Coalition Reckoning Read online

  “I will know where you obtained this technology,” Teisha said.

  Kira smiled. “Earth.”

  “Impossible,” Teisha said. “Earth isn’t sufficiently advanced to create anything on this level.”

  “Earth is a beautiful planet,” Kira said. “It’s filled with wonderful, welcoming people and very attractive resources.”

  Teisha angled her head. “I see. And who exactly did these resources attract?”

  “The Vegans,” Kira said.

  Teisha’s lips curled up in a snarl. “I will not be made a fool of. Tell me the truth.”

  “I am,” Kira said.

  “If I may.” Brendan leaned forward, placing his face close to the pair. He paused, then in a slightly different tone said, “Is this how Sadirians talk? Because on Earth, this is considered really uncomfortably close.”

  Kira smiled briefly, then folded her lips between her teeth to try to stop it. She took a step back and nodded toward Brendan.

  “Hello,” Brendan said, stepping fully between Kira and Teisha. Once he’d insinuated himself, he maintained a distance that was more similar to what Dane had observed on Earth. “I’m Brendan Sloan.”

  Brendan held out his hand in the customary Earth greeting. Teisha ignored it.

  “No?” Brendan said. “Well, that’s okay. We can teach you about the different cultural protocols on Earth eventually. You’re going to need it.”

  He smiled and looked around the bridge. “You have a great ship here. Really impressive. Of course, I like the Life Ship better. The Vegans have this wonderful way of incorporating spaciousness and nature in their crafts. Sadirian builds are… Well, they’re kind of stuffy.”

  “I do not believe your ridiculous claim,” Teisha said.

  “That’s fine.” Brendan nodded. “I get that Sadirians mostly believe what they’ve been programmed to. I’ve been in one of those pods, by the way.” He was glaring at her now and he did step in close. “Funny how I seem to remember everything you tried to take away from me, even after a mind-wipe.”

  Teisha’s lips twitched, but she didn’t say anything.

  “I don’t think you should try that again,” Brendan said. “But I do think you should take us back to Earth.”

  Just as soon as the nanites have breached the engine and navigation controls.

  Dane wondered how Marq and the others were faring on their missions.

  Communications were impossible while they were in blue space—just another way they were cut off from the rest of the universe while traveling this way. But the moment they dropped into regular space, Henry and Vay were ready to send a message back to Earth letting everyone know what had happened. The Vegans would know where they were and would come for them.

  The nanites had already prepped and secured the communications channel, making sure no one would be able to detect or intercept the message as it went out. They were chewing away at engine controls now, learning the navigation systems so they could plot a course back to Earth and turn the ship around as quickly as possible.

  Marq was in engineering with Barbara. As long as Dane didn’t contact anyone down there, they could keep each separate group of soldiers convinced they were both working with Marq. The engineers had no reason to think that Marq wasn’t just doing an inspection or working on something for Teisha.

  Coalition soldiers weren’t used to questioning the chain of command. For once, Dane was grateful for that. It was letting Marq be in two places at once, effectively.

  Marq and Barbara would stall anyone who tried to report the drop sequence initiating, giving them time to lock in their course. And if anyone decided to try to sabotage the engines to stop their escape, Barbara would use her unique talents to take care of them.

  Brigid had the easiest—and possibly most dangerous job of all. She would stand on the bridge, in plain sight, while watching the communications station. She wouldn’t report any alerts she saw from any of the systems they were hacking into and would try to angle herself so that no one else noticed them either.

  But while they could control communications to and from the bridge, if Teisha ordered the few soldiers right in the same room with her to open fire, there would be no stopping it.

  “I will be taking you before the High Council,” Teisha said. “They will decide your fate.”

  “Nobody decides my fate but me.” Brendan shrugged and smiled at Kira. “And my wife.”

  An alert sounded from the navigation station. Not communications. Dane held his breath.

  “Commander Teisha, we are preparing to leave blue space,” the soldier said.

  Marq had warned them they wouldn’t have much time. Dane only hoped that everything was ready.

