Alabaster Noon Read online

  There was a gasp and more than a few shouts. Lech held up his hands for silence. “You must all understand, former Lieutenant Commander Paka had been with the Winged Hussars for decades. She was in the direct chain of command, and Alexis Cromwell’s friend.” He raised his voice several levels when he said the last. “Yet she shot Alexis in the back, betrayed us all, and if what we’ve heard is correct, she also gave our location away. In every way possible, Paka betrayed us. If we cannot trust her, what Veetanho can we trust?”

  Around the conference room there were a few mutters, but no real dissent. Lech’s point was accurate and succinct. “They are only being detained. Uuth with HST is trying to ascertain the best way of verifying reliability from those Veetanho personnel. However, for the time being, we simply cannot take the risk.”

  Aleksandra was shocked by the move. However, if she’d been given the information that Alexis had been assassinated by her own XO, Aleksandra probably would have done the same thing. It just made sense.

  “Defense is what’s important now,” Lech continued. “We know the forces we’re facing with a fairly high degree of accuracy. It’s unlikely even Peepo could coordinate an attack between two fleets departing from separate systems and have them arrive here at the same time.” He gave the room a wan smile. “Now, this isn’t to suggest our situation is good.”

  A Tri-V came alive in the center of the room showing the enemy fleet disposition. “This is built from the data our ships gathered prior to fleeing. The data gathered by our Egleesius-class battlecruisers was particularly useful as they were in Earth orbit the longest until they used their hyperspace shunts to escape.”

  As the enemy fleet disposition built, there were quite a few exclamations and gasps. The ships were shown in order of size, as their order of battle didn’t matter for the discussion. A line of frigates was topped by fewer cruisers, then battlecruisers, battleships, and, finally, a truly massive, globe-shaped nightmare.

  “Yes, that’s a dreadnought,” Lech confirmed for them.

  Aleksandra shook her head and watched the Hussars’ captains gawk at the Tri-V image of a ship class nobody had seen in their lifetimes. She heard someone say “Fleet killer,” and the phrase spread around the room like an echo. Lech only let it go for a second before he stepped in again.

  “The dreadnought is a serious threat,” he admitted. “It’s part of why we had no choice but to retreat from Sol. You don’t want to fight one of those while giving it home field advantage. With Sol being ceded to the enemy for months, we no longer possessed the home field, which was obvious since we didn’t detect the second fleet until it was almost upon us. But now they’re coming here.” He paused and his gaze swept over the assembled captains. “Coming here to our home. What are we going to do?”

  Captain Elizabeth Stacy of Shadowfax stood and exclaimed, “The Winged Hussars are nobody’s prey!”

  The room exploded in cheers and people stood to pump their fists in the air. Captain Drizz of Nuckelavee and his XO howled in their doglike Zuul manner.

  “They’re coming here expecting slaughter,” Lech said. “And slaughter is what they will find.” He blinked, using his pinplants, and the enemy fleet was replaced with a hyper-realistic view of Home, with Prime Base orbiting above. “We’ve been preparing for this moment for decades.” He looked at Sansar Enkh. “Colonel Enkh, are you ready to lead your Horde in the defense of New Warsaw?”

  Colonel Enkh looked at her XO, Lieutenant Colonel Walker, who had the look of someone dividing his attention between the ongoing briefing and pinplant work.

  After a second, Walker stood. “We’ve been working on it since Commander Kowalczy informed me…” Walker stopped and looked at the two Hussars standing at the front of the assembly, realizing they were both named Kowalczy. He smiled in acknowledgement. “That would be Commander Aleksandra Kowalczy, of course. When the commander informed me of the situation, the forces I had available at the time were placed on alert, and our contingency plans for the defense of the system were put into effect. I’ve just reviewed the ongoing process and can tell you we are currently seventy-nine percent complete. I show an estimated completion time of nineteen hours.”

