Machine Planet (Conquest of Stars Book 4)

by Sid Kar

  “Onwards, back to Rainmar,” Commander Jaryett broadcasted his call across the Starfirian Fleet. He had bloodied the Mercurians and this would blunt their eventual attack on Rainmar.

  Vice-Admiral Lewyn’s jaw was already on the floor as he was watching the space battle unfold on his terminal, but when the Starfirian fleet made a dash for their return, he pounded his fist on his control table.

  “Compose yourself VC Lewyn,” Admiral Valorun said from his command seat, “this doesn’t change the odds significantly.”

  Lewyn detected a slight hint of derision in his admiral’s voice and a putdown of his earlier statements.

  “Admiral Flannan should not have gambled on guessing the enemy’s attack strategy…” Lewyn began to speak then realized the trap he was falling into. He very well knew that Flannan could not have simply continued with the most basic strategy of charging straight ahead in the face of enemy maneuvering without accused of being a simpleton dullard later on if it had gone wrong. Flannan had to respond and Lewyn had to qualify his statement, “But I do understand his perspective at that time…”

  “Be quiet Vice-Admiral,” Valorun said almost jumping up from his chair, “the battle isn’t over yet.”

  The command room officers and the staff turned to look at Valorun with surprise even a slight hint of relief mixed with glee. They weren’t going to sit out the fight after all.

  “Capitan Rols, accelerate Maverick on a pursuit vector towards the escaping Starfirian fleet,” Valorun said.

  “Yes sir, accelerating and changing course,” Rols replied as his flight section frantically went to work to execute the order.

  “Capitan Tynol, broadcast to the entire Rear Fleet to synchronize with our tactics,” Valorun said, “And inform the Forward Fleet and Admiral Flannan to stay put in their position.”

  “Yes Admiral,” Tynol replied and became busy sending out Valorun’s orders across the fleet.

  “Capitan Tolan, fire our Gravity Weapon in the vector towards the left rear of Starfirian fleet,” Valorun said.

  “Micro-Black Hole fired and on the way,” Tolan replied. It was the only weapon the gravitron section controlled and operated.

  The rest of the fleet had meanwhile received the orders from Tynol to coordinate their actions and each of the 700 Mercurian starships from the reserve fleet fired a gravity weapon of their own. The combined gravitational pull of 700 weapons hit the Starfirian fleet hard and dramatically impacted its acceleration cutting it down drastically and even forced Starfirian ships to decelerate as they frantically tried to fire concentrated lasers to destroy the gravity generating machines. But they faced the same problem as the Mercurians had earlier…there were too many gravity weapons in the battlespace and not enough time.

  “Order the fleet to Hammerhead Formation, Capitan Tynol,” Valorun said. The iron was hot and the time to strike with the hammer was now.

  The reserve Mercurian Fleet’s spaceships assumed a tight rectangular formation even as they flew towards the Starfirians. Then Valorun took direct control of the fleet communications on his own personal terminal. Next, he broadcasted to the entire fleet.

  “Mercurian Rear Fleet, this is your Admiral Valorun speaking. The decisive moment of the battle is upon us,” Valorun said, “Prepare 250 offensive rockets for interval firing.”

  Valorun waited a few moments to watch the action on the gravitron terminals. The computers were spitting out numbers and symbols that were the analytical representation of the battle situation but Valorun had reached a state of expertise where he could just look at the fleet vectors, positions and strength estimates and instinctively grasp the direction of the battle.

  Nevertheless, he pressed a button labeled ‘FFS Analysis’ to confirm or contradict his hunch. When the power equation of the entire Galaxy hung in balance, he did not want to rely on his instincts alone.

  The next moment his Fleet Formation & Scatter (FFS) function spat out the result of the analysis on his terminal. The enemy fleet was indeed scattered in five distinct clusters, but all with the same vector and similar spatial intervals; just as he had originally thought.

  “Admiral Valorun to Rear Fleet,” Valorun said, “Full speed ahead at the Starfirians. Strike with 50 rockets each in 5 intervals. Laser fire in passing, but no turnarounds for missed targets. Hard follow through to the end.”

