The Star Cross: The Forever War

by Raymond L. Weil

  The top section of another spindle-shaped cruiser exploded, and debris drifted away from the ship. Force beams played over the damaged vessel, ripping open compartment after compartment. The ship suddenly shook violently and blew apart.

  However, the Vorn fired back. The small defending Human fleet found itself under a horrendous attack. The battleship Mercury had a number of Vorn black spheres of annihilation attach themselves to its energy screen. The ship’s antimatter chamber seemed to howl as energy was drained away. Even as it lost power, the Mercury managed to take out two Vorn cruisers. Then her power failed, and the Mercury was struck by countless Vorn black antimatter beams. Moments later the Mercury ceased to be as it blew apart, sending glowing debris across space.

  -

  “We’ve lost the battleship Mercury and the battlecruisers Lexington and Swiftfire,” reported Lieutenant Vardes from Sensors. “We have other ships suffering major damage.”

  “The new shields are helping,” added Captain Scott. “But we’re just too badly outnumbered.”

  “Pull us back toward the defensive grid,” ordered Colmes. If he didn’t, he would lose his entire fleet. He would leave it to the Glaymons and Fleet Admiral Vickers to destroy the Vorn fleet. He would focus on defending Earth.

  “Admiral, the squadron of Newton battlecruisers hiding near the Moon are coming to our aid,” reported the communications officer. “Fleet Admiral Vickers is placing them under your command.”

  “That will help,” Colmes replied. “Captain Scott, place them in our fleet formation. We will still gradually withdraw toward the grid. We can use its firepower to hold back the Vorn and keep them pinned between our forces, the Glaymons, and Fleet Admiral Vickers.” Colmes winced as another one of his battlecruisers blew apart on the main viewscreen.

  -

  Kurt felt sudden relief as the large Glaymon fleet appeared around the Vorn.

  “I have Tasid on the comm,” reported Lieutenant Pierce. “He says his fleet is yours to command.”

  “Tell him to target the Vorn cruisers. We’ll use our battleships to take out the motherships.” With the appearance of three hundred more Glaymons ships, he now had the advantage in firepower.

  “Firing,” reported Lieutenant Mays as she fired the ship’s force beams and sent two five-hundred-megaton dark matter missiles slamming into a Vorn cruiser which promptly disappeared.

  Kurt looked at the viewscreens, seeing Vorn ships exploding throughout their formation as the Glaymons poured their superior firepower into the enemy fleet. “Move us closer to the motherships and prepare to fire a kinetic energy round into the nearest one.”

  “Zero-Point Energy round loaded and ready to fire,” Lieutenant Mays replied with a wicked look on her face. The Zero-Point Energy round was the most powerful weapon the Star Cross possessed.

  -

  Prince Caluume stood, frozen, staring at the viewscreens in disbelief. Fiery explosions filled his fleet formation as his cruisers were being blown into oblivion by the attacking fleets. This was not how he had expected this harvest to go.

  On one screen, an enemy energy beam penetrated the shield of a nearby cruiser, blowing an antimatter beam turret to shreds and blasting out a huge hole in the hull. A missile arrived next, and the viewscreens dimmed as the ship vanished in a blinding explosion.

  Dark matter warheads, confirmed Military Leader Jattal. Estimated yield is in the five-hundred-megaton range.

  “Five hundred megatons,” said Caluume, using his raspy voice. He was too shaken to use telepathy.

  We’re nearing the planet, added Jattal. Should we fire on its defensive grid?

  Before Caluume could reply, the mothership shook violently, the lights dimmed, and several consoles exploded in showers of sparks. Then the lights returned to normal. What was that?

  The Dreadgiver has been destroyed, replied the Vorn at Sensors.

  The Dreadgiver was one of the five motherships with the fleet.

  -

  “Vorn mothership destroyed,” reported Lieutenant Brooks.

  Kurt looked at the main viewscreen, showing a glowing cloud of debris where the massive ship had been.

  “The second Vorn fleet is dropping from hyperspace around Mars,” reported Aleea with deep concern in her voice. “They are already engaging the defensive grid around the planet.”

