The Euclidian: Unforeseen Alliance

by Jay Cannon

  After graduating from college, Phoebe and her brothers joined the military for the opportunity to fight. Except for small skirmishes there wasn’t much fighting on her planet until the Alphas showed up.

  The Deltas first met the Alphas when they received a distress call from the Euclidians, an advanced species that showed up in orbit around their planet. They setup formal relations with the Euclidians, who seemed to be a friendly species. The Euclidian were the only alien species the Deltas had come into contact with until they engaged the Alphas in battle above the home planet of Euclidia. The Euclidians were near defeat until the Deltas came to their aid.

  “This is going to be the first test of our alliance,” started the air wing commander. “It is my understanding that the Euclidian are under attack by a race called the Alphas. They had an alliance with them and they just launched an unprovoked attack against the Euclidian. The Euclidian don’t really have a space-based military. They were using their resource extraction vessels to hold off the Alpha fleet. They only have one left and they are sending it here to open up a portal for us to fly through back to their home planet to assist them. I need everybody to be patient and on the alert as we wait for the portal to open. Once the portal opens I want all birds launched and attack anything smaller than their resource vessel.”

  “Lieutenant Phoebe Asten ready to deploy. Armament is activated and all systems are go.”

  “Hey little sis. Be patient,” Phoebe’s brother came across into her headset. “You’ll get more action than you can stand in just a few moments.”

  “Have you ever seen an Alpha or their ships?” Phoebe asked.

  “Yes, I was on a detachment with our two brothers and saw a few while on leave. They are pretty puny and don’t seem that tough at all. They only had diplomatic vessels in the area when I was there so I don’t know what their military capabilities are.”

  “How are our brothers doing?”

  “They’re fine. They’re squadron was assigned to battleship 5. We may not even see any action if that portal never opens.”

  “Trust me, if they conquer the Euclidians the Alphas will be coming for us next.”

  “Why would they want to attack us?”

  “Why would they want to attack the Euclidians?” Phoebe asked.

  “Listen up squadrons. This is your air wing commander speaking. The portal is open and some of the Alpha ships came through with the Euclidian resource ship. Battleship 6 is going to launch its squadrons to take care of the Alpha ships. The rest of us are going to follow the Euclidian ship back to its home base. As soon as our battleship gets through to the other side we are going to be launching all squadrons. We will be joining battleships 1 and 3 to clear the area above Euclidia of enemy vessels. Battleships 4 and 5 will be going after the Alpha ground troops.”

  “Commander, this is Lieutenant Phoebe Asten. Is our mission to disable or destroy the Alpha ships? Also, should we go after their escape pods?”

  “We don’t know what disablement means when it comes to their ships. Our mission is to destroy as many as we can and that is what I expect you to do to the best of your ability. Ignore the escape pods. They’ll be landing on the planet where squadrons from battleships 4 and 5 can address them as needed.”

  ***

  “Squadron commanders, this is the battle group commander. We are exiting the portal into Euclidian space. You have your battle plans. It is important that you stay focused and take out the Alpha vessels with impunity. Euclidian freedom is at stake, and quite possibly ours if we fail here. Don’t fail! That is all.”

  “Okay squadron 176, this is your commander speaking. Remember what you learned in training. Stick close to your wingman and don’t leave our designated area of engagement. We are fourth in line to deploy. Follow my lead and stay focused. Deployment has started. Start your engines. Prepare to engage the enemy. Here we go! Fight with honor pilots!”

  One by one the pilots rolled their fighters into the chutes and launched into space. Phoebe being one of the junior pilots took her vessel to the starboard side and just to the rear of her lead pilot.

  “Phoebe, let’s clear the three Alpha fighters to our starboard side. I’ll lock onto the first one and you grab the second one. We’ll regroup on the third,” said Joss.

  “Got it Joss. I have a lock on the second vessel and firing.”

  “The first one is down and I’m going after the third.”

