“What's that device on Knight Admiral Bhool's ear, the one projecting the display before her eyes?” Sasha, seeming reluctant to pull her gaze from the battle unfolding, glanced to Knight Admiral Bhool the next time she soared overhead.
“That is a combat PDU, similar to what Sir Simwa’s guards wore when they pursued us through the containment cavern. They are a type of portable PDU that provides all the functionality of a standard PDU, specialized for combat operations,” Sasha explained unemotionally.
“Is that how she is relaying her orders?” he continued, sensing something off with Sasha’s voice.
“Yes, she is most likely switching between the fleet command and bridge com channels to provide her orders,” Sasha’s response, though unemotional, echoed her sadness and Trent had a feeling it wasn't completely born of the death occurring all around them, but of what had befallen during the earlier meeting.
The memory of his actions, still fresh, flashed before his eyes.
He’d planned on defending Sasha with his life, but he didn't expect to react the way he did when Sir Baric aimed his laser arc at her...at his love. His subconscious had taken over, overwhelming his rational mind with the knowledge that if he didn't act now, didn’t stop Sir Baric, Sasha would die. So he didn't think...just acted.
His stomach soured as the hazy memory of Sir Baric's headless body collapsing motionless to the floor, a bloody cloud the only reminder of the man's previous existence, played out within his mind.
I killed a man, he suddenly realized, and the repercussions of that fact frightened him beyond anything he’d ever felt before. A tear crept free of his eye, a tear that represented the part of himself that would be forever changed by committing that gruesome deed. He hoped he might regret it; regret killing Sir Baric. Knowing if he did, his old, innocent self may be saved. But he didn't regret it at all, not after the man pointed the laser arc at Sasha, threatening her life. If the same situation occurred a hundred times over, he'd take a hundred lives without question...and that simple fact chilled his very soul.
A trembling finger walked across his cheek, blocking the tear’s path before it could complete its journey. Trent turned to its owner, expecting to find her ready to reprimand him for again dwelling on the past, even though the past was barely 10 minutes old. But the look in her eyes, the expression upon her lovely face, was not one of consternation; but one of love and acceptance. Another tear broke free, to renew the journey begun by the first, allowing Trent to lock the rest away in his heart. She would not hate him for what he had done, who he had become, which he found he feared most.
“I don't think I will allow anyone to bring laser arcs into Sasha’s presence anymore,” Trent whispered to himself. Sasha leaned close, overhearing his words, a weak smile fighting through the tension of their current plight.
“What you think is best, my duke, my protector,” she pressed her lips to his cheek, her gentle breath caressing his frozen skin, “I love you,” then pulled away, her gaze drawn back to the projection. Trent found a familiar warmth flowing through his veins, like he’d just taken a shot of aged whiskey, but it cooled as the starship rocked violently, a purple beam appearing from the largest red highlighted starship, a super-capital, to slam into a similarly large blue highlighted super-capital....with the name ABF Alutia flashing beneath.
“ESS generation to maximum,” a voice boomed from the bridge, “I don’t care if you have to drain every last electron from the NSD core! Just make sure it holds, Reckie!”
“Aye, aye, sir. It will hold, I bet a round a ale on it!” a squeaky voice responded, with just as much exuberance.
“You’re on, Reckie! But keep the shenanigans to a minimum. I still remember last time, and I refuse to take responsibility and explain to Bo’Luk why a vat of ale ended up inside the NSD core!” A round of laughter rippled across the bridge, the tension easing as the purple beam faded and they were still, thankfully, in one piece.
“Leave it to Knight Captain Mortoc, just hope they don’t get too comfy,” a fleet officer, seated in the closest of the twenty PDU stations that lined each side of the CID, muttered just loud enough for those around her to hear. But no one responded. Each and every fleet officer locked in constant conversation while skillfully manipulating the varying projections hovering before them.
