-
Voltrex Fleet Commander Zolmar stood, observing the battle on the viewscreens and the tactical displays. On one of the viewscreens, the four-hundred-meter-long support ship Starhold was being torn apart by Trellixian energy beams. In a sudden explosion the bow blew off the ship. A Trellixian fifty-megaton fusion missile detonated, sending the small ship into oblivion.
“The Starhold is down,” reported the sensor officer. “No survivors.”
“Tighten our formation,” ordered Zolmar. “Defensive turrets to concentrate on inbound missiles. Everything else is to target the Trellixians.”
Zolmar’s flagship shook violently, and several red lights appeared on the damage control console. “Report.”
“Energy beam strike to the stern near Engineering,” reported the damage control officer. “Emergency bulkheads have sealed off the affected are, and the fire-suppression system has activated. We’re bleeding atmosphere, but it should be under control in a few minutes. Combat effectiveness has not been reduced.”
“Defensive grid is firing,” reported the tactical officer. “Both shipyards are launching missiles in sprint mode. Same for the battlestations.”
Fleet Commander Zolmar switched his gaze to the tactical displays. Both shipyards had numerous missile tubes and a nearly inexhaustible supply of fusion missiles. The same was true of the battlestations. With a fierce grin, Zolmar saw several more Trellixian battlecruisers vanish under the intense fire. “All ships, continue to fire! Don’t let the enemy get past the defense grid.” Looking at the tactical display, he was surprised to see that the Trellixian fleet near Fleet Commander Kamuss had still not engaged.
-
Trellixian Battle Commander Ulvan was nearly thrown to the deck as several Voltrex fusion missiles detonated against his flagship’s energy screen, threatening to overload it. In the Command Center, sparks flew across the room as several computer screens shorted out. The ventilation system fought to keep the large room clear of smoke.
“We’ve lost seven more battlecruisers,” reported the sensor officer. “That makes a total of twenty-two. The inbound missiles from the two shipyards and the battlestations are overwhelming our energy shields.”
Ulvan was about to reply when several viewscreens were covered in brilliance and then shut down. The ship shook violently, and he could hear a sound, like tearing metal.
“Energy screen has failed,” shouted the tactical officer.
Moments later an intense white light and burning heat swept through the Command Center, killing everyone inside.
-
Voltrex Fleet Commander Zolmar watched as several more Trellixian ships were converted into plasma under the intense fire of his fleet, the shipyards, and the battlestations. The extra energy weapons fire from the defensive grid was having an effect as they helped to overload the enemy’s energy shields.
A massive explosion suddenly lit up one of the viewscreens.
“Battlecruiser Formack is down,” reported the sensor officer. The Formack had been one of the escorts for the flagship.
“We’re losing a lot of support ships,” reported the second officer. “However, they’re giving our battlecruisers and battleships time to fire on the enemy.”
Zolmar nodded. Looking at one of the tactical displays, he saw far fewer green icons than before. The escorts were paying a huge price for defending the heavy hitters. When this was over, there would be many empty beds in the homes of the cubs of the fleet. However, he was pleased to note the number of red threat icons were rapidly being reduced as well. It was obvious the Trellixians had not been prepared for the massive and unrelenting missile fire from the two shipyards and the sixteen battlestations.
-
Trellixian Battle Commander Balforr watched in silence as the green icon representing Battle Commander Ulvan’s flagship suddenly vanished from the tactical display. Almost instantly he heard Battle Commander Dramm take over command of the fleet.
“We’re ordered to jump to the seventh planet and aid in the battle there,” reported Carmol from Communications. “We’re to jump immediately.” He looked expectantly at Balforr.
Balforr spent a long moment in silence before responding. “I’m senior to Battle Commander Dramm. I’m ordering him to take what remains of his fleet and Battle Commander Ulvan’s and return to our rendezvous system. We do not have the ships to conquer this system. If we remain, we will lose the majority of or all of our ships in this futile effort. We must summon more warships from the High Command. Once we have an overwhelming force, we will return and conquer this system of the Voltrex. The missile fire from their battlestations is too intense.”
“Message sent,” reported Carmol. After a moment he listened and then turned toward Balforr. “Dramm does not recognize your authority. He is demanding you jump immediately to his position, or he will have you demoted or put to death when he makes his report to the High Command.”
“The fool,” answered Balforr, his eyes glowing red. “Second Officer Jaltor, take the fleet into hyperspace. We’re returning to the rendezvous system. If Battle Commander Dramm wishes to sacrifice the ships under his command, then so be it.” In Balforr’s mind, if Dramm continued this attack, the battle commander would die in this system.
-
Moments later, just before Balforr’s fleet entered weapons range of the nearby Voltrex fleet, it vanished into hyperspace, speeding out and away from the star system.
-
“They what?” uttered Voltrex Fleet Commander Kamuss as the threatening fleet vanished into hyperspace. “Where are they going?”
“They’re leaving the system,” replied Zalurr.
“Could it be a trick?” asked Lieutenant Commander LeLath. “They had the firepower to destroy us.”
