The Star Cross

by Raymond L. Weil

  They all watched as a large group of ships assembled and accelerated away from the planet.

  “Are they leaving?” asked Mayfield, his eyes lighting up with hope. Perhaps the Profiteers had given up on collecting the remaining gold and other valuables still on Earth, grown tired of the people’s resistance and disappointed in not finding as much gold as the aliens had hoped.

  Fleet Admiral Tomalson shook his head. “I think they’re preparing to attack Newton. It looks as if two Profiteer battlecruisers, six of their escort ships, and ten Dacroni battleships are forming an attack fleet.”

  “Can we get word to the Vindication?” asked Mayfield, looking at the fleet admiral. He knew the light carrier was hiding out in the Kuiper Belt.

  “I’m sure Captain Watkins has already detected the ship movements. He’ll recognize it for what it is and will jump into hyperspace, so he can warn Fleet Admiral Vickers.”

  “How many fleet personnel have we sent to the Newton Princess so far?” asked Mayfield. Over the last few weeks the military—still under their control—had fanned out across the North American Union, seeking the individuals who Fleet Admiral Vickers needed.

  Fleet Admiral Tomalson looked at the president. “Nearly 1,400.”

  “All fleet personnel?” asked Mayfield. He knew that most of them had families on Earth. That’s why they had stayed originally and not gone to Newton during the evacuation.

  “Fleet or at least military,” replied the admiral. “We promised most of them that we would get their families off Earth shortly, plus look to their well-being until we could do so.”

  “They’re preparing to jump,” Colonel Stidham said, as the enemy fleet accelerated rapidly away from Earth. Several alarms sounded, and then the red threat icons on the sensor screen blinked out one by one.

  “They’ve jumped,” Stidham said, shifting his gaze to the president.

  President Mayfield looked at the remaining red threat icons on the sensor screen. “It’s a shame we don’t have some way to take out those ships while their fleet’s reduced.”

  “We couldn’t take out even one of their ships with our planet-based weapons, as long as their energy shield is up,” General Braid said, folding his arms across his chest. “However, with that many ships no longer in orbit spying on us, now would be a good time to gather up more of the people needed by Fleet Admiral Vickers.”

  “If he can defeat the fleet that’s headed his way,” said Mayfield with a trace of concern in his voice.

  “If I know Vickers, he has some tricks up his sleeve,” said Tomalson. “The Profiteers and their Dacroni friends might very well be jumping into a trap.”

  “Let’s hope so,” Mayfield said, checking the sensor screen showing the remaining orbiting alien spacecraft. “If he loses this battle, then Earth has no hope. They’ll strip us of everything, and leave us with a broken and desolate world.”

  -

  A few minutes earlier Captain Watkins had been summoned to the Command Center of the light carrier Vindication.

  “The Profiteers and the Dacroni are forming up into a possible attack fleet,” reported Lieutenant Anthony Dries, the executive officer, as Captain Watkins stepped through the hatch.

  “Bring in the CSP and inform the Sultan that we’re leaving. Also let Captain Mertz on the Newton Princess know.”

  A few more moments passed as the CSP was recalled.

  “The enemy fleet will be entering hyperspace shortly,” Lieutenant Julie Jenkins reported from her sensor console.

  “CSP is in,” added Lieutenant Dries, as he received confirmation from the flight bay.

  “Set course for Newton and take us into hyperspace,” ordered Watkins. He knew that, at their best speed, they might only arrive a few minutes ahead of the enemy. However, in a battle of this type, even a few minutes of warning could be the difference between victory and defeat.

  “Course set,” Lieutenant Dries reported.

  Watkins heard the telltale sound, as the powerful sublight engines of the light carrier accelerated the ship, and then he felt the gut-wrenching sensation as the Vindication jumped into hyperspace.

  “We’ll go to Condition One twenty minutes prior to emergence,” he said to Dries. “Arm our bombers with Hydra ship killers, and have them ready to deploy.” The Hydra missiles carried a ten-kiloton warhead, quite deadly to a ship that had lost its energy shield. He had ten Scorpion bombers on board along with ten Lance fighters. All would be deployed as soon as the Vindication emerged from hyperspace.

