by Ryk Brown
The armored vehicles pulled to a stop outside the Jung embassy. Two at the front gates, two at each side gate, and two at the back gates. Squads of twelve deftly jumped out of the vehicles, as they rolled to a stop. Alliance Marines clad in light gray combat armor and battle helmets, armed with heavy energy weapons dispersed in perfect order, taking up firing positions as planned.
“This is a threat that cannot be ignored, and ignore it, we shall not. We shall meet force with force, in every way at our disposal. We will visit such destruction upon the Jung Empire that they will beg us, not for a cease-fire, but for unconditional surrender. Only then shall we cease hostilities. Only then shall we show mercy. Only then…shall we have lasting peace.”
Lights all around the Jung embassy compound snapped on, illuminating the perimeter. At the same time, in the embassy itself, as well as within its walls, all the lights went dark. Jung security personnel, dressed in black combat armor trimmed with red piping, armed with their own heavy energy weapons, deployed to predetermined defensive positions about the compound, gates, and walls of their embassy.
“As of this moment, we are once again in a state of war with the Jung Empire. As I speak to you this night, a Jung battle group hurtles toward us. Our ships are positioned to intercept the enemy, and intercept them they shall. They shall destroy them without mercy, and the same fate shall meet any and all ships that enter Alliance space. We will send a warning to the Jung, demanding the immediate withdrawal of all their forces currently in Alliance space, whether they are in the Sol or the Pentaurus sectors. Should the Jung Empire fail to heed our warning, we shall annihilate all of their forces, wherever they may be, inside or outside Alliance space. If necessary, we will rain death upon their worlds, and upon their people. They shall know the same horrors they have inflicted upon us, and upon the worlds of our allies.”
“Jung forces! You are hereby ordered, by the President of the North American Union and the Unified Nations of Earth, to surrender yourselves peacefully,” Sergeant Major Saladan announced over the link between his helmet comms, and the loudspeakers on the armored vehicles. “If you fail to do so, you shall be met with deadly force! You have one minute to comply!”
“It brings us no joy to order our forces to attack. It brings us no joy to bring death and destruction onto the Jung people. The only solace we will find, is when the Jung finally realize once and for all, that humanity will not be subjugated by them, or any other aggressor.” The president looked into the camera for a long moment. “Good night, and good luck to us all.”
A single flash of bright red light, followed by a bolt of red plasma energy slammed into the armor of one of the Alliance vehicles that started the exchange. Immediately, the streets lit up with the reds and oranges of energy weapons fire from both sides, as the Jung defended their only sovereign territory on the planet. Seconds after it started, jump ships flashed in the night sky directly overhead, after which blazes of white light appeared within the walls of the embassy compound. The exchange of weapons fire suddenly became one-sided. Four Alliance Marines, two on each side, a shooter and a demolitions tech, ran up to either side of the main gate, quickly placing their charges and then retreating to cover. A moment later, the charges blew. Another jump flash, followed by several more detonation flashes inside the embassy compound followed, after which the marines outside the embassy walls charged in through the now open gates. More weapons fire followed, mostly from Alliance weapons.
Minutes after it had begun, the first ground conflict of the war ended.
* * *
Captain Tuplo poked his way through the dusty, bug-infested workshop at the back end of the sinkhole compound. Of all the buildings dug into the sides of the sinkhole walls, this one was by far the largest. Its doors had been deceptively small, as was its external exposure. It seemed as if the builders had sought to fool anyone looking upon it from the outside as to its true internal dimensions. For what reason, Connor could not determine. He suspected that it had been some sort of machine, or equipment repair bay, given the many parts lying about, some of which seemed familiar.
Another thing he had noticed was that the entire wall was actually a door, designed to slide into a slot carved out of the wall of the sinkhole. The result would be a bay large enough to house anything from a small shuttle to a standard Takaran fighter, perhaps even a bit larger. He wondered what had once been housed in here, and what had happened to it, whatever it had been.
Neli’s original assessment had been more correct than he imagined. He had already found several bodies, long decayed over the years, and mostly eaten by the small animals and insects native to Haven. But there had been enough left of their uniforms to recognize. They were of the old Ta’Akar Empire, more specifically, the regime of Caius Ta’Akar, the son of a great king who had risen to power by assassinating both his father and older brother. He had been defeated by the Karuzari, along with the help of the mythical Na-Tan that Josh so often liked to boast about having served under.
Connor did not believe in legends. Perhaps, if his memories of his life before the crash had been intact, he might feel otherwise. But being forced to live with only the memories of what had occurred since waking up in that hospital on Corinair, five years ago, had forced him to become a realist. Or had it? He really didn’t know; he could’ve been a realist before the crash as well.
“Cap’n!” Josh called from the partially opened door. “You in here?”
“Yeah! Back here!” the captain replied, as he sifted through the dusty old parts lying on the workbench.
Josh walked over to the captain.
“What was this building used for?”
“It had a Falcon in it,” Josh replied, a hint of pride in his voice.
“A what?”
