“Our missiles are nearing their target,” announced Wasat.
The Captain looked up at the screen. Anticipating his Captain’s wishes Vilban had ordered the image of the target dreadnought magnified. Miniature suns flared in space as Kthpok defenses began to stop missiles. He watched as the explosions moved closer to the ship. Then Erit straightened on his saddle as a missile got through the defenses to strike the dreadnaughts armored hull. Another missile hit, then another. A cheer went through the ODP’s Command Room when more missiles streaked in. The Kthpok ship seemed to shudder then blew apart. Pieces of the immense ship struck several escorts. Two destroyers were holed and began to stream atmosphere. One began to fall from orbit.
The second Kthpok launch arrived at the ODP. Counter missiles spat out of their launch sleeves to intercept the larger ship-fired weapons. This last enemy salvo was more effective than the first. The Kthpok electronics warfare officers were learning to counter the Iidx electronics. As the Kthpok missiles closed on Sargon the defensive lasers opened fire.
It began as an almost imperceptible shudder when the first warhead detonated near the ODP’s armored hull. Erit reached over to tighten his restraints as another missile actually struck the armor. He was thrown against his harness. Another detonation threw him the other way. Gripping his saddle and console to prevent from having his shell cracked against the metal casing. He tried to keep an eye on the Tactical Plot despite the shaking. Thunder boomed throughout the platform masking most other noises. “Damage?” yelled the Captain trying to be heard over the bedlam but no one was able to respond.
The Command Room’s orientation suddenly shifted to the left then righted itself as the gravity generators were hit with a power surge and reset. Several consoles in various places of the room exploded sending shrapnel scything through the air. A large piece of jagged metal flew across the room to decapitate the Damage Control Officer as he received reports. Another officer working in communications had his shell pierced by hundreds of metal shards when his console exploded. He just slumped down onto his saddle without a sound. A third Iidx was untouched by the shrapnel but his restraints were sliced into ribbons. He flew from his saddle, thrown by another explosion and slammed into a bulkhead. The force of the impact was enough to split his shell.
Auto damage control circuits kicked in and the damaged consoles stopped sparking. Iidx grabbed nearby fire extinguishers and sprayed foam on the fires caused by the explosions. Their efforts were hampered by more missiles detonating against the hull. Other Iidx stepped up to backup stations to handle the tasks performed by the killed officers. The air reclamation system began to clean the smoke from the air but the bombardment wasn’t stopping. As the shaking and explosions continued the control crew began to report over the Captain’s com-link in rapid sequence.
“Hull breached, streaming atmosphere. Blast doors sealed. ”
“We’ve lost ten percent of launchers and thirty percent of our laser mounts.”
“Hull breaches in quadrant Urelf.”
“Missile inventory down to fifty percent.”
“Continue firing!” ordered Erit.
The officer who was reporting about Sargon’s hull integrity reported again. “Quadrant Urelf is defenseless Captain.” He paused and looked over at Erit. “All weapons in that area are gone and the enemy knows it. They’re concentrating their firepower on that quadrant. They’re into the hull. It seems they’re blasting a direct line to the missile inventory and reactors.”
Erit’s head jerked up from the Plot in surprise. It was early in the engagement. His platform was built to take punishment and should’ve been able to last longer than this. But the news his officer had just delivered was catastrophic for his command.
Swarm Master Zelof had been right. The Kthpok had found the vulnerable points of the ODP’s during their ‘inspection visits’ and were exploiting them.
Despite the rocking of the ODP the Captain managed to reach out to push a particular key on his console. A raucous alert siren was added to the thunder of missiles exploding against Sargon’s armor. He followed the alert with a voice command for confirmation. “All launchers are to be set on auto rapid launch. Select your targets. Crew to life shells. We’re evacuating the Sargon!”
The Iidx in the Command Room glanced over at the Captain for a moment then began to put their equipment on automatic. Their task was complicated by the continuing impact of missiles, power outages, and short circuits. One by one they finished putting their equipment on automatic, activated their escape routines and disappeared into their life shells.
