The Great Betrayal (9 page)

“There,” he said, pointing with his forehead.

The shape of a large Biomech machine appeared, its body completely exposed to the elements. It moved slowly with one foot connecting securely before it moved the other. It seemed nervous, or perhaps it was just taking its time.

“One of our metal friends?” asked Spartan.

They both watched the thing with barely concealed bitterness. Khan clenched his fists, and Spartan could see his friend’s muscles contracting as he squeezed the straps. Khan was angry, very angry. Spartan extended his one good arm and placed his gloved hand on Khan’s shoulder.

“Easy friend, I know. We’ll have our revenge. I promise you.”

 
The machine looked like one of the incredibly rare Biomechs. Not one of the artificial monsters they had fought on a dozen worlds, or even the completely synthetic warriors like Khan that had been built as frontline soldiers for the War. No, these were the machines with biological minds, the leadership caste of the entire race they knew simply as the Biomechs. This one looked just like those that were responsible for their interrogation and torture for so many months. It appeared to be smaller, and its metal outer housing was in a poor state. The black paint had been rubbed or worn down so much there was more bare metal than paint remaining. It was bipedal and appeared to be a rough match for Khan in terms of height and girth. Its head was sunk down low and looked more like a beetle than a machine. It moved toward the spacecraft and waited like a statue just five meters from its side.

“What do we do now?” asked Khan.

He looked to Spartan and could just make out the wide smile on his friend’s face through the armored visor. The chill was now spreading through his body, and he was starting to wonder if he could still move his legs. The bomber shook and then moved toward the large metal structure ahead of them. When they were halfway there, the doors opened and revealed a dark interior.

“When we get inside, we’ll get out of here.”

Khan winced. “And then?”

Spartan pointed at the Biomech craft lined up inside the structure.

“We’ll find a way out of this place, I promise you. Maybe we’ll take a few of those bastards with us.”

He beckoned with his hand, and his thumb extended out to the machine.

“And I think he should go for starters.”

Khan nodded but was forced to hide a rough cough before answering.

“He will do…for now.”

Spartan looked away from Khan and smiled.

Don’t you worry; we’re getting out of here and back home. We’re going to get our friends, the fleet, and the Corps, and we’ll grind these animals until there’s nothing left but ash and waste.

By electing to involve itself in affairs outside of Alpha Centauri, humanity exposed itself to great risk. New species, empires, and technologies would come to the forefront, as well as the rumors of the Enemy long thought defeated. There were positives for the Alliance, however, not least the benefits that come from the meeting of different peoples, including trade and science. Ultimately, without the contact with other people, the Alliance would have been completely unprepared for the realization of the Helions’ ancient prophecy, one that would affect the worlds of the Alliance, no matter what decisions were made.

The Unforeseen Consequences

The Narau fleet had lost a quarter of its number in the ambush laid by the Biomech warship and its allied Anicinàbe cruisers. The timing had been perfect, as had their positioning. By waiting at that point in space, the ships hadn’t been detected until the Narau fleet was already moving too fast. Only a few ships had been destroyed, the others had either scattered and vanished or surrendered rather than face destruction. Of those that remained, the Alliance frigates were the most prominent. Moving in a wide formation at the rear, they used their large numbers of automated turrets to shred any Biomech fighters in pursuit. Unlike the ships from the other Powers, the Alliance ships were heavily equipped with defensive firepower, a valuable lesson learned in the violent battles of the Great Uprising where human fought human in bloody civil war.

The scene inside the Khreenk flagship was very different to how it would have been without human intervention. Instead of panic and confusion, the crew had been given implicit instructions and was making substantial progress in avoiding a direct and bloody confrontation with the Enemy; a confrontation that they would be unlikely to win.

“Admiral, a group of their ships has changed their course. They must know our plan,” said Captain Campbell.

Unlike before, the Khreenk Admiral immediately listened to the advice of the young Alliance Captain. In the last few hours, the low-ranking Alliance officer had saved a dozen of the Narau ships, and he seemed happy to accept any more advice from him, even to the annoyance of his own officers. Now the Captain stood alongside the Admiral at the heart of the ship. He looked at the data carefully.

“They are accelerating at speeds we cannot match; no living crew is capable of withstanding those levels of acceleration for more than a few minutes.”

Captain Campbell smiled grimly; it was clear to him what was happening. He knew enough about ship design, physics, and directional vectors to see it.

It’s Biomechs all right.

With massive computerization and minimal crew, there was a good chance this warship was actually completely devoid of life. That meant the Enemy would be ruthless, fast, and very quick to make decisions. Those were all advantages, but ones that humans had beaten in the past. What really interested him though were the other ships. The Biomechs were a flexible race and usually made use of others to fight their battles. Either through or coercion, the Biomechs had encouraged these Anicinàbe to help them. Based on the speed of the larger vessel, it was no surprise to him that the Allied ships were unable to match the pace of the larger vessel.

“Yes, they will reach the dead zone at the Rift before us. What do you suggest?” asked the Admiral.

“She’s automated, just look at the acceleration. None of our ships can come even close to that. We’re pushing just over our safe limit, and this ship is moving at triple our maximum speed. Either that or it just has Biomech warriors for crew.”

