The Star Cross: The Vorn!

by Raymond L. Weil

  “Shortly,” Keera said grinning. “I think the tea samples we sent will be in high demand. Maybe even the popcorn. Mara’s supposed to be bringing back an even larger cargo ship when she returns.”

  “Tea,” said Alex, shaking his head in amazement. “I never would have expected it to be so popular on other worlds.”

  “It’s a common drink,” explained Keera. “However, for some reason, Earth has many varieties which aren’t grown anywhere else. Mara and I both think it could be a huge market and could bring in hundreds of millions worth of credits to Earth and Newton every year if not more.”

  “I’d rather have pop,” said Bryan as he tried cutting up his spaghetti. Using the fork and spoon together wasn’t working.

  “Pop’s not good for you,” admonished Denise. “It’s got too much sugar in it. That’s why you can only have it on special occasions like tonight.”

  Bryan didn’t reply as he took a small sip of the pop his mom had allowed him to have with his supper.

  “How’s work at the medical center going?” asked Denise, looking over at Keera.

  “Great,” Keera answered with a huge smile. “We’ve finished installing some Glaymon medical equipment that is far in advance of anything we had on Kubitz. It’s going to make diagnosing patients and coming up with treatments much easier. There are a number of common diseases we’re going to be able to eradicate completely, including the common cold.”

  “That would be great,” said Denise, glancing over at Bryan. “Colds are a mess every school year. It seems if one child comes down with it they all do.”

  Kurt took a bite of his Lasagna, enjoying the taste of the different blends of cheese. This particular Lasagna had five different kinds of cheese in the mixture. He was about to take a bite of his garlic bread when his cell phone began vibrating in his pocket. Frowning, Kurt took the cell phone out, wondering who could be calling him. This particular phone was for official business only and capable of receiving messages from ships in orbit around Newton as well as Newton Station.

  Glancing down he saw the caller was Colonel Simms. “Hello, this is Fleet Admiral Vickers.” Everyone at the table including Bryan became quiet when they heard Kurt use his military title. An aggravated look crossed Keera’s face as she looked pointedly at Kurt.

  Kurt listened for a moment, his face turning pale. “Place the fleet at Condition Two and summon all the crews back to their ships. I want all battleships and battlecruisers ready to leave orbit in four hours with whatever crews they have. Contact the two Glaymon battleships and explain the situation. I want half of the Glaymon ships in the system going with me. Contact Rear Admirals White and Wilson and tell them what’s happened. I’ll be up on the Star Cross within two hours.” Kurt placed his phone back in his pocket.

  “What is it?” asked Keera, seeing the look of deep concern on Kurt’s face.

  “It’s the Vorn. Evidently two of their harvesting fleets was not in the systems we attacked. We just received a message from Ambassador Brent on Kubitz. The Vorn have attacked the Gothan Empire and both Marsten and Dacroni Four have been harvested. There are two Vorn fleets involved, and they are currently harvesting additional worlds in the empire. Estimates indicate we’re looking at around two thousand Vorn ships, including some of their battleships.”

  Keera’s face turned white. “Both Marsten and Dacroni Four are gone! Those are two of the most heavily defended systems in the empire other than Kubitz.”

  “What are you going to do?” asked Denise, her appetite forgotten.

  “Kill the Vorn!” shouted Bryan, his face lighting up with excitement. “They’re just giant bugs.”

  “Bryan, be quiet,” admonished Denise, seeing people were looking at them.

  Kurt let out a deep sigh. “I don’t see we have any choice. If we don’t step in the Vorn might harvest every world in the cluster except Kubitz. Ambassador Brent is reporting hundreds of cargo ships, passenger ships, and even some warships are jumping to Kubitz for protection. We have two battlecruisers there which can take on a Vorn ship and, added to the defenses in the Kubitz system, they might just be able to stop the Vorn from reaching the planet.”

  Keera shook her head. “While I strongly disagree with what goes on in the Gothan Empire there are a lot of innocent people on those worlds, even on Kubitz. We can’t let them die.”

  “Are you going to kill the bugs?” asked Bryan in a much quieter voice.

