by Dean Sault
General Tragge left the War Room and entered his ready room.
“Go ahead. I’m in my office now.”
“We can’t sit under planetary shields forever. It’s obvious our real problem is that damn command ship. How are we going to take her out?”
“Heptari leaders are well-known for their lack of patience. If we don’t respond, they will make another attempt to break down our planetary shields. That’s our position of strength. We can destroy their heavies from a safe position each time they try to penetrate the shields. If we’re patient, we might build enough numerical superiority through attrition to send a force after that command ship. Do you have a better idea?”
“When the 11th attacked that command ship, they didn’t have these shields. Maybe we can handle her now.”
The general countered, “The 11th had overlapping front shields and still got decimated. I’m not confident our shield enhancements will be enough. There’s too much risk in that initiative, right now.”
“What if we compress and stack the new enhanced shields using two ship groups? That would more than double our front shield strength.” The admiral pressed his aggressive agenda.
“It would be a suicide mission. When those ships turn from their attack run, they’ll be destroyed with their engines exposed. It’s a one way trip.”
“Byn, we’ve got to find a way to take out that big ship. You know as well as I do, we can’t win this damn war until she’s destroyed.”
General Tragge related one of the lessons from his book on the Human War. In this battle, Heptari had a dramatic advantage in numbers, yet humans won the battle by using a commando attack on the enemy’s centralized combat control. The humans called it Spartan Creed.
“Humans might have been onto something.” The general tapped on the page of the open book as he thought aloud. “What if she’s disabled? That firepower isn’t much threat if she’s dead in space.”
Admiral Paad asked, “What are you thinking?”
The general expanded on the idea gleaned from the unusual tactics used by humans three centuries earlier.
“Heps might not feel any threat from a single attacking light or medium. They’d just use standard deck cannons to deal with them. That command ship wouldn’t even maneuver.”
“Yeah, but small ships can’t do anything against a vessel that big.”
“Not true. A small ship could damage their engines, and tail gunners don’t have heavy cannons. We could enhance shields on a couple Kyels to handle Hep tail defenses.”
“Why not send a couple heavies with the new shields stacked to take out those engines?”
“Too much threat. Heps would cover their command ship with Rahls, and they’d maneuver to bring their heavy weapons to bear. Starship-class heavies would never get through. This plan will work if Rotaga doesn’t perceive a threat.”
The admiral hated sending soldiers on a one-way mission, but the general was right. Defense of their home world depended on neutralizing Rotaga’s command ship.
“We need two light ships with minimum staffing and fully-informed volunteers.” The general expanded his plan with a somber voice. “Order the ships to the space dock for shield enhancements and weapon loading.”
Neither commander liked it, but this was simply one of those inevitable moments in war when the good of many demanded the sacrifice of a few.
General Tragge returned to the War Room.
“Ludic, I’ve got two lights coming to space dock for shield upgrades. Give them Command Staff Priority. See if we have any old fusion mines on the docks.”
“Yes, sir.” He immediately brought up an inventory screen on his monitor. “There are six fusion mines in space dock one and sixteen in dock seven.”
“Good, contact Admiral Paad and have him send his ships to those docks.”
“Sir, those are really old mines. They don’t even have propulsion systems, and light ships don’t have a way to launch them.”
“Just follow orders,” General Tragge said coldly.
“Heps are making another attack run, sir.”
The general watched as three Cosh medium-heavy cruisers parted from their fellow ships and approached the planet at full throttle. Oddly, they were firing every weapon except their big cannons as they approached the planetary shield.
Admiral Paad adjusted his fleet to counter the attack. Half a dozen of his heavy warships paralleled the approaching Heptaris, two shadowing each enemy vessel.
Enemy ships abruptly leveled off above the top planetary shield.
Tanarac heavies opened fire. Underbellies of the Heptari ships glowed white as their shields dissipated energy, but they continued on course, undaunted.
General Tragge sat forward in his chair, suddenly realizing the real nature of the attack. He assumed direct control of the situation.
“Lorm, those ships are going to try to ram our shield generators.”
“They can’t come through our planetary shield without dropping their own protection. We’ll get them when they’ve got no defenses.”
Heptari warships slowed and dropped toward the planet. Cascades of static sprayed in every direction as their shields clashed with the upper planetary energy field.
Simultaneously, all three Heptari ships dropped their shields and passed into the uppermost global field. As they did, Tanarac firepower cut large holes in the skin of the enemy spaceships. Damage was substantial but not enough to destroy them.
After clearing the planetary shield, Heptari warships re-raised their defenses and returned fire at the nearest of the defenders.
One Tanarac ship took a fatal hit near its engines and began an uncontrolled roll. Hundreds of escape pods marked the captain’s order to abandon the craft. Five other Tanarac vessels survived initial blasts, their enhanced shields holding for the moment.
The Heptari cruisers adjusted course downward toward the second planetary shield, just as the general predicted. They separated, each heading for one of the three shield generators.
Fierce exchanges of firepower left a second Tanarac heavy with damage near its engines, forcing it to retreat. The attack was only a few minutes old, and two of Admiral Paad’s heavies were lost due to engine hits behind their compressed shields. Heptaris found the vulnerability in the enhanced shields.
