulled a trigger on a weapon aimed at anyone we know. They came late to the war and were made immediately captive by the Grumar. This young lady is a native Doomlighter. Take these three and see that they are fed, given a change of clothes, and given quarters."

Jack held out his hand. "OK, let's have the weapons. You won't be needing them here."

Dovit withdrew. "I would prefer to keep mine if you don't mind."

Jack shook his head and gestured for the weapons. "I do mind. This is my ship, and as Captain I make the rules. Look around you. Do you see anyone else carrying weapons?"

Dovit reluctantly held out his laser pistol. Tobik followed.

Jack smiled. "Sergeant Holmes! Get these three fed and settled in quarters. They are ambassadors. Please treat them as such."

The sergeant saluted, escorting the others.

Dovit spoke. "Why is a sergeant on a ship?"

The Sergeant laughed as they turned to walk away. "I think you'll find our military style here is run a bit on the loose side. We aren't really official, so things can be a bit messy on the protocol front."

I looked at Jack. "Can you get us some help with moving some of those supplies off of the
Jess
. Garrett and I have to go back out."

Joni stepped in. "I'm going too."

I shook my head. "Sorry, two on that ship is already a crowd. We may end up with more than one Grumar if we are successful. You might spend the time with the Adicans. Fill them in on what has happened. They will want to be a part of any future effort to find and rescue their people."

Joni sighed. "Agreed. But the two of you better make your grab and get back here. I don't want to have to wonder if you're alive or not any longer than I have to."

I smiled. "I am glad you care. It's a trait that separates you from the likes of your uncle."

Joni frowned. "He cares. I think he just gets bad advice and is a little too prone to accept it. When we get back, maybe we can all talk some sense into him."

I took an hour to fill Jack in on our adventure. When the talk was over I walked back aboard the
Jess
, where Garrett was waiting.

"Are we all set?" I asked.

Garrett replied, "Supplies will last the two of us six months. Depending on how many passengers we pick up, that number drops accordingly. If you are ready, we can head out."

I nodded. "Make it so, Mr. Rourke."

The
Jess
was soon out of the docking bay and speeding away from the
Garmon
. The journey back to the Doomlight system passed quickly. Garrett maneuvered the
Jess
to come in from behind the methane covered planet nearest our target. Deep scans were run continuously. Garrett leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.