“What are we going to do now?”
"Right now, we will shift back to the embassy. I have a Federation cruiser at my disposal which has a shadow antenna. I'll relay this news to the Federation and request reinforcements. If there are that many Krai'kesh aboard if there is even one Krai’kesh aboard, we must implement a full blockade of the station for the good of the Federation. Let’s go.”
Chapter 9 - Crystal Rain
The lift doors opened and Admiral Martin Rigsby stepped out on the science deck.
The lead scientist met him. “Welcome back, sir.”
“I wish circumstances were better, Doctor, but I wanted to visit while I had time before we arrive at Eligar II. What have you learned from the enemy ship?”
“The enemy ship is not piloted by a Krai’kesh skitterer as we had earlier assumed. It is piloted by an organism, though. Let me show you.” The doctor led Admiral Rigsby to the exam room where they had earlier dissected a skitterer corpse. On the table sat a blob with tentacles arching out of it. It looked gray and green and did not appear to have any eyes or orifices, though it had what looked like a tube coming out of it, presumably for nutrients.
“This is the ‘pilot’ of the enemy fighters. They appear to be little more than a brain housed inside of a protective layer of skin and with tentacles. The tentacles act as nerve impulses, connecting the blob to the fighter’s interface. While this tube,” he held up the tube, “appears to be how they receive nutrients.”
“They’re drones?”
“They appear to be, yes, sir. It explains why once all enemy capital ships were destroyed all of the ships became dormant - they could not act without direction from their home ships.”
“I take it flying one of those fighters is out of the question.”
The doctor nodded. “Now, yes, flying one of their fighters with a human is impossible. We are considering the possibility of using a mechanical drone to mimic the electrical impulses of their nerve endings to fly one of their ships perhaps, but that is still in the early stages."
“This explains why they aren’t bright - they’re drones but they don’t have autonomous action, so if the enemy fleet gets overwhelmed…” Admiral Rigsby trailed off.
"Then the drone performance, in theory, should suffer, correct, sir."
“Have you looked at their void shield generators? How are they generating gravity wells?”
The doctor held up a finger. “Now that is an interesting question, sir.”
“So, you haven’t solved it yet?”
“With respect, sir, I have only had the fighter in my possession for a handful of hours.”
“I’m pulling your chain, Doctor.”
The doctor blinked. “Ah, yes.” He cleared his throat. “Follow me.” He led the Admiral to another room, this one lined with an electrical grid designed to act as a containment field. “The so-called ‘void shields’ are also organic. We don’t know how they work yet, but we know when the organism, there are four of them, one fore and aft and one on each side, is stimulated with electrical impulses in just the right way it will generate a small gravitational anomaly.”
“Not large enough to shift through, though?”
“It does not seem to possess the same capability as an actual void portal, sir, rather, I would call it a void anomaly. It is more akin to a black hole than a portal, as it sucks the energy in but we have seen no indication it transports the energy into shadow space.”
“Hmmm. Can we nullify the effect?”
“We already have, sir, with our coilgun and railgun munitions, sir, but with lasers, no. Lasers will be sucked in regardless because they are pure energy. They possess no actual velocity to allow them to skirt the edge of the black hole and pass through.”
“So, you’re saying these shields could absorb a coilgun or railgun shell?”
“If the shell were fired through the direct center of the shield, yes. Allow me to demonstrate.” He waved at the darkened window and a Marine entered a moment later. “Activate the void anomaly,” he instructed his staff.
At first nothing happened with the mass that was the equivalent of a shield generator on the enemy ships, but then the hum of electricity running through the mass became audible, and moments later a small black hole appeared. “Proceed, Corporal.”
The Marine drew his sidearm, aimed and fired a coilgun shell into the center of the black hole. It disappeared into the inky blackness.
“Again,” the doctor instructed.
The Marine fired again, this time near the outer edge of the black hole. The shell hit the wall behind, though it was to the left of where it should have hit.
“So, the black holes still exert gravitational pull on the projectiles,” Admiral Rigsby observed. “His coilgun shell skirted to the left.”
“Yes, which is actually an advantage for us. It means we can fire wide and the shell will still be pulled in and likely hit the body of the enemy vessel,” the doctor answered.
“Hmmm. What is their means of propulsion?”
“They use the gravity wells they create to also create propulsion. As you can see from the organism,” he pointed to the now-dormant organism in the center of the room, “the gravity well created by this organism is projected several meters in front of the organism. This is likely a safety mechanism to ensure the organism does not get sucked in and there are no structural integrity issues from the hull of the ship being too close to the event horizon. This same gravity well exerts a pull on the enemy ship’s hull that is strong enough to propel the fighter toward the projected gravity well in relation to the enemy ship. For example, if the gravity well is in front of the ship, the ship will fly in that direction. If the gravity well is projected behind the enemy vessel, then the ship would slow. Our simulations show these fighters would turn by simultaneously activating a fore gravity well and a starboard or port gravity well to cause themselves to turn. These calculations are likely handled by the ‘brain’ of the ship we saw.”
“So, they’re like our repulsors, only better.”
“Different, sir. We’re not sure if they’re better or not.”
