The Star Cross: Galaxy in Peril
Page 17
Commodore Dreen leaned forward in his command chair. “The black ships will still have us outnumbered. Let’s see if we can even up the odds a bit. Alborg, prepare to fire off three salvos of dark matter missiles. Each of the first two salvos is to target a different black ship. However, I want the entire third salvo focused on those motherships. Maybe we’ll get lucky in all the confusion and take out a few.”
“Jalad, as soon as the third salvo has been launched, I want to jump our fleet immediately away from the black fleet. I don’t want to give them time to fire their black antimatter beams at us or those deadly spheres that steal a ship’s power. If we do this fast enough, we can get in, hit the enemy, and then get out before they realize what we’re doing. We’ll only have this one opportunity to take them by surprise, so let’s make this count.”
Dreen wanted to take a shot at the motherships. Alborg was right. If they could knock out a few, the Destroyers of Worlds just might retreat rather than risk losing more of their large ships.
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Prince Brollen watched in silence as Military Leader Fraymot sent the fleet forward toward the primary inhabited world of this system. This was a food species that had already fought several battles against the Vorn in the past. Each time the species had lost but learned, if they could bring to bear enough of their two-hundred-megaton missiles, they could damage or destroy a Vorn ship. However, in this battle, it would make little difference. Prince Brollen was prepared to lose a few hundred cruisers if necessary. They would be a small sacrifice to pay for what this victory would mean. Another world would be harvested by the Vorn, and a powerful food species will have lost their homeworld. It would send fear throughout this region, making future harvestings much easier.
All ships are advancing, reported Fraymot. He was in direct telepathic communication with the commanders of the fleet. A simple directed thought could send multitudes of ships toward a target or to shift formation.
A large fleet of warships has assembled and is moving toward us, reported the sensor operator. A second force located away from the planet is turning toward us as well. They may be planning to join up with the larger force.
We still have the larger numbers, reported Fraymot confidently. Once we reach engagement range, we will use our dark antimatter beams and the globes of annihilation to destroy them.
Make it so, ordered Prince Brollen, his triangular-shaped head turning toward the tactical displays. I am anxious to taste this food species. My palate grows curious.
The second fleet has entered hyperspace, warned the sensor operator.
Perhaps they are fleeing the system, suggested Fraymot. They must know they have no hope for a victory.
Even as he sent the thought, the space behind the Vorn fleet shimmered as 475 battlecruisers emerged from hyperspace.
Alarms sounded in the Command Center as Prince Brollen looked questionably at Military Commander Fraymot. Numerous threat icons were appearing behind the fleet. One of the ships appeared on one of the viewscreens.
I recognize those ships! sent Military Commander Fraymot, sounding distressed. Those are the ships which possess the dark matter missiles!
What are they doing here? Prince Brollen had not been expecting this. The systems of food species 236 were hundreds of light-years away.
They’re firing! warned the sensor operator. Detecting hyperspace missile launches.
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Fleet Commodore Dreen gripped his command chair as the first missile volley launched. From each Lakiam battlecruiser, twelve dark matter missiles entered hyperspace to impact microseconds later against the energy screens of the black ships. The missiles seemed to vanish from their missile tubes as they flew unerringly to their targets.
“First missile volley launched,” called out Alborg. “Second launching in ten seconds.” It took a few precious seconds to load and retarget the second group of missiles.
On the Basera’s main viewscreen, titanic explosions of antimatter energy washed across the rear of the Destroyers of Worlds’ fleet formation. Several bright flashes of energy indicated where black ship shields had failed.
“Second missile launch,” confirmed Alborg. “Targeting some heavily damaged black ships with force beams.”
Commodore Dreen watched tensely as the viewscreens lit up with more explosions along the entire rear of the black fleet from the release of energy from the dark matter warheads. Each warhead exploded with the force of five hundred megatons. On the viewscreens, force beams could be seen, seeking out and targeting black ships hit by multiple dark matter missiles. Occasionally a black ship would die as its screen became overloaded. When that happened, the screen would burst, releasing all its stored energy, annihilating the black ship beneath it.
