by Saxon Andrew
“RJ, you can’t make this decision!”
“I know. I’ve sent a message to Fleet, but they haven’t replied. I’m really frightened they’re going to leave it up to me and I could make a huge mistake costing millions of lives.”
Angel now understood his tension. She looked at the tactical monitor and saw the thousands of new Planet Killers gathered behind the aliens’ defenses had a fleet of freighters and shuttles transferring supplies to them. They’d be launching soon. She turned back to RJ and didn’t want to ask because he had already given a clue on what he was going to do, “What if they don’t reply before they launch?”
“I’m going to attack them once they’re out of communication range.”
“What’s tipped the scales for you?”
“If we don’t find out if the Garrions can take them out, we could lose a million crews. Either choice is fraught with danger. My job is to keep my sailors as safe as possible and that is what’s driving my decision.”
“You also want to make sure the King Hare’s cutters can get through.”
RJ nodded, “We think they will, but the only way to be sure is to take a shot.”
“Couldn’t we just find a single Planet Killer and attack it?”
RJ chuckled, “We’ve been out here for close to eight months and at no time has a single Planet Killer moved out of their lines, and, even if one did, it would certainly remain inside the detection range of their scanners.” Angel knew that this was not a situation she’d ever want to be in. She hoped Fleet would respond quickly.
• • •
The alien attack fleet was close to being armed and Matt turned to RJ, “I have a communication being relayed to us from Captain Horton.”
“Put it on my console”
The monitor illuminated and RJ saw Grady, “Have the aliens launched their attack?”
“No Sir. I’m really hoping you are going to tell me what to do.”
“Unfortunately, most of the intelligence officers are paralyzed by analysis. They are frightened by the consequences if they order you to attack that fleet.”
“I completely understand, Sir.”
“May I assume you know all the ramifications if you do attack?”
“You may, Sir.”
“What is your inclination, RJ?”
“The safety of the sailors in our fleets, Sir.”
“You are free to do what you deem necessary, Admiral. Whatever your decision is, I will stand behind it and tell Fleet that I ordered it.”
RJ’s eyes closed and he said as he opened them, “Thank you for your support, Admiral.”
Grady smiled, “Junior, I know your parents are very proud of you and so am I. Use all the tools at your disposal and give ‘em hell.”
“I will, Sir.” The contact ended and Angel saw RJ’s demeanor undergo an immediate change. He turned to Matt and ordered, “Contact Captain Horton and have her move her ships to my location immediately.” He pressed a button on his panel and Desmond appeared, “Admiral, have all the Garrions leave for the outer edge of the Stealth Civilization’s territory. You’ll wait there for me to arrive to give you your orders.”
“Yes Sir. I’ll have every unit leave from their current locations and form up on the fly.”
RJ nodded and pressed another button. Kendal appeared and RJ said, “Admiral, I’m giving you new orders and I need you to start moving immediately.”
“What are they, Sir?” Grady told her and her expression showed immediate stress, “Sir, I’ve been given direct orders not to do what you’re ordering.”
“Does that mean you won’t do it, Kendal? I won’t be asking permission.”
Kendal stared at RJ and then smiled, “What the hell. I’ll start moving momentarily.”
RJ smiled, “I love you, Kendal.”
“And I you, Junior.”
The monitor went dark and Mallory asked, “Why does she call you Junior?”
RJ stared at the tactical monitor and said, “I have the same name as my father. I was called Junior my entire life until Taffy Henricks called me RJ one day. It stuck.” RJ turned to Angel, “Contact the Hares and have them start moving toward Stealth territory. Order them to form up on the Troke and I’ll give them their orders on the way.”
“Yes Sir.”
“Mallory, start the ship moving toward Stealth Territory at half-speed. Go to full speed once the other Hares are in formation.”
“Yes Sir.”
RJ sat back in his chair and closed his eyes. He focused on all the possible outcomes and developed an attack plan in his mind.
Angel issued orders and knew that if RJ failed, then Earth would be destroyed, and the allies would not intervene to save it. The birthplace of humanity would die. They probably deserved it but something inside her couldn’t accept it.
• • •
The Second turned to the Supreme War Leader, “The attack fleet is fully supplied and armed, Supremacy. Should I order them to launch?”
“There’s one more thing that needs to be done before you issue that order.” The Second’s body tilted left in confusion. “I have a shuttle ready for you to take to the Command Ship; you will be in command of the fleet.”
The Second almost turned black in fear and responded, “But Supremacy, I’m not…”
The War Leader raised an appendage silencing him, “You’ve been here and know everything that’s happened. You’re certainly more than qualified to lead this attack and I can’t think of anyone that I can depend on more to give me a full report of what happens. You may go to the shuttle now and launch your attack.”
The Second was petrified but he managed to pull himself together and leave the bridge. A newly arrived officer walked up to the War Leader and went to attention. “You are now my Second. Make sure you do a good job!”
“Yes Father.”
The War Leader went to his chair. He knew that the former Second would only look out for his own interests; that made him untrustworthy. If he survived this attack, he’d be given command of another fleet. He smiled and reveled at the Second’s shocked expression.
