by T. R. Harris
They waited nine hours for the massive fleet of incoming starship to enter the Woken star system. The torpedoes had jump-drive technology—if they had the proper power charge behind them. It took all Pogo could muster to supply that energy, prepping six of the deadly weapons for transit. They would keep two in reserve.
The ship’s computer files provided more detail about what made these weapons so revolutionary. Besides the jump-drive—which at the time the torpedoes were built was an engine waiting for a power source—each of the forty-foot-long cylindrical weapons contained forty small nuclear warheads each. Even though small in size, their output was anything but. Using a combination of Formilian, and even Juirean technology, the warheads carried incredible firepower, measured at a hundred megatons each. This made the bombs nearly twice as powerful as any nuclear device ever detonated on Earth, prior to the arrival of the aliens. As impressive as that was, what made the torpedoes truly terrifying is how the warheads were distributed.
Each torpedo sent the forty warheads out to form a huge sphere in space. When all the nuclear cores exploded, a radioactive ball, half a million miles in diameter was created, with the effect of each warhead magnified by the lack of an atmosphere to contain much of their explosive force. As impressive as this was, the real magic happened inside the sphere.
Any starships caught there—and not yet impacted by the initial blasts—became trapped and unable to escape. The resulting electromagnetic pulse from the explosions created a massive field damper, preventing ships in or around the sphere from escaping on gravity-drive, and attempting to pass through the cloud meant running a gauntlet of deadly radioactivity. The trapped crews would be helpless and watch as the roiling fireball closed in from all directions, creating tremendous heat and pressure until their ships were consumed.
And the most terrifying aspect of this new weapon: it could be launched from up to two light-years away and appear smack dab in the middle of an assembled fleet.
Unfortunately for the crew of the Vengeance, they wouldn’t be witness to the first effects of their attack. The light from the blasts would take a year to reach the launch point, and it wouldn’t be safe to enter the impacted space for several hours after launch, not with the huge amount of dissipating radioactivity in the region.
So when Adam sent off each weapon to its designated entry point within the Woken star system, he was essentially shooting blind, hoping that at least some of the huge balls of nuclear fire would appear where they would do the most damage.
The Vengeance would pop in for a look, but not for at least five hours after the last torpedo was launched.
Four hours later the anticipation got the better of them, and Adam initiated a jump to the farthest reaches of the Woken system.
The first thing they noticed when they popped in was that communications were down throughout the area. The EMP was not only affecting gravity-well formation, but also CW and conventional comm channels. It also blocked their shipboard energy sensors. The speakers just cracked and popped as the Vengeance made a cautious eyeball survey of the system.
On the boards, the system appeared dead. The crew knew that couldn’t be possible. They only launched six torpedoes, each with an initial blast radius of half a million miles. Of course, the spheres would expand after that, but they would also weaken, reducing their deathly affects.
An hour later the Vengeance passed the huge outer gas giant planets that were common in nearly all stellar systems, on her way to the inner rocky worlds farther in.
The scanners were clearing, and it was now possible to pick up sporadic data from the surrounding ether. Strong signatures were coming in from unaffected starships, and the count was climbing, slowing topping three hundred as the Vengeance moved in closer. But then the number stabilized, as more frantic, open-channel comms were heard requesting status and condition from any vessels within earshot.
Debris filled the space surrounding Woken, and Adam and his men began traveling through a literal graveyard of demolished warships. When the count of active contacts slowed to a crawl, it read only three hundred twenty-four—still a sizeable fleet, but nowhere close to the nearly nine hundred it had once been.
Adam felt humbled, as well as in a state of mild shock. Sure, the Juireans were their enemy, but over three-hundred thousand of the mane-heads had died in a matter of seconds, and all as a result of his actions.
He recited the old adage he’d used so frequently over the years: You don’t mess with the Humans.
I guess I was right, he thought. But…damn!
He began to wonder what affect this attack would have on the war effort, especially from the Juirean point of view. They couldn’t know that the torpedoes were limited in number and only able to be powered by a one-of-a-kind three-billion-year-old energy generator. All the Juirean Military Command would see is that a single Human starship had just made mince-meat out of one of the most-powerful fleets they’d ever assembled, while using a secret weapon that could materialize out of thin air.
Hopefully this would give them second thoughts about continuing with their war against the Humans….
18
“No! I will not reconsider,” exclaimed the Juirean Council Elder, Synnoc li Qriss. “We have lost only eight percent of our fleet, and critical tactical lessons have been learned as a result of these recent encounters.”
“But this new weapon of theirs—”
“Is of limited range and effectiveness, if precautions are taken. You have forgotten, I have military expertise. I do not surrender after the first turn of the battle. Until the launch of this nuclear sphere weapon, we assumed we were facing a single warship with only a new laser-type device.”
“The ship is still out there, my Lord.”
“Yes, but it is only a single vessel. If not, then the Humans would be deploying fleets of them. Our spies have told us as much. Soon we will have this technology, as well as that of the nuclear spheres. This is not the time to lose resolve.”