Captain Erit checked his own equipment one last time then looked around the Command Room. Satisfied that everyone who was alive had gotten free he activated his own escape routine. A moment later his life shell formed around him. A wrenching motion signaled the start of the ejection process.
More missiles struck the ODP and exploded. The shock wave threw the Captain about the inside of his shell as it raced down its escape tube through the bulk of the immense orbital platform. His right leg and middle arm snapped at the segment joints and pain wracked his body. Noting the injury the shell administered sedatives to dampen the pain. A moment later the life shell ejected into space.
There were no windows or view screens built into the Life Shell so Erit was unable to see the explosion when Kthpok missiles breached Sargon’s reactors. Nor was he able to see the results of his follow up launches. The shock wave from the blast slammed into the life shell and sent it tumbling end over end.
Computers built into the shell ignored the chaos in the vicinity as it consulted nearby satellites to compute its position and direction. Quick computations were made then attitude jets fired to stop the tumbling, adjusting its course. A short time later the heat shield began to glow as the Life Shell entered the atmosphere of Main Hive. It was one of hundreds of meteors cascading onto Main Hive.
Chapter 18
Fleet Admiral P’Mar sat on a perch in his Ready Room of the Raging and listened to Commander R’Gon making his report. Next to the Admiral on his own perch was the Run Point, S’Cinf. Although they had the perfect vantage point both Kthpok leaders ignored the large observation port which showed the spectacular view of the planet below. They were concentrating on what the Battle Officer was saying.
“For the most part the first stage of our operation was successful,” R’Gon announced. “We have confirmation the elimination of the Iidx Council of Queens as an entity has been accomplished.”
The Admiral nodded his approval. “Losing the Council should confuse the Iidx military long enough for us to complete our conquest,” he said in an aside to S’Cinf. “I understand that two Queens of the Council had been making a visit to a minor base in the middle of Main Hive’s largest desert.” His tail gave a humorous jerk as he said, “They were at Wartten; the base where Swarm Master Zelof was exiled by the Queens for questioning their decisions about us.”
P’Mar shrugged. “Unfortunately we weren’t able to destroy all the Iidx egg layers. Getting all of they at once would have made our task of eliminating the Iidx a little easier. We could just simply sit back and wait for the Bugs to die. But with the city and other Queens spread worldwide eliminating all of them in the first attack wasn’t feasible.”
The Admiral gave a hissing chuckle. “Of course,” he added, “with their defenses destroyed and military obliterated there’ll be no opposition. This will give us a chance to practice our hunting skills while we make the Iidx extinct.”
“That’s something my ancestors should’ve done with the humans when they were discovered,” growled S’Cinf.
P’Mar nodded his agreement then waved a hand at the officer who’d been waiting for the two leaders to finish. “Continue your report, Commander,” he said.
“Yes, Admiral,” he replied. After a glance at his pad R’Gon continued. “In addition to the building where the Queens were assembled other government facilities were destroyed. The object here was to prevent c
oordination of defenses. Power plants and supply centers were also targeted and major Iidx bases eliminated. Our drone fighters targeted secondary bases. Most targets were destroyed with minimal losses. Overall drone losses were thirty percent. There were no Kthpok casualties.”
He paused to scroll down then continued. “Two Iidx bases were better prepared than anticipated. The defenders of those bases were able to destroy the drone assault force while sustaining minimal damage.”
“Detail two Battleships to deal with those particular bases from orbit,” ordered P’Mar and S’Cinf nodded his approval. The Admiral waited for the commander to enter a note on his pad before continuing. “Now tell me about the ODP’s,” P’Mar ordered.
R’Gon took a moment to find the information the Admiral had requested. “All ODP’s have been neutralized, Admiral” he said. “We control the skies over Main Hive.”
P’Mar looked thoughtful for a moment then spoke again. “What were our losses?”
