The Synchronicity War Part 3

by Wehr, Dietmar

  "We're taking hits on the hull! Penetration of the hull in two places!" yelled the Engineering Officer.

  Shiloh needed to know why they weren't following the targeting plan. Iceman wasn't answering, probably because he was too busy. "Valkyrie, what's happening?" asked Shiloh.

  He heard her reply via his implant. "These enemy ships can't jump away for a while, so they're going to keep firing on our units until we have nothing left to shoot back with. The bio-devices will have to wait until we've neutralized their fleet, CAG. Now don't bother me. I've got a ship to fight."

  "Four more targets damaged! Shifting targeting again!" yelled the AWO.

  "We're starting to take damage! Two turrets out of action. Minor damage from hull penetrations!"

  The display pinged again. Two more x-ray drone clusters had fired, and 70 more enemy ships were damaged. Shiloh was aware that damaged didn't necessarily mean they couldn't fire their lasers. More and more of the red dots were turning orange and were falling behind the rest as the enemy fleet accelerated to make return fire more difficult. In fact, over half of them were now falling behind. Lack of maneuverability could indicate lack of power, which would prevent them from firing again, too. If Iceman was ordering the x-ray drones to aim for the part of the target most likely to contain their power plant, then that would effectively cripple the ship with one blow. He focused his attention on the clusters of fighters and was shocked at how small the fighter groups nearest the enemy now were. One group was almost completely gone. Another had less than six left. Groups further away were faring better, but they were taking losses too.

  "Three more turrets knocked out! We're getting major hull penetr--"

  The EO's report was cut off by the loud shriek of tortured metal and a brilliant flash of light. Part of the ceiling fell, with a piece hitting a glancing blow to the right side of Shiloh's head. The Engineering Station was now on fire, and the EO was looking at what was left of his right arm with a stunned expression. The automatic fire suppression system was taking care of the fire, and the EO had slumped to the deck holding the end of his right arm with his left hand. No one could help him right now. He would have to hang on until the battle was over.

  Shiloh glanced back at the display just in time to see the last two clusters of x-ray drones fire. Sixty-five hits. A quick visual estimation of the number of red dots remaining looked like a dozen or so.

  "Three more targets damaged! Retargeting!" The AWO's voice was getting hoarse now. He was having trouble keeping up with Valkyrie's fire control. The number of red dots was shrinking fast now that all of the defending ships and fighters were concentrating all their fire on them. Speaking of ships, he looked at the status of the carriers. All had taken damage. Valiant and Intrepid were no longer maneuvering or firing. That was bad. Resolute was maneuvering but not firing. Vigilant was firing but not maneuvering. Midway was still doing both, as was Dreadnought.

  "We're switching fire to the bios!" yelled the AWO.

  It's about time, thought Shiloh. He watched the total number of bio-devices still intact start to drop fast, but was it fast enough? The blue dots were getting closer to Earth, and there were still a lot of them. He held his breath, as the blue cluster got smaller but closer at the same time. The total remaining were now less than 1,000, but they were getting very close. The total was dropping faster as the fighter groups furthest away got closer and therefore had better firing accuracy. He felt a chill go up his spine as over 100 devices hit the edge of Earth's atmosphere, but then he realized that they were still being fired on. The upper atmosphere was too thin to protect them against laser fire, but they were dropping lower into the atmosphere fast. After the total remaining hit 7, there were no further changes.

  The AWO spoke, "We're stopped firing! All units have stopped firing!"

  "Get me the CSO!" shouted Shiloh to no one in particular. As he said that, he unbuckled himself and stood up. Howard's face appeared on the display, just as Shiloh remembered it in his vision. Shiloh took a deep breath and said, "Some of them got through and are in Earth's atmosphere now, Admiral! It looks like they're headed for the urban areas. We have to assume that they'll release a bio-weapon."

  "There's still a chance of containment. What cities are being targeted?" asked Howard. Shiloh looked at the map now appearing in the display and the list of city names on the sidebar. He read off the seven names. Howard nodded.

  "Exactly as predicted. Don't blame yourself, Shiloh. I know you gave it your best shot even though we knew this would happen. If containment fails, then we just have to hope that we started work on Blackjack's idea in time. You better get that wound looked after. It's bleeding like hell."

  Shiloh didn't know what Howard was talking about until he realized that the right side of his face felt wet. He touched it with his hand and when he pulled his hand back it was covered with blood. Son of a bitch! He was injured and hadn't even realized it in the heat of battle.

  "I'll have it looked after, Sir. Iceman can handle the mopping up, although I don't see how we'll be able to take prisoners from the crippled ships. Their momentum will carry them into deep space before we can send shuttles after--"

  Howard interrupted him. "I don't give a damn if we get any prisoners or not. We can't even communicate with them, yet. You let me worry about that. You and Iceman take care of your own dead and wounded. Tell your people for me that they did well, Admiral. Howard clear."

  While Shiloh wondered what he could do to stem the bleeding, one of the Flag Bridge crew handed him a white piece of cloth and said, "Medical team is on their way here to look at the EO. They'll have something more appropriate for your wound, Sir." Shiloh thanked him and looked at the Engineering Officer. Two other personnel were kneeling beside him trying to prevent the stump of his arm from bleeding too much.

