by Saxon Andrew
“Alex, remember the Kraken’s appearance when Jingle spoke with him?” Alex nodded. “They look very much like a mantis and if you focus on his arms you would have seen one of them had a rather large claw on it. The other hand had what appeared to be about eight normal digits, and they are forced to use that hand to do pretty much everything. We’ve determined that the small ships have a crew of three.”
“THREE?!”
“Yes; one to pilot the ship, one to operate the navigation and propulsion system, and one to operate the weapons panel. One of the aliens couldn’t do all of that and survive. We’ve also discovered that the civilizations in the LMC will not allow them to move large ships around the galaxy and especially no warships.”
“That could be an issue.”
“It is, Alex. All the simulators to train the crews are located inside their territory and they must be trained there before being moved around the LMC to report to their ships. The Commander of the small ships hasn’t been executed because he blames the trainers for not providing the necessary crews to launch his attack. The Kraken can’t disagree with him and so their attack is delayed.”
“I’m just getting antsy with the waiting.”
“We all are!” Mike replied. “But it has given us time to find the crews to man the Triples. And we’re going to launch the destructive stealth probes shortly. That has also taken time to develop and the longer we have to build them the better off we’ll be when they launch their attack.”
“Why has it taken so long to develop the attack probes?”
“It’s a lot more complicated that you imagine. First of all, if we put a large enough explosive in them to damage their battleships, it makes them detectable.”
“Why?”
“Because only a nuclear device will create a large enough blast to do real damage and the radiation from them can be detected. Trust me; it hasn’t been easy to develop them and building them raised even more issues. But, we’re making progress.” Mike paused and added, “I understand you’re moving back into a Terminator before the fight begins.”
Alex shrugged, “It’s the right thing to do. The Terminator crews need to see that I’m sharing in their risk.”
“Alex, you will not enter combat!”
“I understand, Mike. However, this next battle is beyond anything we’ve ever done in the past. I didn’t plan to enter combat in the Styx Nebula, but the battle sucked me in through no choice of my own.”
“Then perhaps you should go with the Warscouts and let Admiral Wolfe command the Terminators.”
“And what will the Terminator crews think if I do that?”
“I’m not worried about what they think, Alex! I’m worried about losing my best two Admirals! Stay out of combat, that’s an order!”
“Yes Sir.”
“I mean it, Alex!”
“So do I.” Mike disappeared from the display and Alex sent a copy of the conversation to Jingle’s communicator. They could discuss it that evening. One thing he knew for certain; the long delay wasn’t going to last much longer. Mike didn’t say that, but it was easy to see in his expressions.
• • •
Belle and Barry’s wedding went off without a hitch and they left for a week on Barrow. Jingle and Alex oversaw the transfer of Jangle and Brooks into the brand-new Terminator 2. It was specially built to be an Admiral’s command ship and Mike had insisted that it be made the most powerful ship in the Navy. Alex snorted when Mike told him. Mike’s eyes narrowed, as Alex stated, “Why does it need to be the most powerful ship if it’s not going to see combat?”
“So that when you run, you can get away!” Mike replied.
“You’re expecting me to run?”
“Alex, if you’re that dumb, talk to your wife!”
Alex sighed, “I know we’re going to be heavily outnumbered. I just hate it might come to that.”
“Then come up with a battleplan where you won’t!” Mike ended the conversation on that point.
Alex blew out a breath and Jingle put her hand on his shoulder, “I sort of wish we had stayed in the Springs.”
“Jingle, you know what message that would have sent to the Terminator crews.”
“You’re so caught up in doing the right thing for appearance’s sake that you’re willing to risk our lives.”
“Jingle, this new Terminator is far more powerful than the Springs!”
“But you didn’t know that when you made the decision! Did you?”
Alex sighed, “No, I guess I didn’t.”
“Always the warrior wanting to die a glorious death.”
“Jingle, that’s not fair! The brave crews under my command deserve to be treated fairly!”
