by Ken Lozito
“General,” Major Elder said.
Connor looked up and saw Captain Randle walking toward the command area. Standing at six feet, seven inches tall, Wayne Randle was a giant among men. The working CDF soldiers seemed to part ways, allowing the big man to pass.
“Good of you to join us, Bull,” Connor said, using the designation he’d given Captain Randle in Search and Rescue all those years before.
“Wouldn’t miss this, General. I’ve come to inform you that most of the drill-mines have successfully sent in return statuses,” Captain Randle said.
“So they made it to the Vemus Alpha,” Connor said.
“Yes, they should be drilling beneath that exoskeleton of theirs, sir,” Captain Randle said.
“Should? We don’t know for sure, Captain Randle?” Major Elder asked.
“No, Major. This is a low-tech solution whereby we can receive only a confirmation that they reached the surface of the Vemus Alpha. The timer starts and they’ll detonate the explosive payload at whatever level they reach,” Captain Randle said.
“Is there any way to determine how deep those drills will get before they detonate, Captain?” Major Elder asked.
“It depends on how thick that exoskeletal hull is and when those drill heads come into contact with the hardened alloy of the battle-steel hull of a ship. The drill heads can chew through quite a bit before they’ll eventually dull. We’ve staggered the timers so when they do detonate, we can maximize the damage to the ship. Worst case is that the drill-heads are only able to penetrate twenty or so meters before they detonate, sir,” Captain Randle said.
“Thank you, Captain,” Connor said.
“General, with your permission I’d like to stay by your side,” Captain Randle said.
Connor arched a brow while considering. “Did Major Quinn happen to put you up to this?”
“I can neither confirm nor deny that Major Quinn sent me any informal instructions upon his departure from Phoenix Station, General,” Captain Randle said with only a hint of a smile appearing over his wide jaw.
Connor snorted. “Alright, Captain. You can help Captain Thorne at Tactical.”
“Yes, General,” Captain Randle said and went over to the tactical work area.
Connor looked over at the PRADIS output on one of the secondary holoscreens. The Vemus Alpha was still coming steadily toward them. It hadn’t changed its trajectory and Connor couldn’t order Phoenix Station to be moved. They would make their stand here. He opened a broadcast channel.
“This is General Gates. By now you’ve been informed that we’re about to begin our engagement with the enemy. We drew the line here on the doorstep to our home. Thousands of people are depending on us. For the first time in human history, we’re fighting for something that’s unprecedented—our right to survive as a species. On this day we will stand together and in one voice scream into the void. Our enemy will know what we can do—that we will not be vanquished without a fight. This was to be a colony founded upon peace, moving beyond the hundreds of years of conflicts throughout history. None of you deserve to have to fight in this war. None of our families deserve to die at the hands of our enemies. We few, standing here, looking into the mouth of the dragon and showing our enemy what we’re worth, are all that stands between us and them, to stop them from killing us all. We stand together. We fight together. And we’ll die together if that’s what it takes. Many of you know who I am, that I used to serve with an elite special-forces platoon. We were legends. But all of you are part of the Colonial Defense Force and are much more than the Ghosts ever were. You fight for something beyond anything we ever did. The Ghosts had a motto, and I’ll give it to you. Remember these words as we face our enemy. ‘We are the unsung heroes. We are the quiet protectors. We roam through the darkest nights and through the deepest valleys. We choose to stand the watch. No enemy is beyond our power. We are the Colonial Defense Force!’”
The soldiers in the command area cheered.
“Ten-hut!” Captain Randle’s voice boomed.
The cheering CDF soldiers became quiet almost instantly as all of them stood with their arms at their sides and their shoulders back at attention.
“CDF salute!” Captain Randle shouted.
As one, the CDF soldiers saluted Connor. He raised his chin and felt his chest swell with pride as he returned the salute in kind. The soldiers returned to their stations with renewed vigor.
Major Elder leaned toward Connor. “Thank you, sir. They needed that, and, frankly, so did I.”
Connor nodded grimly. “Too bad pretty speeches won’t stop the Vemus.”
