Exile's Return Read online

  I switched the monitor on and saw “Special Report” flash across the screen.

  “We take you live to Caroline Alvarez, where some kind of battle has broken out aboard the UEA Roam.”

  “Thank you Samantha. This is Caroline Alvarez reporting live from the Roam, where according to our sources today, the admiral on board to debrief the ambassador for the Mendians had taken command and secured the captain in his quarters. I am with the captain now and he states he was removed from his post illegally, and is retaking his ship to jail the rogue admiral.”

  “I should have spaced that bitch when I had the chance,” the admiral muttered with a gleeful menace.

  “...Obvious act of aggression... deck by deck battle.” We heard Caroline narrating, with sounds of a gunfight behind her.

  “Sir, it does not sound as if this is a battle you’re going to win. Might I recommend heading to the escape shuttle?” Charlie interrupted.

  “...the captain expects to retake the bridge soon. We will continue reporting live as this drama unfolds. Crisis aboard the UEAS Roam.”

  “Charlie, I can't let the flagship of the fleet fall into the hands of a rogue element. You and I both know my duty son,” the admiral replied, and I felt a shiver go through me.

  I heard him curse over the open intercom, "Get that god-damned system back online!" Charlie tapped a few keys and I saw the words “beginning data transfer” stream across the screen. “Data transfer complete” flashed next. Within that data was a full report of what had happened, and the image from the major’s hard drive. Everything we needed to expose the conspiracy at the heart of the UEA.

  “…There are new reports now that the Mendian ambassador assisted the admiral,” Caroline informed her viewing public. “Reports state she is currently in hiding aboard the ship but Captain Davis has vowed to take her into custody to await trial.”

  “Lieutenant Commander Stevens, Captain Dawkins. This mission is on you now. You expose this damned conspiracy, and you bring back good news from the Mendians for us. Charlie, break formation and move to your rendezvous point.”

  “Aye sir, and for what it’s worth its been an honor.” Charlie saluted, and tapped his nav panel. The LRRC turned and began to move away.

  “I assure you son, the honor was mine.” I could hear reverence in the admiral’s tone but also a sadness that seemed out of place given the situation.

  The LRRC streaked at full speed away from the Roam. We still had her comm open as the security officers with the captain began to reach the bridge.

  “Admiral the ship is ours. Your forces are routed. Surrender control to me and there doesn’t have to be any more dying today.”

  “I lost the battle five minutes ago,” the admiral said almost dismissively. “I promise you though, I haven’t lost the war.”

  A bright flash of light erupted as the Roam’s engines overloaded. It enveloped the ship like a blanket and made me shut my eyes against the blinding light. Charlie was going full throttle but the blast still shook the ship and slammed my body against a bulkhead violently. Slowly, I gasped and then felt the uneasy sensation of my consciousness slipping, I did not immediately black out though; I stubbornly held onto my consciousness, staring transfixed at Space News. Though the Roam was dead, the broadcast had not yet caught up with her destruction.

  Then I saw him, I saw Jim, the young Night Commander, lying slumped and dead with a pistol in his hand as Caroline Alvarez stepped over his body, just outside the bridge. He had held them off, and provided time for the admiral to blow the ship. I thought about him in that moment, I thought about the sister whom he'd never see again, then the admiral, the doctor, even the nice security officer who saved me from the reporter, they all flashed through my mind. It was too much, it was all too much... Suddenly my head swam again. I saw the image on the screen go white, and then static, and I knew the Roam would never be seen again.

  I didn’t know how long I was out, but when I opened my eyes, Charlie was there watching over me.

  "You're making a nasty habit out of rescuing me," I said.

  "So don't thank me," he said smiling. "You’re gonna be fine, just a minor concussion. I get to keep you awake while your bots heal you."

  "Oh, joy," I said halfheartedly. "Was that really the Roam going up?" I asked, hoping it had been some horrible dream.

  "I am afraid so, I've been in contact with UEA Command. I’ve spammed every admiral I could think of. Her sacrifice won’t be forgotten, don’t you worry Li’l Hare."

