by Saxon Andrew
“I know.”
“They’re past insane. They have no feelings at all. They’re a cancer. They’re little more than mindless beasts.”
“They removed anyone with feelings from among them long ago.”
“One of the pilots had feelings,” Kerry said quietly.
“And look what it got him.”
They sat in silence and Kerry shook his head, “The inhabitants had no chance!”
“I know.”
“I just wish there was some wat to make them pay for their actions.”
“Someday they’re going to run into a civilization that will make them pay, Kerry.”
“One can only hope.” Lissell’s eyes opened wider. Kerry saw her and said, “What are you thinking?”
“I was thinking that perhaps a chance encounter might be called for here.”
“What?”
“A chance encounter.” Lise took the controls and the small red and gold ship flew away at its fastest speed.
Chapter Three
Kerry looked at Lise and said, “And you don’t think we’re violating our restrictions by doing this?”
“What exactly do the restrictions state?”
“That we may not cause harm or death to any being by our direct actions.”
“Ok. So, tell me where we are harming them directly?”
“Well, we are doing something that will cause them harm or death.”
“But are we the ones actually doing it?”
“That’s cutting it pretty fine, Lissell.”
“Just answer the question.”
“Welllll, maybe not directly but…”
“Can you honestly defend our actions in front of the Elders if they call us out on it?” He was silent and Lissell said, “Kerry…could you?”
“I guess but there’s more than just them to consider.”
“What two species choose to do when they meet, is up to them, not us, to decide.”
Kerry sighed, “I think this is where I put myself in a situation where only trouble shows up. But I have to say that I can’t think of better candidates to do this if we’re going through with this.”
“You know it’s only a matter of time until it happened anyway.”
“That’s the same logic that insane civilization used to attack the primitive inhabitants.”
Lise snorted, “Your intelligence gets in the way.”
“If I had used it more, we wouldn’t be here doing this!”
“Oh, Kerry, lighten up. Admit it, you really want to see what happens.”
“I suppose.”
“Is it worth two-years at the Academy?”
Kerry’s eyes narrowed and he stared at her. After a moment, he smiled, “You know, it just might be worth it.”
Lise reached over and hugged him, “That’s my Kerry!”
Kerry nodded over his shoulder, “What do you think they think about this?”
Lise smiled, “They’ll let us know shortly.”
The Red and Gold vessel continued to flee from eight-giant Warships pursuing them at high-speed.
• • •
Alarms were going off at full blast on the New York. The Squadron’s Flagship was moving to Battlestations and Rory ran to his Command Chair as Captain Kuchen shouted over the alarms, “A Scout has detected eight large vessels moving this way at high-speed, Admiral!”
“How large?”
“They’re all as large as the Troy and Alexandria.”
“How long until they arrive?!”
“Ten-minutes.”
Rory punched his console and said over the Squadron’s Frequency, “Launch all Sleds and have them form up around the Carriers and the New York! Move the destroyers out front and have the Battleships stay between the Carriers and those approaching ships. Order the fleet forward and we’ll meet them outside the orbit of the first moon!”
“Da, Admiral!”
“Captain, get the New York moving!” Kuchen looked at the pilot and he moved the handle forward on the Engine-Controls. The New York turned and flew toward the two-giant-Carriers.
• • •
Kerry looked at Lise, “I guess we can take a bow and leave now.”
“It does appear the two are now are aware of each other.” Kerry turned the ship and made a ninety-degree turn away from the Fleet at the primitive planet. The eight-giant vessels chasing them ignored them as they continued toward the large group of warships at the planet. Kerry looked at Lise and she shrugged, “Why chase a minnow when you can catch a whale.”
“Why are you speaking in their language?”
“They have some descriptive terms that just seems to do the trick. Their language is the most interesting about them.”
Kerry shrugged, “So is the business end of a Tiger.”
Lise laughed, “Now you’re getting it. Let’s see what happens.”
“They may just say hello and become buxom buddies,” Kerry replied.
