Solbidyum Wars Saga 9: At What Price (43 page)

“Make contact with Captain Padaran.  Order him to take several squads and transfer immediately to the Capitol Station to aid in the defense in the event of a breach.  Ming’s intent is to take over the government databases and either kill or capture any senators and Leaders that may still be there.  Tell Padaran to oversee everyone’s evacuation, shut down the computers and gates and get out.  Tell him to destroy the station if the Brotherhood doesn’t do it first.  The fleet we have there will have to hold them off until we arrive.”

Getting the
GLOMAR ROSA
back to Sector 1 with its escort ships and the portion of the First Fleet that I had taken to Plamos took nearly an hour.  This included travel time to the gates and then the travel from the nearest gates to the Capitol at Megelleon.  While we were underway, I received a surprise message.

“Admiral, a message is coming in for you from Andy,” Marranalis said in a confused tone.

“Put him through,” I said.

“Greetings, Friend Andy,” I said as soon as his image appeared on the vid screen.

“Greetings, Friend Tibby,” Andy said in return.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?” I asked, hoping it would be to offer us aid.

“We have observed events taking place near the Federation Capitol and we understand that you are also engaged in a major battle elsewhere.  It would be a disadvantage to the androids, should the Federation lose this war to the Brotherhood.  We therefore wish to offer our assistance in the battle you are fighting at Megelleon.”

“Your assistance will be greatly appreciated,” I responded.  Let me contact A’Lappe on the
NEW ORLEANS
and have him send you a set of nodes for a Cantolla Gate to match a launch tube gate here on the
GLOMAR ROSA
.  It will take several minutes.”

“We will wait, Friend Tibby,” Andy said with his usual expressionless face.

“Andy, how is it you are aware of this battle when you are so far from Federation territory?” I asked curiously.

“We have our ways.  It is in our best interests to monitor activities taking place throughout the universe,” he replied.

When we reached Megelleon, I expected to see a lot of enemy ships, but what I saw far exceeded my expectations.  The scene was overwhelming.  Thousands of ships, far in excess of what was at Plamos, filled the space around Megelleon and the Capitol Station.  In fact, this was by far the biggest fleet of enemy ships I’d ever seen, even greater than was seen at the battle of Glomar Rosa.

“Marranalis,” I said, skipping his title.  “Order ALL ships to the Capitol
immediately
.  We’re going to need everything we’ve got.”

As I spoke, I noticed dozens of ships descending to the planet.  They were obviously depositing infantry in the urban areas and at the critical power, water and industrial facilities.

“Put me in touch with Padaran immediately,” I ordered.

Moments later a confusing scene of motion appeared on my vid screen.

“Padaran here,” his panting voice responded.

“What’s going on there?” I asked.  “Where are you?  I can’t see you.”

“Sorry, sir,” Padaran said, “You’re getting the image from my body cam.  I don’t have time to adjust the camera to my face.”  Just as he said that someone jumped out from behind a wall and fired at him.  Immediately two shots blazed, one from Padaran’s left and one from his right, killing the assailant.

“Where are you?” I asked again.

“We’re on the Capitol Station, sir.  The enemy has managed to get troops through Cantolla Gates and onto the station.  We believe they must have captured one of the Cantolla Gate Stations.”  Two more shots were fired at Padaran from the balcony of a lobby he was passing through.  I saw him return fire but it was unclear whether the shot met its target.

I turned to Marranalis.  “Marranalis, broadcast an order for any non-essential Cantolla Gates that are still operating Federation-wide to be shut down immediately.”

I returned my attention to Padaran.  “Captain, what is your situation at the moment?” I asked.

“We’re trying to evacuate as many officials here as we can by using the hidden gates in the offices of the senators and Leaders.  At the moment, all public gates and other official gates are compromised.  I’ve established guards at the main gate hub here, but there are other gates that are still unsecured.  The enemy has taken the entire station by surprise.”

