"Knights of the Chosen" - читать интересную книгу автора (White Lawrence P)

Chapter Eleven

Training for the Delta Force volunteers headed for Brodor began as soon as they left Earth. Mike lectured on the political situation, the nature of the enemy, descriptions of various ships, weapons, and their capabilities, and he gave everyone an introduction to Jessie who, for most, was their first view of one of the Great Cats they would work beside. The roles these soldiers would play during the coming troubles was fully explained, including the fact that they, themselves, would have to work out methods for teaming up with the cats. He packed as much language training into each day as they could withstand, and with surprisingly good results. These men really were exceptional, and they refused to rely on the translation devices.

Josh insisted that nothing of substance be withheld from his men. He also insisted that, in keeping with the traditions of special operations soldiers everywhere, even senior officers participated in the training, and that included Mike. Daily PT, hand-to-hand fighting, the use of knives and other killing tools, and team tactics were spread throughout the weeks enroute to Brodor. Though these men were intimately familiar with these tools of their trade, they constantly practiced and reviewed.

When Mike wasn’t teaching, they taught him, and they just about killed him. Rank held no privileges with these men. They were all on a first name basis with their superiors, and all were senior enlisted men or officers anyway.

In the beginning they genuinely embarrassed Mike whenever possible, a part of their life that he thought he would never get used to. He had experienced the same feelings during his training in the army, and he didn’t enjoy the harassment any more now than he had then, but he understood its purpose. They were testing his mettle, and he responded by pushing himself hard, harder than he had ever pushed himself in his life.

During every period of physical training he was certain he would fail, and he could not afford to fail in front of these men. He called on Jake.›Help me, buddy. I’m dying here,‹ he cried as his arms shook from the strain of push-ups.

›Help you? Who do you think has been holding you up for the last few minutes? Not you, that’s for sure.‹

›Well, help more!‹

‹I’m dying, too. This is ridiculous. I thought we were in charge.‹

‹Not at the moment. Maybe never with these guys.‹ Mike closed his eyes and pressed on, not willing to fail in front of these incredible soldiers. He might be in charge, but he would never lead them in battle. That he knew for certain.

Josh explained it to him one night as they met for a planning session in his stateroom. “They’re going to get you physically fit, even if it kills you, though they’re sharp enough to not push too far. What you probably don’t know is that you can never get as physically fit as these men just by exercising. These men are hard. They’ve spent years being pushed to the limits of human endurance, and they thrive on it. They know they have no limitations, something you don’t know. It’s not as important for you, and we won’t have enough time to bring you to that level physically, but you’ll be pushed and pushed, and they’ll be watching you. No matter how hard it gets, no matter how much they cajole and laugh, the only real goal they have is to see that you don’t give up.”

Josh smiled grimly. “You can trust them, Mike. Each and every one of them is a teacher. They know their business and have taught many, many others exactly what they’re teaching you.” He leaned forward to emphasize his next words, spoken softly. “They won’t kill you, but don’t tell them I told you so. They don’t want you to know.”

Mike rolled his eyes. So did Jake, figuratively. Would it never end? “And I had thought I’d be bored out of my wits on this trip as I taught them to say ‘See Jane run.’”

“There’s a lot of boredom in the military, but not under these conditions. They’ll learn how to say ‘See Jane run,’ and they’ll learn it well. And the training activities help them to keep perspective. Most everything here is new to them. It’s good for them to spend part of each day doing normal routines with which they’re familiar. We practice these simple things over and over, always focusing on perfecting the basics. Survival rests on mastery of the basics, from physical fitness to shooting accuracy.

“By the way, your favorite taskmaster, Sergeant Jacobs, noticed you’re using your left arm a lot even though you’re right handed. He’s a medic, did you know?”

“No, I didn’t,” Mike answered.

›Some medic!‹ Jake exclaimed.›He’s trying to kill us.‹

“He’s as good as they come. He’s also a sniper and a demolitions expert. If he’s concerned, I’m concerned. Is there something going on with that arm we should know about? We don’t want to cause any permanent damage.”

Mike grimaced as he lifted his right arm and moved it in an arc. It didn’t hurt, not more than the rest of his body, but it was still weak, and he’d been unconsciously favoring it. “Just an old wound. The arm is brand new. I guess I’d better get serious on strengthening it.”

Josh stared at him. “I think you’d better explain,” he demanded.

“Yeah, they had to grow me a new one, shoulder and all. Took months and months. I guess it would be fair to tell your men that we won’t just throw them to the wolves if they get wounded. If they can just stay alive until we get them to a treatment facility, they have a pretty good chance of making it.”

Josh eyed him oddly. “If what you say is true, you might just make a believer out of Sergeant Jacobs. Not that he’ll let up on you.”

›Neither will I,‹ Jake said, disgusted with the whole concept. ›It’s not what I signed on for, but I won’t let you give up.‹

›Thanks, Partner. We’re out of our league here. It’s going to take both of us just to survive. Maybe you should fission another Rider. You might need some help.‹

›Sure, Mike. That’s all I need. You know how hard it was on me with Celine. We don’t get along very well living in the same body. You and I will make it on our own or we will die trying.‹

After morning PT the next day, during which Sergeant Jacobs singled Mike out for an excruciatingly painful round of upper body exercise, Josh called everyone together for a meeting. To Mike’s surprise, Josh called him to the front of the group.

“Today we’re adding a new twist to our training regime,” Josh began. “You all know our mission is to protect the Queen. Mike is going to brief us on his personal experiences of doing just exactly that. Our purpose is not only to learn how to protect the Queen but to know our enemy. As always, there’s nothing more fundamental to our survival than knowing our opponent. If appropriate, we’ll dissect his stories in an effort to improve on the outcome. We might even stage a few examples. You’re on, Sire.”

Mike, still aching and sweaty from the workout, began talking, an activity he would continue for an hour each day for the rest of the trip. He began by breaking his personal experiences down to small parts, telling a different part of the story each day until the story was done. After some sessions, the men broke into teams to discuss better tactics, or in some cases to reenact the story so that weaknesses could be discovered and corrected.

He began with his first sighting of the meteors high up in the sky above Nevada that were, in reality, star ships. The men got their introduction to lasers, blasters, the Chessori, Otis and the Great Cats, stun guns, and the tactics worked out by Mike and Otis to overcome the Chessori. Because of Josh’s insistence that there be no secrets withheld from his men, they also learned for the first time of the Queen’s Touch and of Mike’s Rider, Jake.

He led them through his introduction to George, the Artificial Intelligence that ran the ship. He saw looks of awe on their faces as he described the net, then Ellie’s risky introduction to the net, their attempted escape from Earth only to find the Chessori waiting for them, Reba’s volunteering to join the undermanned crew of Resolve , and the plan executed so well by Admiral Trexler to ensure their final escape into space.

He told of their near disastrous encounter with the Rebel squadron, the tractor beam, and his killing of George when he forced George to circumvent his most basic programming to escape. Then came the months in space as he strove to navigate Resolve across the galaxy without George’s help in an attempt to reach Gamma VI. He described Reba’s plan to surprise the lone Chessori stalking Resolve, the plan’s failure, and their discovery of the emergency stop program that finally led to their freedom from pursuit.

Then came the battle at Gamma VI against the heavy squadron of Rebels and Chessori, the call to arms by the Queen, and the resultant internal mutiny against the Rebel crewmembers of the squadron. He emphasized the leadership of the Great Cats aboard the cruiser as they took the bridge, Val’s appearance on the scene, and the ultimate decision by Val to take Resolve aboard his cruiser.