Trent turned his attention to Knight Captain Quinn and Vice-Commander Daiyu, who sat adjacent three junior officers of the TSB on the right side of the CID. Trent noticed that Knight Captain Quinn's display, unlike the other fleet officers displays, showed a similar projection as the CID, but of a much smaller sector of space, zooming in on a tightly packed formation of starships, in a phalanx formation.
“So those are starships,” he whispered, it being the first time he’d been provided a clear view of the space faring craft used by the NHA.
They looked nothing like the flashy starships that science-fiction movies and games were so found of using. If anything, they looked plain, almost utilitarian, a design for mass production like the Ford Model T’s of old, not aesthetics. Trent could discern three varying sizes on Quinn’s display, each sharing the same cuboid shape, like a three-dimensional rectangle, with what looked like varying sized rods protruding through a cloudy haze that covered a hull painted blue and white. At the rear were four bunches of tightly packed cylinders, or tubes, that emanated a bluish-white glow, which Trent figured were used for propulsion. Similar cylinders ran down all four edges, every few meters, occasionally rotating outside the haze, a blue glow appearing within; a type of maneuvering thruster, he realized. The flat nose of each starship was tapered at the top with massive, arrow tipped spikes, circling an upside-down cone that spun wildly in the center.
As he watched, a brightly glowing, purplish substance, with a consistency of lava, started flowing from the arrow tips. It began pooling about the center cone, forming into a swirling vortex that shined brighter and brighter, Trent thinking a star about to be born. Then, before he could look away, the vortex erupted forth, like a volcano exploding violently, swirling across space at incredible speeds. It took only a moment to reach its target, smashing into the haze that surrounded the enemy super-capital. The haze bent in, then, as if it had a mind of its own, began thickening around where the star had struck, appearing to solidify, straining desperately against the swirling mass of death that tried to burn through. The display flashed, forcing Trent to cover his eyes, barely returning his view in time to witness the star cut a hole clean through the very heart of the starship before vanishing into the darkness of space beyond, leaving only a trail of atmosphere in its wake.
Seeming to sense the wounded prey, hundreds of green laser bolts erupted from the egg shaped tips of some of the rods that protruded through the friendly starships haze covered hulls. They pummeled the super-capital relentlessly, small explosions of air and debris erupting from the now unprotected starship. But as quickly as the holes appeared, they would close, like the starship itself was alive, able heal its wounds at an incredible rate. Then, Trent thought he heard a groan pass from the enemy behemoth a moment before it split apart, massive explosions breaking it into pieces. From the rear of the starship, whose demise was certain, appeared a swirling ball of pure white that if not for the display dimming, would have blinded the viewer. But before he could even blink, a darkness beyond any he’d ever beheld enveloped the ball of pure light, drawing all into its very core, including the starship itself, that looked to implode in an instant. Then, the darkness vanished, the only trace of the starship’s existence an eerie ripple that seemed to flow across space like a wave. Sasha gasped, pulling him close, wrapping her arms tightly around his.
“That was a super-capital and...and the neutron star drive was pierced. The safety system must have activated... 20,000 people just lost their lives,” she told, like this was all a dream. “It’s all my fa-,”
“What do you mean by neutron star drive and safety system?” Trent interrupted, thinking to redirect Sasha’s think
ing before she started to weigh the deaths on herself. She appeared momentarily dumbfounded, like she had never expected his question in a million years.
“I,” she slapped her cheeks, the fog of despair clearing from her eyes, “I know little of the science. But NHA starships are powered through the use of “artificial” neutron stars contained within a specialized core. They are nowhere near as heavy as real neutron stars, but they still have enough mass to create a significant gravitational field, if I recall correctly.” Trent nodded understanding, recalling his queries from when he first tested his BC node on Earth returning a similar explanation.
“What of this safety system?” he pushed, finding he had successfully diverted her attention from the death around them; at least for a moment.
