Retribution (20 page)

“Keep up the good work Martin. Make sure you signal Niku before we leave. They need to have those provisions ready when we arrive.”

“Will do.”

Aubrey made a quick tour of the ship. Most of the crew were busy. But she appreciated how Manuel had ensured most of the arrangements had been finalised last night. She wasn’t sure how popular he was with the crew but he certainly was efficient. She ran into him in the hangar. He was doing his own last minute inspection.

“Looking good, Manuel” she said.

“Yes it is Maam” he replied without diverting his eyes from their scan for any unsecured gear. He turned to face her and with a smile added “Everything will be ready for take-off.”

She entered the command centre and saw Alice looking busy. “What are you doing Alice?” asked Aubrey.

“Polaris HQ has asked me to transfer the full set of scans from yesterday” advised Alice.

“Did they say why?”

“Something about cross referencing them with another scan they plan to do today. They were most insistent that I transfer these before we leave.”

“OK, carry on.” Aubrey went over to Tola’s workstation. She was busy checking the flight plan. Aubrey looked over her shoulder. Tola turned and welcomed her boss with a smile. She pointed to the estimated time of arrival – ie 1400 13 June.

“I still can’t believe this” said Tola “It’s going to take a while to get used to it.”

“But it’s a nice adjustment to have to make.”

“Yes, very nice indeed.”

“You have the watch, don’t you Tola?” asked Aubrey.

“That’s right.”

“Make sure everyone is ready a good five minutes beforehand. I’ll be back then.”

Chapter 8. Nova Vista 0845, 11 June

“So there you have it” said Phil after explaining to Alex, Dave and Rihan what happened last night regarding the Arcwright satellite. Rudi and Jenny were also present along with Cmdr Lena Janko, their tech expert.

“Sir” said Alex “I have to agree with Admiral Holland. We should shut this down.”

“Believe you me I know where you are coming from” said Phil “but I’ve given this a lot of thought. I believe the rogan are manipulating our signals for a specific purpose and that is to locate and destroy the Resolute. Picture it. They were on a roll a month ago and then a single ship, the Resolute, comes along and destroys their 10
^th
Fleet. It possesses a capability they can’t match in a stand up fight. So they plan to take it out with a pre-emptive strike. All they need really is the location, which I think they will have soon.”

“I estimate a week for them to get that intel” continued Phil.

“No Sir” interrupted Dave. “Remember what Felis said about how they can send comms a lot faster than us.”

“Right. OK.” Phil pondered for a moment. “That just brings the timings forward. Let’s say they know in a few days and let’s assume that they commit straight away. Well I reckon that with their warp capability, they could be here in two weeks. Don’t you?”

“Shit” said Jenny.

Dave ignored Jenny’s expletive and just nodded. He couldn’t fault the calculations.

“So what, we rally the Fleet here asap?” asked Alex.

“If we do that and that rogan device on our sat is still running then they will know we are onto them. If we shut it down, then you can bet they will know we know. So we need to leave it up and find another method for marshalling the force to defeat them.”

“Well it depends on what they send” said Alex.

“What do you think?” asked Phil.

“I haven’t really thought about it Sir” responded Alex. “They know Polaris is a major system. They will have had access to the COP data and know that right now we have, what 6 caps and 10 frigates overhead. They’ll either bring in some stealth craft, if they have one, or they’ll bring in the kitchen sink. At least twice the force they had in their 10
^th
Fleet.”

“They’ll probably want to hedge against us reinforcing” suggested Rihan “so it maybe even more.”

“That assumes they can martial them in time” said Dave. “This is all coming on the heels of the loss of their 10
^th
Fleet. We just don’t know what their available resources are.”

“But we can be sure that they will bring a force they think is capable of overwhelming our current ships overhead plus a margin for contingencies” said Phil. “I don’t think they’ll try a clandestine attack. They don’t have the stealth capability and, let’s face it, they’re not going to blend in here.” Phil smiled at his own wit. A few of the others responded with a lame smile.

“So we need to get some help here. The only force big enough and close enough is the Ark Royal Group on Beta Phi” advised Rudi. “If we can’t use our comms then we have to physically send someone there. That will take at least a week and another to get them back. That could be too late.”