He gave them something they could sink their teeth into when he told of the fight aboard Resolve as she rested in the belly of the Beta IV. That kind of fighting was something they might one day encounter themselves. He ended that part of the story with his frightening jump onto the scout and his fatal wounding, Jake’s part in saving his life, and the wondrous healing abilities of the Empire.

So that they would fully understand the world to which they would eventually come, Parsons’ World, Mike gave them the background on the planet, its inhabitants, and the role Parsons’ World now played in support of the Queen.

Many hours were spent reviewing the rescue of Chandrajuski, knowing something like this, too, might befall this group.

Jessie told her part in Chandrajuski’s rescue. When called before the group, she began by ordering everyone to place translator devices on their ears. She would brook no misunderstandings of her words.

“We were not concerned in the least about Rebel soldiers, possibly large numbers of them. They were Sir Mike’s problem. Our only targets were three gleasons.”

She paused as she saw the looks of surprise on the faces of these incredible soldiers. “You’re thinking, ‘only three gleasons against six Great Cats?’ I say that was three gleasons too many. Let me describe these hideous creatures. They are humanoid, they stand some seven feet tall, their skin changes color to blend in with their surroundings so they are nearly invisible, and they mind link between themselves. What one knew, the others would know instantly.

“Do you think that’s bad enough?” she asked as her eyes moved over the silent soldiers. “Well, it doesn’t end there. The creatures see into the infrared spectrum, making them effective adversaries even at night. They have four powerful arms, each with a hand, and each finger of each hand is tipped with a vicious claw. They have two circulatory systems, two nervous systems, and a brain that is divided in two. If one-half of the brain is damaged, the other keeps the body functioning. Its abilities are reduced, but this creature has little intellect anyway. All it wants to do is kill and eat.”

She waited to let her words sink in. She saw a lot of calculating minds as they digested her words. Yes, they understood it would be very difficult to kill these creatures.

“There’s always some weakness,” Josh stated from the side of the room where he leaned against a bulkhead.

“True,” Jessie replied. “Gleasons are not smart. They may be cunning on an individual basis, but they are not smart. I have never heard of them acting in a coordinated fashion. Each appears to act on its own, and that is their major weakness. For the purposes of our mission, that was not a weakness we could capitalize on. Additionally, if seriously wounded, gleasons lose their ability to blend in with their surroundings. Their bodies revert to their natural coloring, a dark green. And while their eyesight is superior, their hearing is average to poor. And they stink. Those are the only weaknesses of which I am aware.”

She watched as eyes continued to calculate. Clearly, these men appreciated the difficulty of defeating such terrible foes. “How would you take them out?” she asked the group.

“From afar,” one called out. Heads nodded and a few grim smiles appeared.

“From afar, indeed,” she replied. “But to do that, we had to find them…”

Mike was ready to pick up the story when Jesse reached the part about the last gleason entering Chandrajuski’s home, but Jake stopped him.

›Look at them, Mike. They’re hanging onto every word. She’s a Great Cat, she’s a Protector, and she’s the one they have to learn to fight beside. She’s their future, not you and me. Let her finish her part of the story. Besides, it’s going to get a little personal, don’t you think?‹

Mike looked over the men, and Jake was right. Even Josh was spellbound. It didn’t hurt that Jessie was a great story teller. Even Mike was caught up in her tale, and he had been there.

“When Otis and I raced into Chandrajuski’s home, both of us severely wounded, Sir Mike and Lady Reba were the only ones standing. The scree had taken everyone else out. They killed the Chessori, then disarmed everyone present. Sir Mike was just pulling the Queen to her feet when we arrived. The gleason came in another entrance, stood up, and threw a poisoned knife at the Queen. Otis spotted the gleason, fired at it, then leaped into the path of the knife. I think he was trying to catch the knife, but he failed. The knife went into his own body.”

She paused to let them digest her words. Otis had made the supreme sacrifice for his Queen, and he had done it without hesitation. That was the way of Protectors. She never hinted that such a choice was optional, it was just the way of Protectors.

“Though Otis had wounded the gleason, it rose again. Another knife flew toward the Queen. I tried to intercept it, but I failed. The knife entered the Queen’s heart and killed her.”

Confused looks greeted these words. Josh spoke for his men. “The Queen died?”

“Yes. She died. Sir Mike killed the gleason, then he did something unheard of, something no one from the Empire would even have considered. He asked his Rider, Jake, to go to the Queen. He placed his hands around her neck, and Jake went into her body. When the knife was removed, Jake held her heart together, started it working again, and over time he healed it.

“But that was just the beginning of Jake’s battle. The knife was poisoned, and the poison worked on him, as well as the Queen. His next hours were agony as he held her together.

“Lady Reba followed Sir Mike’s example and sent her Rider to Otis. It, too, spent many agonizing hours trying to keep Otis alive until an antidote could be prepared. We escaped aboard a ship and waited anxiously for the ship’s medic to construct the antidote. It was not a simple process, and I won’t bore you with the details. I will just tell you that she created two possible antidotes, but there was insufficient time to determine which was the correct one. Sir Mike figured it out.”

Confused looks passed between the men. They knew Mike wasn’t a doctor.

›I think it’s your turn, Mike.‹

›No. I hadn’t planned for this to come out, but I see where she’s going with this. She’s teaching them what it means to be a Protector. Let her finish.‹

“You’ve chosen to be Protectors,” Jessie said softly to the soldiers gathered before her. “What would you do in such a situation?” Her eyes delved into the soldiers as she padded back and forth before them. “There are two antidotes. One might work, but the wrong one will kill. What would you do?” she asked softly.

It wasn’t long before Mike became the center of attention again. Awed looks turned his way as the soldiers muttered among themselves. Even Josh looked stunned.

“The answer was simple, was it not?” Jessie continued. “I was there, and I watched as he placed his hands on the Queen and called to Jake. What exactly did you say to him?” she asked, turning to Mike.

“I asked him to put the poison in my body, and I demanded that it be a significant sample,” he answered.

“There was no other option if the Queen was to survive,” Jessie continued. “I’m surprised I didn’t think of it myself. Mike didn’t ask anyone’s permission, he just did it. We waited for the poison to take effect, it didn’t take very long, then one of the antidotes was administered to him. As you can see, our medic chose well. The Queen and Otis both received the antidote, and after many weeks, they recovered.”

She turned to Mike. “I believe my part of the story is done, Sire,” she stated.

“I think all the story-telling is done for today,” he said. “Thank you, Jessie.”

“No. Thank you, Sire. The Empire is forever in your debt.”

The men rose as one to stare at him. There was no clapping, no cheering, they just stood there looking at him, honoring him.

Mike looked at them in return, then said, “You have volunteered to be Protectors. I will accept no less from any of you, nor do I think any of you will accept less from yourselves. Our job is to protect the Queen, period. Some of us will fall, but know this: if the Last of the Chosen falls, Earth will not be far behind. We fight for the Empire, but we fight for Earth, as well. And we’re going to win.”

Josh released the men with a stern command. “Think upon these words. You’re the best of the best, but any of you who are not up to the task, see me in my quarters. Dismissed.”

