The Aurora (Aurora Saga, Book 1)

by Adrian Fulcher

  Londuo raised her head and smiled.

  ‘I’m all right… Really.’

  ‘ONE MINUTE TO TARGET.’

  ‘This is it,’ Gulino said, securing himself into one of the seats.

  James and Londuo were still hugging each other, and he said quietly to her,

  ‘I wish you could be safely in the seatra with me.’

  ‘I couldn’t, James. What about Gulino,’ she replied. ‘It wouldn’t be right.’

  ‘I know,’ James replied.

  ‘Look, Londuo… I need to tell you something,’ James said nervously.

  ‘What is it?’ Londuo replied.

  ‘I… I’m sorry,’ James said.

  Go on! Kalrea suddenly said in his head. She’s not going to bite! Tell her!

  James smiled.

  ‘Londuo… I’m in love with you.’

  Londuo looked into his eyes and smiled.

  ‘I love you too, James.’

  James’ smile widened. He felt relieved and elated, and a tear formed in his eye.

  ‘I want to be with you for the rest of my life,’ he said.

  ‘I would really like that, James,’ Londuo replied.

  Their heads slowly edged closer. James kissed her and looked into her eyes. She smiled at him, and then they kissed passionately.

  James climbed nervously into the seatra. Kira jumped in and lay beside him.

  Yes, you know, don’t you? James thought, as he looked at Kira and then over at Londuo, who was strapping herself into her seat. Londuo looked back at James and smiled nervously.

  *****

  On the bridge of the Lonori, the final preparation for the attack on Dagnamk had just been completed. Isistia’s headset was patched into the ship to ship communication systems ready for her to make an announcement.

  ‘This is Executive Captain Isistia Hirniol.’

  She paused for a moment.

  ‘We are about to enter the space around Dagnamk to strike back at the Treitans for what they’ve done to us and many others. For some of you this is your first mission; for others we’ve stood shoulder to shoulder many times. I know, though, that one thing unites us all.’

  She paused again.

  ‘This is the biggest challenge any of us will ever face. But we have the belief that we can make a difference. We have the belief we can help those planets threatened by the Treitans. I know if we work together we will succeed! Your souls are strong, and I am honoured to be with you all today.’

  ‘The fleet reports ready,’ Adonti said in the background.

  ‘All ships power weapons!’ Isistia ordered. ‘May Atui be with you all!’

  The announcement finished.

  Isistia viewed an image of the fleet and its position in relationship to Dagnamk on a nearby monitor.

  ‘Commander, prepare to drop from light speed and reverse drives in sixteen seconds. I’m going to get as close as I can to Dagnamk.’

  ‘Ready, Captain,’ Adonti replied.

  Isistia waited, with her eyes fixed on the decreasing numbers displayed on the monitor.

  ‘Now!’ she ordered.

  The rapid deceleration, made the Lonori shudder and creak. Isistia looked at Adonti.

  ‘Tactical report?’

  Adonti viewed the scanners.

  ‘There are seven heavy cruisers and four destroyers in orbit around Dagnamk, two light cruisers and a destroyer near the smallest moon, Reig3.’

  ‘Damn, that’s far more ships then we expected,’ Isistia said.

  ‘Captain! They’ve seen us,’ Adonti said. ‘Four of the heavy cruisers orbiting Dagnamk are changing course and are now on an intercept vector.’

  ‘How long before they’re within firing range?’ Isistia said.

  ‘Seventy-two seconds,’ Adonti replied.

  ‘Time to Dagnamk?’

  ‘Two minutes, twenty-four seconds.’

  Isistia ordered all captains to take position for the attack formation and asked Adonti to deploy the frigates. Immediately, the Rellopila and Horopila moved ahead of the Lonori, and the Atenopila slowed.

  ‘The ships near Reig 3 are also turning towards us,’ Adonti said calmly. ‘They’ll be in range in forty-one seconds.’

  ‘Captain, the Treitan cruisers have launched their fighters,’ a lieutenant reported.

  ‘How long before we engage their lead cruisers?’ Isistia asked.

  ‘Thirty-two seconds,’ Adonti said and added, ‘Our frigates have cleared the bay.’

  ‘Launch our fighters!’ Isistia ordered.

  Isistia watched the fighters emerge smoothly from their bays on a nearby monitor. Once they cleared the ship their single drive ignited, before they turned and quickly moved ahead of the fleet.

