The Recruitment: Rise of the Free Fleet (55 page)

I sat in my command chair feeling strange as was my new norm, I filled up the seat even without my Mecha, but missed the confidence and security it gave me.

“Emergence!” Nav called out.

“Configuring shields.” Tactical followed.

“Main engines coming online.” Helm said as the ship thrummed and jerked like a bucking bronco toy.

“Capacitors still holding charge and escape point plotted into the navigational computer.” Nav said after confirming.

The sensor and tactical pits taking up either side of the bridge were quiet as sensor arrays scanned their sectors the basic overlay for the system changing as more information was added. Tactical were going through weapons testing and visual scanning to make sure everything was ready as gun crews waited nervously for immediate attackers.

“Immediate area clear.” The sensor chief announced as everyone on the bridge relaxed minutely. That meant that there was no one within firing range of us.

Tactical were already relaying this to the gun crews who changed to medium ranged targeting pictures.

“Nothing medium range, getting data around Chaleel.”

Symbols that depicted ships now floated above Chaleel. All the tension that I’d bled off returned.

I could see on my split command screen as the weapons crews had their weapons ready aimed at the ships around the planet even if we were hours away.

“Sensor pit what ships are we looking at?” Rick asked.

“We’ve identified the two troop carriers. Now with the upgraded sensors we can pick them out better, they’re actually converted merchant carriers. The ones we left behind. There are five corvettes, two cruisers, a destroyer, and a battleship also in orbit of the planet. There’s also what we believe to be a factory ship.”

“What is the factory…?”

“We have an incoming message from the Battle cruiser.” The comms officer interrupted.

“Is Welick’s hologram ready?” I overrode everyone.

“Yes sir.”

“Alright put it up, change my voice as I talk.”

“Done sir.”

The alien on screen had massive eyes and a neck that reminded me of a turkey’s with precious metals and fierce looking clothes covering his body.

“Captain Welick what’re you doing back here, we don’t need your help.” He said dismissively.

“Just passing through the area thought I might drop by and see if you were interested in some trade.”

“You don’t have anything worth trading.”

“How are you enjoying having the humans fight for you?”

“They are, good, though not as obedient as the Sarenmenti, and they are crafty.” He allowed.

“I just got a surplus of them from Parnmal station.”

“You did, how much of a surplus?”

“Four thousand.”

“That is interesting, interesting indeed.” The Captain said looking away for a few seconds before locking his gaze with the holographic Captain Welick.

“I think any more talks should be had in person. Come alongside and dock with my ship.” The Captain cut his channel and we continued into the system.

I opened a direct channel to Henry.

“Are we ready?”

“Yes sir, like taking candy from a baby.”

“Not everything is as easy as it initially seems.”

“Yes commander.”

The other syndicate ships grouped together resembling a haphazard formation; for once I was thankful for our own messy formation which hid our talents. These syndicates must be an untrusting bunch I thought as we came alongside the battle cruiser.

“Docking tube connected. Airlocks opening on both sides.” Engineering said.

“Object coming from the syndicate ship!” I’d been watching the main screen as our fleet got into position to take the syndicate fleet to my personal screen with a feed to the airlock. I saw as a familiar spherical device flew into the main bay where the Mechas were waiting.

Without thinking one of the Avarians kicked the grenade back at the syndicate ship.

Debris and smoke billowed out from the airlock as the Commandos rushed into the tube weapons raised. The Avarians let out a guttural cry of bloodlust as they rushed in behind the commandos armed with battle suits and plasmid weaponry.

I wished I was with them as I looked to the main plot punching the general ship command channel.

“Ready all weapons and fire as ships bear.” I cut the channel as the bridge which had been deathly quiet was now filled with volume.

“Tactical slave our arcs to my screen. Comm. ask the syndicate to surrender and send a message to the commandos on the planet. Resilient I want that kill switch program checked!”

In space the biggest thing that kept you alive was momentum, I didn’t have any so it was time to use one of the ‘stupid unless it works’ manoeuvres I was thinking.
 
This is a terrible idea.

“Engineering connect me to Eddie.” The comms officer was already busy dealing with my orders made the connection before continuing.

“Commander?” Eddie asked in a way that made me think he was working as I was talking to him.

“Do we have bucking cables?”

“Yes sir, but I don’t see what good that does with helping us.” He said in a harried voice.

“Would we be able to pull the battle cruiser with us?”

“Well the Resilient’s engines are much bigger than your normal Imperial Dreadnought and even the originals out powered the Battle cruiser, biggest problem is getting the ship to stop and not turn us into red mush at the same time. Why?”

“Get those bucking cables connected to the battle cruiser.” I cut the channel at his protests, he’d obviously figured out what I was planning.