No one came to see Josh in his quarters. He would have been surprised if they had. During the following days, Mike finished his tale with a description of his trip to Aldebaran I followed by the trip to Earth. The men now knew all the players, they knew the settings, and they knew all the risks of which Mike was aware. He let them understand that there were lots of holes in his knowledge, that they would definitely encounter things he had never heard about or even conceived of, but they knew that their mission had only one purpose: to protect the Queen so she could do her job.

Their physical abuse of Mike did not change during this time, but their attitudes did. They now knew that Mike had passed his tests, tests that were different than their own, but tests nevertheless. And he had met their standard of going beyond human expectations and limitations to come out on top. The changes in their demeanor were sometimes subtle, almost as if instead of pushing him, they were pulling him to achieve more. And though they frequently called him Mike, they just as frequently referred to him as Sire.

Josh credited him with becoming their quarterback. Mike and Jessie had not only given them knowledge, they had given direction, something the men could sink their teeth into. And with a more complete understanding of the big picture, they understood that their success would mean success for Earth, as well.

›Didn’t Josh demand that you hold nothing back?‹ Jake asked him a few days later.

›He did, and I agreed that there would be no secrets withheld from these men.‹

›Don’t you think you left out one teensy, weensy piece of information?‹

›Jake, I have to work with these guys. I need to be one of them.‹

›You’ll never be one of them. You’re a Protector, but not the way they are.‹

›Maybe not, but I’m going to learn as much as I can from them. I can’t do that if I’m treated with kid gloves.‹

›Nor can you lie to them. What will happen to all that trust when they find out you’re King? They’re going to be around Ellie a lot. Don’t you think they’ll find out?‹

Mike blew out a long breath. ›They will, but not until our training is over. I’ll tell them then.‹

›Good idea. They can learn it from Otis or Jessie. That’s probably better.‹

›Look, I just want to be treated as one of them. As nervous as I am about the training on Brodor, I don’t want to be treated as someone special.‹

›The Great Cats will be in charge, and they’re accustomed to training royalty. They won’t let up on you regardless of your position. After all, it’s your life they’re training you to save. And you can never forget that Ellie’s rule is based on truth. Can you base your relationship with these men on anything less?‹

›Of course not. It’s just the timing, Jake. It can wait.‹

›No it can’t, and it doesn’t have to. You’re King, Mike. The best kings lead their men into battle. What better example of Empire rule can you set? As a leader of the Empire, you lead the battle against the Chessori.‹

So he had Josh call his men to the training room once again.

“Jake has reminded me that there can be no secrets withheld from you,” he began. “Did you get the feeling from my tale that there was something special between myself and Ellie? Well, there is. I proposed to her, and she accepted. We’re married now, so that means you’re protecting my wife, not just the Queen. I hesitate to tell you this, but it must be said. As her husband, I’m now King.”

Josh straightened from where he’d been leaning against the wall. “You’re King? King of what?”

“King of a sizeable chunk of the galaxy, Josh. King of the Empire. And in the Empire, that doesn’t mean consort. I rule by her side. Sorry guys, but that’s the way it is. Know that in the Empire, knights and kings don’t just sit around being royalty. We’re on the front lines, right there with you.

“Know this as well: I may be the Queen’s final layer of defense, and the day may come that I’m your only back-up.” He gave them a while to let that sink in, but he could tell there was some confusion. Galaxies were too big and their role in it was not clear, so he brought their focus down a little.

“Remember the tales of King Arthur and his knights of the round table?” he asked. “In those days, kings were the best riders and the strongest swordsmen. The knights were his generals, and they were the best and strongest of his men. Gentlemen, I’m King, and you are, each and every one of you, my generals. We go into battle together, and it will be a hard fight. Teach me well.”

Before reaching Brodor, it was not unusual at all for teams to be battling it out in cargo areas and corridors. They kept clear of the bridge, but the rest of the ship was fair game as they constantly practiced the basics they’d lived with for years. And Mike was part of it. He learned the proper way to hold his weapon at the ready, how to snap it into position for firing, he learned team tactics for moving through a corridor, and he learned how to clear a room, then he learned how to clear a series of rooms. He did not lead, but he learned the mechanics of the ballet these men danced as they leapfrogged through corridors, always providing covering fire and always moving at high speed. Josh grumbled when Mike erred, which he did often, but the team pressed on in spite of his errors, and he got better.

As on Resolve and Beta IV, the one thing he never got to practice was being bored.

Each man fully understood that regardless of what they learned during this voyage, their knowledge and skills would improve under the cats’ tutelage. On reaching Brodor, they would most likely find themselves in the same position Mike had found himself during the first PT workout, and that was okay with them.

Their arrival on the outskirts of Brodor’s system was everything but what they had expected. Mike was called to the bridge. He arrived on the run, hot and sweaty from hand-to-hand training. Josh, Sergeant Jacobs, and Major Washburn, Josh’s executive officer and one of the largest men Mike had ever met, were right behind him. Jessie, as always, had remained at his side. The bridge quickly became a very crowded place. Captain Voorhees was in the process of setting up a tightbeam transmission with the surface.

Voorhees gave a quick briefing. Ahead of them by about two weeks of normal in-system travel speeds was a group of seven warships, a standard Empire light squadron. When hailed, they had not responded. He had no idea who they were or where they had come from.

Otis appeared on the tightbeam and grinned his feral grin when he saw Mike. “Sire, auspicious timing, wouldn’t you agree?”

“What’s up, Otis?”

“The Rebels are what’s up. They’re about a week out. Our ground defenses are ready, but they are probably not sufficient to deter the ships. We might get one or two before they take out the weapons, but that’s about it. My guess is they’re here looking for the Queen, though they might be here simply to wipe out as many of us as they can. Or both.”

“How secure is this transmission?”

“Not very. They’re between you and Brodor. That places them in the reception window. It’s probably safe to assume they have the same equipment, though it will take them a while to latch onto our code, and then only if they’re good.”

“Why so few ships, Otis?”

“It’s more than they need for a blockade. Brodor has relied on Empire protection for many, many years, protection that was suddenly withdrawn when the Rebels took over. Of course, if they land, they don’t stand a chance.”

“We’re pretty limited here, Otis. Let me think for a minute.” Mike thought hard, his mind discarding some options, retaining others. He would have to flesh his plan out with Josh, but he knew the direction they would take, the only direction they could take if Brodor was to survive.

“Switch to general transmission, Otis.”

Otis’ visage disappeared instantly, to be replaced with a normal video link. “Hail, Stardust,” Otis called.

“ Stardust here,” Mike replied coolly.

“I think you’d better break it off, Stardust. Looks like we may have a little fight on our hands here in a week or so.”

“I’m here to recruit Guardians. Can you deal?”

“No deals now,” Otis replied. “We’ve plenty of them here, in fact we’re overloaded for a change. We’ve had a general recall with this rebellion, but this time we need them for ourselves. A lucky break if I ever saw one.”

“My purchase agreement states that I don’t get paid if I don’t bring back at least three of them. I’d offer to help, but I’m just a lightly armed trader. Maybe we’ll stick around to see how things go.”

“Your nickel, Stardust. Brodor out,” Otis replied, signing off.

Stardust continued inbound while Mike held a conference right there on the bridge. As he spoke, he noticed that Sergeant Jacobs in particular, the man who had led the unmerciful hounding Mike received during daily physical training, seemed different for some reason. When Mike looked into his eyes, he instantly saw the reason why: training was over. They were operational now and all part of the same team. Mike explained the situation as he saw it, then turned to Voorhees.

Voorhees wasted no time. “We’re a fast ship. We can micro jump into them without warning. They’ll never know what hit them.”