  The Mercurian Rear Fleet accelerated rapidly towards the Starfirian fleet now making a wide arc back to Rainmar. The Mercurians were further helped by their Gravity Weapons which were pulling them forward, providing extra forward thrust while doing the exact opposite for Starfirians.

  Starfirian Commander Jaryett was surprised to see another fleet jump into his pursuit. From the scanner analysis that Conquistador and VC Barryett had sent him earlier, he knew a chunk of Mercurian ships were missing from the initial fleet, but he had assumed they were a second wave meant for the invasion of planet Rainmar holding much farther afield in space.

  Mercurian Fleet struck the first cluster of Starfirian ships hard unleashing a torrent of rockets and destroying a majority of the Starfirian spaceships. The massive flood of rockets and lasers emanating from both sides destroyed most of the Gravity Weapons but the Mercurians had no need of it anymore and themselves deactivated and detonated the remaining ones to prevent the artificial gravity from slowing down their own ships which had now overtaken them.

  The Starfirian Fleet accelerated at the top rate its engines could generate, but Mercurians caught up with the second cluster of spaceships. This time the Starfirians were ready and unleashed all their rockets and then followed through with lasers but it too was to no avail as the numbers were overwhelming on Mercurian side and the incoming wave of Mercurian rockets once again knocked out most of the Starfirian spaceships. The story was the same for the third cluster. The fourth cluster of the Starfirian spaceships was far enough and had picked up enough speed to avoid getting caught in the close range fighting but Admiral Valorun wasn’t done yet. He ordered rockets to be launched without closing range unlike before and the damage was less. Still, less than half the Starfirian vessels survived. The final cluster of Starfirians was now on the way back to Rainmar far away from both the Mercurian Rear and Forward Fleet. Valorun could have chased them all the way to the planet but he wanted to regroup his fleet and called off the chase and the final rocket strike.

  He had still destroyed 150 Starfirian spaceships and the Forward Fleet had knocked out 25 more starships trying to escape through their ranks and he had lost only 70 of his own.

  Chapter 5: Fight or Flight

  “Vice-Commodore Barryett, please inform when your ejection of the heat damaged shield and hull plates is finished,” Chief Engineer Vorkar Tyft’s spoke on the large screen in Conquistador’s command room. Vorkar was the Chief of Starship Repairs at Rainmar’s Starfleet Command and was now broadcasting live from an orbital repair platform at which Conquistador was currently docking.

  VC Barryett looked at shield officer Capitan Avyk who spoke up.

  “Chief Engineer Vorkar, we ejected all the proximal shield and hull plates that sustained heat damage from the use of StarHeat Weapon while we made our way back here,” Avyk said, “You can commence operations to install replacement plates.”

  “Great to hear,” Vorkar said, “I will order the work started right after you dock. And be advised that I am communicating on multiple channels with a multitude of senior officers. Excuse me, if I can’t respond right away.”

  “I understand, you know best the sequence of priorities for your operations, Alright then,” VC Barryett said.

  “Alright,” Vorkar saluted Barryett and disappeared from the terminal.

  Barryett was glad they were the first and the only starship getting repaired now. Once the battle began between Commander Jaryett’s fleet and the Mercurians, there would be starships floating back by the dozens for emergency repair and not even a Starfleet Command had sufficient repair facilities and personnel to tend to all of th
em at once. Not to mention the rockets that Mercurians would fire at the orbital platforms. He did not envy Vorkar his command and its responsibilities.

  “Vice-Commodore, we need to talk,” Colonel Tollvyk walked up to his back, cleared his throat and spoke in a whisper.

  “Oh yes, we do,” Barryett turned around and spoke in a low voice, “Let me send for Detective Hartar and Law Officer Legtar.”

  “Umm…let’s leave them out for now,” Tollvyk said.

  “Let’s go to my room,” VC Barryett said then walked over to Avyk.

  “You are the chief shields officer,” Barryett said to him, “Coordinate and supervise the installation of the new plates. Call me at my room if there is any problem.”

  “Yes sir,” Avyk saluted him and spoke with confidence, “Practiced this over a hundred times in our section’s training. This is a very standardized procedure and should be completed soon.”