“If it is a trick, it’s a good one,” replied Kamuss, gazing at the spot where the Trellixian fleet had vanished. “We’re splitting our fleet. Our escorts will return to the space station and aid in its defense if the Trellixians return. The battlecruisers and battleships will enter hyperspace and go to Bator Seven to aid in its defense.”
-
It only took a few minutes to readjust the fleet, then for the battlecruisers and battleships to enter hyperspace and make the quick jump to Bator Seven.
The fleet exited hyperspace just behind the Trellixian ships and barely out of combat range.
-
Space was lit up with explosions and energy beam fire. Voltrex Fleet Commander Kamuss quickly ordered his ships to close the range and engage the nearest enemy battlecruisers.
On the main viewscreen, the images shifted to show more ships of the fleet. Energy beam fire erupted, and hatches on the missile tubes slid open.
“Focus our fire on just a few ships at a time,” Kamuss ordered as he leaned forward in his command chair. “Have the battleships focus on one Trellixian battlecruiser and all of our own battlecruisers on another. Let’s see if we can thin them out.” Kamuss knew the key to victory was overloading the enemy’s energy screens, making their ships vulnerable.
-
Energy beam fire from the Voltrex battlecruisers slammed into the main hull of a Trellixian warship, penetrating its shield and setting off massive explosions, hurling glowing debris into space. The beams played across the hull of the ship, tearing open compartments and causing massive internal damage. In a brilliant flash of light, the Trellixian battlecruiser blew apart.
Eight twenty-megaton fusion missiles struck the energy shield of another Trellixian battlecruiser, causing it to fail. Two other missiles impacted the ship’s hull, turning the vessel into a molten wreck.
A Trellixian energy beam penetrated the failing screen of a Voltrex battlecruiser, striking the engine compartment and causing a massive power failure. A fifty-megaton fusion missile crashed through the ship’s hull, detonating and transforming the Voltrex vessel into a field of glowing plasma and gas.
-
Trellixian Battle Commander Dramm gripped the armrests
on his command chair as his flagship shook uncontrollably. Around him, the ships under his command were dying. While they had caused significant damage to the defending Voltrex fleet and had destroyed much of their defense grid, it was now evident, without Battle Commander Balforr’s fleet, victory was just out of reach. He was about to send a message recommending Balforr’s immediate removal from command when the lights in Dramm’s Command Center went out.
“Energy screen is down, and we’ve lost power,” reported the damage control officer.
Battle Commander Dramm leaned back in his command chair, awaiting death. He was not afraid to die for the Empire. Military members were expected to sacrifice their lives when necessary. What aggravated him was that Balforr would now escape any prosecution for his role in this disaster.
-
Voltrex Defense Commander Kallon nodded in satisfaction. He was pretty certain they had just destroyed the last command ship of the Trellixians in the Bator System. The battle had turned rapidly once the enemy fleet at Bator Nine left, allowing Voltrex Fleet Commander Kamuss to commit his battleships and battlecruisers to the battle.
“We’ve lost numerous support ships and some battlecruisers,” reported the sensor officer, “and nearly 80 percent of the defense grid.”
Kallon winced at the losses. “It was expected,” he replied. So far the enemy ships had not fired on the planet or even damaged one of the orbiting space stations, the two shipyards, or any of the battlestations. While the losses were heavy, they could have been much worse.
“Remaining Trellixian battlecruisers are entering hyperspace,” reported the sensor operator.
“They’re out of weapons range,” added Castell from Tactical.
“Only fourteen of them escaped,” reported the sensor operator. “All the other have been destroyed.”
Voltrex Defense Commander Kallon breathed out a huge sigh of relief as the last red threat icon vanished from the tactical displays. “Take all commands to Battle Condition Two. Let’s see what we have left.” He would send out messages shortly requesting more replacement ships as well as defensive satellites.
While they had won a sizable victory over the Trellixians, it would only be a short reprieve before the enemy returned with an even larger fleet. They now knew how strongly held the system was and would no doubt take that into consideration for their next attack.
Kallon’s gaze shifted to a screen of one of the large battlestations; they had performed far better than expected. Their ability to launch large numbers of missiles had been devastating to the attacking Trellixian fleets. Kallon would mention this in his report to Fleet Command.
-
“All enemy forces have exited the system,” reported Zalurr from Sensors.
“We lost the battleship Temar and four battlecruisers,” added Lieutenant Commander LeLath.
Voltrex Fleet Commander Kamuss winced at the losses. While his part in the battle had been brief, it had been violent. It still left the majority of his fleet intact since all his support vessels were still at Bator Nine.
“Assign six of our larger support ships to stay at Bator Nine. The rest are to come here. We’ll need them to help protect the planet, since most of the defense grid has been destroyed.”
Gazing at a viewscreen, he could see the tumbling wreck of a Voltrex support ship. It was one of the larger ones and had been nearly cut in two by Trellixian energy beams. A few secondary explosions still rattled the vessel. “We need to search the wrecks for survivors,” he ordered.
LeLath nodded. “I’ll get the rescue shuttles launched immediately.”
Fleet Commander Kamuss leaned back in his command chair, allowing himself to relax. After everything was more organized, he would send a message to his mate and son, informing them that he had survived this latest contact with the enemy. He didn’t know when he would get to see them again.
