The Khruellian Encounter

by C J Klinger

  He stood a little straighter and said, “The evidence suggests it would be a useless effort that will only lead to harsh consequences.”

  Jon was not impressed with his argument. “That is probably what some of your ancestors said when the first Alphan attempted to fly, but here you are, many generations later exploring the stars.”

  Some of the Alphans made a noise that Jon interpreted as laughter. It had the desired effect on Kloeum. He looked around for help but saw that some of his supporters were talking quietly to Kreeg. He turned back to Jon and said “How could we possibly win such a war? What would you have us do?”

  Vice Admiral Estes watched Jon work on the Alphan’s resistance with growing respect. His idea of attacking the Khruellians’ homeworlds as a diversionary tactic was risky, but had merit, especially if it would convince the Khruellians the attacks had come from someplace other than the Orion-Cygnus Cluster of stars. If the Alphans would agree to use a fleet of their spaceships to convince the Khruellians they were under attack by a superior force, it might cause them to pull back some of their expansion forces to protect their homeworlds from future attacks. The more effective the ruse, the more time the Alphan and the CIP would gain to organize a resistance alliance of other species targeted by the Hegemony’s expansion.

  Jon didn’t want to alienate the Alphan, he wanted to make him a willing participant in the fight to survive. He had a thought. He addressed the Alphans as if he was the only one in the room. In a soft voice, he said, “Ruuhr told us you Alphans have studied us for many thousands of years and that you occasionally stepped in to help us along on our path to the future. Can you describe one of those events for me?”

  Jon’s low tone and question caught the Alphan by surprise. He stared back without any expression, but he was keenly aware of the interest in their conversation by everyone in the room.

  Finally, Kloeum said, “Thermopylae. We delayed the betrayal of the Spartans by one day.”

  Jon nodded his head in understanding and said, “That delay gave the Greeks the time they needed to defeat the Persians, which led to the formation of the first democratically elected government on Earth and influenced governments for the next three thousand years.”

  The Alphan made a face, which Talor informed Jon meant ‘satisfaction.’ Kloeum looked at Jon and waited for the human to continue.

  Jon continued in his low tone and said, “Consider this your Thermopylae, the moment that future Alphans will discuss and study as we have studied Thermopylae on Earth as a critical junction in our history.”

  His words caused a considerable stir among the Alphans. Kreeg stepped forward and spoke at length to Kloeum. Several of the other Alphans joined in. Talor translated for Jon as they spoke. It was a detailed discussion of the pros and cons of fighting the Khruellians, the kind of debate academics would conduct. By human standards, it seemed to have as much emotion as two friends on Newhope discussing the differences between beers. Talor assured him this was a serious discussion by Alphan standards.

  Kloeum put up his hands. The gesture was unmistakable; he was conceding his position. “I will support your efforts,” he said looking directly at Jon.

  Jon bowed to the Alphan and said, “Thank you, Kloeum. I thank you on behalf of my people and our future children.”

  With the end of the Alphan resistance, events moved quickly. Vice Admiral Estes sent a flash-com to Admiral Dexter in Newhope requesting permission to conduct a diversionary raid on a Khruellian military installation with the goal of creating the impression the Khruellian Hegemony was under attack by a powerful, unknown enemy from the inner galaxy, away from the Orion-Cygnus belt. Admiral Dexter sent back a message back authorizing Vice Admiral Estes to engage his ships as he saw fit but to use extreme caution. Their primary mission was to gather allies, not to start an interstellar war with the Hegemony. He was, however free to take aggressive diversionary action if the conditions were favorable. Both Jon and Vice Admiral Estes interpreted the message as giving them enough latitude to take the battle to the Khruellians, as long as they could hide their identity and their homeworlds’ locations.

  Ruuhr authorized the formation of a diversionary fleet to be led by an Alphan commander under the supervision of a CFS commander. The Alphans ships, which were unarmed, would serve as scouts and mock warships to help create the illusion that a large fleet was attacking the Khruellian homeworld.