“Helm adjust the engines to compensate for having the battle cruiser attached to us. Nav help crunch the numbers and get us a plot to Chaleelian orbit.” Kuruvian and human looked at me stunned, before quickly looking to one another and hurriedly working their stations.

“Yes commander.” I was looking at the arcs on my personal screen and swearing, the battle cruiser was blocking one of our flanks that provided the massive broadside that made the Imperial Dreadnought famous and feared.

“The corvette Needle is leaking atmo. The Destroyer is moving into position behind the Battleship we’re docked with. Their fleet is also massing to charge from behind the battleship.” Rick said.

I looked up to the main screen displaying the battle raging in space seeing what Rick had described before my eyes. The enemy’s corvettes raced through our formation raking everything with their fire. The Destroyer was opening missile tubes to fire around the Resilient and the enemy’s battleship. A precious resource we didn’t have due to lockout codes written into their programming.

“Destroyer Ferocity you’re the bait, Corvettes, split into teams of two and separate the syndicate’s forces, close and kill those that are without support. Cruisers assist the corvettes when engaging, take out the cruisers engines then work on the corvettes before coming back and finishing their cruisers.”

“Bregend get that damned Battle cruiser over Chaleel, pumping Commandos into the atmosphere, co-ordinate with Iron Bok Soo. Destroyer Malignant go with Bregend to provide support, we don’t need one of these missiles getting near the Battle cruisers shuttle rails. Pump out your shuttles with the Battle cruiser for Chaleel. Bregend retain a third of your force to take that factory ship then provide cover for the planet. Malignant once completed get back here and assist.”

I changed my screen to the boarding party as they were being bogged down by fortified emplacements. My people had learned from Parnmal. If they couldn’t get to the enemy through corridors, then they could get to them through the walls. It was slow going in a ship we didn’t have blueprints for. No one wanted to hit a plasma conduit.

The Avarians once they caught up with the new tactic happily hacked the ship apart making me wince.

“We have airlocks opening across the Resilient!” Tactical said as alarms sounded. I’d devoted my entire commando force to the Battleship leaving us unprotected except in places with watches, engineering and the bridge. This was mostly to make sure that if one or more of the crew panicked then the commandos could subdue them as everyone else carried on with their job. Well that’s what I’d told everyone.

In fact it made it also damned hard for someone to sabotage the ship or kill me. Though the rest of the ship was left unguarded. With engineering rushing about getting buckling cables and connecting them to the battleship it left them in the open, and targets.

“Alright Commandos on me we’re going to get those bastards off of our ship.” I said pulling myself out of my seat as I was heading for the blast door.

“Rick sound the general boarded alarm.” He did so as a whine filled the air the red lights now with an added flashing blue one.

“Rick you have the ship. Any of them come within range of our guns, blow them to hell Marleen.”

Quickly the Commandos fell in behind me, Jeremiah and my protection detail in evidence as the first and then second blast door opened.

“Alright, three teams for two decks, we’re going to clear outwards.” I pulled up the roster assigning teams to decks as they rushed to obey.

“Eddie tell me as soon as those buckling cables are connected and get your people back to the secured areas as they’re done.”

“Yes sir.” I pulled out my pistol checking the chamber was loaded. I kept it in my hand as I led my half protection detail towards the nearest airlock which was showing that it had been forced open.

We took the corner coming face to face with eight Sarenmenti. Without a thought I aimed at the nearest visor and pulled the trigger riding the recoil to the next target as I advanced down the hallway.

My people fired with me, the Sarenmenti we’d run into didn’t get a shot off as they fell to the ground disabled or dead. I flicked my old magazine out the second magazine already seated as I kept moving.

“Why did we have to kill them?” Someone asked as a Sarenmenti replied.

“They didn’t know the truth and any hesitation could have meant that one of us would die. Their death meant the freedom of our people, they would have understood.” No one said anything after that.

Jeremiah took point as we moved onto the next airlock. We came to an intersection he came around the corner firing jumping back behind cover. “Crew serviced rail gun.” He yelled as a hail of rounds ripping the bulkhead opposite the hallway he’d fired down.

There was a lull in the shooting as a grenade came around the corner.

“Keep the commander safe!” Jeremiah said as commandos jumped on top of me, I saw him land on the grenade as less than a second later light came past the commandos Mechas.

“NO!” I grabbed the two Mechas on top of me pushing them off with my inhuman strength I was on my feet as I saw Jeremiahs’ Mecha his visor blown out from the pressure of the grenade making it through his layers of armour.

I grabbed his rail gun cocking the action as I dove past the hallway. Now on the other side of the hallway the rail gun was firing down I ran into a maintenance hallway.

I forgot everything about commanding my fleet and trying to stay alive as I ran a plotted path to the bulkhead beside the rail gun team.