Resolve the lost warship.., p.1
Resolve (The Lost Warship Book 5), page 1
Resolve
The Lost Warship Book Five
Daniel Gibbs
Contents
CSV Lion of Judah Blueprints
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Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Epilogue
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Acknowledgments
Resolve by Daniel Gibbs
Copyright © 2023 by Daniel Gibbs
Visit Daniel Gibbs website at
www.danielgibbsauthor.com
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Additional Illustrations by Joel Steudler—www.joelsteudler.com
This book is a work of fiction, the characters, incidents and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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Battlegroup Z
Book 1 - Weapons Free
Book 2 - Hostile Spike
Book 3 - Sol Strike
Book 4 - Bandits Engaged
Book 5 - Iron Hand
Book 6 - Final Flight
Echoes of War
Book 1 - Fight the Good Fight
Book 2 - Strong and Courageous
Book 3 - So Fight I
Book 4 - Gates of Hell
Book 5 - Keep the Faith
Book 6 - Run the Gauntlet
Book 7 - Finish the Fight
The Lost Warship
Book 1 - Adrift
Book 2 - Mercy
Book 3 - Valor
Book 4 - Justice
Book 5 - Resolve
Book 6 - Faith
Breach of Faith
(With Gary T. Stevens)
Book 1 - Breach of Peace
Book 2 - Breach of Faith
Book 3 - Breach of Duty
Book 4 - Breach of Trust
Book 5 - Spacer’s Luck
Book 6 - Fortune’s Favor
Book 7 - The Iron Dice
Deception Fleet
(With Steve Rzasa)
Book 1 - Victory’s Wake
Book 2 - Cold Conflict
Book 3 - Hazards Near
Book 4 - Liberty’s Price
Book 5 - Ecliptic Flight
Book 6 - Collision Vector
Courage, Commitment, Faith: Tales from the Coalition Defense Force
(Anthology Series)
Volume One
1
Ruune Stadium
Zeivlot
21 April 2465
Major General David Cohen felt an itch on the back of his neck, undoubtedly caused by the dress uniform he wore. It would have to keep because there was no reaching back and scratching it when he was on a podium, about to deliver a speech to the entire Zeivlot and Zavlot populations. Tens of thousands of people from both species lined the seats. From that distance, they almost appeared human.
It had been six months since the Lion of Judah had returned from the ill-fated expedition to Mifreen, and the fleet had been busy. The first Ajax-class Block II destroyer was ready to roll out of its orbital shipyard, followed by dozens more. And Master Chief Tinateriro had been relentless. Her boot camps rolled out hundreds of new soldiers every ten weeks, and the class size expanded every graduation. The goal was to train indigenous senior enlisted soldiers in the CDF way and get them pushing boots too.
All in all, they were on track.
David gripped the sides of the lectern and gazed out at the sea of uniformed Zeivlots and Zavlots. They numbered well over two thousand and represented the latest graduation of recruits. Vog’t had insisted they hold a public ceremony and pipe it to both worlds—because she was a politician. Still, she was probably right. Showing the population of both worlds the initiative to integrate their militaries would help calm tensions. We hope, anyway.
“Madame Zupan, Chairman Olgasin, I am honored to stand here today as we celebrate another class of graduates from Recruit Training Depot Sextans B. These men and women represent the best of you. They have set aside past hatreds and begun the long process of learning how to work together, live together, and most importantly, forgive one another.”
Cheering and applause broke out from the stands, with loud clicking sounds filling the stadium.
David still hadn’t figured out the basics of replicating Zeivlot speech, and their combined oral sounds with tongue clicks was a foreign concept to him. Thankfully, the translators work to near perfection now. “I wish that the current circumstances didn’t exist. But at least they instigated something positive. And if we survive the next two years, which I believe is God’s will, then both civilizations will be stronger for it.
“To our newly minted privates in the Coalition Defense Force, I charge you to remember the values of the CDF. Courage, commitment, and faith. Courage to face whatever the enemy throws at us, without fear or flinching. Commitment to our values, to our fellow soldiers, and to defend the civilians who count on us for protection. And finally, faith in God—whom you call the Maker—but also in the rule of law, the concept of freedom, and our fellow soldiers and citizens. None of this works if we can’t trust the men and women to our right and our left.”
