by Jeff Sims
Valod’la, still watching the monitor, saw the center of Admiral Doak’la’s battleship suddenly disappear.
Valod’la shouted, “What just happened?”
Sierr’aa said, “The lone enemy destroyer lost propulsion, not power. During our turn, Doak’la’s battleship flew directly into the ion cannon range of the stationary destroyer. After we destroyed their battleships, it fired its ion cannon and scored a direct hit on Admiral Doak’la.
Valod’la noted that she didn’t say Doak’la battleship, she had said Doak’la. He assumed that the enemy must have been monitoring their communications and must have deduced that that particular battleship held the Hiriculan admiral. He was about to comment further when the computer interrupted him.
…Admiral Doak’la cannot be reached because he has been incinerated…
Valod’la yelled, “This has gone on long enough. It is time to end this battle. Savan’aa, hail the destroyer. Sierr’aa, tell any remaining fighters to regroup and maintain a stationary distance between the Advranki fighters and our ships.”
“Connection established,” Savan’aa said a moment later.
Valod’la said, “Captain, you and your fellow beings have fought valiantly. However, you must realize that this battle is over. You only have 11 ships left. We have 14 more that will arrive in the next three minutes.”
He paused for effect and said, “You cannot outrun us and you cannot jump into hyperspace for another 3 hours. We can target each of your ships with an unfathomable number of missiles and systematically pulverize them one by one.”
He continued, “If your fleet surrenders now, I will grant you the terms specified in section 58.16.18, sub paragraph 4. If not, I will chase you throughout the system and systematically turn your ships into dust. There is no need for you to die and there is nothing more you can do to hurt this fleet.”
Valod’la realized that he probably didn’t need to repeat the word systematically or even threaten to kill them twice, but he was on a roll and was unapologetic about being verbose.
He thought the last part seemed a little tough though, but he had heard somewhere that it was important to give individuals a choice. Hopefully, this captain would choose against continuing to fight what was now a hopeless battle.
A minute later the Alliance captain responded. It was in Alliance basic, so Valod’la had the computer translate it. The captain said:
…Sub paragraph 4? If we surrender now you will let us dock our ships at a civilian station, resign from the navy, and wipe our naval databases. You will take no further action against us or take us back to Hiricula for some show trial...
Valod’la responded immediately, “If you resign your commission before we board the ship, you will truly be a civilian. We will take no action against any civilian and seek no retribution. However, if you booby-trap the ship before you leave that will be considered an act of treason and you will then be treated as a terrorist.”
The captain answered, “What is the point of this unannounced attack. You must know that you cannot hold this system. Advranki Prime will send reinforcements and force you to leave.”
Valod’la considered telling a half-truth or outright lying. However, if the overall timing was correct, then the Hiriculan fleet would easily beat any message the opposing captain could send.
So, he simply sent a picture of the Hiriculan fleet gathered at Opron and responded, “The rest of the fleet bypassed this system and headed directly to Advranki Prime. No one is coming to reinforce you or drive us from this system.”
They waited almost five minutes for the answer. Valod’la was in no rush though. He wanted to give them enough time to make a proper decision. Far, far more beings died today than he had anticipated in even his worst case scenario. He didn’t want to order the death of any more beings today.
Both fleets used the time to reorganize their formations, count their remaining fighters, and start the recovery of any pilots that had been forced to eject from their fighters. Eventually, the opposing captain contacted the Penetrator and requested to speak to Valod’la.
The captain asked, “What about the military personnel serving aboard the Conron Naval Supply Depot and Shipyard?”
Valod’la waited for the translation, then responded, “They will have to evacuate the station. I plan to make it my base of operations in this system. That said, if they agree to resign then they will also be treated as civilians.”
The Advranki captain responded, “We accept your terms. We will finish retrieving our fighter pilots and will proceed to the largest civilian station in the system.”
It was now time to honor the dead from the battle.
As each first officer collected the final tally of those killed in the battle, the officer reported the information to his or her respective bridge crew. Sierr’aa collected the information from each ship and combined it into one report for the entire armada.
Savan’aa began the report, “The enemy started with 21 warships. We completely demolished 10 of them - 3 battleships, 5 destroyers, and 2 cruisers. No one survived the destruction of those ships”
Sierr’aa continued, “Each of those ships had already launched its fighter wing, so they have been deducted from the total. Assuming that each ship had a standard crew complement of 30 per cruiser, 40 per destroyer, and 50 per battleship, 410 Alliance soldiers were killed in the battle.”
Savan’aa continued, “Another destroyer was damaged, but may be able to be repaired. No one on board that ship was injured. The enemy launched 384 fighters. They lost 216 fighters and 130 fighter pilots. In total then, 540 Alliance naval personnel died.”
Savan’aa paused and Sierr’aa continued, “The Hiriculan Navy fought bravely and honestly; with personal dignity and honor. However, the enemy used their ion cannons in a hideous sneak attack against our most vulnerable ships.”
