by Saxon Andrew
It was clear that when one of the giant alien ships failed, they went up in a big way. Dan counted the destroyed alien ships and came up with six; one of them appeared to have escaped. He wondered how long it would before more alien warships arrived. It was a lot sooner than he expected.
Chapter Four
Dean Hamlin turned up the power on his long-range scanner and saw the giant warship that fled initially suddenly reappear. He checked his stardrive and saw that the power going in it was barely enough to keep it operating. He had to make sure that ship didn’t detect his Scout Vessel. So far, it appeared they didn’t…or…if they did, they didn’t care. He checked his computer and saw that the course the Alien was taking headed directly out toward Orion…Rigel, one of the largest stars in the Orion Nebula, to be exact.
Rigel was the brightest star in the Orion Nebula and he didn’t really think that supergiant could have a habitable planet around it.
That was probably not where the Alien Warships was headed. He listened to the Alien Warship start broadcasting on an upper-frequency and decided it might be closer to its civilization than he thought. He backed off the engines and came out of his drive-field. He listened through his headphones and began hearing a different sound; there were now two different Aliens communicating with each other. He used the computer to plot the location of the answering frequency and sighed. It was coming from a star system much closer to Earth than Rigel. Rigel was 772 light years from Earth. This star was less than four-hundred light years, practically a next door neighbor to Earth in galactic distances. It was coming from the Perseus Spiral Arm.
Dean wondered why the two civilizations hadn’t bumped up against each other already and then realized that both civilizations were in different spiral arms in the Milky Way. Earth was advancing out on the Orion Spur, a spiral arm that broke off the Centaurus Arm. Those aliens were probably doing the same thing in the Perseus Arm. They didn’t know of each other’s existence…until this chance encounter. Now it was probably going to take a war to determine who was going to continue living. Boy! Those ships are huge.
“Dinner with Megan,” his computer announced and he shook his head. No, not tonight. The Aliens ended that appointment. Besides, he really didn’t want to go but Megan was persistent and refused to take no for an answer. He could never really care much about someone as brutally hard-hearted as Megan; she killed without a second thought. He chose the Scout Service to avoid needless killing. Avoiding Megan was more difficult. She could be obstinate.
He wondered if she survived the attack. He really had mixed emotions about that. He didn’t wish harm on anyone…but he could use some relief from her. Any other woman that showed any interest in him was confronted by Megan and scared off. Well, he’d just have to bite-the-bullet, tell her to shove off, and hope she didn’t poison him.
“MULTIPLE FREQUENCIES.”
“How many, computer?”
“TWENTY TOTAL.”
“Course?”
“THEY ARE MOVING DIRCTLY TOWARD US.”
Dean flipped the Scout and hit the engine control. He slowly added power to the drive-field until it activated and his scout accelerated to light-speed. He didn’t see any change in the giant vessels and he added more power to the drive-field. His speed increased and soon he was traveling at his ship’s maximum velocity. The Squadron had to be warned. “Large Vessel directly ahead moving at high speed toward our location.”
Dean grabbed the control handle and whipped it hard left. The Alien Warship blew past him at an amazing closing speed. It didn’t have time to fire a disruptor beam or missile before it disappeared. Dean’s heart was beating wildly. If that ship had been moving slower, he would be dead; it could have fired a disruptor cannon or missile at him. But it was moving too fast. Evidently, the Squadron had won the fight and this ship was running to spread the news. The Admiral needed to know quickly that the Aliens had twenty or more ships moving his way.
• • •
Rory sent a recording of the battle to Fleet Headquarters and they were stunned at the losses. Rory received the scout’s report while he was discussing what to do next. He looked at his Commanding Admiral on his console’s monitor and said, “Sir, twenty of those giant warships are ten-hours out from my surviving ships. The relief Squadron will not arrive for another eighteen-hours. What are your orders?”
“What about the colonists on the planet’s surface.”
“All of the Colony Ships have been destroyed and, even if they weren’t, there is no way to move them before those alien ships arrive, Sir. The Colony Ships were in orbit when they were hit and their wreckage fell to the planet’s surface. There is a massive loss of life on the planet, Sir.”
“What is your opinion on what to do, Admiral Mankin?”
“We are going to lose the remainder of my Squadron if we stay and I’m concerned that this new force will be able to examine our wreckage and develop defenses against our technology. I’ve scanned the wreckage of their ships and have data on their technology that I need to get back to our scientists. I will stay and fight to the death if you order it but we’ll lose that data and I suspect they will be able to scan my damaged vessels and learn our technology; you’ve seen the recordings.”
“Blast the damaged ships and leave nothing for them to examine. Get away before they can track your line of departure.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Rory saw the screen go dark and he knew it was only the fear of the aliens learning about their technology that prevented him from being ordered to stand and fight. He pressed a button on his console and contacted the Troy’s commander, “What’s the status of the Alexandria?”
“The fire is under control, Sir. However, no Attack Sleds will be able to land on it. All of its Attack Sleds have been diverted to the Troy.”