“How’s your armament?”

“You know the answer to that, Sire,” Voorhees answered. “Serge has outfitted us very well.”

“Yes, but a squadron?”

“No, Sire, it’s not a squadron. It’s a standard light squadron. There’s no frigate, thankfully, and only half the fighters of a full squadron. I don’t want to sound overconfident, but we’re good. The odds are very much in our favor against the fighters. It would be a sure thing if we took them on one at time, but we can handle several without too much risk, and we can micro jump out when the going gets too tough, then come back at them, maybe even singling them out. It will take a while, but we can do it.

“The cruiser worries me, though. We’ll be like flees on a dog against it. We’ll worry it and we’ll bother it, but we won’t be able to take it out. We can, however, micro jump away when the going gets too tough, then come back to bother it again if we so choose. And I have some confidence that we can limit the number of shuttles reaching the ground. We can make it hard for them.”

“How likely is it that these Rebels can take out all, or most, of the cats without ground fighting?”

Jessie answered. “Not likely at all. Compared to most worlds, Brodor is primitive. Otis is prepared, Sire. I’m certain everyone is going native. They’ll be spread out, some holed up in small defensive positions and the rest just roaming free. The cities can be reduced to rubble without any loss of life at all. It will have to be a ground fight. You’ll understand better after you’ve been on the planet.”

“That’s what I was afraid of,” Mike replied. “No one in their right mind would attack Brodor on the ground. They wouldn’t stand a chance. Those are Rebel ships, and they’re carrying Chessori to reduce the cats’ effectiveness.”

Voorhees paled. Jessie’s expression did not change, but she made a simple comment. “They might be carrying gleasons, Sire.”

Mike thought about that, but it didn’t add up. “Your people stood against the gleasons two thousand years ago. Do you think it makes sense to send only one group, knowing the others failed all those years ago?”

“No, Sire, I do not. I state it only as a possibility. It would take many more gleasons than one squadron could carry. In fact, there would be massive numbers of troop transports if gleasons were to be landed. I withdraw my comment.”

“Could they have Chessori and gleasons?” Mike wondered aloud.

“Not likely, Sire,” Jessie answered. “The gleasons would suffer from the scree just as much as my people, and I do not see the gleasons fighting beside anyone, least of all a Chessori who is causing them pain.”

“So we rule gleasons out. Not that it matters: this will be a space fight, not a ground fight. If the Chessori are involved, the Rebels in front of us are not concerned with us in the slightest,” Mike summarized. “I’m a little surprised they haven’t come after us, though. They know we’ll see whatever they do. Does it make sense they’d let us get away to tell the rest of the galaxy?”

Jake answered.›I could argue that one either way. You know there will be survivors to tell the story, there are always survivors. But maybe they’d prefer we got away to tell the story. Politically, their cause would be strengthened by taking out the Empire’s Protectors. The Great Cats have made no secret of whose side they’re on. It’s probably a good move politically. And Mike, it’s just a small attack group. They can’t have the resources to defeat the Great Cats. They’re here to isolate the planet, to keep the Great Cats from helping Ellie.‹

Mike informed the group of Jake’s judgment. To Voorhees, he said, “Captain, I’d like you to keep a close lookout for other ships that might be here to reinforce them. Agreed?”

“Aye, Sire.”

“You know that all of your passengers are immune to the Chessori’s scree and that your crewmembers, including yourself, are not?”

“I do.”

“Okay, men,” he said slapping his hands together and rubbing them together briskly, “we’re going to attack. Captain, you and I will develop the attack plan. Josh, your men will man the weapons. You have a week to learn. Reba did it in an hour. Think you can manage?”

Josh grinned in reply. “How many weapons stations, Captain?” he asked.

“Twelve stations, each with dual weapons,” Voorhees answered.

“Twelve!” Mike exclaimed. “We only had two aboard Resolve, and we managed quite well.”

“Surely not against six fighters and a cruiser,” Voorhees prompted.

“Well… no. What do we do about the cruiser? Can we even take it on? Does it have a tractor beam?”

“The cruiser will not consider us a problem, just a nuisance. Have you ever seen one of these ships up close?”

“I spent some time aboard one. I’ve never fought one.”

“They’re impregnable. It’s why they were built. No one goes up against a cruiser, Sire. They’re close to half a mile long, and they carry ships like this in their belly.”

“You mean there might be more ships showing up to fight?” Mike asked, stealing a quick glance at the screens.

“No, those fighters were probably carried here by the cruiser. I doubt if there are more, though I can’t be certain.”

“And the tractor beam?”

“It most likely carries a tractor beam, though I would not expect it to be used during a battle, only afterwards. The beams don’t serve any purpose other than to move things around or to bring them aboard, and they’re a weak point during battle. Once the shooting starts, we’re the enemy; they won’t want to bring us aboard, they’ll want to destroy us.”

“How is the tractor beam a weakness?” Josh asked, immediately latching on to the one positive thing he’d heard, even though he knew next to nothing about tractor beams.

“A direct hit on a charged tractor beam capacitor would destroy the ship, Colonel. The capacitors are heavily shielded, but no captain would take a chance. You just don’t go into battle with a charged tractor beam. Period.”

Mike asked, “What if it’s already charged up? Or partially charged?”

“Highly unlikely, Sire.”

“Hmm,” Mike wondered aloud. “When we left Earth, a cruiser attempted to take Resolve aboard before the fighting even started.”

“I would say those were special circumstances, Sire,” Voorhees responded. “ Resolve had someone aboard they really wanted, and I doubt if your small weapons would have been of serious concern.”

“But the tractor beam could be a weakness,” Josh replied, pursuing his train of thought relentlessly. “Can we make them power it up? Can we make them want to capture us instead of destroy us?”

“What do we have that they could possibly want?” Voorhees asked. He considered his own words and blinked several times, then answered his own question. “The technology of the micro jump.”

Mike agreed. “They’re going to see us use it. It’ll probably scare the heck out of them, but once they get their act together, they’ll want it.”

“They will,” Voorhees replied thoughtfully, giving the idea serious consideration, then brightening with eagerness. “It might work. The tractor beam is located in the cruiser’s hangar deck. It has to be there to bring a ship aboard. It will be heavily shielded, though the hangar entrance itself is not heavily armored. It can’t be and move swiftly to allow the passage of ships. I’d like to model this before we go any further. If we can get through the shields, and that’s a big ‘if,’ there will be nothing stopping us from reaching the capacitor itself.”

“Any other surprises we should be ready for?”

Voorhees thought for a time. “Nothing comes to mind. I’ll discuss it with my crew to see if they have any suggestions.” He raised his eyebrows, peering hard at Mike. “Keep in mind that I don’t know anything about Chessori capabilities, Sire. If they use this mind weapon I’ve heard about, a lot will depend on how many there are and how completely they can man the ship.”

Mike turned to Josh and his men. “They’re very good. And I mean very good. In at least one case, they were so quick they escaped a perfect ambush by taking the only course of action they could. The decision was made in a split second, it was an unusual solution, and it worked. So be on your toes. Do not underestimate them. And one more thing,” he added to Voorhees. “No one gets away. The Rebels will not learn about our fast ships from me. We will show no mercy. Any problems with that?”

Grim expressions met his last statement. His meaning was clear; they would have to destroy the cruiser, not just wound it.