“I suspect if you ask them how they feel about this they’d want you in a Warscout to insure your safety.” Alex glared at her and Jingle raised her hands, “But that’s water over the dam; what do you plan to do when the fight starts?”
“I was hoping you would help me develop a plan.”
Jingle looked at him like he had three-heads, “Are you crazy! Remember that I’m not the combat expert here!” Alex shook his head and lowered his eyes. Jingle put her hand on his shoulder, “Ok, if you were in their place, what would you do knowing you’re going to be attacked by warships you can’t detect?” Alex looked up and Jingle asked, “What do they have to use against us?”
“Well, they have force fields now.”
“Which won’t stop our defense missiles. That isn’t going to help them.”
“Each of those giant warships also carry thousands of missiles on board.”
Jingle nodded and asked, “How would you use them if you were commanding their fleet?”
Alex leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. After a few moments he opened them, “I’d launch a continuous missile barrage around my fleet. I’d have them set to explode when they reach their maximum range and have another barrage following up behind them.”
“How would that help?”
“If one of our ships is hit by one of their missiles, the other missiles close by will home in on the blast. The Terminators would then probably be hit by hundreds of missiles. The alien’s battle ships would quickly move into blaster range and open fire along with another missile barrage. I doubt a Terminator could survive the attack.”
“Wouldn’t the Warscouts have the same issue?”
“Nooo…they’d just turn and run away faster than their missiles could fly.”
Jingle thought about it and said, “So it appears getting around their missiles will determine how successful we are?” Alex nodded. “What if the missiles hit something other than a ship?”
“What do you mean?’’
“What if we launched a shuttle or small object that would be hit by their missiles and cause the other missiles around it to turn and attack it. Wouldn’t there be a gap we can launch our defense missiles through?” Alex was silent and Jingle asked, “Isn’t a fleet shuttle actually larger than a Warscout?” Alex nodded absently and Jingle asked over her link to Jangle, “How many shuttles are registered in Fleet’s inventory?”
“More than six million.”
“How many shuttles can a Terminator carry on board?”
“About fifty,” Jangle answered.
“But as soon as the landing bay door is opened to launch them, the Terminator will be detected,” Alex replied.
“Not if the landing bay door on the side of the ship away from the alien fleet is used to launch them,” Jangle countered.
“Are you sure about that?”
“Yes.”
Alex sat up and pressed Mike’s frequency; this had to be done quickly!
Jingle watched the conversation and worried about Belle. If the aliens used missiles to surround their fleets, even the Warscouts would be in jeopardy. Belle and Barry were promoted to Senior Captains after they were finalists in the Fall Maneuvers, and they would be commanding a squadron of Warscouts. They would be right in the middle of the figh
t that was coming, and Belle was like her father; a consummate warrior. Barry wasn’t much better but at least he thought things through. Jingle sighed and listened to Alex and Mike work out how to use the shuttles in the coming confrontation. The odds against them were worse than what they faced against the Nebula Aliens. She had imprinted Map the week before to the new Warscout and he was fully occupied talking to his new friend. She could already see a difference in his vocabulary, and she worried that he, like Belle, would grow up too fast. But what was a mother to do but give their children the best opportunity possible to succeed in life?
Chapter Nineteen
The day finally arrived when Admiral Glennon announced over Fleet communications that he was issuing a War Alert. The alien’s stealth ships had started maneuvers and it appeared all of them were involved in the exercise. Jingle left Map with Dolly, along with the Warscout he was imprinted on. Alex had named the scout’s computer Tinker after an ancient fairy named Tinker Bell. Jingle was amazed at how well Alex had come along in giving names to his ships. The name was perfect, and she had spent a lot of time linked to the Warscout developing its link. It also was linked to Brooks and Jangle which accelerated its development. The last order Jingle gave Tinker was that if Bucket was endangered by the aliens to move Dolly, Joesen, Gee, Clayton, and Mab on board and escape. She even had it provisioned and extra chairs installed just in case they were needed. She prayed they wouldn’t be…but she knew Bucket would be a prime target of the aliens if they managed to break through into the Milky Way.
