Three Square Meals Ch. 100

The Fleet Admiral whirled around, his eyes bulging with a mixture of anger and fear. "What did you say?!"

Morgan sounded sick as he replied, "A Maliri warfleet crossed the Brimorian border late last night. They were followed by John Blake, who left the Brimorian Enclave and entered Terran Space an hour ago."

Buckingham gaped at the man in disbelief. "You willingly permitted an alien warfleet to enter Federation territory?! You're either grossly incompetent or part of this conspiracy!"

Eyes narrowing in anger, Morgan shook his head, "The Maliri had a message from the Lion requesting safe passage! John Blake confirmed he'd take full responsibility! I spoke to him earlier... he knew about the Kintark invasion; he said he was coming to help!"

"You witless fool!" Buckingham snarled. "The only thing John Blake and the Maliri are here to do is help the Kintark rampage through the Sol System!"

"But he's only helped us so far!" Morgan objected. "Saving Terra from that rogue AI, destroying the Kintark fleet at Regulus... He's got two Stellar Clusters for God's sake!"

"And all the while his popularity has been soaring," Buckingham said condescendingly as if explaining something to a truculent child. "Paving the way for toppling High Command and establishing himself as unopposed leader of the Terran Federation. His ascendancy would be welcomed by the unwashed masses... the half-wits would be begging him to take control!"

"That's preposterous," Cartwright said, shaking his head. "I've met the man; he isn't a threat to the Terran Federation, he's an ally."

"Is that so," Buckingham replied, his voice seething with barely controlled anger. "Because I've met John Blake too and he threatened us after the Battle of Regulus! Ask Caldwell, Weber, or Mishra; they were all there and heard every word! Blake is from a highly-advanced hostile alien species, he openly confessed to it! If he was really an ally, why wouldn't he share all the technology he has on the Invictus? He's got Maliri weaponry installed on that Frankenstein ship of his... he used those guns to destroy a Terran battleship at Regulus!"

Charles sat in stunned silence as he listened to Buckingham twist events to fit his narrative. That Terran Battleship was manned by traitors allied with Admiral Lynton, but the Fleet Admiral was making it sound like John had fired on his own side. He wanted to stand up and object, tear apart these false accusations and defend his friend's good name... but this had come as a terrible shock and he knew he was ill-prepared. More than anything now, he needed to warn John what had transpired here.

Charles felt a pang of sorrow when he thought of Admiral Devereux. He'd always admired her sense of ambition, but had always kept a wary distance, not wanting to get snared up in her political games as she chased her all-consuming desire to become Fleet Admiral. By the time he realised she was actually a close ally, it had all been too late... she'd tried to warn John herself and paid the ultimate price. "I'll make sure your Lion avenges you, Lynette," he thought to himself, full of remorse.

He turned his attention back to Buckingham who was gesturing towards Admiral Caldwell. "Edwin will have full operational command of the battle in the Sol System, directing strategy from aboard the Zeus. I will be stationed in the Citadel, where I will be closely monitoring the entire theatre of battle."

The atmosphere in the room had changed to sullen brooding and when Charles glanced at the other Admirals, he saw many of them darting furtive looks around too. High Command was teetering on the brink of mutiny... he could feel it, the Admirals could feel it, and Buckingham clearly knew it too.

"What happens when John Blake and the Maliri arrive... Sir," Admiral Connor Malone asked through gritted teeth. "Are you really proposing we fire on him?"

Buckingham eyes gleamed with anticipation. "Of course! With the vast firepower we've assembled at Terra, we'll obliterate Blake and his allies if he dares to show his face!"

Malone looked at him with barely controlled disdain. "What if he arrives in the middle of the battle?"

The Fleet Admiral rolled his eyes. "You just heard Morgan's report... John Blake only crossed the border a couple of hours ago. Yes, the Invictus is incredibly fast, but even knowing the speed it can travel, he won't arrive here until..." He glanced at Mishra. "Have you got an estimate?"

"Nav-Comp predictions put his ETA at 12:30 tomorrow afternoon," she replied, studying a holo-reader.

Buckingham's mouth twisted into a sneer. "That's six hours after the battle with the Kintark is predicted to commence! We'll crush the alien invaders and prove once and for all who is the dominant power in the galaxy. With the Kintark threat dispensed with, we can stop for lunch, then bring all our guns to bear on Blake and his Maliri lackeys!"

