by Saxon Andrew
The huge Traugh city on the main monitor suddenly had a bright flash appear in the center of it and the giant blast that blew out from the flash leveled the city with a superheated wind blowing at more than five hundred miles an hour. The area outside the blast’s radius was being hit with tens of thousands of intense blaster beams. Entire communities were ignited into a molten river of burning soil. But a planet is a huge target and it was taking time to complete the destruction.
The Commander of the fleet attacking one of the planets knew he was running out of time, “Launch all the remaining nuclear missiles and target them to hit the planet’s surface.” The surface blasts wouldn’t cause as much damage but it would spew radioactive material high into the planet’s atmosphere where the upper level winds would scatter it around the planet. The radioactivity exceeded the lethal range and though it would take longer, nothing would be left alive after a month.
• • •
The Traugh Fleet Leader began receiving reports of their home worlds being attacked. Where was the Dictator? He looked at his Communication Leader, “Contact all the communities on the conquered planets and let me know when they’re on the channel. The galaxy’s edge was thirty minutes away when the Com Leader pointed to him, “The Empire is under attack by ships from the spiral galaxy. They will be attacking you before much longer and you need to charge your space lasers and have all your slaves leave.”
“Why shouldn’t we just kill all of them?”
“What’s going to happen if we defeat this enemy? If you kill all the slaves that are trained to serve you, they will have to be replaced with slaves that know nothing. You can always round them up later. If you leave them in your communities, they may revolt when you’re attacked. They won’t get far. Do as you’re ordered.”
The Fleet Leader said, “We’re going to Ackerclaw first to stop the attack. Stay in formation and open fire as soon as the enemy ships are in range.” The giant globe of Traugh Warships flashed in above the burning planet and the Supreme Fleet Leader felt his rage almost reach his breaking point. This was his home where his family lived and the city they lived in was a smoking radioactive crater. The Halo Warships attacking the planet fled when the giant Traugh Formation arrived. The Fleet Leader’s eyes were little more than slits as he settled in determined to meet the invaders above his home. He anger was almost out of control and he looked at his Com Leader, “Contact the Supreme Dictator and find out where he is.”
“No one is responding, Fleet Leader.”
“There’s no possible way that every ship was destroyed.” The Fleet Leader sat in his chair and tried to determine what happened to the million warships that were left behind. But there was no one alive to tell him. As the enemy fleets began gathering just outside the range of his beams, he remembered that half of the warships had not shown up before his fleets launched. Where were they? “We are moving the fleet to the Supreme Leader’s planet. We will launch in three, two, one, now!”
The giant globe instantly disappeared from above the burning planet and was above the Supreme Leader’s Planet in less than ten seconds. The giant fleet settled in above the planet and he said with venom in is voice, “Scan the space around this planet and tell me what happened here!” He looked up at the main monitor and saw the fleets arrive a few moments later and take up positions just outside the range of his weapons. He was going to fly into them but wanted to know what happened before he ordered the attack. Thirty minutes later his Scan Leader said, “Fleet Leader, the defensive satellites killed thousands of enemy warships before they were overwhelmed and destroyed. There are huge piles of debris on the planet’s surface where they crashed on the surface.”
“How many of our warships were destroyed here?”
“Fleet Leader, we have not found any evidence of even one of our ships being destroyed anywhere within our scanners’ range.”
“What happened to our fleets that remained behind?”
“Our scouts that went and looked at the other home worlds did not find any evidence of our warships being destroyed at any of them as well.”
The Fleet Leader’s rage took him. The miserable coward had taken the fleets and run before the attackers arrived. He slammed his fist on the arm of his command chair and everyone on the bridge heard a loud crack where the arm was fractured. He decided to go and find the Supreme Leader and kill him but that’s when a wave of enemy warships crashed in on his formation and his ships began fighting for their lives. He screamed his frustration to the universe and then screamed for the attacker to come and get what he had waiting for them.
• • •
The Wings Fleet Commander looked at Groh on his monitor, “We are being massacred by the crossfire of that globe formation.”
“Just hang on and attack in unpredictable patterns. I’ll be there in three more hours.”
“There might not be any survivors the way things are going.”
“Stand off and fire whatever nuclear missiles we have at them.”
“Their ships won’t be fazed by nuclear explosions.”
“That’s true but you can launch an attack and allow the explosion to hide your approach. Get as close as you can and open fire simultaneously and withdraw as the explosion clears. We can’t allow that formation to escape.”
“I’ll do as you order.”
A hundred thousand Halo Warships flew in at high speed and launched nuclear missiles at the giant Traugh Globe. Most of them were burned out of existence before they exploded but ten thousand detonated and a million Halo Warships flew in at maximum speed and opened fire at the globe as they moved through the nuclear shock wave. They immediately retreated and more than a third of them were hit and destroyed by the vicious Traugh crossfire, but more than two hundred and twenty thousand Traugh Warships were decimated by the attack and a huge hole appeared in the front of the giant formation. The Fleet Leader ordered the globe to rotate and the hole was moved between the front of the formation and the planet. The Traugh Warships rushed to reorganized and cover the open wound in the formation. The globe reformed and the globe was intact again but was smaller than before. The Fleet Leader knew that if he left the planet and another huge opening was blown into his formation, the enemy warships would fly through that opening and attack them from the inside his formation. He was forced to stay close to the burning planet.
