by Saxon Andrew
Alex looked out at the assembled Fleet Admirals, “We have a little more than thirty-four thousand-eight-hundred warships to initiate hostilities. The Canis Aliens have given us the locations of every space hive in the Nebula. They have also given us the coordinates of every planet where they’re building warships and they can build them faster than you can imagine. Those construction planets will be our first objective. Before I get into that, I must impress on all of you that the alien’s warships are the primary target of this mission. If any warships survive the destruction of their space hives, they will scatter and start new colonies. That represents a larger danger than the space hives, they aren’t going anywhere. Every attack plan will have at its core destroying as many of their warships as possible. Does everyone understand?”
The entire room replied, “YES SIR!”
Alex looked at the attendees and said, “When we’re in position to move into the nebula, thousands of warships in our defense lines surrounding the nebula will fly into the nebula at high speed, leaving large wakes behind them, do an active scan of the space in front of them, and then turn around and exit the nebula. Your units will move in with them and then move out on a course to their construction planets. Our warships shouldn’t be detected entering the nebula. Alex turned to Admiral Wozniak, “Please share the numbers with us, Admiral.”
Wozniak stood up and said, “There are 743 large space hives in the Styx Nebula that have 5,004 ship construction planets. Each hive has seven construction planets inside its territory with some of the larger hives having eight.”
Wozniak sat down and Alex nodded, “Thank you, Admiral.” He turned to the room and began, “That translates into sending seven of our new warships to each of those construction planets with orders to destroy it and the warships above it. I expect there to be a huge response to their destruction and you can expect huge numbers of alien warships to come rushing in to destroy your ships.” Alex saw the concerned expressions of the officers and he quickly added, “Destroying the construction planets and the warships around them is not the hard part of this mission. That part will be easily accomplished.”
“Why do you say that, Sir?” Admiral DeChirico asked.
“They won’t detect you approaching the planet. You’ll simply move in using your hull coating to keep you hidden and target all the warships around the planet with defense missiles and be prepared to use your blasters if needed. You’ll launch four of the new DD missiles at the planet simultaneously with the launch of your defense missiles.”
DeChirico raised his hand and Alex nodded, “Sir, won’t the aliens detect our wakes moving in?”
“That is the tricky part of this mission, Admiral. Our new scanners allow us to detect alien warships two-hundred miles out. If you detect one or more of their warships, go to minimum speed and change course moving your unit away from them. The Styx Nebula is only thirty light years across, and you don’t need to rush to arrive at your target. All seven warships assigned to a construction planet will fly in single file and if they move to their slowest speed, the wake will dissipate quickly. Every unit will be given five days to arrive at their target planets and will launch their attacks on my order. I will issue that order once every unit is in place.”
“What happens if a unit is detected, Sir?” Admiral Roland asked.
“If a unit is detected and alien warships are moving in their direction, then they will power down and change course immediately. They will coast away and by the time the alien ships arrive, they will be undetectable. The aliens may spend time searching for them, but I don’t believe they’ll waste much time if they don’t find anything. Once they move away, the unit will power up and continue moving toward their target.”
“What if they don’t give up searching, Admiral?” Glennon asked.
“Then the unit will remain powered down until the other units attack their planets. That will cause the ships searching for them to be recalled to the sites of our attacks. Once that happens, the detected unit will go to full speed to their target and launch an attack on the planet.” Alex looked around and asked, “Any questions?” No one responded.
Glennon turned to Jingle, “Is there anything you wish to add, Admiral?”
“I’ve previously stated that all of their warships must be destroyed before attacking the space hives to prevent them from spawning to new locations. Admiral Berringer is the military expert and I yield to his expertise.”
Glennon turned to Alex and nodded to him to continue. “It’s what happens after the construction planets are attacked that involves the most risk. Our new warships are faster than the alien warships, a lot faster. The seven ships in each unit will go to high-speed after the attack leaving a huge wake behind them as they flee toward the edge of the nebula.” Alex saw their expressions and he added, “That’s right, we’re inviting them to attack our ships. They can’t catch you, but I don’t want you running away so fast they can’t get close. Allow them to get within range of your defense missiles and blasters. Take out as many as possible before you exit the Nebula. Keep in mind that they are going to be spread out over a huge volume of space and every ship you destroy pursuing you will be one less you’ll have to face when we go after the hives.” The room remained silent and Alex leaned forward, “Every one of our new warships has three-hundred defense missiles on board. If any ship has missiles remaining when they exit the nebula, they better have a good reason why!”
“What happens after they exit the nebula?” Glennon asked.
“They will fly through our warships surrounding the Nebula and the ships in our defense lines will open fire on our ships. Their blasters cannot penetrate the new force fields and represent no danger to your fleets; they have been ordered to not fire missiles. Once your fleets clear our lines, they will fly directly to Bucket to be resupplied. While that is happening, we will meet again to discuss the next part of our mission.”
DeChirico smiled, “This sounds easy enough.” The admirals burst out in laughter from their nervous energy and Alex joined them.
Glennon turned to Admiral Wozniak, “Has the computer made the attack assignments?”