  “Thank you,” Lech said. “I understand the assessment of our remaining ground forces are underway, and we’ll be discussing with each unit what their abilities and intentions are.” He paused for a second. “I already have requests from a couple of units to be allowed to depart, and I am going to grant them.” There was a low rumble from the assembled commanders. “I know what many of you are thinking; how can I let forces leave when we have so few remaining?” Many heads nodded; he could see everyone’s eyes on him.

  “The answer is simple—what good is it to compel service? We’re mercs, and you can’t force mercs to fight, especially when there isn’t any pay involved. Besides, I understand why they are leaving. These units are based in smaller colonies, and they want to go home to protect their people. Thus, I am sending them on their way, and we should all wish them the best of luck.”

  Walker nodded. “The members leaving have been withdrawn from our contingency plans, and the defense has been readjusted. Personally, I think they are wrong to leave; we stand a better chance fighting together than we do separately, but I’m not in their place and can’t decide for them.”

  “We are stronger together,” Sansar Enkh agreed from next to him. “That is the power of the horde. Long ago, we understood the wisdom the American Ben Franklin got credit for—we must all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.”

  Aleksandra suspected many of the remaining captains wished the deserters anything but luck. She knew which ones were going, including the fact that not all of them were doing it in the interests of others on their worlds. A few had simply had enough. Although Lech hadn’t given all the details, their reason for leaving really made no difference. Compelling them to fight wouldn’t have resulted in their fighting at their best, and she wouldn’t have been surprised if they’d cut and run the first chance they got, leaving a gap in their defenses. Lech had made the correct call, in her opinion. All those leaving had their own ships, and since merc cruisers would be little help in the coming battle, this caused a minimal reduction in force, at best.

  “Now, for the forces I have available,” Lech continued, “Major Kratlik, our ranking Hussars marine commander, has been tasked to work with the available merc marines, as well as Colonel Shirazi, to prepare for anti-ship actions against the attacking forces.”

  Kratlik, a MinSha, moved in from the side to stand next to Lech, her blue scales shining and her red, multifaceted eyes gleaming in the conference room light. The Winged Hussars logo was laser-etched on her right shoulder along with her rank insignia and combat ribbons glued to her upper thorax.

  Aleksandra caught a glance of Nigel Shirazi’s jaw muscles bunching. It was no secret the man didn’t like MinSha. Asbaran Solutions had a history with the insect-like aliens—a long history. At the beginning of the war, a MinSha faction had kidnapped Nigel’s sister and killed her—along with his father and brother—before he could rescue her. Having Kratlik working with him might be a problem, but nothing could be done at this late hour; Shirazi would have to live with it.

  Lech continued his briefing, “The Hussars’ combat ships capable of action are undergoing rapid replenishment. We’re also going to be moving personnel as time allows.”

  Aleksandra caught movement and turned to see the Fae had arrived. She touched Lech’s arm and pointed. In a matter of seconds, all heads turned. Five Fae entered the conference room, led by the one she recognized as Sly. Seldia was directly behind him.

  Lech looked confused at first, then rather surprised; he’d been about to discuss how the various mercs remaining could assist in bolstering some of the shorthanded ships. He turned and looked at Aleksandra, who nodded her head.

  “The two in front are the ones who came to warm me about the defeat at Earth,” she said.

  Le
ch nodded and addressed the new arrivals. “Welcome. I understand from Commander Kowalczy we have you to thank for having more time to prepare. Sly, is it?”

  The dark colored Fae nodded as he approached, and to Aleksandra’s surprise, mounted the stage next to her and Lech. “The information was passed to our Far Talker, or K’apo, Seldia.” He nodded to the gray Fae with sparkly ear-tufts, but she stayed back with the other three, leaving it to Sly to do the talking this time. Aleksandra gasped as she focused on the other Fae—all of them were armed and armored.

  “You brought guards?” Aleksandra asked while looking down at Sly.

  “We have been preparing,” Sly explained. “There wasn’t time to disarm and avoid shocking you. The situation is dire.” The tiny alien looked out over the crowd. “Your leader was just explaining some things that could be accomplished, as time allowed. Time won’t allow. We heard again from our agents on Earth, through Seldia. The enemy fleet left Earth twenty-nine hours after yours escaped; we have less than twenty-four hours remaining to prepare.”

