Sacrifice:The Shenkar War

by Libby, Seth

  A collection of laughter returned through the comm unit from the rest of Necro Squadron. And then the female voice spoke again.

  “Standby for fold sequence . . . ten . . . nine . . . eight . . . seven . . . six . . . five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one . . . fold sequence engage.”

  The tugging at his navel came and then his vision blurred. But before long, the tugging subsided and his vision cleared.

  “Fold sequence complete.”

  And then there was the waiting for the scan. Liam seriously doubted anything would be found, but better safe than sorry. After a few moments, the female voice sounded.

  “Scan complete--green alert. No enemy contacts. Stand-down to green levels.”

  September 7, 2012, 1:05 a.m. ESTEDF Sacrifice, Hangar Bay

  Evan let out his breath. Every time they folded, he had a feeling it would be the same for him--the same until that moment they finally meet the Shenkar Federation. Thoughts of Crystal and what Liam had said kept coming back to him. Could he sacrifice her for a greater good? When he had lost his wife and family, he hadn’t had any control over it. Even so, in the heat of battle, he might have control over it. A tapping at his canopy brought him out of his reverie. Turning, he saw a member of the deck crew. He hit the release on the canopy and it slid open.

  “You staying in your fighter, sir?” asked the deck member.

  “Uh . . . oh, sorry, was just lost in thought,” said Evan.

  Evan then unlocked his flight harness and climbed from his cockpit. Crystal was waiting at the bottom of the ladder for him, wearing a look of concern.

  “Is everything all right? You’re not having regrets about what we did, are you?” asked Crystal hesitantly.

  “What? Oh . . . no, definitely not. It’s the best thing that has happened to me in a long time,” he said, smiling in the end.

  Crystal looked long into his face, then smiled as she pinched his arm.

  “Well, then, what’s wrong? You had me worried, you know.”

  “Oh, you know, just worried about what’s to come and . . . about you.”

  “Oh, flyboy, this is war. We are all going to die. Why are you allowing yourself to worry about it? We should just be enjoying the time we have together now, because we never know if we will see tomorrow,” she said seriously yet with a slight smile on her lips.

  Looking down at her--something he had to do seeing as he stood a foot taller than her--he studied her face. Finally, he smiled down at her as he enfolded her in his arms.

  “Well, I can’t promise anything, but I will try anyway.”

  As they hugged each other, Tim and Dimitri walked up.

  “Should we come back later?” asked Dimitri.

  Breaking apart, Crystal turned to him and gave a sarcastic smile. “And deprive a pervert like you of a good show?” she said, then broke out laughing.

  “So anyone want to play poker while we wait?” asked Tim.

  “Well, that sounds good, but I think I am going to go lie down, seeing as we haven’t got much sleep lately,” said Evan.

  “I’ll play--I am full of energy,” said Crystal.

  So Tim, Dimitri, and Crystal joined the rest of Necro Squadron while Evan made his way over to a group of pallets that had been set up for the pilots. As he walked up, he noticed Liam lying on one of them, his arm across his eyes.

  “I see you had the same idea as me,” said Evan.

  Pulling back his arm, he looked over at Evan.

  “Yeah, it’s been a long day, so I figured I would try and catch a few minutes of sleep before our last fold. Who knows what we might run into over the next few days, so I plan to get as much sleep as I can now while it’s available.”

  “Yeah, I know what you mean. Why are we folding in and out anyway?” asked Evan.

  “Because the Meshtrell are not positive of where the Shenkar will mass their fleet, only that they will pass close enough to our system to pick off remnants of old radio waves. So we continue folding to probable locations until we locate some Shenkar and hope what we find isn’t too large already for us to handle,” said Liam.

  “Well, that’s just an oh-so-pleasant thought,” Evan said as he lay back on the pallet.

  Within seconds after his head hit the pillow, Evan was fast asleep.

  September 7, 2012, 3:55 a.m. ESTEDF Sacrifice, Hangar Bay

  “Evan, wake up, Evan . . . move your ass, this is our last jump,” said a male’s voice.

