As evening closed in, we decided to have a nice meal. Then we would visit a pub and listen to a popular local band. Time constraints caught up to us, leading us to one spot that would round out the evening. And Scotty had recommended just such a place, The Cuddly Queen. It had a strong but comforting ambiance, stone with beautiful design-work and large wooden beams that gave a feeling of safety and strength, the hearth fire casting a cheery warmth. There was a subdued amber lighting that added a charming, soothing effect to the place.
When the four-bug band came on-stage a subtle lighting enhanced the natural color shifting of their surface plating. Three played instruments and provided back-up vocals. They must have crafted the instruments, which were made to fit the anatomy of the performers. The main singer was a female with high resonant “vocal” tones. Their music consisted of clever adaptations to popular songs from the past few decades on Earth. Each song seemed crafted to bring out the choral sounds of so many spiracles, the lead singer alone producing multiple harmonies.
The others added so many levels of tonality, it was staggering. At first, I thought they should just ditch the musical instruments. But it didn’t take long to appreciate how the band incorporated great skill to make the overtone of the instruments fit perfectly into the mix. The complexity in the musical arrangement of a band of four is hard to describe. And the message hit hard, evoking a wide range of emotion.
On top of the beautiful music, the shifting of colors of their plating was mesmerizing, shimmering and changing color to further develop the mood. A fast, energetic song would bring out deep reds. Slow soulful songs would lead to more of an amber color scheme. But the colors were ever changing, shifting, at times slowly, sometimes quickly. The performance was all around awe-stounding. It was impossible to think of these as the same beings that had caused such horror during the invasion.
The pub held a mixed group of bugs and humans. I couldn’t believe the synchronized color changes of the bug audience, as their plating shimmered right along with the band. And it wasn’t distracting, since the effect was more subtle without the special stage lighting. Bugs are very expressive with their music, their emotions worn on the colorful plating for all to see. In normal conversation they’re much more subdued. Though I have to say, when you get to know them, a bug’s mood is clear to see.
***
Rock just popped in with a fast-and-furious look about him. In case I get sidetracked, here’s my outline for the Wonderland Operation.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND FAST TRACK OPERATIONAL OUTLINE
OBJECTIVES:
1. TAKE CONROL OF KREAHAAM TO PRIME PORTAL GATE.
2. ESTABLISH MILITARY CONTROL OF THE KREAHAAM SYSTEM IN ORDER TO DENY ACCESS TO CYGNUS PRIME.
3. FREE THOSE OF KREAHAAM FROM EMPIRE AND QUEEN SLAVERY.
OUTLINE:
1. Neutralize orbital munitions above Kreahaam-In (Dee) and Kreahaam-Out (Dum).
2. Jabberwocky One: Seize control of the Kreahaam-Cygnus Prime portal at Kreahaam.
3. White Knight. Establish dominance within the Kreahaam Star System, and support ground assault operations on both planets.
4. Humpty Dumpty: Destroy or otherwise take control of Empire fortress on Kreahaam-In.
5. Red Queen: Seize and control the royal palace of the Queen of All Kreahaam on Kreahaam-In.
6. Alice in Wonderland, Act One: Kreahaam-Out operation. White Queen assists with destruction of hardened targets as volunteer freedom forces take over planet-side operations, and queen bug pheromone inhibitor is applied.
7. Alice in Wonderland, Act Two: Kreahaam-In operation with same guidelines as Act One.
Chapter Three
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
Our first order of the Kreahaam invasion involves the bombs, Dee and Dum. That will be a Shockwave operation. It’s still May 26th. The bombs will certainly have a proximity detector. It takes half a second to port-in, untangle, grab a bomb, port-out, untangle, drop the bomb, and port-away to safety. Too dangerous all around. Hopefully, my cloaking field is going to help with that.
Rock arrived at the barracks, uncharacteristically late. Stuck in traffic, Rock? We’ve just finishing our suit checks. Roll has stopped by from whatever duty assignment he was on, to tether for us, though I don’t think that’s really necessary. Fierce is here. No doubt Para will be showing up. It can get crowded in here.
Anyway, we’ll first snatch Dee from Kreahaam-In. Then we go for Dum.
We are cloaked. Porting in... 3,2,1.
Disoriented. Tumbling. Stabilizer gyro... is... catching up. Much better. Something bad must have happened.