  ‘The other Treitan heavy cruisers are now leaving Dagnamk. Fighters approaching,’ Adonti said.

  All seemed quiet for a second. Then, suddenly red and yellow laser lines filled the void ahead of the fleet.

  The Lonori defence batteries opened fire, pumping out shot after shot, tilting and turning rapidly, trying to hit the Treitan fighters. They destroyed one of the enemy fighters and barely had time to stop before they began targeting another.

  ‘All ships hold current speed!’ Isistia ordered.

  *****

  Londuo could see that Gulino looked troubled.

  ‘Are you all right?’ she asked him.

  ‘Yes, I’m worried about Frasin; she’s out there now,’ Gulino replied nervously. ‘I hope she’ll be okay.’

  ‘James, is it possible to see if Frasin’s all right, please?’ Londuo asked.

  James voice replied over the address system,

  ‘Yes, of course. Kalrea will put the view from the nose of Frasin’s fighter on the monitor in front of you. You’ll also be able to hear her squadron’s communications.’

  The Lonori had six fighter squadrons, each with six to eight fighters. Frasin’s fighter, code name Gamma Two, was part of one of those squadrons. The view from Frasin’s fighter appeared on the monitor in front of Gulino. Her squadron was just behind two Qinant frigates, which were rapidly approaching the lead Treitan cruiser.

  ‘Gamma fighters, form up! Watch your backs!’ the squadron lead ordered. ‘Keep behind the frigates for as long as possible. Prepare to target the enemy lead cruiser’s bridge and primary defences.’

  ‘Sir,’ Frasin said. ‘I have six… no, ten Treitan fighters coming from the port side… inclination twenty-three degrees.’

  ‘Gamma One, Two, Three, Six and Seven, break off and engage those fighters. All others prepare to attack the cruiser,’ the squadron leader ordered.

  The Qinant fighters split into two groups, and a shower of laser fire lit up the void. Suddenly the chaos started.

  ‘Sir, they’re everywhere,’ Gamma Eight reported.

  ‘We’re closing too fast,’ Gamma Four said.

  ‘Hold formation,’ the squadron leader ordered.

  ‘Gamma Six, you have one on your tail,’ the pilot of Gamma One shouted.

  ‘I have him, Gamma Six,’ Frasin said.

  ‘TARGET LOCKED.’

  Pulses of light from Frasin’s fighter aggressively followed the Treitan fighter, as it twisted and turned.

  ‘TARGET LOST.’

  ‘TARGET LOCKED.’

  Frasin’s fighter fired again, hitting the side of the Treitan fighter. It banked away but was struck again. It exploded.

  ‘Yes. Right, who’s next?’ Frasin’s adrenaline was pumping.

  ‘WARNING! ENEMY LOCK DETECTED. COUNTER MEASURES ACTIVATED.’

  ‘Damn,’ Frasin said.

  She looked back at the Treitan fighter closing fast.

  The drive pulsed and her fighter suddenly climbed and accelerated. A flash of light swept across its path.

  ‘ENEMY LOCK LOST.’

  Frasin’s fighter turned rapidly and she managed to target the pursuing Treitan fighter.

  ‘Got you!’ Frasin said, firing the rear multi-directional laser.


  The right drive of the Treitan fighter was blown apart. A plume of yellow plasma lit the fighter’s path as it spiralled away out of control.

  ‘WARNING! ENEMY LOCK DETECTED. COUNTER MEASURES ACTIVATED.’

  Frasin’s fighter twisted and dipped.

  ‘Where is it? I can’t see it!’ she said in a concerned voice.

  Suddenly, there was a sharp thud. Metal fragments pierced the cockpit, striking Frasin in the arm. She cried out in pain.

  ‘WARNING! HULL HAS BEEN COMPROMISED.’

  ‘STABILIZER FAILURE.’

  ‘DRIVE FAILURE.’

  ‘REACTOR BREACH. EJECTING!’

  ‘EJECTION SYSTEM FAILURE.’

  ‘WARNING! SIX SECONDS TO FATAL EXPOSURE.’

  Fire erupted in the cockpit.

  ‘Gamma Two ejecting—’ Frasin’s voice stopped abruptly, and the monitor Londuo and Gulino were watching suddenly went blank. There was a moment of stunned silence before Gulino said with urgency,

  ‘Did she eject?’

  ‘Yes,’ James replied. ‘Frasin’s all right, Gulino.’

