War dead, p.12
War Dead, page 12
part #5 of Marathon Series
Eckhart straightened up, raised his hands, and bellowed over the tumult. "Be quiet, all of you! Be quiet!"
The representatives stopped talking, if only to glare at him for having the audacity to tell them to be quiet, but in the moment's silence that followed, a distant rumble of gunfire shook the Atera.
"I tried to tell you," DeWalt began again. "The Regiment--they're coming here right now. They followed me, and they're coming after all of you as we speak."
"DeWalt no longer has the ability to disintegrate," Bing explained, "but he still has an embedded command line that allows him to connect mentally to the Regiment signaling system. He can detect their movements even at a distance. The Regiment is launching another counterattack--against all of us."
Eckhart glanced over at the representatives, and another boom rocked the Atera.
Everyone leapt for the exit at once, and everyone started talking very loud and fast all over again. "Land your people at Guzion!" Eckhart called to Dallas. "We'll tie up the Regiment here for as long as we can. Rixby, launch the ground assault on Guzion now. Dallas will be there as soon as possible, but we need to engage the Regiment on multiple fronts."
Send them all out to Guzion,Eckhart, Chyke suggested. Silent Death will deal with the Regiment here.
No, I have a better idea. Send Silent Death against Dimitrov Station.
Silent Death is at your command, Eckhart. We will do it.
Eckhart brought his attention back into the room. Dallas had stormed out, heading back to the landing platform. Namol was exchanging last-minute instructions with Dickat.
"Our people are under attack!" Rory exclaimed. "We must go out and engage the enemy."
"Signal your people to take direction from the Atera," Eckhart ordered. "Let's go."
Akkek slid in next to Eckhart. "Is this enough of an emergency for us to go out and do our thing yet?"
"No. You stay put."
"At least let us pilot your squadrons," she insisted. "We can do more than just stand around. We want to fight."
"We can't risk you getting shot. You're too important."
She scowled at him, but he couldn't wait any longer.
Eckhart stepped out onto the podium and read the state of battle in a heartbeat. Dallas' ship streaked away under cover from the remaining battlecruisers.
Eckhart's fleet engaged Regiment craft assembling from all over. The Marathon dropped into space to join the alien defenders, and the ship vanished into the ever-growing horde.
The Regiment brought out every vessel on the block to go against Eckhart's fleet. At least a hundred Colossuses and three times as many Banshees rocketed into view, but all of them still wouldn't be enough to stand up to the fleet's Triorium drive.
The Regiment charged Eckhart's line and spread its Colossuses to either side, trying to encircle the fleet. The Banshees stabbed through both lines, trying to reach the alien fighters in the rear.
The two armies met in a storm of gunfire. The Atera and her sister ships turned outward to stop the Regiment from circling, and in half a second, the fleet overpowered the Regiment's might.
"Scramble all squadrons!" Eckhart ordered.
"Consider us scrambled," Staton's voice came through the communications system.
"Squadron Seven engaging the Banshees," Clifton added. "Drive them back through the line, Squadron Leader Five."
"Jackal Clan--forward!" Eckhart ordered.
"That's what I was waiting to hear," Namol replied, and the Jackal Clan swarmed over the squadrons to steamroll the Banshees.
"What about us?" Vuldak asked.
"Bring your crew about and advance on the Regiment from the rear," Eckhart told him. "Break the line from behind. Immortals, you take the right flank. Chosen and Immortals, drive them together. We'll encircle them instead."
"We're there," Dickat replied.
The Jackal Clan pounced on the Banshees, and in no time, the center of the Regiment's circle became a confused soup of squadrons, battle craft, and fighters all gunning for each other.
Eckhart lost sight of what was happening inside that ring. He had his hands full confronting the Colossuses trying to hem in his fleet. The Colossuses couldn't move as fast as the Atera and its sister ships, and as soon as Eckhart tried to charge them, the Atera broke the line and plunged through on the other side. Vuldak and the Chosen met him there, and they rounded on the Colossuses that now found themselves trapped in a shooting gallery of alien attackers.