The Admiral nodded in agreement but still didn’t quite understand how this would help them in their battle. He said nothing for a moment, and Captain Campbell was forced to repeat himself before even receiving an acknowledgement. It was clear the Admiral had never faced a situation like this, and Campbell was starting to wonder if he’d ever actually even been in a battle before. That then reminded him that, of course, neither had he, apart from skirmishes with black marketers and pirates out on the Rim.

“How does this help?” asked the Admiral after what must have been nearly thirty seconds thinking.

Campbell lifted his datapad and held it in front of the Khreenk commander. It showed a detailed schematic of the large Biomech warship. Unlike the Anicinàbe, this vessel was ugly and covered in multiple layers of armor, making it look more like a giant slug than the beautiful aesthetics used by the others. Red and green circles pointed out potential weapon locations as well as exit tubes for spacecraft.

“It means they will be faster and more powerful than anything we have here. The single advantage we have is manpower, and that is useless in a space battle, especially one where they may not have living crew.”

“So we use our numbers, firepower, and maneuver to beat them.”

Captain Campbell half nodded in agreement. It was far from the ideal solution for such a major threat. He was acutely aware he could only push so far before his suggestion would be construed as an affront to the alien’s ability to lead the fleet. That could be very dangerous for the operation.

“Partially, don’t forget there is no realistic maneuver that can be conducted at these speeds. We have to use all available power to get to the Rift. Captain Hampel of ANS Spearfish suggests a bombardment corridor, and that we do not decelerate for the Rift.”

One of the Khreenk officers moved from a computer system as he listened to what was being said. Unlike the Admiral, he was not wearing any kind of translator equipment and was forced to rely upon the Admiral to explain. They argued for a short while before the Admiral lifted his arm to silence him.

“A bombardment corridor? Explain.”

Captain Campbell tapped on his secpad as he sketched out the details and showed it to the two officers. It showed a large force of ships with a rectangular path in front of them. Neither seemed to understand the image. He turned it around, suspecting for a moment he may have switched it off by mistake, but no, he hadn’t.

“Okay, we position the fleet so that every ship is able to fire on the same course we are traveling along. Well before we reach the target, we open fire with all projectile weapons at the Rift, as well as up to fifty kilometers around it.”

The Admiral seemed to grasp this last part.

“I see, but what of us? We will still hit the Rift entrance. No, we cannot do this.”

For some reason, he looked horrified at the suggestion and explained it to his junior officer who seemed equally incredulous. To make matters worse, he then walked away and back to his computer, completely ignoring the Alliance Captain. The Khreenk Admiral beckoned to him instead.

“You want to break through a Rift at speed? Are you mad?”

The same officer as before called out to the two of them in his native language. Luckily for the Captain, his translator was able to catch most of it.

“We cannot do this. The Klithi have scouts near their side of the border, and they can come through to assist if we ask for aid,” he said firmly, but the translator was unable to add the intonation.

The Admiral didn’t seem keen at this suggestion, and Campbell could only assume it was down to some past or ongoing rivalry between the two peoples. He didn’t know a great deal of the Klithi other than that they were the pacifists, evolutionarily advanced, and equipped with sophisticated ships. Though their craft were potentially the most impressive he’d heard of, it was rumored the Klithi only used civilian ships. He was dubious that a few of their scouts could be of much use.

“What are their ships like?” he asked.

The officer said something untranslatable and then turned away, leaving the Alliance officer with the Admiral.

“The Klithi ships are unlike anything you have ever come across, Captain. They have access to surface shielding, a technology that surpasses even the T’Kari, yet they refuse to build ships of war.”

“So they cannot fight?”

The Admiral shook his head at the question.

“Oh, no, their ships are a match to ours; even their civilian transports. If they were to ever build something for war, we would all pay the price.”

He smiled in a way that reminded him of somebody about to do something very bad. The ship shuddered slightly, and some of the officers’ voices increased in volume as they did their best to manage the gun crews and defensive systems. The battle was a long-ranged affair, but every now and then a small group of fighters would make it inside the protective cordon of the escorts and inflict damage on one or more vessels.

We need decisive action here. This is too damned slow.

Campbell was in direct communication with the captains of the three other ships, and tactical data was being sent directly to his datapad regarding attackers, vectors, and damage assessments right from the tactical officers of each of the three frigates. He pointed at the large formation of ships that was clearly visible through the glass.

“Our ships are keeping the fighters away, but we have to make it through the Rift. If we decelerate, our ships will be scattered by the Biomechs.”

The Admiral looked confused.

“I don’t understand your plan,” he said, and this time the translator seemed to convert the words almost in real-time. Campbell noticed the Admiral was speaking more slowly to give the technology time to do its work.

“Can you close the Rift behind us if we get through?”

The Admiral smiled in that strange way again in response to his question.

“I see. No, few races have that technology. Trust me, we fought a war over this long ago. The T’Kari would never share it and neither would the Helions. It is the reason the Black Rift is still sealed.”

Captain Campbell pointed at the shape of the vast Biomech warship that was moving toward the Rift in space.