Battlecruiser Alamo: Operation Damocles Read online

   “I have no intention of going down at all, Lieutenant,” he interrupted. “Have faith, my son.”

   The fighter's engines roared as it soared overhead, coming down just in front of the stockade. Cooper could hear shouting now, calls from the approaching column, and shook his head. This was likely to be a short-lived reunion, but he intended to make the most of it, and he raced through the gates towards his wife, wrapping her in a hug as she dropped out of the cockpit.

   “It's bad, Gabe,” she said, looking up at him. “Alamo's been crippled, half the fleet wiped out. Daedalus is on its way out of the system, but they aren't in a position to help us.” Shaking her head, she said, “We're on our own, and I don't see any way out of this one.”

   “Four trucks, sir,” Walpis said. “Say sixteen people.”

   “Tactical deployment,” Cooper replied. “Get into cover. Maybe we can hold them off for a few minutes.” Gesturing into the compound, he added, “What about the helicopter?”

   Walking over to it, Bradley looked with disdain at the antiquated machine, and replied, “Maybe. I've flown something like this in the simulators, but it'll take time to get ready.” Looking back at the approaching column, she added, “And besides, one bullet in the wrong place and it's just a pile of scrap metal.”

   “Try,” Cooper said, moving back to the column. One of the escape pods was coming down, only a quarter-mile away, parachute ripping open to slow its final descent. He shook his head, knowing that the occupant had escaped one trap only to step into another, and stepped up to the ramp to watch the Copernican troops driving towards him.

   This wasn't much of an installation to defend anyway, even if they were armed. Too close to the city, the terrain too open. Buildings made of wood, an invitation to flamethrowers or napalm. Not that it mattered. With Alamo captured, the battle was over, and unless his wife could get the helicopter going, they didn't stand a chance in any case. For a second, he contemplated surrender, but looked around at his troops and shook his head. None of them would want to give up, and deep in his heart, nor did he. Even knowing they didn't stand a chance, he'd rather go down fighting.

   “I can do this!” Bradley said. “Give me ten minutes, and I'll have us all out of here!”

   Somehow, he had to find a way to give her that time. As the vehicles came to a stop, he saw the escape pod crash to the ground, one of the trucks disgorging its passengers to investigate, their search brought to an abrupt halt by a bolt of green flame, their final breaths twisted into screams. As he watched, two more bolts raced through the air, slamming into the trucks, wiping the column from existence with only a column of smoke to herald their erstwhile presence. Carefully, a figure stepped forward, tossing a plasma rifle to the ground.

   “I thought you might need some help,” Cantrell said.

   “Good timing,” Cooper replied. “Come on. Let's get the hell out of here.”

  Chapter 27

   Orlova watched the sensor display, now merely a flat-screen projection with the failure of the holotable, looking at the scattered aftermath of the battle. Alamo was surrounded by enemy ships, dozens of fighters in firing position, ready to destroy them at a second's notice, and only a single friendly ship remained, and that heading for the hendecaspace point, fleeing the system before the Xandari could reach them. She longed to send them a message, to wish them luck, but there was no way to punch a message through to her.

   “Daedalus has jumped, Maggie,” Nelyubov said. “That's the last ship.”

   “I hope they make it,” she replied, turning to the internal sensors monitor. Compartment by compartment, she'd watched her people putting up a losing fight, struggling to hold back the Xandari for as long as they could, knowing that the effort would ultimately be futile. Casualty reports had streamed in, ceasing only when the communications network failed, rendering them silent, powerless observers. From what she could see, the battle had essentially ended, her crew captured or killed.

   She flashed through the images from the monitor cameras, the aftermath of one battle or another, bodies of her own crew and the Xandari borders scattered around, a leavening of Copernican troops, late entrants to the fight who had immediately been pushed to the front of the action. One after another, more scenes of devastation and destruction, all of them seeming unreal.