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In space, the spindle-shaped Vorn cruisers writhed in agony as their screens were overloaded with dark matter energy. Each time a screen failed, the Vorn cruiser was disintegrated from the titanic release of raw energy. In most cases the ship simply ceased to be, leaving glowing clouds of gas and a few wisps of burning plasma behind. Other black ships were heavily damaged as some dark matter energy penetrated their screens, ripping open ship hulls. These were quickly dispatched by Lakiam force beams. The second missile salvo arrived, striking more Vorn cruisers. A higher number of Vorn shields failed as they were quickly overloaded with energy. Massive flashes of light brighter than an exploding nova swept across the rear of the Vorn formation, tearing it asunder.
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Prince Brollen’s multifaceted eyes darkened in anger as he saw numerous Vorn cruisers dying under the deadly missile fire of the enemy fleet. It was instantly obvious to the prince that this enemy had discovered how to destroy Vorn ships. They were using their deadly missiles to wreak havoc on his fleet formation.
Our ships are returning fire, reported Military Commander Fraymot as he hurriedly sent telepathic orders to adjust the fleet formation to bring more weapons to bear against the enemy fleet pummeling the Vorn cruisers. The ships had to turn broadside to allow their black antimatter beams to lock on the enemy ships. This further frayed the Vorn fleet formation as they now had ships traveling at various speeds. Massive gaps appeared between ships.
Third missile launch detected, reported the sensor operator.
The deck suddenly heaved beneath Prince Brollen, sending him flying through the air to land painfully against a console.
Struggling to his feet, he could hear cries of pain around him. Normally the Command Center was quiet since telepathy was the prime method of communication. He could see several Vorn officers down; several seemed to be dead.
What happened? he demanded, glaring at Military Commander Fraymot, who was supposed to keep the Reaper safe from harm and would be deleted soon if this continued.
We were hit by seven dark matter missiles, replied Fraymot nervously, having witnessed Prince Brollen crashing to the deck. A small amount of energy leaked through the shield. We have a major hull breach. Workers have been dispatched to initiate repairs.
The third missile barrage was aimed at our motherships, reported the sensor operator, sounding stunned. The Larn, Drall, and Nuce have been destroyed. The Barl, Xanthe, and Riven have been heavily damaged.
What of the enemy fleet? Prince Brollen looked at a viewscreen which was focused on the shattered and burning remains of a Vorn mothership—the Drall.
Jumping into hyperspace, the sensor operator replied.
Were we able to damage it? Prince Brollen didn’t want to think about the fact he was overseeing the greatest military disaster ever suffered by the Vorn since coming to this universe.
No, replied Fraymot. We could only bring a few of our weapons to bear before the enemy fled.
They didn’t flee! screamed Prince Brollen in anger. Queen Alithe would be highly upset when she learned of the loss of three motherships entrusted to him. The force of his mental thoughts ravished the minds of the remaining command crew, who winced with pain. This is what they did once before when
we fought them. They will jump a short distance away, prepare for another attack, and then jump in again. When they do, we must be ready. Recall five hundred of our cruisers from the second wave to help protect our remaining motherships. Press the attack forward. I will not allow this to prevent us from harvesting this world. Prince Brollen was incensed with anger and was determined to make an example of this world, particularly after what had just occurred to his motherships.
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Military Commander Fraymot hurriedly passed on the orders. He would not allow the enemy to surprise him like this again. He was well aware the last military commander to serve Prince Brollen had been deleted. Fraymot had no desire to join him.
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The Vorn fleet slowed its forward advance as cruisers from the second wave reversed course and quickly moved back to the third formation, taking up defensive positions around the motherships. Never in Vorn history, since coming to this universe, had three motherships been lost. The entire fleet sobered, seeing the glowing debris floating in space where only minutes before three of the supposedly indestructible ships had been.
