The Avenger crawled its way forward.
Come on, come on! She prayed her abused systems would hold. She’d been prepared to die, if that’s what victory demanded. But now, having felt the sweet taste of victory, the thought of being ripped apart at the atomic level didn’t sit well with her.
Slowly but surely, the Avenger fought away from the event-horizon.
When her instruments indicated a steady pace of acceleration, she backed off the throttle to normal levels.
Taking a deep breath, she settled her nerves and collected her thoughts.
My squadron!
“Dark Knight One, Dark Knight Three.”
Silence.
“Dark Knight One, this is Dark Knight Three. Respond, please.”
“Dark Knight Three, this is Dark Knight Four,” Lt. West answered back in a somber tone. “He’s gone, Ross. They’re all gone.”
***
None of his capital ships were swallowed by the singularity. Quick action and hard thrusting had saved them.
That success felt hollow to Chen as he watched his helpless fighter pilots being dragged back into the black hole’s destructive core. They fought against the inevitable.
One by one, they were dismantled by the most powerful force in all of nature. One by one, he listened to their death cries.
At least, he told himself, that damn thing ate several of its own ships whole, too. He shook his head, lowering it in disgust. That was a bitter consolation prize.
Whipping his chin up, he shouted, “Fleet status report?”
The singularity collapsed in on itself, snuffed out of existence with a whimper. A few slivers of debris lucky enough to avoid the center of the artificial black hole and the emptiness of space were all that stood where the station once was.
Captain Beaux delivered the regretful news. “Fifty battleships destroyed or disabled.”
“Damn it, man,” Chen barked. “Tell me what I have left to fight with. I’ll worry about my losses later.”
Beaux reorganized his thoughts, stiffening his spine. “We have forty-one battleships, fifty-nine cruisers, thirteen destroyers, two-hundred thirty-eight fighters, and seventy-seven drones still battle-worthy, Admiral.”
“And what shape are they in?”
“Worse. They lost over a dozen ships to the black hole. Best estimate is that they have two hundred twelve effectives.”
Returning his eyes to the holo display, Chen examined the regrouping enemy. “They appear to be placing more ships directly in front of their last station.”
“I imagine they aim to avoid another KKC strike by the fighters.”
“It would appear so.” Crossing his arms, he allowed himself a sense of satisfaction. “It’s nice to have them reacting to us. Let’s show them the folly of preparing to fight the last battle.”
***
“What the hell was that thing, anyway?” Susan asked Lt. West, her sole surviving squadron mate.
“I’m not sure. I think the station utilized an artificial black hole as a power source. Guessing the nukes ruptured its containment.”
“Artificial black hole? Is that even possible?”
“In theory, but we sure as hell don’t have the tech for it. Would explain why their beam weapon packs so much bang, though.”
The last of the Dark Knights joined their fellow fighters in a holding pattern while the fleet rearranged itself for the next phase of the battle for Kitright Prime.
Chapter Twenty-Two
End Around
The battleships Pakistan and Peru led the headlong charge at the last remaining station with two Bearcat battleships, Warrior’s Spirit and Divine Destiny, forming points in their box formation. The remaining battleships, except Admiral Chen’s flagship, grouped themselves to repeat the design. Each square formation formed another link in a massive tetrahedron.
At the four points of the tetrahedron, the cruisers advanced in equally divided clusters, one with an extra vessel. From above, the formation appeared as three lines angling away from their common point. A paltry force of thirteen Bearcat destroyers sat behind the body of the tetrahedron to serve as the only reserve.
Two-hundred ninety-five fighters and sixty-nine drones circled in the center of the three dimensional geometric shape.
The Kitright expected another direct assault against their base and had deployed a significant number of their ships to counter just such a threat. Chen resolved to give them just what they expected, or, at least, make them think that’s what they were getting.
When the tip of the spear came into range of the station’s primary weapon, the terrible balls of light appeared at the pyramid’s points.
“Now!” Chen commanded.
On that cue, the separate formations of battleships individually executed precision maneuvers. They scattered, but with intent, dashing up and down, side to side, always working to keep at least one of the multitude of Kitright ships between them and the station. With any luck, this tactic would frustrate the terrible weapon.
It worked.
The enemy beam grazed the Warrior’s Spirit before speeding off into the void of deep space.
The points of the giant tetrahedron surged forward to envelope the enemy. More and more of the formation engaged the outflanked enemy.
“Halt the battleships’ advance,” Chen commanded. His blood was up. This was the kind of fight he enjoyed. “Hold the line at all costs.”
Another shot from the station missed wide as a Bearcat battleship dove hard behind cover. He allowed a smile to decorate his face. Erasing it, his eyes focused on the cruiser clusters, particularly the left one.
***
Susan mentally pushed the throttle to full, forcing her back into her chair. She looked out the window to see West, the only other Dark Knight left. They’d never been particularly close, but fighter pilots were a particularly close-knit group within the already close-knit community of a battlecarrier. He served in her squadron, so that made him family. Seeing West still flying helped soften the loss of the other Dark Knights in her mind.
