The Great Betrayal (24 page)

Admiral Lewis nodded slowly.

“Exactly. The surviving ships played a major part in the last years of the War. Many went missing after the initial attack though.”

Lieutenant Ryante was already adding the information together with the tracking data on the ships. She had plotted a weapon range and danger radius for each of them while the others spoke. She looked to the Admiral and nodded to the ships on the display.

“It would appear then that these ships are a mixture of derelicts taken from different worlds, presumably fitted out with AI Hub control units and forced to work for somebody…or something else.”

The image of the ships seemed to have given them all something to think about. Most were surprised at the sight of the Alien ships, but it was the newly discovered Confederate warships that kept older officer's attention.

“Yes,” answered Admiral Lewis finally, “the question is…when, and why?”

He looked down at the file on the 7
^th
Fleet. It was an old datafile, one that hadn’t been accessed in a number of years. The list of missing or destroyed ships reminded him of the responsibility he now faced by sending an Alliance fleet into a direct confrontation with an unknown enemy. It was a long time since his service as an officer in the War, and he’d be damned if he would lose a single life, let alone a single ship now.

“Are you certain of the life signs?” he asked.

It was a question he knew the answer to already, but before he could proceed, he had to be one hundred percent sure of what he faced. As he considered the approaching ships, the realization occurred to him that they might not actually be troop-carrying vessels at all.

“Yes, Admiral, just the faint signs from what I’m assuming are the AI Hubs.

If they’re not carrying troops though, what are they for?

The feeling deep inside his stomach filled him with dread.

It’s a diversion! These ships aren’t carrying troops. They are expendable warships being used to draw us away from the planet.

“XO, how quickly can we return to Helios?”

Commander Sonels checked the orbital trajectories of the two fleets.

“We’re already on an intercept course. If we change tack now, we’ll reach Helios no sooner than that fleet.”

Admiral Lewis shook his head.

“No, that’s not what worries me. I think this is a diversion.”

The XO was silent for a moment and looked unconvinced.

“Admiral, there’s an emergency signal coming from ANS Spearfish. It’s Captain Hampel.”

“Put him on screen.”

The image of the small ship’s commander took them all by surprise. He looked sweaty, and there was a cut running down the left side of his face.

“What is it, Captain?”

“We’ve been betrayed, Admiral. The Narau, they are landing…”

The image turned black, and the sound cut off abruptly.

Lieutenant Ryante moved her tactical formation details to the right side of the main screen. It showed the positions of the Narau forces, the Khreenk battleship and its escorts, and finally their own ships.

“Admiral, the Narau ships have split up.”

“What’s happening?”

None of the officers knew what to say.

“Get me Admiral Lanthua!” he growled angrily.

The communications officer tried to reach the alien commander to no avail. Though most of the officers were busy managing their stations, a quiet lull fell throughout the CIC as the Admiral looked at the situation he was in.

I knew they would go for it. So, Anderson’s information from Alliance Intelligence was right. The Khreenk are in league with the leaders of the military coup.

He almost rubbed his hands with anticipation until the realization it could mean open confrontation with an entire alien empire. Even so, this had been one of the potential outcomes, and he was still uncertain the Khreenk would chance anything more than smuggling. He looked to his crew with a newfound confidence.

“So, we’re halfway to this unknown fleet, and the Narau are breaking up with some of their ships heading for Helios, is that right?”

Lieutenant Ryante nodded at him.

“Yes, Admiral. It appears the Khreenk ships are moving to high orbit over the planet. Either they are planning on a blockade of their own, or they are...”

“Planning to land ground troops on the surface?” finished Admiral Lewis.

Lieutenant Ryante grimaced in acknowledgement.

Bastards! So they really do think they can put forces on the surface. Would they dare put up a fight against our troops?

He looked to his executive officer waiting at his right-hand side.

“If we turn back, they will still have time to land a good number of craft, plus, we will leave this fleet at our back. We either take on one fleet, or we split our forces.”

Admiral Lewis had already worked this out, and he was starting to wish he’d simply kept his fleet in orbit around Helios. It had been stupid to pull back when there were so many unknown variables. He beckoned for General Daniels to enter the CIC from the adjoining room. The Marine officer finished whatever he was doing and left his own small group of officers to join the Admiral. Admiral Lewis pointed to the main screen.

“It’s worse than I expected.”

The General grimaced.

“It usually is.”

“My ships have been drawn out, and part of the Khreenk contingent of the Narau is heading for an orbital position. I suspect they intend to drop mercenaries to the surface to support the forces of Justitium Lyssk and the Animosh.”

Daniels examined the information carefully. Though of equal seniority to the Admiral, he had seen much more combat that the Naval officer during the Uprising. He could instantly see their situation, as well as the predicament it put him and his men in.

“Admiral, my marines can hold, for now. My advice is for...”

One of the junior officers assisting the helmsmen cried out. Both senior officers looked at him and then moved their eyes to track the shapes on the main screen.

