by G. P. Hudson
You will be victorious today, First Colonel, said AI. The long march of history has turned against the Juttari.
Yes, it has, and I will rejoice over every drop of Juttari blood we spill.
The remaining station had turned its attention toward the advancing ships, and lanced out at them with devastating power. He saw the first casualties in his mind’s eye. The gift of death. For a Chaanisar it was the only true freedom. Life was pain. Death liberation. Would all that change?
He wasn’t sure. He knew only that there was no other path to take. For now, he had purpose. He would follow Admiral Pike into damnation, until the Juttari were no more. Everything else could wait until that journey was complete.
More casualties flashed across his mind. Chaanisar. Diakan. The station was powerful, yet it would fall in the end. Another example of Juttari arrogance. The Juttari thought Meybaris impenetrable. Perhaps it had been once. No more.
The Juttari had many advantages, compared to other spacefaring species, with which they managed to dominate half the galaxy. But lately they had grown complacent, and it would lead to their inevitable downfall. Brock recognized the same complacency in the Diakans, though they possessed enough political savvy to support Admiral Pike. The Diakans were flexible, unlike the rigid Juttari. That rigidity would break them in the end.
As his ships continued to pummel the final station, Brock shifted his focus to the ongoing battle with the remaining Juttari fleet. Its destruction accelerated, with Admiral Pike and the Chaanisar now gaining the clear advantage. The Juttari were making a stubborn stand, attempting to stall the inevitable. They had little choice. After the destruction of Earth, Admiral Pike would not accept surrender. Though he had never heard of a Juttari surrender
Without thinking, Brock hailed the lead Juttari ship.
A large, dark green face with catlike eyes appeared on his display. “Traitor,” it hissed, as it pointed a razor sharp claw at Brock.
Brock smiled. “Where is the glory of the Masters now? Where are your gods?”
“Meybaris is holy space. You defile it with your presence. Your punishment will be merciless.”
“Look around you, Juttari. Meybaris has fallen. The helpless children you abducted have grown, and risen against you. Your time has ended. Ours has begun. Your species will be exterminated. Your memory erased from history. This I vow to you.”
The Juttari snarled. “The Gods come for you, First Colonel Brock. You will not escape their wrath. None of you will.”
Brock looked into those vicious eyes. There was a time where he would have never made eye contact with a Juttari. It was forbidden for the unclean, unworthy Chaanisar to do so. Those ruthless, alien eyes offered no repentance, however. Only contempt. Brock terminated the connection, the creature no longer worthy of his time.
Did that also give you pleasure? said AI.
No. It did not, said Brock. It did not.
Chapter 34
Jon stood at his console, watching the newly freed Chaanisar chase down the remnants of the Juttari fleet. Together they had broken the fleet’s back, but he left the mop up to the Chaanisar. They were more than capable, and deserved the great pleasure of hunting down any Juttari still breathing.
First Colonel Brock, and General Dathos, were busy finishing off the remaining Juttari station. The firepower at their disposal was truly something to behold. They had made quick work of their target, until it blew apart in a mixture of blinding light and scattered debris. The fleets did suffer casualties, but they were modest compared to the losses they could have endured had they been required to mount the attack against all three stations simultaneously. The stations had been formidable, and combined with the gate defenses and the stationed Juttari fleet, no one could have predicted losing control of this system. Certainly the Juttari had not.
They could never have anticipated the power of the Chaanisar. While Jon had the benefit of technologies, like the jump system, and AI’s transformation, the Juttari’s real Achilles heal ended up being the Chaanisar themselves. The Juttari had created their own destruction. The Juttari had placed too much confidence in their ability to control the Chaanisar.
They had built super-soldiers, using them to dominate much of their dominion. They believed technology gave them perfect control over their creation. They had been right. For centuries they rose unrivaled. But all things change, and in the end there could never be any substitute for freedom. What the Juttari faced now was more powerful than anything they had ever created. The Chaanisar fought not because they were forced to, nor for material gain, like a mercenary. And Jon didn’t believe that they fought solely for vengeance, either. Freedom was the true driving force, for themselves, and for future generations.
The suffering inflicted on humanity would never be repeated. The Juttari must be destroyed to ensure this. But this alone would not be enough. There would always be threats to humanity. There would always be aggressive species bent on conquest. Humanity must become strong enough so that no species would ever consider attacking them again. Strength alone would ensure human freedom.
“Contacts!” said Ensign Petrovic. “Multiple Juttari warships have appeared in the system.”
“On viewscreen,” Jon, looked up from his console. The giant viewscreen shifted its display to show a group of Juttari battleships floating in space, just out of weapons range.
“I don’t know where they came from, Sir,” said Petrovic. “Scans weren’t picking them up before.”
“I know,” said Jon. “They’re jump ships. How many of them are there?”
“Scans count fifteen ships, Sir.”
“AI, I assume you’ve noticed our new guests?”
“Yes, Admiral,” said AI.
“Does your station have anymore of those long range missiles?”
“Yes, Admiral. My missile stockpile has not been depleted.”
“Fire a salvo at those ships. Let’s say hello and see what comes of it.”
“Firing missiles.”
