War dead, p.10
War Dead, page 10
part #5 of Marathon Series
The ship didn't respond very well with most of its hull smashed in, but it was better than nothing. He limped off into the battle and buried himself in the confusion, but it couldn't last. DeWalt knew where he was.
Everything DeWalt did told Eckhart that DeWalt was coming after him in particular--him and Clifton. DeWalt was out for blood. Why? What had the Regiment done to turn DeWalt against his former friends? How could they affect such a stunning change in personality?
The instant Eckhart got his fighter stabilized and hidden behind several Colossuses, DeWalt came after him again. An invisible force shoved the Colossuses apart to leave a clear path between DeWalt and Eckhart's ship.
Eckhart tried to veer away, but his damaged engines, wings, and hull wouldn't obey him. The ship staggered and juddered, trying to respond to his directions.
DeWalt sailed between the Regiment ships, pushing Banshees and Velocities out of his way. He repelled every Velocity that tried to come near him.
Eckhart pushed his fighter to the breaking point trying to duck behind the line of Colossuses. He needed one hiding place to regroup before he faced DeWalt again, but nothing slowed DeWalt's advance.
DeWalt pushed aside the Colossus right in front of Eckhart's Velocity, and Eckhart came face to face with DeWalt. At that moment, a screaming alarm went off somewhere on Eckhart's instruments.
"We got a problem, pal!" Clifton yelled. "Hull depressurizing on the port...I mean...hull depressurizing all over! The Velocity is imploding!"
"We're coming to get you, Squadron Leader One!" Rixby squeaked in Eckhart's ear. "Just hang on."
"Stay out of this, Command!" Eckhart ordered. "Keep the Atera out of the firing line."
"Negative, Squadron Leader One. No can do. Just--"
A groan trembled through the Velocity. It vibrated into Eckhart's seat, and breathable gas started venting through the breach.
Eckhart tried to tear his eyes away from DeWalt gliding closer by the second. DeWalt nudged all the ships on the field out of his path and left Eckhart and Clifton sitting stricken right in front of him. DeWalt's halo kept spitting lasers at every other ship within range, but for some reason, he left this one Velocity alone.
Eckhart stared through the glass at the black outline of a man hidden under flashes and flaring light. That shadow in there was not the man Eckhart knew.
That black shape wasn't the man who'd armed a pounder to save the Marathon crew from destruction. That wasn't the man who saved Dallas and the others from the Regiment. No way. It couldn't be.
The DeWalt that Eckhart knew would never turn against the Marathon crew. The DeWalt that Eckhart knew would never raise a finger against Clifton--not ever.
That black shape wasn't DeWalt. It was some chimera cooked up in a Regiment lab. It was the sum total of the Regiment's murderous hatred of everything alien. Eckhart couldn't think of that thing as a man, because it wasn't anymore. It was inhuman.
DeWalt floated to a standstill right in front of Eckhart's cockpit. Eckhart felt Clifton go still and quiet behind him. Only the alarm disturbed the unnatural silence while both men waited for DeWalt to strike the killing blow.
Did DeWalt even remember Eckhart at all? Eckhart couldn't see any face or expression. Maybe DeWalt didn't see Eckhart. Maybe he only saw an enemy.
Another roiling vine of light and fire uncoiled from DeWalt's halo. It snaked through space, crawling toward the Velocity, but at that moment, the Atera skidded between DeWalt and the crumpling fighter.
The battlecruiser slid into place so fast neither Eckhart nor DeWalt saw it coming. It whipped backward, training all its guns on DeWalt. At the same time, the open hatch swallowed the Velocity, and slammed shut with the ship inside it.
CHAPTER14
E ckhart and Clifton sprang down from the cockpit and Eckhart raced for the elevator. "Quick! Get up to the bridge! We don't have much time."
"What are you going to do?" Clifton panted.
"God only knows, but we have to do something!"
Both men caught their breath on the way upstairs, but when the elevator opened in the command center, Eckhart walked out into a disaster beyond his wildest dreams.
DeWalt blazed in a supernova of light and power right in front of the Atera. Lasers pounded the hull and made such a deafening noise that Eckhart could barely hear Rixby screaming orders at everyone.