  With the cloth pressed against his head wound, which was now starting to hurt like hell, Shiloh turned back to the display. He wondered if the battle was really over or if there was another enemy fleet on the verge of jumping in.

  "Iceman, keep everyone at Battle Stations," he said. No answer.

  "Iceman! Can you hear me?"

  "Valkyrie to CAG. Iceman is gone. So is Casanova, CAG. The Main Bridge was hit at the same time as the Flag Bridge. The beam cut through both of the other two A.I. stations. Titan has assumed temporary tactical command. I've passed on your order regarding Battle Stations."

  Shiloh was stunned. Iceman gone? And Casanova too! Oh God, poor Valkyrie!

  "Valkyrie, I'm so sorry to hear about Casanova. Are you okay?"

  "I'm undamaged, CAG. Thank you for your condolences. Will you be wanting an update on Dreadnought's status now?"

  Shiloh shook his head in wonderment at her ability to focus back to her duties so quickly. "By all means, Commander."

  "Dreadnought still has full power and maneuverability. Seven laser turrets out of action. Explosive decompression in five compartments. Two fatalities reported so far. Twelve injured including your EO and yourself. Minor damage to life support systems, but nothing critical. Compared to the carriers, we got off pretty easy, CAG, but they vaporized a lot of her armor. I don't think she could survive another fight like this in the state she's in now."

  "Understood. Do you want another A.I. to relieve you?"

  "Not until we're sure the battle is over and my crew are taken care of, CAG, but thanks for the offer. I'll grieve for Casanova later. Right now I'm still needed here."

  Shiloh heard one of the crew say, "The medics are here!"

  He turned to see three medical personnel come through the hatch. They saw him and started towards him. He pointed to the wounded EO and said, "Him first." As they rushed over to the injured officer, Shiloh heard the tactical display ping for attention. Oh God! Now what? He looked at it and couldn't immediately see any change, but it soon became obvious that the damaged and crippled enemy ships were blowing themselves up. Well that takes care of the prisoner issue.

  With the relief that it wasn'
t another attack, came a wave of lightheadedness. Probably from blood loss and adrenaline fatigue, he thought. He carefully sat down. One of the medics noticed, came over, and started to work on his head wound. Shiloh started to say something and then noticed that the room seemed to get darker. What the hell is wrong with the lights? His consciousness then fell into the abyss of blackness.

  * * *

  Benjamin Levinson woke to the sound of the sirens. He concluded that they must be pretty loud sirens to be heard all the way down here. He'd been living in this abandoned maintenance shaft for over a year now, and he was pretty happy with it. He had running water, a more or less constant temperature, and even the electricity to run his electronics. His enemies wouldn't find him down here, and he'd be damn if he was going to leave the city. His enemies would find him then for sure. He laughed at the prognosis of the psychiatrists at the clinic. Severe paranoia? Ha! What did they know? Even paranoid people had enemies, and he had lots of them. Besides, with 99.9% of everyone else gone, he might be able to scrounge some pretty good stuff for his hideaway here. He decided to go up and look around.

  The streets were completely empty. The sirens were still blaring, and it was obvious now why he had heard them. Every siren in the city must be going off. Something was happening, but what? He looked up between the canyons of tall buildings and saw a fiery streak, followed by the sound of some sort of collision. A few steps brought him to the street corner just in time to see something metallic bounce off the building down the street and hit the ground. He rushed over to it. There was smoke coming from it, and he could hear the pinging sound that hot metal makes when it cools down rapidly. It looked like a broken bottle, only made of metal instead of glass or plastic. There seemed to be a small green light inside. Levinson looked around to make sure none of those weird guys in their yellow hazard suits were around, and then he tried to pick up the object. He dropped it and cursed out loud. He should have realized it would be too hot to handle with bare hands. Looking around, he spotted a section of newspaper being blown by the wind. He snagged it and folded it until it was thick enough to provide some protection. He then used the newspaper to pick up the ... whatever it was and examined it closely. The inside looked pretty complicated, but there was a green light for sure. He sniffed. Well, what do'ya know! The damn thing even smelled good. A sweet smell. He inhaled deeply. The only thing wrong with living underground was the smell. If this thing wasn't good for anything else, it might at least make his cubbyhole smell nicer. He carried it back with a smile on his face.

  * * *

  Kelly stood patiently on the spaceport tarmac while the shuttle carrying crew and, more importantly, Vice-Admiral Shiloh arrived from Dreadnought. It was almost 24 hours since the battle. Space Force was licking its wounds, yet again. Howard had declared the battle over and told the ship crews they could stand down. He had ordered her to escort Shiloh to his quarters and make sure he was rested for the debriefing the next morning. She looked at the setting sun. It would be dark in another half hour, but the day wasn't over yet. She tried not to think of what Valkyrie must be feeling. Earlier today, she had briefing talked with her. Valkyrie was still refusing to be relieved of her duties, even though Dreadnought was now more or less powered down and had almost no crew left on board. Kelly understood why. Casanova, or rather what was left of his brain case, was still on the ship, and Valkyrie wanted to stay close to it for as long as possible.