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“We got three of their motherships!” cried out Sensor Operator Laylem jubilantly as he studied the incoming information over the sensors. “Not only that, we damaged at least three more.”
“What about their cruisers?” Fleet Commodore Dreen had not been expecting such results with their missile attack against the twelve Destroyers of Worlds motherships from the third wave of missiles. He had hoped maybe to get one but never three!
“Eighty-seven confirmed kills,” answered Laylem.
“We spread out our missiles too much,” Alborg said with a deep frown. “If we had hit the same targets a second time, we would have taken out far more of them, particularly now that we know how many missiles it takes to disrupt their energy shields.”
“Of course,” replied Commodore Dreen in agreement. “But I wanted to cause as much disruption in their fleet formation as possible so the third wave could get through to the motherships.”
“It worked,” replied Alborg. “However, they’ll be ready for us next time.”
“They’re already adjusting their fleet formation,” said Laylem, pointing toward the nearest tactical display.
On the display, large numbers of the spindle-shaped cruisers were pulling back to the third Destroyers of Worlds’ fleet formation to add more support to the remaining motherships. “They’re not retreating.”
Fleet Commodore Dreen had hoped the black ships would withdraw if they lost a mothership or two. That gambit had failed. They must really be determined to harvest and destroy Andock Prime.
“We hurt them, and they know it,” Alborg said with satisfaction in his voice.
“The Andock fleet is nearly in engagement range,” said Laylem, expressing concern. “They’ll lose a lot of ships if the Destroyers of Worlds use their black antimatter weapons.”
Commodore Dreen studied the nearby tactical display and then reached a decision. “Jalad, I want the fleet to jump to this location.” Dreen indicated a point just off the left flank of the rear echelon of the enemy fleets. “Alborg, set up two missile strikes. Both strikes to target the same black ships. This time I want to take out as many of their cruisers as we can.”
“They’ll be ready for us this time,” warned Alborg as he set up the missile strike. “We’ll lose some ships.”
Commodore Dreen let out a deep breath. “I know, but it can’t be helped. We’re trying to save the alliance we’re putting together so we can save the galaxy. We can’t let Andock Prime fall to the Destroyers of Worlds or we risk losing everything.”
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In space, the Andock fleet reached engagement range. Instantly from the missile tubes of the battleships and battlecruisers two-hundred-megaton antimatter missiles began launching. Fleet Leader Moor had made sure every warship was packed full of those missiles. Even as the missiles launched, force beams and energy projectors opened up as well, pouring their firepower into the black fleet.
The forward formation of spindle-shaped cruisers, upon detecting the missile launch, fired their black antimatter beams, sweeping them across the approaching Andock warships. In the black fleet formation, hundreds and then thousands of two-hundred-megaton antimatter missiles exploded. The entire formation came alive with light. Occasionally enough would strike a black fleet cruiser to cause its energy screen to fail. In the black fleet, several bright flashes of brilliant light indicated the total release of energy from failed screens. In each case the black ship beneath the screen was destroyed. With all the missiles exploding and the energy they were releasing, a few black ships were bound to be annihilated.
In the Andock fleet, the deadly black antimatter beams penetrated the powerful defensive screens of the Andock ships, opening up huge sections in the hulls and causing catastrophic damage. Ship after ship died as they blew apart, sending glowing debris flying across space.
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On the left flank of the rear echelon of the black fleet, the Lakiam fleet roared out of hyperspace. A wave of missiles was launched before the first black ship could return fire. However, the Destroyers of Worlds had been expecting this, and black antimatter beams were quickly focused on the Lakiam ships. Four battlecruisers died almost instantly, and then twelve more as additional beams found their targets. Then the second missile wave launched. Additional Lakiam battlecruisers were blown apart as even more black ship beams were focused on the attacking fleet. The battlecruiser Harmony was cut in two as four black antimatter beams ripped open the ship. Moments later black ship antimatter missiles arrived, obliterating the two sections. In rapid succession seventeen more Lakiam battlecruisers died before the fleet could jump away to safety.
