Eclipse: Book Two of the Dark Tide Trilogy

by Dayne Edmondson

  “Leave it,” Sloane shouted. “We don’t have time for this. We evac now or we’re dead. Climb!” He threw a spare winch at Kimberly.

  Corbin latched his winch to the cable and ascended at high speed. Fortunately, crates containing Krai’kesh obscured the grapple lines, so the people shooting at them couldn’t hit them. Kimberly was next, speeding toward the ceiling using her winch. She clambered up into the piping above the warehouse and peered down.

  Sloane was attaching his winch to a grapple line, while Maskini and Torrance were running back toward the extraction point.

  The enemy grew bold and pursued, taking up position where Maskini and Torrance had just been. They fired but the wall of air Torrance summoned absorbed their shots.

  Sloane hurtled up the grapple line, followed by Maskini and Torrance. As Sloane was about to climb into the piping a stray laser bolt slammed into his leg. He grunted and threw himself into the pipe, rolling inside and clutching his leg. “Damn that hurts!” he exclaimed.

  Maskini and Torrance made it into the pipe without being shot, due to the moving wall of air.

  “Can you walk, Sloane?” she asked.

  Sloane gritted his teeth and tried to get to his feet. He stood unsteady for a moment but nodded and spoke. “Yes, I can. Let’s get back to the safehouse.”

  Chapter 7 - Mountain Hideaway

  “Shift,” Admiral Rigsby commanded.

  Zigana relayed the order and Martin watched as his diminished fleet arrived in real space near Frelar II.

  “Shields and point defenses are active. Scanning for hostiles.”

  Martin tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair as he waited for a status update. It disturbed him that the Krai’kesh were already expanding their attacks to multiple planets at once. It told him they either felt confident breaking up a single force into smaller forces or they had received reinforcements.

  “Multiple hostile contacts, sir. We’re showing three enemy capital ships. Within the G-line near the planet.”

  “Show me on-screen,” Martin ordered. “Where are the friendly contacts?”

  Zigana shook his head. “We are not detecting any friendly signatures in space, sir.”

  “Damn it. Launch all fighters and deploy the fleet. Bring us within railgun range.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  ***

  “All fighters,” the CAG came over the fighter group comm line, “maintain escort formation. I repeat, maintain escort formation.”

  Selene sighed. “Raptor Squadron acknowledges.” One mistake and all the fighters were ordered to play it safe. Escort formation directed them to stay close to the capital ships and run interference should the enemy launch fighters at them. They should fly toward the enemy fleet to wreak havoc.

  Her mind drifted to Derek as she drifted ahead of the Independence. He had gone off with the Dauntless to Velmar V. She had hoped he would stay on the Independence, but she understood his obligation aboard the Dauntless. Even after everything they had been through in their short time together she wasn’t sure how she felt about him. Did she love him? Just like him as a friend? A friend with benefits? She wasn’t sure, but she knew she would be happy to get back to him.

  “Clear trajectories,” the CAG said over the fighter group comm line.

  Selene consulted her HUD and saw the dotted lines showing the railgun trajectories being calculated by the fleet. She activated her lateral thrusters and rose above the line of the trajectory. She looked at her HUD and saw the other Raptors and fighters in the fighter group rising also.

  The railguns of the Independence and the other ships in the Federation fleet fired. The shells left streaks as they flashed across space toward the Krai’kesh fleet. They hit home and her HUD showed massive shockwaves cascading outward from the point of impact.

  Selene’s HUD showed the enemy counter-attacking. Fighters rose from the atmosphere of the planet and flew toward the Federation fleet, while the enemy capital ships lumbered around to fire.

  I think we pissed them off.

  ***

  “Critical hits, sir. We’ve got their attention,” Zigana reported.

  “Good, any enemy ships destroyed?”

  “Not yet, sir, but one appears to have sustained extreme damage and may be out of commission.”

  “Can we reach the governor of the planet?”