All three enemy ships repeated the shield penetration process for the second Tanarac shield. This time, fleet gunners hit their marks when the cruisers dropped their defenses. Two of the Cosh cruisers suffered fatal hits. One exploded in a raging ball of fire and debris, while the other began rolling out of control.
The last enemy ship penetrated the second shield intact, only this time, it did not bother to engage the trailing Tanaracs. It accelerated to full throttle toward the generator that produced the topmost Tanarac shield. If it succeeded, the entire Tanarac fleet would be exposed to open space combat.
“General, we’ve analyzed the flight path. It’s a pure ballistic course. Even if it breaks up on the last shield, its antimatter core will fall directly on the generator array. Sir, we’re going to lose shield three.”
“How long to impact?”
“Four minutes, sir.”
“Advise the staff at generator three to take cover. Ludic, can we extend shield two up to level three?”
“Already working on it, sir. I’ll need ten minutes.”
(From across the room) “Sir, the whole damn Heptari fleet is coming. They’re anticipating top shield failure.”
General Tragge looked at several monitors showing approaching warships. Even Rotaga’s command ship was joining the attack.
“Admiral, your fleet isn’t going to have shield cover for ten minutes. Can you get them below the second shield before the Heps engage?”
Admiral Paad did not reply.
“Sir, the admiral’s flagship is passing through the bottom shield. His comm link is down until he clears field static.”
Comm speakers crackled with static masking the Admiral’s ra
dio signal.
Another soldier in the War Room called out. “General, the Cosh hit shield one at full speed. It’s been destroyed but the wreckage is on a direct trajectory for the generator facility.”
“Byn, you there?” Admiral Paad’s voice boomed out above other sounds in the War Room.
“Lorm, Heps are anticipating top shield failure. They’re bringing the whole fleet.”
“I’ve got it covered.” The admiral sounded strangely calm in this moment of crisis. “We’ll keep your shield up. You just kick some lizard butt for me.”
There was a brief pause in the admiral’s transmission as he gave orders for his crew to abandon ship. Klaxons on his ship sounded in the background, droning out the urgent warning.
“I’d appreciate if you would tell Dylla that I love her. Pick up my crew, will ya?”
“General, we’re reading hundreds of escape pods from the flagship. It’s on a collision course with the Hep ship.”
“I’ll tell her, Lorm. Can’t you get out? Put her on autopilot.”
“Autopilots can’t correct fast enough for atmospheric turbulence. We only get one shot at this. I’m transmitting my final staff ledger now. Good luck, Byn.”
All eyes turned to the central monitor. Satellite cameras tracked the burning hulk of the Heptari ship as it arched in the atmosphere on a trajectory to destroy the planetary shield. The admiral’s flagship approached the enemy vessel at full speed from the side, its leading edges glowing white with atmospheric friction and sloughing off molten metal. Two great ships collided in a massive impact sending a ball of flame and debris arcing across the sky.
A momentary hush came over the War Room until a nearby computer operator broke the silence. “Sir, collision trajectory is away from the generator. They’re going down in the western Sitt Ocean, just offshore from the capitol of Kloth.”
General Tragge did not have time to reflect on the loss. He had to deal with the approaching Heptari fleet.
“Sir, enemy fleet reversed course.”
A monitor showing the sun side of the planet began flashing.
“General, we’re getting visual reports of an alien craft in the sun-side atmosphere.”
“Heptari?”
“Negative, General. We can’t get any readings on it. Only visual. Fighters are in pursuit. It’s on Monitor twenty-six.”
Chapter 46
A small speck in the distance showed on a monitor near Kelly. At first, it was impossible to discern the nature of the speck, but audible comm signals gave them the answer.
“Unidentified vessel. This is ARAD six, three, nine. Identify yourself. You have six seconds to comply.”
“What are you waiting for, Simon? Tell him who you are,” Dr. Boroski coached.
“Uh . . . ARAD six, whatever. This is Simon of Striker Twelve. How can I help you?”
“I’m sending course coordinates. Land your craft and prepare to be boarded. If you deviate from the assigned course, you will be destroyed.”
“Dr. Boroski, what do I do?”
“I’d suggest you comply. He won’t harm us as long as we appear cooperative.”
Shilgar felt the shift in direction as Simon altered course. Various scenes from the outside world panned as the ship turned.
“I thought you said we didn’t have to worry about weapons,” Simon spoke with a touch of anger directed at his mentor-hologram.
“That is not what I said. I said we don’t have to worry about energy weapons. Atmospheric interceptors use mass-inertial devices called rockets. They get close to a target and explode, sending out thousands of shrapnel pieces. Those projectiles are capable of damaging this ship’s hull. Normally, we would just outrun their rockets, but we do not have enough energy stored to get away. The hull has been recharging since we exited the mountain. As soon as we achieve enough energy, we will simply outrun their rockets and head into space.”
“How much longer will that take?”
“We’re close. It will take six minutes to reach their landing coordinates. By my calculations, we can safely head out to space in two minutes. Until then, do not give them any reason to fire on us.”
