“Commander,” the Lieutenant turned from the collection of sensor personnel and faced the center of the bridge. Rilgiff turned, his uniform emblazoned with the new rank insignia of Captain. “We have been scanned by tachyon beams. I do not believe that they are as accurate as our current TCI mode, but they may be highly functional.”
“Send two wings,” Rillgif turned back to face the front of the bridge, looking directly at Lieutenant of Flight Commands, “Shift and engage.”
“Commander,” the sensor command said again, “we have targets engaged and moving toward us at point five C. They are leapfrogging the barrier by a series of gravity disturbances. I cannot explain.”
“Establish a link with the Sciences section. Have them examine your readings.”
“Aye,” he said, mimicking a human word, a response they heard on their ships all the time.
“Contact bearing X three thousand and Z four thousand,” the operator from the weapon station yelled loud enough for Rilgiff to hear.
“Engage shields and turn to fire.” The star field moved, but no motion was felt. The view on the screen changed. An intricate hexagon layout filled the black background. New Haven appeared as a detailed icon. The computer generated an accurate icon from the sensor data. They moved across the hex-plane with numbers indicating their Z bearing relative to the New Haven. Three new targets appeared on the screen to the New Haven's aft. An asterisk appeared from each acquired target and travelled, rapidly, toward the New Haven.
“A controlled, contained, energy burst, Commander,” the sensor command said.
“Fire beams,” Rilgiff said calmly. He was controlled, his heart threatened to burst in his ears. He wasn't sure if the crew could see it. They seemed calm. He felt unworthy, felt as if a favor had been granted him by Rigaar.
On the large screen thin lines instantly appeared stretching from the New Haven to each target. The New Haven's position moved. The acquired target's maneuvered, slower than their larger adversary.
An asterisk entered the hex that the New Haven occupied. An explosion was thinly heard coming from the walls.
“Number five shield generator is destroyed, Commander,” the Lieutenant from Damage Control Station turned to face Rilgiff. “We have ancillary damage to landing bays fifteen through twenty-nine. I am securing those areas.”
Rilgiff nodded. Lines flew from New Haven to the targets. Two of them vanished from the board.
“Bring us to the barrier and give a wide circle,” Rilgiff leaned forward, caressing his long nose. “Target with missiles and fire.”
“Aye,” came the reply from Weapon's Command.
From non-existence came one hundred twenty five ships. They surrounded the large battlestation. From each ship streaked a single missile. From existence exited one hundred twenty five ships. Each missile accelerated toward the barrier. From the station curled a thin laser beam. Eighty five of the missiles executed their warheads, and vanished in their destruction.
A sphere surrounding the base grew opaque with the impact of the remaining missiles as the invisible shield grew visible. They gleaming blue planet below watched the shields hold, and the base survive.
TCI scans showed a group of twenty five ships at a distance of ten parsecs. The battleship Elias was floating immobile in empty space. The captain puffed on his pipe. Smoke flowed freely from his mouth and wafted up toward the ceiling, disappearing through a vent. He studied the tactical display, wondering why so many ships waited in empty space. The nearest system had no inhabitable planets. He knew of staging maneuvers. He imagined Japanese troops landing in Manchuria to stage against the Soviets. The last great war of equals on Earth. They failed, but old planning and shortsightedness was not going to be his downfall. He had studied the concept of war for many years, he understood. He smiled.
“Number One,” he sucked deeply on his pipe and exhaled a cloud of white smoke. The tobacco was Indian, heavy and a slow burn. He knew it annoyed most others, but this was his ship.
“Sir,” the younger man sat at attention in his chair next to the Captain's.
“Program a salvo of torpedoes and launch.”
“Aye, sir.” He pressed touch keys near his armrests and his commands were followed by the weapons station.
Ten parsecs, thirty-three light years, past by in a few seconds. The flash blinded the sensors. When the area cleared there were no ships.
