Silently, he prayed that Billy Caudwell would defeat the Empire before the nightmare of that particular day dawned.
Chapter 7
The Artreaus System
Two hours after the ignition of the emitter weapon, the Bardomil Empress waited patiently on her throne for the final act of the celestial drama that had unfolded before her. Slowly, and gradually, the yellow image of the advancing super-heated plasma had crept across the field of view on the fourth monitor.
For those two hours, the Bardomil Empress had sat quietly, eagerly anticipating the coming destruction and devastation. The tension and sense of dread and terror in the Battle Command Centre had, however, shown no discernible sign of decreasing. The faint murmur of communications traffic struggled to become distinct over the brutal hush of fear and intimidation. The crushing silence of the Battle Command Centre was broken only twice by the girlish shrieks of delight and dainty applause of the Empress as the super-heated plasma engulfed the second and fourth planets of the system. Both of these worlds were uninhabited, and now uninhabitable, but the Empress squealed like an overjoyed schoolgirl as the searing hot plasma scorched the already scarred and overheated surfaces of the two planets into a fiery oblivion.
With the fourth planet still being seared by the tail end of the super-hearted plasma flow, the Empress sat back on her throne with an air of malicious expectation. The next planet to orbit into the path of the plasma stream was Collizon. The peaceful, life-bearing planet was spinning slowly around to that side of the yellow dwarf star, filling the Bardomil Empress with a feeling of morbid delight and excitement.
It was all going exactly to plan, the Empress pondered as she watched the plasma stream edge closer to the orbit of Collizon. Just as the Xanart had predicted, the stream of super-heated plasma was able to emerge from the yellow dwarf star and cover the required distance to the intended target. It was a shame to have to kill Claggit and his assistant; they might have been of some limited value in future weapons development. But, the theoretical basis for the emitter weapon was now known to the Bardomil scientific community, which meant that bigger and more powerful weapons could be developed. And, more importantly, they could be developed without the risk of betrayal by aliens whose loyalty to the Empress was, at best, questionable. There would be no security leaks from the Imperial Ordnance Laboratories about this new emitter weapon.
The one remaining question was now whether the plasma stream would still have enough destructive power to wipe out everything on the inhabited planet. The scientists with their computer models and complex calculations had assured the Empress that there would be sufficient strength in the plasma flow to engulf Collizon three times over. The proof of the pudding, as the Empress well knew, would be in its eating. Computer models had been wrong before and costly mistakes had been made. But, this was one project the Empress was determined to see work. The scientists, like the senior military Officers were huddled at their stations hoping for a good outcome to the test. When the consequence of failure was a short trip out of an airlock, checking, double-checking and even beyond triple-checking became a way of life.
Silently, her black-orb eyes shining with anticipation, the Empress sat on the edge of the large throne. Scanning the four curved screens in front of her, she counted down the minutes and seconds until the super-heated plasma impacted with the atmosphere and surface of the planet. When it finally struck Collizon, the Empress stood up, her beautiful angelic face twisted in a snarl of evil delight. Fixing her gaze on the second screen, the Empress saw the live-action images of the destruction of a planet with millions of living creatures on it.
The first snaking tendrils of plasma swept in from the solar eruption and, for a few moments, it looked like the planet’s magnetic field was going to protect the vulnerable world from the scorching horror. But, to the delight of the Empress there was just too great a volume of super-heated matter. The initial fingers, deflected away by the magnetic field, flared up like huge white hot waves crashing against the seashore as they surged out into space. With her fists clenching and her face growing into a mask of anxiety, the Empress watched as the following waves of plasma overwhelmed the magnetic field and were drawn down by the planets gravity, through the atmosphere to the defenceless surface.
