The Catherine Kimbridge Chronicles #4, Retribution (7 page)

“
She never calls
me
‘
sir
,
’” Ricky commented dryly.

Captain Takei smiled, while winking at Honey
.“
Ask the Admiral to send in the cavalry
.
”

.

***

Cat was jogging around the
Yorktow
n
’
s quarter-mile track at a leisurely three-minute-per-mile pace when the call from Admiral Faragon came in. Her internal commlink signaled a message, and she told her personal AI to acknowledge it and open the channel.

“
Good morning, Catherine. Did I catch you at a bad time
?
”

“
Never, sir. I was just getting a morning jog in
.
”

“
I’
ll never understand it. You have the most advanced nanites in the known universes keeping your body in pristine shape and you still have to jog. Sherry typically has to threaten me with budget meetings in order to get me out on the track
.
”

Cat smiled to herself. It was a conversation sh
e’
d had many times before and with many people.

“
Commander Melbourne is just looking out after her commanding office
r’
s well-being. You know she would never trust you with the budget. But seriously, I run not for the exercise but because the running helps my thinking process. Can I assume your call has something to do with our Modos situation
?
”

She heard Faragon sigh. Her auditory enhancements had detected the strain in his voice, despite his attempt at casual banter.

“
Indeed, it does.
I’
ve ordered Jason and his task force to pull back to their secondary positions. We are officially ceding the space around SgrA to the Syndicate forces. We are now defending primary GCP worlds and as many non-affiliated as we can. Unless we can force a withdrawal we are looking at a permanent change in the political landscape of this sector of space
.
”

Cat finished her run and grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat from her face.

“
So, that neatly brings up the question: how is our team in the Betaverse doing
?
Any word from Hikaro or Ricky
?
”

“
This is actually why I called, Cat. We are going to need to do some creative resource shuffling. The Naans are moving early
.
”

“
Not completely unexpected
,
” Cat mumbled, as she toweled off the sweat from her run
.“
We knew that there was a real chance one or more of the groups we were contacting would not see the wisdom of dividing the Syndicat
e’
s attention. I assume you want me to head up the contingency plan
?
”

“
Affirmative Cat. I have three mechanized Ranger battalions in route to you now. Your orders are to remain cloaked and assist only if the Syndicate responds in force to the Naa
n’
s efforts to retake their planet
.
”

Chapter Si
x
– The Battle for Naanac...

It had been a long day. Chairman Snatch Bait was just sitting down to dinner in the Admira
l’
s lounge aboard the Syndicat
e’
s newly commissioned flagship, the
MS Typhoon
. She was a Conqueror-class dreadnaught with state-of-the-art shields and weapons. In short, she was the perfect stage from which he could direct and view the coming defeat of the Galactic Coalition. As he settled into his seat and began to sip his lightly fermented and spiced squid-ink cocktail, a young lieutenant entered the lounge and looked around. The chairman hoped the young Modos was not so foolish as to interrupt his meal.

The officer spotted the Chairman and immediately began to make his way over. Snatch Bait signaled one of his guards to intercept the lieutenant. He would be held and punished later for his lack of common sense, but for the moment the Chairman was intent on enjoying his meal. He took another sip of his cocktail. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the lieutenant talking frantically with his security officer. The security officer, for his part, seemed startled. This was Snatch Bai
t’
s first inkling that something was terribly wrong. The security guard brought the lieutenant over to his table. There must indeed be a serious issue for such a breach of his privacy to occur.

“
Your honor, I beg forgiveness at this unseemly interruption of your mea
l…,
” the young lieutenant began.

Snatch Bait waved his trunk dismissively
.“
You are here. Stop wasting my time and tell me what was so important that you would risk your office
r’
s commission
.
”

The office
r’
s Suhtii gulped
.“
Sir, we have intelligence reports that our departure from Naanac has prompted action from the Naan Rebel Alliance. They are attempting to seize command and control centers in every major city, including corporate headquarters in Harromog
.
”

Snatch Bait swore. It was unthinkable.
He threw the glass of half-finished cocktail down. The sound of the glass shattering caused the three guards and the young lieutenant to step back.

“
Crush them
,
” he said, softly, when he had calmed down. This was the first test of his authority as Chairman, and he could not allow a slave world to think he was wea
k
… especially not his chosen capital.

