Total Betrayal (Deep Space Endeavor) (33 page)

______

              The Coalition and Enclave fleets were on their way to Polisia. They would be arriving in approximately six hours, and Jesse figured the aliens wouldn't be too far behind. Everything was ready. Josiah was in
Endeavor
coordinating with the three cloaked shuttles as to where they would each be placing mines after the enemy fleet was in position. Serge had the plasma cannons primed and ready. The fleet, including the modified cargo vessels, was ready in orbit within the planetary shield while the Hyperian Fleet was on the ground and wouldn't take off until the shield was within a few minutes of giving out. Jason and Irina were standing by at the planetary shield power stations with teams ready to switch out power sources when needed and each of the remaining six members of the military council had their decoy cargo ships slaved to a remote so they could be flown right into the enemy fleet before blowing up. They were as ready as they could be, but Jesse could feel the weight of the hopes and dreams of an entire planet on his back . Jesse was alone with his thoughts and it was shaping up to be a long six hours.
This is all on me
, he thought as he paced the control center like a man on a mission.
If Polisia is destroyed it's my fault. Why didn't I just turn myself in?  No, I can't think that way. Polisia would already be destroyed and someone has to stop Bliney and Lucien
. He continued pacing as he examined his own insecurities.
Am I really qualified to lead the defense in the largest battle in our galaxy's history?
He looked around the control room at the faces of the technicians and soldiers diligently going about their jobs. Some of these men and women looked young, impossibly young and the thought hit him.
I lot of kids their age won't be coming home even if we win today
. He wanted to throw up at the prospect of sending other people's children off to die. He never minded being the one to go, but being the one to send was a new ballgame. He began to sweat as he continued pacing.
I wish this battle could start already, the waiting is killing me
.

______

              Hours later the Enclave and Coalition fleets arrived and it was quite an imposing site. Eleven hundred ships arrayed against them. The Syndicate fleet arrived moments later, bringing the total to just over two thousand. The Coalition fleet was on the far right. The Enclave fleet with the SSE
Leviathans
and
War Hawks
were front and center with the SSE ships to the left of center. The alien fleet jumped in to the left and bordered the SSE ships. Jesse let a wicked smile slip as he realized this deployment was perfect. As he was readying his responses, a transmission was received on all channels, military and civilian.

             
"Supreme Commander Lucien and Admiral Bliney demand the immediate surrender of Colonel Jesse Marcos, his family and all of his known associates along with the fifty-eight SSE vessels which are the rightful property of the Enclave. Failure to comply will result in the annihilation of Polisia."

             
"I'll tell you what," Collingsworth began his reply. "We are prepared to defend our planet, and the heroes that saved it from your new allies. These men and women are not criminals, and their ships do not belong to you. In fact, none of the SSE ships your men inhabit belong to you. Fleet Admiral Marcos and his associates will not be going anywhere, but you should leave while he still allows it." His comments drew cheers throughout the fleet and command center.

             
"I am told Jesse Marcos is leading the planetary defense of Polisia. I ask you this, people of Polisia, what happens when he gets tired of you? Who will defend you then?" Bliney reasoned. The pre-battle posturing was in full swing, and Jesse didn't mind because it was giving
Endeavor
and the shuttles time to move throughout the enemy fleet, losing the space mines as they went.

             
"Admiral Jesse Marcos is the greatest hero in two galaxies, and you shall pay for how you have betrayed him and his family. On Hyperia, heroes are treated with reverence and respect their entire lives. We shall never forget the lengths Admiral Marcos went to save our Queen and rescue our beloved Princess. Kaldor will never forget how Admiral Jesse Marcos saved their planet from Garrinoras’ armada and Ginderbar will never forget how he united their world. In just over a year, Admiral Marcos left a mark that can never be erased from our galaxy. He couldn't wait to come home, and as we are exiting the conduit, we see Polisia under attack. Marcos did what all heroes do: he defended his people. You are nothing but thugs and criminals, and you will not be leaving this system alive." Admiral Sonnadall smiled as he finished. He was purposely longwinded to give
Endeavor
time to finish its mission.

             
"Admiral Sonnadall, is it?" Lucien asked in an amused tone. "That was a lovely fairy tale you just told us, and now I have one for you. You're head will adorn my dining hall and I will make your ship my new flagship. Before the day is out, the
Vengeance
will be in our hands and you will be dead. That is the welcome you will receive to this galaxy." He began laughing and Admiral Vantilas had heard just about enough. This villain had no honor or respect, but he knew he could not yet reveal his presence.

             
"We're almost done, Jess, just keep em busy a little longer." Josiah reported as his crew diligently went about their mission.

             
"This is your last warning, Polisia, release our property to us and hand over the criminals for execution, or see your beautiful world destroyed. You have one minute before we open fire." Lucien's impatience was evident in his voice. He was not used to being denied, and he wouldn't be this day, either. Marcos would die, and his planet and her people would suffer. He could almost taste the despair; it wouldn't be long now.

             
On a private channel, Lana sent a transmission to her father. "Dad, I just wanted to say, I love you. I am going out with the second wave, I think because Aunt Ariel is worried about me. At least she didn't try to keep me out of it altogether. We both know that wouldn't have happened."

             
"I love you, too, sweetheart. Please be careful, second wave or not, it will still be plenty dangerous, and I don't think I could handle losing you."

