by Chris Burton
* * * *
Winterburn felt his power enveloping his disciples. There was some reluctance but he gradually exercised control once again. His fellow Kryl also exercised their influence. They gradually engaged the minds of the humans. They would fall under the Kryl’s power like every other race who ever encountered them.
The interrogation was surprisingly lengthy, but there was no pain. Winterburn felt the pain of interrogation once before from his own kind before he achieved his high status. The primitive and ineffective techniques deployed by the humans made no comparison to those adopted by his own people. He revealed no more than known already. He alone would dictate the extent of any information provided.
* * * *
The Kryl armada was small. It was deployed by the Queen’s ship, following a subspace message from Winterburn. The Kronan’s request was treated with the highest priority. The Human ship was visible ahead. It travelled at light speed but could easily be overtaken. They’d surround it and draw in, then dispatch drones to take the ship. The Kronan would be collected and returned to the Queen’s ship where he would report personally to the Queen.
The Kryl force spread into a curved attack formation. They were nearing their prey. Soon the small fleet would feed.
* * * *
Hoskins detected the formation change of the Kryl fleet himself and immediately placed his jump ship squadrons on standby. He would not give in so easily. A battle was the last resort, with escape still being the most preferred option by far. They neared the fissure and would have to slow to prepare for their departure from this galaxy. That would be the time when the tactic would be won or lost. He needed more information, and called for the Stevenson sisters and Jake Carter to meet him in his ready room. Carter had just arrived.
“Enson Carter. Please take a seat, the ladies will be here shortly. As you can see from the viewer, this is a critical moment.”
Jake and Commander Hoskins watched as the Kryl’s circular formation completed. They were still closing in, but were outside weapons range. Hoskins was not taking any chances.
“Increase velocity. Let’s have all we’ve got.”
“We are already running at maximum, sir. There is no guarantee the stellar drive will hold at this velocity sir. We are also putting a huge strain on the ship’s hull.”
“She can take it. Just keep it going as long as we can and keep running diagnostics. We don’t want to be caught out with a sudden power dip.”
Hoskins was in his element, but Jake saw the strain on him as he sought to maintain his strategy, balanced on a knife’s edge. He watched as the commander moved to his next comm link.”
“Where are the Stevenson sisters? They should be here by now.”
“They left fifteen minutes ago sir. ”
“It doesn’t take fifteen minutes to get to the bridge from anywhere in this God damn ship. Send a security detail and find out what’s keeping them.” He paused as if deep in thought and then added. “Double the guard at the detention center. They may be under Winterburn’s influence.”
Jake could not believe what he heard, but then he realized why he was feeling so uneasy. Winterburn had her again.
“Are you suggesting Carla and her sister are trying to release Winterburn?”
“Possibly, Mister Carter, possibly.”
* * * *
Carla already forced the lock on their time-locked accommodation and they had slipped their guard. They relieved him of his firearm and left him with a sore head and with his hands comforting his groin. Joely acted completely under Winterburn’s influence. He guided her to him. Carla was also under the Kryl’s power.
They arrived at the detention center and entered the ward room unseen as two guards discussed the placement of security pending Hoskins’s latest instructions. They encountered no resistance as they entered the cell area. The guards were all clearly already under Winterburn’s spell. Carla found Winterburn’s cell and deciphered the lock codes. Expertly, she found the first two numbers, the third, the fourth and then finally the fifth. The detention cell door opened and Winterburn was free.
Chapter Sixty
Shenke’s Battle
The Kryl Fleet stopped moving forward and stood motionless less than ten thousand meters from Admiral Shenke’s fleet. There was complete silence in the command center, until Shenke stood up.
“Open a general comm link asking them to identify themselves.”
“Aye, Sir.”
“No response. Sir, should I send again?”
“No. We will wait for them to make the first move. Stand us down from battle stations, but maintain alert status. Keep the jump ship squadrons from closing to within five thousand meters.”
Shenke was pensive. He knew he could attack but he could not understand why they hadn’t. They had superior numbers, weapons advantage and they were not advancing. Why?
“Sir, the Sect Commander just boarded. Shall I have him delivered to your state room?”
“Who authorized his arrival?”
“That was me, Admiral.” Commander Willis stood up and moved towards Shenke’s command chair. “He said the meeting was scheduled.”
“By whom?”
“I don’t know sir. He was most insistent that he speak to you personally.”
Shenke sighed. “Very well. If there is any change whatsoever, please let me know. I will be in my state room.”
The Sect Commander stood facing the door when Shenke entered. He saluted by crossing his palms to his chest, and then spoke.
“Admiral Shenke. Thank you for meeting with me. I am here to transfer control of the battle to us to allow us to fulfill our commitment.”
“What do you mean ‘transfer control’?”
“We are the Sect Guard, and we are compelled to stop the Kryl from entering the galaxy. It is our obligation, and you won’t be required.”
Shenke let out an exaggerated cackle. “It is a bit late to stop them from entering our galaxy. They are already here. Your forces won’t be strong enough to defeat the Kryl. You are welcome to join us but under my overall command.”