  Kurt stood up looking at his family. “I’m going to try.”

  -

  Nearly two hours later Kurt stepped into the Command Center of the Star Cross. He was surprised to see Andrew already there as well as Lieutenant Mays. Sometimes he wondered if the lieutenant ever left the ship.

  “The Vorn,” complained Andrew as he checked his command console. “I was just talking to Emily about going on a nice long vacation when my phone starts ringing.” He turned to face Kurt. “I thought we were through with the Vorn for a while. Where did these come from?”

  “I would guess their motherships still had room for additional harvests.”

  Andrew’s eyes narrowed sharply. “How did they find the Gothan Empire? Could this be part of the same fleet that attacked Earth and Mars?”

  Kurt felt a knot swell in his stomach at hearing those words. “It’s possible,” he admitted.

  “I project a 93 percent probability this is the same fleet,” said Aleea, who had been listening from her holographic pedestal. “From the direction they came when they attacked the solar system and the course they took when they left they would have passed very close to the Gothan Empire. They most likely detected the empire on their way to Earth or after they left.”

  Andrew’s eyes took on a look of steel. “I understand they already harvested Marsten and Dacroni Four. I’m finding it hard to have any sympathy for either of those words. Perhaps High Profiteer Creed was there as well. It would serve him right to become food for the Vorn.”

  Kurt understood how Andrew felt. Emily and Alexis had both been kidnapped by High Profiteer Creed, a Marsten Profiteer. The Dacroni mercenary had been involved in attacks on Earth as well as on Kubitz. Once Andrew was nearly killed when the Humvee he was riding in was attacked.

  More of the command crew filed into the Command Center, taking their seats in front of their consoles.

  “Admiral, I have Fleet Captain Lilith on the comm,” reported Lieutenant Pierce, her eyes opening wide. Everyone in the command crew knew about the Glaymons, where their new home was, as well as who was in the Glaymon command structure.

  “Put her on my console,” ordered Kurt as he activated his comm unit.

  “Fleet Admiral,” began Lilith. “We have intercepted communications indicating several Vorn harvesting fleets are in the Gothan Empire. I offer the service of any of my fleet you may need to deal with this threat.”

  “Thank you,” Kurt replied. “We are looking at approximately two thousand Vorn ships. If you can provide a few hundred of your battleships and, say, six hundred disk battlecruisers I think we can easily deal with this menace.”

  “I’ll have the ships ready,” Lilith replied. “Do you want to rendezvous with us here or at the Gothan star cluster?”

  “Outside the cluster,” Kurt replied. “We’ll send you the coordinates.”

  “We’ll be there,” promised Lilith.

  Andrew looked over at Kurt and smiled. “You know, I think I’m going to like having her around.”

  -

  In the new system of the Glaymons, Fleet Captain Lilith looked over at Councilor Marshton. “It looks as if I am off to fight the Vorn once more.”

  Marshton nodded. “It’s why we came out here. If the intercepts from our long-range communication systems are correct, these are the last Vorn harvesting fleets still at work in the galaxy. Eliminate them and we will have a respite, perhaps a long enough one for Valen to sway the Glaymon Council into joining the war and ending this menace once and for all.”

  “We can hope,” Lil
ith replied. “I need to get to my ship and prepare the fleet. With a little luck this might be our last combat sortie for quite some time.”

  -

  A little while later Fleet Captain Lilith was on board her battleship briefing Marcus and Arleen on what was occurring in the Gothan Empire.

  “The Gothan Empire is the most despicable star cluster in the civilized galaxy,” Marcus said, frowning. “They have preyed on the Enlightened Worlds and less civilized cultures for thousands of years.”

  “It does not matter as the Vorn are there,” Arleen, the ship’s AI responded. “Anything we can do to deprive the Vorn of food is worth the effort, even if it means saving the Gothan Empire.”

  “When do we leave?” asked Marcus.

  “Shortly. We need to get our ships ready and then we’ll meet Fleet Admiral Vickers just outside the star cluster. I imagine as soon as we determine where the Vorn are harvesting we will jump in and destroy them.”