The armada of two hundred fifty-seven small vessels accelerated faster than the cruisers. The swift fighters and drones opened a sizable gap from the twenty-nine strong cruiser force. Darting forward at an angle, their trajectory along the extreme flank would carry them into the enemy’s rear.
Kitright ships on their opposing flank attempted to intercept the speeding formation but found themselves occupied by an approaching horde of missiles. The multiple-wave attack demanded their undivided attention.
A reserve force of golden oval capital ships moved to engage.
The drones, their bravery a product of programming, fell upon the two dozen ships, heedless of their losses. The small craft zipped about to cause a maximum of confusion. A laser cannon served as their only armament, but they used it expertly to soften enemy targets for the living pilots. Each discharge from their cannons took out an enemy point defense, literally melting away the target’s protective barrier.
One hundred twenty-one Bearcat dart-shaped fighters struck the enemy next. These smaller, faster craft employed a single missile and lone laser cannon, trusting in their speed and agility to kill as much as their firepower. The design stood in comic contrast to the race that created them.
The swarm of insects stung the Kitright reserve force again and again. Enemy defensive fire thinned the attackers’ numbers, but at an ever-decreasing rate.
Suddenly the Bearcat fighters broke off in all directions, leaving the last dozen drones to continue the attack.
“Dark Knight Three, fox one!” Susan called out, signaling the release of her first nuclear-tipped missile before pulling her Avenger into a hard climb.
Of the seventy-nine Avengers who made the charge, seventy carried at least one missile. That number now lunged for the enemy line of two dozen Kitright ships.
Despite closing the short distance in a blink of an eye, and the weakened state of the target ship’s point defenses
, only forty-two survived to fulfill their purpose.
That was enough.
Several targets suffered two hits, all at least one.
The small nuclear blossoms opened gaping wounds on the capital ships. Pink gel gushed out of the dying fleet. Susan might have found the geysers jettisoning the frozen ooze lovely, if not for the work that remained.
Most vessels fell to the strike, but not all. The fighters returned to the charge, to dispatch the disabled ships with lasers. Lots and lots of lasers.
Then nothing stood between them and the enemy base.
***
The situation in the middle of the fight grew more desperate by the second. Having committed the reserve force of thirteen destroyers to hold the center, Admiral Chen ordered his own flagship to the most dangerous point of the line.
Some were sure to criticize the act as reckless. He knew, however the battle had reached the point where an extra ship on the line meant more than a commanding officer. All the key orders had been given. Only victory offered salvation and life for the remainder of his once-mighty strike force. To nobody’s ears, he whispered the cry of sergeants at least since the unification of Egypt before 3000 BC: “C’mon, you apes. You want to live forever?” Besides, it only felt right that he should share in the risk.
The holo cloak flickered from time to time when the South Africa took damage. He could hear Captain Beaux and the flag bridge crew shout orders at one another but left them alone to do their jobs.
Only twenty-two battleships and six destroyers comprised the thin core of the strike force. They gave as good as they got, but the pyramid struck home with deadly effect from time to time. The Kitright ships never let up, either.
The cruiser clusters on the flanks fared better, plowing into the enemy’s weak fringes. Their valiant deeds would be for naught if the fighters didn’t complete their assignment.
Chen intently watched his ace in the hole point its nose at the heart of the enemy and accelerate.
***
“You still with me, Dark Knight Four?” Susan asked out into the universe, hoping for a reply.
“Hell, yeah! You don’t think I’d miss this party, do you?” West called back.
“Just glad to have you along for the ride, West. Give me a weapons check.”
“Still have a thousand rounds for the double K and lasers at full charge. I’m bingo on nukes, though.”
She sighed. “Damn it. When did you use the first one?” The stress of the battle was getting to her. She regretted the minor outburst immediately. Her only squadron mate deserved better, and she knew it. “Sorry, West.”
“No harm. We’re all on a razor’s edge.”
Ninety-five Bearcat and seventy-one human pilots closed on the enemy base. Drones had gone extinct on the battlefield.
The Avengers eased ahead to take the lead in the joint formation.
Finally in range, they unleashed the last of the KKC rounds. Seventy-one thousand ten-centimeter long shafts of depleted uranium hurled toward the target at a deadly speed.
In a desperate attempt to secure their exposed rear, the Kitright diverted several ships from their center, helping to take some of the pressure off Admiral Chen. However, these hastily redeployed forces were largely out of position to stop the KKC rounds.
Two damaged vessels manage to limp into the path of the projectiles, absorbing thousands of hits in place of the station. They cracked and shattered like dropped eggs impacting a kitchen floor.
Roughly sixty thousand rounds hammered the station’s kinetic shield. Only ten thousand breached the barrier to pepper the hull.
Sensing a mortal threat, the base refocused its primary weapon on the fighters. The three points of the pyramid facing the end-around attack glowed as the beam powered up. The points streaked, joining in the middle to shoot out. Aggressive maneuvering by the nimble craft rendered the destructive bolt useless.
A shell of protection had formed around the station by the time the fighters came into range. Several squadrons peeled off from the stampede to entangle themselves with the wings of the enemy relief force, frustrating their efforts. Over a hundred carried the charge forward.