“Orders sir,” the first officer asked.
“Wait,” he puffed again. “More will come.”
The Earth Union Space Force ship EUS Constitution flubbed her coil and phased to just below C. Her main hull was a flat half circle with a long boom stretching from her center aft. The boom was the full combination of reactor, pusher and coil. It was not standard, stacking them one on top of another to make what equaled two separate engines in one boom.
The EUS Constitution was a Spruance class Assault Carrier, designation CVA twenty three. She carried two squadrons of fighters, twenty five ships per squadron.
She turned in a slow arc, changing her vector from perpendicular and aimed toward the binary stars in the distance. Both were young and had no planets surrounding them, only an orbital plane filled thick with gas and dust, cluttered with rocks growing from microscopic to just over half a meter in diameter. Near the suns they scanned a single ship, the intervening debris a veil that burned away under the scrutiny of a TCI scanner. IFF identified the saurian vessel, some Earth ships had encountered them before. This one changed vector and accelerated out system at point seven C.
Both squadrons emerged from their parent ship, spurting from their launching bays. They sped out ahead of the larger ship and positioned themselves in an attack formation, forming two rows each shaped like an arrowhead pushing through to the enemy vessel. Their electromagnetic shields pushed the debris away as a prow in the water.
These fighters were too small to carry an anti-matter reactor. At the aft end of the narrow vehicles extended three large, relative to the fighter, cylinders, each a fusion pack, cold fusion pods set in the center of the tube. In turn, the cylinders, as a joined group, were connected to a large square, the warplane's pusher plate.
The single pilot rode in a pressurized cockpit set on top of the long, narrow nose, shrouded in a contained gravity field in order to reduce the stresses he had to endure. No more than one standard gravity was exerted on the pilot in any direction.
The skin of the whole thing was a polymer, capable of withstanding the stress of pusher accelerations and the heat of reentry. The glass of the cockpit was made from the same material as the skin, only altered to be transparent yet offer radiation and light protection.
Two sets of wings stretched from the body of the warplane just foreword of the engine. One pair, the larger pair, were perpendicular to the axis of the body and capable of being folded against the warplane's frame. The other pair of wings struck upward at opposing angles each forty five degrees from the whole of the craft.
Ringing the bottom of the single-seater were two rows of short pusher missiles. The warhead of each contained a single proton and anti-proton held isolated. Stacked behind the six-pack lay two larger missiles. The warhead of this one was solid with a depleting uranium core. Enveloping the plates of this larger missile is its own coil, giving it the ability to traverse the barrier.
The fifty fighters flew at the single saurian ship, pushing their limit and stopping at point nine C. The Constitution followed behind holding her velocity down to point seven C, matching the speed of the alien battle cruiser.
The saurian ship turned and dashed at the larger group, pushing herself up to point eight five C. At a distance of ten light hours from the fighter group three large spheres, each five meters in diameter, discharged from her underbelly. Space ripped open and the pods continued through the well and exited a few meters before the EUS Constitution.
The fighters spread their formation, breaking into wings of two ships each. They sped, pushing their planes beyond their t
olerances, burning out their reactors, running from the shock wave that undulated out from the exploding spheres.
Fabric of space ripped open a vortex just beyond the nose of the saurian ship. She dropped her speed to point five C and entered the maelstrom. The field collapsed after and left behind fifty motherless sub light craft in an empty binary system.
Six ships of the Earth Union Space Force floated between the two giant suns of the trinary system, their shields on full power. TCI scan detected a shift disturbance. They targeted torpedoes and fired, the slim missiles edging out at FTL acceleration. A flash blinded the first three ships. The aft six detected heavy gravity fluxes and turned. Three ships emerged, larger than each of the Earth ships, and maneuvered with pulse beams proceeding them. The beams impacted the shields of the Earth ships, erupting in the heaves of energy. The humans returned fire with their beams.