  The gasps of the ship captains and merc commanders were nearly universal. Several shouted their doubts, others put hands to their mouths, while still more just stared in shock.

  “By now, you must surely know not to doubt us,” Sly said. He looked up at Aleksandra, sending shivers down her spine. “You have less than one of your days remaining to complete whatever plans you can.” He turned to Lech. “We can help, when the opportunity presents itself. However, if that time comes, you must follow our lead, or all will be lost.”

  Lech was among those who could only stare, nearly poleaxed by the revelation. Sly looked from Aleksandra to him, then nodded and hopped off the stage. His guards and Seldia fell in line with him as he headed toward the door. Nigel and Sansar watched the Fae leave. Neither had expressed much of a reaction to the Fae’s pronouncement; Aleksandra guessed that after what they’d been through on Earth, they were inured to further setbacks.

  Before the Fae reached the door, Lech finally found his voice. “I have to ask, why should we follow your lead? There are only a few of you here, and without Jim Cartwright and more Raknar drivers, what can you really do?”

  “I guarantee you we’ll do more than you expect,” Sly said, and smiled to show tiny white teeth. They moved to leave again, but Seldia stared at Lech for a long moment, and the others stopped.

  “Why should you do what we say?” she asked. She snorted. “Because we’re the Dusman, silly Human.” Raising her chin, she led the others out of the stunned conference room.

  Aleksandra had a great view of Sly, who shook his head and did an almost perfect facepalm before following the Far Talker out the door.

  * * *

  Winged Hussars Prime Base, New Warsaw System

  Sansar waited with Nigel and Walker as the rest of the ships’ COs and XOs departed the room, many muttering under their breaths about various aspects of the plan or the fact that some of the other ships were running away. When Lech saw her waiting, he shooed away the remaining captains and came over. “Were you waiting for me?”

  “Yes,” Sansar replied. She took a moment to look at Lech and had a flash of the dream—the dreadnought going past the shattered hulk of one of the Egleesius ships. Lech’s ship. “I’ve seen the battle we’re about to fight.”

  “Seen it?” Lech asked, his eyebrows knitting. “How have you seen something that hasn’t happened yet?”

  “I don’t know, actually,” Sansar said. “Some people call it precognition, others some form of psychic ability”—she chuckled—”others just think I’m crazy. Regardless, women in the Horde have long had dreams that foretold the future. While they don’t always come true, most times they do.”

  “And you’ve had one about this battle?” Lech asked, his voice skeptical.

  Nigel held up a hand. “Don’t be so quick to disbelieve,” he said. “She first had this dream before the loss at Earth. She knew this battle was coming, and that Alexis wouldn’t be here to fight it.”

  “Did she”—he turned back to Sansar—”did you see how it will turn out? Will we win?”

  Sansar smiled. Lech sounded like a man grasping at straws, which was probably how she’d have felt in his place. She’d had some time—and plenty of repetitions of the dream—to come to grips with it. It didn’t make it any easier. “Honestly, I don’t know whether we will win,” Sansar said. “I’ve never seen the ending of the battle. All I’ve ever seen is that they are unstoppable. Despite everything we throw at them, they break out from the emergence area and make it to Prime Base. We need to make sure all personnel are evacuated.”

  “All nonessential personnel are already being evacuated,” Lech replied. “Aleksandra already had that underway when we got here.” He shrugged. “Even so, we still won’t get everyone off in time, if the Faes’ timeline is to be believed. There are just too many people and not enough transports. We don’t really have anywhere to put them, either. There isn’t enough shelter on the planet or in the habitations on the asteroids. There are also plenty of people who won’t leave…”

  “Many, if not all of them, will die if they don’t leave,” Sansar warned.

