Weapons of War (17 page)

Reza swallowed hard. "I'll get back to the lab. I'll put in extra time. I promise."

"I'm not about to work with this little piece of shit," Guy said.

Gabriel turned to look at Guy, who had approached unnoticed in the middle of his tirade. Guy looked almost as haggard as Reza, though it was likely from stress and lack of sleep. The scientist's hands were balled into fists, his face beet red.

"I'd like nothing more than to beat the living snot out of him and you, Captain St. Martin. This is your fault. You and your father. We don't belong out here, trying to win an unwinnable war. The weapon? All it has served to do is prove it. I've scanned the entire thing in and virtually disassembled every component. There is nothing about it that offers any clue as to why it can defeat the Dread armor when nothing else can. You've hindered our chances to reach the New Earth with this folly, and if that wasn't enough, you've destroyed my marriage as well."

Gabriel barely heard any of the other words that Guy had spewed. Nothing? There was nothing? He had seen the Dread plasma rifle pierce the Dread armor. There was something. There had to be. Why had the scientist been unable to find it?

"There has to be a difference," Reza said. "You aren't looking at it right. But then, you don't look at anything right, do you? You think everything and everyone is against you. Even your wife."

Guy's face contorted in anger, and he lunged for Reza. "Don't you dare say a thing about my wife," he snarled.
 

Gabriel stepped between them, pushing Guy back. He ducked aside as Guy took a swing at him, dodging it before punching the scientist hard in the gut.

Guy doubled over; the wind knocked out of him. Then he started to sob.

"I wanted to get us off that damned rock," he said. "To give humankind a chance to start over, to grow and expand. Why does that make me the bad guy? I don't want others to die, but there was no other way to make it work. Sarah said she understood. She supported me. And then we came here, and she turned on me so quickly. She came over to that crusty old man's side without a second thought. She betrayed me once, and now she's betrayed me again. What did I do to deserve that?"

Gabriel looked at Guy, finding himself almost sympathizing with him. The anger was fading from him quickly. He needed to get both Guy and Reza back on track, their attention refocused on the Dread technology.
 

Reza's door opened again, and Sarah came out, fully dressed. She glanced at Gabriel and then looked away, embarrassed.

Guy looked up at her, his eyes red, tears on his face. Her expression turned more distraught when she saw it.
 

"The weapon is useless, Captain," Guy said softly. "The Dread are too advanced. We don't have the means to break down what they've done into something we can use. I'm sorry. I've tried to play along, to be part of the solution. I tried to work it out. I failed. I'm sorry I failed."
 

Gabriel realized Guy was speaking to Sarah when he said that. Tears were beginning to flow from her eyes as well. He looked at Reza, who was slouched against the bulkhead, looking small.
 

"What do we do now?" Reza asked.

"You get dressed and get your ass down to the lab," Gabriel said. "I need to know if what Guy is saying is true. Guy, Sarah, whatever you need to figure out, figure it out. I need everyone operating-"

Gabriel was cut off as the lights began flashing around them, and a voice sounded from the speakers.

"Captain St. Martin to the bridge," Colonel Choi said. "All other crew to your stations immediately. This a red alert. I repeat, this is a red alert."

"What's happening?" Reza said.

Gabriel did his best to keep himself from tensing. "It means the enemy has been spotted."

"Captain, take the pilot station please," Colonel Choi said, the moment Gabriel arrived on the bridge. Sarah and Guy weren't far behind, taking their places at their station without comment.
 

Reza had returned to his quarters to find some clothes.

"What's the situation, ma'am?" Gabriel asked on his way.

"Maggie, release steering controls," Choi said.

"Releasing," the computer replied.

"You know what Red Alert means, Captain," Choi said, glancing over at the Larones. She didn't look happy.

"Yes, ma'am."

Gabriel took his seat, bringing up the sensor view to see for himself. The shape of the Dread fortress was unmistakable. He checked the distance. It was still a good ten minutes away from their position. At least they had a little time to prepare.

"How did they find us?" Guy asked. His eyes were still red, but he had regained his composure and was pointedly ignoring his wife. He didn't even flinch when Reza finally made it to the bridge and joined them.

"They must have followed the stream," Reza said. "They knew which one we took, and they would have understood the likelihood that we were dropped at the terminus. The real question is, how did they get here so fast?"

"There were no streams from Earth to here," Sarah said. "They would have had to make multiple slips."

"That would make humans ill," Choi said. "Do you think it affects them the same way?"

"I don't know," Reza said.

"What should we do, Colonel?" Gabriel asked. He had control of the Magellan, but no idea what to do with it. He checked their surroundings. There was a small planet not far from them, but it would offer limited cover.
 

Then again, limited was better than none.

"Head for that planet," Choi said, sharing his thought. "We'll figure the rest out when we get there."

Gabriel took the controls, adjusting the main thrusters and vectoring thrust to begin to bring the Magellan around. He tensed when the Dread fortress released the first volley from its main plasma cannon, sending a huge stream of molten energy spewing toward them.

Gabriel deftly adjusted course and speed, rotating the Magellan and turning it belly up. The plasma continued past them, missing by a wide margin.

"They're trying to keep us from the planet," Miranda said from her station.

