Omega Force 6: Secret of the Phoenix (18 page)

“They don’t fight with any sort of centralized command structure, so we don’t have any officers to go after,” Crusher said, thinking about it. “If we can divide them up into smaller skirmish groups Mazer will have no problem taking out the smaller groups individually while minimizing their own losses.”

“Sounds reasonable,” Jason said. “You lead, we’ll follow.”

Crusher nodded and moved off away from the administrative building at a quick run. Jason wasn’t exactly manipulating Crusher and he was being completely sincere about the warrior being far more familiar with their enemy than he or Lucky was, but he also knew that by putting the burden of leadership on his friend it would curb his tendencies to rush off into his own engagements with no thought of his team. Now that he was the lead of the three-man team he would first think about keeping Jason and Lucky safe and his own desire to kill Korkarans would be a close second.

They ran down a side street off the main square, avoiding the smaller Korkaran patrols while pushing towards the sounds of heavy weapons fire to the south. Crusher led them down a narrow alley and then up a flight of stairs that put them on the unused second floor of a large, nondescript building that may have been housing units at one time. He posted Lucky along the back exit to protect their egress route and led Jason deeper into the building.

“We’ll engage one of their teams here,” Crusher said. “Then we’ll move over and up to the street one block to the south and wait for their reinforcements to come in.”

“How big are their teams?” Jason asked, checking the charge on the railgun’s power pack.

“Normally no bigger than ten once they’ve split up in a city like this,” Crusher whispered. “But they’ll begin to congregate again in order to meet Mazer’s superior force.”

“So we’re just going to keep stinging them along their rearguard to keep them off balance?”

“Exactly,” Crusher said with a smile. “I’m moving into the next room. When I open fire, go ahead and take out any targets of opportunity. I’ll shout when it’s time to move. We won’t get more than a few shots before they locate us.”

Jason wasn’t in love with the plan since they were trapped in an upper level of a building if their rear exit was cut off, but it was better than Crusher jumping into the middle of a group of Korkarans with nothing more than a blade and relying on Jason and Lucky to bail him out.

They only had to wait a couple of minutes before the sound of heavy footfalls caught Jason’s attention. A team of eight Korkarans was sprinting down the side street towards the sounds of more intense fighting, completely ignoring anything above or behind them. Jason kept away from the window opening until the team had passed and then sighted down his railgun’s optics, waiting for the signal.

Crusher opened fire once they were well past the window openings, giving him and Jason better cover and an optimal firing angle. Three Korkarans fell under the withering plasma fire and the others scattered. Jason tracked two as they sprinted for cover in the building across the street, lining up his shot and killing them both with a single railgun round.

“Showoff!” he heard Crusher shout before appearing in the doorway. “Let’s go, we need to get to the next street up.” Jason followed his friend out and they collected Lucky before leaping across the alley to the roof of the next building, a shorter commercial unit, and raced along to get to the next side street.

They made it to the edge just in time to see a twelve-man team running to support the Korkarans Crusher and Jason had just engaged. Lucky and Crusher opened fire without a word while Jason tossed another grenade into the middle of the group. After the teeth-jarring explosion, Lucky leapt from the roof and began engaging the stunned troops at close range. Crusher also jumped off, intent on not letting a single mercenary escape.

Jason stood at the edge of the roof, eyes scanning all around for any sign of additional troops that could surprise his friends while they were engaged on the street. It was over in less than a minute with all twelve Korkarans dead, some gruesomely so. Jason hopped off the two-story building and landed on the balls of his feet, absorbing the impact with his enhanced leg muscles.

“That was quick,” he remarked, spinning and raising his railgun as the sounds of approaching footsteps reached them. The welcome sight of fifteen Galvetic Marines coming from a side street leading up from the south greeted the three members of Omega Force.

“Lord Archon!” the sergeant in charge said, crashing his fist against his chest in salute. “We heard weapons fire and came as fast as we could. It appears we were not needed.”

“But you’re always welcome,” Crusher said with a laugh. “Anything happening down where you just came from?”

“No, my lord,” the Marine said. “We’re part of the advance force ahead of Captain Reddix. I’m to report any contact to him along with three other squads deployed along this front.”

“Do you feel like pushing back north with us and seeing what sort of trouble we can find?” Crusher asked.

