Betrayal, p.1
Betrayal, page 1
part #3 of Firestorm Series
FIRESTORM 3: BETRAYAL
FIRESTORM
BOOK 3
DANIEL YOUNG
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
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Also by Daniel Young
1
Queen Thalia's fighter craft dipped low over the planet Dorix's rocky plains. The fighters' engines shrieked as they closed on the scrapyard and their energy weapons exploded.
Pounding smashes bombarded the rock under Captain Aaron Decosta's feet, and he whirled backward. "Everybody inside the scrapyard! Get back to the laser cannons!"
He shoved what was left of the Gargoyle crew toward the scrapyard's entrance gate. Keegan and Hewitt tripped over each other in their haste to retreat back inside the fence.
Bozeman grabbed Fyfe, but Aaron hesitated to make sure his father Colonel Michael Decosta and his crew kept up with rest.
Ludlow hobbled on one injured leg. Donahoe had to support Carrillo, but they still didn't keep up.
Michael dove behind them and sprang into position, aiming his rifle at the incoming attackers, but another blast from the enemy fighters nearly toppled him off his feet. Aaron sprang back and grabbed his father by the jacket. "Come on, Dad! Get inside the fence! Hurry!"
The rest of Michael's crew split apart to flank the Gargoyle crew. Bauer, Barstow, and Webb took one side of the fleeing party. Shane Eller and two alien females Aaron didn't know surrounded the Gargoyle crew on the other side, but none of them could defend themselves against the queen's forces.
Aaron tried one last hopeless time to shove his people toward the safety of the scrapyard fence--what little it could offer them. Another brutal crack belched from the fighters, imploded the rock at his feet, and he tottered and almost fell down the crevasse into nothing.
Michael tackled him out of the way just in time. "Keep moving, son! What kind of defenses does this place have?"
Just then, a laser cannon went off from behind the fence.
It didn't come from the extendable masts that Aaron and his crew had just been using to destroy the queen's forces. This one fired from just inside the entrance gate itself. Aaron and his crew had left it open when they came out to defend Michael's crew to make their emergency landing.
Caso, the little alien who manned the scrapyard alone, stood in the gate opening and fired the laser cannon at the fighters stooping low over the plains.
Caso wasn't big enough to lift the cannon. Not even Donahoe or the three Kadus soldiers who'd joined the Gargoyle crew would have been big enough to handle that gun. It sat on the bare rock and swiveled wildly every time Caso fired it. He couldn't control it at all, but he didn't need to. The first shot streaked over the crews' heads, detonated one fighter craft, and shot straight through it to pulverize four more.
Explosions boomed across the landscape, and the crew ducked to avoid Caso mowing them down in the process. Aaron yelled, but he didn't dare to tell Caso to stop firing.
The fighters split formation just as the two crews plunged past the little alien and dashed behind him to safety.
Caso kept firing wildly in all directions. Aaron heard explosions behind him, but he didn't see what Caso was shooting at. If the queen's forces came after the crew again, he and his people wouldn't be able to hold this scrapyard against another assault like the last one.
He leapt over to Caso and tried to snatch the big gun from the alien's grasp. "Let me do that, Caso!"
Caso backed off immediately. Aaron sprang behind the gun and tried with all his might to tip it upward toward the fighters, but he could barely move it--forget about lifting it. As he looked beyond the cannon's barrel to the fighters closing on his position, another squadron of ships plunged out of high orbit at terminal velocity.
He never even got a shot off before the invaders rocketed into the queen's forces. The strange squadron unloaded some kind of weapon Aaron didn't recognize, and dozens of fighters exploded.
Aaron pivoted the laser cannon from one side to the other, but he never had to fire. The strange squadron overran the queen's forces in seconds and destroyed every last one of them.
Aaron stared up at the strange vessels patrolling the planet. Who were they? Did they even know about the two stranded crews? Had these strangers come to rescue him and his people--or for some other reason?
