Treason, page 6
part #2 of The Descendants War Series
Or how extensive that damage might be? Essa didn't know a great deal about the structural integrity of caves or tunnels. He'd heard of colleagues being buried alive; miners killed when they plunged too deep. And that place looked dreadfully old. It's been here for a thousand years. Probably more.
If they weren't careful, it might last another five hours. With all those weapons going off and people shouting, he figured the whole dig site might be buried before next light. As long as we're not in here when that happens, I swear not to be disappointed in the loss of potential history. I'll just be happy to be alive.
Though he wondered if that might be true. Okay... so maybe that's too much to hope for. I'll do my best.
***
Tarka caught up with the others, taking the lead as they charged into the camp. Two men lingered near the mouth of the cave, which was now filled with rubble. Neither of them wore helmets. Each carried their helmets under their arms. As one of them turned, she blasted him in the face, tossing him into the pile of rocks.
Pless took out the other one, dropping the man as he rose his weapon.
"Secure this area!" Tarka called out. She hurried over to the cave. "This... is really bad." She turned away, tapping her wrist to reach out with the comm. "Uldin, do you read me? We're near the cave, but it looks like you're sealed in. Please respond!"
Qan and Pless took up positions on opposite sides of the camp, each standing guard. Tarka rooted around the area, checking the various tools that were spread out over the tables. Some had been scattered to the ground. Tents burned. The pirates had gone in there violently, tearing through the area as if they were there to destroy.
This no longer feels like a theft. Marauders didn't make sense. What could they hope to accomplish by ruining the place? I don't have time to worry about it right now. I need to get those VIPs out of here as quickly as possible.
"Volman, what do you think about blasting these rocks to open the cave up?"
"Probably cause more harm than good," Volman replied. "I can't exactly be subtle with beam weapons."
"Damn. We need a cutter. Tools to dig this out." Tarka wasn't familiar with the equipment on the surface. Her requisition officer had gone through it all with them before they left. None of it's particularly dangerous, but it's definitely specialized. What the hell am I going to do? "Thoughts, guys? Uldin isn't responding."
"He may be dead," Pless replied. "Probably both of them, honestly. This is a serious cave-in. Tons of rock. Probably more."
"I can't believe that." Tarka sighed. "There must be another way in or out. Wait... do either of you know if these tools can get us in there? Maybe a laser cutter or something can wipe out these rocks. Save them both if they didn't get crushed."
"Scans show life forms inside," Volman said. "So they might be hurt... I'll try to toss down a signal boost. Maybe that'll get your message through."
"Uldin," Tarka tried again. "We are outside the cave. Do you read me? Please come in, over!"
"Hello!" Static colored his tone, but it was definitely Uldin. "Thank you for trying to come for us! We're still in the tunnels, making our way through the old passages left behind at the site. We're not sure where it'll take us, but you probably can't get through the front. There's no way."
"That bad?" Tarka asked.
"I'd say you're looking at two hundred yards of rock. Maybe more."
"Wow." Tarka sighed. "Okay, but you don't know where that'll come out. Or how deep it goes. Have you moved downward at all? Or up?"
"It's been level so far," Uldin replied. "We'll try to stay in touch. Do you have us on scan or something?"
"We do. Volman will attempt to get a better look at the area, maybe he can guide you. I'll stay on this channel until we catch up." Tarka headed over to Qan. "That's not good. And the fact we don't have a line on where the enemies are? This is a real pain. Any thoughts on what we should do?"
"Holding this area isn't helping us," Qan replied. "We need some probable locations for those tunnels to let out then we can at least go in looking for our people. How long can Volman fly around up there?"
"The rest of the month," Tarka said. "There's no fuel problem. But yeah, we should definitely hurry." She called, "Pless! Let's fall out. The entrance won't be anywhere near here so we might as well keep moving. Volman, let me know immediately when you get any sort of idea where we could go to meet them."
"Head up the path to the left of the entrance," Volman said. "That'll take you over the hill. It's not going to be a pleasant climb... and there might be enemies along the way, but if you hustle, you can cross over to some probable areas. I'll do my best to guide you and provide some covering fire."
"We're on it." Tarka let out a deep breath. She had no interest in climbing a hill, not in full armor at least. I should've let Churk do this after all. He's younger than me by far. None of this running around would've bothered him much at all. She muttered, "Sometimes you get what you wish for."
"What was that?" Pless asked. "I didn't copy."
"Just complaining." Tarka led the way up the hill, taking it with more zeal than she felt. "To myself since I don't want to bother you guys with it." She checked the scan in her helmet but didn't see any more blips. How are they masking themselves? The Kahl have never done that. Is this something of their design? Something they stole?
The enemies proved to be a greater mystery than she liked. Part of her wondered if they might be after Essa Helsh specifically. But that didn't make sense. What would he have done to attract their attention? He didn't research weaponry, nor did he have anything to do with violence at all.
No, that's conspiracy theory talk. Tarka figured they had to be there for carnage. Maybe some spoils if they happened upon them. They were quick to shoot back at us. Halfway up the hill, she cursed herself. Why the hell didn't we check the bodies over? The thought made bile rise in her throat from guilt.