Training began in earnest. They had one week. During that time Mike had to familiarize himself with captaining the trader, two gunners had to be trained for each gun, just in case, and others had to be trained to repair battle damage. Fortunately, every special operations soldier was a specialist in at least one area, and frequently in two or three areas. Everyone was a weapons expert, and as for the repair side of things, there were plenty of demolitions experts in the group. Trained primarily to blow things up, they were engineers and readily took to the repair side of things, as well.

Gunners, engineers, several officers, and as many others as time permitted had to enter and learn to function within the net. Kirsten, Stardust’s equivalent of George, stayed busy day and night familiarizing the newcomers with the net. Mike and his backup needed the full treatment. The rest only needed to know enough to perform their jobs. The gunners had to see the big picture and coordinate their activities, but they did not have to know how to fly or manage the ship. The engineers only had to learn to follow instructions. Reba had caught on quickly, and so did Josh’s men, but Mike insisted they have a bigger piece of the picture than Reba had when he left Earth. Her usefulness had been severely limited by her rushed training, and he did not want a repeat of that.

Mike’s entrance to the net was fairly simple since he’d been there before on other ships. He found it very different working with Kirsten, whose voice was so sexy and earthy that he had trouble concentrating at first. He wondered at Voorhees’ choice of AI, but he got over it and plunged right in with Voorhees to work out a plan of attack.

He expected Josh to manage the gunners, but to his surprise, both Josh and Sergeant Jacobs declined. Jacobs desperately wanted to join the weapons group, but he admitted, grudgingly, that his primary specialty was that of medic. Though he was good with every form of weapon, there were enough others who were better. Mike thought about inviting him in anyway, he had grown to like and respect the older man, but he decided he could not intervene in Josh’s command. Besides, there might well be a need for medics before this was all over.

Josh chose the gunners from among his weapons specialists, all senior sergeants, then added Major Washburn and a captain to coordinate their efforts on the net. Everyone had a backup, and backups moved in and out of the primary rotation on command of the coordinators so that everyone was comfortable working together regardless of who was in the net.

Josh chose to be Mike’s backup, surprising Mike. “Where will I get a better command view?” he asked Mike as they discussed it.

“Have you ever flown anything before?” Mike asked.

“Only helicopters. Does it matter?”

Knowing that Kirsten would not likely die as George had, Mike admitted that Josh was right. He could command anyone on the ship from the net, whether the orders were given over the net or over a speaker. It was an excellent solution for both of them.

Josh spent endless hours in the net and more endless hours out of the net reviewing the plans and progress of the remainder of his men. Everyone had a job. Those not in the net even practiced belaying boarders, setting up teams of men who could fall back to planned positions as necessary if a boarding occurred, an extremely remote possibility.

Josh and the others on the net got to meet Jake for the first time. Until now, Jake had been just a part of Mike’s tale. Hereafter, he was a real person to them.

Voorhees and his men stayed busy everywhere. His gunners stayed in the net with Josh’s gunners while they trained, his engineer taught Josh’s men how to make simple repairs to the most critical parts of the ship, and his medic spent several days teaching Josh’s medics how to work his equipment. Others demonstrated hand weapons new to Josh’s people. The weapons from Earth fired projectiles. They were good weapons, but blasters were better, and they had a virtually inexhaustible energy supply. There would be no running out of bullets for these men. Actual live fires of the blasters could not take place within the ship, but plenty of dry firing took place.

Mike already knew that Captain Voorhees was competent, Serge held his captains to the very highest standards, but he was surprised at how easily Voorhees agreed to relinquish control of his ship when the fighting started.

“Not a problem, Mike. I was chosen for this command because I know how to put our mission ahead of everything else. Some of my missions have required pretty innovative thinking. This one might top the list, but only because I’ll be out of the picture, probably jerking around on the floor in agony. But know this: your solution fits. My men and I will be out of the net as soon as the last micro jump is executed. We’re smart enough to know that we could take the whole net down with us if there really are Chessori out there.”

He pursed his lips in a frown as he rubbed his forehead. “Don’t get me wrong. I don’t like this, not one bit, but I’m thankful you guys are here. I would not have chosen to engage the Chessori without you. And, Sire… you have a reputation. My ship is in good hands.”

“Maybe we’ll luck out and there won’t be any Chessori,” Mike replied, “because we may end up needing your help in a big way. It seems like every time I’ve been forced to fight, they’ve thrown me a curve ball, something I had no idea was even possible.”

“And it will probably happen here, as well. One of these days you’re going to have to take the time to get trained as a ship’s captain. It only takes ten or fifteen years.”

Mike grew more and more nervous as the time for battle approached. Josh kidded him about it, but privately he admitted that everyone always went through the same thing, and it was a good thing, because it focused the mind on the mission. Everything else became extraneous, of no importance.

Mike had to agree with Josh: his sole focus had become the battle group in front of him, nothing else. His many other concerns about the Empire and Earth had been pushed aside to allow total concentration on the upcoming engagement.

He wondered if the crews in the ships ahead of him, the ships he was about to engage, were going through the same thing, or were they expecting a relatively easy conquest, at least the space-born part of it? They had no inkling of Serge Parsons micro jump, and they had no idea this ship was anything but what it appeared to be, a simple freighter two weeks behind them. Their focus would be on Brodor. He was confident of that much at least. The element of surprise was definitely in his favor.

The time grew near. Everyone needed in the net was in the net, and everyone knew their part in the plan.

Voorhees turned off his beacon and began the hours-long process of micro jumping toward the planet. As they neared the squadron, Kirsten displayed a complex pattern of orbits as the smaller ships supporting the cruiser broke away to encircle the planet. The cruiser moved closer to Brodor than they had expected, probably to use her heavier weapons to more effect, but the lower orbit did not change their strategy.

Voorhees’ navigation was perfect. After executing the last jump, Stardust was behind and above the cruiser. Voorhees and his crew cut themselves out of the net, leaving the Earthmen on their own.

No defensive fire came from the cruiser as Mike maneuvered to place his ship exactly where his gunners’ fire would be most effective. He reached just the right spot, and they started pecking away at several gun turrets on the cruiser, all according to plan. To their surprise, Kirsten’s sensors indicated at least one shield going down, then another began failing. Serge’s weapons were considerably stronger than Mike had expected. His men concentrated their fire on those two locations, taking out one of the cruisers large guns. That did it for the Chessori aboard the cruiser. They lost patience. The cicada sound that accompanied use of the scree started up in earnest. Mike sensed no reaction from his men in the net, though he knew the same could not be said for Voorhees and his men. They would be suffering. So, too, would be any non-Chessori aboard the cruiser.

So, too, was he. Jake was gone, having withdrawn to his left leg, and the leg was on fire. Mike ordered his ship to cease fire and allowed Stardust to drift on her current trajectory, leading the Chessori to believe their scree had done its work. It also gave him time to adjust to the pain in his leg. He wondered how long it would take for the Chessori to take command of the net aboard the cruiser.

It did not take long. Within minutes, the cruiser began maneuvering to shield its damaged areas from Stardust. As he had hoped, Kirsten’s sensors soon showed the tractor beam powering up, and it powered up at a speed he had not known was possible. He guessed he had maybe half an hour before it became operational. His men held their fire, allowing the cruiser to maneuver at will, turning until its tractor beam was pointed directly at Stardust.