   “Looks like all the escape pods have launched,” Erickson said. “Most of them only half full, but that's still a good forty, fifty people on their way to safety. More to Daedalus.” She looked at Orlova, and said, “I guess that about wraps it up, doesn't it. Everyone who is going to get off the ship has left.” Looking at her board, she added, “There's nothing more we can do here, Captain.”

   “Agreed,” she replied. “Purge all databases. We might as well make it tough for the bastards to use her.”

   Nodding, Erickson tapped a control, and the lights flickered and died, the computer systems that managed the power network ceasing to function, all activity on the ship ending at once. As a last at, the doors slid open, a safety feature that rendered them defenseless, but it no longer mattered. An emptiness tore at Orlova as she rose to her feet, making for the door. Her ship had been stolen.

   She looked around the bridge, from station to station, shaking her head. A few moments ago, this had been the nerve center of one of the most powerful warships in the Triplanetary Fleet. Now it was a silent monument to defeat, the last resting place of their hopes and dreams.

   “If it helps, Captain,” Nelyubov said, “We did everything we set out to do. Two enemy battlecruisers destroyed, dozens of fighters wiped out, their refinery gone. I'd say we've set their plans back by months. Maybe permanently. The Consortium and the Commonwealth are working together….”

   “The mission was only complete when we returned to Yeager Station. With the best will in the world, Commodore Marshall cannot come forward until we give him the information he's waiting for.” Shaking her head, she said, “All of this was for nothing without that, Frank, and we both know it.”

   “Captain, there was no way you could have known that the Copernicans would turn traitor,” Erickson said. “They asked for help, and you gave it. Anyone else would have made the same decision, especially based on the strategic gains at stake. And it very nearly worked, despite everything.” Gesturing at the scattered clouds of debris filling orbital space, the last view from the sensors frozen on the screen, she added, “They aren't going to recover from this battle in a hurry.”

   Footsteps echoed down the corridor, boots tramping on the hard metal of the floor. The last of the defenses had fallen, and there was nothing to stop the enemy from reaching them here. Orlova glanced around one last time, then returned to her silent station at the heart of the bridge, while Nelyubov scrambled in a locker.

   “Here,” he said, tossing her a crewman's jumpsuit. “One for each of us. If they find out they've captured officers...”

   “That won't do any good, Lieutenant,” a harsh voice said, stepping into the room. “I'm afraid we have excellent records on all of you.” Holding a blinding flashlight in the air, he said, “You and your ship are now the property of the Xandari Empire.”

   “My people...”

   “My people,” the figure replied. “Not yours. But I will not allow them to be harmed. The knowledge they hold is far too valuable for that.” Looking around the dark, silent bridge, he added, “My complements, Captain. You put up an excellent fight, and were truly a worthy adversary.” Commander Ryan stepped up, looking down at the deck, and the Xandari added, “Far better than the craven Copernicans.”

   “I've seen to the disposition of the prisoners, my Lord,” Ryan said. “Shuttles are on their way up right now to transfer them to the surface. The internment camp is ready, and those we found on the surface are being taken there right now.” He smiled, and added, “We caught them all by surprise. They didn't put up much of a fight.”

   “Traitor,” Nelyubov said
, shaking his head. “How much are they paying you, Commander? How much for the future of your people? I hope your soul cost them dear.”

   Stepping forward, Ryan blurted out, “You don't understand, do you? A hundred thousand people down there, women and children, are dependent on us, and I can't throw their lives away for some crazy lost cause. The Xandari offer us security and protection, and the Koltoc had us under their thumb anyway! All we've done is trade one master for another, and this one will at least leave us alone.”

   “Don't be a fool,” Orlova replied. “They might ignore you for the moment, but if you think they'll just let you run around down there without intervention forever, you're sorely mistaken. They'll strip your freedom from you a piece at a time, until Copernicus is just one more slave world in the Xandari Empire, its people toiling for distant masters, grubbing in the dirt while their lords fly among the stars.”