“What about its drive-field.”
“Still Operational, Sir.”
“Get the Alexandria moving and send out all your surviving Sleds and have them nuke the Squadron’s damaged warships. I want nothing left that can be scanned by those aliens.”
“Sir, there are still survivors on many of them.”
“Follow your orders, Captain Patterson! We can’t allow those aliens to get their hands on our technology. Twenty of their ships will be here in ten-hours and we have to be out of here in six.”
“Yes, Sir.”
• • •
Harry saw an Attack Sled approaching and he powered up his panel, “HEY! I NEED A TUG!”
“I’ve been ordered to remove the remains of the Stalin.”
“Then remove them and give me a pull! My engines are out!”
Antonio Lengo thought about just blasting the Sled but decided that isn’t what he would want done to him. He fired a nuclear missile into the Stalin and went back to the damaged Sled. Activate you nose magnets.”
“Thank, God they still work. Magnets powered.”
Antonio used the cable’s air-thruster to send it toward the damaged ship and it was sucked toward the bow. He took up the slack and headed toward the Troy.
Four-hours later, the surviving warships activated their drive-fields and disappeared from the planet. Five-hours after that, the humans that managed to survive on the planet’s surface experienced what the planet’s former inhabitants had endured before they arrived. The only difference was, the Brax were carnivores; their weapons were designed to catch their prey alive. The Humans suffered a worse fate than the former inhabitants.
• • •
“Sir, the scout saw the missing enemy warship pass it on its way back.”
Rory looked at Kuchen, “Did the Scout get a possible line on their civilization?”
“Da, Admiral. It appears to be located in the Perseus Arm slightly to Galactic West of Earth’s position.”
“How far?”
“Around four-hundred light years.”
“That’s not good!”
“Niet, it is not.”
“That Scout needs to be r
ecognized for his actions.”
“I’ve sent a request on the Fleet Channel for the Capitan of the Hamilton and the Scout, Admiral.”
“The Commander of the Hamilton did an outstanding job. His Destroyer is the only one to manage to damage one of those monsters. I don’t see the Destroyers doing much against them in any future engagements.”
“Not with their current armament. Maybe Tech can come up with something useful.”
“Any word on the colonists?”
“I ordered a Scout Vessel to remain inside the Colony’s communication range and I’ll keep you informed on what happens. The falling wreckage from the Colony Vessels caused massive damage on the surface and killed huge numbers of the colonists. In the future, it would be wise to move them from above the location of those on the planet’s surface.”
“In hind-sight, I should have started the colonists moving off the planet.”
“Niet, you had no time. The same thing would have happened in either case. The colonists would have died falling with the ships or died under their impacts. In the future, we should have Scouts a lot further out from the planet to give us an earlier warning.”
Rory nodded, “I don’t know what’s going to come of the Fleet’s investigation of what happened here. It could be an execution or a medal for us. However, if I’m not shot, I am giving you one of my carriers to Command, Kuchen. You deserve it.”
“Spaseebo balsoye, Admiral.”
“You’re welcome. Tell me one thing?”
“What is that?”
“Why do you speak Russian when you were born in New Jersey?”
Kuchen smiled, “Would you rather I talk with a Jersey accent?”
Rory smiled, “Niet.”
• • •
The Commander of the Joint Service Officers looked at the Navy Admiral and lowered his eyes, “This is a disaster! I trust you’re having that Admiral executed.”
“Quite the contrary, Sir. I’m promoting him and giving him a medal.”
Thorpe detested the Navy Admiral. He was handsome and looked like a warrior with his grey-streaked black hair and a uniform that fit him perfectly. He was in great shape and made his big stomach look bad. He knew image was important to advancement and he had allowed his appearance to atrophy over the years. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”
The Naval Admiral smiled, “Have you taken a moment to take a real good look at the warships Admiral Mankin’s Squadron took on?” General Thorpe stared at the Admiral in silence. “I’ll take that as a no. We were extremely fortunate any of our ships survived. It was due to Admiral Mankin’s excellent training of his Squadron that they did.”
Thorpe asked, “Why is that?”
“The only destroyer that survived the fight went out and collected a twenty-by-thirty-foot section off one of those alien ships from its debris field; that section weighed more than the Destroyer. The hulls on those seven-alien ships were stronger than anything we’ve ever examined. Even a direct nuclear hit would not breach it. His Squadron was outclassed and he was facing a more advanced civilization than we are.”
“Then how did we win?”
“General, if losing more than sixty-percent of your squadron along with every Colony Vessel is a win, I’d hate to see what a loss looks like.”
“Then why are you rewarding that Admiral?”
“Because he managed to survive and destroy all of his damaged ships to prevent them from being captured by those aliens. He took his flagship in and took out one of those ships that was attacking one of his two-carriers. I’d rather have him commanding the next fight with those Aliens than someone who knows nothing about them…or do you disagree?”
Thorpe didn’t like the Admiral but he knew his boss did. This was not the time or place to make an issue of what happened. “What do you mean next time?”