“It would be our honor,” the sergeant said with a huge, toothy smile.

The seventeen-man squad ran as fast as they could, following Crusher back the way they had come. Jason found that he could easily keep pace with the Marines thanks to his enhancements and much to their surprise. He was still acclimating to the dramatic changes to his body but it was moments like this where all the pain and needing to relearn basic skills were worth it.

Maybe it was hubris or just simple carelessness, but the noisy squad ended up running directly into a Korkaran ambush that had been set specifically for them. The first shot fired was a tight-beamed plasma burst that, in a case of incredibly bad luck, hit Jason’s railgun. The weapon took the brunt of the blast and the reflected energy burnt off much of the ablative coating on his body armor. A loud, warbling screech emitted from the railgun and Jason didn’t hesitate, knowing exactly what the warning tone meant, and threw the weapon into the faces of their assailants.

It exploded as the power pack went critical from the heat it had absorbed from the plasma blast. Three charging Korkarans were peppered with molten metal and caustic cooling gel from the rails. They went down screaming and clawing at their faces as two more came from behind them. Jason could hear that they’d been rushed from all sides as his companions fought off the initial contact. In the event of an ambush, Jason had been trained to respond with maximum firepower and break contact, but the three-pronged rush had collapsed the squad onto itself and he couldn’t flee without leaving his friends’ flanks exposed.

He pulled his sidearm and opened fire right into the face of the Korkaran in the lead, vaporizing everything from the neck up. Dodging the body as its momentum carried it forward, he tried to line up the last mercenary on his side for a shot but had to drop to the ground as it brought its own weapon up. Jason held down the trigger and the small weapon spat out plasma bolts in rapid fire succession, destroying the Korkaran’s weapons and flipping it over backwards before it overheated and shut off. He climbed to his feet and tossed the weapon aside, spinning to see how the rest of the squad fared and drawing his last remaining weapon.

Unfortunately, the Korkaran he had shot was also wearing body armor and Jason’s underpowered pistol hadn’t dealt a killing blow. While his back was turned the big saurian alien rushed him and slammed him to the ground, sending his weapon flying. Jason rolled and threw an elbow back into its snout before it could try and bite down on his neck. It hissed and pushed him away, climbing to its feet.

Jason rolled to his feet and squared off against the powerful alien. The familiar rushing sound in his ears of his turbocharged adrenal response drowned out the sounds of combat around him as the Korkaran, now seeming to move much slower, moved in again. It lashed out with a clawed hand, going straight for Jason’s throat. He moved into the thrust, turning at the last instant and allowing the hand to pass and wrapping around it with his own left arm. With the alien’s arm pinned, he shoved off of his left foot, rolling to the right, and bent the elbow joint back the opposite way. The Korkaran screamed in pain and tried to wrench its arm free, but Jason was latched on tight. As he continued his roll he drew back his right fist and smashed it into the side of the Korkaran’s left knee, the hardened spikes on his gauntlets ripping flesh off the joint.

The fear began to abate now that the initial contact of the fight had been made and Jason was able to settle down and think more strategically. He knew he didn’t have the leverage to break the arm, so he released it and spun around, sweeping the alien’s legs out from under it with his right leg. He bounced to his feet and waited as the surprised alien climbed up much more slowly, eyeing him with newfound respect. The soft, pink alien had almost torn its arm off and he wasn’t about to make the same mistake again.

The Korkaran approached again, this time much more cautiously, which proved to be an even bigger mistake than a mad rush. Jason had plenty of time to wait until the mercenary, its moves now tinged with fear, threw a soft, exploratory strike with its right hand. He grabbed the wrist and bent it down with his left hand and smashed an overhand blow into its snout, breaking the bone and jarring his own hand hard enough to numb it. Jason was dimly aware that there was a circle of Galvetic Marines surrounding the fight, but they seemed to be making no move to intercede. He put it out of his mind as he yanked the still-captive wrist up and raised his right forearm to block a weak strike from the Korkaran’s left. He could sense his opponent was weakening and decided to push his advantage, releasing the wrist and kicking the inside of its left knee with his right boot.