  “That’s why they were hanging back,” said Andrew, his eyes narrowing. “One fleet was aimed at Earth and the second at Mars. What do you want to do? They’re millions of people living on that planet.”

  Kurt quickly contacted Rear Admiral White. “Susan, take your fleet and the thirty Glaymon disk ships that came with my fleet and get to Mars. Stop that Vorn fleet at all costs!”

  “Yes, Admiral,” Susan responded. We’ll be gone in a couple of minutes.”

  “The defensive grid around Mars is suffering heavily,” Aleea reported as she used the ship’s sensors to monitor the furious battle around the red planet. “Seven of the defensive platforms have been taken out and the command and control station has suffered heavy damage. Correction, the command and control station has been destroyed.”

  “Tasid is sending fifty of his disk ships to Mars,” reported Lieutenant Pierce. “They’ll be there in two minutes.”

  “The mothership with that fleet has gone into orbit around the planet,” reported Aleea, her eyes fearful. “I can confirm the ship’s harvesting rays have been activated.”

  Kurt felt his heart stop. This couldn’t be happening! When the Star Cross shook, Kurt’s attention was brought back to the battle at hand, seeing several yellow lights appear on the damage control console.

  “Six antimatter missiles struck the shield,” Andrew reported as he checked his console.

  “Shield is holding at 92 percent,” added Lieutenant Mays.

  “We’ve got a few blown circuits near the outer hull,” said Andrew. “We’ll have them reset in a moment. Other than that, there was no damage.”

  Kurt looked at one of the tactical displays, which had been changed to show Mars. Tasid’s fifty disk ships had just appeared near the Vorn fleet. Moments later, Rear Admiral White and her fleet appeared as well. With a deep sigh, he knew it was up to them to save Mars. He turned toward Andrew. “Let’s finish off these Vorn. This battle has already gone on too long.”

  -

  Fleet Admiral Colmes had placed his fleet near the defensive grid. Already a number of the platforms were firing on the approaching Vorn fleet. The ten Newton battlecruisers had joined his ships, and he had immediately dispatched two of them to help protect the shipyard, which was coming under attack. Fortunately the shipyard had been updated and had two of the newly updated antimatter chambers. On a viewscreen, he could see several black antimatter beams striking the station’s shield with no effect.

  On the main screen, the image shifted to show more ships of his fleet. Direct energy projectors and defensive energy turrets fired nonstop. It had been discovered that, if either struck an inbound black energy sphere, the sphere would explode. The fleet was now laying down a heavy defensive weapons fire as numerous black spheres were targeting the fleet. The same was occurring with the shipyard.

  On the viewscreen, a dark matter missile struck the stern of a Vorn cruiser, and the ship immediately vanished in a fiery explosion.

  The Atlas shook violently, and Colmes was nearly thrown from his command chair. Warning alarms sounded, and a number of glaring red lights appeared on the damage control console.

  “Black antimatter beam penetrated our screen and stuck the hull just aft of engineering,” reported Captain Scott as she listened to the damage reports coming in. “Sublight drive has been damaged but is still operable. Several fires are out of control near the stern, and damage control teams have been dispatched. We have damage on several decks with six compartments depressurized.”

  Colmes nodded. “Keep me informed.”

  A bright flash of light suddenly lit up the viewscreens, causing them to dim automatically
. “What was that?”

  “We just lost the battlecruiser Jupiter,” reported Lieutenant Vardes, his voice strained. “Several of those black spheres managed to attach themselves to her energy screen. The screen failed, and a Vorn antimatter missile hit the ship.”

  “Defense grid is coming under heavy fire,” added Captain Scott. “We’ve lost three of the Class Two Orbital Defense Platforms.”

  This didn’t surprise Aaron. The Class Twos didn’t have the updated antimatter chambers or the stronger energy shields. He greatly feared this battle was a long ways from over.

  -

  Prince Caluume was determined to get his remaining motherships close enough to the planet to at least harvest some of the major cities detected on the planet which held tens of million of inhabitants.

  How many of those disk ships have we managed to destroy? He had ordered his fleet to concentrate its weapons fire on the ancient ships in the hope they could be forced back while the motherships harvested the planet.