The station spat out a cluster of its powerful missiles, which raced toward the newly arrived Juttari battle group. At the same time, a contingent of Chaanisar warships had broken off from First Colonel Brock’s fleet and struck out to intercept the enemy jump ships. Jon watched their progress, unsurprised as the vessels vanished just before the missiles reached them.
“Reading multiple weapons signatures!” the color drained from Petrovic’s face. “Juttari battle group has landed on our starboard side. Weapons hot! They’re firing!”
“Deploy countermeasures,” said Jon. “Activate point defense system, and return fire.”
“Point defense system is live. Returning fire,” said Petrovic, just as multiple impacts sent jarring quakes through the bridge. The tactical officer gripped his console to avoid being thrown to the floor, and all over the bridge the crew struggled to maintain battle stations.
The earlier mop up maneuvers had left the Freedom out of position, and isolated. Now the hulking carrier was outnumbered fifteen to one. Jon tapped his console to consult the jump grid. “Helm, jump us to grid coordinates G11.” The Freedom would land on the other side of the station, and safely in the middle of the fleet assembled there.
More concussions rocked the bridge and Jon braced himself.
“Jump system is unresponsive,” said Ensign Richards. “That last hit knocked it offline.”
“Our birds are engaging the Juttari battle group, Sir,” said Konos. “Bombers have been deployed.”
The bridge continued to shake under the relentless pounding. This is a hit squad, the realization struck Jon hard. They’re targeting us specifically. “Evasive maneuvers,” ordered Jon, hoping to buy some time.
Allied jump ships began to appear alongside the Freedom, joining in its defense. As if to confirm Jon’s suspicions, the Juttari weapons remained locked on the Freedom. The Chaanisar ships were doubling back to help the Freedom as well, while AI lashed out at the Juttari with the station’s powerful weapon
s. Yet the battle group continued to ignore all others, and focus solely on the Freedoms destruction.
“Reading hull breaches on decks seven through nine. Emergency containment fields have been activated,” said Konos.
Jon opened a comm with Engineering. “Mr. Singh, I need that jump system.”
“We’re working on it, Sir,” said Singh. “I just need a little more time.”
“You have two minutes.”
“Two minutes? Sir, that’s not enough.”
“It better be, or you’ll finish the job floating in open space.”
“Understood.”
The combined firepower of the station, and the allied jump ships destroyed two of the Juttari battleships, and the Freedom’s bombers had inflicted serious damage on a few more, but it wasn’t enough.
The Freedom faced at least ten battleships, and the more damage she took, the less able she was to defend herself. They were caught flatfooted. The Juttari gambit looked like it was going to succeed.
“I’ve got more hull breaches,” said Konos. “Decks four through six. Establishing containment fields. We can’t take much more of this.”
To Jon’s surprise, a few of the big Diakan battleships jumped in between the Freedom and the Juttari battle group, in an attempt to buy more time. The tactic proved successful, providing the Freedom respite from the Juttari onslaught, albeit only for a moment.
As the Freedom tried to put more distance between it and the Juttari, the battle group vanished, and reappeared directly in front of the Freedom’s flight path. The Juttari guns went back to work, the pounding resumed in earnest.
“Jump system is back online, Sir,” announced Ensign Richards.
“Jump to G11, now!”
A second later and the pummeling had ceased. On the viewscreen, Jon was greeted by the comforting sight of several hundred free Chaanisar warships. New concussions shattered the illusion of safety, however, as the attack on the Freedom resumed.
“Juttari battle group has just landed off our port side,” said Petrovic.
“They’re on a damn suicide mission,” said Jon.
Several Chaanisar ships closed in around the Freedom to shield it from the assault. At the same time, several hundred guns opened fire on the enemy. The station joined in for good measure, sealing the battle group’s fate. Diakan jump ships jumped in behind the battle group seconds later, adding their own weapons to the melee.
The Juttari persisted in their attempts to destroy the Freedom, though it meant certain death. A Juttari ship rammed into the Chaanisar line, sacrificing both ships to allow access to the Freedom. The Chaanisar were quick to fill the gap, but as soon as they could the Juttari employed the suicide tactic again. Both sides sacrificed themselves willingly in order to destroy or defend the Freedom. Insanity reigned.
The Juttari could have jumped away and lived to fight another day, but they wouldn’t. Jon couldn’t understand the logic. The Freedom had suffered a severe beating, but with the wall of Chaanisar ships surrounding it, the Juttari had no hope of finishing the job. Tactically, it would have been prudent to fall back, and regroup. Instead they chose to fight to the death, ramming the Chaanisar ships in their way, determined to destroy the Freedom.
Why?
It could only be the prophecy. He opened a comm with General Dathos.
“General,” said Jon. “I’m sure you’ve seen the Juttari attack. What do you make of it?”
“Yes, Admiral,” said Dathos. “The Juttari grow desperate.”
“Is that why they’re targeting the Freedom?”
“Not the Freedom. You. The Juttari are trying to assassinate you, Admiral. They move to intercept the prophecy.”
“They believe the prophecy?”
“Of course. They see the same future as Diakus. Only they cannot accept it. They hunt you now, Jon Pike.”
