Shadow of the Blue Ring (43 page)

Both sides were forming up into battle positions. The alliance fleet was spreading out, creating a staggered formation to mitigate the damage from any large Al’cari cruisers that came their way while the Al’cari and Lataka themselves were continuing to hold a defensive formation around the planet. As soon as Juarez and Raviano gave them the signal, they would be ready to move. Without warning, there was a beeping from the ship’s proximity alarms, there was something else out there.

“What’s going on?”

“I’m detecting multiple signals heading in our direction, sir,” said Elena, “approximately ninety seconds out. Wow… I’m picking up over three hundred signals, whatever this force is, it’s massive.”

“Please tell me it’s not more Al’cari?”

“No, this isn’t the Al’cari or the Lataka,” Kalmar said, a worried tone in his voice as he looked at the enormous mass of signals heading in their direction on Ivanov’s tactical console, “its my people… it’s the imperial fleet of Adean…”

Right on cue, a mass of Adean ships came flying out of hyperspace right behind the alliance fleet, lead by an exceptionally large and grand-looking cruiser, a class above even Kalmar’s own ship. With the masses of smaller scout vessels and their mid-level cruisers to make up the numbers, it was a truly immense force. James only hoped that this was not a show of aggression by Kalmar’s people, they already had one major conflict that needed dealing with, they did not need a second one right now.

“Kalmar, you Ok?”

“That ship leading the fleet is the senate battlecruiser,” Kalmar had gone a shade of pale almost matching that of Ansare, “that is chairman Gera’s ship. The senate does not take part in such matters unless all of Adean has gone to war against a single enemy. This is bad.”

“Your leaders already stated that they had no hostile intentions towards us,” said James, “surely they can’t be here for a fight, not when we’re so close to the Al’cari base.”

“This was before we took the Shadow Bringer from Sharstrom and I deserted the fleet,” said Kalmar, “after everything that we have done, I have no idea how the senate will look upon this course of action that we have taken. I have no idea how they will react to my actions either.”

“Well the Adean fleet is not assuming any kind of battle position,” said Ivanov, “I would assume that they will at least want to talk to us before making their move one way or another.”

“Then hail them and lets see what they have to say for themselves,” said James, “the fleet will begin their attack on the Al’cari base at any moment, the sooner we sort this out, the better.”

James sat himself in the captain’s chair, ready to speak with the chairman of the senate of Adean once more, only in very different circumstances this time. Kalmar shied away from view slightly but he was going to have to face his leaders sooner or later and now would be as good a time as any. Elena brought up the view-screen, connecting them to the senate battlecruiser, there was chairman Gera before them once more, kitted out in his senate robes, looking terribly out of place wearing them on the bridge of a highly advanced battleship.

“I had a feeling I had not seen the last of you, captain James Tavarez,” said Gera, his tone neither angry, nor overly welcoming, “I see your leaders did indeed elect to send in the fleets to try to deal with the Hunters. Brave but not particularly advisable.”

“I tried everything I could to stop them, chairman Gera,” James made his case, “unfortunately our leader would not listen. I promise you, it is necessary this time though.”

“So I have seen,” said Gera, “you and your crew have indeed found the missing pieces of the legendary Shadow Bringer. Now what could you possibly want to achieve by coming all the way out here to the heart of Hunter territory with the remaining pieces of the weapon? Perhaps you wish to assemble it and then detonate it?”

“I’m sorry we went against your wishes,” said James, “but there was only so long that this thing could remain hidden from the Al’cari. We did what we did to protect our people and also to help yours too.”

“Of course, of course,” said Gera, “and I believe that the help you have received from a certain captain Kalmar would have been invaluable in this quest.”

Kalmar did not want to make eye contact with Gera, he looked too ashamed of his actions to even want to look at the leader of his people. It was as if he was expecting some very serious reprimands from those above him in the fleet once he returned to them although James knew nothing of Adean law and what Kalmar may potentially face on his return.

“Captain Kalmar did what he had to do to protect his people,” James attempted to defend Kalmar’s actions, “he has been a considerable help to this crew and we could not have found the missing pieces of the weapon without him.”

“I do not doubt that any of his actions were done with the interests of his people in mind,” said Gera, “even if he did break every law that our people live by in doing so.”

“Lord Gera…” Kalmar began, “. . . I know my actions went against the code of our people and I know what I did was…”

“Do not apologise to me, Kalmar,” Gera dismissed him, “you and captain Tavarez started this, now you must go and finish it. Whatever trials or judgements you may face for what you have done can wait until we are done here. Captain Tavarez, your fleet is not well equipped enough to deal with the full force of the Hunter fleets. The Adean imperial fleet will cover and assist you as you make your approach to the planet below. You put that weapon together, you arm it, you blow it up and you send these Hunter bastards back into whatever black hole they crawled out of. Now go, that’s an order.”