His father's voice snapped him out of his trance. "Who are they?"
"I don't know," Aaron panted. "I never saw them before in my life, but[?]--"
He broke off when the strange ships turned all their weaponry on the scrapyard. Dead silence fell over the area, and then Bozeman yelled, "Get those masts up! Get those cannons in the air and stand by to fire!"
"Wait!" Aaron called over his shoulder. "Don't shoot yet!"
"We gotta arm up, man!" Eller yelled back. "They could come after us again. We have to defend ourselves!"
"Arm up, but don't fire!" Aaron ordered. "They might be friendly."
Ludlow snorted. "There is no one friendly in this system."
"They're rebels," Ristal announced. "They're rebels from Naris."
Aaron and Michael both turned around to stare at the Kadus soldier. "What do you mean, they're rebels?" Aaron asked.
"They're the only people brave enough to oppose the queen's rule," Farda said. "The rebels will attack any of the queen's vessels that they see in the air. They don't care who the queen's forces attack. They always intervene."
All eyes turned back to the plains. The strange squadron drifted slowly through the atmosphere, getting closer to the ground.
"Are you telling me someone in this crazy system actually has the balls to fight back?" Michael asked. "I've got to meet these people."
"It looks like we're about to," Fyfe remarked.
Aaron didn't move from his cannon as the strange ships dropped lower and lower and eventually touched down. He didn't turn around or intervene when Bozeman, Eller, Barstow, and Hewitt charged back inside the fence and grabbed the laser cannons the Gargoyle crew had just been shooting.
The last battle had damaged all the masts. None of them rose higher than Eller's chest. All four gunners could stand on the ground to hold onto their cannons and rotate them anywhere they wanted.
The gunners aimed their weapons through the fence. The lasers would cut straight through the wire the first time the crew opened fire, but Aaron didn't argue with that, either. Anything would be better than facing another battle unarmed.
He was starting to agree with Ludlow. No one in this solar system was friendly. The very few he'd met that he actually thought he might be able to get along with were all either too weak to fight back, or they were on the run from Queen Thalia just like the Gargoyle crew.
Aaron stayed where he was, and his father stayed by his side in the gate opening. Aaron didn't think to shut it. His crew was already acting threatening enough to these strangers. If the rebels from Naris did turn out to be friendly, he didn't want to make them enemies by acting more hostilely than he needed to. He had to find out just how friendly they were. He could always shoot them later if he needed to.
Five ships touched down. Each one looked bigger than one of the queen's attack vessels, but not as big as battleships. These rebel strangers certainly were well-armed, though. They had to be, to take on the queen's forces.
The simple fact that these rebels had both the audacity to attack the queen's battleships in broad daylight and the weaponry to destroy them--that was really something else. Aaron wanted to meet these people just for that.
The strange ships landed in an arrow formation, with one settling closest to the scrapyard. Two others flanked the lead ship, and the last two flanked on the outside of those.
The lead ship cracked a hatch in its hull. The hatch folded down into steps, and five aliens stepped down. Aaron didn't recognize the species. He hadn't seen them since he'd come to this system.
They walked upright, but instead of two legs, they walked on four. Each individual had two arms coming out of each shoulder, and instead of a neck holding up the aliens' heads, a continuous hood of muscle and scaly skin surrounded the head extending upward from the shoulders.
"They're Raeha people," Balo murmured behind Aaron's shoulder. "The rebels take any species, so you never know who you're going to get. I didn't know they had any Raeha."
"What do you know about them?" Michael asked.
"They're dangerous," Farda croaked. "You better be careful around them."
"Dangerous as in violent?" Aaron asked. "Or dangerous as in crafty and ruthlessly cunning?"
"Both," Balo replied. "If the Raeha took over the rebels..."
"That explains why they don't have any other species in their senior staff," Ristal added. "The Raeha must have gotten rid of everyone else."
"They would," Farda agreed.
