Nowhere to Hide

by Saxon Andrew

  Star Chase

  Nowhere to Hide

  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

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Epilogue

  Excerpt from Lens of Time Book Six

  Books by Saxon Andrew

  About Saxon Andrew

  Introduction

  Drey walked into the main family room and saw Dee lying on the couch with her eyes closed. He stared at her for a long moment and then said, “What are you focusing on?”

  The voice that he knew was her subconscious answered, “What is going to happen?”

  Drey knew Dee never heard or remembered the conversations her subconscious had during her moments of focusing but the subconscious always seemed to see things that she could not remember. He didn’t want to ask but felt compelled to say, “What do you see?”

  “Our galaxy is going to be attacked by the Invaders.”

  “And?”

  “The Union and the Kilper Empire is going to die. I see planets burning and populations eradicated.”

  Drey closed his eyes and shook his head. He blew out a breath and sat down, “Is there no escape from this destiny?” He waited for an answer but only heard silence. “Is there no escape!?!”

  “They will come no matter what is done to stop them.”

  “That’s not an answer.”

  “The effects can be reduced.”

  “How?”

  “You will have to find the Invader who is your opposite.”

  “What?”

  Dee opened her eyes and saw Drey sitting next to her, “Hello, my Love. I didn’t hear you come in.”

  “Were you focusing?”

  “No, I just took a short nap.”

  Drey managed to hide his surprise; her mind was working even when she wasn’t aware. He knew she wouldn’t remember anything and he worried about what her subconscious had told him. He forced a smile, “Let’s get ready to go. Ian is meeting with Cole and Argel about our new technological developments; I’m sure he’ll want to discuss them with us afterwards.”

  Dee sat up and then stood as she leaned over and kissed Drey on the forehead, “Give me just a moment to tidy up.”

  Drey smiled and watched her leave. What did she mean by opposite?

  Chapter One

  The ship’s Father looked over at the reams of data he accumulated for the initial attack on the giant galaxy and felt his frustration rise. The table was filled with recording elements on how the ships in his family would be assigned during the initial assault. It was all just a huge waste of time. Somehow, they had learned they were being scouted and had managed to eliminate the probes feeding him information. A surprise attack was now out of the question. The probes sent to replace those that were destroyed never got off a transmission. It was clear the civilizations in that galaxy were watching for any approach. He knew the food stores in the current galaxy being gathered were diminishing rapidly and a decision would have to be made quickly on where the family was going next. All of his plans were based on a surprise attack and that was no longer a possibility.

  The almond colored creature rose from his chair, slid over to the wide viewport, and looked down on the planet that had just been invaded. The fleet defending the planet had been destroyed but there were numerous military installations on the surface. He looked at the continent directly under his ship and saw nuclear explosions rising high into the planet’s atmosphere. He knew the fighting was ferocious but resistance would be over soon. He moved two of his eyestalks from the planet and looked at the thousands of transports in orbit as landing shuttles began leaving their huge bays. This galaxy had been relatively easy so far but now the real fighting was starting. Fifty advanced civilizations still posed problems, but they were nothing that his family couldn’t ultimately handle. Numbers were on his side.

  He knew the giant galaxy was going to be a different matter and was not going to be taken without major losses. The element of surprise would have lessened the anticipated loss of ships but now that element had been taken off the table. Even getting a probe in now was impossible; much less a ship. There was no avoiding having his family used for the invasion and that worried him… a lot. All the other families in the Clan were not close to completing their current gatherings, so it was going to fall to his family to invade. He swelled slightly as he pulled the ship’s atmosphere through his skin as he continued to wait to be contacted by his family’s Grandfather. He worried about his children. That galaxy was armed and highly dangerous with more than a billion warships. They weren’t highly advanced but the number he would have to face was intimidating.

  “Uncle.”

  The Father turned and saw one of his nieces, “Yes Child?”

  “Grandfather wishes to speak with you.”

  “Thank you.” He slid back to his chair, extended a pseudopod, and activated the blinking light on his panel, “It’s good to hear from you, Grandfather.”

  “I don’t have good news, Son. Our family has been selected to start the invasion of the ball galaxy.”

  The Father knew it was coming but he still winced at the statement, “I’ve been expecting that decision. How does the Council want us to commence operations?”

  “They’re concerned that we’ve lost the element of surprise and the Council thinks we should send in a small invading sortie to scout what defensive tactics are going to be used against us by the civilizations there.”

  “What do you mean by small?”

  “Attack four planets with a transport and see how their technology measures up to us.”

  The Father was shocked by the suggestion, “Transports don’t have the really high powered fields and weapons of a battleship. They would be little more than moving targets for the defenders.”