  Jon thought of one problem and asked Ruuhr about it. “You said before that you have been exploring Khruellian space for many years. Is that correct?”

  The Alphan considered the question and said, “That is correct, Captain McKinnah. They are aware of the non-aggressive nature and our flights. Our ships are a well-known sight in their space.”

  Jon thought that was the situation. He said, “So if your spaceships suddenly appear as part of an invasion fleet, they will know it is the same ships that have been spying on them for all these centuries.”

  “We considered that possibility, Captain McKinnah. We intend to use our interstellar personnel carriers for this ‘ghost fleet’ operation. They are a more traditional, missile-shaped craft the Khruellians will not recognize.”

  Jon’s concerns were eased, but not completely. It would take just one mistake, and the Khruellians would see right through the ruse. From what he had learned of the Hegemony, their response would be swift and devastating.

  After two days an initial plan of action was devised. Vice Admiral Estes and several representatives from Alpha would take the CSF Enderson and embark on a recruiting tour of the potential allies. Talor would go with Vice Admiral Estes and use his influence as a former Ankh Ares to convince them to create a joint defense force. Jon would take Islandia II along with the Alphan ghost fleet and, as Vice Admiral Estes suggested, “Poke the beast in the eye.”

  Jon planned to approach and leave the Khruellian homeworld in several stages from the direction of the inner galaxy. If they left enough electronic evidence it should be convincing enough to fool the Hegemony into believing that’s where the attack had originated.

  Vice Admiral Estes ’ instructions were specific, “Attack only the Khruellian military base. We don’t want to attack any civilian population centers.”

  “I understand, Sir,” Jon said, unable to keep the anticipation of going into battle out of his voice. All his life he had listened to his parents and grandparents talk about their experiences in the Muhyba wars. Those stories had been his motivation to follow in their footsteps. In the service, he had excelled at every exercise designed to mimic actual battle. Now it was his turn to experience it in real life.

  By early the next day all preparations were completed. A substantial crowd of Alpha citizens gathered to watch Islandia II liftoff. They were not a boisterous species, but the emotions they exhibited were unmistakable, fear mixed with pride.

  Within an hour, Islandia II parked next to the CSF Enderson. Vice Admiral Estes and his party transferred to the flagship. Jon accompanied then for a brief review of his plans to tour the potential allies. It was unnecessary, and he silently thanked the Captain for giving him a chance to say goodbye to his fiancée.

  In the privacy of her wardroom, the parting was emotional and swift.

  “Be safe, my mate. Come back to me,” Annika said with a glint of tears in her eyes.

  “Be safe, my mate,” Jon echoed and left before her emotions overwhelmed him.

  Chapter 28

  Aboard the Hegemony fleet

  The Khruellian ships dropped out of orbit. The squadron under the command of Captain Dulak formed up in a V-shaped wedge behind the lead ship. The planet below them was the capital world of the latest to-be-conquered empire. The ten-world confederation had unwisely refused to accept the generous terms offered by the Negotiator. This was the consequence of that refusal, a devastating visit by the Khruellian fleet.

  “No evidence of any interceptors rising to meet our fleet,” Communications reported.

  Captain Dulak was dis
appointed; he was spoiling for a fight. The encounter with the flagship Captain had left him disgruntled with the outcome. The Captain had managed to make him look like an ambitious upstart.

  “Single interceptor detected ahead. No evasive action.”

  “One ship? Captain Dulak asked in disbelief. It was an insult. “Atomics?” he asked suspicious of a single ship’s intentions.

  “No fissionable material detected,” the young officer in charge of ship’s defense replied.

  “Destroy the interceptor,” Dulak ordered. He was not amused by the obvious insult to his armada.

  “Interceptor has disappeared,” the same officers said with a tone of wonder in his voice.

