by P P Corcoran
“Comms. Signal all ships equipped with gravity nulling generators within effective range of the Turak battle line. They are to cease operation in precisely fifteen minutes.” John switched his attention to Tactical without waiting for an acknowledgment. “Tactical. Initiate Dragon Breath at fifteen minutes plus thirty seconds. I want constant updates sent to Admiral Glandinning as to the position of the Turak fleet in relation to Force Alpha.”
“Aye, aye, Admiral.”
The next fifteen minutes would be the longest in John’s life.
#
LEAD CRUISER - FIRST WING - SAIPH FLEET
“The Turak die well, Supreme Leader, but they still die.” Chortled Star Leader Foral as yet another of the enemy’s largest ships broke apart under repeated bombardment from a combination of directed energy weapons fire, nuclear blasts and antimatter warheads.
The losses had not been all one sided. The Turak had learned early on in the engagement to concentrate their fire on a single Saiph cruiser at a time, battering down the cruiser’s energy shields through sheer weight of fire alone. Twenty-eight Saiph ships had succumbed to the Turak though half the Turak fleet, over two thousand ships of all classes, were now nothing more than scattered irradiated fragments.
“It is time to finish this.” The Supreme Leader said as his lips drew back and formed into a feral smile. “First Wing will close with the enemy and volley fire antimatter missiles. We will use crush their charred bodies under our boots before turning to do the same to the Commonwealth. Order Second and Third Wings to halt their retreat and form a blocking line. They shall be the anvil that we will use our hammer to smash the enemy!”
#
TEAM NINE - THE SPHERE
Phillipa Papadomas ignored the pain of her left leg as she hurried down yet another unmarked corridor.
“Left at the next intersection then you should see the door to the access node.” Geoll said softly from beside her. I sure as hell hope he knows where he’s going thought Phillipa as she sent the information over her Wraith suits data link.
Semple and Sven had point and the change of direction popped up on each of their HUD’s at the same moment. A double tone in Phillipa’s left ear indicated that the troopers had got the message.
Captain Calan had the Alonan equivalent of a plasma rifle held loosely in his arms and the sight of the hulking form of Tai in his armored suit only served to emphasize Phillipa’s decision to pair one of her troopers off with each principle when they had set off from the crashed Buffalo. Both pilots had died on impact and they had only discovered that Browne was dead when he had failed to respond to Semple’s team check. On closer inspection the staff sergeant had found a jagged hole in the back of Browne’s suit. The hole matched one that penetrated the hull of the Buffalo directly behind Browne’s seat. Strangely at the time Phillipa realized that now she would never be able to ask him why his nickname was Dunkerdink. With no time to waste the team had left the dead where they were and moved off.
Phillipa glanced at the countdown clock in the bottom left corner of her display. Six minutes fourteen seconds… thirteen seconds… twelve seconds.
“Okay people we need to hustle it up.” Turning her head to look down at Okal she turned the volume down on her external speaker so as not to deafen the Saiph when she spoke. “Are you armed, Commander?”
Okal looked up into the blank metallic face of the seven-foot soldier. “I don’t think my Alonan friends trust me well enough yet to give me a weapon.” He said with a wry smile.
A leg pouch popped open on Phillipa’s suit and she reached inside retrieving a PEP pistol her hand smoothly checking it before she handed it to the Saiph. “Consider yourself trusted. Safety’s off so try not to shoot yourself in the foot, okay?”
The Saiph Commander hoisted the unfamiliar weapon and checked it for balance. “No foot shooting. Got it.”
“Or shooting me.” Interjected Leslie who Phillipa had assigned to the Saiph.
Robb Bishop had noticed what was going on from his position beside Geoll. “You want me to arm Geoll, Boss?” He asked over the team link.
Phillipa considered it for no more than a second before answering. “Negative, Bishop. Not until we are sure who’s side he’s on.”
The sound of a plasma rifle on repeat echoed down the corridor at the same time Gavin’s voice burst onto the link. “Contact rear! Quinn’s down!”
