by Saxon Andrew
The Fight for Britannia
Fighting For Melbourne
Saxon Andrew
Copyright © 2018 Saxon Andrew
All rights reserved.
This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locals, organisations, or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author.
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Contents
Introduction
Chapter One • Chapter Two • Chapter Three • Chapter Four • Chapter Five • Chapter Six • Chapter Seven • Chapter Eight • Chapter Nine • Chapter Ten • Chapter Eleven • Chapter Twelve • Chapter Thirteen • Chapter Fourteen
Epilogue
Books by Saxon Andrew
About Saxon Andrew
Introduction
Thousands of years ago, three ancient colony ships fled from Earth to escape a nuclear war. The Australia, Britannia, and America fled out into the galaxy to find habitable planets to start over and all three found a planet to colonize. However, Britannia and America were attacked by advanced alien civilizations leading to the destruction of Britannia and the enslavement of the populations on America. The only colony that manage to avoid being conquered was the one established by the Australia. The colonists named their planet Melbourne and they immediately began preparing for the future possible discovery of their world by Earth.
Two survivors from Britannia’s destruction found Melbourne after first going to Earth to seek assistance against the aliens that destroyed all the cities on Britannia. They told the leaders of Melbourne that Earth was ruled by a dictator with an iron fist. Earth’s population was little more than prisoners on their planet. Grady and Taffy Henricks led an Earth attack fleet to the territory of the aliens attacking Britannia and an all-out war kicked off between them. While that was happening, Melbourne sent freighters to Britannia and managed to save hundreds of thousands of the survivors hiding in the wilderness and take them to Melbourne. However, many of the survivors on Britannia refused to leave and were later killed when the aliens returned and blasted the planet from orbit.
America was later found by Melbourne and once again, Melbourne managed to take the inhabitants off the planet to Melbourne without being detected by the alien civilization that had enslaved them. Now, Earth, the aliens that attacked Britannia, and the Fagan civilization that enslaved America are embroiled in a war. The three civilizations are unaware that the small white ships that led them to each other came from Melbourne; they think the white ships belong to one of the other civilizations embroiled in the war. But that subterfuge will be eventually uncovered and that will endanger Melbourne.
The galaxy is at war and the only remaining free humans are at grave risk of being discovered. Time is growing short and it’s only a matter of time until the fight to save Melbourne begins.
Chapter One
Squadron Commander Arie Patel landed his Super Rabbit in the Songbird’s landing bay and came to a stop against the gravity barrier. He was extremely tired and distraught at losing more than fifty of the Rabbits under his command. He exited his ship with Lt. Ruz as the bay operations officer ran up, “Commander, the Admiral wants to see you in the ready room.”
Arie turned to Roxie, “Go get some rest.” Roxie nodded and headed toward her quarters as he turned and walked toward the tubes. He entered a tube and fell back in the seat. He blew out a breath and tried to gather what energy he had remaining. The trip to the bow of the ship ended too quickly and he exited the cart, went through the bridge portal, and was greeted by an Ensign, “Please follow me, Commander.”
The ensign led him to a room just inside the portal and knocked on the door. They heard, “ENTER!” and the ensign opened the door. Arie walked in and saw War Admiral Connor sitting behind a desk. “Take a seat, Commander!” Arie went to a chair and sat down. Maranda looked at Andrew sitting next to her as she saw the commander’s fatigue. Admiral Andrew Connor shook his head and asked, “Commander, please explain how you managed to lose a third of your squadron!”
Arie might have been more careful choosing his words if he wasn’t so tired. But the loss of his pilots coupled with fatigue led him to speak his mind. “Perhaps either of you might want to take a Rabbit out and see if you can do better…Sir! We’re having to face warships that are better armed and more advanced than the ships we’re using against them. You don’t allow us to use the stealth ships and my pilots are outgunned and outnumbered!”
Andrew’s expression turned angry and Maranda raised a hand silencing him. “Commander, please explain what you mean.”
Arie blew out a breath, “Since we came out here five years ago, the aliens and Fagan civilizations have continuously been developing more advanced warships. The current model the aliens are using has more powerful beam weapons and missiles with a longer range than my ships.”
“But your Rabbits are faster, Commander!” Andrew interjected.
Arie snorted and turned to him, “Only barely, Admiral. It now takes more than ten hours to flee out of the range of their scanners and the aliens can vector warships in ahead of my pilots. We’re still using the old Super Rabbits and if I order an attack on their formations, I’m going to lose good pilots.”
“Can’t you launch your missiles at them from long range, Commander?” Maranda asked.
“That used to work, Admiral. But since we don’t use the stealth coating on our missiles, they can see them and easily outrun them. The only way to take them out is to attack from close range and getting away is a deadly proposition. I lost fifty ships today and I was fortunate not to lose more.”
Maranda lowered her eyes slightly, “I share your loss for those brave pilots, Commander. You may go and get some rest.”
