Crimson Worlds Successors: The Complete Trilogy by Jay Allan

Author:Jay Allan [Allan, Jay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: System 7 Publishing
Published: 2018-08-14T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

Main Assault Bay

Eagle One

Orbiting Planet Eldaron, Denebola IV

Earthdate: 2319 AD (34 Years After the Fall)

“Darius, you can’t do this.” Erik Teller stood amid the controlled chaos of Eagle One’s assault bay. Around him, hundreds of Black Eagles—combat units mostly, but also technicians, launch coordinators, and a dozen other types of support personnel—bustled around, performing their duties with a level of efficiency no other combat unit could hope to match. The noise was almost deafening, but a close inspection revealed that the entire swirling mass was a perfect image of organization.

“I have to, Erik.” Darius Cain stared back at his oldest friend and second-in-command. “And you know it.” Cain’s voice was calm, measured. But anyone who knew him understood just how stubborn he truly was. There was probably something in the galaxy more difficult than getting Darius Cain to back down once he’d made a decision, but it wasn’t anything that came to mind easily.

“But once we secure the planet…”

“Erik, stop. Don’t play dumb with me even if it is the only way you can make your argument. Nobody knows how smart you really are like I do. If my father is still alive—and yes, I realize that’s a huge ‘if’—I have to go after him immediately. Taking the planet, defeating whatever they have waiting to trap and destroy us, will require time. And it only takes a second to put a bullet in a prisoner’s head.” He turned toward his armor hanging on the rack against the wall, but then he paused and looked back. “You know I have to take them by surprise, do anything I can…”

Teller’s face was twisted into an uncomfortable frown. Darius was aware of his friend’s concern, both on a personal level and as the Eagle’s executive officer. But he also knew Teller truly understood, in a deeply personal way. Both men had lost their fathers in the war history had come to call the Second Incursion. But James Teller had been gunned down leading a desperate assault…and he’d died in front of three hundred of his own troops. There was no mystery, no nagging doubt about what had happened to him. But Erik Cain had been presumed dead in the destruction of the ship carrying him home. And now it looked like he might have survived, at least for some time after his reported death.

Finally, Teller just nodded. “I understand. But what about the Eagles? The assault? We need you.”

“The assault is planned out to the last decimal…and you can lead the main effort as well as I can.” He hesitated, then before Teller could object he added, “And don’t give me any nonsense that isn’t the case. Because we both know it is.”

Teller didn’t answer for a few seconds. Finally, he said, “I’m just nervous, Darius. We both know this is a trap. And there has to be some relationship with what happened on Lysandria and Eris. Even the disappearance of the lost platoon on Karelia.” He paused. “We shouldn’t underestimate whoever this is we’re facing.

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