             
"I will, Dad, now let's take these guys out and go to our new home." She smiled and waved as the transmission ended. Josiah was done setting up the minefield and all of the posturing was almost over. Now, it was his turn.

             
"I know our minute is almost up, little Lucien." He began with a laugh.

             
"That's, Supreme Commander Lucien, you pathetic cripple."

             
"I'm feeling generous today," He replied, ignoring the jab about his leg. "I will give you and Backstabbing Bliney one chance to save your lives. Turn around and go home, this is the only warning you will receive." The reply was two thousand ships opening up on Polisia's planetary shields.

             
Bliney took the opportunity to taunt Jesse. "Hey Marcos, remember when you asked me how far back my betrayal went, you know, right before I took your leg. I wasn't completely honest with you. I left out the first act of betrayal because it was short sighted and didn't work." He paused for effect, relishing what was to come. "Remember the accidental explosion that killed your parents and your aunt and uncle? That wasn't so accidental. Your father James and his brother Ted were too smart. They didn't trust me, and needed to go. Your mother and aunt were just an added bonus. It didn't have the desired effect though because the Pack War had just begun. I should have known a soldier like you would never leave your men during a war. It's almost as if your parents died for nothing."

             
"He what?" Nina yelled from the control room. "No, that's not possible, he couldn't have." Nina felt her breath leave her body as if she had been punched in the gut. One of her assistants brought her some water and tried to comfort her, but Nina was in shock. Her assistant was thankful they were not on the transmission. She suspected Nina's reaction would have pleased the vile Admiral.

             
"Nice try, Bliney," Jesse replied.

             
"Oh, I assure you, it's quite true." Bliney laughed.

             
"And I believe you, I meant nice try because you only told me now to get me off my game. It won't work because you failed to consider the fact that there was already no way I could possibly hate you more than I already do. You're a no talent thug who propped his career up on the back of my victory over the Jarlevians."

             
Bliney angrily yelled over the open transmission, "You are nothing, Marcos. You are nothing but a crippled soldier with a science project for a daughter, and I can't wait until you are dead. Then I shall enjoy killing your daughter with my bare hands, effectively erasing the Marcos legacy from this galaxy forever."

             
Bliney's comment about Lana angered him, and he told Serge to bring half of the Plasma cannons online. Serge thought he might know what Jesse was planning, and might have argued it five minutes ago, but the thought of the grief his wife must be in over Bliney's revelation overrode his desire to try and convince his brother-in-law to try another way. "Hey Bliney," Jesse called with a sneer. "Remember when you were still pretending to be my friend?"

             
"What of it, Marcos?"

             
"It's just that I was there for your son Stephen's graduation from the Naval Academy. I even heard recently that he was given command of the
Thompson
." He muted the transmission and told Serge to have all the Plasma cannons target the
Thompson
and fire on his mark.

             
"I don't see what that has to do with..." He stopped as it occurred to him what Jesse meant to do. "Wait, what? You wouldn't dare... Please."

             
"Hit it, Serge." Fifty cannons fired as one and instantly destroyed the
Thompson
in a brilliant fireball. The command center went silent, still in shock at Bliney's admission and over what Jesse had just done in retaliation. "How does it feel, Bliney? How does it feel to have your family targeted? I bet it doesn't seem like such a good idea to come after my family now, does it? You should have known better than to bring your son to attack us after everything you've done to me. It's your fault he's dead, how does that feel?"

             
"I'll kill you for this. I'll destroy everything you hold dear, nothing will be left, do you understand? Nothing!" Bliney's anger and anguish was carrying clearly over all channels. He was so angry he could barely think straight, and that was part of Jesse's plan. The
Thompson
would have eventually had to be destroyed for them to survive anyway, he just destroyed it first to make a point, and to make Bliney sloppy.

             
"You've already taken all of your best shots at me and my family. You've killed family, you've killed friends and tried to kill more. What you've taken from me cannot be measured, now it's my turn, and you know I won't miss."

             
The attack on the shield intensified as Jesse called for half of the plasma cannons and all of the ships continue to return fire. The battle was in full swing now. There was only about ten minutes worth of shield life left before Jason and Irina had to make the change and Polisia's forces had only taken out about fifty ships. Bliney had all of the ships in the front line rotating back after taking a couple hits so that he always had fresh ships on the front line.
He may be evil, but he is a good tactician
. Jason and Irina were able to switch out power sources without the shield going down, and now they had another forty minutes of protection. The three-hour estimate was based on twelve hundred ships; two thousand would wear the shield down considerably quicker.

             
As Jesse surveyed the battle, he called down to Serge, "Serge, get the rest of the cannons online, it's time for step two."

______

              The bridge of the
Vanguard
was still silent. None of them wanted to imagine what Captain Ariel Marcos was going through after just learning that her parents had been senselessly murdered. Admiral Marcos’ retaliation was swift, the ship Admiral Marcos had chosen to destroy first was more than symbolic; it was vengeful. Ariel looked around at her crew, none of them meeting her eyes as they continued to fire on the attacking fleet from the temporary safety of the planetary shield. She could not believe her parents had been murdered, she could not believe her cousin had been so cruel. Even to his most hated enemy, she would have never expected that from him. She didn't know what to do, a large part of her was happy that it was finally Bliney in pain. She liked it, and that scared her. She wanted to cry for what both she and Jesse had lost.