Six windows opened on the main viewing screen. The scene played out six times. Two thousand Ballisonian repair robots jetted through the opening which they had created.
Careful to not harm the Morteks shooting at them, the mechanical throng bypassed the insect-like crew, found the engine room and swarmed over the fusion generators. The Morteks kept firing, bringing down a few, but leaving no impression on the mass.
Hundreds of robots went to work on the fusion generators, removing components, disconnecting cables, making them completely inoperable. The rest of them formed a protective shield, with individual robots crashing to the deck as the Mortek crew kept firing.
The thrumming of the fusion generators suddenly stopped. Moments later, after the superheated deuterium slurry stopped being pumped into the massive engines, the thundering stopped and the hot, red-orange-blue flames shrank to sputters then died.
The entire crew of Griffin spontaneously cheered, punching their hands or paws into the air.
“Yes! Yes!” Krag exclaimed. “You did it, Igaklay. You have saved thousands, millions of lives today.”
“If you say so, Captain. I am just upgrading some ships.”
“Ya, Iggy. And saving lives in the process.”
“That would be an added benefit, if it comes to pass, Mack.”
“Oh, it will, Preceptor Igaklay. It will,” Tribune Ambakai contributed.
Cencore-Mortek Shipyards
First Administrator saw fifty-nine ships suddenly stop spewing exhaust flames and started becoming ballistic hunks of metal continuing their selected paths. In a panic, he jumped from his stool and clattered into the Administration room.
“What is happening? What is going on? Why aren’t my ships under power?”
“We now know what those thousands of soft skin robots were for, My Leader.”
“What? Tell me, First Commander!”
“They appear to be service robots, My Leader. they have taken the fusion generators offline.”
“How many?”
“All of them, My Leader. as of now, the only maneuverability which our sixth Fleet has is with the control and positioning jets. If we use them extensively, they will run out of fuel in a very short time.”
“You are telling me that a bunch of soft skin robots have succeeded in making our fleet inoperable?”
“Yes, My Leader.”
“This is on you, First Commander. You were responsible for the safety of this fleet. It is you that will be held accountable.”
“We had no way of preparing for something of this nature, My Leader. The soft skins have never performed any actions like this in the past. I always assumed that any attacks would be with those strange rockets and their small jump ships.”
“Obviously, you assumed wrongly. Get my frigate. Now! I am going to report, in person, to War. We have critical information which the drone in the next soft skin system had gathered before it went offline. Also, I need to report this latest development and your failure. He will decide on any punishments and what needs to be done.”
First Commander knew that First Administrator’s motivation was not to apprise War of the current situation but to escape this new, soft skin threat. He knew that First Administrator was running with his wings folded and head comb down.
“Yes, My Leader.”
Chapter 16
Aboard Griffin – Cencore
“Commander?’
“Yes, Jack?”
“There’s a Mortek frigate bugging out from Cencore’s main shipyard.”
“Is it attacking?”
“No, Hawk. Running like a scalded cat. Straight to the Bridgelen gate.”
“Let her go. Let her report on the loss of their new fleet.”
“I’m betting there’s going to be one pissed off bug when he gets the news.”
“Ya, Jacko. And, I’ll raise ya, there’s going to be one less Mortek boss giving orders.”
“I’m not taking you up on that, Mack.”
As the banter jumped between Jack’s Flash and Griffin, the lone Mortek frigate fled for its very being, racing at eight-tenths the speed of light towards the Bridgelen gate. Running in fear, it hoped that those soft skin killers would not notice it, would not end its existence.
“Buster, please open all channels. Igaklay, please translate.”
“All channels are open, Captain.”
“Ready, Igaklay?”
“Ready, Captain.”
“To all Mortek ships. Your fusion generators have been deactivated. You have no power. No help is coming. We know that you are great warriors with great courage. We know that you are willing to fight to the death. And we honor you for this. But, do not die for no purpose. Humans do not kill without purpose.”
Krag gave Buster the cut sign.
