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The Andos Vector (Guns of the Federation Book 5)




  THE ANDOS VECTOR

  GUNS OF THE FEDERATION

  BOOK 5

  ANTHONY JAMES

  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

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Urzox

  Also by Anthony James

  © 2022 Anthony James

  All rights reserved

  The right of Anthony James to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author

  This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed upon the subsequent purchaser

  Illustration © Tom Edwards

  TomEdwardsDesign.com

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  ONE

  Less than seventy-two hours after the death of rogue officer Admiral Russ Danner - by means of justifiable plasma missile incineration - the Human Federation was once more under the control of the Senate. The military remained in a state of some disarray, but already the officers who were loyal to the Unity political faction were imposing a degree of order.

  With Danner out of the way, the Freedom faction he’d led was rudderless and most of its adherents – who had always been loyal to the Human Federation – were attempting to distance themselves from recent events.

  Captain Jed Grisham, having been instrumental in Danner’s death, was hopeful that within a few weeks, everything would be back to a state resembling normality. It would need to be. The Ax’Kol aliens were pushing the Kijol fleet to the limit, and they’d already located two frontier human worlds. Soon, the Human Federation would be facing a species with a singular purpose – that purpose being to destroy all life.

  “We’ve been at Loxor for ten hours now, Captain,” said Commander Lois Deneuve. She was wearing full combat gear, like the rest of the warship’s crew, and she had one hand on the half-melted interface post that linked her to the warship Voltran’s consciousness.

  “Bored, Commander?” asked Grisham.

  He was linked to the warship too, though he didn’t need an interface post. The sensor feeds were fed directly into his mind and he changed his attention from one to the other. A hundred kilometres below, the Fremont military base – which had, until recently, been Danner’s seat of power – was a sprawling expanse of buildings, factories, warehouses, and research labs.

  The huge landing field attached to the base was crowded with warships that had, only two days ago, been part of Danner’s breakaway faction. Those warships had been ordered to set down and their crews instructed to disembark.

  So far, none had resisted, though Grisham wasn’t sure if that was because of the Voltran’s presence, or because almost fifty vessels controlled by the Unity faction had been sent to Loxor at best speed to secure the planet. The Unity warships either hovered above the surface, patrolled the skies, or watched from a half-million kilometres. The local fleet was equivalent in strength, but there’d been no confrontation. Grisham liked to think that was because the Freedom officers knew it was over.

  Meanwhile, the extensive shipbuilding facilities on Fremont, consisting of seven construction trenches, were working flat out, and four additional new trenches twenty kilometres east would soon be finished.

  “Not bored, Captain,” said Deneuve, turning his way. She smiled. “Well, maybe a little bit bored, but I guess this beats a mission to a planet full of corpses.”

  “That it does,” said Grisham. His focus was on the shipyards. “Danner’s legacy. He might have been an asshole of the highest order, but at least he’s left us with the facilities to build our fleet rapidly.”

  “There are new trenches on Kanis as well, Captain,” said Lieutenant Mac Adler. “And I checked out the construction orders – in a couple of months, we’ll have some new resource carriers ready to go. Big ones, that can supply a place like Loxor for six months with a single load.” Adler grunted. “But, like you said, Danner was an asshole, regardless of what he left us with.”

  “Yeah,” said Grisham.

  He felt mixed emotions. For all his many failings, Danner had only wanted the best for the Human Federation. If he’d listened to reason, or accepted that other people – who also wanted the best for the Human Federation – had different means to the same end, he’d still be alive. Right now, the military could use Danner’s undoubted skills in organization, as well as his vision. Instead, the Admiral was dead and his body reduced to carbon.

  “The last of the Freedom crews have disembarked,” said Lieutenant Dan Bishop. “We don’t have the people to replace them, not unless there are plans to promote a bunch of Tibor pilots.”

  “We won’t be replacing them,” said Grisham. “At least not many. This conflict has always been about different approaches to the same problem. Most of those officers will be desperate to prove their loyalty to the Human Federation.”

  “I hope you’re right, Captain.”

  Grisham stretched and felt the muscles in his back crackle. This had been a long shift and he was ready for sleep. While the Freedom crews had been disembarking, there’d been no hope of that, but soon, perhaps, he and his crew would have a chance for a few hours away from the bridge.

  “I have Senator Maynard on the comms, Captain!” said Lieutenant Kaci Lopez. “Do you want to speak to him on an open channel?”

  “Please,” said Grisham. He hadn’t talked to Maynard for many hours, and he hoped the man had some news.

  “Captain Grisham,” said Maynard in greeting.

