The lightning-fast attack took the smaller ship entirely by surprise, and it struggled to respond to the fierce onslaught. Its shields were no match for the withering assault and quickly failed.
Recognizing their perilous situation, the two rebel cruisers engaged their jump systems. They blinked off the screen and reappeared near the space station and its fleet of defenders.
With the alarm sounded, the rebels initiated system-wide anti-cloaking operations, taking down all cloaks within range. That gave Jon a better idea of the enemy’s numbers, as rebel ships were decloaked in the process.
The anti-cloaking measures would soon reach Jon’s fleet, and the enemy would then know his numbers too.
“Insertion successful,” AI reported. “Takeover operation underway.”
“Thank you, AI,” Jon said. “Keep me posted.”
“Yes, Admiral.”
***
The Chaanisar’s cloak failed just as he plunged his energy blade into the chest of a Dvorkan sentry. The giant blue alien’s eyes widened with surprise as his life force fled his body.
The Chaanisar caught the Dvorkan as he fell and dragged him out of view while the rest of his squad advanced into the cruiser’s cargo hold.
They spread out, moving stealthily to avoid detection. They used their blades to silently kill the remaining Dvorkans and secure the area. Satisfied that no one knew they were on board, Lieutenant Jarvi stepped up to the main cargo hold terminal and placed an armor-clad hand on the access point.
He felt AI flow through him into the Dvorkan computer system. His connection to her allowed him to watch as she negotiated entry and bypassed the rudimentary safeguards designed to keep lesser threats out.
She worked swiftly and furtively, careful not to trip any alarms. She also watched for any hidden threats. The AI copy had been killed, but she remained vigilant. With the Antikitheri intervention, who knew what was possible?
But her copy did not appear, and AI continued to burrow deeper into the cruiser’s network, taking over different ship systems in the process. The Dvorkan crew remained oblivious to her intrusion. Nor were they aware of the Chaanisar presence on their ship. All was unfolding according to plan.
When AI occupied the ship’s security systems, she ensured that any monitoring devices capable of spotting the Chaanisar were diverted. Her security access also gave her a real-time view of all areas of the ship, and she updated the Chaanisar HUDs with a map of the ship, showing their locations and all nearby activity.
Lieutenant Jarvi and his Chaanisar did not want to take this ship. At least not yet. The vessel had another, more important purpose. It would act as a springboard for AI.
***
When the rebel anti-cloaking operations revealed the location of the allied fleet, Jon refused to budge from his position. His ships stood their ground and waited for the rebels to act. Jon had no interest in going anywhere near that station. If that weapon were present, it would make quick work of his armada.
So, the two adversaries stared at each other from across the void. The rebels sent word through the gate, and rebel ships began streaming through, steadily increasing the rebel numbers. But General Tok must have been impatient because even as reinforcements continued to arrive, the rebel fleet jumped and closed with Jon’s ships.
It might have been a rash decision. Indeed, they were better off waiting for Jon to come in range of the station’s weapons. But General Tok did not rise to his position by being passive and probably figured that the gods would watch over him. Would that turn into a costly mistake?
The rebels engaged the allied fleet, choosing to hit head-on rather than try anything fancy. They wanted a bare-knuckle match, with the tougher opponent emerging victorious. It was in character with what Jon knew about Dvorkans. Their great physical size and rich military history left them with the often-mistaken notion that they could overpower their enemies. That suited Jon just fine.
The battle got underway with little fanfare. Shields on both sides negated the use of jump bombs and both resorted to more conventional munitions.
Hundreds of ships fired energy bolts and missiles at each other, creating a dazzling light show spanning thousands of kilometers.
Railguns spat high-velocity projectiles, and shields glowed in various colors as they absorbed the impacts.
The Taymati were the first to use their jump systems, jumping their ships right into the enemy line. Squadrons of Taymati battleships landed within the rebel ranks to break their formation.
The Taymati had always been considered the superior Dvorkan warriors, and they showed little respect for their lesser opponents. Their actions sowed confusion, and the enemy struggled to maintain discipline in the face of their fearless opponents.
Not to be outdone, hulking Diakan warships attacked the rebel flanks, jumping in and pummeling the enemy positions with devastating barrages. Dvorkan ships were huge, but nowhere near the size of the mammoth Diakan battleships.
The Diakans used this to their advantage by jumping in extremely close to the enemy, like a bully pushing around a smaller, weaker opponent. The point was to not only inflict damage but to intimidate and force errors.
Chaanisar ships hit the rebels on their other flank. Like the Diakans, the Chaanisar landed their ships perilously close to the enemy, using psychology as much as their weapons to rattle rebel nerves.
They played chicken with the rebels and often forced them to jump away for fear that the Chaanisar would ram them, destroying both ships in the process. The rebels must have thought the Chaanisar were madmen, and Jon figured that probably wasn’t far from the truth.
UHSF battleships supported these operations with their coil guns, launching massive projectiles at the enemy.
Fighters and bombers sped out of the UHSF carriers and joined in, swarming enemy positions, playing cat and mouse with their opponents. UHSF fighters tied up their rebel counterparts while UHSF bombers jumped in close to the enemy and launched their heavy torpedoes before jumping back to their carriers.