“Igaklay, could you patch me through to Cruiser One?”
“Done Captain.”
“First Cruiser, are you there?”
“Yes, I am, Commander Marston. I am at your service.”
“We have fifty-nine Mortek ships without power.”
“Is that the new Sixth Fleet being constructed in what you call ‘Cencore’?”
“Yes, First Cruiser. I do not wish to destroy them or kill their crews. I would like your help.”
“There is nothing I can do, Commander Marston. I have always been looked down upon. Because of my wrongful thinking, I have never been accepted as a true nest mate.”
“Maybe that is what we need, First Cruiser. We need you to change your people’s way of thinking.”
“Mortek have lived this way for thousands of years, Ambassador Suzume.”
“If they do not adjust, Humanity will end those thousands of years. Just try. Say whatever you want. We will not stop you.”
“I will, Commander Marston.”
Krag turned back to Buster and gave him a head nod.
“Mortek Crews. Let me repeat. Humans do not kill without reason. Do not give us a reason to kill you. I want you to listen to one of your own. Listen carefully. He speaks the truth.”
“Captains of the Sixth Fleet. I am First Cruiser of the Fifth fleet. Less than one half of that glorious fleet remains. I am a prisoner of the Human whom you just heard. His title is ‘Commander Marston’. Listen to him. He is an honorable Human.”
“You are a prisoner. How do we know that you are not speaking lies?”
“Who are you?”
“I am Sixth Fleet-First Cruiser.”
“Commander Marston has stated that all of Sixth Fleet is without power. Is that true?”
“We will not reveal any information to an unknown voice.”
“Do not disrespect me! I am First Cruiser. Commander Marston, where is Griffin?”
“Observing the fleet, First Cruiser. From all readings of all our ships, none of the Mortek ships are under power.”
“Commander Marston, have you attacked and destroyed any ships in the vicinity?”
“None.”
“Sixth Fleet-First Cruiser, listen carefully. You have reviewed the intelligence of these small jump-ships destroying one of our dreadnaughts. You have also learned of them destroying multiple cruisers. They lost one ship. One. You have reviewed the reports and videos. I was there. I have witnessed those ships destroying one of our dreadnaughts. If we cannot defeat them, Humanity will destroy us.”
“We will never give up.”
“That is the way of the warrior. But a warrior should never give up his life without purpose. What is your purpose in having Commander Marston and his jump-ships destroy the Sixth Fleet and all its crews? What does Mortak attain?”
“Honor. If we are going to die, let it be with honor.”
“If I may, First Cruiser.”
“Who is this? Its voice sounds high, like a human egg-layer.”
“She is an egg-layer, Sixth. Humanity reveres their egg-layers. Her title is Ambassador Suzume. She is First Speaker for all of Humanity.”
“This egg-layer has no place here
.”
“Krag, explain the two choices. Explain that our fleet is expanding.”
Having spent more than a year together, Krag’s and Keiko’s implied conversations were as clear as their spoken ones.
“Sixth Fleet-First Cruiser. How many Mortek are in Sasania? What First Cruiser calls ‘Nest One’.”
“I will not divulge that information.
“We have been to Sasania. We have seen the colony ship. We believe that there are millions, tens of millions, maybe hundreds of millions of Mortek or their embryos there.”
“I will not respond to your supposition.”
“As we speak, Humanity, with the help of two other species of sentient beings, is expanding our war fleet. You have seen what we can do with our small jump-ships. Imagine what we can do with five times as many ships, all of them at least four times as large and powerful. Humanity will have the capability of completely wiping out all of the Mortek in all of our star system.”
“Sixth Fleet-First Cruiser, let me explain.”
“You are a traitor, First Cruiser. You are siding with the soft skins.”
“I am siding with the Mortek! Think! Commander Marston has chosen to communicate with you, with all of Sixth Fleet. You know what the human jump-ships are capable of. Commander Marston could have just as easily decided to destroy all of sixth Fleet and all its crew.
“We will never surrender.”