This time the Commander hesitated. The Admiral gave an emphatic gesture with his tail to prompt a response. “It appears that most of the ODP’s were not prepared for our assault,” R’Gon said. “They recovered quickly from their surprise however and resisted. One ODP in particular,” he paused to check his pad again, “designated Sargon, was better prepared than all the rest.”
“What were fleet losses?” repeated the Admiral and growled at the Kthpok. “I want the numbers Commander, not evasions.”
His twitching tail betrayed his nervousness when Commander R’Gon spoke. “Yes, Fleet Admiral. The losses sustained by the fleet are two dreadnoughts, one cruiser and four destroyers. We have 3,628 dead and 342 injured. The ODP Sargon caused the destruction of the dreadnoughts and three destroyers before being neutralized.”
P’Mar left his perch cutting off the rest of R’Gon’s report and moved over to his desk. The Commander and the Run Point watched the Admiral as he worked a console built into its surface. “We’ve lost a third of the fleet,” he said without looking up from the data being displayed. “That’s outside the parameters built into the plan. There’s no way we can face the Iidx as originally planned. All of which means our next phase in the plan is going to be critical.”
Then Admiral P’Mar gave a sharp bob of his head as he came to a decision. He glanced over at the Battle Officer. “The battleships originally detailed to stay in orbit over Main Hive to bombard cities and bases will depart with the fleet,” he announced. “All attacks are to be suspended effective immediately. Don’t worry about the bases that defeated the drones they’ll be dealt with when we return. We cannot risk additional damage to our ships until the Iidx fleet has been dealt with.
“I want the fleet reformed.” Commander R’Gon nodded his head to acknowledge the orders as he was entering notes on his electronic pad. P’Mar continued his instructions, “Bring in the colliers and replace the missiles expended.”
Then he paused for a moment to check the time. When he spoke again his voice was stern. “The rearming will be completed within five hours of the fleet resuming formation. At that time all ships will leave orbit to destroy the Iidx forces.”
Swarm Master Zelof stared at the tactical screen without seeing the data that was scrolling down. Minutes earlier both queens had left their console and moved over to stand behind Zelof. Dahoni, the senior queen, recognizing the Swarm Master’s distress extended a fluffy antenna and began to caress Zelof’s antennae and head. After a moment the Queen’s feathery touch brought the Iidx commander out of his reverie. He turned away from the screen to face the two females.
“The orbital defenses have been destroyed,” Dahoni said. “Our major bases obliterated. We have to prepare our people for the Kthpok invasion.”
Before the Swarm Master could respond Commander Shunshin hurried over and held out a pad. Zelof turned away from the Queen’s comments, thanked the officer as he took the device then began reading the message displayed. After a moment he lowered the pad and hurried over to the Scanning Suite, leaving Dahoni and Krissen looking at each other in wonder.
“I want to see the Kthpok Swarm in orbit,” the Swarm Master ordered.
Ensign Comunit worked his console for a few seconds before a wall screen flickered to life. It showed a region of the night sky filled with moving stars. A designation in the lower left corner of the screen indicated which satellite was providing the images. The image flickered again as the magnification was increased. When the picture cleared everyone in the Command Room saw ships in formation against an ebon background dotted with white stars. A moment later the entire Swarm began to move.
“Track them,” ordered Zelof. “I want to know where they’re going.”
Comunit shifted the screen to a tactical schematic and the Swarm Master watched as the icons representing the enemy formation moved out of orbit. His Second, Sesum, walked over to stand next to his Commander. Moments passed in silence as the two leaders watched the screen and waited.
“They’re leaving,” announced the junior queen as she stared at the screen. “They’ve learned our Swarm is returning and decided to leave before vengeance is exacted for their betrayal.”
The two Swarm leaders turned away from the screen to look at the queen, their antennae quivering in disbelief. “Your Highness,” began Sesum. His patronizing tone would have drawn a rebuke from the Queen just two weeks earlier. But now…
“The Kthpok were successful in destroying most of our government and that includes the Council of Queens,” continued the Second. “In addition to removing the Council the Kthpok has taken out most of our defenses. If they want Main Hive it’s theirs. From what I’ve seen from the Kthpok so far they wouldn’t have attacked if they didn’t have a plan or the ability to complete the conquest.”
