Our first ideas were to sabotage one of the free-neutron tubes. We reasoned that a powerful stream of neutrons released within the giant ship would be an effective method of causing either severe damage or possibly its full destruction. Our problem was one of how to initiate a breach of the tube without committing suicide.
During the flight back to Earth we attempted to conserve our remaining Sodium fuel. Several scouting missions were conducted to determine the best location for an accelerator tube breach while giving at least a minimal chance of escape. A tube near the armory was selected.
In addition, Hershen hatched a plan to try to steal the Ogle transport that held the DaCuban captives. With luck, we would destroy the Ogle ship as we escaped with the species that could potentially open the great doors on DaCuban. I accepted the task of sabotaging the accelerator tubes while Hershen would liberate the captives. With our plans in place we waited patiently for our queue.
The Ogle ship shuddered as it came to a stop near what we thought was to be Earth. But it wasn't Earth we had come to wage war with... Toledus and Mabia. The planets had immediately gone into protective mode with their surrounding active shields coming quickly online.
Four fleets of mixed Human and Kurtz warriors soon assaulted the 32 large Ogle ships that had dropped from light speed. After programming our suits to pick up the video feeds within the Ogle ship we watched as our fleets fought gallantly against the overwhelming force. The Ogle ships quickly joined into six pods of five ships before first firing their particle weapons.
The second fleet was the first to take the heat. The first several shots of hyper-velocity neutrons were blocked by a newly installed powerful static field generator. This field was quickly defeated by a second beam coming from an Ogle pod firing from a side location.
As I moved into position near a neutron tube Hershen made his way aboard the Ogle transport that housed the captives. The alarms of the transports theft sounded, I went to work on the neutron tube. My first attempt was to fire a gravity pulse from a distance. I rolled my eyes as nothing of significance happened. I moved close and set the pulse to maximum before letting loose with the second shot.
Again the neutron tube showed no damage, even as the surrounding structure crumpled and broke free. This of course alerted the local cats to my presence and I was soon dodging random shots in my direction. I quickly jumped to the next room and again attempted to damage the neutron tube, again I was unsuccessful.
Hershen lifted off in the docking bay of the Ogle ship but was trapped inside as the neutron beam would be used to destroy the transport if it left the bay. The transport had flown the perimeter of the bay several times taking out any small arms fire that came its way. I hurried to find a solution to our problem.
As I moved into a third room I set my active skin to minimum and removed the BHD from its glove. I quickly programmed a delayed firing into its local control chip and then wedged it into a space beside the neutron tube housing. I quickly turned and ran for the nearest wall, blinking out with my BGS suit on full as I made contact.
I drifted through several successive rooms before the BHD I had left behind activated. The microscopic black holes created by the BHD only required an instant to cut through the shielding of the neutron tube. As the neutrons broke free they annihilated everything in their path.
I could do nothing but drift and hope the destruction did not come my way. My suit was on maximum, but this was not small arms fire I was looking to defend against. It was a stream of neutrons traveling at near the speed of light. My time was running out.
As I exited a room I came in contact with a rail that was transporting blaster weapons to some other part of the ship. I reached out and blinked back in as the next case of eight blasters began to speed past. I grabbed and held on for dear life with every fiber of muscle I had in my left hand and forearm. At that moment I told Hershen over our old RF link to leave and not look back... I was finished.
The case twisted and turned as it made its way towards the back of the ship. Ogle crewmen were running everywhere as the destruction from the loosed neutrons began to spread. The breach created by the BHD was small but the stream of particles it spewed forth was continuous. Explosions rocked the ship as the blaster weapon case I clung hard to came to a stop in the very docking bay that Hershen had been trapped in. I caught sight of the tail end of the transport as it exited through the now failing port.
I let loose of the case and skidded into the open just as another violent explosion ripped through the Ogle ship. The transport slipped out through the open port as the power shut down on the containment field generator. I again flipped my suit to maximum shield as the vacuum of space pulled me quickly out along with several thousand Ogle as they attempted to scramble to other ships.
As I drifted into the dead of space I turned just in time to see the escaping stream of neutrons as they cut through the other four ships in the pod. In a matter of seconds the five ships were engulfed in a ring of their own fire. They burned brightly as they began to disintegrate. I took pleasure in their demise as I drifted aimlessly.
Three pods of Ogle ships quickly moved into position near Mabia and began to blast away at the great planetary shield. Again, the Kurtz had recently added powerful static field generators in an attempt to bolster their survivability, but the Ogle particle beams were still too powerful.
The shield surrounding Mabia soon collapsed and the Ogle ships did a nasty job of scorching much of the planet's surface below. Instantly gone were the shining new cities and transportation systems. Gone were the newly terraformed lands and gone were many of Hershen's people.
As I watched on the two remaining Ogle ships were busy releasing the long cylinders towards the Kurtz sun. I wondered aloud where the remainder of the AMP fleet was and why they had not engaged in an attempt to save the Kurtz worlds from destruction. In the dark recesses of my mind I raged at the humans who I suspected had kept the fleet to protect their own world... my world... Earth.