“What is their power source?”
“This,” the doctor walked to a table at the side of the room and pulled a cover off. A rather large crystal, about the size of a child, lay on the table. “This is their power source. A crystal which generates large amounts of power. We have yet to determine how it does this, however. That is our next order of business - to discover how it works.”
“Could it be using gravity like the other functions of the vessel?”
“We are looking at the possibility it pulls dark matter from the shadow realm, but until we are out of the shadow realm ourselves we cannot test that theory.”
“I see. Well, good work, Doctor. Please keep me updated on any new developments. Anything we can use to kill them or adapt for our own use should be pursued.”
“Of course, sir. We will begin R&D right away.”
***
“Did Derek tell you we were buried alive?” John asked Selene as he took a bite of chicken at the table in the mess hall.
“I didn’t exactly phrase it that way, sir,” Derek said. “But yes, I relayed events to her.”
“The Krai’kesh are brutal,” John said. “First, they drop a moon on a planet, cracking it like an egg.” He made a splat motion with his hands on the table. “Then they bombard a planet so hard the air becomes toxic and everyone dies. What are they going to do next, make a sun go supernova?”
“Don’t give them any ideas, babe,” Ashley said.
“What’s supernova?” Ben asked.
“It’s when a sun…owww!” John said as Ashley jabbed him with her elbow. Derek and Selene stifled a laugh. “It’s nothing to worry about, buddy.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“It means the sun blows up,” Clemence said.
Ben’s eyes widened. “Really?”
“Clemence!” Ashley scolded. “Don’t say things like t
hat, you’ll scare your brother.”
“But it’s true!”
“That doesn’t mean we need to tell your brother. Sometimes you have to watch what you say to not scare others.”
Clemence folded her arms and pouted. “Fine!”
“In other news, have you guys heard anything about the Krai’kesh fighters yet?”
Selene looked at Derek. Derek shrugged - he knew nothing. She spoke. “The scuttlebutt is the fighters are controlled by some creature like a brain that works sort of like a drone. So, that’s why when the last of the capital ships were destroyed all the fighters ceased moving.”
“Well ain’t that somethin’,” John said in a strange accent. “Humans in suits are the commanders, brains in fighters are their drones. What will they think of next?”
“I don’t want to know,” Ashley said.
“Attention all personnel, we are five minutes away from the Eligar system. Report to your stations immediately. I say again, we are approaching the Eligar system. Report to your stations immediately.”
“That’s our cue,” Derek said, rising. “Good luck out there, Selene.”
Selene came up to him and gave him a big kiss on the lips in front of John and Ashley, then smiled at him and patted him on the cheek. “Come back alive.” She turned to John and Ashley. “Please bring him back alive, or I’ll be upset with both of you.”
“Hey, I’d be upset with myself if Derek died, so don’t worry your pretty little mind, we’ll bring him back safely.”
“Sexist much?” Ashley asked.
John opened his mouth in surprise. “Sexist? How?”
“’Pretty little mind?’ As if women can’t have pretty, big minds.”
“It’s a figure of speech, dear.”
Derek shared a look with Selene which said “help me.” She smiled and chuckled, then turned and jogged from the mess hall.
***
“Shift complete, sir,” Zigana reported.
“Contacts?”
“I am counting seventeen Krai’kesh capital ships in orbit around Eligar II, sir, while there are another twenty capital ships hanging back near the edge of the solar system.”
“Reserves, or the hammer,” Admiral Martin Rigsby observed.
“So it would seem, sir.”
“Any word from my wife?”
“We are receiving a message on loop that they have moved to the mountain fortress you recommended, sir. The fortress is holding due to the vast size of the mountain, but it will not hold for long against a concentrated ground attack.”
“Launch our Marines to that location, Zigana,” Martin ordered. “Have them angle around the cluster of capital ships and send what’s left of our fighters to escort them.
“Of course, sir,” Zigana replied. “After that?”
“We break that anvil or they’ll crush us. Bring our entire fleet to bear on those seventeen capital ships. If we can break through to the planet, we may free up some of the defense resources and fight the second wave."
“Yes, sir.”
***
“Attention all transports, prepare for launch. Flight trajectory data is being transmitted to each of you now. Follow this course and rendezvous at the following coordinates.” A map of a mountain with a facility built into it showed on the sensor display aboard the Dauntless. “Fighters are being provided as escort, but speed is of the essence. Godspeed.”
“What a rousing speech,” John said. “The tactical commander is saying the fighters will be of shit-all use and we’re on our own to find a way down to the planet.”
“That’s not what Zigana said,” Ashley argued. “The fighters can only do so much against however many dozens of enemy fighters are lying in wait.”
“Same difference,” John mumbled. “Too bad there isn’t an asteroid field around here.”
“Oh yes, because I love going unconscious every time there’s a battle,” Ashley retorted. She pointed toward the sun. “There, some light. Why don’t you wow us with some solar flares or something to burn the enemy fleet away?”
“Women,” John grumbled.
Derek couldn’t help but smile at their back-and-forth banter. Would he and Selene have that if they were together long enough? He hoped he would be alive long enough to find out.