The Colossuses tried to wheel and defend themselves, but at the same moment, the Jackal Clan and the squadrons overpowered the Banshees inside the ring. They forced the Banshees to withdraw until all the Regiment ships converged in a shoal of targets too tightly packed to escape.
The Jackal Clan and the Immortals closed the dragnet. Exploding ships sparked inside the horde as the alien army laid into their old enemy with a vengeance. Banshees tried to escape and break through, only to meet their deaths facing so many guns.
Eckhart withdrew the Atera out of range. "Fall back, Squadrons Five and Seven. Sitera, fall back."
"What are you trying to do to us?" Bing cried. "You can't pull us out now! We're missing out on all the fun."
"Let our allies get a taste of blood in the water," Eckhart ordered. "This is their day."
"It's our day, too," Bing complained, but he pulled back anyway.
"All Squadrons, return to your bases," Eckhart ordered. "Rixby, order the fleet to set course for Guzion."
"Course set. Fleet standing by."
Eckhart waited a second longer. The Jackal Clan, the Chosen, and the Immortals surrounded a bubbling mass of explosions at their center. Eckhart couldn't see any more Regiment ships inside it.
"Eckhart!" Rixby squeaked. "Reports are coming in from Dimitrov. Silent Death is assaulting the station."
Eckhart switched over to the feed she sent to his podium. The image showed Dimitrov Station, several solar systems away. At first, it looked normal, with the usual freight and passenger traffic coming and going through the sentry crossing.
Eckhart frowned when he noticed something strange moving around on the ground. It started as a shadow beyond the landing zone, and then a massive wave of black flooded the station.
It crawled across the landing zone, chewing up ships as it went. They crumbled under the onslaught. Invisible enemies dragged the ships to the ground and sucked them under.
The shadow touched the Datrium reserve, and it exploded in a tower of flame, but nothing stopped the relentless advance of that terrible force. It consumed the medical kiosk and the barracks before it surrounded the Quadraplex.
The Regiment personnel didn't notice anything, either, not until the Datrium reserve went up. They shot at the thing, but the oncoming wave swallowed all their shots. Banshees and battle craft launched for other parts of the station, but they couldn't do anything against such an enemy.
The personnel retreated to the Quadraplex and then onto its roof. They shot every weapon they had at the thing, but nothing would stop it.
The tide of black eventually folded around the Quadraplex and pulled it under, along with all the people on it and around it. The thing swallowed the whole station and then sank back into the ground. It left Dimitrov a lifeless rock, as though the station had never been there.
Are you satisfied, Eckhart? Chyke asked.
Very satisfied. Thank you, Silent Death. When you are finished, meet us at Guzion. We have a statement to make.
We will be there.
"Wow!" Akkek whispered. "And I thought we were bad."
"Are we really going to do that to the whole Regiment?" Rixby asked.
"It isn't what you'd call a decisive military victory, is it?" Eckhart turned back to the battle.
He was just about to call the Jackal Clan, the Chosen, and the Immortals to break off and go ahead to Guzion when five Colossuses and a bunch of Banshees broke through the line. They erupted from the mayhem, fired a few parting shots at the Atera, and took off into space.
"They're making for Guzion!" Rixby squeaked. "They'll raise the alarm!"
"Let them go," Eckhart ordered. "They can't make any difference now."
"But--"
"Get me a picture of the situation at Guzion."
Rixby pulled up a satellite feed of Guzion Station. This base looked normal, too, except that it was about fifty times the size of Dimitrov and Oiwei. Vast fleets of ships patrolled its skies while hundreds of freight craft floated in and out of the landing zone. Plasma cannons and laser posts defended Regiment storehouses covering the landscape.
In addition to the usual Colossus-class battleships and Banshee-class fighters, even bigger Stormbreakers stood guard at strategic points in the atmosphere. They didn't move. They didn't even have any maneuvering capability. They stayed in one place, but their weaponry exceeded anything else Eckhart had ever faced before.
Far in the distance, more ships drifted down to land in open plains beyond the station's weapons range. They landed by the hundreds and disgorged thousands of ground troops.
