Starstorm (Starstorm Saga)

by Bennett, Billy

  “It was this fault of his that resulted in my assistant’s death,” said Kaydan with more than a hint of resentment. “I am glad to see at least that he is not afraid to kill.”

  Red continued to be stuck in his torment on the table. Finally, he lost consciousness. Kaydan checked his monitors.

  “The re-sequencing was successful. I do advise allowing him to rest so his mind has time to process all the information we put into it as well as all the changes we made to his memory.”

  “Very well, inform me when he wakes.”

  “Commander,” said Kaydan. “Just because the human military didn’t surrender doesn’t mean their leaders back home won’t. I recommend sending our ultimatum to the Earth itself.”

  Akdon fixed Kaydan with a stare. “As far as I am concerned, it is a waste of time. However, if you think it will do any good, by all means send the message.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Jack counted himself lucky to be alive. That was more than many other pilots could say. Trey was dealing with the loss of his friend Sam, whose shuttle had been destroyed when Titan base exploded. Having been through the loss of Red, Jack knew perfectly well how he felt.

  April noticed that almost all of the pilots who were left had the same look of hopeless indifference on their face. She spent most of her time tending to her duties on the bridge, while Captain Doran spent hours in his office dwelling on the two battles in which he felt he had been solemnly defeated. The many lives lost under his command weighed heavily on him. But still he had his duty to tend to. And so he was already devising the next step in the defense of Earth.

  The Saratoga and the other Space Force ships were going to Mars. He would meet Admiral Shirley and Colonel Travis there and devise a new strategy. The Saratoga and her fellow carriers were extremely damaged. They had barely come out of the last battle intact. Doran knew none of them could survive going toe to toe with the Zidian fleet ships again, therefore fighters would be more important than ever before. Unfortunately, he was running low on Star Swords and pilots to fly them. Space Force Command had already informed him that there were a massive number of Star Swords and pilots waiting at Earth to replace all the ones that had been lost. Some had been sent to Mars.

  While this was definitely good news, Doran had his concerns. For one thing the SSI was now kicking out Star Swords faster than the Space Force could train pilots. This was a big worry. A fast construction job meant there was a greater possibility of defects. Then there were the pilots who would be flying them. The majority of them were half trained kids out of the various space academies and flight school. The other half were civilian pilots who had volunteered to serve. Doran was happy to see that some of the latter had seen action during the Pirate Wars and so had combat experience. Most, however, were just shuttle, freighter, and liner pilots who had been given a crash course on how to fly a Star Sword. One thing was crystal clear to Doran. Experienced pilots would be needed to show them the way. It was with this in mind, that Captain Doran called Jack Thunder and Trey Knight into his office.

  “Gentlemen, come in, come in,” said Doran as Jack and Trey entered his office and came to rigid attention. “At ease. I must tell you that your performance in recent events has been exemplary. Mr. Thunder, Captain Hudson has told me of your actions on the Essex. Unbelievable! Your capture of that Zidian ship may give us a priceless advantage. Both of you have consistently out witted the enemy and killed more of his numbers than any other pilots. You are also, I must tell you, the only two pilots left who fought at both Neptune and Saturn. Therefore, you two are the most experienced combat pilots we have. As such you will lead all fighter forces. When we reach Mars, we will take on pilots who have never even fired a shot in anger. I want you to brief them on what they will be going up against.”

  “What is the enemy doing at this point Captain?” asked Trey.

  “At the moment, the Zidian Fleet is still in orbit around Saturn. They are probably making repairs and planning their next move.”

  “What about the Russians and the Japanese?” asked Jack. “They are massing their forces around Earth. We also have a large contingent of Star Swords based on orbital launch platforms around Earth. They are manufacturing Star Swords as quickly as possible and putting them in orbit. They are also scrapping together every pilot they can find. Make no mistake, gentlemen. If the Zidians reach Earth, we will have a massive defensive force waiting to meet them. In fact, if my information is correct, we may just have a few surprises waiting for them at Mars.”

  “What kind of surprises, sir?” asked Jack.

  “We’ll discuss that later, Mr. Thunder. Now before I dismiss you two I have one more thing to attend to. Lieutenant Junior Grade Thunder because of your repeated demonstration of skill and bravery I am hereby giving you a battle field promotion to full Lieutenant.” Doran pulled a small black case out of his pocket. He opened it to reveal two silver double bars. Jack took the open case and saluted.

  “Space Force pilots are supposed to get promoted about two years after entering the field when they’ve logged the requisite flight time and gained experience. In your case, however, I’m willing to make a big exception.” Doran then turned to Trey.

  “When we reach Mars, Admiral Shirley will want to hear first-hand about the enemy so he can report back to the President. I know of no one better than you. You’re both dismissed.”

  Jack and Trey saluted and exited the Captain’s office. April was waiting for them outside.

  “Well how did it go? What did he want?”

  “You’re the Executive officer,” said Jack jokingly. “I thought you knew everything.”

  April smirked. “Captain Doran never reveals anything.”

  “Well, Commander, here is what it was all about,” said Trey taking the black case from Jack’s hand. He took the silver single bars off the shoulder flaps of Jacks uniform. Then he pinned on the double bars. “Jack here just earned the fastest promotion I’ve ever seen.”

