Storm of Vengeance Read online

  But, she wasn’t taking chances. It could also be some kind of First Imperium trap.

  “Battlestations, Admiral.” Hercule’s words beat the klaxon, but only by a few seconds. Then, Midway’s flag bridge was bathed in the red glow of the battlestations lamps.

  Again.

  * * *

  There were bodies strewn through the shattered corridor, dead Marines half buried under sections of the roof that had collapsed in the fury of combat. Cameron shook his armored head, trying but failing to keep count of how many of his people had died in the fighting. Normally, his AI would have those stats for him in an instant, but the comm failures were wreaking havoc with data transmission.

  He knew it didn’t matter, not really…whatever that number was, it was definitely not a final one. The battle still raged, and even as so many fell, his Marines pushed on, deeper into the bowels of the enemy base.

  He stepped over a pile of twisted wreckage, all that remained of a First Imperium warbot. His Marines were dying, but they weren’t dying alone. All along the route to the forward positions, bits and pieces of enemy bots were scattered around.

  Cameron was still back a bit from the heaviest fighting, but he was closer now…and he could hear the gunfire ahead. The chambers he’d passed had been badly damaged as the desperate struggle had moved through them, and he hadn’t been able to discern what the equipment his people had passed was used for. He hadn’t seen anything that could have been part of a system of huge magnetic bottles used to store antimatter, and even less structures looking anything like the massive, kilometers long accelerators he knew were needed to produce the precious substance.

  The power appeared to be out in the area, the overhead lights dead, even where they hadn’t been smashed by gunfire. He didn’t know if his people had taken out a local reactor or a section of power conduit—or if the Intelligence in command of the facility had cut power intentionally. It didn’t matter. Every one of his Marines had a fusion reactor on his back, and more than enough energy to scan infrared wavelengths…or to light up sections of corridor with blinding spotlights.

  Cameron pushed forward, swinging to the side each time one of his aides tried to slip around him. He appreciated their desire to protect him, but he was a Marine, too. His whole life had been the Corps, and he’d spent most of his career on Earth Two, waiting for a desperate battle that hadn’t come…until now. He wasn’t about to sit it out or hang to the rear, just because that crucial fight had waited until his rank had escalated him beyond the normal level of a combat Marine.

  His assault rifle was extended out in front of him, one of the oversized combat clips in the magazine. The cartridge held twelve hundred projectiles, each of them an almost impossibly slim shard of super-heavy metal that would be hurled out from the atomic-powered weapon at hyper-sonic velocities. It didn’t take a lot of mass to cause damage at that kind of speed, and even the dense armor of a First Imperium warbot was at risk when one of Earth Two’s Marines opened fire.

  He quickened his pace as he heard the sounds of fighting getting louder. As far as he could tell, his Marines were engaged in at least three locations…though, with the communications problems they were having, he knew there could be another half dozen hotspots he didn’t know about.

  He’d hoped the comm troubles would improve once his people entered the actual facility, but they’d only gotten worse, as enemy jamming was added to the list of things interfering with the Marines’ signals. He’d continued using runners, but, with the losses, and the way his people were spread all over the complex, out of easy supporting range, he found he didn’t have enough Marines to spare. He’d had to cut loose his other teams from his direction, leave them on their own to make their way as well as they could. He hated not knowing what was happening to so many of his Marines, but in the end, he did what he had to do. As all those who served with him did.

  He stopped suddenly. He heard something from up ahead. At first, it was just a slight sound, one he only heard because his suit amplified distant noises and replayed them through his internal speakers. But, then he realized…something was coming.

  He gestured to the Marines behind him, and he knelt down, and aimed his assault rifle.

  “General…”

  The sound crackled through his comm unit. For an instant, he wasn’t sure who it was, or where the signal had come from. But then he realized, and he relaxed his pose ever so slightly…just as an armored Marine came running down the corridor, moving side to side to keep from launching himself up into the ceiling.

  “General Cameron…” The man stated his name, Sergeant Toland Arneson, but Cameron’s AI had identified the Marine first, as soon as he turned the corner and his comm connected with the general’s.

  “What is it, Sergeant?”

  “Major Stanton sent me to find you, sir.” The man was clearly flustered, more than Cameron liked to see in his Marines. But, he realized, however dedicated his people were, or how well trained, the Earth Two Corps had simply not seen the kind of action the Marines of the original fleet, or the forces back on the other side of the Barrier, had.

  “What is it, son?” When did I get old enough to call Marines, ‘son?’

  “Sir, Major Stanton has found something. He thinks it might be an acceleration chamber.”

  Cameron felt a burst of his own excitement…but he was enough of a veteran, at least, to hide it.

  “That’s good news, Sergeant.” He turned back toward the rest of his column, a needless gesture since he was speaking to them on the comm. “Alright, all of you…let’s move out.” He looked back at the sergeant. “What are you waiting for, Arneson? We’ve got work to do.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Flag Bridge, E2S Garret

  F-74 System

  Earth Two Date 02.26.43

  West stared into the deep blackness of the display, waiting for the system to reboot, for Midway’s scanners and comm to come alive and reveal what the F74 system had to offer…to her fleet, and to the enemy forces she knew would be right behind her.