When the shields had fallen on Toledus the Ogle ships were again relentless with their scorching strategy. As the remaining ship of the four Kurtz' fleets exploded in its final flash of glory the Ogle ships again fired the solar cylinders towards the Kurtz sun. I knew then that the two Kurtz planets were doomed. Our only consolation was that the stolen Ogle transport had slipped through light speed just after its exit; it was now headed towards Earth.
The Kurtz had been our allies since I first conquered their original world of Toleda. Our friends fought bravely, we fought side-by-side against the Borten and Frekkin. But the Kurtz were no more as a powerful species. Their numbers would soon be few as billions of their citizens awaited a death sentence... death by Coronal Mass Ejection.
I wanted to comfort my friend but he was now far away. We were soldiers and this was war. With an outcome of such certainty you could do nothing but accept it in silence. I was troubled that his ride to Earth would be long and quiet.
As my thoughts turned back to the situation at hand, I knew I was in deep trouble. I was down to eight days of power and had no means of propulsion. A quick scan told me that although a large portion of one of the destroyed Ogle ships was floating in my direction it would miss my position by hundreds of kilometers.
I was stuck, awaiting a cold and thankless death. I had thoughts of broadcasting a message to the Ogle, but I knew they were not a captor that I wished to give in to. I had seen how they treated prisoners and knew that it would not only mean certain death, but possibly a long and tortured one. I chose instead to keep my silence.
When the solar cylinders exploded inside the Kurtz sun I knew my time was nearing an end. I watched helplessly as the twin coronal masses spread out in columns that would soon intersect the Kurtz worlds. The following day I watched in sadness as every life that had been spared from the particle beams was scorched by the million degree plasma. The Kurtz worlds were gone. All but one of the Ogle ships then vanished in an instant.
As I dr
ifted, contemplating my final days, the remaining Ogle ship moved in my direction. It stopped only meters from me. I flailed my arms and legs in an attempt to move closer, but it only served to start me spinning. The Ogle ship, just out of my reach, then began a salvage operation on several of the larger portions of the destroyed ship's debris.
For a full day I fought, wriggled and kicked, but moved no closer. Just as I had given in to the situation the sleek black ship moved around me. I dropped my active skin to a minimum and set my feet firmly onto the floor of a supply room. Seconds later I felt the shudder of the ship jumping through light speed.
I was giddy with excitement; the excitement that came not only with survival, but with the opportunity to once again attempt to bring hurt and pain to my enemy. I began to make my way towards the blaster room as I was in need of a weapon that would not drain the little power I had remaining in my suit. I soon had a case open and a weapon in hand.
With my BGS on minimum I was invisible to the naked eye, but the blaster weapon was not. As I gripped the stock it appeared to float in air by itself. I came to the realization that it would do me no good, as appealing as it was, to just start shooting at the first thing that moved. I needed a plan, a plan to maximize the damage that I could potentially do.
I removed the blaster from the room and stuffed it in an obscure corner between two sets of interconnecting pipes. I covered the blaster shape with a loose towel that held a similar color as the pipes. It was not a perfect hideaway, but neither was it something that stood out, it was the best that I could do.
I then began a new mission, a mission to come up with a plan. I spent the next two days drifting from room to room, looking for that one weakness that screamed out at me, but nothing of value presented itself. The blaster weapon was not powerful enough to breach the containment field of the neutron tubes. I would have to find another way.
On the fourth day I drifted into the space dock. As I looked around my eyes came to a sudden stop. There, in the corner of the bay, was a small AMP science vessel. I took note of the markings of the Kurtz fleet. I reasoned that it had been captured near their worlds after dropping from light speed and into the fray of war.
I wondered at what might have become of the unfortunate crew and then thought it better to not dwell upon. I scanned the bay around it and found no guards watching over it, so I wandered in close. It was a newer model that showed a thicker Sodium hull. I then realized that it could possibly have a supply of power packs, a supply that I was desperately in need of.
I placed my suit on mid-level of shielding and quietly drifted inside. The ships stores were missing. I had thoughts of using the ship to escape until I realized that the Sodium reactor on-board had been turned off. If powered on it would be minutes before it was ready to fly, minutes that would bring in a horde of Ogle soldiers.
I was trapped on the Ogle vessel, trapped with an ever smaller supply of energy. I would have to once again venture out, this time in search of the power packs taken from the captured ship. It was my only hope of keeping my BGS suit powered, my only hope of staying hidden and staying alive.
I was unsure of where the Ogle ship was heading, I reasoned that perhaps it was Earth. The Kurtz world had suffered a horrible fate, a fate which ended all life. Hershen had escaped and slipped away into the dark expanse of space. The precious cargo he carried was likely the only chance we had of ever breaking the shroud of mystery that kept the doors at DaCuban sealed. I hoped his journey was swift and true and that he was once again among allies. As for myself, time was running out...
Chapter 12
I was down to two days of fuel in my power pack. If it ran dry I would have only one additional day before the BGS suit would have to be shed. I would then be naked, would need food and would no longer be able to move about the ship freely.