• • •
The Second arrived on the Command Ship’s bridge and saw the crew go to attention. The Junior War Leader held his salute and said formally, “Welcome aboard, War Leader.”
The Second went to his chair and sucked in some air through his skin, “Order all ships to form up and move outside our lines. Once we’re clear, activate the Blaster Barrage and go to full speed.”
“Yes, War Leader.”
The huge fleet of giant warships moved outside the defense lines and accelerated away. The Second kept them at maximum speed until they moved outside the range of the defense’s scanners. He immediately ordered, “Slow speed to one-third.” The Junior War Leader frowned and the Second snarled, “FOLLOW YOUR ORDERS OR DIE!!”
The huge fleet slowed and the Second was genuinely surprised they hadn’t been attacked. But if they were attacked, he wanted to be able to flee back to the defensive lines. Taking his time moving away increased the chances of getting back safely. He turned to the ship commander and ordered, “Tighten up the formation. I want the blaster barrage around us to be tightened and overlapped.”
“Yes, War Leader.” The Second stared at the tactical monitor but really didn’t expect to see anything; this enemy wasn’t called stealth for no reason.
• • •
Connie’s five warships finally caught up with the wing and RJ said, “Welcome to back, Connie.”
“You did promise me that I’d have some combat, Sir.”
“I did and you’re getting your wish.”
“Well, I need to be careful what I ask for, don’t I?”
“Come on, Connie. You wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
Connie laughed, “It’s good to be back, Sir.”
“Angel will fill you in on the plan and your role in it. Go over it with your crews and move in position.”
“Yes Sir.”
“Sir, Admiral Troastle and Palen are commanding the Garrions in the coming action and I believe they are quite competent to carry out their orders without me. I request that I join your wing. It’ll give you another Hare to use against them.”
RJ smiled, “Mike and Alice have come quite a long way and I agree they can handle the Garrions. That was your intent from the beginning, wasn’t it?”
Desmond nodded, “I’ve been pushing them hard, and they’ve responded well. The Colonies need their own officers to lead them and I believe they’re ready.”
“Join Captain Horton’s five ships close to the Troke.”
“That’s a clever name for your ship, Sir.”
Angel’s head went back, and she asked, “You know what it means?!”
Desmond laughed, “All you have to do is be around Joshua Goldman for a few minutes to hear him say it.” Angel shook her head and turned back to her console.
RJ turned to Angel, “Order maximum speed.” Angel nodded and the fifty-one King Hare Warships lept ahead at an incredible speed. They arrived just behind the Garrions that had a head start.
• • •
The Second was starting to get nervous. They would be arriving at the location of the Stealth Civilization shortly and nothing had happened. He kept looking at the Scanning Leader, but he shook his head; nothing detected. He ordered, “Get the missiles ready for launch.”
“War Leader, we’ll have to drop the blaster barrage to launch the missiles.”
“I’M AWARE OF THAT!” The junior War Leader wilted and looked away. Maybe he should launch the missiles now and follow them in but there was nothing to target them on. The mass detectors showed nothing ahead of them. He decided to launch the moment a ship was detected.
• • •
Matt looked at the tactical monitor and turned to RJ, “Whoever is commanding that fleet has tightened up the formation; those Planet Killers are really packed in tight.”
“He made a mistake, Matt. With the smaller formation, the blaster barrage has also been reduced to sixty miles to get them to overlap.”
“Yes, but it’s also a lot hotter, Sir.”
RJ sighed, “We’re going to have to see if the negative field works under those conditions. It will increase the time the Garrions have to survive in it.”
• • •
Mike spoke into his combat helmet, “The initial wave will go in, fire, and get out! Do not waste time!” Mike prayed the five-hundred Garrions in the leading wave would survive the barrage. If they didn’t…well, this could be over before it began. He said over his general frequency, “The other waves will follow the first wave immediately after we determine if their hulls held up.” The five-hundred Garrions chosen for the first wave were chosen at random, which he was sure didn’t make them feel any better. But this had to be done. He worried for his crews, but this was the price of command. He hated it but someone had to do it.
Alice’s Garrions were also ready to attack on the opposite side of the alien formation and the stress among the Garrions was palpable. The six-thousand Garrions activated their stardrives and prepared to fly into the giant alien formation. The attack computers locked on a position to attack and the ship’s computers would start their runs. It wouldn’t be long before the aliens arrived.
• • •
Space was monotonously unchanging. The alien attack fleet flew through the dark void and nothing changed except the light from distant stars. But space has a way of showing its fangs with no warning. The attack fleet moved forward and in an instant, a thousand Garrions flew into the blaster barrage and opened fire with their cutters. The Planet Killers in the outer shell of the formation were suddenly hit by intense, narrow energy beams. The beams flashed through the alien’s blasters and hit the ships in the outer shell. The beams hitting them were more powerful than any ever used against the aliens, but they were narrow and even though the Garrions swept the beams across the planet killers, they only destroyed the Planet Killers where they hit the reactors or weapon storage. The aliens made a huge mistake by having their missiles in their tubes ready for firing. Every Planet Killer in the outer shell had massive explosions rock their hulls when missiles were hit but they weren’t enough to stop the giant warships.
