“Put the Fleet on full alert!” Yen ordered as he pulled his tactical display toward him.
Red light filled the bridge as Crewmen scrambled to their battle positions. Yen began reading the relays that were arriving from the other ships around the Fleet while, simultaneously, checked the statuses of his own weapons bays and Squadron. He swore silently to himself, wishing any of his own Team had survived to take over the Squadron instead of Vicrux.
As the ships reported in, Yen noticed three ships pulling away from the rest of the Fleet. “Tylgar, identify the three ships pulling away from formation.”
“They are the Ballistae, Defiant, and Phalanx,” the pilot replied. “The three ships placed under Captains Riddell and Alcent.”
Yen contemplated opening a channel to demand why they were not engaging in the upcoming combat, but thought better. “Whatever you have planned, Keryn,” Yen growled, “it had better be damn important!”
Instead, Yen ordered the rest of the Fleet into a tight formation as they flew into the system. As they entered, he pulled up a magnified display of Arcendor. His heart hardened as he saw thick smoke filling the atmosphere of the planet, a clear sign that plasma bombs had been dropped on key cities throughout the continent. Not only had the Terrans beat them to the system, they had already destroyed the capital. Yen had no idea how many had died because of the artificial winters imposed throughout Alliance space, but he did know how many millions more would have just lost their life in a bombing of that magnitude.
Emerging from behind the third planet, the Terran Fleet broke formation and began spreading out in an attack line in front of the planet. Yen turned the Fleet to meet them head on. In retribution for destroying Arcendor, Yen now intended to see every Terran in the known universe die a painful death.
Within the bridge of the Revolution, energy started to build. Yen let his spines bristle as his anger grew. He had lost so many of his kinsmen when the suns disappeared. Many more of his mentors and teachers had been on Arcendor when it was bombed. Blue sparks ignited on the hull of the Revolution as Yen allowed his anger to spread throughout the ship. Crewman who rushed to their battle positions paused as the smell of ozone permeated the ship. His anger would bring a sweet revenge to all those losses. He couldn’t bring back his dead friends, but he would be the harbinger of the Terran’s devastation.
As the two Fleets hurtled toward each other, firing their first salvos, Yen yearned to watch the Terrans die.
CHAPTER 38:
The first barrage of rockets slammed into the Alliance Fleet shortly after it entered the galaxy. Onboard the Revolution, Yen rocked violently in the Captain’s chair as a shockwave reverberated against the hull.
“The Legacy has been destroyed,” Tylgar reported while simultaneously evading incoming missiles. “The Tyrant and Sycophant are both too badly damaged to continue the engagement and are breaking contact with the Terran Fleet.”
Yen growled in the chair as he raised his own defenses around the Revolution. Bolts of blue lightning arced from the hull, slamming into incoming rockets and deflecting them harmlessly away from the ship.
His temples pounding, Yen began barking orders to both his ship and the rest of the Fleet. “Fire at will! Consolidate your fire on the center of their formation! If we can break up their combined firepower, we might just win this war!”
With rounds exploding all around them, the Alliance Fleet quickly closed the distance between themselves and the Terran Destroyers. With lashes of psychic energy, Yen batted aside the annoying Terran fighters that got too close. The Fleet fired volleys of rockets toward the charging Terran Destroyers. Small explosions erupted sporadically amongst the enemy ships, puncturing the thick hulls. Though a couple of the Terran ships drifted listlessly away from the advancing Alliance Fleet, the others continued their advance. Hornet-like Terran fighters intermixed with the thinner Alliance fighters as they dodged in between the barreling Cruisers and Destroyers. Throughout both Fleets, the fronts of the larger ships began glowing from the heat as they passed through clouds of exploding plasma.
“Tylgar,” Yen yelled from his command position, “get us as close as possible to the Destroyer straight ahead.”
“Sir?” Tylgar asked, stealing a glance over his shoulder as the ship rattled from another close explosion. “We’ll be devastated if we get too much closer.”