“I had no idea that the NA Alliance Special Forces had a motto like that, sir,” Major Elder said.
Connor glanced at the major. There was no one on this station who knew the truth.
Major Elder frowned and his eyes widened.
“I’ll say whatever I need to so the men and women in the CDF can focus on their jobs,” Connor said.
Major Elder nodded. “I understand, sir.”
“I know you do. Now, we have a job to do,” Connor said.
Connor went back to the command chair. “Tactical, what’s the status of the Vemus Alpha?”
“They’re within energy weapons range. We were keeping the kinetic weapons in reserve, General,” Captain Thorne said.
“I need a firing solution targeting the damaged areas of the enemy ship. Let’s see if we can peel back a few more layers and make them bleed some more,” Connor said.
“Yes, General,” Captain Thorne said. A few minutes passed. “Firing solution ready. Specs are on the main holoscreen, General.”
Connor looked up at the screen. “One change to that, Captain. Phoenix Station Main will fire first, then Bravo and Charlie sections.”
“Yes, General, updating targeting parameters now,” Captain Thorne replied. Connor waited for confirmation from Bravo and Charlie sections.
“Fire!” Connor said.
As the twenty-two-kilometer Vemus Alpha blasted through space, heading for Phoenix Station, a rounded projector swiveled above one of the top sections of the main Phoenix Station group. The magnetic actuators steered the stored-up energy to a wide-open port, and a thick particle beam of protons shot forth in a lance of pale blue light. The proton beam penetrated the Vemus exoskeletal hull before it had to be cycled. Moments later, beams from Bravo and Charlie subsections also cut deeply into the hull of the enemy ship.
“Vemus Alpha taking damage, General,” Captain Thorne said.
“Keep firing on them. Ready plasma cannons,” Connor said.
They had to keep hitting the enemy ship for as long as they could, and Connor approved the plasma cannon firing solution. Phoenix Station’s stabilizing engines went into overdrive to keep them in position. The lights in Phoenix Station’s Command Center dimmed as the plasma cannons charged off the main reactor. Next, Connor heard the rapid cadence of magnetically encased plasma bolts being fired into the vacuum. As the bolts traveled, the fusion cores reached a maximum yield in the multi-megaton range. The superheated plasma bolts slammed into the Vemus Alpha. The power draw from Phoenix Station’s multiple fusion reactor cores was immense. Connor had the engineers override the safeties so they could run the reactors at critical levels. They needed every ounce of power they could get. Unlike when the Vemus had faced Titan Station, which operated at half the capacity possible, Phoenix Station had an excess of power yield. The reactor cores had been designed for a Barracuda-class battleship carrier and could handle the load.
“Vemus Alpha taking heavy damage, General,” Captain Thorne said.
Connor looked at the tactical data feeds. The cyber-warfare AI disseminated and correlated data coming in from all their sensor arrays, giving the CDF the most accurate picture possible of the damage they were doing to the enemy.
“Proton beams are cycling through a down cycle, General,” Captain Thorne said.
“Enable Kraken firing solution now,” Connor ordered.
Rail-cannons came online. The Vemus Alpha was within kinetic weapons range, which also put Phoenix Station within the known weapons range of the Vemus Alpha. Connor glanced at the latest image of the Alpha. There were immense gashes gouged away from the exoskeletal hull, revealing the dark innards beneath, but it was a blackened section eight kilometers across that seemed to be the soft spot.
“Focus targeting on that dark section off the center,” Connor said.
The rail-cannons fired a range of two-to-three-meter projectiles in rapid succession. The long barrels swiveled from side to side, giving the projectiles time to penetrate as deeply as possible before more of them hit. Connor watched as they unloaded Phoenix Station’s vast arsenal into the most damaged parts of the Vemus Alpha. He squinted as he tried to make out the details of the visual on the holoscreen.
“Several large pieces of Vemus Alpha’s hull have broken away,” Captain Thorne announced.
Connor’s pulse raced, and Major Elder looked over at him with a hungry gleam in his eyes.
