The Kryl Queen

by Chris Burton

  “Thank you, sir. I understand the position.”

  Jake closed the comm.link, sat on his bed for a few moments, and reflected on the Admiral’s comments. In other words, he will back me if it comes down to it…is that what he was saying?

  * * * *

  The fleet made good progress, passing beyond Barnard’s Star and entering the outer physical boundaries of the solar system. Now, within the grasps of the sun’s influence they were still some distance from home. The fleet passed through the Oort cloud, passing Sedna and then entering the Scattered Disc, still travelling at light speed. It was only when they reached the inner boundaries of the Classical Kuiper Belt and into the Trans-Neptunian region that the fleet commanders gave the order for the ship to reduce to sub–light velocity. Travelling at high sub-light velocity—much faster than the recommended limits within the system—they were within one hour of their destination.

  Chapter Sixty-Eight

  Blissful Ignorance

  Safrec had brought his fleet all the way back to Earth. He assumed that Tourak had done his job and by now the remains of Alpha’s small fleet was scattered around the Cygnus constellation. At least they should have contained them and were slowly dismantling them. It did not occur to him that any other result could possibly happen.

  As his fleet birthed surrounding the Queen’s ship. He noted that Sorgan too had returned to his Queen. Now was the time to deal with him properly. Sorgan was fortunate the first time. He had caught Safrec by surprise. It would not happen again.

  * * * *

  Sorgan had not yet joined his Queen. He was apprehensive and concerned no word had yet come from Tourak’s fleet. He had seen the capabilities of a limited number of Alpha Battle cruisers first hand. He did not underestimate them and he knew if they made it through, only the Malchians had the power and the guile to stop them.

  His concerns lead to him dispatch a small number of Malchian Cruisers beyond the inner planets to the rings of Saturn, Jupiter and Neptune. Some of Alpha’s fleet could have made it through and if they had they would use the systems natural defenses to bring them as close to Earth as possible before detection. One of his fleet commanders just opened a communication path.

  “My Sorgan. We have detected a recent deceleration beyond Neptune. A number of Alpha vessels have recently passed by this area and are on route to the inner planets. We are pursuing and will identify further.”

  “How many?”

  “We cannot be certain at this stage. At least twenty ships, maybe more.”

  “Find them and report back immediately.”

  Sorgan was now worried. He opened a communication path to Tourak directly and waited for the Commander to respond. There was no response. He tried widening his path to include the whole fleet. Again there was nothing. He knew there could be any number of explanations for this; but this was definitely cause for concern. It was time for him to contact Safrec. Again he made the communication path personally. Safrec answered with his usual bluntness.

  “Yes?”

  The acrimony continued and Sorgan refrained from pleasantries.

  “Have you heard from Tourak?”

  “No. I suspect he is busy. I am sure the destruction of the remaining Alpha fleet is a formality; after I personally caused the destruction of the main segment.”

  “I have tried contacting him and the fleet directly and there is no response. I have also received a report from one of my cruiser commanders. They have detected a number of Alpha vessels on route to the inner planets.”

  “How many and where exactly are they?” There was more urgency in Safrec’s voice now.

  He knew the answer before Sorgan responded. One of his chief aides just come to his side and showed him the latest schematics. The Alpha Radiation fleet just been located two hundred thousand kilometers from Mars.

  “Don’t answer that Sorgan. I can confirm that Alpha are at Mars. I will dispatch my fleet immediately.”

  Sorgan did not respond. He already closed the link at his end and gave the order to move out immediately. Twelve Malchian Cruisers were on route through the main space way to Mars. There was nowhere to hide. Sorgan had ordered every Malchian vessel in the galaxy to descend on what remained of Alpha’s contingency fleet.

  * * * *

  Safrec’s fleet were not ready. Having only recently returned from their battle with the main Alpha fleet, the majority were allowed to return to their own living quarters, having been given time from the ship by Safrec; a reward for their successes. There were reserve Kryl vessels in situ, but most were unmanned. In fact with so many Kryl on the Earth’s surface, the fleet’s capability was substantially reduced and certainly not ready for another battle. All Safrec could do was sit and wait to see whether Sorgan and his Malchian commanders could stop Alpha’s advancing radiation fleet.

  What if Sorgan failed? There was a very real prospect that millions of his compatriots would die. The Queen; she was already in a weakened state. Could she survive the radiation? What about himself? He had always assumed he could be protected. What would happen if the radiation reached him? That thought sent a shiver down his spine. Where would he be the safest? Then he had his answer. The only place where he could be safe was with the Queen. There is no way the radiation would be allowed to penetrate the very heart of the Queen’s ship. He would be safe there.

  Chapter Sixty-Nine

  Home Territory

  As the Radiation task force passed close by the Martian moon, Phobos, Jonathan Hoskins knew this was the final leg. From here to Earth at this velocity would take less than half an hour; but by now the Kryl would know they were here and it was only a matter of time before the Malchian Warriors arrived. But the plan was to keep on going. The Malchians would inflict damage and yes, ships would be lost, but they were so close now.