  “Joss, I’ve taken out my target and now there are two Alphas approaching from above. I’ll break away and engage them. You can reconnect once you have finished off the one you are after.”

  You Alphas have lots of vessels, but they don’t maneuver very well, thought Phoebe. Oh no!

  “Joss, I was hit from my blind side. I took out one of the new vessels, but I was hit before I could get the second one and the third has a lock on me.”

  “Not anymore,” stated Joss. “I took it out, now you get that last one.”

  “One second. Wait for it. And kaplooey.”

  “Great shot. It appears that their shields are no match for our weapon systems, at least in initial attacks. Let’s rejoin our squadron and continue the cleanup of our sector.”

  “I’m with you leader,” replied Phoebe.

  “Within two hours of entering Euclidian space the Alpha ships were all taken out. The ground troops were still fighting back. The Alphas had reinforced bunkers that were impenetrable to the Alpha and Euclidian forces. After several attacks they were not able to stop them from sending their plasma blasts off into the Euclidian cities.

  “General, our artillery and the Delta ships are having very little impact on the Alpha bunkers. Unless we can take them out, millions of people will continue to be killed,” reported a field commander.

  “Commander,” replied the general, “focus on getting our people to shelters. Use our weapons to try and neutralize the Alpha blasts before they strike. Tell the Deltas to do the same. Communications, connect me with the Waldwick, our remaining resource ship.”

  “On screen general.”

  “Commander, this is General Lapsik. I’m leading the military effort against the Alphas. Great job on holding off the Alphas and getting the Delta fighters here. But now if we don’t do something quick we are going to be forced to surrender or watch most of our citizens get obliterated. I want you to launch all of your mining vessels and start creating trenches deep below the enemy bunkers. There are ten enemy bunkers deployed. I’ll send you the coordinates now.”

  “Coordinates received general. I’m sending four vessels to each site. Plus I have an idea that our Delta friends can help us with.”

  “Roger that commander. Keep me posted.”

  “Ambassador Parlo, I need you to speak to your squadron commanders. I need your vessels to fire on these ten coordinates when I give the command.”

  “I would be happy to,” replied the Delta ambassador, “but we haven’t had too much success so far penetrating their bunkers.”

  “I understand, but I want them to try something different. On my command I want them to attack the bases using heat-generating weapons if possible.”

  “Our vessels can be configured in that manner as needed. Let me contact our fleet admiral and get the message to him.”

  “Much respect ambassador.”

  “Fleet admiral, this is Ambassador Parlo. Could you have your fleet breakoff their attack on the Alpha bunkers and have their weapons systems configured to fire heat blasts?”

  “Certainly ambassador, but I don’t see how that will have an effect.”

  “The Euclidians are executing a plan that will need those heat-generating weapons. I will send you the coordinates to the ten bases that they want attacked and let you know when to commence the attack.”

  “Go ahead and send the coordinates ambassador. I’ll contact the fleet and let them know what they need to do. Battle groups 4 and 5, break off your land-based attacks. Have your squadrons equip their vessels for heat blasts. Battle group
4 here are your coordinates for the five Alpha bases you will be attacking. Battle Group 5 here are your attack coordinates. I will alert you when I need the attack to begin.”

  Five minutes later Battle Group 4 responded. “Fleet admiral, this is Battle Group 4. Our squadrons are configured and standing by for your orders.”

  “Battle Group 5 is ready as well admiral.”

  “Status received. Standby for the attack order,” replied the admiral.

  “General Lapsik, this is the resource vessel Waldwick. Our mining vessels have been deployed and digging below the bunkers seems to be working. The Alpha bunkers have sunk at least fifty meters into the ground and are sinking deeper.”

  A loud cheer went up in the command center.

  “No time for cheers yet everyone,” stated the general. “They are still able to fire on our cities from where they are. We need to execute part two of our plan. Have all your mining ships expel metallic minerals into the holes above those enemy bunkers. I want those holes full to the top right away. Let’s get this job done!”