“The Ark Royal group, alone, may not be enough” said Jenny. “Surely, we should shut this device down and use our comms to rally forces from Earth.”

“They will know and abort” advised Dave.

“How? They will be in warp” countered Jenny.

“They have the means to send comms to ships in Warp” said Dave. “That was in my report.”

“Right Sir. Sorry” said Jenny. “It’s been busy here. I haven’t had the chance yet to read it fully.”

“That’s OK. But look” said Dave “they will probably stage somewhere, especially if they have a really big force.”

“Chelora” suggested Rihan.

“Most likely” agreed Phil.

“We could ambush them in Chelora” suggested Jenny.

“What with?” asked Rudi.

“The Phantom” suggested Jenny “It’s the only serviceable craft capable of getting there in time.”

“No not the Phantom” said Phil curtly “she is already committed to another mission.”

“What’s more important than this?” asked Rudi.

“I can’t tell you that, not now. You need to trust me on this” said Phil. “We need to defeat this threat without the Phantom.”

“Can the Resolute be made ready?” asked Rudi.

“Not in time to get to Chelora” said Dave “It should be ready on the 20th.”

“Forget the ambush” said Phil. “It’s a longshot anyway. But the Phantom could help us get word to the Ark Royal a lot sooner.” Phil looked at the time and realised he had only an hour before the Phantom took off. He couldn’t trust a signal. No, it had to be physically conveyed.

“Dave get out to the fighter base. Get down to Tumos before the Phantom takes off at 1000 and tell Aubrey she is to convey my order for the Ark Royal Group to warp back to Polaris.”

Dave was caught surprised. “Well don’t just sit there Dave” said Phil. “On your bike and while you’re there let Mani know I will be sending ground forces his way to bolster his defences.”

“Right Sir” said Dave recovering. He grabbed his gear and headed out the door at the trot.

“Use my buggy” yelled Alex “Bay 33.”

“Thanks” yelled back Dave from out in the corridor. He got to Bay 33 in the car park below in less than two minutes. He was puffing already. ‘I’m getting too old for this’ he said to himself. A minute later he was revving the buggy out along Westmoreland Boulevard. He ignored the lights at the first intersection and was lucky to get across without an accident.

With his blood pressure rising he accelerated as the road opened up two kilometres out of the Fleet base.

“Li” he hailed “meet me at the control tower I need to get to Tumos in a hurry.”

“Right O Sir” said Li. He didn’t bother to ask why. He could tell his boss was in a flap. Li immediately went about arranging for one of the training Lightnings, the ones with a dual cab, to be made ready.

Dave glanced at the time on the dash. It was 0907 when he pulled onto Thunderbolt Avenue leading to the fighter base. The buggy was doing over 120 kph in what was supposed to be an 80K zone.

He braked heavily and pulled up at the gate. The guard frowned at him until he recognised his badge of rank. “I need to get there NOW” yelled Dave as he pointed to the control tower. The guard waved him through.

Dave gunned it again and pulled up outside the tower where Li was waiting.

Li threw the helmets and a spare flying suit in the back and jumped in. He pointed to the apron about 500m away where two lightnings were standing.

“Are you the pilot Li?” asked Dave.

“I thought it best Sir. These young ones don’t have too much respect for their elders when up top” said Li.

“Well Li we don’t have time for respect right now. We need to go like the clappers.”

Li helped Dave on with the flight suit and fitted his helmet and connected him up in the rear seat. “Now Sir, this is your intercom. That’s your ejection release – don’t touch it. In fact don’t touch anything, bar the intercom, and we’ll be good.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“You ever flown in a fighter before Sir?”

“Only in my dreams Li.”

“You’ll love it. Here’s the sick bag. Keep it handy.”

Dave looked up at him “thanks for the vote of confidence.”

Li just smiled as he shut tight the canopy.

A minute later Li was ready and the engines engaged. Dave could hear Li going through his clearance with Control. But he was focussed elsewhere. The sun was dazzling his eyes. After a little trial and error he got the visor to filter the glare. Just in time for Li to engage the vertical thrusters that lifted the craft off the ground. At 20m Li gunned the main thrusters. The craft hurtled forward over the runway but not for long. Li forced it into a very steep climb and Dave felt like he had left his stomach behind.