  If anyone else had called me that, I would have been offended, but I noticed he started doing that when he wanted to comfort me. I took it for what it was intended, closed my eyes and felt another shiver run through me.

  “Why is it we always have to buy our peace with blood?”

  “The admiral said it himself: this meeting could start relations again, and shore up the alliance back at home. If this meeting averts a senseless war, isn’t it worth it?”

  The question loomed large and ominous in the air. We were battle weary, and horribly exhausted. Now that we were off the Roam, the fatigue that came from an easing of tension washed over me.

  A message flashed upon the sleek glass control panel of the LRRC's com station. “SECURE CHANNEL REQUEST, CENTCOM flashed in ugly large letters. Charlie tapped the panel.

  -Authentication and encryption protocols engaged, identity verified. LRRC-1 Assigned to Lieutenant Commander Charlie Stevens. Commander, War and COG protocols currently in place. Please verify identity.-

  A panel popped open on the side as a shudder raced through me. War and COG? This was bad. Charlie pressed his hand to the panel and spoke in a booming voice.

  “Authenticator. Delta-Foxtrot Niner. 2 1 2 6 Omega. Confirm.”

  “ID confirmed, secure channel established.” The computer said, the red ugly letters were quickly replaced by the image of a young admiral.

  “Ah, Commander Stevens. The news of the Roam and the data packet we received from you has caused quite a stir.” He sounded detached.

  “It was my feelings it would, sir. Admiral McHenry gave his life, as well as many others to safely get that info to UEA Command. What are our orders?”

  “Your mission is unchanged. It is now more vital than ever that you and Snow complete your mission. A success in the diplomatic sector could calm things, but we may be past that commander.” He suddenly sounded grave.

  “What do you mean, sir?”

  “This morning after the Roam detonated and the data packet was received by Central Command, we attempted to monitor the secure list you uncovered for intelligence on possible rogue elements in our government.”

  Charlie nodded. “A good strategy. What did you find out?”

  “Nothing, it was shut down within half an hour of the packet being received, even though only select departments were given access. The entire command structure may be comprised.”

  “I understand,” Charlie said.

  “I don't think you do. There are rumors of a coup, possible assassinations, hell, even whole ships going rogue, but nothing is concrete yet. Right now UEA Central Command is a seething mass of paranoia, and we need a win to buy us enough time to clean house and get things back under control. Commander, you get the ambassador to the Mendians, and you complete your mission. Until then you are ordered to maintain radio silence. Assume any contradictory order is hostile unless verified with the authenticator code sent at the beginning of our transmission. It’s stored in the ship’s logs,” the young admiral said.

  “Roger, sir.”

  “You tell that glorified rabbit the entirety of the government may be depending on the success of her mission,” he replied. I felt myself flush angrily at his tone.

  “I will, sir. She's standing right behind me.”

  “Understood, Admiral Nagima out.”

  “Glorified rabbit! That asshole. Who does he think he...” I was interrupted by the growing tide of Charlie's laughter, tears streaming down his face.
r />   “Oh, God that’s a good one. Glorified rabbit, what you think of that, long ears?” He was literally convulsing with laughter.

  “Stuff it, Charlie! Do you have any idea how I feel? You asshole!” I hopped off indignantly to the crew quarters section.

  The urge to hide was strong in me. I had worked myself back into a dark corner, and felt a sorrowful brooding. An intense weight settled in on me and suddenly a fog started to descend upon my mind. It felt warm and comfortable, almost familiar. The sudden relief made me sag.

  “Snow! God dammit Snow! Are you OK? What’s going on?” Charlie was looking down at me, perplexed, gripping his hand.

  I looked around and saw a blanket; it was shredded; I had made a nice spot for myself in the dark corner. The trouble was I didn't remember doing it. My head hurt and it was hard to think. Hard to speak.

  “Wha.. What... Happened?” I asked, struggling with the words.

  “You just went feral on me, Snow. I've been trying to get you to snap out of it for about forty-five minutes now. I was this close to breaking orders and contacting Command. Are you OK?”

