From the Black (Free Fleet Book 4)

by Michael Chatfield

  The missiles struck the carrier's shield as it was just coming online. They cost a lot of power so it made sense to not have them activated, well, to a creature that was concerned about having to pay for fuel against what he stole from civilians.

  The shields held but were weakened. The scout's fired their main weapons. Sensors said that it looked like plasma, but Boot was concentrated on his screens so much so that he barely registered them.

  The bolts hit the shields, nine of them a few seconds apart, the power was too much for the starting up and weakened shields, they spotted, some shield generators overloading. Scouts swooped in towards their fighter decks, they fired missiles and plasma.

  Then they created wormholes through the ship's hull. There was no fighting the forces of the wormhole. Armor and whatever sections of the carrier passed through the wormhole, disappeared. The scouts transitioned through their wormholes. The Carrier's fighter decks rocking with internal explosions, the hull looked as if potato peelers had been dragged through its hull.

  “Well I am going to need some of those,” Boot said.

  “Prepare to engage. Full thrust.”

  The Syndicate fleet was still in disarray when Boot came in.

  “Fire missiles, rotate us to present the left side,” Boot said in relaxed tones as a barrage of missiles leapt from his ship's tubes.

  Rail guns fired, causing the Syndicate ships to move and close ranks in order to miss the projectiles.

  Once the reaction time for missing the guns was down to minutes Boot looked to his tactical.

  “Fire at will.”

  The battle cruiser vibrated as rounds were accelerated towards the Syndicate forces. Some of them were turned, others were accelerating forward, or trying to escape.

  Boot waited till the lowest shield got to seventy percent.

  “Roll to present right side,” he said, the fleet rolling as one, gunners on the left stopping only when they were facing the black, the right starting as soon as targets presented themselves.

  “Four corvettes destroyed, the carrier's shields are still down. No fighters are leaving. I think she's dead,” Sensors said.

  “Well give it a few missiles to make sure,” Boot said, looking at tactical’s head.

  Five missiles sped out towards the carrier. Two PDS lasers fired, they took down three of the ship missiles.

  The other two cracked the carrier's hull. Atmosphere and fires poured out from the craft.

  So much for being a great Captain Lord, Lifendi. Boot looked to his forces.

  “We're down to sixty percent shields on the right, eighty on the right.

  “Rotate to face forward,” Boot said, seeing a missile catch one of his corvettes, his screen alerted him that a battle cruisers shields were nearly gone.

  “Rotate Ballhasta out with ourselves,” Boot said, helm doing so.

  Weapons from across both fleets fired as they crossed one another, sides pounded sides. Not one Syndicate ship was left with shields, a few were left wrecks. Two Battle cruisers were still functional, three destroyer's, one of which had a busted engine was falling behind the fleeing syndicate fleet.

  Twelve of the corvettes were still in existence, they had the speed to flee the battle fast enough.

  Ballhasta hadn't been able to get out of the line of fire fast enough. Rail guns had smashed her armor, gaining access to her internals. A power plant feed line had been ruptured and the ship's frontal section had disappeared in nuclear light.

  Boots’ own ship had its shields lost, but its armor had stopped anything else from penetrating.

  “Shall we chase after them commander?” Helm asked.

  “No, we'll be seeing them soon enough. It's time we linked up with Cheerleader and the rest of the Free Fleet. Comms, did you send our reports to her?” Boot asked, forcing himself to look to his duty, those that were dead would be waiting for his grief later.

  “Yes Commander.”

  “Good, then we'll look to our own people. Request Cheerleader's support and co-ordinate medical assistance,” Boot answered. Comms would be very busy over the next while. He would speak with Cheerleader when she was closer and the lag wasn't so annoying.

  He scanned the reports now flooding in after battle. He looked for any information that could help recovery.

  “I'll be helping with medical and engineering crews,” he announced, handing command over to Tactical and his second in command. Sitting in his chair wasn't going to help anyone.

  ***

  “Well that's one issue dealt with for now,” Cheerleader said, feeling as if she'd opened Pandora's Box finding Boot.

  “Onur, get on the comms with one of those Jump fighters. I'm compiling a message to be sent to Salchar, best speed,” Cheerleader said, tagging all the information from Boot adding a few notes and sending it to Onur.

  “They're going to fuel then they'll be on their way,” Onur said a few minutes later.

  “Good, now I want the rest to re-arm, refuel and scout this area,” Cheerleader sent the sketched outline of systems she wanted them to go through.

  “We're going to hold here and render any assistance that we can to the Kuruvian Empire. I want everyone ready for battle at a moment's notice, the Syndicate raided the system once already, and they can do it again. I don't intend on letting any of them get to a planet, or make it out of this system,” she said, looking up and to her people.

  Werv her second in command gave her a knowing glance that told her he wanted to talk to her about something.

  She turned to him so not everyone would have to hear it.

  “Are we sure that the Empire will be happy to see us, they might blame us for the attack by the Syndicate,” Werv said conspiratorially.

  “Good point,” Cheerleader admitted, knowing it was her second in commands place to be devil's advocate.

  “Onur, I want you to open a private channel between myself and whatever authority you can find on the planet Flor.”

