by George Deeb
“Oh God, I forgot all about them.” she said, rushing back to unhook the net. Plessa got up to help.
Mersuul touched the display screen to pull up the biometric data on the two men.
“Be careful!” she said to Plessa and del Rio. “They need medical attention. They have broken bones.” She tapped the comm button. “ Lanor Dhona, I have injured personnel on board. They need a doctor. What is the status of the battle?”
“I have destroyed the remaining dhrojja that wanted to fight. Other ships are fleeing the battle area. The battle is over, Navigator Vaana. You are clear to go to the Orysta. I will accompany you... CRHAAKA! HOW THE BLEHM DID THEY GET ONE OF THOSE?”
“One of what?” asked Mersuul, responding to the fear in his voice. “ONE OF WHAT?”
With no input from her, the shuttle suddenly and automatically rotated and started moving away from the battle zone at maximum speed. The shuttle computer was responding to a programmed signal Dhona had just sent out. All IGT ships computers were programmed to override flight crew control inputs and immediately move away from the designated area at maximum speed when that signal was broadcast. Mersuul looked at her targeting display and saw that shuttle two had also received the override command. She tapped the comm button but was behind the other shuttle with her action.
“ALL BASE SHUTTTLES THIS IS ORYSTA SHUTTLE TWO. MOVE AWAY FROM THE BATTLE ZONE AT MAXIMUM SPEED. MOVE AWAY FROM THE BATTLE ZONE AT MAXIMUM SPEED. MOVE NOW.” came Mengu-sil-Valian's voice over the comm.
Several voices interfered with each other on the comm channel, asking what was going on.
“THIS IS VALIAN IN SHUTTLE TWO. NO QUESTIONS. MOVE AWAY FROM THE BATTLE ZONE AT MAXIMUM SPEED IF YOU WANT TO SURVIVE. DO IT NOW!”
Apparently hearing the warning the second time, and Valian's tone of voice, made the seriousness of the situation clear to the base shuttles. Mersuul watched as their symbols on her screen turned and flew away from the battle zone as they were told to do.
18
Faoul Mahna had never felt such rage as he was feeling now. His fleet of dhrojjas had been decimated by a handful of transport shuttles. Decitans of work had been destroyed. Then he realized what had really happened. This had been a trap all along. This was an IGT trap set just to get him! That was it. This was all about him. The IGT was worried by his intellect and effectiveness. The IGT was threatened by his leadership of other dhrojjas. They wanted to keep all the treasure and women for themselves. This was a conspiracy against him. They knew of the greatness of Faoul Mahna and they wanted to destroy him. These had not really been transport shuttles he was fighting. No! These were no doubt specially designed fighter craft made just to destroy him. Now he knew the truth. They had him fooled for a short time, but now he knew the truth. Now he knew that this was all about him.
Well as far as Mahna was concerned that was alright. He had learned to plan for the future, and now everyone would know that he was someone to be feared. He placed his ship on a direct run for the moon, through the battle zone. He wasn't very worried about being attacked by any of the enemy fighters. His ship was protected by the best armor and energy shields that a man could steal. Certainly they would attack him, but for the short time this would take his ship would sustain only relatively minor damage.
Mahna looked at the display screen that showed the battle zone with all the dead dhrojja ships, and the surface of the moon. The flashing symbol indicated his ship as he traveled towards the red dot that marked the release zone. It would only be fracins now. He watched as the two indicators merged together, then rotated his ship so that the cargo bay doors faced the moon. With a manic, gleeful smile that stretched the edges of his mouth, he released the hiddrothermic gas bomb, its momentum carrying it out of the ship. He immediately reversed his ship's direction of travel while breaking into laughter. 'They won't be expecting this!' he thought as he continued to laugh, happy in his undeniable and soon to be victory. This wasn't the best or even a very fast way to deliver the weapon, but it was fast enough. His laughter grew almost hysterical as he watched all the ships on his screen fleeing the area.
There were a few ships that weren't running away, and he knew that they were what was left of his dhrojja fleet. It was too bad that they didn't know what was about to happen, but in times of war sometimes sacrifices had to be made for victory. Besides, he could always find more dhrojjas. When news spread about his victory here they would be begging to join him.
19
Dhona shook off the shocked surprise of detecting the weapon that now moved towards the moon. The hiddrothermic gas bomb was one of the most devastating weapons ever created, and there was no way for anything smaller than a class three battle vessel to stop it. If he tried to attack it with his fighter it would only trigger the bomb to go off, and none of the other ships were at a safe distance yet. But at the relatively slow speed the bomb was moving, there was enough time for one possible plan of action. He couldn't destroy the weapon or stop it from detonating, but he could control when it blew up. He activated his communication system and broadcast in the open on all frequencies.
“Attention all IGT vessels in the reach of my transmission. Attention! This is IGT interjection fighter pilot Lanor Giell-sil-Dhona. A hiddrothermic gas bomb has been launched at the moon of the third planet of this solar system. I repeat, a hiddrothermic gas bomb has been launched at the moon of the third planet of this solar system. Move away from the area at maximum speed.” said Dhona, and then he set the comm to retransmit his message continuously.