The waiting was terrible. Josh spoke softly to him on the net, encouraging him to wait. Mike adjusted Stardust’s roll and pitch in minute increments as the waiting continued, bringing his heaviest guns to bear on the area of the tractor beam. They had determined earlier that a 50% power level for the beam would be sufficient to their needs, but they would wait for 75% just to be sure. If their plan failed, they would micro jump away before the beam reached 100%. They all watched as Kirsten’s sensors indicated a higher power level second by second.

Mike felt a strong sense of deja vu, as if he was back near Earth waiting for the tractor beam to snatch him up. But this time he could do something about it.

Finally the number reached 75%. Mike ordered his gunners to open fire, knowing the heavily shielded area around the tractor beam would be very hard, if not impossible, to penetrate. The Chessori were caught completely by surprise, delaying return fire for a couple of minutes. When the cruiser did return fire, the heavy weapons were devastating. Mike instantly moved the ship, but he could not go far without his gunners losing sight of their target. One shield went down, and Mike rolled the ship to place that shield away from the cruiser. New gunners picked up the target and continued firing repeatedly with Parsons World’s improved weapons into the shields protecting the tractor beam. The Chessori finally realized what was going on and attempted to maneuver away from his guns while shutting down the beam, but they were too late. One shield went dark, followed quickly by another. Stardust, too, was taking many hits, and gunners struggled mightily to hold to the target as Mike maneuvered hard. Soon a third shield gave way on the cruiser, followed quickly by a fourth. Mike lost another shield and rolled further, four gunners losing the target but four new ones picking up the slack.

Stardust suddenly shook, hard. They were holed, a hull breach in cargo hold four. Kirsten slammed appropriate bulkhead doors closed in the corridors leading from the cargo area before anyone realized what had happened. It was truly wonderful having her assistance. Mike suspected there were soldiers in there, but he didn’t have time to worry about them. They were Josh’s problem. Josh quickly organized a rescue party, but Mike cut that part out of his awareness.

He rolled the ship again, and new gunners took up the incessant attack against the tractor beam. Its capacitor beam was shutting down as quickly as it could, now at 35% and falling fast. Then his gunners got all the way through. Mike could swear he heard a ‘boom’ through Kirsten’s sensors as the tractor beam capacitor overloaded, though he knew that hearing sound in space was impossible. Looking through Kirsten’s sensors, however, he saw the flare-up as a huge hole was rent in the belly of the ship.

The cruiser went dead in space. It had not blown up entirely, as they had hoped, but Kirsten’s sensors indicated it could not maneuver. The cicada sound continued for another minute or so, then ceased. He surmised that the remaining Chessori needed assistance from the rest of the crew for damage control. His men kept a tremendous barrage of fire pouring into the cruiser, concentrating on its gun ports. Shields began failing one after another, then flares jetted into space as weapons platforms disintegrated beneath those shields. Sporadic return fire continued after the scree ceased, but it was not terribly effective. Mike constantly jiggered his position relative to the cruiser as he rolled around its length, helping his gunners to take out firing positions one after another.

Captain Voorhees struggled back into the net, still suffering from the effects of the scree but determined to function in spite of it. He studied Kirsten’s data on the cruiser, informing Mike that its power plant was down, at least for the present, but that many hot spots remained from which retaliation could be directed at Stardust.

“This lady is proving to be a tough nut to crack,” he announced. “I was certain the disintegration of the tractor beam would take out the whole ship. Nice job by the way. I’ve got to go, you’ve got company. My advice is that the crew aboard the cruiser has its hands full just trying to survive. If necessary, you can come back later and finish her off. Goodbye.”

Voorhees left the net in case the scree started up again. All six fighters had changed trajectories to intercept Stardust. As Mike watched, those trajectories were refined so that three ships would reach him at the same time. Could Stardust handle three enemy simultaneously?

They had a little time before the shooting started up again. He ordered Kirsten to run a scan on all ships systems, concentrating on shields and weapons. Repair crews were dispatched throughout the ship as necessary to replace dead or weakened parts while Mike got an update from Josh.

“We’re still trying to get into cargo hold four. We’re not real proficient with these space suits yet, and it’s a fairly complex procedure to gain entry. There were three men guarding the outer door, but we haven’t heard from them. They were positioned behind partitions and suited up for just this eventuality, but that was a pretty hard hit. I don’t know if they made it or not. Don’t worry about it, you’ve got bigger fish to fry.”

Mike was gratified as warning sensors for his shields turned from amber back to green one by one. They were almost back to full weapons and shields by the time the scree came again. His men would continue their repair work while Stardust fought on.

Mike’s men got off the first shots. His weapons had greater range than those aboard the small fighters, and it made a difference. Mike reminded Major Washburn of Reba’s tactic of focusing all their firepower on one ship. He instantly took the hint, focusing three guns on the drive of the closest ship. The other two fighters came straight in together, trying to take advantage of Stardust’s concentration on the first ship, but they hadn’t planned on her remaining firepower. The first ship disappeared in a flash of light, then all weapons focused on the two remaining fighters. They tried to flee but were unsuccessful, going out in a flare of light almost simultaneously.

Mike didn’t wait. He went after the three remaining fighters. They scattered, each splitting off in different directions, knowing Stardust could not follow all of them at once and knowing they would win in a stern chase, but they did not take his micro jumping capability into consideration. Mike chose the ship farthest away and ordered Kirsten to set up a micro jump, or a series of micro jumps, to intercept it. He wasn’t familiar enough with her capabilities to make the calculations himself, but he wasn’t needed for that. She complied, and an hour later that ship ceased to exist.

It took eight more hours to track down and destroy the two remaining fighters, but in the end, they, too, succumbed. Kirsten then micro jumped back to the cruiser. Mike held station there, hesitant to finish it off, but knowing he must.

Josh approached him, still within the net, knowing how Mike felt. It was impossible to hide feelings within the net. “Permission to speak, Sire,” he said. Mike sensed an illusory hand going around his shoulder.

“I’m whipped. How about you?” he asked Josh.

“Yup, but we don’t pay attention to that, do we,” he stated. “I have a suggestion. How about we board her, take her over?”

Startled, Mike mentally sat up and paid attention. “She’s done in, Josh. She’s a wreck. Look at her! Let’s finish her off.”

“We can, but if they haven’t deleted their files yet, she might have some treasures for our intelligence people.”

“She’s just an Empire cruiser, Josh. We know everything we need to know about them.”

“You know all you need to know about Empire cruisers, but you might not know everything about this particular one. She has people aboard with knowledge we might be able to use, and she has Chessori aboard. Wouldn’t they be interesting to interrogate?”

Mike paused. “Josh, what if she has one of the interstellar communications devices aboard?” His pulse quickened. “I’d give everything to get my hands on one of those. How would we go about doing it?”

“Haven’t a clue,” Josh said with a chuckle. “First we have to get into the ship somehow, then I guess we have to secure one deck at a time, probably the hard way.” He paused for a time, considering. “Assuming we can get aboard, we can do it given sufficient time. What concerns me most is that they might blow up the ship with us in it. We’ll have a hard time protecting the Queen if we’re all dead. I’d still like to give it a try, though.”

Mike left the net after issuing orders to the gunners to open fire on the cruiser again, concentrating only on taking out the remaining guns. Josh joined him outside the net, followed shortly by Captain Voorhees.

“Captain, I think you can have the ship back again. We’ll stay right here in case the Chessori decide to try their scree on us again, but she’s yours until they do. I need your council.”

“Very well, Sire.” He issued orders to his bridge staff, who staggered back into the net to relieve Josh’s men.

