“General quarters!” Commander Jameson barked, “All hands prepare for battle!”
“Sir, Thelix has confirmed he’s broke through on all five tagged ships!” Lieutenant Henderson reported.
“Start the clock!”
“It’s only five ships, Sir,” Lieutenant Collins reminded.
“I know. I was hoping for more,” Jed answered, “but I’ll take whatever I can get.”
“It’s going to be close, Sir,” Lieutenant Foster said, “They’ll be on us in fifteen seconds before our jump drive is charged.”
“Continue toward the orbiting collector station; they won’t fire on us if we’re next to it.”
“At least we hope they won’t,” Jameson said under his breath.
“That’s all we can ask for, Commander.”
“Admiral,” Thelix interrupted over the comm link, “My apologies. I have been listening to the CSC line. They will fire on you.”
“Prepare countermeasures!” Commander Jameson barked.
“No worries, Thelix, you may continue to monitor and please jump in if you have anything more to add.”
“I shall, Admiral.”
“Keep working on getting the rest of the drones launched before we jump.”
“Aye, Aye, Sir,” Lieutenant Collins nodded, “We’re just about ready.”
“We’re getting closer to the stations, Sir.”
“Arm all weapons and get a target lock on that thing. If they do fire on us, blow it out of the sky!”
“Aye, Sir,” Collins said, with raised eyebrows.
________________________
Lebencha Energy Collector Array
Empress Flagship
________________________
“I’m picking up unusual readings, Lord Darnash,” Ma’har, the tactical officer reported.
The ship’s tactician spiked Darnash’s interest, “Explain.”
Danielle leaned closer to hear what Ma’har had to report, “Where is this disturbance?”
“Several detonations in the upper atmosphere of Lebencha, near the collector array.”
“Have you seen these types of readings before?”
“We get them all the time, Danielle,” Darnash answered. “Storms in the upper atmosphere can cause several anomalous readings.”
“Change course, move the flagship and my support ships closer to the array. Scan the hell out of that area.”
“You think an Earth ship has returned to Antares, Danielle?” Darnash asked.
“It wouldn’t surprise me one bit.”
“Look at this, my Lord,” Ma’har pointed to his screen.
Darnash left his seat and looked over the Antarian’s shoulder, “What is it?”
“It appears to be a contrail.”
“Are you certain it’s not from the atmospheric storms?”
“Not entirely, Lord Darnash. See, look at this,” Ma’har drew with his finger on the screen, “It’s too straight, and thus cannot be naturally occurring.”
“Activate weapon systems!” Danielle charged. “Get a fix on that location. That’s a ship, I’m sure of it!”
“Confirming now, my Lord,” Ma’har growled, “Yes, I am detecting a large vessel coming into low orbit from the planet’s upper atmosphere.”
“Lock weapons, get in range now!” Darnash ordered the crew.
“They’re on an intercept course to the energy array, Sir!”
“Alert the rest of the fleet, we’re being attacked!” Danielle ordered.
“Weapons locked, Lord Darnash, we will be in firing range in thirty seconds.”
Darnash pointed to his tactical officer with a stern finger, “Do not hit the collector array!”
“I cannot guarantee that if I destroy their ship, it will not take out the array. They are too close, Lord Darnash.”
“I do not wish that ship destroyed,” Danielle insisted, “I want them alive for questioning!”
“Yes, my Empress,” Ma’har nodded, “Targeting sub-systems to minimize damage.”
“Fire as soon as we’re in range,” Darnash ordered.
“Yes, my Lord, ten seconds.”
“Steady...” Darnash cautioned, holding on to the back of Ma’har’s seat.
“Firing range in three...two...one...”
“Fire!” Danielle ordered with an extended hand.
“Missiles away...detonation in five seconds...they’ve launched countermeasures...”
Darnash read the console over the Antarian’s shoulder, “Fire another volley!”
“The target is gone, Lord Darnash.”
Danielle jumped out of her seat, “What do you mean it’s gone?”
“The ship jumped away, Danielle,” the technician explained.
“That is not the only ship that jumped away, my Empress,” her communications officer reported, “our five escort destroyers have jumped away.”
“Scan the sector for additional hostiles,” Darnash ordered, “They may be attempting another strike near another collector array.”
“Darnash, get more ships in formation to replace the missing ships. I want to know what happened. Ma’har, can you track where they went?”
“Yes, Danielle, I can track the ships. It will take a few minutes before I get the coordinates.”
“Send a scout to follow them and report back!” Danielle ordered.
“Dispatch one corsair once you have them,” Darnash instructed.
________________________
Tertiary Jump Coordinates
The Rock
________________________
“Battle Stations!” Commander Jameson shouted, “Sound General Quarters! Contact the Bristol and Yamato to engage these ships!”
“Yes, Sir!” Lieutenant Collins said, springing into action. “The Yamato and Bristol have launched fighters. All their fleet drones are away.”
Jed remained seated and shouted commands, “HELM! Hard about! Tactical; target the nearest ship and line up our point defense.”
“Aye, Sir!” Collins acknowledged, “Preparing for close ship combat!”