That was stage one. Stage two of his plan required very accurate timing. He spoke aloud.
“Calculate detonation point of hiddrothermic weapon that will cause minimum damage to all ships in the area and the surface of the moon. Fire all remaining vectras to intercept the weapon at that point. Confirm.”
“Interception point calculated.” replied the targeting computer. “Firing full vectra battery from present position in three point three mirlots from now.”
'Three and a third mirlots is a long damn time to wait to be killed.' he thought. At his present position he was well within the blast zone of the bomb. The thought of dying didn't bother him too much. Not being around to find out if his actions had been successful, now that bothered him a lot.
“Can I move from this position to a safe location without affecting the accuracy of the vectras?” he asked.
“Movement at a speed sufficient to position this vessel out of the blast zone would introduce too many variables to maintain accurate control of vectras.”
'No surprise there.' he thought. He was too experienced and familiar with his ship's weapons not to have known the answer before he asked – but what else was there to do while waiting to die?
“Upon launch of last vectra, initiate maximum speed withdrawal from blast zone. Confirm.”
“Maximum speed withdrawal from blast zone plotted. Maneuver will be initiated on launch of final vectra.”
Dhona wouldn't have taken any bets on his chances for survival. A hiddrothermic gas bomb is made with a synthetic, extremely volatile gas whose molecules have such a strong affinity for each other that they stick together like glue. It is the only substance classified as a gas that self compresses into a dense liquid at atmospheric pressure. Designed for only one purpose, the gas depends on the vacuum of space to pull those molecules apart and expand the substance into an extremely large volume cloud. When pulled apart from its liquid to a gaseous state and ignited, the energy released by the thermionic reaction is so sudden and intense it is like a small sun. It is a non-discretionary weapon, leaving nothing intact within the blast zone. It is such a destructive weapon the manufacturing or possession of one, or any part of one, was banned by treaty with a penalty of summary execution. The weapon is so devastating the treaty banning the weapon was signed by all the peoples of all the known galaxies, IGT members and non-members alike. He couldn't figure out how a dhrojja got a hold of one.
“Configure ship for impact
survival. All energy shields at maximum.”
He felt the vibrations of his ship physically reconfiguring itself, and indicators glowed to show protective energy shielding operating. It was going to be an interesting show. The launch of all the vectras would be like a fireworks celebration. 'A celebration of my death.' he thought, 'Well at least I get fireworks.' The almost instantaneous acceleration in an attempt to achieve FTL speed would be uncomfortable at best – but FTL wouldn't be reached before the blast hit the ship. It would all occur almost simultaneously. He hoped the others had made it far enough to be safe.
20
“Access door three closed and sealed!”
“... Access door seven closed and sealed!”
“... Access door five closed and sealed!”
Travellor listened to the reports coming in over the comm until all the access doors had sealed. 'Not enough time.' he thought. The underground structure jumped and fell, accompanied by a low rumbling and an almost deafening boom. Travellor was knocked off his feet, as was everyone around him. He realized it wasn't the structure that had moved, it was all of the surrounding ground. The heavy and very strong moon base structure had just gone along for the ride. He heard people scream, and things crash to the floor. There was loud cursing, and calls for help. All the lights went out and everyone became quiet and still, until the emergency lighting switched on. The power umbilical from the Orysta must have been severed.
It was dim, but you could see enough to move about safely. He had been on site as this structure was built into the ground. He knew how heavy and strong it was. He had watched them weld, and rivet, and anchor it into the substrate. He could barely believe it had moved as much as it did. Whatever had impacted the surface had done so with the force of a very large asteroid. A few seconds later the backup generators kicked in and electrical power was restored.
“Kibbee, this is Travellor. Did everyone make it down? Did everyone make it down?”
There was no response, and Travellor was about to call again when Kibbee finally replied.
“This is Kibbee. I don't know Commander. We had to seal the doors. There was no more time.”
“Did Munen and the others make it out of the Orysta?”
“I'll have my guys check. I didn't see them where I was.”
Only a few minutes had passed since Grilik Munen gave the warning for everyone to abandon the surface, and Travellor could tell by the fear in his voice that it was a time to move now and ask questions later. The strange part was that he felt no fear for himself, but was worried about getting Cove to safety. He had kept thinking that no one would forgive him if he let anything happen to Cove. Then he had wondered how involved Erika was with the man. Cove was safe. He was safe. Everyone that was underground was safe – relatively anyway - for now. He wondered what kind of weapon had been launched at them. He wondered if Munen had made it to safety. He wondered if the Orysta had been destroyed. Then he felt angry. Very, very angry. Then the anger suddenly subsided as he thought about Mersuul. She was in one of the shuttles that had been fighting the enemy. He didn't know if she was safe, or if she was still alive. He felt sick for a second. Then he wanted to kill every one of the pirates – by hand – personally.
