Asteroid Return: An Arek Lancer Novella Read online

“As soon as Captain Lancer agrees to lead us in,” Jessups said and all eyes fell on me.

  *****

  I wanted to say yes, to agree to the mission. Part of me really wanted to get back into action again. But a bigger part of me was saying no. I thought of Kaylia, sitting alone in the other room wondering what was going on. I couldn’t leave her. She was my responsibility. My job was now taking care of her.

  With the other survivors of that mission now dead, I was the only one that had been on that rock. I was the only one that knew the way. Our ship had been destroyed on the rock and with it the navrecords. The belts ore had prevented us from sending a signal out or being tracked. No one had expected to need those records years later.

  That mission was the first time I had flown outside of simulators. And it had been a Tiat ship. I had been, and still was, surprised that I had gotten us off the rock and out of the belt.

  I could feel every eye in the room on me, waiting for my answer. The tension was thick, dragging. I returned to looking at the table, leaning forward and resting my head on my hands, elbows on the table.

  “I’m sorry Colonel,” I said finally after a couple minutes and meant it. “I can’t. I’ll help any other way that I can but I can’t go with the strike team.”

  Jessups nodded and in that instant I knew that I was going. He had anticipated me.

  “I thought you might say that,” he told me with regret, true regret. He was sorry to play the next card but he did it anyways. “I’m sorry Captain but we really need you for this mission and I knew that you would not leave young Kaylia to be watched by just anyone.” He leaned forward and hit a button on the desk in front of him. “You can come in now.”

  There was a very short list of people that I would trust to watch the kid. I ran through it in my head and it didn’t take long. There was only one person in the immediate area that qualified.

  I thought of the planet Rewe orbiting below us.

  Dammit.

  The door slid open and I turned to look, knowing who would be there.

  Kristin Higareda stood in the doorway.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Short, eyes even with my shoulder, long black hair pulled back in a ponytail that she always seemed to have. A couple strands of hair fell down on either side of her face, which always seemed to happen. Very striking, beautiful, she had dark eyes and tannish skin. A long time officer in the Territorial Protectorate, even with her size she carried herself in a way that warned people not to mess with her. I knew just how tough she really was.

  And loyal.

  The badge hung on it’s chain around her neck, the only indication of who she worked for. Low heel boots, up to the calves, black pants, white shirt and the same black jacket that she’d had the last time I saw her. A little more worn, little more faded.

  Just like I was.

  Kristin had spent some time in the 2Es. That was where we had first met and gotten together. Which had happened a couple times over the years. We liked each other. Really liked each other. But time and distance and life seemed to keep getting in the way.

  We exchanged a look and a lot was communicated in that look. There was some pity in that look, a little guilt as well.

  She may not have known exactly what the mission was but she knew enough. It was important otherwise she wouldn’t be here. The pity was because she knew her presence was the tipping point, what would get me on the mission. The guilt was because she felt sorry for having to do it.

  “When do we leave,” I finally said.

  *****

  “I’m sorry Arek,” Kristin said once we were alone.

  Jessups had called a break, the others leaving the conference room. When the door had slid open I could see Kaylia sprawled out in one of the chairs watching the vidscreen. Kristin had followed my sight line. When the door slid closed, she’d turned back with a smile.

  It hadn’t lasted long.

  “Not your fault,” I said standing up and walking over to her.

  I folded her into a hug, holding tight. She felt good in my arms, felt right.

  “Are the attacks on Rewe that bad,” I asked as we stepped apart.

  She looked good.

  “Yeah,” Kristin answered. “Just took down a cell the other day, right before Jessups contacted me.” She sat down in one of the chairs and I took a seat in the one next to her, swiveling it to look at her. “There’s always been terrorists on Rewe ever since we claimed it. You know how much fighting there was over it. That never really stopped.”

