Omega Force 7: Redemption (27 page)

"With that code you could even request a hangar and one would be vacated for you prior to our arrival," Annada said. "In truth, that might not be such a bad idea. A secure building would be better to disembark into than an open field."

"Do it," Jason said to Kage as the Capital came into view. Despite Jason's indifference to the planet from orbit he did have to admit that the city itself was just breathtaking. Gleaming spires reached into the sky near the center as graceful buildings surrounded these in concentric circles, each a lower height than the one that preceded it.

"The Capital was leveled during an attack some three hundred years ago," Annada said, seeming to read his thoughts—again. "There was talk about moving it to another location, maybe even to a different planet. In the end, as an act of defiance, it was rebuilt literally on the ashes of the old. Since the city was being rebuilt from scratch our architects and engineers made the entire project a monument to the Avarian Resurgence."

"Fascinating," Jason said with sincerity. From his long conversations with Annada he could see many parallels between her species and his and between Avaris and Earth. It gave him hope for his birth planet's future.

"Something is screwing with our planetary positioning system," Kage said. "I can't get the coordinate set to apply to the surface of Avaris. Just stay on course and you'll see the landing field. We're instructed to taxi directly into the hangar ... it'll be the third one on the right."

"What's wrong with the grid?" Jason asked, easing them into a shallow dive towards the open field outside the palace that actually appeared to be a grass landing area.

"I don't know," Kage said. "Twingo, take a look at this will you?"

"I'm on it," Twingo said, turning back to his station.

Jason ignored the problem and lined up with the airfield, now clearly able to see it
was
grass. Very pretty, but wildly impractical. Did they re-sod the area after a ship landed? He reached over and flipped the switch to drop the landing gear, feeling the
Phoenix
wallow in the air a bit as she "dirtied up" and the gear dropped with a series of whines and bangs.

He pulled the power back and let the gunship coast in over the area with only her own momentum, not wanting to appear threatening in any way, shape, or form. Nudging the drive in reverse the ship gently stopped into a stable hover before he began pulling the power back, letting her settle onto the soft turf, the hull groaning as the ship's bulk transitioned from the drive emitters to the landing gear struts.

"Looks like we have a welcoming committee," Doc said, pointing to the handful of armored ground vehicles that lined the walls of the hangar they were assigned to, each training the barrel of some type of heavy weapon on them.

"Let's go introduce ourselves," Jason said, easing the taxi control forward and slowly rolling the ship into the cavernous building. Had he not had so many guns trained on him he might have taken more time to appreciate the intricate stonework of the beautifully designed hangar. He rolled the
Phoenix
to a smooth stop and put the main drive in standby, not wanting to completely shut it down in a situation with so many unknowns.

"Grab that data card," he said to Kage. "Let's go, everybody. Just like we talked about ... Annada and Kalette will be between me and Lucky, Crusher next, and then the rest of you. Absolutely NO weapons and keep your composure if they draw on us."

"Can we just get this over with?" Crusher complained. "I'm feeling a bit conspicuous here."

"Just let me walk out first and everything will be fine," Annada argued.

"Stick to the plan," Jason said firmly. "That's the whole reason we have the plan ... to stick to it." Annada rolled her eyes but fell in behind him anyway as he led the procession through the main deck and out into the cargo bay. He opened the rear pressure doors and dropped the ramp, watching as it lowered and revealed their official welcome to Avaris.

As expected, ten heavily armed troops were fanned out behind the ramp and one of the armored vehicles had moved over to cover them with its big gun. Jason tried to keep his face impassive as he slowly walked down the ramp with his hands up at waist level.

"Stop there!" the troop in the front called out. "State your identity and business. NOW!"

"We're bringing something back to your Sovereign I'm sure he's been missing," Jason said, ignoring the threatening tone. "Would you like to lower your weapons so there are no mishaps with your netjere? We are not armed." At this Annada stepped from around Jason and waved familiarly to the trooper.

"Weapons DOWN!" he called to his own men. "Stand down! Stand down!" Annada walked quickly down the ramp and hugged him.

"Captain Alisard!" she said. "I've missed you."

"Not nearly as much as we have all missed you, my netjere," the captain said. "These men are with you?"

"Yes, very much so," Annada said with a smile. "They're my very own heroes. But right now we have to get to my father ... there is danger approaching and he must be warned."

"Perhaps you could just say hello first," a deep voice said from the back of the group. Jason craned his neck and watched as one of the troops removed his tactical helmet and a shock of long, silver hair fell out.

"Father!" Annada cried and ran to the man, embracing him fiercely. After a moments the intense reunion was over and the Sovereign walked through the guards and up to the foot of the
Phoenix's
ramp.

"I believe I have you to thank for returning my daughter safely?" he asked Jason.