  Three minutes later all mining vessels reported in complete with their tasks.

  “Ambassador, have your ships attack now,” requested the general.

  “Fleet admiral, this is Ambassador Parlo. Attack now.”

  “Battle Groups 4 and 5 attack now,” ordered the admiral.

  The squadron vessels attacked the ten enemy bunkers that were now covered in deep piles of metallic minerals and unable to fire their weapons. Under the heat from the blasts the piles became molten metal that engulfed the Alpha bunkers cooking their inhabitants. The bunkers finally fell silent.

  “Joss, you see that,” stated Phoebe. “By working together we were able to defeat those bastards”

  “You can say that again Phoebe. Time to head back”

  “I’m with you Joss.”

  “General Lapsik, it’s over,” stated the ambassador. “The Alphas have been cooked inside their bunkers by the molten metal. Once it cools it will be large blocks of metal. What should we do with them?”

  “I’m sure the Alphas will want their men returned for proper burial, so have them beamed to the Alpha home planet a couple of kilometers above their capital city. Let’s make an event of it. Four days from now at high noon. And I want this televised!”

  Phoebe returned home with her squadron a decorated war hero. Soon after they returned the military was expanded and the practice maneuvers increased in preparation for a war with the Alphas that might come and come it did.”

  ***

  “Joss, tell me what you heard.”

  “It’s not good Phoebe. A swarm of Alpha fighters came out of nowhere and destroyed Battleships 1, 3 and 4 before they could fire a shot. They were sitting ducks in base. The Alphas have obviously upgraded their weapons systems.”

  “The crew was able to escape right?”

  “No Phoebe, none of them made it off the ships.”

  “My brothers? Nothing from my brothers?” Phoebe demanded tearing up.

  “Nothing Phoebe. Some of the crew was off the ship on leave, but your brothers were not among them. Get your head together Phoebe. We have the battle of our lives ahead of us. It seems their ships are faster and able to penetrate our shields. We’re just lucky we were out on maneuvers or our battleship may have been destroyed. Get to your fighter, we need to take off soon.”

  “You don’t have to tell me twice. I’m ready to kill those bastards.”

  The two took off with their squadron to no avail. One by one the battleships and squadrons were taken out by the Alpha’s more advanced firepower. Phoebe was able to take out three Alpha ships before having her ship disabled. She beamed to safety before her ship was totally destroyed. There were too many Alpha ships and troops for the Alphas to repel them. By the time the Euclidian ships showed up it was too late to save the Deltas from annihilation.

  The Deltas surrendered and the Euclidian agreed to a truce with the Alphas to end their attack on the Deltas. In less than two days the Alphas were able to beat the Deltas into submission.

  “What do you mean we surrendered?!” Screamed Phoebe at her squadron commander. “We haven’t even put up much of a fight yet.”

  “Phoebe, there is no one left to put a fight. All of our battleships have been destroyed, our space stations are all gone and they killed the entire population of our moon. The few fighters we have left across this sector are not enough to successfully engage the hundreds of fighters they have in the air above us. Remember the ten bunkers they had on Euclidia that killed millions of the Euclidians? There are twenty-five on our planet waiting to put us out of existence.”

  “What about the Euclidians?”

  “We would all be dead before they got here. They signed a truce with the Alphas agreeing not to attack them if they agreed to end their violence against us.”

  “You know my last brother and Joss were killed when we went to fight them.”

  “Phoebe, you should be checking on the remainder of your family and forget about trying to attack the Alphas.”

  “I can’t get through to anyone. The communications are down.”

  “You’ll have to wait until they come back online. For now you are restricted to your barracks. Any military personnel caught off base will be killed on sight.”

  “So we save the Euclidians from extinction and they turn their back on us. And all we can do is cower at those weak bastards.”

  “Phoebe, go to your quarters and cool off. There is nothing more you can do here.”