  It probably hadn’t taken much convincing on Jessups part. Kristin had been born to be a cop. She was a good soldier, excellent one, but it had never suited her like being a cop did. Looking out for the people, protecting them, that was where she was at her best. If Rewe really was under attack that much, and it could be traced back to the Tiat, she would have signed up for anything that ended those attacks.

  Kristin had probably volunteered for the mission.

  For her to accept being a babysitter then this mission was that important.

  “She’s a good kid,” Kristin said motioning to the door. “Got to spend some time with her well you were in here.”

  I nodded, smiling.

  “Great kid.”

  “Look at you,” Kristin said with a chuckle. “Arek Lancer as a dad. Never imagined it.”

  “Me either,” I replied with a shrug.

  “Why,” she asked, head tilted as she looked at me.

  I thought about it, leaning back in the chair, arms crossed.

  “Don’t really know,” I finally answered with a shrug. “She needed my help.” I could still remember, probably always would, the look on Kaylia’s face when she ran into me on that asteroid a couple months back. Scared and hopeful at the same time. Scared of who chased her. Hopeful that I would help her.

  How do you explain why you did something that you had no choice in? There was never a question. I was going to help Kaylia and continue helping her as long as that needed to be. First as her rescuer and now as her guardian.

  What kind of guardian was I though? Roaming the galaxy, barely making enough credits to keep flying, and now leaving her on a military station so I could play soldier again?

  Kristin must have caught something in my expression.

  “You’re doing good,” she said. “Sure it may not be the most stable life but Kaylia is safe, fed and happy.”

  I nodded. She was right. And leaving Kaylia here, under Kristin’s protection, was keeping her safe. Short term and long term.

  “How’s Abboud,” I asked changing the subject.

  Waleed Abboud was Kristin’s long time partner. An older officer, he was more mentor and father figure than just partner. A good man. He really didn’t like me.

  Which just made me respect him more.

  “Doing good, had his fifth grandkid last month.”

  “Back on Earth?”

  “Nope,” she answered. “His family’s over on Zahn.”

  That was interesting, not that many people left Earth for Zahn. I really didn’t care about Abboud’s family. It was just a way of steering the topic away from areas neither of us really wanted to get into. Zahn was an Earth colony world. Terran as the wider galaxy called us. All planets are ‘earth’ in their native tongue. To the rest of the galaxy, my Earth was Terra. Kind of confusing but Tradelan, the galaxy wide near-common language, could only do so much. I hadn’t been to Zahn in a long time and what I remembered wasn’t a big draw.

  “Is he ever going to retire?”

  “Not until his family is off Zahn.”

  Damn, that took a turn I hadn’t been expecting.

  “Come on,” I said to move around that topic. “Need to talk to the kid.”

  I stood up and headed for the door, Kristin behind me.

  *****

  Kaylia took it pretty well.

  I had been expecting a fight, some guilt trip from her. Something. But instead she had surprised me. Yet again. She was good at th
at.

  I understand. They need you.

  “Yeah, but you’re more important,” I told her. And that was the truth. If she wanted me to not go then I wasn’t going.

  We were sitting together on the couch. She had shut off the vidscreen, turning to face me so we could talk. I glanced at the screen, not sure what show she was watching. It looked like a documentary. There was a space battle happening. Lots of ships, capitol and fighter. Some explosions. The ships were all Terran models. Couldn’t see who they were fighting.

  Kristin was leaning against the wall, watching us. She concentrated on Kaylia’s hands, trying to decipher the sign language the kid spoke in. It was a mix of Tradelan, Thesan and some other languages thrown in. Took me a while to understand it, Kristin would have a hard time with just a couple days.

  And there was no way it was going to take longer. I would make sure of that.

  “I’m going to grab some coffee,” Kristin said pushing away from the wall. “Need anything?”

  We both said no.

  I watched her walk down the hall and turn out of sight. Turning back I saw Kaylia studying me

  and smiling.

  “Not like that.”