The Dauntless and the other transports launched in a cloud of ion thrusters, with the Dauntless taking the lead. Two dozen fighters took up flanking positions around the transports. So few fighters remaining. Stay safe, Selene.
***
“We are within railgun range, sir. Shall we fire?”
“Yes, give them everything we have. Maximum firepower on the first volley - make it count.”
“Aye, sir.” Zigana relayed the orders to the rest of the capital ships remaining in the Federation fleet. “Firing.” He paused. “Projectiles away.”
Martin watched on the sensor display as several railgun projectiles hurtled at high velocity toward the seventeen Krai’kesh vessels. A shockwave rippled across the sensor display.
“Direct hits,” Zigana reported. “One enemy capital ship destroyed.”
“Only one? Shit,” Martin said. “Order the fleet to take evasive action - they will counter-attack with a vengeance, I’m sure.”
“Ordering evasive action, sir. You are correct, we have four dozen enemy fighters inbound on our location.”
“Prepare point defenses. Order railguns on all ships to fire at will.”
“Yes, sir.”
***
“Stay sharp, fighter group, you’ve got incoming,” the voice of the CAG came over the fighter group channel.
Selene consulted her HUD. At least sixty enemy fighters closed on the transport group and Federation fighters. Outnumbered over two to one. “Raptors, we’re in for a tough fight. Conserve your missiles and whatever you do keep these bastards off the transports. Clear?”
Clicks from the other five pilots in Raptor Squad came one after another. How did it come to this? Only five fighters left in Raptor Squadron. Three of the five were new members, with only Selene and two other veteran pilots remaining from the original Raptor Squadron. In the space of only a few days an entire squadron was decimated. She supposed she didn’t have it that bad, though. She was still alive, and other squadrons had it worse. Boomer Squadron had been wiped out, while a rookie remained the sole member of Indigo Squadron. Raptor Squadron had made it out relatively well.
The Krai’kesh fighters, should she call them drones, closed on the Federation group trying to run the enemy blockade. The enemy fired their projectiles. Selene took evasive action, shooting her fighter up and then to the side to avoid two projectiles, then spinning back the other way to avoid running headlong into another projectile. Already one of the two dozen Federation fighters blinked out of existence.
Selene armed her missile and launched. She fired as it neared a cluster of Krai’kesh, but they scattered before the detonation and none were hit. Shit, they’re learning our tactics. The same old tactics wouldn’t work anymore with them. Enraged, Selene pursued the first enemy fighter she saw with her coilgun battery. It exploded in a cloud of organic material. She turned to the next enemy fighter and did the same. One thing the drones were not good at was dog-fighting, Selene observed. They were good at swarming and overwhelming an enemy with large numbers, but they were not the best at evading.
“This is transport FT-1871, under attack. We have two bogies on our tail. I repeat, we have…” the link closed as FT-1871 disappeared from Selene’s HUD. First Marine casualty of the day. Won’t be the last, I’m sure. From all appearances, the Marines were walking into a deathtrap. If Derek made it out alive it would be a miracle.
“Close ranks around the transports,” Selene said through the flight group channel. “The transports are priority one. Keep those bastards off the transports.” Quad-linked coilguns mounted atop the Dauntless destroyed two more Krai’kesh fighters. At least they can take care of themselves.
The remaining Federat
ion fighters grouped around the transports and attacked those Krai’kesh fighters which came near. Another transport fell to concentrated fire from the Krai’kesh. It was as if they were targeting them one at a time to strike. They need to go faster.
The atmosphere of Eligar II neared. Another transport down. Ten means of transport remaining, plus the Dauntless. So many lives being lost. At last the first of the transports broke the atmosphere and descended toward their destination. The Krai’kesh followed, but streams of coilgun projectiles fired by air defense platforms on the mountain which housed the fortress drove them back. The enemy fighters broke away and exited back to space, firing at the Federation fighters as they passed, but otherwise ignoring them.
“All fighters, follow the Krai’kesh. They’re probably going for the fleet now.” The CAG hadn’t given her command of the fighter group, but someone needed to make the call.
The other fighter squadrons acknowledged and the Federation fighters turned and streaked deeper into space, back toward the fleet.
***
John brought the Dauntless in for a landing inside the walls of Hergden fortress on Eligar II. John, Ashley, Derek and the Marines disembarked. Other transports, those which had survived the blockade run, landed nearby. “Whew, we made it, kids,” John said, stretching.
“Barely,” Ashley said, looking around. “We lost three transports full of Marines.”
“Hey, where’s your optimism, babe?”
“I left it in orbit.”
Derek had to give a grim smile at their banter in the face of possible death at the hand of the massive Krai’kesh invasion force he had seen on the ground outside the fortress. The smell of burning flesh and burnt plasteel and metal hung in the air. He found the Marine commanding officer and saluted. “Colonel, Lieutenant Jamison reporting for duty. I have two squads of Marines ready to deploy.”
The commander, Colonel McDonald by the insignia on his armor, returned his salute. “We can use all the help we can get, Lieutenant.” He eyed the two squads standing at the base of the Dauntless. “You come in that thing?”
Eclipse: Book Two of the Dark Tide Trilogy Page 8