The Halo Warships made six more runs but backed off each time they ran into a solid wall of Traugh disintegrator beams. The battle seemed to go on forever and now the Traugh were facing four million ships instead of the six that started attacking them. There was hope that they could hold off the enemy as long as they could maintain their formation.
The Fleet Leader shook his head at the savagery of the warships attacking his fleets. He lost himself in the ebb and flow of the death struggle between the two fleets. He glanced at the monitor and saw the countdown on the arrival of the pursuers that he had left behind in escaping from the distant galaxy and saw that it was at plus thirty minutes. He jumped up out of his chair to shout a warning but he was too late. A massive wave of Halo Warships swarmed over the planet and opened fire from point blank range. The rear of his formation was obliterated and the millions of ships coming over the planet flew inside the globe and opened fire. “BREAK FORMATION AND FLEE! RUUUUNNNNNNN!!!!”
The globe had a giant hole blasted through its surface and as the Halo Warships rushed inside the globe the surviving Traugh Warships scattered in all directions. But they had made a critical mistake by waiting too long. The Millions of Halo Warships had formed their own globe out from the planet and there was nowhere for the Traugh to run. The Halo globe began tightening and the Traugh’s superior speed and beams did not make any difference if there were nowhere to run and a solid wall of blaster beams blocking any escape route. They were destroyed by the thousands every second and six hours later the Halo Globe moved in on the last surviving Traugh Warships and blasted them into vapor.
“Fleet Commander, my sc
outs have mapped more than fifteen thousand planets this civilization has conquered. There are installations on the surface of those planets.”
“Send a location to each fleet and they will go out and blast those installations into rubble.”
“Should we destroy the planets?”
“That would be a massive waste of armaments. Scan the planets closely and kill any of these creatures that you detect on the surface. Report back to me if you find the missing warships.”
The thousands of fleets received their targets and began disappearing. Groh sat in his command chair and wondered where the million warships had gone. They might have moved outside the borders of this civilization. Should he order a search for them?
• • •
“Steve, that Fleet Commander is considering a search to find the missing Traugh Warships.”
Steve shook his head, “Poul, keep us close to his vessel and Prophet, you need to let me know before he orders a search.”
“Will do.”
• • •
Twenty hours later, the last Halo Fleet reported in that the Traugh installations had been destroyed but had not found the missing warships. “Steve, he’s going to order a search!”
“Poul, send a communication wave and keep moving around so they can’t track it!”
“Moving now.”
Steve picked up his communicator and began speaking.
• • •
Groh didn’t want to order a search but those warships had to be found. “Commander, I have a message coming in our frequency in your language.”
“Put it on the loudspeaker.”
“…warships you seek to find have left this galaxy and fled into intergalactic space to avoid entering the forbidden space of the Black Civilization.”
“Who are you?”
“I am one that has avoided being conquered by the demons you’ve killed. But all of my efforts at avoiding them will be wasted if you enter the Black’s forbidden space. I will die as well as all the conquered planets and the Black will follow you back to your galaxy and destroy all of you.”
“Commander, the communication suddenly stopped.”
“Where was it coming from?”
“Everywhere.”
Groh felt his chest tighten to the point of causing him to collapse. “Commander, the Fleet Leaders are of the opinion that it might be wise to leave quickly.”
Groh pointed to his Communications Commander as he grabbed his chest and fell back into his chair. He jabbed his finger at the ceiling and swept it away from the planet below them. A medical tech rushed over as Groh collapsed out of his chair and the Communications Commander shouted over the frequency, “LEAVE NOW!! Take your fleets and go home! The Fleet Commander has collapsed and it may be due to this Blackness. RUN!”
Groh’s command ship disappeared in an instant and as soon as it moved outside the edge of the galaxy, Groh began to breathe. The millions of Halo Warships fled the Milky Way at their maximum speed.
• • •
Steve looked at Kam, “Did you do that?”
“No! You just about scared him to death with your Black Civilization lie.”
Steve tilted his head and looked at Lani as he said, “Poul, contact Admiral Osborn and take us out to Admiral Holmes’ Fleets.”
The viewport dimmed and Pam appeared on the monitor, “Sir, the Halo Fleets have wiped out the Traugh and are fleeing our galaxy at maximum speed. Now would be a good time to take your fleets and follow up behind them to make sure there were no survivors.”
“What did you do?”
“I’ll send a recording after we go and see how Admiral Holmes is doing against the Traugh Fleet moving his way.”
“Keep me informed, Admiral.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Poul, where is the Traugh Fleet?”
“They’re moving at high speed directly at Admiral Holmes’ fleets. They will be in range in three hours.”
“Get Holmes on the monitor.” Bob appeared and Steve said, “The Traugh will be in scanning range in three hours.”
“We powered down and will go to full power when they’re inside an hour.”
