Alpha One: The Kronan (28 page)

Lieutenant Colonel Harrington had just told Carla Stevenson about Steve Costello’s death.

“I am required to pass this information on to you as you were listed as Lieutenant Costello’s’ next of kin. I am so very sorry, Carla.”

Carla could not hold back the tears. “I am sorry...this is not very professional.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Do you want to talk about it?”

“Do we know how he was killed?”

“The report is quite detailed. He was piloting a Jump Ship with a fatally damaged core. As he could not save himself, he elected to detonate the core between two Kryl Cruisers, resulting in both being destroyed. A final selfless act of a very brave man.”

Carla swallowed hard
.
Deep inside she knew Steve was trying to justify his existence, to prove to himself that he was as good a pilot as his father and his grandfather. Because that was the way he lived his life, his death was probably brought about by his failure to observe safe protocols. The stupid, crazy son of a bitch had to go out in a blaze of glory. Bizarrely, he achieved his lifetime’s ambition and anything which happened before was irrelevant, including their relationship. She would miss him, yes—terribly, but she would not mourn his loss—at least not after today. She fell out of love with him a long time ago.

Now she thought of Jake. She had not heard from him for quite some time but she knew that the Halo 7 was still operational. She convinced herself that he must be okay. She needed to see him, to hold him, and to tell him his best friend was killed.

Harrington was talking to her, but she did not realize.

“Sorry again. My mind was somewhere else.”

“That’s fine. We were asked to resume our talks with the Kryl. Under the circumstances, perhaps it would be best if you sat this one out.”

“No, please. It was a shock. We were very close once but we moved on. I want to be part of this.”

“Very well. If you change your mind, let me know; and if you need to talk further, my door is always open.”

* * * *

The two Alpha Negotiators boarded the Kryl ship just two hours later; their journey from Alpha Two to Kravos’s ship, a short trip to the outer reaches of the Kryl fleet. This was their third meeting since the Kryl had arrived in the solar system and matters had progressed considerably.

Kravos was his usual obstinate self. “Harrington, I trust you now have agreement from your superiors?”

“Agreement, no of course not. The battle still rages on. I have approval to continue our discussions in line with our previous meetings.”

“This is becoming unnecessarily tedious. Your fighters have been defeated. Invasion is imminent and your shields will fail quickly. We will take your planet by force and billions will be killed. This is no longer a matter for discussion. We have been quite patient but it is time you faced up to your situation An agreement reached between us today could considerably lessen the loss of human life.”

“I will not be bullied Kravos.”

Harrington had grown in confidence since the first meeting and was pursuing a more aggressive stance in line with the President and Koenig’s wishes.

“Your assessment of the status of this battle remains different to ours but this is all semantics. Do you have numbers for me yet?”

“I told you I would let you have them in due course.”

“If time is running out, as you assert, then I suggest you give me those numbers right now.”

“Do not forget yourself . Our discussions have been fruitful because you have been respectful. I agree, however, it is now in everyone’s best interests for full disclosure. We would need to consume 400,000 humans per year.”

Carla gasped.

“That rate would be unsustainable. Especially bearing in mind it takes a generation for our new born to reach sexual maturity and thus sustain the population.”

“Ah, Lieutenant Stevenson. I am pleased to have your contribution once again. Curiously, you only comment on controversial matters.”

Harrington jumped in again. He wanted Kravos to respond to him directly.

“Enough of this. Any agreement will not be approved based on such a large number. Furthermore, you would need to move on to new feeding grounds within two to three generations. That is not sustainable or what you led us to believe.”

“You wanted a number.”

“Is it the correct number?”

“Of course.”

“Then this meeting has come to an end. There is no point in continued discussion.”

Kravos leaned forward onto the table in front of him and covered his mouth with his hands before sitting up again.

“If you leave this room now, you will not return.”

The two Senate negotiators stood as if to leave. Kravos raised his hand to stop them.