  The look she gave me said she didn’t believe me.

  “It’s complicated,” I said with a sigh.

  Kaylia’s face scrunched up in a soundless laugh.

  I like her.

  “So do I.”

  She’s on the list.

  I nodded. The list was a small group of people I had told Kaylia to contact if something ever happened to me. People I trusted and people that would take care of her.

  The kids mood shifted. Acknowledging the list was also acknowledging that I might not return. I wanted to tell her that I would. Promise that I would. But I wasn’t going to do that to her. There was no way that I could truly promise it. She knew that I would do my best, everything I could to make it back to her. But some things were beyond my control.

  “What are you watching,” I asked, changing the subject.

  I was doing a lot of that.

  Battle of Irisk.

  I studied the vidscreen, noting the placement of the ships. One of the last major battles in the Third Galactic War. Many said it was the the one that finally got the three sides to sit down and work out the treaty that really didn’t stop anything. A lot of lives were lost in the fighting. Tiat, Thesan and Terran.

  Not too much available in the library.

  Figured. Good old Earth Expeditionary Forces. Guaranteed the documentary was completely bias and heavily edited.

  “The Wind will still be docked here,” I said and felt a momentary twinge. I really did not like the idea of leaving my ship behind. Not as bad a feeling of guilt as I got for leaving Kaylia behind, but damn close. “You’ll have access to your own vids.”

  Can I go down to the planet?

  I shrugged.

  “Up to Kristin but don’t see why not. Rewe is a nice enough place.”

  Except for the terrorists.

  Some guardian I was.

  *****

  Once I made my decision, things moved quickly.

  The plan was to launch and head for the Unitouro system in the local system’s morning. One of the most annoying things about travel between solar systems is that time is relative to that system. Each ship kept their own measurement. The Wind operated off Terran Standard, which Rewe as a colony world did too. That made it easier for me. No disruption to my sleeping pattern.

  But then I didn’t really have one.

  And there was no way I was sleeping that night anyways.

  We reconvened the briefing and immediately I had noticed that Coulson was missing. Wonder if he was now avoiding me?

  “Unlike last time,” Jessups had said continuing the briefing. “We’re not sending in a team to destroy the facility. Lieutenant Harrow will lead her team into the station and plant the beacon. Once planted and out of the facility, Captain Yearly’s squad will begin their bombing run.”

  A beacon? I liked that idea better than another full frontal assault. Let the flyboys do the heavy lifting. 2E tech had advanced since my time if they had a beacon that could penetrate through an asteroid field.

  “What’s my part in all this,” I asked but I knew, I just wanted confirmation.

  “You’re to guide Harrow’s assault team to the asteroid,” Jessups confirmed for me.

  “What will I be flying?”

  I had flown the previous mission but I had been in the ship’s cockpit when we had made our way through the asteroid field. I could do it again and would feel safer flying my way in.

  “An Assault Dropship,” Yearly answered for Jessups. “But you’re not flying, one of my guys will be”

  “We’ll see about that,” I said and could tell that Yearly was ready to start a pissing contest. “Your guy will be better than me,” I told him wanting to stop the contest before it started. That wasn’t why I wanted to fly the Dropship. I really didn’t want to fly the Dropship, those things were boxy and unwieldy. I honestly didn’t want to fly any ship into the asteroid belt. “I’m just a freight pilot but once there I might need to fly instead of navigate.”

  I could tell that Yearly wasn’t happy about it but he understood. He was probably still going to tell his pilot to not give up the seat no matter what. I’d deal with that if and when it needed to be dealt with.

  “How long, once the beacon is activated, will we have to get out of the target zone,” Harrow asked.

  Jessups looked over at Yearly. The pilot shrugged.

  “No clue,” he replied. “We’ll be going in blind until the beacon is activated. No way of knowing how deep in the belt the rock will be.”

  “Twenty minutes,” I said and again all eyes were on me. “I assume you’re flying X-6932s as escort for a BT6894?”

