Space Chronicles: The Last Human War

by Dean Sault

  Chapter 67

  Tanarac soldiers made Kelly feel uncomfortable. She watched as they removed bodies and debris from her spaceship. They were different from the Taskers she had known. Physically, they were larger and far more muscled, but to her surprise, they were also expressive.

  She tried to be inconspicuous as she listened to their conversations.

  One particularly young soldier gagged with nausea as he lifted the disemboweled body of Kerl-Ga’s first kill. An older comrade tried to ease his discomfort.

  “You’ll get used to it in a few years.”

  Another soldier kept staring at Kelly, making her nervous.

  The light lift activated behind her.

  “Kelly, how’s the cleanup?” Benjamin stepped around a dark spot where the floor was still wet from blood.

  “Great. We’re almost through. Are the scientists done?”

  “No, they’re still examining controls with Simon. It seems this ship operates on entirely new theories, some kind of energy absorption matrix. They’re fascinated with the potential, but don’t understand the technology.”

  The light lift activated again. This time Simon came out of the beam accompanied by Dr. Hadje and three Tanarac scientists, each carrying a small case.

  Dr. Hadje’s comm buzzed as they approached.

  “Hello, Byn.” He listened for a bit.

  “Why don’t you ask him yourself? He’s right here. I’d like to speak with you when you’re done.” The doctor handed his communicator to the lead scientist who answered a series of questions.

  “No, sir. No shields. The entire exterior of the ship is an energy conversion lattice of some kind. I’ve never seen anything like it. Yes, sir. This ship is impervious to all energy beam weapons. No, this technology is not adaptable to our ships, at least not in a short time. Yes, I think we have enough information to begin our own research in this direction. No sir, we haven’t seen weapons of any kind. They don’t even have side arms. You’re welcome.”

  The scientist handed the open comm back to Dr. Hadje.

  “Byn, there’s no way this ship can help us anymore. Are they free to go?”

  The doctor completed a brief discussion with the general and turned to Simon.

  “The general asked me to thank you. He has ordered the military to provide you an official designation and a unique transmitting code. This will allow you to fly anywhere in Tanarac space with full diplomatic credentials.”

  Simon was surprised at the friendly gesture from the general. His thoughts returned to their primary mission.

  “Sir, do you know when Shilgar and Kerl-Ga will be able to come back to the ship?”

  Dr. Hadje made a quick call to get the health status.

  “Your friend can travel now, but Kerl-Ga will not be able to make the trip for some time.”

  Simon turned to his human leader for a decision.

  “Benjamin, what should we do? I don’t think Shilgar will want to leave Kerl-Ga behind”

  “I’ll speak with him. I think there may be an alternative.”

  Benjamin followed several soldiers as they left the ship with the last of the debris.

  Dr. Hadje scrambled to catch up.

  Simon stepped into the light lift, calling out to Kelly just before he disappeared.

  “I’ll be in the control room. Let me know when cleanup is done. I’ll get the ship ready for travel.” He vanished in a bath of light.

  For the first time, the command deck felt cold to Simon. No friends. No hologram. He stopped next to his command chair and thought back. Fond childhood memories of Kelly and Adam ran through his mind, an odd juxtaposition against this new reality. Even his recent first impressions of the crude lifestyle of the free humans seemed like a distant dream when viewed from his present truth.

  “Are you okay?” A familiar voice filled the room.

  “Dr. Boroski!”

  Simon spun around. There stood his mentor in all his photonic glory.

  “I thought we lost you. Are you okay, doc?”

  “I’m fine now. My friends reassembled my program after the power surge. You met Dr. Farnthal?”

  Simon began briefing Dr. Boroski on all the things that happened since the power surge. The hologram listened patiently.

  “I hope you’re not mad at me for letting Tanaracs look at this ship.”

  “You did fine.”

  Dr. Boroski made a sweeping motion with his hand and all the instruments on the command deck activated.

  “The ship is completely repaired, and we have abundant energy for deep space travel. When Shilgar returns, I suggest we leave immediately. The full Heptari attack will resume soon.”

