Theogony 3: Terra Stands Alone

by Chris Kennedy

  “Are the ships in formation?” he asked.

  “Yes,” replied the attacker. “All ships are in formation and show they are ready.”

  Bullig had moved over to the battleship Spurting Blood. The battleship was a little smaller, which would let it fit through the stargate with its flanking squadron of cruisers. The battleship had a cruiser on both sides, as well as three more cruisers in formation both ‘above’ and ‘below,’ with the middle ones centered on his ship. Admiral Bullig would go through first, but he was going to surround himself with a screen. He knew that there was a possibility that some of the ships might interpenetrate on emergence, but gave it no further thought; the cruisers were expendable. He figured his life expectancy was measured in minutes on the other side of the stargate with the cruisers surrounding him; without them, his life span would only be measured in seconds. The dreadnought Destruction of Olympos was close behind his ship; he hoped that the dreadnought would draw the Terran’s fire as soon as it emerged from the stargate. “Admiral Bullig to all captains,” he transmitted. “Commence the attack! Full speed ahead!”

  Bridge, TSS Terra, Solar System, March 03, 2021

  “Stargate activation!” called the DSO. “Holy shit! I’ve got six...seven...eight...no, nine ships just transited at the same time. Two interpenetrated, but there’s still a battleship and seven cruisers!”

  “Terra to all ships,” radioed Captain Griffin, “concentrate fire on the battleship! Let’s take it out!” The battle they had been dreading was upon them, and they would have to fight it without outside aid. Captain Griffin didn’t know why the ships had come through in the strange formation, but if they were trying to protect the battleship for some reason, then she wanted that ship dead. The first mine flared against the screen of one of the remaining cruisers as missiles began launching from her ship.

  “Do you want to commit the bombers?” asked the OSO.

  “Not yet,” replied Captain Griffin. “I think we can handle these by ourselves.”

  She looked at the tactical plot and saw that all three battlecruisers were firing at the battleship, as well as some of the automatic missile canisters, but no more Drakul ships had entered the Solar System. This was the long-anticipated attack? After the losses they took at the battle in Ross 154, surely the Drakuls would have known to send more ships than this...

  Bridge, Drakul Ship Death Blow, Ross 154 System, March 03, 2021

  “Destruction of Olympos, are we not going to follow them into battle?” asked the captain of the battlecruiser Death Blow. The Drakul formation was based on all of the ships keeping station on the dreadnought; when the Destruction of Olympos had flipped and started slowing after the Spurting Blood made the transit to the new system, all of the other ships were forced to flip and slow down in order to keep their spacing. Unprepared for the dreadnought’s maneuver, the Death Blow was unable to stop in time and passed the dreadnought, changing their order of entrance into the next system.

  “We will follow them momentarily,” replied the captain of the Destruction of Olympos. “My orders from the Overlord are to ensure that Admiral Bullig does his part for the empire.”

  In other words, thought the captain of the Death Blow, he is to die after personally absorbing as much of the system’s defenses as possible. That’s fine, he thought. It leaves fewer missiles for us.

  After 15 minutes of waiting, the captain of the Destruction of Olympos finally announced, “All units, advance!” The dreadnought resumed its course toward the stargate, along with the rest of the ships in the fleet.

  “10 seconds to transit,” noted the Death Blow’s helmsman. “Five...four...”

  “Gate activation!” called the defender. “Multiple activations from the gate behind us...”

  The Death Blow transited.

  Bridge, TSS Vella Gulf, Ross 154 System, March 03, 2021

  “It appears that we are too late,” said Grand Admiral Michael from the view screen. “The Drakul attack on thy system has already commenced. For all we know, it may already be over. Our time would be better served by proceeding to the Drakul home world while their fleet is occupied with thy system.”