“It’s been so long since Gil’Da’s lecture on this matter. But I believe she called the system “dual use”. Within the core there is a containment matrix built of “artificial” singularities and “farmed” dark matter. If the drive core becomes unstable, the singularities will collapse around the “artificial” neutron star, before collapsing themselves. This has the ugly side effect of usually taking the starship, crew, and anything within about a 10 kilometer radius along with it.” Sasha’s expression went dark. Trent squeezed her arm as a whirling alarm sounded, like the air raid sirens of old, and five flashing, bright red and yellow hexagonal icons appeared from the remaining enemy capital and super-capital class starships.
“No,” Sasha gasped, her skin draining a deathly white as screams of disbelief started echoing across the fleet command deck and bridge.
“All starships! Target new contacts, destroy those Planet Killers! I repeat, all starships destroy those Planet Killers!” Knight Admiral Bhool shouted urgently, her words piercing his very heart.
“This can’t be real,” he breathed, staring, dreamlike, at the five flashing icons... icons of death...that approached the planet of his birth, Earth.
Every friendly starship began vectoring towards the Planet Killers before Knight Admiral Bhool’s orders had faded, green and purple beams erupting forth with desperate urgency. One of the Planet Killers suddenly vanished, succumbing to the defenders righteous fury, causing a small cheer to roll across the fleet command deck and bridge.
At the same moment, the remaining four Planet Killers started to undulate wildly as they rapidly accelerated. Trent, fixated by the dream playing out before him, watched as a TSB corvette raced directly into one the Planet Killers, vanishing as it intersected the flashing icon...using their starship as a missile. Another cheer broke the tension, tears wetting cheeks of many of those present at the sacrifice they just witnessed.
A third planet killer seemed to laugh at the petty attempts to stop it, lurching side-to-side and spinning randomly, causing the green and purple beams to always strike where the Planet Killer had just been...and the few that hit, brushed aside with a scoffing laugh. A dreadnaught closed rapidly in on the path of the stubborn Planet Killer, and to Trent's surprise, both Knight Captain Quinn and Vice-Commander Daiyu stood, saluting, tears storming down their cheeks. Trent looked closer at the dreadnaught that now stood directly in the path of the Planet Killer; the TSB Reverie.
The Planet Killer attempted to change course at the last moment, but the TSB Reverie was too big, and the moment it struck the starship, time slowed. The flashing icon vanished, and hope of the inevitable being turned away filled his heart when the dreadnaught’s blue dot didn’t follow immediately. But that hope extinguished, the TSB officers falling into a mournful melody, to send the lost souls that had sacrificed their lives for Earth, on their final journey.
The fourth Planet Killer weaved between the frigates, corvettes, and cruiser that dove into its path, shedding off fire like it didn't exist. But the moment it was about to break through the atmosphere, his heart screaming all was lost, ten TSB starships, cruisers and corvettes, pulled into its path, vanishing as the Planet Killer adjusted course, well wide of Earth’s last hope.
“Oh n-,” he started to cry, but stumbled over his tongue when the flashing icon vanished.
“They purposely collapsed their neutron star drives,” Sasha wept, “such horror...” her voice breaking, tears flowing relentlessly down her bloodless cheeks. Trent held back his own. He would honor these men and women who so bravely sacrificed their lives for others, and cry for them later. The cheers on the bridge suddenly turned to screams of horror as everyone's eyes beheld the last Planet Killer vanishing from the CID as it broke through Earth's atmosphere, frigates and corvettes diving desperately in pursuit...but it was all in vain.
“All starships, retreat! I repeat, all starships, retreat! Now!”
Time slowed as Trent watched, with disbelief, as the projection of Earth seemed to ripple towards the spot the Planet Killer had struck. The ripple turned into a wave as a tiny black dot formed in the center of the Pacific Ocean, sucking the light out of the surrounding blue water and the clouds out of the very sky. The spot grew larger as clouds or earth ripped free, swirling through the atmosphere, to vanish into the growing darkness, the ocean draining alongside. With rising horror he watched, unable to turn away, as the west coast of North America sank, then vanished. The east coast of Asia followed, crumbling free, rolling through the now empty ocean.