  “The ships Fleet Admiral Vickers is requesting should have no trouble in handling these two Vorn harvesting fleets,” Arleen added as she ran some quick simulations. “I would suggest we make our priority target the Vorn motherships and battleships but ignore the cruisers initially. Once the motherships and the battleships have been destroyed we can then concentrate on the cruisers. There is a high probability they will flee once the larger ships have been destroyed.”

  “I agree with targeting the larger ships first,” said Marcus, nodding his head. “The cruisers will not be a threat if the motherships and the battleships have been eliminated.”

  Lilith took her seat. “Let’s get the fleet organized. It’s time to go kill some more Vorn.” Lilith took a deep breath. It was good to finally be able to do what the Aggressives had always wanted. Destroy the Vorn!

  -

  On Kubitz, Grantz was in a near panic. The embassy was on lockdown and no one could leave. The Marines were on full alert and everyone was walking around heavily armed. The deep underground levels were being prepared in case it was necessary to evacuate the embassy buildings. Grantz was in his room with a small open safe. The safe was built into the wall and full of the gold coins and small gold bars he had been paid by the Humans. It was enough wealth to allow him to live comfortably for the rest of his life.

  Slamming the safe shut he made sure it was secure and left his quarters. He quickly went to the small communications room where he was stopped by Corporal Binger. “You can’t enter,” the corporal said. “We’re trying to monitor what the Vorn are up to.”

  “Plhtup!” uttered Grantz, his eyes showing apprehension. “Are the Destroyers of Worlds coming here?”

  Binger took a deep breath. “Not yet. They’re still harvesting other worlds in the empire. Our two battlecruisers are in orbit. I’m sure if the Vorn come here we can stop them.”

  “Where’s Vickers? Is he on his way?”

  “He knows what’s going on. I would suggest you go to your quarters and remain there until this is over. They’re still serving meals in the cafeteria if you’re hungry.”

  Grantz whirled around and marched back the way he had come. Going back inside his quarters he pulled out a small private communicator he kept hidden. “Dolman, this is Grantz. What’s going on? I’ve heard rumors both Marsten and Dacroni Four have been destroyed by the Vorn. Is it true?”

  If it was the loss of those two worlds would drastically change the Gothan Empire. In all likelihood it would result in the capital being moved to Kubitz, giving the Controllers even more power over the other worlds in the empire. Grantz could already see the fees for doing business on the black market planet skyrocketing.

  There was silence and then Avery’s voice came over the communicator. “It’s been confirmed: both worlds have been harvested by the Vorn. The good news is a major portion of the fleets from both planets are now at Kubitz.”

  “What about Vickers, is he on his way?” Grantz would feel safer if Vickers was here. He knew the Human admiral had already fought the Vorn several times and lived to tell about it.

  “He’s on his way,” Avery confirmed. “We intercepted some communications between the two Human battlecruisers and Newton. He’s bringing a fleet.”

  Grantz felt relieved. His other big concern was Marsten. What if High Profiteer Creed had been killed? Grantz was depending on that ten million-credit reward to help purchase part ownership in his own pleasure house. He wondered if there was any way he could find out if the Marsten Profiteer had died. “Dolman, can you find out if Creed survived?”

  “I already know,” answered Avery. “He was nowhere near Marsten when the Vorn attacked. His fleet left nearly a week ago on some raiding mission and he hasn’t returned. Dacroni clan leader Jarls is with him as well.”

  Grantz breathed out a sigh of relief upon hearing Creed was still alive. If anyone was going to kill the renegade Profiteer, it was going to be Grantz.

  -

  Several hours later the Star Cross, along with her accompanying fleet, dropped out of hyperspace at the rendezvous point four light years from the star cluster containing the Gothan Empire. Kurt had brought sixteen battleships and forty battlecruisers. Since Fleet Captain Lilith was bringing Glaymon ships he had left the ones in the Newton System there to protect the planet. It was a relief knowing there were two Glaymon battleships in orbit over Newton in case something went wrong.

  “Glaymon ships are here,” reported Lieutenant Brooks. “I’m detecting three hundred battleships and seven hundred and twenty of the small disk battlecruisers.”

