Solbidyum Wars Saga 9: At What Price (44 page)

“By the stars, where did she learn all this?!  Has she secretly been sneaking off to take flying lessons I don’t know about?”  The room was silent, as the officers and aides looked at each other and shrugged.

As fast as Lunnie and the rest of the Federation fleet were taking out the enemy ships, their efforts still weren’t enough to reduce the Brotherhood’s numbers, as more of their craft continued to appear by the minute.  We had to find their stellar gate.  Only the stars knew how many more ships they had lined up on the other side, ready to pour through and into this battle.

“Put me through to Lunnie again,” I said to Marranalis.

Lunnie’s image appeared on the screen.  She had a determined look on her face and her eyes seemed to be frozen open.  It reminded me all too much of Jenira when she had her mind made up about something.

“Dad, this really is a bad time for a father-daughter chat,” Lunnie spat.

“I’m not here to chat with you.  Listen.  I need you to find the stellar gate the Brotherhood is using to feed its fleet into this location.  Find it and blow it up.  The only hope we have of stopping them is to close that gate.”

“Oh!” said Lunnie with a start.  “Where is it?”

I looked at Marranalis, who had already been manipulating data to trace the source of the Brotherhood’s ships.

“Based on the twenty-minute regression we can create from the holographic data, new ships seem to be appearing here.”  The image displayed a retroactive sequence of blips, all of which converged at a specific area in an outer orbit around Megelleon.  “I’m forwarding Lunnie the coordinates now.”

“Good.  Contact some of the android fighters and request that they accompany her.  We need that gate disabled now.”

“Yes, sir.”

Six dots peeled off from the battle zone and configured themselves around Lunnie as she headed toward the target area.  Almost immediately, scores of enemy ships turned to attack Lunnie and her escorts.  The flying skills of the androids and Lunnie were amazing to witness.  Dozens of times I thought my heart would stop, as I watched them become engulfed in situations where I thought they were surely going to be destroyed, only to see them maneuver at the last fraction of a second to escape untouched by enemy fire.  They fired in return with far greater accuracy, taking out dozens of ships as they approached the stellar gate.  More Brotherhood ships joined the resistance, fighting relentlessly to prevent Lunnie from getting within firing range of the gate nodes.  As we monitored the situation by way of the holographic displays, it became clear that many of our own fighters had become aware of what was happening and had begun to separate from combat to join in the protection of Lunnie’s ship.  Two of the android escort ships were hit and out of action.  About that time, a Ruwallie Rasson fighter arrived and joined the formation in place of one of the lost android ships.  Finally, Lunnie came close enough to target the area where the stellar gate was believed to be positioned.  She fired the PLABE.  A miss.  The gate was not there.  Then a large starship began to appear just to the right of her shot.  Lunnie adjusted quickly and fired.  A huge explosion filled the space and the cheering that broke out in the War Room was almost deafening.

“She got the bastards
and
the gate!” I shouted, not realizing it came out in English, and equally unaware that no one in the room probably understood what I’d said.

Then I saw it in the hologram.  Several asteroid-ships converged on Lunnie and her wingmen.  The asteroid-ships were accompanied by nearly a hundred enemy fighters, all of which were opening fire.  The Ruwallie Rasson ship took a hit and was out of action.  Two android ships were hit shortly thereafter.  As I watched in horror, as Lunnie’s fighter took the next hit, just as several Federation fighters rushed in and destroyed the asteroid-ships with slow torpedoes.  I blinked my eyes, trying to understand the convoluted scene.  Finally, out of the debris field and explosions came Lunnie’s ship.  Even though the fighter had taken a hit, Lunnie was still managing to fly it, if somewhat erratically.

“Marranalis, put me through to Lunnie!” I ordered.

There was a pause.  Then, “Sir, there’s no response.  It would seem the communication system isn’t functioning.  We’re reading extensive damage to the ship.  But I can confirm your daughter is still alive and attempting to maintain control of the ship.  We’re just not able to establish contact with her.”

