Chapter 65
Corin waited for the airlock to open. He shoved his hands deep in his pockets, trying to hide his fidgeting from the Major. It was disconcerting, watching as a potential enemy docked with his ship. So many things could go wrong that it nearly made his head spin.
"What is taking them so long?" Corin wondered aloud.
"I don't know." Narja replied quietly. He had been discreetly watching the other man, and did not want to make him even more nervous than he already was. When people became nervous, they tended to do stupid things, and Narja could not afford that here.
Finally, the airlock opened and a diminutive Caldonian woman stepped out. She wore form fitting dark green armor, engraved with twin golden Firebirds and trimmed in onyx. Her bald scalp shined against fierce, deep set black eyes.
She smiled broadly as her eyes settled on Narja. Ignoring Corin completely, she strode over to the Major. She walked slowly around him, inspecting every detail.
"What brings a Traitor back to Caldon?" Her voice flowed like honey. "Your Uncle will be very pleased with me today."
"I thought that you were dead Prinelle." Narja looked down at the woman.
"Don't presume that you know me anymore, Narja!" she screamed into his face. "You left, and time doesn't stop!"
"I thought that you died." Narja spoke softly.
"Shut up!" she screamed, throwing a spinning heal kick into Narja’s temple. She watched in fury as Narja crumpled to the deck. Her anger temporarily sated, she turned to Corin. "Explain why you are harboring a traitor, and trespassing in Caldonian space."
Corin caught movements out of the corner of his eye. Six heavily armed Caldonian men stepped out of the airlock. How was he supposed to do anything without provoking this woman? It seemed that she already knew Narja, and wanted nothing more than to kill him. Corin tried to focus by taking a deep breath, but failed.
"Speak up before I decide to make this ship my own." Prinelle glowered.
"We're here to talk to a guy named Maruk, in an effort to end this war." Corin blurted. He realized instantly that he had over played his hand.
"You think that Maruk can end this war?" Prinelle laughed. "What kind of moron are you? He doesn't care about you, or your war."
"He will." Narja grumbled. The Major cracked his neck as he stood. "Ending this war will end the threat to Caldon."
"I think that Maruk can help put an end to the war." Corin regained his composure. Why did he always open his mouth before thinking? "If you'll give us a chance, we'll explain. But we don't have a lot of time."
"Alright. Explain." Prinelle motioned for Corin to lead her away from the airlock. "Secure the ship." She ordered her team as she walked away.
Corin kept his thoughts to himself while he walked. The threat of being a prisoner on his own ship did not sit well with him, but he decided to play along for the good of the mission. He led Narja and Prinelle through the corridors to a room not far from the bridge.
The room was simple, barely having the amenities to accommodate the three occupants. A large rectangular metal table with four reasonably comfortable looking chairs dominated the center of the room. In the center of the table sat a small holographic projector.
"We don't have much time, so listen up." Corin activated the projector, then sat down in one of the chairs. He waited as the lights dimmed, and the projector came on line. Soon an image of the Milky Way filled the room.
Corin zoomed in on one of the arms of the swirling galaxy. Tiny red dots of light grew, and turned into stars with planets dancing about them. Most of the solar systems stayed red, with only a few of them turning green.
"The red systems are controlled by the Ta'Reeth. The green ones are controlled by Caldon, Malgar, or the Resistance." Corin manipulated his controls. Bright blue lines appeared between the planets. "These blue lines represent the recognized space lanes. As you can see, and well know, Caldon is at the heart of everything."
"So what? We can defend ourselves." Prinelle crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. She looked defiantly across the table at Narja. "Not that anyone here would care, but Caldon can take care of itself."
"Caldon may not be as self sufficient as you think." Narja growled back at Prinelle. "It is always a good idea to keep allies."
"Take a look at this one." Corin interjected. He highlighted one of Caldon's space lanes.
"What about it? That lane hasn't been used in years. It's too heavily guarded." Prinelle's voice trailed off. She turned her focus from the hologram to Corin and again to Narja.
"That space lane leads directly to a planet called Earth." Narja leveled his gaze at Prinelle. "Earth is the heart of the Ta'Reeth."
"Exactly." Corin spoke up. "We're part of a task force that is going to attack Earth. With any luck, we'll bring a quick end to this war."
"So, you want our help because..." Prinelle tried to hide the fact that she was not a tactician. She tried hard, and was a good soldier, but when faced with strategies and tactics, she failed miserably.
