Total Betrayal (Deep Space Endeavor) (56 page)

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              Two weeks after the failed attack on Donara, Josiah's network got word that Tovanoras was staying on the Jyal homeworld in Federation space. He had been taking refuge among the forces of an alien warlord named Sagan. He immediately picked up twenty-four of Manny's Special Forces soldiers and set out for Federation Space. He had made sure that he had two of the seven Qualoosh soldiers that had gone through the training so they could more easily gather intel on an alien world. After a three-day journey through light space, they arrived in the Jyal system. Josiah sent his two Qualoosh soldiers to the surface to pose as laborers to try and find out more on Tovanoras’ whereabouts. The Qualoosh people were not uncommon in Jyal space. They were usually relegated to menial jobs, half step above slavery, and Josiah's soldiers fit right in. They immediately began seeking work in the part of the capital city known to be frequented by Lord Sagan's men. Four days later, they had the key piece of intel they needed. It seemed Lord Sagan had scheduled a high level meeting among his officers and allies at a nearby abandoned factory. They would each be arriving separately and leaving separately with a small entourage, including Tovanoras. As a bonus, Yartan would be among that entourage. They sent their information to Josiah aboard
Endeavor
with just enough time to set up the mission.

             
Reece, Xanu, Maria and Reynolds would each take six of the soldiers and six warriorbots to cover the area. As soon as they knew which route he would be taking to the meeting they would set their teams and take him on his way out of the meeting. If the information was right, none of the other attendees of the meeting would be leaving by the same route or at the same time and they shouldn't be fighting too many pirates. The area Lord Sagan had chosen was a decrepit, abandoned factory district. Refuse filled the streets and the stench of unwashed beings filled the air. Reece wrinkled his nose as he deployed the men and now came the hard part; waiting.

             
"Don't you think we should let Jesse know what we're up to, Captain?" Collin asked as he focused on the map on
Endeavor's
screen detailing where each of their men were located.

             
"Not yet, Collin, I don't want to give Nina a chance to change his mind, so I'm not contacting him until we have captured or killed Tovanoras. We're taking Yartan, too."

             
"If we accomplish this, it would ease Jesse's mind. The only other people still holding a grudge would be Conglomerate, and they are usually sloppy." Bessa added from her seat at communications.

             
"True, Bessa, we can call this a late wedding gift if we pull it off." Josiah replied as he waited for Reece to let them know the operation was under way. He hated the waiting, especially now that he was the one sending his crew out on these missions. "Bessa, why don't you and Irina get your shuttles prepped, who knows how long this meeting will last and we should be ready."

             
“Yes, Sir," she crisply replied as she made her way to the landing bay. Just then, Reece's voice came through
Endeavor's
comms.

             
"Tova and Yartan have arrived on foot. It appears as if they have an escort of twelve and we've spotted at least six more posed as citizens along the route they came. So much for a small entourage; if all of Sagan's people bring this many guys, this could be a difficult extraction." He paused for a moment and then added, "Maria has just let me know that Xanu has spotted four more guarding an armored transport about two blocks away. He's confident that if the warriorbots can't take it out, our side cannons can."

             
"I'm holding Tanna in reserve with another dozen bots in case you need them, Reece. I also have Bessa and Irina heading to their shuttles to provide cover and cover our escape once we have achieved our objective." Josiah replied, knowing the op could begin at any time.

             
Almost an hour later, some of Lord Sagan's lieutenants began to exit the facility, each by a different doorway. Reece reported the movement to Josiah as he focused on the doorway Tovanoras had entered through. "Jo, I mean, Captain, this meeting is breaking up we should be engaged soon."

             
"Copy that, Reece. Remember, alive if possible but dead if necessary."

             
"Yes, Sir."

             
Five minutes later, Reece noticed all of the other goons had cleared the area. Maria reported movement on the other side of the factory and relayed back that it was Lord Sagan with his guys and Tovanoras was not among them. Just then, the door opened and six of Tovanoras goons spilled out into the street followed by Tovanoras, Yartan and six more goons. The plan was to let them walk a block or so to see if there were any more of his people they missed, and to see if they could catch them in a crossfire. The area of attack only had three points of egress and they would all be covered. As they were about to make their move, two more armored vehicles pulled up and a couple dozen men exited. Apparently, Tovanoras was paranoid.

             
"Captain, we have two more armored vehicles and a couple dozen more men. Send Tanna and the shuttles now, we're only gonna get one shot at this." Reece sighed, he had hoped for quiet and easy. Now, they would be lucky if every pirate in a ten kilometer radius along with what passed for law enforcement in this city weren't on them before they completed their objective.

             
"On their way, Reece, take him now, we can't lose him. Mission is go."

             
On Reece's signal, Maria and Reynolds team stealthily moved up the block behind Tovanoras crew. Xanu had his team in position to make sure the side street wasn't a viable exit for the pirate leader. Reece was ready to block their way on Tanna's signal.

             
Tovanoras looked angrily at Yartan, "Who does Sagan think he is. I control over one hundred and twenty-five ships now with more joining me every day. He cannot talk to me in such a manner. Does he think I will not leave? Let's see his little uprising gain momentum then."

             
"Perhaps he believes you are so grateful for the protection this world provides from your enemies that you will allow yourself to become one of his people. I am with you whatever you decide."

             
"His thinking is faulty, and we are gone. I might even take some of his men with me. Thank you for your loyalty, Yartan; let us see how Sagan's rebellion fares without us."

             
"Problems with your boss, Tova? That's the worst, trust me, I had a terrible boss once."