“Don’t let up. Keep hitting those spots,” Connor said.
“Yes, General,” Captain Thorne said.
“General, we’re getting multiple reports of weapons overload,” Captain Randle said.
“Adjust firing rate down to seventy-five percent and decrease in five percent increments as needed,” Connor said.
There were limits to what their weapons could do, but he had to push it. They were breaking the enemy apart.
“Multiple energy signatures being detected on the Vemus Alpha,” Captain Thorne announced.
Connor shared a grim glance with Major Elder. Their luck was running out. The Vemus Alpha was about to show them their teeth.
“Incoming enemy fire!” Captain Thorne said.
Connor watched as the tactical holodisplay showed a bright flash of light lancing toward them, and he gripped the sides of his chair as the colossal blast slammed into Phoenix Station with unrelenting force. Connor gritted his teeth, and klaxon alarms blared throughout the Command Center.
“General, we’ve lost subsection seven. It’s showing as completely offline,” Captain Thorne said.
Subsection seven held over three hundred CDF soldiers, and their lives had been snuffed out in the blink of an eye.
“Damage report,” Connor said.
“Bulkhead doors have sealed off the damaged sections. We’ve lost twenty percent weapons capability,” Captain Thorne said and frowned as new data appeared on his screen.
“What is the status of Bravo and Charlie stations?” Connor asked.
Captain Thorne remained focused on his screen as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing.
“Charlie station has been completely destroyed,” Captain Randle announced.
Connor gasped and brought up the data feed. Charlie station was completely offline.
“Bravo station is still firing their weapons on the enemy ship,” Captain Thorne said.
Connor looked at PRADIS, and the Vemus Alpha was closing in on them. “What the hell are they hitting us with?”
He couldn’t think of anything in the NA Alliance arsenal that had such a high yield.
“Tactical, update targeting priority to target their main weapons,” Connor ordered.
Connor clenched his teeth. They had to disable those weapons or they were sitting ducks.
“Updates inputted into targeting computers,” Captain Thorne said.
The Vemus Alpha fired its main weapon, and a lance of molten plasma blazed toward Bravo Station, burning at two billion degrees Kelvin. The interior of the plasma lance burned hotter than the interior of the sun. The hardened alloy of the battle-steel armor plating didn’t stand a chance as the plasma lance sliced through Bravo Station, cutting it down the middle. The Vemus restarted their terrible weapons to finish them off. Plasma lances stemmed from three main batteries on the Vemus Alpha, and they were all pointed at Bravo Station. Phoenix Station Main fired their remaining weapons—which consisted of much less powerful plasma cannons and rail-cannons—at the enemy ship. They pelted the regions around the Vemus Alpha’s primary weapons systems. One of them went offline and the plasma lance simply stopped, but it was too late for Bravo Station.
Connor ordered them to go to their own life support. Their battle uniforms were comprised of a thin layer of EVA-suit material, and the thick collars stored an emergency helmet. The Vemus Alpha retargeted their remaining weapons on Phoenix Station Main. Connor could still hear their own weapons firing, for all the good it would do. Multiple systems went offline as the Vemus Alpha’s weapon cut them apart. The stabilizing engines were damaged, and Phoenix Station Main rolled onto its back, exposing its belly for the enemy ship to strike. Another blow of unrelenting force struck the station, and the last thing Connor saw was a brilliant flash of light before everything went dark.
Chapter Twenty
Nathan had scheduled the watches so he’d be on duty when Phoenix Station finally engaged the Vemus Alpha ship. The bulk of Lunar Base was located more than a kilometer underground. They’d used the lunar crust as a natural barrier that protected them from the dangers of being exposed on the lunar surface. While the moon did have an iron core that provided a weak magnetic field to protect them from cosmic rays and gamma bursts, it couldn’t do anything to prevent the level of destruction he saw occurring on Phoenix Station. Despite the Vemus Alpha taking heavy damage, the enemy ship had closed the distance and then unleashed the full force of its weapons. Nathan and the rest of the CDF soldiers on duty in the Command Center had watched the data feeds flood in until Phoenix Station went offline. Ever since, the CDF staff in the Command Center of Lunar Base had taken to quietly working, with a soft buzz of activity that arose from hushed discussions.