"We need ships and manpower." Narja stated bluntly.
"That's above my grade." Prinelle sighed. "Only Maruk can make that decision."
"So, are you going to help us, or are you going to get in the way?" Corin asked, feeling the need to press the issue. "We don't have time to mess around."
"I'll help." she said after only a moment’s consideration. "On one condition."
"And that would be?" Corin asked, shutting down the hologram.
"I want..." Prinelle started to speak. The lights flashed red and sirens sounded throughout the ship.
"Lieutenant Prinelle, we have a situation!" one of the Caldonian troops screamed into his communications unit. "Requesting immediate backup!"
"Looks like they're, oh crap!" Corin sprinted out of the room. Narja toppled his chair as he leapt up and followed Corin out the door. Both men were sprinting down the corridor before Prinelle was able to reach the door.
Corin skidded around the corner, coming face to face with a nightmare. Three of the Caldonians lay sprawled across the corridor, while Brutus pinned two more with his massive paws, his fangs bared just centimeters from their fear struck faces. The last Caldonian huddled in a corner, shaking so badly that his drawn weapon had as much chance of hitting Brutus as it did of disabling the ship's engines.
"Stand down!" Corin yelled as he ran toward Brutus. The big cat flicked his tail in anger, and glanced over at Corin. "Put that weapon away!" he yelled at the dazed Caldonian in the corner.
"What's going on here?" Prinelle asked, walking up Corin.
"It looks like your men tried to force their way into my daughter's quarters." Corin turned on the Lieutenant. "This is my ship, not your personal playground!"
"This ship is under Patriot control." Prinelle glared at Corin. "It became that way when I boarded it."
"My ship." Corin snarled. "Brutus." Corin kept his eyes fixed on Lieutenant Prinelle as Brutus turned his rumbling snarl on her. The color faded from Prinelle's face as she quickly stepped back, desperately trying to get away from Brutus.
"Your ship. Your ship." she stammered. "Men, disengage."
"Thank you Lieutenant. Now if you'll excuse me, I think that you woke my daughter." Corin patted Brutus on the head, opened the door, and stepped through the open doorway.
A moment later, he emerged carrying a crying Mekala. Corin took the child over to Brutus and let her pet his dark fur. Mekala stopped crying as Brutus gently licked her cheek.
"What was your condition Lieutenant?" Corin asked, glancing over at Prinelle.
"I ask that you turn Narja over to me." Prinelle stepped forward, fussing with her armor.
"He's not a prisoner." Corin looked at the Major. The man was virtually unreadable. "And I will not allow him to be taken as a prisoner."
"I never said that he was." Prinelle turned and looked at Narja. "He's of a personal interest to me Captain, nothing more."
"Major?" Corin asked. He had never understo
od Caldonians, or women of any race for that matter.
"I will allow it, if it will serve the mission." Narja braced himself for the repercussions that he knew were inevitable.
"Fine." Corin frowned as he readjusted his hold on Mekala. "I don't care, as long as it doesn't interfere with my mission. Either of you get in my way, and you'll be breathing space."
Corin kept Mekala on his hip, and stormed past Narja and Prinelle. He didn't know what the Caldonians were playing at, and he wasn't sure that he liked it.
He walked fast, talking to his daughter as he went. The bridge was only a few minutes away, and he needed to put some space between himself and his new guests. Lieutenant Prinelle had promised to help the mission, but what could she possibly do? After all, she was only a Lieutenant.
The bridge was quiet when Corin set Mekala down and let her run. There wasn't much that she could get into on the bridge. He had made sure of that when Kamira was completing the repairs. He watched the girl for a moment then checked his readings.
"We're going to be coming out of this conduit in a couple of minutes. You guys might want to come to the bridge." Corin settled into his seat and readied himself. There was always a twinge on the back of his neck whenever he was coming out of hyperspace, and this time was no different.
Minutes passed as Mekala explored the bridge as only a toddler can. Finally, the door swished open and Narja walked in, followed by Prinelle. They walked over to two empty consoles and quietly sat down, not looking at each other or Corin as they did so. Mekala smiled and ran up to Narja, scrambling into his lap.
"Hello, little one." Narja grinned at the little girl. "I see that you're feeling better."
"Soft!" Mekala squealed, squirming slightly until she was satisfied.
"Alright, people. We're coming out of hyperspace in three, two, one, and now." Corin took hold of the controls as soon as Vengeance dropped out of the conduit.
