Avery nodded. “But how do we defeat an ideology, especially if it’s held by an entire people and not just a dissident minority?”
“You create a different one for them to believe in,” Aaron said.
Vee gave him a disbelieving look. “That really doesn’t make any sense.”
Aaron clapped him on the shoulder. “Maybe, but it felt like the right thing to say.”
“I see that gleam in your eye,” Vee said. “You’re planning something.”
“Me? I’m taking a leaf out of the marines’ book. Not planning—improvising.”
“It’s probably dangerous, unsanctioned and borders on reckless.”
Aaron counted his fingers as Vee ranted.
“You missed one,” he said.
“Really . . . which one?”
“Typical. You missed typical.”
“I’m serious, Aaron. You can’t take on the ORA yourself.”
“I won’t be by myself. I’ve got the ship, and the crew.”
Vee sighed. “Don’t give me that good ship and crew speech.”
Whatever they’d done to him, Vee was truly afraid. He wouldn’t talk about it. When Aaron asked Lee for details on how he’d found Endeavor’s crew, the Lieutenant clammed up. Aaron didn’t press the rest of Endeavor’s crew on it either. Max said they were just withdrawn. Give them time.
He could understand needing time. If anyone could . . . it was him.
“Let’s just focus on getting back where we belong. We’ll discuss the fate of the ORA later. If it’s truly full blown Immortals guiding them, we’ll just have to nuke them all.”
Vee regarded him as though he was joking. He certainly wasn’t. If the ORA intended to wage a war of extermination—he’d just have to ensure the ORA lost.
It was just Aaron’s kind of luck for a person like Ben James to unlock the secrets to immortality. The universe mocked him.
It had immortalized an asshole.
Chapter 34 – And Onward To Great Glory
“Couldn’t have said it better myself, Ensign” – Aaron Rayne
Main Bridge
Phoenix
Aaron stood at the command chair. Everything was as it should be. Vee was aboard Endeavor with his crew, Lee’s head down at tactical, Flaps at the helm, and the marines stood at the back of the bridge. Herman took ops and Max had to be content with the secondary tactical seat since Ayres was where Max had liked to sit—the XO’s chair.
Only Rachael and Reyes were missing.
“Endeavor signaling, Commander. They’re ready.”
Phoenix and Endeavor cruised a thousand kilometers apart. Two machines of war upon a tide of madness.
The wormhole was surrounded by more ORA ships and multiple overlapping interdiction zones.
No matter.
It wasn’t located inside a star system. They could warp in, destroy the interdiction drones on the perimeter, warp out and continue. The ORA fleet couldn’t effectively blockade the wormhole with the ships they had. They’d have to reposition closer to it.
And the closer towards the event horizon they positioned, the closer Phoenix and Endeavor could get.
Aaron didn’t like the idea of Rachael and Reyes staying on this side. But their role was critical to the survival of the United Star Systems. Phoenix would get field repairs as quickly as humanly possible, and nothing would stop him returning for his crew.
“Prepare the dragon to fight, XO.”
Ayres nodded. “Helm, transition from warp. Lieutenant Lee, deploy railgun and missile batteries. Mr. Zane, be ready with the kinetic barrier. Sparingly please, our gravitic charges are low. All hands, this is the XO, brace for impending combat maneuvers, we’re going in.”
“Just one thing I forgot, Commander,” Flaps said, rising from the helm.
“Ensign?”
Flaps reached down, picked up a small object, and moved quickly to attach it to the bulkhead.
The ship’s plaque. Aaron squinted at the inscription on the bottom. He smiled as he read it. And onward to great glory.
Flaps returned to the helm.
“Helm answering, transition from warp, three-two-one, Phoenix arriving.”
“Railguns and missile batteries deployed,” Lee reported. “Magazines full, we’ve got six reloads, and it looks like we’ve stirred a hornet’s nest.”
On the tactical board, the ORA ships reacted to the sudden appearance of the two United Systems starships. They’d slowed their speed to avoid detection up to several light minutes. The ORA never saw them coming.
“I’ve got a visual hail from the lead ORA ship,” Ayres said.
Aaron nodded to her.
The holo-viewer came alive with none other than Ben James.
“Ah, Commander Rayne, here we are again, on opposite sides. Now that I know who you really are, it’s no doubt stubbornness runs in the family. Reminus and his woman were always idealists.”
What the hell was he on about now? He always seemed to be spewing some nonsense this one.
“I’m going to find every last one of your copies and end them, Ben James.”
“No, Rayne. Even now we are poised to strike at the heart of your beloved United Systems. We can be anywhere—anytime. None of you can stop it.”
Flaps jerked upright in his seat.
“You’re about to get an ass-kicking!”
Silence settled over the bridge, everyone paused to stare at Flaps.
Aaron snickered. “Couldn’t have said it better myself, Ensign. Ben James. I’d warn you to get out the way, but I prefer you to stay and hold still. We’re going to rip you a new one.” He turned to Ayres. “Cut comms.”
She complied.
“Helm,” Aaron ordered. “Full burn for the first target, decelerate to combat speeds as we bare for the first pass.”
The first interdiction drone loomed.
“Target locked,” Lee said.
“Weapons free on the drones, Lieutenant. Only fire on ships which pose an immediate threat to us or Endeavor.”
A small burst of railgun fire destroyed the first drone.
“Transitioning to warp,” Flaps said.
Phoenix and Endeavor separated now. Each had their own designated interdiction drones to target.
“Two ORA ships have accelerated towards our current target,” Zane said.
“Havocs authorized, Lee.”
Phoenix fired a volley of havocs, and the ORA ships backed off.
“Mr. Zane. Send another message. Inform the Supreme Commander, we’re preparing to maneuver through, and we’re going to need help.”
Shepherd’s task force should be standing by. There was no way Shepherd could know the extent of the threat they faced. Phoenix had to make it through. Hopefully, the Supreme Commander had gathered more ships than just a small task force.
They would soon make a dash for the wormhole. Together, Endeavor and Phoenix finished the remaining interdiction drones on the outer perimeter, clearing the way for a burn to the wormhole, forcing the ORA ships to tighten the blockade.
The wormhole effects prevented warp out to a million kilometers, so they couldn’t warp in and go through. They had to peel back the layers of protection.
“I don’t like this, Commander,” Ayres said.