Star Fortress ds-6 Page 14

  “Is anything wrong?” Marten asked.

  She shook her head and sidled closer to Omi, putting a hand on his biceps.

  Marten raised an eyebrow. He hoped that meant what he thought it did. It would go a long way toward keeping Nadia happy.

  “I’m married,” he said.

  “That is good,” Ah Chen said in her soft voice. “I am glad for you, Marten.”

  “We’d better get going,” Omi said, and he gave Marten a significant look.

  It finally got through to Marten. They knew something important, something they wanted to tell him, but not in front of the military people of Social Unity. Oh, he really got it then. Ah Chen knew something.

  “Yeah, we’d better get going,” Marten said. “The Security Specialist—excuse me. The Vice-Chairman wishes for our quick departure.”

  “Those are my orders too,” the brigadier said.

  “Then if you don’t mind…” Marten said, as he glanced at the lifters.

  “Please, be on your way.”

  “Omi, Ah Chen, you’ll ride with us,” Marten said. “I’d like to introduce you to my wife.”

  Soon the lifters were turned around, once more heading for Geneva.

  “What’s all the secrecy about?” Marten asked in the lifter.

  It was a tight fit. Ah Chen sat on the floor with her legs crossed. Omi hovered protectively near her.

  Ah Chen swallowed nervously as she glanced at Nadia. “I have wondered a long time what to do with my information. Then Chief Monitor Quirn saw you on the Nancy Vance Show.”

  “Old hall leader Quirn?” asked Marten, bemused.

  Ah Chen nodded.

  “Were you two friends?” Marten asked.

  Ah Chen blushed. “It is a complicated story. He lives with Molly.”

  “Oh,” Marten said.

  “Who is Molly?” Nadia asked.

  Marten opened his mouth, uncertain what he should say.

  Ah Chen glanced from Marten to Nadia. Then she said, “Molly was a mutual acquaintance that went through the invasion with us. In any case, once I learned you were on Earth, and that you were the Jovian Representative, I believed that fate had given me the answer.”

  “To what?” Marten asked.

  “Yes,” Nadia said. “I’d like to know that, too.”

  Hunching toward Marten, Ah Chen said, “I was slated to leave for the Sun Station. It is in Near Sun Orbit.”

  “I’ve never heard of this station,” Marten said.

  “Nor have I,” Osadar said.

  “The Sun Station is new and experimental,” Ah Chen said. “Without going into the science of it, it represents the next great leap in battlefield technology. The Highborn are attempting to deploy giant reflectors very near the Sun. The reflectors will direct some of the Sun’s energy at a breakthrough focusing system many kilometers in diameter. It will act as a gargantuan lens. With enough reflectors, the Sunbeam can conceivably shoot at Mars.”

  “The Sun already shoots its rays that far,” Marten said.

  “The Sunbeam will shoot a coherent ray with vast killing power,” Ah Chen said.

  “We could use that against the cyborgs,” Marten said.

  Ah Chen nodded. “And after the cyborgs are gone, who will the Highborn use it against?”

  Marten sagged against his seat as he glanced at Osadar. “Just how potent is this Sunbeam supposed to be?”

  “The Highborn are taking deep-core mine specialists to the Sun Station,” Ah Chen said. “It has led me to believe that the ray is many factors more powerful than the greatest beams deployed so far.”

  “Whoever has the Sunbeam can fire at anyone in Inner Planets,” Osadar said. “The only protection would be to hide behind an asteroid or planet.”

  “The focusing problem needed to hit a ship in Mars orbit…it would be impossible,” Marten said.

  Ah Chen shook her head. “To save time and so you will understand that I am privy to highly classified information, I will tell you my shame. The Highborn…have taken to seeing the women of Earth. One of the Sun Station’s chief engineers has been testing deep-core personnel in Australia Sector. He liked me and then he demanded I please him. After our times together, he spoke about many things. He was very boastful and proud.”

  “They all are,” Marten said.

  “How awful for you,” Nadia said.

  Ah Chen nodded as she stared at the floor, speaking in a quiet voice. “I learned that the premier Highborn of the Sun-Works Factory—a Commandant Maximus—has declined a command position on a Doom Star several times already. According to the chief engineer, there are some Highborn who consider Maximus as Grand Admiral Cassius’s equal in strategic ability.”