Yen knew that his pilot was right. The eruptions of plasma were superheating the hull. A number of his radar antennas had already melted away under the heat, leaving blind spots throughout whole sectors of nearby space. If they continued their advance without further protection, it would only be a matter of time before the blistering plasma coursed through one of the ejection tubes and ignited the rockets within. The resulting explosion would be devastating to the Revolution. Yen, however, already had a plan to protect the ship.
“Leave that to me,” Yen hissed, his dark eyes sparkling with a faint blue glow. Reaching out, Yen let his hands settle on the cool metallic alloy of the Captain’s chair. He let his consciousness ebb from his body. Slowly, his mind wound its ways through the walls of the ship, becoming one with the wiring, piping, and passageways until, finally, he became one with the Revolution. The front view screen became his eyes while the radar antenna became his ears. Letting his power ripple through the ship as though it were his own skin, blue energy crackled over the hull and expanded until the entire Cruiser was covered in a sheen of psychic shielding.
Speaking in a hauntingly distant voice, Yen continued calling orders to Tylgar. “Fly forward at maximum speed.”
Tylgar stole a second glance, but turned around quickly when he saw the Captain. Yen’s body pulsed with an inner light as the psychic power infused him. His eyes, open on his corporeal body on the bridge, flared brightly with an inner energy.
As the Revolution hurtled through the chaos of battle, rockets reflected harmlessly off the psychic shield. The metal slugs rebounded harmlessly in random directions, whirling aimlessly into space. Undaunted, the Revolution continued forward, driving through the insignificantly amassed Terran fighters. Yen felt exalted as the small fighters ignited and exploded on his shield. He reveled in the massive loss of life and yearned for more.
Seeing that its weapons were ineffective, the Destroyer’s Captain began ordering the ship to flee from the possessed Alliance Cruiser. Large and sluggish, even in the weightlessness of space, the Destroyer slowly turned away from Yen in an attempt to escape his wrath. Unwilling to lose another prey, Yen pushed the engines on board the Revolution, quickly covering the distance between the two ships. Moving like a wedge driven through the few remaining fighters, Yen launched two full salvos of missiles at the exposed flank of the Destroyer. Unprotected, the Terran ship took the rockets in rapid succession. It began to list as the engine exploded from rocket fire, ripping a hole through the rear hull. Explosions continued as more and more of the missiles detonated along the length of its hull, shredding its armored plating and sending debris launching into space. Wanting to ensure the ship was out of commission, Yen fired another salvo into the dead ship, reveling in the explosions that finally ripped the Destroyer in two.
Bringing the Revolution back around toward the rest of the battle, Yen released control of the ship and the blue glow slowly receded from his body. His mind felt like molten lava, burning through his faint thoughts and scorching the back of his eyes. Dominating the ship had been a strain, but he knew that much more power remained stored within his body, ready for release.
His eyes finally focusing again, Yen looked through the forward display at the overlapping fields of plasma explosions and damaged ships. The Terran and Alliance fighters swarmed over one another, accentuated by the bloated Cruisers and Destroyers firing massive barrages of firepower upon the unsuspecting fighter pilots. Knowing the Revolution was now one of the least damaged ships in the Fleet, Yen tried to assess the situation.
“Where can we do the most damage?” he asked the Crewman manning the tac
tical display. The Crewman’s reactions were painfully slow, making Yen wish that someone competent were manning that console. Someone like Merric, he thought dreadfully.
“Sir,” the Uligart Crewman croaked, obviously nervous. “The Alliance Fleet is suffering heavy losses. Six more ships have been severely damaged or destroyed. Two more are limping away from the battle as quickly as their engines will allow. They have minimal weapons still, but another rocket attack will destroy their maneuverability. Sir, we are losing the war of attrition against the Terrans.”
Yen felt his lips peel back into a snarl at the insolent tactician. “I did not come all this way just to fail,” Yen yelled at the Crewman, his eyes resuming their blue illumination. “I am not a quitter, nor am I a coward! If you can’t see that we’re far from done, than I have no use for you.”