“First Cruiser, you tried. Thank you. We will preserve as many as we can.”
Sixth, your decision could very well have doomed us all.”
“Igaklay, have you located the cruiser which was sending the signal?”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Send the coordinates to Lieutenant Tillerson. Digger, commence your run.”
“Received and understood, Commander,” Krag heard over the intercom.
“You heard the Commander. Suit and weapons check. Move it, Ladies!”
Everyone on Griffin heard Sergeant Nelson’s booming voice echo over her com and around the bridge.
“Sergeant Nelson, Sergeant Stein, you’re up.“
All human and Mortek ships heard ‘Hoorah!’ over their individual com systems.
Aboard Limpet – Cencore
“Ladies and Gentlemen, please return your trays to their closed positions and adjust your seats to an upright position. We will be landing in thirty seconds. Thank you for flying the friendly stars of Kick Ass Space Lines.”
Upon hearing the co-pilot’s, Lieutenant Brenner’s, announcement, fifty-four hardened, laughing marines grabbed their weapons a little more tightly, focused more intently as they stood packed cheek-to-jowl in the breacher ship.
True to Lieutenant Brenner’s word, thirty seconds later Limpet slammed into the selected Mortek cruiser. With no seating, only hanging handholds, the fifty-four marines bounced and banged into each other, fighting to hold their positions.
“Jonesy, if you get any closer, I’ll think that you’re hitting on me.”
“Nah, Smitty. You’re too ugly. Besides you’ve got the wrong plumbing.”
“Get frosty, People,” Master Sergeant Nelson bellowed.
“Aye, aye, Master Sergeant!”
Lieutenant Tillerson tapped a button and eight reidite-tipped anchor bolts fired from limpet’s harpoon cannons into the alien ship’s hull. Cables pulled the breaching port flush. The automatic sealers kicked in, spraying instant-hardening foam that insured the air-tight contact held. Again, the breacher marines swayed and bumped.
Second Lieutenant Brenner fired up the huge circular band saw which resembled the gaping mouth of an Old Earth great white shark. He monitored its progress as the shark-toothed blades began spinning and sliding forward. Once the teeth attained contact and began grinding away at the alien vessel, a violent vibration shook through the breacher ship, causing the armored marines to again sway, straining their magnetic boots to the limit.
“Breach achieved,” Everyone heard over their coms after minutes of teeth-rattling vibrations.
“Tighten it up, people. The lead captain of this bug fleet decided that he would refuse the kind invitation which our Commander Marston offered. We are going to teach him the error of his ways.”
“Hoorah!”
“We have done this before. We will succeed in doing it again! First squad, two-by-two. Secure the breach head!”
“Aye, aye, Master Sergeant!” Six voices shouted in unison. Six lance corporals performed a military turn, three right, three left, and faced the now-closed iris. Lifting their weapons to ready position, they squatted down into leaping position.
“Second squad, ready the battery!”
“Aye, aye, Master Sergeant!”
The six members of Second Squad performed their military turn, reached down and grabbed the handles of the solid metal battering ram.
“Permission to open iris, Sergeant Major.”
Sergeant Nelson inspected his troops, saw their readiness and responded, “Permission granted, Lieutenant Brenner.”
“Acknowledge permission granted to open iris. Opening iris.”
Like the dilation of an eye, the iris rotated open exposing a portion of the alien hull. “Second squad, breach!”
Second Squad charged between First squad towards the alien ship. One stride from the barrier, in unison, the squad swung the ram forward, smashing into the now-severed hull plate. With a resounding gong, ram struck hull. The oval section crashed inward, bouncing across the causeway and clanking off the far bulkhead as it spun and sank to the deck, Second Squad hastily retreated, giving First Squad free access to the Mortek cruiser.
The two best shooters of First Squad held the two first positions. They launched, parallel with the target deck, tucked their knees and, after clearing the opening, straightened their legs, slamming their mag boots onto the alien deck. With firm connections they squatted back down, using their laser rifles as pointers, Smitty scanning the left passageway, Garcia scanning the right.