  “You think Maximus has declined the combat position because he’s found something even deadlier than a Doom Star?” Marten said.

  “I do,” Ah Chen said.

  “I can accept this,” Osadar said. “What I don’t understand is why you came all the way across Eurasia to tell Marten.”

  “He is the Jovian Representative,” Ah Chen said, shyly glancing at the others. “He has space marines, and I remembered Marten Kluge. He did not like others controlling him.”

  Marten laughed. It was a grim sound. “You think I should take my marines and try to storm this Sun Station.”

  “I do,” Ah Chen said.

  As the magnetic lifters raced for Geneva, silence descended upon the compartment.

  Nadia turned frightened eyes upon Marten, shaking her head. She obviously didn’t like the idea. Marten scowled, with his eyes narrowed as he stared at an unseen place, thinking deeply.

  “How can we do something like that?” asked Osadar, the first to break the silence. “These are Highborn we’re speaking about. We cannot defeat them with our handful.”

  “To begin with,” Marten said, “we have to get off Earth. After that…after that, we’re going to have to do some serious thinking.”

  His words left Nadia stricken. She stared at Ah Chen with growing hostility.

  -13-

  The civil war turned ugly fast.

  The magnetic lifters passed a column of cybertanks heading for the Po Valley and ultimately for Milan, one would presume. The one hundred ton tanks were massive vehicles. Their treads churned up the road as their automated warfare pods scanned the skies and hunted for enemy on the ground.

  Marten counted twenty of them. A half hour later as they began to climb the Ouster Pass, he spotted another two columns. Sixty new cybertanks headed for the front.

  “Cone must be emptying the northern cities of them,” Osadar said. “She means to crush Italia Sector.”

  “Or to gain Milan’s proton beam,” Marten said.

  They had watched a Backus broadcast earlier. For seemingly cryptic reasons, the director had threatened to destroy the boosters launching from Geneva to supply the fleet.

  “Cone is taking Backus’s threats seriously,” Marten added.

  “Force-Leader!” Xenophon shouted. The small Jovian was pale as he said, “They’re using nuclear weapons, sir.”

  Marten looked up at Xenophon’s screen. A mushroom cloud rose in the distance.

  “It ignited in the Po Valley,” Xenophon said.

  “Button the hatches!” Marten shouted. “Ground the lifters!”

  The nine magnetic lifters soon thudded onto the ground as one after another they came to a halt. Then more mushroom clouds rose skyward.

  “Madness,” Osadar said.

  They waited, but the nuclear explosions were far enough away so that no screaming winds or intense heat washed over them.

  “Who launched those?” Osadar asked.

  Marten shook himself out of his stupor. He was remembering long ago on the Pacific Ocean as Social Unity launched nukes on their convoy. He had been on his way to Japan Sector then.

  “Rev up the engines,” Marten radioed his troops. There was heavy static on the line. “We need to get off-world before Cone and Backus destroy each other and u
s with them.”

  During the next two hours, they picked up several interesting broadcasts. Through it, they began to piece together what had happened. The added cybertanks had told almost immediately on the push toward Milan. Soon thereafter, Director Backus must have made his monumental decision: using nuclear missiles. Backus’s propagandist claimed total annihilation of the invading cybertanks, and the announcer added they were akin to cyborg troops, making Cone a stooge of the terrible enemy.

  Seventeen minutes later, Osadar signaled Marten. “You have a message from Cone.”

  He nodded, and tapped his screen. A harried Vice-Chairman Cone peered at him. High-ranking officers moved in the background amid a babble of sounds.

  “The Geneva launch-site is under attack,” Cone said in her clipped way. “You should reroute to a different site.”

  “To where?” asked Marten.

  “Moscow would make the—”

  “We have to lift now,” Marten said.

  “Backus has infiltration agents everywhere,” Cone said. “There are viruses in much of our European software. We’ve hit the Milan proton-beam…” She shook her head. “An air-wing has gone over to him. They used missiles. Now interceptors are headed for Geneva. We have reason to believe they carry nuclear payloads. I urgently suggest you head elsewhere.”

  “We’re fifteen minutes from the launch-site,” Osadar said quietly.