  Just then Doran came bursting out of his office.

  “What’s wrong Captain?” said April.

  “I’ve just been called to the bridge. The enemy is making another broadcast.”

  The President of the United States of America and all of his advisors sat in the oval office listening intently to the Zidian transmission. The toneless words poured out of the speaker. When it was over, the office came alive with conversation and comments.

  “It’s outrageous!” shouted one official. “They are calling for our unconditional surrender and if we refuse they say they’ll annihilate us.”

  “We will fight on,” said the President calmly. One of his advisors cleared his throat loudly and the President turned to hear him.

  “Mr. President, our fleet has been totally decimated and we are now fielding forces that are under-trained and equipped with substandard ships. SSI is throwing those things together. I think we should signal the Zidians and negotiate a settlement.”

  “You mean surrender?”

  “What other choice do we have, Mr. President? Do you really think we have any chance of victory? We’ve lost more than half of the Space Force to the enemy.”

  “We still have the Martian Colonial Defense Force and the Russians, and Japanese.”

  “Sir, the Martian Colonial Defense forces will be overwhelmed along with the rest of our fleet as soon as the enemy reaches Mars and then that will be it, sir. They will come here. If we fight here the whole world will be devastated. The Russian and Japanese forces will not be enough to hold off the enemy, even when combined with all those rush job Star Swords we’re putting into orbit. Against the Zidians, we might as well be flies!”

  The President took a deep breath. The tension in the room was so tight you could cut it with a knife. He realized most of them felt the same way. For a moment he wished Admiral Shirley or Colonel Travis were there. They would never have subscribed to the notion of surrender. But now they were both en-route to Mars to help set in motion a plan Spa
ce Force Command had devised. He had not planned on revealing it yet, but he needed their support. He ordered all but the highest ranking officials out and had the office sealed. Those few high ranking officials that remained sat around the office and listened as the President quite literally dropped the bombshell.

  “Gentlemen, I have authorized the use of tactical nuclear weapons against the enemy.” This was indeed a surprise- not the least because nuclear weapons had been banned for over fifty years since the end of the Third World War. After the devastation of that war, the victorious powers—the US, Russia, and Japan— vowed to destroy their nuclear weapons and do everything in their power to prevent other nations from having them.

  “Sir, where did they come from!?” said one of the officials.

  “We‘ve had a few old style warheads tucked away for years,” said the President.

  “The Russians and the Japanese are going to be outraged!”

  “I’ve already informed the Russian President and the Japanese Prime Minister.”

  “And?”

  “The Russians aren’t surprised. In fact they have informed me that they also ‘forgot’ about a few nuclear weapons when they started scrapping them after the treaty. Supposedly they have just about as many as us. Convenient huh?”

  “Very, but what about the Japanese?”

  “The Japanese swear up and down that they have honored the treaty to the letter. They are enraged at both us and the Russians but right now they’re too preoccupied with this alien invasion to really care. Gentlemen, these weapons may be what we need to turn the tide. We’ve sent half of the nuclear weapons in our possession to Mars. The other half we are putting into orbit for use against the Zidians if they make it this far.”

  “Mr. President, I must point out that the Zidians have stated that if we don’t surrender, they will destroy us. I’m certain they have nukes of their own and when they said they would annihilate us they probably meant they will bombard us with those weapons. Their weapons are probably hundreds of times more powerful than ours. The amount of destruction they could wreak could make World War III look like a minor affair!”

  “Do you really think we should surrender?” asked the President.

  “Do you really think we can win?” countered the official.

  “If we can just wear them down enough....”

  “Consider this Mr. President. What if instead of becoming disheartened by our nuclear strikes they become more enraged? Do we really want to see the world in ruins again? For all we know they have the capability to destroy this planet entirely.”

  The President thought for a moment. “No! If they were that far advanced then they would have had a much easier time defeating us. They would not be wasting their time asking for our surrender. I refuse to believe that the human race has survived centuries of war and strife amongst itself only to be conquered by an alien species. Gentlemen, we cannot give in now. For the first time in history, the entire world is united in a common interest. Every nation on Earth great and small is giving its support. It has been decided. We will fight to the end. We may be destroyed, but we will never surrender!”

  When Red came to he was very dizzy. His vision was slightly blurry and he was having trouble thinking straight. He was still strapped to the table. His memory was very foggy. He was barely able to recall where he was. He was unable to remember what had happened right before he lost consciousness. He heard footsteps outside the corridor and then the double doors to the laboratory slid open. Akdon entered. Kaydan was on the other side of the lab.

  “As you can see, Commander, the Human is awake.”

  “Very well. Release him.”

  This drew looks from several of the Zidian guards in the room but Kaydan quickly hit a switch on his console and the powerful gravity force holding Red to the vertical table ceased to exist. He slid down the table and his feet hit the floor. He was facing Akdon who towered over him. Even though Red had yet to be provided with any clothes he was not cold. The air in the ship was very hot.

