Fear God and Dread Naught

by Christopher Nuttall

  Captain Skrelleth hissed. “Yesss, that is correct, but that is because they are able to vanish. We can’t get them to fight us.”

  “You want the enemy to fight on your terms, when theirs are working so well?” Calvin asked. He turned to the ambassador. “I think I’ve found your problem.”

  “Careful, Terran,” the captain warned, jumping from his seat. He was even larger than the ambassador, standing nearly eight feet high. He pointed a claw at Calvin, his tail twitching. “Another word about me, and I will be forced to kill you, despite what protection the ambassador offers you. Be very careful about what you say next.”

  Calvin turned back to the ship’s commanding officer. “I do not mean to be disrespectful, but my point is, so far, your race is losing this war. Badly. Not only are you losing, you are being systematically eliminated as a race. At the moment, the only way you can stay alive is to run from them; every time you fight you lose.”

  “What do you expect?” Captain Skrelleth asked. “They can disappear at will and pop up and hit us with weapons we can’t defend against. I suppose you can do better against them?”

  “Absolutely,” Calvin said. “I have fought them twice, and I have destroyed two of their ships. The second time, we boarded the ship and fought them hand-to-hand, prior to setting explosive charges which we detonated once we were clear. Can we do better? We already have.”

  “You boarded one of their ships?” the CO asked. “I do not see how this is possible.”

  “Yes, I led a team that boarded one of their vessels. If we are fighting the same enemy, which I think we are, I have not only been aboard one of their ships, but I have fought them up close. I tell you this not to brag, but so you will see me as an asset to use in your fight against the Shaitans and, hopefully, treat me with a little more respect. I can help you, if you will let me.”

  Captain Skrelleth shook his head, retreated to his command chair and sat down. He turned his gaze to the view screen, which showed a chart of the system. After a few moments, the twitching of his tail slowed. When he spoke, his voice was calm and under control. “I do not like you, nor do I want you onboard my ship,” he said; “however, if you have information on how to defeat the enemy, I am willing to listen.”

  “We could fight them better if my ship were here,” Calvin said, “but there are some things I would recommend to help defend this system.” He paused to look at the view screen. “Is that status correct?”

  “Yesss, that is everything we have in the system, and where it currently is positioned.”

  Damn; the lizards were even worse off than he had thought. “Is there any reason why all your ships are around the planet?” Calvin asked.

  “The enemy could appear anywhere, and we must protect the planet,” Captain Skrelleth answered. “We only have three planets left; we cannot afford to lose this one.”

  “The enemy’s forces can’t appear anywhere,” Calvin corrected; “they have to use the stargate to come into the system. If you position your ships around the stargate, and mine it with everything you’ve got, you will stand a better chance of keeping them out. If nothing else, at least you will get a chance to shoot at them before they can jump to their own universe.”

  “Do you know that to be truth, or are you just guessing?” the captain asked. “You are asking me to leave the planet undefended. We cannot lose it.”

  Calvin paused a few seconds, debating whether to tell his enemies everything he knew. Giving away your own capabilities to a culture that would rather eat you than talk to you was…complicated. He sighed. In for a penny; in for a pound.

  “I know this to be true. I have been to their universe; they do not have stargates there.”

  Captain Skrelleth’s eyes snapped around to glare at the ambassador. “The Terran has been to their universe? Why I was not made aware of this?”

  Ambassador Gresss made a shooing motion with his hands. “I have told you several times that the Terran had information on the enemy and urged you to talk to him. We would be better prepared right now if you had listened to me.”

  “You talk too much,” Captain Skrelleth replied. “You politicians always talk too much. How was I to know that this time you actually had something useful to say?”

  “What’s important is I have been to the other universe,” Calvin said. “I know they don’t have stargates, so they have to use the ones in our universe. When they come through, there will be a few moments while their systems stabilize when you can shoot them. System entry is your best, and probably your only, chance to defeat them. Once they get loose and can jump to their own universe they are very hard to bring to battle…as you have already found out.”

  The captain scratched a scar on his shoulder while he looked at the display. “Sometime, you will have to tell me how you were able to travel to the universe of the enemy,” he said. “I would dearly like to fight there and have the wreckage of their ships fall onto their planets.” He turned back to Calvin. “I take it we cannot do it without some sort of equipment that is only aboard your ship?”

  “Unfortunately, that is true,” Calvin admitted. “I wish we could jump this ship to their universe, but it isn’t possible. We will have to fight them here.”

  “If that is the case, do you have any other suggestions for how to fight them?”

  “You have to fight them at the stargate. Move every ship you have to the gate and put every mine you have in front of it, set to detonate automatically when a ship comes within range. You have to stop them there; if you don’t, I don’t think you can hold this universe against a massed assault.”

  “Perhaps you are more than just prey, after all,” Captain Skrelleth said, his gaze returning to the status display. “I will do as you suggest, Terran, but you better not have lied to me. If I find out you have, I will kill you myself, before the enemy has a chance.”

