Major Lorre didn’t reply. Her face was ashen.
-
In space, energy beam fire from several human battlecruisers slammed into the forward section of a Trellixian warship, tearing it open with secondary explosions blasting out huge holes in the hull. A forty-megaton fusion missile arrived, sending the vessel to oblivion.
Over half of the Trellixian fleet targeted the six vessels of the colony fleet. The first vessel to die was the battlecruiser Ajax as its energy shield was overwhelmed by the sheer number of fifty-megaton explosions detonating. The shield suddenly flared up brightly and then collapsed. The Ajax was instantly struck by over a dozen missiles, incinerating the vessel in a huge fireball of raw energy.
The Trellixian fleet was also targeting two spaceports that were in range. Several hundred missiles darted through Earth’s atmosphere with most of them intercepted by secondary energy cannons located on the surface. Four missiles detonated over the spaceports in huge flashes of light and energy, but the energy shields protecting the facilities prevented any damage. Two large mushroom clouds rose up into the atmosphere, obscuring the spaceports.
-
The fighting intensified as Earth’s small space fleet became fully engaged against the Trellixians. The battlecruiser Destiny destroyed two Trellixian battlecruisers before a number of Trellixian fusion missiles overloaded her energy screen over the stern, allowing several enemy energy beams to briefly penetrate. A huge explosion blew out a major portion of the hull and destroyed one of the ship’s fusion reactors. Bulkheads slammed shut, and the crew hurriedly evacuated the damaged part of the ship. Another explosion cut the power from the ship’s other reactor, and the protective energy shield vanished. Moments later a fusion warhead detonated in the huge hole in the ship, sending raw energy cascading throughout the vessel and vaporizing everything it touched.
-
The colony ship Distant Star was in trouble. The ship had already suffered several energy beam strikes to her hull, and numerous compartments were open to space. The ship’s captain rotated the ship, trying to keep the Trellixians from hitting the damaged areas of his vessel.
In the Command Center, Captain Phillip tried desperately to save his ship. “Can we get back down to Earth?”
“No,” answered his second in command, Lieutenant Commander Worthington. “The ship’s suffered too much damage. The atmospheric turbulence would tear us apart.”
The vessel shook again, and more red lights appeared on the damage control console. On the main viewscreen, a brilliant light caused the screen to dim.
“What was that?”
“One of our escorts, the Branson. It just blew up,” answered Lieutenant Commander Worthington grimly.
“The fleet?”
“It’s trying to protect us, but there are just too many Trellixian vessels.”
“Can we go into Fold Space?”
“We’re too near the planet,” replied the helm officer. “The drive would explode.”
The ship shook violently with no indication of stopping. Alarms and emergency klaxons sounded.
“Two more energy beam hits,” reported Lieutenant Commander Worthington, his face turning pale.
Suddenly a control console exploded, sending a shower of sparks across the room. The lights brightened, then dimmed, and slowly faded. The emergency lighting came on. Smoke filled the Command Center.
“Energy screen is down,” screamed one of the other officers.
-
Fleet Admiral Edwards watched in frustration as the green icon representing the Distant Star suddenly flared up and then vanished. The sheer number of red icons around the colony fleet made it impossible to defend.
“We can’t get any of our other battlecruisers close enough to help,” said Captain Nelson grimly.
Edwards watched the tactical display as the missiles from the missile platforms struck the Trellixian ships. Between the missiles and the energy beams, numerous red icons vanished.
Edwards had the feeling they were winning the battle but losing the war.
-
Trellixian Battle Commander Traven’s flagship shook violently as its energy screen was hit by one of the Human missiles. It was evident the Humans were doing everything they could to defend the small fleet which had left the surface. With satisfaction he saw another one of its escorts explode, leaving just a single large ship and one escort surviving. He was more convinced than ever this was a colony fleet, attempting to escape the planet.
“Order all ships to shift their fire to that remaining large vessel. We will destroy it and then leave.” Traven was losing a lot of ships, but he was also causing considerable damage to the Human fleet and their defensive grid.