Major Vanessa Shelton entered the Command Center and walked toward Nathan, coming to stand by his side.
“I thought I’d lend a hand, Colonel,” Major Shelton said.
Nathan nodded. More than one off-duty officer had found their way to the Command Center, looking for something to do. Nathan certainly didn’t want to take any downtime lest all the thoughts he’d been holding at bay threatened to overwhelm him.
“I’m glad you came because I can certainly use your help,” Nathan said and shared the holoscreens he’d been working from with Major Shelton. “These are the latest projections of the damage Phoenix Station was able to do to the Vemus Alpha.”
Major Shelton’s eyes slid over the data as she studied it. Above the data was a three-dimensional graphical display of the Vemus Alpha, and it showed that large chunks of it had been destroyed during the attack. “Those sections toward the rear that are breaking away from the Alpha . . . are those . . .?”
“We think they’re ships,” Nathan said.
Major Shelton’s eyes widened in shock for a moment. “Have these feeds been updated into our passive scanner data?”
“Yes. This is the latest iteration,” Nathan said.
Several large ships had detached themselves from the Vemus Alpha’s main hull.
“What would you do if you were the Vemus?” Nathan asked.
“There would be a lot of assumptions, but if my objective was to invade this world, I’d be keen to find any hidden defenses that might still be in place. Given how this war has been fought, I’d be expecting it,” Major Shelton said.
“I agree. That’s why I expect one of those ships to be sent here to look for any CDF presence,” Nathan said.
“Well, we’ve evacuated the surface installations and moved people into the interior of the base. So, they could look for us, but they won’t find us,” Major Shelton said.
“Are you sure about that?” Nathan asked.
Major Shelton regarded Nathan for a moment. “Colonel, if you think the enemy is wise to our presence here and an attack is imminent, shouldn’t we be preparing to attack them?”
Nathan pressed his lips together. “That’s the rub. We don’t know what our enemy knows. Until we have credible e
vidence that suggests otherwise, we’ll operate under the assumption that they don’t know we’re here.”
“How much evidence would you need to order an attack, sir?” Major Shelton asked.
Nathan blew out a breath. “It’s a fine line to walk. We’ll need to maintain Dark-Star status for the time being, even as they insert their forces into orbit around New Earth.”
Major Shelton swallowed hard. “Colonel . . .” she began. “Isn’t there anything we can do? Phoenix Station weapons did a lot of damage. If we bring our systems online, we should be able to do as much damage, and perhaps even more.”
“If we attack now, the Vemus would be expecting it. We need the element of surprise to maximize the damage we can do,” Nathan replied.
“If we do that, the Vemus will be able to land an invasion force on the ground, sir,” Major Shelton said.
“I know,” Nathan said and then held up one of his hands. “When General Gates and I discussed the strategy for Lunar Base’s role in defense of the planet, our best bet was to allow the enemy to be lulled into a false sense of security and then strike. It took me a while to see the wisdom of General Gates’ thinking.”
“But Colonel, if the Vemus reach the surface of the planet, we’d be risking the exposure of everything living on the planet to this viral parasite organism. What if it finds a way to spread itself among the creatures native to this world?” Major Shelton asked.
“Even our scientific experts believe that risk isn’t as high as one would expect. The creatures of this world followed a very different evolutionary path. They’re likely not as susceptible to the Vemus as we originally thought,” Nathan replied.
Major Shelton frowned. “You mean because Earth scientists modified the viral strain?”
Nathan could tell that Major Shelton didn’t think much of the gamble. “It’s a risk. If we strike at the Vemus now, we’d do some damage, but we’d likely not stop them completely. They’d still get an invasion force onto the planet. Take that as a given. And if they defeat us, the Vemus can land as many of their troops on the ground as they want, knowing we have no more orbital defenses available.”