The surprising success of
Alpha Enterprises is
sharply contrasted againstthe titanic losses sustained
by Denver Corp.
If I have one piece of
advice, it's that Nicholas
Denver should retire while
he can still afford a beach
house somewhere.
R-Zero - Skarow System -Eelim Enclave
~~*~~
Duncan was staring, with a familiar sense of dread at the shattered hulk of a Gorean destroyer. He was sitting in the gunnery chair, beside Sopendra who'd attempted to hand him the controls, surprised when he had refused.
He knew his limitations, and he'd never been a good pilot, and though he'd earned his wings during the Liberation War…
Shuddering he shook the thought away, jumbled memories that were floating to the surface, jarred loose by familiar sights and situations. It was almost too difficult for him to separate who he was at times.
"What could do that to a Gorean Destroyer?" Vichet asked from the back seats in the cockpit.
"Eelim battlepods," Duncan said knowledgeably. "Terrifying things when they attack in a swarm, though they have a weakness to radiation. Nuclear armaments are typically the best way to break up a swarm, it disrupts their instruments, nothing worse than flying blind in a swarm of a million other blind ships."
"That wasn't in the tactical briefing on the Eelim," Sopendra said looking across at him as he sat twirling the can between his thumb and forefinger staring at the burnt out starship.
"Oh," Duncan nodded absently, as if he'd forgotten that fact. "The point is that the Eelim are probably between us and the Kree Jump Nexus, blocking our route home that way. I don't fancy our chances, even with a fully armed Amsus carrier group backing us up."
"What do we do then?" Vichet pressed nervously.
"There are a couple of choices," Duncan said softly. "The Gorean Imperium is about five hundred dead jumps that way," he gestured. "Or we head towards the Polian Alliance about two weeks in the opposite direction… and of course we can always chance the gate."
"All three sound… bad," Vichet surmised.
"They are," Duncan replied getting up awkwardly and limping back out of the cockpit, "I'm going to check the charts, see if there is anything… I've missed."
He exited into the rear compartment of the Raptor, looking over the mess of unfinished bunks and couches. They weren't in the most comfortable of situations. With Hansen taking up one of the only two beds aboard, room was limited.
It had been an act of common sense to give the other room to the two girls, leaving the boys to share sleeping bags in the common room. While sleeping on hard surfaces was supposedly great for the back, it left Duncan stiff and sore.
Rick and Nick were working in the cargo bay, trying to assemble a computer system from the parts of the Imperial dropships, salivating over the advanced computer equipment they had found, no doubt dreaming up what new levels of havoc they could cause with them.
That left Ben, who was curled up in a camping chair with a note book on his lap scribbling away.
"So," Duncan said, helping himself to yet another cup of coffee.
Ben looked up, setting the book down. "Hi, I suppose you are looking to figure out where to go next now that you have realized the Kree Jump Nexus is… well out of service."
"You seem to know a lot about history," Duncan answered. "What is the story behind Kree?"
"You should know," Ben answered. "You have been here before, in fact you are the reason there is a Jump Nexus here."
"Enough with the cryptic answers," Duncan stated, turning again. "Tell me what I need to know…"
Ben smirked, "I bet you have always itched to say that to me. You always found my riddles tiresome. Guess I just got used to them, it is safe to hide in them, they tend to protect me. Look Alex…"
Duncan shifted uncomfortably, "I may have his memories, but I'm not…"
"You designed yourself for a purpose," Ben answered folding his arms. "You might as well get used to it. You never were a person to complain about his lot in life before."
"Then where am I taking this ship?" Duncan demanded.
"You want me to give you directions?" Ben asked, "this is your show. I'm just here to help you. Give you the support you need… and of course to give you cryptic clues that keep you guessing."
"The Polian Alliance is in tatters," Duncan stated thoughtfully as he stared into his coffee cup. "The Dakin are challenging the Amsus at every turn in an effort to assert their control over what remains of the Polian legacy. If we make for Tempus we could probably link up with the Empire there, make a deal and…"
"There is always Taïr," Ben suggested.
Duncan glanced up. "You're actually giving me advice, or are you just throwing out an idea?"
"The Empire is teetering on the brink of an abyss," Ben answered. "Their heroes have vanished, and they are now facing a technologically superior enemy, controlled by genetically enhanced geniuses."
"I'm not… him…" Duncan murmured uncertainly, touching his teenaged face, remembering the lines that should have been there. The weathered hands, the leathery touch.
"Are you telling me that it's hopeless?" Ben smiled. "That always was your favourite kind of fight. That arrogant pride that lies in the heart of your soul… a delightful edge really." He closed his eyes and sank back into his seat a little. "I can advise you a little, but my visions are… limited."
"Visions?" Duncan asked, snapping out of the other man's memories.