The army deployed at the four points of the compass and converged on the station in a mass alien horde. More ships descended to drop off more troops as the first arrivals stormed the station's perimeter.
The cannons and Stormbreakers pivoted their guns and unloaded on the army. Colossuses and Banshees took to the air to bombard the oncoming invaders, but nothing stopped the aliens' vendetta.
A flash of sunlight reflecting on metal winked somewhere in the throng. Dallas was down there leading the charge.
"Hold them at the perimeter," Eckhart ordered.
"What do you mean?" Rixby squeaked.
"I mean hold them at the perimeter. Tell Dallas to advance to the perimeter and hold position there until I give the word to attack."
"But the army is already under bombardment from the station," she argued. "Do you just want them to stand there and take it?"
"Yes. Exactly. Let the Regiment see that we could attack, but that we aren't."
Eckhart's communications system cracked. "They're finished, Eckhart," Namol told him. "There are none left."
Eckhart brought his attention back to the battle in front of him. Namol was right. The burning plasma and debris scattered. None of the Regiment ships survived apart from those few that had escaped.
"Jackal Clan, Chosen, and Immortals, advance to Guzion," Eckhart ordered. "Take your positions over the station, but don't attack until I give the word. Squadron Leader Seven and Squadron Seven Alpha, come on board and report to the bridge."
"What?" Staton exclaimed. "Why can't we take part in the battle?"
"Just follow orders, Major," Eckhart replied. "I'll explain everything when you get here."
"It's obvious, isn't it?" Clifton added from his Velocity. "He doesn't want Earthlings taking part in the battle."
"Eckhart is an Earthling," Namol interjected. "What do you think will happen when the Regiment finds out an Earthling is commanding the alien rebellion?"
"What the Regiment thinks doesn't concern us," Eckhart interrupted. "You have your orders, Squadron Leader Seven and Squadron Seven Alpha. Come on board and report to the bridge."
"I really liked the old Eckhart better," Clifton grumbled. "He was a pushover for his friends."
Bing laughed, but he was the only one who did. Staton and Clifton both returned to the Atera.
"Are you ready to go, Eckhart?" Rixby asked. "The Jackal Clan, the Chosen, and the Immortals are all en route."
So is Silent Death, Eckhart.
"Let's go." Eckhart stepped off his podium. "I'll be back in a little while. You have the bridge, Rixby."
CHAPTER17
E ckhart turned to the elevator to leave the Atera's bridge. Akkek and the other Akeix stood right behind the podium, watching the whole battle unfold.
Behind them, standing against the wall, saying nothing and pretending to be invisible, stood DeWalt. His expression transformed to a mixture of pain and terror when Eckhart spotted him.
Eckhart went to the elevator. The Akeix and the rest of the bridge were all too engrossed in the battle to notice when Eckhart pulled DeWalt into the elevator with him.
Eckhart waited until the doors shut before he turned to DeWalt. "Thank you for trying to warn us about the attack. Are you still in contact with the Regiment?"
DeWalt nodded down at the floor. "It's been fading ever since Akkek brought me on board, but it's still there. I wish it wasn't, Eckhart. I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologize. None of this is your fault. I just need to know if it's a two-way street. You can obviously see and hear what they're doing. Can they see and hear what you're doing?"
DeWalt shrugged. "Maybe, but the connection is getting so fuzzy now that I don't think they'll be able to anticipate us." He dared to glance up at Eckhart. "It doesn't really matter, though, does it? Your force is so huge that it doesn't matter if they know ahead of time what you plan to do. Besides, they already know you're going after Guzion Station."
Eckhart faced forward and sighed. "You're right."
"What do you want me to do, Eckhart?" DeWalt's voice choked. "I'll leave the ship if you want me to. I'll go somewhere else. I don't want to make life more difficult for you than I already have."
"You haven't, DeWalt, and I don't want you to leave the ship. Your place is here, and I really need your help right now."
"You do? How can I help? I'm powerless."
"Not quite." The elevator doors opened on the landing platform. Squadron Leader Seven and Squadron Seven Alpha were just coming in to land.