  Evan came awake at someone’s hand on his shoulder shaking him. Turning his head, he saw Liam standing over him.

  “Move it . . . we fold in about ten minutes,” said Liam.

  As if to confirm what Liam just stated, the ships comm system came to life with the all-too-familiar female voice:“Attention, all hands. Fold sequence in ten minutes; I repeat, fold sequence in ten minutes. All stations report in with station readiness.”

  Evan pushed himself up with one hand as he rubbed his eyes with the other. He felt like he had just laid his head down on the pillow. His tiredness shouldn’t come as a surprise. The past few days hadn’t relinquished much in the way of time for rest. True enough, he hadn’t exactly spent that time wisely, as most of it he had spent with Crystal and sleep wasn’t what they had in mind. But from the first day, it had been an early rise to prepare for the day’s events and pack all his belongings for his final departure from Earth.

  How life had changed so much over the past few years. Two years previously, he had been married. Now his wife and family were lost to the bird flu, the Earth was threatened by an impending invasion of an alien race, and he was on his way to sacrifice his life--the last in hope to slow the alien invasion force to give the Earth time to build its defense fleet.

  Standing, he walked tiredly over to his awaiting fighter and climbed mechanically up the ladder. Seating himself in the cockpit, he strapped himself in as he yawned. Donning his helmet, he then activated his flight board and ran through his preflight checklist. Just as he finished, the Sacrifice’s comm unit spoke.

  “Standby for fold sequence . . . ten . . . nine . . . eight . . . seven . . . six . . . five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one . . . fold sequence engage.”

  Evan felt the same odd tugging feel at the navel as his vision blurred. Then, moments later, it was over, and he sat and waited for the green alert he expected. These drills, he felt, had been unnecessary, as they had yet to find anything. True enough, as he looked around the hangar bay, several pilots were already raising their canopies and removing their flight harnesses. Looking around more closely, he noticed with growing annoyance that three-quarters of the hangar were standing down before the order came. Looking over at Liam, he was about to key his ship-to-ship comm unit when Evan’s channel came to life.

  “Liam, do you see what I am seeing?”

  “Yes . . . I think people are getting a bit too comfortable with these drills.”

  Keying the open channel to his squadron, Liam then addressed them.

  “Attention, Necro Squadron. No one is to stand down until we get the all clear. I repeat, no one is to stand down until we get the green alert.”

  “Speaking of green alert, what’s taking so long? We usually get the okay to stand down by now,” said Darren.

  September 7, 2012, 4:10 a.m. ESTEDF Sacrifice, Command Bridge

  Admiral Kelvin sat back in his chair as the tugging feeling faded and his vision returned to normal.

  “Give me a status report, Lieutenant Sukita.”

  “We are getting interference on our scanners. We seem to have folded smack-dab in the middle of an asteroid field. The coordinates we were provided should have placed us just outside the asteroid field . . . we got lucky that we didn’t end up next to an asteroid. The metal concentrations are making it hard to get a scan of the surrounding system,” she explained.

  Admiral Kelvin turned to the only Meshtrell present on the bridge. “What happened with those coordinates?”

  Reeta looked at a data pad
in his hand, touched the screen a few times, then looked up. “It seems the asteroid field is sizably larger than the last time we passed through this system. It could be that a comet entered the system and broke up upon impacting one of the larger asteroids, or that two of the larger asteroids collided and extended the field. I am sending a correction program to the scanners to omit the interference from the high metal content.”

  After a few minutes, Lieutenant Sukita spoke. “Interference is diminishing.” Sukita continued to check the scanner readout.

  Less than a minute later, Sukita turned to Admiral Kelvin, her face showing alarm as she spoke. “Sir, multiple contacts detected.”

  September 7, 2012, 4:15 a.m. ESTEDF Sacrifice, Hangar Bay

  Alarms sounds throughout the hangar bay, causing several startled people to look about. A moment later, the answer for the alarms came.

  “Red alert, all hands; I repeat, red alert. We have multiple contacts. Configuration shows them to be Shenkar light fighters escorting a destroyer-class capital ship. All fighters, you are a go for launch,” said the female voice.