“My understanding is that your population would be sustainable at a level of two hundred and fifty million per annum.”

“As an absolute maximum.”

“The lowest we can drop to is three hundred million. You would need to increase your birth rate to accommodate this.”

“You told us that four hundred million was the minimum and now suddenly it’s three hundred million.”

“That is my prerogative. Although, I will be clear now on this. This is the absolute minimum and there will be no agreement at a lower figure.”

Carla interjected again. “What makes you think the people of Earth will accept this?”

Kravos smiled again at Carla “You are feisty today Miss Stevenson! The alternative will make them see sense. It is up to your government to facilitate this. How you achieve this is not my concern—only that you deliver.”

Harrington sat forward. “Would you consider a specific age range for those selected for you? Perhaps people of a certain age...older people?”

“Oh, my God—no!”

Harrington was cross now. “Lieutenant Stevenson, please! These are delicate issues and the question needs to be asked.”

Kravos smiled again. “Those selected must be adult with fully functioning brain stem and cognitive capability. Any who do not fulfill this will be rejected.”

“What would become of the rejections? Does it not also follow that we would have to over-subscribe to allow you to make your selections?”

“That would be a sensible solution. You provide four hundred million per year and we would select three hundred million. The remainder would be returned to you...alive.”

“Okay, I understand that. Can we move on to discuss further your definition of self-government?”

“We discussed this issue in detail during our last meeting.”

“Yes and this was met with broad approval, although there is one issue which remains an obstacle. The matter of a sustainable defensive force in the guise of Alpha.”

“Alpha will be the defeated force. It is not logical that we would allow them to continue.”

“Yes I understand but you have to remember that Alpha is akin to a sovereign state in its own right. The ECG does not govern it and more importantly, the Commander in Chief is one of the two people to whom we need to authorize any agreement we meet. Admiral Koenig specifically requested that a small Alpha force of say fifty cruisers be allowed to continue to defend our territory.”

“Why would you need a defensive force when we are here?”

“You may not always be here in as much force. Some of your fleet might move on.”

“Do not try to deceive me. I fully understand why Alpha would like its forces to continue. It would not be to defend its regions but to eliminate us. Let me assure you, we are here to stay forever or until such time as the food supply runs out.”

“In the interest of seeking an agreement...perhaps just twenty ships? They would not be a threat to you.”

Kravos paused before responding. His Queen would not like this; but if it helped to obtain agreement, then she would surely not object to a small force.

“Ten ships and no more. The defeated Commander in Chief must stand down and it is imperative that Alpha be controlled by the self-maintained government and not as a separate entity.”

“Ten is lower than...”

“That is final Lieutenant Colonel!”

“Was there anything else?”

Harrington saw the further argument was pointless.

“No. I think we have everything we need for now.”

“Then I suggest you return to your superiors. You need to do this quickly Commander. It will not be long before the invasion commences.”

Jake listened. He heard something, just a muffle, but he trained his ear to the sound. Yes, he heard footsteps
. Someone is coming!

He pulled himself tight into the cavity and waited. The heavily insulated flooring, combined with the Kryl’s footwear, meant the drones were almost upon him by the time he realized someone was coming. Fortunately, he quickly found a hideaway where he would not be detected unless they chose to enter the small sub-walkway.
They might still,
he thought.
There is only one door in this section but in theory, anyone can access it at any time.

He had made slow progress since he left the Queen’s chambers, ducking out of sight whenever he heard the sound of footsteps. He was fortunate that only a few Kryl currently used this passageway. It had been much busier when he was escorted through here earlier.

The Kryl passed through and Jake was relieved to be able to breathe again. He was just about to set off again, when he heard voices. They had stopped.

This was very difficult. Quite why they had not detected an alien presence aboard the ship was beyond him. He could only reason that the Kryl had no intruder sensors. This said a lot about them and that no one, except himself, would be stupid enough to get themselves stuck on the biggest ship in the galaxy, without a plan to get off it. Actually, that was not strictly true. He did know the hanger bay was at the bottom of the ship and that the elevators had taken him upwards. How did he get down again? Accessing the elevators, which were both in heavily populated parts of the ship, was hardly practical.

