Fall of Icarus (36 page)

“Not in a million years,” Adam replied.
 
“Though I don’t like the idea of the three of us being back together.”

Yen felt the bad blood shared between them and the Uligart standing at the doorway to the auditorium.
 
Buren, Adam, and Yen had been the only survivors of the slaughter on Purseus II, the same battle during which Keryn’s brother had died.
 
The three survivors had flown together for months in the cramped confines of the
Cair Ilmun
before being rescued.
 
Buren had been in shock, barely speaking or interacting with the other two.
 
When they were finally rescued, while Yen and Adam recounted their story to a multitude of ranking officials, Buren had been quietly whisked away.
 
Diagnosed with a severe post-traumatic stress disorder, Buren was admitted to a hospital.
 
He should have been kicked from the service, Yen thought sourly.
 
Instead, Buren stood proudly in the back of the auditorium, in full military regalia.
 
On the shoulders of his uniform shone the brass rank of Magistrate.
 
Despite his medical condition and inpatient care at a hospital, he had been inexplicably promoted to the rank of an officer.
 
It was too convenient to be a coincidence.

           
Their pondering was interrupted as Captain Hodge climbed the steps leading to the stage.
 
A general hush fell over the crowd as she stepped gingerly over the multitude of wires that coated the stage’s floor.
 
She walked to the center of the stage before turning to address the crowd.

           
“I’m sorry to have pulled you all from your shore leave.
 
Rest assured, I wouldn’t have done so if I didn’t have a very good reason.
 
By now you’ve all heard the message from the High Council.
 
It’s been decided that the Alliance will go on the offensive against the Terran Empire.
 
For those of you who were engaged in the last battle, you’ve surely asked the same question of yourself that I have many times: how much more aggressive than the last battle do they expect us to be?”

           
A light laughter filled the room, though it was heavy with nervousness and sadness at the memory of the Fleet engagement.

           
“I joke, but the truth of the situation is staggering.
 
Before this meeting began, I received a classified communication from the High Council, laying out their plan of attack against the Terran Empire.
 
When they say that we are going on the offensive, they truly weren’t kidding.

           
“I’ll be honest with you all.
 
The
Revolution
was the least damaged Cruiser in the Fleet following the last battle, and we are still a few weeks away from completing repairs.
 
Other ships have received just enough repairs to remain space worthy.
 
But our time is short; so short, in fact, that we don’t have time to wait for the rest of the repairs before we begin flying toward our target.
 
The remaining repairs will be conducted in midflight.”

           
Captain Hodge tapped a series of buttons on the console imbedded in the podium.
 
The lights in the auditorium dimmed and a holographic representation of Empire-occupied space appeared.

           
“Earlier this week, we received information that a massive Terran Fleet had left orbit around the Empire’s home world of Earth.”
 
Small red dots appeared in the hologram, showing the large Fleet heading toward the Demilitarized Zone.
 
“Based off our most recent battle, it is safe to assume that the Terran Fleet is heading toward Alliance space with the intent of conducting a full-fledged assault on our strongholds along this side of the Demilitarized Zone.
 
From their angle of advance, the border stations near the Indara Nebula will be the first to fall.
 
If not stopped, the Fleet will continue its advance until it reaches more inhabited planets.”

           
The Captain’s voice dropped, though it still carried through the room.
 
“I don’t think I need to remind you of what happened during the Great War.
 
If the Empire still has access to any Planet Killer weapons, then everyone we know could be in danger.”

           
“So we’re going to face the full Terran Fleet?” Yen asked loudly, his voice cutting through the silence in the room.
 
“With a third of our ships damaged, we’re going to face a Fleet that has numerical advantage?”

           
Captain Hodge smiled.
 
“No, Magistrate Xiao.
 
We are not going to attack the Fleet.
 
The first thing I told you was that the Terran Fleet had left orbit around Earth.
 
They left their home world defenseless.
 
We’re taking the war to Earth!”

           
Stunned chatter erupted throughout the room.
 
Penchant and Adam both leaned in and the three talked amongst themselves, echoing the sentiments of those seated around them.

           
“This is suicide,” Penchant growled.
 
“The defense grid around Earth would decimate the Fleet as soon as we got in range.”

           
“Something tells me that the Terrans would be ready for something like this,” Adam added.
 
“They wouldn’t just leave Earth defenseless.”

           
Yen sat in silence, trying to block out everyone’s panicked conversations.
 
There was something they were all missing, and Yen was patient enough to wait to find out what it was.

           
“Silence!” Captain Hodge yelled, her voice cutting through the conversations.
 
As everyone turned back toward her, they found the Avalon glowering at them, her face flushed with anger.
 
“Do you honestly think that the High Council doesn’t know about the Terran defenses around Earth?
 
Do you truly believe that they would knowingly send us all to our deaths without any sort of defenses of our own?
 
Don’t be fools!”

           
Taking a deep breath, Captain Hodge continued.
 
“You’ve all heard the rumors of Earth’s defenses.”
 
Pushing a control on the console, the holographic image changed to that of a blue-green planet.
 
