by Ken Pence
The battle was not going well – they had lost two destroyers containing two hundred eighty-four personnel between them. Andrew would be crushed but he is always that way when he loses one. So far – eleven of the Allung ships had been disabled or destroyed. We are going to destroy them all – Andrew told me he would follow them to hell for what they do wherever they go.
The slicers got three more and the progeny have entered most of the disabled ships. Even when the aft end of an Allung ship was sheared off – they were still fighting. The progeny had freed many slaves even though some fought after their collars had been released. They had been conditioned by wearing them so long that it shouldn’t have been much a stretch that some would still fight.
The ship we were in, the flagship Phoenix class, rocked several times from multiple hits of something. Our ship didn’t have the lamlee coating so we were vulnerable to their jump weapons and constantly had to shift course to avoid being effectively targeted by the Allung. The field penetrator missiles were no longer effective because the Allung had learned to constantly shift…they were capable of learning too.
We detected a ship moving away from the center and then noticed it started gently spinning and drifting like it was disabled. Someone was on their toes because they targeted that ship with multiple lasers. Our ship had several pairs of laser targeting the ship and a destroyer soon joined their fire with ours. We disabled their drive but this ship looked like we just woke it up. It started maneuvering somehow and started firing back with powerful lasers. We got hit again because I could feel our ship throb with the hit. Considering the size of our ship – they must have pierced the hull somewhere from the magnitude of the shockwave.
***
Cetosme’s ship was fighting for its life. It’s jump capability and most serious weapon had been disabled. They could still maneuver but couldn’t jump or even speed away with their rings and drive damaged. Cetosme was not going to give up. He had no slaves on board his ship – all were dedicated Allung. He decided to detonate the device he left on the station. He had planned to destroy the trade center with a nuclear fission device to make it more difficult to trace their actions. He did not know or care how many were still on the station. His ships had stayed to fight as he ordered but he expected that they would buy him time.
Finally their own weapons were attacking their ships because of his jamming signal.
***
Commodore Williams was worried. The slicer weapons had started attacking the refitted Allung ships in the expedition fleet. “What is causing this? Why are they attacking our own ships? Have they taken control of our own weapons?” he demanded of his bridge crew.
“One of their ships is broadcasting a powerful jamming signal,” said the communications tech.
“Which one?” he said. “Have all ships target that one when you discover the source.”
“It is the one that was drifting. Jump through it – front field only.”
Their ship targeted the Allung responsible for the jamming and jumped through it. They redirected their course and micro-jumped back to near the center right as a tremendous explosion destroyed the huge facility.
***
Cetosme’s ship was badly damaged but it had been far enough away from the center to survive the blast. He might survive this yet. He noticed that the ship that had damaged them had returned just before the blast and it was drifting within sensor range.
“Can we still transmit the jamming signal?” he asked.
“No, Most Senior. Those antennae were sheared away. We have limited sensor ability and can maneuver but that is all. We still have one laser turret that we can use.”
“Do not show any signs of life. Set a course and give our ship a drift away from this place. Try to get our drive working,” Cetosme ordered.
“Most Senior, our rear drive section was sheared away.”
“Is the shuttle functional?” Cetosme asked.
“Yes, Most Senior, but the launch bay is damaged and is open to vacuum.”
“Have the crew report to the shuttle launch bay.” Cetosme ordered.
“Most Senior – all the crew cannot fit into the shuttle.”
“Have as many as you can fit into the shuttle even if we have to stand on each others shoulders. We will board one of their ships. Have the rest move to the surviving weapons. Set the last two nuclear devices to give us time to get far enough away. Do not tell those remaining about the nuclear weapons. We will target the drifting Allung battleship there.”
“As you command, Most Senior.”
***
“Sir, the nuclear blast temporarily knocked out our field,” said the tactical officer reporting to Commodore Williams. “Our field stopped most of the radiation. The ships surviving the slicers and blast are reporting in. We stopped the enemy jamming when we disabled that last ship. The slicers don’t attack our own ships when we are able to freely transmit our friend/foe code.”
“Shut them down. We can’t take any more friendly fire casualties. Keep me informed,” Andrew said though his Dex had much of the information – there was too much information coming in to focus on anything but the most critical at the moment.
***
Cetosme’s shuttle was indeed stuffed with twenty-three Allung. They set their course directly at the drifting battleship. It took only seconds to reach the ship and Cetosme had them move to the side of the targeted ship that was opposite his own. He wanted something between himself and the blast radiation even though they were much further away. They had clamped to the hull of the battleship and just cut a portal through the double-hulled wall when the ship’s field was restored. Since their shuttle was now effectively part of the battleship’s hull – the ship field flowed over their shuttle.
***
The chief petty officer in charge of damage control for the ERF flagship was briefing Commodore Williams on their repair progress over his Dex, “Sir. We have restored our field but communications had sketchy sensor readings of a shuttle leaving the Allung ship that was causing the jamming.”
“Where is the shuttle now?” Andrew asked.
“We’ve lost it. The other ships are reporting in. Some had their sensors blinded by the blast. The…” the transmission was cut off.
