The Darkness: The Conglomerate Trilogy (Volume 2)
Page 38
The Proud Infidel would hang back, far from the battle zone in case a rescue was needed.
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
Battle Singer in Sol
From the great battle station over Earth, Caliph Risyat looked out over the ships maneuvering into formation. Six juggernauts and a hundred newer model cruisers. There were even sixty destroyers and fifteen newer battleships. As far as his eye could see the warriors of the Caliphate stood ready to launch their jihad across the galaxy, to burn the word of Allah into the consciousness of the infidel aliens.
The shipyards continued to build new ships and there were still four juggernauts under construction.
Risyat turned and looked at the creature kneeling on the carpet behind him. It was smaller and physically inferior to humans, like a bipedal frog but with dry leathery skin and forward set eyes. The teeth were sharp and Risyat had seen reports of the one that was dissected. It was a predator, and the brain was located in the chest instead of squat ugly head. Calling itself a vassal of the Battle Singers, the creature had helped them build the shipyards and design the ships. All for the glory of Allah. The Battle Singers demanded that Islam spread across the stars and they demanded that Caliph Risyat rule the faithful. It was to be his destiny.
Caliph Risyat was not one to oppose the will of Allah and he smiled as he watched the ships prepare to wage their jihad across the universe. He would be known as the greatest Caliph of all times, not just on Earth but across the entire galaxy.
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
Wormhole Ambush
"We have transition," Halsey announced and Luke headed to the CIC. "Three Bronkaw capital ships. They are broadcasting mayday and appear to have suffered major damage."
Arriving in the CIC Leonessa and Pavlis weren't far behind him. Brita reported in from the auxiliary bridge.
"Dump the missiles," Luke said. The Tigress was still a few hours away from the Secund wormhole. "Sound general stations."
"The Crusader reports ready for action," Halsey said. "Frigates report ready for action. Fighters on standby."
"As soon as the landing bays are clear, I want the battalion ready to launch," Luke said looking at the three surviving Bronkaw ships.
Armed missiles were being dumped out of every available port on the Tigress, Crusader and the frigates. Close to twenty thousand missiles, they drifted apart and toward the Secund wormhole.
Luke stared at the space that was the Secund Wormhole. It was a sphere, fifty kilometers in diameter, and enemy ships could emerge from any point of that sphere, heading in any direction, but if Shum was correct Luke knew what their departure quadrant would be. Directly toward the Bronkaw home world and that is where most of missiles were drifting.
"Last mines have been dumped," Halsey said.
"Launch the battalion as soon as they are ready," Luke said.
"Launching the battalion," Gray said from his command station. "First wave is away."
Luke glanced over at Brita's lifelike hologram. She glanced at Luke and nodded.
"They will hold fire," Brita said, sounding surprised.
The assault shuttles dropped their stealth as they accelerated to dock with the Bronkaw warships. Luke watched them go and remembered when he had sent his battalion off to defend Athena. This time Gray was aboard the Tigress and Luke had not sent the entire regiment. Now there was a dedicated defense unit. A reinforced company led by his best veteran officers.
"Wormhole is fluctuating," Halsey said as the shuttles decelerated. "Incoming vessels. Arming the inner ring of missiles."
All around the wormhole, closer to where Shum had said the enemy would exit, the missiles powered up. They didn't have acceleration but they wouldn't need it. Ships transitioning in and out of wormhole could not do so at higher speeds.
A flickering in space and the first Vress battleship slid out into the Bronkaw prime system, right where Luke expected it.
On the holographic display, the wormhole was represented by a transparent, fuzzy yellow field. Surrounding it were twenty thousand small orange dots representing missiles in standby mode or maneuvering into position. The sphere of orange dots around the wormhole made it look like a comet spinning through the purple nebula, with the comet's trail pointing toward the Bronkaw home world since that is where Luke expected most of the Vress ships.
Several of the orange pin pricks flashed as they accelerated toward the icon of the Vress battleship, then they flashed red as they erupted, spewing their warheads at the surprised Vress ship.
Luke magnified the image of the Vress battleship. It was an ugly black monstrosity, perhaps two and a half kilometers long, a 'pocket battleship' by Conglomerate standards but no less lethal. It was shaped like a club, flattened into a fat blade, with the heavy part facing forward. Point defense weapons sprang to life desperately trying to save the ship.
Another battleship, or a destroyer, was sliding into normal space as the detonations began.
As missiles detonated, more missiles moved in behind them in preparation.