I searched in vain for the supplies that had been removed from the Kurtz science vessel. I still had no firm grasp of the Ogle culture and organization. I didn't know where to scout for Ogle scientists or engineers in an attempt to find the missing packs, so, I developed an alternate plan.
Six Ogle blaster rifles were stolen and hidden in various areas around the ship. Each would be set to overload at intervals of a minute apart. As the first exploded I would attempt a restart of the Sodium reactor on the Kurtz science ship. With the planned disturbance from overloaded weapons, and a little luck, I hoped to power on the active skin and quickly slip away before they realized what had happened.
The first rifle was hidden among the power feeds that kept the Ogle birthing room powered. I figured the possibility of disrupting their food supply was my best opportunity to create a distraction. They were crazy for their food and seemed to eat on regular schedules.
The second weapon was hidden within the armory. What better way to signal an attack than an assault on their weapons. I took extra care to see that the rails leading from the room that would feed weapons to the docking bay were the rails that would be damaged by a blast. I hoped it would buy me precious time.
The third weapon was hidden in the conference room where the diplomats exchanged their daily rants. An assault on their leadership would surely capture their attention. The fourth blaster was placed in the power room, near a small fission reactor. With luck a chain reaction would ensue that would bring down much of the ships power.
A fifth weapon was hidden by the doorway of the room with the fleshy creatures. I could not chance hiding the blaster inside as the odd animals with their curious snouts might "sniff-out" and put an end to my plan before it began. It was a risk I was unwilling to take.
The final blaster was placed high on the bridge where the controllers for the particle beam sat. I hoped the final distraction might give me the moment needed to fly away without having a particle beam cutting through my shield. Even the smallest amount of time could make the difference.
With the rifles in place and the timers set for the following day, I returned to the docking bay to kill time. If I was able to restart the reactor I would be able to connect my suit directly into the ships power, alleviating my current problem. But a constant patrol of cats through the docking bay made an early restart impossible.
The bay was filled with various small craft. There were cargo ships, what looked possibly like fighters and personal transports that I was sure belonged to the diplomats. I drifted into a fighter and found it to be a strange cockpit. A sleek rounded display wrapped the inside, there were no physical controls. Instead of a traditional seat there was a mat where the Ogle would lay down. There was no visible sign of restraint. I guessed that the Ogle had technology similar to ours where the inertial forces inside the craft were reduced to almost nothing. I wondered if there was any new technology to be gleaned from our cat-like enemies.
I then drifted into one of the personal transports and found it to be stuffed with what appeared to be luxury accommodations. The hard mat from the fighter was replaced by an ultra-soft fur lined pocket. There was also a space just behind the pocket that had the same size and shape as one of the fleshy blobs. The diplomats traveled with their odd companions.
I spent the remainder of the final time sitting in the Kurtz science vessel. It felt good to once again have familiar surroundings. I set my suit to four hours of sleep and was soon dreaming of better times. When the stimulants kicked in I longed to return to my subconscious where events were controlled by my thoughts. Instead, I awoke to the same hostile environment from which I had briefly escaped.
As the final few minutes of zero hour approached I became increasingly nervous. What if the blaster rifles did not overload? What if only the first one exploded prompting me to restart the reactor only to find that the second blaster didn't go off. Would I tip my hand before having enough time to escape?
I began to pace back and forth on the small deck of the Kurtz ship. When the timer reached zero I listened for an explosion, I heard and felt nothing. I drifted outside of the ship into the docking bay and immediately took
note of the number of Ogle soldiers who were quickly gathering into a group. A commander was screeching orders at them. I took it as a sign that the first blaster had detonated.
I drifted back into the science vessel and made my way to the reactor-start button. I hesitated for a moment knowing that this would be my only shot at an escape. I pressed the button and received only silence. Thoughts of failure began to fill my mind with fear. That fear quickly subsided when the first twinkling of a reactor start became visible; its control panel began to light up.
I quickly grabbed a tether and connected my suit to the ships power. The Sodium fusion reaction began to build and the power storage parameter of my suit began to rise. As I watched the power level rise I began to get an uneasy feeling about the timings I had set for the blaster rifles. The Sodium reaction would be coming online, but it would not be at full power before the second rifle was to explode.
With power building I flipped on the ships sensors to get a look at the docking bay guards. The commander continued to screech orders and one by one the Ogle soldiers under his command would turn and hurry off on some unseen task. That's when I took note of the Ogle who raced up to the commander pointing excitedly at the ship. The reactor start had been noticed.
I began to talk to the reactor as if my prodding would somehow make it power up faster. I banged my hand on the holo-console while begging it to start up. Time seemed to slow to a crawl.
When the reactor passed through 20% the holo-display in front of me came to life, but it was becoming apparent that my plan was falling apart. On the video feed I could see the commander and his troops wheeling a device out into the bay. It was soon aimed in my direction. Again I hesitated for a moment before making the decision that my time on the Kurtz ship had come to an end.
I disconnected the tether and pushed hard with my feet and legs as I flipped the suits active skin to a higher setting. I drifted up through the top of the Kurtz science vessel just as the Ogle commander powered on the device. A static field box quickly formed around the Kurtz ship locking it in place. I had moved just in time.
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