When Earth Reigned Supreme (The Human Chronicles Saga Book 12) (25 page)

Chapter 23

Adam and the team remained on the planet for another twenty-four hours before venturing back into space. Even then they went slowly, employing the shallowest gravity well capable of reaching orbit. Then they powered down again and monitored the surrounding system, looking for any trace of enemy beamships still lurking around.

When nothing was detected, Adam ordered Neo Anderson to resume course for the next portal array in line.

A cautious twelve hours later, the stolen beamship showed up on-station only to find a huge TD portal array—larger than any they’d even seen—yet with a low-level of activity surrounding it. Array command challenged the beamship when they entered the system, and after employing the scratching microphone technique again, they slipped away without being followed.

It was on the journey to the next array that things got really interesting.

“It could just be a convoy heading for another galaxy,” Riyad said, as the team huddled before a mass of contacts on the nav screen. The alien Harix was with them.

“Can you tell if that’s the case?” Adam asked him.

“This fleet is twice the size of a harvesting fleet. And the contact intensity is different.”

“Explain.”

“These lower readings indicate smaller ships than harvesters. Over three-quarters of a harvest fleet is made up of harvesters. That’s why it’s called a harvester fleet.”

The alien had become used to Adam fawning over him, even if his compliments weren’t sincere. Adam kept up the charade so Harix would spill his guts about everything he knew. Still, at times the alien went overboard.

“So a bunch of smaller ships,” Riyad said, confused. “Is that a problem?”

“These carry the signatures of mainships and other suppressor vessels.”

“Designed to fight, not to harvest,” Adam stated.

“That would be correct.”

“Thank you, Havic,” Adam said. “You’ve done well. Now please return to the others.”

The alien beamed at the Humans before being escorted back to the makeshift jail aboard the beamship. He might be cooperating, but Adam still didn’t trust him, and wouldn’t allow him to roam the ship on his own.

When Harix was gone, Adam looked at the others. “This looks like our portal, boys, and either the SK are gearing up to retake the ones we’ve captured in the Milky Way, or all these warships are on the way to beef up their forces through the portals they still control.”

“Why can’t we just merge with the fleet and pass through to our side?” Connors asked. “We’d be just one of ten thousand ships. Then once we’re over, we quietly slip away.”

“That’s our only option, even though we could end up anywhere in the galaxy.”

“At least we’ll be in our universe.”

“Such a massive gravity signature was easy for us to spot this far out. Let’s hope they haven’t paid too much attention to a single ship four light-years away. Mr. Anderson, move us in closer. Connors, be on the lookout for any hostile action. We definitely can’t afford to have a fleet that big on our tail if we’re found out.”

Mike Connors was right. With ten thousand Sol-Kor ships in the fleet, including an estimated eighty-two hundred beamships, one more joining up didn’t raise any alarms, or at least as far as they could tell. But then the complexion of the fleet changed the closer they came to the location on screen for the next portal array.

The massive grouping slowed, and then began to divide up.

“What are they doing?” asked Riyad.

Adam shook his head.

“I can tell you what they’re
not
doing,” Connors blurted. “They’re not heading straight there. They seem to be encircling it.”

Adam’s jaw fell open. He stood up from the command chair and Riyad, who had been leaning against the right armrest, pulled away. “What’s wrong?”

“A lot…or nothing. I don’t know,” Adam replied. “But I tell you one thing, you don’t encircle a strategic location that you have under your control, only those you don’t.”

“You think Tobias has control of the portal on this side?”

“Possibly. Why else would the SK be positioning themselves like this? As a master portal, they would have access to any of the gateways in the Milky Way, including all those they still control. They could pass right through without slowing down.”

Adam turned to Adrian Kaczynski, the last UTC specialist on the team. “You have the CW contact info for the admiral?”

“Yessir. I have it memorized.”

“If we open a link from here, could the SK trace it?”

Wizard Kaczynski grimaced. “I don’t see how they couldn’t. There are comms filling space as we speak, but one beamed to an unrecorded address would probably set off alarms. It would in our fleets.”

“Mike, can we get ahead of the SK, get to the portal before they do?”

“Jesus, Captain, we’re about two-thirds back right now, and they’re establishing a no-man’s-land around the portal planet of about half-a-light. We’d be shot out of the air by either party if we attempt to cross. And that’s assuming we’re allowed to accelerate through this traffic to take a lead position. If we attract too much attention, they may turn their beams on us.”

Adam grimaced. Their beam neutralizing belts had gone dry two days ago and were now useless against the Sol-Kor’s main weapon against them.