Aaron would have liked to turn around and exchange a glance with his father, but he didn't dare to take his eyes off the approaching Raeha. The lead figure stood at least six foot five, and all the Raeha were much more muscular and powerfully built than even the hawk-headed Kadus. They each had four flinty black eyes set in pairs in their flat faces. Their mouths seemed way too small compared with the res t of their hulking bodies.
Aaron stiffened as the Raeha got closer. Even without Farda's warning, he would have sensed that these people were dangerous.
Their eyes expressed no connection or feeling at all. His first impression of them told him that they were totally mercenary. Caring and feeling didn't enter the equation for them.
The leader stopped right in front of Aaron's cannon--right where he could have blown a hole through the guy's chest if anything went wrong. The alien didn't even look at the gun. It meant absolutely nothing to him.
The leader traced his cold black eyes over everyone present. "Which of you is in charge here?"
Aaron said, "I am," at exactly the same moment his father said, "I am."
Aaron spun around, and wilted when Michael did the same thing. "Sorry, sir," Aaron muttered. "Go ahead."
Michael's eyes definitely softened, and he fought to bite back a smirk. Aaron had to marvel at the contrast between his father's expression and the Raeha's.
Michael got serious and faced the strangers. "I'm in charge here. I'm Colonel Michael Decosta. Our friends here say you're rebels from Naris. Thank you for driving the queen's forces away for us. We're in your debt."
The lead alien waved one of his arms to dismiss that. "Anyone the queen attacks--or anyone who attacks the queen--is a friend of ours. You must come to Naris and join us." He shot a glance toward the scrapyard, and then his brutal stare settled on Caso. "This is the queen's installation."
"We know," Aaron interrupted. "The queen's forces shot us down here, and we took refuge from the spiders." He hesitated for a split second. He shouldn't be speaking in his father's place, but he found it impossible not to. Years in his own command had made it difficult for him to put himself under any other officer. "You didn't tell us who you are."
"I am Ta'qal." He waved at the Raeha on either side of him. "This is my brother Ak'an and my cousin Da'kad."
"Are you in command of the rebels, then?" Michael asked.
"You could say that," Ta'qal breezed.
This time, Aaron really did turn, and he and Michael exchanged a glance. So the Kadus were right. These Raeha had taken over the rebels. If they allowed any other species to join them, the Raeha kept the other species in subordinate positions.
If Ta'qal understood that glance, he didn't show it. "You must come to Naris," he repeated. "You would be welcome and protected there. We can use fighting men who oppose the queen's rule."
"We're here to get a new ship," Aaron told him. "We couldn't go to Naris without one."
"I'll transport you on board my craft." Ta'qal waved behind him. The Radha ships certainly looked well-built. "There's no need for you to delay here. The queen's forces will come back soon. They won't leave their enemies in possession of one of their own installations."
"We'd still like to get our own ship," Michael replied. "We don't mean any offense. We just aren't used to depending on other people for anything."
"I understand," Ta'qal replied. "We can help you repair the vessel." He pretended to look around. "Where is it?"
Michael glanced over his shoulder toward the scrapyard and then shot a questioning look at Aaron.
"This Rulku was just about to show us where we could find a new ship," Aaron explained. "We might be here for a while. You don't have to wait for us. We can find our way to Naris on our own."
"We'll wait anyway," Ta'qal told him. "You may need our engineer. I'll send them over when you're ready."
He turned on his heel, and he and his entourage went back to their own ships.
"Nice try, son," Michael muttered. "It looks like we're stuck with them."
"Maybe their engineer will help us get a ship that actually flies. If everything in this yard is as derelict as it looks, we'll need all the help we can get."
2
Aaron turned back to face the scrapyard, and so did Michael. The Gargoyle crew, Michael's men, the three Kadus soldiers, Caso, and the two alien females all stared at Aaron and Michael from behind.