“That could happen, except for two minor issues.”
“And they are?”
“They don’t speak the same language and one of the two, possibly both of them, is certifiably insane. That’s never a good combination.”
• • •
“Admiral, one of those vessels has turned and is leaving at a high-rate of speed.”
“Course?”
“It’s moving back on the course they entered the system.” Rory stared at the tactical monitor and saw the giant ship moving away at a speed that would be hard to match. Kuchen said, “We’d have to fight our way through those ships to give chase; the Scouts can’t do it any harm.”
Rory nodded, “It’s going to report our presence.”
“Da, Admiral.”
“Order several scouts to follow that ship and get a line on its destination! Get a message out to Fleet and let them know what’s going on.”
“Should we send the Colony Ships away?”
“No, it’s too late to do it and we may have to move the colonists if things go bad.”
• • •
“All right, all right, which one is going to start the dance first?!”
Kerry looked at Lise and shook his head, “You sound like you’re looking forward to this.”
“Aren’t you the one that said you’d be willing to take the hit for violating our restrictions?”
Kerry rolled his eyes, “Yes, I guess the pacifist in me is stronger than I thought. However, the Brax will not attack first.”
“Ok, I’ll take them!” Lissell replied. “They’ll start the festivities. Both civilizations are highly aggressive, so it’s fifty-fifty and I’ve got an even chance of winning this bet.”
“Lise, Lise, Lise.”
“What?”
“Take a moment and do some simple math.”
“What do you mean?”
I need to work with you on analyzing before you jump into a decision.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ok, let’s do it by the numbers. One…a ship left the Brax formation. Where do you think it went?”
“To get reinforcements.”
“Why?”
“Because the Earth Ships have about fifty-warships.” Lise paused and rolled her eyes, “You are just too freaking smart.”
“Simple arithmetic, Lise. The Brax will not attack first because they want better odds. The Earth Ships saw that single ship fly away and know that to delay will lead to more of them arriving.”
Lise sighed and saw the Earth Ships suddenly charge out toward the remaining seven-Brax Warships. Kerry smiled, “I’ll accept my payment in a really good back rub.”
• • •
“Admiral, Fleet is pulling an Attack Squadron from its mission and sending it here.”
“How long before it arrives?”
“They’ll be coming at maximum-speed and should arrive tomorrow. They’ll be coming from a location closer to us than Earth.”
“That’s at least some good news. Do we have any data
on those ships yet?”
“Da. They are heavily armed with both large gun-emplacements on their hulls as well as numerous missile ports.”
Rory stared at the huge Warships holding position and knew that to delay was not a good decision. He could only hope that the Squadron would arrive ahead of any reinforcements those ships might have called in. He pressed his communicator and said, “Start moving the battle line forward. All Sleds move out and take the lead. The covering Sleds will move out in front of the Carriers and be prepared for any small ships they may launch. Attack them on one side and try to disable the weapons on their hulls.”
Rory watched the forty-eight warships in his Squadron start moving toward the seven-warships and then said, “Go to full combat speed. Do not run a predictable course.”
• • •
The Attack Sleds lept forward and began a weaving course toward their assigned targets. They suddenly saw the seven giant ships turn and move end-to-end and fire a vicious barrage of huge beams.