“Oh jeez, I can’t even remember the real name for it. F something. An old Takaran deep space FTL interceptor. The guy who lived here once flew them in the Palee militia. Him and his daughter fixed it up together. My friend Loki and I flew it for a number of years, from the deck of the Aurora.”
“Under Na-Tan, I suppose?” the captain said dryly.
“Captain Scott, yeah. He was a great man. A natural leader, someone you didn’t want to let down. You’re a lot like him, you know.”
“Me?” Connor laughed. “Doubtful.”
“No, seriously. You kept your cool pretty well outside of Rama. And during that stand-off with Siggy? Actually, we’ve been in a few scraps over the years together, Cap’n. You always seemed to handle them just fine.”
“None of those were anything like what you guys went through back then,” Connor said dismissively. “And I am nothing like Captain Scott. And I’m certainly no legend.”
“Captain Scott didn’t think he was a legend either,” Josh said. He looked around at the empty building. “You know, I rescued Captain Scott and the others from this place. Me and Loki, in a fucking harvester, no less. Swooped down and picked them up, in the middle of a battle. Even took a sniper’s head off by flyin’ low and ramming him. It was ugly.”
“I imagine so,” Connor replied. He never knew exactly how much to believe of what Josh told him. He knew that the young pilot had indeed flown in combat in both the liberation of Takara, and back against the Jung in the Sol sector. However, some of his tales seemed a bit unrealistic to him. Some seemed downright impossible. One thing was for sure, though, the young man had a natural knack for flying, and Connor envied him for it.
“That’s how I know about this place. The guy who owned it is dead now.”
“Who was he?”
Josh laughed. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. His daughter is still alive, and still holds the deed on this place, such as it is.” Josh looked around again. “Yup, this is pretty much where Captain Scott’s role as Na-Tan started. So, you might say that I was the savior of a savior.”
Connor looked at Josh with one eyebrow raised. “Seriously?”
“Just a play on words, Cap’n.”
“Josh, you don’t really believe Captain Scott was Na-Tan, do you?”
“Well, like I said, I know he didn’t believe so,” Josh said. “As for me, I suppose I don’t rightly know.” Josh smiled. “Maybe someday, I’ll find out, one way or another.”
Connor watched Josh walk away, perplexed by his words. Finally, a chuckle came out of him. “Na-Tan,” he laughed, tossing the part in his hand back on the workbench. “Takes all kinds, I guess.”
* * *
“All spreaders are away,” Lieutenant Commander Vidmar reported from the Aurora’s tactical station. “Thirty seconds until they reach their jump points.”
“Very well,” Cameron replied from her command chair.
“Jump to intercept point, plotted and ready,” her navigator announced.
“Jump flashes,” Lieutenant Commander Kono reported from the sensor station. “Two comm-drones, to port and starboard.”
“Incoming messages,” Ensign deBanco reported from the comm station. “The Jar-Benakh and the Tanna both report that they are in position and ready to attack on your order, Captain, as is the Cape Town, directly astern.”
“Very well,” Cameron replied.
“Spreaders are jumping,” the tactical officer reported.
Cameron watched the semi-spherical main view screen, as twenty small flashes of blue-white light appeared simultaneously, directly ahead of them. By the time the light from those flashes had reached them, the missiles had already come out of their jump and were spreading their payloads of anti-FTL mines in precise patterns across the path of the incoming Jung battle group. Once detonated, their energy would destabilize the mass-canceling fields that enabled the enemy ships to travel faster than light. They would become targets, and remain that way for several minutes, until they could reinitialize their emitters and escape into FTL again.
Those few minutes would be more than enough time for the Aurora and the rest of her battle group to destroy the trespassers. However, the fact that they were required to issue a warning, and give the enemy one full minute to show signs of compliance with that warning, meant they would have half that time. It would be close.
“Twenty seconds to detonation,” Lieutenant Commander Vidmar reported.
“Stand by for intercept jump,” Cameron ordered.
Luckily, the enemy battle group was still nineteen days away from being able to launch an attack on Earth. If they were unable to destroy all the ships this time, they would have a chance in the next attack. Although the Aurora’s supply of jump missiles was still limited until she could rendezvous with the supply ship, both the Jar-Benakh and the Cape Town were fully stocked. Between them, they had enough anti-FTL mines to knock ten battle groups out of FTL.
Cameron only hoped they would not be needed.
“Anti-FTL mines should be detonating…… Now,” the tactical officer announced.
Cameron glanced at the mission time display. She needed to give the anti-FTL mines enough time to do their job before jumping to the intercept point, or the energy from those countless antimatter detonations would severely disrupt the Aurora’s targeting systems. When she jumped her ship into the path of the incoming battle group, she wanted to have immediate target locks on every enemy ship.
She glanced at the time again. In a few seconds, she would either be ending a war before it began, or committing the Alliance to an all-out war against the Jung, a war that would likely cost billions of lives. At times like this, she wondered why she ever wanted to be the captain of a warship.
Another glance at the time display. “Jump us to the intercept point, Mister Bickle,” she ordered calmly.
