by John Walker
“Bombers?” Kale shook his head. “I thought we called them all back.”
“Three stayed behind, determined to finish this.”
Kale sighed. “I admire their patriotism but really…if they make it out of this, I’m going to give them a real dressing down.”
“I can get there in ten seconds,” Athan said. “Thaina, get your finger on the trigger and don’t let them get a shot off.”
“Understood.” Thaina stared at her console and the pilot increased throttle. Deva said a quiet prayer. She felt like she might be the only one on the entire ship that knew just how bad it would be to take a direct hit. Considering how Athan was approaching them, there’d be no evasive this time.
They’d just be done.
“Five seconds,” Athan announced. “Go, Thaina!”
Deva watched as the enemy finished their recharge.
Bombers sent a massive payload toward them.
Thaina fired at the same time, unleashing everything they had.
A massive light began to glow from the enemy, their weapon preparing to fire.
Bombs slammed into their shields…blasts from the turret knocked them hard, forcing the ship to list. Their attack went high, slamming into the asteroid. The rock split down the middle, the entire thing sheering into several massive pieces and flying in all directions. Deva performed a quick calculation and determined where the bigger chunks might go and she enhanced their shields in those areas.
The scout vessel burst into huge, electrified chunks and went sailing in every direction. They wouldn’t be able to attack again but the debris in the sector made for a dangerous mess. All smaller ships had to be ordered back to their respective ships or risk colliding with rocks. A moment later, the shockwave from the enemy hit the Crystal Font, causing the lights to dim.
“Report,” Kale said. “How bad was that?”
“Shields held, sir.” Deva frowned. “But those asteroid pieces…oh no!” The shockwave made them burst and thousands of tiny boulders went flying in all directions. Some of them scattered across their shields, others annihilated disabled enemy ships and others caused havoc within the fighter ranks.
The situation lasted less than a minute before the debris was sent well beyond the combat zone but it left behind a nightmarish battlefield that would keep search and rescue busy for hours if not a day or so. She checked the casualty reports and all of them were listed as pending.
This is going to be a while.
Captain Atwell came over the line. “Well done with that attack, Kale…except for the asteroid.”
“That shot had to go somewhere,” Kale replied. “I’m just sad it didn’t go into deep space.”
“We’re about to deploy shuttles to clean up and start assessing our damage. You game?”
“I’d love to. I think we can call this one mission complete, don’t you?”
“Except for the final bits, yeah. We should be good.”
“Warn your people about any rocks that might not have been scattered to the far reaches of this system. Good work today, Captain. I believe all of us have earned their pay.”
“More than, Kale,” Gray said. “Way more than.”
Deva took a deep breath and prepared to coordinate the rescue efforts. The fight may have ended but she didn’t feel like it had slowed down. People might not be shooting at them but they were just as busy. I’ll call this over when I’m in my bed trying to get some sleep. Until then, we’re mission hot for a few more hours but at least it ended in our favor.
Thank the Fates for that. Next stop: winning a war.
Epilogue
Trellan woke up in the medical bay of The Behemoth, staring up at the lights overhead. A woman hovered nearby and stood when his eyes opened. He tried to sit up but found it too painful so instead just relaxed into the bed. His mouth was dry, his body ached but he hadn’t felt so good emotionally in a long time.
“Welcome back,” Clea said. “I’m glad you could join us.”
“What happened?”
“You must’ve dragged yourself into the escape pod at the last second. We picked you up during search and rescue operations.”
“Amazing…” Trellan closed his eyes for a moment. “Was it…was it bad?”
“We had some casualties. Our own Captain Hoffner who led the marines on the base is two beds over recovering. Some of our pilots needed some help. All in all, a successful mission and a necessary one.” Clea paused a moment. “I spoke with Siva.”
“Did you tell her I want a vacation?”
Clea chuckled. “No…but she’s looking forward to your return. We’re on our way back to the home world for a debriefing and repairs. I don’t know if you’re aware, but we’ll be invading the Devaran home world in less than a week. The war that Krilan hoped to take advantage of may be over soon.”
“Wouldn’t that be something?” Trellan peered at her. “I can’t believe it’s over. I can’t believe you all came here and got this done. Thank you…sincerely, thank you.”
“Honestly, Siva had your back the whole time in that regard.” She stood straighter. “I should let you know, I took a job with her. I’m second in command of intelligence.”
“Lucky you…” Trellan shook his head. “I hope she told you I plan to retire after this.”
“You deserve to.” Clea sat down and let out a deep breath. “She offered to let me stay behind during the conflict…to leave this ship and let the war go on without me.”
“Can’t let them do that, right?” Trellan asked. “You’ve got too much invested.”
“How did you know?”
Trellan shrugged. “Anyone Siva might pick for such a job would have too much loyalty to sit something out. I’m sure she was testing you…or something. That woman works in strange ways.”
“I’m beginning to see that.” Clea’s name was called over the speakers, requesting her presence on the bridge. “It appears I’m needed. I’ll check in on you later. Rest now. Whatever happened left you with some pretty nasty injuries.”
“After everything I did, a brawl with Krilan put me in the hospital.” Trellan shook his head. “I’m not going anywhere, Miss An’Tufal. Thanks for the ride home. I appreciate it.”
“Of course, Agent En’Dal. Thank you for your service. I look forward to talking with you again.”
FREE Prequel
Humanity has always looked to the heavens, curiosity urging them to take flight. After a failed mission to go beyond the borders of Earth’s solar system, a new fleet has been built ready to tackle any threat they may discover. But sometimes danger seeks out victims and just as they are preparing to depart, two ships arrive on the edge of their space.
Unsure if these invaders are friendly or hostile, the Behemoth, the flagship of the fleet and only real military vessel, prepares for battle. When one of their space stations is destroyed, they must come to terms with the possibility that they may be outmatched and outgunned for these intruders seem intent on violence. After no answers to requests to talk and seemingly no offer for quarter, humanity must face the very real possibility of extinction.
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