  Simon was troubled by Dr. Boroski’s instructions.

  “Doc, Tanaracs have been good to us. Are you certain there’s no way we can help them? You’ve got all those geniuses in the computer with you. Ask if there’s anything else we can do.”

  “I will do as you request, but you must accept that the fate of humanity lies in your hands. If we put this mission at risk, the consequence could spell the end of our race.” The hologram blinked off.

  Simon paced the deck, arguing with himself.

  “If we establish a new colony, Heptari could hunt us down. If we stay here, we could all end up back in quarries. Naw, they wouldn’t do that—not if we help them beat the Heptari Empire. But, what if the Heptaris win?”

  “Simon.” Kelly’s voice on the intercom broke through his thoughts. “Shilgar’s back. Kerl-Ga can’t continue the trip, but Benjamin wants to join us instead. Is that okay?”

  “Sure!”

  Simon liked Benjamin. For some reason, the old man gave him confidence. “Bring them to the bridge. Are the soldiers gone? I’m gonna seal the ship.”

  “Wait Simon, Dr. Hadje needs to leave. I’ll let you know when he’s clear.”

  Simon reclined in his command chair. The now-familiar attachments moved into place and a low vibration built in the ship as he ran pre-flight system checks.

  “Okay Simon, he’s clear. I’m bringing Benjamin and Shilgar to the command deck.”

  When the humans arrived on the command deck, Simon was no longer strapped in his command chair.

  “We can’t do this!” he shouted as he paced back and forth between the Elder humans.

  “We don’t have a choice.” Kelly said as she read his mind.

  “Can’t do what?” Shilgar and Benjamin looked at each other, puzzled by the fragmented conversation.

  “He wants to stay here,” she said, “and see if we can help Tanarac win.”

  “How do you know that, Kelly?” Benjamin suspected a psychic link between them, but he had never witnessed such a phenomenon.

  “She’s right,” Simon confirmed her comment. “The best hope for our people is to defend this planet. It’s our planet, too. I am Tanarac. This is my home.”

  Benjamin was not persuaded. “If we build a new human world, our race is assured of survival.”

  “With all due respect, I disagree.” Shilgar surprised everyone by challenging his senior Elder openly. He rubbed his sore shoulder as he spoke. “If Tanarac falls, there’s no safe place in the galaxy for our people. Heptari will eventually hunt us down no matter where we go, and we certainly can’t beat them on our own. I’ve got to agree with Simon on this one.”

  “So tell me, Shilgar, how do you suggest we help our Tanarac hosts? We have no space fleet, no weapons and our people have never been in combat. Exactly how would you suggest we participate in this war?” Benjamin was not defensive, only matter-of-fact in his rebuttal.

  During the discussion, Dr. Boroski re-materialized on the far side of Simon’s pilot station.

  “My friends, you are both correct. Shilgar, if there were any way this ship could help defend Tanarac, your idea would be logical. Benjamin, you are also correct. We do not feel we have the resources on this vessel to assist Tanarac. It is the consensus of our scientists that the outlook for this empire is quite poor. The
best hope for humanity is for this ship to escape with the seeds of the future. Shilgar, we also agree with you, in that, there is a distinct probability Heptari will find us someday. By then, we believe we will be able to defend ourselves. Remember, this ship contains all the knowledge of ancient Earth, including the schematics for building weapons.”

  Simon challenged the hologram.

  “Doc, you said, ‘consensus.’ That means somebody disagreed. What did Farnthal say?” Simon did not ask, he demanded an answer.

  “The majority feel our best option is to leave, just as I said. Two of our members have a slightly different opinion, but Simon, need I remind you, in a democracy the majority rules.”

  There was no emotional edge in the hologram’s response, only fact. Simon persisted.

  “Don’t lecture me about democracy. What did the other two say?”

  “Well, Dr. Farnthal and Dr. Wong feel the surplus energy vent at the base of the ship might be used to form a focused, high energy discharge. In a sense, it would give us a gross F.E.B.”

