Omega force the human fa.., p.22
Omega Force: The Human Factor (OF8), page 22
“And you believe that?”
“I do,” Jason said. “At that point she had no reason to lie. She thought I was going to kill her either way, assuming that I wouldn’t want to leave any enemies behind me.”
“Well she does have a point there,” Twingo huffed.
“She won’t be coming after us,” Jason shook his head. “I think she might be contemplating a career change anyway.” Their conversation was interrupted by the throb of the main drive powering up and the slight vertigo as the artificial gravity fought against the grav-drive stabilizing for flight.
Jason waited until they’d meshed-out of the system before going back to his quarters to clean up. He’d believed Carolyn when she said that she wouldn’t be seeking revenge and understood Jason’s position. He desperately hoped he wasn’t making yet another mistake that might get them all killed.
****
“Citizens of the world … please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Margaret Jansen. I was the appointed administrator of Earth’s first colony world, a planet graciously given to us by a benevolent and generous people called the ull. As part of the exchange for the miraculous faster than light technology and the permission to colonize a planet that they owned, we were to provide them something in return … something small and, in truth, completely useless to us: the wrecked ship that was left here seventeen years ago when we were viciously attacked.
“Although we ourselves had no use for the outdated and, frankly, dangerous wreckage that was left here, your governments have seen fit to go back on the deal they agreed to. I do not know why they have decided to act so dishonorably, but it has put our alliance with the powerful ull at risk. I am here now to try and facilitate the rectifying of that mistake. You will be hearing reports in the coming days of how we’ve arrived in a fleet of ships that have encircled Earth … you will also likely hear wild speculation about what it means. Understand this: We seek nothing more than a peaceful resolution to this egregious breach of contract. We are not a threat to you, but your own governments are. Please keep this message in mind when you hear the inevitable propaganda from them as we strive to work behind the scenes for a way for everyone to get what they want. Thank you.”
“We control ninety-seven percent of the broadcast satellites and that message is being pumped out every few hours in dozens of languages. We’ll have full coverage within the day.”
“Thank you, Alex,” Margaret said to her director of communications, a fairly hollow title since he was “director” of himself and a single assistant. “And I assume we’re being bombarded with requests from nearly every corner of the globe?”
“Oh, yes,” Alex chuckled. “Every frequency, every protocol … there isn’t a governmental agency down there that isn’t trying to get us to answer them.”
“Continue ignoring them until all of our ships are in position,” she said. “What is the ull fleet doing?”
“Still holding back near Mars,” Alex read off his tablet. “Their commanding officer said that they’d rather not get involved unless needed, but that we don’t have an especially long time to get what they were promised. They didn’t specify a time, though.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Margaret waved her hand at him. “Have all our ships on alert for any stupid move by the American or Russian military. I don’t think the others have weaponry that can hit us at this altitude.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Once he’d left, Margaret stood and walked over to the tall, oval porthole and looked down at the blue planet of her birth. How odd that it had only taken a few years before she began to think of everyone down there as “them.” She’d always been ambitious, but she could hardly believe the opportunity that had been presented to her when the consortium of governments on Earth had foolishly given the control of an entire planet to one person. While they thought she and her crews were toiling away building pre-fabbed cities to begin the serious colonization efforts, she had quickly realized she had a much, much larger opportunity as well as a willing partner in the ull.
Director Stiles had seemed to suspect something and sent that snake in the grass agent out to spy on her, but once again the unimaginably vast distance between Earth and Terranovus worked in her favor. She’d stored the troublesome agent in their hastily built jail and Stiles had no way of even officially inquiring as to where the man might have gone.
She would let the people down there wallow in fear for a few days, maybe even a few object lessons to show she was serious, and when they saw the carnage and saw the ships every day they’d practically roll out the red carpet for her. Anything to make the uncertainty stop. If there was one thing the human animal adored above all other things, it was familiarity. It could be horrible beyond belief, but as long as it was familiar the masses took a certain comfort in it. She was almost embarrassed at how easily her species could be manipulated. This would all be over soon and then she would deal with that thorn in her side, Sergeant Burke, before he could screw things up yet again.
“How the hell one man is able to cause that much trouble is beyond me,” she muttered as she looked down upon her world.
Chapter 23
“Captain, we just picked up a ship on sensors … it’s not making any overt moves towards any of our ships and isn’t even all that impressive, but it popped up on our ‘Watch For and Alert’ database.”
“What’s her registry,” Kellea Colleren asked while simultaneously working on a tablet computer.
“She’s not running a valid registry, Captain,” the sensor operator said.
“Then how did it flag on the … What’s the make and origin?” Kellea had a sinking feeling about what she would hear next.
“Well that’s another strange thing—”
“Just show me,” Kellea snapped. The terminal next to her flashed up with a grainy long-range scan of the incoming ship, and it was just as she’d suspected.
“That no-good sack of—”
“Captain?”
“You’re dismissed,” she said brusquely. “Tactical Officer! Lock weapons on the small, Jepsen Aero DL7 that is approaching from our fore, starboard quadrant.”