"Summon Shum to the bridge," Luke said. More Vress ships were transitioning into the system, following the first battleship, only to meet the same fate.
Shum arrived and looked around.
"Are we being attacked?" Shum asked and his eyes fell on the wormhole display. Walking up to it Shum reached out as if to touch the holographic field but stopped himself before turning back to Luke.
"You lied to me," Shum said.
"Sorry," Luke said with a shrug.
"You have set a trap for them," Shum said staring at Luke.
Shum looked back at the holographic field, with the icons flashing and moving.
"They are sending in their capital ships first to destroy the battle wagons and intimidate the Bronkaw," Shum said taking it all in. "By tricking me, you have tricked them."
Luke nodded and Leonessa smiled.
"It is beautiful," Shum said as another Vress battleship died in a blaze of light. More and more Vress transitioned and Luke saw the icon for a frigate flash out as it was destroyed.
"You might want to take your seat," Luke said and Shum moved to his seat with a smile on his face. The haunting look that had lived in his eyes over the last couple days was gone, replaced by a wicked gleam.
Like a large amorphous blob, the sphere of missiles contracted on the point where the Vress vessels were emerging. AI's on the Tigress and Crusader worked together to insure the fewest amount of missiles were poured into the Vress transition point at any one time. The space around their emergence was becoming full of wreckage. It was near impossible to tell if anything was alive in that maelstrom of hard radiation and exploding warheads. As soon as a transition was detected, missiles would accelerate and deploy their warheads.
It was a massacre.
Too quickly, enemy missiles slipped out of that boiling cauldron of death. It was most likely the ships that had launched those missiles were already dead or dying but the missiles that escaped exploded, taking out Luke's missiles that were maneuvering into position.
Gaps formed and more missiles escaped. The Vress could not change course or escape from their exit point but they could try to fight their way past by using their own exploding missiles as a screen to give themselves space to fight back.
Luke watched the number of available missiles dwindle as if the wormhole exit point were a drain they were being poured into.
"Any idea how many ships have been killed?" Brita asked. "We are going to run out of missiles soon."
A mangled battleship come out of the maelstrom, firing every missile and weapon it had. The incoming missiles had little velocity and were easy prey for the battleship's point defenses but there were still a lot of them.
"Fire on that ship," Luke said designating it. "Take out anything moving under its own power."
"The battle wagons are launching missiles," Brita said. "A hundred and ten per wagon, per wave."
"Took them long enough," Luke muttered and checked the math.
It looked like they would arrive before Luke's missile/mines were exhausted.
The plasma lance from the Tigress and Crusader reached out, slamming into the Vress battleship, killing it. A destroyer was next and then both a destroyer and a battleship. Sensors reached out from the maelstrom and they found the Tigress, Crusader and frigates.
Mass driver fire poured out, followed by more Vress ships.
Another battleship made it out, but it had sustained heavy damage, spewing atmosphere and flames as it shot every weapon it had in every direction it could.
A plasma lance from the Crusader slammed into it and the firing stopped temporarily but then resumed. The Tigress finished it as mass driver rounds slammed into the Tigress and Crusader.
"Launch all fighters for point defense," Luke said.
A pair of battleships emerged and launched missiles at the Tigress. The frigates surged forward as the fighters spilled out of the launch bays.
The range was close but none of the missiles made it. Luke felt the Tigress shudder as a heavier mass driver round hit.
A pair of damaged destroyers emerged and turned their weapons on the Tigress.
Klaxons went off, warning of high gravity maneuvers and the Tigress lurched, beginning higher gravity evasive maneuvers.
This was the range where mass drivers were superior to plasma lances. The plasma lance had speed and power but not the rate of fire of mass drivers.
Everyone tried to watch as the Tigress, Crusader and frigates began evasive maneuvers and tried to shoot the emerging Vress warships.
"Breaking away," Halsey said and Luke cursed. If Luke's fleet did not break away, they would reach the edge of the mine field and would have to slow down, dumping velocity and becoming an easier target.
The pressure squeezed everyone deeper into their chair and Luke watched the world going darker and darker.
"Frigate two had been destroyed," Halsey reported. Luke tried to see what was still coming out, but it was too dark and his eyes couldn't focus. The Tigress shuddered again.
"Launching missiles," Halsey reported as Luke tried to remain awake and aware. The Tigress shook again.
At some point Luke blacked out but the klaxons and alarms brought him back briefly. He glanced at the holographic field to see the Tigress was looping back around toward the wormhole. A flight of missiles from one of the battle wagons was slamming into the Vress formations trying to assemble, and more Vress ships died. The battle wagon missiles had a much higher velocity and were much harder to kill.