The first three turned and maneuvered to fire torpedoes. They detected shift disturbances and altered orders to turn and face the new threat.
Three Saurian ships penetrated the shields and erupted one of the Earth vessels. Shift disturbances held and nothing appeared.
A second Earth ship disintegrated under the fire of the Saurian vessels. The first three Earth ships turned and added their fire. One of the Saurian ships veered from the others and exploded numerous times. The first two vanished.
Remaining Earth ships grouped into a diamond formation. Fire came from their aft. The two remaining Saurians ships had reappeared. Another Earth ship rocked and vanished in a spray of subatomic particles.
The remaining Earth ships opened fire with their beams. Space wavered before the two Saurian ships. A rift opened and they warped into it. The rift closed.
Brandon awoke from a blackened sleep to a dull ache in his left upper arm. He rolled into a ball and cradled the arm. His eyes blurred and then slowly focused. The first figure he saw was the pale rubbery skin of a Pyrinni. The small mouth parted and heavy words came out. He fought panic. Another figure moved into view, furred with grey streaks. He had seen the Reggfs before and knew what to expect. But his fear grew. Their mouths moved and the Reggf wrapped his left arm in an inflatable sleeve. Its hands were gentle. He looked into its eyes, soft and watery. He tried to see behind the figures but couldn't.
“Do not move, Captain,” he heard the words in his head, another reggf behind the pyrinni smiled at him. “Your life depends upon us. I will explain later.” The Reggf pulled Brandon to his feet and moved him to a low cot that was floating in the air.
A giant figure moved into view. Its form was hideous. Its bulk of demonic size. He had seen pictures of the Saurians before, but they were lacking in a lot of detail. This one was up close and terrifying, a true monster.
The Pyrinni and the Reggf were talking to the monster. He closed his eyes. In his mind he saw the old pictures from history. He saw the camps from the Nineties. He forced the image from his mind. First mission: escape. The thought was accompanied by an almost audible sigh. He knew it impossible. The next order was survival. Would he be interrogated? He cycled through the information that he had. Other than technical data he didn't know much. They had no outposts that he knew of. They had no resupply ports, they really didn't need any. He knew the location of his rendezvous point. But that would have been changed when the outcome of the battle was known. He choked back and forced his body to untighten. He was dead. He knew of no other recourse. Capture and Evasion training were totally inadequate. When he opened his eyes he noticed he was moving.
The hallways were large. He felt moving air rush past. They turned and entered a closed in room. He was almost too afraid to look around. An old black and white movie came to mind, humans dissected for science. He almost laughed when he discovered it was a lounge.
“Relax, Captain,” the words came to his mind again.
The Pyrinni injected him with something and he found his body loosening. He looked about the room, noticing that the chairs were not designed for the giant beasts.
“I will tell you of the way,” the reggf's mouth did not move. “You are a Leader, and as such are entitled to earn your place in open combat. We have been explaining to our Leaders that you will not understand.”
“My ship,” Brandon croaked out, “my men?”
“They have escaped. Having you there was no need to collect them.”
“Good.”
“Why do you fight?” the voice asked.
“Why?” Brandon asked, leaning up onto his good elbow. His head swam and he laid back down again rapidly. “For our own protection.”
“You have not been threatened.”
“We fight in defense of your people and their people,” Brandon nodded to the Pyrinni.
“You fight at the behest of others?” the voice grew more powerful in his mind. A headache began to grow.
“Yeah,” Brandon looked to the ceiling, “I guess so.”
The Reggf and the Pyrinni spoke between them for a while. Brandon grew weary and found himself dozing off. His situation wasn't that bad. In fact, he felt pretty good.
“Damn fine pain killer,” he mumbled and passed out.
Ground Captain John Soussa blew his nose. He squeezed and jerked back and forth before wiping the running snot from his mustache. Nobody watched him. He and his thirty men sat in the drop sled that was sandwiched between the engine and the control cabin of the saucer. The timer on the wall was large with red LCD numbers flashing down every tenth of a second. They had little time left.