“Come on, men!” Jameson barked, “This isn’t training camp! Get your asses in gear and give the ol’ man the hustle!”
Jed turned to his XO, “Old?”
Jameson smiled, cocked his head, “Sorry, Sir, got to get them movin’!”
“I’ll overlook it this time, my friend.”
“Turning about, Sir,” Lieutenant Payne reported, “Coming into range now!”
“All batteries, open FIRE!” Jed ordered.
“Point defense is online, and activated,” Collins shouted in return, “All large turrets; active! All small turrets; manned and firing! Missile silos loaded, locked, and ready to launch at your command, Sir!”
“Fire!” Jed ordered.
The ship rocked as the Antarian guns struck their hull at the close range, the ship’s armor plating preventing any rounds from penetrating.
“They’ve got missiles locked, Sir!”
“Launch countermeasures! Get those drones out there; set them for defensive mode! Launch all fighters!”
The ship rocked under their feet as two missiles struck the mid-section, sending several unsecured crewmen to the deck.
“Shielding and armor plating down thirty percent on the port side!” Collins reported.
“We can’t take too many more of those!” Jameson yelled. “Come on, men! You can do this! Don’t waver now!”
“Rotate the ship 1-8-0 degrees and open fire with the starboard guns!” Jed shouted.
Erica fiddled with her controls, “Rotating ships, now, Sir!”
“Firing all starboard guns! Point defense guns firing!” Collins reported
“Their ship’s taking a beating from our PDS, Sir!”
“That, and the rest of the fleet,” Collins smiled from his console, “They’re turning tail and running, Sir!”
“We outnumbered them two to one!” Jameson shouted with glee.
“Open a fl
eet wide,” Jed ordered.
“Channel open, Sir,” Henderson nodded.
“Keep firing, do not let them escape!”
“This is Bristol actual, Sir. You got it, Admiral! We won’t let them get away, you got that straight.”
“Captain McCartney, good to hear your voice again.”
“Yours too, Sir! Maintaining pursuit of the remaining ships.”
“Sir,” Lieutenant Collins interjected, “Four ships down, one to go, Sir!”
“Concentrate your firepower on this last ship!” Jameson ordered.
The CSC’s command center lit up as the last Antarian ship was decimated by the Earth fleet.
Lieutenant Collins let out a cheer in victory, “Yeeeeeeeeahhhh! That’s it sir!”
Several crewmen gave a fist pump sharing the victory cheer.
“Set condition two throughout the ship,” Jameson ordered
“Confirmed, Sir; all Antarian ships have been destroyed,” Collins reported, “Wait a minute, Sir.”
“Delay condition change,” Jed snapped, “What are you seeing out there, Lieutenant?”
“Sir, I’m picking up a small ship off our starboard bow about six kilometers out.”
“Identify!”
“Working on it, Sir,” Collins answered, busily pressing commands and flipping switches.
The comm link crackled Thelix’s voice, “Admiral that’s a scout vessel. You must destroy it before it jumps away.”
“Tactical, confirm!”
“Yes, Sir, it’s a small corsair class; definitely Antarian.”
“Helm, plot an intercept course, maximum speed!” Jameson ordered.
“I’m on it, Sir,” Erica said. She pushed her thruster controls to full power and began turning the ship toward her new target.
“It’s too late, Sir,” Collins reported, “They’re gone.”
“Thelix, what can you tell me about this scout ship?” Jed asked over the comm.
“They tracked their other ship’s jump signatures. It’s common to send a scout into a hostile location, gather all the intel it can, and then jump back to command. They are already mounting a counter strike on these coordinates.”
Jed looked over to his XO, “We scanned over a thousand ships. We better be on full alert.”
“Agreed, Sir, eleven ships are no match if they bring them all here.”
“Lieutenant Foster,” Jed began.
“Aye, Sir?” the navigator answered.
“Program our jump drives for our secondary coordinates. Henderson, relay to our eleven ships to spool up and be ready to jump with us.”
“Aye, Sir!”
“I want damage reports, and repair teams dispatched throughout the ship!”
“You heard the ol’ man! Get moving!” Jameson barked with a stern face.
Jed glanced to Jameson, “That’s twice.”
“I know,” Jameson smiled, “But it does get ‘em movin’,” then turning to his crew, “That doesn’t include standing here listening to me flap my gums, NOW MOVE IT!”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
________________________
Lebencha
Energy Collector Array
Empress Flagship
________________________
“Damage report!”
“Yes, Lord Darnash. The energy collector array is intact. No damage and the energy stream was not interrupted.”
“Tactical?”
Ma’har looked away from his console toward Darnash, “Five destroyers are falling into formation now, my Lord.”
Danielle returned to her custom chair and looked about, “How soon do you expect the scout to return?”
“This is hard to say, Danielle,” Darnash growled.
“We need to step up our attack schedule. They once again have hit us first, I will not let it happen a third time!”
“Yes, my Empress,” Darnash bowed. “I will ensure that we are ready...”
“Lord Darnash,” Ma’har interrupted, “The corsair has returned. Stand by for incoming transmission.”