She paused for effect and Savan’aa continued, “Thirteen ships – 12 cruisers and 1 battleship were completely obliterated; no one survived. As you already know, each of our ships was carrying a combination of 20 additional spare pilots and crew members. Therefore, 70 died on each cruiser because those ships were destroyed before they could launch their fighters. Finally, all 90 beings aboard Admiral Doak’la’s battleship died. In total 860 soldiers on Hiriculan capital ships perished.”
Admiral Valod’la wanted to ask the split between Hiriculan and Neto. However, he refrained for the moment. Now wasn’t the time.
Sierr’aa continued, “We launched 764 fighters, though only 528 fighters were actually able to engage in the dogfight. These pilots valiantly defended the capital ships and completely stopped the opposing fighters. We lost 358 fighters and 264 pilots.”
Savan’aa finished, “We engaged the enemy in the deadliest battle in Hiriculan history. We entered the battle with 56 capital ships and eventually launched 764 fighters, though only 30 warships and 528 fighters were actually able to engage in the fight. Our forces were ultimately victorious, but 1,024 beings in the Hiriculan navy perished.”
Sierr’aa added, “174 Hiriculans and 850 Neto.”
Valod’la couldn’t believe the horrific cost of the battle. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this!” he lamented.
Valod’la silently mourned those who had died for a few precious moments. However, that was all the time that he could afford. His duties had effectively doubled with the stunning death of Admiral Doak’la and the loss of his command battleship.
Valod’la looked at the time. The battle had taken longer than initially planned, but fortunately they were still barely within the High Council’s allotted margin of error. As it was though, he needed to act very quickly if he was going to keep his remaining part of the master plan on schedule.
Valod’la checked the time a second time. He had forgotten that he had just checked the time a moment ago. However, the number still didn’t register, so he checked the time a third time. This time he was able to properly understand exactly what time it was.
&n
bsp; According to the High Council’s master plan, he needed to send a signal to Solaria in exactly 9 minutes and 14 seconds. He waited the requisite time and sent Ambassador Lone, the Hiriculan ambassador on Solaria, the following message: “Everything is exactly on schedule.”
Valod’la said, “Computer, contact sub-fleets 1 and 2.”
…If this is a multi-person conference then you must use your security conference code number…
Valod’la sighed and said, “Just connect me to the two battleship captains then.”
…Connection established…
Valod’la didn’t know either being. Both had served in Admiral Doak’la’s fleet. He said, “Captains, my condolences on the loss of your leader. I trust that you each have had time to properly mourn his loss?”
They both nodded affirmatively. From what he knew, Doak’la hadn’t been particularly well liked or respected. The captains’ proper mourning of their fallen leader had probably included clapping, cheering and quite possibly the imbibing of spirits.
Valod’la continued, “Please take command of your individual sub-fleets. Your orders are to proceed forthwith if not immediately to the Conron – Solaria hyperspace lane. At exactly time mark now plus 5 hours and 14 minutes you will jump to Solaria. Once there, you are to wait in orbit around the planet Solaria for Admiral Lopeq’la to assume command.”
Valod’la broke the connection and watched the main monitor. Two minutes later the 15 ships in the sub-fleet disappeared. Valod’la checked the time again and shook his head. He really didn’t like timing things so closely. The Solarian sub-fleet only had 26 minutes to spare.
He realized that he was tense and forced himself to relax. The battle was over and the immediate crisis of getting the warships to Solaria on time was resolved. Now, he could calmly complete the annexation of the Conron and Waylon systems.
Chapter 9
In-system hyperspace communication was uncommon, but certainly not rare. The issue with the in-system hyper communication was that the additional cost of the transmission generally wasn’t worth the three to four hour time savings. This message though seemed to be worth the added expense.
The commander of the Conron Naval Supply Depot and Shipyard received the message and immediately re-broadcasted it to every member of the space station. The message read quite simply, ‘The Hiriculans have invaded Conron. They killed Admiral Wertak and destroyed half of the Conron fleet. The entire Alliance Navy was forced to surrender’.
There was an attached picture showing 270 ships and a message stating that these ships were sent to Advranki Prime.
The message concluded, ‘You will be given the opportunity to resign from the Alliance Navy before the Hiriculans reach the station. If you do, you will be treated as a civilian and be allowed to leave without repercussion. Please note that any attempt to contact Advranki, Solarian, or Altian personnel will be considered an act of treason’.
Shole and Kolvak were deep in the bowels of the station working on a plumbing project when they received the message. Shole opened her communication pad and read the statement aloud. She then looked at the picture of the Hiriculan fleet.
Kolvak asked, “Do you think the picture is a fake?”
Shole shook her head and replied, “No, there is nothing about the picture that would imply it was a forgery. I think that the Alliance has fallen.”
“What should we do?” Kolvak asked.
“What can we do?” Shole responded.
They both thought about the question for a couple of moments. Neither had an answer, so Shole transferred the station’s most recent scan to her com pad. She looked at the perfectly peaceful scan that showed absolutely nothing amiss. She laughed bitterly when she realized her mistake.