“Yes Sir, along with the starting coordinates for each seven-ship unit.”
Glennon turned to the Admirals, “You have until twelve-hundred hours tomorrow to issue your orders and instructions to the ships under your command. All fleets will launch at that time and will arrive in the nebula at twenty-two-hundred hours. The units will move to their assigned coordinates around the nebula closest to the planet they’re assigned to attack. The attack will commence two hours later. Are there any questions?” The room was silent and Glennon announced, “You’re dismissed. Make good use of this time to prepare your fleets!”
The Admirals stood up and Glennon said, “Admiral Berringer and…Jingle, a word please.” They followed Glennon into his office and Glennon shook his head, “I can’t call both of you Admiral Berringer, I’m going to continue to call you Admiral Jingle, no disrespect intended.”
“None taken,” Jingle replied.
“Neither of you are going in on this mission.”
“Sir…”
Glennon held up his hand, “Admiral Berringer, I understand why it’s necessary for you to go in on the next stage of this plan but there is no way for you to command more than five-thousand units. You can try to do that over your communications outside the nebula.”
Alex forced himself to be calm and said calmly, “Sir, I should be going in with the ships I’m commanding.”
Glennon glared at him and replied, “If that’s the case, Admiral, then I should be taking part in every battle we fight; do you think that’s a good idea?”
Alex was silent but Jingle replied, “No Sir. You’re too important to lose.”
“Just as you are!” Glennon responded. “The two of you are the Union’s experts on the aliens and I can’t risk losing you attacking a single alien planet. You will not enter the nebula!”
Alex glanced at
Jingle and replied, “Yes Sir.”
• • •
They left Glennon’s office and Alex looked at Jingle. She saw his expression and stopped, “Alex, you know he’s right!”
Alex stopped with her and responded, “I know. It’s the right thing to do.”
Jingle’s head went back slightly, “Is that all the argument you have? This isn’t like you. You would normally be ticked off that you aren’t going in.”
“I still am, Jingle! But, he’s right.”
“Alex, are you agreeing to this because you don’t want me going in on the attack?”
Alex raised a shoulder, “Partly. The idea of losing you attacking one of their construction planets would be a horrible waste of talent. Once I saw that, the same holds true for me. I see things clearer now than I did in the past.”
Jingle smiled and lifted her communicator, “Admiral, Alex and I are leaving for the nebula now.”
“Why?!”
“We want to make sure the defense fleets fully understand their orders and no mistakes are made.”
“That’s wise, Admiral Jingle. Keep me informed on what’s happening.”
“Yes Sir.”
“What’s the real reason for leaving early?” Alex asked.
“We’ll have almost a day of alone time getting there.”
Alex started laughing and asked, “Your ship or mine?”
“Yours. Brooks didn’t take part in our wedding.”
“He was glad he didn’t, Jingle. He had the best view in the house from orbit.”
Jingle giggled as they boarded a transport to go to their ships. She smiled, “You know Bucket is on the way to the Nebula. We can stop there overnight and still arrive more than eight hours ahead of the fleets.”
Alex smiled and lifted his communicator. A face appeared and Alex ordered, “Admiral DeChirico, I am leaving for the Nebula to make sure our forces there clearly understand their orders. You will be in overall command of the fleets in my absence. Get them launched on time and I’ll meet you at the Nebula when you arrive.”
“Yes Sir!” Alex put his communicator away and held Jingle’s hand as they entered the Rapids.
The two ships lifted, and Alex held up a hand as Jingle moved to sit in his lap, “Give me a moment.” Jingle frowned and Alex ordered, Brooks, connect me with Admiral Thorton.”
Jingle’s head tilted as Admiral Thorton appeared on the front monitor, “Yes Sir.”
Admiral, has fleet sent you the coordinates where my attacks are going to be launched?”
“Yes Sir.”
“Make sure that at least a hundred of your warships go in the nebula at all of those coordinates with their active scanners at full power. After a minute, have them turn and return to their lines.”
“Yes Sir.”
Also make sure all your ships understand to not hit my ships when they exit the galaxy with more than four blaster beams!”
“I’ve issued orders making that clear, Sir.”
“I’ll be there later tomorrow. You can update me on how things are going.”
“I look forward to it, Sir.”
Alex ended the call and smiled, “That gives us a few more hours of alone time.” Jingle giggled and jumped on his lap.
• • •
The fleet of advanced warships moved in toward the Styx Nebula and fifty-light-years out the huge formation seemed to dissolve as the seven-ship units of warships turned toward their attack coordinates. They arrived an hour before midnight ship’s time and activated their weapon systems. Alex lifted his communicator and ordered, “Admiral Thorton, launch your warships precisely at midnight. All attack units follow the warships in and veer away just before they turn around. You have five days to arrive at your targeted planets. You will remain undetected until every unit has reported in. You’ll launch your attacks on my command.”
• • •
The next five days seemed to last an eternity. Only a little over eight-hundred units were detected but miraculously managed to evade before they were discovered by the searching alien warships. The units began reporting in and after three days, ninety percent of them had arrived within striking distance of their targets undetected. It took another three days for the remaining units to move in position and Alex delayed the attack order for another day.