“Admiral, the fleet has altered its approach vector and is launching fighters.”

“The target?” he replied, already knowing the answer.

“Us, Admiral. They are powering up their weapons. My sensors indicate they are a mixture of combat drones and autonomous fighters.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes, Admiral, they are unmanned and heading this way.”

The entire situation was now playing out exactly as he had expected. The hidden fleet had lured him away from the planet, and just when he thought it might be a good idea to change course, they threatened him.

Quite clever, really. By attacking with unmarked ships, and with no crew, the Khreenk can pretend it was nothing to do with them. But what if that is true?

That last thought unsettled him slightly. The potential for error was great.

“That settles it then.”

He beckoned to General Daniels and his XO.

“This is going to get messy and fast. Get word to your people on the ground. Either they hold up and wait till we can assist, or they go for broke. I’m sending three ships back to assist with the bulk of the 4th Marine Heavy Battalion under Colonel Horst Brünner.”

“But they won’t make it back in time,” stated the XO.

“Normally, I would agree with you, that is assuming they follow the normal rules. I’m giving a full override to Commodore Andon Leson. The ships will proceed at 1.5G on a reverse course.”

The raised eyebrows from the XO did little to deter him.

“They can handle it for a few hours. I suspect Gun’s kin will probably enjoy it.”

He then looked to General Daniels.

“I suggest you take a shuttle and board ANS Crusader. She will be your command ship until I can get back to you.”

He looked at the data his tactical officer had sent over.

“Yes, that is good. The Khreenk ships will have ninety minutes before you reach them. If they are deploying ground forces, we have full authority to fire on them.”

General Daniels looked surprised.

“Against the Khreenk? Wouldn’t that be an act of war?”

Admiral Lewis appeared to calm a little while answering this question.

“Not at all. We are allied with the Helions now, and their assistance has been requested. An attack by mercenaries is an attack on their sovereign soil. We are in fact now obligated to act.”

Daniels wondered if the Admiral had done this on purpose to force the hand of the Khreenk.

“Very well. I will transfer my staff to ANS Crusader. Good luck, Admiral, you are going to have an interesting encounter out there.”

He looked at the screen once more and sighed as he examined the vast bulk of the Khreenk battleship. It was an impressive looking vessel, heavily armored, and armed to the teeth, according to the figures running along both sides of the main screen. He turned and marched back to his small group of officers. Admiral Lewis called to his communications officer.

“Get me Anderson on the horn and fast. This is going to get messy, very messy!”

What was the leadership behind Echidna during the Uprising? The War was over and the Alliance spreading its light from world to world, yet few understood what had actually happened. The Zealots were a holdover from the days of the Great War and the many religious persecutions. The military leaders of the Echidna Union seemed to share one thing in common, a desire for advancement no matter what weapons were used. There were even rumors that the icons themselves were payment for the technology of the Biomechs, a contract that only a handful of people would ever known about.

Holy Icons

Spartan inched around the corner of the passageway so that he could check out the next bend. The slow pulsing of the red warning lights had been running for more than ten minutes, and yet there was still no sign of any level of security.

“Where the hell are the guards?” asked Khan.

Spartan threw him a sideways glance, raising a hand to tell him to stay silent. He looked back around the corner and watched the shape of one more Biomech machine. As before, this looked like one of the senior machines, like the ones that had captured and tortured Khan. He felt a pain in his left hand but tried to ignore it; the hand was now long gone. He rested the T’Kari rifle on his broken arm and took careful aim. This machine was almost totally stripped of any color, because of disinterest or perhaps age. Even so, it was as big as Khan and moved on two massive legs. They seemed oversized compared to the smaller torso. In front and behind marched a dozen T’Kari, each in fully enclosed armored suits and rifles at their shoulders. Their feet made an odd sucking sound as the magboots attached and detached in rhythm on the floor.

“We have company,” Spartan whispered to his friend.

One of the T’Kari stepped forward rather than using the lack of gravity to move effortlessly. Spartan tried to reach out, but the female had already stepped out from the cover and into the passageway facing the approaching machine. Spartan took aim with his borrowed rifle, but Khan pushed down on the barrel. Spartan looked at him and his shaking head.

“No, she must have a plan.”

He looked back and watched carefully. He could now make out the shape of the Biomech with greater certainty. The legs were substantial, yet he noticed there was no discernible head. The torso was egg-shaped, and six or more spindly arms hung down loosely around the body.

“What is it?” asked Khan.

Spartan looked at the thing, but he could honestly find nothing useful to Khan. The female T’Kari walked halfway toward the party before lifting her hand and saying something in the T’Kari language. Those around the Biomech looked confused and then started arguing with her. The machine took a single step forward before the female T’Kari turned around and pointed in the direction of Spartan. One of them must have spotted something because they spoke quickly and excitedly. The machine twisted and faced in the same direction, with two arms pointing out toward and right at him.