  -

  Fleet Admiral Kurt Vickers awoke instantly, as alarms sounded and red lights flashed in his quarters.

  “Admiral Vickers, please report to the Command Center,” Lieutenant Evelyn Mays said over the comm. “We have an inbound ship detected by the hyperspace buoys, tentatively identified as the Vindication.”

  Pressing the comm button, Kurt replied, “I’ll be there shortly. Bring the fleet to Condition One and contact Governor Spalding. Tell him we expect a Profiteer attack shortly.”

  “Yes, sir,” replied Mays.

  Kurt hurriedly dressed, and it didn’t take him long to reach the command deck. There was no doubt in his mind that, if Henry was returning with the Vindication, then the Profiteers wouldn’t be far behind.

  Striding into the Command Center, he saw that Captain Randson had already arrived and was in deep conversation with Lieutenant Lena Brooks.

  “It’s definitely the Vindication,” Andrew said, turning toward Kurt. “She should be dropping from hyperspace in slightly over five minutes.”

  “All ships, except Rear Admiral Wilson’s command, are to form up in attack formation Alpha,” Kurt ordered, as he sat down in his command chair. “Send word to the Dallas, Birmingham, and Johnas to get underway and take point in the formation. Notify the rest of the fleet to stand by for combat operations.”

  After a few minutes Andrew notified Kurt that the messages had been sent and that the three light cruisers were moving into their assigned positions in the Alpha formation.

  “Vindication has dropped from hyperspace,” reported Lieutenant Brooks. “Distance is twenty thousand kilometers, and she is launching her fighters and bombers.”

  “Incoming message,” added Ensign Pierce. “Captain Watkins is reporting that a combined Profiteer and Dacroni fleet will be dropping from hyperspace shortly.”

  “Order the Vindication to join our formation,” Kurt ordered. “Put her off our starboard side. Move the destroyers Starburst and Kline to cover her.”

  “Message sent,” replied Ensign Pierce after a moment.

  An alarm sounded on the sensor console, indicating the hyperspace buoys had detected more ships.

  “Inbound enemy fleet detected,” Lieutenant Brooks reported. “Confirmed eighteen contacts.”

  “Governor Spalding wants confirmation this is an attack,” said Ensign Pierce.

  “Inform him we have eighteen inbounds,” Kurt responded, as he gazed at the tactical screen, which now showed the red threat icons.

  Alarms would sound shortly on Newton, and the population would go to their shelters. Around the larger cities, General Mclusky would activate his air defenses to take out any missile that might get through, though Kurt doubted they could do anything to stop a hypermissile.

  “Captain Simms reports that the energy screen for Newton Station is operational and functioning as expected,” Andrew said, as he listened to various reports from fleet captains plus the shipyard.

  Kurt acknowledged the report, relieved that the temporary energy screen idea worked. They couldn’t afford to lose Newton Station. Without it, he had no way to repair his ships or build new ones.

  “All ships are in formation,” reported Andrew, as he studied the tactical screen. It took but a few minutes for the fleet to form up.

  “I have ships exiting hyperspace,” stated Lieutenant Brooks, as more alarms sounded on her panel. She quickly reached forward and silenced them, looking questionably at the admiral.
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br />   “Give me numbers and types,” Andrew ordered. He felt his heart hammering in his chest and knew they were about to enter combat.

  “Two Profiteer battlecruisers, six escort cruisers, and ten Dacroni battleships. Current range is two hundred thousand kilometers.”

  Andrew studied the tactical screen and then turned toward Kurt. “From their position they won’t detect Rear Admiral Wilson’s ships.”

  “Good,” replied Kurt with satisfaction in his voice. “Inform Captain Simms to prepare to launch his Scorpion bombers upon my command.” Twenty of the small deadly crafts were in Newton Station’s original landing bay. “Also tell him to launch the squadron of Lance fighters the Vindication left behind.”

  Andrew was in constant communication with all the fleet units and the shipyard, so he could pass on each of the admiral’s orders.

  “Profiteer fleet is moving toward us,” reported Lieutenant Brooks.

  Kurt nodded. The Command Center was alive with intense activity as the crew prepared for battle.