Then, in almost an instant, the rest of the planet curled into the spot of infinite night, the ABF Alutia shaking as it too started to get pulled in, desperately trying to escape the deathly grasp of the Planet Killer’s wake. Trent continued watching, his eyes glued to the horrific sight, as the last of Earth vanished into the black void that had begun collapsing in on itself. Within seconds, it was over.
The Earth was gone...his past...his people...and the only home he'd ever known...gone forever.
In the utter incredulity of the sight before him, his mind began to tear apart. It isn't true, it couldn't be true. He felt something inside him trying to break loose, something telling him to scream...to stand and shout...to yell at this farce, at this....at this...sick and cruel joke. Why would they show him this...this fantasy ...did they hate him so? There was no way the Earth was destroyed. He looked at Sasha, ready to scream, ready to shout, to demand she tell him why they were torturing him...why they were forcing him to face such a nightmare.
The look he received in return made him forget everything.
Her face contorted in horrible sadness...sobbing tears of truth flowing down her cheeks. It was real...they were dead...everyone on Earth...was dead. He embraced her tightly, ignoring the pain as the two of them collapsed to the floor, crying in each other's arms. A distant shout matched their cries, Trent barely hearing its words...but clearly understanding their meaning.
“All starships pursue the butchers! Aim for their drive cores! Leave no survivors!” Knight Admiral Bhool's voice trailed off in his mind.
Yes, leave no survivors...it is the only gift they could provide the souls of the billions of men, women, and children who had just perished at the whim of a madman.
*********
The screams of horror burned into Daniel's mind as the image of the Earth collapsing into the singularity created by the Planet Killer shimmered above the bridge’s CID.
“Engine's full and try to stay together!” Captain Aysi shouted. But they were too close, he knew. The immense gravity well created by the Planet Killer would suck them in alongside Earth, like a cruel joke played on those who had survived the battle in space.
But they fought against their fates.
The remaining starships of the TSB fleet, minus the TSB Reverie, who placed itself in a Planet Killer’s path while the crew sang of honor over life, and the other 12 TSB starships that followed its example. Better them, he thought to himself, the TSB Ero'Cia bucking like a wild bronco, trying to avoid the inevitable fate of being compressed within the collapsing singularity.
Everything went silent, the lights on the bridge fading to black, and Daniel preparing to accept whatever end was to come.
“Not yet, Daniel, you still have a task,”
His eyes shot open to the CID projection showing the final moments of the singularity gobbling up the Earth, before fully collapsing in on itself, leaving most of the remaining TSB and ABF starships intact.
It was over and he survived.
“All starships pursue the butchers! Aim for the drive cores! Leave no survivors!” The order broke over all communication channels. Daniel felt his relief evaporate. It should be over, why should more lives be needlessly sacrificed?
“Helm, you heard the knight admiral, fall into a pursuit course! Tactical, continue firing at will! I want all their heads!” Captain Aysi shouted with primal fury.
“You bloody fools,” Daniel cursed under his breath, analyzing the chaotic scene unfolding on his tactical display.
The enemy starships retreated the moment the Planet Killers were released, but most were still well within weapons range. Apparently, thinking the friendly ABF and TSB starships would be destroyed alongside Earth, they had decided on a distant rendezvous, leaving most of the starships vulnerable and isolated. The TSB and ABF fleet commanders began forming into a staggered formation, allowing the TSB and ABF starships to concentrate their fire to lethal effect.
“Fire plasma cannon!” A wall of plasma accelerated across space from the nose of the Ero’Cia, catching an unsuspecting capital ship in the rear as it tried to maneuver at the last moment. Its ESS failed and the starship broke apart in a hail of LPA fire, the collapsing containment confirming there were no survivors.
A group of the screening corvettes and frigates started decelerating, lowering their energy shield's while spinning in place...the sign for surrender. Daniel winced as the starships exploded as one, more LPA beams then required slicing through their unprotected hulls. It wasn't that Daniel cared about the crewmen onboard those ill-fated starships, but it did seem a little extreme to blame these vessels for what their commanders had done.
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