  “I th-th-think I am na... na-now,” I stuttered out. “I think tha- tha- stress kind of got to me.” I was trying to reassure him, but inside I was terrified. At least my speech was getting easier.

  “OK, but you take it easy, no more checking out on me like that.”

  “Doc sa.. sa.. said on the Roam, too much stress... bad.” I stammered.

  “Roger. OK then, try to relax, and try to let me know if you feel yourself beginning to fade. Try not to worry, but we need you.”

  “I know Charlie. I think I'll be fine.”

  At that moment, I wasn’t sure if I was lying to him or not.

  Chapter 21

  I fell into a quiet routine of study, eat, study, eat. Nervousness tingled within me, making me jumpy and worried. We were almost to the gate. Charlie seemed as cool as ever. He had hacked my terminal the day before on a bet and was amusing himself with solitaire.

  A strange beeping noise was heard from the cockpit and a red light flashed intermittently. Charlie jolted up from his seat and ran to the cockpit. I quickly followed him.

  Charlie silenced the alarm. “TACTICAL ACTION ALERT” flashed violently over the comm station. Charlie input his authenticator code and a textual messaged appeared on the screen.

  *FLEET-WIDE TACTICAL ALERT*

  -For Immediate Distribution-

  At 0400 hours, cruiser group Charlie Epsilon, in defiance of orders, deactivated transponders and jumped to unknown location. Intel suggests possible location as Alpha Psi Gate. Repeat, probable destination Alpha Psi Gate. Dispatch order, 2nd fleet, pursue and capture. All ships, be advised, possible rogue element, treat as hostile.

  -War Protocols in Effect-

  *END FLEET MESSAGE*

  “Oh shit.” Charlie’s eyes went wide.

  I felt a chill run through me. “Let me guess, the gate we are jumping from is Alpha Psi?”

  “Affirmative,” Charlie said, reclaiming his self-control.

  “Is there any other way we can rendezvous with the Mendians?” I asked.

  Charlie shook his head. “Nope, not if we want to meet our timetable.”

  “So what are we going to do?” I was feeling nervous as panic ate away at the edges of my composure.

  “Hope we get there first,” he replied with a focused conviction.

  Charlie sat to work. Over the next hour he hardly said a word. He left at one point for fifteen minutes and reappeared in tactical armor, a new rifle slung around his shoulder, no doubt from the LRRC's small armory. He was busy at work when a sensor panel gave an indicator signal.

  “Well, it looks like we found the cruiser group,” he said calmly.

  I tugged at the straps of my restraints and swallowed hard. It was going to be a rough ride in.

  “Let's get this over with,” Charlie said, as he tapped the comm console.

  "This is LRRC Omega-621 on special assignment to Cruiser Group Charlie Epsilon. We have UEA clearance. Please clear the gate and prepare for immediate jump."

  "That's a negative Omega-621; you are to surrender your vessel."

  Charlie reached over and double-checked my restraints and gave me a little thumbs up, trying to reassure me.

  "Cruiser Group Charlie Epsilon, our orders are to proceed through the gate. We have received nothing countermanding this. Under whose orders do we surrender? Please transmit them to our comm."

  "Stand-by," was the only reply we received.

  Quickly Charlie’s hands flew across the consoles. Quietly he spoke.

  "You’re going to be very happy I started my career in electronics warfare Li'l Hare."

  "Why is that? What’s going on?” I shifted in my harness, feeling helpless, “Why haven't they opened fire yet?"

  “Think about it. They are cut off from fleet communications. Going dark like they did and jumping means they aren't even aware we know they’ve gone rogue. They want to take us alive, probably for a nice show trial with an execution for the kiddies.”

  I gulped, and looked at Charlie, feeling vaguely sick.

  “Don't worry. If I haven’t missed my guess, they’re about to send us a package designed to disable our ship.”

  "If you know that, why in the hell are you accepting it?" I was starting to feel very panicked.

  "It's going to buy us time and a little bit of surprise. They simply weren't expecting me.” He flashed a big smile. “I’ve partitioned off this part of the systems drive and am running a virtual interface. Anything they send will hit within the safety of my homemade pen. It's called a honeypot."