  “Follow me,” said Akdon and turned to head out the door. Red started to follow him out. The guards also moved to follow. Akdon turned on them. “There is no need for you to accompany us. He is no match for me. If he tries anything I will kill him on the spot.”

  With that last sentence, he fixed Red with a cold stare that would pierce steel. Shivers went down Red’s back and he continued to follow Akdon. Akdon turned right and started down the corridor. Red had to struggle to keep up for Akdon, being over seven feet tall, had an enormous stride. Red drew stares from all the Zidians they passed. They passed several doors along the corridor that ran the length of the Krusha. Finally they halted in front of one. The doors slid open and then Red followed Akdon in. There was a large machine built into the side of the wall in this room. Akdon went over to its controls and punched in some commands. The machine began to hum. After a few moments it stopped and out of a small door Akdon pulled out a solid black pullover shirt and black slacks and black boots. He tossed them to Red. They were made of a soft smooth material that Red had never seen before. He dressed quickly. “I had all of your parameters programmed into our fabricators. It should be a perfect fit.” Red moved his arms around. It was indeed one of the best fitting outfits he had ever worn.

  “Now I will inform you as to why we have come to your system and for what purpose we plan to use you.”

  Red listened as Akdon began to lay out everything.

  “We have come to offer your world untold advancements. We can give you the technology to cure your diseases. We can teach you all you need to know to go out and explore the stars. Just as we do. We want to help you improve yourselves. We have the ability to solve all of your planet’s problems. But you are not ready for all of the knowledge we offer. We will have to get you ready. Yes, you will have to relinquish control of your planet to us for the time being. But we will care more for your people than your leaders ever did.”

  All at once, Red’s head began to hurt slightly as he began to try and remember just what his leaders had been like. At first he couldn’t remember, then it came to him. He remembered what they were like. They were murderous, blood thirsty, dictators. His mind filled with images of slave camps, wars, and famine.

  “Your right,” he said reluctantly. “It would have to be better.”

  “Now, thanks to a natural phenomenon that we have yet to identify, your forces are causing us unforeseen difficulties. We have taken notice of your fantastic piloting skills. They are I must say the finest we have ever seen.”

  Red suddenly felt a surge of pride that overwhelmed him. Almost instinctively he held himself taller.

  “We need you to help us defeat the Earth forces. We can defeat them alone, but without you, your world will suffer much more damage.”

  “You want me to fight against my own people?”

  “It’s for their own good. Besides how much did your comrades care for you?” Red then remembered how everyone had shunned him. All he could remember was losing again and again to Jack Thunder to the pleasure of everyone else. Those images were fixed in his mind. Other thoughts tried very hard to surface, but never emerged for Red felt a strong surge of jealousy, a surge so powerful it engulfed everything in his mind. They cared nothing for him. They never appreciated him or his skills which these aliens found outstanding. The thought of defeating Jack, Trey, and all the other pilots now seemed very appealing to him. Akdon could tell he was winning him over. He pressed the advantage.

  “Of course after we have secured your world, we will need humans to work with us—to help run things. Naturally, you would be a prime choice for a leadership role. Just think, you will be one of your world’s leaders and greatest warriors. History will remember you as one of the ones who forever changed your world for the better.”

  Now Red envisioned himself standing above Doran, Thunder, Knight—all of them. The thought gave him pleasure, for no matter how hard he tried, he could not think of one positive thing about
any of them. He turned to Akdon.

  “What do I have to do?”

  Now Akdon was totally convinced that he had Red won over and so he told him exactly what he had planned for him. Red would be flying the Tortalus—an extremely advanced fighter that would perform any maneuver he could think of almost instantly. This got Red’s attention, and from that moment on all he could think about was defeating the Space Force and destroying Jack Thunder.

  Akdon spent the next two hours explaining the finer points of the Tortalus with Red. Afterward he arranged for Red to be given his own chambers. He was confined to a small section of the Krusha and had a small detachment of guards follow him everywhere. Meanwhile, Akdon had some unpleasant business to attend to. He had to deal with Squad Leader Brel. To that end he summoned the pilot to his personal chambers.

  Brel entered Akdon’s Chambers and came to a rigid attention.

  “Are you feeling better Squad Leader?”

  “Yes Commander, the physician says I have made a full recovery.”

  In reality, Brel felt far from alright. He dreaded what was coming.

  “Squad Leader, I will come straight to the point. You were in command of an entire squad of fighters that were sent on a simple reconnaissance mission. You encountered an equal number of enemy ships which were inferior to your own craft. Not only did you fail in your mission, but you lost your entire squad. All of your wingmen were killed and yet you survived. Had you succeeded in transmitting your scans of the enemy to us, then we would have known that the human orbital base was rigged to explode. Because of your failure we lost five battle cruisers. Several others, including this ship, suffered massive damage. Ordinarily regulations state that such incompetence on the part of an officer calls for an execution!”

  Akdon halted abruptly. He could tell that the young pilot was coming apart. His arms were shaking uncontrollably and his face was tensed. Brel had been through a whole lot. Akdon cared little. In the Zidian military the most unforgivable crime was failure to complete your assigned mission. Failure, was always extremely punished. How bad the punishment was depended on how bad the failure was. Brel’s failure had ended in disaster.