Not to mention feeling like a moron.
The question is do we go back? Would it grant information they needed or be a dead end? The goal is to get out of here with our charges. Figuring out the enemy is secondary to everything else. Uldin and Essa had no chance without a little backup. Even if we've cut down our numbers, we can get them out of here. We have to.
***
Churk stood a few feet from the viewscreen of the station command center, eyes fixed on the planet. He wished he had the nerve to dress Tarka down for her decision to lead the party to bring the civilians back. Though she'd managed to get most of them back, some of her people had died in the process.
And now we've got VIPs in the wind.
"Thiul," Churk called, "tell me you have their ship on scans. You must've picked up something by now."
"Only Volman's ship," Thiul replied. The young man had proven to be quite good at his job in the short time he'd been there. This situation felt like extenuating circumstances, but Churk still found it hard to give his tech officer the benefit of the doubt. "I'm telling you, whoever they are, they've found a way to mask their tech signatures."
"Cloaking isn't impossible," Churk said, "but these are supposedly common thieves!"
"With Kahl weapons," Thiul reminded him. "That should tell us they're not common. Two possibilities exist. Either they stole those weapons from the Kahl, which makes them terrifying, or they're equipped by them. Whatever the case, we need to treat them as a high threat. I'll repeat my suggestion: we should call for help."
"It's a ground force," Churk replied. "And you can't even find a starship associated with them. If we call for assistance in these conditions, we'll be disgraced. No. Tarka would not want us to waste military time with a message when we can handle it ourselves. Just find their equipment. Whatever it takes."
"Finding something invisible isn't going to be..." Thiul sighed. "I'm on it, sir."
Yes, make it fast. Churk tapped the comm next to him. "Tarka, report. What is your current location?" Satellites were not providing normal footage. They could pull up fragments; quick shots like still images but no real-time feeds. The whole situation bothered him, but that in particular meant real interference. What could jam that?
"Maybe they set down while we weren't paying attention and erected a jamming tower." Churk turned to Thiul. "Can you check for that?"
"I'll look--"
Tarka's voice interrupted him. "We're halfway up the hill now. Won't be long before we get to the destination we're following. What's going on? Have you found the enemy ship yet?"
"We're trying a few things," Churk said. "The only thing that makes sense is a jamming device. A really powerful one that can interfere not only with our satellites but scans from Volman's ship too. We'll keep hunting. Be on your guard. We're dealing with some highly motivated thugs."
"These are terrorists," Thiul said. "That's the only explanation. You were right."
"About which part?"
"A jamming device. I've changed my scans and hit the satellites in an effort to see if they are being targeted by anything. A tight beam transmission, for example. And something is blasting them. Like... overloading their transmitters with a continuous line of junk data. That's why we can only get stills."
"So wait, are they still collecting video feeds?"
"Yes. But we're getting fragments because the satellites can't parse all that information fast enough. At least not while transmitting it back." Thiul sighed. "I recommend we launch another ship or two. Get them down there to help watch Tarka's back. At least get them in position. Whatever our opponents are using probably means they've got firepower."
"Did you hear that, Tarka?" Churk asked. "Thiul has a point. You might want to return to base right now."
"The VIPs are trapped underground," Tarka said. "Or don't you remember? You want me to leave them down here?"
"I want you to regroup," Churk pressed. "I can assemble a team to meet you where you're going maybe. Whatever it takes, let's make this--"
"Sir," Thiul said, "we have incoming ships from warp. Three of them."
"Source?"
"I... think... well, I'm not sure entirely, but they're definitely allies."
"Unannounced." Churk glared at the screen, waiting for them to arrive. "What do they know that we don't?"
The alert began to buzz; a staccato, annoying sound Churk had never heard before. We've never had cause for it to go off. He turned to Thiul. "Any idea what's going on now? How much trouble can we possibly get into?"
"We've got additional ships incoming." Thiul typed quickly, his fingers flying over the screen. "Calculating their approach... checking signatures now... classifying... No!"
"What is it?"
"Some kind of jamming and I can't tell who it's coming from. The ones I thought were allies or these newcomers."
"Tarka, I'm scrambling help to get you out of there." Churk switched over the comm to the hangar. "I need two full squadrons to make their way to the surface immediately. Link up with Tarka and her party right away. You do not have a lot of time. Make it happen. Go! Go! Go!" He took his seat, clinging to the console.
What could possibly have drawn all these forces to this location? Churk checked the manifest again; the information they'd received from the scientists. Rock samples, ancient tools, bits of pottery and artwork... nothing of real value. Nothing that should've brought so much attention. We're missing something.
"Tarka, we've got more ships incoming." Churk sighed. "I don't know how long it'll take for them to get here, but we might have to abandon this station. Hurry yourselves up and save those VIPs ASAP. I'll have Volman work with Thiul to triangulate the jamming signal on the surface."
"Prepare the others for departure if necessary," Tarka said. "Make sure to help anyone sick, injured or otherwise infirmed."
"We will, ma'am." Churk sighed. "Good luck. I pray for all of you down there that you will not need it."