  The warp gate transit itself had been short, no more than a few seconds of strange disorientation, but it was the minutes that followed that tended to test the mettle of spacers. It was unnerving enough in normal circumstances, sitting, blind, deaf, with even life support systems shut down for a brief time…it was something else entirely to do it under combat conditions, knowing hundreds and hundreds of enemy ships were right behind you.

  West could feel the tension from the others on the bridge. As far as any of them knew, in moments they’d be fighting the fleet that had followed them so far from G48. That much was true, West knew…but there was more.

  Or, at least there was supposed to be. She wouldn’t know for certain until Garret’s systems reactivated and gave her a first look around.

  Time seemed to move at a fraction of its normal speed, a phenomenon most spacers experienced in such moments, but West was accustomed to the whole thing, and her discipline was like iron. She’d planned for this moment, left Strand and the Marines in G48 to accomplish it, misled the officers and spacers she commanded to bring herself to this point.

  She watched, unmoving and unmoved, as the display began to sparkle slightly. Across the bridge, she could hear faint static, as the communications systems restarted. She knew that far forward, where the main scanners were located, systems were rebooting as well. In just a few seconds, her people would know what awaited them in G74.

  And, she would know if her plans had come to fruition. If her people had the chance she hoped they did.

  She watched and waited, as the display became brighter, and as lights began to appear, a large orange sphere representing the system’s primary, and then a series of smaller globes…the six planets that orbited it. More detail appeared as the seconds passed, a faint cluster of tiny dots…the system’s asteroid belt. And then, around several dozen of the asteroids, small circles, energy readings.

  And, finally, in front of the system
’s third planet, several lines of small icons.

  Ships.

  West smiled. The symbols were familiar, and even as she looked forward, unemotional save for the small grin she wore, her officers began to recognize the icons.

  Earth Two ships…lined up and ready for battle.

  But how? She could almost feel the thought from her people.

  “Admiral…I have an incoming message.” A pause, and then Sampson continued, the wonder in her voice evident despite the fact that West had told her of the plan. “It’s Admiral Chandra.”

  West allowed herself a tiny grin, a momentary chink in the cold granite stare on her face. Then she tapped the controls at the side of her headset. “Raj…I’m so glad you could make it.” The stunned silence on the rest of the bridge was palpable, her people in utter shock, even as they waited for her signal to traverse the two light minutes to Chandra’s flagship and back.

  West’s thoughts drifted to the New Regent, and her hatred flared.

  You’re not the only one who can lay a trap…

  * * *

  The Intelligence sent out orders, and it monitored the scanner readings as its ships approached the warp gate. The enemy fleet had transited. The small task force they had sacrificed had bought them just enough time to get their ships through before the First Imperium fleet closed to combat range.

  The Intelligence had almost ordered its forces to separate, for one formation to engage the enemy delaying force while the rest continued ahead at maximum acceleration and intercepted the fleeing humans before they could jump. But it had opted for a more conservative tactic, and it had brought all its force to bear against the human rearguard, destroying it utterly.

  The enemy couldn’t escape. Their ships did not have the acceleration to outrun its own. It made no difference in which system the humans were destroyed. The next one would serve as well as the current one.

  The fleet was approaching the warp gate rapidly, its velocity nearly 0.02c. The Intelligence considered decelerating, bringing the fleet to a much lower velocity before transiting.

  It assigned a lower risk to that option, one that offered more operational flexibility and ability to respond to unexpected enemy actions. But it did not believe the difference in risk was meaningful. The enemy was clearly trying to escape, and reducing its own ships’ velocities would only prolong the chase. The next system was uncharted, and the Intelligence had no data on its composition, or on the number and position of any warp gates located there. It was unlikely the enemy would be able to escape before they were intercepted, but a reduction in velocity might possibly allow the enemy to reach a very close in warp gate and transit to yet another system.

  No…there was no advantage to further delay. It was time to destroy the enemy fleet, and then to return to the system from where it had commenced its pursuit. The Intelligence assigned a ninety-four percent likelihood that all human forces in the factory system had been destroyed by the ships left there. Still, there was little to be gained by leaving an inadequate garrison to defend so vital a resource for longer than necessary.

  The Intelligence calculated insertion vectors for all of its ships, and it sent out thrust orders and directives. Seconds later, as the nearest ships received and executed the commands, it watched as each vessel changed its thrust angles, positioning for the coming jump.

  Hundreds of ships formed up, taking position behind the forward line of heavy battleships. The fleet was the greatest force the First Imperium had fielded since the original Regent’s destruction, the fruits of four decades of constant production.

  Now, the Intelligence would complete its mission. It would crush the human fleet…and the way would be open to find and destroy the enemy homeworld.

  Then, the New Regent would rule the Imperium…even the entire galaxy.