  Liam keyed his squadron comm channel as he continued to activate switches as fast as possible. “You heard the lady, Necro Squadron. We launch.”

  Liam’s fighter thrummed to life as he used his ion thrusters to maneuver it into launch position without waiting for the deck crew to give the signal. Normally, they would need the deck crew to wave them into launch position so no two squadrons would collide. However, Liam already knew that his squadron was the only squadron ready for launch.

  As Liam’s fighter settled into position next to Tim, he keyed his comm unit, knowing he didn’t need to look to see if the rest of the squadron was set to launch.

  “Flight control, this is Ghost. Necro Squadron set for launch.”

  “This is flight control. You are cleared for launch.”

  Liam pulled back on the throttle and was slammed back in his cockpit as his fighter exploded forward. A couple seconds later, his fighter was free of the battlecruiser. Within a minute, the rest of Necro Squadron pulled alongside in a standard flight pattern as they maneuvered through the asteroid field toward open space.

  September 7, 2012, 4:18 a.m. ESTEDF Sacrifice, Command Bridge

  “Give me a status report, Lieutenant Sukita. What exactly are we facing?” commanded Admiral Kelvin.

  “Current scans read a Shenkar Kelgen-class destroyer escorted by thirty-five light fighters on a heading of vector three five. Current trajectory will bring them past the asteroid field in the next few minutes. As they pass, there is a chance they could spot the Sacrifice on their scanners.”

  Admiral Kelvin came up out of his chair and stepped forward. “Destroy them now! If any of them get away, this whole mission will be in jeopardy!” he shouted.

  “This is flight control to all fighters. Go weapons hot and engage the enemy. Eliminate all targets; I repeat, eliminate all targets,” said Lieutenant Sukita into the ship comm unit.

  “Welcome to System 238,” muttered Admiral Kelvin.

  September 7, 2012, 4:20 a.m. ESTNecro Squadron

  “This is flight control, to all fighters. Go weapons hot and engage the enemy. Eliminate all targets; I repeat, eliminate all targets,” said the female voice.

  Liam keyed his squadron ship-to-ship unit, then spoke. “Okay, people, form up and let’s hit them fast and hard. Demonknight, Spectre, Phantom, Banshee, Wraith, and Ghoul, you will punch through the enemy fighter cover. You will then proceed on to make one strafing run on the destroyer, wheel about, and launch all of your antimatter torpedoes into the engines. This will prevent them from bringing their fold drives online and escaping with the news of our presence. Zombie, Revenant, Vampire, and I will engage the rest of the fighters and keep them off your back as long as possible. Any questions?”

  “Yeah, what is the song you plan to play . . . it’s been bugging the shit out of me,” asked Evan.

  “You will see,” replied Liam. “Okay, then, we’re all set? Then let’s move it,” Liam finished.

  Liam pulled back on the throttle, and the fighter under him surged forward. As he maneuvered his way around the last of the asteroid field, he keyed on his MP3 player and cycled through it until he found Powerman 5000, activating the song he was thinking would be fitting for the meeting of the two races.

  Now this is what it’s like when worlds collide,

  Now this is what it’s like,

  Now this is what it’s like when worlds collide,

  Now this is what it’s like,

  What is it really that’s going on here,

  You’ve got the system for total control,

  Now is there anybody out there?

  As the song played, Evans voice came over Liam’s comm unit. “Oh, you definitely picked the perfect song.”

  “I thought you would appreciate it.”

  I’m going to be the one taking over,

  Now this is what it’s like when worlds collide!

  Once free of the asteroid field, Liam engaged his afterburners, which pushed him against his seat. His fighter raced toward his targets, closing the distance quickly. As he got closer, the blips representing enemy fighters peeled away from the destroyer and set an intercept course. Suddenly, the blips increased on his scanner, showing the enemy fighter count as roughly around fifty.

  “Where did those come from?” asked David “Spectre” Lapra.