Synnoc stared down the dozen skeptical faces looking at him from around the huge table in the Pinnacle Conference Room sitting high atop the Malor-Hydon Capital Tower on Juir. The stern-faced Elder continued: “We started this campaign to save the Expansion, to keep it from being slowly absorbed into the Union. To show weakness now, to pull back our forces and to possibly even sue for peace, would be the end of it all. At that point, there would be no denying the fact that the Humans are superior to us, as is their empire. The Expansion would disappear, and the Juirean people would be left with nothing to rule.”
No one dared speak, not even to agree with the angry leader of the Expansion, leaving Synnoc to give substance to what they were all thinking. “Yes, this is a matter of life or death, not only for the Expansion, but for the Juirean race as well. There can be no turning back, not now, not ever. Either we win…or we die.”
An hour after the meeting adjourned, Kradis fi Esso, Master-Overlord and Fleet Marshal of the Military Forces of the Juirean Expansion, was the only person left in the conference room with Synnoc li Qriss. They’d known each other for over one hundred standard years, and if any two Juireans could be considered true brothers, they would qualify.
“You think me foolish to continue with my campaign against the Humans,” said Synnoc to his friend.
“No, I do not. I understand your reasoning. Yet often it is wise to reevaluate a strategy once new facts are presented.”
“And what new facts have been presented?”
“Just simply that the Kidis Frontier is not worth defending. With the loss of the fleet at Woken, and the drawdown of our forces along the border, the Humans will undoubtedly move against us. And for what? A minor spur of the galaxy where the dregs have settled? Even if we had not suffered these unexpected losses, the most direct route to Earth is through The Fringe, or even from above or below. We have no well-established bases in Kidis and no strong allies.”
Synnoc poured two glasses of a smooth Canbian intoxicant from a flask on
the table. He handed one to his Fleet Marshal. “Perhaps you are right. I only annexed the region as a stimulant to war. Now that I have it, there is no need to waste any more resources. And with the conflict now raging, none of our current members will leave the Expansion, not until there is a clear winner. I have preserved the empire, at least for the time being.” He lifted his glass to Kradis. “Withdraw our ships, my friend. You have my permission. But now we have a bigger problem. What do we know of this super warship of the Humans?”
“It employs a form of dimensional jump-drive, not unlike that developed by the mutant Panur, yet not nearly as sophisticated. Our informants on Earth say the engine is of limited range, and until now, has been underpowered except for ground-based experiments when connected directly to major power plants.”
“This vessel does not appear to be underpowered.”
“No, Synnoc, it does not.” Kradis hesitated before continuing; the Elder noticed.
“What is it you are not telling me?”
“I do not wish to distress you any more than your current state.”
The thin smile on Synnoc’s face was forced. “Now you must tell me.”
“Although our non-Human spies on Earth have been unable to extract all the details concerning this experimental warship, they are reporting rumors that this particular prototype vessel was stolen from its testing facility.”
“Stolen?”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“By whom?”
“That is the part that will distress you.”
“Kradis!”
“It was stolen by Adam Cain and Riyad Tarazi.”
The Elder fell silent for several seconds, not the reaction Kradis had been expecting. “Why?”
“Why what, my Lord?”
“Why did they have to steal the craft?”
“Unknown, except perhaps they were not authorized to take it.”
The sour look Synnoc gave his friend was priceless. “Kradis…that much is obvious.” The Elder shook his head. “So it is the infamous Adam Cain and his shadow causing all this dishevel…and they are not on an officially-sanctioned mission. If they were, they would not have had to steal the warship. I am not surprised. But why has he embarked on such a vengeful assault on the Expansion? I realize we are at war, yet to go against the wishes of his own command is perplexing. And his current actions are bordering on that of the insane.”
“Indeed they are. I believe it could have something to do with Andy Tobias.”
“Admiral Tobias, the being who holds the same position in the Union as you in the Expansion? Yes, he, too has been an irritant for many a year.”
“Have you not heard, my Lord? Admiral Tobias is dead.”
All pretense of friendship disappeared as Synnoc stared at Kradis. “No…I had not heard. How did this happen?”
“At the hands of a local Overlord within the Kidis Frontier.”
Although Kradis could see anger building within the Elder, Synnoc still managed to stretch a thin, ominous grin across his face. “That is the explanation I seek. Cain and Tobias were friends, and as we have seen, Humans have an often unreasonable sense of duty to avenge the deaths of their friends.”
“The official justification for Tobias’ death was to atone for the killing of Overlord Esketon at the hands of Adam Cain.”
Synnoc’s loud bellowing laugh caught Kradis off guard. “Oh, the irony, my friend. Adam Cain did not kill Esketon. I did.”
The shock on Kradis’ face was unabashed. “Forgive me, my Lord, but I do not understand?”
“I had the Overlord killed—and Cain blamed for it—as the impetus for our declaration of war on the Union. Of course, the Humans failed to believe us in that regard; however, the Expansion was given the details—as I offered them—and that was enough. So now my nemesis is burning a path of death and destruction throughout the Frontier in retaliation for the death of his friend….”
“That would explain much.”
“But not all.”