"I can see the future," Ben cracked open an eye. "Well images of it, nothing so… definite and linear. But I do know that Avalon's mists have parted and the king has returned. All you lack is your sword… but then Excalibur never defined Arthur, Arthur defined Excalibur."
"Then we have to go to Taïr," Duncan said evenly, there was strength in the other man, all Duncan had to do was surrender to it, become one with that voice in his head.
"Well actually, you need to go somewhere first," Ben said smiling again. "Do you remember how we found the Excalibur all those years ago?"
Duncan hesitated, straining for the memory, vaguely recollecting it. "There was a Polian Observatory…"
"And I know exactly where to find it," Ben stated. "But we are going to have to hurry if we are to make it in time."
Hong Kong - Earth - Amsus Occupied Territory
~~*~~
Hong Kong was still a city of wonder. Beautiful and modern, it had a rich and dynamic history that stretched back into the earliest history of the European expansion into Asia, and had for much of that history, been a prized dominion of Empires.
The British had touted their mastery over the island, flaunting it in the face of Chinese mainlanders who had eyed the rich colony jealously. Then the Communists had come, cementing their seal forever upon the majesty of Hong Kong and its neighbour Macau. When General Chow had risen during the Global Civil War, Hong Kong was once again a vital strategic outpost.
Even House VonGrippen had treasured it, trading valuable planets in the House territories close to Geldan in exchange for a free port and a small foothold on Earth where they held no other assets.
It had been the only asset of House VonGrippen to fall to the Amsus Hegemony, and they had lorded the crown jewel of Asia, establishing a stronghold in the forsaken Imperial fortress structures. Placing their mighty Battlecruisers into the sea-based starport, and stamping it forever beneath the crescent banner of the Amsus Hegemony.
But, as each Empire came and went, the rich people of Hong Kong remained true to their own heritage. Taking and adapting the advances that the overlords brought with them, using it to build their great city, till its magnificent sparkling sky scrapers reached towards the sky, linked by sky bridges that criss-crossed the streets far below and interconnected the city in an intricate web.
The Amsus, naturally, seemed to loathe the great web spun about them. And as Strega's armoured car drove down one of the many boulevards past the old administrative buildings of the colony heading towards Admiralty house. She could sense their apprehension.
Her convoy brought her from where her Battlecruiser had docked in one of the deep harbours. Starships the size of Amsus Battlecruisers having little choice but to use the sea as runways, they were the only stretches large enough to accommodate ships of such size. The berth she had chosen, fittingly, had been the home berth of VonGrippen's flagship, the Excalibur, during her rare layovers on Earth.
The city had been spared much of the ravages that had befallen the rest of the planet during the Amsus invasion. VonGrippen had taken the cities garrison with him before the fall of the Empire, and once the great barrier shield had collapsed it had surrendered without a fight.
So every so often she could make out remnants of the old Imperial history. A VonGrippen insignia carved into a wall… the fact that the local sports team were called the Striking Falcons… and of course the Embassy Spire, that had housed House VonGrippen's diplomatic envoy to Earth, and was now the Amsus Headquarters for the Asia region, and home for Strega's strategic operations centre for the defense of Earth.
She was unaware of the eyes, up on one of the bridges over the road her convoy swept down, watching her arrival.
Luther Bertram clicked his TAC, connecting through to the Anger of Hades. "It seems that the Queen has arrived to take the Rook."
"Confirmed," Riley reported back. "Standby the HMS Henry's Hammer is manoeuvring into position in the South China Sea. We will signal when the attack is ready."
Luther nodded to himself putting his field glasses away and standing up, to look down at Strega, arriving in Hong Kong like the conquering hero that had conquered nothing.
There was one unequivocal truth to Hong Kong, if you didn't earn it, you couldn't keep it. And Strega was soon going to learn that lesson.
Asteroid Belt - Cairo System - Amsus Occupied Territory
~~*~~
The Raptor net closed in upon hidden Republic scout, delicate sensor systems searched the darkness of the debris field. While heavy cruisers stood sentinel, wings of Predators on hand to sweep down like hounds upon the fox.
Iago was supposed to be on his way to assume command over the forces dealing with the Dakin insurrection, the young man standing aboard the Amsus Battlecruiser watched his forces, the first of the new breed of Amsus, hunting their prey.
Advanced ships, advanced weapons, and now an advanced type of Amsus trooper. He was eager to see how they performed in a combat situation. Pavel and Koenig had promised him, as they had Strega, that they would excel. The only problem was that Koenig was dead, and if the new Amsus failed, Strega would be looking for someone to blame.
Iago wasn't relishing that prospect.
"I hate cat and mouse games," he commented to his Inquisitor Braax, who stood, as usual, completely silent beside the Command chair, arms folded across his massive barrel chest. "There is no art to it, merely instinct and adrenaline."