  “What’s that?”

  “It means Focused Energy Beam. It is a kind of weapon. They’re not sure if it will work, and even if it does, it will consume so much energy that the hull will have to be re-energized after each discharge. The rest of us feel the risk of such an experiment is far too great.”

  Benjamin listened patiently to the discussion. When he’d heard enough, he placed both hands on Simon’s shoulders for effect and spoke directly to him.

  “No one wants to stand and fight more than I do, but Dr. Boroski and his scientists are correct. No amount of wishful thinking will change the facts. If we establish a new human world, then there is hope. If we stay here, and die, all hope is ended. We must complete this mission, no matter how things turn out here on Tanarac. I have come to believe this mission is so important that I changed my mind about my own priorities. That’s why I asked to join you now. The future of all humanity rests with this ship. We cannot afford to fail.”

  Shilgar and Kelly reluctantly agreed with Benjamin, but Simon refused to concede his point of view. Nevertheless, he promised to follow orders and took his place in the pilot’s console.

  The human ship rose from its landing struts. It suspended just off the ground for several minutes while the hull grid energized. External lattice quickly vanished behind a bath of pure plasma that made the sphere glow like a small sun. Atmospheric moisture condensed in the air behind the human ship as it flew into the night sky.

  From her bedroom window nearby, a small Tanarac girl watched the brilliant spaceship as it left a glowing vapor trail in the cool night air.

  “Mommy, mommy! Look! Vaal-al has come to save us. It’s his chariot!”

  The young mother softly embraced her daughter. She knew the truth. Her child may never see another day. The mother wept tenderly at her daughter’s innocence. Mother and child watched until the silver chariot vanished over the horizon.

  Chapter 68

  Dr. Boroski stood by Simon’s pilot station and narrated for the benefit of their newest crewmember, Benjamin.

  “As Simon increases the antigravity thrust field, he will be balancing the ship’s artificial gravity against inertia and planetary gravity. You may feel lightheaded for a moment as the forces come into balance. We will be approaching the first of Tanarac’s shields shortly, and the ship will buffet slightly as we suspend our hull polarity to pass through. This is normal.”

  The hologram scientist ceased narrating for a moment.

  “We just received our identification code from General Tragge. We can now travel freely through the Tanarac Empire. Simon sent our thanks.”

  The human ship skirted past an orbiting space dock where huge starships floated along its length. Countless tethers held the warships tight against service tubes while tiny maintenance craft buzzed around the outside. Benjamin marveled at the size of the Tanarac deep-space heavies. He found it difficult to imagine that any vessels outclassed these magnificent machines.

  Simon navigated carefully between Viper groups, patrolling the space docks.

  “I have Dr. Hadje on the radio.” Simon’s voice spoke over the intercom. “Do you want to take it at your chair or on open comm?”

  “Open, thank you.” Benjamin said. “Rosh, did everything go as planned?”

  “Yes, my friend. The Council of Elders asked me to extend their wishes for a safe journey. Haleb is personally coming for Kerl-Ga in the morning. She’ll be back with your people in less than a day. I’m providing my diplomatic shuttle to reduce her travel demands.”

  “Thank you. Please ask him to tell Kerl-Ga we will miss her.”

  “One more thing, your Council of Elders appointed three members to accompany me until this war is over. When hostilities end, immediate negotiations with my government will begin to secure unrestricted freedom for all humans.”

  As Benjamin and Dr. Hadje finished their discussion, the human space ship followed the contour of the planet’s last shield, remaining just below its protection. On reaching Tanarac’s sun side, Simon altered course, slipping through the phased energy fields. The forward screen panned across Tanarac’s smaller sun until it settled on the permanent ribbon of white-hot gas connecting the binary suns. This plasma flume twisted rhythmically in space while enormous quantities of energy transferred from one sun to the other as it had since the birth of this solar system.

  Simon carefully flew his ship past the gyrating plasma ribbon.

