Chapter 23

Average: Select ratingCancel ratingGive it 1/10Give it 2/10Give it 3/10Give it 4/10Give it 5/10Give it 6/10Give it 7/10Give it 8/10Give it 9/10Give it 10/10

No votes yet

Chapter 23: Dear John

Korath. It always came back to him. It. Whatever. Arcturus only solidified my opinion.

"The Koraxians worship their leader like a god. Their entire empire is named after him. He's led them for two thousand years. I have little doubt that, if he is killed or otherwise removed from power, their war effort will collapse."

"That's a big gamble," Lana sighed. "The Darrex don't have enough ships to risk on something like this."

"Maybe we won't need them to," I said. "Arc, you know some of the 'back roads' into Koraxian territory, right?"

He nodded.

"That means we can take a small group--a task force--deep into their territory. The blunt force approach would never have worked, but maybe a small, quiet strike can."

"It has potential," Arc said. "I'll have to talk the Darrex into committing a destroyer and a wing of fighters, but I think I can secure that much."

"Do it," I said with a commanding tone. "Please," I added. I still had to get used to the fact that I wasn't in charge here. Cooperation was the order of the day. I just never thought I'd be working with pirates, of all people. Certainly not on something as gutsy as knocking off the supreme leader of an enemy nation.

Arcturus left to go secure support from the Darrex, and I was left with Lana, Byron, and Jeremiah. Lana remained skeptical. She'd do what her husband asked, but she didn't have to be happy about it. I could see Byron already getting upset about having to repair engine damage on yet another ship, because of me. Jeremiah, for his part, was pretty gung ho. His skin still bore some blemishes from his run-in with death, but he was eager to get this plan moving.

It looked like Absolution wouldn't be ready for our little mission anytime soon--it still had a couple weeks' worth of repairs to undergo. If it took that long to get the Darrex to help us, so be it, but time was lives in this instance. The longer we waited, the more humans, Oolians, and others perished. Just because I couldn't see them, didn't mean I wasn't aware of the reality. I wanted the chance to get back home, to have a home to get back to, if for no other reason than so I could face the families of the men and women aboard the Protector, to assure them that their loved ones didn't die for nothing. Currently, they would only be listed as missing in action. No one knew what became of them. Only Jack and Admiral Sellis knew anything of their fates--and given the Admiral's behavior, I doubted he was talking to anyone about it.

Speaking of which, it turned out Jeremiah had a reply from Jack. "Take a look at this," he said, calling me over to one of the consoles inside the Darrex lunar base. "You got an answer."

Not that it helped put me at ease. Jack wasn't exactly brimming with good news.

Robert,

Got your message. I am sorry to hear about the Protector. The war is going poorly. The Koraxians have made major inroads. The Oolians have halfheartedly committed some forces, but they're facing some strife of their own. Their people don't want to be involved in a proxy war. So, they may withdraw any day now.

I don't know what to make of what you said about the Admiral... or your parents. I did some checking up on him, and he seems to have set up shop on the coast of Newfoundland. He arrived on another Alliance ship--no sign of your Cruiser--but he's got work crews digging up half the coast, looking for something. He says the President authorized the dig. I haven't been able to reach her, myself.

We could really use you back home right now. I'm sure the President will overlook the mess with the Oolian Cruiser, and she'll cover our asses diplomatically. Whatever you're up to out there in the great unknown, it better be important.

Godspeed,

Jack

"What do you figure that Admiral's digging up?" Jeremiah wondered.

"Not a clue. It's gotta be important, but I don't know what of significance would be in Newfoundland, of all places. Just get ready to transcribe my reply."

"Go," he said, after prepping the computer.

"Jack,

Thanks for the update. I'm trying to work an angle here within the Non-Aligned Region. I know it may not seem like it, but I am doing my damnedest to help with the war. We have some potential allies here. If you can spare any resources, shoot them over to the Darrex System. I'm including the FV route with this message.

Let me know if you figure out what the Admiral is up to, or hear anything about my parents. Or the Cruiser, for that matter.

I'll get in touch with you again when I have something to report.

Thanks,
Robert"

Jeremiah affixed a fold vector route for Jack's benefit and sent it off. "Guess it'll be another few days," he sighed.

"Too bad we can't stick around and wait. I hope your father comes through on those ships. I have the feeling that, if we wait much longer, there won't be much of a Terran Alliance left to save."