-
The Osiris was under heavy attack. Captain Brunson knew his ship would not survive. He felt great sadness about the eight hundred young people on board, knowing he could do nothing to save them. The ship suddenly heaved upward, throwing several of the crew to the floor. He could hear the sound of tearing metal and the loud screams of the colonists. The ship was coming apart around him. The damage control console was covered in red lights, and alarms blared nonstop. Then, with a resounding roar, the ship broke apart. For a brief moment he could see the stars, and then a brilliant light swept over him.
-
“The Osiris is down,” reported Lieutenant Williams grimly. Then another brilliant flash of light erupted on the viewscreen where the colony ship had been. “The McKay is down. That’s the last of the defending battlecruisers.”
Fleet Admiral Edwards blinked his eyes rapidly, then stared. The entire colony fleet was gone! “Continue to fire on the Trellixians,” he ordered. “I want to destroy as many of their ships as possible.”
“Trellixians are jumping,” called out Lieutenant Williams.
“They destroyed the colony fleet,” said Captain Nelson. “That was their goal. Somehow they figured out what it was.”
The fighting rapidly decreased as the Trellixians exited the battle, and soon it stopped completely. All that was left were a few fields of scattering debris.
Fleet Admiral Edwards took a deep breath. Even though they had destroyed more Trellixian battlecruisers, the Trellixians had won by destroying the colony fleet. “What did we lose?”
“Both colony ships, all four of the battlecruiser escorts, three other battlecruisers, and about 20 percent of the remaining defense grid. The Trellixians also hit two of our spaceports with fusion missiles, but the energy shields held.”
“The Trellixian losses?”
“We took out sixty-seven of their battlecruisers.”
Edwards had hoped for more kills. With a deep sigh, he knew Earth was in trouble. He strongly suspected the bombardment of the defensive grid would resume, and shortly the full-scale attack he expected from the Trellixians would begin. Launching the colony fleet in all likelihood had only hastened that attack. There was a good chance now, when the Constellation and the Vengeance returned, they would find the space around Earth under Trellixian control.
“Contact General Mitchell. We need to load the two cargo ships with missiles to replace the ones we launched from the missile platforms.” Edwards leaned back in his command chair. He had a few reserve battlecruisers at the four spaceports. Time to bring them into orbit to help protect the defense grid.
-
President Hathaway stood at the window with her hands clasped behind her back. Sixteen hundred young people and the crews of all six ships of the colony fleet were dead. All because she had listened to Major Lorre and rushed the launch. Professor Wilkens had been right when he had said it was a mistake to launch the vessels. She would listen to him more closely in the future.
“We must convert the other two cargo ships,” said Major Lorre. “We can still get them away!”
Katelyn turned around and gazed at Major Lorre with an icy glare. “I think not. We will wait for the return of the Constellation and the Vengeance.”
“That’s a mistake!�
� Lorre said loudly.
Katelyn locked her gaze on Lorre. “I want your resignation before the day is out. You are so blinded by your quest to launch the colony ships that you’re endangering the rest of us. We just lost more of our defense grid as well as seven irreplaceable battlecruisers.”
Major Lorre’s face turned angry. “You’re making a mistake!” she shouted. “We must get people away from Earth, or the human race will die!”
“That’s your opinion,” replied Kathryn. “I think it’s time for you to leave.” Katelyn returned to her desk and pressed a button on her phone. Instantly the door to her office opened, and two secret service agents entered.
“Escort Major Lorre out. She will no longer be coming here anymore.”
Major Lorre’s eyes opened wide in shock as the two agents took her by the arms and led her to the door. “You’re making a big mistake!” she screamed. “You’re dooming the human race!”
“No, the mistake I made was listening to you in the first place,” replied Katelyn.
-
General Mitchell looked at General Briggs, waiting for the latest report.
