The Star Cross (30 page)

“What about
the European Union? What will they do?” asked Mayfield. He was greatly concerned
that this latest demand from the Profiteers would bring about the war he had
been hoping to avoid.

“Unknown,”
Raul answered, as he glanced down at several messages he had recently received
from various world governments. “They have indicated they will consider
following our lead.”

“The Profiteers
have made demands of every country,” commented General Braid with a scowl.
“Hell, some of those countries have no gold!”

“This is it
then,” said Fleet Admiral Tomalson with a deep sigh. “They have four big
detainee ships currently in orbit and several cargo ships. One is full or
nearly full, and the other is for what they are expecting to gain from this
next tribute.”

Mayfield let
out a deep breath. “Fleet Admiral Vickers indicated the defense grid around Newton is complete.” Mayfield looked intently at Tomalson. “Is there anything Kurt can do
with the ships he currently has?”

“Possibly,”
Tomalson said with a deep frown. “If Newton is secure from attack, he could
lead the rest of his fleet against the Profiteers. The problem remains with the
Dacroni battleships. Kurt’s battlecruiser and carriers wouldn’t stand a
chance.”

“If he could
only take out a few of them, they might withdraw,” suggested Raul. “We know the
aliens are hesitant to take losses, as it affects their profit margin.”

General Braid
shook his head in disgust. “A culture that fights wars based on profit … it’s
just beyond my understanding.”

“How many do
you think he would have to down in order to get the Profiteers to pull out?”
asked Mayfield, looking intently at Fleet Admiral Tomalson. Perhaps a limited
battle was all that was needed.

“At least one
Profiteer battlecruiser, a couple of their escorts, and maybe one or two of the
Dacroni battleships,” answered the fleet admiral.

“Is there any way
he can do that?” asked Mayfield.

“No,” Tomalson
replied, shaking his head. “I’m afraid any attack against the Profiteer fleet
could also result in them nuking Earth. Even without an uprising, once they get
all our gold and gems, I just don’t see them leaving our home planet intact. We
could rise up one day and retaliate.”

“The admiral’s
right,” General Braid said gravely. “They’ll nuke us when they leave. They
don’t dare leave our technology base intact, in case we come hunting for them
some day. They’ll blast us back to the Stone Age.”

“If their
fleet is under attack by Fleet Admiral Vickers, perhaps they couldn’t get off
enough nukes to permanently damage the planet,” suggested Raul, seeking a
solution to the problem. “We do have some assets to defend ourselves with.”

“I would be
willing to take that risk,
if
we could get rid of them once and for
all,” replied Mayfield grimly. “We can’t go on much longer like this.” He
looked over at General Braid. “Can we stop their nukes?”

“They won’t
take us completely by surprise this time,” said General Braid. “We do have a
large number of interceptor missiles and jet fighters to knock down the
missiles before they detonate. However, I fear that, no matter what we do, a
few will get through our defenses.”

President
Mayfield looked over at Tomalson with a desperate look on his face. He greatly
feared he might be overseeing the end of the world as he knew it.

“I’ll send
Fleet Admiral Vickers a message on one of the stealth shuttles, outlining High
Profiteer Creed’s latest demands,” Tomalson said with a heavy sigh. “I can’t
promise anything.”

“Do the best
you can,” Mayfield replied.

He leaned back
in his chair and took a deep steadying breath. He realized there was a good
chance that he might be the last president of the North American Union. Even if
they met the Profiteers’ latest demands, he fully expected them to nonetheless strip
the planet and then nuke it as they left. General Braid would do his best to
defend the North American Union, but Mayfield feared that, in this instance,
the general’s best would not be enough.

-

Several days
later Kurt was on Newton Station, meeting with Governor Spalding and several
others who had flown up to inspect the newly finished defense grid and to
observe the work being done by Lomatz’s engineers to the shipyard.