The Atera's guns blasted Triorium ejections at DeWalt's halo. The shots met DeWalt's lasers in such a devastating discharge that Eckhart couldn't even tell if they were doing any damage at all.
Eckhart leapt onto the podium and ripped the helm sideways. "Keep up your fire!" he yelled down at Rixby. "Don't let up on him."
The ejections exploded even stronger when Eckhart pulled the ship out of DeWalt's path. He had to turn to keep up with Eckhart's movements, and Eckhart saw his strategy working.
He veered the Atera back and forth in crazy random curlicues, avoiding as many of DeWalt's lasers as possible. The noise of lasers hitting the hull diminished, but only slightly.
The maneuver gave the rest of the fleet new resolve, and they laid into the Regiment ships even harder. Squadrons surrounded Banshees, and several Colossuses ruptured in rebounding Triorium blasts.
DeWalt spun this way and that, trying to keep up with Eckhart's wild contortions, but when DeWalt's attack became less effective, he changed tack. He pulled to a standstill and no longer tried to keep up with Eckhart's tricks. DeWalt's halo exploded in an even more deadly fountain of lasers, but he didn't try to hit the Atera.
He targeted every other ship in the fleet instead. He pounded the other battlecruisers, and the Zagua exploded, along with several Velocities.
Eckhart took a split second to adjust to the new situation. He slammed the helm hard to starboard. The Atera reacted incredibly fast for a ship this size. He tried to zip between DeWalt and the next ship in line, but DeWalt only turned his fire somewhere else instead.
The next barrage ripped the port engine off the Kestera's wing, and DeWalt started on the forward hull right on top of the bridge. Communications squawked down the line from somewhere across the bridge from Eckhart's podium. He had to do something before DeWalt ate through the entire fleet.
Rixby screamed something else, and Eckhart gunned the engines to get between the Kestera and DeWalt, but DeWalt flicked the Atera out of the way with no effort at all. DeWalt didn't even turn his attention away from his project of destroying the Kestera one hull panel at a time.
Eckhart scrambled to come up with some way to stop the slaughter when, for no particular reason, DeWalt turned his head and looked right at the Atera.
Eckhart still couldn't see any of DeWalt's features, and DeWalt couldn't see Eckhart through the Atera's hull. Even so, Eckhart got the unnerving sensation that DeWalt was looking straight at him.
A charge of some indescribable emotion passed between the two men. DeWalt knew exactly who was piloting this ship. DeWalt knew who Eckhart was, and DeWalt was doing all of this to get to Eckhart. He would bet his life on that.
Eckhart's stomach tightened when he realized. DeWalt would destroy the whole fleet in front of him. DeWalt would make Eckhart watch his last hopes die of ever stopping the Regiment. Eckhart couldn't defeat the Regiment as long as they had DeWalt. The whole project was nothing but a hopeless fantasy.
Another crushing boom resounded through the Atera's hull as the Kestera's starboard wing tore off in a hail of lasers. The Kestera staggered to a halt and turned its Triorium blasts on DeWalt.
More shots erupted from the Atera, and the Sitera joined in from across the battle, but nothing touched DeWalt inside his impenetrable bubble.
DeWalt brought his lasers together in one searing jet of fire. It slammed into the Kestera's bridge when, without warning, another ship rocketed past the Atera's nose. It hit the laser and took the shot square on its Celdian shields.
The Marathon whirled on the spot as lasers deflected in all directions. Eckhart stared at the ship in stupid shock. It couldn't be, but it was.
At the same instant, thousands of ships materialized out of thin air. Eckhart had been so consumed with the battle that he didn't see them approaching.
They swarmed into the battle from all sides. They enveloped the Regiment vessels and blocked every other ship from going anywhere. In half a second, no one could move as every kind of ship mobbed the Regiment.
Eckhart's gaze darted across his instruments trying to see something, anything. DeWalt still hung unmoving in front of him, but all his power couldn't penetrate the Marathon's shielding.
"Target that asshole!" Eckhart yelled. "Triorium ejections--full spread!"
"Yes, sir!" Rixby squeaked, and the Atera's guns opened fire.
More Triorium bombardments blasted from all sides. Eckhart took a minute to realize they weren't coming from Aistenz's fleet. They were coming from the alien ships that rode to the rescue. Only one other group on the fringes used Triorium drive.