"Yes, sir," Jason said, not sure how he should be addressed. "But as she said ... the trouble that took her away from you is on its way here. We have some information that I believe you'll find interesting."

"Then let us retire to someplace more secure than an open hangar," the Sovereign said, motioning to Captain Alisard. "If you would please follow the captain." With that he led Annada and Kalette away to one of the waiting vehicles while the guard captain made it clear Jason and his crew were to follow him to a different one.

The crew followed the captain to the vehicle, Jason reaching out with his implant and closing the
Phoenix
up before the guard closed the armored door. He also initiated an unusual defensive protocol that would allow the
Phoenix
to not only actively defend herself against an aggressive intrusion attempt, but if it looked like the hull might be compromised the ship was authorized to fly itself out of the area. As they all bounced along in the back of the vehicle Jason hoped they would be able to relay all the information to the Sovereign and convince him onto a specific course of action before the
Defiant
showed up.

****

It took the better part of six hours to explain the entire story to the Sovereign and his advisors beginning from when Kalette was discovered on Jason's ship. At first, there were openly skeptical looks and the armed guards never left the room, but after Jason had Kage display all the evidence they'd collected, including the direct communications between Crisstof and Vulem along with the sensor feeds from the Kekisha encounter, attitudes had shifted dramatically.

The Omega Force crew were all but ignored as advisors and ranking military officers began shouting for a strike on Chancellor Vulem's homeworld as retribution. Jason watched as the Sovereign sat impassively in the middle of the chaos, watching him and his crew with an unreadable expression. Jason returned his stare, wondering what was on the monarch's mind.

"Everyone quiet," the Sovereign said. He'd said it in a conversational tone and volume, but all the shouting and wild gesticulating ceased instantly. "I want everyone out except my new friends here." As all the advisors tripped over themselves leaving Jason saw that Annada had no intention of leaving.

"That means you as well, my daughter."

"But I do not think—"

"I will not ask again," the Sovereign said, giving his daughter a stern look. While obviously not used to defeat, she also knew when a fight was unwinnable. She stood with as much grace as she could and walked out of the room to where Kalette was waiting for her. As the doors boomed shut the Sovereign stood and walked over to a window that stretched from the floor to the ceiling fifteen meters above. The ruler obviously felt safe in the fact that they'd been searched and cleared of weaponry and that his guards were just a shout away outside the door. He also very obviously had no idea what a battlesynth was.

"Tell me, Captain Burke," he began. "Do you truly believe this is a plot hatched within the ConFed Council, or is your former employer acting on his own?"

"I'll admit that I don't know what Crisstof could possibly be thinking," Jason said, "it seems wildly out of character for him to act so independently. But since the evidence clearly shows otherwise, I'd have to say that I'm completely unqualified to answer that question."

"Perhaps," the Sovereign said. "While I'll admit we were surprised that anyone moved against my family by abducting Annada, we've known that there are forces aligning against us for some time.

"We worked to incorporate Chancellor Vulem's small cluster or worlds into the Empire as a strategic choke point. While we keep a wary eye on the ConFed border, our real concern is what stirs on the opposite side of our territory. I will also tell you now that the ConFed is on the verge of collapse."

"I've been hearing that for some years," Jason said with a shrug. "They still seem to keep growing, however."

"True, but they have now overextended themselves to the point that they will either have to withdraw back to their core worlds or face the complete collapse of the system they've put in place," the Sovereign said, coming back to the table. "Our intelligence from within the Council is solid on this matter, so that is why I have such a hard time believing that the ConFed was involved with whatever is going on here."

"And I'm just as convinced it wasn't Crisstof Dalton acting alone," Jason said. "From what I've gathered during today's session Vulem doesn't seem ambitious or smart enough to put this together, so who does that leave?"

"That is indeed the question, isn't it?" the Sovereign said, his face impassive. "But perhaps not the question for today. You claim that Crisstof Dalton's ship is on its way here ... what possible purpose could he have in bringing a warship into orbit over the Avarian Capital?"

"That I think I can answer," Jason said. "We've become a threat. He cannot allow what's happened here to make it back to the ConFed Council or he'll lose everything. I'm sure his hope is that he can catch up to us here so he can swoop in and corner us.

"Once he destroys the
Phoenix
and us he'll leave the system as fast as he possibly can. His assumption may be that since there are no diplomatic relations currently between the ConFed and the Empire that the incident will not follow him back across the expanse."

"He would be mistaken in that, but your explanation is at least plausible," the Sovereign said. "However, it still does not explain why he has done these things at all."

"I don't trust Crisstof," Jason began carefully. "I don't even particularly like him. But in this case I think he was deceived from the beginning and got caught up in something that quickly escalated out of control. His first instinct would have been to contain it and minimize the damage, but that only led to more problems for him.

"That being said, I'm in no way excusing his actions. I have no complaint against any action you feel you need to take against him."