  "That’s brilliant," I said, honestly astonished.

  "Well it hasn’t worked yet.” Charlie engaged the program, and I recognized the boot logo for the UEA systems software that powered my computer. It was quickly replaced with the familiar comm system readout I was accustomed to, just as the transmission was about to occur.

  "Omega-621, this is Cruiser Command. We have your orders and are transmitting now."

  Suddenly the console went blank, and in its place a logo flashed in a mean and violent red. It showed a fist rising in the background with Earth First in ugly terrible letters on the fore. It read:

  "Your Vessel has been commandeered to ensure the safety of Earth and the survival and purity of the human race. Have a nice day."

  Charlie laughed, hit a button, and the message disappeared as the comm console rebooted. I felt the engines go offline as the cabin went dark except for the emergency power lights. If I had not been strapped in, I would have been floating about the cabin, thanks to the artificial gravity being off. We looked like we were dead in the water.

  “The good ones always throw a little humor in the game, but come on, that logo was just terrible.” Charlie grinned and then noticed the tug vessel moving towards us. They were wasting no time.

  Charlie waited patiently as the tug grew larger and larger in the window. They were about to grapple us when Charlie hit the manual thruster control.

  The LRRC rocketed past the surprised tug operator as the main systems came online. Charlie fired the cannons at the lead ship, scoring minimal damage. Still, we were more agile, and we slid right past them. Surprise was on our side.

  The ships gave chase. I watched the tactical display. We were moving in the wrong direction for the gate and had a very angry cruiser group on our tail. It was not shaping up to be a very good day.

  The comm officer came back in over our channel. "Captain, lay by and come about. Your vessel is illegally operating in military controlled space and has committed an act of war. Heave to. Cut your engines. Prepare to be boarded. Failure to comply will result in the destruction of your vessel.”

  Charlie only replied, "Surrender, like hell!" as he cut the channel. He smiled and looked over at me, then turned more serious as he saw the panic on my face. “I know you realize we are outmatched, but I’m going to do my best to get us out of this. Still, I
won't lie to you. It's not looking too good for us. If it means anything, it’s been an honor,” Charlie said.

  “You’ve already used that line once with the admiral. It’s not helping,” I said to no avail. Charlie was lost in concentration. Gripped by the moment, his teeth gritted as his fingers flew across the panel.

  I took a deep breath, and looked out into space. So this was the end. I was never going to make it to the Mendians, I was never going to speak for Earth or myself. I was going to die here. I quietly chuckled through my collar, and looked out at the stars. The ship suddenly lurched forward again, and I saw angry red lights beginning to illuminate from all around the cockpit. They were done playing. Our outer plating was taking the damage, but those systems wouldn’t hold out forever. It wouldn’t be long now. I wondered if there was a god, or an afterlife, and what, if he existed, did he think of snowshoe hares?

  Suddenly a bright light lit up the sky. The jump gate was activating and whatever was coming through wasn’t small. I heard Charlie scream out. "Oh, shit we’ve got incoming! Snow! It's the Second Fleet! We may just get out of this!” Charlie tapped the console twice and we went into a quick spinning roll. My stomach lurched as a torpedo went spiraling by, out into space.

  “Omega-621. This is Admiral Harper of the Second Fleet. Stand-by. We are moving to assist. What is your status?”

  “Sir, we have taken damage but are still operational. No casualties. Ambassador is, for the moment, secure. We could really use some heat taken off of us.”

  “Roger that, stand-by,” was the only reply.

  The channel was still open, for our benefit, as we heard Admiral Harper address the cruiser group.

  “This is Admiral Harper on the Excalibur, speaking for United Earth Alliance Command. Cruiser Group Charlie Epsilon. You are hereby ordered by Chancellor Rusch to power down your weapons and prepare to be escorted back to port. You are operating an illegal war against UEA personnel."

  The ships behind us broke off. I looked at Charlie confused but hopeful that it would be that easy.

  "Commander Stevens, don't wait for the fireworks. Get your ass through that jump gate; we can handle this. Get the ambassador to the Mendians. That’s an order."