by Saxon Andrew
• • •
Kaylee looked down from the top a building and saw Tronan Blasters exploding across the invader’s front, “Who is taking out those blasters, Kil?”
The huge Dragon stared at his unit and said, “It appears Sam’s daughter is doing the bulk of the damage. The Tronan forces have now moved away from their blasters and have left them undefended.”
Kaylee nodded, “I understand why; when they explode, they demolish everything around them including the Tronan Warriors around them. The buildings funnel the shockwave into the streets. The shockwaves have killed more of their warriors than we have.”
“That’s about to change.”
Kaylee looked down at the huge Dragon she was riding and said, “Why is that?”
“Because it’s their blasters that have prevented our warriors from confronting their forces. Now that they’ve moved away from them, we can ambush them from the buildings. They’ve also spread out so we are not so outnumbered.”
“They still have three times the number of my warriors.”
“I know, but we’re going to attack units closer to our size. Check out channel D on your unit.”
Kaylee changed the channel and saw a company size Tronan Unit moving up a street. Suddenly, large numbers of arrows and darts hit them killing half of them. An instant later, Six Dragons and twenty-five Bellingham Warriors rushed out of the building next to the Tronan Unit and took them on in hand-to-hand combat. The Dragons stunned the Tronan but it was the Bellingham Warriors and their swords that did the bulk of the killing. The new armor Gregor had designed for the landing forces withstood two blaster hits before failing and getting a third shot off was next to impossible for the Tronan Warriors. In ten minutes, the fight was over and only three warriors were lost in the skirmish. The surviving warriors and Dragons went back into the building and rushed underground to the transportation tubes and were at the next block to set up another ambush. Three minutes later, A Tronan Mobile Blaster moved around the corner and saw the dead Tronan laying in the street. It fired into the buildings next to them and they collapsed into giant piles of rubble. A moment later, an explosive arrow hit the huge blaster and it went up in a massive explosion. Elena smiled and ran to the next building.
• • •
Gregor saw the massive Tronan landing forces rushing toward the forest and lifted his communicator, “Do not attack until they completely enter the forest and set up their positions.”
Kel looked down at the forest below and shrugged, “I’m glad the Leaders of Bandasar agreed to stop mowing the ground in the forest. It’s gotten dense.”
“It’s the growing season here. The underbrush will be a real aid.”
Kel nodded and smiled, “They’re doing exactly what you thought; they’re moving the heavy blasters inside the tree line and targeting them away from the forest.”
Gregor looked at his unit and said, “According to the scans I’m receiving from the scouts, they have about two-thousand of them.”
“Do you still want to take them out first?” Kel asked.
“Let me think about it. They’re still about two hours from setting up their defensive positions.”
“You know that if you explode them, the forest will probably go up in flames.”
“I know. But if they turn and fire into the forest, the same thing will happen.” Gregor stared at his hand-unit and thought about what to do. He had ten-thousand warriors and Dragons to use against a force three times larger. He lifted his communicator and said, “Commander Donovan.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“I want you to move all of your heavy blasters out of the city and form them into a line just outside the range of the Tronan Blasters. Hold your position until I give you further orders.”
“Yes, Sir; moving out now.”
“What are you planning?” Kel asked.
“keeping their attention away from what’s going on here.” Kel shrugged and watched the Tronan dig in.
Chapter Nineteen
“Sir, we’ll be in range of the Tronan Survivors in sixty-minutes.”
Sam looked at Lydia, “Get Gem and Leonidas on the monitor.” He waited until they appeared and he said, “We need to discuss how we’re going to go about cracking this nut.”
Gem nodded, “We really didn’t anticipate that all of the surviving Tronan Vessels would be the advanced model. I notice that they’ve stopped firing a blaster barrage around their formation.”
“They stopped because the barrage interferes with their scanner controlled blasters,” Leonidas replied. Sam looked at Leonidas and he continued, “There are about a thousand advanced Tronan Warships and each of them have two-hundred heavy blasters on their hulls. That means they can target all two-hundred thousand blasters at any target that approaches their formation. It was the old model that had to depend on blaster barrages to defend themselves. These new warships are going to be a real problem to approach. Their scanners have a longer range than our blasters and missiles. They will see us coming!”
Gem nodded, “At least we know the range of their blasters.”
Desiree looked at Sam, “What about using the scouts?”
Sam shook his head, “They are pretty much invisible but for them to catch up to the Tronan Fleet and move in close enough to fire, they will have to use their full boosters. We just found out when the scouts attacking the Tronan Warships above Bandasar were forced to use their boosters to move in, they were detected and we lost sixty-five of them. All of the ones we lost used their boosters to approach the Tronan Warships.”
“If they’re unavailable, what’s the plan?” Leo asked.
“The scouts are a moot point anyway,” Gem said. “The Tronan formation we’re pursuing is moving at their maximum speed and the scouts will not be able to match their speed using their hull-thrusters alone.”