  “Wow!” said Andrew impressed. “She really wants to kill the Vorn.”

  Kurt nodded. “The Aggressives have wanted to leave the Dyson Sphere for millions of years to eliminate the Destroyers of Worlds.”

  “It has been a contentious time on the Dyson Sphere,” said Aleea. “With the appearance of the Star Cross and the ships in your small exploration fleet, it changed everything. The Aggressives finally were willing to commit themselves even if it meant alienating the Advanced Glaymons.”

  “And now we have Glaymon warships out in the galaxy,” said Andrew.

  “Lieutenant Pierce, do we know where the Vorn are at?” asked Kurt.

  Brenda nodded. “They’re currently attacking two worlds. One is the Tellurite System and the other the Gomarsh System. All communications ceased from both worlds over an hour ago.”

  Kurt nodded, feeling numb. His ships had encountered the Tellurites in the past. The fact that both worlds had been silent for over an hour indicated the Vorn harvest was already in progress.

  “We’ll go to the Tellurite System first and eliminate the Vorn fleet there. Once we’ve done that we’ll head for the Gomarsh System. Lieutenant Pierce, send that information to Fleet Captain Lilith. We jump in ten minutes.”

  “You don’t want to split the fleet?” asked Andrew.

  “No,” Kurt replied. “It’s already too late for both systems. With a little luck we can destroy both Vorn fleets before they move on to their next targets.”

  Kurt leaned back in his Command Chair as Lieutenant Styles sent the jump coordinates for the Tellurite System to all the ships in the two fleets.

  “Captain Randson, take the Fleet to Condition One and prepare to enter hyperspace. Lieutenant Mays, are your Zero-Point Energy rounds ready to fire?”

  “Locked and loaded,” she said, grinning. “All of our battleships will target the Vorn motherships first and then their battleships.”

  “What about the Glaymons?” asked Captain Randson.

  “The Glaymon battleships will be targeting the Vorn battleships while the disk battlecruisers will be focusing on the Vorn cruisers,” replied Lieutenant Mays. “This should make for an interesting battle.”

  -

  A few minutes later Andrew turned toward Kurt. “Both fleets are ready to jump. We’ll exit hyperspace thirty thousand kilometers from the Tellurites’ home planet. We’ll stay under stealth the entire time to ensure the Vorn don’t detect our ships until
we exit hyperspace.”

  “We should take them completely by surprise,” Aleea added. “If we’re lucky we might be able to take out the Vorn motherships before they realize we’re even there.”

  “Get me within range and I’ll blow them to hell!” proclaimed Lieutenant Mays.

  Kurt nodded. “Don’t miss! Captain Randson, take the fleet into hyperspace.” It was time once more to teach the Vorn that further harvesting in this galaxy was going to be extremely costly.

  -

  Moments later both fleets vanished as they headed toward the Tellurite System. It would be a short trip and they should come out of hyperspace in combat range of the Vorn.

  -

  Prince Lakat was quite pleased with the current harvest. This food world only had a few small fleets to overcome and the defensive grid protecting the planet was minimal. Not a single Vorn ship had been damaged or destroyed.

  The harvest is nearly complete, Military Leader Renwarld reported. I have already chosen a second food world similar to this one to harvest next if you approve.

  I approve, Lakat answered. He would let Prince Lashall deal with the more heavily protected food worlds. With the information Military Leader Renwarld had of this star cluster they could cherry pick the worlds they would harvest. I am going to a converter chamber to sample one of this world’s food pellets.

  Lakat turned to leave, his mandibles clicking in anticipation when warning alarms suddenly began sounding.

  Unknown ships are dropping out of hyperspace within combat range, warned the Vorn at the sensor console.

  The battle computer has identified them, Military Leader Renwarld sent. We are detecting ships of the ancient race as well as vessels similar to the ones we fought at the food world where we harvested 4 million inhabitants recently.

  Ships of the Ancients, replied Prince Lakat, becoming fearful. He had not expected to encounter them here.

  There is a new class of Ancient vessel we have not encountered before, added Renwarld. The battle computer is classifying it as a battleship.