  When the shuttle came to a stop and the door opened, Shiloh was the last one to exit, as per protocol. Senior Officers were always the first to get on and the last to get off. She noticed that he came down the steps carefully, as if he wasn't completely sure of his balance. She also noticed the white bandage wrapped around his head and the stain of dried blood on his uniform collar. She walked towards him as he looked around.

  "The Old Man sent me, Admiral," she said as she came up to him. "I'm supposed to make sure that you're looked after and rested for tomorrow's debriefing session." She managed to keep her tone professional, but inside she was on the verge of tears. My God, he looks like he's aged ten years! This battle has really hit him hard! She was surprised by the emotion she now felt. Is this what my alternate self felt for Victor? There was no answer to her question, but that didn't matter anymore. She knew what she wanted to do now. "Don’t worry about a thing. I'll have you back in your quarters in no time." Shiloh didn't say anything, but he did nod. He didn't react when she put her hand around his arm and gently guided him forward. She signaled to a waiting Space Force limo flying the 1 star flag of a Vice-Admiral to come closer. Shiloh got in the back, and she followed him. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes for the duration of the whole trip. She watched him intently. When the limo pulled up in front of the Space Force Officers Guest Quarters, she gently shook him awake. She took note of the fact that he didn't say anything when she steered him away from the wing reserved for Flag Officers. Instead, they went to the section usually assigned to Commanders, the wing where her quarters were. She unlocked the door and turned to look at Shiloh. He stood there and looked back at her with an expression that was one of complete calm except for the eyes. The eyes were smiling in that way that only eyes can. He knows what I'm going to do next, she thought. She smiled back, took his arm again and pulled him inside.

  The sex, while not that intense physically due to his exhaustion and loss of blood, was intense on an emotional level. They both knew instinctively that they had come perilously close to losing each other in the battle, and their souls seemed to want to make up for lost time. What Shiloh found most remarkable was that neither one of them said a single word once they were inside her quarters, until hours later. When the soul hunger had been satisfied, she ordered some food, which they ate while sitting up in bed. With Kelly leaning back against his chest, Shiloh told her about the battle and the loss of Iceman. She told him about her talk with Valkyrie. By the end they both had tears in their eyes.

  Having finished eating, she asked him if he was up for some more sex. He said yes. She quickly cleared the bed of the leftover food, plates, glasses, etc. By the time she was finished, she found Shiloh asleep … and that was okay. She lay down beside him and put her arm over him. His shallow regular breathing made her eyelids heavy, and she willingly surrendered to sleep.

  Shiloh was on Dreadnought's Flag Bridge when the display pinged, but the sound wasn't really a ping. It sounded like ... something else, something familiar, and the sound was getting louder. He woke up and realized two things. He'd been dreaming, and his implant was signaling. He looked around and found a chronometer that said it was still the middle of the night. He then remembered where he was, and with whom. A quick glance showed him that Kelly was still asleep. He activated his implant.

  "Shiloh here."

  There was a short pause, and then he heard Howard's weary voice.

  "Howard here. I’m sorry to wake you, Victor, but this can't wait."

  Shiloh was instantly awake now. Howard usually called him by his rank and occasionally by his last name, but the Old Man had NEVER called him by his first name.

  "That's okay, Sir. I'm listening."

  "A message drone has just arrived. There's another Goddamn enemy fleet heading our way, Victor. Minimum of 103 ships. They were detected refueling at the Avalon System. They can be here in two days if they push it. There's not enough time left to build up our stockpiles of x-ray laser drones. Half our fighter force is destroyed. Midway and Dreadnought are the only two ships left that can fight at all, and you know better than I do what kind of shape they're in. There's no way we can stop them this time, Victor."

  To Be Concluded

  Author's Comments: With Part 3 now published, my next writing project will be a short prequel i.e. Part 0. It can be read as a stand-alone story but can also serve as an introduction to the whole Synchronicity War universe. I doubt if it will be more than 25,000 words and the price will be $0.99 to begin with and eventually zero. When that's behind me, I'll start work
on what I am now thinking will be the final part to this series. I hope to have that done somewhere around June or July of 2014. Part 4 will have a conclusion to the war so I'm not planning on a Part 5 or 6 or 7. I do however reserve the right to write a new series that's set in the same universe. If you haven't already done so, I would ask that you sign up for email notification from Amazon when my next book is published. You can find that link by moving your cursor over my name or go to my Author Profile page and the link should be in the upper right hand corner.

  As with Parts 1 & 2, I would ask those of you, who like Part 3 and feel it deserves a 5 star rating, to please post a review. They really do help to keep the book visible and I've also gotten some useful feedback from some of them. I would also be interested in feedback on Part 3's cover. Unlike the first two books, this cover was commissioned by me with a professional artist and I'd like to hear what you think of it. You can reach me by going to my website and using the 'Contact Us' link. Feedback on the book itself is also welcome.