Dave turns his head to watch in morbid curiosity as crew from the destroyed ship tumble into space before them. The aliens look much like themselves, having two arms and two legs, beyond that he can discern teasingly little.
“Wonder how many were on that ship?” He asks, more to himself than anyone else as he does not really expect an answer.
The crew goes silent as Artemis One enters the region of space heavily filled with remnants of the freshly destroyed spacecraft. Dave, along with the others, watches in amazement as their tiny space capsule plods along unaffected. Tom starts to breathe a little easier as his stress levels go down.
Looking back to the battle, Dave can see that the larger ships though still badly outgunned, are starting to rally themselves and begin to effectively strike back. The smaller ships of the ambushers are protected with powerful shields which merely glow as individual impacts do little to no damage. However, multiple projectiles strike one of these small ships causing it to explode seconds after its shields fail, further adding to the carnage.
“Go get ‘em!” Brett shouts out, pumping a fist into the air as he does so.
“Gotta cheer for someone.” He says matter-of-factly.
A group of the smaller ambushers are caught by multiple impacts and explode as their shields fail. Suddenly the sky lights up brightly as another massive spacecraft explodes as it succumbs to the relentless onslaught. Enormous chunks of debris fling outward in all directions once again. Mini explosions continue unabated from within the remnants of this once mighty spacecraft.
Brett puts a hand up as if to shield himself while closing his eyes. Dave flinches and gulps as an enormous piece of wreckage suddenly blocks their path. Artemis One diligently continues on its pre plotted course, seemingly oblivious to the obstacle before them.
Dave turns to Brett in resignation. “Well, you may as well shut off that proximity alarm, all the good it’s doing us!” Their end is obviously coming soon as a collision is imminent.
Brett gulps, he had forgotten about the alarm, its little bleeping having been ignored by all. Space is now so littered with debris that weapons fire now has as much chance of finding a target as it does of being intercepted. The smaller craft dance and weave through this ever mounting debris field in impressive displays of piloting. It is one of these smaller ships that inadvertently saves Artemis One. Dave watches as the huge fragment before them gets so close that he can even make out an internal stairwell. Suddenly a tiny spacecraft zooms past them, firing away at some unseen target with its laser. Perhaps the pilot was distracted, for the fast tiny ship collides squarely with the chunk of debris before them. It explodes in a spectacular fashion sending fragments in all directions.
“Did you see that? I thought I saw a pilot!”
Slowly, the damaged section carves into two, the pieces drifting apart. The computers aboard Artemis One, sticking to their preplanned flight path takes them between these two mountains of rotating wreckage.
Dave’s mouth moves as he silently counts the ships internal decks. Eighteen, nineteen, twenty. He stops, his mouth agape.
“How many of the bigger ships are out there now?”, he asks curiously.
Brett surprises them all with his quick reply, “seven, not counting those destroyed.”
Dave continues to watch the battle, he is totally absorbed by the unbelievable spectacle. The smaller craft’s shields glow from minor impacts as they continue to seek clear shots at their larger targets. The enormous vessels seem to simply be relying on their thick armor to deflect the debris. They absorb insane levels of punishment, while at the same time dishing out their own retribution. The ambush is perhaps too successful, as yet another armor plated behemoth suddenly explodes. The blinding flash causes so much disruption the battle halts for a moment as vessels on both sides divert attention to surviving this new mountainous volley of fragments. A number of diminutive death plumes briefly shine as the smaller craft that fail to escape are engulfed.
Unexpectedly an entire group of massive spacecraft arrive upon the scene of this apocalyptic battle. Dodging and weaving laser attacks as best they can, two of these new comers almost collide. Dave gasps as he can clearly see the gap between these two ships disappear. The smaller shielded craft continue to freely wreak havoc as they find themselves with so many new and easy targets.
Tom’s breathing comes in shallow rasps as fear threatens to overwhelm him.
Brett lets out a shrill whistle. “Twenty ships now.”
The battle is joined moments later by a pair of even larger spacecraft.
Dave points at them and shouts out uncontrollably, “Harthos be!” He struggles to comprehend the sheer size of these newcomers. One of them seems to be hanging directly in front of his porthole. Dave cranes his neck back and forth, this pair of behemoths are easily three times the size of the other ships as they stretch on into the distance.
Tom holds his breath as the new arrivals unleash a deadly barrage of projectiles and energy weapons. Lights and objects skim close by Artemis One causes everyone to wonder once again if this is the end for them.
Dave is sure these late comers will fare better than their smaller cousins. With armor melted away or gas venting fr
om deep penetrations, they have been getting mauled by the tiny attackers.
These two new monsters glide by their tiny ship, allowing the four men to relax a little as the fight moves away from them. Brett can see that the tide of battle is slowly turning. Now the race is on to see who will be triumphant. The larger spacecraft slowly twist and turn as the laser beams of their smaller antagonizers strike again and again. Dave notes that these maneuvers seem designed to spread the devastating barrage of laser fire over as much an area of their thick protective armor as possible. Many scarred lines and furrows are left in the wake of these attempts to avoid damage. The smaller craft perform impressive acrobatics as they continue to press the fight while dodging return fire along with the ever increasing amounts of floating debris. The minutes tick by as the smaller craft that fail these acrobatics are destroyed. The remnants of vessels on both sides being added to minute by minute, in this pitched battle for survival.