“We lost both colony ships and seven battlecruisers as well as another 23 percent of our remaining defensive grid. Four other battlecruisers report minor to moderate damage and will be landing shortly for repairs. Fleet Admiral Edwards requests we send up the remaining battlecruisers.”
Mitchell slowly nodded. They had sixteen battlecruisers they had kept back in reserve. “Do it. We need to delay the Trellixians from launching a major attack for as long as possible.” However, Mitchell was concerned after today’s battle that they were rapidly running out of time. “Contact Complex Two and have them prepare the Annapolis and the Horizon for launch. I suspect we’ll need them shortly.” The Annapolis and the Horizon were the two secret assets he hoped would help delay the Trellixian attack.
With a deep sigh, General Mitchell knew they were running out of options.
Chapter Twenty-One
Captain Mark Dolan stood in the Command Center of the Fury. Near him was Lieutenant Commander LeLath who had agreed to come on board and serve as his second in command. He had changed his rank temporarily to captain, since he was taking command of the battleship.
In front of him was a small flash of light, and a young woman appeared. “Ship is ready to get under way,” reported Chloe. The Voltrex were very advanced in holographic technology and had installed a small dais in the Command Center which could project Chloe’s image. Much better than speaking to a disembodied voice.
Lisa smiled at hearing Chloe. The AI had been excited when told about the Voltrex technology and had been involved in choosing what her holographic figure would look like. She stood five foot eight inches tall, with a slim figure and brunette hair that barely touched her shoulders. She appeared to be in her early twenties.
“Take us out,” ordered Mark as he settled back in his command chair.
“Activating station-keeping thrusters,” reported Brett as he maneuvered the massive ship from the construction bay.
Lisa looked around the large Command Center with its crew’s mixture of Voltrex and humans. Derek and Brett had come with her to the Fury, while Brenda and Kia remained aboard the Vengeance. A female Voltrex named Katana was at the Fury’s sensors, and two male Voltrex sat at the tactical consoles along with Ensign Carter. In addition, another female Voltrex sat in front of the communications console.
Other humans and Voltrex manned various stations in the Command Center. Lisa was pleased Lieutenant Commander LeLath had agreed to be the ship’s second in command. The massive battleship had a crew of over 1,200. Only 87 were human and the rest Voltrex.
Lisa had spoken to Corporals Peterson and Hambridge a few days back. Both were on the Fury, and their Marine contingents now consisted of highly trained Voltrex. It had been strange watching them run down the long corridors of the ship during their morning drills. The Voltrex military were used to running and weren’t even exhausted after the normal two-mile run the corporals put their Marines through every morning. Captain Dolan had mentioned he might promote the two corporals to sergeants.
“Clearing bay doors,” replied Brett as the ship eased from the construction bay.
“The Vengeance and the other ships will join us shortly,” said Marissa from Communications.
Mark nodded. There had not been time to prepare a full fleet to accompany them, so, besides the Fury and the Vengeance, four other Voltrex battleships were making the journey to Earth. All were equipped with Jelnoid technology and weapons, including Jelnoid missiles, now being produced in abundance on both of the large shipyards in orbit around Bator Seven.
As the Fury took up its lead position to wait for the other ships to join it, Mark looked at the multitude of viewscreens across the Command Center. Directly in front of him were four large ones revealing scenes from outside the ship. One of the huge one-thousand-meter defense stations was visible. All fifteen stations were now armed with Jelnoid energy beams and missiles. They were also all protected by Jelnoid energy screens. The same was true of the two large shipyards and the smaller orbiting stations. The defensive grid had been reinforced with hundreds of energy beam satellites brought in on cargo ships from the other Voltrex worlds. Mark now knew twenty-eight major inhabited worlds were in the Voltrex Federation plus some smaller colonies in those same systems. He didn’t know where any of them were other than those in the Bator System.
“The Vengeance, Lyrosa, Malaren, Falton, and Bator’s Roar have all arrived,” reported Katana.