“We will do, lord Gera,” James could not believe what he was hearing, neither could Kalmar. James had feared the worst when he had seen the Adean fleet following them all the way out to the heart of the Blue Ring but in the end it had all worked out for the best. Instead of trying to take possession of the Shadow Bringer as James had suspected they might, they had offered the support of their entire fleet in a move that would change the course of the battle dramatically.

“I did not see that coming,” Kalmar said, almost in shock at what he had just seen, as the Adeans closed the channel, “I thought we were done for. Gera must have finally seen the light and realised what he and the rest of my people needed to do.”

“I’m just glad your people have finally wised up,” said James, “and now I think it’s time to grant his request. Lets give the fleet the signal, we have a battle win…”

A flare from the Evening Star told the rest of the fleet that they were ready. The alliance fleet, joined by the Adeans, advanced forwards towards the Al’cari and the Lataka ships. As soon as the Al’cari began to move their cruisers, the alliance fleet broke formation, just as they had planned, and began to draw them away, doing their utmost to stay out of their firing line. A gap was soon forming in the middle of the defensive line, they just needed to wait a few more seconds for it to widen.

“Ok, everyone get to the flyer,” James said as he jumped up from his seat, “Isha, the chair is yours, everyone else, lets go kick these Al’cari and Lataka out of the region. Lets end this right now!”

Isha took over James’s place in the captain’s chair as the Evening Star darted forwards into the gap in the enemy line. James lead the rest of the crew down to the flyer at running pace as the ship surged forward towards the enemy stronghold. The ship was rocked a few times but from the feel of it, the hits were only minor and the Evening Star would be dealing out plenty of damage on it’s way through the enemy fleet. The Shadow Bringer was already loaded onto the flyer and the engineering teams had also taken their places on board too. It was a tight squeeze but the Mantis flyer had four times the capacity of a normal shuttle, they were all able to fit.

The hangar bay doors opened. From the cockpit of the flyer, James could see several transport ships following them through the gap. They would have ground support from the Suran, Voronian and Churian militaries once they reached the ground and they would attempt to cover James’s crew as they escorted the engineering teams to the site where the Shadow Bringer was being held. As soon as they were clear of the battle, the Evening Star would drop it’s shields and let them out, it was just a matter of seconds away. Melina was strapped in and ready to fly them to the surface the moment they were clear. As soon as they got the signal from the bridge, the ground assault on the Al’cari base could begin.

Chapter
Eighteen

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Puzzle

With the order from the bridge, Melina hit the acceleration and sent them soaring out of the hangar bay and as fast as they could towards the Al’cari base on the nearby planetoid. The fleet’s other carrier ships had also released their drop-ships and they were in hot pursuit of the flyer, ready to drop their soldiers and war machines on the ground to support James and his team as they tried to take the Al’cari base. Lataka ships had been attempting to block the path through to the base but the Adean fleet was quick to move in and distract them, allowing them the time they needed to get clear. With the battle fading into the distance behind them, James focused on what was in front of them, a large built up area on the surface of the planetoid, close to it’s equator.

“There seems to be some kind of atmospheric shield around the base,” Melina observed from the readings on the flyer’s sensors, “we’re going to have to land pretty close to the base, if we land outside the shield we’ll suffocate, the planet doesn’t have any of it’s own atmosphere.”

“Just avoid any air defences that they might have and get us on the ground,” said James, “we’ll worry about their defensive capabilities on the ground once we’re down there. Everyone be ready, they’ll likely come out shooting so we’ll need to do the same. Wait for the other alliance transports to land before we make our move, we’ll need them to cover us as we approach the base.”

“We’re ready, don’t you worry,” Saavoy said confidently, “besides, I owe these guys a rematch from before. There is a little matter of pride to sort out along the way.”

“Just don’t go out of your way to get yourself into trouble,” Morelli glared at him, “I almost lost you once, don’t go trying to get yourself killed again.”

“Yeah, whatever you say,” Saavoy sighed, “I still owe them one though and if they get too close, I’ll show them a thing or two.”

“Just stay focused on the job,” James reminded them all, “once we’re down, we need to escort Connolly and the rest of the engineering teams to the centre of the base where they’re keeping the main piece of the Shadow Bringer. We have to ensure that they all get there in one piece and that they have the time to assemble the weapon.”