In the black fleet, the impacts of the two missile strikes were devastating. This time, instead of spreading the missile attack across the entire rear section of the black fleet, the Lakiam warships had focused on one flank and fewer vessels. Novalike flashes of light were numerous as the Destroyers of Worlds’ flank almost ceased to be.
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Prince Brollen gazed at the incredibly powerful explosions which indicated the destruction of numerous Vorn cruisers. He also noticed that, this time, the attacking fleet had lost a number of vessels as well. Not as many as he had hoped, but perhaps enough to give them pause before attacking again.
We lost 187 cruisers, reported Military Commander Fraymot grimly. We did destroy 34 of the enemy.
Prince Brollen shifted his gaze to the viewscreens. The entire first wave of his fleet had joined battle with the main defending fleet. Flashes of bright light lit up the screens from exploding antimatter missiles. Enemy threat icons blinked out on the tactical display with increasing regularity, the result of Vorn cruisers using their black antimatter beams against the defending fleet. Occasionally an icon representing a Vorn cruiser would vanish. Prince Brollen studied the tactical display intently, then nodded in satisfaction as he saw the attacking fleet was losing ships at a much faster rate than the Vorn were.
Continue to press the attack. I want that fleet in front of us crushed so we can close on the planet.
Military Commander Fraymot hesitated and then sent a cautioning thought toward the prince. The defenses around the planet are the heaviest we have encountered so far. When we reach the planet, we will face more of the two-hundred-megaton missiles that the defending fleet is using against us.
What are you saying? demanded Prince Brollen, concerned that his new Military Commander was failing at his duties.
I am just saying, if the fleet with the dark matter missiles continues to engage us, we might not have the ships we need to destroy the orbital defenses and defend the remaining motherships from attack while the planet is harvested.
We are Vorn, sent Prince Brollen, leaving no doubt as to his intentions. We will sweep away the defending fleet and those defenses, then harvest the planet. Move our fleet to the second wave and have those ships aid in our defense. If the f
leet with the dark matter missiles attacks again, we will overwhelm it with our combined firepower.
Military Commander Fraymot bowed slightly. It will be done as you have ordered.
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Fleet Commodore Dreen shook his head in dismay. Thirty-four vessels lost in just a matter of a few seconds. If they had stayed for a third missile strike, it would have been much worse. “How is Fleet Leader Moor doing?”
“He’s lost nearly six hundred of his ships and is in full retreat toward Andock Prime,” reported Laylem. Then the sensor operator shook his head. “At the rate he’s losing warships, he won’t have anything left when he reaches the orbital defenses.”
“How soon before the first reinforcing fleets arrive?” Several Andock colony worlds with large defensive fleets were nearby.
“Another hour at least,” answered Laylem. “I’m afraid the Vorn will still have too many ships for the reinforcements to do any good.”
Commodore Dreen spent several long moments studying the nearby tactical display. Fleet Leader Moor was still pummeling the leading section of the Destroyers of Worlds’ fleet. For every black ship he destroyed, he lost at least ten of his own warships; not a very good trade off. However, it was much better than most Protector Worlds did against the Destroyers of Worlds.
“The motherships are joining up with the second formation of ships,” Alborg pointed out. “We will lose even more ships in the next attack. They will be expecting us to attack again.”
“Contact Fleet Leader Moor and see if he has any other ideas on how to slow down the black fleet.” If things continued as they were now, the Destroyers of Worlds would eventually reach Andock Prime and cull the planet of all major life forms. Commodore Dreen didn’t see a way to prevent this disaster from happening.
Keenol did as directed and then looked at the commodore in surprise. “He says he has set a trap for the Destroyers of Worlds, one they will not enjoy. He didn’t elaborate other than asking us not to launch another assault on the black fleet until his trap has been sprung.”