A Show of Force (52 page)
All around the Ta’Akar compound, Ghatazhak soldiers increased their fire rate, spraying every known enemy position with as much firepower as possible in the hope of keeping the enemy at bay long enough for Jumper Two Eight to complete the extrication.
The jump shuttle descended even lower, their underside only half a meter above the rooftop.
Commander Erbe signaled the two men behind him, who immediately moved past him and out onto the roof. The commander turned to Casimir. “You run straight out and jump in!”
“Deliza and Yanni go first!” Casimir insisted.
“
Two Eight, in position!
” the pilot reported.
“Sir! We do not…”
“They go first!” Casimir repeated. He turned and grabbed Deliza. “Go! Run to the shuttle and jump in! Do not look back!”
“What about you?” Deliza wondered.
Casimir could see the fear in his daughter’s eyes. “I will be right behind you, I promise.” He looked at Yanni, then back at Deliza. “Go!”
“Coming out!” Commander Erbe called over his helmet comms.
The Ghatazhak on the roof increased their rate of fire, alternating between the different distant buildings where snipers could still be positioned.
Deliza ran out across the roof, dodging between the environmental machinery. When she reached the hovering jump shuttle, two men inside reached out and grabbed her arms, pulling her up into the ship.
Commander Erbe turned to Casimir.
“Yanni is next,” Casimir ordered, leaving the commander with no room to argue. Casimir turned to Yanni. “Go! Quickly!”
Yanni dashed out through the doorway, nearly stumbling as he stepped out onto the roof. Two shots from the building to the east slammed into the roof just behind him as he ran toward the hovering shuttle, tearing up the roof and sending debris flying.
The Ghatazhak soldiers on the roof stood up from behind their cover and focused their fire on the building to the east, showering its sides with energy bolts.
Yanni jumped up toward the hovering jump shuttle and was caught by the crewman in the open hatchway, who pulled him inside.
“
Fast movers to the west!
” the copilot of the jump shuttle called over the comms. “
We gotta go! We gotta go!
”
“
Highball Five Two, moving to intercept,
” another pilot called. “
ETA, thirty seconds.
”
“Everyone on board, now!” the copilot urged.
“Go!” Commander Erbe ordered Casimir. “Everyone on the roof, to the shuttle, now!”
Casimir ran past the commander out onto the rooftop as the four Ghatazhak soldiers began to walk backward toward him and the hovering jump shuttle.
Commander Erbe came out of the doorway behind Casimir, just as a blue-white flash of light appeared directly overhead.
A thunderous sound and a wave of air knocked Casimir to his belly. The shock wave scrambled his senses for a moment, making his ears hurt and his eyes water.
“
They’re right on top of us!
” the copilot exclaimed over the comms. “
Roll to port and climb!
”
The jump shuttle’s engine went to full power as it rolled slightly left and began to climb.
“Wait!” Deliza screamed from the back of the shuttle.
Commander Erbe dropped on top of Casimir, shielding him from the thrust wash of the climbing shuttle with his body, as his men swung their weapons upward and opened fire on the enemy jump shuttle that had just jumped in above them.
Four men fell from the hovering jump ship onto the roof, opening fire as they landed. The nearest Ghatazhak soldier was the first to fall, taking energy blasts in the chest and head. The other three began firing at the four Ybarans as four more fell to the roof behind them.
Commander Erbe rolled off of Casimir and opened fire on the second four Ybarans, cutting them down with ease. “Back inside!” he yelled at Casimir, as two of the Ybarans charged toward them.
Casimir scrambled to his feet, but did not heed the commander’s recommendations. Instead, he pulled the commander’s sidearm from his thigh holster, and in a fluid motion activated its power cell, deactivated its safety, and opened fire on the charging men. Three shots leapt from his weapon, the first two striking the nearest Ybaran in the chest and knocking him over, the third one finding the other man’s face shield. Neither Ybaran was mortally wounded, rather the first one was scrambling to get back to his feet, and the second trying to regain his senses.