  “I’m trying, sir. There. It’s coming up on screen.”

  The screen morphed from the tactical display into the holographic image of the governor of Frelar II, Jordy Guseinev. He smiled upon seeing Martin. “Martin, it’s good to see you, my friend. I wish times were better.”

  Martin smiled at his old friend Jordy. “It is good to see you, Jordy. I see you have a pest problem.”

  Jordy’s smile faded. He had bags under his eyes and his salt and pepper hair was a mess. “Yes. They came out of nowhere, Martin. Swept through our defense fleet, destroyed our defense satellites and bombarded the planet. I’m underground in a bunker.”

  “Have their ground forces been wreaking havoc also?”

  “Ground forces? They have landed no ground forces yet.”

  Martin furrowed his eyebrows. “That is odd. If they wanted to wreak the most damage they would land their troops.”

  “Did they land on Eligar II?”

  “Yes, and on Serpentis III.” They later destroyed the whole planet, he thought but didn’t mention it. “But at Yushon they didn’t land ground forces either and fled after we arrived. I suspected at the time it was coincidence but…”

  “You think they’re up to something?”

  “I don’t know yet, but it seems odd.”

  "Apologies for interrupting, sir," Zigana said. "Enemy fighters are streaming from the planet, and the enemy has launched projectiles."

  “I have to go, Jordy, but rest assured we’ll clear the enemy out in short order.”

  “Good luck, Martin.” The display faded and was replaced with the tactical map.

  Martin watched as the projectiles neared his fleet. Vibrations indicated impact. “Damage report?”

  “All three hits on us, sir. Damage to floor sixteen, three and nine. I’m dispatching images to assist."

  “Order the fleet to fire as soon as possible.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  ***

  Selene spun her fighter and launched a missile at a Krai’kesh fighter. She followed it with a burst from her coil gun as the missile neared the enemy fighter. An orange cloud engulfed the enemy fighter. She sought another target and locked on, firing a burst of coil gun projectiles but missing. She tried to re-acquire her target but a target lock warning chimed and she rose and strafed to the right. Enemy projectiles passed through where she had been moments before. She turned her fighter again and shot the enemy which had fired on her point blank, destroying it.

  She consulted her HUD and saw four dozen enemy fighters. The Federation possessed three dozen fighters, but one fighter was destroyed as she watched.

  The point defense system of the Federation fleet hurled coil gun shells at the Krai’kesh fighters. Two Krai’kesh fighters were destroyed. That hardware was helping to even the odds.

  “Railguns firing in five. Clear trajectory,” the voice of the CAG came across the fighter group channel.

  Selene checked the projected trajectory and saw she was already out of the path of the next volley.

  The railguns fired. Her long-range sensor display showed two of the Krai’kesh capital ship icons disappearing.

  In response, the Krai’kesh fighters swarmed the Independence, now ignoring the Federation fighters.

  Selene’s eyes widened with shock as the first Krai’kesh fighter slammed into the side of the Independence. Then another slammed into it.

  Then another.

  Then another.

  Every fighter was slamming into the Independence.

  ***

  “Shit!” Martin shouted. “Take those fighters out!”

  “We are trying, sir. They
’re slipping beneath the field of fire of our point defenses. Our fighters are moving to intercept.”

  “Damage report.”

  “We’ve sustained heavy damage on the port side, sir. The acid from within the fighters is leaking out and spreading. We have seven points of impact so far, sir.”

  “Damn it! We have to stop more of their suicide attempts!”

  “The rest of the fleet is ready to fire on the enemy capital ship, sir.”

  “Fire, fire!”

  Martin watched the display as several railgun shells streaked across the void and slammed into the final enemy ship. The final enemy capital ship icon disappeared.

  “Enemy ship destroyed, sir. But…sir, the enemy fighters have stopped flying.”

  Martin frowned. “Stopped?”

  “Yes, sir, immobile. Our point defenses and fighters are proceeding to destroy them.”