Two small nuclear devices had detonated on the Allung ship killing the remaining crew on board. A sudden blast in space kills by the neutron and gamma radiation it produces but Phoenix’s newly restored screen reduced that radiation the critical time necessary to reduce damage to acceptable levels. The radiation did, however, destroy the external antennae on the flagship and again was enough to disrupt the ship’s protective shield.
The flagship rocked a moment later as the expanding gases and vaporized debris from the Allung ship hit Commodore Williams’ hull. The ship was not damaged further but it was buffeted for a few seconds. The ship was hulled seconds later when one of their own slicer weapons scalloped a neat wedge through the starboard side of the battle bridge. He had been knocked to his feet but there was no sign of the rest of the bridge crew.
Commodore Williams shouted into his Dex. “We need to transmit the friend/foe code to our weapons. Get transmitting again. Our own weapons are cutting us to bits. Confirm.” He got no confirmation from the communication center. The rest of the bridge crew was dead or swept out into space. He turned his suit field to maximum. It was the only thing that saved him… because as soon as he floated out of the C&C, he was hit by disruptor fire. The fire did nothing through his field but he did feel a warm spot when shot with a powerful laser. He hastily scrambled back into the damaged C&C and shut the bulkhead door.
“This is Commodore Williams. We have been boarded and are under attack,” he said into his Dex but got no response – it was dead. He looked around and realized the ship was not under way but he couldn’t see any other ship. They had been a good forty kilometers from the center, he thought. He looked at the side of the C&C exposed to space and used his suit pressor to shoot out into
the void a short distance. He had been alone in space before but, right now, it was unnerving. He flew aft and saw an Allung shuttle clamped on the port side.
He was only armed with a molecular disruptor and he had glimpsed several Allung. He set his suit to invisibility and drifted further aft to see if he could reach surviving crew. He reached an airlock just aft of the ship’s midline and entered there. He had just cycled the lock closed when he heard clangs and the whip crack of high-power laser discharges. He stepped into a room off the corridor and saw a team of ERF moving his way. He holstered his weapon and stepped back into the corridor with hands raised and set his suit to be visible.
Senior Chief Traci Warrington stepped around his point person and turned visible. “Commodore. I am happy to see you,” he said but Andrew heard nothing when he saw the Senior Chief’s mouth move.
Andrew put his hand up cupped to his helmet and shook his head.
Warrington came forward and touched helmets to Andrew’s. “Glad to have you back. We’ve pushed ‘em back. Tough devils. We’ll get you another Dex. EMP must have gotten it even with hardening. Thompson – go back and get Rodriquez’ Dex. Hustle man – Rodriquez won’t be needing it.”
Andrew stripped off his gauntlet and stripped off his now useless Dex. He stuffed it in a leg pouch in case he could get any data off it. Thompson came running back with a Dex and gave it to the Commodore Williams after a nod from Warrington. Andrew strapped the bloody Dex in place and rekeyed it to his commands.”
“Thank you, Chief. There is an Allung shuttle clamped to our port side. C&C is gone and we’ve been hit a couple of times by slicers. I think I got the order out to disarm them before the blast but there are a slew of the Allung on our ship. I think their senior Allung is leading this bunch. How many have you killed?”
Chief Warrington looked around as if to remember who had killed what – he turned back and said, “We’ve killed eight between us. How many did you see?”
“I saw four. They may be a bit over a dozen more. They probably abandoned their ship before they blew it and headed here. Blew it when they made it to hull. Can’t be too many in one shuttle,” Andrew said.
“Master Chief Mayerchak has two teams moving up the main corridors starboard.”
“Good, Chief. Carry on. I’ll tag along. Can you spare one to disable their shuttle and then rejoin us? I want to end this here once and for all.”
“Heard that – aye – aye, Sir. Thompson, you’re good at mucking stuff up. Think you can disable a shuttle?”
“Disable a shuttle…I can damage anything,” he said, turned invisible and moved off.
***
Cetosme was disturbed. Three of his teams had stopped responding and the humans were fierce. It was like fighting spirits because they didn’t see them until they ran into laser fire. The molecular disruptors did nothing so he had ordered his troops to use only lasers. The Allung soon found that the most effective weapon was the one taken off a dead defender as the ERF weapons recharged much faster and were more powerful. Unfortunately – many Allung troopers had to die before they could get one and there were more ERF.
Cetosme thought he had taken the ship when he got into the bridge but it was non-functional – full of damage and a body or two. Neither of these bodies had had lasers. He ordered his troops to take engineering – or at least, where engineering had been. The ship had been remodeled – upgraded. Too bad the humans were enemies instead of his slaves – they did good work.
His troops were just entering a large eating area when he heard a portal slam shut. His troops headed to a kitchen area while shooting at anything that moved. A lucky shot – actually a fusillade of shots with a lucky one among them – disabled the suit invisibility of an attacker. The silver suit appeared and the occupant moved in front of a food storage area. It was still partially behind a haphazard barricade. He started to have his troops assault the being when he recognized its shape.