• • •
Harry was moving at maximum speed and barely managed to move above the barrage. He smiled when Elaine Potter’s Attack Sled blew up under him. Good! Now he wouldn’t have to take her out himself. He went vertical as the next barrage of beams swept under him. He dove on the center vessel and fired a nuclear missile at it. The missile was hit by an anti-missile and exploded far out from the enemy vessel. He saw a missile launch from the giant ship and he turned hard to port as it came roaring in on him. It flew past him and picked up another Attack Sled and vaporized it. The damn thing was as big as his Sled. He whipped to the right as another missile homed in on him and barely managed to avoid it. He rolled and launched another nuclear missile at the center warship and saw it home in. It was hit a mile from the ship’s hull but the ensuing blast burned the giant warship’s hull over a five-hundred-yard section and he roared into the gap made in the ship’s defensive fire by the scorched hull. He fired another missile and realized he had forgotten about the missile that barely missed him. He glanced over his shoulder and saw it had locked on his sled and was coming in fast; he whipped the Attack Sled Vertical and rolled to the right. The missile exploded and a piece of shrapnel blew out and hit one of his two-rear engines. The Sled cartwheeled and Harry was barely able to stop the spin with the bow thrusters. The remaining engine was sputtering and he was only able to move away by using the thrusters. He flew into a giant debris field and shut down power. His weapons, drive-field emitters, and rear-engines were out.
• • •
The two Earth Destroyers, Lenin and Hamilton moved to within thirty-miles of one of the behemoths and the giant warship fired a massive disruptor barrage at them. Captain Donovan watched his pilot jerk the ship vertically and the beams flashed brilliantly past below it, “Russell, I need the polarity of those beams now!!”
“Sir, they’re positively charged!”
“Grensa, get the magnetic field extended!”
“Just changed it from negative polarity, Sir. It’s operational now!”
A huge beam hit the Hamilton’s magnetic deflector field and split into two beams moving below and above the Hamilton as it hit the sloped field. How far out will it hold, Grensa?”
“We’ll be in jeopardy if we move inside fifteen-miles, Sir.”
“I HAVE HEAVY MISSILES BEARING DOWN ON US!!”
Russell King pressed his panel and the Hamilton launched a cloud of Darts out of the missile ports. The small anti-missile darts formed a cloud ahead of the incoming enemy heavy-missiles and they began exploding ten-miles out.”
Suddenly, the Anti-Missile Laser mounts on the destroyer swiveled and opened fire at a heavy missile coming in from above the Destroyer. The missile exploded a mile out and the Hamilton was rocked by the blast.”
“STATUS?”
“Sir, no damage to the hull. I’ve just received a message from the Liver Pool that they are moving in and we’re to cover their approach with a Dart-Screen.”
Donovan looked at his Tactical Monitor and saw the Liver Pool moving in four miles out from his ship. He looked at Meridith and she said quickly, “I’m moving the ship above their line of fire, Sir!”
“That would be wise. Russell, start laying down a Dart Cloud below us between that monster and the Liver Pool.”
“Cloud launching, Sir.” Donovan exhaled sharply, it was about time the Big-Boys entered the fight.”
“Sir, we’ve lost the Stalin!!”
“What happened, Grensa?!”
“That enemy vessel fired some kind of spear barrage at it. It looked like a two-pronged trident and it appears it is not affected by the deflector field.”
“That means it’s made from a non-magnetic metal. Russell, make sure we’re behind the cloud!!”
“We are, Sir. The Stalin wasn’t and it was hit by a wave of those trident looking things. They blew through its hull and exploded its store of missiles.”
“Sir, we have a large wave of heavy missiles moving over the Dart-Cloud.”
“I’m on it, Sir!” Meridith rolled the Hamilton exposing the dart-launchers to above and below the destroyer. A cloud of Darts left the destroyer and eight-enemy heavy missiles exploded ten-miles out. The Hamilton rocked from the explosions and continued to move in front of the Liver Pool’s course.
“Meredith, do not move the ship in Liver Pool’s field of fire!!”
“Don’t worry about that, Sir.”
Explosions began going off in the cloud of darts and Russell yelled, “THE DARTS ARE HITTING THOSE TRIDENTS. I’M LAUNCHING ANOTHER WAVE TO FILL IN THE HOLES.”
Donovan started to respond but the Liver Pool fired a massive disruptor barrage at the enemy vessel and the passing beams made him flinch as they passed under the Hamilton. The Enemy Vessel was hit dead center and the blast was impressive. The giant warship moved out of the blast and Donovan shook his head. The Giant’s hull had shrugged off the disruptor barrage and continued firing at the Liver Pool and the Amsterdam, which had just arrived with its destroyer escort. He shook his head, “I think the Battleships are going to be forced to move inside twenty-miles.”
