The Key

  Chapter 61

  Jason McWilliams faced a room filled with anxious people. Captains Kim, Dunsyn, and Jones sat at the far end of the table, each wearing their silver and red dress uniforms. Kamira sat at his side, looking tired, but elegant in her own neatly pressed uniform. Next to Kamira, Major Narja had settled in, quietly waiting for everything to begin. Across from Narja was Corin Dante.

  Corin seemed uncomfortable in his surroundings. Mekala, on the other hand, had made herself at home in her highchair, with Brutus sitting by her side.

  Jason looked around the room. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, in an effort to help settle his nerves, before he started to speak.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for meeting with me tonight." he began. "I know that some of you are taking quite a risk by being here. Captains, thank you for taking that risk."

  Pausing, Jason fixed Corin with a stern look before he finally continued. "Mr. Dante, we...I owe you a debt of gratitude." He smiled wryly. "However, if you think of blowing Major Narja out of an airlock again, there's no place that you'll ever be able to hide."

  Jason watched as Corin's expression stayed neutral. The man was steady, not betraying his thoughts or emotions. Jason wondered about his potential ally. Would he be worth the trouble, or would he abandon them in a fight?

  "Anyway, let's get down to business. We've got a lot to do." Jason sat down next to his wife. "Angel's been able to project the course of the Ta'Reeth ship that we're following."

  Jason waited, and made sure that everyone was paying close attention before he continued. "It's headed for Earth."

  "Earth?" Captain Sierra Jones was the first to break the silence. The look of disbelief did not sit well on her fine features. "You can't be serious. Earth is nothing more than a fairytale. It was the first to fall, and it's gone. There's nothing that anyone of us can do about it."

  "Well, if that's the way you feel, there's the door." Jason glared at Captain Jones and pointed to the door. "As for me, I intend to go to Earth, and make these bastards pay."

  Silence fell like an invisible shroud over the dining room. Jason knew that he needed Captain Jones, and her comrades, if his gambit was going to work. He feared that he may have gone too far. Jason waited and watched, hoping to see a sign of support.

  "I'm in." Corin spoke up. As he spoke, he glanced around the room, and in turn, looking everyone in the eye. When he looked at Captain McWilliams, the two men understood.

  "If there's even the slightest chance of ending this, then we owe it to ourselves, to everyone, to take the chance." he looked at Mekala and tussled her hair.

  "Look, I want Earth back as much as anybody, but I'm not convinced that this isn't suicide." Captain Kim interjected. He leaned forward and focused intently on Jason. "I want to know how you plan to pull this little stunt off."

  "It isn't suicide." Jason stood again, keeping his temper under control. He started to pace the room as steaming hot plates of food were brought in. "We have to hit them hard, fast, and we have to do it in coordinated stages. Keep them off balance."

  "That's going to be very difficult with only four ships." Captain Dunsyn kept his steely eyes on Jason. His powerful frame tensed as he waited for Jason to respond.

  "No one said anything about this being easy, Captain. It just needs to be done." Jason stopped behind Dunsyn, and looked at Kamira. "This is the right thing to do people, and it's our job to figure out how to make it happen."

  "Is it?" Kamira focused on her husband. "Is it our job to figure it all out? What about T'Sula? How does she fit in here?"

  "That's a good question Kam." Jason walked back over to his seat and sat down."T'Sula is definitely an 'x' factor here. However she fits in, it's important. But, right now, we can't afford to make our plans contingent on her."

  "Why don't we look at what we do know?" Captain Kim asked, shoveling his food around his plate with his fork. "We know that we're seriously overmatched here. Even with all of our planning, if we don't get a lot of help, we're dead. Where are we going to get more ships and men?"

  "Quin's right. Where are we going to get help?" Captain Jones took a drink of her water, and then set the cup back down.

  "I think that you can help us with that one." Jason grinned. He had anticipated most of these questions, and prepared for them. "What we need to do, is get the rest of the Fleet on board. I'd like to have you, Captain Jones, ask the Admiralty for assistance. Can you do that?"

