by Saxon Andrew
• • •
Admiral Hull looked at the three war Admirals on her display, “Are you ready?”
Dat had Gresha on board and he said, “We’ve targeted thirty of their main ship building planets. We’re sending a million Rovers in ahead of the Juke Box Battleships to try and draw the defending fleets away from the planet. Once the battleships see an opening to the planet’s atmosphere, they will skip in and fire the Light Waves.”
“Did you say waves?”
“Yes, Admiral; the battleships are going to launch three at each planet.”
“I thought one would do it?”
Dat shrugged, “It probably would but why not make sure?”
Kat raised her eyebrows and smiled, “You make a good point. What happens after those attacks are completed?”
“If we’re successful, we’re going to have fleet designate targets for our Rovers and they will go after their battleships wherever they can find them. We’ll load the Juke Boxes back up and go after more of their planets.”
“What do you mean, ‘if you’re successful’?”
“They could jump in more than five million ships to each planet and no opening will appear for the Juke Boxes to come in.”
“Have you considered jumping in the Rovers, taking your shots, and running away in normal space from the planets?”
Dat looked at Kat and said, “No, we haven’t.”
“If you jump in and run, they’ve always chased you in the past. You could jump in with three quarters of your ships and attack the ships at the planet. If you immediately run, any ships jumping in will jump to your escape vector. I suspect most of the ships at the planet will also join the chase. You could then skip in with the remaining ships to clear a path to the planet for the light waves.”
Dat stared at Katherine and shook his head, “To answer your first question, no we’re not ready. You’ve made an excellent suggestion and we need to rework our order of battle. However, this will be easier than what we’ve initially planned so we should have the changes done within four days.”
“We need to start moving on this. Our probes have seen the Grillen start a massive ship building effort. We may not have as long as I thought before they make a move on us.”
“We’ll do this and I’ll send a quarter of our ships back to Earth.”
“No, we’ll know when they’re coming. You need to focus on one thing at a time. The Horde and Hive have their ships on alert and will jump in if we need them.”
Dat smiled, “That’s why you’re the boss.”
Kat saw her display go dark and she hoped this plan worked. The two hundred million warships the Monsters sent out to scout would arrive much faster than the scouts would have been capable. This was becoming the worst time for them to arrive. She contacted Fleet Operations for an update on what was going on in M87 and the Grillen Galaxy.
• • •
Gibbons looked at Kune on his display, “I wonder why we were selected to go in with the Juke Box.”
“That’s easy to figure out.”
“Is that so?”
“We’ve sort of built up a reputation for using an attack pattern that fits this exercise.”
“What attack pattern are you talking about?”
“You know, Ready, Fire, Aim.”
Gibbons chuckled and said, “The lads are somewhat aggressive.” Gibbons leaned back in his chair, “Kune, did being from a long line of Naval Officers ever cause you problems?”
Kune tilted his head and said, “There was huge family pressure to advance in rank but nothing that was too bothersome. I never expected to have a fleet or Admiral’s rank. I just never thought about doing anything else. Why do you ask?”
Gibbons sighed, “There’s a woman I really care about that decided to end our relationship because of my job.”
“Is she in the Navy?”
“No, she’s a civilian; but I’m really missing her…a lot.”
“Why did she choose to leave?”
“She says she didn’t want an absentee husband.”
“I was told at an early age to find my wife from those in the Navy. Civilians just can’t deal with the requirements of being a warrior.”
“I know; I was told the same thing. I just…I don’t know…I miss her.”
“Do you miss her enough to leave the service?” Kune watched Gibbs struggle with the question and he said, “You need to get out more.”
“What do you mean?”
“Stop by the Academy and offer to be a guest speaker to the fourth year cadets.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Just do it once and then get back to me about this.”
Gibbs stared at Kune, “You’re serious?”
“Just do it when we get back and then let’s discuss this again. Just don’t make any major decisions until you do it. Will you do that for me?”
“I guess.”
Kune looked at his board, “We’re getting our orders. Talk to you later.”
“Later.”
• • •
Dat turned on his wing frequency, “I’m going to have all of my conversations sent to your ships so all of you will know anything I’m going to do in advance. Gresha, I know your wing is linked to my ship but you should take a look at any place I decide to skip to before we arrive and arrange your ships accordingly.”
“Yes Sir.”
The other members of Dat’s wing were excited by the opportunity to be able to listen in on the Admiral’s conversations. This was a great opportunity to see what was required of Flag Officers. They knew this would be an invaluable learning experience. They also knew he was probably doing it for Gresha. It reinforced their belief that having her as a commander was a real benefit.
“Stein, do you have the probes’ feed from the target.”
“I do and Loree is going to be looking for a path to send the Juke Box in.”
“Send it out as soon as you see it. Don’t wait to ask permission; just do it.”
“I’m on it.”