  “True, but they are stronger than most civilizations we’ve encountered. They might surprise you and survive. We do anticipate that we’ll lose them but we need the information they can send us. We’ve lost our probes and have been unable to send others in to see what’s going on. We must see what we’re going to have to face. The Council thinks we should refrain from showing them our strongest battleships until the main invasion begins. How much longer are you going to need to complete your gathering?”

  The Father thought about the remaining planets yet to be conquered, “We should be done in nine months.”

  “Send the transports in seven.”

  “How should I select the ones being sent?”

  “The four most junior Ship Father’s will send one each. You will collect information from the attack and organize it for the Council’s viewing.”

  “I will notify you a month before they’re sent.”

  “That would be good.”

  The display faded to black and the Father stood and went back to the viewport. He stared at the planet shaking the top of his body and remembered when he was given his first ship to command. He had been forced to take on most of the dangerous missions because of his lack of seniority… but none of those missions were anywhere nea
r as dangerous as the one those four transports were going to undertake. He swelled in size and was thankful none of his immediate family was taking part in the initial attack. He flinched as he saw a huge nuclear explosion on the southern continent below him and shook his top again; sometimes things weren’t as easy as you thought. All of the landing shuttles dropping in on that continent had to have been hit by that giant blast. He went back to his command chair to await the casualty reports. He was certain that explosion was going to be bad news. If the defenders were going to use nuclear weapons that powerful, it was going to make victory difficult and draw out this conflict. He saw the figures appear on his panel and winced. Nine months might be an optimistic projection.

  ***

  Ian sat across the table from Cole and Argel and saw their feelings for each other. The Alliance depended on them to produce the advanced technology being used in the weapons needed to fight the coming invasion. He smiled, “Cole, how are the new beams coming along?”

  “We’re pretty much there. I’m worried about the main battleships that species uses for conquests. Their force fields are the strongest we’ve ever measured and their beams are much higher in power than anything we’ve ever seen. The existing Theta’s may not survive multiple hits and, until we get a reading on their force field strength, I’m not at all certain the new beam would penetrate with one hit.”

  “Are we at the limit on our force field strength?”

  “We are; however, there is one technique we’re thinking about using against those ships that has some potential.”

  Ian tilted his head to the left, “What is that?”

  Argel smiled, “We’re looking at building a small attack ship.”

  “How small?”

  “It’ll be about a hundred and eighty feet long.”

  Ian stared at the two and shook his head, “A ship that small can’t carry the Boson Beam or the reactor that powers it.”

  “It can carry the new miniaturized reactor we developed and it will be using a different weapons array.” Ian started shaking his head and Cole interrupted, “This ship’s force field will be slightly stronger than the current Theta Ship’s field. It should be able to take two or three hits before it fails.”

  “How is that possible?”

  “It has a much smaller surface to defend and it will be carrying two of the new reactors. The ship’s hull is built with a reflective profile that stays active. The Higgs Field will flicker but there won’t be any switching between them as our older designs do. The Higgs will endure as much as possible, cut out to recharge, and come back on in less than a fifth of a second. The hull will reflect energy from any angle that it’s fired on. The small size makes that possible so it won’t be limited on how it approaches an enemy ship. The Higgs Field will be able to sustain more than a Theta because it protects a smaller surface. This ship is not designed to stand off and fight a battle; it rushes in, attacks, and runs.”

  Ian stared at the two and shook his head, “What will it use to attack if it can’t carry the Boson Blaster?”

  “We’ve modified the FTL missiles.”

  Ian was surprised by the answer, “The missiles aren’t much smaller than the ship you’re describing.”

  Argel shook her head, “The new design is much smaller than the current FTL missile.” Ian looked at her, “The new missile is only three feet long.”

  “WHAT!?!”

  Cole nodded, “The new missile has a Boson reservoir inside it that will rupture when the missile hits its target. That reservoir is as powerful as two Boson Beam strikes. The new missiles correspond closely to what the ancients called bullets.”

  “How many of these missiles can the ship carry?”

  “Most of the interior of the ship is used to store the new missile. The missiles will be in magazines and fed to three missile ports, one in the bow and one on each side of the ship. The missiles can have a target locked into their guidance systems by the ship’s computer, so the pilot doesn’t have to attack head on; but it does operate more effectively when it does. It launches from as close as possible and the pilot jumps away when the missile clears the launch tubes. It can carry two hundred and fifty missiles in each magazine, which will feed the launch tubes with a belt running to each of them.”

  “How long does it take for a tube to reload?”

  “Actually, there is no reloading; the tubes can fire continuously. The belt inserts the missile into the launcher and is rotated back to the magazine to lock in another missile. There is a continuous feed to each of the tubes. The ship could fire all seven hundred and fifty missiles in less than fifty seconds.”