Chapter Nine
The Vengeance and the Constellation dropped from FTL into the third system which Lisa and her team wanted to investigate. After Major Dolan spoke to the captain, he had agreed to explore a few star systems along their line of flight.
“Contacts!” called out Kia as her sensor screen lit up with red threat icons. “Detecting large numbers of Trellixian vessels.”
Captain Erickson sat up straighter in his command chair. “Identify numbers and types. Take the ship to Condition One.” It was already at Condition Two as was standard anytime the ship entered a system. Immediately alarm klaxons sounded, and red lights flashed.
It took a few seconds for the sensors to identify the contacts, comparing them to the records in the ship’s database.
“Sixteen battlecruisers, forty-seven colony ships, and twenty-two of what appear to be cargo ships of some type,” reported Kia.
“We’ve been detected!” reported Major Dolan as a red warning light blinked on his console.
“How close are the nearest battlecruisers?”
Kia leaned forward, studying the data coming in from the sensors. “They are in orbit around the fourth planet of the system.”
“It’s being turned into a Trellixian colony,” reported Lisa as she used the ship’s sensors to scan the planet. “There is evidence of a past civilization which has been destroyed. I’m detecting hundreds of former city sites leveled by nuclear bombardment.”
Captain Erickson took a deep breath and looked at Brett. “Be ready to jump quickly if the Trellixians respond to our presence.”
On the viewscreen, a close-up of the planet appeared. It was a blue-white world very similar to Earth. Around it dozens of Trellixian vessels were visible.
“A number of Trellixian colony ships on the surface are building new cities,” added Lisa as she scanned more of the planet. She adjusted the main viewscreen to its highest magnification. A grounded colony ship appeared, and, around it, the infrastructure for a massive city was coming into being.
“This is what they would do to Earth,” said Lieutenant Commander Barrington softly. “It’s what we destroyed in Florida.”
Everyone focused on that screen. Robots were being used for much of the construction. Swarms of Trellixians were visible on the ground around the ship.
“We’re detecting forty-seven active construction sites just on the side of the planet we can scan,” reported Lisa.
Captain Erickson folded his arms across his chest. “Record everything you can. This data will be important when we return to Earth.”
-
For nearly twenty minutes the Vengeance and the Constellation took scans of the planet and observed the Trellixian colonization effort. The system had eight planets, and the two Earth battlecruisers remained motionless in space between the sixth and seventh ones.
-
“All evidence indicates this is a recent colonization effort,” reported Lieutenant Commander Barrington. “We believe the indigenous species who lived on this world was only wiped out in the past twelve to sixteen months.”
“I wonder what they were like?” asked Brett, gazing at the viewscreen. “What level of technology were they at?”
“The steam age,” replied Lisa with a deep frown. “From what I’ve detected, they were just beginning to use electricity.”
Lieutenant Commander Barrington’s face darkened. “It would have been a slaughter. At that level of technology, they couldn’t even fight back.”
An alarm sounded on the sensor console, which Kia quickly silenced. “Four Trellixian battlecruisers have jumped into hyperspace.”
“I think we’re about to have visitors,” said Lieutenant Commander Barrington, glancing at the captain.
“Lieutenant Masterson, set our next course. Stand by to activate the Fold Space Drive on my command.” Captain Erickson had no desire to tangle with Trellixian battlecruisers so far from home.
“Course set,” replied Brett. “The Constellation is ready to activate their Fold Space Drive as well.”
“I want to continue to take scans of the planet until the last poss
ible second,” Lisa said.
Twenty-six seconds passed, and suddenly the alarms on the sensor console blared again.
“Contacts!” called out Kia. “Range is 42,000 kilometers.”
“Can we hit them with our missiles?” Captain Erickson asked Major Dolan.
“Yes, but that’s the extreme effective range of our missiles. I wouldn’t recommend it. Twenty thousand would be better.”
Captain Erickson nodded. “Very well. Let’s get out of here. Lieutenant Masterson, activate the drive.”
-
In space, the two Earth spacecraft seemed to blur, and then they darted off, accelerating faster than light.
-
Trellixian Commander Katella gazed in confusion as the two ships sped away. “Where did those vessels come from?”
“Unknown,” replied the sensor officer. “They are using a Jelnoid-based FTL system.”
“Jelnoid,” replied Katella in a stunned voice. “We must send a report to the High Command immediately.” As he gazed at a viewscreen showing what one of the two ships looked like, he wondered if some Jelnoids had escaped and had set up a colony nearby. He would send in his report and then return to Capal Four, where he was sitting up a new Trellixian colony. He would leave it up to the High Command as to what needed to be done about the two mysterious ships.
-
Lisa sat at her console, studying the data from the sensor scans she had made of the planet undergoing Trellixian colonization. A chill passed over her at the realization the planet had once belonged to another intelligent race until the Trellixians had discovered them. Leaning back, she closed her eyes, picturing the hundreds and possibly thousands of worlds the Trellixians had laid waste to. If the Trellixians were ever defeated, this part of the galaxy would be destroyed, becoming a wasteland of desolate and uninhabited worlds.
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