“I’m
impressed,” Governor Spalding said, as they stood in the Command Center, where numerous viewscreens showed activity around the station. Small work vehicles were
everywhere, and defensive energy turrets were being installed at strategic locations
on the outer hull. Larger weapons, which he was told were ion cannons and
energy projectors, were also being installed to give the station a powerful
offensive punch.

“It was
costly,” Kurt said with a heavy sigh. He was almost afraid to think of the
amount of gold he had spent in the last several months.

“But worth
it,” said Colonel Hayworth, coming to stand next to Kurt. “The engineers from
Kubitz are doing the work in days that would have taken us weeks.”

Looking at one
of the viewscreens, Spalding saw one of the huge Kubitz cargo ships. One of its
cavernous bays was open, and small shuttles flew back and forth, carrying
equipment.

“I wonder if
we can trust them,” General Mclusky said. “Yet I’ve inspected the PDCs they’ve
put on Newton, and they’re perfectly designed. They’re everything we could hope
for to defend the planet.”

“Same with the
defense grid,” commented Colonel Hayworth. “Everything functions just as they
said it would, and they’ve taken the time to show us how everything works.”

“It’s the
Controller system,” explained Kurt, looking at the others. “If it’s in the
contract, they’ll carry it out to the letter. We even have a Controller on
board one of the cargo ships that’s ensuring Lomatz stays true to his word.
Once they’re done, the Controller will inspect the work and then check with us
to ensure it has been completed to our satisfaction. If it is, we’ll sign off
on it, and the cargo fleet and Lomatz will return to Kubitz.”

“I saw some of
the smaller weapons that Lomatz brought,” commented General Mclusky, looking at
Kurt. “They have energy rifles and even energy cannons that can be mounted on
vehicles. For handguns they have a stun weapon that has a range of nearly forty
meters.”

“Yes,” Kurt
said. “We purchased a few of those to try out. I informed Lomatz that, if we’re
satisfied with their performance, we might come to Kubitz later with a cargo
ship to purchase more.”

“What about
Earth?” asked Governor Spalding, his eyes narrowing sharply. “I understand you
received a new message from Fleet Admiral Tomalson.”

“Yes,” Kurt answered
with a grim look on his face. “The situation has taken a drastic turn for the
worse. High Profiteer Creed has made outrageous tribute demands to every
country on the planet. The escalated tribute is due in less than two weeks.”

“Can they pay
it?” asked Spalding. “With much of Earth’s wealth here.”

“Some countries
can, but most won’t be able to,” Kurt answered, his eyes taking on a haunted
look. “Fleet Admiral Tomalson expects them to collect what they can, nuke
Earth, and then leave.”

“Then our plan
to take the convoy to force them to take some pressure off Earth failed?” said
Colonel Hayworth dejectedly.

“Not
completely,” Kurt answered. “Three Dacroni battleships left Earth orbit to
travel the same route as the missing convoy.”

“What does
that leave around Earth?” asked Captain Simms.

“Fifteen
Dacroni battleships, three Profiteer battlecruisers, and six escort cruisers.
There are also four large detainee ships and two cargo ships in orbit as well.”

“So what will
we do?” asked Governor Spalding. “We can’t let them nuke Earth!”

“We might not
be able to prevent it,” answered Kurt, meeting the governor’s gaze. “I’m giving
the crews on the new ships eight more days to prepare, and then we’re setting
out for Earth. Whether we can stop the attack or make a difference is unknown.
A lot will depend on how many losses the Profiteers and the Dacroni are willing
to suffer before they withdraw.”

Spalding was
quiet as he digested this news. The governor knew they had no other choice but
to attempt to help Earth, or Newton would become home to the last survivors of
the human race.

Kurt sat on
the front porch of his sister’s house with Bryan next to him. Kurt had taken a
shuttle for a quick visit, as the fleet would shortly be departing on their
mission to Earth.

“So you’ll
fight the aliens,” Bryan said with an excited look in his eyes. “I’ll bet
they’ll fly away when they see the
Star Cross
coming after them.”

“I hope so,”
Kurt said. Denise had gone to pick up Keera at the medical center while Kurt watched
the six-year-old.