Weber laughed at his feeble joke but was alone in doing so.

Buckingham turned his attention back to the rest of his audience and declared, "We are fighting for the future of humanity everyone! I wish you the best of fortune in the battle to come. For the Glory of Terra!"

A handful of Admirals half-heartedly mumbled the battlecry, but everyone else stayed mute in appalled silence. Buckingham frowned, having hoped for a rallying moment to leave the meeting on a high note.

"Full mission briefings will be provided immediately after this meeting. You're dismissed," he grumbled, before turning and striding from the meeting room.

The lights went up in the room and holograms of the officers flickered before being shut down. That left Charles with Admirals Aiden Cartwright, Connor Malone, Aerie Malone, and Miriam Poznanski, who all looked just as shellshocked as he felt. They filed out of the meeting room, sharing worried glances, but knowing that they were undoubtedly being monitored.

As Connor Malone walked past he whispered under his breath, "We need to talk... I'll be in touch."

Charles did his best not to react and walked wearily back to his office. He didn't have to fake his sudden sense of exhaustion; he felt like he'd aged ten years in less than ten minutes...

***

John frowned at the image of the Terran Federation insignia. "It's no use, I'm not able to contact anybody! It looks like we're being blocked from sending out messages via the comms beacons."

Calara shared a grim frown with him. "Shutting us out of the Terran Federation Communications Network is a drastic step. How aggressively confrontational do you think High Command is going to be?"

"Short of firing on us you mean?" John asked, with a heavy sigh. "After the award ceremony I thought we'd established a reasonable working relationship. I should have known there was a problem when Buckingham, Devereux, and the others were missing from the reception afterwards. If I'd known it was going to get this bad, I would've tackled the situation weeks ago."

"But what do we do if they do fire on us?" Calara persisted, her eyes tense with worry. "John... I can't fire on Terran forces!"

He put his arms around her waist and giving her a hug. "We'll just have to pray it doesn't come to that."

*Irillith's hacking the comms network,* Alyssa informed him. *She'll be done shortly.*

*Okay, thanks for letting me know,* John replied, before turning his attention back to the brunette. "At least your Dad's clear of this fight," he said, stroking Calara's back. "Mateo's with him on the Damocles isn't he?"

The Latina nodded, then stiffened with a sharp intake of breath. "Eduardo! He's patrolling the Ashanath border on the battleship Orion! He might have been recalled to defend Terra!"

John look up at her in concern. "If he is, we'll have to take steps to protect him."

She hugged him back. "Thank you!"

The comm-interface chimed and Irillith's glowing face appeared in the display. "Hello, John."

He released Calara and smiled at the cyber-realm representation of the gorgeous Maliri hacker. "Alyssa said you've been busy."

She returned his smile and nodded. "I've subverted the T-Fed comms beacons so you can now send covert messages without being tracked or having logs recorded. I also embedded a carrier signal into the message to project white noise, which will block audio pickup for electronic devices. Even if there are any bugs in Admiral Harris' office, anything you say to him will just be between the two of you."

"Fantastic work as usual, thanks honey," John replied, smiling at her appreciatively.

Irillith blew him a kiss, a playful twinkle in her violet eyes. "I live to serve, My Lord." She waved goodbye and added, "I've routed the call through; it should connect any moment."

Her beautiful face disappeared from view and was replaced by the Terran Federation insignia. That in turn melted away a couple of seconds later, and John's old Commanding Officer appeared, looking drawn and haggard.

"Everything's gone to hell, John," Charles said quietly, too numb with shock to even be surprised that his old friend had managed to get through to him. "Even you can't fix this mess..."

John leaned forward, his voice low with an uncharacteristic edge to it. "Tell me everything, Charles."

Shaking his head, Charles gazed at the screen and let out a humourless laugh. "Where do I even start...?"

"This channel's secure... you don't have to worry about being bugged," John said, worried for his old friend. "I already know about the Kintark invasion; that they'll be laying siege to Terra tomorrow. Is there anything else?"

"Devereux's dead... she got shot resisting arrest for treason," Charles replied, his features twisted with sorrow.

Calara gasped, her hand going to her mouth. "No!"

"Fuck me..." John muttered slumping back in his chair.