She boarded the new Terminator and was amazed at how different it was from their first one. It was thirty-percent longer and most of that was for new more powerful reactors to be put on board. It also had four gravity drives which made it as fast as the Warscouts and just as maneuverable. She suspected that Mike was having more of them being built but they wouldn’t arrive in time to participate in the coming war. She was shocked when fifteen of them arrived and reported to Alex to be his personal escorts. It appeared Mike was serious about them not being in danger in the coming combat.
• • •
Adam arrived far ahead of the huge alien fleet of stealth ships and began issuing orders, “We must wait until the last possible moment to attack; if we attack too soon, the aliens will not launch their major fleets, and this will be wasted effort. They’ll just rebuild and do it again. Stay ahead of them and await your orders.” Adam ended the communication and looked at Lynn as his communicator pinged. He looked at his console’s display and saw Barry Bowen, “Do you have a problem, Captain?”
“No Sir. I’ve been thinking about our coming attack and I have a suggestion.”
“Go on.”
“Well, I believe the alien’s stealth ships will be flying in formations until they arrive close to the Milky Way; at that point they will spread out and enter the galaxy on a wide front. I think they will notify the Kraken that they are commencing their attack and that is when the Kraken will launch his capital warships.”
“That is what Fleet believes as well,” Adam replied.
“We should take advantage of them being bunched up, Sir.”
“And how do you propose we do that?”
“We launch DD missiles and surround their formations with the blasts.”
“They’ll warn the Kraken they are under attack immediately and he’ll call off the launch of his fleets.”
“Sir, the explosion of a DD missile knocks out all the electronic systems on any ship close to it. I don’t believe they will be able to communicate with anyone during the DD’s explosions.”
Adam thought a moment and then asked, “Do you have any idea how many DD’s it will take to surround a formation as large as those stealth ships will be in?”
“Yes Sir. It will take eighty-thousand DD missiles to surround their formation such that they overlap each other.” Adam blinked. “Sir, the Warscouts carry three DD’s on board and we have enough to fire more than ten barrages around their formation. I firmly believe that most of the crews on those stealth ships will receive a heavy dose of radiation, just like the Nebula Aliens received during the final battle with them. Only this time, there will be no way for them to escape and they’ll be trapped inside the explosions.”
Adam looked at Lynn, “Get in touch with Fleet and have them work out the assigned positions needed to make this happen!” Adam turned to Barry, “That is an excellent suggestion, Captain!” Barry smiled and Adam punched his console, “Attention all ships. We will be moving out to surround the alien’s stealth ships. You will be given an assigned launch position and a coordinate to launch a DD missile. Start moving now and expect your assigned positions shortly.”
• • •
Mike received a contact from Admiral Wozniak, and he listened to what Admiral Wolfe was planning. He interrupted Wozniak before he finished and ordered, “Get the data out to Admiral Wolfe now!!”
• • •
The huge fleet of Warscouts began receiving their assignments as they flew at high speed toward the giant formation of small warships just outside the Large Magellanic Cloud. They barely had time to arrive before the huge fleet started accelerating away from the LMC.
• • •
Alex saw Admiral Wolfe’s communication and announced over the Fleet’s frequency, “The aliens have launched their stealth ships. It will take them four days to arrive at the Milky Way and we’ll be going to standby battle stations in two days. Run a complete diagnostic on your ships and prepare to go to live weapons. We’re moving out to just outside the LMC and start our attack when they’re clear of the outer edge.”
“I thought we told them they could move warships inside forty light years of the LMC?” Jingle responded.
“I believe those stealth ships will be far outside that distance which abrogates our agreement,” Alex replied.
“Perhaps you should give them enough distance, so they won’t retreat.”