Arie stood up, turned, but then turned back around, “Sir, how much longer are we going to be doing this?”
“Until the aliens or Fagan launch an attack against each other. Until that happens, our mission is to continue to provoke them,” Maranda replied. Arie nodded, turned, and left the room. Maranda turned to Andrew, “This has to stop! The commander is right, we’re outmatched and losing this fight.”
“We have new Rabbits arriving to replace the ones we lose, Maranda. We still have more than eighty thousand Rabbits on our ten carriers.”
“But thousands of pilots are dying!”
Andrew put his hand on Maranda’s and said, “This is a price we must pay to keep Melbourne safe! I hate losing them, Maranda! But…we can’t reveal our stealth technology to our enemies; we must save it in the event Melbourne is found and attacked.”
Maranda exhaled softly and slowly nodded, “I know.” She hesitated and continued, “When the Prime Minister created the new rank of War Admiral, I was so happy that I was placed in command of all the fleets in combat. I was getting closer to my goal of commanding all of Melbourne’s Military.” She looked in Andrew’s eyes, “I didn’t realize what this command entailed. Watching thousands of our ships destroyed and the deaths of their crews is almost more than I can bear.”
“When you stop caring, Maranda, it will be time for you to resign,” Andrew said softly. “However, not everything has turned out bad.” Maranda’s eyes narrowed. “We have been allowed to serve together.
”
Maranda shrugged, “Fleet did away with that regulation when it was determined that our fleets would remain on duty for extended periods; it was the right thing to do. Besides, they know I needed someone I trust to command my flagship. You were the best choice.”
“Earth has also joined in the war against the Fagan; that’s a good outcome.”
Maranda laughed, “Earth was pretty stupid.” Andrew chuckled and nodded. “They sent some of their stealth scouts to follow a squadron of alien scouts sent to keep track of the Fagan. They reported the Fagan’s location back to Earth and they sent a fleet out to see what was going on. That Earth Fleet Commander found the Fagan attacking the alien’s scouts and determined that the Fagan were also at war with the aliens. He figured that the enemy of my enemy must be my friend and he attempted to contact the Fagan to see about joining forces.”
“Imagine his surprise when the Fagan proceeded to blast his fleet out from around him,” Andrew added chuckling.
Maranda smiled, “The Fagan’s new warships are more than a match for Earth’s newest model. What complicated things was when the Fagan managed to get a line on Earth’s location. They sent their new fortresses with a fleet and promptly had their hats handed to them by Earth’s Defense Platforms. Neither the aliens or Fagan can match the range of their blasters.”
Andrew shrugged, “It’s just a matter of time until the Fagan build a fortress that can handle them.” Maranda shook her head and Andrew asked, “What? Do you know something?”
“We have stealth scouts at Earth and they’ve reported that a newer and larger Defense Platform is arriving. It appears that all three of our enemies are developing advanced technologies at an amazing speed. You’ve seen our Rabbits are no longer a match for the aliens’ or the Fagan’s newest warships.”
Andrew shook his head and stood up, “We should get back to the bridge.”
“What’s wrong, Andrew?”
“Now that all three civilizations know about each other, they’ll all be reluctant to attack each other. They’ll just stay home and build up their defenses.”
Maranda smiled as she stood up and headed toward the door, “Andrew, you know how children just love to play with new toys.” Andrew stopped, and his eyes narrowed. “They’ve gone to all the work to develop new weapons and I suspect all three are just itching to go out and see how they stack up against their enemies. We might not be able to get them to attack each other with our Rabbit attacks, but someone is going to get impatient and launch an attack.”
“If you had to bet on who will do it first, who would you pick, Maranda?”
“The aliens.”
“Why them?”
“They are the largest of the three and I’m certain they’ve been building up their forces just like Earth and the Fagan. They have more forces to use and still defend their territory.”
Andrew shook his head, “I think the Fagan are the most paranoid of the three. They won’t even communicate with another species. I think they would attack first.”
Suddenly the door to the ready room opened and Ensign Park appeared, “I’M SORRY, SIR! BUT THE SCOUTS REPORT A GIANT FLEET IS MOVING OUT OF ALIEN TERRITORY AND IS SETTING COURSE TOWARD THE SAGITARRIUS SPIRAL ARM!”
Andrew rolled his eyes, “You’re still the smartest person I’ve ever known.”
Maranda touched her collar, “RECALL ALL THE RABBITS AND HAVE THEM BOARD THEIR CARRIERS IMMEDIATELY.” She ran out of the ready room and went to her command chair, where she punched the communication circuit, “Battle stations! All ships go to battle stations! Carriers start landing operations and get your Rabbits on board. Start moving above the Coma Spiral Arm and keep moving until you’re three-thousand light years above it!”