  Marten squeezed his eyes closed. His heart thudded in his chest. He wanted to get off-planet now. He wanted to get back onto his patrol boats. Who knew how this civil war would go?

  “No,” Marten said, opening his eyes. “We’re headed for Geneva. Keep a booster on the ground for us.”

  “You’re taking a terrible risk,” Cone said.

  “Yes,” Marten said. “Now I have to go. Leave us that booster.”

  “…I’ll see what I can do.”

  Marten radioed the other lifters. “I know these roads are treacherous and we’re in the Alps, but let’s push it.”

  Soon, the nine magnetic lifters whined with power. And the Jovian pilots proved their worth this day as they revved, increasing speed along the Swiss Sector road.

  Eleven minutes later, the nine vehicles roared onto the launch-site. Most of the blast-pans were empty, devoid of the giant boost-ships. Craters dotted the area. Several buildings had been hit and they showed gaping holes. One squat orbital vessel remained, however, waiting in the number fourteen blast-pan.

  “Park beside it!” Marten radioed his troops.

  Ninety seconds later, sirens wailed as they sprinted from their grounded lifters. Marten breathed the crisp air, and he noticed a faint white cloud high in the sky. Then he plunged through the hatch, running for the seats.

  Amid shouts, everyone shoved into a seat and strapped in. Seconds later, the mighty engines roared into life and the heavy launch vehicle began to lift. A cheer went through the compartment and Jovians pumped their fists.

  Marten turned his head, glancing out the window even as the Gs began to press him into the cushions. As they gained speed, the spaceport shrank and individual mountains merged into a range and then became the Swiss Alps. They’d made it, and just in time. There was a streak outside. It was far away and coming closer fast. Marten spied another streak rushing up from the surface, and there was a brilliant flash.

  Ground defense got the first one, Marten thought.

  He didn’t see if there were other enemy interceptors. The thunder of liftoff drowned out all speech. The launch vehicle shook and the G-forces pressed harder.

  I’m leaving Earth again. Despite everything, a pang filled Marten. Would he ever return? Would Earth still be here when this was over?

  It was no longer blue outside, but beginning to darken. Struggling against the Gs, Marten craned a look down, seeing clouds. Soon, Europe became distinct as a landmass. Then he saw the curve of the Earth. As he looked, the Gs lessened. Marten realized the thunder of liftoff had stopped, although there was ringing in his ears.

  Nadia sat beside him, and beside her was Osadar. The cyborg turned to him. Her “face” showed worry.

  “The Doom Stars can easily destroy us now,” Osadar said.

  Three Doom Stars were in orbit around Luna. The average distance from the Earth to the Moon was 385,000 kilometers. A Doom Star’s Ultra-laser could fire one million kilometers with destructive power. It would be the simplest thing in the world for a Highborn to beam them out of existence—if they wanted to.

  “Cassius had a vendetta against me,” Marten said, “and he’s dead.”

  “Do you believe the other Highborn love you?” Osadar asked.

  “I wouldn’t call it love, no.”

  “Presumably, the Highborn have mapped the important structures and craft in Earth orbit. I am not sure they would approve of Marten Kluge regaining access to space.”

  “How would they know I’m leaving?” Marten asked.

  “Spies,” Osadar said. “Or perhaps they monitor communications.”

  As the launch vehicle’s engines cut out, bringing weightlessness to the ship, Group-Leader Xenophon turned in his seat. “The Highborn can’t fire on us. They need Social Unity’s battleships. If they fire, they break the alliance.”

  “We are not part of Social Unity,” Osadar pointed out.

  “True,” Xenophon said. “But as Jovians, we’re part of the Alliance.”

  “What if Director Backus declares us outlaws?” Osadar asked. “He might ask the Highborn to shoot us for him. Then they could legally destroy Marten Kluge.”

  “Why would Backus do that?”

  “Why do the directors and Cone fight for power?” Osadar countered. “There’s chaos on Earth. The nuclear missiles and the interceptors just now prove their madness. That madness has been growing, spreading. Cassius tried to murder Hawthorne. The Supreme Commander resigned at precisely the worst possible time. If all this weren’t proof enough of madness, now the Highborn appear to be maneuvering against each other.”