  Chapter 69

  General Tragge called out a stream of orders as he positioned his assets for the approaching hostilities.

  “Sir, Heptari lead cruisers are minus three to shields. Coming hot!”

  “Hold positions. How far behind are those command ships?”

  “They’re in the pack. Standard Heptari formations with shielding Rahls.”

  The general rubbed his chin. Again, Heptaris displayed unusual tactics by risking their command ships. He thought they must have great confidence in their vast advantage in numbers and firepower. Perhaps, they were displaying a level of arrogance that could be a valuable tool for Tanarac.

  “Admiral, begin secondary deployment.”

  “Now, General?” The admiral’s voice betrayed concern about the plan.

  “Yes. Who is in command of that decoy ship? What do you know about him?”

  “General, we had trouble finding commanders for those old Kyomes. Our active duty pilots don’t know the command sequences on those ships. Retired officers took most of them, but that decoy ship . . . it’s commanded by some young guy named Kob. He’s a tough pilot, got six kills before he was shot down two days ago. Then, he fought on the ground alongside Taskers at Quarry 33. This guy did his graduate thesis in War College on Kyomes and has understanding of their systems. Unfortunately, all his flight hours are on simulators. Sure hope he can handle the real thing.”

  “Thanks, Admiral. I’ll take over his command from here. Comm, get me Captain Kob on my private line. Full encryption.”

  The general checked the approach of the Heptari fleet while he waited for the connection with the decoy ship.

  “Captain Kob, reporting.”

  “Hello Kob, General Tragge here. Thank you for volunteering. Let me tell you about your mission.”

  The general briefed Kob on his role in the upcoming engagement. The young officer’s eagerness pleased him.

  “General, we have contact. Hep ships are penetrating shields in all off-sun sectors. Main screen, sir.”

  The image showed small Heptari ships passing through the shields in many places. The Tanarac fleet scrambled to intercept them, that is, all but one.

  That lone Kyome remained stationary, just below the three-layered shield. Heptari fighters penetrated directly above it, but the ship ignored them while numerous Tanarac fleet fighters roared past to engage the intruders.

  “General, the Hep command ships are spreading out. They’re following tangents to each of our shield generators. Pretty o
bvious what they want, sir.”

  “They’re doing exactly what I would do in their position. Ludic, on my mark, drop all shields. We’re going to take out those command ships with ground cannons.”

  “Sir, we only have two ground batteries. The third Royal ship will get a free shot at my shield arrays.”

  “Follow orders, Ludic!” The general did not have time for discussion. “Ground batteries. Are you ready?”

  “Yes, sir. Firing control routed to the War Room. It’s all yours, General.”

  “Captain Kob, are you ready?”

  “Say the word, General.”

  General Tragge watched several monitors as the bulk of the Heptari fleet approached the combined shields and slowed. Tanarac forces swarmed each Heptari ship that penetrated the barrier while the massive command ships came to stationary positions directly above each planetary shield projection array.

  General Tragge acted.

  “Captain Kob, now! Ludic, drop shields!”

  Ludic dreaded this but acted with military discipline.

  Kob’s old ship surged into the dissolving planetary shields. Sheets of sparks cascaded along its nose section as it forced its way through the decaying energy residue.

  General Tragge slammed his finger down on a button at his console and two thick bolts of energy slammed into two of the three command ships.

  In the same instant, the huge enemy ships fired a volley from each of their new cannons, destroying or damaging several attacking Tanarac warships.

  The enemy command vessels rocked with secondary explosions from the unexpected powerful ground volleys and began slow turns back into space.

  “I thought so,” the general said. “No stomach for direct assaults on command structure.”

  By dropping the planetary shields and using lethal ground cannons, two of the three central command ships were seriously damaged. However, the untargeted third Royal starship fired all its cannons directly into the unprotected planetary shield generator below, destroying it in a single flash.

  Captain Kob’s starship accelerated at an astonishing rate once shield resistance vanished. It set a direct collision course at that third Heptari command ship. The old Kyome fired all its forward weapons as fast as they would recharge.