Kolvak said, “It won’t update with images of the battle for another 4 hours.”
“It seems odd,” Shole said, “That we know that we have already lost a battle that we haven’t seen happen yet.”
Kolvak repeated, “What are we going to do?”
“We have to do something,” Shole responded.
Kolvak: “Yes, we have to formally resign from the Alliance Navy, go to our quarters and pack our belongings. Then we have to go to one of the hangar bays, get on a transport, and leave the station. We can live the rest of our lives as civilians in Conron or wherever we choose.”
Kolvak started walking in the general direction of their quarters. They had a good 20 minute walk to get back to the living area. Somehow, the physical act of walking made them feel like they were doing something, even if it was just walking.
“Is that what you really want to do?” Shole asked.
Kolvak didn’t answer immediately. It wasn’t so much the question, it was the tone of her voice. Clearly she wanted to do something, but there was realistically nothing that they could do to change the result of the battle or their personal situation.
He finally replied, “Okay, I agree, we should do something. What can we do?”
Shole was angry or perhaps very frustrated. She said, “I want to fight. I don’t want to resign and sit on a space station for the rest of my life. We need to leave the station and hide somewhere until help arrives.”
Kolvak replied, “I agree, but we don’t have enough time to go anywhere. Provided the Hiriculans micro jump from the hyperspace lane to the station, they will be here in just over 4 hours.”
Shole corrected him, “They still have to travel about an hour on plasma drives from the edge of the system’s gravity well to the station.”
Kolvak was about to respond, but stopped himself. He had already added the real space time to the jump time, meaning his estimate of 4 hours was correct. However, he really didn’t want to hurt her feelings by correcting her at this crucial time. On the other hand, it was important that he tell her the right number.
Kolvak responded, “We don’t know how much time passed before the message was sent. I think we should set 4 hours as our conservative estimate and 5 hours as our optimistic one.”
Shole answered, “I agree.” She paused for a moment and then said, “Maybe we could send a message and warn everyone.”
“We can’t, remember the strict restriction placed upon us by the military surrender?” Kolvak asked.
Shole said, “Computer, replay the relevant part of the message.”
…Please note that any attempt to contact Advranki, Solarian, or Altian personnel will be considered an act of treason…
Shole said, “Note that the command was very specific. It listed three races, but it left one out. Therefore, there is someone in the galaxy that we can legally warn.”
Kolvak really didn’t think that warning the humans in Waylon was a good idea. Even if they knew the Hiriculans were coming, the information wouldn’t help them very much - primarily because there was only one hyperspace lane in the system. Still though, he supposed that they could jump to some random point and try to escape.
As a stalling tactic Kolvak said, “We need to gather as much information as possible first. If we wait until the very last moment, we can send the humans a more detailed warning.”
This seemed to placate Shole for the moment. She responded, “Okay, first question, can we leave the station, and if so, where could we go?”
Kolvak thought for a moment and responded, “Yes, we could leave the station via a transport and we could go to the automated station guarding the Earth hyperspace lane. However, at the transport’s maximum speed of .2 light it would take us 5 hours to reach it.”
Shole shook her head. It was too long. The Hiriculans could easily overtake them before they reached the station. Besides, that particular station was automated. It contained no food reserves or sleeping quarters, or really anything. Even if they reached the station, they could only stay there a couple of weeks with the minimal supplies that they could pack on the transport.
Shole said, “Computer, reserve a transport for Kolvak and I. Use my authority code.”
…Accepted. Transports 31A
.22.14 and 15 have been reserved in hangar bay 3…
Kolvak said, “It sounded like the computer just reserved two shuttles for us instead of one. We should probably ask for clarification and release it in the event that someone else needs it or there is a shortage or something.”
Shole shrugged and said, “Computer, make Kolvak’s last statement a command.”
…Acknowledged. The second transport will be released if someone else needs it…
Fifteen minutes later they reached their apartments at the exact same time. This wasn’t particularly surprising since their apartments were located right next to each other. There was even a convenient interior door that linked the two units together. They entered Shole’s apartment and immediately began packing.
Shole said, “Computer, display the scan of the Conron system on the room’s main monitor.”
…That request cannot be accommodated…
“What?” Shole said incredulously. “That is a very straightforward command and one that you can easily perform. Why can you no longer accomplish this?”
…The entire Alliance Navy command structure and database has been deleted, including all interfaces to sensors outside of this station…
“That makes sense,” said Kolvak. “They already wiped the system’s core. I bet the station’s computer has been returned to its base code.”
Shole shook her head in affirmation and replied, “Meaning that we will have to go to the control room to gather any information about the battle and the fleet movements.”
Kolvak replied, “We don’t have time to do both. Let’s finish packing your room. Then, I will pack my apartment and load our belongings onto the transport. You go to the control room. We will resign and leave when we detect the Hiriculans’ plasma drive signatures near the station.”
Kolvak grabbed an electro cart from the closet and they quickly began loading it with her items. Shole grabbed the final bag and placed it on the electro cart. Then they both searched Shole’s apartment one final time.