  Ian was shocked, “Is this ship more powerful than the Thetas?”

  “It’s more powerful than the current model but only because the missile is equivalent to two boson beams. However, after the existing Theta fleets have been modified, it won’t be.”

  “Modified in what way?”

  “The new miniaturized Boson Reactors will replace the one currently being used on the thetas and the new missiles will also be added to their armament. The Thetas will now have five reactors instead of just one powering their boson beams. Each of the beams will now have a single reactor powering it instead of just one reactor powering all of them. The beam’s power will be quite strong.”

  “If the Thetas will have this missile, why do we need this new ship?”

  “Because getting close enough to a large group of the Invader’s Battleships is not going to be easily done. The Attack Ship is faster than anything we’ve built, more maneuverable, and, for short periods of time, it can handle beam strikes better than the Thetas. Hitting an attack ship is going to be extremely difficult; it can get in close where a Theta might not. It will also be our primary weapon against any troop carriers.”

  “Tell me why we need that?”

  Argel looked at Cole and then turned to Ian, “The method used to land their forces on planets is to have a giant transport extend a force field and drop their troop ships under the protection of the force field. The troop carriers are not armed except for beams that are used on the surface for defense. This attack ship can blow a hole in the force field and attack the transports before they can make atmosphere. They are also structured to be able to fly inside an atmosphere. If needed, they can pursue the carriers down to the planet.”

  Ian nodded slowly, “I understand; when are you starting production?”

  “We’re already building the first thousand. If its trials go smoothly, we’ll start general production within two months.”

  “Where are you getting the pilots?”

  Argel smiled, “That’s the good thing about these ships; pretty much anyone can fly them. Normal Humans or Kilpers can do it and we have millions of volunteers seeking a role in the military. This new ship will allow citizens of the Alliance to take part in the conflict. They don’t require High Genetics to operate them.”

  “Keep me up to speed on how the trials go.”

  Cole nodded, “We should know something shortly. The initial trial is being done at this moment.”

  ***

  Annie Newsome watched her display and saw the huge ship on it. The giant Kilper Dreadnaught was moving at high speed through the deserted planetary system and was not going to be an easy target. The number of beams on its hull was truly awesome. “Sammy, have you seen anything we can do to get in close?”

  The ship’s computer immediately answered, “Not really; that ship is on high alert and is watching for us to come after it. Getting a shot off won’t be easy; we’ll be detected as soon as we emerge into normal space. If we’re hit by one beam, we lose the exercise.”

  Annie railed at the rules that knocked her out of the exercise if her ship was hit by a single beam from the dreadnaught. However, she knew that the new ship had to prove it could survive against an invader battle ship. Even if it killed the Invader, every Attack Ship produced would still be outnumbered by the thousands of battleships in the massive Invader Flee
ts. They had to be able to take out more than just one ship. Annie thought about how to hit the fast moving target without being hit first, “Let’s think about this. What advantages do we have?”

  Sammy immediately began listing their strengths, “We’re much faster and more maneuverable. We can stop faster than that ship can imagine. Our jump and FTL drives operate at twice the speed of any ship in the Alliance’s inventory.”

  “I know they’re expecting me to attack. If you were in their place, where would you expect me come in?”

  “Either from the rear or the sides.”

  “The sides of the ship are where the bulk of their blasters are located.”

  “Yes, but it offers the largest target; you could fire from much further away.”

  “Yes but they could take out the missiles with their beams before they could arrive, if we fired from too far away. I’m sure their beams will activate as soon as we enter normal space.” Annie thought about it, “Here’s what we’re going to do.” She explained the plan to Sammy and the computer said, “Only three things in that plan are impossible, but we might as well give it a go. I don’t see any other way to make this happen.”

  “Set the jump coordinates out in front of that ship and light the thrusters.”

  ***

  Captain Tegen watched his scanner for the small ship that was coming to attack his ship. So far, nothing had appeared and he wondered if the pilot had called the exercise off. He smiled and knew his Dreadnaught had eight hundred blasters capable of producing overlapping fire at any target detected; it was practically impossible to make it through their coverage. Tegen saw nothing on his sensor display and looked at his weapon’s officer, “Make sure the tail is covered.”

  “I’ve got eighty blasters covering it. They’ll fire automatically if anything is detected, Sir.”

  Tegen nodded and wondered where the small ship was. The time for the exercise would soon be over. He looked at his sensor commander and he shook his head. Where was that ship?

  ***

  Annie watched the giant ship growing in her display as she roared in on it. She had accelerated to fifty miles a second and had activated the FTL field. Now her ship was moving toward the giant ship at an enormous velocity. “Time this well, Sammy.”