  Teisha nodded toward the soldier and said, “Proceed.”

  The swirling blues slowed down, then began to fade. Familiar stars burned through the colors as they returned to normal space.

  “We have reached the heliosphere of the Gamma Cygni system,” the navigator said. “Approaching Sadr-4 at base speed plus three.”

  “Increase to plus seven,” Teisha said. “I wish to return home as quickly as—”

  Another alarm sounded. Dammit, had they been discovered?

  Dane looked over at Brigid. She glanced at him briefly and shook her head. No alerts from in-ship. This was from outside, then.

  “Report,” Teisha demanded.

  “I am unable to ping Sadr-4,” the navigator said.

  “Impossible.” Teisha gestured toward Dane. “Assist your incompetent soldier in his task.”

  What a charmer.

  Dane walked to the soldier’s station, tapping in the commands he barely remembered from his initial training. Marq would know exactly what to do, but it took Dane a while to get the sequences.

  “Sir,” the soldier said. He glanced up at Dane, stricken. This guy wasn’t one of the soldiers in the suppression program, Dane would bet.

  “It’s okay,” Dane murmured.

  “But it isn’t,” the soldier said. “The signals from our navigational relay aren’t bouncing back.”

  Dane remembered learning about the satellite systems that circled the Sadirian homeworld and the space stations that filled the Gamma Cygni system. Not only did they help with communications, they also allowed ships to perfectly triangulate their approaches when they were traveling at high speeds in system.

  Of course, most ships didn’t have a semi-intelligent network of nanites infiltrating most of their systems. If they looked into it deeper, his group might be discovered.

  “Make a guess,” Dane whispered.

  “Sir?” The navigator’s eyes widened and sweat beaded on his upper lip.

  “You know this system, right?” Dane said. “Use what you know and plot the best course you can.”

  “At this speed—”

  Dane cut him off. “Do you really think Teisha will be happy if we have to slow down because you can’t ping the satellites?”

  The soldier’s face blanched. “No, sir.”

  “Just do your best and…” Dane shook his head. “Try not to hit anything.”

  Dane took a deep breath and blew it out before standing and turning around. He hoped his face looked as calm as he was striving for.

  “Well?” Teisha prompted.

  “It’s addressed.” Dane looked past Teisha to where Brigid stood. For a moment, she turned toward him and smiled. Hopefully, that meant something was going right.

  Teisha glared at Brendan and said, “You will soon witness what true technological power looks like, Earthling.” She tapped on her bracer, changing the viewport.

  Stars swept past, but closer objects dominated the screen. Just inside the heliosphere, Gamma Cygni was ringed by an asteroid belt. Dane didn’t remember it being quite so thick or dense, but he hadn’t been back in a while.

  Finally, the screen cleared, giving them a view of space.

  Space. Not Sadr-4.

  “Report,” Teisha demanded.

 
“I… I don’t know,” the navigator stammered. His hands were flying across his controls. “It should be right in front of us.”

  Plasma fire rocked the ship, nearly knocking Dane to the ground. The viewport flickered with purple light. A triad of ships sped past, their triangular design making Dane’s heart race.

  “Cygnus X,” Kira said. “The Tau Ceti are attacking our homeworld.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Brigid didn’t know what to do. She was torn between watching the communications station for blinking lights that might cause them problems and looking at the super-cool video screen that was filled with what looked like could be their ultimate demise.

  “They wouldn’t dare,” Commander Teisha yelled.

  The ship rocked again, sending Brigid staggering into the wall. Her shoulder slammed into the metal hard enough to make her yelp in pain.

  “Brigid!” Dane ran across the room, grabbing onto her. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine, sir,” she said, trying to remind him to keep up the ruse.

  “Where are our shields?” Teisha yelled. “Marq, what are you doing?”

  “Shit,” Dane hissed.

  “Let me guess,” Brigid said. “Marq is the one who takes care of that.”