The two Kryl workers moved on and Jake heaved another sigh of relief. It was time to continue. He had to keep going.

Jake entered the main corridor again, his hunter’s knife close to his side, as he moved forward in stages as the corridor curved round the ship. He rationalized he was probably somewhere in the center of the ship. As the Queen’s chamber was in the middle of the top deck, he must go left to get to the outside and down to the hanger deck. The progress was slow but at least now he was moving forward. The passageway sloped downwards. It was only a slight incline, but at least it was down.

He heard voices again and panicked. Jake looked around for cover. The corridor may have headed downwards but there was a long, straight section both in front and behind him. Jake ran back up the corridor searching for an alleyway or cavity he knew was not there. He had not realized quite how far he had come since he passed the last safe place to hide. He gave himself a few minutes, as long as no one else came the other way. He looked around but there was nothing he could use. He reached inside his tunic to check his gun, but alas, there was no prospect of it working. He had to find a place to hide or he would have to fight it out with nothing but his knife.

Think, dammit, think
. He looked around again at the floor and then at the ceiling where he noticed the vented grill two meters above him.
Could this be my salvation?
Jake’s athleticism allowed him to jump up and push the grill to one side with just one leap. He jumped again and grabbed hold of the sides of the open access hatch. In one swift movement, he pulled himself into the roof hatch and pushed the suspended grill back into place. Just moments later, four heavily armed Kryl drones passed beneath him.
That was way too close
.

He was in some kind of access tunnel. It was barely sixty centimeters high but a good deal wider and followed the corridor down the ship.
This could be my way out!

Jake edged forward at first on his knees but soon lay flat, using his arms and legs to slide along the passageway. It was slow going but at least he was comparatively safe.

Thirty minutes later, Jake came to a junction. He made good progress in the last twenty minutes, having established an effective fast crawl. This presented him with his next challenge. The T shaped junction in front of him had two options—left or right. The most obvious route being left, but it sloped upwards and therefore away from the hanger bay. He had no choice but to go right, heading downwards but moving towards the center of the ship. To make matters worse the incline became quite substantial. Now he had a further choice: continue slowly, supporting himself from slipping or slide down the passage and worry about what was at the other end when he got there. He chose the latter.

Jake was in free fall for thirty seconds. He had no idea what would happen when he reached the end. He had no choice but to continue momentum and the huge ship’s gravity took over. He came to a sudden stop and landed in a clump with his legs pulled over his head. He was not sure how he was uninjured but he was at the bottom of the tunnel slide. The passage in front of him was level. He moved on, confident he was near the bottom of the ship. All he needed to do was find a way of getting out of the access tunnel and into the hanger bay.

The answer to the current question was immediately forthcoming as he reached the end of the passage and once again was left with two options. However, this time the left-handed option was downhill and he saw a shaft of brighter light at the bottom of the downward tunnel. He calculated this new slide was about twenty meters in length—long enough to be going quite fast by the time you reached the bottom. He needed to land better this time. He pushed himself into the tunnel and grabbed his hunter’s knife.
If this is near the hanger bay, the area at the bottom beyond the service tunnel could well be heavily-guarded.

He pushed off and slid head first down the half-vertical slide. He picked up speed at the half-way point. Jake braced himself for an untidy landing. As he reached the bottom however, he realized there was more to come—this was merely a break in the passage and a change of angle. It still headed downward at a reduced gradient. Once again, this time feet first, he slid down the passage. This section seemed to go on forever and now it widened too.

There was that chink of light again
. He prepared himself and this time landed on his feet with the access tunnel large enough so he could actually stand up. He looked around. He saw several side vents. He moved towards the nearest and peered through. He had found the hanger deck.