During an earlier attack one of the ships launched a coil probe through this system. It was suspected that the saurians were using it as a depot and the probe confirmed it. Five battle cruisers and an orbital station orbited the depot responsible for rearming their warships. His team was going to blow up the depot. This was in conjunction with an attack on a system four parsecs away. The force orbiting the world was expected to pull away, leaving the orbital station open to attack and his team a way off the planet once they had completed their mission. That's how they planned it.
Soussa leaned back in his uncomfortable chair. He felt miserable. He tried to go to sick-call but they wouldn't let him. Med-scan showed all he had was a cold. His CO looked at him like he was a coward. So, Soussa decided he didn't have to go to sick-call and ignored it. Now he had a fever with body aches, diarrhea and phlegm coming up from his lungs in bright yellow chunks. He wanted to go home, he wanted to be an accountant.
Yellow flashed across everyone's faces and the light changed. The countdown number showed they were about to shift back. They all readied themselves, charged their pressure suits and strapped in. The counter fell and hit zero.
The saucer shifted back into continuance just above the stratosphere. The center portion shot out, speeding to the ground. The drive section exploded, blinding everything and rocking the drop pod violently. The unmanned cabin section pushed itself out into orbit on old-style reaction drives, hydrogen and oxygen rockets.
A beam pierced the sky and blew up the drive section. A number of beams burned through the area the drive section flashed in.
Soussa's radiation label turned red. He looked to his men, theirs was the same color. Great. He had to go on a mission sick and he was exposed to a lethal dose of radiation. This was not his day.
The drop pod hit the ground. The walls fell away. The men unhooked themselves and grabbed their equipment. They fled into the surrounding area. It was rocky and rough. It would be very difficult to pick them up on sensors in an area with so many divergent angles.
Soussa checked his watch. The diversionary attack should have begun already. He looked to the sky, a bleak brownish hazy thing that blocked visibility beyond a few hundred meters.
“This way, Captain,” Sergeant Hogdson pointed with his hand holding the inertial locator.
They hiked across the rough terrain, each man continually expecting a beam from the sky to blow them all up. They humped for just over three kilometers and over two hours.
Be
fore them they saw a low dome set on a flat plateau. They could see other domes, number a total of five set around the first. They dropped to their bellies and watched the compound before edging closer.
They reached the wall of one of the outer domes and walked around until they spotted a door.
“We blow it up now?” one of the men asked.
“No,” Soussa said. He leaned against the wall, his head swimming. “We have to go inside.”
Sergeant Hogdson turned a lever and the door opened. The whole unit piled into the enormous air-lock and closed the outer door. Hogdson went to the opposite wall and opened the inner door. The outer door began closing automatically. They waited until the inner door opened and then entered the hallway.
It was very large, over four meters tall and three meters wide. They checked the hand sensor and found the power source. They moved quietly, and undisturbed, until they came to the door that the power source lay behind.
“It's too easy,” Hogdson said.
“It's not over yet, Sarge,” Corporal Fokes readied his beamer rifle.
“Do it,” Soussa motioned to the door. One of the men turned the lever and the door slowly slid open.
A giant sat at a console with its back to them. Another was to their left front. These things were huge. The men didn't think, they immediately opened fire, destroying the whole room. The group of men entered and closed the door behind them.
“Plant the charges,” Soussa ordered and his men began working, wandering about the chamber, and sticking explosive parcels onto the giant sphere that dominated most of the enormous room. Soussa recognized it, an anti-matter reactor. It was just like the pictures he had seen.
The door to their right opened onto an empty hallway. A figure stepped into view, a much smaller figure. It was one of the reggfs. Soussa smiled.
“Hey,” one of his men triggered his speaker mike, “we're here to rescue you.” Soussa could see him grinning, stretching his hand out to the alien.
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