“You told us that your people infiltrated their facility,” Krissen argued. Her tone was almost accusatory. “I’m sure the Kthpok learned about the team you sent in. They realized that our people returned with details of their plans.” Her antennae stood out proud and high. “When they learned what we knew the creatures became afraid of what we’d do with the information and attacked before their preparations were complete. Now, they’ve realized they’re about to be obliterated and are leaving.”
Sesum went to reply but stopped when Zelof put a true-hand on his thorax. Zelof motioned at the screen showing the course of the Kthpok Swarm. “If only that were true. What my Second is trying to tell you, Queen Krissen, is that the Kthpok are as capable as we are, perhaps more so in guile and deception.”
The junior queen gave a questioning wave of her antennae. “I don’t understand,” she said. “What are you trying to say Swarm Master?’
Zelof held out his true-hands. “Your Highness, if I were planning to conquer a world I’d make my plans and prepare my people. But, because a plan doesn’t survive contact with the enemy, I’d have contingency plans.” Queen Dahoni went to speak but the Swarm Master held up the true-hand that had been on Sesum’s thorax to cut her off. “There are ways we can tell if the enemy is improvising; if they’re into those contingencies. They’re not.” He shook his antennae to emphasize his words.
“The Kthpok had announced their readiness to return to their home planet long before the attack. We observed their exercises in the outer asteroid belt where they confirmed their readiness. Their plans were set, your Majesties, and their preparations complete. If we had an impact on their plans at all it was to move their start date forward slightly.” Zelof shrugged with his antennae. “Maybe by a week or so.”
“But where are the Kthpok going then?” asked Dahoni and nodded at the schematic showing the course of the Kthpok. It seemed she’d decided to ignore the Swarm Masters interruption. “If they’ve been as successful as you say, why leave?”
“The first stage of the Kthpok plan was to draw our Swarm away from the planet,” the Swarm Master replied, seeming not to answer the Queen’s question. “They did that with their decoys in the outer system creating the appearance o
f an alien Swarm. Stage two was to eliminate our defenses and coordination. Again that was accomplished although they experienced some losses in that stage. But despite those losses they have effectual control of Main Hive. However, to keep that control our enemy has to deal with the Swarm they decoyed into the outer system. That’s Stage three.” He gestured at the tactical screen. “It’ll take some time, an hour at the most, before we can be sure. But my guess is that the Kthpok’re moving to intercept the Swarm so they can destroy it.”
“Impossible!” exclaimed Krissen, the junior queen. She gestured at the two leaders with a true-hand. “Both of you’ve told us that the Kthpok sustained significant damage in destroying the orbital defenses. Why, they even lost two dreadnaughts.” Krissen flirted her fluffy antennae. “They can’t defeat our Swarm because of the losses sustained and damage to their remaining ships. It doesn’t make any sense that they’d even try.”
The Swarm Master nodded his agreement. “That’s why I’m so concerned, your majesty. It doesn’t make sense. The Kthpok’ve never been illogical. They’ve only acted when the odds were heavily in their favor. So, assuming they’re just as rational now and are going to intercept Drillyn, the question we have to answer is: What do they have prepared for our Swarm?”
Zelof abruptly turned and walked over to the communications console. The two queens and Sesum followed. “Are we still being jammed?” he asked Lieutenant Chattan. “Can we get a message to the Swarm?”
The Lieutenant checked his equipment then looked back up at his commander. “There’s no jamming at present, Swarm Master,” he reported. “We can contact the Swarm with the usual time delay.”
“That’s odd,” the military commander muttered. “They were blocking communications earlier. Why stop now? It’s like they want us to warn Drillyn.”
He gave a little shake of his head. It was as if the motion could send his thoughts into another avenue. “Message for the Swarm,” he announced. There wasn’t anything else he could do but warn his people.
Betrayal Page 29