Mike briefed Voorhees as soon as he finished issuing his orders. “Josh here has a wild idea to board her. I like the idea. She might have information we could use. What do you think? Is such a thing possible?”

Voorhees was shocked. “I don’t know!” he exclaimed. “Take over a capital ship? I don’t think it’s ever been done before. Let me give it some thought.” He turned away, then turned back to Mike. “What if they just blow themselves up when they figure out what you’re up to?”

“Can they?”

“I haven’t a clue. We’d better get the Chief up here.”

“And we need someone else. Can you set up a tight beam to Brodor for me?”

“At once, Sire. By the way, well done!”

“We might not be done yet. The hardest part might be coming up,” Mike replied with a shiver.

Otis greeted him with his toothy grin again. “Not bad for a cub, Sire. You’re learning.”

Mike explained their plan and their predicament. Otis’ gaze narrowed to that of a predator as he considered. When he spoke, he focused on Josh. “I look forward to meeting you, Colonel. Your plan is admirable. As to the risk, it is impossible to evaluate. The ship may be capable of blowing itself up, it may just blow up anyway, but you have a couple of things in your favor. One, the survivors are not only in disarray, they are focused intently on damage control. The ship is very severely damaged. I cannot say if they even know you’re out there.

“Three areas of the ship are critical to secure. First, the bridge. Any self destruct orders would have to come from there. Second, the engineering section. That would be the most likely area to initiate a self-destruct. Third, the communications area. If this interstellar communicator is aboard, that would be the most likely place to find it.”

“Otis, how the heck do we go about getting inside?”

“You don’t, but my men can. We’ve trained for this but have never actually done it. I’ll have a dozen shuttles there inside an hour, two at most. They will have the equipment and the manpower to subdue the ship. If we need more, I’ll send more.”

Josh spoke up. “My men would like to assist,” he said.

Otis used the very human gesture of rubbing his chin with his hand. “This is not a training class, Colonel, but your request is appropriate. There are probably Chessori still alive, and if their goal was to invade the planet, there might be a lot of them.” He thought for a time. “Sire, what is your decision. Do we proceed?”

Mike considered his commitment to Ellie and her need for protection, yet he could not pass up the opportunity to get his hands on an interstellar communicator.

“We proceed,” he replied.

“Very well, Sire. Colonel Dace, prepare your men for a briefing as soon as I arrive. I will explain the breaching process at that time. We will invite four of your men to accompany each first-in team, just in case the Chessori are waiting. The rest of your men will follow as soon as we can get them there. I’ll join you as soon as I can.” He signed off.

Mike looked at Josh. “You got your wish. Are you going, too?”

“I hope so. I like to lead from the front, but we have three fronts. I need to be wherever I can be of the most use, probably somewhere where I can communicate with all the teams, or maybe with a reserve force. I’ll discuss it with Otis.”

“You’ve got an hour or two. Better get your guys saddled up.” As Josh turned to leave, he asked one more question. “How are the guys that were in cargo hold four?”

“Alive, but pretty banged up. Internal injuries. Sergeant Jacobs doesn’t know if they’ll make it or not. The ship is well equipped, but it can only do so much. He’s earning his pay today.”

Mike went to sick bay to check on the wounded men. One had died, the other two were in a bad way and would not fight again, but Jacobs and the ship’s medic were keeping a close eye on them. Mike brought both of them up to date, and Jacobs accompanied him as he left. Mike lifted his eyebrows in a question.

“They’re under good care, Sire. I think I’ll be needed elsewhere today. I’m not going to sit this one out.”

Mike nodded soberly. There would definitely be need of medics with the teams, and these medics were fighters as well.

They went to the hangar deck to welcome Otis aboard. All of Josh’s men were there. Mike reminded them of the part Otis had played in saving the Queen, and he reminded them that Otis was a Knight of the Realm. He then piped Otis aboard, a small ceremony that Voorhees helped set up.

Thirty Great Cats accompanied Otis, all business. They padded among Josh’s men, the men studying the cats while the cats studied the men, each taking the measure of the other, each wondering if they could ever learn to work effectively together. The cats clearly had superior strength and reflexes, everyone in the room knew and accepted that, but Josh’s men had all seen their share of action and had lived through it to reach this point.

They were the best Earth had to offer. They held their heads high, unafraid of the testing to come.

Otis left them to their perusal for a time, then ordered everyone to the adjacent cargo bay that Josh’s men had been using as a training room. He inserted a chip into the overhead presentation system as Josh’s men attached translating devices to their ears. He brought up a schematic of the cruiser and explained its general layout, then he brought the bridge area into detailed focus.

“Team A will breach here,” he said, indicating the appropriate area. “We will use a shaped charge to blow a hole in the outer surface of the ship. These ships are very hard; it will take several charges to breach. Inside the outer hull is an inner hull which contains the air inside the ship. It will be much easier to breach. We will place a hardened cylinder against the hull, secure it with a glue-like substance, then use another shaped charge to breach the inner hull. When this is accomplished, we will close the inner door of the hatch, enter the outer door and close it behind us, then pressurize and open the inner door.

“This will be a dangerous time. Only one or two will be able to enter the ship at a time. One cat and one human will go first. Since this is in the area of the bridge, you can definitely expect to encounter Chessori. Another cat and another human will enter next, followed by the remainder of Team A.

“Your shortest route to the bridge is directly below the breach in the direction of the front of the ship. Make certain you are properly oriented before entering. You can’t afford to go off in the wrong direction. Each of you will be carrying detonation cords to breach the bridge hatch which is armored and probably locked.

“Your mission is to secure the bridge, its occupants, and to lock down the computers. The computers can be voice activated, so you will have to be quick if anyone is alive on the bridge. We would like to interrogate any survivors, but you have no restrictions against killing anyone on the bridge in order to accomplish your mission.

“Team B will breach here,” he explained pointing to the engineering spaces. “You will enter through the Chief Engineer’s office in the same manner and secure it. I do not anticipate encountering Chessori in this area, but the humans will team up as already discussed just in case. We will send a follow-up team as soon as the shuttle is clear since this is, by far, the largest critical area to secure.

“Team C will breach here,” he explained pointing to the communications area. “It is absolutely critical that you secure all equipment and computers in this area. It potentially holds a great prize. You will take great care to prevent destroying the equipment.

“The rest of you will follow as soon as the shuttles can get you there. Three shuttles will be held in reserve. They will reinforce where needed. Everyone will be in protective suits until the Team Leader decides the suits are no longer necessary.”

He began to describe the few essential hand signals the teams would use in case of communications breakdowns, but Jessie spoke up. “Not necessary, Sire. I’ve taught them the basic verbal commands as well as the basic hand signals. I vouch for their understanding.”

“Excellent,” Otis exclaimed. “Are they proficient with the protective suits?”

“Reasonably proficient, including in vacuum. They have never experienced weightlessness, though.”

Mike was startled. He hadn’t even considered the fact that the ship might not have its artificial gravity functioning. There were infinite amounts of additional instruction Josh’s men needed, but there just wasn’t time to cover every eventuality. Mike was certain their mettle would be tested this day. Had he chosen wrong? Was he sending them to their deaths? He looked at Josh, who returned a grim nod. He knew his men, and he knew they would give it their very best even if it wasn’t enough.

Otis and Josh broke the men into teams, and the first three shuttles departed, followed soon after by the rest. Mike led Otis and Josh to the bridge where they would wait until needed.