The Korkaran was thrown off balance and dropped to one knee, its head snapping up as it did. Jason stepped in and put all his weight into another heavy punch that smashed into the alien’s throat, the soft tissue giving under the force of the hit. The Korkaran’s eyes bulged and it went limp, clutching at its throat as Jason let it fall to the pavement. It thrashed around for a second more before going still.

There was silence for a moment before a savage, roaring cheer went up from the squad of Galvetic Marines and their Lord Archon. Crusher walked up and clapped Jason on the shoulder, shaking him enthusiastically.

“Well done, Captain!” Crusher yelled at him. “Single unarmed combat against a worthy opponent!” The other Marines also came in to clap him on the back, each nodding respectfully to him. Jason looked over to Lucky who only nodded to him once in approval, seeming to beam like a proud teacher. The Galvetic warriors had already held Jason in high esteem due to his association with Felex Tezakar and his actions on Restaria, but word of his hand-to-hand combat victory against a Korkaran would be spread far and wide among their ranks. His victory practically made him an honorary legionnaire.

“Captain,” Lucky said. “I have contact with the
Phoenix
. Twingo was able to effect emergency repairs of the com system.”

Jason reached up and found that his earpiece was missing, knocked out during the fight, no doubt. He didn’t bother trying to find it.

“What’s their status?”

“They are flying above the city out of small arms range,” Lucky said. “They destroyed the troop carrier as it circled around and tried to land to extract the mercenaries. Captain Reddix reports that the bulk of the Korkaran force has been neutralized and they are pushing towards the city square.”

“I guess we’ll meet up there,” Jason shrugged, walking over and picking up his remaining plasma pistol. “Let’s not walk into any more ambushes since I’m nearly out of weapons.”

Chapter 19

“Captain Burke,” Kellea said in greeting as they walked up to the mustering point in the city square. Landing craft from the
Defiant
littered the open area and Galvetic Marines began leaving on patrols in armored vehicles.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea for you to be down here right now, Captain?” Jason asked.

Kellea regarded him with a cold look, apparently still not happy with him after the stunt they’d pulled while departing her ship. “Captain Reddix has assured me the area is secure and the
Defiant
has subdued the destroyer that nearly shot you down,” she said. “My Intel section is in the process of finding out who they are since the ship doesn’t appear in any registry.”

“I see,” Jason said in a neutral tone. “Have you heard from my ship?”

“Doc said they were heading back to the same hangar you were parked in last night,” she said. “The
Phoenix
needs some significant repairs and I didn’t think it’d be a great idea to bring it into my hangar, all things considered.” They’d drifted away from the crowd so Jason was able to speak in a conversational voice instead of whispers.

“I agree,” he said casually. “I’d prefer not to have my ship in there either. Your hangar crew’s lack of professionalism is concerning in light of the repairs the ship requires.” He knew he’d just dropped a neutron bomb into the conversation, but he couldn’t stop himself. He refused to take full blame for a situation instigated by her deck boss.

“If you’re referring to my former deck boss, he is no longer working on the hangar deck and will be released from service as soon as we make port again,” she said in a deadly quiet voice. “However inappropriate his actions may have been, it doesn’t excuse you deliberately trying to damage my ship.”

Jason just rolled his eyes. “I know you’re angry, and rightfully so, but we both know running the engines in that launch tube wouldn’t have damaged anything,” he said. “It was loud and I’m sure it startled everyone, but it was a relatively tame prank as far as those things go.”

“Look … you scared the hell out of my hangar crew,” she said. “At least have the decency to look ashamed so that when my pilots report back they’ll tell them I gave you a real dressing down.”

“If it will make you feel better tell your crew that I apologize and hope that there are no hard feelings,” Jason said. “But I’m sure half your pilots are just jealous they’ve never gotten to do that.”

“Thankfully all the ships I carry are relatively tepid compared to that thing you fly around in,” she said, seeming to lose some of the rigid set to her back. “How bad is the
Phoenix
?”

“I won’t know until Twingo tears into it,” Jason admitted. “We took a full shot on the dorsal surface. We didn’t see the destroyer until it was too late.”

“Let me know if you need anything from the
Defiant’s
machine shops,” she offered. “I heard you got into a fight with one of the mercenaries? My Marines are all talking about it.”

“You heard about that already?” Jason asked.

“Oh, yes. Lord Felex’s small protégé that took out a Korkaran,” she said with a straight face.