“Rock? Where are you? What happened? Here, I’ll turn on my strobe and transponder.”
“Viz? Thank goodness you’re okay. Here, I’m strobing too. Let’s meet in the middle. We’ve got to get to Dum before the Fortress goons figure out what happened.”
“Okay, I’m moving toward you. What happened?”
“I’m not sure. I think Dee detonated as we were porting off to Dum. We untangled here.”
“Where is here? My systems are all messed-up.”
“Yeah, mine too. No QuIM communications either. I did register the area sensor when we dropped the bomb off. Something happened when we were on our way to grab Dum. We need to figure this out. Fast.”
“What about Roll, his tethering?”
“Yes. I can feel his connection. At least I think that’s him. I don’t know. I can push us through, but it’s risky. We should have jumped off from a more port-friendly spot, instead of the barracks.”
“Let’s do it. Take us back to Roll. The tether should help us with a safe untangle, right? We’ve got to get oriented and grab Dum. This is taking too long.”
“Okay. Hey, let up on the jets or you’ll cream us. Stick your arm out for a do-si-do.”
“A do-si-who?”
“Link arms, elbows. Now! Good job! Porting... 3,2,1.”
Roll is staring at us, and probably not only because I landed on my backside as we untangled. Do-si-do, my foot.
Gentleman Roll has offered a lady his hand after her decidedly dainty fall, but has a confused look. “Something felt off with the port. Are you guys okay? And why did you untangle here, in the barracks?”
Rock isn’t sure what to say. “I don’t know what happened, not for sure. We must have caught the edge of the explosion.”
Roll doesn’t like the sound of that. “The explosion? You snatched both bombs, right?”
Fierce has been monitoring the Solcom channel chatter. “There was a massive explosion, Kreahaam sector N-175. One explosion. 50-gigatons. Massive.”
Rock has his hand out, ready to port after checking his pid to certify Dum’s position. “Still need to grab Dum. Ready, Viz?”
What choice do we have? “Uhhh, okay? Deep breath. Cloak, cloak, cloak. Ready.”
And we’re back at our little corner of Oort. This time we untangled in our designated port zone.
Then we took the 30 second stroll back to our barracks. “Hi, guys. Been waiting long?”
Fierce was a little jumpy. “Hi. Glad you’re back safe and sound. You did drop off Dum in Kreahaam sector S-175? There’s been no explosion in that sector.”
Rock just looks tired. “Yeah, it’s there. Maybe Dum is a dud.”
Roll can’t quite manage a smile. “Solcom will verify. But what happened with you guys and the first bomb?”
Rock still isn’t sure. “I really don’t know. We must have ported out of Sector N-175 just as Dee exploded. There was... I don’t know... maybe a catastrophic untangle. I aimed for our designated Oort port zone, but we obviously didn’t make it. Our instruments were down, and I’m still not sure where we were. But I could feel your tug, as you tethered our port-run. It was all I could do to port us back here. Sorry. Dangerous. I was totally disoriented.”
Roll merely shrugged, then pointed to an open area in the barracks. “There was nothing else you could do. Dum had to be taken down. I could feel your ret
urn in the tether. Seriously, I directed your landing to that exact spot.”
I was definitely sore in one particular exact spot, from splatting on the floor. “You directed us to land in that exact spot, huh?”
Roll was saved from any further explanation as our pids chimed in announcement. Special Operations Team Shockwave, port to Oort port-zone Alpha-5 immediately. That is all.
It looks like Para, Tee, and Communal are already waiting at Alpha-5. And it’s Jabberwocky time.
***
We’re cloaked as we untangle near the Jabberwocky Portal Gate control station. It’s still May 26th, only a few minutes since we disposed of Dee and Dum.
ISR summary data indicates an uptick in chatter coming from the Fortress on Kreahaam-In. The Primers know their bombs are missing so they have to be on edge. They haven’t activated Jabberwocky, yet, so at least the news is staying local. We went deep with those bombs. Dum still hasn’t detonated. Solcom has the luxury of sensors with QuIM processors near the predetermined bomb disposal areas. The EM signal from the explosion won’t reach this sector for days.