  “Disappeared?” the captain repeated in surprise. “Sensors?” he asked questioningly.

  The system’s defense officer stared intently at his instruments and said, “I can detect no mass other than our own ships, sir.” His anxiety was detectable. Several officers on the bridge moved restlessly. They were not used having their enemies defying them like this tiny cluster of stars had done, nor were they used to having enemy ships disappear from sight and then not be able to detect their location.

  Captain Dulak was not immune to their uneasiness. He decided action was the best solution for fear of the unknown. “Begin the attack,” he ordered even though they were still too high above the surface and too far away from the capital city to be truly effective. On his command, the lead destroyer opened fire with his plasma cannons. An impressive amount of the terrain erupted in a cloud of dust and flames immediately below the formation. Impressive, but not totally destructive; they were still too high.

  Captain Dulak was pleased but was anxious to see more meaningful results, He ordered, “Descend to the designated level.”

  The bridge responded, and the view of the world below began to expand in the bridge monitors as the formation began to descend to the desired altitude for maximum effectiveness.

  The officers on the bridge sucked in their breaths in unison as the lead destroyer disintegrated right before their eyes. There was no explosion; it simply “disassembled” right in front of them. It was as if all the seams and welds had simply given away at the same time. Captain Dulak could make out some of the crew members cartwheeling through space, limbs spread out in a frantic, final gesture. He and every member of the bridge crew were stunned at the magnitude and speed of the ship’s destruction.

  “Spread out,” he screamed into his communicator. Before his ships could respond, another ship followed the fate of the first ship. This time it was a massive battleship, ten times the size of the destroyer. All sense of order and discipline disappeared as the formation broke up trying to get away from the unseen, deadly enemy. Two ships collided an event that had not occurred in the Khruellian Space Fleet in two thousand years. As the ships scattered, Captain Dulak knew his career was over. No senior officer survived a debacle like this one. He issued orders to have the fleet reassemble in space. Deep anger had replaced his initial panic. The destruction of the capital city would go on; there were several ways to accomplish that, but now it was a personal matter. His career was in ruins, but so would be the capital city plus and an area twice the size of the original plan.

  “Prepare the hydrogen missiles,” he ordered as the ships reformed in space. The original plan to level the capital with plasma cannons would have left the city’s subterranean infrastructure intact. In a relatively short time, the citizens of the conquered world would have been able to rebuild their capital city, but the initial destruction would serve as a constant reminder to their domination by the Khruellian Empire. With the use of hydrogen weapons, there would be no rebuilding of any kind for hundreds of years.

  Captain Mokrien-Dulak contemplated the last combat action of his career and his life. He preferred to be the master of his own demise and not leave that onerous task to the Absolute’s executioners.

  “Launch missiles,” he ordered. He watched the missiles steak away from his ships with grim satisfaction. Turning, he bowed to his crew who bowed in return leaving them unable to look him in the face, which suited Captain Dulak just fine. He did not want anyone to see the shame in his eyes.

  Chapter 29

  Deep space

  The holographic projection glowed in the middle of the command center. The light illuminated the faces of the crew members situated around the display. The navigation slot, normally manned by Ensign Richards was shared by a tall Alphan named Sleeg. On Lieutenant Burns’ command, a new display appeared showing their target star system. Islandia II and a fleet of fifty Alphan transport ships were assembled in formation approximately a thousand parsecs away from the planet Khruel toward the center of the galaxy. This position was the inner border of the Khruellian Hegemony.

  The plan was simple. Jon’s armada would jump in mass to the immediate vicinity of the planet Khruel. Sleeg had preselected the giant space center the Alphas had detected on earlier surveillance flights. The Islandia was the only armed ship so the Alphans would not be able to take part in any attack on any Hegemony military installation; they were there to create the illusion of a much larger force. Jon’s ship would dive to the deck and attack the main space force complex. The attack would last less than thirty seconds, long enough to inflict considerable damage with the PBW guns.