  “It’s in my own best interest for you to be victorious,” said Calvin. “Here are some other things you can do…”

  Visitor’s Quarters, Harvest of Flesh, Sssellississ System, December 12, 2021

  “So you finally met our host?” Esdren Farhome asked. The Aesir had the dark hair and pale blue skin typical of a Drow, the belowground-dwelling Aesir. Tall and thin, he also had the pointed ears typical of the elven race.

  That was his normal appearance, anyway. Farhome was also an Eco Warrior, an elite soldier who could manipulate matter at the microscopic level using nanobots. His specialty was life, and he could use his nanobots to change a living being’s size and shape, including his own.

  Although Farhome’s sanity was questionable most days, today seemed to be a good day. “Yeah, he’s every bit the fun-loving Ssselipsssiss you would expect him to be,” Calvin replied. “After he decided he wasn’t going to kill me and eat me, he actually listened to some of my advice. They are going to move to the stargate and try to hold there.”

  “Well, you do have more experience fighting the Shaitans than anyone else,” Farhome replied. He cocked his head and added, “On second thought, the Ssselipsssiss may have more experience fighting them, but you have more experience actually beating them.”

  “I’m happy Skrelleth listened to me,” Calvin said, “but that doesn’t mean we have a chance. I saw their status board. In addition to this battleship, there are only four more ships in the system. They have two battleships, two battlecruisers and a cruiser. That’s it.”

  “That’s all they have?” Farhome asked, wonder tinging his voice. “This is the front line. When we left Keppler 62, there were only two cruisers left in the system, and that is their other front line against the Mrowry. If what you say is true, they are down to their final seven ships.”

  “Yeah, that’s it. If they lose this next battle here, they are pretty much done as a race. There won’t be anything to keep the Shaitans from rolling up their last couple of systems and exterminating them.”

  “They need to mine the stargate,” Farhome said. “Maybe tow an asteroid or 10 in front of
it, too. They can’t let the Shaitans into the system.” He paused for a second, then asked, “How soon can we expect the Vella Gulf to get—”

  The door to their room opened, and a low-ranking Ssselipsssiss entered. “It’sss started,” he announced. “The enemy isss through the gate. Captain Skrelleth demandsss you attend him on the bridge.”

  Calvin turned back to Farhome. “Not soon enough.”

  Chapter Two

  Emperor Yazhak the Third’s Estate, Grrrnow, 61 Virginis, December 12, 2021

  Emperor Yazhak turned away from the large bay window. Behind him, a large rock formation could be seen several miles away. The massive sandstone monolith glowed red in the morning sun.

  “That is worse than I feared,” the large felinoid finally said.

  “Why is that?” Captain James Sheppard, the commanding officer of the Terran ship Vella Gulf, asked.

  “We have guessed for some time the Ssselipsssiss were fighting another race, and they were probably losing. Although we have been at war with them for some time, they recently began pushing us hard. It was like they had to break through; there was a desperation we had never seen before. Then, all of a sudden, they stopped. Although a welcome respite, the absence of war was eerie; we wondered what new stratagem they might be working on.”

  “And now we know they stopped attacking because they’re out of ships,” Captain Sheppard interjected. When he had taken the Vella Gulf into their territory, the lizards only had three ships guarding their side of the stargate…and only one was battleship-sized.

  “That worries me even more,” the emperor continued. “If their enemy is strong enough to destroy their entire fleet, something we were never able to do, I am worried about who they will attack once they are finished with the Ssselipsssiss. Our territory is next, unless they advance on Terra.”

  “Which isn’t a great choice in my book,” Captain Sheppard said.

  “Not only has their enemy destroyed the Ssselipsssiss fleet, they also seem to be taking the planets just as fast,” Lieutenant Rrower added. The young Mrowry was his civilization’s liaison to the Vella Gulf. “I saw one of their maps, grandfather, and they have lost their capital planet; they only have three systems remaining.”

  “Based on your conversation with them, you believe their enemy to be the Shaitans you fought at Golirion?” Emperor Yazhak asked.

  “Yes, it sounds like them,” Captain Sheppard answered. “Their ships can jump out of our universe, and they use time-based weapons. If it isn’t the Shaitans, it is a race nearly identical to them. Personally, I hope it is them; I don’t think we can afford to be fighting two of them at the same time; one is more than enough!”

  “Truth,” the emperor agreed. “So, what did the Ssselipsssiss want?”

  “They want us to go to the Shaitans’ home world and blow it up.”

  “Well, that seems simple enough,” Emperor Yazhak said with a chuckle. “Did they have any information on where this planet might be, and how you were supposed to destroy it?”

  “They have an idea where it is,” Captain Sheppard replied. “It’s a long way behind enemy lines, and getting further as the Shaitans advance. As for how we blow it up, I don’t think they care; they just want it done. They are desperate for a little breathing room.”

  “What did they offer for taking on this mission?”

  “They were very vague on what they would, or even what they could, do,” Captain Sheppard replied. “We got an awful lot of ‘maybes,’ but nothing very definite.” He shook his head. “We didn’t see a replicator in the system where we met with them, and they have lost most of their other systems. Honestly, I don’t think they have much to give. Our choice is pretty simple—we can either help them out of the goodness of our hearts, or we can watch them be exterminated.”