I’m confident the Fortress Primers won’t call home any time soon, not before we take Jabberwocky. They’ll conduct their own thorough review. Two missing 50-gigaton bombs would require a careful explanation. Come to think of it, I wonder what would happen if we sent a 50-gigaton bomb over the bridge to Cygnus Prime. I bet their defense dome couldn’t handle something like that. We should give it a try if we find one lying around that doesn’t have a proximity trigger.
Crud. I just caught a glimpse of myself in Rock’s visor. It could be a trailer for a cartoon movie starring Violent Viz, hair sticking out this way and that, right hand holding a mini-20 for any kill-sniffers, left hand sporting a blaster. Enough of that. Blaster on stun? Affirmative. Mini-20 is locked and loaded.
Time to focus. Cloak, cloak, cloak. Team port to Jabberwocky breach site in... 3,2,1.
OPERATION JABBERWOCKY. Secure the Kreahaam to Cygnus Prime Portal Bridge.
Outer airlock is... breached. Roll has line-of-site to an open space for a port. We’re inside, moving fast. Para and Roll are going left. Tee and Rock are moving right. Communal is in the airlock sealing the hatch and watching for reinforcements.
Fierce and I are still cloaked as Fierce works his cyber magic at the station controls and I stand watch. Our focus is sharpened by the sound of mini-20s and the whine-clap of blasters NOT on the stun setting. We may need to provide backup.
Most of the action is to the right, with Tee and Rock.
“Rock, I’ll move left and draw their attention. Can you manage a port just aft of their position?
“I can’t see the deck. But I think I can land on top of that equipment, with the blue lights. Hold! Perimeter warning. Duck! More sniffers. Okay, I’m ready to port whenever you’re set.”
“All right. Let’s finish this.”
There’s the all clear from Tee. The station has been secured. But I’m sure it just shuddered.
Communal is still on airlock security. “This is Communal. Alert! We’ve got mil-bots on fast approach. Reinforcements will be required to retain this station. Tee?”
Mil-bots in space? Fierce has them on display, using the station vid-grid. There are a lot of mean-looking murder bots heading our way from a troop transport that has taken position near the station. We won’t be able to hold. The station is trembling as the mil-bots rake the airlock hatch with fire.
Tee looks exasperated. “There’s active jamming all across our comms network. Even QuIM is bogging down with all the all the added traffic. There! I’ve got someone. Sending to everyone’s comms.”
*VIPER Fleet Command: Shockwave, this is Viper Fleet Command. The strike fleet has crossed into Kreahaam space. SLS Scorpio is on route to Jabberwocky for assist. Hold your position. Keep this channel open.
Fierce has an interface, his quputer with the station computer. He’s now isolating the station comms and vid-grid from the local system, so he can run Viper communications and data without the Empire capturing the signal. Come on, choose the narrative feature, so the reporting isn’t so sterile. Good job!
DISPLAY. Jabberwocky Station.
A colorful, hazy glow engulfs the mil-bots when the troop transport in the background erupts in a short-lived fireball. Another bolt of energy crashes through the cluster of mil-bots that, for a tactical standpoint, should have been more spread-out. The dark shape of a battlestar slowly cruises past in the near distance, just beyond a starscape of metal pieces glittering in the station’s lights. It is all that’s left of the mil-bots, a beautiful ending to a major threat.
END DISPLAY.
*VIPER FLEET COMMAND: Alert! Freedom Battle Group, there are three dreadnaught class warships on route from Kreahaam-Out. Stand by.
The ships have not responded to our hails. They have closed warp fields and are continuing to your sector under high-G burn. Vectors are stable. We have Logan battle zone sensors in the field. The Empire ships have target designations DW-1 through DW-3. Stand by.
Freedom Battle Group, you are cleared hot to engage the enemy. You now have theater control in the Kreahaam system under Operation Wonderland.
*FREEDOM BATTLE GROUP, command ship, SLSF Gagarin: Affirmative, Viper Command. We acknowledge Wonderland’s operational control. *BREAK*
*WONDERLAND COMMAND: This is Wonderland Command actual. Freedom Battle Group now has theater control to initiate Operation Wonderland. Listen up for directives.
Scorpio, maintain overwatch of Jabberwocky Station.
Aldebaran, Pollux, Castor will engage DW-1. Aldebaran, oversee a staggered line formation and watch for target warp field vector adjustments.
Mizar, Sadr, Merak. You will engage DW-2.
Regor and Sargas, take wing positions to Freedom, per my plot. DW-3 will serve as a test run for our upgraded starfighters and munitions.
