The Star Cross: The Vorn!

by Raymond L. Weil

  Lilith nodded as she watched the large viewscreens in the Command Center. The Vorn fleet formation was almost impossible to see because of all the weapons fire. Dark matter missiles were slamming into Vorn shields bringing them down, often resulting in the destruction of the Vorn vessel. Glaymon energy beams were penetrating through shields causing critical damage to numerous Vorn ships. Sometimes the Vorn energy shields would collapse due to the penetration of a Glaymon energy beam either destroying or heavily damaging the ship they were supposed to protect.

  “Detecting increased power readings from the Vorn,” reported Arleen. She turned to face Fleet Captain Lilith. “I believe they’re preparing to enter hyperspace.”

  “Continue to hit them with our weapons,” ordered Lilith, leaning forward. “I want as much of that fleet destroyed as possible.”

  -

  In space, Vorn battleships and cruisers continued to die. The military leader who had taken command knew his fleet was hopelessly outmatched and gave the order to flee. He had just received reports Prince Lakat’s fleet had also been destroyed and its survivors were on their way to one of the systems where the Vorn fleets were gathered waiting for a Collector Ship.

  -

  “Vorn fleet is entering hyperspace,” reported Lieutenant Brooks.

  Kurt felt the Star Cross shake slightly from the impact of a black antimatter beam and then all fell silent.

  “All Vorn ships have entered hyperspace,” reported Andrew with a look of relief on his face.

  Kurt looked at the ship’s main viewscreen. Space was full of wreckage and glowing plasma fields from the destruction of Vorn warships. Many dark matter explosions were only just now fading away. “How many escaped?”

  “Twenty-two battleships and eighty-seven cruisers,” reported Lieutenant Brooks.

  “They can’t handle the firepower from the Glaymon battleships,” said Aleea with a pleased smile. “It is also causing mass confusion when we are able to destroy the motherships first. They have no defense against our Zero-Point Energy rounds.”

  “The Controller Station took a lot of damage,” said Andrew, gazing at a viewscreen. The station was showing tremendous damage to its hull and a good one-third of the station was a mass of twisted wreckage from the detonation of several Vorn antimatter warheads.

  “It’s repairable,” answered Kurt, knowing that a lot of lives had been lost on the station. Many of them would have been from races here to trade on Kubitz.

  “There’s a large number of Kubitz warships without power,” added Lieutenant Brooks.

  “I’m hearing calls for help,” reported Lieutenant Pierce from Communications. “Kubitz is telling them help is on the way.”

  “They’re fortunate to be alive,” answered Kurt. “Captain Randson, I want to leave two of our battleships and four battlecruisers here near the Controller Station for the time being. That should be sufficient to protect Kubitz if the Vorn return.”

  “What about Glaymon ships?”

  “No, not yet. I’m hoping this is the last we’ll see of the Vorn for a while. I’m just leaving the ships here to prevent a panic. Lieutenant Pierce, see if you can get through to Ambassador Brent and I’ll inform her of what we’re doing. She can speak to the Kubitz government for us.”

  Andrew came over to stand next to Kurt. “So what do we do now?”

  “I’m going to send Fleet Captain Lilith back home and I think we’ll take the rest of the fleet and inspect Marsten and Dacroni Four before we head back.”

  Andrew nodded. “I’d like to see them as well.”

  -

  Hours later the Human fleet was over Marsten. The planet’s atmosphere was a sickly color filled with ash and smoke from the surface bombardment.

  Andrew stared for a long time before he finally spoke. “After High Profiteer Creed kidnapped my wife and daughter and dropped the nukes on Earth, I always wanted to come here and do the same thing to them. It looks as if the Vorn beat us to it. It’s strange; seeing their world this way makes me wonder if I was wrong wanting to see them suffer.”

  “It’s not for us to judge,” Kurt replied somberly. The entire planet was surrounded by wreckage and numerous fires were still burning on the surface. A few ships were in orbit, doubtlessly searching for survivors. They were staying well away from the Human warships. “The Marstens lived a life of preying on others, now they’re gone.”

  “What will happen to the Gothan Empire?”