Sam nodded, “They’ll be forced to use their boosters and they will be detected; most of them will die if we force them to attack.”
Gem stared at Sam on the monitor and said, “For each scout we lose, only two sailors will die. I hate to sound so cold-blooded but each warship we lose has hundreds or even a thousand sailors on board.”
Sam tilted his head, “Gem, are we going to leave all the fighting to the scouts when the main Tronan invasion arrives?”
Gem stared at Sam in silence and Leonidas interrupted them, “Part of the reason for allowing this attack to take place was to learn how to stand up to them. We’ve learned what the scouts can do but we have no idea how our warships will fare against their vessels. When the next invasion arrives, we’ll be facing hundreds of thousands of their warships, not just one thousand.”
Gem shrugged, “More like millions.”
“We need to come up with a strategy to get inside their blasters,” Sam replied.
“Most of our warships are not coated with the metal from Bellingham,” Gem said. “They do have force fields but they won’t be able to stand up for very long under a full barrage of Tronan Blaster beams.”
Sam nodded, “That’s why we’re here; to find out just what kind of punishment they can take before they fail.”
“Sam, have you devised a plan to attack them?” Desiree asked.
Sam leaned back in his chair and started speaking. The two Fleet Commanders listened and, after he finished, they disappeared from the monitor to get their fleets organized.
• • •
“Fleet Director, the enemy formations will be in range in less than thirty-minutes.”
The Fleet Director lifted his communicator, “All Ships, you will not fire a barrage unless I directly order it. Use your scanners to pick out targets and depend on them to keep the enemy away from us. We cannot afford to waste energy and hope to make it back to our space. Link your computers and allow them to do the targeting. Stay in formation and close the gaps if we lose any ships.”
“Fleet Director, the enemy has moved into two large formati
ons and are moving to the sides of our formation.” The Fleet Director nodded and felt his fear start to fade. He knew his death would be a quick one if this enemy prevailed. The fleets he sent into that star system were going to die a slow hideous death. He knew it was the Prime Director that ordered them in but he didn’t argue against it. He should have known it was a trap. They were his sailors and he felt shame at having failed them. The least he could do was to fight for them and not give in to his fear. He stared at the monitor and saw the blips on the monitor moving closer. It wouldn’t be long.
• • •
Bart looked at Leonidas, “This feels very much like the time you forced me to run across that field.”
“I didn’t force you!”
“Excuse me; you ordered me to do it. What do you call that…gentle persuasion?”
“You could have refused?”
“And faced a mutiny charge. Besides, we were dead if we stayed and dead if we ran.”
“You didn’t die, Bart.”
“Only because I was faster than you.”
Leonidas’ eye narrowed, “What do you mean faster? I was ten yards ahead of you when I stopped to take out those soldiers about to open fire on us!”
Bart snorted and said, “Who got there first?”
Desiree smiled, “That’s ancient history. I think we need to write some new history today.”
Both of them looked at her and Leonidas pursed his lips as he turned back to Bart, “I’ll race you anytime, anywhere.”
Bart shrugged, “Let’s see how we do today. I don’t like the odds.”
Leonidas sighed, “I think I have to agree.” Leonidas looked at Barney, “Have you sent out the orders.”
“I have. Daniel’s fleet will lead the attack.”
Desiree shook her head, “I hate putting his ships in the most danger.”
Bart snorted again, “Trust me on this, his ships will not be in the most danger. He’s breaking off before he’s in range of their blasters.”
Desiree looked at Bart and shook her head, “You’re getting ornerier by the day.”
Bart smiled, “It’s an acquired skill. You should work on it.”
Barney shook his head, “I wish Embree was here.” He looked at Ricky and said, “No offense.”
“None taken. I know he’s better than I am.”
Leonidas smiled; the crew was their usual selves and were ready for action. Let’s see how the plan works.
• • •
The two Combined Fleets moved to the starboard and port side of the Tronan formation outside the range of their blasters. Daniel’s Fleet was on the port side of the formation along with eight-thousand Dragon Warships. Daniel’s ships were in the center of the formation and he looked at the Dragon Commander on his monitor, “All right, we won’t have long so listen for my command and be ready to move.”
“Just don’t wait too long,” the Dragon said firmly.
Daniel nodded and heard Leonidas order, “Go!”
The nine-thousand warships turned and boosted at full speed toward the Tronan formation. Just before they moved inside the Tronan’s blaster range, all eight-thousand warships launched ten trillium-tipped missiles. Daniel yelled, “PUNCH IT NOW!” The eight-thousand warships hit the disable button on their stardrives and left other space and the filament in an instant just before eighty-thousand Tronan blasters fired at them.
Less than a second later, they energized their stardrives and were back in the filament. But that brief delay allowed the Tronan formation to move twenty-light years ahead of them. They went to maximum speed and clawed their way back toward the fleeing formation.