"We aren't actually trusting these assholes, are we, sir?" Ludlow growled. "They look like bastards to me."
"I'd rather have them as friends than enemies," Michael replied. "Everybody get inside. Wynnie, could you please give Ludlow and Carrillo whatever medical attention you can?"
"Caso probably has some medical supplies in his storehouse that we can use," Aaron suggested.
"Um..." Dr. Connolley stammered.
Aaron turned to face her, and his blood ran cold when he saw her struggling to control her features. "What's wrong?"
"It's..." She gulped. "We lost Massey. He died protecting Joplin...and we'll probably lose Joplin, too. His injuries are too severe. I have no way to treat him."
Aaron's heart sank, and a chill fell over the Gargoyle crew. Not another one. They couldn't be losing two more people--not so soon after losing Jonathan Clay and Anya Hyne.
Aaron fought to keep his composure. He was still the commanding officer of this crew, but he didn't even know what that meant anymore. "Where is he?"
She waved behind her. No one moved for a second. Aaron really didn't want to see what had happened to Massey, but he had to. Being in command of this crew meant all their lives were his responsibility.
He took a step, and then his own momentum led him back to the spot where Massey had thrown himself on top of Joplin to protect him from the bombardment. Both men lay where they'd fallen.
Dr. Connolley must have pulled Massey off of Joplin. Massey had rolled onto his back and lay sprawled on the ground. His dead eyes stared up at the sky, and blood dribbled from his nose and mouth. It ran down both his cheeks in opposite directions.
Joplin also lay spread on the ground, with a metal rod driven through the side of his chest. It stuck out of his ribs, and he contracted his abdomen to hold his head and shoulders off the ground. He gasped for breath and pressed his hand to his stomach right next to the impaled rod, but he didn't touch it.
His frantic eyes shot to Aaron's face. "Captain...I tried to get to the...gate..."
Aaron squatted down next to him and squeezed Joplin's shoulder. "Easy, Lieutenant."
Now Aaron saw what Dr. Connolley meant. Joplin would need major surgery to save him from a wound this bad. No way would Caso have anything in his stores that would fix this.
Caso squeaked and jumped a foot in the air when he saw Joplin. "Why didn't you say?! I'll get it!"
He waddled off toward his building, but Aaron didn't turn around. He didn't hold out any hope that Caso would be able to save Joplin. Nothing could.
He swallowed hard. He couldn't keep losing his people out here.
He made up his mind right then and there. He'd take the crew to Naris, no matter the danger. The rest of the solar system was too treacherous, with too many hazards and enemies.
At least the Raeha would be able to offer the crew some protection. Anything would be better than staying out here with his people dropping like flies.
Caso came racing back. Of course he didn't have anything with him. He bustled around Joplin, and Caso kept bumping into the crew's legs. "Pick him up!" he squeaked. "Hurry! We don't have much time!"
"Are you sure about this, Caso?" Dr. Connolley asked.
"Yes, of course!" Caso chirped. "I have a thermitic compressor downstairs, but we must hurry! Come on! Pick him up."
"What's a thermitic compressor?" Fyfe asked.
"I don't have time to explain!" Caso shrilled. "Hurry!"
Everyone looked around at each other. "I guess it can't make the situation any worse," Dr. Connolley remarked.
Barstow stepped up to Joplin's side. "Come on, Eller. Bauer, you and Donahoe get on his other side."
"Why do I always get assigned the job of carrying everybody?" Donahoe grumbled.
"Take six or seven inches off your legs and lose some weight. Then we'll talk about reassigning you," Barstow snapped. "Come on. This guy doesn't have all day."
Barstow and Eller approached Joplin on one side. His breathing got faster and more strained when he realized they were actually going to move him like this. He made little screaming noises with every tortured breath.
Donahoe got on Joplin's other side, and Commander Bozeman joined Donahoe. All four men bent down, grabbed fistfuls of Joplin's clothes, and lifted him off the ground.