  “Glad to hear,” Barryett said and walked out of the command room followed by Tollvyk. Tollvyk turned around just before exiting and motioned to Detective Rockvyk to follow them, a gesture that was not lost on Barryett but he said nothing till they were alone in a side corridor and Rockvyk was walking behind them but at a distance.

  “What business is this of his?” Barryett asked.

  “He knows,” Tollvyk replied, “Com. Antrar involved him in our business, at least he says he did. But how would he know otherwise?”

  “But why involve SPASI unless Army Detectives are compromised,” Barryett said, “Detective Hartar doesn’t seem like Commander Carvyk’s pawn.”

  “Just hear him out, apparently he has been investigating and uncovered…” Tollvyk stopped speaking just as they turned a corner and a contingent of Starship Guards saluted them outside of Barryett’s room.

  “Alright,” Barryett said then spoke to his guards, “Let him through too,” he pointed with his thumb to Rockvyk.

  Barryett and Tollvyk walked inside and Barryett made sure the room was sound proof and a few moments later Rockvyk strolled in and Barryett pressed a button to seal the door shut.

  Rockvyk and Barryett stared at each other for a few moments in silence. They knew each other well back from Bravo and had attended many state functions together, laughed at each other’s jokes and even played cards. But now they watched each other suspiciously.

  “Before I can trust you, Detective Rockvyk,” Barryett said almost accusingly, “Tell me what Commodore Antrar told you about us and why did he involve you in the investigation of this...conspira…affair?”

  “Why? Why not me?” Rockvyk said, “After all, I am the Chief State Detective at Bravo and of Zarrvyk Province and while we don’t have jurisdiction over the Army or its soldiers, I still represent the authority of the Starfire State and can investigate matters in my province without arousing Commander Carvyk’s suspicion. That must have been Com. Antrar’s reasoning.”

  “Speaking of Carvyk, how much did he tell…” Barryett started speaking.

  “Alright, here it is straight. This is what Antrar told me,” Rockvyk said, “You were sent on a mission to guard the Nestorian Republic from Mercurian Invaders. En Route, you were ambushed by starships most likely of our own Army.”

  “Almost certainly our own,” Barryett said, “We have mechanical evidence of a collision avoidance system kicking in which would only happen with another one of our own starships.”

  “Oh yes, he told me about that most crucial piece of evidence. And that he and your Commodore Raptor believed that the attackers were following the orders of Commander Carvyk,” Rockvyk said, “And it looks like his suspicions were on the mark. That low grade jackal…excuse my words for your senior officer…”

  “Oh no, that describes him perfectly,” Barryett replied.

  Tollvyk was surprised. Barryett was usually the one for decorum and respect. But just as Raptor had suspected, there was bad blood between him and Carvyk. Old bad blood.

  “…that jackal Carvyk has wormed his way to a seat on Lambda Man,” Rockvyk said.

  “Lambda Man, you said,” Barryett was taken aback and jumped back a step.

  “What is it?” Tollvyk asked.

  “None of us is supposed to know of it,” Barryett replied, “But I have been in the Army for decades now and word gets around to old foxes like me. It’s a secret army organization to supervise and undertake missions that would be political hot potatoes if done openly.”

  “And it gives him a vantage point to order just such an ambush on your Conquistador,” Rockvyk said and Barryett nodded his head in understanding but Tollvyk remained confused.

  “Where is Com. Antrar now?” Barryett asked.

  “He is dead,” Rockvyk replied and let his large jaw drop down, “We were ambushed. Him, me and a couple other of his friends from the Army in a hotel. Top notch sharpshooters, must be thoroughly trained to attack three Army men and one SPASI man.”

  “Carvyk doesn’t even think of sparing a national hero like Com. Antrar,” Tollvyk said, “That old bastard.”

  “Watch yourself, Col. We are all angry but we must be very careful with our words,” Barryett said acting his usual self of a man of restraint.

  “I was lucky to escape alive out of that wild shootout,” Rockvyk said.

  “You were because I suspect it was the Lambda Force that hit you,” Barryett said.