“Sensors locked on, Captain. Bringing weapons online.”
“Stand by,” Kellea sat in her seat. “Let’s wait until this idiot calls over before we do anything rash.”
****
“She’s locked on weapons, Captain,” Kage said.
“What the—” Jason looked at his tactical panel in surprise.
“Well, you did get her boss killed after almost ruining her career, but not quite before you traded her in for a nice, young princess,” Kage said. “She’s bound to harbor some lingering resentment.”
“Whose side are you on?” Jason asked.
“The truth has no side,” Kage declared righteously.
“Keep laughing, idiot … you’re on this ship too,” Crusher said. “She can’t exactly get to him without killing all of us.”
“You take the fun out of everything,” Kage sighed. “Shall I request a com channel?”
“Uh, no,” Jason said. “Let’s just send this message via plain text to her personal com node and see how that goes.”
“Let’s see what you’ve got,” Crusher walked over and leaned in close to see what Jason was typing. “No, no, no … you can’t lead off like that. Tell her that you miss her and have decided that if she won’t talk to you that you’re going to take your own life.”
“What the hell good does that do?!” Jason smacked a few of Crusher’s “dreadlocks” out of his face. “She might take me up on that offer!”
“It’s not without risk,” Crusher said.
“Tell her that you made a mistake with that Avarian Princess and that you’re ready to have a litter or two with her,” Kage said. “Females can’t resist a male who is ready to commit to a dozen or so young.”
“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” Twingo chimed in. “Women like to feel needed … tell her—”
“Enough!” Jason shoved Crusher away from the pilot’s station. “I’m not taking romantic advice from someone who routinely hires his companionship at the sleaziest ports of call we visit, someone who hasn’t had the company of a female since I’ve met him, and another whose mate tossed him out on his ass.”
“Sometimes you can be so hurtful,” Twingo said.
“I’ve been with a female recently,” Kage said indignantly.
“Liar,” Crusher flopped back into his usual seat near the front of the bridge.
“Captain, whatever you’re going to say, say it quickly,” Doc said. “We’re drifting closer to the Defiant and she might take the silence as an insult.”
Jason quickly finished his note and sent it to the local area com system himself to avoid any of Kage’s creative additions. They didn’t have to wait long for a response.
“You never change, do you?” Kage read aloud for everyone else’s pleasure. “I suppose it was too much to expect that you would be contrite in any way. I’m not allowing that flying bit of scrap you’re riding around in to land in my hangar bay. I will be transmitting coordinates for you, and only you, to meet me on the surface in two hours. I hope this is not a waste of my time.”
“I told you that message was just going to make things worse,” Crusher laughed.
“I honestly don’t know why she’s so pissed at me,” Jason said, genuinely baffled. “I thought we had parted ways fairly amicably when we left the Avarian capital.”
“You poor, clueless bastard,” Crusher shook his head.
****
Ninety minutes later Jason was sitting in an open air café outside of some nondescript cargo spaceport. He wasn’t visibly armed and he was wearing one of his nicer set of civilian clothes, opting out of the grey “uniform” that he routinely wore while aboard the ship.
He couldn’t figure out why he was so nervous. He’d make his case and either she would agree to help him, tell him to get bent, or there was an outside chance she’d order the Defiant to destroy the Phoenix where she sat on the tarmac. It had been a nearly twenty-minute discussion during their landing to persuade Lucky and Crusher that under no circumstances were they to follow him.
“I see you’re still as early as always,” a voice said from behind him. He stood up and turned to see Kellea, also dressed in civilian attire, and looking lovely as ever. The stress of command and the responsibility of managing an entire fleet had not noticeably affected her physical appearance as he had almost expected. A human would have aged ten years under the yoke of that burden.
“How are you?” he said, not sure if he should go in for a hug or offer his hand or what. She took the initiative and squeezed him gently on the upper arm before stepping around him and taking a seat at the table.
“I’ve been well,” she said. “I’m sure you know about my expanded role within the organization if you were able to track my ship down without having your code slicer break into her this time.” Jason could hear the implied question.
“No, no,” he said, taking his seat. “Kage found a press release about your organization—you’re still calling it that?—bringing this planet under the umbrella. We took a chance that you’d still be here.”
“Ah,” she said disinterestedly, looking away. “So what do you need to talk to me about?” Jason suddenly realized how bad it looked, reaching out to her after so long without contact, and now asking for a very big favor.
“Look, Kellea,” he said, deciding on direct and honest, “I know I handled things badly, and I meant it when I said I was sorry about all that. I’m sensing a level of genuine hostility from you that confuses me, but right now I need to put all that aside. There have been some developments on Earth, apparently, and they’ve gotten themselves a colony planet and a handful of slip-drive ships.”
“So this is a friendly warning that there will be more like you on the way?” Kellea asked. Jason couldn’t tell if she was joking. “What do you mean there have apparently been some developments? Have there or haven’t there?”