“I’ll be a fighter
pilot someday,” announced Bryan, as he stood up and spread out his arms, as if
he were flying. “I can be your second in command of the whole fleet.”

“You need to
finish school first,” Kurt reminded him with a smile. “You have to do well in
school, if you want to become a pilot.”

Kurt really
loved being around Bryan. His nephew was full of energy and had so many big
plans. Kurt could remember his own childhood. His dreams had been simpler, becoming
a firefighter, and then, for a while, a race-car driver. Denise had constantly
followed him around, normally carrying a doll and demanding that Kurt play with
her. Now here they were together on another world.

A vehicle pulled
up, drawing Kurt’s attention, and he saw Denise and Keera get out.

“They’re
here!” yelled Bryan, running over and grabbing Keera by the hand. “Uncle Kurt’s
over this way!”

Keera laughed and
allowed Bryan to pull her to Kurt, now standing. “I wish I had that much
energy,” she said, grinning.

“Don’t we
all,” commented Denise, carrying several small bags. “I picked up some chicken,
so we could have something to eat. I hope you’re hungry, big brother.”

“I’m always
hungry,” Kurt replied.

“Come help me
with the chicken,” Denise said to Bryan.

Kurt watched
the two go inside and then turned to Keera. “How are things at the medical
center?”

“Better,” answered
Keera, taking Kurt’s hand. “Lucy has more of her memory back and is in
treatment for the issues she’s dealing with as far as her actions at the pleasure
house go. I think she’ll be okay.”

“That’s good
to hear,” responded Kurt. “How’s it coming explaining some of the medical
practices to the other doctors?”

“Slow,” she
admitted with a slight frown. “The medical center doesn’t have some of the more
modern equipment that I had available on Kubitz.”

Kurt nodded in
understanding. “I sent your list to Lieutenant Tenner. I’m sure he can find
what you need and have it sent here.”

“That would be
great,” Keera said, stepping a little closer to Kurt.

Without thinking,
Kurt pulled Keera to him, putting his arms around her, and kissed her. For a moment,
Keera seemed to hesitate and then responded fervently.

“Yuck!” said Bryan from the doorway. “That’s germy! Mom said the chicken is ready.”

Kurt stepped
back from Keera, who had a slight blush on her face. “Let’s go inside and eat.”

“Just
remember,” Keera said in a demure voice. “You promised that, when you return
from Earth, we could go to the mountains.”

“We’re
definitely going to the mountains,” answered Kurt, his heart pounding. Keera
had a powerful effect on him anytime they were close.

“And your
favorite color is blue?”

“Yes,”
answered Kurt, still confused about why she wanted to know that. “It always has
been.”

Keera nodded
with a satisfied look on her face. Taking Kurt’s hand again, they walked into
the house.

-

The next day
Kurt was back in the Command Center of the
Star Cross
. In another few hours,
they would leave the Newton System and fly to Earth. He just hoped they all
made it back.

“The Kubitz
cargo ships are jumping into hyperspace,” reported Lieutenant Lena Brooks.

“That only
leaves the two Kubitz construction ships and the one cargo ship,” said Andrew,
as he looked at one of the main viewscreens showing Newton Station.

On the screen
two massive construction vessels nearly the same size as the Kubitz cargo ship
were holding position in close proximity to Newton Station. Hundreds of
engineers and construction people from the two ships were busy working on
completing the shipyard and installing a new ship construction facility.

“Lomatz is
still here,” commented Andrew. “Do you feel safe leaving Newton with the arms
dealer still around?”

“Grantz is
keeping a close eye on him,” responded Kurt. “He doesn’t get his particle beam
cannon and the plans to build one until this contract has been completed.” It
was one way Kurt felt confident that Lomatz would do as he said, as he really
wanted that cannon.

He had met with
Grantz earlier and had given him another bar of gold in payment for rescuing
Lucy. The Profiteer had sworn to Kurt that he would make sure the arms dealer
didn’t pull a fast one while Kurt was away.