• • •
Captain Smith looked at his display and saw a massive wave of alien warships and planet killers moving out of the alien formations. “Lt. Fuquay, get your scout back to Earth and report on what’s happening here!” A stealth scout turned and accelerated away at high speed back to Earth. Tony watched the massive formation leaving the alien defensive lines and it seemed to never end. This could be the opportunity to attack the aliens. Two hours later, he saw something that frightened him. Moving in behind the massive alien formation was a cloud of planet killers and warships that filled in the alien’s ranks where the others had vacated. The planet killers in that new formation were twice the size of the ones that left. He said in a shaky voice over his communicator, “Lt. Rice, get this back to Earth now! Make sure they understand that launching our forces here would be a huge mistake!” Tony watched the scout accelerate away and forced his mind to focus. The aliens now had the weapons needed to attack Earth…but…they must have decided to take on that aggressive civilization in the Sagittarius Spiral Arm first. Thank the creator for that. They were sending some of their old ships and planet killers to attack and were replacing them with more advanced ships and planet killers.
Tony watched ten new alien warships move out from the alien’s formations, fan out, and start moving at high speed toward his location; they must have detected his communications. He turned the scout and ran at maximum speed but three of them were on him in less than thirty minutes. The second scout Tony sent to Earth saw the warships destroy her commander’s ship on her scanner and she immediately changed course and shut down her thrusters. The seven alien warships blew past behind her and caught the first scout sent to report to Earth. They destroyed it and then fanned out looking for Kathy’s ship. A hundred alien warships joined in the search but failed to find her. They eventually turned and went back to their ranks a week later. Kathy continued to coast away from the aliens for another week before activating her thrusters. The commander had been stupid! He should have moved away and shutdown all his systems. Well, maybe he was too close and would have been found before he could move far enough to escape. She made the trip back to Earth and reported on what was happening. The Dictator viewed the scout’s recording and knew that Earth was in grave danger. He immediately ordered the construction of the new Defense Platforms accelerated and that building new warships would have to wait. Those new alien warships were faster and carried blasters just as powerful as those on the newest model. Earth would have to be defended by the Defense Platforms. For the immediate future, going out to attack the aliens was off the table.
• • •
A Super Rabbit stealth scout intercepted the scout’s communication and its computer broke through the encryption two days later. He left the Earth’s Solar System and moved at maximum-speed toward Melbourne. The colony had to know what was happening.
• • •
A Rabbit stealth scout recorded the new ships moving into the alien formations and saw the Earth scout destroyed. It moved away from the alien lines and sent a squelch message to the fleet’s flagship. It changed course and shutdown as hundreds of alien warships left their lines and moved toward his former location. This wasn’t good. The aliens could now detect their communications. He used the gravity drive to accelerate away and sent another squelch message. The alien warships didn’t change course and he blew out a hard breath; the aliens weren’t able to detect his gravity drive. He sent another message and changed course again as four alien warships moved toward his location.
• • •
Captain Petra looked up from her console, “Sir, I’m receiving a communication from one of the stealth scouts near alien territory; the aliens are able to track our communications!” Maranda reached for her communicator and Petra quickly added, “The scout also reports the aliens are able to track our covered thrusters, Sir!”
Maranda punched the general frequency and ordered, “All ships and Rabbits will go to communication silence immediately! Stop boarding the Rabbits until we’re out of this spiral arm. All ships will only use their gravity drives until further notified! This is a direct order!” The ten carriers continued to accelerate above the Coma Spiral Arm and the thousands of Rabbits that were not landed moved out and f
ormed a giant defense ring around them. Maranda shook her head and Andrew said, “We knew it would only be a matter of time until they could detect the frequencies we’ve been using.
“Then the scientists need to come up with another way for us to communicate. Contact all the scouts and notify them that their communications can be tracked!” Maranda ordered. Cap. Petra turned to her panel and sent the message before shutting down communications.
• • •
Commander Alexander received the message in Fagan territory and began issuing orders, “Alright, lads, the aliens are now able to track our communications and they have a giant fleet headed our way. Do not use your communicators! Record what happens and remain silent until the battle is over. If the aliens win this round, move out of Fagan space far enough away to send your recordings to fleet. Do not get caught up in the fighting, keep your distance!”
• • •
Andrew turned to Maranda, “What now?”
“I’m not asking for orders. The aliens may have sent scouts ahead of their formation and I’m not going to risk them detecting our communications. The carriers have been ordered to hold formation around the Songbird and I’m leaving for Melbourne as soon as we’re far enough away from the Coma Arm to land the Rabbits.” Andrew’s expression showed doubt and Maranda added, “Our mission was to get the aliens and Fagan to go out and introduce themselves to each other; that’s happening. Fleet will have to decide what happens next when we get back.”
The ten carriers flew at their maximum-speed, but they weren’t nearly as fast without using their thrusters. Maranda continued moving away from the Coma Arm until the fleet was twenty-five thousand light years above it; three-thousand light years wasn’t far enough if the aliens could detect their communications. Landing the Rabbits without using communications was impossibly dangerous. The Rabbits were eventually landed and then she turned the Songbird back toward the Perseus Spiral Arm and Melbourne.