The Great Betrayal (33 page)

Bastards, they planned this!

Even the Alliance fighters were forced to rush from the scene, trying to get out of the danger area. A small number ignored their orders and continued to chase down the transports. Only one was brought down by the time the ship hit the docklands area.

“There!” Wictred pointed at a control tower.

The small number of Bulldogs swerved while trying to escape, and Jack, Wictred, Gun, and a dozen other marines ducked down along the lower frame of the tower. The impact was greater than any of them could have expected. Jack found himself lifted from the ground before he crashed to the floor. The impact knocked him out cold. A cloud of dust and shockwave smashed into the tower and around the rest of the marines.

* * *

Admiral Lewis stared at the Khreenk ships with an angry, almost bitter look on his face. The black transport ships that had escaped from the surface were already loaded inside. It was a standoff that he suspected could only end painfully. Several more vessels had joined the force to give Admiral Lanthua twenty-one ships, as opposed to the eleven functional ships of the Heavy Strike Group. Admiral Lewis had been forced to leave Captain Hampel’s frigate squadron behind to guard ANS Sentry before she could be towed back to the Naval Station in T’Karan.

“So they send down one ship on a suicide mission as a cover to get Justitium Lyssk off-world. Ballsy,” said Commander Lisa Sonels.

“Yeah, and it leaves us with a problem, a damned big one.”

The communications officer turned around and nodded.

“Admiral Lewis, the commander of the Khreenk fleet wishes to speak with you.”

General Daniels walked into the CIC and took up position on the flank of the Admiral. He spoke quietly so that nobody else might hear.

“The Zathee standard is flying over the capital. The revolution is over.”

Admiral Lewis should have been happy, but the formation of warships facing him was of more concern to him than the planet right now. He twisted his head just a few millimeters.

“Good news, General. That is a good start.”

He then looked to his communications officer.

“Put him on the main screen. I want you all to see this.”

She nodded and pressed several buttons. As before, the image of the alien filled half of the mainscreen, with the rest showing a forward view from the fleet of Helios and the alien fleet sitting and waiting in high orbit.

“Admiral Lewis, it is good to see you again,” said the alien through his translator, “I have orders to return my forces to Khreenk space.”

Yeah, I don’t think so.

Admiral Lewis shook his head angrily.

“Your people sent an automated fleet against my forces and caused untold casualties on Helios. You will stay here and face the legal system of the Helions themselves.”

The alien did his best job to mimic the smile of a human.

“Ships coming from in from the Khreenk Rift!” shouted Lieutenant Rola Ryante.

The large screen to the left of the main screen showed the tactical dispositions of forces around Helios. It zoomed out a little to show three of the nearest Rifts to the planet of Helios. Dozens of red diamonds marked out the ships.

“Forty-three capital ships, all Khreenk. They will be in range in twelve hours, Admiral.”

He looked at the information and returned to the smiling face of Admiral Lanthua staring right back.

“These are the escorts for the Helion refugees my government has promised to help. We are setting a course for our Rift now.”

The image cut without giving Admiral Lewis a chance to answer. Already the ships near Helios were powering up their engines and making their way away from the planet.

Sixty-four ships and the possibility of starting a war.

He looked at General Daniels who seemed tired and irritated as him.

“This fight is over, for now. You have to let them go.”

He knew the General was right, but the thought of letting the dictator of Helios escape, along with an unknown number of his followers left a bitter taste in his mouth.

“I know,” he said finally, with disgust in his voice.

General Daniels gazed at the fleet of ships as it moved away from Helios.

“We cannot risk open conflict with their ships. We have Helios secure. We can deal with this dictator if and when we see him again.”

Admiral Lewis nodded in agreement, but he was less than convinced at the General’s prognosis.

“What about the fleet we’ve already fought. Whose ships were they? If they were controlled by AI Hubs, then that mean somebody, probably the Khreenk, has contact with the Biomechs or their allies.”

General Daniels didn’t seem particularly surprised at this.

“Yes, I thought as much. I suspect they are receiving military or technological aid from the Biomechs. If that’s true, then we need to prepare and not start a war, not today.”

The two senior officers looked down at Helios from the mainscreen while the fleet of Khreenk warships moved away unmolested. Civilian traffic continued to move about as though nothing was happening.

“Signal from Colonel Gun. His forces are withdrawing to their forward bases. It’s over down there.”