Finally, the last unit reported in and Alex sat forward in his command chair. “It’s time. Remember, get out of the nebula but take out as many of their warships as possible during your exit. All units will launch their attacks in five…four…three…two…one…Now!”
• • •
Captain Curtis Jensen ordered over his helmet communicator, “Alright, you all know the drill. Meatheads, you have the ships in orbit. Zombies, you’ll launch on the planet. Go, go, go!”
Curtis led four of his ships in and lined up three alien warships holding position above the planet. He launched two defense missiles at each of them and then turned to line up two more. He launched again and stared at his tactical monitor. Twenty alien warships in orbit above the planet went up in horrific explosions and he turned away from the planet. Two Zombies went in and each fired two DD missiles at the giant construction facility on the planet’s surface; the third Zombie flashed around the planet and fired three DD missiles on the other side of the planet. The three ships turned and joined the Meatheads as Curtis led them back on the course they used to arrive at the planet. That course was the shortest distance to the edge of the nebula. Curtis glanced at the rearview monitor and saw what appeared to be a new star suddenly appear far behind them.
“So far so good! Form up and be ready for company!” The seven large warships accelerated away from the doomed planet and Curtis stared at the long-range scanner. He shook his head and chuckled. Having any remaining missiles wouldn’t be a problem. Having enough to escape, now that was going to be an issue.
Curtis was the center ship in a large V formation. His unit was leaving a gigantic wake behind it and alien warships were vectoring in from all sides. “Spread out and leave clear fields of fire between you. I’m moving to full-speed and we’re going through the ships directly ahead of us. Zombies, launch defense missiles directly ahead of us when we move into launching range of those warships. Meatheads, you’re responsible for keeping them away from the sides of our formation. Pucker up, they look like they want a kiss.”
“Jimmy, you’re connected to the other computers, right.”
“I am.”
“Make sure we don’t waste missiles by targeting more than two on a single ship.”
“You’ll make the initial salvo followed by the other three ships. The process will continue until every alien ship ahead of us is targeted. Once all of them are targeted by a missile, we’ll join the Meatheads targeting the ships vectoring in from above and below our formation.”
“How many warships are ahead of us?”
“Four hundred and sixty-three, Curtis;b they haven’t formed a tight formation, yet.”
Curtis nodded and saw his visor turn light red. He pressed the launch button and increased speed. Things were getting real, fast. The alien warships directly ahead of his unit were the closest but others were moving in fast to cut off his escape. “Focus on the ships ahead of us and use your blasters to hold off the ones trying to cut in from the sides!”
The seven warships opened fire at long range using tightly focused blaster beams and raked the hulls of the ships moving in from the sides. The size of the blasters’ beams increased as alien warships moved ever closer. Alien warships were exploding on all sides of the seven Union Warships. The defense missiles arrived at the alien formation in front of them and massive explosions walked across their front ranks.
• • •
One of the most important things Alex did when crossing the Styx was to do a full scan of a damaged alien warship. That scan revealed that the huge ship’s missiles were stored just behind the landing bay in front of the giant ship’s reactors. The defense missile’s designe
rs programmed them to target that area on the alien warships. It appeared the designers had done an excellent job.
Curtis was firing every blaster and launching missiles at alien warships moving in from above and below his unit. Then they were on the large formation and he yelled over his communicator, “SPREAD OUT AND FIND A ROUTE THROUGH THEM! FIRE AT ANY OF THEIR SHIPS THAT ARE STILL OPERATIONAL AS YOU PASS.”
Curtis whipped the ship hard left and flew by a warship in the process of blowing up. He jerked his ship vertical and flew over another alien ship that was broken in half and bleeding fuel. He blew past it and the fuel ignited behind him blowing the damaged ship into vapor. He flew under another alien ship firing its blasters and launched two defense missiles from point blank range. The ship went up in a huge blast and Curtis heard the force field generators whine loudly…but the field held, and he flashed past two more ships blowing up from missiles fired by other ships in his unit. Then…he was past the ships blowing up. His unit formed up on him again but one of the Zombies was missing.
“Sir, one of the aliens rammed Zack’s ship. Both ships went up in a huge explosion.”
“Did you get a recording of it, Perry?”
“I did, Sir.”
Curtis looked at the tactical in his helmet and saw the ships formerly moving in on him were now pursuing his unit. “Jimmy, talk to me!!”
“There are multiple formations headed our way but there is a gap between them to the portside, Curtis.”
“Can they cut us off if we go to three-quarter speed?”
“I don’t think so. We took five days to get here and at full speed we can be out in less than another two hours.”
Curtis checked the tactical again and ordered, “All ships maintain formation on me and slow to three-quarters speed. Don’t fire at the ships pursuing us until they are well inside the range of our weapons!”
Curtis turned the ship to the left and aimed at a gap between two large formations of alien warships. He looked at the tactical again and blew out a breath; it was going to be close at the edge of the nebula. He wanted to go to maximum speed, but he still had fifty missiles to use.