  Kurt turned toward Andrew. “I imagine Kubitz will take over as the capital and the Controllers will become even more powerful. It’s an issue we may have to address someday.” Kurt wasn’t too worried about the Controllers. With the aid of the Glaymons and the contacts he had with people connected to the planet, such as Avery Dolman and Lomatz, he could handle them.

  Andrew nodded, turning away from the viewscreen. He had seen enough. They had already been to Dacroni Four and rescue operations were ongoing there as well. It seemed the Dacroni had a considerable number of underground shelters and might someday even be able to rebuild their civilization. “Let’s go home.”

  “Lieutenant Styles, set a course for Newton,” ordered Kurt.

  Kurt leaned back in his command chair, letting out a deep breath. After seeing the Glaymon ships in action in large numbers he knew they had a fighting chance now against the Vorn. Wherever they appeared in the galaxy they were going to find resistance. He just hoped Valen was successful back in the Glaymon Dyson Sphere getting them to commit to the war. If he did then the threat from the Vorn could be erased from the galaxy forever.

  Chapter Eleven

  Kurt was back at Newton. The latest reports from the Gothan Empire indicated rescue efforts were underway at Dacroni Four and in the Tellurite System. No survivors had been found on Marsten though the search was still in progress. After speaking to Ambassador Brent, Kurt left two battleships and four battlecruisers in orbit above Kubitz. There were multiple reasons for doing that. After defeating the two Vorn fleets, it would prevent panic from sweeping across the Gothan Empire. If Kubitz was stable the Controllers would see to it the other worlds stayed in line. The other reason was High Profiteer Creed was still alive. Corporal Binger had overheard Grantz talking to Avery Dolman. Evidently Creed had been gone from Marsten on some type of raiding mission when the Vorn struck. Kurt had instructed the ambassador to contact Dolman and find out what was going on and if he knew where Creed was.

  “Damn,” muttered Andrew, shaking his head in disappointment. “I wish Creed would have been in the Marsten System or even better down on the planet where the Vorn could have made him into a food pellet.”

  “High Profiteer Creed seems to have nine lives,” replied Kurt, totally in agreement with Andrew. “If he shows back up at Marsten the warships I left over Kubitz have instructions to immediately go there, engage his fleet, and destroy it.”

  Andrew grinned. “That will certainly upset Grantz. He wants to bring Creed’s head to you personally and collect that ten million credit reward.”

  “And he would do just that,” Kurt replied with a grimace. “Things would be much simpler if the fleet over Kubitz could destroy Creed’s fleet and Creed along with it.” Sometimes he regretted placing the ten million-credit bounty on Creed’s head. However, it served to limit where he could go in the Gothan Empire and now with both Marsten and Draconi Four gone Creed’s options were even more limited.

  They were in Newton Station waiting for a shuttle to take them down to the planet. Most of the rest of the crew had already gone and only Lieutenant Mays and a few others remained on board the Star Cross. The lieutenant was going over the combat footage from the battles in the Gothan Empire with the Vorn. She wanted to analyze the Vorns’ battle tactics to see if she could spot additional weaknesses.

  Andrew looked over at Kurt. “Lieutenant Mays scares me sometimes. She’s always looking for ways to kill more Vorn. She spends way too much time on the ship running combat scenarios with Aleea.”

  “She�
��s damn good at her job,” Kurt answered. “But you’re right about her spending too much time on the ship. I’m going to insist she take a few days off every week even if I have to make the Star Cross off limits to her.”

  Andrew laughed. “I don’t want to be around when you tell her that. She may toss you out of the Command Center.”

  “We’ll see how it goes,” replied Kurt. “She’s a good officer. I just don’t want to see her get burnt out.”

  “There’s our ride,” said Andrew as a large shuttle sat down in the landing bay. “Unless there’s another surprise attack by the Vorn Emily and I are off to the ocean in two more days.”

  “Do you want us to take care of Alexis?”

  “You need your time off too,” replied Andrew. “Besides, your sister volunteered and it will do Alexis some good to be around Bryan. If that ten-year-old can’t sour her on boys, no one can.”