Jon looked back to the viewscreen just as the last Juttari battleship was destroyed. Inside him the creature growled in triumph. A feeling of pride swept over him as he savored the victory. Meybaris was his.
“Let them come,” he said defiantly.
Chapter 35
Anki raced around Jon and Breeah’s quarters fighting an imaginary battle against the Juttari. Jon watched her play, amazed by her resilience. She must have been scared by the Juttari attack, yet here she played like nothing had happened. He imagined that Breeah must have been the same way when she was a child.
“Do you think the Juttari have more jump ships?” said Breeah, analyzing everything Jon had told her about the battle group’s attack.
“Yeah, I’m sure of it,” said Jon. “It’s an arms race now. It wasn’t too hard for us to retrofit the Freedom and the Reiver with jump systems at New Byzantium. We will have to equip more of the Chaanisar and Diakan ships before we move on to the Widow’s Triangle.”
“Surely they must know you are coming now. They’ll be prepared for you.”
“I know. I’d like move sooner, maintain momentum, but the Freedom needs extensive repairs, as does the station. Taking Meybaris was a great accomplishment. We need to secure it, or we’ll end up losing it. The jump gates remain important, but as the Juttari build more jump ships, all of our systems become more vulnerable.”
“Does this Widow’s Triangle have any planets?” said Breeah.
“Yes.”
“Are any populated?”
“Yes. From what I understand a lot of trade is done in the Triangle. The three jump gates have turned the system into a kind of crossroads, spurring commercial activity.”
“What will you do with these planets when you take the system?”
“It depends how much resistance they offer. First Colonel Brock indicated that the species living on the planets are subservient to the Juttari. But it is not clear how they will react if the Juttari are defeated. Of course, any military threat on the planet will be dealt with.”
“Are these subservient species a conquered race?”
“Yes.”
“Is this their system?”
“I don’t know. It might be, or they could’ve been transported here through the gates. It’s hard to say. The Juttari have conquered many species, and use each in different capacities. These conquered beings may not even remember where home is. Humanity lived under Juttari rule for five hundred years, but there are some who have been enslaved for much longer. If they are among those, they may very well have lost all sense of their original identity.”
“If they had some military capability you could try to make allies of them. It might make holding the system easier,” said Breeah.
“It’s true, and I will definitely try. We’ve been lucky with the Chaanisar, but I can’t count on that luck to continue. Plus, I don’t know how many more Chaanisar we’ll encounter. Our only hope for continued growth is going to be in liberating other conquered races. If they’re anything like us humans, they’ll be thrilled to get some revenge against the Juttari.”
“This Widow’s Triangle has three jump gates?”
“Correct. It has immense strategic value.”
“Two jump gates link to other Juttari controlled regions?”
“Yes. The third links to the Meybaris system, which we now hold.”
“Taking Meybaris is one thing. The Widow’s Triangle another. The Juttari will not let you keep the Widow’s Triangle. They will try to take it back from you. Their two gates will leave you vulnerable.”
“Taking the Widow’s Triangle is going to be hard enough. But you’re right. Taking it doesn’t mean we can keep it. It’s why I wont give them the chance to attack it.”
“How will you prevent them?”
“I’m not stopping at the Triangle. I’m going after the two adjoining systems.”
“You will split your forces. Is that wise?”
“That remains to be seen. I currently have two thousand ships at my disposal. I attack the Triangle at full strength and overwhelm its defenses, but rather than consolidating my gains, I continue thr
ough the gates and take the two systems connected to the Triangle. The Diakans can focus on one system, and I’ll take the Chaanisar to the other.”
“You believe you can take the other two systems?”
“Yes, if the attack on the Triangle doesn’t deplete my force too much. The systems are further back in the jump chain; they won’t be as heavily defended. To reach either system a force would need to first go through Meybaris, and the Widow’s Triangle. It stands to reason that the Juttari would spend more effort fortifying these two systems instead. Taking the Triangle will be a challenge. But when we move against the Triangle I believe that the Juttari will send word to those neighboring systems for help. Any ships stationed there will come through the gates to defend the Triangle. That will further weaken these two systems, making them easier for us to take.”
“But how will you fight the remainder of the war, if your army is split into two?”
“I am expecting reinforcements from Diakus, which will be used to garrison the captured systems. That will allow the fleet to combine again.”
“It is a bold plan.”
“Yes, but the alternative is to allow the Juttari a chance to regroup and go on the offensive. We‘d be forced to try and defend the Triangle against attacks from both gates. I’d rather keep the Juttari on the defensive. We’ll need to be bold to accomplish that.”
“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!” yelled Anki, running toward Jon, pointing her fingers like guns at him.
“Ugh!” said Jon, grabbing at his chest. “You got me.”
Anki threw her hands in the air in victory. “I’ve conquered the galaxy!”
“Will that be your cheer one day?” Breeah said to Jon.
Her comment surprised him. “This isn’t about conquest.”
“No,” said Breeah. “Not yet.”
Chapter 36
“Repairs on the Vanguard have been completed, Sir,” said Commander Hurley, the Vanguard’s XO, standing rigidly straight, his hands clasped behind his back.