“I repeat, you need to stand down Admiral. Our forces are trained for exactly this situation. It is your fleet which would not be successful.”
Shenke grew impatient. “What makes you think your forces will fare better than ours? Your lead ship disintegrated as I recall.”
“No, the High Priestess switched the shielding off. She failed in her obligation to keep the wormholes from open. She took her life.”
“Plus the lives of hundreds of others on board, I don’t doubt. Why are you so convinced your ships and your pilots are better than ours?”
“Not better, but more able in this situation. My pilots have trained for this day for a long time.”
“This still doesn’t give them any advantage over Alpha. You are as in the dark as we are as to their capability.”
“We have witnessed the Kryl in action before. We know what they are capable of and we have trained accordingly.”
“I thought you had never seen the Kryl before.”
“Seen, no; your perception of things is masked by your ignorance. We have developed beyond the senses of sight or hearing. We have sensed the Kryl from across this galaxy into the next and into the next.”
“Is this your religion or some kind of telepathy?”
Shenke found himself mocking the Sect Commander. He must restrain himself from digging deeper. This strange little man, human like only in form but alien in every other way asked him to allow them to take on the Kryl. They would all die. How long would they last?
“I cannot agree to pull out. I do, however, respect your beliefs, and if you don’t work with us then we will have to work side by side. Hopefully the outcome will be the same.”
“I cannot persuade you to leave the battle to us? Should you not be concentrating on righting your wrongs? The wormhole needs to be closed, if the Queen’s ship comes through everyone will die.”
�
�What is the Queen’s ship?”
“The Kryl have no planet they call their home. They have travelled the galaxies for eons reducing each galaxy to rubble and moving onto the next. The Queen’s ship is a vast citadel, home to millions of Kryl.”
Shenke was suddenly interested. The Sect Commander provided an insight into the Kryl, or the Sect’s belief in the Kryl. Maybe this should be explored further.
“How do they feed exactly? Sorry to deviate. This seems like an opportunity for you to give us valuable insight into what and who the Kryl are.”
“I welcome the opportunity Admiral, especially if it helps to convince you of the necessity for us to fight alone. However I won’t belabor the point. With regard to feeding, the answer is not in the way you think. They feed just like you and I do. They are omnivorous to the extent that, day by day, they eat meat and vegetables. By meat, I mean cultivated livestock, like cattle. They are divivorous too, meaning they have a periodic requirement for brain-stimulated, or electrical impulse, energy. This is derived from intelligent beings. Put simply, they suck the energy from the cerebral cortex, without touching it and without consuming the flesh, the bones, the organs or any part of the physical anatomy.”
“The Sect always suggested they consumed their prey.”
“Yes, we stayed away from revealing the true extent of their consumption. The fact is that to say they feed on electrical impulses from the body is hardly frightening, when you consider the alternatives. The Sect wanted people to fear the Kryl, to make them believe that they would be consumed, without explaining exactly how.”
“So, why the change of heart? Why are you telling me?”
“Because things have changed. First, the Kryl will begin to demonstrate their method of killing. The second is that we currently have no High Priestess to govern us, so I am no longer constrained from telling you the whole story. From my perspective, it serves to assist my reasoning.”
Shenke was impressed by the little man. He was intelligent, and his command of the English language was demonstrable. He wanted to explore this further but a comm link interrupted him.
“Sir, the Ionian Fleet just entered the Tri-Star region. Admiral Haines opened a secure comm link to you, sir.”
“Thanks. I will take in my study.” Shenke turned to the Sect Commander. “Can we continue this discussion shortly? I’ll arrange for some refreshments to be brought in.”
Shenke headed towards his study and opened the comm link.
“Admiral Haines. I heard about Rose. I presume you are in command of the Ionian Fleet.”
“I am, and I have been ordered to report to you, Admiral.”
“How many ships do you have?”
“Three hundred twenty ships of the line. We lost our flagship, but we are at battle readiness and have a full complement.”
“We were not expecting you for another few days.”
“Our orders were to proceed at maximum. We were aware of the need to get here as quickly as possible.”
“Okay, Admiral. Let’s meet A.S.A.P aboard the Pacific. You are my senior commander and we need to meet to establish some parameters and battle tactics.”
“How near to battle are we?”
“It is imminent, but with the addition of your support and The Sect Guard we should be able to mount a significant offensive capability. Let me know when you are on board the Pacific.”
Shenke closed the comm link and returned to his discussion with the Sect Commander.
“Our numbers have swelled dramatically, Sect Commander. We really should all work together on this.”
“I reiterate what I said before, Admiral: we will work alone, but not against you. Did you wish to discuss the behavior of the Kryl some more?”
“Yes, please.”
Shenke and the Sect Commander proceeded to discuss the Kryl in further detail. The Sect Commander revealed that the Kryl could consume the electrical impulse energy over time or all in one go, meaning death could be immediate or could be dragged out over many years., with the victim’s motor neuron functions gradually depleting over time. Shenke learned the Kryl used a form of the consumption to gain ‘mind control’ over their prey. Some could control and influence people over distances, and this was likely to have been the way that Winterburn established control over his ‘disciples’.