  The comms link to Grisham’s mind conveyed not only the Senator’s exhaustion, but also his excitement. Maynard probably hadn’t slept for the last three days, but it sounded like he’d achieved something big.

  “What can I do for you, Senator?” asked Grisham.

  “I thought you deserved to be one of the first to hear this – we’ve signed a formal peace deal with the Kijol.”

  “That’s great news,” said Grisham. He meant it too. “Congratulations, Senator.”

  “It’s been hard,” said Maynard. “But worth it.”

  “Does that peace deal include a commitment to military collaboration?” asked Grisham.

  “It does. Quite extensive military collaboration as it happens.”

  “What about tech sharing, Senator?”

  Maynard gave a short laugh. “We have an agreement to discuss the possibility of tech sharing, but for the moment, it’s collaboration only. I don’t expect we’ll be building our own Eternus battleships anytime soon.”

  Grisham wasn’t too disappointed at the lack of tech sharing, since
this was early days. The big news was the agreement to collaborate – making this more of an alliance than a mere peace settlement. Even with a cessation in hostilities between the Human Federation and the Kijol, the Ax’Kol would surely still be too much of an opponent if both species were acting independently. Only an active alliance would be enough to defeat this terrible enemy.

  However, after the Voltran’s encounters with the Ax’Kol death factory Inojor, and the vast warship Gholaxas, Grisham was doubtful if humanity and the Kijol stood any chance at all against the enemy. However, this wasn’t the time to think about it and he put the matter to the back of his mind.

  “What happens next?” asked Grisham.

  “There’s plenty of work to be done, Captain,” said Maynard. “Many details remain to be ironed out – details we’ve put to one side in the interests of getting the accord in place.”

  Grisham could imagine, though he didn’t press for specifics. He’d had enough of politics to last a dozen lifetimes. “Everything appears to be settling here on Loxor,” he said. “Maybe soon the Human Federation and the Kijol will be able to turn our attention to the real threat.”

  “It’ll happen,” said Maynard. “In the meantime, I have a mission for you.”

  “What kind of mission, Senator?” asked Grisham. Although Loxor was seemingly under control, he didn’t think it was a good idea to leave the planet so soon. Still, he was curious.

  “The Voltran is running low on missiles and gauss projectiles,” said Maynard.

  “That’s right,” said Grisham.

  “One of the first things I asked the Kijol after we’d signed the peace deal was if they’d salvaged any Ax’Kol ammunition. It turns out they have.”

  “And they’re willing to hand it over?” asked Grisham.

  “The Kijol feel they owe a debt to you and your crew,” said Maynard.

  “They came right out and said that?” asked Grisham in disbelief.

  “Not in so many words. But nevertheless, the actions of our new allies tell the tale. They have offered to fully resupply the Voltran.”

  “How do the Kijol plan to load the ammunition, Senator?” asked Grisham. “The Voltran requires external hardware to swap out its magazines.”

  “I—” Maynard hesitated. He wasn’t a military man and had evidently overlooked this basic question. “The Kijol made the offer and I accepted,” he said.

  Grisham exchanged a glance with Deneuve. She offered him an exaggerated shrug.

  “Send us the coordinates, Senator,” said Grisham. “Are we to depart immediately? The situation on Loxor isn’t yet resolved.”

  “My advisors tell me that everything is under control,” said Maynard. “I’ll have the coordinates sent over at once. The Voltran is a unique vessel in the Human Federation fleet and we need it ready to fight.”

  “I agree,” said Grisham.

  “We’ve received the coordinates,” said Lieutenant Lopez, off-comms.

  “Is there anything else, Captain?” asked Maynard, his voice making it clear he wanted to get on with other business.

  “No, nothing else,” said Grisham.

  “We’ll speak at greater length when the time is right,” said Maynard. He exited the channel.

  “I hope the Senator’s advisors – whoever they are - know what they’re talking about,” said Adler.

  Grisham didn’t need to guess the names of those advisors. Six officers of Admiral rank had sided with Unity and he was sure they were telling Maynard exactly what he needed to know. However, Grisham hadn’t been under the command of any of these officers, so he couldn’t form an opinion as to their competence. Most high-ranking officers in the HF military had earned their places, though there were exceptions.

  “I wonder why we haven’t been placed under the command of another Admiral,” said Lieutenant Eric Kinsey.

  “I think it suits Senator Maynard to keep us outside the usual command structure,” said Grisham. “After all, a military man was responsible for the split in the Human Federation. It makes sense to keep the Voltran under direct control.” He smiled thinly. “And so far, the situation has been suiting me just fine.”

  “We should get out of here, sir,” said Deneuve. “I’ll feel a whole lot better once the Voltran’s magazines are full – assuming the Kijol have the know-how to do it.”