   Balling his hands into fists, he said, “What was your alternative, then? You've lost, Captain, and you'd have taken all of us down with you! If you'd had your way, we'd have been defenseless against attack in any case, either easy prey for a Xandari war fleet or under the economic heel of the Koltoc.” Sneering, he said, “Or perhaps you had hoped to conquer us yourself, force us to join your empire.”

   “You truly are a fool, aren't you,” Orlova replied. “You've sold your people into slavery, and I truly believe that you don't even realize that you've done it.”

   “I don't have to take this crap from you,” he said, bearing down towards her. “Not any more.”

   “Ryan,” the Xandari said, raising his gun at the traitor, “You talk too much. Either you can correct that for yourself or I will correct it for you. Let me remind you again that these are prisoners of the Xandari Empire, not your pathetic little collection of hovels on the planet, and that they will be treated well. I expect to gain much useful information from them, and cannot spare their lives. Yours, on the other hand, I do not need. Is that understood?”

   He turned, nodded, and replied, “Yes, my Lord.”

   Nodding, the Xandari replied, “Good. I expect them to be well treated, Commander, and if any of them suffer poor treatment, I will see that you and your men answer for it. I suggest you return to the shuttles and prepare for their disembarkation.” Shaking his head as Ryan left, he added, “That creature may wear a uniform, but he is not a warrior.”

   “For once we agree,” Orlova said.

   “I might use a traitor, but that doesn't mean I have to like him, or that I trust him. They surrendered to us three weeks before you arrived, Captain. Though again, I must complement you. There were moments when I believed that you would escape the trap we have set, and your efforts did cost us greatly.”

   Nelyubov laughed, and said, “By God, the nearest thing we've had to gratitude comes from the bastards we've defeated. This war isn't over yet, you know. When our task force arrives, it'll sweep you from the sky, and I only hope that I'm there to watch you burn.”

   “If that is our fate, so will it be,” the Xandari replied. “The universe cares only who is strongest, and makes no other judgment. Today, the Empire is the victor. Tomorrow, we might be defeated, and forced to bow our knee to another.” Shaking his head, he said, “But not today. We will meet again. I will be supervising your interrogations personally, and I'm looking forward to our conversations.”

   “And then a prison camp?” Erickson asked.

   “Perhaps,” he replied. “Or maybe I will leave you here. Our agreement with the Copernican government yields them their world, but I don't recall promising anything relating to the release of prisoners. If you co-operate, Captain, then I am able to reward you richly.” Shaking his head, he said, “Though I venture you are unlikely to accede to such an offer. From what I have observed, it does not appear to be in your nature. No more than I would surrender to you, if our roles were reversed.” Stepping back to the corridor, he said, “If you make for the hangar deck, you'll find shuttles waiting for you.”

   “Our wounded, our dead...” Nelyubov began.

   “Your dead will be returned to you tomorrow, and arrangements will be made for you to provide them with an honorable rest. As one warrior to another, it is the least I could do.”

   “And the wounded?”

   “Will live or die, as fate wills. They are already being transferred to the shuttles.” He paused, then added, “Fifty-five, if you are interested. I have a full record. There are twenty-six bodies, most of them from your assault force.” Shaking his head, he added, “They fought bravely. You should be proud.”

   “I am. Aren't you worried we might try something?” Orlova asked.

   “There are no other means of leaving this ship, and you have already done an excellent job of crippling her systems. It will take us weeks to restore her to functioning condition, perhaps months. The local engineers are lamentably unskilled at such work. What more can you do, Captain? Though if you wish to honorably end your existence now, I will happily provide you with the means to do so.”

   Stepping to her captor, she said, “I wouldn't give you the satisfaction. While there is a breath left in my body, I will resist you with every fiber of my being. If you gave me a weapon, then I would use it on you. You may have captured us, but you haven't defeated us. Not until the last one of us is dead.”