“Captain, Megelleon is under major attack.  The enemy is deploying their infantry planet-wide.  It’s a full-scale invasion.  I’m ordering any bases Federation-wide that are not under attack at the moment to mobilize half their men and resources to Megelleon to resist the assault.  As soon as the Leaders and senators are safe, get your teams out of there, destroy the Capitol Station if you can, and head to Megelleon.  I want you to take command of the ground troops and do what’s necessary to defend the planet.”

More exchange of fired interrupted the communication as Padaran and his troopers pressed forward through the facility.

“Understood, Admiral.  We’ll do our best,” he said.  Then I heard him say, “Lieutenant Reidecor, I need you to – ” just before the screen went blank.

So Reide was on the Capitol Station with Padaran and the station was under attack.  The station’s security had been breached and enemy troopers were aboard the station. 
How had things fallen apart so quickly?
I wondered.

“Admiral, the androids are arriving to join the battle as we speak,” said Marranalis.

“Good.  I hope there is enough of them to make a difference,” I said as my heart sank in my chest.  It seemed that the number of enemy ships was growing exponentially as I stared at the 3D hologram.  Even as our own ships continued to return from Plamos and the rest of the Federation fleets converged on the scene, it was clear we were still far outnumbered.  For every ship our PLABE weapons knocked out, three more appeared through a gate somewhere nearby to take its place.”

I watched in dismay as we were overwhelmed, one by one, by entire formations of enemy ships that targeted the RMFF shield of a single Federation ship until it was breached and then fired on it until it was destroyed.  My only prayer now was that the Senate members and Leaders aboard the Capitol Station would manage to make it to safety before the Capitol Station itself would be destroyed.

“Admiral, we’ve received confirmation that CGS-2 was captured nearly an hour ago.  Somehow the Brotherhood managed to get aboard and take control of an entire concourse.  They quickly replaced the gate nodes on a number of gates and brought through hundreds or troopers in seconds, much like they did on Tantella, after which they swept the remainder of the facility.  A small pocket of Federation troopers are still holding out in one wing, but the station itself is in the hands of the enemy.  Most of the civilian and non-essential gates across the Federation are now confirmed closed, however there are a few that are not communicating that may already have been captured.”

“So that’s how they got into the Capitol Station!  They must have breached the government gate levels to gain access to the secure Capitol Station Cantolla Gates.  They could have infiltrated any number of secured facilities by now!” I said as my heart sank even lower.  Was there any hope at all?

As I sat staring blankly at the 3D hologram of the battle, facing certain defeat, I noticed one particular fighter flying at incredible speeds and executing unbelievable maneuvers while knocking out Brotherhood fighters, warships and asteroid-ships with equal ease.  I wasn’t the only one who noticed this remarkable piloting.  Before long, nearly every officer and aid was surrounding the display, following the wake of destruction left in the fighter’s flight path.

“What ship is that?” I asked Marranalis.  “And who’s flying it?  Is it one of the androids or is it a Ruwallie Rasson?”

“Let me check, sir,” he said and then gave an order to one of the aides at a tracking console.  Minutes later, I heard him say, “Are you sure?  Confirm that data.”

“What is it?” I asked, as I saw the small blip in the 3D display weave between two Brotherhood asteroid-ships, taking them both out within seconds of each other.

“Is it one of the Ruwallie Rasson?”

“Uh, no, sir, the ship is the Nijang Fighter design, but it’s not a Ruwallie Rasson or an android pilot.”

“Well, who is it, then?” I asked, wondering why Marranalis wasn’t answering.

“Sir, it’s Lunnie.”

“What?!  I don’t understand!” I said, now completely confused.

“It’s your daughter, Lunnie, sir.  The ship is your Nijang Fighter prototype from the
NEW ORLEANS
.”

“But how?  Who is with her?  Lunnie can’t fly like that!”

“Well, sir, I’ve double-checked.  According to the instruments and sensors, Lunnie is the only one in the ship.  She appeared on the battle scene about eighteen minutes ago using a private ship gate at the estate shortly after the attack on Megelleon began.  She’s been blowing up one ship after the other ever since, almost faster than we can count them, sir.”