"What's so important that you need us back here?" Staton asked. "What's more important than stopping the Regiment?"
"Two Velocities won't make a difference in stopping the Regiment." Clifton turned to Eckhart. "Please tell me you aren't going to ask us to sit around and do nothing like the Akeix."
"Come with me, you three." Eckhart led the three men back to the elevator, but when the doors closed, he pulled the emergency stop to halt the car.
Clifton laughed nervously. "Is this your new office, Eckhart?"
"Listen to me," Eckhart told them. "I have a job for you--all three of you."
Clifton, Staton, and DeWalt looked at each other. If they didn't get the picture now, it only proved how little they knew about the fringes they were so enthusiastic to protect.
"All four of us are Earthlings," Eckhart explained.
"Uh...yeah?" Staton replied.
"We're going to contact Earth, and we're going to offer them a chance to capitulate."
"They won't do it," Clifton countered.
"I know they won't, but they'll realize there are Earthlings on the other side. Whatever ridiculous notions they have about the aliens being heathenish freaks who don't speak English will go out the window. They'll have to start taking us seriously."
"They won't capitulate," Staton added. "They won't even negotiate."
"I don't expect them to. I just want them to see four Earthling faces on the other side with no aliens around. I want to show them who they're dealing with."
Clifton, Staton, and DeWalt gazed back at Eckhart, and he suffered another pang when he felt his life change all over again. He wanted the leaders of Earth to see who they were dealing with because they were dealing with him--not Clifton or Staton or DeWalt.
He was the one. He was the only one launching this assault. He was the only one responsible for destroying every last trace of the Regiment on the fringes. That responsibility rested with him and no one else.
"Just tell us what you want us to do, Eckhart," Staton replied. "You know we'll do it."
"I need you to tell me who to contact," Eckhart told him. "You know the Regiment command structure. Who should I be talking to?"
"Well, you could contact the United Collateral Assembly. They're supposed to be the ruling body for all Earth colonies, including those outside the system, but if you really want to talk to someone in charge, I would suggest someone on the Regiment General Staff--Admiral Matthew Ferris or Admiral Julian Keating. They'll be posted to the General Staff Post at Taetov Station on Europa."
"That's good enough for me." Eckhart released the emergency stop, rode up to the bridge, and led the three men into the conference room. "Rixby, get me Taetov Station on Europa--attention Admiral Matthew Ferris or Admiral Julian Keating."
She stared up at him, but he didn't wait around to explain himself. He barricaded himself in the conference room. Now he was in a room with three other Earthlings, with no aliens around. His life only kept getting stranger by the day.
"How do you want to do this?" Clifton murmured. "Do you want us to talk to him? Staton and I are Regiment--or ex-Regiment. He might take it better coming from us."
"No," Eckhart replied. "I'll do all the talking. Just stand there and look Earthling."
They exchanged another glance, and Staton snorted. "We can do that."
A chirp came from the communications system, and Eckhart moved in front of it. He should feel nervous about this, but he didn't. He felt again that his whole life had been leading up to this moment.
He took his place with Clifton on one side of him, Staton on the other, and DeWalt at the end of the line.
The picture came up on his display, and he found himself facing two grey-haired men, both broad-shouldered and stern. "What is the meaning of this?" Admiral Keating erupted. "How dare you--" He broke off when he suddenly realized he was looking at four normal Earthlings.
"Good morning to you, too, Admiral," Eckhart replied. "As you can see, our force is poised to raze Guzion Station to the ground the same way we razed Govax, Oiwei, and Dimitrov. We demand to negotiate terms for the Regiment's immediate withdrawal from the fringes and--"
"You demand!" Admiral Keating thundered. "Who are you to demand anything? The aliens on the fringes are lucky the Regiment is there to stop them slitting each other's throats."
"Whether we slit each other's throats is our business, Admiral," Eckhart replied. "We don't need the Regiment to stop us. We know you've been experimenting for decades to come up with a doomsday weapon to annihilate the fringe population, and we've had enough. You have a choice. You can withdraw the Regiment from alien space and retreat to your own system forever, or we can drive you there. It's up to you which one."