Admiral Lewis sighed quietly. His chest had been pounding for what must have been hours, but at least the immediate crisis was over. He looked around the CIC and at his crew. All were busy, and ANS Conqueror had entered battle once more to come out relatively unscathed and with a single battle honor to her name. He tried to feel good about it, but the defeat of the unknown automated fleet left him feeling uneasy.

If we did so well, why do I feel like we’ve just been cheated?

* * *

Spartan grabbed onto his seat with his one good hand and clenched his teeth. They were only seconds away from the Rift, yet the gunfire coming from the pursuing Biomech warship was pounding them. Alarms seemed to be sounding from every single direction. Through the main window, he watched the station grow smaller and smaller. The second T’Kari ship was still there but was surrounded by continuous flashes of yellow.

“They are going to die, all of them, for us.”

Khan watched, but he seemed less affected by what was happening around them. They were now seconds from the Rift when the blast occurred. Khan thumped Spartan and pointed at the display.

“Look, the station!”

He shouted at the nearest T’Kari.

“Magnify, now!”

The alien fumbled and tapped something. The image of the station enlarged to show the stricken T’Kari warship. Something was different. The burning remains of the ship were lying on the station as secondary explosions tore her hull apart.

“Those crazy bastards. They must have rammed the station!” said Khan, the admiration clear in his voice.

Their own ship shuddered and vibrated as more shells slammed into the hull. A small fire broke out at the front, but they all ignored it. The ship was now in the Rift, and it would be seconds before they emerged from the other side. As Spartan usually did, he held his breath as if he was under water. The tunnel was something of a misnomer. It was more a doorway. As they slipped through, they appeared somewhere else, a place that Spartan had never seen. He wasn’t able to savor the moment because the Biomech warship was right behind them and entering the Rift.

“Spartan, we’ve got a problem...a big problem.”

Then they were completely through and into a different sector. They covered several kilometers before the bow of the enemy ship appeared.

“Here they come,” said Spartan softly.

The T’Kari moved through dozens of buttons and options, trying to keep their crippled warship as far away from their purser as possible. Then the Rift began to shudder. First it flickered like the crest of a wave as it shifted and moved about. Even the Biomech warship seemed to distort slightly, and then in the blink of an eye the Rift vanished, leaving the twisted remains of the front third of the Biomech ship drifting behind them. A single blue flash appeared from its center, and the remains tore themselves apart in a bright explosion. It looked like a growing ball of superheated plasma.

“Those crazy sons of bitches did it!” laughed Spartan, his relief clear in his face.

The image of their forward view moved slightly as the ship drifted out of control. At first they saw nothing, and then the great blue orb shifted in front of them. All five of them, even the T’Kari gazed at the shape with awe on their faces. Spartan wiped the sweat from his face and whispered to his friend.

“We’re home.”

He looked back at the blue planet, with its great oceans and large landmasses. He’d seen pictures of the world before, but he had never expected it to be quite as stunning as it was.

* * *

 
The lights faded slowly from black to daylight over a full minute. The windows from the medical facility looked out onto the city and provided a distraction for the many patients inside the building. Teresa opened her eyes slowly and looked about. She immediately noticed the monitoring equipment, machines, and cables attached to her body. She almost panicked but forced herself to stay calm. Her limbs felt weak, and for a second she feared she might be crippled. She lifted her hands in front of her face and sighed a breath of relief. The door opened, and in walked a doctor. He stopped at the end of her bed and looked at her.

“Major Morato, how are you feeling today?”

She wiped her eyes and tried to remember what had happened. She could see the images of the fighting on Helios, the blood, and her son. That was all.

“What happened?”

The doctor moved closer.

“You lost a lot of blood and suffered head trauma. You were in a coma until last week. Since then you’ve been moving in and out of consciousness.”

A coma?

She almost panicked at the news.

“How long?”

The doctor sat down on the bed beside her.

“You’ve been here almost nine months now. We didn’t expect you would wake up after the violence your body went through.”

“Jack?”

The doctor smiled.

“Private Jack Morato? He’s just fine. I spoke with him less than an hour ago. He is on his way back to Terra Nova, along with the casualties from his unit. Your other two children are also coming here. They will arrive within the week.”

“What's happened to him?” she asked, worrying about the mention of the casualties.

His face relaxed a little.

“Not him, sorry. He came through the ground combat completely unscathed. He’s one of the Heroes of Helios. Our forces helped overthrow the Helion dictator. We are now allies of Helios.”

Teresa looked at him and then out of the window to the towers and buildings of Terra Nova, the capital world of the Alliance. Although she felt weak, she forced herself to sit up, raising her gaze to the skies.

Now all I need is to find Spartan.