  Both ships were built by the Castellans, the same as my own Nomad’s Wind. The BTs were bombers. Slow, heavily armored. The Xs were the standard starfighter used by the Expeditionary Forces.

  “Yes,” Yearly replied. “But the BTs are faster than you remember.”

  By his tone of voice, I knew he felt like he needed to defend his pilots and their ships. I was sure there had been some improvements in the five years since I had left the 2Es but there wouldn’t have been that much to shave time off. There was only so fast that a ship the size of a BT6894 Hammer could fly. Especially when it was loaded with bombs.

  “Eighteen minutes,” I said without a trace of sarcasm.

  “So fifteen,” Harrow said not having time for the Alpha Male pissing contest I had found myself in. “Size of the target zone?”

  “We’ll be carrying a load of plasma bombs,” Yearly answered. “2 tonners.”

  “Pretty much the whole rock is the target zone,” I said after running the numbers in my head. A full load in the Hammer’s bay for 2 ton plasma bombs. That was a lot of explosion.

  There would be nothing left of that rock.

  “Any further questions?,” Jessups asked the room.

  I managed to keep my mouth shut. I had always been sarcastic but it had only gotten worse in the last five years.

  Always had liked Jessups briefings. Short and to the point. There was only so much to go over. Plans were only good until the first plasma bolt was fired and after that they were useless. Jessups trusted his people to be able to improvise so his briefings gave just the right amount of information. The who, why, what, when, where and how.

  “The mission is straight forward,” Jessups said signaling to Gott to turn off the vidscreen. “Find the target, paint the target and destroy the target.”

  Simple but something would go wrong. It always did.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  When we had first flown in I had wondered what the Kry heavy freighter was doing at the station. The only ship there. I found out pretty quickly when the mission launched.

  It was our transport.

  I didn’t get to see much of it. We entered through the
airlock and inside the cargo hold was a 2E Assault Drop Ship. Harrow hustled us into the Drop Ship’s hold. There were a pilot and co-pilot for the Kry ship and a set for the Drop Ship. The only other people on board were Harrow, myself and her five Spec Ops commandos.

  One of which was a Europan.

  He had to duck to make it through the bulkheads. The Drop Ship was tight for normal sized humans. Not designed for taller and bulkier Europans. Made to sit twelve people and gear in the back, the GH-5971 was bulky. Another ship made by the Castellans, it was a box with jets and stubby wings. Two forward thrusters mounted on either side of the slightly sloping front. A thin view window at the top. The rest of the ship was the hold with two larger rotating thrusters mounted at the top. Small wings swept off from the front with small stabilizers in the back.

  Not fast, it was a tough ship. Heavily armored, lightly armed. The ship, nicknamed the Meteor, was designed to be carried close to a planet where it would live up to its name and drop to the surface to unload its cargo of soldiers. The nickname came from the speed and force which the ship would drop.

  No one would ever call riding in one comfortable. It was to get the soldiers to the surface safely, not in comfort. Besides angry and uncomfortable soldiers made better fighters.

  At least that’s what one of my old drill sergeants used to say.

  The Meteor, no specific name for this one and only a unit number that was not painted on the dull gray hull, took up most of the space in the decoy ship’s hold. Just enough space to squeeze by between both hulls. The freighter’s cargo doors weren’t big enough to get the drop ship out so I was curious how we’d get out into space.

  That part hadn’t been included in the mission briefing.

  Not my concern.

  I settled into my seat. Straight backed, barely any cushion, the bottom low to the ground so my knees were elevated. Pulling the crash webbing across my body, the whole thing started to feel familiar. Too familiar.

  The ship’s inside was just how I remembered. Six seats mounted to the hull along each side. Clear space down the middle. Handles hanging from the low ceiling. To my left was the hatch that went to the small cockpit and to the right was the hatch that opened to the outside.