Alex shook his head, “This time they will not be retreating. They’re going to force us to attack them to keep the door open for their stealth ships to attack. That’s the real objective they’re looking to accomplish.” Alex paused and added, “Our objective is to stay alive until the Warscouts can arrive.” Jingle nodded and watched the monitor as the large fleet of Terminators and Triples began moving toward the LMC. It was a large fleet but was small compared to what they were facing.
• • •
The Kraken sat at his console and worried. He was not going to stay in contact with the small ships; he didn’t want the communication line to be detected. They had been underway for three days and he knew he should be hearing something soon. His Prime Assistant entered his chamber and announced, “The Commander of the Stealth Ships has notified us that he is within striking distance of the large galaxy and he will be initiating his attack in six hours.”
The Kraken jumped up, “LAUNCH THE FLEETS! GET THEM MOVING NOW!” The Assistant nodded and lifted his communicator. Now that arrogant alien would find out just how powerful he was.
• • •
Admiral Jensen announced, “Admiral, they’re launching their fleets!”
Alex touched his combat helmet, “Admiral Wolfe, they’re launching their fleets! Wait an hour and then commence your attacks.”
“Yes Sir!”
“Terminators move into position and Triples be ready to move in at the first opportunity to fire your defense missiles! Admiral DeChirico, do not move the Triples into range of their missiles.”
“Yes Sir.”
“Are you certain they won’t turn back?” Jingle inquired.
Alex turned to Jingle, “Yes; why do you ask.”
I thought that an hour from now I’d have a conversation with the Kraken.”
“Why would you do that?”
“To plant some fear into him.”
“And exactly how would you do that?”
“Wouldn’t that be a good time to see if they’re going to use their missiles to protect them
?”
“Yes, but…”
“We’ll set off the explosive probes and that should make them declare their intentions. Or do you want to save them for later?”
Alex smiled, “You’re right. Let’s do it your way.”
• • •
An hour later, the Kraken received a communication from his Fleet Commander saying an alien wished to speak to him. “Send it to my console.”
Jingle appeared on the Kraken’s monitor and smiled, “It appears you’re dumber than the last Kraken. I also see you’re back to being arrogant. Why don’t you just turn your fleet around and save yourself a lot of misery?”
“You are the one that’s going to learn the meaning of misery!”
“Are you certain about that?”
The Kraken sneered, there was no other way to describe it, “You will die today!”
Alex pressed a button on his console sending the self-destruct signal to all the Destructive Stealth Probes attached to the hulls on the large battle ships.
The Fleet Commander interrupted the Kraken’s conversation, “Fifty thousand of my warships have gone up in huge explosions!!”
Jingle looked at the Kraken and said, “Ta Ta, have a nice day,” as she ended the contact.
• • •
The Kraken ordered, “Start your missiles firing now!! We can stand to lose that many ships!”
The Fleet Commander ordered the giant formation to commence firing missiles and watched as his fleet moved beyond the thousands of burning battleships. He wasn’t so certain he could bear to lose that many warships before the major battle even started.
• • •
Adam counted down the hour and five minutes before it was over he activated the main frequency, “All Warscouts assigned to the first DD barrage will launch in five minutes. The second barrage will be launched fifteen minutes later. The ships that launch the first barrage will immediately flee from the launch site and hold position in your assigned formations; standby for the launch command!” The countdown proceeded and five minutes later, Adam ordered in a calm voice, “Launch the first barrage now.”
• • •
The huge formation of stealth ships were moving smoothly through open space and everything was going according to plan. The next moment, space around the giant fleet exploded into brilliant white light knocking all of their electronic components off line. The shockwave from the giant explosion rushed in on the small ships and blew them away and into each other. Some tried to escape by fleeing into the explosions, but their ships were vaporized by the heat of the blasts; the small ships didn’t have a force field protecting them. A few minutes later, another wave of giant explosions went off and there was nowhere to run. After the third wave of explosions, Adam called off the fourth wave to determine the results of the first three barrages. What remained was a scene from hell. He looked at Lynn, “Are there any survivors?”