21
Mahna watched, safely out of range of the hiddrothermic gas bomb. He saw the IGT fighter launch a barrage of missiles, which caught him by surprise. He had no idea that any of their fighters could carry that much armament. It made for an interesting display, but he knew even that much firepower could not stop the bomb from going off. It would, in fact, only set off the bomb by triggering its proximity detector. 'How useless.' he thought. 'What a stupid, desperate move.'
Just as he expected, the vectras did set off the bomb. Mahna was completely surprised by what he saw next. In a fraction of a second the whole of space in that area changed from the familiar darkness to an instantaneous explosion of a small sun. He reflexively shielded his eyes with one hand, and felt an instantaneous searing heat cut across his body, that stopped just as suddenly as it began. 'Hah! Now my mind is playing tricks on me.' he thought.
22
The Eowaar dropped out of tetra space and back into normal space in full battle readiness – all weapons were on line. Dhona's last transmission had served as both a warning and a call for help. Pirates attacking would alone have been reason enough, but a hiddrothermic gas bomb made it imperative to violate the safety protocol of not traveling at intergalactic speed within a solar system. Planna had some difficulty at first believing that pirates had acquired such a weapon. None had been made in tanrhas.
As soon as the Eowaar dropped to flank-speed-normal its computers and sensors analyzed the area and displayed several action plans. Planna had ordered flank-speed-normal be maintained until the strategic situation could be determined. Experience is the acquisition of knowledge through survival. It was his extensive experience in battle that allowed Kalinor Planna to react as quickly as he did. Experience that younger commanders who hadn't lived through an inter-galactic war didn't have. He had been a young officer in a time when hiddrothermic gas bombs were in frequent use, and the knowledge of them he had gained had remained unused for all of these decitans, but was never forgotten. They were devastating weapons, and important lessons were learned in those past battles – at the cost of many lives. Planna never thought those lessons would ever be useful again. He was wrong.
The Eowaar's Aligned Cohesive Beam Array is a weapon capable of placing multiple pulsed energy streams side by side forming a projected blade of energy. Like a blade, these energy beams slice through the target instead of just forming a hole in it. The weapon system polarizes coherent energy beams, allowing them to be bent and controlled. The alternating polarity of the beams draws and keeps them together so that they do not disperse at long distances. Planna activated the ACBA when he ordered the Eowaar into tetra space. He wanted it operational at destination. It was a lesson learned in the last war, when hiddrothermic gas bombs were first introduced.
His battle field display showed him he had arrived too late to stop the bomb from being deployed. He saw the scattering of small vessels, most moving away from the blast zone as fast as they could. There were a few ships heading for a much larger one that was already at a safe distance, but they would never make it there. They were obviously dhrojjas with no identification beacons, and it seemed that they were not aware a hiddrothermic gas bomb was about to end their lives. The larger ship was not sending out any warning to them. Planna's next motions were more reflex than thought. There was no need to attack the smaller dhrojjas – they were as good as dead.
He placed his whole left hand on the sensor, which scanned and confirmed his identity almost instantaneously. With the index finger of his right, he touched the symbol of the ACBA and drew a line through the larger dhrojja ship, just as the hiddrothermic gas bomb exploded. The ACBA beam sliced the ship horizontally in two. It was a clean, surgical slice that caused no explosions. The ship merely opened up like two halves of a crilly shell.
23
After a few fracins Mahna lowered his hand and looked again, and he felt the air leaving his lungs. 'That's odd.' he thought, 'It was a surprising sight but I didn't expect to react like that.' He saw a man's arm float up in front of him. Then a leg! He looked around to see who had been injured. Several bodies floated into view, and he recognized them as members of his crew. He was confused when he realized that the floating body parts were dressed in similar clothing to his own. Then he saw that his ship had neatly divided itself and let the darkness of space in. 'Why the crhaaka would it do that?'
24
Without looking to see the results of his first actions, Planna turned his attention back to the tactical display which showed the expanding cloud of destructive thermal energy that traveled outward at unbelievable speed. The Eowaar's computer had calculated the damage zone of the bomb. The surface of the moon would be impacted, but with diminished force. Planna hoped the people there had been warned i
n time to take shelter. Also within the damage zone was the debris of many battle damaged ships and several occupied escape pods, all of which would just be obliterated into space dust. That would be no loss since under IGT law the pirates would have been summarily executed anyway.
There was also one of his own fighter craft accelerating at maximum capability as it tried to outrun the explosion. It was Dhona's fighter – it would never make it in time, but it would get far enough away to escape the full force of the blast. He prayed that all the lives lost in the past war would now guide his hand in the attempt to save this one life. He drew another line from the ACBA out across the space behind the fighter craft. He couldn't protect Dhona completely, but he hoped that by creating a back-pressure wave between the expanding destruction zone and the fighter it would cancel out some of the explosive force. This action had saved lives in the past war – sometimes.
Planna looked over to the screen where Dhona's biometric telemetry data was being displayed in real time. Heart rate and blood pressure was high. ACTH and adrenaline levels in the blood stream were also high. All of it to be expected from a man in a life or death situation. Then all readings dropped to zero, and the display turned red and started flashing.