Commander Erbe took advantage of the second man’s dazed state, drawing his knife and inserting it forcefully between the bottom edge of the Ybaran’s helmet and the top of his chest armor, piercing his trachea.
Casimir fired two shots into the unprotected groin area of the first Ybaran, walking three more shots up his torso until a fourth shot found the underside of the soldier’s chin.
Commander Erbe turned and saw Jumper Two Eight as it rotated left and climbed, her door gunner firing at the enemy shuttle hovering above them.
Casimir also saw the shuttle trying to draw the enemy shuttle away from the rooftop by forcing them to break away to avoid fire. “NO!” he yelled. “Get Deliza out of here!” he ordered Commander Erbe as he took aim at the third group of Ybarans descending from the shuttle above them.
Casimir felt a sudden burning sensation in his left side, followed by a wave of excruciating pain, but he ignored it, continuing to fire at the Ybarans rushing toward them. His only concern was for the well-being of his only surviving child.
“Two Eight!” Commander Erbe called over his helmet comms. “Jump out now! That’s an order!”
“
Two Eight, jumping!
”
Casimir and Erbe continued firing as they moved toward the doorway. Two more Ybarans fell to their fire, as another Ghatazhak soldier succumbed to enemy fire.
Casimir paused at the doorway, refusing to enter and continuing to fire, until the blue-white flash of Jumper Two Eight told him that his daughter was safely away.
“Overload on shield generator fourteen,” the defensive systems officer reported. “Switching to backups.”
“The Crippin has partial power restored,” Lieutenant Cahnis reported. “She’s under way again.”
“Her shields and weapons?” Commander Golan asked.
“She’s only running her forward shield array at the moment, sir, but it’s at seventy-four percent. She’s got rail guns and missile launchers, but no plasma cannons as of yet.”
“Maneuverability?” Captain Navarro asked.
“As best I can tell, severely limited,” the lieutenant replied. “She’s not jumping anytime soon, and she’s barely making two thousand right now.”
“Shuttle Two Eight has just jumped in,” the flight control officer reported.
“They have Casimir?” the captain inquired.
“No, sir,” the flight control officer replied. “They only have Deliza and Mister Hiller. Copilot reports the pickup became too hot, and they were ordered to jump away by Commander Erbe.”
“Missile launch!” Lieutenant Cahnis reported. “Twelve more inbound. Impact in one minute.”
“Yoo is not going to give up easily,” Commander Golan commented.
“Yes, especially with the Crippin managing to get back into action,” the captain replied.
“Course change,” the sensor officer reported. “The Astaire is turning to port and pitching down, Captain. I believe they are moving to protect the Crippin.”
Captain Navarro thought for a moment. “They expect to win this engagement.”
“How is that possible?” Commander Golan wondered. “Perhaps if both the Astaire and the Crippin were at full strength, they might stand a remote chance, but…”
“They do not have to defeat us to win,” Captain Navarro explained. “We are not the prize they seek. He is still on the surface. They are trying to protect their two greatest assets, as they will need them to hold power should they win on the surface.”
“Firing point-defenses,” Lieutenant Rogal reported.
Captain Navarro turned to his communications officer. “Get me Commander Erbe.”
“Four missiles down,” Lieutenant Cahnis reported. “Crippin is now targeting us as well.”
“From that distance?” the XO exclaimed.
“He’s just trying to put on a good show,” Captain Navarro said. “Prove that he’s still in the fight.”
“Commander Erbe for you, Captain,” the communications officer announced.
“Erbe, Navarro. Status?”
“
We’ve been overrun, Captain!
” Commander Erbe reported over the comms. His transmission was full of static, and the sound of constant and heavy weapons fire could be heard in the background. “
I’ve lost more than seventy percent of my forces! We’re outnumbered twenty to one at this point!
”
“I can send down more men,” the captain replied, “more fighters…”
“
Navarro!
” Casimir called over the comms. “
Is Deliza on board?
”
Captain Navarro looked at his flight control officer, who nodded in the affirmative. “Yes, they just landed.”
“
Get her to safety!
” Casimir ordered.
“My lord, let us send…”
“
Negative!