  *****

  Treitan and Qinant ships were now in close combat. It was a tangle of lasers crossing from all directions, crashes, explosions and debris flying away.

  Isistia was completely focused now and addressing the fleet, ordered,

  ‘Target their lead ship. Fire at will!’

  ‘Incoming!’ Adonti shouted.

  A wave of plasma missiles hurtled from the Treitan cruisers. The Lonori banked rapidly and twisted, and the Horopila climbed steeply.

  ‘Captain, the other Treitan ships have changed course. They’re moving to the port side,’ Adonti said.

  ‘Commander! Watch those ships! Captain Keivom, move the Thardopila over to the port side of the Lonori.’

  ‘Captain, the Rellopila and Horopila have both taken hits,’ Adonti said. ‘The Horopila is reporting severe damage to the front plasma tubes, engineering and port stabilisers.’

  In the distance the lead Treitan cruiser was hit again. It started to rotate out of control; explosions erupted from its hull.

  ‘The Treitan ships off the port side are turning towards us.’ Adonti said. ‘Twelve seconds until they’re in range. The Thardopila and Beruopila are launching fighters— Incoming!’

  The Treitan ships advancing off the port side opened fire. Each of the Qinant ships took action to avoid the approaching plasma missiles.

  ‘All ships hold formation!’ Isistia ordered. ‘They’re trying to scatter us.’

  ‘Captain, the defence batteries are overheating,’ a lieutenant said.

  ‘Incoming!’

  ‘All stations prepare for impact!’ Isistia said.

  One of the defence batteries intercepted two of the missiles and another whistled harmlessly by the Lonori. Suddenly, a missile struck the side of the ship and it exploded with a deafening roar.

  ‘Damage crews, move to sections twenty-one and two!’ a lieutenant ordered.

  ‘Incoming!’

  ‘Commander, what’s the status of the Horopila?’ Isistia asked.

  The Lonori twisted again.

  Off to the port side, a Treitan light cruiser was hit by a volley of torpedoes from three frigates.

  ‘Captain, two Treitan heavy cruisers have just dropped from light speed, twenty thousand kilometres to starboard,’ Adonti said, looking over at Isistia.

  Isistia looked at a monitor.

  ‘They’re trying to outflank us— Time!’

  ‘One minute three seconds to primary target,’ Adonti reported. ‘Captain, the Horopila is in trouble, it’s slowing,’ Adonti said with concern.

  ‘Alter course,’ Isistia said with urgency. ‘Alpha and beta fighter squadrons, give the Horopila cover. Commander, lay down covering fire! Captain Gurlio, report!’

  Captain Gurlio of the Horopila appeared on the monitor.

  ‘We’ve lost all power to the drives… We’ve already taken seven hits on the port side… The ship can’t take much more of this.’

  Four missiles struck the Horopila rocking it, just then its event horizon drives restarted. It started to bank quickly away from more incoming missiles.

  ‘Captain Gurlio, get your ship out of there!’ Isistia said impulsively.

  An explosion on the bridge of the Horopila sent the command staff flying across the room. Captain Gurlio’s head hit the monitor. He slumped to the side and his body slid down the console. A large metal girder sliced across him. Suddenly, without warning, there was a massive explosion and a blinding flash. Sparkling debris moved across the void. The Horopila had gone.

  ‘AURORA CLEARED FOR DEPARTURE.’

  ‘Captain Brasdoi, we’re going to have to retreat,’ Isistia said.

  Two explosions rocked the bridge of the Lonori.

  ‘There are too many ships. We can’t afford to lose any more of our own. Good luck!’

  *****

  With a loud bang, the inner event horizon drives of the Aurora started and James heard a loud crack from each side of the ship, signally that the docking clamps had disengaged.

  ‘CLAMPING STATION FIVE RETRACTED.’

  With great speed and accuracy the Aurora quickly moved away from its clamping station and powered out through the Lonori’s open bay doors. Then, with a roar the Aurora spun towards Dagnamk. As it turned, James fired all front plasma tubes at a Treitan destroyer closing rapidly.

  Directly ahead of the Aurora were two enemy heavy cruisers.

  Straight down the middle, Kalrea! James thought.

  The Aurora’s front and rear lasers struck out at passing fighters.

  ‘FIVE INCOMING DIAMOND SPREAD.’

  ‘SIX INCOMING FLAT SPREAD.’