Chapter 4
Rhys tapped at the captain's office door before stepping inside. Up to that point, he'd been busy coordinating repairs throughout the ship while learning the various systems. Having a moment to catch his breath meant absorbing the concept that he had met bona fide aliens... not to mention used their equipment to fend off an enemy force.
The walk from the lower decks allowed him to come to terms with his new reality. He'd been somewhat bitter about the assignment when he had first arrived. Things changed after they had engaged the enemy. Much as he wanted a command of his own, he recognized that he'd been handed a gift.
One no other soldier would've turned down.
"Captain," Rhys nodded to him, "we've finished up. I've got the reports from all departments compiled. They've been sent to you for sign off but if you had any questions, I wanted to be ready to field them."
"Have a seat," Titus replied. "Thanks for coming. Do you feel more comfortable with the rest of the ship?"
"I do. Nothing teaches faster than field repairs. Everyone's been great about it, by the way. Honestly, no one can wait to talk about it."
"Yeah, we've got an exciting situation, that's for sure." Titus leaned back. "Doctor Brett will be joining us in a moment. I'd like to hear his perspective on a few things. First, I thought I'd brief you on our guests and the cube."
"Did they have a breakthrough?"
"In a manner of speaking," Titus said. "Some kind of vibration made the surface respond. I won't try to explain the details, it's in a report if you're curious. However, they believe it's some kind of storage device. An alien hard drive for lack of a better term. Molush has requested we all take a trip out to a Vorka station for more information."
"How far away is that?"
"I'm not sure. Jane's working with the Prytins to get us some coordinates. The Brekka will be coming with us."
"That'll be good to have a second ship, but... I got the sense their captain had business with the guy we chased off."
"Griel is convinced that General Renz will want a piece of us again. And probably the device too. Therefore, he's not leaving our side for a while. Besides, even if he's not curious about what we have in that thing, the rest of his crew is. Some of them think it could contain information that might help with the war effort."
"Great." Rhys nodded. "I... did some reading about the Kahl last night. From the Prytin database? The records claim they've committed genocide, but they also take prisoners. Have you picked up anything else about that? Sounds like they're building up a slave labor force... or maybe they're taking them off to camps for extermination."
"Slaves," Titus said. "I got that out of Niva. They work them to death; don't treat them very well. I don't know why they bother other than the explanation it's within the religion to treat impurity that way." He shrugged. "Screwed up... and not unfamiliar to us considering our distant past."
"Many times," Rhys replied. "God. How many forces have we dealt with in our history that did the same damn thing? Even more recently, my last assignment involved a bunch of damn pirates trafficking people. They were selling them off to a couple of distant colonies that put them to work in mines."
"I've seen that. Those fights get pretty brutal. We had a sergeant on our boat that thought it was okay. He put in a formal protest for trying to liberate the slaves. Turned out he came from one of those colonies and didn't give a shit how they were treating other humans. So it makes this kind of war difficult."
"When our own people can't treat each other right, how can we take the moral high ground against another culture?" Rhys frowned. "I think it's different. Our problems are fringe. They're a bunch of rotten apples. And we take care of them as soon as we discover them. This other threat is to the entire galaxy. I got no problem fighting them."
"I'm glad to hear that. And no one else has expressed any concerns." Titus shrugged. "I thought about it earlier today, that's all. How much good could we do at home with the Triton? Granted, she's still listed as prototype and test to keep everyone from bothering us. I wish we could've had a run around the home front for a few months first."
"No better test," Rhys said, "than when pitted against a superior opponent."
"Spoken like a true academy instructor." Titus grinned. "Doctor will be here shortly but tell me something. You're after a command seat, right? You're looking to be captain. You want to go further than that? Or..."
"Or?"
"I'm trying to be delicate, but I'll be frank. Do you want the responsibility for command for the excitement? Or are you thinking about climbing the ranks? Admiral and so on."
"Oh boy." Rhys let out a breath. "Not as frank as you could've been, I guess." He turned to look out the window, peering at the dark of space. "Honestly, my goal has always been to command a starship. I want to be the one making the decisions; taking a ship into conflict or offering humanitarian aid. I never thought much beyond the bridge."
Titus nodded. "I felt the same way. I've served with some great captains. A few duds. The times I thought I could do it better; those pushed my ambition. Anyway, when this is over, providing we're still here, I suspect you might get your wish. There will be more ships than we know what to do with and a much larger galaxy to travel around in."
"I'm already feeling how small the universe feels," Rhys replied. "All these aliens... the technology... the people. It's an exciting time to be in your prime."
"Speak for yourself," Doctor Brett said as he entered the room. "I think I left my prime back in dry dock." He shook both their hands before having a seat. "I brought my evaluation. The crew handled that fight admirably. I only had a few problems to contend with outside of injuries. Most of them are on the mend and will be back at work in the next six shifts."
"What about Ronin?" Titus asked. "How's he doing?"
"Oh boy." Brett sighed. "That guy. Something happened up there, and he had a flashback to being scorched in the first fight with the Kahl. Just... fell apart on the spot. You've never seen a man feel so guilty. He's speaking with our psychiatrist and working through it. By the way, they talked before and he was convinced he worked it out."