"Clearly," Choi agreed. "Captain St. Martin, we need to make it to the other side. It's our only chance to delay them."

"Yes, ma'am," Gabriel said. He was surprisingly calm, despite the fact that the Dread were closing in, and they still had no means to fight them.

He got the bow of the Magellan pointed toward the planet and drove the mains to full thrust. The direction put them moving away from the Dread fortress, exposing their rear and their engines. It was a dangerous thing to do, but they didn't have a choice. He put a hand to his chest, whispering a prayer and tapping the crucifix beneath his shirt. He needed his mother's divine intercession now more than ever.

A second plasma blast launched from the Dread ship. Gabriel followed it closely on his screen. He shifted the Magellan, rolling it and dipping like he would if he were in a fighter. The larger ship was slower to respond, the size making it less maneuverable. He cursed at it for being slow before breathing a sigh of relief as the plasma cleared the top of the ship by meters.

"Too close," he said.
 

"They're closing the distance," Reza said. "We can't outrun them."

"We'll make it," Gabriel said, monitoring the two distances.
 

A third plasma stream streaked toward them. Gabriel adjusted course, making every effort to avoid the attack. The Dread fortress was closer, the Magellan too slow to change position, or maybe the enemy had guessed their direction. The plasma skimmed the edge of the left QPG nacelle, tearing the side of it away in a shower of quickly snuffed out sparks.

"Damn it," Gabriel said out loud. He wasn't used to piloting a ship like this, and they were going to die because of it. He knew it, and by the hushed silence around him, he was sure the rest of them knew it too. "Where the hell is my father?"

"Locked and loaded, my boy," Theodore said, rolling onto the bridge. "Sorry I'm late, but I needed to pee first."

Gabriel felt the change in the air the moment he did, the feeling of tense desperation turning in an instant to one of true hope. He was amazed by the effect his father had with nothing more than his calm, confident presence.

"Colonel Choi, you are relieved of command," Theodore said. "If you don't mind stepping away from my chair?"

"Of course not, General," Choi said.
 

"Captain St. Martin, head on down to the hangar and get your fighter crew ready for launch. I'll take the reins from here."

Gabriel stood and turned around, setting his eyes on his father for the first time in three weeks. General St. Martin had done more than clean himself up. He had transformed himself. He was freshly washed and shaved, his hair tight against his scalp, his uniform crisp. There was no sign of pain as he lifted himself into the command chair. There was no sign of weakness.
 

"Don't just stand there staring at me like you see a ghost, Captain," Theodore said. "We've got couillons to confuse."

"Sir?" Gabriel said. "You want to launch the fighters?"

"Are you questioning my command?" Theodore yelled. "I know we can't hurt them, but that don't mean we ain't going to try. I bet it's the last thing in the world they expect."

"Yes, sir," Gabriel said, reaching the command chair. His father didn't look at him; his focus was already dedicated to evading the Dread attack. "It's good to have you back, sir."
 

He couldn't resist the urge to put his hand on his father's shoulder as he said it.

Theodore risked a glance over, a small smile creasing his face. "Thank you, Gabriel. It's good to see you, too. Now, let's show them what we're made of."

"Yes, sir."

"This is crazy," Lieutenant Bale said over the comm. "Completely crazy. The General is missing for three weeks, and then he just shows up at the eleventh hour and takes command, and we follow him like he was never gone?"

Gabriel adjusted his seat in his fighter, flipping the switch to prep the thrusters. "Yes."

"And nobody is worried that maybe he's not all there?"

"I'll take my father flying the Magellan not all there over myself any day. Besides, did you get a look at him? I haven't seen him that fit in twenty years."

"Okay, but he's going to send us out there. That doesn't worry you? We can't hurt the Dread, Captain. What are we supposed to do? Wave at them as they blow us into space junk?"

"We're supposed to do whatever the General says. Are you going to stop whining, Bale, or are you going to mutiny? One way maybe you die a hero. The other way, you just die."

Bale fell silent. Gabriel could hear the snickers of the other two pilots on the comm. Gerhardt and Celia. They were both as green as any pilot could be, greener even then Lieutenant Bale. At least she had flown a combat mission before.

He was leading a squad of children on a suicide mission and asking them to be happy about it. The crazy thing was that he was happy about it. Happy to have his father back on the bridge. Happy to be doing something against the Dread.

"This is General St. Martin." Theodore's voice cut across their comm. "Get ready to launch on my mark. Timing is everything here, boys and girls, so don't dilly-dally."

"Yes, sir," Gabriel replied for them.

"What do you think he's doing?" Bale asked.
 

"We won't know until we get out there," Gabriel replied. "What I do know is that we aren't dead yet. That's a positive sign."

"Looks like your squadron's going to have some company out there, Captain," Miranda said. "Half a dozen Dread Bats are incoming. Watch your six."

Gabriel closed his eyes to calm the sudden rush of fear. They could avoid the Dread fortress' plasma fire as long as they didn't center themselves on the main cannon. Their fighters were another story.
 

What the heck was his father doing?

He jumped when the hangar began to open, individual bay doors moving aside at the same time. The oxygen had already been pumped out, and on his father's command, they would release the clamps holding them to Magellan and join the fray.