  “Move us out at 10 percent sublight,” Kurt ordered. “I want to meet them far enough away from Newton so they can’t fire weapons on the planet.”

  “If they’re coming for the gold they think we have, I doubt if they’ll risk destroying it,” pointed out Andrew.

  “Let’s hope so,” Kurt answered. He was concerned about his family on Newton as was Andrew, as well as the millions of others on the planet.

  Kurt could well imagine the fear running through his sister’s family and everyone else on Newton when the planetwide alarms sounded. They were all familiar with what the Profiteers had done to Earth.

  “Combat range in seven minutes,” reported Lieutenant Brooks in a steady voice. She kept a close eye on her sensors and the eighteen approaching red threat icons.

  “Instruct our fighters they’re to intercept any enemy shuttles that might be launched,” Kurt added, as he thought of the possible tactics the enemy might use.

  “All weapons are powered up, and the new hypermissiles are on standby,” reported Lieutenant Mays.

  “I wish bigger warheads were on the hypermissiles,” Kurt commented. “If they were of the ten- or twenty-megaton range, we might be able to knock down the enemy shields with the missiles alone.” But he didn’t have any of the more powerful antimatter warheads. Those had been lost on the Lansing, and Lomatz had balked at sending additional ones on the Plymouth. He had demanded more security to move the more deadly missiles. Lomatz had promised to send more, once the defense grid was delivered.

  “We can speak to our R&D department on Newton Station,” Andrew said, agreeing with the fleet admiral. “However, we might not have the technical expertise to construct such powerful warheads.”

  “We can get the know-how from the right people on Earth,” Kurt answered, as he kept his eyes glued to the tactical screen. He didn’t like being dependent on Kubitz and Lomatz for these.

  “Engagement range in three minutes,” reported Lieutenant Brooks.

  “As soon as we engage, Rear Admiral Wilson is to commit his ships,” ordered Kurt. “Have him here as quickly as possible.”

  “I’m relaying the message,” Andrew replied and then a few moments later added, “He says he can be in combat range in four minutes, once he comes around the planet.”

  “Very well, order all ships to stand by for combat maneuvers.”

  -

  High Profiteer Creed gazed intently at the tactical screen and the human ships about to enter combat range.

  “Sensors show they have one battlecruiser, one of their carrier vessels, six light cruisers, and what appear to be nine of their small destroyers,” Second Profiteer Lantz reported nervously.

  “More ships than we thought,” Creed said, as he quickly calculated how much this battle might cost him in credits.

  If everything went according to plan, he shouldn’t lose more than one of two of his lighter units, with minor damage spread across the fleet. If he could find the gold the humans had hidden on this colony world, the attack would be well worth the possible cost.

  “Clan Leader Jarls has placed his battleships in a double line just above our ships,” reported Third Profiteer Bixt from Sensors.

  “Very well,” Creed answered. “Put our ships into two lines of four directly beneath Jarls’s ships with the Ascendant Destruction and the Crimson Star directly below Jarls’s flagship.” The Crimson Star was his other battlecruiser.

  Creed leaned back in his command chair with a satisfied grin on his face. His large eyes gleamed, as he thought of the vast amount of gold that would soon be in his hands. True, he would have to turn over a large portion to Jarls; but, if his theories were correct, there would be plenty to go around.

  -

  “Combat range in one minute,” reported Lieutenant Brooks.

  “We’re at the extreme range for our main KEW batteries,” commented Andrew with a cunning look in his eyes, looking meaningfully at Kurt.

  Kurt nodded. “Lieutenant Mays, one of those two Profiteer battlecruisers probably belongs to High Profiteer Creed. Hit both with two KEW rounds from our main batteries. I want them to know we’re here.”

  “Yes, sir,” Mays answered, as she passed on the orders to her tactical team. Moments later the Star Cross vibrated slightly as the large tungsten rounds were fired at 10 percent the speed of light at the two Profiteer ships. “Weapons fired,” reported Mays with a satisfied grin.

  On the main viewscreen, the energy screens of the two Profiteer ships suddenly lit up with explosions of released energy. When the screen cleared, the two ships were still there, but now they knew, for certain, that the humans were coming.

  -

  “What was that!” roared Creed in anger. The sudden attack had nearly thrown him from his command chair.