  "Why don't you ask them?" Sierra Jones hated talking to the Admiralty, almost as much as she hated the Ta'Reeth. "You're the 'Hero of Bakesh.' You should be asking. Not me."

  "I just assaulted an Admiral, and resigned my Commission. Remember?" Jason started to smile, but thought better of it. He needed these people, so it was probably best not to provoke them.

  "Alright. I'll do it." Sierra sighed. If there was a chance of ending this war, then she owed it to herself to take it, no matter the cost.

  "Excellent. That should get us more fire power." Jason said before he stuffed a forkful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.

  "That still won't be enough." Narja spoke for the first time. "We don't have any ground forces Sir. We need Marines."

  "Is there anything that you could help us with on that?" Kamira asked her friend. There were so many questions that she wanted to ask Narja, but restrained herself. There was something different about him, in his eyes, but she didn't know what it was. "Everybody's stretched so thin, the Resistance really doesn't have many people to send."

  "I might have someone who can help, but I am not sure if it is worth it." Narja shook his head. It had been a long time since he had spoken with Maruk, but there was still hope that he would be the man that Narja remembered.

  "Narja, I need you to convince whoever it is to help us. We're on a very tight schedule here." Captain McWilliams wished that he could simply snap his fingers, and be done with the war, but he knew that would never be the case. Wars were fought when there was no other choice, just as he had no choices now. As long as there was free will, there would always be conflict. Free will was one of the few things that Jason McWilliams was willing to fight for, no matter the cost.

  "I understand Sir. You can count on me to do my best." Narja stopped himself from saying more. He wanted to lash out at the man across from him, not his Captain. This man, this Corin Dante had tried to kill him, and nearly succeeded. No, fighting him now was detrimental. There would be a time and place to deal with Corin Dante.

  "Thank you Major. That's all I can ask." Jason wondered who this other person was, but refused to ask his friend in a room full of strangers.

  "O.k., so maybe get lucky and someone will lend us helping hand. Can we trust them?" Captain Quinlan Kim dared to ask the question that others would not. His gaze shifted from Captain McWilliams, to Major Narja and back again. He knew of and respected both of these men, but was not prepared to risk his crew and his ship on happenstance.

  "Major, would you care to answer this one?" Captain McWilliams cocked an eyebrow at his friend. In their time together the possibility that Narja had other loyalties had never occurred to him. Even if he did indeed have other loyalties, the Major had always placed the interests of Redemption ahead of his own.

  "I would prefer to leave it alone Captain. However, if you insist, then I must." Narja fidgeted with his nearly untouched plate of Caldonian Firebird steak. "Angel, please display the file on Maruk the Vigilante."

  The lights dimmed and the image of a large Caldonian, covered head to toe, in matte black body armor, appeared above the center of the table. The weapons bristling from every conceivable place on his muscular body, failed to match the ferocity of his leathery face.

  "This is Maruk the Vigilante, my uncle." Narja waited for the murmuring to subside before he continued. "Maruk is the Commanding Officer of a militia group called the Patriots of Caldon. He should be able to help us with troops and ships, if he's in the mood to."

  "I've heard of the Patriots o
f Caldon." Dunsyn let a stern expression settle across his gray face. "They have a reputation for ruthless conduct. I'm not sure that we can trust them."

  "Trust them or not, it doesn't sound like we have much choice." Corin helped Mekala with her bananas. "We need the troops and the ships. So, we'll have to deal with anyone that's willing to help us. We might as well start with him."

  "I hate to say it, but I agree with him." Captain Jones sighed. "It's on short notice, and we need all the help we can get."

  "Beggars can't be choosers." Captain Kim added. "What do we have to offer these people in exchange for their service?"

  "Other than the end of the war?" Jason paused to take a drink. "Nothing. At best, maybe some assistance of some kind, or the promise of a better future. I really don't know."

  "If Maruk agrees to help, it shouldn't cost anything." Narja finally began to eat his dinner. "I will, however, need to address him in person."

  "I'll take you." Corin offered. "I need to take Mekala some place safe anyway." he smiled gently at the girl. "I can't allow her to be in the middle of this. She wouldn't survive it."