“
Sir
?
”

The Chairman looked up at the young lieutenant
.“
What is your name
?
”

“
Si
r
…
I’
m Lieutenant Breakwater of the 1
st
of the 16
th
Mobile Infantry, sir
.
”

“
You are to report to General Moss onboard the
Redclaw
and deliver the following message: I want the
Redclaw
and
Tidepool
to break formation and return to Naanac. You, lieutenant, are to take command of an assault company and personally deal with the situation in Harromog. The rest of the planet is under the purview of the General. I want my capital back and I want a message sent that is clear and incontestable. Am I clea
r‘
Captai
n
’ Breakwater
?
”

***

Cat raced down the corridor at a brisk sprint. Unfortunately, the bad news they were expecting had finally come in. Modos Syndicate forces were responding in force to the ill-timed uprising on Nanaac. Word that the rebels were planning mischief leaked back to the Syndicate High Command a mere twenty minutes before the Modos flagship with the Chairman onboard entered a hyperfield conduit in route to GCP space. This allowed the Chairman on the flagship to receive and respond to the urgent message from the capital before he was out of communication range. Those twenty minutes caused the GCP Admiralty Board to reshuffle i
ts
carefully orchestrated plans.

“
Such are the hazards of war
,
” Cat thought to herself, glumly, as she made her way to the primary landing bay onboard the GCP
Yorktown
. She knew no plan ever survived contact with the enemy, but this was lunac
y
… and she feared it might very well bear a price to be paid in blood. She would recall later how well-founded her fears were.

Only the microscopic ENOs had given the GCP advanced knowledge of the counter offensive. The tiny machines had relayed a message to the cloaked WhimPy-101 platform in Modos space. The WhimPy in turn relayed a message via a temporal hyperfield communication conduit opened between the two universes.

Rounding the corner, Cat was forced to wait for the reinforced blast door that gave access to the primary launch bay to open. The bay was filled with marines scrambling to get their various assault craft ready.

There were sixteen armored transports, each capable of carrying forty troops and associated gear into a hot zone. In addition, the bay held four ground effect M10 Abram Hyper-tanks. The marines were all dressed in Mark Six Tactical Support System battle suits, or TSSs, that were essentially self-contained tanks. Given the acronym and general appearance of the armor, the men and women called the Mark Six
e
s“
Tony Stark Specials
,
” or just simpl
y“
Starks
.
”

Cat spotted the man she was looking for. Lieutenant Commander Peter LeAnder was just buttoning up his Mark Six. Standing next to him was Sergeant Thomas. The nanite infused helmet was hinged open, revealing their faces, but little else. The sergeant was yelling orders, while at the same time confirming his sui
t’
s various combat systems were ready to go.

“
I want everybody to have two spare power packs. The suits are only designed for one, so get your combat buddy to use that marvel of modern technology called duct tape to strap another one on your right shoulder. Everyone put ’em in the same place, so when the enemy fraks your sorry ass your buddy does
n’
t have to waste time looking for spares to steal.
Everybody clear
?
”

“
Sergeant—yes, Sergeant
!
” came the thunderous united roar.

As Cat walked up to the two men, they spotted her and executed a sharp salute.

“
Admiral
!
” Commander LeAnder said, by way of greeting.

“
Carry on, Commander.
I’
m just stopping by to make sure you have everything you need
.
”

“
My men are good to go. Give us the word and we will be jumping within thirty seconds
.
”

“
Good to hear, Commander
.
”

Cat looked around the large launch bay and could not help but be impressed. Even in the few minutes she had been in the bay, the planned chaos was winding down and the men and women under LeAnde
r’
s command were shutting the helmets on their Mark Sixes.

Cat turned back to the Marine officer in front of her
.“
Pet
e—
you understand your orders
?
”

“
Yes, Admiral
,
” he answered, while closing his own armor
.“
We have two objectives. First, we are to defend the civilian and rebel forces; second, we are to secure and hold Harromog
.
” His voice now had a slight metallic timbre.

“
Correct. As soon as you have secured the Syndicate headquarters building, I want you to get a message back to me. We need the intel in that building. Remember, our entire strategy hinges on the support of insurrection forces on the various Modos slave worlds. If we fail here, we likely fail everywhere
.
”

“
Understood, m
a’
am. My marines will not let you down
.
”

“
Never a doubt, Pete. Never a doubt
.
” Before she could say more, her commlink beeped for her attention. She silently instructed her AI to acknowledge it. It was from Commander Ken Kirkland, who was currently manning the Bridge.

“
Admira
l
… we have arrived two light minutes out on the far side of their sun,just like you requested. The WhimP
y’
s math was spot on
.
”

“
Are we cloaked
?
”

“
Affirmative, Admira
l
… although that would not matter if anyone was within line of sight of our entrance vortex
.
”

“
Hopefully, the proximity to the sun and our position relative to Naanac worked in our favor
.
”

“
What do our sensors tell us? How many ships are currently in system
?
”