Within moments, the deep emerald green oceans began to boil and evaporate causing a huge billow of white steam to radiate away from the first impact site. Fractions of a second later, the following waves of super-heated plasma scattered the ocean steam as it began to lick voraciously at the golden land masses of the planet. The great waves of searing death splashed onto the surface of the planet, and within a few seconds were sending out a front of surging plasma that rapidly spread away from the impact that covered almost half of the northern continent. Like a puddle of white hot liquid being forced outwards by more liquid being poured into it, the plasma wave began to sweep around the planet.
On the planet surface, the humanoid Manuch and all of the other living creatures in the path of the scorching onslaught spent their final moments in abject terror before succumbing to the mercifully short sting of instantaneous incineration. From her throne, safe aboard the Taurai, the Empress watched in vicious delight as the great fiery puddle spread even further across the golden surface of the planet. The doomed planet, set on its course billions of years before, spun slowly and languidly into its own destruction.
Within a few more seconds the wave-fronts collided; a beautiful yellow rippling effect showed that shock waves were surging through the ever-spreading lakes. They quickly poured over the northern and southern polar caps and disappeared to devour the obscured side of the planet. The Empress, meanwhile, sat in awe of the devastation being wreaked on the unprotected planet as the wave-fronts splashed toward the eastern and western horizons devouring everything in their path.
On the planet surface, nothing survived as a huge wall of surging fire swept across the landscape incinerating everything that stood in its way. The lush vegetation ignited for a few brief moments before the great roaring and shrieking wave of destruction swept over grasslands and forests with the same indiscriminate ferocity. Rivers boiled and evaporated in an instant as the fleeing animals screamed and made their final futile attempts to outrun the terror that pursued them to a horrible destruction. Rocks and soil on the surface melted under the intense heat; fusing for a few brief seconds into a beautiful golden glassy substance that was incinerated with the passing wave-fronts that would finally leave black charred carbon in their wake.
Aboard the Taurai, the Empress watched the lake of fire that now engulfed the hemisphere of the planet that she could see. Greater splashes of plasma were now hammering into the inferno that pushed the wave-fronts onwards on the blind side of the planet until they finally met. The end of all life on Collizon was marked with a huge rippling shock wave that swirled and eddied over the entire yellow scorching surface of the now dead world. For a few more seconds, the planet of Collizon looked like a huge shimmering yellow pearl hanging in the darkness of space. To someone not aware of what had just happened, it looked just like a newborn star as more waves of super-heated plasma hammered downwards.
The final agony of Collizon finally came when the atmosphere disintegrated. The following waves of plasma seemed to flow over the shimmering yellow pearl that had once been a living breathing thriving planet like a river over a rock. As the great stream of super-heated plasma swept over the planet, the intense heat finally broke down the gravitational field. With nothing to hold the burning plasma onto the surface of the planet, the fiery lakes that had incinerated Collizon were dragged back out into space leaving a scorched, bright-red glowing cinder.
With tears of delight in her black-orb eyes, the Empress daintily clapped her hands and marvelled at the power to destroy that she now commanded. It was beautiful and magnificent she praised the weapon that had wrought annihilation to an entire world. The weapon worked, she now knew, and it had the power to destroy Billy Caudwell’s
home planet. Sitting back on her throne, exhausted by the exhilaration of the demonstration, she began to outline in her mind the orders that would finally avenge the defeat suffered at Caudwell’s hands. She had seen Collizon annihilated, planet Earth would go the same way very, very soon.
For the Bardomil Empress, that day couldn’t come soon enough.
Chapter 8
Planet Earth
Jedithram Prust moved briskly along the corridor from first period Economics to second period History. Once again, the corridor thronged with the chattering press of students who were savouring the few minutes of liberty before submitting themselves to the classroom discipline required for their ongoing learning. The noise and bustle of the corridor was punctuated by excited shrieks and screams as well as the shouts and calls of horseplay and the flash of books being thrown around. Once more, overheated teachers attempted to impose some form of order onto the melee of young adult humanity that surged past the brown wooden sliding doors on the brightly lit corridor.