Dat looked at his main display and activated the Fleet Frequency, “We will initiate the initial attack in two minutes. You have a target; get in, hit it, and run directly away from the planet. I want all of you running within twenty seconds of contact. The countdown will commence two minutes from…now!”
• • •
Gibbons saw the countdown begin and hit his communicator, “I’m only going to say this once and all of you had better make sure you get it the first time. We’re leading the Juke Box in and each of you will be assigned a ship to hit in the sector we’re given. You will hit that ship and that ship only! Hit it and run. I will replay the recording of this attack and if any of you fire at anything other than your target; I will personally make sure the guilty party is cleaning latrines on a cold planet for the rest of your career in the Navy. If you’re forced to fire on another enemy ship to defend yourself you better make damn sure the recordings bear out your decision. We’re there to clear a path for the Juke Box and that is what we’re going to do.” Gibbons ended the transmission and shook his head. His pilots were extremely aggressive and that was a good thing most of the time they went into combat. This just wasn’t one of them. “Roy, I want to know if any of them don’t follow that instruction.”
“I have the feed from the probe feeding directly to my databanks.”
“Good.” Gibbs pressed his panel, “Captain Chatman, are you ready?”
“I am, Sir. I’ll be right behind your formation.”
“Don’t waste time looking for a specific target. Fire them and get out.”
“That’s the plan, Sir. I won’t disappoint you.”
“I never thought you would.” Gibbs looked at his panel, “What’s the number of enemy ships above the planet?”
“We’re outnumbered three to one.”
“Oh, that’s all.”
“I’m not counting the ones that are out in the system. They shouldn’t be able to get to us before we
show them our backsides.”
“I was being sarcastic.”
“So was I.”
“You two need to just simmer down.”
“Oh be quiet, Link. And what’s with that southern accent?”
“Why y’all know little ole me doesn’t have an accent.”
“Roy, where did she pick that up?”
“She thinks you’re being a wuss about that woman. We both think the best thing happened”
“Figures.”
“We’re just sayin’.”
“Well, the two of you need to focus on the attack.”
“Yes sah, masta Gibbons.”
“I need to reprogram both of you.”
“You’ll never do it. You know we’re right. Would you walk away from this to be a civilian?”
Gibbs thought a moment and was feeling the adrenaline rush from the coming fight. “No, I guess I wouldn’t.”
“That’s what we like to hear; get ready, ten seconds before the initial ships skip in.”
• • •
Captain Lila Greatly stared at her display and waited for the order to go in. The Juke box Battleship she commanded was humming and every system was reading in the green. She stared at the readout of the planet she was assigned to destroy and saw that the major ship building facilities were in the northern hemisphere. She looked at their locations and wanted to hit the three biggest installations with the Light Waves. She pressed her panel and saw Admiral Kune appear on the display, “Admiral, the further away we are from the equator, the further out I would like to launch.”
“I’m not sure I follow you, Captain.”
“I want to hit the major manufacturing centers. I want an angle to fire on them from whatever path we’re given. The further away we are from the middle of the planet; the further out I’ll have to fire from to hit them.”
“If we’re given a path, notify me as quickly as possible what you need.”
“Yes Sir.”
The million ships watched the countdown and when it hit zero, three quarters of them disappeared.
Chapter Nineteen
Brandon Hail appeared in normal space and saw his target ship directly ahead. He was coming in at an incredible velocity and moved the Rover toward a thruster line on the right side of the giant grey ship. The automatic beams turned toward the incoming Rover but it was into the thruster line before they could fire. The ship started a roll but Brandon moved his ship with the roll and fired his Dark Matter beam at it as he roared by. The beam cut a trench down two thirds of the ship and he pulled back to run directly away. He saw on his display that the ship next to his target was rolling its beams toward him and he knew he wouldn’t make it out of their range in time. Suddenly, the ship he had fired on blew up in a massive explosion which rocked the ship that was targeting him. The beams lost lock and he roared away before they could reacquire him. His heart was beating at a rate that scared him but he had made it out alive. He saw six of the giant grey ships accelerate away from the planet chasing him as he added more speed.
“We’ve got trouble.”
Brandon looked and saw thousands of grey ships emerging into normal space directly ahead of him and shook his head. Then he heard, “Light Waves have been launched.” He punched his drive button and skipped into the barrier and disappeared before the ships ahead of him could get a shot off. He wondered how many ships survived. He closed his eyes and gave thanks for his luck.
• • •
Gibbs saw his panel illuminate and said, “Jump now on the trajectory we’ve been assigned. Nicky, get the shot off.” The two hundred and fifty thousand Rovers appeared above the southern continent and hit the eighty thousand Master ships still in orbit above the planet. All eighty thousand exploded and the Rovers skipped out. Captain Chatman flew the Juke Box Battleship in behind them and salvoed the three Light Wave Penetrators. Sixty ships managed to come roaring in from around the planet and fired on the huge white ship. Two force fields failed but the third held and the Juke Box skipped away. The planet exploded a moment later and the atmosphere cooked off as the southern continent split all the way down to the core and molten rock exploded out in a massive blast. Everything on the planet was killed in the heat that rolled over the surface. Only a few bacteria survived the planet’s death.