The first wave of attacking Garrions were only inside the blaster barrage for five seconds but it was long enough for the Planet Killer’s computers to target many of them before they managed to escape. Of the thousand Garrions that attacked in the first wave, 248 were destroyed by computer operated blaster beams targeting them.
• • •
The Second jumped out of his chair and yelled, “HAVE THE SECOND AND THIRD LAYER ADD THEIR FIRE TO THE OUTER SHIPS!!”
The alien’s formation expanded as the two layers of warships moved out into the outer layer. But they weren’t fast enough as Admiral Troastle and Palen launched their follow up waves of Garrions once they saw the Garrions from the first wave flying out of the blaster barrage. Hundreds of Planet Killers that were hit in vital areas fell out of formation and were left behind as the formation continued moving ahead. RJ ordered three units of Garrions to move in and take out the damaged alien warships. He then ordered, “Desmond, move in and open the door!” Twenty-five King Hare warships moved in to the edge of the blaster barrage on each side of the alien formation and fired their cutters into the alien formation. The Hare’s cutters were larger and more powerful than the Garrion’s cutters and the entire outer layer of Planet Killers on each side of the alien formation were blown up as two-thousand Garrions flew through the opening into the center of the alien formation. Planet killers began blowing up as the Garrions launched their heavy missiles and fired their cutters.
• • •
The Second heard the Junior War Leader screaming that the formation had been breeched and he immediately ordered, “ALL SHIPS LAUNCH YOUR MESSAGE PROBES AND FLEE BACK TO THE EMPIRE!!”
The Planet Killers were programmed to launch message probes the moment their hulls were damaged. Thousands of message probes were launched by the ships in the outer layer but very of few them made it out of their blaster barrage. That changed immediately when the alien formation flew apart like a swarm of hornets leaving a damaged nest. They spread out in all directions. They launched thousands of message probes and the small fast probes flew away at high speed from the battle site. Only 349 undamaged Planet Killers emerged from the formation and disappeared at high speed back toward the alien’s home territory. They formed up again and fired a blaster barrage as they fled at their maximum speed.
Angel shouted, “WE MUST STOP THOSE PROBES FROM GETTING BACK TO THEIR LINES!!”
RJ said loudly, “SHIPS FIRST! ALL GARRIONS DESTROY ANY PLANET KILLER THAT HAS SURVIVED! Admiral Troastle, send three of your Garrion Units to follow the Hares. Desmond, you will have command of those three units!”
“Yes Sir!”
The fifty-one King Hares went to full speed and sped after the fleeing survivors. Angel looked at her long-distance scanner and saw a huge mass of alien message probes moving ahead of the fleeing Planet Killers. If just one of them made it back to alien territory, they would learn everything about their weapons as well as learning they didn’t come from the Stealth Civilization. She looked at RJ and prayed he was doing the right thing. She really started worrying when RJ ordered, “Desmond, do not use your Garrions to attack the alien formation. The Hares will fire at them from outside their blaster barrage. Assign just enough Garrions to destroy any damaged Planet Killers that fall out of their formation.”
“Yes Sir.”
“All King Hares spread out behind the fleeing formation and open fire at them from outside the blaster barrage. Any Planet Killer that is damaged enough to fall out of their ranks will be fired on by every Hare as it’s passed!”
RJ hoped his plan would work. Only time was goin
g to tell.
• • •
Kendal watched the Britannia Alien attack fleet pass far below her three carriers headed toward the Stealth Civilization. As soon as they moved beyond their detection range, she ordered over the general frequency, “Go to full speed and move into position.” The three giant carriers accelerated and arrived on the line the attack fleet had taken. The three carriers spread out with two-hundred miles between them. They formed an equilateral triangle and turned broadside to the course the aliens had taken. Once they were in position, Kendal ordered, “All Garrions move to your assigned positions and prepare for incoming enemies.”
The three-thousand carrier defense Garrions flew out of the carrier’s landing bays and formed a giant circle around the carriers just outside the carrier’s blaster range. The formation looked like three huge stones in the center of a small asteroid belt. Kendal turned to Admiral Kelly, “I want to know the moment anything moves inside our detection range!”
“Yes Sir.”
Kendal sat back and waited.
• • •
The King Hares caught the fleeing alien formation and the fifty warships moved in to the outer edge of the blaster barrage surrounding the aliens. RJ activated his combat helmet’s communicator, “Weapons free; open fire.”
The King Hares immediately opened fire and for twenty minutes, it appeared nothing was happening, but then the first severely damaged Planet Killer fell out of the alien formation. Every King Hare fired at it before they blew past it and Desmond saw that it had stopped firing its blasters, “Three Garrions, take out that Planet Killer!” Three Garrions peeled out of formation and launched heavy missiles at the damaged giant warship. It went up in a horrific blast and the three small Garrions turned and accelerated to catch the running battle ahead of them.