“I also had
more Marines assigned to Newton Station to ensure we maintain tight security,”
Kurt told Andrew.

“Rear Admiral
Wilson reports that his task group is ready to jump,” Ensign Brenda Pierce
informed Kurt from Communications.

“Have him
proceed to the jump coordinates and initiate entry into hyperspace,” ordered
Kurt.

Rear Admiral Wilson’s
task group included his flagship the
Kepler
, the light carrier
Dante
—plus
the
Vindication
, once he rendezvoused with Captain Watkins—and light
cruisers
Dallas
,
Hampton
,
Alton
, and the
Birmingham
.
In total he would have seven vessels in his small fleet.

Kurt’s own
task group would consist of the
Star Cross
,
Carlsbad
,
Trinity
,
eight of the new battlecruisers and three of the new battleships. The
exploration ship
Himalaya
had been refurbished into a battlecruiser and
would remain at Newton with the other two new battlecruisers and the remaining new
battleship, plus all the destroyers.

“Move us
toward the jump point,” ordered Kurt. He was anxious to get this mission
started. “We’ll jump ten minutes after Rear Admiral Wilson’s task group does.”

It would take
two days to reach the Kuiper Belt where the
Vindication
was waiting.
That was one day before the Profiteers were supposed to pick up their tribute
from the nations of Earth. Kurt planned on them receiving a tribute, but not
the one they expected.

“Rear Admiral
Wilson’s task group is jumping into hyperspace,” reported Lieutenant Brooks, as
the seven green icons vanished from her sensor screen only to reappear on the
hyperspace sensor.

“Ten minutes until
hyperspace entry,” reported Ensign Styles, as he started a timer.

“Did you say
good-bye to Emily?” asked Kurt, looking over at Andrew, who stood near him.

“Yes,” Andrew answered.
“I called her early this morning. I spoke to her and to Alexis.”

Kurt nodded.
“I told Denise good-bye this morning as well.”

“What about Keera?”
asked Andrew with a knowing look.

“Her too,”
Kurt admitted. He didn’t tell Andrew that he had spoken the longest to Keera.

Looking around
the Command Center, Kurt watched the crew, busily preparing for the hyperspace
jump. He had a good crew, and he was confident they would do their best to get through
whatever was ahead of them.

“Hyperspace
entry in five minutes,” Ensign Styles said.

“The
hyperspace sensor is tracking Admiral Wilsons’s task group,” confirmed Lieutenant
Brooks.

“All stations
report ready for hyperspace entry,” reported Andrew, as he listened to the
different departments check in.

Kurt watched
the counter on the helm and navigation console continue its count down.

“Hyperspace
entry in one minute,” reported Ensign Styles, as he reached forward and turned
control of the
Star Cross
over to the ship’s navigation computer.

“All task
group units report ready to jump,” Ensign Brenda Pierce informed the admiral.

The final
seconds ticked by, and then the
Star Cross
suddenly accelerated and made
the jump into hyperspace. Kurt felt the all-too-familiar gut-wrenching
sensation in his stomach; even his eyesight blurred briefly, and then everything
returned to normal.

“Hyperspace
entry successful,” reported Ensign Styles.

Kurt leaned
back in his command chair and relaxed. They had a two-day trip to Earth’s solar
system and then a brief war council before they launched their attack.

-

President
Mayfield was in the situation room along with Fleet Admiral Tomalson, General
Braid, and Raul Gutierrez.

“I just received
word from Captain Watkins on the
Vindication
.” The president paused,
making sure he had everyone’s attention in the room. “Fleet Admiral Vickers
will be launching a full-scale assault against the Profiteer and Dacroni fleets
the day after tomorrow.”

Everyone in
the room looked at each other with sudden hope showing in their eyes, except
for defensive coordinator Colonel Stidham. He stared at the president with a confused
expression on his face. “I don’t understand, sir. I thought Fleet Admiral
Vickers didn’t have the ships to take on the enemy.”