  The Aurora banked sharply away from one of the cruisers, but two missiles hit the underside of the ship, pushing it off course. James looked out the front of the ship. It was now heading directly towards the other enemy cruiser.

  ‘WARNING! COLLISION ALERT.’

  ‘FRONT PLASMA TORPEDOES GENERATED.’

  The Aurora was already too close to the Treitan cruiser.

  James watched in horror. Oh shit! he thought.

  The Aurora tried to twist and bank over the top of the cruiser but it was travelling too quickly. The edge of the Aurora crashed against the Treitan ship, and like a mighty sword striking its enemy, sliced through the hull of the cruiser. Air and debris escaped from the gaping wound left behind, and Treitan bodies blown into space, spun away in the wake of the ship.

  James looked back into the distance. The Qinant fleet had turned. Explosions erupting from the Rellopila lit the path of the retreating ships. He could see that the rear of the Thardopila was on fire and one of the Lonori’s port event horizon drives was flickering.

  The Aurora was now under heavy attack. Both its multi-directional lasers worked relentlessly to intercept the missiles.

  ‘SIX INCOMING!’

  James fired three rear plasma torpedoes at the incoming missiles. There were massive explosions behind the ship. Then, suddenly three more missiles came hurtling out of the fading plasma.

  ‘THREE INCOMING!’

  Like a stone thrown violently into a lake, the Aurora entered the Dagnamk atmosphere. The perusing missiles hit the atmosphere and detonated but did not cause any damage to the Aurora. The explosions obscured James’ view of the battle.

  *****

  Seeing the ground approaching rapidly Gulino grabbed the arms of his seat. He noticed Londuo looking across at him, worried. The Aurora strained to pull out of its dive and he could hear the drives desperately trying to slow the ship descent. Gulino held his breath and instinctively pulled upwards on his arm rests, as if it were possible for him to control the ship in some way. Through the seat, he could feel vibrations increasing in magnitude, caused by the ‘G’ force. The consoles in front of him started to shake.

  ‘WARNING! COLLISION ALERT.’

  *****

  On the bridge of the Lonori, Isistia was prepa
ring the jump to light speed.

  ‘Recall the frigates and fighters!’ Isistia ordered.

  ‘Captain, they’re still trying to recover the fighter pilots who ejected,’ a lieutenant replied.

  ‘Lieutenant, we’re out of time, so issue the recall. All ships jump to light speed when able.’

  Another explosion rocked the bridge.

  ‘Adonti, I need that drive online now!’

  Adonti was frantically communicating with engineering.

  ‘Captain, the enemy cruisers off the port side are closing fast!’ the lieutenant reported.

  All the destroyers except the Thardopila disappeared rapidly into the distance.

  ‘One minute! Engineering need one minute!’ Adonti said, looking anxiously over at Isistia.

  ‘But we don’t have a minute! That last explosion almost took us out.’

  Isistia hit the panel in front of her with a clenched fist.

  ‘Captain, the Thardopila; it’s turning!’ the lieutenant said suddenly.

  Isistia looked at a monitor.

  ‘Captain Keivom, I ordered you to get out of here!’ Isistia said angrily.

  ‘Sorry, Captain, I can’t hear you.’ Captain Keivom replied. ‘We’ll make them pay for their attack on Qintaino.’

  Isistia addressed the captain by his first name,

  ‘Regyio! Regyio!’

  But communications had been cut.

  Isistia watched the Thardopila powering towards the advancing Treitan ships and firing a volley of torpedoes. The Treitan cruisers targeted the lone ship and fired. She watched on while the Thardopila was hit relentlessly by plasma missiles, slicing it in two. The Thardopila was torn apart, dissected, until all that remained was the twisted skeleton.

  ‘Event horizon drives online, Captain,’ Adonti said.

  There was no response from Isistia; she just stood and looked at the remains of the Thardopila being pushed aside.

  ‘Captain!’

  Adonti tapped her gently on the shoulder. She jumped.

  ‘Get us out of here, Adonti!’

  The drives shook the ship, punching the Lonori into light speed.

  ‘Are they following?’ Isistia asked, concerned.

  ‘No, they’re turning away. They’re heading back to Dagnamk.’

  ‘I hope this is all worth it,’ Isistia said sadly, as she turned toward the door. ‘You have the bridge commander.’

  *****

  The Aurora finally levelled from its dive.