Freedom BG, the rest will disburse according to my plot. Acknowledge as received. You are clear to prosecute. Good luck to you, battlestars. Let’s quark these devils.
DISPLAY. SLS Freedom, battle carrier.
Enemy ship DW-3 was already on a vector to intercept the Freedom BG when the battle carrier broke formation on a high acceleration attack run. Suddenly, the visual image of DW-3 distorted, the graph showing a spike in brightness and a blueshift. The quputer adjusted to compensate for the relativistic visual distortions. A ghost image commentary with diagrammatic details provides information about the warp field that has enveloped DW-3, showing the warp anomaly traveling at a velocity of 0.92C, 92% light speed. The image shifted multiple times as the ship moved in and out of warp, adjusting course to evade potential fire.
A klaxon begins to wail just before a concussive wave impacts Freedom’s shielding.
With no crew, Freedom is able to take extreme evasive measures, beginning a series of defensive maneuvers ending in a sustained spin along his axis. In the midst of the maneuvers, he launches three starfighters, which spread out, moving at maximum burn to box in DW-3.
Freedom has been tracking DW-3’s evasive pattern using predictive algorithms to gain a tracking advantage. Starfighter-1, handle Redball, moves hard left, anticipating a warp maneuver, then drops 10 THOr shells. The canisters enter active scanning mode, seeking to lock on the enemy ship. Freedom pushes out a command to adjust fire control to each shell, staggering the rate of fire. As DW-3 drops from warp, and repositions to fire on Freedom, the THOr shells erupt in staggered bursts with shaped high yield nuclear exciter explosions, sending ten spears of atomic fire blazing toward DW-3.
A cascade of muted colors shimmer along the forward-facing energy shield of the dreadnaught in the three locations impacted by the energetic plasma streams. Starfighter-2, Dragonfire, has already dropped three more shells, adding to the deadly barrage. A muted yellow fireball explodes from a forward port section of DW-3’s hull, sending the ship hard left on the display. Starfighter-3, Sunspot, maxes out a deceleration burn to avoid overshooting the t
arget and drops three shells.
DW-3 opens a warp field to run, but instead, a bright pulse signals a catastrophic warp failure, and the collapse of the ship’s energetic shielding. Freedom detects the enemy ship is dead in space and signals Sunspot to terminate THOr shell detonation. The command is received a millisecond too late, as DW-3 comes apart in a quick series of yellow, blue, and green puffs, with debris pushing out in all directions.
END DISPLAY.
DISPLAY. SLS Aldebaran, battlestar.
Aldebaran has pushed far right to intercept DW-1 which has opened a warp field on an apparent course to Jabberwocky portal. The other two ships in his attack group will not be able to course-correct in time to engage the fast-moving dreadnaught. Aldebaran has linked systems with Scorpio, who will remain in proximity to Jabberwocky.
DW-1 seems to make an impossible instant 90-degree right angle course change. An Interact Grid expands to impart high-speed image control, and a replay that shows the dreadnaught closing its warp field, adjusting course 90-degrees right, then reopened a warp field, all in a split second. Aldebaran is quick to adjust his intercept course. Just before the sensors along his port bow register an active ping, a target lock, he fires port battle thrusters at full and kicks in his fusion afterburners. His hull is already under tremendous strain from the maneuver when he is hit by an edge-of-wave GRASER blast from DW-1.
Aldebaran is still alive, so to say, thanks to the recent addition of Quantum Glimpse technology to his battle systems. The split-second future-peak warning of a massive energy discharge, just before his port bow sensors registered the enemy target lock, gave him time to escape the brunt of the destructive force. At that, he is damaged, the worst of it being the loss of energetic shielding.
Scorpio expresses his concern, but Aldebaran is in the best position to destroy the enemy ship, and his main guns are operational. Battle thrusters quickly correct the pitch and yaw resulting from the impact, while DW-1 has been positioning for another shot. Aldebaran fires his main gun. An arc of particle beam lightning impacts the enemy dreadnaught. An Interact Grid slows the imaging enough to see the particle beam pound the ships shielding, causing it to buckle. DW-1 shudders under the force of a partial hull strike. A large scorched area shows the impact site but no evidence of a breach.
Invasion: Journal Three (Shockwave Book 3) Page 19