Melina took the flyer lower and lower towards the surface of the planetoid, heading for the Al’cari base, the rest of the alliance forces right behind them. Several of the base’s air defence guns came to life, filling the air with bright red bolts of energy, Melina doing her very best to dodge and weave through them. A few unlucky alliance transports were hit and shot out of the sky but the vast majority managed to make it through the atmospheric barrier and were able to land just inside it. Once down, the Suran, Voronian and Churian transports began to offload their forces. The Surans had brought a number of their powerful raptor walkers as well as half a dozen of their fearsome behemoth tanks, the Churians had unloaded a small legion of their Arkids, lead by several powerful Arkons while the Voronians had provided much of the manpower with a large division of soldiers carrying heavy weapons and artillery, lead by one of their enormous juggernaut hovertanks.

“Wait for the alliance forces to get into position before we disembark,” James said to his crew as they waited for their signal, “as soon as the entrance is clear, we’ll follow in behind that juggernaut and it will cover us.”

Lataka soldiers were exiting the base in their dozens, taking up defensive positions around the entrances, ready to attempt to repel any invading forces from entering. Both sides opened fire at the same time, however the Lataka rifles were insufficiently powerful to inflict any damage on the armoured Suran war machines. The Behemoths and the Raptors took the front line, their forward firepower smashing into the Lataka defensive positions, blasting through and scattering them back towards the base entrance.

“Ok, we’ve got an opening, lets go!” James quickly ordered the team to make their move as the Behemoth tanks overwhelmed the Lataka position. The flyer’s loading ramp descended and the team made their way out onto the surface of the planetoid, all of them except Melina who stayed behind with the flyer, ready to come and extract them once the weapon was armed. She wasn’t overjoyed about the prospect but she knew that it was what she needed to do.

The individual pieces of the Shadow Bringer had all been attached to mobility devices that would carry them to the site, the engineers simply needed to direct and control them. It was just as well, they were incredibly heavy and moving them manually was not a simple task. James lead the team forward and they fell in line with the rest of the ground forces as they began to mass outside of the main gate into the vast Al’cari compound. The gate through the main compound wall did not look particularly sturdy, despite the Lataka making an attempt to seal it behind them. James was not going to be complacent though, they would face far more than just a few dozen Lataka once inside.

“Bring down the gates!”

The Behemoth tanks opened fire, their large laser batteries smashing down the large metal doors into the base with just a few well places shots. With the way now open for them, they pressed forwards, the Behemoths and Raptors leading the way, the Churian Arkids and Arkons close behind them with the soldiers of each of the three races following in behind, using their armoured war machines to cover their approach. The alliance force made it’s way through the gates and into the main base compound. Past a large open area was a huge mass of buildings, factories and military barracks. The buildings themselves were not carrying any kind of heavy interior defences but it was clear to see that a large number of Lataka soldiers were making their way out from the main complex, heavily armed and armoured, carrying artillery and small war machines of their own. Among them were a fair number of tall, slender Al’cari warriors, leading their less impressive allies into battle.

“There is no way we’ll be able to get the Behemoths past those buildings, they’re too big,” Ansare noted as he observed the battlefield, “once they’ve covered our way in, it’ll just be us and the other foot soldiers who will head for the Shadow Bringer.”

“That complicates things,” said James, “Ok, we’ll follow behind the juggernaut until we reach cover enough to keep us out of the direct line of fire. From there, it looks like we’re fighting our way through by ourselves. Kalmar, can you get a location on the Shadow Bringer?”

“I’m scanning for it now,” said Kalmar, “the signal is faint though, the Al’cari must be trying to block it from us. From what I can tell, it’s directly in front of us, about two kilometres from our current position but I can’t get an exact location on it from here.”

“We’ll just have to get closer then,” said James, “Ok, everyone move forwards. Stay behind the juggernaut and lets move, we need to get out of the open and away from the line of fire.”

The Voronian Juggernaut pressed forward, keeping James and his team covered from the incoming Lataka fire. It’s large guns, more powerful than even those of a Suran Behemoth, pounded at the Lataka and Al’cari soldiers that were trying to cut off their path towards the base interior. All around them, the two sides, the Al’cari and Lataka and the alliance forces had met in the middle and were locked in a titanic struggle for control of the compound. The Al’cari soldiers were the biggest threat to the alliance force, their mobility, strength and proficiency in close combat was giving them an edge over even the highly trained and focused Voronian soldiers and they were inflicting a fair number of casualties. They were, however, having a little more trouble overcoming the legions of Arkids that were now moving forward to engage them. The Arkids had been vastly upgraded since James had last seen them in combat and they were now proficient at dealing with enemies at close quarters by using blades down the side of their four legs that they could use to deflect Al’cari weapons and strike them down in close combat.