Iago shook his head, "fire the second barrage of missiles…"
The fleet erupted into a second wave of missile fire, the warheads blasting into the asteroid field, blowing anything of significant size into deadly shrapnel, making the already dangerous asteroid field even more lethal for the fox hiding in its den.
"Basic strategy," Iago continued. "They hide in there, wait until their impressive jump system is recharged, and then they give us the slip again. I have no intention of allowing them such a luxury… Fire the third barrage…"
He was systematically annihilating the asteroid belt, the array of warships he had at his disposal was more than sufficient for the task, and he had a surplus of nuclear warheads. Narrowing the search area to within a thousand miles of the jump event that had marked the arrival of the VI-223 into the system where he had been lurking, had given him a precise area to work with.
"We're detecting the enemy vessel," An Amsus pilot from one of the Predator wings reported, "it has powered up and is on heading…"
Iago smiled as he stood, "order the Raptors to pounce upon it. Once it is taken, send it back to Strega in Hong Kong… with the compliments of her Lieutenant." He folded his hands into the sleeves of his long coat. "You see Braax, there are times when it pays to be patient and methodical."
Spire - Hong Kong - Earth - Amsus Occupied Territory
~~*~~
In the vast command centre in the Hong Kong spire, a TER-SEC operator called out over his headset, "Confirmed enemy craft continues on course, it's on a submerged approach, Ma'am. Will reach ten mile range in two minutes."
Strega leaned forward, staring up at the immense display screen. "Are you certain? Are you positive that that craft is confirmed as the enemy?"
"That's affirmative, ma'am." The duty operator reported, turning in his chair to look up at her.
Strega got to her feet, squaring away her robe. This was Sephradon's worst fear made real. Somehow the Imperial forces had been able to jump a starship into Earth's atmosphere. Somehow bypassing the Amsus blockade of the planet and getting within firing range of the Spire. For all their ships, it would take them far too long to respond to the threat posed by a lone Imperial cruiser, they were virtually useless.
Strega opened an emergency comm. channel, sure that Sephradon would want to reconsider standing instructions under the circumstances. But she could reach only the Grand Inquisitor Thalak.
"And the enemy is headed straight for Hong Kong," Strega finished her brief situation report.
Inquisitor Thalak's face blinked at her out of the screen. "And? You mean you haven't deployed the TER-SEC defensive garrison of Hong Kong yet?"
"What about the Amsus Garrison, why aren't they to be deployed?" Strega said desperately, "that will only-"
"Carry out your duty!" Sephradon commanded coldly, florid-faced, as another screen lit up with her face. "Do it this instant or I'll personally see you executed for this failure!" The screens blanked.
That will only goad them into attacking Hong Kong, and without fleet coverage Hong Kong was a sitting duck, Strega had been about to say. But Thalak and Sephradon knew that as well as she. It was as if they wanted the cruiser drawn out into the open, and was only to happy to use Strega herself as bait.
Strega forced her thoughts away from that line of contemplation. She had her orders.
She addressed her TER-SEC officers. "Very well, then: Deploy all TER-SEC assets to defend the island, and order all Amsus forces to vacate the combat zone."
And as techs were acknowledging and carrying out the command, she murmured, "And heaven help us."
Hong Kong - Earth - Amsus Occupied Territory
~~*~~
There was something wrong, as Luther stood on a rooftop overlooking much of the Island, he shook his head. Watching in wonder as the Amsus Raptors blew off of their launching pads, shrieking skywards. The great cruiser in the harbour bringing its prow about and accelerating through the water, struggling to get airborne, a full tactical retreat away from the island.
"What the hell?" He murmured, swinging his field glasses about again as he watched TER-SEC patrol craft sweeping down with their flashing lights to take up defensive positions around the spire.
That hadn't been a part of the plan.
Luther lowered the field glasses, as off shore, the Imperial cruiser Henry's Hammer broke the surface. There was a moment, a dreadful moment, when Luther realized that the entire world seemed to be holding its breath. A faint glimmer of hope flared within him that perhaps the Hammer would realize what had happened and not…
She opened fire, spewing hundreds of missiles from her open ports, as her rail cannons began churning out weapons fire, targeting hostile vessels as she strove to clear a path towards the Spire.
There was nothing Luther could do, but watch in horror as his carefully laid plan became a massacre of human lives. Brave TER-SEC forces throwing themselves in the path of missiles in a valiant effort to thwart the attack.
As if, finally, realizing her mistake, the Hammer ceased fire. Hovering over the water like a deadly hawk, providing a stay of execution. Her anti-gravity system engaging to propel it upwards and away from the island as she extended her jump pods, leaping away. Leaving the carnage behind her in her wake.