Looking around Luke saw the crew was still unconscious.
"Report?" Luke said, his speech slurred. Leonessa was alive, but she didn't look good. His InnerBuddy reported she would be fine though, and he felt a burning hatred for the Vress. They had come close.
"Welcome back," Halsey said. "I believe the incoming transitions are stopped and we are detecting the wormhole opening up. The survivors are retreating. We are expending all missiles to inflict as much damage as we can before they escape. The fourth wave of missiles from the battle wagons is about to hit the survivors. We are coming around for another strike with our plasma lances but we have sustained minor damage and lost fifteen fighters and two frigates."
"Ooorah," Luke said, but it sounded weak and tired.
"The assault shuttles have landed on the Bronkaw capital ships and I think Colonel Gray can provide a better report on that," Halsey finished.
Luke glanced over at Gray.
"The Vress troops on the ships are tough customers," Gray said. "We are losing warbots at an alarming rate, but casualties among my officers is low. The enemy is tenacious but they are losing. They have also been capturing, rather than killing the Bronkaw crew and that is not the good thing you might think it is. This may end up a medical nightmare but the Vress won't be capturing those ships."
Luke nodded and closed his eyes. Everything was sore, and he wanted to vomit. His head throbbed painfully and his hands were shaking.
The Tigress turned around and approached the Vress grave yard with the Crusader close on her flank.
"Nothing left," Halsey said. Sensors showed wreckage flying in every direction but nothing was moving under its own power.
The Bronkaw missiles decelerated and came to stop near the wormhole. They were almost spent and even now Bronkaw tenders were leaving the battle wagons to collect the unspent missiles.
"Fleet ammo casualty report?" Luke asked Halsey.
"No human fatalities," Halsey said. "Two droid casualties. Most humans are unconscious and receiving medical care due to the heavy acceleration and maneuvering. Some minor broken bones. Commander Pavlis has a broken rib that pierced a lung, but he is stable and will recover. We have lost two frigates and fifteen fighters. The Crusader has lost all but four fighters and reports no casualties. They have sustained heavy damage."
"Any idea on how many Vress escaped?" Luke asked.
"At least one battleship, maybe two, a destroyer and two cruisers," Halsey said. "Might be more but that is all I could confirm. We will have to review the logs, but I think the tally is accurate. All of those capital ships were heavily damaged."
"Awesome," Luke said without enthusiasm. "Set course for the Nalee shipyards, one gravity. I want to replenish our missiles and conduct repairs before we chase them. Send my congratulations to the Crusader and let Bruce know the plan. Get me a detailed status on the Crusader's condition."
"Aye, aye, Commander," Halsey said.
"We are going after those bastards," Luke said looking beyond the screen.
The End
CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
End
Thank you for reading The Darkness. I hope you enjoyed it.
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www.WilliamSFrisbee.com
If you would like to read more about the Conglomerate Series check out the Conglomerate Trilogy, starting with book #1 The Return
Book 1: The Return
Only two out-gunned and outnumbered pilots were there to hold the line against the enemy while the colony of New Alamo escaped. With the battle over, the enemy fleet shattered, Luke Kishi had lost the love of his life. She had made him promise to live, and he would keep that promise. However, on the other end of the wormhole the Conglomerate had other plans. It was a harsh and unforgiving society and Luke became a mercenary, fighting for the ruling Topa. Wishing for death, but honor bound to live; Luke receives a mission that sends him to a distant corner of the Conglomerate. The Topa have plans within plans, and Luke has to find something worth living for besides honor or the human race will executed.
Find it at http://amzn.to/2sJ5vqu
Book 2: The Darkness
With his ship destroyed and his future uncertain, Luke is forced to return to New Alamo while Leonessa returns to Athena to help rebuild her shattered home. The drums of war are beating as the colonies prepare to defend themselves against the religious fanatics of Earth, but there are other threats, lurking in the darkness preparing to strike and Topa Suresh has an even more important mission for Luke, a mission that could involve the death of the Conglomerate and the collapse of civilization.
Coming Soon
Book 3: New Empires
With the Conglomerate shattered and burning, Topa Suresh missing, the Jupiter Alliance and Caliphate preparing for war, and death in every shadow Luke and Leonessa must take the battle to the enemy and build alliances against an ancient enemy intent on the destruction of civilization and peace.
Coming Soon
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