  “I understand,” Lech said. He shrugged again. “There is only so much we can do.” He paused a second, then said, “Maybe the Fae—I mean the Dusman—have something planned that will stop them. They said to follow their lead.”

  Sansar shrugged. “I don’t know what they’re talking about. In all the times I’ve seen it, I’ve never seen them do anything. Maybe they’re talking about following their lead at some other point? I don’t know, but I can’t make plans based on a ‘Just do what we say when we tell you to;’ I need concrete plans that are actionable.”

  “What if we beef up our defenses in the emergence area?” Lech asked. “Is there a way to stop them if we hammer them with everything we’ve got right as they show up?”

  “I don’t know,” Sansar replied. “I’ve seen the battle—Blue Sky Above, I’ve lived the battle—dozens of times. No matter what we do, the dreadnought always makes it through. It’s just”—she shuddered—”it’s so damned big and can take so much abuse. I don’t know if anything can stop it.”

  “I have five Egleesius ships with 40-terawatt particle accelerators that will carve it up. Now that we know it’s coming, we can design a plan to hit it simultaneously. There isn’t a ship that’s been built that can withstand that kind of firepower.” He got a faraway look for a moment. “I’m sorry,” he added after a moment, “but there are several issues I need to take care of. If you’ll excuse me?”

  He turned and left without waiting for an answer, and Nigel turned to look at Sansar. “Will it work?”

  Sansar shook her head.

  “Any idea why not?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe it’s Paka. If she’s truly gone over to the other side, she’s as aware of the Egleesius’ capabilities as well as anyone. She’ll have some sort of plan to deal with them.” She shook her head again. “Paka’s a Veetanho, and she’s not stupid. We’re going to have to come up with something else to stop it.”

  “There are several thousand drones that are being built by one of the manufactories,” Walker noted, speaking for the first time. “Maybe something small—an asynchronous attack—on something so big is the way to go. Rather than try to meet major force with major force, we go with something they’re not prepared for, like a drone swarm.”

  “Maybe,” Sansar said. She didn’t sound hopeful, even to her own ears. She shrugged the gloom away; there wasn’t time for it. “It’s as good an idea as anything else we’ve got,” she added, sounding a little more positive. “You’ve been working with the Hussars’ planners. Go talk with them and pass that along—rather than wasting the drones piecemeal, let’s use them all in a mass attack on the dreadnought.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Walker said. He turned and went out the same door Lech had taken.

  Nigel watched him go, then turned back to Sansar with a half-grin
. “So, you saw Alexis with my son on the bridge of Pegasus, right?”

  Sansar nodded slowly. “Yes.”

  “I never asked. Was I there?”

  Sansar was unable to say the word, but she knew Nigel could see the answer in her eyes.

  The half-grin turned to a smile, although one that never reached his eyes. “At least that means we win, and that Alexis and my son are safe. I can live with that.” Nigel nodded once and then followed Walker out the door, leaving Sansar to her thoughts.

  She hadn’t had the heart to tell him that she’d only had that dream once, which usually indicated a dream that wouldn’t come true.

  * * *

  Winged Hussars Prime Base, New Warsaw System

  Aleksandra reached her office to find Lech and the Buma, Akoo—also known as Hoot—waiting for her.

  “You have to be read in on something,” Lech said.

  “Okay.”

  “It’s some pretty crazy stuff.”

  “After what I’ve seen in the last week, I honestly don’t see how it can be any crazier.”

  Lech gave her a strange look she thought was almost sympathetic. Akoo came over and acknowledged her. “Commander,” the Buma said.

  “Captain,” Aleksandra replied. “We’re all sorry for what happened.”

  “I never wanted to command Pegasus,” Akoo said.

  “You’re the senior officer remaining,” Lech said. “I want you to remain.” Akoo nodded his large head. “As Aleksandra is now in the command team, she needs to know about Pegasus’ secret.” Akoo looked at him for a long moment, then nodded. Lech continued, “Pegasus has an AI named Ghost which has been one of our most closely guarded secrets, and one of the reasons Pegasus has been so undefeatable.”