“Do you think we’re going to go into hiding from them? Or do you think they aren’t going to try and find us? They know their ships are more powerful than ours and will want to move before they lose their advantage. We’ve been talking about going out to remove threats for years and this is the first time we’ve actually ran into one.”
“Are you criticizing my strategy?”
“Has your strategy left us in a stronger position, General? Currently, we have numerous planets we’ve colonized and we have to use my fleets to defend them. Are you going to allow me to combine my forces against them or will I have to take them on in weaker numbers? What is your plan to counter this obviously more advanced civilization?”
Thorpe smiled, “That is why all of you are here. To develop a plan to present to the President and I expect you to do just that.”
Admiral Nelson smiled, “Just like when we developed our current strategy?”
“The plan you developed wasn’t good.”
“So, if our plans aren’t good, why don’t you cut to the chase and tell us what you want done and not waste critical time.”
Thorpe’s eyes narrowed, “You are close to being insubordinate, Admiral. You will develop a plan and submit it to me immediately!”
Nelson leaned back in his chair, “Yes, Sir.”
• • •
A week later, the Service Commanders submitted their plan and Thorpe threw it out as being useless. He was shocked when his boss contacted him and asked why he refused to follow it. He tried to explain and was told that Admiral Nelson would be Co-Commander of the Joint Service Commanders moving forward and that the plan the Service Commanders developed would be followed. If he had issues, he could resign. Thorpe agreed but knew Nelson would have to go…one way or another.
• • •
Admiral Mankin looked at his newly promoted Rear-Admiral, “Admiral Donovan, you will take command of my Squadron and work the new ships in as quickly as possible. I need them ready now.”
Dan nodded and said, “Sir, I request that my former bridge crew be assigned to my flagship.”
“The California has a good crew.”
“But they’re not accustomed to working with me. I don’t have time to get them up to speed, as well as my new ships.”
Rory hesitated and said, I will grant your request with one exception. However, you need to get moving on getting ready for combat operations.”
“Sir, have the new power balls been distributed to the Squadron?”
“New power balls?”
“It was a high density of the balls that breached the Alien Warship’s hull that was taken out by the Liver Pool. We need a power ball that can penetrate their hulls. I brought back one of their Tridents that was stuck in my hull and Tech has determined that it can penetrate their ship’s armor.”
“Why haven’t I been notified about this.”
“General Thorpe classified the information.”
“How do you know about it?”
“One of my former officers in now working in Tech.”
“He could be executed for telling you.”
“I’m hoping you will not reveal that piece of information, Sir.”
Rory was getting angry and he said, “I’ll see what I can do about getting them sent to my Fleet.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
Donovan left and Rory contacted Admiral Nelson. Two-days later, the new power spikes were delivered to his Fleet. This was ridiculous. The General was acting like he wanted the Aliens to win.
• • •
“Sir, I need those power spikes on the Defense Satellites above Earth. Once they’re armed with them, then I was planning to distribute them to our fleets.”
“And you think the Fleet we’re sending out to find the Alien’s home world would need them less?”
“Earth has to be defended, Sir!”
“General, I’m starting to believe you are either passionate in your defense of Earth or just an idiot.”
“SIR?”
“We managed to get a line on where they live and they did not get a line on Earth. Did that bit of information manage to get through what you
call a brain? That Fleet will be in jeopardy before Earth. They should have been armed appropriately and then you can fill the Defense Satellites to the brim. You are on probation and if you make any other developments secret from the other Service Leaders, I will have you executed. Is that clear enough?”
“Yes, Sir.”
The monitor went dark and Thorpe screamed before he started focusing on what was happening. How was the information getting out? How was everything being leaked? It wasn’t Nelson; he had made sure of that. Who was it?
• • •
Admiral Nelson looked at Rory on his monitor, “Rory, you need to be aware that some of the new power spikes have a nuclear device inside them.”
“What?”
“They need to all be used by the same launch tubes. You don’t want to mix them in with those that don’t have the warheads.”
“Admiral, thank you for telling me. I could have lost ships firing them from close range.”
“I’m aware of that. I suspect you’ll need to take out some of the defenses on the Alien’s hulls prior to firing them. Their anti-missiles are extremely effective.”
“Do you know when we’re scheduled to launch?”
“You have another two-weeks.”
“That’s not much time to get my new squdrons trained, Sir.”
“Do it on the way; I’ve been outvoted on it.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Nelson ended the contact and knew he was going to have to be careful. The Army Service Leader had taken a drink of his coffee prior to his arrival at the last meeting and suddenly died three-days later from a mysterious virus. Being late that day probably saved his life. The new Army Leader was one of Thorpe’s men. He would bring his own coffee from now on, as well as his lunch. Thorpe was not to be underestimated. One of his contacts told him the mystery virus was a development of a laboratory that Thorpe had set up. It vanished immediately after the subject died and there was no way to place the responsibility where it belonged. But the General was going to slip up and then…there would be no more General Thorpe.