  “It may not be too late if we hurry,” Captain Sheppard said. The last Drakul battleship winked out on the tactical plot as it made the jump to the Solar System. They were too late. He shook his head. Damn it, no, they were not going to be too late. Not on his watch. He had not flown thousands of light years to get back too late. If nothing else, he’d run that last battleship down and shove the Vella Gulf straight up its ass. He looked down at the helmsman. “Helm, flank speed. Give me everything it’s got!” He looked back up to the view screen. “With you or without you,” Captain Sheppard said, “my home world is being invaded, and I intend to do everything I can to save it. The defenses may still be holding. Hopefully, you’ll honor our agreement and follow us. If not, I’ll see you in hell!” He pushed the button that ended the transmission. “Please be holding,” he begged under his breath.

  Bridge, Archon Ship Holy Word, Ross 154 System, March 03, 2021

  “Their transmission ended,” noted the communications officer.

  “Shall I proceed toward Drakon?” asked the helmsman.

  “No,” said Grand Admiral Michael. “They honored their word to us and helped save our system; we wouldn’t even be here without their help. If there is any way to assist them in their hour of need, we owe it to them to do so.” He switched to the battle group’s communication network. “All ships, follow the Terran ship. Flank speed!”

  * * * * *

  Chapter Forty

  Bridge, TSS Terra, Solar System, March 03, 2021

  Between the mines, the box launchers and the fire from the Terran ships, the Drakul ships were finished, thought Captain Griffin. Two of the cruisers had interpenetrated on arrival. What was left of them wasn’t pretty. Four of the cruisers were floating hulks, victims of the Terran minefield. One more had intercepted a volley of battleship missiles intended for the Drakul battleship, just after its shields failed. That cruiser was wrecked beyond repair. Only the battleship and one of the cruisers were still in the fight. Both were hit and staggered like punch-drunk fighters, but continued to trade missile and laser fire with the Terrans. The amount of fire from the battleship had fallen way off, and the ship appeared to be finished. The Terrans were going to carry the day. A small smile came to Captain Griffin’s face. It didn’t last long.

  “Gate activation!” called the science officer. “It’s a battlecruiser...More activations... Battleship!... Dreadnought!”

  The real fleet had arrived. They were doomed.

  Bridge, Drakul Ship Spurting Blood, Solar System, March 03, 2021

  It’s about time, thought Admiral Bullig, who had been wondering whether he was going to be left to die in this system. Without the rest of the fleet, it would have been inevitable. With the emergence of the Destruction of Olympos, though, all of the fire shifted to the larger vessel. The Spurting Blood was free of the minefield and drifting toward one of the Terran battlecruisers. “All weapons, cease fire!” he said.

  “All weapons cease fire, aye,” replied the attacker.

  “We will let them think that we are finished,” said Admiral Bullig, “and then we will hit them from minimum range.”

  Bridge, TSS Terra, Solar System, March 03, 2021

  Captain Griffin stared with horror at the tactical display. In addition to the dreadnought, at least 10 battleships and 15 battlecruisers had entered the system, along with countless smaller vessels. There was no way they could stop them all.

  “Now would be a good time for the bombers,” Captain Griffin said, not allowing any of the terror she felt to enter her voice.

  “Yes, ma’am,” replied the OSO, keying in the orders. “Calling the bombers.”

  Lancer 01, Solar System, March 03, 2021

  “All bomber aircraft, this is Skywatch,” announced the Space Operations Center, “We have indications of multiple major combatants tr
ansiting into the system, including at least one dreadnought and four battleships. Stand by for activation!”

  “Lancers copy,” replied Colonel Judy Khalili, Lancer 01’s WSO. She switched to the squadron frequency. “All Lancers, heat ‘em up!” The pilots of 37 modified B-1B Lancer spacecraft brought the power levels up on their helium-3 fusion reactors. The leader of the Lancers, Colonel Khalili had the squadron’s one tactical display, computer, radar, and fire control system. She wished more of the craft had them, but there hadn’t been time.