  “Yes Commander,” Onur said. Some had talked about how the role of communication's Commander was one of the most overworked positions within the Free Fleet. Few if any thought that Vort had an easy time coordinating all of the communications Salchar spewed from his ship to his fleet and to the Free Fleet at large.

  There might be some truth to that after all, Cheerleader thought.

  Chapter Love it when a plan comes together

  “We have reports of a ship skirting the sensor networks coming from the line towards Parnmal,” Gogs said, moving where his wings would have been.

  Min Hae had been connected to the relays for a few days now. He'd gone through multiple systems that his agents were in. Having them check that no one was following Verslva.

  They'd done some trading to keep up appearances, but they were nearly to Parnmal, just three jumps to go. All of them through inhabited systems so they had to be careful.

  The systems were habitated simply because they were close to Parnmal and supplying the system with materials the Fleet and the corridor needed.

  “Who?” Min Hae asked, displeased with someone skirting the sensors. Though the sensor operators had undoubtedly caught onto it if Gogs had.

  “It matches our sensor readings of Ashota's craft,” Gogs said.

  “Get me a channel to Monk,” Min Hae said, his tone brisk.

  “Certainly.”

  “Hello Commander,” Monk said, the backdrop telling Min Hae that Monk had been sparring.

  “Are we secure?” Min Hae asked.

  “Of course,” Monk said, his tone relaxing to Min Hae. Monk was one of the few people that Min Hae knew he could truly rely on. His time working in Parnmal had left an impression.

  “It seems that a craft with a known leader, or person of statue within the Kalu Clans is approaching Parnmal,” Min Hae said.

  “We will be ready for them,” Monk said, Min Hae didn't let his sigh show. There's a reason he's the commander of Parnmal after all. Min Hae chastised himself. I need to stop looking at
just numbers and facts try trusting others.

  “I will be there after they have arrived. If you are able to take them I would wish to talk to them,” Min Hae said, not wanting to give too much information away. Being in the intelligence department made one cautious, there was no telling when other ears might be listening.

  “We shall see, but if they threaten Parnmal..,” Monk said, his face making even Min Hae feel something like a chill run through him.

  Then there won't be dust left, Min Hae thought nodding.

  “Understood,” Min Hae replied.

  “Till we see one another, preparations must be made,” Monk said, his voice becoming faraway as he looked to be thinking.

  Hopefully I'll have a plan that Salchar can use to even the odds against the Kalu and the Syndicate. Min Hae silently willed Verslva to go faster, knowing that doing so would attract attention. There was too many ways that his plan could go wrong. Yet the Free Fleet regularly went into battle with plans it made only a few minutes before. For the large part it had worked, but still Min Hae's nerves and hopes warred with one another.

  ***

  Ashota looked at the system named Parnmal in wonder.

  “This is a star system,” Onqul the seer said.

  “Yes it is,” Ashota said, remembering the great Union's planets with their towering cities, orbiting factories and system wide asteroid miners.

  Why did we have to destroy it all?

  “We are being hailed by someone calling themselves Commander Monk,” the talker said.

  “Put him on screen,” Ashota ordered. There was silence on the bridge as they looked to Ashota in question. The only person he had shown himself to had been Edvasho and the spy from the Syndicate. They had wondered about the spy, but they thought he would destroy them before they could tell others of Ashota's appearance.

  Now Ashota would show an entire system his weakness.

  “We are online, there is a few minutes time-delay,” the Talker said as a pinkish-brown looking creature with little hair other than that over its optical nerves appeared.

  “This is Commander Monk of the Free Fleet. We have been awaiting your presence Ashota of the Kalu clans. Surrender yourselves to questioning, or we will destroy your ship. Signal you are willing to surrender by powering down your weapons, shields, wormhole generators and face towards the station. Do you understand?” The hairless pinkish-brown creature said.

  “I understand Commander, do as he says,” Ashota said to his crew. “How do you know my name?” Ashota asked.

  “When you are in our custody I will tell you,” Monk said, making it clear Ashota wouldn't find out beforehand.

  “Very well I look forward to finding out,” Ashota said, getting comfortable. The commander's craft wouldn't reach Ashota for another few hours.

  ***

  Monk stepped into the interrogation room a few hours later. Ashota as well as all the Kalu aboard had been taken into custody without incident. A few scans and other tests had proven they weren't a threat to anyone through bombs, or chemical means.

  “Hello commander,” Ashota said, Monk studying him for a second before he relaxed into his seat.

  “Hello Spymaster Ashota,” Monk said, touching his hands together in contemplation.

  “Will you now tell me how you know my name?” Ashota asked.

  “If you tell me why you're here,” Min Hae said, his stare and body relaxed.

  “The Kalu Clans need to be stopped.”

  “You think that the Free Fleet can do this?” Monk asked.

  “I don't know, but the Syndicate would give the people a life of slavery, not one of freedom. I don't want my people to be slaves,” Ashota said.

  “Your people?” Monk asked, genuinely interested.

  “The peaceful Kalu. I think that this would be best if I told you a story,” Ashota said.

