Méridien (The Silver Ships Book 3) (15 page)
Read Méridien (The Silver Ships Book 3) Online
Authors: S. H. Jucha
Tags: #Science Fiction & Fantasy, #Science Fiction, #Alien Invasion, #First Contact, #Space Opera
Money Maker
, were still too far out to help.
The
Outward Bound
and Daggers executed vertical climbs, curving back on their course to face the Strikers and opening up their formation to spread the enemy’s missile shots. They were the first to launch, because the Strikers had lost time flying through the giant cloud of mist propagated by both sides.
As soon as the Strikers exited the cloud, the Admiral’s missiles were on them, and the pilots frantically attempted to evade their death. Three were not fast enough. The other four Strikers cleared the first missile salvo and managed to launch eight missiles in return. What the Striker pilots hadn’t anticipated were the twin carousels of the
Outward Bound
. Miko had launched four missiles that accompanied the Daggers’ initial launches. Ticks later, she had launched another four missiles and then another four. As the four remaining Strikers launched their second salvo and prepared to fire again, they ran out of time. Miko’s second and third missile groups honed in on the remaining fighters, and the Strikers and pilots joined their comrades as ocean debris.
Alex was engaged in his own bit of cursing. The Daggers and his shuttle had been designed to fight the beam weapons of the silver ships. No one thought that their fighters would someday be in head-to-head battles with fighters from their own world. They had no defense against missiles that tracked their heat signatures. He braced himself as Edouard and Miko fought to twist the
Outward Bound
clear of the missiles still honing in on them.
At the same time, Ellie switched to manual control. Her helmet telemetry laid out the paths of the oncoming missiles. She accelerated her Dagger to evade the two pointed her way, closing on them before they could change vectors and then rolling her fighter in a complex pattern that outmaneuvered the Strikers’ weaker missile flight controls. She let out a shuddering breath as she shot clear and watched the remains of the Strikers splash into the ocean. She had signed up to destroy silver ships, yet she was killing humans. The thought made her ill.
In the other Dagger, Hatsuto’s controller relayed the telemetry of three missiles targeting him, but it was the three honing in on the Admiral’s shuttle that frightened him. The
Outward Bound
had great lift power but was nowhere near as agile as a Dagger. Ignoring his survival instincts, Hatsuto rolled his Dagger in three great circles, losing those missiles focused on him. He came out of his maneuver beneath the
Outward Bound
and signaled Edouard to hold steady. Then Hatsuto accelerated his Dagger at maximum, shooting forward of the shuttle and slammed into the two most forward missiles. The expanding cloud of hot gas and debris made a target for the remaining missile, which detonated in the remains of Hatsuto’s Dagger while the
Outward Bound
climbed skyward to clear the detonations.
In the quiet following the battle, all parties heard Julien say,
* * *
The comm between Alex and Maria, following the aerial fight, was not for the faint of heart or the innocent. Alex was angry at the perpetrators and himself.
You should have known better
, he thought.
They don’t go away peacefully once you threaten their power
. The attitudes of the privileged and powerful had always grated on his nerves. Left to their own devices, they sought ways to grow and consolidate their influence.
Alex didn’t care anymore whether it was revealed he and Julien had breached the law to identify Samuel Hunsader and Clayton Downing as the guilty parties behind the theft and probably the murder of the engineer. Over Maria’s strident objection, Alex ordered Sheila to locate the three remaining Strikers on New Terra and allow TSF forces one hour to destroy them, or she was to destroy them herself.
A warning came to the
Rêveur
from Barren Island. Flight crew, who had hidden during the takeover, now broadcast a message that the renegade troopers were lifting in a shuttle. Alex linked to his officers and Julien.
The Admiral’s shuttle and Ellie’s Dagger landed safely at Prima and were met by the TSF Captain and a full contingent of troopers armed with plasma rifles. Overhead shot four Daggers with angry pilots, who were daring anything or anyone else to lift off the planet and endanger their Admiral.
Before disembarking, Alex knocked on the pilot’s hatch. He stood absolutely still, waiting for it to open, despite his agitation. Finally, the hatch motors hummed and it slid open. Edouard stood aside to let Alex enter. Miko sat in her copilot seat. Her knees were drawn to her chest and tears trailed down her cheeks. When she started to rise, Alex laid a hand on her shoulder. “I’m so sorry for the loss of your brother, Miko. It should never have come to this, but know that your brother gave his life so that others would live.”
“No, Admiral, don’t say that!” Miko cried out. “My brother gave his life so that you could live. Hatsuto came to believe humanity faced a horror, and you were the one to stop it. He died for you. Make sure he wasn’t wrong,” she said, anger firing her final words.
“I’ll do my best, Miko,” Alex said sadly.
“One more thing, Admiral,” said Miko, unbending from her chair and standing to face him. “Word is that when we’re done, you’ll leave New Terra with the Librans for a new home. Is that right?”
“Yes, it is,” Alex said.
“Make sure you take me with you,” Miko replied.
“It would be my honor, Miko,” Alex said, touching his hand to his heart and nodding.
Miko acknowledged his word with a nod of her own.
Étienne replied.
Alex’s meeting with President pro tem Maria Gonzalez was short.
“I’m going to Libre,” said Alex, blood pulsing in his neck’s extended arteries. “I hold you personally accountable for the safety of my people while I’m gone. When I’m done in Libre, Madam President, I will gather my people and we’ll leave this system. The Méridiens may not know how to defend themselves against an alien horde, but at least they don’t go around killing their own people.” Alex spun around and stalked out of Maria’s office without allowing her to respond.