• • •
“Lila, we’re going in over the North Pole.”
“I need to fire the penetrators from twenty thousand miles out, Admiral.”
“We’re taking out the ships over the pole and skipping out. Make your shots and get out!”
Lila watched the thousands of grey ships over the pole start exploding and she watched her weapons officer feed the data to the Light Waves. He fired the three huge missiles as the white battleships turned to skip away. Three hundred Grey ships appeared around them and the weapon’s officer hit his panel launching hundreds of medium penetrators. The ship was being hit by a hundred beams but disappeared before the last force field went down.
The medium penetrators locked on a target and accelerated to half the speed of light. A third of them were hit by beams being fired at the Juke Box but the others hit the Master’s Ships that were screaming in. The medium penetrator failed to penetrate the force fields of incoming ships half the time due to the steep angle of attack but two hundred of the grey ships exploded just after the planet split in half.
• • •
“Sir, three of the Juke Boxes didn’t get a route in.”
Dat hit his board, “The three ship groups that didn’t get a route in. I want you to jump in to your target planet a hundred thousand miles out and volley your Light Waves one behind the other with a second between each of them. Rovers, jump in a head of the Juke Box and jump out. Don’t engage the enemy. You’re simply a diversion. Jump in and jump out. Jump in three seconds.”
Dat watched the three huge formations disappear and Gresha said, “What are you trying to accomplish?”
“If we can’t clear a path to the planet, perhaps the Light Waves can do it for us.”
“Won’t they destroy each other in the blast if one hits a ship before the planet?”
“Those penetrators are shielded. I’m hoping one can make it through.”
• • •
The Rovers jumped in on each side of the Juke Box and turned left and right. The Masters’ Ships at the planet began jumping out to give chase as the Juke Box fired the first penetrator. The second was fired a second later as enemy ships began emerging on each side of the large white ship. The third penetrator launched and the Juke Box exploded as three thousand beams hit it.
Looking at a planet with hundreds of thousands of ships above it in orbit, it appeared that nothing could make it through their ranks. However, there was more empty space than there are ships. Only the third penetrator hit a ship. The other two hit the planet in the same location and the second hit broke a third of it away. Of thirty planets targeted, all of them died. Five of the Juke Box Battleships were destroyed and more than two hundred thousand Rovers lost their lives.
The twenty ships in Dat’s defense wing listened as the casualty reports came in and they heard the sense of Loss in the Admiral’s voice. They felt sorrow for their lost comrades but they knew the Admiral felt it more. After an hour, they heard the Admiral’s computer say, “We have the report on what damages we were able to inflict on the Black Creatures.”
Dat sighed, “What were they?”
“All thirty planets were destroyed. Even the last three were blown apart. It appears multiple Light Waves hitting in the same location is more than a planet can take.” Dat nodded. “The Rovers also killed eight million of their ships.”
“How many?”
“Eight million, four hundred sixty thousand, seven hundred and fifty six or seven.”
“Why the doubt?”
“One ship appeared to be destroyed but they were able to pull it away for repairs.”
“Loree, are you saying all the others were not repairable
?”
“It’s hard to repair a cloud of debris.”
“At least our brave pilots made their lives count.”
“I suspect there is some distress in Monster Land today.”
Dat didn’t feel like smiling but couldn’t stop it, “I suspect there is too.”
Stein interjected, “The rest of our fleets are now going in and attacking their ships. Initial reports indicate that we’ve destroyed an additional twenty million of their ships since the attack on the thirty planets.”
“Order the crews that attacked the planets home for five days of liberty. They’ll be slotted in when they get back and join our other fleets in making the attacks.”
“Yes Sir.”
• • •
The instructor finally stopped the questions and thanked Gibbs for speaking to his class. Gibbs had dreaded speaking at the Academy but knew Kune would never let up until he did it. He fully expected it to be a huge waste of time and energy. He only had five days off but he decided he needed to fill the time to keep from thinking about Anna. He was pleasantly surprised that it was more fun than he thought it would be. The fourth year cadets were really smart and they hung on every word he said. And their questions were insightful and challenged him. He was forced to agree that he didn’t think about Anna once during the classes. He planned to do it again.
Gibbs gathered his materials and walked out of the classroom and went to the cafeteria to get something to eat before he left for his shuttle.
“Excuse me, Sir.”
Gibbs turned around and was stunned by what he saw. A fourth year cadet stood in front of him and she was absolutely stunning. Her shoulder length black hair was beautiful and she had the bluest eyes he had ever seen. She was amazing. Gibbs gathered his wits and said, “Yes.”
“I was wondering how long you are going to be here.”