Mark nodded. They were returning to Earth with five battleships and the Vengeance. The five Voltrex battleships had enough firepower to deal with any Trellixian ships they might come across. “Set an outward course and stand by to go into hyperspace.” All the battleships had hyperspace drives, while the Vengeance still had its Fold Space Drive. The hyperspace drive could be activated almost inside a planet’s atmosphere, whereas the Fold Space Drive had to be a short distance from the planet, due to the interference caused by a planet’s gravity. It made Mark wonder if, for a combat ship, a hyperspace drive might not be the better option.
-
A short time later the six ships accelerated away from Bator Seven and soon vanished as their drives were activated. The Vengeance would use its sensors to maintain its speed and course with the five much larger battleships. If all went according to plan, they would arrive in the solar system together.
-
Fleet Commander Kamuss watched from his flagship as the Fury and her escorts vanished into hyperspace. His own ship now had all the Jelnoid advancements as well as weapons. Both shipyards were working around the clock, updating all battlecruisers and battleships with the new technology. The same thing was happening in every shipyard across the Voltrex Federation.
In another month Fleet Commander Kamuss would set out with a fleet of Voltrex battlecruisers and battleships to the Humans’ home system to ensure it stayed safe from the Trellixians. Four months after that a fleet built to Human specifications would be ready, and it would be sent to the Humans’ home world as well. In another year all the ships in the Federation would have been converted, and the real war with the Trellixians would begin. The Trellixians were too dangerous of a race to allow their Empire to continue to expand.
-
Trellixian Battle Commander Balforr was on board his flagship twenty-six light-years distant from Bator Seven. His long-range scouts kept him informed of happenings in the system. There were now widespread indications of Jelnoid technology throughout the star system. If it was here, it was most likely in the other Voltrex systems as well.
“The technology is spreading,” reported Second Officer Albion, who had replaced Second Officer Jaltor. “It is becoming too dangerous for us to send warships into the Voltrex system.”
“The High Command believes we did everything we could to stop the Human ships,” replied Balforr. “Most of the fleets in this region have been recalled an
d sent to other areas to continue their conquests. We will remain here and observe the Voltrex. It is believed, if we stop the attacks on their fleets, they will stay in their section of space or expand outward away from us in order to avoid conflict.”
Second Officer Albion spent a moment considering Balforr’s words and then responded. “What if they don’t? We’re only keeping a few fleets in this region.”
“Our fleet will stay intact,” replied Balforr. His fleet now consisted of only sixty-four battlecruisers. “The other two remaining fleets will spread out across the region and use their sensors to detect any Voltrex ships which might venture out of their space and into ours. If that happens, we will summon more ships from the heart of our Empire.”
All the habitable worlds in Voltrex space and beyond were now off-limits for Trellixian colonization. Sometime in the future that could have a profound effect on the Empire. Balforr’s eyes narrowed and turned slightly red as his anger seethed beneath. It was all the fault of the Humans. He knew that, shortly, if not already, Battle Commander Traven would launch his attack and invasion of Earth. With a little luck the Humans would soon be no more.
Second Officer Albion looked at Balforr. “We just received a report the Human ship and five Voltrex battleships have left the Voltrex system. We believe they may be going to other Voltrex worlds.”
“I will notify the High Command,” replied Balforr. “No doubt those ships left to demonstrate to other Voltrex worlds what a fully equipped warship with Jelnoid technology was capable of.”
-
At Earth, Fleet Admiral Edwards grew deeply concerned. A huge fleet of Trellixian troop ships and additional battlecruisers had dropped from hyperspace a few hours earlier.
“Well, that’s it,” said Captain Nelson grimly. “That fleet of troop ships wouldn’t be here if the Trellixians weren’t preparing for an all-out attack and invasion.”
“We must be ready,” replied Edwards. Against that fleet, he could not hold the orbital space above Earth. His only option would be to inflict as much damage as possible and hope the enemy pulled back.
Earth Fall_To the Stars [Book Two] Page 29