  Dane glared at her for a moment, then turned and said, “Activate the dispersion arrays. Ready weapons.”

  Thank God he knew what he was doing. For a second, she wondered if med-techs had any idea what first officers were responsible for.

  “Nothing is responding, sir.” The soldier who spoke sounded panicked. Brigid wasn’t far from joining him.

  Three of the triangular ships appeared on the view screen again. They were heading straight for the Reckoning. Yellow lights shot out from the points facing the ship, each one causing an impact that threatened to knock her off her feet again.

  Dane pawed at her belt, grabbing a line like the one Marq had used earlier to tether himself to the control console back in the mind-wipe chamber. Dane attached the line to a small hook next to the communications station.

  “Marq,” Teisha shouted.

  Another ship entered the video screen, completely filling it as it put itself between the Reckoning and the attacking Tau Ceti. It was spearlike, with huge spinning gun ports firing beams of white light. But none of the blasts hit the Reckoning.

  Brigid saw flashes of light on the edge of the far side of the ship. Was it protecting them?

  “Serath.” Teisha’s voice was filled with venom.

  Dane started running his fingers over the etchings on the wall in front of Brigid.

  “Kira,” Dane said. “You have to unlock communications.”

  “You.” Teisha wheeled around at Kira. “What have you done to my ship?”

  “It’s not your ship anymore.” Kira closed her eyes. Another blast hit the ship, but without nearly as much force as earlier.

  Teisha lifted her hand, pointing her bracer at Kira. Time seemed to slow.

  Brigid saw Dane lift his arm as well, but knew he wouldn’t be fast enough. Brendan was leaping in front of Kira, arms spread.

  A bright light flashed in the room, temporarily blinding her. When she blinked her eyes clear, Teisha was crumpled on the floor.

  Brendan stumbled a few steps forward, then shook his head. “What just…”

  Brigid looked past him, to the navigation officer. He was standing with his arm still pointed in Teisha’s direction, his left hand hovering over his bracer.

  “I just…” the man said. “I’ve wanted to do that for a really long time. And now, there’s nothing left to lose.”

  “What do you mean?” Dane said.

  “Sadr-4 is gone, sir.” The soldier gestured toward his station. “That’s why I couldn’t ping the satellites. Everything’s gone.”

  Dane started to weave unsteadily on his feet. Brigid grabbed his side to steady him.

  “It can’t be gone,” Dane said.

  “He’s right.” Kira’s voice was colder than usual. “All we’re detecting is debris and various starships. Every celestial object in the Gamma Cygni system has been destroyed.”

  Another voice sounded in the room, staticy and distorted at first. A man’s voice.

  “Reckoning, this is General Adam Smith of the Arbiter. Have you regained control of your vessel?”

  “We have control,” Kira said.

  There was a pause, then the voice said, “Kira?”

  “Affirmative, sir,” Kira said. “We’ve taken control of the Reckoning. What are your orders?”

  “Take out as many of these bastards as you can,” Adam said. “Protect the smaller ships—especially those evacuating survivors.”

  “Sir?” Kira’s voice cracked on the word.

  “You have your orders,” Adam said.

  Kira responded more strongly. “Yes, sir.”

  The Arbiter moved away on the screen. Brigid’s stomach did a little twist as she turned back to her station, not sure what to do or how to help.

  A green light caught her attention among all the flashing white lights.

  “Just like in the mind-wipe chamber,” she said.

  “What?” Dane looked down at her, but his gaze barely seemed to focus on her. He looked like he might be in shock.

  She had a feeling there were others who could help her at the moment, though.

  Here goes nothing.

  She took the leap of faith and tapped the glowing green light.

  Henry’s voice sounded in the bridge. “We sent the message.”

  “The nanites have a favorite color,” she murmured.

  “What’s going on up there?” Henry sounded panicked.

  “There are all these ships attacking,” Brigid said. “Kira called them Tau Ceti.”

  “What?” Henry’s voice was loud enough to snap Dane back into action.