The Jackal Clan was here.
The Jackal Clan wasn't the only criminal organization helping out. The Chosen, Silent Death, and the Immortals were all here, and several Megaliths had even showed up to join the battle.
Eckhart looked up at the Atera's guns pounding DeWalt's halo. A second later, what looked like a comet smashed into DeWalt and hurtled him out of sight. That flash filled the bridge, and everything went suddenly silent.
Eckhart's ears popped, and something crashed down on the carpet right in front of his podium. Five people piled on top of DeWalt, but he didn't fight back. He collapsed on the floor, and his sweat-soaked head lolled to one side. He was out cold.
Akkek shot Eckhart a wild grin and dragged herself out from under her companions. She was drenched in sweat, too, but the insane grin of pure thrilling happiness on her face filled Eckhart's heart with light.
She wiped her hands on her pants and stepped over DeWalt's limp form. "It was only temporary, Eckhart! It's all back--every bit of it."
Eckhart frowned down at DeWalt, still lying under the four strangers. "What the hell did you do to him?"
"I took his power just like he took mine. He's harmless--for now, at least. I don't know how long it will last, but don't worry. We can subdue him if he fights back."
Eckhart looked over at the other four. They started to peel themselves off DeWalt, too, and they looked around the bridge with as much interest as the bridge staff looked at them. "Who's we?"
Akkek waved to her friends, and Eckhart saw, as they all straightened up, that all four were Akeix like Akkek--three males and one female. "This is Miklon, Brophus, Angethea, and Vimhan."
"Yeah, but how did you...?" Eckhart waved at DeWalt. His brain didn't seem to work anymore.
Akkek cackled in insane glee. "Isn't it great? I gave each of them a blood transfusion. They have all my power." Akkek grabbed Eckhart by the shoulders and shook him. "This is gonna be great! The Regiment doesn't stand a chance against five of us!"
Eckhart stared at her. "Five of you? Are you saying you...?" He pointed at the other four.
"They have all my power. I transferred the virus to all four of them. Don't you see, Eckhart? It doesn't matter anymore if DeWalt is on the Regiment's side. We can beat him. We can beat them all! We're going all the way to Earth!"
Eckhart struggled to get his brain in gear. One Akkek was bad enough, but five of them?
Just then, DeWalt groaned on the floor and started to wake up. The five Akeix rounded on him, but Clifton shoved them out of his way.
He knelt down next to DeWalt and pulled DeWalt toward him. "DeWalt! You're all right, buddy. You're among friends."
DeWalt moaned again, turned his head toward the familiar voice, and opened his eyes. He looked up at Clifton and then glanced around. All the venomous ferocity Eckhart saw at Oiwei vanished in a flash.
"Clifton," DeWalt husked. "What's going on? Where are we?"
"Get Bing up here on the double," Eckhart ordered.
DeWalt glanced up at him. "Eckhart? What are you...where...what's going on?"
Eckhart moved over behind Clifton. "What's the last thing you remember, buddy?"
"I was on the..." DeWalt furrowed his brow. "The last thing I remember was being on the Marathon. We were in the infirmary, and I was talking to Bing about..."
"We aren't on the Marathon anymore, man," Eckhart told him. "You've been in something like a coma."
DeWalt ran his fingers through his hair. "I feel like shit."
"You're gonna be all right." Clifton started to help DeWalt sit up. "You're safe now."
DeWalt looked around the bridge and frowned at all the aliens around him. "Rixby! You're here. Where's Alice and Dallas and..." Just then, Bing walked in, and DeWalt held up his hand. "No, Bing! You are not giving me any Eplite. I don't care if I'm missing arms and legs. Forget it."
Eckhart laughed. "It looks like DeWalt is back to normal."
"Eckhart!" Rixby squeaked. "The Marathon is hailing us."
"Put it through."
Eckhart stepped back on the podium, and his throat seized up when Alice appeared in front of him. "You bastard, Eckhart! How could you let me fly away at a time like this?"
He couldn't stop smiling at her. "I gave you my word I wouldn't do anything to stand in the way of you leaving."
"Is it true Aistenz is dead?"