He was usually good with motion. He recalled how as a recruit they had been taken on what was his first ever battle shuttle flight. The instructor had warned them all about motion sickness and impressed on them the need to keep their sick bag handy. He smiled as he remembered that the instructor was the first person to puke. ‘Dickhead’ he thought.

This time, with the Lightning fighter pulling many more G’s and his stomach still trying to catch up with him, he grabbed the bag and struggled to open it. By the time he had done so, the Lightning levelled off at 50km above the surface of the planet and the gastronomical crisis had passed. Dave put the bag back and began admiring the view. It was beautiful. There was a crystal clear sky with scattered high level clouds, all below him now. They were racing at 9.5 times the speed of sound. Dave had only just got used to the perspective when Li began the descent.

“We’ll be down on the deck in no time Sir” advised Li. With the craft now in a relatively steep descent, Dave could see the desert landscape below. “Ahead and to port you can see the Bala Kush” said Li “I’ll reduce the angle in a minute before our final approach into Tumos. She’s coming up almost straight ahead now.”

Dave stared at the great mountains of the Bala Kush. From his perch on high they looked like small hills.

“Two hundred K Sir. Final Approach coming up” advised Li. He switched channels and began his handshake with Tumos control, all the time while checking his trim on the glide line. Li also took the opportunity to ask that Aubrey meet them on the deck.

They decelerated fast and for a moment Dave thought he might yet need that sick bag. Li banked right and began his final approach. The mountains were on their left and they were flying below the crests.

With the slopes rushing past at breathtaking speed Dave was exhilarated. He felt gratitude well up inside him. He was so grateful for this experience - one that he had once dreamed of doing full time. Now he was finally savouring the taste.

Li was easing off the main thrusters. The craft slowed dramatically and the angle of attack presented Dave with a view of the Tumos runway in the distance. He could just make out the shape of a craft on the apron. He was fascinated by it. As its image enlarged in his view he found himself admiring its contoured lines. ‘What a beauty’ he said to himself.

“Next to that ship Li” he hailed.

“Right O. Sir”

Dave physically jerked when Li engaged the retros but the shock wasn’t too bad and Li soon engaged the vertical thrusters. They landed  within 100m of the Phantom. It was 0951.

Li helped Dave disconnect and soon assisted him down onto terra firma. Aubrey came jogging over and soon began to sweat under the desert sun. Dave could see her perspiration.

“Sir?” asked Aubrey.

“Boy, am I glad we got to you in time” said Dave. Aubrey looked puzzled. “Some interesting developments Aubrey” and Dave explained the latest developments and Yomoto’s supplementary orders.

Aubrey did not like what she heard. An avalanche of danger was about to smash onto Polaris. Brennon would be in harm’s way and she would be heading in the opposite direction. “Sure Sir” said Aubrey “I can deliver those orders but shouldn’t we then come back to help in the defence?”

“No Aubrey. You need to continue with your mission. No matter what happens over Polaris the Council will want this directive prosecuted and we have to stop that.”

“It might not matter to you but it matters deeply to me” said Aubrey. Her dander was up. “How can I go on knowing that Brennon, you, Rihan, everyone I hold dear could be killed and yet I didn’t lift a finger to help.”

“The greater good, Aubrey. The greater good.”

“That’s not fair Sir” she said barely restraining her anger.

“I know” said Dave “but it’s true none the less. It’s your burden, your duty. Humanity needs you to do this Aubrey.”

“Oh fuck humanity” she spat out. “I’m not like you. I need someone tangible to love and to hold. I’ve been looking for so long and finally found him and he could be fried before I return. Sure billions may or may not survive because of what I do but I’ll have lost the one that matters to me.”

Dave stared into her wild eyes. Her chest was heaving. He had known Aubrey for almost three years now and had never seen her like this. But he knew that at the root of her emotion was her love for his brother.

“I’ll look after Brennon. You complete this mission.”

Aubrey stared without speaking for a good minute. Her breathing was steadying. “All right but I hold you responsible Dave Warner.”