  “You mean there is nothing more you will let me do.”

  “Dismissed Lieutenant Asten.”

  “As you wish commander,” replied Phoebe saluting the commander and then heading to her quarters. I will make them pay for this attack. My brothers’ deaths will not go unavenged, said Phoebe under her breath.

  Phoebe would have to wait to seek her revenge against the Alphas. Soon after the surrender all Delta military personnel were imprisoned as war criminals. During Phoebe’s five-year imprisonment life on Delta changed drastically. The alphas took over control of all government and law enforcement activities. Delta citizens were relegated to subservient roles. Business owners were allowed to keep their businesses, though they were heavily taxed.

  The Euclidian attack on the Alphas that destroyed their home planet pushed a lot of refugees to move to Delta. Deltas were imprisoned and killed in order to make room for the immigrating Alphas. Phoebe was happy to hear about the attack. Unfortunately, it did not make life any better for the Deltas.

  When Phoebe was finally released the only job she could get that suited her experience was being a bodyguard for wealthy businessmen. She attempted to join a resistance movement, but the Alpha’s surveillance mechanisms made that all but impossible. So Phoebe saved her money and quietly told people to wait for the revolution to come. “So many people cannot continue to bend to the will of so few,” Phoebe reminded people

  One fateful day while protecting a client with a couple of other colleagues, they were ambushed by some hoodlums looking to make some quick dough. Everyone in her group was killed and she found herself looking down the barrel of a gun from the last surviving member of the attackers. Before the assailant could pull the trigger he was killed by a Euclidian resource ship captain.

  The ship’s captain turned out to be Chaell Shisal. Since Phoebe owed this stranger her life and was coincidentally unemployed, she decided to go with him and become his bodyguard. It would get her off her occupied planet and hopefully make her some money that she could use towards the revolution she often thought of.

  “Phoebe!” Chaell shouted. “Are you coming in the water or are you going to just stare into space?”

  “Coming Chaell,” Phoebe shouted back at him. She pushed her thoughts of the revolution into the back of her mind, stripped off her clothes and jumped into the water.

  Chapter 31

  Yoyo foils the Attack

  “That command is used to initiate a
self-destruct mechanism,” Commander Filo replied to Yoyo looking frightened.”

  “Go ahead and set it to destroy the ship in six minutes,” Yoyo commanded.

  “That will kill us along with the Alpha ship,” replied Commander Filo entering the command.”

  “I think it is a small price to pay to save the lives of millions of people.”

  Command accepted. The ship will self-destruct in six minutes.

  “Is there anything you want to talk about your last six minutes of life commander?” Asked Yoyo.

  “I want you to stop this foolishness and let me finish my mission,” replied Commander Filo his face full of fear.

  “I’m afraid I can’t do that Kenyon. We can be on a first name basis now that we are dying together right?”

  “I don’t want to die. At least not now. Not like this.”

  “Trust me. This isn’t the way I had planned to go either. I was just starting to enjoy my job on the Adele. I thought this whole ambassador position was real. You just used me and my people to get back at the Euclidians.”

  The ship will self-destruct in five minutes.

  “Please stop this madness. There is no reason to destroy the ship. You can just take us back to the ship and have me arrested.”

  “No one would believe me. As a high ranking officer you could have me killed for treason or some other made up offense and hatch your plan with some other unsuspecting Magi. Maybe you have a backup plan in place already in case you were unable to get this shuttle.”

  “Then why bother blowing us up? Just have me land us on Euclidia or take you back to Tammaria.”

  “Because at least I will have two ships and a mastermind out of the way and unusable by the Alphas.”

  “Yoyo listen to reason..”

  The ship will self-destruct in four minutes.

  “..I could make you very rich. I could make your people wealthy beyond your wildest dreams.”

  “That’s the whole point Kenyon. We don’t dream of being rich or taking over the world or ever hurting anyone for personal gain.”