  At a predetermined moment, Islandia II would return to space and rejoin the Alphan ghost armada. The reassembled fleet would immediately jump one hundred light years back in the direction they had come from and repeat the jumps until they returned to their original starting spot.

  The Alphan ships would require an hour to recharge before they could make the long jump back to their home system. Based on the evidence they planned to leave behind, the Khruellians should assume the threat had originated toward the center of the galaxy, far away from the Orion-Cygnus cluster. That was the plan. Jon tried to think of what could go wrong. Just about anything, he concluded. The ship’s Talo agreed with his assessment.

  Jon gave the order to execute the jump. The holographic display changed immediately showing the planet Khruel. The Alphan ships immediately broke off to fly in formation around the world while Jon headed straight for the surface. Islandia II hit the atmosphere at better than Mach 4 sending a massive sonic shock wave toward the ground. The rapid-fire, short-range PB guns and the long-range version erupted simultaneously.

  Jon slowed the Islandia down to Mach one. The size of the place stunned him as it rolled past under their ship. He leveled the Islandia II off to be able to bring the rear guns to bear. At an altitude of one thousand meters, the destruction was incredible. Huge warships were cut in two by the power of the PB gun. The thirty seconds seemed like an eternity to Jon. He expected massive retaliation at any moment, but none came. They had totally surprised the Khruellians. Precisely at thirty seconds, the Islandia shot up toward the space boundary to meet up with the Alphan fleet that had circled the planet. The rear guns continued to wreak havoc on the burning field behind them as they climbed up toward the boundary with space. The ship slowed as it climbed away from the influence of the planet’s gravity, the source of its local propulsion power. This was their most vulnerable position, an easy target for any ground gunner.

  With a sigh of relief from everyone aboard, the Islandia joined the Alphan fleet at an altitude of one hundred kilometers. When Jon was satisfied there were no casualties or any ships missing, he gave the order to execute the first jump. As they disappeared from the Khruellian system, a very small, undetectable ‘snooper-scout’ remained behind to record the Khruellians’ reaction. It had a power pack that would allow it to stay in orbit for one-month surveying and recording all it saw and heard and then perform a one-time jump to an orbit above Newhope, where the CSF’s intelligence corps waited to retrieve it, eager to see its contents.

  After a series of shorter jumps, the Alphan fleet paused at the original departure point. Jon reviewed the recording of the damaged they had inflicted. He commented to his command
crew watching the holographic review, “I believe we can safely report to Vice Admiral Estes that we have ‘Poked the beast in the eye.’”

  The crew voiced their agreement. They were now veterans of a combat operation. Jon cautioned them, “We must not think it will be this simple every time we fight the Khruellians. They are the galaxy’s mightiest empire, more than a thousand times larger than we are. Some of us will probably not survive this war, maybe none of us will.”

  Jon’s sobering words put a damper on the celebration, but the pride of having successfully completed what they were trained to do still glowed in their faces. It shone in the captain’s eyes as well.

  Chapter 30

  The Planet Khruel

  The Absolute raged uncontrollably for three days before his aides could bring him under control. Better than half of his personal staff had fled and many of those who stayed regretted their loyalty. Some of them had died including the messengers who delivered the news about the extent of the damage. At the end of the third day, he was calm enough to call the leaders of the Hegemony into emergency session. Notably missing was Mekel-Baalik, the Minister of Defense who had decided death by his own hand was a far better choice than death by the Absolute’s hand.

  The vestigial black feathers on the Absolute head and back were still erect when he asked the deceased Minister’s temporary replacement to read the summary of damages to the home fleet. The list was extensive, and the assembled Leaders reacted in shock as the nervous replacement enumerated the number of battleships, cruisers, and frigates that had been either totally destroyed, or so severely damaged, they would probably have to be scrapped. The cost of replacement would exceed the annual tithe from twenty conquered empires for ten years, the time it would take to fully replace the damaged ships.