Enemy fire immediately erupted from behind a hastily constructed barrier. Lance Corporal Smith, Smitty, took multiple hits. His energy-dispersing armor withheld for a few of the strikes. Finally, it gave way. Smitty collapsed, emitting the smell of charred meat and leaking body fluids.
“Man down, man down!” Corporal Garcia shouted as she dropped to her belly and began returning fire.
“First Squad, cover fire! Concussion grenades!” Sergeant Nelson bellowed.
The four remaining members of First Squad held their gravity guns around the corner and fired blindly. Then, two of them pulled the demanded ordinance, pulled pins then pitched them towards and over the barrier protecting the four-legged Morteks.
Garcia covered her ears, opened her mouth and closed her eyes. Almost asynchronously, blinding flashes, deafening blasts and concussive waves rocked the Mortek defenders. Immediately, Sergeant Stein dashed forward and grabbed one of Corporal Smith’s boots and began dragging him back to the safety of Limpet.
Corpsman Stevens dropped to his knees beside his severely wounded comrade, pulled off his armor and ripped open the underlying shirt. Next, he sprayed an abundance of liquid skin into the gaping wounds. Once he stopped the bleeding, the medical specialist slapped a pad onto the critical marine’s chest and verified that the multiple hoses linked from the pad to the medical unit he had been lugging.
While the frantic efforts to save Lance Corporal Smith proceeded, four members of First Squad charged after the flash-bangs had exploded. Reaching the barrier, two members squatted and cupped their hands. The other two stepped in and kept their balance as they were lifted about the edge.
Two Morteks closest to the blasts were completely incapacitated. Three more showed motion without focus. The final four had achieved some semblance of awareness and were just raising their weapons. The two marines, still standing in the hand stirrups, open fired. The four immediate Mortek threats began collapsing as the gravity shells did their damage.
Scrambling over the top, Jones and
Harris dropped, preparing to distribute more Mortek death. Everyone heard the yell, “Taylor!”
One of the squatting marines turned towards Garcia as she charged the barrier. Preparing for the contact, Taylor re-cupped his hands and prepared for the collision. Garcia took two long strides, the second one with her foot in Taylor’s hands. Taylor hoisted as hard as he could. Garcia sprang into the air.
At the peak of her ascent, she fired. The head of a Mortek took all of Garcia’s anger. Without gravity, Garcia continued to the ceiling. Rotating, she made contact with her boots, pushed off and arrowed back to the deck. As she landed, First Company’s best marksperson blew away two more.
With seven Mortek down, only two remained. Garcia finished one and Jones finished the other.
“Clear!”
“Clear!”
“Clear!”
The three marines who had cleared the wall reported the sectors they covered while they stared down at nine distorted, grotesque Mortek bodies lying in their pools of bodily fluids.
“Jeez, you guys. Leave some for the rest of us.”
“Don’t worry, Barbie. You’ll get yours.”
“You’re hoping you’re the one to give it to me, Jonesy.”
“Casualties?” the three heard.
“None, Sergeant. All enemy down.”
“Step back. We’re blowing the barrier.”
“Roger that, Sergeant.”
The three sharpshooters who had cleaned out the nest of Mortek bugs moved down the hall and around a corner.
“Secure, Sergeant,” Jones reported, again taking the lead.
After the directed explosion, Sergeant Nelson and Sergeant Stein stepped through the destroyed barrier and inspected the battle area.
“You have some very nasty people, Nellie.”
“Yup. That’s why I always send them in first.”
“Sergeant?” everyone heard over their quant-coms.”
“Yes, Corpsman?” Sergeant Nelson asked.
“Smitty didn’t make it, Sir.”
“Damn, damn, damn. I swear, we are going to kill a lot of bugs.”
“Hoorah!” fifty-two voices shouted in unison.
“Second Squad, secure the LZ. First Defense, set up forward scouting.”
Victory in the Stars (Marston Chronicles Book 6) Page 18