“My Lord?”
“Cain knows the truth. He knows he did not kill the Overlord, and he knows by whose order it was carried out. His friend was killed because of this. So where do you think his ultimate redemption will lie? What is his final solution?”
Kradis frowned. “I do not follow—my Lord!” His eyes opened wide. “He intends to kill you!”
“Of course, my friend. This solitary—and quite insane—creature intends on reaching Juir with all his anger and vengeance intact. Then he will seek me out.”
“That would be suicide. Especially in light of….”
“Of what?”
“That there are three prisoners being delivered to Juir, the survivors of Admiral Tobias’s personal entourage.”
“Prisoners? Why was I not told of this? Why am I only now receiving such information as you have revealed to me this day, Fleet Marshal?”
“My Lord, you are the Council Elder of the Juirean race, leader of the galaxy. There are certain items that are beneath your attention.”
“Not in this regard. Who are the prisoners?”
“One is a traitorous Overlord who has been hiding in the Kidis, pursing activities based on commerce and criminality.”
Synnoc waved his hand impatiently.
“The other two are females of some importance to Adam Cain: a Human, Sherri Valentine, and a Formilian, Arieel Bol.”
Synnoc leaned back in his chair, deep in thought. “I know of this Human female. She is of Cain’s inner circle, a contributor to his notorious past. Yet the other is the former—and soon to be reinstated—Speaker of the Formilians. You have taken her prisoner as well?”
“She was with Tobias—and Cain, prior.”
“The Expansion needs the Formilians, Kradis,” said Synnoc, worry in his voice. “Although I understand we have occupied the planet to settle the unrest taking place between the population and the Temple, we cannot force such beings to be innovative. Their technology is what sustains the empire. What plans did you have for Arieel Bol upon her arrival on Juir?”
“She has consorted with the enemy, my Lord, and therefore must be punished accordingly.”
“And what of our relationship with Formil? I know your expertise is not in affairs of state, but much care should be given to this one.”
“I realize how sensitive the issue is, my Lord, that is why we would first discredit the Formilian. She has only recently regained status and respect with her people. It should not be too difficult to shame her again.”
“Make sure you do. Although I truly intend to make changes once we eliminate the Union, until then I must be careful with certain of our allies. After the Humans are extinct, we will then exert our will completely upon all the creatures of the galaxy.”
Synnoc looked out through the radically sloping windows of the room, formed by the peak of the towering pyramid structure. He spoke while gazing at the setting sun. “Now I have more information from which to devise a plan. Cain is coming not only to kill me, but to rescue his two females. As we both know his task is not an easy one, even in his prototype starship.”
Synnoc turned his attention back to Kradis, his face suddenly animated.
“Kradis, my friend, an opportunity has been presented to us, a glorious opportunity.”
“What opportunity, my Lord?”
“Let me begin by asking you a question: What will the Humans do when we withdraw from Kidis?”
“Undoubtedly they will move in and occupy the territory, using it as a buffer on their left flank.”
“Exactly. And what would they do if we withdrew all our forces to the Dannon Divide?”
“My Lord! That would mean all the way to Hyben…and beyond. That would leave clearly a third of the Expansion unguarded.”
“And as Adam Cain and his supership blasts its way toward Juir, what will the Humans do? Will they remain at their stations, safe within their arm of the galaxy and the Kidis? Or will they rush in to fill the void created by Cain’s pro
gress, especially when we offer no resistance?”
“Forgive me, my Lord, but that is a dangerous and reckless proposal.”
“Take care, Kradis. I respect your opinion, but not your insults.”
“I am your Fleet Marshal. It is my task to outline military strategies and to analyze tactics. I understand you may be planning aloud, but what makes you believe the Humans would invade Expansion territory, knowing we hold such a sizeable advantage in warships and materiel support?”
“Because we are going to make it obvious that we are obsessed with Cain, and only Cain. Yes, we know we have superior numbers, and the Humans would be foolish to attack under those circumstances. That is also why we would feel secure enough to withdraw our forces and consolidate them to meet the threat posed by Cain. The Humans would not dare attack. And that is why they will. I know the Humans, Kradis. I have studied them for many years preparing for this conflict.”
“How could you have planned for this, my Lord? Cain’s adventure was unexpected.”
“Unexpected, yes, but by his actions we have been given this opportunity.”
“I still fail to see why the Humans would follow such a course of action. They would be sending their forces into the heart of the Expansion, into the center of our strength.”
Synnoc’s smile was wider than before, his teeth fully bared. Kradis didn’t take this personally, knowing that his master was experiencing a living death-challenge with the Humans, and particularly, Adam Cain.
“The Humans will follow their greatest hero. They will not let him face this challenge alone. We are at war, Kradis. The Humans know they cannot win by remaining defensive. They must take the initiative at some point, and Adam Cain has forced them to act. All I will do is make it seem impossible for them to resist. Humans are lazy creatures. If they see a rapid end to the war, they will take it.”
“And what shall we do when the Human fleet enters Expansion space?”
“Let them come…to a point. Engage them at Hyben, or better yet, at The Hand.”