All I could do was watch, while dozens of Federation fighters, Ruwallie Rasson and android pilots took up formation around the crippled fighter as it made an erratic course toward Megelleon.

Suddenly the ship lurched and the War Room reverberated from a noise that sounded like a combination of an explosion and the ringing of a bell.  Immediately thereafter the claxons began to sound.

“Have we been hit?!” I asked Marranalis.

“There’s been an explosion not far from the hangar area, but the cause is uncertain!” he replied after he regained his footing and reviewed the console data.

Just then Padaran came bursting through the door of the War Room.  “Sir!  The enemy has boarded the
GLOMAR ROSA
by way of the Capitol Station!  You must get away immediately!”  He grabbed me by the arm forcefully and began tugging me toward the door.  I could hear fighting somewhere outside the War Room in the corridor.

“How did you get here?” I asked as he led me out the door.  Marranalis forgot about being an admiral and took up a protective stance behind me and followed Padaran’s lead.

“I used the direct gate on the Capitol Station,” he said.  “I had to fight my way through with a few of my troopers.  Several enemy troops got through ahead of me and they’re aboard now.”

I heard more fighting and another small explosion somewhere behind us.  I glanced back and saw several of Padaran’s elite holding off enemy troops in the corridors.

“Where are we going?!” I asked.

“The only place where you might have a chance,” he replied.  “The
NEW ORLEANS
!

“Where is Reide?!” I asked.

“Last I saw him was on the Capitol Station.  He was leading the evacuation of the senators,” replied Padaran, as he yanked me through the smoky hallway and around a corner.

As we approached the Cantolla Gate that led to the
NEW ORLEANS
, the first thing I noticed was the dead Federation trooper guards lying by the portal.  The gate was open and on the
NEW ORLEANS
side of the gate were several enemy troopers engaged in hand-to-hand combat, not only with my own private security team, but also with Jenira and Kala!

Marranalis and I rushed forward and into the conflict.

Nine enemy troopers fought against the six of us, including Kala, Jenira, the two gate security guards, Marranalis and me.  Padaran was still on the
GLOMAR ROSA
side, fighting the advancing Brotherhood insurgents who had overcome his team and backed them into the gate room from the corridor.  Extensive fighting could be heard on the
GLOMAR ROSA
side, but there was little I could do about it, as I was immediately set upon by two Brotherhood troopers.  Both of my
NEW ORLEANS
security guards had been wounded, but they continued to fight valiantly.  Kala and Jenira were each fighting two men and their opponents weren’t faring too well.  Both of them had also sustained significant wounds.

These invading combatants were better trained in hand-to-hand combat than those we had faced in the past, but I also suspected that their strength was augmented by drugs.  In any case, we were all struggling to overcome our adversaries.  I was glad that my last nerve treatment was still fresh enough that I was fighting at something close to my normal capacity, as I was most certainly fighting for my life against these assailants.

I heard a sickening thud and glanced over to see that Marranalis had fallen to the floor on top of one of his unconscious attackers.  I wasn’t sure what had happened to him and wasn’t able to look long enough to assess the situation, as his second assailant immediately leapt over him and headed toward me.  I managed to reposition myself, so he was forced to fight beside his comrade in very close quarters.  This situation made it easier to defend myself, but I wasn’t winning any points in this match-up.

Every so often I was able to get a glimpse of Kala and Jenira.  They were still uninjured, but they were engaged in heavy combat and I didn’t know how long they would be able to maintain such an intense level of fighting.  Finally, Jenira managed to wipe out one of her attackers.

I glanced between my assailants and through the Cantolla Gate long enough to see that Padaran was inching his way closer to the portal.  If he could make it past the threshold, we could activate the switch that would close our side of the gate, which would give us one more person to help overcome these goons, and then we would be safe.