Eckhart sighed. What was the point of hiding it anymore? "Yeah. He's dead, and I'm in charge of his empire. We're taking every alien vessel we've got to Guzion Station, and when we get rid of that, we're going on to Earth."
"Count me in," Alice told him.
Innyria stepped up next to her. "Count me in, too, Eckhart. You didn't think you were going to keep me out of this war, did you?"
"It looks like all your old bosses are here anyway, brother."
"Are you sure you don't want the Marathon back?" Alice glanced around the Atera's bridge and snarled through her mask. "That ship doesn't suit you."
"No," he told her. "The Marathon has a new crew, a crew that will do it justice. You two stay where you are and follow us. We're on our way to rendezvous with Dallas and the rest of the army."
CHAPTER15
E ckhart pulled Bing aside. "Take Clifton and DeWalt down to the medical bay. Give DeWalt a full checkup and make sure there's nothing physically wrong with him. Keep an eye on him, and let me know if he shows any sign of reverting to his old ways."
Bing shot a sidelong glance at Clifton. "That dude isn't exactly 100%, either, you know."
"Maybe not, but he wants to fight. He has as much right to take part in this war as the rest of us, and I'm not about to turn away Earthlings who want to join us." Eckhart lowered his voice even further so no one would hear him. "We might need them in the end."
Bing studied him on the side. "What did you have in mind? You are an Earthling. Whatever you want them to do, you could do yourself."
Eckhart tried to laugh it off. "What's the matter? You're the one who's always saying I'm an honorary alien."
"Joke about it all you want, but you know it's true. You want Clifton and DeWalt to negotiate with Earth, but there's nothing stopping you from doing that. You're as Earthling as they are. If you want an Earthling to face Earth, you should be the one, not them. You're the one who speaks for the fringes, not them."
Eckhart winced. "I don't speak for the fringes, pal."
"And they do?" Bing made a face. "Please, Eckhart. Everyone here admires you. Everyone here follows you, not them. There's no one here who could do what you're doing."
"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Eckhart teased. "You make me out to be some kind of messiah figure or something."
"No. Just a person--a person like all these aliens. Everyone on the fringes knows you. Everyone on the fringes knows you're one of us. Clifton and DeWalt are outsiders. They're strangers. They came on board the Marathon hating aliens."
"They changed. They don't feel that way now."
"You never did, though, did you? You wished you were an alien. You might as well be one, in the eyes of the fringes. You're the only person in the whole galaxy qualified to negotiate with Earth."
Eckhart tried to shrug the suggestion away. He didn't want to be this person, but he already knew he was. He'd started to become this the moment Aistenz died and it only got stronger as time went on.
He already knew Bing was right. The fringe aliens would never accept Clifton and DeWalt speaking on their behalf. They wouldn't accept anyone who wasn't one of them, and no alien could make Earth listen to reason. Only Eckhart could do all that.
He didn't want to talk about it. He didn't want to think about it. "Just take care of them, will you? I have to talk to Akkek and her new friends. Then I'll come down to the medical bay and touch base with you."
Bing walked away, and a moment later, he escorted Clifton and DeWalt out of sight.
"Eckhart!" Rixby called again. "Dallas is contacting you. He says the ground troops are stationed in orbit around Guzion. Dallas is en route on a Varun MFS-695 to meet with you about plans for the attack."
"Good. Invite the leaders of the Jackal Clan, Chosen, Silent Death, Immortals, and Megaliths over to Atera for a council of war."
Rixby, the Akeix, and most of the bridge staff spun around to stare at him. "You want to invite them here?" Rixby squeaked.
"Yes, I do. Now send the message, Rixby, and tell Alice to come, too." Eckhart turned to Akkek. "I want you to attend the council with me."
"Why? We aren't in charge of anything."
"You should still be there. You five are practically an army of your own."
Akkek grinned at him. "Okay. If you insist."
He tapped her elbow. "Come here. I want to talk to you before they get here."
He led her and the other Akeix into the conference room off the bridge. "What's up?" Akkek asked.
"I know you five are stronger than all our forces, but I want you to hold back. I want you to...well, basically, I want you to do nothing while the fringe aliens wipe out Guzion."
"You don't want us to do anything?" Akkek gasped. "What's the point of having us on your side if we aren't going to help the rebellion?"