One more truly immense spacecraft drops out of hyperdrive, smack in the midst of this epic battle.
Tom recoils at the sight, “Harthos be!” He exclaims loudly between shallow breaths.
The behemoth’s numerous weapons open up instantly sending projectiles and lasers outward blanketing the space around it. Fortunately for the crew of Artemis One, the heart of the battle has moved away from them. Dave’s jaw drops as he can see that this new arrival dwarfs even its own fleet members. It is easily twice as long as the two larger spacecraft which themselves dwarf the other massive spaceships. Making no attempt whatsoever to dodge the debris this monstrous technological marvel plows forward, accelerating, taking the battle to the smaller ships. Its many weapons platforms firing nonstop, as its thick armor brushes aside the remnants of previously destroyed vessels. It having appeared so suddenly in the midst of battle, a small space ship unable to maneuver in time, collides with it. The smaller antagonizer’s shields glow briefly in a futile attempt to protect itself, before it explodes against the impenetrable armor on the spacecraft’s forward section.
Dave squints into the distance and spots a dented smudge, all that remains of the unlucky ship and its pilot. The colossal newcomer dispatches shielded ship after shielded ship with great efficiency. But still the smaller shielded ships come on, in almost suicidal droves. The laser attacks against this mammoth newcomer seem almost futile, for as deep as the rents and gouges go, the armor seems to be never ending. A large number of small craft suddenly break off their individual attacks and scatter in all directions.
Dave swings his head around as he watches the amazing display of piloting. These nimble ships dodge debris and each other to converge moments later above and much closer to this massive newcomer. Simultaneously, they fire their lasers, all focusing on one armored ar
ea of the forward hull section. The immense spacecraft directs weapons fire at these attackers as it slowly starts to roll and turn. Numerous lasers dig a massive rough furrow deep into the behemoth’s forequarters. Armor melts then solidifies again in the coldness of space as the monstrous spacecraft turns and rolls even more. The laser beams while converged, create a deep rent into the armor belt. As each smaller ship dodges and weaves, lasers miss their mark, creating smaller individual scars instead. What began as a large group of attackers shrinks in number as they come ever onward, attempting to dodge attacks while firing continuously. The attacking wave is soon reduced to a few ships which rush past the sides of this immense spacecraft. The rent in the side of this monstrous craft is so deep one of the attackers flies inside the damaged area for a few seconds before emerging unscathed.
Dave is astonished at the sight. “Unbelievable!” He intones as gas vents into space from the side of what seemed to be an invincible ship.
Many of the other smaller craft now abandon their own attacks to assist their colleagues. It’s almost as if they can smell a victory against this truly monstrous spacecraft.
Brett sounds dejected as he states the obvious. “They’re gonna finish her off.”
Dave is dumbfounded. “That last ship is bigger than anything I have ever seen in my life. I can’t imagine that it can be destroyed.”
Meanwhile one of the ambushed spacecraft, with many parts of its protective armor literally melted away, turns from the planet. Gas vents from numerous holes in its hull. The ship limps slowly away, its thrusters pulsing as they work intermittently. The wounded spacecraft is soon joined by more of its damaged brethren as the attackers break off pursuit to focus on the largest ship in the fleet.
This monstrous vessel, while under relentless attack, also maneuvers to face away from the planet. The entire rear sections of these massive ships start to glow brightly, then they are gone. Each ship leaves a streak of colors which mark where they were, and trail off into the distance.
“Oh no,” says Brett disheartened, “look!”
He points off to into the distance where one ships remains. Its rear engines glow then fade, they have clearly been damaged during the battle. The smaller ships converge on the helpless ship as they close in for the kill. The crippled ship suddenly blows up. The explosion is stupendous, dwarfing all others in its intensity. The blast wave expands outward catching many of the smaller ships in its unimagined fury.
Dave gulps as the wave front from this explosion ripples toward them.
“HOLD ON!” He shouts in pure panic.
As the blast expands outward its energies diminish. None the less, the impact to Artemis One is staggering. A myriad of alarms sound as the crew are jostled badly. The impact throws the tiny capsule off course.
Brett hurriedly flicks a bunch of switches as sweat builds on his forehead.
“Going to manual control.”
The tiny viewport directly over Dave suddenly cracks. Dave spins his head and stares at the damaged window in silent dread. Brett notices Dave’s focus and flicks another bank of switches, closing all of the portholes off.
Just as a thin armor sheet clicks into place the window fails. Pieces slowly fall away, but the seal holds. Tom has once again been holding his breath, he lets it out in a swoosh. Brett battles the ships desire to dive them into the atmosphere burning up precious fuel reserves.
With the viewports now all closed, the four men have no idea as to what is happening outside anymore. They sit there in awe of the apocalyptic space battle they not only witnessed, but somehow survived.