  “Now even I don’t know what that is,” Rockvyk said.

  “It is supposedly the secret force that guards Lambda Man and carries out some of its missions,” Barryett said, “I have heard they are chosen from the best Strike Soldiers. But even they are not the main hitmen for Lambda Man. Because they are from Starfire Army, there is no plausible deniability in using them so for most missions Lambda Man hires out.”

  “Yes, from amongst galactic underworld’s characters whom SPASI would love to bust good and hard,” Rockvyk said.

  “But underworld spaceships did not ambush us,” Tollvyk interjected, “we are getting away from Commander Carvyk, talking of this Lambda rubbish. It is he whom we need to nail.”

  “And did Commodore Raptor get a chance to submit the Chargekeeper at the Starfleet Command?” Barryett asked.

  “Unfortunately no, he was ambushed just as they had hailed an airship,” Tollvyk said then reached into his uniform and pulled out the Chargekeeper and handed it to Barryett. “You or law officer Legtar should keep it till Raptor comes to. After we repel the Mercurians, we can go down to Starfleet Command to file it.”

  “If we repel the Mercurians…” Barryett said.

  “You were filing charges against Commander Carvyk?” Rockvyk asked and after Barryett and Tollvyk nodded in affirmative, Rockvyk waved his palm in opposition, “No…No, that is not a good idea. Why I mentioned Lambda Man. My investigation went deeper into it and its leader is none other than the Supreme Commander.”

  “Supreme Commander Sejavyk Pytar?” Barryett asked as his eyes widened to the point of split and his whiskers expanded outward like stretched fabric.

  “Fuck me…” Tollvyk exclaimed then quickly added, “apologies, but we are screwed for good.”

  “Now let’s be clear,” Rockvyk said, “I am not casting doubts on the character or the motivations of Supreme Commander Sejavyk Pytar, let alone accusing him of being involved with that low down hyena Carvyk. I mention him only to make my point that this is a lot bigger than an ambush, it goes beyond our province and even beyond just the Army and smack dab in the center of our politics. Don’t pull the threads till you know what all will be unraveled.”

  “If that is true, then I will agree to withhold the Chargekeeper,” Barryett said, “Anyhow, after Rockvyk’s revelations it is Commodore Raptor’s call, not mine. But what should our next step be?”

  “Whatever you do, don’t let this starship be destroyed in the upcoming battle,” Rockvyk said, “It is the one piece of mechanical evidence that is incontrovertible and we need to take this Starship straight to the top, no filing charges, running our own invest
igations and all that. Drop this big son of a gun right on the doors of our Constellation and our King.”

  “I don’t need to say that I will try my best to prevent Conquistador’s destruction, since that event means the death of all of us including myself,” Barryett smiled wryly, “But I also don’t need to tell you that I can’t run away from a battle, not even if this starship is evidence of a great crime. War Law mandates that winning the battle is the first priority to which everything else is to be sacrificed. Even if that means criminals go free, small price to pay for victory.”

  “Even if said criminals could be no mere looters or marauders, but downright traitors who could cost us the larger war?” Rockvyk asked and raised a brow.

  “We are damned either way,” Tollvyk smashed his fist into his open palm, “If we leave we are deserters. If we stay and fight, the overwhelmingly numbers in enemy’s favor means even if Conquistador survives it will be in tatters, its mechanical evidence useless and shattered beyond comprehension and it will be most likely in the enemy hands. We will have to explode it to prevent the later possibility. We can’t let the latest and the best starship of our Army with our newest secret weapons fall in the enemy’s hands for his examination!”

  “No we can’t,” Barryett said, “I agree with you there, Col. Toll. IF the choice is between that and letting Carvyk get away, I will bite my tongue and let that rogue escape his just due. The starship will be exploded and turned to plasma long before the enemy can get to it.”

  “There is something else…about Starfleet Majestic,” Rockvyk scratched his chin in hesitation. What he had heard about that matter was second hand information and he was not a man who deigned to trade in rumors but he had to get his case across.

  “If you are going to tell me it is on its way here,” Barryett said, “then I can consider a strategic retreat to join up with it.”