HADRON Resurgent

by Stephen Arseneault

  Johnny chuckled. “What about me?”

  “I don’t know… make sure you’re ready to talk?”

  Johnny grinned. “Always ready to talk.”

  Seconds later, the Rogers moved into the area of the rift. A ten minute ride had them within comm range of the Organ Cave.

  Mace asked, “Anything different since we talked?”

  Jasper shook his head. “They haven’t moved. Another two hundred ships have joined up.”

  “Wait. I thought you took all their wormhole generators.”

  Jasper sighed. “I did. Looks as though someone held out. Wouldn’t be the first time with this lot.”

  “Any scans through the rift?”

  Jasper nodded. “Twelve hundred ships at least, from what we can detect.”

  “If they have that many ships at the ready, the Union members might have just done us a favor.”

  “How so?”

  Mace stroked his goatee. “We now know they have at least that. They could invade with that force alone and I’m not sure we could stop them.”

  Jasper turned to one of his aides. “Another two hundred ships are on their way in. The others look to be moving into a formation for attack.”

  Johnny shook his head. “Suicide. They think they’re gonna march that column right past that station? Fat chance.”

  Jane came onto the bridge. “When’s this show getting started?”

  Mace asked, “You got a cake in the oven or what?”

  Jane laughed. “I might. Just wanted to report the reactors are all working at optimum. No maintenance issues to report, which is a first. As far as power goes, this ship is as ready as it could be.”

  Jenny came over the comm: “Drives all at 100 percent.”

  “Sensors are all reporting,” said Humphrey. “No anomalies.”

  Hans finished the report: “Storage wells are all charged and circuits functional.”

  Mace drew a deep breath. “I just want to say that no ship could have a finer crew. And no crew could have a finer ship. If we do go into action, I’m glad you are all on my team.”

  Johnny said, “So you want to take us down with you, is that what you’re saying?”

  Mace nodded as he smiled. “Well, some of you.”

  Jasper said, “Another hundred ships coming in. This gives them two thousand even. Hmm.”

  “What is it?”

  “These latest ships, they don’t look like any of the others. I’ve never seen any like them.”

  Humphrey pushed a visual image to the main display.

  Johnny said, “What do you think that dome on the front is?”

  Mace shook his head. “Haven’t a clue. Jeff? Opinion?”

  Jeff shrugged. “Looks like a big radar dome. Although I don’t know what purpose that would serve.”

  Humphrey said, “The sensors are reporting strange energy readings, Mr. Hardy. It’s like nothing I’ve seen.”

  Humphrey passed another image to the main display. “This is the energy profile for the space surrounding one of those ships. The gravity drives and the remainder of the ship look normal, but that dome is putting out some serious spikes.”

  Jeff nodded. “Some type of shield?”

  Jasper said, “They’re moving to the front of that column. This may be it.”

  Jasper turned to one of his officers. “Admiral Bellok, pass word for all ships to be ready. If anything Karthian comes through that rift, I want it taken out. If the Union pukes want to kill themselves they are welcome. We don’t want the Karthians thinking we are weakened in any way, so we’ll take up the fight on this side.”

  Humphrey said, “The dome ships are in position. The entire column is moving toward the rift. First ships will be passing through in approximately three minutes.”

  Gnaga came onto the bridge. “I believe I know what that is.”

  “Tell us,” said Mace.

  Gnaga zoomed the display in on one of the domes. “I had heard rumors of experiments with dark matter. To date, its only use was to be combined with gatrellium during the formation of wormholes, or in the amplifier plates of gravity drives. Since experimentation other than at Galactic Union labs was prohibited, our scientists conducted all of their work using theoretical properties and formulas. One such theory promised an energy reflector. This may be a result of that.”

  “Aren’t the dampening fields energy reflectors?”

  Gnaga shook his head. “Not at all. The inertial dampening field absorbs energy, dissipating it across the entirety of the field. If this is what I believe it to be, energy weapons—including that green monstrosity coming from the Karthian station—would be reflected back at the source.”

  Johnny smiled. “Now this I wanna see.”

  As the Union fleet approached the rift, several dozen plasma rounds shot through the opening. Bright, fierce looking bolts of lightning shot out from the domes as the plasma made contact. With part of the plasma energy annihilated, the remainder returned toward the firing ships. Without the gravitational containment that held the plasma in a tight sphere, electricity sloughed away from the receding plasma rounds, reducing their power and rendering them inert.