Jon monitored the battle with stoic resolve. It was not a lopsided battle by any means, and the enemy gave as good as it received. But this was the opening stage of the battle, and thousands of shock troops waited for the enemy shields to drop so they could begin boarding operations. Their success or failure would decide the day.
***
The rebel patrol cruiser previously attacked by the Chaanisar did not join in the battle. With its shields already compromised, it remained near the space station as part of a smaller defensive force, supported by the station’s weapons.
By this time, AI had spread throughout the cruiser’s network and took advantage of an open comm channel to covertly stream across the void onto the Central Command station’s systems.
Lieutenant Jarvi monitored AI’s progress while keeping tabs on the battle between the two fleets. Then, a proximity alert flashed across his visor.
He switched to a local view, tapping into the AI controlled security cameras. There, he was surprised to see a team of heavily armed Dvorkans cautiously approach the cargo hold. Somehow, the enemy knew they were on board.
Jarvi and his Chaanisar had already taken up defensive positions. Watching the developments on his visor, Jarvi wondered how long they could hold out.
All the Dvorkans amassing outside the cargo hold were armored, and they outnumbered the Chaanisar by at least a two to one ratio.
When AI seized control of the ship’s security systems, she took the precaution of sealing the hatch to the cargo hold. That would only slow down the Dvorkans, and Jarvi saw that they were already preparing to blow the hatch.
“AI, we’ve been compromised,” Jarvi said.
“I see the intruders, Lieutenant,” AI said. “Unfortunately, the security features of this cargo hold are limited. If they open the hatch, I cannot stop them from entering.”
“Understood. We’ll hold them off. Focus on completing your mission.”
“Yes, Lieutenan
t.”
When the Dvorkans blew the hatch, the Chaanisar greeted them with a volley of grenades. The powerful explosions overloaded the Dvorkan shields, and they glowed a bright white before failing.
The Chaanisar followed up with a furious assault, concentrating their fire on the lead Dvorkans. With shields down, the barrage of energy bolts made quick work of the compromised armor, ripping through it to find the soft blue flesh hiding underneath.
Jarvi simultaneously pulled up the ship’s schematic and looked for any unguarded locations. He found an area of the hangar bay with little activity and sent the coordinates to the other Chaanisar. They all activated their personal jump systems, and several portals took shape.
The Chaanisar threw a final grenade volley at the enemy and ran through their portals onto the hangar bay.
Emerging amid a group of shuttles, the Chaanisar all turned and pointed their weapons at the portal openings and waited until they closed to ensure no Dvorkan followed.
They took cover behind the shuttles and readied for more combat. The Dvorkans knew they were on board. How long would it take before they tracked them down was anybody’s guess.
***
“Ready?” Jamie said to Anki through his comm. They stood beside each other in their combat suits waiting for the order to board. He looked at her but could not see anything past her jet-black visor.
They stood with a contingent of Chaanisar on the Ronin. They wanted to fight with the Chaanisar, so Jon agreed to their request to return to the Ronin to take part in the boarding operations.
“You’re asking me? How do you feel?” Anki said.
“Never better.”
“No visions? No urges?”
“Nothing. Just a desire to kick some Dvorkan butt.”
“Looks like you’re about to get your chance,” she said. “I think this is it."
The order to activate their personal jump systems came through, and they opened portals to one of the rebel ships.
Shimmering ovals appeared before each soldier. They all pointed their weapons and walked through as one.
Chaanisar squads landed throughout the enemy vessel. Unfortunately, Jamie and Anki’s squad hit a well defended section of the ship.
Jamie and Anki took fire the second they appeared. They scrambled for cover as their shields glowed from multiple energy bolt impacts.
Jamie pulled up Anki’s stats on his HUD. Her shield was still intact, but integrity was down to sixty percent, while his own shield was holding at eighty-three percent.
He returned fire, scoring several hits on an exposed helmet, and tried to size up their opposition.
They were in a long wide corridor, littered with rebel soldiers. They were severely outnumbered and breaking through seemed unlikely.
Jamie still had his enhanced abilities, however, and while he could not get through the corridor on his own, he wondered if he could do it with his squad’s support. If he spearheaded the charge while his squad followed with suppressive fire, they might succeed.
Jamie had allowed a brain chip connection with the other Chaanisar in his squad despite his apprehension. Even though he did not like connecting with other Chaanisar in this way, the fact was that it significantly improved their effectiveness in battle.
Using the connection, Jamie let the other Chaanisar see what he was contemplating. Visuals worked better than words in such cases, and the other Chaanisar instantly understood and agreed with his plan.
“Anki,” Jamie said over his comm. “I’m going to rush the rebel positions while the rest of the team follows and provides covering fire.”
“You sure?” Anki said. “There’s a lot of the bastards.”
“Yeah, I’m sure. We’ve got to break through. Get ready.”
Jamie lobbed a plasma grenade at the Dvorkans and burst into action once it blew. With assault weapon in one hand and his signature energy blade in the other, Jamie fell upon the startled rebels.