  “Has everyone checked in?” asked her pilot, Colonel Darrell Larson.

  Colonel Khalili nodded. Concentrating on her system display, she didn’t realize Larson couldn’t see her nodding in her spacesuit. “All of the Lancers are up and ready, except for 24. Their weapon system is showing some sort of fault. They’re troubleshooting it.”

  “It’s amazing that only one aircraft is having problems,” Colonel Larson said. “As fast as they slapped these things together, I’m surprised any of them work at all. Pull old aircraft out of preservation or museums, refit them with helium-3 engines and then carry them up to the moon to be put back into service? The whole idea is ludicrous, and Admiral Wright’s an absolute genius for thinking of it.”

  “The planes aren’t much more than shells from which to hang missiles,” agreed Khalili. “The control systems for flying them are minimalistic, the avionics are a joke, and the life support is non-existent. If it weren’t for the spacesuits, we’d be dead within seconds. God bless the men and women of the Air...what used to be the Air Force, for making it all work.”

  “No kidding,” said Larson. “I heard over 2,000 former mechanics showed up within two days of the call going out to help convert them. They lived in tents in the desert at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base so that they could spend all their time working on the aircraft.”

  “The Spirits are reporting in...” said Khalili. “Looks like all 20 of the B-2 bombers are up. They should be; all of them were operational aircraft, so the conversion process was a lot easier for them. I think half of ours were previously retired. Did you hear where our plane came from?”

  “No need,” replied Larson. “It’s aircraft 84-0051. I used to fly the plane before it was retired. In fact, I was the pilot that flew it to the National Museum of the Air Force. This jet was in the Cold War Gallery the last time I toured the museum.”

  “OK,” said Khalili, staring at the system display, “looks like 24 of the 26 B-52s are up and ready, and 33 of the 35 A-6E Intruders. The Russians aren’t doing so hot...only 10 of their 14 Bears are ready and nine of the 12 Backfire bombers. Let’s see...the B-1s have 24 of the new missiles, the B-2s have 16, the B-52s have 12 and the A-6s have five. I think the Russian Bears have 16, and the Backfires have 8. That makes...1,869 missiles, each with a one megaton warhead.”

  “All bomber aircraft, this is Skywatch,” said the Space Operations Center. “Stand by to launch on my mark!”

  “Think 1,869 missiles will be enough?” asked Larson, advancing the engine to full.

  “I don’t know,” said Khalili. “I hope so, but I don’t know...”

  Intruder 502, Solar System, March 03, 2021

  “All aircraft, this is Skywatch,” announced the Space Operations Center, “We have indications of multiple major combatants transiting into the system, including at least one dreadnought and four battleships. Stand by for activation!”

  “Wake up, damn it,” said Commander Walton ‘Salty’ Wells, reaching across the cockpit to shake his pilot. “It’s almost time to go.”

  “I’m awake,” replied Commander Rick ‘Lindy’ Lindenmeyer. “I was just resting my eyes.”

  “How you can sleep at a time like this is beyond me,” remarked Salty, shaking his head. He pointed to the flashes that could be seen in front of them. “Drakuls are in the system, people are dying...and you’re sleeping.”

  Salty thought he could see Lindy shrug inside his suit. “If I’m going to die today, at least I’m going to do it well rested.” He stretched, incredibly stiff after sitting in the close confines of an A-6E cockpit in a spacesuit for two days. The plane was a two-seater, with a small space for the pilot and another for the bombardier. There wasn’t much space beyond that to move around in, and his right leg had been cramping all day. Adding to his misery, their spacesuits were supposed to recycle their air, but Lindy’s wasn’t working very well, and he could smell his own stink.

  A particularly big flash came from in front of them. “So you think this is going to work?” asked Lindy, betraying his nervousness. They had been over this several times while they waited. There wasn’t much else to talk about.