The radio comm link from the Tanarac interceptor crackled to life again.
“Unidentified ship, my command center has no record of a Striker Twelve. Please advise your origin and destination. ARAD six, three, nine. Out.”
Simon asked Dr. Boroski a second time. “Are you sure we can outrun their rockets in two minutes?”
“Yes, maybe a little sooner. I will tell you when, but you’d better answer him.”
The young pilot thought for a second before replying. “What’s the matter with you guys? I already told you who we are. Do I have to repeat myself?”
“Unidentified vessel. We have orders to shoot you down if you do not cooperate. Identify your origin and destination immediately, or we will fire on you. ARAD six, three, nine. Out.”
Kelly watched the monitor as two more interceptors took menacing positions behind their space ship.
“Look ARAD whatever, you’re not gonna believe this, but it’s true. We are humans and we’re heading out to space to find a new home world. Dr. Rosh Hadje can verify this.” Simon mocked the military formality, “Simon of Striker Twelve. Out.”
Kelly and Shilgar were startled by his response.
“Unidentified craft, enough of your nonsense. You have ten seconds to comply or we will destroy you. ARAD six, three, nine. Out.”
Simon jumped on their transmission the only way he knew how—honestly.
“This is no joke, you idiot. We ARE human! We’re trying to get off your damn planet before the Heptari ships attack us. If you don’t believe me, contact Dr. Hadje or General Tragge. They can confirm our identity.”
Simon figured the truth was probably better than anything else he could conjure up.
Striker Twelve, continue on course. ARAD six, three, nine. Out.”
A tense minute passed.
“Striker Twelve, land at the designated coordinates. We have orders to escort you, but if you deviate from the assigned course, our orders are to fire on you. Do you understand? ARAD six, three, nine. Out.”
“Okay, okay, we’re complying. Why don’t you guys back off a little? You’re crowding my airspace. I wouldn’t want—”
“Got it!” Dr. Boroski interrupted. “We have sufficient power for evasion. Scan the area for other fighter interceptors and set a course to avoid interception from above.”
Simon followed instructions and reported.
“I see three more fighters at high elevation. I locked them into the nav-track system. What do you want me to do now, Doc?”
“I just brought up their rocket specs in our computer. Can you access them?”
“Yeah, but what do I do with the information?”
“Calculate potential intercept vectors. You will fly the ship manually, so you have instant maneuvering capability. Are you ready, Simon?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
Events happened so fast, the young man did not have time to question his own abilities.
“Prepare to make a sharp course change upward. Accelerate to three thousand keratomes. Any faster in the atmosphere will damage our hull. I’ll block radar and sensor reflections while you’re flying. You may initiate when you are ready.”
Simon did not hesitate.
Everyone on the command deck felt enormous inertial pressure from the ship’s course change and rapid acceleration.
Kelly watched the rear-facing monitor as the escort fighters fired their missiles. For an instant the rockets looked like they would find their marks, but fighters and their rockets became distant points on the screen, no match for the acceleration of the human ship.
“Dr. Boroski, one of the fighters above is cutting off our path to space. He will be in rocket intercept range if we hold this course.”
The hologram spoke with sarcasm, “Perhaps you should find another course.”
Simon b
egan making adjustments. His ability to maneuver the spaceship was growing rapidly.
“This is easier than following a vein of ore.”
One interceptor after another showed up on various screens, only to disappear as soon as Simon spotted them. All fired rockets to no avail.
The human ship approached the upper edge of the atmosphere.
“We made it!” Simon was jubilant. “What now, Doc?”
“We’re not free, yet. Are you monitoring those fleet fighters just below the first shield?”
“Yeah, I see em.”
“Those are Vipers. They patrol outside in near space and are much faster than planetary interceptors you just outran.”
“But, we’re in space now. Can’t we outrun them, too?”
“Oh yes, easily, but you can’t run through Tanarac’s planetary shields at high speed. You must slow down for shield penetration and suspend our hull polarization so we don’t disrupt Tanarac’s protection. That is when we are vulnerable.”
“Are they armed with particle beam cannons?”
“Yes.”
“Then, we don’t have to worry about them, right?”
“Well, yes and no. Particle beam weapons should be no problem, but a certain number of Vipers are cross-armed with conventional rockets. We must assume they all have mass-inertial weapon capability. Navigate accordingly.”
“I knew this was too easy,” Simon muttered.
“As I said,” Dr. Boroski continued, “the speed of the Vipers is far greater than the Interceptors below. Their rockets are no faster, but because of the Viper speed, intercept points become more critical. We’re approaching the first shield. Wait until the last possible moment before decelerating and suspending our hull polarity. Are you watching those two Vipers?”
“Yeah, I have two on the western horizon closing fast. Should I change course, now?”
“Can you get into the planet’s shield before they reach firing range?”
“I think so. Hang on.”
Shilgar and Kelly almost lost consciousness as their spaceship slowed forcefully. A shower of energy flashes blocked their views of the outside world when they engaged the shield. The command deck jarred twice from rockets exploding in the Tanarac force field behind them.