“
Crusher’s
protégé?” Jason almost laughed. “I hope Lucky doesn’t hear that. Anyway, I’ll catch up with you later. I’m going to go have a word with De’Elefor and then get back to my ship and try to get this mission back on track.”

“One more thing, Jason,” she said in a serious voice. “Please have a care about when you activate those XTX missiles you swiped from the
Diligent
. Crisstof hasn’t pushed the issue of you having them, but they’re a highly controlled munition and every time a sensor operator sees you have one you’re putting yourself at risk.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Jason promised, not bothering to argue that he’d activated one of their ship-busters because they were staring down a destroyer’s main guns.

His conversation with De’Elefor was short and to the point. The A’arcooni leader thanked him for his help with the Korkarans, but alluded to the fact that he thought Jason had led them to his planet. Jason told him the enemy ship arrived for the same reason they did and that the sooner he was able to complete his task on A’arcoon the sooner they’d leave. De’Elefor still seemed skeptical about the argument, but agreed to meet with Jason the next day for the discussion the arrival of mercenaries had interrupted.

After his frustrating talk with Kellea, and his equally frustrating talk with De’Elefor, he was able to bum a ride back to the hangar for the three Omega Force members still in the city from one of the Marines. The twenty-minute ride in the wheeled vehicle gave him time to think on how best to salvage what had quickly become a disaster of an operation. Even with the destroyer neutralized and in custody, Jason was still keenly aware that there was still at least one known faction hunting for the Key. If he was honest, it was the one he’d been most worried about as none of his interactions with ConFed operatives had resulted in anything positive.

****

“So what happened?” Jason asked. “One hit and we lost
all
coms?”

“It was more to do with the fact that Main Bus B was disabled to the forward part of the ship,” Twingo was saying. “It looks like a design flaw that’s never been exploited until yesterday.” He and Jason were standing on top of the
Phoenix
, which was once again resting in the massive stone hangar, looking over the damaged dorsal surface.

“I can make the necessary changes to the power mux without needed to route new lines or move any components,” Twingo assured him. “It’s a software change. The rest of the damage up here is mostly superficial and the damage control bots will be able to clean all this up. The fabricators are making the new power couplings for the shields and Kellea’s shops are making the replacement shield emitters.”

“So we’ll be back to full mission capable in a couple of days?” Jason asked.

“Before that more than likely,” Twingo said, rubbing his chin as he thought about it. “It would also be a good time to take the main reactor down for my other project.”

“Go ahead,” Jason said. “We won’t be flying out of here until the tactical systems are all one hundred percent. While you’re doing that I’ll take Lucky and try to get what we need from the A’arcooni.”

“Are they being cooperative?”

“They were,” Jason sighed. “They blame us for what happened yesterday on some level. I’d like to have ten minutes alone with the asshole that turned two hundred Korkarans loose on a civilian population like that.”

“That is unfortunate,” Twingo said.

“Good job getting all of this coordinated while we were out,” Jason said. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

Jason walked down the left wing and stepped off onto the stand he and Twingo had dragged over to get access to the top of the ship. They’d needed to improvise after discovering the dorsal hatch was jammed shut. Even so, he was relieved the damage hadn’t been too extreme to his ship as he had a bad feeling the worst of the mission still lay ahead. When he reached the floor of the hangar he looked over and saw the silhouettes of three A’arcooni standing at the entrance. Frowning, he walked over to greet them. The fact they had come to him two hours before their scheduled meeting probably wasn’t good news.

“Captain Burke,” De’Elefor said as he approached, bowing deeply.

“De’Elefor,” Jason said, nodding to the A’arcooni. “Is there some title that accompanies your position? I mean no disrespect by simply referring to you by name.”

“Your concern is appreciated, but unfounded,” De’Elefor said. “I have intentionally attached no title to my office as a constant reminder to the people, and myself, that my service is temporary and that a new government still needs to be elected.”

“So what can I do for you?” Jason said, dreading what the alien might say next. It was either good news or De’Elefor was about to throw a massive roadblock in his way.

“We wished to speak to you away from the chaos of A’ara,” he said carefully. “With the arrival of Crisstof Dalton’s ship there are a lot of unfamiliar faces about.”