“Jumping to intercept point in three……two……one……jumping.”
The blue-white jump flash washed over the bridge, momentarily canceling out the red trim lighting that reminded the Aurora’s crew that they were at general quarters.
“Jump complete.”
“Multiple contacts,” Lieutenant Commander Kono reported. “Four of them!”
“What?” Cameron replied, her head snapping to the left.
“I only have four contacts!” the lieutenant commander repeated. “One battleship, and three frigates!”
“Broadcast the warning message, fully translated, and on all known frequencies,” Cameron ordered. “Prepare to launch multiple jump comm-drones. Notify command that we have four ships unaccounted for!”
“Targets are firing missiles!” the sensor officer warned.
“Did you send the warning message?” Cameron snapped.
“Twenty-eight missiles inbound! Thirty seconds to impact!”
“Yes, sir!” Ensign deBanco replied, “but it didn’t even have time to reach them yet!”
“Point-defenses activated,” the tactical officer reported. “Targeting the incoming missiles.”
“Lieutenant! One by one! Left to right, high to low!” Cameron instructed. “Tactical! Fire as she puts our tubes on the targets. Full power triplets on all tubes!”
“Coming onto first target now!” Lieutenant Dinev reported from the helm.
“Firing on all tubes! Full power triplets!”
“Get those comm-drones launched! I want the other ships warned as well!” Cameron directed as the bridge filled with the red-orange light of her departing plasma torpedoes. “They need to be on the lookout for those other four ships!”
“Adjusting course to next target,” the helmsman announced.
“First drone is on its way to command!” the comm officer assured his captain. “Three more are being launched now!”
“Direct hits on frigate one!” Lieutenant Commander Kono reported. “Her forward shields are gone! She’s turning away!”
Cameron glanced at the tactical display on the auxiliary display screen to the left of her navigator, taking note of the direction to which the first frigate was fleeing. “Get our port plasma turrets on that target, Lieutenant Commander, before she gets her good shields to us.”
“Already on it,” the tactical officer replied.
“Tubes on target two, another frigate!” Lieutenant Dinev reported.
“Firing all tubes!” the tactical officer announced. “Port plasma turrets are locked on the first frigate and are firing!”
“The battleship is targeting us with her big guns!” Lieutenant Commander Kono warned.
“Put a round of jump missiles on that battleship, Mister Vidmar,” Cameron ordered as the bridge continued to flash with the red-orange light of her plasma weapons. “Nukes across the board. Let’s give her something to think about.”
“Loading jump nukes, aye!”
“First wave of enemy missiles has been destroyed!” Lieutenant Commander Kono reported.
“All comm-drones are away!”
“Changing course to the third frigate,” the helmsman reported.
“Frigate one has taken more hits!” Lieutenant Commander Kono said from the sensor station. “She’s lost all shields!”
“Keep pounding her,” Cameron urged.
“Aye, sir!”
“Tubes on the third target!”
“Firing all tubes!” the tactical officer reported. “Launching jump missiles!”
Cameron caught the view of her jump missiles streaking ahead of them and disappearing in flashes of blue-white light.
“Missiles away!”
“We’re down to five kilometers, and closing fast,” Ensign Bickle warned.
“Noted,” Cameron replied.
“Missile impacts!” Lieutenant Commander Kono reported. “Direct hits on the battleship’s forward shields. They’re down fifty percent! And frigate one is coming apart! Frigate two is diving! She’s trying to get below us!”
“Ventral guns on frigate two!”
“Ventral guns, aye!” the tactical officer replied. “Torpedo locks on the third frigate! Firing all tubes!”
“Four kilometers!” the navigator warned, as the bridge filled with red-orange flashes again.
“Helm! Get our tubes on
that battleship,” Cameron ordered, “and be ready to pitch down.”
“Turning into the battleship now,” Lieutenant Dinev replied.
“Escape jump is ready,” Ensign Bickle added. “Three kilometers.”
The Aurora’s shields flashed repeatedly, as explosive rounds from the battleship’s massive rail guns slammed into them.
“Taking heavy fire on our forward shields!” the sensor officer reported.
“Forward shield strength is dropping,” the tactical officer warned. “Down to eighty percent!”
“Tubes are coming onto the battleship now!” the helmsman announced.
“Frigate two is spinning up her mass-canceling fields!” the sensor officer warned. “She’s preparing to go to FTL!”
“All tubes locked onto the battleship!” Lieutenant Commander Vidmar reported from the tactical station. “Firing on all tubes!”
“Two kilometers!” the navigator warned, his voice tensing as the distance shrank between their ship and the approaching battleship .
“One spreader! Out the tube, no jump!” Cameron instructed. “Have her spit her load as soon as she clears our bow!”
The bridge flashed red-orange repeatedly, as twenty-four plasma torpedoes left the Aurora’s tubes, streaking toward the onrushing battleship.
“Launching a spreader!”
“Launch another comm-drone; to the Cape Town! Tell her to jump in and target the battleship with everything she’s got! Come out of her jump firing!”