  Martin closed his eyes and folded his hands. “Thank you, God.” He opened his eyes and unfolded his hands. “So, are their fighters drones?”

  “We’re not sure, sir.”

  “Well, capture one or two. I want them dissected.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  ***

  The point defenses ceased firing on the innate enemy fighters. “All Federation fighters, cease firing. I say again, cease firing. We want intact specimens for research purposes. Please ferry three fighters into the docking bay, then all fighters return to base. Our point defenses will destroy the rest once specimens have been taken.”

  Acknowledgments came from the remaining fighter squads.

  Selene breathed a sigh of relief. “We did it,” she said aloud. She looked at her HUD and counted only twenty-eight fighters remaining from the over forty fighters deployed. “I don’t know how much longer we can keep doing this, though,” she said.

  ***

  “Our fighters are aboard, sir,” Zigana said. “What are your orders?”

  “Destroy the remaining Krai’kesh fighters and set course for Velmar V. Captain Edgerton and the rest of our fleet may need our help.”

  “Of course, sir.”

  ***

  “Hang on, guys!” John shouted as he jerked the Dauntless around in a high G maneuver.

  “Shit, they’ve got us surrounded,” Ashley said.

  Derek watched the tactical display. The task force sent as escort for the Dauntless was under heavy attack and surrounded by many Krai’kesh capital ships.

  “We can’t hold them off,” the captain of the FSS Intrepid, the cruiser sent with them, said over the global channel. “We’re taking heavy damage. Projectiles incoming to the bridge. Abandon…” the link closed as multiple projectiles slammed into the bridge of the Intrepid.

  “We don’t stand a chance,” Ashley said. “We have to flee now, John.”

  “But we can’t just leave the fleet alone!” he said. “We can’t just abandon them!”

  “If we don’t, we will be just as dead as them. We can’t stop all these ships. We have to take cover on the planet.”

  John gritted his teeth.

  “Now is not the time to be a martyr, John,” Derek chimed in.

  John was silent for a long moment, leaving the hum of equipment thrumming in Derek’s ears. “Fine.” John jerked the Dauntless again, on purpose this time, toward the planet of Velmar V below. The remnants of the Federation fleet continued to dwindle in numbers on the sensor display as the Dauntless fled the battle.

  The Dauntless entered the atmosphere of Velmar V, passing through a cloud of dust and ash. “Go toward that mountain range,” Ashley said, pointing toward a mountain range featuring a huge mountain which poked above the clouds.

  John steered the Dauntless toward the mountains. “Why?”

  “Just get us close and you’ll see,” she said.

  The Dauntless flew toward the side of the mountain and hovered there.

  Ashley closed her eyes and as Derek watched, a hole formed in the side of the mountain. The hole expanded and grew deeper. John flew the Dauntless into the cave. Once inside, the light disappeared as Ashley closed the hole, burying the Dauntless.

  “Now we wait,” John said.

  “Wait for what?” Derek asked.

  “Help.”

  ***

  “Shift.” Martin ordered.

  “Commencing shift,” Zigana reported. The Independence passed through the void portal into realspace. “Shields up, weapons ready. Sensor sweep commencing.” Zigana paused. “Sir, you need to see this.” He pulled up the sensor display.

  The sensor display showed no hostile signatures, but there were no friendly signatures either. “Where is our fleet?”

  “Here, sir,” Zigana highlighted one section of the display. The view switched to a real-time view from one of the external cameras and showed the ruins of several Federation ships. The camera focused on the ruined husk of one such ship, which showed “Intrepid” on the side.

  Martin felt the blood draining from his face. The entire fleet, gone? “What happened?” he asked.

  “We don’t know yet, sir. We are trying to find any transmissions. One thing is odd. The shadow antenna is still intact. It does not appear to have been touched.”

  “They probably did it so we would fall into their trap. Are there signs of life on the planet?”