“Admiral, the Traugh are moving in a globe formation.”
“Did you hear that, Bob?”
“I did. But we’re not Halo Warships.”
Steve looked at Kam, “Would you like to send the Supreme Leader a thought before we attack?”
Kam smiled, “Indeed I would.”
“Just make sure Bob can hear it. He’ll launch his attack when you finish.”
“They’ll hear me an hour out.”
“Poul, move us to the front of Admiral Holmes’ formations.”
The ship suddenly appeared and Steve had great difficulty seeing the fleets around him. With their power shut down and lights off, they were almost impossible to see in the blackness of intergalactic space.
• • •
The Traugh Supreme Leader sat on his giant command ship inside the giant globe of ships that surrounded him. He tried to feel remorseful at leaving his planets undefended but just couldn’t pull it off. He was alive and he’d take his fleet and start conquering planets in the new galaxy. He’d be back in business in no time.
“Time is something you no longer have.”
The Fleet Leader’s eyes went wide and he looked at his bridge crew who also heard the thought. “Who are you?”
“I am the one that stole one of your warships nearly a century ago. You should know before you die that every one of your species in our galaxy was killed by the civilizations from the other galaxy.”
“What do you mean our galaxy?”
“I never went to that galaxy. I went to a civilization in our galaxy and they have been building warships to use to this day. Your predecessors were deceived into thinking that other galaxy is where I went. Now the day has arrived and in a few more moments, your species will no longer exist.”
“Do what you want, you won’t break through my defenses!”
“I swore the day one of you killed my father that I would have revenge on the villainous evil species that killed him. You should know that these ships are not the ships from the other galaxy. Enjoy your death. It’s been a long time coming and is well deserved.”
Kam nodded and Steve said, “Hit them, Bob!”
• • •
The Supreme Leader suddenly saw thousands, no hundreds of thousands of blips appear on the main wall monitor. The massive wave of blips began moving toward his fleet at an incredible speed and he knew there was no possible way to out run them. “FIRE AS SOON AS THEY MOVE INTO RANGE!!?” Then his monitor flashed as the oncoming ships opened fire far outside the range of his fleet’s weapons. The entire front of the globe exploded as brilliant beams flashed through the Traugh’s force fields and burned huge holes completely through their hulls. His eyes went wide and another volley of beams blew away the right side of the Traugh formation and then a third decimated the left side. “RUN!!!”
The Supreme Leader saw the massive wave of dark blue stardrives rush in on his surviving ships and then he felt the incredible heat from a beam that blew away the bow of his vessel. The first Dictator was right. He closed his eyes as a beam flashed through the wall and burned him into atoms.
Bob calmly said, “Leave no survivors.” The three quarters of a million Traugh Warships were destroyed in less than twenty minutes after the first beams were fired.
Steve looked at Kam and saw serenity in is expression. “Prophet, what do you want us to do now?”
Kam looked at him and smiled, “Please take me home where you found me.”
Steve’s eyes narrowed as the viewport flashed. The ship flew to the surface at an incredible speed and the ramp extended to the ground. The Prophet tried to stand but failed. He looked at Steve and Lani, “I need your assistance.”
“Prophet, what’s wrong!?”
“Take me to my hauler…please. He looked up and said, “I’m sure my father would be
proud to know you have his name. I know I am.”
Steve and Lani moved under his shoulders and carried him out of the port, down the ramp, and across the sand to his hauler. They assisted him into the driver’s seat and he smiled at them, “I have kept my promise.”
“WHAT’S WRONG?”
“I should have died five years ago but I’ve somehow survived to see the destruction of my people’s tormentors. Creation has answered my prayers and I need to go and tell my father what I’ve done.” The hauler lurched forward and they watched it moving toward the blasted Traugh Community. Lani started crying and Steve heard on his communicator, “He’s been ill the entire time he’s been on the ship. I don’t know how he managed to make it this long.”
“Can you hear him?”
“If you listen, you can.”
Steve stared at the community as the hauler stopped on the edge of the blasted sand. “Father, Mother, Sister, thank you for your patience. I’ve longed to join you but my work wasn’t complete. Now I can be with you in peace.”
Lani went into Steve’s arms and both of them wept. They heard on Steve’s wrist unit, “He’s with them now.”
“We should take him to his people.”
“No, he’s where he wants to be.”
Steve pulled Lani into his arms and held her tightly. “Lani.”
“Yes, Poul.”
“The Traugh Fleet Leader ordered all the communities on the conquered planets to send their slaves away before they were attacked.”
Lani’s eyes went wide and she looked up at the sky. They held each other and wept in sorrow as well as happiness. They remained there for a long time.
Chapter Nineteen
Steve looked down on the burning planet and remembered it’s being surrounded by millions of Traugh Warships. The image was intimidating when he first saw it and now nothing remained on the planet but fires being fed by superheated winds blowing into them. The scanners reported that no life existed on the planet’s surface although there might be sea creatures that survived the holocaust deep in the oceans depths. Even they might die when the radioactive material started falling out of the dark sky on the surface of the oceans. A proud and arrogant civilization existed no more.