  Johnny raised an eyebrow. “That is one spectacular lightshow.”

  Seconds later, the plasma rounds began to come through in a steady stream. All were reflected, and the heavens were lit with a continuous show of lightning flashes as the Union ships moved forward, the lightning itself seemingly traveling toward the edges of the rift.

  As the first of the domed ships reached the opening, the green energy wave from the Karthian station ripped into the front ships. The green energy turned into bright orange lighting as the majority of the wave was reflected back. Two dozen Karthian cruisers raced forward, holding their weapons fire as they moved toward the domed ships. Hundreds of Union ships opened up at once, first overwhelming the Karthians’ shields and then shredding their hulls. The attacking Karthian ships were obliterated before firing a shot.

  Johnny said, “This is going a bit differently than I imagined.”

  Mace replied, “Give it time. The Karthians just have to figure out a way past those domes.”

  Fifty Karthian cruisers and a dozen dreadnoughts moved into the path of the oncoming column. A thousand small fighter craft were released at once. A gray cloud of fighters moved to intercept the Union vessels. Hundreds of Union ships fired at once, decimating the fighter assault but failing to slow it.

  The fighters reached the Union column just as the second and third row of ships began passing through the rift. The fighters circled in and around the domed ships, attacking at will. Most of a minute passed before the first of the domed ships exploded. Then another set of Karthian ships advanced, releasing another tranche of the small fighter craft. Energy bolts and impact flashes burned brighter than the nearest star as the column pushed forward through the rift.

  Jasper came over the comm. “No fireworks display I’ve ever seen could do this justice. Watching this is both thrilling and terrifying.”

  As the column reached a third of the way through, the Union cruisers following the domes dispersed, engaging the enemy fully. Karthian and Union ships circled each other in a relentless exchange of plasma and laser fire. Because of the close interaction, the great green energy weapon of the Karthians could not be used.

  Humphrey said, “I’m detecting shuttle launches, Mr. Hardy. It seems they’ve adopted our boarding party technique. I count seventy-five Karthian ships already with shuttles attached.”

  Mace sat in awe with his mouth open. “I almost want to join in, but I have a bad feeling about what’s coming. The Karthians have yet to commit all their ships.”

  Jasper said, “Hang tight. We’re moving in for a closer look.”

  “I wouldn’t advise that.”

  Jasper smiled. “Well, you aren’t the king, so you don’t get the final decision.”

  The Organ Cave zipped away, closing rapidly on the tail end of the Union column. Ju
st on the other side, half the known Karthian fleet were fighting for their lives. As Jasper and his flagship flew closer, the Karthian station blasted out a green energy wave. The bright blue Collins class vessel attempted to evade but was unsuccessful. The energy wave impacted their dampening field, frying the transducers and blistering their gatrellium skin.

  “Crap,” said Jasper. “Admiral! Take us home!”

  Mace yelled, “Mr. Hobbs! Take us in! Draw fire from that weapon! They can’t take another hit!”

  The Rogers shot forward as the Organ Cave came back their way.

  Jasper said, “Mace, we’ve got a problem. Our wormhole generator took damage. We can’t jump… or turn… or accelerate of decelerate. Our inertial dampening field is non-existent.”

  Mace said, “Just keep coming. Mr. Hobbs, slip us in behind them and open a wormhole to Divinia.”

  Jeff winced. “What about the green wave?”

  “If it comes, we’ll just have to suck it up. Have everyone move in from the outer compartments.”

  Jeff nodded. “On it.”

  “Mr. Hobbs, what’s our ETA?”

  Liam replied, “Twenty seconds.”

  Humphrey yelled, “Detecting an energy buildup! That station is about to fire!”

  Mace squeezed the armrest of his command chair. “Come on! Get us there!”

  An eternity seemingly passed as the ships closed. A bright green ball of energy blasted from the Karthian station on the other side of the rift. The Rogers spun, slowing at first, and then matching and surpassing the speed of the Organ Cave.

  Mace yelled, “Open a wormhole to Divinia! Now!”