Susan fired her laser cannon, then put her Avenger into a spasm of movements. She closed on the target. Jerking the fighter, she aimed the nose squarely on the station. The cannon fired. Again she engaged in aerobatic maneuvers to help her stay alive and inch ever closer.
The enemy’s defenses picked off a fighter here and there, but the horde grew nearer.
At thirty kilometers, she held a steady course for perilous seconds in order to fire. The hot energy of the beam raked across the pyramid’s hull. This time, instead of juking and jiving, she gritted her teeth and punched the throttle to full power with a solitary thought born of pure determination.
The foe before her young and impulsive mind had taken so much from her and her family. The Dark Knights, once five, now only counted two. They’d denied her father a grandparent and her great-grandmother a father. Those insults had implanted in her a visceral urge for revenge.
In a heartbeat that could easily have sealed her doom, Susan came to within eight kilometers of the station.
Whether her Avenger was missed by a computer glitch, fate, destiny or luck didn’t matter. It simply was.
She didn’t miss.
The command to fire the last missile didn’t come from a logical, highly evolved part of her brain. It originated from a basic, primitive, maybe even dormant slice of ancient humanity. From a dark place in man’s collective soul. Where it came from didn’t matter. All that mattered is that Valkyrie understood.
The nuclear missile fired. Its avenging master turned and ran for the safety of distance.
She didn’t bother to look behind her. Survival proved a more demanding instinct, She stared into the emptiness of space as her tiny ship accelerated for all it was worth.
While Susan’s vessel of retribution had been the first to loose its missile, it wasn’t alone.
The warhead’s detonation on the base’s hull caused enough damage and interference for thirty-four other instruments of hot fusion to slip through.
Hit after hit burrowed progressively deeper into the station’s core until the singularity buried in the structure’s bowels shook loose of its tether to fulfill its natural impulse.
Forty-three Kitright ships failed to escape the gravity.
***
Admiral Chen couldn’t control the burst of emotion that erupted from his lips and limps. The exact feeling was hard to quantify. Part joy, part relief, with a dash of righteousness maybe.
Whatever it was didn’t really matter. The center of the once-sturdy Kitright line now held nothing to stop him.
“All battleships advance,” he declared. “Don’t let their wings link up!”
Twenty battle-weary ships pushed forward, pounding the enemy’s fringes. Within minutes, the remaining fighters fell upon the divided enemy, adding their lasers to the encircling barrage.
Knowing the battle lost, individual Kitright ships broke off and attempted to accelerate out of the battle, which was fast approaching a rout.
Their panicked flight only hastened their demise.
When the last of the enemy broke apart, Captain Beaux ventured into the holo cloak for the first time since the battle began. He looked drained. Stained armpits and lingering sweat on his forehead illustrated just how close to defeat they’d come. He extended a hand to Chen.
“They’ll be talking about this one for a while, Admiral.”
Chen nodded. “I imagine you’re right, Captain. I just hope this isn’t the only victory for our young alliance to celebrate.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Invasion
“Citizens of United Earth Systems,” Chairman Dalton said to begin his speech from behind a podium dawning the UES seal, an artistic rendition of the Milky Way. “Today, I must convey a difficult truth to you, a truth owed to you. Recent, irrefutable evidence has come
to light which proves beyond a doubt, that the Second Contact War was deliberately orchestrated by the Kitright.”
He paused for dramatic effect. The press corps sat in slack-jawed silence. He took sick pleasure in having them hang on his every word.
“The Kitrights told the Bearcats, whom they’d been allied with for centuries, that humanity had attacked the Kitright people without provocation. They appealed to the Bearcats for military aid against us and gave them the coordinates of the New Earth colony.
“We believe the Kitright arranged the war in the hopes of eliminating both the human and Bearcat races.”
Dalton scanned the wide eyes of the reporters. They yearned for his next words like an infant suckling its mother’s breast.
They’re going to love this part.
“The UES has been in contact with the Bearcat government, known as the Warrior’s Forum, since shortly after their attack on the Alpha Gate Base. Our delegation was led by General Trenton Maxwell of the 1st Legion, a member of the Red Barons. He, with authority granted by my office, negotiated an alliance between humanity and Bearcats.
“Several months ago, General Maxwell led a contingent of Legion soldiers and Bearcat warriors in an attack against a Kitright outpost. Our troops bled together on the same ground and many fell fighting against a common enemy.
“Their actions paved the way for the joint offensive launched today against several Kitright worlds, including their home world, which we’ve designated Kitright Prime.” He puffed out his chest. “I’m pleased to announce that our forces caught the enemy off-guard and have met with nothing but success.
“Our combined naval forces have destroyed every Kitright ship encountered and ground forces are preparing at this very moment to invade.”
Dalton waxed on, enjoying the fact he held the attention of the entire world and that soon his words would echo across the human universe. This little talk, as he thought of it, was really only a secondary concern of his. Important things were afoot that played a bigger role in his own secret agenda.
***
The Last Revenge (The Last Hero Trilogy Book 2) Page 19