  “Stay put,” Dane said, angling his face toward the wall. “The Tau Ceti don’t stand a chance against the Arbiter and the Reckoning together.”

  “Didn’t you say the Tau Ceti had made some kind of leap with their technology?” Brigid wished she could remember the conversation better, but being in the middle of an alien firefight was distracting her. “They were trading it to have that alliance or something?”

  “An alliance that they immediately used to launch an attack.” At first, she thought Dane had spoken, but then she realized it was Marq’s voice coming from somewhere on the wall.

  “I’m targeting one of the larger ships,” Kira said. “It looks more like a Centauran vessel.”

  A sleek red spaceship filled the video screen. It was as big as two of the Tau Ceti ships, but nowhere near the size of the Arbiter. White beams of light zapped toward it from the Reckoning. Brigid held her breath.

  The light flared against an energy field well beyond the hull of the ship. It didn’t look damaged at all.

  “They’ve upgraded their shields.” Kira’s brow was furrowed, her eyes pinched shut. “I can’t get through.”

  “Then how can we defeat them?” Brigid said.

  A calm voice sounded over the communications channel. She recognized it as Adam. They must be keeping a line open.

  “Our focus is on running interference,” he said. “Keep the enemy vessels distracted and focused on us so our smaller ships can reach the dropgate.”

  “Yes, sir,” Kira said.

  “Open a channel for me that the Tau Ceti and Centauran can hear.” Brendan put his hand on Kira’s shoulder. “I have an idea.”

  Kira opened her eyes long enough to look at him, then nodded and closed them again. “It’s ready.”

  “Tau Centauran Assembly,” he said. “This is Brendan Sloan of the Department of Homeworld Security. We represent the interests of Earth and the Vegans and are prepared to enter this altercation to assist the Coalition. Stand down, or be destroyed.” Brendan tapped Kira’s shoulder. “End transmission.”

  Kira shook her head. “That was your idea?”

  Brendan shrugged. �
�What else are we going to do? Besides, it’s true. When Sarah hears about what happened here, she going to do something about it.”

  “We have no idea when the Vegans will arrive,” Dane said. “Or if they’re even coming.”

  Kira’s head jerked toward the video screen. The red ship suddenly flashed out of sight. A few of the small triangular ships sped across the screen. Another large red ship joined them, and they all disappeared as well.

  “Did that actually work?” Brigid said.

  “With good reason.” Kira nodded toward the screen, her eyes wide.

  Two large white vessels came into view. They looked like upright nautilus shells surrounded by daisy-like petals at their base. As Brigid watched, the petals detached themselves and headed off in different directions.

  The screen flickered, the darkness of space replaced with a bright room. Brigid didn’t notice anything in the background. She was too busy staring at the bright green face in the center of the screen.

  “Little lizard people…” She was seeing her first Vegan. She sucked in a breath, then murmured, “It’s so cute.”

  Dane leaned close and whispered, “They don’t like it when you say that. Especially Cerulean.”

  Lucky for her, the lizard person on the screen was focused on other things.

  “I am Cerulean, acting Voice for the Vegans,” he said. “Be at peace, Sadirians. At the request of our Protector, we are here to assist you.”

  The screen split, another face joining Cerulean’s. This one belonged to a gorgeous man who Brigid was almost certain was Sadirian. Aside from his supermodel good lucks, he had one impossibly green eye and one that was an equally brilliant blue.

  “Greetings, Cerulean,” the man said. “I am General Adam Smith, formerly designated as Serath. We are honored to accept your offer of assistance.”

  Brigid finally felt like she could breathe again, though she was far from feeling safe. She put her arms around Dane and pressed her face against his chest. He hugged her tight, kissing the top of her head.

  “Is it over?” she mumbled.

  “No,” he said. “Far from it.”

  “I’ve switched to a secure channel.” Kira cast a withering stare at the four Sadirian soldiers who were still on the bridge, including the one who had stunned Teisha. “I’ve reviewed your files and believe you’ll be able to make the adjustment to the new chain of command. Am I wrong?”