  Kurt shook his head. Andrew just needed to accept Alexis was becoming a young woman. Boys were going to be a part of her life from now on. Once Kurt got down to Newton he needed to meet with Governor Spalding to go over a few things, including the new fleet the Glaymons now possessed. Then he would see about taking Keera up to the mountains to the ski resort they had gone to shortly after she arrived on Newton. It would be exciting and fun to relive those memories. With the Glaymons around he wasn’t worried about taking time off from his fleet duties.

  -

  High Profiteer Creed was looking forward to returning to Marsten. There was a Controller office on one of the orbiting shipyards where he could deposit some of his gold. However, most of it would be taken to Kubitz so he could avoid the fees collected by the Marsten government. Clan Leader Jarls and his ten battleships had already left Creed’s fleet to go to Dacroni Four.

  “We’re all going to be rich,” gloated Second Profiteer Hurkler. As a Second Profiteer, his share would be in the millions of credits.

  “High Profiteer Creed, I’m not receiving any messages from Marsten to my requests to dock at the shipyard,” reported the Profiteer at Communications. “As a matter of fact, I’m not picking up any type of communications from any of the orbiting stations or Marsten itself.”

  “Are we in sensor range?” Creed could not imagine why Marsten was being silent. Perhaps some type of drill was being run. He couldn’t recall one being scheduled.

  “Yes,” replied the Profiteer at the sensor console. “Long-range scans are showing only a few ships in the system. Scans are not showing the stations around Marsten, only a jumble of much smaller contacts. If I were to hazard a guess I would say the sensors are picking up debris fields in orbit around the planet.”

  Creed suddenly felt his blood turn cold. Was it possible his attempt to have the Vorn destroy Earth had led them instead to the Gothan Empire and Marsten? “Drop us out of hyperspace ten thousand kilometers from the planet,” he ordered. He took a deep fortifying breath. He was fearful of what the viewscreens and sensors would show when they reached Marsten.

  Minutes later the Ascendant Fury dropped out of hyperspace and High Profiteer Creed’s worst fears were realized. The shipyards and trading stations were gone. In their places were slowly expanding fields of debris. The defending fleets were missing though the amount of debris drifting around the planet indicated some had certainly met their destruction defending the planet. The same for the defense grid.

  “It’s all been destroyed,” said Second Profiteer Hurkler, his eyes and face showing shock. “There’s nothing left.”

  “I have established communications with several Marsten battlecruisers,” reported the Profiteer at Communications. “All the cargo and passenger ships escaped to Kubitz. Part of the fleet did as well. The only survivors on the planet were the ruling council, and they have been rescued and are on board a battleship.”

  Creed looked at the viewscreens showing his homeworld. The atmosphere was dark and flashes of lightning leaped from ash cloud to ash cloud. The surface was completely obscured. He knew with a sinking feeling the land he wanted to purchase on the planet was now valueless. No one would come seeking his advice before going on a raiding mission. If they ever suspected it was his fault the Vorn came to Marsten his reputation would be ruined forever.

  “Could we have led the Destroyers of Worlds here?” asked Hurkler. “Did we make a mistake trying to lead them to Earth?”

  “I don’t know!” growled High Profiteer Creed not wanting to believe he was the cause of this. He turned toward the Profiteer at Communications. “Did the Vorn destroy any other worlds and where are they?” If they were still harvesting worlds in the empire, Creed was going to take his fleet and depart for some other region of the galaxy. At least the gold in the cargo ship would ensure they lived a life of luxury.

  The Profiteer at Communications spoke to the other Profiteer ships for several minutes before turning toward High Profiteer Creed. “The Destroyers of Worlds harvested Dacroni Four, Gomarsh, and Tellurite Six. They also attacked the Controller Station in the Kubitz System, heavily damaging it before the Humans and Ancients appeared and drove them off, destroying a major portion of the Vorn fleet. The Humans and Ancients also destroyed most of the Vorn fleet attacking the Tellurite System.”

  “Vickers,” muttered Creed, his eyes narrowing sharply. “Of course Vickers would come to the rescue.” Then he realized what he had just been told. “Did you say Dacroni Four was harvested as well?” This could be very bad news.