“We have to get through,” Mac MacTavish said softly. “Otherwise we’re fucked.”

All eyes turned to Adam. He hated this part of command, when the truly momentous decisions had to be made.

“They’re going to retake the portal—if Andy truly is in control and doesn’t destroy it first. There’s no way he could stand against a force this large.”

“Captain, we have to try,” Mac said, desperation in his voice. If Tobias destroyed the portal before they could pass through, they’d be trapped in the SK universe forever.

Adam nodded. “Mr. Johnson, get the CW code from Wizard and have it ready. If we can’t make it through to the leading edge of the fleet, we’ll call Andy and let him know what’s coming his way. The bottom line is we can’t let the SK control the portal array. We may have to destroy it ourselves if Tobias can’t.”

Adam heard Riyad laugh. “There you go again,” Riyad said with a wide smile. “If Admiral Tobias and his entire fleet can’t destroy the portal, then dammit, the eight of us will just have to do it ourselves.”

“You see a problem with that?” Adam asked, a mischievous glint in his eye.

“Not at all. I’m just wondering why we even have to bother Andy and his starships in the first place.”

“C’mon, Riyad, we can’t do everything ourselves. Occasionally we do need to leave some of the glory for others.”

He addressed his pilot. “Begin a slow but steady maneuvering closer to the leading units, Neo. But don’t box us in. We may need a clear path out of here if the shit hits the fan.”

********

Neo did an incredible job of moving through the cloud of enemy vessels without attracting any attention. Now they were along the front line of a large section of the fleet that had moved to port before fanning out to cover the quadrant.

“I’m picking up chatter, Captain,” Lieutenant Johnson reported from the comm console. “They’re reporting at least a dozen scout ships have been detected, all scrambling back toward the array planet.”

“Well, that confirms it. Andy’s in charge.” Adam felt sick to his stomach. He knew his old SEAL commander had taken the portal array as a means of providing the team with a way back home in case their other options fell through. He had no idea how many lives it had cost, but it had to be more than twelve—the number of people originally in Adam’s team. In the end, the attack on the SK portal would turn out to be a coup, one that could end the war right here and now. The aliens would undoubtedly build another array, and with the coordinates would be able to make contact with all the arrays still active in the Milky Way. But by then—without constant reinforcements—all the Sol-Kor portals in the galaxy could be either destroyed or captured.

The only thing that could screw up the incredible stroke of luck Tobias had fallen into was if he elected not to destroy the array, leaving it intact, hoping that someday Adam and the team would make it through. Unless Adam could make a mad dash for the portal right now, he couldn’t leave Andy with that option. The array had to be destroyed. Period.

“Sir, we’ve got company.”

Adam rushed over to Conner’s nav console. Riyad was already there.

“What’s happening?”

“Well, they were challenging the hell out of us, then it suddenly ended about ten minutes ago. I was hoping they’d just let it go, but it looks like the bastards have put two and two together.”

“They may have also received a warning from Kor and the other fleet to be on the lookout for a rogue beamship with a busted comm unit,” Riyad said.

“They’re definitely taking notice,” Connors continued, “even moving a few units into the buffer zone ahead of us.”

Adam stood up straight, continuing to stare at the nav screen. He was half a light-year away from the gateway that could take the team home. Yet for all intents and purposes it could be a million light-years away. He needed to either order a full-on rush for the portal or a mad dash from the fleet. He knew the Sol-Kor commander’s priority would be to secure the portal, not splinter his fleet in pursuit of a lone beamship.

“Plot a course out of here, Neo. Mr. Johnson, I’m going to need that link.”

Two simultaneous “Yes, sirs” filled the bridge.

“Plotted.”

“Link ready to be initiated.”

“Get ready, Neo. Once the transmission is traced back to here, that’ll be it.”

“Do it, sir,” MacTavish said. “It’s more important to save home than it is to save us.”

“Thanks for that, Ensign. All right, Rock, do it!”

“Link open. Waiting for contact.”

On a screen to the left of the huge forward viewport, an image suddenly appeared, the gaunt face and bald head of Admiral Andy Tobias.

“No time, Captain,” he said hurriedly. “Get your ass over here as fast as you can. Give me your coordinates and I’ll send out cover units.”

“That won’t help, Admiral. They’re already on to us. We’d never make it and you’d lose even more good sailors on our behalf.”

“Bullshit! Now that’s an order. Bolt out from wherever you are. We can provide an escort.”

“Negative on that, sir. We’re going to stay. So go ahead and blow the array. I assume by now you know what you have?”