“I hadn’t been keeping track of them,” he said. “I just recently found out how far they’d advanced and assumed they’d successfully reverse-engineered the Traveler ship we’d left there. I was wrong. They’ve allied themselves with a species called the ull and I’m afraid they’ve gotten themselves in over their head.”
“How did you find out about this if you haven’t been keeping track?” she asked. “Earth is extremely far down the spiral arm.”
“They sent a team to kill me,” he said. “I found out from them.”
“Oh, Jason,” she laughed after a moment, shaking her head. “It will never change with you, will it?” Jason was again unsure if the comment was a barb or a joke.
“Anyway, there’s currently a fleet of ships heading to Earth with the intent of subjugating the population in order to get what both parties want,” he went on. “The ull get the Traveler jump drive and the head of the colony gets to become the ruler of Earth, although I’m sure she’ll adopt a suitably benign title.”
“And this is where I come in,” she nodded. “After all this time, the only reason you’ve contacted me is to try and talk me into flying in to rescue you. Again.”
“I’m not in need of rescue,” Jason said, struggling to control his temper. “There are over seven billion people on that planet, Kellea. They’re taking their first steps into this big wide galaxy and they’ve already stepped right into a trap.
“I don’t believe the ull have any intention of letting humanity control its own destiny and I doubt they want the jump drive to use for interstellar commerce. This used to be the sort of thing that would interest you and your organization.”
“You can’t pull another miracle out of thin air?” she asked with bite. “Charge in recklessly and, somehow, not only survive but manage to save the day?”
Jason just sighed heavily and stood up.
“I’m sorry I’ve wasted both our time,” he said, looking down at her. “Take care of yourself, Kellea.” He walked away from the café, angrier with himself for how he’d handled the meeting than with her. It was too much to think that she’d be able to divert enough military power to fly all the way to Earth and make any kind of difference. The reality of her new position was that she was no longer the captain of Crisstof’s private warship that he flew around, investing in pet projects here and there like Omega Force. She was, in reality, an admiral that answered directly to a head of state.
The walk back to the Phoenix was long and lonely. He wasn’t sure if it was the uncomfortable reunion with someone he used to—still did?—love or the continued proximity to humans lately, but he felt more and more like he was destined to die a bitter man, alone and with nothing but a mountain of regrets at the end. Sadly, he wasn’t even sure where to start when it came to remedying that.
He clomped up the ramp of his ship, checking at the aft cargo bay terminal if perhaps there were any messages. There weren’t. He closed up the ship and walked dejectedly back up to the bridge where his crew was waiting expectantly.
“The short amount of time you were gone tells me it went well,” Kage said. “But the look on your face tells me that we’re screwed.”
“We’re screwed,” Jason nodded and slipped into his seat to begin prepping for launch.
“How screwed?” Twingo asked.
“We’re now getting ready to implement Plan D,” Jason said.
“We’ve already gone through A, B, and C?” Kage asked.
Chapter 24
“So what the hell is ‘Plan D?’” Crusher asked.
“We’re out of any viable options at this point, fellas,” Jason said, turning over piloting duties to the computer while he turned and looked at his crew. “Here’s the breakdown: there’s nowhere we can turn to borrow enough military power to head off this invasion, which would likely only be a temporary solution anyway. I can’t stand by idly while my homeworld is plunged into what could be generations of servitude to a species like the ull. I’m also unwilling to go out in one suicidal blaze that would kill us all in one pointless gesture of defiance.”
“Sounds hopeful so far,” Kage muttered to Doc.
“So here’s where Plan D comes in,” Jason went on. “The Phoenix can sneak into Earth’s atmosphere under the noses of the ships that will be forming the picket line. I’m going to load up with my armor, a bunch of those Galvetic railguns, and whatever other equipment I can scrounge up and have you drop me off.
“I’ll go underground and begin operating as a guerrilla once it becomes clearer how the ull plan to pacify the population. I want you to take the Phoenix and get the hell out of there. I’d take it as a favor if you’d take out a few ships with our load of XTX-4s, preferably the one Margaret Jansen is on if we can pick it out.”
“When do we come back and get you?” Doc asked.
“You don’t,” Jason shook his head slowly. “This fight will likely outlast me, so I want you to take the ship and do what you will … preferably carry on what we’ve been doing and find others that need your help.”
“No. No!” Twingo stood up and slapped his chair. “No damnit! There’s another way than just throwing your life away! We always find one!”
“I don’t think there is this time,” Jason shrugged. “I also don’t think fighting for the freedom of my species is throwing my life away. I’m sorry, buddy … the deck is just too stacked against us on this one. I’m going to send a message to the Coronado and inform them of our status … it’s likely that some of them will want to join me. Doc, get us into slip-space and heading towards the Solar system as fast as you can.”
Jason ducked back off the bridge as quickly as he could in order to avoid any long emotional speeches from the others. He’d made his decision on the walk back from his ill-fated meeting with Kellea and he didn’t want them trying to change it. Crusher in particular looked like he was choking back a serious emotional display that would likely go on for the better part of an hour.