"What you say is probably true, but ultimately irrelevant," the Sovereign said. "His actions are a direct threat to the stability and wellbeing of the Empire. I have no choice but to respond accordingly."

"Understood," Jason said with a nod. "But might I suggest a course of action that doesn't involve trying to fight it out with a top-of-the-line battlecruiser in orbit over Avaris?"

"This is an impressive ship, Captain Burke," Captain Alisard said from his seat on the bridge. "A unique combination of firepower and speed."

"Thanks," Jason said absently. "She's gotten us out of more than a few scrapes." The Sovereign had agreed to go along with Jason's plan, but had his own backups in place in case it failed. He'd also insisted that a contingent of his personal guard accompany them on the
Phoenix
. Jason wasn't offended and just considered it being prudent: trust but verify. Despite bringing his daughter back there wasn't any reason for the monarch to wholeheartedly trust that his intentions were honorable.

"Five seconds," Kage said.

"Are you taking the latency into account?" Jason asked.

"Contact," Doc said, answering the question for Kage. "The
Defiant
has just entered the system, full active scans. They're looking for us."

"Show time," Jason said. The
Phoenix
was drifting in high-orbit, giving the impression that they were still having trouble getting clearance to land. Once he was sure the
Defiant
had been given enough time to pick them out of the traffic he yanked the gunship out of orbit and began racing for the edge of the system. As he did, one of the orbital security ships fired a low-intensity particle beam that impacted with
Phoenix's
rear shields.

"Firing charge," Twingo said. He executed the command that set off a directional plasma burst that had been placed on the starboard wing's upper surface, just in front of the engine emitters. When it blew the computer automatically dropped the power output to the starboard engine giving the appearance that the
Phoenix
had been crippled by the blast.

"They're taking the bait," Doc said. "
Defiant
is coming onto an intercept course and pursuing."

"Keep fluctuating the starboard engine output," Jason said. "I want them well away from the planet."

"They shouldn't be able to catch us in time," Kage said. "But it will be close."

The com panel was chirping insistently with com requests from the battlecruiser, but Jason ignored it and kept pushing for the outer edge of the system while the
Defiant
bore down on them.

"Weapons lock," Kage said. "They'll be in missile launch range in thirty seconds."

"Open the channel, audio only," Jason said.

"
Jason, what can you possibly hope to accomplish with this?
" Crisstof said. "
Your ship is damaged, your slip-drive is disabled ... let us bring you aboard. Do you really want to let the two young women die with you needlessly?
"

"You've got it all figured out, haven't you?" Jason said, watching the interval between the two ships closely.

"
I will not hesitate to fire, Jason
," Crisstof said. "
Please consider your actions
."

"I wish you had considered yours, Crisstof," Jason said with genuine regret. "You know I can't just let you walk away from all this. You've gone too far this time."

"
You can't possibly believe that you can
—"

"Kill the channel," Jason said. "Go ahead, Kage ... shut 'er down." Kage executed another script on his panel just as the
Defiant
was closing to within the maximum effective range of her missiles. It was another few seconds before they knew they'd been successful.

"Target lock is gone," Doc said. "
Defiant's
engines are faltering and her shields are dropping. Maneuvering has failed and main power is failing on all decks."

"Signal the Avarian fleet that we've disabled the
Defiant
," Jason said. Kage sent out the prearranged signal and a few minutes later six destroyers and four frigates flashed into the system, all squawking Avarian transponders. They'd been recalled to the system the day before by Annada's emergency distress codes she'd had Kage transmit. Any ship in the area would respond to an imminent threat to the homeworld when they received that code, so the small armada had been conveniently available to handle the
Defiant
when the time came.

"Disabling all security measures and opening the hangar deck doors," Kage said. "The Avarian troops will have no issue boarding her."

Jason watched with a clinical detachment as the smaller frigates moved up to secure the
Defiant's
uncontrolled flight and began deploying boarding parties intent on capturing, disabling, or killing everyone on the ship.

"This mission sure took a strange turn at the end," Crusher said, his arms folded over his chest. Jason didn't answer, just stared at the sensor feed that showed hundreds of Avarian troops pouring into the helpless battlecruiser.

"Captain Burke, the Sovereign is requesting our presence back at the palace compound," Captain Alisard said.

"Of course," Jason said. "There's nothing left for us to do out here. Twingo, reset the main drive so we don't have to limp back."

****

The
Defiant
was captured without incident. Without the Galvetic Marines to repel the boarders most of the crew surrendered immediately and were placed in mass detention on one of the cargo bays. Crisstof and two ConFed officials were arrested and taken off the ship.