“Surrender. Do not give your life needlessly. Step out – I will not harm you,” he shouted in Tros. Cetosme could not believe it when the being stepped out and retracted its helmet. Cetosme was about to have his troop kill this gullible being when he recognized it…”Rett…my brilliant escapee. What are you guarding in that locker?”
“Senior Cetosme, are you having a bad day?” Rett said. “My death will mean nothing to you.”
“On the contrary. You are the reason we are here. You gave us the secret of jump travel. You will be the reason the Allung will spread across the galaxy instead of scratching along its edges. We can go anywhere now – through your work. What is in the locker?” Cetosme said and indicated to his troops to go open the locker.
Two Allung troopers moved forward but Rett lunged out as they stepped between him and the weapons bearing on him. Rett struck the two with lightning swift strikes on the side of their heads where they were the most vulnerable. He crushed the skull of one with his punch and knocked the other unconscious. He shoved their forms into the two behind. The fifth and sixth trooper shot Rett in the chest and side. He dropped back and down.
The Allung troopers and shook themselves off. These two immediately went and opened the locker. Cetosme came forward to see what they had found.
“Captain Rempla, welcome back to my…employ,” Cetosme said.
***
Chief Mayerchak’s team came to the mess hall about this time. His team swept in and caught the Allung just leaving the locker. Three of the seven remaining Allung were hit multiple times and died immediately. The remainder started firing back furiously. Cetosme came out of the locker holding a gun to the side of Rempla’s head.
“Back away or I will kill this one,” Cetosme said.
He started forcing her away from the locker when passed the prone body of Rett. Rett reached up, grabbed Cetosme’s gun arm and literally ripped the arm from his body. Cetosme screamed and took in a deep breath as if to exhale sharply but Rett knew of implanted Allung poison pouches. He clamped Cetosme’s jaws together with a crushing grip. He grasped Cetosme’s other arm and using his suit’s augmented strength, ripped off his other arm.
Cetosme’s troops turned their weapons on Rett but Rett held Cetosme’s still struggling form as a shield. The Allung troops exposed themselves when they turned on Rett and were gunned down by the ERF. Rett stood staggering slightly while still holding Cetosme’s body off the floor.
Chief Mayerchak came up to them and turned back to his people. “Finish the clearing operation and then see if you can rescue anyone trapped. Work in teams of three with one always covering. Rendezvous with Senior Chief Warrington’s people and start cleaning up this mess. Lieutenant Commander Rett. Want me to do something with this one?” he said. “Sir – you were kick ass brave.”
“Don’t let him spray you,” he said handing the now listless form of Cetosme to the Master Chief. “Treat his wounds. If he does anything – anything – he has two more appendages and you have my permission to rip them off as well. I understand humans eat the legs of similar creatures on Earth.”
“Ah yes, Commander. Tastes like chicken…delicious,” he said and handed the dangling Most Senior Allung to one of his men. “Watch him. Don’t let him spray you. Take him to medical and scan him to remove any…paraphernalia and the stuff in his mouth. Sir,” he said turning back to Rett. “You have two blast hits,” said Chief Mayerchak, implying that Rett needed medical attention himself.
“I modified my own suit a bit. I have some burns but nothing more. I will take care of Captain Rempla,” Rett said as pulled the Captain to him.
She nuzzled him and rubbed him. “You were so powerful. You protected me.”
“Let us go back to my quarters,” he said.
***
Chief Mayerchak was old school and had two of his people go through all the downed Allung and put a laser shot through the forehead of all of them.
Public Outrage
The damage control teams found that a slicer had cut off four rooms where crew
and rescued were trapped. The crew could have used their suits and cut through hull or bulkheads but the rescued without suits would have perished horribly if exposed to vacuum. Two of the three Ylee made it. One died because the second slicer passed right through where he stood. Actually any lamlee being would have died too.
The settlers in the distant parking location got an abbreviated account of the battles. The frigate crews got the complete briefing with edited video captured from many suit cameras.
Master Chief Warrington scanned and cleared the Allung shuttle – which was repaired and entered service for the ERF after it was upgraded.
Lee Post, Shiv, Rett, Tod, Xilatoi and Commodore Andrew Williams first re-interviewed the Tros Captain, Rempla. She reiterated that she had a gotten a crate full of lamlee from the Ylee and they said they had gotten them from the Flower – about 3,200 light years from here. They thanked her and sent her back out.
Rett spoke up, “Commodore, I have cross-indexed the Ylee chart reference with our chart and those of the Allung. It is what, on Earth, would be assumed to be the Lagoon Nebula. When the Ylee had asked them where they harvested the coral… Captain Rempla had jokingly used the term harvested. The Ylee evidently harvest the lamlee but won’t say where they do it. The Captain did not get the impression that they create them themselves. We should talk with the Ylee separately.”
The senior Ylee said he did not wish to talk with us because they were mourning the loss of their colleague.
Commodore Andrew Williams was angry. “You will talk with us. We lost over 400 colleagues trying to free your trade center.”
“You did not lose colleagues – you lost workers. There is a difference,” said the Ylee. “Our base of operations was destroyed because of you.”