  The generator engaged. A tiny tear in space-time opened. The Targarian flagship slipped through just as the green wave caught up to the Rogers. The hull jerked and rumbled, displays flashed and sparked. Power flashed on and off before restarting. The wave dissipated as it moved across the retreating ship.

  Humphrey said, “We have damage reports coming in… and casualties. Gravity drives are at 30 percent. Sixty percent of our reactors are showing instabilities and are shutting down. Dampening field has held, but the wormhole generator is gone.”

  Mace grimaced. “Injuries? Casualties?”

  “Two moderate injuries, the rest minor. Oh, and we’re out of range of that weapon.”

  A new Targarian ship jumped into space near the Rogers.

  Johnny grinned. “It’s Jasper on the comm. He’s already made a transfer to another ship.”

  Jasper said, “OK, the Cave is headed for the repair docks. I suggest you take the Rogers there as well. I have crews waiting. And thanks for saving my ass back there.”

  Mace nodded. “Open a portal for us. Ours is dead.”

  “You’ll find a new Collins when you get there if you want to come back. Those repairs are gonna take a while.”

  A micro-wormhole was opened to Divinia and the Rogers slipped through. After they had passed, the wormhole was kept open for a sensor feed from Jasper’s new ship.

  The battle at the rift raged on. The Union ships appeared to be dominating. Karthian ships were being destroyed or leaving the field of battle in tatters. Because of the close proximity of the ships, the massive Karthian station remained out of the fight. Again the Karthian threat was being thwarted.

  ~~~~~

  Once again, this Human is asking for your help! If you enjoyed the book, please leave a review on the site where it was purchased. And by all means, please tell your friends! Any help with spreading the word is highly appreciated! I have a free science fiction eBook short story, titled “THE SQUAD”, waiting for anyone who joins my email list. Also, find out when the next exciting release is available by joining the email list at comments@arsenex.com. Visit the author’s website at www.arsenex.com for the rest of the series and other works!

  Thank you for reading my work! I hope you have a great day!

  Stephen

  Books by Stephen Arseneault

  *

  SODIUM-AMP-OMEGA trilogy series

  SODIUM - A six-book series that takes Man from his first encounter with aliens all the way to a fight for our all-out survival. Do we have what it takes to rule the galaxy?

  AMP - Cast a thousand years into the future beyond SODIUM. This eight-book series chronicles the struggles of Don Grange, a simple package deliveryman, who is thrust into an unimaginable role in the fight against our enemies. Can we win peace and freedom after a thousand years of war?

  OMEGA - An eight book series cast a thousand years into the future beyond AMP. The Alliance is crumbling. When corruption and politics threaten to throw the allied galaxies into chaos, Knog Beutcher gets caught in the middle. Follow along as our hero is thrust into roles that he never expected nor sought. Espionage, intrigue, political assassinations, rebellions and full-on revolutions, they are all coming to Knog Beutcher’s world!

  HADRON Series

  HADRON is an eight book modern day Human survival story. After scientists using the Large Hadron Collider discover dark matter, the world is plunged into chaos. Massive waves of electromagnetic interference take out all grid power and forms of communication the world over. Cities go dark, food and clean-water supplies are quickly used up. Marauders rule the highways. One group of citizens takes a stand. Can they make a difference? And the devastating EM waves, where are they coming from? A benevolent species will arrive in their spaceships to rescue the Human race. Only, are they really so benevolent? Is our little corner of the Milky Way a hostile place? With HADRON we’re about to find out.

  ARMS Series

  ARMS is an eight book series set in the future. Earth was nearing an apocalyptic event. Two competing colony ships were built, taking five million inhabitants each through a wormhole to a pair of newly discovered planets. The planets were settled and soon after the burgeoning colonies looked to the surrounding star systems for ownership and expansion, an expansion that led to a centuries long war between them. A truce was declared after the aggressor side began to lose ground. The competing worlds are two years into that truce.

  Tawnish Freely and Harris Gruberg are genetically engineered Biomarines. They we made and trained for fighting in the Great War. With the war halted and their service commitments ended, they find themselves struggling to live among a population that fears them. Work is found with the delivery of illegal arms to the outer colonies. Things go awry when they discover their illicit and yet lucrative dealings may just be the catalyst that brings back the Great War. They are determined to prevent that outcome from happening.

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