When the Crewman didn’t move, Yen elaborated. “Leave my bridge, you coward!” The Uligart fled at once, not chancing a backward glance until he was safely on the elevator with the doors closed behind him.
Yen typed furiously onto his Captain’s console, pulling all the tactical display data onto his own monitor. Turning on the three dimensional display on his console, Yen watched the elaborate dance of red and blue dots flying near and around the six planets of the galaxy. Entering commands into the display, the small dots of both the Terran and Alliance fighters disappeared. If Yen were to make a show that they were still more than capable of winning this war, it would have to be done against one of the Destroyers. Checking the data, Yen found what he was looking for. Directly ahead, a Destroyer noticed the Revolution and turned in his direction.
“Take us straight ahead,” Yen ordered to Tylgar, the only other member left on the bridge. Then, he muttered to himself, “If they want a show of force, then I will give them a show they will never forget.”
The power churned within him like waves pounding a rocky shoreline as the Destroyer appeared in the forward view screen. Still far away, both ships hurtled toward one another over the distance. As the distant ship began to grow from a barely visible dot to a more defined Terran ship, Yen let the energy seep from his body. He felt disconnected from his own body as the psychic power filled every fiber of his being, pulsating like veins just below the surface of his yellowed skin. Yen had never allowed so much energy to fill his body before. The energy made him feel like more than a man; it made him feel like a God. And, as a God, Yen was full of wrath!
Growing closer to one another, the Terrans fired a salvo of missiles. Distractedly, Yen waved his hand, knocking all the rockets aside. When the Terrans fired a second time, Yen held out his hand, slowing the rockets’ approach. As he closed his fingers into a tight fist, all the missiles exploded at once in a dazzling display of pyrotechnics. The smoldering plasma hung in the space between the two ships for a few seconds, allowing Yen to prepare the grand finale of this confrontation.
Placing his palms together, Yen focused on the front of the Terran ship as it broke through the superheated plasma cloud. He drove his hands forward, feeling satisfaction as his unseen power slipped through the hull of the Destroyer. Slowly, Yen tried to pull his palms apart. The resistance working against him was great and his muscles strained from the effort. Ahead, a single puff of decompressing air appeared at the front of the Terran ship. Letting his power drain more energy from him, Yen tried pulling his hands apart once more. Flares of fire burst in his mind from the strain and the taste of copper filled the back of his throat. His effort, however, was rewarded as two new bursts of breathable air escaped from the front of the enemy ship.
“You’re mine,” Yen muttered under his breath as a drop of blood trickled from his nose. “I’ll see you dead.”
Digging his fingers deeper into the hull of the Terran ship, Yen channeled his power into the enemy vessel, reveling in the screams he heard in his mind and the popping bulkheads he felt throughout the Destroyer.
Smiling wickedly, Yen exalted in the fact that he knew the fight was near the end. Tightening the muscles in his arms in preparation for one more blast of psychic energy, Yen screamed into the bridge of the Revolution.
“I have seen things you will never comprehend!” Yen yelled into the nearly empty room. Onboard the Terran ship, the crew stood startled as the alien voice roared through all the rooms of their vessel. Within his own ship, his voice was equally amplified; echoing through the halls like a disembodied immortal. “I sailed along the thermal waves of a solar flare, I swam through a nebula, and dove into the heart of a dying star. And, when I was done, I dropped my anchor here, among the simple minds of the Alliance. I saw as though the veil had lifted, revealing the mysteries of the universe. I drifted through the rifts of time and space until I settled beyond self, beyond reason, beyond mortality. And I said unto my friends, my brothers, my mother, and my father: look upon me, for I am a God!”