  “Kinetic energy weapons,” answered Second Profiteer Lantz. “No damage, though the shield was stressed from the sudden attack. Those rounds were coming at 8 or 10 percent of light speed.”

  “We’re in combat range,” reported Third Profiteer Talbot from Tactical.

  “Well, fire then!” roared Creed, his large eyes glowing with rage. “Destroy the humans!”

  -

  “Inbound fire!” warned Lieutenant Brooks, as her sensor alarms went off, indicating incoming energy.

  The Star Cross shook, and the lights dimmed slightly.

  “Ion beams and energy weapons,” reported Andrew. “Shield is holding at 82 percent.”

  “Initiate firing plan Beta 3,” ordered Kurt. Time to teach the Profiteers that this attack would be expensive. “Contact Rear Admiral Wilson and tell him to commence his attack run.”

  -

  From the Star Cross and the six light cruisers, dark blue particle beams lanced out and struck a single Dacroni battleship. In their wake KEW rounds hammered the shield, seeking a weakness. Almost at the same time, six hypermissiles from the Star Cross slammed into the battleship’s energy screen, and, for a moment, a small hole opened. Instantly a KEW round penetrated, smashing into the hull, blasting a huge glowing pit in the side of the ship. Its power fluctuated briefly, and then several particle beams penetrated, raking the hull and opening up more compartments to space. Almost immediately the shield failed completely, as too many power couplings had been compromised.

  The light cruisers Dallas, Birmingham, and Johnas turned broadside and opened fire with their lighter KEW batteries, quickly scoring numerous hits on the now heavily damaged battleship. They continued to pound the hapless vessel, until it suddenly exploded in a blazing flash of light.

  -

  “Dacroni battleship is down,” reported Lieutenant Brooks excitedly.

  Another flash of light suddenly lit up a viewscreen, drawing Kurt’s attention. “What was that?”

  “Destroyer Kline is down,” replied Lieutenant Brooks, as her jubilation at the destruction of the Dacroni battleship quickly faded.

  “They were hit by multiple ion beams and a hypermissile,” repo
rted Andrew, as he listened to the reports coming in across the fleet. “Rear Admiral Wilson is inbound and is preparing his Scorpion bombers for a shipping strike.”

  “When his fleet gets in range, have him order Captain Anniston to target one of the Profiteer escort cruisers with the Trinity’s full spread of hypermissiles,” ordered Kurt.

  “Message sent,” replied Andrew.

  -

  The space between the two battling fleets was full of weapons fire. The dark blue human particle beams and the white flash of Profiteer and Dacroni ion and energy beams filled the void. Occasionally a hypermissile would light up space, as one struck an energy screen.

  -

  “Three more ships!” roared High Profiteer Creed, still reeling from the shock of one of Jarls’s battleships being blown apart by the human fleet. “Where did they come from?”

  “They were hiding behind the planet,” reported Third Profiteer Bixt. “One of them is 1,200 meters in length. It must be the ship they were building. They did finish it! There’s also another human battlecruiser and one of their small carrier vessels.”

  “Where did they get another battlecruiser?” Creed leaned back in his command chair, deep in thought. This attack would be far more costly than he had originally thought. These humans were full of surprises; he wondered what else they might be hiding.

  -

  The light cruiser Blair suddenly found herself under attack from four Dacroni battleships. Her shields flared brightly under the assault.

  “Put all power to the shields,” called out her captain, as he saw they were in danger of failing.

  “Engineering reports they’re giving us all they’ve got,” reported the executive officer. “Shifting all power from weapons and life support.”

  The ship suddenly shook violently, and an explosion rocked the Command Center. Crewmembers were hurled to the deck, and several consoles erupted in bright showers of sparks. Smoke filled the room, and the acrid smell of burned wiring prevailed.

  “Shield is down,” reported a grim-faced executive officer.

  “Damn!” uttered the captain, knowing this was the end.

  -

  Several ion beams slammed into the top section of the Blair, causing massive explosions; the hull pressed outward, and glowing debris drifted from the ship. Then a Dacroni hypermissile detonated in the damaged area, and the ship turned briefly into a miniature sun. When the brightness died away, all that was left was a few wisps of glowing gas.