” Casimir interrupted. “
House Ta’Akar has fallen! Get my daughter to safety, Captain! Get her and the data cores to Earth!
”
“Casimir,” the captain argued. “If we depart the cluster, who will protect the other members of the Alliance? Who will protect Darvano and Savoy? If the nobles…”
“
Protect Darvano and Savoy, if you must,
” Casimir agreed, “
but ensure the safety of my daughter and those cores first! Promise me this, Suvan! I beg of you!
”
Captain Navarro steadied himself, taking a deep breath. “I promise.” The captain closed his eyes for several moments, summoning all his strength as he listened to the sounds of the raging battle over the comms. “It was a privilege to serve you, my lord.” Captain Navarro signaled his comm officer to end the connection.
Commander Golan looked at his captain. “Sir, we could still target the Ybarans from orbit…”
“And possibly kill thousands of innocent Takarans?” the captain asked. “And risk escalating this even further?” The captain shook his head. “No, we must think of the future of Takara.”
“Casimir
is
the future of Takara,” the commander replied.
“He was the future of Takara,” Captain Navarro corrected. “Now that responsibility has fallen upon us. Us and his only heir.” Captain Navarro pulled at his tunic to straighten it as he turned forward again. “Helm, set course for the Crippin and prepare to jump us to minimum safe attack range.”
“Setting course for the Crippin and preparing to jump,” the helm officer acknowledged. “Minimum safe attack range. Position relative to target?”
“Port side, aft of her midship line,” the captain replied. “Lieutenant Rogal, prepare to fire all weapons at the Crippin as we come out of the jump. I want that ship destroyed in a single pass.”
“Aye, sir.”
“What about the Astaire?” Commander Golan asked.
“Two heavy cruisers gives them an advantage,” the captain replied. “One puts the advantage with us. We shall depart the system
only
after we have secured that advantage, thus guaranteeing, at least for a time, that the new leaders of Takara will be unable to reestablish their dominance outside of their own system.”
“And what of the Alliance?” Commander Golan wondered. “Were we not to come to their aid, as well?”
“I’m afraid that the Alliance forces in Sol will have to make do without us, for the foreseeable future.”
Casimir lay on his back, his vision blurred by overwhelming pain and despair. His side felt as if it were on fire. He could not feel his left leg, and he was quite sure that his right arm was gone, severed somewhere below his elbow.
The weapons fire had all but died, with only the muffled sounds of the firefight still raging outside his home.
His home. House Ta’Akar. Built over five hundred years ago, when his people’s ships had arrived from their four-hundred year journey from Sorenson in the Tau Ceti system. His home. The home of his father, and his father before him, and his father before. The home where he and his brother had been born and raised. The home he had fought for decades to regain. The home he had hoped to fill with the laughter of grandchildren.
He felt a hand on his right shoulder, and a gasping of air.
“My lord,” Commander Erbe barely managed to mumble. “A weapon, my lord,” he pleaded.
The sudden screeching sound of an energy weapon being discharged in the immediate vicinity made Casimir flinch. “Commander?” he mumbled, barely able to speak.
A voice. “Your commander is dead,” the man said. His voice was rough, his pronunciation poor and dirty. He was Ybaran.
Casimir felt someone pulling at his hair, lifting his head from the floor.
“Look at me, Casimir,” the Ybaran demanded in seething tones. “Look at me, Prince of Takara, brother of Caius, the enslaver of my people.”
“Why?” Casimir had to ask. “Why do you serve them?”
“The Ybarans serve no one,” the man said. “Least of all your arrogant aristocracy. We Ybarans fight this day for one reason, and one reason alone. To kill the brother of the one who enslaved us.”
Casimir felt the searing hot barrel of a recently discharged energy pistol burning the skin of his forehead.
“This is for all the atrocities committed upon my people by the Ta’Akar.”
Casimir did not hear the screech of the weapon discharge that ended his life.
Thank you for reading this story.
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COMING SOON
“THE WEAK AND THE INNOCENT”
Episode 14
of
The Frontiers Saga
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