  “I don’t know,” replied Salty. “The AI in the Terra said that it had a good chance of working. At 50,000 miles from the stargate, we’re too far away from the stargate to look like mines to the Drakuls, and too close to look like missile launchers. We’re too small to be ships, and we aren’t flying fast enough to be fighters. The AI thought that we would look like anomalies and would be ignored by the Drakuls...at least until we fire our missiles. Hopefully by then they’ll have other problems and won’t worry about little ol’ us. That’s the theory, anyway.”

  “All bomber aircraft, this is Skywatch,” said the Space Operations Center. “Stand by to launch on my mark!”

  “Here we go,” Lindy said, advancing the engine throttle. He was watching Intruder 501, the lead aircraft of the Intruder formation, out the left side of the cockpit. Since only one spacecraft in 10 had a full system, the rest of the converted aircraft would fire in the same direction their leader was pointing. In theory, all of the missiles would go down the same line of bearing into the vicinity of the stargate. With five bomber groups coming from five different directions (the two Russian squadrons were grouped together), they hoped to hit the maximum number of targets possible. It was the best the Terrans could do with what they had.

  “Intruder Flight, this is Intruder 501,” commed the lead aircraft-turned-spacecraft as Skywatch transmitted the launch code, “stand by to fire on my mark. Three...two...one...Fire!” All down the line, missiles blasted off their rails and went in search of the enemy.

  Bridge, Drakul Ship Destruction of Olympos, Solar System, March 03, 2021

  “Captain, I am picking up new power sources approximately 50,000 miles out from us,” said the defender. “They weren’t there previously, or if they were, they were operating at minimal power.”

  “Are they weapons?” asked the commanding officer.

  “Not like any I have ever seen,” the defender answered. He paused while the ship shuddered from a mine that detonated close aboard. The Destruction of Olympos’ shields were holding, so far, although they were down to 54%. “They are too far to be mines and too close to be missiles.”

  “Then concentrate your fire on the mines,” the commanding officer ordered. The ship shuddered again, harder this time. “That one was far too close!”

  “Yes, sir,” the defender said. He glanced at the shield readout. 31%. Far too close indeed.

  “Do you know what the new power sources are?” the captain asked the attacker.

  “No, sir,” replied the attacker. “They just started moving in our direction, but they are only accelerating at a couple of Gs. They are unlike anything I have ever seen before.”

  “Missile separation!” called the defender. “The new power sources are some sort of new missile launcher!”

  “Defend the ship,” the commanding officer ordered, “and destroy those things...whatever they are.”

  Bridge, TSS Terra, Solar System, March 03, 2021

  “The bombers are launching, ma’am,” said the OSO. “The computer estimates that over 1,800 missiles were just launched.”

  “That’ll help,” replied Captain Griffin. “Our 30...” she paused as a dreadnought missile detonated on the Terra’s shields, shaking the ship. “Our 30 launchers aren’t going to be enough.”

  “Shields at 23%,” said the DSO. �
��More missiles incoming. Counter-missiles firing.”

  “Are the bomber missiles going to hit?” Captain Griffin asked.

  “Looks like most are on target,” said the OSO. “Some are being intercepted, some are going after ships that have already been destroyed, and some are just going to miss, but most are headed for the Drakul fleet.” After a couple of seconds he added, “Aw, shit. The Drakuls just launched counter-missiles on the bombers. Those guys are going to get pasted.”

  The ship rocked. “Shields are down!” called the DSO.

  “Laser hits forward, midships and aft!” added the duty engineer. “Damage control crews responding.”

  Please hit them, thought Captain Griffin, and please hit them soon.

  “Another hit aft,” said the duty engineer as the ship skewed violently. “Main engine room 2 is decompressing!”

  Sooner would be better...

  Bridge, Drakul Ship Destruction of Olympos, Solar System, March 03, 2021

  “Captain, several of those slow craft are transmitting something,” said the defender. “They may be the leaders of the five groups.”

  “Good,” said the commanding officer. “Kill them first.”