  “One of the reports I read on the Shenkar scouting missions said the Shenkar liked to hide their numbers. This is done by mag-locking half their complement of fighters onto the outside of a capital ship. It seems those reports were close to correct,” explained Tim, or “Vampire.”

  “We might have a problem here. With that many fighters, we might not be able to punch through quick enough before the destroyer can escape.”

  “Well, it’s too late to turn back. Lock your targets and fire!” Liam said as he looked at the distance between the two groups, wondering where the other three squadrons were that were supposed to be on standby.

  His heads-up display showed the first elements of Shenkar fighters within range of his energy cannons. Moving his targeting reticule, he locked it onto an enemy fighter and squeezed the trigger. Energy erupted out of his cannons, racing toward his target. The first shots impacted across the canopy of the opposing fighter, burning through plasti-steel to the pilot inside. The fighter jerked sideways and spun directly into the path of another Shenkar. The two erupted into a fiery ball of flame and metal.

  All around him, energy cannons sent forth their deadly touch. Shenkar fighter after Shenkar fighter erupted into balls of flame, and they still kept coming. Then they were on them. Six of Necro Squadron continued on toward the primary target, while Liam, Tim, Evan, and Crystal turned back toward the Shenkar fighters. Shenkar fighters swarmed all around in attempts to destroy the four. Liam spared a second to check his scanner. Pretty much the entire Shenkar fighter group had stayed to engage the fighters that stayed to fight. He had been counting on this. From what he had read, the Shenkar valued honor, so for Liam and the other three to stay and fight while being so far outnumbered would send a message. The Shenkar would feel that they were the most honorable of Necro Squadron and therefore prime targets.

  His fighter shook under a volley of energy from pursuing Shenkar fighters. Liam did all he could just to dodge the Shenkar volleys of fire. Jerking the flight stick, his fighter rolled to the left, narrowly avoiding Evan moving in the opposite direction--their canopies passing within meters of each other. As his fighter spun past Evan’s, one of the five pursing Shenkar fighters collided with a Shenkar fighter that had been tailing Evan. Both fighters exploded, instantly sending shrapnel through the canopy of a nearby Shenkar fighter, killing the pilot instantly. All around, the four continued, sending their fighters into wild maneuvers in attempts to save themselves. Liam knew it was only a matter of time; they were outnumbered almost ten to one now. Alarms sounded across Liam’s board as his port shi
elds failed and energy slammed into his armored hull, burning large chunks of metal away.

  Suddenly, three inbound Shenkar fighters exploded off Liam’s port side and Liam’s comm unit cracked to life. “Ghost, this is Sparrowhawk. Care for some assistance?” came the voice of Callen Groto.

  Looking at his scanners, his friend or foe identifier showed another squadron of Templar Knights inboard. Keying his comm unit, he fought back a laugh as he spoke. “What took you so long? I thought you had set this tea party.”

  “Oh, you know me. I like a fashionable entrance,” said Callen in an amused voice.

  Now free of ten-to-one odds, the rest of Necro Squadron, alongside the UK’s Royal Razors Squadron, proceeded to rain death upon the Shenkar. A Shenkar fighter flew through Liam’s targeting reticule. He squeezed the trigger, and the fighter exploded. Bringing his fighter around, he searched the stars, then checked his scanners--all Shenkar fighters were destroyed. Off in the distance, he could see the Shenkar destroyer floating dead in space, venting atmosphere. Six Scorpion fighters, however, continued raining energy into the hull until the ship exploded.

  “Sacrifice, this is Necro Squadron. All targets eliminated,” Liam said into his comm unit.

  “Confirmed, Necro Squadron. Bring it home,” said the female voice.

  Switching to the squadron frequency, Liam addressed the rest of Necro Squadron.

  “Okay, boys and girls, let’s take it back home. Anyone suffer any serious damage?”

  Nine voices sounded in return. All had suffered minor damage but otherwise were all right. Checking his own status, he saw that except for armor damage, his fighter was okay.

  “Flight control, this is Necro leader requesting clearance to land,” Liam said into his headset.