  "Spoken like a true father." Jason smiled warmly at Corin and Mekala. They had been together for such a short time, but they were now a family. Father and Daughter, together against the universe. From what Jason could see, neither would want it any other way.

  "That brings us to our next point. Angel, will you please show us the Earth solar system?" Jason waited as the image of Maruk was replaced by planets of various sizes and colors orbiting a bright yellow star.

  "This is our target." Jason manipulated a set of controls by his hand. The third planet from the star glowed brighter than the rest. It was blue and green, holding great landmasses and massive oceans. White and gray clouds drifted lazily across an otherwise vacant sky.

  "Don't be deceived. Earth is the main Ta'Reeth stronghold." Jason focused intently on the hologram. "This is not going to be easy."

  "Instead of an all out assault, wouldn't it be easier to make a surgical strike?" Corin studied the hologram, and didn't like what he saw. "We don't have the fire power to count on, and we don't have the personnel. Why not set out our objectives, then put all of our effort into a strike that won't cost us as much?"

  "I've thought about that, and to an extent it makes sense. Unfortunately, that won't win us the war." Jason turned to face Corin. "What I was thinking, is to employ you in a surgical strike. Once we locate T'Sula, it'll be your job to get her. Your ship is smaller and more maneuverable, so you'll be able to get into some tighter places where we can't."

  "Alright. That does make some sense." Corin grinned at the prospect of rescuing T'Sula Mir. "I'd like to make a request then. For the mission of course."

  "Go ahead." Jason didn't know what to expect, but decided to hear him out anyway.

  "I want to take Major Narja with me." Corin heard the words come out of his mouth before he truly realized that he had said them. He had no reason to believe that the Major would ever trust him or work with him, but he felt that the man would be a valuable asset when trying to find T'Sula.

  "You're kidding right?" Captain McWilliams laughed. "There's no way I'm going to send my senior Marine with you on a mission like this. You tried to kill him! You blew him out of an airlock." Jason's anger started to get the better of him before Kamira settled him down by gently placing her hand on his arm.

  "Yeah. Sorry about that." Corin casually took a sip of tea. "If the situations were reversed, you would have done the same thing. Would you allow a fully armored and armed marine, one that you don't know, to run loose on your ship? I don't think so."

  "That doesn't change the facts Corin." Jason sneered. He no longer felt the need to hide his distrust for this man. It was true that he had saved his wife's life, but his gratitude could only go so far.

  "You're right. It doesn't change the facts, just the interpretation of them. I wasn't trying to be malicious. It was an act of calculated self-preservation. I weighed the facts and acted." Corin glared at Captain McWilliams. How could this man judge him like this? Taking a moment to think, Corin shifted his gaze to Narja. "Major, I should be apologizing to you. I'm sorry for my actions. You did not deserve what I did to you."

  Narja listened to Corin's words before he said a word. A thousand retorts had flooded his mind in the time since he had been floating in space. At first, he had wanted to kill the man responsible, but upon hearing him speak, and listening to what he had to say, Narja was no longer sure how to respond.

  "There is no apology necessary. You did what you thought was best at the time." Narja sighed, settling his gaze on Corin. "I no longer hold any ill will against you. It is actually because of you that Commander Nor, Commander Mir, and myself are alive. Commander Mir is an honored and respected colleague of mine, and I would be proud to help in her rescue if my Captain will allow it."

  Jason groaned. He didn't want to put Narja in harm’s way again. He didn't want to let him off his ship. Yet there didn't seem to be many options. If the Major wanted, he could simply resign his Commission and go with Corin anyway.

  "Alright. I'll allow it." Jason finally spoke. "I don't like it, but I'll allow it."

  "Thank you Captain." Corin smiled.

  "Don't thank me. Thank Major Narja." Jason scowled. His plans were changing already, and he was trying to work with them. He just hoped that the end result was the same as what he had envisioned.

  "Could someone remind me why we're scrambling to do this now?" Captain Kim asked under his breath.

  "Daddy, more food pease!" Mekala squealed, throwing her plate across the table at Captain Kim.

  "Never mind. I get the point." Quin muttered, taking Mekala's plate out of his lap.