As his hands separated, so did the front of the Terran Destroyer. Like a black hole leading to the Abyss, a seam appeared at the nose of the enemy ship. It quickly widened as the Terran ship began to split in half. The blue energy fully encompassed Yen on the bridge, bathing the entire room in bright light. Finally flinging his arms wide, Yen unleashed his full psychic fury. The Destroyer, in response, ripped in half. The thick plating running the length of the ship tore like paper, exposing floor after floor to the vacuum of space. Explosions erupted up and down the hull as key electric systems failed. Yen stood, his arms held out by his side, as the psychic backlash caused by thousands of sudden deaths washed over him. When the two halves of the ship began drifting apart from one another, Yen collapsed into the Captain’s chair, blood dripping freely from his nose and pooling on his lap. The room danced before his eyes as his equilibrium failed. Closing his eyes, Yen hid his face in his hands. Even without seeing the room, it still spun in his weakened mind.
Through his muddled mind, Yen heard Tylgar speak. “Sir, the Ballistae and her sister ships are entering the battle.”
CHAPTER 39:
Keryn was relieved when she finally saw her opening. Pulled away from the rest of the battle, two Terran Destroyers nursed their wounds. Air still leaked from holes throughout their hull as they slowed their engines, feeling a safe distance from the Alliance ships.
Pushing the engines hard, the Ballistae and her two sister ships swooped in on the dormant Destroyers, firing their first volley of missiles before the two ships could respond. The plasma explosions rocked both ships, buckling the bulkheads and rupturing the already damaged hulls. As the second set of missiles struck, the two Destroyers crumpled; the Terran ships drifted apart in pieces.
Keryn felt a sense of relief in the control room of the Ballistae. Sitting back and watching the battle unfold was a strain on her conscience. She had yearned to fly into combat and save the embattled Cruisers, but she had restrained herself knowing that they would not win the war if her crew failed in their mission.
The Ballistae skimmed over the top of one of the shattered Destroyers as the trio of ships set a direct course for the dormant sun. The large black sphere sat detached from the rest of the battle and few small Terran fighters blocked their path. A steady stream of rail gun slugs coupled with the combined might of three Squadrons of fighters destroyed what little resistance they offered.
“Ballistae, this is Squadron Commander Decker,” Adam called in from his fighter. Adam assumed the role of Commander naturally, surprising some of the veteran pilots with his grasp of aerial tactics.
“Go ahead, Adam,” Alcent replied. Keryn monitored the communications from her position but relied on Alcent on the bridge to maintain the radio transmissions.
“We have five Destroyers pulling away from the main pack and pursuing,” he stated, his voice flat and emotionless. Still, Keryn was sure that he was feeling the same flood of nervousness that she was.
With the Alliance Fleet already suffering heavy losses, it didn’t surprise Keryn that so many ships would turn to assault three relatively unscathed Alliances ships. Her only hope was
that, having already accelerated into the system, the Ballistae would be able to maintain its lead and reach the sun before being engaged.
“We’re tracking them now,” Alcent replied. “All ships, focus rail gun fire to the rear to deter our pursuers.”
From the control room, Wyck pulled up the tactical display. Together, they traced the launching of dozens of thick metal slugs from the rear of their three ships. Seemingly in response, the five Terran Destroyers launched a full volley of rockets. The approaching red dots nearly outnumbered the metal slugs. Still, Keryn had little concern about their first attack. Launched from so far away, the Alliance ships would have plenty of time to launch a defensive attack and destroy all the missiles long before they threatened any of the three vessels. Instead, she turned her attention to the steadily decreasing number on the top left of the display. The number continued to count down the distance between the ships and the darkened sun. If her calculations were correct, Keryn still believed they could reach the sun before the Terrans made contact.
As Keryn looked back toward the tactical display, she noticed another red triangle emerging from ahead of the Alliance ships. Scrambling, she activated the intercom. “We have a sixth Destroyer coming in from straight ahead,” Keryn yelled into the radio moments before the Ballistae shook from an impact.
“Believe me,” Alcent yelled back, “I already know!” He left the radio channel on as he called orders to the other ships. “Take evasive maneuvers and return fire on that son of a bitch!”
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