Brilliant white light flashed all around the ship as it reentered normal space. Instantly, alarms sounded and red lights began to flash. The view screen snapped on, revealing a real time display of the chaos around them. Hundreds of Ta'Reeth and Caldonian ships filled the system, each side exchanging deadly barrages with the other. A list scrolled down the side of the screen labeling ships as either friend or foe.
"Lieutenant, man the shields and sensors. Major, strap Mekala in, and man the weapons!" Corin banked the ship into evasive maneuvers, barely avoiding a Ta'Reeth fighter as it opened fire. Ta'Reeth ships swarmed the area, ranging in size from a small fighter, to a gargantuan ship of the line. The ship of the line had the same design as the smaller battleships, only it was significantly larger and much more powerful.
At the center of the chaos was a Caldonian Battle Station. It was a massive structure, with dark colored armor, devoid of any purpose other than war. The station's diamond shape distracted Corin from the stations immense size, allowing him to focus on the heavily armored hull that was bristling with weapons and shield generators at every conceivable point.
Corin wove his ship through the enemy with practiced grace. The shield enhancements that Kamira had insisted upon paid off handsomely as the Ta'Reeth ships continuously belched plasma against them, without seriously damaging the ship or its shields. Major Narja systematically targeted, and destroyed the smaller Ta'Reeth vessels that came into range.
"Lieutenant, I need you to find Maruk. Tell him our intentions, and then get that shuttle of yours off my ship." Corin commanded. He flew in close to one of the Battleships, allowing Narja to rake its hull with heavy weapons fire. Vengeance flew in, darting and dodging quicker than the Ta'Reeth could track and fire, and then was gone out of their range.
"Captain, I don't know where he'll be." Prinelle looked up from her console.
"Then find him!" Corin growled. He accelerated toward the space station. Ta'Reeth ships unleashed barrage after merciless barrage on the massive structure. Its shields waivered and bolts of plasma broke through to the hull before the shields reappeared. Sporadic fires flashed briefly in the cold vacuum of space, extinguishing the lives of the brave souls that staffed the space station.
As Vengeance drew closer, the Ta'Reeth ships grew more violent in their attacks, pummeling the little ship as it tried to evade the worst of the battle. Her weapons lanced out, wounding the capital ships, and turning the fighters into clouds of blood and sinew.
"Captain, I've found Maruk." Lieutenant Prinelle announced, breaking into Corin's concentration. "He's on the Command Deck of the space station."
Corin dove in close to one of the Ta'Reeth battleships, allowing Narja to rake the vessel from nearly point blank range. Plumes of blood and burned armor erupted into space behind Vengeance. Pulling away from the battleship, Vengeance plunged through a wall of Ta'Reeth fighters. They ripped into her shields, threatening to break through. Narja coolly targeted one fighter after another, sending each one to oblivion.
"Unidentified vessel, this is Maruk the Vigilante." Maruk's image appeared in the corner of the view screen. "Identify yourself and your intentions, or be counted with the enemy."
"Lieutenant!" Corin yelled, banking into another evasive maneuver. The maneuver brought Vengeance's particle cannons to bear on yet another Ta'Reeth, and Major Narja took full advantage of the opportunity. Vengeance's weapons danced across the hull of the enemy ship, leaving a trail of destruction behind.
"The message is sent!" Prinelle announced, then immediately returned to her console. She began monitoring the sensors, identifying friends, and calling out potential targets. Carefully, they worked their way closer to the battle station.
A Ta'Reeth ship of the line lay dead ahead, relentlessly pounding the station. Hundreds of plasma cannons fired continuously, steadily eating away at the Caldonian shields. Both Caldonian and Ta'Reeth fighters swarmed around the massive ship, in a game of tag without any winners.
Again, Corin brought Vengeance in as close as he could. He sped across the hull, dodging giant bone protrusions and enemy fighters. He was too close for the mother ship’s heavy weapons to be effective, so he worried only about the fighters. Coming around to the port side, Vengeance veered wildly, barely missing a tower of black bone the size of a house.
"What was that?" Corin yelled. He instantly ran a diagnostic with his implants, and found nothing wrong.
"That was a gravity well." Prinelle said, double-checking her sensors.
"What?" Corin looked at the view screen. "Oh my God."
On the view screen, the Caldonian space station's shields failed. He watched in horror as the nearest point of the station began to stretch into a needle thin point. The station stretched, and elongated before parts of it broke away, and disappeared inside the Ta'Reeth ship.