“Amsterdam is firing Power Balls!”
Donovan watched his tactical monitor and saw the huge hardened-metal balls flash by the Hamilton and hit the Enemy Vessel just behind the bow. One of the disruptor platforms on the Giant’s hull blew up and a missile exploded at it left its launch tube and destroyed the opening. Russell looked up from his panel, “Sir, we are totally defensive. Nothing we have on board will make a dent in those ship’s hulls. The only function we serve is to lay down a Dart Cloud.”
“Launch a nuclear-missile over the top of that ship’s projected path.”
“Sir, do you think the Admiral will approve it?”
“I see no reason to be destroyed and still have them on board. Once that ship sees our Battleships aren’t as dangerous as we think they are, they’ll focus on taking us out. Matter of fact, launch three.”
“Sir, we’ve lost the Amsterdam and both escorts!!”
• • •
The Hamilton continued to move parallel to the giant alien ship launching Dart Clouds. One of the tridents hit the top of the small-warship’s hull and took out one of the anti-missile rapid fire lasers.
“Notify the Liver Pool of our nuclear launch thirty-seconds before impact. We’ll be breaking away and moving back in once the blasts clear.”
“Yes, Sir.”
The three-nuclear missiles were launched vertically and flew a hundred and fifty miles above the battle. The seven giant warships had spread out and the Earth Ships scattered with them. The three-nuclear missiles turned over and ignited their main engines. They went to maximum speed in less than six-miles and flashed down toward the enemy vessel moving directly below their line of approach.
“GO, MEREDITH!!” The Hamilton went to full-engine power and the Destroyer went vertical as it released a cloud of darts behind it. Giant disruptor beams and tridents began exploding in the cl
oud and then…the three missiles hit.
• • •
Captain Donovan was stunned at what came flying out of the three nuclear explosions. The giant vessel’s hull was burned smooth of all weapons but it had not been breached. The Liver Pool swept in and launched a massive barrage of power balls and the alien ship had no defenses to stop them. The ships’ hull was finally punctured when a hundred-power balls hit within fifty-feet of each other. A heavy missile’s sensors saw the breach and changed course as it flashed in on the giant vessel. It flew through the breach at high-speed and the giant vessel went up in a gigantic blast. The blast took out the Liver Pool; it had moved in closer to fire on the damaged ship and the ensuing blast blew it away.
The Hamilton was twenty-miles away and the blast rolled the ship. Meredith managed to bring the roll under control but more than thirty-crewmen were killed or injured by the passing shockwave. The Dart Launchers were off line and the missile launchers had to be recalibrated, most of them had a missile jammed in the tubes. Donovan was ordered out of the battle and Dan moved the Hamilton away from the horrific fight. His crew struggled to get the ship ready to fight but it was a lost cause; too much damage had been done to the critical electronic systems. Captain Donovan kept his eyes on the monitors and saw the big picture of the ongoing space battle. It didn’t look good.
• • •
Eight-hours later, Dan looked at the bank of wall monitors and saw ships burning in all directions. One of the carriers had a huge fire burning in its landing bay and one of the giant enemy warships was burning not far away from it. Only twelve-Battleships were still operational and all the destroyers were dead except for the Hamilton.
What troubled Dan the most was the blasted Colony Ships that had been blown apart and then fell out of orbit and crashed on the planet’s surface; the casualties had to be enormous among the colonists on the planet that were directly below those giant vessels.
He searched the ten-monitors and finally found the New York holding station near the undamaged carrier. It had several enemy tridents sticking out of its hull but was still operational. Six of the alien warships were blasted into rubble near the two carriers and debris was scattered for miles around them. The Aliens realized quickly during the battle that the carriers were the main weapons the Fleet depended on and went after them with all their ships.