James, meanwhile, was simply focused on getting inside the base. It was just a few hundred meters to an entrance that they could use to get inside the complex, they just needed to stay behind the Juggernaut a little longer. The Al’cari had seemingly realised what they were trying to do and were breaking through the middle of the battlefield to intercept them. A group of Arkids had blocked their path and they took several of them down as they approached but one Al’cari, the blue stripe on it’s armour letting them know it was a captain, dodged past two Arkids and took a third one down by cutting through its leg joints with it’s blade. It quickly headed towards the group and towards Connolly and the engineering teams but Saavoy was ready, he drew his own blade and sprang forward, his agility matching that of the Al’cari warrior. He parried it’s swing and, unlike the previous encounter, was ready for it’s counter-swing, jumping back and dodging it’s attack.

“Stand aside Jaiytid,” the Al’cari said, “the weapon belongs to us, hand over the pieces or we will take them from you by force.”

“You want it, you’ll have to go through me,” Saavoy shot back at it, readying himself for another attack.

“And you’ll have to go through me too,” Kyrakian stepped forward, his own blade drawn. It was unclear whether he was trying to compete with Saavoy for the role of the best at swordplay or he was simply making a statement that Vulians and Malorians did not have to stand apart so much. Regardless, the two of them stood between the Al’cari captain and the Shadow Bringer.

“Get that thing into the base! We’ll handle this,” Saavoy ordered to the rest of the group. James lead the team forwards while Saavoy and Kyrakian readied themselves to face the Al’cari captain. The Al’cari made it’s attack with blinding speed, straight towards Saavoy who’s own reflexes were sharp enough to counter the blow and deflect it just inches from his body. The captain made a second attack in his direction but this time Kyrakian stepped in, blocking it’s attack while Saavoy took the extra second to compose himself and strike his blade across the back of the Al’cari captain’s leg, sending it off balance and reeling backwards. It’s armour prevented the blow from being crippling but it’s movement was definitely slowed. Kyrakian sent it onto the defensive, sending a fierce thrust towards it’s chest, forcing it to block the attack. As the Al’cari went to counter, Saavoy intercepted the blow, allowing Kyrakian to dodge and strike a blow across it’s other leg, this time bringing it to it’s knees. With the enemy down, Kyrakian went for a finishing blow, which the Al’cari captain made a desperate attempt to block but in doing so only made itself vulnerable to Saavoy who found a weak spot in the armour with a powerful thrust, skewering the Al’cari captain through the chest. Drawing back his blade, Saavoy let the Al’cari fall to the floor, gasping for it’s life.

“You have no idea what your actions will mean for my people,” came the faint voice of the dying Al’cari with it’s last breaths, “we only wish to save our race, to survive. If you destroy the weapon here, my people are doomed.”

“You brought this on yourself, Al’cari,” Kyrakian shot back at it, “you attacked us first, you killed our people, you allowed these Lataka to murder and mutilate hundreds of innocent people. This was your war from the start and you dragged us into it.”

“We never wanted this,” the Al’cari gasped, “we never wanted it to turn out this way. All we wanted was something which we could trade for freedom from our masters. Now… we are doomed to fail… we…”

The Al’cari fell silent. Whatever their actions had intended, they had lead to this moment and they had provoked a battle that had drawn every alliance race, as well as the Vulians and the Adeans, into it. They had been left with little choice but to do what they were attempting to do now, destroy the Shadow Bringer so that it could never be used on any alliance worlds. Saavoy and Kyrakian quickly fell back in with the rest of the group who were now barely a hundred meters from reaching the base complex. The Voronian Juggernaut and the remaining Arkids continued to protect them as they made their way forward but their numbers were slowly being thinned out and the Juggernaut was becoming a magnet for enemy fire and it was taking a beating.

“Ok, we’re clear, move it!”

They had reached the complex. James ushered the teams inside as fast as he could, Julio, Kosare and Ansare leading their way in, while the rest of the team covered them from the outside. Just as the last of them made it in, two stray rockets from the Lataka line struck the Juggernaut, crippling it’s engine and sending it crashing to the ground, it’s impressive defences finally succumbing to the weight of enemy fire. It had done it’s job though, it had protected them long enough to get them inside the base, they now had enough cover to move safely without heavy armoured support. The interior of the base looked like some kind of enormous power station, one which would likely be generating a portion of the immense energy needed to power the atmospheric generator.