The Plasma Master

by Brian Rushton

  Chapter 10

  The Imperial fleet dropped out of warp in a dazzling array of white flashes. First tens, then hundreds, and then finally over two thousand warships appeared, as promised. The incomprehensibly large fleet loomed toward Ergana Prime and the StarBlazer defense force like a thunder cloud – there were so many ships that it was hard to pick out individual vessels among the encroaching mass. The warships launched their starfighters long before they entered the Alliance’s weapons range, and the number of enemy targets suddenly jumped by a factor of thirty. Warp drives powered down, and the vast assortment of weapon systems charged to full power. The StarBlazer troops watched the massive fleet approach in stoic silence. For many of them it was the last thing they would ever see.

  Marvis Harvey’s voice cut through the almost comforting silence like a scythe. “All ships: attack.” And in those three words he set the entire region of space on fire.

  The battleships of the two armies clashed in an explosion of red light. Those with the most maneuverability sought to dodge in close to their targets and inflict as much damage as possible quickly, while the larger and better-armed ships covered them from a distance. Lasers and missiles rained from each ship and turned the empty space in-between into a deadly web of sizzling energy. In the very midst of this laser storm flew the starfighters, the most maneuverable spacecraft of all. Coordinated by their mother starships and by Captain Devorion aboard Iron Talon, these miniature war machines drew fire away from less-agile targets and hammered away at the enemy ships’ energy shields. They formed smaller groups and attacked other starfighters as well.

  “Watch the east-top flank, Maj…”

  “I see it!” Harvey shouted back at General Marnax. Of course Harvey knew what he was doing, but it was difficult for Marnax to just sit where he was and watch the battle unfold. He had never been half the military leader Harvey was, but he could not help but take the ultimate responsibility for the outcome of this battle. As it was, he was waiting behind the front lines in Galactron. He was waiting for Devastator.

  So far the Imperial super destroyer was holding back. It was a wise tactic; Galactron was doing the same. It was difficult to tell how the battle was turning out so soon, so both sides were saving their most powerful ships until they knew how and where they could be best used.

  Marnax glanced down at one of the many display screens in front of him. The enemy fleet was still far from Ergana, so the planet’s weapons were useless at the moment. That was actually a good thing, since it meant that the StarBlazer force was holding its ground. Marnax zoomed in on various sections of the battle. His fleet was forming a wall that blocked the advance of the Imperial ships. The enemy ships could have dropped out of warp surrounding the planet if they had wished, but instead they were choosing to come at it from just one direction. This kept them from being as spread out and allowed the Empire to keep ships in reserve; surrounding the planet would have put every warship on the front lines.

  The fighting was fiercest at the center of the wall. Rather than attempt to skirt the edges of the StarBlazer defense, which would only result in the Allied ships falling back out of reach and into the protective range of the planet’s weapons, the Empire was focusing its attack on the center of the Allied fleet, where most of its ships were. Apparently its goal was to cause as much damage as possible there before it was forced to engage the planet itself.

  The tactic was working. Marnax heard Harvey order the fleet to fall back into planetary defense range where Ergana’s weapons could join in the battle. This would hem the StarBlazer ships in somewhat between the enemy fleet and Ergana’s shields, but the extra firepower was worth the sacrifice. Slowly the Allied ships fell back. The Imperial fleet was on their heels.

  Now the battle shifted in favor of the Alliance. Laser shots as wide as a small warship thundered up from Ergana’s surface and burned into the Anacronians. They dodged them, of course, but they were only eighty percent successful. The lasers began to take their toll. Target-locking missiles accompanied Ergana’s laser barrage, but still Devastator waited.

  “General! Destroyers on an intercept course!” The Imperial ships had decided to target Galactron.

  Bad move, Marnax thought grimly. “Rally the surrounding ships and take us into the middle of it. Destroy them.”

  The nearby StarBlazer warships moved to aid Galactron, but they soon found themselves striving to keep up. Marnax’s flagship was plowing into the enemy attack force without fear. The weapons tower and the lateral weapons arrays were ablaze with red light as Galactron hammered its attackers with energy. Smaller ships were destroyed in minutes and larger ones were forced to keep their distance. Enemy starfighters raced among Galactron’s lasers in an attempt to weaken its shields, but Galactron had three fighter squadrons of its own, each consisting of ten ships, and this escort proved more than a match for the Imperial attackers. At least it was at first. Seeing that Galactron was beset by enemies, several more Imperial warships joined the battle. The odds quickly grew worse, and soon even Galactron’s superior armament was only enough to keep the battle even.