• • •
Right behind the disappearance of the missile ships, twenty-five-hundred silver coated warships rushed in through the explosion. The massive explosion of the missiles blew the Tronan Blaster beams back to within four-miles of their hulls and hid the incoming warships. Twenty-five silver warships opened fire on just one of the Tronan Warships and then boosted away at high speed before more blasters could be targeted on them. A hundred Tronan Warships were hit by numerous blaster beams and fell out of formation. They were completely disabled or damaged to the point where they could not keep up with their fast-moving formation. The Earth and Dragon Warships launched missiles at the Tronan Warships still able to navigate and continued after the fleeing formation. The blasted hulls of the wounded Tronan Warships blew in as the missiles hit them. Any survivors would be handled later. The attacks continued for another two weeks as the missile ships caught up and another attack was launched. More than six-hundred missile ships were destroyed when the outer ranks of the Tronan formation flew out and met them. The surviving missile launchers were forced to launch from a longer range which made them less effective.
• • •
Sam pulled Leonidas up on his monitor, “Status of the coated warships?”
“They can withstand the beams for enough time to back off before the heat goes too high.”
“So, are you saying our coating is not invincible?”
“It’s just like last time, Admiral. The coating gets stronger after each attack. Some of the coated warships can now go in, open fire, and escape. I know we heat the coating to the highest temperatures possible but nothing is as hot as that many Tronan Blasters.”
“Start sending the coated warships in and have them back out when the temperature goes up close to critical.”
“Do you want us to fire on them?”
“No, we need to temper our ships to handle the combined Tronan blaster fire.”
Leonidas disappeared from his monitor and Sam contacted Gem and ordered him to do the same.
• • •
The Fleet Director watched the silver colored ships fly into his blasters, remain there for a long time, and then fly out. “What are they doing?”
The Scanning Director looked up from his console, “Each time they attack, it takes longer to raise their hull temperatures. They are making their warships stronger.”
“How many ships are still operational?”
“Three-hundred-twenty-six, Fleet Director.”
“How many of those silver colored ships have we destroyed?”
“None.”
“And how many does the enemy have?”
“Five-thousand plus.”
“They can destroy us any time they choose,” the Fleet Director said to the Science Director. The Science Director nodded. The Fleet Director stared at the huge wall monitor and said, “I will not continue to strengthen them.”
“What are you going to do? Do you intend to self-destruct our ships?” the Science Director asked.
“I do not believe in suicide. Order all ships to come to a stop and shut down their blasters.”
“WHAT!” the Communication Director exclaimed.
“I will not strengthen their ships! Carry out my orders!!”
Silver ships continued to fly into the Tronan Blasters and suddenly found they stopped firing. The coated warships stopped above the Tronan vessels and Sam ordered over the general frequency, “MOVE AWAY! THEY MAY BE SELF-DESTRUCTING!!”
The silver coated ships flew away from the Tronan formation at high speed as it came to a stop. The Combined fleets flew past the formation at high speed, had to turn around, and come back to surround it. The Combined fleet surrounded the surviving Tronan Warships and waited outside the range of its blasters.
• • •
The Ship Directors on the surviving Tronan vessels began attempting to contact the Fleet Director and he lifted his communicator, “YOU WILL ALL BE SILENT!” The channel immediately grew silent and the Fleet Director said, “If you’ve not determined that each time we fire at one of those silver vessels we strengthen it, then your crews are not doing their jobs. I will not continue to strengthen an enemy of the empire. We can’t outrun them and they can kill us any time they choose. I refuse to allow you to commit suicide by self-destructi
on. We will stand here and die like warriors should with dignity. Hold your positions. I am proud of what you have done. Now make me proud in how you die. We’ll show them we have no fear of death.”
• • •
Leonidas and Gem appeared on Sam’s monitor, “What’s going on?” Gem asked.
Lydia looked up from her panel, “I’ve intercepted a communication from that Tronan Leader to his ships. The language program has converted it to where we can understand it.”
The three Fleet Admirals listened to the message and Gem said, “Well, time to finish what we started.”
Leonidas immediately said, “They’ve surrendered. We don’t kill warriors that surrender.”
Gem looked at him, “I didn’t hear anything in that message about surrender. Leo, you are going to have to learn how to kill those that are trying to kill you. Your heart is too soft.”
Leo stared at Gem and said very deliberately, “THEY ARE NO LONGER TRYING TO KILL US!”
Gem shook his head, “What are you going to do? Release them like the children?”
Sam listened to them and looked at Lydia, “Patch me into the language program and connect my panel to the frequency that Tronan used.” Lydia nodded and began pressing buttons on her console. She looked up and nodded.
• • •
The Fleet Director sat on his command chair and waited for death to embrace him. Suddenly, the speaker on the monitor activated, “It appears you’ve made a decision to die. I would think a good leader would not throw away the lives of his warriors needlessly.” The Fleet Director’s eyes narrowed and he remained silent. “Then he heard, “I’ve learned that you have orders to not communicate with any other species.”
The Fleet Director said harshly, “JUST HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT!?!