On Phillipa’s HUD Quinn’s name popped up blinking in red for the briefest of moments before going solid. Quinn was dead.
“I’ve got about a half dozen Saiph back here. Light weapons only. I’m coming in at the bounce.”
“Understood. Out to you. Semple let’s move out.”
At the head of the small group Semple and Sven reached the intersection Geoll had indicated. Semple gingerly poked his rifle around the corner and called up the weapons electronic scope in his HUD. What he saw made him grimace. “Boss, by my count we got a dozen or so setting up some sort of weapons emplacement right where Geoll reckons we have to be.”
“Push it across to me.” Ordered Phillipa and the image from Semple’s rifle appeared floating in her view as she made her way down the corridor toward her two troopers. Semple was right thought Phillipa, these boys were getting organized in a hurray so they obviously know that we aren’t far away and the racket of Gavin’s brush with their friends would have woken the dead. Well let’s not give them any more time to get ready for us, eh?
Phillipa checked the countdown clock again and her breath caught, and her eyes widened in alarm as it screamed three minutes twenty-eight seconds at her. With no time to lose Phillipa activated her team link. “Okay Team Nine, we are going to have to do this down and dirty. No fancy tactics. We go around that corner at the bounce and run right over these guys. Leslie, I don’t care what it takes but Okal gets into that room and does his thing. Got it?”
“Understood, Boss.”
Phillipa heard Okal let out a surprised shout as Leslie scooped him up in one power assisted arm and pulled him tight into his armored chest. Phillipa used her eye movements to call up the medical drop-down list on her HUD. Selected the strongest pain killer she could take without putting her under and flexed her damaged leg. The pain that shot up her leg left her with stars floating in her eyes.
Gavin’s plasma rifle barked again as the Saiph at their rear caught up with them. The sound of unfamiliar weapons fire reached her as the Saiph returned fire in ever rising volume.
“Team Nine. Go! Go! Go!” She shouted as she raced around the corner at the head of her team as fast as her damaged leg would carry her. Plasma rifle leveled in front of her as she went to rapid fire and swept the weapon from left to right laying down a withering field of fire. To her left Semple edged ahead of her mowing down Saiph with the precision of a trained killer. To her right Sven was knocked off balance by the impact of a heavy caliber round on his armored shoulder but he kept running and firing. Tai’s name went red as she ran spurring her on. In seconds they were in among the defenders. Plasma rifles were swung like clubs pummeling bodies and cracking heads, the blood of the Saiph drenching their wraith suits until they looked like they had bathed in a swimming pool filled with it. Bishop was as good as his word. The trooper stopped for nothing. Blasting a route through the Saiph with his rifle before barreling through the half open doors leading into the access node.
“Grenade!” Screamed Sven as he dived atop a Saiph with a dull, metal fist sized object. The weapon detonated and thick, blue superheated plasma boiled up from beneath Sven’s prone body. Phillipa was physically lifted off her feet and flung through the now open door into the access node losing sight of Semple as she did so. Phillipa hit the floor hard and skidded across it until the wall on the far side of the room brought her to a bone shuddering halt. Shaking her head, she found that her helmet had malfunctioned and the HUD and external camera was down. Wrenching the helmet off her lungs protested the choking air filled with death and blood.
Phill
ipa’s eyes fixed on Okal barely visible behind the armored figure of Leslie. The Saiph commander was working furiously at a terminal.
“Time?” She shouted.
“Two minutes dead.” Replied Leslie, his voice sounding strangely robotic through his suit’s speaker.
Chunks of wall blew off, Phillipa ducked and scampered for cover as Saiph reinforcements fired through the open doorway. The instantly recognizable sound of plasma rifle fire answered and Phillipa gave a small satisfied smile as she realized at least one of her team was upright and fighting. Scooting across to where her own rifle had fallen she scooped it up and smoothly popped the charge pack and replaced it with a fresh one from her belt, depressed the charging stud, she rolled into the open doorway and despite her protesting leg, went up on one knee and popped two attackers before dropping and rolling back into cover. For a moment the enemy fire slackened before resuming with increased intensity.