  Then Iron Talon appeared, and from its hull flew the fighters of the Starhawk squadron. A few of them had been damaged, but so far all of them were still in fighting condition. Swarming around Galactron, Ambelshack Devorion led his squadron in a quick sweep of the enemy starfighters in the area. Then they split up and headed for the warships. Starhawk consistently dodged the rain of enemy laser fire, and soon the primary weapon systems of several Imperial ships were trained solely on these few starfighters. Galactron’s weapons tore into the ships that had averted their firepower, and one after another they buckled and exploded, littering the surrounding space with debris. A few more minutes passed, and then the tide of battle turned back away from Galactron.

  Then a siren beeped on Marnax’s control panel, and he scanned the rear of the enemy lines. It was just as he had suspected. Devastator was moving.

  Imperial ships parted to let the Emperor’s toy through. No one wanted to be caught in its crossfire. StarBlazer ships tried to move out of the way as well, but the Imperial fleet managed to herd several of the Allied vessels into Devastator’s lethal weapons range. They were torn to pieces. Ship after ship made a desperate charge at the seemingly invincible monster. They caused some damage, but not nearly enough. Every ship that challenged Devastator was either destroyed or forced to back away, severely weakened.

  “It’s headed straight for us, sir.”

  Marnax nodded. Just a little longer…

  Devastator continued to approach. Marnax ordered Galactron farther back into the range of Ergana’s weapons, but the Imperial super destroyer did not slow. Now most of the StarBlazer ships were managing to avoid its inexorable advance, but it ignored them. Devastator seemed set on crushing Galactron. A chill began to set in the pit of Marnax’s stomach.

  Then Major Harvey activated the fleet-wide communicator. “Allied fleet: split! Everyone back!”

  Then as one the entire StarBlazer force broke away from the battle and formed a wide corridor of emptiness around Devastator. Got you! Marnax thought. There was a flare of light on Ergana’s surface, and then a long tendril of pale green light lanced upward from the planet and completely enveloped Devastator. The ship disappeared in the green aura for a moment, and everyone on Galactron’s pricom cheered.

  But something was wrong.

  Instead of fading and revealing empty space where Devastator had been, the green light began to turn orange. It began to pulsate, and then abruptly beams of orange light shot outward and consumed the closest StarBlazer ships. “It can’t be,” Harvey muttered, staring at the main viewscreen. “It’s still there!”

  “Deactivate the beam!” Marnax shouted. “Marnax to Ergana: direct all planetary weapons on Devastator! It must be destroyed!”

  Ergana’s weapons began firing, but they were not enough. With the last of the orange light Devastator destroyed the closest of the missiles, and already it w
as heading out of Ergana’s weapons range. It was heading directly into the StarBlazer fleet. It was hunting.

  Marnax watched as ship after ship was ripped apart. “Viper’s not holding back! We have to do something!”

  Harvey turned on him, and there was a defeated look in his eyes. “General, Devastator took out over fifty ships with that light. I don’t know how it happened, but it did. Most of the ships we have left are surrounded in isolated groups; I can’t bring them back together. We can stay and fight, but as long as that thing’s prowling around tearing us apart I don’t see how we can win. At least, not without losing far more ships than we can afford to. We have to pull out.”

  Marnax was incredulous. “Pull out? Surrender? Harvey, what happened? There must be away to stop that thing! If we don’t do it now, then when?”

  Harvey just shook his head. “I don’t know. All I know is that the sooner we leave, the fewer ships get destroyed in the process. If we stay, win or lose, this will be the last battle StarBlazer ever fights.”

  Marnax thought for just a moment before making up his mind. He had always trusted Harvey, and this was certainly not the time to stop doing it. “All ships, this is Gerran Marnax. Prepare to pull out. We’ll regroup and reassemble at fallback one.”

  The citizens of Ergana Prime were already aboard shuttles with most of their personal belongings. Seconds after the planetary shields dropped they were out of the atmosphere and headed toward safety at warp speed. As soon as they were gone, the army broke off and went to warp as well. Ergana’s military equipment was all destroyed so that the Empire would not be able to use it. Mines were set all over the planet’s surface in hopes that the Imperial invasion force would trip some of them. The homes and wildlife of the planet were left intact in hopes that Ergana Prime would one day be retaken.

  Dark Viper had other plans, however. Even before the last of the StarBlazer fleet had left the battle, the Imperial ships barraged the planet with nuclear and biochemical weapons. The entire planet was transformed into a gray wasteland.