Danielle’s attention turned to her tactical officer, “I want a status report!”
The rough voice crackled over the ship’s wireless, “This is Captain Revkon. We have ship complements and telemetry. All five destroyers have been destroyed. Sending debris coordinates.”
“Captain Revkon, how many ships are there?” Danielle ordered.
“My Empress,” the distorted voice said, “There are eleven ships.”
“Only eleven ships and they destroyed five of our destroyers?”
“They were taken by surprise, my Empress. We were able to receive garbled communications from one of the captains.”
“...and?”
“Their systems were compromised.”
“Explain?”
“Yes, my Empress,” Revkon Said, “Someone hacked into their computer systems. Those coordinates were input and set for remote jump. Once they jumped, the Earth ships began firing before they knew what was happening.”
Danielle turned to Darnash, “How could that have happened?”
“It must have been from the Earth vessel, Danielle. It had to be someone with intimate knowledge of our systems, and that could only be one person.”
“Who then?”
“My former Commander.”
“Thelix?”
“Yes, my Empress. It has to be Lord Thelix.”
“If he is alive, he is feeding intelligence to them. But why would he do that?”
“It is his blood song. It has left him as it had for Dumakas and I.”
“Lord Revkon, dock with the flagship. Report for a full debriefing, and then terminate Thelix’s access codes so he will not be able to do this to us again,” Danielle faltered and lowered her head, “Ohhh.”
“My Empress,” Darnash said, coming to her side, “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. I feel funny...tired...”
“You must rest, my Empress. I fear it is the Erontos bite.”
“It’s Danielle...remember? Too formal,” Danielle feigned a smile.
“I am sorry, my Empress, that does not feel right.”
“Oh my,” she said, sinking into the chair.
“Come with me,” Darnash ordered, “You must rest for a time.”
“Nonsense! I’ll be fine.”
“My Empress...”
“Give me the rest of the adolescent blood.”
“All of it, my Empress?”
“Yes, we’re going into battle. I said to keep the remaining vial until then. Well, it’s that time now.”
“We do not know how this Erontos venom will affect the blood song in you. You may lose your blood song before victory.”
“That’s a chance I must take. Now give it to me, Darnash! That’s an order!”
“How about half now, and the rest when we return to Serintin?” Darnash proposed.
“Very well, Darnash. I will agree to half now. If I weaken during our campaign I do expect to receive the remaining dose.”
“As you command, my Empress,” Darnash answered, reaching into his side pouch. He removed the vial containing the adolescent blood, filled an injector. Placing the tip to Danielle’s arm, he squeezed the trigger injecting the powerful substance into her.
Danielle’s eyes widened, and then she let out a blood-curdling scream.
“My Empress, what’s wrong?”
Danielle panted and grabbed the leather arms and squeezed, leaving her imbedded prints, “I do not know! Pain...so much...pain!”
Darnash placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her, “It must be the Erontos venom still present in your body. The two are at war with one another.”
“I will be fine, Darnash,” Danielle continued to wince. “Assemble a fleet of five-hundred. Keep one fleet of the same behind. Then have that fleet join us five minutes after we jump.”
“Yes, my Empress, as you command.”
“I’m starting to feel better now.”
“That is good, that means the blood spirit from the adolescent is taking hold.”
“Yes, I do believe so, Darnash.”
“Excellent, my Empress.”
Danielle gave him a stare.
“Danielle, please forgive me. It is very difficult to change protocol after all the years I have served.”
“I understand, Darnash. It’s alright then.”
“Yes, my Empress.”
“Did you load Race’s ship into our hold?”
“Yes, my Empress, the Calypso is on board as you have requested.”
“Excellent. The Calypso has a transponder code that will prevent any Earth ship from firing on us. Once we defeat these ships, we will make our way to Earth. Then you and I have a special mission to attend.”
“The scrolls, my Empress?”
“Yes, we need to travel to the surface and find these Antarian Sasquatches and find out where they hid the ancient blood scroll.”
“Yes, my Empress. I will take you to find them.”
“Excellent! When will we be ready to jump into battle?”
“We can be ready to jump the first fleet in five minutes, my Empress.”
“Can you program that code into our systems?” Danielle asked, “Perhaps it will cause their targeting systems enough trouble that they will not get a lock on our ships.”
“It might work for a few minutes, my Empress.”
“Then make it so. It might buy our fleet an advantage.”
“Yes, my Empress. You will have to give us more time to configure all the ships.”
“No, you will program all you can before we jump. That’s all the time we have. We must attack before they return.”
“Yes, my Empress, as you command.”
Danielle sat in her custom chair and smiled with satisfaction.
________________________
Tertiary Jump Coordinates
The Rock
________________________
“Admiral,” Lieutenant Collins reported, “all systems are back online, Sir. We had minimal damage to our port and aft armor plating. The Eridonian shielding held keeping us from having more damage.”
“What about the rest of our ships out here?”
“Everyone’s reporting they’re ready, Sir, all ships running at condition two.”
Jed paced the lower deck of the CSC, “Something doesn’t feel right.”
Warlords Saga Page 48