  “It is difficult to discern, sir. There is a large cloud of dust or dirt in the atmosphere. Our sensor signals are not penetrating at this range.”

  Martin hesitated. He did not want to enter the G-line and risk putting his fleet in a similar situation of being stuck without the ability to escape. “Launch a squadron of fighters to enter the atmosphere and report back.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  ***

  Selene and Raptor Squadron streaked toward Velmar V. They entered the atmosphere and flew through a nearly endless cloud of ash and dirt. Selene consulted her sensors, but the range was short. Please be alive. The image of Derek’s face filled her mind’s eye.

  At the last minute, the gray, ash-covered ground closed on the squadron. Selene pulled up and flew over the landscape. “Clouds cover most of the atmosphere, there is a dense covering of ash on the ground,” she recorded. “I’m scanning for transmissions.”

  She took a moment to hover over the ground and take in the surroundings. “I’m nearing one of the main cities on the planet. I see complete devastation, with buildings toppled over. I'm not seeing any people moving down below." She neared the center of the city. "There are craters all over the place. Some of the buildings show signs of being melted. I presume the enemy bombarded the planet. Preparing to broadcast to any survivors.”

  Selene recorded a transmission. “This is Selene Artois of the Federation Navy. If anyone is receiving this, please respond. I repeat this is Selene Artois of the Federation Navy. If anyone is receiving this, please respond." She transmitted her message.

  No response came. She transmitted her message again. She flew over the capital building, or the ruins of it, rather. “No signs of life so far,” she said into her recording. She stopped the recording. I’m sorry, Derek. She was about to order her fighters to leave the planet when a signal pinged her fighter. She opened the line. “Why hello there, Selene Artois, what a pleasant surprise,” John said.

  “John? You’re alive? But how?”

  “Let’s call it clever use of magic,” he said. “We’re on our way out of the cave now.”

  A cave? “I’m just glad you made it out of there. I presume Derek is with you?” she tried to ask in a nonchalant way.

  “Hey, Selene, I’m here,” Derek chimed in.

  Whew. “Good. Meet you back at the Independence. Raptor One out.” She closed the link to the Dauntless and opened the squadron link. “Raptor Squadron, depart from the planet atmosphere and rendezvous with Independence.” Clicks acknowledged her words.

  She turned her fighter up and punched the throttle, shooting out of the atmosphere. Once in space, she transmitted the recording of her analysis of the plane
t.

  ***

  Martin listened to the analysis from one pilot, Lieutenant Artois, while watching the recording from the sensors on her fighter. “It looks like the apocalypse down there. How many ships must there have been?”

  “There were many ships or they were here for a long time, sir,” Zigana said.

  “Or both.”

  “Yes,” Zigana conceded.

  “Prepare salvage teams. Perhaps there are recordings or bunkers deep underground. There may still be…” he paused as an insistent incoming communication beep began. He raised an eyebrow at Zigana.

  “We’re receiving communication from sector HQ, sir. It is a recording.”

  “Play it.”

  “This is Governor Rigsby of Eligar II. A large Krai’kesh force has entered our system. They are hanging back, waiting near the edge of the system. We are requesting aid from any Federation forces in the region.”

  Martin furrowed his eyebrows at his wife’s words. “Why would the Krai’kesh be hanging back?”

  “I would venture a guess, sir, that they are trying to draw us into their trap. We would arrive there and they would fall upon us.”

  “That may be, but we can’t just sit by as Eligar II suffers the same fate as Velmar V.”

  “But sir, we cannot defend the rest of the sector if we are dead.”

  “We have to try. We have a few hours to prepare a plan. Abandon the salvage efforts. Set a course for Eligar II. Also, let me know when the dissection of the enemy fighters is complete.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  ***

  Derek lay beneath the covers of Selene’s bunk in her quarters. Being a squad leader afforded her certain privileges, one of which included private quarters. He stroked her hair as she rested her head on his chest. “I’m glad you made it back safe,” Selene said.