  Admiral Shenke had just joined him on the command deck. In front of them, lay the large schematic battleground holo display, which for now was empty, other than a 3D holograph of each Alpha ship of the line. Each now had a part to play. The forty seven remaining C-class cruisers were deployment ready. All the Teutonic missiles were loaded with their charges and sat either within the open cavity at the opening of the missile launch tubes or stacked in front of or to one side, ready to be lifted onto the launch tube when it was their time to deploy their carcinogenic arsenal. But the radioactive cargo was still at risk and they had to be absolutely certain that a sufficient supply of Antirillium radiation was deployed into the Kryl fleet and onto the planet surface.

  Admiral Shenke moved forward to the screen and pulled ten of the radiation ships to the middle of the board. He then pulled over the six battle cruisers, which were previously selected to fire their weapons at Earth. These would provide the radiation cruisers with the protection they needed when they opened their missile tubes.

  “The rest are yours, Jonathan. This is the plan as was. Now is the time to tinker with it, if you think it warrants it. You know we have enough charges to do the job ten times over, so maybe we should consider splitting the fleet for this last leg.”

  Hoskins stepped forward and looked closely at the battle groups.

  “If we split, we would have to split again when we reach Earth, into these more specific groups. I just think we need to stay together now until we have to split. Whatever the Kryl throw at us, it is going to be bad and we will lose ships and some of the radiation charges, but assuming we keep them at bay and we just keep on going; we have enough.”

  “Sir, we all picking up movement to port…possibly cloaked Kryl cruisers.”

  Hoskins laughed. Why choose now to bring out the cloaked vessels again?”Full fleet wide barium sweep. We are not hiding any more and I don’t see why they should be.”

  Seconds later, the scanning operation became unnecessary as twelve Malchian cruisers decloaked five thousand meters to port.
They were visible and they were firing.

  “Close up and protect those radiation charges. Fleet cohesion is imperative.”

  “Prepare Jump Ships.”

  “Delay that. Tom…we are staying together as one and at high velocity. If we allow our Jump Ships to become embroiled in a dog fight, it will slow us up. There will be more Malchians soon and then conventional Kryl cruisers.”

  The port sections of the fleet were being peppered by a constant barrage of plasma bursts from half of the Malchian Cruisers. The other six had accelerated beyond the task force and were deploying their rear facing plasma weaponry. The weakened sections of the fore decks on certain battle cruisers were already taking a battering.

  “These Malchian ships in front of us will cause havoc. We need to remove them. I still think we need Jump ships on those cruisers.”

  “No Tom—look at us. We are halfway now between Mars and Earth. A few more minutes and it will be too little too late for the Malchians.”

  “I didn’t realize we were quite so close. We are going to hold on Jonathan. We are going to beat these little bastards into oblivion.”

  In front of them a small planetary object was drawing nearer, even at this distance the clear blue oceans of Earth were visible. They were home. Now that had to make it pay.

  “Tom, I suggest you prepare for your departure. Good luck, old man.”

  “You too. Let’s make every missile count.”

  Hoskins watched as Admiral Shenke left the command bridge. Shenke was true to his word and allowed his fellow Admiral to make the decisions. It was clear his earlier reservations about his senior commander were unfounded. Shenke proved he still had the edge.

  “Our front vessels are taking substantial damage, sir. The Accura commander was officially acting as Hoskins’s second in command.”I suggest we move the Accura to the front now. She is strong and will be in a better position to remove the Malchians.”

  “Thanks Tim. Make it so.”

  Now the cosmos was flooded with Kryl vessels. The Kryl armada had finally awoken. More Malchian Cruisers joined the fray and they were joined by an instantly recognizable larger cruiser; the Malchian Command ship. Yet still the Alpha Task force pushed on. They were within a few short minutes of deployment.

  Hoskins opened a comm.link fleet wide.”Radiation crew commanders make your charges ready for deployment. Hold steady fleet and maintain our cohesion. We will deploy in two and a half minutes.”

  * * * *

  The latest changes to the vessels at the front of Alpha’s fleet exposed the Halo 7, which was pushed towards the front. Commander Huber looked on in horror as first the Malchian cruisers and then the smaller Kryl cruisers attempted to break down the shields of the already weakened frontal shields.

  “All available power to frontal shields…and prepare to break out”

  Jake Carter looked at his CO. This was the critical time. While the radiation charges would soon be deployed, the whole fleet needed to spread out to allow the radiation ships to break out and administer their charges. The shield strength was needed across the ship, not just at the front.

  Twenty seconds later, the order came to break out and the task force began to open up. The radiation cruisers were themselves exposed, but within half a minute they would reach their deployment zone. Still the fleet moved forward. They were closing in fast; one hundred thousand meters…fifty thousand meters.

  “Radiation charges deploy.”

  The fleet wide order came and hundreds of Teutonic missiles launched into the stratus. They were within ten thousand meters of Earth’s atmosphere and the Kryl armada which surrounded and protected the Queen ship.