“Fair enough,” Jason said. “We can talk in the galley aboard my ship. I have to warn you that we’re in the middle of some repairs so it’s a little hectic in there.”

“You saw how we once lived aboard ships,” De’Elefor said with a small smile. “I’m sure it cannot be as bad as that.”

Jason didn’t answer, but he vividly remembered the unsafe living conditions on the A’arcooni ships they’d been flying around on. It was so bad that if Crisstof hadn’t pulled them off and provided extensive medical treatment it was likely eighty percent of the A’arcooni population would be dead.

Jason led the three aliens up the ramp of the
Phoenix
and into the galley. After they’d declined anything to drink he sat and patiently waited for De’Elefor to speak.

“I think I know what you are looking for, even if you don’t fully know yourself,” he began. “I believe you’re searching for the lost tribe.”

“If you mean a group of your people who have stayed behind and can tell me what I’m supposed to do with the pieces of this Key, then you’re correct,” Jason said, hope welling up in him.

“They exist,” De’Elefor said simply. “But there are some complications. They will have no contact with those of us who have returned from the ships nor are they defenseless.”

“You say that as if they might be hostile,” Jason said.

“They can be,” De’Elefor said. “They have moderately advanced weaponry and still operate much of the technology that was gifted to us by the Travelers.”

“So is there any chance I’ll be able to speak with them?” Jason asked, wanting to get to the heart of the matter.

“It is possible,” De’Elefor said carefully. “But if you try to fly there in your ship or approach them with any of us it is probable that they will retreat into their bunker and you’ll never get a word in.”

“That’s not very encouraging,” Jason muttered.

“If you want to engage them, appeal to their curiosity,” De’Elefor continued. “Make them want to help you by presenting them with a problem they can’t refuse. Your question of the Travelers’ ancestors will appeal to them, but you’ll have to find a way to make them listen. To that end I’ve brought you this.” He reached into his tunic and brought out a universal data card and laid it on the galley table.

“I’m assuming those are planetary coordinates?” Jason asked, taking the card.

“That and some background information on the tribe,” De’Elefor said. “I’ve given you all that we know about them, little as it is. Good luck to you, Captain.” With that he, and the other two, rose out of their seats and filed out of the galley. Jason trusted them to find their own way off the ship, twirling the data card in his hand.

“Lucky! Get in here!” he shouted. “Bring the antenna with you.”

****

Jason and Lucky trudged up the narrow mountain path after having been dropped off by a skimmer which the crew of the
Defiant
had brought down to the surface. The pair had both memorized the data in the file De’Elefor had provided and knew exactly where they were going, but neither had any idea of the reception they would receive.

“Captain, might I inquire why you asked me to come along instead of any of the others?” Lucky asked as he tirelessly climbed the steep grade.

“Besides the fact I enjoy the company?” Jason asked. “Simple. You have the most tact and grace when dealing with situations like this out of all of us, myself included.”

Lucky seemed pleased by this explanation and let the subject drop.

The path was well-defined, but it was obvious that only animals had been using the trail recently as the surrounding forest threatened to reclaim it. According to the map they were given it would be another three kilometers before they reached the plateau where the supposed lost tribe of A’arcooni were living. They’d left the skimmer some kilometers behind them in an effort to appear less threatening when they arrived, but Jason had no doubt that the aliens they were on the way to see already knew they were coming.

It was another fifty minutes before their leisurely pace took them out of the woods and into the loose scrub that grew in the rocky soil along their final ascent. When they crested the rise and looked out over the gently sloping plateau, they saw that they would at least get the initial chance to plead their case. Two A’arcooni dressed in loose, light brown garments stood in the middle of the clearing with their arms crossed, facing where the trail came out of the trees.

“I would assume they are the greeting party,” Jason said quietly. He walked slowly towards them, arms hanging loosely at his side. Since he came with Lucky he’d decided to come unarmed, as he didn’t want to send the wrong message given the pitched battle that had been fought in A’ara less than a day ago.

“Greetings, Captain Jason Burke,” the taller A’arcooni said. “That is far enough. We would ask why you’ve come to our home.”

Jason looked around and could see no obvious signs of a settlement. “We’ve come to ask for your help,” he said. “It’s a matter that pertains to the Travelers.”