   “Perhaps we are more alike than you would care to admit.” He looked down at a datapad in his hands, glowing green, and said, “If you are holding out hope that some of your people on the surface will escape, I assure you that we have tracked all of your escape pods, and that I have already arranged for their capture. You'll all be one crew soon. As for Daedalus, one ship, alone, outmatched and outgunned cannot resist us for long.”

   “Underestimating them is a mistake,” Orlova replied. “One that might well cost you dearly.”

   “As your compassion cost you,” he said, shaking his head. “Enjoy your new home, Captain. I venture to suspect that you will be there for a very long time.”

   “I wouldn't bet on that,” she replied. “As you say, perhaps we shall see what fate wills, rather than prejudging the outcome. And once you get access to our historical files, I suggest you look at the fate of one King Pyrrhus. I think you will find it most illuminating.” Without another word, she left the bridge, leading her companions into captivity.

  Chapter 28

   “Come on, come on,” Cooper said, as Bradley continued to work the controls of the helicopter, foul smells and strange noises bursting from the engine. “Everyone for twenty miles will have seen those trucks blow up, and this time they won't just send a few people with guns to bring us down.”

   “This will take as long as it takes,” Bradley said, shaking her head. “Get everyone on board. We'll be taking off in two minutes.”

   Turning to the compound, Cooper said, “All aboard.”

   “Not I, Lieutenant,” Flannery replied. “I'm too old and tired to go wandering around the wilderness any more. I'll be far more use to you back here, where I can stir up a bit of trouble and keep an eye on what the bastards are up to. You're going to need a pair of eyes in the city. Besides, I can't abandon my parish, not when they need me the most. Lombard can keep me company.”

   “Aren't you afraid that they'll capture you?” Walpis asked.

   Shaking his head, he said, “An old friend of mine runs a vineyard near here. She'll keep me safe for a few hours, and I can sneak back home by morning. Don't worry about me, Corporal. You're the ones taking all the risks today.” Looking around at the troopers, he smiled, and added, “May God himself go with you all, and keep you safe in all the dark places where you walk.”

   As he walked off, Cooper shook his head, settling down in the co-pilot's seat, in front of the unfamiliar controls, and said, “That man is braver than any of us. We're running away from the enemy. He's heading back to it.”

   “We're not running away, sir,” McBride said
. “We're just changing the direction of our attack.”

   The engine fired, blades beginning to rotate, cutting through the air and slowly bringing them up from the ground. Cooper looked down at the compound, then out at the road beyond, a column of men already heading in their direction. Flannery and Lombard would be lucky to get away in time, but he was taking a very different route, winding further away from town. He might be fortunate, and certainly their escape was providing a good distraction for him.

   “Now that we're moving,” Bradley asked, “Where exactly am I going?”

   “Due west,” Rojek said. “Towards the Wide Wood. Dense forest, three or four hundred miles deep. There are a few logging settlements on the outer fringes, but that's all. It's the best place in range that I can think of to get lost in.”

   “Turning,” Bradley replied.

   “Out of interest, Sergeant,” Cooper asked, “Has your government got anything that could shoot us down?”

   Frowning, the Copernican replied, “No anti-aircraft emplacements, we never thought we'd need them. No combat aircraft at all, really. A few of our helicopters have ground attack capability, but we've never used them in anger.” He shook his head, and said, “This was a peaceful world, Lieutenant. Aside from a few training exercises, we've never fought a battle.”

   “We're good for about two hundred and fifty miles,” Bradley said. “I hope that's enough. And for the record, I don't expect to be able to take off again once we get down. The landing gear on this thing is useless. Even if we had a proper landing strip, it would be chancy.”

   Nodding, Rojak said, “This was just an old prototype. I don't think anyone's flown it in years.”

   “Now you tell me,” Bradley said, wrestling with the controls as the wind picked up. Cooper looked out across the horizon, the lights of the city receding in the distance behind them as they traveled into open country. First they flew over farmland, twinkling lights of village nestling together in the dark, then over wilder country, the thin veneer of civilization fading away as the city fell back over the horizon.