Jake unclipped the grill of the access panel with his knife and checked all was clear before he pushed it open. Within a few moments, Jake Carter stood on a service deck in the center of the hanger bay.
He was uncertain where he was, in relation to his shuttle but at least he was here.

The size of the place was unfathomable. In every direction were row after row of ships.
Where was his shuttle in all of this? It was busy too. From his location he saw twenty or thirty Kryl on this section alone. He could not just walk across the deck to access the next one; he would have to find a different route. Each deck was arranged in a semi-circle, projecting out from the internal bulkheads like a series of cliff faces on the side of a mountain, but with more deck sections surrounding you in every direction. Here, it was difficult to determine which the way out was. From his current vantage point, it soon became clear with virtually all the ships heading in one direction. With the aid of his recently adjusted compass, he knew which part of the bay his shuttle was in and now he knew how to get there.
He needed a plan and this was not the best place to make one. He pushed the grill to the access tunnel open and slipped back inside.

He could not have chosen a worse part of the hanger bay. He estimated he was at least two kilometers from his shuttle—assuming it was still there. If it wasn’t he would have to find a different means of escape. He planned to use the services tunnels again and try to stick to the side of the hanger bay as he progressed around it. He reached into his tunic and pulled out his comm. device. There was one dimming orange light...even a flicker might be enough reception to set a motion detector and a directional aid. He did not want to use it as a comms device right now. He pulled out his blaster and noted this was now operational. There was not much in reserve,but it would discharge. That could be the difference between life and death.

Jake moved forward on foot. There was sufficient headroom at present but he doubted that would last long. He pulled out his comms device, switched it on, and set the two low yield applications to aid his journey. This tunnel was horizontal but curved around the deck he had just accessed. He continued until he reached the end of the curve. To his horror, he realized the tunnel came to an end. How was he going to get to the next hangar deck? The answer was immediately obvious: he was standing on a hatch. This would take him downward, which was not ideal but at least he could keep going. He checked the motion detector and opened the hatch to find another service tunnel. This tunnel was straight and flat so Jake continued.

He made good progress now. It had been nearly two hours since he entered the hanger deck and over five since he left the Queen’s chamber. He was tired and hungry. His liquid reserves were all but depleted however the target was nearer. Every so often, he had to open a floor or a roof hatch to access the next service tunnel, which either led to a curved or a straight passageway, depending on whether he was rounding the next deck or running between them. On three occasions, after checking his motion sensor, he accessed the hanger bay to check his bearings. Afterwards he returned to the safety of the access tunnels to continue his trek
.
He knew he was close but far from safe. Even if he did manage to get to his ship, what chance did he have of taking off and flying undetected straight out the back door? The Queen’s assertion that they would meet again was the only thing which kept him going. If they did meet again sometime in the future, then he must survive this, surely.

A further hour and a half passed before Jake reached his destination; coming across the correct deck, more by chance and earlier than he anticipated when he accessed the hangar bay to check his status. The Shuttle was still there but she was surrounded by two or three other Kryl vessels. He checked his motion sensor and headed towards his ship.

There were docking clamps on each of the three landing supports. These would have to be blown but apart from that, all was as he left it. The Shuttles access portal had closed and this would be his first challenge. Under normal circumstances, Jake’s security tag would trigger the opening mechanism when he was close enough to the ship but as yet, nothing had happened. The Kryl vessels energy restrictors prevented enough power to open the doors. Jake looked at his comms device. He took the directional finder offline and looked around hastily before disconnecting the motion sensor. Now he could channel his comm. devices limited power resources to assist the door mechanism. The boost of power worked and Jake was onboard in seconds, quickly securing the access portal and deadlocking it.

He headed straight for the cockpit. The power reserve monitor was offline and again Jake used his comms device to boost the power to force the monitor on-line.
Twenty-three percent reserves—not much
,
but enough to break the clamps, take off, and get the hell out of here.
So far, he had been very fortunate, could his luck continue?