             
"You have just ended your life, human." Tovanoras growled.

             
"I don't think so," Reece replied. "Prime Minister Marcos sends his regards." Before Tovanoras could reply, blasterfire lit up the street. The two shuttles de-cloaked and destroyed all three armored vehicles while Tanna's warriorbots lit up Tovanoras’ extra men.

             
Tovanoras saw his men going down quickly and then saw his vehicles destroyed. He yelled out in frustration, "I'll make Marcos suffer for this." There was no answer, only more blasterfire. These men were well trained and their armored robots were incredibly powerful. Tovanoras didn't think they were going to get out of this when he saw Yartan go down with a bad wound to the leg. All hope seemed lost when suddenly, two more vehicles full of men arrived. Incredibly, Marcos forces held the line and the two vehicles were soon destroyed by shuttles that appeared out of nowhere. In the confusion, Tovanoras was able to jimmy open a door into the building to his right. All other avenues were cut off and he had to try something. Marcos’ men and robots were slaughtering his people without mercy. Two of Marcos men followed him in and he smiled an evil smile.
I can easily take two humans, and one of them is a woman. They must not want these two to survive
. He fired his blaster at them as he moved backwards towards the exit. He knew he had hit them several times but they kept coming. Their armor was good, so he changed tactics. He rushed them and tackled the male, plunging his dagger deep into the male's abdomen. He then sauntered towards the woman and pushed her up against the wall with one hand while he taunted her.

             
"This is the best Marcos could manage? He sends a pathetic woman after me? He'll never take me." He could see her struggling to breathe as he tightened his grasp, raised his dagger and smiled.

             
Reece could see Xanu injured on the floor and he could see Tovanoras getting ready to kill Maria. He hated to do it, but he had to take the kill shot to save his teammate. He shouted, "Maria," to distract Tovanoras and then put a blaster bolt through the base of his skull. Maria fell to the ground trying to catch her breath as she crawled over to Xanu. His breathing was shallow and painful. Reece picked him up and added, "We need to leave now, the authorities are on their way. We already have Yartan in custody and one of the bots will get him." he nodded to Tovanoras body.

             
They were onboard
Endeavor
inside a minute and a half and Doctor Stevens was already working on Xanu. Reece and Maria were giving Josiah a full report and could see how distracted he was thinking about Xanu. "We can't lose him, Reece."

             
"I know, Doctor Stevens is already working on him. If he can be saved, Stevens will find a way."

             
"I know, it's just that Jesse's gonna think the price was too high." Josiah thought of Xanu like a little brother ever since they met on Hyperia. He would hate to see him killed in action.

             
“Well it won't be, because Xanu's gonna live and Tovanoras needed to go. He was never gonna be taken alive and I, for one, am glad he's dead." Maria added as she rubbed her hand over her swollen throat.

             
Endeavor
reached space and the universe lost focus around them as they entered the dimension that holds light space. They were unaware of what was still going on down on the Jyal homeworld.

             
Lord Sagan smiled as he walked through the bodies of Tovanoras’ would-be protectors. This Jesse Marcos’ people were every bit as good as advertised. He hadn't even known they were on planet. He had hoped, but he didn't know. It was he that had given them Tovanoras’ location and he had let slip the meeting in the marketplace among the Qualoosh knowing that if Marcos did have spies on the ground they would likely be Qualoosh. Still, he didn't know they had taken the bait and for them to pull off an operation of this size without him even knowing they were here meant they were very good indeed. Tovanoras and Yartan were gone and now, he could take control of their fleet. Tovanoras had just become too much of a liability with his vendetta against Prime Minister Marcos. He was going to bring a powerful and charismatic enemy right to their doorstep and he couldn't have that if his plans to create an alien consortium within the Federation were going to come to pass. Now the liability was gone and he would incorporate all of Tovanoras’ ships into one unified fleet with his own. It had all worked out and Marcos would never have any reason to care about him, and that caused him to smile once again.

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              “Captain Jackson to med-bay," Doctor Stevens called up to the bridge. Almost a minute later, Josiah arrived with Reece, Maria, Tanna and Reynolds in tow. They all wanted to see how Xanu had fared and were relieved to see him in the recovery pod.

             
"It was touch and go for a little while, Captain, but the kid's a fighter. Still, even with the pod further healing him, he will need to be in bed for a few weeks and taken off active duty for a few months. I know it's gonna be hard for him, but Tovanoras opened him up pretty good and if any of the repairs rupture he's going to be in a good deal of trouble, so it's up to you to make sure he understands this is serious and he can't be active for a while."

             
Josiah hugged Stevens. "Thanks, Doc, the kid is good at following orders, so he should be fine." They could all see the weight lifted off his shoulders as Xanu would live to fight another day.

             
Endeavor
came out of light space in the Donaran system and hailed the Capital. Josiah smiled when Ursula's face filled the screen. Nina was very good at getting Jesse to accept help he didn't even know he needed and Ursula had ordered Jesse's work days just about to the minute. He smiled as he wondered if she even scheduled his bathroom breaks.

             
"Ursula, it's good to see you again. May I speak to the Prime Minister, please?"

             
"Captain Jackson, you know that protocol dictates you give me more notice than this to speak to Prime Minister Marcos. I'm afraid I'm going to have to take a message for him."

             
Josiah just about laughed; it was the same thing every time, even though he knew that she knew he was on the approved list of people allowed to disturb Jesse at any time. Still, he played the game. "Ursula, it's very important, and trust me, Prime Minister Marcos is gonna want to hear this. In fact, just go ahead and cancel all of his appointments for the next three or four hours."