  * * *

  “All ships, decelerate at full thrust.” West snapped out the order even before her people had time to process what they had seen and heard. “Now!” she added, as much to instill a sense of urgency in all her staff than because Sampson had been slow to follow the first order.

  She was still waiting for Chandra’s response. Lightspeed remained a limiting factor in all forms of communication, save physically carrying a message through a warp gate. But, she knew the old Pilgrim officer well…and she trusted him, both his courage and his judgment. He knew what to do.

  And, so did she.

  She leaned back as the wave of g forces hit her, Midway decelerating with all the power its great reactors could produce. Her fleet was strung out more than she would have liked, but there was no way around that. The task forces that had gone in before hers had already slowed their velocities. Each commander had received orders, delivered by their ships’ AIs, and even as Midway, and the vessels that had transited with her, shuddered under the massive thrust of deceleration, many of her other ships had already slowed to a near standstill.

  Just as she had commanded.

  There were few battle tactics that called for meeting a fast-moving enemy at a near halt, but that’s just what she wanted now. She just needed the enemy to do what she expected of them…and she didn’t’ have to wait long to see that they had.

  “We’ve got massive energy spikes at the warp gate, Admiral. It looks like they’re transiting.”

  West felt a wave of relief. The enemy had come through close on her heels…and that meant they were going to come tearing out of the warp gate at something like two percent of lightspeed.

  That would take them right past her ships…and toward Chandra’s fleet and the fortifications all around it. G74 wasn’t just any system…it was one of the decoys the navy had built to simulate Earth Two. The planet was uninhabited, save for the crew manning the defenses, but there were fake energy readings and drones moving about the system, posing as freighters and other commercial traffic. And, right behind Chandra’s ships, there were two dozen asteroid bases, bristling with weapons.

  West had sprung her own trap, lured the enemy fleet into the teeth of defenses far more powerful than they expected to encounter. She’d done everything she could, convinced Harmon to send Chandra with virtually every ship that had been left to defend Earth Two, made the desperate flight across ten systems to deliver the enemy to all the force the navy could muster.

  And, still, she knew it would be a close fight, that her people were lucky to have a fifty-fifty chance of victory. But, that was a lot better than none.

  She was still watching as the first wave of enemy ships emerged, ripping into the system at the expected velocity.

  “Welcome to G74, Admiral West.” Chandra’s response finally came through on her comm. “I think we prepared the party you wanted…I hope our guests enjoy it as much as you hoped they would.”

  She stared at the waves and waves of ships emerging from the warp gate, a feral glare on her face. “I’m sure they will, Raj…you are quite the hospitable host.” she said softly, to herself and not anyone else. Any signal from her would take minutes just to reach Chandra.

  “I’m sure they will.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Planet G-48 II

  Somewhere Below the Surface

  Earth Two Date 02.26.43

  The fire was loud and heavy…and getting worse. Cameron had pushed Arneson and the rest of his people hard, and now it sounded like they were almost there.

  “Just around that corner, sir,” Arneson said anxiously. The sergeant was definitely nervous. Cameron wasn’t sure if it was fear at the fighting going on, the pressure of standing next to one of the Corps’ two officers of general rank, or just the magnitude of the entire operation…but as long as the Marine did his job—which he was doing—Cameron was willing to cut the non-com some slack.

  “With me…all of you.” From the sounds of the fighting up ahead, whatever forces Stanton had seemed to be hard-pressed. Cameron knew the difference between the sound of First Imperium and Earth Two weaponry, and at least two thirds of the fire was coming from the
enemy.

  “Sir…perhaps you should…” It was one of his aides. Kerrigan.

  “Noted, Lieutenant.” Cameron had neither the time nor the inclination to argue with his aide again about who should be at the head of the column.

  He rushed forward, pausing for an instant before peering around the corner.

  He was looking out into a large open space, extending well out of sight. The whole area was dark, lit only by the searingly bright, but focused, headlamps of Stanton and his Marines, and the light of assault rifle projectiles glowing as they ripped through the thick atmosphere at ten thousand kilometers per second.

  Stanton’s Marines were crouched down below a giant chunk of machinery, perhaps fifty meters in length and ten high. It was heavy and thick, and it was providing good quality cover from the hail of projectiles coming from the darkness at the far end of the room.

  “Stanton…report.”

  “Sir…” The major seemed surprised that Cameron was there, and a bit relieved as well. “There are at least half a dozen warbots down at the far end. The big bastards, General. We’ve tried to get some locational scans, but the jamming in here is just too strong.”

  Cameron turned and looked back at the Marines lined up behind him, and then he stared out again at the four meters or so of open space between the corner and the giant hunk of steel protecting Stanton and his people. He waited for a few seconds, looking out into the darkness of the room…and then he lunged forward, pushing off with the enormous strength he could exert with his armored legs. He covered the distance in an instant, and he careened hard into the heavy chunk of machinery with a loud crash.

  He was looking up, suddenly it seemed to his slightly dazed senses, and he realized he was lying on his back. He started to get up, and then he saw another form was hovering over him, great armored hands reaching down to help him up.