His newly enhanced abilities did not abandon him, and he fired his weapon with pinpoint accuracy, nailing even the smallest of openings.
The grenade blast degraded the shields of the advance group he encountered. His precise fire helped degrade their shields further, but it was the energy blade that finished the job.
Even through their armor, Jamie heard the screams of his victims as he fell upon them. He moved from man to man with terrifying speed, repeatedly stabbing while simultaneously firing at point blank range. He was an unexpected, unstoppable demonic blur.
His squad’s suppressive fire helped keep the enemy’s heads down, but so did his uncanny accuracy. As before, he could not miss, and he spotted even the tiniest of movements.
Despite the heightened nature of his senses, it was his instinctive reactions that were the most startling. It was not something he could explain, but he just knew where the threats were and when they would act.
Jamie did notice the reactions of the other Chaanisar. Through their brain chip connection, they shared his experience and felt his heightened abilities as if they were their own.
By allowing the connection, Jamie knew that the rest of the Chaanisar would soon know how much he had evolved. They would all realize that he had surpassed them in every way.
The question was how they would react to the information. He was already an outsider to them. This knowledge would heighten that belief. Would they deem him an asset or a threat?
Despite his abilities, he could not avoid taking fire, and his own shields were steadily degraded. But with each victim, that fire lessened.
As the tide turned, the rest of his squad closed in and swarmed the remaining rebels. Soon, they all stood in a corridor filled with Dvorkan bodies.
What have you become, brother? one of the Chaanisar said through his implant.
Jamie looked over at the man and said aloud, “I don’t know.”
***
Lieutenant Jarvi ran across the hangar bay to take cover behind another shuttle as energy bolts chased after him. It didn’t take long before his team found themselves in another firefight and Jarvi knew that more rebel troops were on their way. At least the Dvorkans kept things interesting.
While they could jump to another section of the ship, they were too far from their own ships to jump off the rebel cruiser. His team would hold the rebels off as long as they could before relocating.
“What is your status, AI?” Jarvi said. AI had gone deep into the space station’s systems, and Jarvi could no longer follow her progress.
“I am advancing steadily, Lieutenant,” AI said through his suit’s speakers. “While there is no AI capable of stopping me, the station’s systems are remarkably robust.”
“Are you saying you cannot take down the station’s shields?” The AI did not need to take complete control of the station. She just needed to bring down its shields so that the fleet could board it.
“I can, but it is taking longer than I first anticipated. There have been some significant upgrades that I need to overcome.”
“Are you leveraging our implants?” Jarvi said. By occupying the Chaanisar brain chips, AI could tap into the unused parts of the Chaanisar brains to strengthen herself even more. The combination of the fleet’s computer systems and the Chaanisar brains gave AI incredible computing power which usually made her unstoppable.
“Yes, Lieutenant. These systems have safeguards I have not encountered before. They require more time to adapt to.”
“Understood. Please keep me informed.”
“Yes, Lieutenant.”
Rebel soldiers kept pouring into the hangar bay piling on the pressure, but the Chaanisar held their own. A high-pitched squealing sound changed all that.
Lieutenant Jarvi leaped into the air, using the combined strength of his implants and the combat suit to get out of the blast radius barely in time.
The shuttle he had been standing behind blew apart behind him, and even though he managed to survive, his combat suit’s shields were now down to just ten
percent integrity.
The rebels had fired a missile at them, and a look in their direction confirmed his fears. They had a mech, and it was about to take another shot.
Lieutenant Jarvi and his squad fled from the second shuttle while simultaneously activating a jump portal. Jarvi heard the high-pitched squeal again, just as he entered his portal.
They stepped out onto the floor of the ship’s training room just as the second shuttle was obliterated. The room was empty for now, and the Chaanisar immediately went to work preparing for the inevitable next encounter.
***
“Yes!” Jon said to himself as a report flashed on his display. Another rebel ship had been successfully commandeered.
So far, the battle was going their way, and the boarding operations were outperforming his expectations. Allied teams had boarded almost half of the rebel ships, freeing the fleet to concentrate on the remaining half.
The boarded ships were not entirely neglected, however, as they continued to pose a threat until captured. But care was taken not to destroy these ships to avoid killing their people on board. If they did fire on these vessels, they targeted weapons only.
The rebel warships that were not boarded now found themselves outgunned. When their shields fell, they ended up on the receiving end of massive jump bomb attacks.
The same held true for Jon’s fleet, though. Many allied ships lost their shields in the fight and were also pelted mercilessly with jump bombs.
Despite their armor, most warships could not withstand multiple bombs exploding inside their hulls.
Nonetheless, the tide continued to turn in favor of the allies. As each enemy ship was commandeered, or destroyed, that turn only accelerated.
But the real prize was Central Command. Jon had come back to the Empire to help Emperor Kriss defeat the rebels and regain control. That was still a valuable strategic goal. Yet, the discovery of the Antikitheri weapon shifted the calculation. Now, obtaining the weapon became Jon’s number one priority. For that, he needed the Central Command space station.
The Pike Chronicles - Books 1 - 10 Page 212