Maria took a few moments to gather her emotions before preparing to meet with the government’s judiciary counsel.
We may have lost your faith in us, Alex, but I will make the culprits pay—every last one of them
, she thought.
* * *
Alex returned to the
Rêveur
and immediately boarded a smaller shuttle for the
Money Maker
. Edouard and Étienne hurried to keep pace with him. When Alex disembarked aboard the carrier-freighter, he made his way along the spine to the forward-most bays, one of which held the meal room. On his orders, Sheila had assembled the pilots to meet with him.
The pilots snapped to attention as Alex came into the room. “Please be seated,” he said after returning their salute. He searched out Ellie. She was easy to spot … the young woman with the red-rimmed eyes. “For many reasons, today should never have happened. If I had been thinking, we would have kept up a show of force to dissuade people from this course of action. I take full responsibility for the death of Lieutenant Tanaka.”
Sheila ached to object but decided this was not the right time.
If there is blame to be assigned,
she thought grimly,
I need my share.
“All of you have trained to fight the silver ships; you did not train to kill your fellow humans. If any of you wish to return to civilian status, I will completely understand. You need only speak to your Commander,” Alex said, indicating Sheila.
Ellie Thompson stood up and waited to be addressed.
“Yes, Lieutenant?” Alex said.
“I have a question and a favor to ask, Admiral. I understand we had to fight today to prevent our own deaths, but why did they do that?”
“The New Terrans are not like Méridiens, Lieutenant,” Alex replied. “They are not directed since birth to cooperate with their fellow humans. The extent to which our society grants freedom to individuals allows some to seek power, to gain it by any means possible. Days ago, we removed a corrupt man from office, and the people who still support him wanted his influence and power reinstated. They believe I am an impediment to their plans and thus they sought my death.”
Ellie thought about the Admiral’s words, the concept foreign and yet familiar. “Hmm,” she mumbled, “no better than that monstrous sphere.”
Alex recalled Ellie’s first statement. “You had a favor to ask, Lieutenant.”
The Admiral’s question shook her from her reverie, and she was embarrassed to have kept him waiting. “Yes, Admiral. I would like to attend evening meal aboard the
Rêveur
and speak for Lieutenant Tanaka.”
“Commander, please arrange transport for the Lieutenant and any crew of the
Money Maker
who wish to attend,” Alex said and departed.
* * *
When Alex returned to the
Rêveur
and exited the starboard-bay airlock, he was nearly bowled over by Renée. She threw her arms and legs around him and held him as tightly as she could. The shuttle crew politely edged their way around the couple.
Alex held Renée until her limbs relaxed, and then he set her down. She hadn’t said a word. They walked with arms around each other down the corridor to take the lift back to their cabin.
Alex had time for a refresher and an hour to review the status of their flight preparations. As he touched base with his key people, their opening statements were sentiments of gratitude for his safe return and sorrow for the loss of Hatsuto. The contrast of the two sentiments left Alex conflicted. What had begun as a simple rescue operation of some lost cousins had morphed into a fight for the human race. That fight was still critical to him, but the safety of the quarter-million people under his care had become his central desire. Now he was forced to protect them from their fellow humans.
Can this get any more complicated?
Alex wondered. His chronometer app chimed for evening meal, interrupting his musings, and he rose from his desk to offer Renée his arm.
Meal was a subdued affair. The room was at capacity, with the pilots and flight crews from both the
Freedom
and
Money Maker
making the trip. Tomas, Lina, Eric, the Captains, and the Commanders had come as well.
When crew removed the serving dishes from Alex’s and Renée’s table, he sat back, folded his arms, and sought Ellie’s eyes. She was waiting for him, and he nodded to her.
As Ellie stood up, she cleared her throat, and the audience turned toward her. “I have never spoken at meal for an individual,” Ellie began. “It is my hope this evening I do no disservice to Lieutenant Tanaka, whom I wish to honor. After the fight today, I could not make sense of many things. I spoke to my fellow Independents … I mean, Librans … and found that they, too, were confused by the events of today. Humans attacking humans, and a man sacrificed his life. What are we to make of these strange events? The Admiral spoke to the pilots this afternoon, and it caused me to think much on his words. We are humans from different worlds, fighting to save the human race, but what society will we create for ourselves one day—one that preserves life at any cost and imperils itself … one that grants freedom to the extent that individuals imperil one another? This evening, I would honor Lieutenant Tanaka, who exemplifies how our new world might behave. He was New Terran, and he valued his freedom, his independence, but he did not value the sanctity of life above all else. He held a greater belief, and when the future he believed in was threatened, he took action. He fought those who tried to destroy that future, a future without silver ships. And when the only thing he had left to give was his life, he did so. Today I sought only to survive. Lieutenant Tanaka sought to ensure all of us would survive. I will live my life in honor of his memory.”
Alex was the first one on his feet, offering Ellie honor for her story in the Méridien fashion. She could barely make him out through the tears that coursed down her face. As her peers stood, they obscured her view of him. She nodded her thanks for their tribute and sat down. Hands reached across the table to touch her and comfort her.
When the audience had taken their seats, Alex remained standing. “A brief memorial for Hatsuto will be held tomorrow at 7 hours in the starboard bay, and it will be broadcast by the SADEs to all ships. There will be no star service. TSF has informed us that no remains were recovered. The ships returning to Libre tomorrow will be underway at 18 hours. All preparations should be finalized by 14 hours. Please report any issues through your Captain, who will inform the SADE. We will exit outside of the Arnos system and remain outside until my plans may be actualized.”