  None, replied Military Leader Jattal. None of our weapons can penetrate their screens, and our black spheres of annihilation don’t seem to have any effect either.

  How many ships have we lost?

  Last count is 147.

  Prince Caluume switched his gaze to the ship’s main viewscreen. It showed the planet, and he could see bright flashes of light around it. They were receiving reports from the forward cruisers that some of the defensive platforms around the planet as well as the shipyard had weapons dangerous to Vorn ships. He now believed it had been a mistake to come to this system. Can we reach the planet to begin the harvest?

  Military Leader Jattal hesitated briefly and then responded. We can, but we will lose most of the fleet. There is also the danger of losing additional motherships. The weapon that destroyed the Dreadgiver was far more powerful than anything we have ever encountered before.

  What about Prince Lakat and his fleet?

  They have begun the harvest of the fourth planet, but a fleet of the ancients has jumped into orbit, and they are under increasingly heavy fire. Military Leader Dabbath reports they will have to withdraw shortly.

  Prince Caluume looked at the viewscreen. The food world was almost in reach, but he realized his fleet could not harvest it. Not if he wanted to have a fleet left when the harvest was over. Prepare the fleet to jump into hyperspace. Inform Prince Lakat to do the same. This system is too heavily defended, and we need to send word to Prince Brollen of the presence of ships of the ancient race.

  I will inform Prince Lakat and prepare the fleet to jump, Military Leader Jattal replied.

  Prince Caluume nodded. He wondered what the food pellets of this race would have tasted like.

  -

  “Vorn are powering up their hyperdrives,” Aleea said as she used the ship’s sensors to monitor the Vorn fleet. “They will jump out shortly.”

  Kurt gazed at the tactical display. Dozens of Vorn ships were disappearing as they were annihilated. He activated the ship-to-ship comm. “All battleships, the Vorn are preparing to jump out. Target the motherships with kinetic rounds and let’s see if we can take a few more out.” Enough of the Vorn spindle-shaped cruisers had been destroyed forming large gaps in their formation.

  “We’ve got them!” said Andrew, his eyes glowing with elation. “The ships of the Glaymons made all the difference. The Vorn are dividing their fire between too many ships. The absence of any Vorn battleships is preventing them from penetrating our energy screens.”

  Kurt nodded his agreement. The Vorn were unable to bring enough weapons to bear to knock down a ship’s energy shield. However, intense fighting was still occurring around Earth. Fleet Admiral Colmes had lost a number of warships, and the defense grid around Earth was suffering. Colmes’s ships didn’t have energy shields powered by Zero-Point Energy.

  “Targeting Vorn motherships with kinetic energy rounds,” reported Lieutenant Mays as she prepared to fire another Zero-Point Energy round. “I’ve synchronized our firing with our other battleships.”

  “Change the viewscreen to show the heart of the Vorn formation,” ordered Kurt.

  This was where the Vorn motherships were. Deep inside the now nearly shattered Vorn fleet.

  “Firing!” called out Lieutenant Mays as she pressed an icon on her computer screen.

  The Star Cross shook slightly, and, almost instantly on the viewscreen, massive explosions rocked the heart of the Vorn fleet. The center of the Vorn fleet erupted with fire like the explosion of a super nova.

  -

  The remaining four Vorn motherships were each hit by either one or two Zero-Point Energy rounds. Their shields became covered in brightness. The shields didn’t just fail, they simply ceased to be. The massive energy released by the rounds struck the hulls of the motherships, melting them and tearing them apart. In less than one second after the Zero-Point Energy reached the hulls of the motherships, miniature novas appeared, and then they joined together in one fiery conflagration. Space itself seemed to be on fire. Dozens of Vorn spindle-shaped cruisers too close to the blasts were annihilated by the massive release of energy. When the blasts faded away, nothing remained of the four Vorn motherships except a few wisps of glowing gas. Prince Caluume and his motherships were gone. Burned up in the inferno of energy released by the deadly projectiles.