Running his hand through his hair, Charles let out a mournful sigh. "She came to see me, just before... we spoke in secret and she told me she was trying to help you all along. I didn't realise it at the time, but she must have already known about the Kintark invasion. She attempted to contact the Maliri and try to warn you what was coming, so Buckingham turned on her."

John felt a surge of guilt that quickly transformed into white-hot fury. "That bastard's done! Once we've dealt with the Kintark, I'm taking him down!"

Charles shook his head, a distraught expression on his face. "Buckingham just addressed High Command... he accused you of planning a coup with Devereux and the Maliri! He said you won't make it back in time for the battle... that you'll miss it by hours! He's going to ambush you and the Maliri when you arrive at Terra!"

John shared a panic-stricken look with Calara before turning back to Charles. "What time are they expecting the Kintark fleet to arrive?!"

"They're predicting 6:30 tomorrow morning, but I don't think they know for certain..." Charles replied, his face pale. "The Kintark have been destroying comms beacons all the way from the Dragon March..."

John inhaled deeply before blowing out his breath as he tried to keep himself calm. "We won't get there until 7:00. You'll have to hold the fort for thirty minutes until the cavalry arrives."

"I'm not sure there'll be much left by then," Charles muttered, looking deflated. "We were given briefing notes after the meeting; I've seen the size of the armada the Kintark are sending against us and they've got upgraded shields too! Buckingham might have recalled all the fleets to the Sol System, but I don't think it'll be enough. The Kintark destroyed Port Medea and wiped out the entire Dragon March fleet! They're out for blood!"

Calara gaped at him in shock. "Port Medea was a major strategic asset... destroying it doesn't make any sense!"

"Charles is right... the Kintark aren't planning on fighting a protracted war," John's said, his brow furrowed with concern. "They want to end this once and for all."

The Latina nodded, trying to put aside her feelings of disbelief. "I'll take that into account with my planning... the Kintark might behave differently than I'd originally anticipated."

"Charles, send us all the data you've got," John requested firmly. "Calara's going to review it all and come up with a battle strategy for tomorrow." He hesitated for a moment, then added, "Do you think Buckingham's forces would actually fire on us?"

Charles had a pained look in his eyes as he shrugged helplessly. "He seems to hate you with a passion. I'm sure he'd give the order in a heartbeat, but whether anyone would follow that order is a different question altogether. High Command is on the verge of mutiny, but all the opposition to Buckingham was rallied behind Devereux. Now she's gone... I honestly don't know."

"What about the crews in your upgraded ships?" John asked, with a pensive frown. "Who are they loyal to?"

"Nearly all of them fought in the Battle of Regulus," Charles replied, cheering up a little. "I doubt any of them would turn on you, not after you saved all their lives."

"That's something at least," John said, glad to have something to be optimistic about. "Is the refit complete?"

The older man actually looked relieved. "The entire fleet is almost fully operational, but they were still classed as undergoing a refit when Buckingham started recalling his forces to Terra. All the upgraded ships are still stationed in the drydock, getting refuelled and having ordnance loaded." He barked a short laugh and continued, "I was cursing Henry Voss just over a week ago, but if it wasn't for him and his army of technicians, we'd have never got the fleet upgraded in time."

"Do whatever you can to keep that fleet based at Olympus," Calara insisted, before looking quizzically at the weary Admiral as he nodded his agreement. "Have you got any other fleet assets at the shipyard? What about all those Kintark ships we captured at Regulus?"

Charles hesitated then shook his head. "Most of those ships were stripped of heatsinks, so their gun batteries are unusable. Besides, we don't have crews trained to man Kintark vessels." He frowned and tilted his head back, lost in thought as he considered the rest of the vessels languishing in the Shipyard. "Aside from that, there's not much else; perhaps a handful of ships too badly damaged to be repaired... oh and the Nexus fleet, but they've been mothballed. No one wanted to go near ships that were commandeered by a psychotic AI."

The Latina leaned forward, a ferocious gleam in her eyes. "We need those ships spaceworthy!"

"Which ones?" Charles asked her in confusion.

"All of them..." Calara insisted, her mind whirring.