  “Please,” Monk said, turning his head and nodding for him to talk.

  “I am one of two known survivors of the last great Union-Kalu battle. Myself and Edvasho survived in a Star Warrior. I saved his life by taking grievous harm in battle. I put him in to a healing tank and he recovered as I piloted the Star Warrior away from the battle. I knew that the battle was lost and wasting our lives would not help the Kalu cause. I told Edvasho that the Star Warrior was on auto-pilot, he took my word and started to gather his clan to challenge the others and take them against the Union again.

  “I turned his mind to bringing all the clans under his control. He listened and I worked in the shadows to give him the information he needed to turn lifelong enemies into a single clan united under him.” Ashota paused, as if gearing himself up for what he was about to say.

  “I found out that there was two real groups of Kalu, those that were bent on following the traditions of old, and then those that wanted to move the Kalu forward. To be something other than just warriors and killers. It was these people I stated gathering and bringing to my side. It was easy to twist Edvasho and the other clan leaders to making these Kalu live on their own planet, as a perceived punishment of their peaceful ways. I created the planet of the peaceful Kalu and became one of the council.”

  “So there is a group of peaceful Kalu on a planet. How does this help us?” Monk asked.

  “Because the peaceful Kalu aren't peaceful, they're merely the ones that want more for the Kalu. They are the skilled workers. They are the ones that made destroyers and Kalu fighters. They know what the Kalu are and will become if they are left unchecked. The council believes that they need to be stopped, I agree,” he said in a growl.

  “Yet you have been helping the Kalu warriors as they attack our planets,” Monk said.

  “I had hoped that I could sway Edvasho to change the warriors minds in one go,” Monk didn't know Kalu body language but he thought that he might be seeing something akin to almost sadness in Ashota.

  “Being my battle brother I hoped that I could sway him. Instead it looks as if he is ingrained into the traditions of my people so much that he retains no will other than to fight and destroy the enemies he finds.”

  “Ask him about the Destroyers and fighters,” Salchar who was watching the entire interview via the relays said in Monk's ear. The time delay was minimal, but it was still a few moments slow because of electronic transfer and translation.

  “You said something about Destroyers and fighters?” Monk asked.

  “Yes, they are ships similar to your carriers. The idea came from you and the mixing of Kalu tactics. We took the warrior trained younglings and hooked them into fighters. Since they are trained in them from such a young age, they know only how to fight in their fighters. This combined with their natural Kalu hunting tactics makes them brilliant tools of war. They work as a hunting party of Kalu, all the fighters moving in a swirling moving mass, covering one another as they charge their enemy. They swarm the enemy, hitting anything and everything they can, they act like a single organism able to move in the three dimensions of space. The Star Warriors are unrefined tools of deployment and breaching. The fighters are made for the purpose of destroying and rendering ships useless so Star Warriors can claim them,” Ashota said.

  Monk did not like the image that his mind was painting as Ashota talked.

  “So why come to us now?” Monk asked.

  “The three major players are the Kalu, the Syndicate, and yourselves. In order of strength, though I am beginning to doubt that information,” Ashota admitted, glancing at the walls.

  “You still haven't said why you came to us,” Monk pressed.

  “The Kalu want to destroy everything. The Syndicate are back stabbers and will only see us as an enemy or a competitor. The Free Fleet was created through revolution, I thought you would understand how the peaceful Kalu would want to go through their own revolution to free themselves,” Ashota said, staring directly at Monk.

  It was then that Monk knew that Ashota might look fragile, weak and useless. He was truly a force to be reckoned with. There was a deadly look to h
is eyes. Ashota had seen battle, killed creatures and more than that, he had refined killing, he, not Edvasho was the biggest threat to the Free Fleet and the creatures the fleet protected.

  “What do you want from us?” Monk asked.

  “We want your help to get into space,” Ashota said.

  “You're the smarter of the Kalu, why aren't you in space already?” Monk asked, looking at Ashota in question.

  “We are, but not in great numbers,” Ashota said.

  “What will we get in return?” Monk asked.

  “I will give you the locations of all the shipyards used to create Star Warriors, destroyers and fighters. The peaceful Kalu will fight along with you, some may even join the Free Fleet if you accept them. We will also give you a way to find the Kalu on your normal sensors and a full star map of all Kalu space,” Ashota said.

  “Ask him what will happen with the Kalu that follow Edvasho and those that will be left behind,” Min Hae said in Monk's ear.

  “What will happen to the Kalu that are left behind after the war, won’t they continue the war started by the Union and Kalu?” Monk asked.

  “We will see which ones will join us and not, then we will put them on a planet, ignite their clan wars and see if they fight one another, or work together. If they try to start a war again. Well then I don't think there should be another attempt at redemption,” Ashota's eyes telling Monk that the leftover Kalu would either better themselves, or be removed, permanently.

  ***

  Verslva had barely come into dock when Min Hae was off of the freighter and going through Parnmal. He made a beeline through the markets, heading for the landing information office. He went to a stall that gave people information on the station. Min Hae entered a code into the interactive screen, pressed his hand to it and the wall in front of him slid away. He walked through it. Lights illuminated his path as the wall closed behind him.