  -

  Military Leader Renwarld stared in shock at the disaster that had just overwhelmed the motherships of the fleet. The fleet was in the process of jumping into hyperspace, but the motherships had waited too long. It was a sight he would never forget. The Vorn were the most powerful race in this universe, but, after what had just occurred, Renwarld wondered if that was still true. Jump us out now! he ordered. He would reform what was left of the fleet with Prince Lakat’s fleet. Perhaps, since Renwarld was the most senior military leader remaining in Prince Caluume’s fleet, he would be elevated in rank—with the approval of the Royal Court in the Conclave Habitat of course. Renwarld had demonstrated his devotion to the Queens often in the past. It just might be enough for him to come out of this disaster with the rank of a prince in command of a harvesting fleet.

  -

  “Vorn fleet is jumping out,” reported Captain Scott as she watched the tactical screen with relief in her eyes. “Earth was never attacked.”

  Aaron could scarcely believe it. They had held the Vorn just short of the planet. “What did we lose?”

  “It’s not good,” Scott replied as she turned toward the admiral. “We lost two battleships and eight battlecruisers.” She then gave him the ship names.

  Aaron winced. That was over half of his fleet. He had known a large number of the crewmembers on some of those ships. “What about the defensive grid?”

  “It was hit pretty heavily there toward the end,” Scott answered. “We lost nine of the Class Two Orbital Defense Platforms and one of the newly updated Class Ones. We also lost 114 of the orbiting defensive satellites.”

  “The two Command and Control Centers?”

  “The Class One escaped damage. However, the Class Two took a number of Vorn black antimatter beam strikes. It’s been evacuated, and we’ll have to assess the damage later to see if it’s repairable.”

  “Any damage to the shipyard?”

  “No, it came through untouched. The new upgrades protected it.”

  Aaron looked at another tactical display. This one showed Mars. The Vorn fleet around it was gone, but so were all the defensive platforms and most of the satellites. He greatly feared hearing what had happened at the red planet. He knew the news would be very bad.

  -

  The Star Cross dropped from hyperspace near Mars. Admiral White and the Glaymon disk ships were in low orbit, scanning the planet.

  “What’s the latest report?” asked Kurt over the comm to Rear Admiral Susan White. He knew the Vorn mothership had gotten close enough to the planet to activate its harvesting rays.

  “I’m sorry, Admiral,” Susan’s upset voice came over the comm.
“We didn’t get here in time. When we did, the Vorn had already blown a hole in the planet’s defenses, and the mothership was in low orbit with its harvesting rays activated. They managed to harvest nearly one third of the planet before we forced them to break off and leave. Current estimates indicate they took nearly four million of the inhabitants of Mars with them.”

  Kurt felt as if he had been kicked in the stomach. Four million taken as food for the Vorn. Kurt’s anger grew at what the Vorn had done to Mars. For the first time since the war with the Vorn began, Kurt realized the Vorn didn’t just need to be stopped; they had to be exterminated!

  Chapter Seventeen

  High Protector Vormalt of the Protector World of Zumwald scanned the latest reports of Vorn activity in nearby systems. Many of the Enlightened Worlds which Zumwald was responsible for defending had been harvested by the Destroyers of Worlds. In desperation, he had ordered all of Zumwald’s fleets to pull back from the remaining Enlightened Worlds. It was hopeless defending the worlds as it spread Zumwald’s fleets too thin. All he could hope for was to save Zumwald and a few of its colonies. The fleets had been repositioned in the system of Zumwald and its four largest colony systems. Defense grids had been drastically strengthened, and fleet production ramped up to maximum. The people of Zumwald were humanoid. They resembled Earth Humans in form except their height was shorter and their ears more pointed.

  “I don’t know,” Vormalt said to Low Protector Caatler, his second in command. “Even after all we’ve done, it might not be enough. Only the Lakiams and the Andocks have managed to defeat the Destroyers of Worlds.”

  “Perhaps they’ll answer our call for help,” said Caatler.

  “I doubt it.” Vormalt sighed, folding his arms across his chest. “They have their own worlds to defend.” He paused before asking his next question. “How soon before the Destroyers of Worlds come for us?”

  “Soon,” Caatler answered. “They only have a few more Enlightened Worlds to harvest, and then they will turn the might of their fleets against us. We’ll give a good accounting of ourselves, but we’re too outnumbered. In the end, even our worlds will fall and be harvested.”