  “How have you deduced that?” Marten asked.

  “Why is the Sunbeam a secret?”

  “The Highborn aren’t telling us about it,” Marten said. “We don’t know they’re not telling each other.”

  “I read the signs differently,” Osadar said. “Commandant Maximus remains at the Sun-Works Factory, never bothering to fight for the command of a Doom Star. We know the Highborn pattern is to struggle for higher rank. According to Ah Chen, Maximus has never broadcast the reason to the other Highborn why he is content to stay at Mercury. Therefore, I believe he has kept the Sunbeam a secret.”

  “Such a thing would be difficult to keep hidden,” Xenophon said.

  “Maybe Osadar has a point,” Marten said. “I remember Social Unity hiding a beamship near the Sun. It’s hard spotting things close to that blazing inferno.”

  “How can anyone build anything near the Sun?” Xenophon asked. “That I do not understand.”

  “Ah Chen explained it,” Marten said. “They don’t build the sections near the Sun, but father away. Then they maneuver the sections into position. The mirrors need to be closest and she said they’re fully automated. I just thought of something else. Remember the Highborn interferometer, the giant one near the Sun?”

  “I recall it,” Osadar said.

  “It helped spot the planet-wreckers a year ago,” Marten said. “According to what I’ve heard, it’s massive, hundreds of satellites working in coordination. Could Maximus be pretending to add to the interferometer even as he secretly builds the Sunbeam?”

  “I deem that to be highly likely,” Osadar said. “It is also beside the point at the moment. The Highborn hate you. They have not forgotten that you’ve killed some of their own when you were a shook trooper under their command. We must pretend to be another supply ship.”

  No more supply boosters lifted from Geneva, but there were other launch-sites.

  “Here is my suggestion,” Osadar said. “Let us wait to reengage our engine until orbi
tal drift puts the Earth between us and the Moon, blocking their line-of-sight and thus their lasers.”

  Marten saw her logic and the need for haste. He began to unbuckle and pointed at Omi and Osadar. “You’re coming with me.”

  “What are you doing?” Nadia asked.

  “I need to speak to the pilot about Osadar’s plan,” Marten said.

  “Just call him on your com,” Nadia said.

  “He might need a little persuading to stay up here with us for a few days longer,” Marten said. He checked his needler, the preferred weapon on a spaceship. The .38’s slugs had the potential of shattering windows and depressurizing the cabin.

  “You’re hijacking the launch vehicle?” Nadia asked.

  “Only temporarily,” Marten said, as he grabbed a seat and propelled himself toward the pilot’s cabin.

  After persuading the pilot, the hours ticked away until Luna crept over the horizon and then passed behind Earth, shielding them from the Doom Stars. As Osadar piloted them, she maneuvered to the patrol boats. Inflatable skins hid each boat. Techs had used the skins so they could work on them without suits in a regular atmosphere.

  Normally, a patrol boat had a crew of five. In the Jupiter System where the patrol boats had been designed and built, they often went on a yearlong cruise and were therefore a relatively spacious craft. The vessel contained a control chamber, living quarters, a galley, gym and engine room.

  During the boat’s stay in Earth orbit, however, changes had occurred. On Hawthorne’s orders, techs had begun its transformation into a cloaked ship.

  “The Highborn control the space of Inner Planets,” Hawthorne told Marten when he’d first landed on Earth. “Therefore, I’ve issued a directive on new ship construction. We’re taking a leaf out of the cyborg’s strategic book—stealth-craft. We might as well begin with your vessels.”

  Marten didn’t know of any new SU stealth-craft, although the Jovian boats had benefited from the change. During his stay on Earth, the technicians had added troop-pods. That greatly increased each vessel’s carrying capacity. Then the techs had fitted special “dark” polymers over every inch of hull. It wasn’t up to the standards of cyborg stealth-technology, but it changed the nature of the boats, making them difficult to find when they were running cold. Lastly, the techs had torn out the old fusion engine, installing an ion one. It was very fuel-efficient and long-endurance, but had low acceleration compared to the old engine. The exhaust reached three hundred degrees Centigrade now at its hottest, which made it thousands of degrees cooler than its former exhaust and thus harder to detect while accelerating.