“He does now,”
Fleet Admiral Tomalson answered. They had received a message over a week back
detailing the completion of the defense grid above Newton as well as the
arrival of the new warfleet Kurt had purchased at Kubitz.

 “What are
your orders, sir?” asked Colonel Stidham, standing a little bit straighter. The
room had grown so quiet as to hear a pin drop.

President
Mayfield turned toward General Braid. “Put us on a war footing, General. It’s
time we showed these Profiteers that they came to plunder the wrong world.”

“Yes, Mr.
President,” General Braid replied. He then turned to address the men and women
in the room. “I want all primary military units activated and ready to engage
in combat operations at a moment’s notice. There’s a good possibility the
Profiteers will attempt to nuke us, when they see they’re losing the battle. It’s
imperative that all our interceptor missiles are operational and ready to
launch. Have all our F-75 Eagles ready to take off, plus our K-14 Vulture fighter-bombers
with full interceptor missile payloads. We have thirty-six to forty-eight hours
to prepare for all-out war. Let’s not waste any time.”

“What about
the tribute payment?” asked President Mayfield, looking over at General Braid.
He had nearly forgotten about that, since receiving Captain Watkins’s startling
message.

“I have a plan
for that,” Braid replied with a wolfish grin. “I believe Captain Aldrich will
be quite pleased with my idea.”

-

On the day of
the tribute, High Profiteer Creed looked with relish as numerous shuttles descended
to Earth to pick up the gold and gemstones to be turned over. This one tribute would
more than double everything he had taken from the planet so far. Surprisingly
the North American Union had volunteered to meet the tribute for the entire
planet. It made him wonder just how deep their coffers ran.

“How much gold
do they have hidden?” asked Second Profiteer Lantz, his eyes gleaming with
greed.

“Evidently
more than we had thought,” Creed answered. “And here on this planet.”

“Then it
wasn’t all taken to their colony,” Lantz said. “It was hidden here all this
time.”

“Not for much
longer,” Creed answered. “Once we have today’s tribute, I want all four
detainee ships filled with the best-looking women and enough able-bodied young
men to fill our accounts from what we’ll make at the slave auctions.”

“Are we going
to nuke the planet?” asked Lantz. “If we do, we can’t return for more humans
for the auctions.”

“We won’t
completely destroy the planet,” Creed replied with a smug grin. “I’ve selected
a few island nations to spare. With the rest of their world in ruins, we can
return at a later date and take those we want from the islands.” This would
ensure him a lucrative slave-selling income for years to come.

Lantz nodded
his appreciation at the idea. “All of us will be very wealthy from what we have
taken from this planet. This world was a good find.”

Creed nodded
his head in agreement. He would buy the land on Marsten he had always wanted.
His status as a Profiteer would be assured for all time. Profiteers for
generations would talk about how High Profiteer Creed had made his fortune and
rose to prominence. Yes, Creed was quite satisfied with how this would turn
out.

-

At an
abandoned airstrip once called Area 51 in the desert some eighty-three miles
north-northwest of Las Vegas, Captain Aldrich and his Marines waited. The large
military airfield next to the southern shore of Groom Lake was the site of considerable
activity. Nearly one hundred armored vehicles were lined up just off the runway,
waiting for the Profiteer shuttles to land.

“Is everyone
ready?” asked Captain Aldrich.

“Yes, sir,” answered
Corporal Lasher. “All armored vehicles are at their assigned locations.”

“Here they
come,” announced Private Malone, as twenty Profiteer shuttles appeared.

Nathan tapped
his comm device, which instantly put him in touch with the two hundred men and
women now under his command. “Let them land and exit their shuttles. We have a
plan, and let’s stick to it. No firing until I give the order.”

Nathan,
Corporal Lasher, Private Malone, and four other Marines stood just on the
periphery of the large runway, when the first shuttle landed directly in front
of them. Exactly where Nathan had hoped they would land. His trucks were lined
up in groups of ten, and, as expected, a shuttle landed directly before each
group. The other shuttles took up a high orbit around the airfield.