David took a breath before continuing. “Now, I welcome you into a brotherhood that will never forsake you. You have much training to complete before your first postings on a warship, but I have confidence that all of you will make it. Because you must. There is no alternative and no way to victory except building a force large enough to stand against the nanites. Back in the Milky Way, you see, the CDF was almost always outnumbered and outgunned when it came to fighting the League of Sol. For every ship we had, they had ten. And yet, we never faltered or wavered. Fight the good fight, no matter the odds. That was our battle cry.
“And so it is yours now. I wish you all Godspeed on your journey. We will stand beside you wherever the path leads. You are dismissed!”
David took a step back from the podium as wild applause, cheering, and clicking swept the arena. The Zeivlot and Zavlot recruits stood and threw their covers into the air. Someone’s been teaching them our traditions. It brought a smile to his face. Then, he realized that chants of “Fight the good fight, no matter the odds!” had broken out. Some of the aliens tried to speak English. Others kept to their own language, and the translator in his ear picked it up. For a moment, David felt a spark of pride wash over him. I bet this is why politicians enjoy giving speeches to huge crowds. He pivoted toward Vog’t and Olgasin, who stood and warmly shook his hand.
“Thank you, General. This wouldn’t have been possible without the tireless efforts of your people.”
David flashed a grin. “Your population is doing most of the work, Zupan. We’re simply showing the way.”
“And providing us with hundreds of years of technological advances,” Olgasin replied. “I still wonder what the cost will be.”
“There isn’t one.” David pursed his lips. “I’ve said this before.”
“We will see. So far, you’ve kept your word, but my people remain vigilant.”
“As you should.”
Vog’t cleared her throat. “Enough of that, for now. General, I have something I’d like to show you. I would’ve preferred to do it with your full command staff, but when I asked, Lieutenant Taylor said that it would be impossible to get the entire contingent planetside.”
David blinked. That was the first he’d heard of such a request. “I’m sure there was either a security or operational concern, Zupan.”
“Would you have Colonel Demood join us? We plan to make the, ah, thing in question public in the next few days, but I wa
“I think we can spare the time.”
Throughout the stadium, families of the graduated soldiers lined the barriers overlooking the field, waving banners and cheering. The display reminded David of ceremonies back in the Terran Coalition, like when he’d finished Officer Candidates School. The memory was a pleasant one that brought a smile to his lips.
It took them a good hour to leave the arena in a secure aircar motorcade, and David found the security precautions overly done, if sensible. He shared a car with Colonel Calvin Demood, the commanding officer of the Lion’s Marine Expeditionary Unit.
“The Zeivlots put on a nice show, don’t they?” Calvin mused as they finally got moving.
“Not quite as good as the CDF or even the Terran Coalition’s misguided children.”
Calvin raised an eyebrow. “With respect, sir, our uniforms are light-years ahead of yours at looking spiffy and attracting the ladies.”
“That’s the technical term for it, eh? Spiffy?” David asked with a snicker. “Yeah, I’ll give the Marines credit. You guys look much better in formation, especially in dress uniforms, than we do.”
Calvin made a big show of adjusting his collar. “Considering I’m in one of those right now, thanks for the compliment, sir.”
Both men laughed before Calvin adjusted the privacy setting in the passenger compartment. The divider turned opaque.
“So, uh, how are you doing?”
David made eye contact with him. “That felt like more than a friendly question.”
“Let’s say from one combat vet to another who knows what it’s like to lose people, you haven’t been yourself lately. Not since we got back from Mifreen.”
“I’m fine—”
“The hell you are, sir.” Calvin’s gaze was piercing. “We haven’t left this solar system since the Lion’s yard repairs were completed, except to ferry scientists to the dig site at the precursor homeworld, or whatever the doc’s calling it now. I know you better than that.”
David turned his head. He’s right. I just don’t want to face it.
“Sir?”
“I got a lot of people killed, Cal.”
“No, those Mifreen bastards with their goofy Netsim and fake utopia killed our Marines, pilots, soldiers… and a whole bunch of civvies. Not you.”
“I gave the orders.”
“So what? It was the right call. I know that, and so do you.”
David drew back his head. “It’s not that simple. Hayworth’s right… interfering with other civilizations isn’t our job. And it was foolhardy of me.”
“Screw Hayworth.”