The fleeing spacecraft have no way of knowing that their smaller attackers now only number under a couple of hundred. However the escaping spacecraft have little time to consider their lost comrades as many of the ships are very badly damaged. As they escape from the disastrous battle one more of their fleet succumbs to its damage as something inside it fails catastrophically. The rest of the fleet continues onward as what is left of this mighty ship exits hyperdrive, leaving a trail of particles and debris that stretches on for almost half a light year.
Back on Artemis One, Brett shudders as he glances at the fuel readings. Every tank is reading zero. The last of the ship’s momentum puts them into a high orbit, where hopefully they will stay. With all other options exhausted, he engages the solar panels and reopens one view port.
They all spot the huge space carrier instantly as it hangs off in the distance. It is also the size of a major city, though more cigar shaped with smooth even curves. The small nimble ships converging on this ship disappear inside. Dave imagines that the space captain, though having suffered heavy losses must feel that he has won the battle. Within minutes of loading the last of the smaller ships, this spacecraft also vanishes on a sheet of colored light.
Larry flicks a series of switches again then speaks calmly into his microphone.
“Ground control, Artemis One here, are you receiving?”
No one dares comment on his tenacity anymore. Unexpectedly the speakers crackle into life. Brett’s jaw drops then closes again making a mild snapping sound as it does.
“Yeah, we’re here, sorta. What the Harthos did you find out there?” The voice from Pythos sounds rather apprehensive.
In time the massive debris field over Pythos coalesces into a ring of fine dust. The Artemis Ring as it will be called, stays with the planet for many years, as do the stories of this epic battle. No one ever finds out what even happened to the survivors, though many stories and theories are created then dismissed.
Chapter Two - Incoming
Location:
Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP)
315 KM North East of Geraldton, Western Australia.
Beep.... Beep.... Beep....
“Joe go see what the hell that's all about, will ya mate?” Andrew is busy with reports and requests from the many people that call this array home.
“Yeah, no worries,” says Joe as he rolls his chair over to one of many consoles that operate the newly completed radio telescope array. Software bugs have been rampant, not to mention the many hardware problems that had surfaced from such a large endeavor. These two men have been working tirelessly together for the better part of a year getting the facility running properly.
“I thought we fixed all the bugs,” ponders Joe aloud. He sighs, rubs his tired light brown eyes, as he slides his chair to a stop in front of the offending terminal. “So much for a brand new state of the art facility,” he mutters to no one in particular.
“Ughh Andrew.” His demeanor changing a little. “You better come look at this mate. I think we may have something, actually its many somethings!”
“Ok, Hey, can you pull that up on the new 3D modeling computer? Be out there in a sec mate.”
Scheduling array time for the various project groups is giving him a headache. He almost welcomes the interruption. Andrew stands up and stretches to his full six feet as he leaves his office. With his very thin build, he seems almost skeletal in comparison to Joe, the slightly stocky engineer who only stands at five feet seven inches. The two men when standing together, seem to exaggerate each other's features, much to the amusement of some co workers. But none can deny their abilities, nor the friendship that has developed between this odd looking pair.
Both men now standing, stare at a large blank screen, waiting for the information to feed through. Andrew's oceanic blue eyes dart from monitor to monitor then back again to focus on this one main screen, waiting. They both keep staring at this blank screen, one of many belonging to this modern facility. The data travels to a supercomputer in Perth where it gets converted into images in almost real time. That’s the theory anyway, as time drags on for seemingly minutes. Just as they are about to consign this to yet another software glitch, a single dot appears, and it is moving. Soon it is joined by more small dots, they too, are moving. Andrew starts to run his fingers through his short fair hair as he and Joe stare at these small moving d
ots. This is not a software glitch, this is something else.
“Andrew, can you align the array so we can get a better look at this while I try cleaning up the static we’re getting with these readings?” His voice tinged with concern as he looks at the dozens of moving dots on the screen before them.
Andrew hurriedly taps commands into a nearby computer terminal. The night time desert comes alive as the thirty six antenna that make up the array slowly turn to point directly at the source of their curiosity. As the array completes its cycle the static clears revealing more dots, many more dots. The beep… beep… beep… continues unabated from a nearby terminal, being ignored for the time being.
“Hey great,” hollers Joe. “That static is not static at all, it's just little meteoroids, no bigger than a hand. The dots are the larger objects and look to be about five meters in size. But this can't be right though. According to these readings the objects are less than a day out. How can we have missed this meteor shower?”
Andrew, now at yet another console, relaxes a little as more data comes in. “These objects are so small, all they will do is make a great light show should any come our way.” He says with obvious relief.
Joe is frowning though as he sits down again in his chair. Moving from terminal to terminal he looks at one screen, then another, and occasionally types commands on various keyboards. Andrew watches as data and images are portrayed. A printer starts to clatter, Joe grabs the printout and starts making notes on it. Andrew watches, knowing not to interfere with Joe when he gets on one of his personal missions. He just waits as he wonders what Joe is up to.
Minutes later Joe looks up and says with a mixture of fear and anxiety, “These asteroids and meteoroids are all wrong, look at these density figures. According to this data these are some hard buggers. Hard enough to damage or even destroy any satellites they run into, and perhaps even cause some ground impacts, especially the larger ones.”
First Contact (Terran Chronicles) Page 2