"Show me that gravity well!" Corin swung Vengeance around on its axis and sped to the point on his readouts that showed the gravity generator. He oriented the ship so that every weapon could come to bear. Narja unleashed every weapon at his disposal upon the target, trying desperately to break through its armor.
Finally, after arduous moments, the armor cracked. Narja ignored the fact that the gravity well was destroyed and continued to fire until Vengeance's weapons erupted out the other side of the Ta'Reeth ship. The heat and intensity from the particle cannons and railguns cauterized the wound, leaving a gaping hole through the center of the dying ship.
"Incoming!" Prinelle shouted. An entire squadron of Ta’Reeth fighters was coming in hot and fast in a flanking formation. She braced herself for impact and glanced over at Corin's daughter. The girl sat strapped into her seat, paralyzed with fear.
"Hold on!" Corin grimaced, and then threw his ship into a steep dive, taking Vengeance down through the heart of the wounded vessel. The shields ravaged the cauterized sides of the wound, ripping them open as the ship raced to avoid the fighters that followed right behind. Plasma bolts tore savagely at Vengeance's shields. Blood from the ripped walls sizzled against the shields, until the burnt crust crumbled away into
the void.
"Major, release a full spread of mines on my mark." Corin didn't dare to take his eyes off of the tunnel for fear of crashing. "Mark."
"Mines away." Narja replied coolly. "Detonation is in five, four, three, two, one, and now."
Vengeance shot through the other side of the ship the same instant as the mines exploded. The Ta'Reeth vessel burst open like an over pressurized can, erupting burnt flesh as if it were confetti. When Corin finally allowed himself to look at the view screen, the ship was gone.
"Report!" Corin ordered. He looked over at his daughter and wanted to cry. She was alive, but ghost white, and trembling. He wished that there was some place that he could take her out of harm’s way, but he knew that no such place existed anymore.
"Shields are holding at seventy-two percent and rising. No hull breaches or discernible damage." Lieutenant Prinelle reported. She kept her voice level and crisp, not wanting to show any of her nerves.
"Weapons systems are fully functional." Narja turned to face Corin. "Where did you get this ship?"
"Thank Kamira." Corin smiled to himself. He knew that he owed her more than he could possibly repay.
"Incoming! I count two, no three..." Prinelle began then stopped. Her face paled as she checked her sensors again. Slowly a thin smile spread across her face. "I count four hundred and seventy-three Caldonian warships that have just arrived."
Corin watched the view screen as the Ta'Reeth fleet disappeared one ship at a time. The Caldonians now outnumbered them by nearly ten to one.
With the safety of his ship no longer in jeopardy, Corin went over to Mekala. He unstrapped the girl and pulled her into a tight embrace.
"I love you sweetheart." He whispered into her ear. "I won't let anyone hurt you. I promise."
"Daddy." Mekala cried, wrapping her arms around Corin's neck.
"It's alright now." Corin let a few tears flow freely down his cheek. He had to find a way to keep her safe, to keep Mekala out of the fighting. There had to be some answer.
"Corin Dante. I see that you have brought my wayward nephew home. Thank you." Corin looked up at the view screen. Maruk dominated the image. In the background was a charred operations room, filled with activity. "It seems that I have a lot to thank you for. You saved us today. Now, I owe you."
"Warlord, have you been able to view the data pack that we sent to you?" Corin stood, keeping Mekala tight to his chest.
"Some of it." Maruk frowned. "Do you place your trust in this Jason McWilliams?"
Corin paused and thought for a moment before he replied. "Yes. I do."
"Then upon completion of this mission, my debt to you will be repaid." Maruk leaned back in his seat. "There is something else. I am bestowing on the four of you the Order of Caldon. Wear it well. Lieutenant Prinelle, I am assigning you to be with your betrothed. I will be at the rendezvous point at the required time. Until then, good bye my friends."
Corin stared at the blank view screen. The Order of Caldon? He had heard of it, but had no idea what it meant. The four of us? Bewildered, he looked around the bridge. There was no one else there, only Narja, Prinelle, himself, and Mekala.
"So, where am I taking you Lieutenant? Where's this 'betrothed' of yours?" Corin half smiled at the woman.
"I'm staying right here, with Narja." she let a thin smile cross her lips as she answered. "Shall we set a course for the rendezvous point Captain?"
"Narja? O.k., ah yeah, let's go join Redemption." Corin's mind wandered through the events of the past few days, as Vengeance slipped into hyperspace.