If that’s my Nijang fighter from the
NEW ORLEANS
, it has the fourth PLABE on it.  No wonder that everything she shoots at vanishes!”  The blip took another impossible turn and flew unbelievably close to another asteroid-ship before blowing it to bits.

“Can you zoom in closer and follow the ship from a uniform distance?” I asked.

“Yes, sir.  I can show you a few microsecond-delay view from her flank camera,” replied Marranalis as he nodded to one of his aides.  Seconds later, the 3D display split in two, one of which continued to show the entire battle scene, the other of which now followed Lunnie’s flight path from the left side as she maneuvered between and picked off the asteroid-ships and other enemy ships in the vicinity.  At one point she skimmed so close to the surface of one of the asteroids-ships, it seemed she would crash and be shredded in an instant.  Everyone in the War Room lurched in the same direction, as if making one collective evasive reflex.

“Where did she learn to fly like that?!”  I asked in amazement.  “And how did she get to the
NEW ORLEANS
to get the fighter?  Besides, it’s supposed to be coded so only Kala, myself and A’Lappe can access it.”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to ask Lunnie, sir.  I don’t have any answers for you.”

I couldn’t help holding my breath as she made a run at an unusually large asteroid-ship, while a formation of enemy fighters came at her head on, firing nonstop.  But Lunnie was unshakeable.  She dodged every shot and every ship with unbelievable skill.  At one point, it looked as though she was going to crash head-on into an enemy fighter, but at the last second, she rolled her ship and barely skimmed past it.  That enemy pilot surely had to have passed out from the fear.  Finally, gasps and cheers filled the War Room, as Lunnie unleashed the PLABE and sent the mammoth asteroid-ship into oblivion.

“Admiral,” said Marranalis, “Your daughter is going to set a new battle record for the most kills, if she keeps this up.  She’s taken out numerous fighters and at least nine asteroid-ships in the past twenty minutes.”

“Make that ten, Admiral,” called out one of the technicians at a control panel.  “She just vaporized another one.”

“Put me through to her,” I said.

Moments later, Lunnie’s image appeared on the central vid screen as seen from the control panel cam.  The ongoing succession of explosions lit up her face, while her eyes flashed from one monitor to the next as she sought out new targets and fired on them.

“By the stars, Lunnie, what in blazes are you doing?!” I demanded.

Lunnie’s eyes didn’t stop scanning the control screens as her hands flew over the console to select and fire on more targets.

“Uh, Dad, I’m a bit busy right now.”

I saw her hand slam down on the console right about where the firing button was located for activating the PLABE weapon.  At the same time, another asteroid-ship evaporated before me in the 3D hologram.

“I’ll call you back later,” she said calmly, and with that she disconnected the call.

I looked around the War Room to see the shocked faces of my staff.  Behind me, Marranalis chuckled.  “She reminds me of another Renwalt I know.”

“Oh, shut up!” I fumed.

Three more enemy fighters swooped toward Lunnie.  She had clearly been identified as a primary threat.  She fired off several shots, taking out more fighters ahead of her than I could count, and then, in a maneuver I couldn’t understand, she flipped her ship so it was now facing the opposite direction but still flying on the same course.  It was as though she had somehow pivoted the ship about its center, so it was now moving backwards under its own inertia.

“How did she do that?!” I exclaimed, just as she fired on the three ships that were pursuing her from behind.

“She used her nose and tail thrusters, one set aiming up and the other set aiming down, to pivot the ship about the central axis, while disengaging the GW drive unit at the same moment.  The ship’s momentum keeps it moving in the same direction,” explained Marranalis.  “It’s a very tricky maneuver.  I’ve only ever seen a few superior Ruwallie Rasson pilots and the androids pull it off.  If the thrusters aren’t coordinated and balanced perfectly, the ship will go into a tumble that’s hard to get out of.”