  “Lieutenant Lopez, make sure that our departure will not cause any alarm,” said Grisham.

  “We’re a-okay to go, Captain,” said Lopez a few seconds later.

  Grisham didn’t delay. He instructed the Voltran to accelerate and the warship climbed steadily away from the planet. At the same time, Grisham watched the other vessels which were inside his warship’s sensor arcs. The Human Federation fleet might not be a match for the Kijol fleet, either numerically or technologically, but it was still a force to be reckoned with. Now that Danner was dead, those warships could return to the task for which they’d been constructed – defending humanity.

  Once the Voltran had escaped the planet’s atmosphere, Grisham commanded the warship to maximum acceleration. Its propulsion howled and the vessel tore through the void. With each passing moment, the Fremont base dwindled and the parked spaceships became little more than dark grey shapes against the lighter grey of the landing field.

  At a quarter of a million kilometres from the planet, Grisham brought the Voltran to a standstill.

  “Where are we going?” he asked.

  “A planet called Dodaxa,” said Lopez. “It’s out beyond the Golor sector and isn’t in the HF star charts. The journey time will be three-and-a-half days.”

  “Did the Kijol provide anything other than a location?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Figures,” said Grisham. He doubted there’d be anything worth knowing about the place. “Lieutenant Adler, prepare the Voltran for lightspeed. Aim for an arrival distance half a million kilometres from Dodaxa.”

  “Yes, sir,” said Adler. “We’ll be on our way in a shade under three minutes.”

  The background drone of the engines rose in volume and Grisham let the sound wash over him. He closed his eyes for a moment and breathed in the cold air, with its lingering odour of charred Ax’Kol. After everything that had happened recently – the unrelenting combat, the destruction of entire fleets, and the events within the Human Federation – Grisham knew he should probably be ready for some downtime.

  Instead, he craved a return to action, though he wasn’t sure if that was because he wanted to see an end to the Ax’Kol, or because he’d developed an addiction to walking on the edge. Deep inside, Grisham knew that a man who lived only for combat was a man who’d find death far sooner than he might like.

  The Voltran entered lightspeed.

  TWO

  The journey passed without incident. Grisham spent his active time on the bridge and his off-duty hours in the Voltran’s makeshift mess area – this being one of the warship’s many interior spaces, but with a replicator and some uncomfortable alloy beams on which to sit.

  On these visits, Grisham found himself subjected to subtle interrogation from the soldiers who’d accompanied him ever since the fateful visit to planet Xaros. The soldiers weren’t especially interested in politics, but they wanted to know everything about the peace accord with the Kijol, as well as the Human Federation’s plans to defeat the Ax’Kol. Grisham didn’t have much to tell, but he told the squad what he knew.

  A more difficult task was how to handle the killing – Grisham refused to think of it as murder, though a few legal types would probably disagree - of Admiral Danner. The leader of the squad, Sergeant Tyrus Maxwell, needed to know he was on the right side, whatever that was, and Grisham wasn’t sure how the man would react to the missile attack on Danner’s gravity car. Of course, Grisham could have requested a replacement squad when he was at Loxor, but ultimately, he trusted Maxwell and his squad. They’d been through a lot together.

  In the end, it wasn’t an issue. Maxwell expressed an opinion t
hat the Human Federation was better off with Danner dead, however it had happened. Grisham spoke his agreement. Maxwell nodded and that was that.

  During the time at Loxor, the body of the squad medic Jack Franklin – who’d been killed by an Ax’Kol on the Voltran – had been taken to the surface, and a new medic had arrived on the returning shuttle. Private Hank Logan brought the squad back to its full strength of ten. Logan was broad and a little below average height, with grey hair, even though he was only twenty-eight years old. He already knew the other soldiers and his inclusion in the squad had been a personal request from Maxwell.

  Another medic to feed into the grinder.

  As the three-and-a-half-day journey approached its end, Grisham and his crew waited on the bridge for the Voltran to exit lightspeed.

  “We don’t know what we’re going to find here, folks, so be ready for anything,” said Grisham. He strongly doubted there’d be any sort of Kijol double-cross, but it didn’t cost anything to be wary.

  At the exact predicted moment, the warship re-entered local space. The sensor arrays came online after a couple of seconds and the feeds were of reassuring nothingness. Preferring motion over remaining at a standstill, Grisham instructed the Voltran to accelerate from its starting place.

  “Commencing local area scans,” said Lieutenant Bishop.

  “I’ll obtain a sensor lock on Dodaxa,” said Lopez. “The Kijol provided data on its orbital track, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find. Got it!”

  “I’m accessing the feed,” said Grisham.