I managed to get a solid kick to the head of one of my opponents, which knocked him out, but the other assailant was on me immediately and got a few good blows in while pinning me against the wall.  He tried to stab me with a knife, but the body armor under my shirt stopped the blade.

Jenira and I continued to fight our way back to the gate switch, so one of us could close it as soon as Padaran passed through.  I struggled toward him as he and the last remaining Federation troopers fought fiercely to defend the last few meters between them and the gate.  It looked as though one of them was trying to close the gate when he was shot.  Padaran himself had sustained several injuries, causing his fighting skills and speed to be significantly impaired.

Before Jenira or I could make it to the gate switch, we saw the last trooper fall, leaving only Padaran to fight off a hoard of enemy troopers.

Jenira and I subdued our last assailants almost simultaneously and started running toward the gate.  As I raced toward him, I thought,
If I can just reach him and pull him across the threshold….
 

He held them back as long as he could, until finally he took another hit from an enemy’s weapon.  His body spun, and as it did, I saw him grab a grenade from his belt.  He took one look at me through the gate, nodded, and then quickly met his gaze with Jenira’s, and with a smile on his lips, he turned the dial that activated the grenade.

All of us
, including Jenira
, screamed out in unison, “
NO-O-O-O-O-O!
”

A flash and brief concussion shock wave threw all of us to the floor, including the attackers, as the grenade exploded and the gate closed, leaving the cold bulkhead surface where the gate opening had been.

“NO-O-O-O-O-O!  NO-O-O-O-O-O!” Jenira continued to cry, her long vigil of silence shattered, as she ran back to the wall and pounded the hilts of her catas against the metal wall where the gate stood before Padaran had sealed it forever.

Meanwhile, Kala and I and the one surviving security guard had no choice but to get back on our feet and fight off the four remaining attackers.  Behind them, lying on the floor, Marranalis started to stir.  He hadn’t been killed after all and must have just been knocked unconscious during the conflict.  I was occupied with two men at one time and Kala the other two as our second security guard fell to the floor.  I heard Kala call out to Jenira for help, but Jenira didn’t respond.  Slowly, Marranalis regained his footing, shook his head, and then, with a lumbering gait, made his way to the rear of the four attackers.  His hulking frame towered over them.  The scene was almost surreal as he grabbed one of the men fighting me and one fighting Kala and smash their heads together so hard that blood shot from their mouths and ears.  This caused a momentary distraction for the other two, which allowed Kala and I to dispatch them quickly thereafter.

Before the body of Kala’s opponent even struck the floor, she had spun around and rushed to a sobbing Jenira’s side.  Her bloody swords now laid on the deck where she knelt near the wall, pounding it with her fists as she cried
NO
over and over.

From the corridor behind us, I heard the rushing of many feet as a squad of the
NEW ORLEANS
security team came running to assist.  But it was too late.  Padaran was dead and the Brotherhood had won.  Ming now held the most prized and horrible weapon in the universe – the
GLOMAR ROSA
– and most frightening of all, its PLABE weapon.  With the PLABE on my personal fighter destroyed there were now only three PLABEs left, and one of them –possibly more – was now in the hands of the Brotherhood.

I glanced at Kala, who was now crying on the floor next to Jenira, while Jenira had clearly gone into shock.  When one of the security team retrieved her catas from the deck, she stared at them blankly as though she didn’t recognize them.  The trooper carefully returned them to the scabbards on her back, but she didn’t seem to notice.  The security team stood motionless, looking at the mayhem on the floor, then looking at me, expecting me to give them some kind of orders, but I was at a loss.

I tried to gather my thoughts.  Surely, there had to be ships in the fleet still capable of putting up a fight.  But it would only be a matter of time before they would be eliminated by Ming using the PLABE that was now at his disposal.  I needed to get to one of the remaining warships that was equipped with a PLABE and hope that somehow we could defeat the
GLOMAR ROSA
before Ming turned the full power of its arsenal on the defenseless planets of the Federation.