Smiling broadly, Jed was enjoying his mission to Earth. It had been almost a year since Senior Intelligence Officer Karap Sownus had approached him with the offer to double as First Admiral Caudwell. In that year, Jed had grown to enjoy his days and nights amongst the First Admiral’s species. His orders had been straightforward and easy to carry out. Do not draw attention to yourself, do not get into trouble and defend yourself only as a last resort. Being invisible in a school of nearly one thousand students was easy. Staying out of trouble was a little less simple, but with the First Admiral’s reputation, having brought down arch-bully Tim Reilly, there was no need for any form of violence or self-defence. So much so, that Jed had stopped using the force-shielding on his Personal Environment Suit for protection; it was now used simply to project the Billy Caudwell school uniform image.
“Move along there! Come on! Move it on!” an angry sounding male teacher called out above the scrimmage of jostling students as Jed turned left into the Staff Corridor.
The Staff Corridor, flanked by the various departmental staff rooms, was an adjoining corridor that linked the old Victorian-built school to the new modern tower block. It was one of those travesties of planning that had located the venerable History Department in the newest part of the school. The Staff Corridor was usually quiet and almost deserted as the two access points to the tower block from the old school were on the first floor above Jed.
Still smiling, Jed walked briskly along the Staff Corridor only vaguely aware of the group of older boys that had gathered by the stairwell close to the connecting door. It was a common enough sight in that part of school; the Monitors Common Room for the Sixth Formers, nominally charged with school discipline, was also located in the Staff Corridor. The group of half a dozen or so boys were laughing and joking as Jed approached them and made his way to the connecting door and his History lesson.
Suddenly, a leg shot out; the foot leaning against the wall opposite, blocking his progress along the corridor.
“Hello, hello, who do we have here then?” a voice called out from amongst the group.
“Come on, guys; I gotta get to mister McCrindle’s,” Jed smiled.
“I gotta get to mister McCrindle’s,” the voice mocked in a falsetto tone as its owner emerged from the depths of the group.
Michael Thomas Stewart, known as Micky, had just turned eighteen and was new to the school. By some strange quirk of fate, Micky had become a Monitor, having been appointed by the Rector. At just under two metres, Micky was tall with a powerful athletic physique. As a newcomer, Micky was an unknown quantity amongst the school body, but he seemed to be popular, especially amongst the girls; and he was quick-witted with a ready smile to share a joke.
“Seriously, I’ll be in trouble if I’m late,” Jed smiled.
Horseplay was part and parcel of any school’s culture. At this school it was always intended to be fun and with no malice involved. With that mindset, Jed did not notice the other boys in the group beginning to form a circle around him.
“You’re already in trouble for trespassing, Caudwell,” Micky smiled wickedly.
“Come on, guys,” Jed began and suddenly felt a powerful tug at his arm as his shoulder bag was snatched away from him.
“Oi!” Jed called, turning to see the smiling face of one of the boys holding his bag.
“Over here, Jimmy,” a voice behind Jed called; and the bag was flung just over his head, to the caller.
“Hey, you may not have classes to go to but I have,” Jed protested resigning himself to a game of chase and catch for his own books.
“Over here, Pete,” another voice called and the bag sailed through the air once more.
Turning quickly and reaching up, Jed found he was only just a little too short to catch the bag.
“To me, Mike,” another voice called out as the bag arced upwards once more.
Turning quickly again, Jed suddenly felt like his head had exploded as he was flung violently forwards onto his face. Stunned and dizzied, Jed then felt a vicious stabbing pain in his ribs as a well aimed kick was delivered to his torso. Being flung onto his back, Jed saw Micky with a heavy lump of wood in his hands.
“Hold him!” the hollow and distant sounding voice of Micky demanded as powerful hands dragged him to his feet pinioning his arms behind his back.