  “A few months ago, I’m not sure I would have minded watching them go,” Captain Paul ‘Night’ Train interjected. The Terran Space Marine captain was the executive officer of the platoon Calvin commanded. “However, the Shaitans are a much worse enemy…and the Ssselipsssiss are holding Lieutenant Commander Hobbs hostage until we return.”

  “Ah, I see,” the emperor said. “I wondered where he was but was afraid to ask in case he’d been killed.”

  “No, he was fine the last time we saw him,” Captain Sheppard explained, “but the Ssselipsssiss held onto him for fear we would return with a large Mrowry fleet and wipe them out. I think they were worried you would attack from this side if you knew how poorly defended their side of the stargate was.”

  “There is something to be said for that,” the emperor replied, scratching his chin. “I certainly would like to get Typhon back from them…Don’t worry, I’m not going to,” he added when he saw the Terrans bristle. “Calvin has done just as much for us; I am not going to blithely sacrifice him. Besides, you don’t win wars by throwing away your hero spirits; you win wars by supporting them. Calvin must have approved of helping them, or he wouldn’t have stayed with the Ssselipsssiss?”

  “Yes, he did,” Captain Sheppard replied. “He also believes the Shaitans are the greater enemy; he stayed both as a hostage and to help the Ssselipsssiss with their defenses. Although the lizzies have been fighting the Shaitans for a while, they don’t really have much of a clue as to how to fight them. The enemy is so different from what they’re used to, the only thing the Ssselipsssiss have been good at is losing. Calvin is going to try to shore up their defenses; maybe it will buy them some time.”

  Bridge, Harvest of Flesh, Sssellississ System, December 12, 2021

  “The enemy is here, Terran,” Captain Skrelleth announced as Calvin walked onto the bridge. Calvin had put on his aviator’s space suit, but carried the helmet under an arm.

  “What is the status, sir?”

  “As you indicated would happen, the enemy vessels came through the portal and immediately disappeared.”

  “Yes sir, they jumped back to their own universe.”

  “Whatever. The fact remains that they are loose in this system. I have told the other ships’ captains to return to orbit. We cannot allow this planet to fall. There are more of my race here than the other two systems combined. We must hold.”

  “How many enemy ships are there?”

  “At least three of the cruiser-sized vessels and four of the destroyer-sized vessels entered the system. I know from experience all of them carry their time-based weapons.”

  “Damn,” Calvin said, shaking his head. “That’s more than I’ve seen at one time. What defenses does the planet have?”

  “Not much,” Captain Skrelleth said; “however, the moon has both missile and laser systems on its surface. We also have a few orbital missile pods we can use. By pulling all of our forces back to orbit, it will limit the number of directions from which the enemy can attack and will concentrate our defenses to where we can hopefully get some shots at them.”

  “Gate emergence!” one of the Ssselipsssiss technicians exclaimed. “It is a type of ship I haven’t seen before. It is battleship-sized. There is a second one…now a third.”

  “Images on screen,” the captain ordered.

  “Coming up now, sir!” the same technician replied.

  The front viewer changed to show a shape Calvin recognized. “That isn’t a battleship,” he advised; “it is a Jotunn Raptor-class battlecruiser.”

  “Jotunn?” Captain Skrelleth asked. “What is a Jotunn and what are the capabilities of their ships?”

  “The Jotunn is a race of giant-sized humanoids, nearly three times my size. Their vessels are over-sized, as you can see. They are very strong, and their weapons are quite powerful.”

  “How will they attack?”

  “I have fought a combined battlegroup of Shaitans and Jotunn before. The Jotunn don’t believe in finesse; they will come straight at you and try to destroy your biggest vessels first. Meanwhile, the Shaitans will hover on the edges of the battle, picking off your most vulnerable ships. If they can separate a ship from the gro
up, they will destroy it before coming back to pick off another one.”

  “Just like a pack of colvargs,” the captain replied.

  “I don’t know what those are,” Calvin replied, “but their tactics are very effective. It will be difficult to win this fight.” Difficult? Calvin shook his head. This battle was unwinnable. After all he’d been through, he was going to die on a lizard ship.

  “How can we defeat this joint assault?” Captain Skrelleth asked.

  “As much as it hurts me to say it,” Calvin said, “you need to write off this planet and pull back to the next one. That way, you can fight them one at a time as they come through the stargate—”

  “Unacceptable,” Captain Skrelleth interrupted. “The planet must be saved.”

  “You can’t win this battle!” Calvin exclaimed. “You may destroy some of their ships, but you are outclassed; in the end, your ships will be destroyed, and the remaining enemy ships will have free rein to do whatever they wish with the planet. The only chance you have is to save the two planets you have remaining. Perhaps some of the civilians there can be pulled back to a Terran or Mrowry planet and resettled there, ensuring the continuity of your race. Whatever you do, though, you’ve got to withdraw. You can’t win this fight!”