“So, Winterburn was consuming his victims as well as controlling them.”
“No. They can only consume their prey over short distances. This was simply mind control. The principle is the same though.”
The discussion went on to discuss the Queen’s ship in more detail and the tactical and offensive capabilities of the Kryl ships. After a further half-hour of discussion they agreed to work side-by-side but independently and Shenke thanked the commander for his help.
Alone again. Shenke turned his attention back towards Cameron. He was in mid- discussion with the Doctor when the fleet suddenly went to Battle Stations status. The Kryl Fleet moved forward.
“How long before Admiral Haines’ vessels are in position?”
“About an hour. Looks like they are going to miss the start.”
* * * *
The Kryl Fleet launched an all-out offensive moments later. Alpha responded immediately by launching three hundred jump ships who quickly engaged their Kryl one-man counterparts in a dogfight above the main fleet battle. The Kryl battle cruisers fired a multitude of plasma weapons which impacted immediately on the Alpha Fleet. The effect was devastating. Before Alpha was able to re-modulate their shield frequencies, seven ships of the line were destroyed by the plasma attacks alone. Alpha, though, was far from defeated and Shenke ordered direct attacks on the Kryl battle cruisers within Alphas weaponry range. Again and again, the Kryl plasma weapons pummeled the Alpha Fleet. This time the shields held up for longer, allowing the Alpha ships to regenerate and defend themselves.
Above, the jump ship squadrons were engaged in the fiercest battle of all, with over one thousand vessels fighting one-to-one in a confined space above the fleet. Alpha’s jump ship losses were appalling.
They lost half their fleet within the first ten minutes of fighting and Shenke was forced to launch a further three hundred vessels immediately. Still the losses mounted, and another three hundred jump ships were dispatched. It wasn’t their individual capability, it was the sheer number of Kryl vessels and their superior maneuverability that was losing the jump ship battle.
The Sect Guard waited for the right time to engage the Kryl. Timing was critical. The Sect fighters entered the jump ship foray all at once and immediately they transformed the status of the battle. Their weapons delivered their payload accurately and with instant success, while the Kryl vessels made little impact in the initial skirmishes between them. This allowed the Alpha jump ships to regroup and target specific Kryl groups. At last they, too, began to make an impact.
Shenke witnessed the battle from the command deck. It was not going well. The Kryl superiority was telling and they had not deployed the considerable weaponry of their mother ship. The Sect Commander was true to his word, they were a formidable fighting force and they were certainly making a major impact on the Kryl Fleet. Whether they would still be around at the end was another matter, but for now he was grateful for their assistance.
The Kryl’s tactics began to work. They continued forward en masse while attacking the Alpha Fleet, and were less than a thousand meters from Shenke’s fleet. They intended to use their numerical advantage to swarm Alpha and take on each ship on a one-to-one basis, while the excess Kryl ships took turns attacking their particular prey. Shenke needed Admiral Haines’ fleet and fast.
Chapter Sixty-One
Roslyn–Koenig
Roslyn’s plan worked. His political astuteness paid off once again, and his personal approval ratings rose almost overnight to an all-time high. The leak spread as anticipated and the media grasped it with both hands. Inevitably there was exaggeration and, within twenty-four hours, headlines containing “Invasion
Imminent’ and “Human Cattle” were prevalent. Mass hysteria was avoided when he broadcast a live clarification of the severity of the situation and the likelihood of invasion. He dumbed-down the risk, but made sure the blame fell firmly in Alpha’s court. He emphasized the importance of Earth’s defense shield, and clarified that the shields were under ECG’s control and not Alpha’s. He reiterated the huge investment was justified and the shields were state-of-the-art and fully utilized. He would personally ensure they were maintained correctly and kept one hundred percent effective and fully operational, not just during this crisis but indefinitely. He also stated Alpha’s lack of investment in Earth defenses and poured scorn over their policy for space exploration, while investment in the defense of Earth and its colonies was ECG’s prime directive. The political genius that Roslyn possessed turned a bad situation into good and created fervor of patriotism at the same time.
So why did he feel so bad? Alpha’s latest report from the Tri-Star region made depressing reading. Roslyn’s assertion to the public was that the threat of an invasion was unlikely. That statement looked a little threadbare.
He needed to speak to Koenig urgently. He opened a personal comm link and waited patiently for a secure encrypted link to be established., He would need to choose his words carefully; Koenig would not be pleased with the way Roslyn handled the crisis.
“Ah, President Roslyn. The savior of the masses, whereas I presumably am the devil.”
Roslyn was not accomplished at eating humble pie. As a politician, when faced with an embarrassing issue, he was used to going on the offensive. Somehow this didn’t seem the right time for that.
“Perhaps I took advantage of the panic gripping the planet and, perhaps, to blame Alpha was a little unfair.”
“My God, that’s tantamount to an apology from a politician! By the same token, we accept that perhaps we should have heeded the Sentinels’ and the Sect’s warnings. The worst crime here is the leak, which I will assume came from your own personal desk top.”