To Jason's immeasurable relief, Kellea had been found in her own brig and had apparently been there for some time. He lobbied heavily for her directly to the Sovereign and was able to have her excluded from the punishment that awaited Crisstof and his ConFed cohorts. She was still on the
Defiant
, which was now in orbit over Avaris with power restored. When Crisstof had been told of how Kage had used their own navigation beacon to slide in behind the ship's security protocols Jason could swear he actually saw the man's will break.

The subsequent interrogations of the three captives revealed much in the way of details, but little in the way of motive. Even when Chancellor Vulem was captured and questioned he couldn't seem to name who had set everything in motion in the first place. In fact, each party seemed to think they were getting something that the others had no knowledge of. The ConFed thought they were getting a destabilized Avarian Empire to begin exploiting.

Crisstof Dalton actually thought that he was to be named interim ruler when the Sovereign and his daughter were disposed of. Jason was permitted to question him directly and he noticed the old man seemed confused, but clearly remembered that he was approached by the ConFed about the whole thing. Apparently members from the Council had shown him convincing evidence that the "cruel" regime of the Empire was on its last leg and that they were close to throwing their arms open to the warm embrace of democracy, even the ConFed's own unique brand of it. They'd convinced him that it would be beneficial to all if a temporary regent was appointed with no ties to the ConFed government, but still with executive experience and vast resources to tap into. In the end, they'd appealed to his ego and greed, able to push all the right buttons to get Crisstof to go along with a plan he should have been far more suspicious of.

Vulem's role was easy to figure out. As likely the last Chancellor of his people he held a special hatred for Avarians and the Sovereign and his daughter in particular. It hadn't taken much to convince him to go along with the plan, apparently. He was in chains and on the way back to his homeworld where they'd promised a very public and very messy trial, the legislative body already professing its adoration for Imperial rule.

"You seem troubled, my young friend," the Sovereign said as they rode back to the palace compound in a well-appointed aircar.

"Too much just doesn't make any sense," Jason said. "People acting completely out of character, an asinine plan to get you out of the way, and nobody remembering who had thought of it all in the first place ... it doesn't strike you as more than a little odd?"

"I have the advantage of more information than you do," the Sovereign said with a smile. "The facts you've listed in context with what my intelligence service has been able to uncover sheds a certain light on things."

"I don't suppose you'd care to indulge me?" Jason asked.

"I'm afraid that wouldn't be wise at this juncture," the Sovereign said. "You have impressed me and earned my trust and respect, but I am still responsible for trillions of people on countless worlds. Some things must remain a secret ... for now."

"Understood," Jason said, looking out the window.

"And what will be next for you, Captain Burke?"

"How do you mean?"

"Annada has told me of the hard times you and your crew had fallen on before taking on the task of rescuing her," the Sovereign said. "So what will you all do now? Go your separate ways again, or try to again find that common sense of purpose?"

"It's hard to say," Jason said uncomfortably, wondering if the whole damn family was able to read him like an open book.

"Well, whatever you decide, just know that I can never fully repay you for what you have given back to me."

"We can see about that," Jason said with a smile.

The Sovereign couldn't help himself and laughed heartily, scaring the attendant in the car half to death.

As they climbed out of the aircar and onto the soft grass of the landing field an explosion rocked the grounds and a fireball erupted from a window halfway up the wall facing the landing area. Security instantly covered the Sovereign and began sweeping the area. A familiar screaming caught Jason's ears, and it was coming from the blast area.

Without thinking he sprinted across the grass, adrenaline fueling his enhanced muscles so that he quickly blew past the running guards as they approached the building. Jason quickly gauged the distance and leapt from the ground, barely clearing the blasted-out window frame and slamming into the wall of what ended up being a wide, spiraling staircase. He looked down and saw the heavy char marks along the stone, but no real structural damage. There was also a lot of blood.

"Jason!" Annada's voice called from above him. He looked up and saw her standing at the top of the stairs, crying hysterically.

"What happened?" he asked, leaping up to where she was and inspecting her for wounds, heedless of the fact he would be manhandling the netjere when the guards finally made their way up there.

"It was Kalette!" she cried. "A man from Vulem's party came up here with a bomb. She grabbed it, trying to wrestle it from him. When she couldn't she threw herself down the stairs, taking him with her."

Jason looked down and saw that the bomb must have detonated as they'd rounded the turn, the pressure wave blowing out the window.

"Is Kalette …?" Jason asked, trailing off when she nodded and began sobbing again. Jason wrapped his arms around her, ignoring the guards as they streamed into the room and began sweeping it for any other devices. "She gave her life to save you," he said into her ear. "Despite anything else she might have done, this should be the act she's remembered for."

"Sir, we need to move the netjere to a secure location," a young guardsman said. "Please step aside."

Jason let her go and watched as they quickly moved her away so they could continue their sweep of the compound. He took a moment to absorb the enormity of what had just happened as well as say a few words for Kalette. He didn't know if she was a religious person, and he knew that he wasn't, but he couldn't think of anything else to do.