  Jake caught his first glimpse of the huge Kryl citadel, where the Queen resided in her Sanctuary. Soon he would be there with her.

  As the missiles deployed, the Alpha cruisers former inability to engage the enemy was removed and each then became an active ship of the line. The Alpha task force was a true fighting force once more. The Halo 7 was in the thick of it, but was taking a large amount of fire. Jake watched his CO carefully. Panic had not yet set in, but he could sense a growing concern in the expressions of Commander Huber.

  “Launch all available Jump Ships. Jake, we need you down at the rear bay again.”

  “No sir. I will stay at your side. The assistant CAG is more than capable.”

  “The chief CAG requested your presence.”

  “Sir, I am the acting first officer and my place is by your side…verifying and supporting you…we need to track the shields back around all sides” Jake waited for a response, but there was no reply. There was an ashen look on the CO’s face. Now it is time to take some kind of initiative or none of us will make it out of here. Jake barked out his next order.”The rear shields will not hold up with so little power available; balance the shield power throughout the ship.”

  Jake’s order was acted on; without comment from Huber who eyes had completely glazed over. Was this it? Was Huber in command of his faculties still? Jake did not have the time to monitor the CO too closely. He had assumed command by proxy.

  Two large Malchian Cruisers were targeting the Halo 7 directly. Jake saw instantly that one of them was the Malchian Command ship. She had come to enact her revenge. The shield strength numbers were quickly going down and Jake and the inert Commander Huber were powerless to respond.

  A huge explosion rocked the starboard port thrusters. The shields had collapsed along the starboard side. The Halo now only had partial maneuvering capability without engaging her main drives. Thrusters were no longer an option. But that was only half the problem. The huge blast took out the entire hanger bay and three decks either side of it.

  Jake turned around to see Huber huddled on the floor. It had obviously been too much for him. Jake realized the Halo was in serious trouble. He needed to take swift action or she was about to go down. He tried to think what his options were. There weren’t many.

  “Engage aft thrusters. Turn this ship around and start to patch the mess up. Damage teams down to affected decks.” He needed a back up officer…but there was no one who could take the responsibility. He was on his own.

  Jake looked around for an escape route. There was nowhere to go. The moon afforded the most obvious protection. But she was too far away. He looked closer and noticed something in the distance. Are those Alpha cruisers coming this way? The answer became clearer a few seconds later as a mass of new Alpha cruisers joined the radiation task force in battle. They had come directly from Earth. A huge swathe of Jump ships just been released, quickly engaging the two Malchian cruisers and throwing them of the scent of a major scalp. The Halo 7 was free again and Jake was not going to waste the opportunity.

  “Helm. Take us out ten thousand meters and get us away from this battle.”

  He had done enough to get the Halo 7 to safety.

  * * * *

  There was now a shift in the Kryl’s capability. Where before there were hundreds of Kryl cruisers and fighters everywhere you looked, only the Malchian vessels continued in battle. The deadly Antirillium radiation had finally done its job.

  Jake looked around at the damaged command Bridge. Commander Huber was sat in his chair with his head in his hands. He went to him.

  “Are you okay, sir? I think you took a knock.”

  Huber looked up, recognizing that Jake was covering up the CO’s cowardice and ineffective leadership.”Thanks Jake. You got us out of this one.”

  Jake acknowledged his CO and then resumed his effective command.

  “Damage and status reports. I need them now.”

  * * * *

  On Earth, the Kryl were still unaffected by the radiation. The missiles were deployed at the same time…but the disbursement would take longer. While the missiles all ignited on impacting with Earth’s shields, the gas and
radiation had permeated the shields and was drifting downwards in the upper atmosphere.

  The first effects were apparent thirty minutes later. In the courtyard at the front of the Presidential Palace, six drone guards dropped to their knees simultaneously. Roslyn observed the unnerving effect from his office window. Everyone on Earth had known that something was going on up there. Now it was clear what that something was.

  Across the globe, the Kryl drones dropped down in their millions and died. The Kryl occupation was finally over.

  Chapter Seventy

  The Queen’s Ship

  When Sorgan realized the radiation had been deployed, he had quickly removed his flag ship from battle and taken her directly to the Queen’s ship. He already knew Trieste was dying. He could sense it.

  As he neared the throne; he held his head down as it became clear his beloved was in her last few hours of life. Beside her stood the human Carla Stevenson and Safrec.

  The Kronan moved forward in defiance as the Malchian leader drew closer, to protect his Queen. Sorgan was angry now.

  “Move aside Kronan. I am the Queen’s chosen one and only I should stand by her side.”

  Safrec drew his battle sword. You will not be as lucky against me this time Sorgan. I am will kill you.”

  Sorgan stepped forward; his hand grasping his own sword. Like Safrec he was in full battle dress, the deep red and black tight fitting suit, accentuating his powerful body and making it quite clear of his ultimate intentions.