***

Admiral Morgan sat in silence behind his desk, gazing despondently at the stars through the long window that flanked his Ready Room. He'd been fiercely loyal to the Terran Federation for over twenty-five years of service and this was the first day he'd ever seriously considered tendering his resignation. The bedrock to his faith in the military had been his respect for the chain of command, but after what he'd heard that evening, his respect for the Fleet Admiral was in tatters.

As he was mulling over that stark realisation, the door swished open and Commodore Redding strode in without preamble. Morgan glanced his way, shocked that the other man would barge into his Ready Room like that, but his rebuke died on his lips when he saw the look of devastation on the man's face. "What on Terra happened, Commodore?!"

Redding tried to speak, but he couldn't seem to find his voice. He picked up a remote off the table and pressed a button, activating a holo-screen. Pressing several more buttons, the image coalesced into the familiar sight of the TFNN newsdesk as he began the playback.

Bill Armstrong the Lead Anchor was looking panicked and dishevelled, a far cry from his usual coifed composure. "-leaked footage from the Outer Rim!" the reporter said urgently, staring into the camera. "We don't know how much longer we'll be able to stay on air, Federation troops are storming the building!"

He glanced fearfully at the wall behind him where several video feeds were prominently displayed. "I say again... sources have confirmed that Terran Federation fleets have abandoned the borders! The Kirrix have attacked multiple colonies!"

"Oh my God..." Morgan gasped in horror, staring at the video images on the back wall of the TFNN studio.

The quality of the footage varied dramatically. Some was a mix of shaky amateur photography, like the video showing Kirrix hive ships dropping through the clouds as they made planetfall, and there was feed from static street cameras, tracking ochre-coloured insectoid forces marching down streets. The contrast between the two was striking, making the alien invasion seem very stark and horrifyingly real. Each set of video footage was obviously authentic and had been deliberately left uncensored for the public to see it in all its shocking glory.

Morgan gaped at one nightmarish video stream after another, the first he watched showing terrified civilians running from insectoid troops, only to be shot in the back as they attempted to flee. When the injured were dragged away as prisoners, he knew their blood-curdling screams of terror would haunt him to the grave. The video on the screen to the right was even worse, with police and militia units shown battling the Kirrix in desperate firefights, then the Terran forces committing suicide rather than be taken alive. He finally turned away after he saw a young militiaman sob with fear and raise a pistol to his own temple before blowing his brains out.

Bill Armstrong was trembling as he tried to focus on the camera. "We know the following worlds have been hit: Menganus IV, Tasmaris Prime, Karron, Valia Gate, Carolus III, Brecken's World, and..."

His voice trailed away as he darted a frightened glance to his right. There were frantic shouts in the background, then the sharp burst of an assault rifle followed by a shrill scream. The holo-image suddenly went blank and a multi-coloured test screen replaced the frantic scenes in the TFNN studio.

Morgan turned to stare at his colleague in shock as he remembered Redding had family on one of those doomed worlds. "Oh God!... Carolus III... I'm so sorry, Doug!"

Commodore Redding's face was a mask of anguish. "Where the fuck was the fleet?! How could they abandon those planets to the Kirrix?!"

Admiral Morgan slumped back in his chair, his own expression appalled as he muttered bitterly, "We should have been there to stop them..."

***

Lieutenant Commander Ryan Murphy strode down the corridor with his helmet tucked under his arm, still wearing his flight suit from a long day spent in a Claymore. The cockpit might have been atmospherically adjusted for comfort, but after nine hours of intense training, his flight suit was dank with sweat. He'd barely set foot outside the cockpit when he received the order to meet Captain Lewis in his office and as much as he longed for shower and bed, orders were orders.

"Leprechaun!" a young woman called out from behind him, sounding out of breath. "Wait a second!"

Murphy recognised the voice as belonging to First Lieutenant Abbott, one of the rookies in his wing. He turned around to watch her run to catch up. "Can it wait, Lieutenant?"

Abbott grinned at him and blurted out, "I was just talking with the guys! We reckon we could feather the throttle through gate five, immediately perform a partial roll then hit full burn. We'd have to execute the strafing run at maximum velocity, but we wouldn't have to make any course corrections until the last couple of seconds and it'd shave at least three seconds off our best time!"

Leprechaun considered the suggestion for a moment, then gave her a rare smile, nodding his approval. "Yeah, that might just work! Tell the guys it sounds like a great plan, we'll try it first thing tomorrow."