“Cal—”
“No, listen to me. Look, the doc’s smart. I get that. He’s done a ton of good for the Coalition, but he’s not a combat soldier. He’ll never know what it feels like to order good men and women to their deaths or to weigh the use of violence to accomplish an objective. Yeah, we’re out here all alone. You’re having to write the book as we go too. But I’d rather have someone doing it that has empathy and wants to help folks than this noninterference crap.”
“So, we should go willy-nilly telling everyone else what to do?”
“Have you done that? Nah. We’ve got a partnership with the Zeivlots. The Jinvaas keep sending helium-3 because they’re getting reports from their scientist guy. Maybe we’ll see those Admari people again someday. I don’t know. But we positively impacted all of them, and despite our losses, we helped the Mifreen too. At the very least, the thousand of them sitting on Zeivlot would agree.”
“But did I have the right to order our people into harm’s way for another species we’re not obligated to?”
“What’s that you always say… right makes might?”
David nodded. “Yeah. I believe that.”
“This is simply a case of that playing out.” Calvin shrugged. “I hate losing Marines, sir. But what’s the point of having a lethal and well-armed force if it won’t step in when obvious injustice is staring us right in the face? These assholes were shooting children in the back. My only regret is I couldn’t find the life support pod Hes Sansan was in and put a burst of bullets through his chest.”
The simplistic way that Calvin and many other Marines viewed the galaxy appealed to David, even though he had to look at the big picture. I have to be careful not to give in to the impulse to always right a wrong when I see it. “I’m sick of writing letters that might not even make it back to the families. These men and women deserved better than to die in a galaxy four and a half million light-years from home.”
“Yeah, they did. But that’s what we got, and we ought to keep doing our thing because it’s what’s right.”
David paused. Sometimes, Calvin had a unique way of framing things and cutting through everything around an issue. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Now, why isn’t that lovely lady—who, for reasons I can’t understand, wants to go out with a squid—joining us?”
“Because we both feel it’s best not to let our relationship go public. That whole Zeivlot-barely-being-over-a-near-holy-war thing.” David’s cheeks warmed.
They typically did when Salena Bo’hai came up. She was a linguist who had helped her people make initial contact with humanity. Assigned to the Lion of Judah, they had grown very close to the point of a romantic attachment.
Calvin snorted. “Fine, fine.”
The aircar lurched to a stop, cutting off the conversation. David peered out the window, realizing they’d left the capital city’s dense urban center and were out beyond the skyscrapers and modern buildings. Instead, they were in a park that comprised a few thousand acres and served as a sort of planetary botanical garden. He saw security personnel spreading out through the window and Vog’t being escorted out of her separate aircar.
“Let’s find out what this is all about.” David opened the door and climbed out.
Vog’t quickly strode over with several close protective agents around her like a halo. “A pleasant ride, I trust, General?”
“Since I wasn’t being shot at, quite pleasant.”
Vog’t chuckled. “Do all humans possess this, what do you call it, sarcasm?”
“Most of us, but some are true practitioners of the art.” David used his thumb to indicate Calvin, who’d appeared at his side.
“What’d I do now?”
“I was just explaining to the zupan how well-versed you are in the fine skill of sarcastic comments.”
“Oh, well, in that case, I take full credit.” Calvin snickered.
David carefully avoided rolling his eyes but was glad they could still share humor. It had been a while since he’d even felt like telling a joke. “So, what are we going to see?” he asked in Vog’t’s direction.
“Follow me.” Without another word, she began walking down the entrance path.
David exchanged a glance with Calvin before shrugging and setting off after the Zeivlot leader.
Little was said as they walked through the luscious garden. Each section seemed to have a different theme, though David couldn’t read the inscriptions and placards, as they were written in Zeivlot.
What I wouldn’t do for a Marine helmet at the moment.
The flowers and plants were a beautiful, veritable cornucopia of different colors, shapes, and sizes. Given how exotic some of the species were, it rivaled anything on Canaan and perhaps exceeded it. As they cleared the top of a small hill and turned the corner on the path, what Vog’t was leading them toward came into focus.
Twin alloy monuments stood at least five meters tall, one the symbol for the Zeivlot religion, the other for Zavlot. Carefully tended plants and flowers surrounded both. But that wasn’t what stuck out immediately to David. Instead, the lifelike statues of humans surrounding both got his attention. Puzzled, he focused on one and thought he recognized the face. David strode over and examined the plaque next to the statue. It was written in three separate languages, including English.