Josh kept his translator device in place – it was essential that he communicate clearly with Otis. He and Mike entered the net and called up the communications channels of the boarders, of which there were four. Each team had a separate channel, and all team members had access to the command channel. Josh communicated with Otis over the bridge speakers and discovered that Kirsten could easily handle the two-way translation. They were both able to converse with no difficulty through Kirsten’s interaction while remaining in direct contact with all the team members. Josh, wishing he was aboard one of the shuttles, knew deep down that he was in the right place, a place where he could easily and effortlessly communicate with his men through the magic of the net. Otis was in overall command of this operation, a point which he emphasized and a point which Josh seconded without hesitation.

The first three charges went off simultaneously. After that, they went off as quickly as they could be placed. The hatches were soon in place and the inner hulls breached, though it took a good hour before the first team made it in. Shortly thereafter, Mike felt the scree. Voorhees and his crew almost took him and Josh out with them before he was able to get Kirsten to disconnect them. When they got their act together again, pandemonium had broken out on the cruiser. Otis, laboring under great strain from the scree, demanded a report from each Team.

Team A was in the ship. Four cats were down, the humans had gone ahead of the cats, their situation unknown. Josh, in contact with his men, passed a report to Otis that his men had reached the bridge and were placing the charges on the bridge hatch. The cats had free passage to the bridge, the way was clear. The men needed help; they didn’t know how to activate the charges. Otis passed the activation instructions through Josh, then focused on the other Teams. Josh, meanwhile, ordered his reserves to deploy to each hatch and be ready to move in.

Teams B and C completed their breaches and entered. Team B, in the engineering section, had sporadic contact with the Chessori but pressed on and quickly secured the engine room and engineering spaces, then began moving slowly forward through the ship. They soon called for reinforcements; there was too much ship to cover, and they didn’t want to spread the team too thin.

Team C, in communications, became pinned down in the corridor as soon as they entered. They needed reinforcements, human reinforcements if possible. The area was crawling with Chessori.

Otis gave Josh the go ahead. Josh, in turn, passed the word to his men aboard the reserve shuttles to move in. The shuttles were not able to dock, however. The pilots, all Great Cats, got close, but they could not operate the shuttle controls with the great finesse a docking required. The scree demanded incredible inner strength for the cats just to function at a minimal level, let alone the high levels needed for docking.

Josh’s men, knowing Team C was in dire straits and desperate for help, called on Josh to command the pilot to let all the air out of the ship and to go weightless. They swam to the exit, attempting to line up just as if they were preparing to jump out of a plane. It was a pretty ragged lineup as they exited one at a time, launching themselves at the nearby hatch through the vacuum of space. It was a disaster looking for a place to happen, but everyone made it to the lock with only a few minor injuries from hard landings. Otis passed instructions through Josh on how to work the lock mechanisms, and they eventually got the job done. Josh passed the idea on to the other teams, and they followed suit. Some thirty humans poured through each breach as fast as they could operate the locks.

Two of Josh’s men were lost on entering the bridge. Two Chessori there were taken out by the two remaining humans who stood guard over the Rebels writhing in agony on the deck. They were soon joined by the cats and the bridge was secure.

Reinforcements poured into the breach in engineering, fanning out forward and aft to search the ship for surviving Chessori, securing Rebel crewmen as they went.

Team C encountered the stiffest resistance, not because they faced the most Chessori, but because they couldn’t blow the place up to get at them. Their job was to take the communications section with minimal damage. The reinforcements added greatly to their firepower, but there was limited space to maneuver.

One of the Great Cats angrily entered a compartment adjacent to the main communications compartment, motioning six humans in before him. He struggled with a heavy gun, took aim, and burned a hole through the wall of the communications compartment, then motioned the humans forward. They managed to pick off two Chessori guarding the outer door which allowed access for the rest of the team. After that, Josh’s men used standard room clearing procedures to work their way through the remaining spaces. An hour after entering the ship, the communications section was secure.

A couple of hundred Chessori hounded Josh’s men and the cats as they fought their way through the ship. Josh issued directions to his troops when they became lost, and he sent reinforcements where necessary. The worst battle took place in the armorer’s section where the Chessori had unlimited access to weapons, both personal weapons and heavy guns. These Chessori were true fighters and highly skilled, possibly the ones assigned to root the Great Cats out of their positions on the planet.

A battle raged for hours with little progress, though with great damage to the ship. Mike eventually ordered everyone to retreat to safe locations, then ordered the gunners aboard Stardust to hole the ship in that exact location. The Chessori that didn’t perish from the blasts were evacuated into space by the escaping air. No one wasted the effort to retrieve the bodies.

The cleanup took more hours, but once the last Chessori succumbed, no Rebels proved willing to challenge the cats. It was simply a matter of time as they cleared the vast spaces of the cruiser. The ship was still in grave danger and would never sail again, but the task now became securing it against its own destruction.

Forcing the Rebels to do the work was no problem at all. They were simply told they could not abandon the ship. They would save it or perish.

The cruiser’s captain was brought to Stardust with the last batch of wounded. Josh had left the bridge to check on his wounded men. Otis and Mike stood up as the captain entered the bridge escorted by two of Josh’s men.

“Your name?” Otis inquired. The man’s expression only hardened. It was clear he would not talk easily. “It’s your choice, Captain,” Otis stated plainly. “You can talk now with us, or you can do it later with the experts. I have no interest in what you might tell us anyway.”

The man remained mute. Otis ordered Josh’s men to escort the prisoner to the designated brig area and to secure him hand and foot.

Mike added, “You searched him, right?”

“We did, but we’re not real sure what to look for,” answered the senior sergeant. “What if he has implants or something?”

Mike turned to Voorhees for guidance.

He shrugged. “Who cares if he kills himself?” He held up a hand to forestall argument. “Okay, I’ll detail a crewmember to keep a watch until the medic can check him out, but not before the medic has seen to each of our men. We’ll strip him until then. Let him play with himself if he wants to.”

Then Voorhees brightened and turned to Otis. “Should we just give him to your men?”

“Hmm,” Otis mumbled deeply in his throat. “They’re probably hungry by now. Let me think on it.”

The prisoner showed his alarm but did not speak. He was taken away.

The battle was over, and they had won. Mike and Otis took a break and headed for the lounge. Stepping into the central shaft, Otis chuckled.

“Remember the first time you rode one of these?” he asked grinning. Mike just rolled his eyes, remembering how he had felt about falling down the shaft.

“You’ve come a long way, Sire. I call you a cub no longer. Today was a great day for the Empire.”

Mike thought through the events of the day and shrugged. “As usual, I’m just the hands and feet of the experts, doing their bidding. Josh, Voorhees, and his Chief came up with the strategy we used against the cruiser. You put your breaching plan together with incredible swiftness. I’m impressed, Otis.”

“You led today, Mike. You led well. That included choosing what advice you would use from the experts. It was a very good day, and to top it off, you saved my world from tragedy. Brodor is in your debt. We will not forget.”

Mike nodded absently. Otis took him by the arm, turning Mike to face himself and looking him in the eyes. “Hear me well, Mike. Brodor is in your debt. Think about what I say. We have long memories and do not forget our obligations.”

Mike responded as First Knight. “Sir Otis, Brodor has pledged itself to the Queen. I will not accept anything less or more. Therein lies your duty. Do not forget it.”

“You truly are learning to lead, Sire,” Otis responded with his toothy grin. “That doesn’t change the fact that we have long memories.”