“Done!” Shouted Okal taking a step back from the terminal and colliding with Leslie’s unmoving form.
“Time?”
“One minute.” Replied Leslie.
Phillipa closed her eyes and recited a silent prayer. Please let it be long enough.
The electronic consciousness that was the AI Chera raced along fiber optic and metal cabling until she reached her destination. The brain stack of the Sphere’s AI. The AI attempted to resist Chera. To block access to its most critical command and control systems. In computers that think and work in microseconds the battle between the two artificial intelligences raged for days. In reality it was all over in under three seconds. Chera now had complete control and used that control to reach out to every Saiph vessel in the system with a single command. Disengage energy shields.
#
FLAG BRIDGE - TDF ITUS
The clock above the main holo cube reached fifteen minutes and exactly on time every gravity drive generator in the area of the Turak fleet went to standby. Seconds later the remains of the Turak fleet folded out of the system.
John Radford gripped the edges of his seat and slowly counted to thirty.
#
LEAD CRUISER - FIRST WING - SAIPH FLEET
“Supreme Leader, the Turak have folded out of the system.” Exclaimed Foral in confusion.
“I can see that you idiot.” Answered the Supreme Leader ignoring his fleet commander as he tried to comprehend what was happening.
The sound of raised voices in the Engineering Section caused him to turn and look in their direction, as he did so the officer in charge turned to face him, eyes wide with fear.
“Energy shields are down and the computer is refusing to reset them.”
The Supreme Leader did not have time to react before a call from the Sensor Section drowned out the arguing voice at Engineering.
“Small craft! Dozens of them dead ahead… No, wait. They have folded out again, but sensors are registering something in our path” The Weapons’ Officer’s terminal screamed a warning at him; a missile had launched 300 kilometers ahead of the fleet. At that range flesh and blood could not react quickly enough and the computer was meant to take over and activate the cruisers close-in missile defenses. On this occasion the computer took no action; after receiving an override command to ignore the missiles.
The Supreme Leader had just enough time to realize he was about to die, before the 300 missiles ripple-fired from box launchers holding ten antimatter missiles, each ferried into the system by Fire Ant cargo ships, impacted on the unprotected hulls of First Wing.
There were no survivors.
#
FLAG BRIDGE - TDF ITUS
The mental sigh of relief that escaped everyone on the Flag Bridge was almost physical, and John gave a small word of thanks to whatever controlled the universe that his plan had worked.
The deep red icons representing the Saiph’s remaining warships, which represented a potent threat, reminded John that he had business to complete. Clapping the palms of his hands together he shifted in his chair and prepared to make his next move.
“Comms. Open a link to those ships and tell them…”
“Admiral. Incoming signal from the Sphere.” Interrupted the Comms Officer. “It’s Caretaker Geoll, Sir.” Not waiting for permission, the officer pushed the signal to the main holo cube and Geoll’s face filled the display.
“Admiral Radford. The Supreme Leader is dead. With his passing I am once again the voice of the Saiph and my people will listen to me. I ask for an immediate ceasefire. I have ordered all our warships to return to port forthwith -”
John’s eyes flicked across to the tactical display and, sure enough, the Saiph warships were moving once more however, they were shaping a course to return to the Sphere.
“Comms. Fleet wide flash signal. Weapons tight. Repeat. Weapons tight.”
“My people will need time to adjust to their new reality however, with time and the assistance of Commander Okal I believe this to be possible.”
“You understand Geoll, that decisions of that magnitude are not mine to make. I will have to consult with my political superiors, and they will undoubtedly wish to send their representatives to negotiate a more permanent peace accord.”
In the display Geoll was nodding his understanding. “That is to be expected, Admiral.”
“For my part though -,” said John, “The ships under my command will honor the ceasefire.”
“That is all I can ask, Admiral.”