A split second later, Micky stepped forward and rammed the end of the piece of wood into Jed’s stomach, doubling him over in a world of agony. No sooner had the impact of the wood registered in Jed’s abdomen than Micky swung the lump of wood upwards to connect with Jed’s face. For a few seconds, the world of Jedithram Prust disappeared into a loud BANG followed by darkness as he hung limply between the two boys who held him. As he came to, still unable to stand up, Jed started to curse his carelessness and with an effort of will instituted full force-shielding on his Personal Environment Suit before any more damage could be done.
“Listen closely, Caudwell,” Micky Stewart hissed in Jed’s ear, “they tell me that you’re the tough nut round here, but as far as I’m concerned you’re a loser; d’ya hear me?”
Unable to respond, Jed just stared blankly at his assailant.
“That’s right, loser, you’re finished,” Micky continued, “this school’s mine now, and as for taking Emma Wallace to the dance? Forget it, loser. I’m gonna take her away from you just because I can, comprendo? So, just remember who’s in charge around here, loser.”
Aching badly from the attack, Jed said nothing and felt himself being dropped to the ground. Lying on his side, Jed sent a thought-command to the microscopic machines in his Personal Environment Suit for medical assistance. A few seconds later, the pain from his beating was gone as tiny machines stimulated his brain to produce large doses of painkilling chemicals. The machines also began to produce the phoronic radiation that would start the healing process for his damaged muscles and tendons before he could teleport up to the Ranger and proper medical attention.
Staggering to his feet, Jed picked up his bag and began to lurch his way to the next lesson. The pain relief and the image of the PES would get him through that lesson. The First Admiral would pick up the incident at the next shift change, but Jedithram Prust vowed that any payback was going to be delivered by him.
“I thought you said this Caudwell was a tough nut?” the arrogant voice of Micky Stewart echoed in the distance.
Chapter 9
The Imperial Palace, Bardan
Empress Lullina sat back on her onyx and white throne and yawned. Shifting her weight from one side of the throne to the other she felt the tedium of the situation even more acutely in her aching legs and buttocks than she did in her mind. Arranged in a loose semi-circle before her, the Military Advisory Council went through the motions of reporting the current status of the Empire to the bored, yawning Empress.
Required by ancient Bardomil law, the Military Advisory Council had no real authority or influence over the absolute power of Lullina, but she kept the traditi
on going mainly as a convenient means of keeping watch over the most powerful aristocratic families in the Empire who filled the ranks of its senior Officers. In days gone by, more than one Bardomil ruler had fallen foul of the leading military aristocratic families; many were related to the Empress, and as such were potential distant claimants to the throne. In reality, they were simply conduits for her orders to the vast Bardomil Imperial Armed Forces.
“…and finally, Your Imperial Majesty, may I present Junior Fleet Officer Batarrien?” the elderly General who spoke for the Council indicated.
“Proceed!” Lullina said with a formal stiffness, inwardly rejoicing that the current routine ordeal was almost over.
With a beckoning wave to one of the anterooms, the harsh sound of uniform boots on polished floor shattered the ominous silence of the meeting.
“Majesty, an honour,” the voice of a young adult male sounded respectfully around the Throne Room.
“Yes,” Lullina said languidly, and then noticed the young Officer, “and what do you have to present to us, Junior Fleet Officer?” she suddenly brightened up.
Always with a ready eye for a handsome young Officer, Lullina noticed the pleasing features and handsome physique of the young male before her, and sat forward on her throne.
“Majesty,” the young Officer bowed and began nervously, “I have just completed a cultural, political and demographical survey of this so-called Universal Alliance, and I believe I may have discovered a military weakness that we can exploit.”
“A weakness,” Lullina smiled, “how interesting; do tell us more, Officer Batarrien.”
“Majesty,” he bowed once again, “I have taken the liberty of looking further into the composition of member species within this upstart Alliance; this is an area where our own Intelligence Services are remiss. I have also looked at the species within Alliance territory that are not Alliance members, and, hence, not considered to be a threat to the Empire,”
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