  “Yes,” the Profiteer at Communications replied. “The battle against the Vorn was more intense but the Vorn still won. There are several million survivors as the Dacroni have a large number of deep underground bunkers.”

  Creed was already thinking about how angry Clan Leader Jarls was going to be when he reached Dacroni Four. His hope of keeping his involvement in this a secret had just vanished. It wouldn’t take Jarls long to put two and two together and figure out who was responsible for the Vorn finding the Gothan Empire. “Set a course for Lylan Six. The Controllers have a large station there, and we can stay in the system until we decide what to do.” If necessary Creed could use a portion of the gold on the cargo ship as a bribe.

  “We don’t have a home to go to,” accused Hurkler, his voice rising in anger. “Is your revenge against Fleet Admiral Vickers worth what it has cost us? Most of my family was on Marsten. The same with the rest of the crews on our ships. I cannot guarantee their continued loyalty.”

  High Profiteer Creed’s eyes drilled into Hurkler’s. “What about your loyalty?”

  Hurkler bit his lip but nodded after a moment. “With my share of the gold I can buy a new family. But I fear we may lose some of our crews once they realize we were the cause of this.”

  “When we reach Lylan Six we will pay off the crews. Those who want to leave can take their share and do so. We just need enough to operate this battleship and maybe a couple of battlecruisers. If necessary, I’m willing to pay a bonus to keep those we need.”

  “It may come to that,” Hurkler replied. He left to pass on the orders to the Profiteer at the Helm.

  Creed knew Lylan Six would be a safe refuge for a while, long enough for him to figure out his next move. At some point, he needed to go to Kubitz and sell all the gold in the holds of the cargo ship. The second cargo ship had gone with Clan Leader Jarls. Creed knew next time he saw Jarls there was a good chance the Dacroni clan leader would try to kill him.

  He felt a slight wrenching sensation as the Ascendant Fury entered hyperspace. Leaning back in his command chair he thought about what his hatred of Vickers had cost him. His world, his hope for a bright future, everything was gone. Well, nearly everything. He still had over one billion credits worth of gold in the cargo ship and on the Ascendant Fury. It might be necessary to delay his vendetta against Vickers until this threat posed by the Destroyers of Worlds was dealt with. It would be wise to lay low and then strike when Vickers least expected it. At some point in time, Vickers would return to Kubitz and when he did High Profiteer Creed wou
ld be ready. A billion credits would buy a lot of opportunities to eliminate the Human fleet admiral.

  -

  Dacroni Clan Leader Jarls stared at the ship’s main viewscreen in growing anger. Dacroni Four was plainly visible, or what was left of it. The planet’s atmosphere was dark and turbulent with flashes of lightning crisscrossing the planet.

  “What are the conditions like on the surface?”

  “Bad,” replied Salas. Salas was second in command. “On some parts of the planet there are torrential rains and at others snow is falling. Ash covers everything and nearly every structure on the planet has been destroyed. The only survivors are in the deep underground bunkers and they’re going to be difficult to rescue due to the atmospheric conditions. There are also still massive fires raging at the locations of most of our cities.”

  Jarls looked at the tactical display. Hundreds of Dacroni warships and some passenger liners were in orbit. He had spoken to a few other clan leaders and they had told him what happened. There was no doubt in his mind High Profiteer Creed had led the Vorn to the empire. Now both Marsten and Dacroni Four were dead.

  “Where will our people go?” asked Salas. “We have no colonies.”

  “Dacroni Five is marginally habitable,” Jarls replied. “We can build habitation domes for our people and perhaps someday return to Dacroni Four.” He knew that would be decades even using some of the advanced technology available to correct the ecological disaster sweeping the planet.

  “How did the Vorn find us?” asked Salas. “The nearest world they have harvested is over two thousand light years distant.”

  Jarls knew how the Vorn had found the Gothan Empire; he just needed to prove it. “Set a course for Kubitz. The rest of our ships will remain here and help in the search for survivors.” His clan had a deep bunker, and he was certain there would be survivors. At the moment any communication with the planet was impossible due to the atmospheric conditions.