John was about to terminate the link when Geoll spoke again. “You have wounded here, Admiral. Perhaps I could arrange for them to be returned to you so they can receive more suitable medical treatment.”
“That would be greatly appreciated, Caretaker Geoll.”
Geoll nodded curtly one more time before the link terminated and John felt himself relax for the first time in weeks. The horn that sounded from the Tactical changed all that. On the tactical display five vessels emerged into normal space. In seconds the computer identified them as belonging to the Turak.
“War Chief Vek on fleet command link, Sir.”
John felt the muscles in his neck constrict at the radical change of plan he was going to have to share with the Turak. “Put him through.”
Vek’s began speaking before John got a chance. “Ha! I see the cowards are running now we have cut the head off the beast. It is time for you to press the attack. Close with the enemy and finish them off.”
“A cease fire has been agreed with Caretaker Geoll. The Saiph will be allowed to retire to the Sphere unmolested.”
Vek’s mouth snapped shut, the muscles of his cheeks rippled under the brown leathery skin and the red eyes burned with hatred. “If you will not eradicate these vermin from the stars then I shall…”
“You are under my command War Chief Vek. Need I remind you of that?”
“I do not recognize your command over me any longer, Human. You have betrayed the Turak and I intend to finish the Saiph blight once and for all!”
John rose from his chair and calmly walked over to the Tactical Officer. The audio and visual link to Vek still open. In a steady voice that betrayed no emotion John spoke loud enough to be heard over the link. “Tactical. Order the fleet to engage and destroy the first Turak vessel that makes any attempt to approach the Sphere.” Turning to face Vek, John raised his chin and fixed his eyes on those of the Vek. “I outgun you, and I will not hesitate to blow you out of the sky. Leave now and there need be no more bloodshed today.”
Vek continued to stare at John with hate oozing from every pore, until at last, the link disconnected.
“The Turak have folded away, Admiral, and we have a Saiph small craft on final approach to Landing Bay One. They say they have wounded on board.”
“Thank you. I’ll be in the Landing Bay One if you need me.”
#
John kept to one side as the medics rushed aboard the Saiph shuttle as soon as its ramp was lowered. It only occurred to John as he stood there that a single shuttle could not possibly hold t
he numbers of Thunder troopers that had accompanied Vladimir Egnorov on his mission to the Sphere. Raised voices at the top of the shuttles ramp drew John’s attention. A large trooper, dressed in his Wraith armor minus his helmet was helping a female who was obviously in considerable pain down the ramp, any medic that got within the range of his free hand got pushed away.
“Come near us again and I’ll end you!” Shouted the male trooper and, from the look in his eyes he meant it. Reaching the bottom of the ramp the pair went to attention as best they could as they propped each other up. As John watched on eight body bags on grav sleds floated silently past the troopers as they rendered honors. The grav sleds were lined up to await transportation to Med Bay. John walked across to the two troopers who looked like they were both about to fall over with exhaustion.
The female did not notice John until he had nearly reached her.
“Lieutenant Papadomas and Staff Sergeant Semple, Team Nine, Special Operation Unit Thunder and Captain Calan, Alonan Imperial Navy, report mission complete. All my troopers living, and dead are off the field of battle, Admiral.”
John dropped his head as tears filled his eyes and his heart ached.
After the horrors that John had witnessed in the years that this war had raged from one end of the galaxy to another and back again this simple poignant ceremony conducted by two battered and bruised troopers on a cold metal hangar deck so far from home was the one thing that had finally pierced the hard shell that he had built around himself to ensure that he could make all those hard calls that had sent men and women under his command to their deaths.
Raising his head, he took his PAD from his blouse pocket and tapped a code by memory. The call John had placed was answered on the third ring.
“Marine Duty Officer, Major Murata speaking.”
“Major, Admiral Radford. I need a detail to render honors. Landing Bay One.”
There was a pause on the other end of link for no more than a breath before the major answered as any marine would to an admiral’s order.