Around it, floating in a synchronous orbit, small metallic satellites could be seen.
 
Their orbits ensured complete coverage above the atmosphere of Earth.
 
“The fact is
,
they’re true.
 
The Terrans do have a satellite system in place capable of annihilating our Alliance Cruisers.
 
But there’s a plan to get around their defenses.
 
To explain it further, I’d like to introduce Doctor Birand, a representative of the High Council.”

           
A rail-thin Uligart took the stage, looking fragile in his oversized laboratory coat.
 
A general hush fell over the audience as they watched the nervous man run a hand through his thinning hair and push his glasses up further on his face.
 
Yen frowned.
 
Surrounded by what Yen had to assume was his own technology, there was still something that seemed to keep the scientist on edge.
 
He had learned long ago that when a man seemed nervous about his own plan, it was usually doomed to failure.
 
Gingerly, not wanting to alert anyone to what he was doing, Yen began to probe the scientist’s thoughts.

           
“Thank you, Captain, for allowing me to be here,” Dr. Birand said softly, with a faint stutter.
 
He glanced up at the holographic portrayal of Earth, hovering above his head.
 
Smiling, he began pacing the stage as he talked, as though the movement helped him gather his thoughts.
 
His speech came slower as he methodically selected his words for greatest effect.
 
“You can all see the image hovering above the stage.
 
Ever since the Great War, Earth has spent a small fortune building one of the most elaborate satellite systems in history, a system so complex that no ship stands a chance of passing through without being summarily destroyed.
 
The access code changes every twenty-four hours with the new codes being shuttled to inbound crews only when they enter the solar system, and that only happens after a whole litany of authorization codes have been verified by Earth’s central command.
 
Even if we tried, we would stand no chance of gathering all those access codes from any of the captured Terran crews.”

           
Yen saw the flicker of faint images, peeled unwillingly from the mind of the scientist.
 
Broad golden lasers, the result of harnessed solar energy, fired from satellites surrounding a blue and green planet.
 
His heart beat faster.
 
To wield such power would make a man unstoppable.

           
The Uligart stopped pacing and faced the crowd, a look of confusion temporarily cast upon his face before he continued.
 
“So what options do we have?”

           
“Don’t attack Earth at all,” someone yelled from the back of audience.
 
Nervous laughter sputtered through the crowd, though Yen was pretty sure the man wasn’t joking.

           
Dr. Birand smiled softly.
 
“No, unfortunately we will be attacking Earth.
 
It does, however, still leave us with the problem of Earth’s defenses.
 
For the past few years, I have been heading a secret research project that would be invaluable in just such a situation.
 
The results of those years of research are sitting on this very stage with me.”

           
Yen’s eyes fell back to the pedestal, covered with electronic wires as though wrapped in a cocoon.
 
A disturbing series of images flashed in quick procession through Yen’s mind.
 
Flayed skin and exposed organs quickly overlapped with disgorged eyeballs and animals with missing limbs.
 
Yen jerked his eyes back to Dr. Birand, but the Uligart’s expression revealed nothing of the troubling thoughts flowing through his mind.
 
Walking calmly across the stage, the doctor picked up a glass cylinder and carried it to the pedestal.
 
Setting it down, he left his hand on top of the object as he addressed the audience.

           
“What we developed during the past few years will mark a change in the way the Alliance will travel through space.
 
But for now, until it can be produced and implemented throughout the Alliance, it has been more locally installed for your use.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you warp technology!”

           
Yen narrowed his eyes as he watched the nervous man.
 
Warp technology was a myth, something that had been speculated amongst the scientific elite for generations.
 
The concept of moving at instantaneous travel between two points was a fairy tale, as far as Yen was concerned.
 
Even the scientific community was unconvinced that using such technology wouldn’t destabilize the region in which it was used, resulting in a black hole rather than passable portal.
 
It was obvious that others shared Yen’s mentality.
 
There hadn’t been the gasp of surprise that the doctor had obviously been expecting.
 
The skepticism he now faced obviously made him even more nervous as Yen could see large droplets of sweat forming on his ridged brow.
 

Eager to move the presentation forward and see what proof he brought, Yen spoke up.
 
“How does it work, doctor?”

           
Dr. Birand turned quickly to the new voice.
 
He held up two fingers, which he drew together as he spoke.
 
“Ah, well, it’s a little complicated.
 
The basic principle is that we found a way to fold space, so that point A and point B, which are normally millions of miles apart, are touching one another.
 
The physics behind it are simple, so long as you understand…”

           
The doctor’s mind had gone blank as the air around Yen wavered faintly.
 
He tried his best to contain the shimmering, so as not to give himself away.
 
He pushed the doctor forward, reveling in the twisting of a weak-willed mind.
 
The doctor had no mental defenses against Yen’s intrusion, so Yen began dropping psychic suggestions.
 
The technical aspects of the technology bored Yen.
 
If he were to be impressed, Yen demanded a demonstration.
 
It was that thought that he psychically implanted in the doctor’s mind.